It's not her birthday....

Our daughter is currently an exchange student in Germany. Two days ago her host family threw a "welcome" party for her, although she has been there over one month. The next day she awoke to a card from her grandmother, and a package from her mom. She called to ask, "Are you sure it's not my birthday?"

We are very proud of her; she is a senior in high school and will graduate with her class, albeit from afar. She is where she needs to be. She is challenged every minute of every day, and for a bit of a "breather" she joined a club that only speaks English.

More later....

It's all in the cards....

I just love to play cards. During the cold, dark winter, my son and I found refuge in a good game of gin or canasta to go along with our afternoon tea and after-school-snack. Now that it's the bright, warm, lazy, hazy days of summer, we still play cards with our afternoon tea.

This goes back years and years ago, when I played cards as a child, then as a teenager ~ days at the pool, playing Pinochle with my girlfriends. Ahh, the hours one can spend in such bliss. I found an interesting shop once on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh that sold all sorts of playing cards. We bought one set with Shakespeare characters, one set with explorer's ships, and one set that resembled the first deck of cards ever printed.

I am looking forward to going on vacation in August, when I go for my morning 10-mile bicycle ride, late afternoon at the beach, and lots of cards....

They think it's progress...

to have U-Scan machines at the grocery store. But this is what I think... it is just one more way to acquire stress, which we do not need in our lives, thank-you-very-much. Every time I am with my daughter she insists on using the thing, and it always, I mean always sends us a message, "Please wait for customer service." It doesn't like that I bring my own bag, it thinks I am stealing 10 ounces of something. It can't read my bonus buy card, which has grown weary with wear, and cannot be scanned, it has to be entered manually. And... I don't get any sort of discount because I am working more, and one store employee is working less ~ the one I would have gone to if I had not brought my daughter along. This is why I NEVER, and I will repeat this, NEVER go to the U-Scan machine, because what it really is is a U-Might-Get-Stress-From-Using-This machine.

Later....

They're here....

the first tomatoes from our garden. I also plucked two more eggplants, and lots more basil.

I must say, I had fun with the Thoreau hyperlinks, I just wanted to keep right on going...

Well, until later...

I will not be a "spoiler"...

that's what they are called, the people who share the details of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I finished it today, what a journey. Now I have to wait until my daughter finishes it to discuss it with her. And, our son has decided to begin at the beginning and read them all over again before he finishes up with year seven.

Off to look at the garden, yummm...

The mystery begins...

OK, so I started reading the 7th and final book about the life of someone we all know, Harry Potter. I cannot imagine him ever being called "Harold" however, Harry just seems to suit him. And talk about web page design, you must see J.K. Rowling's... it is riddled with candy for the eyes and ears.

Apparently I have another white eggplant to pluck, and the tomatoes are coming in just fine...oh, and I bought some lovely local corn on the cob today...

Later...

Yesterday...

we had a look~see at Johns Hopkins University. Our daughter is going to be a senior in high school next year, and we need to look at colleges and universities now because she was awarded a full scholarship to study in Germany for her senior year. Consequently we need to fast forward things a bit, and visit her favorites before she leaves.

I was very impressed with JHU. It just seems to be a perfect match for her. But, be that as it may, she will be the one to decide, and then it is up to the admissions counselors.

I am soooo enjoying my summer, in spite of the fact that I cannot get the jpg picture of antique paper to become my Thoreau background...

Later...

Really awesome....

digital audio collection including Gertrude Stein herself... I found this while looking up a poem last night, "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" by local poet Wallace Stevens.

Enjoy!

Until later...

How many....

tutorials, cups of coffee, family members, friends, cups of tea, classmates, and chocolate does it take to imbed the proper html code for a colored background into your web page???

The person who can guess the answer to this question... will be awarded the privilege of helping to weed that garden, and eat some of those quickly ripening tomatoes!

Hooray, yoga tonight...

Home again, home again....

from my FT weekend. Talk about America on the move; everyone was on the PA Turnpike today, and they were not all friendly, nor were they on their best behavior. But, I arrived home safe and sound, and will rest up to work on my web page.

Later...

I know a guy...

who knows a gal who knows a guy, who writes about all things Apple. You can read all about it here.

Well, I finally weeded the garden. Lots of tomatoes on the way, and I plucked my first small white eggplant, and more basil than I really need right now.

Stay cool....

How chic....

to be where we are.... in school for library information science...

Working on the web page, still need to weed the garden....

Stay cool....

A frustrating day...

for many reasons, one of which is this web page. Enough is enough. We really should be in a computer lab for these lessons. I can just hear my yoga teacher asking me, "What do you do when you are faced with a difficult situation?" Today, the answer is.... chocolate...

Tomorrow I weed the garden....

Later...

New paradigm....

Yesterday afternoon we picked up our daughter at the Philadelphia airport. She was returning from a four week exchange program in Germany. Having been in the travel industry for many years, I knew to check flight arrival information on the computer, prior to setting out for the airport. What I now know about technology, however left me unprepared. It is now possible to have the flight arrival information sent to your hand held or cell phone, with updates as frequent as they occur. I do not have that system in place. I had to rely on the old fashioned, call-the-airline-key-in-the-flight-number-and-arrival-date to get the latest. Beyond that, it still would not tell me when they had cleared customs, whose luggage had not arrived, and whether or not there is tea available at the arrivals lounge. So much for information technology.... but I did get some great German dark chocolate with a marzipan filling out of the deal....

The garden needs to be weeded, any volunteers???

Later....

Independence....

Happy Independence Day.... I don't know... today I wondered "what's the big deal?" We celebrate something we accomplished 237 years ago, and since that time, we have given our independence away. We have buildings and corporations owned by the Japanese, the Germans, and China; we get our food from Chile, Mexico, Brazil, and China; our cars are manufactured... where? What are we celebrating? What actually is independence?

Well, back to the iPhone.... here is a bit of a chuckle

And the garden.... we are certainly getting enough rain, so not to worry, we shall have our tomatoes soon...

Later....

Saving time????

OK, here's the scenario.
1. I take a hand written new prescription to Target Pharmacy on Saturday, after hours.
2. I put it into the drop box envelope, then into the drop box.
3. I get a telephone call Sunday morning that my prescription card expired June 30, today is July 1
4. The pharmacist called the prescription company, they said, "Yes, the card expired yesterday."
5. Monday morning, I called the benefits department of the school district for which I work.
6. She advised me to call Capital Blue Cross, member benefits, as my card is indeed live, and my account is current.
7. I call Capital Blue Cross, they verify that I am current.
8. I call the prescription company, they verify that I am current.
9. I call back Target Pharmacy, she enters the number once again.
10. The number goes through.
11. After a side conversation with her fellow workers, the pharmacist tells me that it happened to three people yesterday, that their account was coming back expired.
12. The prescription company had trouble with their computers.....
13. I call back my benefits department to relay this information, meanwhile they had gotten a call from another employee saying the same thing.
14. Thank goodness it wasn't an emergency.
15. Eight telephone conversations, because a COMPUTER was having a bad day....

Breathe......

June, Moon, Spoon....

The full moon has always been a favorite subject of poets, writers and romantics. Read all about it...here.

Until next time...

Live and in person...

I went to a bridal shower today, and one of the bride's sisters had her new iPhone! Her husband stood in line for 7 hours yesterday and bought one for himself and one for her. I offered to phone-sit for her while she goes on vacation this week, but she was not really interested. In fact, I don't think she's put it down the entire time she's had it. I don't know what I would stand in line for 7 hours for.....

Until later...

Both Sides Now

Well, as Joni Mitchell says, "I really don't know clouds, at all." My ZoomCloud appears once again. The only time it actually appears in the specially formatted design and colors I chose is for the first millisecond, then it reverts to the template, which means that part of it is hidden. I did choose a text wrap width, but alas, ... I really don't know clouds...

Rows and floes of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere
I've looked at clouds that way

But now they only block the sun
They rain and snow on everyone
So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way
I've looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down, and still somehow
Its cloud illusions I recall
I really don't know clouds at all

Moons and Junes and ferris wheels
The dizzy dancing way you feel
As every fairy tale comes real
I've looked at love that way

But now it's just another show
You leave em laughing when you go
And if you care, don't let them know
Don't give yourself away

I've looked at love from both sides now
From give and take, and still somehow
It's loves' illusions I recall
I really don't know love at all

Tears and fears and feeling proud
To say I love you right out loud
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds
I've looked at life that way

But now old friends are acting strange
They shake their heads, they say I've changed
Well something's lost, but something's gained
In living every day

I've looked at life from both sides now
From win and lose and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all
I've looked at life from both sides now
From up and down, and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all

Well, today is the day of the iPhone. Big day for stockholders.... I say, let them work out the kinks and the price will come down, then maybe, just maybe, I'll consider thinking about buying one.

Meanwhile, my classmate sent me a word document in the new Office Windows, and I am having a challenge downloading the compatibility file...

Until later...

Ahhh, summer...

I thought I had escaped the unbearable heat and humidity, but I guess I would have to move for that to happen. It's here, in all its glory. I'll just make the best of it.

I have a pen pal who lives in Botswana. She is a professor at a technical institute and teaches library information and technology courses to adults. She was working on her PhD. but had to put it on hold for a bit. It is an interesting topic, how cell phones influence the lives of women in Botswana. They have some unique applications; for instance, if a person takes medication on a regular basis, the cell phone can be programmed to remind her. Leonardo's Laptop is not just a dream...

She originally comes from Zimbabwe, but left because of the political turmoil. It is now necessary for her to return to get her mother, and bring her to Gabarone.

It is winter there, now, so I try to think of cooler breezes...

Until later,

Virtual Bookshelf...

Here is my virtual bookshelf on Koha.

However... I really do think you have to be logged into Koha in order to access this.

The Pater...

out there tying up the tomatoes in their cages. He is moving pretty well for a guy who had a pacemaker installed less than two weeks ago. The tomatoes are doing great, too. They seem to enjoy growing wherever they please... so we have to train them a bit. Can't wait for the fresh, juicy fruit of the vine.

Later....

Those clouds...

It seems as though ZoomClouds will not make clouds on my computer. The air is just too clear. Don't be deceived by the one you see on my blog, it doesn't look anything like the one it makes in Del.icio.us. Ahhh, technology... sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

Ta ta...

Tragedy it seems....

is not being confused about your assignments, it is picking out a coffin for your 15 year old son. This week we had a fatal accident in our area, and two of my former students died in an automobile accident probably caused by another former student playing "switch lanes" on the bypass. He veered to the right, causing his minivan to force another car off of the road into an embankment, rolling three times. One girl was killed immediately, one boy was on life support until yesterday. Now the family is down the street at the funeral home making arrangements.

How I wish we would care more about them when they are desperately crying out for attention, giving them the discipline, love, and guidelines they crave, instead of feeding them more toys, violent television, and "student rights" within a school system.

It seems to happen in our school district every summer, useless death and tragedy. Who has learned a lesson from this...? It is bound to happen again.

I digress from 2600...

Ta,

Technology 301

Well, I told my kids I'd be dancing around them with this technology course, and now my husband calls me the "Digital Goddess." Cool. Yes, we have the Skype and we have the Logitech camera to go with it, and our daughter has been calling us from Germany via Skype. She is with a family who has a computer, and Skype, and now, guess what?... the same Logitech camera we have, so... today we got to meet the parents. Their son stayed with us in March, so we knew him, but today was parent introduction day.

So, I have the Koha finished, have accounts on Grazr and ZoomClouds, and am now waiting for the muse to tell me what to do with them. All in good time....

The garden is doing great, lots of sun and lots of rain. Speaking of rain, we had a lightening storm last night and I kept leaving and returning the chat, I felt like I had a revolving door because I got disconnected so often. Yes, technology is amazing... when it works.

Have a great day...

Happy Father's Day

This is a first. My husband is having father's day with no children, they are both away. So, we spent some time with my dad, who was weeding the garden, along with my sister, who was helping.

Earlier today I listened to Jimmy Wales talk about Wikipedia. I had no idea there was WikiQuotes, WikiDictionary, WikiNews, and WikiMediaCommons. The entire operation is just amazing, and just in time for this information explosion, because it is far more than a revolution. Change is upon us minute by minute and one better get on the moving train, or stay away from the third rail.

Have your passport ready, you can go anywhere....

Earth Science Search Engine

Here is my Google Search Engine:

http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=009158893661350690435%3Aj8p0k-chivu&hl=en

I really enjoy Earth Science, so that is what it is about.

Everything is Miscellaneous

Well, I sure enjoyed David Weinberger's assessment of digital information. His way of looking at sorting sheds new light on household tasks and computer searches. Silverware is sorted in the silverware drawer as it is stored away according to type. Don't look for a spoon with the forks, it just won't be there. Never mind that you can eat pie ala mode with either a spoon or a fork, you won't find the two mixed up in the drawer. Not so with digital information. The more places you can find it, the better.

I also like his comparison of a clothing store. Just try putting everything that is your size into your cart, then deciding if you want to try it on or not. Rodeo drive, here I come....

OK, I finally weeded the garden, but only for about 15 minutes. Then my arms and my patience gave way and I said, "I shall return..."

Dad is doing great with his new electronic device.

Our daughter is in Munich for the next three weeks, our son is leaving for the Florida Keys for a sailing venture.... it is good to miss them and enjoy the quiet.

Other Technology

Speaking of technology, my Dad had a pacemaker inserted this morning. I was there with him in recovery, and he looked great, actually much better than he has been looking lately. Well, if your heart wasn't pumping enough blood to oxygenate your cells, you would be tired all of the time too. So, hopefully he will be up and about and weeding that garden soon.

No, I didn't take my laptop to the hospital.... I could barely get a cell phone signal, let alone wireless internet.

Until tomorrow...

Anyone Need a Ride?

I just finished watching Ricardo Baeza-Yates in his discussion entitled "Social Media or The Impact of Us." He wows us with some astonishing statistics, such as over 4 billion web pages are viewed each day. The most visited pages are 1. Yahoo 2. Google 3. Microsoft. We have progressed from using the web for searching, discovering, & learning, to staying in touch, and needing my data NOW. It has gone from "The Web," to "My Web," to "Our Web," and is indeed making an impact on our society and how we connect.

I was intrigued by the fact that the most valuable questions are not serviceable on the web. Decades ago, when I was in college, I used to think it would be helpful to find and provide car rides for people going home for weekends and vacations. My invention (never patented, mind you) was to have a central place to telephone to register the fact that you are going in a certain direction and could provide a ride, or register that you needed a ride.

We have come a long way since then, we have blogs, info hotlines, and virtual bulletin boards for posting this data. But, you still cannot pose this question to a search engine, "Does anyone need a ride to Pittsburgh this weekend?" Just as you cannot ask it, "What is the best Indian restaurant in West London?" Ricardo's example was "Where can I go on holiday for a week that costs 1,000 Euros?"

Hence, he postulates that Web 3.0 will replace Web 2.0, and empower us to find answers to life's persistent questions.

Technology issues have been resolved and I downloaded all of my Foxfire extensions all over again.

The garden is doing well, and desperately needs to be weeded. Any volunteers???

TTFN...

First Technical Frustration...

Today I experienced a major technical frustration. As I was downloading ENW, ready to restart Firefox, it would not start. We tried everything.... we are still working on this.

I finally received my textbook for LIS 2600. One thing at a time...

Later...

Kellog's Cracklin' Oat Bran Cereal

Part 2 of Marc Smith's interview on Social Networking is again, loaded with the implications of our digital age.

Not only will your palm pilot and cell phone be able to tell you more about the people you have walked by, interacted with, and spent time in the same room as, it will share information with you. Just by adding a lense to your cell phone, it will be able to give you more information about a book or label on a product than you can get by reading it.

His example is his favorite Kellog's cereal. When he scanned the bar code with his cell phone in a nearby grocery store, he discovered that the cereal had been recalled, and should not be on the shelf. The reason? The ingredients label neglected to include milk, eggs, and almonds, poisen to anyone allergic to them.

I was also struck by his observation that over 90% of undergraduates in this country have a FaceBook or MySpace account, sharing with anyone at all, their most personal secrets. If we were required, by law, to share this information, we would protest, yet millions of Americans willingly create space that "tells all." What does this say about protecting privacy?

He identifies these blogs as "a new form of clothing" telling more than one could fit on a T-shirt.

Ahhh, life in the information age, it just keeps getting more and more interesting.

Now for your favorite part of this blog, the garden. Well, the rabbits obviously didn't get enough clover from the yard, so they ate the parsley in the garden. What next?

Until later...

Playing with the toys...

Well, I had my first conversation over the Skype network. I didn't have my web-cam, she did. It was quite novel, talking into my headset, watching her picture on the screen.

This morning we became the proud new owners of a brand new Logitech QuickCam Ultra Vision HD Special Edition Video Photo Webcam. Whew! Say that 10 times...

The family tried it out, I will do my test run tomorrow.

Regarding the NY Times article "Copyrights That No One Knows About Don’t Help Anyone" .... this poses some interesting questions. For instance, it states that, "a work is automatically copyrighted the moment it is “fixed in tangible form.” Does this mean that digital information is not copyrighted, because it is not tangible, or is it copyrighted because it can be reproduced on paper, and is then tangible?? Hmm, I need to do some research on this one.

I guess you are wondering how the garden is doing. Well, all of the sunshine and rain we have had lately has just been doing amazing things to the artichokes, the vegetation I do not want to do well at this point in time. I have this theory... my dad's name is Arthur, so I am thinking he is secretly starting a business called "Artie's Chokes" and harvesting them to pickle and spice and sell in mass quantities. He just has me there pretending to nurture the tomato plants, the eggplant, and the herbs so the other weeds can be kept at bay. Keep an eye out for this new organic food product at your local co-op. (Also, let me know, because I am completely in the dark on this one.)

More later...

Collective Action Dilemna Theory...

Just finished Part 1 of this interview with Marc Smith. Talk about new paradigms... it was quite interesting to think about these social connections through the internet, and actually creating programs that can decipher them.

According to Smith, in these environments, "It makes sense to take and not give." I hadn't thought of that before, but that is exactly what one is doing when one uses information gathered in this way. Also, just like the theory that 10% of the people do 90% of the work in most organizations, he identified the fact that 2% of the population are considered the "answer people" and do 85% of the work. See the similarity?

S.N.A.R.F. = Social Network And Relationship Finder, relevance having to do with relationship, the key to his research and investigation... all new concepts to me.

Sadly I have to agree with him that kids text almost more than they talk, which accounts for the fact that their people and communication skills often leave a lot to be desired.

Stay tuned for comments about Part 2...

Taking it one step at a time...

Well, I am adding to my del.icio.us account, gearing up to purchase a remote headset for Skype, taking it one step at a time, not hyperventilating at all the information posted to the New Basement Tapes, and all of my Google Reader feeds.

On another note, the garden is doing much better now that my daughter and I weeded another 200 artichokes, which were, yes, "choking" the tomato plants. It's an Art thing (my dad) because that's about all he planted last year, and never turned the garden, and the things just keep multiplying. When we turned the dirt this year to plant the tomatoes, we must have dug up hundreds of them, but if you just get half of one, it regenerates and multiplies.... so, you just have to keep up with it. Also added were parsley, basil, and a lovely white eggplant plant. My grandmother was the best gardener, with the greenest thumb. She had violets all over the house, and parsley all over the garden. I did not inherit that thumb, although I did make a strawberry/rhubarb crisp yesterday from the rhubarb in my front yard, which is the only place I get sun, hence the gardening at my parent's house.

Like I said before, I like three day weekends...

...to go where no one in my family has gone before...

Well, this is the beginning of the technological revolution in my house. I told my two teenagers I would be dancing circles around them after taking this course. I now have my own blog, my own del.icio.us account, and feeds to my Google Reader. What is next?

About the tomato plants, we are replacing them. We are also adding a White Eggplant to the mix, as well as the usual herbs, basil, oregano, and rosemary.

I enjoy the leisure of a three day weekend. I think there should be more of them....

More about the bees...

Here's an interesting story about the bees...

http://blogs.earthsky.org/eleanorimster/science/051412/want-to-eat-then-we-need-to-heal-the-honeybees/

I think we need to keep an eye on this...

Be Very Kind...

Be very kind to the people who run small businesses in your neighborhood. They not only contribute to the local economy, but to the ambiance of your town. We have this great family owned hardware store just down the street. I can walk in there and ask for any size nail, bolt, bracket, or screw and buy as many as I need, from one to one hundred. I do not have to buy an entire carton, and they will go in the back room and find it for me. I can also ask them for suggestions and advice on fixing things and they will listen and help me.

So, in appreciation for them being there and staying in business I brought them doughnuts. It was my way of saying "thanks for giving me the joy of having a local hardware store."

We cannot let them go away, these small, family owned businesses. They are the backbone of our communities. Support them, appreciate them, and be kind to them.

Well, well, well

OK, whoda thunk I would be starting a blog. Amazing things happen when you sign up for a class with Tomer. Well, we need more rain. The rabbits ate two of my 32 tomato plants which were lovingly placed in the ground last weekend, with lots of sweat, toil, backache, and care. Now, two are missing, so I think we need some moisture in the ground so they don't try to eat the plants thinking they will get the juice of the tomato before it is even a flower.

Speaking of flowers, what have you heard lately about the bees? I'm guessing it's a combination of cell phone towers, pollution, and too many campaign signs along the highway. Let's just have some good, honest debate, wait, won't that increase global warming?

Did anyone else notice how bright and vivid the spring colors are this year? Is it just the gray days that emphasize them, or the cold winter, or am I just so happy to see color?

Well, gotta go, tea is ready....