Saturday, November 14, 2009

Task 22 Blogs We Like

Tastespotting: I'm with Cari about the pictures. Nothing that is words printed on a page sounds appetizing. You have to see the picture and the picture has to look appetizing. I looked at "Let's Talk Turkey" because it's that time of year. I found the categories to be usefull. I clicked on "Diet" because my pants are too tight.

"Crooks and Liars": Great title, but I feel a lot of angst toward politics. Neither the Democrats or Republicans can seem to understand deficit spending even while they watch it become a monster. I try to avoid most to keep my sanity.

"Said the Gramophone": "This was fun. I listened to: "Silly Kissers", "Easy Fantasy", "Dune Buggy", "Gobble Gobble", "Wild Thing", and "Sacred Dandruff".

Under Cari's Favorites, I checked out "Make Use of" I looked at:
"Get Deb" -" Manage Personal Accounts at Home"
"Imagination" - "Slide Show Maker" professional looking ways to manipulate pictures to make them look more interesting.

Under "Life Hacker" I looked at "Drive Your Car With Your IPhone". Don't try this at home, no matter how tempting it might be. I can see Mr. Bean thinking up this video and performing it himself. Also Under "Life Hacker" I learned how to use a bungee cord to split wood more efficiently. You know, bungee cords are almost as handy as duct tape. Then there was "Eat Breakfast Like an Olympian With Super Oatmeal". Great for 1 pot cooking, and in 3 minutes.

I searched Google for gardening blogs. "Joy of a Garden had some great tips. " Dave Barry's Gardening Tip of the Day, So Far": I'm afraid you will have to read this one yourself, because of the content. You will not be surprised that it came from his blog.

"November 2009 Garden Blogger's Bloom Day at Helen's Haven": A series of beautiful pictures of flowers that are still in bloom in Raleigh, South Carolina. I want to move into her house.

Google Hiking Blogs:
"Animal Friendly - Fun Hiking in Big Sur": Great pictures of wild life.

"Smoky Mountain Hiking Blog: Conquering the Chimney Tops video with Smoky Mountain music.

"Dramatic Panoramic Overlook, Hiking Dead Horse Point State Park", UT. After Cliff and I spent some time in the "Arches" we decided we'd like to see Dead Horse Point, but didn't have enough time left. We will definately be doing this in the future.

"'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe."

Lewis Carroll

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Task 21 Photo Editing With Picnik

Task 21 Photo Editing With Picnik

I went to the Picknik site and chose a demo photo. I was a picture of a fruit stand. I tried all of the tabs to manipulate the image. I uploaded to my blog and it appears at the upper right corner. I felt very powerful to have been able to do this.

"And so she slayed the beast she found,
By using blogger talk."

Phyllis

Task 20 Government Websites

Task 20 Government Websites

I brought up the Mesa County Government web page. I clicked on "Departments" and chose the "Assessor's Office". I clicked on the "Assessor's Lookup" and "Real Property Appraisal Data Entry Sheet".

I couldn't find my home until I used the "If all else fails, just put in the address without a street name". I found my address along with the parcel number, owner, account number, legal description, and actual value. The parcel search gave me a map of the lot, as well as lots adjacent to it.

Back on the County web page I clicked on the Budget Brochure, which had pictures of the County Commissioners, how property tax is calculated, and how the tax money is distributed among departments. Our Library receives 4.8 percent. A pie chart shows Revenue Sources and appropriations by critical outcome area.

The following is a list of "Quicklinks" offered by the web page:

I went to the Colorado State web page. The current web page is much improved over the web page of past years. The tabs and subtabs have organized the government information in a way that makes it much easier to find information people are looking for.

The "Maps" button brings up maps with locations of such offices as, Driver's Licenses, Emissions, State Agencies, State Parks, Titles and Registrations, and County Offices. The maps give addresses as well as panning and zooming options.

The "My Neighborhood" button has a place for city or zip code searching as well as bringing up maps for things like Fire Departments, Schools, Hospitals, Law Enforcement Agencies, and Libraries!

Under the "Media Center" button you can find web cams, video, audio, events with Facebook, Flickr, Microformats, Mobile RSS, and Twitter.

Some of the information I have had patrons ask for are: "Where is the Driver's License Office?"; "How can I find the neighborhoods where the sex offenders live?"; "How do I file for Unemployment benefits?" It's all easy to find on the Colorado State Web Page.

"And so did Phyllis find a beast,
Much like the Jabberwock."...

Task 19 Wiki Scavenger Hunt

Task 19 Wiki Scavenger Hunt

I answered all the Wiki Scavenger Hunt Questions.

I got them all correct!

I think the exercise was a good one because we have so much information stored there, we really need to know how to access it. I didn't have any trouble finding the answers on the Wiki. I hadn't visited the Schedules page for awhile and it was good to see all those happenings neatly listed in one place. Also I discovered the Branch Procedures altogether and printed them all out so I can be better prepared in advance to recall before I go to one.

"And the mome raths outgrabe".

Lewis Carroll

Task 18 Tiny URL and Zamar

Task 18 Tiny URL and Zamar

Since we are approaching Thanksgiving, I went to Google and did a search for "how to cook a turkey". After I found a site, I converted the long URL to Tiny URL. My results follow:

TinyURL was created!

The following URL:

http:www.gloucestertimes.com/pulife/local_story_321225141.ht
ml?...

has a length of 66 characters and resulted in the following TinyURL which has a length of 26 characters:

http://tinyurl.com/ye7sfhq
[Open in new window]

Or, give your recipients confidence with a preview TinyURL:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/ye7sfhq
[Open in new window]

I went to Zamar browsed from my my file, which was a document written by Cliff. I entered my email and converted the file. I copied and pasted it below.

Cliff’s Column
Tamarisk, what is it and what about
it?
Tamarisk, Tamarix ramosissima, or
Salt cedar, as it is commonly known,
is a shrub or small tree 5 -20 feet tall.
Leaves are small and scale like on
highly branched slender stems.
Flowers are small and pink to white.
Salt cedar was introduced from
Eurasia in the 1800’s as a possible
erosion control plant, and is now wide
spread thought the United States.
Today it occupies more than a million
acres of land in the Southwest. They
have become naturalized along stream
banks, canals and reservoirs. The
entire Rio Grande River corridor
through New Mexico is so thick with
Salt cedar that little else grows in
riparian areas. The Grand Junction
area and Colorado are no exceptions.
Stands form monocultures which
severely limit wild life habitat and
plant diversity. This condition can be
seen along much of our Colorado
River from Dotsero to the state line
and beyond. Large plants can transpire
at least 200 gallons of water per day!
Recently it has been gaining public
attention, due to funding efforts by
Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell,
And Representative Scott McInnis.
The drought conditions have also
given impetus to ideas to save water.
A recent letter to the Editor in The
Daily Sentinel Expressed concern that
we are spending money to control
Tamarisk and my not have studies to
tell us how to wisely use the money.
Well, while the public has not been
aware of the problem and this may be
new territory for them, land managers
have been fussing with the Tamarisk
problem for a long time. Chemical
and mechanical and cultural methods
of treatment are well established and
new biological agents are being tested
in the field as I write. Two insects
appear to be very effective and host
specific. They have been released near
Pueblo, Colorado within the last year.
The consensus is that they could be
too effective too fast. Rehabilitating
the sites is the main concern. Studies
conducted by the Bureau of
Reclamation are on going. The rehab
problem is compounded by the fact
that Salt cedar draws salt from the
water and soils and deposits it in the
surface soil eventually causing the soil
to be too salty for other plants to
tolerate. Finding plants to recondition
the soil so native willows and
cottonwoods can reestablish is the
challenge. Within the last 3-4 years a
group of agency folks and local
governments have gotten together to
form a Tamarisk Coalition. This
group has been organizing efforts,
raising funds and awareness to tackle
the problem locally. They have
worked closely with Senator
Campbell and Representative
McInnis. They hope to encompass the
West slope portion of the Colorado
River drainage.
My own efforts with the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) have
focused on the upper most part of the
invasion from State Bridge to Dotsero.
Over a three year period and $15,000,
BLM has treated approximately 23
miles of Salt cedar along that portion
of the Colorado River and its’ side
drainages. The Grand Valley Anglers
and the Ferdinand Hayden chapters of
Trout Unlimited have helped in this
effort as volunteers, cutting and
treating the cut stump with herbicide.
Currently we are planning another
work day on this project in late
September or early October. I’ll keep
you posted.
Fish on ! Cliff

Where has this been all my life? What a great tool! Hopefully, I won't have to turn another patron, or at least as many patrons away disappointed that we couldn't get their file up no matter what we tried.

"All mimsy were the borogoves,"...

Task 16 Open Source Software & Open Office

Task 16 Open Source Software & Open Office

I read the definition of Open Source from the "Open Source Initiative". I downloaded Open Office to a staff computer.

I think Open Office is very similar to using MicroSoft Office 2007 as far as the amenities it offers, and I actually think that it is easier to use. The tool bar and icons seem to me, better named which offers me better understanding. I tried all the elements and found them easy to use.

I created a Text Document and found that it works much like Microsoft Word. The document could be saved to files and printed. I found that I could save the document to My Network Places just like Microsoft Office 2007. This is pretty impressive considering that '07 is not even compatible with '03. Also, the databases are all listed with icons on an index. No hunting through the programs to find the Word and Excel and Publisher as in Microsoft.

After using the Text Doc, I used the Presentation. This is set up with Formats, Graphs and Tables all at your fingertips. Database allows you to create a new database in a way that seems to be fairly easy. Templates is set up well with samples geared to business or private. Open Document was easy as pie. I was able to open a document from my network places that I had written in April of 2008. Spread Sheet looks just like Excel and can be saved in My Network Places. Drawing is like Publisher. I haven't had much practice in Publisher, but the Drawing offers lots of capabilities from: Paintbrush, Hyperlink, Draw, Find and Replace, Backround Colors, and Pictures. Drawing is one place I would like to have more experience using.

As far as the ways of use and promotion of Open Software that would be useful to serving our patrons and our profession, first and foremost is that it can be a real boon to keeping expenses down for anyone who needs software. The very philosophy of Libraries is that of shared resources so that many people can benefit by shared resources. This applies from books to media to computers, to software. For instance, Microsoft Office 2007 Software is pretty expensive for an individual to buy for his own use. The Open Source sure seems to me to do everything the average person could want to do for free!

""Twas brillig, and the slithy toves"...

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Task 15 Clipmarks

Task 15 Clipmarks

I watched the Clipmarks videos. I signed up for the free account.

I signed up for the free account.

I installed the Firefox extension to enable clipping.

Voila!

"O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!
He chortled in his joy."...

Task 14 Downloadable Audiobooks

Task 14 Downloadable Audio Books

At home, I went to the Library's web page and chose "Downloadable Audio/Video" under "Library Services. I went to the Quick Start Guide and downloaded and installed the free software using the Window Media Player". I downloaded "Dave Barry's Greatest Hits". I clicked on excerpt part 1. It stopped and I was unsuccessful to check out another book.

Then, at the Library, I went to the Library's web page and tried NetLibrary. I set up an account. I searched by author for Alexander McCall Smith. I downloaded Media Center to my shared network file. I got "now ready to use Media Center. I chose "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency". I hit the play button and audio started. I listened with earbuds. It worked great.

I'll revisit the Overdrive at a later date.

"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!"...

Task 13 Music Downloads: Some Free, All Legal

Task 13 Music Downloads: Some Free, All Legal

I went to the SoundSnap site and set up an account with a user name and password. I went to the Music Loop site and found the "Chicken Dance" right away. I couldn't resist downloading it because it is a classic. People of any age, gender, country of origin, economic status, or faith can appreciate and perform this song and dance and have a whole lot of fun doing so. I downloaded it by clicking the mp3 and loaded it using the windows media player.

On our web page why not use it as a lead in to a tutorial on downloading sound affects and music? How about using it on the Children's web page, it's a great attention getter and happy mood setter!

I visited the "Last FM" music site. I browsed by the Country Music category. I chose Edith Frost as the singer and listened to her song named "Dreamers" I enjoyed it very much and plan to visit it more to expand my horizons. This is a nice site to let patrons know about too.

"He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back."...

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Task 12 Novelist Tour

Task 12 Novelist Tour

I viewed "Getting Started in Novelist Plus" Quickguide from the Library's web page under "For Readers". I opened up Novelist under the "Books and More" tab. From home patrons will need to put in their library card number to access the database.

I used the main search box to search for Harry Potter and narrowed the search by clicking on the "Series" search box. I got a list of all the Harry Potter series books in their chronological order.

From the Novelist page, I looked at the links on the left. Under the "Adults" tab, I clicked on author "Readalikes" and searched for Peter Mayle. Elizabeth Adler was the only entry. I'm not surprised by this because Peter Mayle is pretty inimitable. A summary states that her "induring popularity can be attributed to her dedication to telling compelling stories about likeable characters with interesting careers and living in exotic locales". OK, that sounds like Peter Mayles.

I searched Elizabeth Adler and found 33 entries. In glancing at the plot summaries, I can see some similarities in locations. I definately plan to read one of her books.

I went back to the main page and selected "Recommended Reads". I chose Humor for my genre. I came up with 9 hits. I put in Historical Fiction and came up with 5 hits. I frequently get inquiries from patrons who have read all the books by one author and would like suggestions of authors who may have written similar works. I also get requests for other books in the same genre. Many patrons get very excited to learn how to use it so they can look up books for themselves.

"One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!"

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Task 11 Author Resources on the Web

Task 11 Author Resources on the Web

On bookreporter.com, I chose Anne Rice under Author Talk. Her latest release, "Angel Time", was discussed in the interview. "Angel Time" is the first book in the series, "Songs For the Seraphim". The story takes place in 1300 A.D. The Middle Ages is one of my favorite historical time periods, so I was intrigued by the time.

When asked about turning to the angle theme after her vampire theme so popular now, she said that she wants to present the other side, the good side, and brings Christ the Lord in to narrate the book.

Because I like Mysteries, I looked at looked at "The Likeness" by Tana French. A summary of the book sounded very intriguing to me. Detective Cassie Maddox is called in to the crime scene of a murdered young woman. The woman's ID reads Lexie Madison which is the name Cassie used years ago as an undercover detective. Also, the dead woman looks exactly like Cassie. With that lead in, who could resist reading the rest of the story?

I plan to go back to Graphic Novel Reporter to learn more about the popular genre and also Kidsreads and Teen Reads to become more familiar with what young folks are interested in today.

"Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!"...

Task 10 Explore Research Databases

Task 10

For Task 10, I watched the EBSCO basic search tutorial.

Then I went to Masterfile Premier to search for an article in Consumer Reports. The product I search was vacuum cleaners. I limited by date, Aug. - Oct. 2009. The search showed other terms I could also search by. The search gave me 2 hits with good information. The first was an article from Consumer Reports, which contained contained a text article, chart, graph, and photos.

The second hit was from Canada Extra. It contained 5 charts and other search terms to try. Both contained valuable information which would be helpful to use in making a decision about which vacuum cleaner a person might purchase.

For the second part of Task #10, I searched Biography Resource Center. I used Jimmy Buffet for my search for a musician. I got results for 6 articles. The first article contained a biographical essay as a music writer, a book writer, updates of his music, personal information, works that he has written, career information and the citations for those sources. This source was from "Contemporary Musicians". The other articles were from: "Contemporary Popular Writers", "Contemporary Southern Writers", "Newsmakers", "St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture", and "Contemporary Authors Online".

There were also entries in "Brief Biographies", "Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians", "Writer's Directory, 25th Ed.", and "Almanac of Famous People, 9th Ed." There were 161 articles in newspapers and magazines, and 2 websites. His website, www.margaritaville.com has the most extensive biographical, and personal information about him.

"And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,"...

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Task 9 Easy Web Design

Task 9 Easy Web Design

I studied all the Google Web Design as well as the Weebly information. I experimented with both and could not seem to get anything to publish. I passed over the Task and worked on others. When I came back to try it again, I was able to get the Weebly page to post. The URL is supergarden.weebly.com. There's not much on it at this point, but I will revisit it because this is an important thing to know when helping patrons.

"So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought"....

Jabberwocky