Connecting to the Creative and Useful Arts

Modern Leonardos :: Spring Event 2013 - May 23 - click here

Wed, 22 May 2013 09:27:53 -0400

Modern Leonardos :: Spring Event 2013 - May 23 - click here:

Thursday May 23, in live streaming in English and Italian.Museums and libraries embracing the Maker initiative include the Exploratorium (CA), the Carnegie Library (PA), the Westport Public Library (CT), the Fayetteville Free Library (NY), the Newark Museum (NJ), the Detroit Public Library (MI), the Chicago Public Library (YOUMedia), to name just a few. These Maker-type activities include digital studios, teen-focused technology toolkits, and mobile digital media labs. These spaces are designed to foster experimentation and creativity for youth in library- and museum-based, out-of-school-time settings.

NEIL GERSHENFELD, MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Center for Bits and Atoms: Prof. Gershenfeld is the originator of the growing global network of fab labs that provide widespread access to prototype tools for personal fabrication. Author of numerous publications, featured in media such as The New York Times , The Economist and Foreign Affairs, he has been named one of Scientific American’s 50 leaders in science and technology, and one of 40 Modern-Day Leonardos by the U.S. Museum of Science and Industry. His famous Fab Lab is immensely popular among students at MIT, who crowd Gershenfeld’s classes: http://www.ted.com/speakers/neil_gershenfeld.html .

KRISTIN FONTICHIARO, University of Michigan: Kristin Fontichiaro is a clinical assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Information and faculty founder of Michigan Makers. She is a contributor to and series editor for the Fall 2013 Makers as Innovators book series for middle-grade readers, which covers makerspaces, Maker Faire, game design, digital badging, Arduino, Raspberry Pi, 3D printing, and e-textiles. She has written several books about engaging instructional practices, including Podcasting at School and 21st-Century Learning in School Libraries. She was a member of the inaugural class of the American Library Association’s Emerging Leaders program, named a 2012 Library Journal Mover and Shaker, and has been named Distinguished Alumna of the Library and Information Science Program of Wayne State University.

@activelearning - http://blog.schoollibrarymedia.com/ http://fontichiaro.com

SUE CONSIDINE, Executive Director, Fayetteville Free Library: Sue has been named a 2013 Library Journal Mover & Shaker and WCNY Women Who Make America awards. The Fayetteville Free Library is the first U.S. library that created a maker-space: http://www.forbes.com/sites/tjmccue/2011/11/15/first-public-library-to-create-a-maker-space/.

Patent for Problematic Phrases

Mon, 13 May 2013 20:18:00 -0400

Google announced plans for a patent to protect foot-in-mouth disease. Phrases will be scoured from Google and matched with those potentially pushing beyond the polite button protocols in corporate parlance. Corporations and individuals will be aided from lawsuits thanks to the phrases suggested as alternatives to ‘go @!@%@%^ yourself’. ‘Policy Violation Checker’, will offer ‘less risky’ terms from a database created by user in accordance with the company’s taxonomy and ontologies policy. The new tool will also inform the third party about the breach of policies in the particular document. E-mails, word documents, spreadsheets, presentations, etc. and can be customized to be run on any type of processing device like a computer, set-top box, mobile phone or other type of processing device.

From http://www.dnaindia.com/scitech/1831618/report-google-files-patent-for-policy

Nields Street Garage in progress in West Chester, PA

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 22:00:59 -0400

Nields Street Garage in progress in West Chester, PA

Digital Library Starts During National Library Week - http://dp.la

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 10:13:00 -0400

National Digital Public Library is launched on April 18, 2013. Or is it the Digital Public Library of America? In any event the goal is to make available for free resources from holdings of America’s research libraries, archives, and museums available to all. Since content will be accessible, theoretically the world would have access. In respect to the sensitive situation in North Korea, all libraries will remain open 24/7. DPLA plans to be the centralized host for a collection of digital media from libraries, museums, universities, archives, and other local, regional, and national collections. The concept was envisions a few decades ago. Appropriately, the DPLA will launch in Boston a remarkable unintended response to the resiliancy of the American people after facing such tragedy of the Boston Marathon. Initiative sparked by Google for the Google Books project to digitize 3 million titles was snuffed under the weight of copyright law, authors, publishers and lawyers basically in March 23, 2011. Harvard took up the Olympic effort again and with support from Foundations such as the Sloan, Arcadia, Knight, and Soros in addition to the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services—the first three years of theDPLA’s existence is secure. The Library of Congress naturally, will participate as they have been instrumental in several initiatives with the American Memory and other similar projects.

Honoring Daniel Hoffman, Poet

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 10:30:37 -0400

Honoring Daniel Hoffman, Poet:

Read the many tributes in Per Contra and image by Dr. Lin Tan -

http://www.percontra.net/issues/27/nonfiction/hoffman/

DuckDuckGo - a safer way to search the Internet

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 11:48:19 -0400

DuckDuckGo - a safer way to search the Internet:

No tracking, no filtering, simply quick relevant results to your questions. I found several fairly technical searches retrieved matching technical replies. Simpler searches retrieved items from Wikipedia and the like. There are many other growing services for developers and sites for special interests such as gaming.

Library of Congress Becomes Electra!

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 14:13:33 -0400

Library of Congress Becomes Electra! :

April 3 - 5 learn about electronic literature. More powerful than a computer screen, Able to leap from an ebook or a digitized text in a single bound. Look, It’s a hypertext narrative, literary games, interactive fiction, kinetic poetry! Electronic literature exploits the digital world’s capacity for multiplicity and interactivity to create new forms of literary expression not replicated in print. Like all literature, it explores the human condition—but as “born digital” content it is now mediated by underlying computer code, often combining the written word with sound, images, animation, and video.

Sure sign of Spring!Interesting growth history of Rita’s...

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 11:47:36 -0400

Sure sign of Spring!Interesting growth history of Rita’s and its latest story of acquisition by a larger investment firm. http://www.ritasice.com/about-us/our-history.aspx. Please tell me there will be free ice cream on the first Spring day - March 21!!

Games for Cats Contest

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 22:58:59 -0400

Games for Cats Contest:

There’s a game jam in Los Angeles the weekend before the Game Developers Conference (GDC) which will be a first of its kind. What’s the Game Developers Conference®? The GDC is the world’s largest and longest-running professionals-only game industry event attracting over 22,500 attendees, and the primary forum where programmers, artists, producers, game designers, audio professionals, business decision-makers and others involved in the development of interactive games gather to exchange ideas and shape the future of the industry. The GDC is produced by the UBM Tech Game Network.

This market defining conference features over 400 lectures, panels, tutorials and round-table discussions on a comprehensive selection of game development topics taught by leading industry experts. In addition, the GDC expo showcases all of the most relevant game development tools, platforms and services helping to drive the industry forward. The conference also features the fourteenth annual Independent Games Festival, the longest-running and largest festival relating to independent games worldwide, where original games compete for the attention of the publishing community, and the twelfth annual Game Developers Choice Awards, the premier accolades for peer-recognition in the digital games industry.

The Game Developers Conference has grown from an informal gathering of about 25 developers in the living room of a notable game designer 26 years ago, to a week-long conference for more than 22,500 industry insiders. In 2011, GDC commemorated the 25th edition of the conference, serving as a testament of how far the industry has come. Initially, the GDC was focused on computer games, but the industry has now diversified to the point that it includes any number of platforms, such as dedicated gaming consoles, handheld devices, mobile, smartphone and tablet devices, online, and of course computers. From year to year, the GDC continues to define market innovations and future vision, providing insight into the future of gaming.

Friskies maker Purina is sponsoring what it is calling the “Games for Cats Hackathon,” a weekend-long jam where aspiring developers will compete to create games (or apps) for cats to play with. The grand prize-winning team will take home $15,000, with $3,000 and $2,000 awards for the runners-up. Thinking of entering, but don’t know where to start? Gamasutra’s got you covered: check out 5 tips for making video games your cat wants to play - http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/174230/5_tips_for_making_video_games_your_cat_wants_to_play.php#.UUKOEVfCn5Q. Event registration is open - http://gamesforcatshackathon.eventbrite.com/#

You think students get a raw deal about parking in the Boro of...

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 22:32:20 -0400

You think students get a raw deal about parking in the Boro of West Chester? You think its safe to walk by the work being done on the Nields Street Garage in progress? Do you think workers on a Parking Garage get special parking priveleges? Pictures show all the cars who got ticketed. On campus they get towed. Now special spaces were arranged just for the workers on the parking garage. Its been that way for months. Maybe over the Spring Break the boro could settle how to fairly deal with parking. The rest of Nields street stays empty and it could allow nearly 100 cars for parking because its exceptionally wide. Still no sidewalks for a street busy with pedestrian traffic, a park with a playground and daycare centers nearby plus students of all ages being picked up for school daily.

Fifty Shades of Brains – e-books for libraries with liberal terms

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 14:11:24 -0500

New challenges of the digitized universe in which we are living is the key characteristics of digital content now licensed under contract law rather than purchased with first sale rights from copyright law. 50 Shades of Brains offers a fresh simple with reasonable terms: buy 3, and share unlimited number of digital copies for registered users of the library via a valid library card. Get a card! Can’t post the access publicly, it is still a loan. You can change the format, Calibre recommended. Libraries are purchasing ebooks for everything from SOUP’s to MOUP’s (single online user profile or multi online user profile). Also increasing connections to DDA’s (demand driven acquisitions). The library post records of what we ain’t got. If there is sufficient peeks, the library will purchase the ebook.

Harris, Christopher (3/4/13) A Simple Digital License. American Libraries. Retrieved from http://www.americanlibrariesmagazine.org/e-content/simple-digital-license

Play Ball – Each Batter has Six Strikes / Only One Inning

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 16:35:00 -0500

Copyright Alert System went into effect this week. The movie, music and internet service industry came up with a system allowing notification to individual customers they were engaged in illegal peer-to-peer file sharing in violation of copyright laws.

Under the new system, copyright owners will notify ISPs of suspected violations. The first of the alleged six strikes is supposed to be an email from the ISP to the customer notifying the customer of the illegal act and providing the customer with information about illegal file sharing. With each strike, the ISP’s action will increase from requiring the customer to acknowledge receipt of the inquiry to eventually temporarily slowing their connection or redirecting Internet traffic until they acknowledge they received a notice or review educational materials about copyright law. Consumers who believe they are innocent can pay $35 to appeal the decision and recover the fee if they win.

Read more details from Travis Crabtree on the eMedia Law Insider site - http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/six-strikes-and-youre-out-the-copyrigh-88286/?utm_source=JFB&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=IPlaw

Retool Your School

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 14:19:00 -0500

Retool Your School :

Each year Home Depot holds the Retool Your School competition for Historically Black Colleges and Universities to improve their campuses. Cheyney University earned enough votes to place 3rd in the competition and win a $10,000 Campus Pride grant. You can vote once a day until online voting ends on April 15th. Thank you for your continued support of Cheyney University.

Online Tools for Researchers

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 21:14:54 -0500

Here you will find a list of online “web 2.0″ tools, designed for researchers. The list will be updated progressively as this blogs explores the different services out there.

http://connectedresearchers.com/online-tools-for-researchers

I - Crowdsourcing Research
II - Social Networking Sites
III - Share scientific data (figures, presentations, workflows…)
IV - Lab Management Tools
V - Paper Writing and Publishing Tools
VI - Find expertise
VII - Find, organize and discuss papers

TED -Technology, Entertainment, Design - conference on now

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 21:54:24 -0500

Sign up now to see current programs for innovative services -
http://tedlive.ted.com/session/new
Watch some talks. A new TEDTalk is posted every day of the week for you to watch, rate, comment on and share. And make sure to browse our catalog of stellar talks and our curated playlists — you can even create your own surprise me playlist. 
Read the TED Blog. Stay updated on the latest in the realms of technology, entertainment, design, science, education, culture and global issues, as well as on what’s going on with other members of the TED community.
Start a conversation. Share your thoughts and experiences with your fellow TEDsters.
Sign up for our weekly newsletter. And get all sorts of TED goodies, delivered straight to your inbox. 
Curl up with a TED Book. Shorter than a novel, but longer than an article — there’s a new title available every two weeks. 
Learn something new every day. Check out our TED-Ed lessons, especially great for kids and teens.
Learn more about TED conferences. Each year, the world’s leading thinkers and doers gather for an event many describe as the highlight of their year. Attendees have called it “the ultimate brain spa” and “a 4-day journey into the future, in the company of those creating it.”
Connect to hundreds of TEDx events around the world. And find out how to host your own.
Learn more about the TED Prize. A million dollars given annually to a leader with a wish to inspire the world

LBJ Love Letters released - click here

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 09:46:00 -0500

LBJ Love Letters released - click here:

Private side of a very public President.

Lyndon and Claudia Alta “Lady Bird” Taylor met in early September 1934 in Austin. On their first date, Lyndon Johnson proposed and for the next 2 ½ months the two exchanged approximately 90 letters using words and emotional expressions rarely used as we communicate today. They also exchanged photographs.

Lyndon was working as a Congressional Aide in Washington, D. C.; he was lonely and impatient to marry. Lady Bird, who was living in her hometown of Karnack, Texas, was cautious but called her suitor “electric” and was sure she didn’t want to lose him.

In releasing the letters, the Library has created a web page featuring several items open to the public for the first time:
• Correspondence between Lyndon and Lady Bird from September to mid-November 1934. While selected letters have previously been released, this is the first time all have been made public.
• Photographs of Lyndon and Lady Bird from 1934; some never seen before. They include photographs of Lady Bird with Eugenia Boehringer, the woman who introduced the future First Lady to the future President.

On November 17, 1934, Johnson and Lady Bird drove to San Antonio to “commit matrimony” as she would later describe it. According to Lady Bird, she still had not made up her mind to marry Johnson as they drove to San Antonio for the wedding. However, once in San Antonio, she was committed to proceeding with the ceremony.

LBJ didn’t have a wedding band and asked Dan Quill, friend and Postmaster of San Antonio, to get one. Quill bought a wedding band at the nearby Sears, Roebuck & Co. for $2.50. Lyndon Johnson and Claudia Alta “Lady Bird” Taylor married on November 17, 1934, at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in San Antonio. They honeymooned in Mexico and were married for 39 years.

Name the Moons of Pluto - Rock on and click here

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 22:08:04 -0500

Name the Moons of Pluto - Rock on and click here:

President Obama may be ignoring petitions to make Pluto a proud planet again. In the mean time, we have the opportunity to bolster Pluto’s image by naming the moons. Sad we haven’t been so creative in naming our own moon. Images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2011 and 2012 revealed two previously unknown moons of Pluto. By tradition, the names of Pluto’s moons come from Greek and Roman mythology, and are related to the ancient tales about Hades and the Underworld. You can pick your favorite name. Alternatively, if you have a great idea for a name that we have overlooked, let us know by filling out the write-in form. If you can make a good case for it, we will add it to the list. See the blog page for the latest info. Ground Rules: Feel free to come back, but please do not vote more than once per day, just so everybody gets a fair chance to make their opinion known. Your vote will be submitted to the the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Voting ends at noon EST on Monday, February 25th, 2013.

Mark Showalter, for the P4/P5 Discovery Team

Carl Sagan Center for the Study of Life in the Universe, SETI Institute

World Bank Data - Mobile Only APP

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 18:12:50 -0500

The World Bank at a Glance service skips desktop and makes the results of their research and data gathering direct to mobile devices!

FREE, for iPhone^TM. Download now!

The World Bank at a Glance mobile application makes this complex institution accessible, with succinct explanations that are supplemented with hyperlinks for deeper information on what interests you. Whether you want general information about what the World Bank is and how it works with developing countries, or information on jobs and internships at the Bank, World Bank at a Glance will answer your questions and provide routes for additional information. The application also provides contact information and direct links to World Bank social media and social reading sites, Flickr and YouTube accounts, and more!

Recently updated to reflect the change in World Bank presidency, include the new Open Access Policy, and point to new online resources.

Use any of the icons on the home screens to find focused information easily with a tap of your finger:

Overview provides basic information on the 5 institutions of the World Bank Group, plus introductions to policies, strategies, and organizing principles.
Results and Reforms focuses on some of the Bank’s newest initiatives, such as Open Data and Open Access, ongoing reforms, and the results of recent Bank projects.
Products and Services introduces you to the Bank’s core work, broken into financial products such as lending, and knowledge products such as poverty reduction strategies and country assistance strategies.
Regions and Topics provide basic information on the Bank’s work in its six defined regions, including listings of the countries belonging in each region, and the Bank’s work in specific subject areas such as agriculture, corruption, gender, and more.
Project Cycle helps you follow the typical cycle for a World Bank project.
Opportunities, Contacts, and Social Media provide ways to interact with the Bank, whether you’re interested in a job, internship, or business opportunity, or whether you want to join or follow the Bank’s Facebook, Twitter, and other social media and social reading outlets, or whether you just want contact information for general questions and information.
Multimedia and Resources point you toward many of the other resources the Bank has to offer.
Presidents and Timeline provide some of the history of the World Bank Group and its leaders

The content for World Bank at a Glance is based on information from A Guide to the World Bank, now available in its third edition.

For questions regarding this app, please contact us at onlineresources@worldbank.org.

Make Your Fortune with a Comic Strip!

Sat, 09 Feb 2013 16:39:15 -0500

Time Feb 11 issue has a great article on a super stripper - comic strip, that is. Advent of new technologies with digital media embraces connections of the world of art with creativity. Xkcd - http://xkcd.com, uses stick figures to portray sarcasm, romance and MATH!. Xkcd also refers to their favorite comic sites - Three Word Phrase, Oglaf (nsfw), SMBC,Dinosaur Comics, A Softer World,Buttersafe, Perry Bible Fellowship,Questionable Content, Buttercup Festival Dinosaur Comics, http://www.qwantz.com/index.php Simply stated, Dinosaur Comics is about dinosaurs. Their favorite sites are -

a softer world
achewood
asp
bad machinery
blade diary
buttercup festival
cat and girl
copper
dresden codak
diesel sweeties
dr. mcninja
exploding dog
feel afraid
great
gunnerkrigg court
gunshow
hark! a vagrant
mspa
moe
nedroid
nine planets
octopus pie
oc
penny arcade
pictures for sad children
questionable content
sam and fuzzy
sfam
the perry bible fellowship
three word phrase
tp4d
whispered apologies
white ninja
wonderella
wondermark
xkcd. Another favorite is Toothpaste for Dinner, well, guess you have to see it to know more what it is about. They also have connections to

haring Machine
Natalie Dee
Married To The Sea
The Worst Things For Sale
Stuff I Put On Myself: A Makeup Blog

Each site has a searchable archive. All good for a chuckle. Great article in Time, Feb 11 issue titled Cats, Bears and Bacon: How to build a Web-comic phenomenon.

Compare results using Pikimal

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 22:12:12 -0500

Compare results using Pikimal:

Pikimal is dedicated to improving the searches for things on the web. Pikimal provides answers by using an algorithm that focuses solely on the facts and specifications of any given topic. The process is interactive by utilizing user input so the results match specific needs or wants.Pikimal’s mission is to help consumers make the best buying decisions. Pikimal takes data scattered across the Internet and difficult to understand and organizes it behind an intuitive interface designed to make finding easier. Desire is to simplify decisions, taking the marketing, brand bias and SEO-gamed results out of online search in order to provide real, relevant facts.Pikimal is powered by WebKite which employs more than a dozen people based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pikimal is working to become the only source needed to find the best car, television, computer career, or NFL team.

Connecting to the Creative and Useful Arts

Modern Leonardos :: Spring Event 2013 - May 23 - click here

Patent for Problematic Phrases

Nields Street Garage in progress in West Chester, PA

Digital Library Starts During National Library Week - http://dp.la

Honoring Daniel Hoffman, Poet

DuckDuckGo - a safer way to search the Internet

Library of Congress Becomes Electra!

Sure sign of Spring!Interesting growth history of Rita’s...

Games for Cats Contest

You think students get a raw deal about parking in the Boro of...

Fifty Shades of Brains – e-books for libraries with liberal terms

Play Ball – Each Batter has Six Strikes / Only One Inning

Retool Your School

Online Tools for Researchers

TED -Technology, Entertainment, Design - conference on now

http://tedlive.ted.com/session/new

LBJ Love Letters released - click here

Name the Moons of Pluto - Rock on and click here

World Bank Data - Mobile Only APP

The World Bank at a Glance service skips desktop and makes the results of their research and data gathering direct to mobile devices!

FREE, for iPhoneTM. Download now!

Make Your Fortune with a Comic Strip!

Compare results using Pikimal

FREE, for iPhone^TM. Download now!