the pod bay door

:: Rita Vine at Sitelines draws attention to The 46 Best-ever Free Utilities, compiled by Ian “Gizmo” Richards, editor of Tech Support Alert. Free utilities covered included best web browser, anti-virus software, adware/spyware/scumware remover, spam filter for the average user (and one for the experienced user), best BitTorrent client, FTP client, etc etc. The list extends to 64 utilities if you subscribe to Gizmo’s monthly newsletter, Support Alert, which I just did myself.

:: I’ve been in Calgary since Wed night, attending the CLA Conference. Today, the weather turned cool and rainy again, as it was about a week earlier, when I was in Toronto in the sweltering heat, humidity and smog. It was drizzling all day, eventually evolving into a two-hour torrential downpour, while I was attending a party this evening in a large tent at the Canada Olympic Park. A number of flood watches are in effect for southern Alberta and regions around Calgary.

The conference is I do not attend generally, but I enjoyed it a lot, including the panel on which I was a participant.

:: I am back from Toronto and Kitchener. Tomorrow I drive to Calgary to attend the CLA Conference. The week in Ontario was fun, rewarding, and very busy. It was also stiflingly hot and muggy, with temperatures hovering between 30-35C every day (86-95F), high humidity, with smog alerts issued daily in Toronto. I had a wonderful visit with my Great Auntie Anne, whom I had not seen since I was too young to remember. I spent two days in Kitchener visiting my friends, Jason and Brenda, also a very nice and relaxing time. More on the trip later.

:: Interesting interactive quiz about Canada from the Globe and Mail, called What Canadians Think About Everything. I scored 14/20. Damn that heartbreak question.

:: With SLA over, it’s time for visiting. Tomorrow, I will meet my Dad’s first cousin, Susan, who is coming by the hotel around noon to take me to see her mother, my Great-Auntie Anne, whom I have not seen since probably the late 50s/early 60s. I spent this evening with my dear friend Alexis, who lives in Toronto and is working hard to make it in the entertainment industry (audition after audition…) We went for dinner at a restaurant with a lounge called Lexy, so I had to take a picture of her under the sign. Later we went for drinks at Montana’s, where her friend took a picture of us there. Finally, it was coffee at Starbucks, where she looked up at the CN Tower while we sipped our cuppas.

Alexis is the daughter of an old friend from Winnipeg who has lived in Calgary for many years. I hadn’t seen her since 2001, and we had planned to go for dinner on her 18th birthday in Calgary in February 2002, but a few days before, my 1990 Corolla was written off in the now infamous carport fire at my house. So we celebrated 3.5 years later, and had a great time. She is planning to go to McGill in August to study voice. I am proud of her determination and drive, love her and miss her dearly, and wish her the best of luck – she is a very special and dear friend. She has an amazing voice, and deserves much success after so many years of dedication and hard work honing her singing and acting skills. Watch for her in a soccer commercial, where she plays an Italian woman having shoe problems (or something like that, anyway); currently it’s playing on PPV sports channels in Canada, but may make it to cable soon.

:: Today is the last day of the SLA Conference in Toronto. It’s been interminably hot, and I’ve had four morning meetings in a row beginning at 0730, 0730, 0730 and 0700 hrs. I’ve had a good time, an exhausting time, it’s been great to see old friend, and make a few new ones. Anyway, I was leaving the final morning meeting an hour ago, and while walking towards the general conference meeting area, noticed a fellow conference attendee walking in the opposite direction towards me, apparently holding something in her hands. As I got closer, I realized that she was knitting while she was walking.

It’s bad enough that occasionally in sessions at library conferences, I notice the occasional audience member knitting, quietly adding to the staid, dowdy stereotype image of the librarian, that of loving only cats, books, and wool. But while they’re walking? Good grief. Can you say obsessed? Can you say addiction?

I have nothing against knitting (or cats or books for that matter.) Some of my dearest and best friends knit. My grandmother knitted me Christmas bells. But enough already! I’m sorry, but while attending and participating at a professional conference, knitting is inappropriate, and unprofessional.

That sound you hear is me banging my head against the desk in my hotel room.

:: Tomorrow morning I fly to Toronto to attend the SLA conference. After the conference ends on Wednesday, I will have dinner with my friend Alexis, whom I have not seen since 2001, and on Thursday, visit my Great Auntie Anne, whom I have not seen since I can’t remember, meaning the late 1950s in all likelihood. The same day, I will meet my friend Jason, and ride the train with him to Kitchener/Waterloo, and spend three nights with him and his partner, Brenda, before returning to Edmonton on June 12th.

The lawn is cut, the outdoor flower beds watered, now it’s time to pack.