Kelly in Kansas

It's the start of another week and I'm certainly glad daylight savings time is over. It was too dark too late in the morning. We're finally having some great fall days and I wore myself out working outside yesterday. We've had so much rain that there hasn't been the opportunity to make steady progress on the outside work. 

I spent two days at the Eisenhower Library last week. There were newly released documents (or at least critical parts of documents) and I also discovered a new big topic to investigate after I finish the current one. I'm actually pretty excited about given that I can do such a much better job this time around. I had taken teachers to the Ike Library a few years ago but otherwise it had been over a decade since I had researched there. But I was looking at some of the same collections with new and much more experienced eyes and felt much more efficient. This is the part of my job I've missed - doing my work and not scrambling to get material together for teachers that they sometimes use and sometimes don't. 

I'm headed to a national meeting and looking forward to engaging with colleagues from a variety of disciplines. I'll be in DC again in a month so there isn't the push to see and do everything in the evenings there normally is. I'm headed up early so that I can get out to Archives II to meet with the Assistant Archivist who was responsible for my appointment to the committee. I solicited his latest insight into the NARA move to a more comprehensive digital strategy and so I will navigate out to College Park and then get myself back. No rain is expected which always makes traversing walking and riding to the meetings and walking around in the evening. We were there for the election this time last year and I still remember waking up at 3 am to hear Katie Couric say that as Pennsylvania went, so did the rest of the country. It was amazing to be in DC that next morning - I hadn't thought about what great effort it would take to buy a newspaper announcing the election results. And, since we were near the capitol area, there was the post-election buzz in the air. 

The semester is on the downhill slide. Lots of grading awaiting me and managing some various personalities in both positive and less than positive ways. 

I'm using Facebook more for daily updates and to share but I'm not quite ready to let go of my version of reflective practice. I should be putting big project updates on that blog but I have to get a bit more organized. And I'll be learning Wordpress as a result of some of my service activities. 

Fall is definitely one of the best things about the academic life. And living in the Midwest. We had outstanding color this year despite what seemed to be the continual rain torrents. 

Labels: academic life, ACERA, DC, Eisenhower, Eisenhower Library, electronic records, ERA, Facebook, fall, Harry Truman, NARA, National Archives, Washington, WordPress

This Chronicle article examines the challenges faced in all of our human archives - what to do with all of the digital records of our existence. We're struggling with this on the ACERA committee on the federal record level but it impacts us down to teach individual. I kept a journal that was actually too detailed through my late teenage years but the record of my life for more than the last decade are the emails I've sent to my friend I met via H-Net online that have been authored in more than one email program. I've purposely stayed away from Outlook and Outlook Express because of the viruses. But I'm not sure anyone will ever be able to open my Pegasus Mail (if there is any one out there that would ever want to, that is . . . )

The article explores the work taking place at the University of Maryland's Institute for Technology in the Humanities. Furthermore, the author asserts how important for us to know how a particular individual did their writing since it's often no longer comparing and contrasting the rough drafts. With modern writers, how many ideas are on their first generation Blackberry we would already have trouble accessing? We keep records in so many different places, how will we reconcile and understand these multiple inputs?

On another front, I'm enjoying a crisp spring day before it rains on the Easter Bunny.

Labels: access, ACERA, humanities, National Archives, preservation, technology

OK, this is the last trip for awhile (and normally this meeting is earlier in the month). I'm headed to DC for a National Archives electronic records meeting and there are always interesting discussions and insights from all - not only the DC internal agency bureaucracy but from the influential people representing a diversity of public and private sectors sitting around the table.

And, can I say, I love Midwest! They were able to find me an exit row seat and so I don't have to sit with the back of a seat in my lap like on the last two Southwest flights - it's unusual to get behind two inconsiderate people in a row (leaving the seat ALL the way back even when they are resting their head forward and not even touching the back of the chair). My seat doesn't recline but at least I'll have space in front of me.

We're staying near L'Enfant Plaza which has quite a few restaurants and interesting activities. Time to board.

Labels: ACERA, electronic records, flight, NARA

I've been meaning to spend more time at our university library and recent circumstances have allowed more time for doing work there instead of at home. Much to my surprise, I not only found 5 or 6 interesting new books, I found more like 25. I just immersed myself knowing that I couldn't focus on any one thing for very long anyway. Lots of 20th century history along with blogging, podcasting, and education books had arrived on our shelves. I also worked on an Eleanor Roosevelt encyclopedia entry. I hope to do some research in our special collections and in the records annex for the county historical society nearby (in my hometown across the state line).

Today I'm off to DC for a National Archives electronic records meeting. It will be good to be away and engaged and learning and interacting with fellow professionals as well as many who are leading the way into the digital future.

Labels: ACERA, books, DC, electronic records, library, National Archives, research

Thanks to Dan Reed, I ordered a copy of "Avoid Boring People" and had a chance this afternoon (or should I say, made time) to sit down and start reading it. While it's obvious that he has not patience for those not as intelligent as he is, his "rules of life" including avoiding boring people (and he also references scientists who are boring at social parties . . . ). It's a retrospective of Watson's life - written after he wrote his books about his vital work with DNA.

I have tried to better understand science through the context of writing grants for the local education service center through which I do some of my history grant work. And I met Dan Reed as part of a committee we're both on for the National Archives and the future of electronic records. Dan is amazing as bringing the conversation to a 'consensus' of either mutual agreement or disagreement but, most importantly, ensuring that the conversation moves forward instead of getting stuck in circles. It's amazing to watch the non-science aspects of his personality within the group dynamic. And it's definitely an approach I can learn from and I'm sure it's part of what propelled him to North Carolina to work for the larger good.

I've been at the farm this weekend and my most proud accomplishment is getting the generator working again without having to call expensive repair people from over 100 miles away. I had lost track of the time I had checked on it at the actual generator and discovered the oil was once again low - I can't imagine how that happened given that I know I haven't checked it in a year. After attempting to decipher the operation manual among the maze of electrical diagrams and multiple, multiple warnings of electric and shock hazards leading to death, I went outside and checked the oil. Then, I found the switch that allowed it to be off, on, or auto. If I want it to kick on when the electricity coming to the house ceases, I guessed right (after re-consultation with the manual) that auto was the correct setting. And, then, on the inside switch that also sets the time it self-tests each week and runs for 20 minutes so it's ready, willing, and able when it's actually needed (most likely in below-freezing temperatures accompanied by howling winds), I worked with the diagrams and re-re-consulted the manual how to set it to auto-test each week and hopefully on Sundays late in the mornings. One of the early challenges upon completing the farm house in 2002 was a generator that went off at 3am on Thursdays. Given that I am a light sleeper, that meant that I was up for the day. If only I had realized how easy it was to re-set.

I've also had time to reflect on the loss of one opportunity last week and a new opportunity the week earlier. While it took awhile for the earlier opportunity to sink in, I am now at peace with no longer having the latter opportunity. I'm pretty stubborn and sometimes have to be knocked around a bit before I head in the right direction. But I have faith I am getting closer to the right destination - or shohttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifuld I say the right next destination, since I have now figured out the cycles and processes of life are not usually endpoints even when my Type A personality strives (and wishes) to find them and accomplish them. As my brother has stated several times, telling me I can't do something is like waving a red flag in front of a bull. I just need to decide which red flags to challenge and which to ignore or, if not possible to ignore, to manage as a normal part of life.

I have some more grant reports to write and the ever-present grading to do next week along with a trip to Topeka to become a foundation board member.

Another decision made this weekend was to enjoy the great fall weather and working outside. Breaking limbs into sticks and watching them burn in the chiminea is great therapy. My eyes are still causing problems but I'm not going to lose the fall to them - esp. when the doctor mentioned that it may not disappear until we have a hard freeze and it may be something that just corrects itself with time if it's not allergy related.

Labels: ACERA, boring people, Dan Reed, farm, goals, James Watson, KSHS, life, National Archives, North Carolina, opportunities, outdoors, RENCI