Okay, today makes it official: I am an eBay Bellydance Whore. I sometimes wish that I'd never discovered eBay shopping....but then if I had, I guess I wouldn't have found so many cool things for so little money, would I? Latest purchase: hand-dyed silk veils (so evocatively named Fire Flight and Sea Hummingbird). I was talking to a friend who just got herself one silk veil, for more than I paid for both of these...see how this can get addictive? Don't know how long the links above will last, so look at them before they're gone!

So, what do you think: is the internet over?

Here's an interesting article you should read from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Life around here has been chaos lately. Computer worm and virus infections, multiple power outages closing down the library, overbooked schedules, and the usual problems with being treated like shit by every office and organization I have to contact with routine requests. I don't know if this is a South Florida problem, or an American problem generally, but people down here tend to treat you like you're an unwanted interruption to their work day, instead of the reason that they are in business for the first place. If I could just make one phone call without being placed on hold midsentence, constantly interrupted, or otherwise treated with total disrespect, it would be a miracle. If people could do the simple, basic, no-brainer tasks that comprise their jobs without having to be hounded for days it would be even *more* miraculous. In Broward County, however, that seems too much to ask.

I've been gathering research for my presentation at USask...hopefully it will go well and I won't look like a total idiot! I decided to focus on two major trends--consortia/partnerships between universities and other types of libraries, and online reference delivery growing increasingly interactive. Fortunately, I just happen to have experience in both areas as part of my jobs here, so I won't be talking totally theoretically.

Sorry for the infrequent updates lately. I never should have said anything about not having much to do--now I'm running around frantically trying to gather research and informational materials for my interview presentation, plus put together a couple more classes and training sessions for other staff at work. Ack!

Interesting health care report on NPR early this afternoon. Apparently the United States, with it's private health care system, spends 31% of health care money on administrative paperwork. Compare this to Canada, with it's public system, which only sees 17% of health expenditures go to paperwork. The culprit? Your good old HMO. Now, repeate after me: government-run health care for the people is bloated, bureaucratic, inefficient, and communist. Government-run health care for the people is bloated, bureacratic, inefficient, and communist. Government-run health care....

Whatever.

Tired today. Sooooo tired. Someday I will learn that it's really not a good idea to stay up until 2am reading when I have to go to work the next day. But that day is not today.

My interview with the University of Saskatchewan is set for September 12. A full day of meeting library staff and administration, going for lunch, fielding questions, making a presentation on trends in library distance services, and so forth. I'm a little nervous on the presentation, so I guess I'd better start digging into Library Literature. Thank goodness we still have access through NSU...otherwise researching would be a little more difficult.

Put out a couple of other applications to Ontario this week, too. Cross those fingers for me, okay?

Did you know that there's a Harry Potter Automatic News Aggregator?

Sorry, it's been a little while. Mostly due to computer problems caused by the RPC hole. Isn't technology fun? Hope everyone's got the patch by now.

I got some big news this evening. I got home to find a message on my answering machine....and it was about one of my job applications! The University of Saskatchewan is requesting an interview! I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high, but I would love to get this position, which fits my qualifications perfectly and looks both challenging and exciting. Anyone reading this can send some good luck thoughwaves down south...

Remember the six degrees of separation theory? Well, apparently it works for the online world, too. Neat, huh?

I know there's not been much info here lately, but, frankly, my life hasn't been all that interesting. We are going through an air condidtioning crisis at work, which means fluctuating indoor temperatures and periodic building closures. I got back to my bellydance class this week; we are doing some cane dancing, which is neat, even if it does feel part-cheerleader/part-Fred Austaire at times. Other than that...pretty uneventful. So why bore you with details? :)

Still think filters are an easy, failsafe solution? Read this.

Guess what everyone! Survey says that Almost 75% of Americans believe that people should be allowed to express unpopular opinions. There now, doesn't that make you feel much better?