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Food for Thought May-June 2002

Note from Judy - Subscriber Feedback on Areas of Focus
Windows Keystroke & Tips - Refresh the Explorer window
Complimentary Endorsement - Allen L. Wyatt, Microsoft Word Guru
Did you Know - Subject/Verb Agreement
Recommendations

NOTE FROM JUDY

1. This issue is for May and June. As a result, it may be a bit lengthy, but I've found some fascinating and fun sites especially for you.

2. Our dictionary winner for May Jodi Rigby, of Berkshire UK. If you want to sign up for our monthly drawing for a free Webster's dictionary, go to http://www.webgrammar.com/contest.html

3. I just initiated a free service on my business site: an easy ezine template. It's for "newbies" and procrastinators. These days, if you have an online business, it's important to have an ezine to communicate with clients.

If you create the ezine right there (or copy and paste text from your site), the words will wrap at 65 characters per line. Once it's finished, you can email a copy to yourself. You can also copy the entire ezine and paste it in your word processing program. Some people just create and copy the shell, to have a good format to create their own ezine, on their own sites. Lots of publishing tips, as well. Comments? ez-ezine@ossweb.com
http://www.ossweb.com/ez-ezine-template.html

4. Terrific subscriber response from my comments last month asking what kind of value you place on this ezine. I learned that we're right on track with the Windows tip, the grammar and style help, and especially the education and research resources. Here's a sampling of your comments:

..... I am trying hard to master your difficult language and for me, Webgrammar is a means of continuous confrontation with written English in proper form. I find this most valuable, since it helps me get a feeling for what is right and what is not. Recently having taken the CPE (Certificate of Proficiency in English), I realise that my journey on the vast ocean of English studies has only just begun. Thank you for being a beacon to guide me.
P.E., Sweden

..... Windows stuff is skipped (Mac user). Links are a gem. Grammar tips are always valued. M.B.

..... Thank you very much for your efforts to publish this ezine. It has helped me with questions of grammar and word usage and has pointed me to many other useful sites I probably never would have found. I also like the keystroke tips, since I still have a lot to learn about computers and the Internet. Y.G.

..... I enjoy your ezine! I use the grammar tips (and the windows keystrokes and tips) for my own benefit. I enjoy writing, but did not learn grammar in school, so I welcome the instruction. In addition, I often share the tip with my homeschooled son for a quickie grammar lesson if it covers a rule he is struggling with in his writing assignments. I find your links very helpful and fun! Our family shares many of them with our Boy Scout troop, since all of the boys are homeschoolers. I don't have time to search the net for great sites like these. For instance, I already sent the link to the Tolkien site from webenglishteacher.com to my nephew. (He is a Tolkien maniac.) S.H.

..... I read your ezine faithfully every issue. I use the grammar tips, and often check out the links. Please, if you are thinking of discontinuing this newsletter, reconsider! T.T.

..... I was just recently introduced to this service, and I have to say, "thank you!" It is very beneficial to me in my work and in teaching my children. You do an excellent job of explaining items which sometimes can be confusing. Please continue this service and help America speak intelligently! Thank you, thank you, thank you. S.M.

..... I've been on your list from way back in the beginning. Grammar has never been my strongest point so I look forward to scanning the Webgrammar newsletter to pick up a few tips. J.C.

..... Judy, I find your ezine valuable in guiding me to appropriate sites for grammar, education and general reference. For example, I joined the daily grammar emails. This week I visited (and enjoyed) the school Newsweek and the Louvre Museum Online. You always offer something of interest, and I really appreciate your service. Job well done! Hope you continue with the ezine. J.S., AUSTRALIA

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And, dear readers, just when I thought the Complimentary Endorsement Section wasn't valuable, I received the following message:
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..... While I always seem to find SOMETHING of special interest in each of your e-zines ( maybe THAT is why I subscribe ? ) THIS time I especially appreciated the -- COMPLIMENTARY ENDORSEMENT -- link to KEIDEL.COM as I happened to need some plumbing info ! ... M.W., Bolivia

Comments? judyvorfeld@webgrammar.com

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WINDOWS KEYSTROKES AND TIPS

Refresh the Explorer window

Use the function key F5 to refresh the Explorer window. Use if you've uploaded new files, and want to see the latest ones. Or, sometimes a page almost groans as it's loading. If it takes too long, it's possible that using "Refresh/Reload" will help. Then again...

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-- COMPLIMENTARY ENDORSEMENT --

I've been a subscriber to WordTips for a while. It's a fine weekly ezine geared toward all Microsoft Word user levels. I noticed that the editor, Allen Wyatt, had published a new book, Word 2002 Beginner's Guidebook. If you want a well- written tutorial for Word 2002--with excellent layout and graphics--this may do the job! I like it so well I'm offering it as one of two books given away monthly to subscribers of my business ezine, Communication Expressway.
Word Tips Subscription Page
Book and Ebook Order Page

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DID YOU KNOW?

Subject-Verb Agreement

Q. Which is correct: "Continuing education and graduate credit IS available," or "Continuing education and graduate credit ARE available"?

A. The Gregg Reference Manual, Ninth Edition, by William Sabin says "If the subject consists of two or more words that are connected by 'and' or by 'both...and', the subject is plural and requires a plural verb. Use "are."

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RECOMMENDATIONS

EDUCATION

BRAILLE BUG
Did you know there are ten million blind or visually impaired children and adults in the United States alone? Six tiny raised dots, ingeniously arranged by a fifteen-year-old boy nearly two hundred years ago, have given literacy to thousands of people with visual disabilities worldwide. The AFB(American Foundation for the Blind) created the Braille Bug to teach sighted children about braille, and encourage literacy among all children.
http://www.afb.org/braillebug/

CELEBRATING SONDHEIM
Looking for ways to introduce students to one of the most influential figures in musical theatre history? Look to the teaching resources at this ArtsEdge website for Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods, Jr., Merrily we Roll Along, Sweeney Todd, and Sunday in the Park with George.
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/exploring/mt/sondheim/artsedge.html

E-LEARNING GURU
This site is jam packed with "how to" articles, templates and calculators in the tool box, dozens of white papers, time saving book summaries and links to the best sites on the net. Try the article e-Learning Alphabet Soup. Or The Language of Senior Executives. Or Advantages of Web-based Learning.
http://www.e-learningguru.com/

FREE ONLINE COURSES FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
Business Communications, The American Civil War, Energy, Diet and Weight, Greek Mythology, Gulliver's Travels, Hamlet, HTML Basics, History of Jazz: New Orleans, The American Revolution, Shakespeare's Comedies, Heroic Fantasy: Tolkien, World War II. You must register first, and give your name, zip code, e-mail address, and confirm that you're above 13 years old.
http://www.outreach.washington.edu/openuw/

LANGUAGE STUDY NETWORK
Comprehensive portal for the language industry
http://www.languagestudynetwork.com

SILK ROAD SEATTLE
An education project using the "Silk Road" theme to explore cultural interaction across Eurasia from the beginning of the Common Era (A. D.) to the Sixteenth Century.
http://depts.washington.edu/uwch/silkroad/index.shtml

SONGS FOR TEACHING
Research about music in the classroom, as well as ideas for songs by discipline. Suggestions for mood music and songs that require physical activity may help educators focus on the different learning styles of their students.
http://songsforteaching.homestead.com/index.html

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GRAMMAR

DAILY GRAMMAR
A great way to check grammar knowledge. Use the archives or sign up twice a year for daily e-mail lessons. Quizzes take four minutes
http://www.dailygrammar.com/archive.html

PROFESSOR CHARLES DARLING'S GRAMMAR SITE
Outstanding to use as a quick reference for your grammar questions.
http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/index.htm

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HISTORY

THE BEST AND WORST OF GEORGE WASHINGTON
http://www.mountvernon.org/press/2001gwtrivia.asp

EARLY INCANDESCENT LAMPS
Incandescent lamps manufactured between the years 1880 and 1925.
http://www.frognet.net/~ejcov/index.html

THE HIGHLAND CLEARANCES
Stories of the thousands of Scots evicted from their land. They came to Canada and the U.S. in the 1800's. Historical articles and a searchable database of individuals and the ships they traveled on.
http://www.theclearances.org/

EARLY INCANDESCENT LAMPS
Incandescent lamps manufactured between the years 1880 and 1925.
http://www.frognet.net/~ejcov/index.html

THE MAGPIE SINGS THE GREAT DEPRESSION
Selections from DeWitt Clinton High School's Literary Magazine, 1929-1942 comprising a portrait of student life in New York City during the years of the Great Depression.
http://newdeal.feri.org/magpie/

MONTICELLO
http://www.monticello.org/

OLD TIME FOXTROTTERS
From the beginning of the development of the Missouri Fox Trotting horse there have been scores of contributing stallions who added to the genetic meld of this new breed. While some of these stallions made a name for themselves in the show ring, many were more subtly contributing to the breed. This page is dedicated to bringing many of these fine old horses to light as well as many of the more known sires.
http://www.oldtimefoxtrotters.com/oldtimefoxtrotters.htm

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REFERENCE - GENERAL

BILL OF RIGHTS INSTITUTE
Many free lesson plans for teachers looking for a way to bring the Bill of Rights and the Constitution to life. Primary Source Activities; Citizenship and Character Lessons; and Historical Narratives offer new ideas for studying the amendments to the U.S. Constitution and how those amendments affect U.S. society.
http://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/

CENSUS SCOPE
Census 2000 Data. Tool for investigating U.S. demographic trends, sponsored by the Social Science Data Analysis Network at the University of Michigan.
http://www.censusscope.org/

DEMOGRAPHY OF CHINA
http://library.ust.hk/guides/sosc277.html

DIRECTORY OF DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS
Guide to International Organizations, Governments, Private Sector Institutions, Development Agencies, Universities, Research and Training Institutes, NGOs/PDOs, Grantmakers, Banks, Microfinance Institutions and Development Consulting Firms
http://www.devdir.org/

HOW AIR FORCE ONE WORKS
When the president goes anywhere by plane, he travels in the most amazing private jet in the world -- a flying White House complete with a gym! Take a tour!
http://www.howstuffworks.com/air-force-one.htm

INTERNATIONAL CIVIC ARMS
Website on civic heraldry, i.e. coats of arms of countries, states, provinces, towns, villages etc. The site is not restricted to any country. No data on coats of arms of families, individual persons or genealogical data.
http://www.ngw.nl/indexgb.htm

LM_NET
A discussion group open to school library media specialists worldwide, and to people involved with the school library media field, including the latest on school library media services, operations, and activities. It's a group for practitioners helping practitioners, sharing ideas, solving problems, telling each other about new publications and up-coming conferences, asking for help or information, and linking schools through their library media centers.
http://www.askeric.org/lm_net/

INTERNET RESOURCES FOR NONPROFITS - TOPIC DIRECTORY
For and about nonprofits. Includes management and governance, fund raising and grants, topical publications, program evaluation, donor prospect research, public policy issues, government, and much more. Web sites and catalogs are maintained by the linked not-for-profit organizations, professionals in the field, and by commercial sources.
http://www.ucp-utica.org/uwlinks/directory.html

ORDNANCE SURVEY - GET A MAP (UK)
Free service from Ordnance Survey (Britain's national mapping agency) allowing visitors to print maps or copy them for use on personal or business web sites. Search for maps of all parts of the UK at various scales by entering your place name, postcode or National Grid reference.
http://www.ordsvy.gov.uk/

POPULATION STATISTICS
Growth of the population per country in a historical perspective, including their administrative divisions and principal towns. A historical, demographical and statistical overview of the population of all the countries in the world, their administrative divisions and their important cities.
http://www.library.uu.nl/wesp/populstat/populframe.html

PORTALS TO THE WORLD contain selective links providing authoritative, in-depth information about the nations and other areas of the world. The links were selected by Area Specialists and other Library staff using Library of Congress selection criteria. When completed, the project will include all the nations of the world.
http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/portals.html

UNITED STATES COUNTIES
Information on counties, such as county officials, courthouse addresses, county seats, cities in a county.
http://www.naco.org/counties/counties/index.cfm

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SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY

CLINICAL TRIALS
The U.S. National Institutes of Health, through its National Library of Medicine, has developed ClinicalTrials.gov to provide patients, family members and members of the public current information about clinical research studies.
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov

CUMBRIA - EAST GREENLAND EXPEDITION 1998
Danish Polar Center Expedition number DPC532-135
http://www.lakesit.demon.co.uk/green98/

MADSCI LIBE (MadSci Library)
An excellent starting point for exploring science resources on the Web. The General pages cover topics such as museums, USENET science groups, and free search engines you can use to locate science sites on the Web. The Science pages cover specific subjects.
http://www.madsci.org/libs/

NORTH AMERICA'S HIGHEST PEAKS
http://www.geocities.com/~gibell/fourteeners/

VIRTUAL FROG BUILDER GAME
This game--presented by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory--tests your knowledge of the 3D spatial relationships between the organs in the frog.
http://www-itg.lbl.gov/vfrog/builder.html

LONG-RANGE WEATHER FORECASTS FOR BRAZIL
(Portugese only)
http://www.inmet.gov.br/climato/prog_clim.htm

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WRITING / JOURNALISM

BIBLIOMANIA
Literature, study materials, poetry, interviews, short stories, etc.
http://www.bibliomania.com/

JANET'S WORDPLAY AND PUZZLE - JANET MUGGERIDGE
http://www.jy-muggeridge.freeserve.co.uk/

MARVELS & TALES: journal of fairy tale studies presented by Wayne State University Press. Central forum for the multidisciplinary study of fairy tales. In its pages, contributors from around the globe have published studies, texts, and translations of fairy-tales from Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa.
http://www.langlab.wayne.edu/MarvelsHome/Marvels_Tales.html

STANDS FOR is a source for acronyms and abbreviations.
http://www.stands4.com/

TECHNICAL EDITORS' EYRIE - Jean Hollis Weber
http://www.jeanweber.com/links/resource.htm

TIPS AND RESOURCES: KNOPF
A page for authoring tools: FrameMaker, WebWorks Publisher, and RoboHelp. Good site for technical writers, Help authors, and other information developers.
http://www.knopf.com/resources.html

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See you in July!

JUDY'S SITES, FORUMS, AND E-ZINES:

Judy Vorfeld's Small Business E-zine, Communication Expressway, designed to help people improve office, technology, presentation, and writing skills: better business communication.
http://www.ossweb.com/ezine.html

Basic Business Grammar. Judy gives basic grammar tips and helps busy people find good grammar resources. Brief e-zine.
http://wz.com/business/BasicBusinessGrammar.html

Hawaiian Food and Cuisine. Judy helps busy people find delicious Hawaiian recipes. Brief monthly e-zine.
http://wz.com/food/HawaiianFoodCuisine.html

Webgrammar - for students, educators, editors, writers, librarians, researchers, lovers of the English language, and Web developers.
http://www.webgrammar.com

Webgrammar's Food for Thought: Library of Congress, Washington DC
ISSN: 1530-034X

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Food for Thought May-June 2002

-- COMPLIMENTARY ENDORSEMENT --

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