November 2011
2 posts
In Ghana this week for work, noticing some Samsung Africa-specific TV ads to deal with unexpected power outages. One for a TV with a built-in surge protector, one for a fridge/freezer with a built in cold pack.
Also, I watched Predator. The 2010 version. That was a mistake.
It's the end of the world as we know it...
Daniel: water on the moon!
me: what?
Daniel: http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=29613
me: "created a plume of material from the bottom of a crater that has not seen sunlight in billions of years" what if they stir up some plague that will come kill us all?
Daniel: 2012!!1!1
me: exactly. those scientists. they never think about this stuff.
Daniel: the reason the world will end in 2012 is because the moon dust will filter down into the LHC and allow it to produce a Higgs boson, which is trying so hard not to be produced that it's currently traveling back in time and sabotaging the LHC project to prevent its own genesis
Dan Brown is so naive
me: for real. someone should educate the man.
September 2009
2 posts
“After 26 long years, I can finally rest easy. Twenty-six years I spent standing...”
– My Living Nightmare Of Encouraging Kids To Read Is Over by Levar Burton (The Onion)
August 2009
1 post
May 2009
1 post
April 2009
1 post
1 tag
Sunday Ride Report
25 miles on the W&OD trail, average speed 12.6 mph, top speed 27 mph (on the flats!). Powered up a few hills. As I hoped, the trail was relatively traffic-free thanks to Easter. Up next: leftover risotto for lunch, laundry.
I’ll be in Bucharest next weekend, so no ride, but I’ve heard there are some places I can use an exercise bike so I can keep getting ready for the Five...
January 2009
1 post
Flying solo
Today was my first full solo day in DC.
Tomorrow I start my new job… hurray!
Dan won’t join me in DC until July… boo!
(stupid school year)
December 2008
3 posts
Live from Seoul, it's Saturday night!
Ok, it’s not Saturday night. But I am in Seoul. I’m blogging for work over at http://gslis.simmons.edu/blogs/dispatches. Check it out.
Pictures on my flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/megoc42/
An observation on checked bag fees
United is now charging a $15 fee for the FIRST checked bag on domestic flights. I’ve heard other airlines are doing the same.
Travelers are avoiding the fee by bringing wheelie suitcases as carry-ons. Of course, there’s isn’t enough space in the overhead compartments to accommodate carry-ons for all, or even most, of the passengers. As a result, people are having to check...
November 2008
2 posts
“While it’s a nice break from all the overwrought sentimentality, these...”
– Twilight | The A.V. Club
October 2008
2 posts
September 2008
6 posts
“Yet something important is lost when a child’s introduction to fairy tales...”
– The glossy, sanitized new versions of fairy tales leave out what matters: the scary parts - The Boston Globe
“The Serbian Gypsy band Kal is on a mission to save Romani culture from kitsch,...”
– Reviving a culture one tune at a time - The Boston Globe
Heart to McCain/Palin: Back off on 'Barracuda' -... →
“Personally speaking, as an American woman with a vote, I find Palin’s...”
– Hadley Freeman: Despite being a woman, Sarah Palin doesn’t get my vote | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk
August 2008
8 posts
“I confidently trust that the American people will prove themselves … too wise...”
– 1641. Carl Schurz (1829-1906). Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations. 1989
WatchBarack declares! - By Andy Bowers, John Dickerson, and Jim Festante - Slate Magazine
WatchA street performer we saw in Quebec. I had never seen a one man band in person before, and I was impressed with the ingenuity of his setup and with his stamina. It’s hard work to play those songs.
I’ve been operating fairly well in French. Admittedly, most of my conversations revolve around what I’m ordering and whether I want it to go or not. Still, it’s satisfying. Especially so because anyone in a service position in Quebec if fully capable of switching to flawless (Canadian) English, so I have every opportunity to wimp out.
I’m thinking about setting up in a...
Quebec is very beautiful. It is also full of tourists, full to bursting. I’ve only experienced this before in Vienna, and in both cases I have the sense that I’m not in a “real” place. It feels more like Disney, where everything is fabricated for the pleasure of the tourists.
I find this frustrating on many levels. Right now my frustration is centered around the...
“As announced in the “DC Nation: One Weekend Later” panel on Sunday at San Diego...”
– Newsarama.com : SDCC ‘08 - More on Gaiman-Batman with Dan DiDio
Well now, that is awfully exciting.
July 2008
14 posts
Shelving Books Becoming a Competitive Sport | Only... →
The piece about the Bookcart Drill Team Championships @ ALA Annual begins at 40:15.
I <3 Mo Willems.
WatchDeli clerk by day, he has powers you didn’t know existed - The Boston Globe
He tries so hard to explain his love of the yo-yo.
“Recently, a library patron challenged (urged a reconsideration of the ownership...”
– myliblog: Uncle Bobby’s Wedding
This is an incredibly thoughtful, well-written response to a challenge. I am impressed with Larue’s respect for a viewpoint that he clearly does not share - this level of sensitivity and openess is something we should all aspire to, particularly those of...
High hopes in Bromley-Heath - The Boston Globe →
This editorial is particularly interesting to me because I live down the street from the Bromley-Heath, and also because I’m leading a six-week library program at a different housing development.
The approach discussed in this article - reaching out to the whole family, not just the children - seems promising, but expensive and hard to sustain. I’ll be curious to see what happens; I...
“You may think the library is a kid friendly spot for borrowing books and movies....”
– Special Report - Library investigation - Boston News, Massachusetts News, Weather & Sports Channel 7News WHDH-TV
This quote nicely sums up the gap between what librarians and what many members of the public perceive to be the role of the library vis a vis protecting children. Any good...
I just tweeted: “my brain is full of research methodologies, and it hurts a little bit”
With the automatically generated timestamp, I said this: “my brain is full of research methodologies, and it hurts a little bit less than a minute ago”
“When people say that comic books are as close as our secular late-capitalist...”
– Hellboy II: The Golden Army, reviewed. - By Dana Stevens - Slate Magazine
I CAN’T WAIT to see Hellboy 2
“I divide dangerous drivers into two categories: angry or stupid. A combination...”
– Column: If only drivers shared the road, cyclists would be safer -The Green Blog - A Boston Globe blog on living Green in Boston
I want a jersey imprinted with an easy-to-read explanation that cyclists are supposed to be on the road.
On the other hand, I sympathize with the commenters frustrated...
If the shoe (doesn't) fit
Earlier today I was browsing snowboard boots on REI’s big winter sports gear sale. I’ve been riding the same boots for eight years, and every season for the past few years I would decide *this* would be the year to get new boots. I’ve never been able to convince myself to pony up the money.
So today I was looking at some sweet boots from Salomon, my bootmaker of choice. They...
June 2008
10 posts
Hotel California
So far ALA has been pretty exciting.
I left the wire that connects my camera to my computer at home, so no pictures yet. Once I have pictures I’ll post an Emerging Leaders recap.
Today was apparently my day to spot all the celebrity authors, but I didn’t bring my camera because I didn’t want to carry extra stuff around the exhibit hall. Stupid.
On the other hand, what would...
“Americans eat as many bananas as apples and oranges combined, which is...”
– Op-Ed Contributor - Yes, We Will Have No Bananas - Op-Ed - NYTimes.com
I remember being confused as a youngster that oranges were once a common Christmas present. I didn’t know that oranges were once wildly exotic and very difficult to come by.
“Tuesday night, it became clear that—just like losing did—winning has made Kevin...”
– Kevin Garnett shows the world how to celebrate an NBA title. - By Josh Levin and John Swansburg - Slate Magazine
“You see, librarians today increasingly see themselves as information activists,...”
– The Backroad Librarian: Generation Next | Daily Yonder
Marcel, making it big in the Midwest
“Some critics say that the BPL’s noble embrace of everyone, as inscribed in...”
– Free to all* - The Boston Globe
