• Freeze Frame – historic polar images
  I have a strange fascination with polar regions. Maybe it's the severity and austerity of the environment.
  (tags: reference education history)
• diy project: window films
  What a cool idea to make pretty window films. I think I'll try this with one of the windows in my office.
  (tags: crafts)
• Just Tweet It » THE Directory for Twitter Users
  Long ago, I developed an unhealthy addiction to Twitter.
  (tags: twitter)
• 13 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Daylight Saving Time
  I dread this time of year. I'm one of those people who does not deal well with changes to my sleep patterns. Even if it's just an hour. Ugh.
  (tags: news)
• Shamrock'n Hat
  Adorable hat pattern for those Irish out there. I like the general shape of the hat and could see this minus the shamrocks.
  (tags: knitting)
• Free Pattern – Grumpasaurus
  This little guy is so cute you just want to hug him. But he might not like that since he's in a grump.
  (tags: knitting)

• DIY: Make an earbud detangler/protector from an old contact lens case
  Awesome idea! Every time I order a couple of boxes of contact from 1-800-contacts, they send me a new case. I hate to throw out the old cases and don't really want to start a collection. This is a great recycling idea.
  (tags: crafts)
• No Supreme Court Term Limits—Even With Partisan Justices Like Scalia and Thomas – John A. Farrell (usnews.com)
  It seems that the problems in our country do not stem from the constitution. Rather, it's the people that we rely on to uphold the constitution that are the problem.
  (tags: news politics blog)
• Deadbeatonomics: Obama stiffs Chicago for $1.74M
  Swell. Illinois is billions of dollars in debt and our current president doesn't bother to pay his bills.
  (tags: news politics)
• President Obama Late on some Bills
  Great.
  (tags: news politics)
• The Topeka Capital-Journal – Update: Bunten accused of packing library board
  The case of the book restrictions just gets uglier. Wonder what will be next.
  (tags: library news politics)
• RAND Corporation: Congressional Resources
  "RAND Congressional Resources offers an easy way for policymakers to access research and analysis that is relevant to current Congressional agendas. "
  (tags: reference politics)
• Saving for the future – DIGITAL PRESERVATION – Research Information
  "We all know how quickly modern technologies become obsolete. Think (with nostalgia) about the piles of abandoned floppy disks that new laptops no longer read, the films on Betamax video cassettes their owners are unable to watch, or the CD Walkman. Next, imagine the very real possibility that, unless strategies are put in place now, most of the digital data produced today may not be usefully accessed by the next generation due to technological obsolescence, data loss and other concerns."
  (tags: library technology open_access)
• Basic effects and layers tutorial for Photoshop
  "Photoshop’s layers allows you to work with images stacked on each other. This means you can work with them individually so you won’t have to manage multiple complex filters and effects on a single layer. This is why the basic knowledge of layers is a Photoshop fundamental. "
  (tags: photo)
• New Search Technologies Mine the Web More Deeply – NYTimes.com
  "One day last summer, Google’s search engine trundled quietly past a milestone. It added the one trillionth address to the list of Web pages it knows about. But as impossibly big as that number may seem, it represents only a fraction of the entire Web.

  Beyond those trillion pages lies an even vaster Web of hidden data: financial information, shopping catalogs, flight schedules, medical research and all kinds of other material stored in databases that remain largely invisible to search engines."

  (tags: reference library google)
• 2009 Oscar Winners – Slumdog Millionaire Dominates
  I watched about 10 minutes of the Academy Awards last night. I've only seen one of the movies that received any attention. But it was interesting to see who won what.
  (tags: movies)
• Coffin Buzz Cross Stitch
  A great chart from Plum Street Samplers.
  (tags: crafts freebie)
• Lovely You Cross Stitch
  A beautiful free chart from Plum Street Samples.
  (tags: crafts)

• The Science of ReTweets
  There has been some debate recently over retweeting.
  (tags: web web_2.0 communication)
• TOP 15 TREND QUESTIONS
  How do you spot trends?
  (tags: reference technology)
• shoe bag tutorial
  Great way to recycle some old sheets. I love using shoe bags when I travel, but the ones you find in stores are usually really ugly and uninspired. This is a simple sewing project.
  (tags: crafts)
• A Modest Proposal
  Yeah. This will happen (I say with dripping sarcasm.)
  (tags: news politics)
• Holder: US is nation of cowards on racial matters
  Hmmm…I have some thoughts on this. But I'm only thinking happy thoughts today.
  (tags: news politics)

• Top Current Events Web Sites for Inauguration Day 2009, according to Nielsen Online
  Good resource for those who want to know more about the inauguration.
  (tags: reference library news politics)
• In Pictures: Top 30 Most-Wired American Cities
  Interesting to see who is at the top and who doesn't even make the list.
  (tags: news)
• Independence woman arrested for keeping library book
  "Shelly J. Koontz, 39, was arrested just after 8 p.m. at her residence after a warrant had been issued. She was originally charged with fifth-degree theft for keeping "The Freedom Writers Diary," which she checked out from the Jesup Public Library in April 2008." It is inconceivable to me that a library would choose to go this far for a $14.00 book. While I like to see our books returned and I'm sad when someone chooses to lose, damage, or not return a book, I also wouldn't have that person arrested.
  (tags: library news)
• NFB.ca – Watch quality Canadian Documentary, Animation and Fiction
  An online archive of shorts, movies, etc. from Canadian filmmakers. Another interesting and useful resource.
  (tags: reference library movies)
• How to Sew a Fabric Bowl
  I don't think I have the sewing chops to try this, but maybe after another quilting class I'll feel more comfortable with my machine. I guess you couldn't make too big of a mess out of this project.
  (tags: crafts)

• Alaska Dispatch
  An online magazine about Alaska. Discovered this thanks to an Alaskan librarian who I follow on Twitter. Social networking the awesomesauce because of stuff like this!
  (tags: news alaska)
• National First Ladies' Library
  Some weekend instead of playing around on FB or FF, I'm going to spend some time looking around this site. The women behind some of the country's most famous men is bound to be fascinating.
  (tags: reference library history)
• ODLIS: Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science
  How did I manage to miss this for so long? What a great resource!
  (tags: reference library)
• Apple Embroidery Pattern
  It's time for the fruit embroidery pattern of the week. I'm seriously tempted to start making these on some flour sack towels. And I would actually use them instead of putting them in a drawer because they're too pretty.
  (tags: crafts)
• How to Crochet a Rug out of T-Shirts
  If you're like me, you probably have tons of t-shirts laying around. Most of my old t-shirts have a stain on them somewhere, so I can't give them to Goodwill (or I won't). But this is a great idea for using those old things. It's also a simple enough crochet project that even a relative noob like me could handle it.
  (tags: crafts crochet)
• What is Instructional Design?
  A slide-share of a presentation by Lauren Presley. Provides some great information on this growing area in librarianship.
  (tags: library technology)
• Libr.org
  Great resources for the progressive librarian in all of us.
  (tags: library)

News sources are claiming that Blagojevich is being “defiant” by refusing to resign as governor.

Personally, I think the guy is being an idiot. He’s a selfish, immature, lying, poor excuse for a governor and a human being. And his actions are continuing to hurt Illinois.

He’s losing money for the state…and Illinois is not a state that can afford to lose any money right now. Schools are facing huge budget cuts, state parks and historic sites have been closed, and we can’t even keep our roads cleaned properly because of money troubles.

He’s making his party look bad. I wonder if a Democrat has a chance to be elected as governer when the next election rolls around in 2010. Not that I want one to be elected, but even if the Democratic candidate is the best person for the job, it may be an uphill battle after four years of bad policies and a federal indictment with the current governor.

He’s bringing bad press to the state. While I don’t think anyone would complain about national attention most of the time, this is not the sort of thing that most Illinoians want to be recognized for. Particularly after former governor Ryan landing in jail. For the moment, Illinois is a joke for SNL writers, pundits, and anyone else who finds the current situation humorous.

It’s time for Blagojevich to step down. His state has lost faith in him and there is little that he can do at this point to fix the situation other than to graciously leave. The citizens of IL deserve an honest person in office. Don’t know that we’ll get one, but it’s certainly time for someone with some integrity to live in the governor’s mansion in Springfield. Actually it’s just time for someone to live in the governor’s mansion, period.