What a kill joy...

Not really, though.  Here is an interesting article by Michael A. Stackpole on The Huffington Post, titled "Will Ebooks Kill the Joy of Reading?"  Spoiler Alert! -- No, they won't.  Stackpole makes a great argument for why books are enjoyable in any format and also why staunch anti-ebook readers are actually already ebook readers and they don't even know it.  My favorite line: "The advent of ebooks is no more going to kill the pleasure of reading, than the introduction of the internal combustion engine made horses extinct."  Nicely done!  Don't get me wrong, I'm an avid real-paper-reader, but I do have to agree that people who are treating the advent of ebooks as the first sign of the apocalypse need to take it down a notch and get a new hobby.

Another weekend gone...

Welcome to Summer, everyone!  Enjoy the sunshine!  I tried reading The Meaning of Everything for LIS 2000 while laying out in the sunshine today, but that didn't last too long.  It was too hot and the book was not doing a good enough job of distracting me from the feeling of the sweat coming out of my pores.  Sorry, that was a wee bit too descriptive.  However, point made.

So, I was really hoping to complete the Koha assignment today.  I haven't been able to find the "rubric" and the "more detailed instructions" that the syllabus eludes to.  Does it exist?  If so, does anyone know where it is hiding?  I've been stalking the discussion boards all weekend but it is surprisingly quiet over there.  The calm before the storm?  I've been a lot less stressed and over school-worked lately, which leads me to believe I must be missing something.  And now the paranoia sets in...  (Insert creepy music here)

Google interest

All this talk about Google lately has me curious about how the searches really function.  Our required readings touch on the subject but, working in a bookstore, I have quite the selection of Google books to choose from for my research.  That's right, folks!  I'm going to read about it instead of just looking it up on the internet!  I just wish I had more time to read for enjoyment.  Oh well, such is the life of a grad student!  I'll be purchasing Planet Google: One Company's Audacious Plan to Organize Everything We Know tomorrow.  When I'll actually get to read it, who knows.  Perhaps on vacation in August.  Here's hoping!

I was quite pleased with my quiz grade -- 90.5 out of 100.  I think I know where the half point came from.  I'm not sure about anyone else but when I took the quiz that Friday night, there was a verb missing from the extra credit question; it didn't specify whether they wanted a comparison or the differences between or...  So I gave a blanket answer which included my idea that they were related and that I thought the question might be missing a vital component that would allow me to give a complete answer.  Perhaps they were kind enough to give me a bit of credit for my observation skills.  Oh, and there was one question that I totally didn't know the answer to.  I honestly think they put it there to see if anyone was cheating because, after jotting it on my napkin during the quiz, I went back to check the answer later and I can't recall having ever heard the term.  If we did, it might have just been in passing.  I had no idea what the answer was when I took the quiz and I wrote exactly that in the answer box.  Maybe that half point was credit for my sarcasm!  Hehe...  Anyway, I think they put a lot of what they said they were going to on the quiz, so I really wasn't surprised by anything other than a few of the terms we had to define, which were easy except for the one I had never heard of, and the extra credit question.  That said, I look forward to making more flashcards to study for Round Two!

Quiz Grade

Okay, so has anyone else received their quiz grade yet?  I'm so anxious to find out -- shocker, I know!  I'm just worried because there was one short answer question that I might have totally blown, another definition/acronym question that I had absolutely no idea what it mean (I even wrote "I have no idea" as my answer), and I didn't know the answer to the extra credit question.  In my defense, there was definitely a word missing in the question when I took the quiz that Friday night.  I wasn't sure if they wanted a comparison or if they wanted to know what the two had in common, or...  Oh well, I guess I got what I got.  Now I'll just have to wait and see.  Perhaps they are going in alphabetical order as they grade -- this is when it really sucks to have an "S" name...  Hope everyone did well!

Am I missing something?

Wow, for once I feel like I'm finally on-pace for LIS 2000 and 2600.  I must be forgetting something.  Granted, I still need to catch up on some readings but that can't be all, can it?  I've posted on the LIS 2000 discussion board and I've watched both lectures.  I have to be leaving something off the agenda.  Oh well, I'm sure by the time I figure it out, it'll be too late.  Or perhaps I'm finally figuring out how to manage my time.  Nah, I'm probably missing something.

So, I'm reading The Access Principle for LIS 2000 and it's really not a bad read.  Not as interesting as I found some of the other titles, but not too bad.  I'm definitely happy the ePrints assignment was scratched.  Don't get me wrong, I actually like doing the technology assignments (for the most part), but it is great to have a break, so to speak.  I have a rough work week ahead -- a lot of physical work (not usually my department but I'm a team player so...) and I have to be in 7 am everyday and 5 am on Friday.  I'm used to 8 am days, so it's going to be an adjustment to say the least.

Oh, and a small side note, my fiance and I are going to get back into P90X this week.  Well, actually we're going to do some light cardio this week and then next week it's off to the races!  The program really works but it is such a butt kicker!  Sigh...  I'm tired just THINKING about it!  How am I going to do all of this?!?!

Done and Done

Okay, Omeka done and I completed the quiz on Friday evening -- figured I'd get it done before I started second-guessing my study efforts.  Hope it didn't backfire on me!  I made flashcards and everything!  My fiance hated quizzing me with my bright pink flashcards; apparently they were too "bright" for him.  Haha!

Omeka wasn't that difficult once I figured out what I was supposed to be doing and where to get it from.  It took quite a while, though.  Omeka is not nearly as user-friendly as Zotero and some of the other programs we've been using.  Glad to be done with this one!

Love and Rockets,
Sandy

Omeka

Okay, I have no idea how to do the Omeka assignment.  HELP!  I'm going to "google" it now, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to figure this one out...  Where are we supposed to get the resources from?  Is there an easier way then to fill out everything on the Dublin form???  Sigh...  And I thought I was doing so well...

Check out this great MSN Video: Librarians Go Gaga

Check out this great MSN Video: Librarians Go Gaga

It's too funny!!! A hilarious rendition of Poker Face, but instead it's Catologue!!! Awesome! ;o)

Study Time!!!

Okay, the essay for LIS 2000 is submitted and out of my hands (even though I keep obsessing about it, second-guessing just about everything I wrote), and the Zotero project for LIS 2600 is done.  Now it's on to studying for the LIS 2600 quiz this weekend.  I've made my index cards to study from and my fiance is going to quiz me later.  What fun!  I'm a little nervous because there are supposedly only six questions (and an HOUR to take it!  Sheesh!!  What kind of 6 q's are these?!) and with the quiz weighing as much as it does for the class, I don't want to screw up one of the questions.  What are the 10 reasons for not using Windows again???

Zotero Project

Here is the video I made using Jing and Screencast for the Firefox add-on, Zotero.  This assignment was not nearly as difficult as I was expecting, which was nice.  Although I am having a bit of trouble with the sizing issue.  So here's the link to view the video, should this embed be too small.  The biggest challenge I had is my ever-failing internet connection.  It's okay, I'm switching internet providers on Wednesday.  Our current company has been very unreliable -- in March alone we had 200 unwarranted disconnects.  Grr!  Anyway, enjoy the video!

The skills are back!

I am so excited!  It's been a great week:  had a fun BBQ on Monday for the first event we've hosted at our house (even though I should've been doing schoolwork), received some great grad school advice from a friend who is not only a grad student but her aunt is a grad school professor, my sister gave birth to my new nephew this morning (and he's adorable!), and I received some great feedback on my Double Fold essay in LIS 2000.  It's been a while since I've done a scholarly essay of any kind, so I'm very happy that I haven't lost my skills.  I'm actually looking forward to doing my next few assignments now that I feel much more confident in my abilities.  Totally needed this...

Feeling a bit behind...

I was really looking forward to online learning but I'm starting to feel like perhaps I am missing some information.  I am going to be honest here -- I might have to take notes on some classmates' Zotero projects.  I've never used Jing or screencast before and I will attempt to do it myself, but I am totally going to spy on other people's work when it's on their blogs.  Forgive me.  ;o)

I'm anxious to find out how I did on my LIS 2000 Double Fold paper.  I agonized over it since it is the first scholarly piece of writing I've done since graduating in 2006.  I'm a bit out of practice.  At first, I didn't think I'd come up with even 750 words but once I got started, it was hard to stop!  I had to go back, reevaluate my thesis, and start over again, copying and pasting because I started rambling at times.  I edited my paper down to 799 words but I'm worried that I left out pertinent substance.  Here's hoping...