YouTube

I've been a fan of YouTube for years. Mainly I use it for educational lectures (e.g. the TED talks) and for sampling music before I purchase a CD. Unlike Amazon, where you get only snippets of a song, you can often find songs in their entirety on YouTube.

I decided not to create an account since I can do what I want to do without signing up.

Today, to fulfill my Tech Tuneup assignment, I watched the Zapruder film (why does Jackie crawl backward on the convertible after JFK is shot--to pull one of the Secret Service men into the vehicle to help out?) and, for nostalgia, the Mickey Mouse Club roll call.

Years ago, when trying to learn the electric slide for Pam Deiters' last in-service day, I taught myself watching YouTube. I'll count that toward the instructional portion of the TT assignment.

Pandora, Panduit, Ididit

If this post doesn't make sense, it's because I'm distracted by the new music Pandora found for me. (I've never been a multi-tasker.) However, I'm not complaining--this is great! Unlike many of my generation, I am not a lover of oldies. I'm always searching for new music. Pre-Pandora, the outlets that have worked for me are Sound Opinions (on WBEZ @ 8 pm Fridays and again on Saturday afternoons), Paste Magazine, KCRW streaming live, and the recommendations of a sister and nephew.

So far, I've created two music stations: Get Movin' Music (which started with Duffy's "Mercy") and Radioheadalikes (which began with the Doves). In creating the first station, I had to laugh: Pandora threw a few tunes my way that I rejected--finally, it went back to Duffy and offered me another song from Rockferry.

I have to say that Pandora's recommendation algorithm works a lot better than Amazon's. It's been years since I used NetFlix--I've read that they are doing a better job of recommending "watchalikes." Does anyone have experience with this?

Right now I'm coming up short on library applications for Pandora. Unless we could somehow adapt their algorithm and apply it to reader's advisory.

Animal Words

I was thinking (ruminating?) about the word "ruminations." Whereas it sounds formal, it actually derives from the word for a cow's stomach (or one of them...I think they have four). This led to the thought that most of the adjectives we use that derive from names of animals or parts of animals are insulting: porcine, bovine, lupine, vulpine. English language adjectives that apply animal names to human beings aren't any more complimentary. "She's catty." "What a pig!" "We were just monkeying around." "I'd never date him--he's a wolf!"

Is this a cause that PETA would take on? Restoring the reputation of animals by removing animal slurs from our language?

Okay, back to the Tech Tune-Up.

P.S. If anyone can think of exceptions to this rumination, please post them as comments.

RSS Feeds

I just finished setting up six RSS feeds. It's funny...even though RSS is supposed to be a time-saver, it's never appealed to me. Maybe it's the reference librarian in me, but I enjoy hunting and pecking my way to my favorite websites first thing each morning. (Actually, I do bookmark favorite sites, but that's as far as I go to making my life easier.)

Part of my hesitation stems from the fact that I'm seldom looking for news per se. When I visit my favorite sites (e.g. The New York Times), it's usually to read book or movie reviews, not to check out the latest happenings in Pakistan. Maybe "news" from RSS feeds is whatever has been added most recently, whether it's newsworthy or not.

If I like the RSS feed experience at work, I may take a small leap into the 21st century and start utilizing it at home.

May I Boost You Over This Hurdle?

Last night I tried to post comments to several other staff members' blogs. I kept getting asked to choose a profile, and, whether or not I chose a profile, (and regardless of which profile I chose), my comment was not accepted.

I had a sneaking suspicion that the reason why I couldn't comment was that Joy hadn't had an opportunity to input my blog URL into the list of library staff blogs. I asked Glenn to do this Friday, and--presto!--the problem disappeared.

I can now comment freely on others' efforts.

Don't worry, everyone, I'm not inclined to be critical.

TGIF!

Greetings!

Greetings fellow Tinley Parkers! This is going to be the briefest of posts because the library is close to closing. I'm eager to finish tune-up task one before the clock strikes nine.

Good night, good luck, and sweet dreams!

Robin