SAPL 23 Things: Cosa Numero 23

Yay! Now I can go back to blogging about the things I normally discuss: library jumpies, personal experiences, and the like.

You know, I'm glad I've been doing these 23 Things because:
a) it got me blogging again on a regular basis
b) I now have more experience with certain things I'd ignored like Rollyo and Google Reader

I have to say I wasn't originally so interested in doing this program because I technically already knew a lot of this. However, the prizes were definitely a nice incentive and I did surprise myself by finding new websites-- ie, obsessions to explore ad nauseum. Yes, if there were another program like this, chances are good that I'd do it again.

My favorite activity, by far, was the image generator. To commemorate this awesome Cosa Numero 5, here's my very own LOLcat image.

SAPL 23 Things: Cosa Numero 22

An exercise in hatred and love.

I pretty much despise NetLibrary. I think it's a fantastic resource but one I would not use personally. I'm just not an e-books gal. The techie revolution is not a bad thing in my mind. I love printing out online articles so I don't have to mess with a copy machine. I love listening to audio books that I can easily download. I will *not* read a book online. I would read it too fast and not really absorb as much as I would on the printed page. So yeah. Maybe I could deal with DailyLit but no NetLibrary for me.

Overdrive, however, is a blessing. Yes, it's clunky, and yes, the titles aren't always the best, but I *luv* listening to books while cooking/cleaning/driving. When sick, I just download one of those babies and press play. Oh, it's glorious.

I continue to be an Overdrive fan. In fact, it's my goal to listen to at least 9 titles this year, as part of a self-imposed 9 books in 9 categories in 2009 scheme, thanks to the folks over in Children's. Upon checking my trusty GoodReads account, I can see that I've already done 2 this year: The Dairy Queen, which is fabulous, and Something Rotten, which is based on Hamlet, so it's also pretty good.

SAPL 23 Things: Cosa Numero 21

We've gotten to the techie part that's currently running my life. Podcasts. Specifically, Stuff You Should Know and Stuff You Missed in History Class, which you can get from the How Stuff Works website, under the podcasts tab. I've just been getting them off iTunes for the past couple of weeks, but I suppose it's easier to do it through Google Reader.

My absolute fervor over podcasts is unequalled, except maybe for when I discovered Facebook. Maybe. It's relatively easy to log on to Facebook. Getting a podcast to my phone or wimpy mp3 player is slower, like a religious tradition. In knowledge we trust.

When did I get this nerdy? And wait, there's an Ask a Ninja podcast?! YEAAAAHHH~!

SAPL 23 Things: Cosa Numero 20

Throughout my intimate history with YouTube, I don't think I've found a more rad video than this one.

Kudos to Sister Salad, who I now feel I know personally.



I chose this video because it's an entertaining and hilarious take on English grammar and how it's being butchered by the so-called YouTube generation. You know what I love best about this video? It's done by a couple of beautiful and talented young women.

SAPL 23 Things: Cosa Numero 19

Wow. So apparently everyone can be Rachael Ray.

I'm Cooked is the first place winner by Web 2.0 Award in the food category. You can share recipes and even videos of you cooking up a storm. Of note are the videos by "muscle meals." He is prolific and, man, does he love to be seen wearing a muscle shirt. I suppose it's his shtick. He has a recipe for goat cheese po... I'm salivating so much I can't even type it. Goat. Cheese. Polenta. *drool*

A while back, one of our librarians at our department hosted vegetarian cooking classes for our teens. I can see how she could have filmed herself and participants could have gone over her "performance" on a computer if she had an account with I'm Cooked.

I love that it's like Goodreads but with recipes. There is something powerful about a site that allows you to amass your own posse.

SAPL 23 Things: Cosa Numero 18

I've been using Google Docs-- especially the document and spreadsheet features-- for almost a couple of years now. I'm currently sharing some of my files, but I'd rather not publish them. They're personal and top secret. Mua ha ha.

I have used Google Docs both at home and work. In fact, the friend who married my husband and me sent his rough draft of his speech to us through Google Docs so we could review it. Ah, good memories.

I did run into a problem with Google Docs, though. You can share your document with specific people, but you can upload a document to share it with the general public unless they have a Google Docs log in. This kind of made matters a bit difficult for us, but Zoho Viewer was much easier to share in that respect.

SAPL 23 Things: Cosa Numero 17

Well, this was kind of exciting.

I was able to create a list of my favorite restaurants in SA on this wiki. You'll be able to tell which is mine:

Favorite Restaurants:: San Antonio, TX
Guillermo's Deli
El Milagrito
Turquoise
Niki's Tokyo Inn

I think I captured a pretty good blend there: glorious sandwiches, Mexican, Mediterranean, Japanese... Man, now I'm starving.

Bad, bad idea.

SAPL 23 Things: Cosa Numero 16

Ah, wikis. They make me think of Chewbacca the Wookie.

The Book Lovers Wiki by the Princeton Public Library is one that I find could be very interesting and useful, although on a personal level, I would love to see some teen reads. Go Librarian Chick wiki! Thanks for giving some love to young adult literature.

I've found wikis about library conferences uber useful. I was able to find a roommate that way, so rock on. What a way to take the edge out of planning for a conference trip. :D

SAPL 23 Things: Cosa Numero 15

I've recently heard someone describe a co-worker as being "very 2.0." Fascinating. It's amazing how technology affects day-to-day terminology.

I'm all for Library 2.0, especially when Michael Stevens refers to the library as human. Absolutely! As Jennifer Velasquez frequently says about teen services: "We're not in the book business. We're in the relationship business." Brilliant!

I'm still a relatively new librarian so there is much that I'm willing to learn and explore. Bring it on.

SAPL 23 Things: Cosa Numero 13

I can see why social bookmarking is hot. I really do. I just haven't caught on to it. A year or two ago, a friend sent me an invitation to use StumbleUpon. A few months ago, another friend sent a pretty wonderful bundle of links. Eh. To this day, I haven't done anything with Delicious or StumbleUpon. It's useful. It's informative. It's easy to use. I still ignore it.

However, poking around websites led me this fabulous Nancy Pearl Flickr album. I feel like a bit of a tool for becoming her latest fangirl but I simply bask in her glorious author podcasts. And hey, she got an action figure made by simply being awesome and not kicking ass in the literal sense. Go Nancy!

I have to say, though, I love that first video on the 23 Things site explaining social bookmarking. It does a beautiful job of making the whole aspect of tagging not confusing.

SAPL 23 Things: Cosa Numero 12

My Rollyo, which I'm experiencing for the first time, has been one of the more difficult projects because I would have loved to do a manga one, but that was already one of the examples. I want to be different! So I chose to do one on hot teen reads. You may think that this was easy for me since all I do is breathe teen vibes all day long but it took me awhile to really get the creative juices flowing.

That may be 'cos my kitten wants lots of love right now, though.

Select...Hot Teen PicksSearch The Web

SAPL 23 Things: Cosa Numero 11

This entry is dedicated to Goodreads, the online catalog I've been a fan of for the past year. I have a LibraryThing account-- in fact, I've had it for several years-- but I love how accessible and friend-friendly Goodreads is. I love to see what other people are reading, how often, and all that. I love lists so knowing that others can see what I read definitely kicks my reading booty in high gear.

You'll be able to see my book montage to the left here. What are you reading?

SAPL 23 Things: Cosa Numero 10

Okay, this has been my favorite activity so far. My best gal is in Pittsburgh and I miss her terribly, so I felt the need to give her this gift. She's gonna love it!

Click here if you want to use this image generator. It's made of awesome.

SAPL 23 Things: Cosa Numero 9

Okay, now we're really getting rolling. Yeah!

So in terms of RSS feeds a la 23 Things, I can honestly say that I'm having a grand time with Wowbrary's presence on both my iGoogle homepage and my new Google Reader account. I've been a huge fan of Wowbrary ever since a colleague shoved it down my throat, and that's because it's AMAZING! Well, now I can view each entry, item by luscious item, through my Reader. If I had doubts about using Google Reader before, they're gone now, because I really am obsessed with Wowbrary. And really, could they have found a more lame name than "Wowbrary"?

But I digress.

I'm not entirely convinced that DailyLit is for me. I've long realized that I read books but I skim websites. Something about the screen's brightness... or maybe knowing that I have so much information in front of me... It's just too much. So I have signed up for DailyLit because I might enjoy Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (in 37 installments) or some of Rudyard Kipling's stories, like How the Leopard Got His Spots. I have a special place in my heart for Rudyard Kipling since my mother was such a fan.