A time for renewal, a time for learning

It's been a while since I've posted. After the coldest April on record (for the Pacific Northwest) and a mostly dismal May,  it's finally starting to be spring-like where I live.

Learning something new can be a great way to shake off the dust of a season that was less-than-wonderful. One fabulous place to get some learning in is TED. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design. This non-profit started as a conference in 1984 and evolved into an internet idea exchange venue. The videos, called "talks" are fun way to see what experts and artists are doing. As you can see, entertainment is part of what TED is about. There are talks broken down into themes that are subject based-business, science, technology, etc. Then within each theme is a number of talks.

Another great avenue for learning is PBS! Not only does public broadcasting give us educational shows, they also provide educational resources online. You'll find videos galore and some episodes of their popular programs.

How about a little radio online? I'm talking about NPR. You can listen, read, comment, and get more involved in the burning topics of the day. Try Car Talk for figuring out what that noise is your car is making or take a look at the Food section to see what's in store for the food truck craze.

Local and national museums are another treasure trove of  learning. You don't have to go in person to discover something new. Check out the website for your local museum and I'm sure you will be enlightened by something. Take a look at the MuseumStuff, a guide to museums online.

Happy discovering!

Just in Time for Spring!

Image Source: Butterflywebsite.com

Spring is one of my favorite seasons. Hopefully this year's will be bright, wonderful, and filled with new possibilities. One way to get yourself moving in the direction of springlike, transformative thought is to take a look at this fabulous database:
Butterflies and Moths of North America
This database is a project of the Big Sky Institute at Montana State University. The image gallery can be searched by scientific or common name. The site also offers identification tools.

Bug Guide is a place to go to find out what type of ant is eating the potato chip crumbs off your kitchen floor. It is run by volunteer naturalists.

Another place to go to find bug  identification is What's that Bug? This site is run by armchair entomologists so take this as a mix of entertainment and a place to get a little starting information. Readers send in pictures with the hope that someone will know what bug it is.

Step Right Up! See the Ringling Brothers Collection!

I just found out, through Infodocket, that the University of Florida Digital Collections added a Ringling Collection. The collection can be searched, but what really caught my eye was the "Themes" tab. It's a listing of all the different backgrounds or elements that are part of the photo. This includes everything from baldness, to draperies, to supernatural beings. (It's odd to see that five of the actresses were photographed with cats. I thought there would be more.)

Other places to see Ringling history are The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, the Wisconsin Historical Society, and The Circus in America (via the University of Virginia's Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities).

Some great fiction titles that go with circus history are:
Carter Beats the Devil by Glenn David Gold  
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Geek Love by Katherine Dunn (much, much spicier than Water for Elephants, not for the faint of heart)

Bees.

I love bees. I think they are amazing! They are socially complex, nicely armed, and fun to watch.

Here are some fun facts about bees, taken from Nova Online.
Bees pollinate 95 different crops which translates to $10 million a year for the U.S. economy.
Bees cannot see the color red, but they do see ultraviolet colors.
The queen decides the sex of the young.
Bees fly at about 15 mph.

Scientists believe that the history of the honeybee begins in Africa. In the Science Daily article, "Out of Africa: Scientists Uncover the History of the Honeybee," researchers deduce that the "killer" bee and the honey bee have the same origins.

Have you heard of Colony Collapse Disorder? It's a pretty dangerous situation that's going on in the bee world. Colonies seem to just die. This disorder, on the rise since 2006, can cause a beekeeper to lose anywhere from 50-90% of his or her colony. The University of Florida Extension has a nice, understandable, short paper on Colony Collapse Disorder. You can also find out more about this in places like the Public Library of Science Biology Journals. NPR has an archived interview from back in 2006 when the disorder was starting to escalate. Bee Decline Threatens Farm Economy is a quick  interview with a professor from UC-Davis.

What else is it with bee? They inspire people. Take a look at the online gallery Bees in Art. It describes itself as "the world's first gallery devoted to bees". Perhaps the bees will inspire you too.

Police Guides!

I enjoy reading about crime, especially when the bad guy gets caught. There is a whole world of information out there on crime. One place to go to find some great guides on crime is the Center for Problem Oriented Policing. The organization, directed by academics in law and criminal justice, produces guides to help the police deal with crime. Their publications deal with such topics as: Theft of Scrap Metal, Aggressive Driving, and Asset Forfeiture.

The guides give a definition of the crime, an overview of how it may be perpetrated, who the likely victims are, how to deal with incidents of the crime, and how to assess the effectiveness of dealing with the crime. These guides are fascinating! According to the site, the Department of Justice distributes theses guides throughout the world.

There's an association for everything.

Today I ran across an association I had not heard of. It's the American Association of Wine Economists.Yes, that's right wine economists,. The association focuses on economic research and analysis and publishes a journal.

Since I'm already on the subject of wines, here are some other associations that are wine-specific.
The Wine Institute-This association represents California wineries and is a springboard for advocacy, industry reports, and facts about wine.
WineAmerica-the  National Association of American Wineries.This is an advocacy organization that supports members through political action and research.
AVERN (American Viticulture and Enology Research Network)-this organization is made up of university and industry researchers. Their goal is to put the US on the cutting edge of viticulture through research and technology. However, they have no funding so I'm not sure how that works. By the way, enology refers to the art of wine making and viticulture means the cultivation of grapes and grapevines.
Fermenters International Trade Association.-Yes, that's right, fermenters. This groups goes beyond wine to include home brewing. They aim to promote the "frementation trades" that include home brewing and home wine making. The site provides tips for those wanting to open a business in the "fermentation trades".

Don't say it. Or type it. Or text it.

The fine folks at Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, MI, keep a running list of banned words.These are words that have been nominated because people deem them to be "misuse, overuse and general uselessness".

Take a look at the 2011 list. I use a few of these gems. Perhaps you do too. I'm just sayin'.