23 Things - Some Thoughts

As I proceeded through 23 Things, I discovered more and more interesting and relevant means of communicating ideas quickly. Time, space, and physical borders appear to no longer confine a person who has something to communicate. It is exciting to have access to technologies that encompass all human endeavors and knowledge. This sharing is changing the world and hopefully generating greater understanding among all people.

On Spreadsheets, Youtube, and Project Gutenburg

I had some fun finding on-line spreadsheets and word documents. I especially liked Google docs and spreadsheets but I went to www.zoho.com as well to compare.On www.youtube.com I typed in the tags peacecorps and togo and found lots of video of recent peacecorps volunteers in Togo. One video was filmed at Mount Agou where my son, David, is now living. Very cool ! I also liked the Project Gutenburg site. The sheer size of the catalog was awesome.

Learning 2.0 Sandbox Wiki

I went to the Learning 2.0 Sandbox Wiki and found it very fasinating. I posted an entry and read alot of others. It was really fun to read what everyone wants to do.

Web 2.0, Library 2.0

At a couple of sites, I read about Web 2.0. Then I visited www.libraryjournal.com and read about library 2.0. I also visited liblogs.albany.edu/library20 and read about the many ways technology is redefining the role and services of libraries.

Technorati, tags

I explored Technorati and found Boing Boing which is apparently the world's most popular blog. I looked at other popular blogs and observed how tags worked to help people find like-minded bloggers and/or people interested in the same subjects.

Rollyo, Del.icio.us, wikipedia

I visited http://www.rollyo.com/ and searched authorsontheweb and bookwolf, among other sites. I discovered some new authors and read about the process of writing. Also, I researched genres of writing that I don't usually read, such as horror. It was interesting and fun. After that I visited del.icio.us and found sites for every subject imaginable. I searched wikipedia for explanations for some of the more technical subjects. I often use www.wikipedia.com to get a broad overview of a subject or as a starting point to find information.

A few of my favorite books

http://www.librarything.com/

Random books from my library
Anna Karenina (Oprah's Book Club) by Leo Tolstoy
The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
The Complete Novels of Jane Austen (Special Editions) (Special Editions) by Jane Austen
Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
powered by LibraryThing

Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is a very cool site with so much information. From the loc blog , I linked to http://www.usa.gov/. I explored some of the catalog, took a Naturalization Test, and then clicked on images. I chose to look at Washington DC images first. The photos were generated by NASA, the Navy, and individual Senators among others. Absolutely amazing pictures! Then I decided to look through photographs at loc. I just went to the Prints and Photographs Online Catalog. It was incredible, so varied and comprehensive.

Exploring the Library of Congress

I am having fun discovering the LOC website and the LOC Blog. The blog has lots of sites linked to it. Check it out. http://www.loc.gov/ and www.loc.gov/blog/

Using Google Earth Plus

Google Earth Plus allowed me to search places of interest around the world. I started with Togo in West Africa and narrowed my search to Agou Iboe', a village where my son is now living as a PeaceCorps volunteer. I found that Agou Iboe' is at the foot of the highest mountain in Togo, Mount Agou. It certainly looked very remote and rugged. From there I visited Paris and checked out cathedrals and museums and followed the Seine through the city. Then I traveled to London, one of my favorite cities in the world. It was in London that I discovered the photo site Panoramio. Lots of beautiful photos were posted throughout London. From London I went to Washington DC, finding more great Panoramio photos and a baseball site baseballindc.com. I visited Charleston, South Carolina and then just continued down the coast from SC to Florida. What a fasinating and fun tool to use!

RSS Feeds

Today I checked out RSS Feeds at Google Reader and irinnews.org. I read feeds for BBC News and narrowed my interest to Togo and West Africa. I discovered irinnews.org is a site offered by the UN office of Humanitarian Affairs. It was most informative with feeds by theme or country. I certainly will use this tool often and research current affairs with more immediate results.

AmeriCorps Team Gold 3

David's AmeriCorps Team in Charleston, South Carolina. He loved AmeriCorps and all the projects they worked on.

Sunflower

Pictures from the summer

Saying goodbye to my son, David, as he departs for Togo, West Africa.

Welcome to Autumn

It has been a very busy and exciting summer for me and all my family. I welcome the cool morning air of autumn and the regular schedule of school and holidays. I am posting a few photos from a lovely summer.

Museums and Virtual Tours

One of my favorite museums is the Tate in London. The Tate owns the largest collection of artwork by J.M.W. Turner. He created many works of light as seen from sunrises and sunsets. They are exquisite in colour, composition, and motion. The website for the Tate is http://www.tate.org.uk/. There are in fact two separate museums, the Tate and the Tate Modern. Both are home to fasinating and unique works of art.

The Louvre in Paris also has a wonderful website. The collection is very large and somewhat overwhelming. The virtual tours are a good introduction. Go to http://www.louvre.fr/ and pick a subject of interest. The web provides another level of understanding for discovering and learning about works of art and the amazing people that created them throughout history.

Learning about Flickr

I have been spending time learning about Flickr and enjoying the photographs of birds, animals and flowers. I have one Bluebird photo published on www.flickr.com

Fireworks from the Fourth

The view from the hill

Another amazing day

Sunset from the Hill

Darlington Summer

Darlington is a very lovely place with all kinds of wildlife. In addition to Bluebirds, there are Indigo Buntings, Cardinals, House Wrens, Pileated Woodpeckers, Downy Woodpeckers and an occasional Bald Eagle. In the Spring and Fall, hundreds of Canada Geese land in the corn field to eat.

Darlington Diary

This nesting pair of Bluebirds are wonderfully attentive and protective parents. The female has recently laid 4 new eggs. In the photo they are waiting for a snack of mealworms.