Top 5 non-fiction books I read this year

1. Cory Doctorow - ©ontent

This is a collection of essays by Cory Doctorow about technology. Here's a (cheesy) video review I did for this book for the Missoula Public Library:



2. Clay Shirky - Here Comes Everybody: The Power to Organize Without Organizations

Another techie book I read this year. I think Clay Shirky understands and writes about the whole 2.0 thing better than anyone else. He doesn't just rely on buzzwords to explain social networks, he dissects them and shows you why they work, and what they can be used for. The biggest lesson I learned from this book was his assertion that until a technology becomes mundane and well known, it can't be truly leveraged by a majority of people.

3. Jay Ryan - 100 Posters, 134 Squirrels: A Decade of Hot Dogs, Large Mammals, and independent Rock

Awesome poster art. As an ex-band guy, I totally dig his designs. He made posters for the likes of Shellac, Sebadoh and Silkworm. That in and of itself makes him a legend.

4. Seth Godin - Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us

I attended an online Library Management course this year and for our final project we read a book on management. Usually those books are insufferable. This one wasn't. It reminded me a little of Daniel Quinn's "Beyond Civilization" but more practical. He introduces lots of simple, but big, ideas succinctly.

5. The Best American NonRequired Reading 2009 (Edited by Dave Eggers)

Even though there is quite a bit of fiction in this collection, the non-fiction is what stood out for me. "Diary of a Fire Lookout" by Philip Conners made me nostalgic for the woods I grew up in. "Mississippi Drift" by Matthew Power was a cautionary tale about dropping off the grid. All in all, totally worth checking out and reading a few of the pieces.

When life gives you lemons, preserve those lemons

Back in Missoula, I visited The Silk Road as often as I could before moving. One night we ordered an appetizer of warmed olives, pretty standard. But these olives came with tiny slices of preserved lemons. They were awesome. I had to have more, but I haven't seen them on any menu since. I decided to take matters into my own hands.

I gathered:

• 3 Lemons (any type will do, but I'm told Meyer Lemons are the way to go)
• Canning and Pickling Salt
• A large sized canning jar
  
• Water

Then I cut off the nubs on the sides of the lemons and scored the skin about 8 times on each lemon from one severed nub to the other. I added 1/3 cup salt to 6 cups of water and brought that to a boil. Then I boiled the lemons for 8 minutes and turned the heat off. I left them in the warm water for another 30 minutes. I dropped the lemons in the jar and then poured the water I boiled them in over the top, completely covering them. Then I put the top on and screwed down the ring and waited. And waited. Each day I flipped the jar so the salt wouldn't settle. I'm told you can also shake the jar everyday. After 7 days, I pried off the lid and tasted.

Delicious. Not too salty and still tart.

Now I just need to figure out what to use them for. They aren't really just snack food by themselves. They factor heavily in Moroccan cuisine, so I'll have to do some research and figure out what I can make with these awesome preserved lemons.

Webolution

When I woke up this morning, I remembered the word webolution from my dream. I thought it was a funny word, so I made this (less-funny) comic.

Free Hip Hop Albums

It isn't radical to post an album for free online anymore. It's risky, but more and more, it is becoming the best way to get your name out there. In an environment where the music industry seems to care more about profit and selling ringtones to tweens than enabling artists to create art, it seems more and more artists are forging a name for themselves and posting albums online.

The problem is, most of it really sucks. These two albums don't. You should check them out.

Debaser - Back to Work

Debaser is Sapient and Ethic from the mighty Sandpeople crew from Portland. Sapient just might be the hardest working emcee/producer in Hip Hop. This is the second of three albums he's giving away in as many months. That's on top of a solo album, a Sandpeople EP, and an upcoming collaboration with Luckyiam from the Living Legends.

The album features guest appearances by the aforementioned Luckyiam, Illmaculate (Sandpeople), Rasco (from Cali Agents), and Phat Kat, but the real stars of the album are Debaser themselves. Fantastic wordplay and banging production. It's easy to see how hungry these two are. Listening to the album makes you hope they break through, there aren't many who deserve it more.

Download it here.

The Slew - 100%

Here's the story, Kid Koala and Dynomite D were set to produce the soundtrack to a movie. The movie never happened. Never will. The two enlisted the help of the rhythm section of Wolfmother to perform the album on a one off tour. 100% is a psych-rock infused journey to an alternate reality. DJs are guitar wielding rock stars, disembodied voices of blues singers drop knowledge, and nothing is quite what it seems.

Strangely enough, it's one of Kid Koala's most accessible albums to date. They gave away the album so people would have more fun at the live shows, which have now ended. But don't think this is a live-only experience. 100% is one of the most original recordings I've heard in a long, long time.

Download it here.

I made a comic strip.

My library will hopefully have access to a mobile laptop lab in the coming year. I was looking at some possible uses for it, and came across the Bitstrip website. I can't really "do art" very well, so this site is my only hope of having my own comic strip. It's so easy kids could dive right in and have a blast. And there's the bonus of the site being relying heavily on social networking and remixing. If there's one thing newspapers and morning shows have taught me, it's that the kids these days love social networking. So, there's my first idea for uses of the lab, a "Make your own comic" workshop for kids.

I figured I should practice using the site if I'm going to be helping kids with it, so I created my first comic! I think it's pretty neat. You might disagree.



It looks like it will be just a tease on this blog, so click the picture to see the exciting conclusion!

Welcome to The House of Lords

Darcy and I were in Iowa City a few weeks ago with my parents. We ended up staying in a lightly themed motel, because theme hotels always beat out non-theme motels. Seriously.

When my parents hit the sack, we decided to venture downstairs to "The House of Lords." The look of excitement on Darcy's face is entirely warranted.

After opening the doors, you are greeted by this glorious water wheel. I didn't think a picture was enough, so here's video. Yes, that is a moat.

Behind the bar is a view of the deep end of the swimming pool a la the Sip n' Dip in Great Falls, MT. There isn't a mermaid, or a lounge piano player, but this place is great.

We ordered a couple of beers, and the bartender matter-of-factly asked, "You want a glass or goblet?" Obviously we chose a goblet. Given the choice, you always choose the goblet.

All the drinks had medieval names, and one, called the "Bell-ringer," boasted a $150 price tag. It appeared to be some sort of punch bowl. I wish we had the money and the stamina to order it, but it will have to wait for another time. Any takers? We'll drive you out, you buy the drink!

I'm also a sucker for funny bathroom names.

It might not be quite as awesome as the Sip n' Dip, but what bar even holds a candle to that place? The House of Lords was worth the trip, and we'll be back for sure.

100 Posts in 3 years

So, I'm not the most prolific with this whole blog thing. I feel like I've posted more than that, but I assume that has to do with the 300 or so posts I logged while working for Missoula Public Library. Or the 500 or so Top 5's I posted on Myspace.

For your information I am still very active on these social media platforms:

Twitter - Learn more about my daily doings than you really care to.

Facebook - This is like my invite-only email service.

Last.fm - I'm not listening to everything alphabetically, but you can see what I'm listening to by checking here. Just be aware that I'm not the one listening to Sufjan Stevens over and over again. That would be my lovely wife while I'm at work.

I rarely, if ever am active on:

Flickr - I'm almost at the 200 picture limit, and don't know if I want to pay for the premium service.

Myspace - Until/If I have more music to share, this space will host tumbleweeds, and nothing new.

Hope you'll stick around for the next 100 here.

Ready, Aim, Fire Pit

This weekend we built a fire pit in our backyard. Granted, it isn't the biggest or most impresive fire pit you've ever seen, but it works and only cost about 20 bucks for materials and took less than an hour.

First we found a relatively flat area of our yard that was a safe distance away from the garage, bushes, trees, etc. and laid out our stones to form a circle. We marked ground inside the stones with the shovel and moved them away.

That made it easier to dig our hole. I dug down about a foot, trying to keep the walls as straight as possible.

Inside the first hole, I dug a second hole another 8 inches or so down. Doing this, I'm told, creates a sump which aides in draining your fire pit. The draining is the most important part, otherwise you could just dig a shallow hole and be done with it.

Then I added a bag of pea gravel. I filled it up to roughly 4 inches from the top. The gravel will allow water to drain.

Then I covered the gravel with a healthy amout of sand and replaced the stones, and it was done. One of the easiest weekend projects ever.

Of course, I didn't just come up with the idea myself. I used the Google to find a great resource walking me through the construction. I think we'll call it, "The Little Fire Pit that Could."

So, would you like "The Tour?"

"No. I get it." - Larry David.

We've finally gotten all settled here in Slater, Iowa. This is our awesome house. I love being a homeowner, but I hate property taxes. We live kinda on the edge of town. The street that runs in front of our house is by far the busiest in Slater. About three blocks from our place it turns into a highway that runs 9 miles north to Ames, home of Iowa State University and the Cyclones. People are really, really into college sports here. I think I'll stay out of it.

Here's the backyard and our oldest tree. Unfortunately the wind usually blows in the direction that would make the tree fall on our house in a big storm. It's still a sturdy tree, but we'll have to cut it down in the foreseeable future. Storms in the midwest are way different than Montana storms. The wind is crazy and the thunder is louder than I've ever heard.

Darcy and her mom painted the kitchen last week. Before it was a mint green. It looks waaaay better now than it did.

We picked this metal table up in Des Moines, which is about 20 miles to the south.

This table also came from Des Moines. The awesome China hutch came with the house. And here is photographic proof that Jeffreys survived the 18 hour car ride from Missoula. He did really well for the first 17 hours, then got ansy and scared for the last hour. All in all he made the trip like a real trooper.

Owning a couch set makes me feel really old. But they're really comfortable, so who cares. We also go to bed around 10:30 most nights. Uh oh.

We finally got our entertainment center hooked up and the speakers are fully operational. It's good to be vindicated after hauling heavy speakers accross the country. Darcy admits they sound better than the TV.

Upstairs we just have 4 rooms. They're pretty boring and not really ready to make their debut yet. Once they're painted and set up, you'll see them.

Life Changes

I've been hired as a library director in Slater, IA. Darcy and I just bought a house there. Right now we're living in our apartment with all of our belongings packed away, so it feels a lot like camping. Camping with TV and the Internet.

We move away from Missoula on the 25th of this month. You can see me at 4 pm this Friday (6/19) at the library for a cake and punch reception. Or just give me a call and we'll grab a last drink before I leave town.

When I do leave, the best way to follow my adventures would be to follow me on Twitter. I'll be posting there throughout the drive and almost exclusively until we get connected to the tubes of the Internets at our new place. Twitter is another life change I made recently. It's lame, but it's easy and I can clog the tubes via cell phone now.