SITE-, PICTURE, AND COMPUTER TIP OF THE DAY
Please suggest useful sites, pictures, or computer skills to feature in future discussions. The "Site of the Day" is archived a Resources for Earth Science and Geography Instruction at http://www.cmich.edu/~Franc1M/homepage.htm
| Meeting | Site of the Day | Picture of the Day | Computer Skill of the Day |
| 1/12 | TOPOZONE:
view topographic maps from anywhere in U.S. These maps can be viewed and printed at a variety of scales and with the site's panning function, you can view the contents of two adjacent topo sheets. |
Valles
Marineris: "The center of the scene shows the entire Valles Marineris canyon system, more than 3,000 kilometers (1,860 miles) long and up to 8 kilometers (5 miles) deep" Source:USGS, http://www.solarviews.com/eng/mars.htm |
1) How can you
call up a graphic to show how much space is left on a floppy, zip disk, or
hard drive?
2) (From Mr. Scott Wagner: When holding the windows key in conjunction with |
| 1/17 | NEWSPAPERS ONLINE access over 10,000 different newspapers from around the world. | Montana
Fires: This awesome picture was taken in the Bitterroot National Forest in
Montana on August 6, 2000 by a fire behavior analyst om Fairbanks,
Alaska by the name of John McColgan with a Digital camera. Since he
was working while he took the picture, he cannot sell or profit from
it so he should at least be recognized as the photographer of this
once in a lifetime shot.
|
1) Copying
text from the web to a word document.
2) From Mr. Jason Arturo: Use the Alt and PrtScn button (upper right hand corner) to copy and paste contents of a screen. Use crop option from word draw tools to isolate any portion of the screen.
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| 1/19 | SALARY CALCULATOR: If you are making $20,000 a year in Saginaw how much will you need to make in Los Angeles to maintain an equivalent standard of living? | Fire
Meets Ice: as molten
slag is dumped onto the sub zero landscape. "Clean-up of the local
environment is not a realistic prospect unless, or until, the smelters can
be modernized," says Dr. Rees. From Norilsk to the Khantayskoye
Reservoir, about 60 miles south, the trees are all completely dead: no
leaves, just bare wood, bleached white. The valley is at least 10 miles
across, and the number of dead trees is mind-boggling. It must be in the
hundreds of millions. No matter what is done, I suspect the larch forests
are gone forever."
Source:Joe
McNally, http://www.pathfinder.com/Life/essay/norilsk/ |
Copying an image from the web to a word document |
| 1/24 | SWITCHBOARD? Use this handy phone number lookup service to save on long distance charges. Unlisted phone numbers do not appear. | Aral
Sea 1964, 1973, 1987, 1997:"For more
than 30 years, water has been diverted from the Amu-Darya and the
Syr-Darya Rivers feeding the Aral, to irrigate millions of acres of land
for cotton and rice production in Central Asia. This has caused a loss of
more than 60% of the lake's water. The lake has shrunk from over 65,000 sq
km to less than half that size, exposing large areas of the lake bed."
Source: USGS, http://edcwww.cr.usgs.gov/earthshots/slow/tableofcontents |
Word wrapping around an image to enhance a research paper |
| 1/26
|
OZONE OVER YOUR HOUSE: "You can find the total column ozone amount* over your house (or anywhere else) using data from Earth Probe TOMS**. | Hurricane
Floyd at Sunset: impressive sunset image of Floyd approaching Bahamas -
Sept 12.
Source: NOAA, http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/images/ |
How do you close several applications quickly from the taskbar? |
| 1/31
|
MAPS ON US: Pinpoint your home address or get step by step directions from your location to anywhere in the US. A phone and weather links make this site especially useful. | The
Washington Monument from 400 miles up: 1 m resolution from the IKONOS
satellite.
Source:IKONOS http://www.spaceimaging.com/IKONOS/chips/washmon.htm |
I need to know the size of a file and the date it was created. How do I do it? |
| 2/2
|
WORLD CLIMATE: WorldClimate.com contains over 85,000 records of world climate data (historical weather averages) from a wide range of sources. |
The
Folded Appalachians: this image "illustrates beautifully the
effects of fluvial erosion on strata of unequal resistance that have been
folded by continental collision. The long linear monoclinal ridges, held
up by resistant sandstones and conglomerates, become zig-zag mountains as
they wind around plunging fold noses; the short stubby zags are
canoe-shaped synclinal noses, and the long gentle cigar-like noses are
anticlines."
Source: NASA, http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/DAAC_DOCS |
How do I add an item to the start menu? |
| 2/7
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ZIP CODE LOOKUP SERVICE: Need a zip code to mail a resume? Look here. | Nighttime Lights of the Continental USA: The Nighttime Lights of the World dataset contains the first satellite-based global inventory of human settlements,derived from nighttime data from the Defense Meteorological SatelliteProgram (DMSP) | I'm sick of wasting time getting to a frequently used application. How can I create a shortcut for my desktop? |
| 2/9
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CYBER-SIERRA'S NATURAL RESOURCES JOB SEARCH: Jeff Saffel's well organized site categorizing job leads under forestry, resources, water, GIS, and more. |
Shelf
Cloud in Oklahoma, a precursor to bad whether," a low, horizontal wedge-shaped arcus cloud, associated with a thunderstorm gust front (or occasionally with a cold front, even in the absence of thunderstorms). Unlike the roll cloud, the shelf cloud is attached to the base of the parent cloud above it (usually a thunderstorm). Rising cloud motion often can be seen in the leading (outer) part of the shelf cloud, while the underside often appears turbulent, boiling, and wind-torn. " quote source: Michael Branick, NOAA/NWSFO Norman, http://www.nws.noaa.gov/er/pit/branick2d.html
Source: Keith Brewster, http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/lb_images/nssl/nssl0091.htm |
Using Explorer to copy, delete, and move files: |
| 2/14
|
SEARCHING FOR A COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY?: use Yahoo to discover information on the college or university of your choice. | Europa
the Ice Moon: "False color has been used here to enhance the visibility of certain features in this composite of three images of the Minos Linea region on Jupiter's moon Europa taken on 28 June 1996 Universal Time by the Galileo spacecraft. Triple bands, lineae and mottled terrains appear in brown and reddish hues, indicating the presence of contaminants in the ice. The icy plains, shown here in bluish hues, subdivide into units with different albedos at infrared wavelengths probably because of differences in the grain size of the ice." Source: NASA/AMES http://www.solarviews.com/cap/jup/eurgal4.htm |
Selecting multiple or select files with keyboard and mouse commands. |
| 2/16
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USGS SURFACE WATER RETREIVAL PAGE: river discharge data in tabular or graphic form for 1000s of U.S. rivers | Martian
bugs or mundane minerals? "This high-resolution scanning electron microscope image shows an unusual tube-like structural form that is less than 1/100th the width of a human hair in size found in meteorite ALH84001, a meteorite believed to be of Martian origin.
This structure will be the subject of future investigations that could confirm whether or not it is fossil evidence of primitive life on Mars 3.6 billion years ago.
"
Source: NASA |
Maximizing windows quickly |
| 2/21
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INFORMATION PLEASE ALMANAC: a convenient site for locating information on the World, People, U.S., Sports, Entertainment, Weather, Health, Business, Society, Living, Science. | Lightning Strikes an Odd Pattern Over the Plains: "This map depicts the ratio of cloud-to-cloud lightning to cloud-to-ground lightning over the continental United States. The red areas show where the ratio is as high as 10 cloud-to-cloud strikes for every ground strike. Blue areas indicate ratios as low as 1:1. The latest find is that storms with far more cloud-to-cloud lightning than cloud-to-ground are more energetic and are more likely to produce violent storms." Source: Dennis Boccippio, NASA/Marshall. |
Creating a screen saver and background for your desktop. |
| 2/23
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ENVIROMAPPER FOR THE CHIPPEWA (PINE) WATERSHED: assessment of watershed health, toxic releases, fish advisories, and superfund sites found within watershed. Use this site as a gateway to find environmental information on any watershed in the U.S. |
The
Face of Mars--Then and
Now:Based upon the low resolution Viking images
several people claimed that the "Face" was artificial and not a natural geological structure. They also put forth the proposition that other features in the area proved that an intelligent civilization once lived on Mars and created the formations. The new image has a resolution of 14.1 feet (4.3 meters) per pixel, making it ten times higher resolution than the best previous image of the feature, which was taken by the Viking Mission in the mid-1970's." Source: Calvin J. Hamilton. |
Customizing menu icons for Microsoft software |
| 2/28
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TERRASERVER:a huge repository of Soviet declassified satellite imagery--mostly of the U.S. The resolution of some images allows individual automobiles to be seen. |
The
Most Battered Place in the Solar System: "Callisto (a moon of
Jupiter) is the most heavily cratered satellite in the solar system. Its crust is very ancient and dates back 4 billion years, just shortly after the solar system was formed.
Callisto lacks any large mountains. This is probably due to the icy nature of its surface. Impact craters and associated
concentric rings are about the only features to be found on Callisto. The largest craters have been erased by the flow of the icy
crust over geologic time."
Source: Calvin J. Hamilton. |
Clearing cache--saving space |
| 3/1 | SCI CENTRAL RECENT SCIENCE NEWS: organized by subject, Sci Central archives dozens of different science journals and press releases from around the world. | The
Most Volcanic Place in the Solar System: two blue volcanic eruption plumes about 100 kilometers (62 miles)
high from Io, one of Jupiter's moons.
Source: Calvin J. Hamilton. |
Creating funky bullets for papers |
| 3/13 | U.S. GOVERNMENT JOBS: "The U.S. Government's official site for jobs and employment information provided by the United States Office of Personnel Management." |
Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies show La Niņa, El Niņo and Normal Conditions in the Pacific Ocean. These images show how the temperatures of the Pacific vary by year, impacting global climate.
Source: NOAA, http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/toga-tao/el-nino/la-nina-anomaly.html |
Changing the default opening location when your open your browser. |
| 3/15 | STATE OF THE LAND: "This site provides data on land use and change, soil erosion and soil quality, water quality, wetlands, and other issues regarding the conservation and use of natural resources on non-Federal land in the United States." |
Horse
and Deer Flies: "Horse and deer flies serve as vectors for many diseases of humans and animals. Members of the genus Chrysops serve as
vectors for Loa loa in humans. Members of the genus Tabanus serve as biological vectors for the blood parasite
Trypanosoma theileri (in cattle), as mechanical vectors for the blood parasites Trypanosoma evansi (causing surra in camels, horses, and additional animals) and Trypanosoma equinum (causing mal de Caderas in horses), and as biological vectors for the filarial parasite Elaeophora schneideri. Tabanus spp. also serve as vectors for the diseases caused by bacteria and viruses." Source: Ohio State University, http://www.biosci.ohio-state.edu/~parasite/tabanus.html |
Navigator vs. Explorer when copying web images |
| 3/20 | Endangered
Species by State: Can you explain the distribution?
Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, http://endangered.fws.gov/listmap.html One of Michigan's more famous endangered species: "Status: Endangered, Status cause: Limited habitat and cowbird parasitism (cowbirds lay their eggs in warbler nests and the warblers then raise cowbird young instead of their own. Where found: Jack pine forest area in Michigan." Source: Endangered Species Homepage, http://eelink.net/EndSpp.old.bak/ESimages/ESbirds.html |
How do you switch applications with the finger instead of mouse method? | |
| 3/22 | What's a quick method for minimizing all windows? | ||
| 3/27 | You are sure that you saved a file to your hard drive but you can't find it. How do you search for a missing file? | ||
| 3/29 | Disable images--increase the speed of your home modem. | ||
| 4/3 | Creating tables and columns on a web page | ||
| 4/5 | I'm sick of my screen background. How do I change it? Can I place a picture of my aunt's ferret on it? | ||
| 4/10 | Use the shortcut button--learn a new program | ||
| 4/12 | Creating and organizing web bookmarks | ||
| 4/17 | Creating a nickname for a frequently used e-mail address | ||
| 4/19 | Print preview and saving paper | ||
| 4/24 | Creating a signature file for your e-mail | ||
4/26 |
I | Layering clip art |
