Crawlly But Not Creepy

Here's a site that you will really dig. Worm Watch is dedicated to that critter that some people don't think much of but is a vital part of our eco-system.

Much to learn about this earthy character.

If You Love Limericks

The Omnificent English Dictionary in Limerick Form is in the process of reviewing and verifying a whole dictionary's worth of limericks. Here you'll find limericks on all subjects from computers to cats.

The many dedicated souls working on this "limerictionary" from 13 countries in which English is spoken are working their way through the alphabet. As of today, they've covered words starting with letters "aa" up to "ba". I'm not sure how long they've been at it, but it appears as if this project will be going and going and going for years to come. But someday there will be a breadth & wealth of limericks quite unbelievable! Even now, there are more than you might imagine just starting with letters aa through ba.

Technological Deja Vu

All of us have either heard someone say -- or said it ourselves.....everything having to do with computers changes so fast. You just can't keep up. You buy something and it's outdated before you get it out of the box.

Anytime you have a serious case of computer nostalgia, take a click to Old-Computers.com. Here is gathered a wealth of information, pictures, and other memorabilia having to do with technology. Fascinating!!

Patently Beautiful

A site called Patent Room -- The Art of Industrial Design has a collection of wonderful drawings drawn from patent applications submitted during the '20s, '30s, '40s, and '50s. As you might expect, these drawings not only represent the brainstorms of the inventors, but they also reflect the design styles of those decades.

This collection is fascinating for both its collecting of the creativity of so many inventors, the beauty of their visual imaginations, and a way to glimpse part of our visual history.

A Daily Dose of Botany

Just thinking that one way to start the day (and the week) out well is with a little natural beauty. One way to find it is to check out the Botany Photo of the Day site.

Many thanks to the botanical folks at the University of British Columbia for giving us this daily gift of natural beauty.

Lights Camera Action Atmosphere

Although I can't claim to have ever seen the Aurora Borealis in person, I've wondered what those cosmic displays are like ever since I was a kid. How could something so big come all the way from the sun....and how are they formed....and what makes all the colors.

Well, there is a AuroraWatch site that is based on in the UK and sponsored by Lancaster University. You can monitor current aurora activity -- remember there are the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) and Southern Lights (Aurora Australis). They even offer an aurora activity e-mail alert!

I recommend you start with the link to background information and then start looking at the photo displays of past displays. Beautiful and amazing!

Earth Science Treasure Trove

The Geological Society of America has what appears to be an incredible site offering lesson plans and related resources galore for those interested in teaching and learning about earth science. This is a site with many, many curricular resources and stimulating lessons. Not to be missed!

I think the name says it all: Geological Society of America Free Teacher Resources. Can't beat the price or the content!

Sharks -- Myths and Mystery

Thanks to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, there's a place we can go to get the straight skinny on sharks. Ever since the movie Jaws, sharks have raised a bit of a stir in the media and, well, among swimmers, too.

Take a swing by Sharks - Myth and Mystery to find out more about these sometimes gentle and sometimes ravenous beasts.

Star Wars But Not What You Expect

Today marks the opening of the latest -- and final -- installment in the six-part Star Wars saga. We can line up today to see Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.

To mark today's momentus occasion (I can still remember sitting in the great old [and now gone] UA Cinemas 150 in downtown Seattle watching what we now refer to as Episode IV but will always somehow always be the first episode of Star Wars to me) I offer a site to come home to after you've seen the new film, or taken a trip back into episodes 4, 5, 6, 1, or 2.

I offer the Star Wars Blooper Guide for a respectful look at the stuff that someone missed or forgot in filming of this mega-cycle of the film world that transported so many of us into a brand new world.

The Rijksmuseum -- An Online Treasure Trove of Art

Touted to be "the largest collection of art and history in the Netherlands," you must check out the 1250 exhibits here along with the online tours (which use Flash & QuickTime) that, along with a lot more, make up The Rijksmuseum. This is another in a series of online exhibits I've come across that just make my jaw drop in awe.

The paintings seem right "there". Take, for example, the current online show: "The Masterpieces of the Golden Age" which showcases art works and artists in the years 1600-1700. Immediately you are able to select one from among hundreds of paintings, see them in close-up, read the descriptions, and see them placed on a timeline along with the work of the same or other artists and historical events.

A visual feast of the first order!

Forgotten Your Music Theory?

Check out Ricci Adams' MusicTheory.net site. Review key signatures, study chord structures, inversions, play an online keyboard, review transposition, rhythmic reviews, and much more. You can also access free lessons and primers about a range of theory subjects.

Just go to MusicTheory.net!

Teaching That Makes Sense

That, as it happens, is the name of a website that was recommended to me highly by one of my teaching colleagues. Put together by what must be one very talented guy, Steve Peha, this site has many, many teaching tools, wise use of technology in the classroom, and documents galore for the download.

Try Teaching That Makes Sense.

Hungry?

Well, I find my stomach growling way more often than I generally care to admit. As the person who most often does the cooking in our household, you'd think that 1) I'd keep that stomach of mine contented, and 2) that I'd be a big fan of cookbooks.

Dealing with #1 is a conflict with the appetite that says "yes!" and the rational self saying "you don't need those calories!." As far as #2 is concerned, I bet if you asked my family they'd say that the meals they get are fine but there'd probably be more variety if I'd just get some cookbooks....as use them!

Maybe this site is the answer. I've run across a site called Feeding America. It's an online collection of "some of the most important and influential American cookbooks from the late 18th to early 20th century."

Feeding America has been created by the Michigan State Libraries. I guess I don't have any more excuses not to find a new recipe!

Historic Maps In The K-12 Classroom

Developed by the Hermon Dunlap Smith Center for the History of Cartography at the Newberry Library, I encourage you to explore the maps and lesson plans available at Historic Maps in the K-12 Classroom.

At the moment there are 18 maps in 6 themes (such as Exploration and Encounter, or Migration and Settlement).

The maps are all viewable online and can also be downloaded in .pdf format. Built-in tools in the online maps allow one to zoom in or out and pan throughout all sections of the map. Lesson plans are offered within suggested grade-level categories.

Though 18 maps may not sound like a great deal, the amount of thought and care that's gone into this site is admirable and, I think, the resources here for using cartography and the study of history using geography are impressive.

Detroit Virtual Museum

Wayne State University has put together a site called WSU Virtual Motor City Collection. What they are doing:

The digitized images in the project represent a small subset of the Detroit News Collection, one of the premier photojournalistic resources freely available from a national-level newspaper and held at the Reuther Library.

In 1997, the Detroit News' outgoing editor and publisher Robert Giles conveyed the paper's original negatives and, significantly, copyright to the Reuther Library at WSU.

The full collection consists of more than 800,000 specially selected glass and nitrate, acetate and polyester film-based negatives. These date from the late 19th century, but the bulk fall between 1900 and 1980. They range in size from 8" x 10" to 35mm in both black and white, and color.

There are powerful search tools and the images are all fully documented. What a great record. Check out, for example, the Motown pictures in the collection. Great!

On This Day

Although maybe not something I think of everyday, I do sometimes wonder: What happened on this date last year....or 5 years ago.....or 50 years ago? The BBC has a site -- On This Day -- that can answer some of those questions, at least as viewed from that side of the Atlantic. One perhaps uncommon aspect of this site is that it includes historical information but also broadcasts, pictures, and other media as it tells the story of the day.

The following is their "About This Site" info to help explain its purpose and scope:

On This Day is a showcase of some of the most significant as well as some of the quirkier stories broadcast by BBC News since 1950 and now including a new World War II section.

We intend to continue adding stories over the coming years so you will always be able to find something fresh on the site.

You will probably enter the site via the front page. This will always be today’s date and will offer a choice of reports drawn from the years 1950-2002 and 1939-45.

Nearly all the stories contain video or audio and are written as if the event had only just occurred, drawing on archive media, old newspapers and historical reference books.

All news reports finish with an "In Context" box. This gives a brief rundown on what happened next and could also reveal details such as what became of personalities who featured in a story long before they became household names.

The timelines are intended to show you where you are within a long-running story and provide links to other related reports.

There are several ways to look round the site - you can search by date, as well as by theme and by correspondent. (Ever wondered what John Humphrys looked like before he began all those early shifts on Radio 4’s Today programme? Take a look at his timeline to find out.)

The Witness section of the site is where you come in! Maybe you can spot yourself in the crowd in one of the old videos featured in the site, or you were at an event featured in a news report. We would like to hear from you so please email us using the form in the Witness section.

While the BBC owns the copyright to nearly all the media on the site, some material has been licensed from other broadcasters as is normal in the world of TV news.

Ask Another Scientist

Back in March, I pointed you toward a site sponsored by Cornell that offers the opportunity to ask questions of science directly to scientists.

Well, I've found another which also looks both interesting and with a lot of potential. This one is courtesy of University of California, Santa Barbara and the National Science Foundation.

Consider taking a look at the wide range of questions already asked and answered, or submit you own.

Check out the UCSB Science Line.

High School Journalism

As someone who works in a school, the importance of having a school newspaper is pretty self-evident. Where else will those kids who have an interest in writing and doing investigative reporting learn the important skills and tricks of the trade?

Go to HighSchoolJournalism.org to find online information, advice, and tips.

File Extensions Explained

Although perhaps a bit on the arcane side of things, working with electronic files can be made a bit more understandable if you know what their file extension is and what the (usually) three letter abbreviation after the "." at the end of the file name means. For example, the extension on this file name ("profoundutterance.doc") is ".doc" (in all cases leaving out the quote marks). It's pretty easy to guess that .doc might be an abbreviation for "document" which would suggest probably word processing which might lead you to guess .doc indicates a Word document. And, indeed, it does.

Another example is ".pdf". That combo doesn't really look like a clue for any pronounceable word. Some file extensions take the first letter from it's name and that's the case here. .pdf comes from "portable document format".

In case you don't know, there are many, many, many file extensions, some more obvious than others. Knowing how to translate an unfamiliar file extension can immediately tell you, for example, if you have the necessary software to access that file. The file extension can also immediately tell you what type of electronic information you're working with....word processing, presentation, image, audio, video, and so on.

Instead of looking for lists of file extensions to memorize, you should consider going to a site like FILExt -- The File Extension Source. It's fascinating in many ways, not the least of which is that some file extensions have multiple applications.

Google Maps

Google has started another service called Google Maps. Type in a street address, city, and state (and country), and you'll be able to switch between a map (geographical style) and photographic view of the entered address from space!

Amazing and kinda neat!

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

May is Asian American Heritage Month and a website devoted to it is sponsored by Girl Power!

Here is the introductory paragraph from the website:

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, a time to celebrate the achievements of Asian American men and women who've made a difference. Many people think Asian Pacific Americans are one single group, but they are really made up of more than 24 ethnic groups, that speak different languages and have their own rich history. Some of these ethnic groups include the Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese, Hawaiian, Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Filipino people.

Here are some outstanding Asian Pacific American women who definitely have Girl Power!

A Hawaiian Tradition

The flower lei that everyone associates with visiting the Hawaiian Islands has an annual festival of its own. The City and County of Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation presents the 78th Annual Lei Day Celebration on May 1.

Their website has photo galleries, historical background, links to lei making workshops, and much more.

Although not nearly as nice as winging it to the islands in person, consider making a virtual visit!

Cool Cosmos

I've never quite understood all the various spectrums of light, including infrared. This latter is especially ironic since I, along with a lot of other folks, use infrared light nearly everyday of our lives. Most frequently, we are pointing handheld little plastic rectangles called "remote controls" at TVs, CD players, DVD players, and all sorts of gadgets and controlling them using infrared light.

It's been also amazing to see the incredible beauty of infrared out in space which the Hubble Telescope has shown us. The Cool Cosmos site has a tutorial about infrared astronomy which is both "educational" but beautiful, too. Take a look! Cool Cosmos is a great site and has much else to offer!

New York Times Learning Network

Although I've been an online subscriber to the New York Times for years and years, I just stumbled upon an educational resource for students and teachers called: The New York Times Learning Network.

A wealth of news-related and curricular resources are here.

Seminars In Science -- Online Museum

Sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History, Seminars In Science won the Museums of the Web 2005 competition in the "Best E-Services" category.

This is an online professional development site for teachers and has a number of courses it offers. The judges said:

The human touch in the interface gives nice feeling that the seminar is tutored ... by real humans and that the learner is interacting with real people.

The course service is well structured and the courses look interesting.

African Life Through Art -- Online Museum

Indianapolis Museum of Art's Cycles: African Life Through Art site won in the 2005 Museums of the Web 2005 competition for the "Best Online Exhibition" category.

Some of the judges' comments included:

The design of this online exhibit is a piece of art itself. Beautiful and fun to explore.

A highly visually appealing and thought provoking site which provides a rich user experience through interactivity, text and images. A particular highlight is the 'context' link that a user can click on when viewing an object. The graphic elements also nicely enhance the content and navigational options available to the user.

The design is sophisticated and the navigation surprisingly straightforward while being somewhat non-traditional. Good use of music throughout. Excellent use of zooming capabilities on enlarged images for a great amount of detail. More detail than almost any other website that I've seen.

By the way, there was a runner-up in this category: Raid On Deerfield: The Many Stories of 1704. Sponsored by Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, the Raid on Deerfield site was acknowledged as a site that....

...raises the bar for historical interpretation online. The site models the value of the whole that derives from a consideration of multiple perspectives. The designers have cast a magical spell that draws the user into another place, another time, another world where one finds truth painted in many shades of grey.

While innovative in many way, the navigation for the site can be confusing with up to 4 different menu areas available, and very little site context given to the visitor. It gets easy to lose where you are in the site.

In case you, like me, are unsure what the story is about Deerfield and the year 1704, the following from the website may whet your interest:

In the pre-dawn hours of February 29, 1704, a force of about 300 French and Native allies launched a daring raid on the English settlement of Deerfield, Massachusetts, situated in the Pocumtuck homeland. 112 Deerfield men, women, and children were captured and taken on a 300-mile forced march to Canada in harsh winter conditions. Some of the captives were later redeemed and returned to Deerfield, but one-third chose to remain among their French and Native captors.

Was this dramatic pre-dawn assault in contested lands an unprovoked, brutal attack on an innocent village of English settlers? Was it a justified military action against a stockaded settlement in a Native homeland? Or was it something else?

Making The Modern World -- Online Museum

One of the winners in the 2005 Museums of the Web contest was Making the Modern World. This site won in the "best educational use " category. Their "about us" descriptive paragraph follows:

Making the Modern World brings you powerful stories about science and invention from the eighteenth century to today. It explains the development and the global spread of modern industrial society and its effects on all our lives. The site expands upon the permanent landmark gallery at the Science Museum, using the Web and dynamic multimedia techniques to go far beyond what a static exhibition can do.

As will be true for the majority of these "best" online museums, I will have only barely scratched the surface of what each collection offers. Even in my brief peek at Making the Modern World, I can see why it was judged as one of the best. The way the site is organized, designed, and the richness of the resources it offers is amazing.

Based in the UK, this site shows many of the changes and developments in industry, science, and technology that made tremendous changes in the world, particularly in what is often referred to as "western" culture and life. Absolutely worth exploring!

Top Notch Online Museum Sites

The site, Museums of the Web, has an annual contest to single out and acknowledge online museums of particular excellence.

I'm going to post some information and links to winners in the 2005 competition which were announced today.

You Know Someone Interested In Chemistry?

Well, if they're a kid -- or a kid at heart -- you might point them in the direction of an enlightening and well-presented site called Chem4Kids. Put together by Andrew Rader, this is definitely kid-oriented but the presentation and content is there and not put across in a talking-down or condescending way. You, too, can learn a lot!

A Class Divided

During a two-day workshop I attended, the presenters showed a video that was extremely interesting and memorable. Called "A Class Divided", it chronicled the story of a 3rd grade teacher, Jane Elliott at the Riceville, Iowa, Community Elementary School and what Ms. Elliott chose to do with her class of 3rd graders.

A day after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., Ms. Elliott felt it important to teach her students what it meant to experience discrimination. She prepared a lesson that gave and denied privileges to the kids in her class based on their eye color. One day the children with blue eyes were always at the front of the line, were able to use playground equipment, and were called on in class and reminded how smart they were. The following day roles reversed and the kids with brown eyes were the ones given a leg up.

A documentary was filmed about Ms. Elliott's experiment and that is the program we saw in our training. It was mesmerizing to watch the transformation in these kids as they gained or lost privileges, as those in the "down" position were made to wear collars that identified them as a member of the disenfranchised group.

A follow-up program was filmed some years later to track how this experience affected the children who lived it at the time and in the years that followed.

PBS's Frontline series has a website -- A Class Divided -- that shows this program and has other background materials about it. I strongly encourage you to watch it. It's probably a good idea for all of us to watch this powerful program every once in a while so as not to lose sight of the power of discouragement and disenfranchisement.

Got Any Issues With Your "Best Friend"

As many of you are, I'm the owner of the animal that is occasionally referred to as "man's best friend." That would be, of course, the dog.

In my case, it's a pure-bred chocolate lab -- Chip......get it...chocolate chip? Anyway, he's mostly a great dog but, whether due to his "pure" genes or just the luck of the draw in terms of the personality of the dog you adopt, he is quite excitable. Though 6 years old or so, he shows few signs of slowing down. Meeting new people (or canines, for that matter) puts him into quite a state of happiness, energy, and less than -- shall we say -- much self-discipline. He is trainable and is fine in the house and on casual walks, but visitors are always greeted with his terrifically energetic greeting.

For advice on some of the more challenging bits, I'm going to check out a site that might offer some help.....DogProblems. Looks like a winner!

April Fool's Day

Naturally, there is a website (well, not just one but about a gazillion) devoted to our hallowed tradition of April Fool's Day.

Check out Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes Of All Time. What a blast to read!

Old News!

What could be more interesting than Dinosaur News? There is a lot to learn about those ancient (and mostly extinct) critters. This website fills in many of the missing links.

A Truly Awesome Library

The Awesome Library has many, many resources for those of us looking for educational resources. If you explore you can find especially useful things like lesson plans and various tutorials (for example, click here for a page focused on useful materials for teaching technology).

Another terrific website!

Talk About Comparison Shopping

If you've ever wondered how what you're paying at the supermarket (or not-so-supermarket) that you frequent for those fruits, vegetables, meats, etc. (including chocolate!) compares with the prices people living in other cities in the U.S., then I've got a site for you.

The Global Grocery List Project invites students to submit prices for a wide range of edibles from the stores in their area. These prices are recorded by city & state. You pick the food item(s) you're interested in comparing, and up pops a list of places and prices.

It's quite fascinating!

EurekAlert --- For Kids

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has a great site for kids called EurekAlert.

Different aspects of scientific discovery and exploration are spotlighted each week in various scientific realms including Archaeology, Biology, Atmospheric Science, Chemistry & Physics, and Medicine.

A sub-site is called Science Reporting For Kids. One feature of this site is a weekly focus on a new subject. Some examples include:

• How Venus Flytraps Work
• Solar Fireworks Signal New Space Weather Mystery
• Satellites Study Deadly Dust Storms

Definitely worth exploring........

NCCE 2005 -- Seattle -- Day Three

Friday (Day 3) began with a presentation called: “Digital Photography in the Classroom.” This presenter was Jesse Starr (http://cdaschools.org/dalton/jstarr -- jstarr@sd271.k12.id.us). More focused on giving examples of projects he’s done with his primary grade students (including grade 5), he didn’t talk much about the hardware or software he uses. This was a downside for me because I was quite interested in hearing what he’s discovered by using particular hardware/software in the classroom and in projects using cameras and images.

The session I had really hoped to attend was by Leslie Fisher (http://www.lesliefisher.com) called “Your Introduction to Macromedia Flash.” But all the seats were taken and people were already lined up along the wall, so I went to the photography workshop. But after Mr. Starr’s sessions was over I thought I’d peek back in at the Flash session and saw that it had been moved to a much bigger space. So, I went in to see the final section of Ms. Fisher’s presentation. She was showing techniques for animating text (even as separate letters) and adding sound/music to the animation. It looked like it had been a well-received presentation and the number of people there was way more than would have ever fit in the original room. This is a very effective presenter.

I did get another chance to see Leslie Fisher in action. This was at the session she put on later on Friday entitled: “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Taking Digital Pictures Effectively.” This presentation was a re-working on a presentation Ms. Fisher had done earlier for a company called BluePixel.com. She also strongly advocated the websites www.robgalbraith.com and www.dpreview.com for information about digital cameras and taking pictures.

As she advanced through a series of pictures, she pointed out examples of some fairly obvious techniques and things to work after/avoid. Some examples include:

• Not being close enough to the subject
• Picture not properly in focus
• Camera shake (producing indistinct or garbled image)
• Boring composition
• Things she recommended to try:
• Ignore the background (focus on what you’re actually taking picture of)
• Missing the moment – the “again” mode – “sports” mode which makes it possible to take pictures as fast as possible
• Avoiding too much flash (remember the flash is effective only for 3 feet from camera)
• Avoiding too little flash (remember the flash is effective only for 3 feet from camera)
• Avoid (or at least be aware of the limitations of) digital zoom – digital zoom is really only cropping the highest mag of the optical zoom – use optical zoom

Made mention of a new photo file type coming out -- .nef or “raw” image type – and seemed to suggest this might be a format to explore in terms of working with uncompressed images.

All in all, I had a great time at this conference and definitely glad I attended. Much appreciation to the school’s professional development support program that made it possible for me to be here.

NCCE 2005 -- Seattle -- Day Two

Today began with a workshop about using Google as a search engine. Titled "Google 201: Advanced Googology", this session was put on by Patrick Crispen from California State University at Long Beach.

His was a very effective (and entertaining!) presentation. Some of the search tools and methods are certainly beyond the basics, the fact that he took a few moments to begin with and try and describe (in quite understandable terms) how Google works was very helpful.

Patrick has a web site of his own -- NetSquirrel.com -- where he told us we could download the PowerPoint presentation that he showed us today. I've also discovered at his site a number of other helpful articles and presentations. A great discovery! (He also has, by the way, a presentation there called Google 101 along with a number of other resources for teachers available here.)

The subtitle of Patrick's website, by the way, is --- a free collection of Internet, PC, and classroom resources. I think his is a great resource and well worth regular visits.

The opening keynote speech this morning was given by Cile Chavez. She was a very effective speaker. Her talk was more in the inspirational vein but, again, very well presented and enjoyable.

Thursday afternoon included a visit to the Exhibitors area and a session on digital video. Presented by Deb Postlewait, the title was “Dreaming, Screaming, Streaming: Digital Video at its Best and Worst.”

The focus here was on examples of good video (which would mean good visual quality [sharpness, decent lighting, effecting framing and shooting angles, etc.]) and audio (sufficient volume, no distortion, etc.). Some samples of good and not-so-good video were shown. The importance of content over effects was also emphasized. The ability of video to immediately show audience context was another central point (she put up the word “trunk” and asked people what the word conjured in their mind. She got responses such as “elephant,” car trunk, tree trunk, among others. She then showed a short video of elephants as her example of how to immediately focus the discussion.) Ms. Postelwait is a consultant and part of a company called VividTech (www.vividtech.net) and she seemed quite knowledgeable.

NCCE 2005 -- Seattle -- Day One

Today is the opening day of the annual Northwest Council of Computer Education (NCCE) being held in Seattle. I've attended a NCCE convention since last time it was held in Seattle (I think the conventions alternate between Seattle, Portland, and Spokane).

The site for NCCE 2005 is here.

The convention is set to last through Saturday and I'm looking forward to learning a great deal.

The first workshop today is called "Surveys and Hotlists and Blogs, Oh My!" As suggested by the title, the presenter has walked us through some free online surveys (Zoomerang, SurveyMonkey, and ProfilerPro), free online hotlist creator (Filementality), and blogs (she chose to focus on Blogger.com). The three-hour session flew by pretty quickly! There are probably tons of other resources to do these things online but I hope to try using at least the survey and hotlist tool soon when I get back to school

Another 3-hour workshop I attended today was "Technology in the Classroom: SmartBoards and Classroom Performance Systems (CPS)." The three presenters were: Jeredene Mayfield (Coordinator of Technology Integration, Golden Triangle Cooperative, Montana), Lisa Legare (Middle/High School teacher, Glasgow Public Schools, Montana), and Michelle Harrell (Coordinator of Technology Integration, North East Technology Consortium). I was there mostly interested in learning more about SmartBoards, particularly since we have one now at the Middle School for trial purposes. Theirs was a very effective demo and I learned a great deal about SmartBoards. Watching one in action was, once again, kind of exciting. I hope our experiment at the Middle School turns out well! In any case, a couple resources they included were Jere's professional development site, a geography/map site (Sheppard Software), and the North Central Montana Technology Consortium (NOCENTC) page....all of which have great resources including some for SmartBoard use, tips and tricks.

Ask A Scientist

The Cornell Center for Materials Research has a really cool site and service called Ask A Scientist. Take a look at the question of the day but then start scanning the archive of questions. I couldn't resist seeing the answer to a question about whether spontaneous combustion was real or not. The answer was by our local (famous) science guy, Bill Nye.

The answers seem both informative and entertaining. This is a winner!

Check Out Those Book Reviews

If you're interested in a site that collects complete book reviews for a number of published works of literature, go the The Complete Review. Well over a thousand books are reviewed here with links to reviews from other publications.

Flutter Byes

I don't know if it's true that some monk way back when, while writing in some tome that was setting out definitions or words to describe things -- and who must have been dyslexic -- codified the word "butterfly" instead of the up-until-that-time-commonly-used "flutter by" as the word to describe the oft-times indescribable beautiful insect. Even if it's not true, it makes a good story and explanation for how such a non-relevant word like "butterfly" would apply to that insect. I mean..."butter" & "fly". "Butter" has nothing to do with it and "fly" doesn't really conjure up the image of this gorgeous, and sometimes elusive, set of wings.

The Florida Museum of Natural History has a nice website dedicated to their exhibits having to do with butterflies and I encourage you to visit Butterfly Rainforest.

Christo & Jean-Claude's Exhibit in Central Park -- The Gates

Over the weekend, the two renowned artists -- Christo and Jeanne-Claude -- opened their newest adventure with fabric, color, and spectacle as they opened The Gates. If I remember correctly, there are over 7,000 gates from which saffron-colored fabric sways in the breeze installed on the paths in Central Park in New York.

Visit their website, The Art of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, where they have complete information about their latest project (some 26 years in the planning and permit-gathering) along with a number of their other exhibits.

Amazing and, in the best sense of the word,......Spectacular!

Hearing Voices?

In yet another amazing thing the Internet can do -- along with the hard work, insight, and inspiration of great ideas -- the BBC has made available a wealth of audio interviews of just about anyone you can think off.

Start here to go to the beginning of the alphabetical list. Chose the beginning letter of someone notable's last name and see what they've got. This page starts you out at the letter "A's" and here's sample of who you could hear from the BBC archives: Maya Angelou, Ansel Adams, Robert Altman, Eve Arnold, and David Attenborough.

Prime History

As someone who is not exactly a mathematician, I would say that the whole notion of prime numbers has held some fascination. For example, prime numbers seem to hold special importance to the folks who eat and breathe numbers.

In case you're interested, I ran across a site that sets out the History of Prime Numbers. I think you'll find some clues here.

Endangered Languages

The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is concerned about the possible loss of spoken languages worldwide. It has a site to help highlight this concern called the Interactive Atlas of the World Languages in Danger of Disappearing. Some of the goals of this site include:

1. Contribute to the safeguarding of languages in danger of disappearing with a view to contribute to the preservation of the world's linguistic and cultural diversity.
   
   
2. Share knowledge on endangered languages through the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs).
   
   
3. Promote public awareness and international debate concerning languages in danger of disappearing through the development of an interactive on-line tool.
   
   
4. Foster intellectual cooperation with local, regional, national and international organizations in order to combine efforts to promote and preserve the world’s endangered languages.

A very interesting site and laudable goals.

The History Of Valentine's Day

Leave it to the History Channel to have a whole site devoted to the History of Valentine's Day. Not only do they give us the history (and sometimes guesses) about the genesis of Valentine's Day but there are stories of great romances. You can even visit a Valentine's Day Gift Shop.

Check it out to your heart's content!

Pasta! Pasta! Pasta!

Pasta is definitely not in keeping with our carbo-aware world these days but I can't honestly claim to have kept pasta out of my diet. Quite the contrary!

Well, if you also find those tasty noodles ending up on your plate, you might be interested in discovering more about all the ways you can turn eggs, flour, and water into more than spaghetti....into pasta!

Though I associate the Hormel company with meats (especially Spam!!!) and not noodles, they have a part of the "Knowledge" area of their website devoted to giving you all you need to know about pasta.

Check out Types of Pasta!

Got Vitamin A?

If you are in need of just a bit more of good ole vitamin A, one place you're bound to find it in abundance is the CarrotMuseum. It won't take much digging around to find just about all you'll ever want to know about this orange munchie!

Everything Google -- Oh My!

I've only begun to scratch the surface of what author Nancy Blachman has put together with her GoogleGuide site, but, my oh my, there is a lot here to learn about this most common search engine. Can it do a lot of things!

It's gotta be that anyone -- yes, anyone! -- can learn something new about Google thanks to Ms. Blachman. Give her site a test drive! You'll be amazed!!!

Find Those Bloopers In The Movies

Although not obsessive about it, I have to confess to be a person who will spend some time at the movies trying to catch the mistakes in shooting, continuity, or just plain bloopers up there on the screen.

Lo and behold, there is a web site that tracks and compiles "mistakes" from the silver screen (and some from the small screen, too).

Check out MovieMistakes. It's good for a chuckle sometimes with an occasional "how did they think they could think we wouldn't notice that???"

Strawberries!

For those of us who are already looking ahead to warmer days, perhaps a visit to the website devoted to that fruit I always associate with early summer -- the strawberry -- would warm your heart.

The strawberry growers in California have a website dedicated to this popular fruit: CSC -- The California Strawberry Commission.

Just think......it won't be that long before we'll see those baskets of strawberries in the store or at the market. Can summer be that far away???

Oh Yeah, There Are Blog Catalogs

There are so many blogs out there now that sites have popped up to catalog all those weblogs out there.

One is found with the obvious name: BlogCatalog.

Blogs are listed by category and can be searched for. Also, for those of you who have a blog of your own, you can request to have your blog added to the catalog.

Google Directory Search also offers a tool that can help you find blogs in various listed categories. Some sample categories include: Personal, Collaboration, News, Regional, Science and Culture, Using Weblogs in Education, and Webrings. Click here to check out this Google resource.

Who knows whether weblogs are a sort of tech fad that will fade? In the meantime, these two tools will help you find a blog that matches your interest.

Browser Alternatives

Check out this article from the Circuits pages of the New York Times for tips on options for browsers, how to customize, and otherwise make better use of this specialized (but very important) program.

AFAIK, WYSIWYG, B4, TLC, TTYL, E2EG, B3

Okay, so what do all the above have in common? They are acronyms!

So what does one do if one can't figure out or remember what the acronym stands for? Two top alternatives would be to check either

Acronym Finder

or
The Canonical Abbreviation/Acronym Finder
or
Acronyma

One of these will help you out, including abbreviations used these days in the world of Instant Messaging and cell phone text messaging.

The Beauty Of The Heavens

I can remember a number of blissful spring and summer afternoons when I was (much) younger. I would notice the fluffy clouds set against the brilliant blue clear sky. I'd lie down on our green grass in the backyard and stare up at those beautiful constantly evolving clouds.

Taking a visit to The Cloud Appreciation Society site has brought back many of those memories. Check it out!

Blogging About Incredible Blogs

I've been pointed to this site -- called Blogging About Incredible Blogs -- as a web presence that does a great job of pointing one toward good blogs and other online resources.

Blogging About Incredible Blogs is the work (actually it's a blog itself using a Blogger.com site!) of Ken Leebow of Atlanta, Georgia.

You might give it a visit.

A Car Before Its Time -- And One That's Disappeared...Almost

According to family legend, one of my grandfathers plunked down a bit of cash to get in line for a heralded new car back in the late 40's -- the Tucker.

I don't remember the details of how the business failed but fail it did. Many, like my grandfather who had been sold on getting this "advanced" new automobile, lost whatever money they put as down payments. I can still remember my grandfather talking about the fact that, believe it or not, the Tucker had headlights (actually only one) that turned as the car did. That seemed so amazing to me as a little kid!

Only 51 of the "Car of the Future" touted by Preston Thomas Tucker were ever built. Those still extant are reputed to be worth between $250,000 to $500,000.

A site exists that is dedicated to the notion of keeping the history of the Tucker alive. If you'd like to take a look at automobile (and American cultural) history -- particularly of the mid-20th century -- visit Tucker Automobile Pages, "Keeping the Legend Online".

Presidential Inaugurations

As you might expect, the Library of Congress has an excellent set of online exhibits covering this history of presidential inaugurations. Click here to go there.

Those Amazing Explorers -- Lewis & Clark

I cannot really claim to have much detailed knowledge about the Lewis and Clark expedition. However, just the rough outlines of the trips they took from the mid-west to the far west of the United States is enough to, well, "blow my mind."

The Lewis and Clark Project, sponsored by the University of Montana and NASA, is a rich resource to study and re-live the incredible accomplishment of the teams of people who made those treks.

Though fairly lengthy, I quote here the mission of the project:

The National Lewis and Clark Education Project engages educators in a dynamic understanding of The Lewis and Clark expedition (1803-1806) and the nature of the trail's historical and modern landscapes. To achieve these objectives, The Education Project utilizes advanced education technologies, integrates interdisciplinary curricula into the classroom, supports scholarly dialogue and develops multimedia geographical data accessible through the Internet.

Utilizing our 30 station mobile computing lab, conference facilities at The University of Montana, a robust, interactive web presence, and remote teacher workshop capabilities, The Education Project reaches out to a wide educational audience and supports Lewis and Clark education programs across the country.

The Education Project explores landscape change and develops a variety of tools that assist educators in determining the cultural and ecological interactions inherent in this change. Comparing contemporary and historical interpretations of the trail provides a framework for the integration of remote sensing imagery, Geographic Information System (GIS), and Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies. Collectively, these new classroom technologies support interdisciplinary curricula and contextual documentation.

The Education Project aggregates geographical, historical, and ecological information, advanced technologies, and field-based interpretation. As a national resource for educators interested in the Lewis and Clark expedition, The Education Project pursues cooperative alliances with multiple Lewis and Clark programs across the country and facilities the important exchange of ideas and classroom resources across boundaries.

The National Lewis and Clark Education Project invites other organizations, institutions and peoples involved in preparations for the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial (2003-2006) to participate in this Lewis and Clark education cooperative. Working closely with private and public sector pioneers in technology and educational content, The Education Project serves a national constituency and seeks to enhance the spirit of collaboration shared by all parties participating in the commemoration of the "Corps of Discovery".

Clearly, this is a site devoted to keeping the history of this exploration alive and not forgotten. It also uses technology to give greater power and meaning to the information left to us by those who went before us.

A Field-Day For The MIce Among Us!

Just check out Fankhauser's Cheese Page! Put together by Professor David Fankhauser, Professor Biology and Chemistry, University of Cincinnati Clermont College, this site has information and pictures of all your favorite cheeses along with answers to your many questions about cheese (not to mention bacteria!).

And, if you've ever wanted to make your own cheese, the good professor has the recipe(s) for you!

Using Digital Technology To Help Tell Stories

There is a site devoted to....

developing large-scale projects for community, educational and business institutions using the methods and principles built around their Digital Storytelling Workshop. They also offer workshops for organizations and individuals, and provide a clearinghouse of information about resources on storytelling and new media

Based on the belief that we all have stories to tell, the Center For Digital Storytelling holds workshops training people on how to both tell their stories and listen to the stories other have to tell.

Seems like an extremely important activity in these days of harried, sped-up lives.

The Artist Rembrandt van Rijn -- National Gallery of Art Exhibit

A site that provides a wonderful opportunity to view twenty-two paintings by this master painter -- including being able to zoom in and out for a close look......even at brush strokes -- go to the National Gallery of Art's exhibit, Rembrandt's Late Religious Portraits.

The site introduction says:

The masterful work of Rembrandt van Rijn encompasses a wide variety of subject matter, and his paintings have been the focus of much critical inquiry during the past three centuries. His religious portraits painted in the late 1650s and early 1660s are the focus of this current exhibit offered by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Bringing together 22 of these portraits in one place, the exhibit contains half-length images of the Virgin, Christ, and unidentified saints and monks. The exhibit is nicely complemented by this fine online interactive feature which allows visitors to view (in exquisite detail) these provocative and highly emotional works of art. The built-in viewing device allows visitors the ability to focus in on the hand of the apostle Bartholomew and the expressive face of Rembrandt's rendering of Christ. The site is rounded out with a biographical essay on Rembrandt and a listing of other events related to the exhibit sponsored by the National Gallery of Art.

This site is not only highly recommended for its artistic content but also the effectiveness of its presentation using a great design and Flash animation.

Let's Not Forget Those Cowgirls!

Yes, there is a site dedicated to keeping alive the history and contributions of cowgirls to our land. Located in Fort Worth, Texas, the Cowgirl Hall of Fame whose mission is:

The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame is the only museum in the world dedicated to honoring women of the American West who have displayed extraordinary courage and pioneer spirit in their trail blazing efforts.

Since it was established in 1975, the Museum has become an invaluable educational resource nationally known for its exhibits, research library, rare photography collection, and the honorees in its Hall of Fame.

Yippeee!

Project Gutenberg

Another development spurred by the Internet is the increasing availability of eBooks. One of the oldest sites on the Internet making eBooks available is Project Gutenberg.

Their introduction says:

Project Gutenberg is the oldest producer of free electronic books (eBooks or etexts) on the Internet. Our collection of more than 13.000 eBooks was produced by hundreds of volunteers. Most of the Project Gutenberg eBooks are older literary works that are in the public domain in the United States. All may be freely downloaded and read, and redistributed for non-commercial use (for complete details, see the license page).

They do indeed have many books to choose from. Check it out!

Gorgeous Flora From My Own State

Washington State combines the green (some would say "damp") climate of the western half of the state (the rain courtesy of the moisture of the Pacific Ocean on the west and the barrier or the Cascade Mountains on the east) with the relatively arid eastern half of the state.

One outgrowth (so to speak) of this variety of climate is a wealth of beautiful flowers and plants.

The Burke Museum on the University of Washington campus has a wonderful photographic collections of the many indigenous plants in our state. Take a look.

Visit the WTU Image Collection: Plants of Washington.

Powerful Photography

Kodak has put together a collection of photographs by Charles Moore, a photojournalist for Life magazine almost 50 years ago. The site is called Powerful Days in Black and White

Largely in black and white, this is a powerful and important collection with many photos from the struggle against segregation in the late 50's and early 60's.

Pie In The Sky?

No question about it, the breadth of information out there on the 'net is extraordinarily varied (and sometimes plain bizarre!).

Not that bizarre maybe -- although I very rarely take a plane anywhere -- is the fact that there is a website devoted to, well, airline food.

In case you're curious about what passes as a meal on the commercial airlines in the early 2000's, go to Airline Meals.Net.

P.S. Oh, yes, they do have some pictures of airline meal service going back to the 50's. If you're wondering if things have changed, check out the Vintage Meal Pics and Ads From The Past.

Martin Luther King

As we approach the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King and the national celebration of his life, we are once again reminded of his sacrifices and many accomplishments.

A site from PBS called "Citizen King" is wonderful and gives particular focus to the last five years of Dr. King's life.

Great Performances Indeed

Make a visit to PBS's site for their on-going series, Great Performances. Over the years we have had the pleasure of being able to view a wealth of performances courtesy of this program on PBS.

Included here at the season's broadcast schedule in the realms of Musical Theatre, Opera on Film, Classical Music, Regional Performances, and more.

What a valuable cultural resource!

The View From The Satellite

The site, Our Earth As Art, presents beautiful photographs taken by the Landstat 7 satellite from all the continents.

Here is the introductory information:

The Earth as Art on-line gallery premiered in July 2002 and has been hugely popular. We are so glad that the beautiful satellite imagery of our planet has made such a huge impact.

The original Earth as Art images were from the Landsat 7 satellite, and were created by the USGS EROS Data Center to introduce the general public to the Landsat Program, which is administered jointly by USGS and NASA. Various combinations of the eight Landsat 7 spectral bands were selected to create the vivid RGB composites featured on this site.

In 2003, a second set of Earth as Art images was put together - this time using images from both Landsat 7 and the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) aboard the Terra Satellite. We have incorporated these images into our on-line gallery and hope you will enjoy them as much as the first set!

And the images are public domain!

The Diversity Of Our Earth's Critters

If you have any interest in biology or are just curious about the myriad of diversity in the "animal kingdom," take a visit at Animal Diversity Web.

To quote the summary by Internet Scout:

Online since 1995, the Animal Diversity Web is an online database of animal natural history, distribution, and classification sponsored by a very capable team of scholars at the University of Michigan. From the homepage, visitors can look through thousands of individual species accounts. Each account may include such features as extended descriptions, pictures of each species, and in some cases, recordings of sounds and short movies. One particularly nice feature of the site is that it effectively facilitates inquiry-driven learning through its innovative search tool. One very fun element of the site is the virtual museum which includes a number of representative photographs of various animal species, and several hundred virtual reality movies of skulls. This feature and the many other useful elements of the site provide a very thorough and well-thought out educational resource for students with a penchant for a host of disciplines ranging from biology to zoology.

Give it a gander!

A "Best Of 2004" Educational Site List

Education World continues its annual series of "best of" educational site lists with Education World Best of 2004.

Many fascinating and useful links here. Definitely worth multiple visits!

Celebrating The Not-So-Good

As the year winds down, and before I take a look at a "best of" site tomorrow, I thought I'd squeeze in a site the celebrates one of the manifestations of raspberries in our world. Raspberries? No, not the fruit. These raspberries are the inept, incompetent, and plain dumb movies (and not-so-great acting).

I think they're beginning to collect nominations for Razzies for 2004! Check out Razzies.com

Interested In Exploring?

Try the Exploratorium! Just about any subject area that interests you is represented here. Enjoy!

Relief Agencies For Tsunami Victims

In light of the horrendous loss of life and destruction caused by the tsunami in the Indian Ocean the day after Christmas, I urge you to click here to access a list of agencies dedicated to offering aid and assistance to those who are suffering.

Signs Of The Times -- Then And Now

Take a tour at the American Sign Museum. All kinds of signs -- neons, painted, you name it. This site has been created to honor and record the "history of the sign industry and its significant contribution to commerce and the American landscape."

Some of those signs do bring back the memories. Swing by if you have a sec.

Crush That Carbon!

Maybe 'cause my birthstone is the diamond, I've always had a little more than passing interest in that precious stone.

What I've never quite understood is how diamonds get formed. I mean I've known that the are formed by carbon that is compressed mightily for a long time, but the details of the process have been a mystery.

The PBS series Nature has a Flash-animated series on diamond formation. Click here for the scoop!

Wind Power

I can still remember the day I was driving in California, came up the crest of a hill, and came upon a clutch of modern windmills all over the mountainside. Since that day I've been intrigued with using the wind to create power, particularly to generate electricity.

Somewhat to my surprise, I've come across an organization whose missions it is to promote the use of wind....."a clean and renewable source of energy..."

Find all the "blow by blow" details at the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA)!

Fight Hate And Promote Tolerance

That is the principle on which Tolerance.Org sets its sights.

There hardly seems a better sentiment and goal at this time of the year for all of us to strive for. A project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, this is an organization with information and resources for all of us.

There is little doubt that everyone can use regular reminders to "fight hate and promote tolerance" in all of our actions, in all of our lives.

The Incredible Internet Guy (I guess there's another one)

"Ken Leebow has been in the computer business for more than 20 years. He has helped thousands of individuals and businesses understand and utilize the vast resources of the Internet."

I guess Ken has given himself this moniker. I've just come across his website so I'm unsure whether the title is deserved or not. His site is called: Incredible Internet Guy

Each week Ken picks a topic of interest (to him, I assume) and gathers resources that fit the theme. The week I first stopped by it was "digital photography."

In addition to an archive of previous topics, there are resources for teachers.

I'm going to have to make a lot more visits before I can figure out if Ken is indeed incredibly knowledgeable about things Internet, or simply not really very modest.

ECAI

The Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative (ECAI) seems to have some similiarities to the GIS work of ESRI (see my posts from the ESRI convention I attended last summer in San Diego). To quote their home page:

ECAI uses time and space to enhance understanding
and preservation of human culture.

This resource looks like another one well worth detailed exploration.

A Blogger's Code of Ethics

From CyberJournalist.net -- sponsored by the Media Center of the American Press Institute -- comes a blogger's "code of ethics".

Click here to view.

Learning A Foreign Language

Online resources are becoming more and more varied in what they offer. From the BBC, of all places, comes a website devoted to providing lessons in speaking a group of European languages (French, Spanish, German, Italian, and a smattering of Portugese and Greek).

The lessons seems simple enough and effectively presented. Whether or not you really can learning to speak one of those in three months or not, I don't know.

But if you're interested, visit BBC Languages.

An Hourly Snapshot of History

A fairly new website called "10 X 10" seeks to record history by displaying a collage of 100 pictures (10 X 10=100) that sum up what's happened in that previous hour.

You can click on any one of those hundred pictures and see an enlarged version of the photo plus related headlines that give details relevant to the event the photo records.

As the website says, sometimes these collages are serious and sometimes frivolous....but always fascinating. Start by going to 10 X 10: This is Now and the launch 10 X 10.

More Of Enlivening Our Past

Although I hope not an obsessive thread through my humble posts, but I bring to you another example of how the Internet is giving us greater and greater access to the past. The exciting thing, to me, is that what we're seeing more and more of are sites that not only retell history in words but bring that history to life with pictures, full-text of newspapers and other periodicals, and original documents.

A project of the Library of Congress called "Primary Documents in American History" is just one more example of this type of site. Although there will be future updates, at this writing this site offers us the ability to see original documents (in digitized form) of documents that take us back to watershed (or less earth-shaking) events in our history.

To quote the introduction of the site itself:

The Library of Congress is home to many of the most important documents in American history. This Web site provides links to materials digitized from the collections of the Library of Congress that supplement and enhance the study of these crucial documents.

The links at right highlight eras of American History. Each of these sections link to a list of important documents from that era. For each item...... there is a page with background information about the document, a list of links to digital materials concerning that document from the Library's site and elsewhere, and bibliographies both for general readers and for younger readers.

The initial release of this Web site contains documents from the years 1763 to 1877. Updates will be made on a regular basis, including the addition of documents from the 20th Century.

I spent some time reading the original Emancipation Declaration. It's impossible not to feel that sense of history in the making, even these many years afterward.

As a sample, you can also view the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Louisiana Purchase, Jefferson's Secret Message Regarding the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the Gettysburg Address, and many more.

Traveling From The Past

The Smithsonian has another terrific exhibit, this one covering the role of transportion. Visit America On The Move for great insights, photos, and historical records that show how we Americans got ourselves around our towns, our cities, and our nation. You'll enjoy the many historical view of the past and marvel at how much our modes of transport have changed.

Smelling Sensibly

Our sense of smell is often relegated to the backseat because humans tend to rely so much on their eyes. But we probably all realize that our sense of smell is crucially important, too. Things would taste extraordinarily bland without our sense of smell (just harken back to the last time your cold plugged you up -- not only was nose-breathing impossible but mealtimes were pretty boring because everything tasted the same: bland).

Believe it or not, there is a Sense of Smell Institute dedicated to disseminating information about our sense of smell and toward research. Don't forget that two Nobel winners this year were doing research on our "odorant receptors" and just how our olfactory sense works.

Well worth a visit.

A Glimpse Of The Past

The wonders of digitizing items from our history brings us many treasures. One site that helps us get a glimpse of how it was to live in the 1800-1900s is the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1841-1902. Although I grew up on the other coast, being able to view newspaper articles from those years -- 150 years back! -- is amazing. It's one way to try and "time travel" and see what daily life was like in our country in a time that has long gone.

Free Stuff Galore!

Check out TheFreeSite for a raft of items that are supposedly free for the asking. I've haven't taken a long look yet to see if there are any catches, but I wanted to make sure I had this as a resource.

I'm all for free stuff!

One Way To Recycle Those No-Longer-Needed Books

First begun as an elective course at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Building With Books has come a long way. They've garnered sponsors and receive donations of "disused" books from various groups in the Boston and/or MIT area.

If you've ever wondered what to do after you've weeded out all those long-unread (and/or the ones you're never going to get around to read in the first place) from your home library, this group of artists have a bunch of ideas that might inspire you.

I Want One Of Those, Dad!

The prospect of coming up with a holiday gift that will make the recipient bring both happiness and fun is daunting for all parents. One also hopes that it would be possible to find a gift that brings more than a "fun factor", as in providing stimulus to the imagination and, well, learning.

One struggle is to find the type of gift that is appropriate to the age of the child who will unwrap it. An article at StorkNet.com tries to help us out with this challenge.

Take a look at Mark A. Brandenburg's article, "Age-Appropriate Toys For Children" for a lot of useful tips.

World AIDS Day -- 2004

The headline at the World AIDS Day website about sums it up -- HIV Hasn't Gone Away. We cannot forget.

Scramjet-Powered --- Now That's Fast

NASA's X-43A project has the goal of flying an unmanned "scramjet-powered" experimental aircraft up to Mach 10.....that over 7,000 miles per hour.

The most recent record-setting flight by an X-43A was November 16, 2004. On this flight, the aircraft reached nearly Mach 9.8.

The website devoted to this NASA mission, and the development and testing of the X-43A, is available here.

You'll find a wide array of facts and figures along with video of the take-offs and flights. Cool.

Santa Needs This Web Page

ToySafety.net is a project of the National Association of State Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs). Here you'll find resources about 1) consumer tips to help parents choose appropriate and safe toys; 2) lists of potentially unsafe toys; and 3) annual reports and findings of the group (this year's version: Trouble In Toyland: The 19th Annual Survey of Toy Safety -- fully downloadable as a .pdf)

Information every Santa (and Santa friend) should know!

Science -- Up To The Minute

If tracking the newest and best in Science keeps you on the edge of your seat, consider making ScienceDaily Magazine the homepage of your browser.

Here's a place that keeps track of the news in science (it's updated every 15 minutes) and provides you the links you need to stay on the cutting edge of scientific discoveries.

You'll be one of the first to know!

All You Ever Needed To Know About Christmas Trees

I know that by posting this today, I'm probably contributing to the seeming earlier and earlier onset of Christmas-related information, advertising, music, etc., etc., etc., before Turkey Day. But I thought this information might be helpful as the time nears when so many of us make the trek out to local lots or local mountain sides to pick out the family tree.

From the University of Illinois Extension comes a web site dedicated to "all you need to know about Christmas trees."

Try Christmas Tree Facts & More. 'Tis the Season!

Plimoth Plantation

Yes, that's apparently how it was originally spelled. Now known as Plymouth, Plimoth Plantation is a recreation of the settlement in Plymouth back in the days of the first colonists who braved the sea voyage and made their way to the new land.

You can visit a replica of the Mayflower and walk into a village that takes you back to 1627. People dressed in costumes of the period will great you and help you get a glimpse into the life of those early immigrants to our shores.

Plimoth Plantation also has some online activities that are interesting. With our own 2004 version of Thanksgiving right around the corner, go to the You Are The Historian site which will take you back to the first Thanksgiving and where you can meet some of the settlers and the Wampanoag people. Learn of the culture of both and even speculate about what food was eaten and what games the kids played.

The Narrows Bridge Came Tumbling Down

As someone who grew up in Tacoma, WA, the suspension bridge associated with my hometown -- The Narrows Bridge -- was something I held in awe. We traveled that bridge often. It seemed so huge, carrying us at such a height over the water below, and its towers and cables seemed so enormous. Like the Golden Gate (which we usually felt was somehow inferior to our own bridge), some people took their life by leaping off the bridge and into the chilly, fatal water.

The Narrows Bridge was also notorious, of course, because the original version, referred to at the time as "Galloping Gertie" because it tended to move when the wind rose, completely fell apart during a storm. The date was November 7, 1940. By 1950 the bridge I knew was finished and cars were once again able to cross the waterway.

Assembled by the University of Washington Library, there is an online exhibition that retells the story of that original bridge with pictures and historical information. You can see the rebuilding effort, too.

For a "blast" from the past, visit History of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

Clinton Presidential Center and Library

Former President Clinton's Presidential Library and Center opens its doors to the public today with a dedication ceremony. In attendance, aside, of course, from Senator Hilary Rodham Clinton, were the current President Bush, the former President H.W. Bush, former President Carter, and the guest of honor, President Clinton.

I have not explored the online presence of Mr. Clinton's new facility, but the potential is there to access many items from his years as president. My understanding is that he has decided to make a number of documents from his administration public long before they are required to be made available.