Sunday, August 30, 2009

The Internet Safety Wiki

The Internet Safety Wiki is described on their Website as follows:
How Does the Wiki Work? Want to find out what Twitter is all about? Not sure exactly what "sexting" is? We recommend that you start by typing a word or phrase into the search bar. From the initial page on any given topic--cyberbullying, spyware, Facebook, you name it--you'll be taken to a concise definition of the term with a brief explanation of the associated dangers. Most importantly, you'll find tips, suggestions, and guidelines for keeping your kids safe from the risks associated with each technology term. In the wiki, you'll find articles on more technical topics like viruses , but you'll also find information on the common websites your child may visit and talk about, such as YouTube, Facebook, or Pandora. Basically, you've arrived at a one-stop shop for all of your family's Internet safety needs.

If you are at all paranoid about the Internet, this site will keep you awake at night worrying.

Sculpture on the head of a pin

Since I am so uncoordinated and my hands shake, I really appreciate people who can do very small things that require a lot of manual dexterity. Here is a modern example of the old tradition of minature sculptures. Link to sculpture gallery.

The artist is Willard Wigan. His work can be seen at the My Little Eye Gallery in London, across from the British Museum.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

If I had a favorite...

It would include:



Not that it matters to anyone but me.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Collection of online resources for astronomers


Cnet News Webware had a recent article outlining several online resources aimed at the amateur astronomer (their characterization). In fact, there are a huge number of online resources, some of which can hardly be called amateur.

Interestingly, the list did not refer you to Astronomy.com, the Website for the Astronomy magazine. This site has news, video, blogs, podcasts, forums and a store. It also has a full star chart both free and a paid-for advanced.

The Astronomy Picture of the Day, from NASA. The site indicates that you can "Link to our main NASA site: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html. This main site is the first to update and the most likely to be up-to-date. (Here is an automatic backgrounder program for Windows that accesses the main site.)"

What about Sky and Telescope, another online Website from an old astronomy magazine.

The list could go on and on and probably will in future posts.