toolbox

I can see how other experiences, technologies, and websites feed into this: creating and maintaining a website for work has eliminated a lot of the anxiety about my potential to blow up the whole network - as well as being quite proud-making.

And if you watch IT specialists, even they will often have quite a lot of goes at something before they get it right - there are many many paths to the same goal! Usually if you keep fiddling about you get there in the end.

Also, I'm starting an online course - Copyright and Academic Culture, with Siva Vaidhyanathan at the University of Maryland - using a delivery system called WebTycho and a server called Nighthawk. The names alone are seductive! Anyway, there's a training course in the use of Nighthawk before one even gets to the classes, so that's going to add to the tools.

Chatting to one friend in particular (similar age, similar luddite tendencies - as well as ludic) about the ways in which we learn: particularly with digital stuff - both are now quite competent at a surprising number of techniques, but that's because we both learn to use a particular skill when we can see its use as a means to an end, rather than simply as a skill to acquire in isolation from a purpose.

Haven't quite got to a goal for this project yet - other than the enjoyment I get from increasing my capabilities in pretty much any direction. Enough for now.