#9 - finding new feeds

Well, I looked through the 3 options given on the O!Geek site...technorati, syndic8, and topix and was a little confused by all. I never was able to find a feed for the topic I was looking for (something from the ALA) so I am not sure if the sites were not finding it...or if I am an idiot....either is possible :-) I did go to the sites that I know of to hunt down their RSS feed symbols, as I tend to only look at a few different sites every day for information anyways. The Packers is the first one I went to. The other site I tend to keep up on is www.drudgereport.com and that has several news sites that feed into it.

#8 - UPDATE

Soooo....I checked my Google reader RSS this morning (less than one day after having set it up) and I have over EIGHT HUNDRED unread articles....I don't think subscribing to all of these feeds is time-productive for me if I am going to look at even a fraction of them!

...On a sadder note

So...I am really sad today :-( Our best friends in the whole wide world moved back to Reno this morning. We had a yummy breakfast together at the Farmhouse Kitchen, and then a sad goodbye before coming in to work. The picture is a recent one of Justin and Shonee and my husband on the right...and the other one is of me and Shonee...the boys have been friends for YEARS...and Shonee and I loved each other the second we met...just a sad day!

#8 - RSS

I had heard of these before but had never put one together on my own. I used the Google Reader, so I had the 'one-less' login and password to remember. I liked the pre-packaged subject feeds they offered, I subscribed to News, Fun, Celebs, and Video. I then went through and deleted several, just keeping the ones I was interested in. The 10 I now subscribe to are: ESPN, Google News, Celebrity Gossip, Colbert Report Videos, Daily Show Videos, Google Video, Quotes of the Day, YouTube - most watched, Parents.com, and Unshelved. As of the last time I logged in I had 107 new posts to read from these sources...just a tad much. As great as these are, I personally would have to keep the ones I subscribe to down...only those that I really would want to keep up on. Otherwise, there is simply a ton of 'junk' in the to-be-read area that takes a lot of time to delete. The idea behind it and the way it can help bring all the information to you is fantastic, though! I will probably personally use this to keep up on football-related topics (GO PACK GO).

I do subscribe to a listserv through Becky Pasco, that deals with any announcements for the MU program as well as job opportunities, etc. I can also see a great professional use for this if you subscribe to one that deals with issues you face each day in your job...different ideas on how to handle patrons, new technologies, etc.

I also put Packers.com and Unshelved in the sidebar of my blog...that way everyone who visits can see exactly what I am interested in ;-)

#7 - anything technology related

The first thing, that I know I could NOT live without is e-mail. My husband makes fun of how many times a day I check it...but I love being able to stay in touch with friends in multiple states as well as family (even my Grandma doesn't send notes via snail mail, she's a wiz on e-mail) who are scattered around Nebraska and Kansas. I do not ever remember having to fax a memo (I was not in the workplace before e-mail...) but I do remember writing lots of letters to family/friends/pen pals as I was growing up, and how much easier it is to type a quick email to someone and how quickly we can hear back. The only thing we send via snail mail anymore is birthday/anniversary/etc cards, my Mother once commented to me that in this world of electronic communication...taking the time to choose a card and sign it yourself can mean alot to the receiver. Hmmm...guess I digressed just a tad

The other thing technology-related I love is MySpace (and Facebook). I have been able to reconnect with a ton of acquaintences of towns gone by...and from high school/college. I am also able to keep current on the lives of good friends here in Omaha that I do not necessarily go sit down on their couch and look through their photo albums, but if they went on a trip or had a fun family day and they upload pictures it is fun to comment on them.

#6 - flickr tools

Other the past few days I have been looking at the Flickr tools, to see what all could be done with the photos and I was blown away by so many creative and innovative ideas. The Flickr color imager was fun to play around with, seeing what types of pictures came up for different shades. I tried to make my own 'mappr' but when I got to that section it said "As of 2007, Mappr is no longer processing images from flickr". Ah well...today I was unable to see any of the pictures, the captions were still there, it just looked like the web-site itself was having some issues. I was able to make a jigsaw picture out of a picture I uploaded to the big huge labs site (which I found under the explore tab, under flickr services)...found from a LONG list of tools. Hope all are having a great start to their week - I didn't work yesterday, so Tuesday is the beginning of this week I guess!

#5 - browse Flickr and post owhatageek photo

Well...I asked our official resident techie, and she didn't know why my flickr picture isn't showing up in the public photos for 'owhatageek'. She did show me how to find the picture URL so I could post my picture, they definitely hide it well :-) Under the All Sizes option above the picture itself in my account you can choose the URL or post the HTML to link back to Flickr...I am going to try to link it back to Flickr and see what happens!

#5 - not quite there yet with adding my flickr photo

Well, I am a little frustrated right now! I have created a flickr account and uploaded some pictures onto it. I 'tagged' one as owhatageek, but when I go in to find it it does not show up. A sidebar asks the question "Hey, are you wondering why your photostream isn't showing up here" but when I click on that link it does not give me any answers. Hmmm....when I try to use the URL link, the picture comes up blank (see right...where there should be a picture there is none). I will try to keep working on this to see what my problem is, if anyone else is having problems or knows how to correct this I would love some guidance! Thanks...

#4 - email URL to o!whatageek team

I have now emailed the blog URL to the O! What a Geek Team.

I also have to say a big *thank you* to Micki...I was able to figure out how to add a YouTube video to my blog, but it was very disproportionate to the area the sidebar allowed. She messed with the HTML and fixed the size of it so I could have my dance video on the blog. Thanks!!!

#3 - add your first post

Well, technically it is my third post...but yay, I figured it out :-)

#2 - Discover pointers from lifelong learners

Well...the 'easiest' habit for me in the list is probably the last...PLAY! I have 2 young children who are very active, and it is a total blast getting to be a kid with them and play all sorts of games. They are both creative and have come up with some great adventures.

In all seriousness the easy habits for me are a tie between beginning with a goal in mind and accepting responsibility for my own learning. I am currently in school, and have been going essentially full-time since Fall of 2005 and each semester since (I had to return and finish my undergraduate)...which made my youngest only a few months old when I returned. It has been a true test of will to keep going at it and to forge straight into the Masters program with having such a young family at home. The whole family (especially my husband) has made sacrifices so that I am able to complete my goal of getting my degree and for that reason I take the responsibilities of my classes very seriously...as I try to do with each goal I make for myself. I am an incredibly organized person and if I decide to do something I need to have a goal in mind or a 'light at then end of the tunnel' for my own sanity!

The hardest habit I have been trying to overcome is to use technology to my advantage. My brain just does not seem to be wired to easily process new techonologies...it is a constant struggle! Also - with some of the technologies, you have to have access to them...and when your family is not in a situation to buy the latest gadgets it is hard to abstractly understand how to use them without having experience (again, my learning is best hands-on with technology).

#1 - Review 23 things site

As I was looking through the site, I found a few things I am really looking forward to learning about! Flickr is one thing I have heard of but never had the time to look at, this will force me to make the time...I am also interested in seeing just what the online image generator is. This is a great program for people who are not techonologically inclined to have a learning (non-graded) environment. I agree with someone else who said the incentives are great motivation :-)