m00se

my beloved has returned to me

2006-05-08T19:30:00.000-05:00

was pete out of town? was one of my cats at the vet? no. my computer returned for the 2nd time. this time, the CD drive was toast. i have to admit i was feeling a bit...uhhh, yeah right, it was working before i sent it out, wtf? but $130 later, the drive is far faster than the one in here previously, so...yeah. here it is, and here i am. yay

it's about time

2006-04-25T20:23:00.000-05:00

little navi is back. shipped to me from mac medics yesterday. their services are highly reccommended for those in need. and now i have an 80GB drive - w00t!

A Growing Movement

2006-04-20T19:23:00.000-05:00

DSC02010
Originally uploaded by l@in.

Over the course of the past three days, I've watched an ever increasing number of Falun Dafa/Falun Gong practitioners hand out literature, raise awareness about the situation of the members of the Falun Gong members in mainland China, protesting the visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Today, with the scheduled meeting of the US and Chinese Presidents, the area all around the White House erupted in an incredibly colorful, peaceful, and often joyful demonstration. Protests also took place when President Hu Jintao was in Seattle. The activists I saw were extremely well organized - with new publications of a small newspaper both yesterday and today, several different brochures and flyers, and professional looking signage. As a person who is fascinated by social movements, especially the role that technology plays in quick and successful organzation of these protests, I wish I knew more about how these protests were organized. Bi-Yun (Ruby) Huang, a woman that I had the opportunity to participate in a directed reading course in social movements with at IU, has been studying the role of technology in the organization of the Falun Gong movement. I look forward to reading her research even more on the heels of this recent protest movement

Vi/VIM resources

2006-04-19T13:25:00.000-05:00

not very interesting for anyone but me. but i wanted to gather these puppies together so i can get to them easily from home or work. if anyone has further reccommendations please comment and i'll add 'em. - VI Lovers Homepage - Adrian's VIM Page - Simple Guide to Vi/VIM - A Quick Guide to Vi - Vim The Editor - Download 500+ page book on VIM - simply type "vimtutor" into the command line for 30 minute tutorial - Vim Cookbook - Vim Quick Reference Card - The Vi Mug (i should bring mine in to work) - Vi Reference

I can't wait to see this

2006-04-11T08:27:00.000-05:00

An Inconvenient Truth ...why isn't Al Gore President again?

infectious disease round-up

2006-04-06T14:06:00.001-05:00

Necrotizing Fasciitis (NF) & Avian Flu (H5N1) NF necrotizing fasciitis or flesh-eating bacteria attacks soft tissue. There's no known preventative measure one can take, besides "keeping your skin intact". Some reports seem to indicate that instances of this disease are on the rise. The CDC does not officially track the numbers of patients that present with NF on a yearly basis, but based on a 1999 study 600 cases were reported, and it's estimated that 500-1500 cases occur in the US on a yearly basis. NF is part of the Group A streptococcus family. The non-invasive forms of this bacterium include strep throat, and impetigo. - A doctor tells of his experience with necrotizing fasciitis in April of 2004 - Two women die in Johnson County, Kentucky. Kentucky Drs. have reported a 23 incident jump in NC from 2001 to 2004. - A Hawaiian man fell into sewage polluted waters of Ala Wai Boat Harbor last week and has suffered massive organ failure in addition to the amputation of his leg below the knee. - Edward Kopfman succumbed to necrotizing fasciitis on April 2nd. He's the 9th person to become fatally infected in King County Washington this year. - Woman dies of NC in Miramichi, New Brunswick. - North Carolina woman dies of NC after hand injury. - New treatment for NC could be on the way. H5N1 - Avian flu found in dead swan in Scotland - Cats may play a role in the spread and mutation of H5N1 - 9th person diagnosed with bird flu in Egypt appears to be stable

who knew?

2006-04-05T18:50:00.000-05:00

bits of interest - ahh...christian sexists, love 'em. honest. listen to Chris Matthews suck, suck, suck up to Tom Delay, then Tom reveals his latent sexism. - lost in translation Jesus on Ice. Way better than Cinderella on Ice. - Bush needs to spend more time on his knees - I'm still pissed about McCain at Liberty University Gary Bauer will speak at the baccalaureate service the night before. mmmm. - how's it coming? one of the most well known right-wing Christian organizations breaks down the end times just for you - Sen. Lieberman prepares for his big career switch someone should tell him librarians aren't really into the whole "shhh" thing anymore - one more reason to leave town The Eagle Forum Collegians hit DC June 8-9

weekend/link round-up

2006-04-03T05:39:00.000-05:00

pete pretty much sums up the weekend. while The Orb was highly enjoyable, Roni Size, DJ Marky and MC Armani, all artists that i've wanted to see for years, really blew me away. I also forgot how nice crowds are at electronic shows. literally every time i got bumped, stepped on or elbowed, inevitable in a packed and dancing crowd, i always got a big smile and an apology. i even got an impromptu hug from a temporary dancing partner. i guess PLUR isn't completely dead. :) real quick: - for all of my midwest pals you now have a new way to hop from midwestern city to midwestern city. Megabus offers cut-rate fares from Indy, Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, and other midwestern cities. But with tickets only available online, it seems that many people who might benefit from these low-cost fares might find them inaccessible. - although prayer might not actually heal the sick, perhaps a similar study should be conducted on the effect of prayer on the success of political candidates as Sen. John McCain has recently agreed to speak at the ultra-conservative Liberty University. - EPA headquarters in Washington DC is now using 100% green energy - the flu season is peaking later - if/when avian flu hits the US it's thought that it will hit California first. on the upside it appears that it is difficult for H5N1 to pass from human to human because the virus "the virus concentrates itself too deep in the respiratory tract to be spewed out by coughing and sneezing" ...at least you know, until it mutates.

Crashing the Gate

2006-03-28T20:42:00.000-06:00

Last night, thanks to Pete, I got to go see the Crashing the Gate Tour Kickoff Jerome Armstrong of my DD and Markos Moulitsas Zuniga of Daily Kos at George Washington University . As I had to take notes on paper (ugh!) you're better off reading pete's post about the event. It was essentially a brief Q & A session. It lasted about an hour and at least half of that time was dedicated to questions from the audience. I was impressed with both authors, but was really pleased with Marcos' energizing, no-holds-barred kind of speaking style. He talked about the point in the book-writing process where they got drunk in a random hotel (in Montana?), discussed the project and as a result, reframed the topic to what the book turned out to be. He was very unabashed about the fact that for the most part he feels like the Dems are doing it wrong. But this is tempered with the fact that he feels that a good Democrat, whether a conservative Dem or a very liberal Dem stands up to defend important issues; and a Dem who does this is "supportable", which I agree with. Marcos also made the point that the "real", important political stuff is going on outside of Washington. I know that he means washington as Washington, but I couldn't help but think that people who live in The District are well acquainted with a special kind of disenfranchisement, obviously due to the fact that we're underrepresented. Finally, I find it both discouraging and exciting that the "silver bullet" that translates netroots activism into grassroots activism hasn't been found yet. Both Jerome and Marcos indicated that "something happens" in this conversion process, but as Noriko and I found, we have no idea what that is yet. The reason it's frustrating is clear, but it's exciting that researching this process, figuring it out is still something that needs to be done. The researcher in me loves the undiscovered. But the longer it takes the more frustrating it gets. I feel this is exacerbated by the issue of the digital divide. If we think the key to changing things, especially in red states is "regular people" taking action, red states and rural areas tend to be poor areas. We know that lack of income presents internet and technology access issues, small libraries don't have a big tech budget, rural schools don't have a huge budget/tax base etc. This is compounded by the fact that many public libraries still don't recognize the value of providing unfettered internet access to their patrons (which is a different issue all together). So if the "new" political revolution is happening online, and the people in crucial areas aren't "connected", how do we address this? Or is old-fashioned grassroots action enough in these areas? Will the more common cell phone be the link? Text messages instead of email? In "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" Joe Trippi talks about empowering people to act politically on their own - is this the silver bullet? How is this fostered en masse?

CIL Overview

2006-03-28T14:13:00.000-06:00

As i've previously mentioned, my computer is b0rked. i'm waiting for the mac shipping box so i can send my beloved navi in for repair. So, until i type up all my notes, i bring you highlights of the conference: Thirty Search Tips in 40 Minutes - presented by Mary Ellen Bates of Bates Information Services. This session was especially useful in terms of combining new tools and tips with familiar procedures. I would suggest any future sessions where she was speaking. A list of her recent presentations is located on her site. Cool Tools Update for Webmasters - presented by Darlene Fichter and Frank Cervone. This session was simply a fast-paced run through of neat tools. The power point slides are available. Digitization Issues and Challenges - presented by Lloyd Davidson, Christopher Warnock, and Stephen Abram The current SLA President-elect, Stephen Abram stole the show in this panel which presented three disparate views of digitizing documents and the present and future accessibility of this type of material. Abram acknowledged Warnock's position that libraries and specifically scientific libraries are undergoing massive upheaval and will not function in the future as they do at present. However, unlike Warnock, Abram indicated that librarians will be just as, if not increasingly more, useful in the future as information iss't getting easier to find, and "people aren't getting any smarter". I found his position to be especially enlightening and quite similar to the positions taken buy individuals working to create a viable semantic web. This presentation has compelled me to join SLA in the near future. Professional Library organizations need to be this forward thinking. The Exploding Future of Social Communication - presented by Brian Pomeroy The Web 2.0 Challenges to Libraries - presented by Paul Miller These presentations looked to the future of electronic communication and the implementation of better and more collaborative endeavors in library technology. Pomeroy's presentation provided more of a sweeping view of what's going on now and Miller outlined a collaborative project that would allow libraries of all kinds to provide their users with a more rich on-line experience while at the same time compelling them to use the resources of their local library. Related links: - Miller's slides from the talk - The blog of Miller's company, Talis. - Pomeroy's site, FutureWeb contains a link to the slides of the talk.

i am learning...

2006-03-27T22:04:00.000-06:00

- how to doctor my cat's food - how to live with a toasted hard drive. and at present, an absent computer. - how to deal with friends who are newly close and those who are moving even further away - how to think about the employment of technology in both libraries and politics ...more to come

CIL update

2006-03-24T13:52:00.000-06:00

so my PB is toast and so is pete's, so no liveblogging or even daily conference updates. :( what a bummer. Saturday will be spent taking these sick puppies to the mac store which will probably result in sending mine in for work.

cil2006

2006-03-22T07:28:00.000-06:00

i'm on my way out the door to the Computers in Libraries Conference. According to the wiki, the wifi situation seems a bit on the iffy side. I'm still hoping to liveblog, but I may have to make one big end-of-day update.

not enough time for a real post, but...

2006-03-15T20:08:00.000-06:00

enough time for a quiz!

Advocating Experiencer

via jackie

enough already

2006-03-14T19:17:00.000-06:00

Today Pat Robertson has declard that radical muslims are "satanic." Somehow this statement wasn't included on the 700 Club Website. Robertson's public statements have become progressively bombastic. I know that he's getting some flak from the right, but honestly, isn't there someone who loves this prominent figure who can keep him from looking so foolish? I don't agree with this man at all, but I find the whole embarrassing situation kind of sad.

food fun

2006-03-10T14:37:00.000-06:00

for me?
Originally uploaded by l@in.

*please excuse me as i blatantly ignore politics*

today i bring you more fun food blogs.

- vegan lunchbox: two words - vegan corndogs. i am addicted to this site. yes, i check everyday, and read the comments. shut up. true confession - i'm waiting for my laptop lunchbox to arrive in the mail.

- A Veggie Venture: clearly the focus here is on vegetables which, for me is awesome. the occasional bit of meat is tossed in, but none of the recipes that i've seen seem focused on it, which is nice switch-up even if you're a meat eater. At present the front page includes a recipe for, no shit, beet ice cream.

- The Yummy Banana: super-theamed food blog. guess what the focus is? hmmmm?

- The Unemployed Cook: omniverious food blog with great descriptions, pictures, and recommended changes to the recipe. check out the fondue recipe. (speaking of fondue, by frind ben makes a killer fondue. ben - start blogging about food, will ya?)

- Super Eggplant: both knitting AND food. how can you possibly go wrong?

- The Daily Tiffin: mostly lunches blogged in the vegan lunchbox style. the voyer in me likes to look into the lunchboxes of strangers.

- Mahanandi: indian food. lots of recipes and gorgeous picures. super extra bonus points for homemade paneer recipes and a recipe for idli. mmmm....

- Baking Sheet: all things baked. rolls, to pastry, to killer desserts. i'm hoping to try out the mozzarella stuffed dinner rolls this weekend

- Fat Free Vegan: eating fat free may not have all of the health benefits once thought, however if you use these recipes it's not like you're going to miss the dairy. honest.

speaking of food, we're in the early stages of planning a cupcake party - so start looking around for recipes. :)

Roe & South Dakota ...a few days late

2006-03-08T16:41:00.000-06:00

The extreme anti-abortion law in South Dakota, House Bill 1215, has been signed by Gov. Mike Rounds. Don't kid yourself into thinking that this isn't the start of a major and sweeping attack on Roe. Sunday an opinion piece by William Saletan was published in the Washington Post entitled, "Life After Roe". He argues in a very succinct fashion, "It must be up to reproductive rights supporters to give the public what it wants: abortion reduction within a framework of autonomy." On it's face this sounds reasonable. I've never met a woman who was like "Sweet! I just got an abortion!" but I have meet women who were unapologetic about the fact that they made the decision to have an abortion. Frankly that's the way it should be. The problem comes later in the article when Saletan makes the claim that because of a combination of advances in contraception and the increased possibilities for abortions earlier in the first trimester, second-trimester abortion becomes less necessary. As it's second and third-trimester abortions which are more difficult to support, these we can work to eliminate these abortions, preserving first trimester abortions. I suggest you read the full piece to get a grasp on what he's saying. His position is well argued and makes sense on a general level. My issues with this are threefold and begin with this paragraph of the piece: "Technology can't avert all our failings or tragedies. There will always be abortions. But when you look at the trends--more foolproof contraception, more access to morning-after pills, earlier and fewer abortions--you can begin to envision a gradual, voluntary exodus from at least half the time frame protected by Roe. That's the half the public doesn't support." 1) the new technologies in contraception Saletan lists haven't been used long enough to fully flesh out the potential health risks. The revolutionary contraceptive patch that was supposed to be so much better than the pill proved to have blood clot risks just a few years later. Even the beloved pill has it's own set of issues. I don't blame any women, young or otherwise that doesn't raise her hand to try the new contraceptive implant. Sorry, I won't be trying it either. 2) "more access to morning-after pills" - where? There have very recently been victories in this area with big box store Target. Even Wal-Mart has stated that they'll carry Plan B but still won't require that pharmacists fill the prescription if it violates their morals. That said, the morning-after pill (Emergency Contraception or EC) still has to be taken within 72 hours - and you must have a prescription. Good luck getting that in a red state on a Sunday morning. For this to really work EC must be available over-the-counter. As of now it's not. So this doesn't seem like a really compelling argument to me at present. 3) "you can begin to envision a gradual, voluntary exodus from at least half the time frame protected by Roe. That's the half the public doesn't support." - no. not really. For me this is the problem with pro-choice supporters pulling back in this fashion. The most constant component of an abortion is that it is always a medical procedure. Anyone who has a clue knows that in medicine there are always exception and special cases, and many of those can't be foreseen. Every person is different. Every fetus develops in a minutely different way. A pregnancy that looks like it's going fine in the 3rd month can go awry in the 5th. A woman who has minor health issues before she becomes pregnant can have massive complications in the 4th. Mandating that these procedures are illegal steps in and makes a premature diagnosis for every single woman who might become pregnant in the US. I don't think that there's any other medical situation or procedure that we're comfortable stepping in and making legal decisions about other than pregnancy. Without massive exceptions to these kinds of sweeping bans these laws won't work for real people. Clearly we don't care about the law working for real people if we're willing to support these kinds of regulations. On some level I think the South Dakota bill, House Bill 1215, is really about something bigger. South Dakota Representative Bill Napoli confirms my suspicions when he talks about returning to traditional values within our society, and specifically within his own state "When I was growing up here in the wild west, if a young man got a girl pregnant out of wedlock, they got married, and the whole darned neighborhood was involved in that wedding. I mean, you just didn't allow that sort of thing to happen, you know? I mean, they wanted that child to be brought up in a home with two parents, you know, that whole story. And so I happen to believe that can happen again." When Rep. Napoli envisions a "life-of-the-mother exception" to the ban he explains it as the following kind of scenario: "A real-life description to me would be a rape victim, brutally raped, savaged. The girl was a virgin. She was religious. She planned on saving her virginity until she was married. She was brutalized and raped, sodomized as bad as you can possibly make it, and is impregnated. I mean, that girl could be so messed up, physically and psychologically, that carrying that child could very well threaten her life." Within the massive value judgements made in this scenario, I have to wonder if I, a married, atheist were raped and found myself pregnant and was unfortunate enough to be a South Dakota resident could I make an arguement for my own life?

job front

2006-02-13T18:58:00.000-06:00

several of you have asked about my job. At present I'm a government contractor working as a solo Librarian for the EPA. It wasn't really what I was looking for but, so far it's not too bad. I'm waiting for hardware and software upgrades so once that happens things will be much better. Because I'm a total fool who eschews her leisure time, I'm also volunteering for a Senator's re-election campaign. It's grunt work but I'm really enjoying it. That's my new work life in a nutshell. the contractor gig is pretty much 70% web work which is very nice because I'll be forced to become proficient in XHTML, CSS, creating graphics etc. The whole page is begging for a redesign and that will be a lot of fun. The other part is reference work. The questions require a great deal of digging and I've never had reference questions which require more than 30 minutes or so to locate and answer, so all around, it's an interesting experience. I've been interested in environmental issues for some time, but haven't really been active in keeping up with them. Pete and I have taken some steps towards "greener" living - we ditched our car several years ago and are trying to never own another car again although we do participate in flexcar. The coolest thing about that being the fact that many of the cars are hybrids - lessening the environmental impact further. That said we don't really recycle - most places we've lived have no program or a program which necessitates driving one's recycling to the recycling center which complicates things. personally I take the approach that it's best to try and lessen one's proverbial environmental footprint on the earth, but it's complicated by the triumvirate of lessoning one's negative impact on other humans (read sweatshops), on other living beings (animals), and the environment in general (plants, bodies of water, etc.) trying to maintain a balance of these things is virtually impossible. a good choice in one column almost always has a negative impact in another. for example: - those cosmetics that weren't tested on animals might have been made in a questionable factory by a big corporation whose other divisions animal test and make their products in a country whose pollution laws are lax - that organic cotton shirt may not have been made in a sweatshop per se but was still made in Bangladesh....what does that mean? - fake meat products - how much energy went into making them? what the hell kind of chemicals are in them? - do organic fruits and vegetables require more work to produce? does that work come in the form of migrant farm labor? how are those farmers treated? - so if i get products shipped to me which i ordered online is the impact of shipping less than driving a car to get the same product? - okay. screw 'em. i bought a sewing machine. I'm just going to make my own damn clothes. who made the machine? and the fabric? I think this job affords me with the perfect opportunity to learn more about these issues. therefore in this spirit i bring you a list of links to current environmental issues: - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton initiates an amendment to the potential asbestos legislation which would permit "people exposed to asbestos stemming from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Gulf Coast hurricanes and other disasters to seek compensation from an industry funded trust." - one year old green communities is an initiative which is working to build 8,500 environmentally sound homes for low income families - Bitch Ph.D. reminds us that the polar bear is on the verge of being declared an endangered species - find yourself some Vermont born organic microbrew

pick me, pick me

2006-02-07T20:30:00.000-06:00

is your wife or girlfriend a total conformist? has her will been so broken that she wears lipstick and scrubs the kitchen floor with a toothbrush? is she a complete martyr? if so swiffer would like to donate $5,000 to her favorite charity (i suggest planned parenthood) and give her a years supply of swiffer products. nominate her. go ahead.

thought I was gone, didn't ya

2006-02-02T21:13:00.000-06:00

so i am in dc, i am employed, and my internet connection at home is terrible. i am paying good money for a far less than acceptable internet connection. it sucks and i'm not sure if it's fixable. until i have time for real content i bring you the latest meme which Eric has tagged me with: Four jobs I've had in my life: Assistant Manager at Starbucks Server at IHOP Server at Denny's Editorial Asst. Four movies I can watch over and over: Fargo LOTR trilogy Big Lebowski Best In Show Four places I have lived: Baltimore, MD St Mary's City, MD Burgettstown, PA Bloomington, IN Four TV shows I love to watch: The Sopranos Six Feet Under West Wing Star Trek Next Generation Four places I have been on vacation: Dublin & Galway, Ireland Grand Teton National Park Big South Forth National Recreation Area Port St. Lucie Four websites I visit daily: Google News (yeah, I know) SLIS Blogs Feministe Feministing Four of my favorite foods: Anything make by John Paolillo Fish Curry mady by Anupam Das Pete's beans and rice Vicky G.'s pie Four places I would rather be right now: hiking camping in bed asleep traveling - in general

what's in the cards

2005-12-16T20:15:00.000-06:00

You are The High Priestess

Science, Wisdom, Knowledge, Education.

The High Priestess is the card of knowledge, instinctual, supernatural, secret knowledge. She holds scrolls of arcane information that she might, or might not reveal to you. The moon crown on her head as well as the crescent by her foot indicates her willingness to illuminate what you otherwise might not see, reveal the secrets you need to know. The High Priestess is also associated with the moon however and can also indicate change or fluxuation, particularily when it comes to your moods.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

done

2005-12-16T15:30:00.000-06:00

2.5 years...it's over.

this would be, like, volume 7000

2005-12-16T12:09:00.000-06:00

new sounds from the otaku wifi available (that's mix-cd in layperson's terms), entitled Movin' to the City lemme know if you're interested and i'll get a copy to you

Desolation Jones #6 Cover

2005-12-15T15:56:00.000-06:00

that's a nice suit you got on there, Tony

2005-12-15T09:08:00.000-06:00

Leading Christian conservatives lay it all on the table right before the Holidays - rights of the born, help for the poor, not as important as the "right tax policy." Don't take my word for it. "A Religious Protest Largely From the Left Conservative Christians Say Fighting Cuts in Poverty Programs Is Not a Priority By Jonathan Weisman and Alan Cooperman Washington Post Staff Writers Wednesday, December 14, 2005; Page A08" "Around 300 religious activists have vowed to kneel in prayer this morning at the Cannon House Office Building and remain there until they are arrested. Wallis said that as they are led off, they will chant a phrase from Isaiah: "Woe to you legislators of infamous laws . . . who refuse justice to the unfortunate, who cheat the poor among my people of their rights, who make widows their prey and rob the orphan." To GOP leaders and their supporters in the Christian community, it is not that simple. Acting House Majority Leader Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said yesterday that the activists' position is not "intellectually right." later Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council, chimes in stating, "There is a [biblical] mandate to take care of the poor. There is no dispute of that fact," he said. "But it does not say government should do it. That's a shifting of responsibility." Hey, Merry Christmas.

creepy

2005-12-14T22:22:00.000-06:00

You Are Likely a First Born

At your darkest moments, you feel guilty. At work and school, you do best when you're researching. When you love someone, you tend to agree with them often. In friendship, you are considerate and compromising. Your ideal careers are: business, research, counseling, promotion, and speaking. You will leave your mark on the world with discoveries, new information, and teaching people to dream.

The Birth Order Predictor

cool - interns use blogs

2005-12-14T12:41:00.000-06:00

...including yours truly. Internship Presentations SLIS students from the Fall 2005 L596 Internship in Library and Information Science course reported on their experiences during the last week of classes. The presentations provided an opportunity to exchange insights and hear about fellow students' challenges and triumphs. This semester 25 students were registered for internships through SLIS Bloomington. SLIS students are eligible to complete an internship for L596 course credit after completing 18 SLIS credit hours. The typical three-credit-hour internship requires 180 hours of onsite work. Interns keep journals of what they do and learn; they also read and summarize relevant professional materials to tie their internship experiences to their intended professional placements. Four students of the Fall 2005 interns submitted their journals in the form of blogs (Web logs). These interns have granted permission to link to their blogs for this story. * Ilias Kyriazis - online journal: music cataloging internship, Indiana University, William and Gayle Cook Music Library * Tyler Danstrom - online journal: - metadata internship, Indiana University Libraries Digital Library Program * Susan Maguire and Sarah Mercure - online journal: reference services internship, Monroe County Public Library Debora Shaw, SLIS Executive Associate Dean, is the Internship Coordinator. Students interested in placements, or employers interested in interns, can contact her by email at shaw@indiana.edu. Sample Internships in the Bloomington area, as well as in other placements around the country can be found on our website. After hearing the interns' reports, Dr. Shaw commented on "the great value the interns' supervisors contribute in helping these SLIS students prepare for their steps into the professional world." posted in SLIS news 12/14

RIP II

2005-12-13T11:06:00.000-06:00

itunes meme

2005-12-12T05:46:00.000-06:00

How many songs: 2707 - (i've got 2 cds that need to go on as well) First Song: ?!...... - Iswhat?! Last Song: Zissou Society Blue Star Cadet/Ned's Theme (Take 1) - Mark Mothersbaugh Sort by time: shortest song: 0:11 - Hookian Minds, Journeys By DJ - 70 Minutes Of Madness Longest Song: 1:19 - Live @ Club Tiefenrausch, Koln, Bad Boy Bill Sort by artist: First Artist: !!! Last Artist: The Zombies Sort by album: First Album: 4 - Track Demos - PJ Harvey Last Album: Young Liars - TV on the Radio Top Five Most Played Songs: 1. Seed 2.0, The (featuring Cody Chestnutt) - The Roots - 49 2. Blow Out (Live) - Radiohead & Portishead - 46 3. Sweet Water Kill - Rasputina - 38 4. Water - Aesop Rock - 36 5. Carolina Carol Bela - DJ Markey - 33 First song that comes up on Shuffle: Tarlaashkyn - Huun-Huur-Tum, Where Young Grass Grows Search .... "sex", how many songs come up? 8 "death", how many songs come up? 9 "love", how many songs come up? 110 "you", how many songs come up? 229 "final", how many songs come up? 3

RIP

2005-12-11T08:01:00.000-06:00

it's slowly sinking in

2005-12-10T23:26:00.000-06:00

1210052344a.jpg
Originally uploaded by l@in.

... we have a limited amount of time here. halvzies on the plane tickets? come visit?

*sniff*
... and for the love of god people - blog! :)

maria makes the cider
Originally uploaded by l@in

what a surprise

2005-12-10T10:17:00.000-06:00

Masculine
You scored 83 masculinity and 46 femininity!

You scored high on masculinity and low on femininity. You have a traditionally masculine personality.

My test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 88% on masculinity
You scored higher than 19% on femininity

Link: The Bem Sex Role Inventory Test written by weirdscience on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

movin'

2005-12-09T12:20:00.000-06:00

1208052105.jpg
Originally uploaded by l@in.

this photo if from my walk home last night. i'm pretty glad that we're not going to be spending the winter here. in the picture the far left (past the telephone pole) is part of the 4 lane highway that i walk past to get to my apt. between the telephone pole and the tree is the sidewalk. as they plough the street the snow piles up on, you guessed it - the sidewalk. it's worse the closer you get to my apt.

work update:

i'm down to:
2 papers
2 projects

direct quote

2005-12-08T01:13:00.000-06:00

"We only hear from the whiners!" - Dr. James Dobson, Focus on the Family radio program 12/2/2005

i think i can, i think i can...

2005-12-07T22:19:00.000-06:00

final presentation for my very last class. *sniff* to do: 1 presentation 2 papers 2 projects in 8 days

99%

2005-12-06T02:52:00.000-06:00

...finished with the first (and largest) paper i need to finish for this semester.

5,240 / 4,500
(116.0%)

working on the presentation now

iMake

2005-12-05T17:19:00.000-06:00

...progress

3,511 / 4,500
(77.0%)

incidently i've also - done dishes - made a large batch of cookies - done 3 loads of laundry preparing to move and doing finals sucks.

a little more

2005-12-05T08:09:00.000-06:00

2,873 / 4,500
(63.0%)

chug chug chug apparently DC is supposed to be hit with 2-4 inches of snow today. it would be nice to be done with work, be moved in already and enjoy it.

gettin' there

2005-12-04T23:09:00.000-06:00

2,541 / 4,500
(55.0%)

just over half done, but i think the worst of it is over. tomorrow, up @ 5 to get working by 6, finish the paper and create the 10 minute presentation. i think i can, i think i can, i think i can... then to start the presentation for wednesday, begin the project, carry on with the other 2 papers...

guess who's eating hay now?

2005-12-04T19:28:00.000-06:00

slow

2005-12-03T18:35:00.000-06:00

...but still progress. T603

1,066 / 4,500
(23.0%)

not bad as far as i'm concerned considering whatever illness i had earlier in the week is back with a vengence. ugh.

beautiful graff

2005-12-02T11:48:00.000-06:00

128_2891
Originally uploaded by initapplette.

i love this. i can see it, "afterparty at the public library."

i'd leave the club an hour early to staff it.

Today is World AIDS Day

2005-12-01T09:31:00.000-06:00

Just a bit of a round-up: - the official World AIDS Day website - Brush up on what you know about AIDS from Wikipedia - if you can, donate to the Global AIDS Alliance - from NPR: South African Bishop Opposes Vatican's Ban on Condoms - China launches campaign to spread AIDS prevention knowledge - UN urges "exceptional response" to AIDS crisis - SA in denial over Aids, says survey - South Africa Falls Short on AIDS Treatment Pledge

neat

2005-11-30T08:20:00.000-06:00

howard stopped by this morning to tell me about a website called shejay, which is an international network of female djs. it has a ton of mixes. this is just what i needed to get me through my last bout of finals. current listening B. Traits, LIVE in Whistler, BC

world map

2005-11-30T06:04:00.000-06:00

My personal world map

visited 4 countries- like to visit 36 countries
Create your own world map

i don't get it

2005-11-29T15:30:00.000-06:00

i randomly ran across 2 animal abuse stories today. i don't understand how people can be this horrible. i honestly don't get it. - in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia a restaurant manager was keeping two cheetah cubs tied to a fence and would force them to fight with each other for amusement. the animals have been rescued and will soon call the National Palace home. the cubs seem only to have known abuse before being rescued by a veterinarian and a group of US counterterrorism troops, the owner had purchased the animals from poachers who had blinded one of the cubs by kicking her in the face. - a Florida man buried his 5 month old puppy, named meatball, alive as a punishment for digging too many holes. the man faces charges and animal control is attempting to gain custody of the puppy and find him a good home. on a happier note, Tai Shan, the newest panda in the DC zoo is apparently mugging for all to see. There's 2 years left until he's sent to China - I can't wait to see him.

final paper update

2005-11-28T16:44:00.000-06:00

T603 update

775 / 4,500
(16.0%)

w00t!

reason #678

2005-11-28T13:55:00.000-06:00

Maureen Dowd's new book "Are Men Necessary" has raised quite a ruckus. I haven't read it - yet, but honestly i bet those who are railing against it have only read (or heard) the title. Columnist Lori Borgman of the Indianapolis Star schools her readers in a piece entitled Yes, Maureen Dowd, men are necessary. A cute, if not original title during the holiday season bearing a close resemblence to the title of the film about little girl named Virginia who didn't believe in Santa Claus. Lori reminds us that men, for the most part are, "maligned, vilified and marginalized." After slapping around second wave feminism a bit (although without which, I doubt she'd have that columnist job, but we can set that aside for them moment) she goes on to say that: "Men protect. Men provide. Men take responsibility. Men tend to be steady. Men temper women's concerns for security and safety with a sense of adventure and risk. Men teach boys what it means to be male. Men and women together can accomplish what neither is able to accomplish alone. Men tend to be direct and have simple needs; chief among these would be food, love and respect, though not necessarily in that order." So now that we've essentialized the genders down to the core and have set aside the need for food, love, and respect as things essential to men (?), we have an emperically based list of things that men, aside from "abusers, perverts, and slackers" do. Considering that the wage gap still exists, women are just over 50% of the US population but in the state legislature make up at most, only 33.9% of the representatives (Delaware) and at the least 10% (Alabama) by state. There are only 14 women in the US Senate and 66 in the House, and there are few female CEOs, I'm not sure what Lori is getting all upset about. She sounds like she's ready to get autographs at the next Promise Keepers rally, but don't expect me to cry into my beer about the "much maligned" male sex. Or wait, am i not supposed to drink beer?

final papers

2005-11-28T10:03:00.000-06:00

i have three final papers to write (plus a small assignment, 1 brief and 2 lengthier presentations, and a db to fix, but...) i thought that i'd start keeping track of my paper progress T603

269 / 4,500
(5.0%)

L597

100 / 3,600
(2.0%)

independent study

50 / 2,100
(2.0%)

i'll post my progress tomorrow or at the end of the day.

overblocking

2005-11-28T07:36:00.000-06:00

RI Libraries Overblock Under CIPA Library Journal (1976) 130 no10 18-19 Je 1 2005 After a report written by the ACLU of Rhode Island criticizing the state's public libraries with too full compliance with the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), libraries began to consider how to allow adult patron's full, uncensored access more easily and consider less stringent blocking standards. The report noted that the company chosen to provide filtering for Rhode Island' libraries actually went beyond that which was dictated by the Supreme Court ruling. The ACLU also reported that at least one third of libraries do not notify patrons that they can ask a librarian to deactivate the filter. Nationally a survey revealed that most, but not all libraries who responded to the survey implemented procedures which allow quick disabling. That said, individual librarians reported that since July 1, 2003 most had gotten 50 requests or less to disable the filter, possibly indicating that librarians aren't telling adult patrons that the filter can be disabled. **** This report is brief, but it does bring up a recent take on the issue of filtering now that CIPA has been in place for over two years. Filtering software is getting better, but is still imperfect. Considering that the internet is still and will always be growing, there is always the possibility of sites being blocked that shouldn't be. It seems that it would be a simple solution to place a notice at each individual computer terminal that gave information about the filtering software and letting each adult patron know that it can be turned off if they wish it to be. Just because a notice exists though, does not necessarily mean that patrons will read the notice. There also seems to me that patrons might be reluctant to ask that the filters be removed because they're afraid of how that might make them look - like they're specifically looking for "questionable" material. I also think that the attitude that a librarian takes when talking to patrons about filtering or when a patron asks for the filters to be removed is very important - the patron should not be made to feel that they are asking for something "special". At MCPL filters are not used. A policy that I think is nice for everyone - staff and patrons alike. That said, not every library can afford to operate without federal dollars and must use some kind of filtering software.

community information at your public library

2005-11-27T15:41:00.000-06:00

Community Information, Electrified Library Journal (1976) Net Connect 4-6, 8-9 Wint 2005 Tim Rogers, Atabong Fombon, & Erica Reynolds This article addresses fulfilling patron's need of community-specific information. Examples of community information include information about social services, non-profit groups, and what resources are available within the community for residents in general. Providing community information has been a growing trend for public libraries and many libraries are trying to figure out what the best method is for storing this kind of information. This article uses some preliminary data from a 2004 survey that asked questions about community information projects taking place in libraries across the country. Many libraries use their internal online catalog to store community information. This might be the easiest method as the system is already in place. There is a move by some libraries to use things like Access, SQL, and MySQL to manage this information. This approach allows for a great deal of customization and can provide greater access to patrons. Community calendars are another way to augment the information contained in the OPAC or library-created database. Often these can be established so that organizations can upload their own events and be responsible for the maintenence of their portion of the calendar, solving the problem of the high time cost involved with the creation of a community calendar. However depending on other agencies to update and essentially maintain the community calendar could seriously compromise the accuracy of the calendar. It seems to be best that the library take the responsibility for maintenence of the calendar. Ultimately the article concludes that a web entity which includes both directories and calendars is best practice. This method provides content and not just links to content and allows an inroad for libraries to help in creating community - not just providing access to it. One Colorado library also provides a service where they create and maintain pages for organizations without websites. *** The MCPL has had a methodology in place for providing community information to patrons for some time. Before the OPAC there were a series of notecards containing information about various organizations within the community. Post-OPAC this information went into the digital database. When searching for it you type in the kind of information you're looking for, for instance, "public health" and then "community". These terms will get you the community information you're looking for. This is very useful for reference librarians but it seems to me that this is probably not so intuitive for patrons. The MCPL certainly seems dedicated to providing this kind of information to patrons so creating the sort of best practice solution described in this article, a database and community calendar system, might be a good direction to go in.

yummy thing we had for thanksgiving

2005-11-25T17:59:00.000-06:00

One yummy thing we had for dinner was a nice salad. James Carville's Simplified Salad (from Had Enough? A Handbook for Fighting Back) 6 oz. romano cheese 1/3 C bleu cheese 3/4 C lemon juice 1/4 C white vinegar 2 1/4 t salt 1/2 C olive oil 1 1/2 C plain salad oil (i used canola) 1 t finely chopped garlic (i used a heaping teaspoon) 1/2 bunch parsley chopped salad greens grind romano cheese and mix with crumbled bleu cheese. refridgerate in airtight container mix remaining ingredients (except for salad greens) well. place in container in the fridge prepare greens just before serving toss greens with dressing then add cheese mixture. I was a bit skeptical of this salad due in part to the fact that the dressing ingredients look a bit lackluster. i was wrong. it was amazing. great salad recipe. can't wait to make this for a potluck. (this recipe is crossposted to tastykake, my food blog)

ugh!

2005-11-25T17:32:00.000-06:00

this morning when i woke up my head was all stuffy and i felt like someone hit me with a truck. i've been in denial about it all day. but when i tried to leave the house this evening i realized just how crappy i feel. it's official - i'm ill.

five pounds later

2005-11-25T09:05:00.000-06:00

thanksgiving was a blast. Jami & Vicky are both wonderful cooks and brought lots of wonderful goodies for dinner including a surprise of french bread, goat and fresh mozzarela cheese, and vine ripened tomatoes to start. yummy. believe it or not there's not much food left, but i think our friends ended up with a lot of turkey leftovers. i see turkey soup and sandwiches in their immediate future. i used a new pecan pie recipe that i think i'm pretty fond of. it might require just a little less sugar. i think the key here is definately dark corn syrup vs. light. some pictures:

preparation

2005-11-23T22:52:00.000-06:00

we're back in town and we're pretty sure that we have an apartment. more details when everything is confirmed. the airport was just starting to get crazy this morning when we got there at 5AM. the longest wait i've literally ever had to check a single piece of luggage onto a plane. the rest of the day was spent getting ready for thanksgiving. 2 trips to the grocery, a trip to the liquor store, and a pizza delivery later i think things are in order for the most part. the majority of the evening was spent at jami & vicky's house making pies and arrangements for tomorrow. it appears as if the menu will be something close to the following: Starters Spinach and Yogurt dip w/ toasted pita Assorted Cheese and Crackers Pumpkin Muffins Main Course James Carville's Simplified Salad (dressed up for the holiday) Rosemary Biscuits Green Beans with Almonds Roasted Asparagus Wabasi Smashed Potatoes Baked Sweet Potatoes with Oranges and Pecans Stuffing with Bacon Oyster Stuffing Turkey Gravy Tofurkey Gravy Butter Injected Turkey Tofurkey with Trimmings Dessert Pear and Cranberry Pie Pecan Pie Pumpkin Pie Homemade whipped Cream Beverages Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Noveau 2005 Cloudline Pinot Noir 2004 Red Slate Riesling 2001 Anchor Brewing Company's Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 2005 Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Assorted Samuel Smith's Ales we'll see if i missed anything - pictures to come. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.

on the road again

2005-11-20T09:38:00.000-06:00

so this evening we're off to spend a few days in DC, trying to find an apartment that 1) is in DC or Takoma Park 2) has a 2nd bedroom or den or large closet that will serve as office space 3) has a metro stop within walking distance, or has a bus stop and a grocery store within walking distance 4) takes pets 5) will let us take over the lease in early December so we can move as soon as we're able it should be no problem... ;P ideally we'll sign a lease tomorrow and we can spend tuesday working. i have a ton of writing to do and a little bit of programming. i'm taking wednesday and thursday off for baking and having thanksgiving with friends. i'm really looking forward to it. i got a flickr pro account as a quick solution that will allow me to get some photos off of my harddrive. so expect more photos. i'm running out of space very quickly. i need a mac desktop or an external hard drive. perhaps rebuilding my windows machine will alleviate this problem a bit too. c-ya.

unbelievable

2005-11-17T14:19:00.000-06:00

so, i'm working at the education library this afternoon, and this fellow comes up to the reference desk looking for a book. he gives me a string of numbers and then says textbook. i asked him if that was the series number of the textbook. he looks at me like i'm stupid and says, no that's the course number. i then asked him if he knew the name of the book or the name of his professor or where the syllabus for the class could be located because i was going to have to find the syllabus --> find the title --> look up the title again he looks at me like i'm nuts. i informed him that there's no special area for class textbooks. he says, "you mean they're just floating around anywhere? that's weird!" i said, well they're cataloged with the rest of the collection... so he tells me that one of his friends might have the textbook, "nevermind." and proceed to talk to some girls about drinking. there are less than 4 weeks of class left. he doesn't know who his professor is, what the title of his textbook is, doesn't have his syllabus and doesn't know where there's an electronic copy i can access, but somehow manages to be amazed that i don't instantly have the information he wants. mindblowing.

link wrangle

2005-11-17T12:59:00.000-06:00

i'm genuinely too busy to post anything of interest myself. i'm in the middle of several assignments, applying for jobs, and getting ready to go to DC to find an apartment. fortunately other people are less busy! :) ***** - pete posts about the craziness in Tunis at the World Summit on the Information Society. Including part of John Paolillo's time there. John also has picures and a link to his slides from the presentation. - Pandagon posts in response to a post entitled "Roe Fatigue". Here's an excerpt: "So, I'm tired of carrying this burden through every Republican presidency. Let them get the benefit of their bargain with the GOP when they voted for Gdub and their R senators by watching Roe overturned. As teenage girls turn-up pregnant all over white suburban high schools these self-described 'moderates' voting Republican can learn first hand about the consequences of their votes." my response in short - cry me a river! it's so easy to say if you never have to deal with it. Pandagon has a much more well executed response. - girls have no proclivities towards math? riiiigghht.... - Jessamyn West is included in this AP piece about radical reference librarians, "Activist librarians shake quiet, meek stereotype: Groups seek to fight censorship and spread information."

back!

2005-11-13T21:34:00.000-06:00

and bloody well exhausted. i've been up since 5am Dublin time. the wake-up call came too early - but at least we didn't miss any flights and i got to run through airports in two different countries. umm...yay. i work tomorrow @ 9 am. ugh. in other news bid!

update

2005-11-11T12:26:00.000-06:00

still in Dublin. went to see the Book of Kells today as well as the Long Room of the Trinity College Library. Amazing stuff. The portions of the Book of Kells that we got to see was amazing, as was the history behind it. I have to say though that the long room really took my breath away - two floors of tiny cubbys of floor to ceiling books, all incredibly old and valuable surrounding a wide open center space where some special treats were on display. Of particular interest was a first edition copy of the Origin of the Species. I found this especially amusing considering the current political ruckus in the states over so-called intelligent design.

In Dublin!

2005-11-10T13:57:00.000-06:00

took the train from Galway to Dublin today (the coach is fine, but the train was much nicer.) Had a stellar meal at 101 Talbot that i'll blog about more later on tasty_kake. In other news the new JCMC is out! hooray for free, high-quality academic internet publications.

2ness

2005-11-07T15:53:00.000-06:00

"Tunis is the site of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) to be held November 13-15. The event is sponsored by the United Nations and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and will draw world leaders from around the globe. It is also being hosted by the Government of Tunisia. SLIS faculty, John Paolillo will be presenting "Language Diversity on the Internet: Examining Linguistic Bias" at Measuring the Information Society, WSIS Parallel Event, Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development (UNESCO) on November 15. Dr. Paolillo's website tells more about his research: "I am an associate professor in Information Science at the School of Library and Information Science and the School of Informatics. My disciplinary background is in sociolinguistics. Much of my research focuses on language in computer-mediated communication (CMC), and the effects of CMC on language use. I am especially interested in online multilingualism and its relation to language diversity worldwide, which is already in decline from other causes."" via slis blogs

take offs and landings

2005-11-06T12:50:00.000-06:00

so i'm in galway but it was a real adventure. i missed my flight to heathrow by less than 2 minutes after playing dodge 'em through the chicago airport after our flight from indy to chicago landed over 40 minutes late. it worked out though as elijah and i ended up on the same flight, direct to dublin that also ended up leaving almost 2 hours late. so no veggie meal on the plane :(, and we got here late, but managed to find the bus to galway with no issue. the countryside is beautiful. i forgot the cable for my camera so pictures if pete brings it or when i get home. talk is tomorrow!

i'm out

2005-11-04T23:21:00.000-06:00

so in less (far less) than 12 hours i'm on a plane (then another, then another) to get me to dublin then a bus to galway to present at the Workshop on Semantic Network Analysis at the international semantic web conference. i'm excited and almost packed. i'm anticipating my most authentic guinness ever.

Unfortunate Glitch

2005-11-03T13:03:00.000-06:00

This afternoon I attempted to use the service provided by Congress.org to contact my state representatives regarding my feelings on the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. However, in return to the message that I sent to Senator Bayh, I received this response: "Thank you for your recent message. Senator Bayh appreciates your willingness to share your views with him. In an effort to more effectively manage the increase in the volume of e-mails received by our office and to respond as quickly and thoroughly as possible, we are using a new web based system that you can access through my web form at http://bayh.senate.gov/WebMail1.htm. The message you just sent was not received by our office and should be resubmitted via the web form. Thank you for understanding and again, please feel free to contact our office with any issues of concern. We look forward to hearing from you. IMPORTANT: Please do not reply to this email. It is an automated service, and you will get no response." So I went to the web form at the url provided in the email that was sent to me. There I clicked on the option for "Legislative Issues and Concerns" which then took me to a form which I filled out, and then when I went to the available text box to fill in my letter found this note, "Note: You cannot right-click in the below field. Please use Ctrl-V or your browser's "Edit" button to paste text." Not wanting to retype the message, I used Ctrl-V to paste my message into the textbox, just as the note instructed. A few seconds later, I received the same email posted above in response - my message still hadn't been received. I thought perhaps there was a glitch, so I called Sen. Bayh's office in DC ((202) 224-5623), and was told by a very patient woman, that regardless of what the web page instructs you to do, you can not cut and paste at all into the text box to send a message. A little frustrating and disappointing. It's certainly a less-than-accessible system, particularly for people who like to be able to draft their message, checking for spelling issues and such in some kind of text editor, before sending the message out.

Internet Filters in Indiana Public Libraries

2005-11-03T11:48:00.000-06:00

Internet Filters in Indiana Public Libraries Comer, A. (2005). Studying Indiana public libraries' usage of internet filters. Computers in Libraries, 25(6), 10-15. For the purposes of this study the author sent a survey via snail-mail to all 434 public libraries in fall of 2003 (a copy of the survey questions is not included.) The return rate for this survey was 33% - 144 libraries returned a completed copy of the survey. Of these libraries, 95 of them reported having filtering software in place, however of the remaining public libraries said that they were planning on installing filtering software, and 4 public libraries did not respond to the question. It should be noted that CIPA (the Children's Internet Protection Act) requiring filtering software for some kinds of federal funding went into effect in July 2004. Of the libraries that responded, 26 libraries said that they had installed filtering software as a direct result of CIPA, and 14 responded "not yet" implying that they were in the process of doing so. Considering the differential between the 95 libraries that had filtering software in place at the time of the survey and the 26 that said they began using filtering software because of CIPA, one has to wonder what the impetus for filtering was for the other 69 public libraries that responded. Of the libraries that reported having filtering software installed 46 libraries reported that they had no problems (I wonder how that was worded in the survey?) and 51 reported problems such as patrons not finding needed information, over-blocking (content that should not be blocked was), and under-blocking (12 libraries reported that patrons were still able to access pornographic sites, and blocking of personal names. The libraries which had filtering in place stated that they would not offer internet access to the public if they could not have a filter in place, that they felt filtering reflected the needs of the community and staff, and that filtering was "common sense". Some of the libraries which didn't filter stated that there had been no push from the community for filtering internet access at the public library, and they also felt that filtering software didn't work properly anyway. A very few libraries said that they didn't need to filter because the public computer terminals were located within sight of the reference librarians, so users were visually monitored at all times. Some librarians felt that filtering was intrusive and limited access for no reason. the study also found that there there other internet access restrictions placed on patron usage at the library - 23 libraries do not permit making online purchases - 109 restrict pornography (does not go into how) - 7 restrict use of email - 74 restrict use of chat - 92 enforce time restrictions - 4 libraries have restrictions other than one ones listed above across the board restrictions in all of the above listed areas were the same or greater for minors. librarians reported that some of the most problems came from patrons looking at pornography, chatting, downloading and installing software, and abusing time limits. *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** My commentary: When I was an undergraduate, going to the computer lab was a really big deal. While many students had a computer of some type, most didn't. Even if you did have your own machine, you were working on a dial-up connection, later switched to a much better Ethernet connection about halfway through my degree program. Regardless, the point was that it was usually better and faster to simply go to a computer lab to do your work. During the peak work periods of the year, there would often be a line and people doing "real" work took priority - if you were "just" checking your email you could be asked by one of the lab monitors to relinquish your machine so that someone else could use it. I find it interesting what actions and uses of computer mediated communication and simply computers in general become commonplace and officially deemed useful. Personally I've used email, chat, and IM for "official" purposes. I've held meetings and conducted research, turned in assignments and hashed out ideas for future publications all via mediums that are apparently restricted for use in many public libraries in Indiana. While one could say that these actions were required of me because I'm a student and that I'm a special case because I have computers available to me through the university to fulfill these needs, it is true that using forms of computer mediated communication on a machine with a decent connection to the internet provides a cheap, and reliable form of communication for those who use it. If your friend or relative lives far away and also has a public library that provides these kind of services you have a way of keeping in touch with them that doesn't cost you anything. That's an extremely valuable service. In the article one librarian mentioned that library computers were to be used for informational purposes alone - no email, chat, downloading, etc. It's interesting what we choose to regard as information. I think it's an easy argument to make that talking to friends and family serves an informational need. Not to mention downloading...downloading what? PDFs? Word documents? Might those not serve an informational need? When talking about issues surrounding the digital divide, everyone assumes that having a public library which provides patrons with internet access fulfills this need. This assumption rarely, if ever, takes into account the internet access policy of the library. Public libraries need to weigh this factor when they are establishing boundaries for patron's usage of the internet. For many, it really is the only internet access they have and patrons uses of it are legitimate. If the library probhibits access to certain kinds of services and information online, for many patrons, this closes off patron's access to material only available online completely.

Gen. Wesley Clark at the IU Auditorium 10/31

2005-10-31T19:35:00.000-06:00

posted with misspellings and all in the interest of getting it up quickly. I'll try to fix it later! **** **** **** Wesley Clark @ the IU Auditorium 10/31/2005 - opens by mentioning the fact that he was a high school swimmer. Talks about Doc Swenson? as being the best swimming coach. - mentions that the security people had on costumes in the airport this morning. - more than 4 years since 9/11, still in Afghanistan more than 20000 troops on the ground. talks about how the election has placed some warlords are now in parliament - we'll see how this goes. Iraq election on constitution - could also go either way. sunnis for the most part voted against the constitution. Democrats are now saying in earnest - bring the troops home. - where have we come from and where will it take us. massive transition period. talks about his retirement from the military. goes into great detail about the portions of the military that he was running. dry topic but he intersperses with funny anecdotes. essentially frames how good he had it and the resources he had at his disposal. ` - we need to take charge of america. transition he's talking about started in 1989. the cold war was over and the Berlin wall was torn down. his generation never thought this would happen. saw the Berlin wall and the communists at the age of 19. made it seem permanent. it became a competition of ideas - freedom vs. collectivism, freedom of expression v. censorship, etc. Republicans tried to rule with more weapons and democrats with discussion. opened up the doors to universities so that foreign students could study here and learn democracy. George Bush worked the system to end communism & the cold war and get the soviets to pull out of eastern Europe. - 1994 became J5, help the uniformed services match the plan of the white house. what was the military supposed to do after the cold war? wondered why he was in the pentagon. about to go to war w/n. korea over nuclear inspections, and war in Bosnia. talks about the phenomena of watching military actions on CNN in real time that his military aides didn't know about (Rwanda). They were all unprepared. jr. aide informs him (even though he's not supposed to) that there's a secret plan to invade Haiti. He's incredulous. Sr. offical asks him what all the crisis are? what's the strategy? he didn't know and it was his job to figure it out. discovered Republicans said they had no enemies. bring the troops home. Democrats - no enemies. let's do something good and useful with the troops. everyone said that the military was too large. created a strategy of "engagement & enlargement." Incredibly busy. put 20000 troops in Bosnia. went after Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden. Slobodan Milošević, all based on this strategy that no one really knew about. couches all of these occurrences in the terms of the new innovations in technology, growth of China as a major power, etc. - foreign people talked about the friendliness of the US people, but how they knew nothing about their country and didn't care. America important to the rest of the world but other countries aren't important to us. our culture and entertainment is our biggest export. 2000 was the pinnacle of American Power. but we didn't have a strategy or a vision and didn't know the risks. - until 9/11. should have finished with Osama bin Laden. but we didn't administration felt Saddam Hussein was more important. Rumsfeld told him that they would be going to war. With Iraq. Why? b/c the administration doesn't know what to do about the terrorism problem. - 2 days after 9//11 he's informed that there's going to be a distinct political shift towards the right and he needed to get on the bandwagon. he felt it was a cheap tactic. this war was a war of choice. - we're still there. what do we do now? we still have no national security strategy. - going to iraq was not an appropriate response to Osama bin Laden. It addressed a different problem. - the reason we went to war w/Iraq wasn't there. but the same weapons are owned by other volatile countries - can not win the war on terror by might alone - must win the war of ideas. no more powerful weapon in the world than an idea who's time has come. - legal struggle. need to build relationships with allied countries. we should be leaders in information collection. we didn't do this - we used forced. force should be an absolute last resort. it's irrevocable and has permanent consequences. you make people hate you for killing their friends and relatives. frames it from the position of a lifetime military professional. (he's going to campaign on the war) - must keep the leader of Syria even though the christian right wants us to. must support him so he'll stop the use of Syria as a base for terrorism. - Iran moves to a nuclear weapon. perhaps because we invaded the only axis of evil that doesn't have them. :) - we should open the trade embargo with Iran. American-Iranians will take US values back to Iran. should invade Iran with businessmen. - we must use every other alternative first other than force. feels that business, and religion tore down the iron curtain. - we must build a network around Iraq to support the sunnis outside of Iraq to support the sunnis in Iraq. terrible to send "police" into a country that can't speak the language. - this way we can work our way out of Iraq instead of having a Vietnam-like debacle. we want the middle east to advance not become a terrorist cesspool. - the bush administration has tunnel vision - focused only on Iraq. frames himself as a patriot. says "he's not running for anything" the challenge of China. the only country on the horizon to be able to challenge American wealth and power. business brought America it's power. China has scale. built goal is to build 100 top flight research universities. the creation of new technology and investment and power. this is a challenge. China needs to come into the 21st century in such a way that our values are aligned. - we need to rebuild our alliances with Europe. rebuild NATO. treat European countries with respect. when we're not the world's greatest economic power we'll need the UN. we need to start building international law. make sure the UN is competent, and follow and keep the international laws we expect other countries to keep. - India is very important. - if we don't fix america's public schools - common good. not private good. every child should graduate from high school and have the opportunity to go to college regardless of the cost - embarrassing that we don't have uninsured. - environment is extremely important. natural resources need to be protected. must lead the world in facing global warming. national security threat. - these are some of the issues. we must have a national strategy. we must consider our character as a nation. Carl Sandburg poem - we must be visionary. we must be generous. largely a standing ovation -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: senseless war in Iraq. why no antiwar movement? b/c the issues are complicated. plus there's no draft. people are largely separate from people who are serving there. Q: asks him to comment on some statements. need for an international justice tribunal. this man believes in a just war - against a large aggressor. gives example of Rwanda. talks about international law. appropriate response (nice response) to a largely disjointed question. mentions book the Quark & the Jaguar. (demonstrates that he's capable of deep thought processes.) Q: how was it possible that he didn't know about the details of Bosnia when he was in the military - how are "normal" people supposed to have a real debate with what's presented in the media. talks about the business of the media. coverage based on marketshare. there are polls. if people aren't interested it's not going to get covered. personal responsibility Q: concerned about Darfur. what can/should we do?* should intervene. need 20000 troops. many of them should be American. we should have already been there. it doesn't matter the color of people's skin or how remote they are Q: how was national guard sent overseas without debate it's in the law. they can be drafted into international service. Q: appreciates him coming out. goes on forever. wants to know about his domestic ideas (so not the point of his talk) is this guy high? he's going on and on. does he want a damn cookie? is this white guy entitlement that he thinks he can talk for ever and ever and ever....? misquotes the catchphrase of the United Negro College fund "a mind is a precious thing to waste"...(should be a mind is a terrible thing to waste) but his heart is in the right place as he goes on to say that we should foster and fulfill inquisitiveness. parents more important than teachers. parents set value systems. (true ...but mommy and daddy should be able to make enough $$ so they can be engaged as well) his heart is totally in the right place. believes in education - small schools. education is not about getting into Harvard - education is for everyone. Q: nat'l security strategies abroad. what about border security. reluctant to build fences. we're a nation of immigrants. ("who took the US from the American Indians....") In this country people should learn to speak english. but it should also be a 5 year process. better for full participation for everyone. supports controlling borders but encourages immigrants Q: was the draft killed to disengage the electorate? would draft be more expensive than paying halliburton? he suspects that it's cheaper to draft people and not pay them. feels that the military is better if people who are there want to be there. asks everyone who's served to raise their hands - pretty good turnout. says that he was just w/ Pat Roberton @ Regent University and asked them the same question - there were a lot of American flags, but not many who have served. (I couldn't make this up). says that we need people in the military who want to lead, not people who want to kill people and get in fights.) Q: use of force should be absolute last resort. do you support a cabinent of peace. probably not in the way your asking. does support a cabinent of nation building. how do you make sure it's not just missionaries going into Afghanistan but real educators. *(all questions were asked by white men except this one - asked by a white women.)

the morning after

2005-10-30T14:02:00.000-06:00

paul and maria were excellent hosts last night for the slis halloween party. there are pictures and there's also a new group on flickr where SLIS people can upload their SLIS related photos

file under: can't we have just a little good news?

2005-10-28T17:40:00.000-05:00

totally funny occurrence in New York Good Smell Perplexes New Yorkers "An unseen, sweet-smelling cloud drifted through parts of Manhattan last night..."

i am waiting...

2005-10-28T10:38:00.000-05:00

for the pending indictments updated: no longer waiting "Scooter" Libby indicted on "charges of perjury, obstruction of justice and making false statements." He resigned just before the indictments. Karl Rove is apparently still under investigation and according to Fitzgerald, Rove told the CIA about Valerie Wilson and "he lied about it afterwards, under oath and repeatedly." So things don't exactly sound good for him either. this will definitely be interesting to watch...

blog in the house

2005-10-27T20:39:00.000-05:00

no, really! Dennis Hastert, Representative from the 14th District of Illinois, and Speaker of the House launched his blog today. Does this signify the beginning of the republican party waging dean-esque campaigns in the next cycle?

updates

2005-10-25T05:50:00.000-05:00

so i am up to my eyeballs in work. what else is new? but the amount of things that i have to do is unusual. that said, i've been making decent progress which was facilitated by a day at home yesterday and saturday, which was my first day off from work (although i did school work) in 7 weeks. if all goes well with loading data into ucinet in a few hours, all should be well with the world. over the weekend pete and i decided to commit to moving to DC after graduation, job or no, so we'll be in town on November 21st & 22nd apartment shopping. that weekend (actually the day we're flying out) is also our anniversary, so i think this will necessitate some sushi while there. yesterday i also managed to find a synthetic fiber filled coat that will travel well. it was quite a job - it seems like everything is filled with down! while i have a nice russian military coat, it's huge and will not travel well at all. i also managed to make a quick pan of brownies and thereby update the long-neglected tasty kake.

sigh

2005-10-20T20:06:00.000-05:00

Outcast Genius
73 % Nerd, 56% Geek, 52% Dork

For The Record:

A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.

A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.

A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.

You scored better than half in all three, earning you the title of: Outcast Genius.
Outcast geniuses usually are bright enough to understand what society wants of them, and they just don't care! They are highly intelligent and passionate about the things they know are *truly* important in the world. Typically, this does not include sports, cars or make-up, but it can on occassion (and if it does then they know more than all of their friends combined in that subject).

Outcast geniuses can be very lonely, due to their being outcast from most normal groups and too smart for the room among many other types of dorks and geeks, but they can also be the types to eventually rule the world, ala Bill Gates, the prototypical Outcast Genius.

Congratulations! THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 86% on nerdiness
You scored higher than 82% on geekosity
You scored higher than 87% on dork points

Link: The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test written by donathos on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

homelessness and the public library

2005-10-18T19:58:00.000-05:00

AUTHOR: Julie Murphy TITLE: When the Rights of the Many Outweigh the Rights of the Few: the "Legitimate" Versus the Homeless Patron in the Public Library SOURCE: Current Studies in Librarianship 23 no1/2 50-60 Spr/Fall 1999 This article, written in 1999, attempts to address when, "the rights of the homeless really impinge upon the rights of other patrons," and refers back to an article written by Shuman, in 1996. The author mentions that some of the arguments Shuman provides for limiting access of the homeless population to the library are echoes of similar articles written in the late 70s and early 80s. Shuman also provides reasons that homeless individuals should have full access to the library including the idea that many are mentally ill and therefore have special rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the library serves as a point of access to local social services. Murphy points out that most non-homeless people have an image of what a homeless person looks like, and because this visual marker exists, homeless patrons can be easier to spot and easier to stereotype. Furthermore, using Shuman's broad definition of a problem patron, within the article it is made clear that any patron can potentially be a "problem patron." The article mentions published examples of some librarians' views on serving the homeless and/or the mentally ill, "For the good of the common peace, these people's antisocial behavior cannot be accepted, regardless of the socioeconomic circumstances that may cause such behavior. We are not social workers; we are librarians (Manley, 1991). The experience of large urban libraries suggests procedures need to be developed for easing loiterers, sleepers, panhandlers, and smelly, verminous individuals out of the library (Morris, 1986). Open access to all. An admirable philosophy, but at what point does a public servant become a public slave? (Easton, 1977). Turns my stomach to look at them. There ought to be a limit to what librarians are asked to do to serve people ... No one wants to see them. They should be put back where they came from, out of sight (Anonymous librarian on the mentally ill) (In Zipkowitz, 1990, p. 54). We are not helping these troubled people by treating them as if they were normal, and we certainly are not helping others who come to the library for a legitimate reason (Vocino, 1976)." From here the author mentions the Kreimer vs. Morristown Public Library case, where it was ruled that the public library constitutes a "limited public fora...where only patron activities directly related to those purposes are constitutionally protected," therefore libraries can ban activities which are not directly related to the mission of the public library. As far as solutions are concerned, Murphy (as well as the ALA) advocates creating an explicit code of conduct which is visibly posted, and maintain a proactive sensitivity to the plight of their homeless patrons. As far as my personal take on the issue of homeless individuals using the library, i think if there are homeless people in your community (and there probably are) then barring violent outbursts, drug use in the facility, etc. then it is your job as a librarian as well as the institution for which you work, to serve the public - all of them. the Office for Literacy and Outreach Services (OLOS), within the ALA has a subcommittee on library services to the poor and homeless. The Encyclopedia of Homelessness also has a multiple page section on homelessness and public libraries.

playlist

2005-10-18T14:26:00.000-05:00

The "Your Son Is An Underachiever" Method (Match all: Last Played is in the last 7 days, Play Count is less than 15, Genre does not contain Mix; Limit to 10 songs selected by most often played) 1. Hello? Is This Thing On? - !!! - Louden Up Now 2. Napoleon - Ani Difranco - Living in Clip 3. Punk Rock Academy - Atom And His Package - Society Of People Named Elihu 4. Lithium - Nirvana - Nevermind 5. Alone In Kyoto - Air - Lost In Translation Soundtrack 6. Anticipation - Blonde Redhead - Misery Is a Butterfly 7. One For The Head Ski - t M.I.A. - Arular 8. Son Of A Gun - Nirvana - Incesticide 9. motorway to roswell - pixies - trompe le monde 10. Me And Guliani ... - !!! - Louden Up Now

cat herding

2005-10-16T23:23:00.000-05:00

it's an EDS commercial, but my god is it funny.

nothing special

2005-10-15T01:47:00.000-05:00

i've had a bloody long day, seven hours on the reference desk, several of them unexpected, a research meeting, 2 talks that i wanted to go to and couldn't. but for once i have nothing to say besides despite the fact that i graduate in december and have no real job prospects and not enough experience in any one thing to be really impressive, i'm genuinely happy. i feel a palpable sense of possibility in virtually every area of my life. i'm just on the brink of having a hand in doing interesting and useful research. i have really excellent friends who make being in any geographic location bearable. i have a really wonderful partner and fuzzy pets to come home to. altogether i'm in a pretty decent spot.

more about the avian flu

2005-10-11T19:16:00.000-05:00

i've been so busy that i haven't gotten a chance to talk about the recent developments around the issue of the potential H5N1 pandemic that we're finally hearing about in major media outlets. Between this and the Katrina disaster, it should become increasingly clear that the US, despite being the mecca for cutting edge healthcare treatment has virtually no public health infrastructure which is both inexcusable and dangerous. While i don't believe that technology can save us i do have high hopes for the Notifiable Infectious Disease Information Messaging System. A system such as this one would allow rapid international transfer of infectious disease information, which I believe would be both useful and important to medical professionals worldwide in such a situation. relevant link harvest: BLOGS Avian Flu GENERAL MEDIA BBC: Bird flu pandemic 'is stoppable' BBC: Resentment grows in bird flu town Business Week: Avian Flu: Innoculate Your Portfolio CBC CNN Newsweek: The Race Against Avian Flu NPR GOVERNMENT Australian Government CDC Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (UK) OSHA Public Health Agency of Canada US Department of State WHO REFERENCE Connotea: Bookmarks matching tags "AvianFlu" avian influenza entry via wikipedia fluwiki SCIENCE & HEALTH CIDRAP - Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy MedPage Today: International Team Issues Avian Flu Recommendations Nature recombinomics

better than columbus day

2005-10-11T17:53:00.000-05:00

i would be remiss if i didn't make a little celebratory noise for national coming out day. To help you celebrate: Human Rights Campaign Equality for All NOW campaigns for equal marriage Information from the ACLU regarding gay and lesbian rights LGBT rights info from Human Rights Watch

cookers vs. bakers

2005-10-11T17:09:00.000-05:00

i ran across this article in food section of today's NYT. Being a baker-type living with a cook-type person, I found this introduction to the joy and art of baking by Nigella Lawson, to be particularly amusing. pete made me a cake for my birthday last month, and even with a mix had a horrible time of it, although it turned out rather well. speaking of food, i heard that there was a fellow AoIR attendee who is also a food blogger - there's a blog i'd like to see.

Blogging AoIR - How Photobloggers are Framing a New Computerization Movement

2005-10-10T22:02:00.000-05:00

How Photobloggers are Framing a New Computerization Movement Eric T. Meyers, Howard Rosenbaum, Noriko Hara Indiana University, SLIS lenhart, horrigan & fallows (2004) Pew Internet and American Live report will talk about flickr and fotoblogs.org computerize movements - way to approach photoblogging - computerization w/in a sociotechnical context. based on sociological context of social movemnts - kling and iacono - components - a core ICT - organizational structures CM organizations - collective action CMs are driven by collective action to overcome the "status quo" and establish a new way of life. CM means positive social change. they don't agree w/techno - utopian point of view - public discourse; technological framing - ideology and myths - organizational practices - historical practices technological framing is very important CM has difference classifications - original framework based on internal organizations - some very market driven and others are not - scope of CM some very wide and others are very narrow - stand alone and bundled - positive vs. negative (positive original framework they have added negative such as spamming) photoblogs as blogs def: chronological blog of photography. can usually navigate to previous or next from the photo you're looking at (took from wikipedia) - grey area between gallery and photo blog (think of the ways flickr can be used) - 11,500 sites at photoblogs.org but growing very quickly - not a lot of research on photo blogs frames media frame - how public/media discussing photoblogs total 141 since nov. 2002. (based on lexis nexis search) - conducted related term count within news stories top share good friend work live top terms are only positive or neutral photoblogger frame what do photobloggers say discussion groups on fotoblog and flickr coded most pop threads anything with over 100 in thread in flickr anything over 20 in fotoblog - issues of censorship, nudity, privacy, image theft, copyright, photo modification, service issues, photostreams, off topics - they often talk about the social networks, commenting, linking, tags, demographics measuring photoblogs - took 4 sub samples of 35 sites from fotoblogs top 10 popular and same in flickr (used site's randomizer. (admit that categories are subjective but they feel obvious) - hobby vs. pro - 60% male, 20 % female, 20% unknown - only 1/3 from n. america, - 38% report full name. more popular report full name - comments not necess. useful for coding posting rates - flickr ppl post more - fotoblog less - did not find an average of 1 per day - top sites have posted longer - over time popular posts post more per month as they go on - random ppl's sites amounts of posting drop over time CM is it? suspicion is that it's not a wide CM. flickr sharing photos with friends and family is different. if it is it's a small CM provides example photos of what they coded as artistic, vs. snapshots. more snapshots in flickr notes: mentioned finding many photos of food - interesting that there are no presentations on food blogging and food bloggers here)

Aoir Notes: Hyperfriends and Beyond: Social Norms and Friendship on Livejournal

2005-10-10T21:55:00.000-05:00

Kate Raynes-Goldie Open Politics Foundation David Fono U. of Toronto friendster orkut tribe - new form on interaction - single binary mechanism - destabilizes meanings of relationships (body 2004) - public articulation of relationship can lead to "drama" and explosive social situations. observable. is a "thing" on lj drama. friending, defriending, etc. ? why public articulation of relationships so dramatic - effect on friends only entries and read their posts on your friends page method - user interviews (15 participants) - online survey - 1800 responses (where?) interview - friends as filters - so you can read their content/reading list - online social network of offline friends & keep track of friend's activities - exclusive online relationships. weak ties. relationship can progress - access control mechanism. friendship as trust - you provide them access to personal entries - reciprocal friending as courtesy. ppl felt it was nice - public declaration of relationship - serial adders - no relationships (friending as popularity? friending to boost popularity rating for serial adders?) survey findings: online - posted it on lj communities and encouraged others to post on their site 75% women age 15-50 most early 20s - attitudes and behaviors - no majority consensus in behavior and no consistency - 3 trends - uninterested in the why of friending or neutral about it - no consistent answer in whether or not ppl as permission when friending someone they don't know (irl?) - most users respond positively in terms of friending reciprocity hyperfriendship (uses baudrillard's theory of hyper-reality) - nature of conflict - competing meaning of friendship irl (is there a consistent definition of friendship irl) - most consistent in lj is reciprocity social norms w/in this context aren't consistent - manifests hyperpersonal interactions in CMC conclusion: - small design decisions have large social effects - friend is a loaded term. not most appropriate - has led to strong community - social conflict Q&A - think of social capital as commodity. my thoughts - in a commodified system hits

back from chicago

2005-10-10T09:28:00.000-05:00

i'm home, and mostly caffinated and thereby awake. i'm organizing photos and notes taken at AoIR this weekend. It was nice to see folks I don't regularly see like Anna and Lilia, and meet new people like David Park. I had a really great time and am energized and thinking of new ways to get the most out of the little bit of time I have left here at SLIS - october, november, then graduation with a presentation in Galway along the way. I need to learn prolog. I need to become more comfortable with SNA. I need a brain implant and a PhD program. It would not have been a brog trip if there wasn't some emphasis on food; excellent indian buffet with an incredible fish curry, then sushi at Oysy. as i'm sick of all of my music, John brought lots of cds and i have developed an affinity for an artist named myshkin, apparently now of Myshkin's Ruby Warblers. I can't place where her sound fits into the spectrum - folk sorta-kinda? On Sunday we got to see the Chicago marathon run by - incredible. Definitely something i'd like to work towards once i graduate, perhaps not the Chicago, but possibly the Baltimore marathon? almost time to return the rental car and get to work...

blogging AoIR - part 2

2005-10-08T14:53:00.000-05:00

some of the folks in this session went a bit quickly - so notes may not be so great as i had difficulty keeping up *** ___________ Inna Kouper Indiana University - SLIS Why online news? - news reflects dominant societal values & ideals - news contributes to social construction of the world - stereotypes - behavior modeling - cultural norms & values online news is a popular phenomenon. aggregated online news especially a diverse picture why women - generally 50% of pop. & work force - generally becoming more involved in society in general why photos? it shapes how we see the world research questions - how = men & women represented on images of online news? is there a difference in gender rep between English & Russian news? us - google news categories - US - business -sic/tech -sports -entertainment yandex.ru - 20 images each -society -econ sci/high-tech -sports -culture methodology bell, van leeuwen 2001 most images are figurative on both google & yandex most pictures are of humans yandex has more pictures inanimate objects (probably because of copyright issues/cost) gender - far more pictures of both individual groups of males in google yandex - more pictures of joint groups than of individual or group females considerable bias towards man than women 47% indiv. males and 26% group males in google 37% indiv. males and 20 % male groups in yandex.ru 11% joint groups google 20% yandex women are often are in more in close personal and public distance -42% images of women show head & shoulders -yandex 52% women @ distance in a crowd symbolic annihilation (tuchman 1978) - certain groups of people can be excluded from public discussion if seen as socially insignificant women are not newsworthy possibly not symbolically included but physically excluded because - less opportunity - work-family conflict - male culture - no immediate effect of social changes - anti-feminist backlash - esp. with recent discussions about do women wanting to be in the spotlight or choosing to stay at home. needs to be more of a discussion? Q & A would a different sample of a different day show a different story? like the day Harriet miers was nominated? - looked again on a different day but didn't find a significant difference. for instance found an article about yoko ono - with a picture of john Lennon if there's bias in the aggregation itself? - is the algorithm sexist? wanted to talk about it but don't really know details about algorithm. collected by popularity, statistically more men than women read news, therefore these stories more popular, and these are collected _______________ Carol Schalbe Arizona State - Journalism looked at images of Iraq war on 26 news sites during first 5 weeks then after the first anniversary most Americans experience war via the media Iraq first a war where - journalist were embedded - the internet was a medium of coverage 18 newspapers 3 major TV, 2 cable 2 major news magazines news media & collective memory - dayan et. al, - kitch - found nothing now how news websites help shape collective memory why images - live in digital age - historians who study collective memory study images - public memory is created by a public, mass media created past images of war - us doe not show gore, dead Americans, civilian dean - international news shows more dead (Tsang) 1991 gulf war (griffin & lee) - 6 types of photos in magazines (griffen) images predictable, American centered perspective rather thank complex or independent images (news magazines) framing theory underpins war studies - framing the news > slant, emphasis selections - news framing includes - process - context how do the first 5 weeks of photos frame the news - content analysis - 2 coders dominant biggest photo - opening night most images of the us war machine. images of shock & awe - Iraq skyline 2nd week - human faces 3rd week - Jessica lynch 4th week - toppling of Saddam's statue & regime 5th week - war appears to be over - American faces first anniversary coverage - showed dominant images of Americans & Iraqis how does the nature of the internet effect? - young medium - just after bust - followed traditional routines & rituals images injured & dead 3rd week (lynch) the internet will help play a role in the creative of collective memory coverage of anniversaries reinforces this online war images portray patriotic gov-friendly perspective _________ Narayanan Iyer Indiana University - Telecommunications Diversity of News Content www - provides a diversity of viewpoints - gives voice to the majority and the marginalized - different genres - news genre google news uses 4500 worldwide news sources updated every 15 minutes uniqueness of google news - compiled by computer algorithms - black box figure - allegedly no bias RQ - do the different regions of news sources in google news give rise to different political viewpoints and ideologies? region breakdown - us national newspapers - US state newspapers - int'l English speaking country - international non-English speaking country. - all English speaking sites method - content analysis of google news headlines on 3 diff news from Iraq war - stories collected @ 6 month interviews - article w/in 4 days of the incident - relevance of articles HEADLINES - masking impt. of story can be denoted by assigning by part of larger story - agents for story - included or omitted - description of agents in the headlines - slant: writer & source bias coded headlines intercoder reliability were ?? only 89% - tried to compensate discussed 3 stories 63% from us 27 % UK, Canada Australia, India, and s Africa rest distributed slant moderately correlated w/region of news source national us news papers tended to echo the average view - state us newspapers tended to be more troop sympathetic variety of google news sources does not imply that the overall presentation of news is free from political ideology and viewpoint

blogging AoIR - part 1

2005-10-08T09:25:00.000-05:00

Amanda Spink Tracking Web searching Trends 1997 - 2005 - started in 1997 w/data from Exite web search: Public Searching of the Web (Kluwer) - now Springer GOALS - track web search trends - identify characteristics of web searching - session length query length and use of operators - examine the distribution of query topics terms queries sources language used on engines - implication for theoretical & user models & web services , interfaces & system design 1st data set 1997 - 51,000 queries 10+million searches but different data companies Excite achieves (only 50% of the users ask questions the rest use keywords, alltheweb (mainly European data), altavista, vivisimo (small Pittsburgh based engine), dogpile no google or MSN any given query will return only 1% of the same results on the 1st page of the search (complexity of query) (can get overlap study from her) - in data set - mostly from US - per session 70% of users enter 3 or less queries per session (session? what is a session?) - 46-60% session include query modification - 10% use multitasking (start looking for one topic, look for another, flip back) session 56% less than one minute 72% less than 5 minutes 81% less than 15 min queries 60% use 1 or 2 terms 2004 - 70% of users enter 3 or less terms per query not noticing significant gender difference (how would they know?) low use of Boolean operators; many are incorrect. search engines are trying to figure out how to educate users PAGES VIEWED PER USER - 2004 very few users beyond the first 2 pages 14% of users view pages for less thank 30 seconds Distribution of Terms - very small # of distinct terms used with high frequency - bottom unusually high number of distinct terms used with low frequency - web query vocabulary contains a very large number of distinct terms (strings of numbers, unintelligible ...looking for very sex searches = more Boolean & more pages viewed Britney Spears high search term in real #s sex searches going up but because internet usage has also gone up - it's less than 3% long trends - entertainment queries to e-commerce /people queries - increasing # of non-English queries - more query reformulation - less results & page viewing - large number of spelling errors (looking for correct spelling?) - web definitely being used as source of information Q - strings of "unintelligible" looking for technical information and terms? combination of languages A - she used example of a search like "run dog" qualitatively what does that mean, Dr. Spink offered the question - are they looking for information on running their dog, etc? how do you qualify that with more information. personally i wonder if it's a combination of informal use of the interface, looking for obscure info, lack of search skills & possibly poor language skills or non native speaker? Q - gender how did they know A - really can't get this data. based on consistency of data. this really needs to be looked into more specifically Dr. Spink offered data set to those interested. i thought i overheard something about an excel file....wondering if this massive data set is organized into just spreadsheets? sounds incredibly difficult to manage even for qualitative research. is it in a more complex system? what could prolog do with this kind of data as far as virtually instantaneous "databasing" ? how do you take this kind of dataset and get deeper into it?... to really see which subgroups are doing what with searching? what would query data coming out of a public library look like with the combination of "power user" librarians and the public? who uses what resources? how do they use them? are the user groups obvious just from looking at the data?

we're off

2005-10-06T15:42:00.000-05:00

In just a few hours we'll be off to AoIR. As the possibility of a camera phone reared it's ugly head a few weeks ago when Pete's phone died, i discovered that i was entitled to a big fat upgrade, and weak as i am, i did succumb, expect pictures on flickr all weekend.

most recent musical obsession

2005-10-05T09:55:00.000-05:00

i've posted here with some regularity about music that really gets me and i spend several days listening to it as much as possible. during my prolonged M.I.A. phase i ran across a few white stripes videos (recall, if you will how i usually loathe videos) that i enjoyed mainly because they were concert footage videos. The one i found the most enjoyable was a video of a live performance where they play Jolene, the title track from Dolly Parton's first big solo album in 1974 (later reissued on CD in 1999) . The footage of this video is a bit grainy (which in this context i actually enjoy), and looks like Meg and Jack have been on stage for some time and have been really working it - they're sweaty and they look beat. And the performance is wonderful, heartfelt and evokes the desperation of Parton's well executed lyrics. In an interview with Terri Gross this summer which originally compelled me to buy the new album, Get Behind me Satan, Jack White talks about his love and appreciation for blue grass music which the Stripes dabble in a bit in track 5 of the new album entitled, Little Ghost. I wonder if covering Jolene is another product of that interest. They seem to be performing the song live with some regularity - the video is from what appears to be a late 2004 performance in the UK and they performed it again at the Merriweather on September 27th of this year. You can hear the entirety of the show, including openers the Shins and M. Ward, via NPR in an ingenious move to provide access to live performances of selected concerts for free. I've already listened to this show 4 times in the past 4 days.

blogs at the library

2005-10-04T19:50:00.000-05:00

Kenny, B., & Stephens, M. (2005). Talkin' blogs--lj round table . Library Journal , 123(15). Oh, the controversy of blogging - is it good, is it bad, is it useful, does it create another point of access or is it just redundant information? Do blogs belong in libraries? Is it ethical for those who are supposed to present unbiased access to information to air their personal opinions online in a potentially accessible fashion? Granted this round table doesn't really answer all of the big questions, but it does offer interesting insight from librarian bloggers - why they do it and why they think it's useful to them. All of the bloggers featured in the article say that they feel that blogging has had a positive effect of some sort on their career, which is interesting considering the plethora of articles that I've seen in the past year or two which very often talk about how the act of blogging can have a negative effect on one's career. These bloggers seem to feel that it sets them apart in some way and demonstrates that they have an active relationship with technology in general. As far as ethics are concerned most of the bloggers adhere to what Michael Stephens refers to as a sort of a "personal code" to which they adhere, although the introduction of the article points out that many librarian bloggers don't necessarily keep things neutral and most offer the personal opinions of the author. Many of the bloggers who participated in the discussion state that they use blogs professionally in their own library. Some as an internal means of communication while other library systems have public blogs accessible to the larger community. Blogs are a point of interest of mine; I obviously blog and research the use of blogs and I'm very interested in seeing how this technology is used within library systems. At the MCPL there is an internal staff blog that's used for news and to communicate information that would be useful to any staff member. I haven't talked to many people about it but there are usually a one or two short posts per day and it seems to be an effective and cheap method of disseminating information to the staff as a whole. Blogs helped get me interested in the issue of information accessibility and librarianship as a profession. I was reading librarian.net well before I applied to graduate school and had the opportunity to have the blog's author, Jessamyn West, out to speak at our program. Within the field of librarianship I regularly read librarian bloggers like Michael Stephens (a co-author and participant in this article, and an excellent speaker in his own right) and met an Indiana librarian buddy before I ever set foot in the state. Not to sound too techno-utopian, but I do feel that if well-used and well-executed, blogs can serve the library community well - as nodes of personal and professional communication which link us together more closely, in a vast network of patrons and professionals. cross posted

what else is new?

2005-10-01T14:04:00.000-05:00

what is it?
Originally uploaded by l@in.

i am up to my ears with work. i'm behind on grading, homework, housework, etc. i think think that once the AoIR presentation is over next week i'll have a better handle on things in general - and certainly more time. I'm glad the the semantic web presentation is based off of a paper that's already been written and modified.

in the past 6 weeks i haven't had a day off at all. to relax i've been knitting an watching movies for an hour or two each night before i crash into bed. and in doing this i've managed to finish a christmas present already and start another.

i enjoy school and learning more than anything really, but i have to say that after 2.5 years of 80+ hour work weeks being able to go to work then come home and not have a pile of work to do is going to be amazing.

mad props

2005-09-25T14:09:00.000-05:00

the photo above is of my friend, Tahirah, who helped to organize and implement a forum on campus in order to talk about the place of gay people in church. the article that the school paper printed about it can be located on their site. My favorite part of the article: "Some audience members felt they should address personal beliefs questioning homosexuality as a sin. One woman said she believes homosexuality is a choice that could be corrected, and that church members should treat gays as sinners. But facilitator Tahirah Akbar-Williams steered the discussion away from the subject of 'sin' and geared it toward how the church can help gays and lesbians grow in their faith. 'We are here to talk about how we can respect one another," Akbar-Williams said in response to a comment about homosexuals being considered "sinners." "We need to create a space for GLBT people in churches or religious institutions. I hope and pray to start a dialogue of respect and begin the process which helps us acknowledge that we are all different and we practice our faiths differently. However, within these differences, we can respect one another and move forward.' " Great work!

good news for birds

2005-09-23T13:44:00.000-05:00

New York City will be dimming their lights in order to lesson the possibility of birds becoming confused. "'Here is the bottom line: Birds just don't see glass,' said Professor Klem. 'The animals are not able to recognize glass as a barrier and avoid it.'" on a similar note i watched a bit of the documentary, Winged Migration last night while i was coding blogs. what i saw of it was absolutely stunning, without and excessive amount of voice over. i need to look into how they got all those crazy bird-level airborne shots - they're amazing.

frivolous post

2005-09-22T19:05:00.000-05:00

i must have one of these: a, fd, don't you need one too?

next best thing to being there

2005-09-21T22:48:00.000-05:00

...or another reason why my friends are so cool ben party called me from the M.I.A. show at the 9:30. I hope you guys are having a great time - it sounded crazy. Thanks for including me in the fun!

progress

2005-09-21T10:43:00.000-05:00

Noah's Wish, an organization that i wasn't aware of before hurricane katrina, seems to be doing a really great job. They have a special page for information from the katrina disaster, information about how you can help with money and supplies and information about becoming a volunteer. There's also a picture gallery of rescued animals on their site, and another gallery offsite.

so busy!

2005-09-20T19:58:00.000-05:00

that today will be a link round-up: - I am led to believe that President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan has to either be 1) a total misogynist, or 2) completely nuts perhaps both. - cholera spreads throughout west Africa - stop the insanity: "Previous studies have shown that on a typical day, almost one-third of U.S. youngsters eat fast food" - new orleans still cooks

shiver me timbers

2005-09-19T08:53:00.000-05:00

...it's talk like a pirate day! ARRRRR!

it's that time of year

2005-09-18T13:58:00.000-05:00

i can now bore you with my first homework assignment of the semester.

more meme-ing

2005-09-18T13:41:00.000-05:00

i wish this were more accurate than it actually is. one day i will learn to play the bass, and then start the feminist hardcore band that i've always dreamed of. i am destined to scream on stage.
You're the Rock Star!
Take What sort of Hipster are you? today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Personality Test Generator.

Fuck college, fuck a "real" job! Music is your life! You're a hometown hero! You're in at least two local bands and are thinking of forming a third. You sleep on your friend's couch, eat your friend's food, and borrow your friend's car. You frequent the dark city bars and hang with the other rockers and groupies. You wear dirty jeans, well-worn t-shirts, and your hair is a mess. You're sinister and mysterious and look as if you don't give a shit. You worship the Rolling Stones, MC5, and your older brother's band. You're gonna make it big one of these days, you can just feel it.

meme-ing

2005-09-16T09:50:00.000-05:00

(picked up from Lois)

You Are a Hunter Soul

You are driven and ambitious - totally self motiviated to succeed Actively working to acheive what you want, you are skillful in many areas. You are a natural predator with strong instincts ... and more than a little demanding. You are creative, energetic, and an extremely powerful force. An outdoors person, you like animals and relate to them better than people. You tend to have an explosive personality, but also a good sense of humor. People sometimes see you as arrogant or a know it all. You tend to be a bit of a loner, though you hate to be alone. Souls you are most compatible with: Seeker Soul and Peacemaker Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

big day

2005-09-15T22:37:00.000-05:00

Jessamyn speaks
Originally uploaded by l@in.

Today was a very long, very good day. This morning i spent 5 hours playing travel agent to make arrangements to attend a conference in Galway. It was especially fun as pete and i have literally been trying to go abroad since we started dating like, 6 years ago and finally it's going to happen. so i spent all that time coordinating to fly over with elijah, and fly back with pete so that elijah and i can attend the conference, and pete can come hang out. so i'll be spending 4 days in Galway, and 3 in Dublin. if any of you have been either place and have suggestions for restaurants, bars, or places to stay, that would be grand. it's a conference on the semantic web, which should be incredibly interesting and i plan to tibble a bit of the black stuff in it's native environment

Jessamyn West spoke tonight at our jointly sponsored ACM /ALA-SC event. She spoke about the choices librarians make, especially in relation to public librarians choices about technology in the library. The slides are downloadable. We had the opportunity to go out and have lunch and run around with her this afternoon and had a blast. I also got to meet Michael of tametheweb
He would make a totally great speaker for the ALA-SC for spring!

All in all a totally great thursday - now back to the grind!