Friday, July 31, 2009

Technology

As much as I hate to admit it, I am old enough to have talked on a party-line, had my photo taken with a box brownie camera and learned to type on a manual typewriter. I can remember the thrill of changing typefaces on an IBM ‘golfball’ typewriter, the relief when correcting ribbons were invented and my mother’s delight when automatic telephone exchanges meant phone calls would be private. I can remember the wonder of being able to store and retrieve documents on a word-processor (when floppy discs were floppy!) and the excitement with which I unpacked and assembled my first PC. But none of that compares with the awe I feel when I think of what can be achieved using today’s technology. Digital cameras, cellphones, computers, the internet and the world wide web I can handle (just!) but I dare not even try to image what changes will occur in the next twenty or thirty years.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Flickr mashups

Another evening has whizzed by as this time I investigated Flickr mashups. Thought Spell with Flickr was lots of fun and thoroughly enjoyed using FD Toys to make jigsaws from pictures. Would like to try making a mosaic one day as this looks a great way to display photos with a common theme. While these sorts of applications are clever and the people who invented them must be very talented, I do not think I could be bothered using them very often. However, it is great having this opportunity to learn about them and know they are available.

Discovering Flickr

I cannot believe I have been unaware of this amazing world of images for so long ... why didn't someone introduce Flickr to me before now!! I could spend days, no - weeks, months - looking and looking at such beautiful pictures. Explore, Calendar and the Last 7 days were all fantastic and the Tour was very informative. I found it easy to search for something that interested me and am tempted to open a Flickr account so I can add some really great pictures to my blog. Meantime, these two by ViaMoi I found particularly fascinating ... they remind me of the domes I had as a child, the ones that had a winter scene and when you shook it, it snowed. How I would love to be able to take such wonderful close-ups!





Here is a photo of a begonia in my garden.


Monday, July 27, 2009

Exploring Blogs

Learning the rules of blog etiquette - what to say and, more importantly, what not to say - has clothed me in confidence. During the past few days I have visited many blogs, read a lot of both interesting and trivial information, posted my own comment and even received a reply. This is such fun!

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Creating my blog

I feel about as comfortable creating this blog as I would walking naked through a shopping mall. However, that is not to say I would not look if someone else chose to take their clothes off, just as I am happy to read other people’s blogs. While the idea of exposing my personal thoughts and feelings to strangers who surf the net frightens and intimidates me, at the same time I am excited to be discovering new skills. Does this make me some sort of voyeur?