Okay, maybe not but the Facebook MyType application is the first application I've installed on Facebook in a *long* time.

I'm not sure what I got in high school but I think every time I've taken the test (official or an unofficial variation) since then, I've gotten ENFP.

Here's a summary of what that personality type is like:

ENFPs are initiators of change who are keenly perceptive of possibilities, and who energize and stimulate through their contagious enthusiasm. They prefer the start-up phase of a project or relationship, and are tireless in the pursuit of new-found interests. ENFPs are able to anticipate the needs of others and to offer them needed help and appreciation. They bring zest, joy, liveliness, and fun to all aspects of their lives. They are at their best in situations that are fluid and changing, and that allow them to express their creativity and use their charisma.

You can go to my Facebook profile to see the whole write-up if you're interested.  Or why not add the application and try it yourself?

Just clearing up some things I've come across recently.  I sometimes forget to make a note of where I found stuff so if I got this from you or your site, apologies in advance - feel free to post a comment or drop me a line to let me know (although admittedly 90% of my stuff tends to come from Reddit these days so you can usually find the discussion  for these sites there by doing a search on the relevant topic.)

Also, this is a good place to remind you that my annual blog survey is open right now.  If you haven't already, please take a quick moment to fill out the 10 questions (most of which are checkboxes - can it get any easier?)

Thanks to everyone who's taken the time to respond so far.  I can only make educated guesses as to who's reading this blog from the various programs I have tracking traffic to this site.  So it's especially nice to see responses from former classmates and colleagues at FIMS when I wasn't sure if they were still "tuning in". 

On to the links...

Bookshelf Blog

BookShelves By Colour

R.E.M. to debut new album on the social networking application, iLike

The World's 50 Most Powerful Blogs

And for the survey respondent who said "Pace rocks - more Pace!", here you go...

It is in Canada but this map of social network popularity around the world shows there are a number of other services that are popular depending on where you are in the world - MySpace, Bebo, Orkut, etc. 

(via Reddit)

In homage to RefGrunt, here's a sample of some of the topics I addressed and questions I helped people with during my two "Ask The Computer Guru" drop-in sessions and two "Everything You Want To Know about the Internet" presentations today...

- how to restore the e-mail address book from a crashed computer to a new computer's email program when the patron has a CD of recovered files
- how to login to SaskTel's webmail service
- why you would want to do this instead of just downloading the messages
- using Cyndi's List to find census information
- show a 77 year old woman how to sign up for Facebook so her kids and grandkids will stop bugging her to join
- www.ratemds.com
- the difference between Hotmail and "regular" (ie. SaskTel) mail
- reasons E-Bay is especially useful for people in rural areas
- reasons why SaskTel e-mail might not be downloading for a person
- is Facebook safe?
- Google's latest "coolest" products including Google Book, Google Earth and Google StreetView
- www.soople.com
- how often does Canada411.com update their directories?  (I guessed annually with the release of the new phone books but the woman asking the question claims that her one son's new phone number never showed up while his old one has been listed for three years even though he's moved multiple times since then)
- how to get pictures off a digital camera to a computer then onto the web...

If you're a librarian in Regina, live nearby or are going to be back in town for the holidays, feel free to join us for a Christmas gathering on Friday December 14 from 5pm until whenever at Monarch's Lounge in the Hotel Saskatchewan. 

If you're on Facebook, full details are available here. 

"On November 1st an alliance including Google, the most popular web-search engine, and several other firms announced a plan to make social networks as open as Netscape's browser made the web. The group released a set of standards, called OpenSocial, that allows software developers to write applications that work with any social network that participates. So far this includes Google's network, Orkut, as well as LinkedIn, Ning, hi5, Friendster, Xing, Plaxo and a few others. Together, these have some 100m users, or twice as many as Facebook has. Oracle and Salesforce.com, two business-software firms, are also supporting the new standards."

I think that what this means is that, instead of the locked-in, proprietary style of social network that Facebook has, where you have to log-in to access the features and applications, this new style will follow you as you surf the web.  So, if you visit YouTube, maybe you'll be able to see a list of videos your friends recently recommended.  If you visit Plaxo, an address book site, or LinkedIn, a business-focused social networking site, they will already know who your friends are without you having to search for people you know at each site separately. 

TechCrunch also has coverage and commentary.

You know the biggest thing holding Orkut from taking market share from Facebook in my opinion?  The fact that they used a meaningless name (it's named for the Google engineer who designed it) rather than something cool and/or logical.  If you have Gmail which is basically Hotmail on 'roids, why not have GBook?   GSocial?  GNetwork?  Okay, those names are dumb too but you get the idea. 

...aka an "Easter Egg" for anybody not down with the kid's lingo.  It's easy to get your own "Facebook Friends" collage.

1. log into Facebook
2. click on the "Friends" tab at the top of the page
3. click on the first "---" separator after "Online Now". 

Cool, eh? 

(via Stephen's Lighthouse)

When I was in Calgary, I went in a hockey pool with my cousin and his buddies every year.  The rules we used were fairly standard in that the team you picked at the draft was the team you were stuck with for the year (in retrospect, dropping your lowest scoring player - ie. the guy who got injured in week three - would've been a nice rule to have.  But I'm not bitter about drafting Paul Kariya in 2003.)

But beyond that, this pool had an interesting wrinkle I really liked - instead of everybody paying a set entry fee ($20 or whatever) and drafting who they felt was the best available at the time, you paid $1 per million of salary.  So if you drafted a team like you owed the Rangers or Red Wings of the early 2000's, you were going to put $70 into the pot.  If you worked the draft like a small market Canadian team, you're on the hook for $35 maybe with the chance for a really big payoff.  Instead of drafting someone like Peter Forsberg or Jaromir Jagr in the early rounds, you'd see guys trying to pick sleepers who were on low money contracts and poised to break out for big points (My proudest moment was picking sleeper Jarome Iginla in 01-02 for a buck seventy when he had his big breakout season, scoring 52 goals and 44 assists and jumped to a $5.50 player the next year.) 

Another great memory was when one regular couldn't make the draft when we did it at our place so Shea was enlisted to draft for him.  Using a unique strategy of "picking the most expensive guy available" and/or "picking the guy with the funniest name - ie. Satan, Palffy, etc.", she ended up winning the guy some cash when he finished in second place! 

So anyhow, that's all a long intro to say that I haven't done a hockey pool in a couple years but was glad to see that Facebook has one.  They're using the "pick one player from a group of six similar players" style of draft which is pretty fun too.  Categories include "Elite", "Sizzle", "Fizzle?", "European", "Goon", "Goalie", etc.  Plus they're allowing four trades throughout the year in case you pick a bum.   (Oh, and they also let you name your team - I'm "Head Tale" - so if you're playing too, feel free to post your team name as a comment so I know whose butt I'm kicking! )

Here are my picks and justifications
Elite - Sidney Crosby
Seemed like a no-brainer.  So far, Crosby = 1 points.  Heatley = 7.  Yep, I have no brain.

Sizzle! - Jarome Iginla
Always a soft spot for "Iggy" but also a considered pick since Iggy was third in points per game average last year and only a big injury kept him from ending up in the top three for league scoring.  Off to his typical slow start but he always seems to pick it up as the year goes on so I remain hopeful and am unlikely to trade him.

Fizzle? - Mats Sundin
I hate the Leafs like any good Canadian outside the greater metropolitan Toronto area should.  But I've always liked Mats Sundin and he's serving me well so far by leading this group.

Expecting Big Things - Marc Savard
Probably my stinkiest pick in the draft.  Made the classic draft mistake of chasing somebody who did something good the year before (Savard put up great numbers of a fairly crappy team) instead of going for somebody with potential for this year - ie. Paul Statsny who is kicking ass so far.

European Flair
I picked the wrong Red Wing - Datsyuk has 2 points, Zetterberg has 8.

Veteran Leaders
Saku Koivu and like a lot of picks, my bias towards Canadian teams is showing (but unfortunately, I didn't pick any of the Ottawa's big three who are totally dominating so far.)

Warhorses
Nik Lidstrom is dominating this group so far.  Yay me!

Future Norris
Dion Phanuef.  Beyond my Flames fandom, this guy almost beat a 20 year old record for goals by a rookie defenceman when he scored 20 in 2005-06 .  Considering how wide open the NHL was in 1998 when Brian Leetch set the record (23), that's pretty impressive!

Goalies
Miikka Kiprusoff and see the last entry for very similar reasoning - Flames fandom + record setting performances.

Goons
Shane O'Brien.  Is there even fighting in the "new" NHL?  This one was a toss-up and also has my least favourite aspect of this pool by far - every PIM gets you a point (the draft we did in Calgary only gave you one quarter of a point as a quality goon should be able to get 400 PIM and a top scoring player will get around 100 points.)  The way it's set-up right now, your whole pool result will be completely dominated by the goon you pick.

Facebook has been censoring photos of breastfeeding mothers.  If you believe breastfeeding is a non-sexual, natural thing (and that your eyes won't melt if you catch the corner of a boob in a photo), there's a Facebook group you can join to show your support.

I have a feeling this will be Shea's next profile picture...


(via Techcrunch)

Of course, that's the equivalent of saying you beat your grandfather in the 100 metre dash but still...they're just getting around to a cover story on the latest trend in cyberspace, Facebook while my article for CLA's Feliciter on the very same topic came out a couple months ago (though it wasn't a cover story either so I guess it's really a tie in some ways.)   more »