On Why is your dog (or cat) loose?
Posted on January 20 at 3:02 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
A lot of jurisdictions hold to the old law about cats: you can't own a cat (whereas you can own a dog), therefore they do not require them to be kept indoors or leashed, nor do they require a license. I think it's a surprise to many in Janesville you have to both license AND keep them on a leash (or inside) simply because other areas do not have such laws as applied to cats. I think it's great you've been bringing these things up since I don't know if all residents are aware of our pet laws, since they are very much different than those found in other areas.
Posted on November 17 at 9:56 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Tapp was SERIOUSLY underestimated as a writer. I remember thinking her edgier titles (Smoke from the Chimney and The Sacred Circle of the Hula Hoop) were much better than the critics suggested. I read the latter to my inner-city girls when I taught and they also loved it. I don't think either ever "hit paperback" and it's a shame since I think they may have encouraged more to read those titles that way. I took a writing class from her one summer and I don't remember it well, but I do remember her teaching and mentoring, and being a great librarian, too!
On Beloved priest is headed to Mideast
Posted on September 15 at 11:41 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Father Donn offers something many priests do not: life experience. He got his calling a little later, and as a result, I think it enriched his ministry greatly. Personally, I'm hoping the Pope recognizes him and, over time, his name comes up when a Bishop is needed and from there...maybe more. And I hope when that "call" comes he'll answer it. He's a phenomenal shepherd.
On Is cursive writing a dying art?
Posted on September 2 at 8:51 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Someone mentioned D'Nealian--that is SUCH a pain. Your letters all have little curves at the end and no one can read it. I picked it up while helping in a classroom and no one can read my printing...but they CAN read my script. And...while I'm not happy about cursive dying, it's becoming something that fits more neatly under art (fine motor control) than English/Reading. I can see one exception: we will need to teach students to READ in cursive the same way ESL students need to learn to listen for accents (British vs. American English, for example). If we can't read cursive, it will limit our options in reading primary documents which IS a "new" social studies skill (they want the youngest kids reading authentic letters now...which means... CURSIVE!). So even if we can't MAKE it, we will have to READ it under the same standards that made people decide it was unimportant (which, by the way, the standards NEVER said...people just decided to throw things out).
Posted on August 23 at 1:05 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Thanks!
They had it closed every time we went in! (I have a four-year-old so we would have LOVED to use it...but alas, it was always closed for us this summer. It's a GREAT idea for everyone to have access to that, though to encourage more circulation(10 items or more, stick 'em in the bin). By the time I'm done, I think I may as well have a circ computer and checked them all in myself by hand rather than use the conveyor...
Posted on August 23 at 6:25 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Oh, I do get the point is to reduce, but while reducing, why not, dunno, mow less often and give that money to the library to let it open later on Fridays and then there will STILL be some left over from mowing less. I'd personally like to see if some residents would/could volunteer or get a smaller stipend to help with lawn mowing and the like (maybe the city only does it once every 2 weeks and the volunteer brigade helps out in the interim, as needed) and I think a lot of people would pay SOMETHING (a quarter, a dollar) to use those wading pools). I wouldn't mind paying a fee for my ILL materials (maybe $1 per item?). It wouldn't cover the COST, but these areas would be at less of a loss if we all did something little, rather than get the choice of cutting back...or cutting back.
Posted on August 23 at 6:15 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Personally, I'd rather adjust things with the library getting those three hours back on Fridays. It wasn't ever THAT busy, but it's like how stores are open later for the handful of people who come in...they can get THEIR work done when it's kind of quiet and be more ready than ever Saturday morning (and if you do need a book, it's open). I'd also get rid of that god-awful conveyor belt and get the old drops back. There are faster conveyers (Woodbury, MN has one) that do not have a "mandatory wait time" so if you MUST have one, why on EARTH did you pick that one? (I know you didn't, but the library in general). I thought the library's goal was to ENCOURAGE circulation, not DISCOURAGE it? I want to (and honestly do) check out FEWER books now that I have to wait FOREVER to slide them in slowly...one...at...a...time. I'm studying information marketing and one question we had there was, why do places (especially libraries)like to focus on their bottom "quintile" customers (ie. those who check out 1-2 books a year) and make it really easy, rather than focus on their best customers (those who check out many, many books and other resources) and drive them away? They likened it to the express lanes in stores...why waste space on those when you could be focusing on those who buy a LOT of groceries and working on getting THEM out faster and happier? Long story short, looking at this survey, it only gives me the choice to CUT...that's not what I vote. I want those hours back and that conveyor out and I'd like to find somewhere else to cut to get that money back. (And yes, others will disagree, but that's the point of a survey, no? This one does not reflect my opinions on hours, much less bigger picture issues).
On Janesville official addresses frequently asked questions about home revaluations
Posted on July 29 at 10:15 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
I understand from area Realtors that the majority of the properties actually selling (by majority I mean VAST majority) are foreclosures. So, you're throwing out the vast majority of sales to come up with the numbers? As quoted, “Yes, there are distressed properties out there, and there are sometimes deals out there. If that was truly the market, those would be the only type of sales we see. In 2010, there were plenty of people willing to pay the 15 to 20 percent more for properties that weren’t distressed.” So if one or two homes sell at value out of 100, 500, 1000, or more that's good enough for you? In what world does that make sense? Economics hinges on what a buyer is willing to pay and a seller is willing to take; it doesn't hinge on what private parties only (no banks) are willing to take.
On Full time working mothers are amazing!
Posted on July 8 at 8:48 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Everything is possible if you keep your priorities straight: God comes first. Period. Your family comes second. Period. After that, is your personal mix of school and/or work. Sometimes if you take classes AND work, you have to balance which one is more important at any given moment, but it's all about perspective. If you can't keep your faith, you have no bigger picture (why are we DOING all this anyway? Oh, to make the world a better place!), and if you don't make your family come first, you will not be happy when you look back. Some moms believe the way to do that is by staying home and I believe they are absolutely right. I also believe working moms are absolutely right, so long as they remember that kids are young only once and if you blink, you miss things. Therefore, when my son comes home from pre-school, it's all about him, not about my work or school (though minor multi-tasking sometimes happens with his "consent"). After he's in bed, it can be about work or school again. As for me, I have several advanced degrees, but I figured out that I could not do certain jobs for which I am qualified and still put God first and my family second because of the hours required to perform those jobs. As a result, I found something that uses one of my OTHER (less financially rewarding) degrees and I'm happier, though we have less money than we would have had had I put my career first. Keeping a healthy perspective makes it easier to be happy. Money itself doesn't buy happiness (though it helps, surely), so higher-salary moms who can still keep God and the family first are the ones I am in awe of because that's some real juggling!
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On Teen Central
Posted on February 10 at 9:26 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Cathy Norris was the BEST librarian EVER. I cited her at library school as someone who could give a phenomenal reference "interview" to determine what books to suggest for your intended purpose, but she also seemed like an introvert, which, if true, was probably a challenge. She seemed like the perfect model for librarians who are afraid to approach people because she was GREAT at asking questions to determine what people need, which is hard for some people, who just want to go hide somewhere (those old-fashioned shushers!). A lot of librarians don't "do" the standards (or customer service of any kind; we had to evaluate some and it was kinda ugly), and she (and those who worked with her) always did a great job. A lot of librarians-in-training loved to hear about the "Please Interrupt" sign (was that her idea or another one of the "greats")? I think several such signs were ordered or printed up last semester for libraries around the country (I'm in the distance program at UW-M).