Too busy, but that is good November 29th, 2009 I would love if I could get up and proceed through my day with some sort of regular schedule. And I could and would if I did not also marvel at being able to meander through tasks as they organically present themselves. There has to be a happy medium. The regular habitual processing has its ups -... [Read More]
I love training more than tinkering November 5th, 2009 I ended up a techie by default because I grew up in a techie household. And, truly, because I am a geek too. But even though I admit to total geekdom, what I love is researching and training. These two are the things that rock the tangent in my mind that is library world. annotated... [Read More]
Catching up is impossible October 20th, 2009 I have not been able to resume any volunteer hours for WiserEarth, the morning arrives when it is still dark and my motivation tends to making cookies and not reports and work, the garden has not been tended to in two months and is more pathetic than I am (almost). I did not get the position at... [Read More]
Recreating a site that looks identical October 17th, 2009 I have now had a plethora of instances where hours of work has produced a site/template/page that looks identical to the starting point and no one can tell I was there. But, to my credit, the way the site/template/page works is sometimes entirely different and at the very least is more standards... [Read More]
how could I forget KARTOO? October 7th, 2009 In the middle of my interview I forgot the name of my favorit alternate search engine. Yes, I slam google about ninety thousand times a day, but when I am not googling, I KARTOO!
http://www.kartoo.com/
And then I spend a lesser amount of time doing semantic web stuff and generally poking... [Read More]
healthcare tidbit worth watching October 2nd, 2009
How do you explain how you teach? September 26th, 2009 I have now been asked this on several different occasions and in several different contexts. Most recently I was asked this during a position interview. And my response is the same. Teaching requires a teacher to be aware that there are many ways to teach and learners learn in a bunch of different... [Read More]
New OpenSource wonderfulness September 25th, 2009 I am so excited to have learned about something I guess I should ahve already known about. But since I did not know and now I do, it is all good. I am prattling on about Evergreen! I am just starting out on running through the working demo at http://demo.gapines.org/.
I learned about... [Read More]
Opportunities for cataloging! September 23rd, 2009 Cataloging was one of the classes in grad school where, once I started the class, I realized that I would have loved to have taken a lot more classes in that subject. Unluckily for me, I took that class almost last and missed out on the joy of indexes, resource description frameworks, taxonomies,... [Read More]
Used to, used to, but what am I happy about now! September 7th, 2009 My hub read the last few teasers and noted that I sounded like I was lamenting long gone skills and not mentioning what I do now enough. Well, the laments may roll off the tongue more easily than the detailed "hoorahs!", but I am certainly not hoorah!-less. I make good food. I am... [Read More]
If I had the time...to write papers and essay instead of mediocre posts. September 6th, 2009 I used to pride myself on my ability to read volumes of information, comprehend and analyze that information, and write a paper of greater than 10 pages that was actually worth reading.
Now, I can still read, digest, and critically analyze huge amounts of information, but my writing skills... [Read More]
Categories, my internal lighthouse, handiwork September 3rd, 2009 I am almost at the point where I should develop a category section for my minor and inconsistent updates to this site. Almost. Categorization can be a time consuming [aka wasting] endeavor if not herded into a finite timeslot. I think it needs to be done because the inevitable swing of my... [Read More]
Reading is a purpose in life August 7th, 2009 I used to be crack at fiction, classics, texts, and childrens books. I could do reader advisory on 1000s of books. Hallo long time ago. Something has to have replaced that data/information, as I still retain the frameworks and major themes for those titles. I have learned to do much... [Read More]
What drives you? For me it is connectivity. August 6th, 2009 I am often asked why I like to keep my admin job despite having a masters. There are a few reasons/answers I give to explain why money isn't my focus. I think that administrative offices are apt environs for my profession. I can catalog and file, run tech, create... [Read More]
Lending Library! July 3rd, 2009 I have long wanted to run a small lending library. I started to actualize this by getting into BraveNew Films. I am looking for another BNF title to bring to a local film fest, and i am also trying to set up a wishlist of Chlesea GReen Titles. If all goes well, activists of all stripes in... [Read More]
Arrive with a bang July 2nd, 2009 Why would an encounter with a gun toting dog killer alter my work schedule? I don't know, but it is. The whole thing lasted less than two minutes but I am still feeling distracted. When I am not distracted I am trying to catch up on the work I have to do - and I am mostly there, but then I have the... [Read More]
Pirate Festival Ahead! June 8th, 2009 This was received with great joy:
Mark your calendars for Sept. 19th (International Talk Like a Pirate Day) and Sept. 20th for the 4th Annual Portland Pirate Festival in Cathedral Park. Take advantage of our Special Ticket Price Promotion through July 20th by purchasing advance tickets... [Read More]
Should I stay, or should I go now? June 5th, 2009 I have been with Thinkhost for a long time. They are my second hosting company and in the beginning it truly was a love affair. Becuase I didn't know shinola. Then it was awesome because I learned a lot and they always helped me learn. I am at a stage now, however, that the transitions they have... [Read More]
i love work but i like to define work myself, please. May 29th, 2009 Hard physical labor or bum flattening computer work. Love them both. Knitting, needlework, rugpulling. Canning, sorting, storing. Looking, listening, learning. Stoping, staring, wondering.
So long as I can work and play at a human rhythm, I will work and play as well as I possibly... [Read More]
Illness, emotion, endurance, goodwill May 25th, 2009 I have experienced fairly long term illness and I can attest to the inability to prolong stable emotional behavior in rigid or formal settings. Or any setting, actually. I am an emotional character in most respects to start. It is losing the wherewithal to understand and temper the emotions that is... [Read More]
Small Group Critical Mass May 16th, 2009 I am not really likening anyone I work with to a child. But I do think of the groups I work with as children. That is because I work with small groups that are making transitions. Transition is hard for individuals as well as groups, but in groups the problem stems from getting more and varied... [Read More]
Transitions are what you make of them May 7th, 2009 We are about to pack up boxes here in New Zealand and head for the States. Moving to NZ was a phenomenal transition in many ways; it has changed me both professionally and personally. The transition back to the States is seeming to hold the same kind of change, but who am I to say I KNOW what it... [Read More]
Projects that have waited forever April 24th, 2009 I have been accused both justly and unjustly of not handling the introduction of new applications in group projects. Justly because I too am learning how technology deployment is "best" done in various types of endeavors and unjustly because people are willing to suggest shit so long as I... [Read More]
Meeting new people, getting happy about helping April 18th, 2009 I think I could be so happy that I could fall off my chair. Actually, my back would probably love that as my current chair is crappy and distinctly lumbar unfriendly. Anyway, I received a form email from atrocityarts.com the other day from a librarian who has a great project; they need a hand... [Read More]
Professional, personal, problematical April 17th, 2009 I opted fairly early in "my career" to abide by a set of standards that met my personal goals more so than those dictated by professional "etiquette." Not to say that I don't understand or undertake the professional standards of behaviour, but I don't strive to uphold them as... [Read More]
What is it about workflow that people don't get? April 16th, 2009 I am a big fan of process management and workflow development. It allows everyone a chance at realistic estimates of their own capacity, it moves projects from natter to development to "product", and it can be improved at anytime given new information and/or... [Read More]
slide scanner April 8th, 2009 I have an assortment of pending projects that I vowed I would make progress on during last year and this year. I have made a great deal of progress on some, actually completed one, and have a good view of what remains (opposed to what view i had before which was just a huge rumplestiltskin pile of... [Read More]
breathing again, words can flow April 8th, 2009
last year I attempted (feebly) to get my essay juices flowing again. I failed. But I did come up with a great list. And today, while running, I formed the first of what I hope really is 39.
Learned a lot this week. About everything. Exploding.
Reverse Engineering your way to knowing something March 30th, 2009 The only times that I resent the insane 4 year old energy that beams into my brain at 6:30am is when what I had been wanting was to burn the night away on some coding project or other detail oriented shenanigan. Since grumpiness is no way to greet a small star whose only consideration is tickling... [Read More]
Backlog of reports, waylaid by flu March 29th, 2009 I am sure, after finishing the last report, that reports will be the death of me. Either I will throw myself from some balcony or throw someone else off a balcony (in Texas) and get a lethal injection. I have about 30 of these reports that I am trying to sort through for the archive. They range in... [Read More]
Statistics. And the desire to kick the crap out some people March 26th, 2009 Given the statistics on the number of children currently in the sex "industry", I have the great desire to smack the crap out of the pope and anyone else advocating that abortion or any form of family planning is "wrong". An economic system based on fucking a destitute four year... [Read More]
Patience, persistence, permutations March 23rd, 2009 Finally I have a bit more info an why I could not run some PHP scripts in the one CMS where I really needed to have it run. It took me a year to educate myself thoroughly enough to know that the problem was not "on my end", so to speak. And, because Thinkhost has topnotch customer... [Read More]
Timing, juggling, and cramming March 18th, 2009 Part of my intent in every day is to apportion work hours here, volunteer hours there, and most of the hours left over (the majority, hopefully) to laundry and Ceres. Yes, Ceres gets lumped in with the laundry because she generates a lot of it and I am capable of doing papier maché crafts... [Read More]
Work is everywhere. March 16th, 2009 You may not find paid work, but work is everywhere. Everything needs tidying, patching, cleaning, sorting, putting away, and a general pat on the bottom. Unfortunately, most are not remunerated for their labour. And, interestingly enough, they do most of the work! I do wonder if the work doing of... [Read More]
Workflow, glorious workflow March 12th, 2009 At a time when budgets are tightening and tightening again, the ability to deliver, communicate, coordinate, and direct - without insane meeting time - is a bonus. It is too bad that a comprehensive technology plan was not in place from a while back, but the ability to gain ground with reality... [Read More]
I don't much care for leading. Except by example, maybe March 7th, 2009 Having had the need to update my CV lately, I also took the opportunity to rewrite my bio blurb. Right after tinkering on that blurb came a request for the blurb, so the timing was perfect. I have no idea if the blurb is or is not, but the ability to deliver it when asked was nice. Looking at my CV... [Read More]
Coffee anxiety and the exchange rate blues. March 4th, 2009 I have to laugh at the current advice I see rattling through the MSNosphere. Volunteer if you have been downsized! Volunteer to keep your resume active! Volunteer now that you cannot pay your mortgage! Idle hands may be the devil's playground, but I think that this kind of suggestion is ridiculous... [Read More]
Optimize....my time schedule February 27th, 2009 I have been doing a great deal of gallery work lately. They are wonderful, and I have learned a lot about digitization techniques, tip, and practices. If only I could someday be a part of an institution that has the money,tools, and situation where I could learn how to do truly professional... [Read More]
What is worthwhile? February 26th, 2009 I recently had one of those momentary "I wish" feelings towards someone else's life. Well, actually it was over their work life and their C.V. They graduated when I did, they are in a position that I had wanted to apply for, and they are doing great things! And, they are not me. I felt... [Read More]
Getting back into the zone... February 22nd, 2009 The recent spate of news on poisoned peanuts/food has given one of those platitudes I was raised on some higher attention: Some days peanuts, some days shells. Life is way too short to be deriving the whole of your satisfaction from someone else's worldview. ... [Read More]
Audio visual (tactile) February 18th, 2009 Here I was a while ago lamenting buying anything new and how I generally have to be forced into getting new gear by the failure of the old stuff. And now, however, I am about to upgrade some existing applications to their "pro" counterparts and I won't even blink. Because,I had the money... [Read More]
Timing, or chunks of time. February 17th, 2009 I was a latecomer to discipline. I have always had persistence, but discipline was usually only an imposed structure. To some extent this is always true with children. Persistence can be learned or it can be a trait, but discipline is always learned/imposed. I think a lot about the role and realm... [Read More]
Pet projects and paid projects...not so different! February 14th, 2009 I consider myself incredibly lucky because I have often had the luxury of having work projects and fun projects work together or even be the same kind of project!... [Read More]
The final push that makes me get new gear. February 10th, 2009 Normally I skimp on gear, and newfangled betterers. I usually make do with what I have or what I can get for free (or nearly). I spend the majority of my spending spot money cash on fudge or movies or laundry soap. I buy new technical stuff with reluctance, but I have finally come to the end of the... [Read More]
Helpful projects when you can't get no help February 8th, 2009 I do a lot of volunteer work. For a few reasons, to be sure, but mainly because they are intrinsically "useful/helpful." When the volunteer project is digital, they are a way to aid myself in learning without the insane deadline/clock. Nothing like learning by doing, as the saying goes.... [Read More]
What a little perseverance can accomplish February 5th, 2009 I have annotated and noted and post-it noted numerous times about slowly revolving around a project and nipping and tucking it into some kind of passable form. It seems that my efforts have not gone to waste. Well, they never would have because I get some fulfillment out of them, but they would... [Read More]
Where I am going with all of this, right now. February 2nd, 2009 I have had to look a little harder at the need and want dichotomy that drives my "to do" list. I noted in one of my blogs that Drupal had to move up the list into a more prominent position because I see that WSUV is now running some php pages, and the Drupal rollover cannot be too far... [Read More]
Multi-tasking myself across the universe! January 19th, 2009 There are some things that you can accomplish in five minutes and there are some things you cannot accomplish in five minutes. And, there are some things that you should not accomplish in five minutes. Okay, I am being a bit hyperbolic [as is my nature]. But the idea is still sound. Working while... [Read More]
Demo decisions January 14th, 2009 I am currently in the process of loading up my test environment with the top 6 open source and free learning management systems (LMS). Moodle and Ilias are going up first. Part of the decision making process stems from cost; free systems have moved to the top of the tree becuase they are FREE. The... [Read More]
Atrocity Arts 2009 with a bang! January 13th, 2009 I have the greatest pleasure in announcing that I get to actually help deploy a full e-learning / distance ed. course. In graduate school the learning management systems market was fairly new. It was an awesome time to start to delve into content management systems and to begin to evaluate course... [Read More]
