They Make a Good Point

Have you been checking out each others blogs? I found some great and entertaining comments about 2nd Life on 'EMJ’s Random Thoughts and Ideas' blog(http://emjsrandomthoughtsandideas.blogspot.com/)and on 'Library Liz' blog(http://libraryliz.blogspot.com/). You had me in tears Library Liz!

The End Hath Cometh

All right, all in all I rilly did enjoy this program. I did learn many things and found some great sites that I'll actually continue to use in real life. I also found some sites that I most likely will never take another look at. All in all, I think the lessons were creative, thought out and set up in an easy to use, comprehensive manner. And hey, who doesn't like to win free stuff for exploring fun things? If another program was offered like this in the future I would definitely participate again. It doesn't have to end here, either folks! I think the part I had the most fun with was posting to this blog, er, I mean, Neptune posting to this blog. I'd like to keep posting and share thoughts and ideas as well as news both library related or not. I'll also continue to browse through the Ferguson Library blogs to continue to learn about new things that my co-workers like to share. Good job, everybody!

No second Look at SecondLife

All right, my mommy is definitely a gamer girl. She'll be a little old grey haired lady and still rock out on Rock Band 23 on Playstation16, but these kind of sites...listen, I can sum it up in one simple phrase "Get a REAL life!". Did anyone catch the hour long T.V. special that was on cable about the site SecondLife? Well, I did. There are actually people out there who spend thousands of dollars (REAL money, not virtual rupees) never leaving there homes, plugged into a computer 20 hours a day buying up virtual space to make virtual products to virtual sell while they sip on there virtual lattes and chat with there virtual spouse and 3.2 virtual children online. Guess what? Turn off your computer! There is a REAL sun outside and it's shining. There are REAL people (friends and family -who miss you and are worrying about your physical and mental health most likely-) and a REAL job waiting just for you. You can go outside and take a REAL walk to buy a REAL sandwich that you can actually REALLY eat! I know, isn't it simply amazing! Erg, and that's my big fat opinion on the matter. Anyway, I hate it when my mom so much as logs into her online class, so as soon as she sits at her pc I make it a point to cry and fuss and hop in her lap and smack the mouse and keyboard around until she gives up. Hey, you have a REAL son right here mommy, FEED ME!

Take a Look at Facebook

Weeeelllll...I opted to just browse around this site as I already know about it and what it says it has to offer. Okay, I know a lot of people are into these sites, like MySpace and stuff. I know that colleges and some businesses will look you up on FaceBook to find out more about you. FaceBook portrays itself to be a more 'professional' site, but it's basically a MySpace for 30-somethings. I rilly don't put much truck into websites such as these. I find it a lot easier to actually pick up a phone and call my friends to see how they are doing and make some plans. Even email is a lot more simpler to use to keep in touch and work out plans. I have enough passwords and codes and secret handshakes and decoder ring mumbo jumbo stuff to try to remember already that I rilly don't want to make up another account on yet another website to forget about. Not only that, I also don't like the idea of having so much personal information out there for anyone to look at, no matter what type of level of security a particular website has to offer.

Web 2.0 Poll Winners

I found a pretty cool site called Campfire at http://www.campfirenow.com/ listed under the 'Communication' category. I took the five minute tour to get an idea of what this site was all about (http://www.campfirenow.com/tour/). This looks like a pretty cool and versatile site. It's a great way to get a group of people together to collaborate on different projects or discussions if time and distance is a problem. I could see this site coming in handy at the Ferguson Library for getting together for meetings with staff at all the different branches without the hassle of everyone getting down to the Main branch and finding parking. You don't even need to all sign in at the same time. The discussion and any files or pictures are there for other people to log-in at any time to post to the conversation, retrieve files and pictures and add their own feedback for the other members to take a look at later.

Free Stuff Ripped off From Microsoft Office

Okay, I never knew this kind of thing existed and I think I had way too much fun playing with it than any normal person should have. For doing school work this is just simply fabulous! No need to worry about saving all your changes to a thumb drive and then remembering to take the thumb drive with you everywhere you go to continue your work. Not to mention the fabulous kitty montage I was able to slap together on the google version slideshow application. Now if I could just figure out how to set it to music Neptune could be the next American Idol.

Technorati

Ok, is this deja-vu for lesson #5 Locating Useful Feeds? If you glance back at how spitting mad I was, you will soon see that my reaction is still the same. I had the same results (or lack of results) that I had while using the Feedster search engine no matter what type of search I used. I also could not find any of our Learning 2.0 blogs when this lesson was posted. However, I had better luck locating our staff blogs today, 11/14/07, and even found my blog listed (meow-hurrah!). I found the staff Learning 2.0 blog, Blogaruu at http://ania7-blogaruu.blogspot.com/ when I searched. Mommsy got totally into their 'Shoes!!! On YouTube!!!' post. Beware, the movies are hilarious but not for the faint of heart. Thanks a bunch, Blogaruu, like I need my mommy's addiction to shoes to be encouraged, I should be her one and only addiction! Now it's time for my in between dinner and evening nap.

Del.icio.us

Well, I browsed around our page at http://del.icio.us/fergusonlibrary. I couldn't tell if anything had been added by other 2.0 users and I didn't notice any comments or tags. After reading more about how del.icio.us works on their 'help' page (http://del.icio.us/help/) it became more clear what this website is all about. I would personally use this site to keep track of all the recipes I browse for on-line, or keep all the sites and log-in pages for my on-line courses saved in here. I can even use it to keep tabs on all the Learning 2.0 pages so I don't need to keep adding them to all the computers I use in the 'Favorites' section of the different web browsers.

Ferguson Wiki

It was rilly easy to log in and edit this wiki. It's fun to see what everyone is reading and watching. And, WOW, we are a bunch of globetreckers according to the 'Favorite Vacation Spots' page! Is there any corner of this world that staff hasn't been to yet?

Beware of the "Holiday Ten"

It's so easy to pack on the pounds during the holiday season, so here is a little reminder to help you keep on track and not over-indulge too much this year!



BEFORE



AFTER

Wonderful World of Wikis

To my little kitty brain wikis seam like a mesh between a blog and a web page. I wouldn't trust any info found on a wiki for research or fact. I think they are best suited for recreational purposes. They are built on individual or group opinion, so it could be fun to make one for a group of friends to discuss different varieties of catnip and where to get them. Mommy was yakking about how wikis could be used to form book clubs and keep track of book discussions, or as a family web page to keep in touch if your relatives are spread far and wide. I'm sticking with the catnip idea, she's b-o-r-i-n-g, know what I mean?

Web 2.0

I read the first article, Away from Icebergs (http://www.oclc.org/nextspace/002/2.htm), and found it very interesting. It does seem as time goes by the the library is seen less for its stockpile of information and is used more for a meeting place and for entertainment purposes. The Ferguson Library appears to be on the right track, by offering plenty of programs both educational and recreational. Our website is pretty well put together and easily navigable. As time goes by we are able to offer our patrons more and more options to utilize and access the library and what it has to offer via the internet. Although we will never be completely rid of print materials (and we shouldn't, not everything can be accessed completely on the web), you still need to be willing to try new things and accept changes in technology and the ever changing views of our patrons. The longer you stubbornly hang onto out-of-date ways the more you will be left behind when new advances in technology takes everyone else away into the future.

It's a LibraryThing

Wow, what an addictive site! I totally took over from Neptune for this one (he doesn't own any books or read, it's hard for him to turn the pages due to his lack of apposable thumbs). It was rilly easy to add the books, all I did was copy the ISBN numbers off of the back covers. The only trouble I had was trying to catalog some older, out-of-print titles I own (only 3 out of 24 titles, I'll have to play around with the site some more to see if I can manually add them). It was fun to catalog them to my library and see how many other people had the same book! It will take a long time to add them all, but I'd like to do that. I read a ton of books, usually several at a time, and it stinks when you get about 50 pages into a book then suddenly realize, "Hey! I've already read this one!", so it looks like a useful tool to use as a booklist. I've kept my account private for now, but I plan on making it public after I've played with it and added more titles to share with my friends and family. I also like how it links to Amazon.com so the cover of the book appears in 'Your Library'. I collect a lot of graphic novels and manga, it's nice to see the beautiful cover art that most of them have.

Rock & Rollyo

OK, I've been having the same dream for the past couple of nights. I think that makes it more than a hint. Neptune and I or off on a cruise vacation and it's scary how much fun I have with the little guy! We're strolling on the deck enjoying the cool sea breezes and laying out to get a nice tan. No, rilly, I'm serious here, this is what I dream about. So, I decided to do a vacation search engine for my Rollyo engine. I used some of my favorite vacation sites (some of which include www.travelocity.com and www.carnival.com) so I could do a quick keyword search and get a nice list comparing what the different sites have to offer. You can take a peek at a search I did for 'Bermuda' at http://www.rollyo.com/search.html?q=bermuda&sid=323045.

Original Ginsu 1 Ad

Youtube and You

I was just browsing through a catalog when I suddenly burst out with unrestrained laughter. Neptune was both at once miffed (as he was sleeping on my stomach and was indignant about being jostled) as well as being curious (duh, he's a cat) as to what caused my overflowing mirth. I showed him a full page glossy add for Ginzu Knives (now at a current price of $29.95 per amazing set) and he just gave me a blank stare. No really, not even a meow out of the little guy! I was so flabbergasted that he had no idea what the Ginzu knife was and that it is even still around that I was speechless myself. Hello! Ginzu Knife! Can I get a pulse here? The amazing knife that can cute through your grandpa's steel lung and still slice a tomato so thin you can read the repair manual through it! I think this was the first ridiculous infomercial I ever saw, so I used this lesson in my quest to enlighten my son. He still didn't get it. *sigh* Am I the only one who finds this kind of stuff hilarious?

Podcasts

All right, label me ADKD (Attention Deficit Kitty Disorder). I'm not all that into 'paying attention and listening' (my mom prattles on too much about how much her day stunk, so I've learned to tune her out most of the time and just meow at the proper times in her lapses of complaining, so I'm a bit desensitized). Therefore, I'm not all into audio books and stuff, but I did find some pretty fun music sites which I enjoyed. One music podcast I subscribed an RSS feed to was on the site http://www.beatsuite.com/. They even had some fun Halloween themed podcasts. I can't wait to use them to scare the little kittens in the 'hood when they visit my haunted sandbox this year. Mwah-hah-hah, I'm more into tricking than treating.

Audiobooks

Well, I'm a kitty connoisseur of books, so I tried both sites, Netlibrary and Overdrive. Searching was simple on both sites, but Overdrive was a bit nicer due to its 'browse' feature where you could look through a few categories just to see what they had (although there were no categories for 'catnip' or mice'-shocking!). Both sites seemed to have pretty slim pickings and we won't have to worry about them replacing hard copy books at the library any time soon. I also found that unless you liked mainstream authors like James Patterson and Meg Cabot you might be lucky to find even 1 title by an author you like. I was surprised at the lack of classic author titles from writers such as Jules Verne and Emily Bronte, so I had very little luck locating Reading List type books, so it's not a very good option if all the copies are checked out and a kitten needs it for school. Other than that I think Overdrive had a bit more to offer, having different types of items like movies as well as audio books and a lot of the titles could be burnt to cd as well, which looked like a nice feature. I tried to check out a random title, but my library account is one of the many in the system that have the 'Database Error' block on it, which prevents me from checking out titles on Overdrive. I'll have to yell at mommy to make me a new account pronto.

Anything Tech

Wow, that's a HUGE topic...where to begin and what to meow about? Well, I'm still a pretty spry kitten, but I can even remember a day when we didn't have the convenience of photocopiers. In elementary school everyone in class always tried to raise their paw up the highest to be picked to help the teacher print out more activity sheets on the mimeograph machine in the teachers lounge. Now so much can be done on the computer that you don't even need to leave your home! We take the personal computer and internet for granted. Sure, we grumble when a webpage is down or when the internet is slow, but if you stop and think about it: by using the internet and a computer you can work from home, start your own business and even get a college degree by taking the classes on-line and never even entering a classroom! Come to think of it, if we didn't have computers and the internet we wouldn't be able to take Learning 2.0 lessons and earn fun prizes. So, let's bow our heads and give a thankful moment of silence for this technology.

Flickr Mashups

After reading the blog entry, Flickr Mashups, on Reblogga 2.0 (http://rebloggaferg.blogspot.com/), I decided to play around with the 'Spell With Flickr' application. I followed the suggestion in the blog to add the letters as a page element in the bottom window of my template to be able to use this fun application on my blog. Whoever came up with the idea is simply a genius! Now I won't have to subscribe to a couple dozen magazines and get paper cuts and glue in my fur when I make out ransom notes to my mommy. You know, something along the lines of: "If you ever want to see your woobie again leave one opened can of Fancy Feast by my water bowl. P.S. and one toy mouse coated in catnip for dessert".

The Lovable Hedgehog

Spent Saturday running all over a corn maze with a lady friend of mine. While we wound our way through the dust and 100+ degree heat (or so it felt like at the time) we got onto the subject of Toasty, her pet hedgehog. She is a fun loving hedgehog who sleeps all day and is a model by night. You can see some of her famous snapshots in the 2007 calender posted in the Circulation office. Sadly, I don't have any pictures at the moment on my computer to share, so I tried browsing around http://www.flickr.com/ in search of some hedgehog photos to share. Found a purr-fectly cute one at http://www.flickr.com/photos/40239207@N00/188921945/. I suppose if I ever had Toasty over for cocktails I'd serve her up a canape or two. Sharing might be fine for some cats but the Fancy Feast is all mine, baby!

RSS Feeds and Searching

Oooh, I got so aggravated that I attacked the mouse on this one (which wasn't fun cause it was attached to the computer and had no catnip on it)! I tried all three options (Bloglines search, Feedster and Technorati) to try my own search to find posts/blogs on subjects I was interested in and got nothing but a bunch of hooey. When I tried clicking on the 'search tips' link on the Feedster website to see if there was a trick to entering in my search cues I got a big ol' 'Page Cannot Be Found' pop-up. Seemed like no matter what I typed in I got links to completely off subject lists and a lot of random 'adult' content muck. (I hope my mommy didn't see that, she'll think I was being bad and won't give me any catnip mice as punishment. She's so harsh sometimes!). Did anyone else out there have better luck trying these search readers? Also, is there any way to filter the search to bring up other blogs where the subject is what you are looking for and not just one random comment within the text? I'm totally stumped. I'm gonna go take out my frustration on the living room couch now.

RSS Feeds and You

Well, first of all let me say I was very disappointed! When my mommy starting talking about feeds and sat at her computer instead of spooning me out some Fancy Feast(tm) I'm sure you could just imagine how miffed I was. After I gave her the cold shoulder for a few minutes, though, I began to see the light. In just a few short minutes she was able to create a Bloglines account to keep track of some pretty amazing sites. She'll be the first on her block to see some amazing pictures an the blog, http://icanhascheezburger.com/ (of course, none are cuter than me, but we can't all be perfectly wonderful in this world, can we?). She was blah-blah-blahing about being able to subscribe to some other feeds on www.fergusonlibrary.org and www.ala.org to keep track of library issues and events, but I wasn't paying attention. She was also trying to drag me into some boring convo about how she can use this to help keep track of different sites and info for her on-line classes, but at that point I started giving myself a bath and she finally shut her pie-hole.

Learning 2.0

Well, my mom decided to put down this rilly good book to start her blog for Learning 2.0. I don't mind that much because books make great pillows. She told me that if I'm a good cat this year I'll get an MP3 player for Christmas. That means I'm gonna have to sleep on this book a lot so she'll have plenty of time to work on all the lessons!