wicked wiki week two

Despite currently suffering from CCC (Christmas Cookie Coma) and a bit of general hum-buggedness (you know that's a word, really should be anyway) I did my homework. It DIDN'T help the mood issues, but I'm now recovered enough to report back--the swearing has subsided to a dull roar now.

So I went into the Technical Services page and added the info that we are not IT--since periodically that is forgotten and we get phone calls/emails about computer problems. I also linked to the staff web page, the TS portion of the staff page network (or labyrinth or whatever), and to the wiki page I created about spine label formats called (creatively enough) spine label formats.

This created page was the bane of my morning. These wiki pages are great to just add paragraphs or lists, but for stuff that needs careful formatting--it BITES BIG ROCKS. See, the thing is that spine labels have a stack of information in a specific way. So to give information about how things need to look--they need to look that way.

So here's how it went: copy out of Word file; go into editing page and paste; look at wiki page; swearing starts--OK, I'll skip the blow-by-blow (since "swearing starts" would end up being frequently inserted). Basically, it looked awful. I tried to see if I could get the sidebar off this page (help was not helpful; web search info gave me code, but it didn't work--it seems that the more you pay to do the wiki, the better editing capabilities you have).

Once I resigned myself to the sidebar I commenced editing manually to make it look good. This was incredibly frustrating because the edit mode and read mode look absolutely different. I tried to put screenshot here, but can't seem to get that to work. You'll either have to just believe me or go look and compare the pretty and the really weird (edit mode) on the wiki page.

Basically I just think this is probably not the place for this. I got it done but it was frustrating and could easily be screwed up by anyone. It's not the kind of thing that needs a bunch of people screwing around with it. On the page I did also upload and attach a file version that you can click on and a Word document will show the info for printing or whatever purposes. I also put a link back to the TS page just for handiness.

I think the concept of the wiki is fine and will work for some things--stuff that needs more revising, but like all tools...use the right tool for the job. My brain is a bit fried from fighting with it so I'm having some trouble imagining exact uses beyond what I mentioned last time (events calendars and such). I do still have the lingering mistrust for how easily it can be abused--I realize it's supposed to be self-policing, but how often are people going to have to monitor it and how much time will it take/waste vs. the other ways we have of disseminating information? I'm a bit concerned that some of this is progress for its own sake. Rather than the technology meeting an existing need, are we attempting to find a use for some of this stuff just because it's neat? Just because we can do something doesn't mean we need to do it (I bring up the fashions of several decades as proof...oh, and stuff like cloning fits too).

On that pleasant note (the cloning) I'm back to my hole.

wiki, wiki, try to make some info sticky

Well, after last week's chaos (floods and jury duty in the same week...who'd a thunk it--I was keeping my eyes peeled for locusts by Friday, let me tell you) I look forward to a boring (hopefully), normal (well, on a relative scale), regular work week.

So, back in the groove and ready to get wiki (I'm sure there's got to be a dance for this, perhaps if we search on YouTube).

Viewed screencast (check)--good basic info; well-narrated by Jeannie; one complaint--I hate web pages that are too wide so you have to scroll back and forth all the time, this is a general problem but the screencast was too tall to all be seen at once too--so, WHINE.

OK, step 2 looking at Stevens County wiki--I liked the idea of the events calendars being wiki-able, that way groups can post there stuff without going through some type of 'coordinator', and some of the stuff that happens there looks like fun (not actually driving 8 hours fun, but, you know, virtually fun). Also checked out the Book Lust wiki (because Nancy Pearl rocks, duh) I did notice that no matter how many people can post on a wiki, somebody still needs to update the fact that Book Crush has been published...not to be published in April 2007 (unless the breach in the time-space continuum got me again). Through that wiki I ended up on a page reviewing a biography of Mary Shelley, which could have led me to many other things--but I resisted the suck of the Internet and used my back button.

So, then it's off to the fancy new KRL wiki (I have to admit, I like the word--plus it rhymes with a lot, we could make a great Dr. Seuss parody...but I digress). Looked around, messed with stuff. I thought I'd leave fixing spelling errors to those people who get all squirmy and freaked out by that stuff (you know who you are...there might be a support group, but I'm not absolutely sure) and be silly. I added a picture of the Taj Mahal as the fake branch's building and linked the Peter Pan reference to the Wikipedia page on him (the character, I do know he's not real--Tinkerbell is real [clap, clap, clap]) in case people didn't catch it right off.

And here I am blogging about the whole wiki thang. I can see where a wiki might be useful for some of the stuff we currently have on the staff web page and the transfer file. That seems the most likely use in-house. For the public side: events calendars, general area information, suggestions about places to go, etc. have potential. My big concern is the whole 'horse by committee' problem (punchline--camel)...accuracy is maintained with a lot of diligence...who's going to do that part? Plus, of course we have that old friend Paranoia tapping on my shoulder asking just what the people without the best intentions (can we say SALMON) might do if they got going. Anyway, I see wiki potential in both good and bad directions. Being a cynical optimist (basically, I hope for the best but ain't all that shocked when a certain bodily refuse hits a certain air-circulating device) I hope we can find a good use for getting wiki (really, it sounds like there should be a dance) AND I hope we can avoid the camel humps.

Hope everyone has dried out. I'm for my hole.

totally Tubular, dude...yeah, I mean You...YouTube, that is

Time to get sucked into the never ending links, watching videos of all sorts, forgetting where you are, and certainly where you meant to be.

As we all know, TVs and similar moving lighted things (like candles and campfires) can be completely hypnotic, so proceed with caution. Also, don't sit too close or your mom will yell at you (this applies to the flaming stuff too, mom's are picky).

I did the assignment searches and watched library pacman and Library: the movie plus a couple of bookcart drill teams, one in competition and one demonstrating for co-workers . That was all well and good, then I searched for the KRL one, which I won't link so others can find it themselves--it isn't too hard for people who do database searching as part of our jobs...but I don't want to give anything away. Finally, for the work-related stuff--here's a link to a catalog searching tutorial (not our system, but I'm doing homework here...).

Now for the fun stuff. I looked at some knitting related videos, both fun and instructional types (for those of you beginner knitters--or even wannabe knitters that we haven't already been tutoring--there's some pretty good how-to if you can't remember and there's no real live knitter [RLK?] to ask).

So, without further ado (if you want more ado it'll cost ya)...A Cautionary Tale:

And, if you aren't too scared to knit after that one (I figure it's just a matter of wrong time, wrong place...but maybe I'll add a parachute to my knitting bag) here's a quick demonstration of knitting backwards--it really works, this isn't a camera trick:

And now that I've given you yet more time-sucking screen-time (albeit entertaining and educational), back into the hole

can you smell the turkey fumes yet?

So, is anyone else feeling about ready to fall asleep in a recliner pretending to watch football? With the holiday week upon us and all my homework up to date...I'm just writing something to try to stay in the habit. It seems that the 2.0ers out there are losing their enthusiasm, not much going on in blogland.

So my contribution to the webverse is a book recommendation: Unexpected Knitting by Debbie New (held by krl). This woman is my hero...she knit a boat, a lace coracle (round bowl-like boat, single paddler)...how can I not be completely impressed. There are several pictures and some info on the boat in the book--no pattern though, sigh. The book is sort of an exploration of the art and science of knitting. There are patterns, but also a lot of theory so that you can grow and explore on your own.

Well, I hope everyone enjoys stuffing themselves and stays safe in any travelling. Remember Friday is Buy Nothing Day for those who wish to fight the over consumption trend, or it's "go buy more crap you don't need and can't afford day" for the average American. I like to think of myself as not average (some call it weird, but the Pollyanna in me chooses to put a positive spin on things).

Into my hole, must bake pies.

ding-dang librarythang

Alright...I'm trying to keep Thumper's mom in my head (you know...if you can't say something nice...).

So, on the positive side: I understand "some" people really like librarything.

And now for my thoughts: eh. shrug.

It all began this morning when I decided to go ahead and do the next assignment. Read the directions, fine. Ready to plunge in. Librarything doesn't currently exist...can't be connected to...ain't a happenin' thing. Ah, the joys of technology. Yes, this builds my confidence tremendously...constant access to a record of "my library" available anytime, anywhere..except when it isn't.

I must admit, I was pretty uninterested in Librarything to begin with ...but with this development--well, jumping for joy might not be the words.

So once they got their act together, I mean server back up, I was ready to rock and tag. By this time, having no real interest in listing my actual reading habits online AND having reached yet another amusing pinacle of technological annoyance...I searched for luddite and added a bunch of books to "my library". They actually look pretty interesting and I might have to read some of them--so there's another positive comment, but I could have found the same books searching Amazon...without logging in with....you guessed it, my brand new Librarything-specific username/password, ugh.

The extra stuff wasn't too hard to accomplish, heck I sorta did both since there's a link there in my last paragraph (for those of you following along at home) AND if you will look to the right...TA DA, my very own widget-fed thang.

Now, remember if the thang has a title and no little books in it--Librarything ain't happenin'. If there is no blog--Blogger ain't happenin'. If there is no power--ain't none of it happenin'. I'd go into further trouble-shooting, but I think you get the point.

So, final assessment. I guess this could be useful for some. Don't see much point for me. It's kind of a big time-suck and spending a bunch of time organizing virtual books when I already am short on time to READ....well, doesn't fit into my current priorities. If my job entailed serious readers' advisory duties I would pursue this, but...it don't and I won't.

Thank you for reading this episode of "why I'd rather do something away from a computer". Back to my hole.

what, this old thing?

Chalk up one more for low tech

After months of work with no keyboards or circuits, just my hands and knitting needles...the shawl is complete. Thanks to my buddy Bubbles I am able to show off without delay.

I guess that's about all I have to say, haven't been 2.0ing over the weekend and I'm thinking I'll save the next assignment for later. I've accomplished enough for now. I'll just rest on my laurels (wrapped in my shawl).

Into the hole I go.

All the Lonely People...

So, after my whining and ranting it occurred to me...fight the flow. Obviously, many people are lonely or at least want more social contact. This is why all these web things have the emphasis on "social" --networking, bookmarking, photo-sharing, creating groups/communities/networks/relationships, etc.

I am well aware how hard it is to make friends as an adult, especially if you move/change jobs (which is more the norm than it used to be and I know I've done plenty of it). It ain't like when you're a kid and you meet other kids and it's kind of a given that you just play together and become friends(although kids can also be total jerks, so sometimes it doesn't work--but you get the idea). People want to have social interaction and there aren't always easy forums to meet others, especially those you actually might have some things in common with and want to talk to.

Here's what I'm thinking...DRUMROLL PLEASE....

The library as a place for people to meet and interact...IN PERSON...I know it's a shocking suggestion.

The popularity of the chess night at Downtown Bremerton only proves people want to interact with PEOPLE. You know people can play chess on the computer against the computer or against others online....and yet people are coming in to play in person on a weeknight. Maybe it's just more satisfying to face your actual opponent (it certainly is more fun to trash-talk a person than a computer monitor, I mean "in your screen" just isn't the same as "in your face").

So that's my brilliant suggestion. Learn all this 2.0 stuff and use it some--it's important to stay current. BUT...in this ever-digitizing world...create a space and opportunities for actual human interaction and socializing...AT THE LIBRARY!!!

Now that I've dazzled you with innovation...back in the hole.

Flickr-ing, flick, flick, flick

As an online photo book this seems cool enough. It wasn't too hard to set up, although I had to do yet another set of getting username/password stuff because (of course) Flickr is a Yahoo product instead of a Google product. It really is kind of getting ridiculous how many "accounts" a person must (well, to participate...I'm still not convinced of the necessity of any of this--computers in general, not just the 2.0 generation of gadgets) have to navigate through it all.

So, despite the ongoing trauma of finding unused usernames in cyberspace...I have a Flickr account. I found it a bit annoying that it didn't seem to put the pictures in the order I uploaded them, but once I made them a set and titled them with numbers in the order taken (argh!!) ...they can be viewed in order. If you follow the link, then click on the set (right hand side) "kayak", then click "view as a slideshow"....then you can see a series of pictures from the kit in the box to the actual boat on the water launch.

The whole flickr site seems a bit awkward. If you try to explore via the map, it's kinda clunky and slow (real estate site maps work faster). I know pictures are a lot of data, but the map page has all these extra boxes actually blocking part of the map and when you hit the arrows to look at a different part of the map it jumps way too far. The random "interesting" pictures might be fun and searching for some kind of specific image could be useful.

The site seems to be pretty good about reminding you of privacy issues and it appears that people put up everything from beautiful art quality photos to the pictures of the drunk friend hovering over a toilet (I couldn't tell you exactly where I saw that one, but I bet if you searched there would be no shortage of similar pictures). I had no interest in joining a "group" or "inviting" friends. I even scoffed at some of the language about building relationships...if people didn't spend so much time plugged into the various screens in our lives, maybe they could maintain the real relationships instead of having to quest for strangers online.

I mean, how many of us get to spend as much time as we would like to with our friends and family (or pets, or alone for that matter)? We're so busy working, commuting, running errands, maintaining our households and lives that we don't even know ourselves. Is a bunch of strangers who take similar pictures the only solution? I think it can be good for people to find those with similar interests online, but can't we at least try the real people in our general vicinity first?

OK, enough ranting. I'm not including any amusing picture with this post, so you'll have to look at my kayak pics for visual stimulation, I've played with pictures enough for today. I'm going back to the hole and hide for awhile.

Spoon(RSS)feeding or getting the internet to stalk you

OK, I was so good. I did my homework, got a bunch of feeds going and now I'm waiting, waiting, waiting for someone to post on one to make sure it will come through.

Well, the pot ain't boiling...so little properly "proactive" (read "impatient") me has found a way. I've subscribed to my own gal'dang blog and I'm gonna post to it. Then the eternal question--did I do it right?--will be answered (OK, it will be answered in respect to RSS anyway).

Oh, yeah, homework. So I set up my RSS account in Google Reader, because if I have to memorize one more password I'm going to have to start deleting key words from my cranial hard-drive (if I can't remember your name when we talk, just know that it means I can log-on to something...somewhere). Within G-mail all this took was clicking on "more", then on "Reader". So, yippee I have that.

Then I'm subscribing to krl2pt0, using the magic button, which worked fine but has the amusing side effect (at least for me--the side effect... well, maybe the amusing, too) of being titled "title unknown". Then I move on to subscribe to a couple fellow krlbloggers (we'll need a better name if we want to form a group, but I digress). So I go to their blog, click on the subscribe thing at the bottom, it gives me a window saying it's saving it in "feeds", cool. Do it with another, same deal. Then I go to my reader, where the heck are they?--not there. So I repeat adding them by cut/paste into the reader and all is happy.

What happened, you may ask. Well, sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a big ol' software company that wants to be all things to all people and help you 'til it hurts (you, not them--especially in the wallet region)...Explorer (yes, children, a Microsoft product) was very helpfully intercepting my attempts to save feeds from Google-based (oh my, a major competitor...insert shocked gasps here) blogs and adding them to a "Feeds" button in my favorites, thus making everything happily, conveniently connected to them. Unfortunately, that would nullify the whole web-based thing I was going for.

Luckily, this doesn't happen on the sights that have the magic "add to Google" button, so adding a feed on Outdoor Adventure and Survival books from the Hennepin County Library (that's Minneapolis, MN for those not readily versed in Midwestern counties) went much more smoothly, with no interference from Redmond (Washington, not Minnesota--if there is one, I don't think they care about my RSS feeds).

As for podcasting, I just went to the Splendid Table website and listened to a podcast with a simple push of a button. Boy, that homework was hard (it does make you hungry though...Oh, maybe that's the show). I have also listened to live streaming archived This American Life instead of audiobooks, they have a player on the site that pops up instead of playing through media player...this is also easy. And, yes, I am aware that I have an NPR addiction (mostly filled by KUOW) and I refuse to seek treatment.

I think I've had just about enough of this wacky world for now, out of the web and into the hole.

Books from Blogs, how to get hype?

OK, so last night I was sitting there darning a sock (yes, darning--needle, yarn, wooden "egg"--holding the old-fashioned belief that things that can be repaired, should be) and watching a DVD (about quilting, so you'll have to work out the high-tech vs. low-tech math for yourself). I was thinking about the nice comments people have written on my blog (Thank you, by the way.) and how some blogs get big followings and turn into books (Yarn Harlot, Julie and Julia, Wendy Knits, and Crazy Aunt Purl's Drunk, Divorced, and Covered in Cat Hair to name a few--all held by KRL [the links are to the blogs, KRL has the books]).

So, I was developing a theory on how to get a "fan base"--anyone can use this, 'cause I'm not going to--by getting your blog to pop up in search-engine results. The idea would be to just randomly use as many words/word sets as you could think of that you think people are plugging into Google (i.e. naked, free, buy, sell, sex, bare, knitting, patterns, etc.) to just get random people to find you. Take the examples above and expand the list and see if you are suddenly getting book contract offers (or maybe being stalked by all the perverts and pedophiles online--just check out the news, they may be the only ones looking). If you get famous, feel free to acknowledge me in your book, oh and 10% of your profits wouldn't be turned away.

Now that I've offered my enlightened plan for your future...back in the hole.

Tagging, without spray paint

OK, so now I'm a blogger and a tagger. I was under the impression that tagging was spray painting some kind of signature mark all over town--fences, buses, newspaper stands--but alas, in the age of technology everything one knows can no longer be learned from bad (OK I liked them at the time, but really) '80s break dancing movies (I mean really, didn't they call the one chick Special K...flashbacks, baby).

Anyhoo, back to my high-tech tagger lifestyle. As a resident of the hole, I had been unaware of this del.icio.us thangy but its actually pretty cool. I don't care too much about the social aspect--I do live in a hole largely by choice. The having a list of links that I can get at from anywhere...that's awesome. For someone like me who has limited access and generally gets online from somewhere other than my own personal technology dinosaur this could actually be...dare I say (well, type) it?...USEFUL (wow, who'd a thunk it?).

I can see the usefulness of group lists for reference desks, I'm not so sure about some other positions for work use. I mostly tagged some of my personal interests and general info (knitting pattern sites, boat sites, various news and weather sites). They are the kind of thing one might like to have handy, you never want to be without information about an approaching storm or a last minute knitting pattern.

As for the other people looking at my list, that does add potential creep factor and makes me sure that I won't be tagging anything too personal, or that would lead anyone to anybody else's personal info. But that's part of my whole disinterest in sharing personal stuff in general, much less on a potentially worldwide forum (if anybody peeled themselves away from ridiculous youtube videos long enough to stumble on my blog). I don't tell people I know everything about me, why would I spew it out to the world, regardless of what name it's under.

So, assignment completed. Trying to maintain momentum and enthusiasm to stay with the larnin' sperience.

Back to my hole sweet hole.

out of the hole, onto the water

So, as previously stated, I'm into things that are incompatible with computers and high tech gadgets in general. For instance: this is the kayak I launched Sunday. While I could put computer bits into it...what would be the point. And why in the world would I be surfing the web when I could be doing this.

I will give credit to computers though, the kit was designed on CADD (computer aided drafting/design) software and the panels were cut using CNC (no idea what it stands for, but its some kind of computery cutting control). That's great. As to the construction the only high tech power tools I used were a trouble light and a shop vac. Maybe I should count the kerosene heater. Otherwise everything was hand tools--no cords, no batteries, no reboots.

Ah, back in the hole now.

First Light/43 Things

Ok, on the list of 43 things that the author wants to learn several have nothing to do with anything I can do. Not because I have a bad attitude (which I do sometimes have), but because I don't have the technology...literally. I don't have a cell phone, my home computer software is to the level of out-of-date that it just freezes up if I try to get to a web page that has anything flashy on it (like changing pictures), it can almost handle pages that are just text. I like taking pictures with a film camera, although I will often get them on cd so I can email them to people, but I can only do this from work or as a library patron--don't own the technology.

As for the rest of the list, very little of it is anything I would come up with the desire/need to learn on my own. The out-of-date computer at my house is rarely turned on. Most of my interests and hobbies cannot be pursued while attached to an electronic box. Even as things I want to learn for work I'm still not sure most of it would apply to my everyday duties. I can see where the blog stuff could be useful for committee communications, but it also seems like every separate blog and email account just adds to side work and pulls us away from our primary work duties.

I also watched the video podcast on lifelong learning, which I liked better because of having less emphasis on just technology learning. I tend to use the technology to learn other things (getting patterns/instructions off the web, looking through the online catalog to find books or instructional DVDs) more than learning the technology for its own sake. Basically, I'm comfortable with computers, use them for my purposes and try not to get used by them. Plus, I spend 40 hours a week with the thing--I have other things that need to get done.

That's my first post. Now back into my hole.