joy at moll projects dot com
I was tagged by Christen, the Pink-Haired Librarian.
1. Since some have asked and others have wanted to, I'll share that my recently announced decision to be job free, an announcement which included no visible means of support, is possible because of my husband's family's business.
2. I've been a cancer survivor since 1985 (undifferentiated lymphoma), a fact which I'm now capable of forgetting for months on end unless I have to fill out a health insurance form as I did recently in order to make the decision in number 1 possible--got the insurance, have to pay more.
3. Since Christen shared her "secret" desire to run a marathon, I'll share mine to do a sprint tri. As of today, I can walk 5K so this is an unlikely goal, but it's a motivator and that's good enough for me.
4. I grew up in Louisiana, Missouri, and, thus, must always say the name of the state and not just the town.
5. My husband, brother, and I published the short-lived magazine, The Robotics Practitioner: the journal for robot builders. I just checked--it's in WorldCat. Thanks, Colorado School of Mines.
6. I'm allergic to most animals and have never had a pet as an adult--but I've fallen in love with the neighbors' newfie-lab puppy, Nana, and she loves me back.
7. I collect and use Tarot decks, but I prefer the goofiest ones possible. My current favorite is "Housewives Tarot."
8. At one time, I could identify the majority of native Missouri trees in the winter by the bark. My skills have gone rusty in the last few years, but I may sharpen them again.
I'm tagging Robin (A Passion for 'Puters), Jane (A Wandering Eyre), Amanda (blogwithoutalibrary.net), Dorothea (Caveat Lector), Rikhei (Nevertheless...), KristaB (The Librarian's Lounge), Martha (The Vital Library), and Walt (Walt at Random).
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When I give talks about social software, I warn people that the best approach is not necessarily to just dive into any community that looks interesting. It's kind of like moving to a new town--you don't know what groceries have the best produce, which stores overcharge because they cater to tourists, or which neighborhoods are right for you. If you try to discover all of that on your own, you're bound to have disturbing experiences or find yourself in boring situations before you encounter the places that cater to your levels of adventure and comfort. In a new town, it's helpful to have a guide and it's the same in a new online community.
So, I'm looking for guides to friendly, active online communities of people with these interests:
I appreciate any help you can give. Thanks!
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Having never fully adjusted to the 40-hour work week lifestyle after years of graduate school and home-based businesses, I'm quitting my job to get back a lifestyle that works better for me. My last day is June 15.
One of the worst things about being deliberately jobless is being confronted with the question "What do you do?" The question can trigger in me a warped version of the Protestant Work Ethic and feel like a judgment on my choices. But, since it's really a simple conversational opening, I work at not feeling defensive. One possible answer is in the new name in my blog title: online librarian.
Another answer is take the advice that maisie posted on one of Barbara Sher's forums on July 11, 2006: "My reply usually starts with 'well at the moment I'm into…' and talk about whatever interest, hobby, research, etc. that I'm scanning at the time." Barbara Sher wrote Refuse to Choose for "scanners," people who are always into new things. I've found a similar book to be useful, too, in making this decision: The Renaissance Soul: Life Design for People with Too Many Passions to Pick Just One by Margaret Lobenstine.
Here are some ways I expect to complete "at the moment, I'm into..." in the next year:
Picking up the meme from the LibrarianInBlack.
Why not....
So, what are your five?
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I was first exposed to lolcats (although I didn't know they had a name) in the error pages of Twitter. Here's their 404 file not found error page. But what's up with that syntax?
It turns out that cat pictures with kitty pidgin captions is a phenomenon. Anil Dash of Six Apart explains that Cats Can Has Grammar. The largest collection appears to be at I Can Has Cheezburger? Not all are safe for work, or at least not safe to read at the reference desk. At first they seem really stupid, but as I see more, and get the joke better, I keep laughing harder.
There is a guide to creating this grammar on the I Can Has Cheezburger site. Although, I think I was more confused after reading it and the end result in the example is much more complicated than anything I've seen on the photos. Also, it's missing the overlay of l33t speak that I've been seeing.
Why is this of any interest to librarians? Because there is now a mini-phenomenon of lolbrarians!
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Via Christen, The Pink-Haired Librarian: Pagebull is a search engine, but the results are screenshots, no text at all. There are situations where this could be very useful. It already helped me. I did a test search on the town where I live, Kirkwood, Missouri, and discovered that the downtown association, Kirkwood Junction has its own website.
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