wiki wiki wiki

Continuing with Blue 2.0 assignments, I finally got a wiki going. It wasn’t too difficult, but it did take some time to figure out how to do exactly what I wanted to do (linking pages and such). I had an idea to begin a wiki that would allow my colleagues in TASC and I to develop some how-to resources for some of our technology tools. Eventually, that would probably be a good idea. For the purposes of this assignment, however, I went with something easier! Visit my wiki to help me learn about Lexington, because I just moved here! http://newtolex.pbwiki.com/
and to edit, click on login and enter the edit key, which is
makeitso

I can definitely see potential uses for wikis. I particularly liked Librarian’ Sarah’s Wiki because I could see how to apply it to my workshop development. I can also see how wiki’s could allow project collaborations to grow, or allow students to compile information being studied over time in a course. This opened my mind up to the possibilities of the wiki.

exploring rss feeds

Today I worked on an assignment for Blue 2.0, exploring RSS feeds. This was a helpful assignment. Although I know what RSS feeds are, and I’ve subscribed in the past, it was helpful to have an assignment that helped me walk through many different possibilities for feeds (the link from the Blue 2.0 blog), and to do those as I went along.

I’m a news junkie, so my favorite feeds come from news sites, such as CNN. I also subscribe to the blog I started for my former employer, CET, but what I’d really like to do is subscribe to feeds of new videos. That’s not available yet though on their site. I also subscribe to a really cool blog called WW1: Experiences of an English Soldier, which posts original letters from a soldier exactly 90 years after they were written. Readers do not know what will happen … you simply follow along as his family and friends would have during that time period. I hope we don’t get a telegram anytime soon. Oh, and of course, icanhascheezburger.com, because what would life be without stupid pet pix?

‘let’s all go to the roadshow …’

In an earlier entry I mentioned that my husband and I volunteered for Antiques Roadshow in Louisville last July. At the time someone from the Roadshow mentioned that the new season opened in January, so we thought, oh, it’ll be on in January! Wrong! Actually, they won’t get to Louisville until April. Oh, well. Perhaps my feet will be completely recovered by then. 😉

In my previous job, before I moved to Lexington, one of my major responsibilities was to build partnerships both internally for my organization and externally with other nonprofits, educational institutions and businesses. Have you ever heard the phrase “herding cats”? At times, no one agrees. At times everyone agrees but no one knows how to move forward. At times you’re the odd one out … the Juror #8 in Twelve Angry Men. Or maybe you’re not that righteous … maybe you’re more like Juror #3. The jury really isn’t a good analogy, though. In partnerships, whether you are right or not, or whether you think you are right or not, it’s the give and take as well as the support for each other that furthers the relationship. Not everybody gets that. I spent more than one afternoon marveling over “partnership” meetings with people who didn’t get that at all. Sometimes you have to give a little something, and the next time you might get a little something … but you really can’t count on that. You have to do it because it’s good for the partnership. What got me started on this line of thought today? I have no idea. Random blogging.

Here’s to Dad

January 17 is always a day of mixed feelings for me now. It’s my birthday, which is nice. I get well-wishes and offers of dessert and of course the obligatory cake made by my children, and I know they’ve repeatedly stuck their fingers in it to taste. But on this date 13 years ago, my dad died. It was my 31st birthday, and my husband and I, late bloomers, were still practically newlyweds (about three weeks away from our first anniversary). We were just sitting down to a steak dinner at home when the call came. That’s a steak I never finished. It’s not as unusual as it sounds. I know other people who have lost parents, grandparents or another family member on their birthday. But it is rather awful. Besides the obvious reasons it’s awful, people also look at you surrepticiously and you can tell they are wondering how you feel about it. But they won’t ask. After a couple of years of being less than enthusiastic about re-embracing my birthday, I found a reason to to celebrate again: my husband suggested that instead of being sad, I should choose to recognize my birthday as a day that I can always remember my dad and all the things I liked about him (which are numerous). So here’s to my dad and his life, our fishing expeditions, our family camping trips, his storytelling skills, his ability to fix or build anything (when I was born he built an addition onto our farmhouse – I mean he BUILT it himself), and his pride in his children and their children. I wish wish wish that my kids had gotten to meet him, but it will have to do to pass on a few of his favorite things to them. Among my favorite things is this photograph (above, left), taken for a newspaper article several years before I was born, in which he poses with the results of a raid on a bootlegger (Dad was a Ky state policeman for 31 years).  He looks so serious, but he was a bit of a ham, so I’m sure he enjoyed the posed picture. It makes me smile every time.

of boys and knives

Last night my Eagle Scout husband led our son’s Cub Scout den into an initiation of the knife: that it is not a toy, that it is to be kept sharp, that it is to be kept carefully put away most of the time, that confidence will keep you from hurting yourself and others. He had them from the first word. This rather loud and rowdy bunch of boys – a largish group because two dens have been combined – were silent as he pulled out sharpening stones and small blocks of wood. They were rapt as he told them of a foolish game of “bravery” he played once when he was a young Scout, he and friend landing their knives in the ground as close to the other’s foot as possible without either of them flinching. His friend ended up going to the hospital for stitches because he put the knife through the other boy’s foot. (He was gratified by the Cubs’ gasps.) And so they sharpened, and they carved. Two cut themselves because they weren’t listening to instruction. Not badly, fortunately … just a little nick each. And they ended the evening by cleaning their knives and taking home a project to finish. One of the parents approached my husband and said, “We’re always telling boys what they can’t do. This is good. It’s good to show them what they can do and how to do it.” I have to agree, and I would add that parents are key to nurturing the confidence it takes to face difficult tasks. Rather than protect them forever, give them little experiences that help them grow, and let them nick themselves if they aren’t listening.

countdown …

Most of my family and friends (read: my readers) know that hubby, JD, has been in Northern Kentucky in our nearly empty house, continuing to work for his company along a predetermined timeline. Well, it’s almost up! After 9 full months of just weekends, he moves to Lexington full-time on Feb. 1. I have a honey-do list nine miles long. I did promise to to restart this blog (I post in my work blog every day, but this one has lagged) once he got here, but participating in Blue 2.0 kind of jump-started that. In any case, it will be a great late birthday present to have him back!

PS: Wanna buy a house in Northern Kentucky? 😉

chatting

As part of Blue 2.0, I’ve set up a chat account with AIM, screen name patsycat01. It was a fairly simple process. I’ve also used Yahoo! chat before, so it wasn’t too difficult. I currently also use Office Communicator chat here on the University of Kentucky campus. It is in test phase right now with a limited number of users. I hope it is adopted campuswide – it’s very easy and incorporates video and meetings easily. If you are on campus and happen to be one of the testers, you can connect to me by just typing in my name in the line at the top where it says, strangely enough, “Type a name.” Type: Patsy Carruthers. If you get two choices, do NOT choose the one that says “presence unknown” beside it – that would be the wrong choice. I love IM. It’s a great way to keep up with friends, family and co-workers.

Fun with Blue 2.0

Oooh, an update to this blog! It’s been forever!! I’m having fun starting off with Blue 2.0 (see the blogroll to the right for a link). Although I’ve been blogging for a while, there are plenty of topics coming up that will be things I haven’t tried. I’m looking forward to it!

blog overload

Alas, I have spent far more time on my work blog these last weeks, and it appears that is where most of my attention will be until such time that spouse joins me here in Lexington this winter and I don’t spend all my non-work hours chasing kiddoes. I can justify working on the work blog in my office but … . 😉

In the meantime, visit me there: http://technology180.wordpress.com/