The Cheerful Fawn

Lesson #1: Second Life

2009-07-10T16:11:00.005-04:00

Second Life is interesting but as of now I have no interest in participating. I watch a lot of television and recently saw an episode of CSI:NY in which Gary Sinise's character had to solve a murder by going into a 3-D virtual reality world to find clues. He had to create an avatar, chase a little animal creature, and battle a monster to gain access to an exclusive area. It was pretty cool especially since they used a wall to project the image of the virtual world so everything was life-size. As for the library's use of Second Life I think it would be good to have some events and programs similar to those at other libraries which were mentioned in the presentation on Internet based Virtual Worlds.

Lesson #10: The Dark Side of the Web

2009-02-18T15:31:00.005-05:00

As far as I know I have never been the victim or target of a phishing scam. One of my favorite activities is deleting e-mails without opening them so that probably helps. Shopping online is one of my other favorite activities which could potentially make me a future target. To protect myself I don't respond to solicitations. I figure if I don't initiate the contact I shouldn't respond. And I NEVER give out personal information to someone who solicits it. I think intuition and common sense play a big part in preventing these types of scams. Paying bills online is something I've avoided for safety reasons, but my environmental side keeps nagging me to give it some consideration. After all I find no problem with consuming online, but I can't manage my finances or pay bills? It just doesn't make sense and I am nothing if not sensible.

Lesson #9: Life Long Learning 2.0

2009-02-18T14:26:00.008-05:00

In the professional development category I liked the Positivity Blog. I definitely consider myself a pessimist which is why I am constantly looking for ways to change my view in both my professional and personal life. Sometimes this tends to be difficult when you are surrounded by negative people and a negative environment. Negativity seems to love company, but if you can remain positive it can be infectious. One of the articles that I was drawn to was "7 Habits of Highly Ineffective People". I can relate to a couple of the habits like procrastinating and thinking too much. Instructables was the website I liked most in the personal growth category. The idea of learning how to make things appeals to my thrifty side. One of my nicknames is Simone Parsimonious. However, I tend to watch a lot of shows or read a lot of books about making things without ever actually following through. I guess that would be one of my personal goals. Maybe I could start with one of their 5 Minute Projects.
FYI- I was finally able to post a photo to the History of OCLS blog on Orlando Memory. I chose the picture above with the caption "Technical Services Renovation". The photo shows our department after being renovated in the spring of 2007.

Lesson #8: OCLS and Library 2.0

2009-02-13T11:26:00.002-05:00

I was having trouble creating an account for Orlando Memory so I'll just blog about my memory here. When I was younger I remember coming to the children's department at the Orlando Public Library which was then in the basement. There were little wire carousel racks for the books and the room seemed small compared to today. The employees were always very nice to me and I looked forward to the trip all the way downtown. I stocked up on books because back then I would read one per night. Lots of things have changed since then. The children's department is not in the basement anymore. It seems bigger and brighter. Also, I now work in the basement of the library I used to visit as a child!

Lesson #7: Web 2.0 Continues

2009-02-11T14:06:00.019-05:00

In the book category I liked Lulu because you can publish your own book. I also checked out VuFind because it uses open source software. I tried the demo of the site to look up pickling. With just a click I narrowed the search by genre (cookbooks) and topic (canning and preserving). The layout would take some time to get used to but I liked the ease of use. It's something different than the OPAC we are used to at OCLS. I think we could all get some ideas about different catalog search methods. Another good site, mango, is under the education category. Learning languages is very popular. When we had the Rosetta Stone as a free database, I always got comments about how patrons thought it was such a great tool. Since we no longer have Rosetta Stone, I guess mango is an alternative to that software. I like its total immersion learning approach. On a personal note, I love shopping so I naturally gravitated toward the retail category. There's a site called Etsy that sells really cool handmade items. They have a blog on the site with craft how-tos, videos, reviews, events, etc. There's also a section where you can request to have custom items made.
Just for fun: Want to bring out that inner artiste? I recently stumbled upon a really cool site where you can create your own Jackson Pollock painting using your keyboard. Check it out! jacksonpollock.org

Lesson #5: Chain, Chain, Change......

2009-02-09T16:25:00.005-05:00

In the mission statement I connect with "brings value to the residents". To me this part has many different meanings. One is value as in monetary value because we provide so many services free of charge to Orange County residents. We also bring value as in the importance of our services to the community as well as the importance we place on our community and its residents.
I see us creating a "well-informed, well-connected community" by marketing our services, reaching out to the community, and staying ahead of technology to remain relevant.

Lesson #4: Open Source Information

2009-02-09T16:06:00.005-05:00

Before working at OCLS I had very little computer experience even though I did have a computer at home. Now I don't have a computer at home, but I'm much more experienced with using different software and searching for information using the computer. Go figure! I've never used any open source software. I don't work with the public, but I do use Millennium every single day. I hear that in the near future we're going to be experimenting with some open source software to take the place of Millennium. That should be interesting. I have a couple of things I wish we could do in Millennium that I hope could be changed by using the open source software.

On Answerbag I asked why the snooze on most alarm clocks lasts for 9 minutes? Anyone.....

Lesson #3: Health, Wellness, and Technology

2008-10-17T16:15:00.008-04:00

I love the idea of combining exercise and video games. Separately I really don't enjoy either (Rock Band might be the exception), but together they are like a Reese's peanut butter cup. I've played Wii tennis, bowling, and golf. The workout is fantastic provided you don't injure yourself. The first time I played my right shoulder hurt for a week. I read an article about the use of Wii in retirement homes. Here's a link: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/2008-05-14-wii-retirement-medical-centers_N.htm

On Nutrition Data I looked up my favorite Starbucks beverage, a Grande Peppermint Mocha. WOW! Without whipped cream this drink has 312 Calories, 13 grams of Fat, and 44 mg. of Cholesterol! The good news is that I can order it with non-fat milk reducing the Calories to 232, Fat to 2 grams, and Cholesterol to 8 mg. That sounds much better.

Lesson #2: Blogging

2008-10-15T15:29:00.003-04:00

With this course I hope to learn about some new technologies that I'm afraid to try on my own. It would be fun to upload a video to YouTube or create a web page, but I don't have a computer at home so I've never really tried. I'm really open to discovering some new applications for Web 2.0 that I've never heard about before.

The Academy Is...: Summer Hair= Forever Young video

2008-10-15T12:34:00.009-04:00

Deery Lou and Hello Kitty- BFF!

2007-07-09T15:29:00.001-04:00

My partner Hello Kitty and I received our MP3 Players last week. As you can see we are both excited about our reward for a job well done with Learn 2.0. Now we just have to figure out how to use our MP3 players!

photo courtesy of iguanamom

There's a New Avatar in Town

2007-07-02T15:35:00.000-04:00

I just noticed there is an option to create an avatar on my Yahoo! e-mail site. I can't decide whether I like this one or my Meez better. What do you think?

There are more diverse options with the Yahoo! avatar such as having a wheelchair, clothing for plus sizes, and a greater variety of pets. Also if you already have an account with Yahoo! you don't need to create another one for the avatar (one less username and password to remember!).

The End of the Road

2007-06-25T16:05:00.002-04:00

I can't wait to receive my MP3 player. The first thing I'm going to do is give it a name. Then together we'll spend lots of time downloading music. My player and I will take long walks in the park, relax on the couch eating some yummy snacks, or maybe start doing yoga together. We are sure to be the best of friends!

On a more serious note, since this is probably my last official post for Learn 2.0 I would like to take a moment to thank everyone involved in this process. I have acquired so many new computer skills as a result of the lessons. It seems the more frustrated I became during the lesson, the more I learned. Learn 2.0 was a great experience!

P.S.- The audio book that I downloaded was Emily Dickinson, Poems and Letters. The main reason I chose this title was that it only took 2 minutes to download. Once I have my MP3 player I can be more selective. The most difficult part about this task was searching for a title.

Whatever happened to LPs and 8-tracks?

2007-06-20T13:06:00.001-04:00

Hey, I still listen to LPs and 8-tracks, so I'm not sure how I feel about the whole digital rights management debate. Downloading music and burning CDs is not my thing, but not because of any moral decison about the process. I just prefer to have the artwork and CD together. However, I don't purchase a lot of music because the albums are too expensive. Lately my friends have burned some CDs for me that I'm too cheap to buy, which makes me feel a little guilty. I sympathize with the artists who want to get paid for their work, but I don't think record companies should be getting rich.

By the way, I LOVE Emily Wallace's song "Alice in Wonderland". Hmmm...... I wonder why?

FYI- The widget I put on my blog is the game SIMON. It's fun to play and very good for the memory. Enjoy!

To Flickr And Beyond...

2007-06-19T16:24:00.000-04:00

First, I'd like to say that the Hawaii Flickr Meetup looked extremely boring! I posted my photos on Flickr, but not without several obstacles so please take a moment to look at them: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8741903@N07/

As for my experience with Learn 2.0, up until about Week #7 I was flying through the lessons. I started out working with a partner, but that sort of changed as the weeks progressed. We were both working at different paces. I still made myself available to help when needed though. It's funny to think back to Week #1 when just making a comment to the Learn 2.0 blog made me nervous. I was just sort of peeking into the blogging world. Now I'm all settled. I've moved in my furniture, decorated, and met some of my neighbors!

The Lighter Side of Web 2.0

2007-06-06T12:17:00.000-04:00

I enjoy trivia so Blufr was a really fun site. I would like to figure out how to embed it into my blog (P.S.- I figured it out!). I've been wanting to make a webpage for my cat, so I was interested in Catster. I like the concept of the site, but visually it's not as cool as Myspace. I'm not a drinker so I really had no interest in Chugged or Bottletalk but I have friends who might. I did like the music on Chugged- very festive. Overall this was a fun week.

As for hobbies, I like to watch television and shop at thrift stores, garage sales, and estate sales. YouTube fills my television watching needs. When I see something cool on TV that my friends didn't get a chance to watch I can find it on YouTube. It's insane. One day I was trying to explain this joke Mitch Hedburg told on That 70's Show and my boyfriend just looked it up on YouTube. It's instant gratification. Here's the link to Mitch Hedburg's appearance in case you're interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKp7eh9bir4. I haven't found a Web 2.0 application for the shopping yet. I think it would be cool to have a website with a map of garage sales and estate sales for the upcoming weekend. Then you could search for the ones in your area.

Library Applications

2007-06-04T10:43:00.000-04:00

The library applications for Web 2.0 I enjoyed most were Shelfari and Book Mooch. I'm not much of a reader but by making a bookshelf through Shelfari I have the façade of being well-read. The books on my virtual shelf are Sustainable Living For Dummies, The Witch of Portobello, and Veronika Decides to Die. I'm actually reading all three of these books now, but that is very rare for me. Maybe the OCLS website could have an option for patrons to create a virtual bookshelf in their accounts? I like Book Mooch because it's very environmentally-friendly. On this site you can trade books with other readers, saving money and trees!
PopUrls seems like a very cool site. I love the layout, but I think I will have to explore it a bit more to figure out its applications.

So You Think You Can Dance!

2007-06-01T10:41:00.004-04:00

I love this show! Here's a link to a clip from last night's episode:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDU9mYR5Kbg
This little guy can really move!

Haiku For My Cat

2007-05-23T07:55:00.001-04:00

Kneading the blanket

Zaira makes kitty biscuits

Purring all the while

A Haiku for You

2007-05-20T01:41:00.000-04:00

grilled cheese on whole wheat

my most favorite sandwich

coagulated

The Forest of Feeds

2007-05-12T23:52:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm not sure about the result but I created my first Pipe. I don't quite understand the whole concept yet. I just followed the instructions and voilà!

Here's the link: The Forest of Feeds

My Soapbox

2007-05-11T10:45:00.000-04:00

Speaking of corrupt politicians and greedy corporations...

Watch Who Killed the Electric Car? if you want to see how politicians and corporations squashed (literally!) perfectly viable alternative-fuel vehicles back in the 90's. Also, check out Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price to see the effect the stores have on their employees, the economy, the environment, and small businesses.
If after watching these documentaries you get a little depressed, maybe you should consider watching a silly comedy. My pick would be A Night at the Opera which is my favorite Marx Brothers movie. It's a classic! And that's all I have to say about that.

Web 2.0= 2 Much Information!

2007-05-09T16:01:00.000-04:00

I am so glad that we have a break after this week's lesson because I'm suffering from information overload! The OCLS videos on YouTube were surprising. If I had known that the "In The Frame" video we created for Staff Day was going to be all over the web I think I would have prepared for my role a little better. My favorite part of this lesson was looking at all the Web 2.0 Award winners. I liked onesentence.org, knowmore.org, and care 2.com the most (check out the links).

I love how interactive the internet is becoming. It's not so much about commerce or just looking up information anymore. We can all take part in the process. My favorite application for Web 2.0 would be for social, political, and environmental change- taking the power out of the hands of corrupt politicians and greedy corporations.

RSS Feeds

2007-05-07T13:33:00.000-04:00

At first this week's exercise sort of fried my brain, but once I followed the directions and started adding my RSS Feeds the smoke started to clear. Some of my feeds were added by searching for an RSS symbol on websites that interest me. That's how I added National Geographic, Real Simple, and The Onion in addition to Orange Slices and OCLS General Announcements. Then I went crazy adding feeds from the quick picks like Daily Dose of Imagery (thanks iguanamom!), Best Week Ever, Daily Show Videos, Weather for Orlando, Word of the Day, PETA, and Rotten Tomatoes. I really wanted to get the comic strip Cathy but I guess it's no longer available.

As for searching on Grokker, I looked up aloe plants because mine is quickly dying. I definitely prefer the map view because it's more fun to navigate. By searching I was able to determine that my aloe plant is suffering from a bad case of sunburn- ouch! Quite ironic considering aloe is used to soothe a sunburn.

As stated in my last post I am a kinesthetic learner, which is proving to benefit me throughout this course (so far).

This post is dedicated to Cathy- the best comic strip ever created!

Blogging is fun!

2007-05-03T10:48:00.000-04:00

Since starting my blog only a short week ago, I don't feel any older but I definitely feel wiser. I have learned so much during this week. All the "decorating" I've done to my blog page was all accomplished by clicking here and there to figure out how to add pictures, videos, different colors, etc. I guess I would be considered a kinesthetic learner. Anyway, I'm glad that I've been given the opportunity, because I probably would not have done any of this on my own.

Vincent Gallo and John Frusciante

2007-05-01T10:39:00.002-04:00

Can you find the really cool video I've put on my blog page? The video combines two of my favorite men, Vincent Gallo who directed it and John Frusciante who is the star/musician. Vincent Gallo is quite a renaissance man. Not only did he write, direct, and star in his two movies- Buffalo 66 and The Brown Bunny, but he's a really good musician and artist as well. John Frusciante is the guitar player for the Red Hot Chili Peppers who also has a solo career. Several years ago I went to New York by myself to see John in concert. He rarely has concerts so it might have been my only opportunity to see him live. Then a few years ago I went back to New York to see Vincent Gallo perform with Sean Lennon. Vincent brushed against me as he was leaving the stage and said, "I'm sorry." In my head I thought, "I'm not!"

Meet America's Next Top Model...

2007-04-30T10:32:00.000-04:00

My cat Zaira should be on America's Next Top Model. She already acts like a diva and her signature walk is fierce! She could represent all the full-figured models out there. You go girl!

ReduceReuseRecycle

2007-04-29T03:36:00.002-04:00

I'm an avid recycler. I even have a little area to dry the recyclables once I've rinsed them. Most of my friends don't recycle no matter how much I complain, which is a lot! It really doesn't take much time and I think the planet appreciates my effort.

Mickey Avalon- Hustler Hall of Fame

2007-04-28T23:47:00.001-04:00

My friend Jenny turned me on to Mickey Avalon. I guess his music is considered rap, but more dancey. You won't find his album at the library, because it contains explicit lyrics. He uses a lot of fun pop culture references in his music. I guess his most popular song is "Jane Fonda". Does anyone else like him?