The Adventures of Ed the Librarian

Bremen, Germany

2011-07-25T04:05:00.000-04:00

In Bremen, Germany.

Mongol Rally is on.

England, Chunnel train, France, Bruges and Ghent, Belguim, Netherlands, and now Germany.

Off to the Czech Republic then Poland.

At a Starbucks for coffee and free Wifi.

Not as much free internet in Europe as I thought.

I will fill in the blanks with pictures.

It's like this Icelandic book was written FOR me.

2011-07-20T19:58:00.002-04:00

Four out of fifty in three days without even trying isn't bad.

I didn't even see this book until day two.

10 PM Reyjavik, Iceland in July

2011-07-20T18:41:00.000-04:00

Meat Soup

2011-07-20T18:40:00.000-04:00

Meat Soup...can you be any more specific???

Minke whale with cranberry and malt sauce

2011-07-20T18:35:00.000-04:00

Lobster tails baked in garlic

2011-07-20T18:33:00.000-04:00

Smoked puffin in blueberry "brennivin" sauce and minke whale with cranberry and malt sauce

2011-07-20T18:31:00.001-04:00

I just had one of the greatest meals ever. Icelandic tapas. Including smoked puffin in blueberry "brennivin" sauce and minke whale with cranberry and malt sauce. Before you say anything like...isn't puffin that cute little bird...NOM NOM NOM. Aren't minke whales intelligent and friendly. Yeah, intelligent and friendly on rye bread with some mayonnaise.

Rooftop band playing in Reyjavik, Iceland

2011-07-20T15:16:00.000-04:00

11th Century bronze figure, probably Thor

2011-07-20T15:12:00.001-04:00

11th Century bronze figure, probably Thor, at the National Museum of Iceland
My point and shoot digital camera is reflected in the glass for scale.

Hilt of a Viking sword at the National Museum of Iceland

2011-07-20T15:09:00.000-04:00

Me after soaking in the warm waters of Blue Lagoon in Iceland

2011-07-20T15:07:00.000-04:00

Pirate Duck soaks in the Blue Lagoon in Iceland

2011-07-20T15:04:00.001-04:00

Where am I? Geotagging on Blogger

2011-07-20T06:24:00.001-04:00

If you look at the right bottom corner of this post, then you will see the location from where I am currently sending this blog post.

Location:

Miðbær, Reykjavik, Iceland

City Centre, Reykjavik, Iceland (Google Translate)

Hallgrimskirkja Church

2011-07-19T19:39:00.001-04:00

The Hallgrimskirkja (Icelandic: "church of Hallgrimur") is a Lutheran (Church of Iceland) parish church in Reykjavik, Iceland.

The statue in front of the church is of Leif Erikson.

David Hagen (art on a t-shirt) in Iceland

2011-07-19T19:34:00.001-04:00

David Hagen art on my t-shirt in Iceland.

Because art is a bunny riding a carrot.

American Style restaurant in Iceland

2011-07-19T19:28:00.002-04:00

Moby Dick on a stick

2011-07-19T19:27:00.002-04:00

Whale meat on a stick in Iceland?

Dried fish heads at the Vikin Maritime Museum

2011-07-19T19:25:00.002-04:00

Pedestrian stencil in Iceland. What is he wearing in his head?

2011-07-19T19:23:00.001-04:00

Boat in dry dock in Reykjavik, Iceland

2011-07-19T19:21:00.000-04:00

This boat is in dry dock to make repairs to its hull and rudder. You can see the people on the ground behind the rudder to give you an idea of the scale of this ship.

Harpa Concert and Conference Center during the day in Iceland

2011-07-19T19:17:00.000-04:00

Hotel window in Iceland 2:30AM in July

2011-07-19T19:15:00.001-04:00

Sunlight at 2:30AM due to the midnight sun in Iceland.

Harpa at 2AM during the midnight sun of July in Iceland

2011-07-19T19:14:00.000-04:00

Harpa Concert and Conference Center at 2AM in July.

Connecting flight at Gate 2 in two hours, I'll be at the bar/the bathroom/the gate. Pick one.

2011-07-18T16:08:00.001-04:00

OCD Patron

2011-07-17T19:03:00.004-04:00

What do you do when a certain public patron comes into your area of the library and starts arranging the furniture?

This was not done by the facilities/cleaning staff. This was done by the same public patron who comes into the library everyday and arranges the furniture in our department first thing in the morning.

Pirate duck found and ready for the next adventure!

2011-07-05T10:08:00.000-04:00

I found Pirate Duck under some books in my bedroom.

He is ready for the next adventure...the Mongol Rally.

Storm in Arlington, Virginia knocked down trees in my parents' neighborhood

2011-07-05T10:05:00.001-04:00

Hatched robin's egg in its nest in my parents' backyard

2011-07-03T06:20:00.001-04:00

DC Gridlock, or why I won't commute to/from work in an automobile

2011-07-02T14:14:00.011-04:00

Cars blocking traffic at the traffic light at Key Bridge.

Even a DC Metro bus gets into the act.

As you can see by the green light, the cars closest to me can't go because other cars are blocking their driving path.

This person is trying to merge from a right lane only lane into another lane at the traffic light.

And she just guns the engine and goes!

Is our world turning into a Planet of Vegans?

2011-06-30T13:24:00.004-04:00

Planet of Vegans
Thai Peanut Noodles
Ingredients: Whole Wheat Noodles, Scrambled Tofu, Purple Cabbage, Broccoli, Carrots, Organic Peanut Butter, Bragg's Tamari Sauce, Sesame Oil, Cayenne, Sea Salt, Onion, and Garlic.

Prepared by Chef Cod of the Olive Tree Kitchen
6713 New Hampshire Avenue
Takoma Park, MD 20912
202-413-5969

Free photo paper and 4x5 film holders

2011-06-29T15:58:00.002-04:00

Dismantling a Polaroid copy stand bellows

2011-06-29T15:57:00.002-04:00

Lapis Lazuli under long wave ultraviolet light

2011-06-27T21:15:00.001-04:00

Lapis Lazuli under daylight balanced light

Lapis Lazuli under long wave ultraviolet light

A video showing the lapis lazuli under daylight balanced light and long wave ultraviolet light.

Calculators are great tools, but they don't turn us into math geniuses.

2011-06-27T14:22:00.002-04:00

This is the point that I have been trying to make about technology and education for YEARS:

The authors explain it this way: Calculators are great tools, but they don't turn us into math geniuses. They don't expand our brain's natural limits. Neither do Facebook or Twitter.

See article at:

Social networking 'utopia' isn't coming

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/social.media/06/27/limits.social.networking.taylor/index.html?hpt=hp_bn7

Preparing for the Mongol Rally 2011

2011-06-26T14:33:00.002-04:00

John and I are participating in the Mongol Rally for charity.

July 23rd to August 30th, we will be driving a 1 L Nissan Micra from England to Mongolia.

Planned countries to be visited include: England, France, Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Russia, Kazakhstan, Russia (again), and Mongolia.

The name of the team is Doha, GC, for Doha Garden City.

Disabled/Hadicap Person's table in library

2011-06-25T13:37:00.003-04:00

How is a person with a disability such as being confined to a wheelchair or afflicted with cerebral palsy suppose to use this table, if two heavy wooden chairs are pushed into it and there is a hand crank to move the table up and down?

The table is for persons with a disability such as wheelchair users. It has a hand crank so that the legs can be manually lowered to the disabled persons height in the wheelchair.

7 Day or Novena Candles

2011-06-25T07:20:00.001-04:00

I did more research on the religious candles that I bought at Target and I came up with these links and information.

Here is the Candle company that makes the candles that I bought:

Continental Candle Company

Here is a link to another candle resource:

Hoodoo, Santeria, Catholic, and Mayan Votive Candles

Here is a link to novena.

How to Percolate

2011-06-24T16:00:00.004-04:00

Religious candles at Target

2011-06-23T14:50:00.005-04:00

I have always been fascinated by these types of religious candles.

Growing up Roman Catholic in Arlington, VA in the 1970's and 1980's, this was not part of my Catholic identity.

It appears that these candles are part of the ethnic Catholic community, especially the Hispanic Catholic community. The back of the candle had Catholic prayers in both English and Spanish.

As Catholic ethnic communities grow in Northern Virginia, their members' ideofacts have become more prevalent in local stores.

I found these candles in a Target in Alexandria, Virginia.

God or the World keeps reminding me that I should have visited Amsterdam when I had the chance in 2005.

2011-06-18T11:09:00.004-04:00

Back in 2005 when I was moving from the US to Qatar, I took KLM airlines which gave me an 18 hour layover at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.

I should have left the first-class lounge and taken a day trip to Amsterdam.

The problem was that I was carrying my carry-on bag and my computer.

I never asked if I could keep my bags in the first-class lounge.

I also saw that the airport had lockers, but I didn't have any Euro's to use for the lockers and I didn't think to exchange US dollars for Euro's.

Anyways, I was exhausted from the weeks leading up to the move, so I decided to sleep in the first-class lounge.

I have regretted ever since not getting out of the airport and taking a day trip. The airport even had services that would allow you to take day trips from the airport.

Every once in a while, something, like this receipt, for book recommendations from Barnes and Noble, comes up to remind me that I missed out on a side trip to Amsterdam.

If I was to plan a trip there now, it would be expensive, but I definitely want to see Amsterdam at some point in my life.

For now, I just have God or the World to remind me that I once had the chance.

If you can't teach, then show video?

2011-06-18T09:57:00.001-04:00

One professor consistently checks out the same videos every semester for his classes.

Hopefully, he is not just showing videos in class instead of teaching/lecturing.

Here is a group of them after he returned some of them one day.

Icelandair plane ticket ordeal

2011-06-17T19:31:00.006-04:00

I booked my tickets to London for the Mongol Rally on Icelandair. They were the cheapest flight and allowed me a stopover in Iceland. But now I know why they were the cheapest flight.

My initial flight had me flying from Dulles arriving at LaGuardia at 11:55AM and flying out of JFK at 2:05PM.

That is ridiculous.

There is no way that I would have made that second flight at JFK.

Two hours and ten minutes to get my bags from the domestic flight, get from LaGuardia to JFK, check my bags at the international terminal at JFK, go through security, and make my flight to Iceland.

No way.

I called Icelandair's "customer service" phone number.

The first "customer service" representative that I talked to blamed me for not seeing the "change of airports required" on the reservation. CHANGE AIRPORTS???

Here is the line that I was suppose to see on the entire reservation page.

It was smaller than this and this is small:

Change of airport required. Time between flights = 2:10.

Don't confuse it with:

Change of plane required. Time between flights = 4:35.

The "customer service" representative told me that I should have read it before I confirmed the reservation.

Read to change airports???

What airline does that?

Apparently ICELANDAIR.

Apparently, according to the "customer service" representative the airline code states that that 2 hours is the minimum allowable time to get from airport to airport that an airline can make a booking with. Apparently, no one from Icelandair has ever tried to get from La Guardia to JFK with luggage. That is just crazy.

I told the first "customer service" representative that I would call back after she told me that she would hold my "options" for one hour and 30 minutes.

She gave me two options: (1) take an earlier flight or (2) take a later flight.

Option (1): Take an earlier flight that STILL flew into into LaGuardia. If I took that option, I would STILL have to make my way to JFK in NY traffic AND pay an additional cost of a taxi or shuttle.
Option (2): Take a later flight and arrive the next day in Iceland. This is after I just made non-cancel-able hotel reservations for the night of July 18th. If I took that option I would have to pay for a hotel night where I did not stay at the hotel at $125 a night and they would probably cancel my hotel reservation when I didn't show up until the next morning, so I would also pay a cancellation fee.

I hung up the phone called my sister and my father to vent my frustration. I was mad at myself for not reading the fine print AND I was mad at Icelandair for creating a booking with such stupid connecting flights and then calling it policy.

When I called back after a few minutes, another "customer service" representative could sense that I was not happy.

I asked what would happen if I cancelled the flight from Dulles to La Guardia and made another flight from Reagan National or Dulles to JFK with another airline. The "customer service" representative said I could not partially cancel a ticket. I could FULLY cancel a ticket, but then I would only get a refund of half the ticket price. HECK NO!

She asked me what I wanted to do.

I told her what I wanted to do was fly from DC to Iceland without having to change airports. I would be willing to fly from DC to JFK and then fly out of JFK, but I didn't want to fly from DC to La Guardi, then CHANGE AIRPORTS and fly out of JFK to Iceland.

After putting me on hold for what seemed like a long time, the "customer service" respresntative can back with an earlier flight that left Dules and flies into JFK with JetBlue, then flies Icelandair (I guess) to Iceland. The whole problem appears to dela with the use of multiple domestic airlines by Icelandair that fly to different airports.

You would think they could find a flight that flew from DC (either regan National or Dulles) to JFK. There are probably a hundred flights a day that fly that route.

Finally, this "customer service" representative changed it so that I am now going through to JFK. Dulles to JFK, JFK to Reykjavik, Reykjavik to London. With a three night stopover in Reykjavik.

All is OK now but I was livid.

So before you leave this blog post, don't forget to read this on the page, it is very important:

Change of airport required. Time between flights = 2:10.

What it should have been on the page was:

Change of airport required. Time between flights = 2:10.
YEAH, WE SAID AIRPORT!!!

Bug(s) in the office

2011-06-17T10:25:00.005-04:00

My entire department had to be fumigated today. We were able to get rid of all the bugs, except one.

Even swatting it with a rolled newspaper had no effect.

Space age mobile on stand

2011-06-09T13:19:00.001-04:00

Another find at the Arlington, VA Civitan's monthly flea market.

Liquid Water Enhancer

2011-06-08T16:49:00.001-04:00

Drinking regular water is dull (and flavorless), therefore grocery stores are selling liquid water enhancer.

Now, in order to drink water, people feel the need to "enhance" it so that it tastes less like water???

Get out of church, run you over in the parking lot

2011-06-07T22:42:00.005-04:00

Gas-guzzling SUV parked in a non-space in the parking lot of the Catholic Church, so that the occupants can be closer to the church even though there were plenty of other spaces further away from the church; also, blocking in the people who have parked in the handicap spaces.

Way to go, Dick!

2011-05-25T09:06:00.007-04:00

Dick Wimmer, Whose Persistence Got Him Published, Dies at 74

From the article:

Mr. Wimmer, who after 25 years of submissions and more than 150 rejections finally got that book published — to very positive reviews — died on May 18 at his home in Agoura Hills, Calif., his son said. He was 74.

Saying that agents and publishers had spurned him 162 times, Mr. Wimmer laid claim to being the most-rejected published novelist in history. Finally, in 1989, “Irish Wine” was published by Mercury House.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/25/arts/dick-wimmer-74-irish-wine-author-is-dead.html?_r=1&hpw

So what is the lesson learned from all of this...If at first you don't succeed, try, try again...and then you die.

Subject of major current international interest

2011-05-13T19:15:00.002-04:00

I was asked to write an essay about a subject of major current international interest.

Here is what I wrote:

During my recent travels to Syria, I was able to explore many of the fine museums in the country. Known for its eclectic collections, the National Museum in Damascus was undergoing renovations during my visit. I was able to see a sampling of artifacts on display. However, due to the museum renovations, many of the more important artifacts were closed off to museum patrons. Therefore, due to my limited encounter with the artifacts at the National Museum, I decided that for the remainder of my trip I would make sure to visit the other smaller museums in Tartous, Palmyra, and Hama. Even though these regional museums didn’t exhibit the same vast array of materials as the National Museum, I was still impressed with the quality of artifacts at these lesser-known museums. For example, the museum in Hama had an impressive display of Roman mosaics. Tartous had several clay pots dredged from the Mediterranean just a few yards from the museum entrance. Being the largest and most popular archaeological site in Syria, Palmyra remains one of the most important sites in the Middle East. The Palmyra museum’s collections of funerary reliefs are well preserved and give impressive three-dimensional visual representation of the dress and customs of the eras represented by the art. In addition to visits to crusader castles and ancient marketplaces, I was struck by the immense collective histories that are represented in the museums and archaeological sites in Syria.

With the recent looting of important archaeological sites in Egypt during the anti-government protests coupled with the current unrest in Syria, I can’t help but wonder if these smaller collections in Syria face the similar fate of looting and vandalism that transpired in Egypt. Many of these small museums lack the security protections to keep out determined thieves. If the political unrest in Syria continues, then there is the possibility for a partial collapse of the government bureaucracy. With a potential de-centralization of the government, these museums will lose the authoritative control behind the security and protection their collections. There would be the potential loss of staff and infrastructure (such as electricity and climate control devices) that would leave these collections open to damage and destruction by human and natural forces.

The Syrian government along with the United Nations and other international museums and organizations must take steps to ensure that the value of these collections is preserved. It would be a horrible loss if the same type of looting and vandalism occurs in Syria that occurred during the political unrest in Egypt. It is fortunate for Egypt that they have such a well-known and well-documented archaeological history. Syria, with its lesser-known and smaller collections, would not be able to replace or retrieve many of their artifacts, if they were to be stolen and sold on the international antiquities black market.

Sleepy Ed

2011-05-07T08:36:00.000-04:00

As Lili Von Shtupp said in the movie Blazing Saddles: I need some we... [Takes a breath] ... est.

How do you walk two poodles on the same leash?

2011-05-06T16:17:00.000-04:00

Inside the Guggenheim Museum

2011-05-06T13:14:00.000-04:00

Attention: Filming!

2011-05-06T11:06:00.000-04:00

Production company's sign at the Brooklyn Flea

Where can you go to a flea market and see the skyline of New York City?

2011-05-06T10:05:00.000-04:00

The Sunday Brooklyn Flea Market

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

2011-05-05T15:53:00.003-04:00

Tag/label cloud trimmed to a more manageable size now.

2011-04-25T22:54:00.001-04:00

I have reduced the number of label/tags in my animated tag/label cloud.

How to add characters to the animated label/tag cloud

2011-04-25T15:57:00.002-04:00

How to add more characters to WP-Cumulus

The label/tag cloud widget is too cluttered, for now.

2011-04-24T19:58:00.002-04:00

The label/tag cloud widget is too cluttered at the moment, but I wanted to see how far I could push the widget before it got too busy and confusing.

I will slim down the number of labels in the widget tomorrow.

For now I will bask in the ordered chaos that I have created.

100% bug free becomes 100bug free in the label/tag cloud widget.

2011-04-24T19:49:00.004-04:00

"100% bug free" becomes "100bug free" in the label/tag cloud widget.

I do analyze a problem to the nth degree and I am long winded.

However, after experimenting with data, I do solve the mystery in the end...a little like Sherlock Holmes 2.0.

I can use a label that is #1, but I can't use a label that is 100%

2011-04-24T19:43:00.003-04:00

It appears that after experimenting with symbols ($, #, *, %) and numbers (1, 2, 3, 4) that the label/tag cloud widget will allow $, #, and *, but not %. It will allow numbers.

So I can put in labels that are say something is the "#1 team" or worth "$100."

But I can't say, for example, that this label/tag cloud working in Blogger is "100% bug free."

What about symbols and numbers in the label/tag cloud widget?

2011-04-24T19:27:00.005-04:00

So what about symbols ($, #, *, %) and numbers (1, 2, 3, 4)?

Let's experiment.

According to Blogger, an error occurred when I first tried to publish this post. The ampersand (&), exclamation point (!), and "at" symbol (@) cannot be used in the labels.

And it's just not 's, it's contractions too that don't work in the label/tag cloud widget

2011-04-24T19:17:00.004-04:00

So no "can't" in the labels. And no "don't" or "didn't" either. And forget about "huntin'" and "fishin," although I would probably not use those as labels.

However, this goes against the basic idea of folksonomies.

See Daniel Pink's New York Times article for more information on folksonomy.

Yep, this Label/Tag Cloud widget hates apostrophes

2011-04-24T19:09:00.007-04:00

I tested the Label/Tag Cloud with three new apostrophe words and word phrases. It looks like whenever I use an apostrophe in the label, the animated label/tag cloud loses the words.

This means that I can't use apostrophes in labels, which means that the tags will not be possessive.

Also, it means that I will only be able to select some labels to be shown in the cloud widget. I will not be able to have the widget use all the labels. This means more management of the widget on my part.

Bug found in Label/Tag Cloud working with Blogger

2011-04-24T18:52:00.004-04:00

For some reason, the Label/Tag Cloud does not like label's with apostrophes.

For example, when I add "Hell's Kitchen Flea Market" as a label on my blog and select that as a label to be used in the label/tag cloud, the cloud goes away. The words in the cloud go away.

I am going to try other labels with apostrophes to see if it is a true bug or just an isolated group of words or word. Or if it truly is an apostrophe related bug.

Animated Label/Tag Cloud

2011-04-24T13:45:00.005-04:00

I have added an Animated Label/Tag Cloud to my blog. It is an experiment like the Shelfari idea.

It may go away, it may stay.

Currently, I am allowing all labels to show, but as I go back in my blog and create labels/tags on my posts (will see how far back I go), I will probably show selected labels/tags.

Maybe this will be a smart way to highlight previous posts without having to use a conventional search box.

If you want to animate the label/tag cloud, then just mouse over the element. Also, if you would like to explore the post that are identified by the labels/tags in the cloud, then just mouse click on that specific label/tag.

If you want to add this to your Blogger blog, then go to Blogumus: a flash animated label cloud for Blogger!

Items from the MOMA Design Store: Dinghy Drainstopper

2011-04-23T01:44:00.002-04:00

Not the best designed object. The boat didn't float right out of the box as the instructions indicated. I had to manipulate the folds of the boat to make it float upright, by giving it more bottom surface area so that the boat wouldn't tip over.

The boat is made of plastic with a section of the world map printed on it. The section of the map of my boat was Africa and included Morocco and Burkina Faso. Places that I have visited.

Missed one of the thrift store books

2011-04-22T14:35:00.001-04:00

When I got up to the register to pay for my books at the thrift store, apparently there was a special on small paperbacks. If I bought 4 small paperbacks, I would get them for $1.00 a piece instead of $1.49 each. I only had three, so I went and got a fourth book, shown above, that I was on the fence about buying.

I once tried to read Tolstoy's War and Peace, but I couldn't get through it. This book is his earlier work and is much shorter than War and Peace, so maybe I'll be able to get through it.

Thrift store books from Unique Thrift Store

2011-04-17T08:47:00.003-04:00

I know that e-books are gaining in popularity. However, I still like reading paper books. One of the best ways that I have found to buy books is to go to thrift stores. Unique Thrift Store, which has a location in Falls Church, Virginia, has a decent supply of books. They have several topical sections such as romance, travel, and health; but the sections that I look under for books are literature, fiction, and non-fiction.

The picture above is of the titles from my last stop at the thrift store:

Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
Maggie, A Girl of the Streets and Other New York Writings by Stephen Crane
The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
The Great Mysteries of Edgar Allan Poe by Edgar Allan Poe
The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories by Ernest Hemingway
Hard Times by Charles Dickens
The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
Fire by Sebastian Junger
The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again) by Andy Warhol
Everyday Life in Traditional Japan by Charles J. Dunn
In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World it Made by Norman F. Cantor

After I have finished the book, I can keep it without fear of file corruption or obsolescence which has the potential to occur with an e-book. Barring fire or mold, a paper book, if well treated, will outlast me. Also, I can send a paper book to a friend to read which is something that e-books are currently very limited to do in this capacity.

In addition, the books that I bought averaged $1.49 each. As an example, the version of The Snows of Kilimanjaro and other stories by Ernest Hemingway that I bought at the thrift store for $1.49 is available for purchase as a paperback at Amazon.com for $11.20, a hardback at Amazon.com for $16.50 and a Kindle version at Amazon.com for $10.99.

Items from the MOMA Design Store: Banana Bunker

2011-04-16T22:38:00.002-04:00

I bought this item at the MOMA Design Store.

Here is the link at the MOMA Store for the Banana Bunker.

Here is the website for the Banana Bunker.

Items from the MOMA Design Store: Gorilla Eraser

2011-04-16T20:12:00.005-04:00

My sister said to make sure to erase with the gorilla's butt first.

I got this eraser at the MOMA Design Store.

Items from the MOMA Design Store: Spherical Ice Cube Tray

2011-04-16T16:01:00.010-04:00

Open the two parts of the tray. Fill the bottom part with water. Press the top part down on the bottom part until the two part come together. Fill the tray with more water through the tiny holes in the top part. Freeze the tray. Spherical ice cubes!

I got this at the MOMA Design Store.

This CONSTRUCTION project is an alcohol and drug free work place.

2011-04-15T10:51:00.001-04:00

I would hope so. I wouldn't want to be the construction worker who works with an on-the-job drunk and coked-up bulldozer driver.

In honor of the death of the Flip Camera, I give you Kaleidescope Flip Camera video footage

2011-04-14T12:51:00.002-04:00

Why Cisco's Flip flopped in the camera business

QR Codes in the Library: The Presentation

2011-04-14T12:47:00.003-04:00

QR Codes in Libraries

2011-04-13T13:58:00.004-04:00

Check out this QR Code. It is the QR code for this blog post.
I am giving a presentation on QR codes it is AWESOME!

Architecture and Design at the MOMA

2011-04-11T17:13:00.004-04:00

Anyone want to buy a pink elephant?

2011-04-10T22:59:00.006-04:00

A pink elephant for sale from Olde Good Things at the Brooklyn Flea at Bishop Louglin Memorial High School in Ft. Greene.

Lil Devil at the Hell's Kitchen Flea Market

2011-04-10T22:43:00.007-04:00

The Hell's Kitchen Flea Market was smaller than I expected. It looks like real estate developers have taken over some of the space previously used by the flea market. I didn't really see anything that I wanted to buy. I also went to the Antique Garage, where I had been before. However, the prices for things were higher than I expected to buy them for, but then I remembered New York flea market prices.

A container for my nuts

2011-04-05T16:21:00.001-04:00

I found this tin of the Lancaster Salted Nut Co., Lancaster, PA at the Shen-Valley Flea Market.

Saraka for Constipation

2011-04-05T16:18:00.002-04:00

I found this tin at the Shen-Valley Flea Market.

Anthodite at Skyline Caverns

2011-04-04T16:25:00.002-04:00

Skyline Caverns have one of the rare instances of Anthodite.

Large Bonsai

2011-04-03T22:49:00.002-04:00

The sign "LARGE BONSAI" made me think of JUMBO SHRIMP.

Are there suppose to be large bonsai? Just because a plant is in a shallow bowl with gravel, a small amount of turf and a rock with a saying on it, does that make it a bonsai?

These are just small plants in shallow bowls. Some of them may look like fake bonsai in that they are made to look like they have had their growth stunted, but that is the type of plant that it is (See the leafy plant in between the two palms.

According to Wikipedia, bonsai literally translates to plantings in tray. So if we take the definition of bonsai literally then these are bonsai, but there is none of the bonsai aesthetics in the growing of these plants.

Also, the sign says "easy care." Isn't the point of the bonsai to make an art form of cultivating and caring for the plant? In other words, the care and cultivation of a bonsai should take some effort and concern.

Recycled Newspaper Vase

2011-04-02T18:07:00.000-04:00

I bought this for $3 at the Arlington Civitans first Saturday of the month flea market.

This was the first flea market of the season which runs from April to November.

I have found this item on-line, but it looks like it is sold out.

I write letters.

2011-03-27T22:36:00.003-04:00

"I think you may be the last person in America still writing letters."
--Kimberly Todd Wade

I write letters to friends.

Why do I hand write letters in the age of email, Facebook, and Twitter?

I can convey more with my handwriting.

My writing conveys my thoughts by including words that I might ~~cross out~~, underline, or highlight.

I think faster when I write. I can think faster than I type.

Paper and a pen/pencil can be carried and used almost anywhere.

I send postcards too.

I like the idea that my words can travel.

Boo library books. Yay personal book ownership.

2011-03-25T10:00:00.000-04:00

Let me explain. I am a big fan of library books. I work in an academic library. I used to work in a public library.

On of the problems that I have with library books is the concept of sharing popular reading.

This even occurred when I was working in a public library, so it is not just limited to my academic library. However, I wanted to relate a story about a library book that I was recently interrupted from reading.

I read a review in the Washington Post about Townie: A memoir by Andre Dubus III.

At first I was excited to see that we had this book at the academic library. Usually new popular reading books, especially those that are hyped/reviewed in the Washington Post, are already checked out of our library before I can check them out; if they are ordered at all.

I checked out the library book and started reading it immediately. It is 387 pages, so I wanted to get started right away.

No sooner did I start to read it that there was a recall placed on the book. A recall means that the library book was requested by another patron. Therefore, the book needed to be returned in a few days or I would accrue heavier than normal fines.

I didn’t want to get into a recall war with another patron. I saw this at the public library, where patrons would recall a book that had just been recalled from them.

I returned the library book a little dismayed that I could not read it then.

This is why I usually buy popular reading materials.

Luckily this book is on sale at both Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

For now I am reading something else. Now I am reading Divine Creatures: Animal mummies of ancient Egypt. I may get back to Townie: A memoir, either as a library book or a personal purchase.

The future of media services

2011-03-19T15:46:00.000-04:00

Train ride to Philadelphia

2011-03-18T09:34:00.001-04:00

The Amtrak train ride to Philadelphia was not as smooth as the train rides that I have had in Japan and the train ride through the Chunnel from England to France.

Edward Keller, Photographer

2011-03-17T21:10:00.002-04:00

Edward Keller, Photographer

Usage is Print with electronic

Circulation up to 100,000

World distribution rights

Title: Cultural Anthropology by Barbara Miller

Homeless children in Vietnam

Haitian migrant worker

Palm Sunday in Port-au-Prince, Haiti

I still have my photographs published from adventures taken many years ago. Vietnam in 1995 and Haiti in 1996.

Past adventures

2011-03-16T13:50:00.006-04:00

Back in 2005, wrestling an alligator at Gatorland during their Trainer for a Day Program.

Back in 1995, taking pictures in Vietnam for my Master's thesis in Anthropology.

I have been going through some old photographs and videos of my past adventures for use in some projects that I am working on at the moment.

Multi-purpose wipe tablets

2011-03-13T21:45:00.003-04:00

In previous posts, I mentioned how I am always looking for non-liquid items to take on carry-on luggage. For example, I found toothpaste tablets.

My sister knows that I always carry wet-wipes when I travel. So a wipe that is also a tablet is a double bonus.

My sister found these multi-purpose wipes. Just add water and you can use them.

People waiting in the pouring rain for a cupcake at Georgetown Cupcake

2011-03-06T22:51:00.001-05:00

Would you stand in a line in the pouring rain for a cupcake?

These people would.

Pocket wash products that are TSA compliant

2011-03-05T10:43:00.001-05:00

At REI, I picked up Sea to Summit's Pocket Laundry Wash, Body Wash, and Shampoo.

With the liquid restrictions for airplane carry-on luggage, I am always on the look out for products that enable travelers to carry onto the airplane their basic necessities and still stay within TSA guidelines.

Sea to Summit pocket products allow users to carry solid versions of liquid products in their carry-on luggage.

Toothpaste tablet

2011-03-05T10:34:00.000-05:00

With the liquid restrictions for airplane carry-on luggage, I am always on the look out for products that enable travelers to carry onto the airplane their basic necessities and still stay within TSA guidelines.

Archtek Toothpaste Tablets allow users to carry solid toothpaste in their carry-on luggage. All you do is chew, brush, and rinse.

Why a four-year-old child could understand this report.

2011-03-02T12:16:00.001-05:00

Minister of Finance: Here is the Treasury Department's report, sir. I hope you'll find it clear.
Rufus T. Firefly: Clear? Huh. Why a four-year-old child could understand this report.
[to Bob Roland]
Rufus T. Firefly: Run out and find me a four-year-old child, I can't make head or tail of it.

Investigating Shelfari

2011-02-27T13:56:00.003-05:00

I am looking into the potential of the Shelfari widget on my blog.

I want to see how I can move books around based on different conditions such as ratings and date added.

I have a Chubby.

2011-02-25T13:14:00.006-05:00

A Chubby Purple Power Grape Soda that is. This is an interesting name for a soda, especially when there is an obesity problem with children in the United States.

Chubby soda is a product of Trinidad & Tobago.

If you want, you can join the Chubby Kids Club and visit Chubbyland.

Shelfari widget added to my blog

2011-02-24T23:03:00.003-05:00

I just added the Shelfari widget to the right side of my blog.

This will be used to showcase books written by people that I know and books that I am reading or have read.

Envisioning the Media Commons

2011-02-21T06:43:00.002-05:00

Forgot my digital camera

2011-02-20T16:41:00.000-05:00

In Harrisonburg, VA...I am a media guy. I forgot to bring one thing. What do you think that is? Clue in the title.

Dancing on the METRO bus

2011-02-17T10:06:00.003-05:00

The METRO buses almost never follow their printed schedule and it gets frustrating every day trying to get into work. This morning, the 7:17AM bus never showed up. The 7:29AM bus showed up at 7:23AM and sat. The bus supervisor at Ballston had the 7:29AM bus become the now late 7:17 bus. Almost everyone, except me, crammed into the 7:29AM/7:17AM bus that left at 7:25AM. I waited four minutes for the 7:29AM that left at 7:32AM. It had four people including me. The 7:29AM bus was so empty that I was dancing in the aisle. The bus driver probably thought I was crazy, but I didn't care. I told myself that the next time the buses messed up their schedule and I got on a near empty bus during the morning rush hour that I would dance in the aisle. BEST. MORNING. COMMUTE. EVER.

I case you are wondering, I had the camera in the back empty seat. The bus was stopped at a traffic light. The camera fell over when the light turned green and the bus started moving.

This is why we are going to require training for the 3-Light Kit

2011-02-15T15:11:00.004-05:00

The coils got blown out of the bulb by the force of the blast.

This is what happens when the oil from a fingerprint is on the outside of a bulb when it heats up.

Good thing I had just readjusted the Protective Screen that was on the light incorrectly before I turned on the light.