Week 9, Thing#23/ Summarize your thoughts about this program

Done!!!!!Well after two months of learning about the Internet and Web 2.0 I'm finished. I can't say I'll still use everything we've learned about, but I will stick with a few. I know I'll still be using my Bloglines account (after doing a little weeding). I want to do more with Wikis and try out one of the online meeting tools. Flickr has become the de facto "we want to see kitten pictures" site , so that will still get used. The one thing I don't see myself still using is this Blog. It was great to document my 23 things journey, but I don't know what else I'd use it for.

If something like this program was offered again, I'd do it. I learned a lot of cool things while participating. The only thing bad I would say (and it's not really that bad), is that I remember hearing that this would only take about a half hour per week. I know I spent, on average, about a half hour on every activity.

I guess, for me, this isn't really over though. I'm going to try and use what I've learned instead of just doing the activities and then forgetting about them.

We'll, that's it. I'm done. I gotta go put my axe upside someones head.

Baelgoul
(aka Greg Miller)

Week 9, Thing#22/ Learn about Audiobooks

I've used Overdrive at work before so this asctivity was another no-brainer. I browsed the Science Fiction & Fantasy section to see what was there. Saw a lot of the classic writers like Asimov, Bradbury, and Orwell. I only found one title by R.A. Salvatore though, and that is not a good thing as far as I'm concerned (I'm a bit of a fanboy).

I think I'm going to download The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. I've been meaning to read it for months now, so I'm going to try and listen to it instead. We'll see, I don't have much luck with listening to audio books. My mind tends to wander.

Next step is to try and download a book to the Palm ;)

Week 9, Thing #21/ Discover useful search tools for locating podcasts

Went through all three search tools and came to the conclusion that Yahoo Podcasts was the only one worth using. I had issues with both Podcast.net and Podcastalley.com, such as not being able to find anything I like and having trouble trying to find an RSS link. If I remember correctly, Podcastalley was pretty adamant about downloading something to the computer (very bad).

I looked for a podcast that would have something to do with Sci Fi/Fantasy literature and came across "Geek Fu Action Grip", which I added to my bloglines account. Mur Lafferty runs the podcast, and she describes herself as a gaming geek, SF geek, and podcasting geek. Sounds good to me! I look forward to listening to her next podcast.

Week 9, Thing #20/ Discover YouTube

Been using YouTube for a while now so this activity was a no-brainer. For me, YouTube has always been nothing but an entertainment web site. I've seen every World of Warcraft video created, not to mention a few of people doing stupid things. I chose the videos for obvious reasons, both are World of Warcraft creations. As far as how we could use YouTube for library purposes, at one time I know there was a video about the Towson library. To promote BCPL, maybe we could upload a video of the Arbutus library's drill cart team.

YouTube Video

I'll post about my YouTube experience later. While searching for World of Warcraft videos I came across this one. Everything you see comes directly from the game.



And this one. Two things I love, WoW and heavy metal music.

Week 8, Thing #19/ Explore any site from the Web 2.0 awards list

I looked at http://www.campfirenow.com/. I wanted to look at a site that had web based group chat for meetings. Maybe instead of us driving back and forth between branches we could just have a online meeting. Campfire seemed easy enough. After you set up the initial chat room, you send an email invite to anyone you want to have access. You can have a virtual meeting, share files, pictures, and you can invite guests into the chat if needed. Of course the problem I would have is I'm not that fast of a typist. If I had something in depth to say, it could take a while before I got my point across. Although it might cut down on the long winded tirades some people get into at meetings...

Week 8, Thing#18/ Looking at Online Productivity Tools

OK, so I'm creating this post in Zoho Writer. If you can read it I guess I was successful in publishing it. I like the Zoho Writer. It has everything Word has plus a few extra bells and whistles. Templates are a little weak though. Plus, I like the idea of free software. It frees up people from having to go out and by even more Micro$oft programs (anything to stick it to Mr. Gates). Next I'm going to play with all the other programs like Zoho Wiki, Sheet, Chat and maybe even Meeting.

Just did spell check. It thinks Zoho is spelled incorrectly. Don't you think they would know how to spell their own name?

(OK, everything transfered over except the emoticon at the end)

Week 7, Thing #17: Add an entry to the Learning 2.0 SandBox wiki

OK, between Bloglines not letting me into MD 23 things, and the directions to add your blog to the wiki being a little confusing, this activity was a little annoying. I get the whole idea of adding to a wiki, just need a little more practice.

Week 7, Thing #16: Learn about Wikis

Wikis, I think it's an interesting idea. I've had experience with wikis in the past so this was one of the easier exercises. When I went to ALA in Washington a few months ago, the ALA wiki was invaluable. I found just about everything I needed to know in one place. I also use wowwiki, a World of Warcraft wiki (enough said). The one thing I don't like about them is that on some wikis, anybody can go in and edit the info for either good or bad purposes. At times, it's kind of hard to know what the truth is.

I did bring up using a wiki at a branch meeting today. It seems a few branches are doing somewhat major shelving reallocation. Thought maybe we could set up a "best practices" wiki. We'll see.

Week 6, Thing #15: Read a few perspectives on Web 2.0, Library 2.0 and the future of libraries

OK, after taking a two week vacation from 23 Things, it's time to get back on track.

I read three of the articles that were suggested: 1) Away from the Icebergs by Rick Anderson, 2) Into a New World of Librarianship, and 3) To a Temporary Place in Time.

I think what I got of this, or "what Library 2.0 means to me", is that Library 2.0 seems to be the big "now" thing. I like it and I think it has some interesting uses. People are using the Internet more and more, so it seems logical that we start using it to enhance BCPL. I do think we need to use a little discretion and not go overboard with it though (this coming from a self proclaimed computer geek). Not to mention the fact if this is going to be the future, we'd better get our bandwidth up to speed (is blocking My Space, a virtual community, what we're trying to accomplish). Creating a virtual library community is great, having databases online is great, but I still think having important print material is still a good idea because one question always pops up in my mind when dealing with online information...what do we do when the power goes out?

Week 6, Thing #14: Explore Technorati

OK, got through the Technorati site and to be honest, it's a little confusing. I finally figured out, after much searching, how to do the first "discovery exercise" (it's in the advanced search). Here are my results:

Top blog posts: 28,150 different hits
Tags: 3, but if you click on "view all", it takes you back to the top blog posts.
Blog Directory: 536

So yes, the results are different.

I explored the top favorites, top searches and top blogs, and found a few interesting things. I now have a new blog added to my bloglines account: Lifehacker, Tips and Downloads for Getting Things Done, and the top game was World of Warcraft: the Burning Crusade. It's all about the Warcraft ;)

Claiming my Technorati account

Technorati Profile

Here's the tag for MD 22
mdlearn2

Kittens!!!!

Just in case you haven't been to my other half's blog, here is the post that has pictures of our new arrivals. Our cat Sharess finally had the darn things.

Week 6, Thing #13: Tagging and del.icio.us

Went to del.icio.us and checked it out. Seems cool enough. I can see where it would be helpful with research, being someone has already done part of the work for you. I guess it could save time if your looking for information on a particular subject. This is another site I need to play around with more. Oh, I did a search On WoW links and I feel pretty good about the fact the top link is the one I use the most while playing, Thottbot.

I am starting to realize just how huge the "social networking" thing is. It seems a lot of people want to share just about everything about themselves. Being somewhat of a private person, I'm not sure how I feel about all this.

Week 5, Thing #12: Rollyo

Once again, keeping with the WoW theme, I created a World of Warcraft search box. It doesen't work as well as I would like though. I compiled a list of 6 sites I use the most, and every time I do a search I just get hits off one specific site, kind of defeates the purpose. I do like the idea, just haven't come up with a subject that works as of yet. I'll keep trying.

Week 5, Thing #11: Library Thing

Keeping with the WoW theme, I cataloged all the books I use while I'm playing (see right side of blog). We've already decided that if we want to catalog all of the book we have at home, I'm going to have to go buy a laptop and install a wireless router in the house. There's no way I'm carrying armloads of books (and we have a lot of books) down two flights of stairs just to catalog them. I course I don't know how I feel about just anybody knowing all the books I own. What ever happened to keeping some things private?

Week 5, Thing #10: Online Image Generators

OK, it's seems I've already done this. As I said in my last post, I created a Yahoo avatar, which you can find on the right hand side of the blog. And, like I said in my last post...don't really like it. It throws off the whole gaming vibe my blog has. I just had this wierd image of Baelgoul meeting my Yahoo avatar in some kind of virtual space, there would be a little chuckle from Bael, then the axe would swing...

I had already gone to BigHugeLabs and used their "Turn any photo into cool desktop or cell phone wallpaper with a monthly calendar" thing, which I had fun with. I quickly get bored with the wallpapers on my computer at home, so this gave me another creative way to make my own.

Week 4, Thing #9: Explore MERLIN and other RSS search tools

I liked MERLIN. Found a few things I want to explore a little more in depth such as "Library Success: A Best Practices WIKI" and the free courses at CNet. I also checked out the Gaming, Avatars and Virtual Worlds link, and just like everyone else, I made my Yahoo avatar...which I'm not too thrilled about. It kind of throws off the whole theme of the blog. Now, as far as the Second Life thing goes, I already had kind of a bad attitude about it. Yes, I realize I live in a virtual world in my spare time as a green skinned Orc Warrior, but why would I want a second "real life" (I like the real life I currently have). After checking out the web site, and doing a little digging, I've decided that while the thought of becoming a virtual real estate baron is intriguing, I don't need another time sink.

As far as the RSS search tools goes, I guess I liked Syndic8 the best. Added two new feeds to Bloglines. I'm now up to 22.

Week 4, Thing #8: RSS feeds

OK, I just created my Bloglines account yesterday, and I think I'm already addicted. I like the fact I can go to one place, and check on all the websites and blogs that I look at every day. This is definitely going to save time. The only problem is I started out with 11 feeds, and I'm now up to 16...this could get ugly.

Week 3, Thing #7: Technology

About two months ago, after many many months of indecision, I bought my first Palm handheld computer. The Palm TX to be exact. Now, I still haven't figured out if this thing is a help or a hindrance to my daily routine. Here's why:

PROS:
1) I can carry around just about all the information I could ever need.
2) I can see my special color coded daily schedule at a glance.
3) I could turn it into an MP3 player if I wanted to.
4) I can carry around pictures if I wanted to.
5) I can take notes at a meeting, then transfer the document to my computer. No more writing it down then entering it into Word later.
6) I can play games if I get bored in said meeting. This is a joke, I would never play games in a meeting.
7) I can surf the Internet if there is a wireless connection.

CONS:
1) Being a guy, I either have to carry it in my pocket (looks funny), or purchase something so I can wear it on my belt (makes me look like a geek...quiet, I know what you're thinking.)
2) It cost way too much money.
3) The accessories I want to buy will cost even more money. Can you say "foldable keyboard?"
4) When I don't get my daily "to do" list done, everything moves to the next day with little exclamation points telling me how much of a slacker I am.
5) It takes me 5 times as long to enter my special color coded schedule then it did when I used a paper organizer (Day-Timers hates me now.)
6) Some people have commented that it is attached to my hand, and that I would have a nervous breakdown if I lost it.
7) I can surf the Internet if there is a wireless connection. Yeah, I know that was also a PRO, but sometimes I get addicted.

So, after all this, I still don't know if I like this thing or not. So, just do me a favor. If you see me with my Palm attached to my belt in some kind of holster...don't laugh too hard.

New Header

Created the new header tonight for the blog. It's an actual screenshot of Baelgoul from World of Warcraft that I fixed-up using Photoshop.

World of Warcraft

Week3, Thing #6 / Flickr Mash-ups & Third Party Sites (Sneaks in MN)

Here are some pictures we took of Sneaks while we were in Minnesota. This was done using flickrSLiDR, a Flicker mash-up. Took me a while to figure this out, but I was determined to make this thing work.


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Week 3, Thing #5 / Flickr project: The Geek Room

Geek Room 2
Originally uploaded by Baelgoul

Well, we needed to post a picture from Flickr, so I took this shot of our "Geek Room". This, unfortunately, is where I spend a lot of my time. Notice the three computers: One so I can play WoW (black and silver Dell), one to look things up while playing WoW (computer to the left of the Dell), and one for my better half to play WoW on (in the corner). Also notice the hamster cage in the background, also known as the backup power supply and/or kitty entertainment system ;)

Week 1, Thing #2

OK, yeah I know I've haven't posted in a while but things have been a little hectic, so here we go. And yes, I know the weeks are a tad bit out of order.

After going through my notes about the 7 1/2 habits of successful lifelong learners, this is what I came up with. Probably the habit I have the hardest time with would be #1: Begin with the end in mind. I, like a lot of people out there, come up with all these grand plans, only to succumb to the pressures of daily life and forget all about where I need to be going. Every year I used to sit down and plan out what I want to accomplish in the next 365 days. I quit doing that due to the fact that after a few months, I couldn't even tell you what was on that list. Now I just settle for planning out my week (if I even get that far).

As far as the easiest goes it's probably #2: Accept responsibility for your own learning. I like to learn something new every day. Whether it's learning a new way to do my job or the finding out where the best place to fish for Oily Blackmouths is in World of Warcraft (I need them for my Water Breathing potions, back off). The day you stop learning is the day you start stagnating.

Technology

Just a quick post. I'm entering this using my Palm handheld while sitting in a hotel in MN. Getting on a plane to come home in about 5 hours. MN is great, but I'm ready to come home. I miss all my stuff ;)

Week 2, Thing 3

Well, I'm now signed up for 23 Things. It took me a week to try and come up with an appropriate name other than "Baelgoul's World". As you can see, I couldn't think of anything better. Baelgoul is the name of my World of Warcraft Orc warrior...I have just solidified my title as a geek.

I probably wont be posting again for about two weeks due to the fact I'm heading to Minnesota tommorow. Then I can really get into this.