Games & Gaming #38

I visited the arcade retro website and I played Ms. Pacman. I used to play Pacman & Ms. Pacman on my Atari when I was very young, so playing it brought back many good memories. I have never played this video game on a computer and I thought that using the keyboard instead of a joystick was more challenging.

I think that the console game system that is best suitable for library purposes is the Nintendo Wii. This video game is suitable for every age group and it could be used by adults as well as children. The children can have fun playing the Wii Deca Sports. It contains a bundle of different sports such as soccer, skateboarding, ice skating, volleyball, and basketball. The adults who happen to be health conscious can enjoy a great workout using the Wii Fit. This game offers different exercises such as aerobics, yoga, and strength training exercises. The elderly can also benefit from this game system. I read an article a few weeks ago that mentioned that the Nintendo Wii was being offered at a veteran physical therapy rehabilitation site, in order to get the joints and muscles of disbaled veterans moving. The veterans played different sports by using the Wii, such as baseball, and they were improving their health and having fun at the same time. I thought that was a great story!

I think that players would come to the libary for the game, but also stay for the books and other available resources that the library offers. I think if the library promotes the books in conjunction with a certain video game, then my theory would be more valid. For example, a display of books featuring biographies of famous baseball players would catch the eye of a player who is playing baseball on the Nintendo Wii. Also, a display of healthy cookbooks would interest the adults that are working out using the Wii Fit.

Games & Gaming #37

I read the NYTBS article on the topic of gaming in the library and it was very informative. The article focused on the New York Public Library and its Friday afternoon game sessions. The library claims to own 2,500 copies of 92 different games, that are available for circulation during one-week intervals. I think having games available at the library is a smart way to increase youth participation at the library. The games will attract kids who normally would not want to hang out at a "boring old library", and this may cause them to venture over to the other resources that the library offers, such as magazines, CD's, or even a book! I played the "I'll Get It" game that was on the Carnegie Mellon University Library's website. The object of the game was to help your peers find research tools for a certain question. This cartoon figure would pick up a piece of paper from one of his peers and take it over to the catalog. The catalog displayed different available resources that could help answer the question. I had to choose between looking in the books, periodicals, or electronic database section. It was fun once I got the hang of it!

Games & Gaming #36

I visited Runescape, registered with the site, and created my own avatar. My avatar had light brown skin, black short hair, medium build, and small feet. She was wearing a blue long sleeved shirt, blue pants, and black boots. I wasn't sure how to take a screenshot of the avatar, so I did not post it on here. I did not find it easy to get around the Runescape site. Once the game started, I was basically stuck inside the house that the avatar was originally in, because I was not sure how to get her out of there. I could not find an exit door, and there were two other avatars in there that looked at me like I was crazy! I only knew how to point my mouse to a specific location on the computer, and the avatar would walk in that direction. If I had more time, I could possibly figure out how to play the game. If I get bored at home, I might solve this mystery.

Games & Gaming #35

I visited the website, http://www.freerice.com/, and I really enjoyed it! It is a site that allows you to enhance your vocabulary skills by playing a game where you have to choose the best definition for a certain word. The best part about it is that the site donates 20 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program for every correct answer that you get. I enjoyed playing the game and I actually donated 2,520 grains of rice! That makes me feel very, very good! The sponsors listed at the bottom of the page within that site, are the ones who donate the money to pay for the rice. This site actually accomplishes two things at one time: enhance people's vocabulary & feed the hungry. What a wonderful website, I will recommend it to all of my friends!

Maps #34

1. I discovered the GPS coordinates for the HCPL ADM building (8080 El Rio Street Houston, TX 77054) to be +29° 41’ 8.89”, -95° 23’ 20.19”.

2. The geocache that I would be interested in finding (if I had a GPS tracker), would be the following: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=c04d689f-3e24-4669-b35d-bea4cea28a61. The GPS corrdinates for this find are N 29° 41.195 W 095° 23.018.

3. Unitl today, I had never heard of this geocaching "hobby" that a lot of people around the world seem to be participating in. I think the whole idea of this treasure hunt is quite amusing. Some of the geocachers profiles state that they have been to many different states and countries, just to go look for these hidden treasures. If I had a GPS tracker, I would probably go find the item that is listed on the link above, just because it is located close to my job (somewhere between Holly Hall & El Camino). The hint that the person who hid the treasure gave was that it was "under square, above circle". They don't disclose what type of item it is, they just display the GPS coordinates to find it. This could be a fun hobby, if I had the spare time to actually go look for the stuff!

Maps #33

Activity 1:

I visited the website, http://www.har.com/, and I searched for a 4+ bedroom/2+ bathroom home in the Northwest area. The house that caught my eye contained 4 bedrooms & 2 1/2 bathrooms. It also contained marble floors, granite countertops, fireplace, sprinkler system, area pool, & a satellite dish. The only negative things that I did not like about the house was that it was built in 1993 (I want a newer home) and one of the rooms was painted green & yellow (not my taste in wall colors, but I could always re-paint them).

Activity 2:

I did not like the website, http://www.discoverourtown.com/, because it did not have a feature that would let you search by a certain area of town. It basically contained a map of Texas, and I selected Houston, TX, and it gave me a ton of listings for stores, restaurants, etc. However, I could not narrow down my search by a certain address or zip code. On the other hand, I really liked the website, http://www.walkscore.com/. I typed in my potential new home's address and it gave me a couple of listings of what was nearby. The closest restaurant was Koi Japanese Restaurant, closest library was HCPL Northwest Library, & the closest clothing store was Retro Chic. The only thing to watch out for when typing in the home's address at this site, is that it is best to type in the city and state as well. At first, I did not include Houston, TX, and my first search included sites in California (apparently California has the same exact address as the home here in Houston).

Maps #32

Activity 1:

Out of the "100 Things to do With Google Maps", I was curious to discover where there was daylight at this time around the world. So, I clicked on that question and it took me to the website http://www.daylightmap.com/. It was a neat site to explore, since it showed the Western hemisphere in daylight and the Eastern hemisphere was blacked out.

Activity 2:

I chose the Terra Server website and I clicked on the celebrity homes link. It displayed aerial photos of celebrity homes. They included Britney Spears, John Travolta, Madonna, Oprah Winfrey, and Paris Hilton's homes. Here is a link to an aerial view of Oprah Winfrey's home:

http://www.terraserver.com/view.asp?cx=258893.856537649&cy=3813345.25186546&proj=32611&mpp=0.5&pic=-1&prov=-1&stac=-1