Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Amazon Home services

https://smile.amazon.com/services/

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/home/home.html/002-6279035-8107262

The big consumer computing companies: Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook, are always looking for new ways to make money and/or a name for themselves.  They wouldn't be big, famous and successful if they didn't do that.  I use products and services from the first four every day.


Of the four, Amazon sells the greatest variety of products and therefore has a great many deliveries of physical objects and substances to my door.  They are the company that has been connected to the recent publicity about delivering orders by small aerial drones.  I live in a small city in a rather remote section of the country and delivery is a big deal since many products typically available in large cities are not here unless specially ordered.


Amazon is also the company that had the first electronic reader that I paid attention to, the Kindle.  I did plenty of 'distance education', where the student watches tv or reads web pages or a book and answers questions to earn a grade.  Most of that work was done by way of computers and electronic transmissions.  So, the idea of getting a book electronically appealed to me.  When I found that their system used cellphone-like methods to transmit entire books in a flash through the atmosphere to my reader, I was (and still am) enchanted.


Not all the wrinkles about rights and responsibilities have been worked out in the matter of ebooks but for the most part, I am a big fan.  But these companies and others are always trying to find additional services and sources of income that work better in one way or another than competitors and traditional methods.


This morning, on the Amazon web site, I find what is to me a new service, home services, from cleaning to (seriously)  goat grazing (see links above):

Home Improvement

Home Cleaning

General Repair and Odd Jobs

Plumbing

Electrical and Wiring

Appliance Repair & Installation

See all

Lawn & Garden

General Outdoor Repair

Equipment Assembly

Gutter Cleaning

Grill Assembly

Pressure Washing

See all

Automotive

Car Stereo Installation

Tire Installation

Car Battery Installation

Backup System Installation

Car Coaxial Speaker Installation

See all

Computer & Electronics

TV Wall Mounting

Home Theater

Repair and Tech Support

iPhone Repair

Virus and Spyware Removal

See all

Lessons

Voice Lessons

Aerial Yoga Classes

Academic Lessons

Musical Instrument Lessons

Language Lessons

See all

Other Services

Goat Grazing Service

Singing Performance

Interior Design Project

Local Move Project

See all

Coming soon to your area



--
Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety


Monday, March 30, 2015

innovation vs. reliability

We can do the same thing over again.

We can do something new and different.

The same thing, the same buttons in the same place to produce the same result they produced yesterday, mean that we have a chance to learn what the buttons do and use them competently.

Something new and different may focus our attention more sharply.  Making new discoveries and finding what our reaction to them is might give new inspiration, new motivation, new excitement.


I think it is wise to consider the value of both innovation and reliability/stability.  Here is a graph of what Google Ngrams found in a comparison of the frequency of the terms "innovation" and "reliability" in many books since 1800 (blue for 'innovation').

I think we are in a pro-innovation period and the graph seems to bear that out.  Similarly, I compared the same two terms in the Amazon Kindle store (400 pages of innovation v. 73 for reliability) and Google Search results (416 million for innovation v. 195 million for reliability).  It is worthwhile these days to try Microsoft's Bing search engine as well.  Innovation turned up 70.1 million results while there were 38.3 for reliability.


"Innovation" seems to be a good stand-in term for something new in many senses but I fear that "reliability" is only one of several good terms to mean continuing on in an unchanged and familiar way.




--
Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety


Sunday, March 29, 2015

They are not just hilarious

At the top of my blog web page http://fearfunandfiloz.blogspot.com/, a search window (upper left of the window, circled in green below)

BlogSearchWindow.png


will enable you to find my blog posts that mention Rosie and Don. Professor Donald Tillman is an expert geneticist and a PhD but he has Asperger's or something close to that condition. He is like the character played by Benedict Cumberbatch in the British TV show "Sherlock" and the similar detective in the American show "Elementary".  He is great at observation and genuine logical deduction but poor at interpersonal perception and relationships.  


Professor Tillman is the main character in the book "The Rosie Project" and the sequel, "The Rosie Effect".  Just as the British psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen explains, Prof. Don is better at using facts, arguments, evidence and experiments than he is at placing himself in another's shoes mentally and seeing how that person might feel.  The Rosie Project is the story of Don's dating and courting.  The Rosie Effect is the story of the two as expectant parents.  


The fact we are in one or the other of the major human groups known as "men" and "women" gives us all a chance to think about membership in one group and puzzle over what it would be like to be a member of the other group.  If you stay alert and read or watch the members of those two groups, you can decide, as I have, that both groups have their burdens and their rewards.  In this age of "equality",we like to emphasize that a girl in America can grow up to be anything she wants to be.  But recently, especially in the pages of "The Atlantic", the debate about whether a woman can "have it all" has re-emerged.  Just to check with the member of the other group that I know best, I just asked her (she is a PhD and very wise), "Can women have it all?"  Which is current code for can women be mothers, good parents and successful at their careers, too.  She immediately answered,"Nobody can have it all."  


I told you she was very wise.  Even today, despite Arnold in "Junior", men aren't going to give birth and they probably aren't going to have a visceral connection to their child 35 years after its birth.  Since I don't know of any statement that can be sure to separate the gals from the guys, especially in the age of transgender possibilities, I will just advise reading the books and enjoying them.



--
Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety


Saturday, March 28, 2015

National Science Foundation YouTube channel

This is from this week's Internet Scout.  I thought you might be interested if you don't already watch.  This sort of "subscription" these days just means that you get a notice of the latest additions.  I haven't watched these yet but I will get to them.  The note about all being short is attractive to me.  I have noticed that there are certain steadily available sources that are good to keep in mind that tend to more or less run parallel to books.  You Tube and You Tube "channels" are one of them.  The app stores for Android and Apple are another.  The short, free or inexpensive apps may include games or other activities that make something clear in a new way.

5. National Science Foundation YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRuCgmzhczsm89jzPtN2Wuw

 

Nearly 13,000 viewers have subscribed to the National Science Foundation's YouTube channel. It's not a secret why. These well-produced and often poignant presentations have managed to pack so much into such a small space. Nearly all the videos clock in at less than four minutes. Many of the clips are just two or three minutes long so readers can easily learn about the birth of planets, the details of the tropospheric ozone, and the wonders of biomedical engineering - all within the timespan of a quick coffee break. The hundreds of available videos are broken into categories such as Computer Science, Brain Research, and Education, among others.

Whether you are looking for an interesting tidbit to add to your lecture on Geoscience or you are simply curious about conservation efforts in Central Africa, there is much to enjoy here. [CNH] (these initials identify the Internet Scout person who wrote this blurb)


   From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2015.

    https://www.scout.wisc.edu




--
Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety


Friday, March 27, 2015

Using a different method

When British thinkers and authors were asked what they thought was the most important idea of the last 1000 years, they voted the printing press.


What could be simpler?  You write on parchment scroll or a piece of paper.  No, how about we have carvers make blocks of our alphabet's letters?  We assemble the blocks in racks to spell out the pages of our book and we smear ink over the pages.  We press pages of paper on the blocks and make whole pages quickly.  Sure, it takes time to set up but after that, watch out!

The book "Divine Art, Infernal Machine" by Elizabeth Eisenstein is about the printing press and its impact.  Again, a simple change of method but it has changed lives and civilizations.  And, that big change was basically a change wrought on minds.  The changed method enabled communication of information and ideas to greater numbers of people more quickly and more cheaply. The printing press was first used in 1450.  About 200 years later, public schools were being opened in what was to become the United States.


Fast forward to the late 1900's, about 1980.  We have Commodore, Apple, Radio Shack and other computers of various makes, capacities and purposes.  It seems that another angle to the current situation is the internet, the worldwide web.  As with the computer, you can argue about who did what when.  I was just getting involved with computerized email in 1991 but my friend said to just wait until I saw what "networks" could do.


You may be familiar with "Napster", the process and software and idea that people could share the recorded songs they owned over the internet.  You may have heard of the expanding and disruptive results of creating more electronic ways to create, share, modify and use health records electronically.  You can see the book "The Patient Will See You Now" to get a feel for some of the changes that can come from greater electronic communication in medicine. Or, look at "Is This Something George Eastman Would Have Done?: The Decline and Fall of the Eastman Kodak Company" to get a feel for the difference a new method of photography has made to the film industry.


Stay tuned for big changes afoot for law and for all work in general with advancing artificial intelligence and robots.



--
Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety


Thursday, March 26, 2015

Riches of the present moment

We can take any story and extend it or select elements from it to build an offshoot of the story.  "Mary had a little lamb."  Where did she get it?  How old was it?  Had she ever had a lamb before or is this her first one?  "Jack and Jill went up a hill".  What hill?  How steep was it?  Did they often go up that hill?  Could they have fetched a pail of water anywhere else?


In a similar way, we can take any present moment and check it out.  Every present moment, every instant of now is chock full of events, sensations, ideas, reactions, plans, emotions.  Just like the whole world wide web, every present moment is actually too big to know, too big to check out.  There are always other parts to the now that we didn't think of, didn't take time to notice, didn't have time to examine or question.


A fun thing about having a mind is that, like a good book, it can take us to all sorts of places, real and imagined, current or future, past or present, emotional or calm, positive or negative.  Just as we get a lift watching a little child who is just learning to walk, stagger this way and that, falling back onto all fours, tottering over to books or toys, trying to touch the cat, becoming fascinated with its own hand or shoe, we can watch with pleasure as our mind wanders through its current issues, doubts, hopes and satisfactions.


We can decide to admonish our mind for poor behavior and inattention to the tasks of the day or we can take some time to notice what interests it and congratulate it on having the curiosity and courage to wonder and wander.  Aristotle and those other Greeks back then tended to put their bets on moderation, and a balanced approach still seems to hold promise today.  So, a little continuation from yesterday's thoughts for the sake of continuity and extended effort toward something bigger, mixed with a little free wandering, for the sake of possible new directions sounds about right.



--
Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety


Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Markers

When we got oversupplied with books, it was clearly time to get rid of some.  Give them to family and friends, give to local libraries who might decide to add them to the collection or sell them to raise a little money.


Thinking of no longer having a particular book on my shelf to look at can be painful.  So, I asked myself why?  I checked the book and my feelings out a little bit.  I no longer have a copy of the CRC book of statistical tables.  I never actually used it very much but it was a marker for my being in graduate school.  We had to get rid of some books unless we were going to start storing them in rented external storage lockers.  That seemed silly.


Naturally, I asked myself what I remembered from the book's content, trying to decide if keeping it was important.  When I think of most texts, I find parts of no interest or parts I object to, know to be out-of-date or irrelevant or wrong.  Looking at the books on our shelves, I realize that our King James Bible is one of our oldest books.  I have read the chapter of Ecclesiastes many times.  However, I can't recite it by heart.  If you read me a line, I can't tell you the next line.  I can't even do that with the book called "Grading, Testing and Instructional Format", which I wrote myself.  


I considered tearing out pages or photocopying just the parts I think I want to remember.  Maybe I should make a video of books on the shelf.  If I watched the video every now and then, I could recall what the presence of the volume means to me, where I read the book, what use I have put the contents to and things like that.  However, I almost certainly would not watch the video.  I have too many books I want to read to bother spending time that way.



--
Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety


Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Want to play, Grandad?

We had our 7 yr old greatgranddaughter and 5 yr old greatgrandson over for a couple of hours.  We took them out to lunch at Subway and then played a game of Memory (a.k.a. concentration but with an enhanced deck of 108 cards).  That is the game where a large number of cards are placed face down and the object is to find matching pairs.  The idea is to use your memory and remember which card is the horse head so that when the matching horse head is turned over, you can scoop up both cards.  Every pair turned up can be kept and whoever has the highest pile of cards wins.


Both my wife and I have PhD's and neither of the little squirts have one.  But she and I have played with kids this age before and we know what to expect.   We were totally correct.  When our two adult stacks were combined, we failed to match either child.  I suppose it is possible that we are extra limited at our advanced age and that if you have played, you would have been able to remember the location of the doll baby, the candle and the quilt better than the children.


Warning: it is easy to get lulled into the proud stance of an older, wiser person, one who can easily outdo little kids.  However, when you watch the calm, unhurried reaching of the small right hand for a card, while the left hand scoops up the target's partner without any shift of the eyes needed to guide the left, you will realize you are out classed.  My theory is that the more you panic, the harder you frown and determine you will damned well remember where the clown is, the more you will confuse the clown with the puppet and the queen with the cook.


Meanwhile, the opposition keeps scooping and scooping, without any apparent strain or determination.  Just little hands busily working, stacking and stacking ever higher.



--
Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety


Monday, March 23, 2015

What to read next

If you have ever entered a large library like the main branch of Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library

Image result for enoch pratt free library


you know what being surrounded by way, way more than you can consume feels like.  Inside older, advanced libraries, you are enclosed in ideas, adventures, delights, but also trials, boredom, fatigue, silliness, and distaste.

Image result for enoch pratt free library

When you have a particular book or subject in mind,you can develop a beeline quest for what you are after.  When you have an enveloping book in hand, you can see that all that other stuff is just a distraction and you can ignore it.


But there comes a time when the book ends, the last episode has been viewed, the final notes played.  Then the search begins. For books and movies, there are many prompts, ads and suggestions.  My own web site has many pages of book titles and suggestions.


The book "Stumbling on Happiness" by Daniel Gilbert, a Harvard psychologist, explains the research that basically shows we humans are not very good at predicting how happy something will make us.  But, we are good at getting accustomed to things.  So, whether something is fun or satisfying or not, we can become habituated to it and lose our awareness of its quality.


Over the years, the most interesting and fun course I taught was Personal Reading for Professional Development.  The point of the course was to review what had been read by each student over the entire lifetime, from "The Pokey Little Puppy" Golden Book to "The Mudhen" to "Woman Wanted" to "Silas Marner."  Textbooks and books of cartoons or collections of photographs also count.  I tried to have students begin by listing all the books they could remember just using their memories, without notes or library searches of any kind. The idea was to see what books came to mind.  However, it often happened that when somebody looked at another person's list, they recognized a title they had read, one they recalled lovingly and were surprised they hadn't thought of such a wonderful book.  Unaided recall is only one path to remembering what one has read.


My main point here is that a book that has moved a reader, that has stayed in the memory of the reader, is often a good bet for someone else to enjoy.  Of course, tastes differ.  Even the same book might appeal to me today but not 20 years ago or the reverse.


These days, when I ask people about what they are reading, I try to avoid saying "what is your favorite book" or other wording that promotes a ranking or a contest.  A beloved science book, a really good math book, a favorite cookbook and a mystery book I like are very different  from each other and it is a waste of time to try to say which is ultimately the best.  Best for what, best for when, best for whom???



--
Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety


Sunday, March 22, 2015

Internet Scout Spring 2015

There is lots of interest and pleasure in our new season ofspring so I thought this newsletter from the Internet Scout might be of use.

Bill
===========================================

The Scout Report  March 20, 2015  Volume 21, Number 11

A Publication of Internet Scout

Computer Sciences Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison =======

Spring is a time of new beginnings, of green shoots in wet soil, of budding trees, and kids let out to play. It's also a perfect time for a special edition of the Scout Report. On this, the vernal equinox, the following annotations will welcome readers into the heart of spring, with an emphasis on the science, the art, and the culture of the season. Through this collection of resources, we hope readers will find their own joy at the end of winter and the beginning of a new season of light. For, as Pablo Neruda once said, "You can cut all the flowers, but you cannot stop the spring."

If you'd like to suggest other great resources fitting this special edition theme, please let us know on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/InternetScout ), by Tweeting @IntScout, or by emailing us at scout@scout.wisc.edu.

===== The Science of Spring ===

1. National Geographic Education: The Reason for the Seasons 2. United States Botanic Garden 3. Solstice and Equinox ("Suntrack") Model (PDF) 4. Caroline Dean Wildflower Collection 5. Smithsonian Libraries: Butterflies and Moths ===== The Art of Spring === 6. Poetry Foundation: Spring Poems 7. Wu Han Plays Tchaikovsky, Month by Month 8. The Walt Whitman Archive: Published Works 9. 1637 Tulipmania 10. William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience ===== The Culture of Spring === 11. Celebrating Nowruz: A Resource for Educators (PDF) 12. Spring Cleaning: Surprising Strategies for Finally Organizing Your Space 13. Cherry Blossom Festival 14. Holi Festival 2015 15. May Day Celebrations

Copyright and subscription information appear at the end of the Scout Report. For more information on all services of Internet Scout, please visit our Website: https://scout.wisc.edu

If you'd like to know how the Internet Scout team selects resources for inclusion in the Scout Report, visit our Selection Criteria page at:

https://scout.wisc.edu/scout-report/selection-criteria

The Scout Report on the Web:

  Current issue: https://scout.wisc.edu/report/current

This issue:

  https://scout.wisc.edu/report/2015/0320

Feedback is always welcome: scout@scout.wisc.edu

===== The Science of Spring ===

1. National Geographic Education: The Reason for the Seasons http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/activity/the-reason-for-the-seasons/

How does the sun determine the Earth's seasons? This is the question that the National Geographic Education site seeks to answer with a lively 35-minute activity designed for students between the ages of seven and eleven (second through fifth grade). In the activity, students use polystyrene foam balls and light bulbs to simulate the intensity of the sun's energy on the earth's surface. The site is divided into four basic sections so that educators can easily absorb the various aspects of the lesson. Readers may like to start with Directions, which provides a run-through of the activity and step-by-step instructions for how to bring in interesting resources and breathe life into these important concepts.

[CNH]

2. United States Botanic Garden

http://www.usbg.gov

This website from the United States Botanic Gardens in Washington, D.C.

inspires and delights in any season - but it's especially uplifting in spring. Readers may like to browse the upcoming programs, which cover topics such as the health benefits of chocolate and a celebration of spring cooking. There are also listings on the site for What's in Bloom, and exhibits on orchids and the secret life of roots. In addition, the Learn tab links to educational resources such as the Landscape for Life website, where educators may find lesson plans for sustainable home gardening. A Virtual Tour offers gorgeous 360 degree interactive views of several sections of the Gardens, including the Jungle Room, the Orchid Room, and the National Garden - Rose Garden. An autorotate option makes for easy meandering through the tour and information blurbs provide specific details about each section. Readers inspired to start their own gardens will also enjoy the Gardening Fact Sheets with tips on subjects such as Soils and Insects & Other Organisms. [CNH]

3. Solstice and Equinox ("Suntrack") Model (PDF) http://solar-center.stanford.edu/AO/Sun-Track-Model.pdf

These instructions for building a "suntrack" model were originally designed by Philip and Deborah Scherrer of the Stanford Solar Center in 2005; a decade later, they still stand as an excellent, hands-on instructional aid.

The manual is available as a free PDF and guides teachers and students through the process of building a diorama designed to simulate the Sun's arc across the sky at the summer solstice, winter solstice, and spring and fall equinoxes. The finished product provides educators with a physical model that brings to life these essential cycles of earth and sun. The diorama is designed to be useful for students age eight and up. It takes about two hours to build and the material can be purchased at any hardware store. The PDF also includes links to more complete explanations of the interactions between Sun and Earth along with complete assembly instructions. [CNH]

4. Caroline Dean Wildflower Collection

http://diglib.auburn.edu/collections/wildflower/

The Caroline Dean Wildflower Collection at the Auburn University Digital Library offers a peak into the wonders of wildflowers native to the Southeastern United States. Here readers may find beautiful photographs of the Bearded Grass-Pink, the Black-Eyed Susan, and the Blackberry Lily, among many others. Most of the images are accompanied by both the common and scientific names, and many of the descriptions include information about seeds, habitats, and other information. For readers who draw inspiration from the beauty of flowers, and especially wildflowers of the South, this digital library collection will not disappoint. [CNH]

5. Smithsonian Libraries: Butterflies and Moths http://www.sil.si.edu/imagegalaxy/imageGalaxy_collResult.cfm?term=Butterflies%20and%20Moths

In many regions around the United States and Europe, one of the sure signs that spring has finally come is the appearance of butterflies. These 446 images of butterflies and moths, presented by the Smithsonian Libraries, offer an uplifting glimpse into the variegated world of these winged creatures. Each image can enlarged. Most images are partnered with a short description, and often a link to more detailed analysis. For instance, a drawing by Georg Wolfgang Franz Panzer features two gorgeous butterflies, composed between 1796 and 1813. Readers may even link to Full Details from the Smithsonian Libraries' Catalog to find information about the book from which the image was scanned, including the publisher and other details. The simple beauty of these images will surely enthrall all readers. [CNH]

===== The Art of Spring ===

6. Poetry Foundation: Spring Poems

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/article/241410?gclid=COvs8sCdlMQCFUQ8gQods2wA6Q

This page on the Poetry Foundation website provides readers with 31 poems about spring. Divided into sections (Flowers, Spring in Love, Joy in Spring, Spiritual, Melancholy, Youth in Spring), the poets run the historical timeline from Shakespeare and Dryden to Delmore Schwartz and Tony Hoagland. The poems remind us that "gardens are also good places to sulk" (Amy Gerstler), that spring days can be so perfect that "you want to throw/open all the windows in the house" (Billy Collins), and that it is possible to "mourn with ever-returning spring" (Walt Whitman). Each poem is accompanied by Related Content, featuring a Biography of the poet along with some select other poems, audio, and articles. For readers who are looking for celebrations, condemnations, contemplations, and all the thoughts, feelings, and intuitions of spring, this page will be a welcome find. [CNH]

7. Wu Han Plays Tchaikovsky, Month by Month

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91974368

Tchaikovsky composed his 12-part piano cycle, The Seasons, between December

1875 and May 1876. In the hands of master pianist Wu Han, these classic pieces stand as extraordinarily vivid and elegant compositions, performed with tenderness and bravado. While the pieces and accompanying article were first posted to NPR's website in early 2008, they are no less extraordinary today. Here readers may listen to Wu Han's maestro performance of "March:

Song of the Lark," "April: Snowdrop," and "May: May Nights," one at a time, or they may choose to hear the entire 12-month cycle played straight through for 45 minutes. The lovingly composed accompanying article by Fred Child introduces readers to the composer, the performer, and the synergy that come alive when the composer and performer come together. [CNH]

8. The Walt Whitman Archive: Published Works http://www.whitmanarchive.org/published/LG/

Walt Whitman - poet, essayist, journalist, and lover of spring - created a true Victorian scandal when he self-published Leaves of Grass, with its wildly free verse and its sometimes erotic sentiments. While the public swooned and scorned, Whitman dutifully revised the collection over the next three decades, only stopping when a stroke made it impossible for him to work. This site from the excellent Walt Whitman Archive provides a window into that epic editing process. Readers may begin with the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass, featuring an about section, the complete text, and page images. Subsequent editions (1856, 1860, 1867,1871, 1881, and 1891) are also available, making analysis of the development of this classic American epic available to anyone. [CNH]

9. 1637 Tulipmania

https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/explore-the-collection/timeline-dutch-history/1637-tulipmania

These days no one trades tulips on the stockmarket. But when the tulip was first introduced to Europe in the early 17th century, speculation by Dutch commodities traders led to wildly inflated prices for this most beautiful of spring flowers. In fact, at the peak of the mania, some historians claim that a single tulip bulb could have sold for 10 times the annual salary of a skilled craftsman. The bubble subsequently popped, contributing in part to the decline of the Dutch Republic's Golden Age. Holland's Rijks Museum presents this site as one facet of its Timeline of Dutch History. The site features a number of beautiful illustrations, including a 1639 floral still life by Hans Bollongier, descriptions of the Dutch love for tulips, and images and annotations of the pamphlets that ridiculed the tulip craze.

While some of the detailed information accompanying each item in the collection is in Dutch, the majority of the site is navigable in English.

[CNH]

10. William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience http://www.bl.uk/collection-items/william-blakes-songs-of-innocence-and-experience

William Blake completed the Songs of Innocence, a collection of 19 poems with accompanying woodblock prints, in 1789. Five years later, he completed Songs of Experience, and subsequently published the two collections in a single volume. Themes of the work echo with springtime and renewal, discussing the natural innocence of childhood and the fall from grace that accompanies life in an adult world with its concerns of money, status, and power. This digital collection from the British Library includes a brief overview of the poet and his poems. However, the beautifully photographed wood prints themselves are what make this site a must see. The collection, digitized from an edition originally published in Liverpool in 1923, immerses readers in the poetry and artwork of this Romantic visionary through such poems as "The Ecchoing Green," "The Lamb," and "The Tyger."

[CNH]

===== The Culture of Spring ===

11. Celebrating Nowruz: A Resource for Educators (PDF) http://cmes.hmdc.harvard.edu/files/NowruzCurriculumText.pdf

Nowruz, the Persian celebration of the new year, is celebrated in a number of countries, including Iran, Turkey, and Tajikistan. The spring ritual goes back at least to the 2nd century AD, though many historians agree it probably took root earlier. This free PDF, composed by the Outreach Center at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University, is designed as a resource for educators. However, anyone with even a passing interest in the cultures of the Middle East will find much to ponder in the 19 well-written pages of this colorful pamphlet. The Table of Contents includes an introduction to educators and suggestions on how to use the resource, as well as a six-section curriculum that covers the history, Persian roots, rituals, and special foods of Nowruz. Educators may also be interested in the Activities for the Classroom section, which includes creating a Nowruz greeting card and painting eggs among other possibilities. [CNH]

12. Spring Cleaning: Surprising Strategies for Finally Organizing Your Space http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2015/03/13/spring-cleaning-surprising-strategies-for-finally-organizing-your-space/

Psych Central, which was founded as a web-based mental health social network two decades ago, now functions as a one-stop-shop for information about all things psychology - from the travails of bullying to tips on how to recognize a psychopath. This blog post by Margarita Tartakovsky presents four surprising strategies for your spring cleaning resolutions. Drawn from Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo's new book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, tips range from understanding why you're tidying up to tidying up by category to having a place for everything. For readers who are looking for inspiration in their spring cleaning projects, this post is a welcome find. And, of course, there are hundreds of blog posts on Psych Central to explore. [CNH]

13. Cherry Blossom Festival

http://www.nps.gov/cherry/cherry-blossom-history.htm

The National Park Service has assembled a useful overview of the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C., including ways to plan a visit to the festival, maps and brochures, programs, and other resources. Their section on the history of the cherry trees themselves, however, really stands out.

Before the trees were successfully planted in 1912, several blossom lovers had already spent 20 years attempting to plant cherry trees in the District of Columbia. Readers may find the story of Mrs. Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore and Dr. David Fairchild's efforts noteworthy, as they led to the donation of

2,000 cherry trees by Japan in 1910. However, those trees were found to be diseased, and so all but a handful of them had to be burned. The timeline then moves through a new Japanese gift of 3,020 new trees, their successful planting, and explains the development of the Cherry Blossom Festival as it slowly took shape over the following decades. Readers may also enjoy the Photos and Multimedia tab, which showcases the trees in videos, photographs, and a web cam. [CNH]

14. Holi Festival 2015

http://www.holifestival.org

The Hindu spring festival of Holi is often referred to as "the festival of colors" and "the festival of love." Celebrations begin with a bonfire celebrating the death of Holika, the devil. The next morning, men, women, and children, young and old, strangers and friends, color one another with dried powder from head to toe, and share food, song, and dance in the streets. While the website is a a bit dated in appearance and ads are visible throughout, it explains Holi in all its marvelous guises, with tabs dedicated to the history, rituals, significance, tradition, and other aspects of the festival. In fact, there is an entire section dedicated to the Legends of Holi, where readers may peruse the stories that form the backbone of this magnificent festival. Other tabs include Holi Greetings, Holi Songs, and Holi Recipes. [CNH]

15. May Day Celebrations

http://digitalcommons.wou.edu/mayday/

The earliest May Day celebrations predate Christianity's introduction to Europe. What is left of them now are the unbridled celebration of the end of winter, dancing around a Maypole, and crowning the Queen of May. This collection from Western Oregon University's Hamersly Library & Archives consists of a selection of photographs and postcards related to May Day events between 1916 and 1947. The site provides a short explanation of how the May Day Celebration began at what was then the Oregon State Normal School. It then follows the development of the celebration and how it eventually transformed into the fall Homecoming celebration, one of the school's most popular social events. The dozens of vintage black and white photographs chronicle long-ago celebrations of spring and can be viewed as a slideshow or individually with associated information such as Date, Location, and Description. [CNH]

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======                        ======

==   Index for March 20, 2015 ==

======                        ======

1. National Geographic Education: The Reason for the Seasons

http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/activity/the-reason-for-the-seasons/

2. United States Botanic Garden

  http://www.usbg.gov

3. Solstice and Equinox ("Suntrack") Model (PDF)

  http://solar-center.stanford.edu/AO/Sun-Track-Model.pdf

4. Caroline Dean Wildflower Collection

  http://diglib.auburn.edu/collections/wildflower/

5. Smithsonian Libraries: Butterflies and Moths

http://www.sil.si.edu/imagegalaxy/imageGalaxy_collResult.cfm?term=Butterflies%20and%20Moths

6. Poetry Foundation: Spring Poems

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/article/241410?gclid=COvs8sCdlMQCFUQ8gQods2wA6Q

7. Wu Han Plays Tchaikovsky, Month by Month

  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91974368

8. The Walt Whitman Archive: Published Works

  http://www.whitmanarchive.org/published/LG/

9. 1637 Tulipmania

https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/explore-the-collection/timeline-dutch-history/1637-tulipmania

10. William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience

http://www.bl.uk/collection-items/william-blakes-songs-of-innocence-and-experience

11. Celebrating Nowruz: A Resource for Educators (PDF)

  http://cmes.hmdc.harvard.edu/files/NowruzCurriculumText.pdf

12. Spring Cleaning: Surprising Strategies for Finally Organizing Your Space

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2015/03/13/spring-cleaning-surprising-strategies-for-finally-organizing-your-space/

13. Cherry Blossom Festival

  http://www.nps.gov/cherry/cherry-blossom-history.htm

14. Holi Festival 2015

  http://www.holifestival.org

15. May Day Celebrations

  http://digitalcommons.wou.edu/mayday/

======                                ====

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--
Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety


Saturday, March 21, 2015

Spanish computer (send by a friend)

Spanish Computer

 A Spanish language teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.

 

"House" for instance, is feminine:     "la casa."
"Pencil," however, is masculine:       "el lapiz."

 

A student asked, "What gender is 'Computer'?"

 


Instead of giving the answer, the teacher divided the class into two groups, Male and Female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether "Computer" should be a masculine or a feminine noun.
Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.

 

The men's group decided that  "Computer" should definitely be of the feminine gender ("la computadora"),  because:

 

    1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;

 

    2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone  else;

 

    3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval; and

 

    4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck to buy accessories for it.

 

The women's group, however,  concluded that computers should be masculine ("el computador"),  because:

 


1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;

 

2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;

 

3. They are supposed to help you solve problems,
but half the time they ARE the problem; and

 


4. As soon as you commit to one,  you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.

 


The women won.

 

Send this to all the smart women you know......And to all the men that have a sense of humor.


--
Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety

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