Lion Statues under a Mantle of Snow

 

Lion Statues under a Mantle of Snow

 Lion Statues under a Mantle of Snow

Taken in December, 1948, the caption of this photograph states: "The lion statues at the New York Public Library, with a mantle of snow during the record December 1948 snowfall..."

Think, think, think

Winnie the Pooh Day – January 18th


Have you ever wondered how Winnie the Pooh got his name? There really was a bear named Winnie (named after Winnipeg, Canada). This particular bear was the favorite of A.A. Milne’s son Christopher Robin, who named his own teddy bear Winnie the Pooh after him. Celebrate the day with these sites about A.A. Milne, Christopher Robin and the 100-Acre Wood (make sure to remember the honey!)

Christopher Robin’s Winnie-the-Pooh Character Guide
URL: http://www.lavasurfer.com/pooh-guide.html
“A great educational resource featuring information and images on all the characters from the Hundred Acre Wood, plus teacher resources, an interactive story, and lots more!”


 
A.A. Milne
URL: http://www.kidsreads.com/authors/au-milne-aa.asp
A. A. Milne wrote the books about Winnie the Pooh and his friends. Learn about the author’s life on this site.



The Adventures of the Real Winnie-the-Pooh
URL: http://www.nypl.org/branch/central/dlc/dch/pooh/
This site is from the New York Public Library, where the real-life stuffed animals that inspired A.A. Milne’s classic children’s stories are kept on display. Read about the origins of the characters Eeyore, Piglet, Kanga, and Edward Bear and how they ended up in New York City.

Hhmmm....

Library ban for 'pungent body odour' man

Library officials in Leicestershire have banned a regular reader from their building following complaints about his "pungent" body odour. more

hmmm...

Man charged for hitting, kicking librarian
A Houston librarian is recovering from an attack after investigators say she told a man he was being too loud.

Oh dear!

Christmas at the Capitol

the festive outfits in action

a little Winter Wonderland tap

to the California Raisins

hey bro, what a kick!

This dance to In Christ Alone tires a person out...

 

but Josh sang a special right after... I was proud.

~ Last year at the Capitol ~

the family sang I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day (Casting Crowns version) this year and last.

I'm hiding at the piano wearing the white dress waiting... for...

the Lord's Prayer ...

one of the dances we did as part of Joyland Christmas

Elvis's Letter to President Nixon

Interesting...

Elvis's Letter to President Nixon

via Today's Document from the National Archives on 12/21/09

On the morning of December 21, 1970, Elvis Presley personally delivered a letter to the northwest gate of the White House. Written on American Airlines stationery, the five-page letter requested a meeting with President Nixon. Presley intended to present the President with a gift of a World War II-era pistol and obtain for himself the credentials of a federal agent in the war on drugs.
Read more in When Nixon Met Elvis...

Why Wordle-By Steven W. Anderson

Here are some ideas for using Wordle in the classroom
Why Wordle-By Steven W. Anderson

Posted using ShareThis

~~~ Christmas at the Capitol ~~~

I'll be at the Capitol Saturday evening, Dec 19 (not just me though, there will be a whole passel of us). There'll be piano playing, singing & even dancing. We had lots of fun last year

For those of you who saw me & my brother in our red & white outfits at work today... we will be doing the Winter Wonderland tap dance that we did at the senior center.

Dec 19th  ~ 6-8:30ish pm

What is the word of the year?

Let's see. We have...

New Oxford American Dictionary Names 2009 “Word of the Year”:  unfriend
unfriend – verb – To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as Facebook.
Oxford Word of the Year 2009

&

Merriam-Webster's #1 Word of the Year for 2009:  admonish
admonish (verb): to express warning or disapproval to especially in a gentle, earnest, or solicitous manner
Merriam-Webster's 2009 Word of the Year list

Oh Dear!

Fun with Art

I've been having fun lately drawing & painting on my DSi

and turning this into this

More Fun With Art

Free Food and Fair Fun!

"One Nation Under God" Military Appreciation Family Fair

Wednesday, November 11 

4-7pm

at

Riggs High School

1010 E. Broadway

A family fair style event to celebrate the freedom of generations we enjoy in America through the sacrifice of our Veterans. We will be using assorted booths to help create a sense of patriotism in our children. There is a free food court as well.  Also a 30 minute Military Appreciation Program.

Looking ahead

I'm looking forward to spring recital. There'll be more info closer to performance.

Hadassah

the Story of Esther

A Storybook Production

by

Main Street Dance

Ft. Pierre

Sunday, April 25, 2010

T.F. Riggs HS Theatre

Pierre

* Tentatively scheduled *

late matinee of 5 p.m.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Updated info here

Typos

I thought this blog of note was interesting.
http://librarytypos.blogspot.com/  Typo of the Day for Librarians: "a group of librarians from all over the world with a common interest - keeping our online catalogs free of errors". What a unique idea for a blog.

Best of Us

The International Olympic Committee in partnership with YouTube has launched a new site called The Best of Us Challenge. The Best of Us Challenge is designed to give average people a chance to test their unique athletic abilities against those of real Olympians. Through The Best of Us Challenge, participants "compete" against Olympians in unique physical challenges such as spinning an umbrella or balancing a stick your foot. To enter, select a challenge, create a short video of yourself completing the challenge, then upload the video to the YouTube The Best of Us Challege page. Winners of the contest can win t-shirts, video games, posters, and possibly a trip to the 2010 Winter Olympics.  http://thebestofuschallenge.olympic.org/




The video below is Asafa Powell's challenge to balance a stick on your foot.

http://www.nelsonforsd.com/aboutchris.html

Bringing Ballet Magnificat! to Yankton

More info & maps @ http://yanktondance.com/

What a parking garage

Pushing the Bounds of Sanity: Strange and Bizarre Structures from abcNews

An awesome parking garage is almost an oxymoron, but the unusual facade of the Kansas City, Mo., Public Library's garage remains a distinct symbol of artistic architecture. Featuring popular books like "Huckleberry Finn," " The Lord of the Rings" and "Romeo and Juliet," each book spine prominently displays a title in a 9-by-25-foot rectangle on the exterior wall. The garage is the highlight of the Kansas City's library district and sits across from the Central Library. The entire complex was opened in 2004 and cost nearly $50 million.

(Courtesy Kansas City Public Library)

That's the year I moved away and I never got to see this neat parking garage. It's got to be one of the most interesting looking parking garage in the KC area.

National Punctuation Day Is Today!

Today is the sixth annual National Punctuation Day. In 2004, Jeff Rubin, a former copy editor, was able to get Sept. 24 listed as a punctuation holiday in Chase's Calendar of Events.


You can find information, celebration ideas, and various resources at the official National Punctuation Day Web site.

Looking for . . .

You can just about find anything on the internet, and since I am going to be a dance teaching assistant this year I thought I would see if I could find any info on the subject.  I came across How to Be a Great Teacher’s Assistant at Dance Advantage. It is a really nice overview and some of the tips don't have to be limited to a dance class.

Fotopedia

You know about wikipedia. Well this is kinda like wikipedia only different.

Fotopedia is breathing new life into photos by building a photo encyclopedia that lets photographers and photo enthusiasts collaborate and enrich images to be useful for the whole world wide web.

“After traveling the world, I wanted to share my photos with others. Flickr and other photo sites give you exposure for only a brief window in time, and adding photos to wikipedia proved too complicated for the average user. This sparked the idea for a ‘wikipedia of photos’ – that combines the permanence and community collaboration of wikipedia with the ease of use of consumer desktop applications.” - Jean-Marie Hullot, one of the founders of Fotopedia, former CTO of NeXT Software and Apple’s Application Division.

How neat!  link to Fotopedia

A Code of Conduct for Staff & Supervisors

Sent to you by Sarah via Google Reader:

A Code of Conduct for Staff & Supervisors
via Tame The Web by Michael on 9/8/09

Kate Sheehan's post on kindness has had some good comments, including this one by Tasha Saecker, Director of the Menasha Public Library:

At our library, we did a code of conduct that every employee had to sign. It was about how we treat one another in the library. Our staff had gotten into the habit of being quite toxic with one another. Refusing to reply when greeted, ignoring staff who worked at lower levels in the hierarchy, making caustic remarks both to people's face and behind their backs, etc.

The code reminded everyone what was expected of them. Professionalism, kindness, respect and care. Now a few years later, there is no need for the code because everyone just naturally follows it. No need to remind either. It's like working in a different library!

I had to email Tasha and ask about the codes. She sent me both versions – one for staff, one for supervisors – and gave me permission to publish them here. What do you think?

Tasha writes:

As a library director, I think that our internal conduct is just as important as our external conduct, meaning that we have to be kind to one another as library staff just as we are kind to our patrons. I expect a certain level of professionalism, but also kindness and consideration of one another. To address this issue in my current library, I created Agreements for our staff and supervisors to sign. Now, two years later, I would not see a need for them any longer. The issue has been solved, the culture changed. Here are our Agreements, inspired by the amazing Pat Wagner.

For staff:

I agree to follow the guidelines below to the best of my ability, understanding that these guidelines are an important part of service to my staff, my customers and my community.

I will be courteous at all times, meaning that I will greet everyone I encounter with a smile, knowing that I am representing the library not only in the way I deal with customers but the way I interact with my fellow staff members.

Everyone is treated like a peer by everyone else. Everyone will say good morning, please and thank you to everyone with good will, no matter what their relative position.

Everyone will get information at the same time regardless of his or her position in the library. Information hoarding is not acceptable.

Everyone has the opportunity to give input and receive feedback on their ideas. Keeping lines of communication open is a priority. Ideas and creativity are to be encouraged at all staff levels.

Communication will be my number one goal, so that everyone understands what decisions I am making.

I am expected to learn and grow. Accepting change and new ideas is a priority in the library.

Gossip about other staff members is not acceptable. If I have a complaint, I will not talk with other staff members but openly discuss it with my supervisor or the library director.

The library as a whole is my priority, from how the library looks to the community to how customers feel while they are here. Just as I view other staff as my peers, I will not hesitate to lend a hand where needed.

For supervisors:

I agree to follow the guidelines below to the best of my ability, understanding that these guidelines are an important part of service to my staff, my customers and my community.

I will be courteous at all times, meaning that I will greet everyone I encounter with a smile, knowing that I am representing the library not only in the way I deal with customers but the way I interact with my fellow staff members.

Everyone is treated like a peer by everyone else. Everyone will say good morning, please and thank you to everyone with good will, no matter what their relative position.

Everyone will get information at the same time regardless of his or her position in the library. Information hoarding is not acceptable. Minutes of staff meetings will be released within 48 hours.

Everyone has the opportunity to give input and receive feedback on their ideas. Keeping lines of communication open is a priority. Ideas and creativity are to be encouraged at all staff levels.

As a manager, I will not micromanage, but will allow employees to accomplish goals in their own way.

Communication will be my number one goal, so that everyone on staff understands who makes decisions, how decisions are made and what decisions they can make.

Everyone is expected to learn and grow. Accepting change and new ideas is a priority in the library.

I will focus on praising each one of my staff at least once a week.

Disagreements with staff will be addressed quickly with an emphasis on keeping staff informed on how the decision was made.

Gossip about other staff members is not acceptable. If you have a complaint, please do not talk with other staff members but openly discuss it with your supervisor.

The library as a whole is my priority, from how the library looks to the community to how customers feel while they are here. Just as I view other staff as my peers, I will not hesitate to lend a hand where needed.

The Scarlet Cord

Announcing

 

Ballet Magnificat!

 

Come experience America's premier Christian Ballet Company

Ballet Magnificat!

7:00 p.m. on
Friday, October 30, 2009

at the Yankton Summit Center

1801 Summit St., Yankton, SD

Reserve seating tickets go on sale at the

Academy of Dance
(605) 665-7729

Starting on Sept. 15: Tuesdays & Thursdays from 5:00pm-7:00pm

After Oct. 9:  Mon - Fri 4:00 - 7:00pm

                        Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 pm

             Sun. 2:00 - 5:00 pm

$16.00 (tax included)
Non-Refundable

 previous info & promo video 

.

Labor Day

a day to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold."

The History of Labor Day from the US Dept of Labor

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

. . .

The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.

. . .

In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country.

. . .

The vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known and has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation's strength, freedom, and leadership — the American worker.

Stones in the body (and I'm not talking about kidneys)

Thank you to my brother (he always has his eyes open for an interesting tidbit or two). It's always nice to know other people have the same troubles and you're not totally weird.

Tonsil Stones "What are those things growing in my tonsils?”

"...Formally known as tonsilloliths, the stones consist of mucus, dead cells and other debris that collect in the deep pockets of the tonsils and gradually condense into small, light-colored globs... the stones can cause an array of uncomfortable side effects, including sore throat and ear pain, not to mention the maddening sensation of a foreign body in the throat...." link:http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/01/health/01tons.html?em

wikipedia even has an article

and then there is tonsilstones.org

Missouri News

Since I lived there for most of my life, I found this article rather interesting.

Teen offenders find a future in Missouri

• The Missouri model uses small, therapeutic groups to treat juvenile offenders


• Juvenile residences don't have barbed wire or require uniforms


• A handful of other states are trying to replicate the Missouri model


• Studies show only ten percent of Missouri's youth re-offend

"While in one of Missouri's juvenile facilities, Barkley became editor of its student newspaper, captain of the football team and made the honor roll.
'I wanted something different for myself or I'd end up in Kansas City doing nothing. I knew I could do something,' said Barkley, who is the first in his family to go to college.
Now he's a sophomore studying criminal justice at the University of Central Missouri."

The stuff you find in books

The blog forgotten bookmarks shows all the personal, funny, heartbreaking and weird things found in books at a used & rare bookstore. And, from that same bookstore comes handwritten recipes, a blog that shows recipes found when sorting through books.

Colorful

A new project from the MIT Media Lab called Personas will create a data portrait of your online identity. You simply enter your name and it searches the Web for information and context and computes a visual representation of how the Internet sees you.

Video games in the library

C.M. CO. LIBRARY WINS STATE VIDEO CONTEST
Corin Wilson ( news@nbc40.net ) - 8/17/09 05:54 pm
CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE--The Cape May County Library is getting statewide recognition for winning a video contest. The library won the New Jersey State Library's video contest showing how a library can be beneficial in troubling times. The Cape May County Library staff chose to focus on how a family who couldn't afford a video game console for their child turned to game night at the library…a program they say their library has had a lot of success with, "It's just been booming and the numbers keep growing each week so we saw this as an opportunity to promote it and something easy to do because the kids really wanted to be a part of the video as well," said employee, Lisa Marie Alderfer. The video will be used in a tri-state campaign promoting usefulness of libraries in solving life's problems.

“Get Your Game On at your Library” by Cape May County Library



from Library Garden by Justin Hoenke 5 Reasons why you should be gaming in your Library
The video follows a timid young boy named Trevor whose family cannot afford to buy him the latest video game system. Instead, his family takes him to his local library where he quickly becomes a fan of the weekly game night program. In turn, Trevor and his family become regulars at the library. (So regular that Trevor now gets high fives from the librarians!) more here

Quick Reference Sheets for Word, Excel...

Custom Guide provides free computer training tipsheets on a variety of programs. If you need some quick help with various Mac, Windows, and Adobe programs this is a great site for some quick assistance.

Ballet Magnificat! Coming to SD again!

Ballet Magnificat's Alpha Company

The Scarlet Cord

October 30, 2009
Yankton High Auditorium - Yankton,SD
more info here

Inspired and loosely based on the Biblical account of Rahab, the ballet is set against the gray background of the communist Soviet Union. This newest Ballet Magnificat! production depicts the story of Rahab the harlot, party official Vladimir Ivanovich, and the undercover missionaries Aaron and Anna Grimes, as well as those pressed down by the iron fist of the Soviet government. This tale of betrayal, love, dedication, and ultimate sacrifice paints a portrait of an offering brought before our amazing Savior. Come witness this moving drama of a revolution – a human heart turning to the ultimate truth, Jesus Christ.
Choreographer: Jiri Sebastian Voborsky

There will also be a 2-day dance workshop October 31st & November 1st.

Ballet Magnificat! was founded in 1986. Magnificat is Latin for “to magnify Him.” It’s derived from “Mary’s Song” of praise in the 1st Chapter of the the Gospel of Luke when she first learned she was to be the mother of the Messiah. Ballet Magnificat! is an arts organization dedicated to presenting the good news of Jesus Christ to the whole world. Our professional touring companies perform nationally and internationally, ministering to audiences in the United States as well as Canada, Belgium, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Greece, Singapore, Costa Rica and Puerto Rico.

Filter Flickr

FlickrCC uses a keyword search to bring up a window of pictures tagged with that search tag. Click on each picture gets you the proper attribution link, editing link and different sizes to move directly into your presentations and websites. All of the images are copyright with Creative Commons licensing, which encourages sharing.

Tag Galaxy lets you visually search Flickr. Yes, visually. You can then filter down through refined tags to get to your desired image. Some images are not shared with Creative Commons licensing, which you should be aware of before using them in your presentations or on your blogs and websites.

Blogs for LIS students

100 Best Blogs for Library Science Students --you’ll find 100 of the best blogs a library science student can read. http://onlinedegreeprograms.org/blog/2009/100-best-blogs-for-library-science-students/

Homeschoolers produce full-length film

Advent Film Group (AFG), a new film company founded by homeschoolers -- their first movie, Come What May features Patrick Henry College, a national powerhouse in debate and moot court competition.

Patrick Henry College: Legal Debate Powerhouse Portrayed in the Movie Come What May
The movie Come What May was filmed at Patrick Henry College in summer of 2007. In March 2009, it was distributed nationwide by Provident Films, the company that released Sherwood Pictures’ hits Facing the Giants and Fireproof on DVD.

The movie is a fictional adaptation of real-life events surrounding Patrick Henry College’s ongoing success at legal debate. In January, 2009, PHC won its third American Collegiate Moot Court Association (ACMA) National Championship in five years. And the College has twice defeated Oxford University in head-to-head challenges. Many of its former competitors now attend top law and graduate schools nationwide.




Homeschool filmmakers begin distribution drive for Come What May

Interesting...cookies

Think you deleted your cookies? Think again - CNN.com

to WIRED article

Public Library Blogs:

http://citesandinsights.info/civ9i10.pdf

EBSCO & library stories

EBSCO has put together a collection of their customers (including libraries) best practices & success stories in areas such as marketing initiatives, community outreach, fundraising, teacher collaboration...

Library Blogging Tips

Online College comes up with 100 Terrific Tips & Tools for Blogging Librarians.

Many tips in the following areas:
Basics
Readership and Traffic
Content
Branding and Marketing
Networking
Design
Blogging Platforms
Extra Services
Organization and Administrative Tips and Tools
Miscellaneous

What do you remember

100 Things Your Kids May Never Know About : The world of technology continues to change at a rapid pace and this article from Wired drives that point home.

http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2009/07/100-things-your-kids-may-never-know-about/

Mozart

ANALYST: MUSIC PIECES PROBABLY COMPOSED BY YOUNG MOZART

The music isn't new, but the discovery that a young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart "almost certainly" composed it is a stunning revelation.

.... FULL STORY: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/08/02/new.mozart/index.html

A Floating Apartment

The Citadel: Europe’s First Floating Apartment Complex
This is what the Dutch have invented in their long quest to ward off the danger of rising tides - a new construction project that has created an apartment complex completely built on water.

"The Dutch have been fighting the rising and falling tides for centuries, building dikes and pumping water out of areas that are below sea level. Now, rather than fight the water infiltrating their land, the Dutch will use it as part of a new development called ‘New Water‘, which will feature the world’s first floating apartment complex, The Citadel. This “water-breaking” new project was designed by Koen Olthuis of Waterstudio in the Netherlands, and will use 25% less energy than a conventional building on land thanks to the use of water cooling techniques."

The Citadel, designed by Koen Olthuis of Waterstudio, is built on a floating foundation of heavy concrete and will house 60 luxury apartments, a car park, a floating road to access the complex as well as boat docks. Each unit will have its own garden terrace as well as a view of the lake. The building is designed to float perfectly on the rising and falling water, and makes use of the water to cool itself as it pumped out of submerged pipes. Make that a slash of 25% on your electricity bill as water cooling techniques are far more efficient compared to the ones used by a conventional building on land.

"The New Water and the Citadel projects are an attempt to embrace water in the Netherlands, which is almost completely composed of wetlands. The project will be built on a polder, a recessed area below sea level where flood waters settle from heavy rains. There are almost 3500 polders in the Netherlands, and almost all of them are continually pumped dry to keep flood waters from destroying nearby homes and buildings. The New Water Project will purposely allow the polder to flood with water and all the buildings will be perfectly suited to float on top of the rising and falling water.

from www.inhabitat.com

moon footage

NASA released newly restored videos Thursday of two U.S. astronauts taking the world's first steps on the moon.

The images were released just four days before the 40th anniversary of the historic event that captivated the world on July 20, 1969.

The release, part of a larger Apollo 11 moonwalk restoration project, features 15 key moments from the historic lunar excursion, NASA said in a statement.

 The images posted Thursday on the NASA Web site include a two-minute video montage with highlights of the moonwalk, and separate videos of Armstrong and Aldrin descending a ladder to the moon's dusty surface. Each partially restored video is shown beside an original image, for comparison.

 

watch NASA videos at http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/hd/apollo11.html

 

 

Just because

extreme ballet


fun

Discovering the history of Pierre & Fort Pierre

New website -

Pierre and Fort Pierre, South Dakota
Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary

Learn about, visit, and explore the authentic historic places that illustrate the history and development of Pierre and Fort Pierre, South Dakota from its earliest settlement to modern times. The Pierre and Fort Pierre Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary was produced by the National Park Service’s Heritage Education Services and the South Dakota State Historical Society’s State Historic Preservation Office, in partnership with the South Dakota Heritage Fund and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers.

The Pierre and Fort Pierre travel itinerary is based primarily on registration information on historic places in the National Park’s Service National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks collections. These archives are kept at 1201 Eye Street NW, Washington, DC and are open to the public.

The itinerary is available through the National Park Service’s Web site at: www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/pierre_fortpierre/

Patriotic Piano

In honor of the 4th of July:

the Baldwin American Flag Vertical Piano

Tokbox is the Meebo of Video Chat

neat!

Sent to you by Sarah via Google Reader:

Tokbox is the Meebo of Video Chat

via Chip Chick by Chip Chick on 6/29/09

Have you ever tried to initiate a video chat with someone and had to go through the frustrating steps of making sure the other person is using the same video chat client as you? I personally like to use iChat which is also compatible with AIM, but some of my friends overseas use Skype, while many of them also use MSN. Also, when I'm dealing with less technical folk, like my aunt, it has been a chore getting her to download and install AIM altogether, because she is practically computer illiterate. These are just a few examples of some of the barriers that make something that should be simple, in to something complicated and draining. So along comes Tokbox, a web based video chat service that connects people for video chatting, without the need to install any software. It doesn't matter whether you're using a Mac, a PC, or Linux, nor does it matter what web browser your using. All that is required is a web cam and a mic, and you can be up and running within a minute. In a lot of ways, Tokbox is like the Meebo of Video chat. Tokbox is also compatible with most of the popular IM services including AIM, Yahoo, and MSN. Actual video quality is good, although not quite great. It's about on par with your average video chat service.

But aside from taking away all the software barriers, Tokbox also has a few tricks up its sleeves that set it apart even from its software based counterparts. For starters, it can support up to 20 video chat windows at once, so you can connect with many of your friends at once - conference style. Tokbox also lets you share YouTube videos and SlideShare presentations live - again, very conference style. That makes Tokbox very practical for both casual and business meetings where several people need to interact at once. The folks at Tokbox said that the service has been especially popular with book clubs, bridal planning when friends are located all over the country, and religious Bible study groups. We would imagine that this could be used for business purposes as a free alternative to GoToMeeting since it also supports text chat.

To use Tokbox for video chat, you need to sign up for the service, however Tokbox also allows you to send video messages to people which they can view without having to register for the service. You can also use Tokbox to post video messages to Twitter and Facebook. Overall, we recommend Tokbox for those looking for a hassle-free way to video chat with their friends and family.

Kayaking & Fonts

I went kayaking for the first time this weekend at Oahe Days and had lots of fun (and got a nice sunburn - matched my pink shirt). Yay for free rentals!





Fonts galore Ultimate List of 32 Font And Typography Tools

Follow the Yellow Brick Road pictures

Follow the Yellow Brick Road, May 30, 2009, @ Riggs High School Theatre, Pierre

Dorothy & group

look at more pictures from:
Friday dress rehearsal
Saturday 3:00 matinee
Saturday 7:00 pm performance

the Rainbow (I'm back middle)

Uncle Henry, Aunt Em (me), Dorothy & Toto

The Tornado (left I'm on the left & below I'm on the right, my brother is on the left )

original post for Follow the Yellow Brick Road: http://ideacollecting.blogspot.com/2009/04/yellow-brick-road-storybook-production.html

Josh is the tinman w/heart

Mobile Library Catalog and Website

neat!

OCLS Mobile (Orange County Florida Public Library System)
Take a look at the brand new OCLS Mobile, a breakthrough way to explore the Library using your iPhone or iPod Touch. Search the catalog, access your account, find Library locations and driving directions, learn about upcoming events, watch videos, and more!

Here is a YouTube video walk through:

Web 3.0 Concepts Explained in Plain English

Digital Inspiration sums up the differences between Web 1.0, Web 2.0, and Web 3.0 and provides six related presentations which discuss Web 3.0 in detail.

Get Growing!

Plants Plus! & Surplus Tree Sale
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Conservation District Cooler
1840 Table Street
Thursday :: May 21 :: 4 to 7 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trees & Shrubs from the Conservation District
Tomatoes, peppers, squash, pumpkins & herbs plus
an assortment of annuals and perennials grown by the
Prairie Potter Master Gardeners.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Directions from Airport Road
Turn left on N. Airport Road; turn left on Plateau Street;
turn left on Table Street; last building on the left.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sponsered by
Prairie Potter Master Gardeners
and the Hughes/Stanley County Conservation District

The trouble with cell phones

Annoying calls - warranty, schmoranty

Federal action against bogus car warranties is ‘imminent’
from Consumer Reports Money & Shopping Blog by Consumer Reports Money & Shopping Blog

The Federal Trade Commission could be just days away from taking action against companies that use spam phone calls to pitch bogus extended car warranties.
Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) announced that they have received a letter from FTC chairman Jon Leibowitz saying that “law enforcement action in this area can be expected imminently.” Schumer earlier this week called on the federal agency to stop the practice, which has generated thousands of inquiries and complaints to the Better Business Bureau.
The companies use automatic dialing systems to call both cell and landline phones to pitch extended warranties. Federal law prohibits unsolicited “robo-call” marketing to cells phones generally. In some cases, the calls are being made to numbers that have been placed on the federal “Do Not Call” list,” the senators said. Both added that they too have received such calls in recent weeks.
“In addition to violating the ‘Do Not Call List’ law, these scammers are peddling phony car warranties that exploit consumers,” Warner said, in a statement.
The senators said the typical call from an unrecognized number features a computerized voice saying: “Out of warranty? You are still eligible to reactivate warranty coverage. This is the final call before we close the file.” They said consumers apparently are being called at random and that the company making the call has no idea whether someone’s warranty is about to expire. Although consumers are given the choice to “opt out” of future calls by pressing a key on their telephone, the calls continue, they said.
Even extended warranties sold by legitimate companies are generally not worth buying, especially if you purchase a car with a top reliability score.—Anthony Giorgianni

Looking for blogs to read?

Feedmil is a search engine for RSS and Atom feeds based on the concept of the "Long Tail" (basically, small, obscure feeds have an audience as long as the interested people have a way to find them via search technology).

"Feedmil is a feed search engine featuring a spam-free, topic-focused search for a variety of feed types including blogs, microblogs, public and social media feeds as well as podcasts."

It’s a feed search engine with little slide levers you move to change your search results. So, instead of just entering search terms into Feedmil, you also select a popularity range, anywhere from the obscure to the well-known. By filtering your results by popularity, you'll be able to pare down a bunch of results that are presumably all relevant into the top sites on your topic, or some surprising ones you might not have heard of.

Sounds like a pretty neat way to find new blogs...

Visual Vocabulary

I have previously mentioned various visual dictionaries/thesauruses. Here is an interesting addition to Visual Thesaurus. VocabGrabber analyzes any text you're interested in, generates a list vocabulary words and shows how those words are used in context.
All you have to do is copy & paste text into the box, and then click on the "Grab Vocabulary!" button. Then, a vocabulary list that you can sort, filter, and save is automatically created. If you select a word on the list you can see a snapshot of the Visual Thesaurus map and definitions for that word and examples of the word in your text. They also provide sample texts (including the US Bill of Rights) so you can see how it works.

Various Interesting Stuff

Fliis, All the music you can imagine! Type in any key term and all the songs available on YouTube will appear. The option not to have the video helps if you are in need of just the song!

This is a cool image…zoom in on it and it just keeps displaying more, user-submitted images. It’s an Infinite Photograph. From National Geographic: "What makes up our world? Dive into this photo-mosaic portrait of the Earth to see it through the eyes of users like you. It's made up of hundreds of photos of the natural world, each submitted by users to My Shot... Move the yellow square over an area you would like to explore, click, and go. Double-click on an image to see more information about it. Keep clicking—and diving deeper into the Infinite Photograph—to get a truly boundless picture of Earth."

Current and historical photos @ LIFE - Your World in Pictures.

BBC’s One Minute Wonders…quick bits of science and nature goodness.

Time Warp videoe clips from the Discovery Channel. Using high-speed photography, the hosts slow down events that normally occur in the blink of an eye…like the vibrations of a cymbal or a cat licking up milk. Now you can watch tons of their videos online.
There are even interactive clips. Control how slow or fast the dog drinks the water, popcorn pops, bulldog shakes, taking a water balloon to the face . . .

Creative Commons Media

Sean P Aune at SitePoint rounds up 30+ Places To Find Creative Commons Media for those seeking audio, video, images, and text files that can be re-used free of charge under a CC license.

Amazing jump roping!

Wow! Who knew jump roping could be so interesting.
Montage:

This is the King's Firecrackers performing at the US Navy Academy.
Performance:

You have to watch this whole thing! When you think it's finished, it isn't. Keep watching

You can read more about them at their blog King's Firecrackers