The big "O" ......

[Bullwinkle925]

does anyone else experience one when entering either a library or bookstore? or is it just me?
seriously - whenever i do go into one of these sanctified places - "I want it All and I want it RIGHT NOW"!

:woohoo:

[LostinVA]

1. Yes and Yes

[SeattleGirl]

2. Oh, yes!

I LOVE books! :woohoo:

[Xipe Totec]

3. Did you know that big "O" has another meaning

and it is related to mathematics and computer science?

[Bullwinkle925]

8. No - please enlighten me.

In LAYMAN"S terms. Math and science weren't terribly high on my skills set. (unfortunately)

[Xipe Totec]

9. The big "O"

is used to describe the upper boundary of computational complexity.

O(n^2), for example, describes algorithms whose time to complete increases with the square of the number of input items.

http://www.nist.gov/dads/HTML/bigOnotation.html

Little "o", or omega, represents the minimum time required to complete an algorithm.

In analysis of algorithms, these boundaries are important because they determine the efficiency of computation as n grows large.

But returning to your original meaning, yes, I have experienced the big "Oh" when entering a library. I should explain that I grew up in Mexico, where public libraries were few and far between. My first exposure to a large public library was in South Texas, and one of the first books I had the privilege to read for free was "Miracle Drugs", a history of the discovery of antibiotics.

I was truly in awe at the time, to discover that I was allowed to learn about such incredible power for free.

[Bullwinkle925]

10. That is truly amazing.

I grew up in the Midwest (Kansas) and the library was my central form of entertainment. Mom would take us weekly to check out books and my love for reading began around the age of 7. It's unthinkable to me to live in a country where libraries are 'few and far between'. Thanks for bringing me back to reality and realizing how lucky I am. What age were you when you picked up "Miracle Drugs"? Are you in medicine now?
I love DU for allowing me access to so many interesting people.
:hi:

[Xipe Totec]

11. I was twelve years old,

and just starting to read English.

No, I am not in medicine, for the simple reason that I can't stand the sight of other people's blood. I have a very high tolerance for pain, but I can't stand to see other people suffer.

I am a computer programmer, six months away from my master's in computer science.

30 years ago, I had the privilege of working on the shuttle's on-board navigation software.

Yes, you are very lucky to be born in this country.

If there were to be a single justifiable reason to allow immigrants to move to this country, it would be to help native born Americans remember just how great this nation is.

[Bullwinkle925]

15. I doff my hat to you. You are obviously a very driven person and

used to achieving your goals. You hit the nail 'on the head' by your term of native-born Americans. Most fail to remember that the native-born Americans were toppled by the immigrating Europeans. Not the other way around!

What are you going to do after receiving your master's?

[Xipe Totec]

17. Au contraire!

by native born I mean all people born in the USA, European or otherwise, my children included!

I feel there is a sense of privilege and entitlement that pervades our present society. Our worship of individualism has undermined our awareness of the need for one another, to the point where we feel society "owes" us, but we owe society nothing. The pinnacle of this attitude was the Reagan 90's, the "me" decade.

Perhaps the pendulum is finally swinging (at least I hope so). Kennedy's admonishment "ask not what your country can do for you..." still rings true to me.

What am I doing after receiving my Master's? My goal is to get a PhD, so I can go back to my Alma Mater as a teacher.

I feel I owe my adopted country this much.

:hi:

[Bullwinkle925]

19. I have an acquaintance from South America and she takes an exception to the

term 'American' that seems to only pertain to the residents of the US. She feels it is an affront to all the Americans on both the Northern and Southern Continents. She opened my eyes to that fact. I know that the eduction I experienced growing up made me feel that we in the US were indeed the only Americans. Could be that because I was isolated in a small town in the Midwest that we didn't really think (or were encouraged) to look outside our boundaries and see how we were a part of the 'global community' and should learn as much as we could about other nations and cultures. Thankfully, I've been living in the SF Bay Area for the past 30+ years and have had the wonderful opportunity to be able to experience the diversities first-hand. I was walking down Shattuck in Berkeley a few days ago and a thought hit me about a girl I had grown up with (who still lives in the ole hometown). I thought how terrified she would be if she had been transported to the very spot where I stood. I don't know how she would react to the panhandlers and the eccentric people I was passing on the street. Don't know if she would have the courage to step inside one of the aromatic restaurants of the area.
At any rate - all I can say is that I'm extremely pleased with the multitudes of people who have enriched this country. Thank goodness for immigration.

[aePrime]

39. I have a master's in C.S.

Perhaps you too know the joy of teaching the Big-O to a group of giggling college freshmen.

[Xipe Totec]

43. No, not yet.

But I look forward to that day.

I'll have my MS/CS next May. My BS is in math, so I didn't learn about Big-O until graduate school.

[joneschick]

4. our own RetroLounge has a few used books for sale

Please visit me and my 32,000 books at Xenith Booksellers: at http://www.alibris.com/bookstore/xenithbooksellers

I don't think he would mind if I cut and paste his link! :hi:

[Bullwinkle925]

22. My bedroom looks like a used bookstore. I have so many to read and

finally wised up to get my library card. I will check out his online store. Thanks.


It's a sickness, you know!?

[RetroLounge]

23. and walking into my apartment gives me a big 'O'

:hi:







RL

[Bullwinkle925]

25. YES! YES! YES!!! THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.

THAT'S IT. By-the-way - when did yo sneak into my home and snap pics??

I'm so sick I'm trying to use my magnifier to see your titles. I'm afraid I might miss something good.


hahahahahaha

(Have you read them all? Or storing up for that rainy/snowy day?).

[RetroLounge]

27. Read Them All??? I wish I had the time.

Look at my sig...I have over 30,000 books for sale.

Trouble is I keep pulling books out of boxes and putting them on my "private" shelves...

RL

[Bullwinkle925]

28. I understand.

I just made a trip to 1/2 Price Books a few days ago to unload some. 'Twas difficult to walk out with my hands empty. I have 2 (ok, 3) addictions. I want to read and it's difficult to tear myself away from this blasted laptop at the same time.

aarrgghhhhhhhhhh

[peacefreak]

5. I usually experience that when I leave after 8 hours.

But I do get a rush when I see a review copy of Stephen King's Lissy's Story or Christopher Moore's You Suck(due out 1/16/07).

[zanne]

6. When I've just purchased a new book...

I take it out of the paper bag, admire the artwork on the cover, smell it, and think "life is good".

[Bullwinkle925]

7. Yeahhhhhh!

I used to 'Nanny' 2 little tykes. My favorite thing to do would be to take them into a bookstore - take a deep breath and say "Ahhhh - best smell in the world"! After a few times of doing that - they would start doing it too. Was such a sweet moment.

[skygazer]

12. Oprah?

You experience Oprah? Not me. I love libraries and bookstores. :evilgrin:

[terrya]

13. Yep.

I know exactly what you're talking about. :thumbsup:

I love books and reading. Bookstores and libraries are almost sacred places to me.

[NewWaveChick1981]

14. Well, I love books....but that phenomenon happens to me when I walk into a Sephora store...

:rofl:

[Bullwinkle925]

16. hahahahahahaha ......

I'm glad you said "Sehphora" and not "Good Vibrations"!!!

:rofl: :rofl:

[NewWaveChick1981]

18. LOL....

Well, you never know.... Good Vibrations might do that too... :rofl: :evilgrin: :hi:

[mike_c]

20. I dedicated my doctoral dissertation to the Martinsburg WV public...

...library, because that's where I started making up for my misspent youth.

[Bullwinkle925]

21. Good on you!

Got your PhD, eh? I'm impressed. What area of study?

[mike_c]

24. I'm a biologist-- my degree is in entomology...

...and I'm primarily an ecologist. So many -ologies, so little time!

Anyway, I dropped out of school at 16 (and again at 19, but that's another story), then started haunting the Martinsburg public library about ten years later. Started out with fifth grade arithmetic books from the stacks. Eventually got my GED and enrolled in a junior college for part time night classes. Twelve or thirteen years later I washed up in academia. The early part was years of weekends, evenings, and lunch hours spent with texts from the Martinsburg library.

[Bullwinkle925]

26. What a feel-good story. I hope you're rightfully proud of yourself.

You should write your biography.

[u4ic]

29. Ooooooooooo

yes. :D

[BrotherBuzz]

30. Oh, you bet. Especially USED bookstores

It's the game; the hunt. Knowing there is that treasure hidden just for me to find gets my juices flowing.

[Bullwinkle925]

31. What was your best find?

So far, anyway.

[BrotherBuzz]

38. 'Text-Book of Assaying' by C. Beringer 1890

an esoteric subject, for sure, but one that truly interests me. Oh, another gem is 'Knight's 1880 Mechanical Dictionary' that is chuck full of etchings of anything mechanical. I just recently found the 1881 edition is online: http://www.princetonimaging.com/library/mechanical-dictionary/. I like the zoom feature the site provides, it helps me see ALL the details in the etchings.

[Bullwinkle925]

40. The drawings are incredible. Such detail.

Now you have me thinking about taking second looks around the used book shops. Thanks!!

[RoyGBiv]

32. Ohdearlord ...

I was walking down the street from the Capitol, and all of a sudden I smelled that smell.

You can smell the Library of Congress before you're even in it.

Yeah, that was a thrill, and I realized at that moment I have issues. :-)

[Bullwinkle925]

33. I'm green with envy.

I haven't been there - YET! So far I refuse to go to DC until there's another Democrat occupying the White House. Hopefully I'll get there in a couple of years.

So tell me, what did you run to first in the Library? How many hours/days did you spend there?

[RoyGBiv]

34. I can't explain it ...

I was simply struck by the awesomeness of it, as juvenile as that may sound. The first thing I "ran" to was the middle of it, where a looked up, and just absorbed the fact all this collected knowledge was there.

I would have spent a week there, which is how long my visit lasted, but my friend forced me to leave. As it was I was there about two hours. It was barely a baby's breath of time.

[unsavedtrash]

35. getting my Masters in Library Studies. I'm right there with you!

:applause:

[Bullwinkle925]

42. I'm kicking myself for not going into that field.

What are you doing professionally with your Library Science degree?

[unsavedtrash]

46. museum or special libraries

Mostly I want to be the Librarian at the Holocaust Museum in D.C.
If I can't do that, I definitely will still work in museums or special libraries dealing with the
Holocaust. But graduation is still a year away.

[Bullwinkle925]

47. Good luck. I hope you meet your goals.

The Holocaust Museum is a place I would like to visit whenever I make it to D.C.

[sakabatou]

36. Big O! It's showtime!

[WhollyHeretic]

37. I love bookstores and libraries. There was this terrific used book store

that I went to for years. The last time I went there when they were closing the store down I walked around with tears in my eyes the whole time there. That was a wonderful place, I got so many amazing books there.

[Bullwinkle925]

41. Ahhhh -

that's sad. Hopefully you've found another shop to take its place. There is something that happens within my soul in relationship to books and the environment of books. Whenever I am reading a book that captivates me, I feel as if my spirit is flying. I'm experiencing that now with "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides.
Speaking of ... I must get back to my book.

:hi:

[Deja Q]

44. Opinion? Nope...

[Bullwinkle925]

45. First "O" that came to mind, eh??

:rofl: