Daily Archives: December 16, 2024

Special Interest

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I think it’s time to picket the Memorial Library.

Funny how “What’s in it for me?” motivates activism. While I’m not really painting a picket sign, I’m looking into support of “The Alliance for Taxpayer Access” as well as other grassroots efforts to open up publicly funded libraries to remote users. More and more of my search results point me to electronic journals that are only available behind the Ivy Curtain. The University of Wisconsin — Madison Libraries subscribe to all of the journals I’ve needed, but lacking a UW NetID, I’m forced to travel in order to look within their electronic pages. Running into a JSTOR or Project Muse authentication page while web surfing is like surfing in Santa Monica and running into a piling on the Santa Monica pier.

I have a library card for the University Libraries, and I’m an alumnus, but the e-journal police only permit students, faculty, and staff to have remote access to University’s collections.

Dorothea Salo notes, “Journals are losing face to other knowledge-distribution mechanisms because of speed differences, access differences, quality-of-service differences, cost differences, social-networking differences, all sorts of differences.” Nevertheless, journals contain authoritative material and hidden clues to the boundaries of understanding that just aren’t available elsewhere.

Web toolists!

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Web2List, like Orli’s go2web20 only real.

orli

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gotoweb20.net

orli’s blog

webblers heart widgets

’tis the season…

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In The Pitch this week, Ben Paynter covers the bums and the panhandlers, the beggars, the scroungers, the mendicants at the upscale Plaza shopping district in Kansas City. Here’s an excerpt…

Name: Pierce Vallier

Age: 61

Tenure: Fifth year of seasonal work

Distinction: Salvation Army worker

Tools: Company-issued wooden-handled brass bell, beanie, apron, name tag, red bucket on a stand, sign with the Salvation Army shield that reads “Doing The Most Good”

Hangout: In front of the Plaza LattéLand on 47th Street

Smells like: Coffee

Formal education: High school, some college

Previous gig: Worked part time for the AARP.

Average take: He doesn’t know because the bucket is locked

Best take: “When I worked that corner right there [by Sharper Image], it was hundreds and hundreds of dollars. The bucket was so stuffed, I had to call someone to empty it.”

Trade secret: “A lot of people are conditioned to the bell. Like Pavlov’s dog, they know to donate.” He shakes the bell, singing “Give up the money!”

Justification: “I needed the work. It was dependable. Working conditions are good, stuff like that. It’s pretty hard to get people to volunteer 10 hours a day, seven days a week. I think I’m making $8 [an hour]. And they always give you gloves.”

Side biz: Released his own spoken-word CD, The Blues 101, which he carries with him.

Claim to fame: “Just getting people to donate is a great achievement because it gets money to people to help. Christmas brings out a lot of people, but Salvation Army gives the money to people who really need it.”

Political affiliation: “Mostly, I’m a Democrat. I worked the polls the last four years. I’ve worked [Emanuel] Cleaver’s first campaign for Congress, canvassing.”

Best street Zen: “Dress warm and always wear enough clothes because if it gets warm, you can take something off, but if you don’t have enough, you can’t put something on.”