Cute but also Sad

This is a very cute idea -- leave it to the Japanese! -- but also a sad commentary on modern humanity that the last sentence needs to be stated. At least they didn't put in a disclaimer that the elderly-care robots "were not capable of doing everything human nurses can do."

Black Holes

I was doing some collection development research and used "black hole" as a keyword search in our catalog and retrieved four* hits:


State-building: governance and world order in the 21st century

Black hole at the center of our galaxy

Simply Einstein: relativity demystified

Black hole tariffs and endogenous policy theory: political economy in general equilibrium


I'm trying to decide if I should read anything into the fact that the titles are evenly divided between scientific theory and political titles concerned with ideas like 'Weak states and the black hole of public administration'....


*For those worried about the state of our collection, "black holes" (plural) as a keyword search retrieves 33 hits.

Finally!

We started writing it in the late summer / early fall of 2003. I don't think we'll ever actually be done writing it -- I see us as two little old ladies in our rocking chairs:

Puanani: "I was re-reading the script and got to thinking..."
Amy: "What? Come closer so I can whack you with my cane!"

Of course, the next day it would be me with an idea and Puanani ready to beat me, because this script is in our genetic code now and just WILL NOT LET GO!

Anyway, the hard work and determination has finally paid off, because someone in LA has read it and deemed it worthy -- we're Semi-Finalists! And thanks to Puanani's last name, we're first on the list!

Keep your fingers crossed that it keeps making the cut -- that hope may be the only thing that will keep us sane... well, as sane as we can be....

Happy New Year

I had a wonderful Christmas and hope you did, too. I wish everyone a happy and prosperous 2006.

Silence

One of the voices that makes me weak has fallen silent.


"I have never doubted that the dream was real, my love; I will never forget. I hope you will save a dance for me."

Winter

Winter has arrived in Hilo.

How can I tell, you ask?

When I leave the air-conditioned Library at 9 pm, it's colder outside than indoors.

Yes, this just started happening this week -- I love living in Hawaii :}

Stuffing Saga

It was like my life was being orchestrated from behind the scenes by the director of a comedy skit....

Last week, I went to Safeway to get one of those bags of Love's stuffing cubes so Mom could make stuffing for Thanksgiving. I called Mom from the store to say that I thought the price was a bit high (but what did I know? I don't cook!) and she agreed that at over $4 for a single bag, it was pricey, but probably because it's only available during the holidays. We really wanted stuffing, though, so I worked through my sticker shock and bought just one bag.

Mom came over on Wednesday and we needed to do some other shopping. Here's where the comedy starts:

We went to Cost-U-Less (a small, non-member Costco-like place here in Hilo) where the bags of stuffing cubes were only $3 something. So we got another bag, just for good measure.

Then we went to KTA to get cat food. And here, the stuffing cubes were $5... for 2 bags!

Someone must have been following me around with a hidden camera saying, "She's going into this store now. Quick, lower the price on the stuffing cubes!" If we had hit one more store, they probably would have only been $1 a bag...

And then there was the Sara Lee pumpkin pie with the bottom crust that wouldn't cook.

But other than that, the 6 days I spent with Mom were Really Wonderful!! We watched movies and went hiking in Kilauea Iki crater and floated in the hot springs and played Disney Trivia, where my dear Mother proceeded to win all 5 times!

So, how was your Thanksgiving?

Goddess Amy...

...at your service.

A patron just called for help with locating a journal article in an online database. It wasn't really all that difficult for me -- It's what I do, darlin' * -- but he was impressed enough to say 'Wow! You're a goddess!'

Who am I to argue with a patron?


* Any guesses as to the source of this quote?

Happy Thanksgiving

Nothing new, but just to continue the tradition...

I am thankful for:

Mom is coming to visit for almost a week!

Friends -- Distance may have dimmed the edges of some of my relationships, but the bright cores remain...

My cats -- from 'where are you going?' looks every morning to a purr-ful 'welcome home!' each night...

My wonderful home -- I still give thanks each day for my good fortune...

Clear night skies -- yes, they actually do occur in Hilo!

As always:
most things Disney
Books, Music, Movies (Serenity!!)
Laughter
Chocolate

Christmas is coming...

Inspiration

At the Hawaii Library Association Annual Conference, I co-presented a talk with my Institute for Astronomy boss, Kathleen. The presentation was titled 'Blog, Blogger, Blogging'. We had a large turnout, including some colleagues, and one of them was inspired to start a blog.

Steadfast Sentinel is the blog of my friend and colleague Richard. Welcome to the blogosphere, Baron!

Harry Potter

Holy freakin' WOW!!!


That's all I was able to think when I got out of the theatre last nite.


Holy freakin' WOW!!!


I have some problems with the third movie, Prisoner of Azkaban -- I feel that they 'Hollywood-ized' parts of it while omitting some crucial elements that could have been easily included.

But I have no complaints about Goblet of Fire. From what I remember of the story, the screenplay manages to incorporate most of the important elements and didn't blow anything way out of proportion, although the first task comes close (but not nearly as bad as Aunt Marge or Harry's ride on Buckbeak in the third movie).

I wasn't sure if I would want to go back to see this in the theatre again, but now I can't wait...

Professional Musings

I often curse the compulsion that forced me into a profession that is chilly, quiet, and sedentary. I crave sunlight, fresh air, music!

But weeks like this remind me why I love my job.

In the past two nights, I've helped students find:

books about:

Hawaiian political history

film editing

personal finance

introductory physics

English grammar

ethnography

journal articles about:

pacific octopus

sea turtles

the bison massacre

cultural influence of fast food

a video on tobacco

Time magazine articles on microfiche

Hawaiian language newspaper birth and death notices from the 1870s.

In between patron requests, I'm preparing for two classes I'll be teaching on how to find scholarly journal articles. The instructors have assigned topics like mail order brides, marriage brokers, paternity leave, custody decisions, dating customs in different cultures, and premarital sex.

As has been recently pointed out, I'm a geek -- an assessment I agree with whole-heartedly, by the way. I'll add to my geekiness quotient now and admit that I enjoy helping people find information.

Sure, most of them are just trying to finish the assignment, usually “due tomorrow.” But some of them are genuinely interested in their topics and curious to learn. Knowing that I’ve pointed them in the right direction brings a smile to my face. And the ones who make a point to come back to the desk to say ‘Thanks!’ put a smile in my heart.

For them I’ll suffer the cold, the stale air, and the silence. After all, I can use the ride home to lower the windows and crank the radio.

Serenity on DVD

I already knew that it was going to be a very Merry Christmas, because I'm going to Florida to spend it with my Dad and Grandpa.

But before today, I didn't know what I was going to do for New Year's. Now I know I'm going to have a gorram good time...

Happy Halloween!

And how was your Halloween?

Mine was sweet!

Weather

This is one of the things I don't miss about living on the Mainland:

This week, the daily HIGH temperature where my Dad is (upstate NY) is LOWER than the nightly LOW temperature where I am.

Let me phrase that differently (just for grins and giggles).

The LOW temperature I experience each night is still HIGHER than the daily HIGH temperature my Poor Ole' Poppy gets to experience.

Yes, I love living in Paradise :)

Can't Stop the Signal

It's probably a minor miracle that nobody at work has {yet} throttled me in exasperation over my enthusiasm about Serenity. Everyone knows how much I love this movie as well as Firefly, the TV show that it's based on. Everyone knows I saw the movie three times opening day and twice since then and that it's now at the dollar theatre -- hmm, what nites this week shall I go?....

But instead of a throttling, I got a positive review from a co-worker today! She said that she saw the movie and really liked it -- and didn't feel lost at all, despite never having seen the TV show. Yeah!

Worth the Wait?

Oh, Yes! A thousand times - YES!

Not only have my Muses fled, but I'm finding it difficult to keep two thoughts together in my head long enough to string them into a coherent sentence. So, instead of trying to provide my own review (although I might try it later), I'm going to point you to some other folks' reviews that I agree with whole-heartedly.

I've seen Serenity four times so far, but will probably add on a couple viewings by the end of the week...

Orson Scott Card
"All I heard was, "It's great, you'll love it."
Well, guess what.
It's great.
I'm not going to say it's the best science fiction movie, ever.
Oh, wait. Yes I am.
...
And I'll tell you this right now: If Ender's Game can't be this kind of movie, and this good a movie, then I want it never to be made."

Serenity Cheat Sheet
"The setting, the music, the unique cinematography, the little details (i.e. having no sound in space) and of course, the endlessly quotable dialogue, make the world of Firefly one worth visiting..."

VideoSewer Review
"It’s how sci-fi adventures should be done...Serenity works so well because the archetypical characters and situations are sketched with a loving hand..."

Video Teaser
This shows the first 9 minutes of the film. What happens just after this clip ends is classic Firefly:

MAL
"Did the primary buffer panel just fall off my gorram ship for no apparent reason?"

WASH
"Looks like...this landing is going to get pretty interesting"

MAL
"Define 'interesting'."

WASH
"'Oh, God, oh, God, we're all gonna die'?"

MAL (over loudspeaker)
"This is the Captain. There's a little problem with our entry sequence. We may experience slight turbulence and then explode."

JAYNE
"We're gonna explode? I don't wanna explode"

MAL
"How many weapons you plan on bringing? You only got the two arms."

JAYNE
"I just get excitable as to choice -- like to have my options open."

MAL
"I don't plan on any shooting taking place during this job."

JAYNE
"Well, what you plan and what takes place ain't exactly been similar."

...

ZOE
"Are we crashing again?

MAL
"Talk to your husband."


And we're off on one hell of a wild ride...

Hope you enjoy...

One Day to Go

But at least I already have the tickets -- bought them last nite on the way home :)

"Take my love, take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don't care, I'm still free
You can't take the sky from me
Take me out to the black
Tell them I ain't comin' back
Burn the land and boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me
There's no place I can be
Since I found Serenity"

Welcome!

A good friend of mine has finally made the foray into the blogosphere, and I couldn't be happier that she's here. Djinn Rummy is her new space and I am really looking forward to her posts -- I've already added her to my Bloglines feeds to make sure I don't miss anything. See, she's not only a good friend, but she's also one of my favorite writers. I've had the good fortune to read some of her stuff before she started blogging and have enjoyed every bit of it. I'm always careful to put food and drink out of the way before I start reading her writings about our retail experiences -- she truly knows how to hit the nail right on the head with insight and humor.

She also has a book reviews site, Lamp Side Reading. She reads some pretty esoteric stuff, so check it out!

Anniversary

As of today I have been in my wonderful house for one year.

Before next year, pictures of the outside! :)

Today's Date?

All week long I've had trouble remembering the date --'I dunno, um, September 20-something?' But not today. Today's date comes easily. Because in 7 days it will be September 30th. In less than 168 hours, I am going to spend all damn day in my local theatre watching, re-watching, and re-watching Serenity.

Hey, it's my personal day off and my money. I can do what I want.

Yeah, it's gonna be that good....

Reminiscences

Memory sure is a funky thing.

This post is in response to a comment left for my "Coffee and Voices" post.

I've always remembered this as a writing project, not as a 'cardboard box TV' but now that I think about it some more, that must be what it was. You have a good memory, 'you know who'.

It was sixth grade and my story was about one-armed aliens -- don't ask why, because I honestly don't remember. If our house hadn't burned down when I was 17, I'd probably still have this project and I could tell you more about the story. Yes, I'm a pack rat -- always have been, probably always will be. I've learned to deal with it and if you're going to hang with me, you should, too.

Anyway, I remember a cardboard box and two empty paper towel rolls and having to glue (tape?) the pages of the story together and onto the rolls. The 'TV' design wasn't mine, I don't think. I'm pretty sure that the format was the teacher's idea, but the storyline and (godawful) pictures were mine. I will certainly never be able to claim 'artist' among my accomplishments.

I hope that some mad scientists somewhere are working on ways to improve memory retention or verify memories or something along those lines. I've got a few I'd really like to nail down....

New 'Do

Check out my new haircut!

It's a little shorter than I had envisioned, but I was able to donate what was chopped off to the Locks of Love program. I'm still getting used to 'styling' it, but it's already so much easier to wash, dry, and keep out of the way. So far, the response at work has been very positive -- What do you think?

I Will Not...

I will NOT read either Serenity (the novelization) or Serenity: The Official Visual Companion that I just picked up today. I will wait 3 more weeks (ARRGGHHH!!!) and watch the movie first. I will not peek, I will not peek, I will not peek....

Coffee and Voices

Good news – I woke up this morning with a craving for coffee.

Now I know what you're thinking: "Amy, I've known you for (fill-in-the-blank) years and you don't drink coffee. I've never seen you take even one sip."

And you're right, I don't drink coffee. But one of the voices in my head does.

Now, before you call for the men with the white jackets, let me explain...

I write fiction, fan fiction mostly, and the way that I write it is by listening to the voices in my head. There are a few shows that are really strong -- well written, with good characters, portrayed by incredibly talented actors who do such a good job of bringing those characters to life that the characters become almost like real people to me.

No, don't start dialing -- I said 'almost'. I still know the difference between reality and fiction, but the walls are sometimes a bit thin where I am. Which might worry me, except that I know I'm not alone in this flimsy structure – there's at least one co-conspirator in here with me.

So, this morning I woke up with a craving for coffee, which means Daniel. Except, I don't know if it's because I don't have any coffee in the house, because he had something important to say, or just because he's impatient, but it's actually Jack who has been yammering away.

Of course, he waited until I pulled out of the driveway to start talking. That's right: he let me take a shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, make lunch, and feed the cats before he started babbling. It could be because I've yelled at him before for jabbering at me when I'm in the shower, but the other activities are all interruptible, so it was probably just a case of Jack being Jack, i.e., mischievous. He's got this really wonderful grin...

{Yes, I pulled over to write down what he was saying. I occasionally talk on the phone and drive at the same time, but I draw the line at trying to write. Usually... Just kidding!}

I've been hoping that my new work schedule, which is more in tune with my body clock, would entice the voices to come back. I know some people don't believe in it, but having to get up early (even if I go to bed earlier) leaves me with no energy and a head that feels like it's stuffed with cotton. During the summer I had an early schedule, so I didn't write anything. And it's been a bummer, because for a while the voices were garrulous and I was really enjoying the satisfaction of writing...

Oh. You're still going to call for the men in white coats? Okay, just give me enough time to type up my notes and send them to P. After all, this whole thing is her fault, err, I mean, her idea.

Anyway, I still don't like the way it tastes, but a writer has to suffer a little, right? So I drink my cup of coffee, salute Jack, and wait for Daniel and, hopefully, the rest of the voices, too. Welcome back, everyone, I've missed you...

Nifty

Another way to spend time online...

Games for the Brain

Yes, I'm a Browncoat

Like Jane, I've spent a lot of time lately watching and re-watching (and re-watching) Firefly episodes. There are only 14 episodes (damn you Fox!!), but they are all I have to tide me over until the end of September, when I plan to spend a lot of time at my local theatre watching Serenity, the movie based on this show.

Note to the cautious: don't start watching this show unless you want to be totally consumed -- yes, it's that good. Oh, you'll also probably start cursing in Chinese...

Lucky Lis has already been to an advance screening -- I'm really jealous, although not enough to give up living in Paradise to be someplace where this kind of thing happens (sorry, Dad!).

Return to Earth

Welcome home, Discovery!

YES!!

Return to Flight

Sad Moon Day

While I was working on this post, I found out that James Doohan died. Like so many other people, I always liked the character of Scotty. I'm glad that James didn't mind being identified with the role. Tonight I'll watch a ST movie and raise a glass -- rum, not scotch, but the sentiment will be the same.

My original thought for today:

Why is it that it took less than 10 years from when President Kennedy said 'Let's go to the moon' to Armstrong and Aldrin leaving their footprints in the dust and yet, here we are, more than three and a half decades later and we still haven't made it to another planet? Hell, we haven't even been back to the Moon since 1972! I know that our probes and probes are doing great work, and we need to continue on that avenue, but it's also time for us humans to get going....

Harry-mania

I've been working on a Harry Potter post (mostly dealing with my disappointment with the third movie), but am finding it difficult to finish, so for now I'll just ask that you please don't assault your mail delivery person tomorrow, okay? They've got enough to deal with....

{Yes, I'm aware that the above is grammatically incorrect, however, colloquially it's okay.}

Return to Flight

Why Fly to Space?

Godspeed, Discovery

Deep Impact Perspective

For those concerned about the audacity and ramifications of a bunch of Earthlings messing with a comet, please read this explanation from the Planetary Society Weblog.

Local news coverage of the event can be found in the Honolulu Advertiser, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, and The Maui News.

Event sites:
Hawaii
JPL
NASA

DI Success

Deep Impact successfully collided with Comet Tempel 1 -- congratulations everyone!

Full-time

Well, today I started working full-time for the Mookini Library at the University of Hawaii at Hilo / Hawaii Community College. It's a temporary position, but has benefits (vacation, sick, medical, dental, vision)-- yippee! I'll be doing all the things I've been doing while I've been working here part time (Astronomy, Physics, Nursing, and Pharmacy collection development, website maintenance, annual reports preparation, other special projects). I'll be adding Reference Desk duties for 20 hours per week, and I may get to teach some Library Instruction classes -- I taught some at UH-West Oahu a few years ago and enjoyed it.

We're a bit lost in the paperwork jungle when it comes to how I can continue to work part-time for the Library at the Institute for Astronomy Hilo, but I think we may be close to some daylight.

Hope you have a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend!

Testing comments

Testing the changes I made to the template to include comments...

MIT Weblog Survey

I just completed the MIT Weblog Survey. It was interesting to go back over the history of this blog and do the actual math to find what percentage of the posts have been personal (60%), business (40%), and current events / news (30%). My original guesses were way off....

WordCount

Yet another nifty place on the 'Net where you can spend {waste} bunches of time....

WordCount™ is "an artistic experiment in the way we use language. It presents the 86,800 most frequently used English words, ranked in order of commonness." The data comes from The British National Corpus (BNC), "a 100 million word collection of samples of written and spoken language from a wide range of sources, designed to represent a wide cross-section of current British English, both spoken and written."

Okay, so it's British. It's still interesting....

To get you started:
1 the
2 of
3 and
4 to
5 a
6 in
7 that
8 it
9 is
10 was
11 i
12 for
13 on
14 you
15 he
16 be
17 with
18 as
19 by
20 at

376 god
384 love
1279 dog
2532 cat
3107 hate
14646 hawaii

86790 tella
86791 savills
86792 homemakers
86793 golgotha
86794 lauro
86795 multilingualism
86796 tangency
86797 carniola
86798 workless
86799 recrossed
86800 conquistador

aloha (currently not in archive)

SW III

Why, in this age when everyone loves abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms, would you have a lengthy title that can be shortened to ROTS?

Anyway....

This movie was much, much, much better than I had expected. Still some rough spots and some wooden acting, even from Ewan (who looks an awful lot like Kiefer Sutherland in these last two SW movies). The killing sequence has a wonderful musical score.

Note to N: there are a couple of groaner places in the very beginning when I thought "Oh no, please don't let this be like II." It never got that bad, I don't think. Then again, I started getting a cold that day, so maybe my head was more fuzzy than I realized. It will be interesting to see what I think the second time around....

Store Wars

Brilliant... absolutely brilliant: Store Wars

More Cool Sites

I haven't explored these much, but at first glance they look interesting:

Eternal Egypt

The Big Myth -- the Hawaiian link doesn't work yet, but the Egypt one does.

TV Shows on DVD -- you can vote for TV shows you want to be released on DVD.

Cool Sites

Lori pointed out this awesome photographer's site, Chromasia.

MapMachine -- National Geographic Maps, 'nuf said....

The End of Everything?

In the short article "What are the odds of Earth's cataclysmic end?" IfA researchers explain some of the possibilities other than a galactic highway. Don't Panic -- you don't need to lose any sleep over them.

One of the things I love about astronomers is their ability to talk about their science in plain language. You can hear for yourself at the free "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the End of Everything", a panel discussion by University of Hawai'i astronomers, at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 4, at the Art building auditorium on the Manoa campus.

Another thing I love about science in general is that truth is almost always stranger than fiction ever could be.

Campus Hawaii Clubs

Hawaii is special in so many ways, even when it's exported to the mainland: "Hawaii clubs are fixtures at more than 50 colleges nationwide, and on many campuses are the only state-themed clubs."

Sorry, Dad, even if Cornell had one, I still wouldn't move back....

Two Links

I love Michael McGrorty's writing. This post goes well with our 52 in 52 attempt. I'm think I'm now at about 27 -- I may have forgotten a couple along the way...

And:

In Wil's words: "I'm not sure if this is real, or not. If it's not, it's the funniest satire in history. If it is . . . it explains so much."

Open House

And a wonderful time was had by all...

Haikubes

Just in time for her foray back into the world of being employed by someone else, Miss Lori has established Haikubes, "Poetry for Modern-Day Corporate Warriors." And she asked me to join!

So, I wrote 6 of these darn things in 1/2 an hour yesterday -- the voices in my head are back! I will post them gradually so as to not be too overwhelming, and also because I'll probably never be able to write another one after that creative burst....

To get you started, and because the last one I wrote doesn't really fit the theme, I'll post it here:

I can’t stop thinking
In terms of five, seven, five
Guess things could be worse

Handheld Recovery

I will never understand computers as long as I live. I finally broke out the operating system disc for my handheld, but decided to give it just one more try (fingers crossed, whispered pleas). And damned if it didn't sync right away! I have no explanation. None. I'm completely stumped and confused. Also, mightily relieved...

Handheld Problems

I had to do a reset on my Visor Deluxe (old, but reliable) last night, which didn't worry me at all, but today when I try to HotSync, I'm getting the following error message:

"Restore application database error
HotSync Error: Connection is lost (6410)"

I did try searching on the Handspring site, but nothing that was suggested made any difference.

Anyone have any ideas?
email: amy at amysbookshelf dot com

Looking at all the data I have on the desktop that's no longer in the palm of my hand is making me very nervous...

Sleeping Cat Poses

The Silly Sleeping Pose Olympics for cats. If you live with cats and you haven't seen poses like these, you aren't paying enough attention.

Thanks, S., for the link and the smiles!

Kung Hee Fat Choy!!!

Check out Google's homage to Lunar New Year.

If you miss seeing it on Wednesday, you can check out the archives here.

Clientcopia

Clientcopia is one of those things that I wish was made up (and some of it probably is), but unfortunately the majority of it is heartbreakingly real and it just makes me shake my head in despair. Can something be so funny that it's sad?

Sometimes the way to avoid stupidity is just to slow down the pace of your life...

52 in 52

Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!

I don't make New Year's Resolutions, but if I did, this would be a good one:

Some friends came up with the idea of reading 52 books in 52 weeks. Certainly a worthy goal, so I jumped aboard and am going to keep track of them here. For later reference, there's a link over there on the right.

Now I need a similar goal for writing....

Vacation

I won't be posting for about a month, which means I'll miss the first anniversary of this weblog. The dearth of postings lately has been an anomaly and not a trend -- I've actually really enjoyed this blog and am looking forward to continuing it.

In anticipation of Thanksgiving, here's this year's list of things I'm thankful for:
Family, especially Mom -- without her, you'd have to visit me in a little padded cell...
Friends -- I'm blessed with some real gems...
My cats -- furry, purry, and still such a joy...
My wonderful new house -- still a rental, but so much better than the last place...
Clear night skies
Puanani is moving to Hilo

And, as always:
Disney
Books, Music, Movies
Laughter
Chocolate
Christmas is coming...

Disaster Planning

I know it's silly, but I feel an odd twinge every time I think of the Manoa flood and the fact that, less than one week before, I gave a talk at the Hawaii Library Association Conference titled "Disaster Planning for Libraries." Now I know that the timing was just coincidental, but I still feel a little bit funny....

On a more positive note, one of the attendees has asked me to give my talk to his organization :)

UH Manoa Flood Information

The University of Hawaii at Manoa suffered unbelievable damage from flood waters on October 30th. Most of the damage was to the basement of the main library and to several research buildings (the world famous mouse cloning team had offices in one). Extremely fast moving water and mud reached 6 - 8 feet high in some places. Mom said she was having flashbacks to Corning in 1972...

General UH Flood Information

General Flood Relief Contributions

Library Specific Flood Relief Contributions

LIS Program Specific Flood Relief Contributions

Honolulu Advertiser stories: one -- Yes, those are cars that were pushed by water into the trees! -- and two.

Library Photos by Susan Murata: This is a slideshow that takes a moment to load, but I think it does the best job of showing the effects of the disaster that has destroyed one of my favorite places. Yes, those metal shelving units loaded with books were toppled by water.

The basement of Hamilton Library housed the Library School, Government Documents, Maps, Collections, Acquisitions, and the library computer servers. Basically, everything down there was completely and utterly destroyed. Unsalvageable. Lost. Talk about a heavy heart...

In Hilo

We've all arrived in Hilo and are (mostly) doing fine. I'm a little worried about Ashe -- he's living under the bed -- but I think he'll gradually come out once he realizes his world isn't moving around as much as it has in the past month.

Will post more details on the move later. Mom and I unloaded the container and everything is in the house. Most of the furniture is even in position -- including the love seat, hope chest, and 3 six-foot bookshelves in the loft!

No word on the job yet and it's starting to worry me, but otherwise, I'm fine.

And whatever the bozos at airport security try to tell you, you do NOT have to take the cats out of their carriers!!

Quick Update

I have only sporadic Internet/email access. Please forgive me if I don't respond right away. Updates will be scarce until I find out what kind (and how much $$$) Internet access is going to be at the new place.

Moving companies were outrageously $$$, so Mom and I have packed everything ourselves and will be loading it into a U-Haul on Monday, September 20 and then taking it out of the U-Haul on Tuesday and loading it into a 20' cargo container. The container sails on Wednesday and arrives in Hilo on Friday, but I won't have access until Monday.

Don't be on the Aloha Airlines flight that leaves Honolulu at 8:10 a.m. on Monday, September 27 -- Mom, Noreen, and I will each have one carry-on of one cat. Gotta remember to talk to the vet's about tranqs....

On Monday the 27th and Tuesday and 'til noon on Wednesday, Mom and I will get to take everything out of the cargo container and load it back into a U-Haul, truck it :) to my new apartment (description later -- it's way cool) and heave it up the stairs and into place.

Looks like the final box count for the books is 46.

Two of the things I hate most are moving and looking for a new job (no news yet) -- and at the moment I'm doing both at the same time!

Gotta run, but I'm still alive and doing okay...

To Hilo

It's been a busy month and it's not over yet...

Tomorrow is a state holiday -- Yeah!

I'm off to Hilo on Monday where K. and I will be hosting an ALOHA meeting Monday morning and then working in the IfA Hilo Library on Monday afternoon and all day Tuesday.

Mom is joining me in Hilo Tuesday nite to assist in my search for housing on Wednesday and Thursday. If you know of a place to rent in Hilo, please let me know!

Sometime next week I will be having a phone interview with the University of Hawaii at Hilo Edwin H. Mookini Library for a Librarian position that I'm really excited about.

Friday nite the 27th K. and I are hosting an SLA event at IfA Manoa.

Saturday nite, N. and S. and I are going to try to get into The Cheesecake Factory in Waikiki.

Tuesday the 31st is my last day at IfA Manoa.

In the meantime, I continue to pack my books. I'm only on box 8, so obviously, I've got quite a ways to go...

Laptops in Classrooms

This topic is alternately depressing and infuriating. It's easy for me to get really worked up and fuming and I have to consciously take deep breaths to settle myself.

Repeat after me: EVERYTHING IS NOT, NOT, NOT ON THE INTERNET!!!

I agree that technology has done some good things and has some great possibilities, especially for long-distance learning. But the Internet should be only a complement to, not a substitute for, textbooks.

Here's the most depressing excerpt from the latest mistake:

“Next August, Tucson's Vail Unified School District will open a new high school without textbooks. Each of the 250 to 300 freshmen and sophomores will be handed a laptop computer instead.

"If we can rely on almost limitless information available on the Internet, why do we need a textbook?" Vail Superintendent Calvin Baker said.”

Fortunately, the NYT has published a cautionary tale about laptops in the classroom. As always, the answer lies in dedicated, creative teachers...

Astronomy in Hawaii

Honolulu Advertiser article about the benefits of Hawaii's location and weather conditions to the study of astronomy, and also about the benefits that the astronomical community provides to this state.

Blue Moon... Or Not?

It doesn't mean what you think. It's apparently the result of an error that has taken on a life of it's own. Here's the real scoop from Sky and Telescope where the problem began...

Radio

Now that I'm moving to the Big Island (in September), Honolulu has finally gotten a radio station worth listening to: KHUI "99.5 Bob FM."

Okay, first off, you've gotta love the name :-)

Now, don't get me wrong: The Big Kahuna's Classic Rock is a good station, but they play too much of the same stuff.

The Bob FM format is mostly 80's and 90's popular rock. It's actually much more diverse than that, but I can't be any more specific with actual titles and artists -- I've just got no memory lately. It's not always stuff I want to listen to (they play too much Tom Petty for my taste), but they are:

a) playing songs that aren't being played on every other radio station in town

b) not playing the same songs over and over and over (like every other station in town)

c) playing stuff that I haven't heard in many, many, many years.

Their tag line, though ("Music from the 80's, 90's and Whenever!") really stinks. If only they could get Darah to do their advertising...

Misc. Thoughts

Once again, others have said perfectly what I want to say, only this time they're friends. There's Lori's summation of fundamentalism and Puanani's review of Spiderman 2 and Stargate SG-1. I would add only that I was impressed by the makeup for Tobey Maguire's eyes when Peter Parker was so tired all the time -- for some reason that really struck me.

I don't know if it's because I'm new to blogging or what, but I was especially tickled a few weeks back when somebody I don't know mentioned my weblog.

Lastly, I finally got to see the version of Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman... It was so refreshing to see a movie where an entire scene is one shot, not micro-edits of many different takes. And, yes, my heart broke when Colonel Brandon (Alan) is waiting outside Marianne's sick room and says to Elinor "Give me an occupation, Miss Dashwood, or I shall run mad." Rewind, watch again, rewind, watch again....

Writing Exercise

My friend P. told me about this and it's a lot of fun! The next time you're bored, try this:

Write something where every line starts with the next letter of the alphabet. It can be a letter, a poem, a story, a song, or dialogue between two people, like this:

Alright, have you seen my llama?
But why do you ask?
'Cause I can't find the bloody creature!
Don't you swear at me!
Every time he goes missing, he runs to you.

and so on... I finished this one (my first) in about 5 minutes. It just really flowed.

No, sorry, you don't get to know why it's a llama, which is a shame, 'cause it's a great story...

Measuring Day

I'll be getting measured at Curves again tonight, but this morning I got an opinion that I really appreciated.

Mom dropped me off at work 'cause she needed to use my car (hers is temporarily out of commission). As I got out of the car, she said, "Hey, your butt's getting smaller." I laughed, crawled right back into the car, gave her a big hug, and told her I loved her.

It's a slow process, but apparently worth it...

Tech Toy Note

Some clarification about checking library holdings from online bookstores:

The check is being done by ISBN, so a bookmarklet can be created for any site (not just Amazon and B&N) that uses the ISBN as part of the URL for the record (e.g., one of my fave places BookCloseouts.com).

BUT, this means that if the library has the book in a different format (hardcover instead of paperback), and therefore a different ISBN, the record may not show. Of course, you can always click on "Other Editions" and check from those pages.

I still think this is way cool...

New Technology Toy!

I'm so tickled about this that I just can't stop grinning:

With one click and drag of the mouse, you can have a new tool, called a bookmarklet, that will allow you to check a library system for any book that you find on Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com

The example below is for the University of Hawaii Library system, but this page lists several different library systems that bookmarklets are available for.

Bear with me now, because this is exciting!

From this page, click-and-drag the "USA - Hawaii - Honolulu - University of Hawaii at Manoa" link up to your browser's link toolbar. The links are listed alphabetically, so you have to go about halfway down the page.

Now, the next time you find a book on Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com that looks interesting, but you aren't sure that you want to buy it, this tool will allow you to check if it's available in the library so you can preview it.

Say you are looking at the Amazon.com page for The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World. Just click on the bookmarklet on your toolbar, and a new window pops up that shows you the UH record for that title.

Increasing the coolness factor is that each subsequent check will re-use the same window.

I'm off to try to create one of these for the Hawaii State Library's iPac system...

Measuring My Curves

Well, I've had another measurement at Curves. No, don't go searching the Archives, thinking you missed something. I didn't post about the last one. And don't look for any specific numbers. You don't get those (yet).

When you sign up at Curves you get measured, and then each month on your anniversary date, you're reminded when you check in to get measured again (so I've had three measurements so far). The nice thing is, you don't have to get measured on that exact date (if you're feeling bloated or something).

Anyway, I want lots of measurements before I'm going to get really excited about them, especially since each time a different person has measured me. It is nice that I've weighed less each time (!) although I know that many different things can affect your weight, so weight loss has never been one of my goals. It's still nice, though.

And my chart shows that I have been losing inches (hips, thighs, arms, etc.). I'll be more excited about that when the trend continues for 6 or 8 months (or the measurer remains constant for 3 or 4). The thought that I'm losing inches is nice, too, but I'm not throwing a party just yet….

But then there's the body fat measurement. They have a machine that they program (age? height? weight? I'm not sure -- if anybody's curious, I'll find out more details) and you hold onto this little machine for a moment and it supposedly measures the percentage and pounds of fat in your body.

Which is the reason why I'm not going straight home to my very lonely cats, the Netflix movies that are waiting, the new bookcase that is longing to be integrated into my library, or the stack of books that I'm behind in reading. Instead, I'm going to exercise. And enjoy it. Why?

Because every month that little machine says that I'm losing body fat!

And that I will get excited about!!

WW2

West Wing Season 2 marathon begins tonight!! Thanks, Poppy!!

Spelling suggestions

For email at work, I use a program called Eudora. As I was typing an email today, I missed the 'i' in library. Just out of curiosity, I used the spell-check and it suggested the following for my misspelled word lbrary:

February
already
bad
back
bank
breath
stay
black
bring
sorry
always
chair
great
treat
trial

Now I know we all hate the big M, but at least MWord's only suggestion was library...

Links

Well, I've finally started to add some links over there on the right. I'm looking into BlogRolling (thanx, Lori!), so hopefully more will crop up soon. For now, here's a quick rundown of what's there as of today.

IfA Weblog is the blog I started to keep Institute for Astronomy researchers updated on what's happening in the space (pun intended) where the information world and their research collide. Probably very boring for anyone not conducting astronomical research, but hopefully useful for those who are.

APOD is the Astronomical Picture of the Day. To quote the site: "Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer." Be sure to read the descriptions to fully appreciate the images. Stuff like "NGC 4565 is only about 30 million light-years distant, but over 100,000 light-years in diameter" is just so mind-blowing…

virtuallori.com is my friend Lori's place in cyberspace. What can I say about Lori? She's smart, funny, and interesting … and she has the best recipes for three of life's essentials: baked mac & cheese, brownies, and margaritas. I miss her like crazy since she moved back East.

neilgaiman.com is the website of the brilliant mind behind the Sandman graphic novels. If you've ever wondered why I always wear an ankh, Sandman is your answer (it's a little more complicated than that, but then, most things are). Neil is another person whose writing I am in awe and envy of. So often, he phrases something exactly the way I would have if I could have, but didn't, so I'm glad he did. His views on animals is one example of this. The piece he wrote for SimCity 2000 is also an example of his ability to implant thoughts (in this case, the last two sentences) that can cause me to sleep with the lights on for a few nights.

WWdN is the online home of Wil Wheaton. Yes, the same Wil who played Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Now, before you roll your eyes and dismiss this as just one of my sci-fi induced delusions, try reading some of his entries (starting with this introduction) and remember to separate the actor from the character. I'm going to repeat that, 'cuz it's important: Remember to separate the actor from the character! I happen to know personally that one of the most popular leading male heartthrobs from the 70's and 80's is homosexual. So, separate the actor from the character and go read some stuff from the self-described "very happy husband, step-father, and writer" and I would add "cat lover."

Kiefer Rocks is a good example of what a fan site should be: timely news updates, articles, photos, even audio clips. I have to admit that I keep a browser window open on this home page and periodically throughout the day I'll hit the replay button, just to hear the opening audio. "I want your complete attention…" I'm trying to figure out just the right adjective for his voice: I don't think it's butter, nor whisky. I'm thinking it's caramel, but more research is required. If you have any suggestions, let me know…

24

Well, last night I finished watching the second season of 24 (except for the bonus disc which I'll watch tonight) and I just gotta say, are they finished filming the third season, yet? Is it on DVD, yet? Well, is it? Is it?

Yes, rhetorical questions, but patience has never been one of my virtues. Don't ask what my virtues are, I'm on another track right now.

I had forgotten what an incredibly sexy voice Kiefer Sutherland has (probably because I haven't seen much of his work). Athos was always my fave in The Three Musketeers, partly because of that voice. To those who know me well, this will come as no surprise. Yes, I still fall asleep to Liam Neeson's narration of How the Irish Saved Civilization, and yes, I still have no idea how they did it, because I can't concentrate enough to actually process what he's saying. Other voices that make me weak? Kenny Chesney, John Spencer, Johnny Depp, Alan Rickman. Voice, smile, eyes, hair...

Sorry, where was I?

Oh, yes, 24. I can't watch the third season because I don't have access to TV stations, just my DVD collection, Netflix loans, and some old VCR tapes (although the machine has been acting up lately). Aside from CMT, Headline News, Stargate SG-1, West Wing, MacGyver, and Alton Brown, I don't miss cable (and some of those programs have seriously degraded lately). Besides, I don't think I could watch 24 as a weekly program. I'm too impatient -- as soon as I finish one episode, I can't wait to start the next one. I was seriously ticked when I realized that the post office hadn't delivered disc 4. I finished disc 3 and grabbed the next one, only to find that it was disc 5. Said some very unladylike things.

Okay, so I'm not very ladylike most of the time, but you get the idea. I was very upset at the delay...

Back on track: I'm thoroughly enjoying 24. At first I thought I wouldn't need to own them, but I'm reconsidering since I've had quite a few moments of "Oh, wow, I had forgotten that even happened!" Besides, there's that voice....

Minor Spoilers:





A few miscellaneous thoughts: Sad as it was, killing Teri was the right thing to do; disturbing as they were, the scenes of Jack being tortured were necessary. That's my two cents' worth.

To Kiefer and crew: Keep up the good work!

Library Strip Club

Yes, you read that right. The Library Strip Club, where "cocktail waitresses dress like librarians." Now why couldn't I have found out about this before I went to Vegas?

Thought for the Day

A good friend will come and bail you out of jail.

A true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Wow, that was fun!"


I hope that you have a true friend or two in your life. I know I do!

Seriously?

This CNN story is one of those things that part of me doesn't believe is serious: solar booty? snagging the capsule in mid-air? The most believable part for me, Stargate SG-1 fan that I am, is that Hollywood stunt pilots and an active-duty Air Force test pilot will be working together to make this happen.

5 Planets

Don't forget if you have clear skies to check out Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn sharing the evening sky.

Exercise

I joined Curves for Women last week and it is awesome!

I've only had two workouts, but I'm hooked. You alternate between aerobic exercise and 12 different resistance machines. The aerobics is done on these little shock-absorbent squares. Most people, me included, just jog in place, although some add arm movements or a little twisting action. I'm lucky I can stay upright. The resistance machines alternate between legs and arms and I can usually get in 12-15 reps before changing stations.

It's fast-paced, the constant movement between stations means I don't get bored, and they've got CDs of upbeat music playing. The workout is over before I even know it and I'm sweating enough to create my own river.

Safety First: There is always a monitor in the room who has been trained to watch everyone and make sure you are using the machines properly. And once per circuit you are prompted to check your heartrate and compare it to a chart on the wall.

It's only $30/month, I can go as often as I want, and the monthly price is locked for 3 years!

This is going to be a very good thing....

IMLS Grants to Libraries

The Institute of Museum and Library Services has awarded over $157 Million to State Libraries.

Some of my favorite quotes from the press release:

"Libraries will use federal funds to create and sustain a nation of learners."

"Libraries...connect people to knowledge and ideas and enhance their ability to learn throughout life, adapt to change readily, and evaluate information critically."

"{These}...funds help state library agencies make library resources and services, which can be prohibitively expensive to the individual, readily available to an entire community."

Can we please have a round of applause for our libraries?

Space Sounds

I am VERY excited about this site!

Let the intro page of SpaceSounds.com run for a few minutes and you'll hear a short history of humanity's steps into space. The actual site (click on SpaceSounds logo) contains both natural and manmade sounds.

I've only been able to listen to some of the sounds available from this amazing site. The download times are long, but more than worth it....

Some sounds include:
Black Hole
Two pulsars that rotate at different speeds
Sputnik
Communications from Gemini, Mercury, Apollo, and Shuttle missions

Tell your friends, especially the teachers!

Weblog Found

Today I discovered the answer to the question "Is anyone outside of IfA aware of the IfA Library Weblog?" (That's the one I maintain for work. There's a link to it over there on the right.)

I haven't sent the URL to anyone not connected with IfA (except personal friends), but today through Steven Cohen's Library Stuff, I was led to the Blog Without a Library site and found IfA listed on the right under "libraries doing good things with blogs." Hooray!!

Now I need to find out if anyone at IfA is paying attention to it....

This has also led me to wonder who reads this personal weblog. If you do, please drop me a quick note. The address can be found by going to Amy's Bookshelf (link on the right). I'd put my email address here, but I'm trying to cut down on spam (nasty, unhealthy stuff....). I promise to try to remember to list some of the blogs I read since some of them are really, really good.

Meet the Nasalnaut

This is one of those things that you never think about, but that makes complete sense when you're confronted with it: There are folks at NASA whose job it is to smell everything that's going on the Shuttle or to the Space Station. If I were ever on "Inside the Actors Studio" I think this would have to be my job that I wouldn't want to try!

When Ed Lu was here last month, he did talk about the lack of odors on the ISS and how powerful that first whiff of Earth was when they popped the hatch. He likened it to that wonderful moment after the flight from the mainland when they open the airplane door at Honolulu International and you catch that mix of ocean and flowers and moist tropical air....

More books equal better brains

This Miami Herald article explains that students who attend schools with better media centers (the 21st century version of libraries) perform better on tests: "Even as education officials put more importance on high-stakes testing, studies show they frequently forget about one room on campus that can make a difference in student achievement."

Anyone surprised?

Anyone got any brilliant ideas for finally getting this notion the attention that it deserves? Librarians have been extoling the virtues of our organizations for decades, but we're still ignored. Except when they're taking more money away from us....

Water on Mars!

NASA story
CNN story

Mars Exploration Rover Mission Home Page

Peanut Butter and Jelly

Peanut Butter and Jelly have been surgically separated. I don't know what else to say...

IfA Open House

Come one, come all to the IfA Open House on Sunday 18 April. Have lots of fun, enrich your mind, then be sure to fill out a survey, since yours truly designed it... Mahalo!

Transit of Venus

This summer's Transit of Venus won't be visible from Hawaii, darn it. For the rest of you, this rare astronomical event is explained at transitofvenus.org.

Interesting Reading

Science's Essays on Science and Society is a monthly feature of "the views of individuals from inside or outside the scientific community as they explore the interface between science and the wider society."

Although the main page has links only to the full text in HTML, a pdf version can be downloaded from the full text page, as well as from the summary page.

Site Feed

This blog now includes a feed for use by an aggregator (I use Bloglines). Click on the "Site Feed" link over there on the right, then use that URL to subscribe.

If you want to know more about rss feeds, aggregators, site syndication, etc., email me. I don't know a whole lot, but I can fill you in on the basics and point you in the right direction.

What's my email address, you ask? Follow the link to Amy's Bookshelf...

Mahalo, Kenny!

I don't normally go in for first-day stuff. I don't like crowds and I'm usually too cheap to pay full price (which is why I'm so grateful that S. is willing to get DVDs for me at Costco).

Of course, there are exceptions: I buy Laurie King hardcovers on the laydown date; I'll go see Harry Potter #3 opening night; and I buy Kenny Chesney's CDs on the release date, which is what I did yesterday. I took it home, popped it into the player, and it gave me the momentum to get 3 hours of housework done -- Thanks, Kenny!

I'm thrilled about the three live tracks -- I keep hoping he'll release a live album. "Please Come to Boston" was a nice surprise (what fitting lyrics). I'm especially happy that one of the live versions is "What I Need to Do" since that's the song that got me hooked on Kenny. It wasn't the first song of his that I heard, but it was the one that made me want to hear everything. And it's even better live -- the way he sings the last "And on..." in the chorus just makes me melt....

While it is a good album (found myself dancin' quite a bit), my fave KC CDs (not including Greatest Hits) are:
1. No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem
2. In My Wildest Dreams
3. Everywhere We Go

I sure would love to go to one (or more) of his concerts someday...

P.S. For those who read the liner notes, Key West is not the "southern most point in America." In the contiguous 48, yes, but the Big Island touches 19 degrees latitude while KW sits way up at 24. We can't claim to be farthest west (even with Kure Atoll), since Alaska gets to claim the Aleutians, but we've definitely got claim over the south.

New link

I've created a link to the weblog I maintain for work (over there on the right). Most of it will be uninteresting as it is focused on the information needs of the astronomers, but occasionally I do post general interest items there that I don't post here.

Meaning of Life

Adventure or Inquiry? Two Visions of Cosmic Destiny -- a wonderfully written NYT essay.

NASA Day of Remembrance

NASA has set aside the last Thursday in January as a day to remember those who have lost their lives while serving the US space program.

CNN story

While not a complete list, below are the names of those who died in the most tragic incidents:

Apollo I
Roger Chaffee
Virgil "Gus" Grissom
Edward White II

Challenger
Gregory Jarvis
Christa McAuliffe
Ronald McNair
Ellison Onizuka
Judith Resnik
Michael Smith
Dick Scobee

Columbia
Michael Anderson
David Brown
Kalpana Chawla
Laurel Clark
Rick Husband
William McCool
Ilan Ramon

Let us never forget...

It's Friday again

I know that I haven't been keeping this up lately, but that's because there's not much going on.

My aunt and cousins are here through the 24th. Tomorrow we are going to the Swap Meet and Monday we are going to the Big Island to wander around the Volcano area. It's going to be a very long day (we have a 7 am flight and don't get back until 9 pm), but any trip to the Big Island is not to be missed. This time I'll be able to show Mom the IfA Hilo building and Library.

What else has been going on? Not much, really. I've been watching and re-watching too much West Wing (my new obsession). I keep borrowing more and more books from the libraries and just stacking them up on the coffee table, because I don't have time to read them.

I am proud of the fact that I've gone walking almost every day recently and I am eating less. Although I'm not seeing any tangible results, my motivation to keep up both of these tasks is pretty high.

Nothing else from sunny Honolulu right now. Have a good, long weekend.

Movie Times

Why, oh why, are movie times still presented in minutes?! Does anyone really think in minutes after 60? I don't think 80 minutes, I think an hour and 20 minutes. I don't want to know that a movie is 150 minutes long, I want to know that it's going to take 2 and a half hours without having to calculate in my head!

Okay, that's my rant for today. Have a good weekend.

Science teaming with Science Fiction

Science and Sci-Fi are not incompatible:
http://www.itsf.org/index.php?PAGE=project%2Findex.html. Thanks, N.!

Science

Go to any news source and celebrate another successful Mars landing.

Weather Update

I feel it only fair since I groused about the weather the other day to let you know that Saturday, Sunday, and today have been absolutely beautiful: bright, sunny (but not too warm), and dry.

Spam Irony

Do you think spammers see the irony of sending out spam that advertises a way to get rid of spam?

And the rain, rain, rain...

...came down, down, down.

And down, and down, and down....

But we really do need it, so I'm not complaining. My complaint is that I can't spend this dark, gray day the way it should be spent. Mom and I call this a "bed, book, and cat" day since it is only suitable for lounging in bed with cats, alternating dozing and reading. My ideal menu for such a day: oatmeal for breakfast, soup or saimin and a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch, and pancakes, eggs, and bacon for dinner.

So, how is your new year so far?