I am not normally terribly interested in the workings of the telephone system.  Despite the fact that my significant other runs the phones (among other things) at a local Department of Energy facility, I find it hard to concern myself with them.  My telephone of choice at home is a black desktop rotary I bought [...]

The past few weeks have conspired to finally make me learn the difference between a sail and a sheet. I can hear many of you, dear readers, chuckling to yourselves right now, and I honestly don’t blame you.  I have been a maritime librarian for several years and still had no firm grasp on the [...]

Last week in the pages of the New Yorker magazine, I read that the Vatican Library had re-opened to the public after a 3-year closure for renovations and enhancements.  Even though the re-opening happened last September, it somehow escaped my notice.  If you are a subscriber to the magazine, the article, entitled “God’s Librarians: The Vatican Library [...]