Unshelved by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum
comic strip overdue media

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Boo!



Another video from the geniuses behind SomeGreyBloke. And even though he doesn't actually talk in the video, the expressions speak volumes. I have seen way too many conspiracy wingnuts on YouTube. They've done an excellent job satirising the type.

(And I feel I should point out the satire just in case anyone thinks I support anti-Masonic sentiments. Since I do actually work for an organisation that is funded by just such a fraternity, I wouldn't want anyone to misunderstand. Yes, sad that I should feel it necessary, but after all, they put 'caution: contents hot' on coffee these days, too, you know?)

My favourite part (other than the ending) was the shots of 'I love you' gestures in American Sign Language interpreted as Satanic. That's rich. :)

An excellent Kentucky blog

Check out Unusual Kentucky, which chronicles interesting historical bits, strange symbols, odd happenings, and the like, all with regard to our Commonwealth.

'[B]efore something really bad happened'

Court records: Starved kids lived a nightmare: Kids found starved, bruised and sexually assaulted in a Dallas motel

Abneris Santiago finally called relatives and told them that she feared for her life and the life of her children. She told authorities she had to do something 'before something really bad happened.'

I'm assuming she meant death, for three of her four children were found locked in a motel bathroom where they have been kept, starved and in one case continually sexually abused, for at least nine months, allegedly by the mother's boyfriend, Alfred Santiago. Their life was torture, and from the news account, their mother did very little to end the situation. Now both mother and boyfriend are in jail facing charges. The three children and their healthy one-year old half-sister (the child of both Santiagos) are in foster care, being treated. They were unable to hold down food when fed, and had to be watched for food hoarding. They had taken to keeping food hidden in things like shampoo bottles during the time they were kept in their prison.

I don't know how these children are going to recover. Physically a lot can be done, and with remedial schooling they can catch up with their peers, but they're going to have to have intensive therapy to help with their emotional and mental states. Their torturer sounds like a monster, and their mother (although I have some small sympathy for her due to her own abuse) weak, ineffectual, and slow to protect her children. The man should never be around another child again and be locked away for the rest of his life. I think it would be better if the children remained together (at least the three older ones), but not necessarily with their mother--perhaps with relatives, as the family responded after that phone call by alerting police and an uncle met the police and went with them to the motel room.

This is so sad.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

A tiny video rant before bedtime--but not of me, thankfully



I love Party Girl. I'm pretty sure that's where this clip is from.

I can't believe I just did this...

I didn't feel like writing tonight. This actually took more effort, and may scare you away, especially with that still (with the fish it gave me the option to choose the still; I didn't see it this time, and of course it would be THAT face!) but here's my first attempt at a video entry:



Let the mocking begin (as I'm sure it will)!

--------------------------------------
PS I hope the penicil drawing exercise of Leda and the Swan behind my head isn't some sort of YouTube violation. It never occurred to me when I shot this that it was there, in all its nude glory as Zeus in the form of a swan copulates with His latest desire. It could be worse, I suppose. I have a great deal of original artwork in my house (not my own) including a very large erect penis in a painting against my the living room wall that is nearly two-feet long (the penis, not the painting; the latter is about 5-6 feet square). I think my mother nearly swallowed her teeth when she saw it for the first time. My grandmother might actually have apoplexy if she saw it. I've had it so long, I don't think about it, and besides, it's important for the meaning of the work and very well done.

PPS I have a tiny little girl voice when I'm nervous (well, most of the time, but it's worse when I try public speaking or recording anything). I also apparently close my eyes, let my eyes wander, and look away an awful lot, as YKWIA pointed out in an analysis of the video. Must work on that. Thank the Gods I never actually made it to my orals in school. It was the main reason I dropped out before going for a phD. So for those who never understood my anxiety...here's why. Imagine trying to demonstrate knowledge with my swiss-cheese memory AND poor speaking skills. I shudder.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Thought for the day

gleaned from The Velveteen Rabbit, this was one of the first thoughts I had upon waking today:

Better to be real (and at the mercy of nature), even for a short time, rather than lasting for years as a semblance, but at the mercy of man.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Welcome (back) to the Village

A new Prisoner for a new generation. (And yes, there's still the giant bubbles).


I loved The Prisoner as a child, which I watched on public televesion in the late 70s (the programme came out in Britain the year I was born). It looks like they've gone to a great deal of trouble to capture the mystery of the original. This is a preview they did for Comic Con. It is a miniseries coming out on AMC in November, and this version stars Jim Caviezel as Number Six, and Ian McKellen as Number Two. I'm often dubious of remakes but I'm intrigued. I'll be watching.

Also in the news

Last British Army WWI veteran dead at 111

Harry Patch survived the Battle of Passchendaele, in which 70,000 of his companions died, during the War to End All Wars.
Patch didn't speak about the war until he turned 100, the Ministry of Defence said.

"He tried to suppress the memories and to live as normal a life as possible; the culture of his time said that he was fortunate to have survived and that he should get on with his life," a Ministry of Defence biography says.

"That suited Harry; he could 'forget' his demons, the memories of what happened to him and to his close friends."

In 1998, a television producer with an interest in the war talked to Patch, who then made the decision to speak of his memories, the Ministry of Defence said. He took part in a documentary on the war and began gradually to open up.

It wasn't long before Patch became a spokesman for his generation, speaking about the horrors of the war as well as his own emotions and reactions, the Ministry of Defence said.

"In speaking about his experiences, Harry began at last to come to terms with his war, and was at peace with himself and his memories," the Defence Ministry said. "His thoughts then turned to reconciliation, to the long-term effects of suffering and coming to terms with that suffering."

On a more serious note

It happened here in America, but it's far too common all over the world to blame a girl or woman for rape.

Family shuns girl, 8, after rape sparks outcry: Group of youths aged 9 to 14 seen running from shed, Arizona police say

Both the girl and the boys alleged to have raped her are Liberian. She is in foster care because her father apparently told authorities he didn't want her anymore. This has caused a furor, with even the president of Liberia weighing in on the matter. It's so sad, but unfortunately, not uncommon in many cultures.

Yay! A new 'Simon's Cat' video!

Ah, you have to admire the feline ability to FOCUS.



Simon's Cat Book
Guess what? He now has his very own book, too, coming out October 1st. I'd certainly like to get one, as the short animated films by Tofield are so true to life, as anyone who has been owned by a cat knows, and it brings joy into my life every time I watch one. :) [Available at Amazon and Amazon.co.uk]

Ha! Ha! Ha!

I'm laughing so hard I have to pee.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Odd and funny

but you should really watch the entire video, or at least the bit about breasts....although judging by the comments many people just don't get the satire. Oh, and if you wonder about his accent (I did), he's from the Netherlands.



This was shared by Graham Murkett (of SomeGreyBloke fame on YouTube) on Facebook.

Hey, hospital librarians out there!

Did you know that the Joint Commission (formerly known as JCAHO) is now on Twitter? Check them out at: http://twitter.com/JCommission

For those of you not in the world of hospital-land, Joint Commission is the independent body that accredits over 16,000 health care organisations (including hospitals) in the United States. They have resources on quality and risk management, too. They're on Facebook, too, at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Joint-Commission/104533371063. You can become a fan if you are on Facebook.

As reality sits in, the question is, were we a little unrealistic?

I still love Barack Obama, although his agenda is turning out to be much harder than we hoped. Here's a great video from the folks at JibJab:



I love the ears.

Thanks to YKWIA for showing it to me. Incidentally, JibJab videos are downloadable, if you follow a link under the video (it's in the line that says: Favorite - Share - Playlists - Flag - Download ($5.00)). We were looking for that option earlier on YouTube and it turned out to be on the very videos we were watching. :)

An interesting blog

I came across this in my reader today and have now subscribed to its feed. As a librarian with a history degree, I couldn't help but be interested in what he's writing about....check it out if you'd like to know more about the history of catalogue cards, machines of libraries past, or gems like the following poem by Norman D. Stevens from 1910:

A LIBRARIAN'S LIFE

A librarian's life is the life for me
For there's nothing at all to do, you see
But to sit at a desk and read new books
And admire yourself and think of your looks.
To questioning souls one can tartly say:
'I can't be bothered with
you today,
for I haven't finished this novel, see?'
A librarian's life is the life for me.


Gods, even back then the stereotype of a librarian just reading all day was in full force. I don't know how many times people have told me how wonderful it must be to be able to sit and read all day at work--something I do rarely in the course of my job, and then to review books or determine whether to buy them. :) Anyway, this is a kind of window on the history of libraries, and well worth a read.

Library History Buff Blog

Thanks to Librarian for alerting me to this site.

They say pregnant women have a glow; turns out we all do

Humans Glow in Visible Light

Past research has shown that the body emits visible light, 1,000 times less intense than the levels to which our naked eyes are sensitive. In fact, virtually all living creatures emit very weak light, which is thought to be a byproduct of biochemical reactions involving free radicals....

The researchers found the body glow rose and fell over the day, with its lowest point at 10 a.m. and its peak at 4 p.m., dropping gradually after that. These findings suggest there is light emission linked to our body clocks, most likely due to how our metabolic rhythms fluctuate over the course of the day.

Faces glowed more than the rest of the body. This might be because faces are more tanned than the rest of the body, since they get more exposure to sunlight — the pigment behind skin color, melanin, has fluorescent components that could enhance the body's miniscule light production.


Cool, yes? Although it is supposedly undetectable by the naked eye, I wonder if there is some mechanism that we are subliminally aware of it when dealing with others?

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Things we took for granted, now going, going, gone...

100 Things Your Kids May Never Know About

Amongst things like bells in telephones, DOS, and typewriters, there is:

96. Libraries as a place to get books rather than a place to use the internet.

Being online apparently made me feel better

I think I can sleep now and I'm not agitated like I was. Maybe it just passed, but I think focussing on news stories and posting here helped. They say writing is therapeutic, after all.

Good night. I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Freak story from our area

Dog drags newborn from family home in Ky.: Infant remains in critical condition with punctures; pet under quarantine


The dog appears to have been carrying the child like a pup. The little boy, three days old, is currently here in a hospital in Lexington in critical condition with puncture wounds and bruising; the dog is under quarantine in Jessamine County, which is just south of Lexington. I hope the child will be okay. I don't think the dog meant to hurt him, but it's certainly a scary thing to have happened.

Intriguing

I may have to watch this, if not in the theatre, then later on:

Watch out for the comments if you go to the video on YouTube. There may be spoilers, as the movie has been previewed. Orphan opens July 24th. Thanks to YKWIA for showing it to me.

I'm not feeling so great

I'm not sure why, unless it's hormones. I feel weepy, angry, angsty--a whole range of emotions bubbling under the surface without my knowing why. I got off work and it was like I had to get away from people, I'd just had too much. Needless to say, I called YKWIA and told him I was in a mood and I didn't want to inflict myself on him tonight, to which he agreed. I went home and got under the covers and tuned out the world for awhile, and it seemed to help. It's not so bad, now--but it's still there. Part of it may be anxiety over the car--I'm a ball of anxiety every time I get behind the wheel now, because I expect it to die at any moment. Part of it may be hormones--I'm finishing out my period. Of course, a good portion could be the bipolar disorder rearing its ugly head, although generally it stays quiet. And yes, I did take my medicine. Also, although I get paid and the cheque I got in the mail goes through tomorrow, I didn't really have money today for anything substantial to eat, mostly snacks on my store card.

Still, I started the day off really well despite a blood sugar of 313 or so (yes, that's really high. The other day it was 364, the highest I've ever had. My glucose tends to be fine in the afternoon, but high in the morning. Yesterday it was only 192 but I hadn't eaten after 6:30 pm on Sunday. I usually eat dinner around midnight with my schedule; I'm trying to cut down on sweets and eat a little better.) My sight was a little blurry, but I didn't feel tired and was very productive, including doing interlibrary loans and cataloguing several new books. And most of my time at the store was okay; I just ran out of steam at the end. Fortunately I got out a little early once the truck was put away. I have done something to my hip; I think it's from sitting so much at the library today, then getting up and pulling something. It's really sore, even with ibuprofen, but I'm hoping the pain works out within a day or two. I expect to feel better tomorrow; these moods tend to work themselves out relatively quickly--sometimes within an hour, sometimes a day or two.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

My God, he'd have to die

Mr. Bean goes to the library...


Thanks YKWIA, for a hilarious fright!

[Actually, a resident came in today and at first I thought he had a copy of one our new books that he was highlighting but fortunately it was his own or his office copy. Whew! And I have had to stop a nursing student who asked, 'Do we copy the articles or tear them out and use them?' And no, I'm not joking.]

Random news stories from my reader

Ireland Criminalizes Blasphemy

Were We Smarter 100 Years Ago...? The 1909 Copyright Hearings

'Angela's Ashes' Author McCourt Dies in NYC at 78

Google Reader Improves Link Blog Discoverability, Security, Adds Likes

DNA Differences Observed between Blood and Organs

Crafts for (the) Retarded? [Awful Library Books]

Amazon Erases Orwell Books from Kindle

Down Days for Baghdad's Antiquities Dealers

Chocolate Just Got Better!

For Fish, It's More the Merrier

Good night!

Some space stories for your perusal

Russians Still Skeptical about U.S. Moon Landing

New Images Show Moon Landing Site

Something May Have Just Hit Jupiter

Apollo Astronauts Look Ahead...to Mars?

Main Toilet on ISS Craps Out

That's One Small Misstep for Most Moon Tales

What We Didn't Know About Moonwalk

NASA Suits Get Makeover for Moon Missions

Okay, maybe the Universe likes me after all

I forgot that I had a debit coming out this weekend and as a result overdrew my account. Even though I get paid on Wednesday, I figured with the late fees that would take the cheque and I'd have to wait until the 30th to pay bills, get food, etc. That left me with $3 in my pocket, no food in the house, and about $10 on a gift card for the store for gas or snacks.

When I came home tonight, an unexpected windfall was in the mail--$329 to be exact. That should give me enough to get in the positives plus eat, etc., depending on how the pending items stack up (I'm technically only $31 in the hole at the moment, but if the pending items hit tonight, there will be a $36 fee for each item). In any case, I should actually get my direct deposit on Wednesday and not have it eaten up by fees. Thank the Gods for dropping this in my lap. Hurray!

Things are not so good on the car front. It's got even less pick up and is squeaking on acceleration. On the right side it sounds like the metal is squeaking as it bounces, too. It's been a good car, but it's getting to the point where I'm not sure whether it's worth fixing, but I don't know of any way to get another one any time soon. I didn't think I'd be able to fix it; now I may be able to, but I'm not sure whether that's realistic. It sounds like it's dying. :(

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Best 'Unshelved' ever, in my mind

The library-related comic really got me today. In case you read this after it is no longer displayed on my blog, try the link here to see an archived copy.

Ever heard of The Anarchist's Cookbook? How about And Tango Makes Three? One teaches you to make bombs. The other involves gay penguins and their child. Which do you think is more challenged in libraries? Yes, you guessed it. But Dewey's comment is great.

Okay, I have to get up early in the morning to prepare for the game and have stayed up much later than I planned, especially as I finished the game notes this afternoon. Good night.

An excellent site

I'll be spending most of tomorrow at the game, and then there's work on Monday, but for those of you with free time, follow We Choose the Moon, a site sponsored by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum, which re-creates the mission in real-time, including transmissions. There is also archived information there. There's a nifty widget you can download to your desktop or put on MySpace or Facebook (unfortunately there was no version for this blog). You can also follow the mission on Twitter, both from Houston Control and Apollo 11. Be sure to check it out.

Thanks to M of the World History Blog for the link.

PS 7/20 I was kind of disappointed that I couldn't access the web page from work (it requires Flash 10) or listen to the broadcast from NASA because that required a Windows Media Player plug-in, neither of which I can install, of course. I wanted to listen as I catalogued. Oh, well, instead I listened to the radio and got up and did a lot of things that required me to be up and about.

I was saddened to hear of Walter Cronkite's death

although, of course, he was 92, so he lived a long, productive life that kept him close to many great personalities over many years. But it was his own personality, his ability to connect with viewers and provide even the most devastating news in a professional manner that was still somehow reassuring, that made him 'the most trusted man in America'. My thoughts are with his family in this difficult time. He touched many lives in a positive way, and that in itself is the best eulogy one can be given.

‘The most trusted man in America’ dies at 92



Walter Cronkite: An appreciation; Today's news owes him more than you think

Friday, July 17, 2009

Well, I got the tank filled

and this was the result (I know, it's not great resolution, but it was the first time I'd tried to do a video on my phone and also the first video I've uploaded to YouTube).



Tonight I came home and there were five fish that had died, including the Mama platy, which is unfortunate. On the other hand, I have a lot of babies in the aquarium, including ones about a third her size down to teeny tiny (as in born within the last few days), so I should be good on fish for awhile. I tested the water with a strip, and the nitrates are high of course, but the nitrites are a little higher than normal. The chloramines are okay. Maybe I didn't treat the incoming water enough, or maybe a few days with less oxygen followed by a sudden influx was too much. I plan to have the folks at Animal House test with a liquid kit; that's supposed to be more reliable. I'd really like to get a couple of golden snails, a couple of cory catfish, and maybe a pleco or other algae eater--but all of those are more sensitive to water quality, so testing's the first thing on the list.

I'm boot free!

I had three appointments today:
  • I had my teeth cleaned, which really was the most painful of the three as it involved taking those damn bite-wing x-rays of my whole mouth. Thank goodness they recommend that for only every three-five years.
  • Had two porcelain crowns and a temporary filling put in (the latter to replace one that had broken when I chewed a sugar-free mint too hard). We're going to pre-authorise a bridge, assuming the crowns haven't taken all my benefits this year. It may have to wait for next year. I think that's all the crowns needed for root-canaled teeth, though. If you don't crown them, they get brittle and break after a root canal, as I found out.
  • The podiatrist was happy to be able to touch my feet without my nearly yelping. She suggested I use my lace-up brace (much smaller) on my ankle when working for awhile and to do stretching exercises such as tracing out the alphabet with my ankles each day (this is apparently one way to get total range of motion). If it had been really bad still, she would have sent me to physical therapy. I worked yesterday without the boot to see how I would do and am just a little sore today after being on my feet for seven hours, so I think I'm on the mend.


I was off from the hospital due to the appointments. I also:
  • Went to the public library branch between my house and the doctor's office (it's about a block away from where I live, and both dentist and podiatrist are near the hospital, which is just about the same distance further). I picked up several interesting books, including one that seems to argue that the UFO phenomena/ideas that ancient astronauts came and founded civilisations entered the public mindset through the writings of HP Lovecraft. Hmmmm...well, there are extraterrestrial Mi-Go, Cthulhu, the Elder Things, the Great Old Ones (whose bodies, though conical, were actually already here, but their minds are alien), etc. It might make for an interesting read, anyway.
    Albrecht Duerer's Small Owl
  • Went over to Sqecial Media and nearly died of coughing because I forgot how incense-laden the store is. I went in to look at earrings but they were working on that section and had it pulled apart. So I picked up a birthday card for my mom, a scarab sticker for the car, a bumper sticker to replace my old one, and a package of charcoal for incense (to be burned at the appropriate time when I'm not still having times where I'm fighting for breath). I had to ask for the charcoal. The two girls looked at me like I meant the stuff that goes in grills. The man was more knowledgeable and pulled out three packets, one of which he said was slow-burning and better for a hookah. Since I just needed the bricks for a censor, I took the cheapest packet. :) Hookahs have apparently become pretty popular around the university. There was a hookah bar that opened where people could go to smoke flavoured tobaccos, but I don't know how it has fared. I'm just glad I don't smoke. Even being around someone who has been smoking has been setting off my coughing fits (as has perfume, to be fair). Thank goodness Lexington has an indoor smoking ban on businesses that aren't primarily tobacco-related.

    By the way, Sqecial (yes, I'm spelling that right) had these cards that were neat in that they folded up and had stereoscopic lenses (think Viewmaster) with art prints such as Dali and Münch to make them look 3-D. Very nice, and although 'The Scream' might have been appropriate for a birthday card in retrospect, I went with a Albrecht Dürer print of a small owl for my mom. She used to collect owl pictures and figures.


What I didn't do:
  • Call my mom. I got a cell phone call from her yesterday but I don't know if she intended to call me or not. The voice mail sounded like background noise. Or maybe it was garbled somehow. Anyway, I should check.
  • I didn't call a friend who's really been having a difficult time. I'm going to message her MySpace page and then try to call on Saturday and see if she wants to go out next week, my treat, so I can see how she's doing.
  • I haven't filled the fish tank yet. That's on the agenda for tonight or tomorrow morning.


Saturday I work in the evening. I'd like to spend the morning and early afternoon working at home. I have a lot stuff that just needs to be thrown away, taken to Goodwill, etc. I really need to clean out my car; you can only fit two people in it right now comfortably. I have nearly every shoe I own in it at the moment, the boot, two empty copier boxes, my winter coat, you name it, it's in there. Plus a bunch of trash. My house isn't hoarded up, it just has a lot of drink bottles and stuff like that to get rid of, plus the bathroom needs to be cleaned and the dishes done. Oh, and I'm sure I'll still be working on notes, although I'm trying to be a little better prepared than I was last week. There's a lot more investigation to get in this week, and that takes more transcription time.

Okay, that's all for now. I'll write more soon. Good night.

Well, that was foreseen

Lexington library board fires chief executive Kathleen Imhoff

Unfortunately there will most likely be a lawsuit on top of the controversy. But I must say, I've taken notes about what to and not to do as a supervisor, how the balance between library board and directors are important, and being accountable for expenditures when the majority of your income is tax-based. And also, of course, that politics is never absent when it comes to publicly-funded libraries. Here's hoping they find a really good candidate who will help repair the damage, as I suspect the outcome of any suit would be either a settlement or the rest of the money in the contract, rather than her position back.

Thanks to Steven for the head's up, which is ironic, as it's my hometown paper [my only excuse is that I was out of the office today due to doctors' appointments, so I didn't see the paper itself]. :) Oh, and sorry, the Herald-Leader only keeps stories up for about 7 days, so go read it now.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Because they're on their way to world domination

Those of us who have been blessed to be owned by cats know that cats are the ones that genetically engineered us for our thumbs so we could open the bag of kibble, or even better, operate the can opener. Science hasn't come out in support of that, yet, but there is a report that

Cats 'exploit' humans by purring
Since each of these sounds is produced by a different mechanism, cats are able to embed a high-pitched cry in an otherwise relaxing purr.

'How urgent and unpleasant the purr is seems to depend on how much energy the cat puts into producing that cry,' said Dr McComb.

Previous studies have found similarities between a domestic cat's cry and the cry of a human baby - a sound that humans are highly sensitive to.

Dr McComb said that the cry occurs at a low level in cats' normal purring. 'But we think that (they) learn to dramatically exaggerate it when it proves effective in generating a response from humans.'


Yes, definitely on their way to dominating the planet....

I want this on our pumps at work!

Well, I'm still coughing--even with the medicine, especially at night

but it's a little better than it was. The foot is better, too--I've just been wearing the boot when I work at the store, and my ankle is doing okay. I find out Thursday if I can dispense with the boot altogether.

Sorry I didn't post for a few days; I got very little sleep over the weekend for various reasons and crashed and burned on Monday. I finally feel myself again.

I really need to add water to the fish tank and get the filtration system going again, but so far I haven't done it. Perhaps tomorrow morning before work. So far the fish seem to be okay.

I don't know if I mentioned it, but I re-pierced my ear with my original earrings again a few weeks ago. Today I was able to take those out and put in some blue lace agate crystal earrings that went very well with the gradient blue shirt I bought at Gabriel Brothers. I had a good hair day, too.

In fact it was a good day in general; I was productive at both jobs, listened to music during my various tasks at the hospital. I think we've finally ironed out the particulars of my recent book order so I can go ahead and catalogue the rest of the books on the cart.

Tonight was truck night. We didn't have too many boxes and there were three of us there. I wound up leaving a little early and went home for something to eat before going over to a friend's. I got A from work and then came home and slept in the comfy chair for about an hour before getting up and doing a few things. I'm about to go to bed for real, but I really did want to get a post or two in.

By the way, did you hear about the girl in New York who fell into an open manhole whilst texting? City workers were in process of putting out cones around the hole when the 15-year-old fell 4 or 5 feet into the sewer, getting scraped up a bit. The parents are talking about suing the city. Now granted, the workers probably shouldn't have taken the cover off until the cones were in place, but if she were that distracted, she probably would have walked right past the cones into the hole anyway. How dumb is that? Although I admire her ability to text, walk, (and no doubt chew gum) at the same time, she certainly doesn't have navigation completely down. I'm glad she wasn't really hurt, and of course there is the gross factor, which the mother emphasised in the interview, but gee, it's a sewer--it's supposed to be gross. And this is a symptom of a society that sees no reason for personal responsibility. Nevermind that the girl was doing something dumb, right? I suspect any suit against the city would be dismissed. I hope they wouldn't just settle.

I was once a witness in a similar case where someone did something that the court ruled no reasonable person would do, and the suit against the company was dismissed. Courts do recognise personal responsibility.

I suppose there might be some ruling about the cones, but they were, after all, pulling them off the truck to place as she fell--which is why no one saw her in time. Again, maybe they need to change the policy of when to place the cones, but maybe people should know better than to text while moving. At least she wasn't driving.

Google's getting into the operating systems business, but Microsoft fires back by making Office online...free?

Microsoft Office to go online — for free
It’s too early to say Microsoft has checkmated Google in online documents – the latest version of Office hasn’t shipped yet. But the sleeping giant in Redmond has clearly woken up to the Internet threat.

Get this: Microsoft – the king of paid software – will announce today that it is going to give a version of Office away for free online. Both the online and desktop versions are scheduled to arrive in the first half of next year. Yes, you read that right. The latest version of its ubiquitous productivity software, dubbed Office 2010, will come as both a piece of software you can buy for your computer, and as a service you can access in your browser. [UPDATE: Microsoft says it will support the Firefox and Safari browsers as well as IE.]

For free. From Microsoft.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Stuck in my head all day

'Halo' by Beyoncé
Lyrics:

Songwriters: Evan Kidd Bogart, Beyoncé Gisselle Knowles, Ryan Benjamin Tedder


Song lyrics | Halo lyrics

© B-day Publishing; Emi April Music Inc.

I hope someday I might feel the same way about someone. It's a lovely song, a great sentiment, and insidious in terms of sticking in my mind on a loop.

Okay, enough of blogging for the night; it's 4:30 am and I have to be at work by 10. 'Night.

Wow

I just watched the first episode of R.O.D. (Read or Die), a library- and book-themed anime I've heard of for several years now but didn't watch until YKWIA found it on YouTube.

I definitely share Yomiko's love of books, if not her paper skills, although that would be way cool. And I'd probably leap off the aircraft after a German copy of Immortal Beloved that evil agents were trying to steal, too.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Today we celebrate the birth of a genius

Today is the anniversary of Nikola Tesla's birth. Google has a great graphic for today:
Tesla Google Logo

Tesla was a Serbian-American (born in Europe, he eventually applied and achieved American citizenship) known for his inventions and scientific genius. You can thank Tesla for the very electricity powering your computer; he is the one who worked out the principles of alternating current. He was quite remarkable.

Nikola Tesla

Here's a photo of the scientist at age 40. Eccentric and misunderstood, he was often regarded as a mad scientist who, among other things, supposedly actually invented a death ray. He didn't really profit in the long run from his inventions; finances were not so important to him and he died impoverished. What a mind he must have had!

This is really excellent

A new web series:

The cinematography is absolutely breathtaking. I really want to know where they're filming.

The Bellord siblings who star in the show grew up in Hong Kong, the children of a Chinese mother and British father. From childhood they learned martial arts, yoga, and meditation, and are life-long vegetarians, according to the Karma Kula website (see below). Cool.

For more episodes, go to: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheNinjaiGang
For more information, go to: http://karmakula.ign.com/

KarmaKula: Mystic Warrior


Thanks to YKWIA for showing me this!

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Hopefully that will help

My gas tank was nearly empty so I put some fuel injection cleaning solution into the tank and then filled up. It's supposed to take the whole tank of gas to clean the injectors, but already it seems to be helping, at least when the speedometer is on. When it's at zero, the car still jerks, but that's not a power issue, it's where the transmission doesn't know how to shift because it doesn't know how fast the car is going. It's a little disconcerting, though.

I went to the doctor today as part of a six-month follow-up. I gave urine and blood samples and told him about the cough from Hell that's been so bad a friend called the office and told them to fix me. I have a sinus infection and he's put me on Cipro, Tessalon Perles (the things that if you bite down on them they can numb your mouth and cause choking or a bad allergic reaction that makes breathing difficult, but they really help with coughing), nasal spray, and told me to continue using the codeine/phenergan syrup. To be honest I've done nothing good to help my diabetes or even tested myself daily, and I told him that, so he wants to see me back in a couple of months. I'm going to try to improve how I eat and get back to testing.

I was off work at the library because my appointments generally run three hours since he's the only doctor in the practice, but I did work at the store this evening. It was truck night but with my gimpy foot I mostly ran register and the other two people put away the order.

Okay, time to go to bed. Tomorrow I hope to get back into the swing of things with work; I was only there a couple of hours Monday and none today. I still need to finish a book review, too.

Great news for scholars

World's oldest Christian Bible goes online
More than 160[0] years ago, a scholar named Constantine Tischendorf came upon a Bible in the Monastery of St. Catherine in the Sinai desert. Recognizing its significance, he took some of the pages away with him to have them published in Germany. He returned again, and again, to take more pages, which wound up scattered in Germany and Russia. Later, some of the pages were purchased by the British Library.

Now the Codex Sinaiticus Project has brought the various pieces of the over 1,600 year-old text together in digitised form online through partnerships with the British Library, the National Library of Russia, St. Catherine's Monastery, and the Leipzig University Library.


Oldest known Bible goes online

World's oldest Christian Bible digitized

Is the Apocalypse nigh?

Gmail Beta Logo

Google apps is out of beta (yes, really)

Amazingly, Google has finally dropped the 'beta' designation from several of their applications, including Gmail, Calendar, Docs, and Talk. Gmail, for example, has been in beta for five years.

I think the idea is to get more businesses to adopt their suite of for-pay applications, but the removal of 'beta' is true for those of us who enjoy the use of the free versions as well. Most businesses don't want something still in early 'almost-ready-for-primetime' kind of testing that 'beta' designates.

Saturday, July 04, 2009

Happy Independence Day!

The small falsehoods and great truth of the Fourth of July: A lot of the lore that surrounds the holiday isn't accurate, but its meaning and power are undeniable

National Geographic's 'Exploding the Myths'



(Warning: it's a 45-minute video)

Unfortunately I didn't make it to the festival this morning; my ankle was really hurting last night and I'd asked off long before I went into the boot. I didn't want to walk all over downtown in that condition. Plus, I was up until 5 am to take a friend home from work, and needed more sleep, because I'm working from 2-10 pm today. That means I wouldn't have been able to watch the parade anyway, and I'll miss the fireworks, too.

But I still can wish the country a happy birthday. :)

Just in case you can't watch fireworks tonight (a lot of communities are cutting out displays due to the recession, for example), here's one from New York from last year:

Friday, July 03, 2009

A small patriotic prelude to Independence Day



Heehee.

I've only been up for three hours but I've done a lot

I put fluids in my car in the hopes that might ease the lack of power issue (which it didn't). There was enough transmission fluid, although it's kind of dark, and I understand that's not a good sign. I'm doing a little better financially but I really can't afford to rebuild the transmission (again) if that's the issue. I did need to add oil (it's apparently still leaking, so the oil filter might have come loose again). I almost accidentally added some transmission fluid to the oil since the bottles look the same and I was juggling the hood, the funnel, and the bottle. That would not have been good. I also put in some 50-50 coolant as well (in the right receptacle, mind you).

I did a couple of errands, hunting for a few things and got them fairly quickly, but trying to stay fairly frugal. Now I've come home and eaten a little. I have 2 1/2 hours before I go to work. I can read, nap, clean, or write a review for a journal. I'm not sure I'm feeling productive enough for the latter two. Sometimes you just need a day of downtime. Also, the truck tonight is supposed to be *very* big.

I've been very non-compliant the last couple of days with the boot, reasoning that I wasn't standing or walking anywhere for any real length of time. Last night it hurt just a little, but no more than it does when I'm in the boot. But I'll go back to wearing it tonight and certainly if I go to the Fourth of July Festival tomorrow (barring rain, I'm okay to go in the morning, although I'll miss the parade and fireworks due to working--but it's double time).

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

I am Spartacus!

If you enjoy classic movies and ancient history, you'll like this Pepsi commercial:



[Spartacus being one of my favourite classic movies...]

Thanks to M over at the World History Blog for this one.

Another one...

Your result for The Steampunk Character Test...

Artillery Officer

-2 Urban, -6 Physical, -6 Technophobic, 2 Belligerent and 22 HighClass!


You are an artilery officer! You command the great guns that rain explosive shells on your nation's enemies, digging up trenches and crushing stone redoubts into fine powder. You lack the dash of the mechanized cavalry, but you never fail to land a crushing blow on enemy forces. If your army is battling savages, even better! You don't even have to hit anything, the thunderous roar of your big guns will frighten them into a rout.



Take The Steampunk Character Test
at HelloQuizzy

Hmmm....

Your result for The Lover Style Profile Test...

The Devoted Lover

59% partner focus, 33% aggressiveness, 40% adventurousness


Based on the results of this test, it is highly likely that:



You prefer your romance and love to be traditional rather than daring or out-of-the-ordinary, you would rather be pursued than do the pursuing and, when it comes to physical love, your satisfaction comes more from providing a wonderful time to your partner than simply seeking your own.



This places you in the Lover Style of: The Devoted Lover.



The Devoted Lover is a wonderful Lover Style, and is perhaps the best Lover Style when it comes to developing a long-term, caring and rewarding relationship. The Devoted Lover is a treasure to find, though it is sometimes difficult to time establishing a relationship with one just right; usually, this is the last romantic relationship you'll need to find, so sow any wild oats first.



In terms of physical love, the Devoted Lover can be shy at first but gradually warms and eventually can be a thrilling partner who knows every need of his/her partner. Given a strong and loving relationship, and the right lover, the Devoted Lover can be a delight in bed.



Best Compatibility can probably be found with: The Suave Lover (most of all) or the Classic Lover, or the Carnal Lover.



Congratulations!



If you enjoyed this test, I would love the feedback! Also, you might want to check out some of my other tests if you're interested in the following:



Nerds, Geeks & Dorks



Professional Wrestling




Buffy the Vampire Slayer




America/Politics





Thanks Again! -- THE LOVER STYLE PROFILE TEST


Take The Lover Style Profile Test
at HelloQuizzy