USDA: Food & Nutrition Service

Despite the abundance of foodstuffs in the United States, many individualsand families go hungry on a regular basis. There are a number of public andprivate organizations working to address this problem, and the USDA's Food &Nutrition Service is just such an organization. Their website allows personsworking in this area to learn about their various nutrition assistanceprograms through their online newsroom, their specific program areas, andtheir "Spotlights" features. For a brief introduction to their currentinitiatives and work, interested parties should browse on over to thenewsroom, where they can learn about recent grant awards, state food stampparticipation rates, and disaster assistance. After that, visitors may wishto look at the multimedia materials within the "Eat Smart. Play Hard"feature designed for young people. Here they can learn about the foodpyramid and how to eat balanced meals everyday. [KMG]>From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2006.http://scout. wisc.edu/

Stop Child Poverty

A number of international organizations are committed to helping end childpoverty, and one of the best known of their number is the Global VolunteerNetwork. Through their advocacy work and the Stop Child Poverty campaign,they are dedicated to the proposition that child poverty can be completederadicated. Through sections titled "Learn It", "Live It", and "Pass it On",visitors to this site will learn about the "big picture" of child povertyand how they can become directly involved in any number of volunteerprojects. The "Pass It On" area is quite fine in this regard, as visitorscan look over a message board where they can discuss the campaign, and thenuse a zip-code search engine to find volunteer opportunities in their area.[KMG]>From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2006.http://scout. wisc.edu/

Auto and Truck Repair and Advice

George G. Scott, Jr. has been an auto mechanic for over thirty years, and hehas also found time in his busy schedule to create this website dedicated toproviding both the average person and future auto mechanics with informationabout car and truck repair. While the site does contain some banneradvertisements, there is plenty of fine free material here as well. Visitorscan begin their journey by looking into areas titled "How Your Car Works".After that, they can look over an alphabetical list that includes sageadvice on everything from alternators to water pump repair. The site isrounded out by a fun collection of sounds of cars in "trouble", including abad motor mount of 1994 Saturn and the valve train tapping of a 1993 Isuzu
Rodeo. [KMG]>From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2006.http://scout.wisc.edu/

David Rumsey Map Collection: Antique Atlases

The world of antique maps and atlases is a wide one, and includes such finevolumes as the exquisite atlas of New Spain created by Alexander vonHumboldt in 1811 and Mitchell's School Atlas of 1847. These atlases andhundreds more can be viewed at this site, provided courtesy of the DavidRumsey Historical Map Collection. Online since 2000, the antique atlassection is divided geographically into smaller sections that cover NorthAmerica, Africa, and Europe. After clicking on over to one of thesesections, visitors will be presented with a complete list of the availableatlases. As the site utilizes the powerful Insight Browser, visitors canscroll around on each document at their leisure, zooming in and out alongthe way. [KMG]>From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2006.http://scout. wisc.edu/

Hummingbirds

Living all the way from the rocky coast of Nova Scotia to the forests ofBrazil, hummingbirds can be found in a vast range of climates. Recently, theNational Geographic Magazine created this multimedia portrait of these hardycreatures and placed it online for the general public. On the homepage,visitors can read a brief overview essay on the lives of hummingbirds, andthen continue on to over of the site's six primary sections. These sectionsinclude a photo gallery, an "On Assignment" area which includes field notesfrom staff photographer Luis A. Mazariegos, and a "Learn More" area, whichincludes links to relevant websites. The real highlight of the site is thenarrated tour by Ernie Franzgrote into the lives of different hummingbirds,including the violet-capped, the purple-crowned, and the marvelousspatuetail. [KMG]>From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2006.http://scout.wisc.edu/

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

While many writers have to wait decades, if not centuries, after their deathto receive critical or commercial success, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow waslucky to achieve both during his lifetime. Born in Portland, Maine in 1807,he was a figure of national prominence by the 1850s, and a much-belovedprofessor at Harvard. Recently, the Maine Historical Society created thisfine tribute to the man and his work. The site is divided into seven primarysections which include an extended biographical essay about his life andwork, information about his family and his homes in Portland and Cambridge.Of course, any site about Longfellow would be incomplete without a generousselection of his poems, and this site has that particular detail wellcovered. In the Longfellow poems database, visitors can view a sortable listof his works, which can be arranged by poem title, first line, andpublication date. [KMG]>From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2006.http://scout. wisc.edu/

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance

Living and coping with depression or bipolar disorder can be difficult, butthere are a number of high-quality online resources that can be very usefulto those with these conditions, or for those who work directly with theseindividuals. The homepage of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance(DBSA) can be of great help in this area, as their site includes everythingfrom their "Real Recovery" podcasts to such basics as factsheets on bothdiseases. A good place to start here would be with any of the five primarysections, which include crisis intervention resources and recovery steps.Visitors can also view many of these materials in Spanish and they may alsowish to sign up to receive the DBSA's electronic newsletter. [KMG]>From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2006.http://scout.wisc.edu/

Support our troops - sponsored by Xerox

1. Go to their website:
">http://www.letssaythanks.com or click on the title above.
2. Pick out a thank you card.
3. Xerox will print it and send it to a soldier who is serving in Iraq.
4. You can't pick out who gets it, but it's going to a member of our armed services.

And you thought I was frugal

Cable Shows for Free

How I Get Cable Shows for Free
http://sharonhr.blogspot.com/2006/11/how-i-get-cable-shows-for-free.html

PIN NUMBER REVERSAL

If you should ever be forced by a robber to withdraw money from an ATM machine, you can notify the police by entering your Pin # in reverse.
For example if your pin number is 1234 then you would put in 4321. The ATM recognizes that your pin number is backwards from the ATM card you placed in the machine.
The machine will still give you the money you requested, but unknown to the robber,
the police will be immediately dispatched to help you.
This information was recently broadcasted on TV and it states that it is seldom used because people don't know it exists.

Birthday Calendar

This is fun. Click on the title and put in the actual date of your birth. All sorts of statistical info and events that happened on that day will appear. Have fun...and if it's your Birthday, have a Happy One!!!!

Furniture Made from Bike Parts

Check this out at http://www.bikefurniture.com/

Bookswapping and Frugal Gifts