I have been on the lookout for a new fall/winter coat for some time now and haven't had any luck. The only one I've found that a) fits and b) I like was over $300 and I don't have that kind of spare cash. Ideally, I am looking for a coat that is either brown or a nice print (i.e. houndstooth) or even dark gray, that hits at the hips or slightly lower (so I don't have to worry about it pulling around my big butt), and doesn't have a slit in the back. This season's details like big buttons and a funnel neck are a bonus but not musts. It would also be ideal if it cost under $150. Any ideas?
*****
On the work front, Microsoft has announced that in 2008 they will be releasing a free plug-in for Microsoft Word that will convert Word documents into DAISY XML files. Not only will this be incredibly helpful to our clients but maybe it will even make our production processes more streamlined and efficient. Great news!
Showing posts with label CILS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CILS. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Snowflakes
Today at work a few of us decided to make the place a little more festive so we made some paper snowflakes - took me right back to Kindergarden.
Check out my handy work.
Check out my handy work.
Friday, April 21, 2006
Books 10 & 11
It's been a while since I last posted about what I've read so I figured I should take a quick minute and update the list.
Book 10 was Deep Six by Clive Cussler. Lately it seems like I've been reading mainly light fiction that doesn't require a lot of thinking and Clive Cussler always fits that bill. I've read many of his other books and have always enjoyed them and this one was no different. They have the right blend of adventure and intrigue with a splash of romance thrown in - Dirk Pitt is, after all, quite the ladies man. I've been trying to convince A. to give Cussler a try because we tend to like the same books but he refuses. One day I will prevail.
Book 11 was Without Remorse and was also the first Tom Clancy book I've ever read. A. recommended this one specifically so I thought I'd give it a go. The story was interesting and the characters had depth but man, was it ever long. I've been told that this is the way Clancy writes but frankly, I think a lot of the extraneous details could have been removed. I do have to admit however, that the last few hundred pages gripped me and it was hard to put the book down.
I'm currently reading The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person In the World by AJ Jacobs, which is about Jacobs' quest to read the entire Encyclopaedia Britannica from A to Z, and I'm finding it quite amusing. Hopefully after this little foray into non-fiction I'll be up for something a little more literary.
*****
My mom and Gary came out for Easter weekend and we had a great time together. They arrived in Vancouver on Friday morning and once we got our act together we went down to Yaletown to wander around the shops. I'd never actually been shopping in Yaletown and found it expensive and pretentious although I don't know why I expected anything else. After reading Matt's review of Milan's Bistro we decided to stop there for lunch and I wholeheartedly agree with his statement that the caramelized onions on the perogies were worth the visit alone. I'm generally not a big onion fan but these were incredible. After our shopping expedition, during which we bought nothing, we headed home and I made Siamese Dream pizza for everyone since it was high on the list of food requests.
Saturday we headed out to Steveston because my mom has wanted to go there ever since I talked about it two summers ago. We had a lunch at a restaurant overlooking the marina and then wandered around in the pouring rain and went from shop to shop. We stopped in at a gift shop called Pieces which was full of amazing little treasures. I walked away with some French freesia perfume and a beautiful necklace. I also bought some tea at a shop down the road. After we dropped off our purchases at home we headed over to North Van for some amazing Greek food at Anatoli Souvlaki. I've been raving about this place to A. since he got here so I'm glad he finally had a chance to try the food. I will never get sick of that place but only manage to go on the rare occasion.
Sunday was another full day and to start things off right we went to the Lion's Den Cafe for breakfast. We then spent the afternoon wandering around a PACKED aquarium but everyone really enjoyed it. We managed to catch both the dolphin and the beluga shows and everyone agreed that it was worth the $18 admission fee. Once we had all had our fill of fish we headed home and mom and I made a delicious Easter dinner of ham baked in beer, broccoli salad and potatoe casserole. We also had some fabulous wine and, of course, hot cross buns that Gary had brought all the way from Calgary just in case we didn't have any.
Unfortunately, A. had to work on Monday but the rest of us went for Thai food for lunch before my mom and Gary had to catch their plane back to Calgary. All in all, it was a great weekend but I think I'm still trying to recover my energy.
*****
Work has been going well and yesterday we got to go for a tour at AT-BC to get an overview of their services and have a discussion about how we can partner up with their agency to better serve our clients. It was definitely worth going and I am jealous of their office space. One day I dream of CILS having our own facility.
*****
This weekend is shaping up to be a good one, weather-wise, and on Saturday night there is an LTAIG social which Emma and I planned. Hopefully quite a few people will show up and it will be a great success. Fingers-crossed.
Book 10 was Deep Six by Clive Cussler. Lately it seems like I've been reading mainly light fiction that doesn't require a lot of thinking and Clive Cussler always fits that bill. I've read many of his other books and have always enjoyed them and this one was no different. They have the right blend of adventure and intrigue with a splash of romance thrown in - Dirk Pitt is, after all, quite the ladies man. I've been trying to convince A. to give Cussler a try because we tend to like the same books but he refuses. One day I will prevail.
Book 11 was Without Remorse and was also the first Tom Clancy book I've ever read. A. recommended this one specifically so I thought I'd give it a go. The story was interesting and the characters had depth but man, was it ever long. I've been told that this is the way Clancy writes but frankly, I think a lot of the extraneous details could have been removed. I do have to admit however, that the last few hundred pages gripped me and it was hard to put the book down.
I'm currently reading The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person In the World by AJ Jacobs, which is about Jacobs' quest to read the entire Encyclopaedia Britannica from A to Z, and I'm finding it quite amusing. Hopefully after this little foray into non-fiction I'll be up for something a little more literary.
*****
My mom and Gary came out for Easter weekend and we had a great time together. They arrived in Vancouver on Friday morning and once we got our act together we went down to Yaletown to wander around the shops. I'd never actually been shopping in Yaletown and found it expensive and pretentious although I don't know why I expected anything else. After reading Matt's review of Milan's Bistro we decided to stop there for lunch and I wholeheartedly agree with his statement that the caramelized onions on the perogies were worth the visit alone. I'm generally not a big onion fan but these were incredible. After our shopping expedition, during which we bought nothing, we headed home and I made Siamese Dream pizza for everyone since it was high on the list of food requests.
Saturday we headed out to Steveston because my mom has wanted to go there ever since I talked about it two summers ago. We had a lunch at a restaurant overlooking the marina and then wandered around in the pouring rain and went from shop to shop. We stopped in at a gift shop called Pieces which was full of amazing little treasures. I walked away with some French freesia perfume and a beautiful necklace. I also bought some tea at a shop down the road. After we dropped off our purchases at home we headed over to North Van for some amazing Greek food at Anatoli Souvlaki. I've been raving about this place to A. since he got here so I'm glad he finally had a chance to try the food. I will never get sick of that place but only manage to go on the rare occasion.
Sunday was another full day and to start things off right we went to the Lion's Den Cafe for breakfast. We then spent the afternoon wandering around a PACKED aquarium but everyone really enjoyed it. We managed to catch both the dolphin and the beluga shows and everyone agreed that it was worth the $18 admission fee. Once we had all had our fill of fish we headed home and mom and I made a delicious Easter dinner of ham baked in beer, broccoli salad and potatoe casserole. We also had some fabulous wine and, of course, hot cross buns that Gary had brought all the way from Calgary just in case we didn't have any.
Unfortunately, A. had to work on Monday but the rest of us went for Thai food for lunch before my mom and Gary had to catch their plane back to Calgary. All in all, it was a great weekend but I think I'm still trying to recover my energy.
*****
Work has been going well and yesterday we got to go for a tour at AT-BC to get an overview of their services and have a discussion about how we can partner up with their agency to better serve our clients. It was definitely worth going and I am jealous of their office space. One day I dream of CILS having our own facility.
*****
This weekend is shaping up to be a good one, weather-wise, and on Saturday night there is an LTAIG social which Emma and I planned. Hopefully quite a few people will show up and it will be a great success. Fingers-crossed.
Friday, March 31, 2006
Link of the week
As some of you know, I work for a service that provides alternate format library materials to BC college students who have print impairments. Some students, especially those with learning disabilities, like to have the text on their computer screen read aloud while they follow along with the book. The problem is the screen reader software most students use, JAWS for Windows, is expensive and not everyone can afford it. If this is the case we usually recommend two free screen readers that students can download. One of these products is ReadPlease.
ReadPlease is an easy to use product that will read what is showing on your screen. It's not perfect but it's much better than the reader that comes with Windows. It uses a synthesized voice which can be difficult to understand but again, greatly increases the ease of learning for students. It's products like this one that only make my job easier.
ReadPlease is an easy to use product that will read what is showing on your screen. It's not perfect but it's much better than the reader that comes with Windows. It uses a synthesized voice which can be difficult to understand but again, greatly increases the ease of learning for students. It's products like this one that only make my job easier.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Who Moved My Cheese?
It's been a week full of conferences, workshops and seminars and while interesting, it can get tiring. I never thought I'd say that about continuing education as it's usually something I really enjoy but three days in a row has been a lot. For the third year I attended the Disability Resource Network conference and took in some very interesting sessions. In the morning I learned about organizational and personal change and how to identify my reaction to it. Then after lunch I sat in on a very interesting session about chronic pain led by Dr. Chan Gunn of the Institute for the Study and Treatment of Pain. Dr. Gunn's approach to treating pain is to target nerves that aren't functioning properly instead of looking at blood and organs. Apparently he has made a real breakthrough in the medical field and revolutionized how people approach chronic pain.
Wednesday CILS held a workshop to introduce new people to our services as well as refresh the knowledge of people who are already familiar with us. We also discussed web accessibility issues and what library staff and disability advisors can do at their institutions to help make resources more available to students with print disabilities. I was able to meet a lot of people I've been communicating with over the years and was also able to answer a lot of questions from the people at my table so, for me, it was a success.
Today and tomorrow are the college's reading days so there was a staff development day held today which gave support staff an opportunity to attend some sessions. The theme was "The Balancing Act: Having It All" so most sessions focused in some way on balance. I managed to get some exercise in by attending a cardio-funk class which was a lot of fun and then in the afternoon I tried to "Beat the Brown Bag Blues." That one wasn't as useful since I didn't really learn anything new. Apparently my lunches aren't as boring as I thought they were. Now it's Friday again and back to the daily grind.
Other than that everything is just kind of meh. My evenings perk up for an hour or two but after the daily call I'm usually asleep on the couch by 9:30. I need more of a life. Only 7 more days and then hopefully things will be better.
Wednesday CILS held a workshop to introduce new people to our services as well as refresh the knowledge of people who are already familiar with us. We also discussed web accessibility issues and what library staff and disability advisors can do at their institutions to help make resources more available to students with print disabilities. I was able to meet a lot of people I've been communicating with over the years and was also able to answer a lot of questions from the people at my table so, for me, it was a success.
Today and tomorrow are the college's reading days so there was a staff development day held today which gave support staff an opportunity to attend some sessions. The theme was "The Balancing Act: Having It All" so most sessions focused in some way on balance. I managed to get some exercise in by attending a cardio-funk class which was a lot of fun and then in the afternoon I tried to "Beat the Brown Bag Blues." That one wasn't as useful since I didn't really learn anything new. Apparently my lunches aren't as boring as I thought they were. Now it's Friday again and back to the daily grind.
Other than that everything is just kind of meh. My evenings perk up for an hour or two but after the daily call I'm usually asleep on the couch by 9:30. I need more of a life. Only 7 more days and then hopefully things will be better.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Perk of the job
In our weekly meeting today it was mentioned that if we were to put on a workshop on the Island or in the Kootenays I would probably get to go. Sweet!
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