Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Friends sale at Lakeport Library

Friends of the Lake County Library book bags

Jan Cook at the Lake County Library emailed me an event calendar that included this exciting lead: Friends of the Lake County Library will conduct its fall book sale from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 3 at Lakeport Library, 1425 N. High St. For $15, people can stuff a book bag with books, CDs, videocassettes and DVDs. The photo comes from Dewey Lake's Facebook page.

Arguing con in debate over Internet privacy

Toastmasters debate: Introduction of participants
Aug. 13, 2009: Toastmasters Club No. 8731, Tenacious Talkers, hosts a debate.
 I face an interesting assignment for LIBT 117 in the Cuesta College Library/Information Technology Program. Not only did our teacher assign each of us a topic, but also whether we would argue pro or con.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Keep your pets safe on Halloween

It is understandable that trick-or-treaters who came to our door a few years ago concluded that we had “a million” cats. The two small kittens in our household at the time easily created enough mayhem between them to attribute to 40 cats.

“The gremlins,” as I called them, had a knack for evading notice while plotting their various heists. The continual openings and closings of the front door on Halloween, combined with the kittens' innate stealthiness, made perfect conditions for a jailbreak.

With the revelers on our doorstep, two silvery flashes abruptly darted outside.

“Kittens!” I shouted, alerting members of my household that the kittens had escaped. The human inhabitants pelted past the trick-or-treaters in pursuit of the feline fugitives.

I later learned of the impression formed by the kittens' antics concerning the quantity of cats in our household. Thankfully, as we approach this latest Halloween, the sole feline member of our household is a mature adult.

Much about Halloween that gives it its appeal: the opportunity to dress in costumes and go door-to-door asking for candy, could frighten a domestic animal. What I view as children's usual “strikes,” their noise and unpredictability, are amplified at Halloween.

There are also a lot more cars on the road to shuttle children to and from neighborhoods.

Owners of black cats may have additional concerns about ritual killings around Halloween.

“It makes no sense to hype up the problem, it doesn't happen very often but there is a danger,” according to writer Larry Chamberlain, who pointed out that real Wiccans would not harm cats as many are cat owners themselves (www.best-cat-art.com/cats-and-halloween.html).

Snopes.com, circa 2005, determined that there was inconclusive evidence whether Satanic rites involving cats were “a real, widespread phenomenon, or largely a self-perpetuating Halloween myth.”

It did note that some people acquire cats to use as “living decorations” around Halloween-time, only to discard or abandon them afterward. Snopes.com cited, in comparison, the acquisition of rabbits and chicks for the Easter holiday.

The conclusion of the writers at Snopes.com was that it was a prudent precaution for shelters to be extra careful with feline adoptions just before Halloween and that “If Halloween policies also help dissuade those who might inflict harm on adopted pets, so much the better.” The complete article can be read at www.snopes.com/horrors/mayhem/blackcat.asp.

Even without the inconclusive danger of abduction and killing of animals, there is so much activity on Halloween that an animal could easily be frightened.

It would be much better to adopt a tactic similar to addressing the stress of moving house. Confine the animal to a single “safe room” where the coming and going of trick-or-treaters won't give it a chance to escape or, if it is of a timid nature, will not frighten it.

Author’s note: This piece was originally published Oct. 26, 2010 in the Lake County Record-Bee. I am sharing it again out of continued interest in a safe Halloween for animals. The chief difference in my circumstances now and when I originally wrote the piece is that the “sole feline member of our household” is our black cat Starfire.

There seems to be as great a concern, or greater, that these beautiful animals’ black pelts prevent them from ever being adopted than there is that they may be the victims of abuse. At TDIV (This Dish is Vegetarian), contributor John Melia states that “Despite the superstitions that haunt them, black cats can make wonderful household companions.” Melia directs readers to a top-10 list of reasons to adopt a black cat. Compiled by the Marin Humane Society, it is shared online by SFGate.com.

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Victim-blaming in journalism?

Reproduction: dictionary definition of "alleged"
Dictionary.com definition for ‘alleged’

Steve Buttry makes an interesting argument about the phrase, “alleged victim,” when reporting on a crime: “It’s a blame-the-victim term we should banish forever from the journalism lexicon.”

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Review: Aspie Girl’s Guide to Being Safe with Men

Book cover: The Aspie Girl's Guide to Being Safe with Men

Debi Brown has written an informative and essential book, The Aspie Girl’s Guide to Being Safe with Men (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2013). I consider it must-reading for teens and women on the autism spectrum.

According to Brown, girls and women on the autism spectrum frequently are not part of the close-knit social groups that teach their non-spectrum peers essential “rules” about dating. Brown offers a severe  indictment of this form of knowledge transfer:
“A cultural knowledge system reliant on folks having good social networks is not a fair system and is not going to work for most Aspie girls. This is a selfish system, which puts more weight on appearances and not embarrassing people who would rather not give explicit information than it does upon keeping girls and women safe.”

Seeking work in Ashland, Ore.

I feel very blessed that my husband and I are employed during this depressed economy, when so many people are not. I am, moreover, very grateful to the Lake County Record-Bee in Lake County, Calif., for nurturing me as a writer, editor and, most recently, a social media professional.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

New reporter at Lake County Record-Bee

Lake County Record-Bee reporter Berenice Quirino began work Monday. She makes her byline debut in the Wednesday edition with her coverage of a Clearlake City Council candidates’ forum at Yuba College’s Clear Lake Campus. Welcome, Berenice!

Best game of bowling career

Display monitor: Game scores for Record-Bee "Killer Bees"

I had the best game ever of my U.S. Bowling Congress career on Oct. 16: first “Turkey” (three consecutive strikes), first time I broke 100 and bowled more than 50 pins above my average.

Oct. 20 update: League stats from Oct. 16 were posted tonight at Lakeside Family Fun and Event Center. The Killer Bees took third place for handicap series. I took first place in women's handicap game and second for handicap series.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Book sale raises more than $500 for Middletown library

Tote bag full of books
My $5 worth of books from Friends of the Middletown Gibson Library book sale
I got an update this weekend from Fran Rand, secretary with Friends of the Middletown Gibson Library. Saturday’s book sale raised more than $500 for new materials for the new Middletown library. Being able to fill a bag full of books for a cost of $5 was a deal that couldn’t be beat. Way to go, everybody!

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Middletown library move planned for January

Wooden blocks with engraved metal nameplates
Book title plaques for
library patron wall
During today’s book sale I picked up informative handouts about the new Middletown library.

Latest estimate for its completion time is late November or into December, according to the message from director Gehlen Palmer in the August 2012 Library News, a publication of the Friends of the Middletown Gibson Library.

According to Palmer, library staff and county workers are planning the move in January.

“We have what we feel is a unique idea for getting materials from one building to the other,” Palmer states. “We will be asking our library users to come in to the Gibson Library, check out their maximum number of books on their card and then take them home to read or simply walk them across the street and return them at the new library. We are asking for the aid of our community to help us accomplish our move, and we very much appreciate their help and support.”

Middletown craftsman Phil Cianfarini has constructed a patron wall “bookshelf” that will hold 102 “books.” People and organizations can purchase engraved nameplates that will go on the spines of the “books.” Some of the “books” and nameplates can be viewed at the Middletown library.

The cost of a plaque for a person or family is $100 and the cost of a plaque for an organization or business is $200. The newsletter notes that all money raised will buy learning materials for the new library.

For more information or to reserve a space on the patron wall, contact Palmer during library hours at 987-3674. Payment can be sent to Friends of the Middletown Gibson Library, PO Box 578, Middletown, CA 95461.

Friday, October 12, 2012

‘Deserving’

Does it bother anyone else when charities make reference to “deserving” recipients? Does this imply that some people are not “deserving”?

Originally posted to Facebook

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Cunningham: Accessibility covers four groups

At 21Times.org, author Katie Cunningham addresses a belief held by business owners and website administrators concerning accessibility: that there are so few people with disabilities in the world that, statistically, it is highly probable that none of these are using the product or site. She states:
“The idea of the disabled being a small number usually begins with the misconception that web accessibility is all about the blind. Though many of the efforts towards an accessible web aim at the visually impaired, there’s actually more to it than that.”

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Last sale at old Middletown library

People looking through boxes of books at Middletown library
Image added Oct. 13: ‘Friends’ book sale, Middletown library
The Middletown Library is holding its semi-annual booksale, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. next Saturday. According to Fran Rand, secretary of Friends of the Middletown Gibson Library (FMGL), this will be the last book sale at the old library.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

‘We Are United for Libraries’

At the ALA Membership blog, contributor Sally Gardner Reed asks, “when libraries cost so little and deliver so much,” why aren’t all politicians running on pro-library platforms?
Logo: United for Libraries
United for Libraries

According to Reed, for more than 100 years, libraries have ensured that “all people in the community have access to the resources they need and want to be self actualized and self governing people.”

This has certainly been the case for me.

Whether it was ensuring my early access to Internet technology or pursuing information I needed, I consistently turned to the library.

Learning to weave? I went to the library. Diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome? Again, I went to the library.

The problem, as identified by Reed, is that community leaders simply do not understand the core roles played by libraries. “The all too prevalent belief that libraries have been obviated by the internet lends testimony to their ignorance.”

Reed emphasizes the importance of constituents making the case for libraries. “That’s where friends of the library groups, trustees, foundation members and active library patrons come in.”

Reed is executive director of United for Libraries, formerly known as the Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations. She invites library supporters to make use of toolkits, webinars, practical guides and networking opportunities.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Happy Banned Books Week

"I Read Banned Books" Banned Books Week banner
Slide image for Banned Books Week
Happy Banned Books Week, everybody. What is your library doing to celebrate? Banned Books Week takes place from Sept. 30 to Oct. 6.