Introduction
ETA2: MOST OF THIS JOURNAL IS "FRIENDS ONLY". YOU WILL NEED AN ACCOUNT AT IJ TO SEE IT. COMMENT HERE TO BE ADDED.

First, a word about why I chose InsaneJournal. InsaneJournal is a "blogging tool" conceptualized as a sort of journal. It is one of many clones of the hugely successful if sometimes ill-respected Livejournal. Livejournal is no longer entirely open source (though it  mostly is), but InsaneJournal remains so.  While online blogs are public, InsaneJournal offers a variety of tools to restrict users ability to access "private" content. You can build a trusted network of "friends" who can access selected entries, and filter that list of "friends" so that only one or a few can access a specific entry. It is also possible to post "private" entries that only you, when logged on, can see. From a usability perspective, it also allows the writer to "cut" entries, or to put part of an entry behind a link so the reader can choose to access it or to skip it and move on to the next entry.

Of course, nothing online is truly private, as a long time user of journal-type communities, it has become quite obvious that print-screen key remains a powerful tool. That is to say, you have to trust your friends won't make copypasta of your entries.

My professional research interests remain in the field of vision and cognition, with a specific interest in learning and training. My driving interest is probably best understood as a desire to help people and to understand the enduring patterns of human behavior.

Personally, much of my technological interaction has come from an early interest in graphic design, games, and later, online social interaction (via online journals and other fora). I have also worked in technical support (e.g. laptop repair and general helpdesk support), which provided an interesting window into usability issues. I might be talked into a research project on how individuals develop an understanding of legitimate vs. illegitimate online sources.

I do not personally like having my picture up on an unfiltered site (facebook allows privacy restrictions). However, if anyone from the class wishes to create a free InsaneJournal account, you can reply to this post using that account, I'll friend you,  and you can get access to a locked post with a picture of myself. Personally, I dislike pictures of authors on blogs - most of them I'll never meet, so how they look is irrelevant.

My current icon is a yucca, fyi, a plant common to Las Vegas, where I am from.


ETA (edited to add): OpenID may work to allow you to comment on public entries, but thus far it does not appear that I can add you as a "friend". Livejournal may support this functionality (sort of), but insanejournal does not.