Month: March 2009

Categories
Gaming

Master Feed for CiL2009

So I’ve tried to throw together a “master feed” for cil2009, which includes Twitter searches for both the and #cil009 hashtags, a flickr search for the tag cil2009, a Google Blog search for the same tag, and a Slideshare RSS for both the Computers in Libraries 2009 group and the overall tag. This should be a pretty good summary of the happenings, but if anyone notices something I forgot, leave it in the comments and I’ll add it to the Pipe.

The Pipe should be publicly available here, and this should be the RSS feed URL. My suggestion is to go to the Pipe page to find what you want, though, cause there’s a ton of ways you can get the info: as PHP, or even results by email or phone.

The below is an example of the embed for the Pipe. Hope this is useful for someone!

Categories
Personal Technology

TechSource Post: Saving Your Digital Life

Just put a new post up over at ALA TechSource: Saving Your Digital Life. Here’s a blurb:

I have, basically, three kinds of data that I’m worried about protecting in some way: working files, files that are important but replaceable, and files that I can’t afford to lose at all. Working files are just that: files that I’m currently working on for whatever reason. Might be a photo I’m editing, or a document, or an MP3 that I need to move to another computer…anything that requires action. Files that are important, but replaceable, are things that make my life easier if they are in digital form, mostly media. DVDs I’ve purchased and CDs I own have all been digitized, because I want to be able to watch them when I want and not when I remember to have a disk of plastic with me. I also want to be able to move them to my iPhone or other portable media player. If I lose the digital, it’s ok, because I can just re-digitize them, but I really, really don’t want to have to do that. And finally, there are the files that I just can’t lose for any reason. Things like tax returns, photos of my daughter, receipts, and other digital items that need to be safe even if there’s a natural disaster.

So how do I handle all of this? With one piece of hardware, a few pieces of software, and broadband.

Go read the whole thing if you’re interested in how I handle MY digital life.

Categories
Brand_New_World Profile

Eliza profile: fifteen months!

Favorite hobby: talking, talking, and more talking! She now says 2 and 3 word sentences on a regular basis. The funniest so far? When a program we were watching on the TiVo got to the end and stopped, she said “Daddy fix it”! If she can’t reach something she wants she now says “Mommy get it.” She’s becoming quite the bossy little thing. She can also name all of her daycare classmates and tells everyone (and everything, including her breakfast and the dog) “Morning!” when she wakes up.

Other favorite hobbies: Sitting. A relatively new skill, she tries to turn everything into a “seat” (another favorite word): her toy piano, a basket full of books, the stairs, anything. Also likes drawing and “writing,” putting stickers on paper, playing with Play Doh, taking things out of the refrigerator, organizing bottles of shampoo and lotion in the bathroom, dancing.

Favorite foods: #1 by far is her “wogurt” (yogurt), which she would eat five times a day if we let her. Also loves pumpkin butter on bread, any kind of cheese, pizza, sweet potatoes, and bananas. Has recently figured out how to dip foods, so she’s into ketchup and marinara sauce.

Favorite toys: Everything is a toy at this point. Loves her bubble machine from Uncle Kevin, sidewalk chalk, balls, stuffed Elmo’s (she inherited a bunch from mommy), and shape sorter.

Favorite books: Dr. Seuss’s Hop on Pop, which she can now request by name at bedtime and does so often. Also loves his Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? And still loves the Matthew Van Fleet books, especially Cats and Dogs.

Favorite media: We do let her watch TV, but only three shows: Yo Gabba Gabba (her favorite), Jack’s Big Music Show, and Sesame Street. She also still loves music, particularly Laurie Berkner and yes, the Elvis Costello phase continues.

She’s a fun little monkey with a great sense of humor. Life with Eliza is certainly never boring!

Categories
Personal Technology

Hack of the week: Dropbox

I’m really particular about the background images on my computers. I like dark, subdued backgrounds that don’t attract the eye. I do like pictures, but ones that highlight any icons easily and don’t strain my eyes trying to find what I’m looking for. As a result, I’ve spent years collecting images that I like, upgrading to higher and higher resolutions as my monitors got better and better. I’ve got tons of fractals, dark photos, and other such images that I just prefer to have as my desktops.

Oh, and a few pictures of Eliza, of course.

So previously, I’ve kept a copy of this “Wallpapers” folder at the root of whatever computer I’m using, and set the system to use that as images for the desktop. But then if I find a new image I like, I’ve got to remember to distribute it to my laptop, and my home desktop, and my work desktop…blah.

Dropbox

Enter: Dropbox. Now hopefully everyone knows how amazingly awesome dropbox is by now, but if you don’t, just click that link and sign up for it. Trust me. Dropbox creates a folder on each of your computers that you install it on, and a folder in the cloud, and keeps all of them in sync all the time. You get 2 gigs free, and can pay for extra space as you need it.

I just realized that I can now put a Wallpapers folder inside my Dropbox, and it will propagate to every machine. I can set my desktop pics to choose from that folder, and anytime I find a new one, it will automagically sync to all the others with no effort from me. So all my pics will be the same on all my machines, no matter which I find and add from. It’s a little thing, but it makes me happy.

Categories
Brand_New_World Uncategorized

Latest language insanity




IMG_0364

Originally uploaded by griffey

Just keeping up with Eliza’s increasing language acquisition is insane. The latest: Every night when her evening episode of Yo Gabba Gabba goes off (we watch it after dinner as a wind-down for bedtime), the DVR stops and she says “Uh oh!” Last night, it went off, she said “Uh oh!”, then paused and shrugged and said “Daddy fix it!”

Indeed, Daddy fix it.

She’s 15 months old. I’m scared of her at 2.

Categories
Personal

Duck Prosciutto

I am drooling just looking at these pictures of Duck Prosciutto. Seriously.

ruhlman.com: Duck Prosciutto

Categories
Digital Culture Legal Issues Personal

Hackintosh




hackintosh

Originally uploaded by griffey.

This is the “About This Mac” screen from what is not an Apple product at all. After seeing the sale that Dell was having a few weeks ago, and getting my first royalty check from my book, I decided to splurge a bit and grab a Dell Mini 9. I had a copy of OS X 10.5.6 that I got when I bought the Mac Box Set a few months ago when upgrading my iLife and iWork, so I was covered on the legal copy of OS X.

After that, it was a reasonable simple matter. I’ll throw together a separate post with the directions I followed. What I mainly wanted to note here was how incredibly well the Mini 9 runs OS X. Seriously solid, and with NO hesitation. It’s kind of mind-blowing.

Categories
Brand_New_World Uncategorized

Linus



IMG_7513.JPG, originally uploaded by griffey.

She’s turning into Linus, which is something I always feared would happen.

The sacred pink blankie used to live only in her crib or be brought out for naptime at daycare. But now that she can say the word “blankie,” she can ask for it whenever she wants. Today, she demanded to take blankie and Minnie Mouse for a ride in the stroller. She went to her room, pointed to the crib and shouted “blankie!” I gave it to her. She then carried it into the living room, where the stroller was parked, and tapped it, saying “ride! Mommy…ride!” And so we went on a walk, despite the 58 degree temps. And then blankie stayed outside with us and got nice and dirty as she dragged it around the yard. When I protested, took it from her, and told her no, she FLIPPED OUT. Will she be one of those kids that has her blankie in the grocery store, on the playground, at the doctor’s office? Gah, I hope not. Well, at least it’s “blankie” and not “binky.” She has classmates at daycare who are much older than her who still suck on the “binky” all day long.

Me, I pick my battles.

Categories
ALA Library Issues Personal

LITA Election Endorsements

I would like to offer my personal endorsement of the following candidates for LITA offices for this election cycle:

Aaron Dobbs and Maurice York for Councilors at Large. Both Aaron and Maurice have worked behind the scenes for years to improve the way that LITA does things, and I think having them on the Board will help move LITA forward. I know both of them well, and have worked with both at a national level with LITA, and would be thrilled to see them as members of the Board.

I would also like to endorse Karen Starr for Vice-President. Her personal statement says “The innovators and leaders of tomorrow are the LITA members of today. It is refreshing to work with a dynamic group on the national level who care, who want to define that future and who come together to work on what the big picture should look like.” I believe that the time has come to define our future.

Please remember to vote, and I hope that you take my recommendation to the polls!

This endorsement represents my personal opinion and is in no way reflective of any committee, interest group, or other unit of LITA or ALA.

Categories
Personal

Go Mocs! Go Mocs!