29.12.08

Worker's Comp anyone?

Today, December 29, 2008, while trying to pull a very large and full bin of books out of a room, I strained my back. It was a twinge. The sort where it feels like something just came loose around your spinal cord. Since it didn't continue to hurt that minute I continued to work. Well, it got worse and worse until I was feeling like I could hardly walk. This isn't the most important part of the story, though.

There is something called an incident report that gets filled out at work and requires all sorts of information. Since I wasn't falling down bleeding, I decided to go ahead and fill it out. When you fill in that it's a work injury, it takes you to yet another report to fill out for worker's compensation. How convenient. Again, lots of information to fill out and you most likely will not know all of it because your doctor avoids worker's compensation cases. In that case, you are seeing somebody that you do not know.

(all this information should be on a card with a magnetic strip or something so you don't have to fill it out over and over and so you have access and responsibility to update it, but I guess that would put a lot of people out of work and might decrease room for error)

Anyway, I drove to my doctor's office near where I work to be told that she doesn't take the cases and be refered to another place. In this case it was OSU Occupational Medicine. The nearest location was on East Broad St. and she gave me a phone number to call. After I got somebody on the phone, he mentioned that it would be a two hour wait and that he thought they took walk ins, but "let me put you on hold just a minute".

When he returned he said there was another location that takes more patients and "here is the phone number". Ok, so here I am with my back hurting and I have been passed along twice. I call the number to the, as it turns out, West location and get a recording asking me to leave my name, birthday, and a number where I can be reached. It is now 12:29 and I brought attention to this problem at work at around 10:45. So far, nobody wants to see me...it's hot potato time, and I am sitting here writing a blog post waiting for a phone call that may never come for all I know. The recorded messages keep saying, "if you have a medical emergency, hang up and call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room." It sounds like a hint to me. A trip to the emergency room not only seems extreme, but it costs about $75 in co-pay if you are not a worker's compensation case.

This is a picture of the error message I got when I was looking up OSU Occupational Medicine on the internet because I thought I could at least get good directions for myself. As a matter of fact it was the very first link and there are others that give you the same results. What is really annoying when you get this is that you can't use your back button to get to the list of other links that might get you to their site.

I am on the east side, so I decide to call the east location again and got a recording. I think they are having lunch now. I wait a little while and call using a different choice from the menu for appointments. By the way, they are only open until 5PM, so if they can put you off long enough...well, too bad so sad. I get somebody on the phone and tell them of my prior conversation and tell them I only got a recording at the location out west. I say it would make more sense to go to their location. They say "and endure a two hour wait? Let me give you a back number to the west location, but let me transfer you anyway." I get the phone number and they transfer the call. It rings, and rings, and rings....No answer.

So, it's 12:59 and I haven't eaten and I think there has to be a better way. So, I get some lunch and decide to call a nearby urgent care that I visited last year when I had a very bad, on the verge of walking pneumonia, infection. Yes, they do take worker's comp cases if you haven't been seen somewhere else AND they are open until 7:30PM, but it will be a two hour wait. Seems that two hour waits are compulsory for this sort of thing. I am glad they tell me this time because I am going to prepare myself for a two hour wait. I get a few books, a beverage, and I am tempted to take my camera, but decide to give em a break because they sound very nice on the phone. As a matter of fact I should have taken it to take nice pictures of the kind people at the East Broad Adult Urgent care.

It's after 2PM when I am pulling into the driveway and my phone rings. You will never guess who it is. Well, hello there OSU. They ask me if I have an appointment. I am pleased to announce that, sorry, I am just pulling into the driveway at a nearby urgent care this very minute.

Though it did take a couple of hours to be seen and again, there were more papers asking for very similar information that I just filled out two other times, I was thinking how grateful I was to be this close to home and how helpful it was that they knew just where I should go to get the prescriptions filled. Apparently, if you go just anywhere, you may have to pay for them out of your pocket and then wait to be reimbursed which was a less than preferable option.

It is now 6:17 and I just arrived home from Krogers where I got two prescriptions for my aching back. This is about the time I would have been coming home from work anyway, but I think my back would have been happier if it had been resting peacefully while I was under the effects of the prescriptions a lot earlier.

28.12.08

Mayor Coleman declines raise in 2009


At a time when the government is bailing out big businesses who are taking bonus checks in the millions, a Mayor in Ohio declines a raise. For those whose incomes are in the six digits (or more), you would think declining a raise in hard times would be compulsory and that those who take a bailout as a wealth opportunity would be jailed for treason.

Here is the article from the Columbus Dispatch.

Spending cuts
Coleman rejects raise for self, 400 others
Tuesday, November 11, 2008 3:10 AM
By Robert Vitale

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

"Mayor Michael B. Coleman and hundreds of the city's top-paid employees won't be getting a raise in 2009.

The mayor's office said yesterday that Coleman will forgo any increase in his $152,000 salary next year and will freeze pay as well for about 400 other Columbus employees who help run departments under his control.

The move is a small savings compared with what's likely to come Friday when the mayor submits his 2009 spending plan to City Council members.

Coleman must cut spending or increase fees to fill an $80 million gap between next year's projected income and what it would cost to maintain current services. The pay freeze announced yesterday affects less than 5 percent of city workers and will save about $500,000.

For months, city officials have predicted layoffs and deep spending cuts to balance the budget.

"He's setting his example," spokesman Dan Williamson said.

Coleman hopes others will follow.

His 2009 budget won't include money to raise pay for more than 3,000 workers in two unions now negotiating contracts: the Fraternal Order of Police and the Columbus Municipal Association of Government Employees. Williamson said the mayor will abide by whatever pacts are reached, though.

And although Coleman has no power to freeze pay for other elected officials and their employees, Williamson said "he would not object" if they take the same action.

Budgets for City Council, City Attorney Richard C. Pfeiffer Jr. and Auditor Hugh J. Dorrian automatically include increases for workers' salaries, according to Finance Director Joel S. Taylor. Their offices employ about 125 nonunion workers.

CMAGE President Teresa Langer and FOP President Jim Gilbert said little about Coleman's action beyond the obvious: Pay is definitely an issue at the negotiating table. CMAGE, which represents professionals and middle managers, has been without a contract since August. The contract for Columbus police officers expires next month.

City Council members will begin hearings next week on Coleman's budget. Because one annual ordinance sets pay for all nonunion workers, Council President Michael C. Mentel said he's unsure whether different policies are possible for those outside Coleman's departments.

Coleman and council members rejected pay raises for themselves in 2003."

24.12.08

What is a Yule Log?

I participated in a "gag" gift exchange recently and this is what I picked (minus the candles). I just thought it was a candle holder until I was informed that it is a Yule Log. Somebody else remarked that it was "kitchy" (not sure of the spelling) and that's another new one on me, so we'll leave that for another time.
The Yule Log came in the lovely Este Lauder bag you see in the photo. That's what really caught my attention. Anyway, I have been looking around on the internet to find out what a Yule Log is;

"The history of the Christmas Yule Log originates in the ritual known as Yuletide, a pagan festival of fire. This festival uses the burning of a log on the eve of the Winter Solstice to usher in the power of the sun. The day traditionally falls on December 20 and is the shortest day and longest night of the year. Thereafter nights will grow shorter and the sun will grow stronger in the longer days. However the name Yule derives from the Norse words "Yul" or "Jul".
The earliest known burning of a Yule-style log was in ancient Egypt in about 5000 BC to honor Horus, their sun god. The Sumerians had a similar ritual"....per The History Of The Yule Log

Prior to this gift exchange, I had mentioned how I picked an interesting gift that was a perfect fit when I was involved in one before and how I thought it was strange that it worked out that way, not just for me, but for many other people. You see in these exchanges, it is supposed to be a secret who donated the gift. It happened again this time because it just so happens that my birthday is December 20th. This date is on the Sagitarious side of the cusp and Sagitarious is a fire sign. Get it...festival of fire and fire sign? Interesting and true story.
Merry Christmas Eve folks!!

21.12.08

Oglebay Festival of Lights



...


We visited Oglebay's Wilson Lodge this weekend. Oglebay advertises it's festival of lights every Christmas season. So, we finally made the trip. Accomodations at the Wilson Lodge were adequate and our room was equipped with a small coffee pot, flat panel TV with cable, small refridgerator, and a balcony.
Arriving early in the afternoon, we still had some daylight to kill before the lights would be glowing all over the grounds. We decided to visit the Mansion Museum and the Glass Museum. The glass museum features Crystal, carnival, colored and opalescent glassware made by the Ohio Valley glass manufacturer H. Northwood Company which is the focus of the new display of valuable glass. A glass blower/worker was present to show us how glass was melted and shaped.

By the time we had walked through the museums, the Holiday lights were shining. Noting that the traffic was already running slow, we decided against creeping along to view the lights from our vehicle and decided to go back to the lodge where our room overlooked many of the light decorations. There are trollies available, but just like the museums, the ride comes at a price and we were hungry. We couldn't get into the main restaurant that required reservations, so decided to order through room service. We were suprised when the staff told us that it would be around 20 minutes since the lodge was packed with people. After about 50 minutes, we decided to call down and find out if our order was on it's way. It arrived "in a jiffy", luke warm and without silverwear which we discovered were missing after the staff were gone who had delivered our meals.
Which reminds me, we enquired about where we might purchase beverages besides through room service since the pop machine on our floor was sold out. The staff told us to go to other floors and that if we ordered from her, it would cost around $2 per small cup for beverages.
This is the point where I really didn't think too much of Oglebay's as a good destination to stay over the Christmas Holiday. Our room cost just over $300 and there wasn't much included with that price. There weren't enough staff to really take care of the crowd and even one of the things that was supposed to be available, wireless, didn't work well.

Still, there is a very nice indoor pool and jacuzzi. The lodge was decorated nicely. The bathroom included a towel warmer and we did have a breakfast buffet and a free newspaper with our room. Oglebay's seems to be a pretty good place for families because there were a lot of kids there and Santa visited, but for us, it wasn't a value and the few little things; a hot meal, a filled pop machine, a working coffee pot, and silverwear seemed to rank as less important than people collecting money for this museum, that museum, a trolly ride or to view the light decorations.

6.12.08

Texas Road House Restaurant




This evening, we decided to go out for dinner and we were headed to Don Pablo's near Reynoldsburg, Ohio, but it was closed. On the same hill as Don Pablo's was a restaurant called Spaghetti's which we loved and has been closed for a while. So, we drove out and heading east on Main Street, we spotted the Texas Road House.
Although the parking lot was fairly full, we were seated quickly and our hostess brought some nice rolls along with us for our muching pleasure. In addition, there were peanuts in the hull on the table.
Yes, there are steaks and plenty of other selections on the menue. The point I want to make, though, is that the food was excellent. I chose prime rib and had a sweet potatoe and salad for sides. The salad was terrific and included hard boiled egg as well as tomoatoes. We really enjoyed the place. SEE Texas Road House

5.12.08

When I Grow Up

2.12.08

VOTE Open Web Awards Finalists


Mashable is proud to present the second annual Open Web Awards.

"Open Web Awards is the only multilingual international online voting competition that covers major innovations in web technology. Through an online nominating and voting process, the Open Web Awards recognizes and honors the top achievements in 26 categories."
SEE: The Second Annual Open Web Awards



VOTE NOW: One Vote Per Category Per Day
You have until midnight PST on December 14th to pick the winners. The winners will be announced on Tuesday, December 16th.

27.11.08

E for All 2008 cool games



On October 8, 2008 Mahalo Daily, Leah brings you the highlights from E for All 2008, including an interview with Jonathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel, updates on Rohan Blood Feud, Entropia Universe, and Into the Pixel. Tell us what games you're looking forward to playing this holiday season! Be sure to RATE and SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/mahalodotcom Mahalo! We're here to help! For more information, go to http://mahalo.com/e_for_all

http://www.mahalo.com/E_for_All
http://www.mahalo.com/E3

What a Ham



LOL...awwww, Pixelwiki gets to assimilate Library Joy and Gerald. Don't they look nice? Thanks to all at CML for the Learn and Play explerience. See you in the blogosphere!!

21.11.08

71/2 Habits..."Begin with the end..."

We are at the end of Learn and Play and, so, I am revisiting the habits of life long learners. #1 I didn't know where this was headed, but made a commitment to accomplish it. #2 and #3 That said, I decided to do this no matter what else was going on and not to give up, #4 ...which caused me to have more confidence as a competent learner. #5 My toolbox gets larger all the time as new tools are introduced. Now that I know something about social networking tools, I can set various goals for using them, but if there was an end in mind at all through this experience, it IS the experience itself of learning something new that has led to other things. #6 The tools of this program are being used more and more and familiarity with them makes it easier to progress along with trends. #7 I have been introducing some of the tools to other people. #71/2 Instead of the usual things I was doing over the internet, I have a whole new arsenal of things to play with and explore.
As a matter of fact, through the course of the program, I discovered several other tools (twitterfeed, twubble, videosurf to name a few) that weren't part of the 23 things and am finding more all the time.

7 ½ Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners
Habit 1: Begin with the end in mind
Habit 2: Accept responsibility for your own learning
Habit 3: View problems as challenges
Habit 4: Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective
learner
Habit 5: Create your own learning toolbox
Habit 6: Use technology to your advantage
Habit 7: Teach/mentor others
Habit 7½: Play!

Hardest for me = #5 because there are sometimes barriers that stop me from moving on and instead of finding some other way, I quit all together
Easiest for me = #71/2 because I truly like to have a good time. That may be why dancing was so easy for me. The more steps you learn the funner it gets.

20.11.08

ATTENTION TWITTER FRIENDS


Happy Thanksgiving! I just wanted to take a minute to thank all of you for following me on twitter. I also want to thank the Learn and Play team and participants for being such great twitter friends. I trust we will share many Buckeyes Games, Saturday Night Live Shows, and other future events while we twitter away about what we think of them. It has been a blast.
I also want to introduce a new twitter friend of mine, Glosen, who has a terrific blog and some very happy pets as you can see in the photo. I have and am enjoying Gloson's poems and blog posts very much. As a matter of fact, he has some very informative tips on his blog besides the funny poems and great pictures.

19.11.08

Tribes by Seth Godin

Seth Godin has a very good point when he addresses the issue of learning styles. Here is the forward from his online accomplishment, a PDF book Tribes.
"Foreword
How do you learn?
Do you need a step by step playbook, or do you do better with stories?
Perhaps you prefer a detailed analysis to a sketchy do-it-yourself overview...
Multiple learning styles are a given. What’s not is the way authors respond to this biological diversity. Usually, we write one book, our way, and leave it at that. If you don’t learn that way, tough.
I had this in mind when I asked the thousands of members of the Triiibe to write their own book, this book, based on my book, Tribes. It’s not the same as my book... in fact, it’s very different. It’s a book I could never have written, though perhaps (maybe) it’s a book you’d like to read.
My suggestion is that you take a look at the printed book first. Or just dive in. This PDF is free. Free to read, free to print, free to share. You just can’t re-sell it. If you like what you’re hearing, feel free to contact any of the authors within. They’ll probably be thrilled to hear from you.
To anyone reading this: enjoy. And to the tireless team that wrote it: you’re amazing. Thank you.
Seth Godin
Seth’s blog"
This is a work of art. With internet tools we have new options in contrast to how we have learned in the past. The PDF file asks many questions, which is a great place to start any endeavor. Check it out and enjoy.

11.11.08

Some Blog Analysis

blog readability test

ESTP - The Doers
The active and play-ful type. They are especially attuned to people and things around them and often full of energy, talking, joking and engaging in physical out-door activities.

The Doers are happiest with action-filled work which craves their full attention and focus. They might be very impulsive and more keen on starting something new than following it through. They might have a problem with sitting still or remaining inactive for any period of time.

The above analysis of this blog is from the tools found on LibraryBytes I found more in an article about "20 free page analysis tools" which are geared more towards marketing your blog.

TechCrunch50

Just last year TechCrunch introduced the TechCrunch40 which were computer applications exposed to venture capitalists who would keep them afloat if they showed promise. This year it's the TechCrunch50. While I was purusing some of this years "winners", I found myself captivated by Videosurf,
("VideoSurf is a computer vision search engine that has created a new way for users to easily find, discover and watch the videos from across the Web." VideoSurf's search engine delivers more relevant results and allows consumers to visually navigate them to easily find the specific scenes, people or moments they most want to see. Hence, users spend less time searching and more time being entertained. VideoSurf's goal is to become the ultimate destination for consumers looking to search and discover video content on the Web.) and...

"DotSpots"
brings the power of Wikipedia - the wisdom of crowds - to every meme (block of text) on the web, and leverages automatic semantic matching to distribute each contribution to every instance of that meme across the web.
The first release of DotSpots will focus on improving online news (mainstream media, blogosphere and citizen journalists), by identifying and indexing semantically similar content across millions of news sites and blogs, while empowering bloggers and individuals to annotate text on their local favorite sites with comments, videos and photos. Each local contribution is then instantly distributed globally and filtered by a user voting system that ensures everyone benefits from the best thoughts of those with something to contribute.

In this way bloggers will be able to reach a more mainstream audience, while mainstream media benefits from having the insightful perspective of bloggers available, in context, on each of their articles."

10.11.08

10 Random Things

...about Pixelwiki
1. Served in the USN as what was then referred to as a Radioman and by enlisted memebers as a "knobtwister".

2. My family had a small collection of farm animals;chickens and rabbits, as well as parakeets, dogs, and fish at our house in my youth.

3. Since my bedroom was a sun porch with windows on three sides, I created a make believe contol panel in the headboard of my bed and pretended to be flying a space ship along with friends when they could stay over.

4. I was a Galaxian champion in my late teens and early 20s. I also loved; Defender, Astroids, Crazy Climber, and Joust.

5. I love good knock knock jokes and riddles.

6. Rolling Stones' Bridges to Babylon tour at the shoe was and is the very best concert that I ever attended.

7. I went to Las Vegas for the very first time in October of 2001 (in spite of and because of the 911 World Trade Center attack). I hadn't flown in probably over 10 years at the time.

8. Because of my height, I was cast as a Mom in a first grade Christmas play.

9. My favorite physical activities prior to college were roller and ice skating.

10. I won an expensive pair of cowboy boots singing "Oh Lord Won't Ya Buy Me a Mercedes Benz" with the Johnny Pond band.

9.11.08

Life in Runescape

Thanks to TehNoobWorld for the incredible videos. Visit him via YouTube (of course). I absolutely split a gut over a few of these they are so funny. Enjoy!!









Twitter search




Lately, we have been having problems using the search on Twitter. A generous twitter friend has offered the following TwitterDirect as a solution. So far, it hasn't worked for me, but if you are using it and it's up and running, please let me know.
TwitterTroll is another option. It's working on my computer.
Read Write Web offers 5 ways to find more friends on Twitter; ReadWriteWeb
Also try SUMMERIZE offering a better Twitter Search.
TWEETSCAN

7.11.08

Get Rick Rolled

















5.11.08

Obama

3.11.08

Generation We



A new crop of kids: Generation We
Millennials are the largest generation in American history. Born between 1978 and 2000, WE are 95 million strong, compared to the 78 million Baby Boomers. WE are politically, socially, and philosophically independent, and are spearheading a period of sweeping change in America and around the world. The new book, Generation We, explains the emerging power of our Millennial Generation, and shows how WE (and older people who think the way WE do) are poised to change our nation and our world for the better.
...Video is also on Tame the Web

FREE DOWNLOAD OF THE BOOK

Generation We
http://www.gen-we.com/about_genwe

Generation We: How Millenial Youth are Taking Over America and Changing Our World Forever
By Eric H. Greenberg, Karl Weber
Published by Pachatusan, 2008
ISBN 0982093101, 9780982093108
256 pages
-book reviews-
Dick Morris
Ever since Strauss and Howe identified the potential of the Millennials in their book Generations, I have followed this group with fascination. They will change everything through their commitment to service and the common good, which is akin to that of Brokaw's 'greatest generation.' In Generation We, Eric Greenberg and Karl Weber offer us the first read on what is in store for our country and the world from these remarkable young people. (Dick Morris – NY Times bestselling author and former political strategist/advisor to Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) and President Bill Clinton)

Larry Brilliant
We live in amazing times—times of looming crisis as well as incredible opportunity. Tens of millions of young people around the world are eager for change and looking for ways to employ their unprecedented levels of knowledge, talent, and energy. Greenberg and Weber's GENERATION WE offers a roadmap for the revolutionary movement the Millennials are ready to launch. (Larry Brilliant, Executive Director, Google.org)

blogger's opinion: Look up the authors and the declaration's author as well. The research is interesting and inspiring, but is this a ploy of the author's making to try to lead the youth they claim are leading us? I believe Mr. Greenberg grows crops and his best market are these kids. If you are a WE Genner reading this, as a mom of one of you, I would love for this world to be better for you. Kids, name it yourselves and trust your guts. Change the world by your drummer and your feelings and ideas. I hope the author will put some of his royalties behind your cause.Huffington Post article by the author of the book Generation We.
and his bio;

Eric H. Greenberg is President and Chief Executive Officer the Beautifull (www.beautifull.com), a prepared, fresh food company focused on providing tasty, healthy, and real food for retail and home delivery.

Eric has founded and established many businesses in his entrepreneurial career including: Wind farms in partnership with Native American Tribes in the Great Plains; Acumen Sciences and the Acumen Journal of Life Sciences; Scient, a consulting firm focused on eBusiness and emerging technology; and Viant, an internet systems integrator.

Mr. Greenberg received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Greenberg serves on the Board of the Shoah Foundation, received Shoah's Ambassador to Humanity Award for 2001, was on the fundraising campaign committee at UCSF for their new Mission Bay Campus where the human genetics lab is named after him, has endowed genetic research treatments at Columbia/Cornell for breast cancer and pediatric cardiology, is a recipient of the Einstein Technology Innovation Award from the State of Israel and the Jerusalem Fund and was named by Worth Magazine as one of the 10 Most Generous Americans Under 45.

ENGAGE



UNITED FEDERATION OF PLANETS & UNITED NATIONS FLAG


"Tall words, proudly saying, "WE THE PEOPLE"...
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

2.11.08

About the meltdown



This presentation goes a little slow, but has a lot of good facts.

1.11.08

Learn and Play #23

                                                                  



Blogging was a completely new experience for me. Although I had been using computers for some time, my knowledge was limited pretty much to e-mail and office documents. What I discovered was not only am I thrilled with the experience of blogging, but as I have gone along accomplishing the learn and play "things", I want to search out more tools and information.
I would say that several of the "things" accomplished through learn and play are effective for library use. As a matter of fact, one of the things, RSS feeds, would be very useful to "power users" of the library who would like to stay up to date with news from the homepage. An extension of this would be to use twitter feed so that posts are automatically brought to the public's attention on twitter when published. Of course, flickr is a good way to store photos because of the amount of space they take up in the computer. This could likely be said of YouTube as well.

Pixelwiki Blog                                   


After starting the Learn and Play program, I began adding posts as I felt compelled to by the nature of current events. Since CML embarked on this adventure, the world has been more active in it's history making; 2008 Olympics, extreme gasoline prices, Hurricane Ike, death of David Foster Wallace, stock market crash, 2008 presidential election, and the state of our nation as well as the world. I also posted several things for amusement and to become better aquainted with what was available and how it would present on a blog; widgets, myspace, and a mashup using silverlight to name a few.


What I have found is that many of the tools allowed me to quickly compile information from several sources to share or to document events for my own reflection later on. I also found many of the tools highly useful in connecting with others in meaningful ways. Not only did we discuss our opinions, but sometimes we were passing along useful survival information, as was the case during Hurricane Ike.                    


I feel that this means of communication can be of great value especially when sending important messages to many people whether it be a community, a nation, or even to the world.



 

NOTES:
?'s from Learn and Play;
What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
YouTube and Twitter
If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you again chose to participate?" Yes!

This blog's format can be accessed using a Google e-mail address. That said, it is wise to create an annonymous e-mail for the purpose of experimentation when building a blog.
In addition, I think creating a "brand" name for yourself lends itself to keeping your privacy.
Using this name and similar or, if possible, the same passwords for all of the sites you are likely to join lends itself to consistancy and ease of remembering how to access tools.
I feel that Learn and Play is best considered for the possibility of staff creating things to use or for customers to use because of the ease of the social networking tools.

25.10.08

Learn and Play #22 MOLDI

MID OHIO LIBRARY DIGITAL INITIATIVE
Login to MOLDI by accessing MOLDI through the CML web site (lower right-hand corner of the homepage), or, for those of you who have downloaded the Library Toolbar, just click on the link in the drop-down menu in the toolbar. Note: If you’re not a member of CML staff or don’t have a CML library card, full access to MOLDI may not be available.
Click on the Browse eBooks link, or whatever type of media you wish, and explore some of the many titles.
Create a blog post about your findings. Did you locate a title that you might want to try out and download?

Signed in, looked at the titles and catagories of several genre, used the side bar search for music and got "We're sorry, but no results were found for the specified search criteria".
OK..went to search and chose e-flicks instead. I chose science fiction and fantasy. Now, this is fun and easy. Here we go "Brain From Planet Arous"; A strange alien ship crash lands in the California desert, bringing a terrifying evil intelligence from another planet whose mission is to conquer the world using subversive mind control. Wonderful...

I downloaded the OD media console and the windows media player MOLDI had available and then tried downloading the movie. I got a messaage, "Unable to acquire a license to play the selected media title." My computer also says that the download may contain viruses or other malicious code that could harm my computer. My computer hasn't been acting quite right lately and this is probably why with all the downloading and signing up for all manner of things. I just figured that by the end of Learn and Play, I would have to reset and clean up everything so I would have my computer back.
So, since the media player was available through the MOLDI site and was offered for playing movies, I am baffled.
I also tried to down load an e-book on CML's computer and ran into problems where I was supposed to download an Adobe application and sorry, but no success there either. As I am out of time this hour to do this...I think this is about all I need to say about my MOLDI experience.
This isn't the first time that I have had this sort of difficulty with downloading things from libraries or trying to, I should say. Sorry Learn and Play team, but I am not so sure I want to put anything from MOLDI on my computer and at this point, it's not a go.
LATER ENTRY...I FINALLY GOT A BOOK DOWNLOADED...YAY!!!

23.10.08

Thing #21: Podcasts

1.Take a look at one or two of the podcast directories:
a. podfeed.net
b. Podcastalley.com
c. Google Podcast Directory

What I found far more useful was searching Google using "library podcast".and these are some of the results;
Sunnyvale Public Library Podcasts
Audio and Video Broadcasts of Library Programs and Sunnyvale Voices Stories

DiMenna-Nyselius Library > Library Podcasts

and the big one; http://www.libsuccess.org/index.php?title=Podcasting
which is "a list of libraries and affiliated organizations that are currently podcasting and offering selected podcast resources service"

Michael Stephen's mentioned here:
Web 2.0 and Libraries: Best Practices for Social Software I just couldn't resist adding it since he came up in the search.

2.See if you can find some interesting library-related podcasts here like book review podcasts or library news.
Visit the Widget Gallery

http://www.deloitte.com/dtt/article/0%2C1002%2Ccid%25253D230877%2C00.html
3.Can you find other libraries that podcast on a regular basis?

4.Add the RSS feed for a podcast to your Bloglines account.

"How to Make It New: Fostering a Culture of Innovation in Turbulent Times
Deloitte Insights podcast"


5.Create a blog post about your discovery process.

There are so many podcasts. I like to listen while I am doing other things on the computer and I believe it's an effective approach to learning or enjoying programs over the computer.
I was impressed at Deloitte's set up for their podcast, though. They use feedburner and if you click on the RSS near the player, you get all sorts of choices of what to do with the podcast.

6.Did you find anything useful here?
Yes.
7.Can you see how CML might use such technology to promote programs, events, or other things?
Absolutely!!

22.10.08

Thing #20: You too can YouTube!

Explore YouTube and find a video worth adding as an entry in your blog.



This document is a monster, but in it are several YouTube videos. I have been using YouTube throughout this blog for many things, but the videos are separate and in a long string. Using them in presentations using google docs is a nice way to order them.
Obviously, I love Youtube. It's especially convenient to have the embed code available and the search feature is really easy to use. I have come to enjoy YouTube even more than watching TV because you can search for programs you want to watch and there are no commercials...well, usually no commercials.

12.10.08

Learn and Play #17 b


On my first attempt to create a document and publish it to my blog, you couldn't see the text to read it. So, here I am attempting to do it again to see what I can change to make it readable.

By the way, there was a warning about accidentally sharing sensative information in this publication;  

                                                        


Thursday, August 28, 2008



https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=ddghbm6j_14g23gsbg4&hl=en

Thing #19: Explore CML’s own Tool Box of great Web 2.0 tools


Discovery Exercise:

This Discovery Exercise is easy! As you look through the Power Tools Page, try out some of the links in the Tool Box that we haven’t covered in Learn & Play. If you’re at home, try downloading the Library Toolbar or the Catalog Plugin. Or, read the blog, Tooling Around, and leave a comment. Create a blog post about whatever element of the page you discovered and then enter that post’s URL in the Tracking Log.
I downloaded the CML tool bar. Very cool and so convenient to check my items to return.
Then I got into "MAKE" and surfed around a little. Make is great for finding instructions on how to create all sorts of things and as you can see at the top of this post, Halloween is the feature now (no da). Here's a project;

The google search box is customized to Make so that you get more accurate results. I like making paper snowflakes and Make featured this really cool one at http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2006/12/how_to_make_a_3_1.html

Make is just so much fun stuff to do all online complete with instructions and videos. It's just fantastic....even for earthlings.

Thing #18: Discovering Web 2.0 tools


Discovery Exercise:

Select any site/tool from the list of Web 2.0 Awards nominees.
Explore the site you selected.
Create a blog post about your discovery. What did you like or dislike about the tool? What were the site’s useful features? Could you see any applications for its use in a library setting?

Obviously, there are sooo many to choose from that it's next to impossible to settle on just one, but myminis was the one that I spent the most time surfing, er excuse me, is it yourminis (http://www.yourminis.com/)? @*%$minis are widgets of all sorts that you can put on your blog. Yourminis won a Webware100 award besides being on the go 2.0 award list.



I have several widgets in my sidebar, but they are mostly from widgetbox.

Thing #17 Google Docs

1. Create a free account for yourself in Google Docs.
2. Explore Google Docs,experiment, and create a test document or two. http://drawu2.blogspot.com/2008/10/on-my-first-attempt-to-create-document.html
3.
After you’ve created some test documents, select one and then choose
“More Actions.” You can publish, or save your document as a PDF or other version.
4. Create a blog post answering these questions:

How could online applications such as Google Docs help you in your day-to-day work?
Working on a document from any computer is great since we are always moving around AND being able to put them on a blog facilitates sharing them without the extra steps of downloading as an attachment.

How could libraries incorporate and ultimately benefit from these tools? Not sure just now. This is mainly because while I was attempting to create a document, I had a few issues with how it showed up on the blog. Still, that is not the only way to use Google docs. I was able to insert a picture and generally do what I do where documents are concerned, though, and then post it. That link is in #2of this post.
I really LOVE the presentation feature. It really went smoothly.
OPTIONAL: Share one of your test documents either on your blog or by linking to it online. :)

11.10.08

Visiting LibraryBytes


This was on Helen Blower's Blog @;
http://www.librarybytes.com/2008/10/learn-play-i-say-learn-you-say.html
AND.......on YOUTUBE @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-T2hLVZI5EA&eurl=http://www.librarybytes.com/2008/10/learn-play-i-say-learn-you-say.html
where you can also see lots of other cool videos from our own extremely regal Learn and Play team (especially Joy).
I see William Shatner in the background is just longing for you, Joy. I am so jealous. He is such a handsome human....see;


and after all he IS the Big Giant Head;

9.10.08

Bill and David

Hope?? ...as in Arkansas





8.10.08

Words



I recently found a great website about stocks and investments; http://www.portfolio.com/
For a long time, I have thought about investing, but always felt I didn't know enough. With the current state of affairs where the economy is concerned bending and twisting our lives and possible futures in ways beyond our control, I decided to revisit the issue. I now believe that as early as high school our children should be taught something about economics and finance by somebody passionate enough to really impart knowledge that counts. Frankly, I have loathed the educational process because it lacked application when I was growing up. I think my gut feelings were on the mark. I felt that we were all sent to a convenient place where we would be accessible and kept busy all day so that many people had jobs and benefits and politicians had leverage and parents had what they felt was the benefit of many people to teach their children things that were beyond the parents resources to impart.

In any event, the video above discussed being responsible for what you say or realizing what the consequences may be. I thought about Sarah Palin carrying on over being a Hockey mom, too. That's just fine, but a lot of us aren't Hockey moms, Sarah. Why not talk seriously, articulately, and intelligently about the country? Somehow, I just don't feel that safe with a loose cannon whose greatest pride seems more centered on those matriarchal successes than on knowing the score economically in America.

There are two very odd things that have come out of my discovery of the site; the main character in the narrator's story is named Sarah, hence my thoughts about Sarah Palin, and I discovered the site while investigating the Rothchilds. I found that a Rothchild married a very successful American, Lynn Forester http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/17/lynn-forester-de-rothschi_n_127047.html
who has switched parties from backing Hillary Clinton to being behind the McCain/Palin ticket. You may draw your own conclusions.

If you have been keeping up with my blog, you notice that while doing research about the Federal Reserve, Rothchild is a prominent player in the money game.
Getting back to the point, I feel that especially in affairs of state, it is important to be careful about what you say and I have learned that my free wheeling expression, though often cathartic, can be terribly misunderstood and even damaging since I am not considering my intent.

Lately, my intent is to express what I think many of us should or do feel, that we are being cheated and controlled by people who are educated in processes that we don't understand and that because we were not led to know anything about these things in the first place, it is a set up. Think about it. I have come to believe that not even the brokers necessarily knew what they were doing. It was just a product they were told to sell. By the time any of them knew what they were doing, it was too late and somebody was making out like a bandit. No, some several somebodies ARE bandits....or maybe a better term; CROOK. There I go again...freewheeling my thoughts and exercising my American freedom. It appears to me that there was just so much money for a lot of people to get their hands on in the process that as long as they got a cut, they really didn't mind turning away and letting it happen.

Oh, and by the way, Obama keeps saying that these things go back eight years. They go back much farther than that. At least 21 when you consider the Keating Five scandal and at least 30 when you follow the numbers concerning the finances of American families.

We could Google all day about the details about who did what, but where do you find anyone who is a saint in the financial world? Who would be honest enough to do the right thing under so much pressure that may even involve loss of lives or the ruining of children's futures if the authorities were called in to stop it? What authorities can there be if they face some very painful consequences for doing the right thing? People are ruined every day through the misleading powers that be and the ability of these powers to pull hard on the purse strings when ever they want results that include hiding the truth.

4.10.08

Homer Votes

Learn and Play Gurus

AWWWW....You guys are just too cute!!


It's especially nice to see Joy with a big smile. I think I have seen "twilightfan" on twitter. Way to go you guys. BTW...does this mean if I make a list of things I want to do that's not part of the 23 Learn and play things, you will advise??

3.10.08

Our lives have value


HE IS MAD TOO....in August of 07

I hope he isn't serious about buying Washington Mutual because...



Something from YOUTUBE....is it an illusion??

B of A CLIP TAKEN FROM http://www.youtube.com/user/OurCountry
How was this done?

and then No gasoline!

Remember Enron??? It has been on my mind...

and guess what?....

see Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enron_loophole
The "Enron loophole" exempts most over-the-counter energy trades and trading on electronic energy commodity markets from government regulation.[1] The "loophole" is so-called as it was drafted by Enron Corporation lobbyists working with U.S. Senator Phil Gramm to create a deregulated market for their experimental "Enron On-line" initiative.[2]

The "loophole" was enacted in sections (h)(3) and (g) of the Commodity Exchange Act, 7 U.S.C. as a result of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, signed by U.S. president Bill Clinton on December 21, 2000.[1] It allowed for the creation, for U.S. exchanges, of a new kind of derivative security, the single-stock future, which had been prohibited since 1982 under the Shad-Johnson Accord, a jurisdictional pact between John S.R. Shad, then chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and Phil Johnson, then chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

On June 22, 2008, U.S. Senator Barack Obama proposed the repeal of the "Enron loophole" as a means to curb speculation on skyrocketing oil prices.


The man who made silver certificates...no illusion

God Bless America


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlAWjIlws-c
Study our president's speeches @ http://millercenter.org/scripps/archive/speeches
ZEIGEIST
The Federal Reserve
THE TRUTH?

"I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world -- no longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men."- Woodrow Wilson










Link Below...A 1999 broadcast; The Federal Reserve, or the Fed as it is lovingly called, may be one of the most mysterious entities in modern American government. Created during Wilson's presidency to protect the economy in times of financial turmoil, its real business remains to be discovered. During the Wilson presidency, the U.S. government sanctions the creation of the Federal Reserve. Thought by many to be a government organization maintained to provide financial accountability in the event of a domestic depression, the actual business of the Fed is shrouded in secrecy. Many Americans will be shocked to discover that the principle business of the Fed is to print money from nothing, lend it to the U.S. government and charge interest on these loans. Who keeps the interest? Good question. Find out as the connective tissue between this and other top-secret international organizations is explored.
Very interesting
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7065177340464808778&hl=en

and...
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5547481422995115331&hl=en

1.10.08

A history of financial crisis

After doing a lot of reading because we are indeed in a crisis, I have discovered that by virtue of the element of suprise? we are left holding the bag. If you see my post, "It's in the numbers", you see that in just the last 30 years our wages weren't keeping up with our debts, but we were sold that these things were the way to go in America and you will realize that we are mostly slaves to the high rolling wall street and government crowd.
Also see http://www.smartmoney.com/tradecraft/index.cfm?story=20080714-fannie-freddie-fiasco&pgnum=1 ..."What's been building over the past few weeks is the quiet realization among investors that, when it comes to commerce, trade and their money, the government can basically do whatever it wants." Isn't that a scary proposal? http://www.myfoxla.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail;jsessionid=A8E958698F19D1962A7B53F7F1FBC736?contentId=7102715&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1&sflg=1Wasn't this government supposed to be US? I really don't believe I would want to pay for everyone else's speculations.

Listen to this lady....

Obviously, we don't know enough.


...and before this was
The New Economy: 1990s to Present
Main article: New Economyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_history_of_the_United_States


This graph shows three major stock indices since 1975. Notice the meteoric rise of the stock market in the 1990s, followed by the collapse of the dot-com bubble in 2000 on the tech-heavy NASDAQ.During the 1990s, the national debt increased by 75%, GDP rose by 69%, and the stock market as measured by the S&P 500 grew more than three-fold.

From 1994 to 2000 real output increased, inflation was manageable and unemployment dropped to below 5%, resulting in a soaring stock market known as the Dot-com boom. The second half of the 1990s was characterized by well-publicized Initial Public Offerings of High-tech and "dot-com" companies. By 2000, however, it was evident a bubble in stock valuations had occurred, such that beginning in March 2000, the market would give back some 50% to 75% of the growth of the 1990s. The economy worsened in 2001 with output increasing only 0.3% and unemployment and business failures rising substantially, and triggering a recession that is often blamed on the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks.[citation needed] OCTOBER FIRST, WE'RE IN TROUBLE.

....and before this was
Black Monday (1987) watch: http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=5454373
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Monday_(1987)
In financial markets, Black Monday is the name given to Monday, October 19, 1987, when stock markets around the world crashed, shedding a huge value in a very short period. The crash began in Hong Kong, spread west through international time zones to Europe, hitting the United States after other markets had already declined by a significant margin.

....and before this was
The Great Depression

Crowd gathering on Wall Street.Three phrases—Black Thursday, Black Monday, and Black Tuesday—are used to describe this collapse of stock values. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street_Crash_of_1929 All three are appropriate, for the crash was not a one-day affair. The initial crash occurred on Black Thursday (October 24, 1929), but it was the catastrophic downturn of Black Monday and Tuesday (October 28 and 29, 1929) that precipitated widespread panic and the onset of unprecedented and long-lasting consequences for the United States. The collapse continued for a month.

....and before this was
October 1907
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panic_of_1907


A crowd forms on Wall Street during the Bankers Panic of 1907
From the New York Public Library's Digital Gallery

28.9.08

Please comment

I just want to know if these are the facts. I am not taking sides, I just want to know if this is the true picture of the events that have brought us to where we are now. Just watch and please comment or twitter your thoughts.

Later...Bill comments on his part;

and....

SNL

27.9.08

Love

This is just too much fun....

It's in the numbers

Here we are in a financial colapse of historic proportions and over a year ago, the data pointing to this was already available. Watch this (it's about an hour long, but should be required)

24.9.08

The Webware 100



http://news.cnet.com/html/ww/100/2008/winners.html
I could spend hours...days...weeks....months??? Who knows?

fun search= http://news.cnet.com/webware/?search=embed

Wiki #16

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/72347/july-31-2006/the-word---wikiality
Here we are at the Learn and Play thing again; http://columbusmetropolitanlibrary.wordpress.com/2008/09/21/17-playing-around-with-wikis-pbwiki/ and I added some restaurant favorites, a favorite animal, and this favorite blog plus another; http://www.roytanck.com/
Read this guy's welcome statement....LOL. I like informative blogs with a sense of humor.
I wasn't too sure that I got it right when I was adding things to the Wiki, but since the entries seemed to show up right...I am hoping somebody will tell me if I got it wrong so I can do it again.
At the start, there were issues with getting onto the Wiki, but a little patience and viola, I was off and running. This is one of those things I'd like to take some time getting aquainted with so I can have a nice design going. Enough about me, though.
I found something interesting on Wikipedia http://en.wikip
edia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Information_suppression
This page is marked "currently inactive and is retained for historical reference." It discusses how views can slant to a particular side of an issue and thus represent an idea in an unbalanced manner. This can be accomplished through somebody deleting information from a different perspective concerning an idea and filling in a great deal of information to support another perspective.
Since we are heading toward an election, I found this article stimulating to my thought process regarding how complicated issues are handled politically. In addition, it reminds me that aside from basic informative content, there is a danger of information on a Wiki being used in a manner that misrepresents a topic.
I trust you'll read through the page and think about what it is saying.