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Software technical writer at the moment (and for the last 20 years), also a part-time graduate student at UNC’s School of Information and Library Science (SILS), going for a master’s in Information Science.

Writing research papers

First in a (no doubt about it) ongoing series.
When I had to do my first literature review, and my first big grad school paper, last fall, I asked my mentor, The Indomitable Cassidy, for her advice. Here’s what she said:

I actually like starting with a “haphazard search,” but I prefer to start in the e-research [...]

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“The Midnight Disease”

A few years ago, I read and enjoyed Alice W. Flaherty’s memoir, The Midnight Disease. Suffering from postpartum depression after the death of her newborn child, she began experiencing hypergraphia — the uncontrollable urge to write. She filled pages and pages with her writing, and couldn’t stop — the opposite of writer’s block.
Flaherty is a [...]

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Birthday horoscope for Sept. 24

Here’s the regular daily ’scope:
People are more impressed by your efficiency than by your eagerness to please. You need to back up your smiles with an authentic performance. Additional diplomacy must be carried in your toolbox.
Here’s usually the most interesting thing. Let’s make a date to check it next year, shall we?
If September 24 is [...]

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Nirvana, or something like it

My friend Rani left me the following intriguing comment:
Mike - would love to know how the life/school/work balance (or juggle rather) is going. Have you been able to obtain equilibrium at all? What about nirvana?
I was going to reply as a blog post that night but spent too much time working on an assignment. (Cue [...]

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On being a professional

I don’t take many notes in my 500 class, but I wanted to get this down from the professor, Dr. Marchionini:
If you’re a professional, then you have to think. The professional dwells in confusing places where the boundaries are fuzzy and you have to make decisions. If you’re not thinking, you’re a factory worker.
He wasn’t [...]

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