Eubie's notes

NY Times: Circulation Plunges at Major Newspapers — The decline, one of the steepest on record, adds to the woes of a mature industry beset by layoffs and the possible sale of some of its flagships and Washington Post: Daily Circulation Falls at U.S. Papers — NEW YORK — Circulation declines accelerated at major U.S. newspapers for the six-month period ending in September, according to figures released Monday, in the latest sign of struggle for an industry that is continually grappling with changing reader habits..

But there was some good news — Lost Remote: Paper sites set traffic records in September — A Nielsen-Netratings report compiled for the Newspaper Association of America found that traffic to newspaper sites grew 24 percent in the third quarter over the same time last year. And September was a record month. The NAA says the traffic boost is due to new features like video, podcasts and user-created content.

NY Times: Everybody’s Business: You Can Complain, or You Can Make Money — The top 1 percent of all income earners in this great land earn roughly 20 percent of the total income.

NY Times: Disney Says It Will Link Marketing to Nutrition — Walt Disney plans to curtail the use of its name and characters with food items that do not meet new nutritional standards. and WSJ: Disney Pulls Its Characters From Junk Food — Disney said its characters and brands will only be used on child-focused products that meet healthy dietary guidelines.

NY Times: Expert Federal Panel Urges New Look at Land Use Along Coasts in Effort to Reduce Erosion — The panel said a rising sea level was accelerating erosion on these coasts, even as more people seek to live along them.

NY Times: So Big and Healthy Even Grandpa Wouldn’t Even Know You — I was reminded after seeing an exhibit of clothing up until the 1900s. The shoes and gloves looked more like infant wear. Other indications were military enrollment from 1850, when the average for a male was 5′ 7.5″ tall and weighed 146 lbs. and 2000, when the average male was 5′ 9.5″ and weighed 191 pounds.

Also when a person reached 50 in 1900, they could expect to live 21 more years. Now they can expect to live 31 years.

NY Times: Home Front: Refurbishing Computers, and Lives, Too — Per Scholas upgrades desktop computers that corporations discard as obsolete and distributes them to schools and families.

There’s also FreeGeek.org, a group in Portland, Ore., that I have followed for several years.

WSJ: Google Campus to Get Solar Power — Google plans to install a massive solar-power system at its headquarters, as technology companies’ support for alternative energy is on the rise. and NY Times: Search Power Takes a Stand for Sun Power — Google said it would build a large solar electricity system to provide electricity to its office complex in Mountain View, Calif.

Also Wired News: Aussies Eye Sun to Beat Blackouts — Hoping to keep the juice flowing despite a predicted energy shortfall, Australia plans to build the world’s biggest solar power plant.

Consumers Union: State Gift Card Consumer Protection Laws — A summary of regulations in the 24 states with laws on gift cards.

This Old House: Home Inspection Nightmares — Gallery 1
and Gallery 2.

Two of my favorites were:

Christian Science Monitor: For not much more, Americans opting to eat out — Even with wages stagnant, time-strapped workers are abandoning the family kitchen in droves. For some, they can eat out for only a little more than they can eat it in.