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0|0|0|||1||Welcome to the Future|Gryphon||00:34:41|08/29/2016|The future of pulp and paper technology circa 1962%2C anyway.%0D%0A%0D%0A%3E%28Somewhere here I have the brochure from the grand opening of the %0D%0A%3Ecompany%27s brand new Engineering and Research Center in the 1950s.  %0D%0A%3EIt%27s full of the grandiose optimism stereotypical of the era%2C about %0D%0A%3Ehow the state-of-the-art facility would help the company harness the %0D%0A%3Eboundless power of science to make everything better forever.  Kind of %0D%0A%3Edepressing to read now%2C when the building is a crumbling ruin and %0D%0A%3Eeverything is not better forever%2C but at the time it must have been %0D%0A%3Ehard not to be swept along by the current.  I scanned it once%2C a few %0D%0A%3Eyears ago%2C since as far as we know it%27s the last copy.  Maybe I should %0D%0A%3Edig up the files and post them%3F%29 %0D%0A%0D%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2FG-GFX%2FGNP%2520ERC%25201962%2520brochure.pdf%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited  http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D
1|1|0|||1||RE%3A Welcome to the Future|Mercutio||01:06:13|08/29/2016|This is actually pretty timeless graphic design. With the exception of some minor trivialities %28the font choice%2C the paper stock%2C the photos being in black and white%29 this could be laid out just like that today and it would work perfectly well. Well... maybe not the floor plan. That would never be published today for security reasons.%0D%0A%0D%0AI%27m curious%2C Ben. You say you might have the last copy of this particular curio. Does Millinocket have a Historical Society%3F Most towns do. My own little village along the Erie Canal has one. It isn%27t very big%2C but you can walk in and see all kinds of stuff like this. We have a whole case of similar documents to this one published by local heavy industry until we... stopped having local heavy industry. One imagines they%27d like to have this.%0D%0A%0D%0A-Merc%0D%0AKeep Rat
2|2|1|||1||RE%3A Welcome to the Future|Gryphon||23:02:57|08/29/2016|%3EI%27m curious%2C Ben. You say you might have the last copy of this %0D%0A%3Eparticular curio. Does Millinocket have a Historical Society%3F%0D%0A%0D%0AIt does%2C although%2C as with so many things in small towns like this one%2C there are... certain political realities.%0D%0A%0D%0AI%27ve been meaning to check the special collections at the University of Maine%27s Fogler Library%2C where most of the original GNP%27s papers went%2C to see if they have a copy.  If they don%27t%2C that would be my first choice of home for it.  If they do%2C the town museum might be interested%3B the library might have as well%2C before the town council defunded it.  Now that it%27s being operated at a loss by the Friends of the Library society%2C they probably don%27t have the bandwidth for keeping special documents.%0D%0A%0D%0AYeah%2C that%27s how fucked Millinocket is.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited  http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D
3|3|2|||1||RE%3A Welcome to the Future|Mercutio||03:42:09|08/30/2016|... good lord%2C really%3F%0D%0A%0D%0AIn my neck of the woods%2C the original town library is usually one of the two or three oldest municipal buildings %5Bi%5Din%5B%2Fi%5D the town%2C right after the town hall and a church of some sort. %28Yeah%2C I know%2C churches aren%27t technically municipal buildings but in the early 19th century they might as well have been.%29 Having a functional library was just... what you did. It was considered part of being a civilized community. %0D%0A%0D%0A-Merc%0D%0AKeep Rat
4|4|3|||||RE%3A Welcome to the Future|thorr_kan||16:59:08|08/30/2016|%3E... good lord%2C really%3F %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3EIn my neck of the woods%2C the original town library is usually one of %0D%0A%3Ethe two or three oldest municipal buildings %5Bi%5Din%5B%2Fi%5D the town%2C right %0D%0A%3Eafter the town hall and a church of some sort. %28Yeah%2C I know%2C churches %0D%0A%3Earen%27t technically municipal buildings but in the early 19th century %0D%0A%3Ethey might as well have been.%29 Having a functional library was just... %0D%0A%3Ewhat you did. It was considered part of being a civilized community. %0D%0A%0D%0AOf course.  What does it contribute to the Bottom Line%3F  Nothing%2C it%27s just a time waster.%0D%0A%0D%0ANOTE%3A  Those who espouse shut views are morons.  And %2AI%2A am not one of them.%0D%0A%0D%0AIt is one of those requirements%2C like a fire department and a source of groceries.
5|4|3|||1||RE%3A Welcome to the Future|Gryphon||21:26:36|08/30/2016|[updated:LAST EDITED ON Sep-02-16 AT 02:32 PM (EDT)]%3E... good lord%2C really%3F %0D%0A%0D%0AYup.  Really.%0D%0A%0D%0AParaphrased somewhat for brevity%2C the council%27s logic is%2C %22It costs money and people nowadays don%27t read anyway.  Also%2C something something the Internet.%22%0D%0A%0D%0AThe council chairman at the time was a man who has been known for openly mocking people who use their words%26mdash%3Bwe had a lot of trouble with him at the newspaper back in the day%E2%80%94and I%27m sure it didn%27t bother him in the slightest to hang the Financial Hardship sign on closing the library.  If he could get away with it%2C he%27d probably do the same to the school district.  As it is%2C the council routinely forces two or three local votes a year on whether it should honor the budget the School Board presents each spring.  %28N.B. This is not something that%2C under the town charter%2C should even be open for discussion%3B the School Board sets the school budget and the Town Council comes up with a way to fund it%2C period.  But that doesn%27t stop them from demanding vote after vote until it comes out the way they wanted%2C which is always forcing the school district to take less money than it asked for.%29%0D%0A%0D%0AThis man%2C by the by%2C is no longer the chairman of the Town Council%2C nor even a %5Bi%5Dmember%5B%2Fi%5D of the Town Council...%0D%0A%0D%0A... because that body hired him to be town manager.  I presume he did at least have the sense to recuse himself from the vote about whether to give him the job.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited  http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D
6|5|5|||1||RE%3A Welcome to the Future|Peter Eng||11:40:28|08/31/2016|%3E%3E... good lord%2C really%3F %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3EYup.  Really. %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3EParaphrased somewhat for brevity%2C the council%27s logic is%2C %22It costs %0D%0A%3Emoney and people nowadays don%27t read anyway.  Also%2C something %0D%0A%3Esomething the Internet.%22 %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%0D%0AIf Millinocket offered free Internet access to all its residents%2C they might have one-quarter of an argument there.  Maybe.%0D%0A%0D%0ASince%2C as far as I%27m aware%2C no municipality in the United States does this...%0D%0A%0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3EThis man%2C by the by%2C is no longer the chairman of the Town Council%2C %0D%0A%3Enor even a %5Bi%5Dmember%5B%2Fi%5D of the Town Council... %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3E... because that body hired him to be town manager.%0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%0D%0AThus do we refute Lawrence J. Peter%27s hypothesis of management.%0D%0A%0D%0APeter Eng%0D%0A--%0D%0AInsert humorous comment here.
7|6|6|||1||RE%3A Welcome to the Future|Pasha||14:00:50|08/31/2016|%3E%3EParaphrased somewhat for brevity%2C the council%27s logic is%2C %22It costs %0D%0A%3E%3Emoney and people nowadays don%27t read anyway.  Also%2C something %0D%0A%3E%3Esomething the Internet.%22 %0D%0A%3E%3E%0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3EIf Millinocket offered free Internet access to all its residents%2C they %0D%0A%3Emight have one-quarter of an argument there.  Maybe. %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3ESince%2C as far as I%27m aware%2C no municipality in the United States does %0D%0A%3Ethis... %0D%0A%0D%0AOne of the best counters that I%27m seeing in the %22what use are libraries in the Information Age%22 arguments%5B1%5D is the Cleveland library system%27s Makerspace%2C which includes everything you%27d need to do basically anything from get a prototype up for a hardware company to record and mix an album.  Including instruments.%0D%0A%0D%0ASee%3A http%3A%2F%2Fcpl.org%2Fthelibrary%2Fsubjectscollections%2Ftechcentral%2Fmakerspace-2%2F for more information.%0D%0A%0D%0AAlso%2C per Adam Savage %28who was invited to the grand opening%29 one of the things they%27re doing as part of that project is putting together a playbook for other municipalities trying to put together a similar thing%2C including %22how to convince your city council that it won%27t cost a fuckton of money%22%0D%0A%0D%0A-- %0D%0A-Pasha%0D%0A%22Don%27t change the subject%22%0D%0A%22Too slow%2C already did.%22%0D%0A%0D%0A%5B1%5D Which is just dumb.  We%27re in the fucking Information Age%2C maybe we should listen to people who have dedicated their lives to figuring out how to store and catalog and distribute information despite the fact that it%27s shitall expensive and doesn%27t pay for dick.  But I digress.%0D%0A
8|7|7|||1||RE%3A Welcome to the Future|Peter Eng||16:45:34|08/31/2016|%3EWe%27re in the fucking Information Age%2C maybe %0D%0A%3Ewe should listen to people who have dedicated their lives to figuring %0D%0A%3Eout how to store and catalog and distribute information despite the %0D%0A%3Efact that it%27s shit-all expensive and doesn%27t pay for dick.  But I %0D%0A%3Edigress. %0D%0A%0D%0AI%27m especially in favor of libraries for one reason%3A%0D%0A%0D%0AI can go in%2C grab a book%2C and read it without having to turn on my Bullshit Detector.  If it%27s fiction%2C I know%3B if it%27s non-fiction%2C I know.%0D%0A%0D%0AOn the internet%2C I need to guard against things that sound right%2C but are completely woven from lies - and some people don%27t even bother.%0D%0A%0D%0APeter Eng%0D%0A--%0D%0AInsert humorous comment here.
9|8|8|||1||RE%3A Welcome to the Future|Pasha||18:13:53|08/31/2016|%3EI%27m especially in favor of libraries for one reason%3A %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3EI can go in%2C grab a book%2C and read it without having to turn on my %0D%0A%3EBullshit Detector.  If it%27s fiction%2C I know%3B if it%27s non-fiction%2C I %0D%0A%3Eknow. %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3EOn the internet%2C I need to guard against things that sound right%2C but %0D%0A%3Eare completely woven from lies - and some people don%27t even bother. %0D%0A%0D%0AJust because it%27s printed and the author and publisher claim nonfiction doesn%27t guard from this.%0D%0A%0D%0A-- %0D%0A-Pasha%0D%0A%22Don%27t change the subject%22%0D%0A%22Too slow%2C already did.%22
10|9|9|||1||RE%3A Welcome to the Future|Peter Eng||18:19:59|08/31/2016|%3E%3EI%27m especially in favor of libraries for one reason%3A %0D%0A%3E%3E%0D%0A%3E%3EI can go in%2C grab a book%2C and read it without having to turn on my %0D%0A%3E%3EBullshit Detector.  If it%27s fiction%2C I know%3B if it%27s non-fiction%2C I %0D%0A%3E%3Eknow. %0D%0A%3E%3E%0D%0A%3E%3EOn the internet%2C I need to guard against things that sound right%2C but %0D%0A%3E%3Eare completely woven from lies - and some people don%27t even bother. %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3EJust because it%27s printed and the author and publisher claim %0D%0A%3Enonfiction doesn%27t guard from this. %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%0D%0ATrue enough - but either I%27ve been lucky%2C or such things don%27t make it into libraries. %0D%0A%0D%0APeter Eng%0D%0A--%0D%0AInsert humorous comment here.
11|6|6|||1||RE%3A Welcome to the Future|Gryphon||19:28:59|08/31/2016|%3EIf Millinocket offered free Internet access to all its residents%2C they %0D%0A%3Emight have one-quarter of an argument there.  Maybe.%0D%0A%0D%0AIt did%2C but you had to go to the library to use it.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited  http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D
12|7|11|||1||RE%3A Welcome to the Future|MoonEyes||06:48:57|09/01/2016|I was about to say...that%27s the sort of thing you have LIBRARIES for...%0D%0A%0D%0A...%21%0D%0AGott%27s Leetle Feesh in Trousers%21
13|8|12|||1||RE%3A Welcome to the Future|Gryphon||14:34:21|09/02/2016|%3EI was about to say...that%27s the sort of thing you have LIBRARIES %0D%0A%3Efor... %0D%0A%0D%0ATo be fair%2C the free wifi did tend to encourage people to %5Bi%5Dhang around%5B%2Fi%5D the library%2C which is clearly not acceptable.  You don%27t want to give the impression that the citizens are welcome to make themselves at home in public buildings.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited  http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D
14|9|13|||1||RE%3A Welcome to the Future|MoonEyes||16:06:08|09/02/2016|%3EYou don%27t want to give the impression that the citizens are welcome to make %0D%0A%3Ethemselves at home in public buildings. %0D%0A%0D%0AWell%2C no. Of course not. Heaven FORFEND%21%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0AI think that mentality like that is an excellent reason to punch people quite thoroughly in the nose.%0D%0A%0D%0A...%21%0D%0AGott%27s Leetle Feesh in Trousers%21
16|5|5|||1||RE%3A Welcome to the Future|Mercutio||19:54:08|09/02/2016|%3E%3E... good lord%2C really%3F %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3EYup.  Really. %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3EParaphrased somewhat for brevity%2C the council%27s logic is%2C %22It costs %0D%0A%3Emoney and people nowadays don%27t read anyway.  Also%2C something %0D%0A%3Esomething the Internet.%22 %0D%0A%0D%0ASomething I enjoy pointing out to idiots like this%2C although it took me forever to dig the link back up%3B a couple years ago Pew %5Blink%3Awww.pewinternet.org%2F2014%2F09%2F10%2Fyounger-americans-and-public-libraries%2F%7Cdid a study%5D and found that younger Americans %28thirty and under at the time%2C which means most but not all millenials circa 2014%29 were actually reading more books than previous generations.%0D%0A%0D%0AThere are%2C of course%2C caveats as relates specifically to public libraries%3B younger people are more likely to buy books than borrow them%2C and overall library usage is flat. And lots of people aren%27t aware of all the services a library offers%2C but in that they aren%27t too different from older generations either. But the idea that Kids These Days don%27t care about reading anymore because they%27re too busy deciding what Instagram filter to use just doesn%27t hold water.%0D%0A%0D%0A-Merc%0D%0AKeep Rat
15|3|2|||1||On This Topic|Mercutio||19:44:12|09/02/2016|%3E  Now that it%27s being operated at a loss by the Friends of %0D%0A%3Ethe Library society%2C they probably don%27t have the bandwidth for %0D%0A%3Ekeeping special documents. %0D%0A%0D%0ASlate ran an article about a week ago on %5Blink%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.slate.com%2Fblogs%2Ffuture_tense%2F2016%2F08%2F24%2Fmilwaukee_journal_sentinel_archive_vanishes_from_google_s_news_archive.html%7Cthis sort of thing%5D%3B it%27s mostly about the challenges of building and maintaining archives in the digital age%2C dealing not just the archival loss of our common history%2C but its active and relentless commodification. Money grafs%3A%0D%0A%0D%0A%5Bblockquote%5DThe %28Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel%29 paper had an existing relationship with Newsbank%2C a digitization and archiving company based in Florida. In 2014%2C Newsbank approach the Milwaukee Public Library about buying the rights to the Journal-Sentinel archives. The MPL already subscribed to two Newsbank services%E2%80%94an obituary archive and a modern database of the Journal-Sentinel%E2%80%93and regularly purchases proprietary databases whose subscription fees are in the low five figures. But it couldn%E2%80%99t afford the Journal-Sentinel archives.%0D%0A%0D%0AIn May%2C Newsbank came to the MPL again%2C offering a menu of purchase options. The most expansive offer was almost %241.5 million%2C with an annual hosting fee. That nearly amounted to the library%27s entire %241.7 million annual materials budget. %E2%80%9CTo be asked to purchase outright something for a million dollars is just out of our scope of possibility%2C%E2%80%9D said Paula Kiely%2C the library director.%0D%0A%0D%0AThen%2C in August%2C Newsbank let the other shoe drop%3A According to Urban Milwaukee%2C Gannett%E2%80%94which purchased the paper in April%E2%80%94asked the Journal-Sentinel to ask Google to remove the paper%E2%80%99s digital archives%2C which the company did. It%E2%80%99s harder to sell a product when it%E2%80%99s being given away for free%2C after all.%5B%2Fblockquote%5D%0D%0A%0D%0AThings aren%27t all doom-and-gloom for the good people of Milwaukee%2C or at least historians thereof%2C of course%2C as their newspaper archives are still searchable on microfilm at the paper itself%2C and there%27s a digital solution forthcoming... which all%2C of course%2C depend on the paper itself not folding anytime soon.%0D%0A%0D%0A-Merc%0D%0AKeep Rat