What ya' going to do when a wrestler teaches ya to read

This tickled my funny bone...but in reality it's good news for YA librarians in Chicagoland. The WWE, YALSA, Comcast, and the Chicago Public schools are sponsoring a read initiative for teens. With this synergistic approach, I think everyone wins. WWE gets publicity and some Chicago school libraries receive a shot in the arm in terms of funding.

In the words of former WWE wrestler Randy "Macho Man" Savage: "Oh Yea!!!"

One of my favorites

Thank you sir for your sense of humor.....

You were one of a kind.

It's Tax Season....

Leave it to Frank and Ernest to remind me that it's not all bad. ;)

KC Librarian's alter ego

Librarian by day....


But at night, he fights for truth, justice, and the American way....oh, yeah, that's the other guy.

Major Investment

I have made the decision to go ahead and install a new air conditioning and furnace system in my house this year. My current air conditioner and coil consist of a rusty box and tin foil and the furnace was made by General Electric (I don't think they manufacture furnaces anymore). As a matter of fact, the furnace is so antiquated, I had to go to three hardware stores this morning before I could find the right filter for it. This purchase might mean a major change to my budget...in other words, crackers and cheese whiz for supper and lumpy oatmeal for breakfast. Actually, I don't think it will be that bad.
I already had a bid today from company X and I will receive a bid from the more commercially popular company Y tomorrow. I said this before and I will say this again: The joys of home ownership.

KC Librarian visits Springfield

I didn't get many options through this but give it a try at Simpsonmaker.

The Ever changing TV Station in Topeka

One of the reasons I decided to get out of broadcast journalism early was the uncertainty of the small market job situations. And the television station where I started was no different.
While finishing my senior year in college, I had a weekend job at a Topeka station as a news photographer (I guess today's term is photojournalist). I enjoyed the video production, writing the story, and the occasional participation in the interview of a famous local politician or a national politician which included Presidential candidates Al Gore and Michael Dukakis.
But in summary judgment, I would say my introduction to broadcast journalism was bitter sweet. You see, the television station was a fledgling station with budgetary problems and a recently rebuilt television tower replacing the tower that was toppled in the 1984 Topeka ice storm. As such, the station had a revolving door policy for some parttime employees and I was caught in that tornado. I lost my job and became very disillusioned with the field.
In 2002, a college buddy and I went to see the Red Sox double-header slaughter of the Royals. He works as a reporter for Topeka Capital Journal. He informed me that the station where I worked so long ago axed their news department because of budget problems plus the fact they finished last in the local television news ratings. I was happy when he told me. Hell, I was euphoric. This only confirmed to me that this television station was a poor start, a poor facilitator for someone dreaming to be in broadcast journalism. In celebration of this news, I bought my friend dinner.
Now, I read that today some TV businessmen are trying to rejuvenate the news department. My response: ho-hum. I don't care. The broadcast journalism I studied in the '80s is not the same as what is practiced professionally today. I am glad I stepped away and tried other options.

Couple of library notes

• While looking through the KBI felon registry for a reference question the other day, I saw the photo and name of someone I knew from high school. My response: I'm not surprised.
• I am going to delay the implementation of pay headphones in the computer lab until we deplete the supply of "checkout" headphones in about four to six months.
• I am working with SB and KL in reorganizing the enrollment process for my computer classes at the library. Monday, PG received a written complaint against me because I had to send an extra person away because she enrolled way to late but showed up anyway. I am not accepting any blame and I am not assessing any blame for what happened. These things happen, adjustments have to be made.

I love this podcasting technology!!!

Being the inquisitive tech geek, I was looking through some podcast directories and found a feed for handbell music.

Handbell music?

Well, it may not mean a hill of beans to you but I did have a family member (Ellen Jane Lorenz Porter) who dedicated her life to writing handbell music and educating people about handbell music. EJ did not live in the Internet Age, but if she heard about this podcasting technology, she would be happy that there was one more source available to send out the word about her craft.

Also, the group They Might Be Giants seems to be embracing podcasting. I downloaded a couple of their podcast shows onto my player.

Random Thoughts

• Just when I thought the holiday eating season was over, girl scout cookies were delivered to me tonight. I had dinner with AN and her children tonight and her daughter brought the two, er, three boxes of cookies I ordered. As usual, the conversation with AN was stimulating.
• Well, it looks like Bill Self knows what he's doing after all. I was very impressed with the Jayhawks as they withstood the Iowa State rallies Saturday. KU seems to be playing cohesive basketball right now and I feel the future looks promising. Meanwhile, I hope the Mizzou AD can find a basketball coach that can return the Tigers to league-contending status and a consistent national ranking not to mention to spice up the KU-MU rivalry.
• JG discovered how to insert a photo or graphic into a blog's header section. It involves using a photo sharing site like Flickr. In this case, Flickr is capable of generating a URL for the desired photo. Then it's a matter of copying the code into the blog HTML code. Neat stuff. Way to go JG!!!
• Finally, god bless Adam Curry, the former M-TV veejay. I've been doing a lot of reading about podcasting this weekend and it looks like he is to podcasting like Thomas Edison is to the light bulb. Curry keeps a blog dedicated to the new social technologies like podcasting. It's worth a view.

A Visit to the doctor-follow up

My doctor reviewed my blood tests this morning. I am happy to report that I'm far removed from a diabetes risk and high cholesterol. The doctor did recommend, though, that I attempt to lose weight....and he's right.
If I am to enjoy the sailing excursion this October, I should probably get in better shape for it.

Starting something major at work

This month a colleague (JG) and I are starting a major project at the library. We are establishing a Reader's Advisory Blog which will link to our KCKPL website. Co-workers from our department as well as the audio-visual department will participate as they will write one paragraph reviews covering book and A-V titles. We hope to post three to four reviews a week.
We ran into a couple of snags this week as we developed the blog's web page. First, we had to figure how to insert a graphic into the blog. Then, we realized that our URL to the blog was too lengthy so we had to create a new blog.
We hope to roll out the blog March 1.

Hail to the Black and Gold

I had my first Super Bowl party in my house. A total of nine people attended. MS smoked a couple of ribs and boy, were they tasty. PS made two desserts. My nephew especially enjoyed the brownies as he gobbled 14 of them. Good luck getting him to bed tonight sister. And for the first time in a long, long time, the team I rooted for actually won. WAY TO GO STEELERS!!!

Now, I've got to clean up the basement.

Noisy Neighbors

My doorbell rang late this afternoon. It was S, a neighbor I've seen for the four and a half years I've lived here but never talked to. He wanted to know if I had any concerns about my next door neighbors. I sad definitely yes.
They have been playing loud music in the late night hours and I was glad to hear that not only did it bother me but it bothered the five or six other households on the dead-end block. Also, a couple of the mail boxes have been wiped out as people from the house have made hasty exits from the neighborhood. These people rent the house.
The owner of the house is a police officer who patrols the Weatherby Lake area in North KC. Right now, as a start, S says the police can only patrol the neighbor and asks the neighbors to lower the music during the overnight hours. But if the problem persists, I might start a petition among my other neighbors for their removal. I tolerated loud music overnight in college as a young lad, but this is different and bad for my beauty sleep.

And the doctor says.....

Tendinitis. Now for the prescription medications and the upset stomach to come.

The Kite Runner

Since I was unable to go out and run a marathon yesterday (as if I ever did), I sat in my chair and read 200 pages of Hosseini's The Kite Runner during my sick day. I must admit I'm hooked into this story. It tells the story of a relationship between two young men and how the relationship evolved especially in times of change in Afghanistan. A very general statement, I know, but Hosseini's use of first person is what makes this book effective for me.

My aching knee

Right now, my knee feels like it received 4,000 martial art kicks from Ultraspark. I see the doctor tomorrow.