What I Learned

1. Your Meez can be a window into your soul, and can I just say that some of the avatars were ummm...hot?
2. Gaming just prepares you for more gaming, a sedentary lifestyle, and a limited vocabulary. Of course, if you hang out with gamers, what more do you need?
3. You can find super-heroes in the most unlikely places.
4. Streaming music is almost as good as your cool friend who always knows the best tunage.
5. I could spend way too much time watching YouTube, sitting on the couch, Tim's Cascade chips...holy crap, I'm just like #2 above!
6. Blogging is way cool when you develop a blogging community to share with (okay, some people had a head start because they work next to each other!)
7. Being aware of all this web 2.0 stuff is certainly useful, but teens coming into the library aren't gonna think I'm super neato because I can remember what tagging is. The old fashioned skills of smiling and listening still win out.
8. There still exists a digital divide; downloading streaming music and video doesn't count for much if you don't own a computer. Some people will still want some physical format to check out.
9. Sno-Isle has many talented staff who shared some talents hitherto unknown, and that was the best part.

Gaming

Well Old Ben hasn't played much in the way of online games since he said farewell to Ms. Pac-Man years ago at the mall arcade. I tried some of the kid games this time, and boy, you'd have to be pretty web-savvy to maneuver around all the ads on Primary Games. I'd avoid this one if I were the parent of a young child -- too frustrating if you don't pony up for all the extras that cost $$$.
And as far as that list of all the ways gaming prepares you for the real world (what a crock, by the way), how about this: sometimes you don't realize you're wasting your time eating Cheetos and playing Grand Theft Auto until it's way too late. Go outside, ride a bike, and stay off my lawn, you whippersnappers!

This week's poem

Percy

Your friend is coming I say
to Percy, and name a name

and he runs to the door, his
wide mouth in its laugh shape,

and waves, since he has one, his tail.
Emerson, I am trying to live,

as you said we must, the examined life.
But there are days I wish

there was less in my head to examine,
not to speak of the busy heart. How

would it be to be Percy, I wonder, not
thinking, not weighing anything, just running forward.

Mary Oliver

Earth, a Google Production

Even that name scares me: "Google Earth", like "It's Google's world, we only live in it" -- and they can watch me NOT mow the lawn, too. We give up our rights way too easily, and the worst part is, we do it voluntarily, for convenience, or information, or security (as in Homeland). Isn't it a little chilling how we ALL are Big Brother now?
That said, it sure was cool zooming in and out...

Second Hand Life and AvaTarzan

My avatar to the left is supposed to be doing an Irish jig, but he's stuck mid-jig and he just looks like one leg is shorter than the other, or maybe he's about to tip over (he is Irish, you know).

For Second Life, I came up with a Robin Hood type scenario (living in the woods, wild deer and ale available all the time, merriment abounding) but then I remembered the math: Robin + Band of Merry Men + 1 Maid Marian = zero chance of getting said Marian alone.

Oh, GL, I too saw "The Office" ep with Dwight's Second Life, which was exactly like his real life, only he could fly. What a great show!

Knee Deep in the Blogosphere

One thing that this 20 for 2.0 thing has shown me is how very entertaining our fellow Sno-Isle bloggers are. I make a daily visit to the Capt ILL blog (any relation to Captain Underpants?) and he's got so many other bloggers orbiting his desk that it sometimes looks like an on-line meeting of the Justice League, except of course only one member actually has super-powers (and dresses in long johns -- there's that underwear motif again!) Anyway, hats off and a big Ben Bland "thanks!" for all your words!

When is Free really free

Well, forever, according to these free online apps. "This will never change" according to the Zoho FAQs, which ought to send a red flag warning to all of us who have heard those words before. (Oh, the scars upon my heart...)
Still it is intriguing and certainly useful. I wonder how the college campus set feel about this.