tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3245968126628888492024-03-13T08:11:01.707-07:00about books and thingssage (can be reached at: uppelto@gmail.com)http://www.blogger.com/profile/00188797249801408798noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324596812662888849.post-92122804078128175632011-08-02T11:32:00.000-07:002011-08-02T11:34:32.752-07:00Neighborhood Law by Cora Jordan & Emily Doskow - a review<div class="commentHeader"><div class="postinfo"><a href="http://www.librarything.com/work/1477297">Neighbor Law: Fences, Trees, Boundaries & Noise…</a> by <a href="http://www.librarything.com/author/attorneycorajordan">Cora Jordan Attorney</a></div> </div> <div id="brtext_74397460" class="commentText"><div class="birdnotice alwaysblue"><a href="http://www.librarything.com/er/list"><img src="http://static.librarything.com/pics/bird-tiny.gif" /></a>This review was written for <a href="http://www.librarything.com/er/list">LibraryThing Early Reviewers</a>.</div>My neighborhood is diverse in many, many ways. One is in how people respond to problems or possible problems. Some can watch a person being beaten and not call 911, but call the police because five 10-year- olds are riding bikes on an empty street. A neighbor will call code enforcement to report that a neighbor left her garbage bin out overnight while he himself leaves his on the curb 24/7. My advice is, talk with the neighbor first – by phone or in person – in a civil, friendly tone. Don’t jump to calling city departments right away. And better than anything, I hope you’ve tried to build a friendly relationship long ago before you ever got to know each other’s personalities.<br /><br />People and situations not being perfect, NEIGHBOR LAW: Fences, Trees, Boundaries & Noise, by Attorneys Cora Jordan and Emily Doskow, offers real solutions to common problems. The substance of the book doesn’t become stifled or diluted because of varying state or city laws. Doskow and Jordan offer common sense, step by step advice in logical sequence with practical, easily applied examples of letters and conversations. The appendixes and Index provide state and legal resources, with a web site for updates. If friendly dialogue and attempted resolution doesn’t work, the reader is taken to the next level with suggestions of what statutes, laws, or legal contacts or actions might help.<br /><br />I serve on the board of my district community council board, and attend the monthly community meetings where residents bring problems that range from noise, disintegrating retaining walls, and junk cars, to meth labs, guns, and vandalized vacant houses. Very few attempted resolutions seem to have started with a civil conversation. I realize that sometimes fear is an uninvited guest, and all too often, it’s not clear in some neighborhoods who actually lives, owns, or is responsible for a house, especially a rental which a German bank owns.<br /><br />Given all that, I very highly recommend Neighbor Law as a reference handbook for any community group, neighborhood mediator, or just easy, helpful reading to be a more informed, understanding, and proactive resident.<br /><br />State statutes, general laws, common sense guidelines and reasonable use guidelines are offered for various situations and disputes , including unclear boundary lines, overhanging trees, animal issues, ‘attractive’ nuisances, fences, and noisy neighbors. When things go too far, there is a section on restoring relations. Whether you live in a bungalow on Primrose Lane, a McMansion in Andover, a farm in Forest Lake, or you are one of 300 apartment units on McKnight, you are someone’s neighbor - buy the book and first read the tips on building community.<br /><br />Now, please excuse me, I really need to read the section on secondhand smoke.<br /><br />Thank you, Cora Jordan and Emily Doskow, for helping maintain a higher quality of neighborhood life!<br />sh 6/11/11 <span class="rating">( <img src="http://static.librarything.com/pics/ss10.gif" /> )</span></div>sage (can be reached at: uppelto@gmail.com)http://www.blogger.com/profile/00188797249801408798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324596812662888849.post-21067912335979749792011-04-10T11:31:00.000-07:002011-04-10T11:59:25.949-07:00A few bits and piecesI have no idea how anyone could be bored or have 'nothing to do'. I would at first say that it's especially living in St. Paul, or as Sam would know, living in NYC. But even when I lived in Iowa, unemployed at first and knowing absolutely no one, once fixing a schedule to keep me sane, I could always find something to do.<br /><br />I have an occasional downstairs neighbor who comments 'do you EVER sleep?' Well, yes, but have you ever been in bed, sometimes awaken with a great idea and just have to start putting it into place?<br /><br />The last few months have been very busy. I was thinking I'd have a few quiet months before summer, but not so. I have learned so much about the St. Paul city CIB program; I'll write the process I've learned in a different blog. It went from something with many attached misconceptions on my part, to quickly writing a proposal, to seeing how the community task force works, to planning a neighborhood workshop so other people have the information I didn't.<br /><br />Neighborhood kids have visited more this winter than last; I've learned more about bicycles than I ever thought I would; the girls want a mostly girls summer. I don't know - girls are so high maintenance. Boys can be a little bit crude at times, but they are so much easier going.<br /><br />I have been away from Door County for way too long and need to visit very soon. My brakes need work and I need a little money to do that.<br /><br />I need to visit with Aunt Cleo. I miss her. I need to at least call soon. I need to write more letters to everyone.<br /><br />Thursday evening, Murphy, four now? said we need to do some street clean-up. I had been thinking that too, Murph. So Friday I picked up a rake and some garbage bags. From almost 6pm to about 9, Kari, Kate, Murph, Abigail, Alma, Francisco, Jesus, Sam, Jose, KayLynn (sp) Jeff and I raked, swept, scooped and picked up. We filled, what, six big garbage bags and 12 big orange city bags. When the street sweepers come in a week or two, their job will be so much easier and less waste will enter the sewer to the Mississippi. I was achy, but it felt so satisfying.<br />Then Kate's brother and uncle had grilled ribs and chicken for a nice late supper, and a visit with Kate, Mel, Jill and some wine...a nice evening.<br /><br />The next day, Saturday, was the City DFL endorsing convention. I couldn't get the kids to go. I thought they might enjoy it. I've always loved the DFL process. This morning I kept my apheresis appointment, but the nurse said she nicked the vein, tried to move it around, but the clotting had already begun; tried another vein, couldn't get any saline in. The bruise is forming, and none of us thought to go to a one-needle apheresis instead of my usual two. I'll make another appointment when the bruise heals. It did open two hours for me this morning. I went to Byerly's for lemon ricotta pancakes...lovely.sage (can be reached at: uppelto@gmail.com)http://www.blogger.com/profile/00188797249801408798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324596812662888849.post-45215317609018880552009-04-29T10:17:00.000-07:002009-04-29T14:32:10.321-07:00Visit 'walkonmyearth.blogspot.com'...for new continuation.<br />I will gradually move most of this to<br />http://walkonmyearth.blogspot.com/sage (can be reached at: uppelto@gmail.com)http://www.blogger.com/profile/00188797249801408798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324596812662888849.post-34206562292227919342008-08-08T15:13:00.000-07:002008-08-08T15:16:00.424-07:00moving 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'.sage (can be reached at: uppelto@gmail.com)http://www.blogger.com/profile/00188797249801408798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324596812662888849.post-61973047496803290332008-04-28T08:24:00.000-07:002008-04-28T09:13:31.946-07:00I 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.<br />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!<br />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! <br />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.<br />Let me know of any favorites, please.sage (can be reached at: uppelto@gmail.com)http://www.blogger.com/profile/00188797249801408798noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324596812662888849.post-48377044583838482942008-04-08T20:19:00.000-07:002008-04-15T13:31:45.117-07:00This 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.<br /><br />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...sage (can be reached at: uppelto@gmail.com)http://www.blogger.com/profile/00188797249801408798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324596812662888849.post-64264283848844416612008-04-02T15:41:00.000-07:002008-04-03T07:01:54.171-07:00more 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.sage (can be reached at: uppelto@gmail.com)http://www.blogger.com/profile/00188797249801408798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324596812662888849.post-13152569016555034812008-03-31T15:01:00.000-07:002008-04-14T07:27:16.011-07:00It'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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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. <br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.....<br /><br />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.sage (can be reached at: uppelto@gmail.com)http://www.blogger.com/profile/00188797249801408798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324596812662888849.post-69488269092953562542008-03-24T11:42:00.000-07:002008-12-11T10:11:20.491-08:00Neighborhoods....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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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 <em>The Great Neighborhood Book: a do-it-yourself guide to placemaking</em>. 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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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. <br /><br /><div style="visibility:visible"><embed src="http://flash.picturetrail.com/pflicks/3/spflick.swf" quality="high" FlashVars="ql=2&src1=http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2284/10703204/flicks/1/4321925&src2=http://widgetize.picturetrail.com/flicks/4321925" wmode="transparent" bgcolor="#000000" width="460" height="350" name="slowslide" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" style="height:350px;width:460px" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed><p style="whitespace:no-wrap;margin-top:10px;height:24px"><a href="http://www.picturetrail.com/misc/counter.fcgi?link=%2FphotoFlick%2Fsamples%2Fpflicks.shtml&cID=924"><img align="left" src="http://pics.picturetrail.com/res/pflicks/pt.gif" border="0"></a><a href="http://www.picturetrail.com/misc/counter.fcgi?link=%2FphotoFlick%2Fsamples%2Fpflicks.shtml&cID=925"><img align="left" style="margin-left:5px" src="http://pics.picturetrail.com/res/pflicks/pt2.gif" border="0"></a><a href="http://www.picturetrail.com/misc/counter.fcgi?link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.picturetrail.com%2Fmanage%2Fflicks&cID=995"><img align="left" style="margin-left:5px" src="http://pics.picturetrail.com/res/pflicks/pt3.gif" border="0"></a></p><br /></div>sage (can be reached at: uppelto@gmail.com)http://www.blogger.com/profile/00188797249801408798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324596812662888849.post-4913274779934976082008-03-21T08:41:00.002-07:002008-03-21T08:58:24.110-07:00Note on LibraryThingI just read the latest 23 Things News. I can't say enough positive about <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">LibraryThing</span>. 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.<br /><br />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).<br /><br />I've also suggested <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">LibraryThing</span>, and demonstrated it to our Teaching and Learning Center person as a way to catalog their book collection. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">LibraryThing</span> has special groups for nonprofits. Many university and college departments use <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">LibraryThing</span> for their curriculum collections. <br /><br />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!sage (can be reached at: uppelto@gmail.com)http://www.blogger.com/profile/00188797249801408798noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324596812662888849.post-9102140442137416172008-03-11T16:00:00.000-07:002008-03-12T06:38:18.996-07:00Wish 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!<br />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:<br /><a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="http://www.maniacworld.com/frozen-in-grand-central-station.html" target="_blank">http://www.maniacworld.com/frozen-in-grand-central-station.html</a><br /><br />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.sage (can be reached at: uppelto@gmail.com)http://www.blogger.com/profile/00188797249801408798noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324596812662888849.post-13039874074932396512008-03-06T13:40:00.000-08:002008-03-06T13:55:10.649-08:00"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'.<br /><br />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, <a href="http://johnobrienpersonal.googlepages.com/webography">http://johnobrienpersonal.googlepages.com/webography</a> , 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.sage (can be reached at: uppelto@gmail.com)http://www.blogger.com/profile/00188797249801408798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324596812662888849.post-82907413763115538242008-03-05T06:51:00.000-08:002008-03-05T07:02:05.702-08:00On trading cards and recitationLast 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?<br /><br />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!sage (can be reached at: uppelto@gmail.com)http://www.blogger.com/profile/00188797249801408798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324596812662888849.post-45547451286225548652008-03-05T06:39:00.000-08:002008-03-14T15:21:20.618-07:00sage (can be reached at: uppelto@gmail.com)http://www.blogger.com/profile/00188797249801408798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324596812662888849.post-89314244555124010142008-03-04T15:47:00.001-08:002008-03-04T15:59:38.528-08:00My creation - Trading Card<div style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 10px; MARGIN-LEFT: 10px"><a title="photo sharing" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/23766931@N02/2310596237/"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-TOP: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 2px solid" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3185/2310596237_0ba58f34a5_m.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px;font-size:0;" ><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/23766931@N02/2310596237/">My creation</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/23766931@N02/">finnflix</a> </span></div><p>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. </p><p>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!!<br clear="all"></p>sage (can be reached at: uppelto@gmail.com)http://www.blogger.com/profile/00188797249801408798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324596812662888849.post-65146160640933242362008-03-04T08:40:00.000-08:002008-03-04T08:55:42.199-08:00Contemplation on letterwritingThis 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! <br /><br />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!<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.sage (can be reached at: uppelto@gmail.com)http://www.blogger.com/profile/00188797249801408798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324596812662888849.post-27955478806669871822008-03-03T07:34:00.001-08:002008-03-03T13:52:44.126-08:00Lagging a bitI'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!<br /><br />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.sage (can be reached at: uppelto@gmail.com)http://www.blogger.com/profile/00188797249801408798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324596812662888849.post-22767762659130906042008-02-23T15:23:00.000-08:002008-02-23T15:25:56.272-08:00Comfort levelI'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.sage (can be reached at: uppelto@gmail.com)http://www.blogger.com/profile/00188797249801408798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324596812662888849.post-3278952411897862402008-02-23T14:15:00.000-08:002008-02-23T14:35:42.817-08:00It'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.<br /><br />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...<br /><br />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.sage (can be reached at: uppelto@gmail.com)http://www.blogger.com/profile/00188797249801408798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324596812662888849.post-31914080102787487202008-02-21T12:36:00.000-08:002008-02-21T12:39:39.459-08:00another 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'?sage (can be reached at: uppelto@gmail.com)http://www.blogger.com/profile/00188797249801408798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324596812662888849.post-58499789137728776972008-02-20T16:31:00.000-08:002008-02-20T16:40:40.440-08:00It'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.sage (can be reached at: uppelto@gmail.com)http://www.blogger.com/profile/00188797249801408798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324596812662888849.post-14390537674841530162008-02-20T15:29:00.000-08:002008-02-21T08:12:42.551-08:00..oops!I see I misspelled 'graffiti'; though I edited in Picture Trails, I can't seem to connect it to my blog slideshow.sage (can be reached at: uppelto@gmail.com)http://www.blogger.com/profile/00188797249801408798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324596812662888849.post-930277424776290802008-02-20T15:14:00.000-08:002008-02-21T08:33:51.395-08:00Slide 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.<br /><br />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!<br /><br />I'll soon do another slideshow with people and places. I must say, I am enjoying this.sage (can be reached at: uppelto@gmail.com)http://www.blogger.com/profile/00188797249801408798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324596812662888849.post-74813434557993838882008-02-19T14:36:00.000-08:002008-02-19T14:43:14.124-08:00About 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!)sage (can be reached at: uppelto@gmail.com)http://www.blogger.com/profile/00188797249801408798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324596812662888849.post-92100989508118336502008-02-18T08:06:00.000-08:002008-02-18T08:07:50.464-08:00Aha! Flickr Spell<A id=fs_1 title=R href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/92745470@N00/1706972761"><IMG alt=R src="http://static.flickr.com/2296/1706972761_ff75e10962_t.jpg" border=0></A> <A id=fs_2 title='"I"' href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/49968232@N00/1590168934"><IMG title=I alt=I src="http://static.flickr.com/2309/1590168934_e65817d4df_t.jpg" border=0></A> <A id=fs_3 title='"IMG_9029"' href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26767541@N00/2179524616"><IMG title=IMG_9029 alt=IMG_9029 src="http://static.flickr.com/2329/2179524616_97abf9e6ff_t.jpg" border=0></A> <A id=fs_4 title=K href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/49968232@N00/772199514"><IMG alt=K src="http://static.flickr.com/1372/772199514_cbfdafd5ec_t.jpg" border=0></A>sage (can be reached at: uppelto@gmail.com)http://www.blogger.com/profile/00188797249801408798noreply@blogger.com0