Do you want to work for your Uncle Sam?  USA JOBS is the official job site of the US Federal Government.   The site contains over 19,000 Federal jobs in its database as well as a downloadable copy of a study that shows what employment areas in the Federal Government are growing the fastest.  You can search the job database or create your own account and post your resume online. 

Visit USA JOBS at http://www.usajobs.opm.gov/ .

Google does very little to promote their US Federal Government search engine ‘Google Uncle Sam’, but some professional public records searchers and online researchers believe that it is actually a better search engine than First Gov for locating US Government records.

You can access Google’s Uncle Sam search at http://www.google.com/unclesam 

First Gov is the US Government’s Official Web Portal.  You can search and find public records and other government information from this search engine and records directory. 

Use the search feature to locate the records you are looking for or browse the directory by area or branch of government.  You can access the First Gov site at http://www.firstgov.gov/ .

The National Association of Counties publishes an excellent online US county directory search that allows you to hunt down county web sites, official contact information and public records sources with ease.

Use the Find A County map to find county information and public records for a given state.  Click on a state, select a county link to find county official contact information; county web sites ( if any ); county demographic information; county court locations and other county-related record information.

Not sure what county a city or zip code is located in?  Looking for a county official?  Use NACO’s search page to find these and other county-related information searches — County Searches and County Official Searches .   

The LexisNexis Accurint system is entering the corporate and business records search arena with a site called AccurintBusiness.com.  Business record searches will run from $1.99 – $4.00, depending on the information requested.   The site contains millions of records on both public and private companies.

You can read the full details at LexisNexis Accurint Business Broadens Access to Company Information by Barbara Quint @ infotoday.com .

William Bright, a creative New Yorker who runs a site called iPodSubwayMaps.com has received legal threats from the New York and Bay Area Rapid Transit Authorities for posting downloadable subway maps for the iPod on his site. 

His site contains dozens of downloadable iPod subway maps for major cities around the world, like the Paris Metro and London Underground as well as NYC and San Francisco.  The maps are convenient for subway riders with an iPod in any of these cities.

You can visit William Bright’s site at iPodSubwayMaps.com .

You can also read the full article iPod Maps Draw Legal Threats by Matt Reed @ Wired.com.   

The US Department of Justice has an excellent site devoted to requesting federal public records through the Freedom of Information Act. 

From www.usdoj.gov Freedom of Information Act site:

Like all federal agencies, the Department of Justice (DOJ) generally is required under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to disclose records requested in writing by any person. However, agencies may withhold information pursuant to nine exemptions and three exclusions contained in the statute. The FOIA applies only to federal agencies and does not create a right of access to records held by Congress, the courts, or by state or local government agencies. Each state has its own public access laws that should be consulted for access to state and local records.

The US DOJ FOIA site contains reference guides and principal FOIA contacts for major government agencies.  You can access the USDOJ FOIA site at Freedom of Information Act .

The free speech group Reporters Without Borders is offering a free downloadable guide ( in Adobe Acrobat’s pdf format ) for dissident bloggers located in countries that restrict criticism of the ruling government and policies.  The guide shows dissident bloggers how to get around censorship issues; protect their anonymity; practice journalistic ethics as well as how to publish and promote their blogs.  You can read more in an article Handbook Offers Tips For Cyberdissidents by Alorie Gilbert @ CNET News.com.

You can also download a free copy of the guide at
Handbook for bloggers and cyber-dissidents at rsf.org.

An Italian computer programmer named Luca Mori accidentally discovered some ancient Roman ruins while messing around with Google Earth satellite images.  Property owners along the gulf coast have been using Google Earth satellite images to view property damage caused by Hurricane Katrina.  What will Google Earth ‘unearth’ next? Is it possible that Google Earth images or other modern searches and communications could foil terrorist attacks?  With a little creativity, who knows what you can find?  Read more at Google Earth Finds Roman Ruins @ RedHerring.com. 

Keystroke logger of the worst kind: a microphone by ZDNet’s David Berlind — Just when you thought anti-spyware technology was making it safe to compute again, researchers at the University of California have come up with a new form of spyware using some old technology: a microphone.  According to a story on ScientificAmerican.com, with 88 percent accuracy (after certain algorithms were applied), the researchers "successfully decoded what was [...]