Jimmy's Favorite Sites

By Jimmy Hammond

Here are a few sites I have discovered which are helpful, informative or interesting. These sites relate to Annapolis, to business or are just worth dropping in for a casual visit! Let's go surfing and take a look!

If you have been to the movies lately, you may have experienced one of the many educational units created by the FirstJobs Institute's, Econ4U. This economic education program which can be found on the web at www.econ4u.org presents facts on personal finance, business economics and government spending in venues that target 18-25 year olds, such as movie theaters, restaurants and bowling centers. The program is reaching young people in non-academic environments while and where they are not intending to be taught! According to the web site, "this unique approach sets them apart from all other financial literacy programs that exist today."

Econ4U teaches important economic concepts in a quiz-style format that is easy to understand and retain. The cleverly designed "sound bites" not only educate, but also pique young people's interest to learn more about topics that affect them every day, including home ownership, social security, credit card debt, tax rates, profit margins and saving. Detailed explanations of the answers to questions presented in these venues are posted on the site. There are also academic lesson plans available online for classroom learning. Visit the site with your children, maybe after you have taken a quiz or two. I know you will all learn something, and more importantly, you will improve the financial literacy of young people!

New cars have arrived for 2007, the holidays are just around the corner and shopping's black Friday is just days away. Don't let this season get you down. Rejoice and explore the many features, the extra shopping guidance and support that an online subscription to Consumer Reports has to offer. I always enjoy browsing through an ancient copy of Consumer Reports at my doctor's office but the online version is something special. My first stop for any purchase is always www.consumerreports.org. There is nothing greater or more empowering than being able to search, evaluate, print the list and then go shopping. In today's tech environment you need every advantage when you hit the shops. A feature of the web site I like is that I am always logged on whenever I access the site, which makes searching a snap. Put a subscription on the top of your shopping list today.

With all the headline-grabbing tragedies and updates on the war, it's great to have the International Space station near page one in the newspaper again, even if briefly. Thanks to the successful launch of Atlantis STS-115 on Saturday September 9, 2006 we can focus our attention on a national event than has more proponents than opponents. I found it hard to believe that it has been three years since the last parts were delivered and construction occurred. It took a few minutes to search for the links, but there they were in high resolution detail at http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/. About the Space Station: Weight 430,000 pounds Habitable Volume 15,000 cubic feet Dimensions Width Across Solar Arrays: 240 feet Length: 146 feet from Destiny Lab to Zvezda; 171 feet with a Progress docked Height: 90 feet. It's hard to believe what $100 Billion dollars will buy today!

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