End of the week...

Yet another week! Almost Thanksgiving, and so glad it's a long weekend!! Woohoo!!! So is there anyone out there with a LIS degree that is bilingual, looking for a job? (or some contract work, let me know!)

Well, what else is new...not too much. It's Friday afternoon, and I'm sitting at the Ref desk, and this place is DEAD --what else would you think, it's a Friday of a long weekend, not like there are a lot of public servants in today! However, the parking lot outside is still a bit over half full, so some people haven't taken the day off.

Well not much more to add, other than I'm headed to the Falls for the weekend, and I'm looking forward to the Turkey dinner YUMMY!

Over a week later...

Overdue as usual! And I just looked at my friend Kath's blog and was like wow, maybe I need to check my own blog and spruce it up!! I like her new look!

So what else is new in my world, well I played ball last weekend, and WOW do I suck! I need some practice, was doing well hitting in BP, but in the game I kept reaching down and popping up! wow, not like me!!! Oh well, the season is pretty over, and I have the winter to correct my swing :)

Work: it's work, I gave my first wiki group training session this morning and went quite well! The feedback forms were pretty kind (good comments), and got some good constructive criticism from another Librarian, which was great! Other than that, I need to start looking at our collection and my portfolio! We also have a big Reference Workshop tomorrow morning, they want to revamp the library operations in reference!


So that's all I have to say for now, it's my lunch hour, and I should go eat!

Cheers!

the weekend...

Pretty un-eventful... I was on a pubcrawl on Thursday, which was fun...went from Carp (Swan) to Almonte (Iron Works), to just outside Carp (Cheshire Cat), and then back to Carp (Swan). However, it the weekend was nice as it gave me a break, and I was able to relax. Relaxing is good, with the stress of work, I know I shouldn't be stressed, and new job and already stressed, but oh well, it's me, I just get too involved. Anyways, that's about all for now. Looking forward to the next long weekend, the wedding in NB (Briner's), and the conference in Montreal. :)

That's all for now.

Later all
J.L.L.

Ranting Librarian...

Ranting Librarian...I think this might have to be the future direction of my blog, however, I maybe should not voice too loud as who know...maybe someone will be reading this that shouldn't!...I am still stirring in frustration!

Post of the week...

Well here goes...my post and thoughts of the week!

• Work is getting busier!
  
• I am attending Wikisym in Montreal in October
• The library is going to use the NRCan Wiki as a repository for Reference questions/FAQ/etc
• I had about 12 meetings/training sessions/places that I needed to be outside of the library---so if that doesn't qualify me as being busy, what does?
• Not much else...I know my life revolves around my job, but oh well....
  
• I like my job!

Other than that...not too much new...just trucking along!

always overdue...

Well here I am again...overdue in my posts...but at least I post on occasion now..better than the previous break I took. So what's new with me..hmmm well still getting adjusted to work, and doing research on new stuff, attempting to do some Col. Dev. for a Forestry collection that I know nothing about, and still don't know what my budget is, which kind of is problematic. Oh well, as soon as one of the supervisors comes back from a long trip to Calgary, I'll know more.

Outside of work, well I had a great long weekend in NB, played some rubber paintball, went dancin' and had quite a few laughs. Those dirty anglos are hilarious! Tonight I started a new initiative at work, called Fun Thursdays at 4:40 in a local Pub! Tonight it's Heart & Crown! And the evening actually gets better this week, as I am meeting friends for eating at Pub Italia, and then going to the comedy club, supposed to be a good comedian. Altogether a good after work day planned! WOO HOO. Also, hope that the Fun Thursdays at 4:40 gather a lot of people. Might have to start taking pics and post on the blog :p Anyways, that's about all that is new from my end of town.

Oh yeah, also forgot but the Football pools are starting today!!

Cheers all,
Jer

It's beginning to look a lot like I'm forgetting the blog...

It's not really that, I'm just busy. Yeah work is kind of keeping me busy, well I am with some of my initiatives, etc. Doing stuff maybe I shouldn't, well it's my responsibility, and since I don't have anything better to do, whatever! It all works...at the moment, I've been looking at a product called Meebo: specifically Meebo Me...for a virtual/IM reference for the library. It's pretty neat, as it's a widget that is easily embedded in the page, and is quite user friendly, but the dang gov't has some ports blocked and it isn't working here! At home it worked great, just not here..ah well

I am headed to NB this coming weekend...Briner's bachelor party..should be a good time :)

Later peeps!
Jer

Blog is coming alive again...

Here we go...the blog is finding some new light!

I am finally back in Ottawa, day 4 of work. That's right work! Starting my new job with NRCan in Ottawa. WOO HOO...my title is "reference librarian" however, I think I will be doing other stuff also, which is fun. At the moment it's pretty calm, which is sweet :) Anyways, just a short post for today, but I will keep posting regularly :)

Cheers all,
Jer l'Acadien

way overdue..

Hi all,

I know that I am way overdue in posting. I am just trying to finish my MLIS degree, which should be completed in the next 24hrs :p hahha..2 essays to complete, and all done! hahaha..can't wait.

Anyways, I should be posting regularly again in a short while.

Later all,
Jer

Just another day..

Well today was a warm day, busy day--had 2 assignments, and I got everything done on time, plus I had time for an hr swim this afternoon, and then a little bit of ball practice with the "intramural rec team". Hahahaha...lol...good day...now if Rick could make up his mind and join me tonight after class for a few pops. Got 76 days left :) Can't wait to be done! Well that's about it for today.

Oh yeah, playing ball this weekend in Kitchener, well 80% certain on location, lol! Should be some good fun, YeeHaw!

Anyways,

Cheers all,
Jer l'Acadien

Week 3 already!!!

Woo Hoo!

Yeah that's right, week 3 already! Wow, time is going by so fast, and I'm such a slacker on my blog, but in between schoolwork and playing ball every weekend, being on the road, etc...well I'm a busy boy! Oh well, I get to see different areas of Ontario with ball, last weekend I went to Peterborough. I was staying in Brooklin ON, and took highway 7A, which offered some nice scenery. All good :) Anyways, all I have to add for now. Sorry for being a slacker to anyone who checks this site periodically.

Cheers all,
Jer l'Acadien

Thursday 2 a day...

That's right, Thursday I have 2 classes, but not so bad, cause my week ends with my evening class, oh yeah no class Fridays :) (no complaints).
On the news side, nothing new today. However, I must say, I know it's early for me to say this, but I really believe that my semester will be a good one, no bum classes, all good profs, and good content, 5/5. A first in my 3 terms at UWO, hopefully this trend will continue with a good finish in August. Well, not much else I guess to say for now.

Cheers all,
Jer l'Acadien

Day 3...but was a lazy day...

Hahahaa...that's right today was quite slack..one of those days where I don't have any classes :D heheheheh..which is all good, no complaints! The rain tonight wouldn't of made going out any more fun anyways, so oh well...not much else to say. That's all for today, nothing too new.

Cheers,
Jer l'Acadien

Day 2 of my final term!

Woo Hoo!

Oh yeah I use that a lot, but oh well...I just want to get this over and done with! Presently, I'm in my Strategic Planning course, which seems very interesting, but all group work...90% of it...wow..but oh well...I'll live! Anyways, that's all for now! Going to be super nice this afternoon, so I say let's go check out the patio scene :) Anyone in? That's about it for now!

Cheers,
Jer l'Acadien

Back in London Town...

Well I am back in London town and finally back online. I had some limited access to the online environment when I was away in NB, my dad doesn't have the internet! Ah well, I'm back and ready to get going!!

Woo Hoo!

Cheers,
Jer l'Acadien

Keep forgetting my blog..I am a bad blogger..

Oh well...what can I say, it is all in the title!! I keep forgetting my blog~ Well here are my recent news...I have 2 days of work left, well the rest of today and tomorrow! WOO HOO....going out to lunch with the staff, all good fun :) Other than that, not too much, I am headed to NB maybe tomorrow, or Saturday morning, depending on things! Going home for a week, can't wait to be back home. That feeling of being in the cumfy place, where I have my cows, and the ocean. You may wonder if he is being serious about cows, and yes I do own cows, as my dad has a beef farm and I own livestock in the farm with him. He is tending my cows while I'm out here schooling and doing a co-op! Thanks Dad! So I'll be in cow pasture land next week, working on the fence, and whatever else can be done in a week, cause the following week I'm back to school at UWO. Woo Hoo! Well that's all I have to say for now, so talk to you all later!

Cheers mates,
Jer l'Acadien!

Thursday...only 6 more co-op days.. :)

Well as my title says it..only 6 more co-op days :) It will be nice to be done, however I think I will miss certain parts of this place.

Looking forward to heading home to NB...good ole Cap-Pele!! WOO HOO :) Be nice to be home for a super short stint!! I'll be there for like 5 full days...well +2 days driving down and back.

Also this super nice weather is making me antsy..can't wait to play some ball!!! I think I might go hit some balls on the weekend somewhere in a park in town. Also planning on going to watch the Ottaway Lynx on Sunday, their first weekend of the season.

Other than that, not too much, looking forward to be back in London, so I can finish this darn degree! That's about it for now, figured I was overdue again on my postings.

Later all,
Cheers,
Jer l'Acadien

I've become a slacker on here...well I was also quite busy...

Well that's my story anyways...2 weekends of being away, final paper, working overtime at work, and lots of other stuff...ah well I'm surviving and not too many complaints I guess...just take the ride as it comes!

So what else is new, not too much, 9 more days of NRCan and I am done! Then off to NB for a week and then high-tailing it back to London to finish my last semester!!! WOO HOO!!! Not much else happening!! But, I do have to find a ball team or 2 for this summer!!!

That's all I have to say for now!

Cheers mates,

Jer l'Acadien!

got the results of my course...lottery

Well it could be worse, but could be much better!!!

2 of my top 5 I didn't get, because one was cancelled and the other filled in the first rank according to the school notes..which I find kind of funny, but I will leave it at that for now!

So my schedule is now:

• Monday afternoons:Web Usability: Theory and Practice

• Tuesday mornings: Strategic Planning

• Thursday morning:Descriptive Cataloguing Theory and Practice

• Thursday evening: Financial Management

• Online course: Social Software and Libraries

Only update for now...so whatever...I will have more time to digest this later!!

Cheers all,

Jer l'Acadien

wow...another day...

Yeah, I have been laggin in my posts...just too many things to do and tired!!

Would you believe that I slept over 13 hours yesterday. I know crazyness. I got home with a headache took an Advil, and decided to go to bed, and woke up a few hours later still had a headache and stayed in bed, woke up around midnight, didn't feel any better, so I stayed in bed till this morning! Ah well, I woke up this morning not feeling much better. But here I am, at work, oh well, I'll live!

So what is new with me, not too much. I had a great time last weekend, but lots of driving. I went down to London to see Trish :) and Spencer! Saw Rick and Jen, went to the movies: saw Blades of Glory. Pretty good show. As for Saturday and Sunday, went to Niagara Falls, spent some time with the family there, played some XBox 360 with my boys!! Was lots of fun :) Then Sunday night, drove back to London. Monday, went to UWO, map library and NCB, saw a few people which was nice, and then spent the afternoon on the road, driving back to Ottawa. The story of last weekend, spent over 17 hours driving. Crazyness!!

Anyways, back to work I guess. Playoff hockey is starting tonight! Plus I have All Sorts of Sports playoffs tonight, playing volley-ball, and on top of that, I have a teleconference for my online course! the crazyness never ends! However, I am glad to say that I only have 12 more work days! WOO HOO!

Well that is it for now.

Cheers all,

Jer l'Acadien

I'm ALIVE!!!

Wow it's been a crazy few days, and sorry to my readers for not updating you as much.

Well what's new with me. Last weekend was great however, I can't remember what I did, well yes I do..Saturday was the most exciting day, starting with afternoon drinks with friends, took it easy for a bit, and then went to the Heart & Crown and had a good time! This was followed by good ole Elgin Street Diner (had a poutine- not the best thing to have, as I felt it the next morning!) , then back to a friends apt till 5am...lol when I staggered home. Good times!

Sunday was fairly relaxed, but Monday started with lots to do. I was in meetings about the Wiki project from 12:30 to 3:00ish...and stayed at work till 6:15. I had been asked to re-design the look of the Wiki. For those curious to see what it looks like, well here's a peak:
It's locked behind the NRCan intranet, so I can only take screen shots of it. But imagine that before 3pm, there were no colors, no frames, nothing...was just text divided like a normal wiki page, and I had to re-design into this...was fun and challenging, I am learning which is great! Then I had to rush home and finish my assignment for my online Advocacy course...that was my nite!

Tuesday: The Big Day!!

Tuesday was the big day, the NS Forum with the Deputy Minister and the DGs. Basically the wiki project came out of this NS Report, well not the only thing that came out, but it's the first thing to be realized and made successful out of this report :) . We were given a few plugs while the presentations were going on, and there was a kiosk outside the conference hall, which the Wiki set-up and running. Was neat, had the DM come up and ask me how this works, and ask me how this tool can be useful for NRCan. Overall our presence was good, we were approached by approximately half the people there, so all good :) Plus, it was held at the Brookstreet , which was quite the place. Great food and atmosphere for a newish conference centre. And if you're ever in the Ottawa region and want to try what seemed to be a GREAT restaurant, you should try the restaurant there, but get ready to pay $$$.

In the evening was the course selection time! What to take or better yet what to rank as my choices for courses this summer...after a few submissions this was my final ranking:

1)757 Special Topic: Social Software and Libraries (online course)
2)672 Financial Management
3)561 Conservation and Preservation in Libraries and Archives
4)732 Special Topic: Privacy in the Information Age
5)759 Special Topic: Web Usability: Theory and Practice
6)725 Special Topic: Strategic Planning
7)545 Descriptive Cataloguing Theory and Practice

I hope to get into my top 5 :)

Wednesday..today...I was hoping to get off the Wiki wagon a bit, as it's taken a lot of my time but it didn't happen. I ended up updating some stuff, adding some french content, basically a French welcome page. Tonight...well packing some stuff as I am headed down to London/Niagara this weekend, and I'm playing some indoor soccer again! Woo hoo :)

Well that's about it for now! Certainly my longest post, but that's what happens when I stay away from this blog.

Cheers all,

Jer l'Acadien

fun Friday...

Well nothing too fun, except one less day to work till the end :) hahahahaha

Well last nite was pretty un-eventful..just napped when I got home from work and then stayed up late, and was looking at the NHL standings, and trying to figure out my playoff pool directions :) Also, can't wait to play some ball!! This nice weather is driving me crazy.

Well on the fun stuff today, I was asked to write up my job description as they are hoping to submit for a second co-op student. They wanted to get someone who could continue on the wiki/web projects that I am on, so they are sort of requiring a techy backgroung (by no means do I have one, my background is self thought).

Weekend...what's in store..well I have a pass for 2 tickets to the 67s tonight, and it's playoff time, and for tomorrow there was something, but i can't remember now..hahahaha..I'll figure it out!

Everyone have a great weekend!

Cheers all,

Jer l'Acadien

just another day...

The title says it all...

Well I didn't post anything yesterday or last nite....I was so tired after playing some ball hockey, again showing how my body is out of shape. However, can't really complain cause I'm not sore or anything. It was also a lot of fun. We won, and as sad as this will sound, I scored like one third of our goals, and if anyone knows me...they must have figured out, that this league is pretty weak! Ah well, at least I get out and do some running around.

My work day yesterday was alright, nothing special. Just another day. Well it was actually a busy day, cause I found out a lot more stuff on Wikis and Multilingual Wikis. Having to create a Wiki for the gov, you have to take in consideration the multilanguage options, and well I actually found something online that offers that possibility, and it's in house, created by NRC. Not us, but another gov. organization. I was also informed that an International Wiki Symposium will be hosted in Montreal this coming October. It is hosted by the ACM (Association for Computing Machinery), which is quite an interesting organization for anyone interested in technology and stuff related to LIS. You can sign up for free and have access to a lot of articles. I had done this a few months back, as I was looking for information/articles on Wikis and they had previous conference papers from previous Wiki conferences on their website for free (well you had to register on the site). Not a bad deal if you ask me, and can be useful source for information. If anyone wants to know more about Wikis, this would definetly be something to look into, either the site or the conference. I think it really fits into the MLIS world.

Other than that, not too much new on my end, only 19 days of work left!!

Well that's about all I have to say for now.

Cheerios everyone!

Jer l'Acadien

Spring weather :)

Finally it seems that Spring is here :) Today, I don't have much news. Work was work, however I got a neat invitation. I was invited to a forum with the Deputy Minister (DP), which is related to a report which spurred the Wiki project that I am on. The forum is for DGs to meet and discuss with the DP, which to be honest is quite sweet, as it's taking place in a schazzy hotel/conference place in Kanata and is an all day event. So woo hoo! Should be a good day :) That's pretty much the highlight of my day other than the sweet weather!

Also, I only have 4.5 weeks left in Ottawa :) Can't wait to get back to Western and finish this degree. On that note, the course schedule finally came out today, and if I get all my choices, it seems like I'll have a pretty interesting schedule, but lots of evening courses. Ah well I'll live. On that note, I'm calling it a nite!

Cheers all,

Jer l'Acadien

Weekend Break, and back to work Monday...

Well the weekend was pretty good :) It started pretty crappy, my buddy Kev's hockey team lost in the finals. But then we went to the bar, and had a pretty good time. My friend Megan got drunk...took some good pics..


***Because of complaints..I had to remove the pics.***


well that's pretty much Frid nite.

Sat nite, was pretty calm...watched a few hockey games at a friend's place. Had a few beers. Nothing too crazy, but good times.

Sunday, well I didn't do much, but I finally watched "An Incovenient Truth"..and boy it makes you think. Global Warming can be scary, and it's slant against the Americans, which I don't have many qualms with, makes you think. How could someone ever question or deny what is happening? Anyways, not ready to start a debate, but sure makes you think, and if you haven't watched it, take the hour and a half, it's worth it!

Back to work today. :)
Well finally I got the link to the new Wiki, but government works in weird ways. We are supposed to be running a pilot on the Wiki for 100 days (longer than my remaining time, but hopefully the new Co-op student will continue this project). But my beef is with the manager wanting to release the Wiki right away, and I'm not comfortable with it being released as there are a lot of bugs to be worked out before it can meet most user needs. But ah well, I'm a simple peon, lol. I was supposed to have admin privileges, and still haven't been given these also. Well, that's enough ranting for today.

Cheers all,

Jer l'Acadien

Fun Fridays...

Well not that much fun at work..pretty boring day really...well for the most part. I did mostly reading and had a good meeting. :) I keep learning about Wikis...there's a lot of information when you think about administering the darn things! So many things to consider, and because this deals with government and its issues, lots of things to always keep in mind! Well that's my work day.

While I was working a co-worker brought me some jokes that he had kept on his puter. They were sent to him from one of the librarians a few years ago. I checked the site they came from and found something neat, but to be warned..it can become highly addictive..hahaha...the games comes from this diversions site, which comes from the main site. It's basically a satirical library related site, well just the name of the site should make you think..lol warrior librarian weekly.

Well that's about it for now! Drinking tonight! My buddy Kev's Rec hockey team is in the finals! and it's make it or break it hockey and then I'm off to the team party. Woo Hoo, more drinking and getting stupid!

Later all,

Jer l'Acadien

Finally spring is here..

well according to the calendar it's here, not sure with the weather outside, well can't complain it's melting and fairly nice, this morning was rain, late morning we had the sun out, and now it's back to good ole cloudiness. Oh what fun!

Well, what else is new with me...I had a load of fun at indoor soccer last nite. Really realised how out of shape I'm in! But it was fun. I got called by a buddy who plays in this "all sports league", which basically is like good ole Junior High Gym class for adults. The team gets together once a week and plays a different team for an hour, and the sport activities are always different. They play a 5 or 6 sport in rotation over 16 weeks or something like that. Last nite was indoor soccer, last week was basketball, and next week is ball hockey. It's a pretty neat concept for people who like to get out once and awhile, play something different and have fun. There are different levels, from rec to competitive (this was rec league, but still loads of fun!) .

On the work side of things, nothing too new. Still working on the Wiki project and on the NRCan Library Webpage project. Fun stuff, keeping me enthused, and busy in a good way. Well that's about it!

Cheers all,

Jer l'Acadien!

Back to work...and I think it's going to be a good day :)

Well today started out good, was feeling much better, so I decided to go to work. :)

A short while after I got to work, I got a great email, finally the NRCan Wiki is up, and I can access it!! WOO HOO!!! I will be able to see some of this project realize itself.

Also, it's PAY DAY!! which makes Jérémie a happy boy! Got to love those second Wednesdays.

I also added a few fun links to my blog, Ricks Sports Pools page and an interesting library cartoon that I picked off of Kathleens blog. I will add more later down the road...just have to figure what I want to add in there :)

Well that's about it for my morning, if I find anything else to report later today, I will add another post later.

Cheers all,

Jer l'Acadien

Sick Tuesday...

Well today was mostly un-eventful. I was sick, so called in sick at work and well took it easy. Had a good morning nap, and then did some work reading stuff, as I still had access to my email :) I also had some homework for my Advocacy course, which I started last night, and pushed off my viewing of Superman Returns. I did my homework, and then realized I was a bit behind in my Advocacy Course as the prof wanted the outline for our final project today. OOPS...ah well I emailed the prof asking for a few days, as I really hadn't noticed anything until today. Ah well...that course is a lot of work..more than I had anticipated. Every week we have to do something, no breaks it seems. Sort of happy it's all I am doing this term, it makes it a bit easier. Well enough school/work talk.

Superman Returns well I watched it tonight instead :) It wasn't too bad, sort of opens doors to other Superman films which I like. I am not a comic book reader, so I have no idea how the story fits in regards to that, but I liked the movie. It was sort of predictable, but that's alright, it's Superman :)

Well that's about it for now, hope I feel better tomorrow morning, the day was progressively better, but right now, feel like I'm going to be sick again..ah well. Have a great night everyone!

Cheers all,

Jer l'Acadien

late Monday night post..

Well was the usual quiet Monday..

Not much happened today at work, worked on the NRCan Library Single Window project. Not really doing much, but at least it occupied my morning, and in the afternoon, well I had a Wiki meeting, and would you believe I have been on the committee for over 6 weeks and it still hasn't been installed. Goes to show how much politics/bureaucracy you need to go through to get something done within the government. Ah well, I keep telling myself that I am the lowly co-op student, and do what I can when the opportunities are there.

Other than that...well I heard of this great restaurant in town called Beckta, but I am not sure I can afford it yet. I guess it has been reviewed in the NY Times. One of the only if not the only restaurant in Ottawa to be reviewed there. Looking at their website..it looks pretty neat :) Well who knows...if Trish maybe made it up again, we could go try it :) Ah well, that's about it for my comments today. Think I'm going to watch Superman tonight :)

Later all,

Jer l'Acadien

The day after St Paddys...

Oh my God, what a day!!

My St Paddys started in the afternoon with Guinness, then to Keiths draught (gross--but was basically one of the only choices), at least it wasn't green beer...that's pretty much it for my drinking, but I had a blast!! was a pretty casual evening nothing too big. Wasn't sick, wasn't too drunk, was just a good night! However, the end of the night was quite the blast, literally a blast, cause when Graham (one of my buddies friends) took the fire extinguisher and turned it on in the bar...was quite the show! Hahahahaha...good times! Glad today that I'm not feeling too rough. This weekend blog has no library related news! but it was quite fun, I had a blast! Well for now..I guess this will be my post for now, cause I have a lot of stuff to do today, nothing too new. Later everyone!

Cheers,

Jer l'Acadien


P.S. Cudos to Kev's dad with the brunch omellete :) it was a good fit :)

Today must of been Friday...wow..was it boring!

Basically did some web surfing today...well don't get me wrong most of it was work related, looking at different library websites, see how they work out their visual/represenation of indexes and databases. I also looked at other things which I haven't been asked to do, but gives me ideas suggestions regarding this library web page project that I am on.

Rick...btw...I saw that you passed me...if I had anyone playing last night...lol...I had like 3 players playing....yeah naturally you passed me....but don't forget I am right on your heels getting ready to pass you again! And as for Megan...well I just hope to stay in front of her :) Muahahahahah muahahaha.

Other than that, not much more news on this front. Damn cold outside, this damn humid cold in Ottawa is a killer, and it was so nice earlier this week, meh supposed to heat up next week :) Alright, I think that's it for now.

Hoping to maybe have a few drinks tonight, warm up for the green beer tomorrow :)....hahaha..not sure I'd really have green beer, but I will figure it out :)

Cheers all,

Jer l'Acadien!

Good ole Thursday...one day away from Friday :)

Well it was another day at work, another disappointment Found out one my projects got canned, cause one of the librarians felt left out! Ah well, what can I do, politics.

Now my blog seems to have become a spewing match between Rick and Megan. Will I need to become the referee between you two! HAHAHAH it's all good...I like that people are coming here and checking things out!


Something new ! Now for another new thing. Got an email from a classmate at Western about something pretty sweet if you have time on your hands, and feel like learning something. MIT has an opened/develloped something called Open Course Ware. Basically they are offering anyone to be able to go through their online courses, and basically scan the lectures, see the assignments, tests, etc...so you could basically learn the material as you want. However, don't think you will get any course credit or anything like it, but hey if you want to learn check it out!
http://ocw.mit.edu/index.html

Well I think that's it for now!

Jer l'Acadien

Another boring day at work...

Well the title sums up my day at work :p Well almost, I didn't do too much, just finished printing off an e-book/manual for my ColdFusion work that I hope to do, and stress the hope. The channels that someone needs to go through in gov't to make something happen are crazy! We'll I see tomorrow as I am meeting with the Chief, she makes things happen :) Basically most of my work has been at a stand still, waiting for developments to happen. At least I am finding out as much as I can, so when the questions are asked, I can do my best to answer them!

Different note: THE WEATHER

Wow wasn't it nice today!! quite a change, would almost think that winter is gone :) However, it would of been nice if it was sunny and not fog and rain all day! I am convinced that Spring is coming soon (also coincided with the groundhog's prediction). Hope everyone is enjoying the mild weather in London. Also, hope to see some of you on Easter weekend as I am planning a trip down.

Well other than that..not too much news on this front..well tonight I am taking part in a teleconference for my online Library Advocacy course, which should be interesting. I had to prep 2 questions, still haven't figured those out yet, but I am sure I can make it happen.

So for Jolene, Megan and any none spoken person, I will stop using the unquestionable word unless I want to get strangled :p Hahaha. So I will just call this post to an end ;)

Cheers all,

Jer l'Acadien

Learning new things and having a laugh :)

Yeah...so my new kick at work right now is learning ColdFusion..I know I am everywhere and anywhere with this co-op...but it's all good :) It's a good learning experience :) Other than that...my day is pretty boring..have an all afternoon meeting...deparmental thing..and I have to finish my elevator speech for my Advocacy Course.

Well I had a good laugh this morning at work...I was checking my friend Princess Cosine's Blog (Kath) http://linguistigeek.blogspot.com
Check it out...she pulled out some good ole classic Bert and Ernie's :) reminds me of my childhood days...oh wow...the good ole days! HAHAHAHA...

Other than that...I got ball on my mind..this nice weather is giving me the softball itch! I want to throw around a ball :) hit a few balls....I want the snow to clear out and I want to play :) However...I been checking out bats and stuff..finding good deals...not a good thing..lol. I am sure Trish agrees with me on that one! :p Anywho..this is it for now.

Cheers all,

Jer l'Acadien

Found something neat...

Cha Cha or not to Cha Cha :p

I'm not talking dancing lessons here, but something new and interesting in the world that relates to information sciences.


http://www.chacha.com/

This is supposed to be the new internet search tool, which blends a bit of everything while you search. Here is the posting that I found relating to this newish tool (release date was last fall):

"Late Breaking News: ChaCha: A Search Engine Powered by Human Intelligence
http://www.chacha.com/

New Engine 'ChaCha' Offers Real-Time Answers From Live 'Guides'

Part Wikipedia, part Yahoo Answers and part About.com, ChaCha is a new
search engine with a compelling hook - real-time results from human
beings. The site launches (in "Alpha") today and offers users two ways
to search: traditional algorithmic results or help from live "guides."
Users interact with guides via an embedded instant messaging window in
the search results page.

Brad Bostic, co-founder of ChaCha, said that the site had lined up
about 2500 guides at launch: college students, retirees, stay-at-home
moms and others "who are online all day anyway." But not just anyone can
become a guide apparently; you have to be "sponsored" (invited by an
existing guide) and work your way up a hierarchy consisting of four
levels."

I actually did some testing, posted a question to be done with a guide and got the chance to converse with him. It was pretty neat. Basically, guides, which are invited by other guides as somewhat subject specialists, help you with their query. This is how I understood it works when running a query. Basically the database looks at key words in your search, identifies those key words, and looks up "guides" which have the interest/specialty related to your question. What it basically does, it identifies metadata tags to each guide and when the search is started, it identifies a guide who is free and accessible with which the tags corresponds and opens up a chat window with that guide. I hope my explanation isn't too complicated, but it could be useful if you ever want to try it. I was tempted to ask a J. Noon RQ, but I figured I didn't want to lead them into a depressive state :p Anywho, that's how my Monday morning at work started out. I found this information on a blog page on one of the NRCan library sites. Anywho, hope this was useful, but now I should get back to my work :)

Cheers for now :)

Jer l'Acadien

Overdue weekend post...

Well last nite I went to see 300...WOW..what a flick! Get any males testosterone going! Worth seeing, but if you don't like gore/nudity...stay away.

Other than that...the weekend is good :) pretty quiet overall..had some Elgin Street Diner with Megs...was an experience, lol...drunk Megan!

Well other than that...hmmm not sure I can add anything at the moment...I could always rant about my work..but that is getting overrated! However, one thing I could definitely comment on is the temperature...we had the coldest week last week and this week, total change!! We are supposed to get +8C and
+9C later this week..what a change, but no complaints....will take that any day before feeling the -41 Wind Chill...BRRRRR Also, I must say ball fever is starting to hit me...I want to play softball!! Can't wait for the milder weather and be back in London and hit some balls :) Well that's all I have to rant about today.

Cheers all,

Jer l'Acadien

Yesterday and today....

I try to post daily, but yesterday was a really busy day, as I had to prepare some Wiki pages, and try to make it work for a presentation that was happening...here is a snapshot of the main page..


It might be a small shot, but anywho...was sort of what I did...had a few more pages done, etc...but was interesting making that info box on the side...which requires the creation of a template, etc...anywho...lots of fun, and requires a learning curve!

Other than that..today is PAYDAY...always love those second Wednesdays :)

Anyone know anything about Share Point? If so, tell me what you think! Need to do some research as it might be installed as a workgroup tool. Well that's all for my news today.

Cheers all,

Jer l'Acadien

Government policy and wikis..

The title suggests it all...

Last Friday when I left work, the Wiki was supposed to be installed and ready to run by Monday morning..what do you think, the good ole government stereotype survives, it was not done!

Sooooo...we had to resort to plan B..thank God I was there...I had contacted a group which had a Wiki, that was up and running and they allowed us to use their space and populate it.

So I spent all afternoon (because the morning was spent preparing a strategy and meeting for plan B..) working on a Wiki..and it can be challenging, but I am glad I took the Web Design course and that I understand a bit how coding works, cause making changes within the page (not referring to text, but adding frames, etc) can be quite cumbersome, but possible with trial and error.

Now if any fellow librarians are reading this...I want your input!

Do you think that doing such things as Wiki's, administering content, doing content management, building web pages, etc fits within the professional boundaries of a Librarian, or should it be left to IT, or other technical services people? I had a discussion as I was leaving work with the Reference Librarian and she was complaining and trying to convince me that it shouldn't be a Librarian's position or considered "professional" work, and I totally disagreed, cause in today's society, and with the advances in technology, librarians should be open to doing more things, and accepting that their roles are changing.

Well my rant was long enough! Let me know what you think.

Cheers all,

Jer l'Acadien

Saturday!!

Woo hoo!

Well it's Saturday...nothing too special or library school related however, I should maybe do some work on the Wiki thing...might install a wiki on my hard drive :) See if that works...other than that...no big plans, laundry that's it!

I think this post will be short! nothing too interesting in my life right now. Hope things get better soon :p

Cheers all,

Jer l'Acadien

the dreaded friday...

Here goes another fun day!!

Had my Wiki meeting this morning and as it goes, we cannot install Media Wiki here as it requires PHP5 and we only have version 4....the fun! At the moment, trying to figure out if we can have some dedicated server for this project and could install the wiki program and php5, with minimal tech support...the fun life! Also, the committee director is also hoping to have a wiki with content running on Tuesday for the DM's visit (crazyness!!), and he has charged me with inputting the info in the wiki when it gets up!! WOW....pretty big task at hand! the future seems quite inditerminate with this Wiki. Anywho, that's my friday fun!

To top this day...it's horrid weather out there!! really crappy! was freezing rain/hail this morning and now it's white out snowing! urghhhh!! but oh well!

At least the weekend is here :)....well this is it for now!

Cheers,

Jer l'Acadien!

Wiki vs Phoenix....

This morning on the bus, I initiated a conversation with an NRCan employee and told him about what I was doing at work. When I told him about the Wiki, he was like, well you should check out Phoenix, it's a much better option,..... So I followed him to his office and he showed me the developments of Phoenix (http://www.decisiontools.ca/)...his comments and concerns were quite valid as NRCan has to deal a lot with Maps, and other geodata, and his concern was with Wikis being able to support any type of software or capabilities to manipulate, etc maps.... The program which runs through Phoenix is very special as it has all of the technological advantages of using map softaware (which is already intergrated), plus it has a lot of portal oppertunities, which seem quite interesting. And on top of things, you have to imagine that this software was develloped in South America, by countries who used it for National Security measures in the case of emergencies, etc... pretty interesting! Anywho, that has been my first part of the day...

Later this afternoon, I am headed to the National War Museum for a presentation on their collection by a librarian or archivist (not sure yet), but should be interesting nonetheless, and it's Thursday which means that the museum is free after 4pm, so it should make an interesting early evening!

Cheers,

Jer l'Acadien!

Another day at the coop job....

Well here I am bored again...

I am at work, and bored....one of the staff was away on vacation for over 5 weeks and decided to come back early as she was supposed to be away for 8 weeks, so now my duties have gone to being busy with cataloguing, ILL and other stuff, to just nothing! Well that's not true, I do have some things to do, but I think I will have som long days ahead! So I figured why not work on my Blog :)

***********So to anyone reading this, please leave me a note, telling me that you are existing! and that I am not writing this for no one. ***************

In regards to my work here...well I guess my main project at the moment is related to a Wiki project for NRCan. NRCan has decided to support and create a Wiki for it's employees. The Wiki is supposed to be part of the Knowledge Enterprise project of NRCan. Basiclally, the Wiki will contain all the information about NRCan which could be useful for employees, but also the wiki could act as a tool to promote and allow groups to share information and work on projects. My role in this project is still undetermined, I am a library representative, and I believe the library could have a large stake in this enterprise as being a key information medium.

Well enough slacking and back to doing...well it's almost lunch time..so might as well go eat soon :)