Thing 7

Okay, this is only marginally technology-related as it applies to libraries. But I must make mention of a (comparatively) new technology that is sweeping though our social lives; event webpages in general and party or event e-vites in particular. For the procrastinator within, the concept of an invitation rsvp that takes less than a minute to complete saves uncounted hours of minor stress. The date and time of the event, as well as the all important contact information, are all saved in one spot, which can hardly be lost, as they're saved at a central online site. Not only is a considerable amount of paper saved with each of these e-vites, but the host or hostess can get an idea of how much in the way of supplies will be needed at a much faster pace.
Truthfully, for all the spontenaity and enjoyable activities brought about by web 2.0, it seems as though the overall theme is an enthusiasm for greater organization. Most surprising.

Returning to Thing 6

I was at first rather excited by the Flickr Color Pickr's range of colors and links to photographs incorperating such. I only wish that there were further links to fabrics and paints in those precise colors as well, so that I might imagine my room bedecked in Allium cyneum-blue. I'd not be surprised if that technology is soon available though. And some preliminary steps seem to have been taken in that direction already, as the right side of the screen was littered with fabric and paint color advertisements.

Thing 8

Skipping around a bit, but where's the harm in that? Okay, RSS, or "Really Simple Syndication" is thus far my favorite of the features of 23 Things. I've set up some preliminary bloglines and have even taken news of this technology home to my family. It's surprisingly convenient and I hope to implement it for my Google account as well as the test Bloglines that is featured below.
Through reading my various bloglines (in this case, The Shifted Libarian), I've encountered the term "r-mail" a feature very simmilar to RSS except new links and updates are sent directly to your e-mail. Fascinating.

Repeating Thing 5

Well, while exploring Flickr, I came across a multitude of photographs of the Folger Shakespeare Library (my future professional home, if all goes well). One of the pictures in particular caught my eye, and I have inserted it's location below. It is a carving in relief of Richard III and his two nephews. Richard has long been lambasted as an evil, power-hungry character who seized control of the throne of England and had his nephews (the legitimate heirs to the monarchy) locked away in a tower, where they were supposedly subsequently murdered.Here the artist has portrayed Richard much as Shakespeare had envisioned, with a slight hunchback a cunning countenance. As appreciative a fan as I am of Shakespeare's plays, I cannot help but mention an interesting (if more or less fictitious) alternative perspective, outlined by Josephine Tey in her mystery The Daughter of Time. I recommend this read for an fuller understanding of the complexity of Richard's character across fact an fiction.

Repeating Things (Thing 4)

Habitual Thoughts
I'd have to say that the easiest of the 7.5 habits in practice is number 3 (viewing problems as challenges). This is perhaps due to my overall enjoyment of puzzles. When viewed as a kind of game, the most mundane of tasks can take on a new and interesting flavor. Of course, this is not a universal rule, but overall, I'd consider this habit the easiest to cultivate.The most difficult of the habits must for me be either habit number 2 (accepting responsibility for one's own learning), or habit number 6 (using technology to one's advantage). I suppose if I had to choose, the use of technology presents is the more challenging, as I'm not what I would consider a computer-savy individual, and would really rather not take the time and effort to overcome my slight technophobia (hence the tie-in with habit number 2). But then, I suppose habit number 3 will be useful in addressing the development of habit 6.Now, addressing the 1/2 habit of play, I would encourage others to follow this link:http://www.muffinfilms.com/Outside of work, of course. Ahem.

Renaissance (Thing 3)

Yes, my blog is born again, and thus the cycles repeats. Let's hope I don't encounter the same manner of password trouble this time around. I shall repeat the first few blog posts from my initial foray into Web 2.0 in the following posts.