Daily Thoughts 05/13/2012

Reading to Grandma, Arm Chair Stories, Cassell & Company, 1886

Daily Thoughts 05/13/2012

First of all happy Mothers Day.

I finished reading Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson.  The last part includes quite a bit about his cancer and his liver transplant.  Even when Steve Jobs had cancer, he continued working at Apple computers.  He was an incredibly driven person.  Towards the end of the book there is a lot about the differences between closed end products represented by Steve Jobs and more open products represented by Microsoft.  There were quite a few insites about business in the book.  Steve Jobs was more driven by design than monetary concerns in many situations.  I liked reading about the yacht he planned and the new campus that Steve Jobs worked on.  He was very much a perfectionist.  This is an excellent book to read.  It is worth reading especially if you are interested in design, art, or computers.

I also finished taking Project Fundamentals on Lynda.com which was quite interesting to me.  It showed an outline of how project managers organized, financed, and timed projects.

I also watched a bit of the history of Warner Brothers films which was a nice way to relax.


Web Bits

Wave of 'Bad' E-book News Dark Cloud or Blip?
http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2012/wave-of-bad-e-book-news-dark-cloud-or-blip/?goback=.gmp_1515307.gde_1515307_member_115019391
I hope things are slowing down a bit.  It will give some time for libraries and bookstores to catch up more and formulate better plans.  I still got a lot of questions about e-books, but, it is more oriented towards how they work, rather than can I learn about this new thing.

Momentum Builds for Douglas County Library System Ebook Model
http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2012/05/ebooks/momentum-builds-for-dcls-ebook-model/

If you go to the Douglas County Library System you see that they have Overdrive, Freegal, and 3M, but they also have their own system where they can buy ebooks directly from the publishers which separates them from a lot of other library systems.  It also opens up some hope that there may be a better way to buy ebooks eventually for libraries.

http://douglascountylibraries.org/downloadables

Daily Thoughts 05/12/2012

Theo van Rysselberghe (1862-1926), A Reading by Emile Verhaeren (1901)
Daily Thoughts 05/12/2012

I read some more of Steve Jobs this morning.  There is a little bit about the agency model for Ibooks.  The basic rule is that Apple gets 30% of whatever the publisher chooses to charge for a book.  The publisher determines the price not Apple.  It was interesting reading about how Apple worked with the New York Times and the different newspapers to put their material on the Ipad.

I also checked my Facebook account and spent some time watching a video on Project Management on Lynda.com.  Some of the CSS exercises have gotten very difficult on Codecademy.  I am going to try and figure out some more tomorrow.

Web Bits

The second part that approximately 60% of graduating library school students find a job is challenging.
http://blog.libraryjournal.com/ljinsider/2011/11/08/out-of-173-majors-library-science-reportedly-has-fourth-highest-unemployment-rate/

Maurice Sendak An Appreciation
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/obituaries/article/51876-maurice-sendak-an-appreciation.html

Daily Thoughts 05/11/2012

This print depicts a fairly typical poetry reading-except that sparrows are substituted for humans. A distinguished poet, seated before a folding screen, recites his poems for a private audience. His wife and children are seated near him. While most members are attentive, a mother turns to hush adolescents in the back row. In the upper left corner there are twelve "haiku" poems by different writers. These poets were probably members of a poetry club that commissioned Zeshin to design this print for a humorous New Year's greeting.  Shibata Zeshin, Meiji circa 1873 to 1891
Daily Thoughts 05/11/2012

I read some more of Steve Jobs.  The book is describing how Steve Jobs moved towards a new way of thinking about computers where the computer became attached to a number of peripheral devices starting with the Ipod.  It was interesting reading about his music choices.  Steve Jobs loved Bob Dylan, the Beatles and Bach.  Part of his philosophy was to focus on design before engineering to make a beautiful product.

This morning, I checked the Facebook and Twitter accounts for the library.  They waxed the floors in the work room last night.  This meant that I took some time to organize my things a little better.  I also checked the gift books and the displays.  Because I check these things every day, it does not take a huge amount of time.

I also took some time to walk around a bit in the shelving.  The library aides are shifting the oversize books to make things a little bit more orderly.  There also was a bit of rearrangement in the paperback fiction collection which makes it easier to find things.  Things are looking a bit more orderly in the stacks.  Also, a colleague has been inventorying the mezzanine to make sure that all the books are in the computer system.

I did a little bit more time studying CSS on Codecademy.  I am learning more about how CSS interacts with HTML.  After I finish all the CSS, I am going to give a shot at Javascript.  I also spent a little time on Lynda.com learning about Project Management.

I am still thinking about learning some more computer skills.  There is the Stanford School of Engineering Open Courseware system http://see.stanford.edu/see/courses.aspx
There is also the MIT Open Courseware system http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/

I found these by looking the information up on Quora.  In addition there is Google Code, http://code.google.com/edu   and P2PU  Peer to Peer University http://p2pu.org/en  and Code Avengers if you want to learn Javascript  http://www.codeavengers.com/

I took some time to look through the My Metro activities and saw a group called  http://metro.org/events/181/   New York Cultural Tech "Show and Tell" at Metro.  It looks like something which would be worth going to where I could learn something.

I put the book Railsea by China Mieville on hold.  It is a fantasy book.  I also put the graphic novel, Flex Mentallo Man of Muscle Mystery on hold. 


  I took some time to look at the New York Times Bestseller list for Graphic Novels http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/paperback-graphic-books/list.html   I also took some time to look at the Top 100 Graphic Novels for April from Diamond Comic Distributors which is the largest distributor of comic books and graphic novels in the United States.  http://www.previewsworld.com/Home/1/1/71/945?articleID=121116

On the way home, I read some more of Steve Jobs.  Right now, I am reading about the creation of the different electronic devices that Apple makes;  the Ipod, the Iphone, and the Ipad.  There is a picture of an Ipad like device from 2005 in the book.  I am also learning about how Steve Jobs continually worked to make the devices appear simpler and have less parts.  His design focus was not just on the outside of the devices that Apple built, but also on the insides.

Daily Thoughts 05/10/2012

Kuniyoshi Utagawa 1797-1861, Women

Daily Thoughts 05/12/2012

I have been steadily reading more of Steve Jobs.  The corporate politics are very ruthless.  The story of how Steve Jobs was ousted from Apple is quite interesting.  It shows a callousness, perfectionism, and absolute determination to have one persons vision lead the company.  There is a lot of betrayal, backroom deals, and alliances in this biography.  The office politics being described at Apple computers are truly partisan.

This morning, I checked the Facebook and Twitter accounts for the library.  We had a shipment of boxes sent out to Better World Books yesterday.  Hopefully, it will do well.  I also checked the displays and gift books this morning and spent a little time talking to the Friends of the Library.

I spent some time in the Computer Lab helping people with filling out job applications and some basic computer skills from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

I also spent some more time on Codecademy.  I am learning how HTML and CSS work together to create styles in web pages.  It is kind of difficult for me.

Right now, maintenance is cleaning the floors in the work area so I cleared my desk and moved some things out of the way.  It should look nice tomorrow.

Web Bits

Speculations on the Future of the book at MIT Conference
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/conferences/article/51831-speculations-on-the-future-of-the-book-at-mit-conference.html

Daily Thoughts 05/09/2012

Gabriel Bernard de Rieux (1687–1745), president of the second Court of Inquiry in the Parliament of Paris, president of the Court of Finances, by Maurice Quentin de La Tour, c1739-1741
 

Daily Thoughts 05/09/2012


This morning I read a little bit more of Steve Jobs.  Steve Jobs was very much interested in typography and design. He liked the Bauhaus style   Walter Isaacson describes many instances of how Steve Jobs focused on creating a special look and feel for Apple products.

Last night was very enjoyable.  There was not a huge crowd, but the people who were there asked lots of questions.  Ellen Datlow talked about how she chose material for anthologies and the process of getting authors to submit work.  It was quite interesting.

This morning, I checked the gifts, updated the Twitter and Facebook accounts for the library, and checked the displays.  I have to spend a little time preparing for orders in Titletales.  I also am charging the E-readers right now because a patron wanted to learn a little bit about e-readers in the computer lab this afternoon.  The Computer Lab is open from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. today.

I am going to the Salmagundi Club Library dinner.  The person arranging for the dinner has helped me out before.  It should be very interesting.  http://www.salmagundi.org/content.cfm/salmagundi/Annual-Library-Dinner/id/76

I spent some time showing a patron how to use the Kindle touch today.  I also am looking at a class called How to Teach Yourself to Code at General Assembly on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 from 5:00 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. as part of Internet Week New York.  I tried to get notes for this class on key resources but could not get all of them yet.

I finished some more exercises on CSS in Codecademy.  It is getting even harder as it goes along.

Daily Thoughts 05/08/2012

Etching for Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" by Édouard Manet. Published by Richard Lesclide, together with a French translation of the poem by Stéphane Mallarmé, Paris, 1875.
Date	1875(1875)

Etching for Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" by Édouard Manet. Published by Richard Lesclide, together with a French translation of the poem by Stéphane Mallarmé, Paris, 1875.
Date	1875(1875)

Etching for Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" by Édouard Manet. Published by Richard Lesclide, together with a French translation of the poem by Stéphane Mallarmé, Paris, 1875.
Date	1875(1875)

Etching for Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" by Édouard Manet. Published by Richard Lesclide, together with a French translation of the poem by Stéphane Mallarmé, Paris, 1875

Daily Thoughts 05/08/2012

This morning, I relaxed a bit on the train.  Sometimes I just like sit and relax.  Last night I read some more of Steve Jobs.  Steve Jobs was supposed to have been able to distort peoples sense of self and get them to do things which they thought were not possible.  He also was incredibly demanding and a perfectionist when it came to the appearance of his products.  There was a real sense that he appreciated beautiful design in machinery.  His sense of design was so intense that he had trouble buying furniture.

This morning, I got some boxes ready to ship to Better World Books.  There is some material left over from the Friends of the Mount Vernon Public Library book and bake sale.  I also checked the displays, updated the Twitter and Facebook account, and checked the gift books.

I am getting ready for tonight, I have the microphone ready, made sure the room layout was written up, and checked in with Ellen Datlow.  I think things will go well tonight.  I am looking forward to hearing the authors read from Poe: 19 New Tales Inspired by Edgar Allen Poe.

Daily Thoughts 05/07/2012

A copy photograph of the portrait painted by Oscar Halling in the late 1860's of Edgar Allan Poe Halling used the "Thompson" daguerreotype, one of the last portraits taken of Poe in 1849, as a model for this painting.


Daily Thoughts 05/07/2012

This morning I read some more of Steve Jobs.  There is a real counter culture element to Steve Jobs.  He was vegetarian, practiced zen, traveled to India, and was very much what the author calls cyberdelic.  There is a real sense that he was deeply connected with places the Whole Earth Catalog .  At the same time there is a creative side to Steve Jobs.  His favorite book was Moby Dick and he listened to bootleg Bob Dylan tapes.  The story is entertaining, surprising, and a bit different.

This morning, I checked the gift books, updated the Twitter and Facebook account, and checked the displays.  I also wrote down the room setup for tomorrow, May 8, 2012 for the event Poe: 19 New Tales Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe.

I am going to the Salmagundi Club Library Dinner and Talk on Wednesday at 6 p.m.  Doug Allen will be talking about his book N.C.  Wyeth The Collected Paintings Illustrations and Murals. It will be a chance for me to talk to some people.

I spent some time talking to Better World Books Today.  I also spent a little bit more time on Codecademy learning more CSS.  It is getting a bit harder to understand.

In addition, I charged my Kindle Touch someone is interested in learning about e-books so I am hoping to talk to them on Wednesday during the computer lab hours.

Daily Thoughts 05/05/2012

A reading lady. Signed and dated Leo Gestel 13, oil on board, 37 x 31 cm, 1913
Daily Thoughts 05/05/2012

I read some more of Straphanger this morning.  Taras Grescoe is writing about Vancouver, Canada and Portland, Oregon both of which have excellent public transportation networks.

The Friends of the Library are having their book and bake sale today.  They are also serving tea, coffee, and have an excellent selection of cake and cookies as well as all kinds of books.  

I checked the displays this morning and updated the Twitter and Facebook for the library today.  I also spent some time looking at Black Expressions Book Club which is quite interesting to look at.  They have a very large selection of titles.  http://www.blackexpressions.com/

It is almost the end of the Friends of the Library Book and Bake Sale.  They are having an end of sale special where you can buy a bag of books.

I practiced a little more on Codecademy.  I think I am getting a grasp of HTML and have a better idea of exactly what CSS does.

I am thinking a bit about the author event for Poe: 19 New Tales Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe.

On the way home, I finished reading Taras Grescoe, Straphanger Saving Our Cities and Ourselves From the Automobile.  I found this to be a very modern view focused on using trolleys, subways, and trains in an urban setting.  The authot is focusing on trains, trolleys, and subways in major metropolises where it is easier to use trains a lot and not drive as much.  It reminds me very much of the kind of people who use coworking  spaces or work from home and don't need to commute that much because they telecommute. Maybe, they only use their car on weekends, or possibly use a car sharing service when they need a car like Zipcar.

There is quite a bit of pondering on the environment.  He prefers trains that are electric, sleek, and fast. Taras Grescoe even hates buses. Part of the message is about the environment and how it is better to live in a dense urban environment with walkable cities and plenty of bicycle paths.  There is a kind of leftist utopian view in the book with a few anti-libertarian diatribes.  There is a quirky feel to the book which make it entertaining if not a little eccentric.

I also started reading the book Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson.  Walter Isaacson also wrote biographies of Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin two very creative and innovative people.  From the beginning the author focuses on the creative side of Steve Jobs as well as his drive to innovate.  One of the nice things about this book is that Steve Jobs basically tells Walter Isaacson to include everything about his life, both the good and the bad.  There is nothing sugarcoated about this story.