I enjoy cross-referencing.

I am in love with LibraryThing. The website allows you to catalog your library online. I came across it accidentally when I was doing a book-title search. It allows you to catalog up to 200 of your books for free--but I immediately sprang for the twenty-five dollar, lifetime, as-many-books-as-you-want membership. Absurdly reasonable! (No, I don't work for them...)

I have had such fun cataloging the books! And it's so useful--I have devised a code to let me know where the books are, so that (for example) if I need to see if I have a copy of Dante's Inferno at home, I just look for the tag "D" (for domus). I can figure out that I have way too many copies of Wheelock's Latin, in various editions. And (here's the most fun) I can see who else has the books I own, how many unique books I own (i.e. no one else on LibraryThing owns a copy) and other fun statistics. Of course, you can keep your library private, but what's the fun in that?

I also bought a little CueCat to scan barcodes of ISBN numbers --this speeds up the entering process considerably, although most of my books don't have a barcode as they are too old. So far I estimate that I have about 1/3 of the books in the office on campus entered, and about 1/10 of the home library done. I can sort by tag (currently I own six books on Egyptian hieroglyphs, all at school, one of which no other LibraryThingers own).

If this sounds like obsessively good fun, check it out! If not, well, I'm sure you are geekily obsessed with something else, so don't make fun of me.

Buffy: You're beginning to scare me, Giles. You need to have some fun. You know, there's this place you can go, right, and you sit in the dark, and there are these moving pictures, right, and the pictures tell a story.
Giles: Yes, yes, ha, ha, very droll. I'll have you know that I have very many relaxing hobbies.
Buffy: Such as?
Giles: Well, um... I enjoy cross-referencing.
Buffy: Do you stuff your own shirts, or do you send them out?

"Halloween," Buffy The Vampire Slayer, season 2

St. James' Cathedral changes its name: article from the Fresno Bee

St. James' Cathedral changes its name

By Ron Orozco / The Fresno Bee

07/07/07 04:29:11

St. James' Episcopal Cathedral in east-central Fresno has a new name -- St. James' Anglican Cathedral.

New marquee signs bearing the name change have been installed at the church, headquarters for the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin, and just east on church property at Cedar and Dakota avenues. The church is at 4147 E. Dakota Ave.

The Rev. Carlos L. Raines, St. James' pastor and the cathedral's dean, says the name change is a statement to the community that St. James' and other diocesan parishes have differences with the U.S. Episcopal Church.

In 2003, the U.S. Episcopal Church elected V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire as its first openly gay bishop. In December, delegates at the Diocese of San Joaquin convention in Fresno voted to split from the U.S. Episcopal Church and align with the Anglican Communion over differences about sexuality and the Bible.

The Anglican Communion, which has 77 million members worldwide, oversees the U.S. Episcopal Church.

The Diocese of San Joaquin split will require a second vote in October, at the 2007 convention, to become official.

Of the name change taking place before the second vote, the Rev. Van McCalister, diocesan spokesman, says, "We're already, by association, constituent members of the Anglican Communion." So St. James' and other diocesan parishes have a right to claim Anglicanism, he says.

-- Ron Orozco, The Fresno Bee

A letter to the editor by Edward Brennan of Visalia in today's Fresno Bee notes, in part, that:

"The name change at St. James Episcopal Cathedral to "Anglican" is a wake-up call for Episcopalians. The bishop has been in disagreement with the Episcopal Church for years and at the last Diocesan Convention the constitution was purged of all references to the Episcopal Church.

The bishop also made clear his intention to place the Diocese of San Joaquin under the authority of the Anglican churches of the Global South. If you are curious about the future orthodoxy that the bishop will impose, ask your local minister to provide the congregation with the Resolutions Adopted at the May 6, 2002 Deanery Meeting."

Aghaveagh notes:
Holy Family Church in Fresno just installed new signs reading "Holy Family Episcopal Church" (Italics mine). They, however, have no plans to update these signs in the near future.

Another fun way to waste time...er, be creative

Such fun! Not only does Dylan post the "10 least popular memory verses for Sunday school", she also provides us with a link to a site whereat you can create your own motivational poster using said verses! (thanks to Susie ad loc for the verse suggestion--by the way, she has a great blog and I love her Friday Fives!)

Cell Phone Anathema: A Rant

I loath telephones in general. I hate talking on them. I detest how they interrupt one's life.
I loath cell phones in particular. I hate how disruptive they are, and I hate what text-messaging has done to the spelling and literacy skills of my students. Why is it so hard to turn off your cell phone when you come into a class? How many times does one actually need to be in constant contact with the outside world for the 50 minutes or so that class is in session? Sure, if your wife is expecting a baby, or your dad is having surgery...I could, and do, understand. But don't those things have a vibrate function?

I'll never forget the time when, during an exam, a student's cell phone went off, she answered it and, after enthusiastic greetings were exchanged, said, "I'm sorry, I can't talk to you now, I am taking an exam..." WHY in the world would you answer a cell phone to tell someone you can't talk to them? Wouldn't the voice mail do the same thing? How could one think this is appropriate?

Perhaps this professor has the right idea:



Incredibly, there are some of us who are still cell phone holdouts.

Fourth of July

Every year, on morning of the Fourth of July, Liam and I emerge from our front door wearing newspaper tricorne hats with revolutionary slogans on them. Liam carries the flag and I precede him playing "Yankee Doodle Dandy" on my penny whistle. We march down the street in fine military fashion and return to install the flag in its place of honor. With a salute and such exclamations as "Down the British!" (Sorry, Mad Priest) "Up the Rebels", the ceremony ends. Just before sunset the procession (in reverse) is led to the strains of "Taps" and the flag is retired for the evening.

Inspired by the film "The Great Escape," it is one of our favorite rituals. Luckily we live in a neighborhood of eccentrics.

Friday Cat-Blogging

Tuxedo and Sneakaround Jones




Millerton Store
(yes, she only has one eye!)

















The Store-Bought Kitty With a Long History

Tagged!

I've been tagged by Cecilia

Here's what I have to do:
*I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
*Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
*People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
*At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
*Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

1. I hate telephones in general and cell phones in particular. I almost never answer my phone and often do not answer the doorbell. I would rather not talk to people at all, but I am o.k. on the computer. I tend to be rather agoraphobic.

2. I am a big Sherlock Holmes fan.

3. I love beer and I have my own mug at a local brewpub, which entitles me to one free beer every day. A friend of mine and I brewed many batches of beer in graduate school. (We named one of our batches of beer "Baskerville Bitter.")

4. I have no interest in fashion. I have not worn make-up or high heels in centuries and am seriously considering "plain" dress.

5. I have competed in a hundred-mile bicycle race. Thousands of people finished before me, but thousands also finished after me.

6. I tend to listen to the same music all the time except when I go to Mad Priest's place. My favorite singer is Van Morrison and my favorite album is Avalon Sunset. My favorite composer is Bach and I often play the Goldberg Variations when I am working.

7. If I had to be any other occupation than a professor, I would be a cabinetmaker, a nun, or a chef.

8. I have a tendency towards kleptomania.

I tagged David Charles Walker, who doesn't have a blog (although we're working on him) so he will have to post here, and a bunch of other people who as of yet didn't want to play. *sob*

It's 107 degrees...

But it's a dry heat.

Got in safely last night. Had a wonderful drive. Grendel the Misanthropic Dog behaved himself admirably. We took turns driving (Liam and I, not Grendel) and reading aloud from the Bible when the NPR faded away...got through Ezra, Nehemiah, and most of Esther. I have to say that all that genealogy in Nehemiah is a real snoozer, though, and the names are harder to pronounce than mine!

Used the road trip as an excuse for fast food, since we couldn't stop at a real restaurant with the dog in the car. We did stop at a small roadside fruit stand where Gene sold us a lovely box assortment of stone fruit (including some I had never heard of, "plumcots" and "pluots") to bring to my sister and her husband, and we also bought some to eat along the way so it wasn't all unhealthy food.

I have forgotten the USB cord for my camera so no pix can be loaded yet, although there were some awesome windmills along the way (anachronistic as "windmill" may sound, since they were the tall metal, three-armed ones--no one tilting at them...)

They might be giants.
(one of my favorite films)

On the Road

We set out bright and early this morning for a road trip! Grendel the Misanthropic Dog is going with us, but all the cats and the fishies stay home, with instructions to eat each other if we don't return. Our destination is Phoenix, AZ.

I have my digital camera and I am not afraid to use it (right, Padre M.?). So I hope to blog later on with some pix taken along the way.

As this is a working vacation I am bringing the computer and the book manuscript, but there should be plenty of time for fun reading. I am looking forward to reading Tender Is the Night which comes highly recommended. I have never read it before.

Cookies for Grammar!

A kind reader pointed out that I had a typo in the subtitle of my blog, causing an incorrect negative correlative conjunction. I have fixed it. I appreciate correct grammar, so I was very happy to know!

Boiled Linseed Oil

A day for many small tasks around the house. Finally got some time to treat all the wooden handles of the garden tools with boiled linseed oil. I first sanded them smooth and then rubbed them with a well-oiled rag. After about ten minutes I rubbed off the excess with a clean rag (torn from one of Liam's old T-shirts) and buffed them well.

The oil made the handles dark and smooth. They felt wonderful and smelled even better. I had really put off doing this and the handle of the spade was very dry and cracking in spots. I hope it feels better. There is something about doing tasks such as this that gives you hope for the future.

The smell of boiled linseed oil is very evocative.

I really should clean out the garage.

The Lady's not for Burning

I saw this quiz over at Padre Mickey's. Luckily, it appears I won't burn, at least not for being a heretic.

You scored as Chalcedon compliant, You are Chalcedon compliant. Congratulations, you're not a heretic. You believe that Jesus is truly God and truly man and like us in every respect, apart from sin. Officially approved in 451. Chalcedon compliant 100% Nestorianism 58% Monophysitism 33% Pelagianism 33% Gnosticism 25% Donatism 0% Albigensianism 0% Socinianism 0% Monarchianism 0% Modalism 0% Apollanarian 0% Arianism 0% Adoptionist 0% Docetism 0% Are you a heretic? created with QuizFarm.com

My Melon-choly Baby?

from Discovery News:

June 1, 2007 — Archaeologists digging in western Japan have excavated what they believe to be the oldest remains of a melon ever found, an official said Friday.

Based on a radiocarbon analysis, researchers estimate the half-rounded piece of fruit to be about 2,100 years old, said Shuji Yamazaki, a local official in the city of Moriyama.

The remains are believed to be the oldest of a melon that still has flesh on the rind, Yamazaki said. Previously, the oldest such find was believed to be remains found in China that date back to the fourth century A.D., according to local media reports.

The melon might have been so well-preserved because it was in a vacuum-packed state in a wet layer below the ground, an environment hostile to microorganisms that might otherwise have broken down the remains, Yamazaki said.

Melon seeds have been often found in archaeological digs around the country, but researchers rarely find the remains of melon flesh, Yamazaki said.

Moriyama is about 205 miles southwest of Tokyo.



I guess that cucumber in the back of my fridge doesn't feel quite so old now.

OK. Enough excitement for the nonce...back to work.

Wormwood's Doxy: Just Love

Many of you have probably come across this post by WD, but in case you haven't, it's deeply moving. Check it out. An excerpt:

"So, my dear friends, do not make his sacrifice a vain one. “Just love”---no matter what the cost. Believe that God’s judgment comes in the form of tears, rather than thunderbolts. Believe that when Jesus said “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,” that he meant it---and that God gave His only Son what was requested."

Thanks. I needed that.

For J. E.: sit tibi terra levis

I just found out one of my master's students died. He had been ill for a while, but evidently the pain got to be too much. The details aren't entirely clear, but either accidentally, or on purpose, he took too many pain pills.

I found out via e-mail. I don't know if any of you have had the same experience of seeing an e-mail entitled simply with a name. You open it up, and the stark news hits.

Students are not supposed to die before their professors. There's something Homerically wrong about it.

J.E. was pugnacious, argumentative, maddening, irascible. He swore and smoked. He was un-P.C. to the extreme. He would most definitely win the "Most Likely to Climb the Clock Tower" Award. He drove me crazy. I liked him immensely. I couldn't make him learn his Latin verb forms even though I met with him every other day, on my own time, mind you. We argued all the time. He loved his dog. He always brought hard candy.

How can someone so vividly alive be dead? And if there is something after this life (and God knows lately I have had some serious periods of doubt) where will J. end up? How far does God's mercy extend?

May the earth lie light upon thee.