SpinsterLibrarian.net

Wednesday, April 30, 2003

Sunday, April 27, 2003

 
I love this time of the year. The flowering trees are just gorgeous. The pink one is a Red Bud tree and the white one is a Dogwood tree. (These are on Evan's street, just around the corner from James' house.)

Friday, April 25, 2003

  "Mapping Cyber to Space" Very interesting. I wish we had this sort of thing over on this side of the pond...

Tuesday, April 22, 2003


Wednesday, April 16, 2003

  I wonder what it's like to be the librarian at this place? (link from Brigitte)

Tuesday, April 15, 2003

  Bouncer Dies, Family Blames City's Smoking Ban
You can't read the article without a NYT login, so to save you the trouble, I will summarize. New York City has recently instituted a ban on smoking in restaurants and bars. Dana Blake, a boucer at the upscale bar Guernica, asked two customers to put out their cigarettes. The two men argued with Blake, and he tried to eject them. They started fighting with him, and a couple that was with them joined in. In the scuffle, one of the original two stabbed Blake, and he later died from his injuries. Blake's family is blaming the new law for causing his death. What do you think?

Sunday, April 13, 2003

  Hot or HOT?!

So, Todd got an email from his friend Ben (that I met last summer when I visted Todd in Daytona Beach):
Ok, I told some of you this and some I did not. In short, I was asked by some lady customer, in the restaurant where I work, if I was a model. I said 'no'. She said 'Do you want to be?' and so on and so forth. She was the principal of Manchester Model Agency.

So I went to this agency with lots of beautiful people and they took photos and trained me on a catwalk etc.

Here are three of the photographs. I think they've turned out quite well. I'm happy. There are others but these give an impression. Tell me what you think. Be kind.

I await a tidal-wave of bullshit from fellas telling me I'm gay, but ladies tell me I look quite good so you can piss off. Just call me Zoolander. Blue Steel baby.

Adios,
Ben


Thursday, April 10, 2003

Tuesday, April 08, 2003

Monday, April 07, 2003

 
Umm...why is there a picture of a little asian girl in a cheongsam on the box for this educational cd-ROM set? Maybe they are trying to say, "Buy this, and your child will be smart like a Chinese kid!"

Wednesday, April 02, 2003

  Humor from the Digital Reference Services listserv:
"Having trouble coming up with a catchy name for your new virtual reference service?
Consider these:

* SmartAsk (brainy librarians)
* KickAsk (mean librarians)
* BadAsk (librarians with attitude)
* DumbAsk (librarian imposters)
* SorryAsk (stumped librarians)
* PainInTheAsk (you'll be sorry you asked that question)
* JackAsk (stubborn librarians)

If these made you laugh, good! If not, forgive my twisted sense of humor..."
Connie Johnson, Eastern Oregon University (and others)


Update There were many, many other suggestions posted to the listserv:

* KickAsk - cool librarians
* KickYourAsk - mean librarians (Bob Paolino)

* WhoopAsk (Jessica Chaiken)

* FatAsk - when you want to get a lot of information within the timeframe required
* FastAsk - for the wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am school of librarians
* SlowAsk - librarians who take their time in the reference interview (Betsy Aldridge)

* PhatAsk (Kay Blakeman)

* WhyDoYouAsk? - for rhetorical questions [or nosy librarians -- Kate] (Bill Drew)

* PieceOfAsk - for librarians who only answer part of the question (Judy Pitchford)

* LameAsk - for nerdy librarians
* DeadAsk - for librarians who have wandered away from their desk and don't respond
* BrokeAsk - for librarians who are underpaid to begin with and won't get any extra money for adding virtual reference to their jobs (Rebecca Schreiner)

* Don'tAsk - the burnt out librarian (Carol Anshien)

* TightAsk - anal retentive librarian (Linda Slater)

* WiseAsk (Buffy Francisco)

* KissMyAsk - for librarians who ALWAYS get the right answer (Rebecca Rose)

* RichAsk
* BlackAsk - as in "They can kiss my..." (Bobbie J. Williams)

* AskBackward - dyslexic librarians (Buff Hirko)

* AskYouLikeIt [for Shakespeare questions? --Kate] (Linda J. White)

* AskMuchen - VR in Munich Germany
* AskHolistic - VR that covers all the bases (Judy Pitchford)

* AskNotWantNot (Bill Drew)

* AskHole - the void left when VR goes down
* BigAsk - for the really big questions
* TinyAsk - for life's little mysteries
* PainInTheAsk - "It hurts when I do this..."
* WickedAsk - Only open Oct 31st (Jessica Chaiken)

* HairyAsk - bad hair day or...?
* AskNot - busy librarian
* AskLite - beginning librarian (Barbara Pearson)

* BetYourAsk - for settling bets (Tom Vajdik)

* SorryAsk - when there is a training issue...because those answers are really sorry (Rebecca Schreiner)

* AskWipe - when the question is erased
* HorsesAsk - for zoology/veterinary students
* Talk&Ask - better know as T&A
* ChapsMyAsk - for VoIP service, and you answered so many questions you need chapstick
* BurnsMyAsk - when your question goes up in flames [Or when the question pisses you off! --Kate] (Todd Quinn)

* InfoBrokeHerAsk (there was just sooo much... If that's not too cryptic....:-) Mary Wolcott

* HardAsk - for the tougher questions (Bernie Sloan)

*TooMuchToAsk (Mark W. Arneson)

* SweetAsk - for the politely phrased question
* MyAskisGrass - for the horticulturalists (Jane C. Neale)

* BareAsk - just the facts, and nothing more (Connie Johnson)

* KissAsk -- for obsequious users
* HalfAsked -- for the user with the partial question
* CandyAsk -- for the confectionary industry
* CheapAsk -- sort of like Google Answers, but for those not willing to spend more than a dollar for an answer (Bernie Sloan)

* WhineyAsk - for those folks with no sense of humor (Mary Anne Hansen)

* AskInine - for silly questions
* AskRisk - ask if you dare
* AskRoid - VRS for astronomy students
* BackAskWard - answers given to questions before they're even asked
* MyAsk - personalized VRS
* HumorAsk - for jokes
* MonAskTic - VR done in seclusion
* MonotheAskTic - for those who believe that there's only one right answer to the question
* JackAsk - VRS equivalent of "You Don't Know Jack" (Gary Payne)

* SpanishAsk (Omar VĂ©lez Restrepo, Colombia)

* AskAholic - for answering bar betsn (Herrick Heitman)

* Ask-ew - slightly strange questions (Ronda Glikin)

* bASKalibrarian - librarians answering questions from the beach (Betsy Aldridge)

* ASKytext [or ASKiitext] - questions that come to you in email format! (Mary Anne Hansen)

* sASKatchewan - the Canadian version (Britt S. Baker)

* NASKCAR - in honor of ACRL in Charlotte next week
* cASK-IT - for when the VRS system crashes (Daniel Coffey)

* FatAsk - nutrition librarians
* HaulAsk - trucking librarians
* BreakAsk - orthopedic librarians
* KissAsk - management librarians
* WhoopAsk - sports librarians
* GrabAsk - Kirby Puckett's librarian (Jerry Baldwin)

* alASKa (R. in San Jose)

* "Ask, and it will be given to you." for librarians in religious seminaries and colleges sponsored by church denominations
* AKS - for those with hip hop clients (Bill Drew)

* He/she doesn't know his Ask from a hole in the ground - for the librarian who's not very good at it
* Make an Ask out of yourself - for the librarian in training (Irmgarde Brown)

* cheeseASK
* DamASK - for a fashion library (Susan Marcin)

* 'Each VRS name was great; "Butt," I was just pondering as to why each suggested name has to take place in the Ask?' (James Smith)

* ASK-over-teakettle - the patron trips while entering the reference room; or you answer questions during coffee break (Donna Dinberg)

* ASKsimilate - the librarian's learning curve when switching subject fields (Maureen E. Festa) Or for a VRS at a BORG library (David Hook)

* ASCUS - reference for mycologists (Mary E. Moulton)

* bASKing shark - a librarian who charges on the side for the service
* And there has to be something to do with Damascus - or is that skirting dangerously close to topicality? (Tess Frost)

* AskAgain (Liene Sorenson)

* ASKterminate - for Dalek libraries (David Hook)

* ASKDownUnder - for all those questions from the ASK end of the world (Susan Bentley, Australia)

* ASKance -- in fond memory of those who have unsubscribed... or are about to! (Stephen MacLeod)

* Ask-eroso -- for Spanish-speaking librarians who need a bath [if you don't understand this one, ask your friendly neighbor Latina/o librarian] (Olivia Olivares)

* GraciASK - grateful, Spanish speaking librarians (Susan D. Barb)

* ASKance - when the librarian distrusts the question asked in the reference interview (Vincent Munch)

* AskKisser - for the user trying to get ahead at work (Mary Anne Hansen)


Tuesday, April 01, 2003