Autumn is for not blogging

Hello friends! It's been a while, hasn't it? Seems that I decided to take an autumn break from blogging. I've been so busy doing all sorts of fun things, but never took the time to write about them! I have pictures but I haven't been able to upload them yet - we upgraded my laptop to Windows 7 this week, and I'm still in the process of transferring files and downloading programs and all that fun stuff. So hopefully I'll be able to post some pictures soon!

The biggest thing that happened recently was at work - I was transferred to the Hilltop Branch! At first it was very hard to leave my fabulous coworkers at the Main Library, but Hilltop has been wonderful. The staff there have made me feel incredibly welcome, and most of the customers are really friendly and fun to talk to. Even some of the teens come up to the desk and chat with me, which makes me feel cool and hip. Sad but true.

The holidays are fast approaching, and I'm trying to get motivated to start some crafts. I think once we pick out the tree and start decorating, I'll be ready to make things! Jared and I have some great ideas for a Christmas photo this year that I'm sure I'll post for everyone to see - I think it's going to be amazing!

What are you doing to get yourself into the holiday spirit?

RIP Billy Mays and library funding

I've had a lot on my mind lately, but no inspiration to post anything here until now. Truth be told, I've been busy with two other blogs this summer for our Adult Summer Reading Club and for our Main Library Staff Summer Reading Club. So poor little Ridiculology has been neglected - nothing new though, right?

Things in my world have been a little crazy as of late - and not always in a good way. It's been hard to try to not worry about the governor's proposed $220 million cut to the Public Library Fund. It depresses me to think about what kind of impact that would have on libraries across the state, and especially at CML. At the same time, it's been amazing to see the support that the public has been giving to libraries over the past two weeks. From organizing rallies, to sending emails to legislators and calling the governor's office, Ohioans are coming out in record numbers in support of their public libraries. I hope it helps - the decision on the budget is being delayed through July 7th, but hopefully we'll know something then.

So if I lost my job as librarian (which I certainly hope won't happen), what do you guys think my second career choice should be? Wedding planner tops my list - with all of the weddings I've attended and helped plan over the years, I think it would be a good fit. Just in the past two weeks, I've been in one wedding and attended two others! Check out my Flickr page for photos.

Or, maybe I could become a pitchwoman, and take over for my dearly departed Billy Mays. Somehow I don't think that would suit me very well, but it certainly would be fun to get paid to yell at people all of the time. Speaking of Billy Mays, I have to confess that I am very, very saddened by his death. This statement by the Discovery Channel and his partner Anthony Sullivan just breaks my heart. He was a great man, and one hell of a salesman. I wore blue yesterday in honor of him.

So, what else could I do? Rodeo clown? Underwater basket weaver? ASTRONAUT?! I need a backup plan, people!

What I've been busy doing

If you want to know what I've been up to lately, check out this post on our staff Summer Reading Club blog: http://mainsrc.blogspot.com/2009/06/main-staff-src-dessert-potluck.html

I recorded and edited the video myself - it's not great, but it's not bad for a first-timer, right? At the very least, I hope people get a kick out of it!

Thing #23 - Recap!

Well, here we are - the end of the Learn & Play road. Obviously, my blogging will continue, and I hope some of my colleagues will continue blogging as well. Here's my recap:

What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?

I've enjoyed everything, but I especially enjoyed getting to know everyone better on Twitter and playing with things I hadn't used before, like the wiki sandbox and MOLDI.

How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?

I'm definitely less afraid to try new things - I know that if I just take a little time to mess around with something new, I'll figure it out! And if I don't get it right away, I have plenty of people to ask for help.

Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?

I have just been amazed and delighted at how much more of a "community" there is now with CML folks from all over the system. I feel much more connected to what's happening with my coworkers here at Main and in the branches. Sure, we've all learned a little bit more about technology - but we're also learning so much more about each other! It's incredible!

What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?

Honestly, I really liked the format - go at your own pace, with some "catch up" time built in. The videos (I felt) were incredibly helpful too. I think additional things could be added for those people who finish early and want more to explore, kind of like the Read On option that kids get with SRC. Play On!

If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you again chose to participate?

In a heartbeat! I had so much fun with this program, and I think as technology changes and evolves in the coming years, we'll have much more to explore. And depending on the technology, the format might have to change accordingly - only time will tell!

Thanks to all of the library people who have been reading and commenting on my blog! And to those of you non-library people out there, it'll be business as usual soon enough. Of course, if you're sick of me talking about the library, you shouldn't be reading my blog to begin with. ;)

Cheers!

Thing #21 - Podcasts

I've been slacking on my learning & playing, so I'm going to try to finish up today. I only have 3 things left! If I don't get all three done today... well, then definitely by the end of the week. :)

Podcasts! I don't listen to them all of the time, but the few I subscribe to I really enjoy. Of course there is This American Life, which is pretty well known. If you aren't familiar, it's a weekly radio show that they put out as a free hour long podcast. That might seem like a really long time, but the stories they tell are usually interesting enough to hold your attention. Plus you can always do other things while listening to it, which is what I normally do. I love multitasking!

I listen to one library podcast, and that's George & Joan: Thinking Out Loud. It's usually only 20ish minutes long, and I am always inspired after listening to it. George Needham and Joan Frye Williams have great ideas and thoughts about library service and the future of libraries, and the format is very natural - they are just having a conversation, and we get to listen in! I love it.

For my daily dose of techy goodness, I watch a video podcast called WebbAlert. This is hosted by my girl-crush, Morgan Webb (of G4 & X-Play fame). It's a great way to keep up with what's happening in the technology world, and is only about 3 minutes long on average. Plus it's Morgan Webb! And she's amazing! *commence totally platonic swooning*

Okay, so enough about what I already listen to. I tried out the podcast search sites - I liked Podfeed.net the best. I found a podcast from the Lunar and Planetary Institute Library in Houston, Texas, definitely right up my alley. Usually though, I find out about podcasts the same way I do about blogs - worth of mouth.

I think it would be great if CML could implement podcasting in a useful way. We could record programs or lectures so people who couldn't make it could listen to them or view them. Staff could do a weekly book review talk for different age groups that would highlight new books that the library has available to check out. Even just a general "What's new with the library" podcast might be something our customers would be interested in. However, it requires dedication and regular updates - are we willing to do that? My biggest concern/worry is that we would start something and then not follow up with it.

Hmm, this ended up being a much longer post than I thought it would be. Stay tuned for more L&P action with Things 22 and 23!

Thing #19 - CML Power Tools

Time again for some L&P action. This was probably the easiest & fasting thing to complete. I'm already using most of the services on the Power Tools page, so I joined in the Gmail conversation on the Tooling Around blog. Gmail is the best! I'm at work right now, but I need to remember to put the library toolbar on my home computer later. Then my library geekiness will be complete!

Thing #14 - Library 2.0

So I'm finally getting around to posting about Library 2.0. I've been putting it off for a while now - I wasn't sure what I really wanted to add to the conversation. But I've been thinking about it more lately, so here are my thoughts on the subject.

The idea of Library 2.0 has been around for quite a while now. In fact, the articles we read for this "thing" were all from 2006 - that should tell you something right there. Of course, a lot of people think we've been 2.0 all along, and that's somewhat true. But the thing that sticks out for me is the customizable part of Library 2.0, and that's where I think our challenge lies.

Now, when I say customizable, I'm not talking purely about using technology. Sure, web 2.0 tools will make it easier to customize the user experience. For instance, our users could have their own customized library web page - when they log in, all of the resources they like best would be on the front page. Maybe it could also save their reserve settings, knowing automatically which location they prefer to have items sent to. Those would be really cool, customizable things. But our non-web services should be that way, too. If someone wants to just come in, pick up their reserve, check it out themselves, and go - they can do that. But what if someone wants to come in and talk to a staff person about what they are reading that week? What if they would really prefer having a live person check their items out for them? Personally, I don't see anything wrong with that. I think we should make sure that we are still giving our customers options on what kind of experience they can have when they are in our buildings, even if the option they want is the "old fashioned" way. That doesn't mean reverting back to a card catalog - it just means making sure our customers feel like they are being taken care of when they are here. Does that make sense? For the record, I think we do a pretty good job of this already. I just don't want those that aren't ready for web 2.0 to lose out on all the wonderful things that Library 2.0 can provide.

There are plenty of other examples of ways to customize the "library experience" that I can't think of right now. Thoughts?

Things #11 & 12 - LibraryThing and Twitter

So I found out after my last post that the stats feature on Flickr has not only been around a while (aka, not new at all), but is only available to people with pro accounts. So... yeah. Sorry about that. But if you have a pro account and haven't seen your stats, you should really get on that.

Anyhow, THIS post is all about LibraryThing and Twitter! I'm combining them into one since I already have accounts with both services. I joined Twitter earlier this year after I finally caught up with the rest of the world and got a texting plan, but I've been on LibraryThing since 2006! In fact, I even got to meet Tim Spalding, creator of LibraryThing, at the 2007 OLC Convention & Expo. Here's my catalog on LibraryThing, and my Twitter page. Feel free to friend me/follow me on either service!

One of the features on LibraryThing that I haven't explored much (but really should!) is LibraryThing Local. What a great opportunity for libraries to advertise our events to the kinds of people that would want to come to them! Also, I just wanted to mention how I love the fact that the largest group on the site is "Librarians Who LibraryThing," with just over 5000 members! Although really, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that the kinds of people who want to catalog their own books would also be the kinds of people who become librarians.

Twitter is pretty new to me still but I'm really enjoying it. I like being able to record the random thoughts I have during the day, and read all about what my friends and colleagues are doing. However, when I try to explain how it works to people that don't know anything about it, I usually get blank stares. Maybe it isn't for everyone. But I can definitely see where libraries could use this to easily post quick updates on their website, or maybe just to connect to our customers and let them know what's going on that day at the library.

Thing #6 - Playing with Flickr tools

Well, I played around with some of the mashups, tools, and third-party sites suggested - my favorites were the trading card maker and FlickrSLiDR. Here are my creations:

My librarian trading card!

I love that photo - I was dressed up as Madame Trelawney from Harry Potter for the 7th book release party at Barnes & Noble. Can you see the resemblance?

A slideshow of my photos tagged "library":


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Thing #5 - Fun with Flickr!

Columbus Metropolitan Library,
originally uploaded by silver marquis.

I have to admit, I'm cheating a bit here - I took this photo over a year ago! But it's one of my favorites, so I wanted to use it for this post. Flickr is about the best thing ever, and I'm glad to see all of my coworkers discovering how wonderful it is and having fun with it. I have a pro account, and it's the only online service I actually pay money for. I've always loved to take pictures and share them with friends, but it wasn't always so easy getting someone to sit down and look through a photo album with you. Now my friends can enjoy my pictures at their leisure! Also, it's really exciting when someone you don't know finds a picture you took and either comments on it, marks it as a favorite, or uses it on their website or blog. This blog used my photo, and so did this article. Very cool!

So that's Thing #5, and now I'm moving on to Thing #6 - playing with Flickr mashups!

Lifelong Learning - Thing #2

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am participating in Learn & Play @ CML. As I go, I will be posting about each of the 23 "things" that we do, in hopes of getting cool prizes at the end. This is my first official post about one of the things - namely, Thing #2. Thing #1 was simply familiarizing myself with the program, so I didn't really need to post about that. (Hmm, this is starting to sound like a Dr. Seuss book - Thing #1 and Thing #2.) I hope even my non-library staff readers will find my posts about the "things" somewhat interesting, even if you already know all this stuff.

Anyhow, I just watched an online tutorial about lifelong learning. Ironically, I had already watched it before on my own when I first learned about the Learning 2.0 program. But I watched it again, and it got me thinking about people I help everyday at work. So many of them have just given up on learning, especially when it comes to computers. Most of the time it's people who need jobs, and employers expect them to be able to fill out a job application online even though they've never touched a computer before. Some of these people just want you to do everything for them, which can be really frustrating. How do you convince someone to learn when they don't want to? How do you make it exciting for them?

But not everyone is that way! We have so many customers that come to our technology training classes - they want to learn, and even if it's difficult for them, they are making progress. It's extremely rewarding to see people take charge of their lives and better themselves - and know that you played a small part in the process.

As for me, there are a lot of things I want to learn. Right now, I need to learn more about investing. Not only for my own financial gains, but because I deal with investment and business questions on a daily basis - I certainly don't want to be stumped when someone asks me to look up the price of a bond! Also, one of the 23 things is learning about wikis, and although I already know what a wiki IS, I am definitely curious about why and how libraries are using them.

Now for the assignment part of the project: what is easiest and hardest for me to do? Out of the 7 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners, I think it's easiest for me to teach and mentor others. I love sharing what I know with other people! On the other hand, it's hardest for me to have confidence in myself as an effective learner. I can get easily frustrated if I don't "get" something right away. That's definitely something I need to work on!

So, dear readers - what are you learning about right now, or what do you want to learn more about? Do you consider yourself a lifelong learner?

Work + Play makes Erica a happy girl

My library is finally starting Helene Blowers' Learning 2.0 program - only we're re-branding it (as we are so good at doing) to "Learn & Play @ CML" - woohoo! I've been hoping we'd do this program since before we even hired Helene, so I'm pretty excited. Of course, it won't really be hard for me to participate... I've pretty much done all of the 23 things already. But it will be really neat to see my coworkers use some of these services for the first time. I *heart* the interwebz.

Anyway, since everyone else at work is blogging about the program, I had to be sure to put in my 2 cents as well. The program starts tomorrow (with an kick off presentation by Michael Stephens, awesome), and I'll be adding this blog to the official blog roll. Hmm, I sure hope I haven't said anything on here that I'll regret... haha. :D

I can has decent PowerPoint presentation? KTHX.

I attended the first day of my second official library conference today - the OLC Reference and Adult Services conference. I have to say, even for a smaller affair than the first conference I attended (the big OLC Annual Conference last October), it was really nice. The food they served for lunch was great (bonus!), I was much less scared to talk to people I didn't know, and the programs and speakers were really good.

...except the last program of the day. I hate critizing presenters, because I know hard they must have worked to prepare, and sometimes things just don't go as planned - but let me explain. This particular presentation was a combination of uninteresting antecdotes, bad jokes, and the worst PowerPoint presentation I've seen since library school. His topic was adult programming in the library, and although he did stay on topic and gave some good advice about how to come up with programming ideas, he spent far too much time talking about the individual programs that he had put together, and not enough time talking about the logistics of hosting a program and marketing it to the community. After a while it just felt like he was showing off - he kept raving about all of the programs he'd put together for his library, and then would drift off into a story about the people involved in the program or try to tell a not-so-funny joke. (I'm sure it didn't help that I had a huge headache at that point... but I digress.) And when I say "bad PowerPoint," I'm talking flying/rotating text transitions (SIGH), all white backgrounds, and nothing but Times New Roman font. The slides were set up in a basic outline format, and other than some pictures of posters his marketing department created for his programs, the slideshow really didn't add anything useful to the presentation. The scary part is that he stressed how librarians need to learn to use PowerPoint (O RLY!?!), and that he teaches a technology class for patrons at his branch. To top it off, he muttered several times during the program "I hate technology!" after he'd accidentally jump forward too many slides - meant as a joke, I'm sure, but isn't that a bad sign? Especially if you consider yourself a technology instructor?

The rest of the day, however, was amazing. Joan Frye Williams gave a wonderful talk in the morning, as she always does, and I enjoyed every minute of it. After lunch, I was inspired by a program I attended on marketing your collection - now I have all sorts of good ideas to take back to work with me on how to display some of our newer titles and get more customers interested in them. And I also attended a very enlightening panel discussion about how the business community sees the public library, and what they would like to see us do to serve them better. So one rotten apple didn't ruin the bunch for me! I can't wait to learn more tomorrow morning.

Summer fun-ness

You may be wondering what I've been up to. Or maybe you haven't been. Either way, you are about to find out. Oh, the magic of blogging!

First of all, I visited Chicago two weeks ago - and it was amazing! There is so much I didn't get to do (I needed to stay there a week longer!), but what I did do was completely awesome. One of the places I had to visit was the Threadless store. If you've never heard of them, check out their website - if you like unique t-shirts or creating your own designs, you'll love it! Anyway, I visited the store and bought myself a shirt. They also have art prints for sale based on the t-shirt designs. The best part is that they release the newest designs in the store before they release them online - so I got my shirt early, and actually wore it on the day it was "officially" released! Very cool.

Another place I made sure to visit was the Chicago Public Library. This is apparently the largest library in the country (and with 79 branches, there's really no doubt in my mind about that), and the main library is called the Harold Washington Library Center in downtown Chicago. I visited the library on a Sunday - I expected the place to be packed (my library is a madhouse on Sundays!) but found that it was quite peaceful. There were 9 floors - I didn't visit them all, but I could tell that each was laid out the same way. The exception was the 9th floor, which was a beautiful open room with a few tables and a glass ceiling. Surprisingly, only one person was using the space to study when I went up there. If I lived in Chicago, I would be up there everyday! You could even see the top of the Sears tower through the glass. The library had a very modern feel, but I have to say that I wasn't really impressed with the layout of the floors or the use of the space. The walls and decor were... well, not very exciting either. Not bad, just not as impressive as I had hoped it would be. But overall, it was a very nice building.

Check out all of my Chicago pictures on my Flickr page.

In other news, last weekend I was in the Pride parade with Spin Columbus. We did pretty well and everyone seemed to enjoy our performance - we got a lot of compliments afterwards, which made everyone feel really great. This weekend I will be performing with them again in the Doo Dah parade on July 4th - come out and see us if you can (and if it doesn't get rained out)!

Erica's realization of the month: Sunglasses are AWESOME. I bought a pair for myself on the way to Chicago, and I instantly felt both way cooler than usual and much more vacation-y. Now I wear them all the time, and I'm not quite sure how I have lived almost 26 years without them. In fact, I'm pretty sure people smile at me more when I wear them - this is probably either because of the aforementioned coolness factor, or perhaps because they can't see my eyes (and thus can't see the weird look I would have normally been giving them). I have also started noticing just how bright the world is without them - and when I drag my groggy self into work in the morning, the last thing I want to see while driving there is anything bright and sunny.

What exciting revelations have you had this summer?

Tagged!

I just got tagged by made in a treehouse, so it's question and answer time! Yay!

What was I doing 10 years ago?
Wow, 10 years ago I was just about to turn 16! I remember that I was glad to be out of school for the summer, because I had been feuding with some friends and needed a break. But I was also busy planning my sweet 16 party, which I wanted to be huge... and it was!



What are 5 things on my to-do list for today?
Well, it's the end of the day - so here are 5 things that were on my to-do list:

1. Build arcade game out of cardboard boxes at work - it's our display for Summer Reading Club, and I started working on it today with a coworker. A little late, I know, but we should have no trouble getting it done for the kickoff Saturday. I hope it turns out good!
2. Put up SRC posters - done and done.
3. Organize old family video tapes so they can be put on DVDs - I'm working on this one all week.
4. Help Jared update his resume - currently working on that.
5. Play Wii Fit - it was on the list, but I probably won't get to it tonight, unfortunately. It's so much fun though!

What are my favorite snacks?
Oh man - I love eating Doritos dipped in cream cheese. That is my comfort snack. I also love pudding - right now I'm obsessed with rice pudding. Really, I would much rather just snack throughout the day than eat full-sized meals. I have heard that it is more healthy to eat this way, but it hasn't worked out well for me thus far.

Things I would do if I were a billionaire?
Pay off my students loans - and probably Jared's too, just because I'm that nice. I would buy a house and pay off any other debt I have, then give money to my mom because she deserves it. I would probably also buy cool gifts for my friends and throw some big ridiculous party in the new house. It's too bad I'm not a billionaire, because that all sounds so awesome.

Places I have lived:
Born in Akron, Ohio
Portage Lakes, Ohio for a few months after I was born
Canal Fulton, Ohio
Atlanta, Georgia for about a year when I was 2
Canal Fulton again for a few years
Sugarcreek, Ohio from 2nd-5th grade
New Philadelphia, Ohio from 6th-12th grade
Oxford, Ohio for college (Miami U!)
New Philadelphia, Ohio for the summer after graduation
Columbus, Ohio for grad school - present :)

Hmm, who to tag? Well, let's go with The Chaser Nation and Two-Headed Blog, just because I can. I look forward to seeing embarrassing pictures of you from 10 years ago! (Kidding... kinda!)

Discoveries

I made a very interesting find today - on my library's teen website, in the "Express It" section, there is a place for teens to submit poetry they have written. Some are silly, some are kinda depressing, but all of them are just amazing! I don't really know that much about poetry, but I am really enjoying reading through what the teens have submitted. And some of the regular posters comment on each other's poems, which is really cool.

A random list of things I have learned over the past month that may or may not be interesting:

1. No matter what flavor of milkshake you order from McDonald's, they will give you a mix of all of the flavors. A few weeks ago I swear I got a Chocolate-Strawberry-Mint milkshake. Yikes.

2. I LOVE meetings. Of any kind. Even unproductive ones. Most people hate them, but I just love them. Knowing that I have a meeting makes my day go better. Someday, perhaps, I'll be sick of them, but not anytime soon.

3. I really like the clicking sound that high heels make on hard floors.

4. If you want to light a gas grill, you should turn the gas on first. You should not just turn knobs and hit the ignition button over and over, wondering why the damn thing won't light. Just a suggestion.

5. Green is the new black.

6. If you have a bumper sticker on the back of your old crappy car that talks about how much we all pollute the air, you are a hypocrite. You're polluting the air just as much as the rest of us.

7. I enjoy going to the grocery store by myself. It's strangely relaxing and makes me feel like a grown-up. And yes, I know that I'm already a grown-up, but that doesn't mean I always feel like one.

8. I like to sew because the sound of my sewing machine will always remind me of my mother.

9. I am obsessed with Professor Layton and the Curious Village, and I want the sequel to come out RIGHT NOW.

10. I can't wait to see the new Indiana Jones movie! Eeeeee! :D

Clean Slate

I decided that I was sick and tired of the "normal" blogger templates, so I found myself a new one. What do you all think? I am enjoying how clean and refreshing it feels. Like a nice, hot shower. Which I need to go do, since I have to get to work!

Excitement for this week - my department gets to meet with Helene Blowers today, of whom I am a huge fangirl. (As a side note, I'm hoping she doesn't think I'm a complete idiot - she came up to me the other week and said, "Hi Erica! I know you from facebook!" and I just stared at her for a minute because I didn't recognize her right away. Talk about embarrassing!) Also, tomorrow is a kick-off meeting for a project I got invited to be involved with, so I'm pretty psyched for that too.

Did anyone else notice that the Internet April Fool's Jokes were just not up to par this year? My favorite though is in Google Docs - if you open up a new document, then go to the file tab, you will have the option to create a paper airplane. I like AF jokes better when they are fun and somewhat hidden - especially when we all know that Google puts out a million jokes today.

Did anyone get you good today? Online or in person?

Vote Librarian in 08!

I just read on Ohio Library News that Jennifer Sechler, a children's librarian from the Westerville Public Library, is one of 10 finalists to be the CMO - Chief Magic Official - for Disney! If chosen, she'll get to entertain and bring magic to families visiting Disney parts around the world. AKA, the best job ever. You can read a statement from Jennifer in the post from Ohio Library News. I don't know Jennifer, but librarians stick together - especially librarians from Central Ohio! Please vote for her at:

http://www.dreamcmo.com/jennifer

You can vote as many times as you want until voting ends tomorrow. So get to it! Help a librarian out, would ya?

Can't you just get on that Google thing and find out?

One of the fun parts about my new job is that I get to go around to each division at the main library and go through a brief orientation. Yesterday was my day to learn about the children's division (known here as the Center for Discovery). I got a tour, talked with one of the managers about children's programming, and observed a baby laptime program. Now, as far as I can tell, "baby laptime" might as well be called "bounce your baby on your lap..time," because that's mainly what it consisted of. It's a great program - the babies seemed to love it, and it gave the parents/caregivers a chance to mingle. I sat in the back, and occasionally some of the babies either crawled over to me, or just stared at me. One in particular stared at me for quite some time, so I started to make funny faces, hoping he would laugh. Instead, he started to cry. Whoops! I guess that's why I'm not a children's librarian.

One of the not-so-fun parts about my job is dealing with people who insist that you can find what they need "in the computer." As if a computer is a magical encyclopedia that contains all of the world's knowledge, and "that Internet thing" surely will tell them exactly what they need to know, if only I would look in the right place. Sure, there's a lot you can find on the Internet... but not everything. If it's not there, it's not there. That's a difficult concept for some people to grasp, especially for those who are not familiar with computers or have never used the Internet. I have had angry people tap furiously on my monitor screen, exclaiming, "Just look in there! It will tell you!" I can do my best, folks, but I can't do magic.

If nothing else, my job will never, ever be boring. I'm in a great field. :)