Something else you don't expect to see on the news

"'Now we're going to get snow penises popping up all over town,' he said."

Not unless you show us some snow boobies, first.

Registration Required - bastards. Try anybody for both ID and password.

See on The Obscure Store

Make friends with a librarian

There are many things and people that many of us don't think much about or value for that matter. Very few know and value the importance of librarians in general and research librarians, more specifically.

Joe Kissel reminded me of this today. Interesting Thing of the Day: Membership Libraries: "And there's something else: reference librarians who are positively itching to help you find information. I always have to avert my eyes when I walk by the reference desk. If I make eye contact, I invariably get this guilt-inducing "why-aren't-you-asking-me-where-to-find-old-periodicals" look, and I just can't bear it."

Even more so in this age of electronic data. Yes, there's lots of information at my fingertips. But is it the right information? Is it authoritative? What am I missing that's not online?

Who knows these things? And even better, who can find out? A librarian

Something to add to my Xmas list.

This is exactly the type of thing I have always wanted.
Celestron SkyScout

How cool is that? Of course, I live in Columbus, Ohio, which has to be one of the cloudiest places on the planet, making the Skyscout next to useless here, but it would be a joy when sitting on the beach at Hatteras on a warm July night.

Just imagine a more universal device. I point it at something and ask, "what is that?"

"The object is a Curta mechanical calculator, circa 1950 and appears to be in near mint condition. The current ebay price for a similar object is $635."

Or "That is an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake. You are within striking distance and I strongly recommend that you step back an additional 3 meters."

Damn useful thing to have.