Finding Feeds

I checked out all four of the recommended feed search sites. Feedster was down (I guess they were retooling). Topix wasn't very helpful to me, but I did discover a movement among Harry Potter fans to challenge media consolidation by searching for "independent media." A popular phrase they use is "Voldemedia"--clever! I also searched Syndic8. This was my favorite one. By typing in NYC events, I found some great RSS feeds for happinings in the Big Apple. Check out my blogroll at http://rpc.bloglines.com/blogroll?html=1&id=monaleeislam&target=blankif you'd like to see. Just look under "Events." Finally, I tried technorati, and found some cool stuff, none of which supplied RSS feeds, though. From there, I became absorbed in my findings, and had a hard time pulling myself away. I did add a couple feeds from library blogs, namely, "radical reference" and "the shifted librarian." Check under "libraries."

One thing I don't understand is why my blogroll doesn't seem to point to the feeds themselves, but instead, points to the websites from which the feeds originate. It that supposed to happen?

Bloglines

I don't like bloglines, because it's yet another site I have to go to to check feeds. I very much like using browsers to get my feeds, instead. It's very easy in Firefox, for example, to add an RSS feed. It's very convenient. Easier than using bloglines to input and read the feed. Anyway, for this exercise, I used Bloglines. You can access my blogroll at http://rpc.bloglines.com/blogroll?html=1&id=monaleeislam&target=blank

Tek-tek-techNOLogy!

I think technology is like MAGIC! I'm not kidding. Consider radio frequency. It's INVISIBLE! Yet so powerful. No wonder J.K. Rowling doesn't bother to depict Harry, Ron, and Hermione with cell phones or laptop computers. Like a research article I found on the topic says, the magic in Harry Potter stands in nicely for the technologies our young people use today. Of course, we haven't managed to disapparate ourselves yet, use invisibility cloaks, or pack a small purse with all of our things in it (conveniently shrunken until they're needed again) rather than a heavy, burdensome, suitcase. And we haven't used polyjuice potion, either. I especially love how, in Harry Potter, the proverbial "needle in a haystack" can be summoned by a wand and the mere utterance of the word "accio!"

Maybe we're not so different from Harry though. Libraries, Google, and other information providers, continue to strive for the perfection of the "accio" charm when it comes to searching for information. Cloning and biotechnology may draw us closer to the polyjuice potion effect than we'd like. Regarding invisibility, I think we're going in the opposite direction, as privacy crumbles more and more each day--can anyone say "this blog"?

More Flickr Fun

I explored two different Flickr API tools: "World in Pictures" and "Bubblr."

World in Pictures, at http://worldinpictures.org, is a fun site. You can type in a location anywhere in the world, and if somebody has taken photos there (and geotagged them in Flickr), you can see their photos of that place. It gives you some "local color."

Bubblr is cute. You can take your Flickr photos and add callouts to make them appear as comic strips. I did this with one of mine:

CQIA by Ramona and Leslie

I didn't get it to work perfectly, though. One of my bubbles is smooshed. It's supposed to say: "So good to share this award with you and the Library."

Oh well. Maybe next time.

A photo taken in the library

curricentry
Originally uploaded by Malsi_Anomar

Here's a picture of the door to the Curriculum Collection. Woo-hoo!!

CQIA with Leslie

CQIA with Leslie
Originally uploaded by Malsi_Anomar

Leslie is coming tomorrow, 12/19! So, here's to Leslie, and to the Library's CQIA award!

7.5 Habits

The easiest habits for me include: no. 1, "begin with the end in mind;" no. 2, "accept responsibility for your own learning;" no. 4, "have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner;" no. 7, "teach and mentor others;" and no. 7.5, "play."

The most difficult habits for me are: no. 3, "view problems as challenges;" no. 5, create your own learning toolbox (resources & people); and no. 6, "use technology to your advantage."

It's difficult to answer this question, however, because sometimes the things listed as easy can be difficult for me (in a discipline that's out of my comfort zone, for example), and sometimes I'm very good at the habits I listed as weaknesses. This is my best stab at answering the question, however.

Hello World!

This is my first hypothetical posting!