Bigger Fish
Posted On Feb 14 2007My five-year-old son Eli is going through an intense Star Wars phase. Somewhat reluctantly, we let him watch The Phantom Menace the other night (not reluctantly for PG content, but because it is such an awful movie). Nevertheless, there was one good line in which the Jedis’ underwater ship is grabbed by a sea creature. Another creature grabs that one, biting it in half, and saving the Jedis (what is the plural of Jedi?). Liam Neeson comments, “There’s always a bigger fish.” This is true, but it is also why I always find it interesting when a seemingly smaller fish …
Check It Out
Posted On Feb 6 2007I’ve been a little delinquent since getting back from ALA Midwinter. Apologies to faithful readers. In a way, though, I am glad I waited, because I have a segue from my last post about Checkpoint systems. I was pretty excited a while back about one of the rapidly expanding areas of library automation–library self service, PC reservation, payment systems, etc. I don’t really have a good umbrella name for these services, so please send suggestions. I was interested to read (belatedly on my part) that 3M has partnered with Comprise Technologies to offer Comprise’s Smart Access Manager (SAM) software to 3M …
Midwinter, Day Three: Elvis Has Left the Building
Posted On Jan 22 2007I don’t think I can recall ever walking the vendor floor and not running into Elvis. Many people know that he has been a regular fixture at the Checkpoint booth at ALA conferences for several years. But this year, no Elvis. Random Elvis Impersonators As it turns out, this year, no Checkpoint Systems. I’m not going to add to any wild speculation on this. Midwinter can sometimes be a lower-traffic expense for a vendor who might just decide not to attend. But you can’t just surprise people who come to Exhibits expecting Elvis and not invite a little conjecture. It is …