Pace is babbling up a storm these days (what's the line? “You spend the first few months of their lives waiting for them to talk and the next eighteen years wishing they would stop!” ) with lots of “da da”, “ga ga”, “blah blah, blah” (seriously!) and grunting noises.
So I did some research (okay, a Google search for “typical baby first words”) and found this article which will be of interest to both parents and any librarians who work with children.
Lists of Bests is a rather unique site that allows you to not only see various “Best of” lists but also to track your progress working through the lists and compare your progress with others. The usual categories (books, music, movies) are here but there are some unique ones too (travel, people, things to do before you die).
I told the story in a recent post about how the person that clued me in about Santa Claus was also the same person that first made me doubt the existence of God.
So I thought the picture below was appropriate for today, even though I know that posting this picture today is sort of the equivalent walking into an Irish bar on St. Patrick's Day and pointing out that St. Patrick didn't drive the snakes from Ireland. (Or coming up to me on the opening day of the NHL season and saying that the Flames suck – which admittedly they do, based on their last two OT losses. And which reinforces my point that we all need to look at the hard cold truth behind any statement or belief!)
So anyhow, Happy Yule everyone and, whether you're a believer or not, here's hoping Santa brought you a copy of “The God Delusion” as a gift (or your local library brings it to you as a hold) as it's probably the single best book I read in the last year!
Last year, I posted a series of videos during the week of Christmas so I thought I'd carry on the tradition this year.
“JCB Song” is a great song to start with this year. It's not really a Christmas song but was contender for the UK Christmas #1 a few years ago. The song has a wonderful story behind it, especially for a new father like myself or for any parent (or for anybody who's been a kid for that matter – so yeah, a great song anybody can enjoy! ).
The songwriter was dyslexic as a child and was often bullied and harassed because of this. One day, his dad picked him up from school in a JCB digger (like the North American Caterpiller) after coming straight from his workplace and that memory led to this song where the son imagines how cool this has made him, how much his dad protects and loves him which, in turn, puts the dad on the level of ultimate heroes like Bruce Lee and B.A. Baracus from the A Team.
I recently posted about the lack of access to comments being one of the main downfalls of every type of RSS reader I'd seen – web-based, e-mail based, software-based.
Astute reader, Heather M. sent me the following Bloglines announcement (note how they subtly plug the ability to click ads! Those RSS ads are coming I tells you!):
One of the problems with a feed reader is that you can't see the blog in its
full glory. We've solved that problem in Bloglines
Beta. We've created a setting in 3-Pane View which allows you to get all of
that bloggy goodness in your feed reader. Plus, you can get easy access to the
comments, other features or, heck, even click on an ad to help you favorite blogger.
This is great for highly designed blogs that cover knitting, design, art or funny
pictures of cats.Here's how you get access to the feature. Go to 3-Pane View.
Click on a headline. Look for the Preview or RSS buttons to toggle between
Feed View and Blog View (see below).
I don't think this is enough to get me to switch RSS readers…yet. But if NetVibes doesn't add this functionality soon, I'd probably have to think about it!
Housecleaning isn't just a physical activity anymore – now, I find I have to take the time to clear out my virtual detritus every once in awhile too. So here are some links and articles I've had kicking around for awhile waiting for a good time to post.
Amazon: New & Future Book Releases Librarians talk a lot about making our online services more like Amazon and Google but this is at least one place where (at least some) libraries have the online services beat. Amazon just announced an e-newsletter of new & future book releases but doesn't provide any additional customization at all.
So, unlike the NextReads subscriptions I still get from London Public Library which allows me to choose to receive news about Fiction books (or Pop Culture or Health & Body or Biography & Memoir or about a dozen or so other categories), it's all or nothing with the Amazon subscription. Still, that could be useful if you're doing collection development work and you don't have access to a niche list. But why not take advantage of their extensive categorization system and provide subscriptions right down to the micro-level? (“There is one new book published this month in the area of New Guinea architecture. Click here to buy from Amazon.com”)
BabyCenter's Top 10 Baby Names for 2007 Sophia for girls, Aiden for boys and not a Pace to be found. Trends include multi-syllabic names and unique spellings – again, not a Pace to be found. (Whew!)
Genetic Social Networks? (via Julie M.) If the wife of one of Google co-founders is right, the next frontier in social networking could be based on your DNA. You do a swab (for a couple hundred bucks) then the sites link you to people who are genetically similar tot you (ie. distant relatives you never knew you had.)
How Breastfeeding Benefits Add Up I think everybody knows (okay, should know) the benefits of breastfeeding over formula. But I like how this article Shea sent me shows the benefits at different stages of a baby's development.
Amazon's New E-Book Reader, The Kindle, Discussed on MetaFilter I admit, I haven't even read the whole thread yet. But what I saw so far covers a lot of the debate – positive and negative – about both e-books and the future of publishing so it's worth reading if you're interested in that sort of thing.
Lakota Indians Declare Independence From USA I'm not sure how serious this is and how much is political grandstanding. But if it's real…wow…another country for Bush to invade…without even having to go overseas!
the
fact is, the record is a smash, but not using your traditional
measurement, i.e. sales and airplay. However, consider the new
measurement tools, i.e. those that actually track what people listen to
and play, and the radiohead album is by far the biggest release this
year.
On Last.fm, last week, Radiohead occupied slots One to
Ten on the Popular Track Top Ten! And we’re not talking small numbers –
this is a site that measures tens of thousands of music fans listening
preferences…. it may be sitting unplayed on your ipod, but evidently
there are millions of people playing it….I’m sorry, but how do you
define a ’smash’?????”
Viral Videos Similar to YouTube's Top Video charts but taking in other sources as well, a good way to see which clips are popular today, this week, this month and all-time.
) with lots of “da da”, “ga ga”, “blah blah, blah” (seriously!) and grunting noises. 
