Monday, October 30, 2006

Craigslist--Free Classified Ads


Site Category: Free classified ads


Features:

Free classified ads in several categories: Items for sale, Personals, Services, Gigs, Jobs, Resumes, and Housing

Includes 300+ local websites covering Canada, the U.S., and many other countries

Fact sheet outlining the history of the site, traffic statistics, and mission statement

Discussion forums—50+ topics

Guide re avoiding scams and fraud, including sample fraudulent e-mails


Check out the site: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/

VeloNews--Competitive Cycling News


This is the website for the magazine, VeloNews: The Journal of Competitive Cycling.

Some features:

News articles covering races: international and domestic road, mountain biking, cyclo-cross, and track

VeloNews TV: video coverage of races, interviews with high-profile athletes

Forum: cycling enthusiasts start or join conversation threads on various cycling topics

Velogear Store: cycling gear and accessories

Rider diaries: competitors file reports describing their progress in various races

Tech section: videos and discussions on the finer points of cycling gear

News: cycling events, instructional videos, industry announcements, product alerts

Photo gallery: images from various cycling events

Classifieds: buy and sell cycling gear/accessories

Check out the site: http://www.velonews.com/
Here's a link for a Kingston, Ontario bike shop: http://www.gearsandgrinds.com/

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Home renovation in real time



Watch a home being renovated in real time on the RenoTube site. Contribute your design suggestions as the work is done. You’ll enjoy watching these two guys in action, especially if you are considering do-it-yourself remodeling in your own home.

Watch their dog, Stella, who has her own webcam.

Take a virtual tour of the house and see the “before” and “after” pictures.

Link: http://www.renotube.com/



Saturday, October 21, 2006

Mindless Eating--Why we eat too much




  • Creator: Brian Wansink, PhD, director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab


  • Photo preview of his new book, Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think


  • List of Dr. Wansink’s most popular published articles on nutrition and marketing


  • Questions and Answers related to his new book


  • Teacher resource section featuring printable lesson plan handouts describing in-class activities for health, marketing, nutrition, and marketing classes


  • Free newsletter sign-up available


  • Information on registration for free Consumer Camp held annually on the Cornell campus in Ithaca, NY


  • Author’s blog

Check out the site: http://mindlesseating.org/

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Visual Thesaurus--Synonyms and Antonyms

This dictionary and thesaurus site is a valuable tool for writers. Many professional writers and educators subscribe to the site because of its interactive, intuitive visual interface. By focusing on the relationships between words and their meanings, a writer will be better able to find the precise word for a particular context. The site features a demo which allows you try the process. Audio pronunciation of words is available on the site. Both desktop and online versions are available, and subscription is reasonably priced.

The site also contains magazine articles on topics of interest to writers and educators. One section of the magazine, aptly titled “Department of word lists”, features the jargon specific to various topics, e.g. “golf”. A sports writer covering a golf story would have all the right terms close at hand.

Check it out: http://www.visualthesaurus.com/

Here is a free , non-visual site which features audio pronunciation of words:

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/

Friday, October 13, 2006

The End of Suffering--Healthy Retirement


This website relates to the book titled The End of Suffering, written by Russell Targ and J.J. Hurtak. Russell Targ, a physicist and psychical researcher, worked at the Lockheed Martin Corporation. He observed that many of the engineers who worked for the company died soon after retirement. He concluded that these men identified with the job and, upon retirement, lost purpose and meaning in life. This same phenomenon has claimed the lives of a number of superstars, including Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley, who allowed their fans to define their identities, and plunged into deep depression. The site answers many questions about how the book may help people discover who they really are and achieve genuine happiness. As a recent retiree, I’ll be looking for this book at my local book store.

Link to the site: http://www.theendofsuffering.org/index.html

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Truth or Fiction--Internet rumors



This site, called TruthOrFiction.com will help you sort the real from the bogus emails received from friends in the form of “forwards”. One email (pictured above) circulated on the Internet warns about a cell phone virus which could attack your phone. Another might tell a shocking story which turns out to be pure fiction.

You find information on the site by clicking on a general category or inserting a brief description of the topic in a search box. There are hundreds of entertaining explanations of Internet rumors. If you sign up as a subscriber, you’ll receive emails describing and evaluating current rumors.

Check out the site: www.truthorfiction.com

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Storyline Online--Storytelling for kids



This site is an excellent resource for parents, teachers, and child-care providers alike. It features various members of the Screen Actors Guild Foundation reading children’s stories in streaming video. As the narrator reads the story, images of scenes from the story are depicted on a screen, helping to focus attention and heighten interest.

One of 17 stories featured on the site is White Shoes, depicting the courage of a young black girl in the face of the prejudice and discrimination which occurred several years ago in the southern part of the U.S. Other story titles include: Romeow and Drooliet, Enemy Pie, Dad, Are You The Tooth Fairy? Me And My Cat, and The Polar Express.

Operating the site may require the free download of a small program called Flash Player, a plug-in from Macromedia.com. You probably already have this on your computer if you have ever watched Internet videos. The home page has a place at the bottom to click on to begin the download if you need it.

There’s also an activity guide, in PDF format (most computers can read it) for the story you select, containing questions for discussion, project and research ideas.

Check out the site: http://www.bookpals.net/storyline/