Imagine being Sen. Mark Kelly today. A former astronaut, who spent 54 days in space for his country, a retired Navy pilot and combat Vet who flew 39 high-risk missions in battle, and whose retirement benefits are now being taken by a drunken frat boy like Pete Hegseth. I stand with Mark Kelly.

Not if we do our jobs, it won’t. We need to make sure people are aware of the change, and we need to urge everyone to vote as early a possible in their states. Barring that, we’re going to have to be willing to stand in line to vote on Election Day - we have a nation to save.

Reminder that free will exists and New Year’s resolutions don’t have to suck. Resolve to eat every kind of cheese, pet every dog you see, resolve to take pictures of clouds and look up what you see. No one needs to be a “better version of themselves” when they can visit every local brewery.

New years! Yesterday had a nice afternoon with live music (big band), dancing, & Japanese fusion for supper, then sharing movies until midnight!

One of my library users advocated for me to read The Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch. So much so over the last ten years that he brought in his copies of the series & gave them to me (he doesn't have enough space for all of his books, you see).

If 2025 didn't stop you nothing will

Wishing everyone the best for 2026. Not necessarily wishing that everyone gets what they want, but definitely what you most need.

Your local librarian here to say that it’s great if you read lots of books this year, alright if you read barely anything, that audiobooks, romance and graphic novels are all valid formats and genres, and that some authors suck but we’re still not stopping you from reading them.

#Earthquake Update: A magnitude 1.22372044470021 earthquake took place 6 km ESE of Rowland Heights, CA at 3:37:13 PM. #micro For details from the USGS:

One thing that irks me about the AI fad is we have had quality spellcheck programs for decades. Why does anyone want to replace them with GenAI spellcheck that doesn't work as well?

On the 3rd day of Sharkmas (I missed day 2!) my true love gave to me:

Dear Jon Stewart c/o @weeklyshowpodcast.bsky.social I recently watched, with great surprise and disappointment, a weeklyshowpodcast segment in which you and other "personalities," gleefully mocked and derided the relatively small subset of individuals who continue to wear a face mask in public.

“Then they shouldn’t have voted for this!” Bitch, Asheville is a blue college town and the county has gone blue for decades. I am so sick of this “if I pretend disasters only happen to red areas, it means I’m safe because I’m properly on the left!” No. You’re not safe. That’s why we save everybody.

Remember: It ys okaye to be lonelye. It ys okaye to feel lost. It ys okaye to be sad. It ys okaye yf nobody ys arounde. It ys okaye to have no plannes or just small plannes. It ys okaye to have big plannes that seem exhausting. It ys okaye to be a mess. Take care of thyself. Thou art amazinge.

So, night before last in my dreams, my Mom sent me on an errand. Not a big one, just ordinary, but I could not accomplish it. Last night I was at a school to start my second year of teaching. Could not find my assignment (which had changed), nor anyone in authority to tell me where I needed to be.

Closing out my year with a journal editor shocker 🧵 Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...

These rats are also trained to find the mines so they can be disengaged before they kill someone. They work in a lot of different countries, my family's country of Laos is included. Training Rats To Save Lives • APOPO.org

Should you refuse to show compassion because you believe it would make you appear weak, then you have misunderstood what strength is. It is honorable to have concern for others, to show empathy and to offer aid to someone in distress. To rebuke this is cowardice, not strength.

Could this have been prevented? Yes, this could have been prevented. And yet, my friend. And yet, my friend, it wasn’t.

When the mercury plummets to -40° (where Celsius and Fahrenheit finally agree), most sensible creatures burrow inward. But not in the Yukon. Here, in this land where exhaled breath crystallizes mid-air and exposed skin stings within seconds, I found myself moved to dance Bhangra.

You've got to look at the big picture: Step 1: a year-long rampage of evil acts Step 2: unprecedented numbers on the naughty list Step 3: windfall for West Virginia's economy on the back of renewed demand for coal

This man saved lives AND the narrative.

their decision to create a new department and name it “Homeland Security” was a blatant declaration of imperial overambition

Just when I thought I couldn't admire the man more... 🎯 🎯 🎯 💯 💯 💯 👍 👍 👍

1925: Dick Van Dyke, the quintessential “nice guy” actor who would become known for his performances in such movie classics as Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, as well as the popular 1960s TV sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show, is born in West Plains, Missouri.

1874: King Kalākaua of the Hawaiian Kingdom is the first monarch of any country to visit the US, invited as a guest of Ulysses S. Grant for the first state dinner at the White House

Hands up, how.many of you liberals have conservative parents?

Donald. Jessica. Trump. Thank you @randyrainbow.bsky.social

Well, we knew this was coming.

***IMPORTANT THREAD***** If you are anywhere near York County, South Carolina, PLEASE show up to their board meeting tomorrow. It is, of course and intentionally, at NOON tomorrow at For Mill Library. Here's York County Library's background, yes, still ongoing: bookriot.com/whats-happen...

Today at work storytime went well - we had a guest reader who was great, and the kids behaved SO well! Then I got to sit at the circ desk while everyone else set up the Volunteer Appreciate Christmas Event. I was there to see the Big Moment!

Some context bsky.app/profile/amli...

Chat GPT is NOT the place you go to ask Questions about raising Children. Go to the library and look for materials on childcare (if you're using Dewey, 649.122) or Early Childhood Development (same number).

I'm not gonna lie. This is "way too long." It's about 2,500 words. But it's complete. I thoroughly looked at the laws regarding the boat strikes and it's illegal. Take the time to read it! champ.ly/1kwRyZbS

The claims that the ALA is engaged in a secret pro-LGBTQ+ campaign trying to undermine traditional values is a right-wing talking point as old as time. Here's an example from January 1983. When you're teaming up with the KKK to make your claims, you're not the good ones in the story.

We just filed a 60-day notice of intent to sue the Fish & Wildlife Service for failing to provide habitat protection to Bartram’s stonecrop, a succulent found only in the Sky Islands of #Arizona and #Mexico. They determined that designating critical habitat was “not prudent”: bit.ly/3XJNmsk

@randomfacts.bsky.social One of my grandsnakes, a six foot long red tailed rescue boa named Ciri, has passed on. I'm trying to encourage my kids to remember that she was living in an abandoned house, burnt by heating elements, and her quality of life after she was rescued was much better.

Well, I am home on a sick day today and tomorrow. The cat is demanding attention, and has been sleeping on my chest since I got home. Turned on a John Carradine film - Terror in the Midnight Sun, aka Invasion of the Animal People. Carradine is a "narrator" for a Scandinavian film.

here are Ranganathan’s 5 Laws of Library Science. 1. Books are for use. 2. Every reader their book. 3. Every book its reader. 4. Save the time of the reader. 5. A library is a growing organism. they can be read as a directive for technical efficiency. i read them as an ethical commitment. 📚

🐶🐈

JUST NOW: "This is like Alice in Wonderland", Judge Breyer says when trying to get the DOJ to explain to him why what happened in CA is a "rebellion" justifying the deployment of the National Guard. "Words just mean what you want them to mean?"

Siphonophores are champions of community collaboration. 🤝🏆 This isn't one animal. It's actually a colony of individual animals called zooids. Each has a specialized role. From the orb-like swimming nectophores to the bright orange stinging tentacles, they're essential to the survival of all.

Today I babysat my adorable 2 year old grandnephew, and my ditto 9 month old grandniece. Niece was concerned about tantrum-ming, but I have to say that there was not a tantrum to be seen. There was ,however, deliberately dribbled water from his mouth several times.

Been getting a lot of pushback, especially on Threads, so, Mea Culpa: In hindsight, had I known that calling all Trump supporters racist would hurt their feelings and make them so upset, I would have done it much sooner. Sorry, I'll try to do better.