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Newsletter 2/15/2009
Today is the greatest day in US sports of the year. The 51st running of the Daytona 500 NASCAR race. I am trying to finish this before the race starts but I expect it will have to wait until it is over because I have some real cool stuff for the rest of this newsletter. (a few hours later) The race is over and it ended with a rainout. http://www.nascar.com/ Real bummer. Now back to the cool stuff.
Wired Science has links to some amazing videos on YouTube. These videos cover animals, marine, chemistry, and other. Take a few minutes and watch these videos.
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/03/top-10-amazing.html#previouspost (chemistry videos)
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/12/top-10-incredib.html#previouspost (animal videos)
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/09/top-10-amazing.html#previouspost (physics videos)
Since we mentioned videos from YouTube, why not view them in high resolution? You can just Go to Google.com, type your search phrase and append the following parameters in your search query. site:youtube.com “watch in normal quality watch in high quality”. Your results we show only videos that can be seen in high quality.
Continuing with the science theme for a while, Technology Review covers all the latest happenings and discoveries in the world of science. From the staff at MIT what else would you expect. For example I just read about using lasers to heal wounds and surgery incisions.
The following is a link to the video describing this procedure. Simply amazing.
http://www.technologyreview.com/video/?vid=246
ABC news has an podcast site the has a recap of all the interesting news of the day, and current week. It also covers tech stuff, politics, health and science, entertainment, plus their list of featured podcasts. Actually it is worth the trip to watch these podcasts, especially if you are interested in any of the categories mentioned.
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Podcasting
I usually go the flickr.com at least a few times a week to look for pictures related to what I am currently working on for a future project. I need a better way to search Flickr.com than using their search engine. Well I found a web site called ‘compflight’ that does exactly this. The results are fast and very accurate based upon what I give it for search criteria. The results are shown in thumbnails and you can click each for the full size version.
http://www.compfight.com
Have you ever wondered how many people in each state have the same surname? How about common names or some very unique name. This site shows how many people and what states they are located in a nice graphical picture of the US. Totals for each state are also listed plus some variations on the name entered. Take a look.
http://www.dynastree.com/maps
When I go shopping on Amazon I like to read the reviews to see what others say about a product before I make a purchase. There is this web site called Pickii that only show the products in the categories you select based upon the reviews posted. Therefore by using Pickii your results will be only the best products in your selected category. This is good if you are just browsing and don’t have a particular brand name or specific product in mind.
http://pickii.com
SemantalyzR is a tool for analyzing web pages for keywords. Use its page analysis to find keyword links to custom search results pages that search multiple services at once for that keyword. The above is from their web site but it really doesn’t tell the whole story and what you really get.
This is a search tools that searches and compares the search results from multiple search engines and multiple databases to show you the aggregated results on an easy to navigate web page. Great site for getting exact results without a lot of extra stuff that is not relevant.
http://semantalyzr.com
Did you know that the first novel ever written on a typewriter was Tom Sawyer?
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Newsletter 2/08/2009
Do you need to access or fill out in federal government forms? If so the following web site has just about every government fore know to man and I might add you will have to do some searching to find the exact form you need. It still is the best place to get a government form when you need it. With the new democratic spending bill about to pass I expect many more forms to show up at this site.
http://www.forms.gov/bgfPortal/main.do
“FedMoney.org is the most comprehensive FREE full-text online resource on all U.S. government grants and student financial aid programs. Here you will find detailed and up-to-date information about (1) who can apply, (2) how to apply, (3) full contact info, and much more… for over 130 government grants and loans (scholarships, fellowships, traineeships) related to education!” OK, so that is the quote from their web site. Actually it is correct, check it out if you need some government education money.
http://www.fedmoney.org
If you need to prove a point or just get surveys or reports on just about anything imaginable, the Pew Research Center is a good place to start. They are quoted daily in the news, on TV , radio, and just about everywhere. Does that make the data they have accurate and to the point? I am not qualified to say, but many people trust their research and I guess I do too. So jump over to their site and check out some research.
“The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press is an independent, non-partisan public opinion research organization that studies attitudes toward politics, the press and public policy issues. In this role it serves as a valuable information resource for political leaders, journalists, scholars and citizens.
The Center conducts regular monthly polls on politics and major policy issues as well as the News Interest Index, a weekly survey aimed at gauging the public’s interest in and reaction to major news events. Shorter commentaries are produced on a regular basis addressing the issues of the day from a public opinion perspective. In addition, the Center periodically fields major surveys on the news media, social issues and international affairs.” (quote from their web site)
http://people=press.org
This Web site, owned by Pew Research is staffed entirely by professional journalists, and was originally envisioned primarily as a resource for newsmen and newswomen who cover state government. Many state officials, students of state government and ordinary citizens who want to keep track of what’s going on in their state capitol and in other states throughout the country us this site daily. This is another feature of the Pew Research Center and is based in Washington, DC.
http://www.stateline.org/live
When you are traveling or doing research on daily events and would like to get a quick synopsis of what is happening around the country, the Newseum is the place to go. It has the front pages of over 500 newspapers from around the world. Take a quick look or expand the page to read the articles. This may also be a good bookmark for researching daily event across the country.
http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages
The Exploratorium was one of the first science museums to build a site on the World Wide Web. Their site now contains over 18 thousand award-winning Web pages exploring hundreds of different topics. They may be one of the most visited museum Web sites in the world. If you enjoy reading about science or a curious type person, plan to spend some time visiting this site.
http://www.exploratorium.edu
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Newsletter 01/25/2009
Do you prefer to do most of your repair work, projects, tinkering, etc yourself? If so the next few links will be of great news.
“DoItYourself.com is the Internet’s largest open resource of home improvement and repair information. This site was created to help home owners tackle the toughest of home repair projects all on their own. There are thousands of easy how-to articles that help guide you from start to finish. We also feature a variety of home improvement projects, along with faqs, tips, and interactive demonstrations.”
http://www.doityourself.com
If the above fits you to a T, then you are probably familiar with the DIY Channel on TV. If not you should be. The link below is to their excellent web site with all the stuff you have seen on TV plus much more. Now you can watch many of the episodes online at the web site. One more thing, be sure to go to the cool tools section.
http://www.diynetwork.com
Since we are repairing stuff, fixing stuff, making stuff, and trying to keep stuff, we need to know how all the stuff we have or wish we had works. You can fix it, repair it, without knowing how it works. So spend some time here just finding out how stuff works.
http://www.howstuffworks.com
Now we need some cool tools to use with all our new found knowledge. Check out the following site for some must have tools.
The coolest clamp for your workshop.
http://besseytools.com/products/wood/VarioClippix.php
I am always in and around cars and usually need some type of charger. Amazon.com has this very useful charger.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000PB8CQI/ref=nosim/kkorg-20
Ok, guys you have to visit the site. It has just about every type of hardware supply know to man. Almost as good as the Sears Craftsman catalog.
http://www.buyhardwaresupplies.com/hardware_supplies.cfm
