Pandora

As I type this, Rachmaninov's 2nd piano concerto is playing in the background on the computer. It looks like Pandora might be something I'll keep after Library 2.0 is over!

Sheldrick Trust will be on 60 Minutes tomorrow night

I just got an email from the David Sheldrick Trust saying that they will be featured on "60 Minutes" tomorrow night, Sunday April 26.

This will be the third time they are on this program; last time in December 2008 it was a very short story. I'm hoping it will be longer this time. And that maybe I'll see Zurura!

Wikis

ARGHHH

Once again I wrote a wonderful new post, clicked on publish post and got an error message! What is up with blogger?

This week’s lesson is on wikis. I’ve used Wikipedia, of course, but didn’t realize the number of personal/private wikis.

I looked for wikis on “elephants” and “figure skating” on wiki.com and was disappointed at the results. Looks like a lot of wikis get started and then fewer and fewer posts are made.

As the weeks go by, I realize that I am just too private a person to find web 2.0 technologies useful. I don’t want to tweet so you can know what I am doing. I don’t want to post my thoughts to a blog. I don’t want to look at Facebook every day to see what other people are doing. I’d just rather read a book.

As always, this was a good lesson for me to learn something new—and to realize something about myself.

delicious

I've just written a new blog post, clicked on "publish post" and got a "server error" message--and lost the posting I'd just written.

ARGH! One of the reasons I hate computers!

Anyway--this week's lesson is delicious. My Explorer bookmarks are now done; I still have to do my Firefox ones.

It will be good to have one list of bookmarks instead of different bookmarks on computers at work and at home. BUT--at home, we are usually signed in as Rick. Will I have to sign out and sign in as myself in order to see my delicious bookmarks? If so, what a pain--

YouTube and Hulu

It was so nice to get to a week on our Library 2.0 lessons that was just pure fun!

I have enjoyed watching short videos on YouTube for a couple of years now. There are a number of old (1960s-1970s) figure skating routines by some of my childhood favorites that I've really liked being able to see.

I didn't really get into Hulu, since it seems to have only recent TV shows. If it only had "The Monroes" from the 1960s (a one season unsuccessful series about kids who go West after their parents die) . . . I remember loving it when I saw it as a kid . . . who knows how cringeworthy it would be now?!

Giraffes

Giraffes
Originally uploaded by elelover

Although I love elephants--I also love giraffes! I've been thinking about our 2000 safari ever since Sharon asked to see our photos to help the Junior Room staff develop artwork for their summer reading club. In the midst of setting up my Flickr account, I've been looking at the safari photos--as well as other animal photos we've taken over the years. Here's a good shot of giraffes at the Brookfield Zoo.

Twitter

I've joined Twitter, both because our Library 2.0 program at work demands that I do, and because I have to post tweets to the DGLibrary twitter site. When I first joined, I got an enthusiastic phone call from Sharon, extolling twitter. I thought maybe I'd like it, since one of the things that's kept me from blogging is the idea that I would have to write, proofread and then rewrite intelligent, literate postings on my blog. Who has time for that?

That said, I am pretty underwhelmed by Twitter. It seems silly for the most part--why do you care what I am doing right now? Why do I care what you are doing right now? Only if I (or someone I am following) is doing something different than their regular, boring life, like traveling or attending a conference, might I want to see what they are doing at any given time.

I also find it annoying to have to keep to within 140 characters. What if what I am doing takes more letters than that to talk about it?

Yes, I know, I sound pretty curmudgeonly and OLD but that's how I'm feeling about it right now.

Trips to Africa

I'm having trouble answering comments on my blog, so I guess I'll just answer them with a new blog post!

#1BullsFan asked when I went to Africa.

I've actually been twice. Once in January 1988 and once in December 2000-January 2001. Both times my husband Rick and I went on a camera safari of Tanzania and Kenya. During the first safari, we met two couples who we stayed friends with over the years, and we all decided to go back to Africa with our kids in 2000.

Both trips were great, in their own way. 1988 was wonderful. We saw lots of hippos (more than in 2000) and had one brief (5 second) viewing of a leopard. So when we got there in 2000, we told our guide we wanted to see a leopard--and we actually saw 7 different leopards! Plus we had some wonderful up close and personal times with elephants, which helped confirm in my mind my love of these great animals.

Slowly learning to blog

Days ago Chris asked for a picture of Zurura. I finally learned how to put a picture of him on my blog (see right side of the blog) but will I remember how to do it again? Who knows.

The picture is from when he was a baby. He is now almost 3 years old and a BIG baby! He is a classic boy: he loves to "push/fight" some of the other boy elephants at the sanctuary in an attempt to get his own way, he sometimes likes to lead the group out in the morning or in at night and he seems to have lots of friends.

All things animals

I chose to name my blog after one animal that I like, elephants, but I also like many other types of animals! Snow leopards, tigers, lions, okapis, giraffe . . . the list goes on and on.

I had always thought of myself as a dog person (Elsa the golden retriever mutt was my cherished dog during my teenage years) until we got Caramel, a tortoiseshell cat seven years ago. I now appreciate cats even more than dogs!