January 2015 - Page 3 of 7 - Ramblin' with Roger

Confidence, gifts, words

Melanie says: “Here’s my Christmas gift to you a tad late. Hope you like :)”

Who is someone in your life who helped to give you confidence? How did they do it?

The first to come to mind was my second, primary high school girlfriend. Not only was she fearless, but her boldness was also infectious. I was a really “good” kid, and she was a lot more challenging of authority. I’ve been a troublemaker ever since.

Then three years after I broke up with the Okie, she called me pretty much out of the blue, and she needed her detective skills to find me. She helped me put my head back together, because my self-confidence was pretty shot.

If you were only allowed to give one gift in your life, who would you give it to and what would it be?

Abstractly, I always wished I had had the means to pay off my parents’ house.

Perhaps, what I most want for The Daughter is for her to feel love and self-confidence. Is that two things? Oh well.

What is your favorite (or top three if that works better for you) word to say aloud? (I think mine would be disputatious- there is something substantial, unusual, and intensely satisfying in enunciating it for me, but winnowing is also a fun word to say because it uses muscles that don’t tend to get as much of a workout in daily speech.)

I had a friend named Vito Mastrogiovanni, who died from AIDS in 1991; I LOVED saying Mastrogiovanni. Another high school friend: her first name was Lonna, and she had a last name I can’t spell, but it was pronounced soo-hoe-vee-ET-ski.

Dien Bien Phu.

In the non-proper noun category: Onamonapia – gotta say it fast! Sesquicentennial. And many words in French (Rapprochement) or Italian (Tortellini) or German (Wiener Schnitzel) or other languages.

In the fictitious word category: Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic.

In general, I like repeated fricatives, such as vivacious.

Made me think of one of my favorite songs by the Monkees: Words.

Love ya!

And you.

Obama’s last two years as President

This Democratic President has fulfilled the GOP campaign promises.

Undoubtedly I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating:
1. I don’t support all of Barack Obama’s actions as President. But:
2. When they just make up stuff, it’s counterproductive. Reportedly, Obama is going to dismantle the Marine Corps, which is so obviously false that it is amazing it gets any traction.

What I like about President Obama is that he recognizes income inequality is a problem, even though it’s often hard to do anything about it in this political environment. This belief is behind his support for the very modest increase in the minimum wage to $10.10, and his support for free community college for qualified students, which will – down the road – also help minimize student debt.

When he was down in the polls in the fall of 2014, there were great exaggerations about how bad his approval ratings were historically. Now that he’s beginning to get credit for the nation’s economic turnaround, FOX News and others are bashing the mainstream media with “getting ahead of themselves”. This satire piece is not far off.

But the evidence is clear that the country is already better off economically than the Republicans running in 2012 had promised to achieve by 2016. In other words, this Democratic President has fulfilled the GOP campaign promises.

Interestingly, the loss of the US Senate to the Republicans seems to have energized the President. For instance, he was very funny on the Colbert Report.

More substantively, he desires to open relations with Cuba. He still wants immigration reform, taking action just like his recent predecessors.

Uh, oh: Obama pardons turkey in stunning abuse of executive power.

I’m fascinated by his optimism that the nation is less racially divided today than when he took office six years ago. And he may be right. Perhaps his ascending to the highest office has merely picked at that scab of racism in America that has always been there. This would explain, for instance, Rudy Giuliani’s claim that Obama launched anti-police ‘propaganda’ over the last few months, which rates Four Pinocchios.

A religious writer and former Republican wrote last month about slow motion lynching of President Obama, which I recommend you read BEFORE dismissing it.

I do think this is true: “The president came to Washington thinking he could change Washington, make it better, unite it and the nation. He was wrong. As he ascended, the tone of political discourse descended, as much because of who he was as what he did.”

When the Secret Service arrested a man who threatened to behead President Obama, he was using the racist Tea Party rhetoric still all too common in this country. The President can’t even quote the Bible without criticism from FOX News.

Sometimes it takes Canadians. From 2013: America – He’s Your President for Goodness Sake! Much more recently: You have NO idea just how good you have it.

So I support President Obama, at least in relation to the Republicans, while still criticizing when appropriate. I do believe his heart is in the right place on some basic issues. In addition to what’s been mentioned, I think he is trying to break down gender stereotypes. Surely, he has refused to support DOMA and repealed DADT, two federal laws that discriminated against gay marriage.

It’ll be an interesting two years, and I would not be too quick to assume he’s going to be in “lame duck” mode any time soon.

B is for Bullying

The Daughter turned me on to this video, Never Ever (The Bully Project) by Keenan West.

The Daughter brought home a bunch of anti-bullying material from school one day this past semester. Much of it came from StopBullying.gov, which defines the behavior as “unwanted, aggressive behavior among school-aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Both kids who are bullied and who bully others may have serious, lasting problems.”

At around the same time, I attended a symposium sponsored by some library students that featured, among many others, the ITS Enterprise Information Security Office (EISO), formerly the NYS Office of Cyber Security. It’s a terrible name for an important task. One of its tasks involves fighting cyberbullying, which is “the repeated use of information technology, including e-mail, instant messaging, blogs, chat rooms, pagers, cell phones, and gaming systems, to deliberately harass, threaten or intimidate others. Unlike physical bullying, where the victim can walk away, technology now allows for continuous harassment, from any distance, in a variety of ways.”

The Daughter turned me on to this video, Never Ever (The Bully Project) by Keenan West, a self-described anti-bullying activist from Cincinnati, Ohio. Here are some of the lyrics:

When the going gets tough
And the tough get going
And you feel like you are all alone
When you’re in trouble
Can’t see your way
And you can’t make it
Another day

Through the rain and through the fire
Even in your toughest day
I’ll be right here by your side
I’ll be with you all the way
Through the ups and through the downs
I’ll be here until the end
Keep in mind no matter what
Through it all you’ve got a friend

ABC Wednesday – Round 16

Office JEOPARDY! #2

19 folks, including FOUR from my office, playing this round of near-daily questions arriving in our e-mail. Key rule is that you can’t look up the answer.

See how you would have done.

Today’s Answer is worth $600 and the category is: Political Lingo
The Jeopardy game answer is: An 1868 definition of this term: “Men traveling with little luggage and less character” to profit from the situation.

Hitting my strong suit for an old poli sci major!

What is a carpetbagger?

Nine-way tie for first.
***

Today’s Answer is worth $1000 and the category is: Political Lingo
The Jeopardy game answer is: Calling someone who favors talk over military action this bird dates from the Cuban Missile Crisis.

“Alex” added: “I have no clue if this answer was written correctly. Perhaps it will make sense to some of you. I was totally lost on it. It is written verbatim from the calendar.”

It IS awkwardly phrased, but I got it. I associate the term more with Vietnam.

What is a dove?

Five-way tie for first, with FOUR coming from my office!
***

Today’s Answer is worth $400 and the category is: She Married Him
The Jeopardy game answer is: Ben Affleck.

I’m not really up on celebrity marriages, but Affleck was recently on the news recently, profiled for one of his causes, and it mentioned his wife.

Who is Jennifer Garner?

Still a five-way tie at $2000, with one at $1400 and two at $1000.
***

Today’s Answer is worth $1200 and the category is: She Married Him
The Jeopardy game answer is: William H. Macy

I never would have gotten this one on the actual TV show. I could visualize her, but spent five minutes saying to myself, “What the heck is the name of that blonde woman on Desperate Housewives?” I saw her on the TV show Sports Night and in the movie Transamerica, too. Finally, the light bulb lit up.

Who is Felicity Huffman?

A three-way tie for 1st place at $3200; all librarians! Two at $2200, 1 each at $2000 and $1800, 2 at $1600.
***

Today’s Answer is worth $1000 and the category is: The Hardy Boys
The Jeopardy game answer is: General Hugh Hardy was a 1980s commanding officer of this huge marine base near San Diego.

One of my sisters lives in San Diego, so I’d better get this right! BTW, the categories are often misleading; this has no relation to the Hardy book series.

What is Camp Pendleton?

STILL a three-way tie for 1st place at $4200; all librarians! One each at $3200, $3000, $2800, and $2600.
***

Today’s Answer is worth $200 and the category is: Same first & Last Letter
The Jeopardy game answer is: An invisible emanation, or an intangible quality.

Didn’t know straight off, but started thinking of words that start and end with A and got it.

What is an aura?

Now a two-way tie for 1st, another librarian and me, with the other librarian at $4000. Someone at $3200, and another of my colleagues at $3000. Our office rules!
***

Today’s Answer is worth $600 and the category is: Same first & Last Letter
The Jeopardy game answer is: A noble gas, atomic number 10.

The fact that I had recently written about inert gases, helped as I noted all of them, except helium, end with N. What starts and ends with N? That made it easy for me.

What is neon?

Rankings stay relatively the same.
***

Today’s Answer is worth $1000 and the category is: Same first & Last Letter
The Jeopardy game answer is: Edible fruit matter, or lurid “fiction”.

I’d seen the film. But the e-mailed question was stuck in my spam folder for hours. Glad I found it.

What is pulp?

Pretty easy for all the leaders.
***

Today’s Answer is worth $400 and the category is: Ranks & Titles
The Jeopardy game answer is: There is nothing like this term for a female Knight or the wife of a Lord.

One might see Lord and decide on Lady, and I considered it briefly. Bur sometimes the answer is in the clue. “There is nothing like…” lead me to the correct response.

What is a dame?

For your listening pleasure: There Is Nothin’ Like a Dame from the film South Pacific.

This one tripped up a few people, but not the librarians.
I remained tied for the lead at $6400, with a third librarian at $6000. Two at $4800, one at $4200.
***

Today’s Answer is worth $1200 and the category is: Ranks & Titles
The Jeopardy game answer is: John Busby’s call to Christian service led him from youth leader to national commander of this “army”.

Christian “army”? The quotes suggest it’s part of the answer, and I took the educated guess.

What is the Salvation Army?

Interesting: one librarian didn’t answer this. So FINALLY, alone in first place with $7600, but the other two right behind me at $7200 and $6400, not to mention a couple others at $6000, it’s going to be anyone’s match.
***

Today’s Answer is worth $200 and the category is: The Animal Kingdom
The Jeopardy game answer is: During a chase, these cats take about 3½ strides per second, though the sprints only last about 300 yards.

There’s is no real incentive to answer this. If the second place person gets it right, and I get it wrong, I lose the lead. But the idea of getting every question right is too appealing. So I pick the fastest land mammal. And after the fact, I discover it’s the last question before Final Jeopardy.

What is a cheetah?
***
I go into Final JEOPARDY with a $200 lead, $7800 to $7600. The Final Jeopardy Category is: Characters Who Became Words, which the librarians agree we will either know right away, or not at all. I wager $7400; if I get it right, and the 2nd place person bets it all and gets it right, we will be tied for the win. Or I crash and burn.

Today’s Final JEOPARDY! answer in the category Characters Who Became Words
This money lending character from a 1596 play now refers to any heartless or demanding creditor.

The time frame suggests Shakespeare, and the clue sends me to the character from The Merchant of Venice. But if it’s what I think it is, it’s generally considered an ethnic slur.

Still: Who is Shylock?

Correct! And the person, only $200 behind me, DID bet it all, so we ended up in a tie, at $15,200. That person thanked me for pulling “an Arthur Chu”, referring to this episode of the real game show, in which the “compliance analyst, voiceover artist, and blogger from Broadview Heights, Ohio,” who ended up as 2014 Tournament of Champions 1st runner-up for Season 30, played for the tie rather than the win.

I got all the questions right THIS time. Next round, not nearly so fortunate…

Technology: it means I don’t miss…

Word processing allows me to write this blog every day, even though I am a no better typist than I was 25 or 40 years ago.

Jaquandor waxes philosophic:

Lots of folks often wax poetic about things we’ve lost in our more technological age, like record stores and big, high-service department stores that take up entire city blocks, but what’s something that we’ve ditched in our techno-era that makes you think, “Yeah, I’m glad we don’t do THAT anymore”?

It occurred to me that I’ve seldom described what it was that I have been doing for a living for the past 22 years. The methodology has changed tremendously, and it’s all about the technology.

The New York Small Business Development Center, which started in 1984, now has 24 centers across the state. The business counselors offer free and confidential one-on-one advisement to budding entrepreneurs and established small businesses alike. Since many of the counselors have been entrepreneurs or have worked in banks or other lending institutions, they know a lot of stuff about the business process.

For the things they DON’T know, the counselors contact the Research Network library, which has librarians with access to databases, and even – dare I say it? – books.

In the early days, we’d print out the research from the databases on something called paper. We’d Xerox pages from books. Then we’d put the information in the mail to the counselor. If for some reason, the package was lost, we’d have to do it over. The search would be in our computers, but we’d still have to reprint. And the copying had to be done over.

Let’s talk about the databases. They were on something called CD-ROM discs. We had two dedicated CD-ROM machines, but if I wanted to use the ProQuest database, and someone else was already using it, I had to wait until she or he was finished.

One of the first major improvements in the operation was the implementation of a LAN, or local area network, where we could ALL access the CD-ROMs at the same time, from our own computers, without having to go to the dedicated machine AND we could use a database even of someone else was using it!

As counselors started getting e-mail, we started to save the information and send some of it electronically. This was not as smooth a transition as one might think. For one thing, as mentioned by https://blog.servermania.com/what-is-unmetered-bandwidth-and-when-do-you-need-it/, the capacity of some of the e-mail servers in the late 1990s could be quite limited. Sending all the information we found could mean either having it bounce back to us, or clog things up on the recipient’s end.

Now, we package the data in an Adobe format. It sits on our server, and the counselors get an e-mail notification that the data are there, through a system called WebMQS, which usually works well. It DOES require the recipient to have the latest free Adobe software. Now, if someone hasn’t received the information, the re-sending now takes 5 minutes rather than 50 or more.

At home, my favorite pairing of technologies is the answering machine and caller ID. I hear, or see on the TV, that it’s a call from 800 Service, which the answering machine announces as “eight-zero-zero shervice” – our machine voice has a lisp! and we are oddly entertained by this – we can freely ignore it. But a familiar cell phone number or a call identified from someone known to us, we’ll pick up.

But the #1 favorite technological change I appreciate has to be the word processor, which allows one to correct errors things easily, rather than backspace on the IBM Selectric typewriter to use that tape which vaguely blots out the typos. No more Wite-Out, either.

When I was writing my last paper for library school in 1992, I had arranged the topics 1a, 2a, 3a, 1b, 2b, 3b, 1c, 2c, 3c. But as I continued, I realized it should have been 1a, 1b, 1c, 2a, 2b, 2c, 3a, 3b, 3c. I did a massive cut and paste, but it was WAY easier than retyping 46 pages.

And, of course, the same technology allows me to write this blog every day, even though I am no better typist than I was 25 or 40 years ago. Because if I had to do write this all longhand, and then type it in a manner that was readable and accurate, this MIGHT be a monthly blog, rather than a daily one.

A quick musing, though on one thing I DO miss as a result of technology: keeping score in bowling. The software won’t let you, and occasionally, it’s just wrong in terms of counting the remaining pins.