Weekend Funnies

Here's a real life weekend funny...decorate your Christmas tree with reindeer poop.

Free Computer Upgrades for Life

Fujitsu is offering an interesting computer deal just in time for the holiday season--free computer upgrades for life. That really puts my lifetime subscription to Rolling Stone to shame! Certain rules and guidelines apply...click the link to find out more.

This Years Wii...The Kindle?

If you're hoping for a Kindle this Christmas, then it looks like you're out of luck. Amazon says the wait time on Kindle's is currently 11 to 13 weeks. What is it about Amazon selling these things as Christmas presents? The same thing happened last year, and people who ordered them didn't get them until almost the summer of 2008!

Used Kindle's are selling on eBay for over $450 dollars, and new ones are fetching over $600. So apparently I can make a 100 dollar profit for giving my month old Kindle up.

After Oprah's big Kindle show in late October, the wait time was 2 to 3 days; by early November it was 2 to 3 weeks; and now they won't come until next year. Might was well wait for the rumored new Kindle that's due out sometime in 2009.

SJSU Interview

SLIS Descriptor has an interview with me in the November Issue (available online)

Role Models

I am a bit conflicted; I saw Role Models with my wife the other day, and, while I want to say it was funny, I equally feel guilty for paying money to see a movie that exploits little kids.

I knew what I was getting into when I saw why it was rated R; rauchy humor doesn't really bug me. My problem in the movie isn't why it was rated R, it was who was making it R--often it was kids--mostly it was Ronnie, the little boy who played Seann William Scott's little buddy. The only thing he liked more then saying the F word was talking about how much he liked "bubbies" (something that he saw later in the movie, which was another thing that really bothered me--what parent let's there child act in a movie that requires them to see nudity?); it's bad enough to put a little kid in a movie that has adult's swearing left and right, but when it's the kids doing the swearing it's even worse.

The reason Ronnie sweared was completely uncalled for; it was shocking for the sake of shocking. Would the movie have been funny without it? Yes.

I have a feeling somewhere in Hollywood parents were sat down and they had to sign a contract saying it was okay for their little kid to do this.

People used to drop f-bombs with a little more class; when they said it, it truly was shocking and even funny. Now it's purely shock, and shock carries no lasting value. It's actually become just sad.

I'm not for censoring...except for kids; if that violates their rights, so be it--they're kids, their rights are supposed to be violated. Whoever Ronnie is in real life, his right to be a innocent child was taken away by some producer who said he could make him a star--and I paid ten bucks to support that.

Quiet Please Black Friday Sale

I am not a fan of the Post Office at Christmas; for this reason (and because I'm basically all out of books), I will no longer sell signed books off my web page as of Monday, December 1. I do not plan on selling copies after the new year either. The cost is $20.00 and that includes shipping.

If you would like to give a signed copy to someone as a gift, please order them before that date; also, if you want it personalized, make sure and say so when you order the copy.

I will also include a free copy of The Library Tree to anyone who orders during this last week (not much of a gift sense the book is already available). I will continue to sell The Library Tree until I sell out completely.

If you want an unsigned copy, I suggest using Amazon, which currently sells the book for $16.50.

The Mobile Computer Lab

A few years ago, I had a conversation with an IT guy about computers at the library that he worked at; he explained that all the computers were leased for about 400 each for two or three years; it didn't make sense, and I told him so; for less then 400 bucks you could easily buy a desktop that you would never have to give back. He argued that if things went bad on that, it might not be covered in the warranty, and the cost of upkeep were just too high. I found the whole conversation frustrating, because he was getting paid to upkeep the computers and would save the library a lot of money by not having to get a new lease every two years. Times have changed, computers are even cheaper, and he's probably still leasing them for the library.

Today, however, I think a bigger argument is why would a library lease when netbooks are so cheap? (for reviews, see yesterdays blog) The time of the 200 dollar, and maybe 100 dollar, notebook is here, and I think it's time for libraries to reconsider the idea of checking out computers. A few libraries have experimented with the idea, but the cost of mini notebooks are so cheap that it's more of a reality for even the smallest library.

The problem I've seen in many older branch libraries is there's simply no room for computers; bookshelves are often removed to make space; new libraries are obviously built with computers in mind, but what about the little guys?

As you probably know from my blog yesterday, I am a new fan of the MSI Wind. Not only is this a great computer for the average user, it's a great computer for the average library. Instead of finding odd nooks to handle large desktops, why not check out computers? For less then 10,000 dollars, a library could have twenty+ brand new notebooks. The battery life on a computer with a 3 cell battery is about two hours, so a patron can't horde it all day if you don't give them power supply.

Frequently, even in new libraries, computer labs are in the least desired part of the library--stuffy rooms with no natural lighting.

A patron has the freedom to roam the library with laptops, and use the computer wherever they're comfortable. Theft is not a problem if you have a policy that requires valid library card and ID. Obviously the right check out policy is the biggest issue, but it can be done.

I think the time has come for libraries to seriously consider the mobile computer lab.