Woo Hoo!

This is the ONLY time I have taken a web quiz. So, this means that I am half Supergirl? Which half?

Your results:
You are Superman

Superman 80% Spider-Man 80% Green Lantern 70% Robin 62% The Flash 60% Hulk 60% Supergirl 52% Iron Man 50% Wonder Woman 47% Catwoman 35% Batman 35%

You are mild-mannered, good, strong and you love to help others.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz

LibraryThing Rocks!

I have been using LibraryThing with my job and really liked the ease of use. We used it to display new books on our Library blog.

I have been wanting to create a catalog of all of my Disney, Star Wars and other favorite books for several months. I signed up for an account (which had to be the easiest registration ever) and started entering the ISBN's right away. Since a few of my books were only sold at Disney theme parks, they did not have an ISBN or other identifying mark (like a publication date). I was able to enter 60 titles last night and it took me about an hour. That was in between changing a diaper, eating supper and keeping the boys from getting toys everywhere.

I am still exploring the power of LibraryThing. I added a widget to the left hand column of this blog that will display random titles from the books that I have entered. I can tell it to only show books with certain tags (or keywords) or by specific authors.

I hope to start entering my Star Wars titles next.

Speaking of Disney....

Oh, wait. You mean you weren't talking about Disney World? That must have been me!

We just got back from a 6 day trip to Walt Disney World. We stayed at the Polynesian Resort and had a really good time. This was a different trip for me for a few reasons.

1. Both boys were able to ride most attractions.
2. Both boys knew about Disney and had some expectations.
3. This was the first trip since 2000 without my parents.

I also wanted to make good memories for the boys. Give them a few bright spots to hold onto and remember. Make them want to go back to Disney World.

We did the opposite of most of my previous trips. We slept late, avoided the big rides and just let the boys lead us around.

We had a few expectations for the trip. We were assuming that the weather would be nice. We thought that the parks would not be as crowded as summer months. We thought the Christmas decorations would be amazing.

Well, the weather was overcast and kind of gray. The parks were more crowded than usual, but we still had short waits. There didn't seem to be much Christmas spirit anywhere. There was plenty of Christmas music being piped all over the parks and the resorts, but the decorations weren't as stunning.

One of our highlights was actually being in the Family Fun Day Parade. We were asked by a Year of a million Dreams castmember as we made our way to the Magic Carpets of Aladdin ride at about 9:45 at the Magic Kingdom. Here are some pictures of it:

www.flickr.com

Connery really enjoyed it. It was pretty cool to walk down Main St. USA at the Magic Kingdom with a brass band playing 76 Trombones right behind you. A lot of people were watching us as we walked on by. It really was a great experience.

Welcome to the Social (Gaming, that is)

Anyone that knows me, knows my passions. I do wear them on my sleeve. Just take a look at my sidebar. In no particular order: libraries, video games, music, reading and Disney Theme Parks.

I have been a video game player since my parents brought home a pong console in the mid to late 70's. It also played jai lai and hockey. We didn't care. We were mesmerized by the glowing white bars and the bouncing square.

We didn't get an Atari 2600 until summer of 1983. My parents were always late adopters. Hours and hours of playing Combat with my brother. We could never agree, though, on whether the three bi-planes were better or the large jet.

Then came Mario. The NES. The Nintendo Entertainment System. (Wow. I can't wait to get my hands on a Wii.) Well, since then, there has always been a Nintendo console wherever I lived. I loved the Zelda series. Anything with an action/RPG gameplay. Yes, there is a Gamecube in the play room.

Even though Nintendo revolutionized the gaming industry, I wasn't a semi-hardcore gamer until I played Halo. You may have heard of it. It was the killer app for the Xbox. It was the first game I ever beat. The first game I ever played all the way through with my son. And my introduction to social gaming. We called them Halo Nights. Or LAN parties. We would get 3 or 4 Xbox's, a couple of projectors, a router and at least 12 friends. Drinking, cursing, yelling, lasagna and plenty of male bonding ensued. Hang 'Em High, Blood Gulch...you name it...we played it.

Halo is a first person shooter (fps), which means that you see the guns on the screen and you have an aiming reticule. You basically run and gun. Shoot. Try to take out the enemy first. With the Halo Nights, we would play Team Slayer (two teams try to get as many kills as possible), Team Deathmatch (similar concept) and Capture the Flag. Great fun.

Halo 2 took the Halo Night online. You could go online and play against friends and strangers. You had a headset and mic, so you could talk to your fellow players. It was great. But it wasn't the same. It was difficult to create a party and go online with your friends. I could have up to three friends come over and we could all go online, but you were dumped into an unranked match (meaning you were either playing against noobs or pros).

That all changed on Emergence Day.

I have an Xbox 360. It is incredible. So far, there has not been a Halo for the Xbox 360. No real killer app. Until Gears of War. There has been incredible hype about this game.

I played it. Thought it was ok. Harder than Halo. this title is a third person shooter. You actually see your character on the screen. In Halo, you run and gun. Just go. Like a tank. occasionally, you would have to stop, so your shield would regenerate...but mostly you would run. In Gears, you actually stop and pop. You have to hide. You need cover. You won't survive otherwise.

Well, back on target...

With Gears, two people can play co-op on the same Xbox 360. Just like Halo. What is different is that you can play Gears in co-op mode through Xbox Live (internet). I was introduced to this by a friend. it is hard to explain how amazing this is. I can be in the middle of a game, notice that my friend comes online and invite him to play with me. Sounds simple, but it is revolutionary.

He lives about 30 miles away. I have another friend that is about two hours away. We use the headsets, we plan strategy...we play the game. Just like we were in the same room.

Is it social gaming? Sure. We talk about the game, what is going on in life...just like a phone conversation. We just happen to be saving the planet at the same time. Or at least we think so.

That is always what has made gaming fun. playing with friends. Saving the world with friends...

How Cool is That?

I was messin' around on Flickr and saw this new "addition" to their services.

So, needless to say, I clicked on it.

It does show the most popular cameras used on Flickr--by number of photos submitted. You can click on specific brand or camera. It will show you different types of pictures taken by that camera. Gives you an idea of whether the camera fits you or not. I found my model of camera and then did a search for polynesian and disney. I wanted to see pictures of my favorite resort at Disney World taken with my camera.

While you're browsing Flickr, you can see what type of camera took the picture. Look at the Additonal Information area. Not every picutre has camera information. Some images were scanned or sent in by a cell phone camera.

You can click on the link for the camera. It takes you to a page that shows the camera (and of course--a link to buy the camera through Yahoo!), some specs and pictures that have been taken by the camera.

Thought this might be helpful and fun. Especially when thinking about buying that new digital camera for Christmas.

But then, none of my pictures look as good as the ones highlighted on Flickr.

Pandora...best website ever!

Ok. In my top 5 anyway. Have you experienced Pandora? I ran across it through a magazine article and I visit it almost every time I am on the web.

Ok. It is part of the Music Genome Project. What's that? Well...

Inigo Montoya: Let me 'splain. [pause] No, there is too much. Let me sum up. Buttercup is marry' Humperdinck in a little less than half an hour. So all we have to do is get in, break up the wedding, steal the princess, make our escape... after I kill Count Rugen. --The Princess Bride

A group of "musicians and music-loving technologists" came together to analyze music and try and separate it into genes--or attributes. If you give them a song, they will find similar songs.

Frankly, it is quite amazing. I have several stations that I have created, but I really only listen to one. It is my Power Pop station.

"What is Power Pop?" I sense you asking. Here is the definition from wikipedia:
Power pop is a musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop music.

The music is characterized by strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements and prominent guitar riffs. Instrumental solos are kept to a minimum, and blues elements are largely downplayed. Recordings tend to display production values that lean toward compression and a forceful drum beat, most often in a dance vein. Instruments usually include one or more electric guitars, electric bass guitar, a drum kit, and perhaps electric keyboards or synthesizers.

Badfinger's "No Matter What" (1970), The Raspberries' "Go All The Way" (1972), and The Knack's "My Sharona" (1979) are some of the most commercially successful singles of the power pop genre.

While its cultural impact has waxed and waned over the decades, it is among rock's most enduring subgenre.

My personal definition is one that I have been using for years; before I really discovered power pop. A song that makes you sing, you can dance to it, it has a great chorus and it us under 4 minutes.

Ok. back to Pandora. You visit the website and create a free account. Name the radio station you want to make. Put in a song that you like. Listen to what Pandora suggests. Click on the "I Like it" or "I Don't Like It" thumbs on the CD art. Pandora will then play something else based on your input.

I amazed at the music that I have discovered. And the artists. You can visit my profile page to see some of the new groups and songs that I have bookmared.

My two new favorite bands? The Rocket Summer and The Marvelous 3.

Try it out. Seriously...

Blind Spot

We were watching Grey's Anatomy last week. The show centered around the theme of blind spots. Not the actual blind spot, but things that we can't see or that we refuse to see.

I was thinking about what kind of blind spots that libraries have.

I have been keeping up with a lot of different blogs about libraries and they seem to fall into three camps:
1. The Library Mavens--they push the edge of what libraries can and should be doing,
2. The bloggers that report on what the Mavens are writing about and doing and
3. The bloggers that are complaining about their jobs or libraries.

Some of my favorite library blogs are in the Maven category. I find myself thinking about the posts from Michael Stephens of Tame the Web, Michael Casey of Library Crunch, Jenny Levine of the Shifted Librarian and Stephen Abrams of Stephen's Lighthouse on a daily basis.

I enjoy the Library Mavens because of their enthusiasm. They preach the good that libraries are doing and they spend their time inspiring us to take that step. Even if it means leaving our comfy library world and exploring something new. I was fortunate enough to see Michael Stephens and Michael Casey at the Learning 2.0 event at the Charlotte/Mecklenburg Public Library. I went with the Assistant Director of my library. We both left inspired and ready to make some changes.

What we liked about the presenters were their enthusiasm. Not just for web 2.0--but for libraries doing their very best to build community. To meet the patron wherever the patron is. To offer services because they make sense for the patron. Granted, Michael and Michael are on the edge. They have to be extreme in order to get the point across. We can't do everything that Michael and Michael suggested, but we can add services, make changes or try out some things. Take a few steps.

I guess this leads to blind spots. Are we so trapped in the traditional library mode--through staff, patrons and governance--that we can't see what is needed? Could all of this talk about library 2.0 be a blind spot? Are some of us so hyper-focused on new technologies that we are leaving our traditional patrons behind?

My current job has a lot of freedom. My previous job didn't. I am finding tremendous growth in my new position. Although, I am allowed to do whatever I think necessary to get the job done, I still have to think about the whole picture--and be 'mature' about my decisions. I have been given the opportunity to try new things. If I fail, then we all learn and we try something else. Our biggest motivating factor is to have people like the library. That encompasses a lot. Not only finding the books they want, but having a helpful staff, having computer access and a great library space.

What about my blind spots? I get bored easily. I tend to be too nice to people. I want everyone to like me. I often choose technology over simpler things. And I overanalyze everything.

Seriously.

What about you?

Keeping up with the Blogs...

If you spend anytime reading blogs, you understand the trouble of bookmarking, remembering and keeping up with the latest posts. I attended a Library 2.0 conference at the Charlotte/Mecklenburg Public Library many moons ago. Michael Casey and Michael Stephens both shared "get your library butt into gear" or else presentations with inspiring images, words and general library goodness. At the time, the idea of web 2.0 was foreign. I have taken small steps and big leaps since then. It is feeling more like home.

One of the tools mentioned was a blog aggregator. This is a piece of software that keeps up with your blogs and will track posts that you have read. When you log in or launch the software, it will list all of the blogs you subscribe to and let you know which ones are new. Bloglines is one that I have been using for several months.

You can see my list of blogs here. Of course, they are mostly library related.

My Flickr set. Flickr is a great Web 2.0 tool for sharing your photo's. If you go PRO, you can upload archival copies of your pictures. It is a great way to back up you pictures online and share with friends and family!

www.flickr.com More of biblioadonis' photos