Chemistry Helpers
Chemicool Periodic Table - A colorful reference to the elements for all levels of chemistry students. There are also online calculators for Unit Conversions and Ideal Gas.
Chemistry Coach - This high school teacher really gets into the wonders of chemistry. He created this website for his students - deceptively simple but very deep.
EnvironmentalChemistry.com - This site provides chemistry, environmental and hazardous materials educational resources including a detailed periodic table of elements; articles on chemistry, environmental and hazardous materials issues; a geologic timeline; and more.

English Helpers
The On-Line Books Page - The full text of more than 7,000 volumes, from Henry Adams to Emile Zola.
The Elements of Style - The classic guide to effective prose for writers.
Writing Research Papers - Purdue University's Online Writing Lab has put together a step-by-step guide for writing research papers - from the outline to the index.

Geography Helpers
Atlapedia Online - Select Countries A to Z, World Maps, or Class Resources.
CAPITALS.COM - CIA information from around the world - geography, people, government, economy, communications, transportation, and military.
Merriam-Webster's Atlas - Select a county or select a state. Very basic information but good for locating newer and/or geographically small countries.

History Helpers
Celebrate Freedom Week with Technology - a recommended web site for "Celebrate Freedom Week" during the last full week of September as mandated by The Texas Legislature.
Handbook of Texas Online - The Handbook of Texas Online is an encyclopedia of Texas history, geography, and culture. It has articles on people, places, events, historical themes, institutions, and a host of other topic categories.
History Wizard - the internet source for history - for the lovers, students and teachers of history.  Organized by TIME period, by REGION, and by type of RESOURCE.  Use the menus or search the site.  Ask the Wizard!
HyperHistory Online - presents 3000 years of world history with a combination of colorful graphics, lifelines, timelines, and maps. The date of 1000 BC was chosen as the beginning of the main part of Hyperhistory because at around that time four very distinctive civilized traditions began to take shape in Greece, the Middle East, India and China.
Mariners' Museum - the on-line curriculum guide addresses maritime discovery from ancient times to Captain Cook's 1768 voyage to the South Pacific, accessible by MENU or TIMELINE.
Mr. Jenkins History Links - Your homework problems will be history once you see what Mr. Jenkins has put together for his students - links to useful sites on U.S. and foreign history topics.
TEA Social Studies Center - a recommended web site for "Celebrate Freedom Week" during the last full week of September as mandated by The Texas Legislature.
Texas Indians - a web site written for kids in the fourth to eighth grades, started by a teacher/researcher in response to many questions from kids over the Internet. Great articles on specific tribes, projects, crafts, and recipes online.
TIME - for Kids - news features; games; magazines; a learning center called the Tool Box with Calculators, fun facts and more; an Explore center to learn more about our world; and opportunities to give your own opinions about the things that are on your mind.

Internet Search
Kids Click! - Serious searching - check out this link for lessons and activities to help you learn internet searching skills.
Yahooligans - The WEB Guide for Kids - news, activities, games, and internet searching.

Math Helpers
Fun Mathmatics Lessons - by Cynthia Lanius. A Fractal Geometry Unit, Polyominoes, Mathmatics of Cartography, Dueling Pinwheels, and others for Elementary & Middle School Students (that adults are free to enjoy). Every lesson has a print version for classroom use.
S.O.S. Math - Help with algebra, trig, differential equations, calculus and other mysteries, compliments of the University of Texas-El Paso.
The Math Forum Student Center - This site is as elegant as a balanced equation, with information geared to students from elementary to graduate school. Visit chat rooms, where students solve problems together.

Nature Helpers
Insects on the Web - the fascinating stories of insects and the roles they play in our lives.  Cultural entomology, insect macrophotography, educational resources and links to other web sites.
Mineral and Gemstone Kingdom - a free, interactive, educational guide to minerals and gemstones with content geared for both amateurs and experts that is constantly updated.  The reader can also interact with the author via email.

Vocabulary Helpers
Dictionary.com - look up the definition for your word, run a thesaurus evaluation, or conduct a Web search. This site includes words, grammar, language, and other dictionaries.
Wordsmythe English Dictionary-Thesaurus - based on a frequency analysis, includes the 2000 words appearing most frequently on S.A.T. test. Free, download a full HTML copy to your PC.
Acronictionary ™ Search Engine - Acronyms are popular in engineering and technical fields as they allowed complex concepts to be expressed quickly and accurately. Acronyms also tend to confuse or obscure the real definition of the concept being discussed when the acronym is not known or explained. This is where Acronictionary(tm) comes in.

Back to Index

CHOOSING A CAREER:

Books
- Support the Johnson City Library!  Amazon.com contributes a percentage of your book purchase amount to the Johnson City Library when you enter through this special link.
BookBrowser.com - is a neat site for book lovers. Along with reviews there are lists of specific types of books such as mysteries and series in order. The books mentioned are all fiction.  One fun page in the site is the listing of fiction authors and their pseudonyms, some of our favorite authors write under a number of different names.
Little Chili Peppers - Spanish and bilingual children's books including board books, traditional Hispanic nursery rhymes, songs, folktales, audiobooks, videos (Tarzan!), educational software and more. Spanish immersion materials and resources for beginners and advanced speakers.
The Mystery Reader - contains hundreds of  book reviews for your mystery reading pleasure, features, author interviews and much more.
The Romance Reader - contains hundreds of  book reviews for your romance reading pleasure, features, author interviews and much more.

eCards
Action Cat - Postcards and More - animal theme site with free electronic greeting cards featuring all kinds of pets but especially cats. Categories include United We Stand, Occasions & Events, Every Day Greetings, Any Time or Reason, Dogs and other pets, Cheer and Support, Lucky Cats, Wild Animals, Spot of Star Trek, etc. Quirky and fun.
Blue Mountain Arts - contains a wide variety of  electronic greeting cards. Extensive categories. Languages include Italian, French, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese. A few of the cards are free. The best ones are by subscription.
Hallmark eCards - contains a great assortment of  free electronic greeting cards. Send the e-card immediately or on the day you select, up to one year in advance. Send one e-card to up to 50 recipients at a time.
TravelTex: Texas it's Like a Whole Other Country - Click on the Postcards tab for free Texas electronic greeting cards with themes featuring wildflowers, history, sunsets, wildlife, landscapes, birds, golf, beaches, and all areas of the state including the Hill Country. Tambien Espanol.

Education
At Home In America - a publication of Homeschool Associates that is devoted to promoting homeschooling. The reality is that when you use the resources available in the community, there are very few educational limitations. The parent doesn't need to know it -- the parent needs to know how to find it. That's homeschooling. Subscribe to the free newsletter - Textbook-News.
Atomic Dog Publishing - a new higher education publishing company specializing in developing course content that takes advantage of the interactive nature of the Internet, as well as the classic structure of print. Using today's technology to provide a real-time educational resource, Atomic Dog incorporates online content delivery, integrated media resources, and print.
BBC Online Education - Get Equipped for Life!  The British Broadcasting Company offers a free education program. Learn Spanish, French, German, Italian, English, History, and/or Nature. There are resources for adult, primary, and secondary education levels.
Between the Lions - weekly sets of related reading activities from PBS for home, literacy workshops, home school, and classroom. The subject matter targets the 4-7 year level but is useful for literacy development for all beginners. Lesson plans and materials are to be presented to the reader by a mentor, teacher, caregiver, friend, or older sibling.
Camp Rena - Recreation Leadership Resources - the ultimate collection of recreation basics for children. Some are free, others modestly priced, content rich and worth a look.
Discover Magazine - contains science news and articles online, TV schedule for features on the Discovery channel, an Educator's Guide, and the opportunity to nominate someone for an Award for Technological Innovation.
Dyslexia Magazine Online - offering new perspectives on dyslexia - articles and book reviews describing various approaches to understanding dyslexia; also links to education, software, and various other online dyslexia resources.
First Flight A virtual flight school providing online flying lessons and information about private pilot training.
FleetKids - is about encouraging learning through inquiry and getting kids started out on the path to working hard, saving, and investing and giving something back to the people who helped out when you needed it.  In the FleetKids program, each child investigates an array of mathematic, financial, and social concepts, including: Setting goals, Saving and budgeting, Balancing "needs" and "wants" and Learning to work with teams developing solutions.
Helping Your Child Become a Reader - with activities from infancy through age six. This electronic book is part of a series aimed at helping families participate in their children's learning. It is in the public domain and authorization to reproduce it in whole or in part for educational purposes is granted.
ICONnect - offers a variety of free online courses designed for different levels of ability in using the Internet. Designed specifically for school library media specialists, teachers and students, they can also be used as building blocks for developing your own Internet Workshops in your school.
Jigsaw Classroom - a cooperative learning technique that reduces racial conflict among school children, promotes better learning, improves student motivation, and increases enjoyment of the learning experience. The jigsaw technique was first developed in the early 1970s by Elliot Aronson and his students at the University of Texas and the University of California. The jigsaw approach is considered to be a particularly valuable tool in averting tragic events such as the Columbine massacre.
Kid's Money - books, games, and activities for parents and kids teaching money skills and management. Kids' Money is the start of an effort to bring parenting skills to bear on fostering responsible money management habits in children. References on allowances, investing, making money, saving, spending and borrowing.
Mariners' Museum - the on-line curriculum guide addresses maritime discovery from ancient times to Captain Cook's 1768 voyage to the South Pacific, accessible by MENU or TIMELINE.
Mike's Collection of Nursery Rhymes - full text of over 500 classic nursery rhymes indexed alphabetically and by subject.
Mineral and Gemstone Kingdom - a free, interactive, educational guide to minerals and gemstones with content geared for both amateurs and experts that is constantly updated.  The reader can also interact with the author via email.
Mojo's Musical Mouseum - a comprehensive list of classic kid's songs indexed alphabetically and by topic; many include directions for accompaning actions (clapping, etc.); search by lyrics if you don't know the title; check their links page for other education sites.
PhysLINK - The Ultimate Physics Resource - is a physics, astronomy and engineering reference & education site for students, high school through graduate school, and educators. Features include reference, ask questions, forums, quotations, and online logical and scientific calculators.
Science U - is a web site devoted to science, education, and fun! Filled with interactive exhibits, online simulations, graphics software, and a library of reference materials, it's guaranteed to make science come alive in new and exciting ways! Try the Observatory featuring Eclipses and The Orrery Sky (select your position, date/time, % of sky, direction, grid).
Shakespeare and the Internet - is a a complete annotated guide to the scholarly Shakespeare resources available on Internet. Also presenting new Shakespeare material unavailable elsewhere on the Internet.
Texas Indians - a web site containing material for kids in the fourth to eighth grades, written by a teacher/researcher in response to many questions from kids over the Internet. Expanded to include a curriculum guide correlated to Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills. It has projects, crafts, articles on specific tribes, and recipes all online.
TravLang - Your Travel and Language Supersite - is a travel service featuring Foreign Language for Travelers - useful travel phrases in over 70 languages. Use their Translating Dictionaries online or download Ergane (free) to your PC. The site includes Currency Exchange Rates with an interactive conversion program, exchange rate history, and notes and images for each currency.
WUSM Division of Biostatistics - at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO. Their mission is to help researchers analyze and focus investigations in Cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's. Online HELP manual for the statistics program, SAS, is very detailed.

Environment
American Wind Energy Association - provides information regarding all sizes of wind energy systems. The Small Wind - State-by-State section provides specifics on buying and installing a small wind turbine suitable for home use. Publications, News, FAQs, Events, Standards and Technical Information, you'll find it all here.
Backyard Wildlife Habitat - a porch or balcony with plants for butterflies can be a habitat! You may already be providing some habitat for local wildlife. Conserving resources will not only help the wildlife but will help improve your community's environment. Get details on how you can become certified in the National Wildlife Federation's Backyard Wildlife Habitat program.
Computer Recycling - Share the Technology - A simple solution for anyone with equipment they no longer need is to pass it along as soon as possible to a charity or school which could put it to use. Our National Computer Donation Database is a way to connect donors with nonprofit organizations seeking donations throughout the country. No matter where you are, there may be a charity near you which could use your computer.
Ecology Action - Recycle Texas! - Provides a directory of recycle locations and materials accepted (in Austin and North, South, and West of Austin). In addition to operating recycling centers and conducting a work adjustment training program for the Texas School for the Deaf and the Texas Youth Commission, Ecology Action provides community education about solid waste and other environmental issues.
Environmental Building News - Your Guide to Building Green. "Green building" is a loosely defined collection of land-use, building design, and construction strategies that reduce environmental impacts. This site will help you set priorities, create a checklist, and plan a budget. Presentations on the latest in materials, zoning considerations, energy, water, and continuing economic impact for home and/or business construction.
Fuel Economy Site - Protect the environment, conserve resources for future generations, reduce oil imports, and save money by using the Fuel Economy Guide to evaluate, compare, and select your car. You may download and view/print the guide or hard copies printed on recycled paper may be acquired from the National Alternative Fuels Hotline at 1-800-423-1363.
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - located at 4801 LaCrosse Avenue in Southwest Austin. Admission to the Wildflower Center is $7.00 for adults and $5.00 for children 5 - 12, with children under 5 admitted free. The Web site is worth a visit, it's colorful and easy to get around and filled with information on native plants, publications, and upcoming events.
Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch - This restuarant supports sustainable fisheries. They've developed a list of seafood products that they will currently buy and others that they won't buy. View/download the Seafood Watch Chart. The list is updated as new information becomes available.
Nature Serve Source for authoritative conservation information on more than 50,000 plants, animals, and ecological communities of the United States and Canada.  You can easily search NatureServe to find: scientific and common names, conservation status, distribution maps and life histories, and conservation needs.
Texas Center for Policy Studies - offers a wealth of easy-to-understand, current information on the environment in Texas and in your local community.  Get an explanation of key issues, and access a wide variety of on-line environmental data and maps.  Quite interesting, especially if you are curious about the water situation.
South Central Partnership for Environmental Technology Education - SC PETE is dedicated to providing leadership in environmental education and training through community and technical college partnerships with business, industry, government, and other education providers. They have a catalogue of books, videos, software, and other instructional materials including Garbage the Game. The ATEEC Fellows program that is funded through the National Science Foundation and held each year in partnership with University of Northern Iowa is only one of their offerings.

Family
ALFY - the Web Portal for Kids was developed so that for the first time ever 3-9 year olds could safely and easily experience everything the cyber world has to offer. ALFY Shield is a downloadable, free, filtering software to protect kids from coming into contact with inappropriate content. This program restricts from entering any sites outside of ALFY, preventing kids from encountering any offensive material.
Center for the Improvement of Child Caring - invites and urges you to make productive use of the excellent parenting information, programs, projects and publications that they have assembled. Although the organization is based in Los Angeles their parenting education materials are available for purchase. The online CICC Discovery Tool is designed to help you see if your child is doing what most children are doing at the same age. Some website components are under construction. If you wish additional information their phone number is (818)980-0903.
Net-mom - contains information on good sites for kids and advice on protecting your kids online. Check out Net-mom's Nice Sites Awards updated weekly.

Financial
Bankrate.com - Objective. Comprehensive. Free.  Forbes.com  rates it as a "Best of the Web" and their comments summarize it quite well.
The Digital Dailey - Up-to-date information from the Internal Revenue Service on a multitude of related topics - Electronic Filing Options, Electronic Payment Options, Direct Deposit of Tax Refunds, Abusive Tax Shelters, Appeals and Dispute Resolution, Business Taxpayer Information, Digital Dispatch E-Mail Service, Excise Tax, Employee Plans, Filing Requirements, Forms and Publications, Frequently Asked Questions, Help During Disasters and Emergencies, Glossary, Individual Taxpayer, Internal Revenue Bulletins, Internal Revenue Manual, International Tax, IRS News, IRS Notices, State and Local News, IRS Procedures, Taxpayer Advocate Service, Taxpayer Help and Education, Tax Regulations, Tax Event Calendar, Citizen Advocacy Panels (CAPs), Tax Exempt Organizations.
SBA - Financing Your Business - Loan Programs, Loan Forms, Lending Programs, Lending Studies, Loan Statistics, PRIME, Workshops, Shareware, many other resources to help you evaluate your business' potential from the US Government Small Business Administration.

Fractals
The Dynamical Systems and Technology Project at BU - A phenomenal fractal web site, with games, animations, explanations and explorations. A National Science Foundation sponsored project designed to help secondary school and college teachers of mathematics bring contemporary topics in mathematics (chaos, fractals, dynamics) into the classroom.
The Spanky Fractal Database - This is a collection of fractals and fractal related material for free distribution on the net. Most of the software was gathered from various ftp sites on the internet and it is generally freeware or shareware.

Gardening
Aggie Horticulture - is a portal to horticulture web pages providing a broad range of information for commercial nursery/floral producers, grounds maintenance professionals, arboreta, botanical gardens, students and home gardeners.
City of Austin - Green Gardening Plant List - a gardener's ultimate spreadsheet of Central Texas native and adapted landscape plants indexed by type of plant, cross-referenced by water, light, and soil requirements, deer resistance, special features, etc. Paper copies of this list printed on heavy glossy paper and in color are available at participating nurseries. Electronic versions available in spreadsheet or PDF format.
Kids Gardening Resources - Gardening offers a vehicle to teach many things including: science, botany, ethnobotany, language, history, recycling (composting), math (calculating volumes, numbers of plants or seeds, weights, areas, etc.), agriculture, entomology, plant pathology, soils, and lots more. Texas A&M maintains an extensive list of sites dedicated to gardening with children.
Millenium Green - the Millennium Green project is encouraging everyone across the Nation to plant or adopt a tree, establish a garden, or protect or care for a special natural resource treasure in honor of the new millennium.
RBGE Multisite Search at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Search multiple plant databases, singly or simultaneously, at a dozen sites in the United States and/or United Kingdom. Enter your scientific or common name and check the database(s) that you want to search.
USDA Gardening - This website is dedicated to all gardeners-young and old, novice and experienced, rural, urban, and suburban. They've pulled together years of research and experience to provide you with useful gardening information.

Genealogy
Find a Grave - the genealogy component of the site has burial records for 2.5 million and data on 100,000 US graveyards. The other part indexes thousands of celebrity resting places.
Texas GenWeb Page for Blanco County - local cemetaries, churches, communities, families, historical sites and markers, maps, and timeline. Links to obituaries, bible records, marriages, birth records, and death records including Social Security Death Index.
The USGenWeb Project - if you have never done any genealogical research, this is the place for you. Here are some tips on how to get started with your genealogical research. You will also find links to some great sites to further aid your search.
RootsWeb.com - billed as the world's oldest and largest free genealogy site. This is really a portal to multiple search engines and databases, family trees, research templates, hosted genealogy projects, mailing lists, message boards, and websites. Subscribe to RootsWeb Review, a free e-zine.
The WorldGenWeb Project - The WorldGenWeb Project was created in an effort to answer the growing needs of genealogists world-wide who were trying to research their ancestors online. It is divided into 11 World Regions. Each region is divided up by countries and each country is divided into individual provinces, states, or counties (terms vary depending on administrative divisions).

Health
Access Place Health - a directory of health news, magazines, fitness, alternative medicine, medicine, physicians, conditions, nutrition, herbs, vitamins, supplements, mental health, sexuality, stores, first aid, recovery, drug issues, and other relevant sites.
allHealth - an interactive information site with bulletin boards and chat centers, Ask an Expert, and a searchable drug database.
Cyberdiet - a comprehensive information site for weight loss, nutrition, diet, and more. Fast Food Quest has nutrition guides for 37 restuarants. Diet Detective provides evaluations of popular diet programs for safety, effectiveness, and sensibility by registered dieticians. Tools, newsletter, meal plans, support & motivation, resources for fighting disease . . .
Cool Nurse - Teen Health and more - in depth articles offering commentary on a variety of topics including Health, First Aid, Social Issues, Hotlines, Personal Care, Safety, and Awareness. This will definitely raise your conciousness regarding the complexity of life for young people in today's world. The author of the site has devoted her life as an RN to the welfare of teenagers.
Dyslexia Online - an award winning site that contains many useful dyslexia related topics. Included are dyslexic syndrome, dyslexia vs. learning disorder, attention deficit disorder, fears, phobias, and obsessive compulsive disorders, medical testing, and medical treatment. A framed index assists in navigating among topics.
OnHealth - areas of information include News & Reports, Ask Our Experts, References, Mind & Body, Staying Well.
WebMD - a news center with sections for Consumers, Physicians, and Health Teachers.

Home Arts
America Quilts - a PBS presentation that explores the history, art and personal stories of quilt-making in America.  Resources includes great links to museums, magazines, exhibits, supplies and individual quilter's sites.
Crochet Musings - International and all about crochet. Features include the Chains of  Thought newsletter,  tutorial,  free patterns,  designer spotlight,  poetry,  recipes,  and pictures of member's afghan creations. The chat site, CastleNet, is hosted in Australia and may be a bit slow in loading (as are the patterns).  Charity work involves creating squares or assembling them for special projects around the world.
Free Knitting Pattern Knit Ring - A netring links web sites that have a similar theme, this one being free knitting patterns. Each website displays a netring link on their page which allows visitors to link directly to other pages with the same topic; easier to follow than a search engine. Some of the sites are more commercial and some are more personal, all in this ring have at least one free pattern

Information
AskJeeves - Jeeves can answer questions that are hard or easy, small or large, deadly serious or goofily offbeat on subjects of every kind. Ask the way you'd ask it in the real world, Jeeves will help you refine the question.
Audiovisual Library - The Texas Department of Health Audiovisual Library has a collection that circulates throughout Texas on a free short-term loan basis. It includes a variety of health and safety topics for general audiences with materials for preschool through adult groups and a few professional level materials. Most audiovisuals are in English, some are in Spanish and others are bilingual, English and Spanish on the same tape. There is no charge for Texas residents to borrow from the library except for return shipping charges.
Bartleby.com - is probably the most comprehensive reference publisher on the Web. Contains five contemporary giants:  Columbia Encyclopedia, sixth edition, 2000;  The World Factbook 2000;  American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, fourth edition, 2000; Roget's II:  The New Thesaurus, third edition, 1995; and American Heritage Book of English Usage, 1996.  Additionally, the site provides access to older staples of reference work, such as Grey's Anatomy, King James Bible, The Cambridge History of English and American History, Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable,  Frazer's The Golden Bough and Strunk's Elements of Style.  This site also publishes classic works of fiction and nonfiction, all available on-line at no charge.  (Information taken from Currents, a publication of the South Texas Library system, January/February 2001.)
Business Owner's Toolkit - free business advice  for small businesses. Download sample forms, take on-line courses, get advice.
eHOLA - Latinoamérica en tus manos.  El servicio de email gratuito mas completo de latinoamérica, HOLAeMail.  Clasificados, Cocina, Info-Tecno, Software, Compujuegos, Música, Guía de países, Educación infantil, Traductor . . .
FindLaw for Business - a free law guide  for legal professionals, students, businesses, and the general public. Good background information, search for lawyers, sample legal forms.
HoaxKill - was created as a public service to help you identify hoaxes and to actively combat them.  To find out if a message is a hoax, you can search for it on this website. If it's not there, you can send it to email at HoaxCheck for verification.  Once you are certain that a message is a hoax, you can send it to email at HoaxKill . Their software will then extract the addresses of all previous recipients from the message and inform all of them that the message is a hoax.
How Stuff Works - Have you ever wondered how the engine in your car works or what makes the inside of your refrigerator cold? Then How Stuff Works is the place for you! Click on the categories to see hundreds of articles!
InfoPlease Kids Almanac - Search a wide variety of free online dictionaries with highly specialized search engines. Parents should know that the news section seemed somewhat adult for young children.
Internet Public Library's Reference Desk - a quality reference service, based on traditional library models, for the Internet community. Sources are selected according to ease of use, quality and quantity of information, frequency of updating, and authoritativeness.
MEXMASTER - es un excelente medio para promover e incrementar las visitas a su website. Cuenta con 25 categorías que segmenta a los usuarios de acuerdo a la información de su interés, lo cual permite elegir al mercado meta que usted desea para su website.
Michael J. Fox Foundation - for Parkinson's Research is dedicated to ensuring the development of a cure within this decade through an aggressively funded research agenda. The latest edition of Accelerating the Cure, the Foundation's newsletter, is available online in PDF format.
Refdesk.com - a gateway with information and links galore. Reference Site-of-the-Day, Top Headline News, Facts-at-a-Glance Links, Help and Advice Links, Top Reference Tools, Subjects by Category and Just for Fun.
State of Texas - a portal to state services including Business Information, Criminal Justice & Law, Travel, Tourism & Recreation, Education, Employment, Health and Human Services, Technology, State Government, and news from around the state.
VetInfo - Veterinary Medical Information for Dogs and Cats publishes health questions and answers online. If you have a paid subscription to VetInfo Digest you may post questions to the vet. The magazine can sent by postal service or email. The site is slow but the references may help you with your pet.

Music
Cyberfret.com - Free online guitar lessons with audio, video, and tablature.
Drum Bum - A resource for players and educators with over 400 free lessons and tablatures.
OLGA - The On-line Guitar Archive - A tabulation cooperation - find the chords to all of your favorite tunes.
PianoNanny.com - An excellent educational site that is a free public service.
Saxlessons.com - Saxophone lessons by one of the San Francisco Bay Area's best and most experienced instructors.

Nature Watch
MonarchWatch - The University of Kansas's Entomolgy Program dedicated to education, conservation and research. Their goals are: to further science education, particularly in primary and secondary school systems; to promote the conservation of Monarch butterflies; and to involve thousands of students and adults in a cooperative study of the Monarchs' spectacular fall migration. Monarch Biology, Butterfly Gardens, Conservation, Migration&Tagging, Research Projects, Resources&Links, and much more!
Phenology - a Garden Study   Do you have a garden log? Are you still keeping your log updated? If so, I'm sure you noted when you first noticed each newly blooming flower. Did you happen to mention that first hummingbird of the season or those butterflies or that tiny praying mantis? Then you've been practicing phenology, the science concerned with periodic biological phenomena.

Orienteering
How to Use a Compass - Kjetil Kjernsmo's illustrated guide on how to use a compass. This tutorial is intended for individuals and non-profit organizations, and may be printed out and used free of charge as long as the author's name is on it. Available in English, Portuguese & German - links to other guides in Italian and Hungarian.
Orienteering for the Young - basic concepts of orienteering that are fun for the very young. Begin with a simple String Course and gradually work up to a White Course which is suitable for all novices. This site is designed as a guide for parents, teachers, youth group leaders and orienteering organizers.

Philanthropy
GreaterGood.com - online shopping site that will donate to charity a percentage of your purchase amount. Select your choice of available non-profit organization, sponser, and merchandise.
Save the Rainforest - visit here everyday and protect our Eco-system. When you click, each site sponser will contribute funds to purchase and preserve five square feet of rainforest, there is NO cost to you.
TheHungerSite.com - visit this site every day and click the button that says 'donate food'. Each site sponser donates 1/4 cup of food to the United Nations World Food Programme every day that you visit and click. Only one donation per day per individual can be accepted.

Recreation
BoatSafe.com and BoatSafeKids - covers the basics of boating safety and more with tips and articles, online courses include a Basic Boating Safety Certification Course recognized by the U.S. Coast Guard and a college level Coastal Navigation Course, contests and quizzes include many that are state specific (Texas), and there is a list of recommended nautical books. Several online boating conversion aids and calculators are available. Links include weather information, navigation charts, and recall notices. Personal Watercraft (PWC) is in Chapter VII of the the safety course. Motorbase The Online Encyclopedia of Motoring - an online database of automobiles ranging from the very first cars up to the very latest models.  The site is designed to be a reference for vehicle enthusiasts around the world and provides model comparisons, pictures, news, and statistics.

Signing - American Sign Language
American Sign Language- ASL Browser from Michigan State University. The media player is very slow loading for each sign, just be patient. The facility shows the word in motion and it may be repeated as often as desired by pushing the button. There is also a slow motion option.
Animated ASL Dictionary - a basic introduction to signing that uses small black and white pictures in order to make download time shorter. Animated hands present the sign four times at a moderate rate of speed. There is a frames/no-frames option for those who need it.
ASL Fingerspelling An ASL Fingerspelling Dictionary with animations and an ASL Fingerspelling Converter in which you can type a word that the converter then converts into sign language. It also has a special section called ASL Fingerspelling Quiz for people who are learning sign language and want to test themselves.
HandSpeak - a Sign Language Dictionary Online. This site is becoming much more than a dictionary. Cultural and foreign language variations are explained. Body language for emphasis/stress in conveying meaning is discussed. Currently 2,800 signs and growing daily with the Sign of the Day feature.

Space
LiftOff to Space Exploration - topics include NASA Updates, The Universe, Spacecraft, Fundamentals, Human Journey, and Tracking. Free newsletter describes satellite visiblity from your zip code each Friday. Follow Tracking to Viewing Satellites which loads interactive J-Track 3D satellite tracker in a separate Window-click on a satellite to see the name and orbit of each of over 500 satellites!

US Government
Agricultural Marketing Service - United States Department of Agriculture resources include Market News, Food Purchases, Farmers Markets, Direct Marketing, and Federal Rulemaking. The site also lists special programs and various opportunities.
City/State/ZIP Code Associations - United States Postal Service online translator. Find the ZIP Codes for a city or town or the location of a given ZIP Code on the City/State/ZIP Code Associations page. Also reference for common street suffixes and official abbreviations.
FirstGov - the official site for United States Government information, services, transaction, and forms. Browse government by topic or by organization.

Water
City of Austin: Water Conservation - water conservation events schedule and information updates.
Hill Country Underground Water Conservation District (Gillespie County) - information on District Rules, Board of Directors, Management Plan, Map of Wells in Gillespie County.
The Sustainable Building Sourcebook - published by The Green Building Program of the City of Austin. Online version of the handbook contains currently updated information. Water topics include Indoor Water Conservation, Composting Toilets, Pervious Paving Materials, Xeriscape, Greywater Irrigation, Harvested Rainwater, and Water Budget. Information is detailed to allow initial specification of plans, materials, and costs.

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