"Darn! That's the end!"

At long last... the last item of "23 Things!

... trumpets sound... drums roll...

What a long trip it's been. I won't say "strange" as it's been rather enjoyable - except for the parts that were rather boring and pointless.

I would do it all again. I did learn a lot and I did find some items that I can use in helping people get information (or just fun stuff) on the web.

And I even found some things that I could use in my own life.

As I wind up this blog, I'm pretty impressed with the amount of things I've learned and the amount of work I've done. I feel proud of myself for accomplishing this much.

But now? I'm going to take a long break from the computer. I never thought I'd live to see the day where the thought of being on the computer could make my head hurt.

So long, fellow "23 Things"-ers. See you next year.

Or, at least until I blog again!

Project Gutenberg does audio!

Okay, so I knew about this place BEFORE "23 Things", but this was the first time I'd listened to one of the audio books. I started at "a" with Aesop, and listened to a reading of the Introduction by G.K. Chesterton. It was very learned and opinionated. (smile)

Okay, I'm not a fan of audio books, but I'm glad to know that this service is available. Maybe one day on an exceptionally long and boring car ride, I'll plug in one of these free audio books and lull myself to sleep with Thucydides' "History of the Pelopennesian Wars".

It might even be a lot easier than actually READING it.

Podcasts!

This is possibly the most fun you can have on the web after YouTube.

Seriously... where else can you find stimulating conversation on a variety of subjects from physics to dating, from music programs to music discussions, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?

And the best part? Most of it - 90% - is as free as the air.

That's right; installing special equipment (for the most part). You plug in your headphones (or not) and start listening.

And if you're feeling really creative, you can create your own podcast.

(I wasn't feeling too creative, so here's my favorite podcasts so far - Intellectual Icebergs -http://podcasts.yahoo.com/series?c=e&s=1c42803686415ef2e925fe8e0ac3ec01&es=1&rs=1)

RSS redux!

Well, okay, I finally signed up a blog for my Bloglines account...

This blog.

Pathetic, isn't it? But all the other blogs I read don't have RSS. So I'm still wondering - what's the point of having RSS?

Edited to add: And I'm particularly wondering because it doesn't give you the latest stuff from TODAY. You have to wait until TOMORROW to find I what I'm typing today. So it STILL makes no sense to me.

Edited again to add: It turns out that I have to add 10 feeds to my RSS. Sigh. So I did. Here's the list:

- The Shifted Librarian
- Accidental Hedonist
- Eat Feed
- Bloglines News
- Cocktail Party Physics
- Eyebream ReBlog
- NYT Arts
- Vegan Lunch Box
- Vive Le Vegan!

Lulu!

I think this site is great. Self-publishing may seem like an act of desperation, but sometimes it's the only way to go when traditional publishers just won't accept your work.

I had a romance novel rejected TWICE, and I got these vague rejections - "your work is just not what we're looking for at this time." WTFBBQ??? What is THAT supposed to mean? Just freaking tell me if you liked it or not!

After looking at Lulu, I'm really thinking about dusting off that novel and self-publishing it. Even if only a couple of people buy it, it's better than wasting a year writing it and having it sit in my desk drawer.

And who knows? Maybe it'll be the next "Eragon" and get picked up by a traditional publisher after the fact and make a million bucks.

Google Docs!

Okay, so I can make documents online...

...and exactly why would I want to do this? I mean, since I have a computer at home, and can easily use that instead?

Unless I just have some burning desire to share my rough drafts with the universe?

Sandbox Wiki!

For those of us who enjoy making lists of things, here's a place where you can write them down and update them when the mood strikes.

Oh, and you can have everyone else be witness to your fickleness too!

http://marylandlibrariessandbox.pbwiki.com/gvillageidiot%27s-favorite-authors

To Wiki with love (well, Wikipedia, that is)

The most popular wiki on the web, Wikipedia, is also the most controversial. Teachers won't let students use it for reports; it's news if someone (like a senator) or an organization (like the Vatican) gets caught editing their entry.

What does Wikipedia have that other wikis don't?

Well, it is the largest on the web. EVERYBODY knows about it. They're a monolith. They're unstoppable. You will be assimilated. (Just joking.)

I can only tell you why I like it - not because I spend my time writing or editing entries. But because it IS a decent source of information about most things.

Granted, it's not for lazy people who can't be bothered to check other sources (ie, students). But it is a good jumping off point for finding information about certain topics. Such as when I want to find out about books I'm interested in reading. Most of the time it gives a good overview of the plot and I can decide whether or not I want to know more about it, or not. And the majority of entries give good information about the authors.

Unlike Amazon, they don't give critical reviews of a novel, which is good, because most of the time, something that other people dislike is exactly what I'm looking for. I'm contrarian - I like making up my own mind.

As for the research angle, well it's up to the teachers to tell the kids exactly what they're looking for when it comes to research. I think it's harsh to ban Wikipedia altogether, but if kids are going to be lazy and not look anywhere else (or, the problem we have in the library is that kids always want to pick the small book - as if size made something less challenging!)

Me, I love Wikipedia. I've spent many a happy hour going from entry to entry, looking up things. And I've even thought up a motto for them:

"Wikipedia - by geeks for geeks."

(Man, I spend too much time at the computer. )

Web 2.0? Sure, if you say so.

I'm not sure I believe in all this hype about "Web 2.0". Apparently, I went through "Web 1.0 and 1.5" without even realizing it.

I mean, it's great that people can do all this stuff I've been learning about in "23 Things", but how much of it is any one person going to actually use? Aside from my old Photoshop teacher - who was a maven that Apple called when they wanted to test stuff - who's Web 2.o really for?

And just because someone can do this, that and another thing on the Web doesn't mean that they're doing anything creative. Sure it's fun, but ultimately so what?

Web 2.0 reminds me of Segways - yeah, they're fun to use, but you can get along quite well without one.

I hate to be so negative about technology, but there it is - once "23 Things" is over, the likelihood of me being asked any questions about this stuff is zero to nil.

Call me when Web 2.0 (or 3.0 or whatever) produces something akin to real voice recognition(ala those computers on the original "Battlestar Galactica".) Then we can talk.

"Technorati" is really latin for "geek"

Okay, Technorati has its uses, such as finding the following:


http://www.thecurio.co.uk/index.php/2007/08/21/star-trek-demotivators/

Del.icio.us? Not so much.

Okay, I finally took a look at Del.icio.us, and I'm wondering, "What's all the fuss? So you can tag stuff - so what? Tagging is that stuff I have to do after each entry in this blog, and it's more trouble than it's worth. And they've devoted a whole website to this?"

Then I said to myself, "Do I really care what everyone else with these same tags have to say about the subject? No, not unless they're going to agree with me that such and thus is a pointless waste of time, or that this other thing is oh so cool."

Then I said, "Yeah, I get that it's great if I really cared what some other person had to say about that subject, but most of the things I look up on the net are one shot deals, or guess what? If I want to keep coming back to it, I put it in my "Favorite Places" on AOL!!!"

Del.icio.us is another example of reinventing the wheel.

Lifelong Learning

(This is what happens when you don't do things in order - I listened to the podcasts on this subject ages ago, but forgot to write down my responses! Live and learn...)

I think the idea of lifelong learning is great, but how many of us actually put it into practice? I mean, you have no idea how much it frustrates me when people say they can't read such and thus because they don't have any time? Yet, funnily enough, they always have time to watch "American Idol"!

Sorry if "AI" is your favorite show, but come on - is it really going to help you accomplish all those goals you've been putting off FOREVER?

And I'm guilty of this as well - it's only been in the last few months that I've made the effort to cut back on television and to work on the things I really want to do. Like getting the novel I've written, edited and ready to send it out to publishers. So bye-bye repeats of "Smallville" and "Supernatural" - I've got things to do. So long "Antiques Roadshow" and (sob!) "History Dectectives"! Heck, I even missed the season finale of - clutch the pearls! - "Heroes" because I needed to finish typing up my manuscript!

And this isn't even counting the TV I've given up while I've been doing my LATI homework, and my homework for the other classes I've taken. I've even had to give up reading some books I wanted to read because I've had to read other novels (some not in genres I usually read) in order to GET THINGS DONE.

YouTube!

Finally, a website that lives up to the hype!

I love YouTube - it's the internet's answer to the old audio-visual club in high school (man, I'm really showing my age!) A bunch of dweebs (and hey, I'm one too) getting together and making movies. Except it's kinda cool to make your own movies this days - there's even a reality show about it! (Okay, maybe it's still not so cool...)

Here's my favorite clip - it's from IndyMogul on how to make a rocket pack for your movies:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7XvW8UCP8o

Grab some popcorn and enjoy!

Why LiveJournal is superior to Blogger

1. Because LiveJournal doesn't require you to change the Java or whatever to do a simple cut for long posts.

2. Because you can do spoilers in the body of your post without having to change the Java.

So if you're looking for that Harry Potter review, don't bother. I can't do it without spoiling you, or without learning some incredibly complicated crap on Blogger.

More "23 Things" stuff!

Hello! And welcome me back from a long vacation - not an actual one, just from posting. Work and classes caught up with me, but now I'm making the mad dash to complete all of 23 Things before the October 17th deadline!

Checked out two more of the "things" - RSS feeds and MERLIN. Have to say I wasn't that impressed with either of them.

Yeah, RSS feeds are a great idea, but it turns out most of the blogs I read don't subscribe. So I'll have to keep on checking them myself, like NORMAL people.

MERLIN is okay but it doesn't kick as much butt as the CSLA site, where I originally found 23 Things before my system hooked up to it.

Anyway, more later. I need to figure out how to do a "cut" so I won't spoil everyone who still hasn't read "Deathly Hallows". Wish me luck.

A thought on "Deathly Hallows" (spoilers)

http://cdnll.img1.imagechef.com/w/070809/samp1ec058af25815563.jpg





Was it just me, or did everyone's favorite wizarding mentor finally show his true stripes? That even in the afterlife, he couldn't be bothered to show any compassion?