2008 Goals Recap

On 02/02/2008, I set 5 goals to complete by year-end. So now I guess I need to go back and see how I did.

1. 1 blog update a month

I did ok except for July and October. Not bad I guess.

2. Lose 50lbs by year-end

Even though I didn't keep the website updated, I did lose about 16lbs before the year started a downward spiral. I actually wound up gaining 2lbs.

3. Call the brothers 2x a month

I failed at this one. No excuses, I was just lazy.

4. Read 20 books

I actually read 21.

5. Complete 4 Paintings

I didn't even start one.

Ok, I didn't do too well. I'll be back in a few days with a new plan for 2009.

Halloween at Penrose Library

Even librarians and library workers know how to have fun.

 

 

 

That's me in the red hat.

Santa Fe - Final Thoughts

The main purpose of this trip was to regroup and refuel. While I can't say it was a miraculous life changing experience, it did just what I was hoping it would do. I do feel more rested, relaxed and focused. My goal now is to keep going forward and not let myself get dragged down by life's little bumps.

As a recap, here are some of the places we visited:

The Inn of the Governors in Santa Fe

farmer's market

Black Mesa Winery

Los Mayas Resaurante

Old Town Albuquerque

Indian Pueblo Cultural Center

Blue Portal

Yucca Art Gallery

Pecos National Historical Park

If you make it to the Santa Fe area, any of these locations will be a welcome addition to your itinerary.

Santa Fe - Day 4

Time to go home. Boohoo!

Of course we started the day with the usual great breakfast. Then we hung out at the hotel for a while. If it hadn't been for the noon checkout time I'm not sure we would have left.

We took a leisurely drive around downtown and then took a few back roads out of town. We then headed north towards home. We stopped in Pecos, NM for gas and this led us to go by the Pecos National Historical Park. This is a very interesting site complete with the ruins of a pueblo and Franciscan mission. The sheer size of the mission building was pretty overwhelming.

From there it was a straight drive home with no more detours.

Man, is it going to be hard to get up and go to work tomorrow. 

Santa Fe - Day 3

Alright, so today we had another great breakfast then sat around the hotel lobby and read the Sunday paper.

Then we headed south to Albuquerque. First stop was Old Town. We parked in front of the San Felipe de Neri Church, which is a very impressive complex. We then headed over to the Visitor Center for a map and were soon making the rounds to the many shops. What we had hoped to be a fun afternoon of shopping in unique stores quickly became a mundane stroll through shop after shop that sold the same items. Just about every shop carried Native American jewelry and souvenirs with a few food items (salsa, etc...) thrown in. On top of that, most shopkeepers barely acknowledged you and some acted as if they could care less if you shopped there or not. I have been to Old Town San Diego and had hoped this would be an extension of that enjoyable experience but I guess not.

There were three exceptions to the above situations. If you go, I would recommend you stop at these friendly establishments: Yucca Art Gallery, Blue Portal and Red Rock Café. All three of these establishments greeted us warmly and made us feel welcome. Their kindness made us forget about the rest of the shopkeepers' indifference towards customers.

Next we headed over to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. We had planned to just quickly pop in to see what was there. 3 hours later we emerged from a highly enjoyable and educational experience. We got to see traditional Native American Indian dance performances by Zuni Olla Maidens. They have an excellent exhibit of the history, arts, crafts and pottery from the 19 pueblos of New Mexico. And they also have a cafe specializing in Native American/Southwest cuisine. The fry bread was especially enjoyable. Don't expect to find too much here about the government's forced marches to put the Indians on the reservation. This place is all about the celebration of their culture and heritage.

Next we headed back to Santa Fe and the hotel for the evening. Our biggest goal of the day was to go by the Sandia Resort and Casino for a little gambling but we decided to skip that for a nice quiet evening in.

Santa Fe - Day 2

What a great day. I think the New Mexico spirit is rubbing off on me.

We had an excellent breakfast at the hotel. And not just because it was free. The food was good and the coffee is the best I have ever had at a hotel. By the way, we are staying at The Inn of the Governors in Santa Fe. I would recommend it to anyone. The atmosphere and the service are both excellent. I particularly have enjoyed the afternoon tea and sherry hour.

We then headed over to the farmer's market which has just moved to a new location. It is both indoors and outdoors. We picked up some wonderful breads and honey. The honey is made using tamarix or saltcedar which is actually considered a noxious weed in many states but the honey has a nice bold taste. It is a little wilder tasting than clover honey.

Next we drove north to Velarde, NM and stopped at the Black Mesa Winery. They have an excellent selection of wines that they make themselves. I would highly recommend the Black Beauty which is a chocolate flavored wine. Don't let that fool you though, it is not an overly sweet wine. An added bonus on this drive was the sighting of a bald eagle, several humming birds and a roadrunner. I also learned that humming birds make a chirping sound when they fly. I never knew this.

We came back to the hotel for a short rest and some sherry, of course. After that we walked down to the plaza to check out the fiesta. It was mainly food vendors and some live entertainment.

Now it was time for dinner so we drove over to the Los Mayas Resaurante for some New Mexican Cuisine.  Oh my god, it was all I could do not to lick the plate clean. We started out with the Nopalito Asado y Queso de Cabra which is grilled cactus with goat cheese and ezapote. I had never had this before and I would not hesitate to order it again. I followed that with the Camino Real (chicken mole enchilada and a red chile pork tamale). Evelyn had the Enchilada Tricolor (a green chile chicken enchilada, a red chile beef enchilada and a chicken mole enchilada). Both were cleanly plated without a lot of sauce. I can't begin to describe how good the mole sauce was. We topped it off with the Tres leches cake. The atmosphere, food, service and entertainment (a Spanish guitarist) makes this a "must do" if you visit Santa Fe.

After all this, we just didn't have the energy for anymore stuff today so we have retired to the hotel for the evening.

Tomorrow we plan to head south to Albuquerque to visit Old Town and the Sandia Resort and Casino.

WooHoo!

Santa Fe - Day 1

Ok, if you checked in one this blog lately then you know I haven't updated it. The same goes for my other site, www.tgford.webs.com. I haven't been keeping track of my goals and the diet and exercise is pretty much out the window. Why? Since March 2001, I have lost 9 family members including my parents, grandparents, aunts, and other extended members. Just this year alone, we have lost my grandfather, Evelyn's grandmother and my sister-in-law's mother. I'm just freakin' tired and really don't care about updating my sites.

So what does this have to do with Santa Fe? Well, this is the 1st vacation/trip that Evelyn and I have taken in over 2 years that hasn't involved a sick family member, a funeral or another family obligation. Call it a cliche but I'm hoping for a rebirth in spirit or at least an inkling that I might get back to enjoying the things I used to enjoy. I really can't think of a better place than Santa Fe for that. It seems to have an energy that both excites me and relaxes me all at once.

So far, so good. I'm writing this aren't I?

We arrived at about 3:30 this afternoon and checked into the hotel. Since then we have had afternoon sherries in the lobby and met a some other guests. One lady was from Allen, TX and was here for New Mexican cooking lessons. Another lady and her mother were from Washington state and were on a 30 day trip from there to Washington DC and back. Then there is Carmen and Mark. We met them at the hotel restaurant when Carmen wandered over to our table to let me know that she tried to intercept our food from the waiter but he wouldn't give it to her (I think she had one too many to drink). We began to talk and found out that we had a lot in common. Her and Mike have been together for 23 years; Evelyn and I have been together for 25+ years. No kids. No pets. She was laid off from her job last year as well. Her and Evelyn both had hysterectomies at a young age. For a chance meeting in a hotel, they turned out to be very pleasant dinner guests. They are here for the La Fiesta de Santa Fe which is an annual street festival in downtown. After a great dinner and a couple of margaritas, Evelyn and I retired to our hotel room where she promptly fell asleep.

Tomorrow is another full day as well. We are going to the farmer's market, a winery and the fiesta.

So good night all and I'll keep you posted with daily entries. I promise. After all, that is why I came to Santa Fe.

July - The Lost Month

Where did it go? Here it is August and I'm not sure what happened to last month. I made no blog entries, no trips to the gym, and I didn't keep track of my goals. I had high hopes but things fell apart early. Evelyn's grandmother passed away on July 6th so we made a whirlwind trip to New Jersey for the services. Ever since then the month just blurred by. I hope to slow things down in August and get back on track.

Wish me luck.

 

 

While I was writing this, I was listening to "The Long Race" by Bruce Hornsby & the Range. Check it out at Amazon.com

I Couldn't Stop Laughing

This video was so funny and I couldn't stop laughing. I laughed so hard I was crying. I hope you find it as contagious as I did.

Slow Motion Baby Laugh

 

 

While I was writing this, I was listening to "Do I Move You?" by Nina Simone. Check it out at Amazon.com

Say What?

"I would have returned the books but after the police tear-gassed the house I didn't think you would want them."

This was an actual comment made by a library patron while she paid for some unreturned items.

I asked no questions.

I Won!

Well.....not the big prize. I won a Sansa Clip MP3 Player.

The 23 Things has wrapped up and the prizes were given out. Congrats to Toni at the Monument branch for winning the laptop.

So now that the program and contest is over I'm going to have to think up topics on my own again. Sorry.

Some Houseguest Are Never Happy

Handyman I Am

Anybody who has ever seen me try to fix something or complete a home improvement project knows I'm not that handy at it. Boards aren't level or corners aren't square. But in my own defense I do try.

Well, I'm happy to report that I completed a project and completed quite nicely - Thank You!

I installed a new garage door opener last Saturday and it works great. It runs smooth with no clattering or jerking and the sensors were lined up when I installed them so I didn't have to do any tedious adjustments. Sure I could have hired someone to do it for me but after 9 1/2 hours of laboring I finished it.

I'm so proud.

 

 

 

 

While I was writing this, I was listening to "Energy" by The Apples In Stereo. Check it out at Amazon.com

May Day! May Day!

How's the weather out there? I'm not sure what's going on here but it was 78 degrees and sunny yesterday and now as I look out my window I see whiteout conditions and it's 37 degrees. It's pretty amazing since it is May 1st and has been sunny and warm here for a week.

Oh well, that's life in Colorado.

 

While I was writing this, I was listening to "Johnny & Mary" by Robert Palmer. Check it out at Amazon.com

PPLD Thing #23: Summarize your thoughts about this program on your blog.

blogging, RSS newsfeeds, tagging, wikis, podcasting, online applications, video and image hosting sites, blogs, Blogger, wikis, quikies, Wikipedia, subject guide wikis, book review wikis, ALA conference wikis, library best practices wikis, Flickr, tags, mashups, Mappr, Flickr Color Pickr, Montagr, web apps, FD Toys’ Trading Card Maker, Librarian Trading Card, RSS, “Really Simple Syndication”, Bloglines, Google Reader, LinkedIn.com , social networking sites,LibraryThing, widget, Rollyo, MySpace, Facebook, Ning, Library 2.0, Learning 2.1, Del.icio.us, Technorati, Web 2.0, Google Labs, online productivity, Zoho Writer, Google Docs, Web 2.0 Awards, YouTube, Yahoo Videos, Google videos, podcast, iTunes, NPR Podcast Directory, Podcastalley.com, and Odeo’s Studio.

 

Whew! What a ride!

This has been a really good experience and I have learned a lot. Some good. Some bad. Below are the questions I'm supposed to answer to summarize this project:

 

1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?

I enjoyed the Web 2.0 award site the best.

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?

I'm a one day at a time type of person but this has exposed me to some new ideas and tools that I will probably continue to use. 

3. Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?

There were a couple of items that I flat out did not like when I first saw them but after revisiting some of them I will most likely incorporate them in my blog and website. I originally didn't think I would use Flickr but I plan on adding a group for sharing of family pictures and another for some of my own photos.

4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?

The first thing I would do is not assume that everyone is computer literate. I know of some co-workers who didn't participate simply because they were unfamiliar with the computers and the Internet.

5. If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you again chose to participate?

Absolutely! I enjoyed the challenge of learning new things.

Ok, here's the my real summary....enough with the social networking already.

I understand the future of civilization is basically looking like communication without contact and libraries need to follow this path to survive but aren't we really just creating a society of hermits and recluses. Will future generations lose their ability to speak and only  communicate through text? Will we become pod people never leaving our homes to interact with the outside world? Will we hide behind a virtual avatar as protection from someone else's opinions? Wait........

I'm more comfortable communicating with the outside world through this blog than I am face to face. Have I already went over to the dark side or slipped into the future? 

.......never mind.

 

 

While I was writing this, I was listening to "Ain't No Sunshine" by The Neville Brothers. Check it out at Amazon.com.

PPLD Thing #22: Discover some useful search tools for locating podcasts.

Being an iPod owner and an iTunes user I have subscribed and unsubscribed to dozens of podcasts. Much like a RSS feed, the problem is that I love the idea of podcasts and not having to search through different websites to find the latest info but I just don't have the time to keep up with them. They pile up in my queue and I never get to listen to them.

For this exercise I did sign up for NPR's All Songs Considered podcast so we'll see how that goes.

As far as book related podcasts go, at one time I did subscribe to the podcast from Librivox.org which is a great website if you are interested in writings in the public domain. Most of the items are pre-1920's. Volunteers from around the world read and record writings, speeches and books one chapter at a time which is great because you may have a French woman reading one chapter and an English man reading the next. It's just like Crackerjacks, you never know what the prize will be in the next box. You can go to the website and search for a book and download the full recording to your PC. Or you can subscribe to their podcast and they will send you a chapter from a randomly chosen book 3 times a week starting with the first chapter and continuing to the end of the book.

Below is a sampling of what you will find:

Completed works

1. Chesterton, G. K.. "Club of Queer Trades, The" · (readers)
2. Chesterton, G. K.. "Innocence of Father Brown, The" · (readers)
3. Chesterton, G. K.. "Man Who Knew Too Much, The" · (readers)
4. Chesterton, G. K.. "Man Who Was Thursday, A Nightmare, The" · (readers)
5. Chesterton, G. K.. "Wisdom of Father Brown, The" · (readers)
6. Chopin, Kate. "Awakening, The" · (readers)
7. Church, Alfred J.. "Iliad for Boys and Girls, The" · (readers)
8. Cleland, John. "Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure" · (readers)
9. Clifford, Lucy. "Anyhow Stories: Moral and otherwise" · (readers)
10. Cobb, Irvin S.. "One Third Off" · (readers)
11. Collins, Wilkie. "Moonstone, The" · (readers)
12. Collodi, Carlo. "Adventures of Pinocchio, The" · (readers)
13. [Italian] Collodi, Carlo. "Avventure di Pinocchio, Le" · (readers)
14. Conquest, Joan. "Hawk of Egypt" · (readers)
15. Conrad, Joseph. "Heart of Darkness" · (readers)
16. Conrad, Joseph. "Lord Jim" · (readers)
17. Conrad, Joseph. "Secret Agent, The" · (readers)
18. Conrad, Joseph. "Typhoon" · (readers)
19. Conrad, Joseph. "Youth, a Narrative" · (readers)
20. Coolidge, Susan. "What Katy Did at School" · (readers)
21. Cooper, James Fenimore. "Last Of The Mohicans (A Narrative of 1757), The" · (readers)
22. Cooper, James Fenimore. "Spy, The" · (readers)
23. [Dutch] Couperus, Louis. "De Dochter Van Blauwbaard" · (readers)
24. [Dutch] Couperus, Louis. "Van Het Altijd Verliefde Godinnetje" · (readers)
25. [Dutch] Couperus, Louis. "Van Oude Menschen de Dingen, die Voorbij Gaan" · (readers)
26. Crane, Stephen. "Red Badge of Courage, The" · (readers)
27. Crompton, Richmal. "More William" · (readers)

So, if you have time to listen to audio books and enjoy the classics or historical writings this site is for you.  Check it out.

 

 

While I was writing this, I was listening to "Fallen Angel" by Robbie Robertson. Check it out at Amazon.com

PPLD Thing #21: Discover YouTube and a few sites that allow users to upload and share videos.

Exercise:
Visit PPLD's YouTube Channel and watch a video or two.

 

I had seen a lot of the old films on Comcast Channel 17 but I had not seen the commercials produced by the district. They are really done quite well. I really enjoyed the "Treasure Island" commercials.

While on the subject of videos and film, check out Jace Ford's (my nephew) college project "Infected". He was the director of photography and performed all the music for the soundtrack.

 

While I was writing this, I was listening to "People Grinnin' in Your Face" by Ruthie Foster. Check it out at Amazon.com

PPLD Thing #20: Explore any site from the Web 2.o Awards list, play with it and write a blog post about your findings.

So many choices. I looked at a bunch of the sites both winners and nominees. I enjoyed Fuzzmail and One Sentence the most. I looked on on Cocktail Builder and found the recipe for a Sidecar Cocktail which is an awesome drink. I had one at Palapa's Surfside a few weeks ago. Zillow did not make me very happy. It estimates my home's value at $9000 less than I paid for it.

Overall there are a lot of good sites out there and they all deserved the awards and nominations that they got but as with a lot of the items I've looked at so far I'm not sure if I would use them. But now I know about them and I will remember them if I need a certain application.

PPLD Thing #19: Take a look at some online productivity(word processing, spreadsheets) tools.

This appears to be a good app. I like the concept of storing documents online and not having to e-mail versions to be edited. But....(there's always a but) I'm a Word junkie and old habits are hard to break. I guess if I had a job where I was collaborating with a group of co-workers located at different locations then I would use Zoho. But I would probably keep a copy in Word just in case.

Right now I'm undecided if I would use it on a regular basis or not.

 

Side note: I wrote this using Zoho Writer but I had to cut and paste it into my blog since I am not using one of the major blog editors.

PPLD Thing #18: Check out Google Labs.

Google Mars is pretty cool and informative. I was unaware that the USSR had sent 3 probes to Mars before the USA had launched their probe.

Google Suggest does not seem new to me. I've seen a lot of search boxes make suggestions as you type.

Google Sets - I'm not sure what this is for. I guess it's good for seeing search results related to what you are looking for but don't you already get this when you do a Google search. The only difference is this shows related terms to search for instead all the related results.

I really like Google as a search engine and they do have some other pretty cool apps but none of the current lab projects really impressed me.

PPLD Thing #17: Library 2.0 & Web 2.0 ...

Five Perspectives:

• Away from Icebergs
• Into a new world of librarianship
• To more powerful ways to cooperate
• To better bibliographic services
• To a temporary place in time

 

Call me old fashioned but there's nothing like holding a real book in your hands. The heft of it, the musty smell of the paper, that's real. The face to face interaction with the librarians to help you find that long sought after treasure.

I'm also a visual person. If the photo on the cover or the script on the spine catches my eye, I'll likely pick up the book and read the liner notes. If that interests me then I'm taking it home with me. It's the same technique your local department store uses. If they can get you to touch an item, you are more likely to buy the item. I can still remember the awe I felt as a kid standing in the middle of my hometown library and being surrounded by rows and rows of books.

I know..in the current Internet driven, give it to me now world we live and work in that people don't want to go to a library and search for information. That takes time, gas and effort.

I also understand that you can find just about anything you need to know by doing a web search (I use Google quite often myself) and libraries need to move into the virtual world to survive. So libraries do need to push their products via downloads, social web sites and online interaction with patrons but I don't think librarians should become chat room hosts in the process. There is no replacement for the face to face human contact. Even a 3D virtual reality avatar.

Coincidentally, I'm in the middle of reading the The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde which is a satirical sci-fi mystery dealing with the virtual world and literature. I'd recommend  it to anyone looking for a light and enjoyable read.

One last point, how happy will the patrons be when the network servers crash or their wireless link won't connect or when the inevitable Microsoft bug pops up at it's randomly scheduled time.

 

HAL.......is that you?

 

 

 

PPLD Thing #16: Explore Technorati and discover how tags work with blog posts.

So now that you’ve been blogging for awhile, you might be wondering just how big the blogosphere is. Well, according to Technorati, the leading search tool and authority for blogs, the number of blogs doubles just about every 6 months with over 51 million blogs currently being tracked by the site. If the blogging trend continues, it is estimated that Technorati will have tracked its 100 millionth blog in just 5 months.
Yes, these numbers are astounding, but as you’ve already seen for yourselves, blogging is so easy that these publishing tools are being taken advantage of by almost every industry, including libraries.
There are a lot of new features that have been added to Technorati, including new ways to search for blogs. You can search for keywords in blog posts, search for entire blog posts that have been tagged with a certain keyword, or search for blogs that have been registered and tagged as whole blogs about a certain subject (like photography or libraries).
Resources:
Technorati Discover & Popular features
Exercise:
Search for a blog in Technorati and subscribe to it in your Bloglines account (RSS Feed).
OPTIONAL: If you're up for a challenge, learn how to tag your blog posts with Technorati tags so they can join tag searches. Create a post about something. It can be anything you want and add the HTML code to the bottom to tag it as “PPLD.” You may also want to consider claiming your blog and creating a watchlist.
NOTE: When adding HTML code, you'll want to make sure you're in Blogger's Edit HTML window. There's a lot to explore.
Technorati Tag: PPLD

 

Ok, everything above is copied verbatim from the PPLD's 23 Things website. There were so many things listed to do I just wanted you to have some idea of what I was writing about.

Blogs, blogs, blogs and more blogs. In a nutshell that's what Technorati is. It is probably the largest blog directory on the web but it is also like having cable TV...200 channels and nothing on. I have spent at least an hour searching through blog listing looking for one that caught my interest enough to subscribe. I finally found one.

Check out The Thinking Blog. I liked it because it doesn't stick to one subject or theme, it just goes with whatever comes up. A warning though the "Pictures Worth A Thousand Words" series does contain some disturbing images that may upset some individuals sensitive to depictions of world hunger and strife.

Alrighty then, I have another complaint about Technorati. I have spent another hour trying to claim my blog and have been denied regardless of how I have typed in the URL. I have searched through the support FAQs and forums and have found no answers as to why. In the discussion forums, someone will complain about not being able to claim their blog and the discussion mediator replies with "we have fixed that for you" or "you should be able to claim your blog now". There are absolutely no answers. I can only assume that their processes are so error ridden that they fix problems on the fly and don't tell the people reporting the problems how they did it so they don't look bad. I finally e-mailed them and got an auto-response that a support person would contact me soon.

Good luck to all who try to use Technorati. I hope you have a lot of patience.

 

Technorati Tags: PPLD

PPLD Thing #15: Learn about tagging and discover Del.icio.us (a social bookmaking site)

Exercise:

1. Explore del.icio.us. Click on bookmarks, view tags, look at user lists.
2. Create a del.icio.us account for yourself and discover how this useful bookmarking tool can replace your traditional browser bookmark list.

This is an interesting site. I exported my favorites list from Internet Explorer and it worked quite easily. MSN Explorer is another matter though. You need a third party app and some inkling of where Windows hides the MSN Favorites file. I'm giving up the search for now but I'll be back.

I can definitely see how del.icio.us can be useful and will probably look into it further even though I'm not sure I want to share my favorites with everyone.

Now, where is that @##$%! Favorites file? 

PPLD Thing #14 - Discover Ning, a customized social networking site

Exercise:

1. Create an account in Ning and join the PPLD site
2. Blog about the things you learned this week.

 

Ning is another social network site. It appears to be for a person to set up networks for very specific groups or subject matters such as the PPLD site. It also allows subgroups with in each network so you could break out your network into departments. It also has the bells and whistles of other network site such as forums, video, photos, blogs, etc...

Learning 2.1 was an interesting network. It was much like the 23 Things and is geared towards learning Web 2.0 and its many uses and gadgets. I'll probably go back to this site and check out the forums in more detail.

A Grown-Up Schedule!

Talk about something that makes you happy, how about switching from a 3 nights a week work schedule where you work every Saturday to a  1 night a week schedule where you alternate Saturdays and Mondays off. As Ann, one of my co-workers, calls it, "a grown-up schedule".

Sure, I'll alternate between a one day weekend and a three day weekend and I'll have to work 4 hrs on approx. every 6th Sunday but I also get to spend a lot more evenings with Evelyn (my wife).

I really wasn't aware how much the 3 nights a week affected me but since I started the new schedule on this week I've had a much better attitude and apparently have been annoyingly happier. Apologies to my co-workers on that last one.  

To show how happy I am, check my avatar from www.meez.com.

 

 

And by the way, the background was chosen because it looks like the places Evelyn has been describing for our next vacation. Although you can bet she wouldn't let me go to the beach without supervision as long as there were girls out sunning. Maybe she won't notice them in the background.

PPLD Thing #13 - Check out MySpace or Facebook.

Exercise #1 - Visit MySpace and see if you can find the PPLD Teen Page and search for co-workers with a MySpace profile.

You can find this site at http://www.myspace.com/pikespeaklibraryteens.

Here are some co-worker sites I found:

 http://www.myspace.com/librarianextraordinaire

http://www.myspace.com/pretzel17

http://www.myspace.com/thecoloradocutie

http://www.myspace.com/vfranklyn

I didn't have much luck finding people who work in my department though....hmm...not sociable or technophobe?

Exercise #2 - Sign up for Facebook and add yourself to the Pikes Peak Library District Group.

Ok, I did that. I also found some hometown people and high school alumni out there as well. I plan on going back to Facebook in the near future and try to get in touch with some of them. At first glance this appears to be a "grown-up" version of MySpace. Time will tell.

PPLD Thing #12: Roll your own search engine

Great, another tool I'll probably never need or find a use for.

But wait... after looking at it maybe I can use it. Evelyn and I are always looking for a new recipe to try and we usually look on different web sites until we find one that sounds good. Why not have 1 search engine that can look on all those sites at the same time. So here is what I came up with:

Lots' a Recipes

Try it and let me know what you think.

PPLD Thing #11: A thing about LibraryThing

What is LibraryThing?

LibraryThing is an online service to help people catalog their books easily. You can access your catalog from anywhere—even on your mobile phone. Because everyone catalogs together, LibraryThing also connects people with the same books, comes up with suggestions for what to read next, and so forth.

That is the official description from the web site's FAQ.

I really don't see the need to catalogue all my books for everyone else to comment on, etc... Also I can get recommended reading list from any bookseller or library web site along with a description/synopsis. But with that said, I can see how this would be useful to some people and the group discussion at http://www.librarything.com/groups/librarianswholibrar is great. I especially enjoyed the posts about librarian stereotypes in movies such as "It's a Wonderful Life".

PPLD Thing #10: Find colleagues and classmates at LinkedIn.com

Interesting site. It seems to be geared more toward the professional than someone just looking to be social. I have only one problem though, nobody I know is out there. It appears that all my former classmate or colleagues have never heard of LinkedIn. I have searched old companies, old friends and old classmates. Nobody is there. I feel like I'm stuck in a Twilight Zone episode.

Hello.....hello.....is anybody out there?......

PPLD Thing #9 - Subscribe to a coworker's blog

This was really easy. I immediately thought of my former book club buddy and current colleague at PPLD, Jason Stewart. Jason also known as Grouchomonkey (I don't know why because I never asked) is the only person I know that has actually been published. So I went to his blog to subscribe and began reading.

Ok, I'm embarrassed and ashamed of my blog. My poor grammer and dull descriptions of things appears elementary compared to his eloquent and vibrate writings. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it even though most of the subject matter was the same as mine, PPLD's 23 Things project. I can only hope he pursues the writing or journalistic dreams he has spoken of in the past. check it out at http://grouchomonkey.wordpress.com/.

Another part of this exercise was to locate a few useful library related blogs so here they are:

The Library of Congress

The New York Public Library

The Shifted Librarian 

 

Enjoy!

PPLD Thing #8 - Learn about RSS feeds and set up your own Bloglines newsreader account.

Ok, I had heard of RSS but never really understood it. It is pretty useful if you are trying to track several web sites or blogs. Instead of going to several sites, you can log into your RSS feeder and see all the items that have been recently updated and choose which ones you want to view or read. This activity requested we set up an account on Bloglines and subscribe to The Blog@PPLD. It's a fairly easy process but I'm not sure I like the way Bloglines displays the RSS feeds although it is very easy to subscribe to a feed. A while back I downloaded a RSS aggregator called Doppler but never really used it. Upon closer review, I like the way Doppler displays the feeds a lot better. It is in a "headline" type of view. You can scroll down through the feed titles and click on the items that interest you if you would like to see the complete text. Doppler will also sync with Bloglines so if you have already set up an account with Bloglines you can pull those subscriptions into Doppler automatically.

PPLD Thing #7: Create a blog post about anything Flickr related that interests you this week.

As I stated earlier, this is a very interesting site. I'm not sure if I would ever use it to share photos or just keep my photos on my blog pages/web site. For those of you not able to access the PPLD intranet and see the links in this activity, I have listed most of them below. Check them out.

Flickr

PPLD's Flickr group

Mappr

Flickr Color Pickr

Montagr

FD Toys’ Trading Card Maker

And while we are on the subject of photos and mine compared to the one's on Flickr, I plan in the near future to post a photo album of some of mine. I'll let you know when that happens.

PPLD Thing #6: Have some Flickr fun and discover some Flickr mash-ups and 3rd party sites.

There's a lot of neat programs out there. I was particularly enthralled with Montagr. To sit and watch it compile thousands of thumbnails to create a larger image was fascinating. I know, it doesn't take much to fascinate me (Ooooh, sparkly). This activity recommended we create a trading card. Instead I created a picture id. I know this sounds mundane but I had fun. Check it out below:

 

PPLD Thing #5 - Explore Flickr and learn about this popular image hosting site.

I thought I was a fairly good photographer and took some pretty decent photos but after looking around on Flicker I realize I have been taking snap shots. There are some amazing photos out there and if you have the time you should browse around the website.

Cleo Glenn Lewis 1909-2008

OKLAHOMA CITY — Cleo Glenn “Bill” Lewis, 98, of Oklahoma City, passed away Tuesday, March 11, 2008, in Durant. Funeral will be at 2 p.m. Friday in Comanche (Okla.) Funeral Home Chapel with Dale Lewis officiating. Burial will be in Duncan Cemetery. Visitation will be until 8 p.m. today, with the family receiving guests from 6 to 7 p.m.; and from 9 a.m. to service time on Friday. Cleo was born May 9, 1909, in Flat, Coryll County, Texas, to Thomas and Carrie Maddox Lewis. He moved to Stephens County with his dad in 1921. He married Opal Sloan on Sept. 4, 1928, in Duncan. In 1943, they moved to Oklahoma City. Cleo worked at Tinker Air Force Base for 29 years, retiring in 1972. He was a member of Capitol Hill Christian Church. Survivors include a son, Travis Eugene Lewis and his wife, Emma Jane, of Blanchard; a daughter, Patsy Ann Saunders and her husband, Jim, of Durant; four brothers: Joe Lewis and his wife, Libby, of Lovington, N.M., Lester Lewis and his wife, Estelene, of Duncan, Dale Lewis and his wife, Helen, of Breckenridge, Texas, and Ernest Lewis and his wife, Susan, of Dardanelle, Ark.; a sister, Leatrice Cash and her husband, Loyd, and a brother-in-law, Shelby Myers, all of Oklahoma City; five grandsons and three granddaughters; 11 great-grandchildren; 19 great-great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death in 2005 by his loving wife of 76 years, Opal Estelle Lewis; a daughter, Glenna, and son-in-law, Bud Ford; his parents, Carrie Maddox and Thomas Lewis; his stepmother, Lillian Lasater; and two special sisters, Nelda Myers and Virginia Juanita Maxey.

See more photos of Cleo's life at http://www.mem.com/Story.aspx?ID=2339436

PPLD Thing #4 - Register you blog on the PPLD Intranet Wiki

Done that already.

PPLD Thing #3 - Wikis

So wiki is Hawaiian for quick. I can see that since a wiki appears to be one big text document with hyper-links. It is pretty cool to see such a community effort in publishing, editing and policing a web site. Another plus is that you don't need to have the latest technology and the fastest broadband to load and edit a page. I can understand the cons such as vandalism, etc...but unfortunately that part of an open and free environment. I guess the virtual world parallels the real world in that aspect.

The PPLD has quite an extensive wiki on their intranet site. It has info on everything from employee/benefit policies to committee meeting minutes. It even has a staff bulletin board for the posting of items for sell, etc... If you need to know anything about what is going on in our district this is the place to go.

I am still not used to it though and forget to go look for answers to my questions. My entire working life I have been sent memos, e-mails or told new info in person so having to go look for myself is quite the new experience but I am getting used to it.

Part of this project was to look at how other wikis are setup and used.

Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki (http://libsuccess.org/index.php?title=Main_Page) appears to be a very informative place for librarians throughout the world to collaborate and exchange ideas.

SJCPL Subject Guides (http://www.libraryforlife.org/subjectguides/index.php/Main_Page) appears to be nothing more than a card catalogue. It is very restrictive and can be edited only by the librarians at the St. Joseph County Public Library. This seems contrary to the idea of openness that is part of the wiki ideal.

I also looked at Wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page). Now this the ultimate in open community effort. To read an extensive history of Colorado Springs, CO go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Springs.

Overall, I think wikis are quite useful for the spreading of information and ideas. I might have to set one up someday to play around with and learn more. Any ideas for the subject matter?

Altered Space: 21st Century Installation Art

If you get a chance, I highly recommend seeing this exhibit at the FAC Modern located in the Plaza of the Rockies in downtown Colorado Springs. It’s a small exhibit of just 3 installations but each one has its own dedicated room. All 3 artists are from this region.

Christina Marsh – Colorado College

For a room with nothing more than a photo album lying on a chair, stacks of clothes in one corner, a pile of luggage in the center of the room, an antique side table with a silver tea set and a wall full of various empty white picture frames, this was quite a moving experience. It’s all about transition and moving on with your life while staying anchored to your roots. This hit home with me since my family is in the Texas/Oklahoma area and Evelyn’s is in New Jersey.

The wall of picture frames stuck with me the most. I instantly imagined them filled with pictures of family and friends. But when you go, look closer at the frames. They just aren’t any old frames. Stand directly in front of them and take a deep breath. Think about it and you’ll recognize the scent. They are all made from white chocolate.

During the day, the frames are heated by the lights shining on them. At night, they cool off. The results are that they are constantly changing. They sag and change shapes a little more each day. This just drove home the fact that our lives are forever in transition and changing due to external factors we might not even notice or that we take for granted.

Matt Barton – UCCS

This was quite interesting as well. This is the artist conception of a post-apocalyptic world. Instead of the Hollywood idea of utter chaos and destruction, this installation projects a sense of calm, peace and rebirth. You can actually walk into and around this exhibit. Take a walk over to the makeshift shelter and look inside. Now, turn around and you find yourself immersed in the exhibit as if you were really out in the wild trying to start over again. It was really a strange sensation.

Gwen Laine – Denver’s Carson Gallery

Although a great installation, I have to admit that that I understood this one the least. Like the other installations, this was also about change. It is a room full of transparent prints of hands suspended from helium filled Mylar balloons. The slightest breeze will make the prints spin and move. Also as time goes on the balloons will begin to lose their buoyancy and sink. This will cause the prints to stack on top of each other creating a multi-layered picture of hands.

Overall, this was an excellent exhibit and I would recommend it to anyone. The experience of being able to walk around the rooms and be totally submersed in the installation is incredible. The exhibit runs through April 26, 2008.

For more details, go to http://www.csfineartscenter.org/Altered.asp

Resolutions vs Goals

So much for keeping up with the blog. As you can see I haven't posted anything since Nov. 2007. All is well, I'm still at the Library and love it but that is not the topic of this posting.

I wanted to talk about New Years resolutions and since today is Groundhog Day it may be the best day to bring it up. I mean, doesn't everyone make the same resolutions every year and pretend they have never made them (or broke them) before. I have waited a full month to make my resolutions so I could really think about it. My first resolution is not to make resolutions. I know this sounds like a contradiction but I decided to put more pressure on myself and set goals for this year.

Resolutions are usually made with the expectation that they will be broken. They are usually generalizations of better health or diet habits, etc...No harm, no foul because no one really expected you to do it. Goals are different. They are usually very specific and if you don't achieve them or at least give an all out attempt to achieve them you have failed.

So in this spirit I am going to list, in no particular order, some of my goals for this year. I'm keeping the more personal ones to myself.

1. Update this blog at least once per month if not more. I believe by doing this I'll force myself outside of my comfort zone and possibly become more alert of what's going around me since I'll need new ideas to write about.
2. Lose 50 pounds. I know this will be a tough one. It has taken me a couple of years of half-hearted effort but I am 50 pounds down from my highest weight ever.
3. Call my brothers at least 2x per month. This may not sound like enough but its better than the once every 2 months I have been calling.
4. Read 20 books. I made it through about 10 last year.
5. Complete 4 paintings. I'm horrible at painting but I do enjoy it.

Ok, I know there are only 5 goals listed but I have others that I decided to keep to myself.

As always I'll keep you posted.

Currently Playing: Fatboy Slim - The Greatest Hits: Why Try Harder - Weapon of Choice