endian  adjective  (not comparable)  (computing) Preceded by a qualifying word:  of a computer:  storing multibyte numbers with the most significant byte at a particular memory address; for example, at the smallest address (big-endian) or the largest address (little-endian). [from 1980] quotations ▼

endian-neutral code  From end +‎ -ian (suffix meaning ‘one from, belonging to, like, or relating to’ forming nouns, and meaning ‘from, like, or related to’ forming adjectives), originally in the noun Big-Endian coined by the Anglo-Irish author Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) in his novel Gulliver’s Travels (1726).  Swift wrote of an emperor of Lilliput who, after his son cuts his finger when opening an egg at the large end, commands his subjects to open them at the small end; those who rebel by opening their eggs at the large end are called “Big-Endians”.  The term was applied in the computing context by the Israeli-American computer scientist Danny Cohen (1937–2019) in 1980.  https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/endian#English   

The Freer Gallery of Art holds the work of artist Zou Fulei (active mid-14th century).  Zou Fulei is particularly noted for his ink plum paintings and is credited with reviving the calligraphic style of applying ink directly to the painting surface without sketching or outlines, a method pioneered by the Buddhist monk Huaguang (or Zhongren, died 1123), who one night spontaneously copied the shadows of a blossoming plum branch cast by the moon onto the paper windows of his cell.  https://asia.si.edu/object/F1931.1/  Find the Washington, D.C. location of the Freer Gallery, plus hours, and link to floor plan at https://www.si.edu/museums/freer-gallery  Admission is free.   

Drivers using the Holland Tunnel to New Jersey overnight will need to find another way to cross the Hudson River for six days each week until 2025, starting on Feb. 5, 2023 when the Jersey bound tube begins closing for Hurricane Sandy related repairs.  The latest work comes as the end of similar construction and overnight closures on the New York bound tunnel tube that began in April 2020.  That work and those closures will end at 5 a.m. on Feb. 4 as repairs and Hurricane Sandy resiliency projects conclude in the tunnel’s south tube.  The repairs are part of a $364 million project to repair, replace systems and infrastructure that was damaged by the 30 million gallons of water and up to 9 feet of flooding above the north tube roadway that was caused by the October 2012 hurricane.  About 84% of the work is federally funded.  Larry Higgs  https://www.nj.com/news/2023/01/holland-tunnel-to-close-for-six-nights-a-week-until-2025-for-major-repair-that-starts-in-february.html    

The flavor Rocky Road has had a long history that started in Australia sometime around 1853.  After making the long trip from Europe, many candies and sweets were less than desirable.  Businessmen thought of ways to sell them:  mixing all the ingredients together.  This new treat was sold in and around Melbourne as “Rocky Road” due to the tumultuous journey required to transport it.  Across an ocean and some 70 years later, the name appeared again, but this time in a more refreshing form.  In 1929, William Dreyer used his wife’s scissors to cut up marshmallows and walnuts, which he then mixed into his chocolate ice cream.  Later that year, when the stock market crashed, the name of the flavor became Rocky Road, “to give folks something to smile about.”  posted by Katie Straw https://www.cheesecake.com/Blog/post/how-rocky-road-got-its-name.aspx   

rickroll verb (third-person singular simple present rickrolls, present participle rickrolling, simple past and past participle rickrolled) (transitive)  (originally Internet slang)  To mislead (someone) into following a seemingly innocuous hyperlink, or sometimes a QR code, that leads to a YouTube video of Rick Astley's song "Never Gonna Give You Up".  quotations ▼  (by extension) To surprise or trick (someone) into hearing this song. quotations ▼ (by extension) To unexpectedly cause someone to engage with this song through an indirect method, such as through steganography, sheet music, or by inserting the lyrics into an unrelated context.  quotations ▼

rickroll noun (plural rickrolls)  (Internet slang)  An act of or attempt at rickrolling.  quotations ▼

Happy birthday, Rick Astley!  The British pop singer and songwriter, who lent his name to the word, was born February 6, 1966.  Wikipedia   

February 5, 2023  65th Annual GRAMMY Awards  Link to names and performances at https://www.grammy.com/   

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2628  February 6, 2023