Potluck #49: L'amore di lingue - Love of Languages

Potluck #49: L'amore di lingue - Love of Languages

OK, I'll admit to taking 2 years of French in High School a couple of decades ago. I didn't take the 3rd year because I was more interested in the Calculus & Drafting courses I was taking. My brain just leans more in that direction.

LiveMocha has some neat tricks to make the language more relevant, more intune with your life. You don't have to use the social connection part, but having real people and not just a program help you is a big bonus. They are there to learn too and really want to help.

Mangolanguages - The flash cards & narrator are OK, but the interaction IS kind of slow. My brain might fall asleep if I didn't pay attention. It is not a bad program, just not for the way my brain is wired.

I've also played with Rosetta Stone, available here - World Languages , if you have an HPL card. Rosetta Stone is kind of like a cross between LiveMocha and Mangolanguages, without so many flash cards or the social interaction part.

Of these three here, I'd probably start back with Rosetta Stone and move on to LiveMocha. That is if I could wrap my brain around it again. I could use some Spanish for work and maybe some Japanese.

Maybe if I think of it in terms of a puzzle......

Pot Luck #57: TXT U L8R - Texting

Pot Luck #57: TXT U L8R - Texting

I don't have a cell phone, so the only way I have sent any text message was via a web application to my DH's phone. I understand the principle behind it and have used DH's phone to access some web info, so I know how the keyboard function works. However, due to lack of any practice, I'm not sure I could send a message in an emergency. I might need to borrow DH's phone to practice my 'typing'.

I do understand some text lingo because I do use it in chat. I like Lingo 2 Word & can see where it could be really fun to use.

Texting and driving? I don't need to read the New York Times article. I already know that texting and driving is very, very, very scary. It is worse than talking on your phone & driving! I've alredy heard all the excuses on using a cell & driving and no, I don't think most people are talented enough to be doing both. I mean, I know some people, that if I HAD to ride with them, I wouldn't even talk to then while they were driving. I try very hard not to be in that situation.

It is scary seeing another driver texting while driving. Nothing could be that important.

If that is not bad enough, now Onstar wants you to twitter from the car ? OMG

Potluck #50: Global Nation

Potluck #50: Global Nation

I decided to use Tripbase.com to plan a "dream" vacation. Lately, I've been having the urge to get closer to Nature than the cats, possums, raccons, crows, & hawks in my backyard.

I used the destination finder, deciding to fly with high emphasis on nature, a little on dining, and nothing else. Only one location on my list had high nature AND good dining.

Here is the overview: San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina for $2866 for 8 days

I looks like I'll have to get that passport. I'll be arriving to late for the Peguin Santuary tours, but there are several tours to local waterfalls, a glacier, and a volcano.

Volcano.........

On second thought, I think I 'll go to Yellowstone National Park for under $1300 for 8 days instead. I'm sure I could find good food and I'd probably get more exercise walking around.

Look at this list:

Lone Star Geyser
Mallard Lake
Firehole River
Midway Geyser Basin
Grand Prismatic Spring
Yellowstone Lake
Fairy Falls
Storm Point Trail
Heart Lake Loop
Seven-Mile Hole Trail
Trout Lake Trail
Purple Mountain Trail

I don't think I can do them all in one week, but this is half the price of Argentina, so maybe I'll stay twice as long.

Update: Yellowstone in the news - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29843691/

Potluck #56: To Tweet or Not To Tweet...Twitter

Potluck #56: To Tweet or Not To Tweet...Twitter

I've browsed a couple of different Twitter profiles. I checked out Celebrity Tweet for a couple of names and decided it ws TMI. I don't feel like tweeting about anything either. I prefer to blog and read blogs.


I searched chocolate and NASA. Chocolate had a LOT of hits, many of which were totally uninteresting. NASA gave me the actual NASA twitter feed. It didn't have much that I wasn't already aware of. What I didn't know, I'm not sure I really needed to know.

I think the Twitter is more for people that have short attention spans or feel that they must tell others about EVERTHING. So, I won't be twittering myself, or subscribing to any Twitter feeds
Again I feel more comfortable about blogging. It gives you time to really thing about what you are writing.

Besides, you never know who is reading the tweets. You don't want to have this happen to you:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29796962/

Pot Luck #55: Getting the Most Out of Facebook

Pot Luck #55: Getting the Most Out of Facebook

Since this exercise wants me to sign up for a Facebook account, I will NOT be doing it. Facebook has been in the negative news too often lately and I am not really interested in what it offers. I have had several invites to Facebook, but already have enough ways to stay in touch with friends.

Blogging Note:

In case you were wondering, I have started adding a link to the iHCPL the Next Generation page that each blog exercise is about. Fell free to take look!

Potluck #51: Holidays and Cooking and Recipes - Oh My!

Potluck #51: Holidays and Cooking and Recipes - Oh My!

Find a recipe using one of the websites listed or use your favorite recipe
Although my favorite site for food is Kraft Foods, I decided to use the Food Network website to look for a recipe. I found a Breakfast Cookie recipe that looked interesting:

Breakfast Cookies
2007 Ellie Krieger, All rights reserved
Show: Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger Episode: Family Way

Level: Easy Yield: 12 cookies, serving size 1 cookie
Times: Prep 20 min Cook 12 min Total:32 min

Ingredients
3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup (1 small jar) strained carrot baby food
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup bran cereal flakes
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup walnut pieces, lightly toasted in a dry skillet for 2 minutes, until fragrant and chopped

Directions
Place rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Whisk together flours, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Combine butter, oil and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on high speed, scraping down sides if necessary, until sugars have dissolved and mixture is light in color, about 1 minute. Add egg, carrot puree and vanilla and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add flour mixture and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add oats, flakes, raisins and walnuts and mix over low speed just until incorporated. Dough will be slightly sticky and less cohesive than traditional cookie dough. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using between 3 to 4 tablespoons of batter, form a ball and place on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining batter, leaving about 3 inches between cookies. Wet hands and use palm of hand to flatten cookies until about 1/4-inch thick. Bake for 12 minutes, until cookies are fragrant but still soft. Let cookies cool slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely


Covert the recipe either up or down.

Converting the recipe x 4 using the Recipe Ingredient Conversion Calculator yields these results:
3 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup canola oil
1 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 cup strained carrot baby food
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups rolled oats
2 cups bran ceral flakes
1 1/3 cups raisins
1 1/3 cups walnut pieces, lightly toasted in dry skillet & chopped

I like the site I used to convert the recipe. It doesn't just convert the numbers, but wil give you a whole "new" recipe ready to print. Very nice!

You should remember that converting a recipe up or down can change the way the recipe turns out. However, I think the recipe above will work just fine.

Books, Readers and Beyond: #54 Social Networking Though Books

iHCPL the Next Generation #54

Exercise#1
I am currently a member of two book clubs, both meeting monthly. One is a staff book discussion group and the other is the local Science Fiction/Fantasy book club. They both have the same format: tell us what you've read this month. You get recommendations about books that you may or may not have read and get to put you own two cents in. I much prefer the in-person clubs because you have a set time & place & your full attention. Plus you can get together for other stuff too.


Exercise#2
I've already implemented a book club into my Library. My self & another staff member reached out to an existing book club, the Science Fiction/Fantasy book club, that had been booking our conference room. I attended a few meetings and proposed a partnership that has been beneficial to both sides. They got a regular meeting space and advertising & we got a core group that has grown since implementation.

Using Reading Group Guides, I searched for a book that the Science Fiction/Fantasy book club could discuss. I liked this site's ability to search by genre and specific genre, not just "fiction". I found Fahrenheit 541 by Ray Bradbury. However, having just one title could be boring.


Exercise#3
I search for Raise the Titanic on a couple of social networks:
LibraryThing shows an average rating of 3.69 out of 5 points.
Shelfari shows a nearly 4 out of 5 stars average.
Goodreads shows an average rating 3.78 out of 5.
I'm not suprised that the ratings were similar, it is a solid book. I like that these sites allow for searching without needing to be member.