How does the internet work? This is really a two-part question. First, is there some sort of central computer from which all other computers connect? Second, who manages the internet? I heard in class that the US government has ultimate regulative control over the internet, (possibly in conjunction with an organization called icann (www.icann.org)). This seems plausible in the same way that the US government regulates the airwaves.

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: There have been many large books and millions of technical papers written about how the Internet works, so I invite you to come to the library, and we’ll help you do a literature search. I’ll bet some of the folks in Duke’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering are pretty knowledgeable on the subject, too. A good background might be the classic book *The Whole Internet* from O’Reilly. I don’t think it’s been updated in a few years, and is probably out of print, but it provides a good overview of the history. O’Reilly also had one entitled *Internet in a Nutshell*. Redundency is important in the Internet’s success, to keep it from being dependent on a single computer or single routing between computers. There are a number of boards, agencies, councils, authorities, and the like that deal with technical standards and protocols.

ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) is responsible for the domain names and IP addresses. Their website says they handle these responsibilities under contract from the US Commerce Dept., and there’s all sorts of stuff about it on the web. A critical view can be found from http://en.wikipedia.com (search ICANN) – a critical view as expected, since this online encyclopedia has been developed by open sourcy people who are wary of organizational control. Here’s a page on Internet management, whatever that is, courtesy of BellSouth: http://bellsouthpwp.net/c/c/ccpdlover/internet%20management.htm . Anyway, it’s a major research project (for those of us not intimately involved in the process) to determine the technical, administrative, and legal story behind the Internet.

I am having trouble with breakfast, as the prospect of cereal, toast, a bagel, eggs, fruit, yogurt, etc. do nothing to make me want to get out of bed. Do you have any fresh ideas? Is there any other country I should look to for great breakfast ideas?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: If you were waiting on me for an answer, you’re probably so hungry by now that stale cereal and rancid yogurt would be appealing. Breakfast is the best meal! Warmth is good, so oatmeal is nice. If you eat fish, smoked herring is good. Try a bigger variety of fruit (papaya, etc.). If you really don’t like traditional breakfast foods, have a bowl of soup or a taco. Actually, tacos are good breakfast foods; they even have a name for them: breakfast tacos. Mexican breakfasts, with spicy sauces and beans and stews, are great. Huevos rancheros, caldo, etc.

Were any relatives of Hitler Jewish?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Although I’ve heard the common story that one of his grandparents was Jewish, this is apparently just a legend. See the following article: “Hitler’s Family Secret: A file recovered from the Nazi Archives tells of a Gestapo investigation into the Fuehrer’s murky family history” by Ben S. Swearingen, in *Civilization: The Magazine of the Library of Congress* Vol. 2, No. 2, Mar/Apr 1995, pp. 54-55. Online through Academic Search Elite or in bound periodicals at C582x. Also the book *Hitler: legend, myth & reality* by Werner Maser, at 923.243 H675MSC. Also the book *Explaining Hitler : the search for the origins of his evil* by Ron Rosenbaum, here in the library at 943.086092 H675, R813, 1998.

I have recently been trying to gather materials for a research paper on Islamic law and ethics, and I originally wanted to explore alcoholism within Islam. However, our libraries only have 2 books on this important topic. Then I decided to shift my focus to Muslim apostasy. Once again, only 2-3 books exist directly on this topic. As a result, my professor has asked that I request the addition of materials on these very vibrant topics (alcoholism and apostasy within Islam) so that future students might not encounter the same problems I have in gathering materials. Thank you for your consideration.

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: You might want to check with the Perkins Library Reference Dept. or over at the Divinity School Library, where they collect material relating to religion. They can help you search pertinent databases, find material buried in books on broader topics, or refer you to subject specialists. If there are any specific books that we don’t have, you can use the “suggest a purchase” form at http://www.lib.duke.edu/colldev/ask4book.htm (available from the library’s web page from the “Request Forms A-Z”).

There used to be a little garden with a large sculpture (a rusty metal knot) in the courtyard where all the construction is going on now as you enter Perkins. What happened to the sculpture after it was removed? And what’s going up in that space now?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: The sculpture is out behind the Old Chem building, but that’s not its final location and AP doesn’t know its final disposition (I don’t think they’ve decided). The structure being built in the former courtyard is called “The Pavilion.” It will be a fancy coffee shop with glass walls — sort of a modernized luxury version of The Perk — to bring the library a little closer to the Barnes & Noble model of information dissemination. In the lower right of the library homepage there’s a link to the Perkins Project web pages http://www.lib.duke.edu/perkproj/ — the expansion and renovation of the library — including some renderings that show the new Pavilion (the view is really looking from the approximate north at Old Chem, looking south; Languages is on the left): http://www.lib.duke.edu/perkproj/eastsite_sml.html . Here’s a nice floor plan: http://www.dukemagazine.duke.edu/dukemag/issues/091002/books-plan-lg.html .

At my undergraduate university, we had a music library where one could only borrow CDs for in-building use. We used to go there to listen to music while doing our homework. I was planning on doing the same thing when I got here for grad school, and was surprised and very pleased that I could actually take CDs out of the Duke music library and listen to them at home. Huzzah for the Duke Music Library!

-a greatful first year

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Thanks for the compliment! We try to have fairly liberal circulation policies here and are happy to get the positive feedback. I’ll pass this along to our music library.

For those of us who can’t make it into Perkins, it has been a great pleasure to read the comments and Answer Person words of wisdom from the lobby book. It hasn’t been updated in 6 weeks. Has the book gone up in smoke? Has it vanished into a black hole of Duke construction? Will it come back to online life?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: One of those hardhat guys accidently cut the internet cable that link the AP server (it was the Bat Computer in a former life) to the library web page. We’re repairing the cable while I write this, so maybe late Friday or by early Monday. Sorry for the delay, and I appreciate that you enjoy reading it!

On a Q-tip box, one of the warnings is not to use the q-tips in your ear canals. Of course, everyone uses q-tips to clean ears by putting the tip in the ear canal. Do manufacturers actually expect this type of advice to be followed, or is it merely on the box for liability reasons?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: This is, of course, just a disclaimer from lawyers to make sure the cotton swab industry isn’t held liable for reckless use of its product. AP’s ears are naturally low-wax, so I don’t need to deep clean them like this. (What’s that you say?) The medical profession nowadays really does seem to advise against using firm pointy physical probes deep in the ears. The online medical encyclopedia from the National Library of Medicine, in its article “Wax Blockage,” says, “Individuals who suffer from frequent blockages may benefit from weekly irrigations. Never attempt to clean the ear by placing any object into the ear canal (such as a Q-tip). It is better to clean the outer ear canal by using a cloth or tissue paper wrapped around your finger.” http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000979.htm

Be aware that cotton swabs (Q-Tip is a registered trademark of Chesebrough-Ponds) are useful for a million cleaning, polishing, and other applications, so just because they’re out of favor for ear cleaning doesn’t mean they’re not incredibly useful.