I come back from Minneapolis in splendor, with my head stuffed with knowledge and my shoulders weighed down with swag.
I met some new people, attended some interesting programs, followed some Twitter feeds, experienced some wonders (Bearded Pigs! Lady Gaga song!), caught up with some awesome folks, and got lots of exercise hurrying back and forth on the skywalk between the Hilton and the Minneapolis Convention Center.
I can see my breath outside here. The weather was much nicer in Minneapolis.
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Showing posts with label MLA 2011. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MLA 2011. Show all posts
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Dancing With Security
Having been burned once, when I obediently went through the backscatter body scanner and then got patted down anyway for some unspecified reason, I've taken to just refusing the scan.
I mean, if I'm going to get the pat-down, I may as well not also get the extra radiation, right? (I once read this described as "no more radiation than a chest x-ray," which I think is not a very reassuring comparison since as far as I know it's not normally recommended that you get chest x-rays multiple times per year. The "as much radiation as two minutes in an airplane" comparison is much more soothing.)
Anyway, who doesn't like being touched by strangers in a stylized, formal context in public, to serve some larger theatrical purpose? I was thinking of taking up ballroom dancing, but air travel fills the bill without the need to be careful about stepping on people's feet.
In closing, thanks for the free WiFi, Logan. The MLA 2011 Adventure is about to begin!
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I mean, if I'm going to get the pat-down, I may as well not also get the extra radiation, right? (I once read this described as "no more radiation than a chest x-ray," which I think is not a very reassuring comparison since as far as I know it's not normally recommended that you get chest x-rays multiple times per year. The "as much radiation as two minutes in an airplane" comparison is much more soothing.)
Anyway, who doesn't like being touched by strangers in a stylized, formal context in public, to serve some larger theatrical purpose? I was thinking of taking up ballroom dancing, but air travel fills the bill without the need to be careful about stepping on people's feet.
In closing, thanks for the free WiFi, Logan. The MLA 2011 Adventure is about to begin!
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Off I Go
Good people, I must leave you for another blog. The MLA '11 Official Blog calls me! It will most likely demand the majority of my blogular attention for the next several days.
Check it out for medical librarian meeting goodness--there are already some excellent posts.
In the meantime, if you are interested in e-textbooks, I direct you to Rough Type, which reports on a study showing that "Students find the devices cumbersome to use, ill-suited to their study routines, and generally underwhelming."
There's some interesting discussion of the ways we use books, some of which can be approximated electronically (margin notes, bookmarks), and some of which cannot (that sense you get of just where in a book the passage you're looking for is to be found...about halfway through, in the middle of the page on the right hand side).
Paper books. A technology whose time has not yet passed?
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Check it out for medical librarian meeting goodness--there are already some excellent posts.
In the meantime, if you are interested in e-textbooks, I direct you to Rough Type, which reports on a study showing that "Students find the devices cumbersome to use, ill-suited to their study routines, and generally underwhelming."
There's some interesting discussion of the ways we use books, some of which can be approximated electronically (margin notes, bookmarks), and some of which cannot (that sense you get of just where in a book the passage you're looking for is to be found...about halfway through, in the middle of the page on the right hand side).
Paper books. A technology whose time has not yet passed?
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Tuesday, March 15, 2011
This is...Like It!
Now this is just the sort of thing I need, as an official MLA Section Blogger! It's the Dental Section's lovely wiki, which currently features a list of their MLA programming right on the front page.
It's like a personal invitation just for me, to go and report on their events.
Or, more truthfully, it's like a personal invitation for anyone at MLA, but I'd rather feel special.
Anyway, you can be assured that I will be taking my responsibilities seriously and making every effort to attend at least one or two of their events.
Whether I will actually make it remains to be seen. I retain a vivid memory of last year's failed attempt to locate the restaurant where their dinner was held. I walked around DC for an hour and half or something, and never did find it.
Never underestimate my ability to get horribly lost within six blocks of somewhere. I need GPS implanted in my skull*.
But I am undaunted, and I will try again!
*Some would suggest that a less extreme option would be to simply purchase a GPS device that I could carry around. However, I decline to pay for one unless it can go in my skull. I have my standards, and unless it brings me closer to my cherished dream of becoming a cyborg, it's not worth my hard-earned cash. Getting lost is cheap. Good exercise, too.
It's like a personal invitation just for me, to go and report on their events.
Or, more truthfully, it's like a personal invitation for anyone at MLA, but I'd rather feel special.
Anyway, you can be assured that I will be taking my responsibilities seriously and making every effort to attend at least one or two of their events.
Whether I will actually make it remains to be seen. I retain a vivid memory of last year's failed attempt to locate the restaurant where their dinner was held. I walked around DC for an hour and half or something, and never did find it.
Never underestimate my ability to get horribly lost within six blocks of somewhere. I need GPS implanted in my skull*.
But I am undaunted, and I will try again!
*Some would suggest that a less extreme option would be to simply purchase a GPS device that I could carry around. However, I decline to pay for one unless it can go in my skull. I have my standards, and unless it brings me closer to my cherished dream of becoming a cyborg, it's not worth my hard-earned cash. Getting lost is cheap. Good exercise, too.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Prepare For Another Word Onslaught, MLA!
Exciting news for possibly someone! Once again, I will be an official blogger at the Medical Library Association annual meeting in May.
This year, rather than just have everyone write about whatever events they happen to be attending (resulting in some events not being covered, and some being covered by multiple bloggers), they're going to have us assigned to cover specific things. This should ensure a good variety of event coverage, and limit the number of people, several of them me, describing the plenary sessions in mind-numbing detail.
I will be writing in the role of Section Correspondent this year, and let me tell you, it's gonna be swell.
I will be focusing especially on the Dental and Technical Services Sections, since I am the liaison to the dental school and the head of technical services where I work, giving these sections a special place in my heart.
Still, I have love to spare for all the sections, and if I see one of the others doing something cool, I'll be sure to make a note of it*. Particularly if none of the other Section Bloggers are in evidence.
I foresee lots of underhanded attempts to scoop one another. Who will break the big story of the Chiropractic Libraries Section's latest spinal shenanigans?
OK, actually I just foresee underhanded attempts by me to scoop everyone else. I don't know any of the others, so I can't in fairness paint them all with the same sordid brush I use for myself.
But there are 23 sections, and only six of us, so there will probably be plenty of news to go around.
*Invite me to your Section Event now! I will provide glowing testimonials in exchange for chocolate! While underhandedly scooping the other bloggers! (Some might consider this to be an abuse of the awesome power inherent in the Official Blogger role, but I prefer to think that it isn't.)
.
This year, rather than just have everyone write about whatever events they happen to be attending (resulting in some events not being covered, and some being covered by multiple bloggers), they're going to have us assigned to cover specific things. This should ensure a good variety of event coverage, and limit the number of people, several of them me, describing the plenary sessions in mind-numbing detail.
I will be writing in the role of Section Correspondent this year, and let me tell you, it's gonna be swell.
I will be focusing especially on the Dental and Technical Services Sections, since I am the liaison to the dental school and the head of technical services where I work, giving these sections a special place in my heart.
Still, I have love to spare for all the sections, and if I see one of the others doing something cool, I'll be sure to make a note of it*. Particularly if none of the other Section Bloggers are in evidence.
I foresee lots of underhanded attempts to scoop one another. Who will break the big story of the Chiropractic Libraries Section's latest spinal shenanigans?
OK, actually I just foresee underhanded attempts by me to scoop everyone else. I don't know any of the others, so I can't in fairness paint them all with the same sordid brush I use for myself.
But there are 23 sections, and only six of us, so there will probably be plenty of news to go around.
*Invite me to your Section Event now! I will provide glowing testimonials in exchange for chocolate! While underhandedly scooping the other bloggers! (Some might consider this to be an abuse of the awesome power inherent in the Official Blogger role, but I prefer to think that it isn't.)
.
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