Blogger in Training

In my last post, I mentioned that I was going to be at ALA. So my friend, Kate, who is NOT going to ALA, asked, Are you going to be blogging from ALA? I said, Erm, Sure. And she said, With pictures? And I said, Erm, Sure.

I'd seen Nancy Werlin's cool blog from the National Book Awards http://www.nancywerlin.com/nba.htm

and had read blog posts from BEA.

I could do this.

I dutifully downloaded the little Blogging from ALA Annual logo. I even went to the Blogger FAQ page and read through the part about how to create links using html before I shamefacedly navigated away (it's still in my browser history, though).

I wasn't going to admit to Kate that although I had taken plenty of photos with our digital camera, I'd never actually downloaded any to my computer. I'd left that up to the Resident WebMaster (RWM). So I asked the RWM if he would show me how to download photos from the camera to my computer. This launched an hour-long software download and tutorial session so that I could download photos, brighten, darken, resize them, crop them, fix red-eye, and paint out any facial blemishes.

I was definitely born too soon. Now I'm wishing I could go back to high school.

Not.

I practiced on this iris photo

The one on the left is the original photo

The one on the right is cropped and resized

That's the thing about technology. I LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT. I would not have any books out if not for technology. But nothing is ever straightforward. I just want things to work. I don't want to download any printer drivers. I don't want to go to the Help menu, and I certainly don't want to access any online help desks where the person speaking via undersea cable in a heavy foreign accent claims his name is Chip.

So if you are an iris, and you appear in my blog, rest assured you will be resized, cropped, and any red-eye eliminated.

Otherwise, you're on your own.