Thursday, February 19, 2009

Am I done yet?

OK - I've finally reached thing #23!! I'm not sure I can remember everything without help but this has been a great learning experience. The RSS feeds were really the hardest - that and remembering all the logins and pwds!!! It made me feel vindicated when a World Herald columnist said the same thing. I find it humorous that all of these programs and ipods and blackberry's really just keep the "grapevine" going -that and the most popular question seems to be "Whatcha doin'?" Are the Gen Xers that interested?! Technology seems overwhelming at times but it comes down to choice. Will you participate or be left behind? I think I'm trying to swim upstream but at least I'm trying. I'm really comfortable about blogging!

Watching TV at the Library

I chose to look at MyLibraryTV and really enjoyed it. Initially it kept asking me to install updated software. I said "No" and then it opened! I watched Michael Chiarello's episode on making risotto. The picture was sharp. It was almost as good as watching the Create channel on 26.2. It has a lot of these "foodie, travel, do-it yourselfer" shows too. Most of the programs run about 1/2 an hour. Not too time consuming - although I'm not sure I know how to make risotto! It's amazing how technology is replacing grandma's cooking lessons!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Casting with a pod not a rod

I thought this was a new version of fly fishing? Podcasting is an audio format that can be downloaded onto an ipod or MP3 player. Just think - you can download a lecture and listen to it while jogging or doing dishes. Something productive! Check yahoo podcasts or podcasts.net or itunes store to download. You have to set up the proverbial account but what did you expect? Think of a podcast as an extension of your own personal radio station. I think I would really like this. It's like being read to - something comforting in that!

Monday, February 9, 2009

RU a Tube?

I finally logged in to YouTube to see what all the fuss was about! YouTube is a user generated video sharing site using adobe flash video. Apparently any geek with a camera phone can post to YouTube after registering. That has caused some problems with inappropriate content and copyright violations. Wikipedia has a great list of other video sharing sites like Facebook, Flickr, Photobucket etc. I tried one called Dailymotion.com/us. The clip "Great Start to my Day" was pleasant. Most of the entries are pretty boring but we all have that "voyeuristic" gene. Hence the eternal question of "Whatcha doin'?"

Annette had a little Lamb

And a number of sheep following her! I checked out AL's 2008 NLA presentation.I connected to her educscapes.edu site. It sounds like she and her husband are online library science/educator gurus. I found the educscapes site too busy and cluttered however. I connected to the Lamb's travel log site and lo and behold encountered a cattle drive! It looks like they've uploaded photos to Flickr and added captions. I think I did this once! It's like making your own comic book. It amazes me how electronics have expanded creativity!

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Are you productive online?

I took a look at Google Docs. It's an online document sharing feature. Documents can be shared in real time with those individuals on your list. You can access or edit them from anywhere! This one still gives me pause. Do I really want colleagues to see how much whiteout I use?

All of my documents are Kitty Litter

Apparently the Wikipedians have gotten smart! Wikipedia has created a "sandbox" otherwise known as an area where untested computer programs or edits can run without harming the website. There are 2 types of Sandbox pages. First is the encyclopedia type section. I edited an entry about the NE Capitol Bldg - added architect info. The other is community info type pages. It was kind of fun! Does this mean I'm a published author?!