delicious

I've heard a lot about delicious, but just never felt inclined to try it. Amy's demo in class showed me how useful it can be. I don't have that many bookmarks (80 or so I just exported to delicious), but in part that's because I anticipate having folders and folders of bookmarks so that I don't remember what I have, much less where it is. In which case, it's just easier to google it again. I love being able to add as many tags as I need, a feature I use a lot in gmail, which makes it easier to find the stuff I'm looking for. Life is not all hierarchical, so life's stuff can't always be organized into folders.

Library Thing

Okay, I have tried LibraryThing in the past, thought I had an account, but couldn't track down which email/username I have used....
In any event, I re-upped for a new account, and poked around a bit. It's a great idea, I just don't have the patience to put my current books into it. I'm just remembering that I used it last year while I was helping a friend scope out potential publishers and agents for her children's chapter book--I created a "library" of several books of similar style to see what else might turn up and who published them. Maybe I created an account for her rather than for me...that would explain it!

What's your mpg?

Pecha Kucha

Okay, so Pecha Kucha. Neat idea. Basic explanation at wikipedia, but also a lot at pecha-kucha.org.
Sounds like something former Poetry Slammers would be interested in, although this takes a bit more work/preparation. Not entirely sure I get it, though.

Biblioburro

Biblioburro
Originally uploaded by cwzorro

A better picture of the actual biblioburro.

Biblioburro

Biblioburro
Originally uploaded by cwzorro

I love this guy. You may have seen him in the NY Times last fall. He's basically a bookmobile on a couple of burros in Colombia. The word biblioburro alone makes me giggle.

Google Books on my iphone

Wow, so now I can access google books in a format optimized for my iphone: http://www.theiphoneblog.com/2009/02/05/google-books-optimized-iphone/. I have downloaded books through the app store, sometimes free, usually for a modest price, but now I can read anything available in the full google books site on my phone for free. For example, I am reading Swiss Family Robinson for a class. I have the paper copy, but just this morning I was searching the app store for a copy so that when I have a few minutes I could pull out my phone and read a bit. I couldn't even find a version in the app store, paid or free, and in a couple of minutes I found and opened the unabridged text in google books and can read it whenever I choose. Cool.