BookmobileGal

Summer 2008

2008-06-25T10:59:00.002-04:00

I hope everyone else is having a pleasant summer. So far, I have been biking and walking on lots of rail trails. The RTC ( http://www.railtrails.org/index.html) is a great organization and I love them. So far this year, we have been on the Wabash Cannonball Trail in Ohio, the Lower Trail, the Staple Bend Tunnel Trail and the Johnstown Flood Trail all in Pennsylvania, the Western Maryland Rail Trail and the Great Allegany Passage in Maryland, among others. Sometimes we walk, sometimes we ride recumbent bikes. Besides biking and walking, my other summer passions are NASCAR (love KK#9)...went to Michigan, great track and lots less fans this year thanks to the gas price issues and concerts...saw Bowling for Soup on a very hot day in Virginia in early June. They put on a fabulous show! Love their music AND they are very funny guys. Hoping to see Journey and Cheap Trick later in the year. It will be interesting to hear Journey's new lead singer. Two years ago, we had the pleasure of hearing both Steve A. and JSS and both did a great job so I'll be waiting to judge the new guy for myself. Always get a good show out of Robin Zander and Rick Nielsen so will look forward to CT. Love Def Leppard and their new album is good but am passing up their concerts because I do not like their opening acts.

I Love SLACKER

2008-06-10T15:19:00.003-04:00

Recently discovered Slacker. I invite you to listen to my favorite music. Listen here:

http://www.slacker.com/?sid=stations/6256597/1211572693

Wheels no, Heat yes

2007-07-10T08:37:00.000-04:00

Now that I have 23 things behind me, I will go on and blog about the more interesting things in life. Like how does it feel to be a mobile library with no wheels? Yep, we're in the shop again. I'm sure it is some form of Murphy's Law that the one problem your vehicle has is the one problem the mechanic has never seen before! Go figure. And the other big news is the heat...I haven't heard about anyone frying eggs on the sidewalk but surely some intrepid reporter will repeat this insipid experiment yet one more time for public amusement. That particular trick ceased to amuse me years ago.

The upside to 23 things is that I have practically become a youtube addict and am pondering the addition of high speed internet to my house...nah, I'm too cheap. It's no wonder MTV and VH1 no longer play videos--all the great ones are on youtube.

PBwikis

2007-07-05T15:32:00.000-04:00

Check out the comments below my Sandbox or Litter Box post--the founder and CEO of PBwiki actually commented---now there's a guy interested in his product--how impressive is that in this day and age?

Challenging, Frustrating, Fun?

2007-07-05T09:49:00.000-04:00

As I worked my way through 23 things, I found it challenging and at times very frustrating. Many of the websites we were sent to assumed a certain level of computer expertise and if you didn't have it, well, you were just left hanging or you had to read pages and pages of help, follow mulitiple links and perhaps, even after all that, seek help from a real person in your system. And if you were real lucky you could find a smart cookie (God Bless you, Ashley!) who could point you in the right direction. The things I found to be the most fun were things I was already familiar with such as flickr and youtube. But the problem with them is, who has enough time to really enjoy these sites?

I simply cannot understand where so many people seem to find the time to spend in the virtual world. I fear they are abandoning the real world to live vicariously in a fantasyland. For example, yesterday was Independence Day, July 4th, a day when I would assume most people would be out enjoying parks, picnicking with family or friends and just generally enjoying the great outdoors since it is summer. Well, you know what they say about assuming...ass u me...silly me!

My mom informed me that she had tried to logon to her favorite gaming site (yes, she's one of those 'gaming seniors' you've heard about) and there were 57,000 people playing the game she wanted to play. 57,000! She said the most she had ever encountered previously was 12,000. She said the total number of people playing games on the site exceeded a half million. On the afternoon of July 4th! It just boggles my mind that there are that many people on ONE gaming site on a holiday afternoon. What happened to parades, ball games and other real world interaction? I find this a sad commentary on current society. Do I think 23 things has value? Of course. Am I glad I did it? Yes, again. Would I like to be more computer savvy than I am now? Absolutely, but I am busy living life in the real world and for me, that comes first.

Here lies my zoho doc

2007-07-05T09:47:00.001-04:00

ABOUT GOOGLE DOC AND ZOHO:
I spent way too many hours trying to get google doc and zoho to work. It might be me but I found both difficult to navigate. Zoho is better but there are no help buttons that I could find and you can't move things as readily as in Microsoft Word. If you don't already have a working knowledge of this type of thing it is hard to get the hang of it and tends to frustrate one quickly.

Application for

Bookmobile Service

Daycares, Homeschools, Community stops

To get a stop, the bookmobile requires the following:

1. At least 15 books per month must be checked out at stop.

2. There must be ample parking and/or turnaround space for a 35' vehicle (this includes no low wires or trees.)

3. There must be time available on the bookmobile schedule when we are in your area.

For further information, please call 301-739-3250, ext. 155

Bookmobile Department

Washington County Free Library

100 S. Potomac St.

Hagerstown, MD 21740

Podcasts

2007-07-05T08:58:00.000-04:00

I have listened to podcasts in the past but trying to download one for this excercise proved futile. First, my home dial-up was too slow, then the work PC will not read the code correctly and finally the work laptop will not let me download because I do not have administrative privileges and I have already had the tech guys down here once so I am throwing in the towel. I did add one to my bloglines account but due to all the above stated problems, I have been unable to listen to it myself...go figure

Audiobooks

2007-07-04T18:00:00.000-04:00

I sat through the agonizing online tutorials for NetLibrary and Overdrive and glanced at Project Gutenberg. Perhaps because audiobooks don't really interest me to begin with, I found all these sites way too hard to navigate and way too involved to register and download from--it took forever on the work PC which is fast--with my dial-up line at home, I would never be able to use these sites. Plus, they require that you download security and other things before you even start. Sorry, but unless I am totally homebound with no other resources for reading materials, I would not use these sites.

Web 2.0--last.fm--COOL!

2007-07-04T17:52:00.000-04:00

I chose to look at last.fm which won second place in the music category. What a cool site! I typed in a number of my favorite groups and got to hear a full song from each one. And the song selections were unusual and good--not hits but deep cuts from their albums. I didn't enter into the social networking areas but I will return to this site. For anyone who likes music (I only tried rock and heavy metal groups,) this is a great site!

http://www.last.fm/

Sandbox or Litter Box?

2007-07-04T17:40:00.000-04:00

As a peanut butter lover, I liked the name pbwiki and the idea of a fun place. The pbwiki website itself is great and it's certainly looks like making a pbwiki is easy enough.

However, the Maryland Libraries Sandbox is pretty dull. There's not much here and navigation is not exactly easy. I added my blog to the list and made a comment that probably no one will read. I don't plan on spending any more time here. It's no wonder people still think of us as Marian the Librarian with little buns and shushing people all the time. I challenge my fellow bloggers to make this particular sandbox a little more exciting.

Wiki Tikki Tavi

2007-07-03T15:14:00.000-04:00

I thought I would be cute and name this post Wiki Tikki Tavi for the alliteration value, obviously, but lo and behold there is actually a wiki search engine named thus so I am a day late and a dollar short and full of cliches to boot. Anyway, a look around the wiki world is tiring to say the least. I find wikis helpful and a good starting point for some research but the thing I find the most distressful is that no one seems to clean out the old stuff. Being a tidy person and the furthest thing from a pack rat, I can't stand to have old stuff keep popping up when I am looking for something current. I really don't need the particulars of signing up for a 5K race that happened in 2004! It's sorta like yard sale signs...when the sale is over, the signs should come down and when the info is no longer pertinent, please, somebody hit the delete button.

Official Tech no rat i am

2007-07-03T14:39:00.001-04:00

Here's hoping my blog will become world famous (haha)

Technorati Profile

Sorry, Del.icio.us, you aren't tasty to me

2007-07-03T14:06:00.001-04:00

Listened to the tutorial. What a snore. Clicked around the site but with 27 million blogs (according to the tutorial,) how could I ever find anything of real value? I remain unimpressed. Funniest part of the tutorial was when she said she was bookmaking the Fhead blog. I checked it out based on the name, but it was boring too!

The Wreck of the Bookmobile (OH, NO!!)

2007-07-03T13:49:00.001-04:00

Library 2.0..my thoughts

2007-07-03T09:04:00.000-04:00

After reading the views of several librarians regarding the future of libraries, I find myself agreeng most with Rick Anderson of UN-Reno. I agree that we should not have as 'just in case' collection and a 'come to us' attitude. I share his views and have voiced them myself but feel as though I am shouting into the wind. In libraries, change is constant but it is not the dramatic change that we probably need. Many librarians have a mindset that is old-fashioned regardless of how much lip-service they may give to so-called 'forward thinking.' Librarians need to embrace change with their minds and not just go through the motions of change. Real change comes from within.

Redundancy

2007-07-03T08:26:00.000-04:00

I'm not a big fan of this site. I don't really see the benefits of using this tool versus, say, just using the 'favorites' button on my browser. But I did the exercise and here is my NASCAR search roll with only the best NASCAR sites...enjoy!

http://rollyo.com/cyndee94/nascar/

MY LIBERRY

2007-07-02T15:58:00.001-04:00

Interesting tool but not much here that you can't do at Amazon.com and furthermore, I work in a library, do I really want to spend my spare time making more booklists? I think not!

My Liberry:

Cyndee's Faves

2007-07-02T15:11:00.001-04:00

Here are a few of my favorite feeds:

Bloglines..not a fan

2007-07-02T13:35:00.000-04:00

I played around with bloglines and made my own list. I discovered that many of the recommended feeds are not updated regularly. You must choose very mainstream, very corporate blogs (where they pay people to do the writing) or you get what you pay for--free blogs poorly written by people who really have nothing better to do and little to say.

http://www.bloglines.com/blog/Cyndee

Iphones

2007-06-29T16:10:00.000-04:00

I am fascinated not only by the new Iphones but the prices. I am still stuck in the paper cups and string phase of communication and now people will be walking around with tiny full-color LCD touchable screens on their phones with MP3 players and video playback! This just blows my mind. I doubt I will buy one though, price not withstanding--my problem is my fingers are too big for this tiny stuff not to mention my "senior" eyes!

E-E-E-E-E The Missing Es from Flickr

2007-06-29T15:59:00.000-04:00

So many applications, so little time and nearly all of them are missing their Es. Poor things. My fave though is the "Background Switcher" by John Conner which changes your computer's background every hour with pics that you choose. At a later date, I will make this my 24th thing and try it. In the meantime, I'll try not to be a nose pickr!

2007-06-29T14:09:00.001-04:00

Here I am running in from the kitchen to see Kasey Kahne win!! Go #9!!

Def Lep's Famous One-Armed Drummer

2007-06-29T10:48:00.000-04:00

The most famous one-armed drummer in the world!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cheshirecat123/246545427/

Vacation Vibes

2007-06-29T10:14:00.000-04:00

So 23 Things started while I was in Michigan but as a lifelong learner, I was busy, well, learning. So I will now amaze and astound you with my new knowledge from my trip:

1. There is an amazing amount of road work going on this summer in every state.

2. The temp on the UP of MI can be 95 one day and 60 the next.

3. Honesty is the best policy when speeding through MI and meeting a sheriff deputy up close and personal (be sure to mention you just stopped for ice cream in his little town!)

4. Walmarts are the same everywhere. (Imagine!)

5. Sandhill Cranes are monogamous and their babies are so gangly and cute (especially when being chased by a tourist train.)

6. Waves on Lake MI can reach 5' very quickly but you will probably not die on the tour boat ride (but you might get sick.)

For anyone who hasn't noticed, I mastered Habit #7.5 this week. The hardest habit for me will probably be creating a toolbox.

23 Things--The Beginning

2007-06-28T14:07:00.000-04:00

23 things on the computer makes me think we should have a song...you know like "99 bottles of beer on the wall" which was always a favorite on our church bus trips when I was younger. Something like this:

23 things to learn real quick, 23 things to learn,
Along we will slog and make us a blog,
Then 22 things to learn will remain...

Ok, so I'm no Barry Manilow.