Reflections...

Well, I knew this day was coming but it came really fast. So, I guess my blog collects dust now? Sad. **sniff**

This was one of the most awesome things that KCLS has ever done in the way of training. It was fun and to me, it was low key. You got as much out of it as you put into it. I mean it's not like there was someone standing over you saying "come on, you have to finish this". A lot of the things we learned about I already knew and many things that we learned I didn't know. And how cool is this...we got to read about new technology and play online and get paid for it!

My favorite exercises were 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42...Oh wait those are the numbers from Lost! Oops. hehehe. No seriously, my favorite lessons were-

#3, setting up a blog for learning 2.0

#6, mash-ups

#7, RSS feeds you have saved me so much time!

#13, tags how did I ever live without them?

#14, Librarything...the more I run into people who are reading the more ideas I come up with for this site!

#19, reading about web 2.0 and finding the article I did on the web 3.0 was super interesting and put it in a sort of relevence and order in my head.

#20, FREE word processing online? FREE Spreadsheets? Did I say FREE! Who knew!?

#21, OK this one was just way to fun

#24, podcasts, I didn't realize how easy these were to make.

And a very cool thing happened. I got a comment to my post about Zoho from one of the guys over at Zoho! Nice surprise!

I guess the thing that surprised me about the whole process was how much my co-workers and I learned about each other and how we pooled our different spheres of knowledge to help each other out. Gotta love a team!

If I could go back in time...I wouldn't have missed it!


"Where I'm going, you can't follow. What I've got to do, you can't be any part of. Ilsa, I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that. Here's looking at you kid." Rick in Casablanca

Ebooks...

Nice. I looked through the Overdrive catalog of available ebooks for download. There are many titles and I found quite a bit of diversity...lots for everyones taste. My husband found this service a few months, ago on a boring lunch hour, and loves to download them and read them while on lunch breaks.

I found a few titles I would like to listen to and so am anxious to load the software and get started.

Thanks for the 3 1/2 minute demo. It was nice to step through it and know I was doing it right. and thanks for posting the 2.0 demonstrations.

I have to say I am bummed that this is going to end. I have enjoyed blogging about my experiences and realize that when this is over my blog will start to accumulate dust. I guess that means I have to go back to my old blog and start using it again! Although blogger has spoiled me with no ads and so I am half tempted to link my blog and leave and come over to the Blogger side of things.

"It's allright to be afraid, David, because this part won't be like a comic book. Real life doesn't fit into little boxes that were drawn for it. " Elijah Price from Unbreakable

Invasion of the Body Snatchers...

The Pods...they're here!! I just watched this movie the other day so it's on my mind when I think of Podcasts! (yes I'm weird)

I went to podcast.net and found The Library Channel. I chose a podcast called Copyright in Academic Environment. Albert Capony was being interviewed and apparently is the lawyer for the ASU. He wasn't a copyright attorney but still was very interesting. They talked about the differences between copyrights and trademarks and some of the language in copyright laws. I found this very interesting. I also found the site extremely easy to use.

I then ventured off into Podcast Alley. At first I couldn't get this to work. I finally got this to work by choosing "show details" then was able to run the podcast from the site using winamp. I searched Library 2.0 and found a really cool site called "Pirate TV Theater" ...wait a minute... this has nothing what-so-ever to do with libraries. So, I tried again..I found What's New At The Lunar and Planetary Institute Library. This was cool in theory. They had info on their podcast about changes to the library. They talked about how there would no longer be ref desks manned and that if you needed something you should ring the bell for assistance. They talked about the summer interns and how they should apply early for library cards. Then they spoke about recent additions to the library collection. Such titles were mentioned like High Energy Density Labratory Astro-Physics, and Non-Linear Diffusion Equations. YIKES!! It really was a wonderful way to keep users updated. I thought it was a good idea and would work great for KCLS.

Then I moved on to Yahoo Podcasts. It looked pretty but I couldn't get it to work. I tried and tried and an error always came up so I gave up...besides Pirate TV Theater was waiting for me...so I headed back over to Podcast Alley and to the Pirate TV Classic Radio Drama. I downloaded "The Weird Circle-Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde" Just wonderful and this is the podcast I choose to add to my feeds on bloglines.

Gotta go pop some popcorn.....

"Well, I don't know what they are, I never saw them before. They looked like great big seed pods" Ambulance driver in Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Youtube...

I LOVE youtube. Sometimes. This can be misused like anything else but when you want to watch that really old video one more time you can usually find it. Want to peek at some really cute kitty pics? Youtube. Want to watch some homemade WoW vids? Youtube! I have even found some excellent science vids on here that are very hard to come by. In any case, I have seen some really creative youtube videos especially by YA groups. Take offs on Harry Potter books and library grand openings. Really neat stuff! I was thinking how fun it would be to make a youtube about the services of the library and how everything works. Sort of a how to for new users. "Please step to the red computer on your left. If you have any questions after watching the Youtube video please either visit the information desk or the circulation desk. After watching the instructional video you will be able to tell which is which!"

This one is for fun...




"Now you're looking for the secret... but you won't find it because you're not really looking. You don't really want to know the secret... You want to be fooled." Cutter in The Prestige

A Thankyou, An Apology, and A Cat...

Thanks to the Learning 2.0 staff for all your hard work on this really cool but important project. You are changing the face of KCLS!

I apologize that my posts have been rather long. I know you guys probably have to read them all. I hope mine haven't given you a headache!

It's almost over....

http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/

Choosing my own Adventure...

The list was huge. I was surprised at the amount of websites on the list and I am sure it was the tip of the ice berg.

I tried UpTo11 (upto11.net) it's a music website and it looked fun and interesting until I tried to use it and I couldn't make it work. I wasn't even sure what it's supposed to do. I thought it would link me up with other users playlists or recomendations. I put in Third Day though and it came up with Pink Floyd??? Eah??

Next HipCal. (hipcal.com) This is a personal organization website. I liked the calendar. They also have todo lists, Alerts, and address books. This would be useful for KCLS if we didn't already have so many other programs keeping track of this information.

Onto digital storage and remote sites...Yousendit.com very nice! I thought this could seriously be helpful for KCLS patrons, staff and for businesses. "Never worry about size limits on attachments again. With YouSendIt, you can mail up to 1GB in files (which are hosted on YouSendIt's servers) to as many recipients as you please. " Ever had trouble sending a huage attachment that doesn't want to go? This might be a solution!

Over to Webware...
I liked the reviews and rants, they are super funny! First, they pointed to the AOL webpage that was a "blatant rip off of Yahoo" and then I got to learn about Wipbox which apparently is a craigslist/ebay for dummies!! ...flightware in 3D, this is cool! You can track a flight in the air in 3D. I'm going to be on here forevah!....oh wait I am supposed to be looking at the right hand categories....

30 boxes is the one I liked the most. I found it under posts in productivity and business. "30 Boxes is more than an events calendar with a rudimentary understanding of scheduling grammar. It's also an aggregation service for time-based updates from your social sites and for those of your friends. For example, 30 Boxes will put your blog updates, Twitter messages, Upcoming.org calendar items, and Flickr photos on your calendar, as well as those from your friends." "Everyone who uses 30 Boxes, and everyone who is added into a 30 Boxes stream, gets their own profile page. All you need to know is a person's email address to add them in to your calendar. The system will find their updates on Twitter and other services, and add them to your calendar." Sounds cool huh!!

A side note...

Teresa, I miss you...in the mayhem of the carpet and the paint on the hill...you are missed...hope you're enjoying yourself but come back soon!

**sniff**

http://www.flickr.com/photos/beeep/


"I was a queen, and you took away my crown; a wife, and you killed my husband; a mother, and you deprived me of my children. My blood alone remains: take it, but do not make me suffer long. " Marie Antoinette from Marie Antoinette.

Google Labs...

Oh what fun!

First I went to Mars...well Google Mars. They are created detailed maps of Mars made by NASA scientists! It was fun to play with.

I headed over to Google Trends. It was interesting but I don't know how I would use this in a library setting. Hopefully more people will post on this and give me some ideas!

I enjoyed Google Suggest. You start typing in the search box and a drop down menu appears that gives suggestions. The cool part is along with the suggestions it also gives you how many hits you're going to get if you choose the suggestion. I thought that was neat. The hits aren't any more relevant than a regular search on Google but I found it hinted with words I hadn't thought of to get to what I was exactly searching for. I could see this being used in a library setting. In fact I would rather search this way then in regular Google.

Soon, Web 3.0 and the semantic web!! :} Ok sort of...

"I'm blind, and I see more than any of you, because I don't look. " Stick in Elektra

and now for a Spring break...

http://flickr.com/photos/allmxdup1980/

"Whatever happened to playing a hunch, Scully? The element of surprise, random acts of unpredictability? If we fail to anticipate the unforeseen or expect the unexpected in a universe of infinite possibilities, we may find ourselves at the mercy of anyone or anything that cannot be programmed, categorized or easily referenced. " Mulder in the X-files: Fight the Future

Sodo, Mojo, Zoho...

Wow! This looks pretty fancy! I have moved over to Zoho writer. Another free writer on the Internet. I can't decide which one I like better. I guess they both do the trick. This one seems to have more bells and whistles. Emoticons are always fun! This one also Auto-saves. Nice. Ωα special characters.

OK I am having to much fun with all the editing features!! Although I just attempted to use the spell check and it changed my special characters. Now I am mad!!

I am going to cut and paste this over to blogger...here goes...

OK, I am at Blogger now and it did not copy over my emoticons. That's no fun! Now I am sad! :(

"Oh yeah, the Great Bambino. Of course! I thought you said the Great Bambi." Smalls in Sandlot

Google rules the world...

So, here I am in the Google (who owns the world) Docs and spreadsheets. I thought I would write my bog post here and then move it over to Blogger. I liked in the 'quick tour' the quotes by people who use this service and like it. There was an author who said he can quickley write ideas, there was the business person who had people work on a letter, there was a sports person who kept scheduling updatd for something (now I can't remember what it was) and there was the student who writes their blog posts here and then posts them. I liked that you control who sees the pages. One person, many people or no one.

I like this idea. I like that if my computer crashes, which has happened to me before, my document is safely stored.

I see that this just automatically saved this document. Nice, in case I forget.

Since this is on the Internet and free I thought this would be clunky. It's not...so far. I wonder how we get patrons, who can't even open Word, to use this? I am starting to think maybe we need to teach a patron class called Learning 2.0! It would be a series. It would be for the patron who already has an idea how to use the computer and the Internet.

And just because you or I might not be able to think of any reason we would use this, you never know who is out there right now saying "Wow, I sure wish I had Word on my computer so I could write letters. Oh well, I guess I am just out of luck!"

"But I like the cookie" Hammy in Over the Hedge

Web 2.0

I found all the articles very interesting.

My favorite article was "to more powerful ways to cooperate" I think the collective (not the Borg) is always going to be better and more exciting than one person calling the shots. I liked the idea of "Harnassing Collective Intelligence".

"This means expanding our definition of “collective intelligence” beyond the library professional to faculty, researchers, library patrons and others by building into our systems services that encourage these users contribute their expertise to the cooperative."

Very cool stuff!! This is an exciting time for librarians!!

Side Note-there is an interesting article about Web 3.0 in PC Magazine April 10, 2007 issue. It talks about the semantic web/the 3D web/the media-centric web/and the pervasive web.

"Do you know what I am doing, Miss Kenton? I am placing my mind elsewhere while you chatter away." Mr. Stevens in Remains of the Day

Roll-Y-O and Google search...

I really LOVE the idea of this especially for libraries. Every community Library making their own search engines sounds wonderful. I can imagine a sub that doesn't live here being able to look up on Google Search or Rollyo for instance what's going on at the Parks Department. Other examples come to mind also. We all have had to wade through tons and tons of irrelevant sites to find what we are looking for. So this sounds good to me.

I thought I would really like Rollyo (it just sounded so darn cute) but when I searched using it I was horrified to discover, yes...you guessed it...junk! There were ad sites along with the chosen sites. Blech! So although Google seems to be getting everything from everyone lately I headed over there and it was not only much nicer to look at but it looked familiar and so I chose to make a google search engine. I have linked to it below this post.

side note-I was pondering where they got the word Rollyo. It dawned on me being a child that not only grew up in the 60/70's but born in Eureka, California that it might mean
RollY(our)O(wn). hehehe

From Daddy Day Care -
The Flash: We need more chasing bad guys!
Marvin: Hey, that's an excellent idea!
The Flash: Like the Joker!
Marvin: No, you see, buddy, that's Batman's bad guy. You're the Flash, you need to be fighting...
The Flash: Lex Luthor?
Marvin: No, that's Superman. You need to be fighting Captain Boomerang, Gorilla Grod, the Reverse Flash...
The Flash: How about the Riddler?
Marvin: [to Charlie and Phil] What are you doing to these kids?

Entertainment Search

To all my display buddies...

http://www.theshiftedlibrarian.com/

Gone to the dogs...

I was getting really burnt out on cute kitten pics. (sorry T) Anyway, I figured a good puppy picture was in order. I actually had trouble finding one. But I liked this one, it reminds me of when my cat has his tongue sort of hanging out...back to cats I guess.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hyttinen/

"He has a client now who shot his wife in the head six times. Six times! Can you imagine it? I mean, even twice would be overdoing it, don't you think?" Cathy in The Birds

Patrick when he was young...

I couldn't help it. I have been looking at to many kitten pics lately.

"You're not the devil. You're practice" Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins

One More...

Get Your Cyborg Name

How could I resist...

The "Chick-fil-Air" Lurker

Cyberpunk 2020, Netrunner, Trading card generator...

In the 90's I had a lot of fun playing a game called Netrunner. It's a card game sort of like Magic from Wizards of the Coast. "Netrunner depicts cyberspace combat between a global mega-corporation (the Corp) and a hacker (the Runner). The Corp's goal is to complete their secret agendas before the Runner can hack in and spoil their secret plans for world domination. It isn't easy, though, as the Corp has strong defensive data forts protected by malevolent computer programs known as ICE (short for Intrusion Countermeasure Electronics). The Runner must use special programs of their own (called Icebreakers) to break through and steal the hidden plans - to keep the Corp from taking over completely. All this is paid for in the game by a system of resources called bits (representing currency), which are earned and spent during the course of play." It is loosely based on Cyberpunk 2020 and it's one heck of a lot of fun.

So, with the trading card generator I decided to make a few cards. I have copied the text of the cards but inserted my own pictures.

"Your effort to remain what you are is what limits you" Puppetmaster in Ghost in the Shell.

Bunny Trail in Library Thing...

I am rambling along minding my own bunny business when I stumbled onto another unique use for Librarything...

A person tagged their books "box64". So basically this person boxed up their books and put tags on them in Librarything so all they have to do is find the number on the box and look at that tag and know what is in there. You have to admit it's pretty creative. In my house we call that 'doin' a Monk' (after the TV show).

"You're gonna need a bigger boat." Brody from Jaws

Coming Attractions...

From Cute overload.. http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/

Mutes Photos...

I found this guys Flickr account while looking for cool pics about a month ago. I added his account to my bloglines and I haven't been disappointed. This guy takes the most amazing pics ever!! Lots of black and white and lots of super macro up close flowers and bugs!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mutephotoblog/

"The '60s weren't good to you, were they?" Sarge from Cars

The Home Stretch...

We are on #15 and #16 in our Learning 2.0 lessons and this one, for me, was very interesting. I find I like the idea of a collaborative web project as opposed to some of the "Me" centered other web projects. The online social community was starting to sound quite self-centered so this was a breath of fresh air. In Wiki land I like the idea that everyone can contribute and so it's a group effort. I find when in groups I am inspired, get great energy and wonderful artistic ideas, much more so than when I am by myself. So...

I really liked this particular podcast and enjoyed listening to some practical applications for the Wiki from Sarah Hunt. As I was moving through the different Wikis for the discovery exercise I found all kinds of interesting info and great ideas for Wikis to be used in Library settings.

At the SJCPL Wiki I ran the bunny trail and found the computer classes had posted the handouts for the class in PDF format right on the Wiki. What a great idea to have something to look at before you go to the class or even after if you have lost your papers. Nice practical application. As a side note a co-worker and I are responsible for the display in August. We are trying to make people aware of the databases and other webservices available in the library. We are making book lists and I found some great titles on this Wiki. Now, I hope we have the books in our system!

I visited the Wiki for the ALA in Seattle and found a link to an article in the Seattle Times about "Ordering coffee, masters degree required?". I found out that the Macchiato I always order has nothing to do with not being stirred or the caramel that all of them seem to have but is actually a espresso with a dollop of foam. Apparently this drink can cause quite a bit of grief in coffee houses where people are expecting the Starbucks, Tullys variety.

I went to the Booklovers Wiki which I thought was just alright.

The idea I liked best was annotating the catalog. So many times I am browsing in OPAC for a patron and there is nothing written about the item, I have to jump over to Amazon. How wonderful it would be to have a wiki capabilitiy in the catalog, with careful supervision, so people could comment on books or other items that they are familiar with. A quote I liked "The wiki will develop organically to reflect the interests and the needs of the group who worked on it." I know I have already stated I like the energy from a group but again I also like the idea that you don't have to be a programmer to be able to write to one of these. It definitely "levels the playing field".

I also found out that Wiki means quick in Hawaiian.

This red balloon was a fun one to chase.

"What kind of place is this? It's beautiful: Pigeons fly, women fall from the sky! I'm moving here!" Guido from La Vita e Bella

Ain't Nothing But A Library Thang!

This is cool! It was easier than self-checkout and the grocery store! Adding books was fun and easy also. I liked seeing how many other people had the same books on their list as I did. I am reading one now that only 9 people had on their list. Pretty neat (ok it did just come out). Other than using this to catalog is there a point? This would be very time consuming and I already know what I have, pretty much...so...yeah. With all the databases and online books stores isn't this redundant? Am I missing something...I did only spend a few minutes on there?

I am amending this post! :) I can see now after speaking with people and reading more, how this could be helpful to people in different ways. I am going to wait until I have a day where I have nothing to do and am bored out of my mind before I catalog my books but I can see for instance a gardener with 400 books...ahem...should catalog their books. With an impressive collection like that it deserves to be out there. I don't think Amazon could compete with it!! :)

http://www.librarything.com/catalog.php?view=chanson1961&shelf=list

Picture by Katherinewynne'sphotos at Flickr

"You have to... push that yellow button to load it. Take your time." Corbin Dallas from Fifth Element

Kudos, Congrats, YOU ROCK!

This is a congratulations to my very good friend who is just finishing up Library school! I am so proud of her!! She is an amazing person anyway

:Exercises, Writes, Reads, is always Smiling, Is Incredibly Smart, Very Pretty, and plays WoW, Did I remember to say SNOWBOARDS!:

but on top of everything else she is my friend.

So, this is for you my Stacey...

WAY TO GO!!!

NOTE: I would really love it if lots of people would post congrats to her on here...I know she could use it and would love it.

"Hey. Mr. Frodo's not going anywhere without me." Sam from LOTR:Fellowship of the Ring

Technorati...

Techno rati...I mean doesn't it sound like a style of clothes?

"So, what did you wear to the Rave?"
"I wore my fav Techno rati skirt with matching leggings!"
"Sweet!"

hehehe...

OK, very interesting way to search blogs. I tried searching (after the assignment parameters) for something I was interested in. I did a search for altered books and got the usual anything with the word altered and anything with book. So I used the words underneath the search bar to refine it and chose collage. It cut it way back and gave me what I was looking for. I also found a contest being held on Flickr for altered books. I liked that on the side bar to the left next to the search results was a small bar telling you when the posts had been made. 24 hours, in two days, etc.

I am pretty tired after coming off a grueling shift, not long just tiring. I keep thinking about an old TV show that wasn't on for very long since I am the only one in America who watched it :) called VR5! What the heck, I looked it up. 106 posts, I am sure not all about the TV show but still people were thinking of VR5 while I was thinking of VR5, now that's something! Or am I just really tired?

I am getting really tired now and actually went onto Flickr and put in VR.5. It was pretty dismal but that's cool, I mean it was only a TV show. I found nothing.

Doesn't it seem like it should be said " tech NO(C) rati " ? Side note-look Stacey, I am trying to screw up the pronounciation of another word!

"Why is the rum always gone?" Jack Sparrow from Pirates 2: Deadman's Chest

Del.icio.us

Yummy, what a lovely idea. I think I would have to use this to really get the full hang of it but my husband I were talking and he uses this to keep track of favorites. When he is loading or troubleshooting someones PC if he finds he needs a program or some further instruction he can log on and find his bookmarks rather than having to run back to his lappy and look them up. Sort of portable bookmarking.

I liked the Simply Recipes idea. Since I do bookmark a lot of recipes it would be nice to have them wherever I am and nice to have them bundled together. I'm not sure how this program is any different than having folders marked in your favorites which I already do. Other than the above usage I am not sure how I would personally use this BUT..as a Library I think this would be a fantastic tool! Can you imagine what you could bundle and other libraries could use? Amazing...only if I am understanding how this works!

"That's right. When I was your age, television was called books. And this is a special book. It was the book my father used to read to me when I was sick, and I used to read it to your father. And today I'm gonna read it to you. " Grandpa in Princess Bride

Pirate Plunder...

My lovely daughter redid my MySpace and with the coming of "At World's End" I am liking it much more than before plus with Holly as my friend I don't feel so alone. Plus with Lola the badger killer and Lisa the purple Prince fanatic, I feel so much better. :) Finally, let's not forget about Tom, my first real friend on MySpace. I love you Tom and I would never wear that tee-shirt!!

"Why is the rum gone?" Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean.

Moving Day, Troll Love...

So, today was packing day for my daughter and her husband. They are moving into a bigger place. I spent the day helping her get organized and pack boxes. But I did get 3 cool things out of it! I got a Pink haired troll, a yellow haired troll and a green haired troll! I was psyched!

Oh and if any of you go to my MySpace account and it's completely different, well, my 17 year old got to it and changed it. She likes doing that! I must admit it's pretty cool!!
(I hope Johnny likes it!)

"Hey, it doesn't always have to be about you. This poor little guy's had it rough. Seems a talking llama gave him a hard time the other day." Kronk from Emperors New Groove

pic from http://flickr.com/photos/heavininc/

MySpace....

I had so much written here but as mom used to say if you don't have anything nice to say it's best not to say anything...


"Forgive me if I stare, I knew you were young, but even then I was expecting someone a little more, well, more." Durza in Eragon

MySpace, a dialogue...

A conversation with my 17 year old...

"Argh! "
"What?"
"This weeks 9th,10th and 11th thing is myspace."
"oh."
"I am not looking forward to this. Hon, can you tell me why anyone would want to have a myspace account?"
"um...well...I don't really know. It's like blogging but with pictures instead of words but there are words also but it's mostly about pics. Come and look at mine"
"You made yours cause it was the only way to keep in touch with one of your friends right?"
"Yeah, I pretty much blog with my other friends, or IM or text. There's this one guy who doesn't have anything else but the phone and his family's on there a lot. So, let me log on...ok here is my site."
"Oh it's pretty. But what's this about selling Brittany Spear's hair?"
"Mom! That's a banner. I didn't put that on there."
"Oh, it looks so junky with all the ads on there. 'Guess who makes it to the Betty Ford clinic first, Brittany or Lindsay?' Ewww!"
"Yeah. So, here is my profile, music, movies, books, stuff like that."
"And what's this?"
"Those are my friends. I send an invite and they can accept it or not and then they get added"
"Oh. What if a strange man invites you to be his friend?"
"Gross! Not happening mom. I have security on my site so you can't just browse and get on my site"
"Well, I want to search around"
"That's not a good idea, remember pictures not words. You'll come across skanky stuff"
"I will? Do you search around?"
"NO! I know who has myspace accounts and they are my friends and that's it."
"Most of the kids at the library that I've seen just look around for raunchy pictures. I haven't seen any use this for what it's intended for."
"Yeah, well, that's one of the reasons I'm not comfortable with myspace."
"Your sister has a facebook account."
"Yeah but that's so she can share pics with the students she went to Australia with."
"I guess the library has a Myspace."
"Whatever."
"What's with the cheesy photos that people took of themselves with their arms halfway in the picture?"
**gales of laughter**
"yeah, dumb huh!"
"I just don't get it and I blog!"
"Yeah. It's just another way to communicate but it can be dangerous. You have to be careful."
"So, if I have to set one up will you help me? Am I going to need one of those pics with my arm in it?"
**laughter**
"I will help you, definitely. Yours will be cool."
"Cool's good."
"And Mom, don't search around you'll just get upset."
"OK."

Happy Dance!

I gave google blogsearch another try! SUCCESS!!! Before, I was looking for any blogs on altered art, specifically altered books. Can I say it again...SUCCESS!!! I found three blogs that are all on altered books and one I found had freebie downloads of ephemera used in altering books!!!! I am so happy!! SUCCESS!!! Now for my happy dance...

-

http://flickr.com/photos/dcsaint/

-

"So when the devil throws your sins in your face and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this: "I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it? For I know One who suffered and made satisfaction on my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God, and where He is there I shall be also!" Martin Luther from Luther

Blogline update...

I really thought this was a waste. Now that I've used blogline for a few days I want to hug whoever came up with it! It's so nice to go to one place and know if anything has been posted. So much less time than going from site to site and trying to remember if what's there is new or not! I LOVE it! It's saved me a ton of time.

Me is happy!

"I'm trying to free your mind, Neo. But I can only show you the door. You're the one that has to walk through it." Morpheus in The Matrix

Bunny Trails and Red Balloons...

I used some of the RSS search tools to look for blogs or feeds that I might be interested in. I have to say I was dissappointed. When putting in say "altered Books" into the search engine I ended up on the bunny trail from hell. It was slow going and I never did find what I was looking for. I did find a blog using Topix.net called "ask the crafter". You ask a question and the blogger posts about the answer. Kind of interesting. I added it to bloglines so I could find it again and see what ends up being posted.

I also found 'Grace County' which I just thought was really pretty. I didn't read the entire post but I wanted to be able to find this again also.

Bloglines kept locking up on me and then this message would come up saying "bloglines seems to be having troubles right now. You can refresh and try again" Very annoying!!

I found two library themed blogs using googleblog search. Both came right up and were exactly what I was looking for. One is 'the Shifted Librarian' which is about doing the 27 things in 15 minutes for each thing. I thought this was intriguing and I wanted to explore more on this site so I added it to blogline. I also found an interesting blog from the UWSP library in Wisconsin. They basically have a book of the week sort of 'on display'. There's a write up on the book and where you can find it by it's Dewey number. Nice! I will be curious to see what books are on display in the future.

I like fast searching. I don't like searching forever for one thing. I thought feedster was horrible. Every time I searched I never did find exactly what I wanted and it took a lot of time. As far as searching with syndic8.com....Blech! It was so busy looking when I opened it I didn't even try and use it. Less is more guys! It was to visually overwhelming for me.

On a side note...I love chasing the red balloon. My family coined this phrase after seeing an episode of Malcolm in the Middle where Malcolms little brother chased a red balloon, that had gotten away, for hours. When he lost the balloon finally and looked around he realized he had no idea where he was or how he got there. I have a habit of doing this very thing especially if I have my camera. I will be walking around and taking pictures and it's as if I don't see anymore through my own eyes but only see through the lens. If I am driving and I chase the red balloon it's usually cause I've seen something really pretty or unusual. I think "that would make a good photo". I once drove my daughter to a class and then saw some really pretty trees, then I spotted a really cool lamp post. I drove around like that for about half an hour and realized once my balloon 'popped' that I had no idea where I was. It took some time to find my way back to the right road. In saying all of this my point is that some times search engines can take you on a merry chase after info that you are seeking. 2 hours later you're on youtube watching a U2 video and you can't quite remember how you even got there when you were just looking up info about those new long life light bulbs. Beware the searching...

...or you could waste time reading this long post! The choice is yours!! :)

"Napoleon, don't be jealous that I've been chatting online with babes all day. Besides, we both know that I'm training to be a cage fighter." Kip from Napolean Dynamite

RSS and Bloglines...

I did today's 7th thing. Yikes! It was a little challenging mainly cause I had preconceived notions about what I was doing (I thought I was setting up another blog, no no, not another one!). I went ahead and trusted the process and it came out OK. :)

I was relieved to find out about bloglines! There are quite a few blogs to keep track of now and I was taking a lot of time reading all of them. On my Xanga site they email you when updates are posted to your favorite sites. Blogger didn't appear to do that and I was quickly becoming frustrated with the sheer amount to try and keep up with. So, woohoo RSS!! I can see how people who have many sites to keep up with would love this.

This is going to sound weird but, on the other hand, I like going to a persons blog page. It's like entering a private personal space, maybe a foyer or a drawing room, that I am allowed to visit and so I like checking on my favorites. I would be sad if I just got the update via the cold outside of RSS and blogline. Blogline felt sort of like I was peeking through a window. However, that being said many of the feeds I subscribed to (news feeds, and Unshelved) were nothing I would have to personally visit.

I found the process for setting up my blogline account pretty easy but I kept instructions from two places minimized so I could toggle back and forth to make sure I was doing it right. Once you get through the first "add" it's pretty easy.

Setting up a blog site- free
Setting up a Blogline- free
Getting a free MP3 player for playing in cyberspace-priceless!

"I guess when you've lived longer than your house and your family, then you've lived long enough." Mrs. Watts from The Trip To Bountiful

Patrick the cat

I just realized that I did these backwards. You should not being seeing this cat first. So please do me and Grey a favor and scroll down.

This is Patrick. I had to have him cause he was orange when he was little. He grew up and decided to be a ruthless dictator. If he could speak English he would be terrorizing some small country, but instead he just terrorizes us. He looks like he wants to be petted, he looks at you so longingly, but then **swipe** he will slap you with his paw or bite you, he is cunning this one is. I try to love him but it's hard. He was not happy with this picture and is starting a law suit as we speak since I didn't get a model release.

Ming cat...

This is my cat Ming. He is pretty big but it's hard to tell in this picture. He is a cuddle muffin and a love bug. He has no idea he's a cat. He doesn't hunt, play, or tangle with the other cats. When you snuggle with him he wants all 12 pounds to be under your chin and he tries to put his arms around your neck. He drools big time if you give him attention.

Grey cat...

This is my cat Grey. He is a Norweigan Forest cat. I think he is beautiful and I love him like crazy. He is a big hunter, a mighty warrior. When you pick him up you realize that he is one big muscle. When he dies I will be taking sick leave!!

Wheel of Lunch...

I was showing this guys website and his mashups to my daughter and we found another one. The Wheel of Lunch. Enter your zip code and then spin the wheel. On the wheel are all the restaurants in that zip code.

http://www.coverpop.com/wheeloflunch/

A very scientific way to choose your nosh!


"Don't ever call me crazy, Alan! Ever! 'Cause everyone in this town has called me crazy ever since I told the cops that you were sucked into a board game! "
Sarah in Jumanji

Gate

Hmmm...I tried using the URL link to upload pics from Flickr and it didn't work so I saved them instead to my computer and then it would upload. I'm wondering if I am doing something incorrectly?

I found this by looking in the explore/interestingness. I chose the month of December and a little calendar came up with a picture a day. I chose this one.

Flickr is dangerous for me cause I love photography. I could spend days in here and never come up for air!!

Check out some of this persons other photos...http://flickr.com/photos/mutephotoblog/

"Some day it'll just end. Everyone will go home, get on with their lives. Tall grass will cover the battlefields. And all the pilots we've lost won't mean a damn thing." Reed Cassidy in Flyboys

Stick figures in peril...

You guys have got to check this mashup out! Be sure and not only look at the picture but click on one of the little figures in the picture. It's a toy! This guy is really clever.

http://www.coverpop.com/pop/flickr_stickfigures/

"Let's look death in the face and say, whatever man."
Hurley from Lost

Changes...

I noticed after visiting different blogs that some of you have changed some colors and some other elements of your blogs so I had to put a little more color in mine as well, and there really isn't any other color for me than orange...so there you go....

"My qualities are more honeymoon than mortgage"
Ludvic from Mrs. Palfrey at the Clairemont.

Orange bliss...

Two of my favorite things together. A photograph of flowers and the color orange.

"You hear that ringing in your ears? That 'eeeee'? That's your ear cells dying. You'll never be able to hear that frequency again. Enjoy it while you can."
Julian from Children of Men.

To funny...

I thought I would check out flickr since that's our next task. The only experience I have with flickr is occasionally someone will send me a series of photos and I watch them and that's pretty much it. So, I went there today and I noticed a quote by one of my favorite artists.

First, more info about me. I LOVE to take photos of flowers. I can't take enough as those of you who have gone to the garden show with me will attest to. I usually take about 5-6 rolls of film there. Of course that was back when the garden show was decent, but I digress...

OK, so here is the funny quote that was on Flickr...

"I hate flowers. I paint them because they're cheaper than models and they don't move." Georgia O'Keeffe

Why blog?

Today was funny. Everyone was running around "look at my Blog" OK, I admit, I was one of them. Blogs are fun! It was really cool seeing everyones Blog and how they decorated them and what they decided to put on for content. Very pretty to those of you who have only just begun.

People who really don't blog were seriously asking me why I blog? I have already been blogging for years and I love it. But when asked why, It was hard to come up with a really valid reason. I use it to keep in touch with friends but everyone said, why not just use Email? I don't know? Blogging is more fun I guess? I like the idea of journaling and I like typing so for me it's perfect but then someone said, but you let everyone read it. Well, yeah I do!

So, does that make me a journaling exhibitionist?

"Yeah. I got so high, Einar. I could see where the blue turns to black. From up there, you can see all there is. And it looked like there was a reason for everything."
Mitch from An Unfinished Life

The First...

OK, I know, The Lurker sounds rather ominous but a lurker in the internet world is a person who only looks and reads blogs and such but doesn't post comments.

I am very excited about this program as I love all things Tech! I remember when the C-drive meant cassette drive. Can you say TRS-80? I already have a blog on Xanga and have had it for about 3 years but this will be fun since it's more specialized. Kind of boring for a first post but remember...I'm a Lurker!

"Do you want to play a game?"
computer in War Games.