Open Source is the jam

Regarding the Open Source Information lesson, I have been using some Open Source technology, notably Wikipedia and Mozilla Firefox (which ought to be installed in all staff computers, by the way), for years, and I'm a big proponent for all things collective and free. I really found the Imagine 2020 video interesting, especially the Shibuya University concept. The university has an English language page, which is good because my Japanese is only a notch above nonexistant. I intend to investigate more, because I am that type of dork who loves to learn, and Shibuya is the coolest spot on the planet.

On Yahoo! Answers, I asked,"What is the most popular cookie in the United States?" It turns out, I wasn't the only one interested in the cookie preferences of Americans, as someone else has already posed the question. The answers generally list "chocolate chip" or "Oreo," but there is no answer based on any sort of study or fieldwork, sadly. Then again, this is a difficult question, reliant on opinion. An easier question example would be "Where can I buy Meiji products online?" and for that, you have a set answer.

For the record, my favourite cookie probably is the Snickerdoodle, although I also love lemon cookies. And orange cookies. Probably any cookie with a whole lot of butter. I love butter.

Speaking of butter, in Answerbag, I asked, "How is butter better than margarine?" The results were interesting (to see one of the entries, click here), although there were some entries that didn't really deal with the question I had, like the Peanut butter vs Nutella discussion, which, still, wasn't totally irrelevant, as someone interested in butter may also be keen to know more about peanut butter. Or Nutella.

For the final website, Askville (misspelt in the original blog entry), I stuck with the topic of food, naturally, by posing the question,"What spices are often used in Indian cuisine?" Someone asked a reasonably similar question here, and here's a quote from one of the answers:

There’s no one combination of spices used by absolutely every Indian restaurant everywhere, but a lot of what you’re smelling is the combination of turmeric, cardamom, coriander, cumin, and fenugreek. Those are found in nearly every curry powder recipe.

Yes, these websites were rather helpful, although I don't know if I can break myself into using these sites as opposed to running to Wikipedia or Google for life's urgent questions... "What's Montreal like?" "Where can I find Top Pot doughnuts in Seattle?" "How many dollars equal a British pound?" "What the heck ever happened to that guy from The Wonder Years?"

Since joining OCLS over four years ago, I am now a frequent library user and often check out books of non-fiction and memoir, as well as documentary DVDs. I'm currently watching Around the World in 80 Treasures, which is informative, although somewhat laughable because the host is so quintessentially British, especially when he refers to objects as "my treasure!" with a British accent. Well, I think it's funny.

I don't think I've been urged to use information technology differently, given my current position in the library, but books are still a solid source of information, and at times just as arbitrary as the internet or television. If the library were to provide as many sources of information as possible (books, media, internet, classes, seminars, etc), I think it would be beneficial to the evolution of the library and what learning environments are.

As far as Googling myself, I came up with three relevant hits, but nothing that I think is too revealing about myself, aside from my fondness for Jens Lekman, which, in turn, could lead to someone finding about my musical preferences, and possibly what shows I'm keen on going to. Okay, so it's potentially creepy. I think I don't have to worry about creepy stalkers at the moment (normally my stalkers prefer vis-a-vis interaction), I'm probably going to go back and take my name out of a few things to be a bit of a blank slate when plugging in my name on the Googles.

At least until the words "super genius" can appear after my name.