Okay, this blog is suffering because of other work priorities, but I'm having one of those "I have to tell SOMEONE" moments, and there's no on in the office but me.
I know Google has its flaws and that databases are more reliable for research, but this morning I was trying to think of a song title and band from the 80's and, not being able to recall anything other than a bit of a music video, I went to Google and typed in the following:
long hair fish piano 80's video
The top answer that popped up was from Yahoo Answers - someone else had obviously had a similarly difficult time remembering this information. I had my answer in less than 15 seconds. I love Google.
(By the way, the song was "Epic" by Faith No More)
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
I'm a Bad, Bad Blogger
Okay, I have been terribly neglectful when it comes to blogging. It's hard to make it a priority and a regular part of the routine, but my pre-New Year's resolution is to be more consistent. Starting tomorrow (after I finish setting up new computers, printers, wireless switch, etc. today). In the meantime, found a cute little animation at YouTube. This is why we don't let the cats in the bedroom anymore:
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Thing 19 - Just for Fun (Online Image Generator)
Well, between the MEMO conference and a family emergency I've been playing catch-up these past few days, but now I'm feeling back in the swing of things again.
As someone who creates and maintains websites for a number of different organizations, I was intrigued by the idea of an online image generator. Fairly often I find myself in need of some sort of graphic, but often run into either not finding the right thing or not being able to use what I want because of copyright issues. And unfortunately I'm not an artist. So this morning I did a bit of investigating and found a few online image generators to play with. (I found some ideas on which ones to try from the School Library Learning 2.0 site
Here's my first try, and ultimate favorite, from Big Huge Labs, where I chose the trading-card creator:
Who better as a test subject than our illustrious former leader, Tom Shaughnessy? There are a LOT of fun tools available here -- create wallpaper, posters, badges, framed pics, and more. (They don't call it "Huge" for nothing!)
Next I tried Comic Strip Generator
Not terribly impressed with this one. It's not very clear (at least if you're in a hurry) how to save your image (I just did the ol' right-click and "save as"). Looks like most of the images available here are pop culture like South Park, The Simpsons, etc. I like those things, but I'm not sure about the licensing rights, so I'm not convinced.
The third (and final, since I can't spend ALL day playing with image generators) is Image Chef:
I think this one comes close or ties with Big Huge Labs - lots of different things to play with, including flower text, license plates, neon, post-it notes, etc. Definitely worth a look!
As someone who creates and maintains websites for a number of different organizations, I was intrigued by the idea of an online image generator. Fairly often I find myself in need of some sort of graphic, but often run into either not finding the right thing or not being able to use what I want because of copyright issues. And unfortunately I'm not an artist. So this morning I did a bit of investigating and found a few online image generators to play with. (I found some ideas on which ones to try from the School Library Learning 2.0 site
Here's my first try, and ultimate favorite, from Big Huge Labs, where I chose the trading-card creator:
Who better as a test subject than our illustrious former leader, Tom Shaughnessy? There are a LOT of fun tools available here -- create wallpaper, posters, badges, framed pics, and more. (They don't call it "Huge" for nothing!)Next I tried Comic Strip Generator
Not terribly impressed with this one. It's not very clear (at least if you're in a hurry) how to save your image (I just did the ol' right-click and "save as"). Looks like most of the images available here are pop culture like South Park, The Simpsons, etc. I like those things, but I'm not sure about the licensing rights, so I'm not convinced.The third (and final, since I can't spend ALL day playing with image generators) is Image Chef:
I think this one comes close or ties with Big Huge Labs - lots of different things to play with, including flower text, license plates, neon, post-it notes, etc. Definitely worth a look!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Things 2&3
Bloglines just escapes me, for some reason, so I've chosen Google Reader as my aggregator. I've also used Snarfer in the past, but I use Google for lots of other tasks, so it's more convenient for me. Whatever reader you choose, we'll be posting instructions on how to import the OPML file of all the St. Paul MILI feeds as soon as the last few folks get their blogs registered, so keep an eye out!
One of the suggestions for Thing 2 was to upload a picture, so I found one from my vacation in 2006 when we went to visit my home state of Washington. This is one of the picturesque little lakes on Mt. Baker, in northwest Washington. I grew up about an hour's drive from here. I still miss having easy access to the mountains, forests and salt water...
So there's my blog for the week. Not terribly inspired, but my brain is mostly focused on helping to get this year's MILI up and running, as well as my "other" job (MEMO), where we're gearing up for our big conference next week.
Don't forget to write a blog entry every week so you'll be entered in the drawing at next month's meeting! Ann has been adding to the prize pile, so don't miss out!
One of the suggestions for Thing 2 was to upload a picture, so I found one from my vacation in 2006 when we went to visit my home state of Washington. This is one of the picturesque little lakes on Mt. Baker, in northwest Washington. I grew up about an hour's drive from here. I still miss having easy access to the mountains, forests and salt water...
So there's my blog for the week. Not terribly inspired, but my brain is mostly focused on helping to get this year's MILI up and running, as well as my "other" job (MEMO), where we're gearing up for our big conference next week.
Don't forget to write a blog entry every week so you'll be entered in the drawing at next month's meeting! Ann has been adding to the prize pile, so don't miss out!
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Moo-vin' on to Year 2
Wow, Ann was right - naming your blog is the hardest part. (Other than technology that doesn't cooperate.) This one came to me at 2:45 a.m. when I couldn't sleep, but I'm pretty happy with it.
I'm excited about the "23+1 Things" aspect of this year's Metronet Information Literacy Initiative. My work doesn't often lend itself to keeping up with the latest and greatest technology trends, so I usually find myself learning things in a hurry as needed (i.e. teaching myself CSS, RSS, etc. while doing web design). This project will give me a more structured opportunity to pursue my interest in things out there that I may not necessarily otherwise explore. I also look forward to hearing what other folks find and what they think. I know most (if not all) of us feel overwhelmed between work, family, and all the other commitments of a busy life, but I hope "23+1" will feel more like a chance for personal and professional development and not just another chore.
Personally I think I fall somewhere in the middle of the technology spectrum. I have and use the usual tools (cell phone, mp3 player, tv, dvd, etc.), and I love computers and am pretty savvy both with learning new software and tinkering around with hardware when I need to. I enjoy surfing the web, although I haven't gotten caught up in blogging and tagging and that sort of thing yet. But yes, I do play a MMOG (massively multiplayer online game). :) Any other WoW-ers out there?
"Do you see a curriculum/classroom use for blogs?"
I'm not a teacher, but the first thing that comes to mind is that blogs would be a great tool for the shyer kids in a class. I think it might feel less risky to post their thoughts rather than to share them in class where it might feel like everyone is looking at them and might laugh. (You might be surprised at what the quiet kid has to say!) I'll be curious to see if any of the MILP participants choose to integrate a blog into their classroom.
I'm excited about the "23+1 Things" aspect of this year's Metronet Information Literacy Initiative. My work doesn't often lend itself to keeping up with the latest and greatest technology trends, so I usually find myself learning things in a hurry as needed (i.e. teaching myself CSS, RSS, etc. while doing web design). This project will give me a more structured opportunity to pursue my interest in things out there that I may not necessarily otherwise explore. I also look forward to hearing what other folks find and what they think. I know most (if not all) of us feel overwhelmed between work, family, and all the other commitments of a busy life, but I hope "23+1" will feel more like a chance for personal and professional development and not just another chore.
Personally I think I fall somewhere in the middle of the technology spectrum. I have and use the usual tools (cell phone, mp3 player, tv, dvd, etc.), and I love computers and am pretty savvy both with learning new software and tinkering around with hardware when I need to. I enjoy surfing the web, although I haven't gotten caught up in blogging and tagging and that sort of thing yet. But yes, I do play a MMOG (massively multiplayer online game). :) Any other WoW-ers out there?
"Do you see a curriculum/classroom use for blogs?"
I'm not a teacher, but the first thing that comes to mind is that blogs would be a great tool for the shyer kids in a class. I think it might feel less risky to post their thoughts rather than to share them in class where it might feel like everyone is looking at them and might laugh. (You might be surprised at what the quiet kid has to say!) I'll be curious to see if any of the MILP participants choose to integrate a blog into their classroom.
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