Jessamyn

I live in the neighborhood where most kids in the county come to trick or treat, primarily because there's a downtown event earlier in the day and the streets are empty and houses are close together. I've been giving out candy here on and off (with friends before I lived here) for nineteen years. Here's my by-the-numbers report from this year.

It was cold but not raining or snowing which made for a good/busy evening. We had our first trick or treater a bit before 5 and ran out of candy about 7

Friday afternoon reminder to not empty your inbox at the expense of someone else's. I live in a neighborhood that gets absolutely mobbed on Halloween and I am up for it! I have a porch to decorate, a costume to assemble, and bags and bags of candy to organize. And I lose an hour on Sunday. I need that hour. It's no wonder I am not too concerned about my inbox.

Image credit: Florida Memory on Flickr Commons

https://flickr.com/photos/floridamemory/10573278664/

The first word sent on the Internet were sent on this day in 1969 between UCLA and Stanford. That word was "lo" because they meant to say "login" but the computer crashed.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/meet-the-professor-who-was-there-when-the-internet-was-turned-on

Just sent my library director a list of graphic design changes she should make to our new library email signature blocks (which she made on Canva).

Wanted to include this meme about why my specificity about font color and alignment is just part of my overall tech nerdiness, but I don't think she speaks meme.

Like everyone, I have a newsletter. Unlike everyone, it's on EmailOctopus and also available online without subscribing or, I think, logging in (lmk?). Latest issue is out today: good library news, library visiting, AI nonsense. If you want to subscribe, there's a link in the footer. I'll also always post it here.

https://medium.com/tilty/tilt-103-still-on-the-horse-the-race-is-improving-3a1275753a0e

Drop-In Time toots were popular this week. A lot of people (relatively speaking) asked about how the setup worked. This blog post which I'd written in 2018 which is actually pretty accurate to what I do today with a few changes:

• I work at the public library now (and once a month at a senior living place)
• I will occasionally do a house call (library will pay for this) or email help
• we no longer have a local adult ed program or a coffee shop where you can run a tab

https://www.librarian.net/stax/4841/ask-a-librarian-how-does-drop-in-time-actually-work/

Friday afternoon reminder to not empty your inbox at the expense of someone else's. I'm currently engaged in one of Vermont's mostly widely enjoyed competitive sports: not turning your boiler/furnace on until you absolutely have to. My bedroom has a heat pump and it is fine. The kitchen has a pellet stove and it is fine. I am typing in another room and I've only got so much time on these fingers. Have a comfortable weekend.

image credit: Preus Museum, on Flickr Commons

https://www.flickr.com/photos/56434318@N05/32856644152/

Drop-In Time is a time where I hang out in a room at the library with a big table and a lot of chairs and help people with their technology problems for two and a half hours. These are their stories. It was cold today so I was warming up some water for tea and by the time I got upstairs at three past the hour there were four people waiting for me. Whoops!

Bob and Kathy had a Medicare prescription drug plan that wasn't going to be around next year so they needed help finding a new one.

Librarian.net: Why half the internet was broken yesterday, the two issues

Unsolicited tech advice about the two issues (PHP, compromised certificates) that, separately, each pose some security risks and are worth attending to.

https://www.librarian.net/stax/6002/why-half-the-internet-was-broken-yesterday-the-two-issues/

It was more like graupel but I definitely saw snow outside this morning. #FirstSnow

Friday afternoon reminder to not empty your inbox at the expense of someone else's. I've sorted out my car situation and now just have to do the endless twiddling of my car's settings so it's not doing things I don't want it to. I'm sure you can relate. One thing I don't want it to do is read email. Hope you have a good weekend adjusting things just the way you like them.

Image credit: State Library of New South Wales, on Flickr Commons

https://www.flickr.com/photos/29454428@N08/6456366655/

If BIPM can get rid of leap seconds in UTC, then the US should be able to abolish Daylight Savings Time.

https://www.bipm.org/en/cgpm-2026/resolution-5

#TimeTimeTime