General Interest
Homeowners and other persons of property will benefit a great deal from this website, which is sponsored by the Department of Energy, along with significant support from other federal agencies. Essentially, the site allows users to learn how they can make their home more efficient and all users need to do is submit their zip code to get started. Upon submitting their zip code, users will see a comparison of the energy costs of an average home in that particular geographic area as compared to an energy efficient home in the same area. After the calculation is returned, visitors can fine-tune their calculation by entering additional data, such as the total floor area of the dwelling and so on. There are a number of extras on the site, including state-by-state lists of energy saving programs and construction standards. Finally, there is also a glossary of energy terminology which gets to the basic essentials of such phrases as radiant barrier and color temperature. [KMG]
http://commonground.cr.nps.gov/Index.cfm
Within the pages of the National Park Service’s magazine, Common Ground, users will find “behind-the-scenes events, the partnerships, the creativity, the innovations that make a real difference in safeguarding our past.” These are bold claims, and the magazine delivers in full on all of them. The magazine is published quarterly, and users can browse through the current issue, or browse through their online archive, which includes all issues dating back to 2003. Every issue includes a brief piece on a recent preservation success story and a section dedicated to recent preservation news. Some of the highlights of recent issues include an article on the New Bedford whaling museum and the documentation of covered bridges by the Historic American Engineering Record. [KMG]
http://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/
How is a nation formed? That question alone has vexed political scientists, historians, and aspiring nation-builders for centuries. The answer is often quite complex, and only in rare cases do we have a complete answer. The National Archives of Australia has recently created this website which explores the various documents that tell about the creation and formation of their country as a commonwealth. The homepage presents a map of the country, divided into its contemporary political divisions, allowing visitors to click on each area to read primary documents that provide insight into each locale. Areas such as New South Wales include transcripts and original documents, such as the secret instructions to Captain James Cook on what to do if he finds land and the New South Wales Courts Act of 1787. Other sections of the site include “Pathways”, which allow users to delve into these documents in a thematic fashion (related to issues surrounding land and the like) and a basic timeline that begins in 60,000 BC and continues to 1836. [KMG]
http://www.archaeology.org/interactive/blacksea/index.html
The Crimea has been a gathering point for centuries, and among those who have gathered in the region include Italian merchants, pirates, and in recent years, holiday makers from Russia. The Black Sea also serves as the last resting place for a number of ships, some of which were the victims of various sea battles. One such ship sunk in 1277 as a result of just such a military action, and most recently was the subject of an extensive underwater archaeology study by a team of researchers from Brown University, Colby College, and the University of Kiev. Visitors interested in this work will most definitely enjoy this latest Interactive Dig feature offered by Archaeology Magazine, as it features reports from the underwater exploration which took place in the summer of 2006. The site also includes a selection of photos, an interview with one of the primary investigators, and an “Ask the Archaeologist” forum. [KMG]
http://www.theparisreview.com/literature.php
While its celebrated editor George Plimpton, the noted author, critic, and one-time Detroit Lion is no longer with us, the Paris Review continues to delight and stimulate readers around the world. Recently, the Review received a substantial grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to place all of their “Writer at Work” interviews online so that anyone around the world can read them at their leisure. The project is well on its way, and visitors with a literary bent (or those who hope to acquire such a bent), can look over the fruits of their labor on this site. Titled “The DNA of Literature”, the collection can be viewed by decade, or alphabetically. Some of those authors interviewed include Nelson Algren, T. S. Eliot, Robert Lowell, Conraid Aiken, Saul Bellow, and the poet Marianne Moore. The site is quite a wonder, and will no doubt warrant several visits. [KMG]
Forms [pdf]
http://criminaljustice.state.ny.us/ops/docs/index.htm#sgtraining
Security guards are an important part of maintaining civil order, and more and more public and private groups are relying on their services. A number of resources have been created to assist those who might be interested in entering the field, and some of them may complement existing training programs quite nicely. The New York State Division of Criminal Justice’s Office of Public Safety has compiled a number of helpful forms that include guides on how to photograph crime scenes, fingerprinting suspected criminals, along with offering basic canine standards for those persons who may work with such partners. Along with these materials, the site also includes instructor materials for the fingerprinting module, and a list of approved security guard training schools. [KMG]
http://pewresearch.org/assets/social/pdf/Ladder.pdf
A recent study conducted by the Pew Research Center would seem to indicate that Americans might be a bit less optimistic as of late. In one of their latest surveys, the Center noted that the overall downturn in personal optimism since the year 2002 is the sharpest recorded in over 40 years. Interestingly enough, not all Americans feel the same way about their future. The report notes that the groups most likely to forecast future personal progress include Hispanics, African Americans, and young adults. Visitors to the full report will enjoy making use of the tables and charts in the document, and also learning a bit more about the methodology used by the researchers in their work. [KMG]
