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LooseChanj posted:Oh, this is goin' on next month's poll.
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Apr 1, 2011 16:22
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coyo7e posted:I sure do love seamen. Beaten.
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Apr 1, 2011 17:02
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I was just over at the British Library for a few days doing some research in the reading rooms, and I have to say I'm pretty surprised that people are allowed to bring in laptops and listen to headphones. The whole of the Humanities room was really noisy with mass typing and that *tsk tsk tsk* noise headphones makes. What the gently caress British Library? I thought you were supposed to be above all this shitness? I swear there does not exist a library in the land that isn't full of computors and noise those days.
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Apr 13, 2011 16:54
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Are they letting people talk on their cellphones? Honestly, headphones and typing sounds aren't that bad...
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Apr 13, 2011 19:26
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Cellphone are allowed in, and they would ring on and off but people never took calls. Lots of texting though. Maybe it's because I've never had an office job, because I find the clattering of keys and the tinny sound of music really drat distracting when I'm trying to concentrate on research. I'm a nut I guess, but would it hurt to have a silent reading room?
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Apr 13, 2011 21:52
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In this day and age, you aren't allowed to tell people much without causing serious offense.  I used to work at a library, in a section that some students liked to have pizza parties. Even though they aren't allowed to eat in the library. There was no studying or anything related going on. Just major disruption for students who actually cared about their studies.
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Apr 13, 2011 22:06
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Back when I was in school, I remember the libraries being divided into social areas and quiet areas. I generally did most of my studying in the social areas just to be around people -- I find I focus better if I'm around others, if only so I don't start going all OHMYGODSOLONELY.
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Apr 13, 2011 22:54
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My university's library is generally good about stopping noisy people. The worst thing is the computers: there's a row of short-use computers which are just for printing, checking the catalogue, etc. Once I saw like three people at once using them to play Farmville while there was a queue for computer use.
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Apr 14, 2011 02:42
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More library ranting from me because I'm a grouchy old woman. I really wish they would ban Facebook in my university library. There is a dedicated computor area and students who don't own laptops rely on them heavily. It's really hard to find a free computor there and it boils my blood to see nearly half of the people using them are playing farmville of vampire wars. I also can't make up my mind how I feel about my local public library. 10-15 years ago it used to have a large, varied selection of fiction, non fiction and children's books. I used it all the time and I rarely bought books because I could borrow them all. Now-a-days there is very little floor space given over to books. There is a large DVD lending srea, CD's, Games etc, a lounge area with a playstation and music for kids, an internet area for the public to use and a Council desk so people can ask about local issues. These things are great, they benefit the community greatly and opens the library out to a larger section of society, I don't have a beef with these things and I use them too...but a part of me really misses the books. There are hardly any books in the library now, maybe a few shelves at the back. Also, the library building is tiny, so all of this is really crammed in, noisy and crowded. I would love love love our library to move to a bigger building so the books can come back, but thanks to all these cuts thats never going to happen. I can see libraries closing down because they are more centres of social entertainment than public learning.
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Apr 14, 2011 07:50
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The fact that I avoid my Uni library and do all my work in my room shows how bad it is, especially when you consider that right outside my window is a nursery-school playground. That's right, a bunch of 4 year olds running around and screaming is less annoying than "adults" supposedly studying.
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Apr 14, 2011 12:44
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My libraries were: Undergrad: The main one was like a shopping mall's foodcourt--just a big social area. But then there was another one which totally had the awesome "Victorian/old oak bookcases/musty leather books" feel down pat, and everyone who went there was there to work. All the books you actually wanted were in the main library, but if you just wanted to work, this other one was where it was at. Masters: Robarts Library at U of T. The stacks above floor 4 were loving awesome. This is my favourite library. PhD: Eh. The library I go to now is just... busy. I never stay to work. Most people are working (though they're still texting and talking with their buddy) but you can't find a place to sit and it's very sterile--just not a very pleasant place to be. DirtyRobot fucked around with this message at 14:49 on Apr 14, 2011 |
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Apr 14, 2011 14:18
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Hedrigall posted:My university's library is generally good about stopping noisy people. The worst thing is the computers: there's a row of short-use computers which are just for printing, checking the catalogue, etc. Once I saw like three people at once using them to play Farmville while there was a queue for computer use.
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Apr 14, 2011 15:46
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Hedrigall posted:My university's library is generally good about stopping noisy people. The worst thing is the computers: there's a row of short-use computers which are just for printing, checking the catalogue, etc. Once I saw like three people at once using them to play Farmville while there was a queue for computer use. We have these too, except the annoying thing is not that people misuse them, but the fact that they take about three or four minutes to log off properly after the last person who used it has left, and another five to log back in. Our library is huge, and all of the social areas are on the bottom two floors, leaving two other floors with hundreds of single person desks and people generally do respect the rules about being quiet. We have a floor for humanities/social sciences and another for hard sciences/engineering/maths stuff. Even though I belong on the humanities/social sciences floor I tend to find myself studying on the sciences floor when I have to get some serious work done - simply because there's less chance I'll bump into someone when I'm working and end up spending the rest of my afternoon down in the social area.
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Apr 18, 2011 11:27
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Saw this in Borders today, laughed. I had to take a picture. That is just a hilarious title for a book.
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Apr 20, 2011 16:25
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Added bonus being I read the authors name as 'Jen Bitch' at first glance, which would have been apt given the title of her book.
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Apr 20, 2011 19:08
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Hedrigall posted:Saw this in Borders today, laughed. I had to take a picture. Let me guess, it's about how your worthless waste of carbon aspie retard baby is in fact a special snowflake and you did the right thing by not drowning it at birth?
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Apr 20, 2011 20:02
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Flatscan posted:Let me guess, it's about how your worthless waste of carbon aspie retard baby is in fact a special snowflake and you did the right thing by not drowning it at birth? Wrong! It's about how the author is in fact a special snowflake!
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Apr 21, 2011 00:18
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Edit: bah.
Saxon X. Seaworthy fucked around with this message at 23:17 on Apr 25, 2011 |
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Apr 21, 2011 04:07
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LooseChanj posted:Wrong! It's about how the author is in fact a special snowflake! Ah, knew there had to be a special snowflake involved somewhere.
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Apr 21, 2011 15:26
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Is there an ongoing Game of Thrones(the book), spoiler-free thread somewhere?
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Apr 21, 2011 16:10
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Does anybody ever read those long introductions Penguin Classics have after finishing the book? I always say I will but then never do and end up just skimming its Wikipedia article for any background info I'm curious about.
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Apr 22, 2011 02:28
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I was on twitter and one of my absolute favorite writers suddenly started arguing with me. And I wasn't even talking to her or aware she was on twitter. The internet is weird.
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Apr 22, 2011 04:28
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maxnmona posted:I was on twitter and one of my absolute favorite writers suddenly started arguing with me. And I wasn't even talking to her or aware she was on twitter. 
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Apr 22, 2011 04:31
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Juanito posted:We need juicy details. Who was the author, and what had you said? @planetoffinks read all about it
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Apr 22, 2011 04:34
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When I was confined to bed after a car accident a few years ago I read a lot of Falco detective novels. I e mailed the author, just to say how much I enjoyed her books and how they kept me sane during my bed rest. The next day she wrote back to me a really lovely, fairly long and very chatty e mail. I never expected a popular author to bother writing back to a fan, and certainly not such a charming and friendly e mail. My love for Lindsey Davis knows no bounds.
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Apr 22, 2011 08:29
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Flatscan posted:Let me guess, it's about how your worthless waste of carbon aspie retard baby is in fact a special snowflake and you did the right thing by not drowning it at birth? Wow, go see a loving therapist, that's terrifying.
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Apr 25, 2011 03:52
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Im looking for book notes / chapter summaries for a few books that I cannot find on the standard sites or a preliminary google search. Any advice on resources for summaries? Specifically I am looking for Norris Hundley Jr. ,The Great Thirst Beaudoin,T., Virtual Faith Covington, D., Salvation on Sand Mountain Eck, D, A New Religious Pluralism Marti, G., Hollywood Faith Mazur, E.M. and McCarthy, K., God in the Details Thanks
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Apr 26, 2011 22:12
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I dunno, maybe you could actually do the readings for your Modern American Religion class.
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Apr 26, 2011 22:18
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Trying to remember the name of a story which was linked on a thread in TBB a while back. It was a SF story published online about an AI which becomes sentient and takes control of the world, the entire population is made immortal and can live out any fantasy they wish. Ring any bells?
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Apr 27, 2011 01:36
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So when are the book-of-the-month threads going back to good books instead of terrible/ironic choices?
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Apr 27, 2011 19:24
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I'm hoping someone might be able to attach a name to a sci-fi short story I read years ago: It involves a society that has discovered and engage in a technique that allows them to escape their physical bodies and basically live as spirits, while still possessing the ability to repossess an uninhabited body. I believe it's written in the first person, as the narrator talks about being fooled into agreeing to possess the body of the man who discovered the technique, which was terribly out of shape, in order to run an annual parade to celebrate the discovery of the technique. The society actually represents a minority, as many people see the technique as blasphemous and are hostile to the out-of-body people. Near the end of the story, the narrator and his wife find an attractive uninhabited body. When they possess it, they find out it's a trap set by people hostile to them. The narrator and his wife threaten their captors by claiming that they can actually possess habited bodies, which scare the captors into releasing them.
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Apr 28, 2011 19:26
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I started A Game of Thrones after watching the first episode, and continued it after the 2nd. Wish I could put the pictures of the HBO characters/settings out of my head because it's taking a little enjoyment away. Incredible though, I can't believe I'm so out of the loop!
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Apr 30, 2011 07:59
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Chamberk posted:So when are the book-of-the-month threads going back to good books instead of terrible/ironic choices? Yeah, hopefully soon.
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Apr 30, 2011 11:26
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I think a baseball-themed month would be cool, actually.
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Apr 30, 2011 17:11
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O Hanraha-hanrahan posted:Trying to remember the name of a story which was linked on a thread in TBB a while back. It was a SF story published online about an AI which becomes sentient and takes control of the world, the entire population is made immortal and can live out any fantasy they wish. Ring any bells? http://www.kuro5hin.org/prime-intellect/
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May 1, 2011 01:32
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Chamberk posted:So when are the book-of-the-month threads going back to good books instead of terrible/ironic choices? When you start posting in them. 
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May 1, 2011 20:36
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Hey, I posted some in that Return of the Native thread.
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May 2, 2011 17:31
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Celine. German or English translation?
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May 6, 2011 13:23
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So I just updated my Calibre and got the Goodreads plugin, now I can easily sync my Sony Reader to my Facebook! ....this would be cooler if I had more than 2 friends doing the same thing.  Any goons on Goodreads? Any special groups, etc? It'd be interesting to see some of the more prolific posters reading lists.
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May 7, 2011 02:56
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I'm thinking Nascar romance for next month's awful book.
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May 7, 2011 03:21
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