Thursday, February 28, 2008

What was that blog again? Oh, wait! I use RSS feeds!

I am one of those people who never has the time to keep current with all the latest blog posts. I don't know how some people manage it, but I sure haven't discovered their miracle secret to staying up to date. At least now, with RSS feeds coming to my Bloglines account (and the Google Reader account I already had), I no longer have to remember exactly which blogs and sites I'm behind in reading. RSS brings me that information! So although it hasn't revolutionized my world, it has at least eliminated a few things off the impossibly long list of things I'm trying to remember at any given moment. Which is an improvement, I guess. Freed up some brain space for other information to forget repeatedly. And every once in a while I do remember to login and check the blogs I like reading, so having the RSS feeds collected in one (OK, two) place(s) is quite handy. I'm a convert.

Friday, February 15, 2008

Flower Sudoku with Flickr

This is the coolest Flickr-related app I've ever seen!

I clicked on the link from our Discover 2.0 blog, and the page that came up defaulted to a Sudoku grid with hamsters on it, so I played around with the button to click to get new pictures and solved that puzzle. Then I decided to try a new tag and chose flowers. This is the puzzle I ended up getting, which I then solved. (I can't figure out how to upload the exact completed puzzle, so this link just takes you to the page where you get a new puzzle. Sorry!) The flowers are gorgeous! The only complaints I have are that you have to stare really hard at the screen, which gives me a headache, and it's harder to keep track of which photos have and have not been used in a square or row than it is to glance and see which numbers have/haven't been used yet. Still, it's fun! And I like that I found a computer game I actually enjoy, which requires no particular hand/eye coordination. :)

I also played around with the Spell with Flickr app. This is what it came up with for Discover 2.0--lovely, no? I like that you can click on an individual letter until it comes up with one you like. Not sure if there's a "back" option on that--I didn't try it yet.

I'm amazed that people figure out how to create these programs. It's certainly nothing I know how to do. Nor would I probably be able to think up an idea of what to create even if I could...and wanted to devote sufficient time to it...which is also unlikely. So hooray for the folks who do!

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Landscapes on Flikr

I wasn't sure what to search for in the Flickr tags. I hadn't anything specific in mind for this post. But I like landscapes, so I eventually put that in as a search word. And this is one of the ones that came up on the first page:
Based on the "caption" on the page where I viewed the full image, I'd guess this was taken somewhere in Italy. What I love about it, though, is the blue of the clouds. It just seems to glow, and I have no idea what time of day it's supposed to be. Maybe the photographer (adrianoperelli) used a filter--I don't know. Doesn't really matter. I just find it peaceful to look at.

So there you go. Maybe you'll find it peaceful, too.

Thursday, February 7, 2008

My first blog post...ain't it grand?

My thoughts on the whole 7 1/2 Habits of Lifelong Learners...well...I like #7 1/2! The rest of it isn't really new information--just old news repackaged. Not that there is anything wrong with what they said--they are quite correct, after all. It's just that I've been raised to do all those steps, so it feels like stating the obvious.

That being said...what would I say is my easiest step to follow? Probably #4: Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner. I've always been able to learn most things quickly and well, so I pick this one.

My hardest step to follow might be #1: Begin with the end in mind. I don't always stop to clearly articulate my goals, and that can make staying on track and knowing when I've succeeded a bit tricky.