Picture a library without card catalogs, shelves, reading chairs, or …
books?
Photo by Matl, CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
What’s left to be called a “library”?
Denizens of the digital age will assure you that it’s all still there, only now it’s electronic.
(Of course, you’ll just have to imagine the academic ambience.)
Photo by Dr. Marcus Gossler, GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The United States’ first futuristic facility of this kind recently opened to the public in Bexar County, Texas.
Photo by Xataka, CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
It’s called the BiblioTech library, and it boasts about 10,000 free e-books, as well as audio books and e-readers. You can use your own reader, too, if you have the 3M Cloud Library app, which can be linked to your library card.
Yup, even a digital library still uses cards.
Lest you wonder if this is all just a figment of a cyber-savvy librarian’s fancy, the BiblioTech
(a play on “bibliothèque,” the French word for library)
actually does have a physical location, complete with 48 computer stations and meeting spaces (there are tables and chairs!).
Plus, patrons can still bring their kids for a real, live story time and take computer classes to catch up with the rapidly changing times.
Are you ready for a “virtual library” in your neck of the woods?
How fun is this?
Photo courtesy of Back to the Roots (http://www.backtotheroots.com/) via Co.Exist (http://www.fastcoexist.com)
It’s a fish tank,
it’s a garden,
it’s …
This newfangled countertop-gardening gizmo has the “neat-o” market cornered.
Photo courtesy of Back to the Roots (http://www.backtotheroots.com/)
In a nutshell, it’s a self-cleaning fish tank that grows food.
Maintenance?
None. All you do is feed the fish.
Dirt?
Nope. It’s soil-free (the plants grow in clean pebbles).
Um … smell?
Not a whiff except for the sweet scents of flourishing herbs and greens. (Almost sounds too good to be true.)
So, how does it work?
“This closed-loop eco-system uses the fish waste to naturally fertilize the plants above,” explain Aquafarm’s inventors. “In turn, the plants clean the water for your pet fish.”
The ready-to-grow kit, which is made in California and sells for about $60, includes everything you need to get started, from organic seeds to fish food, and you also get a discount coupon for your first fish from Petco.
Are you thinking what I’m thinking?
Photo courtesy of Back to the Roots http://www.backtotheroots.com/
Photo courtesy of Back to the Roots http://www.backtotheroots.com/
Kids and Christmas!
g-o-i-n’ to the c-h-a-p-e-l of love … 
Ah, wedded bliss … or should I say wedding bliss?
Photo by Veronidae via Wikimedia Commons
The moment so many young women dream of—gorgeous groom, perfect setting … oh, and the DRESS, the dress, the dress …
Photo by David Ball via Wikimedia Commons
Hold that thought.
What if …
the dress could be even more dreamy?
Possible?
Indeed.
Marcelia Muehlke has made it so.
Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)
Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)
My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Sharon Demers!!!
Sharon Demers (#5392) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning a Beginner and Intermediate Level Weather Merit Badge!
“I know that I must have learned about weather when in school, but that was a long time ago. It was fun getting a refresher course while researching for this badge.
I learned how the atmosphere (the gaseous envelope surrounding the earth, composed primarily of nitrogen and oxygen) contributes to weather conditions reflecting changes in temperature, moisture/humidity, pressure changes, and air masses and fronts.
The air associated with a high pressure system sinks down from above and warms as it does so and is very stable. High pressure systems tend to cover a greater area, move more slowly, and have a longer life.
Buy props used in MaryJane’s books and magazine!
5% of profits will benefit www.firstbook.org, a non-profit that provides new books to children from low-income families throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Here’s how:
MaryJane will post a photo and a description of a prop and its cost along with a few details as to its condition here: https://shop.maryjanesfarm.org/MaryJanesCurations. It’s a playful way to be the new owner of a little bit of farm herstory.
