Jobs update

Well I didn’t get a librarian job, if you hadn’t gathered that from Twitter. They hired someone for the User Education Technologies job but the Digital Media Technologies job was called a failed search and they’ll re-advertise it in the future. Better luck next time I guess.

On the brighter side my current position here at the library is being reviewed for an upgrade, and I’m in the pools for 2 other jobs elsewhere at UT and I’ve made it into the second round for both I think. Not that I want to leave the library really but in a money crunch you do what you have to.

Update on Cable, Interviews etc.

If you’ve looked at the recent posts here, you’d see that I’ve had issues with Comcast. I’m happy to report all is well. Setting up the Tivo again was a bit complicated, since this is the first time I’ve had a digital cable box. Having the Internet at home again is great, I was having withdrawal problems on the weekends.

Interviewed for a new job yesterday. Actually two, it was a combined search. Instructional Services Librarian for User Education Technologies/Digital Media Technologies. It went well, we’ll see what happens.

Comcast update – progress

Update 11:53 a.m. Cable will be installed tomorrow. Line run in the morning, cable installed in the house between 3 and 5 p.m. 🙂

Update 11:14 a.m It looks like we’ll be getting cable tomorrow! 🙂

Stephanie got a call from Comcast last night. Apparently all the phone calls Monday and anger associated with those calls didn’t go unnoticed. We should be on the road to solving our cable problems. If they haven’t called us back by tonight we have the direct lines of a couple of the higher ups in Knoxville. Thank you Comcast. Hopefully this will all be straightened out soon.

Comcast doesn’t have the best command structure

Update: it’s in interesting tale, so feel free to read. Issues resolved, thanks Benny and Kirk and whoever else was involved for their quick work on this. Hopefully this situation won’t happen to anybody else.

So Stephanie and I got our new house built and we finally moved in in April. Our new house is a little over 500 feet away from where the cable line stops. We understood this might take Comcast some time to do so we first told them about it in February. At that point we didn’t think there would be any problems.

In March we call to check in. Comcast sends out a technician who runs a line from the closest electric pole to the house. He says he doesn’t know why they haven’t run the line yet and resubmits the request.

When we move into the house in the beginning of April we call Comcast and they send out the install tech again. Of course there is no line so there is nothing to install.

A bit later we go to Comcast’s local office in Knoxville and find out that our request has been moved into the second quarter budget which started April 1. We are told at that we should have cable in 4 to 6 weeks and we should cancel our service and re sign up when the new cable is installed.

May 12, which is 4 to 6 weeks after we were told 4 to 6 weeks, we go to Comcast’s office again and they say someone should be at your house today. No one was. We start calling. We are always told, after much time on hold, that “We have emailed the construction department, someone will call you back”. No one ever calls us back. Last week we were told that we missed several appointments for an install. Which is odd because no one has ever called us.

We are told that our cable would be installed yesterday, Monday June 2. I take that day off work and wait. and wait. and wait. Stephanie calls and is told our appointment was moved to an all day timeframe, someone should be there by 4 p.m. So I wait. No-one comes.

So Stephanie calls again and talks to a supervisor. The supervisor says that our request has been moved to the 3rd quarter of 2008 and we might get cable by October. They also say that the people have been scheduling things and saying people will show up are wrong and this should never have happened.

So Comcast never had any intention of giving us cable. And AT&T doesn’t offer DSL where we are. So satellite internet is our only remaining option.

Anybody have any opinions on HughesNet or WildBlue?

Stephanie and I really didn’t like getting jerked around by Comcast. Comcast if you’re listening we really want cable, just tell us what animals to sacrifice or who to bribe.

End of an era

Hodges Library no longer has a reference desk. We had a wake for it yesterday afternoon. Day to day reference questions have been moved upstairs to the Commons desk.

In fact Hodges no longer has a reference department. It’s been split into Integrated User Services, Research Services, and Research Collections. I understand and support the reasons for it but it is sad to see the end of an era.

We have the power

Well technically my new house does. The floors are done and the electricity is on and working.

Stephanie has updates. The wood floors look nice. I’m really pleased with how the floors turned out.

More Lisa birthday pictures.

The library reorg picked up steam yesterday, some new appointments have been made and searches are starting. A couple of the new jobs look very appealing.

More on the sad state of Hoskins Library

The Knoxville News Sentinel has a story on Hoskins Library. The damage over there is pretty serious. If you ask me they should just tear down the Kefauver wing instead f trying to fix the foundation (which has been tried before).

Be sure to check out the video that goes with the article. Some of those cracks are quite large. It will take serious money to fix all that damage even if the foundation is fixed.

Tourists in the Library

Saw this article in the Univ. of Tennessee student newspaper titled “Library not a place for frivolity“. It’s mildly satirical (in my opinion) but raises some valid points. For example, “why do you come to the library at midnight to get on Facebook?” Or “Why come to the library just to check it out … in the middle of the night?”

I know, the newly remodeled Commons here at Hodges is very nice.. And I’m familiar with the “Library as Place” idea that factored into it’s creation. But is the campus library really supposed to be the new student center? Or a computer lab? Maybe it’s the way libraries have to go in the 21st century but at times I miss the peace and quiet.

Note: I also posted this at LISNews.