The Twenty Third Thing

Well I think I have completed the web 2.0 programme. It has been truly entertaining and engrossing. I am delighted so many colleagues got into it.
Key learning outcomes for me? Confirmation that I am an I.T. plodder. I work at it. I get there. I am not a natural. Although I have an open, critical mind and can see applications and potential in the technology I struggle with.

Some of the downside revolves around artificial limitations to the potential of this technology. Imposed firewalls, regulation based on suspected messing about - that sort of thing. Plus the reasonable caution required for security reasons.

Also, the endless signing up with all the associated passwords and etc, plus the inherent spam and etc risks that come with this.

Wikis in particular are the going thing, and all the bits and bobs around web 2.0 are the stuff that makes a good wiki. I am looking forward to getting stuck into developing training wikis.

Regards and thanks, Lovegod

Audiobooks

Wow! I remember the Gutenberg Project from way back. Long time no look. There is some fantastic audio stuff there now. I once tried to re-read The Return Of The Native in online text form. Impossible. The audio files are an appealing idea. MP3 via headphones in bed, or on the portable while cooking or doing the dishes. Appeal of the readers varies on a limited dip.

Podcasting and Bloglines

Enrolled in Bloglines. Don't like the way the enrollment process appears to require selection from a set podcast menu before validating. Did that then deleted my selection and ran a search to register one I wanted. Deals for dough I guess. Works OK and keeps extra software off my PC.

Web 2.0 awards, hosted wikis category. Almost a review

Wetpaint was the winner in this category. The promotional push for this product is ease of use. The claim is for 500,000 wetpaint wiki sites. I am going to make it 500,001.
Done. It was very easy. The blog is Nemesis of Tower Of Blog. I am not surprised to see that my blog comes heavy with ads. For this reason, Blogger suits me better.

web 2.0 awards, last fm

Oh deary me, one of the obnoxious, unavoidable downsides of web two point zeroing is the tedious requirement to continuously sign up for stuff. That said, lets explore one of the nominees for the web 2.0 awards - last fm.

Eeek! This requires a download and installation. I expect this to be blocked for valid security reasons.
Yup. One for home.

Zoho: a web application

This is a document produced using the web application Zoho. It appears to function in a very transparent way, mostly via buttons. Little use of drop-down menus.
Lets check the spell check. Colour and color. Passes.
Eeek! it has an "emotions" button!
Now checking available fonts. Everything I would normally use is included.
I like the link button: Click here for Wise Woman
How about a table:

tie	a	yellow	ribbon	round
the	old	oak	tree

Sizing is dodgey.
Doesn't appear to have a formatting brush, which I would miss. Otherwise pretty nifty.
Now lets see how to get this into my blogg.

#17 Playing around with PBWiki

Just a note that I have previously "done this". Added my blog etc.

del.icio.us

I, Lovegod, wish to announce my registration in the above bookmarking doo-dah.

Search engines

Two now added. Rollyo and one for Library Thing. The Rollyo does seem a little pointless, but I guess I reinforced some skills in the process needed to set it up.

Library Thing

Now under construction

Play Week - week 5 catchup

Hmmm...the first one I tried generates band names with an optional word to be included. Await the release of the new cd by Spanking Lovegod.

And now... a badge!

PBwiki

More in-house problems re this. Flash v. 9 required and I am shut off from install privileges. So can't view the tour or other videos in a work learning context. I have added my blog to the faves and found that process to be clunky. Works better in HTML as Wise Woman showed me. Will have a longer play another day.

technorati

I'm like - in. This will change my life!
(edit note) Well it did since I included the link in this post, which appeared to become a default format for all further posts. Deleting the link still left ghost formatting (underline) that could not be removed. Solution was to go back to the original post and delete the technorati link.

Week 15 on Library and web 2.0; A review or what Rick can do with his oar

Rick Anderson is Director of Resource Acquisition, University of Nevada, Reno Libraries.
In his article Away from the “icebergs”, published online @ http://www.oclc.org/nextspace/002/2.htm, Anderson discusses, amongst other topics, the relevance of training for library clientele in a web 2.0 environment. In essence Anderson argues that resources spent training clients would be better used in making library resources more user-friendly. It’s the library that needs to be “fixed”, not the client. This gets my goat.

Anderson does not acknowledge that libraries are presently end users of products they do not themselves produce. Libraries mostly buy, lease or otherwise access products produced by others. This may change over time, but will not cease to be so in the near future. Hence the continuing pressure to educate library staff and clientele in the use of products that libraries make available to them.

Or to mirror Anderson’s simplistic style, libraries as organizations are better able to train people in the use of – for example - EBSCO products, than to rebuild and make transparent these products to users. Kind of obvious isn't it?

It is clear to me that libraries as customers are getting better at demanding more user friendly products and more vendor support. Consortiums were so overdue and are still at an early stage. Perhaps soon libraries will be organized enough to commission products. Then libraries will have more control over the nature of these products. Whilst working towards that end, libraries need to face the reality that training is central to their role.

Anderson also notes that web 2.0 and etc enables deeper and broader access to resources and an end to the requirement that users must always physically come to the library. These no-brainer observations are correct as a nod to developing trends.

Back to Flickr

Had a good play with flickr today and can see it's use as an image storing and sharing resource. Will empty my small hard disk of images and store them in my account. They take up too much space, mostly due to the ease of digital photography. Also because PC based programmes to work with them are so large. Having arty daughters and partner amplifies the issue.

My next image project will be to document the windows I have been building. An excuse to practice with Flickr and other blog tools.

Image Generators

Well I HAVE successfully played with one - but have no clues how to add it to my blogg. Have to have another look later.

This is the one I used: http://www.dylanmessaging.com/create/

And then I tried this one http://www.glassgiant.com/rocket/ which was to be rocket blasting off inscribed "Lovegod" - just way it looked in my dreams. Thwarted by WebMarshall.

Tried again, including the whole registration. "Unable to save data. Try again later. Glassgiant hates me. It's mutual. More firewall fun and games I reckon.

Wow! RSS's and Polls!

Easy peasy! Although going to "add a page element" was not an obvious step. Easy from there.

Noreen Keeps Fighting; Human Flagging

More metal plates required. Them possum's is devlish hard to keep down. (Power tools and wrecking bar not shown)

possum update

It's been a few days now, and Noreen the possum seems finally to have given up trying to get back home - inside the roof. Each day I have climbed that ladder and dealt with the damage. I have had to use metal plates; she was making mince-meat of the softwood. "Possum" should be a simile for for "determined". However I think she has finally accepted the inevitable.
Coming soon: Possum pictures.

A-Hah!

My editing and other Blogger problem appear confirmed! Everything works via Explorer, but not via Firefox, which I use at home. Wisewoman has informed me that Blogger does work with Firefox. Therefore there must be something out of whack with my preferences or setup. Anyone knowing anything re Firefox problems with Blogger, please advise.
PS: It's the Java. Will remedy soon.

Possums 1, humans 0

po

Waited until the possum was out. Sighted her in the tree. Up the ladder and screwed the board lightly in. Next day I discovered she had wrecked her way back in, forcing the board aside. Tough as.

It's Possum O'clock

Folks have you ever had a possum in your roof? Well I have. Our girl has been sharing space with us for at least five years. In that time she she has successfully raised several young, with only one known fatality - which I don't think was caused by our dog even though I found her with the baby in her mouth. But you never know. Savage hearts beat secretly in hairy breasts. Anyway, this possum has been welcome as native wildlife should be. I honour and love the little buggers for their ability to thrive in an environment that that has been a holocaust for most native species. So why did I decide to evict our possum from our roof space? Fear folks. So much demolition going in in the cavities of our weatherboard house. Worried about electrical fires mostly. Also the flow of excrement down one of our internal walls was a worry. Like bats (which we also have on a nocturnal visiting basis) their movements are a little loose due to their diet. Which brings me to our garden. The little bugger will eat eat anything. What survivors they are! I used to fancy myself as a fruit and vegetable gardener, but she put paid to that. Tomatoes, pumpkin, beans and all that stuff makes sense. But she also loves roses, birch trees, anything citrus, garlic, passion fruit - fruit and leaves - anything that grows with the sole known exception of chillies. And it wouldn't surprise if she develops a taste for those too. Our next door neighbour runs floodlights all night and has put teddy bears with glass eyes in her roses to discourage the possum. Loony wisdom has it that the light on the eyes convinces the stupid possums that the territory is already held by another possum. This neighbour also often runs flood lights all night to enhance the possum spooking effect. Balls. I have seen My possum sitting on Her bear eating Her roses. No point continuing with a garden with a possum in residence. Still, I accept her dietary arrangements; I don't want to exclude her from the yard; just the house. I would rather a healthy possum than a healthy garden. Possums are known to be very territorial. So much so that removing a possum from their territory ensures their death. I have been trying to prepare our possum for the coming calamity: no house; same range. I have built her a nest box and placed it on the roof, near where she gets in and out. The recommended model (see pic) seemed more like a bird nest to me. I have built something a little bigger and more secure. I have placed food in and around it. This has gone on for several months. Tonight's the night. I intend to nail up her entrance. Forgive me.

Old Blogger Gets No respect

My daughter tells me I will get like lots of hits with my boring blog. Yes and she will get like lots of presents for her birthday next week. Soon she will be amazed at my creative expertise. Then will weep with regret. I hope.

Holiday post #1

Having a play with Flickr. Looks at least as good as the Kodak rubbish we have on hard disk. Will delete the Kodak and continue playing with Flickr. May get some Flickr uploads happening over the next few days. Good to see all the blogs up. They suspect nothing.

Further along

This Grasshopper has much to learn about blogging. I am thrown back to the ugly days of first using the abhored hotmail.
My intention is to learn whether bloggs are suitable tools for broader self-based training. I hope that the multimedia options supported by blogger will be useful for this.
Right now it looks like I will need to throw to some blogging tutorials. I don't find the technology transparent and admit I am not an I.T. natural.