NEW RESOURCES

City University of New York: New Data Dashboard Reporting Street-level Flooding In NYC Gives Government, Responders, The Public, And Researchers Real-time Information On Rising Waters. “Created in partnership with FieldKit, with funding from the New York State Empire State Development Corporation, the new mobile-ready web dashboard presents real-time data collected by the expanding FloodNet system of low-cost, open-source sensors in flood-prone areas across the city. Currently, FloodNet comprises 30 ultrasonic devices deployed in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island, from which readings are delivered to an interactive map and data visualization platform, allowing users to see the occurrence and depth of flood water at each sensor location.”

Phys .org: Largest database on mammals in Portugal now available. “The new public database includes 105,026 records of 92 species of terrestrial and marine mammals from 1873 to 2021 (of which 72% correspond to the period between 2000 and 2021).”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Search Engine Roundtable: Google Provides Examples Of How To Improve Your Meta Descriptions. “Google has updated its meta descriptions help documentation to provide five examples of how to improve your meta descriptions. This was added yesterday, plus Google did some formatting updates to the page.”

Axios: Google brings Parler back to Google Play Store. “A year and a half after it was removed from Google’s Play Store, Parler, a Twitter alternative that attracts conservatives, has returned to the showcase for Android apps. Why it matters: Google removed Parler following the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, which was incited by misinformation and violent speech online.”

USEFUL STUFF

Slashgear: How To Copy And Paste On iPhone. “Whether you want to save important information or don’t want to type something out many times over, the copy and paste function on the iPhone is useful. It may seem like a simple task, but how it can be done may not be immediately obvious. There are a few different ways it can be done, depending on what it is you’re trying to copy and paste. If it’s words, for example, the process is different on the iPhone than copying and pasting pictures.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

BBC: Oldham Council removes video archive from YouTube over misuse. “A council has removed an online archive of its meetings after footage was edited and used ‘out of context’, its deputy chief executive has said. Oldham Council had previously allowed recordings of meetings to be made available for rewatching on YouTube.”

BuzzFeed News: Kids Yell “Poop” At Alexa, And These Musicians Profit. “It’s not surprising that there are songs about the most basic of human functions — what is the point of art if not to unite us through shared feeling? But connecting these songs with their ideal audience (children who can’t yet spell) took a technological leap: voice-enabled smart speakers like Alexa.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Rolling Stone: They Used Telegram to Organize a Dog-Fighting Ring. Now, They’re Facing Federal Charges. “A GRAND-JURY INDICTMENT filed in federal court last month reveals authorities conducted a years-long investigation into how a depraved group of individuals located in and around the greater Washington, D.C., area utilized the messaging app Telegram to operate an underground dog-fighting venture, regularly sharing tips on a variety of inhumane training methods and boasting about killing weaker dogs.”

New York Times: Investigators, Citing Looting, Have Seized 27 Antiquities From the Met. “Investigators in New York have seized 27 ancient artifacts valued at more than $13 million from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, asserting that the objects, acquired to showcase the glories of ancient Rome, Greece and Egypt, had all been looted.”

OTHER THINGS I THINK ARE COOL

International Business Times: Century-old Family Photo Studio Preserves Ghana’s History In Black And White. “For 100 years, three generations of Bruce-Vanderpuijes have painstakingly amassed the world’s largest collection of 20th century Ghanaian photographs under one roof. They believe their Deo Gratias photo studio is the oldest in West Africa. From glass plates to digital files of nation-shaping events to intimate personal portraits, the family’s 50,000-image archive offers a unique glimpse into Accra’s transition from a colonial port into a bustling modern metropolis.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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