First Blog

I'm back

2009-05-04T11:52:00.000-07:00

After some time now I am back on my blog. It's only that I've been preoccupied with so many other things that this had taken a back seat. I will be creating a new blog, more related to my responsibilities in Media Resource Services of the Cook Library at Towson University. Once the blog is up and running, I will include a link.

Bye for now

Thing # 23 My thoughts on The 23 Things

2008-08-15T10:30:00.000-07:00

I have finally completed the exercises prescribed in the 23 Things program. I started in May of '07 with the first 5 things. I then picked it back up this past May. I've learned a lot about blogging, RSS feeds, Flickr, and other web-based resources and tools. These resources and tools will not only help me to be more productive, but they can also provide hours of entertainment. I just hope I can remember all the passwords and usernames for the accounts I've created.

I can't say it was all fun going through these exercises. Some of them were difficult to work through and, at times, a bit frustrating. If the creators of the 23 Things are interested in feedback, I would suggest they provide more detailed instructions. My wife went through the 23 Things program with her employer. She had a much easier time with it because her company beefed up the instructions by providing step-by-step guidance for the participants.

Now, what do I do with my new-found knowledge? Well, I can update and customize my blog, share pictures with family and friends, and find countless sources of information and misinformation. I see the most potential in the web-based productivity things like ZohoWriter. With that, I can create and work on documents from any computer with an internet connection. That will come in handy when doing school work.

The next thing I want to do is to record a podcast. The big attraction here is the opportunity to play with audacity and other recording software and devices. Now if they could just come up with some technology that would enable me to slow-smoke baby back ribs in less than an hour. Now that would be something!

Thing # 22 I'm almost done!

2008-08-14T12:28:00.000-07:00

I opened an account with NetLibrary. After getting frustrated because every title, author, and subject I entered in the search found no results, I clicked on the "In Our Collection" button. After scrolling through a few pages of books I found a few that looked interesting. I can see how this would be a good tool for doing research. However, I did not see anything on the NetLibrary website relating to audiobooks. I thought to myself, gee, why don't I take a look at the NetLibrary tutorial? DUH! It shows how to log in and search for audiobooks. I then logged back into my NetLibrary account. It appears that Towson does not have any audiobooks in its collection yet. Perhaps I will check back at a later date. Nevertheless, I did see a book that I may recommend to my daughter who is currently in a job hunt.

Now let's take a look at Project Gutenberg. Well, I did see lots of titles that can be downloaded, and for free I guess. I did not bother downloading any because I'm not sure I should be doing that on my work computer. Besides, I should not be sitting at my desk and listening to audiobooks anyway; I should be working.

All in all, I think that this exercise was worthwhile.

Well, onto Thing # 23.

Thing # 21: Locating podcasts

2008-08-12T13:01:00.000-07:00

I found some useful tools for locating podcasts. At first, I was not sure what to do. They don't
provide adequate instruction as to what to do and when. You kind of have to play around and discover by trial and error how to operate these things. I'd much prefer step-by-step instructions. Anyway, I found some podcasts that were of interest. I listened for bit then added them to my bloglines page.

Actually, I recorded a podcast last year. It was on my blog, but when I clicked on the link, I got a message saying that it was not available. Not sure what happened. I recorded it last Spring during a OTS podcasting workshop. Maybe I'll do another one.

Until then, I shall move on to Thing #22.

Thing # 20, You Tube and other video viewing websites

2008-08-12T06:59:00.000-07:00

I've been looking around on You Tube and other video viewing websties and I've come to this conclusion: there isn't anything that someone hasn't recorded and placed on the internet. From sports to sex to suicide to music performances to cooking to dancing to auto repair to catching catfish with your hands or just being silly in front of the camera; you can see anything you want, and a lot that you don't want. It is amazing what people will do in front of a camera. My favorite use of You Tube is to watch live musical performances. Especially ones of my favorite bands from the 70's and 80's. It's hard for me to imagine an application of these types of websits for the Library. Well, maybe uploading videos introducing the library and its services. Or, tutorials on finding stuff in the library. I do see lots of students using You Tube video clips in their presentations.

For your viewing pleasure, I've added a video bar featuring videos of some of my favorite bands. The bands are Genesis (w/Peter Gabriel), Gentle Giant, Van Der Graaf Generator, King Crimson, and XTC. Although some of them are still recording, these bands were most prolific in the 70's and 80's. I'm not real happy that all the bands do not appear in the video bar at the same time; you have to wait for it to cycle to the band you want to listen to. Also, You Tube throws in some other related clips that I did not intend to included. But, it still is pretty cool.

Now on to thing # 21, Tools for Locating Podcasts

Thing # 19

2008-08-08T08:12:00.000-07:00

I checked out the list of award nominated and winning web 2.0 sites. Not really having a particular interest or topic in mind, I just chose a few that featured videos and/or photos. I like viewing funny, weird, and sensational videos. Let's face it, I'm a sucker for those shows on TV that show videos of car chases, crashes, disasters, and things like that. And yes, I confess, the only reason I watch car races is to see the crashes. What I liked about the sites was the huge variety of videos to choose from. What I did not like was all the time I am wasting watching videos. Also, it took a long time for the videos to load. And, even though there was a statement on one of the sites asking people not to post porn, there were a lot of videos with adult content.

As for potential applications, boy, with so many sites, and blogs, and news sources, and stuff to choose from I can't imagine that there is anything that can't be found on the internet. Now that I think about it, with all these web 2.0 features and tools available from the comfort of one's own home, why would anyone need to go to the library? I can see why people who make their living in the library need to know this stuff.

And, in the words of Forrest gump, that's all I have to say about that.

Thing # 18

2008-08-08T06:43:00.000-07:00

Thing # 18 has us explore some on-line productivity tools like wordprocessors and spreadsheets. I opened an account with Zoho Writer and created a document. The document is a to-do list and process schedule of sorts. I am planning a patio party in which I will be cooking/grilling/bbqing a lot meat. To the dismay of my vegetarian daughter and friends, I will be putting fire, smoke, and heat to pork ribs, chicken, beef, and salmon. I think that just about covers all the animal meat us humans like to eat. I will be preparing these dishes throughout the day and I must stick to a prescribed schedule for everything to come out right. I will be using this document to help me stay on track. I find this Zoho thing useful because I can update this document whenever or wherever another idea or thought comes to mind; at work, at home, at a friends house, all I need is a computer with an internet connection. I simply go to the Zoho site, sign in, open my document, and type away. This is good for me because things (ideas and thoughts) come to me more readily as I go about my day rather than sitting down and trying to remember everything. I think out of all the tools and features I've discovered during this 23 Things exercise, this is the most useful for me.

On to # 19

Thing # 17

2008-08-06T12:30:00.000-07:00

I just got back from playing in the wiki sandbox. I looked around and stumbled onto this video of comedian using members from the audience to participate in his comedy routine. One of the volunteers had such a strange laugh that the comedian had to stop his skit because he was laughing so much. I began laughing too. Laughing is more contagious than yawning. I was finally able to add my blog to the favorite blogs page. But not without a lot of guessing. The instructions are pretty lacking so you have to play around with it some. If you are lucky, maybe you have a co-worker or friend who has already figured it out. With this excercise, as with a lot of these 23 Things exercises, the instructions are not very good.

Now it's time to take a look at some on-line productivity tools. Because, let's face it, I haven't been very productive lately.

Thing # 16 So that's what a wiki is

2008-08-06T08:38:00.000-07:00

After checking out the various resources and examples I see that wikis are ways that people can put information out there in internet land without having to create and set up a website. I can build a wiki and put recipes or something like that on it and anybody could read it. I guess they can also add to it. Now I know why the teacher in my last class gave me grief when I listed wikipedia as one of my sources in a paper.

Now onto # 17 to play in the Sandbox wiki.

Thing # 15

2008-08-06T07:51:00.000-07:00

I read several of the perpectives on Web 2.0, Library 2.0 and the future of libraries. I get the sense that some of the the writers envision a library that doesn't have many books but lots of computers and computer terminals. I guess that's ok with me, not really sure.
Bye now

Thing # 14 Technorati

2008-08-05T12:43:00.000-07:00

Technorati is an Italian sports car designed by...uh no that's Maserati, sorry. Anyway, it's a website that is a directory of blogs and searches for blogs. If you are looking for a blog on a particular subject, just click on one of the subject tabs and do a keyword search. You will find about a gazillion blogs, give or take a zillion. In our 23 Things session we are asked to do a keyword search in blog posts, tabs, and the blog directory. I did not see any buttons or tabs labeled blog posts, tabs, or directory so I clicked on the Blog tab and did a search. As expected, I got a boatload of blogs and links to choose from. One could spend a lot of time reading these blogs.

I then explored the top and favorite blogs and searches. Nothing really surpising or interesting about it. It just listed the most viewed and searched blogs.

That is all for now folks.

About thing # 13

2008-08-05T08:52:00.000-07:00

Thing # 13 is about tagging and website called Delicious. Sounds like it would be a site having to do with food or cooking, or maybe an adult content site. But it's not. It's a site that allows you to put the bookmarks of your favorite websites on an on-line account so that you can access the list from any computer. Oh, and you can also share these bookmarks with other people. I'm not sure what to say about this thing # 13. I opened an account and put a couple of bookmarks on it. It seems like there is a lot more to it than what I did. Like most of these web 2.0 things, there is a ton of detail; sometimes more than my brain can handle.
I think it is time to move onto # 14.

Thing # 12 (Sounds like a Dr. Suess book)

2008-08-04T13:08:00.000-07:00

Thing # 12 is about the roll your own tool. Now my parents had a roll your own machine when I was a kid. They used to make their own cigarettes, at least I think they were cigarettes (Hmm, that may explain a few things). But this is different. I created an account and a search roll of my own. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure I had the right idea. The URLs I selected are not really related...just a miscellaneous list of websites I visit often. I think I was supposed to make them all of a related subject, like sports or grilling. The roll is called "whole wheat roll" (sorry, I was hungry). I hope it can be found at this link: http://www.rollyo.com/index.html.
Time for # 13

Thing # 11

2008-08-04T11:34:00.000-07:00

Ok. I opened a Library thing account and put some books in my library. You can see it at http://www.librarything.com/catalog/ThinWhiteDuke. Onward and upward to # 12.

Comments about thing # 9 and # 10

2008-08-04T10:46:00.000-07:00

Well, I explored MERLIN and looked at some of the links provided. I must say that I am overwhelmed by the choices presented. I made an avatar and posted it on my blog. I already have a Second Life avatar. I opened a Bloglines account and added some newsfeeds. I checked out the search tools to find newsfeeds and blogs. I did not find any that stood out as being more difficult or easier to use. They all presented the same amount of challenge.
Now onto thing # 11.

Thing # 8 and my avatar

2008-08-01T13:00:00.000-07:00

My avatar: The Thin White Duke, A/V man of mystery. Yes, he can show you how to hook up that video monitor, but then he'd have to kill you.

RSS and Newsreaders... I opened a Bloglines account and added some newsfeeds and blogs to it. I will have to use it before I can realize its benefit. On to thing #9.

Thing # 7

2008-06-30T13:14:00.000-07:00

The next step in the 23 things, #7, is to post a blog about something technology related. I was thinking the other day that I should try to download some TV shows into my Ipod. After all I got some Itunes gift cards so the downloads would be essentially free for me. I'll be taking my Ipod to the beach in a few weeks and what better way to enjoy technology them to lay on the beach and watch TV? Did I really say that? New technologies have given us the abilities to do a lot of things we have never done before. But, a lot of these things cause me to stop and say to myself, "what would we have done without them"? Well, we would have just done without and not known any better. I just recently got to enjoy playing the Wii video game system. I have to admit, even though I don't like video games, this thing is pretty cool. My wife and I are going to buy one under the guise of it is going to help us get some exercise. Let me say that again. We are going to buy a video game so that we can get more exercise! Can you imagine that?
That is all...

Thoughts about thing # 6

2008-06-30T13:01:00.000-07:00

Well, I checked out the things you can do with Flickr images like mashups, mappr, and things. There were some interesting things that folks did with images and sounds. I must admit, it all seems very daunting to me. Other than entertainment, I am not sure how I would apply these technologies but knowing how to use them could only be beneficial.

Things 1 through 5

2008-06-30T08:28:00.000-07:00

I have gone through things 1 through 5 in the 23 Things program. I set up this blog and put some photos on a Flickr site. I had a link to my first podcast in my previous post but the link does not work anymore; not sure why.

It is the last day in June, 12 days from vacation. I am spending the day working at my desk so that my body can recover from a weekend of strenuous activity. Part of the work I am doing at my desk involves this blogging. Don't really have much to say but here is what has been on my mind lately.

I am building a patio in my backyard and it's kicking my butt. The stooping and standing back up is the tough part. I am almost done; I need to buy and lay about 100 more bricks. I also need to buy, rent, or borrow a concrete saw to cut the bricks; that should be interesting.

We go to the Outer Banks of N.C. July 11 for vacation. I am going to need that rest. I just got a text message from my wife that she found and is purchasing a Wii video game to take to the beach; so much for the rest. We will also be taking my grill and grilling tools; I plan to do a lot of grilling at the beach.

That is all for now.

Gibberish

2007-05-31T08:36:00.000-07:00

This is the link to my first podcast.
http://www.archive.org/download/PodcastPractice/MP3

My first Blog

2007-05-31T08:29:00.000-07:00

Hello:

This is my first blog. This raises a question for me. What is a blog?