Google Buys Motorola Mobility, Does What It Does Every Night

For 12.5 Billion United States Dollars, Google has set forth plans to purchase Motorala Mobility.  With this purchase, Google will give itself weight in the cellphone wars by claiming over 17,000 patents as well as put forth a platform to design and implement a stronger line of phones.  Google representatives claim they will not run the company and keep it as a separate business. Wired

Yeah, I believe that.  Two years, in two little years we will all be buying Googarola phones and sticking them in our skin, marking ourselves for the beast before they condemn us to the information purge.  Or there's gonna be some kick-ass, cheap phones a'comin.  Allz I know is 2012 is around the corner and John Cusack has not been seen in weeks.

Google Plus Books and Games Equals A Bad Blog Title

Who the hell wrote this?

Google+ announced this week that not only can you beg your friends to join the new social network service, but you can play games and share books with them while they are not there (yet). 

Kinda like a GoodReads, Google+ now allows you to integrate the Google Books ebooks you are reading with members of your circles.  Add in the Huddle feature and bookclubs are sure to get even more awkward as I always forget to read the book until the night before.

Zynga Poker, Dragon Age Legends and other games are soon/now to be available on Google+.  Match scores and stuff with your friends, or something.  I honestly can't imagine gaming like this but then I just got my Steam account and it rocks.  If Google goes more Steam and less Farmville then you can count me in like Flynn.

ITProPortal     LATimes     G4Feed     NECN

Airplane Joke

Still testing, here's another joke:

Three guys are in an airplane flying high over a major city.  One has a cigar puffing away, one has a dog barking, and one has a baby crying.

The flight attendant has had enough.  He walks over, grabs the cigar from the man's mouth, opens the emergency door and throws it out.

Cigar man, outraged, grabs the dog and throws it out the emergency door.

Dog man, livid, grabs the baby but before he can throw the child out the door a brick smashes him in the face and kills him.

Brick Joke

Brick Joke

Sorry for this random post, but I seem to be having trouble with my feeds and may send out a few for testing.  Here's a joke:

Three construction workers were standing around a work site one day having lunch.  The first looks at the other two and says, "You guys are worthless.  I bet 10 bucks I can throw a brick higher than both of you."
The other two take the bet and gather three equal sized bricks.
The first guy leans way back and throws his brick.  The brick goes up and over the tallest crane at the construction site.
The second guy leans way back and throws his brick.  His brick goes up and over the skyscraper next door to the construction site.
The third guy leans way back and throws his brick.  They never see the brick land.

Get it?!

 Airplane Joke

Google Books to Deal with Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys

French publisher Hachette Libre has agreed to allow Google Books to scan tens of thousands of their french language books. The deal comes after years of work by Google to get U.S. publishers to scan their materials since 2005.

Hachette said it will make these e-books available to the Bibliothèque Nationale de France as well as other libraries to "contribute to the advancement of French culture." PCMag

 So, Google, could not get what you wanted here in America so you saunter off to be with your French hussy, huh?  I get it.  Good for you.  All the best things are French.  Maids.  Kissing.  Fries.  But when I think technological revolutions of the modern age, I don't think France.  This is a place that will not allow new words to be created without Frenching them up.  That in itself is backwards, having to use old rules on new things.  Hell, Google, don't worry with the scanning.  Just hit the translate button and go about your day.

I have to point out that I have been to Paris and greatly enjoyed my time there.  The people were kind and supportive of the goofy American kid on holiday and I hope no one is offended by the whole "cheese-eating surrender monkey" thing.  The title of this post is a gentle jab because, quite honestly, that is one of the best phrases in the English language.  Just say it out loud without smiling.  I dare you.

Library Goes to the Amish

Amish?  Nah.

One of the more interesting things about the new LaGrange County Library in northern Indiana is the all Amish Furniture.  The solid wood furniture was made and sold by Weaver Furniture Sales, an Amish business since 1989.  Is this odd?  Well, hell yeah it's odd, especially if you have a sheltered view of the Amish like I do.

The Amish are supposed to be all back-to-the-pilgrims, ignorant and innocent of our strange mechanical and electrical ways.  Why the hell do they know what computer desks are for?  Have you seen their website?  There's poker tables and CD trays in there.  What the hell, Amish people?  You make good furniture, but I held you to higher standards than that.  This is gorgeous furniture, but man, I don't need that kind of culture shock!  And why the hell is there a website?!

benzinga

Stealing, Losing Money and Outsourcing: This Week in Library Stuff

A former Yonkers library worker has plead not guilty to stealing over $160,000.  As part of the library's business office, Margret Reed had ample opportunity to allegedly steal the missing money and alter records, so claims the prosecution.  So, let me get this straight... you get away with $26ishK a year of library money and you keep doing it for 6 years cause you're so cool?  What the hell, lady?  I could see if you had a sick cat or something, but you don't.  You are just a messed up fraud that needs a mommy.  LoHud

A cafe in the Laramie County Library of Cheyenne, Wyoming has lost about $43K in the last fiscal year.  The cafe space was once operated by an outside company until they were evicted from the library space for late rent.  Since then, the library has been staffing the cafe.  And how.  I did a lot of restaurant work.  Many library skills apply: attention to detail, ability to make coffee, good with inventory.  Where do librarians almost always suck: money.  Seriously, there's usually only one person in the building that can count down a drawer and they do it with a giant calculator.  The kind with a slot machine arm.  WyomingNews

Well, the ALA has reared its head and talked a little about "privatization," ACBKA (also could be known as) "outsourcing."  In a document called Keep Libraries Public, the ALA points out that outsourcing is not privatization and libraries should keep it all in the family except when they don't have to.  I think Michael Corleone thought that, too.  Just like the people we talked about with the cafe, there are some things that libraries should not do.  Hell, I think I would give my right arm to have Kinko's come in and take over the labs and copies.  I would love to see that.  Meet Bob, he's a Kinko's dude, is better trained and better paid than 90% of our paraprofessionals.  Call him if you need help navigating the strange land of The Google.  They could probably write that off on their taxes.  LibraryJournal