#7: Technology of Choice, the digital camera

I think I'd really like to take a moment or two and talk about digital cameras. They come in all different sizes and price ranges and all different levels of experience. They have those ones that are "point and shoot" for those not wanting to do more than take some pictures and then they progress up to SLRs. SLR cameras are the ones that are part digital and part manual. They allow the user a little more control over the camera and it's settings.

We have a camera that is a bit above "point and shoot", I've played with it's options. I've changed the color on photos I've taken from B&W to Sepia on the camera, it's not something you always have to wait and do on a photo editing program. I've also played with other settings. However, I'm really looking forward to learning about the SLR camera we just purchased. While our other one takes amazing outdoor pics, crystal clear etc it's not very good for indoors or low light pics. The SLR should solve that dilemma. We should get awesome pics now. Can't wait.

#6: More on Mashups

I've discovered one of the coolest mashups, I think! It's the Trip Planner feature. You can put pics, maps, travel journals etc. Check out the link to this awesome trip, this person traveled to all the different Disney parks around the world!!

http://travel.yahoo.com/trip-view-701606-disney_around_the_world;_ylt=Aj2Xuzq0jTfmjTyq490v_3ScItAF

I told you I was obsessed with Disney! But take a look at all the time that went into this, although it doesn't seem that hard. Plus you can show family a lot of stuff by organizing your trip this way. It's great if you're trying to coordinate a family reunion someplace. Check this out, it's too cool!

#4 Register and Track

So, did you notice some things are a little out of order here? Sorry about that, I saw how someone else was setting up their blog and figured it was very organized as far as seeing how many things had been done. I'm now going back and editing, fixing, sprucing up! Gee, that was part of the point of this exercise right, learning from each other! Thanks Jen!!

Anyway, I've registered my blog already and it's been posted. Definitely simple. I won't necessarily be tracking my progress since I'm not a part of the system anymore, I'm just learning along with them! I consider this very worthwhile and wanted to be able to complete it!

#3 Creating a blog

Well, as you can see, I've created a blog! Ta Dah!!! I like this antique scroll look, reminds of something Harry Potter. Anyway, I've set a up a couple different blogs before, so this task was really easy for me! Visit often, I'm going to try and improve the look of my blog.

#5 & #6: Exploring Flickr & Mashups

Alright, so I finally got back around to working on my 23 things. I've done a lot of reading up on Flickr, it seems pretty neat, pretty easy. I've gone and created an account for myself. I've been doing some searching on one of my favorite topics, Disney World. There are some really awesome pictures out there.

Also, I love the different mashup tools that are out there, especially the Trip Planner one I saw. You can geotag your pics, include maps etc. Now that's one way to record a vacation. How cool is that?

Anyway, I chose to blog about this picture of Epcot that I found. Click on this link to take a look at it http://www.flickr.com/photos/benpierce/172964423/

The coloring is wonderful, this person is obviously very adept at using their digital camera. And believe it or not there is a lot of discussion out there over whether or not the wand should come down from the SpaceShip Earth ride. That's the gigantic ball for those of you who are unfamiliar with Epcot. The wand was put up for the celebration of 100 Years of Magic, that was back in 2002. It is still up, some people love it, others who are more purist in nature would like to see the ride go back to the way it was. Just some interesting trivia there for you guys!

#2: Life Long Learning

I consider myself a lifelong learner. I can't imagine going through life without learning something new everyday. Sometimes they are big lessons and sometimes they are small. It could be something as simple as remembering to appreciate those around you or it could be something as monumental as successfully completing lifelong goal.

Whatever it is, I want to know about it. The PowerPoint really made me thing about what a lifelong learner was. I never thought of someone who was cooking as a lifelong learner, but I could see where that could be considered learning.

Anyway, I'd love to chat on about this, but a severe thunderstorm is rolling in and I think I better shut down the computer now!

#1: Life Long Learning: 7 1/2 Habits - Easiest & Hardest Habits

Welcome to my blog! I have viewed the PowerPoint and thought about what I find to be the easiest and hardest habits.

Easiest habit - Using Technology

I find it very easy to use technology, I would qualify myself as a quick learner. I love to try new things and one of my favorite past times is taking a stroll through Best Buy to find the latest gadgets! I love playing the latest video games, computer games etc. In fact, I'm currently experimenting with Windows Vista.

Hardest Habit - Teach / Mentor Others

I love to share my knowledge with others. But sometimes this can be really challenging. Some people don't want to learn something, they just want you to do it for them; others are very willing to learn, but it's hard for them to understand or follow your teaching method. It's really learning to balance your teaching methods with others learning methods. You can never force feed someone something, it's just not going to go over well.

I find that teaching others something is a real investment in terms of time, some of this new technology can't be taught in a single afternoon. It's something that you can pick up the basics of but that to truly master it you must play with it over and over. You must commit to teaching it and learning it yourself.