The Missing Links for your...Technological, Intellectual, Recreational... Evolution

Cognitive Science & Psychology | Computers | Design | Dictionaries, Etc. | EFL/ESL Resources | The Fittest | Free Downloads | Grammar | Graphics | HTML | Instructional Technology | Language and Linguistics | Libraries| Listening Practice | Literature | Maps | Mason Links | Math | Movies & Video | Musical Links | My Notes | Notetaking | On-line Music, Directories & Search Engines | On-line Journals | Other Stuff | Other Stuff, More |Restaurants | Statistics | Software -- that you buy | Professional Organizations | Teaching | US History & Culture| Vocabulary Development | Weather | Writing & Research | Word Games| 
HTML Aids Graphics


Design 


 

Computer Links -- Hardware, Software, OS and 
Networking


 

Instructional Technology

 

 

My Notes

  • My Notes -- Literally, my notes about how to get computer "things" done; Mason focused. 

 

EFL/ESL Resources

  • An ESL Resource Guide for Language Instructors -- from Qualityansweringservice.com; recommened by Luis in Seattle

  • Interesting Things for ESL Students -- "A fun study site for students of English as a Second Language. Word games, puzzles, quizzes, slang, proverbs and much more." 

  • Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab -- LOTS of listening activities, with quizzes to test your comprehension, at all different levels. Give it a try. 

  • Sounds of English -- This is a helpful pronunciation site created by a collegue of mine, Sharon Widmayer, and Holly Gray. 

  • free-English.com -- One of my Korean students recommends this site. From what I can see they offer good practice exercises. Here is their description: free-English.com is an excellent site for ESL students wishing to improve their English spelling, grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure skills. The site is user-friendly, easy to navigate and has been translated into 13 languages. Now FREE online English Assessment test available! 

  • FreeRice --<http://freerice.com> .Brought you to by UN World Food Programme (WFP) ... a great way to study ENglish vocabulary and help to fight world hunger

  • Self Study for ESL Students -- Lots of links

  • English Grammar Quizzes -Medium --Brought you to by ESL/EFL teachers around the world

  • Grammar Tutorial -- From Austria's Open Distance Learning --> they link to other resouces

  • The Internet Grammar of English -- A fine grammar from some British linguists that helps you understand English grammar without insulting your adult intelligence ... but simple enough for younger folk.

  • NonstopEnglish.com --Resources for students & teachers

  • OneStopEnglish.com-- Resources for teachers (primarily) from Macmillan Publishers Ltd

  • VOANews.com-- Good "readable" world news stories ... many with recorded radio stories to match.

 

Writing and Research Aids/Info

Writing


Multilingual Writing

  • Writing Across Borders  A website from Oregon State University in which they discuss international student wirting issues (they have film clips too!).

Notetaking


 

On-line Music, Directories and Search Engines
       What's a Lundie?

  • dig -- a FREE commercial-free alternative internet radio from down under (too bad the US Congress doesn't let the US have free internet radio like this anymore).See this "old save internet radio" site or the R.A.I.N. website.

  • [KPIG Radio]KPIG Radio, Freedom CA -- adult rock, acoustic music, blues, progressive country, Hawaiian, cajun, bluegrass, and folk 
  • [MP3.com]MP3.com--On-line streaming mp3 files in many generes.

    •  
If you don't know much about search engines, try this link from UC Bezerkely, ... I mean, UC Berkeley: The BEST Search Engines. Also try Meta-Search Engines from the same author.

This is also a great webpage from NoodleTools with information about using different search engines for different needs.

N.B.
You may also want to read about The "Norwegian Puffin Dog" Test, or how I rate the usefulness of a web searching tool. My Lundies many never achieve the same fame(notoriety?) as the Oscars, but 'ya gotta start somewhere. 

Now on to the Engines ...
"Webusers, Start Your Engines!"

  • [About.com]--use this to find a directory of links for ANY topic...13 Lundies short for Lundehunds (a.k.a. "norwegian puffin dogs) ... but about is now  backed by Google, so the search results are really Google results

  • [Alta Vista]-- for serious searching, go to the mountains...13,700 on the puffin dog scale, but this is still one of the best engines for academics, puffin dogs aside.

  • [Dogpile]Dogpile-- a highly effective metasearch engine that allows you to type in one query and get results many seach engines and indexes. On the "norwegian puffin dog" test, it yielded an unspecifiied number of results, but remember it's a metasearch tool, so it's results are from Google, Yahoo, LiveSearch and Ask!

  • [Google]-- Google earns an impressive 2,630 on the "norwegian puffin dog" scale .

  • [HotBot]-- search either Yahoo, LyGo (Lycos' visual search) or MSN from this directory/search engine.
  • [Lycos]Lycos-- for a quick find, it works fine! Lycos earns a 129 on the "norwegian puffin dog" scale -- not bad since it too seems to report sites only once.

  • Mahalo-- like the Open Directory in a way in that people create the link lists in Mahalo (Hawaiian for "Thank you"). As of July 2008, no one has created a "norwegian puffin dog" -- guess I'll have to give it a go :)

  • [The Open DirctoryProject]The Open Directory Project-- Zero Lundies but it did find three sites for "darwin fish."


  • Powerset.com -- NOW BING a cool way to search for info in wikis ... now these are wikis we are talking about, so you gotta do your realiability anaylzes on your own for the info, but still it yielded 12  "norwegian puffin dog" sites . Microsoft bought them (July 2008), so they must have something here.
  • [Surfwax.com]This metasearch engine yields 13,000 Lundies, but tells the truth about the links returned by its "associates." Such candor can be not only freshing but helpful.

  • [Virtual Library]The WWW Vitual Library--run by a loose confederation of volunteers, who compile pages of key links for particular areas in which they are expert, it isn't the biggest index of the web; I've got it here for historic reasons. Zero Lundies and no "darwin fish." 

  • WannaLearn.com
    • "WannaLearn has been designed to provide a wide range of users with an effective and efficient means of accessing the best free learning opportunities available on the Web, in virtually every subject and area of interest."Zero Lundies but I didn't really think it would find any tutorials on "how to raise Lundies"; I just had to run it through the Lundie test since I stuck it in this category.

 

Dictionaries, Reference Sites, Etc.


Grammar Delight


 

The Fittest


 

Statistics -- How to Do 'Em

Math

  • Unit Conversion (.org) -- your typical length, capacity, temperature, etc conversions done here, but other my exotic one such as surface tension & luminance convertors also (even a EU currency convertor)

Word Games


Vocabulary Development




Listening Practice


 

Free Downloads

    [Audacity] -- a free, easy-to-use audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux and other operating systems. Edit Ogg, Vorbis, MP3 and WAV files. Cut, copy, splice and miz sounds together. The list goes on. If you don't use this, I gotta ask you why.
Ad Block Plus  --Ad Block Plus, an awesome ad-on for web browsers and mobile OSs that blocks ads. It's free, but I donate to the developer once a year to keep the useful product going strong.

    [GetOpera!]Opera--free, fast web browser from Norway!

    [Get Firefox]Firefox-- another free (but they all are now!) non-Evil E web browser -- use the tab feature for easier browsing.

    [Get Thunderbird]Thunderbird -- Mozilla's email reader.  If you used to use Netscape as your email reaser, this will feel like home.

    [Get Nvu]Nvu -- An open source HTML editor that does a pretty good job for your average user.

    [Get Acrobat Reader]Adobe Acrobat Reader

    [Shockwave]Shockwave

    [Flash]Flash

    [Real Audio]Real Audio

    BooksBooks Should be Free
    At lest public domain books should be free! Look here for free public domain audiobooks & eBooks download books for Android, iPhone, Kindle & mp3 players





 
 

[Get Quicktime]Quicktime

[Eudora--free email reader]--named after Eudora Welty

[Fetch Fetch]Fetch -- File transfer for Macs

AceFTP Freeware -- now that WS_FTP isn't free any more, I've switched to this efficient little program for my file transfer needs.

Freezip-- a small, fast and efficient Zip utility for compression and decompression of files and directories. For the user that just wants "to download things and get on with life ... you can use it for free ... if you have ever used Windows Explorer, then there's nothing new to learn with this puppy. Quick, painless and nicely integrated with Explorer."    This program has become my numero uno zip utility.


[WINAMP]The B E S T MP3+ player for MS Windows-Based PCs

SpyBot great Spyware detection and removal

Ad-Aware  run this adware detection program in concert with SpyBot to catch more "spies."

SpywareBlaster install this program to keep spyware off your PC in the first place.

Easy Cleaner  -- seems to have helped my PC run better by cleaning up the registry. I researched registry cleaning software for a while -- and was willing to pay for what seemed like a good program -- so when I came across this one that seemed to really work, I was more than happy to make a donation to the programmer.


 
 

Other Stuff

  • Nature Sounds <http://www.naturesounds.ca/> This Canadian company offers downloads as well as CDs ... good for working while the kids watch American Idol

  • World's Healthest Foods<http://whfoods.org/foodstoc.php> A list of the world's healthest foods according to the George Mateljan Foundation; "provides unbiased scientific information aabout nutrient-rich foods that can promote vibrant health and energy and fit your personal needs and busy lifestyle." Seems pretty legit.

 
 

Mason Links that Could be Useful


 

More Other Stuff





Libraries

 

Teaching

Discovery Education -- Classroom Resources
Lots of free of on-line teacher help including lesson plans, curriculum integration, class, eportfolios, free webinars, crossword generators. 

    edhelper.com
    TONS of on-line teacher help including lesson plans, webquests, worksheet generators, spelling and vocabulary exercises, and word find as well as crossword generators. 


    This site's "goal is to make it easy for educators to integrate the Internet into the classroom." They do a pretty good job of this by offering a search engine that reports only educational websites as hits and lesson plans and practical information to help you use interenet resources in your class. They have a specific "subsites" that focus on Higher Education and other areas. 

    English Online
    lots of ESL/EFL materials for teaching and learning 

    Inventio -- "definitions of the scholarship of teaching and [examinations of] ways that campus practices, policies, and conditions work for or against a scholarship of teaching." A GMU publication. 

    The New Theory of Learning
    By Thomas L. Magliozzi (one of the Car Talk brothers -- with an MIT B.S. and Boston College Ph.d)

    [F.R.E.E. -- Federal Resources for Education Excellence]
    This site, put together in response to President Clinton's April 1997 call for federal agencies to make resources available for internet-based teaching and learning. 

    Advanced Writing in English as a Foreign Language
    A PhD Dissertation by Horváth József

    NCBE
    the National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education. No matter what your view of bilingual education, this site is helpful. Be sure to check out the technology links.
     
    ReadWriteThink.org
    --from the International Reading Association, NCTE, Marcopolo and the MCI Foundation.  A great collection of tools for teachers and students (geared for K-12, but adult ESL/EFL students can benefit from it).  Be sure to check out the Student Materials Index

TeachersFirst.com
a collection of web resources for  K-12, but the high school material can be used for academic prep in an IEP.  If your students keep ask you for pleasure book recommendation, send them to their 100 Best Books List or their grade level book lists.

  

US History and Culture



Literature
 

Movies and Video

 

Musical Links


 

Weather


 
 

Languages and Lingustics

    Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 14th Edition, On-line -- search for a language and receive information about the people who speak it and other linguistic data (lots of links!).

    Jennifer's Language Site -- pages maintained by a Central Californiahigh school (Atwater High School -- this is the Atwater, CA between Turlock and Merced, not the one in LA near Glendale). Lots of "basic" phrases/ideas in LOTS of languages (800 for "hi"; 160 for "good afternoon").

    Linguasphere.org -- " an independent organisation (created in 1983, with no political, religious, institutional or governmental affiliations) devoted to the worldwide study and promotion of multilingualism."

    Word Net -- "an online lexical reference system whose design is inspired by current psycholinguistic theories of human lexical memory. English nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs are organized into synonym sets, each representing one underlying lexical concept."

    IPA Chart that "talks" from Peter Ladefoged at UCLA. 

    Symbols for American English Vowel Sounds -- IPA along with other "sound" symbols 


 
 
 

Cognitve Science and Psychology

    KurzweilAI.net -- "a Web showcase for the ideas and technologies of leading visionaries; focuses on the exponential growth of intelligence, both biological and machine, and the merger of the two in a post-humanist future." Cool Site. Try Ramona.




     

     

     

     

     


Maps


Professional Organizations
    The American Association for Applied Linguistics -- "AAAL members promote principled approaches to language-related concerns, including language education, acquisition and loss, bilingualism, discourse analysis, literacy, rhetoric and stylistics, language for special purposes, psycholinguistics, second and foreign language pedagogy, language assessment, and language policy and planning." 

    CAL - Center for Applied Lingusitcs

    IATEFL International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language. Be sure to see the website for the Polish branch of this association, specially the Computer SIG's on-line journal.

    The Modern Language Association -- provides "opportunities for its members [English and foreign language teachers] to share their scholarly findings and teaching experiences with colleagues and to discuss trends in the academy." Yeah, yeah...we know it's "the" organization for English department types.

    N A F S A -- Association of International Educators

    NCTE The National Council of Teachers of English

    NEA -- The National Education Association, "America's oldest and largest organization commited to advancing the cause of public education, from pre-school to university graduate programs."

    TESOL -- "Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, has more than 14,000 members. Its mission is to develop the expertise of its members and others involved in teaching English to speakers of other languages to help them foster effective communication in diverse settings while respecting individuals'language rights." Yeah, yeah...we know it's "the" organization for EFL/ESOL types. 
     
     
Journals On-line
    k a i r o s -- "a refereed online journal exploring the intersections of rhetoric, technology, and pedagogy." From Texas Tech in Lubbock, TX (of Willie Nelson and, now, Bobby Knight fame). 

    Language Learning & Technology
    A refereed journal for second and foreign lanuage teachers


    TESL-EJ -- online journal of Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Langauge.

Restaurants I Have Enjoyed

  • 94th Aero Squadron -- I went to the one in Van Nuys, California with my parents while growing up...I liked it because I was into Snoopy & the Red Barron and I took French in school. I have since found out that they have a location in College Park, Maryland, so I'll have to take my kids there.

  • Alegria -- Spanish and Latin American cusine on Pine in Long Beach, California.

  • Bishop's -- In 1987, a cousin who had lived in Seattle recommended this place in Vancouver, BC. I remember it as in a small, cottage style house with great looking and tasting food. It was the first "Death by Chocloate" dessert I ever had, and I still remember it.

  • Carlitos -- As a transplanted Californian, I have to return to the Golden State to get Mexican food that I like (not the Tex-Mex stuff that is so popular in Metro D.C.)  This Santa Barbara restaurant does the trick for me. 

  • Chicago Chop House -- I usually do not order steak out, but you'd be a fool not get steak here.

  • Dave & Buster's -- a restaurant and arcade all together. I put it on the list not so much because of the food (which is okay) but because it's a fun place to go -- but loud --and there's one within walking distance of my house.

  • DC Coast -- A place to enjoy architecture, interior design, food and people watching in Washington D.C.

  • Garrett Popcorn -- okay, these places are not restaurants, but they are located throughout Chicago (and now they even have one in NYC on 5th Ave of all places!) and you could eat enough popcorn from them to count as a meal -- the best popcorn I've ever had.

  • Georgia Brown's -- Southern food in the Nation's Capital -- with live jazz too.

  • Harris -- I ate here in the 1980's and still rememeber it. This is one other restaurnat where I would order steak. San Francisco is historically a stock-yard town like Chicago so that must be why these towns have good steak restaurants.

  • Hofbrau -- Another great place to get French dip -- and the horseradish will bring tears to your eyes and clear your sinses for days. This one is in Morro Bay, California.

  • Houston's -- This is a respectable chain.  I like the French dip sandwich best.  Order a Caesar salad and split a French dip with your dinning partner.

  • Las Fuentes -- This Reseda, California restaurant was may favorite place for flautas, but the last time I was there I was a little disappointed; I'll keep them on the list until my next visit and we'll see how I feel then. See also this Google Maps link about Las Fuentes

  • Lawry's -- The reason I don't order steak out is that I like the way I grill steaks better than the way most restuarants do; it's a matter of the fresh, quality  steaks, correct grill temperature and Lawry's Seasoning Salt.  It's the only seasoning I add.  So you can guess why I like this restaurant. That and it was one of the shee-shee places my parents took me to while growing up in the LA area.

Restaurants, continued

  • Linnea's -- This is the first coffe house I knew ... Starbuck's doesn't come close -- I can't figure out why Starbuck's closes before midnight.  During my tenure in San Luis Obispo, California, this is where I hung out with my poetic friends.  I even knew Linnea.   The coffee and food are excellent, and the back patio is another world.

  • Little Rhein Steakhouse -- Okay, it appears I like steakhouses, but this place was all about the multi-tiered outdoor patio that overlooks the San Antonio Riverwalk. I was in San Antionio, Texas for a conference and decided to treat myself to a good dinner out. This is one of the few times I have dinned alone and let me tell you it was a great experience ... the service, drink, food and atmosphere all perfect.

  • The Madonna Inn Coffee Shop -- Another San Luis favorite of mine.  The coffee is outstanding and the French dip divine.  If you have room, have the chocolate cake, or take some home, for dessert.

  • Maine Luau -- Best lobster I every had -- except for when Donna took us to Newport, R.I. where we picked out our lobsters and she took them home and cooked them for Thanksgiving dinner. This is lobster pound on the road to Acadia National Park in Trenton, Maine.

  • Old Ebbitt Grill -- This restaurant near the White House has been open since 1856 and has become a bit a family traditio; we dress up and have lunch here on December 31 -- a New's Eve lunch rather than dinner.

  • Patsy's Pizzaria -- --We went to the Murray Hill location on 3rd in NYC with a friend who lives not far from there. Wow! Great pizza. I don't ever really crave pizza ... can take it or leave it ... but this stuff is very flavorful and has great texture. The salads are some of the best salads I have ever had (see the Summer House entry for my other favorite salad).

  • Paradise Cove Beach Cafe -- Good food and beach dress in Malibu, California. You usually have to wait to get a table here, but you can wait on the beach ... even surf.

  • Persimmon -- Chef Damian Salvatore is not only a neighbor, but he makes some great dishes in this Betheda/Chevey Chase, Maryland restaurant that is listed on the Top 100 Washington D.C restaurants.

  • The Trellis -- In colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, this restaurant is famous for it's Death by Chocoloate dessert ... but go for some of the best seasonal food; food full of innate flavor and ingenious matings.  Crab cakes ... I don't even really like crab cakes, but I like these.

  • Tuscarora Mill -- A surprise in Leesburg, Virginia. This place has some of the best food I have tasted -- the flavors are clear and distinct yet complex; when the food hits your tongue you taste a concert of flavors that progress from one taste to another -- and that's just one bite.

  • Shapiro's Deli -- You want a good corned beef sandwich? Go to Indianapolis, Indiana and head to the downtown location.

  • Summer House -- On the main drag, Rehoboth Ave, in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, this place has good American beach fare ... and one outstanding salad -- the Baked Goat Cheese Salad. It may sound a little weird to some, but I love this salad and use it as my main course when I eat here -- any season of hte year.

  • Sunflower -- a vegetarian restaurant in Vienna, Virginia that even meat-eaters will enjoy.

  • Urban Barbeque  a.k.a. "UBQ" -- Don't go for a fancy setting; go for great ribs in urban Rockville, Maryland.
Maintained by: Laurie Miller
Last updated: December 2019
N.B. Not all links tested during updates --> some may be dead & some are left dead as "placeholders" as I try to find their new addresses (if they exist).