Wikis - to be or not to be

I feel quite divided on the subject of wikis. It would seem that they are most useful when they are local and controlled, such as a wiki for organising a conference, or a particular program. Another useful application is that of Antioch University, where only  the staff can edit. Otherwise some control must occur. The best known wiki would have to be Wikipedia, and how many people are engaged there in the editing the incoming entries - and still with varying results. One the examples suggested to view, Montana History Wiki, is not open for editing, and why should it. Who is to say the edit will be correct, when it is not known where it comes from. But then why have it as a wiki? The whole wiki looked as if it should have been on their website.
Obviously there are untold thousands out there who love the whole idea of wikis and the community spirit they are to engender - sharing knowledge for the greater good and building groups of like-minded citizens etc etc. I have no doubt that they can and do serve a useful purpose, but perhaps best with limitations of membership and considerable management.

RSS for swimmers

Thought I'd share a couple of jokes with you I saw whilst trying to sett up a RSS feed from one of the Masters websites. Perhaps only to be appreciated by the more mature amongst us:


Out to pasture
We all know that time waits for no-one and you know you are getting older when you begin to believe there are three kinds of people; those who can count, and those who can't.


 
Over the hill
You can take heart however because Masters Swimmers know that it is only when you are over the hill that you can pick up speed.



The RSS feeds I created included:
ABC News: top stories
ABC Jazz Just Played
Libraries Interact
FINA
Western Australian Public Libraries
The Australian

I may end up knowing to much!

Is Flickr worth it?

Thought I'd see what photos were out there showing anything dealing with swimming pre-1970. Anything at all would have done. And the end result was one photo of  Dawn Fraser and Ilsa Conrads at the 1960 Olympic trials at North Sydney Pool:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/statelibraryofnsw/3383583260/

It is a great photo though. I really like the dark and mysterious effect. What was this pool really like?

But what is up with all those people who feel free to load the site with their boring photos which are not even tagged correctly, like the person who has put about 40 photos on the Guildford entry all titled Guildford Museum?

A better option for anyone looking for more historical photos may be the National Library's Picture Australia:

http://www.pictureaustralia.org/

Swimming forever

I love swimming - always have and hopefully always will. It started with a childhood spent in the Swan River at Como with my brother and sister. Our family was involved with the swimming club there, in the days when the turning boards were pulled in and out each Sunday morning and the height of your dive depended on the tide. And let's not mention the barnacles and jellyfish!

Now I'm with a Masters Club at Inglewood Pool and our Club has been going for 32 years. We're part of Masters Swimming WA and in turn Masters Swimming Australia. Masters swimming is a world-wide activity, as those of us in Perth saw when the World Championships were held here in 2008.

What's so good about swimming? It makes you feel great, it keeps you fit and you meet lots of nice people. There is a lot to share and learn - training techniques, nutrition, upcoming events etc...