Some folks have no sense of adventure

I'm talking about the Author's Guild, which cried foul when Amazon unveiled the Kindle 2, saying that it would undermine the audio books market with its text-to-speech function. (Because of course we all know there is no difference between a book eloquently read by a rich human voice and an artificial computerised one.) I think the Author's Guild would make reading aloud to children a violation of rights if possible. If for no other reason, the innovation is great for those with low vision. Now Amazon, although maintaining their text-to-speech functionality is legal, is caving in to a degree by allowing rights holders to determine whether their books will have the capability of speech or not. I guess it's a win-win situation, but I hope they indicate on the Kindle store site so people can choose books based on whether they want text-to-speech or not. I'd really like a Kindle 2 and this functionality is important to me.

Amazon agrees to cripple the Kindle 2

Thanks to jdscott50 on Twitter for the link.

If you click on the ClustrMaps icon at the bottom of this page

an interesting chart pops up:

Current Country Totals
From 14 Jun 2008 to 22 Feb 2009

US - United States 4,054
GB - United Kingdom 301
CA - Canada 229
AU - Australia 110
IN - India 82
DE - Germany 69
IE - Ireland 43
PH - Philippines 39
NL - Netherlands 36
FR - France 33
CN - China 30
PL - Poland 25
EU - Europe 23
AE - United Arab Emirates 23
SE - Sweden 22
MX - Mexico 22
ES - Spain 20
NZ - New Zealand 18
JP - Japan 17
SA - Saudi Arabia 17
MY - Malaysia 17
SG - Singapore 16
DK - Denmark 16
RO - Romania 15
IL - Israel 15
NO - Norway 15
TR - Turkey 15
EG - Egypt 14
PK - Pakistan 14
IT - Italy 14
CZ - Czech Republic 13
AT - Austria 12
CH - Switzerland 12
BE - Belgium 12
TH - Thailand 12
GR - Greece 11
HU - Hungary 11
FI - Finland 11
RU - Russian Federation 10
RS - Serbia 9
ID - Indonesia 9
BR - Brazil 8
HK - Hong Kong 8
BG - Bulgaria 7
KR - Korea, Republic of 7
UA - Ukraine 7
ZA - South Africa 7
TW - Taiwan 6
PR - Puerto Rico 6
JO - Jordan 5
KW - Kuwait 5
AR - Argentina 5
PT - Portugal 4
SK - Slovakia 4
TT - Trinidad and Tobago 4
VN - Vietnam 4
VE - Venezuela 3
CL - Chile 3
DO - Dominican Republic 3
BA - Bosnia and Herzegovina 2
HR - Croatia 2
MK - Macedonia 2
DZ - Algeria 2
KE - Kenya 2
IR - Iran, Islamic Republic of 2
CO - Colombia 2
GH - Ghana 2
NG - Nigeria 2
LY - Libyan Arab Jamahiriya 2
PE - Peru 2
EE - Estonia 1
CM - Cameroon 1
BJ - Benin 1
UY - Uruguay 1
GY - Guyana 1
MU - Mauritius 1
UG - Uganda 1
TO - Tonga 1
LK - Sri Lanka 1
BY - Belarus 1
LT - Lithuania 1
ZW - Zimbabwe 1
SD - Sudan 1
GE - Georgia 1
BM - Bermuda 1
PS - Palestinian Territory 1
MA - Morocco 1
LB - Lebanon 1
TN - Tunisia 1
CY - Cyprus 1
BD - Bangladesh 1
OM - Oman 1
YE - Yemen 1
MT - Malta 1
AG - Antigua and Barbuda 1
SI - Slovenia 1
KY - Cayman Islands 1
VI - Virgin Islands, U.S. 1
GT - Guatemala 1

That's so cool. Who would have thought that people from that many countries would be reading this blog? 99 countries! If I'm doing my math right that's 5,758 hits over the last 8 months. Wow! And it still surprises me that I have over 77,283 visits over all since I began in 2001, and more than 107,716 page views. At the moment I have five followers through Blogger and 64 subscribers through Feedburner. Thank you so much for reading. It's a little weird to think about that many people tuning into my personal life and things that strike me as worthy of comment, but kind of nice, too. This blog is in its eighth year and I really appreciate that I'm not just writing in a vacuum, but that real people take the time to read what I write.

Reason #326 for subscribing to your own blog in a feed

Almost every time I write a post, I spell check it, then preview it, scanning it for errors. But invariably there is the occasional mistake, and I've found the best way to catch such mistakes it to read the post in my Google Reader. That catches about 98% of them. Another 1% are caught by my friend YKWIA. But since I usually have Google Reader open at home, I get the early warning fairly quickly so that I can change the text before too many people see it. So if you see a glaring (or not-so-glaring) error in your reader, chances are it either has been or will be fixed shortly (I can't blog at work, so I have to wait) on the actual blog. But if the mistake's still there, feel free to comment. I hate making grammatical or spelling mistakes because I'm such a card-carrying grammar police member. Misplaced apostrophes and typos bother me quite a bit. I'd rather admit the mistake and fix it as soon as possible than to have it staring out into the aether of the Internet for years and years.

Hmmm...well, it got me through years of college

A Sketchy Brain Booster: Doodling

Doodlers may appear distracted, but in reality they are probably paying better attention than those whose pencils are still. By occupying the brain just enough to keep it from wandering off into a daydream, doodling can improve memory of what the ears are hearing.

A blast from the past

YKWIA found my favourite scene from 'The Young Ones', a British comedy from the 80s. I faithfully watched the show on MTV in college, but Neil's letter to the bank manager was, in my opinion, its finest moment, one I vividly remember over 25 years later.

Grrr, arrr

I had my fish tank's water tested yesterday and it's still showing nitrates through the roof. Two fish are still alive, including (surprisingly) one that is pregnant. The pet store suggested doing a 20% water change and cutting back to feeding every other day. I went to another pet store to get a no-mouth-suction vacuum (I hate my old one; it's just not good to suck on something that's had dirty fish water in it) and they offered to check with an actual kit rather than test strips. I also bought a no-scratch scrubby pad at the grocery store (rather than the more expensive pads at the pet stores) and scrubbed off the algae that was occluding most of the tank. It's still there, but it's not on the sides or front. There's an algae shelf in the back that the fish like to hide under, so I left that. I vacuumed the gravel (having a devil of a time getting it started, even so), removing the desired amount of water, filled it up with treated tap water (which I had also had my tap water tested, and there are no nitrates in it, just a tiny bit of chlorine, and the treatment takes care of that), put some more bacteria in, and we'll see what happens from there. The fish are more active, so maybe that will help. They suggested waiting a week or two and retesting before adding more fish. I still don't know why this has been so difficult; I've kept aquaria for over twenty years and have never had this sort of problem. Maybe I've lost my touch. I used to sometimes go for long periods without water changes and still had a healthy tank, with a nice established bunch of bacteria, I guess. I'm wondering if the pregnant one will have her babies soon (she has the signs), and if they'll survive in a high-nitrate environment. Keep your fingers crossed for me. Thanks.

Some news of interest (to me, anyway)

Octopus sets off flood at aquarium (ah, the wily octopus!)

1.5 million-year-old human footprints found

Fungus threatens famed Lascaux cave drawings

Philip José Farmer, Science Fiction Writer, Dies at 91

Poll: 1 in 4 delaying medical care due to cost

13,000-year-old tools dug up in Colorado yard

Best Reason To Get A Kindle 2

Bizarre fish poisoning sparks alarm

Injured good Samaritan ticketed for jaywalking

Iraq to reopen museum looted in US invasion chaos

First Solar Eclipse Recorded From Moon (story has a link to a video which showes a glowing ring around the earth much like the ones seen when the moon passes between us and the sun)

Cache of Ice Age fossils found in Los Angeles

Nice to see this being discussed in the media

In Tough Times, the Humanities Must Justify Their Worth

One idea that elite universities like Yale, sprawling public systems like Wisconsin and smaller private colleges like Lewis and Clark have shared for generations is that a traditional liberal arts education is, by definition, not intended to prepare students for a specific vocation. Rather, the critical thinking, civic and historical knowledge and ethical reasoning that the humanities develop have a different purpose: They are prerequisites for personal growth and participation in a free democracy, regardless of career choice.

The article discusses the particular challenges to the humanities and those who choose to study them in hard oeconomic times. Faculty positions get retired rather than filled, jobs are hard to come by, budgets shrink--but the essence of the humanities is that they are even more relevant in a society where greed and unethical behaviour has brought the oeconomy down, and a well-versed and well-read President struggles to bring hope back to the country. Marketing the humanities is especially important now.

I love the humanities. Although I was a sociology major as well, I majored in history, then went back to school to complete a major in classical civilisation and a minor in Judaic studies. I was one class short of a linguistics major and also studied German, Latin, French, Ancient Hebrew, and Ancient Greek (I'd studied Spanish in junior high and high school). I went on to be 'all but thesis' for an advanced degree in mediaeval and early modern European history (it wasn't the thesis or the classes that were my downfall--I did well on papers and in class; it was the oral exam, of which I was terrified. Now I've gotten through much of that anxiety, but I'd have to start all over on my doctorate and I don't have the financial aid available for that). I spent years in school, and I have the student loans to prove it. Maybe I don't have the greatest standard of living in the world, but I'd never change my choices for what I studied. The breadth and depth of humanities is greater than any other course of study I could have taken.

I use it every day, from my Latin aiding my medical terminology, to research skills (honed through library school, too, of course), to an appreciation of art, literature, music, language, and history. I would recommend the liberal arts to anyone going into school, and if they're worried about not being employable, a double major is quite doable and a benefit, so you can do business and language or philosophy, and that may be the extra umphf that cinches a job offer.

I always planned on teaching and researching at a college. I never planned on being a librarian. But I've found it very fulfilling and I'm good at it, and although I am a medical librarian, I'm never very far from the humanities I love, either. When I first got my job, the chief of staff emeritus saw that I'd studied Latin and immediately shot some at me, which I answered in kind. We bonded over that and he is a great believer in the library, a staunch supporter I can draw on when times are tough.

Thanks to Steven over at Library Stuff for the link.

I can hear!

Any of you following this blog for the last month or so knows I had a horrible ear infection at the beginning of February. Even after the infection let up, I had a lot of fluid in both ears, especially at night and in the morning. Well, I finally went to the doctor today, and he did indeed find fluid there. He had them give me a steroid shot and prescribed an oral form of the same thing to help with that.

But he also found that my left ear was completely full of ear wax (see what happens when you're good and don't dig at your ear for a month?) For that, they put drops in my ear that percolated as they loosened the wax, then used a Water-Pic-like device that shot water into my ear and then sucked it back out, and then the person used some sort of glowing instrument (it was clear with a bluish light going through it) to remove the wax. It took a couple of times to get it out; a large plug was impacted right next to my ear drum.

Whilst the drops were doing their thing, I suddenly felt some of the pressure release, and could hear more clearly from that ear. Once she got the wax out, I could hear the heater running. I didn't realise how hard it had been for me to hear. I kept having to ask people to repeat things, and it sounded muffled, but some sounds were just gone, like background noise. My hearing's actually a little sensitive to loud sounds like the radio; I'd apparently had the volume way up on the way to the office, because I had to turn it down quickly once I got back in. My ear's a little irritated, but otherwise it feels so good!

Also, the infection didn't linger, so that's a good thing, too. It's amazing how delicate and yet important your ears can be. Tomorrow I'm going to get a dropper for the sweet oil they say will help loosen wax before it gets that bad.

Ah, Tofu Goodness

also known as Tofu in Sesame Sauce--from Great Wall over on Waller Avenue--is a wonderful thing. Basically it's fried tofu with broccoli in a sesame sauce with peppers and sesame seeds. My stomach is very happy. I got two fortune cookies:

'Don't let statistics do a number on you' and 'It's better to be the beak of a hen than the tail of an ox'.