Two Ideas for Public Libraries

I appreciate the inroads of technology in our local public libraries. Thank you to all those involved in this momentous transition. An example of modernization is my local library providing free wireless access (also known as Wi-Fi) to all that posses a free library card. All I do is bring my laptop, accept their terms, and I’m on the Internet.

I conduct some of my learning and research from the library. In fact, I often enjoy writing articles for this site at the library. What’s better than to sit down in air conditioning (I’m in Florida) in a quiet, smart, and thought provoking environment while listening to Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli playing in my headphones.

With that said, I look ahead to further inroads in the years ahead. One idea I have is for libraries to open a coffee shop, a la Barnes & Noble (BN). What’s better than a latte and a novel on one of the library’s comfy couches? Or you can take it to go. Hey, that’s one reason I enjoy going to BN.

How about a late night at the library? I would absolutely love if the library stayed open until 11 pm? Another thing I love about BN. If I feel like exploring books or connecting with people, I can do so at 8 or 9pm on a Thursday or Saturday and it would be perfectly alright.

I do believe that in order to implement these two ideas the environment of libraries, their objectives, and leadership will have to be transformed. With computers and the Internet becoming commonplace at many homes, the library cannot find itself irrelevant to culture, especially our youth. What innovative changes would you like to see take place at your local public library?

Preparing for the Extra Vista SP1 Boost

After giving my Dell Inspiron 9300 laptop a much-needed memory upgrade, I’m preparing to take my Windows Vista experience to another level by installing the first service pack.

From what I’ve read so far, people reported speed and battery life improvements. Those two are enough to prompt me to update to SP1. Are the negative reports true? I got a restore point in place just in case they are.

Just to give you an idea, I’m running Windows Vista Ultimate on a Inspiron 9300 laptop with:

• 2GHz Intel Pentium M Processor
• 2GB DDR2 Memory (I upgraded from 1GB)
• 256MB NVidia GeForce 6800 Go Graphics Processor on 17″ WXGA+ Display
• 160GB Hard Drive (I upgraded from 80GB)
• and a rating of 4.0 on the Windows Experience Index

If everything goes to plan (meaning as long as Windows doesn’t crash or kill my laptop) I’ll use my Vista SP1 laptop this week to get work done. Then, later next week, I’ll report my experience. Stay tuned!

Images courtesy of Cruz Creative™.

Project Inventory, Taxes, and Biking

Happy Tuesday! This week I have a lot on my mind. I want to accomplish a few things before the week is over, such as a project inventory for my business. I also want to work on my taxes since the filing deadline is just around the corner. In addition I’m starting an exercise routine at about three times a week. I have a bike with broken tires that I would like to get fixed. I love biking, how about you?

A Toast Through Time

Tonight I attended the Cape Coral Toastmasters Club. Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization that operates clubs worldwide for the purpose of helping members improve their communication, public speaking and leadership skills.¹

I’ve heard the good benefits of getting involved in this type of organization. Aside from the opportunity to socialize, meet potential business clients and partners, and build my list of contacts, I hope to learn and improve the art of speaking, listening, and thinking.

The members were friendly, receptive, smart, and fun. Though the meeting was professional, the feel around the room was relaxed, positive, and quite immersing. One definitely has to be interested in the art of public speaking to enjoy this type of meeting. There were several guests present tonight, and I think we all had a positive experience.

It was great to meet, chat, and briefly introduce myself to several members. I went in there with a positive attitude and even participated on my very first day! It has been a long time since I’ve been involved in any type of organization in the professional realm. Showing up to tonight’s Toastmasters meeting felt great. I felt like my good old self again.

Just to give you an idea, several years ago I was very involved in the community around me. Back then it was the New Jersey Institute of Technology’s student community. I served in the Senate, was Vice President of the Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers, was a Resident Assistant several terms, wrote for the campus newsletter, and served in other organizations inside and outside of campus.

Since moving to Florida I sort of fell off the map. After a chain of disappointments, I sort of fell into a depression and lost touch of my talents. I even picked up on a little enemy called fear and self-doubt. Yuk!

But it’s all good now. I’m fighting back. This fisherman ain’t finished yet. With God all things are possible! Plus God will not be done with me until his work is accomplished in me. I look forward to joining the next Toastmaster session, and God willing, people can say once again… Look out world, here comes JCruz! as I work in my vocation and share with others the limitless love of God. Make it a wonderful week!

Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

1. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toastmasters_International [↩]

Advanced SEO for Web Developers Rated! 4 Stars

The MIX 2008 Internet presentation Advanced SEO for Web Developers, by Nathan Buggia, was Rated! 4 Stars.

Rated! Value Scores™ (5 being the highest)

• Price: 5
• Educational: 4
• Evangelizing: 0
• Originality: 2
• Relevance: 3
• Usefulness: 3
• User Experience: 2
• Replay/Lasting Appeal: 2

Advanced Cross-Browser Layout with Internet Explorer 8 Rated! 3 Stars

The MIX 2008 Internet presentation Advanced Cross-Browser Layout with Internet Explorer 8, by Scott Dickens, was Rated! 3 Stars.

Rated! Value Scores™ (5 being the highest)

• Price: 5
• Educational: 4
• Evangelizing: 0
• Originality: 4
• Relevance: 3
• Usefulness: 2
• User Experience: 2
• Replay/Lasting Appeal: 2

Adding Instant Messaging to Any Site Rated! 3 Stars

The MIX 2008 Internet presentation Adding Instant Messaging to Any Site, by Keiji Kanazawa and Nikhil Kothari, was Rated! 3 Stars.

Rated! Value Scores™ (5 being the highest)

• Price: 5
• Educational: 4
• Evangelizing: 0
• Originality: 4
• Relevance: 2
• Usefulness: 3
• User Experience: 2
• Replay/Lasting Appeal: 2

Welcome to Internet Explorer 8 Rated! 4 Stars

The MIX 2008 Internet presentation Welcome to Internet Explorer 8, by Chris Wilson, was Rated! 4 Stars.

Rated! Value Scores™ (5 being the highest)

• Price: 5
• Educational: 3
• Evangelizing: 0
• Originality: 4
• Relevance: 4
• Usefulness: 3
• User Experience: 2
• Replay/Lasting Appeal: 3

House Says No to Government’s Warrantless Spying on Citizens

The historical closed session of the United States House of Representatives was reported¹ to be driven by passionate debate culminating in a vote that said no to warrantless spying of the government on its people, you and me.

One thing I am happy about is holding the massive telecommunications corporations responsible for violating our rights and breaching our privacy and trust.² Moreover, I am glad the President and the secret government agencies are being stopped from acting omnipotent, from thinking they can ignore portions of the Constitution, and for thinking they can rule and act as they please.

However, this is what the President had to say:

Companies that may have helped us save lives should be thanked for their patriotic service, not subjected to billion-dollar lawsuits that will make them less willing to help in the future. The House bill may be good for class action trial lawyers, but it would be terrible for the United States.

Please understand I am not a fan of the litigious system in the United States. I do not like the fact that people without common sense can sue corporations and win because the coffee was too hot. duh I think the issue at hand is greater than the interest of protecting corporations exclusively.

If I had to choose which party to protect the rights of, the people or the corporations, I would chose the people. That’s partly why I’m against giving corporations immunity. I would prefer there be a balance in legislation where the rights of both people and companies be protected, while the interests of our nation be served.

I do not have a problem with warranted spying, that is spying after obtaining a warrant. Therefore, I did not agree with the President’s argument that the judicial process, or the court system, was cumbersome (perhaps he meant slow and ineffective). I don’t agree with that statement because if the court approval process is the problem, then a legislature or a committee should look into modernizing and improving our judicial system. Do not get me started on that topic…

I did search Google News and Slashdot for confirmation of this news. I recommend you look at news outlets like these and others (MSNBC, Fox News, etc) as a vehicle to expose you to the news. However, you should try as much as possible to go to the the source. In this news story, I went to the House of Representatives website and searched for the the vote count and then the resolution by name. It seems like the major news outlets think I’m stupid because they just included the vote count but not the resolution number. Some provided neither. So after I searched the House website for the vote  213-197, I found the resolution was called H.R. 3773 - FISA Amendments Act of 2008.

The legislative process continues. The debate is only starting to heat up. The House resolved an amendment to a Senate legislation. But what will happen next? What do you think should be the Senate’s response? How should the President and the Supreme Court respond?

All in all, I think we have the right to differ in opinion. However, we do not have the right to hate each other, or draw separating lines between people. I respect the President, both parties, and the judges. God loves them all, and so do I.

I hope you enjoyed this article. If so, please consider contributing to my writing efforts by purchasing an item from my Amazon.com Wishlist. Thank you so much and God bless!

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1. The reported sources referenced here are: New York Times @ http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/15/us/15fisa.html, and Slashdot @ http://politics.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/14/2033212 [↩]
2. Class action lawsuits are being filed against companies like AT&T and Verizon. Please refer to the first footnote to better understand both sides of the debate and then refer to CBS News reference @ http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/02/23/national/main3868291.shtml [↩]

March 14th CPí Closes at 68 Points

I’m pressing forward with a lot of learning, growth, and opportunity ahead. This week’s CPí closed at 68 points.

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