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It's a prequel? - Jon, the Chilled Beartato

Okay, now I feel challenged to come up with a good prequel. - T. Brent, technopeasant

Yeah, isn't it about Vito Corleone's rise to power? I haven't seen it, though. SOON, THOUGH. SOON. But it's told as a flashback, isn't it? - Jandy, ConcertMaven of FF

Are we talking just movies or can books be included? One book prequel that stands out in my mind as being really excellent is Mildred Taylor's The Land. It's a prequel to Roll Of Thunder Hear My Cry. - Katy S

@ Jandy -- yes, it's told as a flashback - T. Brent, technopeasant

I hadn't really considered books in my statement, so I can't say whether that's the case or not. I would guess that all properties in any format that have prequels exist because the original came first. - Jon, the Chilled Beartato

But is there stuff in the present for the sequel of the godfather to make it not completely a prequel? I don't really consider flashbacks to be prequels.. - Jon, the Chilled Beartato

exactly... it's not a prequel - T. Brent, technopeasant

Hrm....what about the Star Trek reboot? - Mary Carmen

Take Caprica, for example. It's supposed to be a prequel to BSG...but if the story was so damn important, why wasn't it included in the beginning? Why wasn't it told first? Even star wars falls into this. If the prequels were so important, they probably should have been told first. - Jon, the Chilled Beartato

The first prequel that came to mind was The Silmarillion, and your theory holds true there. - John E. Bredehoft from fftogo

Mary, I think I've always just considered the Star Trek reboot a sequel in which the timeline gets borked and things that happened before still count....i think.. *brain explodes* - Jon, the Chilled Beartato

Well, it sounds like you're saying that for a prequel to be important, it has to be SO important that the original story wouldn't have made sense without it. Of course, if the info in the sequel were that important it would've been included in the first place. Prequels exist because people want to know more about the world of the original. So you're right - but are you saying that because prequels are unnecessary they're bad? The original was probably unnecessary. - Jandy, ConcertMaven of FF

I'm not trying to say that the originals were unnecessary. What confounds me is that the interest is in what went before..instead of continuing forward from the end of the original. Like, in Star Wars..I always wanted back into that world, but in the world AFTER Jedi, not before A New Hope. - Jon, the Chilled Beartato

Mary: I just wiki'd 'prequel' and, in the press releases for Godfather II, it was described as prequel... in fact, it is credited with the first general use of the term. My apologies. :) - T. Brent, technopeasant

Jon - Why do you need linear stories? - Katy S

When there's a world that interests me, I'm generally interested in both its future and its history. In Star Wars Extended Universe, my favorite stories were always the ones about the Old Republic (in the comic books) or about the random characters that only just barely intersected the movies. I didn't care too much what happened to Luke/Leia/Han, etc, I wanted to know what other stories there were to be told in that world, how it got to be the way it was. - Jandy, ConcertMaven of FF

I like Reservoir Dogs, and Pulp fiction, so the need for linear stories isn't really a requirement. But I feel like a lot of prequels only exist on the popularity of the original, and that the focus becomes less on the story and more of "Hey guise, it's a prequel of a show or movie you really liked so you'll like it because of that." - Jon, the Chilled Beartato

Hrm, the old republic never quite interested me as much as a decaying galaxy outside of the constructs of the Empire..or a fragmented empire. I think what kept the old republic from being interesting for me is the fact that the Jedi were numerous and a power imbalance existed on the side of good. But, that could just be that I never read any of the books for the old republic and only have the movie prequels to go on..where if you weren't a jedi..you had no chance in a fight. - Jon, the Chilled Beartato

I agree that it should be a story/experience worthy on its own merits. So, maybe the key is that if it can work as a stand-alone work, it doesn't fall into the trap of just being seen as an unnecessary part of the experience of the world the original creates. I think more in terms of books than movies, but I can think of book series that become repetitive and boring, but there are others in which each individual work stands on its own, but still contains elements in common with the other texts. - Katy S

I think you hit the nail on the head, Katy. I think what kills a prequel is it's inability to stand on it's own two feet. - Jon, the Chilled Beartato

THE GODFATHER PART II isn't a true prequel. Most of the scenes are shown in flashback, and serve to show the parallel lives of Vito and Michael. - Steven Perez

And yes, Jon is right. A good movie doesn't need a prequel. - Steven Perez

I would agree, Steven. But isn't it interesting that the movie's own press folk, at that time, saw it as a prequel? - T. Brent, technopeasant

Not at all. They're press agents. :D - Steven Perez from IM

I have nothing against prequels, in principle. It's just that so many of them are bad. - T. Brent, technopeasant

I think it is... shows how the use of the word has changed over time. Apparently, it wasn't even in wide circulation before then. Or it was their way of drawing attention to what was actually a flashback... - T. Brent, technopeasant

Jon, do you not like history, either? (As in, reading stories of our own past.) If you do, I'm not sure what the difference is. If it's a world that seems as expansive and realistic (within its own rules) and has as many stories to tell as the Star Wars universe or Middle Earth, then I enjoy reading the history of them as much as I enjoy reading history about our own world. But I'm a... more... - Jandy, ConcertMaven of FF

The last Halloween was sort of a prequel. It was good :). Prequels are so old school now. It's all about flash forwards! - Rodfather

I like history, Jandy. I just wish that these prequels were made in such a way as to make the history interesting. I wish that these histories had some stories to go with them that were a little bit more thought out and had a richer connection to the originals. Like, I'm sure if I read prequel books for the star wars universe I'd be insanely interested. But the prequels that exist are... more... - Jon, the Chilled Beartato

Yeah, I get where you're coming from. I agree, most film prequels are made only to cash in on the popularity of the original. The same is true of sequels, except in the rare cases where films were planned in multiple parts to begin with (original Star Wars trilogy, but even there the first could stand on its own if it had to, Lord of the Rings, Kill Bill). Book series can get... more... - Jandy, ConcertMaven of FF

PubMed Central? - D0r0th34

Free and full-text? - Rochelle Rochelle

Statewide-consortium-licensed databases, accessed through their public library? Ours doesn't include CINAHL, but does include Academic Search Premier with a certain portion of full-text. Failing that, what Dorothea said. - Catherine Pellegrino

PMC is full-text, yes. Don't confuse it with PubMed, which is pointer-only. - D0r0th34

by "rural nurse," do you mean working at a hospital, or not? Do smaller, rural hospitals have database access? (Our hospitals have CINAHL, etc. but they can hardly be described as "rural.") - Catherine Pellegrino

what Catherine said; Mass. & Conn. both offer Gale's Expanded Academic to all with a library card. Also, do any nearby public libraries offer cinahl / full-text? - Stephanie_Happy2010!

Loansome Doc is an option, but it's a pay for product. You could point them towards Medscape Nursing, though I can't speak for the value these days. Still, it tends to be mostly core funded so less pharma. David Rothman and pfanderson probably have some good ideas... - Abigail

Instructor said that most of these nurses will be working in hospitals that do not have libraries or database access. Our state consortium doesn't offer what this instructor was looking for--CINAHL and Medline Plus. There is an Ebsco nursing db. We're the resource library, Stephanie, and we do not offer professional level health DBs. - Rochelle Rochelle

I'll defer to the medlibs here, but ASP contains indexing for 80 journals with "nursing" in the title (not sure how many are fulltext). More and more I'm finding that the big aggregators can be reasonable substitutes for the "official" databases for a discipline, at least from a satisficing perspective. It can be hard to convince faculty of that, though. - Catherine Pellegrino

Don't forget Guidelines.gov for practice guidelines. - marthalib

If they are working for rural hospitals in Western WI on they affiliated with Mayo or Gundersen? When I interned at a medical library in college, we had a access to a lot of information that Mayo had because the hospital was affiliated with Mayo. This was nine years ago tho... - Becky Rech

MedlinePlus is free, by the way. It is aimed at the lay person, but has good, credible information for anyone. The health topics pages linked to selected citations in PubMed. People often confuse MedlinePlus with MEDLINE, which is the citations database. MEDLINE and PubMed include the same citations. - marthalib

Also, some limited information from the Cochrane Library is available for free. - marthalib

URL to MedlinePlus: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medline.... - marthalib

By the way, we have run into this same problem in Minnesota as well. The Health Sciences Libraries at the University of Minnesota (my FPOW) looked into what it would take to license either CINAHL or MD Consult with full text for the state in partnership with MINITEX, but they couldn't wrangle sufficient funding. - marthalib

THat would be my next question Becky. Gundersen, which has a great library, does not offer e-resource access outside the library. I was doing some research for the Fire Chief and Gundersen was going to charge $10 for copying and snail mailing articles. I went backchannel instead. Not sure about Mayo. You guys are all swell, btw. ;-) - Rochelle Rochelle

I will check with the state Ref & Loan staff, too. - Rochelle Rochelle

The two NN/LM resource libraries in Wisconsin are UW-Madison and the Medical College of Wisconsin, so you might contact them. You might also contact the Southwestern Wisconsin Area Health Education Center to see if they can help: http://www.ahec.wisc.edu/souther.... Some AHECs around the country to provide access to library resources, including databases and full text articles. The model program is North Carolina: http://www.med.unc.edu/ahec.... - marthalib

Rochelle, just sent you email at your gmail address. Listen to everything Martha says, for she is right and full of innate butt-kickery. - David Rothman (☤)

Not so sure about that ahec site, since I can't find references to anything more current than 2006, but will poke around. Again, thanks all! Lots of dead links, too. - Rochelle Rochelle

We created a page of free resources for alumni/staff leaving Duke. http://www.mclibrary.duke.edu/tools... And yes check out AHEC libraries, Loansome Doc, and some association memberships come with some kind of info access (Like the APTA provides an online portal for info). - βℜ∀ñÐi

Brandi, that guide totally rocks! David, you sweet talker, what else did you recommend? Now I'm curious :) - marthalib

That is fabulous, Brandi! - Rochelle Rochelle

Yay! Happy Monday to all! - βℜ∀ñÐi

What is this "backchanel ILL" thing? :) - awd

That totally made my afternoon. - Jàson Puçkett

The electric mayhem does a fantastic job - DJF

OH MY GOD. That was AWESOME! - Gunny doesn't side-hug™

Isn't that outstanding? I immediately thought of Mary Carmen when I watched it. - josh neff, geek at large

Why doesn't Friendfeed have an OMIGOD LOVE button? - Gunny doesn't side-hug™

ROFL - Alex Scoble

Full of Win Just full. - Gunny doesn't side-hug™

LOVE! - Mary Carmen

This is the PERFECT song for Gonzo to sing, btw. PERFECT. - Mary Carmen

Yay! So much awesome! - tab thinks you're awesome

And Piggy ending it is perfection. - Mary Carmen

My afternoon=totally made - aden

I just died right now. - Derrick

I thought it would be one joke but it just builds and builds. Great writing, editing and performances. - Spidra Webster

Made my day, that. - Mary Beth Sancomb Moran

They had me at the chickens. - cecily

I think I just wet my pants laughing at Animal. - cecily

Mama? Mama? MAMA! - josh neff, geek at large

Beautiful clear video. - Kamilah Gill

considering i was listening to the original on my drive back from lunch: Fab and Boo!!!! - Katie

Yeah, but it's just not as great as the bloopers here: http://www.youtube.com/watch... - Ladybug Heather

muppets can't sing for shit. should have lip-synched to the original - Raphael, Raphael

I was thoroughly amused by that. Beeker and Ms. Piggy were my favorite. - Jason Huebel

Just thinking that maybe the question could be rephrased, since as a manager, my question would be of the sort, "Why do folks refuse to take responsibility for their performance and fail to act on the recommendations for improvement?" Im wondering if it depends on what side of the management fence you sit on as to where the problem lies. Although most universities, if you're talking... more... - Archangel ωαřмaiden

(There's one class here titled "Managing Your Boss," which addresses what you're looking for on the "how to work with craptastic".) - Archangel ωαřмaiden

where I used to teach, we often talked about how to best prepare new LIS graduates to work in "craptastic libraries." Never came up with any good solutions, as far as I know, but I always thought it was a good idea ... - Stephanie_Happy2010!

My mom gave me a copy of "Working With You Is Killing Me" for dealing with one of my more stressful bosses. I stopped working with said boss shortly thereafter but there might be some clues in there... - Abigail

My other thing, and I've said this in another thread, is that I recommend you don't reward a bad workplace with your labor. If the situ becomes untenable, leave. I find this is particularly necessary if the organizational culture is unchangeable. - Archangel ωαřмaiden

I'll put in a mild plug for the Library Leadership Network, which has a variety of stuff on bad management (and other things). Also, I have to say: Must be nice to be in an area where employment prospects are so good (or to be such a superstar) that you can just walk away from a workplace you're unhappy with. - Walt Crawford

Abigail - I love that title! - Archangel ωαřмaiden

@Walt - it's not that, but such a bad environment would put me actively on the job hunt instead of wailing and gnashing my teeth about it. With the various people I've heard bemoaning their awful workplaces, youd think many of them would be jobhunting, but it's usually not the case. - Archangel ωαřмaiden

Better the evil you know? - Abigail

There will always, always, always be jobs in Access Services!!!!!!! - Mary Carmen

I am learning a *lot* from Pat Wagner's class on library leadership right now. It's not like I'll be in library management anytime soon (if ever) but the principles of leadership carry to pretty much everything. It is fascinating to see the others who already are in management reflect on themselves and their work. I don't know of a genteel way to suggest 'How about some leadership CEs?' to your supervisors in a craptastic setting though. - Nikki D.

Sometimes a job is great, except for a bad boss. And sometimes there are reasons one stays despite (dis)satisfaction with leadership. And there is always foolish hope, that it might get better, one might care less soon, or other opportunities will open up within the organization - RudĩϐЯaЯïan

The only way things have any chance of getting better is when we stop complaining and start thinking of ways to change the environment for the better. Unfortunately, that is a difficult thing to do for many, many reasons. - Mary Carmen

@Nikki - No, but you could phrase it as "I thought these were interesting and am planning to attending. Would you be interested?" Especially if they are CEs on communication and you know you have a rocky relationship with your super, you can phrase it in a way that is mutually beneficial and may improve the working relationship. Cant hurt to try! - Archangel ωαřмaiden

Madame Director strongly suggests "First Break All the Rules" and there's another one...have an email in to her on the other title. She presents on Library Management pretty often... - Abigail

I love "First Break All the Rules." I would also suggest every book written by PAt Lencioni but start with "Three Signs of a Miserable Job," "The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive," and "Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars." I also love "Discipline Without Punishment," "The No Asshole Rule," and "Crucial Conversations" and "Crucial Confrontations." - Mary Carmen

It's interesting -- it sounds like very little is being written about the issue within librarianship specifically. And for my interests, about the specific potholes and pitfalls of managing faculty in academic environments. A potential research agenda? - RudĩϐЯaЯïan

The people you call bad managers were once the up and comers who were demanded to take charge. It's a cycle that is not at all unique to librarianship. There will always be a "pandemic of bad management" because good management is HARD and complaining about bad management is EASY. I should know, being myself a poor manager and excellent complainer. - Greg Schwartz

I'm not sure if there is any point in commenting after Greg, who seems to have nailed it, but here I go: if libraries have a greater problem with bad management than other workplaces (and I don't know that we do), perhaps it is because there are no mechanisms for removing bad managers (or bad librarians at any level of the organization for that matter). Managers in other industries may get removed or reassigned if they fail to hit targets of one kind or another; I'm not sure we see that in libraries. - s t e v e

You're right, Steve, and it's really even worse than that. If you find yourself in the unenviable position of being an inadequate library manager, there's no way out! You can't go back. No one will hire you for non-managerial positions, at least not without raising a ton of questions as to why you are regressing professionally. You're seemingly stuck as a bad manager forever. - Greg Schwartz

Bad management seems difficult to define. Rudy and others, what qualities and skills have made your good managers "good"? And what makes other managers "bad", as opposed to being mutually incompatible? - marthalib

I deleted my previous comments. I didn't want tomorrow to be my last day in this profession. (safe version) Management and leadership are different, but the line between them can be blurry to those in non-managerial roles. In our organization, "Everyone a Leader" is one of the pillars that drives each of us in our individual roles within the organization. Does a manager need to be an effective leader first? Is it ever appropriate for a leader to manage? - Julian

Greg, I believe it. - s t e v e

Julian, I think you acted in paranoia. As a manager, I didn't see anything wrong with what you wrote. I actually think most of it was valid. As a manager, the hardest thing that I have to reconcile is the notion that EVERYTHING is my fault. And to be quite honest, that is not the case. Yes, there are absolutely bad managers. And many of them never get removed. But there are also bad... more... - Mary Carmen

right now we actually have students that staff the desk from 10-6 and librarians are "on-call" for the actual questions - Sir Shuping

Steve: having students and non-MLS staff working the desk. - Laura H.

Um, no. Reference librarians - the good ones - spend years honing their skills to better help users. If they're not helping at the desk, what are they doing - hiding in cubicles hoping to get published? Boo on that. I'm all about practicing librarianship. - Archangel ωαřмaiden

Aha. I think it's too hard to generalize about libraries. I'd be fine with non-MLS staff in this library, not really with students. But the system Andrew mentions probably works just fine at that library. - s t e v e

I understand that it is sometimes a necessity to pull librarians off the desk given short staffing in some libraries, but I think it is a shame. I did lots of reference desk time as a paraprofessional and think I did pretty well due to the substantial and substantive mentoring and training I received. I just think it is a shame for patrons not to be able to take advantage of the knowledge and experience of the librarians. I also think it is good for the librarians to keep up their reference skills. - marthalib

Colleen, what if they have lost a few positions to layoffs and the remaining librarians think it makes more sense to teach more classes, do more consultations, and spend more time talking to students and faculty outside the library? - s t e v e

i just heard about this today when i sat in on a webinar. one of the reasons behind the decision to not staff a reference desk is because the majority of the questions were directional. instead they decided to put more effort into making their resources more easily/broadly findable. note: the webinar was about a federated search interface. - Marie likes mistletoe

Also, if the paraprofessionals DO develop truly expert reference & search skills, at what point are they being used as cheap librarians? At what point is this exploitation? I don't have the answers, but these questions are worth considering, I think. - marthalib

Steve - I totally understand that. But I still don't think that ref librarians should be taken completely off the desk, as you lose the feel for assignments and practicing. I also think it's essentially false advertising, since faculty & students expect a *librarian* when they go to the reference desk. (It also depends on your traffic, but if you are heavily instructional, in my experience that translates into heavier refdesk.) I think it's unfair to both patrons and parapros asked to do librarian work. - Archangel ωαřмaiden

Martha, from one angle it's exploitation, from the other angle it's deprofessionalization. - s t e v e

Starting just this semester, we no longer have librarians working the reference desk. According to our statistics, very few of the questions we received actually required the expertise of a librarian. The librarians are certainly willing to lend their expertise when it's available. For us, it was a decision of whether this was really an effective use of their time. Martha asks whether... more... - Laura H.

Our reference desk is staffed by paraprofessionals. I go back and forth on this issue. Some of them do a fantastic job, some do less well - but that happens with librarians too. My bigger struggle is when the students are handed the answer when it could have been a teachable moments. But again, not all librarians recognize that either. This really is something I'm struggling with a LOT... more... - ÉllbeeÇee

I hear you, too, Colleen. But I might make the same decision that Laura's library did. I think the ref desk may be a sacred cow these days. In some libraries it's incredibly important, while in others it's just the "info desk." I think properly trained desk staff can take care of the directional stuff and refer "real" reference questions to the proper person. - s t e v e

I think a bigger challenge for us is finding ways to set up the communication that's needed so that we do get the information from the people working the desk - and to make sure that we are available when necessary. I try very hard to make sure the desk staff knows that when they get a business related question that needs deeper help, please refer it onward. But I also try to help with training so they can answer the common business questions the desk gets so I'm not inundated. - ÉllbeeÇee

Laura that's why we stopped having ref librarians on the desk. We come out and answer any questions like do you have this book as it can lead into further convos and other actual questions. In theory this gives us more time to do other aspects of our jobs including talking to faculty and students. We are still being "librarians" by being out there doing everything else that we're supposed to do - Sir Shuping

Colleen, I think that - "if you are heavily instructional, in my experience that translates into heavier refdesk" - might depend on the library. I get the impression that for some libraries/librarians it translates into more individual consultations with a librarian (say, in their office), rather than the reference desk. - Laura H.

It's not that I dont think those other things are important - I do, and I think they're essential to running a good R&I department. But my question would be - do the librarians at least have "office hours" where they may not be on the desk, but they have to be available? - Archangel ωαřмaiden

Again, all predicated on your type of library and your service model. - Archangel ωαřмaiden

We (acad med center) have a mix, with librarians on the desk some hours of they day and staff there most of the time, w/ libs on call. This frees the librarians up for questions coming in via clinical rounds or the electronic medical record system, etc. We also don't have a designated "reference" desk, but two service points by the front entrance. - Rachel Walden

At my current place of work, only librarians provide reference services. This has many benefits, but a negative effect is that none of the paraprofessionals receive any cross-training in reference skills. Also, technically speaking, I'm not supposed to answer *any* technical questions (e.g., "how do I add a page number to my MS Word document"), because we have computer lab assistants... more... - marthalib

It depends on the desk. Here at MPOW, we have librarians and information staff working the phones, when more often than not we don't get reference questions - they're purely directional. There's a tiny (but ever growing) part of myself that resents that I spent money on a graduate education to be a glorified receptionist, and I think this kind of work should be carried out by clerical staff. - cecily

I asked a staff member in my department (paraprofessional) if she would come help me staff the reference desk when I'm on. It's been a fabulous partnership. I'm happy to have the help (most of the questions thus far are printing related) and she loves working with students. I hope our arrangement becomes a model. We librarians have much to do outside of the library and need to free up valuable resources. - Jen

I don't think the desk needs to have 'professional' librarians on it; but I do think that 'professional' librarians need to be on the desk. (I also think that managers, cataloguers, IT folk, etc need to be on the desk, though not as many hours a week.) - Deborah Fitchett

[I'm at a public library.] This is being discussed at work now. One possibility is to have a separate desk for directionals and internet guest passes (concierge?) and the reference desk for actual reference and helping find books and stuff. We just started keeping track of how much and how often we provide computer help, too, so I expect that's part of the discussion. - Betsy (bentley) Vera

Deborah, I would not be a good refdesk librarian. I am a good librarian; I'm just good at other things. I am a public service librarian, after a fashion; the services I provide are just not reference. I disagree on a very primal level that all librarians need to do refdesk work. Rubbing elbows with patrons, okay, an argument can be made -- but IMO thinking that reference is the only way librarians meet patrons just doesn't sit right with me. - D0r0th34

If no one is coming to the reference desk with actual questions, perhaps it's worth exploring marketing/promoting that aspect of your services more heavily? Or going out into the building and finding those who are doing the research and proactively asking them if they need assistance? Also, if someone with an actual question comes in and has to wait until a librarian is found or knows... more... - Dana Longley

my public library has primarily used non-librarians on the desk as long as I have worked here, but then, the majority of our locations have one service desk, so everything happens there. The one exception is our main branch which has a separate info desk, but even they are using non-librarians now some of the time. We are also moving to more of a roving reference model rather than... more... - holly

I'll agree with Deborah -- we have a mix of librarians, reference assistants (ie. trained people with science backgrounds) and LIS students at our desk. The most important thing is experience -- the more reference you do, the better you are at it, and most of our ref desk staff have been doing it for several years at least. For me, it's really important to be at the desk -- it really... more... - John Dupuis

Some hesitations I have about the referral model include whether all students who get referred actually follow up and talk with the librarian and whether or not the staff doing the referring always recognize that there's a bigger question involved, a sense that often comes from experience and teaching. When a student comes into the library and has a question, I want her/him to get the best answer possible from the most qualified person possible as often as possible. - John Dupuis

Dorothea - yes, that's a good point. In retrospect my answer is influenced by the fact that my branch has a combined reference and circulation desk, so "the desk" to me isn't just reference. - Deborah Fitchett

I've said this a dozen times, about this whole chalk thing -- it just seems like common sense to me. But I am, apparently, a cheerful aberration in this respect in library management. Which is sad. - Jenica

I read chalk notes every day. gotta know what is going on someohow! - Mary Carmen

The most important rule of management is "No surprises". Not just that the manager shouldn't surprise the staff (no matter how good my managers have been, I've always been nervous about performance reviews, even though I know there won't be any surprises), but that the staff shouldn't surprise management. Communication is important and needs to go in both directions. - DJF

I asked because I'm curious about the tension between the immediate teachable moment -- maybe that's not chalk-on-sidewalk, but it might well be a Twitter or LJ or Facebook or f2f interaction -- and the need to keep people in the loop. - D0r0th34

Why do you think you are an "aberration?" I have seen nothing but praise for your response. Are you getting flack behind the scenes? - s t e v e

Its interesting because we have been thinking about different ways to engage students using social media tools. We had ideas about a FB app and Twitter. We did some focus groups and were very surprised to learn that the students do not want to interact with us there. They asked for simple and easy. Information more readily available on the web site, more signage (digital and traditional) and face to face. It was definitely an eye opener to me, and reinforced my belief that sometimes simple is best. - Mary Carmen

yup, we found similar things a few years ago. Facebook is not an academic platform, it is where they go for a break from the academy. - DJF

No steve, just the amount of 'woo hoo' ing makes it seem like this is a noteworthy response. And doing it right shouldn't be noteworthy! - Jenica from iPhone

Ah, I guess I have been blessed with excellent bosses then. I don't know if they would have added to the chalk messages, but I'm dead certain that my current director or the head of the library where I worked at UCSD would have responded publicly to a public, highly-visible criticism of the library. - s t e v e

I'll disagree with you, jenica...doing it right is _always_ praiseworthy. - Jason Griffey from twhirl

Is the ear bud in the right spot? - Joe

*dies and is ded ded ded* - D0r0th34

Awesome!!!!! - Abigail

There really, really needs to be a LOVE button for stuff like this. - Catherine Pellegrino

Right now, she/he is listening to "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple. What else is on his iCod? - Joe

Thank you, Steve! It's wonderful! (Should I say, "OMC"?) - Laura B.

"Down By the River" by Neil Young? Um. Well. Maybe not. Edited to add: especially now that I recall that cod are ocean fish. DUH. - laura x

Octopus's Gaden, surely. Cod Save the Queen. Ocean Size. - s t e v e from iPod

"Yellow Submarine" and "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" ("Haaaaaands across the water...") - Laura B.

Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa. http://www.youtube.com/watch..., also Peter Gabriel's cover when mopey http://www.youtube.com/watch... - Nikki D.

Beyond the Sea. The Eddystone Light! - laura x

Ocean Rain -- Echo and the Bunnymen - ♫Geek in the 410♫

Or "Seven Seas" by Echo & the Bunnymen - josh neff, geek at large

"Take me to the river". Talking heads - marlene

"Down by the Water," PJ Harvey. - Rachel Walden

Ocean by Velvet Underground - ♫Geek in the 410♫

Phish. (Too easy?) - cecily

Fishbone. (Too morbid?) - cecily

School of Fish. (Too 90s?) - Nikki D.

Country Joe and the Fish (too Woodstock?) - s t e v e

The soundtrack from Finding Nemo. - Joe

I approve Phish, School o' Fish, Fishbone and Country Joe and the Fish. Nemo is cool too. - ♫Geek in the 410♫

Don't forget Flipper! - Jeff Karlsen from iPod

Waterfalls by TLC - "Don't go chasing waterfalls, please stick to the river and the lakes that you're used to..." - Connie Crosby

I love seeing the iCod "resurface" in my "stream." :) - Laura B.

Have y'all seen this: “Breast-Washing”: Enfamil Offers Free Breastfeeding Support Kit http://ecochildsplay.com/2009... - Aaman (Clone of FF)

It's a shame that this has become such a fraught issue. I think mothers ought to *try* to breastfeed, but, if they can't, everyone MYOB. - Kamilah Gill

Aaman, I haven't seen that exact article but a lot of formula companies offer free "breastfeeding support kits" which are nothing other than promotional materials for formula and discouragement about breastfeeding. - Rochelle

Yeah, those are creepy. I hope that most women are smart enough to figure out that a company making formula might have an agenda hidden in their "pro-breastfeeding" literature. - Meredith

When I had my baby, I never received any free formula stuff. It may have had something to do with it being a military hospital, though. - Michelle Martinez

I'm a man, so really do NOT have any right to comment. That said, my wife was a rock star trying to do the pumping thing at work and it was a downright challenge to the point of being nearly impossible. Fortunately, she did not have the Raynaud’s, which I've heard is very painful. Through much discussion and heartache, she decided to quit her job. Not all of us have that option or even... more... - Kenley Neufeld

Michelle, different hospitals are definitely different. The one where I had Audrey is very breastfeeding friendly. They don't allow any formula promotional materials or samples there. There are currently 83 hospitals that are certified as breastfeeding friendly, and many more that are moving in that direction: http://www.babyfriendlyusa.org/eng... - Rochelle

There's a HUGE amount of animosity in the pro-breastfeeding community toward those formula samples that women get in the hospital. And I can understand it, to some degree. But I have to say, when we came home and my milk hadn't come in yet and we had to feed J *something* because he was jaundiced, that little can saved our asses from a midnight formula run (because of course we hadn't... more... - Catherine Pellegrino

My kid never did take to breastfeeding - he was premature and they had to start him on the bottle before I got to see him, so he wanted nothing to do with eating "au naturale". I pumped for more than a month, then gave up and went to formula. I know what you mean about getting judged for that decision, it's no fun, but you need to do what is right for you, not for "them". - Webgoddess

Oh, I should get you in touch with Shanon over this. Problems with nursing our first son almost drover her over the brink. With son number two she was like "he gets two weeks to figure out nursing, if he can't do it after that, it's formula." This goes back to my only real advice about parenting babies: try what you think is right for a while. If it isn't working or seems wrong, trust... more... - s t e v e

I do find hospitals giving out samples of stuff from major companies (from formula to diapers) to be a bit sketchy, but while mine did give samples out, they also provided amazing breastfeeding support (the nurses were actually WAY better than the lactation consultants I dealt with after we left the hospital). - Meredith

Isn't it funny how so many women just don't talk about problems with breastfeeding unless someone else brings it up? And then you find that such a large number of your friends/family had issues as well. :) - Meredith

Amen to your post, Meredith. - David Rothman (☤)

Also, I got carried away and forgot to say Hear, hear to your post: it's the judgementalism that's so damaging, not what and how we feed our kids. - Catherine Pellegrino

I wish I could double-like this. Betsy went through so much of this, and it took Eliza losing 15% of her body weight before the doctors finally said to go formula. Good for you for writing this...makes me proud to know you. - Jason Griffey from twhirl

Went with the bottle for our kid, too, and for the same reason. (Thanks so much for link to the Pediatrics article.) The trauma taught us to be flexible in everything we do with our son -- it just wasn't worth the pain and suffering. I also liked being able to bond with my son during my feeding times. - Joe

Rochelle, I didn't know that. Our hospital wasn't listed, though. - Michelle Martinez

Applauding :) - Abigail

As a nanny, I work around a lot of moms. I've heard so many say that they tried and tried breastfeeding and when it just didn't work, the judgment was unbelievable. I think breastfeeding is fantastic (honestly, I can't wait til I have a baby and can hopefully nurse him/her), but I think the judgment is hurting a lot of moms. - Lis Miller

With all that's wrong with formula, why hasn't wet nursing come back into vogue as a viable job and alternative for mothers who have infections and such? - Matthew DeVries

Matthew, I think now there are milk banks that mothers who have more supply than their child needs can donate their milk to. - Meredith

Matthew, like Meredith said, there are milk banks but they charge a LOT of money for the milk, double or more what formula costs. A lot of families just can't afford that. Some people do find individual donors and make arrangements that way and do it for free (or lower cost than a milk bank, anyway) but the demand is so much higher than the supply available. - Rochelle

A quick Google for milk bank prices came up with one in San Jose that charges $3 an ounce. A baby eats maybe about 5-6+ ounces per feeding, several times day. That really adds up. - Rochelle

I guess I've never seen formula as anything more than an emergency ration though, or if the baby has a milk allergy. - Matthew DeVries

Wow! I knew nothing about the prices at milk banks! At those prices, Reed would cost us $96 - $120 per day if he needed the breast milk! And Matthew, for a huge chunk of the population in the U.S., formula is all their baby eats. - Meredith

And now, 4 generations after it's creation, the population is starting to reflect that fact. I'm reading the Michael Pollan books right now, and it just angrys up the blood, and I'm trained as a scientist..... - Matthew DeVries

I haven't read Michael Pollan's books yet. What impact does he say it's had on the population? - Meredith

Baby formula doesn't play a huge role in "In Defense of Food", but baby formula was really the first and fore-front of the Nutritionism Artificial food movement. In it's earliest forms it was downright toxic to a large percentage of the populations, with failure to thrive and neurological deficits endemic in formula-fed populations. Problem was no one had discovered vitamins yet. The... more... - Matthew DeVries

Oh dear heart, hugs to you. I cannot imagine what it would be like to breastfeed with Raynaud’s. I had enough nipple pain just due to bad latches in the beginning - with Raynaud’s I"m sure there is no way I would have gone on. Breastfeeding was a huge ordeal for me. Sleepy baby, not gaining weight, sore nipples, had to use an SNS, weighed him after every feeding, supplemented with... more... - Laura Norvig

great post .thanks! - JSNFLMNG

I have Raynauds and this is the first I've heard of this! May have explained the crying on my part for the first two weeks before I gave up and went to formula. Everyone kept saying it would get better and that if I was a good mother I'd stick with it... Two years later my daughter is thriving and I think we are both much better off than we had been for those first two horrible weeks. - Samantha Hines

What do you think is cool? - D0r0th34

but only things you don't want your wife to know about? - DJF

Letters, postcards, photos, mail art, you name it. DJF, that's just a bonus. - s t e v e

oh! I have the perfect postcards! - DJF

Bumping since we crashed Steve's server for the LSW clubhouse address :) - Nikki D.

I love handwritten letters, and I will send you one, but only if you would appreciate it. Most don't. - Liza

I'm so sorry, that is awful!!! - marthalib

Saw it on a MN weather website. Stomach turning, isn't it? - Polly Potter

I'm so sorry that is for real :( - Nikki D.

Yes, Polly. Especially when you consider that it's basically watered-down sewage. - Greg Schwartz

whoa - krista godfrey

Oh, that's terrible. I'm sorry this happened. - Rachel Walden

:( - chaz2b

most definitely *do not* like, but want to tag for reference. urrrgghhh! you guys take care of yourselves cleaning up after that. i really hope you can get the professionals in to do the worst of it. - Katie

Liking fo the same reason as Katie. That photo is horrifying. - Katy S

Moment of win! - John E. Bredehoft

I've lost count of the number of re-shares of this image. - Kol Tregaskes

6) I'm doing you a promotional favor by using your material. - Mr. Gunn

#6 is what i hear all the time in my author-life. It annoys the crud out of me because they obviously know what they're doing isn't kosher. - Katie

It's not that clear cut, Katie. Probably most of the time it is to your benefit to release your ideas to the wild and let them be carried whereever by whoever. The only time it's sketchy is if they don't credit you with a link back or a mention. - Mr. Gunn

The problem with #6 when it's obviously infringing is that it isn't up to that person to decide whether the (c) owner should be flattered. - s t e v e

Seconding Quicksilver, followed by Growl, and Fluid. - Jason Griffey from twhirl

cyberduck for FTP (thirding QS) - J450N

adium, carbon emacs, spanning sync - DJF

Ubuntu. - John Fink

I just got a new Macbook a week ago, and Firefox 3 was the first thing we put on it. Just make sure to install it in the right language. FF in Africaans isn't a good thing unless you speak that language. ;-) - Courtney McGough

Firefox was the absolute first thing. :) - Jenica

Seconding the Growl recommendation. Also, Gmail Notifier (http://toolbar.google.com/gmail-h...) and ScrobblePod (http://www.last.fm/group...). I'm a new Mac user, so I'm still discovering my "must haves." - ǎňňǎ

Oh, and thanks for asking this. It just occurred to me that I should be taking notes! *slaps forehead* :-) - Courtney McGough

the beauty of the internet is that, barring catastrophe, FF is taking the notes for you. ;) - Jenica

Windows, so you could actually run some software.</flamebait> - Greg Schwartz

Greg is just mad that no one has said "TalkShoe." :P - s t e v e

Please note that one does not need to install anything from TalkShoe to participate in Uncontrolled Vocabulary. That said, Talkshoe Live is highly recommended for new Mac owners.</PSA> - Greg Schwartz

Yep! Technology is grand - when it works. ;-) - Courtney McGough

I don't know what I'd install, but the first thing I do with any new computer is customize!! And it's very fun to do on a Mac - oooo, the pretty pictures! - Librarienne

Windows ;-) - Michael Sauers from twhirl

totally taking notes as a new macbook may be my christmas pressie to myself - Katie

You mac haters JUST CAN'T RESIST, can you? ;) - Jenica

Yes on Adium and NeoOffice. FF, of course. Also Twhirl. - Randy Dykhuis from twhirl

I'm wondering if Sauers and Schwartz ought to be a comedy duo. - Jason Griffey from twhirl

Oh, and yes, you will still need to run some software that is Windows only so you'll need Bootcamp or Parallels and a copy of Windows XP. - Randy Dykhuis from twhirl

ubuntu - royce

Firefox - Connie Crosby

before spending money on Bootcamp or Parallels, check to see if Virtualbox will do what you want (you'll still need to buy XP) - DJF from twhirl

Nothing wrong with putting Windows on your MacBook. As Roy sez, "There is virtually no piece of software you cannot run." Good luck trying that trick in reverse. http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpre... - s t e v e

I've been installing this stuff, and trying it out... so much fun to play with a different OS! Thanks, all. Keep 'em coming if you think of others. - Jenica

Have you tried clicking the links for their source feeds? You could tell by their blog or Flickr photos or something. Or do private feeds not show that much? - s t e v e

Cohen: most people on Twitter have a profile, or you can see who they follow, to decide if they follow enough similar people to make it worth your while to follow them. Lawson: Private accounts don't let you click on their source feeds, AFAIK. - josh neff, geek at large

In Twitter, you can at least see their little profile & if they list a Web site/blog. - marthalib

D'oh! I was wrong, you CAN click on their source feeds! - josh neff, geek at large

Well, yes, that does help! :) - marthalib

It does, Steven, thanks! - josh neff, geek at large

Not at a PC where I can install greasemonkey @ the moment. Does anyone know who "Mary" is ? Yes, just "Mary". - Kathryn says love n peace

It's Mary Carmen Chimato, librarian, blogger & fill-in host for Uncontrolled Vocabulary. - josh neff, geek at large

That Greasemonkey script is very handy. Thanks! - Jàson Puçkett

@sirexkat: Mary is PigsInSpace on Twitter. - kate

I love that one of Mary Carmen's credentials is fill-in host for Unvocab. - Greg Schwartz