Oh, yeah, we did it: the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library is on Pinterest

My colleague Elaine Attridge, the Marketing & Communication Librarian, worked with me to set up the account via our library’s Facebook account (thanks, Elaine!). With 18 boards and only 34 pins, we’re obviously just getting started. So far our boards include the following:

STEM Scholarly Publishing

Historical Collections

UVa’s Medical Center Hour

Social Media for Healthcare Providers

Equipment the Library owns

and the one that I have the most hope for:

I wish that the Health Sciences Library…

This one is a “community” board: people who follow that board can asked to become contributors to it. This would be another way to get feedback from our users about the Library’s space, services, etc. While the other boards are informative, THIS board offers us the potential for conversation and collaboration with our users.

After Elaine and I created the account, I shared the username and password information with all of our library staff. Yep, anyone who works here has the ability to create boards, add pins to existing boards, and in every other way manage the account. So far Elaine and I are the only ones who’ve availed ourselves of the opportunity, but I am very good at nagging and hope to convince others to make a go of it

I see our Pinterest boards as a way to share our resources with our patrons, as well as engage them in a different  (and hopefully positive and fun) way.

What do you think? Good idea? Bad idea? Waste of time? Goodwill goldmine?

Is your organization on Pinterest? If so, I’d love to hear about it!

5:45 AM- Wake up. Check work email to see if there are any emergencies or absences; check calendar to remind myself what my day looks like; consult the Weather Channel app to double-check that the coats and shoes that I put out the night before for the Beast (my three-year-old son) and I are still appropriate. Begin getting ready for work. Wake the Beast and help him get ready. Do all the things that need doing every morning before we leave.

7:40 AM- Leave for school/work.

7:55 AM- Drop the Beast at school and drive to my parking lot.

8:10 AM- Wait for, then ride the bus. As I wait and ride, I check Facebook, Twitter (via Twitterific), and Google Reader (via Google Apps Browser). I also check my work email again to make sure that there aren’t any absences or emergencies.

8:30 AM- Arrive at my office, turn on my computer and unload gadgets (I take my iPad home every night). While my computer is booting up, I take my lunch to the refrigerator and make another cup of tea. I take a quick look again at my RSS feeds, and save to Delicious the ones that I’d starred earlier. One of them is interesting enough to share, so I tweet about it.

9:00 AM- Weekly meeting with the Boss. I update him on items from last week, and he adds a few more things to the list. We discuss some long-term projects.

10:00 PM- Weekly meeting with my team, the Technology Education & Computing folks. Each of us keeps a to-do list in the Basecamp project management software. As usual, we go around the room with each person reporting on the items in their list and adding some as necessary. I make a couple of announcements, and ask for opinions on the best way to approach an upcoming project. We gleefully finish our meeting at 10:28 AM!

10:30 AM- I meet individually with one of my team members to follow up on a long-term project that he is spearheading.

11:00 AM- Our Marketing & Communications Librarian brings a complaint that she found in the suggestion box to me: a patron is upset that the Library has set up a charging station for Apple-only laptops and mobile devices, and expresses the view that the Library isn’t being fair to all of its patrons. We discuss the best way to make sure the anonymous person sees my response, and decide to go with displaying the complaint and my response on our SmartBoard, which we’ll move to the Library’s front entrance. I then write a response and email it to my colleague for her edits.

11:45 AM- I eat lunch in my office, as I read and respond to emails. I also check Facebook and Twitter, and fall down the rabbit-hole of the New Media Consortium’s wiki .

12:05 PM- I order an iPad, cover, wireless keyboard, and laptop for the new faculty member who will be joining us at the end of the month. I then schedule several meetings, and begin roughing out the class on tablets that I plan to teach later this spring.

1:30 PM- Respond to an email from a colleague about the content on our new, soon-to-be-deployed Kindle Fires. One of my team members is working on an image and asks me to come out and use my login to make sure that a certain program is working with that image.

3:00 PM- My hour-long shift on our technology reference service (called Rover- “We come to you!”) begins. Things are pretty quiet; I only have two calls: both to help patrons set up access to the university’s encrypted wireless network. One of the librarians stops by to tell me that she’s having problems with the control panel in one of the classrooms. I speak with one of my team members about it, and we discuss resetting the control panel. As he goes to do that, I stop in the Boss’s office to make sure that he hears about it from me first.

4:00 PM- My colleague and I trade (via email) a few more edits on my response to the patron complaint, and I send the final version to the Boss for approval. A colleague and I spend a few minutes discussing an email about a project across Grounds, and whether or not we might want to consider doing something similar in our Library. As part of an overall software inventory, I send an email to our librarians asking if and how they use two particular pieces of software.

4:40 PM- Pack up gadgets and travel mug and head to the bus stop. As I wait for, and then ride, the bus I read a book on my iPhone (via the Kindle app).

5:05 PM- Arrive at my stop and begin driving to the Beast’s school.

5:25 PM- Arrive at the school and round up the Beast.

5:55 PM- Arrive home, and badger the Beast into doing his chores while I begin dinner preparations. I then do all of the things that we do every evening- I won’t bore you with the minutiae

9:40 PM- Make one last cup of tea and drink it while taking one last look at work email. Scan RSS feeds for any breaking news. Get ready for bed.

10:00 PM- Log onto “Star Wars: The Old Republic” and do a quest.

10:30 PM- Plug in all mobile devices and go to bed.

So there ya go! I hope that was helpful to someone besides me (I tend towards introspection).

Here, have a snow monkey:

(Actually, it’s OnLive, but I must have my classic horror film references).

Wow, that graphic is huge! I could resize it, but you know what? The OnLive app itself is huge, and thus deserving of taking up so much valuable space on my blog.

• What is it? It’s a free (yes, free- you will understand how ginormous this is in a bit, so keep reading) web and iPad-only app. Onlive makes the usual “coming soon to Android” claim, so don’t despair, oh ye of the little green robot.
• How do you get it? Go to http://desktop.onlive.com/ and create an account. Then, from your iPad, download the OnLive app and sign in with the credentials that you just used to create the account from your computer.
• Upon logging in, OnLive will automatically sync the files between your iPad and the computer from which you created the account. Note: on your computer, once you’ve logged into the OnLive desktop, you have the option of uploading files (Office, Excel, and PowerPoint) from that computer to your OnLive’s cloud storage (you get 2 GB) and it’s from that pool that the OnLive app syncs.

Do you see how awesome this is? Not only does this address the plaintive cries of those souls wandering with iPads, yearning to use freely the Microsofty goodness that is Office, but YOU DON’T EVEN NEED TO OWN OFFICE. Yes! You read that correctly: with OnLive, you may work your will with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint and never, ever have to buy them.

• Wait, how can OnLive afford to make this available for free? Well, it’s freemium. You get the basics for free, with the option to upgrade to a Pro account ($9.99/month), or even upgrade to the enterprise level. There are no ads. I repeat: there are no ads.
• What is OnLive doing with my documents? Honestly, I’ve no clue. I don’t work with patient information, so I’m not bound by HIPAA. If I DID work with patient data or I was a spy, I’d read the User Agreement much more closely not use cloud storage controlled by some other entity. (Actually, if I were a spy, I’d demand some kind of cool gadget for my information storage needs, maybe a faux cigarette lighter like the one Jinksy had in that episode of “Warehouse 13″).

Anyway, if you’re not working with sensitive data and would REALLY like to have access to Office on your iPad, I’m not sure how you could go wrong with OnLive. If you try it, please let me know what you think!

App list with descriptions and commentary after the snow monkey:

Flud

What does it do?
Flud is a free graphical reader for iPhone, iPad, Android that serves the news and feeds that you read in an attractive interface.   It connects to Tumblr, Google Reader, Twitter, Facebook, Read It Later, Instapaper and email.  It also plays video and views images.  Is it any good? It’s pretty good and makes catching up fast and fun.  It connects to your social sites or RSS feeds to bring your news your device.  Browse news sources, flip through the latest headlines, and even share with friends. Bart says… If you like Flipboard try this App.  It provides a different experience that many people will enjoy.

BeejiveIM

What does it do? BeejiveIM allows you to access all of your Instant Messaging applications from one place.  Connect to Google Talk, AIM, Yahoo Messenger and more!  BeejiveIM is $4.99 and works with iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry .  Is it any good? It’s great!  There are plenty of settings to play around with and customize to your liking.  It can even stay active while the device is sleeping. Bart says… This app is great for staying connected to family, friends, and work…while you are on the go.

Zite

What does it do? Zite is a free app for iPhone and iPad that creates a personalized magazine from Twitter and Google Reader.  Zite actually learns what you like.  You tell Zite what you like and Zite will tailor your reading experience around what you want to read.   How does it do it?
See a story you like…give it a thumbs up.  See one you don’t…thumbs down.  The more you tell Zite what you want to read the more it will learn your reading preferences.  Is it any good? Reviews on this app are incredible; streamline your reading and try it today! Bart Says… With so many ways to connect with information today, it’s nice to see a reader that does some of the thinking for you.  It’s quick and easy to scroll through the latest information in an easy-to-use interface.

Photosync

What does it do? This free app for iPhone and iPad allows you to sync your photos and videos wirelessly between devices.   How does it do it? Forget the wires; this app makes it easy to transfer photos and videos.  Simply install the software or use the web interface.  Tell Photosync to share with your computer, iPad, or iPhone, and Photosync will search for the device.    It’s easy.  Is it any good? Yes!  Sharing photos with your devices or friends is a snap!  Bart Says…Finally no wires…why isn’t everything like this????

Notability

What does it do?  Notability is a .99 app for iPhone, iPad note taking app that is also great for annotating PDFs!  You can share and collaborate with friends using Dropbox.   Is it any good? Type or hand write using your finger, and then store it in a Dropbox folder to share and collaborate with friends.  Nice functionality for a mobile device.    Bart Says…I’ve been searching for a cheap PDF annotator for some time.  I think I found a winner.

TappIn
What does it do? TappIn allows you to share files (music, videos, photos, and documents) stored on your computer or Apple, Google, or Windows mobile device with anyone via a secure, cloud-based pathway: you simply send an email with a clickable link. There are no storage limits because the files never leave your computer or mobile device! TappIn is secure as it uses SSL encryption when creating the path AND because files are never uploaded, copied or stored within the cloud.  Is it any good? In November 2011, TappIn was selected as a candidate for Red Herring’s 2011 Top 100 Global award, “a prestigious recognition honoring the year’s most audacious and far reaching private technology companies”.   Kimberley says, “Not only is this a great way to share work-related documents without worrying about file sizes, but it’s also great for sharing photos with technology-impaired family who call you for tech support when they don’t know how to download a file. Not that that ever happens to me.”

Goodreader
What does it do? GoodReader is a robust PDF reader for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. It allows you to interact with (annotate, highlight, and mark-up) almost any file type, access Dropbox, integrate mail, and encrypt.  Is it any good? The iPad version was the #1 selling non-Apple app for iPad in 2010 in the USA! Also, Mashable describes it as “a Swiss Army knife of awesome!” So, yeah, it’s pretty good.   Kimberley says, “Some complain that the interface is not elegant, but it doesn’t bother me as I myself am not very elegant. I like the way that Goodreader helps me manage files, as well as the ways with which it allows me to interact with the documents. It’s a solid, straightforward workhorse, which is what I need with PDF’s”.

Pulse

What does it do? Pulse presents your personalized RSS feeds on your iPad or Android device in a magazine-style format that is much more interesting than most other containers. For instance, tap on an interesting headline and the article pops up on half of the screen. Scroll down the page to read the article. Pulse provides you with ways to interact with the article, including saving, emailing, and sharing via Facebook and Twitter.  Is it any good? Well… it’s one of only 50 apps in the App Store Hall of Fame, if that tells you anything!  Kimberley says, “The nature of my work is such that I live and die by my RSS feeds. Google Reader, however, with its unforgiving black-and-white-die-in-the-gulag format was soul-killing (ok, not really) and I found myself avoiding it. Pulse has brought back the fun of diving into my massive amount of feeds… and my soul seems to be recovering nicely.”

Onavo

What does it do? Onavo is a data shrinker that runs in the background, compressing data (and thus saving money) and creating reports on how much data your individual apps use.  Is it any good? TechCrunch called it a “money-saving, must-have app for EVERY iPhone data user.  Kimberley says, “Onavo is to your mobile data plan what Space Bags are to your winter clothes. Between December 20^th and January 4^th, Onavo saved me 216.34 mb of an estimated 390.56 mb download. Were I traveling abroad, the data/money savings would have been even larger! I like the fact that Onavo stores only the bare minimum of information needed to run the service, ALL of which is aggregated and anonymized”.

MyNetDiary

What does it do? A food/activity/weight loss diary for the web, iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, and iPad, MyNetDiary is based on the premise that the only way to lose weight is to cut calories. Track what you eat, with the option to search its extensive food database or add your own food. MyNetDiary also provides a personalized analysis of your calorie and nutrient needs, a method for planning for and setting weight goals, and suggests exercise activities.  Is it any good? The Wall Street Journal’s Cranky Consumer lists it as an option for tracking calories and lauds its auto-fill capabilities when searching for foods in the database. Kimberley says, “I admit it: I’ve been getting way too comfortable with the comfort food, and now I’m paying the price. What I like most about MyNetDiary is that it quickly puts into perspective what you’ve eaten and creates a handy report with “Nutrient”, “Consumed”, and “Left” columns, which make it easy to crawl into a corner and cry—I mean, carefully review your diet, and make necessary changes. I hate this app, but only because it’s too good at its job”.

Yo, Kimberley here. Today I have a surprise for you: a guest post by my colleague, David Moody, the library’s webmaster. He’s all a-flutter about getting his learn on at DrupalCon, and will be sharing all of that lovely knowledge with us when he returns. See below for details

Meeting: DrupalCon 2011, plus+

• WHEN: March, 15th (10:30am – 12:00pm)
• WHERE: UVA Clemens Library, Room 407
• WHO: All Drupal Enthusiasts and Lurkers

Drupal 7 is a revolutionary upgrade of this widely popular CMS. Dries Buytaert, founder of Drupal, states that: “Drupal 7 is revolutionizing the CMS market”.

Join us in a 1 1/2 session with David Moody, Webmaster and Drupal CMS expert, about Drupal 7 and first hand news and information from DrupalCon 2011.

If you attended DrupalCon 2011 or operate a Drupal site, come and interact with other Drupal enthusiasts on March 15th from 10:30am – 12:00pm at the Clemens Library, room 407.

Directions

Clemons Library is located on U.Va.’s Central Grounds between the University Bookstore and Alderman Library. A map of this area featuring a wheelchair-accessible route from the Central Grounds Parking Garage is here.

NOTE: Leave a comment below and let us know what you want to discuss or find out about Drupal 7!

And now, on with the post.

Regular readers of Gadgetechnica know that I live in a constant state of flux regarding technology: “I love it, it’s awesome when it works” vs. “OMG we have no privacy and the robot overlords are coming for us”. It’s an uncomfortable place to be but, I believe, a valid one. I dare you to put your name in Pipl, search the deep web, and see how you feel afterward. Results include: addresses for every place you’ve ever lived (complete with maps and Google Earth images); the names of your family members and THEIR addresses;  how about a video of you that a friend posted to her Facebook account (unlike paranoid YOU, SHE doesn’t take care to adjust her privacy settings); how about various usernames and e-mail addresses? This issue goes way beyond potential employers finding embarrassing photos of you (although to be clear- my mother reads this, after all–  I’ve always preferred fully-clothed sobriety): this is in full-on “Hey, stalker, everything you ever wanted to know about me is RIGHT HERE!”/”You there, Ms. Identity Thief! Here’s all the info that you need to ruin my life!”.  If you want to learn more about this (including how to take steps to “erase” some of your info), see my tutorial.

Should I even bother climbing up on the soapbox to warn of the dangers of mobile check-ins? Oh, well, we all know that I’m going to, so why waste time?? I have a Facebook friend who regularly checks in at home.  In real life, I consider this Facebook friend (who we’ll call Gina) to be an acquaintance and not a friend, as we had a casual professional relationship, never socialized together, etc. Gina has 344 Facebook friends, which may or may not sound like a lot to you (It seems like a lot to me, but I have about 200 Facebook friends, so who am I to judge?). The point is that, given our own casual, not-real-world-friends status and the fact that Gina sent me a friend request, it makes me wonder how well she knows any of those other 343 people. And of course that’s none of my business, but I can’t help but be concerned because Gina uses Facebook’s mobile check-in service. She checks in at the grocery store on Thursdays; she checks in at work (the name of her employer is listed in her Facebook information); she checks in home. This last one is the scary one for me, mostly because Gina lives alone and, as I explained above, it would be very easy for someone to find out where she lives. Here’s the rub: do I say something? Is it really my place to point the risks she’s taking with her safety? Do I try and explain how whenever she shares information online, it’s no longer hers and can be kept forever by another individual or company?

That last question brings me to the European Union’s cause of The Right to be Forgotten. In essence, the right to be forgotten would give users the authority to force websites into permanently deleting their data. Europeans, it seems, have a very different view of privacy than Americans and the two sensibilities are butting heads as Europeans use the products of American companies such as Google and Facebook. The world is growing smaller and smaller: we have front-row seats to revolutions in Egypt and Tunisa via Twitter (and companies like Twitter and Google have to decide what their responsibilities to user privacy are in situations like this).

I feel sure that this isn’t the last post that I’ll write on the issue of privacy because, unfortunately, every single day brings some new story of privacy abused.

My RSS feeds are all abuzz with news of CES 2011 , an event that I once again did not get to attend. I’m beginning to feel like Giles did about never getting to go to the Watchers’ Retreat in the Cotswolds, though of course CES is not invitation-only.

But still, *cry*.

Anyhoo, lots of cool gadgets were showcased, and I’d like to focus on a few of the healthcare-related ones, as well as some gadgets that have been around for a while that you may not know about. (You can see a complete list of the 2011 honorees at the CES website).

The TabSafe Medication Management System.  According to the description on the website, the TabSafe:

This is a really great idea, but the barriers to common use that I see are learning to load and program the thing (I know too many people who have trouble with DVD players), and cost: the TabSafe unit can be rented for about $100/month (this includes 24-hour monitoring), or purchased outright for just over $1000/mo. with an additional fee for monitoring.

A low-cost alternative to the TabSafe are Glowcaps: they run about $10 on Amazon and monitoring costs about $15/mo.

The product description is as follows:

According to the Pharos website, the Pharos Cognit is:

“…a new integrated solution designed specifically for individuals living with brain injuries and other cognitive challenges. Cognit includes a Pharos Windows phone or PDA, Pharos’ Space & Time System (incorporating Pharos’ Smart Navigator and Follow Me services), a book or a DVD that provide lecture/training in a highly effective memory compensation strategy.” This seems like a great idea, particularly as it allows individuals with brain issues to lead more independent lives.

Features include:

• unlocked world phone gives individuals choices of cellular providers (AT&T or T-Mobile) in the US or travel abroad
• fast 3.5G communications with front webcam and rear camera allows a see-you-see-me or see-what-i-see interactive health care interview when needed and become available
• Smart Navigator helps individuals find their way home or reach their destinations confidently
• Follow Me services let family members or health care providers monitor a cognitive disorder individual’s location, remind them of activities, and keep space-time records
• focuses on practical day-to-day activities related to using a Windows Mobile PDA/smartphone for memory compensation
• includes integrated review and reference of cognitive skills throughout learning process. Bases its design on feedback from individuals living with cognitive challenges
• provides structured curriculum that can be used during therapy sessions. Complements existing cognitive therapy
• Integrates cognitive remediation strategies while teaching how to use a Windows Mobile PDA/smartphone

The Pharos Cognit retails for $499, and you can choose between AT&T or T-Mobile for your mobile and data plans. Personally, I think that the U.S. government should buy one of these for every service man and woman returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with traumatic brain injuries (and there are lots of them)- not to mention getting on the stick and providing them with the care that they need and which many are being denied.

No mention has been made of pairing this technology with Alzheimer’s patients, perhaps because of the demographic associated with that disease. And no, Mom, I’m not saying that older people can’t use smartphones, so please don’t cut off my apple butter supply.

Below are a few cool medgadgets that have been around for a while, but with which you may not be familiar:

Say hello to the Withings Blood Pressure Monitor. Simply connect it to your iPhone, wrap the cuff around your arm, engage the accompanying app and voila (Withings is based in Paris, so we have to say voila) your results are recorded and can then be transmitted to a Google health book or to social media sites such as Twitter. For $130, it can be yours. There are other BP cuff peripherals available- a quick web search will return several. What a great stride forward for mobile health! Health professionals in the field can use these and other peripherals to record and transmit patient information directly to other doctors. Fantastic!

And how about this one?

It’s the iBG Star, and it looks awesome (where was this thing when I had gestational diabetes??). Here’s the blurb from Diabetes Forecast online magazine: “Sanofi-Aventis and AgaMatrix have teamed up to create a USB-sized meter that turns an iPhone or iPod Touch into a blood glucose meter. Use the small device alone in a pinch (its face displays the reading), or plug it into an iPhone or iPod to check blood glucose levels, make notes, chart trends, and analyze results using the Diabetes Manager app.”

Pricing information on this device is oddly elusive. I will update if I find out.

To me, all of these devices herald a new era of patient self-advocacy. Think about it: these sorts of innovations are driven by the individual consumer. If there weren’t enough individuals buying them, they would disappear off of the market. The fact that these sort of innovations are surviving (and thriving) in the marketplace is but one more sign that the general public expects to be actively involved in its own healthcare. The days when patients quiescently listened to the doctor and wouldn’t dream of questioning diagnoses or treatments are largely over. The days when doctors were surprised when patients came to their appointments with questions and information about their conditions are over.  Over. Done. Finished. Kaput. Hang a toe-tag on ‘em, cause they’re dead, Jim.

This, dear readers, is one of the great, egalitarian accomplishments of the Internet: making truly useful information available to the public. Sure, the more intrepid could always go to libraries and look in reference books for information about their symptoms and conditions, but the Internet has made access to more and better information available instantaneously. When you can reach peer-reviewed articles, medical dictionaries, blogs by doctors, communities of people who live with the same disease/conditions, and a wealth of other information about what ails you, there is absolutely no excuse for not engaging in self-advocacy.

How do doctors feel about this? Well, obviously I can’t speak for all of them (and since they’re not the Borg they all have different opinions), but I myself have seen a shift in how doctors react to my self-advocacy. About 7 years ago my PCP literally yelled at me when I questioned him about the efficacy of a medication that he’d prescribed for me (Excuse me, dude, but if I haven’t seen ANY improvement in two weeks, then I would not describe it as efficacious. Plus, you shouldn’t be a jerk). That is an extreme example, but a nonetheless true one. Over the years the doctors I’ve visited have seemed less surprised at my bringing in articles and making references to studies, and I’m currently seeing a doctor who has a certain level of expectation for self-advocacy that is very refreshing. I think that many health professionals recognize that the more involved a patient is in his/her treatment, the less likely that patient is to become depressed and the MORE likely the patient is to make progress in fighting a disease. (There have been studies conducted and articles subsequently published on this topic, if that means anything to you).

Is there a dark side to more information accessibility? Of course! Sometimes patients decide that they “know more” than the person with years of medical training and experience and decide to discount needed advice and treatments. Sometimes patients do not understand how to evaluate an article’s accuracy, and give erroneous information undeserved credence. Both of these courses of action are inadvisable (doh) because we really do need doctors and all of the training that title implies… or would you trust your car repairs to a non-mechanic? I mean, just because you drive a car doesn’t mean that you know anything about fixing them.

The true value that a patient can bring to his/her experience is what no one else has, degrees or not: self-knowledge. You know what’s normal for you; you know how something makes you feel; you know when something is “off”. This self knowledge, when combined with good information and good questions, makes you a powerful force in your own healthcare: don’t hesitate to be that force.

I’d heard the rumors and couldn’t believe that it might actually happen, but today it was confirmed: Yahoo! is set to ax Delicious. This is horrible, horrible news for me and for a lot of other people who process lots of information. For me personally, Delicious is 50% of my information management process. I rely on Google Reader/Twitter to receive information, and on Delicious to hold it in an organized way for me. My presentations, classes, blog posts, etc, all rely heavily on being able to easily locate saved information and this will severely cripple me.

If you, too, rely on Delicious, please consider signing this petition: http://twitition.com/jbi3s and work to get the message out. Hey, Bloglines managed to avoid the chopping block, so maybe there’s hope for Delicious.

“Kimberley,” you ask, “why for art thine humors in such a state?” (because I know that you’re a freak who badly apes Elizabethan speech).

Why? Why??

I’ll tell you why! The redesign for the library’s mobile pages is finished, woot! Witness the magic here. I include some screenshots below, if you’re too dead lazy to click the link and look for yourself.

Behold the main page!

(Please note that this page was designed by my colleague, Jason (who also hacked my blog’s theme- he is awesome in so many ways). He also helped me to navigate the oddity of our Drupal editor. Another colleague (the famous E. from an earlier post- she called me “Space Girl”, if you recall) gave valuable advice and guidance.

Didja see the QR code at the top of the page, didja? Remember way back when I told you that I had some ideas for using QR codes in the library? Out of discussions of these ideas with colleagues came the plan of using them for this purpose (the idea was E.’s– I’m still sad that it wasn’t mine *cry*). It’s been a long road to get here. It shouldn’t have been, but it has. More on the process later, but for now: the Android page, BEHOLD!

The Apple page, behold!

The Blackberry page, behold!

The “What is this?” page, be-… You’re going to hit me if I say that again, aren’t you? Ok, fair enough…. TA-DA!

So there you have them: our newly designed mobile pages. The process wasn’t difficult at all: generate the QR codes (I used Kaywa), upload them, cut and paste the descriptions, make sure everything’s spaced evenly, test the codes, etc. Warning, warning: too much QR code generation can result in a severe headache and/or temporary insanity.

We are working on incorporating QR codes into our physical space as well, and will advertise them so as not to frighten the populace when they begin showing up   I’ll devote a post to that process sometime in the near future, but for now I’m going to stop here and upload this post. My boss just came into my office and yelled at me gave me chocolate, and told me that I’d better hurry up and get this post done, or else drive safely. Holy cow, he’s such a tyrant!

Being a line-walker makes one particularly susceptible to fear of medical settings: doctors’ offices, dentists’ offices, and, ugh, hospitals. During the instances when I’ve had surgery, I’ve often been more concerned about what I might catch than the actually surgery itself. Enter the Robertson Trust Laboratory for Electronic Sterilisation Technologies (ROLEST) invention: the HINS-light Environmental Decontamination System.

The system works like this: a narrow spectrum of high intensity narrow spectrum (HINS) light “excites” the molecules in bacteria, creating a chemical species that kills the bacteria itself. Must be one heck of a party. The research team (which sounds like the beginning of a joke: “Two microbiologists, an optical physicist, and an electrical engineer walk into a bar…”),  coupled the violet deathray with LED technology to create a system that can be paired with (or potentially replace) normal hospital lighting.  Completely harmless to humans, the HINS-light system spells doom for superbugs such as MRSA and C. diff and, glory of glories, can provide 24-hour disinfection. Why? Because it’s a lighting system, people, which means automation ! According to the press release, the system provides encompassing protection because it disinfects surfaces that are only receiving reflected (not just direct) HINS-light. Oh, and did I mention that it disinfects the air?

Though the system has proven 60% more effective at killing bugs than more traditional methods of disinfection during the 2-year trial period at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, no one is saying that you should give up on washing your hands. Please don’t. Again, that’s just gross. Although who knows, it may be that in 5-10 years we’re all disinfecting our hands with light dispensers instead of antibacterial soap.

There’s no word yet on what a system like this would cost, but I sincerely hope that the People in Charge would see the question as, “How can we afford NOT to implement this?”

Well done, ROLEST, I salute you. Oh, and so does Berners.