Wednesday, April 02, 2008
'Let's buy devil boxes rather than hire more librarians'
I love Unshelved, particularly today's strip.
Public health, not censorship
Library burned books in 1905
In 1905 the Grand Island, Nebraska, public library burnt books. A library burning books, you say? No, it wasn't censorship, or some response to a community outcry. The reason why Austen's Sense and Sensibilty and other works were burnt was because of concerns over scarlet fever and its transmission (you know, the same reason the toys of The Boy were taken away in The Velveteen Rabbit).
An interesting bit of history, that. I know in medical libraries we often face infection control in terms of library book carts that go from unit to unit, especially to the immunosuppressed, such as cancer patients. It's a perennial request on the medical librarian list, MEDLIB-L.
In 1905 the Grand Island, Nebraska, public library burnt books. A library burning books, you say? No, it wasn't censorship, or some response to a community outcry. The reason why Austen's Sense and Sensibilty and other works were burnt was because of concerns over scarlet fever and its transmission (you know, the same reason the toys of The Boy were taken away in The Velveteen Rabbit).
An interesting bit of history, that. I know in medical libraries we often face infection control in terms of library book carts that go from unit to unit, especially to the immunosuppressed, such as cancer patients. It's a perennial request on the medical librarian list, MEDLIB-L.
One thing I agree with John McCain about
...there shoudn't be special earmarks inserted into bills. Bills should be about a specified subject and any extraneous stuff should be excluded.
New Pig Book says Hillary Clinton's tops in pork spending, Barack Obama's 2nd, but John McCain had none!
Of course, I also believe lobbyists should be banned. :)
New Pig Book says Hillary Clinton's tops in pork spending, Barack Obama's 2nd, but John McCain had none!
Of course, I also believe lobbyists should be banned. :)
This case is getting weirder
Woman charged in case of girl, 14, caught stripping
Last month a 14-year-old girl was caught stripping by her parents at Camelot West, a club on Alexandria Drive. She had stripped for two nights before getting caught. I'm sure she's at the very least grounded as we speak.
The manager of the club, Robert Shields, was cited for endangering the welfare of a minor because the fake ID the girl used to get the job did not resemble her.
Now it turns out a 32-year-old woman, Tina G. Hobbs, has admitted to taking the young girl to the club after giving her some pills and then said she later received money from her after she finished stripping. She was charged Tuesday with third-degree unlawful transaction with a minor.
If I were the parent in this case, I would be so utterly pissed with my daughter and the adults involved. I don't care if an adult strips; that's her or his choice. But a fourteen-year-old? It never should have come to that.
Last month a 14-year-old girl was caught stripping by her parents at Camelot West, a club on Alexandria Drive. She had stripped for two nights before getting caught. I'm sure she's at the very least grounded as we speak.
The manager of the club, Robert Shields, was cited for endangering the welfare of a minor because the fake ID the girl used to get the job did not resemble her.
Now it turns out a 32-year-old woman, Tina G. Hobbs, has admitted to taking the young girl to the club after giving her some pills and then said she later received money from her after she finished stripping. She was charged Tuesday with third-degree unlawful transaction with a minor.
If I were the parent in this case, I would be so utterly pissed with my daughter and the adults involved. I don't care if an adult strips; that's her or his choice. But a fourteen-year-old? It never should have come to that.
A UK professor calls into question drugs using RNA silencing techniques
Study Is Setback for Some RNA-Based Drugs
From at UK press release:
LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 2, 2008) − A recent study published in Nature by University of Kentucky physician and researcher, Dr. Jayakrishna Ambati, is featured in today's edition of the New York Times.
Ambati's research challenges some long held beliefs about RNA interference, or gene silencing, based on a 1998 discovery that won a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2006. Ambati's critical discovery, though not without controversy, is quickly gaining national and international attention for its dramatic new findings.
To view the video of Dr. Ambati explaining the discovery, visit here.
To hear Dr. Ambati discuss this work, visit Nature Podcast.
Go online for more information on Dr. Ambati's lab.
From the folks at Save Darfur
A video that would make many people pause and think.
I came across this in my inbox (I received it on the 25th, but didn't read it until today. I can find no record of this vote already happening on Legislature's website or through the Bill Watch tool.)
I came across this in my inbox (I received it on the 25th, but didn't read it until today. I can find no record of this vote already happening on Legislature's website or through the Bill Watch tool.)
Help Kentucky Divest for Darfur!
The Kentucky Senate will vote on a crucial divestment resolution THIS WEEK. We need your help to make sure the Kentucky Senate approves the resolution and passes it into law!
Call 800-372-7181 to send your senators a message TODAY!
As you know, we have been working - with your help - to get states to withdraw public funds from companies that help fund genocide in Darfur.
The campaign is gathering steam every day! 24 states have already divested for Darfur and now it's Kentucky's turn!
Kentucky's House of Representatives has passed a resolution to withdraw public funds from companies that work with Sudan's genocidal government. The state Senate must now make the resolution legally binding so Kentucky can divest from genocide.
The Kentucky Senate will vote on this resolution THIS WEEK. Please call your state senator today to help Kentucky divest for Darfur!
Just follow these simple steps:
Call 800-372-7181 between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m.
Tell the staffer who answers the phone that you are calling to urge all senators to:
Support H.B. 703, Kentucky's targeted Sudan divestment resolution that the House of Representatives passed two weeks ago.
Strengthen the resolution to make it legally binding.
Click here to report your call back to us (this step is extremely important for organization purposes. Please don't skip it.)
Strong divestment legislation in Kentucky can create economic pressure on Khartoum to end the genocide. It will require Kentucky's pension funds to divest from companies that have a business relationship with the Sudanese government, fail to support Sudanese civilians, and fail to enact strong corporate governance policies regarding the genocide in Darfur.
Divestment strategies helped end apartheid in South Africa, and they can help end genocide in Sudan.
Make sure the Kentucky Senate meets our responsibility to act against genocide. Click here to send your message TODAY!
After you have sent your message, please click here to ask your friends and family to join you in urging their senators to help Kentucky divest for Darfur.
Thank you for your continued commitment to the people of Darfur.
Best regards,
Colleen Connors
Save Darfur Coalition
Damned if you do,,,
Glaxo's HIV Drug May Be Linked To Heart Attack Risk - Study
GlaxoSmithKline's Ziagen, which has as its active ingredient abacavir, may be linked to increased risk of heart attack, according to an article published Wednesday online at The Lancet. Researchers studying six HIV medicines found Ziagen linked to a twofold increase in the risk of heart attack. Abacavir is also found in the combination drugs Trizivir and Epzicom. Another drug,
Videx, produced by Bristol-Myers Squibb, was linked to a 50% increased risk of heart attack.
GlaxoSmithKline's Ziagen, which has as its active ingredient abacavir, may be linked to increased risk of heart attack, according to an article published Wednesday online at The Lancet. Researchers studying six HIV medicines found Ziagen linked to a twofold increase in the risk of heart attack. Abacavir is also found in the combination drugs Trizivir and Epzicom. Another drug,
Videx, produced by Bristol-Myers Squibb, was linked to a 50% increased risk of heart attack.
Well, that's different
Avatars at House hearing on virtual world
The founder of virtual world Second Life assured lawmakers that these environments can police themselves in response to concerns of exploitation of minors and recruiting for terrorism. The meeting itself was held in both the real and virtual worlds, with Representatives having their own avatars during the session. It was informational only, but it's a first.
Libraries, universities, and businesses are exploring Second Life, which has hundreds of thousands of users (including me), as a means of reaching clients. At least a couple of countries have virtual embassies there, if I remember correctly. Maybe soon the US government will have its own presence. Let's just hope it's benign. :)
The founder of virtual world Second Life assured lawmakers that these environments can police themselves in response to concerns of exploitation of minors and recruiting for terrorism. The meeting itself was held in both the real and virtual worlds, with Representatives having their own avatars during the session. It was informational only, but it's a first.
Libraries, universities, and businesses are exploring Second Life, which has hundreds of thousands of users (including me), as a means of reaching clients. At least a couple of countries have virtual embassies there, if I remember correctly. Maybe soon the US government will have its own presence. Let's just hope it's benign. :)
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
It's a beautiful day
Reading: Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
although I slept through some of it, given that that Saturday and Sunday nights I had four hours' worth of sleep each and last night I had a complete emotional purge and breakdown when some very deep psychological wounds were opened up and debrided. I think in the long run, I needed it. It let me know some of the things I have to change in my life. I was up pretty late with that, and overwrought, then came home and left my usual monthly libation to Hekate, praying I would find my way. I suppose it's good to approach a Goddess of madness when you're dealing with strong emotions, because afterwards I was calm and drained. As a result, today I overslept by over two hours and missed an appointment that unfortunately wasn't mine to miss (I was taking someone to theirs). So it wasn't a good beginning of the day.
I wound up doing my couple of hours of notes and then coming back home to rest, sleeping from 1 pm to about 5:30. It was nice to have an open window with the sun and a breeze streaming in, the forsythia outside blazing yellow. I went out to get some distilled water, quarters for laundry, and laundry detergent. As I was driving I noticed a big soap bubble drifting on the breeze, then another. Apparently someone was making bubbles, but there was no one in sight. There's no telling how far those bubbles made it. It was a cheering thought.
My clothes are drying now and then afterwards I'm going to head over to a friend's for awhile. In addition to laundry I also did a little organising. I'm trying to find two books. One is a collector's book for those state quarters, of which I have a few to put in. The other is Wizard for Hire, a compilation of the first three books of Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files series. I'd like to read that once I get through re-reading the three Sookie Stackhouse mysteries I own. But I can't find it anywhere...just its dust jacket. I have the second three now and I'd like to finish the first three, but I have to find it first. I actually ventured into my closets, which mainly contain comics and literature/general fiction/children's literature.
I'm off tomorrow (I've actually been off Monday and today, too) for my birthday and I'm thinking of going to the lunch buffet at India Garden, a new Indian restaurant near me. Afterwards maybe I'll sort through and straighten some things and see if I can find those books. I also need to get a haircut and renew my driver's licence soon.
I feel like tomorrow is a new year. I guess it is for me personally. I'll be forty-one. It's time for me to really embrace my age, to let go of the bad things about my childhood (which comprise most of it) and work on doing things I've dreamt about. I need to really get a sense of self, so that I can finally have some self-esteem and perhaps a relationship. I feel so empty sometimes. For years I was a mirror to anyone else who paid the slightest attention to me. I've worked very hard at being what they wanted me to be, to not living up to my own potential so that I would not surpass them, to turning off my brain and refusing to use my intelligence. It's left me with incredible depths of anger and resentment. I tapped into those last night, and they didn't so much scare me as sadden me. I am more than just anger. I am more than just neurons firing randomly to produce emotions. It's like inside I am a charred, twisted child afraid of the light, yet at the same time I have a luminous and good spirit. I need to heal the one and join them together. I haven't been living life very deeply, and I need to while there is still life to live.
although I slept through some of it, given that that Saturday and Sunday nights I had four hours' worth of sleep each and last night I had a complete emotional purge and breakdown when some very deep psychological wounds were opened up and debrided. I think in the long run, I needed it. It let me know some of the things I have to change in my life. I was up pretty late with that, and overwrought, then came home and left my usual monthly libation to Hekate, praying I would find my way. I suppose it's good to approach a Goddess of madness when you're dealing with strong emotions, because afterwards I was calm and drained. As a result, today I overslept by over two hours and missed an appointment that unfortunately wasn't mine to miss (I was taking someone to theirs). So it wasn't a good beginning of the day.
I wound up doing my couple of hours of notes and then coming back home to rest, sleeping from 1 pm to about 5:30. It was nice to have an open window with the sun and a breeze streaming in, the forsythia outside blazing yellow. I went out to get some distilled water, quarters for laundry, and laundry detergent. As I was driving I noticed a big soap bubble drifting on the breeze, then another. Apparently someone was making bubbles, but there was no one in sight. There's no telling how far those bubbles made it. It was a cheering thought.
My clothes are drying now and then afterwards I'm going to head over to a friend's for awhile. In addition to laundry I also did a little organising. I'm trying to find two books. One is a collector's book for those state quarters, of which I have a few to put in. The other is Wizard for Hire, a compilation of the first three books of Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files series. I'd like to read that once I get through re-reading the three Sookie Stackhouse mysteries I own. But I can't find it anywhere...just its dust jacket. I have the second three now and I'd like to finish the first three, but I have to find it first. I actually ventured into my closets, which mainly contain comics and literature/general fiction/children's literature.
I'm off tomorrow (I've actually been off Monday and today, too) for my birthday and I'm thinking of going to the lunch buffet at India Garden, a new Indian restaurant near me. Afterwards maybe I'll sort through and straighten some things and see if I can find those books. I also need to get a haircut and renew my driver's licence soon.
I feel like tomorrow is a new year. I guess it is for me personally. I'll be forty-one. It's time for me to really embrace my age, to let go of the bad things about my childhood (which comprise most of it) and work on doing things I've dreamt about. I need to really get a sense of self, so that I can finally have some self-esteem and perhaps a relationship. I feel so empty sometimes. For years I was a mirror to anyone else who paid the slightest attention to me. I've worked very hard at being what they wanted me to be, to not living up to my own potential so that I would not surpass them, to turning off my brain and refusing to use my intelligence. It's left me with incredible depths of anger and resentment. I tapped into those last night, and they didn't so much scare me as sadden me. I am more than just anger. I am more than just neurons firing randomly to produce emotions. It's like inside I am a charred, twisted child afraid of the light, yet at the same time I have a luminous and good spirit. I need to heal the one and join them together. I haven't been living life very deeply, and I need to while there is still life to live.
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