infinite monkey theorem

“If there are as many monkeys as there are particles in the observable universe (1080), and each types 1,000 keystrokes per second for 100 times the life of the universe (1020 seconds), the probability of the monkeys replicating even a short book is nearly zero.” (via wikipedia)

yes, but how many would it take, and how long, to create an index of the book i’m co-authoring? since it’s not replication i assume it would be quicker. who wants to test this for me?

monkey typing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(yes, i’m kidding)

 

Posted in writing | 3 Comments

Time to think

i’m working on chapter 6 of our book and have decided to include a section called “time to think.” the end of a marketing cycle is assessment, and that step feeds right back into the next cycle’s first step, project description. my mind has run through the literature on assessment and i’ve been hoping to see quotes that say things like, “part of assessment is to sit there and think about what you’ve accomplished,” or “reflect, you’ve earned it,” or “celebrate your completion of this process.” i’m including a section about this in my book because i think it’s important to sit, to just *be* at the end of a project. time to reflect, to synthesize, to take what you’ve learned and apply it to future actions is the key for information to become knowledge.

usually when i finish a project i celebrate by organizing digital and paper files but i’ll be making an effort to still myself at completion to let it all really sink in, rather than rushing on to the next thing.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/way2go/4112797721/in/photostream/

Posted in management, marketing, organization tips, writing | Comments Off on Time to think

“the elements”

Reviewing the force majeure clause in a license agreement today and came across the following language: “For purposes of this Agreement, a ‘Force Majeure’ event shall be any cause beyond the reasonable control of the Party so failing including, without limitation, . . . the elements . . . .” Usually events such as war, civil disorder, collapse of government are included in that clause. Seeing “the elements” listed made me smile. Can’t argue with the elements!

Posted in e-resource mgmt, license agreements | Comments Off on “the elements”

evidence of ways that libraries are marketing their electronic resources

i’m curating a collection of web snippets that show evidence of ways that libraries are marketing their electronic resources over at scoop.it. add it to your feed reader to stay up on how libraries are connecting with their patrons related to e-resources. http://www.scoop.it/t/marketing-electronic-resources
scoop.it logo

Posted in articles i'm reading, e-resource mgmt, library | Comments Off on evidence of ways that libraries are marketing their electronic resources

How many databases?

How many databases?
see more orgmonkey comics over at http://orgmonkey.stripgenerator.com/

Posted in comic, e-resource mgmt, library | 3 Comments

gliffy for online chart drawing

you guys know i’ve been a fan of lovelycharts.com for making a quick flow chart but i was just introduced to gliffy and prefer it. you can save 5 diagrams on your free account and it integrates with google docs and confluence wiki. nice. it’s the product i’d recommend if you’re creating a SWOT chart; the template they provide is really well done and exports as jpeg, png, svg, or xml. take a look at gliffy the next time you need to make a flow chart, Venn diagram, or organization chart.

gliffy icon

Posted in organizational tools | 2 Comments