I was curious about exactly why the US was teetering on the brink of depression and why (or how) the US economy had got itself into this position.
I started with the msnbc timeline - reasonably good but it did seem to assume some knowledge that i didn't have.
I then moved onto how stuff works - this was an excellent explanation of mortgage backed securities - how they work and what happens when home loans are defaulted on in record numbers. It also helped me understand the msnbc timeline a little better.
I finished up with kiplinger.com's 15 things you need to know about the panic of 2008.
Of the three - I found how stuff works to be the most useful for a non-us reader - I understood it all a lot better after that. (and some of the stuff I heard on the business news this morning suddenly makes a lot more sense.)
Friday, October 3, 2008
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Thing 64. One Hit Wonders
Site:CopyPasteCharacter.com
What I thought: Could be useful as it's basically a stencil like sheet of characters (think wingdings or webdings) that you can copy and paste into a document. I can't think of a time in the recent that I would have used it if I'd known it existed (except perhaps the £ symbol for the requests module at work?)
What I thought: Could be useful as it's basically a stencil like sheet of characters (think wingdings or webdings) that you can copy and paste into a document. I can't think of a time in the recent that I would have used it if I'd known it existed (except perhaps the £ symbol for the requests module at work?)
Site:Kuku Klok
What I thought: I probably wouldn't use this one - my pc is in a different room and I suspect that I would sleep thru kuku klok as the alarm I chose (slayer guitar) was loud but probably not loud enough. I'll stick with talking clock and mobile phone alarm!
What I thought: I probably wouldn't use this one - my pc is in a different room and I suspect that I would sleep thru kuku klok as the alarm I chose (slayer guitar) was loud but probably not loud enough. I'll stick with talking clock and mobile phone alarm!
Site:Stormpulse
What I thought: Not being in a hurricane threat area I probably wouldn't use this although it was interesting to track the progress of hurricane Ike (the only active one at this particular moment). It gives you details such as the current location of Ike's centre, wind speed, pressure, & movememt. Like I said - interesting but probably not useful for me.
What I thought: Gotta admit this one was fun! I entered a name set of American and country Australia asnd this was what I got. (When I changed the name set to England/Wales I was Sienna L Patel!). can't imagine why I would use it (especially while I am not being evil) but it was fun to play with.
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These name sets apply to this country: American
What I thought: Okay this one I liked (and actually signed up for) - it searches photos such as Getty Images (eg editorial or creative). i searched for gymnastics beijing olympics and found some awesome photos that i hadn't seen anywhere else. I expect to make a lot of use of this one.
Two blogs that I read religiously (for web & library stuff)
What i learned today
Nicole Engard's blog about "Web 2.0 and programming tips from a library technology enthusiast, What I Learned Today… covers blogs, rss, wikis and more as they relate to libraries."
I find lots of interesting sites via her blog and it keeps me learning, and thinking about some of these sites could be useful to me both at home and at work.
Swiss Army Librarian
Brian Herzog's blog about 'the hitchhikers guide to fear and loathing at a public library reference desk' is another that leads me to all sorts of interesting sites and ideas - his post about using firefox on public library pcs is almost a' bible' to me - I so want to do this where I work.
There are a lot of other blogs that I more than skim read ( I'm following 380-something blogs on a wide range of topics) but these 2 are 2 of the best imho (and for my purposes) as they frequently inspire and seldom disappoint.
What I thought: Not being in a hurricane threat area I probably wouldn't use this although it was interesting to track the progress of hurricane Ike (the only active one at this particular moment). It gives you details such as the current location of Ike's centre, wind speed, pressure, & movememt. Like I said - interesting but probably not useful for me.
Site:Pixadus
What I thought: I was interested in this one as Gitte & I are currently 'working' on an online photos demo for early October. Pixadus is basically social rankings for photos - you opt for + or - for photos and they move up and down the rankings accordingly. I searched for Paris and found some ace photos (I voted for one fo them just to see what would happen). I think I'd use this site to search for photos but probably wouldn't get around to posting any of mine to it.
What I thought: I was interested in this one as Gitte & I are currently 'working' on an online photos demo for early October. Pixadus is basically social rankings for photos - you opt for + or - for photos and they move up and down the rankings accordingly. I searched for Paris and found some ace photos (I voted for one fo them just to see what would happen). I think I'd use this site to search for photos but probably wouldn't get around to posting any of mine to it.
What I thought: Gotta admit this one was fun! I entered a name set of American and country Australia asnd this was what I got. (When I changed the name set to England/Wales I was Sienna L Patel!). can't imagine why I would use it (especially while I am not being evil) but it was fun to play with.
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Your Randomly Generated Identity
| Gender: | Name set: | |||
| Save: | ![Firefox FireForm Profile [http://fireform.free.fr/]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_umKuZIL2usMQs1nCnQ-8QIKwm1L49Ab1YnfcPKruqdWVON7Yuxy7YvRCDI4JhM4AthpQ0qcLL8lVVb96Eh73XpRnwd4CwaEAw7Z4ltsnZ97Q=s0-d)  | Country: |
Janet T. Laney
89 Creedon Street
Gowanbrae VIC 3043
Website: Babblevee.com
It looks like Babblevee.com is available! Click here to register it!
Email Address: JanetTLaney@mormoncoffee.com
This is a real email address. Click here to use it!
Phone: (03) 9605 2415
Mother's maiden name: Smith
Birthday: March 10, 1950
Visa: 4916 7608 6275 8186
Expires: 2/2010
UPS Tracking Number: 1Z V69 W36 43 5845 674 4
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What I thought: Okay this one I liked (and actually signed up for) - it searches photos such as Getty Images (eg editorial or creative). i searched for gymnastics beijing olympics and found some awesome photos that i hadn't seen anywhere else. I expect to make a lot of use of this one.
Two blogs that I read religiously (for web & library stuff)
What i learned today
Nicole Engard's blog about "Web 2.0 and programming tips from a library technology enthusiast, What I Learned Today… covers blogs, rss, wikis and more as they relate to libraries."
I find lots of interesting sites via her blog and it keeps me learning, and thinking about some of these sites could be useful to me both at home and at work.
Swiss Army Librarian
Brian Herzog's blog about 'the hitchhikers guide to fear and loathing at a public library reference desk' is another that leads me to all sorts of interesting sites and ideas - his post about using firefox on public library pcs is almost a' bible' to me - I so want to do this where I work.
There are a lot of other blogs that I more than skim read ( I'm following 380-something blogs on a wide range of topics) but these 2 are 2 of the best imho (and for my purposes) as they frequently inspire and seldom disappoint.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Thing #63. Foxit reader
I don't like downloading stuff onto my laptop - mainly cos the hard drive is almost full and the replacement twice-the-capacity hard drive is sitting on my desk staring at me as i type this (Note to self: must install new hd)
I've downloaded foxit reader onto my usb drive of portable apps (aka as the surfboard if you are rifling thru my usb drives for any reason)
I suspect this could be another useful tool if I need to fill in a PDF form online.
Once again I tried the US Postal Service- online job application and found foxit a little more 'tapsister friendly' than pdf escape when filling in the form. It's hard to pinpoint why I preferred foxit - I think it's probably just a 'personality' thing, no real reason just personal preference.
I did wonder whether zamzar (my favourite conversion tool) would be useful for these online pdf forms?
(wanders off to upload us post office job app to zamzar...)
I've downloaded foxit reader onto my usb drive of portable apps (aka as the surfboard if you are rifling thru my usb drives for any reason)
I suspect this could be another useful tool if I need to fill in a PDF form online.
Once again I tried the US Postal Service- online job application and found foxit a little more 'tapsister friendly' than pdf escape when filling in the form. It's hard to pinpoint why I preferred foxit - I think it's probably just a 'personality' thing, no real reason just personal preference.
I did wonder whether zamzar (my favourite conversion tool) would be useful for these online pdf forms?
(wanders off to upload us post office job app to zamzar...)
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Thing 62. PDF Escape
This could be a very useful little program. I couldn't think of a site that I'd accessed recently that I'd use it on so I followed Mary's example and used the employment form from the US Postal Service.
I also followed Mary's advice and registered with PDF escape from the getgo.
I found PDF escape easy to use, although I did get a little annoyed by having to 'insert text' for each line I wanted to enter info into.
Mind you if it had been a real job application I would have been obsessively resizing text boxes and the like.
I'll have to try and remember this one for when I do come across pdf forms that can't be filled in online.
I also followed Mary's advice and registered with PDF escape from the getgo.
I found PDF escape easy to use, although I did get a little annoyed by having to 'insert text' for each line I wanted to enter info into.
Mind you if it had been a real job application I would have been obsessively resizing text boxes and the like.
I'll have to try and remember this one for when I do come across pdf forms that can't be filled in online.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
#61 Facebook & libraries
I've done the whole search for library on fb previously and friended and fan'd several - some because I'm interested in them- they're located close by, I work for them, I went to uni there etc, others I follow to get a feel for how they are using fb to promote their library service.
Our ILS vendor is, I think, almost ready to 'unleash' a fb application to search our catalogue which I think would be great.
The libraries that to me have the most effective fb presence are those that have a catalogue search widget/application rather than just a link on their page.
In the realms of fantasy (or way outside my programming league) I'd love to see library patrons being able to do most everything from our facebook page (think library elf meets e-resources).
I'd like to be able to do things such as renew my books from the fb page - the catalogue search app is a good start but how about being able to join online via fb?
Something to think about?
Our ILS vendor is, I think, almost ready to 'unleash' a fb application to search our catalogue which I think would be great.
The libraries that to me have the most effective fb presence are those that have a catalogue search widget/application rather than just a link on their page.
In the realms of fantasy (or way outside my programming league) I'd love to see library patrons being able to do most everything from our facebook page (think library elf meets e-resources).
I'd like to be able to do things such as renew my books from the fb page - the catalogue search app is a good start but how about being able to join online via fb?
Something to think about?
Friday, May 16, 2008
#60. Facebook
I was watching tv yesterday morning (breakfast tv - I feel so ashamed) and the 'Today' show was 'interviewing' a technology guy who was basically saying that fb was on the decline - that the number of people signing up was decreasing, the number of regularly active accounts was decreasing, and so on.
I found that interesting as a couple of days ago I read a blog post that said that there were more applications currently being written for bebo than any other SNS.
I think Facebook and other SNS sites are great for libraries - it gives us a presence where our users (and potential users) may be, it enables us to publicise and promote our events to a wider audience, and it enhances our virtual library.
I've been on fb for a while now - I'm not the most active of participants, but I do check it most days, and I like to experiment with different applications.
I only wish more staff would get involved with the online tools available and see them as an opportunity, not a threat.
I found that interesting as a couple of days ago I read a blog post that said that there were more applications currently being written for bebo than any other SNS.
I think Facebook and other SNS sites are great for libraries - it gives us a presence where our users (and potential users) may be, it enables us to publicise and promote our events to a wider audience, and it enhances our virtual library.
I've been on fb for a while now - I'm not the most active of participants, but I do check it most days, and I like to experiment with different applications.
I only wish more staff would get involved with the online tools available and see them as an opportunity, not a threat.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
#59 Authors on the web
I have used Authors on the Web previously and whilst can be a useful resource I seldom use it anymore.
One of my most visited websites is Fantastic Fiction which answers pretty much all my book related queries such as series order, forthcoming books by favourite authors, and the like.
Authors on the web seems to be very US author based.
For example I searched authors on the web for 2 of my favourite British authors (Danuta Reah, Hilary Norman). Neither of them were listed. On FF I got a list of their books in series order and a link to their homepage/s.
AoTW is a useful website but for me I find FF to be more useful at home and at work.
One of my most visited websites is Fantastic Fiction which answers pretty much all my book related queries such as series order, forthcoming books by favourite authors, and the like.
Authors on the web seems to be very US author based.
For example I searched authors on the web for 2 of my favourite British authors (Danuta Reah, Hilary Norman). Neither of them were listed. On FF I got a list of their books in series order and a link to their homepage/s.
AoTW is a useful website but for me I find FF to be more useful at home and at work.
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