Open Government Initiative: this just in, the internet is not a fad.

Ok, so I’m not actually saying that this is what it looks like when those in governmental posts decide to get involved with the internet, but funny stuff no? Less funny when you consider the news that Governmental agency sites will be integrating OpenID so that you can link your Facebook/LJ/Twitter/Google accounts to join the great wide message board known as “The US Government.” Now, I’m not opposed to people getting more involved in their government. Quite the opposite really; in case anyone forgot, we are a republic, a government predicated on the notion that the people give a rat’s ass. That means that you are SUPPOSED to call or write your representatives when they do something silly or that seems wrong. They may ignore you, if they’re taking Burke’s advice, but at the very least you will be telling them your concerns and they’ll (hopefully) be taken into account when decisions are made. At the very least, you’ll be in on the action.

Enter Open Government Initiative, which attempts to get the MySpace/Facebook generation to actually interact with government agencies instead of bitching and moaning on the blogosphere about stuff they should have known, and could have, but didn’t because it isn’t in the Facebook feed. Sorry, but the laziness of my generation gets my goat. There are positives to it though: more agencies are starting blogs to document what it is they actually do, more agencies are utilizing Web 2.0 technologies to disseminate information in a variety of formats and ways, and more agencies are actually going to “teamwork” models for some of their everyday business needs. Now does it need to be all team based? Certainly not, this isn’t customer service or a production line. However, having some collaboration built into the existing agency structure will be helpful for inter-agency collaboration– you’re guaranteed to have someone on staff who knows how to work in that environment.

However, there is one issue I have with the Open Government Initiative: it’s not actually a program. There are a lot of people out there claiming that the Open Government Initiative is a disappointing program because no one seems to be doing anything to help facilitate the stated goals. There’s a reason for that: it’s a memo! There is no force of law, there is no force of anything– at this point it’s a wish list, a statement of intent, a “FYI, guys, this will happen someday!” I’ve never heard of anyone being bound by something that was sent to them as a “hey, here’s an idea I had” memo. Why is it different for government agencies? I grant you, there is nothing glamorous about offering an XML format for the Federal Register, nor is there anything over the top about offering a spate of new websites that help with accessing government data in a digital, easy to manipulate format. Nevertheless, there is potential for a lot of good here. There’s also the potential for a lot of frustration, and that comes from the fora portion of the program.

If you watched the little video I posted earlier in this entry, I imagine it’s starting to make some sense as to why it’s there. Quite simply, the web is a wild and wooly place, full of people that run that gamut of humankind. Mensa has a website, sure, but then there’s /b/ I don’t think I have to tell anyone that the promise of “open collaboration” will draw all kinds. I think it’s also worth mentioning that they almost had to shut down the Phase 1 Public Collaboration site for the Initiative because of the volume of off topic posts, many of them politically charged. That’s the glorious fun of the Internet, you know, the completely untamed stream of consciousness. But ‘that’s no basis for a system of government’ and I think this is one of those classic “early adopter” scenarios– this is new for government, and that means there will be issues, and I don’t think anyone has built that into their ideas about the Initiative and what it can do.

New job, new challenges

New job started today, which in this economy is really good news almost all the way around. I say “almost” because, for the next six weeks, the hubby and I won’t see hardly any of each other, which is certainly hard after having been apart for two years and married for just over a month. There are practical reasons that make things almost but not quite perfect too. My hours are odd to say the least. I train 12n to 8:30pm, hubby gets home at midnight, and with the commute I can’t afford to stay up til he gets home. Aside from the loneliness factor, the major issue should be obvious: dinner!

Most people when they think quick dinner think of pasta, pizza, sandwiches, and the like. There’s one common thread: high carb, high gluten meals. With the very limited gluten free versions of these (which, incidentally, usually require way more cooking), gluten free people have to find other alternatives. Now, I could make dinner for myself and leave the gluten-y quick meals to my husband when he gets home, but, quite frankly, that would get old fast. The question then becomes, how do you cook a quick gluten free meal? I have several ideas, though I’d welcome any and all links/comments/feedback/ideas/cheers/jeers that ya’ll might have. Tonight I did something of a pan style shepard’s pie– pan fried potatoes with leftover veg and meat. Well, if there had been leftover veg– I went with the old standbys onions and mushrooms, Mediterranean seasonings, and left over garlic chicken. All and all? Pretty good. Later this week I’ll be doing a crock pot meat in simmer sauce– Trader Joe’s has several amazing Indian simmer sauces that are gluten free. That’s my “experimental” meal this week, having never used a crock pot before. Certainly the crock pot will come to my rescue almost every week night, but I always look for other options. Pan fried or sauteed dishes seem to be the way I’m going, usually with sides of rice or a salad (we’re so short on dishes we can’t have both!) I’m also considering fish, because fish fillets tend to be thinner (cook faster!) and versatile. I wonder if there are any others out there who have to do lots of quick meals that are also gluten free? And pretty much when you’re always tired?

Fish Tacos!

I grew up in San Diego, and of the many wonderful foods you can get there, fish tacos definitely rank as quintessential. You can get them as fast food, you can get them as gourmet, but they’re always crispy and fried,  beer battered and drizzled in a zesty white sauce and served with cabbage and a slice of lime. I haven’t had one since I left California, and I thought I’d never get to eat one again– from the beer to the flour in the batter, its a gluten-free’s worst nightmare.

I’ve already played around with substituting cornstarch as a thickener, and once as a coating for frying (in Orange Beef, which turned out well, though the batter fell off because AZ is so dry). I found a recipe claiming to be San Diego/Baja style fish tacos, and started to tinker. As it turns out, gluten free mix or all purpose flour can be subbed with fantastic results! My only mistake was not heating enough oil and putting the first batch in before the oil was well and truly hot.

Recipe:

Gluten Free Holiday!

I’m like most people– I seek fast food in comfort, I enjoy chocolate on a regular basis, and the best part of the holiday season is the number of sweets and treats that appear and fill the home with all those lovely scents and flavors. I’m approaching my first holiday season in my new home, and it also happens to be my first gluten-free holiday season. My hubby, who we’ll call DH– the common internet acronym for “Dear Husband”, has agreed (well, really it was his idea to begin with) to go gluten-free at home effective immediately. That means we have about two weeks to figure out a gluten-free Thanksgiving, and a little longer to figure out gluten-free Christmas. I’m still looking, but I’m going to use this post as my touch point for info on GF holiday recipes and ideas.

Also, found a great new site that’s really helpful when you’re looking for food on the go: http://glutenfreefastfood.com/. There’s a few menu’s on there now, not many, but the big ones. Surprisingly, food that should be gluten-free isn’t, which is sad news for me, but explains the random stomach pains I’ve been experiencing after fast food outings. Well worth a look if you find yourself trying to figure out what small portion of a fast food menu is gluten free.

“That’s it! New Directions!”

Obviously I haven’t been very good about keeping up this blog, and the main reason is the thousand and one life changes I’ve undergone. When I started this blog, I was halfway through grad school, had a good shot at getting a library job, and was preparing for marriage. I had no health problems except a bum ankle that flared up when it felt like it, and I felt good about life.

Since then, I have been diagnosed with a gluten intolerance, I had most of the wedding details fall apart and come back together, I have actually gotten married and moved cross-country, and am now trying to balance graduation, a new (non-library) job,  learning to cook gluten free, and manage a home. I realized as I looked for jobs that libraries are hurting, and that my immediate future had to lie elsewhere for economic reasons. And so, I propose a new direction to this blog. Libraries will still be part of it, as they are part of who I am. However, this blog will also tackle life as a newlywed, newly diagnosed gluten intolerant person. There’s more and more explanation of GF, but so little of it is “every day life.” So that’s where we’re going with this blog. I hope I’ll be able to share culinary triumphs, though don’t be suprised if there are more tribulations. So with that, we’ll take it again from the top!

BotW: Double Fold, with bonus discussion of e-textbooks

This is a book I kept meaning to put up, and just kept forgetting (tragic, I know). This was assigned reading for my preservation class, but despite that, it is definitely NOT a dry, dull textbook. Rather, it’s a fairly critical look at the way the concept of preservation has changed, and how it has a taken on a destructive tone. Double Fold, as a warning, is written by a novelist, so he does have a certain flair that usually isn’t present in non-fiction. Don’t let that fool you. It’s an interesting read, and while some episodes can be taken with a grain of salt, or dismissed as apocryphal,  the general message is still crystal clear: some methods of preservation are, to put it lightly, less preservation and more destruction.

It’s a very real issue that’s being faced currently with the trend toward digitization (which is really something I should write about). Everyone has jumped on the technology bandwagon, and really, who can blame them? The issue is, there are some places, like the school in Massachusetts, that have wholesale abandoned print as a medium. That seems silly to me, especially since you cannot expect grade-schoolers to buy a $300 e-reader just so they can participate in class. Some see it as the wave of the future, I see it as a very real example of punishing people because they’re poor. It won’t be just the poor that are affected if something like this were to become widespread. I wouldn’t described myself as “poor,” nor describe my family as “poverty stricken,” but I can tell you right now that the cost of school supplies was about the extent of our budget– if we had been required to purchase e-readers or laptops to read out textbooks, I quite simply would have gone without. It’s an extravagance at this point, a want, not a need. I worry about the kids who are currently in a place not dissimilar to the one I held growing up. Not poor, but not upper middle class, in a hardworking family that invests in minimal technology because they believe it is a tool with a place, rather than the end all be all of their existence. I had to do without jelly sandels in the mid 90’s, and it was a statement to everyone that I didn’t have enough money to be cool. Imagine the ridicule a child might go through if they can’t afford their digital textbooks.

The other issue with this is, of course, licensing. Who’s to say that the licensing fees won’t become so astronomical that the already shrinking school budgets will be all but obliterated. Of course, they won’t be; taxes, tuition, and fees will simply skyrocket. I don’t mean to be doom and gloom– there’s a lot of good that technology can do, but jumping on it too early won’t do anyone any good. Just ask all those Beta Max and HD-DVD owners.

BotW: The Art and Science of Keeping House

This week’s book is non-fiction, for a change of pace. I received it as a wedding present two weeks ago, and I haven’t really put it down since I unwrapped it! Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House is an amazing resource, whether you had to do chores growing up and know what you’re doing or you’ve never kept house before. It’s not a small book: over 800 pages without the index. Still, it’s not an unmanageable book. Everything is broken down to simple chapters, but the information is so good, and so worth having! I’m trying to read through it as a book, but in the mean time I also go through the index whenever questions come up. Need to know how often certain cleaning tasks should be done? How to get rid of pet smells? How to put together a home? What tools you need for a certain job? Yup, this book has it all!

Books vs. E-Reader

So I’m sure most people have heard by now about Barnes and Noble’s new e-Reader, the Nook. I admit, I’m very intrigued right off the bat. Now, its not a book in the traditional sense, which of course means I’m biased against it. There’s always something to be said for the feel of paper, the weight of a good book, the ability to scribble notes in the margins, and of course the ability to borrow a book without having to loan a $300 piece of electronics in the process. I’ve been looking at the Kindle for a while now, and I haven’t been impressed enough to shell out the $300 plus the cost of the e-books.

Enter the Nook, sort of any way. The Nook hasn’t been released yet, so I haven’t been able to actually see it or meet anyone who’s bought one. However, on paper, the specs are impressive. I like the native PDF support, the color screen, and the lend feature. The price is the same as the Kindle, so its a wash there. B&N also offers a wide variety of free e-books, and while I know they’re there to make you want to buy the Nook over the Kindle or the Sony e-reader, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing (or that it won’t work!). Gotta love the color screen too– I have issues with the black and white only because of the lack of contrast. I sort of wish I could test market it, though obviously tests are over. Oh well– maybe I can find someone who has one and take a look.

Side thought? I don’t think e-readers, even one that’s as cool as the Nook, are practical for libraries. The initial hardware cost would be astronomical, and you wanna talk about the digital divide? That’s one way to make it very clear– the people who are most likely to use the public library are people who need to use the computer and internet access, or who cannot afford to buy all the books they need. How will it help these users to spend years worth of budget on e-book readers?

So you know any good librarians?

I got this info from UA and from ALA, and thought I would pass it on. There is so little wide spread recognition of librarians that it’s great to see the NY Times and the Carnegie Foundation supporting this award! I’m really happy about the fact that it’s open to ALL librarians– sometimes public libraries are more visible than academic or school libraries, but it’s all important work.

Do you know any FANTASTIC librarians?

Nominations open today (August 18) for the 2009 Carnegie Corporation of New York/New York Times I Love My Librarian Award.

http://www.ilovelibraries.org/lovemylibrarian/home.cfm

The award invites library users to recognize the accomplishments of librarians in public, school, college, community college and university libraries for their efforts to improve the lives of people in their community. Nominations will run through October 9 and are being accepted online at http://www.ilovelibraries.org/ilovemylibrarian

Up to 10 librarians will be selected. Each will receive a $5,000 cash award, a plaque and a $500 travel stipend to attend an awards ceremony and reception in New York, hosted by The New York Times in December. In addition, a plaque will be given to each award winner?s library.

Each nominee must be a librarian with a master’s degree from a program accredited by the ALA in library and information studies or a master’s degree with a specialty in school library media from an educational unit accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. Nominees must be currently working in the United States in a public library, a library at an accredited two- or four-year college or university or at an accredited K-12 school.

Nominees will be judged by a selection committee based on quality of service to library users, demonstrated knowledge of the library and its resources and commitment shown in helping library users.

In 2008, Carnegie Corporation of New York awarded the American Library Association (ALA) $489,000 to support the award, which will continue annually through 2013. The award continues in the tradition of one The New York Times presented from 2001 to 2006.

Last year, more than 3,200 library users nationwide nominated a librarian, and 10 librarians received the award. For more information on last year’s winners, visit http://www.ilovelibraries.org/lovemylibrarian/home.cfm

The award is administered by ALA’s Public Information Office and Campaign for America’s Libraries, ALA’s public awareness campaign that promotes the value of libraries and librarians.

Carnegie Corp. of New York was created by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote ‘the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding.’ For more than 95 years, the foundation has carried out its founder’s vision of philanthropy by building on his two major concerns: international peace and advancing education and knowledge. Each year, the private grant-making foundation invests more than $100 million in nonprofit organizations to fulfill Mr. Carnegie’s mission, ‘to do real and permanent good in this world.’

The New York Times Company, a leading media company with 2008 revenues of $2.9 billion, includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 15 other daily newspapers, WQXR-FM and more than 50 Web sites, including NYTimes.com, Boston.com and About.com. The Company’s core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.

The American Library Association is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 65,000 members. Its mission is to promote the highest quality library and information services and public access to information.

Libraries meet 80s pop…

I stumbled across this a while ago on a random library blog and thought it was too funny not to pass along. Ok, so maybe it’s only funny to me, but I’ll take my chances!