Link Dump: Library

Cultural Images of Librarians - if you think librarians are just about stamps, shushing and people who like to read, then you really need to read this.

Libraries' novel ideas [Library Link of the Day #20 submitted by yours truly]

The coolest ticket: a library card

Libraries Short of Space

Library thief gets choice of prison terms [follow up to this post]

Amnesty granted for Kenton library late fees - looks like they gave their patrons a week to return items and clear fines before introducing a new policy of using a collection agency, like the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, to collect fines in excess of $25. Check out their FAQ on why they are now using a collection agency.

Sewing Machine Recommendations?

This weekend, I had big plans to break out granny's sewing machine and complete some skirts from Sew What! Skirts, but I was foiled. Following the directions I easily took my measurements and cut my patterns, then cut my fabric, but when I sat down to use the sewing machine, we just were not connecting and I ended up packing it up in frustration.

It is an older machine, but granny told me my brother had recently cleaned it and it should be up to snuff but I don't know, not to mention it is slower than molasses in the spring time. Plus, the buttonhole directions either were not making sense or I was not following them properly, but I had a button "hole" in the formation of a lazy "S."

I'm throwing in the towel and saving up for my own machine that has a simple stitch and ability to buttonholes. If you have any recommendations on sewing machines, let me know! In the meantime, I think I'll offer to watch my friends' dog in exchange for using her zippity fast machine!

Nearly 50% of Americans Indicate Their Bathroom is Larger Than Their Office Cubicle

I was reading this press release from a company that makes office organization materials and was struck by the sizes of office spaces. They cite a 2001 survey by the International Facility Management Association that says in 1997 the average office space was 410 square feet and in 2001 it was 355.

The way they put it makes it sound bad (yeah, because you need their products). Last year, I was living in a 330 square feet apartment, which was ample living space and would have been plenty large for workspace, in my opinion. But then again, I have only worked in offices of cube farms as far as the eye can see, three cubes per one room, which had once been the office of one person and eight desks in one large general workroom.

Right now, a coworker and I have cubes inside a room, which we share with the staff printer and the campus fax machine so at any given time we have a parade of people in our workspaces. While our backs are to the door because of the orientation of our computers to the outlets (and we are the only two like this) it is better than the previous plan, which was to leave us sitting all day at the public service desk with no escape from the public and where others would be using our computers.

More from that press release:

Nearly 50 percent of full and part-time working adults that work in an office cubicle indicate that their bathroom is larger than their cubicle, and nearly a quarter say their closet (23 percent) or kitchen pantry (23 percent) is bigger.

Ten New Etiquette Tips for the Workplace

I nearly choked when I read The Brazen Careerist's second tip of new etiquette for the workplace. I completely agree that I am adult and that older people will see telling, not asking as discourteous, but still this would not fly at all at any of the places I have ever worked and it would especially not my current place of employment.

2. Don't ask for time off, just take it.

When you need to leave work for a few hours or a few days, you don't need to ask for permission -- you're an adult, after all. Make sure your work is in good order and send an email to the relevant people letting them know you'll be gone.

This will seem discourteous to older people, who expect you to ask rather than tell. So be sure to give a reason why you're cutting out. People like to know they matter and where they stand.

Click the post title to read the rest of the tips.

Minimum Required Vacation Time Around the World

I happened across this in Marie Claire's August 2007 issue just after submitting a request for 6 days off from work (because our work week includes weekends, not just weekdays) for a vacation in the fall.

Minimum Required Vacation Time Around the World
0 days - China, U.S.
1 week - Hong Kong, Singapore, Mexico
2 weeks - Canada, Japan
3 weeks - Colombia, New Zealand
4 weeks - Most of Europe, Australia
5 weeks - Norway, Sweden, France
6 weeks - Germany, Finland

Harry Potter: Fastest-Selling Book Ever

Harry Potter fan or not, it is neat to see a book getting as big of an opening as a blockbuster movie! Friday, a student was dressed up as Hermione and Saturday at the pool, people of all ages were reading various Harry Potter books.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Barnes & Noble Inc., the world's largest book retailer, said on Monday that sales of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" sold 1.8 million copies in its first 48 hours of release.

U.S publisher Scholastic Corp. said on Sunday the book sold 8.3 million copies in its first 24 hours on sale, making it the fastest-selling book ever.

Link Dump: Crafts

More links have been piling up in my RSS reader...

not martha's shoe rack

a review of Bend the Rules Sewing

Gluey Gluerson! (as seen in the photo to the right)

A Harry Potter Potty (lots of photos)

Fabric CD Holder

CD Visor Tutorial

How To Make a Cupcake Stand

How To Cover Chinese Take Out Container with Fabric

How To Sew Fabric Napkins

How to Choose Fabric Online

How To Take Spinning Photos

The Cupcake Courier (this is a fave product of Jenna Fischer of The Office)

Gamer Wedding Cake

Pixel Super Mario Cake Made from Cupcake Squares

Circuitry Snacks

Tote-able Towel

Two-Hour Beach Tote Tutorial

Refashioned Oxford Shirts

Refashioned Jeans Apron

Baby Viking Hat Kit

Credit Card Flower Box Fridge Magnet

Pimped out Library Carts

Qdoba Misses Me!

I got a cute email from Qdoba saying they are putting my face on a milk carton because they have not seen me in a while and they are offering me buy one entree, get one free.

I know I have been there in the last three months, but I guess they consider it too long of an absence. I know longer work near the one location, which along with not eating out much and having used up my gift card are why I have not been eating at Qdoba, but I think there is a location not too far from this current work location. Maybe I can rope my coworker into splitting my coupon with me?!

Love Notes in the Library

One perk of a library job is the notes in books or crumpled on tables or left in the stacks. My latest:

Love spending time with you, you are amazing and sexy as hell
[heart]
Milda Ann
[heart]

I love FOUND Magazine and know they say library workers provide some of the strangest found items, but I have not been able to part with my notes. Instead, I keep them in a drawer and then pull them out and read them when I need a lift!

How I Spend Money

Dawn at Frugal for Life is keeping track of 25 ways people save money. I was going to participate, but then I got a few into my list and thought I'm probably not offering up ideas others have not heard. I understand the point of the exercise is to help others find ways they can trim the excess off their spending and shuffle the money into retirement, emergency fund or paying down debt, but all this saving leaves me more curious as to how people (mostly of blogs I do not regularly read) are spending their money!

In the interest of first time readers of this blog, it might be more informative to say I use the library for books and movies instead of buying books or going and renting movies. I opt out of cable television, a land line telephone and magazine subscriptions in lieu of salon haircuts. I pack my lunch and eat all meals in except one or two nights so I can socialize with my friends over cheap dinners. I buy used, refinish, and take trashed furniture so that I can splash out on a nice desk. I sell craft supplies I no longer use so I can buy new stuff. I do not clip food coupons, but I buy store-brand. Even though you can search Google for udandi + Target and find a gaggle of entries, it is often about the the dollar spot or end-cap, ends in 4 clearance deals.

The spending (and skipping) goes on in a way that I am completely comfortable - I am not missing out on life nor spending my way into a dark hole. Life is good!

Found Money!

As Summer goes on, more people visit the pool which means the chances of just one person dropping some coins in the grass increases significantly! This past week on two different visits, I found $1.92 in change and my mom found $.25 but gave me the quarter :)

Since I go after work, I tend to walk by the spots that appear to have been previously occupied by teens (to making a sweeping generalization, teens often liter rather than walk 3 feet to the trash can) and keep an eye out for shiny objects in the grass. Unlike the pair of ladies who comb the grass after 6pm for coins, jewelry and toys, I do not make a major effort to look for money, because then I would never see anything!

I putting the money toward next year's pass!

Techinical Difficulties

I had a lovely, low-key holiday! I went to the pool and then left just before the sky opened up and dumped much needed rain on us! I was going to start cutting out a pattern for a skirt or un-do some old necklaces to make into newer ones, but instead caught up with some friends over dinner.

For some reason I am unable to use Firefox so I am to using IE, which I have not used in many years and it looks odd and clunky, to me. Also, I cannot figure out why with IE if I am logged in through Google, Blogger and on my blog I cannot delete a comment off an older post. So if you see a comment that looks like spammy, please ignore it.

Recipe: Peanut Butter-Chocolate Brownies

I found this recipe on the side of the Pillsbury cake mix and decided to try it. While tasty, they are not as good as the Decadent Peanut Butter Brownies and instead of using jar frosting as suggested by the recipe, I made the frosting similar to what I use on the Cookie Pizza.

Mix:
Yellow cake mix
1 cup chunky peanut butter
1/3 cup water
1 egg

Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Fill pan with mix and bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting, mix:
1/2 cup peanut
8 oz chocolate chips, melted

Chop up nuts or candy bars to decorate the top.

Side note, the pan I use for brownies has a locking lid with handle that makes it great for traveling. I got it around 4th of July about 5 summers ago for $4 and I wish I would have bought the other one sitting on the clearance shelf because I love this pan-lid combo!