Chili needs your help

See this link for more information:
http://www.google.com/relief/chiliearthquake

Yesterday an 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck Chili.

Favorite Wilderness

Gosh, I mean, there are so many. So I am picking the closest one to my home. The Lye Brook Wilderness is west of Stratton Mountain and includes the peaceful Bourne Pond. It was created in 1975 and has nearly 18,000 acres. What a relaxing place. The http://www.wilderness.net/ website allows the surfer to virtually explore the US Wilderness areas with photos and maps. Check out the website and find a favorite place or one that might become one.

Whole-Body Scans at Airports? For or Against

So, what's your take on the whole-body scans at Airports. Some folks say it is a necessary element to ensure travellers are not smuggling anything on the plane. Others say it is an unnecessary intrusion on our privacy since your naked body will be displayed.

What is your take on the subject? Not sure what it means? Visit www.tsa.gov/travelers for more information.

Pack a piece in a National Park

Olympic Coverage 24/7

Be sure to check out the Olympic Coverage online, on TV, in the papers and around the coffee machine at work. It is a wonderful event that deserves some of your attention.

Time to be proud of ALL the athletes!

Ken Burns' National Park series streaming on PBS

Check out the episode called "This is America" for a 45 minutes segment about National Parks in America. Click on the title above to link.

Nice today, Snow tomorrow

Time to be thinking about warmer weather. I used to be able to make the annual trip to warmer climates in February instead of x-mas break. That meant I could break the winter months into two. And once I returned to Massachusetts, there would only be a few months 'til spring.

Oh well. Ill enjoy the recollection phase of the recreation experience.

Weather Understated

Yeah, I follow this Geography blog and loved this clip. Click on the title for the link.

Local Sports

Inside too much? Check out a local high school or college basketball game. Every winter I try to go to a few games in our athletic facility. The student athletes are generally good and is is just a fun afternoon or evening.

For our teams at WSC check out www.westfieldstateowls.com for the schedule and stats.

Biggest Bowl Game on TV TODAY

Yep, it is that time of the year. The Biggest Bowl game will be played today Sunday 7 Feb 2010.

Kick off begins at 3 PM eastern time.

What? Three PM eastern? Wait a minute, my TV guide says 6:30 PM eastern. Do you mean the pre-game crap?

Nope, Kick Off starts at 3 PM for Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl VI.

You won't see million dollar a second ads, or wardrobe malfunctions, or over priced dudes in tight pants. But you will see some of the cutest puppies around romping in the stadium for all to enjoy.

See http://animal.discovery.com/tv/puppy-bowl/puppy-bowl.html for all the fun!

latest stats of tourism arrivals in the Caribbean

OneCaribbean.ORG is the Official tourism business website of the Caribbean Tourism Organization. On their site (www.onecaribbean.org) you will find statistics and market research, news and media information, events and calendars and a ton of other resources.

While it is no surprise that tourism is down in the region, it is a surprise to see some destinations increasing international visitors. See Guyana in June. Anyway the stats are by country and month and summarize the origins of visitors.

Check it out.

Martinique and Mt. Pelee

I have a conference next January in Martinique and like any good geographer I am already researching the island. I have been to St. Lucia (one island south), so I can imagine the topography and climate of the island. But in my search for information, I discovered this link
www.mount-pelee.com

It is all about the volcano. Read it to learn more.

Jammin' to music

a legal site for public domain music, film, text and other "free data" is found at
http://www.archive.org/

check it out for great media.

Including music from the Grateful Dead.

200 + References and Counting for Medical Tourism

Just updated the Medical Tourism website with more bibliographic references. Please see
www.wsc.ma.edu/medicaltourism

Have a reference? One that is freely accessible via the web? Send me the URL please.