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Friday, July 16, 2004
Are all librarians this much trouble?
Posted by Lis Riba at 3:50 PM
 Hee. This afternoon, I found myself in a discussion on how the Hogwarts library might be organized. And I just realized that several people on my friends list really need to join SLOF. Meanwhile, thanks to our downstairs tenant, we may finally have enough bookshelves not only to get every book in the house shelved, but we have enough shelf space to actually put our library in some semblance of order. He's already brought four bookcases in and two more are on their way. So, just to document what we're doing, here's how I hope to organize our library (pending Ian's approval -- I've discussed much of this with him, but modifications may occur) along with some peeves about library organization schemes in general. A few basic principles: We are limited by our existing space as to how many bookcases and where they go.
That's about all the guidelines I can think of off the top of my head. After we finish all this, I'd love to get a program like Readerware and catalog it all. But that's probably a long way off. Let's just get everything shelved and organized first. Finally, speaking of librarianship, several people I read have pointed out this New York Times article about a chain letter used book exchange. Sounds somewhat interesting, and as we're going thru our library I can certainly see books I wouldn't mind weeding in exchange for a potluck selection... 
Riddle me this
Posted by Lis Riba at 10:15 AM
Okay, everybody who submitted a guess in last week's Old English riddle was pretty much correct. The answer was bread dough. According to the commentary that accompanies the answer, "In playful fashion the riddle is also an elaborate and punningly obscene etymological joke since the Old English word for 'lord' means literally 'guardian of the loaf,' and the word for 'lady,' literally 'kneader of the dough.' The lady in question is presumably making more than cakes." So I guess that one was easier than I thought. It's tough figuring out which riddles to post. I'm trying to find something that will actually be a challenge but is also fair for a modern audience. I mean, how many people know what a harrow is well enough to recognize it when disguised with a riddle's description? At any rate, here are two more, one of them blatantly unfair (in a fun way). I am the lone wood in the warp of battle, and A weird creature came to a meeting of men, Well, there you go. Give me your best guesses. I'll post the solutions next Friday. Also, please let me know what you think of this feature and whether you wish me to continue it. And do you prefer the more straightforward riddles (if there is such a thing) or should I just stick to the naughty double entendres?
Thursday, July 15, 2004
A word in the hand?
Posted by Lis Riba at 5:20 PM
Two phrases worth getting into the public lexicon to combat some of the existing GOP-favoring memes:
Link salad
Posted by Lis Riba at 11:42 AM
Lots of little things catching my eye that I don't feel like writing lengthy posts about. So instead, I'll offer one lengthy post covering them all:
I'll close with some humor. Selections from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Vent column (via corrente):
Narf!
Which is worse?
Posted by Lis Riba at 8:30 AM
The fact that they're introducing Dazzler into the next X-Men movie, or that she'll be played by Jessica Simpson? Added later: Fark recently held a photoshopping contest in honor of I, Robot for other ways Hollywood might butcher good books. Somehow, the scariest entries are the real ones. Added yet later: 20th Century Fox is denying the Dazzler story as a rumor, saying that they don't yet have a finalized script for X-Men 3 and nobody has been cast yet. Given the number of false rumors about who will be playing Voldemort in the fourth Harry Potter movie (including Rowan Atkinson, Ralph Fiennes and John Malkovich), I probably should've known better. [Credit to Alex Knapp for pointing this out.]
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
Natural election?
Posted by Lis Riba at 8:45 PM
The concern seems to be what to do if something (an attack or natural disaster) happens on Election Day, preventing a large portion of some population from reaching the polls to cast their ballots. Crazy question, but why do we need to have an Election Day? Why not an Election Week or something longer than 24 hours? It's unlikely that any disaster would force the polls closed for an entire week. Plus, this would also be a boon for people who might have busy schedules or personal emergencies that might keep them from the polls on an election day. Again, one is more likely to be able to find some time within a weeklong timeframe than in one particular day. This system might make it harder for exit pollsters to predict the results of an election, as voters would probably be trickling in at a slower pace over a longer period of time. [And, frankly, I don't think that's such a bad thing.] Might also benefit general "get out the vote" efforts -- if you need to drive (frex) senior citizens to the polls, you can schedule it over a whole week, rather than trying to cram them all in on one day. I believe Oregon has implemented something similar -- ballots are mailed out to all registered voters, which they can fill out at their own leisure and either mail back or drop off at designated places. Votes aren't counted until the end of "election day," even though people have been casting ballots for most of the week. Anybody closer to Oregon able to say how well that worked for them? And if that is a feasible plan, what would it need to implement it nationwide?
Now here's an amendment I can support!
Posted by Lis Riba at 3:21 PM
Just noticed on Boston.com that the State Legislature approved a new constitutional amendment that actually expands citizens' rights, rather than taking rights away (as most recently proposed amendments attempt to do). The text of the amendment goes as follows: Upon ratification of this amendment and thereafter, it shall be the obligation and duty of the Legislature and executive officials, on behalf of the Commonwealth, to enact and implement such laws as will ensure that no Massachusetts resident lacks comprehensive, affordable and equitably financed health insurance coverage for all medically necessary preventive, acute and chronic health care and mental health care services, prescription drugs and devices. Wouldn't it be nice if health care were among our constitutionally protected rights? The amendment was introduced by a citizen petition. For more information, see the Health Care for Massachusetts Campaign, which has loads more information. [Apparently the wording is modelled after the clause in the Massachusetts constitution that makes education the responsibility of the state. And if it's the state's duty to encourage healthy minds among its citizenry, how much moreso for healthy bodies?] BTW, the Boston.com article also points out that another proposed amendment, making judges elected officials instead of appointees, was defeated. I was actually worried about that one, because elected judges become beholden to the majority, weakening the ability of the judiciary to stand up for minority groups.
L33tspeak
Posted by Lis Riba at 10:45 AM
Saw this quiz on somebody else's LJ and thought it looked cute.
Not entirely true, but close enough. [By the way, do people like these quizzes? I've seen several others I've been taking, but I'm not sure whether to post the results, or if it will just bore the heck out of you all.] My writing plan for this morning didn't work. I polished up the conclusion, but that one scene still escapes me. I can visualize it, but I just can't seem to write it. I wish I could do like Terry Moore and just have the story switch from prose to comic-style illustration for a scene and then back again. Meanwhile, the rest of the story has reached the point where it's starting to feel like overworked bread dough. I shouldn't tinker with it any more. But nyarrgh! <gnashes teeth? And I can't focus on that any more for the day, since I need to continue jobhunting. Finally, through that Jay Leno quote I posted yesterday, I discovered that Associated Press runs a daily column, Comedians on the political campaign with excerpts from Leno, Letterman and Craig Kilborn (no Jon Stewart, alas, but he usually puts at least one video segment from the Daily Show on the website). At any rate, this link will take you to Google News where you can conistently get the latest day's column. Enjoy!
Write away
Posted by Lis Riba at 8:56 AM
It's Wednesday, so time for this week's Free Will Astrology horoscope: To pump up their volume above the prevailing human din, some nightingales in big cities have learned to unleash 95-decibel songs, matching the loudness of a chainsaw. I'd love to see you make a similar push, Cancerian, because let's face it: If your output remains at its current level, you'll continue to be half- invisible, never making the impact you should. So raise your intensity, please. Whatever you've been doing to express your uniqueness, do it louder. However you've been contributing your beauty to the world, do it bigger. The Courage to write: how writers transcend fear suggests overcoming hesitation by writing first thing in the morning, before one is fully awake and capable of putting the brakes on one's creativity. I'm hoping that might help me get past the blocked scene in my current story. Can't quite do it first thing, since I'm sharing a computer with Ian, but I can spend the first hour of my "work day" on it. In which case, I should really stop writing this post and get on with it. Wish me luck!
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
Humor is truth
Posted by Lis Riba at 7:15 PM
Jay Leno (via Janis Cortese):
And Jay Bookman also shares some wise words: It seems like the primary objections to same sex marriage invoke the slippery slope to sex with animals. Rick Santorum's concern over man's best friend, and this bizarre analogy by Texas Senator John Cornyn are only two examples of the widespread Republican concern over bestiality. Therefore... If the real, underlying issue in this debate is the fear that human beings will someday be allowed to marry animals -- if Smoltz, Dailey and others are honestly and truly worried by that prospect -- then let's address that issue head on. Let's pass a Federal Animals, Relationships and Marriage amendment to the U.S. Constitution that outlaws all interspecies marriages, period. Doesn't that sound like a fine proposal? Perhaps we should suggest it to our Congressmen when/if we call them about the Federal Marriage Amendment. (first seen on Wampum)
Run DNC?
Posted by Lis Riba at 2:25 PM
Looking at the list of bloggers invited to cover the DNC, I almost wish I had applied for the program. I know why I didn't -- I really need to be employed full-time before the convention, and if not, will need to be spending most of my time trying to get a job. Still, it's a diverse crowd of amateurs. By the time 2008 rolls around, I'm sure blogging will be much more formal and structured, and I wouldn't have a chance. [Not to mention, the next convention won't be local to me, and thus much less accessible.] Not one single out-of-town blogger has responded to my suggestion of a Boston gettogether. Either they're not interested, they haven't seen my invitation, or there's some other event scheduled that I'm not aware of. If I don't have a full-time job by then, am I crazy for actually wanting to go into Boston during the DNC Convention to sightsee or (more to the point) people watch? I probably wouldn't bring my purse (due to both shoplifting and MBTA security reasons), just a fannypack with a few essentials, and possibly my notepad for anything I wish to record (autographs?). BTW, for people who will be in Massachusetts during the DNC and have free time, the Massachusetts chapter of the National Lawyers Guild is looking for legal observers to impartially witness and document events during demonstrations. Their website includes an explanatory brochure, application to be a DNC observer, and a "comprehensive" manual. For anybody planning on getting involved in the protests, they also offer a Massachusetts Demonstrators' Manual, describing your legal rights and general guidelines on dealing with police. Probably worth a look if you're going to be anywhere in or near demonstrations.
Good Eats
Posted by Lis Riba at 1:45 PM
Since I know several friends who idolize Elton Brown, I thought I should share this eBay auction for an Atlanta house containing the kitchen where Good Eats was filmed. The buyer will also get a dinner for eight personally prepared by Alton Brown himself. There are seventeen days left on this thirty-day auction, and not a single buyer (or even any married ones). Of course, the starting bid is $850,000... Well, a girl can dream, can't she? [via Dirac Angestun Gesept]
Paper cuts?
Posted by Lis Riba at 12:56 PM
On the front page of the online Boston Herald, I found this article: Vending machines for Boston area publications, from freebies to big dailies like the Herald, will be banned on many city streets during the convention. A few years back, the Back Bay Architectural Commission voted to ban newspaper boxes from the area. I remember following the legal battles over this in the Phoenix and Editorial Humor, and other small papers that depended on such boxes for a significant portion of their sales. [I haven't been able to find the final ruling, but the judge allowed newspaper boxes to remain until he issued an opinion. Boxes are still there, so either he ruled in favor of the papers, or he hasn't ruled yet after eighteen months...] [P]ublishers will have to permanently remove vending boxes from MBTA property - both inside and outside of subway and bus stations - under new T anti-terrorism programs. Of course, wire racks are less than worthless any place exposed to the elements. Once again, poor delivery turns what could be a possibly reasonable restriction into something objectionable. The MBTA could've publically announced, "we think opaque newspaper boxes are a security hazard" and worked with the newspaper vendors to reach an amicable solution. Instead, they announced "we're taking down a lot of boxes for this very big event in two weeks, and by the way, we're not letting you put many of them back after it's over." It feels sleazy and deceptive. The MBTA is using the DNC as an excuse for a longer-term policy change that has nothing to do with the Convention.
The system, working as designed?
Posted by Lis Riba at 8:59 AM
Whee! Sometime last night, I gained my 100th reader on the LiveJournal syndicated feed. Back in the days when LJ actually charged syndication points, I could view feeds ranked by number of subscribers. That's no longer operable, but I feel as though I just passed some kind of milestone. [Actually, I was hovering at 99 last month before my little syndication problem that resulted in reposting all entries twice onto friend pages. A few people dropped me over that, and I don't entirely blame them.] At any rate, here is an idea I've now seen twice in two days, and I feel it bears repetition in these pessimistic times. In praise of scorched Earth partisanism Mark Kleiman expressed similar sentiments, even more broadly: Why the Republic probably isn't in grave danger After I showed this quote to Ian, he replied with the old canard that American government was "designed by geniuses to be run by idiots." My in-laws say they were just as worried about our country's future during the Nixon era. We survived that, and we will get through this period as well.
Monday, July 12, 2004
Let America be America again
Posted by Lis Riba at 6:54 PM
I did promise something more uplifting for this post, so here goes. In recent campaign speeches, John Kerry has been using the phrase "Let America be America again." It comes from a Langston Hughes poem. I was unfamiliar with the poem until Chaiya posted it earlier this afternoon. And I thought I'd share it with you folks as well: Let America be America again. Now, some people have been highly critical of this poem, but I like it. America is based on an idea and on ideals. We haven't always lived up to them, and we shouldn't try to whitewash away those faults, but we keep striving. That's a worthwhile message; one I feel is worth sharing.
Sock the vote?
Posted by Lis Riba at 4:22 PM
Following up to yesterday's post, I agree there are some sensible reasons for wanting an election policy in case of the unthinkable. But the people involved and the process they're using do not inspire confidence. Suburban Guerrilla points out that in the 1980s, Cheney and Rumsfeld were involved in a top-secret program "for keeping the federal government running during and after a nuclear war with the Soviet Union. The program called for setting aside the legal rules for presidential succession in some circumstances, in favor of a secret procedure for putting in place a new "President" and his staff. The idea was to concentrate on speed, to preserve "continuity of government," and to avoid cumbersome procedures; the speaker of the House, the president pro tempore of the Senate, and the rest of Congress would play a greatly diminished role." Further undermining confidence, Jack O'Toole points out, is the way this was released. Why are we getting this information from a leak filtered through Newsweek, rather than a more open bipartisan announcement? That does not inspire trust. Jack Balkin considerately provides current constitutional and federal law on elections. And the Moderate Voice has provided a lengthy list of links to other sites and points out such a plan "would create a SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY: What better way to sandbag U.S. democracy then a massive attack on the eve of elections or on election day if you know that it's going to result in the election's postponement, unprecedented political controversy and perhaps actual turmoil within the United States? In the end, the U.S. would be more divided than ever in the war against terror -- no matter who was in power." Finally, over on Seeing the Forest, John Emerson has refined the terms of his wager. He's currently set odds at 30 to 1 that no disruptions (greater than Florida 2000) will occur to undermine the legitimacy of the election. Interestingly enough, so far nobody has been willing to take those odds. John says he'll keep lowering the odds until he finds a taker. Many commenters to his earlier posts have offered 10 to 1 odds, which shows most people have less confidence in this election than he does. I wasn't intending to be this much of a downer. I'll try to make my next entry more cheerful.
You can't win if you don't compete
Posted by Lis Riba at 3:40 PM
An article in yesterday's Boston Globe business section posits an interesting reason for the "entrepeneureal gap" between the high tech industries of Massachusetts and California: Noncompete Clauses. Noncompete clauses are frequently shoehorned into the employment contracts of managerial and executive hires, ostensibly to protect a company's trade secrets or intellectual property. Over the past decade, and especially during the high-tech boom of the late 1990s, many employers sought to add language to broaden the definition of ''noncompete" to include more general know-how, enabling them to wield the clauses as leverage to blunt employee turnover and protect their own competitive position. I can't help wondering if this isn't one of the reasons why the recovery has been so slow in Massachusetts. Because people can't continue working in their areas of expertise for fear of running afoul of noncompete clauses. I used to work for IBM, and I actually called the company lawyer for clarifications on the noncompete clause I had to sign in order to receive severance pay. I mean, IBM has its fingers in everything. Hard to think of any technology company that isn't competing with IBM in some way or other. Talking this article over with Ian, he noted that in days when corporations did want employees to stick with the company for life, noncompetes may make more sense. But if a company is holding mass layoffs, is it fair for them to also shackle employees with further restrictions on where they may look for work? Perhaps noncompete clauses should be voided (or at least diminished) if the company forces an involuntary separation. Yes, companies need protection from employees who just want to learn trade secrets and then jump ship to use those against the parent company. But why hold the same standard against employees whom the company gives the boot?
Sunday, July 11, 2004
Okay, that's just freakin' cool!
Posted by Lis Riba at 9:45 PM
The Harry Potter books are being translated into Ancient Greek. Here are the translator's notes, including stylistic information, character names and other nouns [McGonagall becomes the homophonous Μαγονωγαλέα [Magonogalea](witch-sweetie - also contains γαλέη [galea] which is a word used for a small pet animal, like a cat?)], a sample page in translation (you may need to download a font to read it), and a link to an NPR appearance where he reads it aloud. Makes me wish I read the language. Really geekily cool. By the way, a new survey claims that reading among Americans has dropped precipitously. Rivka explains why she disagrees with their findings. Kevin Drum takes on Harold Bloom's response to the announcement. You can't win with Bloom. He complains that there are too many nonreaders, yet he also slams popular authors like Steven King and J.K. Rowling as unworthy of being read in the first place. <shakes head in disbelief> BTW, I did watch Kerry and Edwards on 60 Minutes. They work well together, and I got a good feeling from watching them.
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