WEEK 99-90

#20........I looked at YouTube last week for the first time and I saw what I expected to see- a lot of "homegrown" "productions" that focus on people who are determined to show the world just how absurd, stupid, ridiculous, careless, and jerky a person can be. I really have no desire to watch a man solve a rubik cube with his nose or watch someone else dress up in bizarre clothing that a member of the opposite sex should be wearing.I kind of have better things to do with my time, you know?? Well- here's a case of If you give something or someone another chance you might just find out something good. I looked at the site again today and decided to search for genealogy and lo and behold there were quite a few videos that I could see myself using. Guess I learned something today. ...............I could see using a video on a library website like using a virtual tour presentation for selling a house, showing what it's like inside of the library and pointing out all of the advantages of coming to the library .

La Semana Siete

WEEK #7 Thing#16...... Had a little fun looking at the wikis-When I looked at the dicover wikis part I saw RocWiki and reviewed that because that is Rochester N.Y. Wiki aand I grew up in a suburb of Roch.. They had a lot on the site , even a sections on disasters in the city over the years. They even explained about how a subway was operational in Roch. -many years ago and why it was so short-lived- didn't know about that at all. Restaurants, tourist attractions, and maps were included. It was easy to get around. A wiki is such a great tool for the city to use and especially for the (good) eateries to use because you've got people adding recommendations to the page on where to go and what to eat and people who have already been there are the best advertisements there are. Using wikis to advertise the Library system pointing out the best features of the individual branches i.e. special quiet rooms, conference rooms, specially trained librarians etc. is a great idea.

More on Week 8

WEEK 8....Thing #19.....I looked at PeerTrainer . It looks like a great site to help someone stay on track for weight management and fitness. Looks like you can get involved on different levels and ask for as much or as little support( in different forms) that you need. What if a Library hosted a monthly group meeting for people who are interested in getting/keeping fit . The members might discuss books, videos, and sites focused on fitness.. Helping them find sites that they could all look at and evaluate might be of help.??........................
I also liked NetVibes a lot- how cool is that - everything you could want is right on this one page set up -even a to do list.

week 2X4 #18

WEEK 8 .....Thing #18 I used Google Docs to create a spreadsheet that I'll use to keep track of how I'm doing in getting my needed exercize and practicing good nutrition on a daily basis.It was VERY easy to use, I didn't need to read up on how to use it and/or get explanations on what was what. I don't know how to use any other other spreadsheets apps yet , this fits the bill for me very nicely.

WEEK SQUARE ROOT OF 25

WEEK 5.....Thing #11....I have set up my Library Thing list. I have a small collection of books on how best to conduct genealogy research, genealogy resource books, and some books about local history and early settlers for diffferent towns and states. I will add more to this list when I find the time.
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/twintwin

This is one of my favorite sites

www.familysearch.org

WEEK NO. 5 #10-also -Gnome go Home??

WEEK 5....Thing # 10..........http://www.chimpage.com/gnome.html This is my generator "thing". I was hoping that I could save the entry that i made up but apparently it just saves the blank page for all to enter their own labels. I tried several times to do Meeze(sp?) and it wouldn't let me in-frustrating.

Week 4 1/2
O.K. , so I'm still not done with 4, but I figured that if i wrote about how frustrated I am it would somehow help. I was trying to subscribe to the feed for Merlin and kept going back and forth trying to find the right page and then on the page it's asking me to enter username and password and all, and telling me that no matter what I enter it isn't right so finally call for assistance. I figured that subscribing to the merlin feed would be no big deal because I was just told that I had successfully subsribed to two other feeds through bloglines search tools but NO, just kidding...... Apparently I really didn't do that per helper comment.... Tell me I am NOT the only person out there with "23" issues???? ....A kind and knowledgable soul heard my cries of frustration and gave me words of support re: Merlin and I was good to go.

Week 3

Week tres .....Thing #7.....Writing anything about technology was the easiest request that I've complied with so far. And thank you to J for telling me about the tabs that make going back and forth so much easier.

WEEK 103-100 Thing #5
Flickr is kinda cool, I really wanted to put a pic on my blog that I had taken in Maine but I couln't "import" one over from my Kodak Pic File and my scanner was broken so I settled for a great Maine one aready on Flickr. I would have preferred to have the actual pic on my page, not just the link ,but I couldn't figure out how to do it so I'll play with that later. Three years ago I took a trip with my twin up to Maine and we saw this lighthouse in Portland. We had a great vacation and saw a lot and seeing this pic just reminded of a special time with my sister. I can see why Flickr is popular , especially if you want to post a lot of pics that you would want a lot of relatives or friends to see. Thing #6--I liked trying out Flickr Postcard Browser by Airtight Interactive- It pulls up pictures in the form of a postcard, you type in your tag and a series of small postcards appear on the screen and you can click on each individually and make it larger. It's feels kind of like a travel log experience.

Week 1+1
Ok, set up my blog- Almost right out of the gate I was frustrated because I was choosing my template and clicked on something I didn't realize I had clicked on and I was out of that screen, and I hadn't chosen a template but I couldn't figure out if I still had to choose or not.?? Unfortunately I could and can tell that it is going to be very difficult for me to do these "23 things" while I am at work because there is a lot of activity going on around me near my desk and when I need to concentrate that is the worst kind of scenario for me. I am trying to focus on finding the balance between running to whomever is near to answer every little ? I have and getting to the point where I am ready to scream and throw my computer out of the window...... Onward.......

WEEK #3- #7

Week #3- #7 Technology and Genealogy: For many people advancements in technology have made quite the difference in how one is able to research a family tree. Last week I read a small piece in Ancestry.com magazine about how attendance at Genealogical Conferences and membership in Genealogical Societies has declined due to easier and speedier access to many records online. Years ago when I wanted to view a Federal Census to find out more about a family that was listed on it I had to either order a microfilm copy of that census from a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and then drive to that local Church location to view it or go to a historical society or research facility in the city or town where that census would have taken place and view it there. Both options were time consuming at best and very difficult to do even on a good day. Military records, ship manifests, land records, and many other records are available online for anyone to view from home from a comfortable chair. Years ago networking to find one's ancestors and relatives meant that you sent out letters and/or made many phone calls to track down your leads. Today anyone can use a query board to try to find "relative" information. For me , being able to access relevent records from the comfort of my home or from my library has been invaluable but there is a downside to easy access to all of this material. Networking face-to -face at a conference and/or sharing research tips at a Gen. Society meeting is an experience all in itself and the results can be much better than sharing printed info. with someone. Some ,if not all, of the information taken from online sources needs to taken with a grain of salt and verified from other sources. A novice needs to understand that ANYONE can post genealogical material online but it doesn't mean that it is accurate. I have met distant cousins online that I didn't know that I had , and I have found valuable information reviewing records that I would never have been able to see otherwise, so despite the fact that I am not technolo oriented I sure am using it in my own right.