TheMadLibrarian

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• Commented on Freelancer vs cheap client: please design me a logo, with pie charts, for free
  I can has link to John Scalzi's blog entry about why no, he can't write something for you for free? :D...
• Commented on Mark Dery on the death and rebirth of malls
  Repurposing a mall will only work where the existing infrastructure has not decayed to the point where ripping the mall down isn't less problematic. If the structure has become unsafe, get rid of it. Wasn't there a link a month...
• Commented on Weird, New Electricity Generator Takes Baby Step Into Real World
  I remember having heard about this several years ago. As I recall, it was originally developed for desalinization, with electricity production being a happy byproduct. Which came first, the chicken or the egg?...
• Commented on Rethinking NIMBY: Why Wind Power Could Lead To New Ways of Defining (and Dealing With) Public Naysaying
  We have a wind farm that supplies about 10% of our county's electricity on a ridgeline overlooking the central valley. There was the expected debate about eyesoreage, unexpectedly the source was the local hippie contingent. I find the windmills aesthetically...
• Commented on College students arrested for not tipping
  Mandatory gratuity = oxymoron....
• Commented on Library workers fired for colluding to keep graphic novel from being checked out by 11-year old girl
  They could always add the R. Crumb version of Genesis >:-)...
• Commented on What the $*@&#! is the Nephroid of Freeth?
  I thought those bean-shaped things were called cardioids, from HS geometry class. Learn something new every day. We have a couple of Chihuly(ies?) on display in a local gallery. Nice to look at; the price tag, notsoniceakshully....
• Commented on Make an audiobook, get an audiobook science fiction challenge
  Is there a link to a site where the guidelines and books are listed? My Internet connection blocks Internet radio because of lack of bandwidth....
• Commented on Antony Gormley - let's all go barefoot
  I can think of a number of reasons to wear at least flip flops: Broken glass Mesquite thorns Snowdrifts Motorcycles Cow pies Hot sidewalks YMMV...
• Commented on The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook: inspirational kids' science comic
  I picked this up for our library. I was expecting a fast little something that would encourage kids to invent and think and make stuff, but it was a really good read as well. Think of the inventor whiz kid...
• Commented on How scientists determined how many humans two lions ate in 1898
  Did the lions on display at the Field Museum lose their manes somehow or are they juvenile or female lions? I thought they were old male lions who made up for aging by using cunning, teamwork, and the fact that...
• Commented on Newspaper columnist quits over paywall
  What will a paywall do to Fair Use (continuing Manicbassman's thought)? If you want to quote or cite something, how do you do it? Will this remove a whole level of journalism from access? No student will voluntarily pay for...
• Commented on Climate Change Now
  If we are getting more precipitation overall, why are big swaths of the Midwest breadbasket and the Southwest constantly under drought alert? Shouldn't we be doing more to capture that excess water and move or store it to do more...
• Commented on Knit hat stabs you in the head if you don't smile
  Did they use something like this to train the creepy grinning guy in the Enzyte commercials?...
• Commented on LEDs: Throwing Some Light on the Hype
  Fascinating article! One of my friends is involved in work on LED light bulb technology. He adores the ones he has, but they are a tad bit expensive for common household use (one LED flood light bulb runs about $25+)....
• Commented on US military data-mines America's kids for war recruiting
  I graduated in between the end of the Vietnam War and the beginning of our next 'police action', so at the time I don't think our military recruiters were at quite the fever pitch. I had another strike against a...
• Commented on International Climate Day this Sat needs 22 countries to collect the set
  Count me shocked that nothing is happening in Micronesia, one of the countries most likely to be impacted by global warming, as parts slowly slip beneath sea level....
• Commented on Infographic: Left vs Right
  Can someone pretty please provide a link to a scalable copy, preferably one screen sized? The present links cut off half of the graphic, and the one on BB makes my eyes hurt from squinting....
• Commented on Mental health nurse's comic about schizophrenia
  Self-referential FTW! Which came first, this find or the later post about comics in the classroom? This looks like a good example of the type of comic book that would be useful....
• Commented on Comics in the Classroom
  I am in favor of anything that gets a reluctant reader to read. If you consider pot a 'gateway drug', why not let comics be a 'gateway media'. Spiderman and Superman (even if they just like the pictures) may get...
• Commented on Philadelphia Free Library System saved!
  Devil's Advocate here... Libraries are canaries in the coal mine of legislation. They benefit all, for a relative pittance. They are an easy target, both for budget reductions and for massive "Save the ____" campaigns. When politicians target libraries to...
• Commented on Rage
  thanks to the cheekbones, I am now having Ziggy Stardust flashbacks....
• Commented on Author John Scalzi "On The Asking of Favors From Established Writers"
  Any time I'm doing something I don't want to be doing at someone else's request, it's $85/hour. YMMV....
• Commented on Philadelphia Free Library System is shutting down
  This is being played out to a greater or lesser extent across the country. Hours are being reduced, services cut, staff laid off, buildings closed. I personally fear for my branch. Meanwhile the legislators play chicken with the public, and...
• Commented on Harvard Crimson runs ad for Holocaust denier
  For an interesting look at Holocaust deniers, you may want to review the section on that subject in "Why People Believe Weird Things", by Michael Shermer. The primary focus of the book is not the Holocaust, but in getting people...
• Commented on They Might Be Giants' awesome new kids' CD: HERE COMES SCIENCE!
  For our library's collection: DO WANT!!1!!...
• Commented on Haunted Mansion embroidery
  Is anyone else getting a rather Edward Gorey-esque feel from these?...
• Commented on Interview with author of Introvert Power
  I wonder if introversion/extroversion is correlated to other traits, like education? The stereotypes of rowdy bluecollar football fans and socially inept nerds a la Big Bang Theory had to get started from something. We've already noted how the anonymity of...
• Commented on SciFi became SyFy, may soon become SyFry
  I'm with Ignatz: Crosstime Cookery *Roasted Ortolans stuffed with Pistachios *Dormice braised in a Honey-Fig sauce *Greek Fish Sauce *Several episodes could be devoted to the proper preparation of a medieval wedding feast, complete with trenchers and subtleties, and the...
• Commented on Possible B.O. ban in Honolulu
  There are many homeless people who, while they can't or don't bathe daily, manage to keep themselves clean enough to not be considered a biohazard. If you can't or won't at least make a stab at some form of hygiene,...