Phyllis' Favorites

Sites found in:
March 1, 2008 Earth Science Sites of the Week

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OCEANMOTION, Ocean Motion and NASA, (suggested by M Sara Tweedie),
this website documents humankind's experiences, observations and
investigations of ocean surface currents. In addition to the information
resources posted on the website, there are also investigations that lead
students to explore patterns and relationships through data products
(color-coded images, time series graphs and data tables). These
investigations are done through an interactive browser interface that
provides access to a wealth of data.

http://www.oceanmotion.org/

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CAREERS MICROSITE, NASA, (suggested by John Ristvey, Principal
Consultant, Manager, McREL E/PO), One purpose of this careers site is to
explain many types of careers that go into supporting the work of any NASA
mission. The site contains pertinent information about the variety of career
options available to today's students. Seven of these career clusters are
represented among the people who work on the Dawn mission.

http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/people/careers/index.asp

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SONORAN DESERT: FRAGILE LAND OF EXTREMES, (suggested by Liz Colvard,
Science Information and Education, USGS), This 28-minute online film shows
how scientists work to better understand native desert plants and animals
such as desert tortoises, saguaro cacti, and Gila monsters. Much of the
program was shot in and around Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Arizona.

http://online.wr.usgs.gov/outreach/desert

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Pretty Good, by Charles Osgood, CBS NEWS, (suggested by Chad Wiekierak)

There was once a pretty good student,
Who sat in a pretty good class
And was taught by a pretty good teacher,
Who always let pretty good pass.
He wasn't terrific at reading;
He wasn't a whiz-bang at math;
But for him education was leading
Straight down a pretty good path.
He didn't find school too exciting,
But he wanted to do pretty well,
And he did have some trouble with writing,
And nobody had taught him to spell.
When doing arithmetic problems,
Pretty good was regarded as fine;
Five and five needn't always be 10,
A pretty good answer was nine.
The pretty good student was happy
With the standards that were in effect,
And nobody thought it was sappy
If his answers were not quite correct.
The pretty good class that he sat in
Was part of a pretty good school,

And the student was not an exception;
On the contrary, he was the rule.
The pretty good school that he went to
Was right there in a pretty good town.
And nobody there ever noticed
He could not tell a verb from a noun.
The pretty good student, in fact, was
A part of a pretty good mob.
And the first time he knew what he lacked was
When he looked for a pretty good job.
It was then, when he sought a position,
He discovered that life can be tough,
And he soon had a sneaky suspicion
Pretty good might not be good enough.
The pretty good town in our story
Was part of a pretty good state
Which had pretty good aspirations
And prayed for a pretty good fate.
There once was a pretty good nation,
Pretty proud of the greatness it had,
But which learned much too late,
If you want to be great,
Pretty good is, in fact, pretty bad.

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Mark Francek
Professor of Geography
Central Michigan University
http://webs.cmich.edu/resgi/