James LaRue - myliblog

So on Thursday, January 23, 2014, apparently the Great Firewall of China collapsed, and all the Internet traffic of the nation was sent to a single IP address in Cheyenne WY, which of course failed immediately - the most colossal failure of the Internet to date. It was down for 8 hours. The very next day, Gmail, the email program of Google, arguably one of  the most technologically sophisticated companies in the world, again, simply failed, although it was repaired far more quickly. Explanations for both are pretty lame. Yeah, the Firewall made a routing error. Oops, there was a little software bug. That seems like quite a coincidence. It looks more like a hackfest to me. Welcome, all, to the new era of vulnerability. Our entire communications network, and all the business conducted on it, is held together by means of physical, and virtual connections far beyond my  understanding or ability to secure. And when somebody messes with it, it's hard to know just who, or wh...

My first few days of "retirement" seemed to involve me working harder than ever. But then, it was never "retirement." It was the Next Chapter. One of my key projects was to update my website . I had to recast what wasn't much more than a set of bookmarks and CV files, to a presentation to the world about how I hope I might be able to help other libraries (and not just libraries) move forward. There are three ways: through speaking , through writing , and through consulting . I have to say that I really don't like most of the websites I see. I find myself inclining toward a minimalist aesthetic in many areas of my new life. To me, that means an understanding that the most precious resource on our planet is attention . I really don't want to be shunted around 16 panels, 42 photos, 6 Flash videos, 4 Next Pages, and pop-ups. Who has the time? After a whole lot of thought, I whittled jlarue.com down to 8 pages. That feels ... about right, especially sin...

This is just a check-in. [x] Wrap-up my job as Director of Douglas County Libraries. While I don't claim to have resolved all issues, I think I worked through a good set of them. I left the organization in good shape, and stepped out at a time when the next director will have a chance to put his or her stamp on things. I loved my time at DCL, and am confident that the institution will continue to do well. There are so many smart and capable people there. But whether it does or not, I'm done as director, effective 18 January 2014. [-] Start my new career. I began by crafting a business plan. It's pretty solid, I think. And I've sent out the word. But there is much to be done. - My website is old, and needs refocusing and refreshing. But I have spent a lot of time thinking about the services I can offer, the value I can add. I'm also having a lot of fun poking around the various templates and possibilities. - My >1,000 contacts have been whittled down to...