ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 24, 1997 TAG: 9704240030
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: COMPUTER BITS
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
The Web gets more like the real world every day. You can't quite bleed on line, but you can schedule an appointment to donate blood by calling up the Web page of the New River Valley chapters of the Red Cross and Appalachian Regional Blood Services, Radford University and Virginia Tech.
Board chairwoman Carol Kroeger and chapter manager Beckie Dobbins get credit for initiating the site, which makes the New River group only the second in the state - after Prince William County - to have its own home page.
Tech donated the server space for the reservation program, and Coreen Mett, in Radford University's department of mathematics, developed it.
In the first few hours after the Web site was announced, more than a dozen Tech staff and students enrolled to donate during the campus blood drive, Mett said.
Another advantage of a visit here is its link to the national American Red Cross site, where you can get information on how to repair a flooded house or leap into the latest disaster news, of which there is plenty.
It also provides links to more sites with the latest information about floods and storms.
Speaking of disasters, check out NASA's Observatorium site, which explains how the damaging effects of weather can be controlled. The presentation tells the story of the 1993 flood of the Mississippi, Missouri and Illinois rivers and how Lee Blackmore analyzed satellite technology and helped police plan evacuation of a section of St.Louis.
Tripping and sipping
Two timely sites for the season have been set up by Fodor's travel information publishers and the sponsors of the Virginia Wineries Festival.
At Fodor's page, you can click on a city name and customize a trip plan that includes restaurant, transportation and sightseeing suggestions. Example: Going to Dallas? You could eat at Calle Doce on 12th Street for $15 to $30 per person. Specialty of the house is cocina veracruzana, billed as better than "Tex-Mex that most Americans think of as Mexican food."
The wine site went up to promote the 16th Annual Virginia Wineries Festival May 31 and June 1 at Great Meadow in The Plains. If you don't have a computer handy, you can call (800)277-CORK for more information. The site includes a schedule of events at a variety of sites.
NEW RIVER BLOODLETTING
http://ate.cc.vt.edu/mmarc/
NASA flood efforts
http://observe.ivv.nasa.gov/observe/exhibit/rem-sen/flood/flood-1.html
PLAN a TRIP
http://www.fodors.com
VIRGINIA WINE
http://www.vintagevirginia.com/wine
You can contribute to this column or just comment by sending an E-mail to sandrakxc2roanoke.com or by calling 981-3393 or 981-3237 in the Roanoke Valley, or (800) 346-1234, extension 393, outside the Roanoke area. Previous Computer Bits columns can be found on line at http://www.roanoke.com
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