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To make tonight's walk a little more interesting, I brought along one of the boys' soccer balls to kick around. It's amazing how much more of a workout it gave me. 30 minutes.

Anybody using Twitter? I've been playing around with it. Not sure what I'd use it for exactly, but it's an interesting idea. If you're a Twitterer, friend "yoyology".

New design checkup

Those of you who read these posts as a feed or on LJ may not have noticed this, but I recently changed the look of my blog's homepage at http://yoyotxt.blogspot.com. I've been doing a little tweaking since then, and I'd like to get some opinions on the new design.

Also, I've noticed that the number of visitors is increasing. I think this may be due in part to the addition of the "My del.icio.us" posts. People like links!

Basically, I'm hoping for feedback of a general nature on the site, the content, and anything else that's on your mind. Please leave me comments on this post with suggestions, criticisms, etc. Thanks!

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Links for 2007-04-29 [del.icio.us] Posted: 30 Apr 2007 12:00 AM CDT www.myspace.com/yalsa YALSA (the Young Adult Library Services Association) has a MySpace page

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Tonight's walk was only 20 minutes. I took both boys to a nearby school playground where BB ran around his own invented obstacle course while I walked laps with LB in the stroller

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Links for 2007-04-28 [del.icio.us] Posted: 29 Apr 2007 12:00 AM CDT National Novel Writing Month - National Novel Writing Month Every November, people all over the world commit to writing a 50,000-word novel in a month.

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Our youth bell choir performed at a local nursing home today.

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I have the day off today, so after taking LB to the doctor and visiting the library, I took him to Hunter Park to walk the labyrinth. Labyrinths hold a special fascination for me. There was one on the grounds of my library school that I used to walk after classes in the evening, and they are one of my favorite things to doodle. 10 minutes in, 10 minutes out, and another 10 around the park.

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Wendy's is advertising hamburgers using the opening instrumental break from the Violent Femmes' "Blister in the Sun." For thousands of people like me who came of age in the '80s, that means associating their food with lyrics like,"Body it beats. I stain my sheets. I don't even know why." How is this an effective marketing strategy?

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Since I began this diet change and course of exercise, I've noticed a clear reduction in my waist size. That's the measure that Dr. Oz encourages focus on, since it's a better indicator of overall health. Today, though, Kim asked if I'd checked my weight, so I hopped on the scale. Since college, my weight has fluctuated between 250 and 260#. At 1:30 this afternoon I was 224#!

My odyssey:

The diet book I've been following (You: On a Diet) suggests that, if one is a drinker, a single drink of alcohol at the end of the evening meal can promote reduction of HDL cholesterol. To that end, I've been planning to buy a bottle of something (probably gin) to have a sip of at the end of the day.

Last night I thought I'd kill two birds. I'd make the nearest liquor store my walking destination, pick up a bottle, head home, have a nip, and hit the hay. Unfortunately, though I'm not averse to alcohol, I don't often buy it, so I didn't know where the nearest liquor store might be. After a quick Google search, I learned there were two, so I set off to the one that seemed most convenient.

It wasn't long, though, before I started to question my decision. It was about a mile and a half away, and that would be a lot more walking than I really wanted to do. Also, I wasn't sure if the store would be open past 9pm. After a few blocks, my plan changed. I knew there were a few bars and clubs a lot closer to home, so I decided to stop at one of them, have my drink, and toddle on home afterward.

The closest establishment to where I was then was in the back of a strip mall. I walked around and discovered no vehicles in the parking lot. The place was closed. No problem, I thought, the Sheridan Lounge was on my way home (by one route, at least) and they'd been hopping the one time I went there before. As I approached the bar, though, I saw a lone pickup parked off to the side, and again, the place was locked up tight. Is there something about Wednesday nights that makes bars a no-no?

I looked across the street at the Elysium Gentleman's Club, but I really didn't feel like paying a cover charge on top of my beverage cost, and wasn't happy about the idea of adding lustful thoughts to my tally of sins for the evening. I was going to hit one of the Mexican restaurants and maybe get a Negro Modela or Dos Equis, but as I was rounding that corner, I spied about a dozen cars around the entrance of Fusion, a nightclub I've never been to.

I walked up to the Fusion doorway and noted that it was Ladies' Night, and there was no cover for gentlemen before 10:00. Good news. Then I saw the dress code sign. Everything seemed okay, except for one item: No Hoodies. I'd worn my work clothes: black chinos and a collared sport shirt, but I threw a hoodie on for warmth on my expected Liquor Trek. Aha! But I'd also brought along a small backpack. I quickly removed the hoodie, stuffed it in my pack, and walked in.

Now, I haven't been to a nightclub in many years. Since college, in fact. And that was in a relatively small Kansas town. I was ill prepared for the process I was asked to go through. Once I got the attention of the callow youth in the fauxhawk and Staff shirt, I was asked to:
Surrender my bag for a search.
Leave the bag at the desk (why'd they search it, then? Bombs?).
Show my I.D. (not unexpected).
Get patted down.
Get my hand stamped.

To show you how uninitiated I am, this was the first time I realized that there are hidden fluorescent watermarks on Oklahoma drivers' licenses. All this, and I walked into a huge room with three women, half a dozen guys, and about as many employees. I paid $3.75 for a bottle of Guinness, drank it, and left. Five minutes, including a trip to the men's room.

Seemed like an awful lot to go through for one drink. On my way home from my afternoon errand today, I stopped and bought a bottle of gin. From now on, I drink at home.

Oh, 45 minutes of walking, by the way.

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Links for 2007-04-25 [del.icio.us] Posted: 26 Apr 2007 12:00 AM GMT-06:00 Woodward Park Trees | Stop The Chop! The City of Tulsa has chosen to cut down a number of trees in Woodward Park because it's cheaper than paying a service to prune and maintain them. This site has information and a petition to stop the cutting

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Our roses are blooming beautifully, so I cut a few for Kim. She's not feeling well today.

Last night was pretty rough. While we were cleaning in the dining room, BB got up to go to the bathroom, and he'd wet the bed, so we had to get him shifted from one bed to the other.

Later, at about 4am, LB woke up having had a diaper blowout. We got him cleaned up, changed his bedding, and then I gave him some milk to get him back to sleep. About 30 minutes later he woke up puking. No fever or visible distress, in fact he was downright cheerful in the bathtub, but he just refused to go back down after that. He ended up falling asleep with me on the loveseat watching The Daily Show.

I'm really going to need a nap this afternoon. Wonder if I can get the recliner in the breakroom after lunch.

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Links for 2007-04-24 [del.icio.us] Posted: 25 Apr 2007 12:00 AM CDT Journey to Library 2.0 - 4/15/2007 - Library Journal A library in Jefferson City, MO uses Web 2.0 tools to train staff. What a great idea! turn the page - a library comic strip This I Believe "This I Believe" is a project at NPR. Here's the essay I submitted. It won't air, but it's on the website.

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During BB's tae kwon do, LB and I walked around the school grounds to get in my last 10 minutes me the day. It was cool, but very humid, so I ended up sweaty anyway.

Hmm. Somehow this has languished as a "draft" post since the beginning of April. I guess I'll go ahead and post it now.

Books read in March, 2007: 12

Making Stuff: an Alternative Craft Book - Very no-nonsense, unfussy book of both traditional and brand-new crafts. Very cool.
Redshift: Extreme Visions of Speculative Fiction - Interlibrary Loan I'd been waiting a long time to read. Redshift is the SF companion of editor Al Sarrantonio's Flights (fantasy) and 999 (horror). Some very big names are here (Dan Simmons, Ursula LeGuin...) but my favorite story was Catherine Wells' touching "Bassador".
X-Men: Deadly Genesis - My good friend Matthew calls this "the worst kind of retcon" and I have to agree with him. Everything you know is wrong, indeed. Good art, though.
Noisy Outlaws, Unfriendly Blobs, and some other things... - Follow the link for the full title. This is a collection of short stories for young adults by some of my favorite authors, including Neil Gaiman, Jon Scieszka, and Nick Hornby. My favorite was "Grimble" by Clement Freud.
Fool Moon - Book 2 of the Dresden Files, a werewolf story (at least, mostly)
YOU on a diet - The book that started me writing those silly little posts about walking every day. You're welcome. :-) Seriously, this book has made a big difference in my life. It explains in clear and simple language how the body functions when it comes to food. I could do without the constant stream of lame similes, but the science is sound, and it's really helped me. This is the first book I've gone out and bought, brand new, for a very long time. Highly recommended.
Running with the Demon - This modern fantasy novel is a departure from Terry Brooks' usual sword-and-sorcery fare. It's a much darker tale about good versus evil. I chose it as my first read for the Fantasy Genre Discussion Group at work.
Complete Maus, The - A re-read. Maus has almost become a cliché. It's the book that everyone points to as evidence that graphic novels should be taken seriously as a genre, but it really does deserve all the praise it receives. It's a view of the holocaust with cats representing the Nazis, and mice as the Jews. The tale is told by the author's father, and the present-day scenes with the two of them struggling to get along demonstrate the continuing legacy of the damage he received.
Grave Peril - Book 3 of the Dresden Files, in which the problem is ghosts.
Wintersmith - Latest of Terry Pratchett's Discworld subseries featuring young witch Tiffany Aching. Satisfactory.
In a Sunburned Country - I'd had several recommendations of this travel book, and I thorougly enjoyed it. Bill Bryson does a great job of capturing Australia (well, as far as I know). I thought I'd not read any of his work, but he wrote Mother Tongue, one of the most enjoyable books on language I've ever read.
Superman: Emperor Joker - What if the Joker somehow gained Mr. Mxyzptlk's power to change reality, but without any of his restraint? A dark story with a lot of senseless violence, but in a good way.

Books read so far this year: 32

Today's walk was made much more pleasant by the brand-new sidewalk they just put in on 93rd street. It runs along the Jackie Cooper car dealership's property, so I'm giving them credit for it, though it also fronts on some of the library's land. It may be the city. Either way, it's a boon to us walkers!

My destination was the credit union again today, but I don't know whether it was the sidewalk or my fear of getting caught in the rain, but I walked faster than usual and only spent about 20 minutes on foot. I'll have to catch the other 10 later tonight.

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Links for 2007-04-23 [del.icio.us] Posted: 24 Apr 2007 12:00 AM CDT Funny or Die - The Landlord Will Farrell's landlord is heinously mean. You don't want to cross her, man. Yo-yo World Champion This is why I will never compete again. I can barely understand half of what this kid is doing, but it's phenomenal.

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Links for 2007-04-22 [del.icio.us] Posted: 23 Apr 2007 12:00 AM CDT OEDILF - Word Lookup - Antiochene My first "limerictionary" entry has made it through the approval process. Hooray!

30 minutes near the house again this afternoon. This time just me and Big Brother. He biked, I walked.

Little Brother walking (video)

Trying out the toddling on a visit to grandpa's house

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Links for 2007-04-20 [del.icio.us] Posted: 21 Apr 2007 12:00 AM CDT Fellowship Lutheran Church | Tulsa, OK This is the church my family and I attend. A great congregation, stellar music programs, a compassionate pastor (with a sense of humor), and wonderful staff. Four Second Fury Holy ****!!! Your task is to complete as many four-second games as you can. Don't die!

Tonight the whole family walked for 35 minutes around the neighborhood. Well, technically Big Brother biked. He still has training wheels, but he's getting a lot more confident!

For those of my readers who are in Tulsa, I want to invite you all to Fellowship Lutheran Church's "Spring Sing and Ring Thing" concert this Sunday night at 5:00pm. This is our big spring bash, with vocal and instrumental music (including yours truly on trumpet, handbells and sung baritone; my Loving Wife on cello, and Big Brother singing with his choir) congregational hymn singing, and snacks and treats for everyone. Please come and enjoy! Thank you.

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Links for 2007-04-19 [del.icio.us] Posted: 20 Apr 2007 12:00 AM CDT EnviroWoman's blog | ChangeEverything.ca EnviroWoman is kind of a Canadian, female edition of No Impact Man. She's attempting to spend a year without bringing any new plastic into her home Make-a-Flake Remember paper snowflakes? They are still one of my favorite crafts. This Flash site lets you snip out your own virtual snowflake and send it to yourself or a friend Mr. Picasso Head This Flash tool allows you to use shapes that Picasso might have painted to create portraits or any other kind of artwork.

Did my 30 in the neighborhood near the library this afternoon. Got to meet a very friendly young lady in a stroller who was quite excited to be taking the air on such a fine day.

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Links for 2007-04-18 [del.icio.us] Posted: 19 Apr 2007 12:00 AM CDT librarymyspacestudy Two students at the Dominican University MLIS program (my alma mater!) are doing a study of libraries with MySpace presences.

Gabcast! Mobile audio posts to yoyotxt.blogspot.com #1

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It just hit me. Happy half-birthday to me! 35.5 wonderful years.

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Links for 2007-04-17 [del.icio.us] Posted: 18 Apr 2007 12:00 AM CDT Francis Bacon - Official Site Selected works, biography, and other material on this Irish-born 20th-century painter, known for disturbing figural works that feature objects such as screaming heads and sides of beef. YouTube - Can a Public Library Screw Your Constitutional Rights? Video of a Sacramento Public Library Authority meeting where a member of the Authority said, out loud and on camera, "Screw folks' constitutional rights."

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Opportunity knocks. I stepped outside tonight to put the recycling at the curb, and it had stopped raining! I siezed the moment and took a 20 minute spin around the neighborhood. The day wasn't wasted after all. Still need some rainy-day strategies, though.

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It's pouring rain again. I managed 10 minutes around the covered walkways at the school where Big Brother takes karate. Unfortunately, I also ate far too much at lunch today. I need to just chalk this day up as a setback and restart tomorrow. I also need a good strategy for rainy days. Any suggestions?

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Links for 2007-04-16 [del.icio.us] Posted: 17 Apr 2007 12:00 AM CDT No Impact Man Colin Beavan appeared on The Colbert Report last week. He has sworn to live for a year without making a negative impact on the planet. Among the choices he's making: cycling everywhere, not buying anything that has traveled more than 250 miles... Library Underground Pointers to non-stereotypical library sites of many kinds. Some linked content is not safe for work. Hackosphere | Del.icio.us and Digg hotlinks for your Beta blog Clear instructions on how to add automatic links for del and Digg to the bottom of your posts in Blogger Beta (now The New Blogger!) Arachnophilia | Free Java-based web design software I've been a fan of Arachnophilia for almost a decade now. Thingology (LibraryThing's ideas blog): LibraryThing for Libraries: How it works / The five-second rule Using LibraryThing in combination with your library's OPAC to quickly add tagging and recommendations.

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Links for 2007-04-14 [del.icio.us] Posted: 15 Apr 2007 12:00 AM CDT Participatory Networks: The Library as Conversation--ALA Interesting paper on Library 2.0

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I spent the afternoon with the boys and some friends at the zoo. It was about 3 hours of walking, though not at a steady pace.

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New baby chimp at the Tulsa Zoo. She's an unnamed female born February 17.

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Links for 2007-04-13 [del.icio.us] Posted: 14 Apr 2007 12:00 AM CDT LATimes.com | Altered Oceans - 5-part article series These five articles focus on different aspects of the environmental hazards threatening the world's oceans now and in the near future. The author was featured on NPR's Fresh Air yesterday.

Tonight all four of us went out and walked around the mall for half an hour. It was a good time.

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Getting a little reading in at the library.

The weather today matches my mood perfectly. Dreary, grey, ugly, cold, and nasty. It won't even rain properly. I'd feel better if there was thunder and lightning and a real downpour. It's just a steady, inexorable fall of icy water.

I got a couple of pieces of bad news today, and I just want to go home. I'm so glad we're gaming tonight. I need a few hours of friends and goofiness.

I don't think I'll be walking today.

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Links for 2007-04-12 [del.icio.us] Posted: 13 Apr 2007 12:00 AM CDT Kurt Vonnegut, Writer of Classics of the American Counterculture, Dies at 84 - New York Times "And if I should ever die, God forbid, I hope you will say, 'Kurt is up in heaven now.' That's my favorite joke." Vonnegut was a humanist and religious skeptic. He broke up the crowd at Isaac Asimov's funeral with that joke. 2NU "Then the horns kicked in, and my shoes started to squeak." 2NU is a unique musical group combining spoken-word with instrumental backgrounds. I discovered them in college. Check out the "Music" link to hear some of their songs.

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Took my walk to the credit union this afternoon, 30 minutes.

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Links for 2007-04-11 [del.icio.us] Posted: 12 Apr 2007 12:00 AM GMT-06:00 Library 2.0 on Ning Ning is a portal for creating your own social networks. This is the Library2.0 network there.

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One of my personal heroes, Kurt Vonnegut, died last night at 84. So it goes.

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With some time to kill following an afternoon meeting, I walked for half an hour through downtown Tulsa. The winds were brutal, but I got to see some beautiful buildings.

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Links for 2007-04-10 [del.icio.us] Posted: 11 Apr 2007 12:00 AM CDT Right Tool Right Job- Social Media - lifehack.org A five-second look at the basics of what online social networking tools are best at. Great overview to give to someone who says, "I don't understand any of this stuff!" Barnfinds Portugal Amazing lot of old cars found in a barn in Portugal. Click on the first pic on the page and "Next" your way through. Unbelievable! Jim's Livejournal. - Jim Butcher, author of The Dresden Files This is a very sporadic blog by an author I am coming to admire more and more. Each entry describes, in simple, clear language, how to do a particular task in writing fiction. Valuable information.

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Making volcanoes at scouts.

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Links for 2007-04-09 [del.icio.us] Posted: 10 Apr 2007 12:00 AM CDT ContactJuggling.org :: Knowledge Base - The First Five Steps Contact juggling is the skill of moving a ball around your body without it ever losing contact with you. Many people know it best as something David Bowie appeared to do in the movie Labyrinth. It's something I've planned to learn for some time now, and Stephen's Lighthouse - a librarian and futurist blogs Stephen Abram was the keynote speaker at OLA this year. His talk was amazing, really firing up us Gen-X librarians! Online Office Tools, Productivity Applications and more Stephen Abrams mentioned this in his keynote. It's a suite of Web2.0 applications including an Office-type application suite, CRM solution, chat, web authoring, Wiki, and more. What the Library 2.0 Crowd is Trying to Say about Technology « The Other Librarian Great blog post about what this Library2.0er believes is holding the revolution back. Her suggestion to library management is to "start with 'yes'" and go from there. She even references Desk Set, the greatest library movie ever! LISNews.org - Topic: Library2.0 The library world's busiest collaborative blog just added a Library2.0 topic. Watch This Space!

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30 minutes near work today. Walked to the Ace Hardware, just because it's good to have a destination. While my primary purpose remains exercise, I find it promotes contemplation to walk with no music or books to occupy my mind.

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Inside of an empty Wal*Mart, abandoned for a brand-new Supercenter 2 miles down the road.

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Links for 2007-04-07 [del.icio.us] Posted: 08 Apr 2007 12:00 AM CDT Peter's Evil Overlord List The original list of things to do (or not do) when you become an Evil Overlord.

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Links for 2007-04-05 [del.icio.us] Posted: 06 Apr 2007 12:00 AM GMT-06:00 Filmmaker Waters Works Blue, but Most Love His Luncheon Talk - 4/2/2007 - Library Journal A review of John Waters' provocative and hilarious speech at the Association of College and Research Libraries conference Nonna's Euro-American Ristorante & Bar - Bricktown - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Expensive and pretentious restaurant where we ate on Tuesday night of conference. Food was too salty (could have brined pork chops in the soup of the day) but the service was excellent.

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Yesterday I planned to walk with LB while BB was at karate, but it was so cold we could only manage 15 minutes before the poor little guy was crying. Today I mowed the lawn (in knit cap and gloves!) for 20, and now I'm doing my last 10 at the mall.

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Last night, Big Brother asked me,"If April showers bring May flowers, what do April snowflakes bring?" I guess we're going to find out. It's snowing again!

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Snow. In Oklahoma. In April.

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Links for 2007-04-02 [del.icio.us] Posted: 03 Apr 2007 12:00 AM CDT Independent Lens . RACE TO EXECUTION | PBS Sobering documentary film about racial bias in death penalty sentencing.

Last night I arrived home from the conference with just enough time to take the boys on a half-hour walk before their bedtime. I went to Speedy Gonzales (a nearby restaurant) for takeout, and Big Brother caught me up on everything he's been doing at school the last couple of days. Little brother just sat in the stroller and threw his binky on the ground, but that was fun, too!

The conference was great, but I'm glad to be home!

Exercise update: I skipped again on Monday, still not feeling well. Yesterday, between the walk from the parking lot to the convention center and the walk to and from Bricktown for dinner, I think I got in half an hour, but I really wasn't counting. I should be back on track this evening.

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The corner of Mickey Mantle Avenue and Flaming Lips Alley in Bricktown, OKC.

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Rebecca, Cindy and Jennifer waiting for our table at Nonna's

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Palm Sunday.

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Links for 2007-03-30 [del.icio.us] Posted: 31 Mar 2007 12:00 AM CDT College Roomies from Hell!!! for Wednesday, March 28, 2007 Odd little paranormal webcomic found through an ad on Something*Positive Something*Positive, the world's most dangerous webcomic Very funny, increasingly well-plotted webcomic with a high potential for offensiveness. You Have Been Warned. meebo.com Web-based integrated IM service. Allows you to work with AIM, Yahoo Messenger, and Jabber instant messaging all at the same time. Oklahoma Magazine's "40 Under 40" - Jennifer Greb Jennifer (aka Jenn2.0 - http://www.ambientlibrarian.org) is a co-worker of mine and a damn fine example of what libraries are about.