In the world outside of writing, my day job is Coordinator of Software Applications for Information Technologies at the University of Florida. I oversee the development and production of CD-ROMs and am Webmaster for the EDIS Web Site and the site for Information Technologies. A large part of my time is functioning as EDIS librarian, coordinating the conversion of UF/IFAS (University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences) documents into electronic format. I also oversee the production of Innovations, the online newsletter of Information Technologies.
EDIS has replaced the old FAIRS Web Site. The new look has many improved features, but the real changes are behind the scenes in the database the Web Site is created from. All UF/IFAS onliine documents are being verified and approved or withdrawn for revision. At the same time, the remaining documents are being prepared for electronic publication. There are over 5,000 documents involved, so it's quite a job.
An interesting technical note is that even though the documents appear in standard html form, no html files for them exist. The html display is created on the fly from the objects in the database as a user clicks on the link. Much of the software for this was developed in our unit.
Here are some of the CD-ROMs I have worked on:
Florida Automated Weather Network
ISA - Agricultural Information System -- Very good agricultural search engine
EXtension TOXicology NETwork -- Searchable database of pesticide information
USDA -- home page
Organic Standards -- Rules for rutabagas.
Florida Plants Online -- Plant, Landscape, Garden, Design and Nursery Information
Florida Native Plant Society
The Ultimate Citrus Page
Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services
University of Florida Market Information System
GardenNet
Horticulture Online
Virtual Garden -- Commercial site, decent information
Whole Herb
American Bamboo Society -- Bamboo is cool stuff.
National Biological Control Institute -- Use-A-Bug
The Garden Gate -- collecction of horticulture links
Hogs Today -- Latest pig information
Ranch & Rural Living Magazine -- sheep, cattle and meat goat
Successful Farming Magazine
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Florida Agricultural Statistics Service
Global Agribusiness Information Network
Garden Catalog List -- over 1700 catalogs
I Can Garden -- Canadian Gardening Resource, but useful most everywhere.
Yesterday's Rose -- old-fashioned garden roses
Howard Garrett's Basic Organic Program -- Dr. Dirt gives you the scoop.
Master Home Compost Site -- rotten stuff is good
Native American Seed
The Telegarden -- No Space? Remotely view and tend a living garden. Plant, water, and monitor the progress of seedlings via movements of an industrial robot arm.
Back to Links Page
Back to Home Page
