A song of our times

I was heading to the library for book club one Sunday and the hard rock chorus of Chickenfoot's latest single, "Three and a half Letters", roared into my car. The song is devastatingly affecting. It's hard to drive to work with tears in your eyes.

   I need a job
   I need a job
   I'm willing to work
   But I need a job

The backstory? Chickenfoot's lead singer, Sammy Hagar, was inspired by correspondence he received from Iraq vets, homeless, and others desperate for work. They wanted to work--they were able to work--they just couldn't find jobs. Hagar used actual letters he received in the lyrics. Hagar and Chickenfoot hope that the publicity from the song will be a practical conduit they can use to help these folks and others in similar situations find jobs.

What caught my ear was this stanza--

   I'm sorry this letter is hand-written but I don't have a computer
   I don't have access to one
   I'm 51 years old
   I lost my wife to breast cancer three years ago
   Lost my job of 26 years one year later
   I'm homeless with no one to turn to
   I've been through a lot, brother
   I heard you like to help people
   Well, I need help

I wish the person who wrote that letter knew that most public libraries could give him access to a computer,other equipment and perhaps even technology training. The Urbana Free Library serves many folks looking for jobs every day in our computer lab. But not everyone is aware that we're there for them. We libraries all certainly have books about writing resumes, interviewing, and the job search. And we plan to provide more.

Computer & Internet Services at The Urbana Free Library

Here's a list of some of The Urbana Free Library's job hunting materials.

Listen to "Three and a Half Letters".


The guys of Chickenfoot put together a podcast discussing how "Three and a Half Letters" evolved.

If you're interested in listening to more Chickenfoot, "Three and a Half Letters" is on the album Chickenfoot III.  Follow the link or contact us at Adult Services to place a hold. 217-367-4405 or reference@tufl.info.

New Computer Books!!

Grok, Linux Firewalls, Plone, blogger, Visual C# 2010, and Expression Web 3 are just a few of our new computer books. Check the new books shelves for these and more!

New at The UFL--Geek Dad

Geek Dad: Awesomely Geeky Projects and Activities for Dads and Kids to Share
by Ken Denmead (who writes the "Geek Dad blog" on Wired.com)



What a perfect book for this high tech community! Where else can you dads learn how to create a working lamp out of LEGO bricks and CDs? Or use those same LEGOs to freeze nifty custom ice cubes? Rig your kites with running lights, so you can fly them in the dark? And,let's not forget all the "Geek moms" out there. Use those popular role-playing games as aids to spectacular parenting. Get ideas on using cake to build models. This book provides the geek point-of-view for everything imaginable.

Want more? Visit the book's website: http://www.geekdadbook.com

Geek Dad is available now at The Urbana Free Library. Place a hold or give us a call, 217-367-4405. Pass your love of science and technology on to your kids with some of the fun activities in this book. Be the best Geek you can be!

Forget to recycle your electronics? We have the book for you!

Champaign County, Urbana, Champaign, Savoy and the News-Gazette have been sponsoring wildly successful recycling events where you can drop off your old, outdated household electronics, such as computers, scanners, cell phones and VHS players. If you missed the drop-off this past weekend, a couple more are planned for later this year--August 7th and November 6th.

In the meantime, what can you do with those old gizmos and gadgets you don't use anymore? Why, use 'em for craft and productivity projects! And we have just the brand new book that can help--

62 Projects to Make with a Dead Computer (and Other Discarded Electronics), by Randy Sarafan, (Workman, 2010).

This new guide is chock full of creative ideas for your old, cherished equipment that range from jewelry to toys to truly useful items.

Yeah, you do need to be handy with screwdrivers and similar tools, but the author provides excellent directions and pictures. Plus, the introductory chapter presents precautions about how to be careful around electronic equipment. Don't assume old electronics are immediately safe just because they're unplugged.

My favorite projects? A scanner compost box, power-strip bird feeder, laptop digital photo frame, and "Mouseracas"--maracas made from old mice. This book truly has something for everyone feeling overwhelmed by the ever-growing pile of outdated computer stuff that we all seem to be accumulating nowadays.

Hope to see ya around the library, especially if you bring your re-purposed cell phone flashlight to show us!

U Like Ubuntu

We've only got a few books on Ubuntu, the latest Linux Distribution to become king-of-the-mountain (here's the wikipedia entry for the completely bewildered), but relative to other books in the computers section, Ubuntu's well-represented. Hey, we order them because you like them.

And because Ubuntu is popular around here, I thought I'd point out some current links on the topic.

A new Ubuntu release, 10.04, became available on April 29th, and one of my favorite blogs, MakeUseOf, discussed their favorite new features.

Another of my other favorite blogs, Lifehacker, linked me to IT World's 10 minute Ubuntu set up of the new release.

The possibly Ubuntu-biased site OMG! Ubuntu! has a list of 10 things to do after installing Ubuntu 10.04.

There's just truckloads of info online about Ubuntu, which makes sense since that's where it's developed and distributed, but if you're just getting started, consider checking out BeginningUbuntu Linux or Ubuntu for Non-Geeks from out collection.

EDIT: It's like Lifehacker knew I had this post scheduled to go up today, because they've linked a free eBook called Getting Started with Ubuntu 10.04.

The Blessing and Curse of Used PCs

On May 2nd, the Champaign County Fair Grounds will host an electronics recycling event from 8 am to 4 pm. It's the safest way to dispose of e-waste, and volunteers can obtain a free, refurbished computer.

I'm finding that an increasing number of technology questions are from patrons facing problems with second-hand PCs, particularly laptops. The owners seem genuinely happy to have them, but often lack the experience or funds to make them work optimally.

As any nonprofit organization will likely attest, accepting used computer donations is not without risks.

Rarely is the gear ready for immediate use by its intended recipients; documentation and supporting software may be missing; the previous owners may leave sensitive information behind or, worse, malware and viruses; and the equipment may be damaged or in bad physical shape.

Administrative privileges and their corresponding passwords, which control who can make changes and updates on a given machine, also present problems.

Recently, a teen patron needed Microsoft PowerPoint to complete a class presentation on her home computer. Unfortunately, only PowerPoint Viewer is free.

I recommended she try Impress, which is part of the free OpenOffice suite. Impress files are compatible with PowerPoint.

We downloaded a copy of OpenOffice, burned it to a disc, and home she went.

The next day she called to say she'd encountered problems installing the software due to a lack of administrative privileges on her hand-me-down. She could access only the "Guest" account when she used the PC.

We tried a workaround over the phone, which went well until the very last step: no go.

I encouraged her to use PowerPoint on the library's PCs until we can find the right answer. (Leo Notenboom offers one interesting strategy ... and in the process reveals how easy it can be to crack security.)

But pass this tip around:

Volunteer Technology Assistants are currently available at our library every Thursday from 4 to 6 pm and every Saturday from 1 to 3 pm.

Bring your questions (and your laptops) if you're stuck. We'll do our best to help!