Michael Quinion, the creator of World Wide Words, is a researcher of words for the Oxford English Dictionary. In his spare time, he runs this interesting site 'about international English from a British viewpoint,' in which he focuses on identifying and defining new and bizarre English words. Mr. Quinion's World Wide Words is fun to explore, allowing one to search for words or phrases, returning the definition and the origin of the word or phrase. Each week, he profiles certain words of particular interest. How about the growing segment of twixters; explore a little to see if you might have welcomed this stage of life or if indeed growing up is becoming too complex!
Those who grew up or came of age in the 70s and 80s will emit screams of glee and recognition while browsing this site, dedicated to the great (and sometimes, to modern eyes, greatly cheesy) handhelds of yore. Nothing against our current Nintendo DS, you understand, but we'll never be as sheerly giddy at the sight of it as we are at the sight of long-lost faves such as Merlin and (*sigh*) Blip – though dude, no Quiz Wiz? What's up with that?!
"an informal syndicate of professional historians who seek to improve the public's understanding of current events by setting these events in their historical contexts."
Finally - A place to find clean jokes (no, really)! If you want a good laugh, you absolutely must visit this site. It offers a "Joke of the Day," but the good stuff is found in the archives, where the jokes are arranged by topic. Yes, you will find old and familiar topics, ones on blondes and lawyers, but these don't have to be censored in front of the children!
You know what? This site is right: The only thing better than bacon is someone to cook it for you. Drop by this hysterically funny site and dream a little dream of flavorful breakfast pork, delivered and cooked by lissome lasses. (Only four slices per person, though, unless you're a Premiere Member.) No opportunity for silliness is left untouched; we're particularly pleased with the “About bacon” page. Though not nearly as happy as we'd be if we had some on a plate next to this computer...
"With few exceptions, plants grow and change on a time scale that is too slow for us to observe in real time. Time-lapse photography is a simple technique that allows us to see the movements of plants." Movies are in QuickTime format.
Americans at War is a presentation by the Smithsonian Institution outlining how 'Americans have gone to war to win their independence, expand their national boundaries, define their freedoms, and defend their interests around the globe. This exhibit examines how wars have shaped the nation's history and transformed society.' The visitor can select a conflict beginning with the 1775 – 1783 War of Independence on through the decades up to 1989 to the Present, the New American Roles. In addition to the timeline presentation, the entire collection can be searched by the individual conflicts and/or by category with capability to return all articles meeting the criteria. The Learning Resources presents a challenge 'Who Am I,' a fun experience of identifying articles belonging to Civil War participants and then deciding who was the actual person. There is also an Exhibition Self-Guide that 'highlights the service and sacrifice of generations of American men and women, provides an exhibit overview, and directs you to activity stations in the exhibition,' a good complement for understanding the real price of freedom.
We are, alas, entirely unqualified to tell you whether this works perfectly, but we're awfully pleased with what we found here: Type in your first and last name, and the system hands back a transliteration in katakana (the Japanese “alphabet” derived from kanji and used to write foreign words), complete with pronunciation so you can hear what it's chosen to represent you phonically. The site also offers translation into kanji for a small fee, and there's a nice FAQ with info on kanji, katakana and hiragana (the third Japanese writing system) with nifty resources for learners.
The Cornell Lab 'is a nonprofit membership institution whose mission is to interpret and conserve the earth's biological diversity through research, education, and citizen science focused on birds... We believe that bird enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels can and do make a difference.' The visitor can take a virtual tour of the Johnson Center for Birds and Biodiversity, located in Sapsucker Woods Sanctuary, Ithaca, New York, a great opportunity to visit areas that are limited to authorized personnel. There are also featured birds from Cornell's 'All About Birds' site and links to 'Project FeederWatch, an annual survey of birds that visit feeders in winter.' It's always fun to install your own feeder, count the birds and send your observations to the scientists. Although this FeederWatch season only runs through April, you can still visit the photo gallery for 'incredible photos' and not even have to get out your trusty binoculars!
Why go to every search engine to get results when you can access them all from one page? That’s the idea behind MrSapo.com, which gives users the option to receive results from 24 different engines. Type in the search term at the top of the page, click one of the search engine buttons and MrSapo displays results from that particular web site. You also have the option to limit your searchers by criteria such as images and audio/video
Believe it or not, Spring is on the way; everyone's interest will soon turn to gardening. The Master Gardeners 'showcase our local Master Gardeners and the programs they support.' The local area is Maryland and southern Pennsylvania but the information is useful to gardening enthusiasts anywhere. There is a handy index that allows for quick retrieval of articles of interest and, according to the site recommender, when the proper article cannot be located in the index, the handy search engine never fails to return the object of the search. There are also links to other sites as well as 'Gardening Jokes' should you need a bit of comic relief. You might have to keep the heat on for just a bit longer but you can still start planning your spring gardens, and get exact information on 'how does your garden grow!
At last: a straightforward site that tells upcoming husbands exactly what their jobs are in the wedding. Groom411 includes specific tips on what the men in the wedding party have to do, questions to ask vendors in the planning stages, and handy tools such as a budget calculator and a toast generator. Of course, the bachelor party receives ample coverage; there’s even an option to send in old mementos of past girlfriends for safekeeping, a feature fittingly dubbed the “EXchives.”
It's not true that you have to go to college and spend your work days in a cubicle to make a decent living. America needs contractors, landscapers, electricians, mechanics, and more. Find out here about the jobs, training, and apprenticeship programs.
Here's a message board for all scuba divers and those interested in the scuba community. You'll find articles on interesting destinations, a neat photo gallery with 10,000 underwater photos and growing daily. As the subscriber who submitted the site states, "Although specific to the scuba dive industry, this message board is for anything scuba related, from learning about scuba, taking classes, trips, underwater photography, to technical diving and instructor issues. Unlike other message boards, Scubaboard, through its moderation, adheres to a set of guidelines that promote a family friendly site." Here's the perfect opportunity to check what's going on underwater; just maybe you'll want to don your fins and flippers and take the big plunge!
Ukelele music? Sure! Books! You bet! Combine them? Why not!, said Santa Cruz artist Peter Thomas. He set a few parameters for himself: The book must still be more or less readable (and should be appropriate to ukelele usage), and the ukelele must still be playable. You can see the results here; they're ridiculously charming whether you're a fan of island music, art books, or just really interesting juxtapositions.
Today's feature was developed by 'veterans helping hospitalized veterans and our troops overseas.' The Kitchen Table Gang, who bill themselves as a 'rag-tag bunch of military types,' decided upon their name in recognition of their forming, an outgrowth of a weekly penny-ante poker game played around the kitchen table. Someone 'had the great idea of taking a portion of every pot and doing something positive for our hospitalized veterans, homeless veterans and our troops overseas... After awhile, [their] wives and friends started calling [them] the "Kitchen Table Gang" and the name stuck.' As they state, "We aren't trying to sell you anything, we only want you to remember and honor our hospitalized veterans and our brave troops overseas who have served our country with dedication, honor and great sacrifice." There are links to Veteran's Administration resources, supporters and other informative sites. Should you have a tattered, worn out, unserviceable and frayed American flag, this group will retire it at no cost to you. What a great project to undertake at that weekly poker game!
Hey, vehicle owners: When's the last time you changed your oil? Cleaned your fuel system? Checked your belts and hoses and fluids? This site, brought to you by racing great Richard Petty and his crew, reminds you to check all three every 3,000 miles to ensure maximum performance from your car or truck. The site explains why each item is important and how to do basic checks safely and easily, even if you're not NASCAR royalty.
For more information on the Tulsa Computer Society click here
