Librarian's Rant

Somehow this didn't post a few weeks ago...

My buddy Bill helped start a radio station at his kids' elementary school, and it just got a nice write-up in The Des Moines Register.

Parents at Cowles Elementary School, 6401 College Ave., can tune into a radio station in the school parking lot at dismissal time and hear a live broadcast of students announcing school news.

It's all thanks to one parent's technology hobby.

Bill Paxson, who has two kids at Cowles, is a stay-at-home dad who keeps up with the latest technology. One afternoon a few years ago he was sitting in his car in the school's crowded parking lot at dismissal time waiting to pick up his children. As he waited, he was using one of his latest gadgets - a low-power transmitter that allowed him to listen to music from his iPod on an FM station on his car stereo.

"I was thinking if these people knew what frequency I use to listen to my iPod, they could all listen if they wanted to," Paxson said. "Then it got me thinking, what if I had information for parents on my iPod and they all listened to that frequency. Then one thing led to another and I started exploring."

Way to go, Bill!

Bill Clinton: 'Screw It, I'm Running For President'the onion

So John Edwards met with Martin Luther King III yesterday, and received a gorgeous letter as a follow-up. One point really struck me, as I've been saying the same thing about Edwards for a while now:

There has been, and will continue to be, a lot of back and forth in the political arena over my father's legacy. It is a commentary on the breadth and depth of his impact that so many people want to claim his legacy. I am concerned that we do not blur the lines and obscure the truth about what he stood for: speaking up for justice for those who have no voice.

I appreciate that on the major issues of health care, the environment, and the economy, you have framed the issues for what they are - a struggle for justice. And, you have almost single-handedly made poverty an issue in this election.

You know as well as anyone that the 37 million people living in poverty have no voice in our system. They don't have lobbyists in Washington and they don't get to go to lunch with members of Congress. Speaking up for them is not politically convenient. But, it is the right thing to do.

So in most of the debates, those watching and being polled have tended to say that Edwards won these debates...but the media only respond to (and report) conflict, so they claim it was all about Clinton and Obama. Now each of these candidates has their strong points (and weaknesses), but their recent behavior has been, at best, childish and, at worst, divisive. I'm particularly sickened (though I wish I could say surprised) at the Clinton camp.

Why, why, why won't the media acknowledge that Edwards is hitting a very significant nerve with the American public? - the ones who actually manage to hear him over the media nonsense, anyways. Without the money to send his message to all 50 states every minute of the day, it's getting lost in the din of pissy rhetoric and backstabbing (wtf President Bill Clinton?? I thought you'd figured out how to be above all this crap!)

The Dems have an excellent chance of winning the White House in November, but ONLY if they stick together and keep it clean, civil, professional and grounded in real issues and real values (not those amorphous 'family values' no one can define to my satisfaction).

Enough already!!

As I mentioned last month, I got written up in the December issue of American Libraries for some work I did blogging for the MaintainIT project about wireless. The MaintainIT folks very kindly made note of the AL write-up, and gave me some kind compliments.

I'm very pleased with what they're doing over there, as I think it's helpful esp. for smaller libraries, who sometimes feel left out in the technology cold. I'm delighted I can be of some help, because really, why should they have to reinvent the wheel?

From WSJ (subscription required):

Apple Unveils Ultra-Thin Notebook

The new Apple notebook computer's major attribute is its sleek profile: it's about three-quarters of an inch thick and weighs three pounds. The Macbook Air features a full-sized keyboard, a 13-inch screen, a built-in camera, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, all powered by an Intel Corp. dual core chip.

Appearing on stage at the company's Macworld expo, Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said the computer, which he called "world's thinnest notebook," will cost $1,799 and is scheduled to ship in about two weeks.

I keep meaning to blog about my amazing Caucus experience last week, but I've been so drained in its aftermath that I haven't had a chance. I will, I promise.

For today, I just got the email sent to Richardson supporters announcing the end of his presidential campaign. What a class act. An excerpt:

Running for president brings out the best in everyone who graces the stage, and I have learned much from the other candidates running. They have all brought great talents and abilities to the campaign.

Senator Biden's passion and intellect are remarkable.

Senator Dodd is the epitome of selfless dedication to public service and the Democratic Party.

Senator Edwards is a singular voice for the most downtrodden and forgotten among us.

Senator Obama is a bright light of hope and optimism at a time of great national unease, yet he is also grounded in thoughtful wisdom beyond his years.

Senator Clinton's poise in the face of adversity is matched only by her lifetime of achievement and deep understanding of the challenges we face.

Representative Kucinich is a man of great decency and dedication who will faithfully soldier on no matter how great the odds.

And all of us in the Democratic Party owe Senator Mike Gravel our appreciation for his leadership during the national turmoil of Vietnam.

I am honored to have shared the stage with each of these Democrats. And I am enormously grateful to all of my supporters who chose to stand with me despite so many other candidates of accomplishment and potential.

Now that my time in this national campaign has come to an end, I would urge those who supported my candidacy to take a long and thoughtful look at the remaining Democrats. They are all strong contenders who each, in their own way, would bring desperately needed change to our country. All I ask is that you make your own independent choice with the same care and dedication to this country that you honored me with during this campaign. At this time, I will not endorse any candidate.

Now I am returning to a job that I love, serving a state that I cherish and doing the work of the people I was elected to serve. As I have always said, I am the luckiest man I know. I am married to my high school sweetheart. I live in a place called the Land of Enchantment. I have the best job in the world. And I just got to run for president of the United States.

It doesn't get any better than that.

I, for one, will miss his voice in the ongoing conversation this political year.