Paul

I received word this morning that an old friend passed away this Sunday last.

He and I were not very close as far as standard definitions of 'friend' go. I knew him as my former landlord from twenty years past, and he and I had met only three or four times during the ensuing years. Yet, he was one of those rare, genuine individuals with whose acquaintance I feel blessed.

Our ages were separated by a good 40-plus years, our differing experiences as can be imagined. He was a decorated navy commodore, I was a scattered student, then librarian. However, each time we found ourselves in one another's company we would sit with a decent glass of 'What's available', a smoke and brilliant, warming conversation. After our short visits I always felt happy and, somehow, more than I had been.

When I leave my library today, I am going to sit with a glass of 'What's available', a smoke and raise a cheer to my friend. Join me. I believe he was the best kind of friend. He was beyond definition.

IT knows all!

I was doing my morning browse amongst the 'What's New' of blog stacks when I came across "What's Your Dewey", posted to Hedgehog Librarian. I tried it myself.

Here are the results. Pretty damned close, too, especially the 'nerd' bit. Myself, I think I tend more towards 'geek' personally....

LegLib's Dewey Decimal Section:

519 Probabilities & applied mathematics

LegLib = 905614 = 905+614 = 1519

Class:
500 Science

Contains:
Math, astronomy, prehistoric life, plants and animals.

What it says about you:
You are fascinated by the world around you, and see it as a puzzle worth exploring. You try to understand how things work and how you can make them better. You might be a nerd.

And...

LegLib's Dewey Decimal Section:

187 Epicurean philosophy

LegLib's birthday: 2/21/1966 = 221+1966 = 2187

Class:
100 Philosophy & Psychology

Contains:
Books on metaphysics, logic, ethics and philosophy.

What it says about you:
You're a careful thinker, but your life can be complicated and hard for others to understand at times. You try to explain things and strive to express yourself.

Find your Dewey Decimal Section at Spacefem.com

OK, if you actually try this out with "LegLib", you will discover the results are slightly different. This was done to protect the privacy of the innocent librarian. Regardless, the results for LegLib were 549 and 187. Not bad, huh? Like my IT guy says, "Technology can do everything. It will eventually replace the need for librarians, too."

I have another IT story for you, but it will have to wait a wee bit. I have to go now to set a bear trap outside the IT guy's door. No, actually, my new library is nearing completion and there's a tonne to do. I was so shagged out yesterday that I actually went straight to bed when I got home from the office. It was 8pm! Now, which is worse, the 12-hour day, or in bed by 8pm?

Today's a big day. Enjoy!