Need I Say More?

A Strange Bird

No not me, the hammerkop! This is a small african stork. I played around with this picture on pixer. In his natural state, he does not have a blue beak, and his plumage is darker brown. Most of the other changes I could make with the editing tools were not appropriate for this image. (He looked even stranger rotated and pixelated!) I think this would be a great picture to try with lolcat, but I haven't figured out how to do that yet. Pixer was easy to use once I was able to upload an image.

iHCPL Week 3, # 6: More Flicker Fun

For this assignment, participants are invited to learn more about Flickr mashups, and create a blog post about one that intrigues him/her. What is most intriguing to me is the sheer number and variety of "tools" on Flickr and their numerous permutations. Will week #4 be about information overload?

I did not find many mashups particularly appealing. Retrievr: ick. Tagnautica never did load. Colorpicker: why? Maybe useful for decorators? FlickrFling: ditto. Flickrball and Flickrsudoku: I'd rather spend time with my family. I actually liked the images on Spell with Flickr and could see myself using these for banners. Captioner could also be useful, for a sarcastic, dry sense of humor application. Fastr was definately the most fun game. Everyone who was in the workroom when I tried it seemed to want to try it, too. It taught me about "tags" as well. Under Flickr Tools, the place I will revisit is "worldinpictures".

I clicked on some of the additional links, which were as numerous on the site as thorns on a rose bush. Under The Essential YouTube tools tab, is The Best of YouTube Blog, the highlight (?) of which was a squeeky cabinet door that sounded remarkably like Chewbacca. I read About Digg, and looked at Digg Spy. People really do have alot of time on their hands, don't they? This was merely skimming the surface of all the applications for Flickr et al. Frankly, I'm getting really "Tird" of that omitted "e".

Mona Lisa in Light

Mona Lisa in Light
Originally uploaded by Norbini

Good grief. If this photo actually makes it to my blog I will be amazed.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

New at the Library!

The following is quoted from an article in Wikipedia (it's ok to do that, right?):

The Concert For Bangladesh was the event title for two benefit concerts organized by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar, held at noon and at 7:00 p.m. on August 1, 1971, playing to a total of 40,000 people at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Organized for the relief of refugees in East Pakistan (now independent Bangladesh), the event was the first benefit concert of this magnitude in world history. It featured an all-star supergroup of performers that included Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Billy Preston and Leon Russell.
An album was released later in 1971 and a concert film was released in 1972, with later releases for home video. In 2005, the film was re-issued on DVD accompanied by a new documentary.
The concert raised US$243,418.50 for Bangladesh relief, which was administered by UNICEF. Sales of the album and DVD continue to benefit the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF.[1]

The re-issued DVD is now part of the library's collection. Check out history being made!

A Threat to Humanity

If H. G. Wells were alive today, would he be writing a horror story about a hapless victim of cybercrime? The internet certainly presents countless opportunities for creative criminal minds. Phishing, credit card fraud, bank robbery, using children for pornography, scams, cyberterrorism, stalking, distribution of virusus, and hacking are just some of the frightening consequences of careless internet use. In his 1898 book, "The War of the Worlds", Wells writes, "No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's." Interesting. Today, I am more afraid of becoming a victim of an intelligent internet criminal, monitoring my computer keystrokes from afar, than a blood-sucking Martian. Fortunately, I am forewarned, and so can take steps to protect myself and my family.

Happy Birthday, H. G. Wells.

Quote for the Day

"All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become."

-Gautama Siddharta

Keeping Mum

Beatlemania was really hard on The Beatles. George Harrison was particularly reclusive after the band broke up. This brings me to the topic of privacy. Most people don't seem to realize what a wonderful thing it is to be free from the scrutiny of strangers and simply left alone, until they lose the priviledge. So much personal information is available on the internet! Another blogger, oxyJENic, posted links on her site that enable you to look at the appraised values of your neighbors homes, just by typing in their addresses. More than reading information from the Center for Technology and Democracy, this drove home to me just how intrusive and invasive the internet can be. Now, what are we going to do about the Patriot Act??

Orchestral Favorites

I couldn't resist adding some music here. If I ever get the chance, I will go to Vienna and waltz to The Blue Danube. Well, maybe one day....(sigh). This blogging is fun and somewhat dangerous. I could spend inordinate amounts of time here. There are so many things I want to post! I've even stumbled upon a new way I learn...imitation. Being a copy cat is not exactly a flattering personality trait, but viewing examples of other blogs has given me a severe case of blogenvy. As a result, I had to discover the world of WeeMee, and take a look at Library Thing. Another way I obtain information is by asking questions. I am very grateful for all the computer savy people I work with at the library, because they have helped me IMMENSELY already.

The Blue Danube

लुसिद मनिफेस्तातिओंस (Lucid Manifestations)

I want to play with all of my new toys. Let's see if the Hindi type button works, and if I have uploaded a picture from the web correctly.

Brownie Points por moi?

I am staying after work to post. I love Rocky, and not just for all the great Philly (city of my birth) street shots, but because he was the underdog. Being the antithesis of computer geekdom, I consider myself somewhat of an underdog as I strive to complete my iHCPL training. But no way am I gonna drink raw eggs at 5 am. Ewww!

Rocky succeeded because he had heart. He also stretched and exercised alot. I am stretching by blogging, and I am exercising my brain by pondering the question, "What is my learning style?" I learn lots by reading, and some things by listening. When those methods are not sufficient, I must do. I must do alot. On computers I definately must do. Another way I learn is by making 20 billion mistakes. Then things start to sink in. Failure is kind of embarrassing, but it is a great teacher.

Gonna fly now

iHCPL Alpha Post

Several years ago, I considered myself one of the last of a dying breed...no, not a really great whangdoodle (see children's fiction, under Edwards)... but an intractable technophobe steadfast in her refusal to enter the world of artificial intelligence. Fortunately my willfull resistance was ultimately vanquished by curiosity and the enticing allure of the world wide web at my fingertips, 24/7. Thus, google, I understand. Blogging on the other hand, is quite like visiting a foreign country. I've never been here, but am looking forward to the adventure.