"Around the world people can, from the comfort of their home, refresh their knowledge on a subject or explore other topics to better themselves intellectually," says YouTube EDU's Obadiah Greenberg. "I think that is rather profound." YouTube EDU is a subsite dedicated to educational content such as lectures. 

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One need not be a student to reap the benefits of higher education anymore. In addition to YouTube EDU, Web sites like iTunes U, TED, and Academic Earth allow millions of people to download lectures by some of the world's top experts—for free. Known as open educational resources—or OER—the movement is turning education into a form of mass entertainment. "There is a real appetite for content that is not just a sneezing-cat video," says Peter Bradwell, a researcher for the British academic think tank Demos. "There is a growing desire for intellectually stimulating material that is easily accessible."

The applications are actually much wider ranging: "Imagine what a treasure trove this is for a college teacher in Africa or a student in a developing country in Asia who can access good materials from prestigious universities at their fingertips."

Whoever is using OER, the numbers keep growing. MIT's site now gets more than 1.2 million visitors a month. Oxford's iTunes material has surpassed a million uploads and has consistently had 10 podcasts in the global top 100. Oxford philosophy professor Marianne Talbot—whose "Romp Through the History of Philosophy" became a No. 1 iTunes U hit—and UC Berkeley biology professor Marian Diamond have become Web darlings like Pausch. But maybe not quite on a par with Oscar the talking boxer dog.

---Newsweek Asia edition (and online), Nov. 9 issue

http://www.newsweek.com/id/220181

 

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It's a sleepy afternoon, and my migraine has taken its toll. Alas, Philippine Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2010 needed to be skipped so I can rest thoroughly. I'm bored, super, and boredom sometimes spawns reflection and nuisance. And this is what I came up with: My girl crushes.

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Favorite things

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2010 Toyota Tundra

It's not mine but I can claim ownership by affinity (I invented that, by the way;p). My brother was finally able to get a second car and he amped the choice so much he ended up with a truck. I bet it's---as Filipinos would say---super gwapo. They got a four-door model (Toyota calls it CrewMax) in Super White, with beautiful leather seats and like 9,000 features.

I'm really happy that he's doing very well in LA. During the recession, he was swamped with hours and hours of work at his hospital's OR because all the other neighboring hospitals closed down. His wife, already a licensed pharmacist, will be starting her new job soon, and she drives now. I love it that they're living the life, even if it ain't mine. At least now I know that the lucky stardust, while it evaded me so harshly, did fly towards them :)

Learn more about the 2010 Tundra here.

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For years, I had been averse to BryanBoy. I worked at one of the country's biggest fashion magazines at age 22, and I thought the experience would forever make me jaded about people of that kin. I even passed on "The Devil Wears Prada" for two years until I finally let Meryl Streep woo me.

BryanBoy @ Cour Carrée Musée du Louvre

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I realize now that dreams do, in fact, change. No matter how much you want it. Still, I'm going down swinging. To the consul I debated with against at the US Embassy, this one's for you:

The Hoosiers - Goodbye Mr A

The Hoosiers

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My dear office has blocked facebook(!) and multiply(!) on top of the original firewall all-stars, youtube, myspace, friendster, and stumbledupon. nba.com is blocked, too, and I think flicker and dailymotion are among the next ones on the hit list.

It's the end of the world, and I'm ending it with a big SARCASM note on my forehead.

'Moving back in with nytimes.

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I've lost track how many of these hodgepodge posts I've done. Anyhoo, enjoy:

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When in a foreign country, we are hungry and adventurous, and love tasting everything that's local. Often, we put things in our mouths we perhaps shouldn’t, and we push our bodies to the limit on the mountains, in forests, on the seas in ways our homeland will never see. Worse, as the New York Times's Frugal Traveler said: Thin of wallet, we sleep in lodgings of questionable cleanliness. In our quest to absorb other places and cultures, we forget that illnesses don't need no passport.

While there is always a risk, being ill is not part of the travel experience. In the two weeks I was in New York years ago, the two short days I was vomiting off my fourth floor dorm room are reminisced as though they lasted five. But I was luckier then: last year, I had to pack my Thailand-Cambodia backpacking stuff while overdosed with paracetamol, and just last June, the AH1N1 scare derailed and ultimately trashed my Boracay trip. So, okay, I'm not the healthiest person, but when I travel, I take with me as many antibiotics and syrup I can get hold of. Getting sick while in transit, let alone while supposedly having your grandest vacation will make you wish you had not gone at all.

The Frugal Traveler offers tips--health advice, if you will--to prevent flu-induced holidays of disaster. A checklist:

1) Get shots.
It starts long before you get on a plane. Going abroad often means getting vaccinated, whether the shots are required for entry or are just recommended. For example, iyou must have proof of vaccination for entry to Angola, Benin, both Congo and Congo Republic and many other nations (see the full list here). Go to state-run hospitals or clinics so that the vaccines won't eat away your pocket money. And choose oral meds instead of injectibles. And get the shots at home not at your destination because, er, duh.
2) Boil it, peel it, cook it or forget it.
Try to eat foods that have been cut into small pieces and cooked at a high temperature, and always drink water from sealed bottles.
3) Sunblock, sunscreen, alcohol.
4) Look for long lines.
Face it, street food abroad is always more delicious than the one along your own street. Sampling local foods, specifically street vendors, is part of a local experience, and certainly is an inexpensive option, but there are safety concerns, of course. The strategy depends on the vendor’s reputation: look for long lines. A food vendor that has a large amount of traffic may be certainly safer than the one that have crickets as mood music.
5) Don't stay in the way of bedbugs.
Whether you're staying at a hostel or a six-star resort, bedbugs thrive. Make sure you’re not leaving any of your garments or bags on the floor if at all possible. Stay elevated.
6) Travel health insurance is worth the extra cost.
Perfectly suitable for when you think you'll be doing something that will force you to pray.

I know, mishaps on holidays actually spice things up and make the vacation much more memorable. Who's ever forgotten that one summer you all came home with adobe-tan? Or when your sorry nasal ass had to wave longingly from a window while everyone partied outside? It's always good to be adventurous but you might as well kill yourself if they text you, "Wish u wr here!" when, technically, you are.

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Facebook, for better or worse, is like being at a big party with all your friends, family, acquaintances and co-workers.

There are lots of fun, interesting people you're happy to talk to when they stroll up. Then there are the other people, the ones who make you cringe when you see them coming. This article is about those people.

Sure, Facebook can be a great tool for keeping up with folks who are important to you. Take the status update, the 160-character message that users post in response to the question, "What's on your mind?" An artful, witty or newsy status update is a pleasure -- a real-time, tiny window into a friend's life.

But far more posts read like navel-gazing diary entries, or worse, spam. A recent study categorized 40 percent of Twitter tweets as "pointless babble," and it wouldn't be surprising if updates on Facebook, still a fast-growing social network, break down in a similar way. 

Combine dull status updates with shameless self-promoters, "friend-padders" and that friend of a friend who sends you quizzes every day, and Facebook becomes a daily reminder of why some people can get on your nerves. 

Here are 12 of the most annoying types of Facebook users:

The Let-Me-Tell-You-Every-Detail-of-My-Day Bore. "I'm waking up." "I had Wheaties for breakfast." "I'm bored at work." "I'm stuck in traffic." You're kidding! How fascinating! No moment is too mundane for some people to broadcast unsolicited to the world. Just because you have 432 Facebook friends doesn't mean we all want to know when you're waiting for the bus.

The Self-Promoter. OK, so we've probably all posted at least once about some achievement. And sure, maybe your friends really do want to read the fascinating article you wrote about beet farming. But when almost EVERY update is a link to your blog, your poetry reading, your 10k results or your art show, you sound like a bragger or a self-centered careerist.

The Friend-Padder. The average Facebook user has 120 friends on the site. Schmoozers and social butterflies -- you know, the ones who make lifelong pals on the subway -- might reasonably have 300 or 400. But 1,000 "friends?" Unless you're George Clooney or just won the lottery, no one has that many. That's just showing off.

The Town Crier. "Michael Jackson is dead!!!" You heard it from me first! Me, and the 213,000 other people who all saw it on TMZ. These Matt Drudge wannabes are the reason many of us learn of breaking news not from TV or news sites but from online social networks. In their rush to trumpet the news, these people also spread rumors, half-truths and innuendo. No, Jeff Goldblum did not plunge to his death from a New Zealand cliff.

The TMIer. "Brad is heading to Walgreens to buy something for these pesky hemorrhoids." Boundaries of privacy and decorum don't seem to exist for these too-much-information updaters, who unabashedly offer up details about their sex lives, marital troubles and bodily functions. Thanks for sharing.

The Bad Grammarian. "So sad about Fara Fauset but Im so gladd its friday yippe". Yes, I know the punctuation rules are different in the digital world. And, no, no one likes a spelling-Nazi schoolmarm. But you sound like a moron.

The Sympathy-Baiter. "Barbara is feeling sad today." "Man, am I glad that's over." "Jim could really use some good news about now." Like anglers hunting for fish, these sad sacks cast out their hooks -- baited with vague tales of woe -- in the hopes of landing concerned responses. Genuine bad news is one thing, but these manipulative posts are just pleas for attention.

The Lurker. The Peeping Toms of Facebook, these voyeurs are too cautious, or maybe too lazy, to update their status or write on your wall. But once in a while, you'll be talking to them and they'll mention something you posted, so you know they're on your page, hiding in the shadows. It's just a little creepy.

The Crank. These curmudgeons, like the trolls who spew hate in blog comments, never met something they couldn't complain about. "Carl isn't really that impressed with idiots who don't realize how idiotic they are." [Actual status update.] Keep spreading the love.

The Paparazzo. Ever visit your Facebook page and discover that someone's posted a photo of you from last weekend's party -- a photo you didn't authorize and haven't even seen? You'd really rather not have to explain to your mom why you were leering like a drunken hyena and French-kissing a bottle of Jagermeister.

The Obscurist. "If not now then when?" "You'll see..." "Grist for the mill." "John is, small world." "Dave thought he was immune, but no. No, he is not." [Actual status updates, all.] Sorry, but you're not being mysterious -- just nonsensical.

The Chronic Inviter. "Support my cause. Sign my petition. Play Mafia Wars with me. Which 'Star Trek' character are you? Here are the 'Top 5 cars I have personally owned.' Here are '25 Things About Me.' Here's a drink. What drink are you? We're related! I took the 'What President Are You?' quiz and found out I'm Millard Fillmore! What president are you?"

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