RRRiverina Ruby

happy memories....

2011-12-08T17:50:00.000-08:00

twitter part three

2010-07-22T22:20:00.000-07:00

OK now I am interested in Twitter as a way of being alerted to news items that will interest me, so I don't have to trawl through google news or ABC online or whatever to find news I am interested in.
I found it a bit difficult to learn how to use twitter, but am slowly getting the hang of it , and got rid of all the rubbish that just popped up in there.
and now onto the next bit...
and I just need to say, am not really keen on issuing tweets, as I have a very quiet life, but it's a good way of picking up news items i'm interested in.

twitter part two

2010-07-21T19:34:00.000-07:00

Alright i'm trying to learn. Have moved on from my fuddyduddyness a little, and have gone into my twitter account and got rid of all the yucky messages in there- but i'm still trying to work it out. It's taken six months but I am determined to understand. I decided to follow Julia Gillard on Twitter, and am trying to work out who else I can follow. If only Shakespeare was alive I'd definitely follow him. And Jane Austen.
And any cats I can follow on Twitter ? hmmm.

twitter?...fuddy duddy alert (part one)

2010-01-06T20:38:00.000-08:00

I've watched the commoncraft video and thought about twitter; i've signed up for an account... and i'm still trying to understand. Maybe it's not about understanding but im just not that into twitter.

I don't really want to tell people what I do at any given time. I do what other people would consider dull things. I like to read quietly, or listen to an audio book; talk to my cats; walk the dogs; stare into space or look at the landscape. So you see there is not much to tell , in a world where people are intent on large screen tvs, or wii or whatever. I prefer nature or as the saying goes, i'd rather be reading jane austen.

I like isolation. I like quiet time. These things aren't really valued anymore but I do value them. I value small things, quietness, and solitude. If I am constantly twittering people about a lovely solitary walk along the beach it would spoil the whole thing. Why can't people stand their own company any more? Why can't they cope with quietness at any stage of their lives ?

Sorry. I did put a fuddy duddy warning in the title.

Or , as Shakespeare saw it,

..all the other gifts appertinent to man, as the malice of this age shapes them, are not worth a gooseberry.

Or Wordsworth :

The world is too much with us; late and soon,Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers..

Maybe i'm just a twit and not a twitterer. I do think it's a useful thing for organisations to keep in touch with those who are technoheads. But it's not for me . I like my time to myself. it's too big brother, too panopticon for me . But if other people like it that's great.

...and the beginning

2009-11-26T16:50:00.000-08:00

I haven't blogged at all since the first course ended. I like to have a purpose. It feels a little...um..presumptuous and a tiny bit precious and even pretentious to be blogging for no good reason. I am a bit utilitarian really. So it's fun to come back in and blog again for a reason. What a modest creature I am.
I don't read a lot of other blogs because I find them a bit twee and tedious hence my own feelings about blogging - I don't want to inflict that on others. But this is for study purposes ! So it's ok to suffer.
There is one blog I like because it's not any of the abovementioned things- another staff member has a blog and she is funny and and interesting and homey and I like that even though she doesn't have cats. I do sometimes leave a comment on there.
I've changed the background on here to "harbour". I am going to the coast at Christmas - first holiday in fifteen years !! My daughter is coming too and we are taking the dogs- we found pet friendly accomodation. I love the coast...so why am I still inland?!
Here's an update on Beryl : she is one year old and has a heart murmur . Still tiny but we love her.

the end

2008-12-10T18:43:00.000-08:00

I'm not a fan of bebo or facebook etc etc. I don't use them and I don't want to use them, but I understand that other people find them useful and interesting. It's just something I don't need - like aftershave, or bellbottom flares, so I don't use them .

I'm really not sure how these things can be used in a library environment- for what purpose , by whom. I do see how blogs and wikis can be used , so obviously a less old world type person has the imagination to think up how facebook etc could be utilised.

I've really enjoyed doing this course- some of it I will use, some of it I can pass onto library users as the occasion arises, but it was just interesting to learn about all these different things.

To end on a kitty note, here is a photo of Beryl, my new kitten! Cheerio!

online applications

2008-12-10T17:50:00.000-08:00

Online applications are a good idea but I found google docs a bit clunky, and hard to find stuff that I needed to do. I wanted to email the document I made from within google docs but it doesn't seem to have a way of that happening. I had to save it to my computer than upload it to google docs then email it. This seems a bit silly to me but as I have said before , I could have missed it.
I made a zoho account and had a look around but they look a lot alike and so I think one is much the same as the other.
The document I made was a powerpoint presentation about my cats !!!! I suppose I will be driving people mad with my cats.....!but I love them.

mash ups part one

2008-11-19T20:22:00.001-08:00

Here is my dog Fern (when she was a puppy) after she went through the big labs Warholiser.

Mashups look like a lot of fun.

podcasts

2008-11-19T19:47:00.000-08:00

I had some trouble with the online education site- I had to subscribe to itunes software- and it took forever so I had to cancel out of that.
The British Library podcasts were easier on the ear than the ABC ones I heard snippets of. But they were all presented differently.
I did like the Commoncraft video expalining podcasting and I think on he whole it's a good idea, but as for availability of things I would like to listen to , there isn't much out there. (for me). Or it didn't download.
It is something I woul look at doing in the future- maybe i'll get an ipod, it would be handy for listening to books, IF I could get what I wanted to listen to on audio....

social searching and such

2008-11-18T18:47:00.000-08:00

Not sure how I feel about this really. I would try to find answers myself through different means, using a book or the internet, not a site designed for this, as it seems hit or miss as to when and whether you would get an answer.

I posted a question on yahoo answers about microsoft outlook - the email program.

As for "slamming the boards" I find this phrase a bit much, but then I am an old fuddy duddy in many ways, and wonder why we can't just call it asking a question online. Not much of a one for jargon or even slang in many cases, I like good, plain, serviceable language for everyday use. Sorry!

Up top there is a picture of Charlie, my daughter's cat, pouting and looking disapproving like me, only he has much more charm than I.

tagging

2008-11-17T23:32:00.000-08:00

I think I can see the point of this but it took me a little while. I made the delicious account and that was ok. I wonder if I can get the link to work ? Here goes....

library thing

2008-11-15T20:15:00.000-08:00

OMG as they say in the classics- have just discovered library thing and can see I will waste many internet hours in here. Fascinating to see how many others own the same books as I do- i've been accused of liking "obscure" or "scholarly" reads. sigh.And what they say about their books and how they perceive characters.
I'm getting around to the other exercises in this bit but finding it a little more baffling than usual.

I am but mad north-north-west. When the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw.

Nora again

2008-10-30T19:31:00.000-07:00

One last time ! Here is Nora , the sequel. Enjoy!!

Nora the cat on youtube

2008-10-29T19:28:00.000-07:00

I hope this is right- it's Nora the piano playing cat. Very relaxing.
Yes! it was right- again I did it wrong the first time- but kept trying and finally got it right!!

you tube

2008-10-28T16:42:00.000-07:00

Have I got that right ? Not a big fan of you tube, I watched some Armstrong and Miller comedy on there , that someone recommended to me, but otherwise wouldn't bother with it. I hate tv and only occasionally can bring myself to watch a dvd nowadays. TV is boring and the ads drive me mad. I've given up on it.

I'd rather read a book ( to paraphrase one of the Bennett sisters from Pride and Prejudice)

Using the Wiki

2008-10-22T21:27:00.000-07:00

I just tried the wiki thing- think I did it right. I couldn't get the demo to load before hand, so had to go into help once I logged in. I was staring at the screen and again looking for something obvious and I was thinking, i'm just not getting this...
It was awkward in the edit page because i've always understood the word edit to mean making changes and I was worried about wiping off someone elses comment or doing something wrong.
I'm not a wiki person. But it was interesting as an exercise.

Links

2008-10-11T20:11:00.000-07:00

I'm puzzled about links. I'm doing something wrong ; if I can't work it out i'll get help.

Time for a nap(it's ok, i'm not at work right now..) like Quibble in the photo, having a sensible kitten nap at an appropriate moment.

If anyone has advice on links as well i'd be glad to hear it.

Wikis

2008-10-11T19:41:00.000-07:00

I also went to the Wisconsin Historical Society website and viewed their photographs of holocaust survivors. I am interested in WW2 and the stories of the survivors strength always inspire me.

I recently read two books by Diane Armstrong : Mosaic, and , The voyage of their life. I can throroughly recommend both. Diane was born in Poland and came out to Australia on the SS Derna in 1949 ( I think that's right, better check.) with her parents. I admire her research skills, her writing style, her whole attitude.

The Wisconsin site had lots of interesting stuff on it and I will go back to look again.

Wikis and whiskers on kittens, brown paper packages tied up with string..these are a few of my favourite things

2008-10-11T19:08:00.000-07:00

This little chap is Pusscat's only son.

Pusscat, who has links to RRL through her distinguished and friendly owner, recently had kittens, and my daughter and myself are getting one each, when they are old enough to leave their mother.

As you can see Pusscat is a glamourpuss. And her kittens are just as glamourous as she is.

During a recent conversation with Pusscat we discussed wikis and their role in a modern technological society, and agreed that their possibilities in the workplace are legion. I especially admire the online procedure manual of the Antioch University library, which would be a quick and easy to understand reference for staff. The photos depicting the correct attitude for staff were great. This idea could be adapted to any workplace that uses procedures of this kind.

I also discussed wikis with Sukey, who can be pictured yawning hugely in another post on this blog. We both had doubts about the quality of information, if anyone and everyone can just chuck stuff on there. I understand the ideal is to trust people will do the right thing...

We also tried to think of humourous ways to use the word wiki, which is a bit cute and silly sounding.

Leg before wiki? How about, Every wiki way but loose ? (Remember the old Clint Eastwood movie, a departure for him, I think his offsider was a monkey.)

What about inventing a dance ? the Wacky Waikiki Wiki.

Anyone with better suggestions is welcome , as ours are pretty bad.

RSS feed

2008-10-03T22:11:00.000-07:00

Well I have put another one on this learning blog, again cat related- I think I have done it correctly, but had an idea in my mind about how it works that has nothing to do with reality.

I kept going to the wrong spot to get the url feed address. I had to click on a lot of things to find it, because it is unfamiliar and not immediately apparent.

This is really very useful and interesting - though I had forgotten where to look for the url address, it isn't the one which IS immediately apparent.

RSS feed - Library stuff

2008-10-01T01:18:00.001-07:00

This looks like an appealing site, so I have put it on the blog - correctly I hope -it doesn't sound too technical or pompous.
It can be very tiring to read pompous things. I hope I have done this right - I'm finding the RSS thing difficult but that's me I think. I'll read over the instructions again and check .

Flickr again

2008-09-25T22:39:00.000-07:00

I made an account at Flickr and uploaded some photos of my cats, then did a search on library cats- here are a couple of the results. And I think it would be a good idea for Australian libraries to sponsor cats , they are very relaxing to have around. These are from American libraries I think.

Flickr

2008-09-23T22:56:00.001-07:00

I found this very lovely photo on Flickr- not about libraries obviously but worthy as an interesting and pleasant image. It was fiddly getting the picture from Flickr to the blog, I had thought it would be much simpler. It wasn't as easy as google pictures.

life long learning

2008-09-22T22:32:00.000-07:00

I am all for lifelong learning. I missed out on what is known as "a proper education" the first time around, although I read a great deal and widely. My daughter is 24 and she is complaining about kids on MSN, "we didn't have that in my day"!

This tiny kitty is Ruby when she was a kitten and she was tiny ( she is still small) but she packs a punch- the older fatter bigger cats don't dare steal her food!

Technorati

2008-09-17T00:21:00.000-07:00

I didnt like this site- there must be others that I would find interesting- and I will be able to learn how to find them through this course. It does seem like a massive amount of opinion, a way of people expressing their opinions, which is good in a way, as long as you are selective. It would be interesting to see if other people had the same sort of thinking as yourself. Or for information. A lot of it does seem a bit, um, what's the word- well boring, but that's only my opinion..!

This is Sukey yawning. I think it makes a powerful statement about how I felt about the technorati site.

The purpose of blogs

2008-09-16T20:44:00.000-07:00

I think blogs are interesting if you know the person, or are interested in a particular subject. Lots of blogs must be frightfully dull. But one man's meat is another man's poison as the saying goes, and where I would find a blog about cats and their antics enthralling , another person might find it so boring they crack their jaw from yawning.

The library I work in has a reference blog and that is a useful and handy way to keep up to date with all the different queries we get. It is short and to the point, pithy, perhaps, which is a good way to go.

This is a photo of my cat Ruby when she was a kitten. I named my blog after her. Plus she does actually live in the Riverina. I think it might be a good name for a port- Riverina Ruby. I do remember seeing a port label from the 1940s that had a picture of a tabby and it was Ruby Red port or something like that.