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Today I learned what a "comma heel" is on a shoe. It's...a heel that's shaped like a comma. Well hell, that seems pretty self-explanatory, doesn't it? But I'd never even heard the term before. Basically it looks like you're wearing regular heels and then somebody kicked you from behind and curved them in a bit. Looks kind of stupid, I think.

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Today I learned what "Indochina" refers to. It officially only includes Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam but can also generically include Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Thailand.

I came across this term while looking at a librarian job posting in San Diego which I want but will never ever apply for because I have no testicles. Figuratively, I mean. Literally I am PACKING HEAT! No, that's gross. I'm sorry.

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Today I learned that the IKEA down near Cincinnati will be opening in spring of '08. Eeeeee! Look out, bank account; this is not going to be pretty. (But the furniture will be pretty. So, sooo pretty.)

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Today at work I learned some tricks for trying to find specific Cliffs Notes in the catalog. This kid wanted Cliffs Notes for Slaughterhouse-Five and Oedipus Rex but I wasn't sure how to look them up other than to just scroll through the list. Our librarian told me to do a KW search for a word form the title or the author's name and the word "notes." This was very helpful, although it didn't specifically work for Slaughterhouse-Five because we just looked under the word "slaughterhouse" without the "-Five" and the computer is retarded.

I know these library blogs are probably the most boring, but they're actually the most useful to my life so you can just get over it. ;)

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Monday I learned that there was a total lunar eclipse early Tuesday morning, and that it was going to be the best in 7 years. There was going to be over an hour of darkness. Unfortunately I did not see any of it because I had to go to bed for work. Grrrr adulthood.

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Yikes. OK kittens, I've been putting this off but I think the time has finally come. Here for your pleasure is a huge list of things I learned on vacation and in the 2 days since.

1.) Where did the name Shamu come from? According to seaworld.org, "Many stories exist about the origin of Shamu's name. One revolves around the first collected killer whale that was named Namu after a British Columbian town. When SeaWorld welcomed its first killer whale, it was named Shamu, for 'She-Namu.'" That sounds like bull, but whatever.

2.) I learned that blackwater is "a term used for sewage containing fecal matter, in contrast with greywater, which is the waste water from kitchen sink drains, washing machines, and other washings."

3.) Mount Soledad in San Diego is 822 feet high.

4.) I learned that I can live in one of these rad condo things in La Jolla for the low low price of two and a half million dollars. HAHAHA! That's funny. They are pretty sweet though. Why don't I have two and a half million dollars?

5.) I learned that Giverny is this place in France where a ton of impressionist painters, including Monet, lived and worked. They hung out at the Hotel Baudy and painted lots of pictures of haystacks. I saw an exhibit at the San Diego Museum of Art: more here.

6.) If you want to avoid stepping on a stingray that's laying on the sand underwater, you should shuffle your feet as you walk. This is especially true in calmer waters.

7.) At the science center I learned about the Horsehead Nebula and how stars form in these nebulae. I watched a cool video on it. Um, I'm like real dumb or whatever, so I don't remember a lot of it, but it was pretty interesting and I did learn some stuff, I promise. You can look here or somewhere similar if you need a simple explanation.

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Wednesday I learned how to set a library account to ignore your holds while you're on vacation. I already knew how to do it through the regular catalog/website, but I did not know how to do it at work. Or, I sort of did, but I didn't know how to format the date. Now I know.

Thursday I learned about AC adapters for laptop computers. Ugh. Mine spontaneously burned up on Thursday night, and it was retardedly difficult to find a new one. I found a "universal" adapter at Best Buy that works with over 6,300 models of computer...but not mine. I guess the more common ones are like a circular shaped plug thing, but mine is a big old plug shaped like a house with the roof partially chopped off, and four holes in it. Yeah, I dunno. It's like that one specific model of Toshiba that has such a messed up cord. Anyway, nobody could find it in a store so I'll have to order one online.

Friday I learned some work-related gossip. Oh snap! You'll have to ask me about that one, can't be posting it online.

Saturday I learned that you can buy 2 kinds of pancake mix. Some of it you have to add oil and eggs and water to, and some of it just needs water. Why would you get the kind that needs all that stuff? Isn't it always easier to just add water? Maybe they taste better, although a pancake pretty much just tastes like a pancake, as far as I'm concerned.

Today I learned how to check in and print your boarding pass online when you fly Skybus.

Please excuse these ridiculously delayed entries. My computer's been dead since Thursday so I haven't had much of a chance to post anything. I also won't be able to blog again until at least this coming Friday, because I'll be on vacation until then. But I'm sure I will learn lots of cool things on my trip that you will looooove to hear about. See you then!

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Today I learned where the "system restore" thing is on my computer. I always forget where to go to do that and I have to call my dad or look it up or whatever. But this time I will remember it.

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Today I learned about circulation policy at OSU, namely who can and cannot come in and check things out. From the OSU site:

Who can check out books?

OSU students, faculty and staff have borrowing privileges, as do patrons who have a valid ID from any OhioLINK school.

If I am not affiliated with OSU, is there any way I can check out books?
If you are an OSU alumni and belong to the alumni association, you have borrowing privileges. You simply need to apply for a Courtesy Card at the Sullivant or Ackerman Libraries Circulation Desks. OSU graduates must belong to the alumni association in order to obtain borrowing privileges.

You can join the Friends of the Library for an annual fee of $45, which will entitle you to a Courtesy Card.

Please inquire at the circulation desk for more information about Courtesy Cards.

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1.) There was some discussion today on the meaning of the word "vase," mainly weather when pronounced to rhyme with "face" it means something different than when pronounced to rhyme with "bras." It was suggested that "rhymes-with-bras" refers to a decorative object while "rhymes with face" is just any old thing you stick flowers in. The more I thought about it, the more I wondered if it was true. It turns out not to be, though. None of the sources I checked (Wikipedia, the OED, and Merriam-Webster online) says anything other than that they are variant pronunciations. MW actually breaks it down pretty well, while also throwing in "rhymes-with-days" as a third pronuciation (fucking Canadians): US oftenest ˈvās; Canada usually & US also ˈvāz; British usually, Canada also, & US sometimes ˈväz.

2.) I also learned today, kind of, about tides. The Wikipedia article is a freaking 90-page report on the subject, and therefore was not particularly helpful to me since I would have to spend more than 4 seconds reading it. I also checked on Howstuffworks.com. It still does not fully make sense to me with regard to the water actually moving around on the Earth and rising up higher on whatever particular beach you happen to be standing on, but I get that the pull of the moon bulges out the Earth on the sides closest to and farthest away from the moon. This happens, for the most part, twice a day: two high tides and two low tides. Eh. Thinking is hard.

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Yesterday I learned that the word "stanchion" means a vertical support post or beam. Thus, if one were to use this word in reference to those little stands and ropes they use to control lines (think of the ticket line at the Easton movies), one would be wrong. You could argue that the little vertical posts that connect the ropes are stanchions, but they aren't really being used to support anything (such as a porch, a ceiling, or a railing) in the correct sense. So suck on that, snooty post-it writers of the world.

Today I learned that that sound I thought was a mourning dove really is a mourning dove. That might seem like lame learnings to you, but you try looking that shit up on the internet. Googling "woo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo" probably sets of some kind of national security alarm for crazy.

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Yesterday I learned that the bassist currently touring with Nickel Creek is Mark Schatz. He clogs. Awesome.

Today I learned what a "merkin" is. Yeah. Thanks to my roommate for filling me in on that one. We're weird.

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Today I learned why barns are red. It was in the Dispatch's "who knew" article where they take interesting reference questions that the library has been asked and puts them in the paper.

Q: Why are barns painted red?

A: Centuries ago, European farmers sealed the wood on their barns with a mixture of linseed oil, milk and lime. The combination produced a long-lasting paint -- more of a burnt-orange red than the fire-engine red of today -- that dried and hardened quickly. Two main theories explain how the oil mixture became traditionally red: Either blood, from a recent slaughter, or rust was added. Rust -- plentiful on farms -- acts as a poison to many fungi, including wood-decaying threats such as mold and moss. Red on barns became fashionable in the 1800s, when red paint was the most inexpensive; it remained in favor until whitewash became cheaper.

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Friday I learned that generalized itching without a rash can be a symptom of Hodgkin's lymphoma, so now I'm convinced that I have that.

Saturday I learned that season 3 of The Office is coming out on DVD on September 4. Season 3 was kind of disappointing to me, but I will still buy the DVD. They always have good extras. BUT GUESS WHAT ELSE. 30 Rock also comes out on DVD that day! Now that I'm excited about.

Today I learned the recipe for a "brandy Alexander:" 1.5 ounces of brandy, 1 ounce dark creme de cacao, 1 ounce of half and half or heavy cream, and 1/4 teaspoon of grated nutmeg. Brandy Alexander is also an awesome, awesome song off of Feist's latest CD, The Reminder. Give it a listen.

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Yesterday I learned how bumper cars work. I'm pretty tired, you can look it up yourself if you're curious. I don't remember what all I looked at.

Today I learned about cryptozoology and some awesome imaginary/extinct/super-rare animals that you can learn about here. Some of that shit that sounds totally crazy, you can bet those mofos are or were living out there deep in the jungle our way the hell out in the middle of nowhere, and we're all like "yeah, sure, THAT'S a real thing." But you know some of them are.