SmartAsKids

Toastmaster's Speech #5 Internal Weather Forecast

2011-02-15T14:46:00.001-06:00

Toastmaster’s Speech #5 – Internal Weather Forecast
Your Body Speaks (Objectives: use stance, movement, gestures, facial expressions and eye contact to express your message and achieve speech’s purpose.)

Thank you Kary. Fellow Toastmasters and guests.

I’ve been told that I am a pessimist. One definition of pessimist is a person who habitually sees or anticipates the worst or is disposed to be gloomy. I definitely see myself in the first part of the definition: I do typically see the worst case scenario for most situations. EXAMPLE: My department is developing a new document management system. I immediately think: “What if this new system is slower than the previous one? What if the data gets corrupted during conversion?”

I rationalize this approach to life by saying I have to be able to anticipate the worst in order to prepare for it. EXAMPLE: Helps to proactively identify ways to ensure speed of the new system and prevent data loss. I think of myself as a problem solver, and the first step in problem solving is to be able to see problems. I guess I’m constantly in search of a problem that needs fixing. So in that regard I convince myself that being a pessimist – anticipating the worst – is quite useful!

But what about that second part of the definition: the tendency to be gloomy. The word gloomy reminds me of Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. Being gloomy seems droopy, quite ho-hum, with a dark rain cloud overhead all day. Whoa! I don’t want to be like that!! I can’t think of a way to rationalize “gloomy” as a useful trait at all. I don’t want to spend the day under a rain cloud; I want to bask in the sunshine!

I want to have and project a positive attitude. Each morning I have the option to choose my own internal weather: Cloudy or Sunny. Let’s use Eeyore and Pooh as an example: Pooh approaches Eeyore with a cheerful, “good morning!” Eeyore replies, “Good morning, Pooh Bear. If it is a good morning, which I doubt.” A variation that I catch myself saying in response to “Good morning” is “Yeah, it’s alright for a Monday.” If I choose sunny attitude, I can respond very simply “Good morning, Anna.” And the dark clouds begin to lighten up.

Gloomy people often distrust others. Here’s another Eeyore quote: “Nobody tells me. Nobody keeps me informed.” I hear this one a lot, how about you? I may even say this from time to time. I’d rather give people a chance. If I choose to trust people, instead of assuming they are withholding information, I may find that they are just very busy. I can reach out and become informed. Give information and ask questions. When I am proactive and trusting a few more clouds drift away.

It takes effort to choose a positive attitude and refrain from complaining, but it is worth the effort. As Eeyore also said: “A little Consideration, a little Thought for Others, makes all the difference.”

Can I retain the ability to identify potential problems and still maintain a positive attitude? I say YES. I will embrace the ability to see problems clearly, and choose not to be gloomy. So am I really a pessimist then if I choose sunshine over rain clouds? Nope. I think my internal weather forecast is “Mostly Sunny” with slight chance of isolated showers.

Toastmaster’s Speech #4 – Redefining the Daily Grind

2010-11-17T15:35:00.002-06:00

Toastmaster’s Speech #4 – Redefining the Daily Grind
11/17/10, 5 minutes

Fellow Toastmasters and guests, I have a question for you:

What time did your day begin today? Did your day begin as the sun came up…
or did the alarm wake your before it even got light?

I got up at 4:30 a.m. and plunged into the daily grind. Squinting as I turned on the light, I searched the closet looking for something comfortable to wear. With my eyes barely opened, I rushed through my hair and makeup routine. I slipped on my shoes and jewelry then headed to the kitchen to start the coffee before taking the dogs for a walk.

[SPEAK FASTER HERE] Then it was cook breakfast, fight traffic, slow down in the parking garage, fire up the computer and work, work, work. This evening it will be slow down in the parking garage, fight traffic, cook dinner, walk the dogs, and run, run, run… to the store, to the bank, and to return DVDs to BlockBuster. After all that – I may treat myself to a little Ben and Jerry’s Coffee Heath Bar ice cream before I collapse in front of the TV. Does this sound familiar? It seems fairly hectic from morning to night, doesn’t it?

What if I told you your day began last night as the sun set? Some cultures define “day” as the time between sunset and sunset, rather than sunrise to sunrise.

The day I just described is fairly typical in a sunrise culture: 1) we rise, 2) we work, and 3) then we end the day in rest. We rest to recover from our work … with whatever time is left over!

By contrast, in a sunset culture: 1) we rest, 2) then we rise, and 3) do our work. Do you see the subtle difference? Rest comes first. Rest serves to prepare us to work rather than just recover from it.

Defining the day beginning at sunrise makes work primary. Defining the day beginning at sunset makes rest primary.

Consider this for a moment: How might redefining day into a sunset to sunset rhythm affect our priorities? Would we think differently? Would we live differently? Here is one possibility:

[SLOW DOWN HERE] My day will begin at sunset as I arrive home to my family (around 5:00 p.m.). With rest as my primary focus I will move through my activities with the purpose of restoration in mind.
o I will still cook and eat dinner – because food is a necessary part of maintaining our bodies.
o I will still walk the dogs. But I will pause to notice the crisp weather and bright stars – because it calms my mind.
o I will still drive my daughter to the bank, pickup ice cream at the store and drop off DVDs – while we talk about teenage topics like concerts, movies (HP7), boys, chores and curfew along the way.
o I will sleep and I will arise refreshed to bring my best self to work.
o With my batteries fully charged, I will handle the daily grind of work with a more relaxed attitude.
o I’m not rushing to get to work, so driving slowly in the parking garage isn’t a bother.
o My pace is a little slower and less hectic, so I’m able to see problems more clearly. I can respond thoughtfully rather than react quickly.
o As the work day wears on, I may be challenged to the very end of my endurance…
o But as the day comes to an end at sunset, I can look forward to a new day just moments away.

Toastmasters Speech – Intentional Kindness (9/15/10, 7 minutes)

2010-09-17T07:42:00.000-05:00

Toastmasters Speech – Intentional Kindness (9/15/10, 7 minutes)
Purpose – To inspire the audience to understand and perform an intentional act of kindness.

Good afternoon fellow Toastmasters and guests. In the last couple of meetings, you’ve learned a little about me. There’s something else you should know: I’m not a kind person. I’m not a mean person; I’m just not naturally considerate and helpful. I sometimes forget birthdays; I rarely help with yard work; and I almost never share my “good chocolate.” I decided that I want to be a kinder person. I’m going to tell you how I plan to do it and I hope that you will be inspired to join me.

You have probably all heard the phrase “Random Acts of Kindness”. If you have ever benefited from a random act of kindness, you know that it provides a positive boost to your day. At a Starbucks recently, my daughter learned that the person ahead of her had already paid her tab. She was very excited when she told me about it. She was smiling and bouncy as she filled me in on what happened. Clearly it “made her day.”

A few things I’ve experienced include: a free bottle of water on a hot day, permission to go ahead of someone in the checkout line, a stranger on the fishing pier offering to unhook the fish that my daughter caught but was afraid to touch. I bet if you try you can remember a time you were the recipient of a random act of kindness. How did it make you feel? It makes me smile to think that someone who doesn’t even know me would take the time to be so considerate and helpful to me. It got me thinking, if a single random act can have such a positive impact, how much more impact could be made if we decided to be intentional about kindness?

Random implies that something happens by chance, in a hit-or-miss or casual way. The action may deliver a positive boost to the recipient, but it doesn’t do much to build a relationship. Don’t get me wrong, I think Random Acts of Kindness are good. I just believe that maybe Intentional Acts of Kindness are even better.

Intentional implies something that is planned and purposeful. Intentional acts of kindness tell someone that you know them and that you've noticed their needs. It tells them you’ve made a conscious choice to give, to help, to share, or to comfort. So how do we get intentional about being kind?

1. Choose your target. Although we may choose to show kindness to a stranger, generally intentional kindness will be directed an individual or group of people that we want to build a stronger relationship with.
a. Family member, co-worker, friend, or acquaintance.
2. The next step is to Notice details.
a. What do they like; what makes them smile? (certain foods, a picture, a joke)
b. What stresses them out? (certain chores; can I do anything to minimize it)
3. These details will help us Identify a need.
a. Do I know someone in a sticky situation? Let’s say my neighbor’s husband is out of town and she needs to make sure their kids get on the bus in the morning, but can’t be late to work. Maybe I could offer to let the kids stand in my yard so she can get to work on time.
b. Do I know someone in need of extra encouragement? Maybe a co-worker is trying to work up the nerve to give a prepared speech. I could offer to help her rehearse.
4. Be deliberate. Intentional acts of kindness often require planning.
a. For example, if I notice that my niece needs a night out. I wouldn’t just show up and say, I’m here to watch the baby. Instead, I may help her husband plan a surprise evening out – including baby-sitting services on the night they choose.
5. Finally, Sacrifice something of yourself.
a. Give of - your time, your resources, or your knowledge.

With this strategy in mind, here are some of the things I’m going to do to be more intentional about showing kindness.

• Remember family and friends birthdays with a card, note, or phone call.
• Share the “good chocolate” with my daughter when she has a hard day at school.
• And though I don’t plan to begin doing yard work, I will bring my husband a glass of water or tool he needs while he is working in the yard!

I’m looking forward to knowing that something I choose to do may brighten someone’s day. If you need a little more encouragement to join me in getting intentional about showing kindness, consider this: Intentional kindness doesn’t just make the recipient’s day; it can make you feel happier too.

Toastmasters Speech – Overcoming Procrastination (8/18/10, 6 minutes)

2010-08-19T15:09:00.000-05:00

Toastmasters Speech – Overcoming Procrastination (8/18/10, 6 minutes)

Good morning/afternoon fellow Toastmasters and guests. We have all heard the Thomas Jefferson quote, “Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.” I believe that we all sometimes struggle to follow this advice, so I’m here to share some tips for overcoming procrastination.

Procrastination is - Putting off things that you should be doing right now -- usually in favor of doing something that you like better or feel more comfortable doing. An example is putting off writing this speech in favor of reading a book.

The key to controlling procrastination is to 1) recognize when you start, 2) understand why it happens, and 3) take action to manage your time and outcomes better.

Step 1: Recognize That You're Procrastinating – here are some examples:

o If your day is filled with low priority tasks, you might be procrastinating.
o If you read e-mails several times without starting work on them or deciding what you’re going to do with them, you might be procrastinating.
o If you gear up to start a high-priority task, and almost immediately stop to make a cup of coffee/tea, you might be procrastinating.
o If the same task appears on your To Do list day after day, you might be procrastinating.
o If you are waiting for the “right mood” or the “right time” to tackle an important task, you might be procrastinating.

Do you recognize yourself in any of these statements? The next step is to understand why we are behaving this way.

Step 2: Work Out WHY You're Procrastinating
o The task is unpleasant. My youngest daughter once described doing laundry as “the most horrible chore in the world”. She dreads it and puts off doing her laundry as long as possible. Most of us have a task or two in our jobs that is unpleasant or boring, but the fact is – the job still needs to get done.
o Maybe you are disorganized and have trouble prioritizing.
o Sometimes we just feel overwhelmed by the size of the task. Like that mountain of laundry, we just need to sort it out and take it one pile at a time.
o Perfectionists also often procrastinate. They may feel that if it can’t be done perfectly, they won’t do it at all.

Once you recognize procrastination and understand why you do it, you can try some of these strategies to overcome it.

Step 3: Adopt Anti-Procrastination Strategies

If the task is unpleasant:
o Think about the unpleasant consequences of not doing the work – it often outweighs the unpleasantness of the task itself. In the laundry example, the unpleasant consequences may include having stains set in, running out of clean clothes, or forfeiting allowance.
o Try to do one of the “unpleasant tasks” first thing each day.
o Reward yourself.

If you're disorganized:
o Keep a To-Do list so that you can’t “conveniently” forget about unpleasant or overwhelming tasks.
o Find someone who seems organized and ask them to help prioritize your to-do list
o Set due dates.
o Focus on one task at a time.
o Reward yourself.

If the task is overwhelming:
o Break the project into a set of smaller, more manageable tasks.
o Start with some quick, small tasks to gain momentum.
o Organize the remaining tasks in a logical order to create an action plan.
o Reward yourself.

If you are thinking, "I don't have the right skills or resources to do this perfectly now, so I won't do it at all."
o Find training resources
o Apply what you learn to your daily tasks.
o If someone else has the skills you lack, team up with them and ask them to check back with you on your progress.
o Reward yourself.

Now that we all know how to recognize, understand, and overcome procrastination, next time you find yourself making a cup of coffee instead of tackling that mountain of laundry, I encourage you to try some of these ideas – in the words of Larry the Cable Guy “Git ‘er Done!”

And reward yourself [hold up chocolate bar].

Things I love (Toastmasters Speech – 7/21/10)

2010-07-27T06:53:00.001-05:00

Things I love (Toastmasters Speech – 7/21/10, 5 minutes)

I’m Wendy and I’m here to tell you about some of the things I love.

I love dark chocolate. I think I get my love of chocolate from my Grandpa. One of my earliest memories is eating WaHoo and biscuits with him. WaHoo was what he called the homemade chocolate syrup my Granny would make for us. He also kept a stash of chocolate candy. There was always a carton of Whoppers at the top of his closet. Us kids would line up with our cupped hands outstretched and ask for “chocolate balls”. We would compare to see who got the biggest, the smallest and the most. One time I got 9! I keep a stash of chocolate too. In kitchen cabinet and my office desk drawer I keep chocolate squares: 72% and 86% cocoa.

I love dogs. Kittens are cute, but I love dogs. The first dog I remember was our black lab, Amy. My mama had great faith in Amy’s babysitting skills. We lived in the country, up a dirt path. When my cousin and I were sent outside to play, Amy went with us. We would walk down the path and pick blackberries - Amy went with us, wander through the garden and pull up carrots, wipe the dirt on our clothes and eat them - Amy was with us, and dig holes in the yard with spoons from Granny’s kitchen. Amy was right there, our partner in crime. My grandpa also had hunting dogs – beagles. They weren’t supposed to be pets, but he would sometimes bring one up to the house for me to play with. My current dog is a mini dachshund. She isn’t much protection and she doesn’t hunt, but she is pretty good at digging holes in the yard.

I love the mountains. My first visit to the mountains was Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina. As a child I was terrified of the “Mile High Swinging Bridge”. I went back a few years ago and it isn’t nearly as scary as I remember it. The roads are all paved and there are guard rails on every turn. During high school I lived in Nevada. You can see mountains in every direction. There’s Grindstone, Buckskin, Swales, and Mary’s Mountain. The Ruby Mountains have snow on them year round. Last week, I went camping in the Jarbidge Mountains in Nevada. It is a 3 hour drive from “town” with no paved roads, no guardrails, and no cell phone service. We saw antelope and deer, a fox and different types of wildflowers. If you hike or drive up to the peak, you can see for miles. From one point you can see all the way to Idaho. According to my daughter, THAT is scary.

I love my family. My dad was one of 13 children and last time I counted I had 32 cousins. He died when I was 2 and we moved from North Carolina to Idaho and then to Nevada, so I didn’t get to know that side of the family very well. My mom and sister live in North Carolina between the mountains and the beach. My brother lives in Nevada in the town where I went to high school. I have a niece and grandniece in Colorado, but they leave for Germany soon since my nephew-in-law Sergeant Seely is being stationed there (after 3 tours in Iraq and Afghanistan). I’ve been married to my husband, John for 19 years. We have 2 girls in high school: Miranda, 16 and Melissa, 14. In some ways we are opposites:
o While I love chocolate – they love vanilla
o While I love dogs – they love cats
o While I love the mountains – they love the beach
o But… I love my family – and they love me.

Things I'd like to do...

2010-07-02T15:39:00.002-05:00

In no particular order:

1. snorkeling
2. learn to 2 step / country dancing
3. travel overseas / Europe, etc.
4. go on a cruise
5. serve in a soup kitchen
6. serve on a mission trip US and non-US
7. white water river rafting
8. train service dogs (puppy stage)/ foster rescued dogs
9. hot air balloon ride
9. helicopter ride in the grand canyon
10. deep sea fishing

And more...

Back to School

2008-08-13T07:33:00.002-05:00

I don't know what is weirder, starting school on a Friday or starting on the 8th day of August! We have now survived 3 whole days of school. No one has been lost in the dungeons of DTHS or PVMS. I've been told it is impossible to eat lunch at DTHS because of the hordes of students converging on the lunch line and the snack machines are too sensitive to take a wrinkled dollar. Luckily, no one has perished from starvation, YET.

Coolest gift ever

2008-07-08T20:33:00.004-05:00

One of the best Christmas gifts I ever got was a poem. Miranda wrote her version of "Where I'm From" and framed it for me. I decided to write my own for my mom. Consider writing one for yourself. Use this template to get you started. Here's my poem.

WHERE I'M FROM

I am from apron strings, from Red Man, and rabbit dogs.
I am from the house up the dirt path.
I am from the magnolia, the tobacco, and the red clay.
I am from strawberry waffles on Christmas and strong-willed determination,
from Luby Rand and Bertha Ann and the McLains.
I am from stubbornness and witty sarcasm.
From meaner-than-a-two-headed-snake and too-independent-for-your-own-good.
I am from the hand of the Creator and saved by Grace.
I'm from North Carolina, collard greens, and sweet tea.
From the Pa who “took away” warts, the Granny who let me drink coffee, the Daddy taken so young, and the Mama who persevered through it all.
I am from shoe boxes full of photos we will caption “next time” with their crew cuts, shining eyes, and dark lips smiling up at me.

Wendy Renee Windham McLain
2008

Make your kids feel bad?

2008-07-06T07:00:00.002-05:00

Maybe the biggest thing that stuck out for me in Chapter 6, was that you SHOULD make your kids feel bad -- for bad behavior and wrong thinking.

When children deliberately say contrary things and challenge everything their parents say, Rosemond suggests this is evidence of wrong thinking and considers it misbehavior in need of discipline. What sort of discipline? Let's say you've just commented on how bright and blue the sky seems today and your child insists it is green or even red. If the child is very young you may have him/her sit in a chair until they are willing to agree with the parental statement. If the child is old enough to write, perhaps you have them write lines: "the sky is blue" 100 times.

Another situation to correct swiftly is a child throwing a tantrum or laughing/crying inappropriately. The child should be removed from the setting, be talked to sternly, and made to apologize.

Some scary statistics:
Of 5110 waking hours per year...
1260 are spent at school
360 are spent on homework
208 are spent on after school activities
1040 are spent watching TV (that's 3 hours a day)
365 are spent on video/computer games
365 are spent on the Internet
365 are spent with friends
365 are spent with toys or doing nothing
104 are spent in youth group
That leaves 678 hours of parental influence - of which the parents are probably busy half that time - leaving only about 339 hours.

Some tough questions:
Are you willing to remove TV and computer from the child's bedroom? Are you willing to cut back on your own use of TV and computer to be more available to your child?

Scared pee-less

2008-07-06T06:47:00.004-05:00

I really thought it would be fine. I mean Trixie is nervous around thunder and lightening, but she has gotten better because I don't baby her when we hear/see it. So I figure Friday was a good time to get her desensitized to other loud noises. The girls had just a few fireworks to light and a the whole family went out to watch. I put Trixie on a leash to keep her close to me on the porch. The first thing they lit shot sparkles straight up, but it wasn't loud. Trixie started dancing around and whining. Still, I thought if I stayed calm she would calm down too. I didn't count of the neighbor lighting fireworks... He happened to light one that shot sparkles all around in a spinning circle and made firecracker pops. Trixie took off for the door. Her reflex was quicker than mine. She pulled her leash from my hand and didn't stop until she hit her head on the wood. I ran after her to pick her up and soothe her. She was so scared she peed on us both. I watched the rest of the fireworks from the kitchen window, but Trixie was so scared she cowered in her bed. I couldn't get her to go outside for the rest of the night. Even the next morning she was still a little afraid.

Unity in marriage

2008-07-01T07:28:00.003-05:00

Am I too focused on my kids? Do I spend more time and attention with them than with my husband? According to Rosemond (2007) when God said in Genesis 2:24 that the husband is to be united to his wife and they become one flesh, it means more than a physical relationship. It also means "no other relationship or enterprise of any sort should come before their relationship with each other (p.117)." Wow. Like so many things it is pretty easy to read, much harder to comprehend and put into practice.

What percentage of time do you spend in a parental role vs. a spousal role? Most folks fall into to 90% parent/ 10% spouse category. A better ratio would be 40%/60%, but ideally partners should strive for 25% parent / 75% spouse. You have to spend time on the marriage relationship to strengthen the family as a whole. So what can I do to improve my ratio?

1. Take time to help hubby with outdoor chores.
2. Go for a joy ride with him in the convertible.
3. Schedule a date night - be willing to see action/adventure movies :-)
4. Remember to parent together as a team. Don't allow the kids to "play" us against each other.

Rosemond suggests that the result of being too child focused is that children lack good model of strong marriage; they develop sense of entitlement; they don't receive appropriate discipline, and finally, when it is time for them to move out they don't want to because they have it too easy at home.

Reference:

Rosemond, J. (2007). Parenting by the Book: Biblical wisdom for raising your child. Howard Books: New York.

"McParenting"

2008-06-30T11:32:00.003-05:00

So last night our Parenting class met. We raced through 3 chapters, but still managed to have a good time discussing what we learned. One of the most striking concepts for me was Short term vs. Long Term parenting. Which would you choose for your child when she is 30? Ivy League education/career and life with no morality OR a job she finds fulfilling and a heart for God and others. That is not to say that life will be "either/or" but often we parents get caught up in the external measures of success vs. the internal growth in our kids. I know I am guilty of getting sucked into the pursuit of straight A report cards. Do I spend that much time cultivating strong character traits in my kids? I'm going to give that some serious thought over the next few days...

WordPic

2008-06-27T07:16:00.001-05:00

Thanks to Conner, I can post the word pic now!

A Wordle...

2008-06-26T06:27:00.002-05:00

Follow the link to a Word Picture of the Parenting course. Wordle is a cool toy! (couldn't figure out how to make it a clean link)

title="Wordle: ParentingCourse"> src="http://wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/33000/ParentingCourse"
style="padding:4px;border:1px solid #ddd"
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Video Stars

2008-06-26T05:17:00.002-05:00

So, I'm trying to be consistent about blogging... at least while I'm participating in this Parenting course. We've had a couple of weeks off due to Father's Day and summer vacation schedules. Last night I contributed to a video that RCC is creating to let folks know about an upcoming session of the course. I had the benefit of watching another couple answer questions first, so it was a little less weird when it was my turn. The questions I answered were:

Q. Why did you like this course?
A. I read lots of books. Participating in the course is better for me for several reasons a) it keeps me motivated to read regularly and retain the material for discussion; b)in discussions with other participants you hear the same material through a variety of experiential lenses; c) you learn that their kids are not perfect either - they are normal/average kids just like yours.

Q. Have you applied anything you've learned in the course?
A. I'm really slow sometimes, but I eventually catch on. See my "Yes or No" post for an example.

Q. How has your parenting changed as a result of the course?
A. The course reinforces the concept of the husband being the authority figure in the home. I've consciously tried to step back and let my husband take the lead where I may have micromanaged a situation. It really works better when he is in control.

So, that's it. Coming to a church sanctuary real soon. I'll be a video star. AND I'll sink into the seat in embarrassment to see myself on the screen. So will my kids!

Yes or No?

2008-06-10T07:00:00.003-05:00

So I've been reading this parenting book by John Rosemond. One of the ideas that stuck with me is "let your yes be yes and your no be no". This will drastically reduce whining, cajoling, and begging from your kids. Now in my brain this sounds good. In reality, I fail to live up to this advice - daily. Yesterday, I had an opportunity to see the principle at work with one of my kids. It was dinner time and M. didn't think she would like what I made. She asked if she could make a sandwich to go along with it. Unthinking... I responded like this:

Mom: You know, I bought the sandwich stuff for your lunches this week.
Kid: Well, there is plenty of bread. Can I just make a sandwich for me?
Mom: I'd rather you not.
Kid: Would you just tell me yes or no? I don't know what you want me to do.
Mom: (still reasoning and explaining...) I was hoping you were mature enough to figure it out.
Mom: (coming to her senses...) Oh, the answer is no. Eat the food I made for dinner!

Hooray, God showed me with a very clear example - directly from my own kid's mouth, that they really want clear, concise answers. Let yes=yes and no=no. Keep feelings and hints out of the situation.

Summer is here

2008-06-09T08:51:00.002-05:00

Welcome to Louisiana, summer is here. The kids are out of school and completely bored already. I can hardly blame them. I understand how quickly you can become bored when one day is just like another. I've been looking to shake things up lately. Maybe a few work projects will get me excited again. Until then, I'm so much more interested in my home life than my work life.

Puppies = happiness

2008-04-15T15:09:00.001-05:00

Ok, so at some point I'll start working on this blog again. Until then, I'm just head over heels for my new dachshund puppy, Trixie.

Time Flies

2008-04-08T12:07:00.002-05:00

Since the Learning 2.0 effort ended, I haven't had a reason to blog. However, I'm thinking I just need to practice. I'd like to learn the various functionality and brag about my blog savvy to my kids. Not that they will be impressed or anything. Here are a few things I want to learn:

How to post pictures inside my blog.
How to link a YouTube video to my blog post.
How to send a post from my phone.
Oh, I'm sure there's more...

Some of the less technical things I want to figure out include: why bother to blog anyway? can blogging achieve a purpose (that I care about)? and can it be done "for pennies a day" i.e. less than 10 minutes. So I'll be pondering what I want my blog to morph into over the next few days... And maybe, just maybe I'll start posting again.

YouTube and NetLibrary

2007-07-27T08:04:00.000-05:00

Honestly, I won't be spending gobs of time on YouTube. You probably won't find any videos of me there either. I know you are really disappointed to hear that, right? I did find a few music videos that were interesting and of course the occasional news spoof is good for a laugh, but I guess I'm too serious minded to spend much time on the site. NetLibrary is another story though. I spent entirely too much time trying to register to use this site. I remember about a two years ago looking through the offerings and not seeing anything I wanted. At that time I didn't have an MP3 player either. Evidently, my account expired and I couldn't get back in. East Baton Rouge Parish Library had just canceled the service, Acsension Parish Library requires account activation at the library onsite. So for now, I haven't been successful in testing downloading an e-book from NetLibrary.

Remember me?

2007-06-02T07:20:00.000-05:00

So blogs are supposed to be fresh, nearly daily updates filled with newsy items of things going on around us. If that is true, then I've failed as a blogger. So what?! I'll just reboot and start again. Here are some of the cool things our group checked out since I wrote last:

Yes, we discussed Flickr and Picasa. We learned that some of us are gifted with a camera and that I should leave picture taking to my 11 year old aspiring photographer. I also learned that Google has a screen saver that works with your My Photos or with your Flickr or Picasa albums (or the latest coolest RSS on Picasa). Find it at www. pack.google.com and just select the stuff you want.
And yes, we discussed RSS feeds. Each of the folks in our group had different experiences locating content and using different readers. One person even set up a ticker to scroll across their desktop. That was cool in theory, but I am too ADD for that to work for me long term! For practice I set up several RSS feeds inside a Yahoo mail account. That does me little good, since that isn't an email account that I view often. My preferred source for the information is my iGoogle portal page. Even though the feed info is limited, it is enough to catch my attention and draw me to click for details. I've set up several news services and blogs inside a specific tab that I check at least daily.
LibraryThing - Ok, so maybe this is like Facebook and Myspace for bookjunkies, but do we really need that? Sorry. I just haven't jumped into the social networking pool yet.
Rollyo - Interesting, and as a result of using it I found Kayak.com whick in turn led me to xjet.com where I found great prices on non-stop flights to my mom's for the summer, so I guess it's all good. Seriously though, I think I would rather explore the Google Custom Search Engine. http://www.google.com/librariancenter/articles/0705_01.html
SurveyMonkey - Since it was play week, we decided to monkey around a bit. Need a quick speaker evalution or customer survey? This is useful even at the "free" level. With an active imagination, some planning and a few bucks a month it becomes a pretty powerful survey and analysis tool.
Other technology that is on the verge of creepy:

Microsoft Surface (http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/industry/4217348.html)

Google Streets (http://news.com.com/Google+Maps+takes+it+to+the+streets/2100-1038_3-6187254.html?tag=item)

Catching up with RSS

2007-05-01T07:05:00.000-05:00

So I'm a bit behind the gang. Other than a brief intro to RSS a couple of months ago with having a verse of the day hit my Gmail account, I haven't really had any exposure to the real deal. So yesterday while checking my Yahoo account I noticed that it listed a folder called "All RSS Feeds" and I thought I'd check it out. Sure enough it allowed you to choose any sort of content you wanted. I selected New York Times and CNET among a few others. Immediately, I found a terrific article on a topic that Tom Sands had asked my to research earlier that day! Wow! Talk about luck. So I can certainly see that with a little tweaking to choose appropriate subject matter and providers that this can be very helpful to me.

I also learned how to put the CNET RSS on my Google portal page, but it only shows the headlines for the top 4 stories. It is not as robust as using the reader in the Yahoo mail folder. So I will continue to experiment until I find what works best for me. I look forward to meeting with the rest of the team to share in your experiences as well.

Oh, and the cool thing I found yesterday? "Googling state government documents" a story about using Google in state government document delivery.

http://news.com.com/Googling+state+government+documents/2100-1038_3-6180002.html?tag=sas.email

Relevance of Learning?

2007-03-30T07:17:00.000-05:00

We all knew it would happen. Someone was bound to ask, "What does this learning thing you guys are doing have to do with your work at DEQ?" Well, it happened to me yesterday. I offered a very thin response of it helps us all become more familiar with technology in general, and you never know how you may be able to use a technology once you've learned it. I gave the Flickr example - which was batted down with "DEQ has its own photo gallery." Maybe so, but that really isn't the point. Learning in a supportive, collaborative environment is, to me, ALWAYS a positive thing. And so, I resolve to not only work harder on the lessons we undertake together, but to also think about how they relate to my world (in all my environments, play on DEQ tag line intended!). Because I really do believe that there are many areas where what we discover - planned and unplanned has value to my work life.

Blogs - Learning more about what Blogs are and how they are used is valuable in itself. What better way to do that than to create your own? And, just last week we discussed the value of including blogs in our search strategies when looking for certain types of information. We tested out using Google to specifically search Blogs.
Flickr - I've just started to investigate this, but I've seen it used as an example of faceted classification in records management articles. The fact that photos are "tagged" is worth spending time learning about. This is the specific angle that I plan to investigate as I interact with the site. In fact, knowing about other technologies helps bring continuous improvements to our own (such as the DEQ gallery... i.e. what is our tagging schema?)

So, y'all - I'd love to hear your thoughts as we move forward in this learning experience. I know that we are only at the beginning and there are many more new technologies to experience. I am looking forward to expanding my mind and having a bit of fun while we learn. And heck, if we come up with ideas to improve processes at work isn't that lagniappe?

Photo Success

2007-03-23T07:45:00.000-05:00

Well I got a photo on the page, but I really don't remember how I got to the page where that became an option! I really need a cup of coffee!!

43things.com

2007-03-15T10:04:00.000-05:00

http://www.43things.com/about/view/faq

I just realized that we can't actually "do" the 4th item on the list. Unless of course you plan to do the alternate activity and sign up on 43 things. I'm sort of a list maker already so I may do it, but then again, I can only handle just so many accounts and passwords without going insane!

OH my goodness

2007-03-13T16:15:00.000-05:00

I think I actually learned something today! I was successful at sending a blog via the Google toolbar button. How cool is that? See below...

Google Toolbar Button Gallery

2007-03-13T14:14:00.000-05:00

I just learned about this today. You can add cool buttons to your Google toolbar. I added "Weather" and "Send to... my blog"

Google Toolbar Button Gallery

My 1st entry

2007-03-13T13:58:00.000-05:00

Wow! This has been a chore. Just getting to this page took determination. I had to use FireFox (an alternate to Internet Explorer) to get Blogger.com to let me create an account. So yes, I was the 1st one to have to call Keith for help. But I'm not going to be embarrassed. I made it! I have a blog. So there technology. I have caught up to my 10 year old daughter.

I may ask Miranda and Melissa for help later tonight!