thunder and consolation

I'm packing up and moving over to take over my husband's blog
Thunder and Consolation.
http://thunderandconsolation.blogspot.com/
I like the name better and let's face it, he's not the talker of the family. So it's mine and after I make a few little changes I shall be attempting a personal blog. Read boring everyday randomness into that with photos of course!

Google slideshow

Took me awhile but here it is, nothing like a little pressure to get you moving!
May I present you with a slideshow of my autumn lunch time stroll.

so hungry! #25

Yummm! I confess to looking up recipes alot, even had to check one out to remind myself how to make something for Thanksgiving. And food blogs are an addiction of mine so this thing is a piece of cake!

First let's start with a recipe site I like. Search for what you are interested in making or they give you ideas. Then my favoutite part, they let everyone review it and offer alternative ideas to improve on the recipe. The you have the photos everyone can post which I always love to have when making something.

http://allrecipes.com/Default.aspx

Now, this just so happens to be an amazing blog about a little bit of everything called life. Such a fun read (she's hilarious) and oh her photographs are just beautiful! Thank goodness she posts recipes too, she's like Google- one stop everything you need! Oh, so not healthy cooking by the way, lot o' butter. Just take a look at this apple dumpling recipe that calls for Mountain Dew.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/02/apple_dumplings/

And this is one of her recipes for baked acorn squash, it was soooo very good!
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/10/delicious-baked-acorn-squash/

#26 RSVP

I used Google calender to RSVP to the class tomorrow. Still no email, strange, hope it's set up okay.
See you tomorrow everyone!

Overdrive #21

Overdrive from the BPL is pretty straightforward and easy to use. I decided to download an audiobook and did have a little trouble getting it onto my player more than the actual download. The same for the ebooks. The idea of an ebook on my player is more appealing to me than actually using one. The screens are too small in my opinion to make it an easy or relaxing thing to do. The downloaded version on the computer itself I found fun. Instant book checked out to me and returned on time without any effort. I'm guessing it is comparable to the Kindle just less portable it being on my laptop. The advantage of having the access to the library and the growing collection anytime is amazing. Just as the option of changing the font, type size, colour of the text, etc. would be a huge advantage to many people. The uses and ability to open the library up to so many people with this is impressive.

this is a link to an audio download of the Magic Flute. Speaking to my son about how he used to love to listen to this one night then easily was able to log in to the BPL site and download it for a quick listen again!

http://overdrive.bpl.org/7CEFD702-534F-4CE8-B8EC-DE4B8DEE1742/10/286/en/ContentDetails.htm?ID=193DD784-018C-4222-B8AD-0A407E9D7127

And I was able to download this ebook for quick drink recipes- pictures and all!
http://overdrive.bpl.org/7CEFD702-534F-4CE8-B8EC-DE4B8DEE1742/10/286/en/ContentDetails.htm?id={1E801BE2-14DB-478D-8BA8-CD911B9D4A8C}

clippings #19

I get it! I've seen those little icons on sites and had no idea what to make of them. After reading through the class description and going to all the sites it's all coming together! Such an easy solution for something I've been trying to figure out too. For so long I've actually been just emailing myself site pages-don't laugh- in the hope of being able to find a page again later or not to use up the paper to print it all out. So many times I've wanted to show someone a page only to be unable to find it again. So this is a great help, only wish I'd known of it before , but then that's what this class is for isn't it?
I joined Delicious my link is below, I'm going to be busy adding. I chose this site because it seemed to give me more of an option about logging in and downloading something for my browser. Thanks Jennifer!!


http://delicious.com/bruinsgrrl

cool links

http://www.quakerparrots.com/


http://www.designyourwall.com/store/Embossed-Anaglypta-Paintable-wall-covering-wallpaper-c-147.html

Music #23

Loved this assignment! I tried a few searches on LastFM.com and liked the whole feel of the site. My husband and I both liked the idea of making what they are calling a quilt to add to your page. And I so wanted to like Seeqpod but I kept having trouble with it. Just wasn't as simple for me to figure out. After some frustration I did a search on Google (of course) and found Playlist.com. It's easy and has a social thing happening also so you can share your lists and comment, etc. Also can be added to your site which is nice. I don't know if they all have the ability (probably do) to have it as a pop-up player on your computer nice for when you are searching for things to do with your 2.0 class.

chat thing 20

Had a chance to chat with Jennifer online Wednesday night as I finished prepping for Thanksgiving dinner. Hopefully didn't catch her at a bad time considering the holiday and all. Love the chat feature and that it is included on Google- I mean really, Google is a wonderful one stop for all your needs place! No downloading for the chat which is a big bonus. My family has been trying to get everyone on one site but they all have their opinions of where and some require downloaded something which is always and I mean always a problem waiting to happen. I believe Jennifer did mention that most sites now don't require a download so I'm attempting to put the Google chat on a page to use, hopefully I can pull that off soon.
Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Twitter # 24

Really interesting idea, keeping up to date on everyone especially if they have to on the go technology traveling with them. My family would love it, lucky for me they don't know about it yet....shhhh.
It looks like you create an account and "follow" ? I haven't quite figured it out yet and am still learning. I should probably just sign up and search, add places to follow and figure it out like that.
Posting new or recently returned books could keep patrons very happy if the Twitter link to advertised to them. Along with the huge benefits of posting programs and possible cancelations.
I will have to spend more time with this, I want to check out other libraries around the country and their uses so far.

way back machine #22

The early BPL page-
http://web.archive.org/web/19961030161655/http://www.bpl.org/

While searching on the site for old shows I remember I got a bit lost....way too much time! Didn't find alot of stuff I would love to have but did find this Jefferson Starship download from BB Kings from a few years back.
Okay, so it's not the Airplane or an old show but hey I didn't get a chance to make it there and this is a fun site!
http://www.archive.org/details/JStarship2006-08-12Schoeps

wiki book thingy #18

Okay, I sure hope I did that right!! Trying to catch up and figure it all out has me a bit stressed out!! So I'm copying and pasting my booklist post here too just in case.


Hungry Planet What the World Eats by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio

One of my favourite books, offering up an interesting and beautiful perspective on how people from different parts of the world eat. I've always loved glimpses into how others live and this book offers it up with beautfiul photos of 30 different families from 24 countries. Each family is photographed with their groceries for the week and facts are given about the country and budgets. The differences of course are striking as are the similarities. I love love love this book and their other, Material World!

Stacy...Bruinsgrrl

Bountiful blogs #17.2

Love all the sites everyone listed! Playing around and spending alot of time on them all. I especially like Book Mooch, cool idea maybe I'll have to set up an account of my own. Thing is I'm pretty slow at mailing anything out....bad news for folks waiting for Christmas presents!! I also am just in love with the whole idea of learning a language from a podcast, all available for free!!!

classroom thing 17

Having a hard time with this one.
I would like to see the library use everything available online to help patrons. Dedicated online classroom computers, a schedule for them possibly?
Someplace for patrons to learn about all the resources available online and know that even though they have no access to a computer they have a place they can count on to access this. Wikiversity even has an online introduction to computers class to get the nervous started.
Wikiversity is a beautiful thing! From the random lessons on the opening page that grab your attention to the list of subjects and grade levels it would have been an amazing tool years ago while I was homeschooling my son. I would have just loved the help with his math lessons! With the ability to customize your courses and ask for online help I can truly appreciate the greatness of the internet.

Google docs #16

Had no idea about Google docs until now.
I'm not really too sure how often I would use them but I think the templates could come in handy if I remember they are there. Budgets, address labels and calendars are pretty useful things to be able to print out at work or home. Everyone in the office at one point or another has wanted one of these things and had no idea where to get them to print.
I am planning on trying my hand at the slide presentation. It could be a nice way to send photos to family. I'll post it if I am successful.

etsy #15

Etsy and Zazzle have done nothing to help me catch up on all the things I'm behind on! Great sites that I could get lost searching around on....and did!
For someone like me who is a photo junkie zazzle is amazing. I now have way too many ideas for projects I'd love to accomlish but probably won't. Trying to find just the right photo or which project first will be the problems that hold me back. But I do think I can at least manage personalized cards and stamps this Christmas!! The site seems easy enough to use and they are offering free shipping on stamps I believe right now- love free shipping!
Etsy is a present hunters dream. So many little shops to look around in, people offering to make personal items out of your photos here too. Nice personal little place I think, makes buying anything a nice experience. Return policies, shipping, everything seems set up to make it very easy. Christmas shopping time!

Oh Boston you're my home... #14

http://www.bostoncentral.com/events/special/p3374.php

Hope that link works. Since I'm playing catch up I'm a bit late for Halloween but just in time for Thanksgiving! I use Bostoncentral.com which I've used for a long time to check out local happenings. They specialize in things to do with kids which worked for me. You might have to sign up for a newsletter but it's free and easy to stop if you dislike it. All kinds of things to do during the changing seasons. This link by the way is for Thanksgiving Day at Old Sturbridge Village.

my shelf #13

Scary books?? How about this one? A favourite from ages past reading to my little boy....
http://www.shelfari.com/books/107743/The-Monster-at-the-End-of-this-Book-(Big-Little-Golden-Book)


I have also managed to put my shelfari shelf on here! It's really a nice way to keep track of my books. Any time I come across a book I want to read I just type it in and add it to my "to read" shelf. No more little pieces of paper all over the place and me trying to figure out the name of some book I saw someplace. Yep, I'm scary organized with my books now!!

It's a podworld #12

Wow! I've been a bit timid about a few things on the web and podcasts are one of them. But in the little time I have been trying to find more about them for this class I've been floored by all that I've been missing!!
There are pod and video casts for anything and everything I could want plus a whole lot I don't!
They seem an awful lot like online blogs in a way to me. Pick something you like and talk instead of write about it.
I can take a yoga class by pod, learn a language or some history, learn to cook, the list is amazing. So needless to say I'm very overwhelmed by this, I mean what to do first?! It truly is a whole new world.
I've been listening to a few with my husband but neither of us has downloaded one as of yet. So I love it all and will be playing with this for a long time to come! Now to pick one to link to on here it has to be this cool idea of downloading a walking tour of someplace you are headed on vacation! Amazingly cool idea I can't wait to try out!!

http://www.tourcaster.com/index.aspx

Youtube #11

Funny little youtube video to remind the school kids to return their library books. I like whole concept, keeping it nice and fun to get the kids to remember it and get the books returned!

The view from here #10

Google maps, how I love them! Easiest way to plan a quick trip or some not to be missed site on your vacation. I especially love the new walking directions option since I am very anti car in the city! Google also let you drag and drop to change the route on the map, useful.

As far as the uploaded pictures, it's useful to get a feel for the area you are headed to, not to mention being able to identify the building you are looking for.

I've used Yelp a little bit, is this where I mention that I'm a weirdo who appreciates when folks out there take pics of their food and publish it? Well, it can help when trying to figure out if one restaurant is what you think it is or very much like another you really like. Odd, I know. But this is what I did when I decided I wanted to try shabu-shabu or hot pot in Chinatown. New to the whole thing I wanted to get some idea of what to expect. The reviews were great and answered alot of questions, like the big one I always have to cover....vegetarian options? But there really is nothing like a photograph! The photos actually helped me figure which place I wanted to try and did steer me clear of a couple. I haven't posted a photos on any of these sites but I can see myself adding one to a site like tripadvisor to add to one of my reviews. I think that would just make the review all the more useful. Until then here's my shot of hot pot...with a little sake of course!

photos #9

http://www.flickr.com/photos/photosbyblackwolf/2156695754/



I have found my new home. The Aurora right outside my door would be a beautiful dream! Then warming up inside by a fire......

Yes, that's what Flickr has done for me. Lots of daydreaming of places to go things to do and all of it from in front of my computer. I found so many photos that showed festivals I never knew happened or places I didn't know existed and truthfully I spent alot of time with my friend Flickr! Now I need to work on my photography skills!!

My love of photo taking becomes a problem when I am trying to wade through all the sites and find one where I can share and keep a large amount of them. Yes, I could do a pro account, it's truthfully not much to pay for what they offer but I haven't gone that route yet- I'm cheap. It may happen as I like the the feel of Flickr very much. As of now I use Picasa which is wonderful. I especially love the ease of sending my photos to my online developing site Winkflash which promises not to delete photos and allows you to share online albums. Okay, so I haven't shared any on there but the no delete policy got me! It is also so very easy to put a couple of photos in my basket and have them shipped directly to family far away. I plan on playing around with the Picasa web albums soon, this might just be a better answer for sharing but I need to check it out a little more first.
Did I get off track here? Sorry if I did, I'm trying to catch up on here & if you get me started talking photos I'm off and running.....

organizing myself?? #8

I'm hoping I did the calendar right, I know I added holidays but did I share it properly? Never been very good at sharing!
Oh and another thing I'm not so good at is organizing myself. I admit I tried the reminder service on our Outlook mail but boy did it get irritating. Kept popping up telling me things & I found it grating for some reason. I also like to hit snooze buttons which is a problem. A reminder service could be very useful for some, just not my thing this organizing! I do like the Google calendar- new email comes in, check the calendar see if I'm booked that day, respond quickly.
43 things is fun & I had never heard of 1001 day project. So after looking around for a bit I decided to joing 43 things. I'm not sure if I can really keep it up but we'll see. Found out they will let you post it on your site which would make it easier to keep track of. Also has an RSS feed that I now know how to use, thank you Jennifer!
The really cool thing I found is that beyond just setting the usual goals you can keep lists of the books you want to read or join a book challenge. Wanderlust on the site helps you keep track of places you want to go or have been to. There's even something there to keep track of food! I'll be checking it all out for awhile! I'll post the link since I learned how to do that recently too! Nothing too interesting yet but I'm sure my list will grow!
http://www.43things.com/person/bruinsgrrl

review posted #5

Hi. Just wanted to let you know my review posted on Tripadvisor.com
Here's what I'm hoping is the link! And it's posted under bruinsgrrl of course.
www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g155032-d183609-r20702556

RSS #7

Yeah! I usually just jump in and start clicking away to figure out how everything works but for some reason the RSS feeds seemed so intimidating. I really had no idea what it was all about. Now it sounds pretty simple & I've subscribed to a couple of feeds so we'll see how it goes. I can see where it would just get to be overwhelming!
I've started with my hockey news...found the feed address on the bruins site. They explain and walk you through it also. Next I would like to find a site for upcoming book releases. So much to check out!
Thanks so much Jennifer!

Craigs list #6

While I wait for my review to post......

I'm familiar with Craigslist having used it before & decided for this class to check out Boston.com and a few others. Craiglist has a kind of yard sale quality that I like about it, kind of a community feel I guess. I know so many people who have used it to find apartments, jobs, movers, you name it. I personally was searching it randomly one day & came across an ad for what would become a much loved family pet.. someone just couldn't handle him & wanted a good home for him. The thing I like best about the site is that you can search other cities as well as your own. An amazing way to be able to plan a move!

And no we didn't name him Craig.

social butterfly #4

Unfortunately I might be a member of every social networking site out there. No, I kid you, I probably missed one. Now that's not to say I'm active on them all or for that matter even remember that I signed up in the first place. It's starts because every friend/family member is on a different site & wants you to join them. And it will continue until you can corral them all onto one site everyone can manage to use. In my case it was multiply.com which I liked for it's privacy. Not everyone could read your post or see your photos, only those you chose to do so. Nice touch. But then myspace caught their eye. Yes, it's popular and yes, I do like the convenience of almost everyone on the planet being on myspace & you can make it private so for now at least that's where I am. Word of caution here, myspace offers an instant messaging tool which may not be something you want your mother to be made aware of....trust me.


I very recently joined a site called Shelfari.com. Which I love! It's a quick easy way for me to keep track of my book lists. I like to keep lists of what I've read & a growing list of books I want to get around to reading one day. I even joined a book club on the site because they happened to be discussing the book I was currently reading. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. The online club was an easy way to chat about the book throughout the day whenever I got the chance. There is a whole community of readers with a love for the books I tend to read so the recommendations are wonderful! The fact that I can actually link this site with myspace so my friends can keep up with my books is an added bonus I enjoy.
Some of the more interesting things I've come across in my searches are the travel sites. Travel planning made so much easier with lists of off the beaten track things to see & do, restaurants, local customs, you name it. My favourites are tripadvisor.com & away.com. There's even the highly interesting site couchsurfing.com!

grrl with blog #3

It's official, I have a blog.