Okeanos Explorer

There's a ship.  It's mission is to explore, to seek out new life, and to boldly go where no remotely operated vehicle has gone before.  It's the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Okeanos Explorer:
 
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/welcome.html

It's "the only federally funded U.S. ship assigned to systematically explore our largely unknown ocean for the purpose of discovery and the advancement of knowledge."  It just finished a mission to explore the Northeast U.S. Canyons.  You can see photos and data from that and other recent expeditions on the Okeanos Explorer site.  Bring your shark repellant and dive right in!

Flood Zone Maps

Do you know what zone you're in?  No, I don't mean the Twilight Zone, I mean your flood zone.  If you purchase flood insurance your zone determines how much you'll pay for it.  The Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, allows you to search for and view online your local flood zone maps from their Map Service Center:

https://msc.fema.gov/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/FemaWelcomeView?storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&langId=-1

Once you locate the map for your address you also have the option to buy print copies.  Elsewhere on the site there's a link to "Definitions of FEMA Flood Zone Designations."  With the map and the definitions, and an umbrella and some rubber boots, you should be prepared to purchase your flood insurance.

Healthcare.gov

Many provisions of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) will take effect in January 2014, so now is the time to start preparing.  The Healthcare.gov site maintained by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services explains the basic tenets of the law and who will now be required to purchase health insurance.

https://www.healthcare.gov/health-insurance-basics/

The site's Health Insurance Marketplace won't be available until October 1, but starting your research now will give you extra time to shop and compare plans later on.  If you have questions, there's a link to chat live with an expert who can help you.  There is, of course, a remote chance that Congress will eventually be successful in its attempts to repeal some or all of the Affordable Care Act, and if that happens, this site will surely tell you about that too.

U.S. Army Bands

The U.S. Army rocks!  Literally.  The Army supports several different musical groups within its ranks.  Why?  "Army Bands provide music throughout the spectrum of military operations to instill in our soldiers the will to fight and win, foster the support of our citizens, and promote our national interests at home and abroad."  To find out more about these bands and see if one is performing near you, see the site below:

http://www.music.army.mil/

Other branches of the military support their own bands as well.  Who would have thought that saxophones were such an important weapon in our military arsenal?

The Condition of Education

The news these days about the public education system in America is mixed at best.  Some places are laying off faculty and others are giving them raises.  Tuition is going up and student loan rates are also going up.  No wait, they're going down again.  Student test scores are better...and also worse.  It's hard to keep track of what's really going on at any given moment.  But, if hindsight is 20-20, here's a look at the recent past from the National Center for Education Statistics that may help us get a clearer picture of The Condition of Education:

http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/index.asp

Extreme Heat

Steamy, sweltering, blistering, scorching, oven-like, Tabasco-y...whatever you want to call it, it's hot out there.  To find out how to protect yourself and your loved ones from the extreme heat, see this guide from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: 

http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/extremeheat/heat_guide.asp

During the last few decades "more people in this country died from extreme heat than from hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes, floods, and earthquakes combined."  Learn to keep your cool and you won't be one of them!

Transportation Disaster Assistance

Imagine for a moment that you were one of the survivors of Asiana Airlines Flight 214.  How would you deal with the airline, and state investigators, and federal investigators, and all the other parties involved?  Wouldn't it just be chaos?  No, not necessarily.  The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has a Transportation Disaster Assistance Division (TDA) that "coordinates the disaster response resources of federal, state, local, and volunteer agencies:" 

http://www.ntsb.gov/tda/index.html

They also provide assistance and advice to first responders and legislators.  So, whether it's a plane, train, or automobile that crashes, if the NTSB decides to investigate, the TDA will be there to help.