Cool Web Sites
by Don Singleton
Tulsa Computer Society
From the August 1999 issue of the I/O Port Newsletter
Including links previously reviewed at http://www.educationindex.com/index.html,
http://www.komando.com/, http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/arch.htm,
http://www.sau.edu/cwis/internet/wild/Neatnew/index.htm, http://www.teamtulsa.com/today/blinks.shtml. and
http://www.coolcentral.com/day/
Take The Totally Trivia Test.The Absolute Trivia Test is randomly generated from a database of over
100 Questions - No two tests are alike.
When you work in a job where you are constantly using computers for long enough, you develop a
certain anxious feeling which can pretty much only be cured by beating the hell out of an old
computer or two.
However, since this can be extremely frustrating and nerve-wracking if
done incorrectly, this site
provides for fellow techies and interested persons an illustrated step-by-step guide for Satisfying
Computer Destruction.
SIGHTINGS: dispatches from our spies on the former child star front.
NEWS: the latest headlines.
MISSING PERSONS: you ask, we seek.
JOB BANK: employment situations of yesterday's tube titans ... today!
The Recipe Network: Cookies, Cakes, Pies, Breads, Pasta, Soup, Holiday, etc.
Excellent site for kids, with special section for parents and teachers.
Quick guides from the Census Bureau, including
community profiles, population and housing facts, reference maps and
thematic maps, industry quick reports, and a good deal more, with search
capability and ability to create maps and tables to match your criteria
Editors of this site promise to look for
new genealogy sites every day, and post them so that you won't have to.
Files are keyword searchable, and include both their own choice of best
sites, and "Viewers' Choice" sites. Links to passenger lists, cemetery lists,
coats of arms, obits, reunions, and more.
Many Web sites offer freebies. Few are arranged as
nicely as the aptly named Free Site. Categories range
from postcards to games to prizes.
Easter may be over, but Easter Eggs live forever -- the
software variety, that is. Entertaining egg-centricities
that you'll find everywhere from Windows to
Netscape.
The Agricultural Research Service offers lots of
pictures of plants, fruits, veggies, insects, and animals
Don't just complain about the weather -- learn about
it! At a site that seeks to explain the diverse forces that
shape our weather. From snow crystals to storms.
Songs of the depression and the labor movement, civil war
and civil rights, cowboys and outlaws, railroads, wagon trains and ships,
and lots more.
An easily used guide to all government
services for seniors--benefits, health & nutrition, consumer protection, and
more. Keyword searchable.
Want to identify a butterfly? You can look through
all the thumbnail photos, or you can click on individual states to look at the
native butterflies. The text tells about their geographic distribution, habits and
life-cycle. Lots of gorgeous pictures, and all of this courtesy of the US
Geological Survey.
From the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Feed in
your zip code and it will tell you average home energy costs in your immediate
area, and what percentages go to heating, cooling, appliances, hot water. You
can customize this for your own home and get suggestions about how, and
how much, you can save on your energy expenses.
Home Improvement Ideas for Kitchen, Bath, Yard and Garden, etc.
Click for Full Size
A huge collection of maps from all over the world.
Billing themselves as the "Consumer's Guide to the News", NewsWatch doesn't just
give you the news, they tell you when it’s accurate, when it’s wrong, and why. They
also brief you on the latest media controversies with information you won’t find
anywhere else, and they make every effort possible to reveal the news behind the
news. Read current reports of CNN's "timid" reporting of the Serbian conflicts, a
report on Pulitzer Prize winner Maureen Dowd and her critics, along with reports of a
Cable News War breaking out between MSNBC and other cable news networks.
Positioned on the Internet to help Americans live longer, healthier lives, the Alliance
for Aging Research is a private non-profit advocacy organization fighting for science
policies in Washington, D.C. to speed breakthroughs for greater health, vitality and
longevity. At this site you're invited to try out the "Living to 100 Life Expectancy
Calculator", a simple quiz that asks questions relative to your current lifestyle and then
predicts the likelihood of your being able to live past 100. Also be sure to check out
the online resources that you may need to help assure your second 50 years are just
as healthy and fruitful as the first 50.
Have you ever found yourself breaking out into song, only to realize that you've
forgotten most of the words? Well, if "Raindrops keep fallin' on my head,
la-da-da-dee-dee something-something in my bed" just doesn't cut it for you, check
with Lyrics World. Here you'll find the complete lyrics for most of the songs that hit #1
in any of several categories for the time span covering 1930 to 1999. Search by year
released, original artist or title of song.
Come up with any good ideas for a new invention lately? Or maybe you've figured out
improvements to an existing product. Whichever the case, you'll need to check with
the U.S. Commerce Department Patents and Trademark Division to see if your idea
has been registered or who owns the current patent or trademark. The USCD has
recently unveiled a new Internet database that contains text and images of over 2
million patents and more than 1 million registered and pending trademarks.
Promoted as the "way to find it" on the Internet, Skworm is a new type of search tool
that utilizes a very user-friendly directory of search engines organized by
category-specific "Skwormholes" (or a general search areas) ranging from mp3 to
recipes and PC magazines to gardening, to name just a few. Enabling users to quickly
access search engines that focus on the information they are trying to find, Skworm
lists over 250 different search engines in its database covering 58 different
Skwormhole categories. Aside from the catchy name, one very cool feature of Skorm
is the ability to split your screen and run several search engines at the same time.
The Completely Untrue News Page - News you just can't trust.
An urban legend:
- appears mysteriously and spreads spontaneously in varying forms
- contains elements of humor or horror (the horror often "punishes" someone who flouts society's conventions).
- makes good storytelling.
- does NOT have to be false, although most are. ULs often have a basis in fact, but it's their life after-the-fact (particularly in reference to the second and third points) that gives them particular interest."
Why garden alone when you can garden with a kid?
Kindergarden is a guide to "the many ways children can
interact with plants and the outdoors." Includes a Fun
Page with project ideas.
If you've ever wondered who dreamed up our system
of taxation, check out the the backgrounders and
cartoons at the Tax History Project. Includes original
historical research.
Don't get angry at that misbehaving PC. Destroy it ...
with these surefire, "officially approved" ways that you,
a mere user, can cause your computer to cease
functioning.
For folks who would like to drop some weight but
don't have the willpower to diet and hate to exercise:
The Gallery of Regrettable Food is guaranteed to cut
your calorie intake.
Journey now with us to those ancient pre-Pentium
days, courtesy of the Obsolete Computer Museum.
With photos of machines that few of us knew existed
Web builders -- from novices to veterans -- have access to more than
3,000 resources from the aptly named reallybig.com. Including clip
art, buttons and editors.
The College of St. Catherine Libraries provides a gateway to famous
speeches -- from presidential inaugural addresses to speeches by women
around the world. With a good measure of quotations thrown in.
If cartoons, classic e-mail funnies and a Y2K survival guide are not
enough to make you visit the Funnybox, then maybe the Lukewarm Psychic
Jar will.
"Eat What You Want Day" was May 11 (now she tells us). And as an avid
drinker of Coca Cola, I am sorry I did not realize that May 8 was Have
a Coke Day. However, July is the month to celebrate ice cream,
blueberries and baked beans. Official celebration days for pecan pies
on the 12th, caviar on the 18, and cheesecake on the 30th. And August
is National Catfish Month AND Peach Month, August 1 is National
Raspberry Cream Pie Day, August 2 is National Ice Cream Soda Day,
August 3 is National Watermelon Day, August 5 is National Mustard Day,
August 8 is Sneak Some Zucchini on Your Neighbor's Porch Night, August
14 is National Creamsicle Day, there is a Bratwurst Festival on August
16, August 19 is Potato Day, August 21 is National Spumoni Day, August
23 is National Spongecake Day, August 26 is National Cherry Popsicle
Day, August 29 is More Herbs Less Salt Day, August 30 is National
Toasted Marshmallow Day, and August 31 is National Trail Mix Day. No
stipulated date for Tums, however.
A shopping bot that will compare prices from online and offline
sources, as well. Including magazine ads and vendor catalogs.
Marjan Glavac's web site updates his book of the same name. It
includes a "What's New" feature, and reviews of books, educational
games and software. You can also subscribe to his free monthly
newsletter.
Welcoming you to join them and "take control", UnlistMe is a service
provided by PopularDemand which enables you to reduce junk mail and
invasive phone solicitations for free and for life. Using the Internet
to empower consumers while protecting their privacy, PopularDemand
also lets you pool your buying power with other consumers so you can
command great deals on products and services from companies that will
treat you as a preferred customer - but only if you choose to do so.
BallroomDancers.com is a website dedicated to the promotion of
ballroom dancing, social dance, and dancesport. It is a free source of
information for anyone who wishes to learn more about partner dancing.
You can use this website to explore the world of ballroom dancing,
learn a new step, improve your technique, find a teacher or a partner,
or ask a question about anything dance-related.
As free e-mail becomes more and more popular with web-surfers more and
more of these services keep popping up on the Internet. But who keeps
track of them all? This site lists more than 500 free e-mail services,
categorized by whether they are Web-based, POP3 or e-mail forwarding.
It also offers FAQs about free e-mail services, a comprehensive e-mail
directory and information on how to set up your own free e-mail
service.
Courtesy of the Smithsonian, you can find in one convenient place
exhibits of English children's books, America in Caricature,
Presidential campaign memorabilia, 19th century sheet music covers,
and much more.
Fill in the blanks for sport, age, gender, and fitness level, and the
site will calculate your chances of injury from that sport. In fact
you can watch the chance of injury go up or down as you input details.
Designed to help people choose a dog that will match their
temperament, lifestyle, family, and available housing. For each breed,
it gives a photo, description, temperament, typical health problems,
exercise needs
An online book of readings about the history of the open source
movement, and how the internet philosophy of giving it away for free
not only makes the net work better but leads to profits.
Professional City is a free online resource center encompassing links
to the most valuable sites available online for assisting
professionals in their search for qualified research materials
regarding legal info, marketing or accounting. Each professional area
within the sites links to trade journals, news services, product
information, job listings and other references specific to that area,
allowing professionals to network around the world to exchange ideas
and monitor industry related events.
Kid's Domain is a kid-oriented site that parents can take comfort in
them visiting. Full of fun stuff to make, do and see, kids will find
Macintosh and PC shareware and freeware programs recommended by
families and teachers, contests, online games, crafts, free downloads,
reviews, teaching tips, free graphics, and holiday pages with fun
activities. Adults will love the articles about children's software
and honest reviews of kid programs.
Classics, Exotics & Sports Cars
The folks at Jet Propulsion Laboratory give you the background behind,
and current planning information for, the Cassini Voyage to Saturn.
Find out where Cassini is now.
Your virtual window on one of our planets most astounding natural
landmarks, the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River You may also take a
Virtual Visit of the Grand Canyon area, or take a River Trip down
the Colorado River, through the Grand Canyon
Computer Programming this single page is a great resource for links to
sites that cover everything from SQL to Oracle, UNIX to C/C++, and
information about ASP/Coldfusion, HTML, Java, and more.
Telecommunication, networking, certification programs, graduate
schools, discount books and software downloads are also covered here,
sothere's a little bit of everything for anyone in the IT field.
For more information on the Tulsa Computer Society click here
This page has been accessed
times.
Tulsa Computer Society 7/10/99
Don Singleton, President
djs@ionet.net