Weekend update: More research links from the week

This week, some interesting reference sites, some of which may be as entertaining as useful, and great examples of making information more accessible.

The links:

Reference:

Hurricane Season 2007: Census, a collection of statistics on population, housing, and hurricane history.

BBC Timelines: always useful, this is links to many of them from Resourceshelf.

Washington Post's Local Explorer maps local information like crime, home sales, and schools, and provides other local information about communities around DC. Maps are based on Google Maps.

Historic Food, a wonderful site dedicated to remembering things our ancestors ate, like this amazing page on English Puddings.

New York Public Library Research Guides on lots of topics. Question, though: why are some of them PDFs? (see 1938 Hurricane).

Reports:

Access to the Waterfront: Issues and Solutions Across the Nation Here's one of my pet peeves. Every year in Florida it became harder and harder to get access to the water. Little dirt roads thru the mangroves that led to the bay or the ocean suddenly sprouted giant houses, with gates. If you wanted to bring a dinghy ashore from a boat, there were more and more places where you weren't allowed. I'm happy to live near a lake surrounded by National Forest land, now.

Statistics:

The Transportation Energy Book, Vol. 26 for 2007.

Governments, Politics:

2008 Presidential Race Expenditures, compiled by Open Secrets.

The “Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007” in browsable, searchable form (converted from a PDF by Truth Laid Bear blogger. Readers point out interesting points.

The Government Domain: State Government Fundamentals. Good links from LLRX.com on state governments.

Business:

Forbes' Corporate Org Chart Wiki readers contribute info to chart corporations' board members, officers and their relationships.

Public Records/People:

PIBuzz collects links to new public records listings.

Foreign Agents Registration Search from US Justice Dept.

Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office is adding World War II MIA personnel to the missing in action database. The list will include over 78,000 names when completed.

Tools:

Mahalo new search engine "people powered", from Jason Calcanis, in alpha.

MorgueFile, a repository for public domain images.

Fun/Entertainment:

50 Things to Know by 50, from AARP. Advice including some from celebrities, like Sue Johanson on sex.