Man, we live in amazing times…
…and for a reminder of how far we’ve come… 10 Most Influential Software Packages of All-Time
Pace was playing Pac-Man on the iPad but wasn’t doing too well. He handed it to me, saying “You do it dad. I’m no good at these old-school games!”
Later he made this Lego creation, explaining “It’s a Pac-Fish. That’s just like Pac-Man but a fish” which I thought was quite creative…
Friday’s aren’t too fun when you’ve got four family members in various states of illness (and having two kids sick is a lot different experience than just one!) so here’s a quick link before hitting the hay (and hoping everybody can sleep through the night tonight!)
I got Chris Hadfield’s “An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth” as a Christmas gift and just finished it. That inspired me to revisit some of the videos he made on the International Space Station.
How cool is this one? (And am I the only one who wonders how they ensure the little bubbles of water don’t float away into any sensitive electrical equipment?)
When I was in library school, one of the things that happened at the start of each semester was a mixer with current students and the new crop of future librarians.
I remember one of these sessions on the patio of the Grad Club when I ended up sitting next to Barb Janicek. She struck me as very focused as she asked questions about what library school was like, what was need to succeed and so on.
I did my best to answer while also engaging with her other classmates at the table (while also trying not to be *too* engaged with one who shall remain nameless but that dominated the conversation with tales of their youthful indiscretions) 😉
Barb became one of my closest friends at library school, won the Spirit of Librarianship award like I had and even took Shea and I back to her home stomping grounds so we could take in the Kitchener-Waterloo edition of Word on the Street that fall.
After convocating, she accepted a position as a Children’s Librarian with Saskatoon Public Library and though most of our communication was still by phone, e-mail and Facebook, I was always happy to know that such a stellar librarian had come to our province.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t to last. A Children’s Librarian position opened up back in Ontario and she moved back to be closer to family, friends and her hometown.
We’d stayed in regular contact (mostly Facebook) but I was fairly surprised by a post a few months back (?) where Barb proudly announced that she’d lost over 100 lbs!
She recently followed that up by announcing that, as part of her ongoing efforts to maintain this new lifestyle and keep herself accountable, she’s going to be blogging about her weight loss and various other related topics – obesity, exercise, diet and so on.
The blog is at: www.MyGutTellsMe.com. I’d encourage you to check it out!
When I try to quickly define my blog for people (at least as it currently exists), I often say it’s about libraries, technology and politics (along with cute pictures of my kids of course.)
That’s why the passing of longtime University of Saskatchewan librarian, Peter Scott, is so sad. He was at the intersection of all three of these areas in a way that few librarians are and not just as a dabbler but as an influential force.
I didn’t really know Peter – I’d read his blog and met him once or twice at SLA conferences, we were Facebook friends (but who isn’t, these days?). But I never really knew about his background (“hung out with Jimi Hendrix”, “developed influential early Internet protocols”, “won Juno Award”) which makes me regret not making an effort to get to know him better. I imagine he’s the kind of guy who’d have some amazing stories to tell! And given the usual stereotypes of librarians, he just sounds like a really cool guy too.
Anyhow, MetaFilter has more on his passing as does Library Journal.
I know this song isn’t really about the weather. But if nothing else, the title of this song by a popular Saskatchewan band from back in the day seemed appropriate for the winter in this province so far and especially for the last few days in particular…
“Colder Than You” – The Waltons
About to return to school tomorrow (and still awake when he should be sleeping), I’ve asked Pace to be a guest blogger tonight and tell me some of his favourite memories from his Christmas holidays…
Sasha loved crawling around the library when Shea, Pace and her came to see the magician that was appearing on Friday afternoon.
The children’s area is fun, mostly because it has things that look like cords that you can actually play with (unlike the real cords at home which always get a frantic response from mom and dad when she approaches them)…
We had 50+ people out for the show…
Sasha was a hit with the daycare kids after the show. (Me, not so much. When I got up to introduce the magician, one of them yelled out, “Are you the magic guy?” and I’m not sure she bought my response that libraries are full of magic but no, I was not the magic guy.)
Taking a break for a drink…
I meant to post these on New Year’s Day but forgot. But they work equally well as a Friday Fun Link…
