1774 Cat Bloggers

Many years and one cat ago, my beloved We Be Three (died of CRF at age 4) had a web page. It was in the distant, dark past, before anyone thought of blogs, and when librarians who knew a little html were ahead of the pack instead of sitting in the back. I can't remember how it was posted, or where, Japan possibly, and I think I used to walk across the street to the vet hospital to scan her photos because I didn't have a scanner.
She was a lynx point Siamese (almost) with issues. After her death, I went right to Cat Welfare and rescued our current calico, who, because she was abandoned, also had issues, but at least she loves to cuddle and she doesn't eat the furniture.

Now I do occasionally look through the cat blogs to look at cute pictures. I was checking out Catbloggers, and looked at their http://www.frappr.com/catbloggers map, and discovered they have no one from Ohio. When I get well and can follow instructions maybe I'll read through it and see what's required. My cat, however, will not be given her own blog, Jane. I also need to read the instructions with my digital camera, another project for the future.

And no, I'm taking no applications for my son, either. Even if you sent me your resume, and you passed muster (beautiful, intelligent, employed, sense of humor, Christian, good cook), he does not take his mother's advice.

cat

1773 Preparation H: Itchy and Tender

What are Californians thinking? San Franciscans passed Proposition H, which outlaws handguns, so now people who watched what happened in New Orleans and know the "big one" is coming any day when they may need to protect life and property, are buying shotguns! The voters couldn't disarm the criminals, so they decided to disarm the law abiding citizens. Those folks spend too much time in the sun. There's a challenge, of course.

1772 Fat Ohio

The Nutrition and Physical Activity Program to Prevent Obesity and Other Chronic Diseases is designed to help states prevent obesity and other chronic diseases by addressing two closely related factors — poor nutrition and inadequate physical activity. The program supports states with developing and implementing science-based nutrition and physical activity interventions. The program’s major goals are balancing caloric intake and expenditure; increasing physical activity; improving nutrition through increased consumption of fruits and vegetables; reducing television time; and increasing breastfeeding.

In 2005–2006, 21 states are funded at $400,000 to $450,000 for capacity building. Seven states are funded at $750,000 to $1.3 million for basic implementation, bringing the total number of funded states to 28. CDC site.

Ohio is fat--I think Columbus is 5th or 6th fat city USA. We are not one of the 21 states taking federal dollars to fund yet another bureaucracy that will pay the salaries of nutritionists and physical therapists on temporary contracts as the money is filtered through the state offices. (I've been a librarian on state library contracts , so I know how this works.)

Can we talk? I think we know what's causing this--too many calories and too little exercise. I can't imagine one more TV ad will take one more hand back off from a Big Mac or a third helping of turkey and dressing.

But, let's do lunch, soon.

1771 My Life in a Box

This quiz makes no allowance for "retirement." I think that is why I was rated low in financial health. I had to check "unemployed." Also, of course my grandparents are deceased (lived into their 90s) and the writer wants you to have more than 3-5 close friends, which is silly. That would add stress! So I'm rated low on family and friends.

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	9.2
Mind:	8.9
Body:	8.9
Spirit:	8.4
Friends/Family:	6.6
Love:	10
Finance:	8.6
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

I saw this at Bethany's Blog.

1770 Some ads are so cute

that you forget to notice what the product is! I always stop and watch the TV ad of the young woman explaining how to get-over/break-up with a boyfriend. Her final instruction is about deleting his phone number from her cell phone and answering in the affirmative when it asks if she really wants to dump him. You've seen it, right? She's sitting on a bed in dark jeans and laughing while she talks about it. It's really cute--but I have no recall if she is advertising a motel chain, a jeans brand or a phone service. However, it does remind me of this item that was circulating the internet last fall during the campaign.

1. Open a new file in your PC.
2. Name it "John Kerry."
3. Send it to the trash.
4. Empty the trash.
5. Your PC will ask you, "do you really want to get rid of John Kerry?"
6. Answer calmly, "yes," and press the mouse button firmly.
7. Feel better don't you?

1769 Misquoting Christians? What's new?

Wayne Lutz points out at his blog, No Shades of Gray, that Pat Robertson didn't say what the media says he said. It's a fine, fine line that Wayne draws in the sand, but he's got a point--CNN misquoted him and that's being passed around.

"Virtually all of the news accounts that I have heard or read, and even many of the blogs that I otherwise respect, are perpetuating a lie about Robertson. They are saying that he has called down the wrath of God on a Pennsylvania town for voting against the idea of introducing Intelligent Design into schools. CNN, as quoted on a friend's blog, states the lie like this:

Conservative Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson told citizens of a Pennsylvania town that they had rejected God by voting their school board out of office for supporting "intelligent design" and warned them Thursday not to be surprised if disaster struck.

Just one niggling little problem with that: That is not what Robertson said. Not that the truth has ever been a priority at CNN, especially in connection with conservatives in general and Christians in particular.

I heard what Robertson said, and no, Robertson did not "warn them" "not to be surprised if disaster struck." That quote is a lie, and it is being perpetuated by even well-meaning people.

What Robertson said was that IF something bad were to happen to this town, then, those people, having rejected Him, should not call on Him for help, rather they should call on Darwin."

What Robertson said:

"I‘d like to say to the good citizens of Dover: if there is a disaster in your area, don‘t turn to God, you just rejected Him from your city. And don‘t wonder why He hasn‘t helped you when problems begin, if they begin. I‘m not saying they will, but if they do, just remember, you just voted God out of your city. And if that‘s the case, don‘t ask for His help because he might not be there."

I notice Robertson is described as a "fundamentalist" by most news people. Are fundamentalists and pentecostal/charismatics interchangeable? Do they worship together under the same roof?

1768 Martha Pullen's TV Show

Someone on a Martha Pullen Forum mentioned my sewing blog as a good place for memories, and I got about 40 hits from that one mention. Since I don't sew much (actually never) anymore, I had no idea who this Martha is. So I looked Martha up and found out she has a TV program on PBS and a very loyal following with lots of interesting stuff on her web site. Take a look even if you don't do victorian embroidery. I've watched people use software to embroider and it looks like a fascinating use of technology.

Another Martha to admire.

1767 Biblical language used by reporters

Dr. Claude Mariottini, a professor of Old Testament, analyzed the language used by reporters during Katrina. There's important information imbedded in words, that when carelessly or intentionally used might convey another message--"this is God's judgement." Check it out here.

1765 Your Dream Library

On September 8, Booking Through Thursday asked this question.

1. What kind of room is your dream library in (one wall of your living room, dedicated room, corner of the kitchen, etc.)?


2. What genre are most of your books?


3. Are the books all hard cover, paperback, leather, or mixed medium?

This would be my dream library if the shelves weren't stationery stationary and 2 ft deep, and if it weren't in the lower level. Right now, we call it my husband's office. But he is retiring and I have plans. I've already taken over most of the far left section.


Most of our books are non-fiction; theology and religion; art and architecture; reference sources; and parts of my grandparents' home library. I really like "collected works." I don't cook much but seem to have an awful lot of recipe collections, the newest of which is from our church.

I'm fond of cheap books--free is best; resale next. But I do like a good hardcover with a decent, artistic cover. I like the bargain shelves at Half-Price Books, and the free box at the church library. My newest find is "Complete Guide to Needlework" (1979) from the clearance shelf for $3. I'm learning to knit--it has pictures. I'm a sucker for books of art exhibitions, like the Columbus Museum of Art gift shop. I'm so enthusiastic about the exhibit, then buy the book, then never look at it.

There is no good way to store a premiere issue collection. They lean, they flop, they don't like their neighbors. Even with their own blog, they are out of control.

1764 Big shoes to fill

If you are pro-choice, you may not actually contribute money for women to have abortions or give to abortion clinics--you don't go THAT far. You try to put out of your mind that "choice" means taking a life. But if you are pro-life, I hope you're putting your money where your heart is. We support the Pregnancy Decision Health Center of Columbus.

This fall's newsletter came yesterday and had an interesting story about the Fall fund raising banquet attended by 600 people at Villa Milano. One testimony was by a woman who 26 years ago rejected the "life" message her doctor gave her and proceeded with plans for an abortion. "She subsequently got up from the abortionist's table and returned to Dr. Raymond who helped her through her pregnancy and delivered her baby boy. The child was placed for adoption and the presentation ends with a still photo of the baby. At that point, John Vorlicky, now 26 came out on stage to announce that he is the baby in the photo." PDHC wasn't in existence then, but he thanked the group for the moms they are helping today.

If you are part of the adoption triangle (adoptee, birth parent, adoptive parent) you are part of an amazing transaction where grief and sorrow are miraculously turned into joy and hope. Not all adoptions create picture perfect families--but then I don't know any families like that made the other way, do you? Abortions, on the other hand, create nothingness forever and ever.

Some women among the 30,000+ who have been helped by PDHC choose to raise their children, and here's a list of items you can donate to help.

1763 Bird Watching

When I retired in 2000, I posted my "Post Employment Plan" on my web-site (no longer available). One of the things I listed was bird watching, something I knew nothing about, but thought it would be interesting. So my colleagues in the Departmental Libraries got me binoculars. We've actually used them quite a bit just sitting on our deck watching the condo wild life, but I haven't gone to any cemeteries at dawn to peek at the birds. Here's an interesting rare birds site, called, well, Rarebirds.com.

For instance, by clicking on the pushpin on the map of Indiana, for Nov. 8: "The Gray Kingbird, first discovered at 1:20PM on November 5, was seen again today. It was reported this morning at 9:20AM CST on the wires on the West side of US 35 and County Road 1100 South. It was observed while actively feeding, catching flying bugs for 20 min before flying about 200 yards south to the first fenceline South of the intersection. It gave close views on weeds and fenceposts on the East side of the road then moved further East along the fenceline where it was last observed today at 9:55AM CST. This bird constitutes a first state record for this species in Indiana.

Photos of the bird were taken by John Cassady on 11-05-05 and may be viewed
at: http://www.jkcassady.com/gallery/gyki.htm "

I saw this listed at Blogdriverswaltz, in an item about Google Maps. Neat, huh?

1762 This is not news

but it bears repeating. A few brave souls tried to get this message out last year during the campaign meme, "worst economy since Adam and Eve," but they were drowned out.

“The enormous US trade deficit has caused many observers to conclude that international trade, particularly a massive flood of imported goods from China and of services from India, is to blame for the loss of US jobs since 2000. In fact, research shows that only 11 percent of the job losses in manufacturing—about 314,000 jobs—can be attributed to trade, and even in this instance the real culprit was falling exports, not rising imports. Offshoring in the services sector destroyed even fewer jobs. The real causes of job losses were weak domestic demand, rapid productivity growth, and the dollar's strength.”
McKinsley Quarterly, Nov. 11, 2005

1761 Another ex-soldier

wants to be a senator from Massey-chews-its. Worked for Kerry.

1760 Harriet is a class act

Maybe so. But I still think she was a decoy.

"It would have been easy for her to skip the event [Federalist Society Dinner], and one might think it would have been more comfortable, given how much opposition her nomination, withdrawn just two weeks earlier, had stirred up among this crowd--especially since one rap against her was a disparaging comment she made about the Federalist Society back in 1989. But she went, and she got a warm reception. We chatted with her briefly after dinner and found her most gracious. We haven't changed our mind about the nomination, but we can say Harriet Miers is a class act."
James Taranto WSJ Nov. 11, 2005

This White House press release referred to her as a staff secretary

1759 Booga Uga Booga Bag

Cathy is making this for a church bazaar. I have no idea what it is, but she "felted" it. She's a very talented lady. I love to check her site. I'm learning to knit.

1758 Just who is politicizing the war?

The Democrats were out with their talking points seconds after Bush's Veteran's Day speech. Shock. Horror. He's politicizing the war!!!! He's finally, finally, pointing out what we all know--they were all convinced and supporting the issues that brought us to Iraq when they thought they'd get some votes. I hope he keeps it up. He's sticking by his words--let them do the same.

"While it's perfectly legitimate to criticize my decision or the conduct of the war, it is deeply irresponsible to rewrite the history of how that war began.

Some Democrats and anti-war critics are now claiming we manipulated the intelligence and misled the American people about why we went to war.

These critics are fully aware that a bipartisan Senate investigation found no evidence of political pressure to change the intelligence community's judgments related to Iraq's weapons programs.

They also know that intelligence agencies from around the world agreed with our assessment of Saddam Hussein.

They know the United Nations passed more than a dozen resolutions, citing his development and possession of weapons of mass destruction.

Many of these critics supported my opponent during the last election, who explained his position to support the resolution in the Congress this way: When I vote to give the president of the United States the authority to use force, if necessary, to disarm Saddam Hussein, it is because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a threat and a grave threat to our security.

That's why more than 100 Democrats in the House and the Senate, who had access to the same intelligence, voted to support removing Saddam Hussein from power." From Veteran's Day Speech, Nov. 11, 2005, President George W. Bush

1757 Jak sie masz? Na zdrowie! Daj mu buzi!

These are said to be the three phrases non-Polish Americans are most likely to know in Polish. The most familiar single words are thought to be kielbasa, pierogi and the four-letter "D-word."

I read that in the Polish American Journal (Buffalo). No Poles in my family--don't think we've even brought any in via marriage. But if you are Polish within recent generations, you might enjoy this updated offering at the College and Research Libraries C&RL News; it's an update on on-line resources about the Polish Presence in North America.

(I got kielbasa, pierogi and Na zdrowie, but the rest is Greek to me.)

1756 Happy Birthday Marines

Semper Fi, and thank you all veterans and current armed forces members for your service this Veterans' Day.

Dad and his brother Russell, both Marines
"On November 10th, 1775, the Second Continental Congress resolved to raise two battalions of Continental Marines marking the birth of our United States Marine Corps. As Major General Lejeune's message reminds us, the ensuing generations of Marines would come to signify all that is highest in warfighting excellence and military virtue. Each November as Marines the world over celebrate the birth of our Corps, we pay tribute to that long line of "Soldiers of the Sea" and the illustrious legacy they have handed down to us." Message from M. W. Hagee General, U.S. Marine Corps

Dad's brother John was in the Army and took part in the invasion of Normandy and was wounded then and again in Belgium; Russell served in Alaska and then was with the first wave of Marines who stormed Iwo Jima and was wounded; their cousins Andy, Bill and Phil were in the Army serving in Europe, Philippines and Korea; cousin Wayne and brother-in-law Glaydon were in the Navy and served in the Pacific; cousin-in-law Harlan served in the Army in New Guinea and the Philippines; brother-in-law Johnny was in the Coast Guard; brother-in-law Charlie was also in the service, but I don't know the branch. Another brother-in-law, Clare, was in the Army Air Force and died in the China, Burma India Theater.

Dad served on the U.S.S. Mayo and made two trips across the Atlantic and one trip each to Okinawa, the Philippines and Japan. Not bad for a kid who had probably not been further away from home than Chicago and never learned to swim.

All but two of these men were from the same town and all are deceased now. [Service records and photos of over 400 men and women for a town of less than 3,000 appear in "War Record of Mount Morris" edited by Harry G. Kable, 1947.] Even the town band was part of the National Guard and served in the Fiji Islands.

1754 This is a GLOBAL WAR.

Dr. Sanity says she's too busy to blog much right now, but she still gets in a few licks. about Islamic violence in France, Denmark, Australia, Indonesia, Jordan, Iraq and Afghanistan.

"This is a GLOBAL WAR. It is being waged by TERRORISTS who have no particular nation and who seek to unify all nations under an Islamic Caliphate. It is against EVERYONE who does not believe as the terrorists believe, including fellow Muslims who might be inclined to live and let live.

It is not caused by Bush, Cheney, Blair, or Howard's policies. It is not caused by poverty or lack of assimilation. It is not caused by oppression. It is caused by the terrorist's desire to force people through murderous violence and intimidation, to conform to their fanatical religious ideology, and accept a view of the world where Liberty, Justice and Human Dignity play no part.

It is barbarians versus civilization."

1754 A new book blog

New to me anyway. Looks like it could start some interesting discussions.

1753 No more stories about Mitford

Jan Karon, 68, is leaving Mitford with her latest in the series, "Light from Heaven." And I haven't read the first one yet, "At Home in Mitford," although I've borrowed it. After awhile, I suppose, a character, even one like Father Tim, must move on. She's not killing him off, just changing locations. I used to think that about "Murder She Wrote." You sure wouldn't want to be that woman's relative--they were always on trial for something. After awhile, Jessica just ran out of cousins and neighbors in trouble and the series had to have her traveling more.

That's how my newest blog, Memory Patterns, will be. Eventually, I'm going to run out of material (pun), because it is based on various sewing projects and patterns combined with photos from my albums. At the rate I'm writing, I should not have left a spool of thread or a scrap of fabric unturned by Christmas. Then I'll print it out, pass it around to relatives, and eventually shut it down. Print on paper is really the only way to preserve your memories and photos, much as we might like to think digital is the end all, be all, of communication.

1752 Is it something I said?

Today I left a comment at a very nice Christian book site called Buried Treasure. The blogger is an official prairie muffin and has written a nice entry on Agrarian Picture Books. Wow. My kinda site. So I left a comment. Here's the reply.

"Spam Karma: Your comment looks suspiciously like spam and has been moderated. It will be displayed once the admin approves it."

Since when did Christians believe in Karma?

1751 Just about a good idea

Today I was browsing through LIS news feeds and came across About Children's Books. I think all the About.com sites were originally good ideas, but they are extremely aggrevating to read. The page is packed, jammed, smashed with advertising, some of which bounces and moves as you scroll, and you get one paragraph of information--always good, but not worth the struggle. I get queasy reading. I'm often amazed at the writing ability of the specialists who host these pages. Maybe they write a weekly essay and then chop it up into 7 parts? I only subscribe to one About.com feature, and often they build up in my mail box and I eventually delete them just because they are a good idea gone just about bad.

1750 Google Print

Google Print. You won’t find a better wrap up than Charles Bailey’s bibliography. Still no comment by the American Library Association, however. He's good. He'd find it. They are busy with bigger fish, you know--Bush, torture, Patriot Act--all that library stuff.

1749 He's so good to me

Yesterday he went out and bought me tapioca pudding from the Chef-o-Nette and a bag of corn chips. Don't know if it is the pneumonia or the medications, but I've had some food cravings. Then he willingly hid the corn chips after I put some in a small bowl, so I wouldn't eat them all at one sitting. Then this morning he refilled the bowl for me so I wouldn't have to go to his office and take it apart looking for the bag. He is such a blessing.

1748 A frenulectomy

What's that? Check my sewing blog for an explanation why I have nice teeth.

1747 Women who have abortions

are more likely to die within 12 months than women giving birth? And a violent death (suicide, homicide, accident)? I wish I knew more about statistics, ratio and risk after reading this report based on statistical data from Finland. Finland has liberal abortion laws and socialized medicine, but not the privacy laws that the U.S. has which has prevented this study being done here. (But if you want to study equine orthopedics [horse bones] which would cause pain to horses, Finnish vets come here due to their animal welfare laws.) Even non-pregnant women were more likely to die than women who carried to term or miscarried. It's an amazing story. Have to think about that. About how much God wants his little ones to live.

1746 I voted today, did you?

Yes, I drug my self from my sick bed (in the passenger seat) with my husband driving to the local Catholic cathedral, looked for the one 12" American flag, walked down 16 curving steps into an outdoor reception area, and found the upside down "vote here" sign with the arrow going the wrong way.

Vacation Disaster Avoidance

Here's some good advice on vacation and time share planning. I'm not going anywhere soon (except out to vote), but you might be. She also has lovely photos of Hawaii, Ohio and Arkansas--they love to travel.

1744 Three signs your marriage might be in trouble

When I sit down to blog, I have no idea what I'm going to say (except for those entries drafted while I read the paper). Today I was innocently writing about an apron pattern, and ended with 3 ways to know a marriage is in trouble.

1743 WMD in Iraq

This advertisement was attached to the most recent Novak-Evans Report. I have not gone to Iraq to check this out, but I hope someone beside Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame have. Their reporting is a bit dicey.

WMDs Found in Iraq!

1.77 metric tons of enriched uranium

1,500 gallons of chemical weapons agents

17 chemical warheads containing cyclosarin (a nerve agent five times more deadly than sarin gas)

Over 1,000 radioactive materials in powdered form meant for dispersal over populated areas

Roadside bombs loaded with mustard and "conventional" sarin gas, assembled in binary chemical projectiles for maximum potency

This is only a PARTIAL LIST of the horrific weapons verified to have been recovered in Iraq to date. Yet Americans overwhelmingly believe U.S. and coalition forces have found NO weapons of mass destruction. The question is: WHY do they believe this lie?

Richard Miniter explains why these and other popular media factoids and urban legends are not only wrong, but severely damaging to our war effort, in Disinformation: 22 Media Myths That Undermine the War on Terror.

1742 Book Club tonight

We're doing Spin Sisters by Myrna Blyth. But I'm not there. Went to the doctor today for this cold that has lingered longer than usual and I have pneumonia, first time since I was in grade school. So I'll just snuggle up with a good cat instead of a good book. After a breathing treatment and 3 medications, frankly, I feel much, much worse.

1741 Bone tired, always?

There are good, solid medical reasons to be tired all the time. Various sleep disorders, narcolepsy, shift-work disturbances, post polio syndrome, stroke, post-head injury, Parkinson's Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, hypothyroidism, ADD and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) to name a few. No matter how much you sleep, you're always tired. And if you can't get the right kind of sleep, you're not going to ever have energy.

Go to the library (or to Google) and research Provigil or Modafinil. It works miracles for some, does nothing for others. Check it out. Ask your doctor--always.

I feel their pain

After the Suze Orman show on MSNBC, I didn't change the channel and a feature came on about a couple with a six figure income living in Buffalo who were having a struggle making it financially. They've already borrowed against their home equity. The wife is a SAHM with an MBA who is still paying off her college loans and has three children. The house and cars were very nice--not palatial, but better than anything I've ever owned. They appeared to be in their early 40s.

Then today USAToday featured the Hetmers of Rockwall, TX, another family (blended) with a six figure income, wife has two jobs and the husband has a sales job that has a base of $30,000 and then he works on commission. He'd been making about $130,000, and this is a new job, probably a step up. They can't borrow against their home equity, because they have none, and have an interest only mortgage. She too is paying off her college loans, and now has decided that her college age son should borrow her half of the costs (his father pays the other half), so they'll have two generations of college loans in that family. She is about 41.

What do you want to bet that neither family tithes their income to a church or synagogue? And yet that's about the best way to stay out of debt that I know of. I don't know why it works, but it does. If you start early enough, you won't have any excess cash to fritter away on eating out or shopping as a hobby. Later, when it's a habit and not a hardship, it will help you focus on what's important in life.

Back to Suze Orman (soapbox alert). I enjoy her show and her dramatics. It's well-paced with good advice. But I wish she'd slap some of these "living together" couples up side the head instead of giving them advice on investments. Living together without marriage screams "lack of commitment," so why should they be mingling funds just because they are mixing body fluids? Marriage isn't always a good financial base, but shacking up never is.

1739 Liberals have all the interesting advocacy programs

In government, the conservatives have all the new and innovative ideas, but in organizations, clubs and workshops, the liberals have cornered the market. I was reading the local freebie paper Saturday at the coffee shop and noted these meetings about town.

CURE [Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants] life skills workshops

8 week course on justice/public policy

Bicycle advocacy group for transportation

Green Party monthly meeting

Earth Institute--Simple living, voluntary simplicity and "deep ecology."

Impact Safety program--self defense for women and children

Mercy for animals--rights of all animals

Arts Relief--art supplies for hurricane victims

Surviving the Violence luncheon

Spirit of the 60s Coffee House

Abortion Access Fund

Health, peace of mind, and mental clarity workshop

Choices for victims of domestic violence

Equal justice

Jewish GLBT

1738 Did Bush get instruction before the Latin America trip?

Generally, when you greet friends and relatives in the Latin culture, here's what you do. When a male greets a female or when a female greets a female, they will gently touch both arms while moving their bodies to about 6 inches apart, then they cock their heads, put their cheeks together, and make a light kissing sound. Their lips don't actually make contact with anything. All this will take about 1 or maybe 2 seconds. For men greeting men, in most areas, it is completely customary to give each other a hug. This may seem unnatural for many people outside of the Latin culture, so you may have to practice hugging a few times before you gain any close friends or relatives that live in Latin areas.

Spanish lesson

1737 The poulets have come home to roost

says Dr. Sanity, "and we should not be glad of it, because this could mean the beginning of the end for a free Europe." She's gathered some comments from other blogs here.

1736 Nothing's changed since I was in school

Actually, a lot has, but not this--students don't like to be called on. Usually, because they aren't prepared. In fact, I'm a little surprised anyone had to study this. But 200 introductory psych students were questioned about "being called on."

"The “top five” behaviors that 125 introductory psychology students said they use to avoid being called on (each endorsed by over 50 percent of the sample) included:

• Avoid eye contact.
  
• Look like you are thinking of the answer (but have not come up with it yet).
  
• Act like you are looking for the answer in your notes.
  
• Act like you are writing in your notes.
  
• Pretend to be reading something course-related.

Other responses included dropping a pen or notebook to look busy, hiding behind the person in front of you — and even a write-in response: pretend to be asleep. Constructive, preemptive participatory behaviors — such as raising one's hand to say something related to the topic or to ask a question about the topic — were endorsed by less than 20 percent of students."

This doesn't sound terribly imaginative of either the students or the authors, but the authors do have some suggestions on getting a discussion going.

1735 More negative news about alcohol advertising

"A study slated to appear in the January issue of Psychological Science suggests the mere presence of alcohol-related images -- including those in advertising -- encourages aggression even if people aren’t drinking." That's all I know, because the issue isn't available yet.

1734 Who owns the computer system on which you're reading this?

Ad Age reports something surprising (to me) about blogs--551,000 years of paid work time is being spent on blog reading! Yikes. Turn me off right now and go back to work, you slacker! And if you're listening to AMC on headphones or a tiny TV stuck in your desk drawer, turn that off too.

A report last week by Advertising Age Editor at Large Bradley Johnson noted that about 35 million workers -- or one in four people in the U.S. labor force -- spend an average of 3.5 hours, or 9%, of each work day reading blogs. This blogification of workplace time is no minor concern -- the total losses across the national work force are estimated to be the equivalent of 551,000 years of paid time that is being spent on blogs via the employer's own computer systems.

Another important point was that the time spent reading blogs on the job was in addition to the time already spent surfing the Web in personal pursuits. The debate appears to be one of reasonable limits. At what point, or at what length of time, does the use of company assets for personal activities become unreasonable? And is the problem likely to become an even greater one as more and more TV content goes online, becoming easily accessible from one's office computer? Do employers need to find new ways to police their computer systems?

AdAge.com

1733 Free marketing and promotion advice

for librarians (but would work for various agencies who are clueless) in ten parts is currently running at Ex Libris. I can't say as I think much of the author's example [Tia Dobi] of the DoD as selling a product for "killing," but once she gets off her liberal soap box, she has some good things to say about how and how not to market libraries.

There are some people who by personality and profession are not inclined to use public libraries--my family, for instance. My daughter and I were together Friday evening for dinner. She brought it in because I've been ill and she stayed until about 9:30. She was explaining to me the plot and intricacies of her latest read--The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. Big, big book. She looked at her watch and said, "Oh Barnes and Noble will be closed. I want to buy 1776." "Don't you ever use a library?" I asked. (I'm totaling up in my head not only the pages, but the cost--it's a mom-thing). "Never. I like to own my books."

OK. I can accept that, but what if libraries had a decent advertising campaign at anytime except when they want to pass bond issues? What if their staff smiled and acted like they were happy to see you, the way boutique clerks do? What if they stopped talking to each other, and asked if you needed help? What if they bought more than 5 copies of books on the best seller list for 2 years? Do librarians think people are immune to advertising? Why is it that magazines, TV and newspapers actually support their product with advertising and appealing to their niche market, if it won't work on the homogeneous general public within driving distance of the public library?

Then there's my husband. He always has a beautiful, fancy library card because he uses the library so rarely, he is always issued a new one each time he shows up. Mine is about 30 years old and has a glued bar code on it because I stop by about once a week. But even that is way down from what it used to be before the internet, databases on-line, and Google.

Come on, librarians, toot your horns a bit.

1732 There's this guy in Bucyrus

who sells gasoline about 15 or 20 cents higher than the competition. Friday it was $2.39 for regular and Saturday he had dropped to $2.29, but the Mobile and Shell were $2.17. Around here the Sunoco is selling for $2.15, and the cheap gas places are probably less. So I'm thinking, how does this guy stay in business? It isn't just one week-end, but week after week. He's always way higher than stations two blocks away. Surely he can't be living on the loyalty of his relatives and the naivete of motorists coming in from Columbus and Cincinnati. He also has the dirtiest restrooms this side of the Third World--which I discovered the last time we stopped there. When I complained to the cashier she told me it wasn't her job. Well, maybe not, but did she go across the street when nature called? It was a sewer.

Maybe he sells something else and tries to keep the rest of us away.


Bucyrus has two beautiful murals that look like you could walk right into them

1731 Save a plant and it might return the favor

Plant and animal biodiversity isn't just for tree huggers. We've got Lyme Disease because the white footed mouse doesn't have enough natural enemies, and we need to protect the plants too, because they may be the source of treatments that will prolong our lives. This is not saving a snail species because it has "rights" but because it is the smart, productive and safe thing to do.

"Preserving biodiversity also means preserving a reservoir of as-yet-undiscovered medical treatments and cures. Consider the cancer drug Taxol, made from the Pacific yew tree; morphine, which was initially derived from poppies; and Artemisia, which yielded chloroquinine and other treatments for resistant strains of malaria. In addition, microbes -- the most diverse organisms on the planet -- also hold promise: aminoglycosides, a group of antibiotics used in the treatment of severe infections, were derived from a bacterium found in tropical soil.

Animal species too are treasure troves of medicines: the cone snail yields a toxin (recently FDA-approved under the name "Prialt") that is a thousand times more potent than morphine as a painkiller but does not lead to tolerance or addiction. That same snail also yields a broad-spectrum anti-epileptic used for the treatment of intractable epilepsy. It should go without saying that the destruction of species such as these means that potential cures are lost forever. Even species that may seem inconsequential to human life (like soil microbes or cone snails) actually have the potential to improve human life greatly -- if they are not driven to extinction."
American Council on Science and Health

1730 Creating a piece of art?

I found a neat site called typoGenerator. Type in the words, change the font, or colors or background, or toss two of the three and move on.

Not sure I like these colors, or pink flamingos

This might be better

This is such fun!

1729 Ohio should vote

NO on Tuesday there's a bunch of incomprehensible issues on the ballot--called 2,3,4,and 5. They address absentee voting rules (Issue 2), campaign finance laws (Issue 3), the drawing of legislative boundaries (Issue 4) and replacing the Ohio secretary of state with an appointed board (Issue 5). The liberal organizations are supporting this wholeheartedly. They are still mad that Bush won Ohio by 180,000 votes last November. Still think he stole the election. The voice over ads on TV and radio say absolutely nothing, on both sides. Here's how Richard Finan sees it:

• Issue 2 would allow more people to vote before the election but contains not one provision to assure voters that those votes are protected from fraud. In fact, in combination, Issues 2 and 5 obliterate Supreme Court rulings, Ohio attorneys general opinions and secretary of state policies that have protected the integrity of the vote in Ohio for generations.

• Issue 3 would limit the dollar amount people could give to candidates but would allow special interests never-before-imagined opportunities to stuff secondhand money into campaigns. For example, while it would prohibit Ohio’s employers from making political contributions, it would allow millionaires, such as Jerry Springer, the 2004 Democratic man of the year, to spend his own money unchecked for his promised campaign.

• Issue 4 would snatch the vote out of the hands of Ohioans while replacing that vote with a board of bureaucrats sealed off from the public. Ohioans have in every decade since 1970 thrown the rascals out, when they wearied of a party or its leaders. It is hard to believe that Ohio voters do not relish this power or that, as some reformers have said, are too easily tricked into misusing it.

Then comes Issue 5, which would remove the secretary of state as Ohio’s chief elections officer. That job, performed by dozens of different Democratic and Republican elected officials for generations, would be handed over to another appointed board. The board would mean more full-time state jobs and benefits for bureaucrats. The bureaucrats would set their own salaries, vacations and staffing needs, and taxpayers would get the bill."

1728 Debunking the myths of journalism graphic design

Although I didn't know there were myths about design of newspaper graphics, after reading this article at Poynter, I can see it. Some, I even think I've heard, although I'm no journalist. But I certainly think rag right is easier to read than justified right. Oh, the horrors of justifying paragraphs when we used the typewriter!

"Somewhere along the way, the myth developed that justified type conveys more of a hard news feel -- and that and rag right is more featurey. Readers don't make any differentiation between the two. Some reasearch has shown that rag right is easier to read because justified text can create large spaces and more hyphenation. Either way, the achieve the best reader experience, it's important to have someone with a skilled eye tweaking the size, letter and word spacing, and acceptable hyphenation."

Read the article, Debunking Myths by Ann Van Wagener

1727 And liberals complain about Christmas?

What would they do with these holidays so beautifully described and visually enhanced by Avik (see Oct. 10)?

"With the beating of drums and a surge of humanity flocking marquees since the morning despite warnings of thundershowers, the five-day Durga Puja, the biggest festival of the Bengalis, began in West Bengal on Sunday.

The festivities begin from Mahasashthi (the sixth day from the day after Mahalaya), when the priest unveils the goddess Durga during a puja known as bodhan.

This is followed by the three main days of Mahasaptami, Mahaastami and Mahanavami when the chanting of hymns, arati and anjali (floral offerings with chanting of hymns by men, women and children in new clothes) mark the rituals.

The fifth day of Bijoya Dasami, when the idols are immersed, marks the end of a carnival in West Bengal that goes beyond religions and communities."

1726 The continuing devastation in Alabama

Most teen bloggers write about the opposite sex, clothes and tech-toys. Not Rebelution. These teen brothers who are homeschooled have written about the wake-up call they got when driving through ground-zero of Katrina. It's still a mess, they report. They couldn't find a restaurant open, nor a grocery store to buy food. They needed to have their car repaired, and discovered there was no way to use a credit card. Residents of the area were still driving 50 miles to get gas. People are still living in tents. It's not over 'til it's over folks, and the press has gone home.

"In the past two weeks Alex and I have driven along the Gulf of Mexico from Montgomery, Alabama to San Antonio, Texas and back. We were struck not so much by the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, but by the continued devastation. There have been three major hurricanes since Hurricane Katrina hit in late August: Ophelia, Rita, and Wilma. And while it has been legitimate for the media to switch their attention to these new natural disasters, a perhaps unintended consequence is that most Americans, not directly affected by Katrina, have assumed that unless an area was just "re-hit" by Wilma, everything's "O.K. down there." To most, it's old news."

1725 Google's Sergey Brin

I just love Google. As a librarian, I'm not at all distressed that it is achieving librarianship's goals of access to information for everyone even while threatening to put librarians out of work!*

But I especially love that one of its founders, Sergey Brin, is an immigrant. Is this a great country, or what? And not just any immigrant, but he's from Russia. I was a Russian major in college and most of my classmates were immigrants--Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Poland, etc. I think I only met one or two actual Russians.

Google's new plan to digitize works still under copyright is explained in Lawrence Lessig's November column in Wired. It's short and to the point and easy to understand.

And would you believe, my ancestors were immigrants too?

*The American Library Association has come out against torture and the war in Iraq, but has said nothing officially about Google's digitization project. They're leaving that up to publishers and authors.

1724 Jimmy Carter was my favorite president

until he started acting like he was morally still the president, and that's been for quite a few years now. When he jumped in and helped with Habitat for Humanity, he was doing what an ex-president should do. Finding his own niche. Above the fray. In the 90s he didn't like Bill Clinton, and likes George W. Bush even less. Now he has a new book, "Our Endangered Values." Apparently it is deadly dull, according to reviewer Bret Stephens. I'm not surprised. Like his party, he hasn't had a new idea in 25 years. Here are the key words of the review by Stephens, now you can decide to read the book or not. Me? Not.

tedious
boring
irritating
sanctimonious
self-congratulatory
humorless
factual omissions
passive-aggressive
"everything is wrong beginning with the title"
weird lapses of memory
obsessed
Tito--"believed in human rights"
Ceausescu--"our goals were the same"
Arafat--"misunderstood"
Kim Il Sung--"vigorous and intelligent"

I wonder of Carter thinks starvation is an important endangered value?

Article about Kim Il Sung in New Yorker. "the estimates are that two to three million people starved to death in the course of the past decade. Starving to death doesn’t happen overnight. Starving to death isn’t even a matter of having insufficient food for a couple of months. It’s total starvation over a long period of time, a complete breakdown of bodies."

"[Ceausescu's] secret police (Securitate) maintained rigid controls over free speech and the media, and tolerated no internal opposition. In an effort to pay off the large foreign debt that his government had accumulated in the 1970s, Ceausescu ordered the export of much of the country's agricultural and industrial production. The resulting drastic shortages of food, energy, medicines, and other basic necessities drove Romania from a state of relative economic well-being to near starvation. Ceausescu also instituted an extensive personality cult and appointed his wife, Elena, and some members of his family to high posts in the government. Among his grandiose schemes was a plan to bulldoze thousands of Romania's villages and large areas of the city of Bucharest, and move their residents into new apartment buildings. Over one fifth of the built area of central Bucharest, including churches and historic buildings, was demolished during Ceausescu's rule in the '80s." http://www.rotravel.com/romania/history/app4.php