Parents and Teachers Site Guide for http://www.animatedsoftware.com
Site Guidelines (for Parents/Educators)
First a word about "the good stuff":
Our human heart tutorial is a renowned
classic now available as 'shareware'. Our pump tutorial is used
throughout the pump industry. Our transcriptions of interviews have
been widely desseminated, and are used in college courses, and have
been quoted in books and newspapers. Our drawings of pumps, as well
as our photos of sequoia trees, can be found in books and magazines
published by a variety of major publishers such as McGraw-Hill.
Our environmental essays are linked to by prominent environmental
organizations and have been used to help set local and even
national and international policies. (Much to the dismay of those who
disagree with us!)
Nearly every mountain bike magazine published something about
our 'mtb park' idea. THIS is what web publishing is all about!
Parent/Teacher Guide to this web site
This is a "clean" web site. We do not use foul or explicit
language or images anywhere at this site. There is no 'gratuitous'
violence. Sexual references are minimal and clinical.
We think you'll enjoy the breath of intellectual fresh air we
provide and hope you will want to use this site as part of your
curriculum.
Some articles do discuss 'mature' topics. This web
page is to help you determine the best way for you
to present this very large and educational site to your children
and/or your students.
Students: We know you're here!!!
That's okay with us if it's okay with your teachers and parents.
If I were you, I'd have clicked on this page too, to
find out where all the juicy stuff is! Sure, you will
indeed be able to find the 'raciest' stuff at this web site
by visiting this page. But you'll probably be disappointed.
Manners and honesty above all.
We don't think anybody's perfect--especially anybody who works around here!
That's one of the reasons we think serious issues (and everything
else) should be discussed in a proper and enlightened way. You may
not agree with our social positions on a number of issues, or perhaps
our environmental stands are different from yours, or some other
aspect of this web site is, in some way, offensive to you. We
apologize in advance for that.
But unfortunately that comes with the (cyber) territory. With a worldwide
readership of thousands of people each month (current estimate as of
late 1996 when this was written) there is little chance
that we will be able to please everyone all the time. In fact, as
the site grows and expands, we'll probably manage to offend just about
everyone in some way or other! Our fondest hope is
that you will accept our point of view even when it is different
from yours, as having an equal right to be freely expressed. If
asked, we may be willing to add links to well-written opposing
viewpoints or critical reviews of items at this web site, or possibly
add such things to the appropriate document(s).
We care what you think...
Feel free, of course, to send us email and
express your views on anything you find at this web site! You
may even convince us we're wrong on something! (It's happened
before.) We are always willing to listen, as long as you are
reasonably polite and appear to be reasonably honest.
In 1994 the death of my brother
Randy from Leukemia, at age 39,
prompted a letter to our old high school. This is probably the most
'mature' article at the site and it may be inappropriate for young children.
Also, a story about working in a
hospital medical records office
has some references to the morgue. The Cassini
area is, in essense, all about the effects of radioactive substances
on living tissue.
Back to topics list.
Violence for any reason, against humans or animals, is not promoted
anywhere in any way at this web site. There are, however, several
stories about potentially violent activities such as
mountain biking and the injuries
it produces, and a story about an
altercation at a pub.
Two fairly violent movies,
Independence Day and
Rumble in the Bronx, are reviewed.
Back to topics list.
Sexual topics are not discussed at this site. However, one
guest on our radio show High Tech Today did mention that the
mechanical pump he designed may
some day be implanted in men. Specific details are not given!
Another guest mentions that he
does not discuss explicit topics. That's as close as we get.
Back to topics list.
A large article in a local paper prompted a letter which was published in
that paper, about a local "young killer" (as he was described by the paper)
who murdered his victim in very cold blood.
Back to topics list.
No particular religious organization or belief is promoted at this web site.
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We refrain from political discussions of candidates and their views
whenever possible. However we are quite content with offering our
own opinions on issues which just happen to be politically sensitive.
Some people claim the whole Cassini
topic is political, though we think our views are just common sense.
Back to topics list.
An interview with a retired
professor obliquely mentions
his university research on controlled substances in the 60's.
Back to topics list.
The use of alcohol is not promoted at this web site, however a story
about working in a pub in England is included in the
REAL WORLD group of stories.
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We have posted a letter concerning the use of deceased person's
viable body parts in medicine. Some
people may find our viewpoint offensive, although of course, we think
other viewpoints are. The Cassini
area includes numerous interviews with health experts.
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A discussion of racism appears in an article about
visiting my
grandmother in the nursing home a few months before she died.
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We have posted a number of environmental commentaries including web
pages on space debris,
plutonium usage in space, preserving
California's Redwood Forests,
and other topics. We have an
Environmental Issues Page to guide you
to the various environmental issues discussed at this site.
Back to topics list.
Mr. Pelican is Dead.
This story may not be appropriate for young children who are unaware of the
emotional pain death can bring, even when it's 'just' a bird on the beach.
Back to topics list.
All stories we write and place at this web site are true in all their
details to the best of our ability, and if we ever post any fiction at
this site, it will be clearly marked as such. However, to maintain the
privacy of individuals involved, cities, places, times, etc. are not
given in most instances, and we ask you not to invade people's
privacy in these matters by trying to ascertain the details
of these stories. For example, our
REAL WORLD series on work
are 'just' stories, and probably could be fiction and be just as
interesting (if you find them interesting at all). Trust me
or don't, as you see fit, but don't bother to find out. It's
invasive and ill-mannered and a waste of time. The stories are true.
We have tried to make this web site scientifically accurate. Please
bring any inaccuracies you might find to our attention by
sending us email. Of course, we cannot be
responsible for the accuracy of others, such as guests' statements on
our radio show High Tech Today.
The accuracy of any statement must, of course, be judged in the context
of the person making the statement, and on their overall credentials.
Back to topics list.
Comedy is used at this site to make a point. There are no
funny stories that are not also serious at some level,
except maybe inadvertently. Really. I mean that. I'm not kidding.
Serious comedy or none at all. Almost. For the worst of it,
probably you should check out the
quotes page. Someday I might
upload audio files of some 'environmental' comedy routines I wrote
some decades ago, which were played on the Dr. Demento Show and other
stations around the world in the late seventies and early eighties.
But that's ancient history...
Back to topics list.
The metric system is accomodated whenever possible, but in general it
is assumed that our foreign visitors will forgive our usage of the
'English' measuring system. Some day perhaps I will be convinced
that everything should be 'decimated' (that word is being used in a
jocular fashion here) but for now, I still believe
that 12 inches to a foot, three feet to the yard, and 5280 feet to
the mile makes a lot of sense. Call it one of my many shortcomings.
There are about 2 1/2 centimeters to the inch, a meter is just over a
yard, and a kilometer is about 6/10's of a mile. An ounce is about
28 grams, a kilogram is about 2.2 pounds, and a liter is about a quart.
That's close enough. These are things I believe every American schoolchild
is at least vaguely aware of. I have used rulers
with both scales on them since I was knee-high to a grasshopper and
I find it is usually easier to identify a measurement on the 'English' scale.
Maybe non-U.S. rulers should carry both scales, like ours usually do.
Back to topics list.
I'm a lousy speller and my web development tool does not yet read
raw HTML code and spell-check it. Feel free to
send us email if you have any
corrections. They WILL be corrected and ARE appreciated.
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Although we generally do not link to a site that promotes any abusive
behavior, criminal activities, lies, or anything immoral, illegal or
fattening, it is possible that some sites we link to do have some
amount of such things, or themselves "link through" to something offensive.
We would not expect a large site to be in perfect synchronization with
our own morals (or yours) and we feel it is reasonable to forgive a
certain level of impropriety or transgression, as we would hope
you (and other sites that link to us) would forgive the same things in us.
Be excessive only in tolerance.
However, we do recommend that you yourself choose the applicability of each
outside link for it's educational value for your students. We
cannot be responsible for what appears at web sites we link to, let alone
what appears at web sites they themselves might link to. It's a
web and you just have to be careful.
Back to topics list.
Bottom Line:
We hope you enjoy this web site and will want to tell others
about it and give them our URL:
www.animatedsoftware.com
Table of Contents
rhoffman@animatedsoftware.com