Blog sans reader

Hello and welcome to Ernst U. Boarking's blog about stuff & stuff-all.
Warning: Some material in the blog may not be suitable.



Thursday, November 29, 2007

Classic Joke Archive is here!

audio podcast
Listen to episode 1 now.
It's called "Jamaica"
Ernst & Charles retell the "My wife's going to Jamaica" classic joke.
Excellent!

#21.1 Indiepop Radio Podcast

Okay, changed to a less security restricted computer and got some podcast action.

So, the Indiepop Radio Podcast is in my bloglines, and really in my bloodlines too. Many years ago I had an indiepop show (Reasons to be cheerfull) on community radio, 3PBS. So, listening to this takes me back.

Indiepop: An '80s offshoot of new wave for shy and socially inept teenagers with a DIY ethic. There's nothing new in Emo!

#23 And now the end is near (do I win a computer?)

Congratulations to Ernst U. Boarking, librarian, on completing the Learning2.0 course.

We asked Ernst these questions:

What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
EUB: I have always been shy & awkward in social settings, but I have surprised myself by embracing Youtube, like the young folk, to push the importance of libraries, librarianship & lifelong learning, all things that are very dear to me.

How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
EUB:I have learnt a lot about what's out there in 2.0, not sure how much of it I'll use though. There were a few things that really I just didn't get the point.

Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
EUB: I'm a little surprised that it's ended up with me pictured out in the WWW wearing a pink Hawaiian shirt and old pair of speedos.

What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
EUB: Aside from our technical hitches, your program is very good, a fine way to learn. We still have some way to go in getting IT security types to embrace the web2.0. Thank you for running the show.

Thank you Ernst, for completing it.
EUB: Err, I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go for coffee sometime?

I'm sorry, Ernst, I'm washing my hair at that time.
EUB: I didn't mention a time.

Please understand, whatever time it is, I will be washing my hair.
EUB: Ok, well goodbye then.

Goodbye.

#22 Audiobooks on E

"In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea..."

Nice to listen to such lovely words from an old opium-eater whilst I type away.

It's got to be good for public libraries when the technology is widely established enough amongst our patrons to move from hardcopy (CD & tapes-urgh!) to electronic provision of audiobooks. The hardcopies are very expensive, especially considering their circulation, and easy to ruin (one missing disc, one wonky tape).

The eBook still has flaws compared to the original (awkward at the beach, etc.), but the eAudiobook's time has come... Bring it on!

#21 A cast of pods

I'm not that bothered about listening to podcasts. Meandered around the directories... and that's as far as I got, because security restrictions have killed it again. Remember kids... Hume City Council IT Department hates with a passion Web2.0. Sod'em.

Give me a tick though, please, as I have gone the extra yards on this one, creating my own podcast which you can hear about in a later post.

What I can say here is: Audacity love it! It's amazing how much good freeware is available on the 'net, but this must be one of the best. I've used it before in converting my old vinyl to CD & MP3, but this was the first time I'd mixed multiple tracks together and seriously messed with sounds... All too easy! (Unlike battling out IT)

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

i am a librarian (the director's cut)

If you have too much time on your hands, go play,



Review: "This director's cut is a self indulgent piece of tripe. The studio's shouldn't let them get away with it. Still, I guess it never did Andy Warhol any harm."

Sunday, November 25, 2007

#20.2 See the movie

Now showing at a Youtube screen near you,

Boarking Cinematic Productions presents
"a librarian"




Rated: M (contains adult themes)
Running time: 19 secs




Now other staff might have finished quicker than the Boar, but how many posted their own specially commisioned movie up to Youtube?






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#20 Boarking presents...

Coming soon to a Youtube screen near you,

Boarking Cinematic Productions presents...



"Melbourne, Australia, public librarian Ernst U. Boarking explains the joys of being a librarian, expanding lyrically on the satisfaction gained expanding literacy in a disadvantaged community."

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Tuesday, November 20, 2007

#19 2.0 award, Google Maps


I'm always a sucker for maps, even been a map cataloguer in another incarnation of the librarian soul.  So I was always going to like Google Maps, complete with the satellite overlay.

 

Check out your house... the image on mine is almost good enough to check to see if any roof tiles need replacing!

 

Load a silly thing about boring through the planet and seeing where you come out.  The Melburnians journey through the center of the earth will pop out in the Atlantic, to the left of the Azores.

 

Even I'm just about sick of the election (and I'm a political junkie), however, if somehow you're not, the Australian version can add lots of election content to your aussie map (also accessible from the Google Election 2007 home page)


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Saturday, November 17, 2007

Don't let Boarking tell you how to vote...

Work it out for yourself...

Oz Politics have a great little online test that I heartily recommend you have a go at. Here's what they say about it:

"This test will identify which of the major Australian political parties most aligns with your views. It will also tell you where your views lie on the left-right political spectrum.

You will be asked to indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with a series of 50 statements."

But the best bit is at the end where you can look at how little people's voting intentions align with their views. Going by the results, most of us should be voting for the Democrats or Greens (ie Boarking) or One Nation (ie Statistics Queen)

Take the test here.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Easy feelgood factor...


Unlikely as it seems, this site seems legitimate. It's addictive and gives you the feelgood factor of donating to charity without you having to open your wallet!

I think I've made the image at right an active link. If I haven't go here: www.freerice.com

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

#18 Something good in the brave new world

Here's a quick diatribe, created on

 

 Zoho WriterYour Word Processor on the Web

 

I like this, and like the idea of it.  Maybe we can stop providing Office on our public PC's and get the Unwashed onto this!

 

Personally, I like the idea of creating my blogposts in this more feature rich envornment.  I might add a picture for the fun of it then see if I can get it to work...

 

Aha, a fault!  Can't turn BOLD off, except ny a round-a-bout right clicking route!

 

 

This is a broken diode from my MCs 12v circuit. If you have access to a new one please send to Boarking forthwith.

 

 

Ooh! Very impressed to see you can export (ie save) in OpenOffice format, .sxw as well as .doc

Post to your blog

Being on the web, you can post to your blog from within Zoho Writer. As you have seen above, Zoho Writer's WYSIWYG editor is more feature-rich than a typical blog editor's. Be it Blogger.com, Wordpress.com, Livejornal, Typepad or any blog that supports metaWeblog API, you can make the post from Zoho Writer. You can add tags and make the post optionally as a draft as well!






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#17 Frustrations

Okay on the 6th attempt, finally attached a working link to the PBWiki, not as instructed (that didn't work) just by buggering around and kicking the computer. Won't write more as the html on the blogspot editor is not displaying properly and I could end up losing this anyway

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Do as I say and I'll give you a kiss...

Three weeks in, we've done some thinking

The Loonies are in the Centre not on the Left

Vote 1: Green or Democrat
(especially in the Senate)
Preference Labor above the Coalition

I could explain all night why this is so
But then I realised it is self-evident

Lesson #16: Boarwiki

I like the Wiki. Always been a big fan of Wikipedia, it's usually the first port of call because it covers so widely. You have to approach it with a little caution, it doesn't yet have a Britannica type guarantee and probably never could, but it covers so many topics that Britannica never will.

In a library context, I liked the Booklover's wiki from Princetown. That could be a nice touch to engage the library community here.