Zut alors: Exploding pigs in second life!

Exploding pigs and volleys of gunfire as Le Pen opens HQ in virtual world

I heart Google book marks

Myspace Heart Generators


I went through my Delicious phase some time ago..predictably for me the charm was mainly in the name. I did occasionally enjoy seeing what book marks others were making on topics I was interested in but was generally too self concious to want to share my own. Google book marks on the other hand has been a long love affair. I first put it on my iGoogle page several years ago and luckily chose the right book mark application from the list of available ones so was ready whan the little yellow star was added to the new Google toolbar. On the whole it is a pretty simple application that just does what it says it does.. or is that Elba? I have read other complaints about it being clumsy and lacking in features but I like being able to simply access all my book marks wherever I am and whichever browser I happen to be using.

But of course being human.. if Larry or Brin rings up from Google I do have a bit of a wish list ready! It would be good to be able to do a bit more editing and organising of my book marks. I don't know how many I now have but it keeps growing it will need pruning soon. It would be fun to see how many bookmarks I have, to be able to see which ones are now broken links and to add a bit more of a hierarchy in (split it between work and home for instance, without having tohang a second list off a second email adress.) And of course.. just sometimes when I am in a sharing mood, it might be nice to be able to share some of my book marks!

Referendum question?

Blog reader review

I have been playing around with both Bloglines and Google Reader. Advantages and disavantages with both I think. I like that way that I can add Google reader to my iGoogle page.. whereas all I have managed with Bloglines is to add a widget that tells me how many unread blog posts I have.. not very helpful (posibly because it is not in Google's interest to promote a competitor!) It is hard to tell without spending more time than I am willing, but after a brief test it would seem that Bloglines pick up new posts faster than Google Reader. I miss being able to clip items in Google reader as you can in Bloglines.. but have certainly got frustrated at the number of outages that Bloglines has had recently. Generally I think that both do the job adequately.. certainly both are worth the money I didn't spend on them!

A day in the life of a librarian

I like big buns!

I like big buns and I cannot lie. l like sticky buns, and cinnamon buns and cheese buns and even pumpkin buns and I like em BIG!

Thing seven: Fun with photos and a breakfast miracle

A couple of years ago, I got talking to a professional photographer. He sadly told me that digital cameras were killing off his profession. Where once film was expensive and photo shoots had to be carefully and skillfully planned so as to make best use, now digital cameras had given everyone the potential to take an almost unlimited number of shots and simply choose the best. Listening to Jaime, I realised that the mega image sites like Flickr may also be contributing to this. Now you can simply search the tags of thousands of images until you find one that suits your need. If you want to do the right thing, you will make the photographer an offer they can't refuse, but there is little stopping you if you aren't bothered.

The up side is that while professional photography might be on the decline, the work that gifted amateurs who work to a professional standard, as Jaime does, now has a market and a supportive international network. It seems to me that Web 2.0, in some ways, is moving us away from the age of specialisation; there are so many free tools and so much advice freely available, that we are heading back to the days of DIY.

And speaking of photography.. this morning I think that I witnessed a miracle. I had to take a quick photo to show you all.. Just as I was about to eat my breakfast pancake I saw what looked like a face I have seen somewhere before. What do you think? Should I start my own cult, or put it on Trademe?

Thing three: Twitter tensions

I am not sure about Twitter..on the one hand it seems to be pushing me even faster towards a more minimal use of language and reduced patience and ability to read anything longer than a few sentences. On the other hand it is very immediate and that in itself is pretty seductive. I do miss the visual side of blogs though; I like a good photo of a nice recipe!

An interesting article on a Salon.com blog last Friday, The Psychology of Twitter: Doubly Addictive. It describes Twitter as being addictive to news junkies (definitely!!) and "addictive self gratification" for "People ... looking for attention, appreciation, affirmation, connection, and recognition (nope.. missing that bit.. I really hate sending tweets). But how did I find the article? .... actually it came to me through Twitter.