Google Turns 15: launches new search algorithm

Google Doodle Lets You Whack a Piñata
(Plus: Fun Easter Egg)
Google is celebrating its 15th birthday with a piñata doodle appearing on its home page.
Users hit a swinging piñata with a stick using the space bar to release sweets and earn points.
The internet search company also announced on its birthday that it had updated its search algorithm to make it more responsive to user requests.
The overhaul came as part of an update called Hummingbird that Google has gradually rolled out in the past month without disclosing the modifications.
The changes could have a major impact on traffic to websites. Hummingbird represents the most dramatic alteration to Google's search engine since it revised the way it indexes websites three years ago as part of a redesign called Caffeine, according to Amit Singhal, a senior vice-president for the company. He estimates that the redesign will affect the analysis of about 90%of the search requests that Google gets.
Any reshuffling of Google's search rankings can have sweeping ramifications because they steer so much of the internet's traffic. Google fields about two out of every three search requests in the US and handles an even larger volume in some parts of Europe. The changes could also drive up the price of Google ads tied to search requests if websites whose rankings are demoted under the new system feel they have to buy the marketing messages to attract traffic. . . . .
Read More: The Guardian and at TimeTech

ACLA: The American Civil Liberties Union

What is the ACLU?
The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

Read more about the history and mission of the ACLU.
ACLU FAQs.

"The American Civil Liberties Union is well-known
as the preeminent civil liberties watchdog organization on the center-left of US politics.

Objective research is not what this site is about. Readers looking for an introduction to nearly any topic connected to civil liberties will find short, engaging, and provocative pieces in abundance. Frequently updated blogs and news tickers provide brief statements on an immense array of issues. Short videos and podcasts add a multimedia experience as well. There is indeed enough content to keep a user busy almost indefinitely, and the content is always expanding."

Recommended in ALA's September 2013 issue of Choice

Rise of the Drones: from NOVA

Drones. These unmanned flying robots–some as large as jumbo jets, others as small as birds–do things straight out of science fiction. Much of what it takes to get these robotic airplanes to fly, sense, and kill has remained secret. But now, with rare access to drone engineers and those who fly them for the U.S. military, NOVA reveals the amazing technologies that make drones so powerful as we see how a remotely-piloted drone strike looks and feels from inside the command center.

From cameras that can capture every detail of an entire city at a glance to swarming robots that can make decisions on their own to giant air frames that can stay aloft for days on end, drones are changing our relationship to war, surveillance, and each other. And it's just the beginning. Discover the cutting edge technologies that are propelling us toward a new chapter in aviation history as NOVA gets ready for "Rise of the Drones." 53 minutes.

And check our library resources for further information - books, articles from newspapers, magazines, journals, ebooks, and evideos.

Florida's Cryptid Creatures

Cracker Dog Killer ? St. Augustine's Giant Octopus ? Lake Worth Sea Monster ? Skunk Ape ?
During the Labor Day weekend, we headed to the beach at St. George Island and spent time wandering around quaint historic Apalachicola. Among the many delightful shops you'll find there, awaits "Downtown Books, the Best Little Bookstore in the Panhandle" and indeed they have an interesting selection of titles. Perusing the many Florida titles, I found The Cryptid Creatures of Florida, by Scott Marlowe, discovering there were a whole lot of Florida legends I hadn't heard of. Having lived in Florida for many years, I thought I was fairly knowledgeable about such things, but author Marlowe has compiled information on 21 different creatures of legend, found all over the sunshine state.
From the back cover" Florida is unique among cryptid locales. We boast, if that is the right word, a counterpart to all of the "Big Five" cryptids: Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, Chupacabra, Thunderbird, and Dinosauria, here. We also have a few unique cryptids of our own that wander the more remote places of the state. But beware some of them can even be found right in someone's back yard.

As a peninsular state, many cryptid creatures found here are water borne, but we have avian anomalies and a wide variety of terrestrial terrors for you to investigate too. Therefore, I have organized our cryptids into those main classifications.
Learn about some of the famous creatures that could be lurking out there, as you read through the encounters reported by actual eyewitnesses, and researched by my associates and I. Then put on your camos, hip waiters, or scuba gear, and be sure to grab your camera before heading out to search for them yourself."
The book description in Amazon: "This book explores cryptid creatures you will find in the State of Florida, and opens up a new venue of "eco-tourism" for those seeking adventure in the outdoors here. If you enjoy pursuing the odd, strange, unusual or just plain weird things in nature, you will find this book a great starting place to plan your next eco-safari."
September 7th, meet Scott Marlowe at Downtown Books - "Join Scott Marlowe, celebrity cryptozoologist and author of The Cryptid Creatures of Florida from 1:00 to 3:00 for an investigation of the Muck Monster, the Swamp Ape, and our very own Carrabelle Cat (among others too numerous to mention)!"