Google Earth 5 = The World's Oceans!

What can you say about Google? (Believe it or not...I'm speechless!) Want to see below the surface of the oceans? Want to track sharks, whales, & other sea life? Want to go to the undersea lab? Then go.....download Google Earth 5 .... and start exploring!!!

I suggest going to the Google Earth Blog before you get your feet wet and check out their "getting started" links on the right. (You can also download Google Earth 5 from there as well.)

For a very brief introduction take a look at the GEarth Blog video below.

This is really too cool!

Google Earth 5 - New 3D Ocean

Check out this little introduction to Google Ocean!

The Blog, The Book, & A Video

This is a photo blog that I have been following for awhile now. It chronicles the remarkable, ongoing relationship between an orphaned, ten day old coyote pup and the woman who takes him in. The photography is wonderful and often very moving. I'd just like to thank Shreve Stockton for allowing the world a glimpse into Charlie's life.

The Daily Coyote


The book The Daily Coyote: A Year With Charlie was published in 2008. "In arresting prose and illuminated with Shreve's breathtaking photography, The Daily Coyote is at once Shreve's month-by-month exploration of Charlie's first year and a meditation on the nature of wildness versus domestication, of nature versus nurture, and of forgiveness, loyalty, and love in all its forms."
(If you go to the website and click on "The Book" you can watch the virtual book tour & interviews with Shreve in her home in Wyoming.)

Daily Coyote - Charlie Eating with Eli

How Facebook (ie, Technology) Gives YOU the Power...

This just in from the NY Times Pogue's Posts blog (thanks Sandee!). It's a true story about things lost and found. (And you thought Facebook was a bad thing!) Now, Peeps, go forth and connect with someone ...

Facebook: Finder of Lost-Wallet Owners

Everyone needs a little Martha on a Monday...

Click on this link for a Martha Stewart how-to on cleaning your computer (complete with video).

Clean Your Computer with Martha
(It's the least you can do for one of your best friends!)

Isn't Monday wash day?

TGIFF! (FF = Fun Friday!)

Just click on the arrow!

Here is one of my favorite fun sites: JigZone.com
where you can (4 free) work online jigsaw puzzles.

Plus you can choose the level of difficulty from a simple 6 piece cut to a challenging 247 piece cut, change the shape of the pieces, upload your own photos to make into puzzles & more! (Be sure to have your sound on as there is a really satisfying "click" when you fit the right pieces together!)

If you really like it you can sign up to have the daily puzzle delivered to your mail box.

This is an excellent way to practice using a mouse for computer newbies!

Visit the National Library of Scotland's Digital Library

(without moving from your chair.)

Anglophiles Unite!!!

This is an amazing collection of digital resources. (One of the reasons I admire it so much is that it is well organized and user friendly.)

Here you can see historical maps of Scotland; read one of the 1,800 broadsides (early news stories and ballads) that informed the Scot in the street between 1650 and 1910; look at 300 images taken in the 1840s by the Edinburgh Calotype Club – the world's first photography society; read – in English and French – the last letter by Mary Queen of Scots, written only hours before her execution in Fotheringay Castle; learn about Churchill, Robert Louis Stevenson, Robert Burns.....and more!

National Library of Scotland's Digital Library








The NLS

Do You Doodle???

Here is a free online coordination tool that makes scheduling things with several people (like meetings) a breeze.

Instead of having to go back and forth with a million emails everyone gets to see the dates and times and choose what works for them. They can also see what other folks choose. Doodle can also be used for other things like polls. Pretty nifty! Check it out!

Doodle

Have questions?
Here is their FAQ (frequently asked questions) page: http://www.doodle.com/about/faq.html

A Different Way to View the News...

There are amazing sites to be found out there in cyberspace. This one "is an application that visually reflects the constantly changing landscape of the Google News news aggregator." (Sounds like a mouthful, doesn't it?)

What that means to us is that by going to Newsmap we can view the news in 11 countries ( all at once or each separately) in 7 categories (all or one) over 3 time frames as it's pulled from the Web by Google . (There are also two different layouts you can choose from.) Pretty cool, huh?

The bigger the headline the more related articles it has. Be sure to let your cursor hover over the entries you are interested in and you'll get a pop-up with the entire headline (& other info if available). If you want to go to the article just click it.

R U Facebook Challenged???

A Lebanon County colleague of mine (Thanks, Mo!) sent this out to all her Facebook challenged friends. (What does that tell you about me?)

Okay, I admit that I am not up to speed on using this remarkable social networking site. However, as one of the ten signs of being a librarian is a compulsive need to share good info (and I happen to be a librarian) I feel compelled to share this with you:

Facebook 101: 25 tips and tricks

This Just In ...

Ok, so it's Monday...we all could probably use a little diversion, right? I have a wee, useless but somehow engaging, web toy that was brought to my attention by my sources in New Hampshire. Think of it as your own personal sandbox. (When you get to the page it will be blank....just start clicking your mouse. Oh, and be sure to have your sound on.....it's part of the charm.) Make pretty patterns & have fun!

Thisissand.com

Update: If you hit the "C" key you will get a palette of colors. Put your cursor on the shade you want and click to use that shade. The "E" key is for erase.

I must say that being able to use color makes a HUGE difference....don't you think so? Lesson learned: Don't be afraid to play around with something like this. (All was revealed when I clicked on the tiny gray box in the top left of the original screen. )

In the Wake of Valentine's Day...How To Find True Love

Well, Peeps, yesterday I went to see the movie He's Just Not That Into You (it was surprisingly good) with my Library Posse. This provoked some interesting conversations about relationships which reminded me of this blog that I stumbled upon the other day. (I don't usually recommend self-actualizing sites but I think this one has some real insight.) What do you think?

How to Find True Love (from the blog Think Simple Now)

P.S. It's always interesting to read the comments after the entry. The Web is truly amazing in the opportunity it gives users to immediately participate in dialogue!

Happy Valentine's Day

Did you know that February is also Love Your Library month? What better day to send a valentine to the library you love by doing one (or all) of the following:

• Tell at least one other person what a great place your library is.
• Tell at least one municipal official how important the library is to you.
• Write a love letter to your library and send it to the newspaper.
• Join your library's Friends group and be active (or start one)!
• Donate books to your library's booksale.
• Tell the folks who work in your library what a great job they're doing.
• Take advantage of and attend the various programs your library offers your community.
• Donate to your library's annual fund drive.

And, for your listening enjoyment on this day of love, click on the video below to hear why one guy loves his librarian ...

The Librarian Song

Here's a fun little ditty about loving librarians. Enjoy!

Suffering from Paraskevidekatriaphobia today?

Well if you are (or you're not sure) go to this How Stuff Works article and find out what's up with the myth behind the legend (or vice versa).

http://people.howstuffworks.com/friday-thirteenth.htm

Happy Birthday to U.S. Senator Arlen Specter!

Our very own Senator Specter turns 79 today. If you see him (or not) send good wishes his way.

A Presidential Courtship

Good Morning! This just crossed my screen and I thought it more than entirely appropriate considering President's Day & Valentine's Day are right around the corner. Plus it's always interesting to read about real love stories and even more so if they have to do with an American President and First Lady.


The First Proposal
or
What a Future President of the United States Did When He Was Rejected by the Woman He Loved

How the Internet is Changing Democracy

This just in from a Reuters blog by Don Tapscott : The First 100 Days: Harness the Genie of Citizen Engagement .

This just reinforces what I've known for awhile now: The Internet is here to stay and it is going to be bigger and more pervasive than anything we've seen before. It is, IMHO (in my honest opinion), more important than the invention of the printing press. We have only seen the tip of this particular iceberg.

For all you good people sitting on the Digital Fence (or doing your best to try to ignore it) Mr. Tapscott is absolutely right when he says the genie is out of the bottle and she's not going back. We've got Internet classes here at the library starting in March. Sign up and join the revolution!

More Muppet Show

Watching this intro to The Muppet Show clip just makes me miss it all the more! (Sorry, couldn't help myself.) It was really brilliant and fun. Enjoy!

The Story Behind the Muppets

Have a favorite Muppet?
(I, myself, have several.)

Then check out this Mental_Floss (it's a magazine) blog entry on how twenty of them got their start. (I miss the Muppet Show!)

Click Here!

AFL Friends Winter Raffle

Hey Library Peeps!

There is still time to get your raffle tickets for a chance to win this tres cool raffle basket. You are probably wondering what's in it for you, right? Well, here's a list of the goodies you could win:

• $75 gift certificate to the Inn at 422
• 4 tickets to the Allen Theatre
• $25 gift certificate to Borders
• 3 Best Seller Books
• Various Fun-In-The-Snow items

Tickets are only $2 each or $10 for six!

Help support the AFL Friends support the library you love!
(Say that ten times fast!)

The Drawing will be held:
Friday February 27th @ 4 pm

Need not be present to win.
Winner will be notified by phone.

AFL PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

How much do you really know about smoke detectors? Think they're all the same and all work pretty much the same? Well, they're not and they don't. I know I never thought much about it until my brother called to tell me that he was awakened in the middle of the night to a house FULL of smoke from a malfunctioning wood stove. Guess what? The smoke alarms (which were in good working order) never went off. He told me to go check out the Barre City (VT) Fire Department's website and take a look at their smoke detector videos.

Who knew that there are photoelectric and ionization smoke detectors? Who also knew that the ionization detectors react 20 to 30 minutes slower than the photoelectric ones when exposed to a smoldering fire? Most require an actual flame to set off the alarm. That's a long time to be exposed to disorienting & increasingly deadly fumes.

Check it out for yourself and make sure that you and your family have the right early warning protection. There's a lot of information on this site. Here is the link: http://barrecityfire.org/smoke.html