Deborah Falik, Independent Information Professional

On July 25, 2007, I met Deborah Falik, an independent information professional. She has most recently been working as a contractor with Ellis Island, National Parks, to archive materials in its collection. [The web page on National Parks libraries does not list the Ellis Island research library.] She was a speaker in Carol Simon's class.

Deborah was a brand new graduate with her MLS from Queens College in the early seventy's. There were no library jobs then. So she became a claims representative at Social Security for 15 years. She learned medical terminology and all about disability claims.

Then she worked for a director of an advertising agency as a solo librarian locating art work. This experience exposed her to a lot of things that people do in libraries.

Deborah spoke of the Information Sourcerer. This was a project of the National Medical Library during the 1990s. It was a part of the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) project. "There are four UMLS Knowledge Sources: the Metathesaurus®:, the SPECIALIST^tm Lexicon, a Semantic Network and an Information Sources Map" (Introduction, ¶3). The Information Sourcerer was the query interface for the Information Sources Map (ISM).

The U.S. National Library of Medicine's (NLM) Sourcerer project is developing software which accepts a user query, automatically identifies appropriate information resources, and facilitates connection to those sources for information retrieval. The current Sourcerer prototype utilizes the multimedia/multiplatform/multiprotocol network-based hypertext system known as World Wide Web. It also relies upon the knowledge sources of the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS). The UMLS is the result of a long-term project of NLM. It comprises a large Metathesaurus of biomedical concepts (coupled with a semantic network and syntactical/lexical software tools) and the information Sources Map (ISM), a database of records describing specific biomedical information resources. (Rogers, 1995 in UMLS, Access to Multiple Knowledge-based Information Sources, 1986-1996, ¶12).

Deborah then talked about the American Association of Information Professionals and the Special Libraries Association. An extensive list of Competencies for Information Professionals has been developed (in pdf format, 17 pages).

Mary Ellen Bates (photo) (her blog) created the profession of Independent Information Professionals. She is a pro in online searching. Deborah also spoke of Tom Rink as a solo librarian with the police department.

Deborah explained that doing archiving requires common sense, asking questions, being able to organize, and being prepared for the unexpected. Archiving has its share of drudge work as well as making judgments.

I asked Deborah if she had ever heard of Jennifer John who had been the only research librarian at the Houston Public Library. Jennifer's twin brothers (Peter and John) were the age of one of my younger brothers, so I had known of her through my school years in Houston. I saw her parents regularly when I was sailing at the Houston Yacht Club. They told me she had just started a business as a research librarian. It sounded so interesting that I paid Jennifer a visit.

She had a staff of about 12 or 15 young people all wearing the black T-shirt of her new private reference service. She had trained them in the use of the computer and searching databases. She had a wonderful brochure and information about her business, which I probably still have filed away in some very old papers. She said she got lots of referrals from the Houston Public Library since they had not replaced her and there was no one else to do reference work.

It was the Summer of 1981, when I left Houston to live in New York City. I have lost touch with Jennifer since, but I will always remember her concept of the business. I remember thinking that I wish I had access to all those databases she taught her people to use. I now realize that Jennifer was also a Independent Information Professional.

James Olney, Assistant Director of a suburban library

On July 23, 2007, James Olney, assistant director of the Northport-East Northport Public Library was the guest speaker in Carol Simon's class. James has a background in economics and business. He recommends taking an internship-trainee position in the library you want to work in. Select people with the same ideals that you have yourself. He has two Masters degrees: Library and Business.

The library is in the town of Huntington with 36,000 residents who use the library heavily. It is composed of two buildings in a supportive community. A building project is a great opportunity. Northport was to have a new addition built for expansion. East-Northport was a whole new construction project. There was a mile and a half between the two buildings. There is an $8.7 million budget.

James has been working at this library for 22 years with experience in every department. He is now in the computer services department. They run their own fiber lines to connect the two buildings. They employ six full-time programmers. They maintain the menuing systems, control the computers and desktop publishers. They publish posters. The library has its own Wi-Fi service. They use no Internet filters, though they can provide filters for children of parents who request it.

There is a cafe in the library that stocks food, ice cream, coffee, latte. When you run the cafe yourself, then you get the profit. The library is open 12 hours from nine to nine. At first they contracted the food service. After three contractors, they decided to run it themselves.

There is an active teen program with outreach through MySpace with great photos and with 169 friends. The library also uses Upcoming to announce musical events.

The library also has its own security service. Previously the security was also contracted out. They are not uniformed, but they have tags. All staff wears employee badges. The purpose of the security is to maintain order, assist in the closing, and escort staff to their parking spots.

The train station is next to one of the library buildings, with a park and playground nearby, which brings up other issues. The town park closes at dusk. There have been incidents with illegal drugs. They had to have the pay phone set to only allow outgoing calls. A police squad car is stationed at the library lot all night. There is also a police officer on a bicycle in the park. There are security cameras in all public areas.

Having the train station so close to the library led to the Read-Ride-Return program.

There are 175 employees at the library. Salaries and benefits make up almost 70% of the library budget. There is always a fund raising component at libraries. One project was a courtyard. It was necessary to reach out to have the community reinvest $150,000 in itself. The community is more than willing to help because the librarians are so committed to the community. The completed courtyard was dedicated last fall (2006). The courtyard has a covered area, so it is used even in the rain. There are tables in the courtyard. In the courtyard, there is also a statue of the Little Prince ($20,000) to honor Northport as the birthplace of the Little Prince (photo of statue).

In planning for things such as the courtyard and the cafe, the library used surveys and focus groups. The cafe's having a fireplace was one item that came out of the focus groups. There was also discussion of a statue of a bear, called the library bear (picture in link).

A report was commissioned to place an economic value on the Northport - East Northport Library found it to be an excellent value in the community returning $3.30 for each $1 of taxes invested. In addition, the study determined that the library brought business into the area. The report reads, "Long Island earnings increased by almost $3.7 million and approximately 91 support jobs were created throughout the Long Island economy." It also reads, "The library has become an access point for state-of-the-art technology and a magnet for community gatherings and activities." The Northport - East Northport Public Library mission statement is also available.

Hildy Dworkin, Solo Librarian

On July 16, 2007, Carol Simon brought in Hildy Dworkin to speak with the class about solo librarianship. Hildy works as the Library Director at the NYC Human Resources Administration's McMillan Library, which is a government library. I was particularly interested in Hildy's saying that being a librarian was her second career after ten years as a second and third grade teacher. She graduated from Queens College Graduate School of Library and Information Science in 2000. She revealed that completing her Masters Degree was a five-year work. Her thesis subject was Public welfare. Her Bachelor's Degree was in Early Childhood/Elementary Education. Originally she was involved in music performance.

After 30 years of operation, the McMillan Library had been closed in 1995. Hildy's first task was to reopen the library with more than 20,000 holdings in August of 1999. There are 16,000 employees in New York City government and only one librarian. As a solo librarian, Hildy has a staff of 1 intern. She joined the Special Libraries association (SLC) and their Solo Division to seek out mentors. She currently is the SLA Solo Division Listserv Manager.

Hildy also was a speaker at SLA 2007 for a round table presented by the Government Information Division on the topic Government Librarians Get Savvy, which is reported as follows: Government Info Pro, SLA's Government Information Division, and Libraryola.

In opening a library, you need top approval for everything you do. You cannot use non-public information. You have to get into your publications. You need an Information Management proposal and automation software.

You have to be constantly educating people on what the library has and how it can be of service. Something should be in every newsletter. Offer library research seminars demonstrating important research tools and techniques that will assist staff in their research. Librarians have to market their services and their profession at the same time to increase people's awareness of your services. Hildy told of using the Administration's communication department to create a distinctive library brand, including a logo for the library's website and bookmarks to insert in checked out books. The bookmarks included the librarian's contact information, a brief description of library services, and hours of operations.

Be open to all opportunities. Even requests for help that are outside the immediate focus of the library will provide networking opportunities that will often have big payoffs later. Assisting with fact checking, editing, and offering the use of the library space will serve to increase appreciation for the library and its services. Solo librarians are constantly challenged to demonstrate their worth and value to their organizations. She developed network connections through face-to-face reference interviews with clients, sponsoring training sessions, attending meetings, and accepting new responsibilities that benefit the organization. Always be on the lookout for how to provide the staff with the information they need to do their jobs.

And, yes, Hildy loves her job!

The Nancy Pearl Doll

First of all, Nancy Pearl is a real person. Carol Simon showed us the Nancy Pearl shushing doll in class on July 9, 2007. Nancy Pearl looks much better than the doll! Flickr has a Nancy Pearl Librarian Action Figure group that has over 100 photos of the doll. Many of the photos are well thought out and clever. I finally found a photo with creative commons license so I can show it here. It also has the advantage of showing the two versions of the doll. It was posted by bibliona. The name of the photo is "Window Shopping?"

Archie McPhee (Wikipedia) sells the blue doll for $8.95. Both action figures are available from Accoutrements, but they only sell in large quantities. Amazon is selling the deluxe version for $11.95, where they also feature other librarian items such as t-shirts, socks and other literary action figures. Kids Surplus is out of stock for the doll, which they were selling for $4.99. SeeFred.com sells the original action figure for $8.35. Reportedly over 2,000 dolls have been sold. There is even a YouTube video called "Godzilla meets Nancy Pearl the Librarian," which is about an overdue book.

There is a 6-minute interview of Nancy Pearl on NPR radio, in which she tells how she happened to become the model for the doll. Seattle Times story "Toymaker finds librarian who's a real doll" tells the same story in print. Seattle's Cable Channel 21 has a regular program, Book Lust, featuring Nancy Pearl. You can watch past episodes on the Internet. Abe Books has an interview with Nancy Pearl about her books, Book Lust and More Book Lust.

Well, to my surprise, Nancy Pearl's books are published by Sasquatch Books! While I do believe I have heard of Sasquatch Books before (in conjunction with a regional book about northern California), Dr. Tom Surprenant's sample library is always Sasquatch Library. So now I make a different connection with Sasquatch.

Thomas Galante, Director, Queens Borough Public Library

On July 23, 2007, Thomas Galante, the Director of the Queens Borough Public Library, presented to my class with Angel Huynh, the Director of Human Resources. His presentation was memorable partly because I knew so little about the work of librarians and partly because of his energetic presentation that also involved multimedia. There is no doubt that Tom enjoys his work and is pleased with the accomplishments at the Queens Borough Public Library.

There are 1800 employees with a budget of $115 to $120 million. The libraries are expanding to 6-day service with 7-day service in 16 libraries. They have a total of 63 libraries. The starting salary is $39,000 where after one year as a senior librarian, one can earn from $42,500 to $43,000. They lose 3 librarians a month out of 400 full-time positions. The also have half-time positions. An assistant manager made from $52,000 to $58,000 while a senior manager makes from the upper $50,000's to $60,000.

He discussed interviewing techniques and showed a short video produced three months earlier for recruiting. Tom, himself, was a student at Queens College only three and a half years ago although his career includes 22 years at the library starting in the finance area. He discussed the need to find people who fit. It is all about serving people. The benefits are good as they are in the NYS employment system so they have health benefits for life. You are vested in the system after 5 years. It is contributory for the first 10 years. You get 2% per year up to 66%. There is no age cut-off.

Language skills are very important. There are 63 libraries with 8 adult learning centers. They deal with people with 100 different languages. The web site is available in six languages. There are 4 research libraries with all the branches. Queens Borough Public Library is one of three library systems in New York City; the other two are Brooklyn Public Library and New York Public Library, which serves the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island.

The Queens Borough Library system (as a multi-branch system) began in 1896. There was no civil service. It was 80% City funded and 8% to 10% NY State funded. The rest was private funding. $240,000 was given in 1901 by Andrew Carnegie for 8 libraries.

In the marketing department they have 13 people;
for the foundation, they have 8 people;
Cataloging has 15 to 20 people;
Preparation has 3 people (maybe that is 30);
Finance has CPA's;
There are four librarians doing web services;
The IT area has 45 people;
Programs and services has a lot of staff.

With a $5 million Cancer Society Grant, they began health screenings and books were provided for information on health topics.

They are planning to have "Smart shelves," which is an rfid system for checking the order of the books on the shelves. This eliminates bar codes and one person can take a reader and find and correct books out of order. The prices are dropping that make this system very feasible. This part really captured my imagination.

Tom gave each student in the class a CD with the recruiting video in a folder with lots of other information about the Queens Borough Library system. Here is their mission statement.

Bruce Holmes and Small Aircraft Transportation

Esther Dyson photographed Bruce Homes in April of 2007. Bruce was a speaker at Esther's Flight School. Since I did not know who he was, I looked him up. Here is what I found:

Bios
- Presenter Bio for Streamcenter (provides on demand webcasts of conference presentations)
- Bio for National Academies (The National Academies perform an unparalleled public service by bringing together committees of experts in all areas of scientific and technological endeavor. These experts serve pro bono to address critical national issues and give advice to the federal government and the public.)
- Bio from Advanced Planning Office, NASA

Other items
- Advanced General Aviation Transport Experiments (AGATE) on Wikipedia
- Flight School 2007 (June 20-22, Aspen) includes Bruce Holmes, NASA, retired, on the speakers list. (Note that links include a blog for Flight school participants with its first entry (as of May 3, 2007).
- Scott Nance blog on FDA approval of VLJ which quotes Bruce Holmes and credits AGATE with improvement in small plane technology that has paved the way for the approval (October 30, 2006).
- CBS News story on 60 Minutes program "Flying Cars Ready to Take Off" (April 17, 2005) See also the NASA page on the 60 Minutes program with a link to view the program.
- Flight School 5 report (March 25, 2005) on Bruce Holmes' presentation. Esthr is also quoted.
- Transportation Network Technologies (May 5, 2004) from Dr. Holmes' presentation with really cool graphics (14-page pdf)

Images
- Bruce Holmes images on Google.
- Bruce Holmes images on Esthr's Flickr.

Anatoly Karachinsky, founder/CEO of IBS Group in Russia

Another one of Esther Dyson's interesting people taken on April 15, 2007.

My curiosity leads me to google Esther's people when I have time. Here's Anatoly:
Executive Bio on IBS
More detailed bio from IBS
Background information from "National Geographics", November 2001, pp. 2-13.
The Man Who Wired Russia from Global Finance, April 2003, by Mark Johnson (this link because it is all on one page)
Esthr's photos of Anatoly and the only photos of him on Flickr at this time.
Here is the link to all Anatoly photos on Flickr.

What is strange is that earlyadopter has a nice photo of Anatoly with tags, but it does not show up even when I click on its own tags.

AmCham Dinner in Russia

More of Esther Dyson's interesting people! This was "cutting up the rug" at the American Chamber of Commerce Dinner in Russia on April 14, 2007.

Peter Pettibone, Esq.
- official biography on Hogan & Hartson
- Space Law Probe blog entry, 11-22-05. Byline: "Not for lawyers and space tourists only" This is a blog of Jesse Londin (aka
Buzz), who also writes "Law Buzz." She "is a lawyer, writer, online editor and Web forum host. She lives in New York where she sometimes sleeps but her browser windows never close." Anyone interested in space travel should read her blog. The blogroll is also impressive!
- Finance article written by Peter and Sergey Komolov (who runs the Moscow office of Space Adventures). Scroll down to the end for an informative short bio.

Pat Cloherty
- Official bio on Delta Private Equity Partners
- Rainbow Recognition (Press release, 21 Dec. 2005)
- Press release on her appointment as CEO of Delta Capital Management / The U.S.-Russia Investment Fund (15 Dec. 2003). She was already chairwoman of the Fund before this appointment.

London's Eye

When I was last in London, there was no Eye! Ester Dyson's photos (April 11, 2007) keep me up to date with the world outside New York.

A few links for the Eye:
(+) Starting with this other photo by Esthr
(+) Official Site of the Eye and an Alternate address to same site
(+) Wickipedia on London Eye which gives the most info on how it was built, its history and interesting photos. It includes a panaroma view from the Eye (1MB). There is also some discussion of possible eviction from their present site.
(+) British Airways London Eye from a guidebook perspective
(+) an areal representation from New London Architecture showing the size of the installation
(+) Photo Guide to BA London Eye

My friend from high school was also snapping photos of the Eye. Here it is seen from a boat. Here is a view from on the Eye. Here is from inside the capsule.

Tracking and Data Relay Satellites at Russia's Mission Control

Another photo by Esther Dyson taken on April 9, 2007 in Russia during the Soyuz space flight of Charles Simonyi. One should really click over to Esther's photo on Flickr where she has posted notes on the photo explaining what each area of the screen is.

Jüri Kaljundi added this comment to Esther's photo: "Basically there used to be 6 TDRS (tracking and data relay) satellites which can provide "no rest period" communication between the spacecraft and customer (or NASA). Out of the 6 only half should be operational online at any time, while 3 are in backup mode. ISS is one of many customers of the system. TDRSS 2 was destroyed in Challenger accident so satellite no 7 was built. Now I believe generation 2 of TDRSS is operational with 3 additional satellites. "

See Esthr's blog posting for more information.

Nice graphic representation of TDRSS

Wikipedia entries for
TDRSS
TDRS

Adam Greenfield

Esther Dyson posted this photo of Adam Greenfield on March 27, 2007 at the Emerging Technology Conference or E-Tech. So I decided to find out who Adam Greenfield is.

Adam on himself
Adam on Wikipedia
Adam in the introduction to his book, Everyware: The Dawning Age of Ubiquitous Computing (Paperback)
Adam's award-winning website
Adam's personal blog, Speedbird
Adam's involvement in Etech

And one more: Adam on Studies and Observations, which focus on the ideas in his book.

Wanna see a video of his talk given at Keio University (Japan) on July 15, 2006 (about the ideas in the book)? Be prepared for a 4.5 minute intro followed by one hour 20 minutes. You may find yourself listening longer than you think. The site says the video was downloaded 873 times. The panel discussion is not included n the video.

In the video, Adam discusses ubiquitous computing that exists today such as the
- octopus card in Hong Kong,
- BodyMedia Senseware pack (called bodybugg on the web site where the photo matches the photo in Adam's presentation),
- Georgia Tech's Smart floor (1999),
- Sensacell (used in a club in NYC),
- Japan's Shinjuku RFID lamppost that tells you your location and services nearby to you such as public restrooms, transit stops, and
Starbucks special on a French vanilla latte.
- Internet toilet (Matsushita) that measures your weight, fat, blood pressure, heart beat, urine sugar, albumin and blood in urine and sends the report to your doctor (and whom else) using an Internet capable cell phone built into the seat (read 2/3's of the way down in the N.Y. Times report),
- New Songdo with a N. Y. Times article describing it. New Sondo is a complete community built from the ground up with ubiquitous computing devices.
- Mastercard Paypass 2005 which costs the consumer 25% more and which was poorly implemented,
- and more!

Adam's article on Institute for the Future with many of the same ideas as on the video above.

Bruce Schneier at the EFF Pioneer Awards

Another one of Esther Dyson's people snapped on March 27, 2007.

EFF Pioneer Awards
Press Release

Quote from the Press Release
"Bruce Schneier is an internationally renowned security technologist acclaimed for his criticism and commentary on everything from network security to national security. His books -- including the highly influential "Secrets and Lies" and "Applied Cryptography" -- his monthly newsletter, and his security blog have reached hundreds of thousands of people with candid and lucid analysis of security issues. Schneier has often testified before Congress on security policy."

"Benkler, Doctorow, and Schneier were nominated by the public and then chosen by a panel of judges. This year's panel includes Kim Alexander (President and founder, California Voter Foundation), Esther Dyson (Internet court jester and blogger, Release 0.9; founding chairman of ICANN; former chairman of EFF), Mitch Kapor (Chair, Open Source Applications Foundation; co-founder and former chairman EFF), Drazen Pantic (Co-director, Location One), Barbara Simons (IBM Research [Retired] and former president ACM), James Tyre, (Co-founder, The Censorware Project; EFF policy fellow) and Jimmy Wales, (Founder, Wikipedia; co-founder, Wikia; chair emeritus of the Wikimedia Foundation)."

Cory Doctorow

Another one of Esther Dyson's people snapped on March 27, 2007.

EFF Pioneer Awards
Press Release

Quote from the Press Release
"Cory Doctorow is an activist, writer, blogger, and public speaker about copyright, digital rights management, and electronic freedom. As a co-editor of the Boing Boing blog, he highlights critical technology issues for more than a million readers a day. Doctorow has lectured around the globe and has been nominated for Hugo and Nebula Awards for his science fiction. Doctorow is currently the Canadian Fulbright Chair at the USC Center on Public Diplomacy. He was EFF's European Affairs Coordinator until December of 2005."

"Benkler, Doctorow, and Schneier were nominated by the public and then chosen by a panel of judges. This year's panel includes Kim Alexander (President and founder, California Voter Foundation), Esther Dyson (Internet court jester and blogger, Release 0.9; founding chairman of ICANN; former chairman of EFF), Mitch Kapor (Chair, Open Source Applications Foundation; co-founder and former chairman EFF), Drazen Pantic (Co-director, Location One), Barbara Simons (IBM Research [Retired] and former president ACM), James Tyre, (Co-founder, The Censorware Project; EFF policy fellow) and Jimmy Wales, (Founder, Wikipedia; co-founder, Wikia; chair emeritus of the Wikimedia Foundation)."

Coping with changes in Blogger

Because I wanted to comment on the blog of a person I have met on Flickr, then I got back onto this blog. I have survived the change-over to the new format, even though the Google employee instructions in the Blogger Help Group are not clear. I am now a member of the Blogger Help Group. And with all this, I even made my comment on my friend's blog! Hopefully, I will use this more now.

The solution to getting the change over was to say NO, I do not have a Google Account even though I did and do have a Google Account. Then later I was able to say I had a Google Account and complete the process. It is like Microsoft thinking. You know, how do you end a session on your computer. First you click Start, then you can end.

A bookcase, a curriculum, and LibraryThing

Last Monday I had to take the swimming pools from summer school to their storage place at the high school where the summer school principal teaches in the Alternative Program [Note: I taught math there in the school year 2004-2005]. He told me that the Alternative Program was getting rid of some things which were marked with a pink tag saying "Discard." I could have anything so marked. I ended up taking a bookcase (14 feet long), a desk, a file cabinet, and a computer workstation.


This photo is of stacking the desks so that the carpet could be shampooed. It is the only photo I could find that shows the finished carrels with the desks separated by the double-sided bookcases.

My summer school work with the autistic children introduced me to the TEACCH program. The classroom is arranged with a row of student desks separated by bookcases along the wall, effectively forming cubicles. Hence, my interest in the 14-foot long bookcase with plans to break it into 4 individual bookcases as seen in the photo above. Of course, the immediate problem was to move the bookcase. Howard agreed to help me. The school district could not move the furniture as the man who does the moving just got out of the hospital, so if I wanted to get my classroom set up before school starts (September 6), then I had to rent a truck and move the stuff myself. Fortunately, Howard discovered that the 4 bookcases each were attached by 8 bolts for a total of 24 bolts). For the move, we split the unit into 2. The truck was loaded and taken to my school by the end of Monday night.

For Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, I was scheduled to work on integrating the English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum with science, social studies and math from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. each day. So I had to go early to school, get the custodians to help me move the furniture from the truck into my classroom, and return the truck before 9:00 a.m.! It was done!

It was fun working on the curriculum even though I was not finished by Thursday at 1:00 p.m. I am continuing to work on it and I am very happy to have had the chance to do this planning! I am locating a teacher's edition of our social studies book so I can complete the social studies.

Yesterday, I was reading the September 5, 2006 edition of PC Magazine where on page 50 they tell of LibraryThing. I first did a search on LibraryThing and I liked what I read. There is an interesting interview with the LibraryThing founder, Tim Spalding just a couple of months after he launched the site. I also found Delicious-monster which is doing a similar thing but only for the Mac! Delicious-monster allows one to catalog his/her library using a camera attached to a Mac computer and pointed to the ISBN bar code. Using the bar code, Delicious-monster puts in the rest of the information. I like that, but I would have to rig up the camera and buy a Mac. So today, I used LibraryThing where you can type in the ISBN number and the info will be added through a search. You can see a few books from my library here.

[Posted first August 26, 2006 on MySpace]

Laura's and Brandon's wedding

Friday, August 18, was Laura's and Brandon Stucki's wedding. I taught my night school class Thursday night (6:30 to 9:30 p.m.), had dinner with one of the other teachers, packed for the trip, and left for the airport for my flight to Houston. I rode with Sallie, Lindsay, and Mark from Houston to San Antonio for the reception. Because we are not Mormon, we could not go to the actual wedding in the temple. However, they had a ring ceremony at the reception. In the photo they are eating cake.

We stayed with Cousin Brett Morris and Mary Ann. It was wonderful to reconnect with Brett and Mary Ann. They have a lovely home and like David and Diane (parents of the bride) now have, Brett and Mary Ann have an empty nest. Brett and Mary Ann have eight grandchildren now!

We had a family brunch with David and Diane Saturday morning. Then our carload followed Brett and Mary Anne to the river walk in downtown San Antonio. After walking, we had lunch at Johnny Rockets.

I am now in Houston, but will be back in New York this evening.

[Posted first on August 20, 2006 on MySpace, which is where I keep up with my nieces and nephews.]

Weekend Events

I am still painting the cabinet. I have finished the rust removal and most of the cabinet has primer on it. The bottom and the top are now blue. It will be really nice when more of it is blue. Tonight I put on another primer coat and tomorrow it will be blue!

Today, Howard and I went to the first annual Columbia University alumni picnic held on the grounds in front of the Mathematics building. Photos are posted on Flickr.

After the picnic, we looked at compact refrigerators so I could select one for my schoolroom. It turns out that the one I want won't fit upright in my car so it will have to be delivered. So the final selection is not yet determined. I really want one with two doors and enough space in the freezer to hold a container of ice cream. The one I was looking at, an Avanti, is pretty expensive, but it is frost free.

Next, we went to Verizon so Howard could pick out his new phone. His old one needs a new battery so for not too much more than a battery would cost, he could get a whole new phone with a speaker phone feature which he has been missing. Now for less than $70 he has a new LG phone. He says he loves it, yet he still loves me more!

The big event on Friday was a trip to the Hudson River Museum Planetarium. You can see photos from the bus and one of Saturn on Flickr. After the show, which was a tour on "Rusty Rocket" from earth to the sun and then through all the planets to Pluto, the children and I had lunch at the nearby park on the same grounds as the museum.

Friday after school, I washed with bleach two of the 5 pools that the school children use for swimming. Four of these pools are 15 inches high and 6 feet across made of vinyl; the 5th one is the same diameter with lower sides. We got concerned when three children got fevers over three days, but it turns out that the first child never went in the pool. The second child was a classmate of the first while the third child was in a different class. After speaking with pool professionals and checking web sites, it seems unlikely that the pools had anything to do with the latter two children getting a fever from the first child if that is even what happened. In the last week, no other child has been reported as sick. Pool people tell me that fever is not the sickness passed through pools. But to be on the safe side, we quit swimming until the pools could be cleaned.

[Posted first August 12, 2006 on MySpace]

Summer Happenings

Today, Howard asked me to help him. His storage company had called to say that they were doing some construction so they wanted to move his things from the present storage room. He was to make an appointment and could watch as professional movers moved his stuff to the new room of his choice. The good news is that he was able to get a new room on the same hall as my storage room. The bad news is horrible. Huge quantities of water had passed through everything he had stored. Many photographs were ruined (actually only one was not damaged although the mat for it was).

So what we thought was going to be a one or two hour move, turned out to take about six hours. Even after we left the storage location, I was washing items that we hoped could be salvaged.

After all that, I started the next project: removing rust from a metal cabinet I have at school so I could paint it. I got the rust off the bottom and put the first coat of primer on the bottom, one side and the top. Tomorrow, I hope to put the second coat of primer. I can tell that the school cleaners have already been in my school room to shampoo the carpet. I did not think they would start that until mid-August.

I am teaching summer school in a different school. It is another special education position working with autistic children. Before this summer, I had only worked with autistic children one-on-one. I was wondering what it would be like to work with a group. It has been wonderful. I love the children and the teacher assistants. The school has a wonderful system set up for teaching the children. They seem very happy and have learned a lot.

I am still teaching adults in the GED program in the evenings. My regular class is Tuesday and Thursday evenings. The Monday/Wednesday teacher could not teach in the summer, so they asked me to take his class. I found four nights a week a bit much and have worked it out that someone else takes the Wednesday evening class, so I have one night for myself.

That should catch up people with my summer life. I hope you all are enjoying yourselves.

[Published first July 30, 2006 on MySpace]

Therapeutic Amino Acids

On the Fourth of July, Ray Panigutti put me onto a book called The Diet Cure, which is not about losing weight. The book opens with a Quick Symptom Questionnaire, which has 8 sections. There are at least two chapters in the book on each section of the questionnaire. The scoring procedure for the questionnaire indicates the areas that one might want to look into. I scored high in seven of those eight areas!

The Diet Cure is primarily the use of specific amino acids taken between meals for specific symptoms. Julia Ross specifies that the aminos are to be taken for a short period (no longer than 3 to 12 months) so each chapter indicates how to know when to stop the amino therapy. She also indicates when certain amino acids should not be taken together. Since my mom is concerned about my taking amino acids, I have been looking up information on them and will be adding it here as I go.

Amino Acids: Research before Marketing by Rebecca Madley.
About the source: This article is published in a magazine called Nutraceuticals World which has 10 regular issues. The company also publishes a company capabilities directory and a tabloid equipment packaging supplement annually. They focus on manufacturers of dietary supplements, functional foods and nutritional beverages. I never heard of this magazine before today!

Summary points

• Aminos have been used in sports nutrition (energy and muscle building) as early as 1979. In 1999 the aminos market posted $178 million (an 8.1% increase from 1989) with the 2004 market expected to be $244 million and in 2009, $331 million).
  
• Some 20 amino acids form 50,000 to 100,000 proteins! Out of the 20, nine are considered to be essential.
  
• Japanese companies hold the lion's share of the market and they have studied aminos at great length. China entered the research and production in the last 10 years (the article was apparently written before 2004).
  
• The market has changed from depending on blends of aminos (which were very expensive and offered no scientifically validated advantage over proteins) to targeting specific symptoms with specific amino acids.
  
• The caution: "When consumers maintain a poor diet, the chance for a single amino acid supplement causing harm is greater than when you maintain a healthy diet. People should not take amino acids for a long period of time and should know that amino acids are best absorbed if taken on an empty stomach. If you take excess amounts of one, you will deplete the others. Consumers should use more caution than they do with a vitamin." from Michael Schaefer, CEO, Pacific Nutritional, Vancouver, WA
  (By the way: Michael Schaefer's company gave vitamins to Tsunami victims.)
  
• There is some discussion of individual amino acids and how they benefit human body functioning. L-theanine is discussed in more detail (as a "new" amino acid).

Amino Acids (Nutrient and Health/Disease Associations), ©Copyright 1999-2001 Personal Health Lifestyles, Inc., Provo, Utah. Another copy on The Brain Injury Network.
About the source: Personal Health Lifestyles, Inc. sells nutritional products and has an educational program associated with their business.
Summary

• "Research from Dr. Steven Whiting of the Institute of Nutritional Science (main offices in Den Hague, Netherlands, with additional offices in the United States and United Kingdom) [Note: this organization is affiliated with Personal Health Lifestyles] points out that an "All or None Law of Protein Utilization" is the rule of thumb. If ALL the amino acids are not present within a close 2 to 3 hour period, protein assimilation will not work! Since most vegetarian sources of proteins are incomplete, they must carefully combine the timing and mix of their food intake to provide for complete coverage of ALL amino Acids."
  "Even when all are present, the assimilation of ALL amino acids will be limited to the level of the lowest quantity amino acid. For example, if one amino acid is only present at the 60% level, the assimilation of all amino acids will be limited to that 60% level.
  
• The article then goes on to list 28 amino acids or amino acid combinations with what they are and what research has shown that they help. Eight of those listed have a specific caution note.

Amino Acids on the City of Gainsville, Florida web site. The article is in the Nutrition section of their Lifequest program. Amino acids are listed under "Vitamins, minerals, and supplements."

This article represents thinking that is currently held by many who workout where they want to increase growth harmones and build muscles through the use of amino acids. This is not what The Diet Cure is about. Such thinking is probably what Momma heard and was cautioning me against!

amino acid power.com is a web site by Dr. Dennis Gersten, MD, a psychiatrist who came to using amino acids as a result of his own health crises and after trying many alternatives. The page referenced here is about Gersten and tells his story.

Amino Acid Supplements for Body-building and Exercise is an article by Philip A. Williams, who is not listed in the psychology department. The article appears on the Vanderbilt University web site. The focus of the article is on sports usage of amino acids. The article claims to have done Internet research.

Summertime

This is the time that teachers re-energise for the coming year and a new group of students. I am reading, reorganizing my papers, and taking care of myself. I have my photos at Flickr and Smugmug.