060708

Couldn't let this one go by. Great patterning in todays date. And, if I had been awake 7 hours earlier than I was, at 5 seconds past 2:34 this morning I could have seen 2:34.5 on 6/7/8. Eveyone at work will be glad it isn't a work day today, so they don't have to hear about this lovely patterning.

98765

I got in the car the other day & the Odometer was reading 98765. I was so pleased to actually see all the numbers in a row. Then I looked at the clock - I was hoping the time would be 4.32. That would have been a bit much to expect I know. It was, however, 6.32, so I was only one number away from 98765432 all in a row on the dashboard. Oh well, better luck next time!

Fantastic Candles

Wow!
I have just come home from a fantastic candle making workshop we held to celebrate Youth Week. What a steep learning curve. Although I boldly declared a few months ago that we would be doing so for Youth Week, my knowledge of candle making was zip! Now, just ask me....
Thanks so much to Alison & Denielle who did so much today - without them it wouldn't have happened.
Thanks also to Lynne at All Australian Candlemaking - who guided me as to what products would be easy to use & the quantities I would need. Her estimates were spot-on!
http://www.candlemaking.com.au/

We made Ice Candles, used Candle Sand in little glass coffee cups, made Flowers in cake moulds & embellished them with beads, and made candles of many other sizes and shapes.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the morning (especially the milk shakes) and as they left, many asked "What will we be doing next year?"
It was lovely to spend the morning with a group of well mannered, happy, inquisitive children.
I will have to start working on what we will do next year......

Happy Birthday Di

Well it was Di's birthday on Saturday 5/4

And --- she turned 54

Which means she was born in 1954!

In Roman numerals Di would be LIV.

If she was an atom her name would be Xenon (Atomic number 54).

Keogh coincidence

Well, - silly patterns of things again... I am organising a reunion for my father's family - the surname being Keogh, so lots of internet searching happening using that surname. So I went to post a comment on a blog just now, and the ending of the "code" that I had to recognise to publish was "jueogh". All it needed was the K in place of the U and there's my maiden name. So.... how are those codes generated??? Are they based on recognition of most frequently used key strokes in the past half hour or something like that???

Jon Sieben - World Record Swim

This was an amazing swim in 1984 Los Angeles Olympics by my cousin Jon Sieben - World Record holder & winner of an Olympic Gold medal at 17 years of age.
Jono recently joined with other former Olympians to greet the team for Beijing 2008. No doubt someone else will come through the ranks & be a world beater this year too.

Twenty four = zero three X zero eight

Couldn't let this one go by - I love silly number patterns & today (24/03/08) is just another. The numbers in today's date can make a correct mathematical sum without even having to manipulate them into a different order!

Day/Month/Year.

24=3 X 8.
Yippee!

RSS after further investigation

Well, now I know a little bit more about this component of Web 2.0. Have been looking at Google reader & have set up a folder with a "blog" list of all our library staff. I think this will make it easier than checking each one individually! I think having news feeds on Google reader will be better for me than using Bloglines, simply because it puts everything on the one starting point ie Google.I could see an RSS feed being a way of setting up a virtual "BookClub" with a library service blog to announce a book to be discussed, and then public / staff participation to discuss the book on line. Also added Blog search button to my toolbar - instant library information from a number of Blogs. Wow, the housework / shelving will never get done now!

Readers' Advisory Services Wiki

I have joined the Readers' Advisory Services Wiki - what a wonderful opportunity to share our collective knowledge of books and literature. http://readersadvisory.wetpaint.com/

RSS Feeds

I have subscribed to a few RSS feeds. However, one of them (ABC Online ~ Local area news) is way out of date, with nothing new on the feed since 2007. This is a bit of a trap for beginners. How to determine the usefulness of the feed for your needs & how to determine the validity of the information? I guess it is just like assessing the value of a reference book! PASTA (See mnemonics post).

Blog Vs Wiki

I am interested in setting up an information sharing facility for the North East Libraries - Focus on Children. The idea was mooted at our meeting in Dorrigo last year, and with Mylee's encouragement, and support of the group it seemed like a worthwhile thing to do. I was all set to create a Blog ~ until I learnt about Wikis, and now I'm not sure what would best suit our needs. What do you think?

Analogy

I was fortunate to be able to attend the HSC Forum at State Library this week. Watching Victor Davidson & his use of Web 2.0 to facilitate learning helped consolidate what we have been learning as we progress through Library 2.0 program.

His statement that Web 1.0 didn't exist until Web 2.0 came into being caught my attention ~ just as World War I only became the term of reference for "The Great War" after World War II.
I hope that the amazing innovations that he referred to as Web 1.0 still hold their important place in history, long into our experience of Web 2.0. As with other historical events ~ some people will never know the simple origins of the Internet, and will only know the complex applications of the technology that they now take for granted.

Brierfield Farm

The farm where I live is at Brierfield. It is bounded by the Kalang River & we can look out over the misty hills to Bellingen. I have added some farm images to flickr - what better way to open a discussion with a group of children than to talk about the animals that share our special place. Flickr gives me a chance to share the images, including suitable comments.

Cow with calf
Originally uploaded by jmajudy

We have 12 cows on our farm, and one bull. Each year there are new calves born - this one is Blackie

Birthday Cakes

Have you ever wondered how many birthday cakes you have had over the years? One day I will sit and calculate how many... but not only that, my "favourite cake" changes over time. I do recall one very special birthday as a child where I was able to have an Ice Cream Cake, and then there was the cake I had for my 10th birthday party which was a Chocolate Marshmallow cake - Yum! I have just baked a cake which has recently become a favourite at our place.

Chocolate Raisin Cake
In a bowl combine

1.2 kg raisins

1 cup rum

250g dark chocolate chopped

250g melted butter, cooled

4 eggs, lightly beaten

Add to the mixture

2 cups of plain flour, sifted with 1 teas allspice, 1/2 teas cinnamon & 1/2 teas ginger.

Bake in 2 round cake tins at 180 degrees for about 1 hour.

Bellingen

Bellingen is a beautiful town on the mid-north coast of NSW. I moved to Bellingen 23 years ago. The town has changed a lot since then, but the river still flows - and floods. This beautiful image portrays the tranquility of the region.

Mnemonics

Taking on the challenge of Libraries 2.0 made me think back to days of cramming for exams & made me think how pleased I am that there isn’t an exam at the end of this very interesting program. No matter how much I thought I knew, the info always seemed to escape my mind at exam time. I was forever inventing mnemonics to remember lists and give myself clues. It’s funny, because now I have forgoten most of the memory clues – maybe they will come back to me now that I am back into “learning”. One that has stayed in my mind, is a memory clue for the concepts you need to remember when evaluating a resource. I used the word PASTA. (Purpose, authority, scope, format, audience) The T came from the end of the word format, rather than the beginning like the other clues, but hey, it worked at the time & has stayed with me over the years.

The “My Very Elderly Mother Just Sits Under The North Pole: was a well know planet trigger. I wonder what is used these days now that Pluto is no longer included?

I’d be interersted to rediscover more memory tools from the students and the parents out there”

Collection lists

How many different types of lists can be blogged?