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!