Week of June 22, 2003

Illuminations

Pound out the basics of making a manuscript with Leaves of Gold: Treasures of Manuscript Illumination at www.leavesofgold.org. Leaf through the history of manuscripts and learn about their functions in medieval Euro-pean society. Monks and professional artisans illuminated manuscripts using gold and ground-up jewels. Their beautiful artwork decorates medieval books such as literary texts and psalters. View some illuminations and learn about the manuscripts they are found in.

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All Along the Water’s Edge

Take a nature walk in Maine from Mt. Katahdin to the Sea at http://octopus.gma.org/katahdin. See how the water changes from fast-moving streams to calm estuaries to starfish-filled tidepools as you journey along the water’s edge. In Streams, find out how to make a water viewer from a milk carton. You’ll learn how to build an insect catcher in Bogs. Once you get to the Gulf of Maine, you’ll feel as though you’re right there dangling your feet in the sea.

A Pinch of Experience and a Dash of Imagination

Spice up your food-life with The Accidental Scientist and discover the Science of Cooking at www.exploratorium.edu/ cooking. Did you know a human tongue detects the flavors sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami? A series of Webcasts will help you better understand the foods you make and eat. Roll into the kitchen lab, where you’ll master the art of preparing pickles, meats, eggs and candies. Then use your experience to create your own specialties.

	Dear Amy: How can I decrease the amount of spam I receive? — Michael, Gadsden, Ala. Dear Michael: To avoid getting spam, evaluate how you use your e-mail address online. Before you give your address to a site, think about why the site is asking for it. Does it want to send you site updates? You may want those. But does it have an option that allows you to opt out of receiving its e-mails? And does the site allow you to refuse to have your address shared with its “partners regarding new products and services”? If not, think twice before surrendering your address. Message boards and chat rooms are other public places that put you at risk for spam. Some e-mail providers, such as Hotmail and Yahoo, have blocking capabilities and filters that you can enable. These aren’t fool-proof, but they are helpful. If you get your e-mail through your ISP and use a program to retrieve your mail, you may want to set up a filter. If you already have an Internet filter, check to see if it has e-mail filtering capabilities as well. Or try getting an inexpensive e-mail filtering program, such as SurfControl at www.websense.com/content/EmailSecurity.aspx, which has a 30-day free trial. If you don’t want to spend money on filtering software, try setting up rules to block unwanted mail. Ask Amy a Question

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