Donald’s Friends

Runway

nobody@vox.com(faux.real) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:20:56 -0400

The last moments before I leave my apartment are heavy with anticipation. My stomach flutters, out of hunger, yes, but also with anxiety; looking forward to seeing him again after (only) a week. Looking forward to being back in Paris. Pushing ahead to my thirtieth birthday. Unknown adventures which await us in Spain. All of this wrapped up in one wriggling, twitching, nervous package.

There will be a delay of sorts, however. I have a 5-hour layover in Washington DC, which would be a painful wait save the fact that there is a Smithsonian museum next door to the airport. Shuttle rides are fifty cents, each way, so that is where I'll end up spending a chunk of my time. I'm also meeting up with a cousin who lives in the area, so that will also help pass the time.

I brought several books and scripts to read on the plane, but having been awake all night long (yes, really) what I'll really need to do is sleep. Most of all because I arrive at 7am and will then need to remain awake for the entire day.

Now I'm just rambling.

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OSW: Hang Tight

nobody@vox.com(EJ) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 23:38:41 -0400

It's EJ Day, brought to you by G-Force and Yvonne. Jesse Johnson, Today, Tony Terry, Patti Austin, Alexander O'Neal, Curtis Hairston, Bobby Thurston, Keni Burke, Phyllis Hyman, Deniece Williams, Tashan, Vesta, Shirley Jones, and a little from yours truly.

photo of the day

nobody@vox.com(Cecily) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 10:04:48 -0400

Because I haven't done one of these in a while, either.

wall of pocky

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customer service @ your library

nobody@vox.com(Cecily) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 09:27:26 -0400

library, originally uploaded by jessiqua.

(It's been a minute since I posted over here in Vox-ville, but seeing as how I haven't had the "how much can I talk about the things about my job that annoy me" discussion with my boss yet, "better safe than sorry" is the order of the day. )

As many of you know, I made the transition from corporate life to public librarianship. While the transition has been largely smooth, and while I still enjoy my job very much, every day I come into contact with a service ethic that stands in opposition to my own. This is the latest example: while working at one of the library's information desks, a customer came up and asked for a sheet of paper. Because I didn't know where we kept spare reams of paper, I reached inside the printer, pulled out a sheet, and handed it to him. After the customer walked away, a colleague pulled me aside and said "We never give up the paper. Never."

Now, I'll grant that we have a recycling bin at the end of the desk for scrap paper (which I completely forgot about), but I couldn't believe that this was the one element of my job performance that the staffer chose to criticize.

When I read through library listservs, or when I encounter images of librarians in popular culture (Buffy's Giles excepted), I often encounter the image of the library as a foreboding, unwelcoming institution that is more concerned with keeping order and adhering to arbitrary rules than it is to delivering top-notch customer service. It's no wonder that some people prefer bookstores, and why some others would rather turn to Google for quick information service. We seem to be a surly, stuffy bunch.

My idea of customer service and end-to-end user experience was shaped -- for better or worse -- by four years spent slogging through corporate trenches. I ultimately learned that I didn't belong in the corporate world, but the one valuable lesson that I did learn was that it is much easier to say yes than not, particularly for requests that can be carried out with a minimum of effort. The patron asked for paper, and I gave it to him, an exchange that took no more than 10 seconds from start to finish. Compare it to the alternate scenario: The patron asks for paper, and I say "No, but if you look at the end of the desk, you'll find a recycling bin with scrap paper in it, and you can have as much of that as you want." At this point I've introduced a level of unnecessary complexity, created a barrier for the patron, albeit a small one, and this barrier has an impact on the patron's ability to complete their task quickly and easily.

I haven't worked in a library long enough to understand the reasons behind this particular rule, but it seems to me that library service would become more efficient -- and friendlier -- places if we just did away with those insignificant service policies and developed a culture of customer service.

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Summer Meme: Sing Along / Seven Songs

nobody@vox.com(EJ) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 21:12:06 -0400

Couldn't pass this meme up. What's on my mind, right here, right now. Yeah.....

about:robots

nobody@vox.com(allaboutgeorge) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 02:39:23 -0400

About_robots

George Kelly

(We have come to visit you in peace and with goodwill!)

About:robots, about about:robots
About:robots, about about:robots
About:robots, about about:robots
About:robots, about about:robots
About:robots, about about:robots
About:robots, about about:robots
About:robots, about about:robots
About:robots, about about:robots

I downloaded Firefox 3
because all of the people I obsessively read
were doing it too, not doing-it doing it
'cause that would mean taking their hands off their mice

Dday_badge_fox

I downloaded Firefox 3
because I heard they want a world record
for most-downloaded browser as if a browser
is the right tool for keeping up with fights between Scoble and Eric Rice

And then I learned about:robots, about about:robots
About:robots (the one with the colon in between)
About:robots, about about:robots
About:robots
About:robots, about about:robots
About:robots (the one with the colon in between)
About:robots, about about:robots
About:robots

I downloaded Firefox 3
because I wanted to see how well it performed on my PC
Then I saw it really was a mess,
kinda slow, really not a success (all right, I'm kidding)

I downloaded Firefox 3
because I didn't want to be left behind with an unpopular browser
The kind you use to access the Net
in my cubicle when I'm learning

About:robots, about about:robots
About:robots, about about:robots
About:robots, about about:robots
About:robots
The one with the colon in between
The one with the colon in between
Put it in your browser, see what I mean
About:robots, about about:robots
About:robots
About:robots, about about:robots
About:robots
About:robots, about about:robots
About:robots
The one with the colon in between
About:robots, about about:robots
About:robots

Robots may not injure a human being
or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
Robots have seen things you people wouldn't believe.
Robots are Your Plastic Pal Who's Fun To Be With.
Robots have shiny metal posteriors which should not be bitten.

Step one: open up a Firefox 3 browser
Step two: Type the word "about" and then a colon
Step three: Type the word "robots"
Step four: Hit return, and learn!

Shout out to all Bay Area nerdcore crew
Doctor Popular
MC Slutsky
I see you
I'm'a see you
And we have a plan.
Seen!

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it's learning

nobody@vox.com(faux.real) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:13:38 -0400

I recently bought a toy for my cat. In the past I've given her toys stuffed with either synthetic fluff or more entertainingly, catnip. This time I decided to pick up a toy that would require more active movement, as she's quite a plump kitty, so I bought a wand to which a small mouse is attached by wire.

It's the type of toy that requires the cat to use hunting skills, so I knew it wasn't something that should only make special appearances every once in a while. It lives in a closet and has only been played with twice, before last night. The first time, Willow was fascinated at the prospect of having something to hunt. The second play session I realized that she'd decided a certain patch of carpet was a staging area for investigating her prey, no matter where it'd been caught. But last night's session taught me that the feline brain is more perceptive and calculating than I already knew.

The second time we played with the mouse, I noticed that Willow was equally aware of the toy at the end of the wire as she was with the wire itself. She didn't quite know what to make of the wire, but she knew that it was "connected" to the mouse in a manner which probably gave the mouse it's life. Last night, after the second pounce, she proceeded to position her body between the mouse and myself (a first!) which allowed her to roll her body onto the wire, trapping it on the ground and immobilizing her prey.

I'm going to start locking my bedroom door at night.

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On being Boddhisattva of the gender non-Euclidean

nobody@vox.com(allaboutgeorge) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:44:55 -0400

(inspired by Sarah Dopp)

If gender hath its own geometry,
its Euclidean arc the eye can mark,
then the non-Euclidean girl or guy
may also some new queer discussion spark.

If boddhisattva be what you are called,
it's not a label I'd consider dumb
for those Nirvana-bound are not at fault
for existing in that continuum

So those who classify and catalog
all people as they live and love and play
with every Twitter or post to their blog
they doth inform and lighten others' way,

thus broader bound be how we all exist,
how we are kith and kin, but also kissed.

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Dora Doe

nobody@vox.com(allaboutgeorge) — Thu, 15 May 2008 20:27:18 -0400

This year's Bike To Work Day wouldn't've been the same without her.

Dora Doe

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Two Cool Dudes

nobody@vox.com(EJ) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 08:09:19 -0400

Two Cool Dudes
Originally uploaded by CC Chapman

This is definitely some good stuff. Makes me appreciate what podcasting is all about. Macedonia and I had some great times at Podcamp NYC 2.0. If anything, it confirmed that I need to express myself a bit more and put more In Rotations out there as well. If you're interested in seeing more pics, check out my set, The HalfShow's sets (Day 1 and Day 2), and CC Chapman's set here.

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