Thursday, April 03, 2008

Boston Public Library

On this date in 1848, the Massachusetts government okayed the establishment of the Boston Public Library, which would become the role model for all of America's lending libraries. Though libraries had already existed in various parts of the world for hundreds of years, this was the first municipal library in the United States to be supported by tax dollars, the first large library open to the public in the United States, and the first public library to allow people to borrow books and other materials and take them home to read and use. The third-largest library in the US, the current building was opened in 1895, on Copley Square.


 Perhaps no place in any community is so totally democratic as the town library. The only entrance requirement is interest.Lady Bird Johnson

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Renewable Energy

In addition to providing incentives to promote renewable energy sources, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 extended daylight savings time in the US by approximately four weeks... except in a leap year. In a compromise reached with religious lobbies and NASA, clocks are turned back again for the first two weeks of April in every year which has 29 days in February. This adjustment is necessary to compensate for discrepancies between the Gregorian calendar and the astronomical year. Hope you remembered to change your clock today. Oh, yeah... and the moon is made of green cheese.

Quote

"This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three-hundred and sixty-four."Mark Twain