IHCPL #91 Fun with photos

Using PhotoFlexer and BeFunky I uploaded a picture of myself. I started with ‘pop art’ and tried most of the options on BeFunky. I found them to be too harsh and sharp. It reminded me of 60’s -70’s psychedelic movement. Using PhotoFlexer I liked the ‘popart’ for a fun poster, the decorate option was also fun. I added text to the picture, put it in a frame and saw how it would look as a poster. I was not précise enough to fill in and erase but enjoyed playing with the 'beautify' section as well as the 'distort'. Given time the fill, draw and erase would become easier to do. I also used the 'Fun Cards' and put my face on the 100 dollar bill.



Using Faceinhole took me to Funtasticface.com where I edited my photo. If it were Christmas it would make more sense and we would all be a lot cooler. Maybe I can convince my co-workers to have christmas in July on the 26th. At least we can have a party day to help us through this hot summer.

IHCPL #90 You Oughta Be In Pictures

After watching the video on photosharing I looked at some of the reviews and overall most of the sites are pretty much alike. I have a flickr account and looked at their site again. However, every time I try to sign in it says my name and password are wrong. My Picasa account covers everything that I need for now including uploading to my Facebook account. Although photography is not one of my main interests at this time I can see that Photobucket or a similar account that will allow me to do online scrapbooking in my future.

When sharing my photos I want to control who can and cannot see my albums. I am a very private person and am not comfortable with all of my photos being available to the world. I recall going to an antique store with a friend who was looking for old photos for a project she was doing in her house. We browsed through 100’s of old black and white photos and I felt like an intruder in their lives. I hate to think of strangers wandering through my family albums looking at my family photos and memories so obviously privacy and control are of great interest to me. I will continue to use Picasa albums.

IHCPL #89 Basic Photo Editing

For this exercise I used Picnik and found it very similar to Google Picasa with extras such as adding vampire eyes and teeth which I haven't found yet on Picasa. It was fun using but usually do not do that much with my photos. Again someday when I have time it would be fun to use when I can do online scrap-booking.

Google Picasa is my photo site of choice. We have used it for the last 3-5 years and I have scanned most of my Parents family albums there too. My family living in the mid-west can view my albums there which is important to me.

IHCPL # 88 Wave, Buzz and Mobile

I have an invitation to Google Wave but have not really used it. I think it could be useful as a document collaboration tool. The ability to work together on a document real time would be helpful if time were of essence or if several people were working on the same project from different places. The fact that maps, photos as well as documents can be instantly placed in the Wave conversation would be fun as well as useful. A person that needs or wants to stay connected all the time would like the ability to Interface with other systems such as blogger or twitter.

I just set up a Google group for my personal use with friends. Since some of us work outside the home and some don’t we can post and everyone can reply as they have time.

After listening to the video on Buzz I don’t think I will use it much at this time although I have the link on my G-mail. It is too much like twitter, where I have an account that I never use and Facebook where I often see much more information than I ever wanted to know about people. It sounds good for sharing pictures but there are other ways to do that too.

Google Mobile Apps
When I upgrade to an I-phone or Android I will definitely want Google maps and Google Tasks. Since I have no sense of direction it is easy for me to get lost and Google Maps will replace the GPS that I put in my car when I travel. Being a list maker I need Google Tasks to replace my obsolete PDA. Eventually I will add Google Docs and Google Calendar to my phone. I use them now with computer. Google Sync is awesome but I don’t need it right now.

I plan on adding Google Voice in the near future. It is a matter of me wanting it bad enough to take the time to make the change. For me it is not if I will use more Google programs and Apps but when I will use them.

IHCPL # 87 Google Reader

The Google Reader is an application I can use along with my other Google applications instead using my bloglines account. Using the reader on iGoogle would be easier for me since it has my calendar and other useful apps. I have a few sites that I like to keep up with and Google reader will work well for me. I have feeds to, HCPL.net, the Chronicle, and a couple of personal blogs I like to keep up with.

IHCPL # 86 Google Calendar and Documents

My Google Calendar is very important to me. I get a daily reminder of what is going on that that day on the job as well as my personal life. Since it can be accessed from anywhere it helps me coordinate my job and personal life. I can also open my church’s Google calendar with mine to coordinate those dates as needed when working on my schedule. It would be nice if my family members and friends would create Google calendars and then it would be easier to plan activities with them too.

The Google document program has become my spreadsheet program because it is free and works as well for me as Excel does. I keep my personal information such as my daily walking record there and update it often from home. It is also useful for work as I keep a record of Movies shown at Freeman’s 50+ programs in 2007, 2008, and 2009. It has become a “safe place” to keep information and is easily accessed if I am not at work and want to see we have already shown.
Google Docs is quickly becoming the only desktop application I use for my personal life.

IHCPL #85 Google, Resistance is Futile

Google Products

Google is my favorite site for searching, I have tried many others and still like Google best. I use many Google tools. The maps are used regularly if I am going somewhere or if someone needs addresses or directions. I use it plan what I want to see on vacation. The Satellite view is fun and I can look at sites that I can’t see like places in England my friend s e-mail be about while they are traveling. G-mail filters my incoming e-mail well and allows me to read my e-mail from anywhere any time I have internet access. Outlook express is my original e-mail but it doesn’t allow me the access I want and does not filter as well as G-mail.

I use Google docs for personal spreadsheets and word files. I have open office on my personal pc. I have an old Microsoft word program and no spreadsheet program. Google docs allows me to do everything I need to do without spending a lot of money on something I do not use that much.

Google Calendar helps me keep my work and personal life on track. I started using it for work and found that I can look at my personal and church calendars and plan ahead when I need time off. I keep a ‘old time’ hard copy calendar in my work space but it stays at work and I also have a calendar on my pda but do not have it right beside me all the time and there is usually a pc or laptop nearby. Since you can have more than one Google calendar and see them all together or independently I need to update my personal Google calendar and add all of my contacts then I may quit carrying my out of date pda.

Picasa is where I keep all of my photos on my personal pc. I have scanned almost all of my parent’s photo albums and am preserving them online. I am going to keep a Picasa web album so if my hard drive crashes I have another source besides my cd backups. Picasa makes it easy to upload, keep and use photos. Just a few are sent to family and friends but they get to see them immediately instead of picking them up somewhere or waiting for the regular mail to come.

I use the image search often in my personal life as well as at work. It helps to have images to share when I am teaching or presenting information that is foreign to the children or adults I am working with.


Some products such as translator and You Tube I use occasionally. I have an IGoogle page but haven’t found it as useful as I thought it would be. I also have Google wave which will allow me to communicate and collaborate in real time as well as Google Voice. At this time I am not using them as I can’t find anyone else I need to share documents with and just haven’t taken time to incorporate Google Wave into my life.

Google Labs

I love to travel and City tours looked interesting. Google news timeline could be useful to people needing specific timelines for papers and research. Google Transit would have been helpful when I was in Boston a while back.

Google Books

I searched “Hound of the Baskervilles” by Arthur Conan Doyle. I found it as a pdf download. This title is on a reading list every year and all of our copies get checked out. We can refer students and their parents to Google books and they can complete their homework assignment on time.

They also have works by Wilkie Collins such as “The Woman in White” that I can read when I have time and don’t have to worry about turning it back in or buying and storing it on my bookshelf.

I think that in the near future I will utilize Google products in every way I can.

IHCPL #84 Writer Communities & Author Websites

This was an interesting study. I contacted one author years ago to tell her how much her book had helped me. That was a rare occurrence for me, I am not often that moved by a book. Another of my favorite authors is T. Davis Bunn. While looking at his website I was reminded of his book ‘Gold of Kings’ which was thoroughly enjoyable. It has adventure with lost treasure and a little romance. His e-mail address is on the page so he can be contacted.

The writer communities and author websites were interesting and I enjoyed looking at them. I am a user of books and written materials more than a writer of them. If I were an aspiring writer I’m not sure I would go to an open site for criticism from strangers. The Authonomy site sponsored by Harper Collins is a more likely site to place materials if you are serious about being published. Since it is sponsored by a publisher I feel that it has more authority. I like the setup of Authonomy. The idea of a library shelf for items you like with a holding area for items you are considering makes it more like an actual reviewing site rather than I’ll review your stuff if you review mine, which is how I felt about the others.

Just because a book is popular on a website does not make it quality material or writing. If the people voting on it are not qualified to critique the material it is like a person with a Ph.d. in literature writing a book on a medical subject from their own wisdom. I still prefer peer reviewed materials for non-fiction. I would take a chance on the fiction material but would prefer to have qualified people reviewing it first.

IHCP # 83: Paper to Pixels or (e-ink)

Aesthetically, I prefer paper materials. I like the smell of new books, and holding a book in my hand. I get my news by television or headlines online but getting a book faster is not usually important to me. If I were in school and needed a textbook I would probably download it if I could.

I work in a library and therefore all books are free (paper, pixels and audio). Due to the fact that I do not have an i-phone, or i-pod it is not convenient for me to use pixels. I do have an old model mp3 player and a PDA. I could download to them but have not found that I use either for reading enough to make it worth my while. Most of the material I read is not time sensitive so I can wait for the title I want.

Price definitely influences me when purchasing a book. When purchasing, I buy used books or the ones on sale rather than pay full price whenever I can. If had a digital reader and wanted to take the material with me I would pay more for the convenience of having it in my purse or pocket. Knowing that the cost of producing and sharing a digital book is much less than a printed copy I would resent paying the same price for digital as I would for paper.

I-Fiction is a good site for Science Fiction, fantasy and horror buffs. I like the fact that it is free to any author. There were some interesting titles as well. The idea of previewing a book before buying is very reasonable. That is what we do when we read magazine reviews and excerpts online about new materials before we purchase them.

Publishing Evolution #82: Print on Demand

Looking at the various websites was very interesting. It seemed to me that they are all much the same even in pricing. If you are willing to pay more of course you receive more support and direction. When looking at the published materials they were charging just a little less or the same as what you pay at the bookstore or on Amazon. I used one of the calculators to see how much a person would make and in order for an author to make any money they would have to sell the book for about what I pay on Amazon anyhow.

I found several titles on the print on demand sites that looked interesting to me. I would be willing to read them (keeping an open mind about the validity of material) and would be even more willing if they were recommended by a friend or coworker. In my opinion there are probably many quality authors who just haven’t made it to the best seller list.

A person would have to determine why they want their book published. If it were personal or to share with family friends I would recommend using one of the lower rates with as much support as I could afford. If a person were looking toward a career in writing they would have to determine how much they were willing to invest in getting their name out into the field. While looking at the various websites I saw that if you were willing to pay more they would try to get your book handled by various publishers and Barnes and Noble.

I doubt that publish on demand will replace the traditional method of getting published in the near future. If you have a ready group that will buy your book or a way of promoting your book you would have a better chance of becoming a success than if you just put it out with these online publishers.

IHCPL #75 Google and Beyond

1)This was an interesting exercise. My first search was “National Parks RVing”. All three columns came up close to the same but I felt that Bing had more reliable sites listed higher than the other two did. For my second search I searched “Free Keyboarding” something I showed a customer today. Again Bing had more educational sites which is where I prefer to send our customers rather than commercial sites that may start asking them question or suggesting they join. For my third search I looked for “Alternative Medicines”. Again Bing seemed to have more educational and government sites high on the list. Bing does bring up good resources and I plan to try it while at the Reference Desk for some searches. However,Google was not that far behind in rankings and as we will discuss later I prefer Google.

2) Hitwise showed Google.com as number one engine this week. In volume of searches it is far ahead of yahoo. Google has 72.5% while Yahoo only had 14.83%. I will continue to experiment with BING.

3) When looking at Bing, Yahoo, and Google I found that Bing has a nice layout and easy to look at as well as being easy to search on and an engine I could recommend it for most people but does not give me the extras that Google does. I address the extras farther down the page.

Yahoo is alright as a search engine but is too busy of a page for me to want to go there very often. When you log in there are too many options with cutesy icons and the news is “in my face”. When I am looking for something I don’t like all the stuff around.

Google is my choice of sites because it is not busy with icons or adds when I log on. Where Bing links to MSN (not my choice of sites) and Yahoo pushes the news in your face. Google allows you search to without being distracted by all the other stuff. There are links to images, videos, maps, news, shopping, and Gmail with a link for all the other amenities
that they offer if a person wanted more options.

Some of the options that I use are Google calendar, Gmail, documents, Picasa (photo editor). Also, I am the proud owner of a Google voice number which when I activate it will allow me to have it ring any or all of my phones, get voice mail as an email, send unwanted callers straight to voicemail, do conference calls, screen callers and much more. I have also been invited to be on Google Wave. With this people can communicate and work together on a document. Any invited participant can reply, edit, and add people to see and edit a specific document. Google Wave is live and all this can be done as quickly as your internet allows.

Fall on the Gulf Coast

I love fall here in the Houston area. It is perfect weather to be outside most of the time. We may not have the beautiful leaves that can be found in the Hill Country but this is the perfect time to hike, bike, and do all those outdoor things you love that you can't do in June, July, August, and September.

IHCPL #66 Crafts and Hobbies

In the past I crocheted many place mats and three or four small Easter baskets. I currently have an unfinished crocheted baby afghan in my crochet bag. I completed one before my first grandchild, started the second one but never finished it. My second grandchild is now 3 years old, so I'm somewhat behind schedule.

Given the choice of making a prayer shawl, chemo hat or lap blanket I would probably opt for the chemo hat and hope it does not take as long or as the afghan.

Our branch does not currently have an adult knitting group. The children’s department is currently teaching a class and many mothers attended to learn with their children. We hope to start a knitting class in the fall which we hope will evolve into an ongoing program. We are also discussing having quarterly joint sessions with the children’s department inviting special speakers and other events.

#59 Money and Finance

Having heard speakers from banks and the better business bureau I have been aware of Equifax, Trans Union and Experian for some time. It is vitally important for people to be very aware of what their credit rating is. That way there are no surprises if you decide to take a loan to make a major purchase.

We have always had a budget plan even when money was very tight. When you don’t have much money it is easy to see where it is all spent. When you have more money a budget allows you to prioritize your spending so you can do what is most important and plan for later purchases including important decisions such as buying a home or car as well as for vacations and fun.

What I like about the TCDRS site is that it allows us to see how much we have in our account and helps make projections that allow us to better plan toward retirement even if it years away. I found comfort in the following statements on their web page. 1. The system is designed to keep benefits secure even in trying times. 2. Members receive 7% interest on their accounts every year. TCDRS' investment return in any single year does not affect your account balance or benefit payment. 3. Your account retains its value no matter what happens in investment markets

IHCPL #58 Money and Finance: Banking, Budgeting and Spending

1. My Bank offers online banking and we use some of it. We use it to track our credit and debit cards. To me this is the most important feature at this time. Although I use direct deposit we still do some of our banking in person.
According to the bank website they will cover “100% of any unauthorized online use of my consumer deposit account if I tell them within two days of my discovery of the usage.”
Banking with my bank is safe, secure and guaranteed. The guarantee applies to transfers to or from my personal checking and savings account initiated through the Online Bill Payment and Transfer Service - everything that's within their control.
To protect myself online I would use a secure network, not a public pc or a wireless connection and make sure I was logged off and the window was completely closed when I completed my business.

2. Budgeting Tools: The tools offered would be good for someone who needed assistance with their budget. We have a spreadsheet budget created for our specific needs and we know exactly what we need to save in order to be ready to pay the bills when they come in. It includes saving for trips, upcoming purchases and grandchildren.

3. We are all looking at ways to save money. The websites listed are something to keep in mind. I do check prices online and compare with local prices. When doing this I take into consideration shipping and handling and will the item truly be cheaper to order online, pay shipping and handling or spend the time and purchase it locally for the same price while picking up several different items at a local store or mall. The time required for shipping also must be considered. If prescriptions are filled online you must be willing to keep track of how much is left so you can order it and leave the week to ten days for it to arrive. You can order overnight but then you pay extra for the shipping. I have found that sometimes I shop online because I do not want the hassle of shopping or I cannot find what I want locally.

We switched to internet telephone about 2 years ago. It is very cost effective, provides all the services for a much lower price. There are some minor problems with specific landline telephones, such as echoing but. Overall it is worth the money we are saving.

#56 TXT U L8R – Texting

Realizing that texting is extremely popular right now and will probably continue to be important in communicating in the future I am ready learn to use it and put it to use it at least part of the time. How much I use the texting mode depends on how much it will cost me to send and receive.

I sent my first text message last weekend since I was not driving the car and we needed to let someone know we were on the way. I’ve checked my cell phone and watched the video as well as read the article. I’m sure I could send a message if needed.

When sending the text message I did not use text lingo since I’m not real familiar with it but know LOL and IMHO. I will keep Lingo 2 Word in mind to help me with the many abbreviations that I do not know.

IMHO texting while driving is like driving with your eyes closed. It is scary to be in traffic and see the driver in the next lane driving while looking down instead of at the vehicle in front of them. It is sad to know that people are so involved in their conversation they are not aware of their surroundings. If they are walking into traffic or other stationary objects they are not only endangering their lives but other peoples as well.

IHCPL #55 – Facebook

I have been on Facebook for 6-8 months. It could take up a large amount of my time if I allowed it to. The term “screen-sucking” comes to mind when I think of Facebook. I first saw this term in a time management book I read and it can be found in the www.urbandictionary.com The definition being “ wasting time online long after you have finished what you signed on to do.” That is not to say it isn’t amusing and a way to find people you have lost contact with.

Just last week I found a friend I hadn’t heard from in about 25-30 years so that was nice. I also use it to send short notes to friends and family in other states and keep up with what is current in their lives. If I don’t feel like typing I can watch the posts and keep up with friends and family members at a glance.

There are many applications out there. My friends have involved me in ‘Lil Green Patch’, ‘Hugs’, ‘Pokes ‘ and ‘Super pokes’, ‘Kidnap’, ‘Sweet Willies’, ‘snow globes’, and ‘Easter Eggs’. My favorite is 'Kidnap', there are many more but this is the area I find time consuming.

Overall it has been an interesting experience and I will probably keep it since I have family members who are not good at answering e-mails but will respond to short posts on Facebook. The link to 10 Privacy Settings Every Facebook User Should Know by Nick O'Neill was very helpful to me and will recommend it to my friends.

IHCPL #54- Social Networking Through Books

1.I have led book discussions of several different books with a group of ladies and enjoyed the discussion as well as the fellowship time together. A couple of years ago I tried to put together a Google discussion group but the people I wanted to include couldn’t seem to figure out how to do it online. Someday I will try to put together another online book discussion. However, I really like the instant interaction and being able to see and feel the emotions of the others involved in the discussion.

2.An online book club would work best for our staff members. Due to time and scheduling concerns we could post our thoughts when time allowed rather than try to set a time when we can all get together. We have a great monthly Friday Staff Book Club that meets but not all staff can be here and some have other duties that take priority and they cannot attend.

3.Using the title Island of Ghosts by Ellis Dillon I found that ‘Good reads’ gave it a rating of 5 while ‘Library Thing’ gave it a rating of 3. As we all know 'good' or 'not so good' books are in the eye and mind of the reader.

IHCPL #53 Finding Books Online

Exercise One – 3 Stores near Freeman Branch Library
Half Price Books: Clearlake: 961 NASA Parkway. They have an online presence that is user friendly but no title, author searching is available which is important to me.

Barnes & Noble: 1029 W Bay Area Blvd Webster, TX 77598. They have an online presence that is user friendly and searchable by author, title, format and ISBN number.

Borders: 19419 Gulf Fwy. Webster, TX 77598. They also have an online presence that is user friendly and searchable by author, title, format and ISBN number.

Exercise Two
I searched for “At Bertram’s Hotel” by Agatha Christie. It is available online from Borders for $6.99 paperback and $12.00 hardcover. From Barnes & Noble for $9.60 or $6.99 paperback. If I want to use Half Price Books I could call them or go to the store and search for myself.

Exercise Three
I chose to download “The Woman in White” by Willkie Collins. It is an adobe file digitized by Google. I had to continually scroll down to read the book and found it similar to reading from a microfilm. It might be easier on laptop where I could adjust my posture a little more than sitting at the desk in front of the monitor. I still prefer to use traditional print material, it is easier to move around and relax while reading.

The electronic books are good because of the access allowed by everyone with internet access. The traditional print is easier to carry with you when traveling or waiting in for appointments etc. The down side of the electronic access is that unless you have it downloaded on a handheld machine you can’t take it with you unless you take your pc and then not every place allows you to plug in so the battery will die. The downside of the traditional material is that it might be difficult to carry in a bag or get lost if you get distracted during your appointment or while traveling.

#52 - Book Readers and Beyond -What to Read

One of the reasons I became a librarian was my lifelong love of books. I love the way new books smell, I love being able to carry them with me whether I’m on the beach, in the mountains or my back yard. If I have a book I am immediately transported to wherever the character in my book is. On top of all of that is the pleasure I get when I help someone find a new book, series or help them with material for their research paper when they had given up hope of finding anything.

After looking at the eight websites I have to admit that I prefer Novelist Plus and Fiction_L Booklists over the others.

#1 For Read Alikes -Using Novelist and the author Agatha Christie I found John Dickson Carr’s Gideon Fell Stories, Margery Allinghams’ Albert Campion Series, M.C. Beatons’s “Agatha Raisin Series, Carolyn Hart’s Henrie O. Series, and Michael Piearce’s Mamur Zapt Series. In my opinion this one provided the best resources.

When I used Fiction-L I went to Genre listings-Cosy mysteries and found Agatha Christie along with many other authors of the same genre but without links to titles or series. I did not see a way to search by specific author or title you had to go with what they offered. It seemed very limited in what I could do in my searching.


Using “What Should I Read Next” I found that it requires a title before you can search and lists read alike titles without an author listing. The link to Amazon is nice since you can read the reviews before deciding whether or not to look for the title.

#2a Find two books suitable for a fourth grade girl interested in animals:
Using Novelist Plus and Advanced Search I found “Newbery Zoo: A Dozen Stories By Award Winning Authors” with a reading level of ‘older kids’ and “Tough Beginnings How Baby Animals Survive” by Marilyn Singer with a reading level of older kids.

#2b Find two ghost stories for a 14 year old boy: Using Novelist Plus I found “Ghost Hunt” volume 1 by Fuyumi Ono reading level – teen and “Island of Ghosts” by Ellis Dillon for grades 5-8.

3. Find Dean Koonz Read a-likes:

Using Novelist Plus
Greg Bear- ‘Darwin’s Bear’
Dan Simmons – ‘Summer of Night’
John Saul – ‘Manhattan Hunt Club’

Using What Should I Read Next?
Stuart Woods - Heat
Carol Saunders - The Grim Shadow: A Modern-Day Fable
Madeleine Brent- The Long Masquerade

#4. Series For title Alanna - Using NoveList Plus
#1 Alanna: The First Adventure
#2 Hand of the Goddess
#3 Woman Who Rides Like A Man
#4 Lioness Rampant