What's Knot to Like? (Animated Knots.com)

Hi All,

I came across an interesting - if very specific - website earlier today. It's called Animated Knots.com and can be found by clicking on this link.

Who knew that there were knots for rock climbing, fishing, splicing, scouting and surgical purposes?  Well, there are!  (And, by the way, this is just a brief list of the types of knots on the site!  There are many, many more listed.)  Click on this link for a complete list of the various knots listed on the site.

When users click on one of the types of knots, you are connected to a new page with a list of the specific knots on the left side of the page.  Clicking on any of the names of the knots brings you to a new page which enables the user to view a video creating the knot.  Users can play the video in either a continuous loop or watch the video in slow, medium or fast mode.

Videos are in color and the level of detail is superb. Users will learn how to create a particular knot very easily with these high quality videos.

Also, apps for AnimatedKnots.com are available for iOS/Mac, Android and Windows devices.

Finally, there are descriptions of how to create the knot.  The narrative has sections for features of the knot, uses of the knot, how to tie the knot and advantages of using that particular knot.

So...if you need a knot - check out AnimatedKnots.com - you'll be happy you did!

Regards,
Stu

Happy Birthday National Park Service!

Hi All,

Did you know that the National Park Service turns 100 on August 25, 2016?  Well, it does!

Click on the various links below to learn all about the National Park Service (NPS, hereafter).   Find a park!

Plan your NPS visit! 

Learn all about America the Beautiful Passes 

Get the kids involved - click on this link for the Centennial Junior Ranger Activity Book 

View the film 'National Parks Adventure' - which presents parks in never-seen-before ways!  Alternatively, click on this link for photos and multimedia regarding the NPS - quite the visual display of beauty!!!

Find out about NPS Centennial Programs, get NPS Centennial News and get involved with the NPS!

Did you know that there is an FAQ for the NPS?  Yup - there is! Click here for the link. 

Finally, click on this Wikipedia link to learn more about the history of the NPS. 

Enjoy the parks!

Regards,
Stu

Even More News Sites!

Hi All,

Evidently I like news -  lots of news!

Why?  Because I've generated a whole bunch of blog entries regarding news sites over the last few months. Its easy and understandable why I'd like to blog about news sites!

News sites are common, important for folks to read and, well, they are just darn interesting. Add to the fact that you learn a lot from reading a newspaper (or reading the adjacent news website) and who wouldn't want to read about the juicy morsels of politics, elections, entertainment, science, business, movies/books, technology, sports, health, weather and other topics?

So...simply put, click on this link from Kadaza and you'll find a whole smorgasbord of websites related to the news.

And just for the record, you'll find links to some of the world's preeminent news organizations by clicking on this link. Included on the site are CNN, HuffPost, ABCNews, The New York Times, CBS News, NBC News, Washington Post and many, many more sites.

Enjoy the links and the sites and the news!

Regards,
Stu

Reuters Technology News

Hi All,

If you are interested in computers, tablets, internet news, smartphones or anything else related to technology you might want to visit RTN.  What is RTN?  Simply put its an acronym for Reuters Technology News.

With main topics like business, Google, Apple, Cybersecurity, Technology videos, and more, readers will be in the know with respect to technology news. News is current, relevant and the articles are very well written.

Enjoy the site and the technology news!

Regards,
Stu

Charity Navigator - Your Guide to Intelligent Giving

Hi All,

Charity Navigator - Your Guide to Intelligent Giving.  The name says it all.

Basically the site helps users evaluate the charity(ies) that he/she is donating to.  The site has Top 10 Lists, Hot Topics, Tips for Donors, an A-Z Directory of charities and a list of 4-Star Charities.  Click on any of the links above to go to that part of the Charity Navigator site.

About a third of the way down on the sites' homepage there is a list of charities listed by categories like animals,  arts/culture/humanities, community development, education, environment, health, human services, international, human/civil rights, religion and research/public policy. Its a very useful way to find a charity based on a topic that is personally important to you.

Once users find a particular charity of interest, a huge amount of free information is available.  Financial and accountability information is graded and ranked by score and the number of stars respectively.  Financial performance measurements (expenses, administrative expenses, fundraising efficiency and more) are available.

In addition, the site has yes/no ratings for the following questions related to the charity in question:
Is the following information easily accessible on the charity's website regarding:
Donor privacy policy, Are board members listed?, Are audited financials listed? and are key staff listed?

An income statement for the specific charity is included on Charity Navigator, In addition a charity breakdown is included in the form of a pie chart.  Compensation of charity leader(s) and the mission statement of the charity is included as well.

So...if you are looking to donate time, money or resources to a charity it might behoove you to take a look at Charity Navigator.  It might help you and your donation go even further than you ever thought possible.

Enjoy the site!

Regards,
Stu

Hi All,

Newspapers - they aren't what they once were, but they still survive.  And in some cases they are thriving.  But what if you want to see a newspaper from another part of the country? Or what if you want to take a gander at a newspaper in the UK or Italy or Russia?  Or from New Jersey or California or Brazil or China....or...well, you get the idea

Indeed - internet to your rescue!

Click on this link to go to Online Newspapers.com.  The site bills itself as having 'thousands of world newspapers at your fingertips'.   And yes, its true.

Newspapers can be searched geographically - North American, Africa, South America/Central America, Asia/Middle East, Europe and Australasia/Oceania.

Clicking on any of the links above sends you to another page where users can find newspapers listed by state or an alpabetical list of newspapers.  Digging deeper into the lists gets you to the geographic area that you are interested in finding and ultimately, the newspaper that you are looking for.

Click this link for the 50 Most Popular newspapers by country. Finally, click on this link for magazines listed by category.

Enjoy the links and the newspapers!

Regards,
Stu