-It seems that today can be added to the nice weather streak. Some seem to even be hoping that such weather will make it all the way to the weekend.
Actually, I might go so far as to say that the weather is a little too warm. I know that I was really sweating by the time I made it to work this morning.
-The more I encounter them the more I realize that I am not a particularly big fan of the special Canadian subclasses that have been made to work like LCC subclasses. I can't say that my complaint is a fuller treatment of Canadian subjects, as this is something that is definitely needed in the LCC system. It must be my unrelenting attempt to stay within the lines (or rules) as they have been set out by some governing authority, in this case the Library of Congress. It may also because I haven't obtained copies of the Canadian subclasses so I don't ever know what is going on when I see them. I think it also may have to do with the concept of maintaining a pure LCC system, something that seems strangely attractive.
-Yesterday I was able to pick up my diploma from the post office. Fortunately McGill didn't make any spelling or capitalization mistakes in my name. I guess I now have to figure out what I want to do with it, which will probably be not much of anything.
-Last night at my house-sitting gig the cat and dog were antagonizing each other all night long, or, actually, only the portion of the night during which I was trying sleep. I would guess that their bickering cost me several hours of sleep, which was a bit of a blow and has certainly affected how I am feeling today.
On my walk with the dog today I learned that its stamina isn't quite what I would have expected for a greyhound. On really needs to take it slow otherwise the dog will overheat.
-It seems that my father and I may be taking our spraying show on the road. That friend that was helping us a few days ago is interested in having us spray his trees tonight. Hopefully we get going soon otherwise it will be dark before we finish.
Showing posts with label Graduate School of Library and Information Studies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Graduate School of Library and Information Studies. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
A Few Quick Notes 170
-Today, as well as yesterday have been particularly nice. Environment Canada is claiming that it is presently 23 degrees. It seems that similar weather has been forecast for the next few days.
-It seems that I must be somewhere near 14/85 on the year for Roll Up the Rim. It seems that my end of year drive has failed me. I am presently on a pretty long dry spell, which may be permanent as places are started to run out of contest cups.
-Nithum returned unexpectedly today. With him he brought a friend. Once my father arrives tomorrow we will have a pretty full apartment.
-On Wednesday I was able to hand in my final library school assignment. Assuming that I pass all of my courses I will soon be able to call myself a librarian. A few years ago not all that many people would have guessed that this is a path that I would have taken.
-In preparation for my summer employment, I obtained a haircut yesterday evening. The hair cutter was Nick, a co-worker. We did the deed on his balcony so that the wind was able to take care of most of the clippings.
The result is that my hair is very short on the sides and in the back, longer on the top. What I got was exactly what I was looking for.
-Last night, while playing around with my camera, I decided to take a picture of the street in front of my building. Upon stepping onto my balcony with my camera I heard someone muttering something. I soon realized that the muttering was coming from someone sitting on a planter across the street and that he was muttering about someone taking photos at that time of night (1:30 AM). I think he may have been suggesting that I not take a photo of him (which I wasn't planning on and did not do). I did take a photo of the street next to where he was sitting though.
Some period of time later, maybe a half an hour or so, someone (whom I believe to be the individual from the planter) was having a minor dispute about money with two other individuals. Eventually things were settled and all three faded back into the night.
My theory is that it was a drug deal and that the first guy wasn't particularly pleased to see someone taking photos (as he knew what was supposed to be happening in the very near future). Fortunately, this individual's displeasure with my photographic activities didn't lead to any further actions on his part (something I was mildly concerned about last night).
-It seems that I must be somewhere near 14/85 on the year for Roll Up the Rim. It seems that my end of year drive has failed me. I am presently on a pretty long dry spell, which may be permanent as places are started to run out of contest cups.
-Nithum returned unexpectedly today. With him he brought a friend. Once my father arrives tomorrow we will have a pretty full apartment.
-On Wednesday I was able to hand in my final library school assignment. Assuming that I pass all of my courses I will soon be able to call myself a librarian. A few years ago not all that many people would have guessed that this is a path that I would have taken.
-In preparation for my summer employment, I obtained a haircut yesterday evening. The hair cutter was Nick, a co-worker. We did the deed on his balcony so that the wind was able to take care of most of the clippings.
The result is that my hair is very short on the sides and in the back, longer on the top. What I got was exactly what I was looking for.
-Last night, while playing around with my camera, I decided to take a picture of the street in front of my building. Upon stepping onto my balcony with my camera I heard someone muttering something. I soon realized that the muttering was coming from someone sitting on a planter across the street and that he was muttering about someone taking photos at that time of night (1:30 AM). I think he may have been suggesting that I not take a photo of him (which I wasn't planning on and did not do). I did take a photo of the street next to where he was sitting though.
Some period of time later, maybe a half an hour or so, someone (whom I believe to be the individual from the planter) was having a minor dispute about money with two other individuals. Eventually things were settled and all three faded back into the night.
My theory is that it was a drug deal and that the first guy wasn't particularly pleased to see someone taking photos (as he knew what was supposed to be happening in the very near future). Fortunately, this individual's displeasure with my photographic activities didn't lead to any further actions on his part (something I was mildly concerned about last night).
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Curling Clip
Yesterday a few of us library school types went curling. Officially, this was a McGill ACA sponsored event, though there were many more library students than archives students. As far as I could tell, everyone had a good time. Hopefully this sentiment is evidenced in this short clip.
[Embedded Video]
[Embedded Video]
Friday, October 12, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 122
-For the past few days we have been making up for the lack of rain we had in September. Skies have been generally overcast with intermittent rain.
-The heaters have been turned on in my building. This means that even with windows open I am uncomfortably hot. I wonder if we live in a building that heats at a uniform level all year, or if the level of heating is adjusted to outside temperatures.
-Moments ago I bought our apartment’s first plant, a basil plant. Hopefully in the coming weeks and months we can develop this trend, though I have no idea where this or any other plant might go. And as I like my plants to either bare fruit or be edible my options are more limited.
-As of a day or two ago McGill has changed there email service in such a way that no longer allows me to import my messages to my Gmail inbox. The reason is supposedly security. A more reasonable explanation might be that things were to easy before, students should need to work to access any ‘official’ communication.
-Tonight is another work night. Fortunately I should be able to punch out early and have a few drinks with the library school types, or at least those that are still there at 10:30 or so.
-The heaters have been turned on in my building. This means that even with windows open I am uncomfortably hot. I wonder if we live in a building that heats at a uniform level all year, or if the level of heating is adjusted to outside temperatures.
-Moments ago I bought our apartment’s first plant, a basil plant. Hopefully in the coming weeks and months we can develop this trend, though I have no idea where this or any other plant might go. And as I like my plants to either bare fruit or be edible my options are more limited.
-As of a day or two ago McGill has changed there email service in such a way that no longer allows me to import my messages to my Gmail inbox. The reason is supposedly security. A more reasonable explanation might be that things were to easy before, students should need to work to access any ‘official’ communication.
-Tonight is another work night. Fortunately I should be able to punch out early and have a few drinks with the library school types, or at least those that are still there at 10:30 or so.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 90
-Today has been relatively nice so far, certainly much nicer than many of the days in the near past. It seems that we are supposed to finally have some nicer weather in the next few days.
For some reason we seem to have had a pretty large amount of snow this April. While the snow does not have any real staying power, it does manage to make things much less pleasant than they would otherwise be.
-My final assignment of the year was submitted on Monday. It was nice to get this out of the way. Since that time I have been focusing on packing and getting ready to head back to St. John’s for the summer.
-In less than a week I start work again. This will be a rather big change from my current lifestyle. I am looking forward to this change.
-For those of you that were saddened by the paucity of posts in the past few days, I apologize. Unfortunately, my schoolwork was taking a fair bit of my time and mental energy. Though I frequently suggest that Neil need only take a few minutes each day to post, I now see that at times that can be at bit much to expect. Hopefully I will have better time management skills in the future so that this lack of posting will not occur again (though this is unlikely).
-To pack I needed boxes. My first stop was Thomson House. From the recycling bin I was able to find a few good boxes, mainly wine boxes. Unfortunately, the few boxes I picked up were not sufficient to meet my box needs. As I am somewhat shy the idea of going to other places to look for boxes did not really appeal to me. Eventually I worked up the courage to go Dollarama, though I only found one box. Afterwards I went to the local depanneur, only to learn that they wouldn’t have any boxes until Thursday.
My next stop was the McGill Bookstore. While on the main floor I found a clerk working on a mug display. I asked if she knew if they might have any boxes available. When she asked what size I was looking for I pointed at the box of mugs she was working from. She then left to try and rustle up some boxes. When she returned a few minutes later she was carrying five brand new boxes that had yet to be unfolded.
As excellent as the boxes are I immediately began to wonder why a bookstore would have all kinds of new boxes. Wouldn’t they just use old boxes if they needed any? Why would they need such a large number of boxes? Does this type of practice (the buying unnecessary items) explain why the prices are so high at the bookstore?
-For the past few weeks I have been exposed to several pieces by a Montreal based group called Arcade Fire. Apparently they are really popular. The part of the equation that I don’t understand is why. None of the stuff I have heard has particularly interested me or held my attention. In most cases I can hardly manage to listen to the entire song. I would guess that the common consensus would be that I am missing something. If anyone wants to explain it to me I am more than willing to listen.
-My Roll Up the Rim To Win record is now 3/41. Apparently I really don’t have any skills when it comes to this game.
For some reason we seem to have had a pretty large amount of snow this April. While the snow does not have any real staying power, it does manage to make things much less pleasant than they would otherwise be.
-My final assignment of the year was submitted on Monday. It was nice to get this out of the way. Since that time I have been focusing on packing and getting ready to head back to St. John’s for the summer.
-In less than a week I start work again. This will be a rather big change from my current lifestyle. I am looking forward to this change.
-For those of you that were saddened by the paucity of posts in the past few days, I apologize. Unfortunately, my schoolwork was taking a fair bit of my time and mental energy. Though I frequently suggest that Neil need only take a few minutes each day to post, I now see that at times that can be at bit much to expect. Hopefully I will have better time management skills in the future so that this lack of posting will not occur again (though this is unlikely).
-To pack I needed boxes. My first stop was Thomson House. From the recycling bin I was able to find a few good boxes, mainly wine boxes. Unfortunately, the few boxes I picked up were not sufficient to meet my box needs. As I am somewhat shy the idea of going to other places to look for boxes did not really appeal to me. Eventually I worked up the courage to go Dollarama, though I only found one box. Afterwards I went to the local depanneur, only to learn that they wouldn’t have any boxes until Thursday.
My next stop was the McGill Bookstore. While on the main floor I found a clerk working on a mug display. I asked if she knew if they might have any boxes available. When she asked what size I was looking for I pointed at the box of mugs she was working from. She then left to try and rustle up some boxes. When she returned a few minutes later she was carrying five brand new boxes that had yet to be unfolded.
As excellent as the boxes are I immediately began to wonder why a bookstore would have all kinds of new boxes. Wouldn’t they just use old boxes if they needed any? Why would they need such a large number of boxes? Does this type of practice (the buying unnecessary items) explain why the prices are so high at the bookstore?
-For the past few weeks I have been exposed to several pieces by a Montreal based group called Arcade Fire. Apparently they are really popular. The part of the equation that I don’t understand is why. None of the stuff I have heard has particularly interested me or held my attention. In most cases I can hardly manage to listen to the entire song. I would guess that the common consensus would be that I am missing something. If anyone wants to explain it to me I am more than willing to listen.
-My Roll Up the Rim To Win record is now 3/41. Apparently I really don’t have any skills when it comes to this game.
Last shift at Thomson House
My day at Thomson House was pretty long on Friday.
It seems that I arrived at about 2:00 or so, after spending several hours working on and then printing my final management project. Thomson House seemed like a good place to go to celebrate. Bruce, my partner, and I each had a muffin and some coffee. After a while Bruce had to leave. I decided to stay as the walk home would have taken a fair chunk out of the free time I had before my shift started.
Shortly after my shift started at 4:30 I had to change a few kegs. Unfortunately, I don’t exactly remember which one was my last keg. On the plus side, none of the keg changes were particularly problematic (meaning no beer showers), or deep in the bowels of the keg fridge.
I think it was at about 7:30 or so when I was notified by one of the bartenders that there was some vomit to clean up in the downstairs bathroom. As I had not had to do this before it took me a while to find all of the supplies and equipment. Once everything was gathered I started on the job. The downside of this vomit was that it was much more food based that I would have liked, meaning that there was a fair bit that I couldn’t get with the mop and eventually had to sweep up.
As the vomit was directly in front of the toilet my suspicion was that the person must have been sitting on the toilet during the incident. It turns out the guilty party is a fellow GSLIS student and he was able to confirm that he was in fact sitting on the toilet at the time of the incident. It seems all of the library people knew something was up but somehow managed to keep this knowledge away from me until relatively late in the night.
The rest of the night was relatively quiet and I was able to punch out at about 9:30 and join about twenty library school types for a few drinks. I was pleased to see so many and such a varied crowd in attendance. At least one person there is no longer in the program, and another was there having their first drinks at Thomson House.
Gradually the crowd thinned out until it just two of us were there. At 2:00 we were booted out just like everyone else and my final working day for the near future ended.
As Friday was my last shift I did not go to Saturday’s staff meeting, though in a weird way I wanted to. I have a few ideas that might help them increase sales and bring a few more people in, and it seems like this would be the venue to bring forth these ideas. I guess my great ideas will have to wait until next fall to see the light of day.
It seems that I arrived at about 2:00 or so, after spending several hours working on and then printing my final management project. Thomson House seemed like a good place to go to celebrate. Bruce, my partner, and I each had a muffin and some coffee. After a while Bruce had to leave. I decided to stay as the walk home would have taken a fair chunk out of the free time I had before my shift started.
Shortly after my shift started at 4:30 I had to change a few kegs. Unfortunately, I don’t exactly remember which one was my last keg. On the plus side, none of the keg changes were particularly problematic (meaning no beer showers), or deep in the bowels of the keg fridge.
I think it was at about 7:30 or so when I was notified by one of the bartenders that there was some vomit to clean up in the downstairs bathroom. As I had not had to do this before it took me a while to find all of the supplies and equipment. Once everything was gathered I started on the job. The downside of this vomit was that it was much more food based that I would have liked, meaning that there was a fair bit that I couldn’t get with the mop and eventually had to sweep up.
As the vomit was directly in front of the toilet my suspicion was that the person must have been sitting on the toilet during the incident. It turns out the guilty party is a fellow GSLIS student and he was able to confirm that he was in fact sitting on the toilet at the time of the incident. It seems all of the library people knew something was up but somehow managed to keep this knowledge away from me until relatively late in the night.
The rest of the night was relatively quiet and I was able to punch out at about 9:30 and join about twenty library school types for a few drinks. I was pleased to see so many and such a varied crowd in attendance. At least one person there is no longer in the program, and another was there having their first drinks at Thomson House.
Gradually the crowd thinned out until it just two of us were there. At 2:00 we were booted out just like everyone else and my final working day for the near future ended.
As Friday was my last shift I did not go to Saturday’s staff meeting, though in a weird way I wanted to. I have a few ideas that might help them increase sales and bring a few more people in, and it seems like this would be the venue to bring forth these ideas. I guess my great ideas will have to wait until next fall to see the light of day.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 89
-Today is a beautiful day in Montreal, our first in a while. While I was initially concerned that the day might be cool and overcast, my fears were clearly misplaced. Today seems like a perfect day for me to ride either my bike or my unicycle for exercise purposes.
Unfortunately, Environment Canada is not acknowledging the clear and sunny skies, and goes further to suggest that we will be back to rain and snow by tomorrow.
-My Roll Up the Rim record is now 3/38. It seems that other stores still have the special cups, even though the McGill Tim Horton’s has been out of them for weeks.
-Another project was due today, this one for Collection Development. I am now down to two, one on Friday and one on Monday. Friday’s project still requires a fair bit of work.
-Nithum took me for $10.00 the other night on coin flips. I started betting each series of bet by betting a penny, then doubling my bet until I won. I was doing relatively well, or winning a penny on each series, until I ran into a particularly long string of tosses that went against me. After making, and losing, a bet for $5.12 I pulled out, not wagering $10.24 in an attempt to win a penny. In the end Nithum gave me my money back (except for two quarters). Once again, I have had my great system beaten by the fact that I don’t have infinitely deep pockets (something that I did say was needed for my system to work).
-The GSLIS party on Saturday night went well. As far as I know most people in attendance had a good time. It was nice to attend a party and know so many people. As far as I was concerned, the main downside was that I was not able to speak to a few people that I had hoped to. I was glad that it wasn’t a dud, because if that had been the case I likely would take heat for it at work.
-I will be busing tomorrow and Friday night at Thomson House. I keep deluding myself into thinking that I might somehow be able to bring busing to a new level. People might start having guest busers, and people would visit bars to have their tables bused by a particular person. In some weird way I think that this might work, but only if the person had the right personality.
Unfortunately, Environment Canada is not acknowledging the clear and sunny skies, and goes further to suggest that we will be back to rain and snow by tomorrow.
-My Roll Up the Rim record is now 3/38. It seems that other stores still have the special cups, even though the McGill Tim Horton’s has been out of them for weeks.
-Another project was due today, this one for Collection Development. I am now down to two, one on Friday and one on Monday. Friday’s project still requires a fair bit of work.
-Nithum took me for $10.00 the other night on coin flips. I started betting each series of bet by betting a penny, then doubling my bet until I won. I was doing relatively well, or winning a penny on each series, until I ran into a particularly long string of tosses that went against me. After making, and losing, a bet for $5.12 I pulled out, not wagering $10.24 in an attempt to win a penny. In the end Nithum gave me my money back (except for two quarters). Once again, I have had my great system beaten by the fact that I don’t have infinitely deep pockets (something that I did say was needed for my system to work).
-The GSLIS party on Saturday night went well. As far as I know most people in attendance had a good time. It was nice to attend a party and know so many people. As far as I was concerned, the main downside was that I was not able to speak to a few people that I had hoped to. I was glad that it wasn’t a dud, because if that had been the case I likely would take heat for it at work.
-I will be busing tomorrow and Friday night at Thomson House. I keep deluding myself into thinking that I might somehow be able to bring busing to a new level. People might start having guest busers, and people would visit bars to have their tables bused by a particular person. In some weird way I think that this might work, but only if the person had the right personality.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 87
-The weather in Montreal turned from bad to worse today. We started the day out with just above freezing temperatures and steady rain. By just afternoon, we still had the low temperature but also snow. As one can imagine, this was not very pleasant weather for bike riding. While there hasn’t been much accumulation yet it seems that we should expect up to 4 cm by tomorrow.
-Somehow when talking to a classmate today my scone recipe came up. As it was on my mind and I had promised to pass along the recipe I ended up making a batch almost as soon as I returned home. I have already consumed four of the eight, and plan on having one or two more for breakfast tomorrow morning.
-Last night I happened upon a discussion group dedicated to coming up with and sharing means of making an essay look longer without really writing more. The two ideas that I had not previously come across were to modify the character spacing and change the font size of punctuation, particularly comas and periods. Another suggestion was to use the passive voice so that a few additional words could be included by the author. Nithum was disgusted by this last suggestion.
-One more class left, though four projects are still in the works
-I have to head to work tomorrow night. As I don’t have to work this Friday this shouldn’t be too bad.
-A GSLIS party is planned for Saturday night. I wonder if any of the professorial staff or Ph.D. students will show up?
-There was some library-based content that I have been meaning to include here, though every time I sit down to write I can’t remember what it is. So because I can’t remember the first point I wanted to make, I will come back to my hobbyhorse; librarians need to stop beating around the bush and ask patrons/clients/users what it is they need. Librarians should encourage and engage in clear communication practices.
-A few minutes ago Nithum brought home a bag of samosas from an event he helped organized. So far I have had three, they are pretty tasty.
-Somehow when talking to a classmate today my scone recipe came up. As it was on my mind and I had promised to pass along the recipe I ended up making a batch almost as soon as I returned home. I have already consumed four of the eight, and plan on having one or two more for breakfast tomorrow morning.
-Last night I happened upon a discussion group dedicated to coming up with and sharing means of making an essay look longer without really writing more. The two ideas that I had not previously come across were to modify the character spacing and change the font size of punctuation, particularly comas and periods. Another suggestion was to use the passive voice so that a few additional words could be included by the author. Nithum was disgusted by this last suggestion.
-One more class left, though four projects are still in the works
-I have to head to work tomorrow night. As I don’t have to work this Friday this shouldn’t be too bad.
-A GSLIS party is planned for Saturday night. I wonder if any of the professorial staff or Ph.D. students will show up?
-There was some library-based content that I have been meaning to include here, though every time I sit down to write I can’t remember what it is. So because I can’t remember the first point I wanted to make, I will come back to my hobbyhorse; librarians need to stop beating around the bush and ask patrons/clients/users what it is they need. Librarians should encourage and engage in clear communication practices.
-A few minutes ago Nithum brought home a bag of samosas from an event he helped organized. So far I have had three, they are pretty tasty.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
1st Annual Library Olympics
While in class yesterday I realized that GSLIS needs some kind of organized library sporting event. My initial desire was to have this take place at the end of the term, though it now seems that there isn’t enough time between now and then.
My new idea is that this can serve as part of the orientation process next September. Teams could be comprised of first and second year students. If we get really adventurous would can invite teams from libraries around Montreal, and maybe even from the University de Montreal library school. I guess I have to be careful to make sure that this doesn’t get out of hand or too complicated in the first year.
Possible events:
Book truck races – take a loaded book truck through a course without losing any books. This can be done either individually or in the style of a relay. The other main question seems to be whether or not it should be done head to head, or against the clock.
Shelving races – each competitor would be given a pile of books and have to order them correctly on a shelf as quickly as possible. I am not sure if this would be timed, or whether it would have to be done in a certain period of time.
Head to head ready reference – two people would be seated a computers, each with an data projector. A judge would read a ready-reference question and the two competitors would have to try to find the correct answer as quickly as possible.
Story telling – competitor would have to read/present a story to the audience. The judging panel, comprised of children, would determine the winner.
Costume (Traditional or Theme) – Just before the awards ceremony there would be a costume competition. People could either enter the traditional librarian group or the themed side of the contest. In the traditional category competitors would be judged on such things as tightness of bun, thickness of glasses, and comfort level of shoes. The themed category would be a little more open, basically as long as it could be in some way linked to books or libraries. An example that was suggested today that would fit this category would be “book worm.”
Speed Cataloging – Competitors would be given something to catalogue as quickly as possible. An experienced cataloger would then judge it.
Shushing – competitors would be given situation and then have to provide the appropriate ‘shush.’ An example might be that a patron is on a cell phone in a silent area, or two children are talking.
Suggested events that may never get off the ground:
Book burning – reduce your book to ashes the in the shortest period of time. The concerns regarding this one are rather obvious; one knows that librarians can’t be trusted with matches.
Pimp out your book truck – mainly because we have a shortage of book trucks and this may take too long. If you are interested in seeing a pimped out book truck then check out the latest issue of Unabashed Librarian.
Suggestions for further events are welcomed, particularly if they are archive or knowledge management themed. Also, suggestions for scoring and competition structure are also welcomed.
My new idea is that this can serve as part of the orientation process next September. Teams could be comprised of first and second year students. If we get really adventurous would can invite teams from libraries around Montreal, and maybe even from the University de Montreal library school. I guess I have to be careful to make sure that this doesn’t get out of hand or too complicated in the first year.
Possible events:
Book truck races – take a loaded book truck through a course without losing any books. This can be done either individually or in the style of a relay. The other main question seems to be whether or not it should be done head to head, or against the clock.
Shelving races – each competitor would be given a pile of books and have to order them correctly on a shelf as quickly as possible. I am not sure if this would be timed, or whether it would have to be done in a certain period of time.
Head to head ready reference – two people would be seated a computers, each with an data projector. A judge would read a ready-reference question and the two competitors would have to try to find the correct answer as quickly as possible.
Story telling – competitor would have to read/present a story to the audience. The judging panel, comprised of children, would determine the winner.
Costume (Traditional or Theme) – Just before the awards ceremony there would be a costume competition. People could either enter the traditional librarian group or the themed side of the contest. In the traditional category competitors would be judged on such things as tightness of bun, thickness of glasses, and comfort level of shoes. The themed category would be a little more open, basically as long as it could be in some way linked to books or libraries. An example that was suggested today that would fit this category would be “book worm.”
Speed Cataloging – Competitors would be given something to catalogue as quickly as possible. An experienced cataloger would then judge it.
Shushing – competitors would be given situation and then have to provide the appropriate ‘shush.’ An example might be that a patron is on a cell phone in a silent area, or two children are talking.
Suggested events that may never get off the ground:
Book burning – reduce your book to ashes the in the shortest period of time. The concerns regarding this one are rather obvious; one knows that librarians can’t be trusted with matches.
Pimp out your book truck – mainly because we have a shortage of book trucks and this may take too long. If you are interested in seeing a pimped out book truck then check out the latest issue of Unabashed Librarian.
Suggestions for further events are welcomed, particularly if they are archive or knowledge management themed. Also, suggestions for scoring and competition structure are also welcomed.
Friday, March 09, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 72
-Today is another chilly day in Montreal. At the moment it is almost -20, though with little to no wind.
According to the current Environment Canada forecast we should see above zero temperatures on Saturday and Sunday. Maybe this is the end of Winter that Nithum predicted a few days ago.
-My “Roll Up The Rim” losing streaks keeps going. I am currently 0 for 11 with no sign of things turning around. I guess “Roll Up The Rim” isn’t really targeted at me anyway, I buy the same amount of coffee each day no matter what the promotion is.
-Tefko Saracevic, a big name in the library and information studies field, will be giving a talk at McGill today. It is my intention to attend.
-Tonight is another work night at Thomson House. I think that there might be some event going on tonight, but I don’t know what that would be.
According to the current Environment Canada forecast we should see above zero temperatures on Saturday and Sunday. Maybe this is the end of Winter that Nithum predicted a few days ago.
-My “Roll Up The Rim” losing streaks keeps going. I am currently 0 for 11 with no sign of things turning around. I guess “Roll Up The Rim” isn’t really targeted at me anyway, I buy the same amount of coffee each day no matter what the promotion is.
-Tefko Saracevic, a big name in the library and information studies field, will be giving a talk at McGill today. It is my intention to attend.
-Tonight is another work night at Thomson House. I think that there might be some event going on tonight, but I don’t know what that would be.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Friday
Thursday night was a pretty good night. I was able to take care of some studying, though not as much as I would have liked, and then head over for Thomson House for a night of socializing. Based on my knowledge that the Archives stream had a class and my knowledge that they tend to go out for a beer afterwards I thought it would be pretty safe time to show up and meet some people that I know. It turned out that my timing was just about perfect; most of them were in line as I arrived.
I jumped in line behind them and order a pitcher of a blond locally brewed beer. While it is not my favourite drink I believe that it was what I was drinking all night.
In about an hour most of the archives people had left, but a few general GSLIS students remained. Gradually the first pitchers turned into second and third pitchers. It seemed that most people were having a very good time. One particularly enjoyable part of the evening, at least from my point of view, was the discussion I had with a separatist. I think that she didn’t quite know where I was coming from or what to expect as feel I took a pretty pro-Quebec stance, though was solidly against isolationism. Later in the evening we were swamped by Manitobans, there must have been 4 or 5.
At about 1:30 I finally realized what time it was time to head home. I was back in my room before 2:00, only a little worse for wear.
On Friday I awoke at about 11:00. For about 15 minutes I just stayed in bed listening to the radio. Eventually I got up and started doing the morning internet rounds (weather, news, email, blog, etc.). At about 11:23 I realized that I had been planning on attending the Faculty of Education Faculty Council meeting, which was to start.
After a few quick mental calculations I realized that I might have just enough time to take a quick shower and still make it. Unfortunately when I arrived at the bathroom I found it occupied, and with this my plans were ruined. I went back to my room and tossed on some clothing and got ready to go. Within about two or three minutes I was on my way, slight hangover and all.
As the meeting was to be in the Education building that was where I went. The only problem is that I couldn’t find the designated room, even though it was supposed to be on the main floor. After asking about 3 people and spending 10 to 15 minutes looking for it I was about the second person there. One of the only non-support staff there ahead of me was my cataloging professor. I continued to sit alone, talking to no one, as the others began to file in over the next few minutes. By the beginning of the meeting most of the library school faculty were sitting within a five-seat radius of me.
Eventually the Dean showed up and things began. As Friday was Australia Day we started with a brief themed slide show and Vegemite sandwich tray. Soon enough we were down to business.
The heart of the meeting had to do with Faculty of Education space allocation. It seems that the university is engaging in a major planning exercise of which we are a consequential element, particularly the library school. Unfortunately a few squeaky wheels dominated a fair bit of the meeting, even though the issues that they were raising weren’t really relevant to the current discussion. I was even able to ask a few questions, both of which I feel were quite reasonable.
Attending this meeting was quite good as it gave me a much greater understanding of several issues, including; departmental staff dynamics, faculty staff dynamics, McGill administration, strategic planning, and university committees.
After the formal meeting, with most of the faculty from the library school, I went on a tour of a potential relocation site. I, as with several of the faculty members, were pretty impressed with the potential of the building that we toured.
It was a damn good thing I didn’t back out just because I didn’t have time for a shower.
I jumped in line behind them and order a pitcher of a blond locally brewed beer. While it is not my favourite drink I believe that it was what I was drinking all night.
In about an hour most of the archives people had left, but a few general GSLIS students remained. Gradually the first pitchers turned into second and third pitchers. It seemed that most people were having a very good time. One particularly enjoyable part of the evening, at least from my point of view, was the discussion I had with a separatist. I think that she didn’t quite know where I was coming from or what to expect as feel I took a pretty pro-Quebec stance, though was solidly against isolationism. Later in the evening we were swamped by Manitobans, there must have been 4 or 5.
At about 1:30 I finally realized what time it was time to head home. I was back in my room before 2:00, only a little worse for wear.
On Friday I awoke at about 11:00. For about 15 minutes I just stayed in bed listening to the radio. Eventually I got up and started doing the morning internet rounds (weather, news, email, blog, etc.). At about 11:23 I realized that I had been planning on attending the Faculty of Education Faculty Council meeting, which was to start.
After a few quick mental calculations I realized that I might have just enough time to take a quick shower and still make it. Unfortunately when I arrived at the bathroom I found it occupied, and with this my plans were ruined. I went back to my room and tossed on some clothing and got ready to go. Within about two or three minutes I was on my way, slight hangover and all.
As the meeting was to be in the Education building that was where I went. The only problem is that I couldn’t find the designated room, even though it was supposed to be on the main floor. After asking about 3 people and spending 10 to 15 minutes looking for it I was about the second person there. One of the only non-support staff there ahead of me was my cataloging professor. I continued to sit alone, talking to no one, as the others began to file in over the next few minutes. By the beginning of the meeting most of the library school faculty were sitting within a five-seat radius of me.
Eventually the Dean showed up and things began. As Friday was Australia Day we started with a brief themed slide show and Vegemite sandwich tray. Soon enough we were down to business.
The heart of the meeting had to do with Faculty of Education space allocation. It seems that the university is engaging in a major planning exercise of which we are a consequential element, particularly the library school. Unfortunately a few squeaky wheels dominated a fair bit of the meeting, even though the issues that they were raising weren’t really relevant to the current discussion. I was even able to ask a few questions, both of which I feel were quite reasonable.
Attending this meeting was quite good as it gave me a much greater understanding of several issues, including; departmental staff dynamics, faculty staff dynamics, McGill administration, strategic planning, and university committees.
After the formal meeting, with most of the faculty from the library school, I went on a tour of a potential relocation site. I, as with several of the faculty members, were pretty impressed with the potential of the building that we toured.
It was a damn good thing I didn’t back out just because I didn’t have time for a shower.
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