NorthStarNerd.Org

Scientific Journals ... Headed Towards Extinction?

John Hunter over at the Curious Cat Science and Engineering Blog has a good post which all technologists should read:

• Science Journal Publishers Stay Stupid

This blog is all about open and free access to knowledge. While some folks in the traditional publishing industries might not like this trend ... do they need to slander we netizens who recognize the the inevitability of change. Open access is a good thing, and should be extended to academic papers. A publisher's goal should be to add value to the equation, but the basic knowledge should be free.

Creating Mobile Content - NetBeans

This post continues my series on mobile learning development tools. Sun Computer has created software tools which help you author content for mobile devices. Earlier this year they released their code under open source. Here are some of the resources from Sun:

• Java Mobility Podcast
• NetBeans Software | NetBeans Mobility Pack Add-In
• NetBeans TV (Screencast Tutorials)
  
  • Creating a Mobile Application Menu Using Scalable Vector Graphics
  • Changing the Look and Feel of of a Mobile Application

Engineering Manuals from Wikibooks

I subscribe via RSS to certain pages on Wikibooks to insure I am kept aware of new engineering and technology manuals. Here is why ...

PDF Versions - Technical Manuals

• Ada Programming Volume 1: Tutorial
• Ada Programming Volume 2: Keywords
• Ada Programming Volume 3: Operators
• Algorithms
• Basic Computing Using Windows
• C# Programming
• Chemical Engineering Processes (intro)
• Control Systems
• Engineering Acoustics
• Firefox
• Python Programming
• Python Programming (non-programmers intro)
• Serial Data Communications
• Trigonometry
• UNIX: Learning the vi editor

You will also find non downloadable html versions, like Nanotechnology. I suspect in many cases the pdf version will be available in the near future. Most of these manuals I will add as links on TechKnow (my engineering learning wiki).

63 Seconds at the Fair!

If you've never attended an old fashioned state fair, via my blog you may visit one of the largest state fairs in America, the Minnesota State Fair. My family was at the fair for over seven hours ... you need only spend 63 seconds ... which will include a parade and music by John Phillip Sousa! 

• Minnesota State Fair History -Wikipedia
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• Northstar Nerd's Minnesota State Fair Webcast Tour
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Rapala Breaks Top Ten!

Excitement reigns at the Hoeg house this Saturday night ... The Northstar Nerd's Rapala Box Opening Video has cracked the "top ten" search results on YouTube for the keyword "Rapala".  Kind of hard to believe, but 1,350 people have watched this spoof!
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