Flow of information

I think one of the reasons that I haven't started my own blog until now is that blogs seem to be a form of dissemenation of information. That means that I need to have something that I want to tell other people. But my problem is that I have way more questions than I have answers. I am the classic geek who wants to know how everything works, yet many things (typically, social dynamics) naturally elude me. When I was a kid, politics wasn't discussed in any form in my house. My dad was happy to explain how a 4-stroke engine works (even the Honda CVCC type), but he never clued me in on how societal dynamics worked. I guess at least he showed me how to think critically (in most cases), and didn't indoctrinate me with conspiracy theories, or something intellectually crippling like that.

Click-wrap, it's not just for software anymore!

The last technology director at this school handled the recycling of used ink and toner cartridges. Apparently, if you take them to Office Depot, they will give you a free ream of paper, or something like that. I found a company that will give you either money or points which can be used to order things from a very large catalog. They take cartridges as well as old cell phones. I haven't made any announcement about this recycling campaign yet, but the word has gotten around. The high school librarian gave me some toner cartridges to use in this recycling program. Guess what? It turns out that she is bound by law to return those cartridges to Lexmark, and only to Lexmark. There is an agreement on the box, and apparently, when you open the box, you agree to return the cartridge only to Lexmark. A court decided that since the agreement is designed to protect Lexmark's patented cartridge, that the agreement is enforceable (Lexmark could sue the end user who fails to return the cartridge to them, if they wanted to). Also, any company that accepts them for recycling can be sued by Lexmark for inducing patent infringement.

Welcome

This is my first post to my first real blog (I don't consider the journal tab on slashdot to be a legitimate blog, at least not mine). I have thought about blogging for a while, but I was holding out until I could figure out how to make money at it. Now I guess I will write first, and figure out how to make money at it later. For those of you who have stumbled across my corner of the internet/blogosphere/whatever, I welcome you.
I work for a small, private school in the South. I am in charge technology at this school. The powers that be define technology as anything with more onboard memory than a wristwatch or anything that can be plugged into a computer. I also help teach computer applications to high school students. Last year, I worked with 6th grade and 8th grade. This year, 11th grade. I think I had more in common with the middle-school students than I do with the high school students.