Tuesday, Sept. 27

A lot of big international affairs stories today. They discovered of that an attack on American military officers and Afghani officials back in 2007 was actually perpetrated by members of the Pakistani army. They were holding talks in a place called Teri Mangal to resolve a border dispute between Afghanistan and Pakistan. After the meeting, members of the Pakistani army involved in the talks ambushed the Afghan officials and the American officers who were with them and opened fire. Four people were injured and one officer died. I think that considering this attack in 2007, and the incident with Osama hiding right outside a major Pakistani city without anyone noticing, that America should overlook Pakistan’s strategic value and stop treating it like it is an allied nation.

It might just have been my mistake , but I couldn’t find a story to go along with the front page picture of the protestors in Yemen.

I finally found a somewhat funny correction.  Last Monday the Times put out a television review of the new show Terra Nova. The reviewer mistakenly said that the setting of the show actually starts 38 years into the future, not 138 years. The New York Times wishes to apologize to anyone who was inconvenienced by thinking the show started in the 21^st century instead of the 22^nd.  

Making more room at Dimond Library

Third floor to be renovated before the start of the spring semester

By Brian Ward

Durham- Dimond Library plans to start renovating the third floor of the building the day after finals end, Dec. 17. The library plans to renovate the third floor to add more space for new equipment and furnishings at the request of students.

Dimond Library will start renovations of the third floor of the building on Dec. 17, and expect to be finished with the first phase of work by the start of spring classes on Jan. 24. According to the Tracey Lauder, the Assistant Dean of the Library Administration, the library will add new tables and computer stations over the break, which will allow more students to use the third floor. Dimond Library will also be installing new lockers and a printing/copying center as well. The library has additional plans to make more rooms for group studies and to centralize third floor services, but those are expected to done at a later date due to funding.

However, some students have questioned the need for renovating the third floor of the library. “If you go into the reading room, people sit one chair apart from each other.” Ashley Taylor said. “There’s plenty of space.”  Taylor also pointed out a possible downside to adding more tables and workspaces. “You hear it now? Just typing. I think if you add a bunch of new tables, yah, some people will study quietly, but a bunch will be loud and obnoxious.” Taylor said. “It feels like a waste of our money, and it seems like a drastic change”

According to Tracey Lauder, the library has been saving money by reviewing the necessity of job positions when people retired or left, and keeping the money if the position was considered to be unnecessary. To make space for the new amenities, the bookcases on the third floor will be replaced with ones that take up less space. Dimond Library officials will move infrequently used books and materials from the third floor stacks to other locations. Materials that can also be found online will be removed completely. The new bookcases will be about half the size of the old ones, and will make the floor seem more open.

Another student, Tiana Holt, said that she has never had any issues finding space to work on the third floor, and has always been able to use it for what she needed it for. While she doesn’t believe the renovations will affect her use of the library, Holt went on to say that “More computers will make it more accessible.”

Dimond Library conducted a survey of UNH students back in 2009 to find ways that they could improve their services. A large number of students suggested having more places to work and computer stations. The library has gotten into contact with an architectural firm since then, and conducted multiple focus groups and studies to find what UNH students want. The total costs of the renovations haven’t been determined yet, since the designs for the third floor haven’t been finalized.

Work cited

Taylor, Ashley. "Library Renovation." Personal interview. 26 Sept. 2011.

Holt, Tiana. "Library Renovation." Personal interview. 26 Sept. 2011.

Lauder, Tracey. "Library Renovation." E-mail interview. 25 Sept. 2011.

Thursday 9/22/11

The New York Times misspelt the last name of the former president of the Oregon State University on Tuesday.

I looked at the article about the death row inmate Troy Davis, because I had already seen that he had been put to death early this morning. The article in the Times was written before the execution and talked about him as though he was still alive. Davis was convicted and sentenced for allegedly killing a police officer, but the after the trial some of the evidence and testimony in the case was disproven or renounced. Going on just what the article said, it seems like there should have been enough reasonable doubt to stay the execution. However, I hadn’t heard of this case before, and I cannot form an opinion on this without learning about the case.  The thing that struck me was that this was Davis’s fourth time facing the death penalty. I cannot imagine the stress and fear any person, guilty or innocent, must feel after repeatedly being sentenced to die, only to be given a reprieve until the next sentencing.

Wednesday, 9/21/11

The corrections for the New York Times today seem rather bland today. They explained how they were mistaken and how the nation of Latvia became independent in1940 and not after World War II. I was always lead to believe that the corrections page of the newspaper was filled with gigantic errors and reputation destroying typos.  So far what I’ve seen is that what mistakes are made are usually small and relatively harmless. It logical I guess, I doubt a newspaper could stay in business if it constantly made mistakes on the scale I imaged it.

The front page seems more cheerful than usual, with pictures of recruiting in a gay pride center, a Russian ballerina, and a squid looking for love.  It’s a nice change of pace from the normal scenes of violence and death they’ve been showing lately.

I thought the article on the Marines recruiting at a gay center in Tulsa. They only received a few applicants, but the fact they were able to recruit openly gay men and women without any major problems. I found that comforting after years of hearing people say that ending “don’t ask, don’t tell” would immediately send the military into chaos.

I checked up on the squid article for grins, but it actually turned out to be a really go article. He presented the science in an easy to understand way and managed to get the main points of the story, (why do squid reproduce like this, what other species employ similar behavior, ETC). The author wrote the article in a clear and well informed manner, which I imagine is hard to do on a subject that would leave the many people snickering uncontrollably.

Tuesday 9/20/11

So I thought about a game I can play to keep reading the times interesting. I’m calling it, “Read the Corrections section of the newspaper” where I try to see what mistakes the New York Times likes to hide on the second page. I’m hoping it will go better than today, the biggest mistake was about a story they ran on President Obama’s budget proposal. They said that $3 trillion for the proposed budget would come entirely from spending cuts, when it is actually half spending cuts and tax increases.

I read up on a story about gossip sites are causing strife in rural America. The article talked about how a an increase of social media in rural areas is causing problems, with people spreading hurtful and provoking stories and rumors anonymously online.

When I read the examples of older people being humiliated, outcast, and even committing suicide because of online posts I kept thinking “this reminds me of high school”. The kids in my school were expected to be computer literate, so those problems mentioned in the story where considered to be “kid problems” like bullying and acne. I always got the impression that older folk were wiser and would be more responsible about using social media. Apparently learning to use social media sites safely is a challenge not limited by age or region. 

 100 people were stung by a 50 pound jellyfish yesterday at Wallis Sands beach in Rye, NH. The beach has been reopened after the dead Lion’s Mane jellyfish drifted into waters along the beach, injuring swimmers before being scooped out of the water with a pitchfork.

While officials reported that there were no serious injuries, five children were taken to the hospital out fears of severe allergic reactions. A large number of the injured are children, who were out swimming when the jellyfish drifted to shore. One parent, Alysia Bennett of Hampstead, NH, remembers her three children crying as they ran out the water.  “They were terrified” she said.

Injured swimmers were given medical treatment in the beach’s bathhouse.

According to aquarist Robert Royer of the Seacoast Science Center, the jellyfish is believed to be a Lion’s Mane jellyfish, a species common to New England waters. Lion’s Mane jellyfish have barbed tentacles that can sometimes grow up to a 100 feet in length. “That’s the largest [type of jellyfish] we have around here. I’ve never heard of them getting up to 50 pounds.” Royer said.