You’re Ruining My Life!

Poor library cataloguing is never good no matter the situation. Today I went to the library with the giddiness of a boy picking up a muchly anticipated Thor comic volume, written by one of his favorite authors- J. Michael Straczynski. Only to find, once I get back to the comforts of my office, that the title is Thor, but it’s a different storyline and a different author all together!

Whoever barcoded and catalogued this must have thought, “another Thor comic, tag it and bag it”. For Jimmy Crickets-sake the cover isn’t even the same! Now I have to go back to the library blather to the circulation staff, prove how nerdy I am, and wait in hopes that the right title arrives next time. Mishaps like this can make a soul head to Amazon.

Google Hosts Life Photos

Looking for a cool image to throw into a paper or a blog post? Then check out the Life archive and search away. It’s a pretty neat collection that boasts over 10 million photos and claims:

“Ninety-seven percent of the collection, which stretches from 1860 to today, has never been seen by the public. It’s now online for the first time through the joint work of LIFE and Google.”

It needs to improve subject searching and provide  better tags. The presentation could also do with some enhancement. Last complaint, I ran a search on boxing phenom “Jack Johnson” and found squat on the guy. Complete and total bomb:

Mock Orange

On my trecks to the light rail I’ll normally give Cristina a call or listen to an album. Today I happened to get back to an old time favorite Mock Orange. They are amazing over a speaker system, with headphones, in a car, or live. Their most accessible album is “Mind is Not Brain” however my personal favorite is “Nines and Sixes”. Both albums are loaded with great songs, except that “Mind is not Brain” tapers off a bit at the end; wheras “Nines and Sixes” stays true the whole way. Stylistically they are categorized as “indie-rock” but that could mean anything. Mostly though they are a rock and roll band without fuss or guff (whatever that means). In all, they are a fun band that can REALLY grow on you.

If you are looking for music that isn’t trying too hard, doesn’t suck, and isn’t full of engineered crap then look into Mock Orange… but don’t take my word for it.

—also there was ONE lady at work who I didn’t think liked me all that much and forced her smiles and hellos. Today I find that she no longer works here. No notice to-boot? Eh, so long. happy Fridays!

Transition

My new city, Sacramento, is one that I have mildly explored, though enjoying what I have traversed.  I move into my new place next week and will tie myself to public transportation, bike, and feet. I’ll be close to downtown and in the midtown area. There are a number of blogs and websites dedicated to Sacramento and midtown, providing for a sense of community and development that certainly isn’t accessible in Vegas. Locals tended to complain (with good reason), the root of all things in Vegas is money, couple that with traffic and bad public transportation- and you have a 3 pitch strikeout. That isn’t to say Sacramento is without it’s share of problems. However, it is an older city and offers a greater variety of options; after all it’s not in an isolated desert arena.

The law firm has been amazing and my experience in librarianship is multiplying. I hope to visit some of the local, state, and academic libraries shortly. However, moving and working is keeping me pretty busy at this point. Community events occur on a near constant basis, and once I’m settled I’ll have a lot in which to look forward. Including, in the vein of my ol’ buddy, I plan on checking out the a couple of breweries and to note, Rubicon Brewing.