A news clipping for Jay ...

Back in the day, they used to say "4 out of 10"; so what's going on? Less adherence to the MHA? Less tolerance? Better diagnosis? Worse employment outcomes due to poor corporate administration - by folk who are even more nutso?

Color me surprised ...

Recognise anyone here? (Click image for larger version)

Information Literacy and Real Life

I've been spending a fair bit of time developing a new set of lessons around the topic of "research", now that is has become "problematic" to use the existing set of online, interactive, self-paced lessons. For the next two weeks, in which our 'graduating juniors' prepare to move into Senior mode, they'll be revisiting a number of topics such as sources of information, assessing quality of information, you-know-the-rest.

It's lunchtime now, but I'm just having a quick cruise through news sites to see what current items I could work into the presentation and accompanying worksheets.

There still seems some debate as to whether or not restricting research to a single source was responsible for our Australian (southern hemisphere, big island-y thing on maps between the Asian sub-continent and Antarctica) prime minister being represented wearing an Austrian (central Europe, landlocked country near Switzerland) milk-maid outfit.


When I originally heard the breaking story this morning - yeah, OK, things are a little slow down here at this time of the year - my first thought was that the confusion of Austrian and Australia was due to geographical illiteracy. Maybe we'll never know.

Still, it's a nice example of what can happen when aren't sufficiently information literate. With the Internet (and yes, I still capitalise it as the proper noun that it is), now the whole world can squirm along with you when you achieve a Fail at this level.


Photograph above by Ray Strange. http://www.news.com.au/

When the pen is as mighty as the sword

Here's something else for my very long list of things I didn't know. According to a reasonably reliable website, but not citing any references, I read that "Julius Caesar was assassinated by Brutus and his associates, using sharp shorthand styluses meant to be used with wax tablets."

I guess that would make the 'pens' as mighty, not mightier, than the swords? Although they had to use pens because if they'd taken swords their plot would have been foiled. (B'hahahahha. If you don't get the pun, go look up 'foil'.)

Me bad. Apparently.

Image sourced from http://www.thisnext.com/tag/dead-fred/

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This is what they mean by "me time"?

I'm at home for a few days, following some minor-ish surgery whereby a large chunk of 'meat' was removed from my personage; 8 stitches were involved. It's all covered up with tape etc, which is sort of a shame in a morbid sort of way. How in the name of all that is self-serving can one get any sympathy unless there is visible evidence of bodily damage? It's not like I've got anything in stiff plaster or slings, or crutches or anything. Still, I suppose that's why we have blogs, isn't it? When ya just gotta get the message out there!!!

So anyway, now I'm home with instructions not to do anything that might tear the stitches open. I'm not doing the website any more, so there's several days worth of entertainment down the drain; even watching the TV is limited by how long I can 'lounge' before needing to turn over - without twisting anything. Shopping is "out", which from a financial perspective is probably a good thing. Needless to say, anything in the way of housekeeping, cleaning up, etc is completely out of the question. Some would say "luckily". Back to the Good Doctor tomorrow for a change of dressing and an update of stuff.

Thanks heaps to all those that enquired if I was dead. Obviously, not quite yet.

Image above from http://www.elfram.com/blog/glenyce_right_cheek_for_blog.jpg

Cinemagraphic Bacchanalia

Watched Balibo last night on the TV (remember that piece of technology?!) and just returned from seeing Social Network - which cost the exorbitant price of 20 bucks (because, I am told, it was on the iMax screen) ... in a nearly empty cinema.

Yep, both good movies, although Balibo with its heavy political theme it sort of Missed The Boat in not mentioning the government cover-ups etc. Social Network was a quite different story (no pun intended) in exposing a few ugly underlying truths.

Interestingly (at least for me, and since this is my blog, this may possibly be the last place on earth - or in cyberspace - where my opinions actually matter) were the trailers. Coming soon the next Nania, Harries Potter, plus sci-fi Skyline.

Walking through the foyer, one couldn't help but not Harry Connick Junior's upcoming Date Due. Wow! At last a library flick? Sadly not ... the time frame referenced relates to child-birth.

Sigh.

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Too much information?

Take a deep breath before checking out the image here. Those of delicate sensibilities should probably do something else. I thought it was amusing, but to each their own. But you have been warned ...
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Where's the Old Site?

It would seem that despite the efforts of the Powers That Be, Warrior Librarian is not quite as dead as some folks might wish.

A colleague is in the process of composing an article on the topic of the Image of Librarians, past, present and future for Access, the journal of the Australian School Library Association.

Said colleague was looking for the World-Famous Online Satirical Journal for Librarians, with its own ISSN and everything; yep, at the time of writing this, Warrior Librarian is still accessible at the old URL - Unfortunately as a Read-Only version.

Seems like a lot of folk miss that small piece of information at the bottom of the index.html page.

That very same customisability is one of the things I miss most about hand-cut html coding. But for now, at least this particular e-format allows folk to maintain the rage, as it were, without undue (and I guess ultimately unnecessary) Net Distress. This is a term I have just coined to describe what many folk have expressed in long outbursts of uncontrollable angst regarding the frustrations of hand-cutting code. If you've been there, you've done that. There isn't a t-shirt, as far as I know.
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A theatrical experience ...

OK, I've spent four days sourcing, sorting, storing and moving boxes. I guess if truth be told, I played more of a 'facilitating' role than an actual physical contributor - but By Golly! Had it not been for the gnashing of teeth and the wringing of hands etc, not much would have actually happened. But this way, we Reclaimed the Site with regard to the spare bedroom, the space under the stairs, and what was laughingly referred to as The Homework Room.


So really it was without any guilt that I trotted off to our local cinema for a few hours comedy relief. What did I think of Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps? Given that I'm apparently not allowed to publish any book reviews (in case I somehow make some sort of gain as "secondary employment"!) , and I still haven't been informed as to whether or not there's a prohibition on other types of reviews, I'm a little hesitant to say very much at this stage.

I can reveal - I believe without risk to myself (although notably I have been wrong in the past) that this movie did not actually run from 6:30pm to 9:30 pm, as shown on the ticket. Sure, the doors opened at 6:30pm, and shortly thereafter the mobile Candy Bar arrived. There were even gaps between the ads and the trailers. They turn the lights off for a reason - so you can't see the time when that movie actually starts. I'm not sure what the reason was for also turning off the air conditioning. But I guess as long as they could still power-up the projector, things were probably largely in our favour.

And no, there hasn't been much change in status to the Home Office Cleanup Project. But thanks for asking.
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Will four days enough?

Today's proactivity was to hire storage space for a 'number' of boxes which can't be tucked into any more corners, under anything, above anything, or anywhere else. Everything that can be trashed has gone - more or less. And quite a few things uncovered that will one day make a fine display in a yard sale.

But just as "you can't clean anything without getting something dirty", a flurry of activity has erupted in other areas of the house (and household). The spare bedroom is going to become a sewing room. Apparently. The former "homework room", once the cobwebs have been removed and the archaeologists have finished their dig in there, will become a sort of shared "Kraft Korner". I am told (by my teenage daughters) I will be allowed to make an appropriate sign saying just that. "Kraft Korner". I am to spell it that way, and not use apostrophes. Is there no end to this cruelty?

Our Home Office will also become semi-devoid of assorted boxes, which will also go into storage. Which I figure is sort of a shame, considering how much time and tape I devoted to giving them that professional archival appearance. On the bright side, after four more days of this level of disruption, it won't be quite so traumatic to go back to the Day Job. Will it?

You'll have to excuse me now for a while. I'm off to check out Neat for inspirational ideas on being ...errr... neat. Which is way better than actually lugging around heavy boxes of stuff.

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Can productivity = fun?

Made using Image Chef (www.imagechef.com), with whom I have no financial or any other relationship. Geez, I don't even know who does their brilliant coding, but by golly! it sure is a lot of fun over there.

When technology meets culture

Maybe it's because it's the end of the footy season here, or the influx of immigrant folk from places where body art has significance in the native culture, but there does seem to be a huge increase in tattooing at the moment. Not that I'm suggesting in any way, shape, or form that there is anything intrinsically wrong with a 'tat', mind you. There used to be a tattooed librarians website.

I'm all in favour of people expressing themselves in any manner that does not impact on anyone else; that said, my kids have been told the consequences of getting tattooed. They will be disinherited; other worthy recipients will be identified and have have our accumulated debts bequeathed to them. Possibly someone in Nigeria with several million dollars that they have to dispose of quickly.

But back to the issue of tattooing. I couldn't work out why The Other Half's jaw dropped when I told him I was popping out "to get some ink". And the visible relief when I returned with a twin pack of printer cartridges.

Is truth stranger than fiction?
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Upgrading overdue notices?

I was looking for a novel way to present overdue notices; but could only produce a novella. (It's OK to laugh here ... I did.)

Anyways, it occurred to me that one problem with the effectiveness of such reminders is that being generally small and flat, they tend to get lost. OK, they get thrown away in many cases, particularly by recurrent recalcitrants. Making them bigger would only lead to the backs being used for shopping lists, or plot outlines - dependent of course on the identity of the defaulter.



That left only the option to change the shape - but into something that might be considered "fun" for the sender as well as the recipient. I have not patented this idea, nor do I intend to do so. You have my blessing to use as-is, adapt, modify or otherwise alter in any way to suit your purpose.

However, given the recent past history of my more creative innovations, it may be best to check with the NSW government to see if they want to claim copyright on this, me being an employee and all ...

You can find one set of instructions for making a Creative Overdue Teller here, but please note I have no affiliation with that website and do not receive any pecuniary rewards from same. It was the first one to come up on a Google search for "fold fortune teller".

Disclaimer: I am not cognisant of my employer's relationship with the above linked website, although I am given to understand there is a financial relationship between them and Google.

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I've been busy ...

I ought to feel thoroughly ashamed of myself for being so slack in the blogging department, but I do have a good excuse. I've been busy. I have just completed my seventh morning schedule of these holidays. It's been a gruelling program of events each day, commencing with the struggle to disentangle myself from the doona, and throw myself into the herculean (Herculean?) task of getting to the kitchen to make coffee. On each and every one of these days, I've managed to fulfil these two particular tasks before lunchtime - although on a couple of occasions, it needed a redefinition of the time frame of "lunchtime".

Nevertheless, I'd like to argue with anyone who says that the body does not need downtime to regenerate not only physically, but mentally and spiritually. Mind you, I'm free to take on anyone who would have the temerity to disagree with me on any topic. Unless they're awful to me, or shout or something.

Having thus reached a stage where I can at least attempt to communicate with my faithful fan, I thought it might be amusing to show the world how much progress has been made in the Home Office Cleanup Project. But to save myself yet more embarrassment, here's a picture of my cat up a tree. Enjoy.

So everyone now wants my copyright?

Still being in "discussion" with the NSW Department of Education and Training regarding "ownership" of educational material hosted on Warrior Librarian (and written by me), it seems now that the Victorian Department of Education is also claiming copyright ... not just of the Information Literacy Online resource, but apparently the whole Warrior Librarian website!!!

Investigation Reflections ...

My good friend Ashleigh Brilliant (OK, we had lunch together once a few years back, when he and his good wife were in Sydney) once wrote: "I hope one day to be important enough to be investigated by a government department'.

It's amazing to think that even if you *aren't* important you can still get investigated. At tax payer expense. And nothing more 'criminal' found than you didn't ask yourself permission to give your own work away.

An added irony is the fact that said government department also wants to claim copyright on a body of writing that basically demonstrates that same department's incompetence in comprehending copyright.

As one of Australia's most famous criminals also once said "Such is life". Mind you, they hanged him just after he said it. Which in itself is a valuable lesson, I guess.

Smellchuck corrections?

Haven't stopped smiling since seeing the student essay on the political influence of "socialites like Karl Marx" and the revolutionary changes in Russia. I now have an unshakable mental picture of ladies Of A Certain Age swanning around in evening gowns and diamonds, being photographed at posh soirees and complaining about the food and the service ... and having chefs and sommeliers sent to Siberia ... with maitre d's being downgraded to maitre E's or F's.

Seems like the upcoming vacation break could be just in time?

"Can I have a note?"

"Miss, Miss ... can I go to the ...." toilets, office, clinic, canteen, Deputy, here, there, everywhere. "Can I have a note?" "Can I?" "A note, Miss, please". "Can I have a note?" A what? "A note!"

So I gave him a high-C. At least, that's what I attempted. Sounded pretty good too, at least to me :-)

The Great Picture Book Lesson ...

... is on tomorrow with Year 7. The MS PowerPoint is ready to go, as is the trolley ("cart" to many) full of exemplar tomes. I'm feeling pretty chuffed with myself, after working out a great segue from "types" of visual texts to the visual elements of the same.

I'd intended to speak briefly about the history of Beowulf; show a scan of one page of very dense text from a verrrry old edition; view a short - as in nine seconds - clip from the movie where the dragon comes over the parapet, then sprint into the graphic novel cover and talk about the use of colour, line, etc in depicting the dragon. Sounds all pretty engaging, huh?

The first nine seconds of this clip was going to be the introduction to the "artistic elements":



But the movie has a M rating; the policy being that M-rated multimedia cannot be used with under 15 years of age. So instead, the kiddies will get 9 seconds of Jurassic Park with the T-Rex shredding real live "familiar" stuff in a contemporary setting. But it's OK, Jurassic Park is rated PG.

So there you go! Sigh.

Fun with Xtranormal