February 2009

Jeff and I have talked off and on this week about work distractions. I’ve been having a lot of them lately, and it didn’t hit me until a couple of days ago that they had something to do with my level of frustration at work.

My job situation dictates mental agility. To handle it properly, I must be able to repeatedly switch tasks, thought processes, and often even styles of work on very short notice.  Write a press release, then debug a server configuration.  Study up on how new software works, then whip out a graphic.  Write code.  Answer phones.  Pitch in on troubleshooting calls if I know the answers and our hardware person isn’t free.

The problem is that not all of these are short-attention-span projects.  I’m really there to write code, and therein lies the rub.  Libraries are not typically havens for programmers, so the mindset is foreign to anyone outside the IT department.

So … how are YOU celebrating 1234567890 Day?

Need a hint? See this CNET article explaining what today is, and why only dorky sysadmins care.

It’s a wholly arbitrary holiday, so I’m thinking I should do something … random and arbitrary.

Well, I have my initial answer for the quilt design:

Initial reaction: it’s close.  It’s very close.  I have eight stars left over, thus explaining the +8 or -10.  If I want to stick with the current number of rows, I have eight spare stars.  If I want to add one more row, which I believe I do, I’m ten short. Given that I’m sitting on several fabrics I didn’t use, I’m fairly certain of my answer. I’d planned to be a bit short on stars for that very reason; I didn’t pick out these fabrics, so I was going to be very dependent on lucking into a good order.

Two of those red fabrics just aren’t playing nicely, though. I don’t want to pull them out of the quilt; I’d rather blend them better. We’ll see.

Full evolution of the design is documented at http://flickr.com/photos/domesticat/sets/72157613043153779/detail/

I’ve been thinking about my colleagues today. This article pretty much says it: "Public libraries see more people, but are having to slash costs"

"There are more people, and there’s been an increase in computer use," said Kristal Holmes, director of the Auburndale Public Library. Holmes said she has seen many people applying for unemployment and filling out job applications on the library’s computers, as well as people filling out forms for Florida Department of Children and Families benefits, such as food stamps, Medicaid and temporary cash assistance.

It’s a nasty double whammy. As soon as people can no longer afford to buy books and DVDs, they remember public libraries … right around the time that library funding gets decimated due to falling tax receipts.