Librarian's Rant

Interesting Opinion Today piece in NYTimes yesterday about Steve Jobs' attitude to reading:

Every now and then, someone who is brilliant says something stupid — often the result of spending too much time riding a jet stream of high praise. Steve Jobs, the co-founder and chief executive of Apple Inc., did such a thing last month when he all but declared the death of reading.

...Reading is something else, an engagement of the imagination with life experience. It’s fad-resistant, precisely because human beings are hard-wired for story, and intrinsically curious. Reading is not about product.

...True, reading is down, somewhat, from 1992, especially reading of literature. So what? People are eating fewer vegetables than they used to - or should - but that doesn’t mean carrots have no future.

My friend Joy sent me this. I have no idea what it has to do with driving, but it's fun to tranq some sheep!

Getting old, are we? Reflexes slowing down?
As I remember, the automobile driving manual

Says the average driver's reaction time is:

.75 seconds -or- 1 car length for every 10 mph...
Test your reaction time with this special test.

Click here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/sleep/sheep/reaction_version5.swf

moar humorous pics

Thanks to Heather H. for the link!

I hate the Evil Hallmark Holiday. Even when I was in short- or long-term relationships, both, I hated this made-up holiday. Why should you pick only one day to show your love?

That said, I like to do something life-affirming at this time of year, so I am forwarding this from Planned Parenthood:

Okay, so a condom isn't a part of everyone's Valentine's Day. But since the condom first hit the world many thousands of years ago, it has protected millions of people from infection and prevented untold numbers of unintended pregnancies. Not too bad, eh? And Valentine's Day is the first day of National Condom Week, so it's a great time to remind family, friends, and romantic partners about just how fantastic condoms are. How about sharing The Truth About Condoms and Planned Parenthood's condom how-to video?

The latter link is NSFW, for obvious reasons. It is, however, both safe and responsible for Home.

Be loving, be romantic...be safe. Cheers.

I can't remember (or honestly be bothered to check) if I've posted these before. Sites where you can stop paper catalogs from being sent to you:

Catalog Choice - Catalog Choice is a sponsored project of the Ecology Center. It's a free service where you can enter your catalog information (you'll need the label off your catalogs) and they stop them for you.

Green Dimes - I chose this one, because although it requires a small $20 fee, they plant trees to replace those lost to catalogs, and also do a number of other charitable, green things. It's also a bit less work, as you just need to give them your info and the catalog names, not the customer number, etc. from the label.

A good choice either way. I don't know about you, but I don't NEED six identical Signals catalogs a month!