Steampunk Gypsy

Links! Happy birthday, René Descartes!  I'm a big fan.  5 Brilliant Bookstore-Bars : Road trip! One day, one day... Students’ jobs pay off tuition at 7 work colleges  I loved Berea College . My work paid my tuition, but that wasn't the best thing about the school, by a long shot - I also received a top-notch education and a chance to balance my learning with community service and thinking about ethics on a global scale.  Crows Intelligence Rivals Human Children   Teen to government: Change your typeface, save millions  Wow - that's...that's a lot of money: Using the General Services Administration's estimated annual cost of ink -- $467 million -- Suvir concluded that if the federal government used Garamond exclusively it could save nearly 30% -- or $136 million per year. An additional $234 million could be saved annually if state governments also jumped on board, he reported. 

Links! Downtown library becomes popular wedding venue  Part of me thinks, "If I had it to do over again..." Part of me thinks, "Oh, Lord, how would we ever get any work done?!" Libraries are Surprisingly Popular, and Oh Yeah, They Also Make You Awesome  Well, I think you're awesome to start with - maybe awesome people are just drawn to libraries, or libraries help you maximize your awesomeness. Happy birthday, Anna Sewell ! She wrote Black Beauty , one of the first books I ever fell in love with, and a very powerful story.  Happy birthday to Vincent van Gogh , too! If you don't know his life story, go read it. He was a fascinating man. Science continues to be awesome:  Medics Given The Go Ahead For A Trial Of Suspended Animation ;  Spray-On Nanofibres Bind Surgical Wounds I don’t believe in God. But teaching children about religion is one of the most important things I will ever do . A very interesting take on Religious Education, one I happen to agre...

TBT pic! Me and my best friend. Why do I look like a rabbit?  Links! Gov. Brown appoints journalist as state librarian : I do not have words to express how crazy this is or how much it upsets me. Would you appoint a veterinarian as Surgeon General? Or a cell phone kiosk salesman as head of the CIA? "Librarian" - and especially "State Librarian" - is in no fashion equivalent to "Bookseller," where no experience is really required, and you can learn as you go.  I Sold My Undergraduate Thesis to a Print Content Farm : No, I  didn't - a journalist did. It's an interesting article.  Tiny doors mystify Hazard residents . I want tiny doors in NOLA, too! They're so cute. Dear parents, you are being lied to.  I will say, we paused Coconut's vaccinations for a while because he was reacting badly to them, but he is now up-to-date. In the case of autism, research currently suggests it begins development in the womb - not, most certainl...

What do you do when the babysitter emails you to tell you she can't watch the kids anymore? You take them to work. Strangely enough, I think I got more work done with them here... Links! Books You Might Like! The New York Public Library Launches Recommendations by Bookish in Online Catalog . What a great idea! Really? You’re Not in a Book Club?  I am! (It's called "Under the Covers." Sassy! ) And it's an unusual one - we "meet" on Facebook. So far this year, we've gone through Lois Lowry's Giver series.  Here's some actually wonderful advice on writing:  Stupid Answers to Common Writing Questions March 26, 1920: F. Scott Fitzgerald published his first novel,  This Side of Paradise . I haven't read it (yet), but I adore his masterpiece,  The Great Gatsby .  Happy birthday, Leonard Nimoy !  Why sourcing photos matters – how misattribution is amplified on the web . Unless it's my photo, I link to where I found it (you ju...

The library did a video of a poor librarian (me) getting chased by zombies. As you can see, I didn't survive.  I'll link to the video when it goes live. Or undead. Whatever. Links! New book review!  Grimm Tales, Indeed - A Children's Book Review I have new-found interest in  Divergent .  It has been 34 years since the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero, who fought violence and social injustice with love, service, and forgiveness. Learn more about this modern martyr . Jimmy Carter Is Pretty Sure The NSA Is Spying On His Email . I'm pretty sure he's right; the NSA is scary - I think they're using 1984 as an instruction manual.  Today is World TB Day . Don't underestimate the devastation of tuberculosis - it is a rampant, deadly disease, primarily affecting the poorest. NASA astronomer finds first Earth-sized planet in habitable zone . Already packing my bags... Stem Cells From Just A Finger Prick  - Neat!

Tonight, for dinner, we tried out a place we'd seen and wanted to go to for a while now - Tic Toc Cafe. What drew me was - well, here, I'll show you: I love Dali! Check out the motto - Awesome! I'm sorry the pictures are so terrible - it was late, and I took the shots on the fly. But the cafe itself was great! They're open 24 hours, and they serve breakfast all day long. How great is that?! The food was awesome, the service was great. False advertising FTW! Afterwards, DH and I sent the kids to get ready for bed and decided to take a walk. We didn't get four houses down the street before a big yellow dog came after us. We crossed the street and it followed us, barking and generally acting hostile. We backed off and went home, where I called the emergency on-call animal control officer. I do not like big dogs coming after me. I don't know if they came and got the dog, or whether the neighbors will hate us now, but - I really don't like big...

Throwback Thursday! In college, I had a pet tarantula - Itsy. No links today. Ha!

Links! George R.R. Martin Has a Detailed Plan For Keeping the Game of Thrones TV Show From Catching Up To Him . Unfortunately for me, it does not include producing the books faster. Drat! Darn you, Martin... The 14 Stages Of Book Addiction I...I'm feeling slightly ill... The Future of Books Looks a Lot Like Netflix   Which Dewey Decimal Category Are You?  Shocker - I was 800s (Literature)! Another shocker - a woman can be stereotypically feminine and still be technologically savvy.  Programmers and Painted Nails .  I never quite knew whether sea anemones were plants or animals. Turns out, I was right . Bees are awesome. Can we get these everywhere, please?  Streetlamps Go Green NASA Study Concludes When Civilization Will End, And It's Not Looking Good for Us . Excuse me, I'm going to be stockpiling food. I would stockpile books, but I've already inadvertently done that...

A student has written a complaint that makes me want to slap her with a fish. Preferably a pointy fish... Leora Rosenberg is upset that none of the reference librarians at Bobst Library , the main library of New York University, will recommend a good book for her to read in her spare time. Sure, they're good at their jobs - but they aren't great , because they can't act as reader's advisers. Here's an excerpt: The reference librarians are wonderful at coming up with bibliographies for my papers (and sending me research on quirky questions I think up in the middle of the night) but when I tried asking for a book recommendation, the librarian at the desk looked slightly concerned. Did I want to read for fun? Yes. Had I tried the leisure collection, the area on the second lower level that hold popular novels and non-fiction books? I had, but I want more than shelves with books — I want recommendations from people who love to read. The librarian ended...

I've been doing a lot of laundry today, so I have nothing in particular to say, except that four people create a lot more laundry than I'd anticipated. Links! Are Library Users Happier People?  Apparently so, although it may be hard to believe if you work at the Circ desk for any length of time... Why It’s Imperative to Teach Students How to Question as the Ultimate Survival Skill Sumatran Tiger Gives Birth To Triplets In London Zoo . They're so cute! It's the Ides of March , which also makes it Brutus Day and National Quilting Day . Wait, that last one may be coincidental... Something to think about:  The Seven Deadly Sins of Capitalism   How many fast food joints are there around your house?  See More, Eat More: The Geography Of Fast Food  

I completely forgot about Throwback Thursday, so here's a pic for I Forgot Friday: 1998, I think... Links! 7 Books With Surprisingly Active Tumblr Fandoms : Deservingly, in most cases. England's iconic authors dress up as favorite children’s book characters in photo exhibit . Did your kids love The LEGO Movie? Mine haven't seen it yet, but I've heard good things. Anyway, if your kids loved it, check out these  book recommendations for kids that loved The LEGO Movie . Do you like lists? Check out  The List List ! All of them are interesting, but I've only linked you to the most recent. You can back track to the rest, if you like.  Check out and participate in Reset the Net  - it's a very important event! If you read no other link on this list, please read this:  Why NSA's Betrayal Of Internet Security Is Akin To A Massive Public Health Disaster . NSA’s automated hacking engine offers hands-free pwning of the world .  I think free community c...

I have a mouse! Isn't it pretty? No, it's not a black and white picture. It's a silver and black mouse on a black desk. I also got my Redditgifts Book Exchange gift! Steampunk, Sherlock, and Nemo - Oh, My! In other news, my library just started offering Hoopla . It's exciting! Through Hoopla, patrons can download movies, TV shows, music, and audiobooks - free! (Well, free for the patrons; the library pays for access, of course.) I tried it out a bit, and learned something new about myself. I hate audiobooks. Theoretically, they're awesome. You can listen to a story while driving long distances, or while you're working on something else. I listen to music or watch shows and movies like that all the time. (Just to be clear, I do not watch shows or movies while driving. I realize that sentence could imply that.) What's not to love? I don't love it. I can't pay attention to the story when someone else is reading it aloud; I get d...

I got up early, and had plenty of time to get ready and get to work. I got here ten minutes early, in fact - where I discovered that I was actually supposed to open this morning, and was, technically, twenty minutes late. I hate Mondays. I did actually get all the usual opening procedures done in ten minutes, leaving me breathless and frazzled by the time the doors opened and patrons came in. And I'm sure that's how my day will continue. Fun times! I still don't have a mouse, but I'm writing a post, anyway, because this is important, guys. There's this app that promises to help you increase your reading speed. Here's what the site has to say: Reading is inherently time consuming because your eyes have to move from word to word and line to line. Traditional reading also consumes huge amounts of physical space on a page or screen, which limits reading effectiveness on small displays. Scrolling, pinching, and resizing a reading area doesn’t fix the pro...

I was trying to explain Daylight Savings Time to Swicky, and failed miserably. She thought it was crazy. She's not wrong. I just wanted that time back - an extra hour of sleep sounds like heaven, right now! Still no mouse - maybe tomorrow? Maybe Tuesday? Links! Nifty! I need this as a poster...   The benefits of reading books (infographic) . Craziness...   The government is spying on … the government. And other crazy things we’ve learned this week. We're going to Europa ! Well, we're  not, probably, but NASA is. Doctors have cleared second baby of HIV .Also,  Genetically Modified Immune Cells Protect Against HIV .

But only because I'm still mouseless. Stupid touchpad... Links! The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of Paper versus Screens In the same vein,  Not So Fast: Speed-Reading App Fails To Convince Experts Hey! I finished that book review ! Happy  International Women's Day ! What change are you inspiring? Make sure you check out today's Google Doodle  - it's spiffy! Wait, why aren't these all along Louisiana's shores??  Offshore Wind Farms Guard Landscape Against Hurricanes . 

I won't type much, for a couple reasons: 1: I'm between mouses and I hate my touchpad. I can't turn the damn thing off without a mouse, so I'm stuck trying to type without bugging the touchpad. It keeps moving my cursor around, or highlighting sections, etc., and just generally driving me crazy. I had it set (I thought) to stop working while I'm typing, but it doesn't seem to respect that decision. Stupid touchpad... Anyway, I'm upset enough, and then I see this: Kansas Lawmakers Consider Bill that Would Enable Prosecution of Educators for “Offensive” Material Which leads me to reason number - 2: How much do I really need to say about this? It is wrong on so many levels, all of which the above article covers pretty well. But I want to point out one thing in particular that I find disturbing. The senator who introduced the bill is quoted as saying, "Right now if a teacher were to give pornography (to a student) … it is not likely at all t...

"Lent" Welcome dear feast of Lent: who loves not thee, He loves not Temperance, or Authority, But is compos’d of passion. The Scriptures bid us fast; the Church says, now: Give to thy Mother, what thou wouldst allow To ev’ry Corporation. The humble soul compos’d of love and fear Begins at home, and lays the burden there, When doctrines disagree, He says, in things which use hath justly got, I am a scandal to the Church, and not The Church is so to me. True Christians should be glad of an occasion To use their temperance, seeking no evasion, When good is seasonable; Unless Authority, which should increase The obligation in us, make it less, And Power itself disable. Besides the cleanness of sweet abstinence, Quick thoughts and motions at a small expense, A face not fearing light: Whereas in fulness there are sluttish fumes, Sour exhalations, and dishonest rheums, Revenging the delight. Then those same pendant profits, which the spring And Eas...

Happy Mardi Gras!!! So, I fully intended to go see the parades this morning, but it was cold and wet and my bed was nice and warm. Yep. Today is also National Grammar Day ! Celebrate by checking out these  Top Ten Grammar Myths  - it's probably as much fun, anyway, as watching the parades in the cold and rain. Also, still no book review; it's coming, I promise.  Links! Comic Books Are Real Books : Wonderful article! And something to keep in mind as we approach  Free Comic Book Day ! So, here's what the next lucky baby shower recipient will be receiving from me:  'Goodnight Songs' Collects Never-Seen Margaret Wise Brown Works . A new post from the Prosthetic Medic:  Yes It's Painful; but It's Worth It .  Researcher writes in defense of oddball science . Oddball science can lead to some pretty amazing stuff.

Taxes. I hate doing them. Sort of. I dread them, and Michael has to cajole me into doing them. Then we finally get started, and it's not that bad. I end up saying, "Huh. That's okay." Over the course of the next year, though, I fully expect to start dreading them again. With my refund, I can buy a nicer pair of shoes for Spring. Maybe two pairs! I finished Some Hope , and will be posting a review tomorrow. It was...surprisingly hopeful. Links! Happy birthday, Dr. Seuss ! Also, happy birthday, John Irving ! If you're wanting a book that will make you cry, A Prayer for Owen Meany  is the right call. Feeling silly instead? You can't beat The Cat in the Hat ! Why Israel gave Japan 300 Anne Frank-related books .  Here's an article about a really disturbing correlation between educational policies and the recent rise in ADHD diagnoses.  These Senators Are Not Happy With The NSA’s Collection Of Webcam Images . I'm not exactly ecstatic, ...