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And for prying it apart, get yourself a putty knife or similar (I used a spark plug gapping tool), because it ain't got no screws. I ended up putting down my keyboard for a day or so and tearing 20 of 'em apart to pull the 512, and add 2 1gb sticks because my boss thought it would be "cheaper" than getting it installed through CDW and the bench techs were intimidated by the idea of going after a computer with sharp metal tools.

**They do run nice with 2gb of ram.

The Alaska Association of School Boards is implementing a 1-1 laptop program, based on a similar successful program in Maine (which I believe has just gotten its funding renewed). From the executive summary of Maine's two-year retrospective report:

In summary, the evidence collected for this evaluation indicates that a large majority of Maine's middle schools have successfully implemented the one-to-one laptop program, and there is already substantial self-reported evidence that student learning has increased and improved. Additional research needs to be conducted in the coming years to document and understand the long-term impacts of the laptop initiative on teachers and teaching, students and learning, and on schools.

The report notes that there likely needs to be much more professional development and integration of technology into curricula, but it seems that even in its nascent stages the 1-1 program has helped keep students interested in and proactive about their learning, and improved the quality of their work.

One neat thing about technology in schools is that it lets you do completely new kinds of schoolwork. A new kind of project that many of my English-teaching acquaintances are starting to like is the fake-novel-movie-adaptation-trailer, or artsy-literature-inspired-music-video. Going outside the bounds of the traditional two-page book report or reading journal really helps students think differently and more deeply about the subject (especially for students not compatible with the text-based US school system). Film also really lends itself to literary tropes like symbolism, foreshadowing, and irony. This kind of thinking is just not possible (or at least very difficult) without prevalent access to technology. I've heard anecdotally that music students love GarageBand for recording state honor band/choir audition tapes, or just for practicing in general (recording yourself is notoriously one of the best ways to figure out all the myriad ways you suck). And the sheer amount of good information and media available on the internet is rapidly rivaling even the best-equipped public school libraries.

Obviously the $100 laptop isn't going to be a great video editing machine (though, if you can do it on an Amiga...), but even the basic functions of word processing and Internet capability (the Wikipedia, for chrissake! how great would the world be if everyone had the Wikipedia?) have the capability to dramatically improve the baseline quality of education for developing populations.

From my own experience, I have been lucky enough to use computers since I began school in the mid-80s, and I feel that they shaped my development in a very positive way. Computers are fantastic tools for teaching critical thinking, reading comprehension, model-forming and abstraction, mathematical concepts (especially geometry), and with the internet, efficient internalization of data from multiple sources. David Chalmers and Andy Clark have argued that external resources, when properly utilized, can effectively become part of our cognitive process. By teaching children to take advantage of the astounding power and resources that computers make available to them, we do them a far greater service than cramming multiplication tables and D'Nelian handwriting exercises down their throats for 180 days a year from the age of 5 to 13.

After all, people should be generalists, and computers are the generalist's tool. What would we humans be without tools? Shivering, unathletic apes. $100 is cheap for a tool that

Since then, my aunt changed the club for a big chain and a lock.

Oh come one, the old metaphor by Neal Stephenson about the Hole-Hawg immediately comes to mind. If a master craftsman tells my mom to use a Hole-Hawg, because it's the best drill, I tell him to fuck off.

You'll want a sturdy set of work boots. Perhaps even steel toed shoes.

Absolutely - if you don't have any, check with local EMS/Police services to find out what they wear. You're looking for something safe, lightweight, good ankle support, and waterproof.

Bring one of these for yourself, and recommend that each group member brings their own.
Bring one of these.
These are great too, you'll want dry feet.

Some sort of protective glove. Leather/Kevlar etc are all good. Bring a box of nitrile gloves too.

A headlamp is a great thing (this one has a dual-bulb system).

All this stuff is for you.
If you're looking for stuff to bring for other people down there... bring money. Go there, find out what's needed, drive away, buy the stuff they need, and bring it back to them.

Also for you, bring some beer.

Good luck.

I got myself the New Model Leatherman Wave at the moment it came out, and can't be happier. It has 2 large knives, saw, file, 2 bits-holders(which includes two two-sided bits, additional bits are available from Leatherman), scissors, Large flat screwdriver(phillips-screwdrivers in two sizes in the included bits), can opener, better ruler, etc.

You can also get a 21 piece bit-kit for it, which is great for technicians(check the link, and scroll down.). It also appears that it's has a lower price than the titanium Leatherman models, while having the same amount of tools. The reason, ofcourse, is that it's steel, and therefore somewhat heavier.

I have used mine extensivly, both at work, and at canoe-trips into the wildernes, and just love it. All the tools and knives are locking, and the whole thong is just dandy. :)

I got myself the New Model Leatherman Wave at the moment it came out, and can't be happier. It has 2 large knives, saw, file, 2 bits-holders(which includes two two-sided bits, additional bits are available from Leatherman), scissors, Large flat screwdriver(phillips-screwdrivers in two sizes in the included bits), can opener, better ruler, etc.

You can also get a 21 piece bit-kit for it, which is great for technicians(check the link, and scroll down.). It also appears that it's has a lower price than the titanium Leatherman models, while having the same amount of tools. The reason, ofcourse, is that it's steel, and therefore somewhat heavier.

I have used mine extensivly, both at work, and at canoe-trips into the wildernes, and just love it. All the tools and knives are locking, and the whole thong is just dandy. :)

I would have to say that the leatherman is more of a nerd tool than geek tool (not that they aren't handy..., but come on, look at the guy).

Erm, might I recommend a more appropriate tool? RFID chips can be small and hard to find, on the other hand, the antennas are normally really big (on the order of 5cm). Cut one of them, and the tag is as good as dead.

Note: if the tool itself also contains an RFID marker, you may need to buy two...