“If my ship sails from sight, it doesn't mean my journey ends, it simply means the river bends.” John Enoch Powell

Sometimes this job has its perks. To teach computers and their programs I must try them so I can speak with some knowledge about how they work. I opened the new Google Earth, like a kid on Christmas, to try it out and got decidedly lost. I had written a long time ago of this program and how it is a boon to those of a geographical mind but the new version is incredible and far surpasses what came before. One of the major complaints of the old one was the generic blue nothing that represented all of our oceans and lakes. With this new version they have made it just as fun to scour the oceans as had been to go through cities. This is just the beginning of this newly done program. Today I have been flying around Mars looking at all the landing sites and reading up on landers that worked and some that didn’t. Finally the dizzying constellations of the sky was intense. Think of every bit of the sky that we know of mapped and clickable. It was like having an observatory right at my fingertips. All of the map choices would be a help to almost any teacher no matter the subject. The obvious would be just to look at the maps but everywhere you go there are layers to put over your view. The moment you click a layer choice it will shows tons of small icons all over the land and sea. A click on any of them will reward you with videos, information from all sorts of official sources, quizzes, and much more. I took a virtual tour through the marinas trench from a swimming perspective and not just satellite views. The history teacher can benefit as well. There are historic layers like ancient Rome to go through. I really like the slider bar that shows me satellite images from different dates. They have images from around 1949 till now. One last thing that really made me happy was the amount of other organizations that are involved, Gigapan photos which are 3-d like high resolution photos which allow a lot of zooming into or a group like Seafood Watch that I pay a lot of attention to when I purchase seafood. If you have never used this application or had forgotten about it then it is time to return. It truly is a show stopping piece of software. Get your kids on this and have them record their own tours with narration. I love this idea of kids floating through maps and information and not even aware they are learning something. Give this a try.

“Parents always think it's the kids' fault. If they're naughty, it's the kids' fault. Not true! Children generally are not naughty for no reason.”

Quote from Emma Thompson
I am doing research for a possible lecture for parents talking about net security for their kids and I came across this nice little site. KidRex is essentially Google with a heavy safety feature turned on but with a cute crayon feel. This is a simple way of limiting some of the naughtier bits of the net. It just filters the search for words that are too risqué. Many reviews are very positive but one did say if a kid was determined they would see what they wanted. I follow this thinking as well. I would use this site as a way of taking the unfortunate distractions out of reach but do not think this will eliminate risk. I have read much on this subject trying to prepare and everything seems to point to one major way of helping your children. You are not going to like it! It is not easy but talk to them about what they may see and help them understand they are not bad for seeing it. Real explanations have a way of removing the desire for the hidden, Some parents try to shelter their children from these things but instead it only sows the seeds for wanting to see the stuff more. Many cultures introduce wine early and make it a normal part of life. I know in the Jewish tradition it is not uncommon to have a little wine with a Passover dinner or on special occasions. This has been shown to reduce overindulgence later in life. Use this site to reduce the amount of violence and sex stuff they see but try talking to them as well. It is far more effective than filtering.
As I come across more information I will try to put it up.

I had one more thought on this subject. In hacking circles it is understood it is far easier to gain access to a system not using complicated computer programs but through social engineering. Getting someone to tell you the password is easier than cracking it. The same can be said about filtering. You can try it filtering it but with enough determination you get around anything but if a child is taught not to be interested in the unsavory stuff then it will stay with that person far longer.

“I like trying [to get pregnant]. I'm not so sure about childbirth.” George Eliot Pseudonym of Mary Ann Evans

For this next post you will have to forgive my ignorance a bit. I know the basics about pregnancy from two major sources textbooks and TV. From the fist I have the biology and from the second I have the rest. So my understanding of what a contraction is and the fact that it must be timed is hazy at best. Please commenter’s I am happy to remain ignorant. To help out with timing a contraction one father created a site called contraction master. It is simplicity itself. Once you get to the timer screen you just have to push the spacebar when the contraction begins and another when it ends. It will then record all the needed info and give you the frequency. It is just as simple as that. The creator explains it far better than I do. Now if this seems strange to bring a computer into the process think of this. We now are becoming more and more tied to are machines so why not have them help at what I assume would be a rather tense moment? I know this is not for everyone so saying give it a try would be dumb but I can say I hope this helps.

“Never speak loudly to one another unless the house is on fire”

Yesterday I placed a call to my father in San Diego hoping to find out if he and his house were OK. I did get a short text message back telling me it was smoky but OK. This of course got me thinking of the net and its usefulness for this sort of event. One example is Google maps for San Diego. They have created a special map that has all sorts of icons that show you where to bring large pets, find some shelter and where fires have broken out. As Wi-Fi and Internet access increase, it is this sort of thing that could help a lot of us feel better and in extreme cases survive in an emergency. So if you have interest in the wildfires or just want to see a good emergency implantation of a map, give it a try.

I don't have to look up my family tree, because I know that I'm the sap. ~Fred Allen

The food is cooked and ready for the Thanksgiving holiday but what relatives are invited? Maybe it is time to find out who your relations are. Try Heritage Quest for all the census data you need. Also if you come to the Library then you can use our subscription for Ancestry.com. But if you are not near a Providence Public Library you can still take advantage of some special information, till the end of November Ancestry.com is offering a certain records for free no matter where you are viewing it. They are releasing all the passenger lists from 1820 to 1960. This encompasses a huge portion of the current US population. Not only does it offer the list but descriptions and other information like what the person looked like or why they are traveling. I may not be able to find my family but my hero, the great Harry Houdini, was listed as a passenger on the site. Find some people to take part in the meal or just ask your neighbors and give it a try!