Thing 23: Wrap-Up

Whoo Hoo! I finished the 23 Things by the ultimate deadline!!!!

By now you know I don't always write in the most linear fashion. So this will be rather free-flowing. But I will at least keep the ideas separate.

1. I loved doing this exercise. It was fun learning about new tools. I now have a much better grasp of all these new techie things that just made my brain hurt before. The format for learning fit my learning style well--it combined written materials and "live action" and audio formats. I got to work at my own pace. Management embraced letting everyone do this. What's not to love?

2. I would be interested in finding out the completion rate for part-timers. I would also be curious to see if they were able to complete in time for the prize drawings. While I was part-time, it was rather difficult finding the time to do the exercises. Had I remained part-time I would have never finished by the end of the year. There just aren't enough hours in a part-timer's schedule to get everything done. On the one hand, you don't want the exercises to drag on forever, but I'm not sure that the original time table was long enough. There needs to be a balance in there somewhere.

3. I know that participating was optional. Admin might want to consider making participation a requirement. Because working through the Things with a bunch of other people is such an integral part, I'm not sure how to make this required for those who didn't participate and/or new hires. But I'm sure someone out there will figure that out.

4. Some Things can be cut. Playing in the CML wiki sandbox was fun, but really just more of the Thing before that. Didn't think this extra thing was needed.

5. Add a Thing (or maybe more)--even if it is part of an on-going learning with Learn & Play. Include something like Facebook. Facebook can incorporate some of the other Things we learned all in one place. And it seemed weird that we didn't have some sort of social site like that.

6. Is anyone reading all these posts? I mean really reading? There are some great ideas posted in all these staff blogs about ways to utilize Web 2.0 tools within the library. Wouldn't it be great if all those helpful suggestions and comments were passed on to the powers that be?

7. One of the best things about doing all the Things has been the chance to connect with people. I'm not shy about asking for help. And I have been helped very graciously by everyone I have asked. The Things have created a great sense of camaraderie among the staff. Staff across the system have come together to complete all the Things. I have re-connected with friends that I hadn't spoken to for ages. I have discovered that I really kind of like Facebook and Twitter. I didn't think I would. But it has been great following some old friends. And I even reconnected with a friend I hadn't seen since high school. What's not to love about that?

8. I would do this (or something like it) again in a flash. This has been one of the best learning experiences I have had here at CML. And that's saying something considering I've been with CML for 27+ years!

9. Support from above (and I mean management and admin--not God) has really helped make this a success. It was quite clear from the get-go that management wanted us to succeed with this project. Any time I mentioned needing some time to work on the Things, my managers helped make it happen. And I have heard from other staff members that they experienced similar support. This needs to carry over with any future projects. Don't just assign us some new project--give us the training and support like this project had to carry it out.

10. A big THANKS to everyone that made this a success. From admin to the L&P team to my coworkers who helped me to the Friends who provided prizes. And anyone else that I'm forgetting. I appreciate all the work that everyone did on all aspects of Learn & Play. Thanks for going out of your comfort zone. Thanks for answering my questions. Thanks for helping us grow.

Thing 22: MOLDI

Almost Done!

So I'm back to living under a rock. I do not own an iPod--or any kind of portable device for music, etc. My van that recently died had an audio tape player. I really moved up when I started driving my husband's car--it has a CD player AND a little hook up where he can plug in his iPod or MP3 player. I don't even have a portable CD or audio tape player. Well, I have a boombox.

If I want to listen to music while I'm working on my computer at home, then I just bring up iTunes and play one of my playlists. Like "Chickenhead Songs". You know, those songs that have such a good beat you sit there and start moving your head like a chicken scratching for food. Think "Pink Cadillac" by Springsteen, "Back in Black" by AC/DC. See? Chickenhead.

I have discovered that trying to listen to a book while driving is waaaay to distracting for me. It's better for my fellow drivers if I just have music in the background. And the classical-type stuff on MOLDI will just lull me to sleep.

But I love the idea of MOLDI for other people! Embrace it! It's a fun way to get new digital media. I have helped a number of people over the phone at InfoLine & AV to negotiate the MOLDI website. I have shown a few people in person the cool download station we have in AV. And I try to point it out as an alternative when people are looking at our audio book collection.

MOLDI itself is okay. I get the whole copyright issues, etc. But it would be nice if the music selection had something a little more modern. I read someone else's post and they used the word "eclectic". That fits MOLDI to a T. It's rather eclectic in its collection. It would be nice if the collection were broader and had more popular appeal.

I liked the tutorial on the MOLDI site. I will take some time going through every section to make sure I have a clearer understanding of MOLDI. One of my co-workers suggested browsing through the Help section periodically to see what has been updated. This will help us keep current so we can help the customers better.

Thing 21: Podcasts

Podcasts. Personally, I'm not seeing myself hooking up with podcasts. I'm more they type to hunt down something when I need it. I don't listen to NPR and tend to dislike talk radio. And I have enough trouble making my way through what I have recorded on my DVR to add even more things to watch on my computer.

But I can see how podcasts would be a boon to people who enjoy listening to things like the show "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me"--ehem, like my husband. Rick also subscribes to "Science Friday". By signing up for podcasts, people don't have to go hunting for what they like--the casts just come to them.

The possibilities for library use are great. Just like we have Dial-A-Story, where customers can call a phone number and hear a story, we could open it up and make it a podcast too. What's not to like about having a new story come to you every week from the library? But let's open that up even more.... How about some of the following: video podcasts of the story being read, audio and video of Storytimes, podcasts of Bilingual Storytimes, etc.

But we could do more than storytimes on podcasts. How about little training movies? We could show customers little tricks for searching the catalog. We are constantly asked what new books/movies/cds do we have on order or in the system. Why not do little tutorial movies showing how to look up those in the catalog? Show them how to use the bookbag function. How can I narrow a search? The list is endless.

What about a weekly update of things happening in the library? And tying back in to the previous paragraph--a training movie on using the events database would be cool. Or how about timely info like Pat talking about the budget crunch or asking customers for input on our 2020 vision plan.

So many possibilities, so little time.

Thing 19: CML's Tool Box

Checking out CML's Tool Box of cool tools this time around. I went to TechCrunch just to see what it was. I'm not really sure what I was expecting to find here. I was thinking, well, more technical kinds of sites dealing with more technology related topics. That's not what I got! I'm thinking it should have been called "Cool Tools" or "New Stuff" or something that didn't make it sound so "techie".

TechCrunch just introduces a bunch of cool new stuff that people can do on the web--or even with their iPhone. Tools covered ranged from sushi guides for the iPhone to BookSprouts, an online book discussion site. Users can comment on the topics posted so you can often get other suggestions on the same topic.

I especially like BookSprouts. What a cool tool to promote book discussions! Groups can be open to anyone or by invite only. I noticed a bunch of libraries that had started groups. Wouldn't this be a lovely way to incorporate our Outreach customers into some library programming? Even though the customers might be homebound they could still connect with other customers and staff in a very positive way. This site could be used with our new focus on Readers' Advisory services. It's another way to get customers and staff talking about the books. Even if we don't use this particular site, CML should look into adding some sort of online book discussion presence that involves CML staff. Simply listing online book clubs in our Great Reads section of the website isn't enough. The new Readers' Advisory push is all about the conversation we are having with our customers about our books. Shouldn't we be trying to converse as many ways as possible? So many of our users are expecting a way to converse online. Let's go meet them there.

Thing 18: Web 2.0 Tools

I just went right to the award winners list. That was distracting enough. I could have spent hours looking at some of the tools here. Some I was very familiar with--like Facebook and Twitter and all the other things we have already looked at. Some were new and exciting. Of course I went right to the "Food" section!

My favorite in the Food section was called Urbanspoon. Although I love cooking, I also love to go out to eat and have someone else do all the work. What can I say? I like to be pampered. This site introduced me to all kinds of restaurants here in town. Some how Urbanspoon psychically knew that I was in Columbus. Big Brother knows my location! In addition to reviews of the restaurant, you will also find a link if the restaurant has a website. And my favorite part is the menu section. If the restaurant doesn't have a menu section, you might still luck out here. Sometimes a lovely diner will have taken a picture of the menu and posted it here. So for all those behind-the-times places that don't even have a presence on the web, it may be possible that some foodie had posted a menu pic. And back to those reviews.... These aren't just reviews from some Joe off the street. Although hearing what the average person thinks of a place is often helpful and insightful, it's not very authoritative. Urbanspoon will have your average Joe reviews AND reviews from the newspapers.

Now even though Big Brother told Urbanspoon that I was in Columbus, I still have the option of looking at other cities. This is a great way to find restaurants when you are going out of town. There are quick links for the top restaurants in the larger cities in the US and Canada. Fortunately Columbus was considered large enough. But let's say I was heading over to Ashtabula. With a few more clicks I can see many other cities all across the U.S.

What a fun site!

Thing 17: Web-based Apps

I love the concept of Google Docs. Really any kind of web-based application program--especially if it is free. It's wonderful creating a document or presentation or spreadsheet and making it available through the internet so other people can collaborate on it. It's rather like the GRPWRK file that we use, only web-based. A truly great idea.

Actually using Google Docs, however, was not a day at the beach. I tried to create any number of documents, spreadsheets, and powerpoints (er, presentations). And every time I was in the thing itself, it went all flukey on me. I would click on the File or Edit menu to try to do something and the screen would darken and flash some alert message depending on which drop-down menu I was in. It wouldn't let me select anything from the menus, it would just try to do whatever the first selection was for that menu. Lots of wasted minutes just trying to bend the application to my will.

Application-5, Snarky Woman-big fat ZERO!

I tried uploading a document that I already created using Word. Now this was better. Stuff was there for me to tweak. If the menus would ever work right. Which they didn't. And the document wasn't an exact copy of what I had created. Not quite the same fonts, etc.

Sigh.

Also, I like to have lots of options. I want to have a ton of fonts to choose from. Google has less than 10. I want to be able to do all kinds of funky things. Can't.

So here is how I think Google docs can benefit the library and me:

1. Put desk/weekly work schedules on Google docs. Or really any basic form that you might use at work--CLASS forms, vacation requests,whatever. These are pretty basic things and it allows us to access the info easily. We can make quick changes from any computer. Great way to use this.

2. Create a document on Word or whatever first. Get the basics in. Then use Google Docs to have others collaborate. Once the text is good, then take it off the web and make it beautiful. Email out the final doc that has all the bells and whistles that you can't get with Google docs. Yeah you will be doing some emailing, but this part should me minimal.

So Google Docs=great idea, but bad actual application.

Nightmare Before Christmas Yule Log

Check out this way cool cake Calli did for French class! I especially like the blood oozing out of the cake. Because nothing says "Christmas" like a blood-oozing log.

I'm so proud. We are so warped!

Thing 16: Playing in the Wiki Sandbox

So I went to the CML Sandbox and played a bit. Man, I'm still sifting sand out of my shorts!

I confirmed once again that I love to lurk, but posting isn't always my thing. It was fun reading what other people liked for their favorite book, movie, etc. But I can never make up my mind what my favorite is. I like so many things.

A part of me is thinking, "Gee, maybe we could have just had 22 things." It was nice seeing a fun application of the wiki. But did we really need to have this as a separate Thing? Nah, probably not. I posted something. I saw that other people could post too. Learned that in Thing 15. Ready to move on.

Although it was fun seeing other people suggestions, I think there are other ways to compile info and share it. Ways that are visually more appealing. Ways that are easier to organize. But if this was all you had, I could be a fun way to expand Readers' Advisory services.

UPDATE: Jim reminded me of something I wanted to post about this and forgot. I saw lots of comments about how the wikis aren't very eye-catching. They look bland. Eh, so what? Do they work well? Can you search something and find it easily? Does it have at least a decent layout so you can go quickly to different sections? Well then! Seems like that should be what you are looking at. Put a pretty picture of something next to your monitor if you need something beautiful to look at. I'll take function over looks every time.

Thing 15: Wikis

Checking out the wikis....

I thought I would hate wikis. What do you mean anyone can change the stuff that's posted? How are we supposed to give a consistent message if it's changing all the time? There's no content control or some Grand Pooh Bah who says what gets posted. You mean I can post anything?

Guess what? All those "concerns" are exactly what makes a wiki so great!

First, let me put a plug in for a wiki... There is WikiMart, the InfoLine/Rover wiki. It pretty much rocks. Tons of info in one handy place. No more, "where's that memo about MOLDI?" or "I can't find that phone list." Nope, I just have to go to one handy online source. And it's moderated. So people can't just post stuff willy-nilly. There's a core group that takes care of posting most of the stuff and the rest of the InfoLine/Rover gang can post critical, time sensitive updates without having to go through the moderators. It's just pretty cool.

AV has started a wiki. We are just beginning to get things on it. So far it has things like an equipment list for other libraries around town, our homegrown "rolodex", etc. I'm sure we will be adding lots more stuff to help the staff.

I like the idea of using a wiki to post favorites (see next post about Thing 16). This could be a lovely way to engage our customers so they can see bibliographies, etc. in their search for material suggestions.

I am concerned that there are so many different wikis out there. I could see CR&D and IT setting up a standard so we all have the same accessibility and the same look. But the content possibilities are endless.

So let's see what I have to say about Thing 16....

Thing 14: Library 2.0--Wake Up and Answer the Question!

What is "Library 2.0" to me? Do I see this as the next greatest revolution in Library Science? Is Library 2.0 the wave of the future?

Um, no.

To me, Library 2.0 is just libraries discovering there are new ways to access information and get it to their patrons. Way back when, I'm sure papyrus was a new and rocking way to get information passed around. There were probably great debates in Alexandria about whether the librarians should be spending money on such an expensive way to expand our knowledge. What's wrong with just passing things on with our oral traditions? Well, you get my drift.

Yes, there are a lot of really cool tools out there at our fingertips now. I don't need to make a customer come in to pick up a copy of a magazine article--instead I can email it, maybe send it to his phone, or just tweet the key phrase he needed. Faxing is practically dead now and it was the hot new thing just a few years ago. There will always be something new popping up and saying, "Hey! Check me out! I can help deliver info this new way!" So what is a library to do?

Untwist your panties and give it a shot.

We don't need to have a 10-page policy and procedure written up to cover how we are to use some new technology. How about we give it a little research, find the best delivery system for the new product, and see how it works? Let's look at ways to try different ways to implement new technology. Face facts, there are some locations in our system working at a slower pace--visits are down, customers are more comfortable doing for themselves, whatever. Why not start a new service at one of these locations? Make sure they have back-up help if things get crazy. And most importantly TRAIN THE STAFF so they can competently use the new Thing. Then let 'er rip. So we have to tweak what we are doing after 2 weeks because the first model isn't working? Tweak it. Be ready to change mid-stream if you need to. Realize that you might need some extra staff for a bit dealing with the day-to-day stuff, while the beta-testing staff work through a launch. Think a Thing can be done while on the desk, but find out after a week that this is impossible? Okay--so see if you can make it work as an off-desk duty.

"Library 2.0" is a phrase that gives us permission to take risks--and sometimes fail. I looked at the definition of "risk". Nowhere does it say--"trying something that always leads to success in your venture". Most definitions talk about possible loss or injury or not succeeding. We need to acknowledge that sometimes when we risk trying a new thing, we might fail. So What? We also need to be able to say--"This didn't work. Let's quit doing it. Maybe something else will work instead." We don't need to keep beating a dead horse and hope it will be a phoenix instead and rise out of the ashes. If it's a dead horse, bury it and move on.

Um wow. That was quite a little soapbox I just climbed up on!

I think I had better stop for now since I am due to staff the desk. I think you see how I feel about Library 2.0. It's really just a new phrase for stuff we have been doing all along!

Thing 11: Library Thing

Now we are exploring Library Thing. I'm trying to be good and not spend forever checking out a new tool. Usually I get lost setting it up for me. This time I tried more for an overview and a bit of playing.

I'm really liking Library Thing. I will use it as a reading log to record things that I have read. And I should be able to use it to create a list of things I want to read. (If I can just remember how...) I have never been able to successfully keep a reading log. I always go great guns for about a month. Then I forget about it and nothing gets entered and I can't remember what I read or if I liked it. But this is fairly painless. I can add a title quickly and slap in a few comments.

Keeping a reading log is a great way to improve your Readers' Advisory abilities. How many times have you gone to suggest a book that you just read to a customer and BAM! (just like Emeril) you can't remember the title, the author, or anything about it. But you know your customer would love this book. If you keep a reading log, it's simple to look back and suggest something from the list. Otherwise you waste time trying to dredge up just what that book was that you read recently.

My next step with Library Thing is asking Jenn how she ended up using the tags to keep her books in order by number in the series. I remember 8 needed to be 08, but beyond that, things are cool!

Pary on!

Thing 10: Image & Other Generators

I partied with image generators. And some other generators. Like that fun one that ChuckatMain suggested where you create a blog post with pre-selected prompts. This was perfect for that new blogger in me. It also seemed to bring out my ornery side. What's not to love about:

"Crikey! I just got slapped with a wet salmon - really - I have not updated this since they let me out!... You would not believe that my hands were chopped off and I was waiting for bionic ones. Please don't abandon me!.

I am totally exhausted with setting fire to people wearing Crocs, being distracted by the shiny, just generally being a pain to anyone unfortunate to cross my path, my day is a nightmare I would like to wake up from 4am to 11pm at which point I fall asleep on the couch. I am avoiding recapture. it will be fun fun fun till they take my TBird away.

I will try to remember I promised you I will make more of an effort to blog more often until the nice men in the white coats come back. You wanna test me? What do you mean you don't believe me?."

If I had more personal pics on my work computer, I could have really gotten lost in playing here. This activity could have really sucked up my time like there's no tomorrow. I am constantly amazed by the different programs out there and what they let me do. I am feeling much more comfortable with be-bopping through some of this technology. I don't feel as intimidated. And I guess that's what Learn & Play is all about!

As for how to use this with the library... People love doing these things. The CML kids and teens websites both have areas where customers can play. Why not have a section of our main website where customers can play? Haven't we shown that playing supports learning with Learn & Play? What an excellent way to put our money, er website, where our mouth is!

Now let's see if I can post some of those pics I created.... And thanks to Mr. Rex Savage for the original sunflower picture!

Thing 9: Finding Feeds

Now that I know how to add feeds to my Bloglines account (which I really don't like, BTW) now I'm supposed to find feeds to add. I checked out the different search tools and I have to say I'm really not a fan. Topix.net I found irritating. Actually I found all three search tools irritating for one reason or another. I think it had more to do with how I use feeds. Maybe. Or it's just that these are irritating search tools.

Why do people use a feed? They have a site that they like and they want to look at it again to check for updates. Rather than going to a bunch of sites daily, RSS feeds allow us to just go to one site (like my lovely Google Reader) and see what has been updated since I was last there. People will tend to look for sites that fulfill their needs and THEN check to see if there is an RSS feed they can utilize. I'm not going to go trolling for just feeds. I want to find a good site first.

I didn't think any of the feed search tools were user friendly. They seemed clunky or visually cluttered or just down-right irritating. I wanted to shout at Topix that I wanted more than just Columsus sites. Whatever happened with starting broad results and narrowing from there. Yes, I saw ways to change up the searching, but it wasn't very user-friendly. Maybe it was operator error and I just need someone to show me how to use it correctly. But from looking at other blogs, I don't think it's juat me.

Surely there are other search tools out there. (Quit calling me "Shirley"...)

Thing 8: RSS Feeds

Here's the scoop. I created a bloglines account because it said so. Because we are supposed to share. And then I added all my happy little feeds. All 10 of them. And here are my thoughts.

If, as a co-worker told me after I was done doing all the Bloglines stuff, it was okay to use my Google Reader WHY wasn't that mentioned somewhere obvious in the assignment? I already use Google Reader--not a ton, but for some things. I will probably use it a little more. So Bloglines allows sharing. If I want to share a feed with someone, I will send them a link.

This assignment was very frustrating for me. I see the benefits to using the feeds. Why visit a bunch of sites to check the latest stuff when I can go to my Reader where it's all in one place? Readers make my life go faster. But as far as the assignment goes, I thought it totally unnecessary to create yet another account when I was already using a perfectly fine one. Also, once someone has added a couple of feeds to their account, they will get the concept. Adding 10 feeds was way too excessive. Three would have been plenty: L&P@CML, a friend's blog, and some library or news feed.

So, RSS is a thumbs up. Jumping through all the hoops, thumbs down.

Chuckles

Okay, so I really should be out grocery shopping for Thanksgiving. But I had to eat breakfast first! And while I eat, I read. Today I was reading The Dispatch's Life & Arts section--specifically The Flip Side. The Flip Side is basically a page of fluff and mindless stuff. But it's amusing and diverts me while I shovel Cheerios. They often feature websites that are bizarre or amusing.

Check out:

http://www.bunkbeds.net/velociraptor/index.php

Just an observation... Since you and the velociraptor appear to be chained at opposite corners, it seems like all you would have to do is go to the very end of your chain and lay down so most of your body is as far from the velociraptor as possible. The worst it might be able to do is claw off your foot. But then you are free to crawl away and apply a tourniquet. Velociraptor 0 (well, one foot), You 1 (minus a foot).

I especially like that this game was attached to a site where you can browse a variety of bunkbeds. Someone is sick and twisted like me!

Thing 13: Delicious (no more dots!)

Delicious. It's rather tasty. Sorry, I couldn't resist the pun.

Just before I left the Rover gang, Stacey had just gotten the Rover delicious account all set up. Now I could really see the Rover gang using delicious like crazy. No matter where I might be sent, I would have the bookmarks I'm used to at the tips of my fingers. I wouldn't have to think about how to find "that site" that had just what I needed on it. BAM! There it is saved on delicious. That just rocks. And when I'm at home and trying to help my daughter with her homework--POW! Just like Batman, I can find what she needs even faster.

But I was trying to see other ways delicious might be used. And it finally clicked. Why worry about having all the right bookmarks loaded on each computer in AV? All we have to do is set up a delicious account and we can always get to what we need. This just makes standardizing so much simpler. Dave thought so. So now I am to create an account for AV and get everything on there we need. We will see what happens....

The social aspect hasn't quite clicked yet. I think if I explore it some more it will click all the way. I could see checking out other library's delicious sites and adding them to ours. The social part could really explode and send me off on all kinds of tangents. I foresee myself spending a lot of time exploring and not getting much done. Control!

Thing 12: Twitter

Yeah, I last did Thing 7. And now I'm on Thing 12 because I've had to set up a Twitter account. After this I'm off to explore delicious and wikis because I need to use those with my job. Like right now. So let's get these Things under control! My mind is just not linear, so let's jump around.

First things first--my twitter name is @2slappy. Someday I might explain the whole Slappy nickname thing my husband and I have going. Really all you need to know is that somehow Slappy White is involved. And isn't Slappy a really cool name?

I'm still trying to figure out how some of Twitter works. I just need to focus a little more and try not to multi-task too much while learning. I could see myself getting sucked into Twitter and getting very distracted with it. It's wonderful for quickie updates.

CML could have used Twitter the other day. COSI was using the Auditorium for a program. It wasn't a library program, but it was open to the public. COSI and CML could have sent out tweets letting our customers know it was happening.

One of the things I really like about Twitter (and the blogs and some of the other Things) is that I have been able to reconnect with some friends. I've been catching up with Jim and Annette. (Hmmm, maybe I should have linked their Twitter accounts.) I can see my daughters and I using this a bunch. Especially my daughter who is off at Otterbein. Beck kind of uses her Facebook like Twitter at times. I would like to seek out other people on Twitter more. But every time I try to search out new people, Twitter tells me that the feature is "temporarily disabled." HA!

I think I might ramble too much for Twitter to become my favorite way to communicate. Only 140 characters!? I laugh at their restrictions. I was so excited when I learned I could text to other Verizon customers for waaaay more than 160 characters. Now my texts go on and on and on. Just like the Energizer Bunny! (OMG! I so want those for Christmas!)

COSI's Lost Egypt Exhibit

No this isn't a Thing. But I really have to say something about this incredibly cool exhibit. Now if you live in Central Ohio and have been to COSI you are probably saying, "COSI doesn't have a Lost Egypt exhibit! She must mean that one called Adventure where you try to solve a puzzle and it sings that stupid song at the end." (sorry COSI)

Well, I do NOT mean that exhibit. I'm talking about this cool new traveling exhibit that COSI is in the process of building. Lost Egypt will open this coming summer. Now maybe I'm a little biased because by bestest friend is the project leader for making this happen. Plus I have heard fun stories all about what they are doing to create the exhibit. Did they just do a little research and throw something together? Noooo. They went to EGYPT to meet with these ginormous experts in Egyptology (or whatever it's called). People like Mark Lehner who is one of the biggest names in Egyptology (yeah, that is what it's called).

They will have a life-sized model of a camel. Kids will be able to climb on the camel and pretend that they are right there in Egypt ready to find their own pyramid. Maybe it will inspire one of them to become the next great Egypologist who discovers a way to locate all the lost Egypt sites.

I have been reading COSI's blog all about the creation of the Lost Egypt exhibit. Check it out!

This exhibit can't open fast enough for me! Way to hit one out of the ballpark COSI!!

Thing 7: Blog about a Tech Thing

So what has interested me technology-wise this week? Hmmmm....

Steve here in AV is a wonderful resource for keyboard shortcuts. Let's see if I can remember any of them to share here with whomever is bored enough to read this.

Doing your Basic Source training and you need to show what search you used on DP? Highlight the text on DP that you want to copy. Right click. (Don't worry if it looks like it didn't do anything, it did!) Go to your Word document and left click where you want to insert the test from DP. Then hit Ctrl+V. Presto! There's your text from DP!

That one little tip allowed me to finish my Basic Source post-test I was working on in record time.

There were some other cool shortcuts Steve showed me, but they are gone from my brain cells now. :-( So sad. I will have to pester him to show me more!

So thanks Steve for making my life easier!

Thing 6: Mashups

Woot! Woot! I love FD Toys! What fun toys to use with my pics over in Flickr. There are some pretty cool mashups. I love www.despair.com. I have my own Demotivator calendar. Now with some of these mashups, I can create my own calendar--cheap, cheap, cheap. So I can not only have fun, but save money while I'm at it. What's not to love.

I know there's a way to provide happy little links to other webpages within my post--but I don't have a clue how to do that. Isn't that in Thing 56 or something? I will pester some of my techie friends later and find out how to do that. Then my post will have cool links...

One step at a time.

Here is my first Demotivator:



Party on!

Thing 5: Flickr

So it took many, many days to align the planets in just the right way so I could finish up Thing 5. I brought my camera in, but we couldn't get any of the patch cords to work with it. Yay to Dave who let me borrow his camera stuff! With any luck I will be able to post one of the pictures that I took.

The Flicker site was great for getting those pictures uploaded. They have a beautiful web-based way to upload that even I couldn't screw up. Easy peasy.

I tried playing around with the ET pic. The auto fix option on picnik worked quite nicely. The crop tool was very intuitive and a breeze. I'm thinking I could get to like this Flickr site a lot!

Now let's see if I can get ET posted.....

Thing 3: Making My Blog

So I finally got this blog made and it doesn't nauseate me to look at it. Woot!! Woot!! The hardest part about setting it up was getting the picture at the top to look right. It's still not the picture I wanted (something with sunflowers), but it's still pretty cool. Actually posting is easy. Coming up with what to write, just doesn't flow. Jim says to give it a chance, so I'm trying.

The easiest of the 7 1/2 Habits--just this time--is setting goals. My goal is to finish all the steps before the deadline. Thankfully the deadline is later now or I wouldn't have been able to make this goal. And a side goal is winning something cool. That's out of my hands, but that would be fun! Doing the 23 things had goals built right in. If they didn't, this would have been my hardest habit. I'm not the best at making or keeping goals.

Hmmm, the hardest. There are different aspects of many habits that will be hard. Strangely, playing can be hard for me. I take myself and my work too seriously. I need to lighten up. Also, I'm not always confident in my abilities. Usually I'm just fine, but I don't have faith in myself. I have decided to say to myself }: P~~~ and just give it my best shot. (uh, that's me blowing raspberries) That's all I ask of my kids and everyone else, why should I hold myself to a higher standard?

So, wow, I guess I can ramble on a bit Jim! Now you will just have to shut me up!

My First Post!

Okay, so I'm doing this blog mostly for work. Because let's face it, a blog is just a different way to journal. And I hate to journal. Someday when I'm rich and famous I won't have to worry about my deepest secrets getting out. Because I won't have written anything down. Except here.

Now I'm going to post this puny post because I have to go make dinner....

Later!