Ironing Man

For 30 years in the monastery, getting dressed for work was easy: I threw on my habit, tied the leather cincture around my waist and I was set for most any occasion.

Now life is more complicated. Tom convinced me that wearing casual long sleeve business shirt with a tie was the way to go for work, and I have followed his advice -- adjusting it a bit by wearing cartoon and other novelty ties to keep things light. But long sleeve business casual shirts need to be ironed, again according to His Lawyerlyness. Which was fine back when he was happy to do my ironing, although he was a bit heavy on the starch. But since he retired and got involved in everything under the sun from quarter-scale steam trains to local political campaigns and saving-the-Dells, the ironing has fallen to my lot.

During the summer, I am not so into the casual-business-shirts-with-ties, although I do wear them from time to time. But it is Labor Day, the weather is changing (high of 65 [18.3C] today), and I spent part of the morning ironing enough of those long sleeve business casual shirts to keep me going for the next couple of weeks.

Reminds me of a joke I heard a few years ago:

The good news, ladies, is that there are men who will iron their own shirts.

Bet you already guessed the bad news.

Family ties (liens de famille)

We went into Madison today to do some shopping. Tom wanted to get some art supplies and I had several things I was looking for. Among things I picked up was this book on the history of Wales. Since we have been looking into family origins and all, I have become more interested in the Welsh connection.

Kristin meanwhile is looking across the English Channel and thinks she has now linked us to Pepin of Landen and Charlemagne. This is a source of some amusement to me, because I wish I could see my brother's face when he realizes he has French blood! Even without the Carolingian connection, the French part seems assured. Our Norman ancestors -- de Venables -- apparently came over to England with or shortly after the Conqueror in 1066, but I don't think this will make Ted happier. Dodds with their Welsh/Cheshire/Shropshire roots were already there holding lands, the name appearing in the Domesday Book.

Tom is unimpressed. He pointed out that his Jewish ancestry makes him a relative of Jesus. He figures nothing the Dodd-Morgan-Hedricks-Mitchum crowd or even the de Venables can come up with will top that.

Round, plump, bald?

Since Daddy died, Kristin and Kirstin have been burning up the internet researching the family tree. They seem to be having fun -- and the occasional difference of opinion -- and I am observing with interest. At the moment, Kristin and I are working on the origin of the surname, something I looked into a few decades back. Some of the possible orgins are boringly probable -- derivation from Roger (or Roderick) which became Dodger, became Dodge, became Dodd. Others are more entertaining. My favorite is this gem, found on a number of sites about the coat of arms:

This name is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is one of the earliest surnames recorded. The name derives from a Germanic word used to describe something round and plump, used in Olde English pre 7th Century as a byname or nickname for such a person, and also found recorded as a personal name. The surname Dodd and Dod, and the patronymic forms Dods and Dodds, "son of Dod(d)", may mean "the hairless or close-cropped one", from the Olde English "dod", to make bare, but in the majority of cases the surname is from the medieval personal name.[This means the dude -- er, Dodd -- was bald.]

I'm a librarian

Fast facts about Wisconsin public libraries in 2010

• Over the last five years, public library visits have increased by over 10% and circulation has increased 15%. The number of paid library staff decreased 0.6%. Public library staff per capita has decreased 2.6% over this period.
• In comparison with other states, Wisconsin ranks 8th in per capita in circulation, but 22nd for total operating revenue and 21st for total operating expenditures per capita.
• Six out of 10 state residents are registered library users. These library users made over 35 million visits to Wisconsin public libraries in 2010. Season attendance for Brewer home games in 2010 was 2.8 million.
• The average number of user visits per week to Wisconsin public libraries is 676,000. Season attendance at Packer home games is about 566,000.
• Over 65 million items were circulated by Wisconsin’s public libraries in 2010. Wisconsin ranks 8th in per capita circulation nationally.
• On average, 1.25 million items are checked out of Wisconsin public libraries each week. More than one-third of these circulations are children’s materials.
• Each year 9 million items are shared between libraries to fill requests for materials not available locally. Wisconsin ranks 1st nationally in per capita interlibrary loans. Resource sharing coordinated by public library systems and the DPI is a model for how to use public resources efficiently.
• Wisconsin has 385 public libraries and 80 public library branches. Almost all of these libraries will serve any Wisconsin resident. All of Wisconsin’s public libraries have voluntarily chosen to participate in one of the states regional public library systems that provide efficiencies through sharing and consolidation of services.
• The average per capita municipal and county property taxes paid by Wisconsin residents for public library operations in 2010 was $36.27. Wisconsin ranks 18th in per capita local and county tax support.
• Nearly all of Wisconsin public libraries offer wireless Internet access to library users. Over 93% of Wisconsin public libraries provide access to licensed electronic books and downloadable audio and video files.
• Every Wisconsin library and citizen has access to thousands of online newspapers, magazines and books through the DPI’s BadgerLink service.
• Over 98% of Wisconsin public libraries help people access and use employment resources, including help with job searches, creating resumes and submitting employment applications
• Programs provided by public libraries and directed toward children had attendance of over 1.6 million. Summer library program attendance for children and young adults was nearly 500,000.