WAPL - A complete list of posts

I posted to both this blog and to the WLA Blog for this conference. Here are the posts, in chronological order, linked to each.

Thursday

Initial post and Beginning to blog for WLA

Opening Keynote

Economic Impact of Wisconsin Libraries

Luncheon: The Writer's Life

Where are You Going: Strategic Planning for Results

Continuing Education in Your Pajamas


Friday

Have You Heard About

[I did not blog my second program of the day.]

Closing Keynote

From the news

I don't usually read USA Today, but that is one of the perks of staying at the Holiday Inn. Yesterday's paper (5/1/2008) had a couple of articles worth commenting on.

First, one of my few favorite TV shows, Boston Legal, was in danger of being canceled. It is #1 on the list of shows that USA Today readers want to save. Hmmm. I may need to see what's out on the web to try to save it. [That was the banner on page 1, and the top story in section D.]

There were economic stories on the front page which received comment at yesterday's WAPL program on the economic impact of libraries. The Fed dropped the interest rate again (and it did not help the stock market yesterday).

Air travel costs are going up. That is not good news, especially with my need to visit family, and travel for the ALA conference. I am glad I have most of my tickets locked in.

Then there was the story about college tuition. The headline was, in my opinion, very misleading. It caught my attention partly because David Ward yesterday showed a slide which dramatically showed the lifetime earning impact of having a college education. The headline seemed to be saying that was not true. However, that is not really what the story was saying. There was a report recently which showed that most of the increases in college tuition do not go to directly supporting the teaching of students. That is incredibly different than the headline! I guess for me, the good news is that for private, 4-year institutions the cost increases (as a percentage) were smaller than public universities or community colleges, and that the proportion going to direct student education costs was higher than the public universities and community colleges. I guess it is just media at work!

[I would have linked to the USA Today articles, but they charge. So that's that!]

WAPL - Have you heard

I came in late, so I missed the introduction. There was a panel whose members took turns showing new items. They used a del.icio.us page (which is linked here).

Good Reads

Geek Brief TV [geekbrief.tv]
This is an occasional podcasts on tech issues

Ad Block
This is an add on for Firefox. It will let you block ads from specific advertisers. It has options and settings, but it will also let you "whitelist" a page so that the ads show up.

Songza
If you are a fan of Pandora, this will let you search for and listen to one specific song (which Pandora does not allow). You do not have to create a playlist because it sets a cookie. It also lets you see the video.

Educause
Has all sorts of info on technology as it relates to higher education.

Web alert
Similar to GeekTV, but more focused on the industry. You can listen to it as a podcast

Friendfeed
Takes everything where there is a feed and puts them in one site. It will keep track of what you do on various social networking sites. You can use it to RSS feed items.

Library Thing Local
A way to promote upcoming local author events. Anyone can add events (if you have a Library Thing account). You can also subscribe as an RSS Feed. It also keeps track of favorite venues and events.

A Place Between Us
Is a way to find a mutually convenient meeting place. You can choose parameters like coffee, need chocolate, at a library.

Widget Box
Lets you create widgets, customize a little, and then you can cut and paste a bit of code to paste on your site/blog/facebook/etc.

Down for everyone or just me?
Will let you check to see if a specific web site is working or if you are having a local problem.

Ript
It is very graphical and lets you drag stuff on to a specfic page to save. It is something which is downloaded on to your machine.

Popurls
Takes every hot site you do not want in your RSS feed reader and lists them on a single page. It gives you an idea of what is going on.

Bloglines Beta
The original Bloglines got "old and tired." The presenter said that it has all the benefits of both Bloglines and Google Reader. [editorial note: I *hate* Google Reader.] She really liked it. I may take a look, but she had disparaging remarks about Bloglines.

Google Docs Bar
It is an easy way to access the Google docs from within your web browser.

Chat Maker
It is a way to create a spontaneous chat session. It is important to choose a name which is unique.

Book Lamp
This is a "sad and pathetic" excuse for readers advisory. It seems to have a science fiction and fantasy bent. Aims to be the Pandora of reading.

LiveMocha
This is similar to Rosetta Stone. It adds a community of learners who can offer tips.

Definr
Quick definitions are listed here.

Go2web20
Includes logos and tags of new items on the web.

TeacherTube
Since YouTube is blocked in most schools, this lets you get info out to teachers.

Awesome Highlighter
Lets you highlight sections on a page, and then send a link to the highlighted page.

Passpack
Let's you store your online accounts and passwords.

Add This
Lets you generate all kinds of buttons for your page.

Google Browser Synch
Lets you keep your history, cookies, bookmarks, and saved passwords across several computers. It does need to be added, and works only with Firefox.

Similicio.us
Finds sites similar to the ones you are on. It is based on tags on tagging sites. It will work not just with web sites, but with articles. They need to have been tagged.

Stock.xchng
This is a site for getting free stock photos. It includes items which cost also.

AccuRadio
It is a radio site. It has any kind of song you want built into a channel. You can even build your own channel (but only if you use IE). High quality music.

Net Vibes
This is a way to make your own page to feed in all of your social networking site. You can arrange the page however you want.

Hasslebot
Lets you send yourself "hassles."

TwitterLit
Twitter is a social networking that uses very short messages. This sends a message twice a day which is the first line from a book, as a teaser.

Net Disaster
Let's you choose a web site and (for fun) put different disasters over a web site.

Cogmap
This site lets you create an organizational chart and print it and save it.

Titlepage.tv
Has authors talking about books. It can easily be embedded in web page.

Jumpcut
Here you can upload photos to make a movie. (It is part of Yahoo!)

Reflections on my mother

I launched Facebook this morning to find that my daughter and a niece had posted comments about my brother-in-law's Calivn and Hobbes post and analysis. Here is what they said:

your dad's email totally made me cry in the middle of the computer lab today. thanks a lot uncle jimbo!

yeah, me too. it's nice to think of it that way, cause it's so true. but I agree with Calvin, just because she lives in us, doesn't make it any easier to deal with the fact that she's not out there in the world anymore. well, I don't know...just having a hard time with it today.

One of the things I have learned this winter and spring is the importance of sharing personal feelings and I am glad to both see their comments, and see that their comments reflect my feelings.

WAPL - Joining the WLA Blog

As I was getting ready to blog the last WAPL program, I got to chatting with Lisa Strand, the WLA Executive Director. After we chatted, she said, "Oh, I should invite you to the WLA Blog." Well, even as I was blogging, I got an email inviting me! I have signed up, and will cross-post. Actually, I will probably put most of the additional programs on the WLA Blog, and post my personal comments here (with a link from there).