I'm working on updating something at work and never cease to be amused by the random agricultural journals and pamphlets I come across. Today's winner is Poland China World, a journal we received during the 80s. I'm confused as to how "Poland" and "China" have anything to do with each other--and more, have enough in common that it requires the publication of its own journal. But here's the kicker: it is published in Galesburg, IL.
Woohoo! Observant wins the coveted prize of choosing today's blog topic. Yeah, I agree with you, I guess that was a little easy. Funny thing though - I was actually thinking of Observant's visit to Kansas (- forgive my link Observant, but the post was brilliantly written) when I was listening to that song.
Just a bit about the song "Wichita Lineman". It really was considered to be one of the first Existential country songs ever written (created by Oklahoma-native Jimmy Webb you know...). What do we mean by "Existential?" Well, to answer that, it would be best to describe how one would "feel" Existentialism. Imagine describing, in relatively abstract, but intense detail, your most raw and sinewy desires for someone that you miss terribly. You are isolated and alone in a barren environment and this person is a thousand miles away from your heart. Absorb the intensity of this feeling in your bones, skin, fingertips. Feel that trilling, melancholic ache within the core of your being before it spills it's staccato guitar rifts onto a charged electrical wire. Then, lean into that wire (not too close mind you...), and listen to it hum. Can you hear it? Can you hear the buzzing crackle of that soft, gentle whisper....?
[Cassandra Wilson sings a fabulous version of this song...]
So here goes....I am to blog about my favourite room in this humble house (and why I consider it my favourite room). Good topic to write about. I needed some inspiration today.
[Let me put on my "thinking" glasses....ah, that's better!]
It's a small-ish room - about 20 ft X 20 ft, perched on the second floor of my house. From a large window, I can see shy mountain peaks rising above a complacent suburban landscape (the view is never the same from day to day and I love this...). The walls of this room are painted a light "latte" colour and reflect and absorb light perfectly. In the south-west corner of the room, an accomodating easel holds one of my fine art creations within bountiful rays of generous "north" light. An entire (north) wall of my study is sound-proofed by four overstuffed bookshelves (recall the "growing" library). These gluttonous shelves are brimming with eclectic travel and natural history objects - starring my favourite characters - "Terrence the Trilobite" and "Casey the Chinese Rice Paper Umbrella." I have photos of my favourite critters on the shelves (human and animal). Oh! "" says "Hello" to everyone by the way (he's in a great mood today because I left some Belgian chocolates on the top shelf last night). Another couple of shelves hold a collection of CD's ranging from "America" to "." Essentially, these shelves are a divine source of inspiration.
In the centre of the room (set at a pleasing angle) is a shaker style birch table that I have commandeered as part of my "central command centre" (or C3 as I like to call it). On my desk are a couple of photo frames (more important human and animal critters). I would love to replace this piece of furniture with an Asian style desk one day (the antique type made of dark wood with gorgeous crimson designs...). A medium sized leather box sits atop a leather journal on the left hand side corner of my desk. The box smells like exotic spices and I open it from time to time and take a "hit" of this fine scent! I'd describe the scent as patchouli and sandalwood with a hint of cardamom. Oh, and let's not forget about the "dime store" pencil holder gem that I picked up a few years back (it is quite pretty with a glass mosaic pattern). The chair at my desk is also rather utilitarian. I have actually never thought of replacing it, because it is an old office find. It's retro styled with silver casters (can give you a demo on these if you are interested! Too funny...) and a burnt orange fabric. It will not match my new Asian desk, so I'll have to find another home for this comfy number.
I guess that was more of a description about my "stuff" than it was about the room itself - but then again, what is a room without it's contents? I spend much time up in this room - writing, reading, working, painting, unwinding, pondering, dreaming, sleeping. I feel like these walls have absorbed my spirit's essence. There is much positive energy emanating from every corner of this room because it is so loved. This room is my nurturing nucleus and haven.
Very interesting series on the Celts. There were 6 episodes and several special features including a couple of interviews with Enya.I guess The Celts is where Enya was made known to a much larger public.
I was especially interested in the art, religion and mythology which I wrote about the episode on the Celtic Religion and about story telling and art .
I have been working on the In House newsletters the past two days just trying to find articles that mentioned the Library at Acadia. I have been through all sixteen volumes and have two more to finish. I have found some interesting articles about the library and those that worked there. There are some articles which are just about Library hours due to the Academic period, whereas other articles mention important students, academic leaders, even political leaders such as Bill Clinton and Jean Chretien and the campus as a whole. There is also important mention about librarians that have worked in the Vaughan Memorial Library. I have also come across a few articles about people that I know now as teachers. There is a huge amount of history about the campus and those that contributed to Acadia, within these In House newsletters.
Despite having a great time at BIALL's annual dinner the previous night, held in the sumptuous , I was able to check out of my hotel and make it to the conference hall in time for the first 9.00am session. I felt it was worthwhile making the most of my remaning time, since unfortunately I had to get the 11.27 train back to London. I did manage to squeeze the first 2 sessions of the day in before rushing off, though, and I detail my thoughts on them below.
Kate Simpson's presentation was another session on effective knowledge management, again aimed at those working in law firms. I must admit that due to the earliness of the hour, the pace of the presentation and the rapidity of the Powerpoint slides flashing up on screen, I may have missed some of the nuances of the lecture. However, her basic point seemed to be a good one, and was the idea that we are irretrievably "tangled up" in information, but that instead of despairing there are a number of strategies we can pursue to ameliorate this situation. In particular, there were three things on which we should focus, and I thought these three focii were a useful way of conceptualising good knowledge management:
Examine user needs to determine the best way of delivering information.
Review the information held to make sure it is relevant.
Review IT and other systems to optimise "findability" (ugly word, but I see what she is getting at).
This session was the sessionI had been looking forward to most all conference. I am a fan of Phil Bradley's, if such an admission isn't too embarassing, and I think his blog (found ) makes for essential reading. The session didn't disappoint. I like to think of myself as someone who is fairly up on issues surrounding web 2.0, and most of the themes and benefits Bradley talked about were familiar. The main strands of web 2.0 that he covered were as follows:
Bringing things together (or having bookmarks, email, RSS feeds etc. all available via a single resource)
Creating web-based resources (such as weblogs, podcasts, videos and other media)
"Search 2.0" (or the ability to search in a focussed way, and to have search results directed where you want, for example via RSS or email)
Sharing resources (for example via wikis, del.icio.us, flickr, Slideshare, Yousendit etc.)
The ability to instant message (although I'd question whether this is strictly a web 2.0 resource)
Weblogs (naturally!)
Social networks (Facebook, Myspace, Bebo etc.)
Change as the central concept in web 2.0- and in fact, in Bradley's view, changing the way we work FOREVER!
While I am sceptical of claims that web 2.0 will "change everything" (I'm more on the side of Tim Berners-Lee view that web 2.0 is just web 1.0, but more developed), the sheer number of resources that Bradley flagged up, and the myriad uses these resources can be put to, was pretty inspiring, as was his call (echoing that of Andrew Mills on ) to just get involved and see where it takes you.
The other inspiring theme throughout Bradley's talk was his view of what IT departments are there for. He repeatedly stated that IT people are there to do what we, the information professional, tell them to do, since we are the ones who know how to manage and make available information. He obviously brooked no excuses from IT people along the lines of "well, we could do that, but think of the bandwidth!". This is a point that I would totally agree with, although I'm not sure that stating this to your IT people in such stark terms is necessarily the best way to go!
All in all, this was an excellent presentation, stuffed with useful information and provocative opinions. You can see Bradley's slides, via the very web 2.0 Slideshare service, , and I would thoroughly recommend seeing him speak in person should you have the opportunity.
Some days back, I wrote a article regarding which PDF library to choose and work with, either PDFLib or FPDF. I decided to go with FPDF, since its free :D
So now, what is the problem that almost everyone of us have faced using PDF documents?
Think again. No, not that one. Take another shot. Okay, let me tell you.
When we open up PDF file, it opens in "Full-Mode", that means, we cannnot see the html links, page etc and it just ocupies whole web page. Now, this is a serious issue. Since, the only way is to hit the "Back" button.
What can be done to make this experience better?
Embed the PDF document inside a html frame. Consider the pdf file as a widget and we can load it inside the frames of html.
If you are wondering, if I am speaking arabic or something. Have a look at this.
But, there are serious flaws in implementing this way. Coz you cannot navigate through the pages in the PDF. I am trying to hack and fix the issues.
If you have tried anything similar to this. Please drop a comment.
Cheerz
Sridhar
PS: Please spare the commercial/licenses one. Yes, I am aware of Macromedia Flash Paper. But something free is more tasty :)
Richard Dawkins is not the first public figure to come out as an atheist nor is he undertaking a terrible risk by doing so: he doesn't aspire to public office, he's not selling concert tickets in the Bible Belt, and the jihadists won't be stalking him as he walks down the streets of Amsterdam. Nevertheless, there is something admirable about a man who challenges the absurdity of religion without bowing to unnecessary philosophical discourse. Dawkins confronts religion on scientific and ethical grounds, and while his arguments on the former likely won't convert many believers (who believe that religion rests outside the realm of science), his portray of religion as a driving force for inhumanity in the world should affect the objective reader. I suggest fellow atheists and questioning individuals read this book as it will give you a good overview of the arguments against religion.
"The Universe is bringing all good things to me, for the good of all involved."
While I'll admit I haven't been focusing a lot on my Challenge (I may have even gone over my 100 Days, to be honest), but I have been spending some time reading. I've been double-fisting it, as it were, with The Secret and with The Law of Attraction. And both are giving me quite a lot to think about.
My main mantra lately has been a myriad of variations on the above affirmation. I repeat it to myself over and over while falling asleep. I repeat it to myself while stuck in traffic. I repeat it to myself while washing my hair. I like it. It's quick, easy to remember and to the point. I've found that for affirmations to mean something to me, I have to be able to remember them and repeat them quickly and easily. That makes this one a keeper.
I'm loving how simple it is to co-create with Spirit and the Universe. Let's face it, it should be easy. And fun. If it's a chore, it's going to feel like work and won't come easily. There are so many things to be grateful for (even my seemingly non-stop, barking dog - he just won't hush as I'm writing this - guess he's got a lot to say on this topic as well) to get bogged down in the details.
