Observations and inanities by a second-shift assistant supervisor in the Puppy-Grinding division of the Evil Atheist Conspiracy® (our motto: "Sure it's cruel, but think of the jobs!"), your host, Brent Rasmussen.
Astonished.
Huh.
I wrote back in May about a professional contact I had with an educational institution which was looking for information about conservatorial care for a large collection of historically significant bindings. As I said in that post:
However, when I got to the appointed meeting, it quickly became clear that in the mind of the administrators, "conservation care" meant exactly one thing: rebinding all the books to look new. To make the collection all nice and pretty, like one of those fake bookshelf sets in some office or as a movie prop.
I presented them with an alternative: preserving the original bindings in so far as possible, while making them stable and secure for future generations. I even took home several sample volumes and performed the correct conservation treatment on them, and sent them back to show how the books could be properly cared for. But I had little real hope that they would opt to take that route, since it is both more time-consuming and expensive, and they seemed so committed to the other course.
Yesterday I found out that they want me to do the work. As I outlined it. This will take several years, as it involves thousands of bindings.
Huh.
And now, much sooner than I expected, and under different circumstances, I'm facing a radical change to my personal reality: before too long I will not be the primary care-provider for my MIL - my wife will take on that responsibility so that I can devote my time fully to this new conservation project. As I said on my blog this morning:
To a certain extent I feel like my life has just undergone a paradigm shift, as nothing has really changed and yet I see most things in a different light altogether.
Interesting.
Jim Downey
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Double Congrats
Quick congrats to echo everyone else's.
The second being that I'm on chapter 15 of your book, Seth just went into the burl, and the only reason I didn't keep reading is that I apparently didn't print the entire book the first time. Which is probably a good thing as it was about 1am when I ran out of pages. I'll give you my little review as soon as I finish, which could be tonight. I case it wasn't obvious, I'm very much enjoying it.
I've noticed some minor things along the way, if you'd like I could attempt to be an amateur editor for you. Oh and a big thank you for making this available, although it is a little ironic that you preserve books and your book isn't a book at all...
I dunno
I don't know if Jim will want your review given your screen name. :)
ha
good point although the screen name is just my way of admitting that I can't write. "his prose was frightful, only his ideas were good." Well and obviously to say that I'm a Vonnegut fan.
Oh and Jim seeing as I have a very dull job, I printed out the rest of the book and read it just now. I'll leave a link to my review on my site as soon as I write it. Thanks again!
Review
I didn't mean to hijack this thread but heres my little review of your book. Thanks again! oh and Congrats again hope everything works out, I'll pray for you all. Hehe, little joke.
Thanks for your prayers...
...but I really appreciate the review. ;)
I'm just in for a moment, will get back to you on your site later rather than turn UTI into a forum about my book. But glad to hear you enjoyed it so much.
Jim Downey
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Like Science Fiction? Read my novel, Communion of Dreams, for free.
Thanks
Congratulations Jim and thank you for sharing your good news with us.
Congratulations! And I hope
Congratulations! And I hope the new care-giving arrangement works well for all three of you.
A real win-win
You get a lot of good work and the school makes a valuable investment. Congratulations and I hope to see the occasional photo.
Congratulations indeed!
Great job, Jim. I'd enjoy watching some of the process in person, and not in just your photos. It's fascinating to me. In spite of the tremendous labor and time it will take, I hope it will be incredibly rewarding to you.
-Col.
Danke.
Thanks, Col. (and everyone else who offered congratulations on this). I don't recall if you were around when I last posted a link to a series of photos from a year or two ago, but here it is:
16th Century Breviary.
Honestly, most people who watch me work just find the process tedious and not terribly exciting.
Jim Downey
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Like Science Fiction? Read my novel, Communion of Dreams, for free.
Yet more congratulations
And as any well-oiled selection bias would tell you, this is divine intervention! ;-)
Yes, I did
see the photos. They were part of why I am fascinated by it. I wouldn't care for the tedium (too anal, I guess), but would like to see the process and hear about what to avoid, do and not do, etc. In fact, I wish I could know you in person. From what little I know of you, I think that there are a number of things we'd enjoy doing together. I also think you'd find I'm just a regular guy with joys and pains and the other stuff of life. One reason (only one) why I think epithets sometimes fly at UTI is because we don't actually know the other person(s). It's too bad, really.
Congrats again on the project!
-Col.
Congratulations, and...
... don't sell yourself short, I suspect you made a very convincing case.
I'd be surprised if your blogging efforts haven't sharpened up your ability to make a case :)
Congrats
Congrats! Maybe good things do happen to good people after all? Settle down. I am not suggesting divine intervention.
Does karma count as divine?
It's just the nature of good revisiting good. Payback.
Sometimes it's not a b*tch after all.