Kentucky Health Care Information Center

Kentucky's Health Care Information Center" provides both performance and outcome information on hospitals in Kentucky, as well as information about quality of care. "

Global Incident Map

If you are paranoid, avoid this page: The Global Incident Map is "A Global Display of Terrorism and Other Suspicious Events."

My source on this was PIBuzz, which offers a rundown of sits that offer "Live tracking of disasters, incidents and threats."

Diaper data

The Trixie Tracker is for the obsessive, overly attentive, data-driven parent:

Trixie Tracker crunches simple daily input into rich, informative charts, graphs and striking visual summaries. You can use the software to record sleep, diapers, bottles, solids, medicine, nursing, and pumping activity. When you sign up for an account, you'll choose a personal web address which will become your Trixie Tracker Site. As you start recording events you'll better understand your baby's daily patterns and needs, and you can share that information online with family and friends.

There's a free trial but it costs $14.95 for three months. But how much data do you really need to understand a cycle like this: Sleep, eat, poop, sleep, eat, poop, sleep, eat, poop…

The 1790 Census

You can get a PDF copy of the first Census on the U.S. Census Bureau's Web site:

The first enumeration began on Monday, August 2,1790, little more than a year after the inauguration of President Washington and shortly before the second session of the first Congress ended. The Congress assigned responsibility for the 1790 census to the marshals of the U.S. judicial districts under an act that, with minor modifications and extensions, governed census-taking through1840. The law required that every household be visited and that completed census schedules be posted in ''two of the most public places within [each jurisdiction], there to remain for the inspection of all concerned...'' and that' 'the aggregate amount of each description of persons'' for every district be transmitted to the President. The six inquiries in 1790 called for the name of the head of the family and the number of persons in each household of the following descriptions: Free White males of 16 years and upward (to assess the country's industrial and military potential), free White males under 16 years, free White females, all other free persons (by sex and color), and slaves.

The Ex-Classics Web Site

An ex-classic, the site says, is a book "which used to be a classic … but is no longer read much, or at all":

When reading the blurb etc. to a book by Charles Dickens or Charlotte Bronte, say, you will often come across sentences like "Favourite reading included . . ."

If it's good enough for them, you think, it's good enough for me. So off you go to the library or bookshop, to be met first with blank stares and then with the information that the book has been out of print for decades. This web site is dedicated to rescuing these works from obscurity and making them available online, both for reading directly, and for downloading.

pic2color

Feed pic2color the URL of an image and it will return the color scheme.

Don't wait for the phone to ring

My favorite moment during "Buying the War," Bill Moyers' report on the news media's sorry performance post 9/11, featured Tim Russert. Moyer asked Russert what he thought about the Bush administration planting a story about aluminum tubes in The New York Times, then promoting that story on Meet the Press and other Sunday talk shows as proof Saddam Hussein was building nuclear weapons:

BILL MOYERS: Critics point to September eight, 2002 and to your show in particular, as the classic case of how the press and the government became inseparable.

Someone in the administration plants a dramatic story in the NEW YORK TIMES And then the Vice President comes on your show and points to the NEW YORK TIMES. It's a circular, self-confirming leak.

TIM RUSSERT: I don't know how Judith Miller and Michael Gordon reported that story, who their sources were. It was a front-page story of the NEW YORK TIMES. When Secretary Rice and Vice President Cheney and others came up that Sunday morning on all the Sunday shows, they did exactly that.

TIM RUSSERT: What my concern was, is that there were concerns expressed by other government officials. And to this day, I wish my phone had rung, or I had access to them.

BILL MOYERS: Bob Simon didn't wait for the phone to ring.

BILL MOYERS: When you said a moment ago when we started talking to people who knew about aluminum tubes. What people-who were you talking to?

BOB SIMON: We were talking to people - to scientists - to scientists and to researchers and to people who had been investigating Iraq from the start.

BILL MOYERS: Would these people have been available to any reporter who called or were they exclusive sources for 60 minutes?

BOB SIMON: No, I think that many of them would have been available to any reporter who called.

BILL MOYERS: And you just picked up the phone?

BOB SIMON: Just picked up the phone.

BILL MOYERS: Talked to them?

BOB SIMON: Talked to them and then went down with the cameras.

Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers

This online exhibit by The Library of Congress lets you read newspapers from 1900 to 1910 from Kentucky, California, District of Columbia, Florida, New York, Utah, and Virginia. The Courier-Journal isn't included -- the only Kentucky newspaper listed is The Bourbon News from Paris. An explanation of the project says the goal over the next 20 years is to "create a national, digital resource of historically significant newspapers from all the states and U.S. territories published between 1836 and 1922. This searchable database will be permanently maintained at the Library of Congress (LC) and be freely accessible via the Internet."

EPA Personal Emissions Calculator

"This calculator provides an estimate of household greenhouse gas emissions resulting from household energy use and waste disposal, and it gives you information you can use to identify ways to reduce your personal greenhouse gases." There's also a spreadsheet version for download.

Inventor's Handbook

MIT's Inventor's Handbook addresses "the independent inventor's and aspiring entrepreneur's most frequently asked questions regarding United States patents."

Free online access to tax forms filed by non-profits

Guidestar has been a favorite tool of journalists because it offers free online access to tax forms filed by non-profits with the IRS. Unfortunately, to access older forms, called 990s, you must sign up for Guidestar's $1,000 "premium" membership. Investigative Reporters and Editors recently struck a deal with Guidestar lowering the cost to as low as $200 for IRE members but you won't see me signing on, because I recently learned the Economic Research Institute offers free online access to the tax forms back to the late 1990s.

Find experts with Authoratory.com

Mary Ellen Bates writes about Authoratory.com:

When the field of expertise is scientific or medical, often the best way to identify experts is see who has published papers on a topic and who is frequently cited by others.

Now I have a new tool to use - Authoratory.com. This database has data-mined the last six years of PubMed, the huge database of medical literature maintained by the US National Library of Medicine. Authoratory enables you to find the most prolific writers on a topic -- type in a search term and you see a list of authors whose articles cover those topics.

Old stock market data

You can get data on the Dow Jones Averages back to 1896 here.

The Google Hacking Database

… is a primer on how using Google's advanced search features can be used to find information useful to hackers: passwords, usernames, server configurations, and more. "We call them 'googledorks': Inept or foolish people as revealed by Google," says the site, johnny.ihackstuff.com

Who's Johnny?

First and foremost, I am a committed Christian, a follower of Christ. I'm far from perfect, but I try to live my life in a way that provides a true reflection of God's love for mankind. Secondly, I am a family guy. I am very close to my family and make them the second-highest priority in my life. Thirdly, I am a hacker. More specifically, I am a professional hacker. I've always been one at heart, even though it waned as I went through my "wear a stupid suit and climb the corporate ladder" phase. I finally figured out that I could get paid to do what I loved. These days I am a researcher paid for my knowledge and abilities. I have personally broken into hundreds of computer networks, all of which have had their security improved because of my actions. I also dabble in physical security, and have a very nice collection of secured facilities that I have broken into. That's about as much as you'll catch me tooting my own horn. I don't teach people how to hack, so don't ask. Unless I know and trust you personally, you won't even get a response to a hacking-related question. Sorry, but I won't help people who have bad intentions. The documents I make available on my site contain knowledge which can be gained from scores of other places, but I like to think I help to simplify complex topics, and provide resources for those that wish to defend their own systems.

Internet Anagram Server

The Internet Anagram Server is for the lazy anagramist (my spell checker says that's not a real word, but it has no problem with A SATAN GRIM, A STIGMA RAN, A GRAIN MAST, A GIANT MARS, A MAG ART SIN, A GRAM SAINT, A NAG AS TRIM, A GRANTS AIM, A SNAG RAM IT, A RAG MANS IT, A STAG RAM IN … you get the idea)

Citizen Watchdog column

Jennifer LaFleur, a computer-assisted reporting expert at the Dallas Morning News, is writing a "Citizen Watchdog" column. She "writes about open records so you can use government information to improve your life." A recent column was on "Do-it-yourself background checks."

OpenCongress

OpenCongress, a project of Sunlight Foundation and Participatory Politics Foundation. "brings together official government data with news and blog coverage to give you the real story behind each bill":

For most people, finding out what's really happening in Congress is a daunting and time-consuming task. The legislative process is frequently arcane and closed-off from the public, resulting in frustration with Congress and apathy about politics.

Small groups of political insiders and lobbyists know what's really going on in Congress, but this important information rarely makes its way into the light. The official website of the library of Congress, Thomas, publishes the full text of bills, but we can do much more to inform ourselves and make our government accessible. Now, with OpenCongress, everyone can be an insider.

OpenCongress is a free, open-source, non-profit, and non-partisan web resource with a mission to help make Congress more transparent and to encourage civic engagement. ...

OpenCongress brings together, for the first time in one place, all the best data on what's really happening in Congress ...

Computer-assisted reporting goes to the movies

Computer-assisted reporting figures in the plot of the Halle Berry/Bruce Willis journalism thriller Perfect Stranger, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Reviewer Roger Moore says the actor Giovanni Ribisi "plays Miles, the creepy computer-assisted-reporting nerd" who helps Berry's character Rowena "alter her online identity, crack into e-mail and instant message accounts and 'set up' the ad guy with the wandering eye." I've read elsewhere that this movie, which I haven't seen, paints a false picture of journalism. That's obviously the case in this instance, because everyone knows computer-assisted reporters aren't creepy nerds -- we're innately sexy and charismatic.

Dermatology Image Atlas

Ewwwww. You gotta admire the devotion to craft evident in the Dermatolgy Image Atlas, which offers 9,517 pictures like this one. "Tender plaque with central crust and surrounding erythema," indeed.

Birding.com

Birding.com calls itself " the best online resource for all your bird watching needs":

We have information on everything from great birding hotspots and birding travel to backyard birding, bird identification, choosing binoculars, and bird species information. Don't forget to check out our detailed field guides for our most popular birds such as the northern cardinal, acorn woodpecker, roseate spoonbill, american kestrel and eastern bluebird.

There's a page for every state, including Kentucky and Indiana.

Executive PayWatch Database

The AFL-CIO offers an online database where you can look up the total compensation of top corporate executives and compare it to what you're making.

Documenting the Darfur crisis with Google Earth

You'll need Google Earth installed to see this: The U.S. Holocaust Museum has documented villages damaged and destroyed in Sudan, supplemented with video and photos. It's a fine example of how free tools like Google Earth are making it easier to promote greater understanding of events like the Darfur crisis.

Finding old friends on MySpace

A writer on Blogcritics last month wrote about using MySpace to find long-lost friends and acquaintances:

While high school and college students might typically use MySpace to hook up with other members or post photos of the latest frat party, many older users have come to realize that MySpace is an invaluable method for tracking down long lost acquaintances. Childhood friends, college roommates, high school pals, and first loves might all have MySpace profiles just waiting to be discovered.

In the same way, it is potentially a useful tool for reporters looking for people too.

Google Maps without programming

Google's release of its My Maps feature last week makes it possible for anyone to create a custom online map, without programming. You can add your own markers, lines and shapes to maps, as well as spice them up with your own words, photos and videos. Here's a CNET video demonstrating the new features. And here's Google's user guide. A lot of newspapers, including this one, have begun using Google Maps to display information. What may not be immediately obvious is that because My Maps exports KML, which is Google's mapping format, you can use My Maps to create a custom map that you can embed on your own Web site. You don't have to only display it on Google's.

BrokerCheck upgraded, sort of

The National Association of Securitites Dealers has improved its BrokerCheck, marking "a leap forward in design and usability," the San Francisco Chronicle reported last month:

Investors can download a report showing a wide range of information. It discloses whether a broker has had investigations or disciplinary actions initiated by regulators; certain criminal charges or convictions; certain customer complaints; and certain financial disclosures such as bankruptcies and unpaid judgments or liens. ...

The report also gives a 10-year employment history and shows which states the broker is licensed in and which securities exams he or she has passed.

But the article noted criticism from state securities regulators who say it doesn't disclose enough about brokers' histories. For example, cases dismissed in arbitration or that are settled for less than $10,000 are removed from BrokerCheck after two years. And while brokers who show a pattern of bad behavior can have old information restored to BrokerCheck, that only includes information archived as of this latest upgrade. It won't include information archived previously.

White House earmarks database

The White House Office of Management and Budget has put a database of Congressional earmarks online. You can download the data or browse by agency or state, with more features to come. A disclaimer, though, makes me doubt its worth:

This database is not designed, and cannot accurately be used, to identify
the individual congressional sponsors of earmarks. In addition, the recipient
listed in the database may not in all cases represent the ultimate beneficiary
of the earmark. For example, if the Federal Government provides funds to a
specific recipient (e.g., a City), that recipient may then provide the funds or
benefits to another entity and may not be required to identify the ultimate
beneficiary to the Federal Government.