On May 1, 2011, I asked about a turtle I saw in my back yard in a blog post...now I need help in identifying this giant shroom in my yard. From the deck I thought it looked like a small grocery sack that had blown in the yard from the recent gusts. As I strolled closer it almost resembled a bad cantaloupe but it is some type of mushroom with fire ants feasting at the base. Let the crowdsourcing begin: Can anyone tell me what kind of shroom this is? Is it safe to dig up and put in the yard waste can without causing more shrooms to sprout?
View from the top
View from the side
If you know what type of mushroom this is and the best way to dispose of it, please leave a comment. Thanks in advance for your participation in my crowdsourcing request.
Dug it up and scooped it into the yard waste can. It was solid so no spores drifted in the yard.
In a recent post by Mr. Byrne, author of Free Technology for Teachers, he asks, "Have you updated your browser lately?" On the homefront, I keep everything up to date, tinker with the new, the old, and the outdated...but at work my network is controlled. I understand why but we do not have the option of the tools used, including the selected browser. This image displays if I check my Gmail:
This image displays if I try to access Google+ in the workplace:
But thanks to personally owned gadgets and apps, I can still access my Google products and projects when needed, while keeping OPSEC, COMPUSEC, INFOSEC, IA (and all other securities) in place.
So how do you keep "your stuff" up to date? What options do you have to make suggestions when you do not control your network management tools? Have you become technologically apathetic due to automated controls and functions? Do you have a data recovery plan in place that works? Have you tested the implementation plan that you developed or adopted?
Thanks to Mr. Richard Byrne and his awesome blog, Free Technology For Teachers for sharing his knowledge, skills, and abilities with the world, regardless of a reader's profession.
Comments, recommendations, +1s, and reaction box checks are welcome.
Every niche in our global lives has some type of jargon associated and working with the military and federal agencies is no different. At times, we have been accused of creating sentences containing only acronyms, from a jargon sometimes referred to acronymese.
One link that is shared amongst those who ask, "What does that mean? What are they talking about?" is the DoD Dictionary of Military Terms and Acronyms. The files are also available in pdf and xml formats. Users have the option to enter a word and search or browse the links
The description from the site:
The DOD Dictionary is managed by the Joint Education and Doctrine Division, J-7, Joint Staff. All approved joint definitions, acronyms, and abbreviations are contained in Joint Publication 1-02, DOD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms 08 November 2010, as amended through 15 August 2011.
Another niche with acronyms and terms often shared is Net Lingo.
For those who wonder what everyone is talking about in chat, text message, and on the net is NetLingo: The List of Chat Acronyms & Text Message Shorthand, Smileys and Emoticons, to the Top 50 lists for parents, newbies, business, funniest, and commonly used.
What are some of your often shared links for jargon, terms, references when people ask, "What are you talking about?"
Comments, recommendations, and links to your favorite jargon sites are welcome.
*Update: The overhauled USAJOBS site is back up and running. Log in, update your profile and saved searches.
USAJOBS search and apply functions offline during the transition
OPM will transition to the new USAJOBS over the Columbus holiday weekend. During the transition nearly 5 billion rows of data will be extracted, validated, and subjected to integrity testing to preserve the applicant resumes, seeker profiles, and agency job postings in the current system.
The USAJOBS search and apply functions will be "offline," beginning at 5 pm EDT on October 7, 2011, which means no searches can be conducted and no applications can be submitted via USAJOBS. Daily transition status updates and general employment information, however, will be available on USAJOBS.gov. So, if you were planning to jump start your federal job search in the new fiscal year, you might want to schedule it for October 12th!
USAJOBS Student Jobs
Feds Hire Vets
You can still keep up to date through Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
The Army Resume Builder site lists this announcement: APPLICANTS please note that while USAJOBS is down, 6-12 October 2011, you WILL NOT be able to apply (self-nominate) to any announcement. During this period access will be limited to creating/updating your resume and viewing the status of submitted applications only.
Comments, recommendations, +1 and reaction box selections are always welcome.
Recently I attended an ABIC (Army Basic Instructor Course) Refresher Course...reasons why are for another blog post, so any way back to how Google Docs saved me. On day one we are issued this stack of papers as a Student Reference and a CDROM. On day two we are assigned a specific common core/general knowledge class that we will present in the ABIC/TRADOCian method.
We develop a training outline, then develop a question outline, prior to giving our presentation. We are given access to a computer lab in another building before and after class but I head back to the office as we are down to the wire before the big TRADOC QAO Accreditation visit. Google Docs is not accessible from .mil domain so it never really saves me on the computer I use at work when I need a product that I save in my Google Docs.
For some reason, the CDROM was blank after using at work and we were required to submit a printed copy of the training outline to our evaluator. Because I saved, created, and modified my requirements in Google Docs, I knew if I needed the data I could access the information with my tablet or my phone.
While I was frustrated in the walled learning environment, which included a ban on cell phones, I enjoyed working with the great group of NCOs who taught the course and those who were students in the course as they prepare for their military instructor positions for the leadership and technical aspects of the Signal Corps. Would I do it again? Not unless I am required to do so and the course is implementing the Army Learning Concept 2015 or following the pilot using iPads and mentors.
Hopefully, the course improvements will adapt more of the tenets of ALC 2015 before FY 15 as FY 12 starts next Saturday, 1 October 2011.
