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I can't believe I haven't blogged since Tuesday. This is getting ridiculous.

Wednesday I learned the word "tarradiddle" which means a fib or pretentious nonsense. I added the dictionary.com word of the day application to my iGoogle, but I don't really like it that much because most of the words are easy. Tarradiddle was a new one on me though. It would be funny if somebody just made it up and put it on there.

Thursday I learned about charts and graphs in Excel. I didn't learn that much new stuff, but there was some. This will be the last in my Things I Learned at Excel Training blog series, as I am now finished with all of those trainings.

Friday I learned about windshield wiper blades. I had never bought my own before, but now I know that there is a little book thing there that you can look your car up in to see what size to get. Or you could measure them, I guess. I haven't put my new wiper blades on...that will be a blog for another day.

Saturday I learned about the movie Battle Royale, in which a bunch of Japanese high school kids kill each other in ridiculous manners. It is based on the novel of the same name. There is a rad song over the closing credits, which is "Shizuka na Hibi no Kaidan Wo" by Dragon Ash.

Today I learned about Clintonville, specifically what it encompasses and how it came to be.

257

Today I learned about my new Sunday work location. I learned how they do things, where things are, etc. Plus I met a few people. That's boring, I know. Sorry.

248

Today I learned how to order office supplies for my work. These library ones are never interesting but always practical. Plus, I get paid to shop online now, while I'm at work. Score.

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Today I learned about Teen Read Week. It was started in 1998, and is celebrated during the third week of every October. The goal is to get teens to read despite the bajillion other choices they have when choosing how to spend their free time.

In celebration of Teen Read Week (and also as a holdover from Banned Books Week), I am reading The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things. What are you reading?

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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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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 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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Today I learned how to sync a Wiimote, and some other things about setting up a Wii. We got our Wii at work last week and today various people were scheduled to go out in the meeting room and play with it, to get used to how it works. Well I was not one of those people, but I had a free hour so I invited myself out there. I helped get it set up for the first time and demonstrated for some people how to play Wii sports and Wii Play. I felt kind of smart. I know it's not hard, but still. Also, who gets paid to play video games for an hour? It was pretty sweet. I made miis of myself and one other guy I work with, and then other staff members proceeded to make the two of us box for the next hour. I thought it was hilarious.

Eighty four, Eighty five, Eighty six

Saturday I learned that, um, you do have to fill out a security report if you happen to see someone's boob at the library.

Sunday I learned about the word "picnic." There was an urban legend going around that "picnic" was a horrible word because it originated in the practice of people sitting outside and eating lunch while watching a random black person be lynched (you can use your imagination to make the connection between that activity and the word). Of course, this is completely untrue. It actually comes from the French "piquenique," "pique" meaning to pick or peck and "nique" probably just added because it rhymed.

Today I learned about the website Goodreads, because Mary added me as a friend. I haven't totally looked around the site yet, but it seems cool. I actually was wondering a while ago if something like this existed, and then thinking that I would become a multi-billionaire by creating it myself. Frick! Beaten to the punch.

Forty eight

Today I learned how to set up PS2s, DDR, Guitar Hero, the controllers and the projector, and get the games started. And by "learned" I mean, "just did it." It wasn't as hard as I feared, even the projector. Setting up the screen was actually the hardest part...that thing is ghetto. And also I didn't know it existed, which makes everything harder.

Forty one, Forty two, Forty three

For starters, I really don't like doing a three-in-one blog. It's totally lazy to get that far behind. In my defense I was pretty busy, especially Saturday. Anyway...on with the learning.

Friday:

Friday's may seem like kind of a cop out, because it isn't technically something I learned, but I'm putting it anyway. Friday I went to the park and walked around one of the trails twice. I'm blogging it because it was a new experience for me (going on a walk like that by myself, plus I had never walked that trail before) and also it was good for me and something out of the ordinary, which is really what this blog is about anyway. Technically I could say I learned something, like the time it takes me to walk that trail or whatever, but I don't feel the need to bullshit anybody like that.

Saturday:

I learned how to activate somebody's library card when they've applied at home. Somebody probably already showed me how to do that, but I forgot. Now I know.

Sunday:

April Fools!

Twenty eight

Today I learned how to open up the money thing on the copier at work and how to take bills out/put them in (I was making change for a 20). I can't believe I've never done that in the year that I've worked there. I felt kind of smart because no one even showed me, he was just like "put the thing in the thing, open the thing, and pull the money out of the thing." And even though probably a 4 year old could have done it, I was expecting to break it/tip it over/have money come shooting out at me like in Uno Attack/etc. Yay for skillz.

Sixteen

You know you're too into your blog when you're like "Oh no! I learned three things today!" Heh.

Well, one of the things I learned was about children's books. I went to a workshop where I learned some of the things that make different picture books appropriate for different aged kids; things to look out for when you're reading or recommending a book ("offensive" things); and some resources to help me find picture books on various subjects. I don't plan to be a children's librarian or anything but, especially in a small library, you can't really expect to never work with kids at all. Besides, I kind of got paid to read picture books for an hour. Holla!

Eleven

I just learned that Zane is a woman. For some reason, for all this time (all the time I've been working at the library), I thought that Zane was a dude. Was I perhaps thinking of Billy Zane? Who can say. I feel like an idiot now. I want to read some Zane books sometime.

Five, Six, Seven

Thursday:

The average hamster lives 2-3 years. I read this in a book about caring for your hamster while I was on C* at work.

Friday:

Friday I learned a little bit about Vickie Stringer and Triple Crown Publications. Vickie is a writer and publisher from Columbus, and TCP has put out such books as Whore, Gangsta, A Project Chick, Crackhead, Bitch, Cash Money, and many more. These books are EXTREMELY popular at my library, and on Thursday Vickie did a program at the main library that had like 200 people in attendance. A lot of the people that write TCP books write them when they're in prison; I learned that one of the authors is currently incarcerated in Michigan, and so she only gets half of the money from selling her books...that state of Michigan gets the other half. Isn't that BS? And she can actually only have like $1000 at one time, so she set up some kind of fund with Vickie to put the money in there. Crazy. Anyway, I knew some of this stuff already, but one girl that I work with sent out an email about the program so I did find out more about Ms. Stringer and TCP in general. Check out the TCP website for more info...the story is actually very cool.

Saturday:

Today I learned about the Flickr group Stick Figures In Peril which is fucking hilarious. HILARIOUS.

I need to put more links in with all of these entries, but really I am too lazy.