This brings back memories. We used to play with these a bit in high school.
I have deduced that sweet potatoes make the best ammunition if you are interested in sheer destruction. The sweet potato is much harder than your garden variety russet potato, thus breaks much more stuff.
At one point, I even built a metal gun out of boredom and plumbing pipe at a summer job (working for the govt., your tax dollars at work). Never did get to test that one, but the theory was that we could a more fierce propellant (butane, Hydrogen, Plutonium, whatever...) for firing the potato. We never could decide who would have to be the first one to fire it though...
I work for an academic library (state university). I'm not a librarian, I exclusively do computer "stuff" for them. So I am familiar with these issues.
We do not save historical checkout information. Our feeling is that there is no reason for us to save that information. The only way that we could know what books a person had checked out and returned would be if they returned them late and have unpaid fines. Once the fines are paid, they go away. So be sure to pay your library fines;).
For anonymous browsing we are currently using a product called Centurion Guard. It keeps files from being written to the hard disk permanently. Once the computer is rebooted, the browser cache, history, EVERYTHING is reset to the state it was in when I installed it.
The reason for doing these things was not anonymity initially. We didn't want to waste a hard disk on the automation system logging user's browsing habits. The Centurion Guard is really to keep users from breaking systems, but has the nice side-benefit of hiding user's identities.
I have talked about this a little with our Dean and he staunchly supports the patron's right to privacy, so I don't see us changing any of this any time soon. Which makes me happy.
Don't think that libraries are ignoring privacy and freedom issues. Some of the most fierce freedom of information advocates I have ever met, I have met in the library setting. ALA is one of the best freinds that we have right now.
I usually am not an advocate for reptiles as pets(snake-o-phobia). However, I have a leopard gecko and really like it.
They have long lives with proper care (15-20 years), so you have time to grow on each other. It is easy to take care of, since it lives in a converted fish-tank that I picked up at a garage sale. It is nocturnal, so it is most active during those late-night programming sessions.
I just have to make a trip to the pet store fairly regularly to keep him stocked with crickets. I picked up a thermometer and an under the cage heating pad for him. Probably cost $50 at a maximum initally, then $2-5.00/week for crickets.
He is very relaxing to watch as he stalks his cricket prey around his cage. Once in a while when I'm sitting there talking to myself, he looks at me like I'm nuts. Not real cuddly, but I like him that way.
For a nice low-maintenance pet, you can't beat them.
The cool thing about this is that it SHOULD be able to be used to boot as a thin client to an X server. Even if the HD crashes, it wouldn't stop a user from being able to do some work.
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This brings back memories. We used to play with these a bit in high school.
I have deduced that sweet potatoes make the best ammunition if you are interested in sheer destruction. The sweet potato is much harder than your garden variety russet potato, thus breaks much more stuff.
At one point, I even built a metal gun out of boredom and plumbing pipe at a summer job (working for the govt., your tax dollars at work). Never did get to test that one, but the theory was that we could a more fierce propellant (butane, Hydrogen, Plutonium, whatever...) for firing the potato. We never could decide who would have to be the first one to fire it though...
I work for an academic library (state university). I'm not a librarian, I exclusively do computer "stuff" for them. So I am familiar with these issues.
We do not save historical checkout information. Our feeling is that there is no reason for us to save that information. The only way that we could know what books a person had checked out and returned would be if they returned them late and have unpaid fines. Once the fines are paid, they go away. So be sure to pay your library fines ;).
For anonymous browsing we are currently using a product called Centurion Guard. It keeps files from being written to the hard disk permanently. Once the computer is rebooted, the browser cache, history, EVERYTHING is reset to the state it was in when I installed it.
The reason for doing these things was not anonymity initially. We didn't want to waste a hard disk on the automation system logging user's browsing habits. The Centurion Guard is really to keep users from breaking systems, but has the nice side-benefit of hiding user's identities.
I have talked about this a little with our Dean and he staunchly supports the patron's right to privacy, so I don't see us changing any of this any time soon. Which makes me happy.
Don't think that libraries are ignoring privacy and freedom issues. Some of the most fierce freedom of information advocates I have ever met, I have met in the library setting. ALA is one of the best freinds that we have right now.
I usually am not an advocate for reptiles as pets(snake-o-phobia). However, I have a leopard gecko and really like it.
They have long lives with proper care (15-20 years), so you have time to grow on each other. It is easy to take care of, since it lives in a converted fish-tank that I picked up at a garage sale. It is nocturnal, so it is most active during those late-night programming sessions.
I just have to make a trip to the pet store fairly regularly to keep him stocked with crickets. I picked up a thermometer and an under the cage heating pad for him. Probably cost $50 at a maximum initally, then $2-5.00/week for crickets.
He is very relaxing to watch as he stalks his cricket prey around his cage. Once in a while when I'm sitting there talking to myself, he looks at me like I'm nuts. Not real cuddly, but I like him that way.
For a nice low-maintenance pet, you can't beat them.
The cool thing about this is that it SHOULD be able to be used to boot as a thin client to an X server. Even if the HD crashes, it wouldn't stop a user from being able to do some work.
"Release early and release often"
a ar/cathedral-bazaar/x147.html
See "The Cathedral and the Bazaar", esr
http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-baz