Top ten language stories of 2008
http://illinois.edu/blog/view?blogId=25&topicId=2434

Federal Reserve Beige Book, January 14, 2009
Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions by Federal Reserve District, January 14, 2009: "Overall economic activity continued to weaken across almost all of the Federal Reserve Districts since the previous reporting period. Most Districts noted reduced or low activity across a wide range of industries, although a few Districts noted some exceptions in some sectors. District reports indicate that retail sales were generally weak, particularly during the holiday season. A majority of Districts noted deep discounting during the holiday sales season. Vehicle sales were also weak or down overall in the Districts reporting on them. Manufacturing activity decreased in most Districts. Declines were noted in a wide range of manufacturing industries, with a few exceptions. Services sector activity generally declined across the Districts, with exceptions in some sectors of the Boston, Richmond, and Chicago Districts. Additionally, several Districts noted weaker conditions in transportation services and slow or decreased demand in tourism activity. Conditions in residential real estate markets continued to worsen in most Districts. Reduced home sales, lower prices, or decreases in construction activity were noted in many Districts. Commercial real estate markets deteriorated in most Districts, with weakening construction noted in several Districts. Overall lending activity declined in several Districts, with tight or tightening lending conditions reported in most Districts. Credit quality remained a concern in several Districts. Agricultural conditions were mixed in response to varying weather conditions across the Districts. Mining and energy production activity generally declined since the previous report."

State of the Art Biometrics Excellence Roadmap: Technology Assessment
Nextgov: "The FBI released on [January 13, 2009] a detailed study of the advancement of different kinds of biometrics--from fingerprints to ear scans--to lay out how the bureau might pursue the identification of individuals in the future."
State of the Art Biometrics Excellence Roadmap - Technology Assessment: Volume 1 (of 3) Fingerprint, Palm print, Vascular, Standards, October 2008; v1.2.
Technology Assessment for the State of the Art Biometrics Excellence Roadmap - Volume 2 (of 3) Face, Iris, Ear, Voice, and Handwriter Recognition, October 2008; v1.2
State of the Art Biometrics Excellence Roadmap, Certified Products List (CPL) Expansion: The Way Ahead, October 2008, v. 1.2, October 2008

Heimdal/Heimdall/ Heimdallr/Gullintani
Norse God of God of Light, Security and Surveillance. http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/norse-mythology.php?deity=HEIMDALL

Lidar/ALSM/laser radar
LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging, also known as Airborne Laser Swath Mapping or ALSM) - a technology that employs an airborne scanning laser rangefinder to produce detailed and accurate topographic surveys. LIDAR can be used to accurately measure the topography of the ground, even where overlying vegetation is quite dense. http://landslides.usgs.gov/learning/glossary.php#l
lidar - Also called laser radar - A method of detecting distant objects and determining their position, velocity, or other characteristics by analysis of pulsed laser light reflected from their surfaces. http://www.maps-gps-info.com/maps-gps-glossary-kl.html

World War II stories from children in England
People were asked to save leftover food so that it could be used as food for pigs and other animals. It was collected in big bins. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2children/research/photos_and_posters/pandp_page24.shtml
The campaign against waste encouraged the use of a pig bin,(the contents collected regularly), the saving of water and digging for victory. I remember watching through the front room window as our garden railings were removed for salvage. Also taking used metal tooth paste tubes to Maggs in Queens Road and receiving a simple wooden toy tank in exchange. http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/38/a4011238.shtml

Q. Where will I find The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere by Grant Wood?
A. The Metropolitan Museum of Art and at Google images:
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=%22grant+wood%22+%22paul+revere%22&gbv=2

View Masterpieces of the Prado Museum with Google Earth
Prado news release: "Google launches the Prado layer in Google Earth allowing you to explore highly detailed photographic images of fourteen of the Prado Museum's masterpieces in very high resolution where you can explore the finer-details of the works. With the launching of this Prado layer in Google Earth, you will be able to zoom in on famous paintings such as The Maids of Honor by Velázquez or The Three Graces by Rubens. The Prado Museum has become the first art gallery in the world to provide access to and navigation of its collection in Google Earth. Using the advanced features of Google Earth art historians, students and tourists everywhere can zoom in on and explore the finer details of the artist's brushwork that can be easily missed at first glance. The paintings have been photographed and contain as many as 14,000 million pixels (14 gigapixels). With this high level resolution you are able to see fine details such as the tiny bee on a flower in The Three Graces by Rubens, delicate tears on the faces of the figures in The Descent from the Cross by Roger van der Weyden and complex figures in The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch."