Bibliophile

Pages come alive

2011-11-28T15:23:00.000+11:00

More lovely book art.

Just amazing!!

From here.

Scholarly journals

2010-11-13T01:20:00.000+11:00

Found via the Glasgow School of Art Library blog. Cool poster. I am such a librarian geek.

The word made flesh

2010-10-18T14:17:00.000+11:00

The Word Made Flesh - book trailer from Tattoolit on Vimeo.

Man Booker Prize

2010-08-08T16:09:00.000+10:00

The longlist has been announced for this years Man Booker - can't wait to start reading them.

Peter Carey Parrot and Olivier in America (Faber and Faber)
Emma Donoghue Room (Pan MacMillan - Picador)
Helen Dunmore The Betrayal (Penguin - Fig Tree)
Damon Galgut In a Strange Room (Grove Atlantic - Atlantic Books)
Howard Jacobson The Finkler Question (Bloomsbury)
Andrea Levy The Long Song (Headline Publishing Group - Headline Review)
Tom McCarthy C (Random House - Jonathan Cape)
David Mitchell The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (Hodder & Stoughton - Sceptre)
Lisa Moore February (Random House - Chatto & Windus)
Paul Murray Skippy Dies (Penguin - Hamish Hamilton)
Rose Tremain Trespass (Random House - Chatto & Windus)
Christos Tsiolkas The Slap (Grove Atlantic - Tuskar Rock)
Alan Warner The Stars in the Bright Sky (Random House - Jonathan Cape)

John Irving

2010-08-08T15:57:00.000+10:00

I didn't really enjoy Wide Sargasso Sea. Maybe I should have read Jane Eyre before hand to prepare for the prequal as I couldn't relate the two books (story or characters). I found the book dark, vague and it was very short. I guess any book about madness and family tragedy will be dark but I wasn't able to empathise with or understand the characters.

So now I am back to a long favourite author - John Irving. He is the author of Hotel New Hampshire, The World According to Garp and many other great books. Set in New Hampshire in the US the books have the most interesting and bizarre stories and characters.

I borrowed this book off my mum earlier in the year when I was ill. Last night in twisted river is what I expect from Irving and I am finding it difficult to put away at night.

iPhone

2010-06-30T18:03:00.000+10:00

Last week I bought an iPhone. I needed to get a new phone but was planning on getting a basic Nokia and an iPad. I spend a lot of time on the bus and thought it would be good to use the iPad as a book reader and to check e-mail. Then I saw the cost of the 3G plans and had a rethink. Anyway, I am happy with my iPhone, I have had a play and added apps etc. So, I can read books, check e-mail, listen to music and play games on the way to and from work, I don't need another internet plan and can get rid of my iPod. Cool. Can anyone recommend good apps?

Have a look at this historical timeline feature from the British Library
From the site: It includes a diverse combination of texts: those that allow glimpses of everyday life (handbills, posters, letters, diaries), remnants of political events (charters, speeches, campaign leaflets), and the writings of some of our best known historical and literary figures.

Wide Sargasso Sea

2010-05-20T10:25:00.000+10:00

I mentioned to my father that I had had a conversation about this book on my weekend in Melbourne. Of course he has a copy, so leant it to me. I am looking forward to reading it and learning more about the woman in the attic.

I'll let you know what I think Susan and Kelly!

Prime Minister's Literary Awards

2010-05-17T11:59:00.000+10:00

Arts Minister Peter Garrett has announced the judges for Australia’s richest book prize, the 2010 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards. The prize pool is $400,000! 324 entries have been made, including 70 fiction, 109 non-fiction, 45 young adult and 100 children’s entries. I love a good book prize!

Shortlists won't be announced until later in the year, so we may have to wait a while to see who wins.

Books in photo art

2010-03-23T20:55:00.000+11:00

I love this picture, found on Design Sponge.

and this on Flickr - ghostling

I love this selection - some of my favourites!

Bookmarks, shelving and fonts

2010-03-12T12:56:00.000+11:00

More book art! Not sure it is my taste but would suit a Partner's office I guess. It is nice to know some lovely old books may be turned into something useful and/or beautiful rather than destroyed or discarded.
Pictures from Legal blog watch

I love the idea of the hollowed out book though. Found via WisBlawg

I prefer this lamp below, I like the illuminated pages rather than the dark leather exteriors of the books above.

One more cool site to check out for book art and usefulness How to make and do.

For something completely different - ooohhhh I love this - What Type are You? I am Archer Hairline which appears to be ne of the most popular results.

I have seen these on a few blogs now - very cute though. Have a nice weekend!!

Lovely things

2010-02-03T10:27:00.000+11:00

More beautiful images of books, type and art.

The NSW State Library is currently creating their own alphabet inspired by images from their collection for their 100 year anniversary. Worth a look - lovely images.

I also love these book covers from different eras, Art Nouveau, Arts & Crafts (my favourites). Oh to own one like this one:

AND - how cute is this site for Emily Gravett - childrens author!

The world only exists in your eyes - your conception of it. You can make it as big or as small as you want to.
F. Scott Fitzgerald

Book installation

2010-01-21T22:21:00.000+11:00

Installations using books - how gorgeous are they!!?? Found via Mint.

Installation of 4000 books by Dutch artist Anouk Kruithof.

"

Book to art

2010-01-21T22:19:00.000+11:00

This was on Design Sponge quite a while ago, they are actually paper lights. I just think they are lovely. Designed by MN*LS I would never have the patience. Apart from the lovely effect and earthy tones of the text on the paper it is a great way to upcycle old books. From working in libraries I know how many get discarded these days and this will only increase as print collections shrink.

Australian classics

2010-01-12T19:38:00.000+11:00

I have just finished reading Australian Classics and it made me realise how little Australian writing I own and have read. The only Australian authors, from the book I own are Tim Winton and Barbara Baynton (Bush Studies - that I had to buy for Uni). I am now going to work my way through the Australian classics by hitting my parents vast book collections.

I may just start with Bush Studies since I already own it.

Bookshelf

2009-12-18T21:40:00.003+11:00

Bookshelf
Originally uploaded by stujoart

I decided to start decorating my living room even though I haven't painted the walls yet. It is next..... I have left my bookshelf freestanding as it is deep and allows me to double stack the books - accessible from both sides and also to display some of my china and vases etc. It will also make it easier to get to the walls when I do paint, it is a very heavy piece of furniture! I found a few books I think I haven't read yet.

I received a few books to review for a law librarian journal this week, will keep me busy over the break.

Louis de Bernieres

2009-10-29T13:40:00.004+11:00

I am reading books by the author Louis de Bernieres. I recently read Captain Corelli's Mandolin which I had picked up second hand ages ago and I loved it. At the moment I am reading The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman. I am finding this harder to get into but it is providing plenty of smiles and entertainment. Apparently my father has Señor Vivo and the Coca Lord in his collection, so that'll be my next read.

I was very suprised to learn that the author is English and not Latin American as I had imagined. In fact his new book is called Notwithstanding: English Village Stories. It will be interesting to see if that is as fun as the others.

I love the authors Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Laura Esqivel and Isabel Allende for the same reason. They write with the influence of the myths and culture of a place and time that seems to be very simple, earthy and full of 'characters'. I love the fact that I often can't tell what period of history the novel is set in and that often truth and fiction are blurred.

Card catalogues

2009-10-29T10:37:00.006+11:00

What are your memories of card catalogues? I remember having the job of filing newly created cards as part of my work experience at Castle Hill Public Library (NSW, Australia) when I was about 16. I think of the old drawers fondly and the metal rods that you had to pull out to add or remove cards.

I have seen a few good uses made of the old card catalogue furniture (oooh how I'd love to find one in a junk shop) and some for the cards themselves, including this exhibition found via Librarian.net.

Banned Book Necklace

2009-10-02T12:47:00.003+10:00

From Carolyn Forsman - Conversation Piece Jewelry. Found via LISNews - Librarian And Information Science News Very cute.

There are lots of lovely, unusual pieces of jewellery and other book related items for sale on Etsy. For the book lover or librarian in your life...

Books and art

2009-09-23T16:08:00.005+10:00

From Articulate: Eye Candy the Librarian

Art and books. A union that makes, for me anyway, print books preferable over ebooks. Not only can they make a design statement in a room (eg: with spines colour coded) on shelves, they make a statement about the value placed on books and reading by the owner and in some way constitute a 'collection' of sorts. "A home without books is a body without soul." Marcus Tullius Cicero. That certainly rings true for me.

I have just finished Malinche by Laura Esquivel. I was originally attracted in a second hand store to its lovely cover. I liked the quality of the paper, the artwork and the colours of the cover. I had read her books before so also knew I would probably enjoy it at some level. As I was finishing the book in bed last night I realised the cover is actually a folded up codex (so called by the author) and designed by her brother I think. Some of the sections of the codex are used as illustrations throughout the book.

PM's of Australia

2009-09-16T12:28:00.005+10:00

I came across this new website Australian Prime Ministers via Senator Kate Lundy's blog this week. I think it is great. Apart from learning who the first Australian PM was - the obligatory quiz question, I know hardly anything about our political history.

I had a laugh at the section titled The prime ministerial wife. Sort of puts them in place with the Prime Ministerial car and the Prime Ministerial brief! From Ada, Florence and Vera to Annita, Janette and Therese, how the times change.

Here is Elsie Curtin doing her bit at The Lodge!

The Book Thief

2009-08-26T08:33:00.003+10:00

I have just returned from Fiji where I started on The Book Thief. Interestingly one of my travel mates had started the book and didn't like it. It has an unusual narrative style but I like it.

I am working on a post and maybe an article on 'embedded librarians'. I have been one for a while now and haven't come across many articles about this area of librarianship. It has it's own sets of challenges and probably varies from organisation to organisation and team to team.

The Boat

2009-07-19T20:38:00.005+10:00

I have just finished The Boat by Nam Le - great book! I thoroughly enjoyed it and as I have spent a bit of time in bed recently and sitting around waiting for removalists it didn't take long to get through. The book is a series of short stories set in vastly different settings; including Australia, Vietnam and Iran. I am loving books set in or about Vietnam at the moment due to my recent visit and family connection over there. Recently also read When heaven and earth changed places which was very interesting. Set during the Vietnamese (American) War and provides insight into their culture and beliefs.

I was talking to someone last night about online book stores and thought it'd be interesting to compare a few. Often when you throw in postage it works out dearer than buying from a physical book shop. Especially because as soon as the online stores 'recommend' other titles I might like, I end up spending more than I planned, although I have the same problem when I browse the shelves in a shop (in non-fiction especially). So, I paid $24.95 for The Boat in a store.

Fishpond - AUS$19.82 free deliver over $50
Amazon US$10.20 + postage
The Book Depository £7.19 free delivery
Booktopia AUS$19.96 + postage

All much of a muchness I guess. The difference for me is in the delivery charge and not having to worry about exchange rates and conversions. Fishpond have regular free delivery offers so I take advantage of those. Would be interesting to look at the environmental aspects too - cost to environment of delivery via stores vs from online shops to clients.

Tango in Newtown

2009-07-07T15:25:00.004+10:00

I am currently reading The Last Tango of Dolores Delgado by Marele Day. My mother got it out of the local library after reading her other book Lambs of God which I had been throwing out for some reason. She recommended Dolores Delgado to me as it is set in Sydney (Newtown, Kings Cross and Balmain mainly) and so I borrowed it from the library after Mum.

Dolores' death takes place at a Tango themed bar/restaurant in Newtown which I suspect is where I had my 21st Birthday party in 1989. The book was written in 1992 and includes a funny scene where the PI Claudia Valentine (who is investigating her friend Dolores death) is embarassed to use her new mobile phone in public. You can just imagine it being the size of a brick! There are frequent references to the gentrification that was occuring in the 1990's of inner city suburbs such as Balmain, Newtown and Coogee and the reaction to this by the locals.

There is also a part where Claudia is followed by a Barina, which was the first car I ever brought, in 1992. So many personal reference points and I am quite enjoying the story itself.

Our people

2009-07-02T17:37:00.003+10:00

What is it with CEO's and other bosses calling their staff our people? I find it being used more and more, particularly by law firm CEO's and I think it sounds impersonal and condescending. Used most recently in the context of redundancies (ie: why we are not having them) .... "we are looking after our people" or "recognising the value of our people". What's wrong with our employees or staff or even better my colleagues? The head of my organisation also uses this term, it must be in the latest edition of PC management terminology (possibly replacing team member). I am not one of your people thank you.

I have just rediscovered BookCrossing and have decided to sign up and share my books. This fits in with my plan to spend less on books, for budgetary and tree saving/recycling reasons.

Favourite blogs

2009-06-12T17:22:00.005+10:00

These are a few of my (non-work related) favourite things ... I mean blogs. In no particular order.

Encyclopaedia Britannica Blog

Awful Library Books

Glasgow School of Art Library and Learning Blog

Firm Spy

Scooter Swag

Nestled In

The Toy Society - like BookCrossing for toys

Then there is Facebook, Flickr, LibraryThing and other sites I can waste endless hours on......

Another media library going

2009-06-10T10:06:00.004+10:00

How sad is this story found via LISNews from the New York Observer? The ABC (US) is closing it's library and getting rid of all of it's journals and print collection, oh and library staff. Don't worry they are "developing, with an outside research consultant, a state of the art research system tailored to our particular needs". As one comment says - Wikipedia saved as a favourite maybe? The president of ABC News calls the planned replacement for the library a more cyber-focused "Digital Research Facility".

Interesting to follow this one and see how the journalists cope with the new service and whether any of the library staff do 'stay on'. I am presuming journalists would have fairly good research skills and a handle on new technologies, but then again you think lawyers would also.....

Am loving the new Firm Spy blog (especially the accompanying pics)!! I think the law and accounting firms are using the threat of recession to get rid of staff they couldn't be bothered retraining or performance managing out. A few less support staff and associates isn't going to mean the difference between the survival or death of these large firms. Maybe the resulting stress on increasingly demotivated employees and bad press will make a difference though?

Reinvented books

2009-05-25T17:04:00.004+10:00

More fun and creativity with books. I am so glad that people are finding ways to reuse and reinvent the old books that us librarians are forced to throw out because we need the space and the machine tells us no-one has borrowed them in 2 years.

I bought one of their journals at a market on the weekend for my father, an old Chaucer title. They incorporate some of the pages of text, title pages and book plates into the blank sheets of journal paper. Some even have library card sleeves in the front!! They also make bookmarks out of the left over spines. I loved the retro styled ones, including old children's books and games.

They are based in Sydney but sell online too. I really could have bought several of these, if Mum wasn't with me .....

Bornagain Books

Finding journals online

2009-05-21T14:09:00.003+10:00

My last legal research refresher session was titled 'how to find journals and journal articles online'. This is not an easy task these days and in the end I wound up summarising by encouraging attendees to try a few searches and if they don't locate the journal within 5 mins, to contact the library. The issues that we face during this transition from print to online journal access is that we subscribe to journals via multiple publisher platforms and the library catalogue, as well as offering links to articles via abstracting services such as Informit and Proquest. Access to titles changes regularly as publishers offer more content online and we add titles to our various subscriptions. Patrons want one service which offers search facilities across all journals we have access to, an A-Z list of titles, sortable by subject and full text searchable. I know there are some publishers offering this but the changeable nature of journals and content ownership means that even these are unlikely to offer the perfect solution.

One of the biggest problems with training patrons in the use of subscription databases, library catalogues and other systems is that they don't use them often enough to practice and remember what they learn. We try to focus more on ad-hoc skilling by helping a client search for something as they need it (the just in time v just in case debate again). Doing it this way may mean that clients miss out on updating their research skills and learning about new functionality and search tips via training.

It is a Catch 22 situation. Due to advances in technology and the uptake of social media in libraries, we can now offer automated, targeted alerts, using RSS feeds and mashups. By integrating these tools and federated, googleesque searching my organisation has developed an online library presence to deliver many of the traditional library services. However those same advances and technologies, used by the library and by externals such as publishers mean that without the right skills and with increasing time constraints, clients are still reliant on librarians to run searches, conduct research and to filter information and provide alerting services.

I think we are still a long way from becoming redundant.

On a lighter note - more pretty library/book art from here via Librarian in Black

Book handbag

2009-05-05T11:47:00.004+10:00

This handbag appeals to me on so many different levels. From here.

1. It is made from a book
2. It is recycling existing materials
3. It is beautiful (I love the lining fabric)
4. It is unusual and quirky

I occassionally come across pictures of furniture made out of books and artworks or other handmade items made from books, pages or book bindings and covers. I love this concept and although I don't own any, I would love to. I fear it might open myself up to more ridicule from my friends (I am currently learning how to crochet granny squares, think craft is the new cool and own two cats, if that isn't enough). I also love the art and designs used for book covers these days and find myself attracted to books in shops by their design or artwork (and wine bottles by their label designs).

eGovernment Award

2009-04-28T14:17:00.002+10:00

Excellence in e-Government Award finalists announced

It's pretty exciting that these innovations are happening in government.... Here are the 10 finalists:

CDATA Online (Australian Bureau of Statistics)

Pre-filling of Income Tax Returns (Australian Tax Office)

Tax Office eLibrary (Australian Tax Office) - Intranet application only

Child Support Estimator (Child Support Agency)

Parliamentary Document Management System (Department of Employment, Education and Workplace Relations) - Intranet application only

Visa Wizard and the Citizenship Wizard (Department of Immigration and Citizenship)

eVisitor (Department of Immigration and Citizenship)

AusPat (IP Australia)

Northern Queensland Wildfire Mitigation Project (Tablelands Regional Council)

youthcentral (Victorian Department of Planning and Community Development)

I have only come into contact with a few of these, but they are great examples of how to streamline processes using new technologies.

Reading, work and stuff

2009-03-26T23:29:00.002+11:00

I have been reading about meditation recently, I have always loved the idea of being able to sit with an empty or focused mind. One of the books I am halfway through is called The Quiet (Paul Wilson). As usual with self help books, I read until it gets to the bit where you actually have to DO something, then I put it down and go back to reading fiction. This includes my copy of Getting Things Done! In this case the fiction is The red Queen by Margaret Drabble, picked up from the local second hand book seller for $5. I will endeavour to actually follow through with the meditation at some point.

I finished the last of my skilling sessions for the month today and will start planning April's next week

Case Research

2009-03-19T13:37:00.003+11:00

I have been doing sessions on researching case law in Australia for our legal team this week.

These are the topics I am covering:

Finding cases by citation
Finding cases relating to a specific section of legislation
Finding cases by phrase, party or search terms
Case citators vs full text
Unreported, reported and authorised cases
International caselaw

I am demonstrating different searches using internal, subscription based and public access legal databases such as LexisNexisAU (CaseBase), LegalOnline (Firstpoint), Westlaw, TimeBase (Legislation with Case Link), AustLII and LawLink for Court sites.

This sesion has been popular and I have received good feedback which is nice. I don't think clients realise how great it is to get positive feedback (or any at all in fact, positive or otherwise)!! I have been using NetMeeting software and teleconference facilities to offer these classes to those in our offices around Australia, it is working well.

The end of lawyers?

2009-03-17T12:26:00.003+11:00

I just got my hands on the new book by Richard Susskind. It looks like an interesting read, but I will have to skim through it and pass it on to the legal peoples. It would be interesting to hear their thoughts on the book, but I doubt they will have time to enter into a conversation about law and technology.

Reading

2009-03-07T23:06:00.004+11:00

Since the title of my blog infers that I like reading, I thought it time I posted about what has been on my bedside table recently. I have just finished Dirt Music by Tim Winton. Winton is one of those authors I long felt I should read but never felt driven to, until now. Due to self imposed budgetary constraints this year I am tackling my pile of purchased and not yet read books. I remember learning about Tim Winton when living in London and seeing Cloudstreet, the play promoted. I wanted to go because it was Australian, but didn't for some reason......

As I started reading Dirt Music I felt as though I couldn't associate with the characters and was put off by the Australianisms and my unfamiliarity with towns like White Point. I found half way through, that I thought about the story during the day and looked forward to my next chance to read. There was something memorable about the characters and especially the relationship between Fox and Georgie that rang true. I often cringe at the Crocodile Dundee like characters and this book was no exception. I guess I have to accept that they exist and effectively represent both the harshness and the earthy humour of Australia. I will read Cloudstreet at some point and see if it helps me decide if I am a Winton fan or not.

Another book recently completed was my Grandmother (Minnie)'s copy of a biography of Mary Reibey. I believe she was a real person, an early pioneering woman who came to Sydney as a convict but soon rose to be one of the wealthiest, through trade and property. It was a bit of a historical romance and the author used quite a bit of artistic license to recreate Mary's character, life and relationships. I loved reading about the early days in Sydney's settlement, which appeared to be historically correct. She is on our $20 note, I wouldn't have known that - thanks wikipedia.....

I also read and wrote a review of The Jihad Seminar by Hanifa Deen for the Australian law Librarian earlier this year.

Executive renumeration Australia

2009-03-02T14:54:00.003+11:00

I noted recently that Barack Obama was considering legislative action against company directors who are still taking huge executive salaries even while the government is bailing the business world out of trouble and employees are losing their jobs. I was wondering if Australia would follow and it appears that Kevin Rudd and Lindsay Tanner are considering something similar. Public opinion on this topic is pretty clear at the moment with the news that Sol Trujillo will leave Telstra and Australia $40million (untaxed), richer, as if he needed the money.

Mallensons Stephen Jaques has released Executive Remuneration: Guidelines and Developments - 19 February 2009.

Jureeka

2009-02-16T12:24:00.003+11:00

I came across this at the RIPS Law Librarian blog and I love the concept. Eureka for Jureeka?

It's a new Firefox add-on that "transforms legal citations in web pages into hyperlinks that point to online source material."

How many times have I come to the end of an assignment or paper and dreaded the task of creating footnotes for everything I have referenced within the paper? It would be great for online publishers and authors, depending on the ability of the system to find the best source to link to. If you could select sources such as legislation on ComLaw, onlne commentary from LexisNexis, book references to Google Books or cases on Austlii it may actually work? If not and it is completely random, searching acoss the www for anything with that citation, it could be a dangerous tool.

This is actually how I imagined wikis to work, before I used one. I thought that every word in a wiki article that corresponded with an article title would automatically become a hyperlink. I didn't realise that you had to identify works as hyperlinks.

I'll give it a go when I get a chance at home using firefox.....

Executive salaries

2009-02-06T16:42:00.004+11:00

How great is this?

President Obama wants to cap executive salaries at $500,000 for companies who take a bail out.

"We don't disparage wealth. We don't begrudge anybody for achieving success. And we believe that success should be rewarded," Obama said. "But what gets people upset — and rightfully so — are executives being rewarded for failure, especially when those rewards are subsidized by U.S. taxpayers."

Anyway you look at it, it just doesn't make sense paying an individual such outrageous salaries, regardless of the results they achieve. How can anyone in their right mind morally accept millions of dollars a year to run an organisation, especially in light of government bail outs and redundancies? If politicians are earning only hundreds of thousands to run our countries what is so special about corporations that they have to pay executives millions or billions?

Maybe the Australian government could follow his example.

I found this story on the Simple Justice blog and the comments made me smile, especially this one.

If the ostentatious show of wealth was a badge of honor before, the threadbare suit will be the indicia of fiscally-sensitive importance over the next few years.

I really hope so......

Catching up

2009-02-03T15:22:00.004+11:00

I finally found time to do a bit of catch up on my current awareness reading via RSS Feeds today. This is what I found:

CCH has released a White Paper called Professionals and web 2.0. It provides the results of a survey of Asia Pacific professionals including legal and accounting and their use of web 2.0 technologies.

A list of 250 Top Australian Blogs. I am looking forward to visiting some of them at home over the next few weeks....

The RBA has reduced the interest rate to 3.25% - yeah and the government has announced a further stimulus package and most of us get $950 - yeah again!!

Scooting Librarian?

2009-01-22T13:45:00.003+11:00

scooting about in the library By jessamyn on scooter

This blog post title caught my attention, being a scooterer and a librarian. The scooter in question is not the type I ride though, alas (I wish they would come up with different names for kids scooters, Vespa type scooters and mobility scooters). So, it looks like a great idea, I love libraries that offer 'shopping baskets' to patrons and this is another way of making a trip to the library less physically taxing.

Anyway maybe I could start up a mobile Librarian service 'Scooting Librarian' bringing resources and research assistance to you.

Legal Research blog

2009-01-19T12:47:00.004+11:00

I came across this new blog written about legal research in Australian (yeah)! This is how the author (Lauren) describes it

Legal Research Rescue (LRR) is a place for legal research tips and tricks for junior (and not-so-junior) lawyers, law graduates and law students

I subscribed straight away and recommend it for librarians to use as a resource when conducting legal research training or doing research themselves. She has also created a delicious account for legal research sites and articles.

Donkey library in Ethiopia

2009-01-12T09:34:00.003+11:00

I love these stories.... Libraries in developing countries, bringing books to those who need them the most. Especially when there are donkeys involved. Story from the BBC UK.

For EBCEF's project manager in Awassa, Mezrasha Kibret, books are the key to everything.

"If we are interested in changing the world," he says, "then we have to read."

Nepalese children's first encounters with computers

2009-01-07T10:58:00.001+11:00

From the BBC Be not afraid: Nepalese children's first encounters with computers

What a great story and another example of the power of eLibraries.

2009 diary

2009-01-05T22:13:00.006+11:00

My diary
Originally uploaded by jobloggs

I made this cover for my work issue diary tonight.

Lawyers and Web 2.0

2009-01-05T13:29:00.004+11:00

I have noticed a particular aversion or apathy to new technologies amongst the legal staff where I work. My, the library and the organisation's attempts to introduce web 2.0 tools and education have invoked comments such as - "blogs, wikis, RSS: I have no idea what they are, maybe some of you younger ones do" chuckle chuckle.... Until these tools are seen as being more widely accepted by the legal community, the lawyers here won't invest time and energy to investigate them and the possible benefits. Let's face it, they are busy and are bound to be more so this year with the fallout from the economic downturn. Unless there is a valid reason for them to become involved, there is no impetus, especially in government/public sectors. A few Australian law firms are introducing RSS Feeds, blogs and wikis, though mainly for internal use, as they have a commercial reason to 'keep up with the Jones's' and to engage with their clients. These initiatives are often driven by the IT or Library/Information areas within the firm rather than by the Partners.

I am currently tracking several US Legal Blogs or Blawgs and their numbers are increasing, in stark contrast to the lack of blawging going on here in Australia. There are US blogs on different practice areas as well as general discussion on court decisions, proposed legislation, judicial appointments and other topics of interest to practitioners. Lawyers in the US are also embracing the use of Twitter to communicate with colleagues and to debate and discuss legal issues. This blog entry from Real Lawyers Have Blogs summarises my thoughts on why lawyers have been slow on the uptake of web 2.0 technology.

Digital Darwinism?

Older lawyers running law firms fight change.

Lawyers in general feel they are above the fray - 'others may be harnessing innovative technology, but we're dealing with the law. Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, LinkedIn? We're proud to say we're a non user.'

Courts have not adopted ways to cite free case law and blogs as secondary sources.

Businesses in the legal industry who do not understand Web 2.0 and social media support with advertising moneys hard copy legal periodicals.

Though legal blogs are flourishing, there may not be the quality of legal content online we see from the general publishing industry.

Facebook

2008-12-22T16:03:00.005+11:00

Interesting to read about the lawyers who managed to get an ACT court to agree to let them serve papers via Facebook. Apparently this is the first time as far as anyone knows and the story has had press coverage internationally as well as in Australia.

Australian court serves documents via Facebook

“Today in what appears to be a first in Australia and perhaps the world, Master Harper of the ACT Supreme Court ordered that a default judgement could be served on defendants by notification on Facebook” Sydney Morning Herald 12th December 2008

Roll up mouse pad

2008-12-04T10:29:00.004+11:00

What a great idea - found on PopGadget

Gift list for librarians

2008-11-27T17:26:00.002+11:00

Gift Guide for Library and Book Lovers An Internet Hotlist on Gift Guide created by Library Advocate.

My favourites:

Book shelves
Books in Art
Bookmarks
Purses
and of course lots of lovely items on Etsy

My Dewey Decimal section

2008-11-27T17:19:00.005+11:00

joanna's Dewey Decimal Section:

492 Afro-Asiatic languages; Semitic languages

joanna = 051441 = 051+441 = 492

Class:
400 Language

Contains:
Linguistics and language books.

What it says about you:
You value communication, even with people who are different from you. You like trying new things don't mind being exposed to unfamiliar territory. You get bored with routines that never change.

Find your Dewey Decimal Section at Spacefem.com

I remember doing something like this at school to work out if I was compatible with particular boys.... Anyway have a go - it's fun and oddly true!!

Power to the people?

2008-11-25T13:24:00.006+11:00

Evidently there are high hopes for social networking in the future. I have recently come across two blogs discussing whether social networking may replace (respectively) lawyers and 'some government functions'.

1. This topic has also been raised by the Gartner group, releasing a press release stating, Gartner Says Citizen Social Networks Will Complement, and May Replace, Some Government Functions.

From eGov

2. Legal futurist Richard Susskind's sequel to his 1996 best-seller The Future of Law: Facing the Challenges of Information Technology (Oxford UP) will be published in December. The End of Lawyers? Rethinking the Nature of Legal Services (Oxford UP, December 2008) continues the author's focus on the effect of advances in information technology upon the law and legal practice, providing fresh perspectives and analysis of anticipated developments in the decade to come. In particular, he aims to explore the extent to which the role of the traditional lawyer can be sustained, in the face of the challenging trends in the legal marketplace and the new techniques and technologies for the delivery of legal services.

Among Suskind's predictions: (1) legal advice will be recycled by clients in social networking communities just like knowledge management recycles attorney work product internally and (2) client communities will push law firms to come together and form their own social networks to hold down costs by not reinventing the wheel.

From Law Librarian Blog

Australian Library Industry Twitter Users List

2008-11-20T14:57:00.003+11:00

I just came across this post on Libraries Interact by Neerav. Great idea!
Australian Library Industry Twitter Users List

I was wondering if I could use Twitter for something useful.... I have also been reading about a debate happening in the US among Lawyers on the value of blogging and twittering, from the Legal Blog Watch

Research is changing.....

2008-10-06T14:23:00.007+11:00

I am currently studying for a Certificate in Criminal Intelligence and this semester am doing a subject called Strategic Intelligence Practice. I was reading my study materials last night and was amazed at the all too familiar issues raised by the authors in regards to intelligence analysts. They are facing a challenge to retain their place in organisations due to access to the internet and open source intelligence materials. Educators are impressing on analysts the importance of adding value to their products by including recommendations in their assessments. There are several reasons why they have been reluctant to do this in the past and due to the increase in freely available material, policy makers and managers have started doing their own research and bypassing intelligence analysts.

They face the same dilemma as librarians, is it our job to answer client questions or provide access to sources only. Analysts know that forecasting is difficult to guarantee and so may prefer to provide facts and conclusions and stop short at supplying recommendations. We are often faced with a similar problem with clients asking a research query (often one they don't fully understand) and hoping we'll provide an answer rather than advise them on sources to consult.

It seems that intelligence analysts are striving to gain recognition as a profession, such as librarians (yes, we got a mention), lawyers and doctors have. Much of what they do is very similar to our research function. They liaise with clients within an organisation, gather information, data and intelligence (all of the usual problems with definitions apply) and organise that material into a strategic intelligence assessment or some other type of product or report. The tools, raw data and methods they work with may differ from ours but the imperitive to market themselves, increase their skills and gain recognition are very similar to ours.

MindMeister

2008-09-25T17:49:00.004+10:00

I have been using Mindmeister to create diagrams (Futures Wheels to be exact) for my uni assignment and it is so easy and quite fun. I wonder if I could use it to make sense of all of the 'things', plans, to do lists and projects floating around in my head? I can't wait till I have finished studying this semester so I can play around with web 2.0 tools without feeling like I am wasting precious study time. It'll be great to get back to blogging, flickr etc

Roll on November and spring!!!

Tangler

2008-09-18T13:43:00.004+10:00

I joined Tangler at Bibliothekia's suggestion and read the posts on the Library 2.0 Forum. I can see heaps of potential in this technology at home and at work. Again it depends on the uptake of library colleagues, friends and clients for its success.

2008-08-01T15:28:00.005+10:00

I found a good one! eBookee It has lists of eBooks by subject, including law and even some tax texts. Lots of computer books - no suprise there!! The site links out to eBook sites like iFree

ATOLearning exercise:

1. Go to www.ebookee.com
2. Have a look at the ebooks that are available on the site (encyclopedias, classics)
3. Check out the 'free magazine subscriptions'
4. Read about Amazon's Kindle

Enjoy!!

Thing #47: New Web 2.0 site

2008-08-01T14:05:00.004+10:00

I don't know if this classifies as web 2.0 but it is neat anyway and is designed to look like a lot of the sites that we have discovered through Learning 2.0/2.1. Service Central is a site where you log a job that you need a trades person, professional or provider for and they arrange for several services who are able to do the work in your area to contact you. It is a great time saver if it works, as you are not calling hundreds of numbers to find a company that does your size job, covers your area and has the time to do it. As far as I can see it covers Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney at least. It also has an option for sharing your experience and feedback with others so it fulfills that social networking criteria at least. I can see more and more services like this popping up as the MySpace generation grows up expecting better online access to everything. Now I know this isn't really work related so I will try to come up with something else with exercises that can be followed :-)

Thing #46: Review Things 11 - 14

2008-07-20T21:02:00.006+10:00

Thing #11. LibraryThing. I still like this site and have my books displayed on my blog but haven't added to it for ages.

Thing #12. Rollyo. I don't remember this from the first time around and can't see much of a use for it at work. I have signed up though and will have a play around at home when I get a chance, just in case I am missing something!

Thing #13. Del.icio.us. I have added heaps of sites to my del.icio.us account and have started suggesting sites for the LIS account so that I can add a 'search bookmarks' button on my wiki pages. It is a pretty useful tool, especially with the options that tagging provides.

Thing #14. Technorati. I thought I had signed up for this but couldn't find any records for a password or logon so signed up again. Have yet to investigate it's potential but it may be easier to use for finding and receiving RSS Feeds hopefully.

Thing #46: Review Things 1 - 10

2008-07-17T14:55:00.007+10:00

I think the zoho page with the review of 23 things is quite old and we started the 'things' after these 'updates' were written. So the changes to the services are not too relevant but it is useful to review all of the technologies we learnt and think about which ones I have used and which ones I had forgotten about.

Thing #3: Blogger. I am still blogging happily away and hope to soon be using it more often at work with the introduction of the ATO's eLibraryBlog.

Thing #5: Flickr. I was using flickr already and continue to use it to share photos with my friends, family and contacts. I am about to start a photography course so anticipate that it'll get a lot more use soon!

Thing #8: Blogglines. I set up a bloglines ages ago with RSS Feeds from friends blogs and library and art sites. To be honest I haven't looked at it for months. I think I had just too much stuff saved and also have similar services in iGoogle and Pageflakes.

Thing #9: Finding RSS. I checked Technorati today looking for Australian Law blogs to add to the LSB Blog blogroll. I will make a note to check out the others mentioned also to see if they find different content. I am going to try out Google Reader also as it is useful to have all of the tools under one umbrella to cut down on logins and passwords.

Thing #10: Generators.

Thing #45: Flowcharts & mindmaps

2008-07-16T10:49:00.005+10:00

Had a play with the four different tools and settled on bubbl.us and gliffy. I think the flow chart site (gliffy.com) will be very useful at work and for Uni too. The mindmap application (bubbl.us.com) probably could have work uses but I am going to use it at home, as a way of brainstorming ideas and plans.

Thing #44: Nag yourself jott.com

2008-07-15T15:38:00.002+10:00

I don't really see any benefit in this service. It is just yet another way of capturing info or appointments that adds more pressure on us to manage. I am going through the process of refining the systems, formats and places I store and keep my information and 'stuff' at the moment. It is going to make my life easier apparently :-)

Thing #42: Google Groups / Usenet

2008-07-15T15:29:00.004+10:00

I finally got onto the library group Society.libraries.talk and have subscribed to receive e-mail alerts. I may sign up for others (if I find any useful photography or scooter groups) from home. I think I can link google groups to my iGoogle account somehow, so will try to do that from home too.

Thing # 39 Animoto - Videos

2008-07-10T16:32:00.007+10:00

I have an account and have uploaded photos and one of their songs - couldn't listen to it so have no idea what it was. I will put one of my own songs on it later from my Mac. I saved my video to the side bar on my blog but I don't think it has worked, or maybe just takes a while to download?

Again lots of fun but takes a while and not sure of the benefits. A great tool for budding film makers!!

Thing #35 Mini or micro blogging

2008-06-21T20:09:00.004+10:00

Have joined Twitter and posted an update. I am not sure that I will use it as it seems the type of thing only the y gen would use. I don't think any of my friends know about it or would be interested. I guess it could be useful to 'talk' at work as a national group, especially if we had a national reference desk.

Thing #32 Online file storage

2008-06-21T18:29:00.005+10:00

I have gone into a queue to get access to Omnidrive but have registered for box.net. I uploaded my uni assignments and some pics of Vietnam. I can think of heaps of ways of using this at work!!

Thing #31 Plaxo

2008-05-22T17:58:00.002+10:00

This appears to be similar to Facebook and MySpace but could be more useful for sharing articles, links and calenders with workmates. I like the look of it better than Facebook too! I'll have more fun with it later.....

Thing #29 Scrapblog

2008-05-22T00:29:00.005+10:00

I LOVE it! Hours of fun. I could see some application for this at work for sharing photos on a blog for example. We have just received lots of photos of last week's ATO Litigation Forum and it would be fun to put them into a scrap blog with comments regarding speakers etc.

It is very time consuming and I couldn't do it from work as it wouldn't speak to my Flickr account etc.

Thing #27 - Photobucket

2008-05-05T14:34:00.006+10:00

So far I still prefer Flickr, that may just be because I am more familiar with it and Photobucket is slow on our system..... It is good that you can add moving pictures, although I think Flickr is considering doing that too (to much opposition).

I tried to create a link to my photos but it doesn't appear to work...

Thing #26 Widgets

2008-04-22T14:29:00.004+10:00

I have widgets at home on my Mac and also use iGoogle so am aware of the wonders of widgets. A lot of it becomes useless clutter but you end up keeping what you need and sometimes can find a gem. I thought this quote one was cute, but it remains to be seen what type of quotes they are ......

It would be great if we could create library widgets for staff to drag onto their desktops (catalogue, eLibrary etc)!

I searched for an AFL widget on yourminis and there is only US football :-(

Thing #25: Letterpop - newsletters

2008-04-21T15:23:00.006+10:00

This looks fun for creating personal newsletters and would be great in some organisations. Letterpop

With our style guide and templates I don't suppose we could use it for work, outside the library anyway. It may have some application for eAlerts and SDI's but would probably be too difficult to maintain a list of subscribers.

Bibliophile newsletter

Thing #24 - Zamzar

2008-04-07T11:57:00.007+10:00

We are able to access this site at work - after some work arounds! I have converted a word doc to pdf but the link they send you with the converted doc only lasts 1 day, not good if it's sent late on a Friday. Anyway, seems like a great way of converting files without messing around with software. One issue I have is that often the files I need to convert are marked 'in confidence' and it may not be appropriate to upload them to an external site.

I am very attached to the little chameleon/iguana's too Zamzar :-)

Learning 2.1

2008-04-04T12:08:00.006+11:00

Thing 24: Zamzar - where do they get these names?? File conversion, sounds very useful.....

Can't open this one from work, I'll check it out on the weekend. Good to be back blogging though!

The next step

2008-01-14T22:08:00.001+11:00

It looks like we will be starting Learning 2.1 soon so I thought I'd get back to blogging.

Wondering what's next..... It is good to see the Wiki and RSS feeds being used at work so successfully.

Time for a change?

2007-11-27T22:02:00.001+11:00

Now that we have settled in to the lovely new library, I am leaving. From 2 Jan 2008 I start in a new position, outside the library and in Melbourne. I am looking forward to the new role and the move, but am a little bit nervous about what will be expected of me. It is scary moving outside the familiarity of the library and away from being part of a library team. Anyway it'll be interesting.... I am also thinking of studying again next year - may live to regret it.

So Melbourne will be fun, I love exploring new cities and there will be lots of bands to see, shops to explore and weekend trips.

It's time

2007-09-13T21:00:00.002+10:00

The time has finally come, the books have been moved and are safe and sound in their new location, so it's our turn. We are almost packed and ready to go, just a few more things to do tomorrow and we can all head home for the weekend and turn up on Monday in our new library. Fingers crossed the IT will all be up and running and we can get back to some semblance of normality. I am looking forward to sleeping through the night without waking up and jotting down 'things to do' at all hours! Very exciting.....

Not looking forward to getting a bus instead of driving. Looking forward to being near shops, supermarkets, the gym and good coffee!

Library move

2007-08-30T20:43:00.001+10:00

We are moving to our new library in two weeks. Very exciting, but a lot of work. We have been furiously weeding, creating floor plans and finalising the order of the collection in the new space. This includes moving Law Reports from shelf to shelf so that they are in a logical order and are spaced to allow for growth. No need for the gym this week!

We will have more shelf space but no training facilities which is what we really needed. The library is lovely and modern though so mustn't grumble!

wiki's for research

2007-08-19T21:48:00.001+10:00

I am planning on co-writing an article on the wiki we have created at work and how we are using it to deliver research to clients. Maybe this will be published and I'll be able to tick that off my New Years Resolution list for 2007?

I have also tried to use Pageflakes to share info, RSS feeds, bookmarks etc with other staff in my team, but it takes too long to open and change.

Putting the theory into practice

2007-08-14T21:54:00.002+10:00

Now comes the time to see which of these 23 things we have learnt about translate into our everyday library jobs and tasks.... We already have a wiki, a good way of collating research data but not sure whether clients get the collabrative aspect yet. Time will tell. I can se a use for a blog - for communication among LIS staff and maybe then with clients.

You Tube for training clients in remote locations??

Thing # 23 reflections

2007-08-07T21:20:00.001+10:00

Wow, I have finished, now what will I do with all that spare time?

My favourite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey were LibraryThing, the online image generaters and finding podcasts.....

The program has given me the confidence to experiment with Library 2.0 'things' and also made me consider the situations and applications at work which might lend themselves to these technologies. I think a lot of our services and products could benefit from the inclusion of a wiki, blog or RSS feeds. My lifelong learning goals are now firmly rooted in learning and trying out new things, rather than reading about and dismissing them.

I think the format for this program is good, as it provides a framework and timeline to follow but was flexible enough that you could catch up, miss bits etc. I would have liked a bit more interaction and encouragement among ourselves. This may have enabled others to feel more confortable asking for help or sharing their experience.

Thanks for the journey and the encouraging comments!!

Thing # 22 AudioBooks

2007-08-06T22:57:00.001+10:00

Wow, the Gutenberg Project site has a great range of books to download, especially the classics. I think I'll have to join and try some out. I know my public library has eBooks, I put a hold on one and when it was available I couldn't work out how to download it. I'll have to try again......

Almost finished my 23 things!!

Thing # 21 Podcasts

2007-08-02T20:49:00.003+10:00

I love the idea of the Melbourne tour Podcasts. I will definitely download a couple and put them on my iPod for my next Melbourne visit. The ABC is such a good site, they seem to be ahead of the game and have worthwhile content too.

My cousin has started writing a series of sci-fi books and recently had the first one (Terra Incognita) published on Podiobooks. It is a great alternative to publishing for new writers!

Thing #20 YouTube

2007-08-02T20:20:00.001+10:00

Got stuck playing with this site last night. Started with funny cat clips, then discovered music clips - very dangerous! Just got an e-mail newsletter from World Vision pointing readers to YouTube and the 'Teenage Affluenza' clip. It is interesting to see who is using this technology to reach a new audience - I think John Howard even posts video messages.

Not sure of any possible future for YouTube in libraries but you never know....

Jeff Buckley- Hallelujah- Music Video

2007-08-01T20:29:00.001+10:00

I love this song and this version....

Thing # 19 Web 2.0 tools

2007-07-30T22:45:00.001+10:00

I chose ma.gnolia to investigate. It would be nice to be able to share bookmarks with other library staff and even clients. I have a heap that I refer to when doing research; especially international, legal and taxation related sites. Web tools such as ma.gnolia could be very useful for creating groups, where we could share our contacts and resources among ourselves. It also allows for discussion and tagging of bookmarks.

Google Docs

2007-07-30T22:19:00.000+10:00

I am getting scared now.... Is there anything that google isn't into?

This is better for me than Zoho just because it remembered my Google login automatically and I presume all Google applications will be linked somehow.

Thing # 18

2007-07-30T22:14:00.001+10:00

I am writing this using Zoho Writer, not sure of the benefits to this yet, but I will play around with it a bit more.....

Wiki's - Things 16 and 17

2007-07-23T20:39:00.001+10:00

Trying hard to catch up now as I am nearing the end of 23 Things!

I have been involved in the wiki that the LIS team developed at work so have been able to add content and play around a bit with that. I would have found it difficult to know where and how to start though if I hadn't been shown! I think there is great potential in wiki's for research tasks and in ongoing and closer collaboration with clients. It is a great way of sharing info while remaining flexible and current.

I recently discovered PBWiki and started a page on arty/crafty stuff. I haven't spent much more time on it, mainly because I haven't 'created' recently. It isn't as sophisticated as the wiki software we use at work, but is still fun to play with, and free :-) Like everything else Library 2.0-related, they seem to update it regularly and add new features.

I liked some the examples of library wiki's provided by Learning 2.0 and can see the benefits for public libraries especially. We have challenges such as confidentiality and the need to train/educate clients on how and why to use a wiki within our organisation. I can see some form of collaborative software being used more in our work in the future.

Things 13, 14 and 15

2007-07-20T23:32:00.000+10:00

Technorati is useful as I often come across a web page or article that I would like to keep but I prefer not to keep printing them out.

Del-icio-us I am not so sure about, it isn't quite the same as the convenience of having your favourites in a browser and I can't see any benefit other than sharing your links with others. The tagging becomes important for this, so just creates more work, for little gain.....

Away from the 'icebergs'. I related best to the first article in the list of five that discuss Library 2.0 (apart from the boating analogy). It seems the most relevant to our library environment. The 'just in case collection' is definitely less of a priority, although we still have a responsibility to collect materials relating to taxation, especially internal publications. There are also many people who are still attached to print as a format and aren't ready to reserach or read online (I for one will find it hard to part with a 'physical' collection). User education is indeed an issue, due to limited resources and the wide range of services that users have access to. eLibrary tutorials and user friendly interfaces are esential to overcome this problem.

I loved the idea of Library 4.0 the neo-library: experience, in the last article (To a temporary place in time), Library as knowledge spa, art salon etc

M&M duels

2007-07-10T21:59:00.000+10:00

Someone sent me this today and I thought it amusing so am sharing, in case anyone else is reading this ;-).

Things 10, 11 and 12

2007-07-05T19:51:00.001+10:00

I love LibraryThing, although it would take too long to add all of my books. The image generators are fun but I can't see much point to them really, once the novelty wears off. I don't get Rollyo (or didn't try to), I think I am just over the 'register here' process. It is a real eye opener just how much 'stuff' is out there! Who creates it all and why??

RSS Feeds Thing #9

2007-07-03T21:35:00.000+10:00

I set up a Bloglines account a while ago and find that I don't check my feeds very often. It is the same as other forms of technology in that it leads to info overload. The one thing it has been good for is keeping in touch with friends or colleagues who have their own blogs. It makes it easier for me to tell when they have posted.

I can see that in a work environment it would be good for current awareness (eg: feeds from the media and other Govt Departments: Parliament, Treasury, ABS etc). I would have to have Bloglines as my home page though or else I'd forget to check it each day! I did try setting up a Pageflakes account for the library with feeds etc but it takes too long to open and navigate around.

Anyway, moving along.....

Early Morning walk

2007-06-29T23:45:00.001+10:00

Early Morning walk
Originally uploaded by jobloggs

I took this early one morning on a foggy day. I disturbed a group of kangaroos and stopped to watch them hop away!

About time! Thing # 5

2007-06-29T23:30:00.000+10:00

I'm falling behind a bit with this program so will try to catch up in the next week or so. Luckily I have been using flickr for a while already now and am familiar with this 'thing'. I originally set up an account to share pictures of my new home with friends and family back in Sydney. Since then it has developed into a hobby too. One of my New year's resolutions this year was to learn more about photography, so I have been using my little Sony 'point and shoot' digital camera to try to take more 'interesting' photos. The aim is to save enough to buy a good Canon digital SLR at some point.

4 traits of effective librarians

2007-05-24T21:17:00.000+10:00

I just came across this article on LISNews and thought it looked quite relevant to this project. The author offers his list of four traits that would not only make librarians more effective, but happier and more productive.
1. Openness
2. Responsiveness
3. Collaboration
4. Communication

First post - Thing #3

2007-05-22T20:10:00.000+10:00

Hi everyone!!

The habit I am worst at would be most of them, but if I had to choose I think it would be 2 - accepting responsibility for your own learning. I tend to go to training and development sessions that are organised and/or paid for by my organisation and have only recently begun to take more responsibility for my own learning and development. This ranges from professional reading (journals, media articles, books etc), attending conferences and events, networking and basically just actively participating in the LIS profession. This may be due to the fact that I have more spare leisure time now as I know time is a factor, especially at work.

My favourite habit is 7.5 - Play! I can do that....

I am looking forward to seeing everyone's blogs and reading your posts.