May 2006 Archives

I've had a problem with RealPlayer on my computer for what seems to be forever now. I've uninstalled and installed the software a few times, and it's actually been uninstalled from my computer for probably about half a year now because it just wouldn't open. Apparently when I tried to run it the program would tell me that I didn't have the correct permissions or something (even though I only have one account set up on my computer now). Well, last week we were assigned a video to watch in class that was a .rm file. I installed the program, hoping things would have changed with it but it still wasn't working. My husband has it on his computer but since I never seem to be in the mood to watch the video when he's home, I hadn't had an opportunity or I keep forgetting about it. This morning I decided to hunt around the internet to see if I could find the answer to my problem. I found a lot of questions to my problem...very little answers (as what often happens when I have problems).

I don't much care for RealPlayer. It drives me nuts that I have to download yet another media player to access yet another proprietary format. Plus, RealPlayer is horrible with the adware and spyware, so I was not too dismayed when I decided to get rid of the program from my computer. I also hate not being able to access files either so I was determined to figure out how to get this video to open. I wasn't able to figure out what was wrong with RealPlayer on my computer but I was able to find an alternative solution via a blog post about RealPlayer. Listed in the comments were a couple of alternatives to RealPlayer, including the RealPlayer Enterprise Edition. I decided to go ahead and try it.

It works! The best part is that there is no adware either. I'm not sure what the problem was with the other RealPlayer, it might have something to do with me always messing around with my registry or it could just be the fact that it's crappy software but I'm happy to have access to this video. This time I'm probably not going to uninstall it either, even though I don't really want it on my computer.

Technorati : real, realplayer, realplayer problems, software, software problems, tools

It usually takes me awhile to get this stuff up because I'm too much of a damn perfectionist, but I am finally done messing around with the pictures I took from Cleveland.  You can find them on Flickr for your enjoyment:

Heidi's Cleveland Pictures on Flickr

If you're wondering why it takes me so long I have to crop and adjust things in Photoshop.  I simply cannot accept the photos that come out of my camera.  Then once I get everything onto Flickr I go through and geotag them.  This time I did a blanket geotag using Plazes, then I fine tuned it with Google Earth.  I also adjust the tags a little more during this process.  I also like to research the things I take pictures of.  Most of the time I take pictures of things and I have no clue what they are.  I end up learning more about places I've already been that way.  I would like to try to get a little more of a trip narrative going on another site too.  I'm hoping that I can decide on what software I like using to prepare myself for how I want to document my Germany trip in August.

technorati tags: cleveland, flickr, travel, pictures, photoshop, geotag, google_earth, plazes

I'm moving from one controversial topic to another...I really do like all that I'm learning in this class.  Plus I started reading our textbook chapter on library ethics yesterday, which is an absolutely interesting topic too.

It seems, however, that in order to research my book banning assignment, I have to actually go to the library (I know, life is rough).  Most books I've found that I wanted to use are reference only.  I could check them out from Wayne State, but since I won't be going to campus this week or next I have to make due with my resources here.  Luckily for me, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, and Eastern Michigan University all have these books (well Ann Arbor and UMich have all...Eastern has some).  Eastern Michigan even has some I can check out.  My plan was to go to Ann Arbor's library to use that stuff but maybe I'll go to Michigan after all...I suspect I'll have to use Michigan's library often while I'm going to school so today would be a good day to get to know it and find out how I can check things out (I know that I'm allowed being a Wayne State student somehow, but somebody mentioned needing something from WSU).  I already asked Alex if he wanted to have lunch today and his building is across the quad from Michigan's library so maybe Michigan is a better option.  I suspect that if my AADL holds come in I'll probably have to go to Mallet's Creek today anyway...argh, I guess I won't really know until I'm ready to leave what I'll do yet.  :)

I'm also going to head over to EMU's library.  They have a nice amount of books I might be able to check out.  It also seems that I can use my Monroe County library card through the MichiCard program there.  I think my WSU borrowing privleges only extend to Michigan and Michigan State, but not Eastern.  Eastern is closer to my apartment anyway so it's probably worth looking into.  WSU is also on the MichiCard program, but I don't have my card validated from there...I do have a valid MichiCard through work so it doesn't really matter where it's valid from.  I do love the MichiCard program :)

Wow!  The library whirlwind tour.  Although I was looking forward to this day off of work from the library, it seems I can never quite get away from them.  One of the books that everybody has on reference is actually a book I considered buying not too long ago...who knows maybe a trip to Borders or Barnes & Noble is on the agenda too.

technorati tags: books, banned_books, censored_books, library, libraries, wsu, school

How ironic that the day after I turned in my paper on internet filters in public libraries then I read this article entitled, Kids outsmart Web filters.  It burns me and cracks me up.  It only burns me because I'm completely against web filtering and when I see quotes such as this:

"It's going to be the constant battle. No matter what you put up, kids are going to work around it," said Lynn Beebe, a school counselor in Scotts Valley, Calif. Her school, for example, uses filters to block all sites with the word or subject "blog," in addition to other sites.

They're purposely blocking out blogs...that angers me.  In addition, the fact that this counselor considers filtering "a constant battle" means that she's in favor of censoring information for their students.  Yes, kids will always know more than you when it comes to technology.  I expect that when I have kids they'll know more than me too, only I won't be embarrassed by it, I'll encourage it.

On the other hand it cracks me up because I love that the kids are doing it.  No seriously...kudos to them.  Maybe I inherited a little bit of my dad's rebellious spirit but this is the kind of stuff that I enjoy hearing about.  Kids are not idiots and we shouldn't treat them like they are.  I know I complain a lot about the ones that visit my library but on certain days they can be a real pain in the ass...when they're not driving me crazy they're also not bad kids and when they need my assistance I'm usually happy to help.  I'm also happy we don't filter in our library system, especially after all the research I've been doing all week on it.

Which by the way, I am completely amazed with myself.  I had roughly two weeks to finish my paper, although it felt more like one since we had so much to read the previous week...and this will amaze anybody I went to college with but I finished my paper!!!  Yes, this may be the first time in history I actually finished a paper on time or even at all.  I am bundle of oxymorons, one being that I love school but hate school work.   What amazes me even more is that I finished it in a week.  The infamous music history papers we had to do at Carthage, we usually had a month or two to get them done, and even then she usually let us finish them up by the end of the semester if we hadn't yet...me finishing a paper in a week would have been unheard of then.  And I don't even want to admit how long it actually took me to write my music thesis.  I hope it's not too early to say that maybe graduate school will treat me better :)

On the other hand I've been quite busy.  Evey free moment I had last week was devoted to my paper (except for the evening we went to the movies...a much needed break).  This upcoming week we have an online class so I don't have to go in to school, but we have an online assignment to do on banned and challenged books.  Friday I will be leaving for Indiana again, this time it's really just to visit a friend of mine who lives in Tennessee but will be visiting her family in Ft. Wayne this weekend.  My mom mentioned being at the lake this weekend so I may see her and maybe my brother too.  Since it's Memorial Day weekend there will be a lot of people at the lake so I'm sure I won't get much school work done.  We found out that the Detroit Electronic Music Festival is this weekend (Alex's favorite music).  If Alex is interested in going then we might leave Indiana on Sunday and go to that on Monday...assuming we have the money.  I suppose that's it for updates, I don't have much of an opportunity to read things online these days so I try to keep up the best I can. 

technorati tags: filters, web_filters, internet_filters, kids, children, blocking, internet_blocking, blogs

So normally I don't make it into Ann Arbor after I come home from work on Fridays, but last night I had to pick up a library book from AADL and then stop at Trader Joe's for more coffee (I would have been in sad shape this morning if the last errand was not fulfilled).  On my way home I passed by the movie theatre and saw a group of people protesting the opening of the movie, The Da Vinci Code.  So I did what any sensible person would do if they saw people protesting a movie...I called my husband up and asked him if he wanted to go see it.  So we did...

My thoughts on the movie...it's certainly not as good as the book, which Alex and I both read.  It wasn't the most horrible movie I've ever seen either, it was just kinda, "eh".  Normally I like reading the book before I see a movie, in this case I was happy I did.  Part of the movie felt like a documentary, and not a good one either.  Although there's a lot of background stuff that the viewer needs to see for it to make sense anyway, but in the movie version the background stuff really seemed to interrupt the action awkwardly.  Both Alex and I agree that Tom Hanks wasn't what we imagined for Robert Langdon...we were thinking more of a Harrison Ford/Indiana Jones kinda character.  Although I really enjoyed Ian McKellan as Sir Leigh Teabing.  I also liked that I could put some visuals to the book, there were a lot of interesting concepts and places in the book that were nice to see interpreted in the movie.  The Da Vinci Code is a story that makes you think too, the movie rehashed a lot of thoughts I had when I originally read the book, and it even helped form some other thoughts and ideas that I didn't have before.  Thinking is good, of course.  This one is probably worth waiting for video though.  However, it was a nice spontaneous evening.

technorati tags: movie, movies, the_da_vinci_code, da_vinci_code, tom_hanks, harrison_ford, robert_langdon, ian_mckellan, sir_leigh_teabing, protestors

Congress targets social network sites | CNET News.com

MySpace and other social-networking sites like LiveJournal.com and Facebook are the potential targets for a proposed federal law that would effectively require most schools and libraries to render those Web sites inaccessible to minors, an age group that includes some of the category's most ardent users.

It just makes me sick to my stomach.  I'll be following this one closely.

technorati tags: myspace, facebook, congress, social_networking, livejournal, minors, web, web_tools, library, libraries, school, schools

Art Museum, Cleveland OH

Originally uploaded by heidigoseek.

I've been enjoying myself in Cleveland since yesterday afternoon. Alex is here for a conference but I wanted to tag along on this one...I really enjoy Cleveland. Last night there was a dinner after the talks so I went down there to join them. I didn't realize there were so many excellent things to see on the way over there though! I took some pictures on my phone but I think I will walk around with my digital camera on Sunday to get better ones.

The conference is on the campus of Case Western Reserve University, I think. We passed the orchestra hall, many cool looking churches and this image is the back of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

I have the whole day to myself and my mission, since I knew that I was coming along on this trip, is to spend the day at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. I've been there before, but I'm looking forward to going again, and I'm also looking forward to going by myself so I can just wander around. There's a science museum that I'd also like to visit but I know that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is pretty much an all day trip, there's so much to see there.

Tonight, I think I'm going to have dinner in Little Italy with Alex, Melissa, and Liz. At least this is what we talked about last night. Then, since Alex still has some talks to go to tomorrow morning, I'll use that time to wander around the area with my camera.

Flickr : cleveland, cleveland museum of art, geo:lat=41.503981, geo:long=-81.611767, geotagged, lagoon, motorola, oh, plazes, united states

Well, I liked the old design I had for my Wayne State site but I envisioned future navigation problems with what I wanted to do with it so I found something else.  I like this one too, but it is completely different from my old design.

I completed the projects page from my last class and started a project page for my next class.  I also cleaned out all of the extra assignments I had on my server from my last class, disorganization drives me nuts when it comes to my web server space. 

Also, since I still haven't created an 'About Me' page for this site, my WSU site is the only place you can read about me for the time being.  I'll get around to creating one someday...today I've wasted too much time doing other stuff though :) 

technorati tags: wsu, wayne_state_university, wayne_state, lisp, school, site_design, web_design, navigation

I found this post on the The Four-Day Week Challenge via Lifehacker.  Ok, so who am I to care, I only work about 3 days a week and one of those days is usually only a half day...but I like this sort of work philosophy.  Seriously, even workaholics can learn something from this. 

So this is why I love working part-time:

• I can go to school and not feel stressed
• I can enjoy the time I spend with my husband (even though he's the one working 10-12 hour days)
• I can blog
• I can read, play games, do my many hobbies and everything else I like to do
  
• I can sit outside with a cup of coffee in the morning and relax while I watch everybody on their way to work
• I can enjoy the quality of my life

Even after all that I still love my job and I'm even motivated to do work at home.   And from the post, this is the real reason why I love working part time:

Why it matters

So why is it important to work less? What’s the big deal?

The reason is that when you work less, it gives you more time to experience life and think; you can use the extra time to not only spend with people you love, take up hobbies, or invest in causes you believe in, but also to have ideas. Some of our best ideas have come while driving, gardening, reading, or painting on the weekend.

It's true.  That's not to say that I'll never have a 40 hour/week job again in my life, I probably will and I'll probably like it.  But what I know now that I didn't know a year or two ago is what exactly makes me feel happy and fulfilled.  I wish more people had this insight, I think the world would be a better place.

Even only working 3-4 days a week I'm still busy though.  I always can find something to occupy my time, and after class last night I know that this summer it will be school.  I need to clean out all of the library books I have hanging around my apartment because I know that I won't have time to read anything else (unless I can listen to it in my car).  I have 3 chapters from our textbook to read plus 9 articles by next week.  Then I have a paper due in 2 weeks...welcome to graduate school I guess.  :) 

technorati tags: work, work_week, life, school

During my vacation I watched a lot of Comedy Central so I was completely aware of Stephen Colbert's speech at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.  I don't have cable at home and my mom has satellite at the lake, I usually catch clips of the Daily Show online when I can, it was mentioned on there and I did catch the Colbert Report after it.  Yesterday I watched the speech in its entirety.  I have to admit that I liked it but I didn't find it completely funny.  I mostly don't always find Stephen Colbert funny but I also understand that he has a particular style of humor that only partially appeals to me.  I can respect that though.  What I can also respect is that Stephen Colbert recoined the word "truthiness" in a way that I find absolutely amazing.  The audience at the press dinner was not roaring with laughter either, but on the other hand, was Colbert really speaking to the audience in the room?  The way that his speech has filtered through the blogosphere has deemed it monumental, which makes you wonder if his intent was for the larger public audience.  Even if that wasn't the intent, the way that it has been perceived online is another testament to the power of people on the internet.

If you doubt how monumental the speech actually was, check out the wikipedia entry on Truthiness.  Since I'm not a regular viewer of the Colbert Report I did not realize that he recoined the word on the first episode on his show.  I was also not aware that the American Dialect Society announced that "truthiness" was the Word of the Year earlier this year.  Truthiness is also described and defined in the regards to the James Frey issue.  It is an interesting concept and discussion, also very relevant to the political waters these days.

technorati tags: truthiness, the_colbert_report, stephen_colbert, the_daily_show, comedy_central, wikipedia, james_frey, american_dialect_society

Yeah, I had no idea my blog is sucking in IE right now. Sorry if you're viewing the page in IE and getting errors, of course I didn't notice it because I use Firefox. I don't have the time at the moment to fix it, I still need to figure out the problem, I think it might have something to do with Feedburner. Although Movable Type is acting kind of stupid too...

Unfortunately now I can't work on my blog, I'm going to get ready for class tonight and I have to do some tasks for the symphony like getting a mailing list for somebody and get some press releases out.

Now that I'm finally back from vacation I have had some time to sit down and watch and listen to the OPAL presentation, Communication Between Techies and Non-Techies.  It's from April 21, that's how behind I am.  I guess this presentation was also simulcast on Second Life, next time I'd like to catch one of these live on Second Life, that would be fun.

The presentation was lead by David King of the Kansas City Public Library.  David posted a helpful blog post of URLs related to the presentation.  There's some sites that I'd like to check out.

I found the presentation interesting and helpful.  I think that I can function well on both sides of the tech vs. non-tech divide, after listening to the presentation I realize this might be because I take more of a user-oriented approach to problems and solutions in regards to technology and public service.  The user approach was mentioned in the presentation but I'll briefly go through some important points I got from the presentation.