Meghan Kowalski - Blog

The Now: May 31, 2023

5/31/2023

Nothing like the kiddo having a probable case of conjunctivitis 24-hours before you leave for a work conference turned long-needed parents-only beach weekend to really scramble your schedule.

We lucked out and were able to nab an early morning pediatrician appointment tomorrow. Even if she's home, we should be able to leave when planned. In some ways, the timing on this is fine. The grandparents are coming to town to help so we at least have childcare. (And it's not like they would complain about extra time with their grandchild.) This has just made it a logistical dash to see what needs to be rearranged (plus what, now, needs to be laundered) before we head out of town.

Here's what I'm working on:

Finalizing Slide Decks: TILC presentation on Friday and CALM presentation as soon as I get back into the office on Tuesday. I wanted these decks all set before we hit the road so that I don't have to think about them. TILC was easy - just a few adjustments. CALM was more work. I had to add some alt-text, check accessibility, and really flesh out my notes. I think it's all set and I should be able to give a solid presentation on Tuesday.
Faculty Research Assignment Design: We finished the first look at cross-walking our codes to the ACRL Framework. We also looked at some simple analysis charts of code usage, dominance/frequency, and co-occurrence. Now we're working on lit review material and fleshing out an outline with evidence for our first paper. While this stuff is even more wibbly-wobbly than actual coding, I find it far more enjoyable. Now we're really digging into the data. So many ideas of where to go with this!
Life Management: I'm finally starting to tackle some platform reduction, file renaming, and "adulting" paperwork for the kiddo. I'm not working on any one single project. I'm sort of flitting between what I have time for and what my brain can focus on at the moment.

The Weekly Wrap: May 28, 2023

5/28/2023

It's a holiday weekend and the links below are many. Let's keep things short and sweet.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday filled with all the summery things and people that make you happy. We'll be getting outside (weather permitting), getting together with friends, and cooking up some brats.

Enjoy!

A clever cat adoption marketing tactic. [NPR]
What do workers want? [WaPo - gift link]
Who knew aspect ratios and streaming were so interesting? [@tvaziri]
It is my goal, when my kid eventually Googles her name, that she finds nothing. [The Atlantic - may be paywalled]
Some reasons why you can't sleep. [Real Simple]
The bias behind Nextdoor. [The Atlantic - may be paywalled]
How to create a heart in our public spaces. [Project for Public Spaces]
Those with no work at work. [Vox]
How Jupiter changes its appearance. [PetaPixel]

Self-doubt - why it happens and how to get through it. [Hidden Brain]
How Vegas conserves water. [Parched]
The story you haven't heard about being Japanese American in WWII. [Code Switch]
The power of power lines. [Planet Money]
Robocall fundraisers are a scam. [The Daily]
Is dentistry a crock? [Science Vs]

Awake is a short movie. It's just under an hour and a half long. That tight run time means the action is condensed. The film is all the better for it. In the movie, no one can sleep - except for one girl. The plot follows the quest to keep her safe and try to solve the sleeping issue before everyone devolves beyond saving. This film will make you want to jump into bed early. [Netflix]
While scrolling through free movies, we got distracted by the trailer for Scarlett . It's about a college student whose "special skills" dad is kidnapped and she needs to rescue him. Think a reverse Taken but not as good. First of all, the lead actress in no way can pass for an undergraduate college student. Second, you can practically see the fight choreography. Finally, this is low budget and it shows. Like, you can tell they rented an Air B&B to film in for the weekend. All things considered, however, it was not the worst movie I've seen. In the hands of a bigger studio, this probably could have led to a blockbuster with several sequels. [Amazon Prime]
Still Standing is a Canadian TV series led by comedian Jonny Harris. We put on a few episodes because we like him in Murdoch Mysteries. This show is heartwarming. Harris visits tiny Canadian towns to get to know the people and places. Then, he delivers a stand-up performance about what he learned. That comedy must be really hard to write. He has to craft jokes that speak to the tiny crowd without offending them while still speaking to a broader television audience. It's impressively done. [Amazon Prime]

For Sunday dinner last week, I tossed together slow cooker coq au vin. It's a little more involved (gotta pre-cook some stuff) but pretty tasty. Our store only had boneless, skinless chicken thighs so I omitted the browning step and just dropped them on top of the veggies. We also almost skipped serving the dish over a bed of egg noodles and that would have been a poor decision. We will make this one again, but I'm going to drain off most of the bacon fat. It was just a bit greasy in the end. [Real Simple]
I made a variation of cold peanut noodle salad for my lunch meal prep. I followed the directions for the dressing, but everything else I kind of did my own way. I used lo mein noodles instead of spaghetti. I used a bag of broccoli slaw instead of chopping veggies. I did include the green onions. Since I'm lazy and tossed everything together at the same time, the dish did clump up in my containers, but the taste was on point. [Budget Bytes]
Something about summer makes me want seafood in a buttery, toasted roll. We also had two ears of corn chilling in our fridge. So I made shrimp rolls for the first time. The recipe makes it seem like the shrimp should be served warm, but both the husband and I thought it would be better cold. He sous vided the shrimp the night before and then I tossed the mix together the next day while the corn cooked. This was a great way to use up some of the celery we had languishing in our produce drawer. [Cup of Jo]

Just Good Things: May 26, 2023

5/26/2023

My colleagues and I had a meeting about our research project today. Two of us realized that we go up for tenure soon and would need letters of recommendation. Our third colleague , who is now at another institution, immediately offered to write one for each of us. I love the people I work with.

Here's what else was good this week:

Leftover rice in the freezer making for a super fast weeknight dinner
An interesting plot in an episode of Murdoch Mysteries
Three library holds arrived just in time for our beach trip
Listening to a Bridgerton Vibes playlist on Spotify
Making more progress than planned on some slide decks
Conference travel funds were (finally!) approved
Hanging out with friends while our kids played together
Batting a balloon around the living room together as a family
Breakfast tacos

What I've Been Reading: May 25, 2023

5/25/2023

Pinpoint: How GPS is Changing Technology, Culture, and Our Minds
Greg Milner

I decided to pick this up again for a chapter. It's going to take me forever to read this book because I read non-fiction more slowly. This one is even slower going because there are a lot of acronyms and technical terms. I was not at all surprised to learn that GPS was finally taken up by the military because it improved their firepower advantage.

I finished Majesty: American Royals II by Katharine McGee. It ended pretty much as I expected it to. I would not be surprised if this series ended up as a movie series.

For work, I'm reading A Fool's Errand: Creating the National Museum of African American History and Culture in the Age of Bush, Obama, and Trump by Lonnie G. Bunch III. The subtitle says it all. As a fellow information professional, it's fascinating to learn how Dr. Bunch got a museum (without a building!) off the ground.

Before you go... I decided to share a new version of this post next week. Kid Reads will highlight the books my kiddo and I are reading together. It will post bi-weekly.

*Books shared here are affiliate links for Bookshop.org

The Now: May 24, 2023

5/24/2023

Our kiddo decided to wear her Wonder Woman outfit - complete with headband - to school today. I envy those days. I wish I could wear a cape to the office. Since I can't wear a cape, I will live vicariously through the photos daycare sends. Those updates are providing a little whimsy to my day.

Here's what has my attention:

WRLC Annual Conference: Our consortium holds a two-day annual conference once a year. We use this time share our work, learn from our colleagues, and just connect as a group. In addition to attending several great sessions, I've presented twice. This morning, I presented an individual session about outreach. Right after that, I presented with my colleagues about our research project. We received some good questions and we've got a few ideas for how to adapt this for the TILC conference next week.
Slides and Notes: In addition to my two presentations today, I've got three more webinars and conference sessions coming up in the next two weeks. I'm up to my ears designing slides and writing out my notes. I'll be giving a webinar on what the library offers, a shared presentation about our research project (see note 1), and another individual conference session on promoting the work of others in libraries.
To-Do List Consolidation: I decided to migrate as much of my to do list content to Evernote as possible. I'm transferring all my non-work stuff from Trello to various lists in Evernote. I'm also adding stuff from my Keep lists and my bullet journal. This is a part of my overall attempt to simplify the amount of platforms I use. My goal is to have ONE main platform that handles as much as possible for my life. I will still use other tools, but I would like to have a central hub that deals with at least 90% of my life.

The Weekly Wrap: May 21, 2023

5/21/2023

I had to spend some time mapping out my calendar for the next month and I realized that I was giving five conference presentations/webinars in the the next three weeks. I present a lot, but this is heavy load even for me. No wonder my to do list comprises of nothing but outlining and slide design.

Speaking of slide design, I realized something as I was working on my second (third? - it's hard to remember) deck this week. I can throw together the design and written content of a deck in about an hour. (SlidesGo makes that part of my life so much easier.) When it comes to inserting relevant images... that is where my time disappears. A task I think will take 30 minutes ends up taking hours.

For example, I'm giving a presentation to our local consortium about outreach. The slides themselves took me 45 minutes to make. It took my FIVE hours to decide on which pictures to use and I'm still not done. I have to stage and take two pictures when I'm back in the office tomorrow.

The reason this is such a time suck is mostly the content I'm discussing. This presentation (and many of my presentations) are about outreach. Visuals matter in outreach. People will remember the pictures long after they've forgotten the written content. Plus, visuals convey unspoken messages. When I created a video on integrating sources, I made everything cooking themed to show that we all mix ingredients together differently. People can take the same resources but adapt them for different kinds of projects.

I also try my best to be representative - particularly when I am using stock images. It's so easy to pick people who look like yourself in photos. I try my darnedest to be comprehensive so everyone sees themselves at least once.

Finally, I am picky when it comes to slide balance. I want the images to visually balance the text. I also don't like it when text or design elements obscure items in the photos. This means I am constantly trying new pictures, cropping images, and tweaking things until they look just right. This presentation on taking better pictures took me over TEN hours to put together. Not only was I trying to find the right images, for most of the slides, I was limiting myself to only pictures I had taken myself. I didn't want to be critiquing the work of others in a public forum.

How do you design presentations?

The view under the ice. [Colossal]
What color is the sun? [WaPo - gift link]
How the library can help curb impulse shopping. [Lifehacker]
Always a big fan of comedy wildlife pictures. [The Guardian]
The process of art is the point. [family scripts]
A mix and match recipe for trail mix. [Budget Bytes]
Stunning sculpture work. [Colossal]

The chase for profits hurts everyone. [Planet Money]
Bureaucratic paperwork saves lives. [The Daily]
Next time you hit the clothing thrift stores, try these tips. [Life Kit]
To improve things, remove what causes friction. [Hidden Brain]
What’s happening at the US southern border. [The Daily]
What at home DNA tests can and can't tell you. [Short Wave]
The problem is parking culture. [99% Invisible]
Wear sunscreen - everything else is pretty much pointless. [Science Vs]

I as sold on watching Man on a Ledge because of Elizabeth Banks. She is one of those actresses with surprising range. In this movie, she's a police negotiator who is trying to talk a man off a high building ledge. She quickly realizes there's more to this case than meets the high. This film had a great supporting cast, namely Sam Worthington and Jamie Bell. [Netflix]
I am so doing this with my child when she is older. [@xenatine]

For my weekly lunch meal prep, I made chickpea Waldorf salad. It's pretty easy to chop up and toss everything together. I served mine with wheat thins in lieu of putting it on a bed of spinach. It's hearty enough to satiate on its own without a side accompaniment. [The Kitchn]
We tried out a new vegetarian dish this week. Mushroom and broccoli stir fry noodles was a quick to toss together on a week night. (I even had to run out to buy more soy sauce and we were still eating close to our normal dinner time.) The recipe suggests broccoli florets. We used those this time but we're going to use chopped broccoli next time. We like the smaller bites. The sauce on this is well balanced but you can easily up the heat by increasing the amount of chili garlic sauce you incorporate. [Budget Bytes]

Just Good Things: May 19, 2023

5/19/2023

Kiddo got to wear pajamas to school today. She was so excited she basically skipped breakfast and climbed into her stroller to wait until it was time to leave. She always seems the happiest on these days and her smiles are infectious.

Here's what else made me smile this week:

Taking a long bath
Fresh flowers on our dining room table
Having good ideas randomly and remembering to write them down
Low humidity and open windows all week
Fancy soaps
Kiddo singing along to "Cinderella Snapped"
Frozen yogurt with Oreo and chocolate chip cookie crumbles
Kiddo beaming at her teacher as she read the book she brought to school
The Container Store

The Now: May 17, 2023

5/17/2023

A small to-do list item that I tackled today was to update the white board in my office. Each semester, I write out my top three priorities, a few extra projects, and a list of major events like conferences and vacations. Basically, from now until June 9, I'm only working on conference related stuff. So many presentations! After June 9, I can tackle all the other things on my list.

Here's what I'm working on:

Research Assignment Design: Now that we're done coding (huzzah!), we've entered the analysis phase. We've decided to crosswalk some of our codes to the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education. That is turning out to be harder than we thought. The Framework is theoretical and many of our codes are practical. That difficulty spurred an idea for a paper that we plopped into our research journal to tackle later.
Presentations: I will be presenting three conference sessions and a webinar in the next three weeks. I'm going wild making outlines, building slides, and writing out my notes. I am so very grateful for SlidesGo for making slide design a little easier.
New Phone: My old phone was finally problematic enough that I replaced it. I spent more time than I thought I would need setting up my new phone. Now I need to get my old phone ready to trade in.

Now on My TBR: May 15, 2023

5/15/2023

Quite the mix of titles added to my TBR list recently.

You can see my complete TBR list on Pinterest.

*Items featured here are Bookshop.org affiliate links.

The Weekly Wrap: May 14, 2023

5/14/2023

While working from home this week, I remembered that we had a lot of random leftovers in the fridge. Usually, we are pretty good about eating leftovers. After each meal, we pack things up and then eat them from oldest to newest for lunch through the week.

This time, our leftovers were individual components rather than all-in-one meals. That made things a bit harder to use. On Friday, I had the brilliant idea of making a salad with the ingredients.

Extra lettuce (two kinds!) - I washed, dried, and chopped them up.
Cauliflower/chicken dino nuggets the kiddo didn't like - Baked until crispy and chopped up
Leftover garlic bread - Cubed and baked until crispy to make croutons
Heel of parmesan - Grated

I put everything in a bowl and tossed it with some Caesar dressing chilling in our fridge. Not your traditional Caesar salad but still very tasty.

We try to avoid food waste and I'm proud of how I thought to use up these items.

How do you reduce your food waste?

What is it about momfluencers? [In Pursuit of Clean Countertops]
I teared up reading this piece on sad choices. [homeculture]
The rise of the cronut and food with a fandom. [The Takeout]
We have got to stop criminalizing being unhoused. [Anti-Racism Daily]

When you don’t own what you think you do. [Planet Money]
Little inventions that made a big difference. [99% Invisible]
How fish and chips became British. [Gastropod]
How to improve your indoor air quality. [Life Kit]
Bringing back the prairies of Iowa. [Atlas Obscura]

For some reason, when we don't know what to watch, we always default to thriller or action movies. This week, that lead us to put on Mile 22. It's fine. Mark Wahlberg gets to play angry; in fact, the whole cast plays angry. I'm fairly certain there was never a smile in this film; it was just a lot of angry action. Also, I'm not sure if our subtitling didn't work or if we weren't supposed to know what was being said in a foreign language parts. All those scenes were lost to us. It didn't really matter to understanding the plot - which tells you a lot about the narrative. [Netflix]
We are still rolling through Murdoch Mysteries during the week. It may be a formulaic, cozy series, but I love it. This week we saw an episode where Murdoch gets into golf and the final scene - where he is angry at the sport - is just a delight. [Acorn]

We tried a new recipe this week - chicken fajita lettuce wraps. The husband was hoping this would get the kid to finally eat lettuce. As she was recovering from a stomach bug, she ended up skipping this meal. The recipe is basically fajitas but you replace the tortillas with lettuce. Our store didn't have bibb lettuce so I went with the closet thing. The leaves were big enough but not as strong. The second I tried to wrap my filling, the lettuce ripped. Should have doubled up! The flavor of the filling is great, but I really missed the traditional tortilla. Recommend having napkins on hand. [Life Made Sweeter]
For my weekly office lunch meal prep, I threw together tomato mozzarella pasta salad. It's basically a caprese salad with pasta. I most enjoy how the dressing stays thick and creamy. This one will probably be a summer staple for me. [Budget Bytes]