The Wasted Mind of Ben Sasse

There have been moments when, liberal as I am, I have been impressed by Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE). Then there’s the rest of the time. This article, central point quoted here, gets at the heart of it.

Many politicians are hypocrites, of course. But most of them are also phonies and bullshitters. Ben Sasse isn’t. He stands out by educating himself earnestly and speaking honestly about complicated matters of history and policy. (He’s got to be the only serving Senate Republican to have written a book that approvingly cites 1960s leftist cultural critic Paul Goodman.) Unfortunately, he is also beginning to stand out by doing nothing of substance as the things he says he believes in are thrown in a garbage can by his own party. Evidence that Donald Trump was at best indifferent to and at worst complicit in Russia’s sabotage of the last presidential election is growing. Mitch McConnell is turning into the home stretch of an attempt to force through a wildly unpopular health care bill that still hasn’t had a public hearing. Democratic traditions are under attack, and Sasse is not returning fire. Does any of his thoughtfulness and honesty really matter if, come voting time, he’s just another partisan hack?

Read the full article @ Slate.com .

Photo: Gage Skidmore .

Posted in Politics & Law Tagged with: nebraska

Friday Video: The Inside Story of Your Library (1940)

A 1940 silent film promoting the services of Lincoln City Libraries.

Posted in Libraries, video Tagged with: film, lcl, nebraska

Ever wonder what YouTube thinks of your ISP?

The other night I was experiencing issues with playing a YouTube video (terminal buffering) and a link appeared beneath the video offering me an “explaination” for why I was having trouble. That link took me to the Google Video Quality Report.

I’m guessing it’s been around for a while but this is the first I’ve run into it. Basically you’re told how well your ISP handles the various quality levels of YouTube videos along with info on traffic levels throughout the day.

Clicking the “Compare Providers in Your Area” tab gets you a listing of other local ISPs for which you can see their data. In my case I’m trying to “compare” the state’s network to my home ISP and Google points that out to me with a warning that it’s a bit unrealistic.)

It looks like YouTube watching by Nebraska state employees peaks about 2pm, where residents of Lincoln peak about 9pm. Makes sense to me.

Posted in Tech Tagged with: google, nebraska, windstream, youtube

Lincoln, NE in 1993 & 2012

Thanks beerorkid.com.

Posted in Nebraska Tagged with: lincoln, nebraska

Pho Factory has amazing food

Yesterday, Mary and I ended up having dinner at Pho Factory on N 27th here in Lincoln. We’ll definitely be going back.

As an appetizer we had the Shrimp Sweet Potato cakes. Despite whatever Mary says, the shirmp heads were fun to eat.

Then as main dishes Mary had the Grilled Noodle Bowl with shrimp, pork, and egg roll. Finally she’s found a local replacement for our favorite dish back in Aurora, CO.

I had the Carmalize [sic] Shrimp and Bacon in a clay pot. IT wasn’t bacon as us americans would expect, more of a fatty pork but totally yummy.

Unfortunately, I forgot to ask how spicy my dish was and let’s just say I’m glad for the hearty portion of steamed rice that came with my dinner. And that’s after I removed all these chilies!

With tip, the dinner ran about $40. It was more than we had planned on spending but it was totally worth it.

Posted in Nebraska Tagged with: food, lincoln, nebraska

The Shining: A Play in Five Acts

I was just one of a small and very lucky number of people (maybe 1000 over three shows) to be able to witness The Shining as a stage play and it was worth every minute of my time. I hope that this turns into something bigger than just these three shows. For more information check out TheShiningOmaha.com.             

Posted in Fun Tagged with: horror, nebraska, omaha, play, stephen king, theatre

Librarians @ SXSW

AUSTIN (February 5, 2014) – Representatives from the library industry’s leading organizations and associations are attending SXSW Interactive to raise awareness of the ways librarians are already supporting emerging entrepreneurs and tech businesses across the country. The goal is to get more entrepreneurs to recognize how librarians can help them scale their businesses. Through the support of Innovative, the leading provider of technology solutions and services to libraries, these organizations will be represented at the Innovative booth for libraries (#1036) during the SXSW Trade Show.

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Librarians For Open Data and Civic Hacking

Rebecca Stavick, staff development specialist at Omaha Public Library, is one of the four founders of Open Nebraska, a citizen-led organization dedicated to pushing the open data movement in Nebraska. Open Nebraska’s mission is to solve community problems through civic application development, open data advocacy and tech education. The group organized Hack Omaha, a weekend hackathon they hosted in November 2013, which attracted around 30 participants. Stavick contends there are so many elements of civic hacking that are a direct reflection of librarianship. The library, she says, is one of the few places with the space and the Internet access that makes these types of events possible.

“Lack of access to local data is of direct concern to libraries. If libraries are supposed to provide open access to information, then any kind of public data would fall within that realm,” says Stavick. “Curating local information so that it’s more accessible to the public is a common goal of both librarians and civic hackers, with the intended result of informing citizens so they can make their own decisions.”

Open Nebraska is launching Hack Lincoln, the first-ever civic hackathon in Lincoln, Neb., this March and is aiming to plan another hackathon around National Civic Hacking Day in June.

Read the full article @ sxswLAM.

Posted in Libraries Tagged with: nebraska, omaha, opl, sxsw

Fish

Posted in Fun Tagged with: lincoln, nebraska

QR Code at the Sump Memorial Library

On a proper “street sign” outside the library on your way to the front door from the parking lot.

Posted in Libraries, Tech Tagged with: nebraska, qr code

Downtown Lincoln library scores new computer center

The main library at 136 S. 14th St. will open 30 minutes early for the event at 9:30 a.m. The library received 21 new computers through the Library Broadband Builds Nebraska Communities project. The computers are installed and ready for immediate use by the public free of charge.

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The new computers and furnishings at Bennett Martin Public Library are valued at more than $40,000.

Read the full article @ The Lincoln Journal-Star.

Posted in Libraries, Nebraska Tagged with: btop, lincoln, LNK, nebraska