Yes I have lots to blog about re: ALA, but it’s the weekend and family time. So I thought I would share my shopping experiences and why Web 2.0 - shared user content is so great.

I bought my kids a kiddie pool for the 4th of July and it had a rip in the seam. Just what you want on July 4th when it’s hot and you want to entertain the kids.

So I’ve got the defective one all packaged up and ready to return and am taking a few minutes to look online at reviews of other pools. I finally found the pool–who wouldn’t love a pool with two slides!

But wait, the reviews are horrible and look at this user uploaded photo. It’s obvious that the manufacturer did some major photoshopping to the original image. I am so glad I spent the time looking at the reviews.

I love that Amazon is allowing users to upload their own photos with their reviews. It’s nice to see a product in real use…even if the consumers in this one do look a little miserable.

I can’t believe you are one and seeing all the kids here makes me miss you more (and the rest of the family too.)

More about ALA later. It’s 3am east coast time so I am exhausted.

Happy Father’s Day to all the my blogosphere dad friends out there: Michael, Ries, Jason, Maurice, Darren, (hope I’m not leaving anyone out).

And an extra special Happy Father’s Day to my husband Russ. Without a great husband and father to our kids like him I would not be able to accomplish all that I have done in the past few years. People ask me all the time how I do”it all” and in one word the answer is “Russ.”

And happy Father’s Day to my dad who is a few states away. Luckily my dad is learning email so we can keep in touch more easily.

“We never know the love of our parents for us till we have become parents.”
~ Henry Ward Beecher

For the past three years I have been responsible for all of the technology training for staff at PLCMC. This past week my responsibilities changed to coordinating all of the training/learning for PLCMC.

I’m excited about the opportunity, and already have a huge list of projects to work on.

Lee over on TTW wrote a great post about reflecting on the satisfaction of each day. It’s something I’ve been making a conscious effort to do. When I was pregnant last year with my second child (who is getting ready to celebrate her first birthday) I was on bedrest for six months and hospitalized a few times. There were moments when I felt so sick I thought I might not make it. Then earlier this year I was hospitalized for chest pain (which luckily turned out to not be cardiac related).

When things like this happen it really puts your life in perspective. You realize what’s really important. There are times when I slip and get caught up in a project that takes me away from my family too much, but then you see people pass as young as Tim Russert and it reminds you of how fleeting and precious every moment is that we have.

To quote Lee:

Thinking about the quality of your day: are you happy with what you do every day; do you get more out of your day; is your time filled with people, activities, or ideas you find meaningful; are you content; what did you do to improve, today?

Every once in a while I think we need to take this a step further and ask ourselves these questions every hour. Are you happy? Are you doing what matters most? Do the things you love because this is not a dress rehearsal.

I really wish Tim were going to be here for the next election. I admired him as a journalist and for his ability to ask the tough questions and press for tough answers.

From Indexed:

So many people have told me this throughout my career, “Don’t go to management with problems; go with solutions.”

Innovation is finding a solution to a problem but I would also add it is finding a solution to a problem that you did not know exists!

Today is the primary in Indiana and North Carolina. Record numbers of crowds turned out for early voting at the library last week. Normally I vote during early voting, but this year is different. This year I am an undecided voter.

Registered as unaffiliated, I get to choose which primary I vote in. It’s a toss up this year. The Republican candidate is pretty much already a given, and I am all for both of the Democratic front runners. Part of me feels it really doesn’t matter. It’s just a primary.

But something happened on the way to work this morning. I thought about all the women who came before me who fought so hard for our right to vote. Would I be doing them a disservice by not voting? Does apathy ever result in anything good?

I turned my car around and drove to my precinct. The parking lot was full, but I went in anyway. I knew that if I did not go first thing this morning I would keep finding an excuse not to do it. I only waited in line for about 15 minutes. While I was waiting I reflected on the excitement I felt when I turned 18 and registered to vote and felt even more so the first election I voted in.

I quickly but carefully cast my ballot and silently gave thanks to the many volunteers who work at precincts around the country.

To all my friends in Indiana and North Carolina, please go out and vote today!

I-voted-sticker, originally uploaded by voidmstr.

From Craigslist today:

South County Library Saturday afternoon - m4w (quiet room)

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Reply to: pers-667790072@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-05-04, 7:12PM EDTYou: in green w/ ipod headphones on.me: i sat down late in the eve at a table on the other side of the computer kiosk. i think we caught each other looking at the other a few times.

i would have liked to said hi - but it’s a library and not a bar - so here i am.

hit me back if you’re interested.

I love the line here, “it’s a library and not a bar.” If only he knew how many hook ups and hit ons take place on a given day. I hope she sees your ad!

From one of my favorite bloggers Michele Martin comes the 31 day comment challenge. Michele writes,

Comments are the lifeblood of blogging and for new bloggers, they can be the difference between sticking it out for the long haul and throwing in the towel.

I couldn’t agree more with this! Comments, linkbacks, and trackbacks are how I’ve “met” many of friends out in the biblioblogosphere. Most library systems are lucky to have one or even two dedicated trainers for staff. I remember being so frustrated a few years ago about not having anyone to bounce ideas around with. That’s why I am so thankful that I have been able to connect with other library trainers learning facilitators through all the cool Web 2.0 tools.

So I hope you will join Marianne and me in the challenge. Details about the 2008 31 Day Comment Challenge can be found here. There are a lot of educators and a few marketing professionals participating so this is a great chance to read about a variety of topics. There are even a few classes participating. I can’t wait to see what the students blog about.

Looks like May will be busy!

If you haven’t heard of Geek and Poke take a look! Hilarious cartoons about Web 2.0 and technology and best of all they are Creative Commons licensed!

This one is for all my tweeps out there.