General
This online magazine is all about animation and features regular articles, reviews of films and books, and profiles about people in the industry and tutorials. Articles in the current issue address topics such as "the impact of new technology on performance and the future roles of technology, new and old" and international perspectives on Bridging the Cultural Divide in Digital Entertainment. The tutorials cover topics such as how to make 3-D characters come to life and making molds. The Special Features articles report on gaming, production, technology and voice acting. Past issues are also available and can be searched by key word or sorted by category. Numerous other links are listed for more information on animation, resources for education, and listings of upcoming events and contests. [VF]
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/puzzle/index.html
Alan Frieze and Danny Sleator, professors from Carnegie Mellon's School of Computer Science, are the hosts of this website of puzzles. Every few weeks, they post a new puzzle and a few weeks later, they post the solution and related references. The fairly advanced puzzles generally involve constructing an algorithm or a proof, and some also involve writing a computer program to solve them. Previously posted puzzles and their solutions are also available here. [VF]
http://www.interconnection.org
InterConnection is an organization that "works to make Internet technology accessible to non-profit organizations in developing countries." With the help of Virtual Volunteers, the group provides Internet services, primarily website development, to clients worldwide. The website provides information on how to become a Virtual Volunteer and describes the group's other services, such as refurbishing computers and IT training. The articles posted here provide updates on recent projects by InterConnection, such as the status of a project to deliver hundreds of computers to the Kurdish region of Iraq, and discuss topics such as technology in developing countries, sustainable development, and ecotourism. Note that the video Virtual Tour of the Center works only in Internet Explorer. [VF]
http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/multimedia/index-how-it-works.html
The videos on this website from NASA demonstrate how things developed and used at NASA work, including such things as solid rocket boosters, space shuttle main engines, and parachutes. The website is intended to "showcase the creativity and dedication that allow the challenges of space flight to become some of our greatest achievements." The videos footage and silted graphics are accompanied by narration and printed subtitles. [VF]
http://www.rff.org/rff/News/Features/Wholesale-Electricity-Markets-and-Policy-An-Overview.cfm
In this article, Tim Brennan, a senior fellow at Resources for the Future, provides an overview of Wholesale Electricity Markets and Policy. Based in Washington, D.C., Resources for the Future (RFF), is an "independent institute dedicated exclusively to analyzing environmental, energy, and natural resource topics." (See also Scout Report from August 23, 1998.) The article is adapted from a book by Brennan published by RFF. In the article, Brennan discusses the challenges and benefits of "replacing regulation with competition" and provides an overview of the electricity market. He concludes that "while reasons for optimism exist, policy-makers should always keep in mind that electricity's crucial nature and unique characteristics may render it unsuitable for extensive competition." The Publications section includes numerous other Discussion Papers, Issue Briefs and Reports on environmental topics which are available free of charge. [VF]
http://www.mcs.drexel.edu/~crorres/Archimedes/contents.html
Chris Rorres, a retired professor from the Department of Mathematics at Drexel University and currently a part-time lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine, maintains this site all about Archimedes. The main page of the website provides some quick facts about Archimedes, such as his inventions (i.e., war machines) and fields of science he is credited with initiating (i.e., hydrostatics and static mechanics). Often called the "father of integral calculus," Archimedes wrote about topics such as plane equilibriums, quadrature of the parabola, the sphere and cylinder, spirals, conoids and spheroids, floating bodies, and measurement of a circle. These and other topics are explored further in the articles and online resources. Some sections provide background on his life, his death, and feature collections of pictures of Archimedes and stamps of Archimedes. [VF]
http://www.womentechworld.org/
Women Tech World is "the online home" for the Women's Technician Club, which connects women technicians with each other. In the section featuring Role Models, the organization posts biographies, stories and photos of "wonderful women who have succeeded in occupations ranging from auto technician to computer network engineer to detective and more." Women are invited to add their biographies to this list of role models from across the US, representing all ages and races. The website and projects are run by the Institute for Women in Trades, Technology & Science (IWITTS), a nonprofit organization based in Alameda, Calif. The Community section of the website provides information on how to join its electronic mailing lists, message boards, or e-mentoring groups. The Career Center provides an overview of careers for technicians, such as engineering, telecommunications, or installation maintenance and repair. [VF]
http://www.childrennow.org/media/mediapolicy.htm#dtv
Children Now is an independent, nonpartisan organization, the goal of which is to ensure "that children grow up in economically secure families, where parents can go to work confident that their children are supported by quality health coverage, a positive media environment, a good early education, and safe, enriching activities to do after school." This section of the website features the group's research on children and the media. Recent reports posted here include one entitled, Digital Television: Sharpening the Focus on Children, which addresses the FCC's ruling that will "improve children's television as the nation's broadcasters make the transition to digital television (DTV)" by providing access to educational television programming that parents are able to identify as educational. Additional articles on media legislation affecting children are also posted here. [VF]
