2 AM December 17th

Sleep eludes me tonight, so I thought I would update the blog for a change. My birthday was on Saturday, and although we had plans to go away (which we haven't done in 6 years now), the weather was bad and we decided against it. Linda canceled her party on Friday night, and it was just too snowy and frigid on Saturday night to make the trip to West Seneca for the Geocaching Holiday Party. So we stayed home. Aeddon spent the night Friday, after John picked him up from the Senior Council trip to see the Grinch at 11:30, and Adrienne came over on Saturday morning to take me to breakfast for my birthday. I suggested we eat in, so we did and the 4 of us played cards afterwards. Then later in the afternoon, Brandon came over and the 3 of us played Cutthroat - I won - imagine that! Finally, in the evening, we decided to go to Lynn and Gail's to play cards yet again.

California Part 2

The Fairfield-Berkeley transition went quite smoothly. After breakfast, we packed the car, looked for a few local caches with no luck, and headed south. We did a tour of the Jelly Belly factory - which was quite fun, and picked up a few souvenirs for the kids. (Actually that might have been Monday). We headed into Berkeley to find our new hotel, drop our luggage off, and look for a few caches in the Midpenisula Open Space area. I got a cache that I needed for the Cachiversary challenge (placed on the day I started geocaching, 6/8/2013), so that was cool. In NY, while geocaching, I mostly have to worry about whether it's hunting season or not. Here, it's rattlesnakes, poison oak and mountain lions. Mountain lions?!

We ended up doing our most challenging hike, being a 3 terrain that was about a mile total length. The challenge was in how steep the trail was. All downhill to the cache, all uphill to the car. Hard work, but I'm proud to say, John handled it like a walk to the corner store, even though it was much harder for me.

When we finally decided about 2PM to head to SFO I was pleasantly surprised at how easy that trip was. No major traffic jams. Got the car returned with no major incidents (a minor one, I discovered on the AirTrain out of the garage that I had left my new hat in the car and we had to go back - wasted about 45 minutes that we could have been investigating SF - or not). Got our BART tickets, and with the help of a very nice lady found our way to Downtown Berkeley. More later.

California (Sat-Mon)

John and I are out in California for a combination vacation/business trip. We left Saturday, 10/5, and will be here until next Saturday. Reluctant fliers, we were pretty low key in the weeks leading up to the trip, but surprisingly packed early and ready to go. Saturday morning I decided to go for an "emergency" manicure and in honor of the trip picked "Lost on Lombard" from the O.P.I. San Francisco collection. It's a deep burgundy, a color family (red/pink) that I never wear. Nice, though.

The flight from BUF to ORD was in a small plane. I had diarrhea the whole trip. But by the time we boarded the plane in Chicago, my stomach had settled down and this flight went off without remark. It was a bigger plane, 6 seats across instead of 4, and it turned out that the 3rd seat in our row was empty, so we had some extra space. We got into SFO about 5:30, and by the time we retrieved our luggage, got a rental car (that was a mess) and got to our hotel, an hour north of San Francisco it was 8:00 (think 11PM, EST) and we still hadn't eaten anything. We drove through the nearby Wendy's and I wolfed down a small sandwich and prepared for a night of heartburn. But, to my surprise, it never happened.

On Sunday, we decided to drop off as many of the travel bugs we brought, as possible. I did a route query from Fairfield to Reno NV, and we were off. As we approached the NV area, we decided to forgo the quicky divorce and see Lake Tahoe, instead. We came upon a young couple there taking pictures of each other, and offered to take their picture together. In return they took one of us:

After a short hike, we went into Tahoe for an ice cream cone and something to drink, and watched a little of the Bronco/Cowboys game that was on in the burger place. There were two other couples there, both Broncos fans, so it was a fun time. When we finally got back to the hotel, it was once again late (8:30 EST), but we walked over to Straw Hat Pizza and had dinner - again without incident!

Monday we went to the coast. It didn't work out as well, since with the government shutdown, we couldn't access the public beach to go dip my toes in the ocean. And then we drove on Highway 1, which is long, winding, and on the side of a cliff. Not my idea of a good time. Regardless, sharing the day with John made it worthwhile. We were back to the hotel a little earlier, and took a 2 mile walk around Fairfield, picking up some local caches and eating once again at the Pizza Place.

Today we check out, drop off our luggage at the Berkeley City Club, our car at the airport and figure out how we get back to Berkeley (on BART, I believe).

Staycation, part 2

Thursday arrived far too fast. We started painting - natural straw over steel blue, and then made a quick trip to Brockport to try and be a FTF on a cache at the Seymour Library. No luck, and as it turned out, once again the posted coordinates were way off. While we were there, we checked in the Sherwood Williams Paint store for a border and ended up checking out a book to look further. No luck either there or online, though. For dinner, we ended up going to the Black North Inn, up at Point Breeze (good food!), and then over to Golden Hill State Park where we picked up one more cache - and starting looking for 2 more until we realized that it was too far through the woods to make it back in before dusk, and turned around halfway.


Friday we decided to check locally for a border, and as we were walking out of Cases, we came across 4 packages in the discount bin ($.99 each). They couldn't have been more perfect, if we had sought them out! So we went back to Brockport to return the book, and while we were there, we worked on the Oldies by Goodies challenge, which involved finding the 10 oldest caches in our area. 3 were in Northhampton Park, so we spent a few hours hiking there. Found 2/3, along with several others in the park, but by the time we finished (the day was in the 80s), I had gotten dehydrated and was in a lot of pain (hip), so when we got out of the woods, I just crashed at a picnic table and John was a sweetie and walked the last .25 mile and brought back the car and picked me up. At that point, I didn't care if I ever went geocaching again!

By Saturday, we had finished up the painting (ceiling and walls), and Gail came over to help me hang border. Here is the end result, which I am very happy with:

We rested, picked up the last items we needed in Lockport, along with 2 quick caches and that was our day.

Sunday - last day of staycation - we went to the RocGeo picnic in Durand Eastman Park. John had smoked a pork shoulder the day before, so we brought pulled pork and slider buns. Won a raffle prize of Tilley Hat puzzle solutions, and did a bunch of caches on the way home.

All in all it wasn't a bad staycation at all. Accomplished a major project at home, and did a lot of geocaching!

Staycation

On 8/17, I realized that summer was almost over and I hadn't taken a vacation. And, it turned out that my boss told me I was entitled to 5 days of comp time for my recent trip to Illinois, so I promptly took the next week off. This is what we did:
On Saturday, we went down to Allegany State Park to see Adrienne and family, and geocached the Amish Geotrail on the way down. Went to 10 caches, ended up with 10 buttons and a geocoin. We ended up spending about 45 minutes in Allegany, but that was fine. No one seemed particularly interested in us being there.Biggest caching day ever (23 caches).

Sunday, we started removing wallpaper from the kitchen, so the pink fruit and flowers are no more. We discovered the 24 caches we thought we had done yesterday were actually only 23, with one duplicate, so we got up early enough to get one before the 24 hour time frame was up (I have to get John a geocoin for 24 in 24 now). Other than that, we went over to Batavia, picked up a few there, had dinner at Applebee's and bought paint supplies.
Monday meant washing walls and finishing stripping wallpaper, and in the afternoon we went to look at some cabinets over in Spencerport. Natural oak, 16 cabinets for $1975. We passed on this deal, but left our name and number with the owner (Larry Almeter), who is a carpenter who redoes kitchens and resells the cabinets he removes at a good price. We only found one cache this day, since the just published cache that was nearby turned out not to be nearby (coordinates were wrong). We took the boys with us to Spencerport (A1 and A2), and stopped at a cemetery. Alden kept acting nutso, climbing trees, etc., and John was being grumpy and send "enough", so that was the end of that.
Tuesday, we started priming the kitchen and the boys came over and worked outside removing brush from behind the house, and spent the night after another quick trip to Batavia (where we found an alien cache), so they could get an early start the next morning.
Wednesday we all went to Byron to do a few caches down the old Westshore Railroad bed, and by the Chapel Rd. fishing hole.

Alden got to climb trees this time with impunity, and acquired the geotag of TreeBoy. Aeddon became Cryptomancer. A good time was had by all.

Health update

Earlier this summer, I had what I can only describe as a health scare. Shortness of breath, extreme fatigue, mystery pain. The first cardiologist gave me this terrible diagnosis when I failed my first stress test. Diastolic dysfunction - not good. Not happy with that diagnosis, I got a second opinion, and another test - this time a cardiac catheterization. This showed no blockage, and the new cardiologist (Mishra - who John has been seeing for years), posited that it could be a combination of stress, inactivity and unhealthy lifestyle (that is to say fat, out of shape, and stressed out). One of the first things I did was to drop my summer class and "step out" of school, for the time being. My stress level immediately went down. It also freed up time so that I began to be more active at home (I still need to work on my activity level at work, though.) John and I started geocaching, which meant hiking, and the more caches we found, the better I began to feel. Looking back, it's hard to believe I'm the same person I was 3 months ago - I feel that much better!

Adventures in Geocaching

We learned about geocaching when we went to the 2013 Cornell Geospatial In-service. Although many of our classmates geocached in the evenings, we didn't participate due to my health at the time. But when we got home, we tried it out, with the Culvert cache : STGT:CLO12:Medina Culvert, being our first find. Looking back, it is interesting to see that this is a Seaway Trail cache, although we didn't know it, or have the booklet at the time. We'll have to go back to get it punched tomorrow.

Our next caching trip was out to Indiana to drop off the 2 youngest grandsons. Coming home we hit 7 caches in one day, although John practically had to carry me out of the woods at the John White Game Farm. Since that time I've lost a few more pounds, and the more we cache, the better shape I find myself in. 

So, for the adventure part, I guess I should tell the story of looking for a cache on the canal in Albion this week. We were in the woods when we heard a splash and a scream. A little girl, probably around ten years old, had been fishing on the other side of the canal with her father when she fell in. John and I ran out of the woods, and John was ready to jump in and swim across the canal to rescue her when her father jumped in. The only problem was the canal on the south side is concrete walls, and not easy to get out of. I yelled to the father to stay there with the girl, we would come over and pull them out. A fisherman (Pedro) saw that there were cables hanging from the wall, and told the father to grab onto those and the three of us ran over to them. (I should note that a year ago John couldn't have run, and a month ago I couldn't have done it either). John and Pedro got there first, and pulled the little girl (Natasha) out, and I wrapped her in my Colts hoodie. Then John helped told the father to swim to the barge and helped him out there. Perhaps the story would have ended fine without us, but I know the canal to be unforgiving, and I'm glad we were there to help out.

The next day was John's birthday, and we went east to Sodus Point to do some of the Seaway Trail caches including Chimney Bluffs State Park. Wow, that was a tough one. It was about a one mile hike, uphill both ways. Up quite a steep hill! My legs still ache. Our last cache of the day was at Casey Park, and it was another uphill climb. But, we made it, and I can see how going caching has helped me to become healthier and more fit, so I hope we continue this for years to come. And just wait until I tell John that our very first cache was a Seaway Trail one, and we didn't even know it!

4th of July

It was a great 4th of July. Nothing fancy, just time spent with the family. Jess, John and I went to the Rochester Public Market in the morning, even though it turned out not to be open. There were 2 vendors there, so we got the few items that we were looking for, and then we headed for Sam's before stopping at Lowe's and Wegmans and coming home to finish up prep for the picnic at Gail's. At 2 Corey, Jess, Adrienne and family, and Brandon joined Marge, Lynn and Gail for a cookout that included baked ziti (Adrienne), hots, burgers (with TN bbq/bourbon sauce - us), sausage and tuna, salt potatoes, panzanella (me), brownies and glorified rice (Gail). After lunch the kids and John swam for awhile and then we sat in the garage while the boys played Magic. I think we left around 6; Brandon having traded his truck to A & W, who left earlier - brought the boys over to our house to eat more and play some more Magic. It was just wonderful to spend so much relaxing time with my family - this whole visit with Corey and Jess has been just wonderful and relaxing. I feel so much less stressed this summer than I have felt in years!

Really? What was that about?

Tomorrow, we leave to go to Cornell for 3 days worth of GIS/GPS training. Due to poor planning on my part, we will be leaving from Brockport at 3PM or later, because I inadvertently scheduled journal training for 2PM. So, in order to feel less stressed about it, I decided to try and have everything ready and in the car tonight. I packed the suitcase, kept out my morning pills, and suggested that John do the same. He has two glucose meters, so I thought he could take his current one with, and leave his older one out to use tonight and in the morning. He disagreed with the idea, but gave it to me anyway. Then he freaked out about how I didn't trust him to manage his own healthcare, and how he manages his conditions better than I manage mine. I have no idea where this came from, or why he felt it necessary to humiliate me in front of Brandon, but there you have it.

5/24/2013

Today was first day of compressed work week, which I swear I am doing this summer - no Fridays! We started out early and went to the Public Market because it was Flower City Days, and I wanted to look for some more heirloom tomatoes, but it was cold and rainy when we got there, and very few vendors. Fail. Stopped at Sam's and picked up some things. Then we came back, and dropped eggs off to Laura, and checked on whether my textbook for the class arrived yet. Nope, fail again. But things looked up from there. Good visit with Vinay, where I got all my questions answered (No, yes, no, walking -gradually building up as tolerance grows; we think so - but we'll continue to monitor to be sure; stress test with echo; maybe; NO; changing lifestyle; didn't ask). We also talked about my discomfort with the URMC practice, and he recommended that I try someone else (Mishra) instead. He changed my script from the two I was on, to one different one which should do both. I left feeling like "here was a plan, someone would be monitoring me, and things might be looking up". In fact, I felt better than I had in several weeks, so some of it must be due to a more positive outlook.

Lunch with John at the Boardwalk, I ordered a side salad and a turkey/cranberry wrap. It was really good. Some quiet time at home with John in the afternoon, including a nap, and then stopped by my sister's before picking up my new medication. Finally, we stopped at Old Mill Run and ate dinner, where I had (don't faint) a chicken salad and a side of mac-n-cheese. Of course, I really didn't eat much of the chicken salad because I was pretty full after the mac-n-cheese, but the meal was very good, and we will definitely be back.

All in all, a very good day, and mentally, I'm feeling fine!

Fun with the grandsons

Saturday, John and I worked at BLAM, a free faith-based youth event for grades 6-12, and invited Aeddon and Alden to come out to it. I didn't think they would come, with the whole faith part, but the words LAZER tag sealed the deal. We ran a GeoCaching site, and the boys went to the various options that included GeoCaching, Mini Golf, Crafts (Aeddon skipped that), LAZER Tag and a bounce house obstacle course. They had a surprisingly good time, didn't burst in to flames when the youth pastor talked about Jesus for 20 minutes, and (Aeddon) actually said "thanks for taking us, and convincing mom and dad to let us go." The time we have available to make these special memories pass quicker and quicker as they age, and become understandably less interesting in hanging with the old folks, so days like today - what a gift!

To top it off, we decided to go to the drive-in for a record setting 2x in one weekend, and mentioned it to the boys when we were taking them home. Aeddon wanted to see Star Trek, Alden wanted to see Iron Man 3. Since Star Trek was on the agenda for last night, Aeddon went with us, and we were treated to several hours in his company. Normally quiet and slightly withdrawn on the increasingly rare occasions he's here after school, he was gregarious and companionable, and I saw glimpses of the little boy he once was, and the man he will become.

Day 2 post diagnosis

I'm just beginning to really process the news, and start wondering where I go from here. When John was diagnosed with diabetes, they sent us to 15 hours of classes. I could use some class time now, to learn about this. I think I will develop a list of questions I need answers to, and maybe email Vinay to see if he would be willing to set down with us and discuss them.

1. Is this something I will die from?
2. Is it something I will have to deal with the rest of my life?
3. Is it something I can cure (?) with good behavior?
4. What type of exercise is appropriate?
5. Is this a definitive diagnosis, or possibly the start of another medical merry-go-round?
6. What were the test results that firmly informed this diagnosis?
7. Could it be something else?
8. Is there any chance at all that this could turn out to be Constrictive Pericarditis?
9. What does this mean for my life going forward? 
10. How much is actually known about this disease?

Where do we go from here?

It's been a day

Yesterday, I went back to the cardiologist for my 2nd stress test. This one I actually made it all the way to the 6 minute mark. He tells me I likely don't have a blockage, so it's unlikely I'll have a heart attack anytime soon. Good thing. The not as "good thing" is that I have high blood pressure and diastolic heart failure. See Diastolic Heart Failure at WebMD for some basic information. I am on a low salt diet, 2 diuretics, and a weigh myself and take my blood pressure daily regime. Also, lose weight and exercise more, of course. I'm not 100% sure what the prognosis is, right now I'm just trying to wrap my head around the diagnosis and wondering whether it is correct, or whether this could be the beginning of another medical roller coaster ride, where we see specialist after specialist and try to get a correct diagnosis, like we did for John 10 years ago. Enough about this for now.

I had a difficult conversation with my boss yesterday. Difficult because I didn't know how to broach the subject, and it was a very emotional subject (see above), but one that I desperately needed to have. So I sent Bob an email and said, "Come see me in my office when you have a few minutes." He looked a little surprised when I told him to come in, shut the door and have a seat, and then prefaced the conversation with "this is a difficult conversation for me to have, so I wanted to do it in my office, not yours." Bob (looking confused): OK. Me: Bob, you are for the most part a great boss, but right now I need you to be a little more (did I say hands on? involved?) with me. For example, when I go into your office and ask you if I look okay, healthwise, you should ask why. And why I tell you I am having a stress test, I need you to ask me about it. Bob: Have you ever had a stress test? Me: Yes, about a month ago, and I mentioned it to you then. I am having another one this afternoon. Bob: OK.... and so we talked, about my concerns, about his "cardiac event", about the fact that he is a little desensitized to mentions of stress tests because he has them fairly frequently. Anyway, when he left 10-15 minutes later, I felt a little better, like I'd be less likely to (okay, maybe I'm being a drama queen here) die in my office and no one would notice. And today, first thing, Bob came in and asked me how it went. Hurrah.

Other conversations of the day. I met with Frank this morning. I had met with him 2 years ago to discuss whether an MLS degree or an MBA would serve me better. He didn't hesitate to say the MBA. And here I am 2 years later at another crossroads. Do I double up on my courses to finish my degree in one year, or keep at this pace at finish in 2? I do not know. I can see pros and cons for both. Doing it in one year, gets it over quicker, but costs more money and is more work and is more stressful. But, in theory, it opens more opportunities to me, as well. What I really hoped to accomplish from this meeting was really to get on Frank's radar when opportunities arose, and plant some seeds that might produce a cash crop in the future. I felt like I accomplished those things.

I also spoke with Pat today. After talking Digital Commons for a bit, we talked about Bob as a boss (I shared with her my conversation from yesterday), and the frustrations of being a professional in the library - no career track, etc. I feel like I work in a superstar department, and Pat is a fabulous example of it. It was really good just to be able to talk to someone who was facing many of the same issues I am, and get her perspective on it.

One last tidbit. A few days ago, I took a photo of the new SMART board, with students using it, and posted it to Facebook. Almost immediately, Logan responded by email. I didn't open it, expecting it to be some criticism. Today, I was feeling pretty good, so I decided to open it, what they heck - right?
"Great photo- thanks!" OK, I felt pretty silly about that one. :-)

Feeling restless

Now that the Spring 2013 semester is behind me, I can see the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. 5 more classes! Cases in Tech Management, Strategic Planning, Management Information Systems are my 3 required classes, and then I have 2 more to complete my concentration, which is Business Management. I'm leaning towards an Empire State class in Change Management and possibly an internship. Right now I feel at loose ends, trying to decide whether to take the last five classes at my leisure (meaning 1 per trimester), in which case we are looking at a completion date of May 2015, or doubling up and having it done in one year.

The pros for continuing at the same pace are less stress and less costly. The pros for doubling up are getting it out of the way sooner, and possibly being able to get a better paying job. That is the big unknown. I wish that I had some idea whether this is going to pay off economically for me. And, if it will require me to leave the college to reap the benefits.

I am going to meet with Frank next week to try and get his take on this. I'm not sure he'll be able to tell me anything, but he's willing to talk to me, so I'm going to do it. If I decide to speed the process up, there are several things I need to do next week:

1. Contact Excelsior to get a transcript sent to Empire State College, so I can take a second course this summer (Change Management).
2. Fill out the petition to be able to take this second course (from another school), and get it approved.
3. Get enrolled in the Empire course and get textbooks, etc.
4. Pay the bill!
5. I also need to decide whether I am going to try and do an internship, and if so, where. My initial thought was to do it in Institutional Research, but now I'm wondering if I could do it for the IEL building the faculty database. 

Decisions, decisions!

Feeling good, feeling bad.

Home from our weekend getaway. It was so nice to spend some down time with John. We went to the Lake Erie Wine and Cheese wine trail event. I took Friday off, so we did half the wineries then, and finished up on Saturday. So for the most part, we beat the crowds.

Healthwise - I felt good for much of the week, in fact I thought that perhaps the problem had resolved itself. Sadly, today the "bad" feeling is back with a vengeance. I can't even really describe  what the actual problem is, just a sense of unwellness? Incredible exhaustion. I don't know. John pointed out that this seemed to be triggered by the contentious (my words, not his) discussion we had on the way home, when I suggested that perhaps he was feeling well enough now to consider looking for a job.

When we got home, I emptied suitcases, and did the laundry. Then I laid down and took a nap (at 10AM), and when I woke up I could hear him outside working on removing the rock garden in the front. I went up to help him, and after 10 minutes he looked at me and told me to go in, I looked terrible. I feel weak and exhausted.

And the answer is...

Diastolic dysfunction or I'm overweight and out of shape. I think it started out being the latter, and then the cardiologist started talking about the former. I had a stress test today (which I failed - only made it to 2:53 before my heart rate was 163), and I go back in one month for a follow up. In the meantime, he has prescribed spironolactone (diuretic) to see if this helps. John is quite upset, not sure whether it's because he didn't see the doctor with me, (apparently not how things are done there), or he's scared, or he has no clue and thinks that I'm faking it? He asked what the diagnosis was, and I told him, whether he'll look it up and find out more remains to be seen. And to be honest, it might be better not to go there, just yet. No point looking for trouble, when it comes looking for you, it's hard to hide.

Not feeling well

I have to get a doctor's appointment this week. Time to take my head out of the sand, and either find out the bad news or be really relieved, and feel silly. What's up? Ever since January, I've been experiencing shortness of breathe, and tightness in my chest - especially when walking outside in the cold. Have I developed cold weather asthma, or something worse? Stay tuned for an answer soon.

Remembering Uncle Bill

This weekend we went to Pennsylvania to honor and lay to rest John's Uncle Bill, seen here in the center of the photo. Today would have been his 68th birthday. I'd like to share some stories about the group in this photo, (L-R: Judi, Bill, Chuck).

Bill and Judi met at an airport, where she was a passenger in distress, and he was a manager for US Airways. He helped her out, and later followed up with her to make sure things worked out. It was the beginning of a long and loving relationship of about 15 years.

Bill was very close to a cousin, Mary Ellen, who I met at the funeral. She gave a beautiful eulogy, telling the story of how she and Bill kept in touch over the years, and one time when he called to chat, her husband said she was in the hospital, recovering from cancer. Bill immediately took vacation time, and flew from CA to NJ to spend several days visiting her in the hospital. Before he left, he took off his (St. Christopher's)? medal and put it on her, and told her to wear it as until she was feeling better, and he would be with her while she recovered. She did recover, and wore it for a full year.

The man to the right of Bill in the photo, is his older brother, Chuck. Chuck, upon hearing that Bill was very ill, earlier this year, left his home in Texas, and flew up to PA to help Judi care for Bill in the final month of his life. As much as might have liked to be able to help him get better, that was not to be. But, I believe, he provided a great service of love to both Judi and Bill, and helped make his remaining time and his passing more peaceful and comfortable.

They are great people, and even greater role models. Much love to all.

Kim

Things that are keeping me busy this spring

1. 4H: 3 meetings a month, and I'm doing most of the planning. We've done Public Presentations, and are working on planting seeds for our gardens. Aeddon and Alden joined John and I on an outing to the Orchid Show at the Buffalo Botanical Gardens. Alden is proud of being able to set the timer on the camera and be part of this photo. Don't you think he did a nice job?
2. School: This semester is Managing New Product Design and Development. 4 components to each module. The obligatory discussion forum, with its first post protocol (you can't see any posts until you've made one); an ongoing group project to design a new product; reading about 150 pages from the book; and homework assignments which consist of answering any 2 questions at the end of the chapters.
3. Finally, work. Digital Commons stuff is going well, with several new collections under way, including: the College of 2025, EOP newsletters and two new journals - Philosophic Exchange and Journal of Literary Onomastics - both in the design stage! I'm hosting 2 conferences, the 2013 Diversity Conference and 2013 Graduate Research Conference. 
4. Grants: Besides the two technology grant applications I just completed (a new scanner for ILL, with Logan, and a 3D scanner to go with the 3D printer we are getting); I am also trying to get a Conversations in the Disciplines grant to host a conference on Using Institutional Repositories to host/promote Open Access Journals (or something like that). It is a very involved grant application, and I am trying to get Josh Beatty, Ben Hockenberry, and Marc Dewey to join me. 
5. Webinar: In early April, I will be co-presenting a bepress Digital Commons webinar on  Institutional Repositories Supporting Community Engagement, Part 2: Regional Research at the College at Brockport (SUNY) and University of of Massachusetts, Amherst.  Institutional repositories can play a key role in a college or university’s mission to serve the greater community. At the College at Brockport (SUNY), Kim Myers views the repository as an ideal venue for supporting and sharing regional, community-oriented scholarship. SUNY Brockport has long been a center for Great Lakes research, but for years this valuable research was housed primarily on one professor’s computer. Working with Professor Joseph Makarewicz, Kim has created an IR collection to archive and disseminate these research articles, government documents, community newsletters, and technical reports. 
6. Article for
   Library Publishing Toolkit
   We are looking for experts and those who have learned on the job to write articles about their experiences with a library publishing program, service or project. These experiences could be a range of activities from working with authors on copy editing and copyright issues to digitization of archival materials or utilizing print on demand services. All of these activities comprise the new role libraries are filling–and we want to hear about it.
   Specific areas of interest include:
   

• What programs and services are offered by libraries to writers?
• Does your library help users develop curated content to publishing in either in print or digital form?
• What strategies are being used to select items for digitization?
• Has your library identified unique print materials to be digitized and potentially sold?
• Has your library developed partnerships with other agencies to support digital publishing?

• The compilation of these articles will become the Library Publishing Toolkit. This open access publication will share a broad range of publishing strategies and projects from both academic and public libraries. It will serve as an essential guide and set of workflows for libraries of various types to get started or improve efficiency with publishing services. 

7. Finally, there is the June 2013 SUNYLA presentation with Josh Beatty to prepare for. Our premise is going to be how two different colleges use a similar tool (Digital Commons) in different ways to accomplish their goals.

Oh, and maybe do an internship this summer with Institutional Research. And try and talk my boss into a promotion.

That's whats been keeping me busy, besides the usual and not so usual family things. What have you been up to?

Brrr!

It's been more than a week of bitter cold weather (during which I only worked 2 days - with MLK Day off and two more with a sinus infection). Spring, hurry up - I'm tired of all this cold. But to be honest, better cold than snow to drive in.

Monday brings the students back to school, and the new semester will be underway. This semester's MBA class is Managing New Product Design and Development, with Naren Peddibhotla again. Hopefully, a more successful class than ENT585 was.

So, no more procrastinating, there are class discussions to post, and homework to do. Laundry is washing, but dishes are dirty. Chicken is in the refrigerator waiting for soup, stew or other use. So, as Alden likes to say - That's all folks!

Where did the time and people go?

I finally got John to set up the spare printer/scanner for me, so I can attempt to make some headway in the hundreds of photos I've accumulated over the years. Here is one from around 1966, with a group of kids from my 4th grade class, and my sister Carol. I recognize Cindy Bloom (Baker), Laurie Fulwell (Carpenter), new Paul (Stanovich) and old Paul (Heiliganthaler), and Kathy Perkins (Colson). I'm not sure about the boy in the plaid jacket (Charles Compton, maybe?) or the girl with the long hair. Of all these people, I only know where a few are these days. Where does the time go?