TCS - Cool Web Sites
Cool Web Sites

by Don Singleton
Tulsa Computer Society
From the September 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, and http://www.sau.edu/cwis/internet/wild/Neatnew/index.htm

Sports Illustrated for Women

This is a blessing for women who've been frustrated at trying to follow women's collegiate and professional sports inmedia dominated by men's sports. You can read about women's basketball, world cup soccer, Olympic sports, golf, tennis, etc., and also read profiles of athletes, participate in forums, and read letters to the editor. Congratulations to the Women's Soccer Team for the World Cup Victory!!!!!

Election 2000: the Campaign Connection

Campaign schedules for all the announced candidates.

Pacific Information Resources Guide to State Databases

Choose your state and see what data is available. Iowa's searchable databases includes Deadbeat Dads, CPA Passing Lists, Weapons Laws, Unclaimed Property, Appeals Court Decisions, Physicians' Licenses, and lots more.

ePregnancy

Whether you're having your first baby or you're an experienced Mom with a few kids already, if you're pregnant (or trying to become so) ePregnancy.com is definitely the site for you. Covering all aspects of pregnancy from before conception to after birth, ePregnancy provides expectant Moms with articles, interactive features, forums and other news, ideas and resources to keep them informed and inspired.

Paper Models of Polyhedra

Here's a little something for bored children -- print out the patterns for a wide variety of three-dimensional geometric figures and let them fold and construct. Just don't tell them they're learning geometry in the process.

FreeFoto.Com

Offers 4,000 free pieces of online stock photography for non-commercial use. All they ask in return is a link with their logo on your page. It's especially useful to designers of sites having to do with travel or nature, since many of their most popular photos are of outdoor scenes.

Christian Computing

Christianity is approaching its second millennium, but its computer geeks are looking ahead. The motto of Christian Computing Magazine: "Applying tomorrow's technology to today's ministries."

America's Exhibit Hall

All you need is a Web-connected computer to gain access to some of the great treasures of America's history. The National Archives and Records Administration presents a virtual exhibit hall of documents and images.

Knowledge Hound

How-To-Guides for Just about Anything The search engine is slow, but broad subject categories get you easily to tips on things like how to buy a car, choose and install a backup generator, do first aid, make balloon animals, exercise, become a better listener, and lots more.

Stock Index

IndexFunds aims to help you find out all you need to know about this type of investing -- quickly and easily. With news, backgrounders and commentary.

Infomercial Lover's Guide

Did you perhaps miss the infomercial about the Ronco Food Dehydrator? Or the one about the miracle sunglasses that "bridge a gap" between man & animal? The Infomercial Lover's Guide would love to fill you in.

Live Cams!

Whether you are looking for a nonstop view of the sun through the eyes of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory or an up close and personal view of a Michigan ant colony, you'll find it at this Live Cams!

Learn French

Lire Francais is a partnership between the Bordeaux newspaper Sud Ouest and the University of Bordeaux - it contains grammar and comprehension lessons based on articles from the newspaper.

NASA Kids

NASA helps satisfy the natural curiosity that children have about space: NASA Is My Playground offers a kid-friendly format for a huge and diverse collection of space-related sites.

Virtual Blueprints

If you're looking for a dream house, you're likely at least to find a plan for it at this helpful site. Search a database according to style, size and number of bedrooms. Or browse through the Editor's Choice.

Construction Excuse

Here's as riveting an explanation as possible for the actual meaning of those annoying "under construction" icons that we find on way too many Web sites. I found this site very funny.

Poisoning the Web

A report from the Anti-Defamation League on how the net is being used to spread racism, anti-Semitism, Holocaust denial, and other forms of hatred.

Calling All Geeks!

Geek Radio Network wants you to know it does NOT concentrate on computers. ("In the final analysis computers are as uninteresting as a hammer or any other tool.") But instead focuses on what these self-declared geeks "find fascinating, or just plain weird." You've been warned.

The Right to Know Network

Want to know if somebody's dumping toxics into your ground and water? Or if banks in your area are discriminating or redlining? The Right-to-Know Network lets you search a variety of databases, text files, and conferences on the environment, housing, and sustainabledevelopment.

RootsWeb's Guide to Tracing Family Trees

For the complete amateur in genealogy, a useful guide to where to start, what questions to ask your family members, surname resources, and web resources.

The KGB Report

The KGB Report (Written by Kevin G. Barkes) describes itself as a curmudgeon's look at business and technology...featuring the stuff you need to know. A breezy writing style and a cool mix of tidbits.

America's Eating Habits: Changes and Consequences

A report from the Dept. of Agriculture that you don't want to read while scarfing down a big Mac. Discusses the changing nutrition guidelines, eating habits, effects of advertising on food consumption, economic and health costs of our new dietary habits.

Trivia Freezine

Not enough trivia stuffed in your head yet? Check out confessions of a pixel weenie, a Canadian freezine dedicated to dispensing facts about what it calls "really neat stuff." Like why sundials work.

What's Next?

A wonderful service from the Kent District Library in Michigan allows you to tell which order books in a series were published in. Searchable by author, title or series.

Wage Disparities

The disparity between what men and women earn in the workplace takes center stage at this Paycheck Check-Up site. Includes average annual salaries across 78 professions, from accountants to vets.

Bibliomysteries

What ARE bibliomysteries? Mysteries that center around the world of books, archives and libraries. Includes reading lists and links to such related sites as academic mysteries and bookish mysteries

Summer Theater Listings

Theater lovers can browse through a 1999 Directory of Summer Productions, an online link to more than 1,000 productions throughout the country. With listings of theater Web sites for details.

Anagram Generator

Take a few spare moments to find what hints of truth or defamation may lie in anagrams of your name. I checked out my last name and learned that I might drink a LONG STEIN while wearing LINEN TOGS, singing a INLET SONG while working on my TENNIS LOG

Multiple Search Engine

Latest reports say search engines miss much of the Web, but ProFusion may offer at least a partial solution. Multiple searches, with handy drop-down menus.

Feline Information Page

Offers the history and evolution of the cat, a detailed account of feline nutritional needs, a charming set of cat haikus ("Grace personified. I leap into the window. I meant to do that."), and the word for cat in a large number of languages (the Chinese word for cat is Mao).

'Real' 8 Ball

This Magic 8 Ball wants you to know it's not some "cheesy imitation" 8 ball written in a Web script. Instead, it's a "real" 8 ball being shaken and read just for you.

HTML Dictionary

This extremely useful combination dictionary and tutorial arranges html tags in alpha order and explains how to use them and for what purposes.

Barn Again!

A national program to preserve historic farm buildings sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Successful Farming magazine which provides information and technical assistance on rehabilitating historic barns. There is a barn preservation bibliography, a photo tour of barns across the country , and articles

Internet Bumper Stickers

A nice selection of such artistically scripted modern wisdom as "Change is inevitable. Progress is optional," and "Time is Natur'es way of keeping everything from happening at once."

Entrepreneurial Tips

Whether you're a business startup or a wannabe, you'll appreciate the resources at the Small Business Journal. Reports on such things as management ideas, home office tips and selecting the right domain name for your online business.

Career Interests Game

Using a common psychological model of personality types, this points users to some of the some careers that would fit well with particular abilities and interests; each career is clickable to a description of what the job is, what kind of training it requires, some related jobs, and to further information sources. A useful tool to broaden people's awareness of how many career options exist.

Holiday Spotlight

Web-Holidays lets you discover such things as an ancient Celtic holiday that honors the Horse Goddess.

Random Food Generator

Help for those who are chronically indecisive about what to fix for dinner. That is, of course, if you're willing to take your chances with basil ice cream, packaged melba toast grits, sour cream with candied brussel sprouts, kentucky fried octupus on a roll or low-calorie Cheez-whiz custard. If not, you can at least have some fun with it.

Farmers Markets Online

The aptly named What's Ripe site lets you visit farmers markets across the country. See what items are available -- and check out "star ingredients" of the season from a handy drop-down menu.

Frequently Used Sites Related to U.S. Federal Government Information

Courtesy of the Federal Documents Task Force (FDTF) and the Government Documents Round Table (GODORT), this is a selective guide to key documents about crime, copyright, natural resources, law and regulations, scientific and technical reports, tax forms, and more.

Ad Lovers

Some people find advertising more than just an annoyance between TV shows. Ad Critic is proof. Not only can you find TV ads (QuickTime 4 plug-in required) but you can also vote and comment on them. Bud, Pep Boys, 007 -- you name it.

Social Security Programs throughout the World

Our own Social Security Administration tells you what other countries offer their citizens in this pdf document.

Convert 'Anything'

Like many of us, you may have come close to flunking that course that required metric conversions. Here at last is a site that promises to "convert just about anything to anything." Fun to play with even if you're not facing a final exam.

Librarians' Resource Center

from the Special Libraries Association, Toronto chapter, with selective links to directories, reference sources, and topical areas, includes an annotated monthly listing of new and useful sites.

World Radio Network

The World Radio Network boasts live audio newscast streams 24 hours a day from 25 of the world's leading public and international broadcasters. In RealAudio, Windows Media and StreamWorks formats.

Skateboard Science

Science can be fun -- when it helps explain how skateboarders accomplish those flying acrobatics, flips and turns that make the rest of us shiver. Bring along a fast Web connection to view an archive of this Exploratorium Webcast.

Makeup Tips

Unless your name is Gwyneth or Madonna, how do you get the latest beauty tips from top makeup artists and designers? The new eve.com thinks it has the answer, with advice and soon-to-come streaming video. Includes a men's area.

Modern Library NonFiction Top 100

Since you won't agree with everything on this list, it's just as well you have a chance to vote for your own selections online.

Multimedia Messages

MessageClick wants to make it possible for you to receive faxes and voice mail messages as e-mail attachments. One number and one centralized place for messages. Free registration.

Star Trek Tribute

Online tributes don't get more heartfelt than this site for the late Star Trek star DeForest Kelley. In addition to photos and sound clips, you can view a guest book with messages from fans. Or post your own.

Library Neighborhood

The Web forever changes the idea of a neighborhood library: Library Exhibits, from the Smithsonian Institution, provides a huge collection of links to online exhibitions that have been created by libraries, archives and historical societies.

Nail Byter Magazine: for Fans of Thrillers and Suspense Books

A nice combination of articles and links to reading lists, reviews, awards, bestseller lists, zines, etc.

Exploring The World

National Geographic invites parents and children to explore the world with a new series of fun and fact-filled geography activities. The first of them -- a Dinosaur's Neighborhood -- asks you to find the right ecosystem for a T-Rex.

Summer Cooking School

Don't subject your friends and relatives to that so-called barbecue you've dished out over the years. Make your cookout a success with some training at this Summer Cooking School.



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This page has been accessed times.
Tulsa Computer Society 8/22/99
Don Singleton, President
djs@ionet.net