Bear Flag Republic Radio Weblog

< 7:16:12 AM        >

So the big news is about Google and libraries. I don't feel the need to comment on this right now, as you can find plenty of other places for that. However, here are a few angles I haven't seen discussed elsewhere in the library blogosphere.

• Libraries and the Internet
  
  "More broadly, the Internet can profoundly improve the relationship between libraries and society. For example, there are two major libraries in my town -- a college library, and a public library. My library card works in both places. I used to favor the college library, because there was open WiFi access there -- which meant, among other things, that I could use LibraryLookup from my laptop to find books in the stacks. Recently, though, the college shut down its open access point. And from an IT administrator's point of view, I can understand why. Not long after, the public library installed an open access point. So now it's my favorite spot, and lately I notice other mobile professionals congregating there too." [Jon Udell's Weblog
  (Click over to read Jon's story about getting locked in the library, too!)


• "A quick calculation using the figures above suggests an average scan rate of 3200 volumes per day (assuming 365 days/year for 6 years) at the University of Michigan site alone." [Tito Sierra on the WEB4LIB mailing list]


• "An even quicker calculation shows that they will need to digitize 2.25 books _a_minute_, 24 hours/day, 365 days/year to digitize 7 million volumes in six years." [Roy Tennant on the WEB4LIB mailing list]

comments < 7:10:21 AM        >

weather forecast for Idaho zone 014. upper treasure valley,

Friday December 31, 4:00 am

Today  Snow showers this morning, then rain showers or snow showers this afternoon. Chance of rain or snow 60 percent. Snow accumulation up to 1 inch above 3500 feet. Highs 40 to 45. Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph this morning, decreasing to around 10 mph this afternoon.
Tonight  Mostly cloudy. Isolated rain showers or snow showers in the evening, then scattered snow showers after midnight. Chance of rain or snow 20 percent. Lows 26 to 31. Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph.
New Years Day  Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain showers or snow showers in the morning, then a chance of rain showers in the afternoon. Chance of rain or snow 40 percent. Highs 38 to 43. southeast winds 10 to 15 mph.
Saturday Night  Mostly cloudy. A chance of rain showers or snow showers in the evening, then a chance of snow showers after midnight. Chance of rain or snow 40 percent. Lows 25 to 30. southeast winds 10 to 15 mph.
Sunday  Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of rain showers or snow showers. Highs 35 to 40. Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph.
Sunday Night And Monday  Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of rain and snow showers. Highs 32 to 37. Lows 23 to 28.
Monday Night And Tuesday  Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow showers. Highs 29 to 34. Lows 22 to 27.
Tuesday Night And Wednesday  Partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow showers. Highs 29 to 34. Lows 20 to 26.
Wednesday Night And Thursday  Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow showers. Highs 30 to 35. Lows 18 to 23.


>> View map of this area

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[weather forecast for Idaho zone 014]
comments < 7:08:12 AM        >

How Did Animals Escape Tsunami?. No wild animals were found dead along the Sri Lankan coastline, adding credence to the belief that beasts have a sixth sense that warns them of impending disasters. [Wired News]
comments < 7:07:33 AM        >

The Economist.  The Death of the American Meritocracy....   This premise of this article is totally correct.  My personal experience totally confirms this.  The new US tax laws will only only accelerate this trend.  Societal ossification in the face of extreme global competition (from both economic and system competitors) is bad, bad news... [John Robb's Weblog]
comments < 7:06:48 AM        >

Earth's axis tilted by two-thousandths of an arc second.

Unione Astrofili Italiani: "Giuseppe Bianco, Director of the Centro di Geodesia Spaziale in Matera (Italy), has announced this afternoon that following the earthquake which hit the Asian coasts on 26th dec, the terrestrial axis shifted two thousandths of an arcsecond." CalTech/JPL is estimating that a day may now be three millionths of a second longer than before the equake. The energy released by

By null. [Common Sense Technology]
comments < 6:52:03 AM        >

Tsunami Satellite Images [Slashdot:]
comments < 6:51:02 AM        >