![](\"http:\/\/cyber.law.harvard.edu\/blogs\/static\/dowbrigade\/dislecks.gif\")
The downside of dyslexia,
\n of course, is the annoying difficulty in learning to read, and the occasional
\n confusion, even after all these years, as
\n to which handle is the hot water, and which the cold. But there is an
\n upside – the dyslexic notices all sorts of symmetries and reverse relationships
\n most people overlook.<\/p>\n
The Dowbrigade is among the approximately 8% of males who exhibit
\n some degree of dyslexia. Interestingly, less than 1% of females
\n do so, one of the first-hand factors which puts us in the camp of those
\n who see significant differences, in function if not in form (although
\n the jury is still out on that one), between the brains of men and
\n women.<\/p>\n
Dyslexia usually causes confusion in left-right orientation. In the
\n Dowbrigade, in addition to the aforementioned faucet foibles, it was
\n chiefly manifest in interchangeable "b" and "d", which afflicted our
\n writing until the 6th or 7th grade, and may have an eerie echo in the Dowbrigade logo. <\/p>\n
Even today, we sometimes get confused by similar names. Leonard Elmore
\n and Elmore Leonard, Little Richard and Richard Little, George Michael
\n and Michael George, Georgie Girl and Boy George. <\/p>\n
Lately, we have been spending a lot of time at two sites with similar
\n sounding names. Partly to keep them clear in our own confused mind, let
\n us delineate the differences between BLOG BRIDGE and BRIDGE BLOGS.<\/p>\n
Blog Bridge<\/a> is the amazing Being used to the much simpler aggregator built into Manila, it took Bridge This is a goal we fervently believe in and want very much to contribute Actually, the Dowbrigade has been working on Bridge Teams were formed between American and Palestinian college students, We were actually in contact with some NGOs trying to piece together It was written up, however, as "Import-Export E-mail Business Simulation"; Now, if only we can figure out a way to make some money off if it. After all, Blog is Gold, backwards.<\/p>\n BlogBridge<\/a><\/p>\n Global Voices Online<\/a><\/p>\n Bridge Blogs Ecuador Wiki<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The downside of dyslexia, of course, is the annoying difficulty in learning to read, and the occasional confusion, even after all these years, as to which handle is the hot water, and which the cold. But there is an upside … Continue reading
\n new RSS reader and aggregator from Pito
\n Salas<\/a>. Sure, it makes it easy
\n to subscribe, arrange, view and blog from anything with an RSS feed. But
\n what really sets it apart is that it is written completely in Java,
\n which means that it is platform-independent, works on any computer connected
\n to the interenet, and it remembers not only what you are subscribed to,
\n but which articles you
\n have already
\n read,
\n or saved, or filed to read later. From anywhere, on any machine.<\/p>\n
\n us a while to discover the utility of moving feeds into channels and
\n groups, but now it seems second nature. There are suggested sample
\n groupings to get beginners started, pre-packaged packets of feeds, which
\n you can easily modify by adding and dropping feeds.<\/p>\n
\n Blogs<\/a>, on the other hand, are another matter altogether. One
\n of the most exciting initiatives at the Berkman Center, this Wiki-based
\n project aims to use blogs as literal and virtual bridges between cultures,
\n between nations, and between people. There are many possible ways to
\n do this, and the organizers are hoping that users will come up with many
\n more. Ideas include blogs written for readers in other locations, blogs
\n that engender discussions between participants in different cultures,
\n bloggers partnering up and translating and reposting each other’s stories,
\n and blogs facilitating international projects.<\/p>\n
\n to. We have been "nominated" and have accepted the responsibility for
\n the Ecuador
\n Wiki<\/a> within the Bridge
\n Blog project<\/a>. Any readers with ideas
\n or resources related to Ecuadorian blogging can send me info there or
\n here.<\/p>\n
\n Blogging<\/a> since before
\n the invention of the World Wide Web. Back in the day when the internet
\n consisted pretty much of email and Gopher, we organized an email based
\n Import-Export Simulation Project between a groups of students at Harvard,
\n Boston University and the University in Nablus, the West Bank as it
\n was known then or Palestine as it will soon be known again.<\/p>\n
\n who investigated goods produced in their local areas as possible objects
\n of exportation to the other market. Together they had to choose one product
\n to move in each direction, and research packing, shipping and customs
\n charges. It worked surprisingly well, and the students were really into
\n it.<\/p>\n
\n a viable economy for a future Palestinian state, reviewing some of the
\n student team plans for possible real world funding. We had visions of solving the stalemate in the Middle East, and getting rich at the same time. Unfortunately,
\n at this point the first Intafada<\/a> got
\n worse, and the Israeli authorities closed down the university. By 1991,
\n the project was dead.<\/p>\n
\n a chapter in Virtual Connections<\/u>, edited by Mark Warschauer, University
\n of Hawaii Press, 1995. Ever since, we have been fanatical about using
\n the internet to bridge the physical and cultural distances between people.
\n Bridge Blogging<\/a> will fit right
\n in to our worldview.<\/p>\n