Thing #5

I've been using flickr for a while now, but I had never really explored the creative commons section. I did a quick keyword search for "archives," and thought it was interesting how many photos there were of archives buildings. Of course, there are also photos of objects, and there are probably archives out there which use flickr to host photos from their collections, but I enjoyed looking at the buildings themselves.

Les Archives du Bauhaus in Berlin are housed in a building with a visually interesting design, as seen in this photo by flickr user dalbera. Caring enough to put effort into the design of an archives says something about the value placed on what's inside. I think it also helps establish the archives as part of the landscape and the community.

The second photo I selected, taken by flickr user acameronhuff, is of graffiti on one of the walls of the National Archives in Santiago, Chile. While graffiti could be viewed as disrespectful, I choose to look at it as a sign of integration; instead of being isolated and removed from the flow of city life, the National Archives are in the flow of activity and are subject to the same acts of vandalism as other urban buildings.

I will keep flickr's creative commons section in mind if I am ever looking for photographs to accompany my own writing or to use in a presentation.

Thing #3

Well, I've set up the new blog. It was a smooth process. I already had a blogger account set up, so I just created a new blog within that account. I also already had an avatar, but I'd never thought about including it in my blog. It makes things a little more interesting.

Thing #2

I watched the 7 1/2 Habits of Lifelong Learners tutorial, and I think I'm on my way. I'm really good at setting goals. I don't set deadlines for them, but I do keep them in mind and take action when the time is right. I have too many ideas to act on them all at once, some have to sit on the shelf a little while before I can do anything about them.

I think the habit that I have the most trouble with is number 4. This doesn't mean I lack confidence in learning new things, but I think sometimes I am too hard on myself if I don't do as well as I think I should. There's actually a strange relationship between the amount of experience I have doing something and how hard I am on myself about it. If I am new to something I cut myself a lot of slack, but if it's something that I have experience with I have higher expectations for myself. One of my goals for this summer is to learn to lighten up.