Quantum reasoning, linguistics, and AI

Bruza, Peter D. & Cole, Richard (2005) Quantum Logic of Semantic Space: An Exploratory Investigation of Context Effects in Practical Reasoning. In Artemov, S., Barringer, H., d'Avila Garcez, A.S., & Woods, J.H. (Eds.) We Will Show Them: Essays in Honour of Dov Gabbay. College Publications, London, UK, pp. 339-361. https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0612178

"Associations are often based on similarity (e.g., semantic or analogical similarity)....
The strength of associations between concepts change dynamically under the influence of context" (2).

"A product of the collapse is a change of state, or “meaning” of the word. As a consequence, word associations also change. QM is one of the few frameworks in which context is neatly integrated. Essentially, context is something akin to a quantum measurement which brings about collapse." ... However, "In QM, collapse results in an eigenstate, whereas the collapse of word meaning in semantic space may be partial" (20). 

OK, so what this means, I think, is that formulas from quantum mechanics may be applied to representing how we categorize new conceptual information (aka knowledge). The categories we put concepts in are based on their associations with each other; the context they are in leads to specific meaning. When one puts a term in context, as in a phrase or sentence, the possible meanings of the term collapse, perhaps to a fewer number, or even to one (the "eigenstate"). How strongly we associate a concept with other concepts depends on their similarity.

Context is everything. So, if one chooses to categorize the concept of "light" as being made of "particles" (associating light with "matter"), that is what one detects and measures; and the same for "light" and "waves" (associating it with "sound").
 

---------------------------
Busemeyer, Jerome & Bruza, Peter D. (2012) Quantum models of cognition and decision. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

This book follow up with applying quantum probability to semantics and applying the quantum entanglement state to neuroscience to understand how we process information - how we think and know, how we make decisions, word associations and memory. 

Peter is now applying information processing to artificial intelligence, autonomous robots, health-related clinical decision-making, and trust. He is the Discipline Leader for Information Science, which is where my sabbatical QUT fellowship is situated. 

Adventures in Australian fiction

I have been reading mostly Australian writers.

Picture books:

Gibbs, May. Found Tales from the Gum Tree sickeningly cutesy.

Lester, Alison, Elizabeth Honey, and the children of Gununa. Our Island is great! The children did the artwork, using crayons and food dye.

Oliver, Narelle. Fox and Fine Feathers was fantastic, gorgeous artwork.

Owen, Lindsey, ill. by Matteo Grilli. Poss in Boots was funny, about a young possum who tap dances on the roof of a house of jazz musicians.

Found the book about the Aboriginal cricket team in the 1800's illuminating.

Juvenile:

Brinsmead, Hesba: lovedThe Honey Forest

Hall, Leanne: Iris and the Tiger - set in Spain but with an Australian protagonist - really terrific!   

Lindsay, Norman: I read about half of The Magic Pudding - it is funny.

Pascoe, Bruce: Mrs Whitlam (Aboriginal, girl and horse) was ok but the writing wasn't that good.

YA:

• Brinsmead, Hesba: I felt that Isle of the Sea Horse was boring, sort of an Aussie retelling of Swiss Family Robinson so didn't finish it.
• Fitzpatrick, Deb. Have you Seen Ally Queen?  I guess I'm tired of sad YA novels: didn't finish it.
• Gough, Erin: I found The Flywheel by (lesbian) difficult and sad until the very end, when it came round right.
• Winch, Tara June: Swallow the Air (Aboriginal) was beautifully written but so very sad.
• Wrightson, Patricia: liked A Little Fear and A Wisp of Smoke. Did not finish Shadows of Time.

Adult:

Slatter, Angela. I just finished the compelling Vigil (urban myth, Brisbane setting) and have been thinking about it ever since. Corpselight was also compelling! Next is Restoration, due out in 2018.

Greenwood, Kerry. Enjoyed Earthly Delights - loved it right up until the ending! Next is Heavenly Pleasures, only in print format at KDL (as are the others in this Corinna Chapman series). I placed a request for the large print of Devil's Food (#3) from Brisbane Library.

Hodgson, Anthea. The Drifter -  not your typical Western Australia romance - an excellent story!

Nunn, Judy. Enjoyed Spirits of the Ghan - historical and contemporary fiction, set in cities and the Outback.  

Fergus, Lara. Tried to read My Sister Chaos (about a lesbian cartographer with OCD, obsessed with mapping her house, and her twin) but couldn't stand it.

Hawthorne, Susan. Falling Woman is about a lesbian with epilepsy, told in 3 ways - as a child, Stella, as an adult with her partner, Estella, and there's a mystical part with Estelle. I'm enjoying it and am simultaneously bored with it.

Mears, Gillian. Foal's Bread. 2012. - fiction about a young woman, set in New South Wales between WWI and WWII. Great writing but sad, and I didn't finish it.

Van Neerven, Ellen. Read Heat and Light (Aboriginal, lesbian short stories); it too was beautifully written but sad.

Sabbatical update

Since July 21, I've talked with more authors whose works I've read (Ian Stoodley, Elham Sayyad Abdi), been asked to showcase GVSU Libraries (that is, guest lecture in 2 different Information, a.k.a. library school, master's level courses), corresponded with chapter authors for the book, worked on my own chapter - especially creating a model for it, and went to another lecture by Ron Arkin (Georgia Tech) about "Lethal autonomous robots and the plight of the noncombatant."

Ron's work in robot ethics is fascinating. He addressed: In war, what is the appropriate role of robotics technology? He wants the use of AI and robotics to reduce ethical infractions in military, especially noncombatant casualties, by giving robots A) the right of refusal, B) the ability to monitor and report others’ behavior, C) protocols which incorporate existing and relevant laws of war and the Geneva Convention. Robots should be used ALONGSIDE people, not replacing them. Robots can act conservatively, can make use of more sensors and process/integrate more data/info in a shorter amount of time, do not have emotions that might cloud judgment (e.g., soldiers executing wounded combatants), can independently and objectively monitor ethical behavior. Ron described "ethical architecture" and coding then declared that there is already proof of concept (i.e., robots have been proven capable and effective). If you want to read more, MeL has his book: Governing lethal behavior in autonomous robots http://elibrary.mel.org/record=b17727768~S15.

Work in AI (artificial intelligence) is going to affect us all very deeply in the near future. I watched a fascinating program about this last night, and the upshot was that our jobs in higher education will be to teach human students social skills and how to interact with technology (machine intelligence). This is why I am so passionate about the "relational" approach to information literacy - appreciating the different ways of understanding and experiencing learning includes how we relate to each other and relate to information - this is the future! Yes, we have to include behavioral skills too, along with the socio-cultural elements - it's a "both/and."

Toward sabbatical

I read an interesting novel mostly set on Mackinac Island: The Island of Doves by Kelly O'Connor McNees, about a woman who escapes an abusive situation and finds a new, supportive, loving family. It is based on historical people in the early 1800's.

We talked about what moving forward means in the Teaching Life Retreat. I have new ideas; I am embarking on scholarship; I am embarking upon an adventure! I would like to help the workplace create a culture of support, community, and open communication. I want to help colleagues truly practice inclusion, equity, and integrity. I would like to get (back, and forward) to the person who is a good listener, can see the big picture and any gaps, can draw out the feelings and needs of the speaker, can coach toward better teaching and learning by practicing the principles of "nonviolent communication" and (nonreligious) spiritual direction as well as peer coaching. I also want to practice art and music, to move toward realizing a vision in my photos and improving my painting. One person suggested that I look into the symphony's "Musical for Health Initiative" program to see if I could join to play my viola for people, when I come back -- maybe there is an opportunity for amateurs, volunteers.

Art and vessel

What is it that I want to portray with art? Yousef Karsh showed people's souls through stillness in portraits, Henri Cartier-Bresson through the "decisive moment" in candid B&W photos. Eve Arnold used available low light and muted color in her outdoor photos. 

How do my experiences and influencers show up? Outdoor photos with available (often low) light. Trying to show how light falls or bounces. Stillness, except for the motion of water. Romantic. Pointillism.

I'm more serious than funny but have a sense of humor. I carry fear, anger, and resistance to authority. I love learning, nature, connection, reflecting.

Taking the photos gives me a kind of focus outside myself, as does manipulating them. What about my photos would/might move someone forward to new understanding? Patterns - repeated shapes or shadows, details of a flower. 

Being in-between: not one thing nor another but a third concept, upside-down and backwards (a.k.a. contrary) to most people. A solitary mystic who revels in contemplating and exploring the biggest ideas about the universe and how we fit into it. How the parts mirror and reveal the whole, how the whole has to be considered in individual decisions and actions and why it is so very necessary to consider the "other" or "othered": social justice, responsibility, compassion, bridges.

What are some ideas to explore? Chaos. How the physical items I have show who I am? Quaker history of Indian boarding schools; reconciliation--started a conversation about creating something like an “Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners” statement but am leaving it to season with time and to let elders discuss the idea.

I feel so distant from the book and my chapter. Maybe that's what my pictures show right now - that waiting emptiness. The paths without a center of focus - just the open path. Maybe that's all I can be right now - a vessel. An unoccupied bench, a reflection in the water.

Kristin Hogan

The GVSU Library partnered with Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies to bring Kristen Hogan to campus - professor/librarian and author of The Feminist Bookstore Movement : Lesbian Antiracism and Feminist Accountability.

An interview with her about her book:

https://dukeupress.wordpress.com/2016/04/11/qa-with-kristen-hogan/

Chapters and an article:

We Collect, Organize, Preserve, and Provide Access, With Respect: Indigenous Peoples’ Cultural Life in Libraries, in Beyond Article 19 : Libraries and Social and Cultural Rights, with Loriene Roy

Balancing Access to Knowledge and Respect for Cultural Knowledge: Librarian Advocacy with Indigenous Peoples’ Self-Determination in Access to Knowledge, in Libraries Driving Access to Knowledge

Women’s Studies in Feminist Bookstores: “All the Women’s Studies women would come in,”  Signs Journal of Women in Culture and Society.

My thoughts:

Hogan's writings about Indigenous peoples helped me think about access to sacred knowledge in a different way - that sometimes there are good reasons for limiting access to information or artifacts (e.g., to certain seasons of the year) or to certain population segments (e.g., women vs men, indigenous or non-indigenous).

Hogan refers to the Feminist Bookstore News, which we have in the Independent Voices database, so I looked up Kalamazoo Pandora and read the articles about River Ardz's bookstore, which I think was open 1981-1999. While I went there, it was infrequently, and I felt like I missed out on a lot of River's wisdom, until Amy reminded me that I should be gentle with myself about the past and living in Kalamazoo.

Birding 2017

11/28/17
Mt. Nelson, near Hobart, Signalman's Cottage, Tasmania, AU:
Olive Whistler

11/24/17
Northeast Tasmania: Scottsdale, Lost Farm on Bass Strait near Bridport, TAS, AU

Black Swans & cygnets
Nankeen Kestrel: hovered 5-10' above dune, absolutely still in a stiff wind
White-fronted Chats: a breeding pair on the beach
Welcome Swallows
Ravens
Magpie
European Goldfinch

11/22-23/17
East coast, Tasmania, AU
Eastern Rosella
Scottsdale, Tasmania, AU (Willow Lodge)
Grey Fantails
Silvereyes (wings sound like a hummingbird)
Little Wattlebirds 
Whistling Kite
English (House) sparrows
Common Blackbirds


11/18-20/17
Tasmania, AU
13 species:
Near airport: Tasmanian Native-hen

Mt. Nelson, near Hobart, Signalman's Cottage:
Superb Fairy-wrens, male and female (aka Jenny)
Striated Pardalotes
Dusky Robins
Green Rosellas
Yellow Wattlebirds (they cough like a pheasant)
Black Currawongs 
Forest Ravens
Yellow-throated Honeyeaters
New Holland Honeyeaters
Masked Lapwings
Common Myna

Hobart: Galahs

11/15/17
Brisbane riverbank, QUT Gardens Point Campus, Queensland, AU, 8:00 AM.
Protocol: crossing Goodwill Bridge.
2 species:
Striated Heron (flying near mangroves)
White-faced Herons (flying) 3

11/5/17
Pacific Koel (Eudynamys orientalis) calling constantly: 2 notes, repeated in an ascending pair.

11/3 - 4/17
Maleny (Mary Cairncross) & Witta (Parklands Retreat, Airbnb), Queensland, AU
Protocol: Traveling. Comments: Fine, partly cloudy.
Heard the Whipbirds and Green catbirds pretty constantly.
Saw several 
Rufous fantails
Yellow-throated scrubwrens
White-browed scrubwrens
Eastern yellow robins
King Parrots
Rainbow lorikeets
Currawongs.
Also saw many pademelons. 

10/28/17 
Lake Galletly (University of Queensland - Gatton campus), Queensland, AU, 1:40 - 2:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling, 5.0 kilometer(s). Comments: Fine, sunny and humid. Birding within the UQ Gatton campus and Lake Galletly.
28 species: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S40163492

Magpie Goose 100 ca
Plumed Whistling Duck 28
Pacific Black Duck 1
Grey Teal 1
Pink-eared Duck 3
Hardhead 2
Australasian Grebe 3 Could have been an adult with 2 immature
Little Pied Cormorant 1
Little Black Cormorant 3
Eastern Cattle Egret 100
Australian White Ibis 20
Dusky Moorhen 8
Eurasian Coot 2
Rock Dove (Feral Pigeon) 3
Crested Pigeon 4
Pacific Koel 2
Laughing Kookaburra 1
Oriental Dollarbird 1
Red-rumped Parrot 2
Rainbow Lorikeet 2
Brown Honeyeater 3
Striated Pardalote 2 HC
Australasian Figbird 2
Willie Wagtail 2
Magpie-lark 3
Torresian Crow 3
Welcome Swallow 6
House Sparrow 2
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Lake Apex Park (Gatton), Queensland, AU, 12:50 - 1:10 PM
Protocol: Traveling, 0.4 kilometer(s). Comments: Fine, sunny and humid.
20 species (+1 other taxa):  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S40163465

Maned Duck 4
Pacific Black Duck 3
Mallard (Domestic type) 2
Hardhead 2
Australasian Grebe 1
Little Pied Cormorant 1
Little Black Cormorant 3
Australasian Darter 2
Australian Pelican 1
Great Egret 4 Some roosting in the trees around the lake and on islands
Eastern Cattle Egret 200 plus
Australian White Ibis 200 plus
Australasian Swamphen 2
Dusky Moorhen 5
Sacred Kingfisher 1
Pale-headed Rosella 1
Rainbow Lorikeet 12
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet 4
Noisy Miner 3
Australasian Figbird 3
Welcome Swallow 6---------------------------------------------------------------------
Lake Clarendon, Queensland, AU, 10:20 - 11:20 AM
Protocol: Traveling, 1.0 kilometer(s). Comments: Fine, sunny and humid. More water in the lake since the rains and everything much greener.
42 species: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S40163435

Black Swan 100 plus
Cotton Pygmy Goose 1
Maned Duck 2 on one of the side earth dams
Australasian Shoveler 1
Pacific Black Duck 10 identified amongst all of the birds on the lake but likely to have been a lot more
Grey Teal 10 identified but others likely to have been on the lake
Hardhead 10 identified but others likely to have been on the lake
Australasian Grebe 1 on side earth dam
Little Pied Cormorant 2
Little Black Cormorant 1
Australian Pelican 20
Great Egret 1 likely to have been more
White-faced Heron 1
Little Egret (Australasian) 1 likely to have been more
Eastern Cattle Egret 20 in amongst the cattle on neighbouring property
Straw-necked Ibis 3
Black Kite (Black) 1
Whistling Kite 3
White-bellied Sea Eagle 1
Nankeen Kestrel 3
Eurasian Coot 20 plus in birds on the lake
Masked Lapwing 3
Pacific Koel 2 Heard Calls
Galah 2
Little Corella 3
Cockatiel 2
Pale-headed Rosella 5
Noisy Miner 3
Striped Honeyeater 2 HC
Little Friarbird 1
Grey-crowned Babbler 8
Australian Magpie 2
Black-faced Cuckooshrike 3
White-winged Triller 1
Australasian Figbird 2
Willie Wagtail 3
Magpie-lark 4
Torresian Crow 2
Welcome Swallow 6
Fairy Martin 10
Common Myna 3
Australian Pipit 2 

10/22/17 Dowse Lagoon (Sandgate), Queensland, AU, 9:40 - 10:45 AM
Protocol: Traveling, 1.0 kilometer(s). Comments: Fine and sunny morning. We didn't see a lot of birds which have been reported lately. Perhaps they have moved on?
24 species: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S40058759

Black Swan (new for AU): 1
Pacific Black Duck 4
Hardhead 8
Australasian Grebe 3
Little Pied Cormorant 3
Little Black Cormorant 6
Great Egret 1
Cattle Egret (new for AU): 1 beautifully coloured in breeding plumage
Australian White Ibis 30
Australasian Swamphen 10
Dusky Moorhen 5
Eurasian Coot 15
Comb-crested Jacana 7
Whiskered Tern 10
Crested Pigeon 2
Tawny Frogmouth 6 Lovely frogmouth family in Jacaranda tree near hall: 3 juveniles, 3 adults.
Rainbow Lorikeet 10
Brown Honeyeater 2
Grey Butcherbird 1
Pied Butcherbird 1
Australian Magpie 2
Pied Currawong 2
Olive-backed Oriole 1
Willie Wagtail 1


9/23/17 Sandy Camp Road Wetlands, Queensland, AU, 10:35 AM - 12:20 PM
Protocol: Traveling, 3.0 kilometer(s). Comments: Fine and sunny. 48 species: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39340692


Magpie Goose  1
Wandering Whistling-Duck  18
Australian Wood Duck  1
Pacific Black Duck  15
Grey Teal  12
Hardhead  6
Australasian Grebe  4
Little Pied Cormorant  9     some nesting
Little Black Cormorant  10     some nesting
Australasian Darter  4
Australian Pelican  5
Great Egret  3
Intermediate Egret  1
Little Egret  2
Australian White Ibis  20     plus
Royal Spoonbill  3
Osprey  3
Whistling Kite  1
Baillon's Crake  5     Crakes seen in 3 separate areas in main lagoon with deck and adjoining lagoon - west and east sides.
Australasian Swamphen  6
Dusky Moorhen  30     plus
Eurasian Coot  4
Masked Lapwing  2
Comb-crested Jacana  4
Peaceful Dove  1
Sacred Kingfisher  3
Rainbow Bee-eater  2
Superb Fairywren  1
Brown Honeyeater  5
White-throated Honeyeater  2
Striped Honeyeater  2     HC
Striated Pardalote  3
White-throated Gerygone  2     HC
White-breasted Woodswallow  2
Pied Butcherbird  2
Black-faced Cuckooshrike  3
Grey Shrikethrush  1     HC
Rufous Whistler  3
Olive-backed Oriole  1     HC
Willie Wagtail  6
Grey Fantail  1
Magpie-lark  4
Torresian Crow  3
Welcome Swallow  5
Fairy Martin  18
Australian Reed Warbler  30     plus
Tawny Grassbird  4
Double-barred Finch  2

Penfold Parade, Wynnum, Queensland, AU, 1:45 - 3:00 PM
Protocol: Stationary. Comments: Fine and sunny with afternoon sea breeze.

16 species: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39340713

Little Pied Cormorant 3
Australian White Ibis 2
Australian Pied Oystercatcher 5
Masked Lapwing 1
Whimbrel 2
Eastern Curlew 1
Bar-tailed Godwit 4 more arrived but we did not count
Great Knot 1
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper 1
Red-necked Stint 2
Grey-tailed Tattler 8 plus
Silver Gull 3
Gull-billed Tern 8
Rock Dove (Feral Pigeon) 1 White and light brown - perhaps he thought he was a seagull
Australasian Figbird 4 HC
Magpie-lark 1


9/2/17 Sherwood Arboretum, Queensland, AU, 7:00 AM - 9:35 AM
Protocol: Traveling, 1.2 kilometer(s). Comments: Cloudy to start but cleared to sunny weather. Of interest, a fox was seen drinking from the river bank on the opposite side to the pontoon & walkway.
38 species (+2 other taxa): http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S38946733

Muscovy Duck (Domestic type) 3
Australian Wood Duck 9
Pacific Black Duck 11
Mallard (Domestic type) 2
Hardhead 6
Australian Brushturkey 1
Australasian Grebe 4
Little Pied Cormorant 1
Little Black Cormorant 2
Australian White Ibis 16
Australasian Swamphen 4
Dusky Moorhen 30
Eurasian Coot 5
Masked Lapwing 1
White-headed Pigeon 1
Spotted Dove 3
Crested Pigeon 2
Laughing Kookaburra 2
Galah 1
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo 4
Rainbow Lorikeet 30
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet 4
Superb Fairywren 3
Red-backed Fairywren 4
Noisy Miner 40
Brown Honeyeater 15
Blue-faced Honeyeater 8
Striated Pardalote 2
Grey Butcherbird 2
Australian Magpie 4
Pied Currawong 2
Olive-backed Oriole 1
Australasian Figbird 6
Willie Wagtail 2
Magpie-lark 4
Torresian Crow 4
Australian Reed Warbler 2
Tawny Grassbird 1  
Welcome Swallow 10


8/23/17 Brisbane City Gardens 11:30 a.m.
Hardhead ducks

8/13/17 Mt. Glorious, Rainforest Circuit (access at Maiala) in the south section of D'Aguilar National Park, 2 km, 1 hour at dusk.
Bell Miners (heard calls)
Eastern Whipbirds (heard calls)
Eastern Catbirds (heard calls - like a baby crying!)
Wompoo Fruit Doves (heard calls)
Pied Currawongs

AND saw a pademelon!

8/12/17 Greenwood Lakes, Forestdale, Queensland, AU Aug 12, 2017 10:40 AM - 1:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling, 2.6 kilometer(s). Comments: Fine and sunny with some high cloud
41 species: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S38598608
 
Pacific Black Duck  2
Australasian Grebe  1
Little Pied Cormorant  1
Little Black Cormorant  5
Australasian Darter  4 (especially the female)
Great Egret  1
White-faced Heron  1
White-bellied Sea-Eagle  1
Australian Hobby  1 
Dusky Moorhen  2
Masked Lapwing  1
Spotted Dove  1
Bar-shouldered Dove  2
Fan-tailed Cuckoo  5 (call: trilling)
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo  4
Rainbow Lorikeet  10
Red-backed Fairywren  2
Eastern Spinebill  3
Lewin's Honeyeater  8
Yellow-faced Honeyeater  8
Scarlet Honeyeater  20
Brown Honeyeater  15
Noisy Friarbird  8 (sounds like laughing)
Noisy Miner  10
Spotted Pardalote  1
Striated Pardalote  10
Pied Butcherbird  2
Australian Magpie  3
Pied Currawong  2
Black-faced Cuckooshrike  1
Golden Whistler  4
Rufous Whistler  1
Australasian Figbird  5
Grey Fantail  5
Magpie-lark  1     HC
Torresian Crow  12
Rose Robin  1
Eastern Yellow Robin  3
Welcome Swallow  2 (I didn't see these to identify)
Silvereye  6 (I didn't see these to identify)
Red-browed Finch  3

Across the lake, we saw a water dragon sitting on a rock. On the way home, a Willie Wagtail flew in front of the car.

8/10/17 Brisbane City Botanic Gardens, edge of QUT, QLD, AU 3:30-ish
Brahminy Kite !!!

8/6/17 Fairfield area (including Brisbane Corso), Queensland, AU 3:40 PM - 5:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling, 4.0 kilometer(s), Comments: Fine but overcast

25 species (+1 other taxa) http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S38501796

Australian Wood Duck 8
Little Black Cormorant 1
Australasian Darter 1
Australian Pelican 2
Great Egret 1
Australian White Ibis 2
Straw-necked Ibis 1
Bush Stone-curlew 2
Masked Lapwing 2
Sacred Kingfisher 1
Little Corella 2
Rainbow Lorikeet 15
Noisy Miner 15
White-browed Scrubwren 1
Pied Butcherbird 2
Australian Magpie 2
Black-faced Cuckooshrike 1
Australasian Figbird 9
Magpie-lark 1
Torresian Crow 6
Welcome Swallow 3 (I didn't see these to identify)
Fairy/Tree Martin 4
Spotted Dove 2 HC (heard calls)
Pied Currawong  2 HC (heard calls)

7/28/17 68 Cronin St., Annerley
Grey Butcherbird

7/26/17 Brisbane / Annerley, QLD, Australia : Daily birds
Rainbow Lorikeets, Noisy Miners, Australian Magpies, Pied Butcherbirds, Grey Butcherbirds, Magpie-larks, Torresian Crows, Spotted Doves (aka turtle-doves), Crested Pigeons, Tree Martins

Heard: Willie Wagtail (typewriter-like sounds), Pied Currawong, Magpie-Larks (make bluejay-like sounds)

6/20/17 Blandford
Indigo bunting

5/17/17   Home
3 flying Green Herons

5/16/17   St. Joseph
Killdeer

5/14/17   Kalamazoo Nature Center; Blandford Nature Center, Home

1. Rufous-sided Towhee pair, 
2. Common Yellow-throated Warbler, 
3. Catbirds, 
4. Tree Swallows, 
5. Pileated Woodpeckers, 
6. Wood Thrush, 
7. Black-billed Cuckoo, 
8. Rose-breasted Grosbeak pair, 
9. Red-winged Blackbirds, 
10. Robins, 
11. Chipping sparrow, 
12. Goldfinch.

On the way home:

1. Red-winged Hawk, 
2. Turkey Vultures, 
3. Herring Gull, 
4. 2 Sandhill Cranes.

B'ford:

1. 3 Baltimore Oriole males, 
2. Chickadees (including a crestless juvenile), 
3. Mourning Doves, 
4. Canada Geese, 
5. Cardinal, 
6. Mallard Ducks, 
7. Downy Woodpecker, 
8. Crows, 
9. Red-eyed Vireo

Home: Indigo Bunting!

5/12/17   Home, Blandford, corner of Leonard & 8th.
Phoebe; Catbirds, Red-eyed Vireo, pair of male Mallards; 3 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks(1 female, 2 males)

5/9/17   GVSU.
Chipping sparrow

5/7/17   Aman Park.
Rose-breasted Grosbeak

5/5/17   Bear Creek Park, Houston.
Prothonotary warbler, Summer tanager, Wood duck family, Blue-headed vireo (female? no yellow),
Tufted titmice, Carolina chickadees, Cardinals, Blue jays, Downy woodpeckers, Pileated woodpeckers, Mockingbirds, Grackles (great- or boat-tailed), White-winged doves.
Red-eared slider turtle.

4/27/17   Houston.
Carolina chickadees, Cedar waxwings. 

4/24/17   Houston.
White-winged doves, mockingbirds, female Great-tailed Grackles. Heard: Carolina wrens, Swainson's thrush.

4/17   Aman Park.
Pileated woodpeckers 

4/10   GVSU.
Phoebe, Kinglet (couldn't see the crown color)

4/5/17
Eastern Kingbirds, phoebes

3/24/17
3 Sandhill cranes! 

3/11/17
A high 3-note call I couldn't identify - a small bird, high in the trees, maybe Brown Creepers?

3/9/17
2 Sandhill cranes!

1/2/17
Red-breasted nuthatches! White-breasted nuthatches, red-bellied woodpecker, chickadees, titmice, goldfinches, blue jays, cardinal

Wildflowers 2017

6/20/17 in Blandford and on drive to work
Vetch, peas, yarrow, yellow cinquefoil, black medic, chicory

6/6/17 in Blandford
White: Bladderwort campion, blackberries, ox-eye daisies, daisy fleabane, clover
Yellow:  Goat's beard
Pink/purple: Dame's rocket

5/14/17 in Kalamazoo Nature Center
White: Mayflowers, Baneberry, Squirrel corn, Trillium, Canada white violets
Yellow: Golden Ragwort, Buttercups, Golden Alexanders, Winter cress, Yellow violets
Pink/purple: Redbud, Wild Geranium, Violets (common)
Red: Columbine
Blue: Phlox
Green: Jack-in-the-Pulpit

5/12/17 and 5/14 in Blandford
Yellow: Winter cress (non-native), Indian strawberry, buttercups
White: honeysuckle, wild strawberry
Purple: ground ivy (Creeping Charlie)

5/7/17 in Aman Park
White: Squirrel corn, False rue anemone, Trillium, Canada white violets
Yellow: Large-flowered Bellwort, Yellow violets
Pink/purple: Phlox, Redbud, Wild Geranium, Spring beauties, Violets (common)
Blue: VA bluebells
Green: Blue cohosh, Jack-in-the-Pulpit
Maroon: Wild ginger

4/22/17 - 5/5/17 in Houston
Cloudless giant sulphur butterfly

4/17 in Aman Park
White: bloodroot, Dutchman's britches, spring cress, false rue anemone, cut-leaved toothwort, hepatica, trillium, Canada white violets
Yellow: trout lilies, dandelions
Pink/purple: spring beauties, violets (common)
Blue: VA bluebells are budded
Green: ramps, blue cohosh budded
Maroon: wild ginger budded


4/10: hepatica, spring cress, spring beauties, anemone, ramps in the North Ravines, GVSU
4/5:   both purple and white violets in Blandford.
3/24: 1st hepaticas blooming in Aman Park.

Libraries are for everyone

Thanks to Rebecca McCorkindale, Hafuboti, we have access to posters at https://hafuboti.com/2017/02/02/libraries-are-for-everyone/and I’m making a word doc to accompany my poster, and the document lists many translations of "Libraries are for everyone." I have been wishing for an

Anishinaabemowin (Odawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi languages) translation and reached out to colleague Simone Jonaitis, who recommended Kenny Neganigwane Pheasant, Anishinaabemowin Language Coordinator, Little River Band (Odawa), http://www.anishinaabemdaa.com/

I found this word somewhere for libraries: agindaasoowigamigoon. "Everyone" might be conveyed by "bemaadiziwaad"? And "are for" might be conveyed by the idea of "belong to"? dibendaagwaad? 

Kenny said, "I have to think what does a library do, I need to know who, what, where, when and why." So I wrote, "Libraries provide collective (group) access to knowledge recorded in some way. At GVSU, we serve the students, employees, and surrounding communities. As librarians, we are trying to change the idea that only individual people have the right to create information and learn, to the idea that groups have the right to create and use knowledge. The idea of libraries is communal cultural responsibility for teaching and learning. How do we convey the idea that “libraries are for everyone”?

I was able to articulate this after reading some of Roy and Hogan's 2010 chapter calling for "librarians to shift away from an individualist ideology" (123) and to instead, "support indigenous peoples' access to the cultural rights of Article 27 [ of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights] by stressing the plurality of "collective rights to participation in the cultural life for multiple communities" (125). And by moving away from the concept of culture as a consumable object to culture as the activities of communities.

Roy, Loriene, and Kristen Hogan. "We collect, organize, preserve, and provide access, with respect: Indigenous peoples' cultural life in libraries." Beyond Article 19: Libraries and social and cultural rights. Duluth: Litwin Books, 2010.