The new catalog is grand. I've enjoyed finding a few new fiction authors and more farm, garden and building books. Seems like this will be a good tool for our library staff and patrons. It's neat to contribute content.

In the spirit of carefully read directions I've now added two rss feeds from library journal, new librarians and hot topics. Both are very informative. My third rss is Library garden. It interesting and entertaining.

I have subscribed to the rss feeds for the Columbia tribune's local news, Harpers magazine, and The Economists daily news and views. Wow handy.

Web 2.0. I liked the reviews and comparisons of web sites. I particularly liked oodle. Oodle has more pictures and refinable searches links to maps more bells and whistles. I can't believe it, but here maybe a better classifieds than craigslist.

Mr. Wendell Berry

"In any discussion of agriculture or food production, it would be hard to exaggerate the importance of such love. No doubt there are people who farm without it, but without it nobody
will be a good farmer or a good husbander of the land. We seem now to be coming to a time
when we will have to recognize the love of farming not as a quaint souvenir of an outdated
past but as an economic necessity. And that hard work and long days, not to mention getting
dirty? In my worst, clearest moments I am afraid the necessity of agriculture will not be
widely recognized without the sterner necessity of actual hunger. For half a century or so, our
informal but most effective agricultural policy has been to eat as much, as effortlessly,
as thoughtlessly, and as cheaply as we can, to hell with whatever else may be involved.
Such a policy can of course lead to actual hunger." From a speech by Wendell Berry, given May 6th 2008.

Wendell Berry is for me one of those authors who said to me things I already thought. He said those things so much more completely and with such greater depth that I realized my "thoughts" were the start of much larger revelations to be had in an unexpected direction. I read Mr Berry's book The Unsettling of America while attending an agricultural college. The book changed my future. Away from a well traveled path for sure.

I've devoted most of my life long learning to practical skills, building houses, demolishing houses, making 70 year old tractors live (and live again and live again finally be replaced by a small Japanese tractor) gardens, greenhouses, chickens (hatching, laying, butchering). Practical skills are satisfying to me in profound way. "I made this" is remarkably wonderful feeling. Meals in which everything you're eating is grew or raised. It is of never ending amazement to me how subtle and intricate practical hands on problems can be. The 1/2 skill really is the most important. Keeping your learning process enjoyable is real important.

1st Blog

1st blog Southern Boone. We are still surprised that the internet works down here so I will attempt to overcome my amazement and articulate coherent dialogue.