Meghan Kowalski
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Just Good Things #57

10/14/2022

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My COVID test just came up negative. Hopefully that remains the case over the next few days. I'm supposed to fly out to California for a conference on Monday and I'm convinced, for some reason, that I'm going to test positive right before I need to leave. So, keeping my fingers cross, but happy this one came out negative.

Here's what else was good in my week:
  • Tasty breakfast sandwich
  • My brother was in town for a quick visit
  • Still windows open kind of weather
  • How cozy the bed feels in the morning
  • Taking over first place in our Fantasy Football league
  • Spending a little more time with friends
  • Listening to podcasts while baking
  • Visited an open house in our building and got great ideas for our own unit
  • Perfectly underbaked cookies
  • Sangria

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What I've Been Reading: October 13, 2022

10/13/2022

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The Cheese Chronicles: A Journey Through the Making and Selling of Cheese in America, from Field to Farm to Table 
Liz Thorpe


I’m getting on a plane on Monday and I needed a book that could travel well. I perused my shelves and opted to pick up this one. I enjoy a good cheese and am looking forward to learning more about it as a food culture. So far, this book just makes me want to enjoy a lot of charcuterie boards.
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*Books shared here are affiliate links for Bookshop.org

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The Now: October 12, 2022

10/12/2022

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This week is the most jam packed schedule I've had in a long time. It's partly due to my going out of town for a conference next week. Mostly, however, it's all the self-imposed deadlines I have for projects. I know that I can drop some balls and it, ultimately, won't matter. That doesn't mean I want that to happen. I keep telling myself that, if I make it through this week, the rest of the semester will be a breeze. *scoffs at self*

Here's what I'm focusing on:
  1. Presentations - I present at Internet Librarian next week. Two weeks after that, I present at the Library Marketing and Communications Conference. I need to have my slide decks done for both by early next week. I've finished outlining and am started working on my speaking notes. Later this week, I'm going to get drafts of both slide decks done. My hope is to have everything polished and ready no later than Tuesday. I'm excited at both of these sessions, but man is it a lot of work. At least I get to talk about things I like - library branding and customer service.
  2. Website Usability Testing - I did a beta test with one of our circ staffers today. That was incredibly informative and I've already made changes to the script. Later this week, I am going to start scheduling the student sessions. The good news is that 30 minutes should be plenty of time for each. The bad news is I have to fit in 10 of them with the knowledge that I will have to likely reschedule a few.
  3. Going Out of Town Prep - As I mentioned, I am going to a conference next week. In order to feel good about that, I am making sure my work here is all lined up and ready for when I get back. I'm working on things for the two classes I teach the week I get back, setting up social media for when I'm out, and just doing the general admin work that is necessary when one leaves for a week. I'm also prepping for my trip by bringing a few things home from the office, updating my packing list, and making sure I don't leave anything important behind. I'm also looking at my travel and conference schedule to see what little sightseeing I can do. I would very much like to visit the Monterey Bay aquarium. 

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Tuesday Tips: Read the Footnotes

10/11/2022

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Taking a break from my roundup of keyboard shortcuts to share one of my favorite librarian tricks: read the footnotes.

When it comes to finding resources, the easiest way to find more sources is to read the footnotes. Start with an article, book, whatever that you think is great, and then read the footnotes (or works cited or bibliography or hyperlinks). That will give you a ton of additional information to look at for your work. 

Formally, this is called citation chaining. You are essentially going backwards and forewords in the scholarship to see what people are writing and thinking about a topic.

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The Weekly Wrap: October 9, 2022

10/9/2022

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Early Friday morning, I had - what I like to think of as - a guilt free hour.

My body woke me up just before 6am to use the restroom. Since I've been nursing a mildly tweaked back, I was more awake than I wanted. I climbed into bed thinking I might sneak 30 more minutes of sleep. I opted not because, on mornings like these, I usually end up more tired than if I had just gotten up.

That began my guilt free hour. This was early morning time where, since I should not be awake, I could enjoy the quiet and not do anything productive. Should I have exercised. Maybe. Should I have gotten a jump start on work since our kiddo was home for a planned daycare closure. Probably. Should I have done one of the ninety other things on my to-do list that are easier done uninterrupted. Perhaps.

But I didn't. Because this was a guilt free hour.

Instead, I cozied under a blanket on our couch, relished an actual hot cup of coffee, and read the news. I can't remember the last time I perused the entire front page of both CNN and the Washington Post. This is the most informed I've been in months. (Honestly... not sure I like that.)

What do you do when you have an unplanned early morning?

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  • The problem with parking. [The Deleted Scenes]
  • How music is used to punish. [Culture Study]
  • This travel essay was the best thing I read all week. [The Bittman Project]
  • I guess this is good to know. *she says before getting on a plane in a week* [WaPo - gift link]
  • Find a better word to describe how you're feeling. [Feelings Wheel]
  • GIFs are going out of fashion and I, for one, am sad about that. [The Atlantic - may be paywalled]
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  • The history of pants. [Every Little Thing]
  • This is a good example of how we should handle things honoring the Confederacy. [Atlas Obscura]
  • Forcing people into boxes is problematic. [The Indicator]
  • The kinds of questions kids ask versus what adults ask. [NPR's Book of the Day]
  • This could be an uncomfortable listen for some. Should we compost humans? [Science Vs]
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  • I will watch anything Jessica Chastain is in. This week, it was Ava. This is an assassin action flick but there's more to it than that. Lots of character study to go with the action.  Also, John Malkovich is in it and I love the flair he brings to his roles. That said, the pacing was slow and the writing wasn't great. This had a lot of potential but was not the full package. [Netflix]
  • Does Liam Neeson make any movies outside of the genre where he punches things? We watched the latest installment, Memory, this week. It does a great job of calling out Neeson's age in a way that makes the story more compelling. There was a lot going on with this one beyond your typical action flick. [Amazon Prime]
  • Why is this so mesmerizing? [Brick Bending]
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  • If you offer me banh mi, I will eat it. This week, I made tofu banh mi. I skipped the recipe's tofu prep in lieu of my method of cornstarch and pan frying. I should have stuck with the recipe's panko breading. That said, the whole sandwich was good. The pickles were fresh and the mayo added spice. I will make this again. Probably soon since I made far too pickled veggies. [PureWow]
  • I love cassoulet but a true cassoulet takes too much time for a weeknight. This skillet pork chops and beans was reminiscent of the dish but was a lot less work. We sous vided the chops which made it even faster. I loved the crunch from the crouton crumbles. [Real Simple]
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Just Good Things #56

10/7/2022

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I want to shout out to the babysitting CPR course I took in high school. It's 20 years later and things I learned then still come in handy.

Today, our daycare was closed for parent-teacher conferences. Our kiddo, who normally doesn't do these things, stuck a small bead up her nose. I was able to save us a trip to urgent care by doing the close the other nostril, blow in the mouth trick I learned. What could have been an awful few hours was over in five seconds with no pain or tears for anyone. My husband was all, "Where the heck did you learn that?!?!!?" 

Here's what else has made this week good:
  • Listening to the birds sing while enjoying a hot cup off coffee when I got up earlier than planned
  • Hearing how much our kid's teachers like her
  • New sheets on the bed
  • My awesome new black jeans
  • Seeing the renovations in the condo down the hall 
  • Kiddo running around in her fluffy Disney dress
  • Surf and turf for dinner
  • Having more volunteers than I need for a work project
  • Being productive during kiddo's nap time

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The Now: October 5, 2022

10/5/2022

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October was the month I scheduled everything that I would get to "later." Now that "later" is here, I'm crying because my calendar is so full. It wouldn't be all that bad except I lose an entire week to a conference and a couple of days to holidays and daycare closures. Next time, I'm going to be more cognizant of myself when I say I will get to something "later."

Here are the to three things I am focusing on.
  1. Website Usability Testing - The script is in good shape but we are doing one more beta test with a staffer who is not involved with the project. I have already started my work to get volunteers for the actual test runs. Happily, I have more students than I need. Now I just need to schedule them all. At least I gave myself through November for that. Also, I need to track down a few faculty members.
  2. Reference Assignment Design - We met to today to hash out some stuff. First, we knocked out the general outline of a poster that's due in a few weeks. Then we brainstormed for another poster proposal that's due next week. Finally, we scheduled some meetings to discuss the next configuration of our codebook and our first joint coding session. The good news is that we have a lot of ideas of what to do with our research. The bad news is that it's a lot of work.
  3. Internet Librarian Presentation - I brain dumped and then structured an outline of what I want to talk about. I'm presenting on remote customer service which is something I talk about a lot. I'm trying to condense it all into an understandable session that is both actionable and a bit novel for those who've heard me speak on this topic before. I have to get my slides done before I fly out in less than two weeks.

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The Weekly Wrap: October 2, 2022

10/2/2022

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I was reminded this week of how weird the U.S. education system is.

When I was in elementary school, we lived in Florida. As a part of science class, we learned how to track hurricanes. We used pencils, rulers, and paper maps to draw cones of uncertainty and eye paths. We tracked every hurricane that hit the state of Florida that year - including Hurricane Andrew. This assignment not only taught us meteorology and a little math but also provided local learning.

We moved from Florida to upstate New York in 1995. Up there, I learned about all the Native American tribes who lived there along with a lot of local revolutionary war history. The local Alachua county history I learned in Florida was no help here. Instead, we focused on Otsego county and New York.

The U.S. is HUGE. It's important to not only learn national and international history, but state and local history as well. While most of my county history is lost to time, I appreciate that I was given the chance to explore it.

This does make me wonder, however, how much is lost in our state by state system. I moved to four different states before I went to college. My K-12 educational experience was jumpy. Since each state has different rules, moving from one to the other means I got some stuff twice and missed other things entirely. I had the privilege of parents who filled in the gaps with books, trips, and conversations. Not everyone is so lucky.

Now, with all the book bans and curriculum conditions (looking at you CRT scare tactics) I know that students in many states are being short changed. It's not fair that some students get broad and informed exposure to topics and skills while others are kept in the dark.


Also, update from last week, my husband could, in fact, be bothered enough by the cobwebs. He took one for the team and cleared them out.

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  • I don't know what I think about this butter board trend. [Food Network]
  • What boredom can do for you. [WaPo - gift link]
  • Baby puffin chucking is, apparently, a thing. [NPR]
  • What you just heard is thousands of public university faculty members screaming in rage. [Chronicle of Higher Education - may be paywalled]
  • The library reference desk and the right to privacy. [Syllabus Project]
  • These are just gorgeous. [Ronny Tertnes]
  • Bookmark these charcuterie board ideas for the holidays. [PureWow]
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  • Your body has lots of clocks and medical science is trying to harness them. [The Daily]
  • How words find their way into the dictionary. [The Indicator]
  • We should value our time and how it relates to our happiness more. [Hidden Brain]
  • The ecological power of grasslands. [Short Wave]
  • The surprising history of a mythical animal and cancer research. [99% Invisible]
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  • I was in the mood for an apocalyptic disaster flicks. Netflix promoted How It Ends  in my list, so that's what we went with. The first half is more of a road trip apocalyptic film. The scenarios the heroes encounter mostly feel real. The second half and ending, however, were meh. In fact, the ending was entirely unsatisfactory. [Netflix]
  • On the Husband's night to pick a movie, he went with Gunpowder Milkshake. We both really like the lead, Karen Gillan, and he decided to grab something from her filmography. This movie felt very graphic novelly. The shots and scenes are all very stylized and deliberate. I had to look up if it was, in fact, based on a graphic novel. (It's not.) Also, this movie features one of the coolest libraries I've ever seen. I would like to visit it. [Netflix]
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  • I love having a sous vide. I made cumin chicken with black beans. This is so easy when I can spice the chicken and have the husband sous vide it during the day. Then everything else gets cooked in one pan. Quick, easy, and delicious. [Real Simple]
  • One time I made chicken cordon bleu from scratch. It was delicious but such a pain in the ass to make. This week, we went with the frozen variety that you throw on a baking sheet and toss in the oven. Sure it's not as good but it's easy. Plus, the end pieces are basically chicken nuggets which meant our kiddo ate them. We served it with a sized of frozen mixed veggies. [Barber Foods]
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