Sorry about vanishing. This week got really bonkers really quickly. I worked yesterday in a Batman bathrobe and blue fairy wings. Long story. Anyway, I’m back and this weekend will be Buzzy. Love y’all.

NEW RESOURCES

Florence Nightingale is getting a new online archive of correspondence. “Now more than 2,000 of Nightingale’s letters are available for viewing online, thanks in large part to Boston University’s Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center (HGARC), which embarked on a pioneering international collaboration two years ago with the Florence Nightingale Museum, the Royal College of Nursing, and the Wellcome Library to create a comprehensive digital database of Nightingale’s voluminous correspondence. Known as the Florence Nightingale Digitization Project, the database offers scholars, biographers, students, and anyone interested in the history of nursing free, public access to letters that have long been held in private collections.”

Oh, why not: a new Web site is dedicated to aggregating meatloaf recipes (PRESS RELEASE). “The usual meatloaf can now be made even more exciting and way more delicious with the introduction of some fantastic recipes that came directly from mothers from different parts of the world. Moms Meatloaf Recipe is now made available for the parents out there who would like to prepare something nice and mouthwatering for their family using the traditional meatloaf.” Have you ever read a word so many times it ceases to have any meaning? Meatloaf. Meatloaf. Meatloaf. Meatloaf.

Helsinki University Library is making its data available to the general public. “Helsinki University Library’s open data web service api.hulib.helsinki.fi offers the vast majority of the library’s data in easy-to-use JSON format. In addition to library catalog data, the service contains data of University of Helsinki disciplines and library opening hours. The APIs are documented in Swagger specifications.”

A gentleman named Ben Feist has created an online archive dedicated to the Apollo 17 mission. “He combined more than 300 hours of audio, 22 hours of video and more than 4,000 photos, to create a minute-by-minute archive of the mission. He also published a blog explaining the process.” Terrific work.

TWEAKS & UPDATES

Katherine Cook has an update on the Monumental Archive Project (MAP). “In a post in August, I introduced the concept for the Monumental Archive Project (MAP), an open database of historic cemeteries, as a means of encouraging much needed data reuse and sustainable practice, as well as creativity and collaboration in this area of research. It outlined a plan for a website that would provide a platform for the curation of data, user-friendly access and interactive collaboration. Whilst in Michigan, surrounded by extremely talented mentors who make even the most complicated programming problems look like child’s play, that plan looked easily achievable.”

Blog post from Google: Organization in Drive should be super easy. But it isn’t. It’s bloody horrible. Still, Google is adding some new options. Judging by the comments I’m not the only one frustrated by Drive.

Please note that I have only seen this in one place – The Indian Express – and I have not be able to corroborate it anywhere else. But The Indian Express says that Google will launch an “animal sound” feature. “Google has introduced a new feature to Search called animal sounds. Animal sounds go live on January 13. Users can use the feature by either talking to Google app on smartphones or typing questions like, ‘What sound does the duck make?’.”

USEFUL STUFF

MakeUseOf has an article on tips and tricks for using GMail better.. I had never heard of Batched Inbox, and it sounds terrific…

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Interesting: How Periscope is changing the way people meditate. “Livestreaming apps like Periscope have spawned a vast and influential meditation community, with thousands of people logging on to bliss out, sometimes for hours at a time. For those of you seeking a tribe that’s more your vibe in 2016, Periscope’s livestreaming meditation community might provide the people and peace that you seek.”

Also interesting: Google is selling a bunch of battery patents. “The patents, which are on sale now, are grouped into six categories, including ‘Hybrid,’ ‘Charging,’ and ‘Hardware.’ The pricing of the patents is not public and will be disclosed to potential buyers only, according to the sales document.”

Oh, why not: Facebook’s going to have a float in the Sydney Mardi Gras parade. “The social media behemoth will join other brands, such as Airbnb, and introduce a Facebook float to Sydney’s gay pride parade on Mar. 5. Facebook is being coy on details regarding its entry to the parade, but said ‘it will be fabulous and it will involve a lot of glitter.'” Ooo ooo, I hope it’s a “real name policy” float! You flash your driver’s license and they throw you a string of beads. Good morning, Internet…

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