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?