Cool Web Sites
by Don Singleton
Tulsa Computer Society
From the February 1999 issue of the I/O Port Newsletter
OK, it doesn't tell you how to change your Learjet's oil, or how to tap into
a source that can get you everything on the planet for free. In fact, this
ultra-plain, non-interactive site does just one thing: it lists every
possible way in the world to say "I love you" from the Afrikaans "Ek het
jou liefe" to "Tom ho' ichema" in native Zuni. The way the world is these
days, with many of us getting sucked into all this electronic and digital
stuff and taking our significant others for granted -- and on the off
chance that gorgeous flight attendant from Tunisia gives you a second
glance -- this might be one of the most useful (and the nicest) sites on the
Web.
Free Valentines Clipart
Animations, Backgrounds, Bars, Couples, Cupids, Gifts, Hearts, Icons, Love,
Roses, Words, and Chocolinks
History and meaning of Valentine's Day with a list of other Christian Valentine sites.
Provides a history of the holiday, clipart and
on-line greetings; also, learn how to send a valentine with the a Loveland, CO postal
cancellation stamp.
Create your own video testimony! Have you ever wanted to put words into the
mouth of the President? Have him say exactly what you want him to say? Well
here's your chance!
Surprise a friend with a customized video email from Mr. Clinton! Have Bill
say "hi" to your mom, intimidate your boss, proposition a female intern,
ramble on about the state of world affairs, or just utter nonsensical
gibberish until your pals go into a pre-millenium, de-sensitized stupor!
Click on "Create a Message" to send a personalized video message from you,
delivered by the President, to one or more of your friends (or enemies)! Or,
if you've received an email notifying you that a message is waiting, click on
"Pick Up a Message".
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute invites curious kids to explore biology-
- on screen, off screen and in between. Such as meeting the dust in the air.
And learning why monkeys are like moose. Cool graphics games.
Free - No Charge Family Name Search. This is basically the front end for
a service that wants to sell you a Classic History Scroll for $14.95 of your
surname, or a Oak Framed History for $29.95, or a mug with your coat of arms
for $12.95, or 4 mugs for $44.95, or a golf shirt with your coat of arms for
$29.95, but some may find it interesting.
According to them when I did a search on Singleton, the history of this
ancient Lancashire family traces its ancestry as a family of origin before
the year 1100 and appears first in the ancient records in Lancashire . This
completely researched parchment history of the SINGLETON family not only
includes in full colour the most ancient family name Coat of Arms but traces
the surname origin forward from the 11th or 12th century. This beautifully
detailed history includes the SINGLETON nobles & titles, the family castles,
estates and manors, the battles, wars and feuds they overcame, the branches
as they formed throughout Europe, pioneers and settler's and also the
notables of this distinguised family who lived during this century.
Learn more about the SINGLETON family in this 1700 word beautifully
illuminated parchment of this great distinguished family. These parchment
scrolls are also recommended as a guide or roadmap of where the family
held branches during the centuries for family historians or genealogists.
A search of Carson revealed the history of this ancient Dumfriesshire
family traces its ancestry as a family of Strathclyde Briton origin before the year
1100 and appears first in the ancient records in Dumfriesshire . This completely
researched parchment history of the CARSON family not only includes in full
colour the most ancient family name Coat of Arms but traces the surname origin
forward from the 11th or 12th century. This beautifully detailed history
includes the CARSON nobles & titles, the family castles, estates and manors,
the battles, wars and feuds they overcame, the branches as they formed
throughout Europe, pioneers and settler's and also the notables of this
distinguised family who lived during this century.
Learn more about the CARSON family in this 1700 word beautifully
illuminated parchment of this great distinguished family. These parchment
scrolls are also recommended as a guide or roadmap of where the family
held branches during the centuries for family historians or genealogists.
Interestingly, what his surname history scroll "MAY LOOK LIKE" looks very similar
to what mine "MAY LOOK LIKE", and it even looks a lot like the scroll for
Gates or Clinton, and even that for Gonzales, which they indicate is of
Spanish origin.
Billed as the "Online Magazine for the Golfer Whose Handicap IS Golf", Bad Golf
Monthly provides a hilarious respite for those of us who love hitting the links but end
up hitting water, sand, and/or other golfers more often than the fairway. Although the
basic premise of the site is humor, it does attempt to help "duffers" by providing
access to videos, articles and other training aids that are as interesting as they are
helpful. Other site stuff includes a sign-up area for membership in the prestigious
American Bad Golf Association and an online BGM Pro Shop, where "hackers" can
get ABGA apparel, golf caps with inspirational slogans and reduced golf ball prices,
of course.
While the site name suggests an area to visit to learn about one of the
Mafia's favorite means of doing someone in, the name actually is derived from
the webmaster's homeland (the Netherlands) and the fact that the site
contains info that's "cool and to the point." And talk about your digital
houses - it seems as if every gadget and appliance this guy has is wired to
the 'Net in some way. He has live webcams both inside and outside the house,
and his doorbell, caller ID box, trash can, and alarm clock are all hooked up
to Internet - allowing visitors to get stats on how many times his doorbell
rings (along with a webcam shot of who rang) as well as what items he throws
in his trash can, and more. He even has his toilet hooked up to the web,
giving statistics on how many times per day it's flushed and the duration of
each visit. An interesting tour of what could one day become the home of the
future...
Here's a hilarious site that sets out to prove the credo that "anything will
sell on the Internet as long as it's on the right website." A spoof on the
current trend toward Flash and Shockwave sites that utilize jazzy graphics
and animations to entice consumers, this site takes a simple concept and idea
and develops it into a "must-have, trend-setting, cutting edge necessity that
NO ONE can do without." We won't give away the name of this all-important
product here, and we can't even include a graphic without giving it away, so
you'll have to visit the site yourself, but when you're finished with this
cybertour you'll be asking "How do I order?" After checking out this site
take a trip over to the creator's main site for a look at a REAL cutting edge
web development company that is very serious about producing quality sites
and promos that really sell.
Published several times a week to update you
on new research tools on the net. Also available by free e-mail subscription.
One look in your mailbox at this time of the year will confirm the fact that
there's a specialty catalog for almost anything these days. But what if they
don't deliver a catalog right to your door for that one particular item you
really want or need? Where can you get a catalog (or list of catalogs) for
these hard-to-find items? How about The Catalog Site? Here you'll find online
and print catalogs that sell whatever you're interested in, from pets to
chocolates to military surplus. You can browse by category or use the search
engine, and as an added bonus (if you want to call it that), the site
attracts a lot of advertisers that offer discounts to online shoppers.
The magazine that is "all about the great things families can do together" is
online, and it's a great site to bookmark and visit for the entire family.
Packed with crafts, projects, contests, games and other interactive
activities for parents and kids to do together, this month's issue looks at a
cool project for making a life-size skeleton out of milk jugs, a review of
readers' best Halloween costumes from the past, and a recipe for Pumpkin
Pancakes - which will no doubt help parents answer the question, "What are we
going to do with all the icky stuff that came from inside our Halloween
pumpkin?"
This sites says that they believe, and state in their motto, "mortis
praesdium et vocem dare necesee est." the deceased must be protected and
given a voice. By seeking the truth through medical investigation, we fulfill
that goal by allowing otherwise hidden information to come to light, even
thought the deceased can no longer speak for themselves. The ability to
uncover such information through autopsy procedures should be available to
all that need it; there are no ethnic, financial, religious or cultural
barriers in death.
Autopsy/Post Services® provides the following services:
Forensic autopsies
Private, full & complete autopsies
Partial, limited & re-autopsies
Exhumation & disinterment autopsies
Toxicology & serology analysis
Med. mal. prac. & wrongful Death Specialist
Tissue & organ procurement/retrieval
Post-mortem neurological diagnosis (e.g. Alzheimer's, Multiple
Sclerosis, Lou Gehrig's (ALS) Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
disease, Down syndrome, Tourette's disease, Schizophrenia, (AIDS)
acquired immune deficiency syndrome, etc.)
Post-mortem HIV & AIDS diagnosis
Post-mortem Genetic DNA (deoxyrlbonucleic acid) banking
Post-mortem Asbestos procurement/analysis
Post-mortem DNA (Paternity) analysis
Hospital autopsy support (diener) services
Contract autopsy services available
Medical photography & video services
Medical appliance recycling (e.g. eyeglasses, hearing aids,
pacemakers, wheelchairs, prosthesis, etc.) See also Wheels for
Humanity and Lions Eyeglass Recycling Centers.
Civil/Criminal expert witness testimony
Case-file & medical records review
Production (script/writing, television, movie) consulting
Post-traumatic (Decompostion) clean-up services
Consultations available
They even have a gift catalog, and a portion of the proceeds raised (through
sale of these products) bestows support to specific non-profit entities
involved with the collection, recycling, redistribution of eyeglasses,
pacemakers, hearing aids, wheelchairs and prosthesis.
Free with registration.
Tune in to the award winning daily science radio series -- Earth & Sky. Each
day, Deborah Byrd and Joel Block discuss popular science subjects that affect
our everyday lives.
It is heard by millions of listeners on over 950 commercial and public
stations and their translators throughout the United States. It can also be
heard in Canada, the South Pacific and on a variety of international
networks, including Armed Forces Radio, World Radio Network and Voice of
America. You can also listen to the current program on the internet at
http://www.earthsky.com/Shows/Latest/
or select past programs from a list or a searchable index
(http://www.earthsky.com/Shows/Browse/) and read and/or
listen to the program.
Each week a science question is posted, and then answered the following week.
Previous questions, with their answers, are available.
Photos associated with current news stories. I am reviewing this site on
election day, so most of the pictures are of various political figures
voting, but to have a computer hook to this link, the photo above was of
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates gives videotaped testimony shown in court
November 2, saying that company policy prohibited "dividing markets" and any
employee who made such an offer to another company would be disciplined.
Reuters Television Photo - (Tuesday 3 November, 10:30 AM EDT)
Developed in cooperation with the University of Michigan School of
Information and Stearns Museum of Musical Instruments, School of Music, this
project is an initiative of CHICO, the Cultural Heritage Information and
Community Outreach project at SI. Their goal is to provide freely accessible
multicultural material to educators, students and web browsers, with an
emphasis on Grades 6 and up.
Free Clip Art for use on a web page
Listen to news about the Internet
Listen to William Shatner (Captain James T. Kirk) sing. Also Leonard Nimoy
(Spock), Nichelle Nichols (Uhura), and Brent Spiner (Data). And, just for
kicks, a little story telling from Patrick Stewart (Picard), plus some Star
Trek Soundtracks.
Excerpts from a book about Vanity License Plates By Dennis R. Cowhey. For
example IAML8 (I am late) is a Kentucky plate on Michael Wayne Phillips' red
Honda Prelude. Michael is a 22 year old who admits that nine times out of
ten, if he's in the car going somewhere, he's late. It doesn't matter where
he's going - his girlfriend's, work, a lunch engagement - he's probably late.
He said, "Just ask anyone who knows me". He pointed out that it also explains
to other people on the highway why he is driving at speeds up to mach 40!
Back in Chicago, the author found ONTYME (on time) on Ed Horak's wife's white
1992 Mustang. He has ALWYSL8 (always late) on his. It seems that she is
always on time, but he is always late. FREVRL8 (forever late) is on a blue
Toyota Previa belonging to Sandra Hammontree. Sandra says she too is always
late...just like Ed and Michael.
WER AM I (where am I) on the Ohio plates on the 1993 black Mustang belonging
to Ryan Gough tell the whole story. He said that he gets lost pretty often.
He chose this license because he doesn't know where he is most of the time. I
wonder if that makes him late a lot like Michael, Ed and Sandra?
A promotional site for the series of Guinness Books, it includes some
excerpts from the books. For example, appropriately named Ryan Tripp, a 12
year old boy has entered the book by covering 19 USA states in 42 days
sitting on a lawn mower. His 3366 mile journey last summer raised money for a
sick child in his town.
The World's Longest Kiss - Mark and Roberta Griswold from Michigan, USA
snogged non-stop for 29 hours in March this year. They stayed standing and
took no rest breaks. The two romantics won a trip to Paris for their efforts.
Guinness also has other books, such as the Guinness Book of Knowledge, which
reports One in ten people who have ever lived are alive today, Coca-Cola was
initially launched as 'Brain Tonic' in 1884, and the Chameleon's tongue is
as long as its body.
The Guinness Book of Amazing Nature reports a flock of geese which were
struck by lightening were roasted in an instant over the town of Elgin,
Canada. Some local townspeople scooped up the roasted birds and ate them for
dinner, and a bolt of lightening during a game of football hit a Swedish
teenager. The force of the bolt blew the girl clean from her boots.
The man who became famous on TV for fighting for consumer's rights now has an
online area serving that very purpose. If you fell you've been ripped off or
swindled in any way, simply go to the site and fill out your complaint in a
step-by-step form. Post it to David's team and they'll review it to see
whether or not they should take action on the claim. And be ready to win your
argument if they do - the Fight Back team has more than 20 years experience
behind it and a better than 85% success ratio in getting the consumer's
complaint answered to their satisfaction.
"The Diva of Daytime TV" has rolled out her new website, and in many ways
it's more informative and interesting than her talk show. With several
special areas to check out at this site, it definitely appeals to more than
just longtime fans of Oprah -there's a little something for everyone here.
The Scoop features monthly reports on different themes of interest straight
from Oprah's shows (this month features a look at the 13 years and 3000 hours
of shows Oprah's done in her career), and there is a daily opinion poll along
with one of Oprah's well-intended Thoughts For the Day. There's also
excellent Health & Fitness section and a link to Oprah's Book Club, one of
the most popular segments of her show in recent times.
One of America's largest news magazines takes to the Web in a big way,
displaying the entire contents of both the U.S. and International editions
each month to Internet surfer's benefit. Right from the main homepage there
are features that are great for anybody concerned with what's going on in
today's world, from the Hyper Cover link (which takes you directly into the
Newsweek Business Edition) to the Stock Watch and the continually updated Top
News featurettes. The Periscope and Artscope areas off the main site are of
particular interest, and the Addditional Newsweek Site links provide a list
of special-interest sites that will satisfy everyone from teachers and
students to businessmen and reporters.
While Restaurant Guides are certainly nothing new on the Web, the Diner's
Grapevine is worth a look-see (and probably a bookmark) because it lets you
search for restaurants by a combination of factors -including location,
atmosphere, cuisine, and price. The site boasts an estimated 9,000 listings
worldwide, but one possible problem you may encounter is that not all regions
are equally represented. For example, we found several hundred restaurants
for the state of New York but none for Alabama. This problem aside, the site
can definitely be a boon to those who work in, live in, or travel to major
cities around the globe.
One restaurant was listed for Oklahoma, El Paso Bbq Co, 8161 S Harvard, Tulsa, OK
Max, a cute and cuddly Koala who stars in a series of children's travel
activity and mystery books for kids, offers to take tykes by the hand and
lead them around his VIK (Very Important Kid) Fun Pages, where youngsters are
safe to play and learn on the Internet. There are plenty of activities for
kids check out, including cyber cards, songs, books and a riddle contest.
Kids can also write to Max, join the VIK club orget the VIK Newsletter, and
parents and teachers are encouraged to bookmark Max's List of Other Safe
Sites for Kids. Kids will love the colorful and easy-to-navigate layout of
the site and the bright illustrations, and parents will definitely feel
secure letting their little ones wander through this excellent cyber area for
pre-teens.
The PBS program "Noddy" has reportedly been gaining TV viewership faster than
Teletubbies. Now it comes to the Web with a site that offers educational
content and fun for children aged 3 to 7 -- including a theater, book nook
and playroom.
Thinking of launching a Web site but don't know whether anyone has already
reserved the name? Namestake.com offers to conduct a search of cyberspace for
you. Fun to browse, in a geeky sort
Think you're smart? Take an online I.Q. test delivered by the Cyberia Shrink.
Or check out your coping skills and assertiveness.
InvestorMap boasts 3,083 financial links, with descriptions. In 109
categories. Motto: "If it is on the Net, you can find it here." This is truly
a HUGE list, and nicely organized.
Want to find out how much your corporate bosses make? EDGAR Online People
searches SEC filings by a person's name or displays all people associated
with a specific company name. Just fill in the blanks.
For more information on the Tulsa Computer Society click here
This page has been accessed
times.
Tulsa Computer Society 1/15/99
Don Singleton, President
don@donsingleton.com