House Anniversary

Last year, I promised pictures of the outside of my house. Unfortunately, the images are sitting in my camera, which has no way to connect to the computer because I left the cable at home. For the third time this week.

Why yes, I am still experiencing massive amounts of chaos.

So, I will just say that I still love my wonderful house, even more so since Mom and I rearranged almost all the furniture last month. I'm more organized (not completely organized, but there's hope) and it feels better.

Here's to many more years...

JW at HLA

I am psyched that Jessamyn West of librarian.net is going to be at the Hawaii Library Association Conference this year.

Fall 2006 Chaos

The beginning of a semester (especially Fall) is always a particularly busy time, but the past four weeks have been almost non-stop chaos.

The telephone service on campus has been intermittent: one minute the phones will work, a few minutes later all you get is static. They’ll occasionally cut off in the middle of a conversation (the way I thought only mobile phones do) or randomly delete voice mail. And nobody knows why.

The wireless reception on campus is strong and covers numerous areas, except in the library, where the signal is weaker and covers fewer areas than last semester. And nobody knows why.

The networked print system is clogging so badly that after clearing the print queue, the computer has to be turned off and back on. Not just rebooted, but completely powered down. And nobody knows why.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea. We are all running around playing firemen, drowning flames that appear to be quenched, only to find that they were just smoldering and have burst into life again.

Could somebody please figure out why?

License Plate

As promised, here’s a photo of my new license plate.

What’s it mean? Good question.

WED are Walter Elias Disney’s initials.

The WEDway People Mover is an attraction at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. For me, though, WEDway also has another meaning – it means to do things in the Walt Disney way.

Not necessarily the Disney way, but the Walt Disney way. Yes, I think there is a difference. I don’t agree with some of the company’s current philosophies, but I do believe in Uncle Walt’s ways.

For those of you who clicked on the link and are surprised that a librarian would use Wikipedia, I’ll just say that I’m not sayin’ you should use it for your research paper, but for stuff like general knowledge and pop culture information, Wikipedia   can   be   pretty   gorram   cool.

Yeah, I use Google, too. And no, the first result isn’t me...

Hey, I Know Her!

I got a nice surprise last night as I was watching the first season of Numb3rs* on DVD – a former co-worker in the episode Counterfeit Reality. I didn’t get to work** with Sarah for long, but I admired her a lot. She’s smart, funny, charming, poised, personable, enthusiastic, dedicated, hard-working, fluent in at least two foreign languages... and, of course, she’s beautiful.

Okay, I’ll be honest – I didn’t just admire her, I envied her. She is one of the most perfect people I’ve ever met.

I’m glad to see that she’s working on a regular basis on TV and has finally started getting movie roles. Although they are movies I probably wouldn’t ordinarily go see, I might try to catch Whisper and Celestine Prophecy. Not only is Sarah in them, but so are some of my other favorites: Dulé Hill and Teryl Rothery in Whisper and Hector Elizondo in Celestine Prophecy.

C’mon, Hollywood, let’s keep this girl on the screens!



* No matter how many episodes I watch, to me, David Krumholtz will always, first-and-foremost, be Mr. Universe.

** The work was not acting-related. Anyone who knows me well knows that I would make a lousy actor.

Good Reads

Ruth has given me some very enjoyable reading lately. First, she was reporting from the SLA Conference and then from LISA V (both conferences I wish I could have attended). Then she recommended Old Man’s War by John Scalzi, which I borrowed from the library and liked a lot. I’ve added John’s blog to my Bloglines and am enjoying his postings as well. Thanks, Ruth!

Success!

Welcome home, Discovery crew! Congratulations to everyone who made this safe journey possible.

Cap’n Jack is Back!

No spoilers in this post, but I can’t vouch for the comments. You’ve been warned.

I’m always worried that sequels will just re-hash the best bits from the previous story – both movies and books have this tendency, in my experience. If it worked once, do it again, and again, and again....

Dead Man’s Chest manages to reference the fun of Curse of the Black Pearl without redoing it. IMHO. Others may disagree.

I wouldn’t say it’s as-good-as or better-than the first movie, but it is a worthy sequel. And that’s all I really asked for…

Oh, and just for the record, the smile on Jack’s face as he calls Elizabeth, well, something after she, well, you’ll know the look when you see it. That’s one example of Johnny Depp’s brilliance. That look is PERFECT for that moment.

Re-Reads

I owe Mercedes Lackey an apology. For my 52 in 52 reading challenge in 2005, I read the first four books in her Elemental Masters series and dismissed them as not re-readable. Must’ve been the mood I was in at the time, ‘cause I’ve just re-read them and did enjoy them.

Why did I reread them when I said that I probably wouldn’t? No clue. Happened to see one at the library, picked it up, read it, went back for the others. And now that I know there's a fifth one, I'll be visiting my library again.

And why, back then, did I not like the fact that she was using traditional fairy tales? There are plenty of re-tellings of stories that I enjoy, some of them quite a lot.

If anyone out there figures me out, would you have the decency to clue me in? Pretty please?

Transportation

One other thing I love about where I live now is the way all the cars, on both sides of the road, pull over to the side when an ambulance or fire truck approaches. I don't know about where you live, but they don't do that on Oahu and it drove me crazy -- 'Get out of the way! They're on their way to save someone!"

While we’re on the subject of transportation, another reason I love my new car is her better turning radius. Still not as good as Baby Car (who can turn tighter than a cat curling up for a serious nap), but better than Baby T.

And even though I still haven’t figured out what the name of the new car is (although I’m leaning toward ‘Beauty’) I did order her a new license plate. Unfortunately, it will be 2-4 months before I get it. When I get it installed, I’ll post a picture. Until then, I’m gonna make you wait to find out what it is. For those of you I've already told, no sharing!

Handy Tip

If you get a game piece on a drink from McDonald's, peel it off right away.

Good News

As you may (or may not) know, my position at the UHH Library is only temporary. Full-time with benefits, yes, but it's not a permanent position; once the search committee is able to full the position with a permanent body, I have to find something else to do.*

Well, the search committee has done their job and hired a tenure-track, Librarian II, Public Services Librarian.

They hired me.

YIIPPEEEEEEE!!!!!

I was completely stunned when I found out, because there was another candidate whom I felt certain would be their choice.

The official duties are:

"...this position will be responsible for a wide range of academic library public services duties, including delivering reference service; participating in library instruction activities; providing outreach to distance learners and support to faculty teaching distance education courses; collaborating on the design and maintenance of the library's Web site; working with faculty to improve library services; performing assigned collection development responsibilities; serving on Library, University, and UH System committees; and other duties as assigned."

Basically, that's what I've been doing, except the distance education outreach.

My colleagues here have been wonderful in their support while I was applying and interviewing and in their good wishes since the announcement that I got the job.

I am home.



* That 'something else' would probably be in this library, as there are several openings right now, but the distance education position was the one I really wanted.

Interesting Site

The many bibliophiles I know might enjoy BibliOdyssey, a site that features "Books~~Illustrations~~Science~~History~~Visual Materia Obscura~~Eclectic Bookart."

Recent Movies

I enjoyed both  The Da Vinci Code  and  X-Men 3: The Last Stand  more than I expected, but possibly only because I tried very hard not to expect anything. Neither will make it onto my faves list, but at least I don't begrudge the time I spent in the theatre.

I'm also trying very hard not to expect too much from  Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, but that's more difficult, because I do love the first one so much and really don't want to see it shamed. I'm trying to have faith, but neither Hollywood's record with sequels nor Disney's record of late allow for much hope....

Evil Game

Text Twist is evil.

New Car

By request, here is a picture of my new car.

Other reasons to love my new car:

• The keyless entry system.
  
  It took me a few days to stop walking up to the door and using the key, but I finally got the hang of it. I can even pop the trunk from a few feet away! Okay, so it's not new technology, but this is still the first car that I've ever owned with this cool capability.
  



• The computer security hooks.
  
  Sorry, did I lose you there?
  
  The manual refers to them as "Car seat security tethers", but c'mon, an infant car seat in my car? I think not. However, my Kensington lock fits perfectly, so the laptop stays in its case on the back seat, I drape a coat over the lock, and I can go to Curves or into the supermarket and not be jittery about leaving the computer in the car. Can't do it on a hot day, even with the wonderful tinted windows, but it's still a great option.



• The tinted windows.
  
  I know I've mentioned them already, but in addition to keeping the interior cool, they also make it more difficult to see inside the car, and therefore to see stuff on the backseat inside the car, so I think they deserve to be mentioned again.

I'm a little disappointed with her gas mileage, as it is actually 3-4 miles per gallon less than the old one, but even with today's gas prices, that's a small price to pay for all the goodness. Yes, I'm really loving my new car....

Spelling Suggestions, Part 2

I was maybe too hasty in my earlier post about Microsoft Word's spell-checker...

I was editing a policy manual for theses and dissertations and one criteria is that the paper can't have any holes, i.e., that it is unpunched.

Word doesn't like the word 'unpunched' and has an alternative that makes me wonder (not for the first time) about the Microsoft programmers...

The suggestion?

Unquenched.

Jury Duty

I got selected for jury duty today. They anticipate the trial lasting most of this week, but hopefully not any longer.

My only hope is that maybe I'll get some good (non-evidentiary) writing material out of it. Already, two of the other jury members are getting on my nerves...

Wish me luck...

Creative Endeavor

I haven’t exactly been writing, but I have been involved with sort of a creative endeavor that has been eating a lot of my time.

This tutorial represents a collaborative effort on the part of myself and four other librarians here at UHH. The initial request / impetus came from the Computer Science 101 instructors. The template we based it on came from Kapiolani Community College. My librarian colleagues did most of the writing / tweaking, and I did all the web design work. Then four of us team-taught six sections of CS 101.

All the hours spent were definitely worth it – the Computer Science instructors were pleased, the students actually participated, and we (the instruction librarians) now have an additional tool we can use in the future.

My English class is still going well – I performed well on both the midterm and second in-class writing and think I did okay on my part of our group presentation. But, it’s the end of the semester and I have a 7-9 page research paper due in slightly less than two weeks, so I probably won’t be posting much. I’ve chosen the family dynamics and social structure in a few different versions of Beauty and the Beast and if the paper goes well, I’ll try to remember to post something about it here.

Tears of Joy, Tears of Sadness

I finally saw March of the Penguins and if there is anything in this world that deserves to be labeled a miracle, it is the fact that there are still Emperor Penguins in it.

I think it’s also not unreasonable to label it insane, awesome, incredible, unbelievable, inconceivable, amazing... {add your own adjective here}

Words don’t come easily after watching this story of determination and hardship.

This production deserves all the awards that it has won, and even more kudos on top of those. And I do hope the production crew got to vacation somewhere warm!

This film has wonderful long passages that allows the penguins to tell their own story without a ton of editing or commentary. Don’t get me wrong: the narration by Morgan Freeman is outstanding, but it doesn’t interfere with enjoying the movie.

March of the Penguins also doesn’t shy away from the truth or over sentimentalize. Some of it is difficult to watch, because it’s not sugarcoated – life is harsh for these small creatures at the bottom of the world. There is death and heartache. And you’re in for a surprise if you think penguins don’t have emotions – just watch the scene with the first egg.

Do yourself a favor and watch this tribute to the power of life. Despite the agony and helplessness of some of this story, overall it’s very life-affirming. I’m still shaking my head over the improbability of it all....

I’ve been writing and re-writing this post, but I really can’t say it any better than Jérôme Maison did in the ‘Of Penguins and Men’ special feature (which is really like getting a second Penguins movie on the same disc!)

The paradox of Antarctica: splendor and sadness exist side by side.

......

Life seems all the more precious to us now that the Emperor Penguins have shown us how fragile, delicate, and miraculous it is.

Amen.

If you follow the ‘March of the Penguins Press Materials’ link from the National Geographic website, you’ll find some fascinating background material (disguised as ‘Production Notes’) and awesome photographs (‘Hi Res Art). The ‘Official Movie Web Site’ has lots of info, too, and includes more photos, a screensaver, and wallpapers.

Oh, yeah, did I mention how darn cute penguins are?