Carl Sagan Day 2009

I've been posting Carl Sagan quotes on Twitter all day in celebration of what would be the astronomer's 75th birthday (Nov. 9, 2009). His enthusiasm for science, his imagination, and his endless quest for knowledge are all things humanity should strive for.

Carl died in 1996. What stunning acheivements have been made in space exploration since then?

The Mars Pathfinder lands on Mars (1997)
For the first time ever, a spacecraft lands on an asteroid (2001)

Dennis Tito becomes the first tourist in space (2001)
Spirit & Opportunity rovers land on Mars (2004)
A privately developed spacecraft flies into space (2004)
First landing on an alien moon (Saturn's moon Titan) (2005)

Of course, there have been many more events since 2005. Chances are, with his vast imagination, Carl thought of them all.

And he appreciated libraries.

"Books permit us to voyage through time, to tap the wisdom of our ancestors. The library connects us with the insights and knowledge, painfully extracted from Nature, of the greatest minds that ever were, with the best teachers, drawn from the entire planet and from all of our history, to instruct us without tiring, and to inspire us to make our own contribution to the collective knowledge of the human species. Public libraries depend on voluntary contributions. I think the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries."

And I leave you with this, my favorite scene from the Cosmos television series:

Happy Carl Sagan Day, everyone!

Moose crazy

So we got a little moose crazy at the library today. We had a visit from a big bull moose. I took some pictures, posted them on Twitter and sent some around to family and friends. Then, hours later when I was taking my break I noticed his HUGE rack in the front lawn of the library.

So I ran to my car to get a real camera and snapped this shot:

Hopefully there will be more wildlife pictures to come.

six months later

I've just passed a very important anniversary: 6 months ago I had what appeared to be a seizure.

I have no prior history of seizures. I do not use any kinds of drugs or medications that might cause seizures. I just had one.

"It happens." Said the neurologist. "Sometimes people just have a seizure and it never happens again." The MRI, EEG and CT scans revealed nothing unusual. Thank goodness.

She still told me that I wasn't allowed to drive for 6 months. Should I get into an accident and police discover that I had had a seizure in that period of time, I could be held criminally responsible.

So there. I can drive now...you know, without fear of being responsible for murder.

Our incredible summer has led to an equally incredible autumn.

Party's over

After having probably the best summer one could hope for in Alaska, autumn has finally descended. Just a week ago the skies were blue, the temperatures were in the 60's and spirits were soaring. But it was just a matter of time.

In the past few days Alaskans have been reluctantly pulling fleeces out of their closets, turning up their thermostats, and succumbing to the inevitable.

I thought I'd post pictures from adventures this summer. Enjoy!

May in Cooper Landing

June above Bird Creek

(Mike Nelson)

Luke at the Seafarer's Memorial in Homer, AK

(Mid-May)

July in Seward with Holly

Bike ride near Portage Glacier

August house party/Tweetup

Last weekend (Sept) on the road to/from Seward.

update--it's been awhile

This summer has been a little crazy.

June began with a visit from the fam. Mike and two of his kids came up to hike, fish and camp. The Summer Reading program was in full swing by then and I started working just part time in Youth Services, part time in Adult Services at Loussac. At some point in June the libraries made a decision to close their doors 3 days a week to accommodate municipal budget cuts.

In July my friend Holly came to visit.

We went to Forest Fair, ate some delicious foods and took a little cruise. The weather was remarkably warm and we had a great time. It was around this time when I attended my first Tweetup--a meeting of local Twitterers. I was still going back and forth between the branch and the main library (which was stressful).

August started almost immediately with a vacation to Michigan--not much of a vacation, really. It was filled with obligations and awkward family encounters. We did stop in Lansing straight away but I was really tired--in fact I was tired the whole week. We also went to Mackinaw Island for a day.

When we came back to Anchorage, Luke's brother was already in town waiting for us. He had come in for Portland (OR) and was longing for some brother time. So the boys have spent most of the week hanging out, biking, bar hopping and visiting other family.

This past week the mayor also announced his plan to cut the budget. He recently discovered another $9 million shortfall for the year (a $17 million shortfall was discovered in January). Mayor Sullivan was talking cuts in personnel. Being rather low on the proverbial totem pole, I've been worried sick. Luckily, this first 1% of personnel cuts doesn't affect me. Don't mistake my relief for ACTUAL relief--it's just a temporary feeling.

So that's been my summer! After all that I long for a little dullness--that being said I could see my breath outside last night. I'm not saying that winter's on it's way but, well...

Ten reaspons to be a public librarian

from
Dispatches from a Public Librarian:

Ten reasons to be a librarian

You totally get to classify things.
Where else are you going to ruin a person's day over a 20-cent fine?
The funky glasses make you easily mistaken for a hipster.
You can make up whatever you want and people will believe you just because you're a librarian.
You get first dibs on unclaimed items in the lost-and-found box.
You get to be in charge of buying furniture that is least likely to show a piss stain.
Playing Scrabble on the Internet can be considered "professional development."
The most stressful thing that happens is arguing with people over why they cannot view their favorite pornography website.
Get to spend two hours designing a sign that says the library will be closed for the holidays.
No one says anything when you fall asleep during a meeting.

Ten reasons not to be a librarian

Who wants to go to grad school for two years to learn theory you will never use?
Those little punk teenagers on skateboards.
People kind of expect you to know things.
If you know enough about how to find information to be a good librarian, you can definitely make more money doing something else.
People automatically assume that you have some weird fetish for cats.
People expect you to help them find things when you are not working just because you know how.
Some people think you are weird because you classify things in your house—like clothes and dishes.
Writing library policy can be about as fun as watching paint dry.
Every great idea you have is likely to get shot down as soon as someone says, "Let's form a committee to decide things."
At some point in your career, someone will, or will try to, physically assault you over something incredibly lame (like not giving him or her more time on the Internet).