Let the Fun Begin, But . . . T.G.I.F!

And, a long holiday weekend to boot!  Between the mandatory faculty meetings of last week, the seemingly endless stream of emails and phone calls, a conference presentation, workshop preparations, the start of a new semester, a few conference calls, working the first weekend rotation, and several information literacy sessions, the last couple of weeks have been a continuous flurry of activity.  Whew!  I survived to tell the tale.

I’m told that this is normal for the first week or so of the Fall semester (and this is my first experience with a Fall semester since taking this job).   A frenetic pace that certainly rules out boredom.  But at the same time, allows for no spare time and results in many “more-than-8-hour” days.   I’m having to redefine what it means to “multitask.”  I thought I was fairly good at multitasking at my former workplace, but these last couple of weeks have proven that I’m able to take it to an all new level.

But I don’t mind . . . to stretch your capabilities from time to time is a good thing.  And have I mentioned that I really love my job?  (And my colleagues, and, the location — what a great work environment!)  Even though some projects carry over from semester to semester, there is something special about the Fall semester and the promise of a new beginning (despite where you’ve been or where you’ve left off). 

So hang on . . . here we go again!  Happy learning!

Mayfest Poster 2008.

Last May during Tulsa’s International Mayfest celebration, the commissioned poster (Tim Jessell, the illustrator) really caught my attention.  In my opinion, it was the most pleasing artwork for the Mayfest poster that I’d seen in quite some time.   

So imagine my delight when I discovered that the original artwork was being silently auctioned off to the highest bidder throughout the course of the weekend — the bidding was to close at 12:00 Noon on Sunday of the festival.

Well, as you all should know by now, when it comes to original artwork, I’m weak.  So I had to place a bid, right?

And, I had to determine how high was I going to allow myself to continue bidding for this magnificent work of art, right?

And, I just had to check back frequently to see if anyone was going to counter my bid, right?

I certainly could never be mistaken for the poster child for the Alfred E. Newman fan club (“What, Me Worry?”) because “worry” just happens to be my middle name.  Especially when I’m emotionally involved in a decision or process.

But each time I checked back on the status of my bid, I discovered that my bid had been the last (albeit, only the original bidder and I had bothered to attempt, and each of us only once).   All that worry for nothing . . . the art was mine and is now gracing the wall of my bedroom.

I’ve Finished Week 5, But . . .

While I found the whole concept of RSS feeds and newsreaders a fascinating concept, I did not have enough time to really “play” around with these technologies this week.  So, my plans for this coming weekend (among my plethora of other activities) are to continue to delve into these topics and attempt to apply the concepts and exercises in more depth and detail to help solidify the learning experience.  Of course, the best laid plans . . . I’ll let you know how successful this plan is next week. 

I’ve also found myself using and putting into practice some of the concepts from a future lesson (Week 7) — wikis.  I successfully constructed a wiki at work to assist with some committee work a few months ago (the whole concept was met with a bit of resistance, at first — I’m still waiting for it to truly “take off” — I remain hopeful), and am currently working on creating/designing yet another wiki space — all of these new technologies do seem to get easier the more you have to utilize them (at least this is what I’m discovering).  The most difficult aspect is finding the time to apply these skills . . . it takes quite a bit of discipline to maintain a “learning” schedule, but if you are successful, it WILL pay dividends.

Now, on the lighter side . . . lest I get a “big head” over what I’ve been able to accomplish thus far, some words about “ACHIEVEMENT.”  I don’t quite have the “endless supply of expendable labor” (yet), but hope springeth eternal.

China On My Mind.

Now that the Olympics have come and gone, and while I still have China on my mind, here are a couple of serigraphs from my collection by the Chinese artist Jiang Tie-Feng (commonly referred to simply as “Jiang”). 

Harmony

Nurture

Network, network, network . . .

Here’s an interesting article from Business Week about the benefits of networking within the business environment (which I’m sure will carry over into other industries and environments).

http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/aug2008/sb20080811_233552.htm

Enjoy, and keep on connecting with each other!

Not Your Typical Stock Report!

Today’s Stock Market

Helium is up.  Feathers are down.  Paper was stationary.  Flourescent tubing was dimmed in light trading.  Knives were up sharply.  Cows steered into a bull market.  Pencils lost a few points.  Hiking equipment was trailing.  Elevators rose while escalators continued their slow decline.  Weights were up in heavy trading.  Light switches were off.  Mining equipment hit rock bottom.  Diapers remained unchanged.  Shipping lines stayed at an even keel.  The market for raisins dried up.  Coca Cola fizzled.  Caterpillar stock inched up a bit.  Sun peaked at midday.  Balloon prices were inflated.  Scott tissue touched a new bottom.  And batteries exploded in an attempt to recharge the market.

Author unknown.

Another Local Artist.

Here are a couple of oil paintings by another one of my favorite local artists, Joey Frisillo.

Sunny Garden

Enjoy!

Old Hay Barn

In Honor of the Olympic Games . . .

Some Saturday Humor.

I ran across this joke today and just had to share.

John, a farmer, was in the ferilized egg business.  He had several hundred young layers (hens), called “pullets,” and ten roosters, whose job it was to fertilize the eggs.

The farmer kept records and any rooster that didn’t perform went into the soup pot and was replaced.  Monitoring their performance took an awful lot of his time, so he bought a set of tiny bells and attached one to each of his roosters.  Each bell had a different tone so John could tell from a distance which rooster was performing.  Now he could sit on the porch and fill out an efficiency report simply buy listening to the bells.

The farmer’s favorite rooster was old Butch; a very fine specimen he was too.  But on this particular morning John noticed that old Butch’s bell hadn’t rung at all!  John went to investigate.  The other roosters were chasing pullets, bells-a-ringing.  The pullets, hearing the bells ringing, would see the roosters coming and run for cover.

But to farmer John’s amazement, old Butch had his bell in his beak so it couldn’t ring.  He’d sneak up on a pullet, do his job, and walk on to the next one.

John was so proud of old Butch that he entered him in the Renfrew County Fair where he became an overnight sensation among the judges.

The result . . . the judges not only awarded old Butch the “No Bell Piece” Prize, but they awarded him the “Pullet Surprise” as well.

Clearly old Butch was a politician in the making.  Who else but a politician could figure out how to win two of the most highly coveted awards on our planet by being the best at sneaking up on the populace and screwing them when they weren’t paying attention.

Vote carefully this year, the bells are not always audible.

Next Vacation?

I know that I just recently returned from a vacation, but that’s no reason to not start immediately planning the next one.  And, with Fall just around the corner, why not look into a “color tour?”

I don’t know that a color tour is on my priority list this year, but for those of you that are considering it, in their latest newsletter, the Petroleum and Energy Resources Division of the Special Libraries Association provided a couple of URLs to websites that might assist you in your planning.

http://www.foliagenetwork.com/default.php

The Foliage Network

Providing Accurate Fall Foliage Conditions Areas covered by The Foliage Network  including the Northeast, Southeast, and Midwest, United States.

 

And, http://www.fs.fed.us/news/fallcolors/

U.S. Forest Service Fall Colors

This site currently only shows the links for 2007 status reports. While it links to reports across the nation, there are a number of links for western information.

 

 Happy travels.