So, I sit here, working on homework (well, not this VERY second, I am updating my blog...something I am hoping to do more often)... and I realize that tomorrow I have work AND school. I will be out of the house from around 6:00 am to 9:00 pm. Not only will I have to figure out breakfast and lunch, but also dinner. This is always a trick. Especially since I always end up feeling like a chicken with my head cut off. I start off with the best of intentions, I really do. But somehow, things get away from me and I end up with Instant Lunch and a granola bar. 
This past weekend I purchased some lovely croutons and Caesar salad dressing, romaine lettuce, with all intentions of having some beautiful salads...I forgot chicken. Now, I could go out and get some chicken, but really, I am not going to cook it. It is already 4:00. I need to work on my paper. So, there that goes. I suppose I could have it without chicken, but then it is hardly dinner. I guess it is a good thing I like instant lunch and granola bars.
Dinner...lunch...whatever
I'm a feminist. So?
Yes. I am a feminist. Why aren't you?
I read Bitch Magazine.
I vote.
I believe I should get paid the same amount as any man.
I also believe men should get paternity leave.
I used to try to ignore the things that bothered me...the ads and posters that objectified women. I am over it. I will now speak out.
Why? Because I am a feminist. I am proud.
Why aren't you?
What is your favorite lame kids joke? (e.g.: Why was six afraid of seven? Because seven ate nine!)
What is your favorite lame kids joke? (e.g.: Why was six afraid of seven? Because seven ate nine!)
Who is smarter now...
Do you ever want to stand up and yell “Its not BRAIN SURGERY PEOPLE??” Just curious… cause sometimes I have that reaction.
But then I remind myself that not everyone is a rocket scientist, because then there would be nobody to bag my groceries. Then I think about the guy who bagged my groceries last time. I get upset because they put my laundry detergent on top of my bread and again logic fails me.
#1. Ya don’t put heavy stuff on top of soft stuff; it mushes. It would be like putting a cinderblock on top of the eggs. Which I wouldn't put beyond this guy.
#2. NEVER put food stuff in with chemicals. For the same reason you don’t put fresh fruit in with raw chicken. Its basic food safety.
This isn’t string theory. You don’t need to be a physicist to understand!
And see? Now I am all worked up again. And so now we are all bagging our own food after we checked out our own groceries because they realized that if they just did it wrong for long enough, we would get fed up enough do it for them.
So who is the real genius if you think about it…
Family...with a capital F.
I feel like I need to write about family today. To remember why they are important and why we love them. Possibly it is because I have spent a lot of time lately with a particular member of my family that is difficult to like, but I still love. Perhaps that is why family is so important in the end... even when they don't like you so much, when you fail, after you have said some stupid hurtful things, they will still be there for you. Nobody is perfect. We all have flaws, we all make mistakes, and without family to pick us up, help us out, life would be intolerable.
I am lucky. While my physical family is quite small compared to many, the number of those I consider family is quite large.
I think today is a good day to count our blessings of friends and family and remember that even those who drive us nuts and make us crazy, try to think of one reason we love them, even if that reason is only because they are family and we HAVE to.
I feel OLD...
So, I found this link on twitter and it got me to thinking of some other things that this year's college freshman may not know or ways they are different... It truly is different.
They have never known a world without the Internet.
They have never known a world without cellular phones.
They likely have never had a walkman...or a cassette tape.
Condoms have always been advertised on TV and the radio.
...so have prescription drugs.
The Gulf War was history, not memory.
NAFTA has always existed.
Who is Anita Hill?
There has never been an X rating.
The Simpsons has always been on TV.
Princess Diana was never 'happy' with Prince Charles.
Waco is synonymous with cult instead of electric kool-aid... which is unfortunate because it was actually drugged grape Flavor-Aid that was used by Jim Jones.
Michael Jackson was always an 'alleged' pedophile.
Don't Ask Don't Tell has always been the policy for gays in the military. No wonder we are sick of it.
Leno has always hosted The Tonight Show.
They have always had Microsoft Windows.
Rap music has always been played on top 40 radio stations.
In 1992 the base price for a Toyota Corolla was $9,718.
A stamp cost $0.29.
A gallon of gas was $1.05.
Knowing now what I didn't then? Priceless.
What has been bugging me
A consortia is a group of organizations that group together to achieve a common goal. Many libraries are part of a consortium to provide a larger number of resources for the members. Many times, those who benefit from the consortium aren't even aware it exists.
So here comes the drag.
North Suburban Library System. It is the consortium that the libraries in Lake County, IL belonged to, as well as a few in the surrounding counties. They handled the inter-library loan. They provided programming for continuing education for the librarians. They helped negotiate lower costs for subscriptions to electronic databases.
This is now all in the past tense.
The governor of Illinois has cut the budget so deep that there is no more money for libraries. NSLS has shut its doors. Most people won't notice right away. They will when they need a book that isn't at their local library. Last month, that book was a phone call or a mouse click away. NSLS would arrange for it to be delivered to the nearest branch. Next month? You're on your own. They will notice when their children 'forgot' there was a report due tomorrow and the library closed twenty minutes ago. Now? Hop online and access one of the databases available from home. Next year? Who knows? There may not be as many options.
This is the beginning of the end. When will people see that a community without a strong library is a poor community? A good library indicates a good school system.
So now I write. I try to remind those who don't know. I will send letters. Real paper. E-mails. Postcards. Will you?
Apple Junkie
Yep, that is me. I am an Apple FanGirl. I have currently sitting here writing this on my MacBook, with my iPad at my side, I have my iPod in my purse and my shuffle charging in my room. I used to be a PC but I am SO over it. I have seen the light and will NEVER go back.
I do have other stuff to write about but I need to compose those thoughts a little further. It involves budgets and politics and all that craziness.
My latest 'school' related purchase.
Yes, I used school as my excuse. And yes, I will use it for school because I can read all those pdf files on it. I am averaging 3-4 a week for my class... So yeah, I mostly got it for school. 
30 Beautiful Old Bird Books
30 Beautiful Old Bird Books
I came across this via ALA Direct and felt I should share it with you. It is a collection of beautiful bird books. How could I not pass this link on? It combines my favorite things!! Birds and Books! I do hope you enjoy them as much as I did. All three of you, my dedicated readers.
Shortest update on the planet.
Been busy. Work. School. Life. Not in that order.
Christmas is in a week. Nowhere near ready. Can I skip it this year?
Wondering how I am going to handle spring semester. I signed up for 2 classes. What was I thinking? Oh...I wasn't really.
Well. Back to work on my paper. Nearing the finish line. Just have to add my quotes and write the conclusion. I am pretty sure that I will get that done tonight and even have time to print and proofread before the holiday party tomorrow night.
I think I am going to take a run to the Starbucks for a latte. I deserve it. Even if I didn't deserve it, I need the boost.
Miles to go before I sleep...miles to go.
Baking Cookies
I am baking chocolate chip cookies. There are two reasons I love baking when nobody is home for two reasons.
1. Because when people come in the house, they make that Ooooh, Cookies! Smells good! sound when they walk in the door.
and two?
I always get the first oooey gooey cookie out of the oven. It always tastes the best!
SyFy changed its name today
New Name for Old Channel?
So, I was completely out of the loop on this one. This apparently is old news, but I was watching the tube with the folks (special thanks to Poppers for fixing the lamp on the thing!) and I noticed that Sci-Fi channel is now calling itself SyFy. Okay, I can totally understand the marketing arguments, I can also understand those who are saying they changed their name because the channel is mostly poo with a tiny sprinkle of science fiction on top.
Maybe if they spent half as much on the shows as they do on those silly self promotion ads for the channel you are currently watching they might have some decent programming.
Then again, maybe not.
I do find it somewhat irritating. I don't like change.
Hello... I'm a Mac.
I have done it. I have made the switch. Well, not entirely, but I am working on it.
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| From The Unfinished Adventures of Raging ADD Girl |
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| From The Unfinished Adventures of Raging ADD Girl |
Hot Library Smut
No, seriously. It is totally hot library smut.
Check it out here!!!
Yeah... I'm a freak
The Inauguration.
My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted or for those who prefer leisure over work- seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path toward prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sanh.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions- that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act- not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions- who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them- that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account- to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day- because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: Know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort- even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are
a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are haped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment- a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism- these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility a recognition, on the part of every American,that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence- the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered
these words be read to the people: "Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive ... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."
America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
Public library denies 4 year old a library card
Because he couldn't write his name in the little box. Apparently that is their rule. Wonder if they would deny an war vet a library card if he lost his/her limbs a library card... It is SO wrong on SO many levels. According to the Library Bill of Rights (per the ALA, of which I am a member...) A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views. They need to issue that child a library card and an apology!
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