Of Tahoe and Columns Past

We have many blessings here in Northern California, with national parks like Yosemite and Point Reyes. But one of our crown jewels must certainly be Lake Tahoe. Dropped into the very center of one of the tallest mountain ranges of North America, it sits literally on the cusp of California and Nevada, between the Pacific Coast and the Great Basin. Its waters flow out of it via the Truckee River to land-locked Pyramid Lake.

Tahoe is in its glory whether blanketed by snow or by the green of its evergreen trees. Sitting on its shores recently I was struck again by its beauty. It appears to be entirely surrounded by mountains — a bowl where escape of any of its waters would be impossible. But of course it isn't impossible, since a lake such as this will simply fill up until it finds an outlet. That is probably why it's the second deepest lake in the United States.

With this release of my web site (I keep all my previous home pages around, believe it or not), I'm adding a new "feature": a searchable archive of all ten years of my Library Journal "Digital Libraries" column. Why? Because I want to make sure they stick around and I don't completely trust the journal to make sure they do. Because I like to be able to search them more effectively and find what I know to be there. Because I'm an egotistical maniac.

It isn't quite done yet, but it's good enough to let it out there. Over time I want to mark them up in XML — nothing fancy, but just well enough so they display well. If you look, you'll see what I mean. So enjoy, if you care, otherwise I'm sure you have much better things to do. Like visit Lake Tahoe. I recommend it highly.