purple kitchen accessories

Task #10: New Website

2011-12-29T15:46:00.000-07:00

First things first, I got some more books for Christmas: see photos below. Awesome!

The new website is looking good. I like the catalog search box a lot--no drop-down menus to block it when you're trying to search! I like the easy account log-in box as well. It's great that both of these stay at the top of the page even when you navigate away from the main page.

I must say that the only problem I have with the drop-down menus on the "old" website is when they block the catalog search box (which, admittedly, is all the time)--otherwise, I really kind of like them. Am I the only one? On the old site, for instance, it only takes one click to get to get to "Premium Resources A to Z," while on the new site it seems to take two clicks. On the other hand, you can see the Events calendar at a glance on the new site--zero clicks. That's pretty slick.

Speaking of the new Events calendar, I think it is vastly improved over the old one because of its calendar-like layout. With the old one, it was easy to get mixed up about what day you were looking at.

I think the two clicks to the "Premium Resources A to Z" issue I mentioned above is an isolated incident because everything else seems to be easier to get to. I like the footers because everything seems to be there without having to dig (it's organized logically--yay!), and it looks really sharp.

I think, like anything, a lot of people (staff and patrons alike) may need some time to get used to the change, but in the end, I think everyone will embrace it as a vast improvement over to old one.

Task #9: Universal Class and Life Enrichment

2011-12-16T15:53:00.001-07:00

Universal Class looks like a great resource. I didn't actually sign up for any classes or for an account, though. I'm just not ready for any kind of structured learning right now (it's only been a year since I finished school--I need more time).

It looks like there are some great life-enrichment courses that would be fun to take, for instance: "Dog & Cat First Aid, Care & Maintenance," "How to Can, Freeze, Dry and Preserve Food" (although, if I had named the course I would have called it "How to Can, Freeze, Dry and Otherwise Preserve Food"--I think "Otherwise" adds something special, don't you?), "Soap Making 101," "Therapeutic Bathing 101" (I noticed that under "Other Related Classes in Alternative Medicine," it listed "Sewing 101"--Really? I did not realize that sewing was alternative medicine), "Birdwatching 101: Food, Feeders and Behavior," "Braiding Hair 101" ("...for the aspiring hair braiders who would like to start a hair braiding salon"--????), "Animals for Everyone: Penguins," "American Literature Review" (oh wait, I have a degree in lit, maybe a "high school level" course wouldn't be that enriching--hmm...), and "Horseshoeing Basics: An Overview."

I must say I was surprised that there was no basic course specifically geared towards first-time home-buyers under the Real Estate Section. There was a course entitled "Eleven Best Kept Secrets to Buying Real Estate," but it seems to maybe focus more on investing in Real Estate than on the needs of a person who just wants to buy a house and has never done it before.

One thing I noticed that would be especially great for patrons is the section on GED Training--I'll definitely keep it in mind to recommend to people.

As far as staff training goes, I found a course entitled "Basic Research Skills." Unfortunately, I am a little skeptical after finding the following sentence in the course description: "While some people might prefer books to be organized by authors, when you are organizing reference books." I'm sorry, but this sentence is not valid.

Task # 8: Español LibGuide

2011-10-31T15:29:00.000-06:00

Another Webolution task, another quiz. This time, however, I only scored 80% due to the trick questions involved. I was able to go to the training for the LibGuide, so that was really helpful. As was mentioned in the training, if there's no one available to translate, we can bring this LibGuide up on the computer and turn the screen so a Spanish speaking patron can read and hopefully get the answers he/she needs. I really like that suggestion, and will definitely utilize it if the situation arises.

Task # 7: A Little Thing I Like to Call "the Future"

2011-10-26T15:46:00.000-06:00

I like the idea that if your computer were to crash, explode, etc., you wouldn't lose all of your important files--rather than being confined to the ticking time bomb that is your computer, these files are floating in a cloud of safeness that hovers above you wherever you go. I also appreciate the comparison of cloud computing to email, because they really do operate under the same principle. I'm with Book Lush, though--I don't really have a huge need for this kind of elaborate file management. Google Docs and Dropbox seem like they'd be more suited for a business than for personal use (especially if you're going to actually be paying for extra storage space--I don't believe in accruing unnecessary monthly obligations--it feels like you're selling yourself into indentured servitude).

When I was first married (two years ago), we didn't have internet nor did we have a printer (nor did we have Microsoft Office, for that matter--which meant I got very good at saving in compatibility mode--except this one time, but my professor was very understanding), and so I would have to save my papers to a flash drive and get to school early enough to go to the computer lab and print out my paper before heading to class (this was most especially tiresome when I had to print out multi-paged handouts for the entire class). So, would Google Docs or Dropbox have been able to make my life easier back then? No, because they require Internet access and I didn't have it at the time. Okay, so the next semester I had internet access but still no printer. I would routinely email my papers to myself and then go print them out at the school. Would Google Docs or Dropbox have been useful for me then? Maybe, but I don't see why they would have been any easier to use then my own email. The email with my essay in it would have been the most recent one in my Inbox, so it's not as though it would've been difficult to find. In Lit classes, we didn't really do group projects (like in Education classes where you do group projects all the time, gag), so the file sharing features of Google Docs wouldn't have been of much use to me in that regard, either.

Here at work, we have our share drive which is pretty awesome. It is incredibly convenient to be able to access my projects from any staff computer. I could see how being on the cloud would be a comparable alternative to being on a server, but it would have its pros and cons: you could access it from any computer rather than being confined to certain computers, but I imagine you'd have to sign in to an account each time you access your area of the cloud, whereas with the server, you just have to be on a member computer. Another drawback is that you wouldn't be able to access the cloud without the internet.

I feel obligated to mention that I have actually used Google Docs' file sharing feature thanks to my sister. Last year, prior to Christmas, she came up with the idea of us all adding our wish lists to the same Google Doc. That way, we could not only see what our family members actually wanted but we could also place a mark in the field indicating that an item had been purchased and this way no one would get an unwanted gift or duplicate gifts. Yay!

I could see using Google Docs (because I already have an account with Google) to save the occasional "important" file rather than simply saving it in my gmail because it would make it easier to find for sure. And if it ever were to come up, I wouldn't have any problem telling a patron about these options.

Task # 6: People and the Helping of Them

2011-08-30T13:37:00.002-06:00

I got a 100% on the quiz. Yay! I don't think there were any answers that surprised me.

A patron calls and is wondering if there will be someone who can help him put together a resume when he gets to the library in a few minutes (he has little to no computer skills and has never written a resume before). You would: *

A) Suggest that the Workforce center might be a good place for him to get assistance.
B) Tell him yes, there will be someone at the downstairs information desk who would be happy to assist him.
C) Suggest the Book-a-Librarian feature we offer and help him fill out the form if he's interested.
D) Recommend that he use Optimal Resume which can be accessed through our website, and suggest books on resume writing.
E) Tell him about the computer classes we offer.

*Feel free to combine more than one answer to be of the most help to the patron.

I will never divulge the answer--never (but seriously, if you think it's B, I sincerely hope that you're never scheduled in the call center when I'm at the PC desk).

Extra Credit #2: The Key to Enslaving the Human Race

2011-08-09T19:45:00.001-06:00

A Google a Day = tons of fun. I would have to agree with Cinephile Femme about the Paul Revere question, though. It was kind of ridiculous--seriously, seriously ridiculous. The first question I encountered, however, was the one about the painting done by the inventor--first off, I knew (or was reasonably sure) that "What hath God wrought!" was the first message sent on the telegraph, so I searched Samuel Morse and read about him and his paintings--i.e., I only had to do one search to find the correct answer and was very proud of myself. Also, I knew that name of the colony from which the residents mysteriously disappeared was Roanoke--so I got to skip a step on that one as well. Yay! Since I'm not in school any more, I need these small affirmations. I tried several other of these Google "puzzles" (while I was working at the Orchard Mesa branch) and had great success with the exception of the cursed Paul Revere query.

In addition to being great fun, A Google a Day was very informative. For instance, I learned that "Popcorn smell has an unusually attractive quality for human beings" (I got this quote from where else but wikipedia, where it seems most of the solutions can ultimately be found--except the Paul Revere one, of course). I've never thought that much about popcorn's smell before, but wikipedia is right--our (the human race as a whole) affinity for the aroma of popcorn is kind of extreme. Think about it, we go where that smell is, we follow it--even if it were to lead us over a cliff, we would still follow it. If our senses tell us that our beloved popcorn has been burnt by some negligent microwave operator, we become incredibly offended and insulted and that person is never allowed the sacred job of tending to the popcorn again. It has a hold over us. If life forms from another planet wanted to enslave the human race, the key would be in the scent of popcorn--it has power. They would seriously just need giant microwaves with giant packages of microwave popcorn and giant theatre popcorn-makers and giant stove-tops with giant aluminum pans of Jiffy Pop and that would be the end of what is commonly known as the human race.

I would like my extra entry to go towards the down town gift card, please. Maybe I could buy popcorn with it.

Task #5: Paint Leprosy

2011-08-04T12:29:00.000-06:00

Chilton library on-line is way awesome--if you're into that sort of thing. It has incredible ease of use. I was able to easily find a record of my Accord's recalled ignition switch (9/24/2002)--and verify that it was indeed the only recall on my vehicle! It didn't say anything about the temperature knobs breaking and falling off all the time, though--hmm. I don't think it's just me because I'm not that abusive towards my vehicle. It also didn't say anything about the faulty paint. Every other Accord like mine has the same paint-leprosy problem, so I know it's not me. I understand that it's a problem with the top coat. Kind of lame, but then again, if that's the only manufacturing fault with my vehicle, then I'm in pretty good shape. And, in a way, it's kind of liberating not having a perfect coat of paint--if I did, then I would feel obligated to regularly spend eight dollars on a car wash. This way I don't feel guilty when I don't wash my car! Plus, it rained really hard last night, so you know it's clean, right?

After looking up my car, I looked up my husband's truck. It has had no recalls of any kind. That's nice.

As for the Repair stuff, it's beyond me (for obvious reasons--I majored in English, I work in a library--need I go on?), but it's definitely useful for patrons coming in who know what they're doing. It's very detailed--for instance, it lists what questions you need to ask a customer when you're trying to diagnose a particular problem--and what tools you'll need, too. Then there are the diagrams--like I said, they are meaningless to me, but for those who know what they're doing, that's usually exactly what they need--and they can be found under Repair.

I've pointed patrons towards this resource many a time over the phone or when the hard copy for a particular vehicle was not available--there is no doubt that it is a valuable resource, and it's great that we are able to offer it to our patrons.

Task # 4 Really?

2011-06-17T14:42:00.000-06:00

I just read a very fun article from the Dec. 2000 issue of "Consumer Reports" entitled "the new e-books." It's very entertaining reading--for instance, one model has a built-in modem so you can download reading material over the phone--no PC needed. Awesome!!! And both eReaders reviewed can hold at least 10 books at a time--Incredible! How do they do it?! Not to mention, they were crazy expensive. I think the basic rule of technology is never buy the first of anything--it will only get better and less expensive. . .

. . . Which is basically what the article "E-book readers," published exactly one decade later (also by CR) says: "They've never been better or cheaper." I just want to take a moment to say that I don't think Master File premier is very intuitive. I had so much trouble finding articles on eReaders. Typing in eReader or e-reader didn't bring up any CR articles. Typing in "e-Book Reader" was the key. Really, Master File Premier? Really?

Anyway, it seems like Kindle continues to be the best of the eReaders--unless of course you take in to account Amazon's insatiable greed which prevents library rentals. Really, Amazon? Really?

Now it's time for a fun story. A lady who was at the check out desk with a friend a couple of months back (she was not checking anything out herself) told me that she now owns a Kindle and no longer needs the library: "I can just buy popular books right from my Kindle and I don't have to wait like I did with library books." I don't think this lady realized what she was saying--if she likes to pay for books, then she never really needed the library to begin with--her acquisition of a Kindle really has nothing to do with it. There's this thing called a bookstore--it's been around for a while--and it, not unlike the Kindle, allows you to pay for new books rather than borrowing them at no charge. Really, Lady? Really?

Now, back to the CR article from December of 2010: First off, I feel like that's a little old for a review on anything electronic, but I'll go with it. Like I said, Kindle came out on top, but I wouldn't get a Kindle because of the lending issue. Nook is in second place, but Sony isn't even reviewed in this article. But then again, this is from an article that's a half a year old--and I've seen resent news suggesting that CR is now rating the Nook higher than the Kindle. Hmm. Then, of course, there are alternative options--for instance, you could use an iPad as an eReader. I think if I was really in the market for an eReader, I would get a dedicated eReader--the ideas of a long battery life and "e-ink" (not to mention a more reasonable price tag) are appealing. Of course, I would enjoy an iPad, but I don't think I'd be that happy using if for an eReader if I were into that sort of thing. Back to dedicated eReaders--since Sony was not reviewed, I peeked at their website to get an idea of the pricing--a little too pricey for my taste. And even a stylus is not going to get me to pay more (as much as I'd love to pretend like I'm going back in time--re: Palm Pilot). A stylus? Really, Sony? Really?

My decision, if I were hypothetically in the market for an eReader, which I'm not (see previous blog entries, most notably "Free eBooks and the Destruction of the Future"), would be to go with the WiFi-only Nook (I don't require 3G because I am not addicted to instant gratification). It's reasonably priced, it allows you to check out e-Books from the library, and it's got a way cool name--unlike, for instance, the Kobo--probably the reason we no longer have a Borders in this town (you can't just give your products stupid names and expect to stay in business). Kobo? Really, Borders? Really?

If I have sold you on the Nook, I just want to let you know some of the beginning steps to downloading an eBook to it from Overdrive. It would seem that the very first thing you will need to do is download Adobe Digital Editions. This is a one time deal, so once you have downloaded it, you should be able to check-out eBooks with ease. Choose which eBook you would like to check
out. Once you have done that, add it to the book bag, and proceed to check-out. Then you will need to type in your library card number and choose a check-out period. I hope this helps!

In the end, I have to say that I am still partial to book-books (the paper ones with ink-ink). The guy who did the presentation on the Sony eReaders sold me on real books. He talked about all the things people like about real books, and then failed to prove to me that an eReader could capture those attributes--I would like to see them make an eReader smell like a book.

Task # 3 Intelligent Telephones

2011-06-02T19:51:00.000-06:00

In Jan. 2011, Consumer Reports published an article entitled "Best Phones & Plans." This article isn't necessarily about smartphones specifically, but it is about cell phones in general, and cell phones in general are becoming increasingly smart. That is why I think this is the answer to your query. Also, there is an article in the same issue entitled "Find the Best Fit"--also about cell phones, also has the word "Best" in it. Hmm . . .

Something I did notice is that I didn't get these results when I typed smartphones as two separate words. So that was kind of tricky. Hmm . . .

Extra Credit: This one was even more tricky than making smart phones into one word. How about "Izzy Quits Guns 'n Roses" for an article title from the first page of results for the 1/9/92 edition of "Rolling Stone"? That's right. Yay!!!!!

I would like another entry into the downtown gift card drawing. By now, you should already know my reasons.

Oh, and in other news, they really are making "The Hobbit" into a movie!!!!!!!!!!! (I wrote my high school senior thesis on Tolkien--I guess I'm kind of a nerd.)

This One's for David, or, Sad Day

2011-05-30T21:46:00.001-06:00

It's a sad day MCPLD. I echo the sentiment of the little dog in check-out: Don't go, David. I find it strange that right after Borders has closed, David is moving away--coincidence? I leave that for you to decide.

Well, this one's for you, David.

#2 and 80's Day

2011-05-12T09:55:00.000-06:00

I'm graduating this Sunday. Well, actually, I graduated in December, but commencement is this Sunday--kind of anti-climatic. Anyway, I am now a BA just like Anne of Green Gables. I'm really happy to be done with school. I do not miss the homework or the papers or the late nights writing the papers. One thing that I do miss, however, is being graded. Good grades are pretty validating. That is why I enjoyed this task so much. I got a 100% on the website scavenger hunt!!! Yay! I knew right where to go for the grocery bag question, too.

As excited as I am about graduation, I think I may actually be more excited about 80's day tomorrow.

Here's a little music to help get you in the mood.

Task #1: Create a Blog, check

2011-04-29T09:55:00.002-06:00

Hello, one and all! I would like to start out by saying that I would like to be put into the drawing for the down town gift certificate. If you have read my blog in the past (most notably my post from June entitled Free e-Books and the Destruction of the Future) you will no doubt understand my reasons for not particularly wanting a Sony e-reader.

Note the awesome books shown on the left (Penguin Classics is publishing these amazing linen hardbacks--I want them all). How could you not prefer real books to e-Books when real books are so wonderful? In addition to reading real books, you can actually place them on a bookshelf and bask in their stately beauty and excellence. You cannot do that with e-Books. These fabulous hardbacks are one of the reasons I have no interest whatsoever in an e-reader and wish to be placed in the drawing for the gift certificate. Not that it really matters--I never win drawings anyway.

Newseum

2010-07-03T14:15:00.009-06:00

I liked this task tremendously. Yes, tremendously. But for some reason there seemed to be a lot of newspapers focusing on soccer, though. In fact, two different newspapers in Spain have the exact same soccer-related photo on their front pages today (they're probably affiliated, but I don't know since I can't read them). (I hope I'm not offending anybody by calling it "soccer"--we also use our own system of measurement here in America--it's because we like to be different--also, we are monolingual).
I'm really glad that anyone who gets on this site will be able to see the front page of our local paper. For instance, today (July 3rd), our paper features the mug shots of roughly twenty-two people arrested in connection with a meth ring. The Sentinel seems to be quite fond of featuring mug shots on its front page (whether it be a meth ring bust or simply the current listing of Mesa County's most wanted--people who also happen to be facing various drug-related charges, incidentally).
I like that Newseum gives the links for the papers' websites. That is really handy. The only problem I have is that newspaper websites in general seem really hard to maneuver. I think they do this on purpose so that you have to actually buy the paper. The fact that Newseum has the actual front pages of papers is pretty cool considering that that's more than you can get from the papers' own websites.
I'm trying to imagine a scenario where I would have reason to recommend this site to a patron. Maybe if they asked, "Is there a resource that can give me information on various newspapers from across the globe--perhaps that shows the current front pages of these papers as well?" Then I would say, "Why yes, yes there is!" You never know, it could happen. I really did enjoy this task, though.

Free e-Books and the Destruction of the Future

2010-06-24T18:39:00.001-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, my pastor said that if someone hands you something that's free, it's usually a good thing--unless it's a puppy. There's no such thing as a free puppy. Since you don't have to clean up after free e-Books and they don't incessantly make high-pitched noises, they must be a good thing.
So, now that I have logically come to the conclusion that free e-Books (am I typing that correctly--is the b supposed to be capitalized?) are a good thing, I guess this post is done. Yes, good--free e-Books are good. That is all there is to it...

...But wait. What if real books are rendered extinct by the existence of e-Books. Then free e-Books would be a very bad thing. I see a future where fire men do not put out fires, but rather they burn books. Books just take up space and collect dust anyway, right? Everyone (the people of the future that is) will be forced to read only e-Books. You could be arrested for possessing real books. That's the future and it's all because of free downloadable e-Books.
Free e-Books are obviously an evil plot to rid the world of everything that is noble and good.

In answer to the prompts, I was able to find free downloadable e-Books of some of the books that I bought for school last semester. That's kind of lame. See, there's a difference between buying books that you want to own and buying books that you are forced to buy for a class. It was pretty easy, too! Besides the fact that free e-Books are part of a conspiracy to take over the world, I think they're a great tool for students (literature students like myself) who are forced to (I mean "get to") read the classics. Yay for not having to buy overpriced books that you don't ever want and they only give you a dollar for at the book buy-back. Boo for the destruction of real books.

Optimal Resume

2010-05-18T18:06:00.004-06:00

Okay, school's out for summer and I'm ready to think about Webolution again. (Yay for 20 page papers!)
There were a couple of features I really liked about Optimal Resume. 1) It gives pointers on what to hi-light on your resume based on the specific field you are in, and 2) it has that cool portfolio option so you can attach stuff. I think this will become a better resource the more employers get involved with it. It's really neat to be able to search for jobs based on the specific field/key word.

No words are needed

2010-04-11T15:14:00.003-06:00

Print-Friendly

2010-03-27T14:33:00.000-06:00

I must say, I think printfriendly.com is pretty cool. It is even cooler than copying and pasting stuff into Word documents. It seems like whenever I'm working at the lower PC desk, there is inevitably someone who is having trouble getting stuff to print the way he/she wants it to, and I am constantly showing people how to copy and paste articles, etc. into Word. Printfriendly.com is so much cooler because you don't have to painstakingly hi-light the text while trying to avoid the ads--this is especially tricky when the article in question is inordinately long. I like printfriendly a LOT!
As far as print preview goes, it is indispensable when it comes to printing from the web--for some reason, stuff just comes out weird from the internet.
In my experiment with printfriendly.com, I got an 8 page article down to 3 pages without doing anything besides just copying the URL into printfriendly. It's so neat how it magically removes the ads. Yay!
As a side note, I am currently about 40 pages from finishing Mansfield Park. Yesterday in class, one of my classmates semi-spoiled the ending for me during discussion. It is incredibly suspenseful none-the-less--in that way that only Jane Austen can be.

Learn-A-Test

2010-03-10T18:12:00.000-07:00

I think Learn-A-Test is a really great resource. There are always people asking about GED or other test preparation books and this is such a great place to send them--especially when the physical book they need is already checked out. I tried a few different tests--I recommend 4th Grade Math Practice--Algebraic and Thinking Patterns. It's quite fun and I got a 100% on it. Yay! Really, though, this is a great resource--it's got practice tests for everyone--whether they're taking the ACT, GED, or GRE--and the selection for career related practice tests is impressive as well.

Hey look! I remember how to use Zamzar from way back on task 18! I find myself wanting to purchase these socks solely to support this commercial.

eBooks

2010-02-03T19:30:00.003-07:00

Hello again, all! Okay, so I read the instructions, which I found to be quite lengthy and repetitive, and then proceeded to look for an eBook to check out. I settled on Pride and Prejudice, although "settled" is not the right word. Below is the actual picture shown to me by overdrive. Yay. That was a couple of days ago and I was actually able to locate my book again. I like that you can click on the footnote and go directly to the note rather than having to flip to the back of the book. However, I did get lost in the footnotes and had trouble finding my way back to the page that I had been reading. Then I helped I guy locate books on falconry... not in eBooks, just in the library.
I have mixed feelings about eBooks. I understand how it's really convenient to be able to simply download a book to your computer or device and how you can travel and have tons of books to read without having to actually carry around tons of books. I just don't like reading from a screen--I like real books. I like the way the pages feel. And I especially like watching my bookmark move closer and closer to the end of the book.

Task 23: This One's for Lyndsay

2009-11-18T19:44:00.000-07:00

What a sad day this is. I don't want Webolution to end. I must admit I wasn't very excited about it at first, but then I grew to really enjoy it. The prize incentive was effective as well. The best part was reading my fellow webolutioner's blogs. It was kind of a unifying experience, plus Lyndsay uses my name in practically all of her blog titles. It makes me feel special.

Before I give my favorite task, I'd like to tell you my what my least favorite task was. That would be the Clipmarks task--I believe it was #15. I just don't enjoy being frustrated by a program that doesn't do what it is supposed to do. But that's okay. It's all in the past now. (And there was that "pop" I received from the person in Ireland.)
I really enjoyed task 21--Picnik. It was fun editing photos.
Task 19 was good--Zamzar. I enjoyed posting my favorite YouTube video ever for you to see.
Tasks 10, 12, and 14 were helpful refreshers--EBSCOhost, NoveList Plus, and Downloadable Audiobooks respectively. I guess I don't have anyhing else to say about them.
I also enjoyed task 9--making a website. I won't lie, I enjoyed making a page devoted to the bassoon picture. Here it is one last time:I know how much you all loved this picture. As a side note, it's probably a good thing we're wrapping-up since my typing fingers are hurting at this very moment, and I have a rather large paper to write before school's out.

Oh, and Jordan, did you tell everyone about your tea kettle (and how it has a handle on the top)?

In closing, I'd like to share with you a review that my blog received:

"Easily the best purple blog out there. Great wedding photos. She surprises you with her sharp wit. You thought she was such a nice girl!" ~Pastrami

Alrighty, that's it for the 23rd and final task. I guess I'll just have to talk to you all in person now.

Task 22: Internet Addiction

2009-11-17T16:54:00.003-07:00

I found Tastespotting to be an appealing site. The food photography was impressive. I also enjoyed the video on how to polish one's shoes using a banana. To be perfectly honest, I don't really spend a great deal of time on the Internet other than to check my email and work on Webolution.

I frequent http://www.mesastate.edu/ for purposes of my education. I don't know why I linked it for you. I highly doubt anyone actually wishes to visit that site, but it's too late for me to unlink it. Why would I do that?

My husband thought I should link this website for you. http://www.wolframalpha.com/ I'm not even sure what it is or what it does. I do not frequent it. I think my brother-in-law does, though. Does that count? I have linked it for you.

Hmm... I'm running out of ideas. Here is another site I visit often. LINK
He he he.

Seriously though, Internet addiction is a huge problem in our society today. Don't let yourself become dependent upon this technology. What if the power goes out (and your laptop and phone batteries die)? You don't want to have to go through painful withdrawal. There is help. There are facilities set up to help people like you. You can break free of the addiction.

Okay, that's it for now. One more to go!

Task 21: Picnik

2009-11-14T13:43:00.004-07:00

I thought Picnik was quite fun. I'm happy with the way my picture turned out. I cropped it a little and then, after playing around with a bunch of different features, I finally settled on the "posterize" option. Pretty cool. It took a little bit of adjusting to get it how I wanted it, but I think I got it. I will definitely use this website more. It's nifty.

Task 20: The Ol' Government Website Searching Task

2009-11-12T18:48:00.000-07:00

It was inevitable. Of course you would ask us to search government websites. The title of the task scared me, but the task itself was not as horrible as first imagined.

First of all, I had lots of fun looking up houses on the Assessor's page. I looked up my parent's house and the info is sadly not up to date. It gives a date when presumably the people who lived there before us bought the house. My grandparent's house was up to date, as was my in-laws'. Information on my apartment building was sadly lacking. It gave a mailing address of somewhere in Indiana. I'm not sure that makes sense.

On the Colorado State website I saw that you could add emergency contact info to your driver's license record online. Speaking of doing things online, I noticed on the Mesa County website that you can get a marriage license online. Hmm. I think I remember filling that out in the motor vehicle part of the down town courthouse on a computer set aside for just that purpose. I suppose if you do the application online, you still have to go down to the courthouse (or the place in the mall) to do the rest. I recall the lady at the courthouse checking our ID's to make sure we weren't lying about our identities. Hmm. As a side note, if you're ever going to get married, get your license at the courthouse rather than in the mall--it's much more romantic.

After browsing the state and county websites, the social security website caught my eye. I found directions to the local office that would've been quite handy when I was getting my card updated this summer.

NEAR AIRPORT - GOING NORTH ON HORIZON DRIVE - TURN RIGHT AT HORIZON CT - THERE IS A TRAFFIC LIGHT AT THE INTERSECTION OF HORIZON DR AND HORIZON CT - THE OFFICE IS LOCATED ON THE FIRST FLOOR OF A THREE STORY RED BRICK BUILDING

I especially like that it gives a literal description of the building. Trevor and I initially went into the wrong building because no one told us that it was red--we eventually found the right place. And then the security officer directed us to the social security office (because he figured people who are holding hands walking into that building can only have one order of business). That was a good day for going to the social security office and the DMV. We were expecting to be waiting in line for hours at both places, but it was really quick--suspiciously quick. Hmm. Okay, I'll stop annoying everyone with my stories of newlywedom.

Task 19: 100%

2009-10-31T15:30:00.002-06:00

Yippee, I got a 100% on the wiki scavenger hunt quiz. I'm so happy. I wish, though, that I was the only one who got a perfect score and that by so doing I threw off the curve for everyone else. . .

I learned where to go if I want to see the schedule for the security staff or if I want to see what the managers talk about in their meetings.

The thing about the wiki is that you have use it to appreciate it. The more you use it and familiarize yourself with it, the more it can serve you. The wiki can be a frightening place if you never go there. It took me a month or two to figure out where the pubserv schedule was on the wiki. There was a point in time when no one knew where it was.

Task 18: Zamzar and Tiny URL

2009-10-30T16:39:00.000-06:00

Look at this atrocious url.

http://www.thepurplestore.com/cgi-bin/product_detail.cgi?pstore_id=14343&product_line=Kitchen&page=1&column=2&row=2

Whatever am I going to do? I wish there was a way that I could make it into a shorter, more manageable url.

http://tinyurl.com/yhu4p2l

It's a miracle. Now this url is a manageable length!

This very same story is happening to countless multitudes everyday as they discover Tiny URL for the first time.

Tiny URL informed me that the old url was 115 characters long and this new one is only 26 characters long. Isn't that exciting?! Tiny URL is an interesting service. It seems to me that if they charged for their service, then no one would use it. I think the problem they are addressing isn't really as big of a problem as they make it out to be. If I want to put a link to something in an email or blog and it's excessively long, I copy and paste it and hyperlink it to the words "Click Here" or "Link." It's not that difficult to copy and paste and hyperlink--I still had to hyperlink my tiny url anyway. Oh well. All this is not to say that it's not nifty how it works and mysteriously makes shorter URLs--because it is nifty.

Zamzar is pretty neat, except that I wouldn't have known which format to convert this video to if Nancy hadn't mentioned that she converted hers to mpg. Otherwise I would have no clue. It still took me awhile anyway. Thanks person whose name starts with "lyn" for showing me where to find the video url. That was a quite a struggle for me (I keep forgetting to put the u in struggle--I'm too busy concentrating on whether the e or l comes first). I must admit that it even took me awhile the get the video onto my blog--for some reason I was thinking I should be able to copy and paste. But as you can see, I figured it out.

I feel like tasks like this are slowly making me more competent when it comes to helping patrons with computer issues, such as the computer not reading their files, etc.

Okay, That's it for this task. I have already said too much.

Task 17: LibProf Sites

2009-10-27T19:47:00.000-06:00

I would just like to share that I enjoy shortening things to more manageable lengths--I especially like it when they are already shortened for me. Acronyms and initials aren't really all that exciting for me--nonsensical shortenings of words and phrases is what delights me. For instance, Lit Crit--much easier to say than "literary criticism"--the sheer number of syllables is enough to drive a person mad. I have found this to be true when asked what classes I have left to take--I just can't bring myself to say literary criticism (it is painful even typing it). I'll be taking Senior Sem next semester (or if you prefer, Seminar in Lit) and I'm happy to report that I will be all done with Brit Lit in about 6 weeks. Of course, my senior sem class is on Jane Austen, who was British. Hmm. Maybe I'll never be done. A year ago at this time, I thought I was taking my last ever lit course, but then I changed my major (from elem ed) and have had nothing but lit courses since then. It's funny how that works. I rather enjoyed Chil Lit when I took it. I like saying Pub Serv rather than "Public Services". This reminds me Of Tech Services, which reminds me of change... (I noticed that we got some new bar codes which are very sleet and trendy looking.)

What does all this have to do with task 17? you may ask. Well, nothing actually. But I'm feeling really uninspired by the task itself and I don't want to give you just a short little snippet. Oh, and if you weren't paying attention, I mentioned that my seminar in lit class is going to focus on Jane Austen--I am so excited (I know there are some people--whose names I will not say but start with jor and lyn--who don't particularly care for Miss Austen's work, but I happen to be a big fan. Yay, if this is supposed to be the hardest class that I will ever take in pursuit of a bachelor's degree and it's on Jane Austen, then I think I may actually graduate after all (quite honestly, I think lit crit will be way more difficult--oh well).

I looked at some stuff that I thought looked interesting on the library professional site. I clicked on "Information Wants To Be Free" because I liked its title. She was talking about teaching basic library research skills to college freshmen. It was kind of interesting and kind of boring (it was incredibly long). I do remember that in my English comp (who in the world says "composition"?) class we had a day or week when we went to the campus library and learned how to look up articles and stuff like that (I think we did it again in another class, too). Now that I think about it, it is really important to know. It's a no brainer for me now, but if I didn't know how to read the OPAC or use the research databases, then doing a research paper would be pretty difficult (wikipedia just doesn't cut it in college, people). This blogger was actually talking about whether college profs or librarians should be the ones teaching college students about library basics. This, I believe, is the great unanswerable question. I looked at several other links, but nothing really stood out to me--as in I really don't have anything intelligent to say about any of the other links I followed.

I think this is a good little site for library professionals, but alas, I am not a library professional (if you read the first part of this blog and did not just skip to the end, you would know that I am taking Jane Austen classes just to get my B.A). All this is to say that I personally, at this point in my life, don't forsee myself using this particular resourse (which I think is great for actual library professionals, just not for me).

Task 16: Open Office

2009-10-18T15:27:00.003-06:00

I was relieved to find that following on the heals of such a frustrating task (see title of task 15) is a relatively painless one. I married into a word-processorless Dell. It had crashed sometime ago and lost the software it did have. My husband (see pictures between tasks 13 and 14) had been using Notepad to write his papers (or he would just go to the school library). My brother-in-law told us about Open Office and we downloaded it to the aforementioned Dell. It was hard to believe at first--"What, it's free? Nothing is free." As a result, I have been writing all of my papers on Open Office Writer this semester. It is very similar to Microsoft Word--the older version, not 2007. It's kind of a bummer because I had just gotten used to the new and improved Word, and now I'm having to go back to the old look and layout. Oh well. The only thing I had trouble with was figuring out how to insert page numbers (in proper MLA fashion) using Open Office. I finally figured it out, and I'm good to go. I just save my documents in .doc format and I haven't had any trouble with my stuff opening up in Word on the school computers. One other thing that it doesn't have that Microsoft does is the synonym function when you right click on a word. I am addicted to that function, so it's kind of a bummer not to have it in Open Office. All in all, considering that it's free, I really can't complain.

I think that the idea of open source software aligns with libraries in that it gives people free access to information--key word "free."

I've been given a pop!

2009-10-18T14:13:00.004-06:00

Something curious happened to me yesterday. I checked my email and Clipmarks had sent me a message telling me that I had been given a "pop". So I clicked on the link and found that somewhere in Clipmarks world, my post had been posted and someone from Ireland had given me a pop. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel about this. Hmm... I still wish it would've posted to my blog like I wanted it to (and like it told me it would do) and not to a Clipmarks account page that I didn't know I had.

Task 15: The Nighmare Task

2009-10-16T15:53:00.005-06:00

Not only am I really hungry right now and have two more hours of work and only one little child-sized granola bar to eat, but I'm also really frustrated by this task. I looked at other people's blogs and saw that everyone was having the same problem, so that made me feel a little better--but I'm still hungry. I just wanted to use the Clipy thingy to show you guys this super awesome video footage of Anne Frank (if you haven't already) and now I'll just have to give you the link. LINK I hope you can figure out what I intended for you to look at since you're seeing a whole entire web page, and not just the parts I would've clipped for you.

The task description made it sound so simple, but in application it was a living nightmare (almost as bad as the one I had about my library card being replaced and my number being changed). I think trying unsuccessfully to use Clipmarks put a damper on my whole afternoon, but at least I have taco night to look forward to. I'm not sure that I'd use it very much even if it were working properly. I'm not on the Internet very much, nor do I search for stuff on it. I usually only get on to check my email and do Webolution. I heard about the Anne Frank footage on the radio.

I seriously tried at least four or five times to upload my clips to my blog and each time it said it was successful. Why, why would it lie to me?

Task 14: The Dreaded Downloadable Audiobooks

2009-10-10T11:39:00.005-06:00

I downloaded Anne of Green Gables from OverDrive. I found it to be amazingly simple (at least as far as downloading it to a PC goes). It's on the lower info desk computer if anyone is interested. I was a bit confused about the way the check-out works. From my understanding, OverDrive lets you download the item, and when it has expired it is no longer accessible: "Once the lending period is over, what happens to the title I checked out? You do not need to return a borrowed item. Once the lending period has elapsed, the title is automatically 'returned' to the library. Although the file(s) will remain on your computer, the file(s) will no longer be accessible." I'm wondering what you are supposed to do if you burned the audiobook to a CD. Do they want you to destroy the CD after the lending period is up?

NetLibrary seems like a really good resource as well. It would seem that it has the electronic books as well as audio books--very intersesting.

I must admit, I didn't try downloading anything to a portable devise, because I don't have one. I wonder how much more difficult it really is, because downloading to the computer was really easy.

You don't have to care...

2009-10-04T16:41:00.004-06:00

...but if you do, I have some of my wedding photos available for viewing!

Just click here

Task 13: Acid Jazz

2009-09-26T15:20:00.006-06:00

For this task, I searched for a quail sound. Is that too much to ask for? Well, no quail sound came up so, filled with disappointment, I decided to find an elephant trumpeting sound (perhaps this was an original thought on my part, or perhaps the fact that the icon for the animal noises is the outline of an elephant had something to do with that choice). I wasn't horribly impressed by the elephant noises, so I decided I'd listen to some music loops. I found one that was called Death Trombone. The name intrigued me, so I listened to it. I was impressed by the way it looped (I had to push play again really fast to make it loop)--the end went right back into the beginning very nicely.
I tried looking for a dolphin sound affect, but all I found were two strange ambient/electronic clips. Where are the Flipper sound effects?

I read about their stringent guidelines for being able to be a contributor to the Soundsnap collection. Let's just say, don't expect to record things on your cell phone and be able to upload them to that website. As a side note, I'd just like to say that they don't have a single dolphin sound, but they do have "Large metal dumpster door latch movement with an impact and sliding." In fact, there were five pages of results for "dumpster." And let's hear it for one minute and eighteen seconds of "Scrabble game with hand in bag and tile movement," which can be found under "Sports." I suppose we could have sound effects on our website, but I'm having trouble imagining it not being cheesy. I did find some sound effects of "Handling and turning thin pages of a hardcover" though!

As for the other part of the task, I liked Artist Server for its list of genres and sub-genres. Under the heading of "Various" I found Acid Jazz and Game Soundtracks. I also found Melodic Trance (which wasn't really what I was expecting from the name), and under Rock, the oh so "Psychedelic." Other than that, however, I wasn't too impressed with Artist Server. It's just not very visually appealing (and don't say anything about what my blog looks like). I sampled some Acid Jazz--it was pretty acidic and yet jazzy. I think I like Amie Street the most. It seems more user-friendly than the others.

Why no quail sounds?

Task 12: NoveList Plus

2009-09-16T18:37:00.000-06:00

I looked for the Harry Potter series and I also looked for Twilight, The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and A Series of Unfortunate Events (I apparently only look up series that have been made into movies). I've always used KDL's What's Next to look up the order of books in a series and I've often found that it has holes, so I'm happy to see that there is another resource for that.

I was initially a little confused by the Author Read-alikes part. I think I figured it out though (I have used it before, but it's been awhile). I don't have a whole lot to say about it--I'm just glad that I figured it out. I think it needs more authors. It didn't even have J.K. Rowling in there.

Recommended Reads was ridiculously extensive. There were so many genres and sub-genres. I was blown away.

Task 11: Author Resources

2009-09-14T18:24:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure that I really had a favorite as far as The Book Report Network goes. I think if I was looking for a review of a teen book, I would use the teen reads page and if I was looking for a review of a Christian book I would look on the faithful reader page (and so on and so forth). I'm not sure that the Author Yellow Pages is necessary since I would just google the name of an author if I wanted to find their website.

So I looked up J.R.R. Tolkien in the Biography Resource Center (again) and read an article on him. I didn't really learn anything new since I wrote a research paper on Tolkien in high school and read his entire biography (but you did specify "favorite author").

That's it for this task.

Task 10: EBSCO

2009-09-12T15:04:00.000-06:00

I was excited to use this discovery task to look for an article for a paper
for school, but then I saw that we were actually given specific tasks to do,
so I did those instead (and, as a result, I didn't make progress on my
homework and will probably flunk out of school).

For the Consumer Reports search, I really wanted to find information useful to
me, so I searched for articles about pizza stones (mine, that I have had for
two months, broke the other day), but Consumer Reports has apparently never
done anything on pizza stones, so I decided I would verify that my pots and pans are great. The most recent article that confirmed the greatness of my pots and pans was from 2005. If I searched for only the most recent articles, it gave me a little side-note piece that rated cookware without distinguishing between non-stick and stainless steel cookware (they apparently didn't take into account the fact that it probably won't be safe to eat off of the non-stick pans in 50 years because the top rated pans were non-stick). I also ended up finding an article confirming the great and wonderfulness of my KitchenAid Mixer. (And yes, as the picture would imply, it is white, not purple. My whole life I wanted a purple KitchenAid mixer, but they just don't make them anymore. I try not to let that interfere with my feelings for the mixer that I do have, because she is wonderful and kneads bread for me and just looks so nice in my little kitchen. Also, when I was looking for the picture for this post, I found a picture of an absolutely gorgeous purple KitchenAid mixer and it was in a lady's blog that was from 2007 and she mentioned that she had had the mixer for 3 years--I can't believe they stopped making them in purple. Why, why did they stop?)

In the Biography Research Center I searched for C.S. Lewis and found ten articles. I also searched for J.R.R. Tolkien and found eleven articles. How exciting!

Task 9: Creation of a website

2009-09-03T19:34:00.000-06:00

Okay, if you've been following my blog (yes, I mean you, David) then you know that I'm not into the social networking/blogging, etc. world. Well, you would be surprised to know that this was not the first time I have made a website. A few years ago (before I had declared a major and knew what I should take that would actually count towards a degree), I took a class called Computers in our Society (I also took a class called Chemistry in Society that same semester, which I was routinely 5 minutes late to). In my computer class she had us make websites, but I don't think we were allowed to use templates. We actually had to make the links ourselves (it didn't do it for us, but after all, this was a few years ago). Anyway, I'd let you see that website (it was about purple), but it is no longer up and running.

I enjoyed making my website for this project. I struggled initially with what it should be about. I figured something out, though. Take a look for yourself: http://sites.google.com/site/purplekitchenaccessories/home

It was really easy to make. My husband and I made a website for RSVP's for our wedding when we were engaged: that was really easy.

Task 8: Creative Commons

2009-09-01T16:29:00.000-06:00

I found this to be an interesting task. It's hard to find anything that is truly unique and genuinely doesn't take inspiration from any other source--seriously. So I think Creative Commons is a really good idea. To be able to use and build upon someone else's work without having to worry about being sued is a good thing.

If I, or a patron, needed a generic picture of, say, a bassoon, I could just use Creative Commons to find a picture that is okay to use (since I don't have a bassoon and wouldn't be able to take my own picture of said bassoon).
I hope no one minds that my picture is so big. I found it using Google Images on Creative commons, but then I had to go to normal Google Images to be able to get the url for it so I could share it with you all. I think Creative Commons is really neat. Yay! Now we can safely use the internet as a source from which to build upon.

Task 7: Reader Resources

2009-08-24T17:40:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I took a peek at the different sites and here's what I have to say: Goodreads, Shelfari, and LitLovers were all a little too "social networky" for me. Honestly, reviewing books and having book discussions is a little too much like school for me--I know, that's a horrible thing to say. But seriously, I'm a lit major and right now I am reading things that I don't necessarily want to and I am being forced to analyze them and write about them. I don't really want to do that very same thing in my leisure time at this point. Plus, I'm not really into social networking sites in the first place. So none of these would be my choice.

LibraryThing looks really neat (although, it has a strange name). I like the idea of being able to catalog your own personal library. This is one that I would seriously consider signing up for.

I could see myself actually using AllReaders to track down a book with a forgotten author and title. That could really come in quite handy. So, despite the garish look of the site and not technically having to sign up for it (that I could tell), this is the one I have chosen. It's practical and has a real use.

As far as the Boulder Public Library's Goodreads goes, I thought it was pretty cool--although I couldn't view very much of it since I didn't have an account. From what I could tell it's more like a social network than a blog. As far as the question of our library having one goes, I'm not sure. I mean, we already have a facebook and a book blog, so isn't that the equivalent of having a Goodreads account? The more accounts we have, the less interesting they will become because someone around here has to keep adding to them.

Sorry, I'm not trying to sound pessimistic. I think that's all I have to say for now. Have a great day!

Task 6: Tutorials

2009-08-22T15:30:00.000-06:00

I thought it was interesting that the Ohio Library Council had tutorial for new staff. I think that that sort of orientation is a really good idea. I enjoyed browsing the part about cataloging. I had a pretty good handle on the Dewey Decimal System before I started working here, but I didn't get too much information on it when I started (of course, I think we can all say that we got great training in shelving). I think it's good for us to have somewhat of an understanding of those sorts of behind the scenes things when we work in the library. I also liked the part that talked about how everyone contributes to the mission of the library. It puts a different spin on your job when you put it in the context of "how do I fulfill the mission of the library?"

I shall now move on to Customer Service 123. I thought it was really interesting that it said that 68% of customers who quit using a certain business do so "because of indifference by sales and service personnel." I guess I didn't realize that the number was that high. Bottom line: we should make it so that people would rather wait in line to be helped by us than to use self check-out. I think the question "How would the last 3 customers you worked with rate you?" is a really good question to ask ourselves periodically. Last night (literally last night) my grandmother told me that there was a girl who helped her at the grocery store and while she did she asked my grandma simple, pleasant questions and just seemed like she cared. My grandma said that it made her feel really good and that I should make people feel like that in my job.

The part that I liked the most and really agreed with was the part in Customer Service 123 where it talked about how every position in the library--including behind the scenes--is a customer service position. I have always felt strongly that good customer service in the library extends past smiling and being pleasant while helping someone face-to-face. Properly checking in someone's books for them is good customer service. In contrast, not paying attention to the screen and accidentally not checking in someone's books for them before they get put on the shelf is really poor customer service. Just think about it--patrons can get pretty upset or at least anxious when they see that a book they are sure they returned is still checked out to them. Making people upset or anxious is not good customer service (it doesn't matter that they don't know it was you). I could go on and on about how all kinds of behind the scenes tasks are in fact customer service, but this particular one is my soap box. So watch the screen!!!

Task 5: OPAC

2009-08-22T10:37:00.000-06:00

I usually place holds for multiple items using method number 2--the "Add to Book bag" method--and after trying it the other way, I've decided that I'm going to continue to do what I've been doing. When you log into the account initially to place holds, you have to pick hold-thru dates every single time. I did notice, however, that the "My Library Account" method did allow me to change my requested pick-up location even though it sounded like a drawback of that method was supposed to be that you couldn't do that--well, it seemed to do it for me, and that just turned into another thing you had to do every single time you requested something.

The "Add to Book bag" method is my method of choice. You can just add things to the book bag as you find them and then when you decide you are finished, you can place them all on hold at once--that means picking a date and pick-up location only once. And it also gives you a list of everything showing whether the hold did or did not go through.

I would also have to agree that, in general, Millennium is bad news when it comes to placing holds. It's confusing and doesn't have pictures or anything. The only time I ever use Millennium to place holds is when I'm purposefully doing an item level hold. Otherwise, I try to steer clear.

So put my vote down for the "Add to Book bag" method!

Task 4: Facebook

2009-08-19T20:34:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I took a little tour of some Facebook pages. How exciting! There's only so much you can do with your Facebook to make it intriguing. I actually looked at all of them suggested by webolution (why not?) and found that the National Portrait Gallery one was pretty cool (because it had portraits).
I don't have a Facebook, and I was relieved that I wasn't going to be forced to make one for this task. I can see the appeal of reconnecting with old friends and networking with current friends, but I think it's kind of strange to "make new friends" on facebook or any other social networking site for that matter. It's hard enough staying in touch with actual friends without trying to befriend people that are out in the ether. Maybe I'm being overly critical, though.

Again, my aversion to Facebook goes back to my aversion to blogging and having everyone see what I post. I don't have that need to acquaint everyone I know with everything I am thinking and/or doing (but I guess that's what I'm doing right this second). I generally just write long emails to my sister or cousin about what's going on in my life, but I kind of figure that no one else really cares (to the degree that my sister and cousin do).

I'll go back to talking about the Facebook pages I visited and finish off by saying why I think everyone, including the President, have them. I liked that Josh Penry had a picture of his son's first day back to school. There were a lot of pictures of Obama on his page--a lot (at least when I looked at it). Coca~cola's page was unimpressive. I guess I just thought that the fans' comments were lame--"tastes great!"--what kind of comment is that? Oh well.

I think that the reason that everyone is getting on board with Facebook is the same reason that everyone was starting to get a website a decade or so ago. Facebook is just the next thing--it's a lot like advertising for companies like coca~cola, except it's more personal. Does coca~cola have a Facebook because they want to make friends? No, of course not. They want people to continue to buy and drink (rather than pouring it out in the gutter--but then again, they probably don't care what you do with it after you've bought it) their product. It's advertising.

Okay, I think this post has gone on for long enough.

Task 3: The Quiz

2009-08-19T19:35:00.004-06:00

Well, I got a 93.333333333333333% on the quiz (I am haunted by the 3's). I missed one and it was the one about the different ways to contact librarians. I guess I didn't realize "Chat/IM a Librarian" and "24/7 Live Chat" were different options. Oh well. I did the quiz as a scavenger hunt rather than an actual "closed-book" quiz. I hope that's okay. The questions just seemed way too obscure for us to have been expected to do it without looking. Plus, I think it worked better to do it as a scavenger hunt--I learned more than I would have if I were just guessing.

One thing I learned in my tour was that KDL's What's Next can not only be accessed through the "For Readers" page, but also has a link on the "Research Page". That's cool. Another thing I learned was that we have a website--okay, I already knew that, but I'm racking my brain to figure out what I learned. It's not like there weren't pages that I hadn't explored before, though. I guess in general I found that there is often more than one way to get to a particular link--for instance, the KDL's What's Next. I use that all the time by the way.

I really like how the Community Directory page is set up--with elected officials listed and such. It's good to be familiar with the website so that we can actually utilize all of the handy features that it has.

Task 2: Pandora

2009-08-18T16:40:00.000-06:00

Hi again. I've been using Pandora for a little while now and I like it. It's nice to be able to type in an artist or song that you like and get a bunch of similar sounding music. Sometimes, however, I wish they would play more of the actual artist that I have chosen. But, I suppose that would be too much like listening to a CD and would defeat the purpose of exposing the listener to new artists.

I've found that my favorite band, Remedy Drive, which is lessor known and up til last year was independent, does not yield very many comparable results. For one thing, Pandora does not seem to have any of their music from their independent days (they had three albums out before they went to a label and only one since). For another thing, they're a Christian band, which limits the matches to that particular genre, rather than opening it up to all of the music world. As a result, Remedy Drive is the only band that sounds like Remedy Drive that pops up when I type them in--and even then, Pandora only has about four songs of theirs. This makes me want to pull out my CD's and just listen to what I already know I want to listen to. But I suppose this isn't Pandora's fault. As far as I can tell, Remedy Drive's old CD's aren't even available on their own website.

I really like the feature of being able to "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" particular songs. I'm worried, however, about other people (particularly my beloved co-workers) using this feature while my account is logged on. I suppose I have no reason to think that anyone would do that, but it would be too bad if a song that I enjoy was randomly nixed by someone who didn't share my taste. At least if someone were to "thumbs-up" a selection I didn't like, I could just change it when it came up again. I must admit that I did go and delete all of the random play-lists that have been added to my account by persons other than myself--sorry guys. I just was having trouble locating my own lists and I was kind of amazed by how many random lists had accumulated in so short a time.

One thing that I found to be slightly annoying was when Pandora told me that I had skipped as many songs as I was allowed for the hour. But I suppose they don't want you skipping all of the new artists that they are trying to expose you to, so I can understand that.

I noticed that two different lists I have have overlapping artists, which I think is more of a reflection of my taste in music than any flaw that Pandora may have. This brings me to something that I think would be really cool. What if we were able to enter two or three or even more artists and have all of them come up in one play list? Yes, I think that would be very cool.

Okay, I think that's about it for me and my experiences with Pandora. Thanks for reading.

I'm blogging

2009-08-17T19:35:00.000-06:00

Okay, I have set up my blog. It took me awhile to come up with a name that I liked. I'm not a blogger at all. I'm not into social networking. Email and text-messaging are as advanced as I get. I'm not that excited about the idea of putting something out there for everyone to read, but I'll give it a shot. I think it will be fun, actually--right?