The Knight-Errant

According to the library, hackers demanded $35,000 in the electronic currency Bitcoin – but the library refuses to pay. Instead, it’ll wipe the entire computer system and reset it, which could take days or weeks.

Thousands of scientists in Germany, Peru and Taiwan are preparing for a new year without online access to journals from the Dutch publishing giant Elsevier. Contract negotiations in both Germany and Taiwan broke down in December, while Peru’s government has cut off funding for a licence.

“It’s very unpleasant,” says Horst Hippler, spokesperson for the DEAL consortium of state-funded universities and research organizations, which is overseeing negotiations in Germany. “But we just cannot accept what Elsevier has proposed so far.”

1. You as a taxpayer pay for the salaries of academics, and among those who are scientists, their labs.  This is as it should be.

2. But then scientific research and academic papers are enclosed by private corporations like Elsevier behind pay walls and sold back to the public (public and university libraries, individuals, etc.) that paid for the labor behind these papers in the first place.

As a result…

3. The transmission of knowledge is slowed down.  One way this happens is common practice of imposing 6 month to 12 month ‘embargoes’ that limit access to journals.  If your library or institution can’t afford the high rates that these companies charge, you may have to wait a full year to access any number of journals.

4. Access to information becomes another source of inequality.

5. Students and even academics everywhere are unable to access information they need.

6. This might very well slow the pace of research in various areas, including urgent medical research.

7. The exorbitant fees charged by these academic publishing companies drain scarce university and public resources.

And for what purpose? 

Basically none.  Everything a company like Elsevier does could be done by the public sector at lower cost and done in such a way as to eliminate the castle walls that limit access to knowledge. 

4. Access to information becomes another source of inequality.

Yes, it’s FINALLY HERE! A list of AMAZING LIBRARIAN traits. Because(be honest) the library wouldn’t be the library without the librarians. 

Here in Japan, the buckwheat noodles known as soba are a staple. Nowhere more so than in the mountains of the southern island of Shikoku. The soil there is poor. Buckwheat is one of the few crops that will grow. So the region has been known for its soba for centuries.

Reiko Tsuzuki, 70, has been carrying on the tradition of soba-making for more than four decades. She runs a small restaurant – Tsuzuki Soba House – in a little village in the remote mountains.

She runs the place by herself: preparing and serving the food and pouring endless cups of tea from an enormous brass kettle. As if that weren’t enough, she also serenades her guests with a traditional song.

Japan’s Centuries-Old Tradition Of Making Soba Noodles

Men: this is so realistic wow such a complex character….

A woman: This is Angela, she’s the protagonist of the story and the chosen one who comes from a mystical bloodline, she has a natural talent for magic and can-