Curl Up 'N Diary

24: And one to grow on

2008-07-23T14:52:00.002-04:00

I See Dead People's Books : http://www.librarything.com/groups/iseedeadpeoplesbooks

23 : Is that somebody singing?

2008-07-01T15:05:00.008-04:00

Well, it has been interesting and fun at times and frustrating at others. But I would do it again, with only one reservation: Time. It was very difficult for me to dive in and then resurface in an hour. And, when I needed to put something on hold until my next session, I lost a bit of my enthusiasm for it. If we do something like this again, I would ask that 2-hour sessions be considered.

My favorite thing is the blog itself. I have kept journals for a lot of years, not because my life is particularly interesting, but because there were things I wanted never to forget. So the blog seemed very natural to me.

Even though it was Explore and Run, I always enjoy discovery. Thanks, Sarah, for guiding us through this uncharted territory.

22 : Get the NetLibrary

2008-07-01T14:25:00.003-04:00

The title I searched (Three Men in a Boat) was available as an eBook, as well as an eAudiobook, so downloading wasn't necessary, unless I just wanted to listen to it rather than read it. I was going to try downloading the audiobook anyway, but every approach I made sent me to a Create Account screen. I chose not to create another account, because I am fairly certain I will not be downloading audiobooks. I have taken a couple of them home over the years and have yet to finish one. I tried listening to them while working on crafts, but I would get so caught up in what I was doing, I would forget all about the book playing. Then I would have to start it over again.

I think anyone might enjoy the site on occasion, though. For instance, if you were part way through a book and left it at home, you could read at NetLibrary on your lunch hour, assuming they have the book you want.

I like that these sites have a lot of the old classics. Sometimes it is impossible to find an affordable copy of something if it is out of print. Being able to read or listen to it online is the next best thing to holding it in your hand.

21 : Invasion of the Podcasters

2008-06-27T14:40:00.008-04:00

After searching through all that was available at Podcastalley and adding 4 different podcasts to my Google reader, I am settling back into my pod to sleep. I tried Podictionary (word-a-day in a trivia matrix, zzz), Schleppcast (a traveling teddy-bear, zzzzzzzzz), Biteme (could someone send me the clue fairy?), and some thing on art that had nothing to do with art. Podcasts, to me, are just like blogs. I think it would take a lot of sifting and sorting to find the one you're hoping to find.

I really didn't find anything relating to libraries, though I might have, had I looked longer. I searched a bit through Education and found one called The Secrets (author Michael Stackpole) that covers writing and writers. That was about as close as I came.

I think, if someone had time to research them, it would be useful to some of our patrons to have links added on our site to particular podcasts. The Secrets might go on that list. There was also a Craftypod, for people who enjoy crafts. (It's hard to take them seriously with names like Craftypod, though.) There was another one that teaches jazz piano.

All-in-all, if I had something particular I wanted to learn, this might be a good way to learn it, depending on style and content. Back to my nap.

20 : Gone tubing

2008-06-24T14:32:00.007-04:00

I watched a couple of library videos on You Tube, but settled on one of my favorite songs instead. Back Door Slam's lead singer/guitarist with Roll Away, to-wit:

I liked the site. But, like other applications we've been introduced to, it would take a lot of time to really explore it. Off the cuff, I can only think of one possible use for the library: Perhaps a "Welcome to our Library and here's the tour" sort of thing.

Lines, tumps, and caves.. (I will spare you the Oz pun.) :)

2008-06-21T13:55:00.022-04:00

Another just for fun post. I love unexplained mysteries, coming up with theories about them, and reading other theories. They’re just fun to think about.

Most of you have probably heard of the Nazca lines in the desert of Southern Peru. Visible in their entirety only from the air, they are the result of someone’s vision and determination to “make their mark.” But have you heard of the candelabrum on the side of a mountain at the Peruvian coast? Maybe the same visionary? Or did he inspire another artist?

How about Hetty Pegler’s Tump? It belongs to a group of cairns known as the Cotswold-Severn Long Barrows, last resting places (?) for prehistoric people who were already into ritual.

You might enjoy a look at Newgrange. This megalithic tomb was built about 3,000 BC. At winter solstice, the sun shines through an aperture above the entrance that looks like a letter box and lights up the entire interior.

The Piri Reis map of 1513 shows a landmass to the South that can only be Antarctica. People were going further afield than anyone thought.

One of my favorites is the Antikythera Mechanism. (see picture) This computer-like instrument was created for studying astronomical positions - around 150 BC.

The Crystal Skulls, found near ancient ruins of Mayan and Aztecan cities, are beautifully carved replicas of the human skull and at least some of them aged between 5,000 and 36,000 years ago. And none of them have shattered!

If you’re on vacation near Capri, Italy, you might want to take time out for the Blue Grotto. A subterranean cave with an opening to the ocean, the pool seems to be lighted from below and colors the entire cavern blue.

Most North Carolinians know about the Devil's Tramping Ground. But, if you don’t, you can find this barren circle in the forest near Bennet, NC. Nothing has grown there since it was first discovered.

In Zimbabwe, you will find Great Zimbabwe, an 1800-acre complex of massive stone walls and buildings. One of the structures is a conical tower without an opening of any kind. No doorway, no windows. It’s purpose has been long debated. My guess is it was a watchtower. They just sat on it instead of in it. But, you never know.

The Caves of the Thousand Buddhas in Magao, China offer some of the finest examples of Buddhist art anywhere. The number of temples eventually grew to more than 1,000.

Speaking of China, you’ve probably seen the terra cotta soldiers from the first emperor’s tomb. But if not, here they are. His people were either very respectful or very fearful.

And America has its own huge terraced mound, Cahokia, built by prehistoric Native Americans near Collinsville, Illinois. The Travel Channel calls the Monk's Mound the world’s largest pyramid.

These are just a very few of the great wonders of the world. They are all over the place! Don't buy that seven business!

19 : eSnipper

2008-06-20T14:33:00.004-04:00

I chose esnips as my Web 2.0 award-winning site. I thought it might be nice to have a spot to save things, like links you want to remember, bits and pieces of things found on the web like quotes or poems, whatever you would like to save. It also will save music, videos, and photos. On the postive side, it saves hard drive space, can be accessed from any computer, and allows you to keep everything in one place. I like that. Unfortunately, after I signed up, I realized it was a little too cute. It even had "Cute Space" as a heading on the profile page. Anyway, I think the idea is a good one. I think this site would be useful for individual patrons, but I can't think of anything library-wide that isn't already covered by other, more convenient applications.

18 : Doc(k) this thing!

2008-06-18T14:33:00.008-04:00

Just took a look at Google Docs. This was a great idea. It would save hard drive space, to be sure, but being able to access documents from any computer is its strongest selling point to me. Of course, they don't need a selling point, since it is free! If I were a library computer patron, I would prefer this to the Word application. I'm sure there are many, like me, who have not been aware of it. Maybe we should bring it to their attention...? I think I will use this one myself when I get back to Earth.

17 : We are the knights who say wiki wiki wiki

2008-06-13T14:39:00.008-04:00

Well, added the blog link and a favorite book. It was straightforward with the instructions that were given. My book is here and at my house. :) I checked to see where some of the other bloggers had linked their books and found they were linked to Amazon, so I did the same. I was a little disappointed that the others hadn't written a review, but I didn't do one, either, though this book is so wonderful. I love reading other people's thoughts on books, movies, art, etc. They are always fun and interesting. Just went back and added one of everything, just for the fun of it. Ni.

Is it just me?

2008-06-12T18:25:00.025-04:00

I'm doing this at home because I'm too restless to sit and too tired to stand and crouching at the computer seemed a happy medium. This is going to be a jetsam post: Just toss it out when you're through.

You can go here to see if a site is actually down or if it is just you.

Jerry Seinfeld asked George why he wanted to keep books after he had read them. George said something like, because they are mine and I might want to read them again. Seinfeld said "You know, the great thing, when you read Moby Dick the second time, Ahab and the whale become good friends."

I'm listening to the library's copy of Chris Botti's Night Sessions right now. I intend to buy it soon; I love it! I'm also having trouble taking Back Door Slam off the player. The singer/guitarist/songwriter just turned 21 and he's pretty amazing. Update: As it turns out, I was a little too restless for Botti tonight, so put on X&Y by Coldplay. Sometimes I can hear them channeling U2, but they're still different enough to be good on their own. That's better.

When I moved recently, I had to put most of my books in storage. But there were some I couldn't seal away from the light. All perfect for the short attention span. If you like the classics and love to see them skewered, try The Five-Minute Iliad by Greg Nagan. It's hilarious and only takes 5 minutes.

Found another fun star factoid. Lucy in the sky with diamond rings. And they've launched a new space telescope. Roaming the universe looking for bright lights and signs of trouble. Sounds a little like a Raymond Chandler character.

I reserve the right to add to this, if I can get it done before it drops off the bottom of the page. But things come and go quickly here. Now, begone before somebody drops a house on you!

16 : By the shores of Wiki Gummee

2008-06-10T14:44:00.005-04:00

I enjoyed the book review and subject guide wikis. I think it would be fun to create one for Fontana and allow both patrons and staff to add their suggestions and short reviews. A genealogy wiki might be nice, too, maybe with family name folders to allow additions in the right place...? But the IT guys would have to add it to their clean-up duties. Might be time-consuming. I am fairly certain I would not use one personally. I can't think of any reason I would bother to create something that could be reduced to rubble by someone I don't know. But they are new to me, so I will put the thought on the back-burner for a bit and see if I can come up with something.

15: 2.0 lose or not 2.0 lose

2008-06-07T15:30:00.010-04:00

There is a lot to recommend the 2.0 revolution. I think it has already been adopted by many and there will be many more join up. Everyone is rushing to keep up and any tool that promises to ease the frantic nature of our lives will be tried and utilized if at all possible. But for all the advances and gadgets that litter our days, I cannot see anything taking the place of the printed book. I'm sure there are those who enjoy reading via machine, but there will always be those of us who prefer to read without a light shining in our eyes. And besides, books don't lose power and shut down in the middle of a chapter. The reader, maybe. But not the book, usually. >>I was surprised to read in the 2.0 tutorial that a librarian is suggesting that traditional library book collections will likely become incidental to library services and that 2.0 will step in to fill the gap. He mentioned a 55% drop in circulation at his library as a selling point for his argument. Personally, I think there are probably many factors involved in a 55% reduction in circulation. For instance: location, location, location! Neighborhoods shift and change. Has their library ended up in a less desirable spot because of urban sprawl? Has the book budget already been reduced in anticipation of the "new trend." (Less books, less circulation.) Do they have an efficient and helpful staff? Do they have effective leadership and community involvement? In my view, technology has brought many new people into the library, but it has kept others away. For everything gained, there is something lost. I hope it isn't the book collection nor the readers who still love roaming its ranges, or else the library might eventually become just a helipad for cyber pilots, one great big internet cafe. At that point, it would no longer be a library to me.

14: Google-eyed!

2008-06-06T14:57:00.008-04:00

GOOGLE BOOKS: Holy cow! How have I missed this for six years??!! When I think of all the time I've wasted. Here is my spot and I'm sticking to it. I'll see all of you at the other side of 23 things. And thanks for bringing it up!!!

13: Deliciously extraneous

2008-06-06T12:59:00.007-04:00

First, I wanted to share this, just because I found it, like Sydney Harris, looking for something else: http://www.wackyarchives.com/offbeat/what-photoshop-can-accomplish.html. Is it Mrs. Gollum?

I signed up for the Dreaded Delicious and, like several of the other applications we've reviewed in this exercise, it isn't something I would use personally. I love gadgets, seeing what they will do. But then I usually go back to my tried and true methods. I am the same about these applications. I am glad we have had the chance to see them and see what they will do and if a patron should ask about one of them, I will know what they are talking about. All good. But for myself, I have a very small number of bookmarks that I use regularly, so I think all this structure is lost on me. Of course, if it is decided that we need to save some hard drive space, I'll get used to it, I'm sure. :)

12: Things in space

2008-06-03T14:41:00.016-04:00

One of my favorite things on the Net is astronomy. I don't know a lot about it, but that hasn't stopped me so far. I love looking at the pictures of stars, galaxies, nebulae, and the like. The open cluster in Lyra, for instance, is pretty amazing. And if you haven't seen Eta Carinae and the Homunculus Nebula that surrounds it, look a bit to the left or so. Mind-boggling, isn't it?

This description came from astro.nineplanets.org : "The star Eta Carinae itself is also interesting. It is a variable star; in the mid-19th century it was the second brightest star in the sky; today it is not even visible with the naked eye. It is an extremely large star (150 times the mass of the Sun and 4 million times brighter). Such large stars are very unstable. Eta Carinae's most recent outburst in 1841 expelled the gas that creates the spectacular nebula (sometimes called the Homunculus Nebula) that we see today. The bright lobes of the nebula are about the same size as our whole solar system.")

One of the best spots for sky browsing is the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: http://www.sdss.org/. I also like the Hubbel site: http://hubblesite.org/ and the Chandra site: http://chandra.harvard.edu/. These sites alone are enough to make me grateful for technology.

If I make it through to the end of Things 23, I would like the flash-y drive (maybe a jag). Thanks! :)

11: Rock science

2008-06-03T14:35:00.002-04:00

I enjoyed Digg; I found several worthwhile stories in the Science section. This one in particular caught my attention: http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/ecology/natural-design-series-stones-that-literally-grow-by-themseleves/1232. I had no idea.

Detour

2008-05-30T15:40:00.005-04:00

Can we put one of these in the budget next year? http://librarybarla.com/index_main.html

10: Good (luck) Reads

2008-05-30T14:59:00.005-04:00

I was disappointed with Good Reads. This is as far as I got : http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1176225. I hope to spend some more time on it later, just to see what it will do. I tried adding something to my current reading list, but it just wouldn't fly. Will try again later. ** Ha, got it to work, though it took quite a while. Even though I clicked on current reading, it kept adding the book to my "already read" list. grrrr. I still prefer LibraryThing. ********* P.S. If anyone is interested in chatting with authors, LibraryThing has a schedule up at http://www.librarything.com/groups/authorchat . Many of them are first-time authors, but they post the schedule ahead of time so you have time to read the book.

9: Torpedoed

2008-05-30T14:11:00.013-04:00

I generated a poster at Flickr and was satisfied with it. When I saved it to the blog, someone behind the curtain torpedoed the right side of it. I searched for a spot to adjust the size so all of it would show, but, in my usual style, didn't find one. (I was relieved; I was concerned if I found one, it would set a precedent.) It was fun anyway. I hope to visit several of these places after 23 Things is done.

8 : 3rd Party Tool

2008-05-23T12:23:00.002-04:00

I tried to figure out the mash-up thing. I understand the premise, but I couldn't find anything to mash-up. I tried Google maps (not very friendly) and looked through the Mashup Directory. I think I will need more time with that one, so I can figure out what I would want to do with it. Retriever was a bust, too. I tried to create an image, but my mouse would only make large round circles. I searched for a way to choose a drawing tool, but couldn't find one. So it was difficult to draw anything. I managed a landscape, which apparently wasn't recognized, because it kept retrieving portraits. I think everything looked like somebody's head. I went on to Delivr, which I enjoyed. I made a couple of postcards and sent them. I will probably go back there sometime, if time allows, to see what else can be done. It was simple and fun. Earthquake was a mind-blower. I hadn't thought about the number of earthquakes per day and was surprised to see so many. I liked playing around with it a bit and seeing where the quakes were and how strong they had been. Turkey is getting shaken AND stirred today. I might visit Earthquake again sometime. It's a bit slow, but interesting. Of the four offered, I definitely enjoyed Delivr best. Photography again. So I'm off to find an image generator.

Flickr update

2008-05-19T21:17:00.001-04:00

I found Harold ~

7: Snow on the beach

2008-05-13T14:36:00.005-04:00

Rambled around a bit on Flickr. I love photography, so enjoyed this one. I could have spent a lot longer there and probably will before all is said and done. I searched for Snow photos and found some real beauties. I chose Snow on the Beach (by Stacey) mainly because of the light. That particular quality of light always draws me. I also loved the subject and the composition. Well done all around. I was already familiar with tags and groups, but have not encountered "interestingness" before. As they say, you can learn something new every day, if you're awake to receive it. Another photography site I would recommend is http://www.photographyblog.com/. The gallery there is loaded with great shots by pros and amateurs alike. I love some of the special effects they use. I think this assignment covers habit 7 1/2 very well. It was fun. ** For the larger view, go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/slk/393478674/.

6 (again): Librarian on the Edge

2008-05-09T14:58:00.009-04:00

I found thousands of blogs relating to libraries. I settled on Librarian on the Edge, because it seemed significant. I tried copying the link and pasting it here, which worked fine. But when I went back to Google Reader for the second address, I lost the post and it has not been seen again. Prestidigitation! I also found a blog at LibraryThing, one of my favorite sites. You can catalog your entire book collection, which I did some time ago. It's fun to play around there, especially when your books are in storage. Anyway, this post is subsequently link-less. I might go search them out again and add them later. I don't have enough brain cells left to attempt it now. **Ha! I accidentally found the draft of the first post (on Flight 19 in the Fontana Triangle). Here they be : http://librariansonedge.blogspot.com/ and http://www.librarything.com/blog/ .

Meez tired

2008-05-07T09:40:00.003-04:00

I tried that Meez thing and Meez wasn't in there.

6: Feeding time

2008-05-06T14:29:00.008-04:00

I added a few more feeds. The ones I added previously aren't moving much. Sometime, when time allows, I might roam around to see what else is out there. I can see how folks might get attached to RSS, since it brings everything together for you in one spot. It could potentially save a lot of time and effort, particularly for those who do a lot of Net reading. I wonder if the Weather Channel has a feed...?

5: R (eally) S (imple) S (quash)

2008-05-02T15:19:00.007-04:00

I just spent an hour on this one. Reminds me of VERIZON's phone tree. Would it be OK to add a how-to to the instructions for adding the Fontana blogs to our Google Reader? I searched forever trying to find a button or link and couldn't find anything. I searched in the Reader for the blog names and couldn't find them either. Finally, I asked Sandy and she told me to go into the individual blogs, copy each address, and paste it into the Reader dialog box. THANK YOU SANDY!! It seems like the long way around to me, but it is done! I smell kahlua! **EDIT** Never mind. I just watched the tutorials (I always do everything backwards) and found the info for copying and pasting there, so, in essence, it is already in the instructions. Please excuse!

4: dot done

2008-04-29T18:02:00.003-04:00

I wasn't sure if Sarah's name had an "H" on the end, so I had to go look that up. I've been in and out of this blog so many times in the last hour, it's created a pretty good breeze. Now I'm off to email Sarah. Then I intend to take some time to set this up the way I would like it, with pictures, before I move on to #5.

3: re deux

2008-04-29T17:58:00.003-04:00

Well, this was an interesting exercise. The folks at Google will probably use my efforts in their next group training: "This is what you may encounter." I finally spelled my password right twice. I'm very happy about that. I think I'm going to enjoy this.

2: a deux

2008-04-29T17:56:00.002-04:00

I wasn't sure where to begin or where to stop on this one, but I think I got it. It's been interesting so far.

1: Intro

2008-04-29T17:55:00.002-04:00

I'm visually oriented. I need more pictures! :)

Early in the morning

2008-04-29T17:30:00.002-04:00

There's a bird that comes to sit outside my window each morning about 6:00 a.m., rasping like Tom Waits, waking me up. I'm trying to think of ways to return the favor. First, I need to identify him. He's a slippery little sucker, gets away before I can see him. I plan to go to a card shop and find one of those talking cards that makes cat noises. Then I'll get his tag number and give him something special for his breakfast. I probably shouldn't feel bad about him: He's probably just mad that somebody woke him up. Is it fall yet?