NEW RESOURCES

Now available: online database of Egyptian demons. “A database of Ancient Egyptian demons — featuring dog-headed humans, walking suns and strange hippo-lion combinations — has been created to help experts work out what they are. Launched at the British Science Festival in Swansea, the online catalogue allows people to look at line drawings of the creatures, which are thought to have been used to protect people from nightmares and diseases.”

My buddy Megan SS gave me a heads-up on this, and the records are out! Irish genealogists, are you in for a treat: a treasure trove of Irish family records are now available online. “The expanded database includes the Birth Records Indexes from 1864 to 1914, the Marriage Records Indexes from 1845 (1864 for Roman Catholic Marriages) to 1939 and the Death Records Indexes from 1864 to 1964.”

George Mason University has created an immigration “data on demand” service. “The web-based, mobile tool uses publicly available data to create customized, free fact sheets on immigrants and their contributions in the United States. Policy-makers, academics, business leaders, immigrant organizations, media members and others can use the tool to analyze the impact of immigrants on national, regional and local economies and societies.” As far as I can tell, the sheets are human-generated, but anybody can ask for one.

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

INTERPOL Washington is now on Twitter. Its Twitter handle is @INTERPOL_USA.

USEFUL STUFF

From TechCrunch: 3D printing technologies explained. “For the industrial designer or engineer it’s important to have a grasp on these technologies because they can tell you a lot about possible applications and limitations from the outset. This is generally not an easy thing to do. To shed some light on the situation, and help you understand the different technologies, here’s an overview to get you started.”

MakeUseOf: 12 Ideas to Run Your Life Like a Boss With OneNote. Tons and tons of links and resources in this article.

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

The swearing-in of new Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden will be broadcast on YouTube. “The ceremony marks two milestones: Hayden will become the first woman and the first African-American to serve as Librarian of Congress. She plans to take the oath using a book, drawn from Library collections, with historic connections of its own: the Lincoln Bible.”

SECURITY/LEGAL ISSUES

An academic in Australia who won a judgement against Google last year is preparing more legal action. “Google has failed to remove — and has continued to publish — false and damaging claims about an Adelaide academic despite a $115,000 defamation judgment, a court has heard. Counsel for Dr Janice Duffy are preparing to mount a second lawsuit against the global internet giant, less than a year after claiming victory.”

RESEARCH AND OPINION

Research: Posting personal experiences on social media may help you remember them in the future. “A new study — the first to look at social media’s effect on memory — suggests posting personal experiences on social media makes those events much easier to recall. ‘If people want to remember personal experiences, the best way is to put them online,’ said Qi Wang, the lead author of the study and professor of human development in the College of Human Ecology.”

OTHER STUFF I THINK IS COOL

Hey! An adventure game using Google Forms. “An interesting foible of the internet: most online creation platforms can easily be manipulated toward unexpected ends. Enter All Your Time-Tossed Selves, a brief and free piece of interactive fiction made in Google Forms.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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