Links: Other places the Computer deems useful, valuable, and / or nontreasonous.
and see if they still have those old books you wanted...or to see if they're now on sale
Jan 02, 2007
According to an article in the Washington Post, libraries in Fairfax county are becoming more ruthless in culling books from their shelves.
It’s not that the books are checked out. They’re just gone. No one was reading them, so librarians took them off the shelves and dumped them.
Along with those classics, thousands of novels and nonfiction works have been eliminated from the Fairfax County collection after a new computer software program showed that no one had checked them out in at least 24 months.
Public libraries have always weeded out old or unpopular books to make way for newer titles. But the region’s largest library system is taking turnover to a new level.
The bibliophile in me shudders: libraries culling books this aggressively?!?? I’m guessing that megalibraries, like the New York City Public library, will keep older books in active circulation; and of course people can always request that unavailable books be sent from other branches. Still…that unnerves me. Some of the titles being culled from various Fairfax county branches include To Kill a Mockingbird, The Aenid, The Glass Menagerie, and Doctor Zhivago. Will these books be available electronically, as libraries continue to evolve? If so, who will manage that collection?
I think I may have to start regularly attending local library sales now.
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News from all over...but with overpriced gourmet chocolate!!!
Dec 25, 2006
Atlantis Redux
The human cost of global warming is becoming more apparent, as news comes that the inhabited island of Lochachara has sunk beneath the rising ocean waters. While the first uninhabited islands disappeared eight years ago — islands in the atoll-nation Kiribati, located in the Pacific — this is the first time people have been demonstrably made homeless by consequences of global warming. The island had a population of 10,000, many of whom fled to the neighboring island of Sagar, but that island has already lost 7,500 acres to rising waters.
The Emperor’s New…Chocolate?
The psychology of buying and pricing is odd (not surprisingly). Price something too low, and people won’t touch it waiting to see what’s wrong with it. Price something too high and people won’t buy it because they can get something similar for less money. Apparently, though, pricing something too high — something like chocolate — works quite well if you a) pick a commodity that people love; b) choose something that most people know has both good-quality and poor-quality variants; and c) make heavy use of buzzwords and play upon ignorance. Texas chocolatiers Noka appear to have done just that. Their chocolate starts out at $309 a pound and the price rises sharply. However, according to some careful research and deductive reasoning, a Dallas food website appears to have determined the origins of the chocolate, and (if that is accurate) has further calculated that the markup on this chocolate is over 1000% (that’s one thousand per cent). So, seriously, What’s Noka worth?
Corporate Scroogery
Corporations are not people. They follow slightly different rules of behavior. That aside, I know that I will work a bit harder, a bit smarter, and add a bit more polish for a client who demonstrably values my contributions to their efforts. I’ve worked for large corporations, itty tiny family-run businesses, and everything in between…but I’ve seen some amazingly dumb behavior from the former. Apparently, so have many others: Slate has collected their tales of eyerollingly poor corporate judgement when it comes to bonuses, office parties, and holiday employee appreciation.
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Food for thought...
Dec 19, 2006
I found the Faery Oracle over on Fond of Snape, and decided to ask what would be the most successful way to expand my business. I've always viewed tarot cards as mind-prompts and idea-starters, or mental focus-points, rather than literal roadmaps to the future; so I knew that I wouldn't be receiving crystal clear information. I'd need to let whatever answer I received, roll around in my subconscious for a while. Then it would begin to connect the dots. I asked what would be the most successful way to expand my business in the coming year, since I've done well with getting it to its current level and maintaining it. Now I just want a larger client base.
But this is just...odd.
Past: The Bright Mother — Creativity. Nurturing. Productivity. Intimacy. Sheltering.
When the Bright Mother is present in a reading, she speaks of a time of fertility, creativity, and nurturing, either of ourselves or of others. She might indicate marriage or the birth of a child or a deepening of any kind of a relationship. She also speaks of giving ones all to life, not holding back. She is like a cornucopia, pouring forth abundance. This may be a time to put the needs of others first, then take care of yourself later. Patience may be needed for the process being discussed. Consider what you have. Acknowledge the people and things in your life—good, bad, and indifferent. This consideration is not to judge, approve, or reject, but merely to recognize what is present in your life. These are your present fulfillments, what you have created for yourself, drawing upon the power of Unity and the Singers (or not, as the case may be). Once you have looked clearly at what is present in your life, you may want to ask yourself what you want to change.
Present: The Piper — Music. Order. Harmony. Seduction. Empathy.
To get what you want, the Piper recommends that you try polite requests, and gentle, patient persuasion—and then wait, quietly welcoming, for it to come to you. Seek harmony and tranquility in yourself and in the world around you. Use tenderness and gentleness. This card speaks of a time of harmony, creativity, and increasing order. It tells of communication without words—the music of empathy and the awareness of the feelings and concerns of others. This is a time to pay attention to the subtlety of others' expressions of feelings and ideas. Look past the surface and listen as you would lto a beguiling melody on the very edge of hearing. He also plays melodies in our dreams, which may be filled with meaning and importance—and then leaves it up to us to understand what they mean. This may also be a good time to be aware that others may be listening to us with sensitivity and clarity—so much so that we may hear what we are truly saying more clearly than we do ourselves. This card may also signify musical talent or ability, or it may be suggesting that the use of music is in some way important at the present time.
Future: Trickster. Creative chaos. Wild gifts. Breaking habits and patterns.
It's time to leap into the air, letting the earth turn beneath you, and discover where you come down again. Reasonable risks are OK. Even unreasonable risks are probably OK. Use your head and look before you leap, of course, but do so understanding that the actual jump is likely to be very rewarding. No guarantees, but then there never really are anyway, no matter how pretty the paper they may seem to be printed on and the scroll work around the edge. In a reading, the presence of That Gnome tells us that the forces of chaos are at work. Things may not be as they seem, and this may very well be a good thing. Look for the unexpected, find the opportunity in it, and go for it. He says that, no matter how confused things may seem, there is a way to make them better—but it is a creative way, one you haven't tried before. He says, 'Think amazing new thoughts!'
Initially, it seems like one of your well-meaning-but-clueless-friends: “Yeah, dude, try anything! Give it a go! It can't hurt, right? And anything's better than doing nothing!”.
Gotta let this one marinate a bit more...
EDIT: I went back later, asking if I should hunt for a new job immediately or finish this particular contract (which I sense will run into delays / extensions). This time around I got:
The Past: The Sage — Wisdom. Hidden knowledge. Retreat. Old age. Patience. Here we see wisdom and deep inner understanding. One of the keys of wisdom is to organize, integrate, and simplify one's thoughts. Complexity often leads to confusion; simplicity is to be valued. This card signifies mental discipline informed by balanced learning and compassion. Tradition is valued but appropriate change is accepted. The Sage knows when to let go and when to move on. He knows when to retreat and think things over. He compassionately and wisely shares his knowledge with others, teaching by example as well as by precept. The scales of justice are balanced in the Sage's hands.
The Present: The Pook — Shape-changer. Good in bad, bad in good. Paradox. Resolution. It is time for the resolution of seeming contradictions and paradoxes in the situation. Someone or some part of the situation is cloaked in confusion, and it our muddled thoughts must be stripped away, revealing truth. We just need to think about it--the information we needed is now available to us. And as soon as we have that burst of insight and get it, it's time for us to make changes based on our newly-clear understanding. Alternatively, it may be time for us to make a reality check on the good/bad labels we put on things. Make a list of the 'good' (possibly even surprising things) about this situation, and another list about the 'bad' ones. If you are not in the habit of seeing the good in the bad and the bad in the good, having preferred a black and white world rather than one with colors, you may need some help in learning to do this well.
The Future: The Singer of Intuition — Perceptiveness. Oracular powers. Awareness. Trust. In a reading, the presence of the Singer of Intuition indicates that information is available to us if we will just listen to our own inner knowing. Perhaps we have already heard it, and still doubt our subtle senses. The Singer says this is the time to really listen to our intuition. What is the querent's own feeling, hunch, or intuition about this situation? It is desirable that the querent should seek solitude, meditate, and practice stillness and patience. This is a time for inward focus, a time to open the inner door to intuition (there are a lot of 'in's in this sentence because important answers are to be found within the querent himself). The presence of this Singer in card spread radiates special illumination and insight on the other cards around it.
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Another summary of Holidailies things that I've read.
Dec 06, 2006
Since my actual blogging was lighter yesterday (as in, about as original as a first-run show from CBS), I spent the time visiting all y'all's sites. (I've been reliably informed by my good friend, an actual Appalachia-born-and-raised-and-living woman, that the progression is y'all [one to five persons], all y'all [between six and fifteen persons], all y'alls [more than sixteen]. So don't go looking at me sidelong.) I had fun, and found some cool entries: There's been:
- an epiphany at Coyote Underground
“I let everything intrude.”
- some sad neighborhood news at Clever-Lazy
“'Oh no, Sherman can't leave us!' Sherman is our favorite neighbor...Sherman is a cat.”
- a major award at The Write Coast
“It pays to blog about battling the demons of hell aka WordPress and actually not cuss.”
- an anniversary at Domestic Bliss
“ I kiss you all MWAH!”
- a tantrum at Moving J-wards
“...a spot-on imitation of the Captain Kirk school of acting...”
- an introduction at Wicked Jaw
“I was sort of embarrassed to be the seekrit blog-writer, and then I thought fuck you, snotnose.”
- mild apprehension at Monkey Pants and Hippo Dignity
“Maybe she’ll sit still for the ribbon tying.”
- attempted reverse psychology at slug rodeo
“ I was 19, home from my frosh year of college, and sitting on a couch fanning myself and watching Mom paint.”
- musings on writing at A Quiet Normal Life
“I am tempted to damn the man who invented the writing. I know he did it for the sake of keeping a list.”
- a change of subject at Music and Cats
“... only water where the streets once ran. A city drowned. Against that image, the young trumpeter lifts his horn and begins to play...”
- an oddly-posed cat at Measi's Musings
“The idea of a cat (which is already made of rubber) being double-jointed just seems odd.”
- some layoff upset at Something Familiar
“By December, unless it's a slam dunk, they start the holy-mother-of-God-this-is-gonna-be-close process.”
- a tale from mall retail hell at Hussified
“They use dressing rooms as their own private domain.”
- the continuation of a list at Through the Looking Glass
“The relationship and craft numbers, apparently.”
So...what have you found in your visits?
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Another of the IFOC cats was lost last night.
Dec 05, 2006
Taking a day off of blogging, in memory of Laurence’s cat Piper who passed away yesterday. I’ve read stories about her and the other cats for years.
She will be missed. She was cherished.
This seems particularly appropriate:
We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own live within a fragile circle, easily and often breached.
Unable to accept its awful gaps, we still would live no other way.
We cherish memory as the only certain immortality, never fully understanding the necessary plan.
—Irving Townsend, in The Once Again Prince
Originally found on Kris’ site, this past weekend. (I know this is found many other places — but that’s where I found it.)
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December 5 is the Day of the Ninja.
Dec 05, 2006
Brought to you by Ninja Burger, Askaninja.com, the letter N, the number Death, and 40 billion ninjas.
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