Impressions of Day Two and Three of CIL2010

My Computers in Libraries experience tends to blur after the first full day of the conference, but here are some of my impressions from those last two days of the conference. My conference tweets from CIL can be found at @confbaldgeek This is my happy recap of the last two days of the conference.

I Love It When A Plan Comes Together: Flashback to 2009: At some point at CIL or right after CIL, a group of T is for Training folks discussed what changes we would love to see at the Computers In Libraries conference, including tracks that focused on Training/Learning.

Flash Forward to 2010 at Computers In Libraries, I spent a majority of CIL in Tuesday’s Teaching Track moderated by T is for Training Regular Lori Reed where I encountered a number of interesting presentations including my own (presented with Bobbi Newman) and Wednesday’s Learning: Expanding Our Knowledge moderated by T is for Training regular Jill Hurst-Wahl.

Technology Help Desk/Reference Ninja Skills, I haz them: I will quote Jason P. from here:

“One highlight of CiL conference this year: Maurice and Rochelle sat to eat their lunches at the vacant “Flat Tax.org” table set up for the conference that started after CIL. Rachel and I left to set up our presentation and came back a few minutes later to find that the two of them had done research and were explaining the concept and political ramifications of flat taxation to people who wandered up with questions.”

Let’s just say that Rochelle Hartman and I would both stand out in a Flattax.org photorgraph. It was a very cool thing to do.

21st Century Communication is Very Cool: My phone died the last day of the conference and I had to let my wife know that I needed to be picked up at a different train station at a later time that evening.

So, I used the hotel wireless to send a text message to her cell phone via the web and asked her to call Beth Tribe, to say that she got the message and Beth was then to email me the either yes or no from her cell phone. Which she did, but I didn’t get it, but we ran into each other at Union Station so she told me the old-fashioned way.

I love modern technology.

You Are Who You People Know You As: Tuesday afternoon I lost my flared out badge for CIL ( Trust me, it was awesome, with flair from two other conferences adding to the CIL mix.)

So, I sulk, look for and subsequently give up trying to find the thing. (If you were at CIL and upon cleaning out your bag you find my name badge drop me a line.) I decide to go to the speaker’s reception armed with my wit and my newly acquired blue pouch for my cell phone and some business cards. Fast forward about an hour later and there is some holding forth going on with some friends asking about my name badge. Stephen Abrams in the middle of his conversation looks at me and says, “Who are you the Square White Guy?”

by djfielander

Done and Done with laughter. Later on that evening at Karaoke, someone passed around his glasses and took pictures of folks including yours truly.

While at karaoke, it seems that Stephen lost his name badge. I came into possession of said badge and went “Canadian” for the last day of the conference, prompting occasionally confused looks from CIL2010 attendees.