2006 June « chatter from the Library Monkey

The Ride

June 30, 2006 at 10:56 am | In Baseball, Books - Young Adult/Teen, Creative Writing, Detroit Tigers, Fitness, librarian, technology | No Comments

June 29, 2006, 2:41 p.m. (I am thinking I should date these, at least until I get the internet) well it is now 3:13 p.m., It took me about fifteen minutes to figure out how to make iKey print the time out with a command ‘t t’. The computers can save us so much time, but in doing so it creates a lot of use of time.I love the technology. In fact I really miss MarsEdit, and posting via my home computer.Long tired… Not very far in real terms, maybe about nine miles, with lots of rests in the midst, but for me long, with a few steep climbs. (There is very little flat around here.)

I realized I miss slowly riding — huffing and puffing — up an incline and noticing the New York asters and the buttercups. Three summers ago, I would ride my bike to work and back home, enjoying the same scenario. Then I would write poems about it.

I love wildflowers.

So the ride… Wet all the way to the community college, but they are closed until July 5. So I rode back to town to the town library. Checked the e-mail there and posted on the blog. I think one computer accepts my usb drive. Also was able to check out a couple books, though I didn’t see anything in the way of an audiobook.

My summer travel plans seem to be a little sketchy right now. Thought I was having dinner with the ESL students, but that didn’t connect this weekend, so we haven’t go over the travel plans.

Looks like I might be only four days from home internet. That means I will have to find another reason to ride my bike. Hmmm maybe to return books.

Inventory is over????

June 29, 2006 at 10:45 am | In Adirondacks, Baseball, Books - Young Adult/Teen, Creative Writing, Detroit Tigers, Novel, librarian, small school | No Comments

Drove to School to finish up Inventory. I need to figure out what to do. The Follett software is saying I am missing 655 books, but I can’t figure out how to make it show and/or print out the titles so I can decide if they should be replaced.While that seems like a lot of missing books, from what I understand this might be the first time the John Collins Library (JCL) has been inventoried. Plus about five years ago the catalogue was automated, so I am sure a lot of books were not catalogued and lost in that process.The golf course there is flooded.

During the drive I was able to think of a few scenarios for the novel. Of course that is the easy part, the difficult part is figuring out the bigger picture. The big picture being how to end the book. I could take something traditional, like the end of the school year or (perhaps more likely) a birthday. Maybe I will start it the day after the young girls 14th birthday and end it the day she turns 15. But it is coming along okay. It’s at the easy — idea — part.I’m tired. I got home about 10 p.m. Read a little. Got to bed around mid-night and woke up at 7:30 a.m. because I wanted to listen to the local complain radio. Missing the internet. I use it for a ton of things that usually allows me to sit around. I wanted to get a book from the John Collins Library, but left it there, so I want to see if I can get it here.

Can it get any better? Swept two of the best national league teams (St. Louis & Houston). A day off today, then a trip to Pittsburgh, where the Pirates are in the middle of one of the worse seasons ever. There is a really good chance that the Tigs will be in first place at the All Star break, if not still maintaining the best record in baseball.

Perhaps because of time, I have found a few tricks in Nisus Writer Express. One of the things is the ablity to use short cuts with multiple key strokes. Like if I want a new page I can hold down the command key and type ‘b’ twice. I guess I could type out ‘new page’ if I wanted, but bb works. Also, since I have to do my interneting at the local community college, I like to take a file with a bunch of links to sites I want to check. I am able to insert a series of links with Nisus Writer Express!

What really stinks about the internet is how the price is not coming down. Now that most everyone has it, it should be around the price of a telephone $20 a month, not $40. The other pricing scale that is whacked is the longer you have it, the cheaper it should be. If I have high speed internet (or land line phone — for that matter) service for a year, it should go down in price. Most of the service cost is in installation.

The second highest expense has to be the de-installation…so why not try to avoid that.

It is Horse Show weeks in Lake Placid and when they talk about horse show, they have to mention Marty Bauman, spokesperson for the horse show. One of my crowning moments is writing a really long story about Marty. It was probably too long, but from time to time it is good to give someone a biography.

It brings up a question for me: Do you ever know your own greatness or insignificance. There are about four things I did with the paper that I thought were memorable, but who knows.

The Adirondack Joke

June 28, 2006 at 10:54 am | In Adirondacks, Baseball, Books - Young Adult/Teen, Detroit Tigers, Weather, librarian | No Comments

One of the little jokes that I really enjoy is:

Q: What do you call two days of rain?

A: The Weekend</font>

I guess I could say the same about vacation. It has rained all but Saturday, when I mowed the lawn. It is kind of pouring right now as I write this (June 27, 2006 — 11:27 p.m.). Well Well, the Tigers win again. I guess they have to win to stay in first place, since the WhiteSox are so hot. CWS has won 12 in a row now. If both teams keep it up, both will be in the play-offs because one will surely get the wildcard nod.

Not sure what to do with the propose novel. I have some ideas, but I am not thinking about it as much as I was a couple days ago.

I am going to school tomorrow to finish up inventory and do a few other “errand” type things like get a couple medical forms and to see if anyone has turned in the books they owe the school.

It’s funny to listen to the AM radio at night when all the atmospheric changes. Like this ESPN station keeps fading to an oldies station, like right now it’s the NBA draft talk fading to Joni Mitchell. Enjoyed another wonderful nap, which leaves me away at midnight, hoping to hear more about the Tigers victory. Of course, the Tigs are out of the limelight, so there is more chatter about the RedSox and Yankers. well off to read some…

June 28, 2006 More and More rain… Listening to NPR and pre-coverage of the Tour de France

Precipitation

June 27, 2006 at 3:07 pm | In Adirondacks, Baseball, Relationships, librarian | No Comments

Rain is the forecast, it must be vacation.Went to the doctor’s office and let them and let them draw some blood to check my cholesterol. Spent much of the day just roaming around. Mailed some mail…—-> Joke cards to my St. Louis Cardinals Friends

Also sent some poems to my sweetie…just called her, but no answers.

I called the fuel oil company to have them look at the water heater. Of course when the guy showed up, it started to work. The village still under a boil water.

The highlight of the day would have to be a nap.

Went to NCCC to check my e-mail, and to post to the blog.

If today is anything like what vacation is going to be like, I won’t make it. i just walked out to my truck and tripped over a tube I have in the front yard. Earlier in the day I whacked my head on an open window.

It is amazing how many exciting stories there are in baseball: Mets and Boston are winning (it seems David Ortiz has hit about three walk off homers in the last week). Then there are the magical Detroit Tigers.

If I had the internet I could be following them, unfortunately I have to listen to stat-icy radio. What is amazing to me, listening to radio, is how the radio announcers openingly talk about watching tv. I mean as they are talking: “Wow, look at that swing.”

Makes you want to find a way to listen or watch the game directly.

I love this dancing gif. Looks like the Tigers have beat Houston. I guess what amazes me is in the last 10 games or so is the fact that Detroit has been beating some of the first place teams — or teams that were suppose to be great this year… though certainly the Cubs and Astros are not unbelievable great right now and St. Louis is slumping.