Technology

I am not usually the person that you want talking about technology. I am the person without cable, without DSL, and without a cell phone. I have really enjoyed spending some time exploring Web 2.0; however I have to say that I don't necessarily think that I have changed my overall ideas about certain web technologies. When I allow myself to explore technologies (like websites, blogging, and photo sharing) I have a lot of fun; however I find that it sucks up my time. It is similar to surfing the web. Don't get me wrong, I use the Internet...I pay my bills online, email family, and shop online; but I try and limit these activities because if I don't I find that entire evenings are lost. Somehow I feel as though I am the only person that needs to limit her exposure to certain technologies so that she might live a more balanced life (cook food, go to the gym, talk to my husband). Unfortunately, these feelings were not changed by my Web 2.0 experiences thus far.

More Flickr

I spent a lot of time exploring (and cursing) Flickr, but I have to say some of the mashups were actually quite fun to play with. I really liked the captioner http://shadydentist.com/captioner/ and the trading card maker. However the biggest suprise was that I found a TON of holiday gift ideas...I knew that you could get calendars and books made from photos, but the Flickr apps and tools led me to several third party sites that create a number of unusual things (make your own movie posters, make your own magazine covers, etc). Maybe all of the screaming and crying over Flickr was worth it after all...

Flickr and Blogger

I set up a Flickr account. Overall this was fine, but I hate that you cannot sort pictures the way that you want. Apparently after lots of checking around it turns out that the main page will only arrange pictures according to the date that they were added. That glitch aside, Flickr turned out to be a fun way to share some holiday photos with family.

Then, I tried the uploading from Flickr to Blogger. No matter what directions I used I could not get the authorization process to work. In fact, this has been my big hold up lately...every time I think I have got it figured out, Flickr tells me that it can't find my Blogger username.

I did end up using the Blogger upload feature to place the original picture on my blog. I will keep playing with Flickr to see if I can get this to work. If I can't, I will call in the support team to help my tired, old mind figure this out.

Here is the picture that I uploaded...a halloween picture taken this year (Tippi and her birds at NR library). It is from a Flickr page located at http://www.flickr.com/photos/17328651@N06/

Locate Some Blogs, Huh.

This was a little frustrating as there are SOOOO many blogs and feeds to choose from. I tried all of the search tools mentioned plus a few more and I found that two tools suited me best: the bloglines search tool and the Technorati search. I played with both for some time, but once again I had to keep myself from adding way too many sources.

RSS Feeds and Bloglines

I have used similar feeds in the past, but for this exercise I set up a Bloglines account. It is great to think that this handy little site will let you keep up-to-date without getting overoaded; however it wasn't long before I realized that I couldn't keep up with the information if I added 100 feeds so I had some tough choices to make. Here is the link to my feeds...if you're interested.

URL:http://www.bloglines.com/public/catsndog42

Lifelong Learning

Lifelong learning has always been a hot topic for me. I am always taking a new class: dancing, cooking, even math...something to keep my mind from melting away. Without question, the easiest lifelong learning habit for me is "having fun". Life can be a hassle, so anytime I have the opportunity to have a good time, I try and take it. Although it may seem contrary to what I have already said, the hardest habit for me to develop is "looking at things at opportunities, rather than problems". I do tend to get obsessed with doing things right so I am always having to make myself take a big step back in order to see the good/fun/opportunity in every situation.