Week 3: #7 Photo Editing Tools

Well Pixer and Snipshot are ok but not much more than what typical computer photo editing can do but Picnik is cool!
I made this photo with Picnik in less than 5 minutes!

Flickr Mashups - Week 3 #6

I used FD Toys to create these trading cards of my favorite libraries!

My New Flickr Badge - Week 3 #5(a)

A Flash Flickr badge - pretty neat!

Late Night Reference Questions? They have answers!

Flickr Photo - Week 3 #5

My Flickr photo album! I've created my Flickr account and uploaded my first photo.

Hey Sara!

The internet safety video was a mother's worst nightmare and something I worry about with two daughters who are, like most teens their age, very computer/internet savy. I am concerned about what gets posted however I am most concerned about what gets posted unbeknowst to me rather than what I post myself. A great deal of information is already public and accessible via the internet, more than I think most people realize. For an eye opening lesson on cyber safety check out:
Forensic Problem Solving and Einstein - This lesson addresses a wide range of U.S. core curriculum standards as well as the International Society of Technology Education's National Educational Technology Standards and the American Library Association's Information Literacy Standards. Students will use fifteen seemingly meaningless clues to track down a hacker who has broken into a movie studio computer and stolen three unreleased movies. Based on a puzzle created by Einstein, students will get a clear understanding of the the term "proof" and how to organize and synthesize information. Students will use three different problem solving techniques and solve a puzzle that Einstein predicted could only be solved by 2% of the world's population. This lesson has been used successfully with grades three through college. The powerful cyber safety message of this lesson is delivered to students through the realization that they created complex profiles of all the suspects with seemingly useless fragments of information, and that Internet predators can do exactly the same thing with useless bits of information that children supply.

Stranger Than Fiction

Last night tried to wind down from a busy weekend by watching Stranger Than Fiction. It was an entertaining two hours. Amazon has this to say about the movie: "IRS auditor, Harold Crick, begins hearing a voice narrating his life. Ferrell --like Jim Carrey before him in The Truman Show-- handles a toned-down character with genuineness and affection. Crick leads a lonely life filled with numbers and routines. While at first he considers the voice a nuisance, Crick decides more action is needed when it speaks of 'his demise.' Enter Professor Jules Hilbert (Dustin Hoffman), who takes on the absurd notion with revelry, trying to find out what kind of book Crick's life is leading. It turns out that the voice Crick is hearing belongs to Kay Eiffel (Emma Thompson), a very real--and troubled--author who is writing a book in which Crick is a fictional character. As usual with these things, the stuffed shirt learns to live a better life--Crick even falls for one of his audits, a brash baker named Ana (Maggie Gyllenhaal). Marc Foster (Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland) has the right tone for the film, using great urban scenes (the unnamed city is Chicago) with interesting visualizations of Crick's world of numbers. He also directs Ferrell, Hoffman, and Gyllenhaal to their most charming performances (plus Linda Hunt and Tom Hulce pop up in two funny scenes). Ferrell succeeds in being a romantic lead you can root for; a scene where he eats Ana's freshly baked cookies is totally delightful without a hint of sarcasm. Screenwriter Zach Helm has two personal traits with his story: like Crick he followed his heart (he stopped rewriting scripts and only worked on his own) and like Eiffel, the final results are not a masterpiece, but good, and entertaining enough. Britt Daniel of the band Spoon worked on the dynamite soundtrack.--Doug Thomas

Bravo Tavo

Just read a picture book called Bravo Tavo

"Tavo, named for his father Gustavo, plays basketball so much that his sneakers are worn out. His father is too worried about the drought afflicting their small village to focus on replacing them. Gustavo thinks he can solve the water shortage, but the other villagers say he’s crazy. Tavo puts aside basketball to help prove his father right. In return, something miraculous happens to his sneakers, and he’s the hero of the next game. Did the magic come from his shoes, or was it in his heart all along? Brian Meunier’s outstanding storytelling makes this a captivating read-aloud, while Perky Edgerton’s extraordinary paintings make it a visual treat"

School Libraries Count Survey

The Bookinist

The Bookinist is a mobile reading chair, created by Bavarian designer Nils Holger Moormann, that you can wheel to your favorite study spots—even dark ones, since it has its own reading lamp. Some 80 paperbacks can be stowed in the arms, back, and sides, and the arms also contain compartments for your magnifying glass, writing notebook, pencils, pencil sharpener, and bookmarks. As Moormann says, “The Bookinist is equipped for both light and heavy reading.” Check out the website at Big Cozy Books As seen in American Libraries Direct 9/12/2007

Ron says of Hermione from JK Rowling's Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

"Because that's what Hermione does, said Ron, shrugging. When in doubt go to the library."

Lifelong Learning

Today was the first day of the iHCPL Learning Experience and today's exercise was to view the tutorial and note which learning habits are easiest and which are hardest in your personal experience. Easiest: Motivating myself, setting goals and organizing Hardest: Thinking positive and giving myself credit. Added Go Put Your Strengths to Work by Marcus Buckingham and Getting Things Done by David Allen to my list of things to read as well as checking out Google's online calendar and Webmail's calendar on my list of things to do. I like to learn new things so I can help others. Better relationships both increased number of and increase the quality of existing relationships is what I hope to achieve through learning. I am a very goal oriented person so setting goals is something I do for myself often and in the past they have included small goals like reading an entire years Bluebonnet book list to bigger goals like getting my master's degree. Left to do yet from today's exercise is to view the tutorial again on Harriet as I'd like to hear sound and see animation and print out and sign learning habits contract which will have to be done from the library since it is on the intranet.

Monday morning

Our rabbits survived the Texas heat to live another day Yeah! After church yesterday we went to Lowes, Home Depot, Petco and Ace Hardware in search of the answers to a roofing solution and air circulation improvements. We ended up just using a tarp and laying it on top of the pens to create shade and getting 2 fans. Also we have implemented a system of frozen water bottles that we add to each of their pens and switch them out periodically throughout the day. Of course yesterday was easy as after church and running around everywhere we were home the rest of the day. Today I am home till noon and the girls will get home around 3:00 so it won't be long that they are alone but T, W and Thursday will be the long days for them. We are praying for a cold front soon!

Tracy is off to Lajitas in West Texas today for a Leadership Workshop for the next few days and we will miss him. Gran comes home today from Columbus, Ohio but only for a day before she's off again to Pennsylvania.

Almost 1/2ed the size of the herd in less than 24 hours

A very sad beginning to rabbit raising.... I got off of work today at 5:00 and called home to say I was on my way home to find out one of our Champagne D'Argent's died. Shelby wasn't home and Danielle and Tracy didn't really know what had happened to the poor bunny. When I got home to check on the others I didn't think the remaining Champagne looked ok so I took her inside and checked my library books for instructions on handling heatstroke as well as calling a vet and Mr. Alexander. We worked at cooling her down and thought things were going to be ok and sent Shelby and Danielle after a cage we could use indoors. Shortly after the girls left she died also. So our 5 rabbits are down to 3. The 3 Californians seem to be fine but possibly because they are white the heat didn't have as pronounced an effect as it did on the Champagne's. Off to have a drink in their memory....

Doubled the size of our family in 3 hours!

After spending hours on the phone with rabbit breeders Shelby and I finally went to look at our first rabbits. Three hours later we were pulling in the driveway with a 5 pen rabbit hutch and 5 rabbits thanks to Mr. Ray Alexander. Shelby worked in the pouring rain setting up the new rabbits homes complete with automatic watering system. We checked our library books concerning the proper amount of food to be given as you feed in the evening/night. Mr. Alexander also gave us a supply of food to get us started. We then photographed each one of the new rabbits. Shortly afterwards Shelby was found asleep on the sofa....