module 60: Recession Busters

Exercise #1: Add a video:


Exercise #2: One way government follows to fight recession is called "Quantitative Easing". The Fed purchases treasuries to increase the amount of money in circulation. Increased supply of money drives down interest rates, making consumption and corporate investment more attractive, thus improving the economy.


Exercise #3: Using coupons, looking for sales and special offers, going to consignment and thrift stores, lowering utility bills by using energy efficient products, choosing water saving appliances, faucets, showers, etc are a few of many "tricks" that people can use to save money and make life a little easier during difficult economic times.

Week 10 # 23

I will be singing all day long as soon as I finish this blog. It's not that I am hating it, it's just that knowing that I have finished the training and have survived it, I will gain my training hours as planned, and I am wiser :-) makes me really happy!!!

I think that the iHCPL idea was good, the topics were interesting and always useful - if not for everybody, at least for some of the participants, but it lost part of the positive aspect because of the short amount of time available to complete it. This negative side of the training made it look like big trouble sometimes, which interfered with people's mood.

Zoho writer is still my favorite exercise, I found it a really good tool.

I cannot say what else I would like to learn, because I have no idea about what is available out there. As I said a million times, I am not a computer person, so I don't explore its possibilities in my daily routine.

I think I can finish my last exercise thanking all the people who put this training together, but also asking please, please, please, give us more time for the iHCPL to come. Consider not only all the work we have to do daily, but also the fact that we shelvers don't have computers available all the time for us, and that the "computer dummies" need a little (sometimes a lot of) more time to understand and be able to complete an exercise than the people who are computer experts.

See you guys next year!!! Now I have to concentrate on putting some order around the library, and getting ready for my vacation!!!

Week 9 # 22

The variety of HCPL's digital site was surprising to me. That was the first time I had visited the site and I like the way it is organized. If I were to choose one of the three sites I visited during this exercise, it would probably be the HCPL eBranch.

I don't see myself downloading any books in the near future, just because I am not a computer person, and I really enjoy sitting with a book in my hands and relax while I read it. Can't tell this will never change, though.

The music catalog seems to be excellent (as a Tai Chi lover, I listened to "Tai Chi" while I was looking which titles we have there), and it is something that I might use. Regarding the videos, I still don't have an opinion if it is something that I will eventually enjoy or not.

Week 9 # 21

I took a look at Yahoo Podcasts and, on my search for library related podcasts, I found The Library of Congress, which is very interesting. Then, clicking on the podcasts button, I found the Motion Pictures in American Memory option, which is an interesting topic, even though I have to confess that, because of limited amount of time for me to finish this exercise, I couldn't really explore all things they have there. I then added it to my blogline account and started celebrating the fact that I had reached my happy ending for one more iHCPL exercise.

Week 9 # 20

Discovering You Tube was one of the exercises that brought me more guilty feeling for me. It was kind of strange taking time from work to watch You Tube, while some carts were right there, full of books, waiting to be shelved. It was a big test for my responsibility skills too, since I had to avoid the temptation of exploring You Tube a little more than necessary. ;-)

At the library, because of privacy matters, we can not just put images of our patrons on public sites without their permission, which limits what we can do on the website. However, I think using some features of You Tube to divulge library programs and events would be something good and feasible. I am sure we can think of yet other uses for it; all we need is to free our imagination.

Finding videos worth noting as an entry in my blog was not hard; choosing only one was. I saw some videos about working dogs, for example, that were really interesting and I almost put one here. But then I thought "why not choose something that relates to my roots?" That's when I decided to put a Brazilian singer who I really love. And, despite the fact that the video quality is not really good, there will be no doubts that his voice is extremely beautiful.

I chose the video where he sings with James Taylor, just so you guys have a familiar face to look at. Unfortunately, I didn't find a music that they sing both in Portuguese and English, so you could understand the lyrics.

I hope you enjoy it!

Week 8 # 19

Now I can see clearly what is happening in my "relationship" with computers. Every time I think I am starting to understand them, someone creates a new tool and the learning process gets longer.

 

This time I am learning about Zoho. Looks like it's something that many people are going to use. Very practical. I've already told about Zoho to some friends and asked at home if they knew it. My husband, a computer guy, had never heard about it, and I will have the pleasure to show him.

 

Right now, I've decided to put my abilities to test and I am using Zoho's publish options to post to my blog. I hope everything works fine.

 

week 8 #18

Social Networking is the theme for this exercise. This is THE THING that people really love when spending time on their computers. If you think about it, that was a big step on the technology field and one of the most used tools that are available out there. I'm not a computer person, as I have said before, but I must admit that I understand why people are so addicted to Social Networking sites.

You can use them to get in touch with friends, to make new ones and find the ones that were long "lost." You can find communities that share common interests and discuss them anytime you want. You can get ideas, advice, exchange experiences related to jobs, hobbies, everyday needs, and anything you can think about.

What worries me is that people are spending so much time on these online communities, that they will slowly forget how to really interact with each other, ("really" meaning face to face). It's like the world is going to have a bunch of lonely people, pretending that they are not alone.

If I were to join only one of the sites that appeared on exercise #18, it would probably be "Rate My Space".