I just came across a search engine of sorts, one I hadn’t heard of before but really like for specific purposes now.

WolframAlpha calls itself a computational knowledge engine and what it appears to do is collect information on your search term rather than send you to a list of sites which may or may not tell you the whole story at one place.

For examples, see my searches on kangaroos, fiction and Melbourne.

I think it’s a great research tool – just to gather an overview of something of interest or a really good summary of key facts for serious research (such as for school work or background for writing an article or story).

It is of course still US-centric, but at least they clearly make those details as such (eg in definitions they give American pronunciation) and do include metric details (by default for searches about Australia).

Filed under: Parenting, Save Time Online
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Giving books to kids is a fantastic gift.

Why? It encourages reading which is such an important skill, it develops imagination (which helps problem and solving and creativity in life), it is a healthy pursuit, it is a change from computer games & TV (it takes more imagination, too) and broadens their horizons.

But buying gifts that suit the child isn’t always easy – knowing which book is for which age group can be tricky. I wish books had it written on their somewhere – I have seen it on a couple of books but it is not the norm.

And it isn’t just reading ability which is easier to judge by looking at the book – the content of the story is critical but impossible to fully comprehend without reading it.

I’ve found one online bookshop that puts books into 3 groups (babies & toddlers, 4 – 8 year olds and over 9s) which is a great start but it is actually the over 10s I find hardest to pick in a store.

Another one divides children and young adults’ books into some detailed categories, which is uncommon, but doesn’t help much with the age range unfortunately.

So if the bookstores & publishers aren’t making it easy, we’ll have to do it ourselves! Over coming days, I’ll add posts for each age range to share some recommendations and hope you all will share your knowledge, too.

Filed under: Book reviews, Parenting, Shopping Online, community
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Last week we encouraged everyone to read about climate change as part of blog action day. Following on from that, this Saturday is the International Day of Climate Change where we can again make ourselves heard on this issue.

A few facts and details about the 24th October:

• likely to be the biggest environmental action on the planet to date
• events are being held across the world (see our side menu to find your closest events) and images will be posted online to a common gallery
• the aim is show everyone and especially those involved in the Copenhagen discussions, the importance of 359.  “350 is the number that leading scientists say is the safe upper limit for parts per million carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. 350 is the number humanity needs to get below as soon as possible to avoid runaway climate change. (Watch this animation - scroll down the page). “
• reducing global carbon emissions is really our only hope to get below 350 and slow climate change. We can all do a bit towards that and our leaders in Copenhagen need to do more

As you join in events, let us know so we can continue the discussion about affecting climate change.

Filed under: Going green, Special Dates, community
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We came across a blog post at consumption rebellion about cutting her grocery bill. It’s a long post as she describes a detailed process of menu planning and reusing leftovers, but there are definitely some tips in there.

We like the fact that menu planning also saves you time – going shopping with a list makes the trip much quicker and planning meals in advance stops the need for last minute runs to the supermarket for forgotten ingredients.

Reusing leftovers (as well as suiting our green hearts by not wasting!) also appeals to us because it saves time in buying new ingredients and means you don’t need to clean the fridge (to empty the growing food scraps) as often

Win win really – save energy worrying about what to cook every night, save food wastage, save money and save time. And all of it saves the planet (fewer drives to shops is a good thing as well as reducing your food footprint.)

Do you have other tips on using leftovers?

Filed under: Going green, Uncategorized, food
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Blog action day yesterday was awesome for those of us now into Friday! And it is gearing up to be even busier today with the rest of the world catching up to us!

SO how many blog posts have you read about climate change in the last 24 or so hours? Has anything jumped out at you as new or helpful, perhpa s agreat idea you can grab to make a difference?

As per yesterday, we will list a few more related posts to make it easier for you to get into the event… and you’re welcome to add comments about other blog posts (including your own) on climate change.

If We All Just Do Two Things We Can Prevent Climate Change by TreeHugger

Reading the world on Blog Action Day by Global Voices

Blog Action Day: Your chance to leave a legacy by Oxfam International

A Green Tour of the Google Campus by The Official Google Blog (maybe you can get some tips for your home or workplace)

Fix the Climate, or the Kid Gets It by Mother Jones

Climate Change by Classical Bookworm

5 ways to reduce your global warming contribution | Zible by Zible

help eliminate poverty

Food and climate change by Emma

Australian climate change resources

Global warming is so uncool

Resources on climate change

Public relations: helping the environment

Filed under: Going green, blogging, community
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As climate change is something for us all to deal with, not just our leaders in Copenhagen next month, we are joining the Blog Action Day for Climate Change by listing a number of sites discussing climate change today.

Blog Action Day for Climate Change

Conserving water

Climate Change is a business concern too

Aussie songs for climate change

Compassionate Climate Action

Technology in our classroom

BLog action day to fight global warming

Climate code red

Top 20 ways web developers can reduce their carbon footprint (and these tips mostly apply to us all – check out number 17 if you run any sort fo website.)

The Mr Science Show

Marketing for climate change

Life is better barefoot

Focus on nature (assuming you can ignore the flashing header which is very annoying, they have some beautiful photos)

VCE Environmental Science

Food from afar

The squiggly line

(note in order to get this list going, we haven’t read all these posts properly so can’t promise they are great, lol! However, we didn’t list the ones we didn’t like at all, and only reviewed a sample anyway.)

As you come across more blog posts about climate change, share them as comemnts. And please add your comments on any of the issues raised by Blog Action Day for Climate Change. The more we talk about it and share ideas, the better chance our planet has…

Filed under: Blogroll, Going green, community
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Are you looking for practical, useful information to help mums running a business? Do you want to read inspiring stories from business mums and WAHMs just like you? The Business Mums Magazine is what you are looking for.

You could win a 12 month subscription to this informative magazine simply by telling us how many categories there are in the articles archive – there are two subscriptions to win, valued at $30 each.

Note: Save Time Online Competition Terms are available here. This competition will be open for one month. Winners drawn 9th Sept and announced in the following newsletter. Giving your answer as a comment will not enter you in the competition and it will be deleted rather than published.

Filed under: Save Time Online
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Kit’s Law

by Donna Morrissey Viking
Penguin Book Canada Ltd

The bargain table out the front of a bookshop is impossible to resist, I just have to have a look for that special book to appear there. Recently, the book Kit’s Law, caught my eye from such a table and at $2.50 I thought it worth a read.

Kit is a young girl living on the outskirts of a remote fishing town in Canada. She is the illegitimate child of a mentally handicapped woman who is treated as an unpaid whore by many townsmen. Lizzie is Kit’s Grandmother and she cares for her daughter and granddaughter in her cliff top cottage. Lizzie is a determined, hard old woman without a lot of friends in the town, but she does her best to ensure Kit fits in as best she can.

Lizzie tries to let Kit see that she has nothing to be ashamed of and has the right to hold her head high. The morning after such a conversation, Kit finds her grandmother dead in her bed and feels her world fall down around her. Sprouting good intentions, a group of townspeople attempt to take Kit to an orphanage and away from her Mother. The town Doctor, however, steps in and enables Kit to remain in her precious gully home.

Some time later, the same group again try to separate the pair when both are ill. This results in the minister’s son being sent out to regularly cut wood for the women’s stove. The young man, Sid, quickly befriends the mother and tried getting to know Kit as well. Gradually, a relationship builds and they fall in love.

Tragedy strikes in the form of the local rapist attacking the gully cottage and Sid’s defence. Surprisingly, the young lovers are then separated for over a year before their spontaneous elopement. After the wedding, they visit Sid’s parents in time for a second tragedy to hit them. I must admit that I had guessed at this twist a little earlier, but it was hidden by other potential twists, so the story wasn’t too predictable. At this, Sid disappears and Kit again struggles to survive in a hostile township.

The ending is not exactly a happy one, but it does leave Kit reconciled with her life and loving her Mother. No further twists were introduced, and Morrissey openly discounted other predictable endings.

Filed under: Book reviews
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Win a chapter book pack for children (aimed at pre-teen to early teen readers) wrapped in a cushion cover or two. To enter, simply visits Suz’s Space and find out how many book categories Suzie offers.

Let us know your answer and wait for the announcement of a winner in our August newsletter. Remember you must be subscirbed to our newsletter to enter and providing your answer as a comment in this blog is not a valid entry.

Full terms and conditions are available here. Competition closes 5pm on 9 August 2009 and winners will be announced here and in our following newsletter.

Filed under: Competitions
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EYES IN THE DARK
by Kim Dale
Published 2001 Thomas C Lothian Pty Ltd, South Melbourne

A beautiful picture book that uses poetry, images and questions to introduce children to the wonderful array of nocturnal animals found in Australia.

Most of the book is black with white text and detailed illustrations. Pictures are colourful, but only include minimal background details which adds to the overall charm and the representation of nighttime visions.

Each double page is dedicated to a particular animal or bird. On the left, three verses describe the animal and on the right is an illustration of the animal’s eye(s). The right hand page actually opens out to reveal a full image of the creature underneath, complete with its name.

Older children will enjoy guessing the creatures, whilst younger ones will purely enjoy listening to the poetry and watching the pictures unfold.

A double page at the end of the book provides more details about each of the sixteen animals featured in the book. A map of Australia illustrates where the creature is naturally found, and three paragraphs of facts include the scientific name, the animals’ diet, breeding facts and other information.

This fun and educational book was shortlisted by the Children’s Book Council of Australia in 2002 and was shortlisted by young readers for the Young Australian Readers’ Awards.

Filed under: Book reviews
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