Orientation today

Well, orientation went pretty well. My biggest complaint wasn't the
company, but the lunch. They did not offer coffee. In fact, since it
was summer, a lot of the coffee shops were shuttered. I made it
through, met with an advisor, confirmed my registration, and checked
my progress. Apparently some things dropped down and I moved from
Junior to Sophomore (57.5 credits). I think that will only affect me
for the next four months. So my schedule stands, mostly 9-3 or 9-4 5
days a week. It's odd to say a full load sounds like a vacation, but
it really does.

--
Sent from my mobile device

Kobo eReader

Well, I must not be the only one willing to put down 150 bucks to see what this can do. According to Borders website, the kobo is sold out for it's initial June shipment. They are preordering for July 2nd.

Firstly, I am glad I don't have to try and find this at Chapters, and secondly, I am glad that it's generating interest faster than they can make them.

Everything I have seen indicates that as far as gadgets go, it is a single purpose machine, and I expect it to be good at it's only function. It's also by far the cheapest on the market, and comes unbundled from internet access and a monthly data plan. I can always harvest the news with Calibre and load it daily if that's what the internet was for.

UIC Fall 2010

Tentatively I am scheduled for the following courses this fall, any of which may change at orientation next week:

STAT 381 Applied Statistical Methods I M W F 09:00 AM 09:50 AM
LALS 127 Latin American Music (Lecture) M W F 10:00 AM 10:50 AM
MCS 260 Intro To Computer Science (Lecture) M W F 01:00 PM 01:50 PM
MATH 220 Differential Equations I (Lecture) M W F 03:00 PM 03:50 PM

ECON 220 Microeconomics (Lecture-Discussion) T R 09:30 AM 10:45 AM
MCS 260 Intro To Computer Science (Labratory-Discussion)T 01:00 PM 02:50 PM
MATH 220 Differential Equations I R 01:00 PM 01:50 PM

Superstition

I always hate when the 13th floor is missing. It's so common, I was
surprised the other day to be in an elevator that had one.

--
Sent from my mobile device

Just donated

Man am I ever slow to heed the clarion. Made a donation to MSF to assist them however they need it. I think they sent me a map once or twice with a request in the past. I just hope they don't pile on address labels. Can't use any more address labels, charity people. Two years supply sitting in the drawer.

Offline Book "Lending" Costs US Publishers Nearly $1 Trillion

 

 

Sent to you by Dan via Google Reader:

 

 

Offline Book "Lending" Costs US Publishers Nearly $1 Trillion

via Slashdot by Soulskill on 1/19/10

An anonymous reader writes with this excerpt from a tongue-in-cheek blog post which puts publisher worries about ebook piracy into perspective: "Hot on the heels of the story in Publisher's Weekly that 'publishers could be losing out on as much $3 billion to online book piracy' comes a sudden realization of a much larger threat to the viability of the book industry. Apparently, over 2 billion books were 'loaned' last year by a cabal of organizations found in nearly every American city and town. Using the same advanced projective mathematics used in the study cited by Publishers Weekly, Go To Hellman has computed that publishers could be losing sales opportunities totaling over $100 billion per year, losses which extend back to at least the year 2000. ... From what we've been able to piece together, the book 'lending' takes place in 'libraries.' On entering one of these dens, patrons may view a dazzling array of books, periodicals, even CDs and DVDs, all available to anyone willing to disclose valuable personal information in exchange for a 'card.' But there is an ominous silence pervading these ersatz sanctuaries, enforced by the stern demeanor of staff and the glares of other patrons. Although there's no admission charge and it doesn't cost anything to borrow a book, there's always the threat of an onerous overdue bill for the hapless borrower who forgets to continue the cycle of not paying for copyrighted material."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

 

 

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to Slashdot using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

 

 

Spoke with Chase again

Well that was unpleasant. I really didn't enjoy having to call them again, and I didn't get a conclusive answer from the nice man on the phone. Apparently Chases outbound robocall number has multiple departments behind it, and there's no way to determine which center the calls originated from...

Besides my frustration that asking to have the number removed resulted in about a two week reprieve, I was equally nonplussed by his inability to prevent further calls.