Tomorrow's a day off for the working world but for me, it's the first day of a full week off before I begin my new job.  I'm pretty excited to have the week even though I know we'll never get done everything that we want to do. 

I mean, our list ranges from easy picks like "change that burnt out lightbulb" to more difficult ones like "completely kill all weeds and other unwanted pests that now infect our yard after what is, in many ways, two straight years of neglect." 

As for weed killing, preferably in a way that leaves no poisons that may also be harmful to Pace.  I grew up, not exactly on a farm, but close enough to that world (I was raised for the first couple of years of my life in the bulk fuel dealership my parents ran) that I've had my dose of poison and it's too late to worry about that.  But I'd like to try to protect him as much as possible.  And at the same time, I know it's futile because we basically live in a world that gives us cancer and all kinds of other crap, just because we live in it.  "Here son, have some Red Dye #49 licorice." 

Some other goals for the week?  Buy new shoes.  Decide if I'm going to be a bus rider or a car commuter.  Go into RPL and sign the papers to make it official.  Have naps whenever possible.  Change aforementioned lightbulb.  Kill aforementioned weeds.  Possibly buy a lawn mower if I can find a good deal.  Maybe get a book or two read.  Catch up on all sorts of loose ends I've really let lag in the past month - just the day-to-day basics of keeping up with regular mail, e-mail, etc. 

Although it's tough leaving Weyburn, Shea's happy to be back in the city I think.  I'm looking at the rough plan we drew up for the week and she's already got not one but two social outings planned!  (I have zero if you're keeping track.)

My parents are coming up for a day or three to watch Pace while Shea and I try to compress two houses worth of clothes, toys and other crap into one (which is really our main goal for the week if I'm being honest - pretty much everything else I listed above is lower on the priority list).  But with them here, perhaps Shea and I can steal away to such foreign delights such as a "movie" or a "brew pub".  That would be swell!

I have to do some inquiries about my pension and it's sort of surreal to have one after 10 years of no pension (one job paid us extra in lieu of a pension, one didn't have one.)  I don't really worry about my pension and I suspect a lot of people in my generation feel the same way.  At the same time, I had a grandfather who told me to start saving 10% of everything I made when I got my first job at 16.  I think I've kept that up pretty faithfully for the most part my whole working life.  That helps reduce the retirement worry.  (Someone asked if I got a bonus when I left SRL.  No, but I did get to cash a big chunk of my unused health benefits - they're on an ASO plan - and transfer that into my RSP.  So that was sort of like a bonus in some ways.)

Shea and I sold hot dogs for La Leche League today and I felt like I was back in high school selling food for the SRC again. 

Went to a bbq on Saturday and a friend said they knew someone who named their kid Revan...which is apparently the name of a Dark Lord of the Sith in Star Wars.  Two thoughts - a) Pace isn't so bad and b) man, I have some ultra-geeky friends. 

...and yes, the pun (such as it were) in the title of this post was intentional.  Good-night.

I'm getting so many tabs open in Firefox that it's time for a patented Jason Hammond Link Dump.  (That sounds awful.  I should come up with a better name for it!)

Er, here's the accumulated shit...

"The Road" tops EW's list of 25 New Book Classics

Skip the MBA program and get your personal MBA by reading these 77 books

Some Humourous Internet Safety Guidelines

Ask.Reddit's ways in on the Five Saddest Songs
I don't know what I'd put on my Top 5 but here's what popped into my head for #1.
1. He's A Good Dog - Fred Eaglesmith (I couldn't find an authentic Fred version so this is a link to a fan cover.  Loses some of the impact without Fred's gravelly voice but gives you a taste anyhow.  Hmm, maybe I should just finish the list with four other sad Fred songs.

MacLean's has a story about living libraries where patrons can borrow "types" - policeman, Arab, homosexual, Atheist, etc. - for half hour conversations. (via Toni Samek on the CLA listserv)

A graphic comparing Barack Obama and John McCain's tax relief plans

"Digital Ghosts" - the Toronto Star looks at what happens to your online presence after you die.  Fits perfectly with my interest in "Digital Footprints" which is the same idea but when you're alive or dead.

In other news, I just heard I have an interview next week.  Wish me luck! 

I'm not sure if I put Pace to sleep tonight or he put me to sleep but at 8pm, we were both in bed, crashed out.  So that means I wake up now and am going to be completely messed up tomorrow.  Oh well - the same thing we always say when he naps at an unusual time - "he's tired - he needs it" applies to my little nap tonight as well!

Here's some randomness...apologies if you were the person who sent me one or more of these links.  I've lost track of where I got them. 

"The Mother's Milk of Literacy: How Breastfeeding May Improve Literacy"
- to which I say, "no duh!"

The Science of Early Brain Development
- you'll have to click on the first search result to see the PowerPoint presentation

Neat New Stuff on the Internet
- by librarian, Marylaine Block. "The sites I include are usually free sites of substantial reference value, authoritative, browsable, searchable, and packed with information, whether educational or aimed at answering everday questions."

"It Takes A Village of Librarians To Raise A Teen"

"Schools should continue to require library research so kids can learn how old folks used to Google stuff."

"The Times (UK) Makes 200 Years of Newspapers Available Online for Free"

"Reading The Future: Planning To Meet Canada's Future Literacy Challenges"
- a new study has lots of stats and info from the Canadian Council on Learning

"Dealing With Book Clutter"
- includes a list of questions that could be used with slight modification during weeding at your library

PaperbackSwap.com
- a site that the previous linked article led to which allows you to swap books (and CD's and DVD's) with others.  It appears to only be for US-based people right now (or people with access to a US mailing address) but still worth taking note of in case they expand to Canada in the future.

"Who Says Librarians and Teachers Don't Like Tags?"

And for a big, non-library-related finish, "What skills would be most useful if you could time travel back to 1000 A.D."

(Man, it always feels good to get this accumulated kludge off the books! )

Just clearing up some things I've come across recently.  I sometimes forget to make a note of where I found stuff so if I got this from you or your site, apologies in advance - feel free to post a comment or drop me a line to let me know (although admittedly 90% of my stuff tends to come from Reddit these days so you can usually find the discussion  for these sites there by doing a search on the relevant topic.)

Also, this is a good place to remind you that my annual blog survey is open right now.  If you haven't already, please take a quick moment to fill out the 10 questions (most of which are checkboxes - can it get any easier?)

Thanks to everyone who's taken the time to respond so far.  I can only make educated guesses as to who's reading this blog from the various programs I have tracking traffic to this site.  So it's especially nice to see responses from former classmates and colleagues at FIMS when I wasn't sure if they were still "tuning in". 

On to the links...

Bookshelf Blog

BookShelves By Colour

R.E.M. to debut new album on the social networking application, iLike

The World's 50 Most Powerful Blogs

And for the survey respondent who said "Pace rocks - more Pace!", here you go...

This song is one of my favourites and this version by an Australian shadow puppeteer guesting on the David Letterman show is unbelievable.  The baby's hand brought tears to my eyes.

(via Reddit)

- saw two moose (meese?) right beside the road but behind a fence on my early morning drive to Rocanville (one of our most distant communities at 2.5 hours) this morning.  A pretty rare sight (for me anyhow but then again, I don't hunt) so I actually briefly thought "Those are some weird looking cows!"   But I actually whipped the car around to go have a closer look.  But when I got close the second time, they bolted into the trees, still visible but not as clearly. 

- absolutely the most embarrassing day ever for my public session.  I don't pre-screen my search results, preferring to either come up with suggestions from the patrons or pick something on the spot myself.  So, when I demo my fake Facebook account (with no friends and only a membership in the Regina network), it's helpfully showing me the most popular posts in the Regina network on my news feed - including a humour video clip named "orgasm".  Then I go to YouTube and one of the "most-viewed" feature clips on the home page is a girl in a thong.  Then, to top it off, I go to LeaderPost.com and the top news story is about prostitution which puts everybody over the top laughing.  "Is there anything on the Internet that isn't about sex?" one lady asks and I have to admit that, apparently, there isn't.

- there's a casino on an Indian reserve about halfway on the drive home so I stopped in for a restroom break.  I'm not a huge gambler and rarely go to casinos but I thought, "Why not? I don't get coffee breaks on the road so I'll take one now!" and threw $10 in one of the slot machines...which disappeared in about ten minutes.  This is my most expensive bathroom break ever (although I think I had to pay at the top of the Eiffel Tower and I have a memory that one wasn't cheap either - captive audience and all.)

- I figured out how to set a scan for my favourite artists on the satellite radio so now, anytime a song by the Beatles, Stones, Dylan, Wilco, Van Morrison, Radiohead, REM, U2 and a few others comes on, I can flip to it immediately.  Wish I'd figured that out about a month ago!

- did I mention that I've been up since 3am since Pace had one of his screaming fits and I couldn't sleep after he finally settled, knowing I had to be up in a few short hours anyhow?  I was good all day but it's finally caught up to me and I'm dead tired now. 

Did anybody else's kids do that when they were around 8 months?  Wake up randomly through the night and scream bloody murder with nothing able to console them?  It might be night terrors but that authoritative source, Wikipedia, says they often don't start until 2 years of age when they happen in children.

- speaking of Wikipedia, the first paragraph of the current version of the page for the community I visited today was something I had dictated to me by one of the public session participants to show how easy it is to edit the site.

- I love that my current work assignment combines so many things I love - meeting people, road trips, teaching about computers & the coolest web sites on the Internet.  Every day doesn't feel like work at all and the hours pass like minutes.  I was on the road today for over twelve hours today and it passed faster than many regular 9-5 days do!

Housecleaning isn't just a physical activity anymore - now, I find I have to take the time to clear out my virtual detritus every once in awhile too.  So here are some links and articles I've had kicking around for awhile waiting for a good time to post.

Amazon: New & Future Book Releases
Librarians talk a lot about making our online services  more like Amazon and Google but this is at least one place where (at least some) libraries have the online services beat.  Amazon just announced an e-newsletter of new & future book releases but doesn't provide any additional customization at all.

So, unlike the NextReads subscriptions I still get from London Public Library which allows me to choose to receive news about Fiction books (or Pop Culture or Health & Body or Biography & Memoir or about a dozen or so other categories), it's all or nothing with the Amazon subscription.  Still, that could be useful if you're doing collection development work and you don't have access to a niche list.  But why not take advantage of their extensive categorization system and provide subscriptions right down to the micro-level?  ("There is one new book published this month in the area of New Guinea architecture.  Click here to buy from Amazon.com")

BabyCenter's Top 10 Baby Names for 2007
Sophia for girls, Aiden for boys and not a Pace to be found. Trends include multi-syllabic names and unique spellings - again, not a Pace to be found.  (Whew!)

Genetic Social Networks? (via Julie M.)
If the wife of one of Google co-founders is right, the next frontier in social networking could be based on your DNA.  You do a swab (for a couple hundred bucks) then the sites link you to people who are genetically similar tot you (ie. distant relatives you never knew you had.) 

How Breastfeeding Benefits Add Up
I think everybody knows (okay, should know) the benefits of breastfeeding over formula.  But I like how this article Shea sent me shows the benefits at different stages of a baby's development.

Amazon's New E-Book Reader, The Kindle, Discussed on MetaFilter
I admit, I haven't even read the whole thread yet.  But what I saw so far covers a lot of the debate - positive and negative - about both e-books and the future of publishing so it's worth reading if you're interested in that sort of thing.

Lakota Indians Declare Independence From USA
I'm not sure how serious this is and how much is political grandstanding.  But if it's real...wow...another country for Bush to invade...without even having to go overseas!

Radiohead's "In Rainbows" Dominates In New Media Environment
Bob Lefsetz looks at the success of the Radiohead Net-only release.

the fact is, the record is a smash, but not using your traditional measurement, i.e. sales and airplay. However, consider the new measurement tools, i.e. those that actually track what people listen to and play, and the radiohead album is by far the biggest release this year.

On Last.fm, last week, Radiohead occupied slots One to Ten on the Popular Track Top Ten! And we’re not talking small numbers - this is a site that measures tens of thousands of music fans listening preferences…. it may be sitting unplayed on your ipod, but evidently there are millions of people playing it….I’m sorry, but how do you define a ’smash’?????"

Students Find Wikipedians Are Tougher Graders Than Their Professors
But are they providing constructive feedback?  Some feel that Wikipedia's editorial cabal is a notoriously rigid group.  (via Chris G.)

Viral Videos
Similar to YouTube's Top Video charts but taking in other sources as well, a good way to see which clips are popular today, this week, this month and all-time.

Wholefoods Give Away Free Groceries When Their POS System Crashes
Like my post on Costco's business practices earlier this month, grocery chain Whole Foods Market gives another example of what the world could be like if corporations were run with a bit of humanity instead of a relentless focus on the bottom-line and profits. 

And finally, a bit of humour...

Not sure how it started but I used to have a slightly more frequent tradition of clearing out the various tidbits I'd been sent by e-mail, found on the web and some of the other random thoughts banging around my head in one big post, tied for some unknown reason, to a holiday, well-known or otherwise. 

So Happy Guy Fawkes Night - let's blow up the backlog!

Regina Leader Post humour columnist Ron Petrie provides a list of words that Saskatchewan needs.  Everytime I see a Saskatchewan-based list like this, I always wonder how applicable the ideas are to other parts of Canada or are some of these ideas really unique to Saskabush?  (For example, do other places in Canada have somebody holding the door for every single person who comes through then the last person holds the door for the first?  That happens here all the time.)

An article from the Globe & Mail on why Canada's middle class is so healthy compared to most other countries - basically, effective redistribution of wealth (I think the original article is now behind a pay wall so this is a reprint on someone's blog.  When will all media outlets figure out that putting all their content out and accessible is the way to go?  The New York Times recently decided to drop the pay wall and good on them.) 

I made a subtle reference to the lack of polish of the local NDP canadidate in Weyburn-Big Muddy in my entry about the candidate's debate Shea and I attended.  Then I came across this.  I really want to give her the benefit of the doubt - it was for cable access, she knows she's not going to win anyhow so she's having fun with it, she's trying to be unique.  But the reality as one poster on the blog I found it at says "It looks like she's running for 8th grade class president, not a sitting member of the provincial legislative assembly."  Shea and I voted in an advance poll in our home riding this weekend so I don't have to make the difficult decision about whether to vote for the Liberal who's the only candidate directly connected to libraries in the entire province, a former school friend of Shea's or the NDP candidate in Tommy Douglas' old riding.  (And yes, that's something that adds yet another level of horror to the clip.  Unbelievable.)  Maybe I should've run after all - I couldn't do any worse, could I? 

Why does the Green Party put out lawn signs? 

We had this discussion on my blog once already.  But anyhow, since it's one of my personal grammar crusades, here's another article on the history of using "they/their/them" as the first-person singular instead of the contemporary but much more awkward "he/she" convention. 

"...for most of the existence of the English language, ‘they’ was used as the accepted singular gender-neutral pronoun. The use of ‘it’ was reserved for objects, as it is today, but for people the pronoun of choice was they/their/them.

So how did this all change? Courtesy of the English Parliament."

Damn Interesting » When They Became Him

I'm sort of working in reverse here. The following is the first eulogy I ever did. I had little idea what I was doing at the time but I knew that I wanted to do something unique and different to capture my grandma (who was both of those things) rather than the traditional "this person was born here, married him/her, did this for a living, died here, is survived by" paint-by-numbers type eulogy.    more »