Straddling reality and imagination

This is brilliant - Tom Waits interviews himself.

Perhaps I was a bit too hasty

It appears that libraries will endure - even when Earth is evacuated due to some vaguely malicious but not really dangerous alien threat:



Give this video a minute - the quality is really bad at the start.

So, aside from the valuable lessons learned about the nature of library organization and the Dewey Decimal System, what have we learned? We've learned that libraries preserve the information generated by humanity, and that will never change, even if no one bothers to read it.

But, you know, we shouldn't worry, the Internet will last forever.

Right?

Did I pick the wrong profession?

Currently, I'm reading a book titled "The Dumbest Generation." OK, I know what you're thinking - this is some grouchy old shriv's take on those darn kids. Well, not quite. The author draws his arguments from a wide range of surveys and studies, one of which indicates that one in four college freshmen and one in five college seniors read exactly zero books "for personal enjoyment or academic enrichment" each year.

I hear plumbers make decent money...

Oh great, another meme

From the people who brought you LOLCATS, there's a new site out there where Americans can simultaneously satisfy their desire to make fun of celebrities and look at funny pictures on the Web.

I bring this up for no reason other than I really kind of like the Bob Dylan/Snidely Whiplash juxtaposition.

Woody Guthrie, copyright cowboy?

One of my personal heroes, Woody Guthrie, was apparently the Lawrence Lessig of his day. Guess that's what folk music is all about. That, or he wanted to defend himself from any accusations of plagiarism.

Foxy

I am up and running with Firefox version 3. Lots of new features - but it keeps more information on your browsing. The default is to save your browsing history for 90 days! It knows what you're doing.

Firefox has always been extensible, but the new version should work with more third party applications. However, some existing Firefox 2 add-ons are incompatible. The del.icio.us add-on I had installed on my office computer was one such legacy application. But, not to worry, Firefox 3 automatically disabled it upon installation! It's smarter than we are.

I installed the new del.icio.us add-on, and it automatically sucked up all of my bookmarks. Which is ok, I guess - except that I had been using del.icio.us only to share research-related bookmarks with students. Like this list I put together for patent searching tools. But now it's got all of my bookmarks in there. It's become self-aware...

Another one?

I have yet another new toy.

No, this isn't the vaunted (and soon to be updated and upgraded - and cheaper) iPhone. It's the iPod Touch - basically, the iPhone without the phone. I didn't actually buy it for myself - it is a work tool and was purchased for me by the library.

The cool thing is that I now have true mobile Internet access. I had a PDA for a few years at work, but I was always disappointed with it. The iPod Touch is so easy to use - I figured it out on the first day I had it - and it actually handles online content well.

Though I'm hardly on the cutting edge by getting mobile Internet at this point in time, I feel like it's a big step towards the hoary future. What's next, a car that runs partly on batteries? ;)

Must be that new car smell...

Well, I've traded in my car of 7 years and 98,500 miles for... a new car of the same make and model.

But hold on, this new car is special. It's still a Toyota Camry, but mine has a hybrid engine. I'm getting used to driving the hybrid, and so far it's great. There is an additional meter on the instrument panel that shows you your trend in gas mileage, which is pretty cool. Also, there is a separate display where you can track your average miles per gallon from your last fill-up. This is also where you get a little "eco drive level" trend diagram after you turn off the engine - if you get really good mileage on a particular trip it rewards you with a little "EXCELLENT!" at the bottom.

Yeah, I know, if I still drive an average of 14,000 miles per year, my hybrid won't do much of anything to save the Earth. I have no delusions of that. But it will save me some money on gas, and it really appeals to my (shall we say) obsessively practical side.

The photo above isn't of my car, but mine pretty much looks like that - same color, same style.

That most precious commodity

It seems like I've been very pressed for time lately. Not that I've been feeling overwhelmed or anything - just that a lot of my past few weeks has been pretty solidly booked up. I got to present at the Western New York/Ontario ACRL spring meeting, attend the Imagine RIT festival (though much of the day was spent working at the library reference desk), and have a mini-reunion of sorts at Cornell. I also have to work this Saturday, which means that I haven't gotten to various and sundry household chores yet (cf. washing windows). But there were so many things I just wasn't able to get to do. Here are some things I missed:

• Live satellite simulcast of the This American Life stage show
• Kids In The Hall live in Niagara Falls
• Any screenings at the Rochester High Falls International Film Festival
• Screening of the Best of the Ottawa International Film Festival (separate even from High Falls Fest)
• Dreamland Faces at the Eastman House (will be missing this tonight - but I get to go to a baseball game instead)

So what does this all mean? Well, other than revealing that I am a ridiculous nerd, it also shows that I'm a big bad grown-up who successfully prioritizes when necessary. And, on the bright side, I have much vacation time coming up. And it's not like no fun is ever had. I already mentioned tonight's baseball game, but this Sunday I'm going to see Lewis Black, and last Sunday I got to wander through the lilacs at Highland Park without any of the Lilac Festival crowd getting in my way.

Did I mention I'm on vacation for the last week in May? Yeah, I still could use that.

Welcome to my (professional) world

Have you ever wondered "hey, just what the heck does Roman do at his job?" No? Or was the answer to that a snarky comment about posting here while I'm supposed to be working?

Well, for anyone out there that does wonder what's up with libraries and librarians these days, have a look at this series of articles posted by the British Guardian newspaper. It's a handy guide to some of the issues I and my fellow librarians are facing. Plus by posting it here, I saved you the trouble of Googling it. Score one for librarians!

SPECIAL BONUS BLOGTERIAL:

Did I forget to mark the 3rd anniversary of this whole deal yesterday? I did? Must be because I'm so busy trying to be a better "information broker."

Best possible souvenir of Washington

Take a look at what I found on my recent trip to Washington! Creepy, isn't it? Cathy says "it's like his eyes follow you."

(technically I bought this in Alexandria, but that's apparently where the good souvenirs are to be found)

You're getting warmer

Way back when I was considering a career as a scientist, I briefly considered learning more about paleoclimatology (studying the climate of the geologic past). I think I may have come across this when I was researching grad programs at the University of Arizona, but as this was a decade ago, I can't really remember.

That's why I found this article from Wired fascinating. The human impact on the climate very likely predates industrial times - certainly on a local level, but possibly even on a global level. One of the scientists quoted even stated that the advent of agriculture may have prevented another period of glaciation! I don't think we'll ever know that for sure, but there is tremendous value in slowly uncovering the puzzle of humanity's impact on the earth over the last several thousand years.

In short,

So long, Kids

I just read the sad news that Schoolkids Records in Chapel Hill is closing. I know being saddened by this will automatically out me as a sad old man who once was cool but now looks with scorn at the younger hipsters who just don't "get it." But it is kind of sad. Schoolkids was the quintessential college town music shop, where you could browse a weird and wonderful selection of music while simultaneously pining for the cute rocker chick that worked there. Visiting Schoolkids made me feel better during the somewhat difficult year I spent in Chapel Hill. I have no problem with college students (those poor slobs) sharing music with each other, but it feels like something will be lost when there are no more record shops. Especially in college towns, which seem to be transforming into more trendy, less family oriented versions of suburbia with each year that goes by. Ah well.

They made it to the Madness!

This past Saturday, Cornell's men's basketball team did the unimaginable and capped off an undefeated regular season in the Ivy League. Since the Ivies don't have a conference tournament, the Big Red win the conference outright and have an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. How great is that? Remember to pick them in your office pools. I can smell the upset already.

No devils here

God bless you, Daniel Johnston.

Chill out, moms and dads

I missed Frontline's documentary on the internet and teenagers when it aired, but David Pogue just posted a great assessment of the situation that includes a link to watch the whole thing for free online. I find it very sad (and unfortunately, not surprising) that the editor in Pogue's story asked specifically for a more sensationalized slant. The fear surrounding kids on the internet is pretty much the same as the fear surrounding abductions and "talking to strangers" when I was a child two decades ago. In both cases, it's a matter of teaching kids common sense and helping them develop good judgment skills, not overreacting to a handful of horrifying and possibly overblown stories.

February has been... eventful

Wow, this shortest month of the year (plus one day this time around) is only half over, and already it's been quite the ride. I had jury duty for a day, but I was not selected to serve on a trial. I've had to scrape ice off of my driveway twice (this is recommended only if you want to experience what it's like to be drenched in sweat in the middle of winter). And my house was broken into. Now, don't worry, nothing happened to me. The damage was very minimal - just a broken window in my side door - and nothing was stolen except for some change I had sitting around. Actually, I'm kind of tired of talking about it. I've taken steps to secure my house. Maybe I'll get a dog. Or a gun. Or a dog that knows how to shoot a gun. Or Dog the Bounty Hunter - because I assume he's available.

But such things are probably not necessary, and I'm not going to dwell on it, since plenty of good things have happened so far in February. I'll just distract myself with Star Wars themed hot air balloons. Look, up in the sky - it's the disembodied head of Darth Vader!

That's Un-American

Far be it from me to get overly worked up over minor league sports, but it needs to be said: the Rochester Americans are having a terrible season. They have won one game since the end of November. Their long-time parent franchise, the Buffalo Sabres, will end their affiliation with the Amerks next season. The dispute between the NHL and AHL clubs was primarily over the fact that the Amerks management signed a secondary affiliation with the Florida Panthers so they could line their pockets. But it also has to do with the fact that the Sabres management doesn't want anything more to do with the Amerks management. There has even been talk of buying/forcing/litigating the team's executive (an ignorant greedhead) out. It's sad - read more about it here.

I don't think I've attended an Amerks game in about two years. Is it any wonder why?

Would you buy a computer from this man?

Well, would you? It is the wonder computer of the 1980s, after all.

I love how their big selling point is that it's a serious computer that will teach you all these valuable skills, but you can still play cool arcade games on it right at home! Kind of anticipating those Mac vs. PC commercials.

Shiny new "lifestyle accessory" (?)

Is it really a lifestyle accessory, or is it just a darn music player? At any rate, I recently realized my old iPod was approaching the age of five - that's probably unheard of for a digital music player. I also noticed that the battery life was never very good and that storage was dwarfed by the contemporary generation. So I bought a new iPod this weekend. And the cosmos restored balance by breaking my garage door. How about that?