Adventures in blogging...

Something funny I thought was worth mentioning...My first ever post on this blog was about the book I was currently reading for our Talk it Up Book Club here at work. I was reading "The Ha-Ha" and although it isn't too lurid, I mentioned the word "dirty" a couple of times, ind describing my feelings towards the book's content. I immediately got tagged as a suspected "spamblog" and got an email freezing my blog until they could review my account. "How strange?" I thought. I had only just started our exercises! Upon talking with Kym however, she thinks it may have been my use of the word "dirty" that got me tagged as a possible spammer! So apparently, the free speech to review any topic or book may prove fatal for bloggers! (Well, temporarily fatal, as I am now back up and running with no problem.)

My cat is pop art!

Check out the fun image generator I found on the Generator Blog! Shasta McNasty is famous!

Play Day!! (Otherwise known as Exercise #4)

So I have been working on Exercise #4 for awhile now because it is such a long and involved exercise. Rollyo was really cool. I made a "Suzie's Travel Sites" search engine and a "Suzie's Recipe's" search engine. I can see how this would be helpful for us on the reference desk particularly if we make a rollyo with links such as FantasticFiction and Amazon. I took a look at the Webjunction website and got some new ideas for Reader's Advisory sites. Goodreads.com can be helpful, much like Amazon.com, in finding lots of reviews of a particular title. I have already been using my GoodReads page for awhile and you can get more reviews at once than you can on Amazon. It is also a great organization tool!

Pandora of course is incredibly fun, but since I don't want to play loud music at the reference desk, this is something I will play with more at home. I typically end up with songs I already know and like playing on my "John Mayer Radio" but occasionally get introduced to something new. I also recently made a "Contemporary Folk" station as well. I actually have dabbled in Pandora before (Thank you Eric) and it really is a fun toy!

I agree with most everyone's posts that the image generators are SO fun but I am failing to see how they will help us at the reference desk. They are tension breakers, stress relievers and all around just funny. I am not sure how I will work their use into my normal reference services on a day to day basis. My personal favorites were the Chuck Norris random facts, the insult generator and the Bart Simpson blackboard...

http://www.milinkito.com/swf/bart.php?texto=I+will+not+jello+mold+erics+stapler

More Tagging...

I completed Exercise #3 and have reviewed a few different web sites that use the tag cloud. This tagging cloud is is one of the main reasons why I use to love Fiction Connections. Fiction Connection use to be a databse we could use through CLEVENET. They had some very nice tagging clouds that were easy to use with really specific tags if you were searching for subject specific fiction. Unfortunately, I think that Fiction Connection is now only accessible to people with Cleveland Library Cards, so we can't access the web site here in Medina anymore. So I am done with exercise #3!

Mashups and Tagging

Mashups are still a little confusing to me. I have read a few other blogs about them, but I am failing to see the appeal. Are mashups most commonly maps? I did a google image search for "dachshunds" AND "mashups" but just found strange, very STRANGE photos of people who photoshopped their own pictures. Maybe I need to still play with this. Anyone have any tips for this or how to find a good example of a mashup? I understand the bookmobile page, but again, that is a map.

However, I HAVE learned quite a bit about the tagging and was able to tag all of my Flickr photos! It was sort of pointless because they all have the same star in almost every photo...

I can use Flickr!

I just officially uploaded some of my favorite pictures on to my brand new Flickr account. Flickr is sort of new to me. I don't know how to tag yet, but would like to. I made an account with pictures of my cat, Shasta McNasty and of course, everyone's favorite wiener dog, Ginger. Here is a picture that is rare. My cat, in a rare moment of cuteness and friendliness, is cuddling me even though the dog is in the same chair. There is nothing better then cuddling up during a blizzard with BOTH pets AND a good book.

Check out my Flickr account:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26325874@N06/

And you thought YOUR hands were full...

With so many changes going on around us all, it is easy to get overwhelmed by the little things. Talk about being overwhelmed! I found this cute photo after creating my Flickr account and searching for pictures of dachshunds in their database. I think this picture of a mama doxie helps to put things into perspective. Just look at that face! Her eyes say it all...

Suzie's First Blog!

Hooray! It is my first blog on my brand-new library blog. How exciting. Anybody read any good books lately? Any suggestions? I am currently reading "The Ha-Ha" by Dave King. It is a very interesting book, but I am not loving it. I find it a little dull. And a little dirty too! It is a little thought provoking, and interesting, but it is moving too slow for my liking.