The newest trend in administrative librarian stupidity

Recently I reported on the director of the Penn libraries, who was under investigation for charges of child pornography. Apparently, he is not alone (except in the creepy loner pedophile mode). How can professional librarians, of such high stature, have such poor discretionary skills? I mean, come on, using a library computer to traffic porn? Kiddie porn, no less. And these aren't random support staffers either. These are directors. How does their judgment get so clouded? And as I mentioned last time, what does it say about other decisions that they've made?

Urbana Free RSS Feed

The wonderful photoblog of the Urbana Free Library's construction project has been syndicated. The RSS feed can be found here.

[4/30/2003 - ]

Tuesday, April 29, 2003

Aristotle's Unicorn

Are you familiar with the endangered Arabian Oryx? Jack Hanna brought one out on Letterman. According to Jack, the Egyptians tied the two horns and they grew together, forming the so-called unicorn. Not everyone agrees. Some photos from the reintroduction program. The photo in the 11th row, 2nd column shows how easily one could mistake the oryx for the unicorn.

Sunday, April 27, 2003

Accessibility

I'm staring at this blog-in-transition and realizing that from an accessibility standpoint, it's a disaster. For example (I'm sure there are many), some folks who have visual impairments might want to use IBM Home Page Reader to have my page read aloud for them. Unfortunately, the way the page is set up, the reader would probably read the whole sidebar before getting to the blog content. I'll have to think about switching the columns or something similar. There's definitely not enough people thinking about this stuff. I'm as guilty as anyone, but it's never too late to consider. This is an outstanding resource on usability in general, with a specific link for web sites: Designing a More Usable World, courtesy of the Trace Center at the University of Wisconsin.

Saturday, April 26, 2003

Re-focusing

I finally got Movable Type operational on my home server, so I've started a second blog. That will allow this blog to focus on more librarian-friendly content. Those of you in RSS land don't have to read my Friday Five anymore. Unless you really want to. If you're one of the two or three people world-wide who would like to be reading my more random remarks, email me at planetneutral [at] hotmail [dot] com and I'll send you the link (syndication available). Expect a migration of this blog in about a month's time.

Friday, April 25, 2003

Thursday, April 24, 2003

Wednesday, April 23, 2003

Look out Blogger

Great news in the blogging world as the developers of Movable Type have announced the imminent (later this year) release of a new application called TypePad. TypePad would provide a central server for hosting, much like Blogger, with all of the user-friendly customization aspects of Movable Type. For those who are not well-versed in dealing with file manipulation and/or the acquisition of server space, this should make breaking away from Blogger much easier. Ben Hammersley wrote an article in the Guardian that announces the new product.

Tuesday, April 22, 2003

Monday, April 21, 2003

It's all about me

Jason Kottke knows the deal:
Portal Wars II: When Search Engines Attack

It's the same story we hear in grad school every day - it's all about the user. It doesn't matter what you make happen with technology. What matters is what you do that makes it easy for me to make it happen.

Sunday, April 20, 2003

A fresh perspective

Turn your worldview upside-down by studying these maps.

Courtesy of Metafilter.

Saturday, April 19, 2003

Proof we have a lot to learn about network security

Apparently, people don't understand the purpose of password protection. Here's a look at what office workers will do for a free pen.

Thanks to Lockergnome.

Scandal in the Penn libraries

Watched Duets in the wee hours of the morning. Thinking about errors in judgment, I couldn't help but be struck by the bad decision-making process of Penn's library director. Makes you wonder about other decisions he may have made during his run.

[4/19/2003 - ]

Friday, April 18, 2003

Good news

I'm extremely pleased to announce that my fiancee has successfully passed the Kentucky Bar Exam. Of course, there was never any doubt about this, but congrats and affection are in order nonetheless.

In other news, I may have found a new job to apply for. Apparently, the high school librarian in my town is stepping down, so there should be a position opening. I would've thought that school media certification would be required, but apparently not. This would represent a serious shift in my nascent career path, but I really need to keep all lanes open at this point. It would certainly be more geographically convenient than any other job I've applied for, so in that regard, we're heading in the right direction.

Will anyone ever interview me? Will this over-priced education serve its purpose? Stay tuned.

New way to learn about end-users

AlltheWeb is offering a new feature that allows you to look at the last ten search strings run through their index. It's fascinating.

Courtesy of The ResourceShelf.

I can't wait to try this.

It's been a while since I got the Food Network, but when I go back to cable, I know that I'll be ready for the Iron Chef Drinking Game. It differs from your standard TV-based game by dividing your party into teams: Challengers, Iron Chefs and Commentators. Each team has a set of drink-inducing situations to watch for. And as with all good drinking games, everybody wins. A sample:

One drink any time a judge takes his/her first bite of a dish, then his/her eyes get really wide and he/she makes some type of vapid, overexcited comment on the dish such as "This is very good!"

One drink any time a judge that looks like a rap star makes an intelligent and complex critique of one of the dishes.

Two drinks anytime your chef is announced as being the master of some inane ingredient, such as salt.

Thursday, April 17, 2003

Shedding some light on why I'm here...

On my first read through an article entitled The Suicide of the Public Librarian, I couldn't help but wonder if my worst fears were being reinforced, if not confirmed outright. But I took another look and conclude that there just may be some hope for me in librarianship. I may need to expand my scope a bit and double my efforts, but that will have to wait till graduation.

Thanks to Library Link Of The Day.

Wednesday, April 16, 2003

Tuesday, April 15, 2003

Making Amazon work for your library.

One smart library is taking advantage of Amazon's affiliate linking program to generate some much needed revenue. Courtesy of LISNews: Facing Tough Times, A Rural Public Library Looks To Online Commerce.

For an introduction to affiliate linking, go here.

Monday, April 14, 2003

Sunday, April 13, 2003

Full-scale civil disobedience

The USA PATRIOT Act puts a stranglehold on due process and threatens everyone's privacy rights. At least one town is bold enough to do something about it.

Courtesy of FARK.

Saturday, April 12, 2003

Friday, April 11, 2003

Adding to my vitals

I realized there's an important distinction between the music in my player and the music that's playing in my head. So I thought I would add a feature to share the soundtrack of my mind with the world. The frequency that the Song In My Head changes tells you a little something about my internal monologue. I'll try to find samples of tunes whenever I can to share the infection.

Flight Tracker has moved

If, like me, you want to know exactly where the flight with the person you're picking up from the airport is, then you need the real-time, graphical Flight Tracker. It's now a part of Cheap Tickets, so if you've bookmarked it in the past, you need to update.

In honor of my new Zippo...

I thought I'd share a site with over 500+ video clips of various Zippo tricks.

Thanks to ResearchBuzz.

Devils representing

This unassuming gentleman holds the fate of my favorite team in his glove. Meet Martin Brodeur, the best goaltender in the NHL and probable Hart Trophy candidate for league MVP. If he plays his best, my NJ Devils will go far this year. And if the first game is any indication, he's in top form.

Thursday, April 10, 2003

From the Cool Things To Do With Your GPS file...

Looking for a new project for your GPS? Be a part of the Degree Confluence Project. Description borrowed from their site: "The goal of the project is to visit each of the latitude and longitude integer degree intersections in the world, and to take pictures at each location. The pictures and stories will then be posted here."

You should check it out just to read the adventures of the people who succeeded (and of those who didn't). The pictures really give a cross-section of the great variety of global climates and terrains. Willing adventurers be forewarned, most confluences in the US have already been documented, but many foreign opportunities await.

A proud day for Planet Neutral

I'm pleased to announce that my home computer is now a functional server. You'll find my computer at planetneutral.gotdns.com.

How'd I do that, you ask? Well, first I downloaded the Abyss Personal Web Server. Configuration was remarkably simple. Then I had to get a domain name to connect with my IP address. A free domain service is offered by DynDNS.org. After establishing a domain name, I had to deal with the fact that my IP is dynamic and changes every time I reconnect. Fortunately, DynDNS lists a number of clients that automatically update the IP associated with your domain name. I chose DirectUpdate, which I accessed directly from DynDNS.

To test it, I placed a simple splash page in the root folder (embedded with a sound file to check functionality). Then, I tried it on a computer outside my firewall and surprisingly enough, success! Now, if only I had a purpose...

[4/10/2003 - ]

Wednesday, April 09, 2003

Tuesday, April 08, 2003

Sunday, April 06, 2003

Since when is Cod Liver Oil vegan?

It's in no way surprising to see that the couple who raised their child on nothing but "ground nuts, fruit juice, herbal tea, cod liver oil and a liquid mixture of potatoes, sweet potatoes, plantains and fresh vegetables" were found guilty of multiple charges including endangering the life of a child. What concerns me is the apparent hit that vegetarian diets will take as a result of media sensationalization of this situation.

Mmm...beets!

Last night, we had a most successful dinner. The centerpiece was a Beet and Greens Risotto adapted from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone. It called for grating the beets and letting them cook with the rice, so that they almost melted into the creamy goodness. Definitely a winner.

Saturday, April 05, 2003

Last night's karaoke selections

Watchin' The Wheels - John Lennon (with Dennis, dedicated to Ann)
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - The Animals (with Dennis)
Doctor My Eyes - Jackson Browne (yep, with Dennis)
Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder (with Dennis, Emily and MJ)

All in all, a strong experience, although quite a bit less rowdy than other times. We also took a journey to a new (or rather reopened after five years of vacancy with a new name) club in Champaign, called the Cowboy Monkey. It was opening night and the Temple of Low Men were on the bill. Although we only caught a few songs, they sounded pretty good and the venue was nicely put together, so that's real positive for the local scene. However, since I'll be leaving town in less than six weeks, it won't do much for me.

Friday, April 04, 2003

Friday Five

My first foray into the weekly ritual known to bloggers world-over as the Friday Five.

1. How many houses/apartments have you lived in throughout your life?
16 (if you count dorm rooms, 18).
2. Which was your favorite and why?
After much deliberation, I have to give the nod to the house I spent my first years, in Manasquan Park, NJ. The best part about it was the size of my room, which to this day is the biggest bedroom I've ever had. It's difficult to describe, but two-thirds of the room was elevated a few feet and that whole area was carpeted in red. That was my world. The boring things (clothes and such) were located in the lower part, where the doors to the room were.
The house also had a huge pool table. It was really too big for the room, but for someone my size, it was perfect. There was a pool in the backyard, but it was under-maintained. There were really comfortable couches in the living room that were always covered in dog hair. Ah, the memories.
I've certainly lived in better parts of the world. One could argue that all of the other places were better, but as far as a house is concerned, that was the one.
Special honorable mention to my parents' house in East Dorset, VT. It just keeps getting better.
3. Do you find moving house more exciting or stressful?
Well, I think it's been sliding on a continual basis from exciting to stressful as I've accrued more stuff and my sense of adventure has perhaps waned a bit. However, I still love the thrill of discovering someplace new.
4. What's more important, location or price?
Since I can be somewhat flexible with location, I'd have to say price.
5. What features does your dream house have (pool, spa bath. big yard, etc.)?
My dream house has a huge garden and minimal lawn.
A big kitchen, of course, with a butcher block island.
Huge built-in media racks for books, CDs, DVDs, etc.
Finished basement for media center/screening room.
Indoor and outdoor hot tubs.
And plenty of storage space.

"And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree ;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery." - Coleridge

Community crawling

Thanks to the folks at Grub.org, my spare clock cycles are being used to crawl the web for LookSmart.

Courtesy of Search Engine Watch.

Thursday, April 03, 2003

I've been discovered

A great honor has been bestowed upon me as Steven Cohen of Library Stuff fame has seen fit to mention me on his blog. Check out the post. To quote him directly: "This may become one of my favorites, if only for the music that this unnamed blogger listens to." Rock on.

I need to also give a shout out to Organica for sharing that source with me. Organica is a blog crawler that compiles link stats, so I can see who links to me and a list of all my links. Very cool stuff.

Wednesday, April 02, 2003

My new workout regime

On Monday, we learned that planning is a "fun academic exercise." Today in Cataloging, I learned that assigning subject headings is an "interesting intellectual exercise." You'd think I'd be in better shape with all this exercise I'm getting.

Late 80's cartoons

Do you remember Dangermouse? or Thundercats? Relive the past with downloads available at this site.

Thanks to Pretty_Generic and MetaFilter.

New feature

Yesterday, I added the comment link for your feedbacking pleasure, courtesy of Enetation. Already, I've learned of a visitor thanks to it.

A small world

I stumbled upon an article today in the now-defunct New Breed Librarian written by a short-term law school classmate friend (via classmate) of my fiancee's. He made the brilliant decision to go to library school instead. The article speaks quite explicitly to one of the topics of my think piece: the unfortunate and unnecessary dichotomy between public and technical services.

Hostile takeover

It appears Blogger will not be restoring my template from backup, since free customers get no love from Blogger Control. Therefore, the responsibility to return Planet Neutral to its former glory is mine. In this case, the results seem satisfying, if not glorious. At least I've tackled out one technological crisis, but there are others.

My PDA arrived yesterday with no stylus, CD-ROM or manual. I can't get the cradle to HotSync either. My letters to Palm have been met with useless form responses [you mean I'm not the only one with sync problems? ;-) ].

I was having some issues with Syndirella too, but overall it is miles ahead of other news aggregators. I really need to stop dealing with my toys and get to work on a "think piece" I have to manifest by next week. Oh to be a full-time blogger...

Welcome to Korea

Apparently, I am now a spokesperson for Korea Life. As the story goes, my template was replaced thanks to server issues. So I await the return to a more neutral format.