Task 5: RSS Distress

Actually, I'm less distressed than I was, though still not convinced that the RSS feed is something I'll like using. I still find it extremely frustrating that Google Reader won't let me delete unwanted stuff. I'd like to only see the new items and the ones I've chosen to keep and read later, and to be able to delete everything else -- just as you can do with e-mail and podcasts and such. Amy had me try Bloglines, which sounded like it might be better, but that hasn't really done the trick either. Actually, it seems to go to the opposite extreme. When I click on one of the sites (or "feeds" or whatever), even if I only open one item there -- or even if I don't open any of them -- if I then go to another site and then come back to the first one, all the items are gone and the feed is empty. Don't know if that makes sense or if I'm using the proper terminology. Anyway, I'm back to just using the Google Reader, but still grudgingly. I wince every time I see all those unwanted articles clogging up the screen.

One of my biggest pet peeves about computer stuff, even before this, has been having to deal with programs or software that won't let me operate the way I want to. For the last year or so, for example, I've been making myself use Word instead of my beloved Appleworks (which I'm told will be disappearing before long) and I absolutely despise Word, mainly because it constantly insists on doing things that I don't want it to do. I've learned how to turn off a lot of the more annoying automatic features, but there are still lots of things it does that I haven't found a way to disable. I know I'm a bit obsessive about wanting to do things in my own way. I can't buy planners or datebooks from a store, for example -- I have to make my own, homemade calendar pages (with Appleworks, of course) and clip them into a binder, because none of the pre-made ones are organized the way I like. I can't stand the idea of using evaluation templates like Power-whatever because they're designed by some software engineer somewhere and look completely impersonal and boring and don't allow for any spark of individuality or personality. I have to design my own evaluations. And I don't use any textbook when I teach history because I have yet to find one I like and would rather just present and organize the information in my own way. Hell, I'm still writing checks to pay my bills each month because I don't like the idea of letting it be done automatically and electronically. So yeah, I know I'm pretty extreme about this. But what I loved about Appleworks (still love -- it's not dead yet) is that it allows me to do things exactly the way I want. Everything that happens as I create a document or graphic happens because I make it happen, not because the software starts doing it on its own. With Word I am constantly trying to undo things that it insists on doing "for me". Anyway, so this Google Reader thing is irritating for similar reasons. I end up yelling at the computer screen like a crazy person because it won't let me do what I want. It's not pretty. I'm not proud of it.

But enough ranting for today. I'm supposed to say if I found any especially interesting feeds. I guess the most promising ones for me are the history feeds. One is from American Heritage (http://www.americanheritage.com/). I've always loved that magazine, but I've never been able to buy an issue without keeping it forever, because there are just too many interesting articles to throw away. I still have issues on my class shelf from 20 years ago. So it's great that I can now collect the articles I want electronically. (If only I could also delete the ones I don't want....) There's a similar feed called "Suite 101: American History Articles" (http://AmericanHistory.suite101.com/), and I think there will be a lot there that I want to save and read. And finally there's one called "BackStory - with the American History Guys" (http://backstoryradio.org/). It's actually a radio program. For each episode there's a summary/intro, and then you can click and listen. From what I've heard so far it seems pretty good. For now this is all just for my own edification. Whether or how I might use these with kids remains to be seen.

I'll keep trying to get used to the Google Reader, or at least make some sort of peace with it. But for now, on to Task 6, at last.