Week 4, Thing 9

I preferred using Syndic8.com for searching, and it was a fairly simple process to search for what I wanted and add it to my Google Reader for subscriptions. One feed offered specifically the choice to add it to my Google Reader, another one simply added to Internet Explorer feeds and to add it to Google Reader I just searched for it in Google Reader and then added it from there. I didn't really understand Topix.net as far as how to add feeds, it seemed to be simply news stories. Technorati was more stories and it seemed to be mostly blogs, which I am not particularly interested in.

Week 4, Thing 8

Because I didn't want to set up more usernames and passwords, I used Google Reader to explore the world of RSS Feeds. As far as I understand it, RSS allows you to keep track of updated subscriptions/feeds in a much more convenient way than checking the websites everyday on your own. Some of my feeds are:

youtube--most viewed videos,
my own blog,
Omaha World-Herald,
and Scientific American.

If I have time, I will definitely keep up with Google Reader because it contains a lot of new information that I would be both interested in and learn important things from that I don't n0rmally encounter in everyday life.

Libraries could use this RSS feature for book sites that update based on new books being available--it would be an easy way to discover new trends or new bestsellers in a simple fashion.

Week 3, Thing 7

Technology...the word is so overused today that when you actually stop to think about it, what does it actually mean? How was it first used? Interestingly enough, using Omaha Public Library's databases to find the good ol' Oxford English Dictionary, technology means: "discourse or treatise on an art or arts; the scientific study of the practical or industrial arts." The denotative meaning discussed here is definitely not the connotative meaning we have today--when people automatically jump to talk about computers, cell phones, the internet, surveillance methods, robots, etc. The OED definition, however, provides a much broader idea--in this sense, technology could apparently apply to anything that involves practicality or industrial methods. I also think that the designation as "technical nomenclature" is illuminating, since it means something that requires a technique or technical skill. At any rate, this post is basically showing that technology is much more than we think--and the greater issue here is what happens when words become overused and land far from the path of the original intent of meaning.

Week 3, Thing 6

The mashup I'm choosing to blog about this week is called "Constant Setting" and is a project by D'Arcy Saum, Nick Land, and Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino. The philosophy behind the website is: "Simply because the sun is always setting." Essentially, the site is a slideshow of photos that show the sun setting...as if this isn't already implied in the title. The site is interesting in that it shows many landscapes or seascapes that aren't always available to people--for instance, living in the midwest we are allowed to see how the sunset appears from the UK and all over the world. And for many people, a sunset is something that puts everything into perspective, and may even make us contemplate our place in the universe. The fact that a website can do this--and people can access it from anywhere in the world, anytime--is a very valuable thing. As they say, a picture's worth a thousand words...

Here's a link: http://www.constantsetting.com/

Week 3 #5 Flickr post

I decided to search for "Tolkien" in Flickr just to see how varied the tags really were (expecting to get no results) and I actually got 8,789 results!! Shows how little I know about photo-taking opportunities that deal with Tolkien...but it also shows the resources available on Flickr and the creative inspiration that can result from the site.

The photo I particularly noticed is located here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/silvr/524997257/in/set-72157600295331793/

The owner of the photograph took it on a 2007 Vietnam/Cambodia trip and refers to the location as Ta Prohm and titles it, "And now we pause for a Tolkien moment"--which was definitely true. It looks like the opening to the Mines of Moria, especially akin to the film's depiction.

2nd post re: Lifelong Learning

To me, Lifelong Learning means always being willing to question/challenge what you think you believe or know about reality and truth. Discovering truth and gaining knowledge doesn't happen over night--it is a process that occurs over time and by accumulation of ideas and thoughts. From this program, I expect to train myself so that I can more effectively help others in their search for knowledge (or whatever it may be) and possibly inspire them to become lifelong learners themselves!

Test Post 1

This is a test post for my first blog as part of the O! What a Geek training.