Julie Engfer

In 5 DAYS AWG Community Event FREE - Wed Jan 12, 4:30-7:00. Glenner Hosts - Giveaways, food, music, meet the Ice Dogs, Win 2 ERA tickets.

Lets give the Arctic Winter Games International Committee a WARM FAIRBANKS WELCOME!

This great event is free to the public and fun for the whole family.

Please pass this on to your Fairbanks friends. We need 3000 people to fill the Dipper!!!

Again…free event …free stuff.

I opted to try a new forum to stay organized. A friend recommended Tooledo.com. It is a TO-Do list with a lot of extra features. I wanted to share my list with others by that requires payment for an upgrade so I will keep my list to my self for now. There is an option to make the list public but that may be a little too much for me. I like to accomplish things and then to “Ta-Dah” not have the pressure of people saying…”hey, weren’t you going to do that thing?” However, for now I have made it public so that those reading this post may get an idea of what a public list looks like and perhaps try it out. http://www.toodledo.com/views/public.php?id=td4cf9e06ee528c All TasksThe set up was super easy and took literally milliseconds to get started. No emails or special codes, just create an account and go. I went right to the account settings and looked through the list choosing the options I wanted to make the account user-friendly for my taste. I then created my first list item with a simple click of the icon in the top right corner of the page. I was able to create folders to sort my to-do’s into categories. There were time and date settings as well as a way to prioritize with 5 different settings. The side bar contained the following options: To-Do List, Sharing, Scheduler, Files, Notebook, History, Folders, Contexts, Goals, Locations, Forums, Tools & Services, Account Settings, Upgrade, Sign Out. The tabs of the To-Do list were: All Tasks, Starred, Hotlist, Recently Added, Recently Completed, and Recently Modified. There are different ways to view your stuff like Main | Folder | Due-Date | Priority | Sharing | Search | Calendar. You can also collaborate with others if you are a paying member. I am not certain I will continue to use this forum. For now I enjoy the versatility of the google calendar but I will continue to experament with Tooledo.com for the next few weeks to see if I get hooked.

gentlemanandscholar asked: Awsome audio Julie.

Scott

Thanks so much for the comment. I am anxious to hear everyone’s this is an interesting form of artistic expression.

According to Wikipedia Microblogging is a broadcast medium in the form of blogging. A microblog differs from a traditional blog in that its content is typically much smaller, in both actual size and aggregate file size. A microblog entry could consist of nothing but a short sentence fragment, an image or embedded video. As with traditional blogging, microbloggers post about topics ranging from the simple, such as “what I’m doing right now,” to the thematic, such as “sports cars.”

Commercial microblogs also exist, to promote websites, services and/or products, and to promote collaboration within an organization. Some microblogging services offer features such as privacy settings, which allow users to control who can read their microblogs, or alternative ways of publishing entries besides the web-based interface. These may include text messaging, instant messaging, E-mail, or digital audio.

More Explanation According to About.com, microposts can be made public on a Web site and/or distributed to a private group of subscribers. Subscribers can read microblog posts online or request that updates be delivered in real time to their desktop as an instant message or sent to a mobile device as an SMS text message. The appeal of microblogging is both its immediacy and portability. Posts are brief (typically 140 – 200 characters) and can be written or received with a variety of computing devices, including cell phones. Although most microblog broadcasts are posted as text, some microblogging services allow video or audio posts.

In Practice Good examples of microblogging might be the Facebook or Twitter forums, simple links posted to a traditional blog or youtube videos. Microblogging.com contains a list of other forums that are commonly used for quick posts to the web. Readwriteweb.com is touts their list as the top 10 blog tools for this type of messaging and advertising.

I would love to tell you that I “have blogged”. I don’t know why I would “love” that. I don’t read much, I don’t write much. However, I do “enjoy” writing, and reading for that matter. I just seem to have this mindset that laboring is somehow more important…And I am a workhorse with a strong work ethic. When I asked myself if I have ever blogged the answer was “No”. I immediately felt ashamed. I wish I had done it. I like to consider myself a well rounded individual with a little experience in everything. So the only blogging I have done would be the small bits I write for Facebook. Not much…until recently.

I am enrolled at UAF and two of my classes require blogs. I enjoy writing critiques so it feels very natural. Whatever the assignment, even if it is simply to place a link to something on my blog, I feel compelled to offer some thoughts about the subject. I don’t really read blogs. Most of my time on the internet is spent doing specific research for short term projects or quick reference. I subscribe to a few news letters which will often end up in the virtual trash bin in the frenzy to sort through the junk and get to the pressing duties of the day. “Do I ‘need’ this newsletter this week I ask myself?” “No, I have ‘real work’ to do.” But there has been a shift…perhaps it is time to stop and smell the blog.

It seems today, you can not absorb any media without hearing about their rss feed, stumbling over a link to Twitter or being asked to join their Facebook group. Now that I am finally participating in this hysteria I feel more relaxed about it. I thought it was a waste of time. But, it seems there may be a chance to make a contribution in this world or be changed by information provided by a blogger somewhere in this world wide web. Although I enjoy participating in the arts as a singer/songwriter and performing artist, I have never been comfortable with self promotion. I had assessed blogging as just another form of masturbation, blatant self promotion. For a performing artist, blogging certainly has a utility that is unprecedented. Self promotion is necessary. Do it or die. I have only begun to dabble in the self promotion type of blogging.

I have been asked by a community group to blog, Facebook, and Twitter about an upcoming community event, The Arctic Winter Games 2014. This is “labor”, I thought. This, I can sink my teeth into and make a contribution to as a laborer. In a way, there is a form of self promotion trickling into the project…my name appears on everything. The url I set up is from my own website, I appear as the author.

This week I delved into the world of my music on the web and posted a few things that may eventually lead to someone hearing my music or noticing my name. I even answered a want-ad for a television commercial by posting a song to the ad, a first for me. Oh my goodness it is all connected. Don’t be afraid to put your toe in the water. Some one, some where, wants to hear from you. Toughen you skin and put yourself out there. Be heard and listen, critique, filter and fondle the thoughts of others. The web is ours for the taking. Get it while you can, before the government starts to charge for the space and monitor our every thought. Some blogs that I subscribe to or take interest in are: Living Light Culinary Arts Institute Taximusic.com Schaffer’s Options Report Raw Family This is Julie Engfer’s opinion on blogging.

I have been a little overwhelmed by the amount of articles that are showing up in my Google Reader. I know that I want to subscribe to many blogs and news papers, however, I am really only interested in specific subjects for projects I may be working on. Google has yet to add a feature like this to reader but is working on it. Basically, a search “engine” or filter feature that sifts out articles that contain key words or tags. So I am going to install the FeedRinse. This is a reader that will filter out the stuff I don’t want. I have decided to continue to use Google Reader since I like my igoogle page with all my gadgets in one place. However, I am going to push my reader list through the FeedRinse before I read. I have not yet completed the set up (something I need to take some time with). However, after reading through the tour I have linked-to in this blog, I believe that I can upload my reader list with an OPML file from Google Reader to FeedRinse and then simply subscribe to my FeedRinse list with my Google Reader. I can then add an icon on my tool bar to add new rss feeds to my FeedRinse and the filtered articles will come to my Google Reader already sorted out. This is what I have been searching for ever since I set up Reader. Hope it works.

RESULTS: Okay, I subscirbed to FeedRinse. It was super fast and easy. I went to my google reader settings area and chose the import/export tab. I exported my OPML file and saved it on my computer. I went over to FeedRinse and imported my OPML file. Once the list populated I set up a number of search criteria. (For example I subscribe to several news papers that were polluting my Google Reader files with tons of articles. I told the filter I only wanted to see articles that contain the words Arctic Winter Games or AWG.) Once I was satisfied with my filters I exported the OPML file from FeedRinse and saved it to my computer. I went back to Google Reader Settings Import/Export tab and imported my FeedRinse OPML file. The “rinsed” articles showed up in my Google Reader subscription area with an * next to them indicating that they had been rinsed. This tool is going to prove to be very valuable until Google comes up with their own solution.

According to About.com A blogroll is a list of links to blogs that the blogger likes. A blogroll is usually included in the blog’s sidebar. Some bloggers divide their blogrolls into categories. For example, a blogger who writes about cars could divide his blogroll up into categories for links to other blogs he writes, other blogs about cars and other blogs he likes about unrelated topics. The blogroll can be set up based on each blogger’s personal preferences, and it can be updated at any time.  

More Explanation Blogroll Etiquette It’s an unwritten rule in the blogosphere that if a blogger puts a link to your blog in his or her blogroll, you should reciprocate and add that blog’s link in your own blogroll. Of course, each blogger approaches this with their own blogging goals in mind. Sometimes you may not like a blog that links to you through its blogroll. There are many reasons why you may decide not to reciprocate a blogroll link, but it’s good blogging etiquette to at least review each blog that links to you through its blogroll to determine if you’d like to add that blog to your own blogroll or not.

Blogrolls as Blog Traffic Boosters Blogrolls are great traffic driving tools. With each blogroll that your blog is listed on comes the possibility that readers of that blog will click on your link and visit your blog. Blogrolls equate to publicity and exposure across the blogosphere. Additionally, blogs with many incoming links (particularly those from high quality blogs as rated by Google page rank or Technorati authority), are usually ranked higher by search engines, which can bring additional traffic to your blog.

In Use The term “blogroll” was originally coined as a list of links to other blogs. By modern standards the term can still be used for any list of links including blogs and other types of sites. It is easy to set up a blogroll on your wordpress forum. 1. The links menu in your dashboard can be used to create a blogroll that will be visible to your viewers when you add-on ar the Links Widget .

Personal Note When I was writing this definition I kept hitting a typo when I wrote “blogroll”. (Curses, it actually just happened again) I consistently spelled “blogrool”. How ironic, I guess a blogroll is simply a blog with drool.

PostSecret A case study of - http://www.postsecret.com/ - This website (blog) was a conundrum. At first, quick, glance I found it offensive. I logged away and went-on to other things. I judged it by its first “PostSecret”. When I came back, a few days later…it had changed. I read the entire page. It only contained one day of posts, “Sunday Secrets”. No archival views could be located. The page is moody with a stark black background. “Sunday Secrets” contained a total of 25 scanned post cards, brightly colored with hand written notes on them. A variety of thoughts, observations and feelings were expressed on each post card; some dark, some troubling, some self indulgent, some funny. This website will take you on a roller-coaster ride. I believe there may be something for everyone on any given day. Just log-on and give it a try. Intermingled with the postcards were a few links. One link to Amazon.com where there are many books available featuring themed collections of “PostSecret” submissions. Another link was to the PostSecret Community Website. Here we are presented with a clever home page. An image of a tattered sepia postcard on a black background. Stamps with different images on them represent links to the pages in the site. A nice roll-over effect sets the stamps aglow when the mouse passes over them. Some of the pages feature navigation that lead to all pages while others require a back button to navigate away. The community website is a great place to find the heart of the PostSecret “PostSecret Community”Another simple link leads to PostSecret Twitter and the final link on the page is to the PostSecret Facebook page. The blog is strong with its image of mostly postcards. There are a few emails intertwined but it mostly stays true to its mission. The PostSecrets. So what is PostSecrets? It isn’t obvious at first glance. There is no menu, no navigation. Once your eyes scan past the first card you see a simple explanation that reads: “PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard.” It falls just above the fold. This is so simple and one of the most powerful things I have seen in a long time. Upon further review I discovered that this compilation, put together by Frank Warren, is a community art project so huge that he travels to share lectures about the secrets of today’s society. He currently has exhibits of the post cards all over the US and Canada. Warren has created numerous books featuring PostSecrets he has received in the mail; some of which have never been seen on the blog. I am smitten with this idea. It is powerful and moving. Frank Warren has found a new admirer. It is mind blowing just to see how much of a stir this blog has created with a current count of 377,012,910 visitors. Frank Warren Book Signing

Okay, this was an assignment to create roll over buttons using a sprite and an ordered list. This was fun. I believe I need more work with my optimization skills.

Click on the screenshot to tryout my buttons.

Arlene Darling entered this floral arrangement into a competition in 2009 and won a ribbon. This is a very unique arrangement as it has, what may be considered, dead or dried flowers in it. Arlene picked some dandelions that had gone to seed and carefully sprayed them with aerosol hairspray to keep them from falling apart during the show. They not only held up for the week of the show at the Pioneer Park Performing Arts Center, they are still on display in her home more than a year later. Nice work Arlene.

This week offered a delve into Flickr. You can visit my new flickr site at http://www.flickr.com/photos/julieengfer/ One of the features offered in Flickr is a slideshow. Once you upload your photos you can place them in sets, view them as a slideshow and copy the code to your favorite webpage. Here is a slideshow of Arctic Winter Games Logos for you to enjoy. The normal size of this slideshow is 400x300. I reduced the size due to the logos being very low resolution. You can adjust the size of your slide show in an html editor.

The Operating Engineers have a great menu graphic on their website. There are several titled photos and when you rill over them with your mouse they open a larger photo. This is a very cool interactive menu.

Check it out

This one goes out to Christen. Seaweed can be baffling. However, don’t give up. It is one of nature’s super foods.

Here is some information gleaned from www.oceanvegetables.com

1. Shiny and healthy hair.
   Amino acids, vitamins and minerals help strengthen hair strands and texture resulting in lustrous hair. Biotin, which belongs to the family of B vitamins, promotes healthier and shiny hair.
2. Keeps the mind sharp.
   Significant amount of vitamins, protein, ionic minerals and trace minerals enhances your brain’s performance specifically Asparagine, which energizes the brain and also boosts the immune system, while Boron improves mental clarity as it assists in unclogging arteries.
3. Makes skin clear, young looking.
   Rich in beta-carotene, Vitamin A, minerals and amino acids, sea veggies maintain collagen (a property necessary for smooth functioning of connective tissues) making skin supple, soft to touch. Laugh lines and wrinkles are reduced.
4. Preserves good eyesight.
   Sea vegetables are the leading sources of natural carotenes like Vitamin A (beta carotene) and bioflavonoids – antioxidants that help clear up the cellular debris that accumulate in the eyes. Bioflavonoids for one, works with prolonging Vitamin C action in the eyes, which help prevent swelling and inflammation of ocular tissues. Vitamins A and C keep vision 20/20 and help prevent “dry eye” syndrome.

Oceanvegetables on Facebook
5. Improves gum health.
   Aside from calcium, sea vegetables are also rich in vitamin C, one of the most essential vitamins, which keeps the gums in the pink of health.
6. Strengthens teeth, so flash that smile.
   26x the calcium of milk, seaweed strengthens teeth (and bones!). It also has Fluorine that fights tooth decay.
7. Maintains healthy thyroid function.
   Abundant natural, organically-bond iodine extracts maintain healthy thyroid function, help prevent goiter.
8. Helps ease colds and other respiratory problems.
   Seaweed’s strong anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties help prevent against colds, flu and other respiratory problems.
9. Prevents allergies and infections.
   Overflowing with vitamin B, C, minerals and amino acids and anti-inflammatory properties, sea plants enhance resistance to allergies and other infection.
10. Strengthens the immune system.
    Polynutrients in ocean vegetables help strengthen the immune system and keep the body resistant to illness and infection.
11. Fights “roaming” free radicals. An army of antioxidants fights dangerous free radicals (cells that go wayward) for a super strong and protected immune system.
12. Reduces cancer risks.
    Powerful antioxidants and anti-cancer properties help inhibit abnormal cell growth by a whopping 95%!
13. Stunts tumor growth. Iodine and amino acids combine to significantly reduce breast and uterine fibroids; help prevent cysts from forming.
14. Pumps up energy!
    Energy-boosting B vitamins, Vitamin C and minerals fight stress and fatigue so you stay active and alert.
15. Enhances cell regeneration. Retards ageing!
    Replete with phytochemicals and anti-ageing properties, sea plants enhance cell regeneration and rejuvenation thus, delaying ageing.

RECIPES

Now that you know what sea veggies can do for you aren’t you just living to try it? One of my favorite sources for sea vegetables is Mendocino Sea Vegetable Company. I have met them and toured their facility. They are very high integrity employing the old methods of coastal indigenous peoples in their harvesting practices. If you are a raw-fooder, this is a great place to make your seaweed purchase. Their dried seaweeds remain as full of nutritional value as possible with their low heat methods of drying.

This site is also a great resource for recipes and they have a seaweed book for sale as well.

Although I always enjoy a good seaweed salad with sprouted quinoa, my default favorite thing is to make nori rolls stuffed with fresh veggies and dip it in home made bon-bon sauce full of ginger and garlic.

Bon Bon Sauce by Cherie Soria
Yield: 1 cup/250 mL (3-4 servings)

This Asian-style sesame sauce can be used on just about anything. If you thin it with water, it’s a tasty salad dressing; if you use less water, it’s a great vegetable dip, spread, or filling for celery sticks. Enjoy it as a dipping sauce for Vegetable Sushi Vietnamese Salad Rolls, or use it instead of mayonnaise for cabbage slaw. However you serve it, Bon Bon Sauce is a guaranteed crowd pleaser.
 
1/2 cup (120 mL) raw tahini
2 tablespoons (30 mL) grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons (30 mL) freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons (30 mL) agave syrup or sweetener of choice
2 tablespoons (30 mL) wheat-free tamari
1 clove garlic, crushed
 
1. Combine of the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Add a small amount of purified water as needed to form a thick sauce.
2. Stored in a sealed glass jar in the refrigerator, Bon Bon Sauce will keep for up to 1 week.

For more recipes like this one visit www.rawfoodchef.com, home of Living Light Culinary Arts Institute. They have a nice newsletter and Living Light is the foremost Raw Vegan Culinary Arts school in the world (also on the Mendocino Coast by the way).

Enjoy your seaweed!