The Greatest Job in the World (not actually extinct)
Thanks to all of you (including an actual librarian) who wrote in to tell me that the research desk DOES still exist, even with information being so readily available these days.
L. Wade (librarian) described it best:
The Greatest Job that Doesn't Exist does, in fact, exist. Public libraries still have people with Masters in Library & Information Science who sit at a desk and answer reference questions. University libraries and federal agency libraries do, too. There may be some special libraries that no longer have a staffed reference desk, and some desks may be consolidated Information/Reference/Circulation desks, but they continue to be staffed by people with MLIS degrees.
Book Update
The book which now has no title continues at pace.
I received such excellent and comprehensive (almost overwhelming) feedback from the editor I worked with that I thought I would never get through it all.
I did, though. Finally.
Now I'm in the process of making several high-level and hundreds of lower-level decisions. Solving problems. It's inordinately messy, but I'm not stuck.
I was expecting to be stuck. Paralyzed, really, from the sheer volume of feedback. And I'm not, but I am moving methodically.
This is to say that end of the year for publication is probably in some peril at this point. The quality of the book has risen considerably, though, and in all the right ways. It's a possible trade-off worth making.
A Fever
C is in Montreal to visit her mom.
We talked today and she said the city has gone completely mad over the Canadiens. Almost every store she passed had team gear or a sign in the window. One had a signed jersey under glass from Jean Beliveau, who played for the Canadiens from 1953-1971.
Given that there were 20,000+ people inside the Bell Center on Sunday night and 20,000+ more watching right outside the arena (on huge screens the team brought in), I'm not surprised. They'll be be solid favorites to make it to the conference finals if they win tonight.
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
This museum was why Eli went to Copenhagen for a day trip on Friday--in particular, to see a Basquiat exhibit that was leaving soon.
Total expenses for the day, including, airfare, transportation, entrance fee, and food? 100 pounds, or about $136 USD.
That's a hell of a day trip.
Here are some pictures.
He said it was an incredibly beautiful museum, particularly the outdoor spaces.
Shocking
How is it that in 25+ years of doing this, no one ever wrote in and told me to watch Trailer Park Boys?
Canadian humor. Seriously underrated.
Anywhere Else Would Be An Improvement, Really
C has already had the shingles vaccine, but a few days ago, she noticed she had some kind of rash.
Yup. It's shingles.
It's small, at least, and not severe, thanks to the vaccine, but it's inconveniently located.
As Eeyore famously sang:
I found an anchor over there
Now it's on my derriere.
C is calling it "ass cooties."
The Greatest Job (that no longer exists)
I was talking to DQ Story Consultant John Harwood this afternoon. He's playing a game where you clean books and put them on the proper shelves (or something). He mentioned how satisfying it was, and I told him his perfect job would have been
a reference desk person at a library.
I still remember being in the Corpus Christi library (the downtown location, the big one) and talking to the person running the reference desk. I asked her a question, and she went off and did research, then came back with the answer. Then she was kind enough to tell me about her job and how much she enjoyed it.
Getting paid to research oddball queries all day long? Sign me up.
For both John and myself, it would have been one of the most satisfying jobs imaginable. A full day of learning every day at work.
That job is gone now, of course. People don't ever have to ask where information is anymore. Of course, there's a huge difference between information and knowledge. We seem to be drowning in the former and sorely lacking in the latter.
Life
Well, even though I started trying to pre-order the new Steam controller right at 1:00, I didn't get one. I kept putting it in my cart, verifying my address, and then when it came to payment it said it couldn't update the transaction.
It wasn't just me. Quite a few people were stuck in the same situation, and now it shows out of stock.
I don't complain about Steam very often, but seriously, this is so stupid.
PSA
The new Steam controller is available for pre-order at 1PM EST.
Three, Now Two
There were three athletic achievements I wanted to see before I die:
1. a sub-2:00 marathon.
2. a woman running a sub-4:00 mile.
3. a woman pole vaulting 18'0"
Now, there are only two remaining: Sabastian Sawe breaks two-hour barrier to make history in London Marathon. 1:59:30.
Incredibly, the runner who finished second ALSO broke two hours--in his first marathon. Incredible.
Technology had a role in this, as Sawe's Adidas shoes weighed 3.4 ounces. "As light as a baby kitten," an article mentioned, totally missing the point, as baby kittens are not suitable footwear for running.
If you want to understand how fast this was, go run a hundred meters in 17 seconds. That was his average pace for just under two hours.
The other two will take longer. The women's mile record is 4:06, and the women's pole vault record is 16'7". When the men broke through, they were both considered astounding athletic achievements at the time, and I hope I'm around long enough to see women do the same.
Where Are They Now? Stephanie Assham-Dubious Edition
Mike G. wrote in and asked why I hadn't used Stephanie Assham-Dubious as an example during the post I made about last names.
That brings back some memories.
Stephanie Assham was originally hired in 2003 as my administrative assistant. She married Leonard Dubious in 2004 and adopted a hyphenated last name. She rose through the ranks to Director of Corporate Communications, although, in truth, no one else had been hired in the previous fourteen years and it was entirely title inflation. Still, though, it looked good on a business card.
In 2017, the picture becomes murky. Stephanie went on an innocent trip to Guatemala and somehow wound up alerting the secret police. After being tailed for much of her visit, her passport was confiscated as she prepared to board a return flight home. After escaping captivity, she sent me a postcard saying she was traveling overland by burro to Belize.
There, the trail runs cold.
Was she mixed up in a criminal enterprise? Working as an intelligence agent? I never knew.
It's been nine years now, and I've often thought of her, mostly because her filing system was so cryptic I'm still looking for important documents almost a decade later.
If you're out there, Stephanie, send up a flare. Or a document explaining your filing system.
