2 men plead guilty to cultivating pot in Sequoia forest

I firmly believe that cannabis has been unfairly demonized by those who seek to control it.  I also believe that the plant should be legalized and regulated, and that this is just an other example of what happens when criminals – rather than farmers – grow this crop.  our national forests get destroyed.

Cannabis is legal in California.  It should be grown legally.  One of the shining examples of how to grow and regulate the crop was Mendocino County’s zip-tie program.  No forest lands were destroyed or poisoned when that plan was implemented.

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Baker & Taylor’s Axis 360 in Pilot with Simon & Schuster to Make eBook Titles Available to School Customers Read more about Baker & Taylor’s Axis 360 in Pilot with Simon & Schuster to Make eBook Titles Available to School Customers

Baker & Taylor has put up a press release:

Baker & Taylor, the world’s largest distributor of digital and physical books and entertainment products, announced today that through a pilot program it will now be able to make available more than 450 popular ebook titles from Simon & Schuster imprints to classrooms and school libraries using the Axis 360 digital media circulation platform.

The pilot allows Baker & Taylor’s K-12 customers to purchase access to many popular, classic and award-winning Simon & Schuster ebooks for school-aged readers. Simon & Schuster titles are now available from Baker & Taylor via Title Source 360, the company’s new, comprehensive collection development and ordering tool for library and educational customers.

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Ricoh, a company specializing in print commissions a study that finds people like print books

SHOCKER! Ricoh Americas Corporation – a company that specializes in production print equipment – commissioned a ‘study’ that discovered that people like print books.  It would have been news, probably, if the study discovered that consumers preferred anything else.

The study was interesting in it’s scope.  It says that 60% of ebooks downloaded are never read (no mention of how many dead-tree books purchased are never read), that consumers “have an emotional and visceral/sensory attachment to printed books, potentially elevating them to a luxury item,” and that “college students prefer printed textbooks to eBooks as they help students to concentrate on the subject matter at hand” because, y’know, you can’t study using a tablet that has an internet connection that could allow them instant access to more – and focused – information about what they’re studying.

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A Snow-filled Setting Served as Stunning Background for the Trek to the Tree Ceremony at Kings Canyon National Park

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, CA – With a snow-filled setting as a stunning background, a total of 213 people participated in the Trek to the Nation’s Christmas Tree ceremony at Kings Canyon National Park on Sunday, December 8, 2013, from 2:30-3:30 p.m. The event, which was sponsored by the Sanger District Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with the National Park Service, included the Jubilation Singers, Sanger High School Choir, and a non-denominational holiday message. During the ceremony, Acting Superintendent Colleen Bathe spoke about the General Grant Tree’s role as a national shrine in memory of the men and women of the Armed Forces who have served, fought, and died to keep America free. A memorial wreath was placed at the base of the General Grant Tree during the ceremony.

To plan for a future visit to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, visit www.nps.gov/seki or call 559-565-3341.