I was poking around looking for a nice quote to add to an art project for one of Mom’s Christmas gifts and came across this Spanish proverb:

An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy.

I won’t be using this one on the project, but it’s nice all the same.

Although I got good comments off my other header, I thought I’d freshen up the blog with a new header. It’s from another picture I took a few years ago by the river.

Also new as of today, I joined the Happy Atheist Forum. I don’t know how active I’ll be (1minion if you’re in there, or thinking about it) but hey. It’s a forum, it’s a hang out, it’s blog fodder.

Rules: Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You should tag the person who tagged you.

And I tag you, dear readers; are there 25 of you? I got this from a Facebook friend and the whole point of memes is to spread them like viruses so go, infect your friends!

Oh golly, more than you’ll ever need to know about me…

1. I don’t mind not swearing. I’ll swear, but sometimes niceness just wins out, and other words can express the same exasperation without making ears bleed.

2. In the past I’ve dated people because of what they can give me – music, access to technology, anime, a car, etc.

3. A couple times a year I go through everything I own and give away anything I haven’t used or worn in a while.

4. I keep the same Victorian cat calendar up every year because I like the pictures.

5. The smell of beeswax makes me ill.

6. I often read the same book more than once.

7. I like Leonard Nimoy’s singing. Highly illogical? I think not.

8. I have pretended to get a joke when I really had no idea what the punchline meant.

9. I hate saying my first name to new people because if I say it like I want it said (the French way, my parents’ way), nobody understands what I said.

10. It feels weird to hear my name on a character on TV, or to see it in print.

11. I wanted a giant stegosaurus for Christmas one year and to this day I have no idea what I would have done with it.

12. I still have my clarinet but I don’t play it anymore.

13. I’ll watch movies with captions on just so I don’t have to turn up the volume and risk annoying a neighbour. Doesn’t mean I won’t laugh loudly, though…

14. I’d rather play board games than video games.

15. I’ve never been to Vegas.

16. I still own tarot cards for some reason.

17. I prefer small intimate groups to large crowds.

18. I long to play Cripple Mr. Onion with the big boys.

19. I have read three books in a day (of the Janet Evanovich-length variety at least).

20. I like my library job.

21. I suck at lying.

22. I bought the complete series for the most recent Doctor Who after getting hooked through the copies at work, and haven’t watched it since.

23. I like living by myself.

24. It’s the middle of the afternoon, I’m in my pajamas and I don’t care.

25. I hate trying to think of things for lists like this.

..then I’m showing everyone the wrong way to do stuff without realizing it.

Sorry, this is a continuation from the other day’s library diatribe. I don’t mind being wrong, but now it means trying to figure out what’s right and making sure everyone finds out what’s right, too, before too many more errors happen.

I guess I’ll have to sit with the program’s bewildering excuse for a help manual (if I have access) and see if anything gets more clear.

That is the trouble with figuring stuff out on one’s own – what happens when a mistake is made without realizing? The guy hired to help us with this came around one day last month to see how we were doing and I showed him what I figured out for the linking, going step by step through all the stuff I do and he nodded and “okay”d his way through all of that. So fine, I guess I’m doing it right.

Well, now I find out maybe not. I’ve been adjusting a setting on each item to “in Transit” because, well, it will be. Now I’ve found out I should be setting it to “Available” or “Library Use Only” instead and then going into the Circulation area of the program to check all the new stuff in at my branch so the system will generate that “in Transit” message itself and also add a message to the item record that lists where it’s been and where it’s going. The old system used to do that as soon as I linked the material. If I put “in Transit” on the item manually, that message won’t generate. I had no idea I even had access to Circulation until the other day. I thought I couldn’t play in there until we went live. Great to know what’s what after two weeks of maybe doing everything wrong.

And there’s another piece of code I’ve been putting in one place that maybe should have been going somewhere else instead, assuming it’s needed at all. If we have access to the system later today, I’ll see. Failing that, I’ll have to wait until Tuesday when everything’s live and crazy.

I really hate when things are disorganized. Big hate on disorganization and that’s all this has been since the start.

Yesterday I spent the whole day with my supervisor in meetings and training for this new library system getting put together which goes live for the public on Tuesday. It amuses me greatly to hear of all the things not considered far enough ahead of time; the guy hired to help us migrate from the old set up to the new integrated library system wishes he’d had two years to work on some problems rather than two days to come up with a solution.

We’re starting to think he’s worrying too much, but the whole purpose of him being with us is to help with this migration thing. Our library has nearly 100 years worth of kinks that won’t be ironed out in time, mostly because library workers don’t see a flaw worth mentioning, they see a system that suffices even though it’s not ideal.

So how can he fix a problem people don’t see as a problem? He wants every book shelved 000 to 999.999 without any funky business. We (as in the librarians) want to put Law in a special place, encyclopedias here, business directories there, and so on. Every branch has special spots they put a lot of things. Patrons can’t just go to the website, look up items and see precisely what shelves in the building they’ll find them. Ideally a grand idea, and doable with this new system, but nothing we can make happen overnight. Patrons will still have to embolden themselves to approach a desk and ask their questions. Some of them have never learned the Dewey system and can’t even describe what they want except by colour and “it was on the radio by that guy who wrote that other, you know, they made a movie of it..”

Also yesterday I helped my supervisor show librarians and other library workers how to create new item records for new copies of items they want to process and loan out. It’s fairly simple, so the actual “training” part of it wasn’t time consuming, but it will be time consuming for them to get used to the method, especially if they won’t be doing it often enough to remember every step.

I’d made a rough manual so they could follow along (although it needs some changes – trainer got some lessons, too) and guided them step by step through each part. The SV was on hand to answer the bigger questions about the system and what was expected for things I have nothing to do with. I just process items and link the barcodes to the bib records when I’m done. Linking was always part of the processing in the old system. so it’s still my job with the new system – at least for now. Maybe next year when everyone’s familiar with the system and wants to redesign the work flow it won’t be daily chore for me anymore. Until that day, it’s mine. My own, my Precious…

I am fully aware that system-wide training is not part of my job. I had two people yesterday ask me about why I was doing it and if I was getting paid extra to do it (and I doubt it). This kind of training is above and beyond my pay scale. However, I was also the only one with experience (a whole 2 weeks worth) so I was the only one in a position to adequately explain the method to others.

I can see why people think I should be working on the Information desk. I am capable of more than I get paid to do. I helped set 20 libraries up with a computer network several years ago and trained staff then, too. I’m quick with the catching on and don’t mind showing people how to do stuff I’ve figured out. I don’t know if I explain things very well, but I try. But I like being behind the scenes more. I like dealing with material more than I like dealing with people.

Which brings me to the purpose of my blog title. What is the purpose of purpose? I have a job with a set defined job description. Any training I do should be for duties within the realm of my job description and since linking is part of my job, I think it can fall to me to show others, even if those others get paid more than I do. I won’t be the one they’ll send around province to do the same, though. But my revamped little How To pamphlet might go along for the ride.

It’s beyond my job to make a manual, too. But who else was going to do it? Everyone is too worried about getting the patron end of this functional to worry about how books get to the point where people can physically borrow them. At least someone thought to suggest a linking lesson beforehand. I’m not the only one who has to know how. I’m probably the lowest paid, though.

But enough about that. Real on-topic topics will be prepped for next time.

A couple, actually. One – turns out I’m agastopic. I noticed it at the bowling alley Monday night, but only found the perfect word to describe that fact today. We were bowling against a team whose third player was late to arrive but he was totally worth the wait, especially from the rear, which is the bit a person sees while a guy’s bowling. His physique was fantastic. I quietly admitted to one of my teammates about liking the view and she nearly fell off her seat for laughing.

I don’t usually talk that way, you see. But damn, the man was fine and it was worth noting that I’d noticed. Facially, not stellar, but that ass and back? I hope his lucky guy or gal appreciates that.

Now to my other fetish; I’m guilty of being sesquipedalian in nature. I’m both loquacious and garrulous. I just love words, especially grandiose words, but even just plain and ordinary words. But I don’t use all these words to sound smart. I use them because I know what they mean and it’s a shame to not use a fantastic word just because 99% of the population won’t know what it means. That’s what a dictionary is for.

I’ll admit that verbosity can be a pain in the ass, especially when people are just filling the air with words that have no point or purpose. I had a friend in university who actually stopped me in the street once to snap, “You know, you don’t have to talk all the time!” which I thought was fairly embarrassing and not at all nice. I still wish I’d walked away from her then instead of continuing to hang out with her. Some days I just have a high word quota to meet and that’s that. If you can’t deal, get gone.

Logophilia doesn’t have to be something to be ashamed of. And, if you know a kid in need of support while he or she deals with friends who just don’t understand just how great and important the love of words can be, I’d suggest tracking down this book – The Boy Who Loved Words and tuck it under a Christmas tree this year.

Last year I wrote about money and parking meters, too. And added some stuff about how much people tend to spend on gifts. (This year people claim they’ll spend less, but are they?)

I gifted myself a few things I could have done without this year (pause for iPod groping here…) but that’s the sweet thing about being single with no dependents and no debts. Will aim to add more to the savings account for next year, though, and more RRSP dollars. I should look into getting a tax free savings account, actually.

Anywhoo, yes, Christmas spending. Who’s breaking the bank to get the biggest and best this year for loved ones and even those they merely tolerate? I hear Walmart is practically giving away Wii machines to ensure people hang out in the store to spend three times as much on games and attachments and everything else their little hearts desire. Once again thanking the Flying Spaghetti Monster for getting me the hell out of there and into the peaceful serenity of full time library employment. What a soul crushing experience it is to work for a store like that, especially this time of year.

I got my mother a TV season of a show she’s been wanting, and also a movie. I got Dad a book all about zany true facts. I’ve already wrapped it and tossed the receipt so I don’t remember what it’s called. I recall it has a page about the wonderful horse that could count and what a wonderful hoax Clever Hans turned out to be. It also had a picture of a hand that looked like it was leaping off the cover, which had something to do with the title. Yes, I’m just the kind of patron librarians hate dealing with. “It was on the radio and it’s by that guy, you know, he did that other one…”

Mom actually wants to exchange homemade gifts this year. I know some pressed flower thing is coming my way (hooray!) but I have no idea how to reciprocate that. Maybe I can sew pockets onto a tablecloth so she can have a handy place to keep scrapbook stuff like fancy pens and scissors off the top of the table while she works. No doubt she’s got another book in mind for someone by now. She’s not happy unless she can make someone else unexpectedly happy.

Oh, and I may as well mention now that I’ll be back in the land of Dial Up for Christmas (Mom got sick of Xplornet and canceled their crappy ass service before the month was up) so posts will be short and minimalistic if they happen at all. I suspect I’ll just do like some other bloggers have done and pose a series of questions for the week for anyone who wanders by to think about and offer comment on.

Signing off…

I picked up an iPod today. I paid for it, too. Or at least, the Visa company did. I’ll pay them back later. This is much sweetness. Oooh, free apps and games. I’m gonna go play some of those in bed now. May get around to adding something insightful in here later this weekend. Hopefully…

I found one via Triangulations I hadn’t heard of: O.C.E.A.N so obviously I had to give it a shot. I’m sure I answered honestly, but still was bummed over results.

And I admit right now I altered the colour of this to be a lot more sunny than the original pea soup colour existing on site.

So, to define my results:

Openness to Experience/Intellect: High scorers tend to be original, creative, curious, complex; Low scorers tend to be conventional, down to earth, narrow interests, uncreative.

You typically don’t seek out new experiences. (Your percentile: 59)

Well, I’m working on that at least. That’s part of what the whole Freethinkers thing is about. Get out, do something different and meet new people for a change. My rut is so deep I can barely see over it.

Conscientiousness: High scorers tend to be reliable, well-organized, self-disciplined, careful; Low scorers tend to be disorganized, undependable, negligent.

You tend to do things somewhat haphazardly. (Your percentile: 35)

Yeah, I’ll buy that. I’d prove it with photos of my level of apartment cleanliness but why embarrass myself. I think it comes down to priorities and I don’t see housecleaning as one of them. I could take a lot more care with the stickers I put on books at work and measure just so and carefully apply tape but I have so much to do it’d be a waste of my day to be that focused on identical tape strips and level application. I need to be quick, efficient, and accurate but perfectionism is not required. I don’t tend to be negligent or late, though. And if I say I’ll do something, I’ll follow through.

Extraversion: High scorers tend to be sociable, friendly, fun loving, talkative; Low scorers tend to be introverted, reserved, inhibited, quiet.

You tend to shy away from social situations. (Your percentile: 27)

And again, I’m working on it. I do spend too much time alone. Growing up most of my social stuff was with family and cousins will put up with a lot more weirdness than kids at school might. And I was a weird bird back then and shy about getting mocked by people whose opinions “mattered” to me in some way. Silly now. I should have just done what I liked instead of worrying about how much I’d be teased over the actors I liked (i.e. Wil Wheaton) or shows I watched (Fraggle Rock).

Agreeableness: High scorers tend to be good natured, sympathetic, forgiving, courteous; Low scorers tend to be critical, rude, harsh, callous.

You find it easy to express irritation with others. (Your percentile: 38)

This is the one that bugs me, but more because it’s true, I suppose. But I am good natured and courteous and I do have sympathy and some capacity of forgiveness. Just not enough, apparently. I can also choose to look at this as a good trait, at least in terms of not being willing to take shit from people and call it jam. If I’m bothered, there might be a real reason for it. It won’t be an overreaction every single time. Not by a long shot. And not every thing that happens in a day is going to cause me irritation. I’d get nothing accomplished if I groused about everything to everyone. Some things aren’t worth making a case over and can be dropped without a feather out of place.

Neuroticism: High scorers tend to be nervous, high-strung, insecure, worrying; Low scorers tend to be calm, relaxed, secure, hardy.

You are generally relaxed. (Your percentile: 37)

In this case a low score seems to be good. Awesome. It ties into the previous a bit, too. I could freak out over all the unknowns and unlikes and unappreciateds but why? It doesn’t fix anything. It doesn’t make anything better. All it does is eat up time better spent working and it ruins the time I set aside for fun.

Someone else do this test and let me know how it goes. Is it accurate, or do you feel it misrepresents what or who you are? How does it relate to any other tests you’ve tried? I don’t remember what I scored last time I played with the Myers-Briggs. INFJ, ISTP? I’ve been both at different times of my life. Maybe now I’d get something else. Thoughts?

The folks showed up last evening with their PC tower along for the ride. I unplugged my machine and set up theirs to see what kind of error messages they were getting that had Mom in enough of a panic to drive three hours on a whim. I worried a trojan had gotten a hold of their machine but all it seemed to need was an updated version of Avast. I also installed and ran Spybot for kicks. If it turns out to need something else, it can wait until Christmas, hopefully.

They’ve recently signed up with Xplornet for rural high speed internet and so far they’re more than unhappy with it. They’ve signed up for Sasktel’s 1.0 package advertising a download speed of “up to” 1.0 Mbps and upload speed “up to” 128kbps. An asterisk is included on Explornet’s site about this.

Actual speed online may vary with your technical configuration, Internet traffic, server or other factors. When compared to a standard dial-up modem speed of 40 kbps. 1 Limited time offer. Click on the desired package for more information.

Who ever asks about other factors?

Who’s heard of a Fair Access Policy? I sure hadn’t. I can’t recall if the folks ever mentioned a Fair Access Policy, either. If they were told about it, maybe they didn’t understand what it was and had I known how it worked yesterday, I could have installed a monitor on their machine so they could watch how much bandwidth they use in day. All Xplornet gives them per day for their 1.0 connection is 200 MB. Dialing in, it may have taken 16 hours or something to get close to that (if my math is accurate. I’m willing to assume it’s not). If Mom’s burning through it in three hours, no wonder she’s freaking out. And apparently they only have two speeds; cranked or snail. I don’t know if anyone told them what “bandwidth” means, either, and I know my folks would have been too embarrassed to ask. Even I had to look it up so I could explain it for them in an email.

But still, if people don’t know they’re responsible for monitoring their bandwidth use and nobody bothers to suggest they have to, then no wonder people are surprised when Xplornet throttles them once they go over this allotted daily allowance. And it could be a day, a few days, or even a week before they get another speed boost, depending on how many subscribers want their turn.

Now I’m wishing I’d found this stuff while I had the computer in front of me. I could have installed a monitor for them. This from Xplornet’s legal :

To ensure fair access for all Xplornet subscribers, Xplornet maintains a running average fair access policy. Fair access establishes an equitable balance in Internet access across all broadband services by service plan for all Xplornet customers regardless of their frequency of use or volume of traffic. To ensure this equity, customers may experience some temporary throughput limitations.

How can a company advertise high speed without advertising how they plan to dole it out? They sell their image as if users will get high speed any time, all the time. Instead it turns out to be akin to 20 people under one blanket but all trying to use the same pillow. Why yes, you can use the pillow, but you can only use it for 20 minutes and you won’t have it again for a week… I don’t know about you, but I call rip off. Considering the equipment costs over $200 plus a per month fee, there is a valid assumption that you’ll get your money’s worth each day.

Xplornet Internet access is not guaranteed. This policy applies to all service plans including “Unlimited” plans where customers’ use of the Service is not limited to a specific number of hours per month. Xplornet indicates that approximately 5% of subscribers are responsible for a disproportionate share – often as much as half – of the total Xplornet service traffic.

5% might be a low estimate if they all play with Facebook as much as my mother does. I’ve just discovered that they offer a lite version which might help matters a little.

<blockquote?Unfortunately, many of those subscribers are not using Xplornet for its intended purpose.

Intended purpose being what, web searching via Lynx so you never have to waste bandwidth getting images? Checking email once a month? What? The guys who set up my folks never even set up a mail account program like Eudora or Thunderbird that would only need bandwidth for sending and receiving because Xplornet accounts are entirely web based through Google Apps. How much bandwidth will that hog, I wonder?

Sasktel’s FAQ about this is as expected.

How reliable is the SaskTel Satellite High Speed Internet powered by Xplornet?
Although there can be minor interruptions of satellite service during severe weather patterns, the latest satellite technology has proven to be very resilent [sic] in our Canadian weather. Any type of satellite service disruptions can be typically measured in a collection of minutes throughout one year. Satellite service is recommended for users active in internet usage for: e-mailing, research and surfing, banking, chatting, photo sharing, uploads, blogging, and not typically recommended for certain quick response or real time on-line gaming.

I think service disruption will account for a lot of minutes in a month, let alone a year. But back to Xplornet:

To ensure that all Xplornet subscribers have fair and equitable access to the benefits of the Service, Xplornet has enacted a Fair Access Policy (FAP) to prevent abusive consumption of bandwidth by a handful of users.

The Fair Access Policy (FAP) is straightforward. Based on an analysis of usage data, Xplornet has established a download data usage threshold well above the maximum typical usage rates. When a customer exhibits patterns of system usage, which exceed that threshold for an extended period of time, the FAP may temporarily limit that subscriber’s throughput to ensure the integrity of the system for all subscribers.

The Fair Access stuff is hidden under a little grey link labeled “Legal” that’s all the way down at the bottom of their pages and not that obvious. Obviously they want to sell this service to people who not only don’t read the fine print, but don’t notice there’s any to be read.

I can see why they’d put this into play, obviously. I’m not arguing against the need for it. What it needs to be is visible and out there, not left to caveat emptor. What they should be forced to do is print average expected usage so a person knows that up front. Don’t advertise the “Up to” all the time if 95% of the time it’s down to 50kbps or worse. There should be more a lot more truth in their advertising.