January 26, 2009

SysGrunt, or DILOLibrarian

Occasionally, I post what I call SysGrunts, in a tip-o-the-hat to the original RefGrunt blog. I'm also now involved in the Library Day in the Life project. This is my Day in the Life sysgrunt for Monday, January 26th. Whee!

Boot up, make coffee.
Read emails.
Put on hat for primary job.
Scan final form for year-end financial report, send to SLA.
Search and restore a problematic CAD drawing from backups for a designer.
Email.
Having been tagged by two more people in the "25 things" meme, actually wrote it.
Further editing on specification document.
Email.
Lunch.
Process newly-released document.
Continue implementation of traceback analysis database.
Bang on desk in frustration; go for brief walk to cool down.
Email.
Change hats to secondary job.
Continue work on configuration process in DocuShare. Make some progress, then bork.
Change back to primary job.
More search-and-restore of problematic CAD files....but first,
Upgrade SolidWorks to 2009SP2.
Read some biblioblogs while the update runs.
Confirm lack of notification of configuration process step. Stew some more about it.
Wait some more on the upgrade...63% now!
Email.
And now it's 5pm. Upgrade only at 66%, will leave running overnight.

Random Mondays

And now, a random list of things you should know about!

* 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy. (You'll probably hear more from me later about this.)

* 2009 is also (bonus!) the Year of Science.

* In the spirit of both these things, check out the Milky Way Transit Map. (via Folderol)

* I am, it seems, a Lawful Good Human Sorcerer in the D&D world. What D&D character would you be?

25 Random Things

Hey, random musings on random things! Heh. Have been poked multiple times on Facebook for this, so posted it there, then thought, hey, I love sharing random things! (See the next post, too.) So, here goes: 25 random things, facts, habits or goals about me.

1. I'm a military brat, which explains why...
2. I lived in 11 different places before I...
3. Left home for a college on the other side of the world from my family when I was 17.
4. I went to school on a military scholarship, to study aerospace engineering.
5. I blew out my knee in basic training, lost my scholarship, and changed majors to astronomy.
6. Astronomy changed my life!
7. I'm a voracious reader, and always have been.
8. I love to dance, particularly bellydancing. I would dance every day if my knees allowed.
9. I'm addicted to coffee (quite literally).
10. If money were no object, I'd be a forensic archaeologist.
11. I dislike raw tomatoes intensely. Also eggplant.
12. I learned to scuba dive when I lived in Hawaii. I miss it.
13. I never thought I'd be a wife, let alone a mother. (Both states are pretty cool!)
14. I never thought I'd be published as a writer.
15. A goal this year is to dance more often.
16. I fight the lure of World of Warcraft almost every day.
17. My husband and I were married at the Grand Canyon.
18. I have six tattoos, and often wonder what my next one will be.
19. Sometimes I dream in HTML.
20. I'm totally and completely surprised by how much I enjoy working out regularly.
21. Airports I have run through include Reykjavik, Santiago, Tenerife, and Gatwick.
22. Bugs - especially large ones that are unexpectedly nearby - make me scream.
23. I run my high school alumni web site.
24. I can't predict the weather for beans (seriously, I've lost the summer monsoon pool for three years in a row now).
25. Just seeing my son makes me smile.

I tagged folks in FB; if you have a burning desire to share, consider yourself tagged too!

January 13, 2009

Mercedes' Naughty Librarian Car

Well, it's been a while since we've had a comparison between librarians and cars. Thankfully, John Matras of the Phoenix Examiner has ended the hiatus, albeit in a sideways manner; I suspect most of us wouldn't mind being compared to a Mercedes-Benz!

In his "Road Test: 2009 Mercedes-Benz CL550 4Matic car review; Mercedes' naughty librarian" he brings up the "dowdy librarian type", and then says Mercedes has kind of been like that lately... "Good, solid, well-built and dependable, but with the sex appeal of a German banker in a dark-blue double-breasted pin-striped suit. With a watch fob." The rest of the article goes on to laud the changes in design and engineering that appear in the car.

I'd rather be a Mercedes than a Honda, you know.

January 12, 2009

'Typical' Library School Students

And lo, it continues:

At a new-to-me blog, Closed Stacks, Miss Information (one of five bloggers) posted A ‘typical’ library school student in December. A currently-enrolled MLS student, she writes "It is strange but invigorating to find oneself pursuing a career that has such powerful stereotypes behind it."

Nope, this topic ain't dead.

January 7, 2009

99 Things Blogchain

First seen over at Stephen's Lighthouse, then at Hedgehog Librarian, started by Walt at Random (I like blogchain): my 99 Things.

Things you’ve already done: bold
Things you want to do: italicize
Things you haven’t done and don’t want to - leave in plain font

1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii. (lived there!)
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland/world. (Want to go again with my son.)
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch. (Does CSS count?)
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables. (I have such a black thumb, it's not even worth trying.)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a marathon.
28. Ridden a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run. (This is a sports thing, right?)
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language. (I'd settle for relearning one of the ones I've forgotten.)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David in person.
41. Sung Karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant. (I've paid for someone's coffee, does that count?)
44. Visited Africa. (I especially want to go to Egypt and Morocco.)
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted. (I was six. My mom and dad still have it.)
48. Gone deep sea fishing.

49. Seen the Sistine chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling. (oh, I miss scuba...)
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater.
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business. (also: Ended a business.)
58. Taken a martial arts class (Tang Soo!)
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served at a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood. (Back when I was allowed to, at least. Can't now, very sad.)
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp. (Extremely sobering and thought-provoking
experience.)
67. Bounced a check. (Sadly.)
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten Caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt. (Not like my mom does, though!)
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person. (Got married there, actually.)
80. Published a book. (Coming soon!)
81. Visited the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper.
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swum in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.

Happy New Year!

Happy 2009, everyone. In the spirit of the other new year memes running around, here's a summary of my 2008, although nowhere near in as much detail. (I'm too tired for details!)
  • All Year: Got a contract to write a book. Wrote the book. Became even more in awe of people who write books for a living. (PS - reviewed the galley proof over the holidays - it's even closer now to being a Real Dead Tree Thing!) Continued to be amazed by my son.
  • Mid Year: Began working up to half time for a second large telescope construction project. It's been quite interesting, working on a completely different document management system, and it's a good crowd. Also rocked another SLA, and got to see my folks.
  • End Year: Survived another round of major microscope reviews at the first large telescope construction project. Learned that moderating the Cybertours at Internet Librarian is tougher than you'd think. Got to see my in-laws.
It was an exhausting, exhilarating, nerve-wracking, and fun year. 2009 should bring more of the same (only different!). I have two resolutions: keep working on living healthy, and dance more.

Here's to 2009!