Sunday, August 19, 2007
Umbrella
I just wanted to see if this works. I like Mandy Moore's version version of Rihanna's song Umbrella.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Final Thoughts
I kept thinking that I probably did not post enough blog entries and as I was pondering on what else to write, I focused on the little aquarium we have at home. We have three fishies, Kit, Jules and Jan (short for Janitor). I probably stared at these fishies for a good half hour and I still could not come up with anything. As I stared at them, I thought it would be nice to get a video of them moving around the little tank. I love staring at Jules, the one with splotches of black and orange. Come to think of it, there was never a time that I did not see them still...always on the move, always on the look-out for that kind hand that would throw food in the tank. Then it came to me, fish plus video equals youtube. Youtube + Dora = one more entry in my LIS2600 blog.
I read the Pew/Internet Report and I have to admit that I am one of the 57% of internet users who watch videos online. About 99.5% of the limited free time that I have to watch anything is spent not in front of the television, but in front of my laptop watching stupid videos my friends send me that they find in Youtube or else I watch my K-dramas online. I was late in the game when it comes to the youtube nation. This addiction to videos online started last year. I started watching Korean dramas in youtube and from then on, I have scoured the internet for other sites that could lead me to more dramas. I am now a frequent visitor of other sites like veoh.com, dailymotion, crunchyroll, etc. Youtube is still the most popular site. In fact, I have a friend who at age 40 just discovered the joys of computing. His current obsession is youtube and I probably get about four youtube video links from him each day. Most of them are insanely funny like this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmbsSw81Uww which is a Japanese exercise/ESL class video. I've seen a lot of bizarre videos but this one takes the cake.
I remember over 10 years ago when I was shopping for my first PC (other than the Amiga from eons ago), I scoffed at the saleman's pitch about watching movies using the desktop. I cheekily told him then that the whole point of going out to watch movies with a crowd is to keep up with my busy social life. I thought then that the idea of spending Friday and Saturday nights cooped up in my room watching videos with my PC is just plain ridiculous and pitiful. Over a decade later, videos online are all the rage and yes, I am one of the 57% of netizens addicted to watching them. In fact, when I am finally done with all of the things I need to finish to graduate, I have a list of dramas and movies waiting to be watched. Does this mean my social life has turned dull as I aged...perhaps, but most likely it because I choose to stay at home to get some work done and as treats, I watch videos here and there to break the monotony of my job and my quest for my MLS.
Getting back to my fish story, I watched them a bit as the swirling thoughts and ideas fomented in my mind to turn into the rambling post I have above. Even now I wonder if these little fishies are not bored moving around the tiny tank. Then again, I think fish life in a tank is probably better than our life in this huge tank called society. At least they get fed regularly, they need not work for a meal, they have shelter...well, they are cared for regardless.
And so I bid you Au Revoir and leave you with my final thoughts...
As the end of my program draws near, I now am wondering if I will be able to contribute to society as a librarian or will I be like Kit, Kat and Jan, endlessly swimming around, hoping to impress those who watch me enough that I can get promoted and make more money to help pay for student loans. HAH...whenever my thoughts veer towards that direction, my eyes start crossing, the headache is just around the corner and then I start thinking, I wish I was a fish...
But then again, I will always dream of becoming a great librarian that will someday make everyone in the profession proud...okay, okay...so just my family will do and that's already reaching too far! :o)
Again, My thanks to you Dr. T and to Debbie. I had lots of fun!
Sunday, July 29, 2007
End of Term
The end of the summer session...what a relief. I think I am finally done with my Pitt webpage (http://www.pitt.edu/~rdb2). It probably needs some tweaking but I'm not sure if there anything else I can do. I can only hope that I did all the assignments correctly and that I'll get a decent grade.
This technology class taught me a lot even after all the headaches in trying to finish the assignments. I know graduate school is not supposed to be easy but it was torture trying to do Zoomclouds and the tagging assignments. Well, to be fair, once in place, Del.icio.us, Connotea and EndNoteweb were easy to use. It was just a lot of work. But man oh man, Zoomclouds was a lot of problems! One day my cloud is there, the next day the site is in Spanish. Today, as I was publishing/uploading the Thoreau assignment Zoomclouds was acting up. I learned to ignore it, hoping that sooner or later, like the prodigal son, it will return.
Honestly, because I am working at a law firm library and if I stay in this field, I probably will have no need for most of the stuff we had to do. As I was doing the tagging assignment with Connotea, Zotero and EndNote, I kept thinking that they are ideal for academic libraries. For all that I had enjoyed the KOHA assignment, it seems like it will be ideal to use in a public library and not in a law firm library. However, I am grateful for all that I learned. I am sure I will not remember everything I learned but at least if there came a point in my career that I will switch paths and go into another field, I know I will not have a hard time re-learning the stuff. After all, knowledge learned is knowledge gained.
Thanks Dr. Tomer...for everything!
This technology class taught me a lot even after all the headaches in trying to finish the assignments. I know graduate school is not supposed to be easy but it was torture trying to do Zoomclouds and the tagging assignments. Well, to be fair, once in place, Del.icio.us, Connotea and EndNoteweb were easy to use. It was just a lot of work. But man oh man, Zoomclouds was a lot of problems! One day my cloud is there, the next day the site is in Spanish. Today, as I was publishing/uploading the Thoreau assignment Zoomclouds was acting up. I learned to ignore it, hoping that sooner or later, like the prodigal son, it will return.
Honestly, because I am working at a law firm library and if I stay in this field, I probably will have no need for most of the stuff we had to do. As I was doing the tagging assignment with Connotea, Zotero and EndNote, I kept thinking that they are ideal for academic libraries. For all that I had enjoyed the KOHA assignment, it seems like it will be ideal to use in a public library and not in a law firm library. However, I am grateful for all that I learned. I am sure I will not remember everything I learned but at least if there came a point in my career that I will switch paths and go into another field, I know I will not have a hard time re-learning the stuff. After all, knowledge learned is knowledge gained.
Thanks Dr. Tomer...for everything!
Friday, July 20, 2007
Sayonara Harry!
I have been anxiously waiting for further instructions regarding the formatting of the fragment of Thoreau's A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, but having checked and rechecked Blackboard repeatedly the last few days, I focused on something else i.e. my incomplete grades and the essays I need to finish. To take a break, from the pressures of my life, I drove to my local Borders to check out the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Release Party. I got on the waiting list for a copy after they gave out the reserved ones. I had no intention of staying until after midnight to a copy after the hordes of people on the reserved list got theirs. I have one coming in the mail tomorrow and I am content to wait for that.
Although I go to special midnight screenings of the movie I have never been to a release party for the book. I went because I wanted to be able to say that I went to one and it was fun and interesting...but most importantly, it was my way of saying goodbye to Harry Potter and his friends Ron and Hermione and the multitude of other wonderful characters that brought us to another world as we read the books. J.K. Rowling took all of us avid readers of the series for a magical ride in the last decade and I am thankful for the diversion her stories provided. I am loathe to read the final book of the series because I hate goodbyes, I hate endings. I can only hope that the end of the story will not leave me too bereft. I know, I know it's only fiction but as it usually happens when I like a book that I read, with this series, I fell in love with the plot and I felt quite an attachment with the characters.
So that being said, I look forward to reading the copy I am getting in the mail tomorrow!
**hmmmnnn, I'm not sleepy yet, maybe I could return to Borders and see if I can get a copy with my waitlist ticket.** :o)
Although I go to special midnight screenings of the movie I have never been to a release party for the book. I went because I wanted to be able to say that I went to one and it was fun and interesting...but most importantly, it was my way of saying goodbye to Harry Potter and his friends Ron and Hermione and the multitude of other wonderful characters that brought us to another world as we read the books. J.K. Rowling took all of us avid readers of the series for a magical ride in the last decade and I am thankful for the diversion her stories provided. I am loathe to read the final book of the series because I hate goodbyes, I hate endings. I can only hope that the end of the story will not leave me too bereft. I know, I know it's only fiction but as it usually happens when I like a book that I read, with this series, I fell in love with the plot and I felt quite an attachment with the characters.
So that being said, I look forward to reading the copy I am getting in the mail tomorrow!
**hmmmnnn, I'm not sleepy yet, maybe I could return to Borders and see if I can get a copy with my waitlist ticket.** :o)
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Getting back to the swing of things
I got back from a short vacation on Thursday but it was very hard to get back to the swing of things at work and with school assignments. I went to my cousin's wedding in Minnesota last week and after the wedding in Minneapolis, we drove 4 hours north to my Uncle's cabin by Lake Vermillion. It was an exercise in patience...no internet, no TV, no cellphone signal. All we did was eat and sleep when we were not target shooting, fishing and tubing. The cabin was in a remote area but although I missed technology on our first day in Timbuktu, after a while, I slid into the rustic living like I was born into it.
However, I realized how much I missed the high tech world we live in when we got back to the city. One tends to take for granted what one so easily gets to enjoy as I do with highspeed internet and mobile technology. When we got back to civilization, the first thing I did was check for voicemail and email. Loving rustic life or no, once an internet addict, always an internet addict! LOL!
However, I realized how much I missed the high tech world we live in when we got back to the city. One tends to take for granted what one so easily gets to enjoy as I do with highspeed internet and mobile technology. When we got back to civilization, the first thing I did was check for voicemail and email. Loving rustic life or no, once an internet addict, always an internet addict! LOL!
Thursday, July 5, 2007
KOHA KO NA!
In my native tongue Tagalog, "KUHA KO NA!" means, "I get it!" Some dialects say it as KOHA, depending on the regional accent. I have to say that it did not take me long to get how KOHA works. It sure seemed a lot easier than the ZoomClouds assignment. The minute I got into KOHA, it took me a few minutes to get my bearings and then I finished the assignment in about 3 hours with a few hitches. The hitches were error messages but they were not too hard to figure out, thanks to the postings of the good people in the discussion board. I hope I did this right!
"Le déjeuner des canotiers"
TOPIC: Auguste Renoir
Here's my Book list in KOHA:
(*You have to be logged in to KOHA to use the links)
In the time of Renoir / Mason, Antony. - Copper Beech Books, ; Brookfield, Conn. : - 48 p. : : Includes index. ; 29 cm.
Renoir /
Schneider, Bruno F. - Crown, ; New York : - 96 p. : ; 29 cm.
Renoir : life and works /Joannides, Paul. - Sourcebooks, Inc., ; Naperville, Ill. : - 144 p. : ; 17 cm.
Renoir / Monneret, Sophie. - Holt and Co., ; New York : - 160 p. : ; 33cm.
Renoir : his life and works /Castellani, Francesca. - Courage Books, ; Philadelphia : - 271 p. : ; 35 cm.
Renoir / - Rizzoli, ; New York : - 191 p. : : "Originally published in Italian by Rizzoli Libri Illustrati"--T.p. verso. ; 21 cm.
Renoir / Gruitrooy, Gerhard, - Nelson Regency ; Magnolia Editions, ; Nashville, TN : New York : - 96 p. : : Includes index. ; 11 cm.
Renoir / Druick, Douglas W. - Art Institute of Chicago ; Distributed by Harry N. Abrams, ; [Chicago, Ill.] : New York, NY : - 112 p. : ; 23 x 25 cm.
Renoir : a life in paintings /Spence, David. - Barron's Educational Series, ; Hauppauge, NY : - p. ; cm.
Renoir : a sensuous vision /Distel, Anne. - H.N. Abrams, ; New York : - 175 p. : ; 18 cm.
Renoir and Algeria / Benjamin, Roger, - Yale University Press ; Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, ; New Haven : Williamstown, Mass. : - xi, 163 p. : : Published on the occasion of an exhibition held at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Mass., Feb. 16-May 11, 2003. ; 32 cm.
Renoir for kids / Hyde, Margaret E. - Budding Artists, ; Santa Monica, Calif. : - 1 v. (unpaged) : : Cover title. ; 23 cm.
Renoir landscapes : 1861-1883 /Bailey, Colin. - Yale University Press, ; New Haven, CT : - p. cm.
Renoir's nudes / Cahn, Isabelle. - Universe Pub., ; New York : - p. ; cm.
Renoir's portraits : impressions of an age /Bailey, Colin B. - Yale University Press, ; New Haven : - xiii, 384 p. : : "Published in conjunction with the exhibition Renoir's Portraits: Impressions of an Age, organized and circulated by the National Gallery of Canada"--verso of t.p. ; 32 cm.
Renoir, his life, art, and letters / White, Barbara Ehrlich. - Abrams, ; New York : - 311 p. : ; 36 cm.
~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~
Here's the link to my Virtual Shelf in KOHA:
(*You have to be logged in to KOHA to use the links)
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
More than meets the eye...
I started answering the quiz when I got home last night from work, that is of course after cooking for my family of 9...yes 9 + 2 guests. It was my niece's 18th birthday yesterday and I was prompted to make this Tortellini dish for dinner. After dinner, I worked on the quiz but I had a promise to keep with one of my nieces. At 11pm we were lined up for a special screening of Transformers. I just figured I'll look at it like I am taking a break from the quiz.
Transformers was highly entertaining. I have never been that much entertained with a movie so far this year (I've been waiting to see if HP and the Order of the Phoenix will get that distinction). Anyway, if you're not familiar with the animated version of Transformers you will think that the movie lacked a storyline but for most people like us who see movies like this, we want the fire power, the action and the special effects and this movie delivered in that respect. The funny lines and scenes were just an added bonus. I just loved it when the cars transformed to robots and vice versa. The transformations were fluid and all I could mumble after the first gasps of delight was, "Wicked!"
Anyway, when we got back after the movie, I finished all but two questions of the quiz and decided to call it a night. I figured I can finish the quiz at work before the time it is due. I managed to get one of the remaining two questions done before 9am California time but between calls from attorneys and their secretaries I began to run out of time. I was on my last question at 1pm when my computer started doing funny things. I had to restart and then logged back into Courseweb only to find Dr. T's announcement about extending the time till 10pm EST because of some glitches. Whoopeee! Even still, I tried submitting around 2:30 pm and it was accepted. I
I know there is a reason why I don't usually do assignments when I'm at work. I get distracted with work LOL! I also know that I had no business watching Transformers last night and I could have broken that promise. However, my 13 year old niece (in love with Shia La Beouf) would have been devastated if we did not see the special screening and I would turn into the evil Aunt. No regrets, I'm exhausted but I fulfilled my duties to the family re: food and entertainment, I watched a very entertaining movie, and I finished my quiz although I almost failed to meet the deadline... but you know what, at the end of the day, because family always comes first... it was all worth it!
Transformers was highly entertaining. I have never been that much entertained with a movie so far this year (I've been waiting to see if HP and the Order of the Phoenix will get that distinction). Anyway, if you're not familiar with the animated version of Transformers you will think that the movie lacked a storyline but for most people like us who see movies like this, we want the fire power, the action and the special effects and this movie delivered in that respect. The funny lines and scenes were just an added bonus. I just loved it when the cars transformed to robots and vice versa. The transformations were fluid and all I could mumble after the first gasps of delight was, "Wicked!"
Anyway, when we got back after the movie, I finished all but two questions of the quiz and decided to call it a night. I figured I can finish the quiz at work before the time it is due. I managed to get one of the remaining two questions done before 9am California time but between calls from attorneys and their secretaries I began to run out of time. I was on my last question at 1pm when my computer started doing funny things. I had to restart and then logged back into Courseweb only to find Dr. T's announcement about extending the time till 10pm EST because of some glitches. Whoopeee! Even still, I tried submitting around 2:30 pm and it was accepted. I
I know there is a reason why I don't usually do assignments when I'm at work. I get distracted with work LOL! I also know that I had no business watching Transformers last night and I could have broken that promise. However, my 13 year old niece (in love with Shia La Beouf) would have been devastated if we did not see the special screening and I would turn into the evil Aunt. No regrets, I'm exhausted but I fulfilled my duties to the family re: food and entertainment, I watched a very entertaining movie, and I finished my quiz although I almost failed to meet the deadline... but you know what, at the end of the day, because family always comes first... it was all worth it!
Monday, July 2, 2007
Word of the day
On my way to work, I kept fretting about yesterday's assignment and wondered if I did anything right. I was thinking about how difficult it was for me to complete with the server reverting from English to Spanish and vice versa every hour or so and the internal server errors that kept popping whenever I tried to design my clouds. I was wondering why for all the classes that I have under my belt and all the library experience I have acquired through the years, am I tech-dyslexic...i.e. if there is ever such a description for tech impaired people like me.
I was even lamenting and askasked my boyfriend last night why am I so tech-stupid and he said, "because you are a princess..." And I was like, "Awww...you're such a sweetheart!" thinking he was trying to make me feel better, until he added: "from the medieval times." I hung up on him.
Just as I was despairing over my lack of tech knowledge, what's funny is that as I was riding the elevator to the 46th floor where my area is, I glanced up to the monitor that shows the news, weather and some trivia bits and what do you know, the word of the day is: DIGERATI.
When I read the definition, it says "Persons knowledgeable about computers and technology." No need to rub salt in my wounds, I know that I may not be digerati but I'm learning to be, at the very least, capable of using new technology. I wonder now if after passing this class will I be able to change the name of my blog to DoratheDigerati...hahaha! :o)
I was even lamenting and askasked my boyfriend last night why am I so tech-stupid and he said, "because you are a princess..." And I was like, "Awww...you're such a sweetheart!" thinking he was trying to make me feel better, until he added: "from the medieval times." I hung up on him.
Just as I was despairing over my lack of tech knowledge, what's funny is that as I was riding the elevator to the 46th floor where my area is, I glanced up to the monitor that shows the news, weather and some trivia bits and what do you know, the word of the day is: DIGERATI.
When I read the definition, it says "Persons knowledgeable about computers and technology." No need to rub salt in my wounds, I know that I may not be digerati but I'm learning to be, at the very least, capable of using new technology. I wonder now if after passing this class will I be able to change the name of my blog to DoratheDigerati...hahaha! :o)
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Bloglines Widget
http://grazr.com/gzpanel.html?addbar=off&file=http://grazr.com/data/dora.bulay/bloglinesexport.opml.xml
I am not sure why clicking on the rss for LIS2600 in my bloglines widget shows this message:
File is not available
Error: Empty file or protocol redirect
I'm not having much luck getting this assignment done :o(
ZOOM, ZOOM, ZOOM
What is up with ZoomClouds? I was in the site this morning to start the assignment but had to go to church and lunch with my family. When I got back, ZoomClouds reverted to Spanish. It's the same problem I had earlier in the week.
Like I said in the LIS2600 discussion board today...brick walls are looking attractive right now if I can find one near my house.
When finally Zoomclouds seem to stay put, my new problem is the server error:
Internal Server Error
The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.
Please contact the server administrator, webmaster@zoomclouds.com and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error.
More information about this error may be available in the server error log.
Additionally, a 500 Internal Server Error error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.
I tried emailing the webmaster but to no avail. I had a permanent failure to send message. How much more do I have to endure. I seriously need help with this ZoomClouds assignment!
Like I said in the LIS2600 discussion board today...brick walls are looking attractive right now if I can find one near my house.
When finally Zoomclouds seem to stay put, my new problem is the server error:
Internal Server Error
The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.
Please contact the server administrator, webmaster@zoomclouds.com and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error.
More information about this error may be available in the server error log.
Additionally, a 500 Internal Server Error error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.
I tried emailing the webmaster but to no avail. I had a permanent failure to send message. How much more do I have to endure. I seriously need help with this ZoomClouds assignment!
Friday, June 29, 2007
iPhone anyone?
All this hooplah about the iPhone. It's all that newspapers from the L.A. Times to the Wall Street Journal would talk about this week. I thought about getting one because the phone sounds like it has wonderful features.
I love gadgets! If and when I have extra bucks to spend, I am one to buy a gadget just to fulfill the desires of my wannabe techie heart:o) A lot of my friends were wondering if I would add an iPhone to my collection of phones that I alternately use. Currently I have a Samsung D807 from Cingular that I got with my service contract, I have a white Sony Ericsson 810i walkman phone I got from my last trip to the Philippines (because I craved a white phone) and now I have a Blackberry Pearl that my ex-boyfriend gave me because he had such big hands to own such a slim and tiny Blackberry. With this array of phones, do I want or need an iPhone? Need, well NO! Want, Yes! Yes! Yes! The phone is eye candy to gadget hounds like me. Would I line up to get it? Definitely, not. For all the hype and what sounds like a great phone, I don't know if I am willing to shell out that much money (full price) with a 2 year contract. I also don't want to get a 1st generation phone that would be re-done to have better and cooler features months from now like they did with the iPod Nano 2 years ago.
I wonder though if the wi-fi feature will deliver well enough that you can dispense of your laptop and just use this all in one mobile communicator. That remains to be seen.
I love gadgets! If and when I have extra bucks to spend, I am one to buy a gadget just to fulfill the desires of my wannabe techie heart:o) A lot of my friends were wondering if I would add an iPhone to my collection of phones that I alternately use. Currently I have a Samsung D807 from Cingular that I got with my service contract, I have a white Sony Ericsson 810i walkman phone I got from my last trip to the Philippines (because I craved a white phone) and now I have a Blackberry Pearl that my ex-boyfriend gave me because he had such big hands to own such a slim and tiny Blackberry. With this array of phones, do I want or need an iPhone? Need, well NO! Want, Yes! Yes! Yes! The phone is eye candy to gadget hounds like me. Would I line up to get it? Definitely, not. For all the hype and what sounds like a great phone, I don't know if I am willing to shell out that much money (full price) with a 2 year contract. I also don't want to get a 1st generation phone that would be re-done to have better and cooler features months from now like they did with the iPod Nano 2 years ago.
I wonder though if the wi-fi feature will deliver well enough that you can dispense of your laptop and just use this all in one mobile communicator. That remains to be seen.
Linux, a coder and a murder case
I got the July 2007 issue of Wired Magazine and I saw an article about a guy who is a brilliant coder, a Linux geek and a murder suspect...Hans Reiser. Hans Reiser was known in the tech world as "a cantakerous but visionary open source programmer, whose work was funded by the government and that he was widely credited and reviled for rethinking the structure of the Linux operating system." Last year, Reiser was accused for murdering his ex-wife, Nina, who went missing in September and whose body is yet to be found.
It was the mention of Linux that got my attention since I figured I might get some info that I could write about in the blog. Sure, I learned about file systems. I learned how a file system organizes data on a computer, how it tells the processors where to find data, how it decides how to place info on the hard drive. Reiser says that "a file system represent the roads and waterways of the operating system."
As a casual user of computers (by casual I mean I know how to type, to use some programs, get on the internet to find online information, shop etc.) I'm not one to know the intricacies of programming. If you ask me about operating systems and file systems, I give you a blank look and maybe bat my eyelashes and smile to indicate what I want to blurt out which is..."hmmm, I dunno!"
This article gave me a bit of an insight of how the mind of programmers work. Although I saw the Linux part as a possible point of topic for my tech blog, the nosy-law-and-order-detective-wannabe in me prevailed because in the end it was the juicy bits of the murder case that held my interest :o) The article was well written in a geeky way...actually, it's interesting if a bit troubling.
Here's a link to the article:
http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/15-07/ff_hansreiser?currentPage=1
It was the mention of Linux that got my attention since I figured I might get some info that I could write about in the blog. Sure, I learned about file systems. I learned how a file system organizes data on a computer, how it tells the processors where to find data, how it decides how to place info on the hard drive. Reiser says that "a file system represent the roads and waterways of the operating system."
As a casual user of computers (by casual I mean I know how to type, to use some programs, get on the internet to find online information, shop etc.) I'm not one to know the intricacies of programming. If you ask me about operating systems and file systems, I give you a blank look and maybe bat my eyelashes and smile to indicate what I want to blurt out which is..."hmmm, I dunno!"
This article gave me a bit of an insight of how the mind of programmers work. Although I saw the Linux part as a possible point of topic for my tech blog, the nosy-law-and-order-detective-wannabe in me prevailed because in the end it was the juicy bits of the murder case that held my interest :o) The article was well written in a geeky way...actually, it's interesting if a bit troubling.
Here's a link to the article:
http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/15-07/ff_hansreiser?currentPage=1
Sunday, June 24, 2007
My Google Search Engine
http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=013599156865616757077%3Atvs6s6vxdxw&hl=en
When I first created this search engine a couple of weeks ago, I did not add relevant sites. I added 10 to this new version. Hope it works out fine.
When I first created this search engine a couple of weeks ago, I did not add relevant sites. I added 10 to this new version. Hope it works out fine.
Bloglines - Scopus Library
http://rpc.bloglines.com/blogroll?html=1&id=DoraBulay
I think I now have some lesions in my brain that are bleeding slowly after completing this array of assignments. My head is hurting like crazy and I am not sure if I did everything correctly.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
De-worming
My laptop is not as sick as it was a couple of days ago. I think I managed to remove most of the Brontok worm if not more because I am now getting some error messages about some kind of a host.exe could not be found. It's time to take the next step. I have to take it to the "hospital" in this case, Fry's, so they can diagnose what is wrong with it and give me a prognosis. I can only hope that my files will be saved!
Monday, June 11, 2007
Worm
I have always been very careful with my laptop. I try not to upload or download unknown files, songs, pictures, etc. Unfortunately, I do not have the notebook with me 24-7. Today, I got home from work to find that my laptop has been infected with the worm Brontok.
What is Brontok?
From http://www.microsoft.com/security/encyclopedia/details.aspx?name=Win32%2fBrontok -- Win32/Brontok is a family of mass-mailing e-mail worms. The worm spreads by sending a copy of itself as an e-mail attachment to e-mail addresses that it gathers from files on the infected computer. It can also copy itself to USB and pen drives. Win32/Brontok can disable antivirus and security software, immediately terminate certain applications, and cause Windows to restart immediately when certain applications run. The worm may also conduct denial of service (DoS) attacks against certain Web sites.
I hate this worm!!! I tried a few times to clean it out but it insiduously finds its way back into my laptop. I was successful in my previous attempts but today, my niece uploaded some pictures to her myspace site using a flash drive she's used with computers at her school. Obviously the flash drive was infected because just last week I used a removal tool to rid my laptop of the annoying worm.
I got a tip from a friend to reboot my laptop and before Windows restart to hit F8 repeatedly until it takes me to this window that will give me the choice of running on safe mode with networking. From there I went to http://housecall.trendmicro.com and ran Housecall. The complete scan went on for 2 hours and when I found there were other malwares in my laptop. Housecall was successful in removing all but one, and horror of horrors, it's the stupid brontok worm that wouldn't go away! I have to rerun Housecall and it's still running as I am writing this.
My notebook is still under service warranty so now I am wondering if it will do me well to just take it to Fry's and just ask them to clean it up for me. I'm going boinkers with this already and I cannot have this interruption this close to the end of my program. I will give an update tomorrow how successful my attempts are in removing such destructive and annoying worms. I curse the people who have nothing better to do than create these things! I hope they really get worms that would burst out of their skin!!!
What is Brontok?
From http://www.microsoft.com/security/encyclopedia/details.aspx?name=Win32%2fBrontok -- Win32/Brontok is a family of mass-mailing e-mail worms. The worm spreads by sending a copy of itself as an e-mail attachment to e-mail addresses that it gathers from files on the infected computer. It can also copy itself to USB and pen drives. Win32/Brontok can disable antivirus and security software, immediately terminate certain applications, and cause Windows to restart immediately when certain applications run. The worm may also conduct denial of service (DoS) attacks against certain Web sites.
I hate this worm!!! I tried a few times to clean it out but it insiduously finds its way back into my laptop. I was successful in my previous attempts but today, my niece uploaded some pictures to her myspace site using a flash drive she's used with computers at her school. Obviously the flash drive was infected because just last week I used a removal tool to rid my laptop of the annoying worm.
I got a tip from a friend to reboot my laptop and before Windows restart to hit F8 repeatedly until it takes me to this window that will give me the choice of running on safe mode with networking. From there I went to http://housecall.trendmicro.com and ran Housecall. The complete scan went on for 2 hours and when I found there were other malwares in my laptop. Housecall was successful in removing all but one, and horror of horrors, it's the stupid brontok worm that wouldn't go away! I have to rerun Housecall and it's still running as I am writing this.
My notebook is still under service warranty so now I am wondering if it will do me well to just take it to Fry's and just ask them to clean it up for me. I'm going boinkers with this already and I cannot have this interruption this close to the end of my program. I will give an update tomorrow how successful my attempts are in removing such destructive and annoying worms. I curse the people who have nothing better to do than create these things! I hope they really get worms that would burst out of their skin!!!
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Impressionst Art Search Engine
I just created my first search engine through Google Co-op. It was an interesting process in that I realized that Google has all these gadgets you can create, manipulate and use. I always just used Google to search for information but until this class, I never thought of using the other gadgets available.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Contract Negotiations
Today, I sat in with the firm chief librarian and a procurement manager to negotiate our contract with the reps from one of the library vendors. The vendor is one of the biggest publishers out there for legal publications.
The meeting started at 10:30am and I expected to be out of the conference room by 11am so I can buy lunch from the L.A. Fire Department fundraiser. We have this fundraiser every year when they close off a block in downtown L.A. so that firemen from different stations sell meals, raffle tickets and gear to raise funds. It's like a huge block party where there are good looking firemen manning the grills and the booths :o)
Anyway, the negotiations lasted for almost two hours. The point of contention? Well, it's the issue of "Online v. Print" that plague many libraries these days. With the increase of available online information services in the market, librarians nowadays face the question of what print products could be cancelled to make way for the ourchase of online publications and services.
The vendor who for the past years had very good deals (in fact underpriced for last 3 years) on their online products felt that they have to catch up to current market adjustments. They are proposing a 100% increase on their prices and for a firm our size that means tens of thousands of dollars. The bad news is that it is a very tricky time to even propose price changes because the firm's executive director is wanting to cut the library budget by $1M and we are trying very hard to cancel titles and services that have low or no usage at all.
It was interesting to watch my boss take a stand with the negotiations. She was adamant without being too aggresive and I have to say the reps impressed me too in that they were not too pushy as most sales people are when it come to selling their products. It was like watching a fencing match where one party would thrust and the other party parries. Although I had no direct say in the negotiation, I was there to learn from the "master" and also to answer questions about invoices and usage.
With a firm of this size (we have over 700 attorneys) there is always that debate as to what should we keep in print and what are we willing to let go. The extensive legal online databases available to librarians and the users (lawyers, secretaries and paralegals) is great to have if the library has the budget for it but there still are many users out there who feel the need to have the print version available for them to check out.
We have been this vendor's custome for decades now and they are proposing that although the increase in price is fair perhaps in order to balance the budget, we can cancel some of the print materials. Our stand is that if we agree with them and their proposal, perhaps the vendor can agree to do the price increase in increments for the next three years instead of a one time increase of 100%. For example, the price difference on the online business library they offer from last year's subscription price is over $100,000.00 and that alone can break any firm's budget!
What strikes me as funny is that there was a time that I thought online searching is usually free or if there is a fee involved, it can't be that much. In the past, as a college student, I mostly just "yahooed" or "googled" out the information I needed and think that it is free, accurate and current and that it is authoritative. In the real world, I began to realize more and more that if one wants the best information out there, it will cost beaucoup bucks!
The meeting started at 10:30am and I expected to be out of the conference room by 11am so I can buy lunch from the L.A. Fire Department fundraiser. We have this fundraiser every year when they close off a block in downtown L.A. so that firemen from different stations sell meals, raffle tickets and gear to raise funds. It's like a huge block party where there are good looking firemen manning the grills and the booths :o)
Anyway, the negotiations lasted for almost two hours. The point of contention? Well, it's the issue of "Online v. Print" that plague many libraries these days. With the increase of available online information services in the market, librarians nowadays face the question of what print products could be cancelled to make way for the ourchase of online publications and services.
The vendor who for the past years had very good deals (in fact underpriced for last 3 years) on their online products felt that they have to catch up to current market adjustments. They are proposing a 100% increase on their prices and for a firm our size that means tens of thousands of dollars. The bad news is that it is a very tricky time to even propose price changes because the firm's executive director is wanting to cut the library budget by $1M and we are trying very hard to cancel titles and services that have low or no usage at all.
It was interesting to watch my boss take a stand with the negotiations. She was adamant without being too aggresive and I have to say the reps impressed me too in that they were not too pushy as most sales people are when it come to selling their products. It was like watching a fencing match where one party would thrust and the other party parries. Although I had no direct say in the negotiation, I was there to learn from the "master" and also to answer questions about invoices and usage.
With a firm of this size (we have over 700 attorneys) there is always that debate as to what should we keep in print and what are we willing to let go. The extensive legal online databases available to librarians and the users (lawyers, secretaries and paralegals) is great to have if the library has the budget for it but there still are many users out there who feel the need to have the print version available for them to check out.
We have been this vendor's custome for decades now and they are proposing that although the increase in price is fair perhaps in order to balance the budget, we can cancel some of the print materials. Our stand is that if we agree with them and their proposal, perhaps the vendor can agree to do the price increase in increments for the next three years instead of a one time increase of 100%. For example, the price difference on the online business library they offer from last year's subscription price is over $100,000.00 and that alone can break any firm's budget!
What strikes me as funny is that there was a time that I thought online searching is usually free or if there is a fee involved, it can't be that much. In the past, as a college student, I mostly just "yahooed" or "googled" out the information I needed and think that it is free, accurate and current and that it is authoritative. In the real world, I began to realize more and more that if one wants the best information out there, it will cost beaucoup bucks!
Monday, June 4, 2007
Reminiscing
I had a computer when I was a high school student back in the Philippines in the late 80s. My parents were a bit indulgent as long as it would help with my education. On one of their trips to the U.S. they came back with an expensive treat, a brand spanking new Commodore Amiga 500 personal computer. When I opened the box, I was scared because I realized that I could not even use a regular typewriter without mangling the keys, what's more a personal computer with a soft keyboard and with programs that can be deleted accidentally. The computer was set up in my room and although I was sent to computer programming schools, the machine pretty much collected dust in my room because I was afraid to break it and get a sound beating. The only use it got from me was to type up my essays, reports and featured articles for the school paper or make banners for parties at home and at school with the attached ginormous dot-matrix printer that they bought along with the system.
The Commodore A500 was released in 1987 and discontinued 1991. Along with a monitor and printer, it filled a huge study desk that a carpenter had to custom make for my room. It had a processor running at 7.16 MHz 7.09 MHz with a (PAL) Memory 512KB (9.5MB maximum). That was 20 years ago, these days the notebook that I purchased 3 years ago runs on Pentium M at 1600MHz 591MHz with 504 MB of RAM. If you think about it, a complete computer system puchased for over $1000 at the time it only had 512KB in memory...512KB nowadays is just one 3 MP jpeg photograph which 1% of a 512MB micro-SD card that can blow away if you sneezed on it.
I thought about the Commodore because I was reading about Telnet and Unix. Before I got a pentium computer in 1997, my only exposure to computers was at the first lawfirm I worked for in the early 90's. Even then, I only used computers to print labels for books. Later on I learned to use Telnet to chat with my boyfriend who lives in Toronto to this day. Talk about meeting one's destiny online :o) Before I went back to get my undergraduate degree in Buffalo, NY (thus bringing me closer to my guy) I bought my first PC, a Gateway 2000. It was then that I learned how to chat using IRC, mIRC, etc. At Canisius College in the late 90s, our email interface was UNIX. I did not learn to use Outlook until my senior year in 2001, by then I was in my late twenties. Nowadays, we chat via different chat programs out there, Yahoo, AIM, even voice over IP communications like Skype or Vonage, most with video conferencing capabilities.
I guess the whole point of this long and winding reminiscing is the thought of how far technology has brought us. I for one would not resist a technological advancement wherein you can dial in a destination, i.e. teleporting a la Star Trek...well, I guess as long as I get to my destination alright without missing an appendage or half my hair or without messing the make up of my DNA :o)
The Commodore A500 was released in 1987 and discontinued 1991. Along with a monitor and printer, it filled a huge study desk that a carpenter had to custom make for my room. It had a processor running at 7.16 MHz 7.09 MHz with a (PAL) Memory 512KB (9.5MB maximum). That was 20 years ago, these days the notebook that I purchased 3 years ago runs on Pentium M at 1600MHz 591MHz with 504 MB of RAM. If you think about it, a complete computer system puchased for over $1000 at the time it only had 512KB in memory...512KB nowadays is just one 3 MP jpeg photograph which 1% of a 512MB micro-SD card that can blow away if you sneezed on it.
I thought about the Commodore because I was reading about Telnet and Unix. Before I got a pentium computer in 1997, my only exposure to computers was at the first lawfirm I worked for in the early 90's. Even then, I only used computers to print labels for books. Later on I learned to use Telnet to chat with my boyfriend who lives in Toronto to this day. Talk about meeting one's destiny online :o) Before I went back to get my undergraduate degree in Buffalo, NY (thus bringing me closer to my guy) I bought my first PC, a Gateway 2000. It was then that I learned how to chat using IRC, mIRC, etc. At Canisius College in the late 90s, our email interface was UNIX. I did not learn to use Outlook until my senior year in 2001, by then I was in my late twenties. Nowadays, we chat via different chat programs out there, Yahoo, AIM, even voice over IP communications like Skype or Vonage, most with video conferencing capabilities.
I guess the whole point of this long and winding reminiscing is the thought of how far technology has brought us. I for one would not resist a technological advancement wherein you can dial in a destination, i.e. teleporting a la Star Trek...well, I guess as long as I get to my destination alright without missing an appendage or half my hair or without messing the make up of my DNA :o)
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Librarian Functions
In my "elevated" position from library accounts clerk to electronic services librarian assistant, I now get invited to librarian functions. As a rule, I like going to these functions to network and to learn of new technologies out in the market. Not only that, usually I get a free meal out of it, because it is either a vendor sponsored event or my registration fees are paid for by the firm. As an added bonus, I love getting the freebies, whether they are pens, shirts or post-its.
Today, I went to a LexisNexis Luncheon Librarian Update. This is one of those events where a passel of law librarians in the Los Angeles downtown area congregate to learn about new solutions for research, practice management and litigation services...that is, of course, using LexisNexis products. It was at luncheon so Lilian (one of the firm librarians who work in the marketing department) and I trekked down the hill to the LexisNexis L.A. headquarters in the Gas Co. Tower. When we got there the librarians were already busy getting food from the buffet tables and we joined the queue.
When we sat down with our food at the Lexis conference room there were folders, pens and highlighters waiting for us. I like the highlighters best because they were colorful and cute:o) As for the presentation, it was a bit longer than expected and of course, after eating carbs, one can get a bit...well, sleepy while listening to the Lexis reps talk about their new products. Much as I was almost nodding off, I was especially drawn to the rep's presentation about the ID Maintenance Tool because we need a system to keep track of the hundreds of Lexis ID we have at the firm. The Clipper was also interesting because it can help a librarian create customized e-newletters. Both of these things I can certainly use in my new position. Sitting there listening to the reps convinces me that LexisNexis really is one of the most powerful information service out there with their largest, most current collection of public records, caselaws, research products, etc. The downside...it's not free. In fact, it's quite pricey unless you get a wonderful deal as most big lawfirms do.
With all the new technology out there, it never ceases to amaze me that surely, as librarians of the future, we really have to keep up with the changing times. When I first started working at lawfirm libraries in the early nineties, there was a lot of foot traffic in the library. At that time, a good part of my workday was spent shelving books or otherwise copying cases for attorney from treatises and reporters. Nowadays, most of the research requests from our attorneys can be found from online services like Lexis, Westlaw, D&B, CCHOnline, etc. To be up to date, we have to constantly go to these functions, training sessions and conferences just so we can keep our libraries on the cutting edge of technology.
Today, I went to a LexisNexis Luncheon Librarian Update. This is one of those events where a passel of law librarians in the Los Angeles downtown area congregate to learn about new solutions for research, practice management and litigation services...that is, of course, using LexisNexis products. It was at luncheon so Lilian (one of the firm librarians who work in the marketing department) and I trekked down the hill to the LexisNexis L.A. headquarters in the Gas Co. Tower. When we got there the librarians were already busy getting food from the buffet tables and we joined the queue.
When we sat down with our food at the Lexis conference room there were folders, pens and highlighters waiting for us. I like the highlighters best because they were colorful and cute:o) As for the presentation, it was a bit longer than expected and of course, after eating carbs, one can get a bit...well, sleepy while listening to the Lexis reps talk about their new products. Much as I was almost nodding off, I was especially drawn to the rep's presentation about the ID Maintenance Tool because we need a system to keep track of the hundreds of Lexis ID we have at the firm. The Clipper was also interesting because it can help a librarian create customized e-newletters. Both of these things I can certainly use in my new position. Sitting there listening to the reps convinces me that LexisNexis really is one of the most powerful information service out there with their largest, most current collection of public records, caselaws, research products, etc. The downside...it's not free. In fact, it's quite pricey unless you get a wonderful deal as most big lawfirms do.
With all the new technology out there, it never ceases to amaze me that surely, as librarians of the future, we really have to keep up with the changing times. When I first started working at lawfirm libraries in the early nineties, there was a lot of foot traffic in the library. At that time, a good part of my workday was spent shelving books or otherwise copying cases for attorney from treatises and reporters. Nowadays, most of the research requests from our attorneys can be found from online services like Lexis, Westlaw, D&B, CCHOnline, etc. To be up to date, we have to constantly go to these functions, training sessions and conferences just so we can keep our libraries on the cutting edge of technology.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Welcome to Dora's LIS2600 Blog
Hello everyone, I am Dora from Cohort 4.5 or four-point-ever it looks like. I started the program three years ago but because I have not been taking summer semesters, I have been delayed by a year. LIS2600 is supposed to be the first class taken by each cohort and yet to me, I ended up taking it last. I goofed up with the scheduling and surprisingly enough, I was able to get this far.
I live in Los Angeles and I work for a big law firm in downtown L.A. as an Electronic Services Librarian assistant. Well, don't let my title fool you in thinking this class should be easy as pie for me. My transition is yet to be completed. I was elevated to this title over a year ago. My previous title is library accounts clerk and as such, I deal with library invoices for publications and services. I was going to leave the law firm to move to an investment firm but the offer was countered with a promotion and a chunky raise. I stayed at the law library and hoped for the best. Over a year later, I'm still in transition.So, am I wired enough to know what goes on with library technology? I am capable of using search engines and using various databases available out there and I can blog. For the first time ever, I learned to blog. Recently, I blogged about my internship at a children's library. You can find my other blog at http://dorathelibrarian.blogspot.com if anything you can get some pointers about doing internships...well not anytime soon for most of you.
Much as I think I am wired enough, I have to admit that del.icio.us, Conotea, Zotero, Linux, Ajax and the others mentioned on the syllabus are new to me. Like most of you, I have heard of some of them, but in all the years I have been using computers, I am more comfortable using what I am familiar with, i.e. Microsoft products. That being said, I am wired enough to know basic computing, but I am a neophyte, perhaps just like many in the class when it comes to the newer technology.
I look forward to an extremely busy but very interesting summer. If you have any questions about the program, please feel free to contact me and I'll try my best to answer your questions.
I wish everyone good luck and God Speed! Let's get wired together! Happy summer term!
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