Cindy is in Haiti for four weeks working as a communications officer for a not-for-profit called HelpAge. She [...]]]> Did you know there are Christmas decorations hanging above the ruined streets of Haiti? That is what I learned this morning while reading the most recent entry from my friend and colleague Cindy’s blog, Dispatches from Haiti.

Cindy is in Haiti for four weeks working as a communications officer for a not-for-profit called HelpAge. She visits nursing homes and homeless camps and reports what she sees both back to HelpAge and on her personal blog.

I’ve kept up with Cindy’s blog from the beginning, but I sat down with my mother this morning and reread the whole thing over coffee.

When we finished, I said, “I should really put a link to this on my blog.” My mother said, “Why isn’t this isn’t on your blog yet? You should post a link. Today.”

My mother is normally not so forthright, so I decided I had better follow her instructions.

There you have it – my mother and I highly recommend you read Dispatches from Haiti. It is a human interest story, and far more interesting than any news story you will read about the earthquake recovery effort. After a few posts you will feel like you, too, have witnessed tent living and lived through aftershocks.

I took an older version of this quiz about a year ago, but by the time this blog started it was old news. [...]]]> I’ve mentioned I love an internet quiz. What I really love is an intelligent internet quiz, like this one from Pew Internet & American Life on Internet “typology” called Where Do You Fit?

I took an older version of this quiz about a year ago, but by the time this blog started it was old news. Pew reran it last week, giving me a chance to rehash.

For the second year running, I am classified as an “Omnivore,” which means I use an “extensive suite of technology tools to do an enormous range of things online,” with approximately 6 devices (not quite accurate in my case).

Take the quiz (it’s short) and take a look at the chart at the end of the results page, which breaks down each “typology” by age, number of gadgets, and home connectivity. That’s all—no analysis, just fun.

Despite my certain answer to the question, I couldn’t resist this quiz I ran across while looking for business writing guides (via Business [...]]]> I know I’m not (thanks for the genes, Dad). I spent the first three weeks at my current job with a broken spell checker, and I can feel the horror of that discovery.

Despite my certain answer to the question, I couldn’t resist this quiz I ran across while looking for business writing guides (via Business Writing Blog). I am a sucker for online quizzes.

I was expecting to fail with gusto, but then the examples were easier than I expected, and I managed to get more than half right (14 out of 23). Technically, failure, but not bad…

I know there are some grammar and spelling fiends reading this blog—how did you do?

It wasn’t just my recent trip to Argentina that drew me in. [...]]]> I ran across this Virginia Quarterly Review article Friday night (via kottke.org) about a tiny town in Argentina with a large albino population. Even though I was dead tired and the article was quite long, I read the whole thing, riveted to my chair.

It wasn’t just my recent trip to Argentina that drew me in. A secluded town, genetic anomalies, suspicious locals—there’s nothing not to like about Aicuña. Was this an essay? Fiction? Someone trying to pass off a story as nonfiction? It doesn’t really matter, I’m happy to believe it’s true.

Impressed by the writing and feeling the need to immediately subscribe to VQR, I clicked on a link to the home page and found myself diverted to a map that pinpoints each South America article using Google Earth. (Which distracted me from shelling out money for yet another magazine to sit in a pile on the kitchen table—probably a good thing.)

As a daily participant in the fight for media adaptation to technology, I’m so impressed. This is a great example of what publications should be doing, if somewhat unexpected on a website without an article RSS feed.

I’m unfamiliar with the web comic xkcd, but Advantages to Dating Librarians has been circulating the library blogosphere for a few days, and has [...]]]> They are few and far between, but good librarian jokes do make it into the comics. Pearls Before Swine, Dilbert, and Frazz have had a few good runs, and there’s always Unshelved.

I’m unfamiliar with the web comic xkcd, but Advantages to Dating Librarians has been circulating the library blogosphere for a few days, and has already graced Beth’s blog.

For those of you who haven’t seen it, be sure to take a look—book people, librarians, and nerds (plus the extra-special who are all three) should find it amusing.

And while you’re at it, be sure to hover over the image: “Don’t expect any leniency on late fees, though.”

Enjoy!