Read at Work
is a site from the New Zealand Book Council that allows you to read classic books, poetry, samples from selected New Zealand authors and more, online and formatted to look like either the Windows XP interface and Powerpoint presentations. Very fun and cool (though I do not, of course, advocate performing non-work activities such as this while at work! Of course, if you work in libraries, this *is* work related…sort of.)
(via Reddit though I don't have the original link handy – you can search if you really need it)
As for Shea being a computer genius, I'm sitting in a hotel room in Swift Current right now. We made sure the room had an Internet connection as I've brought my laptop with me. I plugged it in when we got here, checked e-mail then trundled off to the pool with Pace and Shea. When we got back, Shea went to the computer and asked, “How come it won't turn on?” I pushed the power button, sure I'd left it running when we left. Nothing. Again, holding it a few seconds. Nothing. “Oh fuck” is the non-paraphrased thought that came to mind. I ran through the checklist…did the screen give out? The motherboard? The hard drive? Hopefully the motherboard – that's the least bothersome major error. The hard drive has a full back-up but would be PAINFUL to redo everything. We're in a poolside room…maybe the humidity just temporarily short-circuited it or something? Wishful thinking but maybe it'll work tomorrow if I crank the air and say a prayer to the techno-gods before I fall asleep. So I'm laying in bed with Shea and Pace and Shea goes, “How long were we at the pool? Do you know if the plug in you used was working? Maybe it wasn't and the battery died?” My battery life is down quite a bit from when it was new (now I get maybe an hour whereas back then, I got 3-4 hours) but w weren't at the pool that long…were we? I plug the laptop into a different outlet and…voila…it boots no problem. So I must say my wife is a brilliant computer-engineer level of intelligence that I am daily in awe of. (Also, I was up and out of the house by 5am today to go do weeding in a distant community. So I drove 3 hours round-trip, did six hours of weeding, then drove another three hours to get here. So hopefully that's an excuse for being such a moron at why my computer “died” tonight.) God, I need sleep… (Oh yeah, I didn't plan to get up at 5am but I had a dream about being at the library weeding and the branch librarian had got her whole board of 10+ people there to help – but in exchange, they wanted me to help them move their entire library…which is in reality a big part of the reason why I was going out – to do a major weeding to help them prepare for an impending move. But yeah…I dreamt about weeding. I think I've reached the next level on the Librarian Nerd Scale! 
)
I couldn't think what to post about so Shea suggested I give an update from my real life. So here it is…
– tonight we went for a big walk and ended up in River Park just down the hill from where we live in Weyburn. There was an In Motion celebration going on and Pace loved dancing and clapping and running around (yes, he's running now!) to the zydeco band that was playing.
– we're going to Calgary for a week, leaving tomorrow. Our main goals are to hit the zoo, do some shopping (Saskies have to make a pilgrimage to IKEA), visit some relatives and friends since we haven't been back since moving home in 2004 after having lived there for three and a half years
– blog posts may be a bit more sparse for the next week (but knowing me, probably not.)
– I had a day at work today where I accomplished tons, the time flew by, I wrapped up pretty much everything I needed to do before going on holidays. I love days like that!
– I'm on the road tomorrow doing weeding all day at one of our branches. This is completely different than smoking weed all day at one of our branches which is a practice that went out of fashion around 1977.
– Hockey is over. The other blood sport, the Democratic nomination proces is over. How will I entertain myself this summer. (Voice from next room: “Go outside!”)
– I could see myself developing an addiction to energy drinks. I'd never tried them before but on a friend's recommendation, I gave it a shot and zowee-wowee. Them things pack a punch!
– Did I mention that I hope to visit a few of my old favourite CPL branches while in Cowtown?
– we probably won't go out to the mountains while we're there. We rarely did in the three and a half years we lived there – why change now? But seriously, we've got a pretty full week just with Calgary stuff so it's doubtful if we'll manage to head out that way.
– I've got a list of old favourite restaurants I want to visit as well. Beef satay at Viet West, chicken schwarma at Falafel King and a pizza from Hop n Brew are all on the menu.
– we've already been invited to a hot tub party – yay!
That's about it. Later…
Today, I went to the wind-up of Time To Read, a joint project of Southeast Regional Library and the Prairie Valley School Division. I was part of the initial steering committee for this project which started last summer but had to reduce my role when I went on the road for most of January, February and March.
The wind-up was a blast – hundreds of kids in a school gym, prizes, a great slideshow (I'm hoping the steering mounts it online eventually) and an appearance by everyone's favourite rodent, Gainer the Gopher (the beloved Saskatchewan Roughriders mascot for those who may not know.)
That couldn't have worked out better – we were discussing possible celebrity partners early in the project and the idea of approaching Gainer was raised by our coordinator who had a connection with the Riders. Gainer turned out to be perfect – he has appeal to kids of all ages plus parents and other adults we were trying to reach, he's a province-wide icon who could be used again if this project becomes a template for similar partnerships between other school divisions and regional libraries in the province and little did we know when we got him confirmed but the Riders went on to win the Grey Cup last fall for what, only the third time in their entire history? Perfect timing!
So what was my point? Oh yeah, a list that has been percolating as I've spent many miles on the road the past few weeks doing branch visits for weeding, some final computer training, mini-workshops for librarians who couldn't make our semi-annual training session due to bad weather and so on.
FIVE REASONS I LOVE MY JOB
(THAT HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH LIBRARIES)
1. I get to travel lots
Some people don't like driving or spending time on the road but I've always enjoyed it, ever since my days selling cable TV subscriptions door-to-door around Saskatchewan during undergrad. (That's a whole different entry I'll do someday!) Semi-related but not worth a point of its own is the fact that our region has company vehicles so we don't have to use our own vehicles as was always the case everywhere else I've ever worked.
2. We are a small organization
I report directly to the Library Director. We only have four professional librarians in the entire organization, maybe a dozen staff working out of headquarters and somewhere around 100 staff regionwide so there's not a lot of extra layers or bureaucracy. There are monthly Supervisors' meetings where issues are hashed out and decisions are made. If needed, we can change course very quickly.
3. We have a beautiful HQ building
I haven't seen any other regional headquarters but have heard that ours is one of the nicest in the province. It only makes sense since my boss grew up in his family construction business in Ontario and oversaw the design and construction of this building. Great, high ceilings, a massive board room, a design that creates quasi-cubicles for clerical staff but in a way that doesn't make them feel like cubicles, an exercise area with free weights and a treadmill plus cable TV to watch while you work out (or so I've heard – if you've seen recent photos of me on this blog, you know I haven't visited it that often), a parking garage for company vehicles and the coolest photocopier I've ever had the pleasure to operate in my life (it still jams on me on a regular basis though!)
4. We have a great team.
Many managers think that things would be perfect if only they could get staff who thought exactly like they do. But the reality is that the ideal staff has a wide mix of personality types, perspectives and attitudes. It's more of a challenge for the senior manager(s) but creates the most effective workforce.
5. I have an office
It's a small detail but I have colleagues in different libraries who are working in cubicles, sharing workstations with co-workers or who don't really have *any* space to call their own. So having an office is a pretty big deal for a new librarian apparently. (I've always had an office in my previous workplaces and though I'd heard of “cubicles”, it was a term I mostly knew from Dilbert so didn't realise how rare this might be.)
Pace doesn't watch TV very much but while I was watching Barack Obama give his speech tonight having finally clinched the Democratic nomination (or did he?), Pace sat right down in front of the TV and watched, enthralled, for a few minutes.
I didn't have my camera handy for that very cool shot so I give you this collage from Flickr instead:
As I type this, the Pittsburgh Penguins are up 2-1 on the Detroit Red Wings in the second period of Game 5 of the Stanley Cup playoffs. This makes me happy.
If the Wings come back to win, they'll win the Cup and the hockey season will be officially over. This makes me sad.
I'm cheering for the Pens because they're an exciting young team, not just so I can justify playing backyard hockey for a few more days.
[Edit: Well, the Wings came back to tie it 2-2 then took the lead 3-2 then the Pens scored to tie it with less than a minute left! So now, they're getting ready to head into the third overtime. It's not too late here yet – 10:18pm as I type this update – but of course my boss called an early meeting – 7:30am – for tomorrow. So I've stopped cheering for the Penguins and started cheering for the game to be over! 
]
I wrote about this when it was first announced. Below is the latest update about the scholarship in memory of FIMS PhD student, Chris Dixon.
If you haven't given anything yet, I would strongly encourage you to do so, especially if you knew Chris – as a classmate or as a TA or whatever. In fact, at the risk of sounding like a telethon, I'll issue a challenge to everyone who knew Chris to do that!
—
Hello Everyone
So far, just over $3000 in donations has been
received – almost 1/3 of the amount needed to top up my initial 'seed
money' gift of $15,000. Our goal is to build a permanent endowment
fund of $25,000 so that sufficient investment interest income can be generated
to provide annual scholarships year after year. Thank you so much to everyone who has already given in Chris'
memory!
If you've been thinking about making a donation but
haven't yet, the secure online donation site will remain active for a little
while longer: http://www.westernconnect.ca/cdixonmemorial.
(Don't worry that $10 or $20 is too little – gifts of any amount are appreciated
and they do add up.) Monthly gift donation plans and company matching donations
are also available. Charitable tax receipts will be
provided.
If you prefer to make a donation by mail or
telephone at any time, or if you have any questions, please contact Karen Boddy,
Alumni & Development Officer, at kboddy@uwo.ca or (519) 661-2111, ext.
87463.
Thank you with all my heart for your
support,
Sandra
Continuing last week's theme of Jason finding extremely exciting, anything that presents typical linear information in a cool, revolving circular format, I present to you: Tag Galaxy
(via Reddit)
Here's some love for you Mac people out there…
What if Google modeled its interface on the OS-X one? I like it and am thinking of changing my default search to this one. Seriously.
Okay, maybe not but the Facebook MyType application is the first application I've installed on Facebook in a *long* time.
I'm not sure what I got in high school but I think every time I've taken the test (official or an unofficial variation) since then, I've gotten ENFP.
Here's a summary of what that personality type is like:
ENFPs are initiators of change who are keenly
perceptive of possibilities, and who energize and stimulate through
their contagious enthusiasm. They prefer the start-up phase of a
project or relationship, and are tireless in the pursuit of new-found
interests. ENFPs are able to anticipate the needs of others and to
offer them needed help and appreciation. They bring zest, joy,
liveliness, and fun to all aspects of their lives. They are at their
best in situations that are fluid and changing, and that allow them to
express their creativity and use their charisma.
You can go to my Facebook profile to see the whole write-up if you're interested. Or why not add the application and try it yourself?
