Thing #6 - More Flickr Fun

Library Life magazine
Originally uploaded by Bizarro Ideas!

For this exercise I uploaded the photo of the statues outside the library from the ones made available "on the Everyone network drive, in Administration/23 Things Photos." While exploring Flickr I found fd's Flickr Toys and made the picture into a magazine cover featuring social networking- it seemed appropriate for the exercise. Click on the picture to see a larger version.

fd's Flickr Toys' have several other fun toys:

• Badge Maker
• Motivator
• Movie Poster
• Mosaic Maker
• Calendar
• Trading Card
• Framer
• Wallpaper
• Warholizer

And many, many more. They are so much fun, I know I'll be back playing with more toys soon.

Thing #5 - Flickr

Murfreesboro, TN Holden Hardware
Originally uploaded by army.arch

My search for all things Murfreesboro on Flickr lead me to this nice photo of our neighbors at Holden Hardware. The photographer had several others- focusing on old signage. I too am a sucker for art deco, neon, and other great old signs. Most have been replaced by less interesting fiberglass or plastic versions.

Thing #4 - Online Resources

Ancestry Library Edition is a valuable resource. I did a quick search using my Grandfather's name and was able to find him in the 1920 Census (at age 14), in 1930 (at age 24), and in the U.S. Phone and Address Directories, 1993-2002 (at his last address. Interestingly, he died twenty years prior to the first year of this directory. I guess my Grandmother just left his name in the phone book instead of changing it to her own name). Since my Great Grandfather's name was the same as my Grandfather's, I found a number of records for him as well. If I had not already known his father's name (my GGGrandfather), the 1900 Census would have provided that bit of information. GGrandfather's World War II Registration card shows his home address, his profession, his employer, his date of birth, his wife's full name, and has his actual signature on it. That is a wealth of information! All from a simple search of his first and last name. The Stories & Publications and Photos & Maps tabs came up empty on my search and that was a little disappointing.

The forms that can be downloaded from Ancestry L.E. are excellent. They are perfect for the beginning genealogist and veteran alike. Those available in an Adobe PDF format are:

• Ancestral Chart - the family tree
• Research Calendar - to track the sources searched
• Research Abstract - to summarize long source content
• Correspondence Record - to keep track of those you write
• Family Group Sheet - to group spouses and their offspring
• Source Summary - easy reference to sources used
• US Census Forms - gives column headings for each census done and a place to record family information from each census
• UK Census Forms - same as US but for the United Kingdom
• Canadian Census Forms - same as US but for Canada

My final evaluation is that Ancestry Library Edition is a useful tool for all aspiring genealogists. The commercial version offers several additional advanced search options, storage of family tree information & photos, and a wider variety of publications; but the price is substantially more for an individual than the free access they can get at the library.

Thing #3 - 7 & 1/2 Habits of Lifelong Learning

The seven and a half habits of lifelong learning are good, common sense ideas. Basically they are: Have a learning plan, be responsible for your progress, overcome obstacles, believe in yourself, obtain the necessary tools to succeed, take advantage of technological advancements, teach what you know to those that want to learn, and most importantly - have fun.



Most of the elements come fairly easily to me, but having fun is the one that stands out as the most difficult. Learning is enjoyable and rewarding, but keeping it fun is challenging. As an example, putting this blog together has been enjoyable but somewhat frustrating at times taking some of the fun out of it.