To those in Information Technology for Library Professionals

Hello! Enjoy my entries if you have the nerve to read them. There is no specific topic for my blog. I write and post about anything and everything that comes from my mind.

Something I am working on...

Slowly rising with every inch closer to the pinnacle he drove. Long, hard, and moving fast, the road stretched to the top of the hill. Reaching the top looking out the window Clyde saw the red sunset casting low light of an ephemeral twilight across the tops of trees. Such a beautiful sight and yet such a short amount of time.

The gas pedal was down and the RPMs were up. There was no need to go fast. It simply made his mind feel better.

Ssssssssssccccreeach!

Hanging a left, all four tires squealed from the force of the turn. His blasting music drowned out the sound of the rubber, the smell too. The bass was deep and the cymbals crashed. Dum-dum-dum da-dumdum-ba-dum-ba-dum-ba. The power chords made his blood cool and his skin think with goose bumps. Clyde was exactly how he wanted to be. He banged his fists on the steering wheel as if playing the drums.

Eventually, he reached his destination. Unfazed by the aroma of burnt rubber, Clyde made his way to the store entrance. The red sunset had given way to a deep blue sky and hints of a star filled night. Still transfixed by the music he patted his thighs and his puckered lips hummed a beat. The air was still and everything felt calm.

With every step he got closer to the entrance and with every step the sounds in his head became more distant. Crossing the entrance and into the store his arms reverting to a sway, matching the pace of his feet. His puckered lips yielded to wide eyes and expanded nostrils while his ears beheld the horror of grocer store radio. And I think its gonna be alright. Yeah, the worst is over now, the morning sun is shining like a red rubber ball! From the lively darkness on the outside, to the austere brightness on the inside, Clyde had entered the realm of Buckos: Foods and Pharmacy.

Personal thoughts on a cloudy day.

It has been a very busy and productive two months. Keeping up with four graduate level courses and working twenty-five hours a week, in the evening, has consumed most of time. It is hard to relax the little time I have for myself and I hardly find the motivation to do the things I like. Often I find myself thinking about my life and where it is going.
Today I questioned being successful in my professional career and making an impact in the world that would make it better. I found myself thinking why did I not get into science during my undergrad and begin a path to becoming a scientist or computer engineer the kinds of people who are currently having the greatest impact on life as we know and will be for the foreseeable future.
I wonder if there are others like me, who went to school those first thirteen years, longing to grow up and go to college where school is fun. Others, who like me, when undergrad was finishing up wanted out of the system, away from the institutional life yet found themselves going back for more. Others, who like me are thinking, what the hell did I get myself into.
I long desire to be a librarian at a small liberal arts college. I want help students and professors conduct their research. I want to teach information literacy. My greatest desire is to lead a study abroad trip to archives and special libraries to do research with students and another professor on rare and/or unique collections of materials. What gets me thinking (too much) is I have no idea what I would do with my life if I did not desire to do this.
I would not be a doctor serving a small community or researching a cure for cancer. I would not a physicist inventing ways to turn science fiction into reality. I would not be a computer engineer fabricating the next great leap in technology. This bothers me some days. I know I have the potential to be a inspiration educator in the future, but I have a problem molding students out of the humanities and socials sciences to people who would be in the same boat as I am in.
It feels so frustrating to think that many others of my generation and I will go to school for nearly twenty years to make ourselves great thinkers and doers, only to face a world that may have no place for us. It is scary how fast the world can change and how unstable trends and current technologies are. Have I prepared myself to be a part of the world?
I am content with a simple and humble life. I will not be satisfied however, until I know have made a difference in the world. So here’s to aspiring that we all can do some good for the world; to be and do all that we are capable of. I am a librarian (that’s the plan at least) and I will make an impact.

Picture Sources for video presentation.

This is a list of the picture sources I used in my video presentation about Information Charity. Pictures are listed in the order that they appear in the video. Pictures that I hold copyright to are not listed. Pictures used more than once are listed only once and in the spot in which it first appears. To post this in Blogger I had to remove the hyperlinks when I copied them over from Word, so you will have to enter them manually into your address bar within your browser. Sorry. You can also download a word document that contains this link by clicking here.

• Slide 1

• http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.jcu.edu.au/old_library/Floorplans/Tour/computers1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.jcu.edu.au/old_library/Floorplans/Tour/infocommons.shtml&usg=__3ASVGRPHuv1Y-8P15B40Dkmpsao=&h=364&w=546&sz=53&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=jGhAeyNtf-6RkM:&tbnh=89&tbnw=133&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dlibrary%2Band%2Bcomputers%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3D

• http://www.facebook.com

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeU9X06Tuxg

• http://www.cnn.com/services/podcasting/

• www.blogger.com/start

• http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/blog/

• http://www.myspace.com/exitcalm

• http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://gustavus.edu/xml/rssicon.png&imgrefurl=http://twapperkeeper.com/med2/&usg=__lEO__PpslnpAC5x6avPqoAoceiw=&h=300&w=300&sz=13&hl=en&start=36&tbnid=NeLNh5pVVgo1OM:&tbnh=116&tbnw=116&prev=/images%3Fq%3DRSS%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D20

• http://www.ohiolink.edu

• Slide 3

• http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3DUncle%2BSam%2BI%2Bwant%2BYou%26ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3Dyfp-t-701&w=145&h=193&imgurl=www.brendoman.com%2Fmedia%2Funcle-sam-wants-you.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fbrendoman.com%2Findex.php%2F2005%2F05%2F03%2Funcle_sam_wants_you&size=6k&name=uncle+sam+wants+...&p=Uncle+Sam+I+want+You&oid=525d44f6f6ef25b2&fr2=&no=6&tt=1062&sigr=11tj9td94&sigi=11f00oejn&sigb=12pr614nu

• Slide 6

• http://www.flickr.com/groups/45871688@N00/pool/page4/

• Slide 7

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tU6S5NFI06g&feature=player_profilepage

• Slide 8

• http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://k53.pbase.com/v3/38/533338/2/46229760.GoodConversation.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.pbase.com/magazine/image/46229760&usg=__xCoKadz6qkEt7xRq0Banu4rIj4Q=&h=800&w=561&sz=57&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=B6FaY_4XNE6WmM:&tbnh=143&tbnw=100&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dgood%2Bconversation%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1

• Slide 9

• AIM Instant Messaging Program

• Slide 10

• http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://larvalsubjects.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/2f4df0324760b79935b80ea340398d82_matrix_code_emulator.jpg&imgrefurl=http://larvalsubjects.wordpress.com/2009/01/13/the-hegemonic-fallacy/&usg=__La0iGfvvOg1MFdUiCKv9JK3PQfM=&h=768&w=1024&sz=44&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=EUns2coVUg1kiM:&tbnh=113&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3DMatrix%2Bcode%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den

• Slide 11

• http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://washingtonindependent.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/bread-line-fdr.jpg&imgrefurl=http://washingtonindependent.com/20243/remembering-fdr&usg=__rSoWHKYzfDP-2fft2u6KmWOHtWA=&h=400&w=500&sz=164&hl=en&start=10&um=1&tbnid=_crl9hGFtL-8BM:&tbnh=104&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3DGreat%2BDepression%2Bbread%2Bline%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1

• http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.maximumpc.com/files/u46168/internet_censorship.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.maximumpc.com/tags/websites&usg=__0BH1W8QA2PZgNnkPF8eQPOxcMZU=&h=351&w=390&sz=32&hl=en&start=3&tbnid=6aFwAj4jUa73LM:&tbnh=111&tbnw=123&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcensorship%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den

• http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://sudanfaces.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/darfur_refugee_camp_in_chad.jpg&imgrefurl=http://sudanfaces.wordpress.com/tag/sudan-civil-war/&usg=__pcvNVKrP-eoiCI9vKOcq8bu79P4=&h=600&w=800&sz=115&hl=en&start=67&tbnid=UFVWDS_dVk1-2M:&tbnh=107&tbnw=143&prev=/images%3Fq%3DDarfur%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D60

• Slide 13

• http://www.amazon.com/Information-Society-Study-Continuity-Change/dp/1856046362/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255467570&sr=1-1#reader

• Slide 15

• http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3DMap%2Bof%2Bworld%26ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3Dyfp-t-878&w=2200&h=1433&imgurl=mapsofworld.com%2Fmap-of-the-world%2Fmap-of-the-world.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mapsofworld.com%2Fmap-of-the-world&size=312k&name=map+of+the+world...&p=Map+of+world&oid=00aed449f96f3cba&fr2=&no=7&tt=1464106&sigr=11b819i4i&sigi=11lngp84i&sigb=12h1i7o6i

• Slide 17

• http://www.elsevierfoundation.org/library.html

• Slide 18

• http://www.research4life.org/Pages/About.aspx

• Slide 19

• http://www.firstbook.org/site/c.lwKYJ8NVJvF/b.674337/k.F229/Our_Story.htm

• Slide 20

• http://www.gatesfoundation.org/topics/Pages/libraries.aspx#

• Slide 21

• http://laptop.org/en/vision/mission/index.shtml

• http://laptop.org

• http://laptop.org/en/children/countries/index.shtml or http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&ie=UTF8&cd=1&om=1&msa=0&msid=107887635573341686661.00045a8f74844ef1681f8&ll=7.710992,11.25&spn=136.959067,316.40625&z=2

• Slide 22

• http://www.ted.com/speakers/william_kamkwamba.html

• http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3DWilliam%2BKamkwamba%26b%3D1%26ni%3D20%26ei%3DUTF-8%26pstart%3D1%26fr%3Dyfp-t-701%26fr2%3Dtab-web&w=333&h=500&imgurl=static.flickr.com%2F1379%2F614123971_bfd733f619.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2F9278648%40N04%2F614123971%2F&size=76k&name=William+Kamkwamb...&p=William+Kamkwamba&oid=aeddcc151c47c344&fr2=tab-web&fusr=williamkamkw...&no=1&tt=93&b=1&ni=20&sigr=11jrnhb4m&sigi=11fkgnftv&sigb=13l6eeca9

• Slide 23

• http://www.ted.com/speakers/clay_shirky.html

• http://www.ted.com/speakers/erik_hersman.html

• www.flickr.com

• www.twitter.com

• http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://briancromer.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/texting.jpg&imgrefurl=http://cadltech.wordpress.com/2009/04/&usg=__rOJVxE-WhsVwpVu215L8r3ULEqc=&h=275&w=474&sz=39&hl=en&start=3&tbnid=XP0K5gyk9LOvDM:&tbnh=75&tbnw=129&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtexting%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den

• http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/images/set3/network.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/cat_sms_marketing_advertising.htm&usg=__L9X59kJM_oHOjxFj_OU6Yrl6Ssg=&h=300&w=400&sz=227&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=9x8kLsjmu9qhDM:&tbnh=93&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dnetwork%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den

• Slide 24

– http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://blog.ted.com/evanwilliams1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://blog.ted.com/2009/02/twitter_snapsho_9.php&usg=__XJqMcXK9gp82SNUbuVbZnSAUBBI=&h=334&w=500&sz=21&hl=en&start=12&tbnid=p0Ndl0vzlk4maM:&tbnh=87&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3DEvan%2BWilliams%2Btwitter%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den

– http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://kenmorealliance.com/files/Images/hands%2520on%2520world.jpg&imgrefurl=http://kenmorealliance.com/244000.ihtml&usg=__u3EiitnAAs0dra5jc8McENMalB8=&h=359&w=539&sz=22&hl=en&start=6&tbnid=LV0sko8CyLRHeM:&tbnh=88&tbnw=132&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dteam%2Bhands%2Bin%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN

• Slide 25

– http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://flipthemedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/conan.jpg&imgrefurl=http://flipthemedia.com/index.php/tag/technology/&usg=__OdQssPtvP_UlJodWT60YO74pcwc=&h=234&w=333&sz=9&hl=en&start=2&tbnid=8pzonK3Y62FduM:&tbnh=84&tbnw=119&prev=/images%3Fq%3DConan%2BO%2527Brien%2Bin%2Bthe%2Byear%2B3000%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den

• Slide 26

– http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9f/Birmingham_campaign_water_hoses.jpg&imgrefurl=http://texasliberal.wordpress.com/2008/01/11/mrs-clintons-comments-diminish-ml-king-the-civil-rights-movement/&usg=__yXrIbJ_7dwzT4eahJkkJRkTk-i8=&h=431&w=543&sz=66&hl=en&start=19&tbnid=s6Qv-3-z72QNiM:&tbnh=105&tbnw=132&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcivil%2Brights%2Bmovement%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den

– http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.d.umn.edu/~mull0323/images/attack.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.d.umn.edu/~mull0323/CivilRightsWebquest.htm&usg=__KDNKKnfJE7dBEy4oEqoatSoGZwM=&h=421&w=550&sz=40&hl=en&start=34&tbnid=lWo8I3iQxQAV2M:&tbnh=102&tbnw=133&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcivil%2Brights%2Bmovement%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D20

• Slide 27

– http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.floridaits.com/Newsletters/2003/02-2003_Newsletter/Graphics/911wtc.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.floridaits.com/Newsletters/2003/02-2003_Newsletter/02-2003_Newsletter.htm&usg=__3ue_pvQcLrVydidL9IkB0NeVdR8=&h=432&w=360&sz=79&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=KOdWRbNDcQC94M:&tbnh=126&tbnw=105&prev=/images%3Fq%3DSeptember%2B11,%2B2001%2Bworld%2Btrade%2Bcenter%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26um%3D1

– http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://ricketyclick.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/wtc-doomed-w480.jpg&imgrefurl=http://ricketyclick.com/blog/index.php/tag/allah/&usg=__xljSHK8ClkMfsM_r2pehSYNiAeo=&h=360&w=480&sz=26&hl=en&start=9&um=1&tbnid=JjtfArmLLB_trM:&tbnh=97&tbnw=129&prev=/images%3Fq%3DWorld%2BTrade%2BCenter%2B9/11%2Bpeople%2Bin%2Bwindows%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26um%3D1

• Slide 28

– http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://galleries.thelondonpaper.com/g20-protest-marches-before-summit-next-week-thousands-attend/images/g20-protest-march-london-28march%2520(01).jpg&imgrefurl=http://galleries.thelondonpaper.com/g20-protest-marches-before-summit-next-week-thousands-attend/&usg=__7gB_lFNI6D2SHG17McHtUq8-Q60=&h=325&w=540&sz=58&hl=en&start=35&tbnid=RwO_wQubh2d1PM:&tbnh=79&tbnw=132&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dprotest%2Bin%2BLondon%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D20

– http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://chinaearthquakerelief.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/china-earthquake-photo-wen-jiabao4.jpg&imgrefurl=http://chinaearthquakerelief.wordpress.com/2008/05/14/&usg=__l78f9WrqFoCiwE7ME5G5gjtr8Bk=&h=480&w=640&sz=168&hl=en&start=15&tbnid=CZHmofhMud2voM:&tbnh=103&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3DChina%2BEarthquake%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

• Slide 28

– http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://inhabitat.com/wp-content/uploads/onelaptopperchild1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/11/09/100-xo-laptop-launches-buy-one-donate-one-initiative/&usg=__peKMIuwt0bqg63Rv2smSAKr-xc0=&h=408&w=537&sz=32&hl=en&start=2&tbnid=HQmGZUvI310O-M:&tbnh=100&tbnw=132&prev=/images%3Fq%3DNegroponte%2BOne%2BLaptop%2Bper%2Bchild%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN

– http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.frankjump.com/darfurstamp.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.frankjump.com/stamp4.html&usg=__yD-i3PMvd9bAhKgjT6WmlhwmhVY=&h=468&w=720&sz=291&hl=en&start=38&tbnid=p51DdR46LkrVmM:&tbnh=91&tbnw=140&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddarfur%2Bgenocide%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D20

– http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/11/06/obama.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/the_health_care_blog/2008/11/health-in-an-ob.html&usg=__HhkcGPMEP5JHtXTbdYuq45iXuVM=&h=600&w=400&sz=34&hl=en&start=20&tbnid=PSOmrcJaT_MXJM:&tbnh=135&tbnw=90&prev=/images%3Fq%3DObama%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den

• Slide 29

– http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://maps.bpl.org/images/about_ph_6.jpg&imgrefurl=http://maps.bpl.org/our_mission/&usg=__hQVEJdwM9n81X4HDoYrMY9T-UfQ=&h=300&w=400&sz=66&hl=en&start=3&tbnid=5kcqyMscMLY2JM:&tbnh=93&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3DBoston%2BPublic%2BLibrary%2B%2522Free%2Bto%2BAll%2522%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den

Where I'd rather be

Have you ever listened to a song that when you closed your eyes while you listened to it you could see yourself fling through pearl white clouds with a cool breeze whisking beneath your belly? Or do your visions prefer running through an open field with chilly wet grass under clear starry sky? Sometimes I find myself swimming with no need to breathe in an aqua sea flush with life and sunshine. I'd rather be in one of those places. Or Maine.

Damn Shame

Of all the happenings going on in my life right now, both good and difficult, there is one thing I am embarrassed to admit, bothers me the most. A band from England which 99%, if not greater, of the the world's population does not know has broken up.

For those of you who know me, it was not Exit Calm. If it was, this would be a suicide note.

Model Morning was a psychedelic rock band from Nottingham. They were a fabulous five piece that dazzled me with immense chords and tab pulsating from two guitars, deliberately good rhythms from a keen drummer and bass-man, and a singer with a grand voice. These wankers for whatever reason have decided to "move on." They are continuing to follow their passion of music with other projects which is the most important thing and does make me happy.

What makes me sick is a song I have listened to by this band 95% of the total days since I first discovered them in December of 2007, "As Guilty As," is a music phenomenon that I will tragically never hear live. "As Guilty As" is probably Model Morning's most simple song, and yet it is their best.

There is so much going on in the song. When the song starts the ears are greeted with a doppler-like guitar effect. It sort of eases you into the oncoming madness. Next the bass line and the drum beat drops and the listener is sucked in. They pump the ears with a hard to forget, but hard not to enjoy rhythm. I often find myself flailing my arms with the pounding of the snare. The timed beating of the symbols helps tease the rhythm out and keep it interesting. The symbols pick up speed as the song progresses and the listener can feel the orgasmic high the song fucking the ears towards.

The main hook of the song is essentially 6 notes intuitively yet methodically played in varioius speeds and intervals, 3 notes at a time. For some reason I think "three blind mice" when I hear the notes. Soon enough the song breaks very slightly and then begins to rock teeth gritting power chords. These chords are played a couple of times and the singer commences in this near instrumental song. I have no idea what he sings, but he is brilliant. His final line however, is "its alright." I feel as if he is telling the listener, "It's alright. Listen and disconnect from everything around you." The song closes with a lovely guitar solo before setting the listner free from an electric strangle hold.

Epic is a word far too often used to describe stories, songs, sporting events, etc, that do not live up to the hype or the tastes of all everyperson. "As Guilty As" is a song that all could enjoy. It is not only epic, it is awesome. It is an Epic Win of a song that will sadly never be performed live, by this band, ever again.

Luckily, according to the band's Mypsace page they will still release the album they recorded. They have already released an EP with 5 tracks, as well as a digital release of "As Guilty As" with two other tracks with it. Another Model Morning song I like is a song called "This Town." I did not think much of this song till I had a dream it was in a soundtrack to a Nicholas Cage movie in which he drove cars (not Gone in 60 Seconds). Funny thing, huh? I remember another song they made available for downloaded during the summer of 2008 called, "We Go All Night." I was slacking off at worked and happened to log onto Myspace and saw the song posted. I probably listend to it 10-15 that afternoon before going home and downloading it.

It really is terrible when good bands end their relationship. In most good bands though, most of the members are good muscians and most of them continue to make music. This is what I hope for of these guys (espically Chris Moore). I hope they continue to follow their passions and I wish them the best of luck.

Top 5 video games

I am very aggravated right now so I am going to discuss a topic that I like very much. Video games. Here are my top 5.

#5 Counter Strike: Source

This is my most favorite multiplayer game ever. Great physics, great graphics, great sound, great gameplay, the best scoring system and play mode I have ever experienced in an arena styled FPS multiplayer. If you are not aware, in CS:S you can set the game to first to a set number of round wins is the victor for the entire match. I'm sure plenty of games do this, by CS:S was the first I have experienced (I think) that does that. So there. You can play to meet the objective of the map, guard/resuce hostages or detonate/defuse bomb, or simplying kill each other to win. I prefer doing the objectives. You can win a match without fireing your weapon. I love defusing the bomb. That takes skill. The game also had a great bot system, meaning intellignet AI, for the most part. Great FPS.

#4 Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time as well as Twilight Princess

I lump these together along with the rest of the games that will inevitably be release in this story line of the series. This is one of the few games and one of the first to really captivate my imgaination and feelings. That may sound strange, but a video game is interactive entertainment. These games are long, and I mean long. 50-60 hours of gameplay. They are certainly easy to come back and play through again after some time as well. Most games are not like that. I want to say that Zelda is special in a way that I cannot describe, but I will save that compliment for the next game.

#3 Shadow of the Colosuss

Wow. What a special game. This game like Zelda, engulfed my imagination, an important theme to this. This game was about exploration and beauty. The only combat was 16 (I think) boss fights. Epic boss fights for that matter. SoC has the most unique and creative story in any game I have played. That is in part becuase the developers tell the story giving the player the essential parts to construct the story. The rest is left up to the player's imgaination. Some might say the gameplay is slightly clumsy, but I believe it was done like that on purpose. Wander, who you play as, does not fit the warrior persona. So if he is not a warrior, he should not fight like one and he does not. He mearly swings he sword aimlessly or stabs. He has an akward run and is not a skilled swimmer. You either love this game or like it. If you love it, you see how purposeful the games elements are while still being ambigious and artistic. This game is legendary.

#2 Half-Life (series, but in particular HL2 as well as HL2 Epidsode 1 and 2)

Like CS:S, great physics, graphics, sound, gameplay, etc. Like no other game I have played, this game makes you feel you are the character you are playing. The gameplay is well designed and implemented. It is FPS, but you get some driving, platforming, and some puzzles. The guns are fun to use and the world is fun to explore and look at. It is hard to complete theses games because one is not sure if he has seen or done everything the game has to offer in each part of the world. Gordon fucking Freeman. This game is really number 1, but the game that is number 1 is also my number 1. So for the purpose of this post I put Half Life at the 2 spot. If I was to be stuck on an island and could take one game to play, it would be Half Life 2.

#1 Sonic the Hedgehog 3 hooked on with Sonic & Knuckles

The best Sonic game ever. Like SoC, it gives you the pieces for the story but leaves the rest up to you. Although, given the technology it may have been unintentional. Brilliant level design and variety. Outstanding music. Great physics and gameplay that never ceases to be fun. This was the game of my childhood and still strikes some heartstrings today. Took me forever to beat though. I had to watch my cousin do it. But then, I still could not beat it. That damn barrel on Carnival Night... Oh, by the way, this is the only Sonic game where I actually liked the emerald stages. If only Sonic had stuck to the formula he engineered and mastered during the Genesis era culminating with this fabulous game... "That's all I have to say about that."

A great game is not just fun to me. It is a game that makes me want to be in the world I am playing. It is a game I want to believe in. Other games not on this list have done that to me, but these have done it the best and have been the most memorable.

Social Networking=Social Database 09/09/09

Lol, 9-9-09.

For one of my grad school classes I have to create a wikipage about a topic discussed in the course. Currently I have my sights on social networking and here are some of my ideas.

Before Facebook and Myspace, way before the internet, if a person needed information about another person the only database which they could access was a phone book. Phone books were the first public social database. This is of course not counting permanent records at schools nor police and court records. Phone books were the first social database. A phone book told and still does tell a great deal about a person. Phone numbers and addresses of nearly every person in a community could be found in a phone book. Where a person lives can say a lot about them. From a phone book you could find where a person lives, go to their residence and judge them by their home and surrounding neighborhood.

Fastfoward to today where we have social networking. If I wanted to find information about a person, I can log onto Facebook or Myspace and search for him or her. If successful, I can network myself with the person and gain access to his profile. I then could learn a large number of things about that person, more than a phone book could tell me. Social networking does not limit me to my local phone book either. I could learn about a person on the other side of the globe.

My point is, I am not confident society realizes what it has contributed to nor the gravity of its contribution to social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc. Our pictures, personal information, blogs, status updates and tweets are an immense database of who we are, what we do, where we do things, how we do them, and why. Librarians, archivists, and historians have worked painstaking hours to preserve journals and letters from history. Libraries, archives and museums have truck loads of the personal history of many many people. Yet, in a few years the millions, if not billions, of users on social networking websites have probably matched the recovered records of history and contributed to the largest social database that exists.

DUH! 09/09/09

If you go here, http://twitter.com/changeup3, you can see a post by me bragging about running 5 miles in 34 minutes and 49 seconds. Some time after I went running today however, I realized I made a wrong turn and in fact ran 4.5 miles, not 5. This is a fine example of Epic Fail. Perhaps you have learned something.

Here is thought, keep your penny. If I was to say, Betty Crocker makes delicious products and you should like them, you should say, well I am not sure. What kind of products does Betty Crocker make? Which ones do you find particularly delicious? A person should not make an argument without evidence. I have done this before so I will not judge or cast blame.

Another thought. If there is a special place that you like to, let's say cut your toe nails, and that is the only place you cut your toe nails, then you should find another place to cut them. Toe nails need not be limited to one place to be cut and if you are thick enough to have only one place then I hope you get drafted into the army so you are forced to cut your toe nails somewhere else and say, oh I can cut my toe nails here! It is just as effective and I am a twit!

Finally, if I was to say that I knew a place that had many great serivices that could beneifit a community in a variety of ways and the only example I gave you was tax consultation, I would hope that you would beat me with a stick.

I posted this on 9/9/09. Cool! But its about my day that pretty occured 9/8/09. Oh well.

In a nutshell 09/04/2009

Hello, I am JC. Although I may refer to myself as John. This is not my first blog. I had one on Yahoo's Geocities. It seems however, that Yahoo will be discontinuing that site and therefore I have created this account based on other blogs I have seen on this site and from what I have heard from others. Since I am most likely writing to myself I will remind myself that I may not post in this everyday, every week, or every month. Yet, this is a nifty piece of online technology that I feel compelled to take part in.

For this entry I want to talk about a class I am in. Last night was the first class meeting of a course I am taking for my Masters of Library Science called "Access to Information." It was a pretty amazing class in a nutshell, but I'd like to share some of the interesting things that were presented and discussed. First of all the professor, Dr. Roland, talked about himself and what he is interested in as far as librarianship is concerned. He said, "How does society know what it knows?" He gave an example along the lines of, "Years and years ago, white men in the United States knew that black men could not be trusted to vote. Today, all men in the United States have put their trust in a black man to be President." Essentially Dr. Roland's interest is in the way societies knowledge changes.

I found this to be an extrodinary interest. Personally, I have interest in society's personal history and philosophy. Many author's, philosophers, and other historical figures have published work and in some cases private collections houseing letters, journals, personal artifacts. What makes these people so special? Yes, many have accomplished great things worthy of being forever etched in time. But I wonder if the greatest minds, the most beautiful and profound thoughts belong to a person that no book, no journal, no social networking site, blog, etc knows about. People have stories, remarkable stories that should be documented for future generations but they are not. Some may called this public history, others may called it Oral History or perhaps there are other names and ideas. It is however, something that I am interested in and for now, I will leave it at that. See www.living-library.org for something like this already in place.

Right, trying to keep this short. We also discussed technology and where libraries will be in 10 years last night. We listened to a man named Kevin Kelly on a video from Ted.com (I think). He discussed how the internet and web has grown in the last ten years. He gave examples of satiliette imagery, real estate, social networking, etc. He said ten years ago we did not believe that this was possible and today we do not find it all that noteworthy. He then wondered what will the web be like ten years from now. He went on to describe cloud computing and AI and said we "Have to get better at believing the impossible."

After listening to Kevin Kelly talk I felt and it seemed like the class also had a sense of fear or at least uneasiness from the technology Kevin described. It was scary! If computers are going to be able tell a person who searches for me where I live and in what house, where I went to school and what I studied, my GPS will tell me when I am approaching stores or restaurants I may enjoy. A search for information will just about tell a person everything they will want to know, perhaps more. Information will be very detailed and personalized. Kevin's vision of our current technology was intimadating because it makes me wonder who or what will be in control. Kevin believes people will be codependant of computers.

The tone of the class changed however, when asked by the professor what will librarians have to do as technology grows. One student simply replied that librarians must educate, themselves and those who come to librarians. This is true. As technology continues to develop we must educate ourselves about the developments so we may not be intimidated and make better use of the great things technology will have to offer.

I decided to become a librarian because I love to do research and I love being and working in libraries. I am slowly learning more about myself as I learn more about libraries and librarians and I realize more and more how smart of a decision it was to become a librarian. I must alway challenge my mind to learn and be active. Librarians must "be ahead of the curve" as new technologies become available. This one thing of many things I believe I will learn about myself.

End

By the way, this blog may not always be as intellectual and polite as this.