Clark's Weblog

Enduring Freedom Killed In Action Fund

Thu, 13 Jan 2005 01:47:13 GMT

I want to call your attention to the Enduring Freedom Killed In Action Fund, established to support families in which a parent has been killed in Afghanistan or Iraq. I found out about it through direct mail, but what caught my attention was an endorsement from retired General Tommy Franks. From their site:

"In the pursuit of liberating these victims of oppression in Afghanistan and Iraq, the ultimate sacrifice is being made by hundreds of America's finest young military personnel. Many leave behind a spouse and small children. Unable to afford the life insurance that was offered to them, they must now survive on the insufficient standard military death benefit of $12,000. It is the goal of the Enduring Freedom KIA Fund to give financial aid to those needy and deserving families."

Netflix Does RSS Right

Wed, 12 Jan 2005 23:53:09 GMT

Netflix has a number of RSS feeds, including three personalized feeds for the Queue, Most Recent Rental Activity, and Recommendations.

Despair.com "Greatest Hurts" Collections

Thu, 02 Dec 2004 01:38:56 GMT

Despair.com, creators of 'demotivators,' has its holiday stuff available. How about a mug that says:

Ambition: The Journey of a Thousand Miles Sometimes Ends Very Very Badly

Meetings: None of Us Is As Dumb As All of Us

Procrastination: Hard Work Pays Off After Time, But Laziness Always Pays Off Now

for your co-workers?

Crime in the United States: 2003

Fri, 05 Nov 2004 14:17:38 GMT

Every year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) produces its annual complete crime report for the United States, and the report for 2003 was recently made available in a variety of formats on the agency's website. While the report is a bit overwhelming (it is 516 pages in length), novice users may want to start by looking at page v, which explains how to read and understand the numbers contained within the report. Section II contains details on all offenses reported, including violent crime, property crime, and hate crime. In brief, the report reveals that violent crime in the United States dropped three percent last year, and that 62 percent of last year's murders have been solved to date. It is also worth noting that during the past 10 years, total violent crime in the U.S. has dropped 25 percent. A number of separate tables are available in the Excel format, including "Murder Victims by Age, by Weapon" and "Arrests by State".

[Via Scout Report]

Science and Math Songs Galore

Fri, 05 Nov 2004 14:14:22 GMT

The MASSIVE database contains information on over 1700 science and math songs. Some of these songs are suitable for 2nd graders; others might only appeal to tenured professors. Some songs have been professionally recorded; others haven't. Some are quite silly; others are downright serious.

[Via Scout Report]

ESA - Observing the Earth - Global air pollution map produced by Envisat's SCIAMACHY

Tue, 12 Oct 2004 15:53:35 GMT

ESA - Observing the Earth - Global air pollution map produced by Envisat's SCIAMACHY

Volcano Cam!

Mon, 04 Oct 2004 10:31:10 GMT

The U.S. Geological Survey has a web-cam surveilling Mount St. Helens---VolcanoCam!

"This is an image of Mount St. Helens, taken from the Johnston Ridge Observatory. The Observatory and VolcanoCam are located at an elevation of approximately 4,500 feet, about five miles from the volcano. You are looking approximately south-southeast across the North Fork Toutle River Valley."