Some of my Favorite Web Sites:
Here, you'll find some of my
favorite places on the web. I like to read and write about
various topics including historical restoration of structures,
the physical sciences (which include physics, astronomy,
meteorology, and geology). Also of interest to me is United
States government, both at the national and state level. You'll
also find a few good reference sites and a couple of complete
time wasters. So, pour yourself a glass of your favorite
beverage, relax and enjoy the trip!
(All photography by the Web
Master)
History
Brandy distillery at writer Jack
London's Beauty Ranch,
located near Glenn Ellen, Sonoma County, California.
Department of History:
(California State University Sacramento), my alma mater.
Organization of American
Historians: The Organization of American Historians is
the largest learned society devoted to the study of American
history.
National Council on Public
History:
Organization for Public Historians, Cultural Resource Managers,
Museum Curators, Archivists, and Special Librarians.
National Archives and Records
Administration: The archivist for the national
government. Good source for imagery of historical photographs.
Public History
Resource Center: Good links to Public History web
sites.
Find A Grave:
Database of several hundred graves
of significant persons. A good tool for Public Historians.
Economics
"The budget should
be balanced; the treasury should be refilled; public debt should
be reduced; and the arrogance of public officials should be
controlled."
-Cicero. 106-43 BCE (Roman Senator and Orator)
Here's some
links to Web sites which you can use to determine the real state
of the economy. You need to be able to look at economic
forecasts with a critical eye. The condition of the economy as
reported by the U.S. Government and in the media has been
largely filtered by public relations people in order to make the
condition look politically acceptable. Economics has been
called the "dismal" social science for a good reason. Our
wants are infinite, the resources to fulfill those needs are
finite and scarce.
The National Debt Clock
Economics for Dummies: A
good tutorial for understanding the economy by Clemson
University . Don't be put off by the title.
After reading through this material, you may not know as much as
Alan Greenspan but, you'll be more literate about the economy
than most of the population.
Bureau of
Economic Analysis:
U.S. Department of Commerce. Learn the
state of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product, personal income and
outlay, trends in corporate profits and international trade and
why there is such an abomination in the U.S. trade deficit with
other nations.
Bureau of
Labor Statistics: From the
U.S. Department of Labor. Get the latest scoop on unemployment
and employment trends, inflation, consumer price index and a
slew of other information. Be sure to check out the
Inflation
Calculator.
Counsel of Economic Advisors:
Analyzes and spins economic data and
trends for the President.
Federal Reserve Board: The
Federal Reserve Bank is the central bank of the United States,
headed by Chairman Alan Greenspan.
Federal Open
Market Committee: Part of
the Federal Reserve Bank, meets periodically
to set monetary policy (including interest rates) for the
United States.
Resources for Economists on the Internet:
Guide is sponsored by the
American Economic Association.
It lists 1,589 resources in 97
sections and sub-sections available on the Internet of interest
to academic and practicing economists, and those interested in
economics.
Government
Here,
you'll find a few good sites which would help if you want to
become more informed as to what YOUR government is up to.
Remembering the three words found in the United States
Constitution that give our government legitimacy, "We the
People."
Thomas: Track bills
generated by the United States Congress. Links available to
other branches of the U.S. national government.
White House: Executive Branch of the United States
national government.
U.S. Senate: Upper house of the Legislative Branch of
the United States national government.
U.S. House of Representatives:
Lower house of the Legislative Branch of the United States
national government.
Supreme Court of the
United States: Judicial Branch of the United States
national government.
Latin - Not a dead language after all
I chose Latin to fulfill my
foreign language requirement at Sacramento State. This provided
a rich foundation for the study of both European based history
but the epistemology of the English language. Here are some Web
sites I found useful in my studies.
Note: If you ever have the chance to study Latin under Mr. Ken
Bubb at Solano Community College, by all means do so!
Bibliotheca Augustana: An excellent source for
historical documents and literature in Latin, Ancient Greek and
other languages from the University of Augsburg, Germany.
Electronic Resources for Wheelock's Latin: Study
supplements to my Latin textbook.
YourDictionary
.com:
Good reference for Latin, Ancient Greek word lookups and various
words from living languages.
Literary Links
Bibliomania: A
good source for literature in the public domain that has been
digitized. You may even find the writings of Ambrose Bierce
here.
Great Books
Links: You can obtain a
good education at this particular site. You'll find hyperlinks
to most of the great literary, scientific, philosophic,
sociologic, mathematical works written - from those prior to
Plato to the likes of Einstein. Mostly works within the public
domain.
Solano County Library:
One of the gems that make Solano
County, California a great place to live. (One of the two
volunteer hats I wear for the library is the official
photographer. Most of the images on this Web site were taken by
myself.)
Photography
The price of freedom is eternal
vigilance.
(But every once in a while, a
good cat nap never hurts!)
Ansel Adams Gallery:
Located in the Yosemite Valley and
Monterey, California, good site for ordering prints of images
taken by one of my favorite photographers. Also available are
photo related books and courses and seminars.
Group
f/64: Manifesto of
photography drafted by Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Imogene
Cunningham and others concerning straight photography as opposed
to abstract or "blurred" imaging.
American
Photojournalist: A Web site
by photojournalists for photojournalists. Good site for press
photographers be they freelancers or media employees.
Bender Photographic:
Company that sells kits for making
large format cameras.
Center for Creative Photography:
Located on the campus of the University of
Arizona at Tucson, the center is a museum and archive holding
the papers and negatives for some of the nation's great
photographers including the late Ansel Adams.
Freestyle
Photographic Supplies: One
of the best and most comprehensive photographic supply houses in
the U.S. Prices are pretty reasonable also.
KEH.com:
KEH Camera Brokers is one of the best
places to purchase used camera gear thus saving a bundle. They
have an individual rating system (that's pretty reliable) for
determining the condition of each used camera and other
equipment they sell. KEH buys used cameras and gear also.
The Physical and Natural Sciences
One of my many pursuits is
looking outward at the night skies, wondering how far to the end
and how did it all come to be. In the study of history and
philosophy, one must ultimately collide head on with astronomy
and the physical sciences. Here are some of my favorite sites.
Remember, some of the most important questions have no concrete
answers - just more questions!
Astronomy
Moon, Venus & Jupiter
as seen from my home office.
Moon Photography: Good
site to learn techniques used in photographing the Earth's moon
in different phases.
U.S. Naval Observatory:
The official timekeeper for the United States. Some good
information on astronomy as related to time and navigation. Get
the precise time here.
Old Royal Observatory:
Royal observatory at Greenwich,
England. Take a glimpse of the universe as the English see it.
Also the site of the
Greenwich Meridian,
where East meets West (longitude
zero).
Professor Stephen Hawking's Web Site: Some
interesting information from the author of A Brief History of
Time and the current holder of the Lucasian Professor of
Mathematics at Cambridge University - a position once held by
Sir Isaac Newton. You can read through some of his lectures on
physics.
Space Science Telescope
Institute: Home of the
Hubble Space Telescope operations. Take a look (if you dare) and
see to the edge of our known universe.
Sky & Telescope:
One of the best magazines for
amateur astronomers.
Space.com: A good
source for breaking and continuing news in space science
including astronomy.
Star Date Online: An interesting almanac from the
University of Texas McDonald Observatory.
Geology
Yosemite Valley from
Wawona Tunnel, Thanksgiving 2004
Recent
Earthquakes in California:
Did you feel
that?
This site
will show you an interactive map of California and Nevada with
markers for every measurable earthquake for the past week. By
pointing and clicking on each marker, you can obtain pertinent
information for each seismic event.
Real-time Forecast
of Earthquake Hazard in the Next 24 Hours: A
time-dependent map giving the probability of strong shaking at
any location in California within the next 24-hours. For this
purpose, “strong shaking” is defined as
Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) VI, or the level of
shaking that throws objects off shelves.
U.S. Geological Survey: A source for geological maps
and data.
California Geological
Survey: (Formerly the California Division of Mines and
Geology)
Weather
Thunderstorm forming over the High
Sierra
Plymouth State
University Weather Site: This brings you to a home page
with an interactive map of the United States that is a composite
weather satellite and radar map. Just click on the state that
interests you for all the current weather and forecasts.
Weather Underground:
An excellent site for obtaining
weather and climate information from all other.
Intellicast.com:
Another good weather site.
National Weather Service:
U.S. Government weather service Web
site.
Oceanography
Goat Rock at the mouth of the Russian River near Jenner,
California
NOAA Home page: Site for National Oceanic &
Atmospheric Administration with links to various hydrographic
and meteorological sites.
NOAA Pacific Marine
Operations Center: Home port in Seattle,
Washington for NOAA research vessels. Links to real-time data
streaming from vessels underway.
American Practical
Navigator: The standard reference volume by
Nathaniel Bowditch with articles on navigation, astronomy, and
oceanography. These are PDF files so; you need an Adobe Acrobat
Reader to read this.
Point & Click on this icon
to download your own
Acrobat Reader.
Computers and Technology
Cnet.com:
All the latest news concerning computers and technology plus
links to good shareware and freeware sites.
Security Watch: An
excellent reference for all your computer security concerns.
Published by PC Magazine.
Finding Information on the Internet:
A good tutorial on picking through the
unorganized haystack of information that is the Internet and
finding exactly what you need.
National Center for Super Computer Applications:
(Mosaic Home Page). Here, you can
download a primitive version of Web browser and experience the
World Wide Web and Internet as it was about 10 years ago, before
Internet Explorer and Netscape. From the University of Illinois,
Urbana Campus.
Pertaining to California
Lower Yosemite Falls
California
Department of Transportation: (CALTRANS) Going
on a trip within California? How are the road conditions? This
site is updated moment-by-moment.
CHP Traffic Incident
Information: The same display available to California
Highway Patrol dispatchers.
Reference Sites
Reference
Desk: An excellent
portal for finding vital information, news, and other important
data.
How to Choose a Search Engine or Database: A
useful site to learn the art of efficient web and database
searches. Thanks again to my dad for leading me to this valuable
site.
Librarian's Index to the
Internet:
Need a search engine that just might
have an edge over the others in looking for scholarly
information? This is it. Here, you can track those nasty little
rumors. circulating around the Web.
U.S. Coast Guard
U.S. Coast Guard
Official Home Page.
International Ice Patrol: U.S. Coast Guard Ice Patrol
web site with links to oceanographic data for the North Atlantic
Ocean.
Coast Guard Warriors:
A fact that too many Americans do
not realize is that the U.S. Coast Guard is one of the five
Armed Forces of the United States. The Coast Guard Warriors web
site is a presentation of USCG actions during wartime from WWII
to contemporary times by Mr. Bill Wells, a retired Coast Guard
Master Chief Gunners Mate, now a working historian in Georgia.
USCGC Tamaroa:
Site of some great people who want to restore the now
decommissioned USCGC Tamaroa as a museum ship. A cause worthy of
your consideration. The Tamaroa and her crews performed some
heroic deeds in the past including participating in rescue
operations described in The Perfect Storm.
Miscellaneous
Lehman's Non-electric
Catalog: Lehman's Hardware Store features many tools
and appliances that don't require electric power. Utilized by
many of the Amish folk in Ohio, Californians might want to
consider the items in this catalog when the power goes out.
Last edited:
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
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