Thing 14 bonus!

Thanks for the offer of an incentive for finishing the 13 things! I prefer a LaBelle gift certificate.

Online Gaming

Well, I'm on thing 13. Online gaming. I am not a big fan of gaming, but do enjoy the occasional game of Freecell or Spider solitaire. I also like some of the Merriam Webster word games. Their games include Scrabble, word jumbles, crosswords, synonym games, spelling challenges, etc.

www.merriam-webster.com/game/index.htm

I also enjoy playing Hearts. Seems like I lose a lot when I first start, but get better quickly as the strategies come back to me.

Online game playing is nice as an occasional recreational activity. Most of the time I prefer outside activities, but it's nice to have something to occupy the brain on a rainy day.

Google mapping fun

Of the exercises we have done so far, this is the most useful. I have used it many times before, including creating a map of the branches which is saved to my account and linked to the VML Driving Directions page (created in May 2009).

Anyway, on this trip I went from Mt. Pleasant to Belding, Mi, to the Gerald R. Ford airport. Along the way I stopped in Belding and walked south on Bridge street. I saw the St. Joseph Catholic Church where my parents were married in 1948. I also saw the Wesco Convenience store on the corner of Bridge street and M-44. This is the route I took 3 weeks ago to pick Leslie up at the G. R. Ford airport. I stopped in Belding to plant flowers in the cemetery and drove by the church on the way there.

I do find Google Maps and Satellite, as well as Google Earth very useful.

Chat and IM

I have been using Windows Live Messenger for several years. I have chatted with many of the staff via Live Messenger. Today I helped Marilyn Sweeney setup her Windows Messenger account and we chatted using Meebo. It is now difficult to find the Windows Messenger option for signing up for a Live ID with an already existing email address (@crdl.org) but I was persistent and found it so that Marilyn didn't have to create yet another account. (How many free accounts do I have now and how much spam will I get as a result????)

I have combined my Facebook and Live Messenger chat in to the Meebo service.

Digital Downloads

I have downloaded many titles from Netlibrary eAudiobooks. For this exercise, I checked out "Don't Point that Thing at Me" but I can't download it because we are having technical issues with Netlibrary. Ebsco bought Netlibrary from OCLC and we have been having trouble with the downloads for the last 2 months. I have threatened to cancel our subscription unless they can figure out what is wrong with it in the next 1 or 2 weeks.

I can't wait for OverDrive books because I think their system of downloading is more robust.

FYI - you can also download Gutenberg ebooks to the Sony eReader.

Claiming my blog

KFSEGABEZ3AE

Testing my Technorati

This is a new post about living in a social networking world.
13 Things

Music Business Radio Podcast

I checked out the Education Podcast Network and found a podcast on Music Business Radio. I thought maybe I could find something useful there that I could use to advise my daughter on how she might actually become financially independent with her music skills. But alias, while interesting, it probably won't help her. It was about protecting music copyright when playing other people's music. They interviewed an "expert witness" who testifies at music copyright trials. He recommends not "sampling" already published, copyrighted material.

I'll keep looking, but please let me know if you come up with any ideas on how my daughter can get paid for playing a viola.

Blog link

Rss feeds

Rss feeds are a good idea if you really read a lot of stuff online. I usually get my news from TV because I can watch it while I cook, wash dishes, fold laundry, walk on the treadmill, etc. Not sure who has time to sit in front of a computer and read dozens of news feeds everyday, but if you do, Rss feeds are great. Enjoy!

My experience with Social Networking

I have had a Facebook account for quite awhile. I created it so I could teach a Facebook class. I have many relatives and friends who have created Facebook accounts too. Very few use it on a regular basis because it is kind of a waste of time. I have hidden many people and organizations who post too frequently. My daughter says Facebook is for people who don't have a life. So, I look at it every now and then, but really I'd rather just go out and do stuff.

Blogs I might like to read

http://www.aadl.org/services/communityblog - Ann Arbor District Library Community blog

http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/

http://myexwifesweddingdress.com/