The Bunless Librarian

Nerd Up Your Christmas with ThinkGeek

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah L.) — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 05:33:00 +0000

It's official. Christmas is less than 2 weeks away. If the geek in your life is still on your shopping list, ThinkGeek has you covered. They have tons of great exclusive apparel that will help your geek fly their nerd flag high and proud.

8-Bit Tie: A few of us monkeys at ThinkGeek had this great shared dream a few months ago. In it, the whole world was 8-Bit, just like the video games we grew up on. We found ourselves having to leap from platform to platform, to search for pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom, and to fight scary mutated plants and animals. The music was awesome (and still stuck in our heads) but the coolest part was what we were wearing: a tie. But not just any tie, an 8-Bit tie!

The Personal Soundtrack Shirt is an amazing new wearable audio solution that features a working speaker embedded into the front of the shirt. When you push the appropriate button on the pocketable remote you get music or sound effects appropriate for any situation... everything from drum roll, to cat call whistle, to western showdown. Check out the chart below to see the extensive list of built in sounds and suggestions on using them for dramatic punctuation in your everyday life.

Electronic Rock Guitar Shirt: Now you can purchase one of these fine Electronic Rock Guitar Shirts and get a little wearable ROCK magic for yourself. The Electronic Guitar Shirt is not a toy that plays pre-canned musical riffs, it is a real musical instrument that allows you to play your favorite songs and sound great doing it.

The 'ties suck' tie is one very stylish and dark blue 100% Silk tie with a grayish silver repeating pattern in binary. Should the binary pattern be translated into it's ASCII equivalent, you'll soon figure out why we called this tie the 'ties suck' tie. It is, truly, The Tie of Ties. The One Tie To Rule Them All And In The Hallways Mock Them.

T-Qualizer Shirt: Here at ThinkGeek we're constantly amazed at the never-ending evolution of new technology. Hey, it's our job. Take the lowly T-Shirt for example: In caveman times you had animal pelts... the Medieval era saw rise to the stylish burlap sack... next came lovely soft cotton and then synthetic polyester. Finally the modern space age delivers a fully functioning graphic equalizer in a handy t-shirt format. Party like it's 2999 with the glowing display on the T-Qualizer that dynamically changes with any ambient sound or music.

Zombie Attack Hoodie: For defending oneself during the upcoming zombie apocalypse, we highly recommend a hoodie. Layering is key. One minute you're going to be running, next minute you're going to be hiding in a cold, dark corner. It pays to have layers.

These pieces of geek wear and loads of other fantastic geek items can be purchased at ThinkGeek.

-Happy last-minute shopping

More Good Times with Grammar

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah L.) — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 05:06:00 +0000

Grammar just got hi-lar-i-ous!

TheOatmeal.com has released four new grammar* posters that will literally ~~change your life~~ cost $11.95 each.

Thanks to The Oatmeal, we can learn

And don't forget the classic, How to Use an Apostrophe.

Each poster is available for $11.95 in The Oatmeal's shop.

True grammar geeks can purchase the $32.00 poster pack, which includes the Ten Words You Need to Stop Misspelling, How to Use a Semicolon, How to Use an Apostrophe, and When to Use i.e. in a Sentence. For math geeks, that is just $8.00 per poster!

Oh how I love cheap** grammar.

-Happy Grammartizing***

*grammar-ish
**inexpensive
***I just made that up.

found via Lifehacker's Brush Up on Grammar Rules with These Light-Hearted Resources

USB Dead Drops are Awesome . . . in Theory

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah L.) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 22:49:00 +0000

The Thing: USB flash drives installed into walls and columns throughout New York City, quite literally creating an amazing, street-level, physical peer to peer file sharing network.

The Theory: Plug your laptop or other portable device into these USB Dead Drops and download all the incredible files left behind by those who proceeded you. Upload incredible files for those who will come after you.

The Reality: Plug in your laptop or other portable device and download all the incredible files left behind . . . and a bunch of junk . . . and a virus that will fry your hard drive . . . and some spyware that will aid in the theft of your identity.

Of course, as creator of the USB Dead Drops, Aram Bartholl is quick to point out, downloading via the Internet is a risky proposition as well, but most of us give little thought to the danger and download freely. He implores users to always take necessary precautions to ensure the safety of their systems when using the drops.

Translation: Caveat ~~Emptor~~ Downloader

Although Bartholl's original project has been limited to New York City, many fans of the idea have been installing USB Dead Drops in their own cities. Locations of the new drops can be found in the Database and Map.

Want to create your own USB Dead Drop? Bartholl provides this handy guide to get you started.

To find out more about Aram Bartholl and his USB Dead Drops, visit the project homepage.

-Happy Dead Dropping

found via NPR's "Dead Drops:" Plugging Your Laptop Into Strange Places

Tweenlight: The Simpsons Take on Twilight

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah L.) — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 06:08:00 +0000

In this year's Treehouse of Horrors, The Simpsons take a hilarious jab at Stephenie Meyer's Twilight.

The usually bright and sunny Springfield is transformed into the perfect gloomy, rain-soaked landscape for the unfolding love story between Lisa Simpson and Edmund, the new, handsome vampire in school.

And thus begins "Tweenlight."

From the moment Edmund saved Lisa from being run down by an out of control school bus, followed by a banana seat bicycle, followed by an old-timey car, followed by a tiny clown car, followed by a Segway, I was hooked. "Tweenlight" does a wonderful job of capturing the mood and tone of the novels and films, while infusing each scene with the precision Simpson satire. I loved all 7 minutes of it.

If you would like to watch The Simpsons take on Twilight, Tree House of Horrors XXI can be seen on Hulu or on The Simpsons' website.

Bonus: If you are a fan of Twilight parodies, Saturday Night Live's, "Firelight" is a must see.

Become a Library Book Sale Superstar

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah L.) — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 04:49:00 +0000

Yes! You too can become a library book sale superstar. Not an all-star, not a shining star, not even a rising star, but a full-fledged superstar.

Wise Bread's 5 Tips to Get the Most out of a Library Sale by Jennifer Scott, outlines 5 simple steps to attaining your superstardum.

Get there early.
Bring your own bags.
Don't bring a ton of cash.
Commit yourself to just a few laps.
Ask yourself "Will I read this?" and answer honestly.

As a veteran of library books sales, I feel I should add what I feel is the most important tip for all book sale goers.

Always remember where you are.

You are at a used book sale. This means, please

don't gripe about the selection. We are limited to selling what has been donated or discarded.
don't gripe about the condition of the books. See above.
don't gripe about the prices. Where else are you gonna find a hardback for fifty cents?
just . . . don't gripe. It's a library books sale for Pete's sake. Just enjoy an afternoon of exploring mountains of affordable books.

Bonus Tip:

Be nice to the staff. We have been there all week getting the sale ready for you . . . and . . . we might just know where to find a stash of books by your favorite author.

With these handy tips in mind, enjoy your next local book sale and don't be afraid to become a superstar.

-Happy Hunting

Celebrate Huluween!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah L.) — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 04:05:00 +0000

Huluween is back just in time to bring chills and thrills to your Halloween night.

Hulu is now offering all its most terrifying television and movies to one, convenient channel, Huluween.

The channel offers free television and movies in 10 horrifying categories: Scary Slashers, Spooky Sci-Fi, Cult Classics and B-Movies, Zombie Stories, Real-Life Horror, Haunting Thrillers, Vampire Tales, Mad Monsters, Frights for All Ages, and Ghost Stories.

As usual, my personal favorite is Cult Classics and B-Movies, which this year, features House on Haunted Hill, a true horror classic.

-Happy Huluween

Quite Possibly the Most Unsettling EVP You've Ever Heard*

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah L.) — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 07:07:00 +0000

On a ghost hunting expedition in the historic Union Stock Yard Building** in Ogden, Utah, members of the Ghost Investigators Society (GIS) recorded an EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena), which can be called nothing short of unsettling.

The EVP was recorded by GIS members Bredan Cook and Barbara McBeath in a room of the building that was reportedly empty.

The EVP recording is described on the GIS website.

'I can't breathe!'
This is, without a doubt, the oddest EVP recording we have ever heard. Everything you will hear, from the kid, to the water like most EVP was not heard at the time of the recording and there was no water or kids in the building. The building hasn't had running water for almost 20 years.

(Rough Translation)
(EVP Kid) Help me, can't breathe, I couldn't breathe?
(EVP Deep mans voice) Murder
(EVP kid) I can't breathe
(EVP very low mans voice) I couldn't breathe
(EVP Kids voice continues, not sure what is being said)
(EVP woman's voice) I couldn't breathe
(just after this you will hear water thrashing around for about 15-20 seconds followed by a big thud And then silence again.

This was recorded in an empty room, so nothing should have recorded. The voices have been broken down and looped at the end of the track.

WARNING: To call this EVP unsettling may be a gross understatement to some readers. Listen at your own risk. Don't email me that I didn't warn you.

EVP provided via MorrisseysMonkey.

To listen to other EVP's recorded by the Ghost Investigator's Society, visit their media gallery.

*Apparently there is an EVP out there that has been dubbed, The Most Horrific EVP Ever Recorded. The brave and strong-stomached can read about and listen to the EVP here.

**The Union Stock Exchange Building is currently the site for the haunted attraction, the Lazarus Maze. To enhance the attraction's spooky appeal, the owners created a fictional history of the building as the former site of the Bellshire Mental Health Hospital, complete with its own deranged mad researcher, Doctor Vikor Natick. This concocted history has made its way into the haunted lore of Ogden, Utah and as a result, the Union Stock Exchange (or Live Stock Exchange or Exchange) Building is often erroneously cited as the former "Institute of Horrors," The Bellshire Mental Health Hospital.

Big Thrills and Chills on the Small [Computer] Screen

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah L.) — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 02:22:00 +0000

Celebrate this haunting season with some good scares from the comfort of your own computer. With free web services like Hulu and Fancast, a treasure trove of spooky television is at your fingertips this Halloween season and The Bunless Librarian is here to guide you to the good stuff.*

Destination Truth:

Josh Gates travels the world in search of the truth behind the world's urban legends.

Paranormal State:

Delve deep into the strange and the mysterious with Paranormal Research Society founder Ryan Buell and his team of investigators as they attempt to unravel inexplicable paranormal phenomena.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer:

Buffy Summers is a teenage girl who is gifted with the strength and skill to hunt vampires.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents:

Alfred Hitchcock presents short stories filled with elements of horror, comedy, and suspense.

The Addams Family: **

Tarantulas, torture racks, and tombstones have never been so much fun! Join Gomez, Morticia, Pugsley, Wednesday, Uncle Fester, Lurch, Thing, Cousin Itt, and the rest of the gang for a fiendishly funny and altogether kooky experience.

Monsterquest:

The series explores strange and unknown creatures that have been allegedly spotted by witnesses in various parts of the country and the world.

The Twilight Zone:

Examine strange worlds, endless possibilities and mind-numbing truths as you explore. . .The Twilight Zone

American Gothic:

Life in Trinity, South Carolina isn't what it seems.

The Outer Limits 1963, 1995:

There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission....

Night Gallery:

Set in a shadowy museum of the outre, the weekly series unspools disturbing portraiture as preface to a highly diverse anthology of tales in the fantasy-horror vein.

Fringe:

An FBI agent, brilliant scientist, and his estranged son investigate the paranormal.

Supernatural:

Two brothers battle evil forces.

The Vampire Diaries:

The vampire brothers Damon and Stefano Salvatore, eternal adolescents, having been leading 'normal' lives, hiding their bloodthirsty condition, for centuries, moving on before their non-aging is noticed.

Netflix bonus:

The X-Files:

The truth is out there ... and the search begins as FBI special agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully team up to solve mysterious cases involving the paranormal.

If you have a Nexflix account, they currently have the entire run of the series available to watch instantly.

-Happy Hauntings***

*The "good stuff" is of course limited to the television series that are FREELY and LEGALLY available online. I have many personal favorites that didn't make the list for this reason.

**I know. I know. The Addams Family isn't even a little bit scary, but it is macabre and soooooo good.

***I know. I know. I left off Ghost Hunters and its spin-offs, but there is just way, way, way, way, way too much dirty pool going on with that show.

Creepiest Dip Bowl Ever!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah L.) — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 04:24:00 +0000

What better way to celebrate the reopening of The Bunless Librarian than with the Third Annual Halloween Extravaganza? (Rhetorical question)

Let the Extravaganza begin!

Ryan McFarland, at zieak.com has come up with a dip bowl that is sure to [impress or disgust or shock or repulse or wow] start conversations at this year's Halloween festivities.

The Doll Serving Dish is a must for anyone with a dark sense of humor. After all, what better way to serve up delicious treats than by making your guests feel like they are nibbling on baby guts in and autopsy bay?

The process of creating your own version of this macabre serving dish is surprisingly simple. McFarland's instructions for the project can be found over at Instructables.

Combine this gruesome bowl with some thorax cake, and your dish is guaranteed to be the talk of the party.

-Happy Dissections

How Do You Laptop?

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah L.) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 04:41:00 +0000

Bad news. It turns out that pretty much any way you sit/stand/lounge while using your laptop, you are risking some pretty serious repetitive stress injury (RSI).

Lifehacker has a great article, Common Laptop/Netbook Positions to Avoid discussing the work of a Dave Malouf, Professor of Interaction Design at Savannah College of Art & Design. Malouf's case study, Freescale Netbook Design at SCAD produced the handy chart pictured.

How do you laptop?

I'm guilty of six of the ten laptop positions, none of which is the one position without the bright red dots of RSI goodness, which means I have some serious joint pain to look forward to. Position 2 is starting to look more and more comfortable.

--Happy sitting/standing/lounging

Thank's Thanks Apostrophe.Me!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah L.) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:47:00 +0000

Adams . . . Adam's . . . Adams' . . . Adams's

Who the heck knows?!

Apostrophe.me does!

Even though Apostrophe.me threatens to put a dent in the giant apostrophe business, which is clearly booming, it's a fantastic resource to cut down on apostrophe confusion.

While the website offers an easy-to-use flowchart on apostrophe use, for $9.95, you can also pick up the perfect gift for the grammar geek in your life.

Because I know you're dying to know.

Adams Apple: A little boy with the unfortunate name, Adams Apple.

Adam's apple: Adam showing you the apple from his lunch box. Alternately, the distracting lump in Adam's throat.

The Adams' apple: Mr. and Mrs. Adams showing you their joint-custody apple.

The Adams's apple: Mr. and Mrs. Adams showing you their joint-custody apple, while also flaunting their overabundance of the letter S.

I hope that helps.

--Happy possessing

Librarians are Like Biker Gangs

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah L.) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:30:00 +0000

"The library is the worst group of people ever assembled in history. They're mean, conniving, rude, and extremely well-read, which makes them very dangerous."

Leslie Knope
Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation
Pawnee, Indiana

In this week's episode of Parks and Recreation, Leslie and company take on the most hated and feared department in Pawnee, Indiana,

::cue sinister music::

The Department of Library Services,

or as Leslie prefers, The Department of LIEbary ServicRs.

Watch all the hilarity here on Hulu.

Halloween 2010: Impress with Your Very Own Big Head

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah L.) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:40:00 +0000

3D artist, Eric Testroete has come up with what can only be described as the coolest homemade Halloween costume ever.

Yes.

Ever.

As a tribute to the "big head" mode found in some video games, Testroete created a giant papercraft sculpture of his own head. As his website documents, he donned the surreal creation around town.

As a kind-of gamer, I just think this piece of papercraft is awesome.

If you would like to try making your own "big head," Testroete outlines his process and the computer programs he used to craft the head on his website.

--Happy Papercrafting

Found via Make: Online

11 Things to Do with Your Leftover Halloween Candy

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah L.) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 05:19:00 +0000

Whether your kids took in an especially large haul this year, or you subscribe to the idea that "it's better to have too much than not enough," you probably have a pile of Halloween candy sitting around right about now.

If you happen to be one of those infuriating people who actually has the willpower to only eat one piece of candy a day, feel free to just "mark as read." If you're like the rest of us, below are some helpful ideas to rid yourself of your extra Halloween candy before the late night sugar binges begin.

Wisebread has come up with 10 great ideas to creatively use your extra Halloween candy.

10 Things to Do with Leftover Halloween Candy

Infused liqour
Baking and sweets
Cooking
Crafts
Bribery
Donations
Send it to our troops
Take it to the office
Emergency stashes
Advent calendar

What is the 11th thing, you ask?

If you just happen to live near Athens, Tennessee then give Dr. Dale Kennedy a visit. He will buy kids' Halloween candy for $1.00 a pound. He then matches those dollars and makes a donation to the United Way, but wait . . . it gets better. All the candy he buys get mailed off to troops overseas to thank them for their service.

You can read the whole story here at The Daily Post-Athenian.

It's like I always say, some dentists are geeks, but some dentists are awesome.

--Happy Offloading

Celebrate Huluween!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah L.) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:27:00 +0000

Hulu has just made finding spine-tingling television episodes and movies a whole lot easier. This year, they have compiled all their scariest videos and created Huluween.

Things are getting spooky around here. Huluween, our ghoulish guide to the scariest videos on Hulu -- with more titles coming everyday -- adds a little fright to your life. So queue up a slasher flick, a zombie movie or a cult classic, dim the lights, and brace yourself: it's gonna be scary.

Though there is plenty to choose from, I recommend stopping by the Cult Classics and B-Movies section. I mean where else will you find Giant Spider Invasion?

--Happy Huluween

Take a Drive Down One of America's Creepiest Roads

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah L.) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 02:05:00 +0000

Take a road trip to one of the creepiest roads in America. Digital City has compiled a great list of roads from across the country that promises to take brave motorists on some bone-chilling rides.

Unexplained Happenings on America's Creepiest Roads

Maybe you've heard an urban legend about a creepy road in your hometown where if you drive with your lights on, you'll see a ghost. Or maybe you'll see phantom lights if you flash your brights. Whatever the case, there are some odd happenings taking place on dark roads around the country.

Digital City has put together a great list, but also be sure to scour the comments to find information about more spooky roads. My favorite find was a comment that led me to Pennsylvania's legendary Seven Gates of Hell. Yes, the legend is as sinister as its name suggests. Actually, it's much, much more sinister than the name suggests.

At this point, I would love to lament the fact that I don't live anywhere near Pennsylvania, but I can't kid myself. I would never have the guts to test the Seven Gates legend. There's just something about willingly walking a path that is rumored to lead straight into the mouth hell that reeks of insanity . . . and not garden variety insanity either, but insanity, insanity . . . building-a-gigantic-hibernation-nest-out-old newspapers-and-your-own-saliva insanity.

--Happy Legend Tripping (yes, it has a name)

The Cure for the Common Jack-O'-Lantern 2.0

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah L.) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:29:00 +0000

Let the Second Annual TBL Halloween Extravaganza begin!

First up on our month-long journey toward Halloween greatness is what can only be described as the creepiest pumpkin ever.

Yes, that's right. You too can master the art of growing pumpkins with human faces.

No, I'm not making this up. Just check out Popular Science, Jan. 1938 or this link.

Yes, it's too late to grow these pumpkinheads for this Halloween and yes it would be super time-intensive, but it would be awesome to have one of those things on your doorstep.

For more crazy Jack-O'-Lantern ideas, don't forget to check out The Cure for the Common Jack-O-Lantern 1.0

--Happy Moulding

In order to comply with the FTC's new freebie guidelines, I must explicitly state that no, Popular Science did not provide me with a free copy of their January 1938 issue, nor did the family of Mr. Czeski send me a pumpkin in my likeness in exchange for writing of this post.

I Can Hear the Fangirl Hysteria from Here

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah L.) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 06:55:00 +0000

Fans of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight have one more reason to break into frenzied shrieks of excitement. EW.com has announced that Yen Press will be publishing a manga [more accurately, a manhwa] version of Twilight.

No release date has been set for the adaptation, but Korean artist, Young Kim has been chosen to create the art. Though only the Twilight adaptation has been officially announced, Yen Press has reportedly acquired the rights to the entire Twilight Saga.

As EW.com reports, ". . . Meyer herself is deeply immersed in the project, reviewing every panel."

To read even more about the new adaptation, pick up the July 17th Entertainment Weekly, which promises to provide a sneak peak of the new manga, including a preview of more art panels.

--Happy Swooning

Library Awesomeness

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah L.) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:19:00 +0000

Sometimes librarians are geeks, but sometimes

LIBRARIANS ARE AWESOME!

Found via The Effing Librarian

The video comes courtesy of the National Library of Australia's 2008 Christmas Party.

To see the real thing in all its original awesomeness, check out the King of Pop's channel on YouTube.

This is one of my personal favorites, but I still remember saving up to buy this cassette single.

Yeah . . . yeah, I know. They're strange choices, but remember, I was born in the 80's. I'm a child of Michael Jackson, circa 1995.

--Enjoy

You are Choice

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah L.) — Tue, 05 May 2009 04:18:00 +0000

Seriously?

It's reassuring to know that not all industry is shrinking in this economy. The giant apostrophe business is clearly booming.

This boom is indeed good news because as one of my favorite economists once said, "As goes the giant apostrophe business, so goes the world."

On a (not so) recent trip, I was treated to this sign outside a casino. I've found errors in three of the five lines on this sign. Can you find more?

I know. I know. People in glass houses and all that, but this was just too good not to share.

Rest assured. Any grammar errors, typos, or misspellings you may find in this post were most definitely intentional for the sake of irony. I swear.

Are you choice? Just remember, the ------ Casino thinks you are.

It Isn't Irish. It's Italian: Author Name Pronunciation Guide

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah L.) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 01:40:00 +0000

My first professional experience with the mispronunciation of an author's name was Lisa Scottoline. The Lisa was obvious, but the last name, that was a tougher one. I was not the first; however, to assume the last name was some interesting combination of Scottish and Irish; I had heard coworkers pronounce her name Lisa Scott-O'Line as well. Eventually though, a casual conversation about the author and her last name led me to Scottoline's FAQs. It was there I learned that "Scottoline rhymes with fettuccine, or scallopine. . . ." Imagine my surprise.

Unfortunately, Lisa Scottoline isn't the only author with a name that leaves us guessing and hoping for the best. Fortunately, TeachingBooks has a solution. The Author Name Pronunciation Guide provides a huge list of authors accompanied by short audio files of the author pronouncing his or her name. As a bonus, many authors offer tidbits about mispronunciations, name origins, and even handy rhymes to help you remember the correct pronunciation. Did you know Scieszka rhymes with Fresca?

The guide isn't comprehensive; it focuses on young adult and children's authors (this is why Lisa Scottoline didn't make the list), but it is a good and helpful start.

The next time you stumble across one of those books by Lara M. Zieses, give the Author Pronunciation Guide a try.

--Happy Pronunciations

Sarah has Dysentery

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah L.) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 21:16:00 +0000

When I read 2009 is going to be a dull year in gaming, my little inner gamer stomped her feet childishly and started heading into what can only be described as an old-timey conniption fit. Controllers were thrown, CDs scattered, memory cards crushed. Needless to say, it was ugly.

I was able to tame her 128-bit bloodlust though when I came across a thread in LibGaming discussing a Java Oregon Trail you can play in your browser. Yes, that Oregon Trail!

You can play the game here at Virtual Apple.

Those of you unfamiliar with the game, Oregon Trail is only the most awesome computer game elementary students were allowed to play after they finished their typing assignments, circa 1990.

Players assume the role of a pioneer wagon leader trying to get his party safely from Independence, Missouri to Williamette Valley, Oregon. Along the way, you contended with thieves, wagon fires, and broken bones, to say nothing of measles and cholera.

Oregon Trail may not be a the newest, slickest FPS, but man, oh man life in a Conestoga wagon is still one fantastic ride. Assuming of course, you can avoid . . . the dysentery.

--Happy Trails

All of 2008's Musical Goodness Crammed into One Awesome Music Video

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah L.) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 22:31:00 +0000

DJ Earmworm has taken Billboard's top 25 pop hits of 2008 and created a fantastic video mashup. His video, entitled The United States of Pop, features songs from Coldplay, Pink, Finger Eleven, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Alicia Keyes, Flo Rida, Usher, Chris Brown and tons of other great pop artists.

I know what you're thinking, "A 25 song mashup? That must be a mess!" Give it a try though. DJ Earthworm has done a great job blending the music and video.

If you like this mashup, and would like more information on the art of mashing, or links to more great mashups, visit The Resonator's post Internet Music -- A Myriad of Links and Information & Mashups! (for those counting . . . that is 3 "mashup(s)" in that sentence. 4 if you count "mashing").

A personal rec if I may, my favorite mashup is Wonderwall of Broken Dreams. Unfortunately, I can't guarantee that when you click this link, the audio will still be a part of the video.* If it isn't, do some digging on MetaCafe . . . it's worth the work.

*Is it just me, or is the music industry ruining everything that is fun in this world?!

-Happy Mashing

A Response to "How You Blog and Confidence Levels"

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah L.) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 19:44:00 +0000

*Please be sure to read the update below.

For those of my readers who may not have come across it yet, Walt Crawford wrote a post entitled "How You Blog and Confidence Levels" addressing the results found in my post, How Do You Blog? on his blog Walt at Random. Wishing to ensure that my perspective was heard on his analysis and comparison of my survey and his research, found in The Liblog Landscape 2007-2008, I posted a reply, which I have included here in its entirety.

UPDATE: Walt has since replied to my response. You can read his response here. It is important for me to point out that, despite how it may have felt on this end, he was not, in fact, “taking far too much pleasure in pulverizing my oranges and credibility with his apples." He was instead just writing a comparison of the two surveys, with a beginning half that I mistakenly allowed to color the way I interpreted the tone of the rest of his post. After reading his response, it is clear that I misinterpreted the spirit of his post.

I have still included my response in full, and do believe it was important for me to state the facts of my method and results in my own words, though in light of Walt's response, my tone was clearly a mistake.

Mr. Crawford:

The Bunless Librarian here. I’m flattered that someone of your caliber has spent his time dismantling a survey of mine, even if you were less than gentle about it.

I could have saved you the effort of writing this post had you simply waited for me to reply to the comment you left on my blog.

Excerpts from my reply,

“The discrepancy between the popularity of Blogger and Wordpress is interesting. Blogger coming out ahead in my survey is most likely the result of LISZEN as my population . . . . As many of the blogs listed in LISZEN are now defunct, it may be better categorized as an archive. . . .

Curious about Blogger’s dominance on LISZEN, I compared my sample to “Blogs in The Liblog Landscape.” 131 (nearly half of my sample) do not appear on your list (probably because they are defunct or inactive) . . . . the blogs that do not appear in your list lean heavily toward Blogger. . .

I knew that many blogs were defunct or inactive, but chose to include them because my information does not reflect “current” blogs, but blogs that are or have been authored by librarians. . . .”

http://thebunlesslibrarian.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-do-you-blog.html

“95% confident, 100% wrong…” This, of course, is assuming that only your work on blogging statistics is valid. While I respect the time and effort you put into your work, as I demonstrated in my reply, you were measuring apples and I was measuring oranges, which accounts for the discrepancies in the results. I must stand by my 95% confidence level and my results overall. Though I do recognize that more clarity about what exactly I was measuring may have avoided this conversation. In retrospect, I would have titled my post “How Do You Blog (Or Perhaps More Aptly, Did You Blog?).”

Mr. Crawford, to date, I have 68 readers of my blog, 35 (a generous estimation) of which read my survey results. That is 35 people who would have read my blog and perhaps thought, through no intention of my own, “hmmmm . . . these number’s are different from those found in Walt’s book-length study.” I would have happily written a second post clarifying the difference between your work and my survey had I known the passion behind your short comment would bring us here. I did try to accomplish that clarity in my very long reply to your comment, which was unfortunately posted after “how you blog and confidence levels” appeared here.

You have hundreds of subscribers through Google Reader, to say nothing of other feed readers. My post, which never claimed to contradict or compare to your work, was read by 35 people. This post, in which you seem to take far too much pleasure in pulverizing my oranges and credibility with your apples, was read by hundreds, maybe thousands.

I would like to challenge you to help repair any damage that may have been done to my reputation by this post. I ask that you post this reply to your blog, in its entirety, so that I may defend my results to those who have read this post. I will gladly post it on my own blog, but as I have stated, my audience is a humble few compared to yours.

–Sarah Lovato

Again, I invite you to read the update above.

The Bunless Librarian

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