Unshelved	by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum

Also via John

Joey Green's Wacky Uses for common products...and yes, they work.

So my use of baby oil suntan spray to cure a squeaky bathroom door at work (with the added benifit of coconut fragrance goodness) is sounding more spiffy now. :)

'Night. (Really.)

Eilir raved on 23:15 Links to this post

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Criminals beware

the bat-loving, lollipop-dispensing constable of North Wales (with thanks to John for the link on his Bloggit...that really put me in a good mood before bedtime).

Eilir raved on 23:07 Links to this post

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I am hoping

that since good things, like bad, tend to go in threes, that maybe some of it will rub off on the rest of us. A friend had a totally unexpected bounty happen today, the type that just puts you back on your feet (it's up there with, say, my mom and John surprising me with the car last autumn). I'm hoping maybe Dwana will be next; she's had an awful spell the last few days, with fever and vomiting and pelvic pain that wakes her up from sleep even on pain meds, and they're thinking she might be having a gallbladder attack on top of everything else. This, mind you, on top of a broken air conditioner, a fall, and some family issues. She hasn't been able to come to work or do much of anything except be in pain for the last few days. And if it's alright with the universe, I'd really like the third to be that I hear from the library and I've gotten one of the jobs I interviewed for, please, please, please. I sent my thank you today (a little late, but I had to track down the spelling of the interviewers' names, and fortunately one of them was in the paper today). I found out that the HR staff from work spoke with them, explained the layoff being an oeconomic thing rather than anything to do with my performance (they can't give anything much beyond the fact that I've worked there for the past seven years, but they were able to tell them that), and I also found out that the library was able to speak with my former boss, who isn't constrained by any policy, who can tell them all about my work from a supervisor's point of view, and who was always my champion and who has recommended me time and time again. So, that's a happy thing. So, all signs look to be positive (our HR director, for example, said she usually wouldn't run a background check until the end of the hiring process...the library does ask for permission to do so up front, but I still think it's a good sign that they went ahead and did it.) I'm trying not to be nervous, but this is the furthest I've gotten in the process and I so desperately need a job right now, and this really sounds like it would be professionally stimulating and (yes, I know this is over the top, dare I say it...) exciting. One of the jobs looks like it's been reposted, and the paper had another librarian with the branch manager, and I don't know if she was a loaner from another branch or perhaps there were three positions total at that branch, not the two I though.

Sigh. I could sit and work myself into a frenzy--it's been stewing all day, fueled with my worries over the bills--but I won't do that. Soon I'll know one way or another, after all, and I think at this point I have done everything I can to get the job. So, what I really need to do is think about going to sleep. I'm going into work early tomorrow because of a doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon.

Eilir raved on 22:30 Links to this post

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Ah, books, the finest drug

Tonight, in celebration of still having electricity, I:

1. Found two cherry bedrails in very good condition that had been put out near the dumpster. They make excellent shelves and have them set up on my cherry endtables (shelf and top, making for a nice span the length of my living room window.
   
2. Started unpacking some more books. Discovered what happens when an arachnophobic Jew packs your books...there was a children's book called 'Be Nice to Spiders' in with the books on the history of Nazism and Hitler. Mind you, they were in a little box, separate from the larger collection on the Holocaust. Just Nazis and spiders, which I take it were deemed equally poisonous. :)
   
3. After years of thinking it was a nifty idea but not participating, I finally signed up and registered my first BookCrossing book. I'll release it into the wild tomorrow. It's the aforementioned mute-Australian-girl-meets-cockatoo story that made me cry when I was hormonal.
   
4. Which led me to a referral by the Eclectic Librarian for SF-Books, a site that lets you trade books (mostly fantasy, science fiction, and horror, but there are other genres, too) with people all over the world.
   
5. These, along with freecycling, and possibly eBay for the stuff that might be worth something, will help me on my quest to declutter my home further. Moving helped a lot, but there's more that needs to go.
   

PS The cats think I put the shelves up just for them. Spock had a close call when he jumped down onto an older case of floppy disks and his foot went through the plastic cover, getting caught between the two parts of the cover. I had a dickens freeing him before he had a total meltdown (plus, he didn't realise what he'd done at first and was trying to drag the whole thing with him). I think that's one that might be better off in a landfill. Who would think one of those would be dangerous? Oh well, at least no harm done.

Eilir raved on 22:12 Links to this post

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So, they have to twist the knife?

In the news yesterday was a heart-wrenching story of a house fire in which all the pets in the home died, and they showed on TV (and in the newspaper today) bodies being taken out, one after another.

The unusual part of this story is that in all, 48 animals--38 cats, eight dogs, and two rabbits, died. The house is a small four room building in the Red Mile area.

Now Lexington Humane Society officials are saying the woman who collected the pets, Laura Gimmoins, may face charges due to the number of pets involved.

I'm familiar with the 'collecting' phenomenon of people who have way too many animals than is healthy. It's related to hoarding and obsessive-compulsive disorder. I was probably on the road to it myself at one point--I had 3 cats and 2 dogs for awhile--all but the first gained within the first five years after my divorce, but had to institute a moratorium since I was already stretching in terms of being able to provide a stable houme. Contrary to popular belief, it's usually not little old ladies with cats, but middle aged women, often who have gone through a divorce or other trauma and put their desire to be a caregiver into 'saving' strays. Usually there are quite good intentions, although often it gets overwhelming after awhile and the health of the animals and the owner both suffer.

But...these don't appear to have suffered any neglect or cruelty. Ms. Gimmoins, who works on a local horse farm, apparently had each neutered or spayed, and neighbours said she treated the animals like her babies, and never saw any reason to complain.

The cause of the fire was a short in a fan that was on to cool one of the caged rabbits. Ms Gimmoins was at the farm at the time, which is probably good, as I suspect she might have died in the fire trying to save her animals.

Lexington/Fayette County has no law against keeping multiple cats. You are required to have a kennel licence for 10 or more dogs. I think that's a fairly recent measure, but I'm not sure. There were 8 dogs killed in the blaze, but apparently there were two more dogs on the farm with Ms Gimmoins.

Response to obvious cruelty is expected, but it sounds like this is a matter of a technicality being used to further add to the woman's already understandable pain. I hope they don't charge her, unless clear abuse is cited. It's not a good idea to have that many pets, but the care should outweigh the number, and I don't see where charging her at this point would improve the situation for anyone. She probably needs grief counseling, not fines. Hasn't she lost enough?

Lexington Herald-Leader | 08/31/2004 | Fire kills 48 animals

Eilir raved on 20:06 Links to this post

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Who knew? Librarian is one of the '27 types of Women'

originally from the Daily Mirror, read on Bob & Sheri

Me? I'm a mix:

--CAT LOVER: Friendly, 30-something dreamer whose shopping basket is full of frozen dinners, chardonnay and cat food. Envies and despises her smug, married friends. Something of a Bridget Jones type.
--ECO-GIRL: Big-hearted vegetarian, wears camouflage pants. Can climb trees. It's what Lisa on "The Simpsons" would grow up to be. . . you know, if she was real.
--FUNNY GIRL: Always there to put a smile on your face with her witty wisecracks. Not the person to console you after a pet has died. Think of SARAH SILVERMAN.
--GIRL NEXT DOOR: Pretty, down-to-earth, sensible and fun-loving. Men would be delighted if she was their girl's best friend. . . because they'd want to NAIL HER. Perhaps a less-famous JULIA ROBERTS.
--LIBRARIAN: Reads books, watches intellectual TV shows. Could be stunning if she invested in her appearance. Think of VELMA in "Scooby Doo".

Eilir raved on 14:04 Links to this post

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It's the oeconomy, stupid

For the first time in my life, I'm part of an actual, honest-to-goodness, trend.

Not a good one, mind you, but nonetheless, I have company:

First there's Lack of Hiring Drains Consumer Confidence

Then there's Women's Poverty Deepens Amid Slow 2003 Recovery

US Census Shows Rise in Poverty, Uninsured (well, at least I didn't lose my insurance!)

Poverty Rates Continue to Rise Under Bush

I guess we know how I'm voting in the election.

Eilir raved on 12:10 Links to this post

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Okay, as much as we librarians try to convince ourselves otherwise

Sometimes there are stupid questions.

Eilir raved on 17:30 Links to this post

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Oh, why do they always have to say he's from Lexington?

Our most infamous citizen is probably Dr Panos Zavos, a fertility expert (although certainly not one I'd like to visit) who has been working on human cloning and now claims to have taken DNA from people killed in car accidents and implanted them in cow eggs.

Oh, yes, just what we'd like, little undead minotaurs.

Mind you, this is from a man whose other main claim this year--that he had implanted a cloned human into a woman's womb--was later recanted. Maybe he was low on cash and needed a little media interest.

Sigh. It hurts the brain. And as one friend pointed out, from a Jewish point of view, if you can't mix your milk and meat, or your linen and wool, what happens if you mix a human and a cow? Somwhere I think we're sowing the seeds of our destruction. Do scientists not read the legends? Even if you don't believe in divine retribution, there's always hubristic tinkering with the world to the point where it convulses into chaos. Cloning is a step there, and beyond the ethics, the idea of farming organs, and all that, it's also just so wrong to give parents hope of children reborn, etc. Grrrr.

Oh, and what does this mean? I've seen it in several reports, and it didn't make any sense:

using DNA taken from a dummy and nasal extractor belonging to a baby who died

I could see DNA from a baby coming from a nasal extractor--I guess they mean the suction thing--but where do dummies come into birthing? Any ideas?

Eilir raved on 17:23 Links to this post

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And on a related note...

The MESA Project

Eilir raved on 13:24 Links to this post

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This is a great way to promote a library

Willard Library in Evansville, Indiana is supposed to be haunted, so there are a series of ghostcams set up for enterprising explorers to watch and capture any images they might see. There's also a fun 'spoof' section where images have been manipulated with additions. The building is from 1885 is the oldest public library building in the state.

Eilir raved on 13:14 Links to this post

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This is a pretty decent Alertbox

Mastery, Mystery, and Misery: The Ideologies of Web Design (Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox)

and it includes comments on JK Rowling's website as a demonstration of for what sort of type of site 'mystery' elements work.

Eilir raved on 12:53 Links to this post

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Sheri rocks!

Here's a big thank you to Sheri Lynch of Bob and Sheri who pointed out this morning the sheer ludicrosity of our society when people like Britney Spears and Nicky Hilton can have quickie Vegas weddings (often followed by equally quickie divorces)--and many would say it was done merely as a publicity stunt to milk an image or sell a clothing line--when there are people in this country (like a couple of Sheri's friends) who have been together in a committed relationship for two decades but aren't allowed to marry because they are the same gender.

Don't we have our priorities screwed if we think gay marriage is a threat to the insititution of marriage? I've got news for people--marriage, like Elvis, has left the building, and there's no one to blame other than the heterosexuals who have been mucking with it for millennia and just don't always seem to get it right. Personally, I think gays could breathe a little life into the old institution before it dies a slow, bloated death.

Thanks, Sheri.

Eilir raved on 10:17 Links to this post

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Remember what I said about perspective?

I was looking for blogs to invest in via BlogShares and found this:

The Voice of Insanity: Our baby dies today...

Anecephaly is a neural tube disorder where the child's brain does not develop properly, and the baby, even if by some miracle it is born, will die relatively soon with only pallitive care possible. It's a horrible diagnosis, one that pulls everything right out from under you in that terrible moment. Some people choose to terminate the pregnancy. Others choose to continue, essentially planning for both a birth and a death at once. Children with anencephaly are at the centre of a debate over whether a foetus without much more than a brain stem is truly human, and whether it should receive rights as a person, particularly in terms of organ transplantation.

But no matter how brief the pregnancy or life, a child with anencephaly often touches many lives, as those around it try to give it support and love. The bereavement must be a terrible thing. There must be questions about what happened to cause it, and fears going into other pregnancies.

My thoughts and prayers are with those who face such difficult decisions and grieve for a child who will never be.

Eilir raved on 05:25 Links to this post

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Ever have a moment when you realise

there are so many similarities between someone you know and a famous person from history that you begin to wonder if one is a reincarnation of the other?

Beyond a passing physical resemblance, which of course has no bearing on the situation, I give you:

1. One was Russian, the other received a degree in Russia and travelled there.
   
2. Both were interested in esoteric subjects.
   
3. One became Buddhist, the other had Buddhist and Taoist leanings. Both were non-traditional in their religious beliefs and studied pagan practices.
   
4. Both had similar difficulties with their mothers.
   
5. Both had fathers in the military.
   
6. Both entered short-lived marriages by age 18.
   
7. Both travelled extensively and were enamoured with the mysteries of the East, such as Tibet or Nepal.
   
8. Both had personalities that were charming yet volatile.
   
9. Both conceived a child with tragic outcome.
   
10. Both were characterised as having 'stubbornness, a fiery temper, and a disregard for social norms'.
    
11. Both had unusual, potentially psychic experiences.
    
12. Both were gifted writers.
    
13. Both sought to break the traditional bonds of women.
    
14. Both tended to engender either love or hate, and occasional controversy.
    

Kind of creepy, hmm?

Eilir raved on 04:51 Links to this post

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Ooh, it's a good sign, I think, I hope

Got in late tonight after playing at the dog park this afternoon and spending several hours at today's lesson to the point where my brain is nigh unto bursting with new things to contemplate and hopefully remember on demand.

Today in the mail I got a copy of a criminal background check that had been requested by the library I interviewed at the other day. It had the state court's address and I was 'oh, crap, what's wrong, am I being sued? More issues with the traffic folks?' No, actually, it was just a form saying there had been a request and what information had been sent. I'm taking that as a very good sign. Interview, checking my references, and now paying money to make sure I'm on the up and up. That's good, right?

I've reached a point where I seem to be just holding my breath. If I don't get this job, then my already precarious financial state is going to get even worse, and I'm about this (imagine a miniscule amount between my fingers) close to bankruptcy, something that I have put off for many years because I don't want to dodge my responsibilities. But...I just can't make it on the post-layoff salary, and it isn't so much making stupid mistakes as just having been terribly behind for way too long and not having any sort of cushion. The scary thing? I'm not anywhere near the poverty threshold...which runs $9,573 for my age and household, about $4500 less than what I gross per year. How do people below that line survive at all? I guess I'm what's known as the working poor--not eligible for food stamps or other forms of assistance, but still only about 146% of that line. Unfortunately, I haven't had much luck in finding a bridging low-paying-not-in-my-field part-time job, despite applying at several retail outlets, temporary agencies, etc. The good things, though, are that I'm not living off credit cards or other ways people who make more money get tripped up. I'm keeping things simple, with rent, electricity, and medical expenses the main worries, and no cable or phone or other luxuries. But it's getting harder to keep up with those. Still, I've got a lot of hope, especially with those three jobs open. Perhaps others might not be interested in a part-time job without benefits. I certainly have the experience, skill, and personality to be an asset to the library. I just hope they'll want me. Library jobs, no matter what they tell you of impending shortages due to the greying of the profession, are simply hard to get, particularly in the recent oeconomy, especially if you live in an area with a library school. Entry level jobs are the worst. I'm at least lucky enought to have enough experience that mid-career level positions are possible. And at least the job market does seem to be improving. This time last year in this area there was a howling desert where jobs should be. Now at least they're being advertised and even filled (as opposed to that horrendous we'll-advertise-but-have-no-intention-of-filling-with-an-external-candidate-if-any situation you sometimes see).

If I can get one of the jobs available at the public library, then there will be much happiness, because:

• The three jobs together will gross about $34K per year, which is about $10K more than I've ever made and would certainly make for a respectable living where I could actually (horrors!) do things like pay bills on time, build a general savings, and put away for my retirement. Even without benefits at the public library, that's fine, because my current position has great benefits, even though it's $3/hr less in salary. So they all balance nicely.
  
• I'll be in a professionally unique situation, because I'll be both a medical and public librarian, with perspectives from both.
  
• I'll be able to serve a much wider, more challenging set of information needs.
  
• I'll learn more about librarianship, and finally...
  
• I'll actually get to spend time with other librarians. Being a solo librarian is rather nice sometimes, but you do have to do your routine without a safety net. Having other librarians around means having instant resources available not only for yourself but also for your patron. None of us can be an expert in everything, although a lot of us try. It's always nice to know whom you can call over when needed.
  

So, anyway, things are looking good and I just hope I get a call saying, 'come on down!' this week. Please, please, please, please, please. :) Keep your fingers crossed!

And I'm sorr