Tired....

Wow, it's been what a couple of weeks since I last posted. That's what happens when one starts a new job and has lots to learn.

I found these quotes to be fitting for the last few days:

"Insanity is often the logic of an accurate mind overtasked."

---Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.

"There's a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line."

----Oscar LeVant

Whoopsie

Notice the different look of my blog? It's the result of me pretending like I know what I'm doing. Last night I was messing with the template and wanted to try a different one that I found on another website. So I saved my original template like recommended and put in the html code for the new one. Umm....something went wrong....very wrong and when I tried to put back my original template...something more went wrong and well, here I am with a new look and having to put some widgets back cuz' I accidently deleted them. (shrugs).

Good thing green is my favorite color but as my friend Kermit sez'.....It's Not Easy Bein' Green.

Web 2.0, Library 2.0 and TechnoLust

Cover for "Shelter Kitty Monthly",
originally uploaded by Tjflex2.

Web 2.0, and Library 2.0, it’s all about using today’s technology to the fullest and most efficient degree. Now the question is how do libraries use this technology to deliver what it is that the patrons/customers/users want or use? Before we can deliver the proverbial goods and even more importantly, we need to ask ourselves; how do you lead a horse to water and get it to drink? So how do we get everyone in library systems everywhere to board on this fast moving bandwagon?

See, we all invariably go back to what is comfortable, don’t we? We sometimes resist change. It feels safe and besides who wants to dabble in the techno-flavor of the month? Technology moves so quickly. How can one possibly keep up with it? One operating system is replaced by newer faster operating system. That neat Ipod you just bought last year has now been replaced by the ITouch, which has been integrated into the IPhone, etc, etc, etc. Then there are social networks like MySpace, FaceBook, and blogs, podcasts, and Wikis, and virtual environments like VLES, and SecondLife, not to mention hundreds of search engines. It’s a virtual smörgåsbord of ways to network with people and get information.

So why bother learning anything? It’s too freakin’ much! We’re a library for gosh sakes not IT specialists!!!

I can hear that silent scream in libraries all over the world. It’s the sound of techno-averse staff running scared. After reading Michael Stephen’s “Into a New World of Librarianship” about Library 2.0 online, I thought, dude, you’re preaching to the choir. The ones who need to read about library 2.0 and learn it are too busy gunning for the door; those are the ones you need to reach. Those are the ones we all need to reach or is it our responsibility? The answer is YES. They’re scared, they’re petrified and c’mon let’s give them a hand up on our little bandwagon. Oh, and please reassure them that we’re not going to pull a Thelma & Louise on them. No one’s going over a cliff; we’re all in this together. Talk enthusiastically about what you’re learning here, show them “the way” to a lighter, brighter, techie future, where customers/patrons come here for not only what print/media/database resources we have but because we can show them, using spiffy technology, where to find what it is they need or want.

Of course none of this being techno-averse stuff applies to me. Oh no…I’m the complete opposite. I have deeper issues (sigh). I’m afraid I suffer from Technolust. In fact I googled “12 step programs for those with technolust” but haven’t been able to find a group that meets nearby. So how do I deal with it? I keep learning, learning, learning, and live with my secret desires, even if it makes my head feel like it’s going to explode. I know; I’m hardcore huh? Sigh.

Step #1, Hi, My name is “anonymous” and I admit I am powerless over my technolust….

--to be continued

Yeah....I do the cupid shuffle

Warming up is important....

About Technology

So...a few words about technology; the good, the bad, and the “oh well”.

I love this stuff and I love electronic gadgets; things that are shiny, pretty, and cost way too much. The more buttons on the gadget, the better. And joy of all joys, my contract is up on my cellphone! So you know what THAT means??? It means I now have the perfect excuse to go out and get an electronic gadget!!! Woohoo! Right now I have my eyes on a cellphone that has GPS, is an mp3 player, and will enable me to watch TV on it. Keep in mind I never watch TV at home so why would I want a cellphone with TV viewing capabilities? (Shrugs) Because I just want one? Well, ok, I do watch occasional TV, but only "Ugly Betty." I love Ugly Betty! I'm working on trying to get hooked on "Lipstick Jungle" but that remains to be seen...literally. I've got it recorded on my handy dandy cable digital recorder and haven't watched it yet. If a TV show can make me laugh out loud I'm instantly mesmerized. Looks like I'm going off on a tangent, ok back to technology.

So anyway, isn't this techie stuff wonderful? I can, in the palm of my hand, listen to my favorite songs, call a friend, watch TV, order a pizza through the web, send and receive text messages, and get visual driving directions via the handly GPS feature, and all from a single device. Wow.

In the Ying and Yang of life, with the good comes the bad. As much as I love technology, sometimes dabbling in it makes my head hurt and leaves me feeling like the way that poochie up in the left hand corner looks....exhausted and flustered. Kinda' like the day when I fired up my computer, clicked on my itunes library icon, saw a strange message about "corrupt" something, then found that I lost nearly all of the music in my itunes library. One minute it was there, then the next minute, wait not one minute, it was a mere second!...Poof! Gone! There were nearly 25 gigs worth of music that disappeared, probably hidden in some file buried deep within the scary and untraveled recesses of my computer; somewhere where I've never ventured before…the DARK SIDE. Yikes! This is where that fear of deleting the wrong thing creeps into one’s mind. It’s enough to freeze anyone in their tracks. I think I know a fair amount of stuff about computers but I even get spooked! I'm of the "try it and see what happens variety" of computer techie wannabes, which can get one into alot of trouble. But hey, some of us have to learn the hard way. You never forget those kind of lessons.

Do you have any idea of how many songs 25 gigs is? Well... a 30 gb ipod can hold roughly 7500 songs. So, in one click of a button, thousands of songs went bye-bye. Isn't technology grand? Well, yes and no. When I ran my virus program that same day, it now said that I had a Trojan virus. Oh boy, ever had one of those??? Well, it’s truly a pain in the behind. Don’t even get me started…because It’ll just make me say “@##%$%^$#” kind of words. So, I found the yucky virus and deleted it. After reading thread after thread online on what to do when one’s Itunes library disappears, I kinda’ gave up and decided I’d just start all over again. I rationalized that I was getting tired of those songs anyway and would put add NEW songs into a different library.

A couple of months later, after listening to me whine about what happened, Luis, one of our systems guys here at the library told me that within like 30 days of that happening I could have restored my computer back to the day before I lost the music and might have been able to get all my stuff back. Sigh. Oh well…so I learned a lesson about technology the hard way; BACKUP your files AND your itunes library!!!

I still love technology though. It’s fun, it’s interesting, and yeah, sometimes a little scary.

Lifelong Learning - some thoughts

"The only kind of learning which significantly influences behavior is self-discovered or self-appropriated learning - truth that has been assimilated in experience." - Carl Rogers

You can see from my blog that I don't do things in order. I'm not trying to be different. I just like to do the fun things first. Finding photos n' animations is fun. Writing about what's going on in my head...now that's hard. Where do I start when there's so much stuff swimming around in this thick skull?

I think I've been a lifelong learner since childhood and have always been interested in how things work or what makes them tick. As a kid I grew up in rural Mesa with all kinds of farm animals, frogs, snakes, crawdads, and weird creatures, like hair snakes. That's what we called them because they looked like a strand of horse hair...but that's another story.

Of the 7-1/2 habits, the most difficult for me is "Beginning with the end in mind." No matter how hard I try to follow this habit, I invariably end up getting sidetracked. On the journey toward the end there is usually something along that path that I find more interesting and off I go on a tangent. Eventually I find my way back to the original path but by that time I've forgotten what "the end" was. I have to admit that I do learn alot though along the way and I enjoy myself. At some point, I remember what "the end" was and invariably accomplish it.

* * * *

"Dogs laugh, but they laugh with their tails. What puts man in a higher state of evolution is that he has got his laugh on the right end." ~Max Eastman

Habit #7-1/2 - Play. This one is my favorite things and also the easiest. It's got to be everyone's favorite right? Thankfully, I've never lost my sense of playfulness. Sometimes life can make it hard for one to feel playful but I think that it is an absolute necessity for our mental and emotional wellbeing. You have to be able to have fun once in awhile and above all, be willing to laugh at yourself and with others.

Learning new technology can be fun and in the process of learning it, you can definitely play. Look at the images I found below this posting. They're really very silly.