Monday, March 22, 2010


Love is the answer, acceptance is the key.
That includes me as well as others.

Monday, July 6, 2009

I have discovered a most fascinating place http://humanitiesweb.org/
The Gallery is dedicated to art, The Library is dedicated to poetry, The Conservatory is dedicated to classical music, In History you will find timelines, quick explanations of various events, along with short biographies of historically influential people. In the works are sections on Myth and Culture and Philosophy.

From The Conservatory:
Mozart for the Mind
Beethoven for the Brain
Handel for the Heart
Bach for the Body
Schubert for the Soul

My sentiments exactly.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Pot Luck #57: TXT U L8R - Texting

I do txt a lot. w'v ndless txtN on r cell fons 2 comnC8 W r grndkids. txtN n drivN? utterly nt!! esp nt me. My granddaughter's commnt on my drivN: "Oh wel, @ lEst ura gud teacher"

I do text a lot. We have unlimited texting on our cell phones to communicate with our grandchildren. Texting and driving? Absolutely not!! Especially not me. My granddaughter's comment on my driving: "Oh well, at least you are a good teacher"

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Debate club on Skype

A couple of us are interested in starting a debate club on Skype to include a wide diversity of thoughts.Check Spelling

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Maps #31: Have Map, Will Travel

Here are the coffee houses near the Barbara Bush Library


View Larger Map

Sound: #27: Creating Your Own Podcast

I am not sure about this, I'll check it out later. Maybe something with which my "Artistic Director" can help.

Sound: #26: Making (or listening to) Music Together

Not up my alley. I will have to see what my "Artistic Director" has to say.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Sound: #25: Am I a music pirate? It's hard to know...

I uploaded Nina Simone, 'Revolution' from the Free MP3 of the Day website. There is also CNET Download Music. Free is a great thing unless you are a classical music lover like me. There is a lot of really good material out there though, you just have to be patient.

When it comes to music I am a purist and for me, MP3 or whatever method you use to compress the files, much is lost in the process. Listen to the same song first in MP3 and then directly from the original CD. The difference is very obvious even to someone with bad hearing. Me for instance.

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Spring Cleaning #30: Take a Load Off Our Drives

This Spring cleaning business is an ongoing thing with me. I try to check my, and common, folders a couple of time a month. Amazing how much garbage accumulates in just a couple of weeks.

Friday, April 4, 2008

Spring Cleaning #29: Email

I have 20 messages in 4 folders. Inbox 7, iHCPL 6, Minutes 6, Save 1.


I keep most of my documents in a flash drive.

Spring Cleaning #28: Don’t Clutter Up Expensive Cyberspace

I subscribed to Ta-da List because it seemed the least cluttered but mostly because it had most straightforward and shortest Terms of Service and Privacy Statement. I do not have a calendar or to do lists, I am a husband, father, and primarily grandfather. I have enough people telling me what to do, when to do do it, where to do it. but mostly how, or how not, to do it. I love my job at the library.

Having worked on computers most of my life I am painfully aware of of how space, lack or abundance, impacts everything around us. Not just in terms of cost but also performance, time, and in turn, production and productivity. The less space, be it temporary, archival, random access memory, or bandwidth, the longer we spend waiting for the screen to appear. The speed of your personal computer has more to do with space than with the CPU speed. If the fastest transport can only carry one pound it will have to make may many trips to carry a to. Think airplanes vs. freight trains.

I do my Spring cleaning year-round.

Monday, March 31, 2008

Sound: #24: The sound of music!

I found out that WGMS, my favorite radio station from the Washington D.C. area, no longer exists. WETA 90.9 FM is now a very acceptable substitute, as is WAMU 88.5, both part of the NPR network.

I am now able to listen to radio stations from my childhood, long before transistors, or the Internet for those who do not recognize the word "transistor". The radio was the only one in the small town where I lived and we would listen in the evenings. It was a battery powered luggable box. The battery came in a separate box an was as big and heavy as a modern day car battery.

Trivia:
The first radio station in El Salvador, YSSS Radio El Salvador 96.9FM, started in March 1st 1926, first broadcast station in Central America, fourth in Latin America and sixth worldwide.

Bet you didn't know that!

Friday, March 28, 2008

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Children

The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard.

What's done to children, they will do to society.


If a child annoys you, quiet him by brushing his hair. If this doesn't
work, use the other side of the brush on the other end of the child.


FORTUNE REMEMBERS THE GREAT MOTHERS: #6
"Johnny, if you fall and break your leg, don't come running to me!"
-- Mrs. Emily Barstow, June 16, 1954

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

fortune cookie

That's the thing about people who think they hate computers. What they
really hate is lousy programmers.
- Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle in "Oath of Fealty"

Monday, February 4, 2008

"A Baby's Bill of Rights"

Article the Third:
Where a crime of the kidneys has been committed, the accused should
enjoy the right to a speedy diaper change. Public announcements and
guided tours of the aforementioned are not necessary.

Article the Fourth:
The decision to eat strained lamb or not should be with the "feedee"
and not the "feeder". Blowing the strained lamb into the feeder's
face should be accepted as an opinion, not as a declaration of war.

Article the Fifth:
Babies should enjoy the freedom to vocalize, whether it be in church,
a public meeting place, during a movie, or after hours when the
lights are out. They have not yet learned that joy and laughter have
to last a lifetime and must be conserved.

-- Erma Bombeck, "A Baby's Bill of Rights"

fortune cookie

Because we don't think about future generations, they will never forget us.
-- Henrik Tikkanen

Saturday, February 2, 2008

More From Church Bulletins:

Potluck supper: prayer and medication to follow.

Friday, February 1, 2008

From Church Bulletins:

The Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B.S. is done.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

REASONS DOGS DON'T USE COMPUTERS

Too difficult to "mark" every website they visit.

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Fortune cookie

667:
The neighbor of the beast.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

#23 Is this really the end? Or just the beginning...

What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
What ideas do you have for using these technologies at Harris County Public Library?
What else do you want to learn about? What other web 2.0 applications are you interested in?

Ask me in person. I am a very slow typist and it would take a week to tell you how much I have learned and enjoyed this eJourney.

It took me a while to get into it, but in the end it was fantastic.

Favorites: The "Library" Elf , Web-based Apps, RSS.
Surprises: YouTube and Podcasting.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

#22 Downloadable Media

I have been using our HCPL's eBranch almost since its inception and have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Through this exercise I discovered some classic Mexican cinema gems.

Besos Prohibidos
Cada Oveja Con Su Pareja
Canto a mi Tierra

Friday, November 30, 2007

#21 Podcasts, Smodcasts!

I added BCLS Podcasts to my Bloglines account.

This is a podscast by the Brazori County Library and has children's stories told by BCLS librarians.

Friday, November 23, 2007

#20 Discover YouTube and other video sharing sites

It took me a long time to get through this. I thought that YouTube was only for young people.

I learned that you have to be careful what you ask, you might just get it.

It took me a long time because I was having so much fun. I even connected with friends from high school and my Navy days.

My favorites turned out to be videos taken in the town where I was born. I was 14 when I left Izalco, El Salvador, Central America.

I got a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye watching these videos.

This was my Favorite.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Jícaras tristes - #19 Web-based Apps

Jícaras tristes

La única obra poética de Alfredo Espino esconde en su interior la pasión y la tristeza por la vida de un hombre que supo mirar el alma de los salvadoreños a través de las señales que regala la naturaleza a los libres y limpios del alma.

I can write in Spanish by using the character map available with the Windows® operating system

I have created a simple chart containing the most comon characters.

Alt +

Alt +

Á

0193

®

0174

á

0225

©

0169

É

0201

¿

0191

é

0233

¡

0161

Í

0205

¼

0188

í

0237

½

0189

Ó

0211

¾

0190

ó

0243

¢

0162

Ú

0218

÷

0247

ú

0250

º

0186

Ñ

0209

ñ

0241

Ü

0220

ü

0252

#19 Web-based Apps: They're not just for desktops

I really like Zoho I created a docuent and published it in my next post. Creating and sharing other types of documents is just as easy. This is a tool that I will be using. Thanks iStar

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

#18 Social Networking: Making friends in the comfort of your own home

I am not too enthused about online social networking. I have accounts with Yahoo! 360° as TuxVic and MySpace.com as Victor D. I subscribed to surprise the grandchildren. They are now telling their friends that their VERY OLD grandfather has accounts in MySpace and YouTube. I am not sure whether they are bragging or looking for sympathy.

Saturday, November 17, 2007

#17 Blog About Technology

For me, today's technology craze is a two edge sword. On one side we have great advances in medicine, research, communications, etc.; on the other side the same benefits have contributed to the decay of cultures, social fiber. It seems to me that we have more time to do more and we end up doing less with our families.

Added a comment to booklady-booklady's blog