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Reporter's Notebook

June 30, 2009

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Profile America — Tuesday, June 30th. The economic situation has renewed the ongoing debate about the level of taxes imposed on a pack of cigarettes. Advocates of higher taxes say these levies should discourage smoking, good from a public health perspective. Smokers say they are being singled out in an effort to generate revenue. The first cigarette taxes in the U.S. were levied by an act of Congress on this day in 1864. Placing stamps on each package to show that the tax had been paid came along four years later. Now, about one-in-five Americans smoke. On a per capita basis, Americans smoke an average of 1,700 cigarettes a year. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: Kane's Famous First Facts, 2698
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 197, 981
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009edition.html

June 29, 2009

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Profile America — Monday, June 29th. Even with the economic downturn, this is vacation time across the country. While the numbers may be fewer, millions of Americans still are ready to hit the highways for the beach, the mountains, theme parks and family reunions. Many hours are being spent searching on the Internet for bargain places to stay, and maps are spread out on the dining room table. All across the U.S., we take some 350 million pleasure trips a year. On the average trip, travelers will be away from home four nights. More than 80 percent of us travel by car, and about 15 percent by air. Many are booking their vacations on a cruise line — more than 9 million each year, with more than half sailing out of ports in Florida. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 1223, 1220
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009edition.html

June 28, 2009

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Profile America — Sunday, June 28th. Nostalgia for old forms of transportation highlights two festivals winding up today. In Cascade Locks, Oregon, Sternwheeler Days will celebrate the river boats that plied the nation’s waterways for more than a century. In Galesburg, Illinois, the focus is on the town’s railroad heritage, which goes back to the 1850s, when it became an important hub for East-West traffic. As such, the town was the site of the fifth and most famous of the debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. At the time of the Lincoln-Douglas debate, there were some 27,000 miles of railroad track in the U.S. Track miles peaked in 1930 at 430,000. Today, railroads run on less than half that mileage. Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau, now preparing for the 2010 Census.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2009, p. 331, 332
Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970, p. 731, 728
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 1080
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009edition.html

June 27, 2009

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Profile America — Saturday, June 27th. Today marks the birthday in 1880 of one of the most remarkable of American women — Helen Keller. Less than 2 years old, she was struck with a major illness that left her deaf and blind. When she was 7, her family hired Anne Sullivan to try to teach her. The story of how Sullivan reached through Keller’s isolation and taught her to read and write sparked the book, stage play and movie “The Miracle Worker.” Keller went on to graduate from college, read five languages and travel the world, speaking for progressive causes. In the U.S., nearly one-in-five people have some sort of disability. About 12 percent of the population — 35 million — cope with a severe disability. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2009, p. 333
U.S. Census Bureau News Release, CB08-185
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/013041.html

June 26, 2009

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Profile America — Friday, June 26th. On this day 50 years ago, President Eisenhower and Queen Elizabeth the II dedicated the St. Lawrence Seaway, one of the major engineering feats of the last century. The seaway eliminated difficult areas of the St. Lawrence River with a system of canals and locks. Costs of the ambitious project were shared by Canada and the United States. The seaway gives port cities on the Great Lakes access to the Atlantic Ocean. In the U.S., these include Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit and Duluth. Being able to dock ocean going ships helps account for combined exports of these states worth $177 billion a year. Among the four, New York leads in exports, followed by Michigan, Ohio and Minnesota. Profile America is in its 13th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2009, p. 331
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 1264
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009edition.html

June 25, 2009

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Profile America — Thursday, June 25th. The small town of St. Ignace on Michigan’s upper peninsula will be humming today and tomorrow — for the 34th annual Car Show and Collector Vehicle Festival. Normally, the town is home to 2,500 people and doesn’t have a single stoplight. The show will bring well over 100,000 visitors to gather around 2,500 special automobiles, entered from 25 states and Canada. The first St. Ignace show drew 134 cars. Interest in antique and modified automobiles is growing across the whole U.S. Each year, more than 17 million Americans flock to such shows, ranging from small events at the local firehouse to the sprawling, multiday gathering each October in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau, now preparing for the 2010 Census.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2009, p. 329
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 1200
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009edition.html

July 1, 2009

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Profile America — Wednesday, July 1st. The first stamps issued by the U.S. Post Office were sold on this date in 1847. A five-cent stamp pictured Ben Franklin, and one costing 10 cents honored George Washington. Before then, there were no uniform stamps — a haphazard system of private postal services around the country had issued their own. And on this date in 1963, the five digit ZIP Code was introduced to help speed mail to its proper destination. That year, Americans sent nearly 68 billion pieces of mail. Today, the postal service handles more than 212 billion pieces of mail annually — which works out to two items for every man, woman and child in the country every day. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2009, p. 340, 342
Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970, p. 804
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 1085
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009edition.html

June 2009, Backstory - Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., curator of northern baroque painting, National Gallery of Art, Washington, and Frima Fox Hofrichter, professor of the history of art and design, Pratt Institute, New York. Dutch artist Judith Leyster's 400th birthday is celebrated at the Gallery with an exhibition of 10 of her most engaging paintings, joined by some 20 works by 17th-century contemporaries, as well as musical instruments of the period depicted in the art. In the second of this three-part podcast, produced on the occasion of the exhibition, Wheelock talks to Leyster scholar Frima Fox Hofrichter about Leyster's innovative painting technique and highly engaging compositions.

We join a group of northeastern GWCers to watch Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in Times Square then talk through the movie with their able help! Highlights: We enjoy the film’s awesome action, tear up at Prime’s dedication and sacrifice, discuss the Matrix of Leadership’s important role in the new film, wish for a ‘Bee of our very own, and wonder what’s next for the Transformers franchise. (And much, much more. Seriously! Our IQs rise 50 points when we’re backed up by awesome listeners live. Check it out for yourself!)

We join a group of northeastern GWCers to watch Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in Times Square then talk through the movie with their able help! Highlights: We enjoy the film's awesome action, tear up at Prime's dedication and sacrifice, discuss the Matrix of Leadership's important role in the new film, wish for a 'Bee of our very own, and wonder what's next for the Transformers franchise. (And much, much more. Seriously! Our IQs rise 50 points when we're backed up by awesome listeners live. Check it out for yourself!)

This week's podcast brings you up to date in covering the Ohio libraries situation.

This week's podcast brings you up to date in covering the Ohio libraries situation.

This week's podcast brings you up to date in covering the Ohio libraries situation.

Encounter

Issues in the News

Press Conference USA

The President praises historic energy legislation passed by the House of Representatives.

Reporter's Notebook

Hi, hello, and how the heck are you! Welcome back to the annals of history and another trip from one side of the past to the other. Granted we'll be taking a scenic route as we discuss hedonistic Greeks, logical Franciscans, a heretical Pope, an unfortunate construction project, Polish kings, Russian Tsars, and Swiss scientists. We'll talk about the meaning of existence, the secret of life, and then we'll just drop out.

You don't need artificial euphoria when you can just get High On Life.

June 2009, Backstory - Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., curator of northern baroque painting, National Gallery of Art, Washington, and Frima Fox Hofrichter, professor of the history of art and design, Pratt Institute, New York. Dutch artist Judith Leyster's 400th birthday is celebrated at the Gallery with an exhibition of 10 of her most engaging paintings, joined by some 20 works by 17th-century contemporaries, as well as musical instruments of the period depicted in the art. In the first of this three-part podcast, produced on the occasion of the exhibition, Gallery curator Arthur Wheelock talks to Leyster scholar Frima Fox Hofrichter about the range of Leyster’s work, beginning with her renowned Self-Portrait, c. 1632-1633, from the Gallery’s permanent collection.

This week's episode ranges widely. First up we take a first look at Greenstone 2.82. After that we hear from the US Department of Agriculture about a new data set format for their Census of Agriculture. After that we have another installment of Apocalypse Radio that turns to discussing computer training on very specific topics.

Related links:
Linux Outlaws #97
LISNews Netcast Network Summer 2009 Promo Piece
Greenstone 2.82 release announcement
The new directions for compiling Greenstone2 on Ubuntu
GNU Privacy Guard
EnigMail
TOR
Warning about the proper usage of TOR
GNUnet

Thanks to Linux Outlaws / Greenstone 2.82 / USDA segment on Census of Ag / Apocalypse Radio

Encounter

Issues in the News

We catch up with the 2007 live-action Transformers movie in preparation for this week’s Transformers 2 premiere! Highlights: we discuss the movie’s awesome soundtrack, point out the movie’s awesome demostrations of the practical aspects of transforming, discover just how cool a homie Bumblebee can be, learn that Chuck is sadly underinformed re: Australia, note that Sam’s mom seems to really have it together, again almost lose it watching S7 bastards torture Bumblebee, enjoy the movie’s Heartbreak Ridge moment, and talk Unicron poo. Don’t miss our NYC meetup and live-audience podcast next weekend!

We catch up with the 2007 live-action Transformers movie in preparation for this week's Transformers 2 premiere! Highlights: we discuss the movie's awesome soundtrack, point out the movie's awesome demostrations of the practical aspects of transforming, discover just how cool a homie Bumblebee can be, learn that Chuck is sadly underinformed re: Australia, note that Sam's mom seems to really have it together, again almost lose it watching S7 bastards torture Bumblebee, enjoy the movie's Heartbreak Ridge moment, and talk Unicron poo. Don't miss our NYC meetup and live-audience podcast next weekend!

Press Conference USA

The President explains his plan to address one of the major causes of the current economic crisis

Reporter's Notebook

This week we talked about microphone usage and communications interruptions.