I was trained as a librarian specializing in cataloging and categorization back in the day of GOPHER.  Librarians always knew that we had already solved many of the issues of this new-fangled Internet long ago.  Things like information retrieval engines were the bread and butter of our major suppliers.  They had some pretty nifty search algorithms even back then.

I can only say that search algorithms have gotten better for personal searches.  The learning capacity that Google’s search has displayed would have been considered science fiction 25 years ago.  But, it exists today.

That’s the good.

Fast forward a few years.  Suddenly, everyone believes they have the expertise to be an “information architect” – which is really a fancy way of saying “cataloger” or “records manager.”  They started to reinvent the wheel – and usurp much of the language.

The language of cataloging that has been twisted by so-called information architects is what has driven me bonkers.   I fully realize that this battle was lost well before I realized what was happening.  And I realize that if you haven’t had the specialized training you wouldn’t understand that the terminology was so incredibly wrong.

What, pray tell, am I speaking of?  The use of the word taxonomy!  A taxonomy is a very specific type of classification system wherein an item can only fit once within a hierarchical system.  At least, that is what taxonomy used to mean.

I’m not sure who to blame for this twisting of the English language which, like its German brother, has a very diverse vocabulary that is capable of great precision.  I suspect that someone, somewhere in marketing decided it was a good idea to adopt the term.

Matters were not helped when the Ann Arborites who wrote O’Reilly’s Information Architecture book allowed the nonsense to continue.  I’ve met them – many times - and don’t remember if either had training in cataloging.  I do know that we spent a great deal of time arguing about the realities faced in actually implementing any kind of information architecture due to politics.  Both were academicians when they wrote the book, I know they have been disabused of their naivete long since.

When you start organizing a web site, you are using classification and information theory.  If you were to come to me and actually mean that you were creating a taxonomy, I would fire you on the spot.  The nature of the internet allows classification schemas that are so much more rich and robust than a taxonomy!  The sky really is the limit – as long as you avoid Vannevar Bush’s Memex machine.

I am fully aware that I have lost this battle.  It was never winnable if, as I suspect, someone in marketing decided they liked the word “taxonomy.”  But, I, as a crotchety old cataloger from the earliest days of modern electronic resources (electronic resources having been here since the 1970s), reserve the right to cringe and rant away in her head as she hears these ignorant whippersnappers spout off about that which they know so little. 

And, a part of me still blames Peter Morville and Louis Rosenfield for letting it get out of hand – even though they are both very nice and smart people!

Family and illness intermix in ways that can become all-consuming.  Details will be forthcoming as I recover some energy.

I did attend an art festival in Downtown Detroit, though.  (Details soon to come for that, too!)

Cedar Point is a major amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. If you like roller coasters it is the park that you cannot miss. Some of the roller coaster rides even include water.

I used to love roller coasters. I want to continue to love roller coasters.

This seems to surprise many people. I’m not sure why. Roller coasters are fun. Even getting wet can be fun when it is 90 degrees Fahrenheit plus out. DH, a group of his friends, and I went on a bus last week to this wildly popular amusement park. It was even 90 plus degrees out.

Now, it seems, the years in a sedentary job, fertility treatments, and cancer treatments, have taken their toll so that something as small as Cedar Point’s Gemini wooden roller coaster can leave my neck muscles twinging in an all too familiar – and unwanted – way. My chiropractor suggested that a chiropractic adjustment should be part of the ticket price.

I blamed the rickety wood of the Gemini.

I tried to convince someone to go with me on the Millenium Force roller coaster. My reasoning was that the metal coasters tend to be much smoother. After all, I had survived The Beast at King’s Island when I was younger – how much harder could the Millenium Force be? No one was buying it.

Now, I’m not insane about my roller coaster love. I do not do anything that goes upside down or spins round and round. Those are just completely unpleasant experiences for me. I also was not about to go on the Top Thrill Roadster – the site of it had my stomach doing flip-flops of fear.

Now, you would think I would have hit more than one roller coaster. This simply was not to be. I went on a ride known as Thunder Canyon. Thunder Canyon leaves you completely soaked. There is NO ESCAPE from being wet on this ride. I bet you know what happened next.

It rained.

No, that’s not right. A torrential downpour started and further soaked us – and shut down all the rides. At least the arcade at Cedar Point has a ton of classic pinball and arcade games. WordPress tags: funI got to embarrass myself with Centipede, Jurassic Park, and a variety of other old-time games. They even had Space Invaders. Quite a few quarters were wasted on the precept that I still had the ability to play these games. This was based on distant memories of always having my initials on the first three places on a number of Centipede games when I was a kid.

I have to remember that you need to practice in order to continue to play these games well. Maybe I can convince DH that having a Centipede arcade game would be a good investment . . . Nah, probably not. I’ll stick to playing Little Big Planet and World of Warcraft for now. Little Big Planet is the most wholesome game I have ever played in my life. And the music is rocking. Now, if I could only get past the level I’m stuck on . . .

So, back to being drenched in Cedar Point. No one ::cough::husband::cough:: told me that there were lockers at Cedar Point these days. I didn’t remember them from my youth. Of course, I can be notoriously oblivious to the obvious at times. I would have brought a change of clothes. No, instead, I had to irritate my Depression Era Husband (not really that old, but in some attitudes), by buying overpriced Cedar Point brand clothes – and a blanket.

Remember how I mentioned that there was a bus filled with people? Those people were of ALL ages and various states of health. Since this was a paid for event by a very generous friend, people did not want to miss it if they had the sniffles. And, well, the children – of all ages as well (including some spouses) – needed to share.

Did I mention everyone got a magic paper bracelet that allowed them all the pop they could drink?

There were a number of under-5s who had taken advantage of this. For some reason, a day at Cedar Point with rides, and lots of other stimulation, did not leave any of them tired! (LOL – I am sooo not surprised.) There is nothing like under-5s who are amped on sugar and caffeine on a private bus with even more snacks and soda. Now, none of them were ill-behaved, but their energy levels were quite high.

One reason I mention this is that one couple couldn’t make it, but their just-turned-five son could. They looked so happy as the bus pulled out. They really believed their son would be tired when he got back.

BWHAHAHAHA

sorry, couldn’t help myself.

Anyway, when you add spending a day in the rain sopping wet, with lots of people in a confined space, and much less sleep than you should get, well, is it any wonder I got a cold?