Thursday, November 15, 2007

New Links on our web for the week of November 15, 2007 Books and Reading What Should I Read Next "Enter a book you like and the site will analyse our database of real readers' favourite books (over 32,000 and growing) to suggest what you could read next." (DS) Computers and Internet Webmaster Resources "The man behind the BoogieJack website is Dennis Gaskill, and he's been serving up compelling pieces of web design wisdom on this site since 1997. On the homepage, he invites the curious visitor to "Look around, make yourself at home". It's a fine idea, especially considering that the site contains a number of helpful HTML tutorials, cascading style sheets (CSS) tutorials, and a selection of free web graphics. While the site doesn't have an embedded search engine, visitors can scroll up and down through the homepage to locate the instructional materials they desire. In the "HTML Tutorials" area, visitors will find several dozen short overviews that cover topics like tag attributes, line breaks, headings, and of course, CSS. Additionally, visitors can sign up to receive his ezine "Almost a Newsletter", which comes out several times a month." (SR) Genealogy and History Tribal Junction"Create your family tree, automatically connect to trees of other relatives, and see how your world is connected!" Government, Elections, and Law State prisoner locator tools a listing of states that allow searching for prisoners, with links to the search tools. US Congress Member Guide "The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) has created a one stop website with easy searchable information on all Members of Congress. A simple click will bring the user to a picture and biography of any current member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. This information previously was available in separate databases, but now can be accessed from one central point. GPO worked closely with the Joint Committee on Printing (JCP), Clerk of the House and Secretary of Senate on the design and usability of this website." (RT) Health Lupus Online Support Group"A community of patients, family members and friends dedicated to dealing with Lupus, together." Homework Cool Science Projects "Do you have a hobby? Do you enjoy doing something? If you do (and I'm sure there is something you really enjoy), then you already have an idea for a project - you just don't know it yet " Begin at Ideas for some insight on how to turn your hobby into a science project. For more concrete suggestions ("Why does a prism create a rainbow pattern of light?") jump ahead to the grade-level idea pages." (STN) Leisure Chordbook.com: Guitar Chords "One can't be sure what Duane Eddy or Andres Segovia might think of this interactive guide to guitar chords, but hopefully they would approve. Offered up by Chordbook.com, this online guitar chord primer takes novice and experienced guitar players through all sorts of chord variations and possibilities. Visitors can start by looking over the "Help" below the virtual guitar, as it goes over how to turn the capo on and off, tuning settings, and how to store favorite chords via the "My Chords" feature. The interactive guitar is quite easy to use, and visitors will want to recommend this site to friends, colleagues, and other musicians." (SR) Reference Desk Festival of Maps Chicago: A city wide celebration of humanity's greatest discoveries and the maps that record our boldest explorations. Yale University Library: The Map Collection "Traveling from the world of New Haven in 1886 to early cartographic interpretations of the coast of West Africa has never been easier with this lovely site created by the Yale University Map Library. Like many large universities, Yale has a wide-ranging map collection that spans centuries and continents. First-time visitors to the site can browse through sections that include "Maps of the World", "Maps of the Western Hemisphere", "Maps of North America", "Maps Relating to the Silk Road", and "Maps of Africa". Each section contains anywhere from ten to thirty maps, and visitors browsing through with Internet Explorer or Safari can take advantage of the LizardTech ExpressView plugin for detailed viewing. The site is rounded out with contact information for those seeking additional information about the collection." (SR) Teacher Resources Teaching Science: Lab Safety "Before entering the world of pipettes and Geiger counters, budding scientists will need to know about lab safety. Science educators will benefit from this laboratory safety site, developed by Professor Norman Herr, who teaches at California State University, Northridge. On his site, Professor Herr provides topically organized links that fall into the areas of safety standards, chemical hazards, chemical storage, and five other relevant topics. Within each section, visitors will find links to state safety standards, sample laboratory safety contracts, and fact sheets on chemical hazards. One potentially delightful classroom activity is the laboratory safety “scavenger hunt”. Through this activity, students will learn about storage requirements, chemical risks, and other potential delicate matters." (SR) 3:18:00 PM     Techie Toys Chech out Download Squad's review of What Should I Read Next, a web service that helps you decide what to read next based on books you like. 9:19:34 AM     Michigan Government Info The Red Tape Blog has information on the Be Winterwise Web Site that the State of Michigan has recently updated. The website has lots of information on ways to lower heating bills and information to help people with their bills. 8:55:18 AM

© Copyright 2008 Jocelyn Shaw. Last update: 11/18/2008; 2:38:53 PM. Photo curtesy of Marjorie O'Brien