I'm calling the cops. But I'm smiling while I do it because breastfeeding is one of the best things humanity has. STILL CALLING THE COPS.
- Akiva
This is just incredibly beautiful. Thanks for standing up (rhetorically), Laura.
- Oh Caaaaaarrrrrlllll....
Guest pass link to Peter pictures on Flickr--I have no idea who is currently marked as friend there--feel free to add me and I'll get people added as I can. http://flickr.com/gp...
Gotcha, Katie! I sort of fell out of the habit of putting anything on Flickr for quite awhile and thus was woefully behind on all things Flickr-related, so if I missed anyone else, I promise it's not personal!
- laura x
He is unbelievably precious. So tiny and amazing.
- joey
Another GarageBand recording by Pete's father, singing a song written by his uncle circa 1971.
Aah. Checked your page just in case you'd posted a new picture, and there he is! Laura, Peter is absolutely adorable. What about a photo-a-day project for his first year? (After all, what *else* do you have to do?!)
- Mama Lawson
Mama Lawson: hahahahahahahahaha
- laura x
from iPhone
I refuse to be swaddled! You cannot contain me! =)
- Yvonne
from FFHound!
Laura, so glad that you took it the way it was intended!!
- Mama Lawson
Dear everyone: Thank you again so much for the nest egg you provided for Peter and me. After consulting with him, the first thing I did was get a year of Amazon Prime, because he assured me that it would be very helpful to be able to order things and have them show up at our door two days later.
Then I told him that we would also use the money to help keep us warm this winter, because I usually keep the house at 62F, but Pete tends to get very cold, even when well-bundled, and so I've had to jack the heat up to 68-70F.
- laura x
You might wanna be careful about giving the kid Amazon credentials. Just sayin'.
- RepoRat
In all the things that I thought to account for in the new baby budget, I never thought to factor in the possibility of a higher heating bill. So you guys are totally our saviors.
- laura x
RR is right, but just think about the motivation to learn his letters and numbers if you offer to teach him your Amazon password... ;)
- Catherine Pellegrino
Repo, I'm trying to raise him to be frugal like his mama, but you're right that he may have other ideas. He is super cute and he knows it.
- laura x
do they still have that mis-named "amazon mom" program?
- DJF
I think my cousin and her husband would marry Amazon for their diaper delivery the same way her dad would marry Walmart if he could.
- Katie
I am still bitter that they didn't start that Amazon Mom thing until after J was done with high-volume diapers. (We still use it for Pull-Ups, though.)
- Catherine Pellegrino
Oh, you also get free streaming movies with Amazon Prime!
- marthalib
And if you put diapers etc. on 'subscription' you get another 15% off!
- Yvonne
from FFHound!
didn't they just cancel that, yvonne? I know there was some kind of uproar about them dropping the discounts. However, Peter still made the smart choice with Prime and with the heating costs. Wise beyond his years, that kid.
- ellbeecee
Yesterday he started trying to roll over. Precocious monster.
- laura x
from iPhone
Re Amazon Mom: I think they've rolled back the discounts for both the subscription program and the mom program a bit recently, though I haven't been following closely. For us, though, it would still have totally been worth it for not having to run out to the store.
- Catherine Pellegrino
I just checked my subscription for razor cartridges and it still shows a 15% Subscribe & Save discount.
- S of 2C
what a lovely post. and just what I needed to hear. thank you.
- MoTO Bott
Lovely post.. welcome and Hello Peter . !! I still remember your post on 'control' and share that a lot with some of the younger gen !! You are truely gifted in many ways. God Bless u and yours !
- Peter Dawson
the sweetness just rolls off the page. =)
- Lnorigb
Well, you know I'm completely in love with Ramona since my last visit. I suspect my reaction to Peter will be the same. Much love (and an extra scritch behind the ears to whomever would like it most) to you all!
- Louise Alcorn
Thank you for sharing the pic! :) Love to all of you.
- Laura H.
How well I remember those initial days after bringing each of our children home for the first time. I knew our world was changed forever, and was nearly overwhelmed by the awesome significance (and responsibility) that those moments represented (but in a good way.) Enjoy this very special time.
- Mark J
Peter and I got sprung from the hospital this afternoon. We are home and doing well. Thank you to everyone for the good wishes. We are honored and blessed to have such friends.
Aka Peter Malcolm Keene Crossett. I have been up since 7 am yesterday. More later! From my phone. Please pardon brevity and autocorrect.
- laura x
from email
Here is the thread where you suggest TED talks for me to watch (or other things to watch/read/consume online) while I'm at work waiting for #babyx to make his appearance:
Brené Brown talking about erasing the false divide between our personal and professional selves: http://www.youtube.com/watch... "Tell the story of you who are with your whole heart."
- Marianne
Marian Bantje: Intricate Beauty by Design -or- moot: the case for anonymity online (that one's short, <10 minutes; moot is the founder of 4chan if you didn't know)
- John: Clockwork Librarian
I need a script that just inserts "Many thanks, and as always, let me know if you have any questions" into every work email I write. I think the phrase ends up in just about every one.
You know, that's a good point. I should probably add that to my signature as well.
- Laura H.
Eh, I don't really want it in my sig file--it's sort of an integral part of the email. And it sometimes varies, like, "Again, my thanks for your ongoing help" or whatever.
- laura x
There's probably a long German word for that sentiment.
- Your Neighbor Steve
i'm on a team with someone whose signature has thanks, [his name] [his other contact info] .... so... it's really pretty meaningless at this point.
- Christina Pikas
I've been known to start rereading as soon as I finish in cases like that.
- Katy S
Unfortunately, I had to go to work. And that strategy never quite works for me--it's like I have to go through a mourning period. Sigh.
- laura x
I think this must be one of those "two kinds of people" things. I don't recall really having that feeling, nor have I ever immediately started rereading a book I'd just finished. But Jessy was just talking about this to me the other day, how her son does it and she did it.
- Your Neighbor Steve
Oh, I totally know what Laura means. It's worse when it's a series of seven novels with a total page-count somewhere north of 5000.
- Catherine Pellegrino
I remember being literally in tears when I finished The Once and Future King when I was in eighth grade. I was wandering around our apartment sobbing because I was so sure I would never find anything to read again.
- laura x
For me, this most often happens because I've just finished the last book (last, as in I've read all the others) by someone who is dead. I tend to put off reading unread or barely remembered works by beloved dead authors because I know when I run out there won't be any more new ones and it makes me very sad. (Madeline L'Engle, Octavia Butler, and Jorge Borges are the first ones to spring to mind) . It can happen when they're not going to write many more, too, as with Terry Pratchett.
- Marianne
It's really rare for me to be sad just because the book was so wonderful and I've almost finished it, though I have caught myself avoiding finishing books because they are so darn good...
- Marianne
Marianne - I'm that way about Pratchett, too. And knowing that there's just one more (posthumous) novel coming out for Diana Wynne Jones. I think there's an essay collection coming out for her, too, but that last novel is killing me.
- Katy S
One of my earliest memories of that feeling was when I finished reading "The Talisman," as a kid. That book came at just the right time for me.
- Brent
from iPhone
Oh my yes! Sometimes I find myself wondering how the characters from a well-loved book are doing these days as if they're lives continued like that of friends/family/acquaintances, etc.
- Galadriel C.
I am watching someone demonstrate a website over the statewide 1980s-era TV classroom network by POINTING TO PRINTOUTS FROM SAID WEBSITE. Whoa.
Well, 4000 some do. But I have no idea. Other side of the state from me. I'm in Johnson.
- laura x
Oh an the little bar on the right is funny. There's fewer than 1,000 people between the bottom two bars, and 350,000 or something between the top two.
- Your Neighbor Steve
Florida is basically flat and you don't even want to try to figure out our counties. #messy
- Lix
I have no idea how many counties CA has (but some of 'em are huge), but will note, Steve, that this isn't unusual for demographic tables. In the 10 HAPLR divisions for public library sizes, the smallest (with >1000 libraries) covers a range of 1,000 and the second-smallest (also >1,000) 1,500; the largest (with 82 libraries) covers a range of at least 4 million.
- Walt Crawford
California only has 58 counties. (Caltrans has 12 Districts... the things I need to know.)
- Georgie Bestie
So I looked. 58 counties, and the map's just strange. California is less flat than Iowa. If you divide the counties into 10 population groups, the smallest group runs from 1,189 to 18,110 while the largest runs from 1.189 million to 18.110 million. (No prizes for guessing the latter's name.)
- Walt Crawford
Wyoming is geographically larger than Iowa but has only 23 counties. I'm fascinated by state to state variations in county size.
- laura x
Texas has the most counties, or at least that's what they tell children in Texas schools.
- Meg VMeg
MegVMeg: That's what The Great W sez too. Good Gaia, 254 of 'em, one with all of 81 inhabitants. Two hundred and fiftyfour different counties.
- Walt Crawford
Kentucky has lots. They could be no longer than a day's ride on horseback so judges on the circuit could make their rounds. (needs citation).
- barbara fister
New Jersey's county boundaries were established utilizing a careful application of the "fuck it, close enough" principle.
- Andy
Massachusetts has counties but everything is done at the town council level (except city management) - but schoolchildren learn almost nothing about them (nor were they ever mentioned to me as a schoolchild in the '70s / '80s) ... culture shock when I got to Tennessee (95 counties) and almost everything was county-based.
- awd
III. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.
- laura x
from Bookmarklet
IV. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas."
- laura x
Two points especially worth remembering for those battling SOPA/PIPA today.
- laura x
People, what should I pack to bring to the hospital? I mean, other than my phone so I can let you all know after #babyx is born.
slippers w/ tread - something you can slip on and won't slide around on the hospital floors
- Rachel Walden
jsut asking.. how long do they keep mum and baby @ Hospital ?? In canada its like 1day and then out home..
- Peter Dawson
Don't forget to already have the car seat - they likely won't let you leave the hospital without it. I've also seen a lot of recommendations to bring your own sanitary or chux pads.
- Rachel Walden
Toothbrush & paste. Phone charger, if they let you. (Some hospitals don't). Comfy clothes for when you get to change. Nursing bra. Camera. Music (we took speakers, I really liked having that). Heating pad (I had back labor so it felt fantastic). As we can tell, I'm not a minimalist. YMMV.
- Jaclyn Bedoya
also, aside from the socks, which are essential, I would say, as little as possible. You're not moving in.
- DJF
Also, remember that what you take when you're going in to deliver the baby is what you and X will need while in the hospital. The car seat and going home clothes for X can all come with the person who is picking you and X up and taking you home.
- DJF
car seats. The hospital wouldn't let us leave until we demonstrated that we had put in our little one in the seat correctly (which is: no jacket on baby; blankets over top) [oops, didn't notice it was already mentioned]
- copystar
pfft, I just threw the kids in the back of the pick up and drove home
- Blake
Notebook/notepad and pen. A million healthcare professionals will tell you a million different things a million times a day (especially if you or #babyx has even the slightest complication) and you will likely not remember anything they say for more than about 5 minutes.
- Catherine Pellegrino
Having done this three times (well, it's different for a guy, but I was there) I'll third the socks, and reinforce what Catherine said, write all that stuff down, you won't remember a damn thing. And what DJF said, you'll be amazed how much crap you need to carry out of there... less is more.
- Blake
Catherine, that's an excellent idea. Actually, if you already know of any questions you have about your aftercare, follow-up, when you can X or Y, go ahead and write those down on the pad.
- Rachel Walden
Louise. Warm Socks and a taser. Though, I always like the little hospital socks with the tread. I use them to go through TSA security without my feet freezing.
- ♫410 I Coach 'em Up♫
I read half a book and half a dozen magazines when I was in hospital after Emily!
- Melly Botts
My mom describes reading the same line in a book for hours on end when she was in labor with me.
- Andy
A robe to wear over hospital gowns and going home clothes for you (nice stretchy comfy things that fit during the early part of your third trimester) and babyx.
- Galadriel C.
A pack mule to help carry all of this stuff.
- marthalib
Good timing. Underwear, comfy pants bigger than you think (wife says), a couple of shirts, maybe pjs, socks, slippers, toothbrush, deodorant, (or whatever else is in a bathroom bag) some burp towels, baby car seat, camera, ....
- The Ghost of Library Past
Sleeping mask. Ear plugs if you might be sharing a room afterwards. Slippers/socks. Boppy/bf'ing pillow. Any prescriptions you have. Camera & batteries or charger. Going home outfit for sure! I didn't bother with food. They fed me like 5 times a day! Good luck!
- Yvonne
from FFHound!
We brought a boppy pillow (very helpful with nursing), music player and speakers (used during labor - make a playlist of peaceful and really rocking music), sari/sports bra or something comfortable if you don't want to labor naked, camera battery charger... The other thing we did was bring a couple dozen muffins the Mr. baked while I labored at home. We brought those in for nursing staff along with our birthing plan. It all helps!
- βℜ∀ñÐi
Publicizing SOPA stuff to your staff: Given that Wikipedia is planning to go dark for 24 hours on Wednesday, it occurred to me that it might be good to warn our library staff about it, on the theory that not everyone is as obsessed with internet policy as I am. Here's the email I sent out:
This is just an FYI as it occurred to me that we may well get patron questions or complaints on Wednesday--my apologies if you already know all about this:
- laura x
Wikipedia (along with a number of other sites) is planning to shut itself down for 24 hours this Wednesday as a protest against SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act. SOPA (the Senate version is called PIPA, the Protect IP Act). As you might guess, the idea of the act is to stop piracy by making it possible to "blacklist" or shut down sites that host pirated content.
- laura x
Critics--including a lot of major websites--say that the effect will instead be to cripple them, and cripple access to information in general, because the law would mean any site with anything on it that might possible be piracy could be shut down entirely (so, like one pirated video on YouTube would mean YouTube would disappear).
- laura x
I imagine Wikipedia and other sites participating in the protest will have explanatory statements on their sites, but I am also guessing we may get patron questions, so it's probably best to be prepared.
- laura x
I put something on our internal blog this morning, and we may be putting a copy on our for-users blog as well.
- Deborah Fitchett
Laura, this is fabulous. Would you mind if I copied much of your language wholesale (with appropriate credit, of course) in an email to the librarians at MPOW?
- Catherine Pellegrino
Help yourself! I am officially releasing all the above wording into the public domain. Copy, adapt, and promulgate as you wish!
- laura x
Thanks, Laura. I'm in the closed library today working on stuff and was just thinking I should warn my colleagues.
- Kaijsa
According to SOPA, all IP addressed issued by an organization based in the USA are deemed to be "domestic". The only problem is that IP addresses are not issued nationally, but regionally. The USA-based organization that issues IP addresses, issues addresses for the USA, Canada, and most of the Caribbean. So, the Canadian FEDERAL GOVERNMENT network will be deemed to be a domestic USA website.
- DJF
I am aaaaaaaall eyerolled out. FFS, Congress.
- RepoRat
well, they are rather proud of the fact that they don't know how this shit works.
- DJF
Alright, staff notified by email that they may get questions about this, with a couple of background links. Note posted to our FB and Twitter that people should not expect to use Wikipedia tomorrow, and will also be unable to get their LOLcats, reddit, or failblog fix.
- Rachel Walden
Hee! I just sent out an email to staff, but I'll be posting to the internal blogs, too. Thanks for the links Laura!
- John: Clockwork Librarian
I sent email to the state listserv. Thanks, Laura!
- ~Courtney F.
just borrowed this for our staff blog. thanks, Laura!
- Christa
Thanks so much Laura! Have just sent out to all libfolks.
- RudĩϐЯaЯïan
Thank you, Laura! I sent out the links to the all-campus faculty listserv on this, and following a cue from @LibraryStuff, added "Wouldn't this be a great time to remind your students about the library?" (It's Finals Week for our J-Term right now.)
- Librarienne
Working on a post for our library blog now and sending an internal e-mail for staff. Thank you for facilitating this. (Now I hope I do not get in hot water over this. Please, don't ask-- not publicly at least).
- Angel R. Rivera
For what is worth, here is the post I made for our library blog. I tried to combine the best of so much good thinking out there. If it helps anybody out, cool. And yea, this can be a good time to remind our students of other resources, even as we make them aware of issues like SOPA. "Wikipedia and other sites to go dark for 24 hrs on Wed. 1/18/12" http://uttylerlibrary.wordpress.com/2012...
- Angel R. Rivera
"SOLITUDE is out of fashion. Our companies, our schools and our culture are in thrall to an idea I call the New Groupthink, which holds that creativity and achievement come from an oddly gregarious place. Most of us now work in teams, in offices without walls, for managers who prize people skills above all. Lone geniuses are out. Collaboration is in."
- laura x
from Bookmarklet
Interesting that she thinks Internet-enabled collaboration is different. This introvert agrees.
- barbara fister
Open-plan offices are of the devil IMO; something someone came up with with as a rationalization for squeezing more people into less space.
- Andrew C (✓)
Yeah, the internet part was the only thing I thought was really interesting in the article--the rest was sort of recycled pop psychology. I have a love/hate relationship with our staff area--I do have a private office, but it has a wall of windows and an open door, so it's not really private. On the other hand, since I think being available to staff is a big part of my job, I do like...
more...
- laura x
That said, I was just re-reading Walter Murch's "In The Blink Of An Eye" (one of the most thought-provoking books in its tiny size class) and there was a bit on collaboration vs the solitary artist. His topic is film editing and filmmaking, but he drew a parallel to fine art; the transition from fresco painting, which by nature was multi-disciplinary and required a team, to the solitary...
more...
- Andrew C (✓)
laura, I was thinking a bit more about this and I think have a non-technical example supporting the concept behind the piece. As far as I understand how TV comedy writing works, the stories are created and roughly outlined entirely collaboratively, in a big meeting room. But once the outlines are ready, the scripts are assigned to individual writers or fixed writing teams, and those are...
more...
- Andrew C (✓)
Very interesting article around this topic written a few years ago by Joel Spolsky about how you should give software developers their own offices and not stick them in cubicals http://www.joelonsoftware.com/article... very much against the 'common wisdom' of how to organise staff today
- Glenn Slaven
[high-walled] cubicles are still a big step up from completely open plan. =P But yes, real offices are better than cubicles.
- Andrew C (✓)
The "common wisdom," while common, is not very wise. Multiple studies dating back to the early 1960's have shown that software developers are more productive when working in a secluded, isolated office. This is why every IBM building has private offices; even though they cost more initially, the payback time is under a year for the increased productivity.
- I like big Botts
from iPhone
The first paper I read about this dated from some time in the '80s, and the researchers said up front in the introduction that they expected open concept of some sort to be better, since it would be more conducive to team building and free consultation. And then it went on to report that open concept sucked and private offices were way more productive.
- DJF
Watch a couple of episodes of Mad Men, and you'll see why we have open concept offices: with the elimination of the typing pool, there was a bunch of open space, and building offices is too expensive.
- DJF