The library here at Texas State University-San Marcos is home to the entire production archives - including props - for the old television miniseries "Lonesome Dove" as part of Special Collections Southwestern Writers Collection.

Recently an exhibit about the collection was setup in the library's big display case that's just outside of our department's offices. Every time I leave my office to go to the restrooms I walk past the display case, from the back to the front.

On of the props from the movie, and one of the the things on display in the back of the display case, is "Gus's body" - a body-shaped figure all wrapped up in white cloth.

So.

Every time I step out of my office to go to the restrooms I see this front and center, on a ledge draped in black cloth inside the display case. Every single time, I forget it's there, and every single time I get a jolt when I see it.

Skilled Foreign Workers in U.S. Companies
A new cap on H-1B visas -- cutting by almost two-thirds the number of skilled foreign workers permitted to work in the U.S. -- is likely to put a real squeeze on this country's industries. Immigration lawyer Judith Golub predicts: "Come March, you're going to have companies feeling it very urgently." The cap will affect not only electronics experts, physicists, and computer programmers but also fashion models, game designers, doctors, occupational therapists, accountants, and others. Harris Miller of the Information Technology Association of America say: "The anti-immigrant mood and the anti-globalization mood inside Washington is as negative as I've seen it in my 25 years working in this field," and one unemployed American programmer complains, "There are plenty of qualified Americans who are dying to take these jobs." But Thom Stohler of the American Electronics Association warns that a restriction on foreign workers could backfire, resulting in companies setting up research operations overseas where they don't face restrictions on hiring. "Companies might decide if they can't get this visa, they'll hire them there and keep them there. Now this person is creating intellectual property in another country."

Payroll Cards replacing Paychecks For Many U.S. Workers
A number of U.S. employers are replacing traditional paychecks with payroll cards that employees can use to get money out of ATM machines (or use them as debit cards to make store purchases). The payroll cards are intended mainly for workers who don't have bank accounts, and some major employers -- such as Sears, McDonald's, Blockbuster and Domino's -- already use them. A survey by the American Payroll Association reports that over the course of the next year about half of all employers will be evaluating the benefits of payroll cards for their companies, but the new system also has its critics, and consumer advocate Ed Mierzwinski says, "We see payroll cards contributing to a second-class system of consumers. The companies are just trying to save money. Companies ought to leverage their power to force banks to offer affordable accounts."(USA Today 15 Feb 2004)

FTC Warning About Private No-Spam Registry
The Federal Trade Commission has cautioned computer users not to fall victim a Web site claiming to offer an e-mail version of the federal do-not-call registry. Despite the official-looking appearance of the site's URL, the "Do Not Email Registry" has no affiliation with the U.S. government, and is apparently a scam for collecting e-mail addresses on behalf of spammers. However, the site's operators say their registry serves "legitimate direct marketers" who want to make sure their mailings don't go to spam opponents. The e-mail addresses collected by the registry are made available to bulk mailers in an encrypted form allowing them to check for any overlap with their own mailing lists without seeing the actual addresses. (Washington Post 15 Feb 2004)

No-Spam Lists Have Mixed Success
A poll by the Associated Press has found that three-fourths of the people who signed up for the government's new do-not-call registry received fewer telemarketing calls, but the same poll found that few people noticed any difference in the six weeks since a new federal anti-spamming law took effect. The anti-spam bill encourages the Federal Trade Commission to create a do-not-spam list of e-mail addresses, but FTC officials are doubtful of that approach, because of the decentralized and unregulated nature of the Internet. (San Jose Mercury News 20 Feb 2004)

Online Training (in Spanish) on e-Government
Curso Gobierno Electr?nico Online : La Agencia Interamericana para la Cooperaci?n y el Desarrollo (AICD/OEA), anuncia el lanzamiento de la Segunda Edici?n del Curso de Gobierno Electr?nico Online, el cual ser? dictado a trav?s del Portal Educativo de las Am?ricas. La fecha l?mite para el cierre de inscripci?n ser? el Lunes 15 de Marzo. El curso tendra lugar entre el 1 de abril y el 20 de mayo de 2004. El principal objetivo es introducir a los participantes en los conceptos b?sicos del Gobierno Electr?nico, presentar los elementos fundamentales que deben integrar una estrategia para el desarrollo del Gobierno Electr?nico y entregar una visi?n global sobre el desarrollo e implementaci?n de proyectos de estas caracter?sticas. Ser? dictado en Espa?ol, y proximamente se ofrecer? en Ingl?s y Portugu?s.

Free-For-All Access To Wireless LANs
Airports and hotels find there may be benefits to providing free service. The convenience of wireless access typically comes with a high price tag. But that's changing. Some airports and hotels have begun installing 802.11 Wi-Fi networks and letting travelers use them for free.

Nearly Half of U.S. 'Net Users Post Content
Nearly half of U.S. Internet users have built Web pages, posted photos, written comments or otherwise added to the enormous variety of material available online, according to a report released on Sunday. The Pew Internet and American Life Project found that about 44 percent of the country's Internet users have created content for others to enjoy online.

I just got my catalog for Hobby Builders Supply, a supplier of dollhouses and miniatures, and I've been struck hard by the dollhouse bug again.

It's just that I can't get into it right now. I haven't finished unpacking and the guest bedroom/craft room isn't ready for me to work in comfortably either. I've got no place to spread out and work on the thing. I will have space, it's just not yet.

Even so, I want some of these things NOW. Like this, and this, this, THIS, and this.

Both I and my husband love breads like this and this, but we don't get to the store where we can buy this sort of thing often enough and I'd be happy to bake my own.

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