Sunday, May 27, 2007

It's all about me, I mean, you. Um, us?

Wow! There was a lot packed in Learn 2.0 Week 4. Some familiar, some new. What amazes me is that this desire to have a virtual presence and opinion is almost more of a sense of entitlement or need even. Everyone is a superstar on the Web! Now there are no excuses for getting your stuff "out there." MySpace and YouTube allow places that have otherwise been perceived as traditional and boring (I don't know, like the LIBRARY?) to be cool and savvy. Not to mention free advertising! I was sorry that I missed Step Off, and now that I watched the YouTube spot, I really regret it! It looked fantastic!

I took the opportunity to check out LibraryThing which was a third place winner in the book category on SEOmoz. Pure, traditional library catalogers of the world must be coming out of their skin! What a wonderful way to organize your own literary experience, capture it and share with others. I also found Farecast (first place in Travel) to be fascinating. I am curious to see the viability of this product when I plan future trips. Imagine, it's like the Wall Street of travel! And Zillow (first in Real Estate) is the social network of real estate. Check it out if you are interesting in buying, selling or not sure if you want to sell but willing to see what others would be willing to bid on your home. Wicked cool!

Also, with cooking and restaurants being my thing and all, I had to check out toEat. I added Dom's Pizza, a great pizza place in the Northgate Plaza where the Edgewater Branch is located. Dom is a big supporter of our location, and I am glad to add him to this site. I'm still on a quest for Ethiopian food, but didn't have any luck here. Hopefully it will continue to develop...

Saturday, May 19, 2007

RSS Feeds and Wikis

As part of our Learn 2.0 adventure, our week 3 assignment was to sign ourselves up for some good ol' RSS feeds. I have been accessing feeds through my personal Yahoo account, so it was interesting to see another resource and it hooked me on to feeds I hadn't previously considered. I signed up for the following:
  • Wired top stories (I thought this might be interesting as an OCLS Trendwatcher.)
  • The Shifted Librarian (Besides the fact that Jenny Levine talked about how OCLS rocks in gaming, I had the chance to see her speak at Computers In Libraries this year and really enjoyed her presentation.)
  • Cooking Engineer (I'm already subscribed to this through Yahoo, but I wanted to share with other cooking fans this feed because it is really neat how they diagram each recipe like a blueprint. Enjoy!)
  • Simply Recipes (I'm thinking this one is pretty obvious, and the pictures are great.)
  • Comedy Central joke of the day (I can always use a good laugh!)
  • OCLS General Announcements (Good reminders of what is coming up for our patrons.)

Now, I did a few searches on Grokker, and I have to tell you. It hasn't grabbed me 100% yet. Wait, I take that back. I think I just prefer the outline view to the map view. (Guess I'm notan absolute visual learner. It feels like I am a combo of tactile and visual. Learn 2.0 is a great fit for me.) I think Grokker is pretty nifty though. One thing I searched for is Ethiopian cuisine. I did get a hit for an Ethiopian restaurant in Orlando. If that pays off, I will be to the moon! If you've never eaten it, like a little kick in your food and enjoy eating with your hands, it is fantastic! I'll let you know how it turns out.

I relatively familiar with wikis. I read Orange Slices and I participate on the OCLS Trendwatcher's wiki.

I have to say that I am glad to have something else to write about right now considering that the Yankees are in what can only be described in a downward spiral. My fan status exists out of sheer loyalty, but if I was Joe Torre, I'd be cracking skulls!

Monday, May 7, 2007

Excitement and intrigue in Yankee Stadium!

Of all weekends for me to miss a televised ball game! First, the Yankees and Mariners clear the benches AND the bullpens, almost getting into a brawl. Plus Scott Proctor and Joe Torre are ejected from the game. Then Roger Clemens announces his return to the Bombers! Can you stand it? I'm reeling!

Okay, so was Proctor out of line, or was he looking out for his boys? Why is it when the Yankees do something like this, there is a higher scrutiny? Yeah, it's a classy team, but ball is ball. Besides, it's about time we saw some emotion come out of these guys! Now let's convert that energy into solid pitching, I say. Having The Rocket back is a beautiful thing, but I remain cautious until I see him in action, actually producing wins. I know it's a different animal, but I still have the Randy Johnson nightmare ringing in my brain...

On a different note, I had good times at Sea World and swam with the dolphins at Discovery Cove this weekend. Today was recuperation day and Girls Movie Day. This of course meant lots of yummy snack foods. Here is the sausage-cheese dip I made that is always a winner, wherever I go:

Mexican Cheese Dip

1 block of Mexican Velveeta, cubed (You can add a mini Velveeta to cut down on heat or stretch it.)
1 can of Rotel tomatoes, lightly drained (Mild or hot-it's your taste buds)
1 lb. ground sausage (I use Publix brand. Hot or mild depends on the level of heartburn desired.)

Cooking instructions:
  1. Brown sausage.
  2. Mix all ingredients together
  3. Melt in microwave until thoroughly melted.
  4. Serve with chip of choice. (I prefer Tostitos Scoops. Little bowls of heaven, I call them.)
  5. Enjoy!

I have to give credit to Britta for introducing this one to me. Give it a try. You'll be the hit of the party for years to come!

Friday, May 4, 2007

Close but no cigar...

It is completely disappointing when I go through the trouble to watch a game online, play by play on the Yankees website, only to see another loss. And losing 15-11? Insane! The good news is that they did manage to sweep the Rangers, so I will be thankful for small Yankee blessings. Very interesting that Cashman dismissed their strength coach, Marty Miller. I'm curious to see how DeSalvo and Rasner work for the Bombers against Seattle for the rest of the series. We just need a good, strong rally going and I know we can pull forward! Right now I can't tell if it's a battle for second place or last place in the AL Eastern division!

My friend, Kristi, had a great suggestion for enhancing Yankee Kitchen. She thought it would be fun to feature a Yankee and recipe of the week. I love it! Now to figure out how to do it, and I'll be good to go. I've managed okay with the point, click and type features with the blog, but I'm game to see if I can take it up a notch. Keep an eye out for the upgrade! Thanks, chica!

Until next time, down with the Mariners and may the Red Sox crumble.

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

I'm looking for a ray of light...

Well, the good news is that the Yankees won the last game they played since the Boston debacle. The bad news, as Britta was sweet enough to point out, is that they are still in a glaring last place. (Thanks, Brit, 'preciate it.) And even better, ANOTHER pitcher is on the disabled list. Seriously? There's talk that the Yankees are waiting to see what Clemens is going to do at the end of May and go after him. If I were Roger Clemens, I'd run in the other direction. There is bad medicine hovering over the pitching staff at Yankee Stadium. Run for your life, Roger!

So, Cinco de Mayo is coming up this weekend. Anyone lining up some yummy Latin food to celebrate? I was driving around around Winter Haven today and saw this little cantina called El Kiosco Boricua that should be opening soon. Can't wait to give them a try. We have several great Mexican restaurants in town (El Norteno and Broncos), but no Caribbean Latin restaurants. This is very exciting! I recently purchased the cookbook Daisy Cooks! from her cooking show. It has wonderful recipes, mostly puertorican, but also from other Hispanic cultures. Have a look!

Buen provecho and Go Yankees! (I'm begging you!)