Thing 5: Notetaking

I decided to try out Wunderlist for Thing 5. I know YS uses it to create shopping lists. This app is one that could prove quite useful to me...as long as I remember to check it! I like that I can create lists of any theme. I might finally remember to buy dishwasher soap at the store!

The important things in life

In Circulation, I spy with my librarian eye...

 One aspect of this app that I like is the ability to change the order of the items on a list. You can choose one of the orders provided (e.g., alphabetically, by due date, etc.) or you can change the order manually. I have recently started using Evernote on my computer and have started to become frustrated with trying to put my notes in a particular order within a notebook. 

I've really been running behind on these Things the past few weeks, so the fact that I'm doing this one on time earns me two Kpop thumbs up, right?

Thing 4: Keeping Up

 I follow only a few blogs that I read regularly, including a couple for work, like The Hub and YALSAblog, and just a few others for amusement.

My general attitude toward blogs ;)

It's a bit ironic that here I am writing this all on a blog. I can see the value in writing/following professional blogs, but I've never been one to really want my thoughts and opinions available to just anyone, so I haven't been interested in starting one.

And because I follow so few blogs, it's easy to just regularly check them without needing to rely on an RSS feed. This is my first experience setting up a feed. I decided to go with Feeder (my previous phone would automatically open the Flipboard app just often enough to drive me crazy, even though I had never set up anything). It was simple enough to add some blogs to Feeder, and I like how they're easily categorized by topic. If I decide to continue with the app, this will make it easier to separate professional and personal blogs. At this point, I'm interested in seeing how often I will be alerted of new posts. I don't enjoy being notified by my phone all the time (hence my avoidance of Twitter), so we'll see how this goes!

Thing 3: Utilities

The utility I tested was Google Goggles. At the beginning, I was quite meh about it. I had taken a photo of my calendar, and the app only searched for the text "2016," which is written on the front cover. This calendar is a personal planner I bought at Barnes & Noble. Let's say a friend liked it and wanted one for herself, but I couldn't remember where I bought it. I would have expected Google Goggles to be able to search the entire calendar online and find it listed on Barnes & Noble's website, and then my friend would know where she could get one. Alas, this was not the case!

I tried taking a few other photos, one of which turned out much better. I took a photo of Gail's birthday card, adorned with the creepy baby face (by yours truly):

and it magically pulled up the original image, sans creepy baby:

This sneaky corgi with his creepy disguise couldn't fool Google!

I was hoping to have better luck taking a photo of a YA book (thinking this could be used as a shortcut if I want to look up a book online), but each photo I took of the book picked up different portion of the title/author and I couldn't get it to recognize the correct book.

Because Google Goggles can identify QR codes, I tried that component out. I'm interested in having a poster with a QR code in the YA area. When I took a photo of the QR code on the page I recently submitted for next month's Viking Vessel issue, I was unhappy with the results. I was supposed to be taken to the Library's website, but instead, Google asked if I meant www.gold.org and the results listed under that included a link to Geneva 304's November Viking Vessel issue and another one to view GPLD's online survey responses as a PDF. I tried scanning the QR code with a QR code app I already had on my phone, and it took me right to the Library's homepage.

Google Goggles has some neat features and can be fun to use, but based on the small trial I just did, it doesn't seem very reliable. I'm sure taking a photo of something really famous gives better results, but other than uncovering the corgi's true identity, I wasn't all that amazed.

Thing 2: Mobile Device Tips & Tricks

I finally got around to working on Thing 2! I have an Android smartphone and, while I don't use it to its fullest potential, I typically feel pretty comfortable using it.

One of the biggest things I learned from the Lyda.com tutorial is the word "salmagundi." The instructor used this term, and I was a little embarrassed I didn't know it. The first definition of it is "A salad of chopped meat, anchovies, eggs, and onions, often arranged in rows on lettuce and served with vinegar and oil." Based on contextual clues, I felt I could safely assume the instructor meant the latter definition, "A mixture or assortment."

One of the other things I learned was the power of the voice activation abilities of the phone. I've used the voice commands to search Google plenty of times (typically when I need to look up a clue to help fill in my daily crossword puzzle!), but I didn't know I could also control the phone itself. By saying, "Ok Google, take a picture," I could pull up my phone's camera; by saying, "Ok Google, play music," I could get my phone to automatically play music. One important tip to share with the rest of my library folks: Don't tell your phone to play music while you're in a library, especially when the door to your office is open. And if you do happen to do that, make sure you have fast enough reflexes to pause the music before everyone starts questioning your "slight" obsession with K-pop. 

One other thing I did with this Lynda tutorial is go through the camera's edit features. I had some fun playing around with the different tones and effects I could give this photo. I was most amused by the hue effect. While sliding my finger along the scale, I noticed that the only things that drastically changed within this effect were the tint of my eyes and Gail's computer screen. The terror!

Super intense