A Sense of Accomplishment... and the Journey Continues!

I'm proud that I have successfully completed the twelve-week Web 2.0 schedule of exercises. I'll admit, I was nervous at the beginning (back in March) that I would find the whole thing too overwhelming, difficult, or scary. But the way the training was structured, with small, manageable, self-paced tasks to complete each week made it at times even enjoyable! I have particularly liked blogging as a means of self-expression and reflection. I will also continue using LibraryThing to keep track of my favourite books.
Thanks to the trainers for putting it all together for us!
The journey continues!

The Grass is Always Greener...

Okay, I admit it. I have lawn envy. Now that I'm a home-owner in the Burbs again, I have started obsessing about the state of my lawn and drawing unfavourable comparisons with the neighbours lovely, thick green thatch.

Our back lawn looks half-decent, but the front is just sad. Uneven coverage, with little patches of brown that look strangely like crop circles. (No, we don't have a dog.) A friend calmly advises that it is just a bit of "winter kill," but that doesn't stop me obsessing about fertilizer and watering cycles.

Yesterday I bought a bag of grass seed, from the multitudinous choices available, to fill in the gaps. I swear I stood there for 20 minutes trying to decide which particular blend to get! I finally selected one that is apparently "ideal for thickening thin, abused lawns." Abused lawns... like I go out there and beat up on it!

One mystery of the universe I would like solved: why does grass grow robustly where I don't want it (such as in flower beds and between cracks in the pathway) while the front lawn (which everyone can see!) remains patchy and forlorn? This must be how the bald guy with a hairy back feels.

Social grooming for narcissists

I love that expression: "social grooming." It conjures up footage of groups of primates picking the nits out of each others fur, a way to bond socially as well as stay clean and tidy. Apparently, Twitter is also a form of social grooming, although I look on it as more a form of narcissism gone wild. This need to share your thoughts and opinions with the wider world on a 24/7 basis.

The dictionary defines twitter as "a short burst of inconsequential information." Emphasis on the word "inconsequential."

Yeah, okay, Twitter has proven to have a bit more substance as a communication platform during emergencies/disasters (e.g. Haiti) and periods of political dissent (China, Iran.) I can almost get on board with it for substantial, life-altering things like this.

But, I could really do without "tweets" regarding something called "Wanker Whiplash" or the fact that "May is Zombie Awareness Month." Has anyone correlated chronic Twitter usage with ADHD? Maybe they should.

I don't know if I should be more worried that Lady Gaga has been named the top fashion icon for teen girls or the fact that the library felt the need to share this nugget of information.

I think the best application of Twitter for the library would be for program/event announcements or important information about our collections and services. Ecopalooza and the Teens Create contest are two good recent examples.

Someone named Kingsully tweeted: "Why am I watching Lindsay Lohan on CNN when there are millions of gallons of oil in the gulf and troops dying overseas?" I couldn't agree more. Now if he could have just kept his tweet to himself.

Love that Library Thing!

Library Thing is a true revelation and one of the most enjoyable exercises we have done during the Web 2.0 assignment. I find it quite user friendly (with some assistance from "Help") and have already added 17 titles to my Library Thing collection! It is a highly addictive activity!

This is definitely something I will use in future on an ongoing basis, particularly as a way to keep track of books I've read and enjoyed. The search engine works well, provides images of most book covers, and the collection titles are really easy to sort and re-sort. I contributed a review for one of the books in my collection and (once I figured out how) added rating stars for all the rest.

I like being able to link quickly with other members and their book reviews. This is a great tool for finding recommendations and connecting with other bibliophiles. Based on my existing catalog and profile, Library Thing has already offered me a whopping 144 reading suggestions! And many are spot on!

One thing I could not figure out is how to share my catalog list without also giving people access to my profile. In spite of several attempts, I was unsuccessful at embedding the approproate "widget" in my blog. Bummer.

Book recommendation of the week

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

(Alan Bradley)

The young protagonist Flavia de Luce is a sassy, nerdy and doggedly determined joy. Who knew the Periodic Table of Elements and British penny stamps could be so much fun?

Google Calendar and Docs: Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?

I had heard about these online productivity tools through a recent conversation with a colleague who uses them all the time, for instance as a way to coordinate his schedule with his spouse. I find the applications of Google Docs far more appealing that the calendar. I must admit I much prefer carrying around a "hard copy" daytimer where all I need to make a scheduling update is a pen! I do not always have ready access to a computer to make these updates online.

But I can see myself using Google Docs to create, edit and possibly even share documents online, without having to worry about saving them to a hard drive or memory stick. It all sounds very liberating. And I appreciate the fact that you can choose who can access your documents online (e.g. "viewers" vs. "collaborators")

However, two annoying things I encountered with Google Docs during this exercise:

1. There was a disconcerting delay in the time it took the characters to appear on the screen as I typed them. I don't know if this is a regular feature of the application or because (once again) "Google Docs is not supported in your browser." The former case would absolutely preclude me from using it.

2. I tried to post a Google document I created into my blog, but just ended up going around in circles at the Google Docs site. I published my document to the web somewhere, but have no idea where in Cyberspace it now resides! The help menu did not help.

I can see these online productivity tools taking away from costly, licensed MS-Office software. Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?

Quote of the Day

"I know no method to secure the repeal of bad or obnoxious laws so effective as their stringent execution."

- Ulysses S. Grant