Nap Time

An older, tired-looking dog wandered into my yard.
I could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home
and was well taken care of. 

He calmly came over to me, I gave him a few pats on his head; 
he then followed me into my house, slowly walked down the 
hall, curled up in the corner and fell asleep. 
  
 
An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out. 
  
The next day he was back, greeted me in my yard, walked inside and
resumed his spot in the hall and again slept for about an hour. 
This continued off and on for several weeks. 
  
Curious I pinned a note to his collar: 'I would like to find out who
the owner of this wonderful sweet dog is 
and ask if you are aware that almost every afternoon your dog comes
to my house for a nap.' 
  
The next day he arrived for his nap, with a different note pinned to
his collar: 
'He lives in a home with 6 children, 2 under the age of  3 - he's
trying to catch up on his sleep. 
Can I come with him tomorrow?
 
.. 

Merry Christmas and …

So finally taking the time to say hello and — Merry Christmas! in 2009. Just in time. It’s slipping away very fast, too fast, in fact.  Time: so very valuable.  Learn to take it slow but make it work.

“Life in the Rain”

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass.

It’s about learning to dance in the rain.”

Thing 22 and 23: Reflection on A Learning Experience

This has been a lovely way to become acquainted with new technologies. We are almost constantly using computers and the internet. This project has made me more aware of what’s out there, how it is being used and has certainly increased my tech vocabulary. And it is necessary to keep up as best we can. I can think of no one who would not benefit from the information offered in 23 Things:  Web 2.0.

My favorite of the 23 things:  Delicious.  My online faves.  Yum.

My favorite new thing:  Google Docs.   How handy. A sheet of paper and a spreadsheet at your fingertips. And a place to file them.
There were a few that I didn’t like and most likely will not use, but knowing about them and how they are used is certainly to my advantage. 

“The more that you read, the more things you will know.                                  The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”                                                    Dr. Seuss

Thank you for the opportunity to read and learn…

Thing 21: PodCasts

Podcasting is…

In short, Podcasting is producing a series of episodes and publishing it on the internet, ready to download. (The term podcast is derived from Apple’s iPod mp3-player, and the term broadcast.) Podcasting is a bit like producing radio shows aimed at listeners through a personal computer or mp3-player. The Podcast-episodes (“radioshows”) are automatically downloaded onto your mp3-player through a subscription.

Podcasting is the ultimate form of audio-on-demand: you can listen to your favorite show whenever, wherever and as much as you want!

Listened to a cut from Collusion an album by a Dallas based

group called 1000 Miles From Home

Vidcasting (VODcasting)

Vidcasting (vidcasting) is the audiovisual version of Podcasting. Vidcasting can best be compared to producing a television show, instead of a radio show. Because of its visual nature, Vidcasting requires a portable player that is capable of playing video file formats (such as Apple’s Video iPod). Most PC’s can already receive both sound and video files.
So what’s in it for you? Well, a LOT! For both Podcast Listeners and Pod- or Vidcasters.

What’s a podcast?

A podcast is a free video or audio series — like a TV or radio show — that you download from iTunes and play on your computer, iPod, iPhone, or Apple TV. Visit the iTunes Store to search for podcasts that pique your interest. Once you find one, give it a quick listen, then click a single button to subscribe.

Download thousands for free.

Thousands of podcasts in dozens of categories make for a smorgasbord of entertainment. And it’s all free. Simply find the podcasts you want, click Subscribe, and voilà! You get the most recent episode — and all future episodes — delivered directly to your iTunes library. Or download past episodes by clicking the Get Episode button.

Sounds like a plan, but the system administrator won’t allow me to download itunes store info, so I cannnot see what sort of free podcasts are available.  But I do get the concept.

Just searching for a list of the Harlem Globetrotters. One of the possibilities was Stars & Stripes…and it offered the opportunity to follow via podcast.  Voila!!  It’s become part of  library reference.

YouTube: Thing no.20

Watched this short video memorializing the June 2009 opening of the Azle Memorial Library                                

“This design shows what a 21st century library shoud be:   Lots of open space, meeting and study rooms, wifi, coffee area, large veranda, computers, amphitheater, park woodland trails — not just a warehouse for books.”

Fairly well done and interesting, at least to me since it’s a local library.

Not nearly as fun as some clips I’ve seen on YouTube, ie. commercial advertising like Jack in the Box.   hmmm….$$$, I suppose make a difference.

Cloud computing

Amazon reaches into customers’ Kindles and remotely deletes already-purchased books. Facebook launches Beacon, an advertising mechanism that collects and publishes information about what you do on external web sites on your Facebook profile (only to apologize and offer opt-out later).  Twitter doesn’t offer the ability to export more than 3,200 status updates. Flickr only lets you see the last 200 photos you uploaded if you don’t have a paid Pro account. MySpace and Facebook don’t immediately remove photos from their servers when you delete them.

When you’re living in the cloud, you’re beholden to a third party who can make decisions about your data and platform in ways never seen before in computing.

Server Unavailability and Account Lockout

One of the biggest benefits of storing your data in the cloud is that you don’t have to worry about backing it up anymore. Big companies with hundreds of servers are more reliable than your little external hard drive, right? Yes. But servers do go down, and when you’re dependent on a web application to get your email or access that PowerPoint slideshow for the big presentation, there’s always the risk that your internet connection will go down, or that the webapp’s servers will. Offline technologies like Google Gears, decent export functionality, and a good backup system can ameliorate this particular concern, but not all systems offer those things.

Getting locked out of your webapp account is another possible pitfall.           The NY Times reports:

Discussion forums abound with tales of woe from Gmail customers who have found themselves locked out of their account for days or even weeks. They were innocent victims of security measures, which automatically suspend access if someone tries unsuccessfully to log on repeatedly to an account. The customers express frustration that they can’t speak with anyone at Google after filling out the company’s online forms and waiting in vain for Google to restore access to their accounts.

(If you’re worried about getting locked out of your Gmail account in particular, here’s one way to automatically back up your mail to your computer.)

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Don’t get me wrong: I personally am right on the cloud bandwagon with all of you. My web browser is the one app I run on my desktop at all times; I’ve entrusted the likes of Google, Apple, Amazon, and Yahoo with my data just like you have. The key is to know what you’re getting into when you make that choice, to ratchet up your personal security mechanisms (like alternate email addresses and password choices) and to lobby for better user protection by hosting providers in the cloud.

What is your biggest concern about living in the cloud?

What risk factor worries you most about relying on webapps and storing your data in the cloud?

Gina Trapani, Lifehacker’s founding editor, is cautiously optimistic about the future of cloud computing.

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StumbleUpon

So why is Stumbleupon a useful web site on the Internet? Wouldn’t Google be more useful?

Well folks, as good as Google is, it is a keyword search tool. Stumbleupon is so much more human and intimate than that. Stumbleupon is the collective recommendations of thousands of hours of searching by web users who share your interests.

Call it a “recommendation engine”. Stumblers add to this engine by providing their personal recommendations on what sites are worth your time. Thousands of people who share your interests and hobbies will point you to the sites that they personally recommend. And guaranteed, you will like many of these recommendations.

The Internet just got smaller in a good way, folks. Stumbling is so much more satisfying than Googling.

Try “stumbling” for yourself. You won’t be disappointed: http://www.stumbleupon.com/

Google docs

Google Docs is a free, web-based word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, and form application offered by Google. It allows us to create and edit documents online.  This is another very practical ‘thing’ that lets me keep my docs in the cloud and access them from any computer.  I’m not really ready to share right now, but I can see the value.

Wiki page

http://dfw23things.wetpaint.com/page/jude