How to assemble a hookah

Screencast

For the screencast topic I've choosen how to assemble a hookah. With my own hookah, Mr. Obsidian, to demonstrate its usage and model for the screencast.

Google Doc Spreadsheet

This spreadsheet will feature four (4) hookah flavors that are related in name & taste to particular cocktails, in which viewers can participate in popularity or curiousity over the flavors. The chosen four, Adios M@#%+&!, Incredible Hulk, Yager Bomb and Mai Tai are among the choices of flavors interested to try if taking part with hookah, which ones would you choose?
(>'.')>>>>>>>>>>D   Hookah Spreadsheet

Book Report

Choosing Web 2.0 Tools for Learning and Teaching in a Digital World, by authors Pam Berger, Sally Trexler, Forword by Joyce Valena, Published by Libraries Unlimited holding 221 pages and divided into 8 chapters.

"The game has changed--totally." - Joyce Valenza

Chapter 1 - Learning, Literacy, and Web 2.0

That to better practice and teach Web 2.0 technology within K-12 education, the instructors themselves also have the knowledge and vision of what this technology is and the standards that come with it. By either being kept or keeping themselves informed with what is new or updated in Web 2.0, individuals can not only immerse themselves in what's new and up to date but also share this to others. In giving the opportunity for students and teachers to be given a personal demonstration of 21st century technology, modeling Web 2.0 will give support in helping better integrate schools with literacy in learning Web 2.0.

Chapter 2 - Searching the Web

Using search engines from within schools for both students and teachers to use. To find which would be better for helping students working on their current topic or curriculum and for teachers working to better teach how to properly and safely use search engines for in and out of the school.

Chapter 3 - Social Bookmarking

Introducing teachers and students to social bookmarking and working with social networking websites. Using its features of bookmarks and annotations for tagging and storing information, anyone within the school can utilize these to better support their studies and groups. Though before implementation of putting social networking into a class curriculum, checking the class and or school curriculum and course guide to understand where and how social bookmarking will work best.

Chapter 4 - Managing and Organizing Information

Continuing from the previous chapter, more information in wanting to better managing and organization when working with Web 2.0 tools. A few examples given by the book include Pageflakes, Protopage, and Netvibes in being better suited to one's needs by their choice or by their own means. Putting together usage of Web 2.0 tools whether for student classrooms or teacher meetings so that proceedings can proceed, no matter the significance or level of the matter.

Chapter 5 - Content Collaboration

Building further upon organization and management of information, focus is then turned to content collaboration. With the information now presentable and ready for usage within classrooms and meetings, there are different ways in sharing the material such as a wiki pathfinder and direct online communication like Skype. For deliberating and allowing equal opportunity to edit material, Google Docs has proved itself usable and able to allow participants to work on their project online easily and efficiently.

Chapter 6 - Media Sharing

Now working with the very material information that has been swiftly and proficiently molded and shaped, this chapter brings multimedia innovation into the education presentation. The steps and measures in giving another perspective in creating an original work for visual media tools and programs. That grasping attractive and informative videos and images into a class curriculum or specific topic can give generous opportune moments in including assigned and/or desired information.

Chapter 7 - Social Networking

As it is titled, the chapter brings about social networking into a range of ideal situations in teaching and demonstrating social network sites with their features and capabilities. Two different implementations were thought of in place of school classrooms and boardrooms. One being students participating in class activities on and off campus, while for teachers a chance to gain insight of how social networking can impact students' social and educational behavior in further meetings and proposals. Other ideas included classes for Internet safety and proper social network ethics.

Chapter 8 - Digital Mapping

Highlighting in programs that use interesting features in searching and showing different scenes and places from web tools such as Google Earth. Such features from this tool can be easily be used in for a classroom assignment with reference notes and a meeting presentation with informative layering. Including digital mapping in a class course can or even showing detailed guides to utilizing such tools for general use.

Overall, I was rather surprised by how much more resourceful for basic education layouts and organized study groups. Though aimed particularly at school librarians, this book can give simple and useful details whether in working for a personal or class assignment. Just as valuable was the information in giving a teacher possible ideas and guides in various ways of presenting their points and ideas. Perhaps just taking a few of the ideas from modeling Web 2.0 tools would be a worthwhile investment in future classes for new students coming into the time where the new technology will only progress in being better and newer than it was before, again and again.

Hookah Slideshow

Hookah Slide show
This slide show created to be displayed shows a little bit of my own kind of man-cave for hookah. The hookah, Mr. Obsidian, has been through nearly 4 years of smoking here in Las Vegas and in San Francisco. It was for half the time with a friend whom I had split the cost while at the same time using discounts to further lower price. Many good times I have had and shared with others in hookah, more so I will like how the slide show does.The materials shown were my Namore hookah hose, free-sample easy to lite coals, Arabic shisha with coffee flavor and the other bits of hoookah. The location being that of residence, will not be shown and instead substituted with the address to my favorite hookah shop for the geotag. The photos were done from my personal laptop and built-in web cam.Everything else concerning the work done on Blogger and Flickr were nothing that presented much of any trouble or difficulty. The slide show composition was also fairly simple and not hard at all to complete in linking both blog post and photo slide show. If anything I would have liked to have done differently would be to have had company to have made the slide show, both to share in variety of expressions and unique distinctions of the others whom enjoy hookah. Another reason would be to have a better camera to use from their smart phones instead of my laptop, though this worked out in the end just fine.

Hookah Wiki

For the interesting wiki related my hookah blog, my choice being BuyHookah Wiki Project, this does have its benefits and drawbacks. It's really great it being at first glance just another shopping website but also having a vast forum and developing wiki as well. The wiki itself is still being made in sections with even the homepage of the wiki still being worked on, making it a little confusing at first navigation. The information itself though inside of the wiki is interesting, mostly in part of the Random Page tab under the Wiki Project tab.The Random Page feature I thought was rather fun in by giving pages with quite the resources some including website and video links. My favorite of the random pages is the Fantasia shisha, at the following link. http://www.buyhookah.com/wiki/Fantasia_Tobacco If anything I didn't like was the bit of difficulty in navigating the wiki though the cause is it being still developed in sections and incomplete as a whole. The other ways of viewing the wiki being left to either the Random Page button or by searching for a topic on the search bar.This seemingly to be later on a new hopeful wiki on hookahs, though at the moment is a work in progress.
www.buyhookah.com - Homepage
http://www.buyhookah.com/wiki/Main_Page

"It tastes just like candy!"

These two flavors from Fantasia Shisha, 4Play and Surfer on Acid, do indeed have interesting titles yet it is the taste that more so gives them surprise. Both give a familiar taste to classic candy such as Bubblicious (to 4Play) and Jolly Rancher (Surfer on Acid) which when used with a hookah will definitely give you the same sensation as having the very candy itself in sense of familiar flavor. Always highly favored at parties and when having hookah with friends as a top choice for the flavor of the night. These were among the top favorites of mine that I would choose that came from the newer series of Fantasia Shisha products released from the end of last year to the start of this year, continuing onwards.

Easy-Lite & Starbuzz

That which keeps hookahs heated and starts everything off, hookah coals, comes in two different types, slow and fast lit. The difference between the two aside from them being the same kind of product to be used in the same means is nothing more than its coating and density in changing whether it'll be lit instantly or patiently.
My two favorite of each kind:

Easy-Lite slow-burning coals &

Starbuzz instant lit coals.
The difference between choosing the two depends rather on how long you can wait to have your hookah and if you prefer to enjoy several different bowls or just want one and done.