Travel

The fierce wildfires that broke out across much of the western United States this summer, spreading smoke across hundreds of miles, continue to pose a serious health hazard to millions. That’s a major health concern because microscopic particles in wildfire smoke, carried by the wind, can penetrate deep into your lungs and travel into your bloodstream. One study linked wildfire smoke exposure to a twofold increase in the rate of asthma and a 40% rise in strokes and heart attacks. But the smoke can get into your house or apartment. So you might want to consider investing in equipment to clean the air inside your home, especially with climate change likely to continue escalating the scope and intensity of the fires. more »

There are more than 60 live cam themes to check out, arranged in alphabetical order for easy browsing. Highlights include "Project Puffin," "Owl Research Institute," "International Wolf Center," and "Aquarium of the Pacific," among others. Once users have selected a theme to visit, they will be taken to a page with live camera footage. Astronomy buffs, stargazers, and students of all ages will want to check out CosmoQuest, an online community space where citizen scientists can participate in expanding our knowledge of the universe through collaboration with scientists from NASA, OSIRIS-REx, Dawn, and other organizations. Librarians, archivists, and researchers should check out the Digital Scholarship Blog from the British Library (previously featured in the 02-09-2018 Scout Report), which won the 2018 Digital Humanities Award for Best Blog Post or Series of Posts. Wheelmap is a free online map of wheelchair accessible places around the world. On the map, the accessibility of locations is designed through a traffic light system: green for full accessibility, orange for partial accessibility, and red for inaccessibility. Visitors can use the Search bar to find and check the accessibility of nearby locations or filter the search for specific kinds of places (e.g., Transport, Education, Toilets) and degree of accessibility.   more »

Rose Madeline Mula Writes: Among other things that have disappeared, along with traditional names, are virgin brides. Actually virgins — period. And brides in general. It seems that fewer and fewer couples are opting for marriage these days as “living in sin” apparently is either no longer considered to be a sin or nobody cares. And the few marriages that do take place often feature the couple’s children as ring bearers and flower girls. A popular inscription in the autograph books we all owned was “First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes (fill in a name) with a baby carriage.” Not any more. Not in that order. And why do people need so much entertainment today? Case in point: I recently saw an ad for a waterproof radio with headphones to wear while surfing. Isn’t surfing enough? When I was young, sitting by the radio listening to “Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy” or “Our Gal Sunday” was the highlight of my day. more »

Adrienne Cannon writes: I am thinking of the various trips I have taken as a solo traveler when I awaken in a strange location with no companion to talk to. Then I learned to quietly observe life around me (often quite different to my “American” background) even though I wasn’t part of it. Instead of feeling sad about my solitary state I began to treasure those calming moments of contemplation and observation. When I had to schedule appointments during pandemic lockdown and I was one of the few people in a pool, in a class, in the locker room or other places where few people were admitted at the same time, I began to understand that being solitary is not the same as being sad or lonely. In the past, I have made friends on those solo trips by reaching out after too much solitude. And so it seems during those lonely days I have made new acquaintances. They are often a little younger than I am and I happily call on them to join me in my active hours that sometimes outstrip the energies of many of my contemporaries. more »