Is that A Peacock Feather in Your Pocket?

It's really interesting to me how people peacock. Git your brain out of the gutter. What I mean is this - I'm in a public library that looks like it's a bit of a funny little silent meat market (I wish I had known, I would have dressed more snazzily). So anything, what's interesting is the way that people are arranging their various goodies on the tables and posturing themselves.

I give you example A: This guy sat down at my table just a little while ago. He didn't take anything out of his bag at all, he just kind of sat down and abided. He is resplendent in his flannel shirt, black Mac and hipster beard-stubble. By the way, how do these guys always have just stubble. I wondered about that Miami Vice guy too. Is it that they can't actually grow a beard, or do they get one of those flowbie things and set it on 'hipster?'

Anyway, he did slowly bring out the stuff - the aforementioned Mac, the blackberry and a couple of books. All the while, he slowly scans the room, and I kid you not, nods with a silent 'how you doin?' to a more than a couple cliques of cuties. Does he know them? Who knows? It is funny though.

It seems that everyone in the place is posing or posturing somehow. Where's a sociologist when I need one.

Oh, and I should mentioned that I very vainly placed my Gruub books (which are exciting-looking and in an exciting-looking language) very visibly next to my cooler-than-yours laptop. And my blackberry. And my Zune. I think the zune probably make me lose cool-points though.

Heh! As I'm typing this up a woman sat down at the table and he just started chatting her up! Then he adjusted his books (Basics of Statistics - see gals, I'm smart and sax-ay) and blackberry.

Ok, I think this post is proof I need to get out of here.

I'm thinking of taking the 365 photos/day challenge again next year, but I may do it under my real name. If you are interested in following, shoot me an email and if I do, I'll set up a site and invite you. Oh, I'm also twittering now, under my real name too, so if you know my xbox handle, that's my twittername. If not, email me and we can be twitterfriends! ('casue you know, Obama's my twitterfriend already, that's how cool I am :P)

Library Notes

• Note to the person who is coughing loudly and obviously with illness: Dude. At least I hope you are a dude. If you are a dudette, then you've got to be the rockingest sub-contralto that ever contralto'ed. So, anyway, seriously. Go home. You need to be resting and watching home improvement shows and taking in soup or something. If you really have to, check out your books and then go home and read in bed. You are getting your nasty germs all over the place. Also you scare the ever-living bajezus out of me every time you cough. Thanks.
• Note to the person who wrote in the book I'm reading. First off, I'm fairly anti-library book in writing. You are less evil because you wrote in pencil, so thanks for that. But the thing that's killing me is that you wrote really really tiny with a big blunt pencil. Was it like a carpenter's pencil that you sharpened months ago with a rasp? The result is that I can't read your notes and that's distracting. What's this? "issue garble garble and also not true?" is that what you wrote? Rather than blame myself for being easily distracted, I'll blame you for not writing more clearly. Thanks.
  

Pardon Me, Where Do You Keep The Microfiche?

I'm fairly certain that I never could have even attempted to get a degree of any kind before technology ruled the world. Evidence? The Inter Library Loan is perhaps the coolest thing ever. I am now happily in the possession of a book that really ought not to exist. Technically, it might not be technology, but I never would have even known the book even existed without another reason I couldn't hack it earlier: Online library databases. Remember card catalogs? hehe Card Catalogs!

Ok, maybe we're loosing the ability to do, ya know, actual research, but still, card catalogs?

Also, scans? PDFs? online searchable journals? digital photographs? digital number crunching? And I'm in the humanities!

Ok, I'm off to read my secret shouldn't-still-exist book

I Have Hopes

It's been a real killer-diller of a couple of weeks for your host here at Overread Central. I shamefully admit, I haven't even been reading blogs, so I humbly apologize if you've had something important going on. I completely missed it. I'm going to try to get back into the blogging swing of things, so we'll see how that goes for us.

For now, I think the least I can do would be a bullet-list. And I mean it. It's the least I can do. That's why I'm going to do it. :)

• The nasty project that was hanging over my head has left my laptop on electronic wings, soaring to my advisor. If he likes the ideas, it will become the huge monster project to use in hunting funding. I have hopes.
• The marathon is still go. It will happen in a few weeks, but due to a bit of arch/heel pain, there will be no attempt to break any time barrier short of 24 hours. I have hopes.
  
• I bought a lottery ticket. I have hopes.
• My computers are conspiring against me. My laptop seems to enjoy certain international websites only until I find crucial information, then it shuts down. Also, the speaker only works when it wants to. So far I think I've discovered that it approves of 80s pop, but not musical theatre. My desktop has become very protective of the home network. Protective enough that it thinks I probably shouldn't be allowed to use it. We are in negotiations. I have hopes.
• While writing, I've been listening to music. Expect a few quizzes in the near future.
  
• My library rocks. I was let into the Special Collections room because one of the books I needed was apparently "special." I not really sure why. It wasn't particularly rare or fragile, but ah well. Before I was ushered into the chapel of books, they made me lock up all my bags and books and pens in a locker. Then, in the inner-sanctum, they brought out a special mini-podium made of cushions on which they carefully placed the book. There was also a delicately-balanced padded page-holder that held the book open to the table of contents. I sat down with great reverence, only to discover on looking at the table of contents that there would surely be nothing in the book that I could use. Embarrassed, I flipped through the pages for a few minutes in the hopes that they would think their efforts were appreciated, then I left.
• I have hopes.
  

To Your Left, In His Natural Habitat, An Overread...

Spring is arriving and with it the campus tours. I really enjoy watching these pass by when I can. I especially love watching the students. Some are trying to be oh, so over it all and oozing with disdain simply because they must be seen with the rents, but some you can actually see are really excited about maybe coming here. They're pointing out cool campus parts and even listening to the tour guides.

Ah the tour guides. It's like the Disneyland Safari tour without the funny.

Master of the backward walk:

"Here is the X Library, it's one of the real libraries here on campus. It's also known as the grad library because it's where all the grad students go. It's actually quiet in there for when you need to really study."

(overheard by me giggling about how I just got a book from a 'real' library.)

Notes From The Underground. But Aboveground.

I'm still completely unenthusiastic about the paper I need to finish up in the next couple of days, but here's the fun thing - I'm getting really excited about another paper that I'm starting to put together. I don't want to jinx it, but it's a nice big juicy topic that no one has really gotten in to yet. I'm still looking around to see if there are any hidden monographs out there that have already done it, but I think the topic will be mine all mine!

Also, as a good recorder of random items, I report to you the graffiti on today's library cell which focuses on the dangers of Mary J:

1. 4/20!!!!!!!!
2. 4:20!!!!!
3. Fucking potheads
   
4. Albert, Mary J is the Satan (unclear - crossed out) devil's smoke. All of smokers will burn in Hell w/ rapists, murderers and Hitler.
1. Yaright.
2. Thank you for your advice, Mrs. Doubtfire
3. How in hell do you equate pot smokers w/ rapists & Hitler?
4. Be careful with pot kids, it's very dangerous because it's so subtle. It can get out of control and ruin you
1. How?
5. Shut up!
1. Turn around!
6. Hello!
7. I love you deformed lips.
8. Shut up and get back to work.
   

Dude. Seriously.

Notes to/regarding freaky guy who moved into the library cell behind me:

1. General library etiquette frowns on yelling out "Holy Fuck! Why isn't this working?"
2. Either you are just banging randomly on your keyboard or you type faster than humans should be able to type.
3. That weird grunting sound you make with every third breath or so is uber creepy
   
4. Answering your phone in the library is rude and all, but understandable. However, it's especially bad when I can hear your end and her end of the conversation. Also, she seemed quite ticked. You're in trouble.