My First Podcast

I was interviewed at the YALSA Happy Hour for the YALSA podcast. It seems a little unorganized to me. The first topic jumped into the second without any introduction, but then gets into zines. I barely recognized my own voice and there are a couple of things that I said where I really wonder where I got that. Teens are more open to controversial content, where adults aren't? That is such an over generalization, and not a blanket statement that I should have made. Everything else sounded good though, pretty professional.

PODCAST

Support Obama

Guess I am giving away my politics here, but my readers have probably already figured that out.

Hey,

Want a free Obama/Biden sticker? MoveOn's giving them away totally free--even the shipping's free. I just got mine, and wanted to share the opportunity with you.
Click this link to get a free Obama/Biden sticker:
http://pol.moveon.org/barackstickers/?id=-1553985-HmfUCCx&rc=manual_forward

Thanks!

The End of Libraries for All -- Bwahahaha!

Another cool library event coming up: The Libraries for All Celebration and Passport Distribution

This is going to be all kinds of fun. Every branch will be celebrating and patrons will get a passport to get stamped any time between September 13 and January 2nd 2009. If you get all 27 stamps, you can turn in the last page to enter a drawing for a book lover's baskets full of goodies, and lunch with the new city librarian/CEO--a job that is yet to be posted.

The party (YES! Party!) will be held at all branches from 1-3.

Architects and artists will be present at the Library locations they worked on to visit with members of the public and to sign passports. There will be free coffee and snacks.

So come out and join us to celebrate our wonderful libraries!

Stand up for our rights!

Dear friend,

Yesterday, the Bush administration took the first step in pushing through its new anti-choice regulation.

Here's the deal -- thankfully, the regulation left out the most egregious anti-birth control provision that was present in the first version. But, we're not out of the woods yet. This new version fails to give assurances that current laws about abortion will not be stretched to cover birth control, too. We have 30 days to tell Bush's Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to include explicit language in the regulation to ensure that birth control is not at risk. Please send a message to HHS right now.

https://secure.prochoiceamerica.org/site/Advocacy?id=3261&pagename=homepage

We must show Bush that the vast majority of Americans oppose harmful and politically driven attacks on reproductive freedom. Click below to make sure women's access to birth control isn't affected by this new regulation.

https://secure.prochoiceamerica.org/site/Advocacy?id=3261&pagename=homepage

Thank you for your help.

The September Project

Silver in San Francisco just reminded me about the September Project.

In 2004, we began the September Project to break the silence following September 11, and to invite all people into libraries to consider topics of patriotism, democracy, and citizenship. Initially, events focused on September 11 and largely took place on September 11. As the project evolved, events spread throughout the month of September and focused on issues of freedom and democracy.

This is the 5th year and The Seattle Public Library has participated all five years. I like what the the SPL website says:

The Seattle Public Library, a co-founder of The September Project, believes that public libraries - the largest, most accessible, and most democratic
institutions in the country - are the appropriate hosts for these events and a
natural venue to discuss these issues.

How will the library be participating? This says it better than I can:

"Seattle Public Library is hosting an exciting and provocative suite of events taking place in Central Library, Capitol Hill Branch Library, and Green Lake Branch Library. Events include a three-part, three-neighborhood discussion with Eric Liu and Nick Hanauer and their book The True Patriot; a film screening and discussion of The Corporal's Diary; a public talk by veteran British war correspondent Robert Fisk; and, in collaboration with Intiman Theatre, a dramatic reading from Robert Penn Warren's "All the King's Men."

Ah, a blog full of quotes. Guess I am not feeling loquacious today. But I am proud of my library!

I'm Back!

I am back from camping and I had a really good time. I said I was going to Kalaloch, but in reality we went to Salt Creek, near Port Angeles. We made low tide two days in a row and I took an exhorborant (I cannot find the correct spelling of that word...after 5 minutes of looking) amount of pictures of landlocked sea creatures.








Yesterday I hosted a gaming tournament for a large number of teens and children. Once again, my teen volunteers came in not only handy, but let's just say that I couldn't have done it without them. My co-workers were there to talk me down when I was having a panic attack over scoring Mario Kart. It all worked out and we had our indisputable champions.



Here are a couple of pictures of the garden, before I put the fence up to keep those darned zucchini and pumpkins out of my tomatoes.




Anyone want some lettuce and zucchini?

Power Struggle

I am going camping this weekend with my family. We are going to my favorite spot, Kalaloch, WA. It is right on the Washington coast and the worst thing about it is that the drive takes about 4 hours. :P I will post pictures when I get back.

While you are waiting for that, you should check out this interactive article over at the Seattle Times, which has answered all of the questions that people wanted answered in their poll last week. It is concise and informative, both for riders and drivers. I was especially interested to see that you CAN get a ticket for not wearing a helmet anywhere in King County including inside the Seattle city limits. $81 fine if you are caught without it. Seems like we could make up that $50 mil deficit if they just ticketed everyone that didn't wear one.

Anyone living in the Seattle area might consider watching their power usage today. Business Week has an article with the details as they are known right now. One of the substations is only operating at 50% at the moment and with temperatures going into the 90's, the use of ac and many fans could lead to power outages this weekend. I only found out about it (and looked up some news to pass on) because we got an email request to turn off as many power using devices as possible at the library.

Biked 2 days this week, and even rode from work up to Lake City and 125th, which feels like a long way and very uphill. Riding is great though and the new bike takes the hills like a champ.

My ex-BiL was featured in last weeks Seattle Weekly. The web version even has a video, which I haven't had time to peruse yet. Todd opened his own shop a couple of years ago, after a long stint as a manager at the Capitol Hill Rudy's. His shop is really cool, with a pool table, cool soft drinks and a large screen tv. I think there is even video games. I know my Dad's wife (no relation to Todd--my family ties are convoluted) goes there for her fashionable do. I used to, but I try to stay closer to home these days.

And One to Grow On

My sister, Roselle, just got a few of her photos published by 91.3 KBCS from her story on the protest against public surveillance called Watching the Watchers.

I couldn't get any of her photos to show up here, for some reason, so bear with me and click the link.

I had a good weekend, mostly laid back. Worked on Saturday, but I got to do crafts, so it was all good. I made a house book during one of our programs. Those who know me shouldn't be too surprised to get one for xmas--with something special inside, of course.

The Boy went to play his three on three tournament on Saturday, too. He lost both of his games, but had a good time.

The garden is growing out of control. Mostly it is the pumpkin and squash that have become monsters. I have had a couple of the yellow squash and I have to say that I like them much better than zucchini and you can do the same things with them. The tomatoes have tons of fruit on them, but they are all still small and green. Pics to come.

Oh, and I have to thank BoA (see previous post) for the lovely gas card and thank you letter. It would be great if they also posted the refund of the overdrafts that they promised me, but $50 free gas is always welcome. Feels like they actually saw me as a valued customer that always pays her bills on time.

Fun Bike Stuff

There was the Dead Baby Bike Race recently, which isn't as horrific as it sounds. The Seattle Race looked like a lot of fun, and the bikes are so kooky! My Ballard has pictures.

The Red Electric blogged about "Tour de Fat" which was at Gasworks recently and also had a lot of inventive cycles. It was sponsored by Fat Tire and I am sorry I missed it. Seattlest has a bunch of pictures.

On a not so fun note, my papa got tapped by a car this week. He was riding in the bike lane and a driver wanted to pull into a parking spot, but instead he pulled into my dad. Luckly there were no broken bones, and I have to say that my father is one of the coolest heads out there. It seems there was little drama until dad asked for his license and insurance. Dad is a bit scraped up but he was able to ride away from the accident.

I actually rode twice this week and plan to ride tomorrow. That will be a record. Monday I only rode one way though, when I went to get The Boy from basketball camp. We took the bus home together so he would know what to do the next few days. My little boy is getting so grown up! Of course, most of the kids here in Seattle have to take the Metro bus to school, but this was The Boy's first time riding alone.

Budget Woes

Some scary stuff is coming down the line. I am sure most of you have heard about Govenor Schwartzenager ordering the lay off 10,000 of the states 22,000+ part time employees and lowering the wage of the rest (~200,000) to minimum wage. This is a scare tactic that the govenor is using to force lawmakers in California to come up with a workable budget. In the mean time though, everyone is worried.

Govenor Gregoir has issued a hiring and travel freeze for the next few months for her state agencies, according to an article in the Puget Sound Business Journal.

And; Was Greg Nichols plan to save the budget when he let the Sonics go? It turns out that that $45 million is that much less we will have to find in our next budget, where we still have to come up with $50 mill to make things right. We might not get all those new cops that were promised.

I was talking to a friend yesterday, saying that I know this should affect me, but I just wasn't feeling it yet. I got all of these articles by email yesterday, from my Union. I guess it is time. Luckily none of this affects my job, but very soon it could impact me in a work-load kind of way. If the city puts on a hiring freeze, we will lose librarians and not replace them. We might also cut back on the programing we offer and the number of materials we buy for patrons to check out. I hope this recession turns around before the quality of the services we offer the citizens of Seattle and King County have to suffer.

Diabetes on the Brain

This ADA article talks about the possibility that an artificial pancreas could be available in just a few years. This is good news for type 1 diabetics and people with severe type 2. The device would still be outside the body, but would test blood sugar and dispense the right amount of insulin, just like a pancreas does for people without diabetes.

Right now for type 1 diabetics, testing the blood and dispensing the insulin are two separate jobs, and both require sticking a needle in your skin. Type 2 diabetics can often get by taking pills, but still have to do finger sticks to check blood sugar levels every now and then.

The difference between Type 1 and Type 2:

Type 1 is "an autoimmune disease caused when the body mistakenly destroys the insulin-making cells in the pancreas. " This means that the there was some sort of sickness in the body that mimicked the insulin making cells in the pancreas, and when the body fought off the sickness, it attacked those cells too.

Type 2 is when "either the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin." It is often called "insulin resistant." This is the kind that is often caused by unhealthy eating and living habits, but not always.

If I were to have to choose between these two types, I am not sure which I would choose. The first one allows you to eat more normally, but requires that you take 4-6 shots a day. The other one you can take pills, but you really have to watch your diet. The Boy has type 1.

Reasons why The Boy should not let his numbers fluctuate so much:

For people with type-1 diabetes, scrupulous care is needed to avoid swings in blood sugar levels. If levels go too low, the patient can pass out and die. When blood sugar goes too high, it damages capillaries and eventually organs.

Patients whose sugar levels regularly creep up suffer gradual and usually symptomless damage until they go blind, or lose kidney function, suffer heart damage or perhaps lose a limb.

The Boy went to Camp Stix in July and it was a great experience for him. Since going there he is much less shy about his disease and will take his shot at the table, rather than hiding in the restroom. He still doesn't like to check his blood sugar in front of people--probably because it does involve some blood. He came home energized and proud of who he is, instead of frustrated and self conscious. I hope it lasts.

About 24 million Americans have diabetes, with Type 1 accounting for 5 percent to 10 percent of diagnosed cases.

If you would like to donate to a good cause, click here.