Ald. Tom Tunney (44th Ward) Welcoming Guests at YCL Event

Alderman Tom Tunney welcoming guests at the Young Chicago Lakefront Annual Mtg. & Elections Party held at Trader Todd's on May 19.

I'll Give You the Eighties & Nineties If You Give Me the Fifties & Sixties

Conservative historian Niall Ferguson looks at the growing cry to (re-)regulate financial markets and for some reason only thinks of the Seventies:

My concern is that we're going to get the 1970s for fear of the 1930s.

Naturally he's cherry-picking here. In fact, the same regulations also operated in the Fifties and Sixties -- or in other words, the greatest period of economic expansion the country ever knew.

History Repeats Itself as U of I's Global Campus Goes Belly Up

NYUonline (2001):

New York University is closing down its for-profit electronic learning operation, NYUonline, and moving some of its curriculum and staff into its School of Continuing and Professional Studies.

U of I Global Campus (2009):

[University of Illinois] trustees meeting in Chicago voted to follow a faculty task force plan to scrap much of the current version of Global Campus.

NYUonline (2002):

In two and a half years of operation, NYUonline received nearly $25 million from the university, but enrollment remained anemic at best: just 500 students at its peak.

U of I Global Campus (2009):

The $10 million program had only attracted about 360 students as of last month.

NYUOnline (2001):

The university blames last month's closure of the distance-learning company, called NYUonline, on the economy.

U of I Global Campus (2009):

...[Prof. Nick Burbules] said, a global recession has changed conditions under which the older initiative was established.

NYUonline (2001):

"I believe that the value of our work -- some of which will continue to be carried on by the university, and some non-academic portions of which may be acquired by third parties -- will become even clearer with time," [NYUonline CEO Gordon] Macomber said in the release.

U of I Global Campus (2009):

Burbules said the 2.0 model draws from the UI's experience with the initiative. "I think what is driving this process is the belief that the mission of expanding the online offerings is important," he said. "I give [U of I President White] full credit for inspiring this work, and I personally believe it is the future of higher education."

Note, there were significant differences between the programs, though stated goals tended to shift over time. Nevertheless, what the two shared was an inability by the people in charge to truly understand what the technology was capable of and what it wasn't. Decision-makers themselves had no strong background in online content development for higher education. This lack of background made it hard to evaluate alternative strategies. Instead of identifying successful initiatives already in place and extending those, they chose to concoct their schemes out of whole cloth.

The outcome should come as no surprise.

Obama: 'I'm a Reader'

The dark ages are over...

Transcript:

THE PRESIDENT: Dan from CNN.

DAN LOTHIAN (CNN): During the campaign you were criticized by some within your own party for perhaps not being able to be tough on foreign policy matters. Now you’ve had this friendly interaction with Mr. Chavez. Are you concerned at all about how this might be perceived back in the U.S. as perhaps being soft? Already one senator is calling this friendly interaction irresponsible. And as a quick follow-up, if I may, when you got the book from Mr. Chavez, what did you really think? (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT: I think it was a nice gesture to give me a book; I’m a reader. And you’re right, we had this debate throughout the campaign, and the whole notion was, is that somehow if we showed courtesy or opened up dialogue with governments that had previously been hostile to us, that that somehow would be a sign of weakness. The American people didn’t buy it. And there’s a good reason the American people didn’t buy it — because it doesn’t make sense.

[Courtesy of the Orange Satan]

Enough with the Google-bashing

I'm just as happy as the next person to be paranoid about huge corporate entities trying to dominate our lives but this attack on Google by UK Observer columnist Henry Porter is pure insanity.

In it he identifies Google as a "classic monopoly that destroys industries and individual enterprise in its bid for ever greater profits." You either agree with Google, he says, or you feel "the weight of its boot on your windpipe."

He then goes on to blame Google for the demise of newspapers. He hints darkly that in some future time of "profound challenges", Google may decide to cut newspapers off from their audience. The company is "delinquent and sociopathic", a "nightmarish 11-year-old" which "needs to be stopped in its tracks" etc.

How silly can you get? We're talking about a search-engine here. Its bread and butter are links and snippets of content. It's no more illegal or immoral for Google to use content in this way than it would be for you or me.

Indeed the thought of putting a restriction on this use is far more worrisome than anything Porter can come up with.

But the truth is, Porter really doesn't come up with much. Once you sweep away the invective, you're pretty much left with nothing other than Google is big and successful at what it does.

If this is the best a 'journalist' can produce, it explains the plight of newspapers far better than anything Google allegedly has done.

[h/t Keith Teare]

Cub's Park: Official Mustard, Ketchup & Paper Cup

With opening day tomorrow, it's good to know where the Cubs stand on ketchup, mustard and paper cups.

Conflicker Worm - The New Y2K

So yes, everybody and his mother has sent me a message about the Conflicker Worm that's supposed to strike on April 1.

All I can say is, April Fools to you too! ***

___

*** I mean, some of us remember Y2K.

The Real Gadget Revolution: Web on the Go

I find it amusing that there's so much buzz (some of it manufactured?) about the Amazon Kindle. The real revolution is all around us (which is what you'd expect for a revolution): it's people using smart-phones or netbooks to text each other, send email and photos, and otherwise access the Internet.

Now we have a report by the Pew Research Center which reflects pretty much what anyone taking a train or bus home can observe every day:

Cast a glance at any coffee shop, train station or airport boarding gate, and it is easy to see that mobile access to the internet is taking root in our society. Open laptops or furrowed brows staring at palm-sized screens are evidence of how routinely information is exchanged on wireless networks.

The report goes on to look at the roll that "mobile internet access" plays in various user groups. It concludes that the tech bar "has risen":

In the past, having tech gear such as broadband at home generally placed people on the cutting edge; that is no longer the case in this edition of the typology. Our new study shows that mobile connectivity is the new centerpiece of high-tech life.

[h/t ResourceShelf]

Chicagoland Drupal4Lib BoF (3/20) - Report

We had a wonderful turnout of close to 20 librarians from all parts of the Chicagoland area. Knowledge and skill-level ran from seasoned veterans to people being introduced to Drupal for the first time.

Project Demos & Participation

We had a number of people show us projects they're working on, including Mikael Jacobsen of Skokie Public, Brian Smith from PALS and Colin Koteles from the College of DuPage. We also had healthy contingents from Loyola, Oak Park Public, [the 3 people sitting next to Mikael?], and the ALA.

Module & Technique Discussion

Questions or issues that came up included transferring a Wiki to Drupal, customizing Themes (in this case the Zen Theme), use of Panels and a short (and conflicted) demo on my part of CiviCRM.

Resources

I was happy to see that at least two other people had read or were reading the O'Reilly Drupal Book. We agreed that it was very good. I added that it was very hands-on and that you really wanted to have a working copy of the CMS in front of you as you went through the chapters.

Other resources that people recommended included, Learn by the Drop, some of the instructional material from UMich, and this interesting site bitnami.org where you can download all the apps you need (Apache, PHP, MySQL, etc.) to get Drupal up and running locally.

ALA in July

We also discussed plans for ALA in July. We'll be meeting as part of the LITA Drupal4Lib IG meeting. People expressed an interest in hearing from a speaker who could discuss where Drupal is heading in the near future -- with the next release. Happily, we have a number of excellent Drupal Developers in the Chicagoland area who could talk on this subject.

Most Embarrassing Moment

In an attempt to show beginners how easy it is to set up Drupal using cPanel/Fantastico (just to play around and experiment with), I completely flubbed up, ending with one error after the other. So yes, I will be leaving town and changing my identity. (Here's how it should have gone...).

Thanks to All

First thanks to the wonderful people at DePaul for letting us use their great Instruction Room.

Then thanks of course to everyone who came! I was so wonderfully surprised by the number and variety of people who came. It really energized me as to ideas and activities we can do for using Drupal for library purposes in the Chicagoland area.

Feel free to leave comments and hope to see everyone again!

Next Meeting(s)

We'll be getting together as part of the LITA Drupal4Lib IG meeting either on the Saturday (7/11) or Sunday (7/12), depending on conflicts, room availability etc. We then have a scheduled meeting in September at the downtown office of the MLS on September 25.

Note: Mikael Jacobsen is also organizing meetings for NSLS.

MLA Issues New Handbook, Still Insists 'Website' is Two Words

The seventh edition of the MLA Handbook has just come out. The Chronicle of Higher Education points to the considerable effort the publishers have made to give this "bible of the undergraduate paper-writing process" a substantial web component. They have a password-protected website that contains the full text of the manual along with a whole ton of support material.

Good for them! It's great they're making such an effort. But what I want to know is why they still refuse to acknowledge that 'website' consists of only one word. Doing so would be a sign of true progress.

Amazon's 'Inkjet Community'?

I think Amazon is taking this community thing way too far. I mean, the 'Inkjet Community'?

Early Voting in Chicago

Made it over to the early voting station at the Lincoln Park Branch of CPL during a break. It's for the Primary to replace Congressman Rahm Emanuel. The last time I had been there was in October for the General Election. Needless to say, the one or two people waiting to vote this time round in no way matched the scores of people all packed in and waiting just a couple of months ago. Instead of close to an hour, it took maybe 5 minutes.

Obama a Lefty ?

Am I the last person on earth to realize that Obama writes with his left hand? You know us 'lefties' feel a kinship for one another. Notice he's wearing his watch on his left hand as well. A true lefty might wear it on his right -- to afford mobility to the dominant hand.

Document of the Day: Dead But Still Homeless in Mississippi

Apparently until the following legislation finally passes, if you're dead in Mississippi but don't meet the "residency requirements", your chances of getting a pauper's grave don't look too good:

MS HB 1316, 2007-2007, Holland; An Act To Authorize Counties To Waive The Residency Requirement For Determination Of Pauper Status To Qualify For Burial Costs; To Provide That Counties And Municipalities Burying Paupers May Use County Or Municipal Employees And Equipment, Purchase Necessary Materials And Contract For Necessary Services For That Purpose; To Provide That Those Provisions Do Not Authorize Public Funds To Be Used For Ceremonies Associated With Burials Or Funerals; And For Related Purposes.

No doubt, the current requirement is in place to prevent Mississippi from becoming a haven for transient dead people.

[Found while searching on a demo of Serial Solutions 360 Search for "keyword contains burial and materials"]

Chicagoland Drupal4Lib BoF (3/20, 1:30p)

I'm pleased to announce a Chicagoland Drupal4Lib BoF on Friday, 3/20 (1:30p-4p) at DePaul's Loop Campus, 1 E. Jackson (10th fl., Rm# 10028), Chicago.

GOALS OF THE CHICAGOLAND DRUPAL4LIB BoF

The Chicagoland Drupal4Lib BoF will be an opportunity for librarians to get together and discuss how they use (or would like to use) Drupal in a library context. We'll ask people to present projects they're working on and we'll field questions on problems and approaches to implementing Drupal. All levels of knowledge from expert to n00b are welcome.

Also, since we're the 'host' city for the ALA Convention in Chicago in July, we'll have an opportunity to think about what we might want to do for that.

This Chicagoland Drupal4Lib BoF is a follow-up to our successful get-togethers last year at the Metropolitan Librarian System and at the wildly sold-out Chicago Drupal BarCamp in October.

CHICAGOLAND DRUPAL4LIB BoF - QUARTERLY BASIS

We'll be doing one of these on a quarterly basis -- or at least that's the intention. The people at DePaul have kindly made their location available for March; We'll be meeting at McCormick Place as part of ALA in July; After that we'll be meeting at the downtown offices of the Metropolitan Library System (MLS).

PARTICIPATION AND SUGGESTIONS

It goes without saying that your participation and suggestions are welcome. The format is free and open enough to accommodate a ton of different ideas and needs.

You can sign up here: http://groups.drupal.org/node/18820

Feel free to leave a comment there or email me directly -- and everyone start planning for an informative and rewarding event -- on 3/20!

Weird Library Commercial of the Week

And the winner is: a cornstarch laced brown foamy liquid that apparently is supposed to appeal to easily distracted (and hallucinatory) teenagers.  [link]

Current Cites for January 2009

  

Current Cites for January 2009 is out! You can find the issue here...

I wrote about an interesting article in Portal that looked at the search habits of undergrads where the authors not only analyzed 100 freshman comp term papers but conducted follow-up interviews and focus groups as well.

Trip to DC for the Inauguration

I took the train down to DC for the Inauguration. It looked like the entire progressive half of the country was on its way to the nation's Capital.

In the train car on one side, a man was reading "The Return of Depression Economics" by Paul Krugman. On the other side, a woman was reading "The Shock Doctrine" by Naomi Klein. Obama regalia -- hats, pins, teeshirts -- were everywhere. As we reached our final destination, one woman suddenly broke into 'This Land is Your Land'.

First task was to pick up my 'Silver Ticket' which would determine where I would be standing during the Inauguration next day. Justin from the Congressional Office was kind enough to come down and bring me the thing. Otherwise, I would have had to join the hundreds of people waiting hours in front of every Congressional Office Building near the Capitol.

I ran into Dianne from Will County along with a couple of friends. We walked around the Capitol examining the area where the inauguration was to take place the next day.

Later on I joined a couple of friends for dinner at a pub in Clarendon. I was staying in Virginia in a town called Leesburg.

On the big day itself, we woke up at 4am. It took us about three hours to get downtown. Because the Metro was so crowded, we had to break up into different groups each trying his or her separate way of getting to the Washington Mall -- some walking, some trying to get into Metro trains that were packed to the gills with people.

Everything was packed. It was also about 20 degrees or colder. While this normally isn't bad, the fact that we were outside for several hours gave us all literally 'cold feet'. But cold feet or no cold feet, we were determined to participate in this great event.

Unfortunately, it took us so long to get to the entrance of the Silver Ticket area, that it was impossible to move forward. There simply were too many people crowding in.

Next we tried walking further down the Mall, away from the Capitol and towards the Washington Monument. It wasn't until 14th St. that there was an opening onto the lawn. We didn't have the best view, the 'Jumbotron' was way too far off and the audio came in and out, but still we were able to make out Obama's words and cheered and hollered our lungs out at all the important parts. It was a fabulous day.

We then reassembled at a nearby bar which unfortunately featured cigar smoking. Considering that we were only mid-way through a very very long day, it was amazing that everyone had beers -- except for me who wisely stuck to coffee.

Later in the evening we went to one of the Inauguration Balls. At first the idea of such a formal (not to mention stilted) occasion wasn't at all attractive to me but I was happy I went. Obama stopped by saying a few words to the crowd and while there were several hundred people in the hall it was a far more intimate environment than the million-plus scene earlier in the day. Michelle was there as well as the Vice President and his wife.

We didn't get back to Leesburg in Virginia till maybe two in the morning -- or, in other words, maybe 22 hours after we got up. Needless to say, it was a long day. We were all tired, worn out by the walking and crowds; our feet hurt and we were more than a little chilled; but the truth is, none of us would have missed this for anything in the world.

NYU Ref. Associates Reunion

Former NYU Reference Associates Leo, Andy and Mariana get together in NYC, first for a tour of Andy's current gig and then for din-din at a local restaurant.

Blast from the Past: The Sisters Zilla

Wow, here's something I haven't seen for a while: It's a clip called, "The Sisters Zilla" [archive.org] that I did as a final project for one of my classes at NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program -- almost 10 years ago! It's kind of funny, especially near the end. What's more amazing: the link still works (requires RealPlayer):

Here's the original description for the piece:

The Sisters Zilla (in RealVideo). Emotive blockbuster combining the best of "The Three Sisters" by Anton Chekov together with "Godzilla" by Sony Entertainment plus a shot or two of ITP thrown in for good measure. Done with Debbie Tarjono for 'Digital Video'. (Premiere 5.0, AfterEffects 4.0; Summer 1999).