# 91 Fun with Photos

I enjoyed playing with these websites. Befunky was seriously easy to use, and I liked the effects, using my grandaughter with cake icing on her nose as my subject, 13th birthday, last year. I particularly liked the water color effect and the cartoonizer. I had trouble with Bighugelabs, too many instructions, distractions, advertisements, just too much stuff on the page. I managed to get nothing accomplised on that website. I then started on Faceinthehole, which is neat. I was able to get my grandson's pic in the Cookie Monsters mouth, but after waiting 10 minutes for it to save and archive, I thought it a bit ridculous. Tried again with another picture of my grandaughter, and couldn't find one to fit in the hole to look right. I don't have quite the right shaped pictures to make it work well. All in all, it was fun, and I will definetely use Befunky again. In lieu of a picture of me from Faceinthehole, I offer one of my beautiful Grandaughter, courtesy of Befunky.com.

#90 Sharing Photos

I watched the video with some interest just to see how many sites there were for photos. I am most familiar with Flickr, as it is used by HCPL, but have truly never messed with it. Took the Flickr tour, and was amazed at how much it offered as far as creative ways to use your photos. Privacy would be one of my major concerns, also being able to post photos for others to see, after doing fancy things with the editing features. Also, it is always fascinating to see others handiwork, and the pictures they share that are important to them.

I may very well download Picasa to my computer, my pictures are scattered helter-skelter all over my hard drive, with no organization whatsoever. The software might be a good way to learn to share the photos that I do have with others, and also use them in creative ways.

# 89 Basic Photo Editing

This is a picture of my Zinnias that my sister took last summer. Using Picnik, I cropped, sharpened and resized the picture, as well as putting a fancy border around it. It was exceedingly easy to use, and I was pleased with the results. And I didn't have to register for it. I may very well use it in the future. My pictures are stuck on my computer helter skelter, and I seldom mess with them. But this was very simple. I did try Fotoflexer, and found it to be a bit more difficult to use, and never did get the picture saved. Although, my cat as an Andy Warhol painting was pretty cool.

Probably the functions that would be most important to me would be editing, red-eye, sharpening, cropping and resizing. The rest would be fun stuff. And anything anti-aging. :)

#81 Media's Future

The world was happy place when I got my first DVD player, probably 10 years ago, and have since collected many movies in this format. Netflix was my next big discovery. Now, I have been introduced to streaming movies on my computer, entertainment at my fingertips whenever I feel inclined. Have yet to try Blue Ray, but am sure its in the cards. How much has changed since the small, colorless, 3 channel set I grew up with. Now, its 3-D movies, although the lack of Oscars for Avatar, the movie that changed the face of moviemaking, is telling in just how interested people are in the technology. In my opinion, its a Fad, just like 8 track tapes, and cassettes, and will eventually follow the same course. And yet, it will be integrated into all forms of media, movies, television. Will people really want to toss thier 50" flat screens, for another, more expensive television, that you have to wear funny glasses to watch? Some will, to be sure, those gatherers of all things technical, but I believe, in the general populace, the fad will not last long. In movies, perhaps, but not TV.

I must agree with Robert Cringely's article on the demise of network television, it is too easy, and there are too many ways to get better viewing and content then on network television, which had its heyday 20 years ago. And I doubt that having 3D will change that. However, I think that 3D will revolutionise the gaming industry, all that reality, all that blood spilling and cars racing and aliens being blown to bits green goo splashing in your face? It will truly make it an experience.

Theaters will always be around in some form, even if it only for nostaligic reasons. There really is nothing like a movie theater experience, whether its something loud and splashy, and soft and mysterious. The dark draws you in, the popcorn smells waft, the rustle of candy wrappers, the shared laughter or cries of fright, there is nothing like it. People aren't going to give that up, and it can't happen in one's living room, no matter how big the TV.

Not being a gadget oriented, I do not buy every new thing that hits the market. Content with a device doing only what it is supposed to do, much of the new innovations are not of great interest to me. However, if and when the time comes that DVD's are replaced physically by something new, I will no doubt be like "K" in the movie Men in Black, when, showing a new, smaller disc-shaped item, proclaims, "This is gonna replace CD's soon. I'll have to buy the White Album again." Guess I will be standing in line.

# 80 Movies

Netflix is one the greatest inventions known to mankind! I have been with them for about a year, have had very few problems, get to see lots of the BBC series that I enjoy, and they come and go in a timely manner. I have not yet utilised the streaming to the computer option, time is a bit of a problem, a small monitor and an uncomfortable chair also add in to the unwillingness to view movies on my computer. However, the option is there, and I will no doubt use it at some point. I don't own a Wii, and I haven't been in a Blockbuster since I got Netflix. I have not had occasion to use the Redbox either, but know they are popular.

I did watch a bit of What's Eating Gilbert Grape streaming on Hulu, and was impressed with the picture and sound quality, and realising I needed to re-watch this movie. I took a look at TheAuters.com, and watched a scene from The Andulasian Dog, a film created by Salvador Dali and friend, which was disturbing in the extreme, but interesting. Apple Trailers was neat, but not something I would use. Internet Movie Database has been part of my world for a long time, for information, movie trailers and to settle Bar bets. Watched two trailers, Alice in Wonderland and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Making movies readily available is a marvelous thing, that almost anyone can enjoy, as long as they have a computer. In today's ecomomy anything to entertain and save a few bucks should be treasured.

#79 Television

Ah yes. I remember the days when the screens were very small, and only black and white. The world was colorless but wholesome, and quite fascinating.It's hard to believe how much the world has changed in the 60 years or so since "The Tube" came into being, and how much "it" has changed our world.

I am not an avid TV watcher these days, too little time and really too little to watch that interests me. However, the article on Product Placement was fun, I knew they had done it for some time and most of the time it is not hard to notice. Still better then sitting through commercials. I checked out Hulu.com, watched some old clips from Sesame Street, looked for In Treatment, the HBO series, but they did not have whole episodes, only in small snatches. If I watched more TV, it would no doubt be quite useful. I liked Viewmy.tv, being able to catch up with the news anywhere in the world.

I can not imagine why anyone would want to watch TV on their cell phone, unless you are stuck in the Dr's office, and don't want to watch Fox News. The screen is just too small to be effective. However, I did find it fascinating that one could get an App to view Al Jazeera in English, and the BBC, according to Mashable. The sports App could come in handy if you are a fanatic, or are a news junkie and wish all news all the time. In short bursts, it would probably be usable, but not something I would in any way wish to have.

I have watched Youtube, as has everyone else on the plant, but have not desire to put videos on the Internet. My life is just too dull to try to make a movie out of it. It would end up being one of those boring documentaries that your science teacher made you watch.

#74 Social Petworking

I have to admit, I created a webpage for my cat Emma on Catster. It was fairly easy, though I had some trouble finding her breed, and it was really slow to load after I had finished filling out the information. Even her picture is up there. I also did a diary entry on Emma's Day, all about her rather dull day at home. It was sort of fun, and something I may keep up with. Checked out Pet.doc, and got advice on how to trim her toenails.

I don't feel a great need to do social networking for my cat. Emma and I are both rather lone wolves, so to speak, and are content to be as such. I can see why many people enjoy doing it, finding folks with the same breed of cat or dog as your own, or just enjoying the company of others. I talk about Emma at work, we all share our pet stories, and she is a very important part of my life. But I would rather not disturb her privacy any more then necessary. :)

#73 Losing a friend

Having lived a good long time, I have lost many pets over the years, most commonplace, some more exotic. It has never been easy, whether they died at home, or when the decision had to be made to end thier life. After looking at the websites listed in the exercise, I found the information useful, and was pleased that some understanding of the grief at the loss of a pet has, over time, has been more accepted as the norm rather then something odd.

The worst time I had was when I had to make the decision alone as to putting two of my cats down within 6 months of each other. Squeaker, a very large Tabby with a very small voice, was found in a parking lot, had been with us for 10 years, and unfortunately had severe diabetes. He had some kind of episode, and needed to have his suffering ended. It was horrible, the feelings I had. But, I was with him to the end, and he was sorely missed.

My other cat, Ming, a Siamese, was 14, and my late husband's cat. A true character and aristocrat he was, sat with Dan and had coffee in the morning, loved deli turkey and peas, very skittish and extremely loving animal. Used to sit by the pond and lay his tail on the water, even though he hated getting wet. He was my companion, along with Squeaker, when the world turned upside down. Unfortunately, he developed cancer of the liver, and there was nothing to be done. When the time came, I took him to the vet, and stayed with him until he was gone. The doctor was kind, there was no other choice. The devastation was complete, and I miss that amazing animal to this day.

#72 Pet Health Online.

I answered all the questions on CatAge, and in their opinion, my Emma is 22.7 years old in human time. I was quite pleased that she was such a young age. However, I may have messed up a bit. The question was asked, "can you feel your cats ribs?" and yes, of course I can do that. This question was about weight and shape. When I went home, I hugged Emma, and realised that I really can't feel her ribs unless I do more squishing, so I believe she is a bit on the chubby side. Will have to work on that. I was interested to learn that cats shouldn't have garlic, which made me grateful that Emma has no taste for Italian food, just a bit of watermelon on occasion.

I also read the articles and arguments on Spaying and Neutering with great interest. I have had many pets over the years, and all of them were "fixed", the procedure just makes for a better tempered animal, easier on you and them. I don't know how people can not get their pets neutered, its simply cruel not to. My Emma is a rescued cat, taken to the pound with her unwanted litter of kittens, the kittens were taken, she was not. Someone loved her once, but she was thrown away because her former owner wasnt responsible. They lost a wonderful animal. My gain.

Picking a Pet #71

I have always considered myself a cat person, and have always had cats, with an occasional dog, rabbit, turtle or snake thrown into the mix for variation. I was rather suprised when the Pet Picker decided a bird would be a good pet for my life style. Oddly enough, I had been considering a getting a bird, probably a canary or budgie, just because I enjoy the chatter and color. However, it also seems cruel to keep a lunch munchie hanging in front of my beloved cat, Emma, and to keep a bird in a state of nervousness.

I looked at the adoption sites, and could not figure out a way to fit the 321,000+ cats into my house. My cat is a rescue cat, and once we got used to each other, she is one of the joys of my life. So many pets are thrown away, and I was so glad to see the rescue societies that are willing to step in and give unwanted animals a home. My cat is an only kitty, and the one time I tried to bring another cat into the house, it was not a good situation, and I have not tried again. However, I did find the address of a animal rescue locally that I will send a donation to.

#65 Coin Collecting

I have always found coins fascinating. Collecting wheat pennies and Kennedy half dollars when I was younger, stashing some state quarters or gold dollars when I run across them. Just like the feel of coins, the heaviness in the hand. This was one reason why I liked England, they use a lot of coins. I have never seriously collected, outside of change jars, where the contents is just tossed in coins, waiting to build up to a point where one can afford something or need change for tolls. I do have a few silver dollars that are quite old, and will get the Red book out to see if I can identify them and if they are worth anything. I have a family member who is a very serious collector, not only for value but also for beauty and history. Many of the coins in his collection date back to the Roman era and earlier. There is a wonderful store called Numismatic in Rice Village who not only deals in coins and gold, but in jewelry too. Fun place to look around in. I dont think I would ever become a collector, one needs money to collect money.

#66 Knitting and Crocheting

Ah, a warm fire, your loving pet snuggled at your feet, a cup of tea, and your knitting needles clicking away, creating a Sweater? A tea cozy? A tangle of yarn resembling a large rats nest? This has been my experience with knitting. I have made a complete scarf, with fringe, several years ago, and have since started another, probably 2 years ago and its stuffed in a bag, waiting for me to finish it. I enjoy the experience, its very soothing, but am never sure what to do when I make a mistake. As for crocheting, its lovely, and I made many long, long crocheted strings in my youth, because I didn't know how to put them together. I would like to make an afghan or a prayer shawl, and probably with concentration and some help I could do that. Unfortunately, we don't have a knitting group at our branch, something we have discussed on several occasions, but as yet have found no one to facilitate it, or a good time for it. I am hopeful though, because I would like to learn the proper way to knit.

#54 Social networking...what are YOU reading?

I belong to our Branch book club, Atascocita Reads, and have for going on two years. The group itself was formed about 7 years ago. I also belong to Goodreads, and have several friends that I swap titles and reviews with, and Librarything, on which I mostly add titles. I prefer the more intimate nature of a book club, with real people with real opinions and conversation, rather then discussions on the internet. I personally don't find communicating with people on the net very satisfying, unless it is a chat situation and real time. The best part of any conversation is what is showing on the other persons face, one can see if they really liked a book or story, or if they are pulling your leg, being ironic or sarcastic, or truly entranced with a story or author.

As for forming a book club, I have considered possibly a club devoted to the classics, or one whose members read and compare books of humor, either a humorist, such as David Sedaris, or just funny stories, such as some of Christopher Moores' work. Erma Bombeck, Dave Barry, even Bill Bryson, whose Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid is one of the funniest books I have ever read! In these uncertain times, with job loss, and the economic downturn, everyone could use a laugh, and a funny story or two. For a classics club, we were all forced to read The Scarlett Letter, Lord of the Flies and 1984 when we were in high school. Actually I managed to avoid all those, but recall being devestated by Steinbeck's The Pearl, and Hershey's Hiroshima. It might be interesting to go back to these well-hated books and look at them from an adult perspective. After checking on Goodreads, I found lists of books of lists of classic literature, "must reads" which were helpful in choosing titles for the club. They suggested, Pride and Prejudice by Austen, The Three Musketeers by Dumas, The Secret Garden by Burnett and a personal favorite, My Name is Asher Lev, by Chaim Potok. For my laughing book club, I also found lists on Goodreads, suggesting Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Adams, RightHo, Jeeves, by Wodehouse, Lamb, the Gospel according to Biff by Moore, and for those who are feeling particularly naughty, Napalm and Silly Putty, by the late George Carlin. All the lists had been complied and voted on by members of Goodreads, and ranked accordingly.

After checking various social websites, I was very pleased that the book Katherine is so highly thought of and fondly remembered. Apparently, it was read by many women of a certain age, and recommended to their daughters, who also enjoyed the story. I looked at Goodreads, Amazon, Shelfari and Librarything, and all of them had ratings of four and one half stars out of five for the book, and the commentary was very gracious. So I am pleased to see that some stories just stick around and are loved by several generations.

#53 Finding Books Online. Where oh where?

There were actually several bookstores listed in the Houston directory that were fairly close to the Atascocita Branch. None of the small, independent stores listed had on online presence, Books by Rita had a page under construction. Bookstop and Crown books, at least the online addresses, were more lists of links for finding more books. Crown books seemed to be more into the religious books end of the business. Barnes and Noble is not too far from us at the Deerbrook Mall, and of course they have a huge online database where one can purchase books either at the store, or online sent to either your home or the store.

When looking for copies of used books, I used the book Katherine, by Anya Seton that I had read in the previous post. At Booksamillion.com, I found a paperback copy, used for $10.15, and one with library binding for $21.55. At Powell's, a used copy was $10.50. ALibris had copies from $1.99 to $10.75, and Bookmooch had no copies at all. A new copy at Barnes and Noble was $13.45.

I searched through several different websites, Amazon.com, Netlibrary.net and Bartleby.com, and did not find an audio version of Anya Seton's Katherine. It is an older book, it is a shame no one has thought to voice it. With the new non-fiction book by Alison Weir, titled, Mistrss of the Monarchy, the life of Katherine Sywford, Duchess of Lancaster, perhaps there will be a renewed interest in her story.

I downloaded an ebook from the Harris County Library site, titled Ammie,Come Home, by Barbara Michaels. This was another favorite book from my younger years, which I first read in a condensed Readers Digest version, and from which, a cheesy made-for-tv movie starring Barbara Stanwyck, was inflicted on the public at large. Anyway, I digress. I had some trouble with the downloading process, but eventually, the deed was done, and I sat in my uncomfortable desk chair, trying to read the screen. It was not a bad experience, The letters were large enough to be seen, and I can see where some people would find it advantageous to be able to read books, while on their computer, especially on your break at work, or needing some down time from your web designing. For me, I prefer a comfortable chair and the weight of a book in my lap, or the ability to read in bed, focusing on the story and tuning out the world. Holding a book is much more of joy to me then downloading it on to my computer screen.

#52 What to read? Decisions, decisions...

To look for read alikes, I used an older book, Katherine, by Anya Seton, a favorite of mine. On Novelist Plus, the database recommended authors, Elizabeth Chadwick, Daphne Dumaurier, Diana Gabaldone and Cecilia Holland. All enjoyable authors that I have read before. My search was not terribly difficult, once I figured out how it worked.

My experience with Fiction_L was a bit different. I had to chose from a genre, and after several tries I finally hit the jackpot with Historical European Fiction, which recommended the authors Seton, Cecilia Holland, Sharon Kay Penman and Jean Plaidy, and Ellis Peters "Brother Cadfael" series. Once again, authors I had read before.

On, What do I read Next?, the spectrum was a bit more broad. Here Be Dragons, by Sharon Kay Penman, which is an excellent book. The Shell Seekers by Rosamund Pilcher, Robert Gellis, and The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald. I found this website to be much more of a gamble, I opted not to sign up for it, and sometimes I got some rather odd recomendations.

I found animal books for the 4th grade girl on NovelistPlus, one, Animal Groups: how animals live together by Etta Kaner, and The Kitten That won First Place & other animal stories by Martin Greenburg. I then used What Do I Read Next? to find Mayor of Central Park by AVI and Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. The website had no non-fiction for kids, but it was easy to find titles because they sort by age and grade. For the 13 year old boy, I also used NovelistPlus and What Do I Read Next, Finding Restless: a Ghost Story by Rick Wallace, Ghost Host by Marilyn Singer and a manga series called Ghost Hunt. In non-fiction I found Ghosts & Haunted Places by Rosemary Guilley and Ghosts and Spirits by Rebecca Stefoff. These titles are on Novelist. On What Do I Read Next?, there were Genres for Read if you Dare and Haunting Stories for Fall Nights. I chose More Horowitz Horrow by Anthony Horowitz and Daemon Hall by Andrew Nance.

On NovelistPlus, readalikes for Dean Koontz that were mentioned were Greg Bear, John Saul, and Dan Simmons. On What Do I Read Next?, Stephen King, James Patterson and Phillip Margolin were all recommended. According to Novelist, Koontz doesn't stick to a particular genre, which may be why the authors recommended were so different.

I had some real trouble using the What's Next? series site, my searching criteria didnt seem to be what the website wanted to hear. Operator error no doubt. However, I did find Tamora Pierce and her series, and the titles are,Song of the Lions, In the Hand of the Goddess, Woman Who Rides Like a Man and Lioness Rampant.

#38 Console games

I went to the retro arcade game website and am ashamed to say that I had to ask a co-worker how to play Pacman. I did mess with it and Baby Pacman, and it was okay, just rather confusing. My family were all into console games, still are. In fact my grandson plays Sonic the Hedgehog on his mothers' old Nintendo system and loves it. My kids have expensive systems that play games, dvds, music, and are a constant source of entertainment and relaxation in their daily round of activities. Whether videogames have added skills or knowledge to their lives, I have no idea.

I really can't make any kind of educated statement about what type of videogames might be good for the library, having never played them. Since I don't play them, I can not avow any skills learned, however, I may have saved what is left of my eye sight, and kept from getting "videogame thumb." Videogames have their place, and certainly, they are amazingly sophisticated compared to the original "Pong" game.
I think they can be a draw to get teens into the libraries, but they are no substitute for actual information or knowledge. Have I become a fan of gaming? No, not really. There are so many other things to do.

#37 Gaming in the library

Does gaming belong in the library environment? I think it has its place, but I don't think it replaces books, or the knowledge that one can attain from them. I also think gaming swallows up time, and keeps kids from getting out in the fresh air or doing other things. In a controlled environment, as the libraries in the articles mentioned, or for a few hours a week, I think it can bring teens into the libraries and give them a safe place to be. Teens notoriously avoid the library experience, unless, and only under duress, they need information for a school report. At least, if gaming is encouraged, teens may find that libraries are not such a bad place to be.

I did try the games that were created by the Carnagie Mellon Institute, I never did figure out the reference game, but did reasonably well on the shelving, after several tries. I also found the comments most interesting on the article from The Shifted Librarian concerning gaming in the library, and the comment about gaming causing a "disconnection" between parents and kids, and kids should be playing and learning in the "real world" and not the virtual one. As stated, anything done to excess, whether its online games or eating too many Cheetos, is not good for anyone. Gaming has a place in libraries, as long as its not all consuming.

#36 Runescape

Egad! I am still not quite half way through the tutorial! I did create a character named Cheshire, red hair in Princess Leia buns and a green outfit. So far, she has spoken to strangers, baked bread, burnt shrimp, chopped trees and killed a large rat. We were asked to do fifteen minutes of the tutorial, and all that took me two and one half hours. I can see how a person can fall, like Alice, down the rabbit hole of time and just disappear for hours into these fantasy worlds. If nothing else, the game teaches you to follow instructions, or you get nothing done! I enjoyed it all in all, although I often got confused.

These games have their place in the world, role playing being a good use of the imagination, and quests and adventures teach a person to think and plan out, maybe even learn some lessons. As a side bar, my daughter met her future husband on just such a game, she was sitting in a pub feeling blue, he was passing through. They got to talking, and two years later, they married. Imagine had he not stopped by that pub, even though it doesnt really exist?

As pertaining to use in the library, these mega games can be a problem, especially with young people. Time and computer availabity can become a serious issue. However, if it can get young people into the library, maybe they will check out a book, while they are waiting for their computer slot to open so they can slay a dragon.

iHCPL #35 Games and gaming

I am not a gamer, they truly hold no interest for me. My family bought a Pong game, that great inovation, when they came out. I was bored with that and have never really been interested since. However, I did very much enjoy playing on Free Rice, not only testing my own knowledge and learning something new, but feeding the world at the same time. I also played in the kids game, writing nonsensical stories of purple spagetti and smelled like feet. I do think online games have their place in the learning environment, kids attention spans are so short these days, thanks to fast moving everything, a game that can make them stop and think is good. I also discovered that online games, even the simple ones that I played in, take a tremendous amount of time, and one can get lost in the action or ones own head. All in all, I enjoyed the experience and hope to continue to feed the world.

#26 iHcpl- Everybody sing!

Our assignment, should we have chosen to accept it, was to look at social networking sites for music. Mostly this exercise just made me feel old, because I still haven't heard of half the artists listed. I looked around Projectplaylist.com, checked out the playlists of others, and was relieved to know that they at least had Sting on their website. I also looked for Queen, and for some reason the song Killer Queen kept coming up over and over again. Music has always been important, especially to young people, I shared 45's and record albums with my friends as a young person, now kids share music on the internet. Its a good thing. Also played around with Jamstudio.com, and discovered that I will never be a music composer. The site was a bit limited unless you paid to join, and it needed more instructions, but it was kind of fun. I won't be sharing my efforts with anyone though.