New Blogger Platform

Last night, I migrated my blogs to the new Blogger platform. There should be no changes in the look, but additional features are now supposedly available. I'm still exploring, and have not found them all yet. Because Blogger was recently acquired by Google, I'm sure there will be integration with Google gadgets, widgets and features down the line.

My latest exploit is to open a Skype account. Skype is a technology that lets you use your computer to make telephone calls. If you have a microphone and speakers, you use the Skype software to connect with a computer or dial a phone number, and speak into the microphone. Your caller's voice is broadcast through the computer's speakers or a headset. We already use similar software at the library in our Telephone Reference Service, but we have handsets attached to the computers that make it feel more like using a traditional telephone.

My cousin Michael called me last night from Toronto via Skype, and although there was an annoying echo of my side of the conversation, the sound quality was very clear and I could talk to both Mike and Debbie easily. (Mike said the echo was his microphone picking up my conversation from the speakers and feeding it back to me.) I decided to get an account, too, and look forward to digital conversations with family and friends! Skype can call land lines; but can land lines call Skype?

Christmas Day

When teens go high-tech, it's a serious business! We got a new laptop for Christmas, and Laurel is moving all her iTunes from Dad's (business) laptop to Mom's (not yet set up for business) baby. (Note the headphones and iPod at her elbow.)

At last, I have WindowsXP, and can do more stuff online than I could with my old Win98 Gateway. My new Dell is tiny and lightweight - I'll be able to take it with me to Internet Librarian next October and blog with the pros!

The Gateway, by the way, is still fully operational after all these years, but the only thing I'm using it for now is online banking and Freecell. It still has a secure, but very slow, dial-up Internet connection that I trust for such things.

Now I have to decide what programs to install ...

Santa Came Early To Southwood

Southwood Townhomes held a Christmas open house in one of the six renovated units on Saturday. Laurel and I attended during the last hour, and had cookies, hot spiced cider, and a visit with Santa. The renovations are cosmetically appealing, but can't change the age nor fundamental condition of the apartments. We also notice that the decorator omitted such essentials as the television, chests of drawers, and other common pieces of furniture a family would normally bring, so the rooms look quite spacious (which they are, really.) The major and most obvious change is the opening in the wall between the dining room and the living room. I think it opens the living space and lets more light into the rooms; some don't like it because it takes away prime wall space that could support an entertainment center or book cases.

In any case, Nick says it will be at least 6 months before he can begin selling the units. We may be forced to decide whether to buy or move in the coming year.

Open Sleigh

This is the library's lobby. Don't know where they got the sleigh, but added to the evergreen woods that sprang up one weekend, the place is beginning to look very festive. Soon staff will be adding decorations at the service desks, and then we'll be in business.

We've been having crisp, clear weather - well really, it's been downright cold. Lows in the morning have been hovering around 30 degrees for the last week. Today, the first good winter storm arrived, with blustery winds and rain. They are expecting a foot or more of snow in the foothills. It will not be so cold this weekend, but the highs will be much lower - in the 50s.

I met my benchmark of not turning the heat on until Thanksgiving. Well, I did turn it on once for a couple of hours in the second week of November, but my excuse was that we'd been out of the house for over a week, and I just needed to warm it up a bit. Even Marty, who never feels cold, has been wearing socks and sleeping under the warm comforter.

We were planning to drive up to Union Mine Pines to get our Christmas tree tomorrow, but if the rain continues, we will postpone the outing till next weekend. If we don't go, I'll be busy selecting photos for the photo clendar and rummaging around for the Christmas stationery and cards I bought at the end of the Christmas season last year. And cleaning.

I didn't take my usual week off after Thanksgiving, so I'm going to have to hustle during the evenings and weekends to get everything done. I want to bake some cookies, and we're doing a "Secret Santa" thing at work. Then there's the gift shopping, brining my tropical ginger and anthurium indoors at night, , and general riding herd on the household.