Leaking tap - afterword

When I was struggling with the leaky garden tap I was also struggling with the mains tap.

It was very difficult to turn off and in the end I replaced the old tap with a trickle still coming through the pipes.

However the brains trust encouraged me to report the difficult mains tap to the water authority, which I did using a web form. Imagine my surprise when I came home that same day and it had been replaced with a bright shiny new tap.

I was curious about how it was done. Turning off the water in the street would have to be done from down the road and would inconvenience everyone in the street and take a lot longer for the plumber. My question was answered by examining the evidence. Clearly the plumber had just taken off the tap, water gushing, replaced it with a new one. The job would have taken less than 30 seconds. Neat.

 

 

Fixing a leaking tap

This is not an allegory.

The front garden tap was leaking. I would replace the washer. How hard could that be.

Turn off the mains.

Undo the top of the tap. First problem. The pipe was only loosely fixed to the wall and I had no firm anchor. First solution, use another wrench to hold the tap (against my knee) while I undid the top.

Take out the old washer. Second problem the washer seemed to be very unusual or it had broken in the tap.

Consult the brains trust via email. Suggestion, just get the broken white bit out. That proved too hard.

My sister suggested I just replace the whole tap. Better suggestion.

Go to big warehouse place and buy a new tap. Umm. Is it 15mm or 20mm? Didn't bring old tap (it was busy keeping the reservoir from emptying into our front garden). Make educated guess. Buy 20mm tap. Take off old tap. Realise educated guess was wrong. Back to big warehouse (conveniently open lots of hours on the weekend). Buy new tap.

Second solution, replace whole tap. Success!

Sometimes the smallest jobs can take just the most effort.

 

Moomintroll nanoblock

A colleague brought back a little something for me from Japan, inspired by my recent musings on Tove Jansson and her Moomin masterpieces.

For nanoblocks I needed an expert with skills developed on Lego and honed on Minecraft. And with little fingers. Mr13 was summoned.

Instructions were required.

Coming together from the ground up (looks like Minecraft in the real world!)

The completed Moomintroll.

Complete with a tail! Look closely.

Thank you Matthias.

 

Celebrating a Troll (Moomintroll)

This year is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Tove Jansson, the renowned Finnish artist and writer. In Europe she is a household name and her Moomin books, illustrations, comics and videos are everywhere. She is a cultural icon and her works a treasure.

I recall the Moomin books vividly from my youth but my own bookshelf at home was empty of her books. Easily rectified I thought. I would just look at a few from the public library to help decide what to buy. I was dismayed to search the public libraries for her books to find the pickings rather slim. No problem, I would just have a look on the shelf at my local bookshops. I visited bookshops, even the redoubtable Westbooks, but found they didn't have any in store. What! No demand they said but we can get them for you.

It seems that sometime since my youth Tove Jansson and her Moomin books have fallen from favour in this part of the world. When I talk about Jansson's books to colleagues and friends I find many who know nothing of them.

This is intolerable. I now have a set of her books and am reading them even as I write, and I can testify that they are good, very, very good. I am in awe of her writing and her illustration. These are books that have stood the test of time because they are quality.

It is time for some renewal. I urge you, my reader, to get some Moomin on your shelves. Your shelves at home, your shelves at work, the shelves of your local book retailer. What a great way to mark the anniversary of a national (Finnish) treasure.

You will not be disappointed.

Celebrating 100 Years http://www.tove100.com/

Tove Jansson: Love, war and the Moomins http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26529309

Suggested titles :) http://www.goodreads.com/series/50696-the-moomins

Playing sport for fun

Mr13 plays Modcrosse on a Saturday morning.

 

Modcrosse is a modified, junior version of the better known Lacrosse. The club he plays with has four under 13 teams and they play against each other. They keep score and play by the rules but there are no sheep stations on offer and no ugly parent syndrome. If a team is short then a player from the other side will swap for the day. The game is basically played because the organising adults really like the sport and the kids enjoy playing. Perhaps because it isn't a mainstream sport it attracts kids and families who are a little less fanatical, I don't know, but it is very pleasant. Sport played for fun!

 

DNA Molecule Man - art on campus

Walked past this many times. Didn't want to stop and look too closely but made the effort today to find the plaque. Much older than I would have guessed. 1972. Andrew Hickson.

 

 

More art on campus

I've walked past a particular art work on campus for year but made the effort the other day to find out the artist and the title. Unfortunately it's plaque seemed to have gone missing (the campus is constantly being improved) but Yammer provided the information via the Gallery.

This is Loco Form by Lou Lambert and was acquired in 1985, so has withstood the elements (and campus improvements) quite well.

 

I discovered that there are more works by Lou Lambert.

This is Jacks or Better and was acquired in 1994.

 

 

Now I need to keep an eye out for other work on campus by Lou Lambert!

 

Seasonal Wetland

This artificial lake on campus has been reconstructed as a seasonal wetland. This means that it has water when it has rained and is dry when it is dry. Sometimes a little information helps, and since realising what the lake is mean to be I have learned to appreciate it, even when it is dry.

 

 

Way Through - art on campus

Another piece on campus by Howard Taylor always attracts attention.

 

 

 

Tea and tanks

I recently attended an afternoon book launch which was held in a lecture room at the Army Museum of Western Australia in Fremantle.

Unusual juxtaposition - afternoon tea and tanks.

However perhaps not so surprising given the title of the book - Lest we forget? Marginalised aspects of Australia at war and peace.

You can find out about the book from Black Swan Press.

 

What happens on campus

Run for your lives!

 

 

 

The paper and the poster - open and ready for business

In June this year I attended the 35th Annual Conference of the International Association of Technological University Libraries (IATUL) at Aalto University in Helsinki.

I presented a paper on Implementing a Next Generation Library System, a topic on which I could speak for some time and which seemed to engage my audience. The paper and my slides are now available.

http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iatul/2014/libservsys/1/

I also presented a poster on Virtualising the Bookshelf. I'd not done a poster before and despite the inconvenience it caused me in transportation the conversation and interest that it generated made it a worthwhile exercise. The poster is also available.


http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iatul/2014/posters/3/

For interest my earlier 2012 paper on Visualization for New Generation Users in the Age of the Electronic Book is also still in print ; )

http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iatul/2012/papers/42/

Public Art

I try to appreciate public art works. They don't always hit the mark, and sometimes that is just a matter of taste, but someone has gone to the time and expense of commissioning a work and an artist has produced something to enrich our lives. A little respect is called for, even if the end result doesn't work for everyone.

At my place of work there are a many artworks including some installations by the great local artist Howard Taylor.

I'm not sure this is one that really works for me, but it has a certain presence and has stood the test of time!

 

Enjoy.

If you want to learn more about the artist try this website from the WA Art Gallery. It also links to a self portrait this is one of my favourite works in the gallery.

 

Scar tissue

I was told once that rules in an organisation are the scar tissue of past mishaps.

 

This is so true!

The challenge is to wipe away the scar tissue and start over a fresh (but remember that some of those rules might still be needed!)

 

The Door Into Summer - Robert Heinlein

This is the Hundred-and-thirty-eighth in my one-book-at-a-time bookshelf.

 

I've added another Heinlein to my bookshelf. This one from 1957 but with a very new cover. I thought I'd read it but as I started I realised that this one, whose title I knew, had passed me by and I didn't know the story at all. What a treat. Not a long treat as I read it in the afternoon, and it had the unmistakable themes and characters of Heinlein, but a treat nonetheless.

 

 

Browsing is good for the soul

I love to browse my library's virtual bookshelf of new books.

 

I am intrigued sometimes, like this book about Shakers, what is that all about? And then later I see a second book on the same topic and realise someone is doing teaching or research in this area. And what is it with the green cats?

I love window shopping.

 

 

Maths comes to dinner

I was 'helping' ms15 with some mathematics at the dinner table using a serviette and my trusty Doctor Who Experience pen.

 

Most fun I had all day.

(I could say pie for dinner but that would just get howled down.)

 

Pizza night

A family tradition is to make pizza on a Sunday night (no, not every Sunday night). I use a bread machine to make the dough and everyone pitches in to prepare the topping and create the meal.

Ready for the oven.

 

On the go.

 

Out of the oven, set the table.

 

Mushroom, pumpkin and feta.

 

Yum.

 

Dinosaurs in the library

The old state library has been infested by dinosaurs.

 

 

And they have their eye on the new state library.

 

Librarians beware.

 

Not dead yet

I had the pleasure (or drew the short straw depending on your point of view) of making the farewell speech for my boss today at a whole of staff morning tea. She is leaving us for the ranks of the retired after a long and distinguished career.

I couldn't help but think of the eulogies that I have delivered, fortunately only a few, and how I've always tried to reflect the whole person. If you ignore or gloss over all imperfections then you rob the eulogy of authenticity and you do a disservice to those who knew the person and to the person, who is after all composed of all the highs and lows that make us human.

However this wasn't quite a eulogy, as the person was right in front of me, occasionally interjecting, looking thoughtful or laughing. She also had the right of reply!

All in all it was more fun than a eulogy.