Book Review: The Librarian

Larry Beinhart has come out with The Librarian: A Novel (Nation Books) which is another in his line of political thrillers. Beinhart was the guy who wrote American Hero, which became the movie Wag the Dog.

In The Librarian, a relatively hapless college librarian stumbles across a GOP plot to steal an election. The characters are thin washes over the players in our current election and the level of apparent prescience in this novel is astounding. His August Scott is clearly George W. Bush and Scott's minions are a familiar cast. The issues and arguments played out in this novel are troubling reflections of the 2004 election.

The publication date is September 2004, so it may be the case that Beinhart has been able, in last-minute polishing, to add recent color to his manuscript. This is no roughshod effort, however, so it seems more likely that he wrote these details some time back.

Bottom line: it's a good read. Your political leanings may color your reaction to this novel; it smacks the Bush people rather firmly. It is worth noting, as well, that Nation Books has rather a long line of Bush-bashing tiles.

I liked it, however, and I recommend it.

Fear of Public Speaking?

This is the crowd at the NSGIC meeting, during the roll call of states. That's Richard from Alaska in the lower right (sans tie) talking with Milo, from the FGDC (with tie).

I snapped this while waiting to give a short update on GIS Coordination activities in Delaware. I also got to give a short speech as a candidate for the NSGIC Board (I lost) and two longer presentations. It was fun; the NSGIC crowd is attentive and intelligent and supportive. 

Sunset over Lake Austin

As a social event for the NSGIC conference, we had dinner and a sunset at a huge place called The Oasis. It had all sorts of decks all overlooking the lake from great height and all featuring sunset dining. The sunset was pretty good. The food was so-so. 

Heading Home

Well. The 2004 NSGIC Annual Meeting has come to an end. It's a Friday morning and I'm getting ready to check out of this Hyatt Hotel and head for the Austin airport and a Southwest Airlines flight to Baltimore.

I'm ready to go. NSGIC is a fairly insane group. We started meeting at mid-day on Sunday and continued from about 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day through Thursday. Last night, I sat as part of a selection committee interviewing prospective Association Management Firms. We went until 11:15 p.m. This is not to mention two social evenings arranged by the group.

Side Note: If you find yourself in Austin, I strongly recommend that you check out Esther's Follies, which features the best George W. Bush impersonater I have ever seen. The guy's name is Kerry Awn and he is apparently also a local graphic artist of some repute.

But now it is time to head back home. Hurricane Ivan has become a major rain event around the Mid-Atlantic, but I should have no trouble getting home by this evening. Knock wood.

And I have to be Very Very Quiet...

So. I'm in Austin, Texas, for a national conference of the National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC). This is a group of people who do sort of what I do in Delaware in all the other states. There are 48 states represented this year, which makes for a crowded, but exciting meeting.

I'm up for election to the Board of Trustees this year. My candidate speech this morning included a request from Karen that no one vote for me. It would be neat to be on the board, but it would be added work and one additional trip each year and that's a hardship on her. So. If I am not elected, it will not be a major disappointment.

Meanwhile, I cannot gloat that the Reskins won on Sunday and the Cowboys lost. Nor can I be as open about my political leanings as I would really like.

Three Seconds, Three Firsts

Colleen practices jumping on Cagney.

Colleen took part in a horse show at the Milton Equestrian Center today. She took second place in the three "Equestrian" classes she rode in; she was the only person, and therefore first, in he three jumping classes. She rode well and had a good time.

Mahaffies at Tyler Place, 2004

Mahaffies at Tyler Place, 2004
Because I am migrating old links over to this new site, that's why.

Face of Tomorrow

The Face of Tomorrow: the Human Face of Globalization, photographs by Mike Mike
A fascinating site that presents composite faces created from many individual face photographs in different cities around the world. The main page has a cool face-to-face-to-face morph image.
Reminds me of the old Michael Jackson Video; the only one I ever liked. What was that song?

Sweet 16th!

Today is Karen and my 16th wedding anniversary. Wow. This is evidence of Karen's remarkable patience and kindness.

We married in an Orthodox Catholic Church in Potomac, Maryland. Lots of kneeling.

Our reception was a drunken revel, near as I can tell. I think Karen and I were the only sober adults when we rolled out of there to our wedding night at the Admiral Fell Inn, in Baltimore.

We flew off to Switzerland on our honeymoon the next day. We took a Swissair flight and when we plugged in the headphones and dialed up pop music we had a pleasant surprise: music we hadn't heard (endlessly) before. We found music from the first album from Fairground Attraction. It was their one real hit "Perfect." This led us, eventually, to Eddi Reader.

This was the first music discovery of our married life together; it hasn't been the last. Music is a major part of our lives and Karen has brought me great joy with her knowledge and love of music.

I was pleasantly surprised to come across a music-blog entry about Fairground Attraction and Eddi Reader this week on WomenFolk (a well put together blog focused on women in music). I was inspired to look for the latest Eddi Reader recording at the music store in the local mall here in Dover where I work. Nothing in the bins, so I checked with the young man behind the counter, who consulted the computer:

"Eddi Reader? Oh yeah, we don't have any of his stuff in stock. I can order it for you..."

Never mind. I did find a copy of Art Garfunkel's EVERYTHING WAITS TO BE NOTICED which features Garfunkel with two other singers that sounded interesting. Worth a listen, part of our ongoing journey of discovery. Karen took it on her commute this morning, we'll see what she thinks!

Cool! Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine Finds Delaware Smoking Ban Works

Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine - Abstract: Volume 46(9) September 2004 p 887-905

So, according to this study (Respirable Particles and Carcinogens in the Air of Delaware Hospitality Venues Before and After a Smoking Ban), Delaware's ban on smoking in indoor public spaces has worked:

This air-quality survey demonstrates conclusively that the health of hospitality workers and patrons is endangered by tobacco smoke pollution. Smoke-free workplace laws eliminate that hazard and provide health protection impossible to achieve through ventilation or air cleaning.

We sort of already knew this, but it's nice to have scientific back-up!