Date: 9/2/2005 @ 4:58 PM

Date: 9/2/2005 @ 4:58 PM
Category: ITThailand

In the morning there was lightening near and far. See, listen, count, a few of the lightening strikes were almost instantaneous. Most were ten to fifteen seconds. The lightening was in all directions. Above and on all four sides, pretty exciting. After the storm the morning was beautiful. I went and walked around the park. I was told by Peesean that lightening does not strike in Bangkrachow, maybe, there are many more attractive options like ships and docks in the area, but some of the strikes were very close and my scientific sense says that there is no guarantee that lightening will not strike.

There was no black dog last night, but the new gate was installed and locked. We saw the dog in the morning, it sure is ugly, a no haired black dog, I do not think we exist in his awareness.

A great name for a blog on traveling in Thailand would be "Thinking too much" everywhere I go with English people Thai speakers the term comes up, you are Thinking too much, meaning you are analyzing too much. For Alaska a similar name would be "Without a beginning or an end." At the first circumpolar conference in the early 70's there was some Sammi singers from Finland. There was laughter that there songs and Alaska songs shared the common trait of being without a beginning or an end. I think the people of Alaska see themselves as without a beginning or an end also.

I was looking at a magazine today and there were pages of ring tones, themes, and even Videos to download to cell phones. Just another indication of the impact of cell phones. The value of the end drives the means for education and for IT. If the end or need that is being met by a tool is valuable and centered on human need the technology will be adopted. To me the key to technology adoption and training is broadband internet access. Governments should do everything in there power to make broadband Internet universally available to their citizens. From Internet access with come technology adoption. In Turkey, and in a school in Thailand the traveling Internet bus idea seems to be working.

Means and ends, why before how, purpose drives training. People need a reason to adopt tools, and if you can create a commitment to the purpose the means or skills will follow. Digital cameras have to be designed for many needs, simple record shots for family and travel memories to people who use photography for personal expression. Cameras have a range of controls to meet various needs. Ironically the attempt to make a camera meet different needs makes it more complex.

The ends that drive technology adoption are based on core human needs, the need to communicate, the need to express, the need to know, the need to understand. When I revise my courses I will try to focus on ends that drive needs. I do that in an ad hex way know with my projects, but I can use this idea with much deeper force and clearer intention. Watching technology adoption and use is really making me think.

Jit says that the reason people do not by computers is money, I think that is sort of like exercising, people know it is good but something has to tip the motivation to action. Computers and technology are "good for you". I think the question in not computer it is the Internet!

I tentative idea, if I can arrange broadband Internet, it would have to be satellite, I could make the Internet available and show people some uses. Google Earth, the information on the Bike tours, Google tools, put up a web site of photographs, and then support the development of curiosity. This is an idea that I will sort of nudge along. I would love to see one of the WiMax villages to see what is happening.