Head Tale

Saturday Snap – Libraries Distributing Rapid Tests

Not my usual “Saturday Snap” photo today but instead, a screen shot of someone on Reddit saying they had a good experience at my branch getting their booster shot and also picking up a box of rapid tests.

So strange to hear stories from Ontario of people lining up at liquor stores or other weird distribution glitches in other provinces when libraries are the absolute perfect place to distribute rapid tests – they’re one of the few places that specializes in giving out high volumes of things for free to a wide assortment of people across all socioeconomic classes, we generally have more space than pharmacies or other retail outlets so people don’t have to line-up outside, we have evening and weekend hours, we’re a trusted, neutral (well, “aspiring to neutrality” I always say which is a separate conversation) institution that doesn’t have the commercial or social issue overtones like you do when using pharmacies or liquor stores (though of course, having as many distribution points as possible is good too.).

(I guess also strange to see a nice comment on Reddit without any references to weird inside jokes, bitcoin or Bernie Sanders!) 😉

¶ Posted 18 December 2021 § Library § News § SaturdaySnap ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: Covid, health, ontario, science

Friday Fun Link – Reloading Random Things

I’m not sure how to embed a video clip I found on Reddit so will just say it’s worth a click to go check this out – *this* is the type of content that makes the Internet awesome!

¶ Posted 17 December 2021 § FridayFunLink § Humour § Internet § PopCulture § Randomness ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: cool

Throwback Thursday – #tbt – Candy Cane Cast (November 2009)

Sometimes I forget how popular the online photo sharing site, Flickr used to be in the day (it was Instgram before Instagram, kids!)

But the other day, someone “Favourited” this pic on the site and getting that notification reminded me how Flickr was my “go to” for looking at/sharing online photos for many years and in some ways, an early social network as well.

As for this pic, I broke my leg playing hockey in November 2009 so asked the tech if he could do a “candy cane” cast instead of a single colour. He was quite overjoyed with this unusual request and did a great job. Bonus – the white cast material was even glow-in-the-dark!

¶ Posted 16 December 2021 § Humour § Internet § MemoryLane § Photo § Randomness § ThrowbackThursday § Xmas ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: health, hockey, holiday, xmas

“Jon” by Amanda Huber

Powerful piece by the widow of a popular wrestler who tragically died young.

¶ Posted 16 December 2021 § PopCulture § Sad § Wrestling ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: health

The Pandemic’s Impact on the Workforce

There’s lots of coverage of the “Great Resignation” triggered by the never-ending pandemic.

CNN has provided more insight about how that is especially true among older people who are choosing early retirement instead of staying in crowded workplaces or just recognizing that when they die, no one’s going to say “I wish I worked more” but instead, will wish they’d spend more time with family or on hobbies or traveling or whatever and the high Covid death rates and impacts on society are bringing that contrast into stark relief.

¶ Posted 14 December 2021 § Jobs § News § Wisdom ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: Covid, economics, science

Music Monday – “I want to thank the storm that brought the snow/Thanks to the string of lights that make it glow/But I wanna thank you, baby/You make it feel like Christmas”

“You Make It Feel Like Christmas” – Blake Shelton & Gwen Stefani

¶ Posted 13 December 2021 § MusicMonday § PopCulture § Xmas ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: music, xmas

Secular Sunday – Atheists Among The Most Likely To Be Vaccinated, Evangelicals Among The Least Likely

Hmm, could the ability to trust science and use logic vs. the ability to believe in conspiratorial fairy tales and misplaced authority be part of this?

¶ Posted 12 December 2021 § Humour § Meme § SecularSunday § Wisdom ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: atheism, Covid, education, health, science

Saturday Snap – Negative Covid Test!

I hate how it feels almost inevitable that one of these tests is going to come up positive one of these days, especially with how fast Omicron is apparently spreading.

But not today, Satan! 😉

¶ Posted 11 December 2021 § Randomness ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: Covid, health, science

Friday Fun Link – Kelloggs vs. GenZ

Kellogg’s workers in the States who have been on strike since October (in the US, apparently workers aren’t guaranteed their job after a strike as I believe is the case in Canada) were in the process of being laid off en masse by the company who wanted to hire 1400 permanent replacement workers.

A bunch of young people, many on Reddit’s r/antiwork sub-reddit, who realised this was pretty evil decided to intervene and crashed the site Kelloggs was using to recruit new workers.

There’s a weird distant connection Shea and I have to this – two hunters from Ohio who used to come up to hunt geese on her parents’ land every fall worked at a cereal factory in Ohio years ago (can’t remember if it was Kellogg’s or not but Ohio isn’t a state on any list of striking plants that I’ve seen.)

Anyhow, one was a true blue Democrat worker/union activist and the other was a red Republican who was in management (and lived the stereotype in your mind right down to the NRA member’s magazines in his bathroom!) 😉

But in a reflection of an earlier, simpler, pre-social media time, they were buddies who lived relatively close to each other, socialized regularly and even took hunting trips together to Saskatchewan.

They even shared the same name so they were nicknamed “Big Jim” and “Little Jim”.

Big Jim…

Little Jim (who lived steps from Lake Erie and took us out on his boat during our visit!)…

Little Jim’s backyard with Lake Erie in the background…

Shea and I did a driving trip around Lake Erie during a semester break when I was in library school in Ontario and looked them up. We arrived at the manager’s house to what is still one of the biggest fish fries I have ever experienced in my life.

Fish Fry…

Then we stayed at the worker’s house overnight and we still have the duck he carved out of wood and painted which he gifted to us and is in our house to this day.

Anyhow, a good reminder that even if people are still on opposite sides of the union/management divide, they can still be friends.