These pictures were specifically requested, so here they are. A while back DaddyBird discovered bacon wrapped sausages that also had cheese inside at the grocery store. They are amazingly delicious and decadent. These in the picture are not cheese “infused,” but are a homemade attempt by manually wrapping the sausage in bacon.
Then comes the scrambled eggs with onions and two kinds of cheese.
The noise of opening an egg carton and cracking eggs results in the following:
Here is the finished product. This is an occasional, special weekend breakfast. This is a heart attack waiting to happen.
Breakfast decadence
October 16, 2010Random Sights
October 16, 2010Posted by Kanga.
This sign and all it’s warnings seems a little overwhelming.
I’m glad to know where to get accurate I N F O R A M T I O N.
I suspect that the members of the Sunset Beach Community Church would be surprised to find that their left over t-shirts ended up in the bargin bin of an Asian grocery store in Dubai.
A new vending machine appeared in the mall across the street.
And, how do you know which perfume you want to buy? Well, there are samplers, of course.
Feasting on Friday
October 12, 2010Posted by Kanga.
Last friday we joined my coworkers for a traditional Indian meal. Most of it was too spicy for me, but I managed to survive and next time I will have a better idea of what to ask for more of and what to turn away.
This has to be the most biodegradable way to eat. No dishes, no silverware.
Way Beyond Web
October 8, 2010Posted by Kanga.
I wrote previously – Predictions of Future Past – about Internet predictions and what actually developed. I’m going to prattle on about this some more from a slightly different tack.
I’m amazed by the paradoxical ease and complexity of accessing information these days. We can google most anything, although the answers we find might raise more questions than certainties. (Notice how Google has become a verb?) The recent 50th anniversary of The Flintstones resulted in a discussion (via Facebook) about exactly when was Pebbles born. Googling led to conflicting answers and questions of which source could be believed. (If my students had any idea what The Flintstones was, I would use this as an example for how to evaluate sources. Unfortunately, it is not culturally relevant.) Anyway, I’m going with Feb 22, 1963.
I’ve talked about Twitter before and how important it has been for us in making friendships with a wide variety of people. For example, this week we had a dinner with 13 people (including us) in which 6 of those people were expats (foreigners like us) and 7 were locals (citizens). You will have to take my word on just how extraordinary that is. However, Twitter is also a major source of information about what is going on locally and in the world. Tweeps (people who twitter) read an interesting article on a news website or a blog and tweet a link to the article. I, being lazy or harried, rely on this referral system and use these links to go to articles that pique my interest. Yes, I could use RSS feeds to collect articles in an automated way, but I kinda like the added social aspect that the person who shared the link also read the article (I know there’s a bit of assumption there) and if I have a strong reaction or opinion about the content, I can “talk” with them about it.
Now, back in the “real” world, students are flocking into the library during their breaks to grab newspapers (in physical format), find an article and scan a copy of it on a daily basis. I have concluded that there is at least one professor who is convinced that the students must “learn to read newspapers” and is requiring the students to produce an article each day. There are teachers who are scandalized that these students have never touched a physical newspaper. But, let’s face it, newspapers are dead, they just don’t know it, yet. Most newspapers have websites where they post all their articles and possibly additional content. These websites have become quite sophisticated, well organized, searchable, and incorporate social media functions so that you can comment on what you read. The tradition of the leisurely breakfast with the morning newspaper is a luxury only the retired have. These students are not sitting down with the paper, reading it through, and coming away fully informed about what is happening locally and globally. Let go of format! Paper is dead, long live the web (until the next thing comes along). Content is where it is at. It doesn’t matter if it is carved in stone, painted on papyrus or sheep skin, inked on wood pulp, or displayed on screen.
Ironically, there are some “services” that are designed to take your Twitter feed and turn it into your very own personalized “newspaper.” At least one application for iPad combines your Facebook and Twitter to make a personalized “magazine” for you. Just how many interfaces do we need to filter our information through?
I don’t think that the word “web” describes the Internet accurately anymore. Maybe “fractal” would be more appropriate.
Magic School Bus
October 7, 2010Posted by Kanga.
This picture may seem quite pedestrian to you, but this sight caught my attention. Two and one half years ago when we moved here, school buses were not yellow. It was extremely rare to see a yellow school bus. Somewhere along the way, the regulations changed and now they are everywhere. They also have stop signs mounted on the left side that are extended when the bus stops to pick up children. However, none of the other drivers know what that means and they just drive around the bus without stopping.
An even rarer sight – a bumper sticker. This is the one and only that I have seen. The print is quite small, so you have to be very close to even see it. It says “I may be slow…but I’m ahead of you.” Which is not particularly pithy here. Impatient drivers here do not pause long enough to read something like this. They are too busy speeding around slower cars.
Why librarians don’t sit around and read books
September 22, 2010Posted by Kanga.
I had one of THOSE conversations with a good friend last weekend. “If you don’t read books all day, what does a librarian do?” Every librarian has had this conversation multiple times.
So, this has not been a typical week, but I am going to describe it for you so that you will know why librarians are not sitting around reading books all day.
Sunday (first day of the work week in the Muslim world):
- Late shift, came in at 10 am, worked until 8 pm
- One hour – new student orientation to the library
- One hour – collection analysis, comparing the titles in our collection to a recommended core collection (percentage is too low, need to order a lot of core titles)
- Meeting with other library staff to discuss how the first session of student orientations went
- Lunch – yes, for my health I insist on actually taking a break and eating something
- One hour – reference desk = being available to answer any questions people have and help them use library equipment (photocopier, scanner, computer)
- One & half hours – preparation for instruction sessions I will be doing Monday & Tuesday evenings
- Rest of the “day” until 8 pm – “manned” the circulation desk, sole library staff person on duty
Monday:
- In one hour late, because I am staying late to provide instruction to an evening class
- Four hours on the reference desk – photocopier help, etc.
- One hour – new student orientation
- Lunch
- Administrative tasks – trying to catch up on paperwork, follow up on tasks that have cropped up, responding to faculty requests, scheduling instruction sessions, etc.
- Instruction session for a class – teaching them information literacy in preparation for a major research paper they will be doing
Tuesday:
- Three & half hours – proctoring an English proficiency test
- Lunch – totally starving because I missed breakfast
- One hour – new student orientation
- Three hours – reference desk
- Instruction session, just like the one the night before
Wednesday
- Administrative tasks – trying to keep up with my email and paperwork
- Collecting together all our policy documents related to “collection development” = selecting, ordering, receiving, and withdrawing library materials (On another day, I will read all these, edit, and add to these documents.)
- One & half hour – attend a class to see students give their first presentations in front of the class and to talk about blogging.
- Lunch & run to the bank
- Responding to emails and following up on some requests, trying to keep my head above water
- Meeting with another staff member to revise some documentation on our process for ordering books from vendors like Amazon
- New student orientation
- “Manning” the circulation desk so that the assistants can be free to do other end of day tasks
Thursday: (tomorrow, so this is speculative)
- Library staff meeting – one hour
- New student orientation – one hour
- Reference desk – two hours
- Lunch
- Meeting about donating withdrawn books to another library
- Meeting with another librarian to draft proposals for a change in how we do some of our tasks in hope of freeing up some time
Now, I do have to admit that I did check out a book. It is a book on how to build a core library collection, so not an exciting read. I’ve managed to read about one page. I did pick up another book. This was during a orientation session time slot. I was waiting for students to arrive and wandered into the biography section, discovering that we have a biography of Yul Brynner written by his son. So, I looked at all the pictures, read the captions and read about one page of the first chapter while waiting. I also did some reading while proctoring the test, but it was mostly Twitter on my iPad.
So, there you have it. This is what those strange non-reading librarians are up to.
Location, Location, Location
September 18, 2010Posted by Kanga.
If you look at any pictures of the newer buildings of Dubai, you will notice that each is designed to stand out. There are all kinds of shiny bits, curves, twists, and angles. Taller, grander, more striking. The problem is that these buildings are built next to each other. I doubt that when the architecture firm makes the model to show investors or owners what the new building will look like that they include the neighboring buildings, but perhaps they should.
Here’s a prime example of a new building squeezed in to a space where it cannot really be appreciated.
Ramblings
September 17, 2010Posted by Kanga.
I was going to try to express what I think about recent current events and ugly attitudes, but it is too overwhelming for me and I cannot be articulate. So, I will leave it to these two quotes by articulate people.
“…as I say to people time and time again, yes the Middle East has been plagued by a lot of conflict, but everyday life in the Middle East is not violent, it’s ordinary. People want the same things as we do, they want to put a roof over their heads, have a reasonable standard of living, send their kids to a nice school, have a family and live in peace. There is no difference with what most people want here.” Frank Gardner Reporting from the Middle East
“…I believe in an America that protects those who are the victims of hate and prejudice. I believe in an America that says you have the right to worship whatever God you have, wherever you want to worship. And I believe in an America that says to the world that we are a loving and generous people and if a bunch of murderers steal your religion from you and use it as their excuse to kill 3,000 souls, then I want to help you get your religion back.” If the ‘Mosque’ isn’t Built…
Blessed are the peacemakers. May the opposite happen to the fear mongers.
Well, the decor was interesting…
September 10, 2010
Well, we ate at Spur Steak Ranches restaurant. The steaks were quite terrible, but the lights shaped like teepees were fun. The decor was quite a mismash of Plains Indian motifs, Pacific Northwest Coastal Indian motifs and a little Inuit thrown in for good measure. (Word to the wise, don’t eat there.)
DaddyBird
kangayayaroo
Living the Travel Channel 