Adding pictures

I had fun when I was looking through Flickr. I found a golden retriever picture to post for that thing. Now I figured I'd share a picture of my dogs, all three goldens. The female (smallest in the front) we've had since she was a puppy. The two boys were rescue dogs from GRREAT (golden retriever rescue..). We fostered six dogs. We kept the first and last and found other homes for four.

Thing 12 Rollyo

This was interesting. It won't replace Google, but I can see it's use in reducing the number of hits you have to go through to get your information. You can also limit who you get information from. I created two searches. One, being the book lover I am, was for Reader's Advisory. I was very disappointed with this one. I listed my favorite readers advisory sites and looked some more up in Google. Instead of readers advisory when I entered an authors I got whether or not the book was in at some libraries and a few other things like that. I think having a list of links would work better for RA. The other search roll I created was for yarn. I put in my favorite yarn sites and found a few more on Google. When I searched for a particular type of yarn, I wasn't overwhelmed with many hits, just from the ones on my list. Here are the two links:
http://rollyo.com/librarywork-abn/yarn/
http://rollyo.com/librarywork-abn/reader_advisory/
I'm already plotting and planning what other kind of search rolls I can create.

Thing 11 LibraryThing

I actually looked at this back in March. I didn't do much with it then, but plan to do more with it now. It did take a lot of work to add the widget. I wasn't sure which "new Page Element" to use to add the widget. I tried several, and finally had success with "HTML/Java Script". Makes sense when you read this post. What threw me is there wasn't a space that asked for the URL. What you need to do is paste the URL where it asks for "content". Success!! Now I'll quick have to add some classics to my list so no one gets the idea that romance is all I read! ;-). I think I'll start with current books I'm reading and work back. I can't imagine how big the list would be if I added everything I've read!

Thing 10 my avatar

This was a lot of fun. I finally settled on an Avatar from Yahoo. So many of the generators wanted your name or other identifying information so I just skipped those. I already had a Yahoo account so it just seemed the most sensible to use. It was very easy to use, just plug in what you wanted. Those of you who know me should get a kick out of ski clothes on the beach. Maybe I'd stay warm like that??? I'll keep playing with these, as the exercise said " we want you to have even more fun than you're already having!" and I will.

Thing 9 Merlin and Library Blogs

This is a great resource. It's been awhile since I last posted on this blog because I've been so busy investigating/playing with Merlin, Feedster, and Technorati. I've spent hours with them and feel like I've barely scratched the surface of what you can do with them. I used Feedster, Technorati, and Bloglines own search to find things to add to my blogline feed. I found the Bloglines own search the easiest to use. The others weren't difficult but you still have to go through the copy and paste of URLs.

Thing 8 RSS Feeds

Wow, this is great. I don't know why I hadn't heard of these before. I know, I was too busy going to many, many websites to learn about RSS. Now I should have lots of time and still keep up my favorite news sources. Bloglines was very easy to set up. They asked for interests and subscribed you to several sources. It's easy to delete the sources you're not interested in and easy to add feeds from sources you want. I, of course, added my all time favorite CNN's US news. I also added several news sources from places I used to live. The blog update feeds were also easy to add. The thing I had the most trouble was trying to figure out how to share my blogline list. You have to sign up for their blog, then you have to mark that as public. My site is at http://www.bloglines.com/public/librarywork-abn . I'm looking forward to figuring out how much time this saves me and if I still feel as well informed as I do now.

Thing 7 Technology 2

I've been thinking about this since I posted the previous answer. I started thinking in terms of a device rather than a use. I think one of the most useful devices is the flash drive. These are especially useful in a work setting because you can take whatever you're working on anywhere. Even if you sub at another branch, you can have your 'work' with you. At your own branch you won't be limited to one computer, you can use any at your branch. They're more portable than a disk, mine is attached to my branch keychain (which is on a wrist stretchy elastic thing). They hold much more material than a disk. Another useful device is a handheld computer. You can work on these anywhere, you're not tied to a computer. Then you have a backup when you sync with your base computer. If you want to transfer a file to another computer, you can either download it to your flash drive or email it as an attachment. Yes, I'll admit to it, I'm a gadget nerd!

Thing 7 Technology

I had trouble at first thinking about what kind of technology interested me. Then it was pointed out that I'm an absolute news junkie. I love using the internet to read the news. Have to hit CNN first then read news from some of the places I've lived. I prefer my news online because I can choose whether to read or watch something. Almost any news you read lists local and national news. If I miss something on one site, chances are I'll pick it up on another site. Also, it's there when I want to look at it. I don't have to be in front of the TV at a certain time or for a certain amount of time. I can always squeeze in reading a news article online between whatever else I'm doing.

Thing 6 Flickr

Of the various 3rd party and mashups I looked at, I definately like the Yahoo Trip Planner best. Being able to post pictures with the map locations is a really neat idea. Having other's trips/pictures available to look at could help you to plan trips. It's also just fun to look at pictures of places you want to go to or places you've been.

Flickr2

Okay, I looked through Flickr a little more and found how to see what groups are available. Many, on any subject. And if you don't find one you like, you can start your own. I found an interesting one about knitting - my favorite hobby after reading. The Flickr group had a link to a Blogspot which linked to a Yahoo Group. Interesting how all these things can lead to each other. I may have to join Flickr, looks like there are lots of fun groups to join.

Flickr

Flickr is a photosharing web site with more pictures than you would ever know what to do with! You can find pictures by using tags - words that apply to pictures you're looking for. Tags can be general, for instance I searched for Golden Retrievers and got 39,165 photos for that tag. Tags can also be used to narrow a search. I added "funny" to my Golden Retriever search and it cut the number of photos down to 369.
Groups are formed around a subject. I'm not a member of Flickr, so I couldn't peruse the groups. I did notice you can be a member of many groups but can only (as a free member) upload a picture to 10 groups.
My favorite use of Flickr would be to look at photos of friends and family and maybe places I want to travel to without having to down load the pictures from email.

I haven't opened a Flickr account so I'm going with option a.
I chose an image of two golden retrievers, one laying on the other's head because it reminded me of the way my goldens play. I tried to load it several times but it wouldn't. I found another I liked and had no trouble uploading it.

7 1/2 Habits

I enjoyed this program of life long learning. It was nice to hear that the variety of things I do are all considered "Life Long Learning". I plan to have my teenagers watch it! I'm not sure about the contract. It does help to put plans down in writing, it's really nice to be able to check them off as done. I may use the contract or adjust it so it more fits my style.

First posting - step 3

My first blog, oh my! Me with the most persistent writers block in the world. Now to move on to step 4!