Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Searching #78: Video

1) I searched for video of the Zidane headbutt against Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final. Truveo results seemed to be more focused on actual video of the event, while blinkx pulled up a lot of silly animated videos.

2) We could start by adding content, I suppose. I'm not sure of what, though. Perhaps highlighting a program or available resources.

Searching #77: Images

1) I don't know how many clicks as this site is not working today 2/24/10 5:27 PM.

2) I'm not sure flickr is such a great resource unless you are looking for pictures of people's beach holidays and house parties, but I liked the categories feature in freedigitalphotos and thought the photo quality quite good.

3) I run the book club so this could be useful clipart:







@jupiterimages

Searching #76: Sound Effects

1) Here are my three animals: tiger ; chicken ; dog .

2) Here are three from "Simply the Best Sounds": horse ; lemur ; loon .

Searching #75: Google and Beyond

1) I tend to use Google; however, I chose Bing once when I searched "A.R. Ammons" and Yahoo twice when I searched "Texas CHIP" and "Team Canada Hockey". I have been trying to use Bing since it came out in order to become familiar with it, but it might be worth going back and playing around with Yahoo again (it used to be my search tool of choice pre-Google).

2) According to Hitwise, the bulk of usage volume went to Google (70.95%), then Yahoo (14.72%), and then Bing in third (9.65%). Based on my experiment above, these numbers don't match my choice, but they do mostly go along with my day-to-day usage.

3) Exploring the search features in Yahoo, I like the SearchScan which is similar to what Google has, but I really thought the search pad was interesting: It's like having a place to take electronic notes that go beyond just search history because you can save them for later use, print them out or even e-mail search notes and links to friends or co-workers.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Crafts & Hobbies #66: Knitting and Crocheting

1. Do you knit or crochet now? Do you think you will? Would you rather make a prayer shawl, chemo hat, or lap blanket?

So no, I don't have any personal knitting or crocheting experience, but I grew up around it because my Mother crochets all the time. She's made all sorts of things, including baby blankets for the babies of every single one of my cousins, and I come from a huge family of breeders (she's also already made baby blankets for the grandchildren my wife and I haven't provided her with yet... sigh). She even crochets the little coasters the Priest at her Church sets the Chalice on during Mass at the alter (weird, right? but I guess someone has to make them). Anyway, she doesn't knit because she says it takes to long to make anything. I doubt I'd ever take up either crocheting or knitting... I have enough hobbies: sitting, sleeping, driving to and from work. If I had to choose, I'd make lap blankets because I enjoy sleeping and sitting so much, but I'd tell everyone I chose chemo hats.

2. Does your branch have a knitting group? Think about how you would start one and discuss it in your blog.

Our branch does not have a knitting group, but if we did start one, I think the best way would be to tie the knitting projects to a goal like providing hats for patients undergoing chemotherapy, helmet-liners for soldiers, or afghans for hospice patients and veterans. I think doing this would help keep group members committed to attending the program and also create an increased sense of pride in their creations.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Crafts & Hobbies #64: Zines

Would I make my own zine? I actually had my own zine years ago (okay, like a decade or so ago). It was a lot of fun--cutting and pasting (back when that involved scissors and glue), running them off at the copy place and sneaking in as many free copies as I could get away with. Good times. My zine included whatever submissions I could get from my friends. That usually included music reviews, stories, poems, some art, and reviews of the local music scene (St. Pete, Fla. circa 1990s).

As for zines finding their way into libraries, I definitely think they deserve some space in the stacks. Zines capture a different voice in our culture than regular avenues of publication, and they are just as valuable as any other from an archival stand point. It's all part of our experience, and it's probably interesting to someone. I don't know how much space a public library would be willing to give up for them, but I definitely see them in special collections, and I think public libraries might be interested in collecting locally produced zines.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Pot Luck #56: TXT U L8R - Texting

Indeed, I have texted. I don't, however, text often. Often enough to know the "lingo" I suppose, but I can't say I'm much of a fan. It is useful sometimes, and when I find it so, then I use it. As for texting and driving, I don't even like to talk on my mobile and drive at the same time, so texting and driving (especially trains) at the same time seems like extremely dangerous behavior to me.