Changes in Big 12 coaching basketball

Well, it looks like Kelvin Sampson will leave his post at Oklahoma to go to Indiana. This season has been one of change with new coaches installed at Missouri, K-State, Iowa State, and one coming for the Sooners. What does this mean to KU? Competition, Competition, Competition escpecially in the North. However, I believe that next year may be easy for KU as Mike Anderson, Bob Huggins, and Greg McDermott adjust to their new situations. But the 2007-2008 season will be difficult as KU loses players to the NBA and the other teams catch up.

Picard Song

For those of you who liked Star Trek: The Next Generation and for those of you who like techno-music, here's the Picard Song, a video I found through Wired Magazine and performed by DarkMateria and designed by makers of the SIMS.

Technology at work

I'm getting on my soap box now:

Word from MP3 (I don't know if his father or grandfather had MP as their initials, but that's my nickname for him) and the other lab associates is that more patrons are using flashsticks in the lab. Furthermore, some patrons are bringing in CDs with their personal information stored on them. I asked computer services why our CD drives are locked down and to be quite honest, the answer did NOT prove to be satisfactory...and I know when I relay this answer to patrons, they will not be satisfied.
Recently, JG and I received the blessing to start the BookFix blog. And so far, it has roared off to what I deem a spectacular beginning although the initial suggestion of blogging was met with some trepidation from the "powers" Mainly. One of the general, most-pure lessons I took with me from library school is, as librarians, we need to utilize all tools to promote the library as a valuable cultural center and as a viable source for information, entertainment, and reading. And by "all tools" we need to, at least, consider all technologies that come down the pike. This includes the emerging social Internet technologies like blogging, RSS feeds, podcasting, photoshare sights like Flickr, Wikipedia.....and much more.
I am proud of the job my work colleagues have shown in relationship to BookFix. It proves that even though they know what brought them here, they are willing to change, to embrace the technology potentials that are out there. Several of us have been walking around with flashsticks draping down from our necks while some of us have been wearing iPods or MP3 players during our off-desk time. I read in one of my blogs that a public library in Ohio has incorporated podcasting on their web site. Call me a dreamer but I wouldn't mind adding Podcasting to our web site.
But for all these exciting things that are happening in technology, we have a department that is stuck in neutral and is in danger of not being able to snap out of it. Plans have the department moving elsewhere and the department is bogged down with projects. Now I realize how our organization is structured but I'm disappointed that we have to share our department for "500" reasons. We are lagging behind other pub systems.
Once again, call me a dreamer, but I like the technologies I see and I am proud of the fact that I have attempted to share these ideas with colleagues. But if we are to advance in our craft, everyone has to be involved.

I'll get off my soapbox now and return to learning more about the "Ultraviolence."

Confusing weather

The last day of fall we get 12 inches of snow,
Towards the end of winter we get tornadoes, hail, thunderstorms,
The first day of spring we get four inches of snow,
The question: What season is it? Really........

My passion for sports

If there's one picture that has stuck with me for the past twenty-eight years, it's the picture from the Topeka Capital Journal (it was probably in the Star, too) of Royal's shortstop Freddie Patek hanging his head in disappointment after grounding into a double play ending the Royals' chances of advancing to the 1977 World Series. I remember that night so well. I felt so sick after the loss I was unable to complete my math homework.
What accentuates this memory is the fact I was watching the game with Mom and even she was feeling flustered by the Royals' blowup in the ninth inning that allowed the hated Yankees to take the lead in the game. "George Brett, you did it again!!" she shouted as our then young third baseman made a throwing error to contribute to the debacle.
I didn't get many opportunities to share sports on TV with Mom, partly because she had become a working mother after she divorced my dad and partly because she started dating again. But I must admit, I did enjoy the times we had together ranging from my first attendance to a Royals game in 1977 to watching a Topeka Sizzlers basketball game on the Washburn campus.
I sure wish I could have watched the KU championship with her and my sister in 1988 when she watched the game on her then-brand new Zenith color television set. But I was at the campus radio station as the celebration broke out after the final horn.
As most of you know, I have maintained my fervor for sports especially the local college basketball scene. And every time my Jayhawks get bounced from the post season tournament, I still feel the disappointment and the sickness like I did back in 1977. But you know what, the sun always rises the next day and spring comes signifying everything starts anew and the Jayhawks will get a chance next season.
KU simply ran into a better team last Friday night. Bradley was better prepared. But for me, the youth on the KU team inspires hope--hope that they will be a solid team next year and hope that they learned NOT to be tentative or intimidated by the big time tournament game. KU will be back and I expect I'll have to deal with my feelings of sickness when they disappoint. But a little euphoria from a national championship doesn't hurt either.

Comments about the KU-Bradley game

Well, the corn beef and cabbage was good Friday night......

Making the tech librarian mad

I pulled this off of Michael Stephen's Tame the Web Blog. And the more I thought about it, the more I decided to publish this in my personal blog. So......

Here's the Top Ten list to insure that the techie librarian leaves your system to go to another library:

1. Dismiss blogs/wikis/RSS as just for the geeks not library users

2. Plan technology projects without involving them until the wheels are in motion/contracts are signed

3. Appoint a technophobe librarian to manage the techies

4. Allow barriers to exist that make it difficult for IT staff and librarians to plan and collaborate

5. Bog down their projects in red tape and approvals that take weeks or months to get

6. Send your seasoned librarians to conferences instead of mixing up seasoned folks & your techies to a variety of association and professional meetings, including tech-based conferences

7. Plan project timelines that extend so long the planned service or tech innovation is out of date before it launches

8. Pooh Pooh the idea of the Emerging Technology Committee, the library is doing just fine without it

9. Make your library Web site an afterthought not a "cyber branch" location

10. Always ensure that non-technical people make the important technical decisions

BONUS: Never Dream. Never innovate. Never think outside the Box.

How much of this list applies to me? Eye of the beholder, my dear reader, eye of the beholder.

The weather

Sunday was a bad day for weather and kind of early in the year for severe weather including tornadoes, thunder storms, and hail. On three separate incidents it hailed up here in the Northland. The largest size of hail I witnessed was walnut size but a friend from work said he saw softball size hail in his area of KC.
And there were tornadoes aplenty. I was listening to the KU pregame show when the local Lawrence radio affiliate broke in with this announcement: "If you here police sirens going off, that means take cover. The regular tornado sirens were damaged by this morning's wind sheers. Please take cover." Apparently the south side of Larryville as well as the KU campus received substantial damage from high winds (tornadoes in disguise) and hail. Classes were cancelled for Monday so that KU could assess the damage and make the proper repairs.
In KCK, the sun roof to the water park at Great Wolf Lodge was violently ripped off. I was really astonished when I saw the video to this. Meanwhile, warehouses along the KCMO Front Street area (an industrial park) were demolished. Fortunately, to my knowledge, nobody in KC proper was injured, probably because it was a Sunday. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the towns to the south, southeast, and east of KC. Three people died from the tornadic weather.
This was the first time I saw one KC television station preempt television for the entire day because of this weather.
As for me and my house, Platte County was placed under only one tornado warning. I was grateful for this. But, as I said at the start, I had to endure three hail storms and that was more than enough.

Darn Moles

While mulching leaves today, I encountered 5 mole tunnels.

Darn critters!!! Nothing is beneath them...

New Wrinkle to BookFix

Computer Services installed a "PDF-maker" on my machine in my office recently. It occurred to me that we could add another facet to our BookFix project: create a newsletter containing the blog posts and distribute it to patrons who ARE NOT Internet savy. That way they can be included in this new Reader's Advisory loop.
As such, I have asked DB to create a logo for the newsletter. She has already exceeded the call to duty and I appreciate her participation in this.

LII Survey

LII.org is a website that means a lot to me. I clicked on their job postings back in 2000, clicked on the KCMLIN link and found my first job at West Wyandotte. Now LII.org is facing a 50% budget cut for its web site operations and they need to reorganize.

I encourage you, dear reader, to help this fine organization out by merely filling out their survey which will assist them in decision making. Click here for the survey.

HD Cameras

Here's a quick recommendation to visit Rocketboom's Vlog for March 8. There's a discussion about Hi-Def video cameras.

Twenty Five Worst Sequels

This is according to Entertainment Weekly Online. Here's the countdown:

25. The Matrix Reloaded
24. The Next Karate Kid
23. Porky's II: The Next Day
22. Teen Wolf Too
21. Legally Blond 2: Red, White, & Blond
20. The Godfather, Part III
19. Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise
18. Battle for the Planet of the Apes
17. Star Trek V: The Final Frontal Lobe
16. Ocean's Twelve
15. Dumb and Dumberer
14. Conan the Destroyer with Wilt and Grace-ew!
13. The Sting II
12. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
11. Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights
10. Jaws: The Revenge
9. Speed 2: Cruise Control
8. Friday the 13th: Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
7. The Fly II
6. Weekend at Bernies II
5. Batman and Robin
4. Blues Brothers 2000
3. Leprechaun: Back to tha' Hood
2. Caddyshack II
1. Staying Alive w/ John Travolta

I think EW missed something when the left Alien: Resurrection off of the list as well as the Nutty Prof 2.

Ever-energetic, ever-ambitious Google

According to my blog reading, it looks like Google and the National Archives have formed a partnership so that Google will "stream" a lot of the Archives video footage. Here's the site:

NARA on Google Video

Oscars

Well....at least Wallace and Gromit won for best animated movie.

This year's awards did not have a consistent front-horse winner hoarding all the Oscars (like LOTR-ROtK two years ago). I do believe Ang Lee deserved his Oscar. If he can take a comic book story (Hulk) and make an interesting movie, he must have been a miracle worker with Brokeback.

An Audio "Hello"

Vlog recommendation

As I poured through my list of blogs that I read, I came across a video blog that I think would be beneficial to librarians who deal with the emerging technologies from the Internet.



Rocketboom: A Daily Vlog with Amanda Congdon discusses everything that's happening with blogs, RSS feeds, file sharing....you name it and she'll talk about it. And even though she has received some comments that her sense of humor is kooky, I believe she has her finger on the pulse of Internet technologies. I highly recommend this site.

Book Discussion Group

Well, I can finally say that I participated in my first book discussion group as a librarian. Fourteen of us met at Scooter's Coffeehouse to talk about the book Kite Runner by Hosseini. We divided into two groups with my supervisor leading one group and I leading the other. I must admit that I was nervous but thanks to Haworth Hiker (who should resume her blog), DB, RN, Ultraspark, W and his wife, things went smoothly.

Open for business

Just when you thought it was safe to roam the blogosphere------

BOOKFIX!!!

We rolled out the blog today.

Hotel Librarian

My house served as a hotel last night when AN spent the night. She had an early morning flight to San Francisco to attend training seminars related to her social welfare work. Her other option was to spend the night at her brother's place in the south part of KC which meant an extra hour worth of driving to KCI.
AN arrived at my place at about 11PM and we promptly sat down in my kitchen and started talking for about an hour and a half or so with topics ranging from her children to our respective states of well-being. She arrived a little later than I had hoped but only because of family obligations back home. Since she had to get to KCI before 6AM the next morning, we ended our talk at about 12:30-12:45. She woke at 4:30 this morning and I did not hear her leave the house.
Once again, I enjoy the conversation finding it stimulating and thought-provoking. I look forward to future talks.