Retiring Guy's Digest: 2014-12-21

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Are you ready for some excitement??!!

Luxuria Music Likes Its Novelty Tunes

The song, a curiosity that quickly wore out its welcome, spent 6 weeks -- 3 weeks at its peak position of #51 -- on the Billboard Hot 100 in April and May of 1968 I was a senior in high school at the time and vaguely remember it getting some nominal airplay on AM radio.

Related post:
Leave to Luxuria Music to dig up the most obscure -- some might say the most obnoxious -- music ever recorded. (8/23/2014)

Arrowhead Pawn and the Iron Pipeline

Tracing Gun Used to Kill 2 Officers, Officials Wind Up in a Familiar Spot. (The New York Times, 12/24/2014)

Welcome to Jonesboro, Georgia.

Although Arrowhead is nearly 900 miles away, New York police officials are familiar with the store, where on Tuesday a yellow, black and red sign in a neon-rimmed window promoted a $279.99 “super buy” for a 9-millimeter pistol. Another window featured a three-word advertisement, just above a notice of a Christmas sale, in bold, yellow letters: “We Buy Guns.”

As recently as 2010, Arrowhead was the leading out-of-state source of guns recovered by the New York Police Department in crimes, according to an article in The Daily News. Georgia is also part of the “Iron Pipeline,” a chain of Southern states with looser gun laws that is responsible for sending a steady stream of firearms into New York and other Northern cities, where there are many more restrictions on who can purchase a gun.

Source: Angels of Death

Page Duties and Position Descriptions

Apparently, I've developed a new reading interest: library board minutes.

Chippewa Falls Public Library

Minutes from the 11/13/2013 meeting are the most recent available at the library's website.

As noted in Administrative Essential 12 (Managing the Staff), [t]he board must approve a position description that reflects the necessary qualifications and duties of the job.

For every paid position in the library's organization chart, I would add. The board should also adopt a Volunteer policy

And the director or other supervisor should take a judicious approach to the phrase "other duties as assigned". Casting a wide net is not recommended.

Here's a Library Shelver example from the Franklin Public Library. (page 1 of 2)

Once upon a time.....

Related post:
D. R. Moon Memorial Library. (12/27/2014)

Source of Possible Role-Playing Exercise for LIS 712 (The Public Library)

D. R. Moon Memorial Library

Total Annual Hours of Operation (1996-2013) and Total Square Footage (2000-2012) of Wisconsin Public Libraries: Calumet County

Public libraries in Calumet County:

Source: Wisconsin Public Library Service Data

Open House for New Holstein Library's Solar Energy System. (New Holstein Utilities, 2011.)
Solar Panel Information. (New Holstein Public Library)

Manitowoc-Calumet Library System

Related posts:

Adams County. (12/22/2014)
Ashland County. (12/23/2014)
Barron County. (12/24/2014)
Bayfield County. (12/25/2014)
Brown County. (12/26/2014)
Buffalo County. (12/26/2014)

Ozaukee County WI: Public Access Internet Computers (1999-2013) and Print Serial Subscriptions (1996-2013)

2010 population: 86,395

Public libraries in Ozaukee County

Cedarburg Public Library
U. S. S. Liberty Memorial Library, Grafton
Frank L. Weyenberg Library of Mequon-Thiensville
W. J. Niederkorn Library, Port Washington
Oscar Grady Library, Saukville

This line-graph series is the result of my wondering if there's any pattern to the number of print serial subscriptions held by public libraries in relation to the increasing number of public access Internet computers provided by public libraries since 1999. (Earliest year for which Wisconsin statistics are available.)

Note: The 1996, 1997, 1998 Wisconsin public library annual reports asked for the following information: Libraries with Internet access. (Answered yes or no.) Libraries with electronic services. (Answered yes or no.) In 1999, public libraries reported the number of public access Internet computers for the first time in the annual report.

Source: Wisconsin Public Library Service Data

Percentage change from peak year (1999-2013): -32.9%

Eastern Shores Library System

Other posts in series

(with percentage change in print serial subscriptions from peak year)

Adams County, -35.6%. (11/12/2014)

Ashland County, -1.3%. (11/13/2014)

Barron County, -18.5%. (11/14/2014)

Bayfield County,+106%. (11/15/2014)

Brown County, -22%. (11/16/2014)
Buffalo County, -18%. (11/17/2014)
Burnett County, -4.4%. (11/18/2014)
Calumet County, -23.1%. (11/19/2014)
Chippewa County, -37.6%. (11/20/2014)
Clark County, -9.0%. (11/21/2014)
Columbia County, -11.3%. (11/22/2014)
Crawford County, -3.6%. (11/23/2014)
Dane County, -16.1%. (11/24/2014)
Dodge County, -21.2%. (11/25/2014)
Door County, -37.1%. (11/26/2014)
Douglas County, -19.1%. (11/27/2014)
Dunn County, -21.2%. (11/28/2014)
Eau Claire County, -39.5%. (11/29/2014)
Florence County, +429%. (11/30/2014)
Fond du Lac County, -32.5%. (12/1/2014)
Forest County, -20.8%. (12/2/2014)
Grant County, NA. (12/3/2014)
Green County, -1.6%. (12/4/2014)
Green Lake County, -11.0% . (12/5/2014)
Iowa County, +9.1%. (12/6/2014)
Iron County, +50.9%. (12/7/2014)
Jackson County, +48.3%. (12/8/2014)
Jefferson County, -27.9%. (12/9/2014)
Juneau County, +46.3%. (12/10/2014)
Kenosha County, -37.9%. (12/11/2014)
Kewaunee County, -28.0. (12/12/2014)
La Crosse County, -30.2%. (12/13/2014)
Lafayette County, -1.0%. (12/14/2014)
Langlade County, -53.0%. (12/15/2014)
Lincoln County, -45%. (12/16/2014)
Manitowoc County, -28.5%. (12/17/2014)
Marathon County, -50.1%. (12/18/2014)
Marinettte County, NA. (12/19/2014)
Marquette County, -59.5%. (12/20/2014)
Menominee County, NA. (12/21/2014)
Milwaukee County, -76.0%. (12/22/2014)
Monroe County, -27.5%. (12/23/2014)
Oconto County, -32.4%. (12/24/2014)
Oneida County, +16.5%. (12/26/2014)
Outagamie County, -20.0%. (12/26/2014)
Ozaukee County, -32.9% . (12/27/2014)

Friday, December 26, 2014

Frog and Toad Asunder

Photo by Retiring Guy

Location: Vilas Park, Madison, WI

Digital-Age Business Skills Defined

M.B.A. Programs Start to Follow Silicon Valley Into the Data Age. (The New York Times, 12/25/2014)

Digital age business skills

That’s because the degree suggests a person steeped in finance and corporate strategy rather than in the digital-age arts of speed and constant experimentation — and in skills like

A/B testing: method of testing for an advertising campaign that involves two different versions of a web page to see which is more effective

rapid prototyping: process used to build a physical model from a computer drawing by creating layers of the shape and joining them together.

data-driven decision making. Also known as data-driven decision management (DDDM): an approach to business governance that values decisions that can be backed up with data that can be verified.

the bread and butter of Silicon Valley.

Speaking of.......

Believe it or not, this catchy little ditty spent 7 weeks in the Billboard Hot 100's top 10 and 2 weeks at #2 in September-October 1964. It played bridesmaid to "The House of the Rising Sun" one week and "Oh, Pretty Woman" the next.

Lessons Not Learned

Man 'looking for cash' finds and steals it from West Side hotel, police say. (Madison.com, 12/26/2014)

This is the third theft of cash this month from the front desk of a Madison-area hotel, with the suspect's description pretty similar in each case.

The New York Times Dubs it "The Year of the Shrinking S.U.V."

Excellent example of car porn.

Move Over Land Yachts, Compact S.U.V.s Are in Demand. (The New York Times, 12/25/2014)

Sheila Mahoney of Gilbert, Arizona, loves her Buick Encore.

“This is definitely the smallest vehicle I’ve ever had, but it’s perfect. There’s just enough room to haul groceries around, and now instead of filling up the tank once a week, I’m at the gas station maybe every two weeks.

Then there's this "reading and marking" entry.

<With automakers poised to sell nearly 17 million vehicles this year in the United States, their best year since 2007, sales of the so-called crossovers — which are built on more comfortable car frames instead of rigid truck ones — are higher than ever. And while sales of the biggest seven-passenger, three-row people haulers remain strong, particularly for General Motors, it is the smaller S.U.V.s that are making a name for themselves.>

I suppose sense 2 of crossover as defined by Merriam-Webster provides general coverage.

Attending "The Interview" in the Service of Free Speech

Crowds Gather as 'The Interview' Begins Screening in 331 Theaters. (The New York Times, 12/25/2014)

This was not a midnight Mass. It was one of the first screenings of Sony’s “The Interview,” which improbably became a symbol of free speech in the last week as hackers who attacked the studio first got the movie withdrawn from distribution, then, after a groundswell of support for releasing it that reached the White House, watched it open after all.

At this point, Box Office Mojo has yet to post its Christmas Day estimates.

Republicans Gone Wild in Kansas

Photo credit: Kansas Legislature

GOP lawmakers in Kansas float tax proposals to close budget gap but with little enthusiasm. (Daily Journal, 12/24/2014)

Veto-proof, but not idiot-proof, majorities

Republican leaders expect to rely on GOP votes to pass a budget-balancing plan, given the party's majorities of 32-8 in the Senate and 97-28 in the House. Democrats so far are letting Republicans stew, having argued that the income tax cuts pursued by Brownback would create exactly the kind of budget problems the state is experiencing.

Number of Paid Full-Time-Equivalent (FTE) Staff in U.S. Public Libraries (South Dakota-Vermont)

Funding cuts jeopardize Coffee County libraries. (News 5 Channel, 6/24/2014)
Memphis budget cuts cause layoffs, change in hours of operation. (Memphis Commercial Appeal, 7/27/2011)

SchutzeTurns Out Dallasites Love Their Libraries. If Only City Hall Didn't Hate Them. (Dallas Observer, 10/15/2012).
Houston libraries brace for cuts, layoffs. (Houston Chronicle, 4/1/2011)
Public libraries face cuts due to TX budget shortfall. (KLTV, 1/24/2011)

Protest over library layoffs. (WCAX, 1/12/2013)

A table of cumulative percentages

Related posts:
U.S., Alabama-California. (12/6/2014)
Colorado-Georgia. (12/7/2014)
Hawaii-Iowa. (12/8/2014)
Kansas-Maryland. (12/9/2014)
Massachusetts-Missouri. (12/10/2014)
Montana-Ohio. (12/15/2014)
Oklahoma-South Carolina. (12/20/2014)

Total Annual Hours of Operation (1996-2013) and Total Square Footage (2000-2012) of Wisconsin Public Libraries: Buffalo County

Source: Wikipedia

Public libraries in Buffalo County:

Source: Wisconsin Public Library Service Data

Winding Rivers Library System

Related posts:

Adams County. (12/22/2014)
Ashland County. (12/23/2014)
Barron County. (12/24/2014)
Bayfield County. (12/25/2014)
Brown County. (12/26/2014)

Total Annual Hours of Operation (1996-2013) and Total Square Footage (2000-2012) of Wisconsin Public Libraries: Brown County

Source: Wikipedia

Public libraries in Brown County:

Brown County Central Library
Branches

Ashwaubenon
Denmark
East (Green Bay)
Kress Family (De Pere)
Pulaski
Southwest (Green Bay)
Weyers-Hilliard (Howard)
Wrightstown

Source: Wisconsin Public Library Service Data

Of related interest:
Central Library Renovation. (Brown County Public Library)
Renovations and repairs planned for downtown library. (WLUK-TV, 3/1/2012)
Brown County Central Library in Green Bay in need of $21 million renovations, repairs. (Green Bay Press Gazette, 9/19/2011)
Brown County Central Library update plans begin with education. (Boldt, 4/9/2011)

Related posts:

Adams County. (12/22/2014)
Ashland County. (12/23/2014)
Barron County. (12/24/2014)
Bayfield County. (12/25/2014)

Outagamie County WI: Public Access Internet Computers (1999-2013) and Print Serial Subscriptions (1996-2013)

2010 population: 176,695

Public libraries in Outagamie County

Source: Wisconsin Public Library Service Data

Percentage change from peak year (1999-2013): -20.0%

Outagamie Waupaca Library System

Other posts in series

(with percentage change in print serial subscriptions from peak year)

Adams County, -35.6%. (11/12/2014)

Ashland County, -1.3%. (11/13/2014)

Barron County, -18.5%. (11/14/2014)

Bayfield County,+106%. (11/15/2014)

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Foxcatcher Creates No Excitement

Count your blessings that you didn't end up here today.

Photo by Retiring Guy

Although a reviewer for the Washington Post got suckered into Sony Classic Pictures' hype.

‘Foxcatcher’ Steve Carell’s performance as an aristocratic oddball represents a breakthrough for someone more associated with comedy and winsome drama. Ann Hornaday writes, "'Foxcatcher' exerts a mesmerizing pull, not only because it affords the chance to witness three fine actors working at the height of their powers, but also because it so steadfastly resists the urge to clutter up empty space with the filigree of gratuitous imagery and chatter."

Mesmerizing??!!

Here's the real scoop, folks.

Messy, at best.

Let's write a screenplay about the most boring people imaginable and then film it as a snooze-inducing, pretentious movie.

In a most laughable turn of events, Steve Carell received a Golden Globe nomination for "Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama", a performance that would clearly be the nadir of any actor's resume. What's was he -- or the director -- thinking?

Overall, the movie is a criminal waste of talent and further evidence that Hollywood can no longer tell a coherent story.

Interstellar.

Need I say more?

The movie should have been listed here.

Dear Governor Brownback, a "real-live experiment" in red-state governance isn't going to reverse a 120-year trajectory

Sam Brownback is sorry he predicted his tax cuts would work. (Salon, 12/23/2014)

Let me school you, Bub.

Here's a line graph of your state's history. Except for the Great Depression decade, it's been increasing.

And here's a companion piece.

And the trajectory continues.

U.S. population has increased 2.5% since 2010.

Kansas' population has increased 1.8% since 2010.

Related posts:
Dueling Headlines, or, Just because Sam Brownback says it, doesn't mean it's so. (12/20/2014)
KC Healthy Kids needs to work on its timing. (12/20/2014)
Sam Brownback: "The sun is shining in Kansas and don't let anyone tell you different." (12/11/2014)
Why it's probably best not to be in Kansas anymore. (12/11/2014)
So....does this make Sam Brownback a liar? (12/10/2014)
Scott Walker takes his tax cut cues from Sam Brownback. (11/13/2014)
Scott Walker, Sam Brownback, and Rick Scott: The comeback copycats. (10/25/2014)
Governors Sam Brownback and Scott Walker use the same playbook. (9/15/2014)
You don't have to inhale deeply to catch a whiff of Wisconsin here. (9/15/2014)
It's not a pretty picture for Kansas Governor Sam Brownback. (7/18/2014)
As Kansas becomes increasingly irrelevant, a goofy sideshow. (2/14/2014)

Christmas Day 2014 at 43.0725° N, 89.5572° W

Current temperature: 39 degrees, about 10 degrees above the historical average.

Photo by Retiring Guy

No Friend to the Environment: Republican Representative Todd Rokita, Indiana's 4th Congressional District

Photo source: U.S. Congress

Text source: Huffington Post

Rokita was re-elected to a 3rd term with 67% of the vote. He serves on no environmental committees.

Recommended reading for Rep. Rokita and his west-central Indiana constituents.

Economist: Climate change could reshape crop agriculture. (Purdue University News Service, 12/6/2010)

No Friend to the Environment dishonor roll.

Alabama Congressional delegation: U.S. House of Representatives. (Their anti-environmentalism can be summed up in one word: coal. Which is odd, since Alabama contributes a mere 1.9% of U.S. production, good enough for an overall ranking of 13. The state's peak year of production: 1990)

1st District. Bradley Byrne (R). Proposed an amendment that would have cut all FY 2015 funding for the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
2nd District. Martha Roby (R). Voted YES on opening Outer Continental Shelf to oil drilling and barring EPA from regulating greenhouse gases. Signed the No Climate Tax Pledge by Americans for Prosperity.
3rd District. Mike Rogers (R). League of Conservation scorecard: 2013: 0%. Lifetime (2003-): 9%.
4th District. Robert Aderholt (R). Without bothering to fact-check, he uses a discredited petition rejecting climate change to make a point.
5th District. Mo Brooke (R). Climate Experts Testify that Climate Change Projections are Unreliable and Misleading.
6th District. Stephen Baucus (R). League of Conservation scorecard: 2013: 0% Lifetime (1993- ): 8%

Alaska Congressional delegation: U.S. House of Representatives

At-large District. Don Young (R). Ridiculed environmentalists as a “self-centered bunch of waffle-stomping, Harvard-graduating, intellectual idiots.....not Americans, never have been Americans, never will be Americans.”

Arizona Congressional delegation: U.S. House of Representatives

4th District. Paul Gosar (R). Takes his environmental cues from cattle and sheep producers.
5th District. Matt Salmon (R). This quote sums up his view: “I found the source of global warming is coming from the hot air coming out of Washington.” Signed Koch Brothers "No Climate Tax" pledge.
6th District. David Schweikert (R). Known to throw a hissy over "the Al Gores of the world". Chairs House Subcommittee on Environment.
8th District. Trent Franks (R). League of Conservation scorecard:2013: 11%. Lifetime (since 2003): 5%.

Arkansas Congressional delegation: U.S. House of Representatives

1st District. Rick Crawford (R). Vow to his constituents: "As long as the Obama EPA continues its assault on farmers, I will continue to fight senseless regulations that only serve to cripple American agriculture."
2nd District. Tim Griffin (R). Perhaps one of the few scientists in the Republican House caucus. As far as global warming is concerned, he claims "that there are a lot of shenanigans going on with the data."
3rd District. Steve Womack (R). Loves his fossil fuels.
4th District. Tom Cotton (R). Claims the earth's temperature hasn't warmed in 16 years, a climate denier meme. The reality: 9 of the 10 warmest years on record occurred since 1998.

California Congressional delegation: U.S. House of Representatives

1st District. Doug LaMalfa (R). Ask him about air conditioners, packing plants, or praying for rain.
4th District. Tom McClintock (R). Still smarting that he never received a Nobel Prize in the 3rd grade.
8th District. Paul Cook (R). ALEC shill for the Keystone pipeline.
10th District. Jeff Denham (R). Appears to think that climate skeptics are on "the right side of the issue."
21st District. David Valadao (R). Represents a portion of California's Central Valley, a hotbed of climate skepticism, as the representative's League of Conservation Voters scorecard indicates.
22nd District. Devin Nunes (R). Throws hissy fit, a Republican specialty, over what he calls Obama's extremist climate agenda.
23rd District. Kevin McCarthy (R). Bemoans those dang "harmful regulations".
25th District. Buck McKeon (R). 7% lifetime score on League of Conservation Voters' National Environment Scorecard after 24 years in House.
31st District. Gary Miller (R). 3% lifetime score on League of Conservation Voters' National Environment Scorecard after 14 years in House.
39th District. Ed Royce (R). A liberal among the California Republican caucus: a 13% lifetime score on the League of Conservation Voters' National Environment Scorecard.
42nd District. Ken Calvert (R). Although comfortably ensconced in the Republican environmental mainstream, he's not above making an heretical remark or two.
45th District. John Campbell (R). Signer of Americans for Prosperity "No Climate Tax Pledge"; 9% lifetime score from the League of Conservative Voters,
48th District. Dana Rohrabacher (R). Mouths the same climate denier meme as the newly elected U.S. Senator from Arkansas.
49th District. Darrell Issa (R). The richest member of Congress, he recently won the League of Conservation Voters "Climate Denier Award".
50th District. Duncan Hunter (R). Can you top this? "Thousands of people die every year of cold, so if we had global warming it would save lives."

Colorado Congressional delegation: U.S. House of Representatives

3rd District. Scott Tipton (R). Tree rings tell us all we need to know.
4th District. Cory Gardner (R). Another beneficiary of the 2010 Tea Party wave. And he adjusted his views accordingly.
5th District. Doug Lamborn (R). Works tirelessly to assure that climate change remains "an extremely controversial topic". (Is also a big fan of impeaching Obama.)
6th District. Mike Coffman (R). Solidly parks his butt in the the-science-is-not-quite-settled camp.

No House Republicans hail from Connecticut and Delaware.
Florida Congressional delegation: U.S. House of Representatives

1st District. Jeff Miller (R). "Flintstones, meet the Flintstones. They're the modern Stone Age fam-a-lee."
2nd District. Steve Southerland (R). Spouts the company line.
3rd District. Ted Yoho (R). "I'm not smart enough for that."
4th District. Ander Crenshaw (R). All talk, no action.
6th District. Ron DeSantis (R). As reported by ThinkProgress, a majority of Congressional Republicans are climate deniers. At this point in the exercise, we appear to have unanimity.
7th District. John Mica (R). 7% lifetime score from League of Conservation Voters after 22 years in the House.
8th District. Bill Posey (R). Sez climate change has been with us since the Earth was formed. (Pick your date.)
10th District. Daniel Webster (R). 9% score from League of Conservation Voters during his 2 terms in office.
11th District. Richard Nugent (R). 6% score from League of Conservation Voters during his 2 terms in office.
12th District. Gus Bilirakis (R). Big fan of fossil fuels.
13th District. David Jolly (R). Happy to drift along with the fossil-fuel flow.
15th District. Dennis Ross (R) It's all about personal responsibility.
16th District. Vern Buchanan (R). Proud to represent his rich waterfront property owners.
17th District. Tom Rooney (R). One of 48 Republican House members with a 0% score from the National League of Conservation Voters in 2013.
19th District. Curt Clawson (R). Suggests that climate change "may not exist".
25th District. Mario Diaz-Balart (R). Not ready to jump on the global warming bandwagon.
27th District. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R). Chicken Little, apparently, is one of her favorite folk tales.

Georgia's Congressional delegation: U.S. House of Representatives

1st District. Jack Kingston (R). Ask him about climate change, and he'll give you his troglodyte views on evolution.
3rd District. Lynn Westmoreland (R). One of the Republicans who threw a hissy fit when the Defense Department announced its climate change initiative.
6th District, Tom Price (R). During 2009 floor debate on a climate-change bill, he asked colleagues for a moment of silence for lost jobs.
7th District. Rob Woodall (R). Like his colleague Lynn Westmoreland, Rob believes that climate change discussions should be, at best, marginalized, not expanded.
8th District. Austin Scott (R). "Absolutely" skeptical when it comes to climate change.
9th District. Doug Collins (R). Ranked by National Journal as the most conservative member of the state's House delegation (90.2% rating, 16th overall).
10th District. Paul Broun (R). Believes that climate change is one of the greatest hoaxes perpetrated by the scientific community. Got his butt kicked in the 2014 Georgia Republican primary for U.S. Senate.
11th District. Phil Gingrey, M.D. (R). Surgical masks for every cow.
14th District. Tom Graves (R). Has a facility for stringing cliches together.

Idaho's Congressional delegation: U.S. House of Representatives

1st District. Raul Labrador (R). According to this list, one of the scariest.
2nd District. Mike Simpson (R). Tries to come across as reasonable, but his words are contradicted by his 7% lifetime score from the League of Conservative Voters. (Lifetime = 9 terms, 18 years.)

Illinois' Congressional delegation: U.S. House of Representatives

6th District. Peter Roskam (R). Once referred to climate change as "junk science".

13th District. Rodney Davis (R). Content to spout the company line.
14th District. Randy Hultgren (R). Asserted in 2009 that "we're headed in to a bit of a colder time."
15th District. John Shimkus (R). "The B-I-B-L-E/yes, that's the book for me/I stand alone on the word of God/the B-I-B-L-E!!"
16th District. Adam Kinzinger (R). Gives new meaning to "all-inclusive".
18th District. Aaron Schock (R). When it comes to support of environmental issues, he's all talk and no action.

Indiana's Congressional delegation: U.S. House of Representatives

2nd District. Jackie Walorski (R). “That’s My Congress” notes Rep. Walorski has followed a conservative course when voting on environmental legislation -- and everything else, for that matter. Earned a 0% rating from the League of Conservation Voters after her first year in the House.
3rd District. Martin Stutzman (R). Signed Americans for Prosperity’s “No Climate Tax Pledge” a month before being sworn in as a member of Congress in 2010.
4th District. Todd Rokita (R). This climate change denier respects "God's green earth". Anyone who thinks otherwise is arrogant.