moving on...

I've set up the beginnings of a new blog. I wanted one that was a bit more personal and not connected to the library....Like moving from one city to another or one apartment to another, I'll take along some 'things'; more of a 'copy and transfer'. I'll still check in here - always learning more from 'things on a stick'.

I haven't been here for a while - life has been hectic. I plan to redo/move/change my blog in the near future; I've found that I do enjoy it...maybe it's vanity, maybe just easy access when I don't have time to take pen to paper, which is my preference for 'journaling'. There's one....the 'verbing' of a noun and then putting quotes around it to demonstrate I know I'm doing it, slightly disapprove, yet rather like it.
My apartment was on the weekend's Mpls/St. Paul/Dayton's Bluff house tour. I'm exhausted and aching with having power-cleaned and crammed 'stuff' into hidden nooks and crannies; there's only so much storage in any apartment, though mine is rather large by urban standards. Over 100 people came through on each day to see the architectural details of the 1888 Victorian. At least, thanks to LibraryThing.com, my books are always in order! There would be six people standing in my bathroom and I would suddenly notice a spot on the tile I had missed...details!
I tend to be a bit of a slob when home alone. My son is visiting with his partner at the end of May and somehow I have to maintain the neatness - for a whole MONTH until they arrive!
Sam manages a restaurant in NYC and is vegetarian (does now eat fish). I had taken him to Vincent's (excellent in every way) and Ethiopian in the past and need some new suggestions on other restaurants in either Saint Paul or Mpls. Yes to University Avenue's great ethnic selections.
Let me know of any favorites, please.

This post has nothing to do with libraries or technology...just stopped in to say I'm out for a while, organizing Anoka County for AFSCME. It's exhausting, but inspiring; I'll be back at work next Tuesday. That's all I'll say about it right now, except I am driving through areas of Ramsey and Anoka Counties that I never would have had occasion to see. I have been through Forest Lake, Andover, Wyoming, Ham Lake, Lake Elmo, South Saint Paul, Vadnais Heights, Champlin, many more and some towns that I've never heard of...saw a multitude of horses today....I've been in towns with the usual street name categories: trees, presidents, flowers; today an area had streets named for and about horses: Thoroughbred, Appaloosa, Palomino etc.

On Sunday at dusk my union partner and I witnessed a wondrous sight: two massive deer crashed powerfully through the wooded and swampy area just twenty feet in front of us. We were out making house visits and had come to a home in a dead end. Two deer were rutting (is that the right spelling? I know nothing about deer) Three smaller deer were with them, and they suddnly disappeared in the field right in front of us - time to bed down...

more about slide shows..

I really, really like the slideshow piece. Thank you, Julie S. for letting me know I could do a slide show using my Windows; thank you, Cindy H., for showing me how. Now I have a slide show of two blocks of houses in my Dayton's Bluff neighborhood to encourage change. The ongoing slide show will be the centerpiece of our neighborhood meeting tonight. I'll polish it later.

It's snowing, and it's beautiful outside. I stayed after work to play with 23 Things. I attempted Meebo, but didn't know it would latch onto a user name as my main identity, so I'm trying to get rid of it. It's off my blog, but not the Meebo account. Obviously, there aren't always easy 'takebacks' with these many accounts. That's somewhat frustrating if I enter without knowing what to expect in the outcome.

I'll play more with it later. I looked over the calendars and just thinking of another calendar anywhere in my life makes me feel as if I'm being sucked into a mire.I have groupwise and I have my wirebound planner. If I added another, I may not be able to function. Calendars at home are for things like recycling day, etc. My life is in my wirebound. Maybe I'd use an online overlay calendar if I were using my laptop all the time, but I need more memory, but can't afford it right now.

After work on Friday I spent several hours at a coffee shop 'reorganizing' my next week. It calmed me to make that transition. I had sent letters out for the second of several meetings I'm facilitating with absentee landlord/property owners and neighborhood residents. The first meeting went really well, stayed focused, on time, and resulted in do-able action/goals. The second meeting will be even more focused and, I hope, flow just as nicely and be as productive as the first.

Participating in Wilder Foundation's Neighborhood Leadership Program has been even better and more applicable than I had earlier thought. It's a great program and worth the time. Our session started in October and we'll 'graduate' April 28. I'll miss my group.

Back to the calendar. I'm visual, and using highlighters and different colors of ink for a series of meetings works for me. I need my calendar with me at all times and life is fluid enough that I want to make changes right away. A good friend could give me a blackberry, I suppose.....

I've signed up for a class: 'Community Organizing and Social Action'. That should come as no surprise to those who know me! I need a class to energize me right now. So, in my spiral bound, it was somewhat easy to x out my Senate District meetings twice a month and insert my classes, simply because I need that break.

Neighborhoods....the real connections (new photos at end of this post)

Three hook and ladders, two ambulances and two or three smaller fire trucks (I lost count, but was impressed) wailed up to the front of Polly’s coffee house (on Payne Ave.). This seemed an apt welcoming as I made my first visit to grid 34 to listen to another neighborhood group and learn what they are doing to improve their area.

I stood outside and watched the firefighters enter the frame ‘for sale’ house next door, evacuate the young resident, and disperse the smoke. On the sidewalk Polly’s Saturday regulars gathered; some took charge of two dogs from the house and calmed them inside Polly’s. A young woman from the apartment above Polly’s then took charge of the woeful animals and took them upstairs to her apartment.

A man within the sidewalk group acknowledged me as if he knew me. I flipped though my mental facebook and contact list and was pretty sure I hadn’t met him before, but find that with involvement with a number of diverse groups around the cities I can’t always instantly place people. …instead I start what a friend calls my friendly interrogation, asking what kinds of groups is the person in, and reel off some of mine; where does the person live or work; and disclose mine. Usually we find the common ground and more memory.

He thought I was a person who lived a few blocks away. I explained I had been in this neighborhood quite often, but had never stopped at Polly’s. He gave me his name and I exclaimed, ‘You’re the reason I’m here!’ A colleague from the Wilder Neighborhood Leadership Program I’m in thought Larry would be a helpful connection for me with my neighborhood efforts. I spent the rest of the morning listening to their initiatives, grid planning, neighborhood boundaries, and resident activism. Side conversations took on quiet, unobtrusive lives outside of the primary dialogue.

On the periphery a chess tournament with prizes was being pulled together for youth at the Arlington branch library; two persons brought in prizes and chess sets. The subject of serving on a board briefly surfaced; then a swapping of gardening books. An exchange of nformation reached out to several within the group, and was then enhanced when two new arrivals were identified to me as master gardeners. Larry shared their ideas on fundraisers and the influence they’ve found in applying ideas from Jay Walljasper’s The Great Neighborhood Book: a do-it-yourself guide to placemaking. One of Walljasper's points was that a great neighborhood has boundaries and a coffee shop. I've got the book and am moving it to the front to read.

Finished with their call, firefighters came in for coffees and lattes. Several of us expressed our thanks for their quick response and the work they do. One told me he used to live in Dayton’s Bluff; for various reasons, we tend to see more than our share of fire department responses in my area.

I considered my Saturday morning both fruitful and enjoyable. Joining the Saturday Polly’s group was like visiting with my parents and three sisters at the table years ago. My then husband couldn’t understand how we could all talk at once and still hear each other, let alone carry on several conversations and not be enveloped in any sense of chaos. Polly’s group felt like family…and all are welcomed! ###My slide show disappeared and haven't been able to re-apply it yet...go to blog: 'walkonmyearth' to see it.

Note on LibraryThing

I just read the latest 23 Things News. I can't say enough positive about LibraryThing. I've been a member since February of 2007. The site is constantly being improved for and with the help of its users. Though I don't get to it every day (I am behind in cataloging, but not TOO bad), I am constantly finding new tools on the site, and generally enjoy browsing other libraries, stats and background info.

When I came upon the 'Local' addition the other day, I added one of my favorite independent bookstores, Common Good Books (I keep telling the staff about the site, but I don't know if anyone has connected with it).

I've also suggested LibraryThing, and demonstrated it to our Teaching and Learning Center person as a way to catalog their book collection. LibraryThing has special groups for nonprofits. Many university and college departments use LibraryThing for their curriculum collections.

The other day I discovered I could introduce author information, so I entered information on one of our faculty authors. Much of LibraryThing is a Wikiexperience!

Wish I had been there.....

My son sent this video to me, saying he knew that if I had been in NYC when this was initiated, I would have been there participating....he knows me like I know which Girl Scout cookies to send!
I'm having trouble putting this video on my blog. It's a Maniac World video and I can't find a code. So, it's not how I wanted to do it, but here's the link:
http://www.maniacworld.com/frozen-in-grand-central-station.html

03/12/2008PS: I did try the hints on adding a 'non-YouTube' video (cookies, pop-up, etc.) but was told by our helpdesk people that a code was not accessible. If anyone out there has a suggestion to try something else, I'm open to suggestions. I'll go back and try again in a few days - sometimes a bit of space is all that's really needed.

"Understanding how students use technology...."

This was a talk given this afternoon by John O'Brien, Ph.D., Academic VP, Century College. He presented at Metropolitan State: "Understanding how students use technology provides the basis for understanding their changing expectations for instruction and campus services." Besides a charming presence and animated wit, O'Brien offered instruction and resources for our audience. I found it especially helpful because it ties in so beautifully with '23 Things'.

I don't know if you can find a video of John's presentation or one similar to it, but here is his reference website; the website, http://johnobrienpersonal.googlepages.com/webography , is all references used in his talk and may be totally disconnected out of context. Explore, and I'm sure you'll find stimulating information for thought and discussion.

On trading cards and recitation

Last night I was thinking of uses for trading cards. Yes, I could do political ones, but I was thinking of using them for poetry, speeches, and books read. Each card would have a point value, based on what, I don't yet know, perhaps poetry or speeches memorized or read. I could hand them out to neighborhood kids. About twelve 'leaders of tomorrow' wait at my corner at 7:30 each morning for their school bus...maybe I could interest them in hot cocoa and poetry?

Has poetry and speech memorization been tossed with all the negativity of 'rote memorization'? 'Eggbert the Easter Egg' was a poem I was assigned to memorize in 4th grade. From then on through 8th grade it was Frost, Sandburg, Gettysburg Address, scenes from Hamlet, poetry by Vachel Lindsay, Longfellow, etc. We had to stand in front of the class for recitation. Surely there was a value in this? Considering I was an extremely shy child, this, as unnerving as it could be, really helped in challenging me to come out of my meek self. For my continued love of the written word, etching poetry into my heart, and helping me to find my ground and my voice, Thank YOU, Mrs. Winifred Gravrok, from Bloomingdale, Illinois 7th grade!

My creation - Trading Card

My creation
Originally uploaded by finnflix

This is my trading card...writing a meaningful blurb is always the most difficult part. I was trying to edit the card but was thrown off course.

I feel privileged, blessed, that Sam is so much a part of my life. I count him as my most trusted friend. I admire him for his ethic, his ability to reach out to people, his wit; I respect him for how he leads his life, finding that balance of head and heart. He is wise and he is compassionate. At this point he would laugh in his resonant voice and say this sounds like an obituary!!

Contemplation on letterwriting

This morning another staff and I talked about blogging and I again recognized its connection for me - letterwriting and journaling (excuse the 'verbing'). I found that we shared an enjoyment of physically putting ink to paper. Besides realizing afterward that I must have droned on about my pure enjoyment of paper textures and weights, I also was reminded again of the satisfaction of both writing and receiving a posted piece of friendly mail!

Part of our conversation was on where to find writing paper. Wrapping paper from places like Wet Paint or the Paper Patisserie can be cut or torn down into writing paper size when one can't find 'real' writing paper. The decorative beauty on one side complements the personal message on the other!

I've always liked onion skin paper (also known in the past as 'airmail' paper). It's been difficult for me to find, even at the Hmong and Vietnamese shops on University. My son had found some in NYC's Chinatown, but hasn't come up with more.

I know there are shops online, but half the fun is in the touching. The other is shopping for it when I'm in the mood.

Lagging a bit

I'm lagging on my '23 Things' (salmonella last week). My last item was a third slideshow and I admit to feeling a bit of a glutton, working with the photos. But then I ran into a snag and it took me much, much longer to do this third show. I used a larger number of photos and had to add them to PictureTrail in three batches, with a different title to each batch. Then when clicking on the thumbnails, one photo from batch 'b' made its way into batch 'a'. I had to work around that several times, so I now feel appeased in my gluttony because I learned something else!

I spent some time reading about the communication tools and may or may not add something to my blog site. I definitely will be playing with some in the next week as I can use them in my 'extracurricular' activities.

Comfort level

I've reached a certain comfort level; or perhaps it's more of a confidence level. I've just added a second slide show and I think I'm proving myself a bit of a vain person. I am having fun with this as I become more at ease in editing text and characteristics of the photo albums and shows.

It's been a great learning weekend....and I still have another day to go!

I just got back from a two-day 'Affordable Health Care' conference put on by AFSCME. It was excellent. The premise is that every American deserves guaranteed affordable health insurance with a choice of public or private plans that cover all necessary medical services paid for by taxes on employers and individuals on a sliding scale. The message AFSCME is working to get across is that no one should have to pay more than 5% of their total household income on health care. This would cover all family members.

I treasure my weekends and alone time, but I can say this was time well spent and I am willing to dedicate free time to help clean up this systemic health care mess through education and yes, more door knocking, informational meetings, and contacting my legislators. It feels good to get fired up about something now and then! I've already called my senator and representative, and, on the way home, stopped at one of 'my' coffee shops, talked with the owner, and dropped off some promo buttons, cards and legislator contact postcards...

At the conference I was telling others about this '23 Things' project and what it incorporated. Some of the people were from Health and Social Services, school staff, and corrections around the state. They were quite taken by the learning project.

another widget...

I just added a visitor counter.....three days ago I didn't know what a site widget was. Question, though - how much spam am I going to be receiving because of registering for various 'things'? How open am I to viruses because of '23 Things'?

It's all serendipity from here on.....

I'm no longer going to try to keep the 23 things in order or even list the individual 23 things in the subtitles. Prizes are nice, but I'm having fun just 'creating and building' as I find the link in the time that I have. I just created two widgets...one is 'random titles from my library' and the other creates an opportunity for others to check my bookshelves for a specific title without having to log into 'LibraryThing'. However, your checking is for curiosity only, as I no longer lend books.

..oops!

I see I misspelled 'graffiti'; though I edited in Picture Trails, I can't seem to connect it to my blog slideshow.

Slide show is on...

I used Picture Trails. I will delete BigHugeLabs. BHL felt too intrusive for me in all the 'signing away'. Picture Trails was fairly direct and easy to build. I liked having a variety of displays. Perhaps BHL had them and I just was not seeing them. Anyway, the slide show is at the bottom of my page. I wanted it on the side, but it was too big for the margin.

Art and books are made to share space. To that add people who appreciate the two and elicit great conversation and I have the perfect setting!

I'll soon do another slideshow with people and places. I must say, I am enjoying this.

About the slide show....

I used BigHugeLabs and the result is nothing as I had expected. I'll leave it in and try something else tomorrow. I want a slide show that is right on my page, not a link and this huge black background...it is not a pleasing layout. I'll find another way...and take some new photos (I dearly need a sunny day....for photos and my disposition!)

Aha! Flickr Spell

Ethnic Studies

What would I ever do without LibraryThing.com!!? I've not gone so far as to spine label my books. I'm always curious how people categorize their home libraries.

Ethnic Studies
Originally uploaded by finnflix

I knew a bookkeeper who had one book collection and her husband had another. Neither was a librarian, but one used Dewey and the other used the Library of Congress.

Another person arranged her books in the order of purchase and wouldn't read one until the last book purchased was read. Someone else arranged hers by color. I'm content with subject (Folktales/Folklore/Fairytales, Fiction/Literature, Sociology, Political Science, etc.) and when warranted, author: books by and about (Fitzgerald and Zelda, Reynolds Price, Alcott, Wharton, etc.)

Books and prints give me pleasure

home library 016
Originally uploaded by finnflix

This wall is mostly general religion, Judaica, Quaker, Russian and French authors and Minnesota. The prints are art notecards I found at the Museum of Russian Art - if you haven't visited it yet (in Mpls) you are missing some powerful art and history.

home library

home library 003
Originally uploaded by finnflix

I rent the second floor of a Victorian. The rooms are smaller than I would like, but the traffic pattern is great -especially for political fundraisers. I can register the people downstairs, direct them into one door, get food and meet others, and out the other door. We have a nice porch where people can sit and engage in conversation while a new crowd wends their way around.

In the 1890s this room was the master bedroom - or perhaps solely for the woman of the house. I first filled up the closet with bookshelves and then I filled the dressing area. Then I came out to the bedroom itself and filled all the walls. A visitor once admitted she felt overwhelmed by all the books. It's my most lived in room....I just don't have room for my loom or a desk in it....and I'm still trying to be creative with other storage/shelving - on the cheap side.

home library - Alcott shelf

home library 013
Originally uploaded by finnflix

I'm adding library photos, not knowing exactly how they'll appear. Later I can learn how to move them about in a different placement....maybe. This is a small section of shelved odds and ends. I have models of NYC's Shirtwaist Factory (a Boym piece) and of the Flatiron Building. My son lives in New York City and it holds a very special place in my heart and life.
I seem to collect pottery also. The clay piece with barbed wire is something I made 10 years ago in my college pottery class, expressing emotions on Kosovo.

Thing #4: Flickr

I welcome Flickr as a photo, communication tool. I transferred a number of photos from my digital to my new Flickr account. I added one photo to my blog page....it's of my cat, Sophie. So, since I had used Sophie as my signature blog name, am I writing as my cat, or am I my cat's alter ego?! I may rethink this; as several persons have already noted, coming up with titles and names seems to be the most difficult piece.

Saving to sets was very easy; I confused comments and tabs briefly. I'm going to concentrate next on creating a slide show or some way to display photos in little groups. I'm wondering about choice in placement on my blog. Can the group shows be done on the side bar in my template instead of at the bottom.

I'll add Julie's 23 Activities...to my feeds. Also, another person recommended 'Inside of a dog...'. These two people seem to have soared in what they have done, and so quickly.

I will appreciate using Flickr in sending photos to family members around the country, as well just friendly e-mails. I'll learn to transfer them, also, to my LibraryThing site. Some of the steps and directions can be frustrating, indeed, but if I walk away for a while, ask the people who have found the answers, and even if I'm allowed to whine a little to release my impatience, the result happens.

I added the link element today. I like personalizing my blog with links. It's sort of like introducing my friends to other friends and family so they can all get to know each other; and in the process, get to know another side of me.

Sophie, aka 'Miss Thing'

home library 002
Originally uploaded by finnflix

Sophie adopted me when she was a stray in Ottumwa, Iowa and I was living a five year stint in Oskaloosa, Iowa. She is an extremely intelligent and social creature. Her loves are me, Sam, and Dean; snuggling in cradled arms; and her vet, Dr. Patrick Ryan of Saint Paul, who saved her from a near death experience several years ago.

smatterings on 23 Things

After all my doubts, I find that I did create my RSS correctly....my expectations of what it would be and what to expect of it were different than what it actually is. Yes, I read the material and I viewed the video, so please, no snarky comments.

I'm working on photos right now. I have them saved from my digital camera and will be saving them in Flickr....I first needed some distance from 23 Things and went to lunch. Julie. of 'Julie's 23 Web Activities on a Stick' has been extremely helpful; yea, Julie!! She has patience I lack right now. I detest having to go from one screen to umpteen others to do what I want (ok, it's an exaggeration); having to wonder and check what I can/should/have to download and install; having to register for this and for that. Maybe I'm just tired after working on caucusing and campaigns and stuff!

Knowing me, I know I will, in a day or two exclaim how easy and wonderful all this is....and I really like learning it....just too much verging off to read this and that and do other 'real' work in between.

I really think instructions could be better written - and then have someone who has no knowledge of the process read and test before publicizing the instructions.

I'm looking forward to getting the photos up, and then some links.

An aside....

It's Wednesday morning and I am wiped out! Last night drew an outstanding and record turnout for precinct caucusing. I am precinct chair in a district that has a history of low voter turnout. Last night in this precinct (like most of Minnesota) surpassed any records.

What especially gives me a 'high' this morning is that we finally achieved diversity within the precinct leadership. This, I'm sure, will encourage people of color to participate more; especially at the grassroots level. For way too long, what I have seen at SD and state political meetings and conventions is a large sea of white faces. Last night, I did indeed, see 'change'! My thanks to EVERYONE who showed up, whether you voted and left or stayed for the resolutions. My thanks to all who became delegates or alternates. My appreciation and thanks to all who persisted through hordes of other caucusers and the horrendous parking! YOU are my America!

Thing #3: RSS,,,,it almost did me in!

At first I thought it was me, but I learned others had problems deciphering the RSS instructions. I read all the material and it still didn't make sense to me; I came back another day....and another....today it made sense. I'm game for rewriting the RSS instructions. I'm relieved to go on to the next step. I'm in doubt yet whether going to my reader to check 'regular' sources is really something that will work for me...but in another month I'll know better.

Perhaps I don't jump around on the web as much as many others do, but I wonder if it's actually just as fast for me to go directly to the website in question...I do realize that I can avoid the sign in.

I've added a few more feeds and I'm more pleased with the page appearance. I wonder if it's possible to create a 'click and drag' to move items from folder to folder instead of going to the item blurb and 'change folders'?

Time will likely reveal me to be an adept and regular user of RSS.

A new blogger's added reflection

Having found something I thought was missing in Avatar choices, I just added a 'PS' to my original post. At first I was just going to delete my original comment and update it with my new information. For two reasons, I didn't.

I questioned whether deleting and rewriting (when it is more than a spelling or verb/noun agreement) is 'legal' or ethical in blogging. No one had yet responded, so editing would not have changed the thread. But it didn't feel right to change the context.

Part of this particular blog is to see how I grow in my Library 2.0 learning; and so it has begun. I had said earlier that blogging had seemed a vanity to me (already the tense has changed!). Perhaps it's all in how a blog is used. Stream of consciousness here:

- I wonder about people who have kept lifelong journals and want them burned when they die....have any of them become bloggers? What are their reasons for writing journals? I hope the actual pen and paper journal is never discarded completely in favor of a blog.

- In blogging, once a post is 'published' and read, there is no going back....just explaining or justifying an ill-made comment or observation. Talk about 'think before you speak'! Or getting all your facts before complaining!

-

2.0 afterthought

I don't know how many of you know about Librarything.com. I've been registered for almost a year now and love it. It's an online cataloging system that is free for up to 200 items (books, DVDs, CDs, you name it). You can tag the items however you want and search by ISBN, author, title, tag, or just browse your 'shelves'. Anything over 200 is $10 per year or $25 for life. Nonprofits use it as do college departments for their particular libraries. There are fascinating benefits in the use of Librarything.com. And it's great to be in a bookstore and able to check your library at home to see if you already have a certain title!

Library 2.0: Thing #2 of 23

We are an academic library which is co-located with a public library branch. I feel proud of the fact that our academic library offers a generous range of services to our area community patrons. Library 2.0 makes up a large part of this. Though many patrons do use the community computers for gaming and general entertainment, our presence in the community offers the opportunity for people largely of lower incomes and without home computers/connection to connect with needed agency/life assistance around the state and country.

Parents and siblings are able to take advantage of what their school-aged family members learn and bring home. They use the Rosetta Stone, learn to blog, to e-mail, use family websites and any number of computer opportunities. With family members often living around the world, this is an incredible resource, breaking down tremendous walls in accessing information, in lifelong learning, and in being able to communicate with other in the most amazing and cost effective ways!

Ok, I admit to having a bit of fun with this....I've created my avatar. I have to explore that a bit. Unless I haven't found it yet, avatars can change skin and eye color, but they are all petites, even though I see plus size clothing. Is there more? Are wheelchairs or service dogs available for avatars? Maybe it's what heaven is sometimes said to be....we're all 'perfect' .... I didn't think there was a size or mobility mold.

PS (1/25/08) I should, perhaps, post this on the actual 1/25/08 date, but wanted the clarification closer to my error so any reader would connect the two. Today, on more exploring to see if I had actually missed avatar choices, I did find wheelchairs, so thank you, Yahoo, for looking at the larger population.

It was a cold day in Saint Paul.....

This is my first blogging experience and I'm not very comfortable with it. I enjoy face to face conversations, letterwriting, and e-mailing, in that order. Blogging has always seemed to me somewhat of a 'vanity' activity. Admittedly, I am vain about a few things and I do willingly give my opinions, but not for the larger population to access.

However, since our library staff has been requested to participate in the '23 things on a stick' project, I'm blogging; something I probably never would have done on my own. Dear Martha would say, 'and that's a good thing.'