Same Old Story

Dateline: January 31, State of the Union Address Topic: our fearless leader says we need to cut our addiction to oil. We are opium addicts with a serious addiction. He wants us to learn to like ethanol. He will get some research going. Dateline: February 6, Washington DC Topic: our fearless leader submits his budget to Congress. He wants to drill for oil in Alaska. He slashes budgets all over the place. He seems to have forgotten most of what he said the week before. Dateline: February 9, New York Times Topic: Energy Department is going to begin lay offs - researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory will no longer be researching renewable energy for our nation because their budget has been cut. Anyone see a discrepancy between spoken words and real actions? As WordWhammy put it:

If you haven't caught on yet, when you see our president flapping his gums on TV, he's only making noise. His words mean absolutely nothing.

Pandora.com

A few months ago, I was reading Wil Wheaton's blog and found a great music source. He had posted about Pandora.com, and couldn't seem to say enough good things about it. Of course, I had to check it out. And I fell in love. I was hooked - it was so simple to use: put in a song, and it creates a music station for you based on that song's qualities. Tell it what songs you like and don't like as the songs are playing, and it will adjust the play list to reflect that. Or, just let it play what it wants and discover some great music. The only down side of the program, was that it was only free for the first 10 hours - then you had to pay a yearly subscription. So I stopped using it after a while, sad that I had lost one of my favorite online tools. Then, right before Christmas, I went back to the site to see if I had any time left - and the whole kit and caboodle was available for free! No subscription charges! I could listen to music to my heart's content. During the holiday I carried my laptop with me everywhere, letting random songs play. It was kind of like those music channels on TV (good, because neither one has annoying DJs or commercials), but I could steer it myself. So, if you haven't tried Pandora.com, you should. Whatever kind of music you like, you'll probably find it there. And you'll probably find a bunch of stuff you didn't even know existed. And if you want to know a little more about how it works, here's a good article.

The Librarian Is In

"Can I help you?" "I'm looking for a book." (They're always looking for something, but they never want to give you information - as if all information is classified, and they haven't yet decided if the person behind the Information Desk is to be trusted. You have to pry it out of them with a crowbar.) "Do you know the title or author of the book?" "Yes" (I'm not joking - about 50% of the students just say 'yes', as if they expect you to telepathically grab the information from their brain) Sometimes, at this point, I'm very tempted to just look at them without saying another word and see how long it takes for them to voluntarily come to the conclusion that I've left my telepathic link-up at home for the day and they will be forced to verbally communicate with me. Invariably, I remember that I'm in a 'service' profession, that I'm not supposed to treat them like idiots, and that I'm getting paid to be nice. "Well, why don't we look it up in our catalog?" (I turn to the computer and open up our online catalog.) "OK" (They stare at me as I sit in front of the computer, my hands poised above the keys, ready to type in whatever information they give me). Do they think I know how to do Vulcan mind melds? "Why don't we try the author first?" (much more accurate than a title - if you have first and last names - because several books can have similar titles, and people never remember if it's "Tales from Space" or "Tales of Space" or "Tales in Space", etc.) "Ok, his name is Raymond." "Do you know his first name?" (Our catalog has spit out 50 authors with the last name Raymond.) "That is his first name." (I don't even want to know how many books we have by authors with Raymond anywhere in their name - which is how I'd have to look it up, since I can't limit to just the first name - but I look it up anyway. 1449 books.) "Do you know his last name?" (How many libraries/bookstores/any-type-of-establishment-with-books go by author's first name?) "Um, no" (still not a crisis) "Do you remember the title - even just one word will help" (God bless the Advanced Search features) "Yeah!" (he's getting a little more animated) The first word is 'The.' Or maybe the second word." I pause for a moment to take a breath. "The" is not really a word to the library catalog- it's just a filler taking up space between real pieces of information. And the catalog only gets along with 'real pieces of information.' I do the search anyway, and now have 685 records staring at me. I point this out to the student - he can go sit and look through all these, I'm not going to - and try again for more information. "Do you remember anything else about the title? Or what the book is about?" (Subject searching is a little trickier than author or title, which is why I save it as a last resort.) "I'm not sure what it's about - it was recommended to me by my professor - but it's something about American Indians. It was something like The Everlasting Indians. Or maybe The Infinite Indians. Or it could have been The Indians Forever." As he keeps on rattling off variations on this theme, I'm trying subject searches, title searches, etc. Finally I come across "The Ageless Indies" by Raymond Kennedy. Take a minute and look at the difference between the actual title and the titles he gave. He thought the book was on Native American Indians. It's about the Dutch East Indies. When I give him the title, author and call number on a piece of paper, his face brightens. "Oh! That makes sense. We're not studying American Indians, so I was confused. But this makes a lot more sense." I wish there was a shot that people received with their immunizations as a baby that would impart common sense, or at least make a red flag go off in their brain and say "Hey! Write this down if you're going to want to remember this later!" I love my job. And even though this sounds like I'm complaining about patrons, I love the feeling of finding something with almost no information. I don't always succeed, but when I do, I feel like I've just won a small battle. Usually, a small battle against a student's brain. But hey - winning is winning.

Briefer Histoy of Time by Steven Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow

Warning: I am currently in a state of shock that I understood anything written by this guy. I I never thought that I would be able to read anything written by Steven Hawking. Not because I wouldn't be interested, but because I wouldn't be able to understand it. Then last week, my library received a copy of his "Briefer History of Time", an update to his immensely popular "Brief History of Time" that came out (I think) around two decades ago. I picked up the original book once, thinking it would be interesting, then put it down when I read the book jacket. It just seemed like it would be over my head. This newer version was written with people like me in mind. I started reading it on my lunch break today, thinking to just skim through it since I know less than nothing about physics, calculus, astronomy, or anything else of that nature. Instead, I had a hard time getting back to work. The book is incredibly readable, and just as fascinating. Ok, I could have done with a little less mathematical explanations at some points - but even those are used with examples that I could grasp - like playing ping-pong on a moving train: how fast is the ball moving? The speed of the train or the speed of the ball? Even more amazing - Hawking, a scientist/mathmetician/whatever-he-wants-to-call-himself-is-fine-because-he's-freaking-brilliant - is FUNNY! Ok, not in a stand-up-comedian kind of way, but in that scientific-nerdy-smart kind of way. So instead of reading the 162 pages quickly, I pored over them, trying to understand concepts that I know are beyond me. I only got through about 60 pages - and had to stop reading right when I was getting to the good stuff (the black holes). In case you haven't noticed, I'm amazed that I could understand this book, and actually - for the first time in my life - start to 'get' how Einstein's theories work. I don't understand it anymore, and I can't explain the concepts of the book - but while I was reading it, it all made sense. I'm going to stop now, because the family geekness is shining through. I'll refrain from going into Star Trek memories as long as possible.

Kill! Kill! Kill!

{You have to imagine that those words are being said the same way that Arlo Guthrie did them in "Alice's Restaurant" when he was talking to the shrink and jumping up and down. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, go find the song and listen to it.) This is absolutely beyond too much. Now he can kill whomever he wants? Since I don't have time to write a scathing post on it, please fill in the blanks for me. Feel free to put those filled in blanks in the comments, or on your blog - but please, fill in the blanks for me

The Sorcerer's Treason by Sarah Zettel

I picked this up because I wanted to explore some of the fantasy genre. I had been looking on the cheap table at Barnes & Noble for awhile, and finally snatched this up simply because it was the first in a series, rather than the "Third installment in the Devil and the Moon Trilogy" or the "Exciting Conclusion to the Outer Worlds Series." It cost me $5 (for a hardback!), so I wasn't going to be too upset if I discovered fantasy really wasn't my thing or the author sucked. This author didn't suck. It took me more than 50 pages to really be drawn into the story - to say I got tired of hearing how Bridget's past effected her present would be true, but an understatement. I understood from the first innuendo that she had had a baby out of wedlock (and no, I'm not giving anything away here). An interesting twist (well, interesting to me) came soon after I started getting bored, and then once she agrees to help the sorcerer that has landed on her door step, the action picks up considerably. From then on, I was hooked. It was a good story - a little clumsy with the language in a couple of places - but I love the concept of 'weaving' magic that is all over the place, and the idea that Bridget doesn't even know the extent of her powers (once she finds out she has them). I'm a sucker for magic. And anytime you have to try and figure out where the truth lies (and the ending left me less sure of one of the antagonists than I thought I would be), it makes for an interesting read. So will I finish the trilogy (because, as with any good fantasy, this is the first in a series)? Probably. I read the info on the other two online, and the third sounds like something I want to read right now! But I also like to read series in order (a neurosis of mine), so I'll read the second one first. That one actually goes back in time and tells the story of Bridget's parents. Writing the second book in a series so that it chronologically comes before the first is not a new writing device, but I can never decide how I feel about it. I want to finish reading Bridget's story now, not after I read another book. Why couldn't the author write the second book first, if that's the way the story really happened? Because she's The Author, and that's her right. And she probably has a method to her madness, one that I will appreciate after I read the next book. Even If I don't appreciate it at the moment, I know that the second book will give background information, so I'll read them in the order they are 'supposed' to be read. Well. That was supposed to be a quick "I-liked-this-book" post, and it ended up being something resembling a half of a book review. At least I feel like I'm putting that English degree to use.

MP3 instructions

I got an MP3 player off of Ebay, and it arrived yesterday. Unfortunately, after 8 hours of work and 3 hours with my sister's heathens, I was too tired to play with it. But I had an hour this morning before work, so I pulled it out, plugged it up to my laptop and downloaded a few podcasts that I've been meaning to listen to. After I disconnected it from the computer, I went to turn it on or find some other way of getting to the knowledge I now have stored in the palm of my hand. And I couldn't turn the damn thing on. So I went to get the instruction book (yes, I AM a Montgomery, even though looking at instructions could get me kicked out of the family club - but hey, I'm pressed for time!). I absolutely love it when instructions have been translated from Japanes (or Chinese, or Korean, or whatever) into English. I get a huge kick out of deciphering what their trying to say. Check this out:

For you could operate the player comfortable as soon as possible, before connecting operating or adjusting this product, please read the operating manual carefully and keep the manual for reference. The Manual information are changed with no other inform. 1.1 (1) If no use the player long time, please take out the battery from the player and avoid the battery leaking and canker damage.

Ok, I'll stop there. I still have to figure out how to use the thing before I go to work. Happy Sunday everyone!

Order of Succession

Get your position here I've already taken an oath of office (all us civil servants have to hold up a hand and swear), so I think I should be moved up in the succession. But I'll wait my turn. Thanks, Karen!

This is the last time

Diploma
Originally uploaded by lildebbie_77.

I'll post about getting my degree. I promise.
I just had to show off again. ;)

Congress and Wikipedia

The 1st paragraph of the article on CNET is a beautiful sentence:

We already know, of course, that politicians live primarily for re-election and typically view the truth as an impediment to the higher purpose of unfettered self-aggrandizement.

As if Congress and they're staffs have nothing else to do, they've been caught editing entries in Wikipedia. As a result, Wikipedia has banned all Congress IP addresses from their website for one week - and they may extend it. From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Because computers have unique Internet addresses, it was easy for Wikipedia to trace most of the changes in congressional entries to House and Senate offices, although it's not known exactly who made the changes.

Well, I think these guys and gals need more work to do. Obviously, if they have time to sit around and find sentences that they don't like on Wikipedia, then they need a few more worthwhile tasks to fill their days. So does the person from the following example in the SLPD: "In one instance, someone from the House wrote that Republican Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia 'smells like cow dung.'" I would expect more maturity from george's twin daughters (Probably not george himself, though). For a list of the edits, look here. They even included IP addresses. Go see if your Representative/Senator has anything on the list.