Reading an EBook

This turned out to be more pleasant than I expected.After listening to the tutorial for NetLibrary, I actually used Overview and downloaded a kid's book Alvin Ho, Allergic to Girls, School and Other Scary Things (which, it turned out, was on my GoodReads to read list, although I just picked it out randomly). I discovered that I could maximize the typeface so I could settle back in my chair and read from a relaxed position. I doubt this will replace the physical book for me, though. My brother-in-law has bought a Kindle, the Ebook reading device Amazon hawks. I haven't seen it, but his description makes it sound pretty decent. The best things are that books bought for the Kindle are cheaper than hard copy books; and Amazon will store the books you buy. You don't have to store them on your PC or your Kindle. Once you've bought a book, you can download it over and over again. And you can also use the Kindle for NetLibrary and Project Gutenburg books.

Embedding Youtube Videos

If I do this correctly, Blue Christmas in Luckey's bathroom should appear:
I think I did it. By golly, I did it!

Peas Come in Pods; Cucumbers Come in Pickles

NPR's podcast search will be my favorite, I'm guessing; because I'm always hearing part of a program while eating breakfast or driving to the laundromat, and it will be great to be able to track it down.
I found an interesting general podcast search engine (?) called Podcast Pickle. Another that looked pretty good, given what I got in response to searches, was Podcast Bunker (sounds scary, I know, but it brought up stuff like New York Times and NPR, so I reckon it's alright). And, of course, the U.S. Government has a searchable site listing it's own podcasts, some of which, like the ones on arts and culture, look pretty cool.
On the NPR site, I found a podcast called GLT's Poetry Radio that I added to my Google RSS feeds. It comes out of Illinois State and features the reading of a daily poem, with a little music (not always well chosen) and a little push for support of the station framing it.I starred and shared one of the daily readings to see what would happen. It comes up on my shared reads, but when clicked it just brings up the podcast website; if you want to hear it you have to find it on their list and click it from there.

You Tube I Tube We Tube

Okay so I kind of cheated a little, but I thought I should get some credit for having added a YouTube strip the second week of the 23 Adventure as a result of trying out gadgets from the blog layout menu. After looking at some of the possibilities on YouTube I have tweaked my key words some. And (here's where I cheated), being too lazy to figure out how to put a single video on my blog (but I promise I'll do that later, honest I do); instead I put a new strip on with just one keyword string that pulls up variations on my favorite video about the YouTube World Symphony. I also discovered I could put a YouTube feed on my IGoogle page , so that's kind of fun; although having a YouTube feed on my blog that has most frequently viewed, most recent and most (something else) videos on it does almost the same thing, It just lacks the search capability. I must say, I've seen some pretty interesting things on YouTube since I put that feed on my blog (and started paying attention to it).

Week Whatever

Web word processing
A Taxicab Mystery/Adventure was composed on docs.google.com
I started signing up on LinkedIn on my own recognizance a couple of weeks ago because I was looking for an email address for an old friend of mine in Austin, and LinkedIn came up when I searched him. I backed off when I stumbled into an offer to upgrade; but I have now gone back and finished my application for the free service and have been linked to a friend from here in San Antonio (also a colleague: he's a Young Pegasus judge). I haven't heard from the friend in Austin. Se la wii.
Duh! I just discovered I can do a spell check before I post to my blog! You wouldn't believe how many times I've edited a post because I discovered a spelling error after publishing.

YUM! YUM!

I finally got signed up on delicious, my problem having been that the first time I tried to sign up it insisted I had already done that. And the scary thing is, I don't really know how I fixed it.
I just went into my elephant garden at midnight and wished.

A Taxicab Mystery-Adventure

It was a muggy winter day. The driver sat on a park bench near a palm tree contemplating the vagaries of the Universe. Having been sent to a previously unknown address in her own backyard and right around the corner from her mailbox , she was a little apprehensive. Was this a legitimate fare or just another catty diva looking for a free ride. Only a trip to the mountain to see the Lolly Lama would tell.

of wikis and other wikid things

Several months ago the Children's Librarians attempted a Wiki; but it failed, or it was decided that that was not the right tool for us or something. I'm interested to see World Cat is experimenting with an open Wiki. That could be a great resource for readers and researchers, but hopefully they'll keep it well away from the cataloging operation.Several of the Wikis I checked out were not open, and that was frustrating; but I can see why they would want to restrict access to editing.
I posted my blog on Sandbox as requested.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

All That 2.0 Stuff

This seems to me the real meat of the 23 Things, and, to boot, some pretty significant stuff.
I'd like to quote Michael Stephens in his article Into a New World of Librarianship:
"Librarian 2.0 controls technolust This librarian does not buy technology for the sake of technology. “Techno-worship” does not exist here. Without a firm foundation in the mission and goals of the institution, new technologies are not implemented for the sake of coolness and status. Technology is put to the test: Does it meet the users need in a new or improved way? Does it create a useful service for putting users together with the information and experience they seek? These are some of the questions this librarian asks when planning for technology. This librarian creates and nurtures a living, breathing technology plan."
Stephens is dead-on here. We can't take the user where the user doesn't want to go; and if we leave the user out of the equation there is no solution.

The application of RSS feeds to PACs is a more comprehensible and exciting idea to me now that I have actually used RSS feeds for my personal interests and read John Reimer's To Better Bibliographic Services. We're doing some of the kinds of things he suggests in the article in odd places about the library's website : for example Youth Wired and Kid's Page offer readers the chance to review titles; but how much better to attach that option to the OPAC.

But Whoa! and GeeUp!. Wendy Schultz looks beyound Library 2.0, through Library 3D, to Library 4.0: Library 4.0 revives the old image of a country house library, and renovates it: from a retreat, a sanctuary, a pampered experience with information—subtle thoughts, fine words, exquisite brandy, smooth coffee, aromatic cigar, smell of leather, rustle of pages—to the dream economy’s library, the LIBRARY: a WiFREE space, a retreat from technohustle, with comfortable chairs, quiet, good light, coffee and single malt. You know, the library.

*all articles referenced are from NEXTSPACE : the OCLC Newsletter WEB 2.0 Where will it take libraries
Next Space Newsletter

You say technorati; I say technorati

Oh stop this headache called claiming my blog! the driver pleaded
Technorati replied in a friendly, helpful (if unhelping) manner.
The secret was to bang the driver's head against the instructions until they became clear. It finally worked. See below. And please honor the driver's effort by clicking on the button.

Driving the Old Woman with Delicious Technorati

Okay, for starters, I'm waiting til I've downloaded Foxfire as a browser before I implement delicious 'cause that seems simpler to me. I'm downloading Foxfire because a blur on NPR this morning warned about a serious security breach in Windows Explorer. But the taxi driver is nothing if not vain; so I'm tagging this post.

Roll 'em If You Got'em

Roll Your Own. Ha! I just got it. And I don't remember the sixties!
It took me a long time to figure out how to post my search engine to my blog. But hey, I'm an old woman; I walk real slow.

Confession of the Absurd

If I were being completely honest I would have to revise my profile. I do have a PC (laptop); I do have a camera; I even have an ipod shuffle. It's all your fault, 23 Things. I was okay until I got to Flickr. Then I had to have a camera. And, as I got deeper into the 23 and signed up for NewsFeeds and GoodReads and such it began to weigh on me: the certainty that one day, perhaps soon, They will announce no more playing at work. So I had to have a computer of my own (although, since I live so close to Landa, for the time being at least , until I get the damn thing paid for, I'm depending on WiFi for my connection. So here's the Old Woman With Laptop

Goodreads

Now I've started a Goodreads account! I must say, none of this does me much good unless I get a computer or start spending my time off competing for time on the public PCs. I'm sure the powers won't continue to tolerate this playing at work much longer. But hey, having done a little, it'll be more possible to help patrons do this stuff if they want to. (Who's tested it on the public computers?)
I may be having fun.

Image Generators

I'm not too thrilled by image genearators that allow you to use a canned image to send a mesage; I looked until I found one that would let me add a text-over to my own image. I chose Tagsmaker http://tagsmaker.com/ to generate this image.

Reader Feeder

So, wow. New reader feeds could be cool. I've set up a page with far more subscriptions than I could possibly keep up with. The big bonus is it doesn't create a bunch of paper that has to be stored or disposed of. (English teacher: Never end a sentence with a preposition! Blogger: Okay: it doesn't create a bunch of paper that has to be disposed of, Bitch!)
And it's nice to be able to jump from the Reader page to my blog.

Old Woman with young friend

Old Woman with young friend, originally uploaded by pyediopye.

Recent frolick at the Botanical Gardens
A:. produced something to add to My damn blog via Flickr
B. reminded me there are better ways to spend time than blogging
(P.S. In what might be the ultimate capitualtion, I actually upgraded my Flickr account to "Pro". which, oddly, doesn't meant I've become proficient enough to get paid; it means I've been sucked in enough to pay! My how the language slips and slides away!

This is a test

Quiz:
Which is the real taxi?

The Driver Revealed

The driver has purchased a digital camera and so is ready and able to reveal her identity.

How much farther the driver will go to complete the 23 Things assignments depends upon compensation.

The driver accepts cash only; small bills; unmarked envelope; point of delivery negotiable.

Okay, cash or chocolate.

Survey

1. Do you believe Barak Obama is a Muslim?

2. Do you believe the driver is a Muslim?

3. Do you care?

4. If answer to 3 is yes, why?

5. If answer to 3 is no, please exit the cab.

MY FRIEND FLICKR

The driver cruising Flickr is like a homeless man with no paintbrush attending an art auction. There's some great pictures there, but the driver's got no place to put them and no way, short of theft (reference photo at left) to produce anything to share. No laptop, no pc, no cell phone, no camera...you get the picture. No pun intended

Lost in the Clouds

Looking for a new technology to be interested in, the driver discovered something called "cloud computing". From a taxi point of view this stuff is way overhead. But it promises to reduce the overhead of businesses by offering computer technologies through the Internet, allowing users to purchase the functionality of the supercomputer as a service, paying only for what they use and incurring no infrastructure costs. You can trust that the driver understands this stuff.

Habits

Taking Responsibility
What can I say? I didn't learn to drive until I was 18. There was always someone else willing to get me there.
Hey, it's nor my fault I can't take responsibility for my own learning. It's the way I was raised!
My Take On Obstacles
The times I really, really want to do myself in (like when Dylan died), my biggest obstacle is my therapist who just won't agree that it's okay for me to do it. Otherwise, I fall down, I get up; I fall down, I get up; I fall down, I get up. Someday I will die of natural causes.
Having Confidence
To have is to give is to receive again. Dammit! Does that mean I have to go back to teaching?
Building a Toolbox
At the risk of repeating myself: no camera no ipod no cellphone no pc. I put in the toolbox what I can pick up on my travels. Notice I have not used the word "buy".
Using Technology
Well, shit. If I can't avoid it, I will use it.
Teaching/Mentoring
If you've read this post, I have taught you how annoying it is to vary the color of fonts, and how
very annoying it is to use a color that is hard to read.
Play
READ CAREFULLY, DESIGNERS OF THE 23 THINGS, if you're paying attention:
You can't teach play. It happens

Rules of the road

Dos and Don'ts

Don'ts:

Don't ever call the driver "Sweetie".

Don't drive with a hat on.

Don't go back the way you came.

Don't tip the driver .Save your tips for the cows;they need them. The driver already gets too many tips from that guy in Human Resources.

Don't work too hard at being a human resource. Save your energy for something more dramatic, like being a human torch or a human cannonball.

Dos:

Dobeedobeedo

Dodo (Extinct)

DooDoo (crap)

Doodie (another way of saying crap)

Duty (if "a" equals "b" and "b" equals "c" then "c" equals...)

Several Things

One thing is about having a plan and following thru: I have no visions or reasons. I have ways of tracking the moon through telephone wires and wisteria...
One thing is about mentoring: I'm an old woman. I walk real slow. This makes it hard for folk to follow me.

I have a hat with a hole in it. Truth is, it's Dylan's hat. He's dead, too. Truth is, the Bubba dog was Dylan's too. After five years I find that everything is still about Dylan.

When they opened up the driver's head and the universe imploded, critical information was lost. Where, for example is the library? And what was it exactly that the driver did there? And, oh yeah, how did the driver transfer funds to Texas.net to keep the taxi's registration current. So the taxicab was zapped. But the driver woke up one day (that would be yesterday) and discovered that registration for the cab is now free. What a friggin' world. Ain't technology great?

surviving the end of the world as I know it

Nononononono TAXICAB!!!