Visualizing my life

This is an image of the bookmarks that I've saved which I created using Wordle. While I do not consider myself to be a visual person I found it rather enlightening to see the topics that matter the most to me.

So un-Cuil

I'm certainly not the first person to post about the new search engine Cuil (and God knows I'm not the first one to think she's witty using the little play on words for my title). Still, I feel the need to post my two cents about the subject because it's important that someone attempt to level the playing field in the world of information management. Google has, in my humble opinion, become too much of a universal index; a one-stop shop for all your information needs, which may be convenient but far too dangerous to have one company control the access (or lack thereof) to the information on the Internet.

Unfortunately, Cuil has not even come close to leveling the playing field. I know the creators said that their algorithm somehow analyzes content to provide results based more closely on relevance where Google focuses more on popularity. I don't care about algorithms. I care about results I can see, and like all the other librarians across the land, I did a search of my own. I started with a simple search: the Maryland to Kentucky Reunion that the ancestors of many Maryland Catholics attend every couple of years. On Google, the first five results (and, hey, that's more results than most people even look at when searching) using the search terms Maryland to Kentucky give details on the reunion itself or about specific families who were part of the migration. And on Cuil? I couldn't find anything on the first four pages so I gave up. I refined the search by typing "reunion" at the end, which did not provide a link to the latest reunion site, but did bring up a link to the 2002 reunion (which, oddly enough, is the only one I've attended). I've heard from others as well who did these sort of side-by-side comparisons that Cuil didn't even come a close second to Google in their books.

I do like some of the features that Cuil has including the tabs that break a concept down into more specific categories to refine your search. Typing in "Scotland" provides tabs for maps of Scotland, the Bank of Scotland, Scotland Yard, etc. So hopefully Cuil will take the feedback (which I'm sure they've gotten plenty by now) to continue to tweak their algorithm so that one day they can live up to their name.

Bright, Shiny Morning

Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I read a lot of complaints from other readers that the characters in this book are cliche. Of course, they're cliche. That's the point. This book is about Los Angeles and LA is one big, fat cliche. I don't care. Los Angeles makes a great protagonist/villain for any novel and James Frey captures her character beautifully.

View all my reviews.

So this is it?

So we finally have come to the end of the road...or maybe it's just a fork in the road, I don't know. We've spent the past couple of months exploring the technology that is impacting our profession and changing the way we provide information. What did I learn most from this exercise? Well, I learned that I know a lot more than I thought I did when it comes to Web 2.0. What am I most excited about? Getting the opportunity to actually apply what I learn in my job. Hear that higher-ups...let us apply what we've learned. It doesn't matter how much training you've had without support from the administration.

Heard any good books lately?

About 5 months after I started working at the library I discovered the link on our website to our Digital Media Collection. A brand new world was opened up to me. I start downloading books onto my Creative Zen starting with Chris Anderson's book, The Long Tail. From then on, I was hooked. Sadly, though, my pusher has officially cut me off. 3 months ago I switched from a PC to a Mac, and now the Overdrive audiobook people are trying to feed me some line about Digital Rights Management and incompatibility. Maybe someday these two crazy kids will be able to work things out and I'll be able to get my sweet, precious books once again.

Beware of the pod people...

So we're finally up to my favorite part of the 23 things: podcasts. Sometime in the near future - when I have the time, motivation, and money - I'd like to create a podcast for my blog. Ever since my neighbor jerry-rigged his Mr. Microphone into an illegal radio station and let me DJ a few times, I've been fascinated with my own voice. I'm sure you won't share in my fascination, but that's not going to stop me! (cue maniacal laughter)

Alas, now I'm going to have to be satisfied with just listening to podcasts. Of course, we all love to hear from our favorite librarian rock star, Nancy Pearl, and her podcast where she interviews authors and discusses upcoming books. I also like the LibVibe podcast which provides snippets of library news. That's the nice thing about podcasts is that they have a podcast for just about anybody, from teachers to photographers to Yetis who are into computers. So be sure to do some exploring and find the podcast that is right for you.

You Tube

I have a love/hate relationship with You Tube. I've seen some funny and fascinating videos (i.e. the video of the baby water buffalo escaping a double attack by a lion and an alligator), but I've also seen some of the most juvenile and idiotic bull$#@% being caught on film. You Tube can be a great tool if used properly, or it can also be a total waste of time.

The video I'm including is of a stunt successfully pulled off by the Improv Everywhere troupe in Grand Central Station. Check it out.