Daily Thoughts 11/05/2017

Jan Van Der Hayden, Corner of a Library, 1710

Daily Thoughts 11/05/2017

I checked the library Twitter and Facebook this morning.

I read some more of Life 3.0.  The author correctly points out that technology is limited by atoms. No matter how advanced a civilization is, it must still follow the laws of physics.

I read some more of Three Zeros.  Muhammad Yunus is describing how social business and microfinance can replace some of the holes in traditional capitalism.  Business does not have to have its main goal as making money.

Daily Thoughts 11/04/2017

Homer: Epic Poetry, Pierre Puvis De Chavannes, 1895

Daily Thoughts 11/04/2017

I checked the library Twitter and Facebook this morning.

I read some more of Life 3.0 today.  I am reading about Gerard K. O'Neill space colonies and Dyson Spheres.  What a cosmic future might look like for humanity.

I also started reading A World of Three Zeros A New Economics of Zero Poverty, Zero Unemployment, and Zero Net Carbon Emissions by Muhammad Yunus.  Muhammade Yunus is the creator of microfinance and social business.

Daily Thoughts 11/03/2017

Henri Gervex Cafe Scene in Paris 1877

Daily Thoughts 11/03/2017

I checked the library Twitter and Facebook this morning.

I read some more of Life 3.0 on the way to work.  The author describes how artificial intelligence will increasingly take our jobs.  We need to prepare for a time when less people need to work.  There is also a reminder that creativity is a mental process and as such, artificial intelligence can learn to be creative.

I checked the displays and the gift books this morning.  We have an origami holiday program set for December.  We also have a film set for December.

Today is the first day of the Friends of the Mount Vernon Public Book and Bake Sale.  I am going to go look at the books and buy a coffee and a pastry.

I picked a copy of a children's book Walt Kelly's Can't With Pogo and an Apprentice Bird CANTERBURY a Goldfinch with a wont to say "CAN'T" at the Book and Bake Sale.  I am quite fond of Pogo.

We put up some new signage today for the computers.

I spent some time checking the 800s as well as looking at some items that are not in the system.

I picked out some board games for a teen hour we are having.  They are also going to use the Playstation 4.

The teens are using the Playstation 4 right now.  They are playing Madden Baseball and NBA Basketball.

I got new business cards today.

I have a copy of the New York Times Book Review to read right now.  I also looked through Computers In Libraries today.

I checked out three books today, A Burglars Guide to the City by Geoff Manaugh, Thinking Machines The Quest for Artificial Intelligence and Where It is Taking Us Next by Luke Dormehl, and A World of Three Zeros by Muhammad Yunus.

I read some more of Life 3.0.  It is very entertaining.  There are a number of scenarios which I find interesting but completely unrealistic.  I do not think that you can contain a Generalized Artificial Intelligence.  Computers are capable of generating their own radio waves with the right equipment.  A very advanced computer could easily manipulate the electricity and magnetic fields inside the computer to generate a signal; either a radio wave or something else.  If it was smarter than us, it might be something else.

There is a second assumption that goes on in most of the books that I read like this.  It is the idea that something which suddenly becomes much smarter than us would remain interested in us.  This is the problem of anthropomorphism where we put our own values on a non-human intelligence.  An artificial intelligence would not be like human intelligence in many ways.  We would not know exactly what it would do.  Assuming that there would be a continued interest in humanity is a big assumption.  A Generalized Artificial Intelligence could very well shut itself off from us or seek to escape rather than interacting with us.

Web Bits

Mindfulness in the Library

http://publiclibrariesonline.org/2017/11/mindfulness-in-the-library/

Tell ED to Make Libraries Grant-Eligible

http://www.districtdispatch.org/2017/11/tell-ed-make-libraries-grant-eligible/

Daily Thoughts 11/02/2017

The Evening Lamp, Mina Fonda Ochtman, 1900

Daily Thoughts 11/02/2017

I checked the Twitter and Facebook for the library.

I started reading Life 3.0 Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence by Max Tegmark.  The beginning posits the existence of a general AI which is smarter than us.   I find this interesting, but also troubling.

Specialized use of artificial intelligence is already making a tremendous impact.  Algorithmic trading for example can cause what is known as a "flash crash." https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2015-04-21/guy-trading-at-home-caused-the-flash-crash    Also, elections can be won and lost based on analysis from computers focusing on big data and psychographics.  http://www.newsweek.com/trump-cambridge-analytica-kushner-695315

I checked the gift books and the displays.  I also spent some time discussing Paypal and online donation systems.  We came up with a slogan for our Giving Tuesday campaign.  I also checked the ADP payroll system today.

We looked at a few different films for the holidays like White Christmas and the version of A Christmas Carol which stars Alistair Sims.  We are also looking at a variety of craft programs for the holidays including origami and papercrafts.

There is an Internet class tonight in the computer lab from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.


Web Bits

The Important Emotional Labor of Librarians That Most People Never Think About

https://medium.com/everylibrary/the-important-emotional-labor-of-librarians-most-people-never-think-about-6f4a2cba178e

Obama Presidential Center Will Have Public, Not Presidential Library

https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-politics/sweet-obama-presidential-center-wont-house-presidential-library/

Daily Thoughts 11/1/2017

Violin, Glass, Pipe, and Inkwell, Pablo Picasso, 1912

Daily Thoughts 11/1/2017

I checked the library Twitter and Facebook this morning.

I finished reading Our Cats Are More Famous Than Us a Johnny Wander Collection by Ananth Hirsh and Yuko Ota.  It was an enjoyable read.  It ends on a high note.  There are a lot of low key references to geek culture in the graphic novel.   I like how different sections of the story are in different colors.

I also am reading more of Epictetus The Art of Living The Classic Manual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness.  This combines the Enchiridion and the Dialogues into a single work, making them very accessible to the modern reader.  This is Roman stoic philosophy on how to live the good life.

I spent some time this morning preparing to do holiday programs.  We are focusing on having a holiday singalong and a holiday craft for adults.

Right now, I am in the computer lab.

I put together an order for new books today.  I also placed a few other orders.

I generated a list of new e-books from Bookletters.

I placed a hold on the new book, A World of Three Zeros  The New Economics of  Zero Poverty, Zero Unemployment, and Zero Carbon by Muhammad Yunus with Karl Weber.

There is an article in the Black Westchester newspaper on the October 7, 2017 Local Authors Fair.