Life's like that!

July 30, 2004

Take a closer look at the traffic signs in different countries http://www.elve.net/rcoulst.htm

Check out this web site created by one of the student assistant from Texas Tech University Library: http://vassil.org (Cool animation!)

July 28, 2004

The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald
http://www.corfid.com/gl/wreck.htm

The Wreck Of the Edmund Fitzgerald (Summertime Dream) 6:28
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they called 'Gitche Gumee'
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy
With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty.

That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early.
The ship was the pride of the American side
Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
With a crew and good captain well seasoned
Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland
And later that night when the ship's bell rang
Could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'?

The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the captain did too,
T'was the witch of November come stealin'.
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the Gales of November came slashin'.
When afternoon came it was freezin' rain
In the face of a hurricane west wind.

When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin'.
Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya.
At Seven P.M. a main hatchway caved in, he said
Fellas, it's been good t'know ya
The captain wired in he had water comin' in
And the good ship and crew was in peril.
And later that night when his lights went outta sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Does any one know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searches all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd put fifteen more miles behind her.
They might have split up or they might have capsized;
May have broke deep and took water.
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters.

Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings
In the rooms of her ice-water mansion.
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams;
The islands and bays are for sportsmen.
And farther below Lake Ontario
Takes in what Lake Erie can send her,
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
With the Gales of November remembered.
In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed,
In the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral.
The church bell chimed till it rang twenty-nine times
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call 'Gitche Gumee'.
Superior, they said, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early!

 
http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/wxwise/fitz.html
http://www.ssefo.com/
http://www.mhsd.org/fleet/O/On-Columbia/fitz/default.htm

How many academic librarians are needed to change a light bulb? Six - to form a committee and hold meetings to decide the best way to change it, then nominate one person to get the job done.

This is something that I read many moons ago but couldn't understand until I work in an academic library. Yes, it's true. Some committees meet all the time but nothing ever happens after the meeting. Others meet irregularly but still get a lot done via email communication. If I had not braced myself by reading up on articles wrriten by experienced librarians,  I would think that I'm in a library twilight zone!

July 22, 2004

Car chase fueled by stolen library books
Updated: 7/19/2004 8:42 PMBy: Casey Kelly, News 10 Now Web Staff

A man is facing a number of charges after leading Syracuse police on a car chase through the city yesterday afternoon.

Police say Haynes stole four library books, all about the Jewish faith, from Bird Library on the SU campus.

An officer then saw Haynes’ car go through a stop sign near Thornden Park, and tried to pull him over.

Officers say Haynes took off, apparently because he thought they were pulling him over for the books - not the traffic infraction.

Police decided to stop pursuing him when they thought the chase was getting too dangerous.
It ended when Haynes tried to ditch his car near Elm Wood Park and police caught up with him on foot.

He's now facing charges of reckless driving and numerous other traffic violations.

http://news10now.com/content/all_news/?ArID=24281&SecID=83

Yesterday received the Soymilk Maker that I've ordered from Sanlinx Inc. Looks kind of simple to use, but need to be diligent enough to wash it thoroughly, else the machine will not work as well if not washed thoroughly after each use. Will be giving it a try this week and see if the soymilk taste good.

July 18, 2004

After many months of reviewing our needs to purchase a bread machine, we finally took the plunge and bought one on Friday. It costs us about US$60, but it was worthy every penny! We tried out the white bread recipe on that night, and it turned out beautiful! The aroma from the bread machine after the bread was baked was just amazing! The steps to baking a bread is so simple that even my husband can bake his own bread! This is definitely a worthwhile investment for us.

Lubbock Public Library 50th Anniversary
 
Yesterday was LPL's 50th Birthday, and lots of programs were held at the 4 branches. Myra, Jake and I had the Family Story Hour program at the Godeke Branch Library and Rene, librarian from that branch, told us wonderful stories for half and hour. The stories that she told us included The Icky Sticky Frog by Dawn Bentley & Salina Yoon, Clay Boy by Mirra Ginsburg and Abiyoyo by Pete Seeger. Rene was so lively and funny while telling the stories that she inspired me! She used facial expressions, made animal sounds, hopped like a frog and dance with the song to draw our attention to her. I've learnt and enjoyed so much just by observing her, and I regret not having a video camcorder to record her storytelling!

July 16, 2004

Pregnancy, Estrogen, and Women

PREGNANCY Q & A & more!

Q: Should I have a baby after 35?
A: No, 35 children is enough.

Q: I'm two months pregnant now. When will my baby move?
A: With any luck, right after he finishes college.

Q: What is the most reliable method to determine a baby's sex?
A: Childbirth.

Q: My wife is five months pregnant and so moody that sometimes she's borderline irrational.
A: So what's your question?

Q: My childbirth instructor says it's not pain I'll feel during labor, but pressure. Is she right?
A: Yes, in the same way that a tornado might be called an air current.

Q: When is the best time to get an epidural?
A: Right after you find out you're pregnant.

Q: Is there any reason I have to be in the delivery room while my wife is in labor?
A: Not unless the word "alimony" means anything to you.

Q: Is there anything I should avoid while recovering from childbirth?
A: Yes, pregnancy.

Q: Do I have to have a baby shower?
A: Not if you change the baby's diaper very quickly.

Q: Our baby was born last week. When will my wife begin to feel and act normal again?
A: When the kids are in college.

"ESTROGEN ISSUES"

10 WAYS TO KNOW IF YOU HAVE "ESTROGEN ISSUES"

1. Everyone around you has an attitude problem.
2. You're adding chocolate chips to your cheese omelet
3. The dryer has shrunk every last pair of your jeans.
4. Your husband is suddenly agreeing to everything you say.
5. You're using your cellular phone to dial up every bumper sticker that says: "How's my driving-call 1- 800-"
6. Everyone's head looks like an invitation to batting practice.
7. Everyone seems to have just landed here from "outer space."
9. You're sure that everyone is scheming to drive you crazy.
10. The ibuprofen bottle is empty and you bought it yesterday.

TOP TEN THINGS ONLY WOMEN UNDERSTAND
10. Cats' facial expressions.
9. The need for the same style of shoes in different colors.
8. Why bean sprouts aren't just weeds.
7. Fat clothes.
6. Taking a car trip without trying to beat your best time.
5. The difference between beige, ecru, cream, off-white, and eggshell.
4. Cutting your bangs to make them grow.
3. Eyelash curlers.
2. The inaccuracy of every bathroom scale ever made.

AND, the Number One Number One thing only women understand:
1. OTHER WOMEN

Labels:

DeMotivational Messages

DeMotivational Messages

The Pessimist's Mug: The glass is half empty. Literally. Our Pessimist's Mug will confront you with that bitter reality every single time you pour yourself a drink, rendering you invulnerable to the wily lures of optimism that lead only to pain.

5"x7" DeskTopper: Our stunning DeskToppers will take your breath away, along with any desire to succeed, hope or work.

Mistakes: It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others.

Adversity: That which does not kill me postpones the inevitable.

Despair: It's always darkest just before it goes pitch black.

Arrogance: The best leaders inspired by example. When that's not an option, brute intimidation works pretty well too.

Power: Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. But it rocks absolutely too.

Blame: The secret to success is knowing who to blame for your failures.

Sacrifice: Your role may be thankless, but if you're willing to give it your all, you just might bring success to those who outlast you.

Burnout: Attitudes are contagious. Mine might kill you.

Success: Some people dream of success, while other people live to crush those dreams.

Motivation: If a pretty poster and a cute saying are all it takes to motivate you, you probably have a very easy job. The kind robots will be doing soon.

Source: http://www.despair.com/

Labels:

July 13, 2004

Poem: The Road Not Taken

Robert Frost - The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Source: http://www.americanpoems.com

Labels:

Word of the Day

Main Entry: gad·fly
Pronunciation: 'gad-"flI
Function: noun
Etymology: 1gad
1 : any of various flies (as a horsefly, botfly, or warble fly) that bite or annoy livestock
2 : a person who stimulates or annoys especially by persistent criticism

July 12, 2004

Designing for the color-challenged: look-up table

http://internettg.org/newsletter/mar99/color_challenged_table.html

Designing for colour-blind users

http://more.btexact.com/people/rigdence/colours/colours.pdf

safe web colours for colour-deficient vision

http://more.btexact.com/people/rigdence/colours/ColChoice.htm

Readability of Fonts in the Windows Environment

http://www.acm.org/sigchi/chi95/proceedings/intpost/tst_bdy.htm

Designing icons and visual symbols

http://www.acm.org/sigchi/chi97/proceedings/tutorial/wh.htm

Kids talk back

http://www.adobe.com/products/adobemag/archive/pdfs/98smfekf.pdf

A Comparison of Popular Online Fonts: Which is Best and When?

http://psychology.wichita.edu/surl/usabilitynews/3S/font.htm

So, What Size and Type of Font Should I Use on My Website?

http://psychology.wichita.edu/surl/usabilitynews/2S/font.htm

Determining the Best Online Font for Older Adults

http://psychology.wichita.edu/surl/usabilitynews/3W/fontSR.htm

Where Should You Put the Links? A Comparison of Four Locations

http://psychology.wichita.edu/surl/usabilitynews/3S/links.htm

Sitemap Design: Alphabetical or Categorical?

http://psychology.wichita.edu/surl/usabilitynews/1S/sitemap.htm

Criteria for optimal web design (designing for usability)
http://psychology.wichita.edu/optimalweb/default.htm

HANDY CLEANING TIPS

Dirt:
Layers of dirty film on windows and screens provide a helpful filter against harmful and aging rays from the sun. Call it an SPF factor of 15 and leave it alone.

Cobwebs:
Artfully draped over lampshades reduce the glare from the bulb, thereby creating a romantic atmosphere. If someone points out that the light fixtures need dusting, simply look confused and exclaim "What? And spoil the mood?" (Or just throw glitter on them & call them holiday decorations.)

Pet Hair:
Explain the mound of pet hair brushed up against the doorways by claiming you are collecting it there to use for stuffing hand-sewn play animals for underprivileged children. (Also keeps out cold drafts in winter.)

Guests:
If unexpected company is coming, pile everything unsightly into one room and close the door. As you show your guests through your tidy home, rattle the door knob vigorously, fake a growl and say, "I'd love you to see our den, but Fluffy hates to be disturbed and the shots are SO expensive."

Dusting:
If dusting is REALLY out of control, simply place a showy urn on the coffee table and insist that "This is where Grandma wanted us to scatter her ashes."

General Cleaning:
Mix one-quarter cup pine-scented household cleaner with four cups of water in a spray bottle. Mist the air lightly. Leave dampened rags in conspicuous locations. Develop an exhausted look, throw yourself on the couch and sigh, "I clean and I clean and I still don't get anywhere." As a last resort, light the oven, throw a teaspoon of cinnamon in a pie pan, turn off oven and explain that you have been baking cookies for a bake sale for a favorite charity and haven't had time to clean... Works every time.

Another favorite, I think from Erma Bombeck, always keep several get well cards on the mantle so if unexpected guests arrive, you can say you've been sick and unable to clean.

July 11, 2004

Storytelling Concert at the University of North Texas
http://courses.unt.edu/efiga/GOWEST/Concert.htm

July 06, 2004

Ladle Rat Rotten Hut: The Story of a Wicket Woof and a Ladle Gull

Ladle Rat Rotten Hut: The Story of a Wicket Woof and a Ladle Gull
by H.L. Chace

Wants pawn term, dare worsted ladle gull hoe lift wetter murder inner ladle cordage, honor itch offer lodge, dock, florist. Disk ladle gull orphan worry putty ladle rat cluck wetter ladle rat hut, an fur disk raisin pimple colder Ladle Rat Rotten Hut.

Wan moaning, Ladle Rat Rotten Hut's murder colder inset. "Ladle Rat Rotten Hut, heresy ladle basking winsome burden barter an shirker cockles. Tick disk ladle basking tutor cordage offer groin-murder hoe lifts honor udder site offer florist. Shaker lake! Dun stopper laundry wrote! Dun stopper peck floors! Dun daily-doily inner florist, an yonder nor sorghum-stenches, dun stopper torque wet strainers!"

"Hoe-cake, murder," resplendent Ladle Rat Rotten Hut, an tickle ladle basking an stuttered oft.

Honor wrote tutor cordage offer groin-murder, Ladle Rat Rotten Hut mitten anomalous woof.

"Wail, wail, wail!" set disk wicket woof, "Evanescent Ladle Rat Rotten Hut! Wares are putty ladle gull goring wizard ladle basking?"

"Armor goring tumor groin-murder's," reprisal ladle gull. "Grammar's seeking bet. Armor ticking arson burden barter an shirker cockles."

"O hoe! Heifer gnats woke," setter wicket woof, butter taught tomb shelf, "Oil tickle shirt court tutor cordage offer groin-murder. Oil ketchup wetter letter, an den - O bore!"

Soda wicket woof tucker shirt court, an whinny retched a cordage offer groin-murder, picked inner windrow, an sore debtor pore oil worming worse lion inner bet. Inner flesh, disk abdominal woof lipped honor bet, paunched honor pore oil worming, an garbled erupt. Den disk ratchet ammonol pot honor groin-murder's nut cup an gnat-gun, any curdled ope inner bet.

Inner ladle wile, Ladle Rat Rotten Hut a raft attar cordage, an ranker dough ball. "Comb ink, sweat hard," setter wicket woof, disgracing is verse.

Ladle Rat Rotten Hut entity bet rum, an stud buyer groin-murder's bet.

"O Grammar!" crater ladle gull historically,"Water bag icer gut! A nervous sausage bag ice!"

"Battered lucky chew whiff, sweat hard," setter bloat-Thursday woof, wetter wicket small honors phase.

"O Grammer, water bag noise! A nervous sore suture anomalous prognosis!"

"Battered small chew whiff, doling," whiskered dole woof, ants mouse worse waddling.

"O Grammar, water bag mouser gut! A nervous sore suture bag mouse!"

Daze worry on-forger-nut ladle gull's lest warts. Oil offer sodden, caking offer carvers an sprinkling otter bet, disk hoard-hoarded woof lipped own pore Ladle Rat Rotten Hut an garbled erupt.

MURAL: Yonder nor sorghum stenches shut ladle gulls stopper torque wet strainers.

Source: http://www.docflash.com/lrrh.html

Labels:

July 02, 2004

Bye, Bye, Guinea Pig

My guinea pig died last night of food poisoning, I think from the wild plants in the front porch. It's so sad to watch a living thing die in such a painful way. So sad... sob sob sob...

Labels: