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Ditch Starbucks and work at the library

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Re: Ditch Starbucks and work at the library

#181

Post by steveklabnik »

mberning wrote: post #177
steveklabnik wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's true. There's a difference between acknowledging that and getting righteous about 'my tax dollars going to some poor people looking at porn,' that's all I'm saying.

Since when does watching where your money goes make you righteous? Has nothing to do whether I think they are right or wrong for looking at porn. I don't give a shit if people look at porn, or do drugs, or work as a prostitute. What drives me nuts is that this unsanctioned use drives more and more cost every year. If all the people viewing porn at the library were kicked out how many workstations would be rendered un…

> Sorry if that comes off as being 'righteous'.

The problem is that you're presenting it as a class issue. Read it again:

> Glancing over the screens I could see a variety of pornographic images, facebook and myspace pages, and youtube. The library is a great resource, but I was completely pissed off that my tax dollars go to support that.

This is a bit different than an argument that they could cut down on 'probably a significant number' of computers if there was lower usage. The whole point of having a resource is to use it, so I'd argue that we should be trying to promote utilization anyway...

'surfing youtube' vs 'how it's intended to be used' is missing the forest for the trees: libraries are about disseminating information.

> Thus, modern libraries are increasingly being redefined as places to get unrestricted access to information in many formats and from many sources. They are extending services beyond the physical walls of a building, by providing material accessible by electronic means, and by providing the assistance of librarians in navigating and analyzing tremendous amounts of information with a variety of digital tools.

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library

Re: Ditch Starbucks and work at the library

#182

Post by localhost3000 »

Boston public is a fantastic place to be productive. Beautiful structure. People are very respectful of the 'this is a library, stfu' rule, free wifi, and in the summer they host live music in the courtyard. One of the most laid back and under-estimated places in the entire city.

Re: Ditch Starbucks and work at the library

#183

Post by micah63 »

krschmidt wrote: post #15

Internet speed can also be an issue, for good or bad. I'll hit the coffee shop if I'm syncing with a server regularly or know I'll be researching a bunch, but the I'll hit the library if I want the internet to feel like dial-up.

exactly, the library is great and super quiet, but I was there today and the internet was horrendous...

Re: Ditch Starbucks and work at the library

#184

Post by bobbyi »

rbanffy wrote: post #81
ramchip wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You'll have to refrain these thoughts. It's a catholic campus ;)

The good thing with catholicism is that there is always forgiveness for those who repent.

“When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realised that the Lord doesn't work that way. So I stole one and asked Him to forgive me.”

-Emo Philips

Re: Ditch Starbucks and work at the library

#185

Post by thesash »

I have the same problem today that I had back in college- no caffeine at the library. I love working at the library, especially university libraries, but I need a steady stream of caffeine in order to do my best work. If they had a coffee maker at the UCLA library, I'd be sold.

Re: Ditch Starbucks and work at the library

#186

Post by darklajid »

Semiapies wrote: post #159
khafra wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread.

I suspect we can make a sensible distinction between being harassed by the police for being homeless and not being able to look at porn in a public library.

I think that is just as misleading as the quote above.

Decide for yourself: Is this thread about viewing pornography in public places? Is this thread about _homeless_ or _too poor to pay for internet access in any way_ people looking at porn? Or are we seriously discussing about tax dollars being spent in a wrong way?

Disclaimer following: I'm not a US guy and I've never been there, but both based on extrapolation (looking at my country, guessing it's not that different over there) and some public media stunts I'd like to reset some expectations here.

Paying for library internet access and the machines there won't ruin your country, period. If the libraries are somewhat similar to ours, the machines are old/reused/will stay for years or are a gift of a local company. Internet is a given for most places anyway and doesn't cost more if you're not only using it behind the counter but offer a couple of public places to use it as well.

So in the end I think the "tax dollar" argument is moot. It's - with my limited understanding - completely bogus and just tries to reinforce a moral problem with the use of public workstations ("I don't like your use case _and btw I pay for that_"). Chances are, you're not. Not in any way worth mentioning. Had a donut or a coffee at Starbucks (bridging the gap back to the article again) recently? Chances are you paid a lot more than the amount of your taxes going into "funding for internet usage in libraries".

Seriously. This thread seems completely disconnected from reality and nothing but a "WAH!" in my book.

Re: Ditch Starbucks and work at the library

#187

Post by burgerbrain »

Semiapies wrote: post #159
khafra wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread.

I suspect we can make a sensible distinction between being harassed by the police for being homeless and not being able to look at porn in a public library.

Of course there is always the oh so subtle difference between "being harassed by the police for being homeless" and "being harassed by the police while incidentally being homeless".

I've lived in 3 major cities, and I've only once seen what I would describe as unwarranted attention from the police directed the homeless. In fact, the majority of the time the police seem to completely ignore them, even when they're purposely making a scene. They know there's realistically nothing they can do, crazies will be crazy.

Re: Ditch Starbucks and work at the library

#188

Post by nir »

I find that one of the most productive places for me are hotel rooms. For some reason I seem to get a lot of work done in a hotel room in a foreign country. If you need to make a living while working on your project, a Sales Engineer type role that has you traveling a lot (trains/planes aren't bad for concentrating as well) is in my experience a great way to do that.

Re: Ditch Starbucks and work at the library

#189

Post by marklabedz »

adestefan wrote: post #115
edw519 wrote: post #29

Maybe we're lucky in Pittsburgh, but we have the best of both worlds at the main branch of the Carnegie Library. You can take a tour of where I work 2 or 3 days per week: http://www.clpgh.org/locations/main/tours/virtualtour/ It's fantastic. It was built by Andrew Carnegie in 1895 and most of it is original. I get inspiration from the 20 foot ceilings and hand made ornamentation everywhere you look. They simply don't…

Carnegie built beautiful libraries all throughout the mid-west and northeast. Most universities and cities that were around in the late 19th to early 20th centuries have a Carnegie library or a building in town was a library at one point in time. The small liberal arts college I attended in PA had a Carnegie library that was converted into an art museum. I took photography and other art classes in the building. It wa…

>>The small liberal arts college I attended in PA had a Carnegie library that was converted into an art museum.

Likewise, the small liberal arts school I attended in IN. At the time it was converted, it was structurally in better shape than the "new" library, but unfortunately, quite undersized.

Re: Ditch Starbucks and work at the library

#190

Post by SwellJoe »

chc wrote: post #178
SwellJoe wrote: post #39

I have a 3G/4G modem with unlimited use (from Clear), and no longer consider WiFi availability as an important part of the decision making process of where to work. I'm currently camped in the desert in Southern California, 35 miles from the nearest "big" city (Brawley, which is not very big, but it does have a Walmart). But, I never have been able to work in coffee shops. I can't think long enough with all the distr…

It surprises me that's possible. I can't get Clear in San Diego, but they have reception in the desert to the east? That's a really strange growth plan.

Clear runs on the Sprint network. If you have the "on the go" plan, you can use both 4G networks (of which there are only a dozen, or so, cities) and 3G networks (Sprint EVDO), which I'm certain is available in San Diego, because I've used the Sprint network there. It's the more expensive plan, but at $45/month, it's practically free, as far as I'm concerned...it means I'm not tied to cities and I can choose my campsites based on how awesome they are (or how cheap they are, if I'm feeling poor because I spent too much on gas getting there).

In short, click the "3G" radio button on the coverage map...suddenly San Diego will be thoroughly covered.

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