Teknoids

It's a "story", of a man named Brady...

I'm back in Keeping Current mode these days, wanting to come up with some case studies on a "How-To-Do-It-Good" approach. One tool that I have been playing with is Page2RSS, which basically takes any static URL and creates a feed with any new changes in that page. A great idea, theoretically. The one problem it has is that I can't rule out specific parts of a page, like the date, which changes daily on most sites (usually via javascript). Take a look at this page. See what I mean? If only Page2RSS took a "page" from Web Site Watcher (the king of keeping current tools), I'd be thrilled. Page2RSS is really close to being an amazing tool. I hope they continue to advance it.

I've never noticed this before. Apparently, Google Blog search is indexing articles from Westlaw which clearly are not blogs. Most of this stuff comes from the NYT.

How odd and not very useful. They also seem to be indexing alerts set up on Westclips. Even more useless.

Blah, blah, blah, steretype, blah, blah, blah. "In The Case of the Missing Books: A Mobile Library Mystery (the first in a series), Northern Irish writer Ian Sansom introduces us to a wonderful lead character in Israel Armstrong. He’s pudgy, frumpy, a little boorish, and bookish. Well, of course, he’s bookish, he’s a librarian ... from North London, sent to work in a small Northern Ireland town. Israel also is a Jew in a country polarized by Christian faiths."

Yesterday, I returned 3 overdue books to my local library. As I handed the 10 dollar bill over to the clerk, I thought: I wonder if she will DDR-off me for it. Then the thought quickly subsided as there was a long line behind me whose attendees wanted to check their books out and go home. But what if there wasn't a line... Truth be told, I'd rather pay the fines than try to get out of them by winning a contest. I see nothing wrong with "Food for Fines", because this gives back to the community. Also, paying fines adds a sense of duty to the borrower of the material. Teens (or adults for that matter) will think, heck, I don't have to return this book on time because I know that I have the fastest legs in the west and could kick the beans out of the teen librarian at DDR. Paying overdue fines is also one of the most important fund-raising activities for many cash-strapped libraries across the country. Last, there's an socio-economic issue at hand. In low income areas where DDR is not available in every household, how fair is it to the person who doesn't have the time nor the tools to practice to beat the librarian. Example: Two teens walk into the library. One is middle class and has been playing DDR for a few years. The other can't afford DDR and has no experience with it, other than trying it out at the library a few times (note: I see nothing wrong with video games at libraries). Both owe $5 in overdue fines, but only one has the skills (skillz?) to beat the librarian, who of course, is pretty good himself. Libraries are equalizers and "DDRing" off for a chance to waive fines is not. Doing so will cause a rift between those who have and those who don't. So, play DDR, Wii, SL, etc. But don't make a competition out of paying overdue fines. Also, if teens (or adults!) are misbehaving, why reward them with video games, or something else they love to do? I've only been a parent for 4 years, but I know that if Hallie misbehaves, she is less likely to do so again if she doesn't get to play her favorite game for an hour or two.

Rochelle should get a kick out of this one. Brian Smith links to Get a First Life. Hilarious.

My cousin, Eric Komar is a genius. Not only does he speak a slew of languages, but he's an amazing musician. His songs, half of which are in Hebrew, focus on contemporary Jewish issues with a tinge of the traditional. His second CD, Two Life, is being released next week at a launch party in NJ and I can't wait to get my hands on it. Having heard a few tracks, I have to say that this will be a huge hit in the Jewish community. My mom just e-mailed me an article about Eric and his work: "The concert will not only help launch Mr. Komar's new compact disc, "Two Life," but will help raise money for brain cancer research." "I knew I wanted to celebrate the release of the CD, and because the temple community has considered me like family, I wanted to give back by making the concert a combination," Mr. Komar said." Good on ya, Eric. See you next weekend.

According to CNET, Google is now talking openly with book publishers. Which means one thing. They will probably start a blog for the book publishing industry. Well, they did it for librarians, just in time for ALA Midwinter. I'm not a fan of the Google Librarian Center for one important reason: The history between the engine and the profession. Before the book scanning project, Google ignored librarians. As soon as they needed something from us (our books), they started the PR push. Take a look at the timeline. Google shows up at their first ALA conference during the exact time when they were being pushed around for scanning books. Librarians are being used (Brainwashed?) by Google all over again and they don't even realize it. This is one reason why I'm so excited to do my "Research is Hard" presentation in April to a local library system in NY. Here's something else that is interesting and yet more proof that Google doesn't "get" librarians. Yesterday, when I looked at the Librarian Central Blog, I was a bit perturbed that they used an image of three books in their banner. Today, I looked again and it's an image of a library building. Someone must have said something to them and it was changed. Am I the only one who finds this odd? Isn't this a big deal? If they understood librarians (and not just cared about us for our books), they would put a "sexier" image up there. Postscript: Due to the discussions last week on Merediths blog, I should say that my opinion is my own and may or may not be different than those of my publisher and/or employer.

Not library-related. On what TV show did the song, How to Save a Life (by the Fray) first appear? The first commenter to guess correctly gets a prize. It's not what you're thinking. Update - Thanks for taking part. In looking at the comments, I decided to do some research. According to Wikipedia, the song first appeared on Grey's Anatomy on March 19th, 2006, in an episode called "Superstition". I didn't see that one, so I can't say whether this is true or not. Then, on April 25th, 2006, it appeared on Scrubs in an episode called, "My lunch", which I did see. This is the episode that I am thinking of. So, what to do? I'm going to give prizes to both Arnold, who was the first to say Grey's Anatomy and Howard, who was the first to say Scrubs. Guys, send me your contact info. Now I'm just curious. Does anyone have the DVD for Season 2 of GA? Load up that show and let us know if the song appears. Looking at the synoposis, it would fit.

Bookslut links to a page of every book Art Garfunkel has read since 1968. I'm impressed and jealous, now having wished I started a list back when I first started my "serious" reading. Not too late, I guess.

So, it turns out that that the Maplewood Library Board's decision to close the library was successfull. Not that they will close (they won't), but the initial decision got the attention of the community members and efforts were taken in an attempt to solve the problem. Win, Win! I applaud the library for making their unpopular decision. Here's to ruffling feathers and getting the job done. Bravo.

Talk about Reading trash at the library

Jim was so embarrased about my fines

Talk about Reading trash at the library

Jim was so embarrased about his fines...

My boss, Ray Jassin, sent me this hilarious video. I'm not sure if it's an "official" Westlaw ad, but it's really funny.

News from Smart Mobs today on the launch of Footnote, a neat site that apparently lets users annotate public document.

I'd play with it more if I didn't have to pay to play. :-(



Still, a cool research tool. And they've RSSified it.

The Contra Costa Times has a piece on the two publications. Hopefully, the article will make Meredith Farkas smile, as she's probably not doing much of that lately. Hang in there girl and congrats on the quote. Well deserved.

Gather.com loves the book industry.

From AP:

"A major US book publisher is hoping its new Web-based writing contest can tap into the popularity of interactive competitions like hit television show "American Idol."

As part of the "First Chapters" contest, aspiring first-time authors and members of www.gather.com can post manuscripts on that social-networking Web site, organizers from publisher Touchstone Fireside and gather.com said on Thursday."

From AP:

"Borders Group, Inc. and Gather.com have announced a joint project in which shoppers at the superstore chain can click on to the social media Web site and share their thoughts on books, music and other entertainment.

"The power of social networking and social media is changing the way companies interact with their customers," Gather.com CEO Tom Gerace said Tuesday in a statement. "Borders is a brand that appeals to highly educated and highly informed adults who are the core of the Gather.com community."

Access the Borders/Gather page here

Wowza!! Cite Bite is the coolest tool I've seen since Tags Everywhere.

Check this out. Grab a quote from any page, provide the URL, and, like magic, a direct link to the highlighted quote is provided. I've grabbed the firefox extension and will be using this alot.

Uh! Muh! Guhd!

Yet another social network site built around books



It's been around for a while, but, according to the blog, stagnant in development.