24 April 2008
13 April 2008
Spring did show up for about 24 hours (a week ago). We're hoping for a few more nice days like this before May, but the wind just won't quit. Of course, with a baby due any day, we won't exactly be out running, biking, or kayaking (like the two in this picture).
11 April 2008
digital words
Did you know how cool the Internet is? It's really amazing! I can send letters to people electronically without paying for a stamp! It's like magic! And did you know I can surf the 'Net and see pictures of places other people took -- people I don't even know! I even heard someone talk about chatting online with people all the way across the world! I can't believe it. It's hocus pocus, but I'm SO addicted. (I go to sleep at about 4 a.m. every night.)
Do you remember being like this? Unfortunately, I do. But as advanced as technology is these days, there are still times when I think to myself, "self, this Internet thing is pretty awesome." [CAUTION: this is the point where you want to stop reading; my geekiness is about to ooze. I WARNED YOU.] So, I've told the story to my students many times. I try to wow them with my love for research by telling about when I was writing my masters thesis. I could be found in the JFK Library, pushing a cart full of books around like a transient with a shopping cart, searching for that final source, the final point that would bring my whole thesis together. (I'm not sure I ever found it...) That was only three years ago, all that pushing a cart full of books business. How old fashioned.
Now, in 2008, I get frustrated if I even have to get up out of my chair and leave my apartment. It used to be that a person could find academic articles online, but books had to be found, touched, checked out, and carried away in a bag. Nowadays, I get those "Wow Internet!" moments when I search for a topic online and find myself looking through the pages of a book. A real, live, hard cover, full-of-pages kind of book. Here's an example.
Say I'm writing a paper on The Yellow Wallpaper, and I need to find the part that mentioned a certain word, say "arabesque" (I know, random). I'll head to everyone's favorite page, Google Books and search for the full version of the book. There, I did it. Once I'm at the about page, I just type in the word "arabesque" and it tells me which page it's on. Now I know what I wanted to know, and it took just a click, click, click. You probably noticed that you can download the whole book in .pdf format too. (Only old books can be found in full versions, but newer books often have limited previews.) It's crazy, some people work full time thinking about how digital media like this will change print sources.
Suffice it to say, I'm spoiled. I don't even go to the library anymore. But when I'm on campus, I go to the Information Commons (a library without books). It's funny how I whine when I have to go to the library and check out an actual book, but I'm now happy to trudge through the Chicago wind to sit in a building with computers -- computers that help me find things I surely could have found at home, sitting in my recliner with the laptop on my lap.
Do you remember being like this? Unfortunately, I do. But as advanced as technology is these days, there are still times when I think to myself, "self, this Internet thing is pretty awesome." [CAUTION: this is the point where you want to stop reading; my geekiness is about to ooze. I WARNED YOU.] So, I've told the story to my students many times. I try to wow them with my love for research by telling about when I was writing my masters thesis. I could be found in the JFK Library, pushing a cart full of books around like a transient with a shopping cart, searching for that final source, the final point that would bring my whole thesis together. (I'm not sure I ever found it...) That was only three years ago, all that pushing a cart full of books business. How old fashioned.
Now, in 2008, I get frustrated if I even have to get up out of my chair and leave my apartment. It used to be that a person could find academic articles online, but books had to be found, touched, checked out, and carried away in a bag. Nowadays, I get those "Wow Internet!" moments when I search for a topic online and find myself looking through the pages of a book. A real, live, hard cover, full-of-pages kind of book. Here's an example.
Say I'm writing a paper on The Yellow Wallpaper, and I need to find the part that mentioned a certain word, say "arabesque" (I know, random). I'll head to everyone's favorite page, Google Books and search for the full version of the book. There, I did it. Once I'm at the about page, I just type in the word "arabesque" and it tells me which page it's on. Now I know what I wanted to know, and it took just a click, click, click. You probably noticed that you can download the whole book in .pdf format too. (Only old books can be found in full versions, but newer books often have limited previews.) It's crazy, some people work full time thinking about how digital media like this will change print sources.
Suffice it to say, I'm spoiled. I don't even go to the library anymore. But when I'm on campus, I go to the Information Commons (a library without books). It's funny how I whine when I have to go to the library and check out an actual book, but I'm now happy to trudge through the Chicago wind to sit in a building with computers -- computers that help me find things I surely could have found at home, sitting in my recliner with the laptop on my lap.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
