Karin Dalziel's Blog

March of the Librarians

nobody@vox.com(karindalziel) — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 19:01:26 -0800

It's just funny.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Outsourcing Design - Finally

nobody@vox.com(karindalziel) — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 06:45:48 -0800

Designers are everywhere nowadays. There are plenty of kids with a pirated version of Photoshop (or, more hopefully, Gimp) that can do what used to be up to the professionals. There's an army of people proficient at designing, and not only that, they can edit video, audio, write copy (ok, that's debatable), and more. It's kind of hard for me to admit as one that had planned to build my career on the visual. It's both sad and exciting to see visual literacy booming. Sad, because it's no longer an exclusive club- it's always disappointing to see something you have taken years to master picked up easily by a 15 year old. It's exciting, though, because the possibilities for the visual continue to increase. More and more people are able to take what is in their head and turn it into something tangible- if digital representations can be called tangible. The results are sometimes disturbing, but it's great to get a glimpse into so many minds, to have so many choices. I'm thinking of YouTube, of course, but also sites like Deviant Art and all the other places people hang out to share the visual. I love, too, how the "visual" is blending, expanding: the addictive game Linerider debuted on Deviant Art.

With all this, it should come as no surprise that companies are starting to outsource their marketing. Pepsi recently sent out a press release detailing their plans to have fans design billboards, even race car designs (found via Library Marketing). The recent flog uncoverings have demonstrated the wrong way to try to harness new web technologies for advertising. Pepsi may be on the right track in trying to involve people in the process. Might there be a future where armies of designers create advertising campaigns in order to compete for prize money- or even just for noteriety?

A more interesting question, for me, is: can we harness this mass of creative energy for something besides advertising? People obviously want to be involved in something- they want their voice heard. Why else would they post confessional videos to YouTube? I talked about this before, but I would love to see a community wide project that tries to harness this collective energy. I even did my final project for my Library Administration class last semester on a similar idea. Here in Lincoln we have these community art projects - they are designed so that "anyone" can get involved, but in reality, only the artists to. I would love to see that expanded.

I keep going back and forth about academic vs public libraries- the kind of things I keep thinking about may only be possible in a public library, but public libraries seem to have their own set of problems - lower play and less benefits, for one, but also the problems that come with being a community hang out. I will need to work in both before I make up my mind. I'm hoping my practicum will involve a little bit of public library experience. My problem is, there's so much I want to try, but only so much time!

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

New hipster PDA templates

nobody@vox.com(karindalziel) — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 21:44:14 -0800

I have created a new template for my Hipster PDA. Download Karin's color coded Hipster PDA templates (PDF format). These are for 3x5 index cards.

I will eventually make a page devoted to the template, but there's just the files for now.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Visual learning, active learning, and learning of the future (and something about video games)

nobody@vox.com(karindalziel) — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 19:32:46 -0800

I have read a lot over the years about visual vs auditory vs kinesthetic learning (kinesthetic learning is learning through body movement, I think). There are also those that seem to be great at book learning - just reading something and remembering it.

I always thought I was a visual learner- after all, I depend on my vision perhaps a bit too much, I paint, I revel in imagery. I never really had any proof, though.

Lately, I have been playing the game "Brian Age" a lot - for those of you that don't know, this is a "game" for the Nintendo DS portable game system that has little brain games and tests. You do the tests, and over time, you can see how your brain is performing. If you have several people doing it (on the same system), you can compete against them to get a better score. Otherwise, you can just compete against yourself. One of the "games" is a test where you see a list of words- maybe 30 or so- for two minutes, and then you have three minutes to remember as many words as you can. The first time I tried this test, I just tried to memorize them by reading them over and over. I only remembered about 8. Next, I tried saying them out loud. I got 9 and 10 several times, until I hit upon the idea of visualizing the words. Some words lend themselves better to visualizations than others (nouns) but this method worked the best- I was consistently remembering 12-14. Yesterday I tried also adding actions- I look silly- but if the word was a verb I could act out, I did, and that upped my score to 16.

I imagine others who have played have gotten much better scores that I have but my point is that even at the age of 27, I still have no clear idea of how I learn. This seems like it's a failing of the educational system more than anything. If we want students to live up to their best potential, we need to evaluate this kind of thing- students will learn more, and feel as if they are accomplishing more- if they have learning that is catered to them. Failing that, if the student is at least aware of how they best learn, and is armed with techniques to make the most of that knowledge, they will have a greater chance for success.

As video games progress, I hope that so called educational games will come out of the niche market and become mainstream. It's already starting to happen - Brain Age #2 was the number 1 seller in Japan last year on the #1 selling system - the DS. (Reference- Kotaku.com) It's doing quite well in America as well. However, most "educational" games for kids are hokey, poorly made, and look rushed. (Please correct me if I'm wrong, I have not seen too many of them.) I also keep expecting to see computer peripherals aimed towards a younger audience - not just brightly colored keyboards, but truly different things, like a USB powered pad for toddlers that would learn and react with the movements of the child (via sounds, lights, whatever.) Now that more and more computers are finding their way into the living room, I keep expecting things like this, but nothing yet.

I think one of the reasons I love the Wii so much is that it's made a giant leap into making gaming a whole body rather than a hand coordination thing. Maybe the reason I'm so clumsy is because I have spent so many years working on my hand eye coordination through video games that my body coordination is lacking. (ok, that's a stretch. I'm really just clumsy) The PS3 has the potential to become just as body interactive as the Wii- it just needs the right peripherals and the right games. Learning through experience is almost always the best method, and video games have the potential to not only provide a visual and auditory experience, but a active one as well. Imagine the possibilities! All we need is companies to figure out how to tap into this market, and to hire truly talented gaming programmers rather than just rushing something to market. Make it good, and kids (and adults) will want to play it.

As the success of Brain Age shows - learning *is* fun, if you make it fun.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Excuse me while I dork out. (Synergy on Ubuntu and Windows)

nobody@vox.com(karindalziel) — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 21:45:25 -0800

I read today about the program Synergy, which lets you move a mouse (and copy and paste) across multiple systems as if they were one desktop. I've been wishing for something like this for a while, but figured it was impossible. I have the Linux monitor next to the Windows Machine, and have been using a KVM (minus the M) switch to switch my keyboard and mouse between them. With Synergy I can just move my mouse over. I can also copy and paste text and images.

In possibly my dorkiest move ever, I videotaped a demo (albeit a crappy quality one)

Here I am copying an image from the windows machine and pasting it in Ubuntu. HOW FRIGGIN' COOL IS THAT?!?!

You can find better demos on Youtube (just look for "synergy" and "linux")

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

The History of Humanities Computing available online!

nobody@vox.com(karindalziel) — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 07:48:58 -0800

The hefty, interesting, and useful "A Companion to Digital Humanities" has been published online at: http://www.digitalhumanities.org/companion/. This is a great and informative book, and the online publishing is great because not everyone can afford it's hefty $160 price tag. It will be released in paperback soon, though, so maybe I'll be able to afford a copy for myself.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Duck Hunt on the Wii

nobody@vox.com(karindalziel) — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 12:32:48 -0800

I gotta try this later:

Duck Hunt on the Wii (Via Opera)

*edit*

More flash games for the wii can be found here

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Too much or not enough simplicity

nobody@vox.com(karindalziel) — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 21:13:02 -0800

I am constantly being frustrated by too much or not enough simplicity.

Let me explain.

There are times when one really needs simplicity. I love Google Reader - I go to the page, everything is there, ready for me to read. I scroll down, and it marks items as read as I pass them. If i have to stop in the middle, I go back later and the items I have read are gone, others are still there. Dead simple and that's why it works well.

However, sometimes you just need options. I'm trying out a project management system called Homebase at work. We're looking for a way to help us manage our 36 some odd projects- not only manage the tasks and to do's, but the often overlapping people, the meetings, and resources. I like that Homebase is simple for the user- We're never going to be able to get anyone to use it if it complicated, they need the equivalent of Google reader- damn simple and easy. However, I am frustrated by the lack of options on the back end. You can separate people in to "Companies" - but that's the ONLY way you can sort them. And one person can't be in more than one company. You can set due dates, but no times. There's little in the way of email options. The rss feed is password protected, which makes it difficult to use, and there's no option to un-encrypt it. There's no way to sign up for email updates, and you can't set a reply to address for the emails that get sent. My biggest beef is that the software does nothing to help my most time consuming task: setting meetings.

I could go on and on, but the point is- I need options. I need to be able to customize the hell out of it until it works exactly right. Front end=simplicity. Back end=lots of complicated options. Is that so hard?

The problem is, no software package can be everything to everyone, and so some just say "fine, we'll just be simple." It's the same problem that gives us feature crawl in gadgets- I would love a cell phone that takes high quality pictures and makes calls and that's it. But if another person also wants texting, and person 'C' over there wants to watch multimedia, we end up with gadgets that aim to please everyone and end up pleasing no one.

There's been a lot of talk in library land about what a library should be. Last month's "American Libraries" featured a column about how maybe Librarians should make some judgment calls about what materials we present to the community (to which several people have said "no, that's not our place to decide" - and I agree.) There's been talk about which is better, a noisy or a quiet library. Ideally, you'll have options (a quiet and a noisy area), but in a small library, you can't do that- it's either quiet or noisy.

Here's the really hard wall I keep running myself up against: you can't please everyone. You just can't no matter what you do; someone will be unhappy. Some people want simplicity, some want options. Some want you to decide for them, some want to decide everything for themselves. This is the reason that I keep scratching my head when I read about usability of a site, because I always thing "usability for who?"

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa

nobody@vox.com(karindalziel) — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 20:19:46 -0800

I found out that at Christmas at my Grandparents (which I was, unfortunately, not at) they announced that they are selling their farm land and will be giving their grandkids and kids a bit of money. When I say a bit, I mean "holy crap, that's a lot of money!" (That was my reaction when I heard, anyway) It would be enough to almost cover the part of my master's that my scholarship isn't covering: but since I am working full time, I already have that covered. So I was thinking, what could I do with the money? I know my grandparents wanted it used for something education related.

Then it hit me- I could study abroad! I've always wanted to, but boohooed the idea because it's just too expensive. I've since expanded my thinking a bit- it doesn't have to be abroad, but I could do my practicum anywhere. I hope to find something that will not only look great on a resume, but will teach me a lot. Wouldn't working at the Institute for the Future of the Book be great? Or the National Archives? Or the Center for History and New Media? Or some library in another country?

Of course, all of these are long shots. I'm going to start putting the word out so hopefully I can find something good. I'm excited, though- this will be fun! I'm looking at the summer of 2008, so I've got a little time.

The more time goes on, the more I marvel at the turn my life has taken. I never could have predicted this. I am thrilled. And I am so excited about my new career.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Eating healthy is more expensive - but it's so worth it.

nobody@vox.com(karindalziel) — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 18:33:01 -0800

I read this post today with interest:

Americans Aren’t Fat Because They Lack Willpower; They’re Fat Because They’re Broke

I have no doubt that there is some truth to this: travel to an Indian reservation that is not well off financially, and you'll see it. Many overweight people, few grocery stores and tons of McDonalds. It's a vicious circle- the poor have to work more, and so have less time to prepare healthy foods. Even if they do have the time, healthy foods are more expensive. However, they're not THAT much more expensive. In the article, she says it'll cost $30 to buy the fixings for a salad, and $5 to eat at McDonalds. She must make some awesome salads- I just spent $35 on groceries that will make up the bulk of my husband and my food for the week, and that's including salad. She also says that veggies only last for two or three days in the fridge. Mine always last longer (lettuce I have chopped and spun in the salad spinner will last a week and a half, usually.) She also ignores the relative cheapness of frozen vegetables.

I don't think you need to spend $900 a month as she says to be healthy. You also don't need to spend all your waking hours in an organic garden (although growing your own herbs goes a long way towards making better food)- you just need to be creative.

It helps to live somewhere warm, but not miserably warm, year round. You're more likely to want to go outside and exercise if it's not 0 or 100 degrees. It helps to have a partner that has the same goals as you and will push you when you're bad, and won't be mad if you push them. It helps to have a job that requires some activity.

Making your lunch does help a lot. After a while, you get so efficient, it only take 20 minutes or so, which saves you time the next day so you can do something fun on your lunch break (read, take a walk, play a video game). I hate it when I'm lazy and don't make my lunch anymore- I either throw something together in the morning, which invariably is no good, or I run out and grab something, which is usually not much better. When I take a little time the night before, I can make something I look forward to eating all day and have some time to relax during lunch. Or time to do homework.

I've been slipping lately- not making my lunch, running out and grabbing dinner. All the holiday food doesn't help (our fridge is full of crap, I need to go through and throw it all out). The post reminded me that when I put a little effort into it, I love eating, and I eat better.

I'm still working on the exercise thing. Lately I've been dancing like a maniac - no one's allowed to watch me, I look like an idiot, but it's FUN. I would love to take a class or two - now that I have paid off my undergrad student loans (just did it today- woo!) I might splurge and enroll in something. I miss the nice weather- Geoff and I were riding our bikes, walking, occasionally even roller blading until it got too fucking cold. I'm not walking to work anymore (currently it'd be difficult, the sidewalks are still ice in the morning) so I'm not getting even that exercise. I wonder if I'll ever be able to live somewhere with nice weather and live within walking distance to work? Probably not, that's the trade off. Damn.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Karin Dalziel's Blog

March of the Librarians

Outsourcing Design - Finally

New hipster PDA templates

Visual learning, active learning, and learning of the future (and something about video games)

Excuse me while I dork out. (Synergy on Ubuntu and Windows)

The History of Humanities Computing available online!

Duck Hunt on the Wii

Too much or not enough simplicity

Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa

Eating healthy *is* more expensive - but it's so worth it.

Eating healthy is more expensive - but it's so worth it.