Newsday Ending Free Web Content

“Two intriguing developments today in the ongoing saga of the vanishing American newspaper: Hearst Corp. will launch a wireless e-reader later this year, and the Long Island daily Newsday plans to end free Web content andcharge readers for its online edition.”       Full Story

Oldest English Words Identified

“Reading University researchers claim “I”, “we”, “two” and “three” are among the most ancient, dating back tens of thousands of years…The team says it can predict which words are likely to become extinct – citing “squeeze”, “guts”, “stick” and “bad” as probable first casualties.”   Full Story

41 Innovative Paper Designs

“This article presents more than 40 spectacular paper design (using amazing colors & concepts) that need to look good and be informative in order to focus users’ attention and effectively convey the message.”    Full Gallery 

How Strong Is a Chimpanzee?

“After last week’s chimpanzee attack in Connecticut, in which an animal named Travis tore off the face of a middle-aged woman, primate experts interviewed by the media repeated an old statistic: Chimpanzees are five to eight times stronger than people. The literature—or at least 19^th-century literature—concurs: Edgar Allan Poe’s fictional orangutan was able to “hurl bodies and pull off scalps”. Edgar Rice Burroughs’ fictional anthropoid apes were likewise “possessed of remarkable strength”. Even Jules Verne’s gentle ape, Jupiter, had the muscle to drag a stuck wagon from the mire.”    But what’s the truth?     Full Story

Weird, but cool.

This is weird, but interesting!

 fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too

Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.

i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The
phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde
Uinervtisy, it dseno’t mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny
iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset
can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae
the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

Thatcher Effect Video – Monsters Look Normal Upside Down

Changes in SCLS ILL Procedures

Beginning March 1, 2009 SCLS will be charging for interlibrary loan requests from libraries outside of New York State. This means that when a library outside of New York borrows an item from Suffolk they will be required to pay $10. These funds will be used to offset SCLS postage and processing charges on these loans.

SCLS anticipates that this will result in far fewer requests, especially for media, from out of state, and that once these charges go into effect, other libraries will begin charging us.

Also…for many years SCLS has been serving as the “middle man” between member libraries and the NYS Library for ILL requests and returns from the State Library. With anticipated staff reductions at SCLS, it will no longer be able to continue to do so.

Starting on April 1, 2009 SCLS will only process ILL requests for items that are not held in either the Suffolk County catalog or the NYS library catalog. Everyone will then have to check both of those catalogs before placing ILL requests through SCLS.

It’s Not Nice to Fool (with) Mother Nature

In an attempt to end the worst drought Beijing has seen in nearly 40 years, cloud seeding had unanticipated consequences:

“BEIJING (Reuters) – China closed 12 highways around the capital Beijing on Thursday because of heavy snow brought on after seeding clouds with chemicals, state media said on Thursday…The provincial weather bureau said that snow too was “enhanced” by artificial seeding.”   Full Story

Peanut allergy hope after children ‘cured’ in trial

“A group of children with severe peanut allergies have had their conditions successfully treated, allowing them to eat nuts without suffering any reaction for the first time.

The success of the preliminary clinical trial, conducted by Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, shows the possibilty of modifying an allergy by desensitising the sufferer. Scientists say that the development brings them one step closer to curing nut allergies. “   Full Story

Judge Tosses ‘Street View’ Lawsuit

“The lawsuit was filed last year by Aaron and Christine Boring, who contend that Google violated their privacy when a Street View camera car drove past a “private road” sign in their driveway in order to take pictures of their house.

Google contended that “complete privacy does not exist” and pointed out that photos of the home and floor plans are already available to the public on the Internet from the website of the Allegheny County assessor’s office.”       Full Story