Librarian Video Game

Finally we have our own on- line video game!

http://www.library.cmu.edu/Libraries/etc/

I need more practice - I'm better at Dewey than LC.
And if you know what the above sentence means than you are definitely a librarian too!

The Effects of a Lunar Eclipse

Today was not normal.

Thunder and lighting accompanied the dismissal bell. Along with the pollen, the rain washed all the common sense away too. A couple of teachers unfurled their umbrellas and led their children around the busses to load them. The result: 1 dry teacher and 15 wet children. Others dumped their kids in the hall and ran. The result: 300 confused kids with inadequate supervision.

I went to Kroger to get gas. The clerk informed me that the system is down and they can’t accept cash. I knew a cashless society was coming, just didn’t expect it to arrive quite so soon. The result: a quick trip to another gas station. In the rain.

Fourth Grade went on a field trip, which meant in an early lunch for them and tweak in the schedule for everyone else. Teachers assumed that dropping their kids off 10 min. early didn’t mean they needed to pick them up 10 minutes early too. The result: 40 minute lunches and chaos in the cafeteria.

I’m teaching myself how to use the Activ Board. Sometimes it does what I want it to and sometimes it doesn’t. The result : Frustration on my part.

Got home and and saw all the chat about the Lunar Eclipse on one of my list servs.
Suddenly the reasons for today's muddles all became clear.

TMI

Third grade is learning about biographies. I'm reading BigMama's by Donald Crews, an autobiographical tale of visits to the author's grandparents in the 1940s. Big Mama lives on a small farm, in a house without electricity and running water and keeps chickens. I start a discussion drawing a parallel between the authors experience and the children's trips to Mexico to visit family. Many of the students spend the summer with grandparents in remote Mexican villages. They are quite familiar with outhouses, kerosene lamps and chickens.

I often hear chickens when I pull up for work in the morning so I know many of the students are also very familiar with American chickens. E, who has long ash blond hair and pale skin with freckles , raises her hand.

“We have chickens in our back yard”

“Do you gather their eggs?” I ask, bucolic visions flitting through my brain.

“No” she says, “We have roosters. My grandfather takes them to Louisiana”.

I rearrange my thinking and contemplate roast chicken instead.

“Why does he take them to Louisiana?”

“So they can fight”

Hummm...........I think it’s time to check out books.

Not Me & I Didn't Do It

There is a new addition to the Library Lunch Bunch. It's our old friend "Not Me".

"Who dumped the tray in the trash? " (they are supposed to be stacked)
"Not me"

"Who spilled their milk on the table and didn't clean it up? "
"Not me."

"Who didn't drink their milk?"
"Not me."

"Not Me" has a cousin by the name of "I Didn't Do It"

How are the CDs getting switched?"
"I didn't do it"

"Isn't that your napkin on the floor?"
"I didn't do it."

"Were you running? "
"I didn't do it."

"Who left their lunch kit on the table?"
"I didn't do it?"

I'm getting very anonyed at "Not Me" and "I Didn't Do It". Friday I sent 10 "Not Mes" back to the cafeteria and told them they weren't welcome to come back till "Not Me" had a name and face.

Since it's rather doubtful that "Not Me" can pass the TAKS test nobody will mind if he withdraws from school. Had, he however been a candiate for Academic Recognition we'd be stuck with him till the end of time - or the TAKS test, whichever comes first.

Library2Play - Thing #8 - RSS Feeds

RSS Feeds & Readers - How have I missed out on these? Sure I've seen the little orange buttons scattered here and there on assorted blogs but I never paid much attention to them. I should have. They are a Virgo's Dream.

Thing #8 explained it all. For most of the weekend I've been busy adding all the blogs on my sidebar to my Goggle Reader. It's teidous work. I open up Blogrolling , click on the link to make sure it's still good, copy n' paste it into Goggle Reader. Repeat. And repeat. I have a crick in my neck.

Along the way I'm cleaning up my blogroll. Deleting blogs are haven't been updated in a couple of months or blogs whose content or focus has changed. I've some blogs that used to be interesting but just aren't any more - at least to me. Not to say they aren't of interest to someone else.

I do cringe when I hit the "dump it" button. I know how hard it is to keep a blog updated and how hard folks work to keep them interesting. It doesn't seem right to "dump" someone's blood, sweat and tears. But, there are only so many hours in the day and there isn't any point in cluttering up my blogroll with blogs I don't read.

It's just like culling my bookshelves or weeding the library. It gets rid of the dead wood and makes way for new blogs (or books). .