Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Patience and Impulse
I've been growing my hair for about three years to donate to Locks of Love. I was planning on doing this in January and I showed pictures of what I thought it might look to my stylist tonight. Well, after having patience for three years, tonight I made an impulse decision and went for it and cut my hair off, roughly 14 inches.
This was something I had wanted to do for a long time but I had the patience to stick with it to get it to the necessary length to donate. Then three years ago (roughly, it is my story here) when my husband asked me to marry him I knew I could do this and marry him too.
For the past three years my husband has had to tolerate me asking him to look at females with short hair. It's not always a bad thing for a wife or girlfriend to ask her guy to look at other females but comparing her hairstyle and trying to determine what it would look like on their girl is normally not a guy's specialty.
I have also met many people during this time that have either donated their hair or have had a family member that have donated. If you are thinking of doing it or in the process of growing your hair to donate, I say keep going. There are many days that it seems like it will not grow or it will take forever but when your stylist makes that big cut and you can hold your long ponytail with your cute new style it will be worth it knowing you've done something small to make a big difference.
This is just one small thing that can be done to make a difference in someone's life with very little effort. I gave up choosing my hairstyle for a short time, but really, what is that in the scheme of something larger when my hair will grow back and I can always change how I look in other ways to express who I am? More importantly, who I am should be expressed by how I live, what I do to affect others, how I treat others, not what I look like or my current hairstyle. This is my reflection as I have a much lighter head, literally.
mbk
Sunday, November 9, 2008
10 Random Things
This is the bonus for Learn & Play. Here are 10 random things about me. For anyone that has not figured out who I am by now I am Melissa from the Help Desk. However that will soon be changing I will soon be in Organizational Development. More on that to come in a later post.
- My sister is my best friend thanks to my mom telling us someday your sister will be the only thing you have. She currently lives in Baxter, South Carolina; which is the Charlotte metro area.
- My favorite dessert is ice cream. My favorite flavors are Cocoa Zin and other seasonal flavors from Jeni’s. From Handel’s I like Chocolate Cake Batter and Chocolate Handel Pops.
- My nephew who is 11 no longer wants to talk to me on the phone instead him and my husband share a bond over Star Wars. I’ve seen the movies but I can’t follow Clone Wars or anything beyond knowing very basics sorry Mike and Dennis.
- I currently have long hair however I am on the lookout for a short hairdo. I have not had hair to my shoulder since I started college. I let my hair grow for my wedding and now let it grow longer to be able to donate it for Locks of Love. Currently my hair is 13” from the base of my neck so now time to decide what style.
- I’ve lived in Columbus my entire life. I planned on moving at different points of my life but have never seemed to be able to leave. I love Columbus for all of its good and bad points. I love walking around at Easton in Christmastime, walking around campus, the fact you can O-H, etc.
- I received my masters from Kent like many of my collages here. I never set foot on the KSU campus to receive my degree so instead of attending graduation I went and got a massage. I still believe I made the right decision.
- My mom wanted to call me Holly or Heidi, my Dad said Holly sounded like Christmas and Heidi sounded like a pet. Well, a few years later later when I was 2 and my sister was 6 we got a miniature Schnauzer. Guess what we named her, Heidi. Her full name was Happy Heidi of Holly Hills.
- I went to my first outdoor rock festival concert this year at the young age of 32. The tickets were first year anniversary present to my husband and we went to Rock on the Range. It was quite the awakening for me. When we were listening to Boba Flex and closer to the stage than my comfort level I got hit in the head from a flying bottle. So, I got to visit the First Aid booth. I wanted to talk to people that I saw throwing stuff that to see if they understand the consequences of their actions and if it hits someone it really hurts. My husband didn’t let me and reasoned if they had and alcohol or substances in their system they might not be level headed.
- I love wearing heels, boots, and cute shoes. However due to injuries lately I have not been able to wear my cute shoes as much or my co-workers will give me a hard time.
- I started OSU as a double major, vocal music performance and molecular genetics. I was pre-med and trying to be a well-rounded student. I did my volunteer work over at Grant while I worked for Ann in CFD. I learned, for one, I was much happier working in the library, and two, I couldn’t deal with patients when they were a person. Basically, I could pick a different major or it would change me to be a different person. One that I didn’t know if I would like, so I picked a different major.
Completing Learn & Play
I enjoyed this program. I knew about most of the tools and sites in the program but I had not used all to their full potential. I never thought I would like twitter and now I want to get an iPhone so I can Twitter more, okay that not the only reason.
The main thing I enjoyed about this program is the sense of community. Because I am in a support area sometimes there is a disconnected feeling but this has seemed to bring everyone together. It doesn't matter how department or location we can all related to doing Learn & Play together.
The negative side is of course remembering all of these password and username combinations that I have now created. Beyond that I don't have a negative.
I would definitely do this again and I am looking forward to doing Helene's bonus for L&P that she listed in the APLE/SR newsletter.
So keep watching for more post and come follow me on Twitter.
MOLDI
I found one audio book and one ebook that I checked out from MOLDI. The ebook I selected is Building a Knowledge-Driven Organization and the audio book is
I've used MOLDI in the past and assisted customers in using it. I think the common question that customers have is how to return the digital items early. Which is easier to do with different types of items. Why do customers want to return the digital items early because you are limited to 5 at a time and they want to checkout new items.
If you haven't heard yet there is a machine at Main Library for customers to use with the Overdrive software already loaded on it. I know this information has been shared but the more distribution points for getting information out there the better.
Podcast
From the Pickle site, I found Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing it is added to my Blogline but I've included the link above in case anyone reading this is interested in it. The lesson this feed was the difference between cement and concrete. I picked this feed because I'm a math and science person I know that it not the normal for us library folk but grammar is not my specialty so this feed will be useful to me.
Libraries using Podcast
I think using Podcast for libraries is great. I've search one that stopped updating theirs in June. I found a University library that appear to be done once a quarter. I found other libraries both public and academic that started strong and called theirs a weekly update but they don't have a update for over a month. I started this section with names but removed the names because it seemed that was very common. If a library takes this one I think it needs to be current or your customers are not going to care about your feed.
YouTube
I think that about sums it up doesn't it. Okay, seriously I love YouTube, YahooVideo and GoogleVideo. I use them for trying to find out how to cook something sometimes but normally I use them for music. When I can't remember who sings a song or want to hear something right now I go to YouTube.
Why not to go to YouTube. The things I dislike about YouTube is I normally go to YouTube to look for one thing and plan on spending about 5-10 minutes there. Then about an hour later I'm still on YouTube that is my complaint about YouTube is it is too much fun.
This is from Pink the song Dear Mr. President. You can take the song anyway you want but I think everyone should do their part to help.
CML Toolbox
When I went to the CML Toolbox today I found M: MakeZine.com. So far I've read a few interesting articles from this ezine. So far I learned how to turn kid toys into speakers, maybe I could do this if I found a penguin thing.
Then I investigated the cell phone category. Of course there were lots of hacks for phones including iPhones which I want to get. But there was a interesting article about make a $200 computer for blind children this is what we need to use a community brain for improving mankind and using resources for the benefit of all.
Web 2.0 SpanishPod
SpanishPod, it is a very informal approach to learning Spanish. I selected this because I took Spanish in high school and would like to relearn it and brush up on my skills to be able to understand Spanish speakers and converse with them.
The lessons are setup by topic of conversation e.g. how much does it cost, what bus do you need. This is good for an adult learner or traveler needed a few topics quickly. The lessons are then broken down with sections of dialogue, vocabulary, expansion, and exercises. The lessons are just audio no video but this is because they are setup for iPods. I like the layout of this section it has all of the dialogue that the lesson uses. The vocabulary section breaks out the words and the expansion gives the verbs and conjugations them. Finally the exercises lets you practice what you learned.
I like the overall style of this but the first into lesson I heard almost made me not listen to more. Also, even though this was original made for iPod the fact that this is a still image on my screen for 13 minutes is annoying to me. I guess if I was listening to it on my iPod it might work but I need to have the printed material and hear it to learn a language.
I would not subscribe to this because instead I would use our premium resources of Mango Languages available our website (Columbus Metropolitan Library site) with your library card.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Google Docs
I think Google Docs ability to convert into PDF's is great. Why do you want to convert into PDF's? If you have a word processing type document and you send it someone they can make many changes. However, by turning it into a PDF then sending it you have the original intact and changes will be prevented. Anything that you don't want changed by someone you might want to consider this.
In a budget conscious economy I think Google Doc's is a great tool. I will admit there are features of Office 2007 that I do like such as like Smart Art that I didn't find in Google Doc's but maybe all in good time.
CML Wiki
I've used PBwiki, Mediawiki, and dokuwiki for different types of wikis. I find think all three similar to use but different based on the formatting differences.
The main difference I find between the ones I've used has been the structure of the wiki. This was not the wiki engine setup but the setup of the wiki administration in how it was designed. This has made a world of difference in what wikis I prefer and how I can find information in each of the wiki.
Of course the good part of a wiki is there is a search function and I can always use it if I can not follow the structure that was logical to someone else.
Wiki
To me the planning begins with determining what your wiki needs are going to be. Are you doing to have just text? Hopefully, not for a wiki for a non-staff audiences but this might work for other audiences. Are you going to want to upload documents, and if yes what kind? The answers to these questions and many more will help determine what wiki engine you will want to use.
There are converters of course for going from one wiki engine to another but there might be rework involved if this is not selected correctly the first time.
Wiki's are already being used at CML quietly in different areas. I think wiki's are best for when a group needs a collaborative tool that allows access for a group of people. There are other options for this too so a wiki might not also be the best choice it depends on the group's needs. I think everyone should experiment with a wiki to get use to the markup language although most have a nice editor that makes it easy for you.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Thoughts about Library 2.0
* Away from Icebergs
* Into a new world of librarianship
* To more powerful ways to cooperate
* To better bibliographic services
* To a temporary place in time.
I found all five interesting and each gives perspectives for the future about making CML better and improving services we offer. For example if we look at the Away from the Icebergs article in the past and somewhat in the present state we are doing some of the not to do examples. So it is interesting to think about printing on demand, could it work? Where is that technology currently in development?
User education, I've seen recent post that I know we have started to do more with customer education and I know our OD department is doing a lot with staff (user) education so I think this is on the right track. The part that needs to be included here is people taking into account the user being responsible for their involvement. I think the numbers we have for staff involvement in Learn & Play is outstanding but if I would like more staff to be involved especially staff that need to learn these skills.
Into a new world of librarianship, gave me perspective that we still need to do the planning that is important but if we are stuck in a planning cycle are plans can be outdated before they are implemented. I especially appreciate that this article pointed out that technology should not be used for a coolness factor only. I would take this a step farther and say that what you are doing or what problem you are solving should be addressed before what tool you are going to use. The problem with this statement is sometimes a disconnect with the understanding of what the tools will do and what is being requested for the tools to do.
Bookmarking
I have used other social bookmarking sites Furl and JetEye. The interesting thing I will point out about JetEye is it is a visual bookmarking site. You can add pictures and group things with the pictures. I like this feature because sometimes I don't remember which link took me to which site and the visual representation quickly shows which site you would want. The downside to JetEye is not as many people use it as delicious so you will not get as much sharing.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
I'm not sure how often most people update their tweets so I'll need to decide how often I want to update it. If you would like to checkout my Twitter page you can by clicking here.
LibraryThing
I also added the LibraryThing widget to my blog. Here is the link to my LibraryThing catalog.
Amazon Kindle
At this point I do not think I will add this to a list for Christmas for me but maybe once the new model is out it will be worth reconsidering at least.
More with Photos
Image Generators
Image generators are very fun and I could spend a lot of time with this activity. I play around with photos normally just with the tools provided in the photo sites so this is fun. My only complaint, which really is not a complaint, is that I will be spending much more time with this.
I did a few different ones that I found the one that I'm going to upload is from the Movie Clapper Board generator. This one I did as a tribute for my husband and nephew who both like a certain movie, by viewing the picture you will be able to figure this out. The part that is not clear is who has what nicknames, let me just say it is not what you think.
Finding Feeds
In this exercise I had already completed the first part using the search function of Bloglines in the last exercise. I find Bloglines search to be useful and easy to use. I think the other three listed will depend on what you are looking for. Tonight, I did the same searches using all three and with the results I had I liked Technorati the best. Overall, I normally look for the RSS symbol when I'm on sites and find new feeds that way.
BlogLines
RSS Feeds
I find RSS feeds very useful and have used bloglines in the past but not recently because I use the RSS reader that is built into gmail. However, in doing this activity I found a few new RSS feeds that I like and will add into my gmail reader as well. I found a great recipe for Baked Salmon with Tropical Rice, on the AllRecipies feed. This is not the most technology related thing I know but it definitely helps plan what is for dinner and makes more efficient use of my time.
I use added the Learn & Play feed and viewed the most recent video on it where you will see LibraryJoy and OD Maria2.0. If you haven't seen this yet you must checkout this feed and view it because I couldn't stop laughing. This was great another example of the Learn & Play team keeping it simple and fun.
If you would like to see my blogline you can checkout my current picks which I will be adding more to at Missy's Bloglines.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Random Things
For fellow co-workers reading this, I'm a little behind in my Learn & Play 23 things currently so I'm glad next week is a catch-up week.
So in the meantime I've been to two OSU football games. I love going to the football games and being in the atmosphere of Ohio State. One of my favorite things to do when going to a game is to go to Skull Session. For anyone not familiar with this it is the band's practice before the game at St. John's Arena. My favorite song that the band does is "Eternal Father (The Navy Hymn.)" I just think this is a powerful song.
I'm still trying to determine the cause of my back issues that have been ongoing for a year. I have a few opinions and am waiting to see the treatment options. Since this has limited my movement and flexibility over the past year I've had time to find odd things online such as the following blog.
The Post Secret project was a art project where participants sent in postcards anonymously and on the opposite side of the postcard people revealed a secret about themselves. The postcard was supposed to give a clue to the secret using art. This made me think about secrets we keep or lesser known things. A simple example that people have learned about me later is I have a slight obsession with Kat Von D anyone that sees my laptop desktop will learn this and it doesn't match what most people think as my personality.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Flickr Mashup
http://www.flickrspy.com, http://www.applefritter.com/bannedbooks, and http://www.cellreception.com. Okay, on the last two are a little off the Flickr topic this week but they still are mashups.
So, what are theses mashups. The first one http://www.flickrspy.com shows what was recently loaded to Flickr. If you are bored and need to waste a little time...
The second one for us librarian types, http://www.applefritter.com/bannedbooks, shows what books have been banned mashed with a map. I would love to have this with the book cover image instead of the dot but it works.
The last one show you I'm thinking of changing cell services, http://www.cellreception.com., shows you where the cell towers are with a map.
I've used mash-ups before for crime data but I don't have that one handy at the moment but they are very good for information like that and most of the local news sites carry them.
Flickr & Photobucket
I've used Photobucket for a very long time so for any co-worker reading this know that this week we are to use Flickr for our Learn & Play assignment.
First I love Flickr for searching and I used it to find photos all the time. I especially the find interesting results option that Flickr has available. Also, Flickr is defintly the more popular choice which might be why I leaned away from it I tend to look for the hidden gems, the diamods in the rough which there are plenty of choices out there to fit all of us. I'll share more of my choices that are not the given ones in futures weeks as they apply.
I'll was thinking of switching to a new photo sharing service because I just wanted to see if Photobucket was still the right one for me. I've discovered that I might look for other choices Flickr will not be the one I settle on. It has neat features the major downside for me is 100 MB upload per month. I tend to not upload for a while then have a lot of things to upload due to vacations and trips and this size will not work for me. Also, I prefer how Photobucket gives you the html code for posting into Myspace or other places for each picture.
Overall, I don't think one is a clear choice over the other for every person I think it is a personal choice.
(The photo here is from Photobucket from Olentangy Indian Cavern. The Newport Photo is from Flickr.)
Newport & Penguins
DSCF5940
Originally uploaded by mbkmk
We went to Newport Aquarium last weekend for two reasons. The main reason for the trip was really to see Shadowbox Newport. The second reason was to go to Newport Aquarium because I'm a thirty something year old 'girl' obsessed with penguins.
The trip was great we spent a day in the Newport area and another day looking at museums in Cincinnati. We went to Union Station and learn about the history of it and the trains that used to occupy the building. The Natural History Museum and History Museum along with the Duke Energy Children's Museum are all housed in this great historic landmark. We did not go to the Children's museum because we ran out of time. I would definitely recommend going to the free tour of Union Station, it was an hour long and very interesting. I'll be loading pictures later. For anyone that does not know my picture taking style I tend to go slightly overboard and I think I took a little under 200 pictures for this two day trip.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Names
Names are a large part of our culture. So far my hardest task with the creation of this blog was thinking of the name for the blog. I had a few ideas such as "Dark
Growing up, I was always Melissa. I remember in elementary school a teacher once scolded me for not answering to Missy. My response to the teacher was simple, that was not my name my name was Melissa. In high school I had many nicknames from friends and teachers, but I still always introduce myself as Melissa but am called Missy sometimes.
A little over a year ago I got married and discovered another name issue, what to do with my last name. I was no longer in my twenties when I got married so I have established a history with my last name. However, more important to me is my family history. My grandfather died when I was a little over a year old and I had always heard a story that he carried me around as a baby saying I was his boy that would carry on the family name. I am the youngest granddaughter out of eight grandchildren, all granddaughters. Since there are no males that could technically carry on the family name I wanted to keep my maiden name for my grandfather and this story that I've heard. I'm glad I decided to do this but have discovered it can be difficult because people do not understand that I am giving them my last name and think I am giving them a first and last name. Eventually, my husband and I will need to decide if we have children what their last name will be but that is for the future.