Check weather, road conditions and traffic cams

I just got back from a 400-mile car trip with my daughter Janis. We drove through some fairly bad weather and snow-covered roads, but thanks to the Internet we were well prepared.

Prior to leaving we looked up hourly weather reports and road conditions. And along the way, using Janis's web-enabled cellphone, we checked traffic cams for real-time pictures of where we were headed.

These helped us decide which route to take. (BTW, nothing looked good, so we chose the road less traveled...)

If you want to check weather and road conditions for your next trip, here are some ways to do it:

1. Google search - use search terms such as:
[town or city] weather - e.g., Denver weather
[geographical area] road conditions - e.g. western New York road conditions
[location] traffic cam - e.g. Florida turnpike traffic cam


2. For up-to-the-minute road conditions and construction zones, check your state or provincial department of transportation.

Here's a link to those in the USA

. . . and in Canada

Both USA and Canada

If you're in another country, search your federal or regional government's website for road and traffic information.


3. See maps and charts of developing weather conditions at weather.com and Weather Underground.

Both of these have applications for your mobile phone

Keep in mind that weather is not totally predictable, and that conditions could be better or worse than expected.

Thus, be prepared. These brochures will give you some guidelines:
Ohio Dept of Public Safety: Winter Driving Tips
Alaska Dept of Public Safety: What's So Different About Winter Driving?
Have a safe and happy holiday season!


Pauline
teachmeinternet.com

Homemade gifts are back in style

50 years ago the term "homemade" implied inferior. Back then, mass production made more uniform (and therefore more 'perfect') items.

But homemade is making a comeback. As the world becomes more automated and impersonal, home-made is a welcome reminder of the human touch. And YOUR homemade gifts are a part of YOU - they represent your individuality, your personality and your love.

. . . Something to think about in this gift-giving season.

Here are some ideas for home-made gifts:


Cookies: How many chocolate chip cookie recipes do you really need? How about 50 all on one website? There you'll find recipes for Amish cookies, low-fat, slice-and-bake and more and more chocolate chip cookies. Fill a glass jar or mixing bowl with the cookies and wrap a ribbon around it.

Bread mixes: Commercial mixes for homemade bread are expensive. You put together such mixes yourself for just pennies - and make a wide variety that cannot be found in stores. Cookingbread.com has great photos with step-by-step instructions that even novices can follow.

To make a gift, simply mix the dry ingredients and put them in a self-sealing bag. Include instructions for adding liquids (for both bread machines and regular oven baking) and put everything in a loaf pan or a basket.

Other food gifts: Spiced nuts, granola mixes, your favorite brownie or muffin mix. If you don't have a favorite recipe, you can find good ones by one of these search strategies:
1. Add the word "winners" to your search - you're apt to get recipes that came out on top in contests.
2. Use a clustering search engine such as clusty.com, which will yield a list of sub-categories for your search.
3. Search the Yahoo Directory (not search engine) for recipes. You'll get links to main recipe hubs.

Of course, there is more to home-made than food. You can make soap, candles, sachets, photo calendars, and more. Here are some websites to give you ideas:

Familyfun.com shows a handy list of categories - last-minute gifts, gifts for pets, for kids, and for teachers. They also have some interesting ideas for wrapping your gifts.

HowStuffWorks.com has lots of gifts that kids can make.

Make-Stuff.com is a goldmine of ideas - not just for gifts, but for cleaning and personal care products, as well as recycling old items. (Did you know there are over 20 things you can do with old CDs?)

Don't have time to make gifts? Think again. For just one afternoon you would have spent shopping, you could whip up several one-of-a-kind presents that cannot be found in stores.

But if you really don't have time, or if you really don't enjoy making things, you can still give something hand-made. Try Etsy.com or TenThousandVillages.com, where you'll find craft items from all over the world.


Pauline
teachmeinternet.com