A musing librarian

Book Review: The Savage Garden

2007-08-21T08:13:00.000-07:00

The Savage Garden by Peter D'Amato is a comprehensive book on growing carnivorous plants. It includes specific growing instructions for a variety of carnivorous plants. /The Savage Garden/ is suitable for beginners and advanced carnivorous plant enthusiasts alike.

Exercise #8: RSS and Bloglines

2007-02-17T18:07:00.000-08:00

I enjoyed adding my favourite RSS feeds into one consolidated place via my BlogLines account. Being able to read these feeds in one place is very convenient; however, there is a downside: privacy. A service such as BlogLines can mine the data – the feeds – of all of its subscribers. BlogLines could thus track my subscription habits.

Libraries should nevertheless take advantage of RSS feeds as a form of communication – reaching out - to the community. For example, San Jose public library customers may want to know about upcoming workshops such as writing a resume, how to use the Internet, or effectively searching the library catalog.

Exercise #7: And now a word about technology...

2007-02-04T21:15:00.000-08:00

I recently purchased a Sony Mylo (My Life Online). This is a pocket-sized, wireless Internet appliance that uses 802.11b WiFi. Featuring a retractable keyboard, the Mylo may be a viable solution for communication among library employees on various floors or as a reference service for a roving librarians.

Speaking of communication, now it's time for me to comment on another user's blog.

Exercise #6: Flickr mashups

2007-01-25T20:59:00.001-08:00

Exercise #6: Flickr mashups
Originally uploaded by albion95410.

I enjoyed making this movie poster mashup of my Nepenthes hamata. It was super easy.

The web development programmer's creation of an API (Application Programmers Interface) for Flickr was a smart move. Such functionality makes this site not only fun and easy to use but provides a justification for individuals to continue using Flickr rather than a competitor's (if any) photo sharing web site.

Exercise #5: Posting to Flickr

2007-01-22T16:15:00.000-08:00

For exercise #5, I chose option "B." I uploaded then tagged some photos of my carnivorous plants on Flickr. Then I used Flickr to post these pictures along with comments to my Blogger account (the previous five posts below).

While I'm familiar with Flickr, I'd never created my own account or uploaded pictures to it prior to this exercise. I'm impressed with its user-interface and features. How can we (employees here at the King library) utilize Flickr to promote the King library as a community resource? Perhaps we could post pictures along with a description of past, current, or upcoming (i.e. preview) exhibitions at the King library?

Pinguicula x Titan

2007-01-22T12:02:00.001-08:00

Pinguicula x Titan
Originally uploaded by albion95410.

Pictured here is one of my butterworts (Pinguicula x Titan). Pinguicula enthusiasts often refer to these plants affectionately as "pings." My ping is the hybrid cultivar, "Titan". On its own, it usually catches gnats for food. I fed it two mosquitos I'd caught before they bit me. Priceless!

Drosera intermedia

2007-01-22T11:42:00.001-08:00

Drosera intermedia
Originally uploaded by albion95410.

Here's a closeup photo of one of my sundews (Drosera intermedia). Prey that land on what appear to be dew drops on these leaves are in for quite a surprise. These "dew drops" are a sticky "glue" the plant uses to trap and digest its prey.

Peristome of Nepenthes hamata

2007-01-22T11:34:00.001-08:00

Peristome of Nepenthes hamata
Originally uploaded by albion95410.

Here's a closeup view of the Nepenthes hamata "teeth."

Nepenthes hamata

2007-01-22T11:32:00.001-08:00

Nepenthes hamata
Originally uploaded by albion95410.

The Nepenthes hamata is my favourite carnivorous plant. It has "teeth" along its peristome (the rim of the pitcher). When the pitchers get big, these "teeth" look like cat claws. Wicked!

Dionaea muscipula

2007-01-22T11:16:00.001-08:00

Dionaea muscipula
Originally uploaded by albion95410.

Here's a picture of one of my venus flytraps (Dionaea muscipula). This plant, like most of my carnivorous plants, is presently growing in my greenhouse located three miles inland from the coast in Mendocino county. My flytraps tend to grow better outside than in the greenhouse, probably because the greenhouse is covered by seventy percent shade cloth (to reduce daytime heat build-up). Fifty percent shade cloth is ideal. Flytraps need lots of sunshine to develop red traps.

Carnivorous plants

2007-01-11T17:56:00.000-08:00

One of my personal hobbies is growing carnivorous plants. Carnivorous plants are unique in the plant world in that they catch prey to survive. At present, I'm growing Dionaea muscipula, Darlingtonia californica, Drosera, Pinguicula, Sarracenia, and Nepenthes. In upcoming blogs, I'll post some pictures of my plants.

If you're interested in growing carnivorous plants, I highly recommend The savage garden: cultivating carnivorous plants by Peter D'Amato. D'Amato's book includes detailed instructions on growing a wide variety of carnivorous plants from the classic "venus flytrap" (Dionaea muscipula) to exotic species such as the Nepenthes.

Exercise #3

2007-01-10T15:32:00.000-08:00

Often times, I find Habit 3 as the most difficult lifelong learning habit to achieve: viewing problems as challenges. I find that with too many challenges, I lose sight of my end-goal; as a result, I lose focus and commitment to achieving that goal.

Paradoxically, I find habit #1 is the easiest to achieve. Life is boring without goals. Goals give me a sense of purpose and of being; however, developing goals is not enough. One must act on and achieve those goals.

I think the most important solution for me is to prioritize my goals. I have so many goals I want to achieve. At times, it's overwhelming. Consequently, I sometimes procrastinate and achieve nothing.