Cool Web Sites
by Don Singleton
Tulsa Computer Society
From the November, 2004 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,
and http://marylaine.com/neatnew.html
With the cicadas gone for another 17 years, now’s definitely the time to start your butterfly garden if you have not already done so. Good news: All it takes is a bit of intelligent planting to grow plants that caterpillars love to munch and butterflies prefer to sip on. This site has plenty on just about every aspect of butterfly gardening, plants to grow, butterfly houses, nectar sources and more – as well as gorgeous pictures to enjoy for those among us with persistently brown thumbs
What can you do with a strawberry? Here’s a list of sweet recipes using that archetypal summer fruit. This site offers step-by-step instructions and to make the most colorful and mouthwatering strawberry dishes ever, many with a British flair (and whatever you think of the main courses, the UK knows its business with sweets). Find out how to save some of those flavors for later, too… and don’t wait too long, as winter will be here in a strawberry shortcake time.
The passing of former president Reagan has brought certain senior healthcare issues into the national discussion, but there’s much more to know for those facing elder-care issues. This great site from the National Institutes of Health aims to educate visitors with up-to-date info on the big ones: Alzheimer’s, arthritis, balancing problems, and much more. We’re impressed with the wise design team, who have made the site 'senior-friendly' with large, clear typefaces, segments designed with simple navigation and even “talking functions” that’ll read the material out loud for you. A great resource.
Tagging fun without the time-consuming court appearances. This extremely well-designed Flash game from Stockholm’s MindGem Graphics lets you try your hand at graffiti (and, specifically, at writing graffiti in several of the baroque letter styles developed within the street-art community and rarely mastered outside it). Simple to use and surprisingly sophisticated; would that certain “serious” publishing tools worked as well and looked as good
You need anti-spyware software, the helpful programs that drudge out the garbage so many sites think they have the right to put on your computer. But how do you choose among all the packages available, some of which (to be frank) are less than honest about what they’re doing in there? Consult this page for information on which offerings are questionable – and suggestions for the cream of the crop.
Are you, or do you know, a woman who’s trying hard to quit smoking? This project exists to give advice and support for wives, mothers, sisters, daughters and friends looking to kick the habit or help someone who wants to. Find out what resources are available, send an e-card to show your support,and see which celebrities are on board with the cause.
When you’re done working out the last kinks in your cure for cancer, here’s a diversion you might enjoy: a rebus-type guessing game. The quizmaster thinks of a phrase, Googles each word in it, and puts one image from the first page of each search result online. Your job is to guess the original phrase. Good luck
Back in February, we pointed you to the addictive Penguin Ball, in which you (a yeti) whomped a small flightless bird with a bat. You’ve had a few months to either recover your office productivity or perfect your swing, so we figure you’re ready for… Yeti Decathlon! Get right with the Pingu Throw (the original game), Orca Slap, Seal Bounce, Albatross Overload and Flamingo Drive. (If you’re worried about how the flamingos got mixed up in this, you’re thinking too hard and are apt to start fretting about the poor penguins again. Please relax and enjoy.)
After you’re enjoyed a terrific story, poem, play, essay, or critical article, you’re apt to want to know more about the author or some aspect of the piece’s historical or literary context. The good folks at Bedford/ St. Martin’s, the college publisher, have to this end compiled LitLinks. The lists of sites, which are arranged by literature category and secondarily by author, are annotated to show you what kinds of information you'll find on each site.
The greatest comedy routine of the 20th century is online for your listening pleasure, your viewing pleasure, and – if you think you’re equal to the task – for your reading-aloud pleasure as well. We’re not claiming that we or anyone else living could be as funny as Abbott and Costello performing this classic baseball slapstick, but we will guarantee that being able to repeat a few lines of this inspired silliness to yourself is absolutely the world’s best cure for day-to-day stress and frustration. After all, in this world of strife and uncertainty, aren’t we all really just trying to learn the name of the fellow on first base?
This site is exactly what it claims to be in the title bar: employee self-service tools to better manage your paycheck. What the title bar doesn’t mention is how very helpful these tools are for workers contemplating how to make their dollars perform at peak capacity, or for folks in the process of segueing from freelance or contract-based employment to a more permanent position. Bookmark this one; if you don’t need it now, you will eventually.
Boston’s Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology has launched an online multimedia program for learning traditional Byzantine chant, including twenty-one Byzantine hymns representing the major feast days of the Orthodox Church. The Flash application works beautifully, and though one might perhaps not say the same for our individual voices, this site raised our spirits if not our talent.
As the big fish eats the smaller fish eats the smaller fish still, anyone who functions in an office hierarchy regards certain of his co-workers as utter wastes of carbon, and you may be sure that someone else feels the same about him. Take this attitudinal test and find out exactly what kind of pain you’re inflicting on someone’s neck. What, you’re the boss? You’re the temp? You’re either above or below scrutiny? Just trust us – you’re covered.
Zefrank rarely fails to amuse (this is the home of the legendary Dance Properly video, after all), but this week we’re entranced by a more-conceptual-than-usual scribble pad that will take your chicken scratchings and make them into… different chicken scratchings. Play with the settings and see how the program can turn your humble doodling into something quite other.
Hard to say who’s made more miserable by grad school: Those who are in it or those who fully intend to get back to it real soon now. Either way, you’ll find yourself both laughing and wincing at Jorge Cham’s smart comic strip, which feels your pain, your panic, your coffee addiction, your perpetual near-poverty, and your departmental politics.
Care for a little lexpionage? Paul McFedries has coined the word to describe the process of uncovered newly coined words. Tech folk will appreciate the section devoted entirely to their language-busting proclivities (which includes some word that went in and out of use so fast that this site may be the only place on which they’re still recorded), but there’s stuff here on everything from parents to insomniacs to the secret-agent kind of spies
Lots of smart and industrious Americans dream of owning their own businesses, but how much do you know about the types of businesses one might own? This straightforward and pleasant site explains the basics of sole proprietorships, partnerships, cooperatives, limited liability corporations, and corporations, giving examples of which business models are appropriate for different undertakings and suggesting useful sites for further information.
Yet more proof that what you read in the blogosphere is often much better thought out than what you read in the papers. Alhamedi Alanezi calls his online journal “a Saudi man's diary of life in the 'Magic Kingdom,' where the Religious Police ensure that everything remains as it was in the Middle Ages." However, he’s not necessarily buying the U.S. view of things either, making this a terrific tonic to propaganda of many flavors.
Why should surfing involve only your eyes? Listen to the history of the space program and experience actual NASA ground and spacecraft communications from Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and shuttle missions at this nifty site. If you weren’t aware that the universe is full of aural marvels, you’ll thrill to excerpts such as Cosmic Debris and The Rings of Saturn. Space sounds not enough? Follow the links to sister collections of sounds concerning dinosaurs, whales and storms.
Glen Whitman is in the process of distilling the world to its essences. He has a theory that most fields of human endeavor can be summarized with two basic things you really need to know; all else is commentary. He’s been asking around and has compiled a most remarkable list of Two Things for fields ranging from accounting to dormitory food – many exceedingly wise, all of them thought-provoking
If you’re looking for a home in a new neighborhood, you know all too well that there are some things the Realtor just won’t tell you. This site provides crime reports for cities in eight states as well as the District of Columbia; the law-enforcement lingo takes a little getting used to but you’ll easily be able to understand whether your prospective new locale is or is not a potential war zone.
Over at PC World, redoubtable contributing editor Steve Bass has a bone to pick with some of these paid people-search sites: Frankly, they’re not worth it considering just how much you can find out online at no cost. (And, he says, they’re sleazy. Well then.) This fine article has plenty of links that’ll point you to the good stuff and steer you away from the problem sites.
Very few things provoke a fonder smile than a look back at the past looking forward at the future. This site covers a few such moments: A television special (hosted by Walter Cronkite!) that promised a 21st century full of home computers (yes) and water-soluble dishes (not), the Earthly origin of the name Futurama and the strangely intertwined lives of the seminal Telstar satellite and the man who wrote the song by the same name. And for the commerce-minded, there is a link to that most retro-future of foods – Freeze-dried ice cream!!!
A simple and attractive site, Chinese Symbols is a nice guide to those seeking particular ideographs (or kanji, if you’re approaching it from the Japanese point of view). As the page explains, only a fraction of the language’s 80,000 kanji get a regular workout, so the site strives for good sense rather than comprehensiveness. Kanji that resonate with you for whatever reason can be saved with a click.
No, we have not lost our minds, unless you count the part about being crazy from the heat and humidity. This nifty pop-history site has great information and lots of nostalgic photos of the kinds of lights you may remember putting up with your family back in the day; it’s also a nice way to cool off (mentally at least) as we ease into what has proven so far to be a sticky summer, with true relief months away
Bad news for those of you hoping that intelligent folk of differing opinions can find common ground – or even understanding of each others’ views – during this election year: If this impressive chart is any indication, we’re not even trying. This diagram shows what politically-minded folk have been buying from the major online booksellers, and guess what? America’s readers, left and right, are building political echo chambers and straying from them not at all. See who’s reading what and be sadder still.
Thinking of adding a four-footed member to your family? Summer, with its relaxed pace and abundance of outdoor activity, is a nice time to bring home a new puppy. This site can help you choose a compatible canine companion, train it to be a civilized member of your personal pack, care for it in the best possible way and outfit it in the style to which little Fido or Spud will soon become accustomed.
Do you habla Español, parle Français, sprechen Deutsch? Americans speak a multitude of languages at home. This fascinating interactive map from the Modern Languages Association draws on data from the 2000 census to show, county by county or even ZIP code by ZIP code, which languages are used in our homes. The comparison feature in particular led us to surprising insights on the true state of bilingualism (and multilingualism) in the U.S. today
The down-to-earth etymologists at the Merriam-Webster Dictionary took a poll, and present for your pleasure and amazement the readership’s ten favorite words.
What would – or should we say what will – life be like for settlers on Mars? A recent NASA project brought together students, educators and civic leaders to brainstorm the parameters of a successful community on the Red Planet. The results take into account not only math and science but also the arts, social relations and much more. Kids of all ages are invited to browse through the imaginative efforts of the group and to ponder whether we can, as a human race, take along what is best about us while leaving the worst of our mistakes behind.
What do you mean, you find history to be a dry subject? Perhaps you’re not reading the stuff that really hops. This page offers a heady brew of library resources, clips of vintage commercials, trivia, photos, jokes, e-cards and other stout content (including George Washington’s personal beer recipe). There’s plenty on tap here for the connoisseur.
Hast thou yen to tarry at yon Renaissance Faire this Midsummer Eve? If so, cut out the faux-medieval silliness (see, we can do it; now you try) and hook up with information on the Middle Ages as they truly were. Proprietor Susan Wallace compiled much of this information as she researched a novel set in 13th-century Scotland; you’ll learn lots about the ballads, heraldry, holidays, medicine and religious observances of the time.
For more information on the Tulsa Computer Society click here
Tulsa Computer Society 11/01/2004
Don Singleton, President