Well, it's been months and months since I've posted here. I look at the link on my iGoogle home page every day, and think to myself, "The last post talks about spring arriving, and here it is the dead of winter. I really should write something. But what?"
Something that's been percolating in the back of my brain has to do with all the connectivity we have in this modern age. Take me, for example. I have six email addresses and three telephone numbers, one of which is, of course, a cell phone with text messaging. I'm on Facebook, Ning, LinkedIn, Twitter. I have a blog, (actually two), a Bloglines account to manage my RSS feeds, and a web page. I'm sure if I thought about it, I'd have other things I could list, too.
But how much of that do I actually USE? Well, email, for sure. And I use all six of those accounts for various things - one is for my friends & family, one is my "accounts" address - when you have to use an email address to sign up for things (like Facebook) which I check less frequently (though I DO check it) - one is my work address, one is for my youth theatre group, and the other is sort of part work-related/part personal.
As for the rest - I get on Facebook infrequently, because it's blocked at work (yeah, I know I have a filter override password, but I don't like using it for something like that) and it loads really slowly at home for some reason. Takes forever sometimes! I have almost never used LinkedIn, and I follow some folks on Twitter (Sockington the cat is my personal favorite), though I seldom tweet myself.
I do tend to use Ning a lot; we use it for theatre-related things. It's a great way to set up a communication network for the kids in our show casts (thank you, Stephen Miller, for that wonderful idea!). We can post schedules, pictures, videos, exchange ideas, send messages. Works great!
The RSS feeds are useful; I do check my Bloglines, but once again, I need to pare that down. There are some feeds on there that seemed like a good idea at one time, but I don't look at them.
Some days, though, I simply feel overwhelmed by all the technology and, paradoxically, guilty that I don't use it more efficiently and effectively. Perhaps that's why I was so intrigued to hear about the Web 2.0 Suicide Machine when I was listening to NPR on the way to work yesterday. Apparently I'm not the only one feeling overcome by the thought of being caught in the Web!
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Friday, January 08, 2010
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
How Did That Happen?
How on earth did it get to be February already? Two-thirds of the way through, at that, and I haven't posted anything since New Year's Eve. Yikes!
Well, it HAS been busy. "Prelude to a Kiss" took up a lot of my time. But that's been over for two weeks now (I think), so I shouldn't have any excuses, should I?
I'm going to take a page out of Gail's book and set this up to do my Facebook notes. Consolidation is a wonderful thing! And further, I'm finally going to do the "25 Random Things About Me" thing that my co-workers have been doing. I might be late to the party, but that doesn't mean I can't have a good time, right?
Okay, here goes:
1. I have always loved to read. Even before I actually learned to read, I would see my parents reading, especially my mother and I wanted to do it, too. My mom told me that I would learn when I went to school, and I looked forward to that day so fervently - when I came home after the first day of first grade (I didn't go to Kindergarten) I was crushed because we hadn't learned to read that first day!
2. In spite of the fact that I don't have any issues in telling people facts about myself, I am really a pretty private person. There are only a very few people in my life to whom I have ever really opened up and shared my deepest, most private thoughts and feelings.
3. My mom has been dead for almost 15 years and I still miss her every day. She was one of those to whom I referred in #2...
4. Most people think of me as a cat person, and I DO love my cats, but I grew up with dogs and really didn't like cats all that well as a kid. That was mostly because a) my dad hated cats and b) my great-aunt Mary had a cat that was old and cranky and scratched me once because I was trying to pet her. (The cat, not my Aunt.) It wasn't until I had graduated from college and moved in with my friend Terri and her cats that I discovered that I really did love cats! But if I were home more, I'd have dogs, too. I'm glad that John shares his dogs with me!
5. My obsession with giant pandas is actually a fairly recent phenomenon...within the past 4 years or so, and it grew out of my love for cats. I had been watching a litter of cheetah cubs at the National Zoo on their webcam and discovered the Pandacam by accident; they were watching Mei Xiang for a possible pregnancy at the time. A few months later Tai Shan was born...and I was hooked!
6. I love computer and video games. Once I start, I have a hard time stopping!
7. I have two entire shelves of a bookcase devoted to books by and about J.R.R. Tolkien.
8. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a writer. My best friend was a very talented artist and we teamed up - I wrote, she illustrated. Somewhere I still have some of those stories - could be scary!
9. In addition to wanting to be a writer, in 6th grade I knew I wanted to be a teacher. But it wasn't till jr. year in high school that I decided for sure I wanted to teach music. Up to that point I couldn't decide whether I wanted to teach biology or music.
10. I learned how to play chess in the 7th grade to impress a boy. (Don't laugh; he's probably a nuclear physicist or something like that now!) That didn't last very long, but I still remember how to play chess...
11. When I was in college, my friends and I had Canasta tournaments on Saturday nights. (Yes, I was just a wild party animal.) Hmmm...I DON'T remember how to play Canasta.
12. I am easily startled, but not easily frightened.
13. I have never lived alone, but I know I wouldn't mind it at all. I actually rather enjoy being alone.
14.I started drinking coffee on a regular basis when I was about 12. It was a bonding thing with my mom.
15. I have three sisters and no brothers, but I have always wanted a brother. When I was little I usedto ask Santa for an older brother every year until I figured out the logistics of that...then I decided that a little one was better than nothing. Never got one, though, even though I offered several times to trade one of my younger sisters with a good friend for one of her brothers.
16. When I was in 4th grade my best friend went home sick from school with what we thought was a cold. That was on a Monday, I think...by Wednesday she was in the hospital; Thursday evening my mom went to visit her for me (kids weren't allowed); Friday morning my mother told me over breakfast that Claire had died. I remember that it was Friday the 13th of October and she apparently had some rare disease that no one had ever heard of before.
17. I don't walk properly. I walk toe-to-heel instead of heel-to-toe unless I'm really thinking about it.
18. My first "real" job was as a clerk-typist in an insurance company. I have also worked playing background music in a men's club (listen, it was the club my dad went to, so there was nothing shady about it), as a waitress, as a cashier/sales person in women's clothing and children's shoes, as a music teacher, as a computer lab manager, as an instructional support person. That's pretty much it...but interestingly enough, all my jobs have required working with some sort of keyboard. Too bad I never took typing!
19. The first show I was ever in was "Oklahoma!" when I was in 10th grade. Up till that point I was much too shy to audition for anything, and only did it because my best friend talked me into it. (If she'd only know what she was starting...)
20. Although I got my driver's license when I was 16, I never really drove much till I was 21. ( Of course, I didn't pass the driver's test the first time, but that's a whole story in itself.) I just didn't really have any need to drive till I moved away from home, and I didn't really like it all that well. In fact, I never really felt comfortable driving till I was about 30 - when I had to drive back and forth from Albany while I was working on my Master's degree.
21. Pet peeves: people taking up two parking spaces, leaving cabinet doors open, rude and inconsiderate behavior in general. Want to send me over the edge? Mis-shelve books...
22. I love shoes and hats, but I seldom wear hats and I only wear about three different pairs of shoes most of the time.
23. I don't mind bugs, snakes, or most rodents. Mice don't bother me, though I don't particularly care for them in the house, but there's something about rats that creep me out. I think it's the tails...I don't like possums, either, and they have the same kind of tails.
24. Up until I was about 40, I had an unreasonable fear of bridges. I couldn't drive over one without a racing heart and sweaty knuckles; I was practically paralyzed walking over one (and I had to walk over one to get to school); I had nightmares about them. I'm not sure why the fear went away, but it did...now I barely even notice if I'm going over one.
25. When I was in college I studied harp. Wish I still played...though I don't really know where I'd put one if I did!
So there you have it. Happy New Year, a month or so late, and happy February!
Well, it HAS been busy. "Prelude to a Kiss" took up a lot of my time. But that's been over for two weeks now (I think), so I shouldn't have any excuses, should I?
I'm going to take a page out of Gail's book and set this up to do my Facebook notes. Consolidation is a wonderful thing! And further, I'm finally going to do the "25 Random Things About Me" thing that my co-workers have been doing. I might be late to the party, but that doesn't mean I can't have a good time, right?
Okay, here goes:
1. I have always loved to read. Even before I actually learned to read, I would see my parents reading, especially my mother and I wanted to do it, too. My mom told me that I would learn when I went to school, and I looked forward to that day so fervently - when I came home after the first day of first grade (I didn't go to Kindergarten) I was crushed because we hadn't learned to read that first day!
2. In spite of the fact that I don't have any issues in telling people facts about myself, I am really a pretty private person. There are only a very few people in my life to whom I have ever really opened up and shared my deepest, most private thoughts and feelings.
3. My mom has been dead for almost 15 years and I still miss her every day. She was one of those to whom I referred in #2...
4. Most people think of me as a cat person, and I DO love my cats, but I grew up with dogs and really didn't like cats all that well as a kid. That was mostly because a) my dad hated cats and b) my great-aunt Mary had a cat that was old and cranky and scratched me once because I was trying to pet her. (The cat, not my Aunt.) It wasn't until I had graduated from college and moved in with my friend Terri and her cats that I discovered that I really did love cats! But if I were home more, I'd have dogs, too. I'm glad that John shares his dogs with me!
5. My obsession with giant pandas is actually a fairly recent phenomenon...within the past 4 years or so, and it grew out of my love for cats. I had been watching a litter of cheetah cubs at the National Zoo on their webcam and discovered the Pandacam by accident; they were watching Mei Xiang for a possible pregnancy at the time. A few months later Tai Shan was born...and I was hooked!
6. I love computer and video games. Once I start, I have a hard time stopping!
7. I have two entire shelves of a bookcase devoted to books by and about J.R.R. Tolkien.
8. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a writer. My best friend was a very talented artist and we teamed up - I wrote, she illustrated. Somewhere I still have some of those stories - could be scary!
9. In addition to wanting to be a writer, in 6th grade I knew I wanted to be a teacher. But it wasn't till jr. year in high school that I decided for sure I wanted to teach music. Up to that point I couldn't decide whether I wanted to teach biology or music.
10. I learned how to play chess in the 7th grade to impress a boy. (Don't laugh; he's probably a nuclear physicist or something like that now!) That didn't last very long, but I still remember how to play chess...
11. When I was in college, my friends and I had Canasta tournaments on Saturday nights. (Yes, I was just a wild party animal.) Hmmm...I DON'T remember how to play Canasta.
12. I am easily startled, but not easily frightened.
13. I have never lived alone, but I know I wouldn't mind it at all. I actually rather enjoy being alone.
14.I started drinking coffee on a regular basis when I was about 12. It was a bonding thing with my mom.
15. I have three sisters and no brothers, but I have always wanted a brother. When I was little I usedto ask Santa for an older brother every year until I figured out the logistics of that...then I decided that a little one was better than nothing. Never got one, though, even though I offered several times to trade one of my younger sisters with a good friend for one of her brothers.
16. When I was in 4th grade my best friend went home sick from school with what we thought was a cold. That was on a Monday, I think...by Wednesday she was in the hospital; Thursday evening my mom went to visit her for me (kids weren't allowed); Friday morning my mother told me over breakfast that Claire had died. I remember that it was Friday the 13th of October and she apparently had some rare disease that no one had ever heard of before.
17. I don't walk properly. I walk toe-to-heel instead of heel-to-toe unless I'm really thinking about it.
18. My first "real" job was as a clerk-typist in an insurance company. I have also worked playing background music in a men's club (listen, it was the club my dad went to, so there was nothing shady about it), as a waitress, as a cashier/sales person in women's clothing and children's shoes, as a music teacher, as a computer lab manager, as an instructional support person. That's pretty much it...but interestingly enough, all my jobs have required working with some sort of keyboard. Too bad I never took typing!
19. The first show I was ever in was "Oklahoma!" when I was in 10th grade. Up till that point I was much too shy to audition for anything, and only did it because my best friend talked me into it. (If she'd only know what she was starting...)
20. Although I got my driver's license when I was 16, I never really drove much till I was 21. ( Of course, I didn't pass the driver's test the first time, but that's a whole story in itself.) I just didn't really have any need to drive till I moved away from home, and I didn't really like it all that well. In fact, I never really felt comfortable driving till I was about 30 - when I had to drive back and forth from Albany while I was working on my Master's degree.
21. Pet peeves: people taking up two parking spaces, leaving cabinet doors open, rude and inconsiderate behavior in general. Want to send me over the edge? Mis-shelve books...
22. I love shoes and hats, but I seldom wear hats and I only wear about three different pairs of shoes most of the time.
23. I don't mind bugs, snakes, or most rodents. Mice don't bother me, though I don't particularly care for them in the house, but there's something about rats that creep me out. I think it's the tails...I don't like possums, either, and they have the same kind of tails.
24. Up until I was about 40, I had an unreasonable fear of bridges. I couldn't drive over one without a racing heart and sweaty knuckles; I was practically paralyzed walking over one (and I had to walk over one to get to school); I had nightmares about them. I'm not sure why the fear went away, but it did...now I barely even notice if I'm going over one.
25. When I was in college I studied harp. Wish I still played...though I don't really know where I'd put one if I did!
So there you have it. Happy New Year, a month or so late, and happy February!
Saturday, October 11, 2008
This & That
So I haven't been posting lately for a couple of reasons:
1) My life has been entirely consumed by the current theatre production ("Evita")
2) I've been spending time writing on Facebook instead
As to the former, there's one more show to go. Two weekends, as usual - and this time it's with a twist, as we had two different actresses playing Eva Peron. The woman who was originally cast ended up with a conflict so that we had the understudy do it the second weekend.
What's so interesting about all that is that when we did the auditions and the casting, John, the director, was very divided about which of the two he was going to cast. One of them (last weekend) was more operatic and actually kind of resembled Eva Peron (but not with blond hair). The other was much more of a Broadway type and looked more like Patti LuPone playing Eva Peron. He agonized and said, "But I want them both!" - and apparently someone in the Universe was listening and granted his wish.
So. Having said all that - we've had five good productions, and I have expanded my technology repertoire to include a semi-mastery of a very cool product called Sinfonia®. It's a system that allows you to have a full orchestra at your fingertips even when you don't have the room for the entire group! Check it out here. I had a great time using it!
Now, as for Facebook - well, let's just say that I'm up to 31 friends and I think it's very fun! I've talked to folks I haven't seen in years. And it's all because some of my colleagues created accounts there and I submitted to peer pressure and logged on, too.
:-)
In panda news...there's a new little guy at the Atlanta Zoo! Mei Lan has a little brother, and Lun Lun is just as wonderful a mother this time around.
1) My life has been entirely consumed by the current theatre production ("Evita")
2) I've been spending time writing on Facebook instead
As to the former, there's one more show to go. Two weekends, as usual - and this time it's with a twist, as we had two different actresses playing Eva Peron. The woman who was originally cast ended up with a conflict so that we had the understudy do it the second weekend.
What's so interesting about all that is that when we did the auditions and the casting, John, the director, was very divided about which of the two he was going to cast. One of them (last weekend) was more operatic and actually kind of resembled Eva Peron (but not with blond hair). The other was much more of a Broadway type and looked more like Patti LuPone playing Eva Peron. He agonized and said, "But I want them both!" - and apparently someone in the Universe was listening and granted his wish.
So. Having said all that - we've had five good productions, and I have expanded my technology repertoire to include a semi-mastery of a very cool product called Sinfonia®. It's a system that allows you to have a full orchestra at your fingertips even when you don't have the room for the entire group! Check it out here. I had a great time using it!
Now, as for Facebook - well, let's just say that I'm up to 31 friends and I think it's very fun! I've talked to folks I haven't seen in years. And it's all because some of my colleagues created accounts there and I submitted to peer pressure and logged on, too.
:-)
In panda news...there's a new little guy at the Atlanta Zoo! Mei Lan has a little brother, and Lun Lun is just as wonderful a mother this time around.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
A moment away from the server
Just needed a break from rebuilding a software installation. I'm totally redoing the WebOPAC - moving it from one version to a newer version, and unfortunately, that doesn't just mean an upgrade of the software. It's a whole new install, and then each of the 40+ sites needs to be individually rebuilt, the links changed on the web page, their visual OPACs transferred from the old to the new, etc. Tedious work. The installation resisted me for a long time and didn't want to work properly, but I finally got it to see my point of view. It does, however, still occasionally stop working just to show me it can.
Random thoughts:
Yes, there is justification for my having a Wii. Truly. Educause says so.
Busy week last week; I was out of the office to work on the kids' theatre stuff I do every summer. This year we actually ran two productions, which went VERY well! The kids were fabulous and I think they had a good time. I did too, all in all, but boy, was I tired when it was all over! I'm not sure I'm recovered still.
Panda watchers everywhere are zeroed in on the National Zoo in Washington and the Atlanta Zoo (in Atlanta, of course) to see whether Mei Xiang and Lun Lun, respectively, will "bear" another cub this year! Pandas go through all the symptoms of pregnancy whether or not they are actually expecting, so we'll just have to wait for a birth or cessation of symptoms. I'm hoping that Tai Shan (Washington) and Mei Lan (Atlanta) will both have new siblings this year! The other two zoos in the U.S. that have giant pandas, San Diego and Memphis, are out of the running - San Diego's Bai Yun is still nursing Zhen Zhen, and Ya Ya, the female in Memphis, didn't go into estrus this year. Well, she's still young!
In the meantime, we can look forward to a 1 year birthday celebration for little Zhen in San Diego on August 3rd!
:-)
Random thoughts:
Yes, there is justification for my having a Wii. Truly. Educause says so.
Busy week last week; I was out of the office to work on the kids' theatre stuff I do every summer. This year we actually ran two productions, which went VERY well! The kids were fabulous and I think they had a good time. I did too, all in all, but boy, was I tired when it was all over! I'm not sure I'm recovered still.
Panda watchers everywhere are zeroed in on the National Zoo in Washington and the Atlanta Zoo (in Atlanta, of course) to see whether Mei Xiang and Lun Lun, respectively, will "bear" another cub this year! Pandas go through all the symptoms of pregnancy whether or not they are actually expecting, so we'll just have to wait for a birth or cessation of symptoms. I'm hoping that Tai Shan (Washington) and Mei Lan (Atlanta) will both have new siblings this year! The other two zoos in the U.S. that have giant pandas, San Diego and Memphis, are out of the running - San Diego's Bai Yun is still nursing Zhen Zhen, and Ya Ya, the female in Memphis, didn't go into estrus this year. Well, she's still young!
In the meantime, we can look forward to a 1 year birthday celebration for little Zhen in San Diego on August 3rd!
:-)
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Welcome to July
Towards the end of the school year, the librarians always say to me things like, "You must look forward to summer when it's quieter" and "Enjoy your vacation." Ha!
Here we are at the 10th of July, and so far I haven't had a single day that hasn't been busy - almost to the point of frenzy, sometimes. Sure, email is slower (I think I've gotten 2 today that were both work-related and reasonably important), and the phone doesn't ring as much, but there is still LOTS to do.
Today, for example, I've been attempting to rebuild the WebOPAC. It's been slow going, and so far not successful at all. The only reason I have time right now to post to this blog is because I had to reboot the server to apply an update, and it's not willing to come back up. I called the Help Desk to have someone physically hit the power button, but of course all the server team is in a meeting, so I'm monitoring a ping request but still getting the "Request Timed Out" response. This project will likely continue into tomorrow!
Well, I think I will go clear some stuff off my laptop. It's running very slowly and I think it's cause it's over half full. Gets like that!
Here we are at the 10th of July, and so far I haven't had a single day that hasn't been busy - almost to the point of frenzy, sometimes. Sure, email is slower (I think I've gotten 2 today that were both work-related and reasonably important), and the phone doesn't ring as much, but there is still LOTS to do.
Today, for example, I've been attempting to rebuild the WebOPAC. It's been slow going, and so far not successful at all. The only reason I have time right now to post to this blog is because I had to reboot the server to apply an update, and it's not willing to come back up. I called the Help Desk to have someone physically hit the power button, but of course all the server team is in a meeting, so I'm monitoring a ping request but still getting the "Request Timed Out" response. This project will likely continue into tomorrow!
Well, I think I will go clear some stuff off my laptop. It's running very slowly and I think it's cause it's over half full. Gets like that!
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Ai Haz A Wii!!!
My favorite friend Sue called me this afternoon while I was bathing the dogs and left me a voice message telling me that she was at the Mall and had just walked past the GameStop store. They had a sign out saying that they had Wiis in stock! So I hustled myself up there (okay, it was almost an hour later, but only because I had to wait for Bill) AND - I now have a Wii!! So far I've played three games of tennis (I actually won one) and bowled two games (I got a 123 and a 185).
The dogs watched me, but were not impressed. They wanted to go outside. So after my two games of bowling and three games of tennis, we went out onto the deck so I could brush them and clean Sarah's ears. During this time, I happened to look over toward the sliding doors and discovered Triscuit sitting inside glaring at us, and Pierre was at the top of the stairs.
Bill came out to grill hamburgers for dinner, so I left the girls out on the deck with him and came in to have a few moments with my kitties. I'm not sure where Pierre went, but Triscuit has had a brushing and is now sitting next to me on the bed purring happily (it's HER bed, after all). I hate to break it to her that the dogs won't be staying outside indefinitely...
Burgers are done - more later!!
The dogs watched me, but were not impressed. They wanted to go outside. So after my two games of bowling and three games of tennis, we went out onto the deck so I could brush them and clean Sarah's ears. During this time, I happened to look over toward the sliding doors and discovered Triscuit sitting inside glaring at us, and Pierre was at the top of the stairs.
Bill came out to grill hamburgers for dinner, so I left the girls out on the deck with him and came in to have a few moments with my kitties. I'm not sure where Pierre went, but Triscuit has had a brushing and is now sitting next to me on the bed purring happily (it's HER bed, after all). I hate to break it to her that the dogs won't be staying outside indefinitely...
Burgers are done - more later!!
Monday, June 23, 2008
Monday, Monday
School's almost out. For me, that means a lot of end-of-the-year questions, like which reports should be run for final statistics and that sort of thing. Other than that, it's fairly quiet, which is why I thought today would be a fine day to take as a vacation day and recover from a VERY busy weekend.
Here's the thing...I'm working on two shows at once. Well, actually three. Our kids' theatre group had 67 kids audition, so we split them into two groups and are doing two shows. It's kind of mind-boggling...I'm not so sure we should've done it, but there you are.
The other show doesn't go up till this fall, but we're getting a head start on it now; it's "Evita" and that's a pretty massive show. Had auditions this past weekend, and between the three days of auditions for that and an all-morning rehearsal for the kids' shows, I was pretty beat. So, as I said, I opted to stay home and sleep.
I should have known better. It seems that every time I think it's going to be quiet and I can take a day, something happens. Today it was server issues. Had to log on via VPN to reset a server. Of course, I always foolishly check my email, and there was a pretty full inbox today, even though when I left last Friday I had it down to three.
So I've got plenty to do tomorrow. First thing I need to do is make that the troubleshooting sheet I left with Kelli is up-to-date and that she remembers to actually use it! :-)
Here's the thing...I'm working on two shows at once. Well, actually three. Our kids' theatre group had 67 kids audition, so we split them into two groups and are doing two shows. It's kind of mind-boggling...I'm not so sure we should've done it, but there you are.
The other show doesn't go up till this fall, but we're getting a head start on it now; it's "Evita" and that's a pretty massive show. Had auditions this past weekend, and between the three days of auditions for that and an all-morning rehearsal for the kids' shows, I was pretty beat. So, as I said, I opted to stay home and sleep.
I should have known better. It seems that every time I think it's going to be quiet and I can take a day, something happens. Today it was server issues. Had to log on via VPN to reset a server. Of course, I always foolishly check my email, and there was a pretty full inbox today, even though when I left last Friday I had it down to three.
So I've got plenty to do tomorrow. First thing I need to do is make that the troubleshooting sheet I left with Kelli is up-to-date and that she remembers to actually use it! :-)
Friday, March 28, 2008
Fridays
What is it about Fridays?
They seem to go by so slowly sometimes. Today is one of those...I've been totally devoid of ambition, but have still managed to accomplish some things. Mostly things that could have waited, of course, like reorganizing my bookmarks (and I had quite a few dead links, thank you very much), but things that leave you with a feeling of satisfaction nevertheless.
It's interesting to go back and look at the things you've bookmarked over the course of time. Some of the links are used often; some I have not looked at since the first time I added them to my favorites. I got tired of organizing them after awhile (I have lots of them!), and since I use two browsers that means I'll have to go check Internet Explorer and see what links I have there that I don't have in Firefox, then export and re-import. It's a lengthy process...
I am not the only one suffering from lack of ambition today, either. Just before lunch, several of my colleagues and I rearranged the lunch area. A couple of file cabinets had been moved out this morning, giving us room to expand, and we took advantage of the opportunity! It is really going to disturb a few of the folks who weren't here, I think, who have difficulty with any deviation from standard practices. All the more reason to do it!
They seem to go by so slowly sometimes. Today is one of those...I've been totally devoid of ambition, but have still managed to accomplish some things. Mostly things that could have waited, of course, like reorganizing my bookmarks (and I had quite a few dead links, thank you very much), but things that leave you with a feeling of satisfaction nevertheless.
It's interesting to go back and look at the things you've bookmarked over the course of time. Some of the links are used often; some I have not looked at since the first time I added them to my favorites. I got tired of organizing them after awhile (I have lots of them!), and since I use two browsers that means I'll have to go check Internet Explorer and see what links I have there that I don't have in Firefox, then export and re-import. It's a lengthy process...
I am not the only one suffering from lack of ambition today, either. Just before lunch, several of my colleagues and I rearranged the lunch area. A couple of file cabinets had been moved out this morning, giving us room to expand, and we took advantage of the opportunity! It is really going to disturb a few of the folks who weren't here, I think, who have difficulty with any deviation from standard practices. All the more reason to do it!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Procrastination
Mondays are never consistent. Some Mondays I come in and am inundated with phone calls, emails, people dropping by; other Mondays I would just love an email or two so that I have something on which to focus.
Actually, I guess that's true of all days, not just Mondays. It's the nature of the technical support person. Though I am not JUST a technical support person, so I do almost always have other projects to do.
I have one now, in fact, but I am procrastinating. And when you're in a mood to procrastinate, there are several things you can do:
1) Post to your blog. It gives you a feeling of accomplishment without really accomplishing anything important.
2) Stumble some sites. Have heard about StumbleUpon, but never tried it till last week. VERY cool, and somewhat addicting. It also can be very useful, I think - have found some excellent resources which I had never seen before.
3) Eat lunch. It's about that time, so I guess I will do that.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Friday, March 07, 2008
Success
There's nothing like successfully outwitting a computer, especially on a Friday.
Well, okay, I didn't actually outwit it. I mean, computers can't actually think for themselves, although it sometimes seems that way. So it was actually more like getting it to do something that I wanted it to do that I previously wasn't sure how to do. And I've actually done it three times today - once by getting the OPAC to display a new icon next to the bib records for a Playaway, once to get a computer that was stuck in maintenance mode (DeepFreeze) OUT of maintenance mode, and once to be able to edit this blog from my Infowench account instead of my other Google account. Probably all small, unimportant things, but they made me happy (and in the case of the OPAC icon, they'll make a librarian happy).
It's a good feeling.
Well, okay, I didn't actually outwit it. I mean, computers can't actually think for themselves, although it sometimes seems that way. So it was actually more like getting it to do something that I wanted it to do that I previously wasn't sure how to do. And I've actually done it three times today - once by getting the OPAC to display a new icon next to the bib records for a Playaway, once to get a computer that was stuck in maintenance mode (DeepFreeze) OUT of maintenance mode, and once to be able to edit this blog from my Infowench account instead of my other Google account. Probably all small, unimportant things, but they made me happy (and in the case of the OPAC icon, they'll make a librarian happy).
It's a good feeling.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Fun toys
My friend and fellow librarian Jill sent me a link a little while back to Big Huge Labs. It's affiliated with Flickr; if you have a Flickr account you can link to it and create really fun stuff. Actually, you can create fun stuff without the Flickr account, but if you have one there are some cool features like being able to upload pictures and find them again easily.
So far I've played with the Movie Poster creator, the Framer, the Jigsaw puzzle, and the Lolcat Generator. I used my cat Pierre as the subject for this one:
So far I've played with the Movie Poster creator, the Framer, the Jigsaw puzzle, and the Lolcat Generator. I used my cat Pierre as the subject for this one:
He's such a goon! And he doesn't even really LIKE pineapple.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Patience is not always a virtue
All this week the network's been getting progressively slower and slower...a real frustration when you're trying to access the Internet, answer email, answer the phone (which is voice over IP, of course), save documents to your H: drive, fix computer problems remotely, etc., etc., etc.
Now, maybe I'm too patient sometimes, because I just chalked it up to the fact that I know they've been working on the network this week and figured it would eventually get better. A few people who are less patient, however, called the Help Desk and complained, and lo! we were visited this afternoon by a member of the telcomm team. He replaced a small gadget in the switch, rebooted the switch (which didn't want to come right back up but apparently eventually saw things his way), and voila! We have a network that appears to be working at a reasonable speed.
Go figure.
Anytime the network goes down it's fascinating to watch how people deal with it. We're so used to working on email, Internet, etc., and folks just generally seem to be at a loss when that's taken away. I fortunately, was working on a document that was local on my machine, so I was able to keep working, and it was kind of nice not to have email or phone interruptions for a few minutes.
I was not, however, able to watch the pandas. Bummer! The news from San Diego, though, is that their little girl is now officially named Zhen Zhen (which means "Precious"). Congratulations to the staff of SDZ & especially to mom Bai Yun & dad Gao Gao!
Now, maybe I'm too patient sometimes, because I just chalked it up to the fact that I know they've been working on the network this week and figured it would eventually get better. A few people who are less patient, however, called the Help Desk and complained, and lo! we were visited this afternoon by a member of the telcomm team. He replaced a small gadget in the switch, rebooted the switch (which didn't want to come right back up but apparently eventually saw things his way), and voila! We have a network that appears to be working at a reasonable speed.
Go figure.
Anytime the network goes down it's fascinating to watch how people deal with it. We're so used to working on email, Internet, etc., and folks just generally seem to be at a loss when that's taken away. I fortunately, was working on a document that was local on my machine, so I was able to keep working, and it was kind of nice not to have email or phone interruptions for a few minutes.
I was not, however, able to watch the pandas. Bummer! The news from San Diego, though, is that their little girl is now officially named Zhen Zhen (which means "Precious"). Congratulations to the staff of SDZ & especially to mom Bai Yun & dad Gao Gao!
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