Internet Radio, or Pandora how you make my job much more manageable.

If you haven't heard of internet radio, and specifically Pandora then you must be living under a rock or some other area where coolness of the web doesn't reach you. And if you have heard of it then hopefully like me you can understand how freaking awesome Pandora is to help time pass by at work, home, or on the road. Yup that's right, most cell phones now can run Pandora as an app so that we can continue to use the goodness that Pandora is. It's free, with some usage limitation, you select a "station" which is basically an artist, song, or genre that you like and what does Pandora do with that you might ask? Well, Pandora selects for you songs and artists that are similar for your listening pleasure. Yes, that's right, it selects it for you so that you can listen to other artists as well as the one you choose all for your entertainment. Don't like a song you say? Well, click on the thumbs down icon and it won't play that son anymore. Like the song? Then click on the thumbs up and it will play more of those types of songs/artists. Yes, it does work to eventually tailor itself to your listening preferences so that you don't have to listen to crappy songs, bad artists or genres that you don't like. The only downsides are 40 hours of free listening, ads intermittently and the occasional bad song- which can be rectified by clicking on the thumbs down icon. But hey, its free and you can tailor it to your own needs and wants and skip songs which don't do anything for you.

Free music listening that eventually only plays the songs you like? I'll take that and the ads that come with it as listening to Pandora really makes working easier and time go by faster. If you have it, you know what I'm talking about. If you don't then climb out from under the rocks and sign up for it.

The decline of watches, or, how I stopped wearing my watch and embraced my cellphone's clock and other gadgets.

I used to wear a watch. It was a really nice one that my wife bought me and looked really good, and was easy to tell time off of. But, sadly, over time the watch wore out and slowly fell apart to the point that it ceased being useful for telling time and was relegated to being a showpiece. Around this time, I discovered, as I'm sure others have as well, that the cellphone- a truly wonderful and annoying invention- served as a nice time teller in place of a watch. And so, ever since I have dutify relied on my cellphone to serve as my watch and clock to make sure I get to appointments on time, get to work, and everything else I need. To be fair, my wife helps a lot with this as well, so my phone is probably getting more credit than it deserves- but nonetheless it is my watch's replacement.

Today it amazes me that people still wear watches at all due to what cellphones and other mobile devices can offer. Calendars, alarms, reminders, memos, and more can all be accessed from these devices. Granted it can get overwhelming and if your batter dies you're screwed, but what can watches do to compete with this? Look flashy? Blackberries, and newer smartphones have you beat. Glow in the dark? New phones have amazing flashlight capabilities, not to mention the brightness of display screens. Sit on your wrist, or on a chain for pocketwatches? Well, you have them beat there, until cellphone makers make phones so small they won't be a bother on your wrist. Stand the test of time? Well, again watches have got that on your side, for another few centuries anyways. And to be fair, the idea of the watch hasn't changed much over the years, so it has to be doing something right.

Even standing the test of time, I still wear no watch and instead rely on my cellphone to tell me what time it is, and hope to goodness that technology doesn't screw up or that I don't lose it somewhere and not know what time it is. Plus, my phone lets me access the internet, have a flashlight, and play wordfeud among othe things. Can your watch do that? Well, if it can let me know, til then bye bye watches hello expensive technology equipment.

Ties and such

What is it about ties and looking spiffy that make people respect you more and believe what you say more? Is it because we live in a structured society with lawyers,  judges, officials, etc. who wear nice suits and uniforms that we are used to automatically respecting those who look like they are in authority because they look nice? Or is it our brains and way of thinking that when you look at someone haggard looking you think "they can't know what they are doing", or "I'm not listening to that person" compared to someone dressed sharply or to the nines who has the aura of togetherness and authority that we follow them? I'm sure someone somewhere has done a study on this, but it is kind of funny that once someone puts on a tie or dresses nicely, people start to notice you more and listen to you and follow what you do and say. Like all I have to do is put on a tie and start doing my own thing and I'm sure most patrons would believe me without question. "Don't run", "Stop that", "I am the king of Egypt"- with a tie and/or nice outfit you get that respect, well maybe not being the king of Egypt. But people will almost believe you are the king, and will probably think you know what you are doing and saying. Without a tie or nice outfit you are just one more in the sea of humanity, so why should anyone listen to you more then to the next Jane or John in the world.

Or maybe its just me and I'm imagining the difference between spiffy people and non-spiffy people. Who knows?

Welcome

Welcome to my blog The Spiffy Librarian, which will deal with all things spiffy and library related. Join me as I talk about random things, important things, and sometimes maybe nothing at all.