Disaster Recovery Plans

Are you that special "one in three hundred"?

Never thought much about it before, but so many of my exceptionally talented colleagues are goal-orientated, intolerant of policies and practices that are illogical and counter-productive, have an exceptional eye for detail, are highly intelligent, often viewed by workmates as "a bit odd" (and sometimes downright weird), achieve "the impossible"; creative, original thinkers ... is there a common factor?



Just something to think about. You know how to find more information.

TV Serialization of Tim Winton's Cloudstreet

Watch for the world premier, starting 22nd May 2011 ... view the trailer: http://showtime.com.au/cloudstreet/

The only other news is that today I found out - via the minutes of a meeting - that my substantive position is to be filled by a casual teacher "for the foreseeable future". That's a new one on me - I thought I was on sick leave, not dead. I appreciate the "heads-up" guys. Nice one.

A brand new era?

See and See also: http://warriorlibrarian.com/LIBRARY/advocacy.html

The state elections are over, a new government will sit at Macquarie Street, complete with documented promises of what will be and won't be happening during their administration. The state's media are full of news from the last 24 hours, and promises unwrapped overnight like the Christmases of our childhoods. But there's particularly pertinent correspondence dated 23rd October 2007.

I wonder if our new premier is still reading his Facebook Blog?

Disharmony on Harmony Day

March 21 was Harmony Day. The display (pictured here, in an unfinished state) was well underway, "show bag" fillers were ready for packing (bookmark, HDay balloon, candies and more), The Library Competition was going to be Pin the Leader (eg Nelson Mandela, Churchill, Gandhi, Lincoln ... and more) onto the map of the world.

So what happened? As always, the back story is a long but interesting one - and starts with "Other Duties as Directed".


To cut to the chase, I had a half-day sick leave weeks ago, related to the School Imperative for "all teachers" to take sport. As an aside "all teachers" have a limit on the number of students they supervise, and the number of hours "on duty" - which strangely apparently doesn't apply to Teacher Librarians.

I know I'm going to take another "hit" for that disclosure, so please remember that I'm speaking on behalf of myself only, and not as a spokes librarian for my employer. Nor am I the voice of my profession. There are apparently (again) others who do not find any incongruity, anomaly nor injustice in this situation. Or maybe just too intimidated to speak out about it?

Anyways, I went back to work the next day after that half-day (actually 3 hours) sick leave, and the day after that. The third day following, "news" arrived via three different contacts - two phone calls plus a letter via regular mail. Not to go back to work until after a Return to Work plan had been devised, and a meeting held. That's The Way We Do It. The Process. The Protocol.

When nothing much happened after a week, apart from a lot of paper shuffling, I ventured in on Harmony Day ... there was still time to set up the show bags; the competition was a write-off. Well, it would seem that I was wrong. What a surprise. Not. Sent home with harsh words, as The Plan hadn't been done, and The Meeting hadn't been scheduled. Yet another week on, and still nothing.

Harmony Day? Pffft.

Well, I'm off to cast my vote in the State Election. Hopefully the Incumbent Party will be able to have a close look at these particular Protocols and Procedures. As for Justice, probably best to check closed stacks or more likely archives ...

"I'll fight you for the library"

This says it all ....

Alone and friendless?

I didn't have anything to do with this, except stumbling across it .... the NSW Department of Education [sic] has a FaceBook page! Well gee and golly, who doesn't these days? The remarkable thing about it is the fact that not a single person has 'liked' it.

I don't know how many 'entities' have FB pages at the moment, but I've never seen one with a "zero" in the Like Counter. But just remember, I had nothing to do with this, nor others like this Telegraph one ...

Book of Lost Things

It's now old news, but still congrats to Australian Author Shaun Tan for the Academy Award for his animated film of his book The Lost Thing. A search for suitable clips produced only very short trailers, so here instead is:



Note for Jay and mates: No, I didn't get paid anything by Shaun Tan, the Academy Awards, The Motion Film industry, You Tube, The Internet, or anyone associated with any of the preceding. Or indeed anyone else.

Looming Elections

Knowing that the minions of my employer are now regular readers of this blog, it behoves me to point out that I am not responsible for the following video - I merely draw attention to it in the interests of information dissemination.

Whilst the media and anyone on the planet will tell you, incumbent government looks set for defeat, and the likely election winners - not that there's any choice - are if nothing else introducing a little humour into the campaign.

This is good for the average Joe and Jane Citizen (or Bruce and Sheila, to put it into the Aussie Context); if we have to sit through a campaign with a forgone conclusion, let's at least enjoy it. After all, it's all done with tax-payer money that could have been much more wisely spent on say hospitals, transport infrastructure, school libraries ...



In the interests of "fairness", international or interstate blog readers, or those who may have just emerged from decade in a coma, may wish to view the video of the actual premier making an actual apology. It's current available at You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXUy9qr9nXs although it may be removed after the elections on 26th March 2011.

Disclaimer: No, I didn't get paid for anything, or by anybody, for any reason, related to this video.

Monty Python Bookshop Sketch

Librarian Recruitment: Not an exciting campaign

Note: The company advertising (above) is not endorsed by this website or its creator.

Printer Error? (Language Warning)

Found this while on "hold" ... too good not to share!

Many a true word ....

The top sign has been around for at least 20 years; the lower one is priceless (Captured Caption says MthruF.com. Photo accessed from Failblog.org; holder of IP rights unknown.)

Just for Laughs: Musical Bookshelf

Musical Book Shelf Arrangement @ Yahoo! Video

Would you read this book? "The Apothecary"

This is the first part of an original "e-manuscript" for which all intellectual property rights are reserved by the author (me). Hope you enjoy these first 500 words - and hopefully not only because they're free.

-------------------------------------------

THE APOTHECARY

The Apothecary and the cat sat in the bath in companionable silence. Each lost in their own thoughts, or possibly in mute reflection. It was impossible to tell the difference.

The bath, a large old-fashioned clawed-foot type, sat in the centre of a sparse room notable only for the black and white floor tiling and stark white walls. Those privileged few who had seen this room could visualise this scene in a motivational poster with captions referring to attributes such as austerity or minimalism, or perhaps emptiness. If only it were not for the existence of the two occupants of the bath.

Many thought the Apothecary to be elderly, given the wispy nature of his long grey hair and the extraordinary length of his dirty grey beard; the later he kept in a straggly plait whilst the former was too sparse for such formality.

Little can be said of the cat, being a standard ginger tabby, other than the fact that its coat was waterlogged and its whiskers drooping. And, of course, the fact that it was sitting in a tub of water by its own choice.

The Apothecary was an enigma. His neighbours knew little about him. There was rarely any noise from his small, narrow terrace in a row of similarly non-descript houses. As far as those with whom he shared a driveway knew, he kept regular working hours and appeared to walk to whatever occupied his days. He kept no car, and had never been known to have gone away for any more than a single day.

Had anyone asked, none of the other residents would be able to recall any visitors. Salesmen and charity collectors did not call at the Apothecary’s house. The low iron-railed front gate was kept locked. And yet all would agree he was pleasant enough in his responses to casual greetings by others. The Apothecary did not initiate conversations.

In truth, the people in his street felt better acquainted with the cat. It spent its days sitting on the window sill of the only window that fronted the street, until the Apothecary came home in the afternoons and pulled down the blind. The cat was mainly motionless throughout the day, apart from the constant twitching of its tail. Not even the occasional bird that perched briefly in the pocket-sized and cemented front yard could produce any response from the cat.

A group of young hooligans once theorised that the cat was mechanical, and threw a rock at the window. The cat flattened its ears and bared its teeth, but if it hissed those beyond the glass could not hear it. There was, however, no doubt in their minds that the cat was glaring at them with such malevolence that they were convinced they should spend their energies elsewhere.

Had the cat cared, it would not have been uncomfortable with being referred to by its species. The Apothecary, had he known, would perhaps have been puzzled by the title given to him by the strangers that lived around him. He knew little more about chemistry than his cat. It was history that bound the two together.

To be continued ....

Whew! For a moment there ...

My email in-box is once again flooded an outpouring (or maybe inpouring?) of information of highly variable interest - at least to me. I'm sure the senders, spammers excluded, were enthusiastic in their desire to share various bits with those on their mailing list.

One message in particular caught my eye; the venerable and conservative State Library of New South Wales was notified of a March. Had the current trend to library militancy struck? Nah. "March at the Library" is a listing of the events for this month.

Ah well, back to the Silk Purse Project.

"Author, Author"

Apropos of nothing in particular, today's quote of the day comes from Jerome K. Jerome, whom I first read as a teenager - due only to the fact that I was told that I "wouldn't understand it". Which, incidentally, was correct. I've since re-read Three Men in a Boat twice, and I'm happy to say I do now actually "get" it.

JKJ (which you notice is incredibly close to JKR, but without the same magnitude of fiscal reward) is credited with saying "Idleness, like kisses, to be sweet must be stolen."

I'm not sure that I completely agree with this, as I find I often have to not only schedule my idleness but also make arrangements for an appropriate venue - otherwise it just doesn't happen. Any other attempted dormancy is almost instantly detected by the Fun Police and immediately terminated. To be honest, I'm not certain that the amount of work involved qualifies the "down time" as idleness in the purest sense.

Maybe I'm missing JKJ's message? "Stolen", as in taken from someone else? Would that mean I need to find someone else being idle, then give them my work so I can partake of their dormancy? Gee, I don't' think that's going to work either. Sigh.

Fine Dining and Information Accuracy

A personal recommendation for those dining in Blacktown Australia - officially the nation's largest city, population wise; you could do a lot worse than Hi-lights Revolving Restaurant.

Although only five stories high, you'll get views you couldn't hope to obtain in the finest eateries in New York, Paris, London, Fargo, etc.

Taking around an hour for one complete revolution, during an average mealtime you'll be treated to sites such as the roof of the Blacktown Council Chambers where you can marvel at the vast array of telecommunications equipment; the Westpoint shopping mall rooftop car park where with luck get to watch a real-life Grand Theft Auto in progress; the vista of Blacktown railway station, which was recently awarded the Highest Crime Location on the metropolitan CityRail network; plus distant views to a large number of arterial roadways.

We partook of a fine repast last night, for reasons that would take too long to explain here. (I do try to keep posting to less than 5,000 words.) I chose the rib-eye steak, which although was cooked to perfection, was accompanied by the world's smallest sides; 2IC had the barramundi (fish and chips); and little Miss Sophistication elected the Hamburger and Fries option. Dessert was satisfactorily lacking in nutritional merit.

While the live pianist was a nice touch, my small imbibing of beverages (of the type prohibited at most work sites) did not stop me from detecting the flaw in the musician's repertoire; in celebrating with some other diners at the venue, he played "Happy birthday to me" rather than "Happy birthday to you". It's that sort of sloppy attention to detail that could destroy an otherwise excellent dining experience.

Look who is advertising themselves ...

I had to read it twice. Yes, it's real. No, I have not included a link.

Note that "this advert is not endorsed by this blog". It was found on the sidebar of a Facebook Page.

The good thing (for me at least) that as I have not yet lost the capacity for surprise, clearly I have not yet become jaded by the "offerings" of the Internet - as well as those other Professional Places Of Which We Will Not Speak. At least, not here, and not now ....

Published Article # 1 for 2011

Sydney broadsheet Sydney Morning Herald yesterday published my latest offering, in the infamous Column 8 section. I'm so glad that I'm not the only one amused by my musings ... otherwise there may be those who have "mental health concerns" about me. No, wait! That complaint has already been made ...