Nerding out and further procrastination/insomnia

Inspired by this (link here if the video doesn't embed):



... and Doctor Who... And yes, I know that time travel and theft don't really work like that. Stealing what is presumably the "first" of a species does not stop the evolutionary process... there might not even really be a "first" so much as an entire population group that adapts to its environment over time.

Time Travel and Your Inner Fish

The engine hummed and buzzed, letting out a little clank to let the time traveler know that there was still one part, albeit nonessential, that needed repair or replacement. The thing gurgled happily in its makeshift aquarium.

Could a primitive tetrapod feel happiness? This certainly wasn't some ordinary "thing," but tiktaalik, perhaps not even really a tetrapod either. The time traveler sighed, realizing his thoughts hung in his head instead of bouncing off the walls and into the ears of some equally enthusiastic, albeit usually confused companion. It was always easier when there was someone around to share the pure joy of information. In all truth, he probably explained things out loud to make sure they still made sense to himself.

Those days were gone, at least for now. For someone so used to being at all sides of the space-time continuum, he was uncertain about his own timeline and his place in it, whether there really was enough room for someone else. For now, he was all alone...

... all alone except for the strange thing that looked like someone had glued a fish and an alligator together, or created a giant salamander with eyes on top of its head that looked like planarian eye spots. What appeared to be nostrils were merely forerunners called spiracles leading to what could well be primitive lungs.

It would have been amazing to dissect this creature, have a look inside. However, that was not to be. This was no mere specimen. He would no sooner dissect this creature than any of the humanoid companions he had shared his long life with. In a way, this was the great to the nth degree grandparent to them all. If not for this particular specimen, fish would have never left the brackish primordial sea for the oozing mud of prehistoric shores. No dinosaurs or mammals would have roamed the earth, let alone humans. He always had a particular soft spot for humans...

... which was what had gotten him into this whole mess in the first place. This current odd "companion" was a product of a mad chase through space and time just for a case of catch up with an old friend from school. Granted, this old friend from school had become more or less completely insane over time, craving power and the creation of chaos instead of being able to take a deep breath and enjoy the universe for what it was. No, this particular time traveler was obsessed with what he thought the universe should be instead of the wonder of what it was. So naturally, with the spite of someone who burns down your house with your pets inside just because you no longer wish to see them, he kidnapped the first tiktaalik and lured our hero for yet another grand, final battle.

It doesn't take a time traveler to know that any "final" battle is anything but. They could very well go on like this forever, bickering and blustering on, occasionally reminiscing past glories, but what was the point? Even thinking about it made our time traveler tired. What was important was that this particular battle was over.

"How about we get you back home again?" His voice cracked slightly at the word "home," somewhat unaccustomed to speaking after a long period of relative silence.

Tiktaalik burbled cheerfully, or so it seemed. It did a proud turn in its small enclosure. Breathing in, ribs expanding beneath its scales as if to defy the artificial gravity that would have otherwise threatened to cave in its entire body. Each breath of air it took out of water, crawling through the mud was a statement of triumph.

Gently lifting the creature out of the tank, the time traveler got a bit of mud on his suit. It flopped about in protest, nearly toppling them both over. Not only was it a good 4 feet long, but stronger than most other things that size. It was a small price to pay to make sure the humans would become -- just become, really.

He watched it frolic on the shore, not so much frolic as do a series of pushup crawl-slithers about before wandering off in the shallows. Stretching on the muddy banks, he rolled up his sleeves and yawned.

It was going to be an interesting 375 million years.

For more information, check out this interview. Or this lecture:

Libraries vs. the Internet Round 1 FIGHT!

All right, to be fair, this blog entry relinked as originally referenced here focuses more on bookstores and their decline, particularly the independent Mom 'n' Pop operations being nudged out by huge retail stores and the internet.

Still, this is the argument my group tried to make regarding our final project in our tech class. In order to survive, libraries must stay on top of new technology as opposed to hiding from it. This was the first part of our argument. The second part came up when our instructor nay-sayed our idea of purchasing more computers asking why we should do that when a local community center can provide free internet access. Why should people come to the library just to use the internet?

My rebuttal: if libraries have to stay ahead regarding technology, then why not redefine the terms by which that technology is used? Of course, the general "accepted" use of computers in libraries is "strictly research." Yet people are regularly caught looking at porn. I believe this is part of how screen privacy shields or individual cubicle setups for computer labs started becoming popular. I'm not saying we should get rid of all the books and let our patrons look up porn online. What I am saying is that as information professionals, we should take up the challenge brought to us, get people to learn that there are so many other ways to use the internet, so much information out there. If we can help our already over-worked and under-paid teachers get a kid hooked on science instead of meth, then that's pretty damn fantastic. Also, for those looking for jobs but can't afford the internet/a computer, the library is a blessing. I'm sure we can work some sort of skill development/jobhunting seminar in with the other information services.

I'm also a huge fan of the whole "rocking chairs in the children's section" thing. Not only could there be regular storytime, but we could provide an outreach program to parents to help them select books for their children to read (age appropriateness is an entirely different debate altogether). More book clubs, maybe some writing workshops, MeetUps (another way to use the internet to help connect people to the library).

But of course, one could still just say, "Uh, but can't we find books and chat online without having to go to a library or send our hard-earned tax dollars to a library?" Once again, it's the socialization aspect. Would you rather leave your kid alone with a computer all day or take them to a library and find books and other people to talk about those books with, say, perhaps people who know an awful lot about books and can provide recommendations. Ok, I know GoodReads, LibraryThing and other sites can provide a ton of user-generated reviews and ratings, but you have to admit that there's just something reassuring about talking to someone face to face who knows what they're talking about (and isn't a spambot that somehow evaded the captcha).

Besides, to add a bit of ad hominem and strawman into this (I'm no lawyer, so it's ok for me to do this), you don't want to be like this jackass. I mean, would you really want to live in a town without a library? Yeah, we have 40 Starbuckses and a bunch of strip malls that sell crap nobody needs, but a library? Who needs that? We have the internet.

In closing, for our population to be comprised of an "informed citizenship," we still need libraries and those who take that noble call to work in them. Also, librarians and other information scientists must not see the internet as a threat, but as a tool with which to help engage the citizenry (is that even a word? good lord I should go to bed).

Your FDA Recommended Daily Allowance of Iron(y)

Here's a gem from a reading I had from my Intro to Archives class:

"It is noteworthy that during debate in the House of Representatives, one of
Representative Moss’s colleagues, a young congressman from Illinois, spoke in
favor of the bill, saying it

will make it considerably more difficult for secrecy-minded bureaucrats to
decide arbitrarily that people should be denied access to information on the
conduct of Government or on how an individual Government official is handling
his job. . . . [P]ublic records, which are evidence of official government
action, are public property, and there . . . should be a positive obligation to
disclose this information upon request.

The name of that young congressman from Illinois was Donald Rumsfeld."

Timothy L. Ericson, "Building Our Own 'Iron Curtain': The Emergence of Secrecy in American Government," American Archivist, 68 (Spring/Summer 2005): 43.

This is what I think of as a case of historical irony, where perhaps whatever was said was not originally intended with irony (in the sarcastic sense), but has proven to be ironic over time and the course of further speech and action on the part of the speaker.

You can't take it with you... or can you?

I left my beloved Portland behind about a week ago for Boston. Temporarily? I hope so.

In packing to leave, I had to get rid of a bunch of things. I suppose this was appropriate preliminary training in becoming an archivist, trying to figure out what was worth keeping, what was not.

Some minor physical object things I couldn't take with me:

• Futon
• Toaster Oven/Other Gadgets
• Space Heater
• Pots and pans

Some objects I managed:

• my massive collection of books (thank you USPS Media Mail)
• more clothes than I should have taken
• my computer (which was delayed. screw you, UPS Ground)
• my bicycle (in theory as it is still in transit via Amtrak)

Other important things of varying levels of tangibility that I couldn't take with me:

• waking up next to Will, the smell of his hair, etc.
• my morning and afternoon bike rides on Water Street and the Esplanade
• lunch kvetch-fests with my co-workers
• the Food Carts (whether on 12th and Hawthorne or Downtown) that sustained me when I had $6 in my pocket and was too lazy to cook
• karaoke nights with my Portland friends and other crazy debauched activities taking place late at night
• soy milk automatically available in carafes at almost all coffee shops
• no sales tax
• my various "territories"

More on "territories:"

When I first came to Portland, I mostly stuck around the Hawthorne area. After living there awhile and getting a bicycle and friends all over town, I explored much of the close-in area. I liked playing a game on the map sort of like a military campaign. If I had ever driven, biked or walked there, I claimed it as a territory. If I frequented the area enough, I referred to it as a patrol.

Territories:

• The random places in NoPo where I went to various social gatherings (either escorted by Will or with Blue, Kev and everyone)
• Sandy Blvd to the airport (driving only), to 74th (or wherever the Roseway Theater is)
• Movie Theaters: Bagdad, Laurelhurst, Roseway, Hollywood, Living Room, Clinton Street, Cinemagic, various Regal Cinema locations
• Excalibur Comics to pick up the latest issue of Chew
• The Springwater Corridor
• Oaks Park
• Interstate bike lane all the way to the Kaiser Permanente facility on the bigass scary hill (*huffpuff*, *huffpuff* going up followed by "OMGIhopemybrakesstillwork!" going down).
• Alberta from 10th-ish to 30th for First Thursday
  

Patrols:

• SE Hawthorne from the bridge down to Mt. Tabor
• SE Belmont from 12th to 39th
• Anywhere between the two streets listed above as well as the streets surrounding the area.
  
• SE Stark from 12th to 39th (including Laurelhurst Park)
  
• The bike ride from my apartment to the NE where I would meet up with Blue, including Lloyd Center and 7th street.
• The bike ride on the way to work from 12th and Stark down Water Street (or Grand and then Burnside if I got up late) and around the Eastbank Esplanade to Steel Bridge
• The bike ride to Kev's place all the way the hell out in Woodstock.
  
• The patches of Downtown/SW Will and I wandered down, mostly the West Hills and Goose Hollow leading to W Burnside and then to NW 23rd.
• Old Town (Ground Kontrol, Voodoo Donut)
• Pearl District
• Powell's Bookstore (City of Books on 10th and the Hawthorne store)

Sadly, I think I may be forgetting some areas in the lists of territories and patrols. For example, I think I might be embarrassed by the bar list I'd make: too long for my parents, resulting in shame and too short for my friends who kept yelling at me to get out more often.

I like to think that I make the cities in which I live mine in a way, based on how I claim them in memory, hold stories that could only take place in these spaces.

I aim to do the same thing in Boston.

So far, I have claimed the following as territory:

Not sure if these count since I just took the T and didn't walk/bike this way:

• Orange Line from Sullivan Square to Haymarket
• Green Line from North Station to Museum of Fine Arts

On foot:

• My patch of East Somerville from Everett Avenue to Broadway down to Sullivan Square station. There are a lot of Brazilian/Mexican places here so I don't think I'm likely to starve soon.
• The 4 block walk to the Stop and Shop
• Washington Street past Union Square
• Cambridge Avenue in Cambridge from Harvard to the Lechmere Green Line station.
• Boylston to Chinatown and the edge of the Financial District (yay for Dim Sum and Asian Food stores where I can get a lot of rice noodles for a dollar and hair salons that will actually know what to do with my hair)
• Time traveling through Commonwealth Avenue by reading the historical statues along the greenway.
• Being a consumer whore on Newbury (not really, I just picked up a new set of headphones and an AC charger for my iPod). I have yet to go to the comic book shop though, but I think the new Chew is out so I ought to.
• a bit of Massachusetts Avenue near Berklee school of music. Found a pretty awesome army surplus-esque store where I got my awesome "tactical bag" (like this one, but in black)
  
• and of course, the Fenway area, where my school is. The Fens area is pretty too and has a bunch of garden areas, which I can't get into as they are sort of privately owned as part of a garden-share.
  

Once I get my bike (aka the Mark II... Mark's an awfully funny name for a girl) back, the claiming of territories may become easier.

Anyway, I hope this update is enough to tie you guys (all 4 of you) over for the next few months while I stress over class, papers, projects and internships (part time job=maybe at this point). I also realize that I more or less gave out information that would be useful for tracking me down and stalking me. Ew.