Boat Show

I went with my sister's family to the Overland Park Boat show at the OP Convention center yesterday. It was the first time I attended a boat show, car show, etc. I think I went with the expectation that there may have been some sailing boats at the show. I was mistaken. Still, the motor boats on display were spectacular although unaffordable for this librarian and his salary.

Cameos by the master of suspense

This past Sunday I got a reference question asking me about Alfred Hitchcock cameos and, in particular, where was Hitchcock's cameo in "North by Northwest." I managed to pull up a list from the Internet, of course.
For both the uninitiated and the experienced, I pulled this short two minute video of Hitchcock cameos. How many movies can you name? BTW, the answer to my reference question is included here.

Going to Fort Worden, WA: Weighing the Costs

With the assistance of my sister and brother-in-law last week, I was provoked to think out the costs of going to Fort Worden for the upcoming family reunion in August.

First of all, the Amtrak idea is out. It's just too expensive to travel to a station that hosts the Chicago-to-Washington state line and then take the train directly to Seattle. Disappointing--yes. But I do hope to take a train trip sometime.

Another choice for me was doing the long drive from Kansas City to Fort Worden which means a three-and-a-half day drive and nearly 2,000 miles one way and then I repeat that as I drive home. As my brother-in-law points out, not only does this include the costs of gasoline (which might cost four or five dollars a gallon this summer) but also the costs of wear and tear on my car and the cost of any hotel or campground stays. My business calculator was working overtime as I keyed in the anticipated costs.

Perhaps the most practical (but still costly) way of getting to Washington is to fly from KC to Seattle and then rent a car for a week. I have been spending some time on Travelocity considering the costs of a round-trip ticket and car rental.

I guess there are a couple reasons why I am scrutinizing the costs here. But I guess the biggest reason I am concerned is that when I reflect on my trip to the San Juan Islands in 2006, I realize that my uncle was kind and generous enough to cover a lot of the costs: the timeshare of the boat, the groceries, dining in restaurants, etc. I know with the Fort Worden trip this year, I'll have to be accountable for most of the costs.

But still, it's a family reunion. And how often does one get a chance to see the extended family?

Random notes concerning computer issues at my library

1. We are going through growing pains with our wireless in the library. There are some small procedural issues that we are dealing with. First of all, we are learning to assist patrons who are using our wireless. Another issue is providing wireless to guests of the library. To that effect, a lab associate and I have been training staff to issue guest wireless receipts. Anyone wanting to use our wireless has to login with a username and password and this includes patrons and guests. A third issue we’re working on with our wireless is printing. We hope to have this problem solved shortly.
2. I am in the process of revamping the enrollment procedures for my computer classes. Currently, enrollment goes through one service point in the library—the switchboard. With the new system we will also include the reference desk and the computer lab as service points for enrollment. Hopefully, we’ll roll out the new system in time for the March classes.
3. We are also revising the procedures for making computer service requests in our library. Computer Services has purchased a program that allows each library worker to trace the progress of the request “ticket” submitted. Through the use of email as well as our individual Windows login, we’ll be able to trace the progress of our ticket from submission, to progress, to completion. This is much more a thorough system than what we had previously.

Mizzou and KU come through

Good to see that both teams win in their respective bowl games. Missouri was dominant in their win over Arkansas (although it was tough sitting through Pat Summerall's call of the game). Meanwhile, KU proved that they can play "Beamer" ball and play a close game. The Orange Bowl was the most exciting BCS game so far.