10 Random Things

1. I graduated from high school a year in advance. Took a lot of hard work, but it definitely paid off. (If only I was able to accomplish the same feat in college...)
2. I am EXTREMELY ticklish. No kidding. My sisters tormented me when I was younger. If someone even acts like they're gonna tickle me, I flinch and ball up in a fetal position. Ok, it's not that bad, but close.
3. I love to sing. I am actually one of the worship leaders at my church. I've grown up in a houseful of musically inclined people. My mom and two sisters sing and play the piano. My dad is just a shower singer though. Poor guy.
4. I still aspire to get my law degree. That of course is after the MBA, which is of course after the MLIS. Lots of school ahead for me.
5. I'm still kind of afraid of big dogs after being attacked by one when I was a pre-teen. But I now have a German shepherd. Go figure.
6. I've always gone for girls that were older than me. I'm leaving that one alone. :)
7. For the past year, I've determined to set up a rigorous exercise routine. Sure, I'll start it. Tomorrow...
8. Last winter I tried skiing and snowboarding both for the first time. Hated skiing because I made a total fool of myself after flying into a bunch of bushes in front of everyone waiting in line at the lift. Snowboarding is way better.
9. I really don't like listening to audio books. Strange, I know.
10. One day, I want to go on a tour of Europe. Mainly England, Ireland, and Scotland. Maybe I'll reward myself after school. Wait, according to thing 4, that's probably not for another 8 or 9 years...

Final thoughts...

I have to say that I'm sad to see this program coming to an end. :( I've really enjoyed the opportunity to play with all of these new (to me) technologies. I honestly feel like I've learned so much and am even more prepared to help meet the needs of our customers. I love twitter and will definitely keep that up. I really feel like I've gotten to know so many people better throughout the system. And I might even create a separate blog for fun. Cheers to CML and the Learn and Play team. Thanks so much for bringing this our way.

MOLDI

I've used MOLDI before and I really like it. One of the things that I've noticed is that the majority of the titles that they own are all old. Very few titles are really new. However, it still is really cool that all of these ebooks, movies, and audiobooks are available for CML cardholders to download FOR FREE!!! And I'm really excited that MOLDI is now compatible with ipods. :)

Podcasts...

Ok, I can see why some people like podcasts, but I can't see myself being a big user/fan of them. I really don't even like listening to audio books. :( Strange, I know. One thing to note though: for once I really didn't like Google's directory the best. I liked Podfeed's podcast directory better than Google's. The setup was nicer and less confusing. Like I said, I can't see myself becoming a huge fan of podcasts, but hey! I've been known to change before. :)

CML's Power Tools

As part of the InfoLine team, I had the opportunity to play with CML's power tools first thing as the toolbar was downloaded to all of our staff PCs. I think it's really useful and is used quite a bit. I especially like just being able to click on the link to access the About You page.

Thing 18

Ok, I was really excited to see that a lot of the award recepients were webisites that I've actually heard of and used! And some of them, I just discovered thanks to Learn and Play. I had a lot of fun playing with hairmixer.com. What a hoot! Hopefully I'll be able to post a pic to my blog soon. I also had fun looking at some of the other sites that I had never heard of. Pretty neat stuff...

Thing 17

Well, I had heard about Google docs from a fellow rover but had never really played around with it. Like most other Google apps, I love it. It's really simple to use, and it's really, really, really handy for me. Especially since I do rove, and do not constantly have access to my personal files. For example: a group of friends (and myself) are planning to go to Estes Park in Colorado for a snow camp. I'm the one that's been in charge of finding tickets at a group rate. I've found the tickets, sent in the contract, but now just need to fax over the list of people going. Since there's more than 20 of us going, I've created a file w/ the names of people that I know for sure are going. With Google docs I can now add to the list as I have time. As long as the list is complete and sent in by January 5th (the deadline!) we'll be cool. Cheers to another great app that I've discovered trough learn 'n play! :)

CML Wiki

I did it! I was granted access to the CML wiki and was able to link my blog. Hip hip HOORAY! Ok, so I'm really not that excited, but hey! I'm one "thing" closer to getting that flash drive. :)

Wikis...

Well, I do use Wikis quite frequently. And yes, wikipedia (gasp!). The Rovers have a wiki that we just got up and running. I love it. It's extremely useful, especially when at a branch and I know the answer is out there somewhere...I tried to creat a post on the CML wiki, but with no luck. Hopefully, I'll be granted access soon.

I have to agree with a lot of other learners and players (that sounds odd). The layout of most wikis could use some work. The color schemes and general layout seem pretty drab and boring. But the information is normally most useful.

Ever the Optimist,

FutureExec

YouTube!!!

I had the distinct honor of recording a video with the Learn and Play team. And what better way to play around with YouTube than to upload a video of myself? :)I'm not stuck on myself, honestly. Too bad my 15 minutes of fame are over...

What does web 2.0 mean to me???

Well, first off, I read a few of the articles listed and thought they were great. I really enjoyed "Into A New World of Librarianship" by Michael Stephens. Who would think that the library would be a trendspotter/setter? Yet that is what we consistently seem to do @ CML. I love it. For me, I think web 2.0 is a great way to grow with our customers. And more importantly, web 2.0 has provided opportunities for us to connect with our customers.

Soda Jerk had a great post that I want to copy:

"I hope the library continues to progress but also maintain it's status as a destination place for the community."

I agree 100% and think CML is doing a great job of adapting to meet customer needs, yet we also keep in mind that it's the human touch that makes the library more than four walls and a bunch of books. Web 2.0 has provided us another avenue to make that human touch visible to our users.

Thing 13

Del.icio.us....I went ahead and created an account for this bookmarking tool. The thing is, I go to the same websites just about everyday. I personally think it might be a little easier for me to just type in the url of the site versus logging into an account and then selecting the website that I want to access. Just my personal opinion. Then again, delicious might be useful for those websites that I don't access all the time, but are really cool. That way, I don't forget/lose the web address. Then again, if I do, there's always Google. :) I think this might be one tool that I don't use all too often.

P.S. I love twitter! Just started using it yesterday, but am totally infatuated.

Twitter

Ok, not only am I behind w/ Lear n' Play, but apparently, I am very behind with the times. It seems like everyone has been twittering for months now. I am just now boarding the bus. But I guess it's better late than never.

I've heard a lot of conflicting views on Twitter. Some people think it's a total waste of time while others consider it a great source of communication, information, and...other things that I can't remember right now. :)

Since I just started, I figure I better test it for a while before I make my judgement. I only have a few followers right now. (Wait...that sounds kinda creepy..."followers"??) Regardless, my twitter ID is antgullett. Let me know if you want to add me to your list of twitter friends so I can read your tweets. Sweet!

LibraryThing

Ok, so this is one piece of technology that I've actually been using for some time now. I created a LibraryThing account a while back, but unfortunately, I haven't kept it as up-to-date as I would like. So many things to read, so little time.

But I have found the user reviews pretty interesting; although not necessarily in line w/ my opinions. ;) And it's also neat to see what other CML bloggers are reading!

Thing 10...

Well, I had fun with this exercise. I finally got around to creating a READ poster through the ALA website. (I might go back and make some more!) So...here is my beautiful READ poster. For those of you who are my friends on Google talk, the picture of William Taft will make perfect sense...or not. :)

Well, I'm off to the next exercise...I'm way behind, but am slowly catching up. Special thanks again to the TypeA Librarian for all the help w/ Learn and Play.

RSS Feeds

Well, I created a Bloglines account and I created a Google Reader account. I must say that I found Google Reader to be much more user-friendly, and the setup doesn't seem so...IDK...messy. This is totally awesome though. Now I don't have to go here, go there, search everywhere for the latest posts on the blogs that I read. And the more blogs I read, the more I keep adding to my Google Reader!

Tom Toms, Google Talk, etc...

We recently went on vacation to Idaho to visit my sister and family. Oh, and did I mention the fact that we drove the whole way out there? It was a beautiful drive, but just a little too long for my liking. We did get to stop at Mount Rushmore, which was definitely awe-inspiring. But back to my post. Some friends let us use their Tom-Tom GPS, and I honestly don't know what we would have done without it. The thing was awesome, from giving us upcoming turns to even beeping at us when we were speeding. It even helped us reconfigure our route after we had to take a 6 hour detour due to all the flooding in Iowa. I've added this item to all my Christmas wish lists this year. :) Technology is so great, and I honestly don't know what I'd do without some of these great tools and gadgets we have available to us. (Although the ILL software we use is down today, we're still managing). Another great tool that I've recently been introduced to is Google talk. So much more convenient than email. Check it out if you haven't done so yet and let me know what you think. Thanks to the TypeALibrarian for letting me in on this great resource for quick communication!

Montagr

I really enjoyed playing around with this cool tool. I haven't had a chance to create my own mosaic yet, but hopefully will do so soon. Some really interesting ones out there...:)

Harley on Flickr

Harley
Originally uploaded by FutureExec

Ok, dog. You're now famous. People all over are looking at your picture! Playing around with Flickr has been a great experience. So many fun things to see and do. And of course, what better way to show off my beautiful dog? Any other dog lovers out there? I know I can't be the only one that posted a picture of my dog to my blog. :)

Learn and Play @ CML

Ok, so how awesome is it to be able to work for an employer that is consistently working towards developing its staff and encouraging them to play as they learn? I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation by Michael Stevens and am looking forward to this journey into web 2.0. I've been blog reader for some time now, but now I'm officially a "blogger!" I'm so excited to begin the 23 things and am looking forward to sharing my adventures with all of you!