Blogmania

Thank you for the nice comments. I'll blog if you will.

I can't believe that I have made blog friends.

I want to be an honorary member of Cohort 6. Is there a form to fill out? (I hope not- I'm so sick of paperwork.) I can bribe with homemade bread if I have to. Stefanie- there is more to the Michael Chabon story- will that do? Am I going to have to take some fast track classes through the back door? I'm not going to sink to begging... I have my pride and morals.

If you're so strong resolve the weakness in me...Joan Armatrading

"There's always more to a story than a body can see from the fenceline." Nannie from Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver.



Good luck fellow 2600ers. As much as this course may have knocked any of us down, I say it built us up in some ways. I saw many people always interested in helping, "when asked or just because." I witnessed many people being neighborly and effortful, responding to blog posts. And some librarians are really funny. And Mr. W. responded to our concerns and anguish. Hitting someone else's curriculum full speed and realizing that it did not fit in any way must have required a huge adjustment, and Mr. W. did just that.

Well, I know that my computer runs slower, and I have a sneaking suspicion it is because of something that I downloaded or caught for the class assignments. So be it. That is such a small thing in life. I know that in return, I am less intimidated by technology. I think this class was very worthwhile. I gained skills and knowledge that I will be able to use in a library.

Gees I hate goodbyes. Good luck to all. Kathy

I feel like a great sitcom is ending...

Site of the Day:

http://www.bookcrossing.com/home

This is a site about sharing books, rather than letting them collect dust on the shelves. I like this concept. I never have found a bookcrossing book, but the idea intrigues me. (The site also has an excellent plan for rebuilding New Orleans book collections in schools and libaries).

After I read Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, I wanted to release 20 copies into the Pittsburgh wilds through Bookcrossing. Ishmael has a hokey storyline with mediocre writing, but I LOVE the concepts in the book because they REALLY made me think. (if you pick it up, just get past the first chapter or so, it does get better)

Now about this blogging business...

As I write this next-to-last post, I am reflecting on my blogging experience. I know that I will miss reading others' posts. And I will return to calling my friends to chat on the phone, rather than using this to list my random experiences. I was not irritated by this assignment (except one time when I was exceptionally tired). I actually found the assignment to hold an element of the whimsical. I must say, if you have not viewed Jay's, Michelle's and Michael's blogs, you have missed some fine and witty blogmanship. And the funniest line I read was when a fast tracker wrote 'YOU lock it up' to a fellow fast tracker who jokingly got sassy with her. I actually laughed out loud. Since I like the friends that I made this semester, I really like reading Lynn's and Mary's blog.

So as the blog sitcom winds down...I have to say that I am in the minority who give the experience a 'thumbs up'. I actually was more interested in reading other LIS blogs than in writing my own...I already know me.

So drop me a comment if you have a good book recommendation for the short break, because I won't have blogs to read anymore, and believe it or not, I'm a librarian who loves to read...;-). Also, I won't feel like I am writing into this vaccuum. What a drag to write into the abyss...

Never a dull moment

1. My child said to my neighbor, while I was there, "My Mom is volunteering in a library. I don't know HOW she got in."

2. The 3MileRun representative, Mark, came to interview me about my rain barrel. My child took the dog's plastic bowl, filled it with water, and threw it at me and Mark. Mark immediately vacillated between spitting water out of his mouth and saying, "It's cool. No problem." Never one to let an awkward moment pass, I laughed. Then I made the culprit apologize. Mark was so good natured that he played hide and seek with the kids- his idea. Moral: Trust your rain barrel man.

3. Then we walked inside and the dog had eaten our homemade bread.

4. Then someone left the porch gate open and the mailman almost pepper sprayed my dog. (They have a hate-hate relationship if I ever saw one.)

5. On the upside, my friend Karen taught me how to make strawberry raspberry jam today. Amazing. And one of my teenage friends, Martin, came in and ate two homemade sandwiches. They buzz by these days, it was good to see him for a few minutes. They are growing up so quickly!

things that I have learned this week...

1. Half a mullet is not better than one. (Hope you are laughing Lynn.)

2. Telling a parent that their child's hair has some 'missing from the top' and 'just a couple chunks have been taken from each side' is really not traumatic. (Thanks Barb for being so calm.)

3. Even kid scissors should be placed on high shelves if more than two children are in your house.

4. When a camp counselor who has no background in child development tries to invalidate a young child's separation anxiety by telling you that you should leave a scared, crying three-year-old because 'they will stop crying by the next session', it is good to finally get to the point where you calmly can say, "I don't agree with that philosphy."
And it feels good to walk away, knowing that you did not let someone else use false expertise to sell your kid short and encourage him to invalidate his own feelings. A whispered, "You can't get out of the pool until you stop crying" just is icky. Thank goodness that comment was not directed at my child. Mother tiger would have made an appearence with at least a scathing comment.

5. When you go to view the suggested portal interface assignments to 'steal their code', the assignments can not be found. Yet another lesson in developing 'grace in the face of technology'.

6. Volunteering in a library is fun. You always leave feeling like you have accomplished something. And a good director can act as a mentor.

7. If you have the right colleagues at work, you really miss them when they are absent.

8. Letting children control the height of the water sprinkler is a good thing.

9. Amendment to the previous post. (This amendment has been edited because someone thought a weirdo might see it. So if you want to know what it is and I know who you are, ask me.) (I know, just when I had advice that I thought worked...)

10. I recently heard that you should laugh, think, and be moved to tears(cry) at least once a day. I think I'll add 'be open to new possibilities' to that list.

Well kids, this is the third post for the week, so have to check soon if I have 33!

When the obvious hits you like a brick....

I involuntarily went to a retreat at Jumonville. My husband said, "If you come up for the second half of the retreat, I will go home and paint the hallway doors and caulk the bathroom tub." How can one refuse that offer? Well, I had a good time. The best advice I learned there(from a Mom) was something so worthwhile I have to pass it on. Anyone who remembers this will have a much more peaceful existence:

"I was complaining to my Mom about the outfit that my husband picked out for my daughter. My Mom told me, 'People do things differently. When your spouse helps you in any way, if you criticize her/him then eventually s/he will stop helping'."

So simple... I have to tell you that when I came home, I looked at the painted hallway doors from a distance rather than up close. And I said, "the hallway looks so much better now. Thanks." Quiet glows all around. Why didn't I figure that out before. I keep hearing that after about 6 years, often in a relationship it is about actively choosing to love. Hmmm... Kathy

Mr. W's way sure beats NVu's method...

Nvu Publishing

Yeah Mr. W! I'm glad that he is expanding the class to give us this wonderful instruction! How about that cut and paste. Sure beats publishing in Nvu. (Can you say tons of wasted hours in publishing?) The RSS feed works without any hitch. Now if only I could get my title box to work on my web site. I keep playing cat and mouse with all the word and image placements!

And I'm glad that he will take our emails since we do not really have a teacher that is answering questions for our specific assignments on the discussion board.

songs that slay me

songs that slay me...more contenders to come...


Bob Dylan
Album: Bringing It All Back Home
Title: Love Minus Zero/no Limit

My love she speaks like silence,
Without ideals or violence,
She doesn't have to say she's faithful,
Yet she's true, like ice, like fire.
People carry roses,
Make promises by the hours,
My love she laughs like the flowers,
Valentines can't buy her.

In the dime stores and bus stations,
People talk of situations,
Read books, repeat quotations,
Draw conclusions on the wall.
Some speak of the future,
My love she speaks softly,
She knows there's no success like failure
And that failure's no success at all.

The cloak and dagger dangles,
Madams light the candles.
In ceremonies of the horsemen,
Even the pawn must hold a grudge.
Statues made of match sticks,
Crumble into one another,
My love winks, she does not bother,
She knows too much to argue or to judge.

The bridge at midnight trembles,
The country doctor rambles,
Bankers' nieces seek perfection,
Expecting all the gifts that wise men bring.
The wind howls like a hammer,
The night blows cold and rainy,
My love she's like some raven
At my window with a broken wing.

One little, two little, three little visitors

Site of the week:

http://www.statcounter.com/

Keep track of the hits on your blog or web!

you say potato...

One little six-year-old that I know said to her friends, "Our back yard is called a 'back yar'." That need to create terms...she is probably going to be one of the next authors for the Discovering Computers book :-0

Or...making a website for the first time

Post #3 for the week

I was talking to my friend Val tonight. She reminded me of a time when we were sitting on my front porch steps in college. The guys from across the street came over. They were nice guys but we really did not know each other. Steve and I were very shy around each other. Steve said that he had gone to the eye doctor that day. However, when he talked to me, he was looking at the building rather than me. So I started trying to talk louder, thinking maybe if he heard the source of my voice, he would realize that he was not looking at me. Then I started leaning over to where he was staring, thinking he would adjust his head. He continued to carry on the conversation. I felt completely awkward, and was wondering what kind of eye drops he was given. Well finally, I yelled, "Steve, I am over here." He said, "I know, I've seen you the whole time." What a card. You had to be there.

It's such a great feeling to know you're alive...

Blog #2

Why I will always like Mr. Rogers:

1. He let us know that he was rooting for us and that he wanted us to succeed.

2. He had great common sense and was interested in substance over style.

3. He never displayed the need to be cool.

4. His motivations were founded in spiritualism rather than commercialism.

5. I still get sad when I realize that he passed away. I read an article about him and I am all teary-eyed. And I don't even feel silly about it. What a good man.

I can't believe I'm doing this...

I am a bit sad that I don't have time to learn about more features to put on my blog site. If I think about it though, I am now learning functions for my website. And on a rapid learning curve. I'm still surprised that I have a website. Silly me.

And just for a little background about us, here is my Site of the Day:

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos068.htm

setting up unix directories and then posting your webpage

Setting up your web page on pitt's homepage site:

To set up your public html directory:

Click on start button on bottom left of your monitor
Click on run
Type in: telnet unixs.cis.pitt.edu

What you type in:
pwd
cd public
pwd
mkdir html
ls
(UNIX should prompt you that there is an html directory by displaying html )

To transfer files to you html directory (rather spotty on this):

1. Go to your brower's url box and type in the url:
ftp://yourusername@ftp.pitt.edu (user name is the name you use to go into blackboard courseweb for example, jpw25 for jane willow)
2. enter your username and pasword
3. find public folder
I think the next two actions are right, but I have not done them:
find html
drag stuff into there.

To start a web page, save it and publish in from NVu to Pitt.edu:
(Don't put images in until you save it!)
Read the following tutorial that I found:

Nvu Tutorial 2: Adding Images, Changing Fonts, Changing Colours, Creating Links, Writing Your Content

Sincere thanks to Paul Peeling for providing much needed help and the help desk for helping me with some glitches that I could not get around. Kathy

Let the Sun Shine!

Baby, the moons are gone. I figured it out. Since I am new to the technology scene, I am so proud of myself. The culprits that need to be in trouble are in trouble. I'll clean up the other posts of the moons when I have Nvu installed, etc.

However... I really like blue moons :-).

Site of the Day

Site of the day:

To get an icon/link for Babel Fish, go to this website:

http://www.altavista.com/help/free/free_searchbox_transl

Sweet.

Cranky city

It is late. I am cranky. Posting solely to meet the requirement feels demeaning. But for perspective, I do not live in a war-torn nation. There, that made this seem harmless.

I do not think that my brain functions like a computer. I can not memorize all those terms and concepts for 2600. Especially when so many terms split hairs and cross-over and sound too similar. I say instead of a final, we just put all the computer and device components in our hands in class and talk about them, take them apart, etc. while we are actually touching them and looking at them. I'm assuming that we all want to learn.

When I was an undergrad freshman, I was friends with the med students that lived upstairs. I would quiz them for tests that required knowing many terms. I said to one of them, "how do you remember these terms in the long run?" He said, 'we don't, we just get through this test, then totally forget them so that we can memorize for the next test." hmmm... off to sleep. Night.

Insurance Post

We had a great study group this morning for 2600 midterm. Talking about the terms is so much more conducive to remembering items than just reading. Incidentally, we debated if the 3 required postings can all be in the same day. So this is an insurance post.

I want to learn how to put in some sound. Maybe Superfly.

Here is a link. http://dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/4/30/1441/59811
Good for a laugh and a frown all at the same time.

I got the previous link from Jane...
So my question is... was I using P2P even though Jane and I are not in a cozy little network?

My sincere (and dancing) typologies - 3rd post

I don't know how to make it not show up. I have enough to do. Determining wormy, crackerish type activity regarding moons is not in my plans. I know someone is laughing. Hardy Har Har.

Okay, so the website creation does not seem hard when the professor uses a WYSIWYG. I actually think that I will like the assignment because it is like a puzzle and allows for creativity.

shine on, shine on harvest...

See what I mean? There it is again. Haunting me. Well, I am afraid that as the week of studying/freaking out progresses, I will forget to blog. And blogging is 3 a week baby. So, my second blog's main theme is the Scout Portal record. I like the idea of a portal for objects, including websites. I have learned about many great websites from viewing other's additions on the portal's homepage. I hope that we will somehow be able to have access the database after we leave the University. Hmmm... is that possible?

someone needs to confess...

Okay, the preceeding sentence just shows up when I go to post any new post. Is someone playing with me? Do I have a virus? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

site of the week: http://www.eccentricgnat.com/nvu/index.html
NVu tutorial. Don't know if it is good because I am TOO NVu at it.

Like a five-year-old wrote in her school journal, "I have a bise day." ...(phonetics is the key)... Actually trying to memorizing 300 + terms and endless concepts is going to make the next week amazingly 'bise'. Good thing Mr. W. is funny. Best Steven Wright funny line of the night: He plays that Groucho song (sweet) and then dryly says, "I thought is was funny".

Thoughts on Scout Portal

If you get up one more time than you fall you will make it through.
Chinese Proverb

testing...123

Blogging 1, 2, 3...Blogging 1, 2, 3

I have to say that all my classes to this point did not have tests. Therefore, we got down the business of actually throwing ourselves into our projects. And I have to admit, I learned a lot more than I do when trying to memorize for a test. In one brain... out the other? Just my two cents... It is grad school and we are serious and one does not usually take tests in a work situation... However, study I will...

Low on the pyramid these days...

Mr. W. has gotten into his groove. And we students seem less tense as a result.

Based on class information, I will try to use more green space in my blog.

I am looking for blogs about healthy, good, easy recipes. Anybody have one or two? Mexican, Middle Eastern, Chinese...most venues are good.

Pitt has a policy that a student who takes less than two classes a term can not work as a student assistant. That also means a student can not do the reference internship at Hillman. That severely limits my ability to gain experience in the field. I would like to be proactive about changing this rule that is set up by the Employment office. Any opinions or ideas?

In closing, a quote by Abraham Maslow:

We are not in a position in which we have nothing to work with. We already have capacities, talents, direction, missions, callings.

i can feel the distance, getting close. Tori Amos

My ability to continue to take a position on something as absurd (and dirty) as mud has waned. Alas, I will find a new topic for this week's blog.

FYI- my keyboard is waterproof. No lie.

My friend Heather thought that blogging is one of the new forms of socialization. I think classifying it as a 'journal' hangs people up. It really isn't.

This picture is my friend who is graduating from high school this month...and going away to college. She and her friends used to play on our porch from the time they were 8. (before i had kids and became a grouch.) I am so sentimental I could get teary-eyed. Stop, time, stop!

Kathy

one small step at a time

After my mud story, I thought I would share this great article. In contrast to Julians latest 'macro change' post, this is a 'micro change' post- it definitely changed the constant restrictions I was placing on my children. Ever aware of copyright, I actually called Growing Child. They said, "post i- just give us credit. So here it is:

"Grandma Says" is a feature of Growing Child and we encourage you to > send your comments to: GrandmaSays@GrowingChild.com
DO YOU HAVE A RECIPE?
I swear this is a true story, told to me by another early childhood educator. A preschool teacher was visiting a neighboring preschool, known for its excellence. The visitor watched the children playing outdoors with some very messy material, mixing, stirring, and molding. She went closer and asked the nearby teacher what the children were playing with. The teacher replied, ‘Mud.” ‘Oh,” responded the visiting teacher. ‘Do you have a recipe for that?” Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I would want my children taught by an adult who needed a recipe on how to make mud! And yet, I fear, this is what we are coming to. The world that adults are trying to create for many young children is so sanitized and structured, so controlled and contrived, that the sheer joy of mucking about on their own is not available for many kids. In the opinions of many of today’s adults, children’s play materials are only valuable when they come in boxes for recommended age groups, sanctioned with solemn statements about the learning objectives contained within. There are no health or safety hazards, and most of the possibilities for play are clearly pictured on the box, including images of just who should be playing with the toy. In fact, if the children must live up to their parents’ dress codes of maintaining an immaculate appearance, these are the only kinds of play that are left for them. Having made my fair share of trips to the emergency room when my children were growing up, I do not minimize the need for care in keeping children safe, and of adult responsibility for supervising their play and activity. Children’s judgment is not well developed, admittedly. But I feel strongly that many of today’s parents are taking this responsibility to the extreme, so that childhood freedom and exploration are in serious jeopardy. Parents who would protest loudly if they were accused of depriving their children may need to re-examine the number of restrictions they place upon them. The deprivation of which I speak is the opportunity to initiate, to play freely, without some well-meaning adult interfering or suggesting tidier alternatives.The interference comes when adults decide activities are too messy, too noisy, too risky, too fast, or too silly; in short, too child-like. The disapproving attitudes that suggest that going down the slide head-first or mixing up a little mud are inappropriate actions serve to deprive children of making some discoveries that are their right to make.I am well aware that the world for my grandchildren and all today’s children has already shrunk their boundaries, as real dangers in communities must be recognized. I am simply urging that we not deny > them all the pleasures of childhood, in our pursuit of an image of childhood that would require a recipe for making mud.
© Growing Child 2006 Please feel free to forward this article to a friend. www.GrowingChild.com email: service@growingchild.com

BenShan is the Bogland Man

1. BenShan is the man. HOW GREAT when a man is in touch with his feelings.
ShanMam, come on board in bogland, we are waiting....

2. Since I am truly trying to be a blogster (why go halfway), I have some blog thoughts: There is no point to blogging if no one comments or interacts with your blog. That is just truly a diary, and why make it public? However, I am zapping this blog when the class is over...

3. 10 scout entries and counting. only 40 to go.

4. I think this blog is making me remember my world travelling stories. I forgot to tell about when our host suddenly stopped the car and left us in a field of sheep in Italy. Never a dull moment. But alas, I think my next story will be about Germany and the manual car. I told it tonight in the car and the main character, my husband, laughed a LOT, and so did the kids.

5. Blogging with new people can be full of angst. But when a friend views your blog, it is almost comforting. As if you say, I never did tell you that about myself, did I? And yet, several friends EMAIL me to talk about my blog, rather than commenting in my blog...interesting...

6. We saw Buckwheat Zydeco tonight with some friends at the Arts Festival. Great to be around live Cajun music. We were covered in mud as we spun the children around. They had a blast. Everyone else was rather clean. Get muddy people! Being upright sticks with awkward hesitation can not truly be our fate. Any friend who is reading us, call us when you want to see a FESTIVAL band, we may be able to go!

in search of...

Hello fellow 2600ers,

I am looking for a very part-time job in Pittsburgh.
I need your help.
I will not take your job or try to get promoted before you because I only take one class a term and it will be a while before I am looking for full time work.
I just need to obtain ANY library experience before I graduate.
I don't believe in sticking to the listservs to find a job.
So let's see how well this blog connection works.

If you know of a position in the LIBRARY where you work,
If you know someone else in a LIBRARY,
If your uncle Ed is friends with someone who works in a LIBRARY,
If you hire people in a LIBRARY

Please tell at least one appropriate person that I am looking because:
I am dependable.
I want to work the shifts that no one else does- Sundays, Saturday afternoons, evenings, even Friday evenings.
I have created and directed social service programs, created and taught FUN preschool activities and storytimes, and directed research studies- I am not afraid of hard work.
I am willing to do practically anything in a library.
I am not into gossip or backstabbing.
I will give you a homemade loaf of bread if I get the job.
and last but not least...I like to laugh and... here is the kicker... make mudpies! (see favorite activities)
If that doesn't convince you to pass my info on... then this is a critical blow to my 'pro' side of blogging.

Thank you for your eyes and ears. My resume is ready to email...
email: Katenjake@verizon.net

And the third for the week is.... ITALY!

Italy prepared me for this class. so i know that it will all work out, and maybe we'll learn somethings as a result of the incidental confusion. the second night in Italy, we ate dinner with our hosts/friends in a vivacious lovely restaurant near the Spanish Steps. Afterwards our host went to get his car at the top of the Steps. Well 4 hours later, his wife was raving mad and our host was not to be found. It was close to midnight, and she said, "He is not coming back for us, we will just go to Ostria. I will go get your bags at the hotel and call for a cab.He will never do this to you again, believe you me." (They lived in Ostria- we were supposed to stay there, we had been in a hotel the first night.) It was so lively on those Steps, we met all kinds of people, talked with the wife's friends who walked by, etc. so the time had flown. But I did not want the wife to walk alone through dark streets to go to the hotel. So i said, "Go with my husband to the hotel. I will stay here,there are so many people here, i will be fine." They agreed, and no sooner had they left that it was midnight. I think a big bell rang. And the Square cleared out within a minute. Even the street cleaner and the chestnut seller packed up. I was alone in a new country, in the dark, without a soul around me. And I knew that I looked like a tourist and that it was obvious that my hidden money wallet was loaded. And I was suddenly petrified. I slinked into a doorway so that no one would see me and tried to come to terms with the surrealistic events that were occurring. And after a week, well at least it felt like that, everyone arrived, including my host, who had driven a friend to Ostria and then had come back for us. He was all smiles against his wife's frowns, and we just had to fall in love with him all over again. And it worked out. Things that are not life threatening have a way of working out... So I think, my portal will be done, my web page will be done, and it will all work out. With a couple stories to tell. Now that is not so bad...

Nelson

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate,
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brillant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?.....
Your playing small doesn't serve the world
There s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you...
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same.
As we are liberate from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.
Nelson Mandela

(I left out the religious references...)

think as if your every thought were to be etched in fire upon the sky for all and everyone to see. And so in truth it is. W. Whitman

It was great to talk to people in class tonight during the break and after. Librarians are great people.

Okay, so I should say I have a counter on this page. Right under my links. And it keeps jumping wildly, but no one leaves a message on my side bar message area. Please do, so I know that it is working. Two way communication is a good thing. I will smile back.

I hope that Mr. W. knows that we get the M.O. of the class and that we know he is doing the best he can with the structure limitations, etc. And he sometimes just makes me laugh out loud (see favorite activities- this is a good thing.)

Most of us don't talk to each other, much less tell each other stories. wendell berry

i know that i do not have technical know-how. and that while i will be able to succeed in a library, i have no practical experience. i have work experience- just in a different field. i feel so different from everyone else who has library experience. their ability to analyze the technology in the library is apparent on the discussion boards. what i am interested in is their stories. to me, that is what it is about. the connection that comes when we learn about each other. so i have realized that technology is a means to me. but i do like learning the technical components, when they are not painfully frustrating or agonizing.

The circles, they go round and round

I'm thinking that we have not been upgraded to have the authority to build the collection and that is why we don't have the metadata collector box that tells us to add a record.

Can someone help us?

my intelligent metadata tool abandoned me before I met it

have to admit I am a bit perplexed by having assignments in which I can't find instructions to be able to learn how to complete the task well. Obviously, a class is not supposed to be structured so that the people who already have the know- how prior to class are the ones who do well. That would just mean that we could demonstrate compentency without actually attending a class. (...a legitimite evaluation for competency assessment outside of a class structure.)

part of me thinks, are we being graded on how we handle 'critical missing information'? but i get the sense that this absence of information is accidental. am i right? Signed into the right area under a second alias so I shoudl have the collection authority...If only there was an 'intelligent metadata tool' or an 'add a record link' on my right hand column of my internet scout portal...

its just a lovely ride, JT... or stumbling a bit

logged onto scout portal. then read Dr. T.'s announcement about needing to go through special link to get editorial abilities to collect digital objects...won't let me enter under a different name...may be stuck...cant seem to collect..'help' didn't help...

Julian's blogpost about the overmanufacturing of library students made my concern about finding a part-time library job elevate...switching careers is not always easy...

things will work out, but wish i could turn the anxiety off...

But if you fall you fall alone, If you should stand then whos to guide you? Ripple by The Grateful Dead

...or what do you specifically mean by "roll out the pizza dough"?

Just came from class. Much relieved by Mr. Wilson's discussion about the technical aspects. I agree with the idea that we are to fiddle around a bit. How are we going to undertand how frustrating things might be for a patron or student if we are hand-fed everything. But I'm glad it is not like a mail-away course and that Mr. W. is there to help us. Otherwise, we could just learn this on our own (or possibly try and fail, etc.) without spending a lot of money, going to class, and getting a degree. I personally like going to class and benefiting from the interaction. It keeps me grounded.

Also, the number of people in our class who dislike blogging was a bit surprising to me. It makes me wonder... who are all the bloggers? Granted, I would not be blogging if it were not an assignment, so I empathize...but I am determined to do this so that I have an understanding of the bloggers in the world and so that I can learn the technical aspects. Next I want to add a generic response box for visitors or add a page with links. If anyone knows how to do either of these tasks, I would love a holler.

Pittsburgh's Hidden Treasures

While we are here...if you know of any hidden gems that will make a graduate student's life richer, please add them here.

Treasure 1. REI, on the Southside, has a climbing wall, once you pay to be a member, you can climb it for free...probably not for the advanced climber... but still... http://www.rei.com/stores/pittsburgh/index.html

Treasure 2. CSAs. Community Supported Agriculture for supporting local small farms. Organic food in a crate delivered to somewhere probably close to you. (we walk two blocks to get our crate on someone's porch.) We use Kretschmann Farms, because they volunteered to help out two of our friends with free memberships when our friends hit hard times... when a small farm business does that, it says something about the owners. http://www.kretschmannfarm.com/

Treasure 3. Freecycle... while one of the main purposes is to keep junk...i mean treasures out of our landfill... if you are a poor graduate student and need a toaster... this is where to post it (along with craigslist). http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pittsburgh_freecycle/
http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/

I get by with a little help from my friends...

I just came back from my first (very small) gathering that included current and past MLIS students. It got me thinking...how many of us feel separated from what is going on in the program? When I saw people's blogs and that they had RSS feeds, I thought, ahhh... who do i ask how to find the button that says 'make a tag here'? Some of these website instructions are definitely not self-evident. I hope that we are willing to help each other and learn from each other. But also, it would be great to have a MLIS blog- with frequently asked questions etc. so that students could help each other in as close to real time as possible.

And to completely send my mind into spin, I was at the dentist and the hygienist did not know who James Taylor was... I did not think that was possible.

Why babies don't need blogs

how do you know who read your blog?

Is there a way to tell who has signed in and read your blog? Even if they do not leave a posting comment

First Blog

Hello. Kathy here. This is my first time blogging. I'm a bit unsure of how I navigate each screen in this blog, but I did manage to insert a picture. I have several ?s for Mr. Wilson.

1. Is any laptop ready to pick up wireless internet service providers, or do you have to have special software on the laptop?
2. This concept of SHIFT REFRESH sounds like a good one. Also where are these refresh buttons? Can I do this on websites such as MSN and Yahoo?