Wednesday, March 28, 2007

#23 In Summary........

My favorite exercises had to be adding blog lines and creating different accounts I may find useful for future reference. I am always wanting to learn more and gain exposure to new ideas and challenges.

Some of the steps were not intuitive and it forced me to dig deeper than I first thought. I realized just from these exercises alone, that the answer will not always be right in front of you and will keep that in mind next time I am assigned a task or duty.

The biggest surprise had to be the amount of websites I had no idea existed. The internet itself is its own culture. That took me back a bit. One could spend a lifetime exploring.

If our purpose as a public service entity is to help make things a bit easier for our patrons then my only suggestion for improvement would be to possibly combine a few of the exercises they may seem redundant to some and take our own advice. Other than that it was great to work on this and I look forward to further exploratory exercises the Library Dept. will put forth.

#22 Ebooks and Audio Ebooks

While I liked sifting through a plethora of selection and having it readily available; I feel as though having the book or cd physically in your hand is a bit more rewarding. I was never a huge fan of books on tape, I prefer reading them myself.

Podcasts and Ebooks may be the way of the future, but I'm still slow to adapt completely to this trend.

#21 Podcasts

Podcasts are a great idea. They may one day replace books on tape. There were a few interesting podcasts such as New York Times, and other periodicals. I chose to add the IBM Institute for Business Value: Insights and Perspectives Podcast. I also added some military library podcast from Pritzker as well. They provide book reviews of military books, interviews with authors, etc.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

#20 Youtube

Youtube is definitely a site I visit often. I like the fact the average joe can post videos for entertainment and blackmail. What I do not like is some of the salty comments that have been tossed back and forth between members. It makes me wonder where the line should be drawn.

I chose this video in dedication to a number of friends who served and are currently serving.

#19 LibraryThing

I noticed there were quite a bit of members with the same tastes as myself. Time to finish the book I've had checked out for a week, but have only gone a few pages into. I need to find more hours in the day....

librarything.com/catalog/thehhammer

#18 Online productivity tools

Considering I use a plethora of spreadsheets with my other job, this could come in handy. (We're still using MS Office 2000!) Yeah, I guess staying up to date with MS' numerous software updates isn't the top priority with my company.

I always thought having a web-based spreadsheet and word processing program would be a great idea; I just did not think they existed. This definitely proved me wrong.

#17 is complete

What a cool way to share eachother's interests. I'll have to check back on our wiki more often.

Saturday, February 24, 2007

#16 Wikipedia

I lust this site. I'm always interested in current events, history, and everything in between. Wiki comes in handy if I just need to be "hip" to the game on certain things. I do feel there is some biased involved, but we cannot be unquestionably neutral no matter what. The term "Fair and Balanced" comes into mind. Nonetheless it is an immensely addicting site to be on. Whether I'm "learning" fact or some one's opinion is a whole other matter.

#15 Future of Libraries

I once read that we will move into a paperless society within 20 years time. This was a few years ago. While I could picture that happening in the coming future it's hard to fathom it occurring that soon. If it happens libraries will have to move into different services.

I don't see us completely abandoning books, especially considering much of the developing world is still, well developing. There will always be a need for books, magazines and other media, much of it will be available electronically.

In the past ten years I have seen libraries change dramatically. It went from a place that you could not talk loud in, to a place where there are vending machines and DVD rentals. We'll just have to evolve with the times.

#14 Technorati

I found this to be a helpful site to collect blogs. Generally I see blogging as a great way for individuals to voice their opinions. To have a collection of blogs accessible from one general location makes it that much more beneficial.

A disadvantage of becoming a member and having your blog "tagged" could compromise your identity easily if you post enough information about yourself. Overall, it is worth the inherent "risk."

Saturday, February 17, 2007

#13 Tagging...

No not on the side of a building(that doesn't happen in the South Bay does it?). You know the way to organize your bookmarks and make life easier.

Here's how I see it. If you spend a good amount of time on the internet and your school work or employment is internet based, this would be an extremely useful tool. For the average joe like myself who gets on a computer to use wikipedia, or find out the meaning of a word from dictionary.com it could make your life more difficult trying to sift through the few pages you "organized."

#12 Rollyo

Hammeryo

My rollyo was saved as you guessed it... thehhammer

#11 Web 2.0 Award Sites

It's crazy how much there really is on the internet. There were a few familiar sites such as myspace.com, friendster.com, craigslist, youtube, google, etc. The real exciting stuff was the fact that there is life outside of these sites.

I found it useful to be able to stray from the status quo pages and see a plethora of things available right at my fingertips.

# 10 ooooorrraaaahhh

#9 done.

Check #8 I have added a few news feeds that interest me. Enjoy.

Saturday, February 3, 2007

#8 is done

Talk about thrown under the bus. This one was a PITA oh well now I can check out globalsecurity.org and peep the latest gossip from LA at the same time! Check it out...

http://www.bloglines.com/public/thehhammer

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Technology Related #7

This morning I caught part of the science channels "future week." It showed how life would be in the year 2057. I thought it was awesome, the advances in medicine, transportation, etc; look like miracles today.

For example, major organs will be grown and available as spare parts at hospitals just like picking up an oil filter at Kragens. Cars will be able to drive themselves, the flying car will finally appear. Our clothing will have sensors on them that can monitor our vital signs, transmit our location, and notify authorities if there is anything wrong with us.

Things will in no doubt become more expensive, but that's life. The future looks great.

Katharine McPhee and Rachel-Bilson FLICKRD #6

Wow...... that's all I can say. Add

Scarlett Johansson

and there would be no lonely nights on a desert island if we were stranded there together.

I love my girlfriend with all of my heart, but wow...

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Steps one, two, three, and four have been completed...

I guess I am on what... five? Well, that's cool I guess. There is just a few things I need to get off my chest right now....

Iraq and other American endeavours:

Will bringing in 21,500 more US troops make a difference in Iraq? I think it's too little, is it too late? No, it never is. Look, we pulled out of Vietnam because we did not have the will to win it. We shouldn't have been there in the first place, but when you commit American lives to a cause that you think is justified then you need to be in it to win it. I'm just not a big fan of half-as*ed attempts of stabilizing a country we destablized and firing commanders who disagree with the Whitehouse.

Clinton screwed the military with all the cutbacks of the 90's and we engage in a war in which we did not have enough troops in the first place. To rebuild Iraq, quell the insurgency, train and re-arm their military we needed 250,000+ troops. I feel Saddam needed to go sooner or later whether it was our job to go it almost alone is for history to judge (building a coalition like Bush 1 did was smart, I know we tried, but didn't give it a real attempt).

Vietnam was another blunder in which the Whitehouse felt it should micro-manage a war, select targets, hold off bombings of the North, etc. They wasted two administrations and countless Vietnamese and American lives along the way. I hope that this war doesn't go the same route the other one went 40 years ago.

Bottom line, we should have had sufficient forces to go in with and be in it for the long haul. I'm no hawk, but you fight a war to win, not to barely maintain.

Protesters:

Find something better to do. Whine whine whine, go make a damn difference instead of holding up your signs. All you're doing is disrupting traffic for people who actually have jobs and need to pay bills.

Lost:

I'm disgusted with both sides, liberals have no idea what to do when they are in power and the neo-cons are making all of the wrong decisions when they have power.

Flickr:

Next blog entry I will get some pictures posted... Good bye.

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Rough Start for '07

Hopefully the following months of 2007 will bring for a better year. It was certainly a less than great start. We'll start with the bad then work our way up.

Let's see, a buddy of mine is now in Iraq doing G-d knows what. All I hope is that he returns in one piece since this is now round two for him.

I attended a funeral this week for a fallen comrade. He was probably the nicest guys I have ever met. He spent six years in the Marines and always strived to be the best at whatever he took on. I was taken back when hearing the news of his passing. It shook me up, but I know that this is the world we live in. The service was beautiful and over three hundred people attended so I am glad his friends and family were there to pay their respects. He will be missed, RIP Joe.

Last week, someone hit and ran my three month old car. I am getting it dropped off soon to be repaired. As you can see we're not off to a great start.

I rolled my left ankle and I am starting to feel the effects of runner's knee, my luck.

I do feel I am moving back into an upward swing.

Beginning 1 January I have been doing boot-camp workouts again. It has really increased my stamina and overall stregnth. I'd like to lose around 40lbs. It sounds like a lot, but I am determined. I also run a lot too (about 5 miles a week).

I'll be interviewing for a position within my company for a much higher salary and greater responsibility. Challenges are what I live for. Let's hope I do get it and won't be in over my head. In life, you always want something to fall back on. SJPD is hiring over the next four years or so. I think that may be my calling...