TBWAIN - AKA Jeff Svare's Blog

CIL2006 - The Journey Conludes - Almost 10:02 This morning's keynote was presented by by Lee Rainie, Director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project , and former managing editor of US News and World Report . While he may look older than some expected, and appears to be just another Foundation suit, he's a very intelligent man, and worth paying attention to. His presentation was prompted in part by this week's Time cover story on the overconnected teen. So his focus was on the younger Internet users, the Millenials, those people born between 1982 and 2000. In other words, my kids. Uff da. He presented Eight Realities of Millenials. This group is formed by a distinct age cohort, 5-23 years old They are immersed in a world of media and gadgets Their technology is mobile The Internet plays a special part in their world They are multitaskers They are unaware of, or indifferent to, he consequences of technology The technology they use will change radically in the next...

CIL2006 - The Journey Continues 10:00 This morning's keynote was by Megan Fox, Planning for a Handheld Mobile Future . She discussed several devices that are capable of receiving digital content. Microsoft is developing a new font to replace Times New Roman that will be more readable on multiple devices. New apps are being created to produce native mobile content. A study to deliver student's schedules to their mobile devices raised the question, "If you can upload their schedule to their phone, why can't you turn the ringer off?" Another product described was a mobile digital search. Use your camera phone to take a picture of an object, then receive information about it. One example is to take a picture of a movie poster and get back reviews and theaters and showtimes, or video stores, in your area. I'm not quite sure how we'd ever de able to deliver digital content to a patron's smart phone, but we could send them information on the FHL in a t...

CIL2006 : The Journey Begins 09:50 The Washington Hilton Ballroom was packed for Chris Sherman's keynote, Search Engine Report . While I didn't catch all of it thanks to traffic on the George Washington Parkway , I was able hear his conclusions: Search is getting exciting and innovative again New tools and products are making more types of content searchable Threats to privacy and individual liberty are subtly increasing in the US, while ironically they seem to be improving in China. I've tried to get these exactly the way they appeared on his slide, as I don't want to misquote him. While Microsoft releasing a new search engine and mapping tool are alright, I don't personally find either innovative as much as I find them derivative of existing products. Lots of content has always been searchable (anyone remember Archie?), other sources of electronic content (gopher, finger and WAIS, for example) mostly dried up and went away faced with the overwhelming onslaught o...

Since this was my first trip to Philly I had to try a cheese steak sandwich. I asked my seat-mate on the flight in (the guy with the Bose headphones) who made the best sandwiches. He wouldn't commit himself, but he made a great suggestion, "Get one of each, they're small." So I did. The parameters of my test sandwich: steak, onions, and Cheez Whiz . I tried Geno's first. Incredible. The flavor was amazing. I could have died a very happy man. Next, Pat's . Incredible. The flavor was amazing. I could have died a very happy man. Pat's steak was every bit as good as Geno's. But the on Pat's the bread was better, and so was the cheese. I can't figure out how Cheez Whiz can taste different, but it did. Pat's Wins! Pat's Wins! Despite this glowing recommendation, you won't find me on their celebrity page . Cheese steak. It's a beautiful thing .

I found a great reason to have an MP3 player with you when flying: you can't hear unwanted conversations. The fellow I was sitting next to on the plane had a set of Bose Sound Cancelling headphones with him. After the in-flight movie (which was awful), I asked him about them. He even let me try them on. It was amazing! Suddenly all I could hear were my own thoughts. The persistene drone of the cabin pressure system was gone! Then he plugged them into the armrest headphone jack. I'd swear I was suddenly listening to premium quality sound system. I'd been using my cheap airline-furnished earphones just before this, and it didn't sound anything like what I was listening to then. Simply amazing. Note to self: Add noise-cancelling headphones to Want List.

In this case, nothing really. It's just that TBWAIN is more interesting than Jeff Svare's Blog . The content isn't going to change, 'cuz it's my blog. But the name was dull. Boring. Unimaginative. And, I was tired of it. Next week, I'm going to the Computers in Libraries Conference in Washington, D.C. It's always a great conference, and I feel really fortunate that I'm able to go again. It's a real idea factory, and I always come away recharged with new ideas. This year I'm hoping to get a chance to further discuss content management ideas for libraries and information organizations. The unofficial wiki for the conference has some good stuff posted. Lots of seasoned conference-goers have shared their insights on how to help your conference experience be a great one.

March 14th. The beginning of NCAA basketball's March Madness. Madness. Yes, that's a good word for it. This is a time when the laws of physics relative to time are suspended. A game with 2 seconds left on the clock can continue for 20 years. At least it seems like it does. I don't hate basketball, but if I can go through the month without seeing a single game, I won't be disappointed. This represents a period of suffering for me. I suppose it's appropriate that it takes place during Lent. But it also represents a time of renewed hope, a resurgence in the belief that Spring is soon here. That better days will soon be with us. Why? The MLB teams are in spring training, and it's three weeks until opening day!

I found this quote over on TrekWeb today: "The [Enterprise] finale was one of those where you'd go down to the stage and see people shaking their heads while reading the script." When the cast is reacting that way to a script while they are shooting, they must know it's really bad. IMHO, the only good part of the whole ep was the end sequence with the voice-overs by all the captains. That was cool. The rest of it tanked. Oh, you want to know who said this? It was Doug Mirabello, Rick Berman's Personal Assistant. And, as we all know, These Are the Voyages... was the only script of the season written by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga . You can read the original article here . Did I mention this episode was really bad?

When I heard the news that Kirby Puckett had had a stroke and they weren't releasing any statement on his condition I knew things were bad. I found out about his passing tonight, just a few hours after returning from a viewing for a neighbor's wife. Kirby Puckett was at the nexus of two of the happiest moments in my life. The second one, which I'll mention first, was in 1995, when the Twins came to Salt Lake City to play their AAA affiliate, the Salt Lake Buzz. The Twins lost that game, but afterwards my kids and I were crushed up against the fence where the team buses load, waiting to see if we could spot someone. You should have heard the roar that went up when Kirby came in sight. While we were disappointed we didn't get an autograph, or a chance to shake his had, we did get to see Kirby up close. The first of these event was in 1991, when my oldest daughter had just turned four. It was during the World Series, and, like most little kids, had gotten sick while s...