Michigan seniors citizens can visit a new website to find information ranging from a guide to nursing homes to how to avoid scams. The new site, http://www.seniorbrigade.com, was announced on May 4 by State Attorney General Mike Cox.
Cox said the goal is to give seniors one place where they can learn more about health care, financial issues, consumer protection, veterans affairs and local events.
"There are 100 different websites that have information that helps seniors. But there's no one place where seniors can go for specifically consumer protection," said Mary Ablan, director of the Area Agencies on Aging Association of Michigan.
The site's home page features a video message from Cox, a Republican who is planning to run for Michigan governor in 2010. People who use the site can increase the font size if they have trouble reading the text. Cox said Michigan's population of seniors is expected to double by 2030.
[via Yahoo Tech]
May 5, 2009
Visit Michigan's Iron Industry Museum This Summer
School will be out soon. Why not take the kids to the Michigan Iron Industry Museum?
Located in forested ravines eight miles west of Marquette, the Michigan Iron Industry Museum tells the story of Michigan's three iron ranges and the hard-working who helped build modern America.It is not only fun for the whole family, but you and the kids might just learn something about Michigan history. Click here for the summer schedule of events.
Located in forested ravines eight miles west of Marquette, the Michigan Iron Industry Museum tells the story of Michigan's three iron ranges and the hard-working who helped build modern America.It is not only fun for the whole family, but you and the kids might just learn something about Michigan history. Click here for the summer schedule of events.
10 Most Anticipated Ultraportables and Netbooks of 2009
Thinking of buying an ultraportable laptop or a netbook soon? Check out this Top 10 list of upcoming portables from Ian Paul of PC World before you open your wallet.
[via MSN techs & gadgets]
[via MSN techs & gadgets]
May 3, 2009
Job Resources Online from the Michigan eLibrary
In these times of economic hardship, people are losing jobs and spending countless amounts of time looking for new ones. There are many online resources available to help in finding a job in a fast and efficient manner. The Michigan eLibrary Business and Jobs Gateway -- a project of the Library of Michigan -- is especially helpful in guiding job seekers. It covers a variety of different fields, and helps in preparation for a job with sample resumes, cover pages, etc.
May 2, 2009
Twitter Users Don't Last Long: Revisited
Recently, I wrote about a Nielsen Online study which reported that 60% of Twitter users stop using the social network, micro-blog site within a month of joining. That study received a fair amount of criticism from the Twitter community. Tweeters believed that the study underestimated the size of their community because it failed to measure applications and other websites that feed into Twitter.
In response, Nielsen redid the numbers, taking into account more than 30 websites and applications that feed into Twitter including: TweetDeck, TwitPic, Twitstat, Hootsuite, EasyTweets, Tumblr, and many others.
The results, according to Nielsen's Vice President of Primary Research David Martin, "verified our initial findings: about 60% of people on Twitter end up abandoning the service after a month. The year-long retention curve looks very much the same as the one for just Twitter.com."
In response, Nielsen redid the numbers, taking into account more than 30 websites and applications that feed into Twitter including: TweetDeck, TwitPic, Twitstat, Hootsuite, EasyTweets, Tumblr, and many others.
The results, according to Nielsen's Vice President of Primary Research David Martin, "verified our initial findings: about 60% of people on Twitter end up abandoning the service after a month. The year-long retention curve looks very much the same as the one for just Twitter.com."
May 1, 2009
Amazon Offers Grants for Cloud Computing
Amazon, the online retailing website, is offering educators, researchers, and students the chance to apply for free access to its hosted cloud computing services. Cloud computing stores data away from your computer. This allows you to work with massive amounts of data that would jam a regular desktop computer.
Grant applications are available through Amazon’s Web site. Amazon says its cloud services are already being used at Harvard University and the University of Oxford. For example, Oxford scientists at the Malaria Atlas Project — an effort to map the geography of the disease in order to drive prevention strategies — use Amazon’s services to store, share, and analyze data.
[via The Chronicle of Higher Education]
Grant applications are available through Amazon’s Web site. Amazon says its cloud services are already being used at Harvard University and the University of Oxford. For example, Oxford scientists at the Malaria Atlas Project — an effort to map the geography of the disease in order to drive prevention strategies — use Amazon’s services to store, share, and analyze data.
[via The Chronicle of Higher Education]
More Trouble in the Newspaper Industry
More newspaper giants are struggling.
The Washington Post Co. reported a quarterly net loss, as print advertising revenue plunged more than 30% at its flagship newspaper. The Post posted a net loss of $19.5 million in the first quarter of 2009, compared with a net profit of $39.3 million in the same quarter last year. It was the second time in less than a year that the Post fell into the red. It recorded its first ever net loss in the second quarter of 2008.
Meanwhile, right next door, the Baltimore Sun slashed its newsroom by nearly a third in the latest cuts at the ailing newspaper owned by the bankrupt Tribune Co. Sixty-one staffers in the newspaper's 205-person newsroom were laid off at the end of April. The move came one week after another Tribune paper, the Chicago Tribune, eliminated 53 jobs in its newsroom.
The Washington Post Co. reported a quarterly net loss, as print advertising revenue plunged more than 30% at its flagship newspaper. The Post posted a net loss of $19.5 million in the first quarter of 2009, compared with a net profit of $39.3 million in the same quarter last year. It was the second time in less than a year that the Post fell into the red. It recorded its first ever net loss in the second quarter of 2008.
Meanwhile, right next door, the Baltimore Sun slashed its newsroom by nearly a third in the latest cuts at the ailing newspaper owned by the bankrupt Tribune Co. Sixty-one staffers in the newspaper's 205-person newsroom were laid off at the end of April. The move came one week after another Tribune paper, the Chicago Tribune, eliminated 53 jobs in its newsroom.
Fun Friday: Dancing Parrots
One of the web's biggest viral videos of 2007 was Snowball the parrot dancing to the Backstreet Boys:
Scientists saw this on YouTube and searched for other YouTube videos of dancing animals to discover if these animals really are dancing to music and hearing the beat or are just trained to do some routine. As it turns out, parrots and elephants, like humans, can actually "dance" to a musical beat. For more on this, be sure to check out this NPR story. And be sure to click on the Who Dances Better? Snowball or Napoleon video on the NPR site!
Scientists saw this on YouTube and searched for other YouTube videos of dancing animals to discover if these animals really are dancing to music and hearing the beat or are just trained to do some routine. As it turns out, parrots and elephants, like humans, can actually "dance" to a musical beat. For more on this, be sure to check out this NPR story. And be sure to click on the Who Dances Better? Snowball or Napoleon video on the NPR site!
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