Blackie the Beast

Blogging Class

Today is the day Quiana is teaching a Blogging class at HQ - Marion County Public Library!!! I am sure FUN will be had by all!

Movie: The Road

So Much for the firm release date.... I now hear that the New release date is November 25th. I still think it will be a great movie! Check out the trailer for the film:

http://www.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK//video/screenplay/vi980223257/

official trailer for "The Road"

The film version of McCarthy’s devastating apocalyptic novel, The Road, now has a firm release date (October 16).

Hello is anyone out there?

Well I am still trying to find the time to work on my tech skills for work....time is always the problem....so little time so much to do! Anyway I got to sit in on the Live Online Class: "Trends in Technology" that NEFLIN offered yesterday. Very interesting. The funny thing is some things mentioned are very familiar since we just completed the 23 Things!!!! Two new terms I just learned are Terabyte and Petabyte. I still find it hard to grasp the concept of a hard drive that has the storage capacity of one quadrillion bytes....but that is a Petabyte. WOW!

Happy Friday!

Well today I learned how to group my friends on facebook....and create a photo album to show off photos of my furry babies. I am soooo happy to have kitties.

Thing 23: Take a short survey

Wow...Thing 23 was by far the easiest Thing to do!

Congratulations! You have completed Thing 23!

Thing 22: Staying Current

I am looking forward to "improving my skills" by playing around with Flickr, YouTube and Facebook. Seriously there were so many "things" I plan to go back and spend some more time with like Thing 9: Picture Trail , Big Huge Labs, Lazybase, and 50 Web 2.0 Ways to Tell a Story . I would like to find a way to share photos of the events held here at the library with the public so they can see the benefits of attending our future programs! I also plan on going back thru the things and trying some of the (optional) Challenge Things I did not have time for the first time through the Things. As stated in Thing 22 to stay current we must make the effort on a continuing basis and I am sure I can find at least 15 minutes a day to work on improving my skills and knowledge.....the BIG question is will I remember to update this blog....umm only time will tell since I have a hard time putting my thoughts into words most of the time.

A good day is when you learn something new so that is my goal to record either something new or funny in each posting from now on. So many sites to visit, so many stories to read, oh what fun I plan to have...

Thing 21: Student 2.0 Tools

When I looked at Assignment calculator I was very impressed. When I plugged in an assignment and clicked on calculate assignment schedule I was surprised at how detailed the assignment schedule the calculator printed out. At every step there are links if anything needs further clarification and the suggestions are fantastic. For a procrastinator (like me) this will help keep you on track to succeed! I especially like the links to the following: • QuickStudy: Citing sources• The Elements of Style - William Strunk, Jr.• RefWorks: Citing sources using an online tool. This is an excellent resource for students....if they will use it?!?

For Research Project Calculator I was not able to get a demonstration of a project .....I did not want to register with them and give out my email. I did click on the link on the right side [Glossary of Terms ] and that gave me entrance to other parts of the research project calculator: Question Gather Conclude Communicate: Essay - Electronic Slides - Video Evaluate . From these along with the glossary of terms there is some useful information but not set up as nice as Assignment Calculator.

I didn't find any use for the Teacher Guide to the Research Project Calculator for the library.

How might the RPC and the Teacher Guide help you help students plan and manage research projects? Well I would recommend students with projects check out the RPC site and the Assignment calculator site for help in tracking and planning their project/assignment.

Thing 20: Books 2.0

Books on Your Phone - I looked at BooksinMyPhone and my opinion is Are you Crazy!? I enjoy reading but lets be real...why would I try to read text on a little 2 inch screen? Not to mention the battery life of the phone barely covers being on all day and getting or making a few calls before recharging and the fact of the phone being in use heats it up. NOT for me thanks.

Reader's Advisory - I looked at ReadingTrails then I clicked on : Curious? Learn How Reading Trails works» . I read the explainations and clicked on examples of trails and intersections but when I go to search for author none of the authors I put in were found. Maybe I was doing it wrong...there was no guidelines on how to enter the name....anyway ... Since I love to read and never have trouble finding something to read I don't see me using this unless it is to start a list of books to read after I win the Lottery and am sitting on a beach somewhere.... Like that going to happen.

Online Book Communities - I looked at http://www.overbooked.org/index.html and I like that Overbooked originals include annotated lists of nonfiction, fiction and mystery books which received starred reviews, themed booklists, featured titles lists and hot lists of hard cover US fiction releases and notable books. The themed booklists include the following genres:
Alternate History , Chicklit , Contemporary Fantasy , Cross Genres , Gothics , Graphic Works , Time Travel , Westerns . Another thing I really like is the link not only to Christian Fiction Authors but also Reading Lists and Hotlists that are Christian based. I get many requests for this info and now I know where to look for a current up-to-date source.





Book Group Resources - I looked at LitLovers. I like this site since it very easy to use and has great information ...it goes way beyond suggested books for clubs and reader's guide questions and offers icebreakers, tips on starting and running book clubs, and Menus & Recipes!!! Maybe you can tell food is important around this library!





Audio Books - I looked at Librivox. I had not heard of it before but I am impressed by what I see. I have not been able to try it here at the library but the sit is very easy to use and I think it is a possible option for patron when our audiobook is checked out.



Book Reviews - I looked at One Minute Critic . I really enjoyed the video one minute reviews. This site is fun because of the wacky book titles and the interesting reviewers. It runs really slow at the library but from home I had no problem.



Book Rental - I looked at BookSwim . This seems like a good site if you are a very fast reader. It could be a solution to extremely long wait lists for some patrons...oh course I offer the solution of if you don't want to wait and buy a copy, maybe you could think about donating the book to the library when you are done with it!...just kidding...I wish I could say that but I have a feeling it would get me in trouble. I do know that I would not use BookSwim for textbooks...then again maybe for a short course that had a REALLY expensive text...never say never.



Facebook - I added WeRead app to my Facebook profile and found that I have 2 friends that have the same app. I went ahead and added a few favorite books from the suggested list and will go back later to search for more. As soon as I have some more time to understand what all comes with this I might be interested in sending out invites to join to a few of my friends that I know are BIG readers. Isn't the whole point of this to share...share...share with friends?

What are you observing in your library about books and reading?
With the economy so messed up there are more and more people that don't want to buy their own books anymore so our waitlists have gotten really long!!! BUT people are still reading books and loving the library!!! :)

The Kitties are Here!

After they settle down I might be able to get better pictures. In the shelter the grey one was named "Blue" and the black and white was named "Whiskers". I want to rename them so suggestions are welcome!

Thing 19: Other Social Networks

Ok on to more social networks....if you join several how can you keep up with everything and work at the same time??? Don't mind me just thoughts to ponder because I am tired right now.

I looked at WebJunction and it seems to me we have used this for some training...lots of good information there.

Ning - Well I am already a member there since we set up a Libraries and Books and Discussions group. http://lbdmcpls.ning.com/ it has not had much attention lately but maybe we can change that now that we are all more familiar with Social Networking since doing these "Things".

gather - what to say about gather... An hour just zipped by...vanished without my knowledge... as I checked out this site....this is a dangerous place to be if you are on a time crunch but Wow...I was finding discussions that were on current TV events (american idol fan) and interesting videos and photos ... Oh My!!!

Thing 18: Facebook and MySpace

Well I knew this was coming so I created a Facebook profile a few weeks ago. [at the strong urging from some of my co-workers that are actually doing the 23 Things in a more timely manor than myself]....anyway

WOW...what a blast from the past....I have people requesting to be my friend that I haven't seen or spoken to in 20 to 30 years (we moved around a lot when I was a kid!). The best part is adding my nephews since we haven't been emailing as much lately this is a great way to keep up with what is happening with them. Of course now I will have to remember to check my Facebook profile at least once a week from now on. I still haven't figured out some on the features yet but with time I will get there. I did join the Facebook group Librarians and Facebook.... I found the "12 Ways to Use Facebook Professionally" and "7 Things You Should Know About Facebook (pdf)" very interesting.

At one time our Library blocked MySpace so we could verify the person using it was over 17....what a pain that was constantly overriding the block to allow the old perverts to search for children who couldn't access their account at the library....what?!?!?! Never mind those days are over but I have noticed that some of the kids still watch for us over their shoulders to click onto a different screen as we walk by....makes you wonder what they are trying to get away with now! Anyway my impression of MySpace is forever tainted so I have no interest in creating a MySpace profile and since Facebook is the fastest growing social network I am happy to be a member.

Thing 17: Podcasts

Before this thing I had heard the term podcast but did not know the details.

First I went to Podcast.com and found an interview with one of my favorite authors:

http://podcast.com/episode/35886401/90144/

at Podcastalley.com I found a travel podcast video I liked:
http://podcasts.travelchannel.com/read/episode-8-samantha-browns-top-five-in-orlando

http://travel-ideas-podcast.travelchannel.com/feed.aspx?feedid=1828

Anyway I listened to a few other podcast some are way out there and others I might have hit on a boring day so I haven't added any RSS feed to my blog reader account yet....I will probably find some I like later.

Thing 16: YouTube

Here are some of my favorites from YouTube:











And last but not least ...you have to love the last line in the next clip:



As you can tell from my choices I like funny clips...especially these days I believe humor is very important for good mental health.

Youtube is very easy to search for videos and the directions to share the link with others could not have been easier.

Thing 15: Rollyo

I tried the Public Domain e-Books Search and the Rare Books Library Search rolls listed in Thing 15 without much luck. I got a lot returned on one search but nothing I was looking for. I had much better luck searching the Quick Quotes Roll...now that could definately come in handy. Many a time part of quote comes to mind and this search roll found every one I entered even if I was missing a word here or there....Impressive...I like it!

If all goes well my search roll is for books & textbooks.

Select...used book searchSearch The Web

Can you see a potential use for Rollyo in your library?
homework questions, science projects, quotes, coin prices....maybe?!?

Thing 14: Online Productivity Tools

I have been using My Yahoo for years....it is nice to have the news headlines, local weather, TV and local Movie listings and a few other favorites all at one glance. I know I have stated before I am just a yahoo knid of gal. I set up igoogle recently but I still tend to go back to yahoo. I like the Countdown widget but I am getting worried that I will not make the deadline. Oh well I am having fun and learning along the way.

Created by OnePlusYou

At work I use the Calendar with Outlook all the time, at home I use Yahoo calendar to help me keep track of all my important date stuff.

I looked at Ta da list and Backpack but I can't see me using them.

Thing 13: Library Thing

I really like Library Thing. It was so easy to set up an account. I think it would be great for the bookclubs that meet at the library to post reviews of the books they have read and maybe set up the list of upcoming books so potential new members would know what to get started reading. The Library could also involve the teens with reviews of summer reading books to help each other when they are offered a list of books to choose from. Book Lovers have the ability to help others find great books! For me personally I plan at some point to enter all the books I have at home and another list of all the library books I read. As for local events in Library Thing...there are none listed for this area I had to expand the search range to 100 miles to pick up some interesting events.

Thing 12: Wikis

Wiki Wiki Wiki - fast fast fast - hahaha
What Librarian doesn't wish Wikipedia would load faster...it never fails the more impatient the patron the longer it takes to come up with the answer....which is why most of us try not to use it as the 1st source of all information.
Anyway onto this "thing"
1. Watch this Common Craft video on Wikis. done...you have to love the hand gestures!
2. SJCPL Subject Guides - Very interesting ...wish we had one like this for our area!!!
Book Lovers Wiki - took a long long long time to load....I like the idea that patrons could add reviews for books they read.
Library Success - basic information ...didn't see anything interesting.
3. add or edit an entry in the NEFLIN 23 Things Wiki ....waiting waiting waiting ...It must be a bad day here at the library for the Internet. I went ahead and registered for PB Wiki so hopefully soon I will be able to add an entry to the NEFLIN 23 Things Wiki.

What did you find interesting about the wiki concept? My answer would be that it is great for groups to have the same information at the same time. What a novel concept that everyone in a group be up to date with the latest and greatest news....especially since we all work together...right?!?

Thing 11: Social Media

Call me "old" but I still scan the headlines in local and national news sources for the latest in breaking news and scandals. The difference is now I do this mostly online.


For this thing I

1. Watched “Social Media in Plain English” from the Common Craft Show.


2. I did the Mixx Tour and looked at the Mixx Home Page. What I did not like about the stories listed on Mixx is that there was not enough information. I would be attracted to a headline click on it , click on view story, and it would contain just little more then the headline. I want answers not more questions.


Next I checked out the Digg Tour and Digg Home Page. Well I must say I kind of dig Digg! It was fun, entertaining, and informative. I could see myself joining Digg when I have some extra time.


On to Newsvine Home Page and Newsvine Welcome. Looks great, interesting stories, but... here it is afternoon and I can't get view any of the stories. Is the problem at the library or the site? Other websites are loading fine for me. Well maybe I will try this site again another time.


Last but not least Reddit Home Page and Reddit Intro. This started out poor when I clicked on photos there was an accident photo that someone posted with a "funny" caption. I find that in poor taste... at least the comments were serious filled with the details of the accident and how it was a miracle the driver wasn't killed. Anyway then I clicked on another story listed under Pic and Images and read a great story from Urbanite Magazine http://www.urbanitebaltimore.com/sub.cfm?issueID=70&sectionID=4&articleID=1174


that was about "a man, a vision, and a swimming pool he built in his garage". Very interesting.
Overall I am not impressed with Reddit. I just don't like the format.

3. I read several stories from http://www.nytimes.com/
and http://news.bbc.co.uk/
but I didn't have much luck with the Washington Post. I refuse to be forced into signing up for a free subscription just to read a few stories from the website.

Have you ever read a story/item as a result of seeing it on one of these sites?
Absolutely...that is why time flies and it is dangerous for me to visit these sites... hours can be lost since inquiring minds want to know!!!

Thing 10: Tagging and Delicious

OK tagging and delicious sounds like a tasty game. Just kidding I am somewhat familiar with the concept and I went back and made sure there is at least 1 tag (or label as Blogger calls them) for all my posts so far. I am getting pretty good at editing my previous posts!

I had heard of delicious before but I don't remember checking out the site before. I had fun looking at The most popular bookmarks on Delicious right now. Next I looked at the most popular Tags and found a really cool site that let me do the following word cloud:

(all the words for this were copied from Thing 10 instructions)



http://www.wordle.net/.



I watched the Social Bookmarking in Plain English video.

Then I checked out the NEFLIN23things account with Delicious. Subscribing to the RSS feed is a great way for me to keep up-to-date with what's added!

I explored some of the bookmarks and tags and read the comments. This is what has taken up most of my work on this "thing" as I am easily lead astray...off on tangent...out exploring the www!!!!


I can definitely see the advantage to creating my own Delicious account so that was next on my agenda. The #1 reason for me was To be able to access all my favorite websites from any computer I use. Here at our library we are constantly moving around from service desk to service desk to our assigned desk in the workroom to training lab and wherever....so it will be great to have all my "faves" and bookmarks in one place. Yippee!!

Thing 9: Sharing - slides, photos, databases

I have been trying for days... maybe even weeks to get this thing done. First I went to Zoho Show and created a slide show.



Next I am trying to use the Mosaic maker to show the possible addition(s) to the family:



No new cat yet but some of these pictures are from shelters of available cats for adoption so maybe soon.

As for the blog question:
Was the tool you used easy to navigate and understand?
Zoho show was very easy to use.
As for Big Huge Labs Mosaic maker I could never get it to work from the library computers....it always got stuck somewhere. When I worked on it from home it was done so fast it makes me wonder why I didn't do it this way sooner....oh yeah that's right I have SO much time at home to play with the "Things".....NOT!

Thing 8: Communication - Web 2.0 Style

OK so the communication tools in this Thing are 1- email, 2- IM, 3- text messaging, and 4- Web Conferencing.

1. Email: I have been a YAHOO gal since way back when. In fact at one time I had multiple yahoo ID's to go along with my multiple personalities! It seems that everywhere I have worked including my current job at the Library has always used Outlook for email. That is our work communication style of choice. We set up several email distribution lists (send to entire library staff, our dept, dept heads, leads, just your friends for those jokes you shouldn't pass on). Sometimes I think if we didn't have email we wouldn't hear about anything that goes on around here.

2. IM: We used to have an IM program we could log into and see what coworkers were also online and available and if you were at a remote desk and needed to ask an important question like "what are your lunch plans?" we could shoot that IM and find out really fast. It also came in handy for those pesky patrons that asked too many weird questions and you had to put out a call for help! The problem is as our computers are being updated now the new ones don't communicate with the old. I hope that soon we will get another IM program approved for use. All joking aside it was a great tool when your mind goes blank and you are trying to help a patron and need to send out an SOS.

3. Text messaging: I have no experience with text messaging. I had to learn some of the text messaging abbreviations when I was hanging out in Chat rooms. It is like learning a different language. LOL TTFN

4. Web conferencing: In the past I have taken an online class with Solinet Educational Services. I found that Webinar to be an interesting way to learn since it was interactive... if we had a question we could "raise our hand" and we had the ability to click on yes or no to answer questions so the instructor could identify who might be having problems understanding the material. I have also attended other Webcasts that have been not so good. I think alot has to do with the presenter. If the person presenting has a good voice and lively personality it goes a long way to making a presentation interesting. The ability to view recorded or archived programs is great for scheduling conflicts.

Thing 7: Online Image Generators

For thing 7 I found a site for online text generator to do the following announcment:




As soon as it is a done deal I will post pictures!

Thing 6: Flickr Mashups

1st I tried Color Fields Experimental Colr Pickr and found this photo:


Paddling pool by janerc



I like the Blue color and being a pisces I really like water!

Next I wanted to try Spell with Flickr :

Interesting!

Clockr did not work for me. ???

I would like to have more photos to do a splashr presentation.

I can see why using these tools can be addictive....it is way to easy to spend too much time doing this...playing.

Thing 5: Flickr

Flickr...Flickr....Flickr I have been looking at photo-sharing websites for quite awhile now, but I have never signed up for an account. Probably because it took me forever (just last year) to get a digital camera. I am so behind it tech gadgets that it is not funny. Now that I have the camera I must make an effort to use it more. Especially since I received a digital photo frame for Christmas last year. Maybe by the end of the year I will have that set up and running. Then again maybe not. Time will tell.



As for this Thing I did go ahead and sign up for a Flickr account and I just happened to have a picture or two that I took of displays in our Library. Below is the picture I tagged as 23Things@NEFLIN .




This thing has been fun. I especially enjoyed searching the funny cat photos and the library cat photos. I would like to see our library set up a Flickr account and post our program photos for all to see! Wouldn't that be nice to share the photos that right now only staff can see? umm something to think about! That's all for now.

Thing 4: RSS and Newsreaders

RSS and Newsreaders....
What do you like about RSS and newsreaders?
I did set up google reader in the not to distant past...mostly to read the RSS feeds from various sites....I like to be in the know...you know what I mean...enquiring minds and all that
anyway... I had not added any blogs to follow until NEFLIN'S 23 Things started. It sure does save lots of time so I am not flipping here and flipping there hunting down all my favorite blogs to see just how far behind I am.

So to learn more for this thing I decided to sign up for Bloglines. It was so easy and using the suggested searches before I knew it I signed up for 19 new RSS and blogs to follow. Well since I do try to do some work :) I am making a psychic prediction that I will end up deleting or unsubscribe to at least half of the new. I am looking forward to seeing just how wacky, weird and wonderful some of my picks turn out to be. Be sure and stay tuned and I will let you know about the keepers! ;-)

Thing 3: Blog Search Tools

Hello....I know it has been awhile since my last posting. I am having a hard time finding the time to work on these "Things". First off I had lots of trouble trying to get Technorati to work. The first three times I tried to go there the computer either timed out or locked up in the search. Could it be too many of us were trying it at the same time? Are some of our computers just too old? Or the network overtaxed...umm...whatever..



I finally got Technorati to work and I put in a non-work search term of "Thimble Collecting" to see what would come up. (Thimbles are on my mind since I brought most of my collection here to work for a display. I will see if I can insert a picture later...still learning)

The results were weird to say the least. The only thing I found of interest was the videos of thimble collecting.....wow there is one video that shows a collection of thousands of thimbles in display cases covering all available wall space even over doors!!! Now that is insane...not a collection but an obsession!



Anyway back on topic... next I went to Google Blog Search and entered the same search term and I hit the jackpot!!! I found blogs from other collectors, thimbles for sale, display cases for thimbles, history of thimbles, thimble collecting clubs.... and so on and on.



As for the question "Why would I want to search blogs?" my answer is to find others with similar interests or help in gaining knowledge on a variety of weird topics like thimble collecting!!!

Thing 2: What is Web 2.0?

When I want to find out the definition of anything I turn to google first.... So for Thing 2 - I entered the term Web 2.0 into the google search and surprise ....surprise Wikipedia was the 1st listing.



Web 2.0 - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


The term "Web 2.0" describes the changing trends in the use of World Wide Web technology and web design that aim to enhance creativity, communications, secure information sharing, collaboration and functionality of the web. Web 2.0 concepts have led to the development and evolution of web culture communities and hosted services, such as social-networking sites, video sharing sites, wikis, blogs, and folksonomies.

I thought to myself....OK this is not too bad...most of this is familiar. Next I

1. Watched the short video of Stephen Abram kicks off 23 Things at Murdoch University Library in Australia.
2. Read the blog post by John Blyberg, a library blogger from Connecticut.
3. Read the article on Library 2.0 is in Library Technology Reports, Volume 43 Issue 5. Read this article "The Ongoing Web Revolution".

Now it makes sense that I have posted nothing in days!!!! I have been plugging away at the resources listed so I could post something profound and intelligent. NOT going to happen.

The best I came up with is to try and answer the following question:
Why are you participating in 23 Things @ NEFLIN? What do you hope to learn?

I am hoping to learn more about how all these wonderful tools and gadgets work together. I think the advances in technology are great and I have been keeping up with some but not all. We all know the best way to learn is by doing so that is why I am so happy that NEFLIN has challenged us to participate in 23 Things!!!

Thing 1 Continued

WOW!!!! I had no idea how much is involved in blogging. Or should I say how easy it can be to get addicted. I have spent more time than I want to admit to looking at other blogs. I will admit right here and now my blog will never be as interesting and creative as some of the people signed up for 23 Things @ NEFLIN.

Thing 1: Set Up a Blog and Register

1 Thing down and 22 more to go!!!