Finding RSS feeds

Again, the hardest part of this exercise was thinking of something to search for. As with any type of search, I found that the more specific I was, the better results I got. Since they were mainly keyword searches, I got all results where the term was used at least once, and they may or may not have had anything to do with the posts.

I did like the feature on topix.net that lets you search by zip code. I live in a small town with a weekly newspaper, and we only make the television news if something shocking or catastrophic happens, so it was nice to be able to get information as it happened. That said, the most recent post I found about my town was from the end of August, so I guess my town isn't even interesting enough for the Web.

RSS Feeds

Okay, so the RSS feeds part of CML's Learn and Play was a little tough for me. But not necessarily because it was confusing--more so because I didn't have very many blogs to get feeds for. I don't usually read blogs in my spare time, so other than a few news-related blogs I had no idea where to look. Luckily Bloglines has some to choose from when you sign up.

I do like the idea of having all your news/information sites in one place and automatically tell you when they are updated. It's really frustrating when you go to a page expecting something to have been changed and it hasn't.

Technology: Love it or hate it

For the most part, I'm a big fan of technology. Sure there are learning curves, and sometimes a few bugs to work out, but overall I think it can make life easier. That being said, I've been having a love-hate relationship with technology lately.

I work at a retail store in addition to the library, and we just upgraded our computers which were supposed to make our lives easier, and for the most part it does. But it tends to fail at the most inopportune times. For example, I have a little handheld computer that tells me where items go, how much they cost, and how many we are supposed to have. However, if I leave it idle for too long it knocks me off the system and I have to start over. Awhile ago I was trying to make a lot of shelf labels (18 pages worth) and I got called up to the register, which left the computer idle for too long, knocking me off the system, which made me have to start over!

Luckily, CML's Learn and Play program hasn't given me such headaches. The only problem I've had so far is coming up with the time to do it, especially after the Labor Day holiday.

Flickr Exploration part 2

Today I started looking at the third party sites that use Flickr images and found one that really caught my attention. I love to travel, so when I saw Trip Planner by Yahoo I had to check it out. There's lots of cool features like plotting out your next trip and opening up your plans so others can comment on them. You can also view what other people have done when they travelled. There's lots of pictures and even a virtual map where you can mark places you've been and places you hope to go. It's a really cool site and worth checking out when you need to plan your next trip.

Flickr Exploration

I had no idea there were so many different pictures out there. I was a little overwhelmed at what picture to blog about while I was exploring Flickr, so I just kept clicking on the random button for posts in the last seven days. Then I found this one. I love the beach, but I've never seen a picture like this one. It makes me think of the saying about seeing the world through rose colored glasses. There are times when I'm wearing my sunglasses that I almost forget I have them on and think the world around me is darker than it actually is. It's a great perspective photograph.

What in the world is a commonplace book?

If memory of my English Literature from 1660-1900 class is correct, a commonplace book was created back at the time when coffee houses were first starting to become popular. The books were a place for people to write down their favorite quotes and observations so they can share them with others. I had to keep one for several of my college courses and have continued the practice since.

While thinking about what I want to accomplish with this blog I thought this would be a perfect forum for a commonplace book. To that end, I will most likely be posting about my observations of the world around me, as well as my favorite quotes and information about what I'm currently reading.

7 and 1/2 lifelong learning habits

This is my first attempt at blogging, although I've had to look up blogs in the past for a previous job. Now that I'm trying to write a blog myself, I'm finding that it's hard to come up with things to say. Nevertheless, I'm glad CML is giving employees like me a structured way of learning this new technology.

I've always considered myself to be a lifelong learner, especially when it comes to computers. There have been many times in my life where I've had to learn a new computer program with little or no outside guidance. I suppose accepting responsibility for my own learning is my strong suit, but with one minor exception--I have trouble asking for help when I need it. But then again, it's a fundamental part of my learning to try to figure things out on my own, so maybe it's not really an issue.

That being said, I think the hardest part of the learning process will be teaching or mentoring others. In the past I've tried helping people with computer software and I find that I can get frustrated if s/he isn't catching on to what I'm saying. This is especially a problem when I find something particularly easy to figure out. I understand that people learn at their own pace and computer skills don't come easy to everyone.