tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37621962012-02-01T15:46:27.992-07:00Cap'n LibraryInformation is vital! We are all caught in the web, and some of us need help getting out of it.Paul Baxterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512248826733332151noreply@blogger.comBlogger171100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762196.post-31628830043970235232011-10-23T12:09:00.000-06:002011-10-23T12:09:36.000-06:00All right, it's been a while since I was last here, but I found this clip that I wanted to share. I was inspired by my recent experiences at the Colorado Association of Libraries annual conference the other week.
Technical support is a pain in the analytical engine!Paul Baxterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512248826733332151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762196.post-63686870597826684782011-07-30T13:32:00.000-06:002011-07-30T13:32:24.675-06:00IT Librarian Interview (Simulation Recreation Quantification)
In the interest of full disclosure, I was not actually there for this interview in class. On the Friday in question (July 15, 2011) at the time in question (6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., MDT), I was flying from Portland, Oregon to Denver, Colorado. It was, um, not exactly where I wanted to be.
However, thanks to a classmate, I was able to Paul Baxterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512248826733332151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762196.post-16163415908458714552011-07-28T09:18:00.001-06:002011-07-28T09:19:57.147-06:00My First (Good) Website!
Okay, this blog was started for the Information Technology in Libraries class, but I'm talking here about my subject guide for the Reference and User Services class. It was supposed to be a proper web site for a the presentation, but my first attempt looked more like this:
I call this a website... You can call it a PowerPoint slide
It was, um, okay. When I finally gotPaul Baxterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512248826733332151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762196.post-1053420412060299202011-07-15T15:59:00.000-06:002011-07-15T15:59:06.738-06:00TOPIC 6: The Digital Divide
This is something that hits me pretty hard, but only when I take the time and effort to think about it. Like too many forms of poverty, the digital divide is easy to overlook.
We know that there are plenty of people in our communities who do not have computers at home or access to the internet. That's not a surprise. Those who are homeless, who are struggling to keepPaul Baxterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512248826733332151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762196.post-22692300762339777062011-07-15T15:33:00.000-06:002011-07-15T15:33:28.775-06:00TOPIC 4: My Experience with an Open Source Product
When I was younger (and perhaps not so wise), I found myself using a LOT of what we'd call today open source software. Back then (circa 1990), we didn't so much call it "open source," but we knew the idea. We called it "freeware" or "shareware," and much of it came with little admonitions that if you liked the product, you could send a few bucksPaul Baxterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512248826733332151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762196.post-48941225270619036172011-06-18T18:37:00.000-06:002011-06-18T18:37:46.421-06:00My Tech Philosophy
Technology, as I see it, is less a continuum than a herky-jerky forward stumble. From counting on our fingers and toes to the "innovation" of the iPad, we are not in an inevitable roll toward progress.
We are just here, at a point somewhere beyond our start. This is far from the apex of our journey.Paul Baxterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512248826733332151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762196.post-26143198326452537772011-06-14T08:59:00.000-06:002011-06-14T08:59:12.482-06:00Hold It
[Note: This is a long-ish rant, but I think it's worth the time.]
Maybe this goes a little far afield, but stick with it as it does get back to the idea of technology in libraries...
Where I work (as a Materials Handler Technician in Douglas County Libraries), a decent portion of my job is locked up in filling patron requests for materials to be kept on hold for them at the library. It Paul Baxterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512248826733332151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762196.post-78217701306876819162011-06-09T09:14:00.000-06:002011-06-09T09:14:32.906-06:00The Ebook Revolution Will Be Downloaded
The other day, I heard that my library district is anticipating the end of printed media, the primacy of the electronic book, and the need to re-task the structures of libraries. "Library as Place" is the buzz word for this.
I'm not sure how I feel about this.
Books are not a terribly old innovation, regardless of what we might want to believe. Sure, Paul Baxterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512248826733332151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762196.post-83513086911987655802011-05-21T09:17:00.000-06:002011-05-21T09:17:56.676-06:00The Electronic Class 9000X
I'm in class right now... and I'm BLOGGING!
That's not really as awesome as it seems, but it's a first for me. I'm pretty excited about this class, but that's only 'coz I suddenly feel like a proper geek. I know a little bit about computers and information technology, that gives me a feeling of power.
This is gonna be fun!Paul Baxterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512248826733332151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762196.post-60243510909625454652011-05-19T09:57:00.000-06:002011-05-19T10:10:26.149-06:00Here it is! The (new) Cap'n blog!There was a little bit of fit-and-starts stuff from before, but I'm here now. I'll get this place cleaned up, and we'll start to get down to the important business at hand.Here's a video:...Doctor Who, best episode ever containing that library with the Tenth Doctor.Paul Baxterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512248826733332151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762196.post-1073325998877809582004-01-05T11:06:00.000-07:002011-05-20T07:38:41.786-06:00Alien Invader Observation Journal: Number 6 Alien invaders on Earth have trouble with the more personal, private aspects of human behavior. Without access to television or movies (see Alien Invader Observation Journal: Number 11), they must rely on other sources for information on the human experience. The bathroom is an especially problematic area for alien invaders. While they understand the Paul Baxterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512248826733332151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762196.post-1072552195159897202003-12-27T12:09:00.000-07:002011-05-20T07:38:41.816-06:00Alien Invader Observation Journal: Number 93 Alien invaders on Earth are, as a general rule, excellent drivers. However, this only follows if the alien invader is alone in the automobile. Due to their telepathic nature (see Alien Invader Observation Journal: Number 43), the more alien invaders in a single vehicle decreases the efficacy of their driving ablilities. Two alien invaders in a car Paul Baxterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512248826733332151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762196.post-884414072003-02-02T16:38:00.000-07:002011-05-20T07:38:41.837-06:00A Note of Response to Y'all... Note: Those of you who don't regularly read Teri's Blog may find this rant a little hard to follow, but I reckon that there ain't many of those creatures out there... Perhaps at one time Anne Rice was a good writer, but now she is just plagiarizing herself. This thought came from an article I read about her novel, Memnoc the Devil, and I went on to read the danged Paul Baxterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512248826733332151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762196.post-876935402003-01-19T14:23:00.000-07:002011-05-20T07:38:41.844-06:00 Just Something... It's that time of year again when I am reminded that Denver -- despite all of its pretensions toward culture and civility -- really is just a cow town. Yes, it's time again for the National Western Stock Show! Teri made some comment about this, saying that she had the terrible state of Colorado's culture brought to her attention when our state's first Krispy Kreme doughnut Paul Baxterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512248826733332151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762196.post-820961312002-09-25T08:48:00.000-06:002011-05-20T07:38:41.870-06:00Poetry... Finally!
I write. That's one of the fundamental things about me.
Maybe I smoke and drink, look at girls and drive too fast, but my real vice is in putting pen to paper. Like sand on virgin snow, the lure of metaphor and imagery gnaws at me night and day.
This poem, a work in progress since 1999, takes my love of allusion and myth to edge of mania. If you ain't read The Odyssey, you Paul Baxterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512248826733332151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762196.post-820547432002-09-24T12:36:00.000-06:002011-05-20T07:38:41.876-06:00Zipp-it
I was over at Sean and Julie’s the other day, and Jules was reading the Sunday funnies. She read a few to Sean, and I just sat there, seething.
I dislike it when someone reads the funnies to someone else, but I know that it’s one of my evil pet peeves. Ya’ see, I find myself doing that as well, so I have no leg to stand on when I criticize another...
I also sing along to the radio, Paul Baxterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512248826733332151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762196.post-818867792002-09-20T14:32:00.000-06:002011-05-20T07:38:41.894-06:00At Night
They came at night, as usual.
I sat up in bed, thinking that the wind had blown the papers taped to my wall. The tick-tack, tick-tack of one sheet went on and on. In the dark, without my glasses on, I couldn’t see anything in the room with me. Then I heard her voice.
‘Don’t worry, little one.’
Her voice sounded more like the wind than words, but I’d stopped being afraid of her.
‘Paul Baxterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512248826733332151noreply@blogger.com0