Fraulein Sara's Teachings on WIKIS!

Wiki what? Wiki who? Wiki me! Wiki you!

Now that's just fun to say. When I say wiki, you think Wikipedia, and I don't blame you, even after researching wikis the first site my mind goes to is the largest of all wikis out there; Wikipedia. I used to use that site all the time in high school whenever I did my yearly science project on duck billed platypuses (also known as 'Ornithorynque' on french Wikipedia, seeing as I went to a french school). However, as popular as Wikipedia is, that site is only one of the many branches that are connected to the wiki tree.

To first create a wiki, you have to go to one of the many sites that host them. The best part is that you don't have to pay money for them! Free! Yay! We're students, anything that's free is accepted. There are three sites, which I will quickly go over, that you can use to create a wiki:

Wikia: I personally love this site. It seems to be geared towards entertainment, which I am all about. The first thing that popped up was a picture of Arrested Development, immidiately I was sold. The site is easy to navigate, and is simplistic enough that it's not too distracting. If I was going to make a wiki I'd for sure use http://www.wikia.com.

Wetpaint: Uh, this site is alright. ...hmm, that's all I can really think to say about it. It's bland and boring, kind of like porridge. It doesn't seem to have a theme or to be catering to any audience, such as Wikia and it's entertainment themes, but once again, easy to navigate and get around. I found it to be ho-hum, but if you're going to make a wiki just to make one, then why not use this site? Nothing wrong with sticking to something that's more basic. http://www.wetpaintcentral.com

PBworks: Not going to lie, I was not a fan. The minute I saw this site I got a headache, my mind immediately going to work and business. If you're going to make a business wiki regarding corporate and business-like information, I have found the site for you! Strait forward and very work oriented, I wasn't sold, because I like to bring more fun and excitement into whatever I do, even if it is work, but hey, it may work for you! http://pbworks.com/

Basically, if you want to create a wiki you have to put yourself in Goldilocks shoes. Which bed is too hard, too soft and just right. Find a site that works for you!

Do I like wikis? Would I make one? Should you?
I do enjoy wikis, I find them very useful for researching. Like I said, I'm frequently on Wikipedia and on muppet wiki. Will I create one of my own? No, probably not, I don't really have a need for it, seeing as I like my website edits to be nice and long (ie this wonderful blog). However in the future, I would not rule out the chance of me creating one. I'd do it, so you should you! Why not try something new?

Should my library, or any library, have a wiki? YES! I'm on a crazed rampage where I'm convinced that the library should have any and every new web technology out there to promote and advertise, however my insanity has not clouded my library-know-how, wikis would actually be good for them! You can update a wiki anywhere and anytime, just like a twitter it's fast and convenient, and the updates don't have to be long ones, unlike...say...my blog. All you have to do is sign in to your wiki account, any librarian, clerk or technician who has access to this same account can do this as well, and can insert the date of the library's book fair, or fund raiser. They could also upload a picture of the new 'Story Time Children's Room' to the site for everyone to see. It's actually quite a good idea for libraries, much easier to run, maintain and update than a website.

I spend too much time on wikis and I will say sorry in advance for linking you to this, but it's tons of fun, and you just learn so much about all of the lovable felt monsters. I'm addicted to the muppets, I even made one of my own at the Jim Henson Work Shop in New York, as you can see in the picture. His name is Lord Swaggle Horn. Enjoy! http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Muppet_Wiki.

Don't Miss the Fall

School can be time consuming. Every day you and handed more and more work that must be done within a short time, so you run home and bury yourself in your books, never seeing the light of day, hiding from the world...like Edward does in Twilight...only he doesn't study, he reads magazines and listens to music...and spies on Bella...

ANYWAY!

As I was driving home from a friends house the other night and stopped at a red light, I looked out my window and noticed something. The season had changed. It was now autumn. Most of the leaves on the trees had fallen, the air was crisp, sky was clear and the pond had dozens of geese sleeping upon it.

In that moment I recalled how much I love the fall. Everything about it, even the hissing geese. I actually love geese. When they hiss and chase me angrily around the park I laugh, throwing bread behind me in different directions as I make a serpentine line to the parks' entrance, hoping to confuse the large bird.

...and to think, I almost missed it. I almost missed my favorite season because I'd been so busy with school. I had an epiphany at that moment, that I thought I should share with all of you:

Step back from school, and look around.

My city can suck in the Winter. It's cold as sin and sometimes it feels like it will never be warm again, but other seasons are just so beautiful it's hard for me to ever imagine leaving Winnipeg. I've been so absorbed in school, letting it twist around me and trap me, much like my sheets do every morning. I realized that if I didn't step back and take a night off from school that I would miss my favorite time of year and my life would slowly spiral downward into nothing but the ninth circle of school hell.

So that's what I did. Last Saturday I put the school work aside and went to a house party, where my best friend and I went outside and played in the leaves.

...yes, that is exactly what it sounds like. We ran around in circles throwing the leaves above our heads and rolled around in piles of them. It was a wonderful time. I smelt like Autumn all night. I want to make a habit of doing this on a weekly basis until the snow comes. I had so much fun and it made me feel so much better about my schoolwork the next day. It recharged my tired batteries and made me ready and happy for the following week.

I felt I've been at a low point for the last two weeks, thinking that I couldn't keep up with the work load and that I was falling behind in each class, but now I think that those feelings may have been due to my lack of balancing my life. Do what you have to for school, and then have fun. Step back, look around and enjoy life. School doesn't have to become your life, just a part of it, and if you balance both correctly you'll succeed at both! ...yes, that last line was a little repetitive, I'll work on coming up with a new 'balancing life/school' slogan for next time.

Fraulein Sara's Teachings on RSS!

'RSS'. What is this word? What does it stand for? Raccoon Standing Still? Rolling Sea Sickness? Random Sweet Short-breads? As much as we all wish it was that last option, what it actually stands for is Really Simple Syndication. 'That sounds too simple for it to be a computer term' you say; I know, I agree with you because I only found out what RSS means a few short minutes ago, but I assure you, within those few short minutes I've learned so much. More thank I ever thought I was capable of learning.

Get ready, I'm going to teach you stuff.

First thing first, what is this thing called RSS? It's actually quite simple. You know how going to 7-11 once every month to get your magazines can be annoying, especially if you live in Winnipeg, where most of the year our city is covered in freezing cold, soft and fluffy snow? So a better idea than trudging your way over to 7-11 is to subscribe to your favorite magazines! That way the only one who will get cold is the mailman. (don't worry, mail person's are paid well for what they do.)

In a nutshell that's what an RSS is-only it's on your computer, and not in a convenience store. You can choose your favorite websites that update on a daily basis, and instead of going out and searching for them over the freezing cold, soft and fluffy internet, you can subscribe to their RSS feed and every time they update you'll get that update. No one gets cold in this situation. It's a win win.

I know, you're probably thinking, 'Uh, Fraulein, your internet is neither cold nor soft nor fluffy!' Which my answer is, I know, it was a poor attempt at a joke.

How do you get a RSS feed started?I subscribed to Google+ a few months ago and turns out when I did they automatically gave me a RSS reader! They did all the work for me. It was absolutely lovely. I went to start my research on RSS' and BAM! Turns out it had already been started for me. I've been subscribing to different blogs that my classmates and friends have been writing and they were already added to my 'Google Reader' (which is where all my RSS updates are posted). Excellent, my assignment was already half done and I hadn't started working on it yet.

...at this point I thought you'd like to know, I took a break. I went and got some Hawkins Cheezies because let's be honest, all other cheezie brands are kind of gross.

BACK TO CLASS! Time to subscribe to a library's RSS feed; but which library? My public one? No, I'm already there weekly. My high school library? Maybe...no, wait, I assume they don't have one and the only thing that goes on there is army enrollment seminars. Then it hit me. Where was the one library that I wanted to set up a tent and live in forever? I forced my traveling companions to go there twice when we were in the city and I spent over an hour in the gift shop. The clear choice was The New York Public Library (NYPL). I even have a picture of me there. I know, you can't really see the books in the photo or even the library for that matter, but I look really good! I mean, I'm not very photogenic but WOW! What a great picture. Thank you Allison for capturing my good side.

Immediately I found a downfall to having the NYPL as a constant news feed...I WANT TO GO THERE! They have so many great events! What I wouldn't give to be a teenager in New York, able to walk down to the library every weekend and find a horribly fun and amazing activity to do. (Yes, I did subscribe to the 'Teen Feed' I couldn't resist...and now I'm green with envy.)

Deadly sin aside, I'm now addicted to all of my feeds, between checking the events, fundraisers and new programs on the NYPL page, reading about all of my geek-themed news feeds on i09 and staying updated with the blogs of all my friends, I find that my personal life will soon become a technical one where I will never go out and just read updated feeds all day. I am so in the loop! I feel like Perez Hilton does every day. I may have only learnt what RSS stands for and how to subscribe to the feeds but I love it. It's addictive, so be careful; make sure you still step outside now and then to get some sun.

I can only hope that my public library creates an RSS subscription soon, so I can subscribe to the job postings feed. I can finally be unleashed unto an actual library. I can't wait! Or I could possibly subscribe to the newsletter and be even more aware of the going on's...then again I think all the librarians at my library know me by name and will willingly admit that I know the library happenings better than they do. Either way, I await this day with baited breath, as I'm sure you do too.

Keep on creatin' on...

I love to write. Not just blogs, but fan-fictions and fictional stories. Usually involving supernatural aspects or on the rare occasion science fiction. I'm not sending these stories into any publishers or anything, just writing them for fun. Posting what I do on the internet and letting the rest of the world read and enjoy them...or sometimes read and bestow their hatred for what I write in comment form. It's all good, I learn from mistakes and take the criticism well...or as well as a person can take a big ball of emailed hate.

The other night I was looking through some of my old stores and WOW! Are they poorly written. I mean, they were written over four or five years ago, so credit where credit is due, I was young and unknowing of many words and grammar rules back then.

When I find an old story that's plot is still a really great idea but the writing leaves something to be desired I always find myself faced with two separate paths of creativity:

1) Re-write it! I'm a better writer now, I can easily re-write the story, make it better then ever, seeing as I still quite like the story, and it still interests me.

OR

2) Sometimes working on the same project, re-writing and re-planning some of the ideas can get tedious, and for me it can easily lead to obsession. There have been time when I've re-written a story and have gone back on a yearly basis after that constantly re-writing it. So sometimes it's a better idea to move on. Pull up your socks of creativity, call it a day and write something new and brilliant.

How do I make this choice? Simple, it really just depends on which way the wind is blowing that day. (aka, how I'm feeling)

Yesterday I chose the quick path to obsession. I'm going to try to re-write my idea. I'll let you all know how it goes! Wish me luck!