You won't find King Tut's sarcophagus for sale on this new site,
but you will find books, photographs, videotapes, and other curios
about Egypt's prodigal son here. In fact, if you're looking for a gift
that will surely impress your recipient with its uniqueness, the
Museum Shop is hard to beat. Search for gifts by museum or topic.
Books, toys, clothing, games, jewelry? It's all here. Plus, no craning
your neck trying to see the display case from ten people back.
With the trying to find a fun, safe, and noncorporate site for kids
is getting more and more difficult. Fortunately, for every potentially
unsafe site that pops up, there are safe sites like Kids Domain. If
your child is the one telling YOU how to download that Star Trek
screen saver, he or she will enjoy the technology articles written for
little ones in mind. The site also features kid-friendly downloads,
articles, contests, and even a place for grown-ups too.
VIRTUAL DOG
http://www.virtualdog.com
Are you a dog lover but have no time for the real thing? Allergic
to pet hair? No problem. At Virtual Dog, select the type of pup you
want, name it, and you've entered the world of pet maintenance,
Internet style. Owners start off with a certain amount of money and
must feed, nurture, and maintain the health of their new pet. E-mail
reminders from the kennel let you know if you're being negligent. No
virtual potty training, thankfully.
PRO LAUNCH
http://www.prolaunch.com
Are you bored stiff with your start page? Craving a little variety?
How about a little variety that rewards you for providing your likes
and dislikes with frequent flyer miles or discounts on clothes and
CDs? With personal preference data becoming more and more popular as
an effective marketing tool, you're likely to see a lot more of these
types of offers in the future. With Pro Launch, you tell the site your
personal interests, hobbies, and so on, and every time you launch your
browser, you are presented with a different site that coincides with
your interests. Take the time to surf these sites, and you'll rack up
"points," which can then be redeemed for tangible goods.
LISTEN TO THE NEWS
http://listentothenews.com
When the Internet became a household word, the death knell was
sounded for many older forms of media. But ironically, the Internet is
actually helping radio not only stay alive but flourish. Streaming
audio has allowed radio stations to become international in reach, and
this site, Listen to the News, is a hub for hundreds of international
and local news radio sites. Select your station by region, or peruse
through the half-dozen rotating headlines and choose which news angle
you want to tune into.
FISH SEARCH
http://www.fishsearch.com
"If it ain't about fishin'--it ain't here" reads the welcome mat on
this hub dedicated to one of humankind's favorite pastimes. If you're
still crying in your beer over the one that got away, perhaps you
should cast your modem line over to this friendly shore of fishing
information. It's all about links, not hooks--from finding the
necessary hardware to chartering fishing expeditions in your area, to
catching and cleaning tips, and more. You'll find everything you need
to know about fishing, except for how to best explain to your loved
one your consistent desire to wake up every weekend at 4:30 a.m. and
go sit in a boat.
INCONSTANT MOON
http://www.inconstantmoon.com
"O swear not by the moon, th'inconstant moon/ That monthly changes
in her circled orb/ Lest that thy love prove likewise variable."
William Shakespeare spaeke those words in Romeo and Juliet, and he was
neither the first nor the last person to wax romantic on that most
grand satellite, the moon. Curious as to whether the moon will be full
tonight, thus making your evening stroll all the more beautiful? No
problem. Click the calendar and discover a wealth of information about
the slice of the moon you'll be seeing on any particular evening.
Marvel at lunar maps, moon myths, photos, and more.
THIS TO THAT
http://www.thistothat.com
Remember those elementary school arts and crafts projects in which
you glued felt to construction paper, glued Popsicle sticks to one
another, and glued leather to rubber? Well, maybe the last example
doesn't ring a bell, but who knows? Perhaps in some school somewhere,
leather and rubber were key ingredients in the school project stew. As
a testament to the Internet filling every potential information need,
we present you This to That, a site that takes the concept of Web
"stickiness" to a new level. Select the two items that you want to
glue together from the drop-down menu, and the site returns glue
recommendations, drying-time statistics, and potential toxicity. This
is a must-see for schoolteachers and handyfolks everywhere.
C-SPAM
http://www.cspam.com
Had it up to here with spam? So have the creators of C-Spam, who,
instead of writing their congressional rep or buying a Spam filter,
have decided to take the lowly spam and make it art. That's right
folks, on C-Spam you see a gently scrolling continual loop of actual
spam received by the site. Choose your favorite classical composition,
kick back, and listen to soothing sounds while screaming come-ons from
MLMs, pornographers, and dubious get-rich-quick schemes scroll by. If
you'd like to contribute the detritus collecting in your inbox, you
can find forms for that as well.
NATIONAL OPPORTUNITY NOCS
http://www.opportunitynocs.org
Just because you graduated from college with nearly $100,000 in
student loans to repay, that doesn't mean you have to compromise your
ideals and work for a soulless corporation. And finding jobs available
at nonprofit organizations has never been easier with the debut of
National Opportunity NOCs (Nonprofit Organization Classifieds). You'll
find thousands of positions listed here, from administrative assistant
to executive director. Search by date posted, state, country, or
keyword, or visit any of the dozens of related links available.
OVERBOARD
http://www.pbs.org/closetohome
Hmmm . . . "As the Web Spins"? Nah . . . "HTML Hospital"? Too
techy. How about "Overboard"? Sure. This Web soap opera, put together
by PBS and Close to Home Online, chronicles the lives of a handful of
teens and their struggles with drugs and alcohol. Part interactive
comic strip and part after-school special, Overboard is updated weekly
and might make a good spot for your young teen to visit. Along with
each adventure, issues of drug addiction and peer pressure are
addressed.
AUCTION INSIDER
http://www.auctioninsider.com
The Internet is rife with scams, so it's no surprise that people
are dubious of some auction sites. But while we won't deny that those
snake oil salespeople exist, you can find plenty of legitimate sites
offering tremendous bargains on everything from notebook computers to
refrigerators--and Auction Insider will point you to them. Select from
the list of auctions--each with a pithy review and separated by the
items for sale. The top ten auction sites are also listed, as are tips
for bidding and for making sure the site you're dealing with is legit.
We're sold.
PROXY SERVER 2.0 FIXES
If you're experiencing problems with Microsoft's Microsoft Proxy
Server, version 2.0, you'll be interested in a package of hot fixes
available for this product. To make it easier to retrieve and install
important bug fixes, Microsoft now provides the Proxy Server 2.0
Combined Hotfix Collection. For more information, including a list of
fixes, visit the Microsoft Product Support Services Web site at
Most of us are content to shell out money for our computers,
knowing that in 18 months, we'll have to shell out more money to
upgrade our systems to remain current. Some fiends, however, track
trade publications with fervor, drooling over news of the latest
software releases. But while these publications arrive in your mailbox
only every week or month, this new site delivers new software release
info every hour. Catch those hourly updates or search by categories,
such as business, communication, games, science, utilities, and many
more.
DRIVEWAYS OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS
http://www.driveways.com
You won't find OJ Simpson's famous driveway on this offbeat site,
but you will find the asphalt entrances to more than a hundred of your
favorite celebs' houses. That's right Robin Leach, eat your heart out.
Choose your own path: Click through the photos, read pizza delivery
testimonials ("The Spellings are always good tippers"), or read the
horrifying tale of the site creator's arrest at Martha Stewart's
quaint domicile. The official site of a local access cable TV show,
this is a good spot for a quick laugh or to take a look at the latest
developments in high-security fencing.
SMALL BUSINESS FOCUS
http://www.sbfocus.com
In today's increasingly crowded corporate world, a person
considering launching a small business just can't have too much
knowledge and preparation for one's endeavor. If nothing more, the
Internet is probably the largest, cheapest research repository in
existence, but it's also the most frustrating. Searching for
information on bank loans, for example, might return 100,000 hits,
most of them irrelevant to an aspiring entrepreneur. That's where SB
Focus, a small business-specific search engine, comes in. Type in the
terms or concepts you want to learn about, and the site returns
relevant articles, research results, studies, and how-tos. This is a
great vertical source for information pertinent to the small
businessperson.
GARBAGE
http://www.learner.org/exhibits/garbage/
How's this for a sobering stat? "If your habits resemble those of
average Americans, you contributed 1570 pounds of solid trash and 3613
pounds of sewage to the world's waste this past year." Taken from the
home page of this startling call to arms, this statistic is but one of
many found at the Garbage exhibit at the Annenberg/CPB Project site
(the company behind PBS's "Save the Planet" series). Read the dire
global situation surrounding solid and hazardous waste and sewage, and
explore possible solutions to each problem. The key to the solution
revolves around education and action, two things this site presents
well. And if you think there's a lot of garbage on the Web, you're
right: The links section here contains more than a McDonald's trash
can after lunch.
PEZ.COM
http://www.pez.com
It's doubtful that the creators of Pez dispensers ever imagined
their candy caddy would one day become the impetus for a multibillion
dollar Internet company. But when the founder of eBay started his
company to try and find a network for his girlfriend's Pez dispenser
collection, that's just what happened. If you're one of the countless
folks who feel a strong connection to these kitschy toys, you'll find
collector information, company news, tips on limited edition releases,
and more at the official site of Pez.
AMBER GALLERY
http://www.ambergallery.com
>From the waves of grain to the genesis of trouble in Jurassic
Park, amber has long played a side role in our nation's mindset. The
fossilized sap makes for an excellent necklace centerpiece, a perfume
scent, or as a scientific preserver. If any of these amber
applications interest you, you can find plenty of information at this
inclusive site. Find out if the amber you bought at that garage sale
is the real deal and find out how much it's worth. Discover how amber
is made and trip through the dozens of amber-related links also
available here.
LIVING ARTS
http://www.livingarts.com
Yep, you guessed it. TipWorld's Cool Site of the Day is based in
California. That admission aside, you probably would have been able to
guess that after perusing the site: Living Arts (The Catalog for Total
Wellbeing). But more recently, the ideas of yoga, meditation, and Tao
are moving east from California and across the United States and the
globe. Of course, these concepts hardly started on the West Coast.
Learn about some of these and more practices, and if you like what you
read, you can purchase books, videos, music, jewelry, tools, and more
from the site.
FIREPHOTOS.COM
http://www.firephotos.com
You can find something for everyone on the Internet. Take a look at
Firephotos.com, for example. Pyromaniacs and fans of real-life
firefighter shows on Fox will appreciate the gallery of house
burnings, factory explosions, and other combustible disasters found on
this unique site. Read through basic and fire photography-specific
photo tips, check out the equipment used to take the shots, and link
to various fire departments around the United States.
CONDENET CURRENCY
http://www.cncurrency.com
People are making a lot of money off the plethora of financial
information sites available on the Internet. If you're wired, the
amount of info available to you on how to manage your money is simply
staggering. And CondeNet (a division of CondeNast) has joined the
fray. Its advice is thorough--though we don't necessarily agree with
the somewhat scary editorial assertion that money is life--and the
site offers a nice selection of lifestyle articles to balance out the
hard number-crunching discussions. Scores of links, stock advice,
financial calculators, and much more is to be found on this warmly
designed site.
RIBMAN
http://www.ribman.net
When the president of KC Masterpiece BBQ Company decided he'd had
enough of the daily, er, grind, he turned to making a comic strip. And
in the great tradition of "writing what you know," he called his strip
"Ribman." Currently found in two midwestern newspapers, the
fork-handed hero is now heating things up on the Web. A self-financed
presidential candidate for the 2000 race, Ribman fights leftovers and
vegetarians with equal aplomb. Read through a few episodes, meet the
cast of characters, and groan at the hundreds of meat puns found on
this offbeat site.
KROQ.COM
http://www.kroq.com
In many ways, KROQ epitomizes cool. The Los Angeles rock 'n roll
station has been pivotal in launching the careers of many of
yesterday's, today's, and probably tomorrow's top acts. Although you
can't listen to the radio via streaming audio, you can find out the
station's most played and most requested lists. What's more, you'll
find news, reviews, 3-D studio tours, games, and more at this hip
spot. Catch it here now, and watch it hit the top of the charts later.
ORVIS FLY FISHING OUTFITTERS
http://www.shop.orvis.com
The die-hard fly fishers of the world must have been pretty
surprised when "A River Runs Through It" came out and suddenly their
Saturday afternoon pastime became "hot." It did, and the pockets of
companies such as Orvis are now lined with gold-plated fishing wire.
If you're considering fishing on the fly, you'll need to buy some
waders and other accessories, and this site has oceans full. From rods
and reels to waders and something called a "tippet," you'll find it
here.
THE FEDERAL GATEWAY
http://fedgate.org
"Hey Fred, what are you doing tonight?" "Oh, I dunno, checking out
some federal Web sites." While that might not be the kind of dialogue
one might expect to hear at the corner pub, truth is that a great deal
of people rely on the Internet to research government-related
documents and information. And with hundreds of official government
sites, this can be a tiresome prospect. Enter Fed Gateway, a
one-stop-shopping resource of sorts for all things federal. While it
doesn't bring together ALL the U.S. government sites, it does organize
most of them neatly into the familiar legislative, executive, and
judicial categories--and also provides a helpful acronym decipherer
for the rest of us.
JEEEM'S CINEPAD
http://cinepad.com
A respected film critic and film historian, Jim Emerson has culled
a sizable collection of interviews, reviews, commentary, and curios to
create this vast and wonderfully idiosyncratic site. Guests are
encouraged to visit various rooms (the site employs the common house
metaphor) for the aforementioned content. Emerson has interviewed
Bette Davis, Milos Forman, the Coen brothers, and many more. Check out
his tribute to cinematic plumbing for some vitriolic writing. A
goldmine for true cinephiles.
MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN'S PROGRAM
http://www.ncjrs.org/ojjdp/missing/index.html
Few things in life strike more terror into the hearts of parents
than the prospect of losing their child. Sponsored by the Justice
Department's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention,
the Missing and Exploited Children's Program Web site is accessible to
both parents and children. Children, for example, should be led
through the Tips for Kids section, which offers suggestions on where
to go and what to do if you're lost, as well as how to protect
yourself. Parents will want to peruse the extensive links found
throughout the site and also read through some of the periodicals and
articles on child abduction and recovery.
SUN SOLARIS PATCHES
Sun Microsystems continually releases operating system patches to
address known bugs or those that reflect security concerns,
designating them as recommended and security patches, respectively.
For a complete list of these patches as they relate to your version of
Solaris, visit the following area of Sun's support Web site:
We all love nature, right? But can you walk the walk when it comes
to preserving the wildlife around us? Well, the task becomes easier
when all that "the walk" requires is sending an e-mail. The World
Wildlife Fund has organized this unique, grassroots-level approach to
connecting concerned citizens with the congress representatives and
legislators who hold the pens signing environment-damaging bills.
Similar to Amnesty International's Urgent Actions, the WWF will send
participants approximately one urgent environmental alert e-mail a
month with e-mail addresses of the folks you should write to with your
dissatisfaction.
VIDEOSEEKER
http://www.videoseeker.com
"Hey, did you see Jennifer Aniston on Conan last night?" How many
times have you had to duck out of a conversation from the get-go
because you didn't catch the reference? Well, if it's TV your friends
are gabbin' about (specifically NBC TV), you don't need to be silent
any longer. Enter Videoseeker, which houses selected clips from
selected TV shows--available in streaming video. The first step toward
user-defined show schedules? Could be. We give credit to NBC for
listing non-NBC-affiliated sites under its news links section.
CONTENTIOUS
http://www.contentious.com
When people think of writing on the Web, unfortunately, the image
of Matt Drudge or the news of a newspaper's online error comes to
mind. Well, believe it or not, people aside from Drudge and errant
newspaper editors do write online--and write well. If you're a print
journalist considering taking the plunge into the world of virtual
clips, you'll want to check this new site before you leap--and check
back along the way. Put together by a freelance journalist, the
monthly zine features editorials, interviews, examples of good and bad
writing, and more.
Most of the world laughed when Bill Gates' Windows 98 demo went
horribly awry in front of thousands at the spring Comdex show in 1998.
Some thought Gates should have gone one step further by calling tech
support and revealing how inept it often is. But sometimes it's the
callers who are the inept ones, and that's the basis of this humorous
new site. Read actual e-mails and phone call transcripts, and listen
to recorded calls. Funny stuff, and it might make you go a little
easier on the voice on the other end of the line next time you call
tech support.
No, this is not a place to go when you're in trouble. Did you know
that if your cat nudges your feet in the morning, it wants to stay
inside, and if it nudges your face, it wants to go out? That, and
dozens more pearls of folk wisdom can be found at this site dedicated
to pets and pet lovers. You'll also find jokes, helpful hints, essays,
idioms, fonts, sound files, a kennel of links, and much more--all
related to the animals that help make our lives a little more
complete.
While some UFO-related sites amount to little more than a gray page
with heavily exclamated text reading "I WUZ ABDUCTED!!!", this hub
offers a great deal more content, taste, and a far higher design
ethic. Read abductee stories or report your own, discover government
cover-ups, or chat with fellow UFO-heads. A galaxy of other options
awaits you on this--the final frontier.
Summer's here, and for many of us, that means vacation. Some of the
more lucky vacationers will be traveling internationally. But what
will the U.S. dollar be worth when you arrive in that foreign land?
Whether you're a penny pincher who will determine the location of your
vacation based on the best currency rate, or simply one who wants to
know just how much money to bring, the Currency Calculator can help
you. Choose from dozens of foreign currency, enter how much money
you'll be converting, and find out whether you'll be able to get a
diamond for cheap in Uruguay or if hotels will be costly in Costa
Rica.
Save the planet and score brownie points with your chemistry prof!
Even though scientists have gotten a bad shake with the cloning
controversy, one organization, the Union of Concerned Scientists,
seeks to serve as a bellwether on the fragile state of the environment
and what we can do to preserve it. Currently 70,000 strong, the
members are seeking a healthy environment and a safe world. How are
they looking to accomplish such a goal? They divide their focus among
six categories, from agriculture to transportation, and all are
expounded on at this site. Find out more about the organization, its
initiatives, and how you can get involved.
Okay, let's see a show of hands: Who even knew that NFL Europe
existed? Okay, both of you can put your hands down now. Well, if
anything, this new site will increase awareness of the burgeoning
league, currently comprising six teams. Get the latest standings, read
game reports and news items, and find out who among this satellite
league stands the best chance at making it into the "real" NFL. Our
lingering question: With soccer called "football" in Europe, what are
they calling this game?
If you're using Microsoft's Visual Basic with Visual SourceSafe,
you may receive one of the following errors when trying to retrieve a
project from SourceSafe:
"Failed to reload project" "Application error" "The instruction at
'0x0fa659de' referenced memory at '0x30303030'. The memory could not
be read."
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a bug and has fixed the problem
in Visual Studio 97 Service Pack 2. For more information on the
Service Pack, you can read the article "Visual Studio 97 Service
Packs--What, Where, and Why" in the Microsoft Knowledge Base at
For a list of the Visual Basic 5.0 bugs fixed in the Visual Studio
97 Service Pack 2, you can read the article "Visual Basic 5.0 Fixes in
Visual Studio 97 Service Pack 2" in the Microsoft Knowledge Base at
Want to have your cake and surf it too? That's now somewhat
possible thanks to this new site, sponsored by the same people who
brought us Cookie Recipe.com. Although we doubt many people have the
waistline tolerance to whip up a cake seven days a week, if the urge
strikes, this virtual cookbook delivers. Check out This Week's Top 10
Recipes ("Better Than Sex" cake was No. 1 when we checked), search
alphabetically or by keyword, or discover exotic tastes in the
international recipe section. Bon Appetit!
The redheaded woman who adorns the opening page of this vast live
music resource looks like Fred Flintstone's wife after a serious
makeover. WILMA is the place to go to find out if your favorite band
is touring. What's more, you can attach favorite selections from
WILMA's 17,000 bands and 2,000 metropolitan regions to your profile
and get e-mail notification about upcoming shows. In addition, you can
meet other people who share your musical preferences.
Ever feel like throwing a shoe at the TV when movie critics pan a
movie you adore, or worse, gush over a movie you abhor? Now, with the
newly redesigned Film.com, you can issue the electronic equivalent of
a brickbat or a bouquet to the movie of your choice. Read the
professional critics' reviews or submit your own. In the preview
section, you'll find streaming trailers of the latest flicks; and in
the store, you can buy all the cinema paraphernalia your
popcorn-greased hands can afford.
Is your Sun system Y2K ready? Sun now provides Y2K operating system
patch clusters that include all available Y2K patches. You can now
install one cluster for all Y2K patches relevant to your operating
system. For complete details and to download the clusters, visit the
following URL:
We'll try not to let our own squeamishness over the subject matter
cloud our critical judgment. If you're a fan of the antlion, (a.k.a.
the doodlebug), you'll find just about everything you could possibly
want to know about these scurrilous creatures on this strikingly
extensive and well-designed site. Peruse the educational resources,
consult the vast About Antlions section for arcania or--and we're not
kidding--gasp in amazement at the role that antlions have played in
culture. We'll think twice next time we're about to squash one of the
critters.
With the stock market soaring, it seems that nearly everyone wants
a piece of the action. But to make serious bucks on the market, you
have to do some serious research, and who really wants to read through
financial forecasts and analysts' reports on a Saturday night? Enter
Invisible Hand, a faux market that "trades" on issues the rest of us
probably feel more comfortable with. Register with the site and you
get $10,000 in fake e-cash to "invest" on such propositions as "Will
the Chicago Bulls win the championship?" or "Will Madonna's latest
album remain the Top 40 for less than 25 weeks?" If this seems like a
mindless waste of time, it is, but the top traders are awarded
valuable REAL prizes like a $500 gift certificate to CD Now. Just
think, reading Entertainment Weekly religiously might actually pay
off!
Live . . . from your desktop . . . it's Saturday Night! Although
that doesn't quite have the ring of the original slogan, one could
argue that the current lineup of SNL comedians doesn't quite have the
zing of the original cast. But, tit for tat, this new official site
packs quite a wallop with a slew of options guaranteed to please even
the most marginal of SNL fans. Take a peek at the Behind the Scenes
section, read cast bios, and view RealVideo clips of classic and
current seasons.
While nations such as China struggle to maintain control over the
Internet, a medium inherently anarchic, a group of concerned activists
have launched this new site dedicated to people who have lost their
freedom by expressing themselves and their opinions. What's more, the
Digital Freedom Network publishes the material that got the
individuals in trouble in the first place. Check out banned political
cartoons, editorials, and articles from around the globe. Find out the
latest hotspots for censorship and what you can do to combat
suppression.
Love him or hate him, no Star Wars character since the Ewoks has
created as visceral a response in moviegoers as Jar-Jar Binks, the
goofy sidekick in the new Episode One: The Phantom Menace. And if, for
the sake of argument, Jar-Jar were to miraculously appear on Earth and
start surfing the Web, the pages he'd see would no doubt look
something like these. The Jar-Jargonizer lets visitors type in the URL
of the site they want Jar-Jargonized, and this resource returns the
Gungan translation of that site's content. A good laugh and a great
way to play a prank on that Web designer you know and love.
2007: The US government successfully deploys a probe designed to
prove the existence of a parallel universe. Minutes into the mission,
an intelligent life form damages the probe. The result is a black hole
which threatens the very existence of our planet. You are Cutter
Slade, US Navy SEAL Commander.
http://www.pcworld.com/r/gdl/1%2C2061%2Cgdl-dl-07-30b%2C00.html
Starting this year and continuing through 2002, all major TV signal
providers will need to make the transition from analog to digital
television. One thing is not certain: just how that will happen. As is
typical with the high-technology industry in general, various factions
are balking at the proposed standards, as well as causing delays and
confusion among consumers and government regulators threatening to
enter the fray. Confused? Understandable. This resource helps clear up
some of the confusion with culled news updates, standards schematics,
discussion forums, and copious links. Cleverly designed and extensive,
this site is a good resource for people with vested interests in the
battle or who are considering plopping down the cash for a digital TV.
Jamaica, an island with an average temperature of over 80 degrees
has given the world many things--Reggae music, some of the best coffee
around, spices, hot sauce, and other fine pleasures. If you aren't
lucky enough to be heading to the isle to pick up these treasures for
yourself, this site can help. Featuring a number of the aforementioned
items plus videos, books, and novelty items, Jamaica Things offers
good prices and hassle-free ordering.
A little more than 50 years ago, Hollywood wasn't the
happy-go-lucky town it is today. Pushed on by Senator Joe McCarthy and
his anti-Communist witch hunts, Hollywood was scouring its own ranks
for "reds," offering up ten sacrificial lambs to appease McCarthy. One
of these ten was Adrian Scott, a screenwriter, playwright, and
producer. This historical retrospective offers a look at Scott, the
dark time, and his 16 years of being blacklisted in an attempt to
educate and prevent this awful period from ever happening again. Well
designed and thorough, this site is a must see for history and film
buffs everywhere.
Novell recently released an update to the Support Pack for NetWare
5--Support Pack 2. This support pack contains updates for all the
services included in the NetWare 5 box. The purpose of the support
pack is to provide a bundle of fixes that have been tested together.
Novell doesn't recommend installing individual files from the support
pack.
These files have undergone component testing, core OS testing, and
integration testing with other Novell products. The download file
corrects an installation problem in which the complete set of SMS
components fails to copy to the server. In some cases, this may cause
backup products to become unstable. Look for the file nw5sp2a.exe on
the Novell Technical Support Web site at
"Wow, daddy! Look at the 5-1/4-inch floppy on that 286!" At the
Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, California, exclamations such
as these might actually be commonplace. Scary? Ah, it's all in your
perspective. Curious? Check out the recently revamped official site of
the museum, with profiles of revolutionaries, a PC Weblopedia, top
sites, and scores of other online exhibits. Educators will love some
of the sections geared especially to teachers, and students have
plenty of interactive fare to keep them entertained as well. See how
far technology has come--and take a peak at where it might be heading.
If you're running Microsoft's Internet Information Server (IIS)
version 3.0 or 4.0 on a computer that has the default language set to
Chinese (Simplified or Traditional), Korean, or Japanese, you need to
be aware of a known problem identified by Microsoft. This problem
occurs on some localized versions of IIS, including Simplified
Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Korean IIS 4.0. The
problem can occur on any language version of IIS 3.0 and 4.0
(including the English version) if a double-byte code page or
double-byte character set (such as Japanese, Korean, Simplified
Chinese, or Traditional Chinese) language pack is installed on the
computer and is configured as the default locale in the Regional
Settings of Control Panel.
Microsoft recently released a patch that eliminates this problem.
You can download the patch file from
"She's going to the Internet and she's gonna get married." We doubt
that classic song will be re-written to include those more current
lines, but getting your gifts registered online is a whole lot easier
than doing it in the analog world. No more trips to every shop you
want to register with. Stop in to this site, with dozens of national
gift shops under its umbrella; then register and have your guests
visit, look up your profile, and buy your gifts directly from the
site. Many other services are offered, such as e-mails to your friends
to tell them where you've registered, as well as chats and bridal
consultations.
A site about sun, water, and dirt? Well, sort of. Foster and
Gallagher, the huge catalog company specializing in garden goods
sponsors this site aimed at gardeners who prefer their horticultural
products straight up. What do we mean? While some garden sites pepper
the product pitches with lifestyle articles, discussion forums, and
the like, GS skips the BS and primarily offers one-stop, no-hassle
ordering options on everything from bulbs to trees and the tools
you'll need to plant both. Sure, weekly chats are offered, but the
nature of this site is anything but chatty.
Sometimes a Web site will present us with so much information, so
many purchasing options, that we say to ourselves, "Why bother leaving
the house anymore?" We almost caught ourselves saying that to describe
this exhaustive new spot, until we realized that as a travel site,
that would defeat the purpose. Even though you'll find packing lists,
weather forecasts, travel accessories for men and women, U.S. Embassy
information, travel agency listings, continents, and more, all that
info is here to help you get out and go somewhere. An absolute
bookmark for the casual, business, or adventure traveler. More links
would make it near perfect.
You wouldn't figure a site dedicated to caffeine lovers would coat
its info with much fluff. This is a quick, to-the-point jolt of info
links. The selection here is a nice blend of humor, vendors, and
facts. Check out the adventures of "Too Much Coffee Man" or visit the
coffee maker Web cam that started the whole Web cam craze here. With
all the highly caffeinated programmers out there on the Web, we're
sure that a lot of jumpy fingers will be typing this URL in the near
future.
Chickens squawking from the oven, spiders stoned on marijuana. No,
these aren't topics scheduled for "Jerry Springer," but tales of
dubious truthfulness taken from the pages of New Scientist magazine.
Now you don't need to subscribe to the rag to read such
stories--though the opportunity to do so certainly appears often on
the site. If your humor tastes tend to lean toward the bizarre, you
might want to poke around in this frame-riddled site for a few laughs.
June 6, 1942 stands as one of the fiercest sea battles in American
Naval history. Two U.S. ships were lost that day, but three Japanese
craft went down, and the battle effectively turned the tide of World
War II. Robert Ballard, the man who found the Titanic remains, is now
heading an expedition three miles down into the Pacific Ocean to find
the five ships lost at Midway. Wish you could join him? You can, sort
of. On this National Geographic site, visitors can take a cyber-dive
into the ocean and follow along with the daily discoveries. Well
designed and fascinating.
While many people focus only on themselves and their immediate
surroundings, a small group of dedicated folks continues to think and
act globally. Thank Heavens for them. One such group is the Global
Development Center. Past projects include building housing projects in
Iraq and wiring villages in Guatemala. Check out the group's official
site for a look at what it has accomplished, what it stands for, and
why it is different from many other assistance organizations.
You've strung together enough HTML learning to put up a pretty darn
good site (if you may say so yourself). Every day you check your hit
counter and are continually discouraged to find only 12 people a day
are checking you out. What to do? We recommend paying a visit to this
fantastic resource for anyone looking for free advice on how to get
noticed. Everything from search engine placement tips to newsletters,
to things we didn't even think of. Pay enough attention here, and you
won't need a Promotion 201 site.
"Romeo, wherefore art thou distributor cap?" No, really. Auto
Literature is nothing like that. In fact, it's a site dedicated to
selling books (mostly how-to guides) on car repair, maintenance, and
upkeep. Whether you're a hardcore gearhead or just want to save
yourself some money every 3000 miles by changing the oil yourself,
you'll probably find a tome to toot about here. Secure online ordering
is available, and, thankfully, if you enter incorrect credit card
info, a shrill car alarm does not sound.
Today, the sport of golf is popular with almost every age group
(thanks in large part to Tiger Woods), and Adams Golf is one of the
sport's preeminent woods manufacturers. Take a stroll through this
appropriately green site for some Nick Faldo-proferred tips, a
reseller locator, a free golf screen saver, and a Q & A section with a
man named Barney.
Mother Jones magazine and the Coral Reef Alliance in Berkeley,
California, have teamed up to put together this red alert site that
calls attention (and hopefully action) to the Earth's troubled coral
reefs. Armchair activists and serious crusaders alike will find oceans
of information about where the current hot spots are and what they can
do to help. Scientists are predicting that 70 percent of the world's
reefs will be destroyed in 20 to 40 years unless we do something to
stop it. This well-designed site is a good place to start.
THE SKINNY
http://www.skinny.com
How can you be so skinny when you live so phat? That's the question
you gotta ask after flipping through the garish pages of this hip new
zine. Based in San Francisco, but with contributors from both coasts,
The Skinny dishes the sauce on fashion, music, nightlife, art,
photography, and music. Well written, plenty of attitude, and with an
apocalyptic humor throughout, The Skinny's not for everyone, but
serves its neon-hued corner on the Web well.
Looking for the lowest rate on a mortgage, car loan, credit card,
or just about any other sort of loan? This service, offered by
DataTrac, PR Newswire, and IDC Financial Publishing , tracks more than
11,000 banks and loan institutions across the country and updates them
daily. More than 100,000 rates are updated each week. Search by type
of loan, the best rates, or your local providers; read reports; and
vaults more.
When Conan O'Brien came on the air in 1998, few would have
predicted he would qualify as a television success story. But here he
is, having mellowed a bit, calmed his coif, and knocking us dead,
night after sleepless night with his offbeat humor. This official new
site features Web versions of some of the show's funniest sketches,
including "In the Year 2000," "If They Mated," and "Actual Items."
Meet the cast and crew, and check to see who will be appearing on the
show in the nights ahead.
In the world of e-commerce, the old phrase that says "those who
don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it" might be more
appropriate if it read "those who don't prepare for the future are
doomed never to see it." UPS sure seems to believe this, anyway. The
folks in brown want to help your business make the transition from the
analog to the digital age. Because even if your customers order from
your Web site, you still need a way to get them the product right?
Clearly intended for those businesses still caught like deer in the
Internet's headlights, the site provides some good straightforward
advice and information--before laying on the expected sales pitch.
No, this site is not what you think, folks, but one dedicated to
the often-masochistic purveyors of some of the world's spiciest and
most exotic hot sauces. Once you get through a couple of clunky
opening screens, hundreds of sauces, marinades, and mustards present
themselves (so innocently) for your consideration and purchase. Of
course, with names like "Sudden Death," you won't be mistaking these
for strawberry jellies. Taste the Pain extends its reach to include
hot sauce "lifestyle" items as well, such as drink mixers, posters,
and shakers.
Little did the boys in Duran Duran realize that in penning a tune
called "Girls on Film" several years ago, they provided a name for one
of the more successful young women-oriented Web sites around. Girls On
Film (the site) has just expanded to become the Girls On Network, in
which twenty-something women discuss TV, books, movies, and more. Romp
through the "fluff" section or dive into the features, but relax any
furrowed brows; these are fun reads all, with a clever sarcasm
throughout. We'll trust the site's comparison of the old "Love Boat"
show with the newer version over the stuffy TV Guide anytime.
Tired of making what you think is the winning bid on eBay, only to
check back 30 seconds later and find that 57 people have since outbid
you? It's one of the problems of the online auction market--it's so
popular that getting a good deal is increasingly more difficult.
That's why it's good to get in on sites like Popula early--before
other people find out. So keep it a secret, OK? Go here to find
obscure, bizarre items in the books, Hollywood, music, and other
categories.
Psst--did you hear the one about Tina Brown? Ha! Which one? Are you
a media junkie? Do you avidly read through the New York Observer's
"Off the Record" column and eagerly await Noam Chomsky's latest media
missives? You'd do well to stop by Jim Romenesko's Media Gossip. Jim
posts several items daily, culled from newspapers (mostly) around the
United States, usually described with biting editorial wit. Great
fodder for cocktail parties and to see how stories are covered around
the country.
Do you enjoy true crime novels and TV shows or find yourself with a
morbid curiosity whenever a high profile crime takes place? If so, you
might want to take a cautious gander down the barrel of this smoking
gun. This hub presents scores of legal papers, arrest affidavits,
crime scene reports, and more from famous lawsuits and crimes. You'll
find the police reports from Kurt Cobain's suicide, the Unabomber
trial notes, and sundry Hollywood Babylon affair documents. Photos are
rarely used (thankfully), and much of the papers are filled with
legalese mumbo-jumbo, but for the curious (morbidly or otherwise),
there's plenty of grist for the late night conspiracy theory mill
here.
Looking for news from a woman's perspective? Look no further. The
venerable (can anything be venerable on the Net?) women's hub
ChickClick recently launched SheWire, a news service covering hard
news but with an audience of twentysomething women in mind. Read
selected stories from around the Web or interviews with weekly media
mavens, peruse well-written editorials, and participate in very active
message boards.
Some cyber hipsters would have you believe that to maximize the
Web, you must be privy to a secret password, which, of course, they
won't give you. But now this brand new personalization service brings
to you the Web that you want to see. How does it work? Simple. The
Password consists of more than 350 "magazines," each topic-specific,
consisting of articles culled and edited from sources on the Internet.
What's more, The Password has a team of real live humans that scour
these sites, making sure what makes it into these magazines is
appropriate and timely. A revolutionary and successful way to truly
make the Web your own.
"Oscar stared at me strangely. I could feel myself going deeper and
deeper." One can almost picture a cover for a cheesy romance novel
with Fabio posing as the hypnotizing Oscar. But that quote isn't the
tag line on Danielle Steele's latest tome, but rather a satisfied
customer of Oscar, the Amazing Hypnodog. That's right, folks, a dog
that hypnotizes. Hugh Lennon's black lab has been knocking 'em dead in
England for quite some time now. You can check out some pictures of
Oscar at work and read more breathless testimonials to the canine's
curious capabilities.
The smell of a ragin' barbecue on a hot summer night is one of the
reasons many people claim they can't become vegetarians. Whether
you're wet behind the ears when it comes to the great outdoor activity
or a seasoned charbroiler, Barbecue'n has something for you. Not sure
what cut of meat to grab at the market? Take a look at the cut guide
and rating system. If a recipe's what you're after, Barbecue'n has 'em
by the dozen. The role spices play in a barbecue is examined as well.
No longer will you think that a barbecue means simply throwing a
burger on the grill.
With all the serious issues covered in the news, sometimes you need
to read lighter fare. Something to make you laugh or drop your jaw in
good-natured shock. Obscure Store and Reading Room (created by Jim
Romenesko, the same man who brought you mediagossip.com) can do just
that. Read through the several stories posted every day. Some sample
stories? "Crowds pack museum to smell stinky flower" and "Virgin Mary
image surfaces in Chicago home." Kinda like The Onion, but he's not
making this stuff up.
We doubt that when Beat poet William S. Burroughs first cut up his
writing and reassembled the words in a hodgepodge manner, he was aware
that his technique would become the model for the magnetic poetry kits
adorning refrigerators across the country. If he had, he'd probably
have died a much richer man. Now you can bring the fun of randomly
assembling words to make sentences right to your computer. (No, we're
not talking about a word processor.) It's a Java-based poetry kit.
Sharpen that pentameter and have fun doing so.
Let's face it: The world often needs to be a little more
diplomatic. The Center for Contemporary Diplomacy obviously thinks so.
We imagine the members walking through the center's halls, speaking in
hushed tones, and never butting in to another's argument. But that's
just us. Anyway, if politics interests you, you'll find dozens of
articles, essays, news stories, and video presentations all housed
here. Some revolve around Africa and African politics, but other than
that, the topics are entirely global. Fascinating, heady stuff.
Although some might simply call it an anatomical juxtaposition of
two obicularis oris muscles in the state of contraction, most of us
thankfully know it as a kiss. And few actions in all of humanity are
so simple and so everlasting. Remember your first one? Of course you
do. This site wants to hear all about it, so start using that mouth
(well, keyboard) for something other than puckering. Visitors can also
send an e-kiss or take in the latest kissing tip of the day. And with
a kiss's quality often signifying whether or not the dalliance will go
further, you can't know too much about the fine fun art of the kiss.
"Get a job!" To the less-than-motivated, those words, spoken by an
outraged parent, spouse, or guidance counselor can sound as shrill as
fingernails across a chalkboard. Through the help of this new virtual
bookstore, however, the task of becoming gainfully employed just got a
little easier. You won't find comic books sold here. Nope. Just books
about jobs. Getting one, keeping one, succeeding at one, you name it.
The topics are conveniently organized, and a very brief synopsis of
each title is offered. Online ordering, however, is not.
Stimulus wants to do more than teach you the basics behind site
design, the physical underpinnings of the Internet, and tech
jargon--it wants to become your way of life. Well, maybe it doesn't
want to do that--quite--but this hip tutorial spot does stretch things
a little too far with some of its nontutorial sections. Still, for
what it's trying to do--teach about the Web--it does a good job.
You'll find how-to's on frames, HTML, and CGI scripts broken down into
easy lessons. Some freeware is also available.
Valentine's Day is coming up right quick, well in a few months
anyway. Have you gotten your significant other a gift? Or are you
romantically challenged? Well, if you think a romantic night is one
where you hand over the remote control, you'd best stop into this rosy
spot immediately. You'll find romantic poems, quotes, date ideas,
links to like-minded sites, advice, free postcards, and much more.
If you're living in a part of the country that has been suffering
from a month of heat and drought or a part of the country that's been
coping with hurricanes and floods, you might want to know that some
parts of the world are having nice weather. And if you're planning a
vacation, it helps just to take a glimpse at paradise. In this case,
paradise comes in the form of San Juan Harbor in the state of
Washington. How soothing to stare at a sunny, tranquil harbor while
the rain streaks down our windows.
The entry of "the temp" into the American workplace has
dramatically changed the way companies and individuals view labor.
We've become a nation overrun with "disposable" workers. And now, the
previously unheard temps have their very own sarcastic voice online in
the form of this new zine. Peruse gripes of the week, "temp terms,"
and temp tales of terror, play a hilarious Shockwave game, and forever
change the nonchalant way you consider hiring a temp for the day.
Austin, Texas, has long been the unsung hero for good music. While
New York and LA got all the attention, Austin was busy churning out
heroes like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Lyle Lovett, and more recently, Spoon.
Those names represent three styles of music, but they all share one
thing in common: All three have performed at Austin City Limits, a
club whose shows are broadcast on PBS. But you don't have to be from
Austin to appear on the show. In fact, many musicians view playing
there as a right of passage. This new official site presents the
history of the show, with descriptions of each of its performers. Find
out who will appear on next week's program, or take a trip through the
musical past.
It's 1981 and Paul Lomo, charismatic singer for the punk band
Miasma, was just found dead in a swimming pool. The media writes off
the tragedy as the suicide of a desperate man. But one woman--the
band's biggest fan--doesn't buy it, and she's taking you along on her
quest to uncover the truth. What is it? It's the latest serial
adventure on the Web, Paul is Dead. Each day, more clues are added to
the Shockwave-based mystery, and you get to tag along. Was it the
Satanic bass player? How about his mysterious girlfriend? The path to
the truth is nonlinear, and who knows what lurks beyond each click.
Well done, rich, and enthralling.
No longer an oxymoron, geek culture is alive and--well--alive. Ever
wonder what geeks think is funny? What kinds of TV shows they watch?
Wanna learn the latest lingo? How about checking out some geek strip
pens (don't worry, mom and dad, the whole site's rated PG)? Check out
geek culture to send your loved one a geek e-card, buy some geek
paraphernalia, download free geek software, or visit some sites deemed
geek worthy.
Fight the power! When Public Enemy's Chuck D rapped those words, he
probably didn't know that they would manifest in his releasing PE's
1999 album "There's a Poison Goin On" on an Internet record label,
thereby circumventing the record label's power. But sure enough, he's
done just that. And so did fellow rapper Ice T. Stop by one of the
first Internet labels to see what all the fuss is about, buy PE's
album (in MP3 or Zip drive format), or check out some of the free
music downloads.
Renowned photojournalist Dirck Halstead was originally granted some
server space by Hewlett Packard to exhibit his photos and test some of
the company's visual imaging products. After hits to the site grew
phenomenally, Halstead decided to turn his project into a webzine
showcasing photos and photo-related articles from talents around the
world. His site bursts every month with fresh content--stories and
photos--and is a must see for anyone interested in photojournalism or
who likes to look at pretty pictures.
While the debate rages over online music, with major labels wishing
it would go away and college kids and independent artists eating it
up, many sites have sprung up to cater to the demand. One such site is
Sonique, an MP3 player. What's so unique about that? Well, for
starters, Sonique has about the coolest looking MP3 player you've ever
seen. Adjustable, flexible, with tons of personalization features,
this player rocks. Technologically, it's flexible enough to handle
many standards, should MP3 not be the format that wins the online
music battle.
Damn! The light went out again. No, we're not talking about what
happens when you lose a good idea, but when an actual light burns out.
What to do? Well, obviously, you head to the closet or the nearest
store for a replacement. As testament to the fact that no market is
too small for a Web presence, we offer you bulbs.com, a site promising
"...the easiest method of sourcing, tracking, and reordering all your
light bulb needs at competitive prices." Obviously, this site is
geared more toward the business customer, but we thought it was cool
just for laughs.
Puzzled by posh? Confounded by cattycorner? Baffled by balderdash?
Flummoxed by flabbergast? Have no fear! The word detective is here!
Although he wears no brim slung low and has no helper in tow, the word
detective is the place to go if you're unclear what any of these or
any other of about one gazillion English words mean. E-mail the good
detective your question (though no guarantee is made that you'll get
an answer), and while you're awaiting a reply, peruse the online
version of the eponymous newsletter or surf through the language links
at the bottom of the page. Disclosure: We had to ask the detective
what eponymous means.
"A friend of a friend was telling me the other day..." Stop! We've
all heard stories that start like that, and many times those stories
fall into the category of urban legend. Thanks to the Internet, urban
legends abound like never before, in the form of chain e-mails from
Bill Gates promising you $5,000 if you forward to ten people. Before
you make ten enemies, consult this site. Remarkably comprehensive,
snopes.com houses scores of legends, categorized by type and even
whether they're true or not. To back up their findings, the site's
owners provide source info for the verification.
Perhaps you've heard of the Web site Ask Jeeves. If not, it's
essentially a smart, agent-based search engine: You ask the cyber
butler a question, and he returns some suggestions of sites based on
the inquiry you submitted. Now there's a Jeeves just for kids. Rather
than trying to teach Junior the arcania of Boolean search terms, have
your child enter a question such as "Where can I find Mr. Potato Head
online?" and Jeeves will offer his suggestions.
When you were a kid, did you delight in jumping from trees and
sledding down cliffs? You might want to consider making a living from
those childhood traits. The Stuntman's Association of Motion Pictures
is a group of brave-hearted men and women who literally fall for
today's hottest stars. Read the history of the health insurance
industry's most hated organization, find out about upcoming events,
and send an e-mail if you're interested in joining. Probably the most
visited section is the store area. After all, if you're too chicken to
jump out of buildings for a living, at least you can wear a hat that
says you do.
Hillary Clinton bemoans the lack of an "editor" for the Internet
(note to Hil: We're here--Ed.), but some notable journalism purists
beat her to the punch. Run by the Annenberg School for Communication
at the University of Southern California, the Online Journalism Review
takes a hard look at the state of reporting on the Web through news
stories, features, and interviews; the publication isn't afraid to
point out wrong doings, regardless of their source. A tremendous
resource for journalists (online or no), and anyone who reads words on
the Internet.
Think Matt Drudge has the market cornered on Internet gossip? Think
again. Although you probably won't find the word "Lewinski" anywhere
on this new site, if it's dirt about the Web that you're looking for,
you'll probably find it here: politics, policy, policing--you name it.
The tidbits displayed here are largely culled from other sources, but
you will find a couple of items put together by the IT Gossip squad as
well. The little message boxes that pop up whenever you click on a
headline grow annoying very fast, however.
Stress, Inc. takes a look at the indecent sums of money, the
incredible stories, and the indelible stain that the commercialization
of stress has created. Read well-written essays discussing stress as
it has been commercialized in the worlds of advertising, publishing,
pharmaceuticals, fitness, and more. Getting stressed just reading
about it? Thankfully, the site provides some respite in the form of
games and quizzes. Wait--what if you don't get a high score?!
Home-based entrepreneurs (we call them loose collar workers)
constantly battle feelings of isolation. Gone is the inner-office
dynamic, replaced by mocking computer screens, complicated tax forms,
and daytime television. This empowering online version of the printed
magazine hopes to help change all that. Designed specifically for
those of us who call our home our office, EHOM presents a handful of
helpful articles, broken into features, trade secrets, technology,
home business, and living topics. The blend is a heady mix of
how-to's, first person testimonials, and humor. Next time you're home
working and feeling a little lonely, browse through this site and
marvel at the size of your demographic.
We don't recommend that you refer the police officer who pulls you
over to this site, but if you're frustrated by the bureaucracy of the
law or just want a few laughs, you'd do well to visit this site.
Nobody's got a lock on stupidity: all 50 states are represented here.
The site is forthcoming that some of the mentions haven't been
verified, but we're not taking any chances. When we're in
Massachusetts, we'll NEVER drive a car with a gorilla in the back
seat.
"They don't make 'em like they used to"--a lament usually heard not
long into a Sunday afternoon UHF viewing of a classic black-and-white
western film. Although the genre has enjoyed sporadic resurgence in
the 1990s (with films such as Unforgiven, Dances with Wolves, and The
Last of the Mohicans), it never reclaimed the peak it held in the
1950s and early 1960s. This site is doing something to combat that--it
offers dozens of the classic films in streaming WindowsMedia format.
You'll also find trivia, links, sound files, and--shore 'nuf,
pardner--a tradin' post.
Ever felt cheated walking out of the movie theater? You plopped
down $8.50 on the flick, and it was really awful? Vent, my friend,
vent. The Golden Raspberry Award Foundation feels your pain. Each
year, the group compiles a list of what it calls the worst movies of
the year and awards them Razzies. Past award winners include Xanadu
and (of course) Showgirls. Visit the site to cast your vote in the
"100 Years, 100 Stinkers" poll, or check out who's in the lead for
this year's competition.
While the debate rages over online music, with major labels wishing
it would go away and college kids and independent artists eating it
up, many sites have sprung up to cater to the demand. One such site is
Sonique, an MP3 player. What's so unique about that? Well, for
starters, Sonique has about the coolest looking MP3 player you've ever
seen. Adjustable, flexible, with tons of personalization features,
this player rocks. Technologically, it's flexible enough to handle
many standards, should MP3 not be the format that wins the online
music battle.
----------------------------------------------
ATOMIC POP
http://www.atomicpop.com
Fight the power! When Public Enemy's Chuck D rapped those words, he
probably didn't know that they would manifest in his releasing PE's
1999 album "There's a Poison Goin On" on an Internet record label,
thereby circumventing the record label's power. But sure enough, he's
done just that. And so did fellow rapper Ice T. Stop by one of the
first Internet labels to see what all the fuss is about, buy PE's
album (in MP3 or Zip drive format), or check out some of the free
music downloads.
----------------------------------------------
THE DIGITAL JOURNALIST
http://www.dirckhalstead.org
Renowned photojournalist Dirck Halstead was originally granted some
server space by Hewlett Packard to exhibit his photos and test some of
the company's visual imaging products. After hits to the site grew
phenomenally, Halstead decided to turn his project into a webzine
showcasing photos and photo-related articles from talents around the
world. His site bursts every month with fresh content--stories and
photos--and is a must see for anyone interested in photojournalism or
who likes to look at pretty pictures.
----------------------------------------------
GARBAGE IN, GARBAGE OUT
http://www.learner.org/exhibits/garbage/
How's this for a sobering stat: "If your habits resemble those of
average Americans, you contributed 1,570 pounds of solid trash and
3,613 pounds of sewage to the world's waste this past year." That
tidbit is taken from the home page of this startling call-to-arms,
part of the Annenberg/CPB Project (the company behind PBS's Save the
Planet series). Read dire warnings and explore possible solutions
(largely revolving around education and action, two alternatives the
site presents well). And if you think there's a lot of garbage on the
Web, you're right: The links section here is fuller than a McDonald's
trash can after lunch hour.
The New York Times' slogan is "All the news that's fit to print."
We highly doubt the slogan for Tabloid.net is anything like that. But
if you like your news a little, um, vitriolic and loud, this is the
spot for you. Be warned, however: This is not your father's watered
down, all-things-for-all-people newspaper. Nope, this is a monthly
read aimed at those who like a little action in their scoops.
How many times have you been out on a date, trying to impress the
person, thinking you're cool, singing along to the song on the radio,
when your companion leans over and politely tells you, "Um, those
aren't the words." Duh! Bummer. You can find companionship on this
site, which houses botched lyrics to more than 1,800 misheard lyrics.
Visitors send in each bungled lyric, and you can see the actual lyric,
how the lyric was misheard, and the embarrassing moment of revelation,
as well. Hilarious stuff.
Jimi Hendrix was known for turning a right-handed guitar upside
down, stringing it backwards, and playing it as a lefty. Dick Dale,
surf-guitar hero bar none, plays his left-handed Strat upside down and
keeps it strung as a lefty, so that he can more easily solo on the
lower notes and create that low, rumbling staccato push associated
(thanks to him) with all surf music. Read Dale's personal history
(including how he single-handedly created surf music), send off fan
e-mail (Dale promises to read every piece he receives), and if you
just can't get enough of the man, purchase T-shirts and other
memorabilia, shippable even to such landlocked locales as Des Moines.
Bolt, an online teen lifestyle journal, has compiled a compendium
of high school newspaper stories from around the nation. You won't get
lunch menus or sports scores here, but you will find some surprisingly
well-written opinion pieces, news reports, and--perhaps most
interesting--a section called Banned from Bolt, where stories that
have been censored by school administrators are posted. One such
article is an investigation written by a student who reveals how
easily children can buy cigarettes at two local stores. Fascinating
reading for people of all ages, and a welcome reminder that young
people are critical thinkers.
Perhaps if you asked them how they felt the day after delivery,
mothers of, for example, quintuplets or quadruplets would say they
were tired. At the new Labor of Love Web site, however, we found
scores of stories from women who wax romantic on the birth experience.
Home births, water births--you name it, you'll find it here, and no,
not all entries read simply: "Aaaauuugghhh!!!!" Want to post a birth
announcement? Go ahead, and be sure to include a glossy of your
young'un. Articles from Family Forum Magazine are available for
consultation, as is a pregnancy-and-parenting search engine.
Much of the world rejoiced (or at least snickered) when Bill Gates,
the world's richest man, got pied in the face in Belgium. Of course,
in this digital world, that creamy dish became a catalyst for a frenzy
of programming. Folks started digitizing and manipulating the image of
the flustered Bill, and other propeller heads put together Shockwave
games such as this. You control the head of Gates as he works his way
through a PacMan-like maze, avoiding the menacing pies and collecting
bags of loot along the way, first stopping by the courthouse, and then
to the World TV zone. This programmer obviously has a chocolate chip
on his shoulder, since it's nearly impossible to escape the pies.
"Everyone using the Internet...raise your hand!" Aside from
straining a lot of shoulders, counting all those extended digits would
be a tedious endeavor indeed. That's why services like Headcount are a
good resource if you're interested in how many people are on the Web,
where they're located, and what language they speak. Mostly culled
from other sources, the information presented here isn't detailed
enough to answer any need-to-know questions, but it fits squarely in
the nice-to-know category (read: good geek party convo). The links
section is pretty extensive, as well.
If the thought of your annual vacation to the in-laws' condo fills
you with fear, not cheer, consider this rugged alternative. Couch
potatoes: Beware or be fried; this vacation is of the extreme variety.
For three days, you'll be led along the coast of California and Mexico
on a dirt bike. This official site offers gushing testimonials, some
beautiful photographs, and information on how to sign up for one of
these $1,500 sojourns, but little else.
Psst--hey kid, wanna take a peek behind the big top's curtain? The
Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus site has set up quite an array
of sights and sounds for young and old alike. Learn the history of the
travelling spectacular, find out when the two operating versions of
the circus will appear in your town, and purchase tickets online. Meet
the performers (see the pictures of the new baby elephant!), and keep
yourself busy until the circus comes around. Don't pay extra to see
the egress, though.
Photo-enhancing programs like Photoshop have broadened the palette
of artists and, at the same time, lowered the bar for what it takes to
call yourself an artist. This site demonstrates both of those
statements. First, Mr. Carlson, self-described "surfer and sampler" is
able to take photographs from the Web and enhance them digitally,
turning once blase photos into kaleidoscopic landscapes. On the other
hand, however, his work consists merely of tweaking existing photos.
Artist or borrower? Visit and decide, but decrease the resolution of
your monitor, because Carlson uses a tiny font throughout.
In today's conglomeratized (we made up that word) world, it's hard
to know what news source to trust, especially when the topic is as
monied, lobbied, and detested as the tobacco industry. Hail, then, the
Internet and its ability to post the millions of pages of once-secret
documents that the tobacco industry has only now made public. Of
course, you have to have a true zeal for the topic to wade through the
often incalculably dull legal mumbo jumbo, but the real victory here
is that these papers are available, and a medium exists for all to see
them.
Think you need to spend hundreds, even thousands of dollars to put
together a killer Web site? Think again. Poor Richard's Web Site, a
book by Peter Kent, will set you back less than $40 and promises to
tell you whether or not you need a Web site, how to make one, and
perhaps most important, how to promote your site once you get it up
and running. A handful of chapters are offered in their entirety for
your perusal, as are testimonials and examples. The strength of this
promotional site lies in the 700-plus links offered. Definitely worth
a visit.
Did you know that M&Ms are "The Official Candy of the New
Millennium"? M&M is the Roman numeral representation of 2000, get it?
Now you know. To find out more important facts about the history of
the durable, colorful candy, including how the idea struck Forrest
Mars Sr. during the Spanish Civil War and why red ones were taken out
of the color mix for 11 years, check out this corporate site. You
won't find just shameless PR here; the hypesters have taken a
tongue-in-cheek approach (so to speak) to their material. Oh yeah, you
can also register for a couple contests and proclaim yourself the
"Darned-Near-Official" something of the millennium.
Money's important. It's not everything, but it's important.
Managing your money, therefore, is important as well, but who's got
time? The information on the Web makes money managing easier, but you
still have to search for dozens of sites to get the info you need.
Until now. Just Quotes pulls together and links dozens and dozens of
financial news sources, stock quotes, and indicators on one page. Type
in the company name you're interested in, and all those links are
automatically calibrated to link to the company you specified.
Bookmark the page and you can find out about your portfolio quicker
and easier than ever before.
Think you have what it takes to be the next hot producer? Or the
greatest new hip DJ? If you have a Pentium II-based PC with a
soundcard and CD-ROM drive, you have what it takes. Of course, a
little talent and a discerning ear never hurt, either, but enough
about that. Intel's Mixman Studio--downloadable from the site--enables
you to download and mix sounds, fiddle with sounds from a CD-ROM, and
basically provide you with enough tech fun to wile away many a rainy
afternoon. Like what you hear? You can purchase the full-featured
version as well.
The votes were cast, the trophies polished, and the 1999 Webby
Awards finally happened--and as attendees, we can confidently
say--without a hitch. This official site has been up for a little
while, but now you can view the list of this year's winners. Plus, for
the 2000 Webbys, there'll be a People's Choice vote as well. Note to
aspiring Webmasters: There's still plenty of time before next year's
awards, so get coding!
Comic book fans exist in a pretty inclusive world--a world whose
habitues typically include pre-teen sci-fi enthusiasts, post-teen
programmers, some role-playing fans, and little else. Still, somewhere
amidst that demographic must certainly exist the comic book fan who
wants to expand his or her borders. We think that Another Universe
exists for that demographic. We think that because exactly whom AU
exists for isn't entirely clear. It focuses on comic book
paraphernalia, sci-fi memorabilia, and the like, but it also includes
Hollywood news items, interviews with B-level celebs, and other
assorted items. Maybe it's step one in a 12-step comic book weaning
program.
With Yahoo!'s stock leaping more than 10 percent recently, perhaps
the best insurance you can get is to gobble up some of the company's
stock. Well, given the volatility of the Internet stocks, that might
not actually be the best policy, but you can check Yahoo! to decide
what kinds of policies are right for you, thanks to this new hub. Read
the short articles arranged by insurance type, and then head off to
the company's selected links for the program that best matches your
needs.
Until the naming committees on the Internet can figure out how to
allow an accent mark in a URL, allow us to offer a quick tutorial. The
name of this power-auction users' hub is not pronounced "an-dale," but
rather "an-da-lay," as in Spanish for "quickly." That said, this site
is a treasure if you're one of the umpteen thousand "power auction"
sellers on Internet auction sites. Managing and tracking items on
various auctions has been a time-consuming endeavor, but Andale
enables you to automate and manage your auctions across a wide array
of sites from one central hub.
There's really only so much you can express with those pesky
emoticons. You know, :), :(, etc., etc., ad infinitum, ad nauseum.
Sometimes there's just no substituting the human voice. Until
recently, however, it wasn't possible to "chat" vocally over the Web.
Fear not: the wheel of technological innovation rolls on quickly, and
Excite is one of the first sites now to offer "voice chat." Download
the small app, plug in that microphone, turn on those speakers, and
you're in business. It's easy to set up private chat rooms if you want
to schedule a talk with your ma or that certain cyber someone.
Spin, the arbiter of cool in the areas of music, clothes, and
lifestyle for the 15- to 30-year-old age set, has recently revamped
its Web site. The result? A successful mirroring of its paper-bound
'tude, plus daily news postings, songs samples, video clips, and a
weekly Kool Thing section, detailing what the Web site's editors deem
the "hot" thing of the week. We'd like to see a little more content
from such an action-packed magazine, but the samplings that the
Spinsters give us keep us coming back.
It's 9:30 p.m., you're about done with the PowerPoint presentation
you have to give at 8:00 a.m. the next day, but when you go to
transfer it to your notebook, you realize the file size is too big for
a floppy, and you don't have access to a Zip drive. What to do? Used
to be, panic. Now, however, you can simply upload the file onto
I-Drive, a site that offers users 25MB of free secure storage, so you
can access your files anywhere there's an Internet hookup.
We don't understand it either, but there's something about Mr.
Mahir that has the Web all aflutter. Since his site was first noticed
in October until now, millions of fans have flocked to his homepage
seeking ... what, exactly? A good laugh, to say the least, as this
affable Turk announces his affinity for women and a propensity for
broken English. A testament to the Web's quirky collective sense of
humor.
You've just finished the final chapter on what you're sure is the
Great American Novel. Your mom and your significant other both say
they love it, and now all you have to do is turn the rest of the world
onto it. Where do you start? You could do worse than to turn to
goodstory.com. The site offers help to fledgling writers through work
critiques, publisher contacts, and agent interactions. You can
classify your work as a screenplay, novel, short story/article, or
Internet concept. Goodstory is one Internet concept that's been a long
time coming.
Sniff, sniff. After Seinfeld signed off the air for the last time,
Jerry devotees had to find solace and laughs elsewhere. A logical
choice might be this official site, a self-proclaimed "site about
nothing." But wait, there's something there! Quite a bit, actually.
View episode clips, cast your vote on whether or not Jerry and Elaine
should have ended up together, play a Shockwave game, enter your
trivia questions, choose your favorite episodes, enter a Seinfeld
contest, yadda yadda yadda.
So you finally mastered a few HTML tags, you put up some photos of
your vacation on the lake, and now you want to tell the world. What to
do? You might want to stop by this simple site that can point you to a
few existing resources on the Web to help you promote your site. Not
overly exhaustive, but including most of the key players, you can
choose from search engine submission services, banner exchanges,
promotional software, marketing e-zines, and more.
All too often museums call attention to lofty works of art, in the
process neglecting the simple things that surround us, equally capable
of inspiring and invoking beauty. This online exhibit by the
Smithsonian--the first created specifically for the Web--calls
attention to such items. The exhibit showcases ordinary items donated
by ordinary folks that transcend their pedantic origins and evoke high
art. Peruse exhibits featuring patched bellbottoms, wooden hand
puppets, an ironing board, and more on this incredibly well designed
enclave.
Can't make it to Singapore anytime soon? Worry not, dear comrades,
as the Singapore Zoo is coming to you through your computer. Read
interviews with the zoo masters, check out the photographs (lions and
tigers, oh my!), and discover the unique aspect of the zoo--that it's
open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. No rest for the wicked or the
zoo animals, apparently. This allows for a unique "night safari" in
which visitors are allowed to explore the jungle scenarios in the
dark. Yikes.
Some people buy computers for business, others use them to surf the
Web, and some buy them mainly to play games. If you fall into the
latter category, you'll probably enjoy this gaming hub sponsored by
Cendant (formerly C.U.C. International). Here you'll find downloads,
demos, access to multiplayer rooms, reviews, news, updates, patches,
message boards, links, tournaments, and contests. Phew!
Mammoth Records, home to the Squirrel Nut Zippers, Victoria
Williams, Blake Babies, and dozens more artists, has just redesigned
its official site in sync with its announcement that all future CDs
released by the label will feature interactive content. While most
pundits declared CD-Is dead in the water a couple years ago, the folks
at Mammoth continue to hold that flag high. Read the latest
label/artist news, check out the latest release dates, and visit any
of the artists' official homepages here.
We were put off by this site's audacity when we called it up for
the first time. As part of the opening screen, you have to download a
400k Shockwave program! But once we got inside, we realized our
initial disdain was unwarranted. Named after the concept of
"REdesigning the MEdium through Discovery," this gorgeous, artistic
site profiles 10 artists/Web designers and their visual theses on
communicating. Stunning in a museum-like quality, this is not a place
to go in a hurry, but an enclave to explore when you're in the mood
for enchantment.
Few American filmmakers hold the cultural and artistic prestige
that D.W. Griffith held in his lifetime, a prestige that continues
through today. Spanning the years from 1908 to 1931, his films, most
of them silent, handled such heady topics as the Civil War and
intolerance. This site offers an extensive history of Griffith, as
well as clips of his more famous movies, including "Birth of a Nation"
and "Intolerance." The clips aren't in RealVideo, and to break the
films up into uneven segments hardly does them justice. Still, by
viewing a couple or reading of his influence on the world of cinema,
you might be inspired to hunt down some complete prints at your local
arty video store.
Who says you need to move to the San Francisco Bay Area to land a
good job in the high tech industry? Not the people behind this site.
With thousands of jobs listed in the often-overlooked areas of
Atlanta, Texas, the Carolinas, and Chicago, this hourly updated hub
could help you land the gig you're after. Search by date listed, level
of skill required, computer language, or post your resume here.
Exhaustive and current--two very desirable traits for a job posting
service.
Rarely will a corporate Web site make us chuckle--intentionally.
This home of the Kranzler Kingsley Communications company provides the
requisite 411 on the Web design/advertising/marketing firm, but also
throws in a little fun as well. Try your hand at writing awful
headlines or creating annoying jingles while you peruse the client
list and view the group's previous work.
For many parents, sending Junior off to college is a mixed
blessing. On the one hand, you get the thankless twirp out of the
house and you can rediscover one another. On the other, his higher
education can set you back six figures if you're not careful. This
site can't help you rediscover your significant other, but it can help
you make the financial aspects of college education a little easier.
But this site from Educaid--one of the 10 largest educational loan
institutions in the country--isn't just for parents. College and high
school students will also find stuff for themselves here. Subscribe to
the monthly newsletter that provides checklists for soon-to-be
students, consult financial aid information, and consider taking out
loans offered here.
Every 3.6 seconds, someone on the planet dies from hunger, and
three-quarters of those deaths are children under the age of five.
Pretty depressing, huh? Thanks to the Internet, though, doing
something about it has never been so easy. If you have a few seconds
to spare, stop by the Hunger Site and simply click on the link that
reads Donate Free Food. For every click on the link, the 11 sponsors
behind the site will contribute three cups of staple food--wheat,
rice, maize, or others--to starving people around the world.
With the recent failure of the Mars mission, the space program
could use a little pick-me-up. We all cheered when John Glenn took to
the skies again, but--let's face it--that was more a PR move by NASA
than anything of serious scientific merit. The Space Station, on the
other hand, that's where the real action is. Whether you're mildly
curious about this USA/Russian hookup far up in the sky or a die-hard
aficionado of all things interstellar, you'll find something of
interest on this jam-packed site. Presented by Encyberpedia and NASA,
Spacestation.com offers true geeks the opportunity to view real-time
space station data and gives the rest of us a chance to meet the crew,
discover the history of space travel, and view launchings. Who knows?
Maybe someday we'll all be up there, checking out Web sites about the
planet Earth.
Know a Webmaster who you'd love to play a practical joke on? Visit
the Dialectizer, choose which dialect you want to run that person's
Web site through (pig latin, Elmer Fudd, redneck, jive, and more),
enter the URL, call your coding geek friend over, and watch as his or
her heart races and he or she runs screaming for the servers. The
Dialectizer takes all the HTML code on a site and, well, dialectizes
it. For instance, a sample headline on PC World's site talking about
the influx of women on the Web suddenly reads like a redneck: "Wimmen
on th' Net t'Stay. In about 4 years, wimmen haf become 40 percent of
Net users, an' they're changin' th' lan'scape. Mo'e in PC Wo'ld
Today." Hilarious stuff.
Yep, this one's a little, well, different. We had no idea that
people didn't like stick figures. You know, those most rudimentary of
drawings, the star of the popular Hangman game? But apparently some
folks do, and they've taken the time to create this handful of
bizarre, yet hilarious, short gif file snuff drawings. Don't worry
about bandwidth blues when you want to watch these executions; the
beauty of stick figures is that they're light on the graphics files.
Choose from four scenes (all of which would garner no worse than a PG
rating in the movies) and give your day a much needed dash of
nonsensical hilarity.
Even though bots are the rage in portals and the Internet, they've
been around for more than 30 years. What's a bot? Short for robot, a
bot is an electronic sentry--also known as an intelligent agent--that
scours the Web to help you find what it is you're looking for. Kind of
like a search engine, bots are more finely tuned and personalizable,
able to adapt to your needs and learn from previous retrievals. Three
years old, Botspot is the place to go if you want to learn more about
these programs and where to find the best ones. The site profiles a
"Bot of the Week," reviews the selected bots, and gives a glimpse of
this fascinating and burgeoning area of computing.
Pity poor Luke Skywalker. Left out of the most recent Star Wars
movie, his spotlight stolen by something called a Jar Jar Binks, ol'
Luke could use a little loving these days. If you're a die-hard Star
Wars fan who wants to feel the Luke love, stop on by this extensive
fan site for Luke news, sightings, rumors, sound files, and movie
clips. Mark Hamill--if you're out there--we still care, man. May the
force be with you.
Ever wonder why some women go to the bathroom in groups and take so
long while they're in there? This site might give you an idea. For
most men, personal grooming is very simple. We shower, shave, and
maybe comb our hair. Some women, however, feel the need to dress up
their faces and bodies with makeup. This offbeat site hopes to serve
as a guide to such women, offering weekly makeup tips. "Let me just
start by saying that makeup is my life!" boasts the diva herself, and
judging from her knowledgeable responses to the questions (past
inquiries are archived), she walks the walk and talks the talk (and
carries a stylish makeup bag all the while, we're sure).
Remember when Y2K threatened to be TEOTWAWKI? Uh, what? In today's
increasingly confusing world, acronyms are common in conversation.
Sometimes--as in the sentence above--a combination of them can be
pretty overwhelming. The next time somebody spouts alphabet soup,
you'd do well to stop into the Acronym Finder to decipher what it is
he or she is saying. The interface is simple. Type in the acronym and
the site searches through nearly 70,000 known acronyms and returns
what it finds. We tried to stump it on computer arcania and scientific
esoterica, but it had us in every instance. A valuable bookmark.
Oh, these dark days of winter, when the snow won't let up, the sun
won't stay out, and about the only way to get the mercury rising is to
light a match under it. What's a spring-seeking glum chum to do? If
you have a Java-enabled computer, you can at least wile away the dark
hours of winter having fun--it seems to make them go by faster. Why
not tease your brain while you're at it? Some former editors of the
venerable Games magazine have formed a company called Puzzability, and
they're offering some free brain-teasers on this engrossing site.
Crosswords, word searches, you name it--you'll find plenty of clever
(and tough) games to play gratis. Puzzability is an 11-letter word for
fun.
Ha ha ha ha! That was our uproarious reaction when we first clicked
on this site, a homespun effort dedicated to pointing out the mullet
and all its glorious variations. What's a mullet, you ask? The style
of haircut that might never have been in style, but continues to
thrive today. Short in front, long in back, baby. The mullet. Take a
tour through the "Mullet classification" sections, view the mullet of
the week, and brush up on your mullet vocabulary. The language gets
saucy occasionally, but nothing too bad.
Not a new spin-off magazine line from Penthouse, but a catchall Q&A
site for anyone who owns either of the top two pets: cats and dogs.
Just because cats and dogs are domesticated doesn't mean they're not
quirky, often nonsensical beasts. This site, sponsored by such
companies as Alpo, Friskies, and others, answers dozens of "Why does
my dog/cat..." questions and offers nutrition tips, pet care resources
(both online and off), and an opportunity to ask a pet expert
questions such as why Fido continues to tear up the magazines you lay
on the coffee table.
Call them what you will. The dullard. The bore. The guy who shows
up at your party and bores half the room to tears. Of course he means
well, but how do you tell a friend or acquaintance that, well, he's
dull? One way might be to slip this URL in his mailbox anonymously, or
forward this e-mail. Dull Men's Club has some pretty strict admittance
requirements, as you'll find out if you take the "Are You Dull?" test.
Once you're in, check out some of the monthly events they have
scheduled, read profiles of certifiably dull fellows, and discover
what celebrities are yawners, as well.
We'll start off by saying that we don't condone even the notion of
murder, but given that this site is a fantasy site based on the murder
of television characters, we thought it was OK to mention. Besides,
who hasn't at one point or another screamed at the television as their
favorite character hooked up with that, that worm? Well, here's your
chance at revenge. Each week, Who Would You Kill lets visitors vote
for who on a particular show they'd off (past choices included
Baywatch, Addams Family, and Dawson's Creek), and how they'd do the
deed. Good, escapist fun.
The English language is an odd, unwieldy thing. Ask any
multilinguist what the toughest languages are to learn, and English
will probably rank near the top. Of course, that's no excuse for
native speakers not to be able to put together a sentence or spell
things correctly. If you're among the grammatically challenged, you
might want to bookmark dictionary.com for future term papers,
presentations, or important e-mails. Dictionary.com hubs all the top
dictionaries, thesauri, style books, and more, and it also offers some
basic English language tutorials.
Many of us have played that naughty fortune cookie game in which we
add the words "in bed" to the end of our prescribed fortune. But even
that randy twist doesn't deflate the often bubbly, rosy text that
greets us when we crack open the dessert. And it doesn't take a cynic
to wish for a fortune with a little more teeth, a little more realism
and grit. Enter not the dragon, but Bad Cookie, an online fortune
cookie for the rest of us. Crack open the virtual cookie for gems like
"Beware the dark, mechanical bird" or "You have little wit or energy,"
and suddenly, even your worst days don't seem so bad compared to the
fortune this site predicted for you.
Did you know that "If the head of a cockroach is removed carefully,
so as to prevent it from bleeding to death, the cockroach can survive
for several weeks? When it dies, it is from starvation." Pretty
incredible stuff, huh? That and $2.50 will get you a grande mocha
latte, my friend. But some of us thrive on these kinds of ridiculously
arcane and esoteric tidbits to get us through cocktail parties,
airplane flights, and job interviews. Where do we get it all? Some of
us start at Useless Knowledge, a site dedicated to trivia, quotes,
quizzes, and useless facts. Comb through words of the day, sound
quizzes, and more. Really, you can never tell when knowing that a pig
can get sunburned will come in handy.
You have flown halfway across the country to attend a friend's
wedding. You grab a rental car and rush off, desperately trying to get
to the church on time. Then in your rear-view mirror you see that
horrible sight: the flashing lights of a police car, pulling you over
for speeding. Were you going that fast? You've never been to Kalamazoo
and you don't have the slightest clue how to find a good traffic
lawyer to contest the ticket and save some points on your insurance.
No problem. Call up this site for a nearly countrywide listing of
lawyers, insurance agents, and, if need be, bail bondsmen to help you
out of the jam. Enter the county and state you were pulled over in,
and detailed listings are only a click away.
Before you dismiss this site as yet another portal, take a closer
look. Although it borrows from the popular design aesthetic of its
portal siblings, Peel has a very specific target audience in mind,
namely the Web-active 18-30 set. If you are in that age group, or wish
you were, you might want to take a look at some of the site
suggestions offered here. Rather than just stick to URL pointers,
however, Peel also presents original opinion columns, relationship
advice, and the opportunity to search other, more comprehensive search
engines, as well. Like Yahoo!, Peel offers links only to sites it
thinks its audience will like. We'll hope that the variety of
offerings increases from this nascent hub as time goes by.
Let's all pause for a moment and be thankful we're not Punxsutawney
Phil. The poor critter spends his entire life in a hole, and when he
does finally come up, it's only for a couple minutes until people can
catch whether or not his shadow can be seen. Seems like an odd reason
for a holiday, doesn't it? If the origins of this bizarre occurrence
have ever intrigued you, you'll want to cast no shadow in rushing over
to this official site of the Philadelphia town where the magic
happens. Trace the history, watch the event in real-time (or archived
Quicktime footage), check on the weather, play some groundhog-inspired
Shockwave games, or buy some groundhog memorabilia. Bet you never
thought so much could be made of one varmint's ability to see his
shadow, eh?
Mark my words: before too long, business cards will get bigger.
They'll have to, what with the explosion of cell phones, pager
numbers, personal faxes, private lines, and everything else that's
happening around the world. It's tough to remember all your own
numbers, let alone someone else's. But now there's a site that can
help manage this dial-up overload and let you have a little fun while
you're at it. Enter your phone number (area code included if you want)
at PhoneSpell, and it returns all the possible spellings from the
digits you enter. For example, 827-7877 becomes "TAR-PUPS." Simple,
and a lot of fun.
Nope, not a site rallying people around the car, but rather a place
for you to store stuff while you're on the road. Think of it as
storage space that's always available to you, wherever you are, if you
have access to the Internet. I-Drive provides up to 50MB of space on
its servers--free of charge. It's a great place to store digital
photos so your family can see them, to put a big PowerPoint
presentation you need to access in a faraway town, and for remote
collaboration.
With the soaring popularity of salsa dancing, you don't have to
listen too hard these days to find the sweet strains of Latin American
music issuing from a radio or dancehall somewhere. Of course, if
you're holed up at work and can't exactly cha cha over to the fax
machine, this RealAudio site might be a happy middle ground. Here
you'll find dozens of audio streams from stations found in Columbia,
Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Honduras, and more. If you find a station you
like, you can jump to its home page from here. Who knows, if it takes
e-mail requests, you might be able to set up a truly long-distance
dedication.
Jean-Michel Basquiat lived a short, brilliant life. Single-handedly
rejuvenating the New York art scene in the 1980s (well, OK, with the
help of Keith Haring), Basquiat (pronounced bahs-kee-aht) took his
graffiti-based art to unimaginable heights. This site is an
educational effort to help people understand and appreciate the man's
genius. View some of his work, read his life story, and understand the
reason why a major motion picture was made about the man a few years
ago.
Perhaps you first notice it in a crowded subway line. Or while
waiting for a table at a popular restaurant, or looking around at an
outdoor concert. Yep. It's official: The world is a crowded place. Six
billion crowded, as a matter of fact. Every second, five people are
born, and two folks die. That's a net gain of three people for every
click of the clock, according to the folks at the Museum National
d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris, the sponsors of this fascinating site.
If you're 28 years old, the world's population has increased by nearly
60 percent since you were born. Take a trip through the
Shockwave-heavy tour to discover countless facts about the delicate
balance that we as humans maintain here on earth.
Here's a little secret: Many people become writers or editors
because they...hate math. As one of the only majors where you don't
have to take any math classes, English is a godsend for the many
numerically challenged among us. But for every numberphobe, there's a
number-freak. If you crave both numbers and the Internet, Stat Market
will make you a very happy person indeed. View the latest statistics
and percentages in a wide, uh, number of Internet trends. Check on
Microsoft's browser lead over Netscape, operating system trends, plug
ins, and more.
The San Francisco Film Festival rolls into town in March, bringing
with it some of the finest foreign and domestic cinematic minds. Most
major cities boast of their own fests, and a few--such as the Sundance
Film Festival and Cannes--make international headlines. But appearing
right now on your computer screen is a new kind of film festival,
available all year round, 24 hours a day. D-Film, as it's known, has
been around for a couple of years, and with the promise of high-speed
bandwidth finally appearing, the digital movies available for viewing
can be seen in close to their intended form. If the thought of sitting
in front of your screen and watching tiny movies doesn't appeal to
you, you can find out where the physical, traveling version of this
festival will appear next. What's more, the site offers classifieds
and how-to's for aspiring filmmakers.
E-commerce sales up. Chat rooms flourishing. Everybody's got a Palm
Pilot. Just a sign that the economy is skyrocketing and that
technology is bringing us all together? Well...some folks have other
ideas about what this technoglut portends. Their vision--if, like a
pointillist painting, observed close up and scrutinized--doesn't
really make sense. By stepping back and searching for the bigger
picture in the cacophony of noises, sights, flashes, and text, this
truly insane site offers often biting commentary. Too heady for you?
Turn down the lights and marvel at the eye candy.
Before too long, the end of another college year will be upon us.
Besides the litany of well-wishes to graduates and "see you next
falls" to underclass folks, it also means college kids across the
United States will have to try and sell back books they may have only
opened a couple times for nickels on the dollar. But wait! There's an
alternative. Check out BigWords when you're trying to sell back your
books. As their candid motto states, "We rip you off less." What's
more, BigWords sells college textbooks for far less than school
bookstores, and you don't need to stand in line for hours just to
shell out several hundred dollars for a semester's texts.
"You know something's happening, but you don't know what it is, do
you Mr. Jones?" When Bob Dylan sang those words, they became a
metaphor for young upstarts threatening to disrupt a complacent
entity. On the Web, one of the most vocal (pun intended) disruptions
is happening in the music world. MP3, a file format for compressing
CD-quality sound to about 1MB per minute, threatens to revolutionize
the music industry. Diamond Multimedia is one of the major players
here, with its portable MP3 player, the Rio. RioPort is an MP3 portal
put up by Diamond, with links to MP3 files, news, tools, bands, and
more.
"Step right up, step right up! See the dog-faced boy! The human
pincushion!" For some strange reason, that exhortation--combined with
the promise of acid indigestion-inducing food--has proved irresistible
to boys and girls of all ages for decades. With spring beckoning, it
can't be long before another season at that venerable vacation spot,
Coney Island, is upon us. Whether you're only a ferry away or halfway
across the globe, you can check into this site to learn more about the
history of the place, some of its more famous continuing attractions,
and, yes, photos of the Bearded Lady.
It's hard to believe that kids born after 1989 will probably (we
hope) not know the fear that the threat of a nuclear holocaust held
for the generations before them. To youngsters today, "The Day After"
will simply mean tomorrow. While we're all thankful that the Cold War
has ended, the importance of teaching children about the terrible
destruction a nuclear blast inflicts can't be underestimated. PBS has
set up this site to show children and adults just how devastating a
nuclear blast would be. Choose the size of the bomb you want to use,
and then enter the address/location you want to bomb. A map shows the
levels of radioactivity that would encircle the location, with vivid
descriptions of the carnage that would ensue.
Long before e-commerce was designated the King of the Internet, the
ruler was content. And way before that, it was community. Some folks
would like to see community return to the fore, and with the arrival
of eGroups, that just got easier. EGroups allows people to form free
e-mail mailing lists for friends or anyone. If you have a group of
friends from an alma mater, for example, you can set up a mailing list
with all their e-mail addresses included, so that when one person
sends an e-mail to the group, it automatically goes to all members. Of
course, as with all free things, there's a tradeoff, and that comes in
the form of small ads eGroups places in the e-mail. If that bothers
you, you can opt for the ad-free version for $4.95 per month.
They don't make 'em like they used to. Anyone sick to death of the
flotilla of SUVs that parades around the nation's highways ad
infinitum will surely look back favorably on a time when cars had
character. If someone takes that reminiscing one step further and
purchases a classic car (25 years or older), this site will prove an
invaluable resource for information, community, and fun. Discover
classic car clubs located near you, find the hub cap for a 57 Chevy in
the site's classifieds, chat with fellow enthusiasts, or pick up some
classic car books to read. But not while you're driving, of course.
Unless you've been living in a cave for the last 10 years, you've
no doubt encountered an Absolut Vodka ad. You know, those Absolut
Boston, or Absolut Marilyn campaigns. Unerringly clever and usually a
treat to behold, the ads have taken on a legitimate artistic air, with
some rare prints fetching hundreds or thousands of dollars. Talk about
a good brand building opportunity! This is one fan's gushing tribute
to the campaign, where you can offer to trade, make purchases, list
your collection, contact magazines for copies of an ad, and view
hundreds of full-size scans of Absolut ads.
This isn't your parents' vacation, so why would you want to look
through their travel guides to the place you've chosen to spend your
precious down time? Make a quick stop into Time Out before you depart.
This site is the official online arm of the popular UK-based Time Out
books and magazines. Geared toward the youngish set, Time Out prides
itself on its up-to-date and thorough dispatches on the nightlife, hip
spots, and little known treasures in nearly 30 international cities.
For some people, the nightly proposition of "What's for dinner?" is
a daily dilemma. There are only so many things you can do with Ramen
noodles, right? What if that person instantly got access to nearly
75,000 recipes, all for free? Of course, the lure of the Golden Arches
will always be there, but a quick stop into Culinary.com will
certainly fill your head with creative ways to fill your stomach in no
time. The site also features articles, news bits, message forums, and
more than 50 meal categories to choose from. Bon appetit!
The first rule of traveling to remote places is, don't drink the
water. Even if you're camping at the highest elevations, with the most
sparkling streams, you can expect to find something in the water that
could make you sick. Technology pioneers at Lawrence Livermore Labs
have made a water purification system called Trav-L-Pure that should
fix you right up. You fill it from your available water source, and
pump out water free of viruses, bacteria, and parasites. Find out
about this and other health-preserving gizmos, and shop before you
drop.
Maybe you know him as the voice of the terminally suave Chef on
Comedy Central's South Park, or maybe you knew him from his earlier
musical successes with the film "Shaft." No matter how you first
became acquainted with Isaac Hayes, there's no denying that he is one
bad mutha. As testament to his badness, this official site keeps his
mystique alive and adds little-known information as well. Tons of
audio clips, biographical information, and of course, Chef clips.
Swing music had a good year in 1999. With appearances in both a Gap
ad and the Superbowl, the genre inspired legions of fans to learn more
about the time period from which the music originally came. Here to
help them in that quest is Retro magazine. A monthly online-only
periodical, Retro offers well-written and impressively laid out
articles on "classic popular culture of the first three-fourths of the
20th century." The rag also offers RealAudio streams of select music
to accompany your visit, and if you or someone you know is a sucker
for the retro style, you can send a stylish electronic Retro post
card.
To some people, drinking beer simply isn't enough. They have to
make a lifestyle out of the libation. We're not talking about
perennial overimbibers, but rather, folks who collect cans, bottles,
coasters, anything they can get their hands on. This homespun site,
recently redesigned, is for hardcore beer enthusiasts only. Here
you'll find collector's info on where to trade the aforementioned
items, and several more. Upcoming beer events are posted, as are
member's home pages and information on how to join this bubbly bunch.
In our communal race to anoint the Internet as the economic force
that will change our lives irrevocably for the better, it's refreshing
to pause for a moment and remember what it is that the Internet was
originally created for: namely, the dissemination of information. This
site accomplishes just that, though be forewarned--if you stop into
the English Server on a quest for thought-provoking material, you
won't be leaving anytime soon. Sponsored by Carnegie Mellon, the
English Server houses thousands of documents related to the arts and
humanities, from treatises on the Berlin Wall to the effect of CourtTV
on society. All--as knowledge should be--for free.
Did you ever find yourself in a conversation saying, "that actor
who looks like the guy who starred in the movie about the snakes"?
Here's a site that can help you with movie info of all types, past and
present. There's a database with a search engine for titles, actors,
characters, quotes, bios, and plots. Find out what's opening this week
and what's hot at the box office. Get a recommendation from the robot,
and read about the goofs they never caught in your favorite films.
Answer a poll, watch a trailer, read some news about the stars. All
this, and a lot more, coming to a monitor near you.
This site may sound like an obscure shrine to that rare eclipse
with a constant radius, but have no fear--it has nothing to do with
geometry. eCircles is prefab cyberspace housing with a whole
cul-de-sac just waiting for you and your "circle" of friends. eCircles
is a great resource for far flung families, soccer teams, entomology
clubs--any group that needs to communicate between real world
meetings. Here's what your monthly investment of $0 gets you: your own
Web site complete with discussion boards, a group accessible calendar,
photo albums, file sharing (hard drive space where you can upload and
download photos and other files), a contact database, the ability to
e-mail the whole group in one click, plus lots of other
communication-enhancing goodies. If you're part of a group or club,
then eCircles is the greatest thing since sliced English muffins--as
long as everyone has Internet access!
Just about everyone has the usual list of search engines to visit
when scouring the Web for information. But what if you've forgotten
what color Ricky Martin's highlights are this week and you want to see
a current photo? Or you just want to make sure that there aren't any
illegal MP3s of your favorite Elvis song? Or perhaps you're looking
for a video of Pamela Lee and Tommy...playing chess? Well, even Scour
might not be able to help you with that last one, but it's certainly
the best place to start! Founded by a bunch of UCLA students and
funded by Hollywood uber-agent Michael Ovitz, Scour is a specialized
multimedia search engine that helps you locate images, audio, and
video files. It even displays helpful thumbnails on its search results
pages, so you can peek before you click!
Did it ever occur to you that your computer and your TV really
don't look all that different? Well, someone figured that out, and
next thing you know, somebody's launched Pseudo, the world's largest
original producer of Internet-delivered video programming. Each week,
Pseudo produces over 60 shows with subjects ranging from Hip-Hop music
to technology to video gaming--even LIVE animated comedy (really!).
Don't expect Seinfeld-quality writing or Ally McBeal-style production
values. Most of Pseudo's quirky interactive shows jerk around in a
slightly-larger-than-business-card sized window. But Pseudo offers
plenty of niche programming you won't even find on cable. And even
better, Prime Time is whenever you want it to be!
Virtual reality, videoconferencing, cyber cash...who would have
guessed that the Web's real "killer ape" would end up being electronic
greeting cards? Blue Mountain Arts is perhaps the best place to
select, compose, and send virtual greeting cards to your friends and
loved ones. The interface is fast and easy to use. Choose from
hundreds of customizable cards covering every occasion. There's even
an ultra-comprehensive list of holidays, just in case you're in need
of a special occasion. (Happy Brighid's Day!). And best of all, no
licking stamps!
Welcome to the Entertaindom, a new entertainment mega-site from
Warner Bros. Contrary to what most media-savvy skeptics may assume, it
isn't just a showcase of WB entertainment products. Instead, it's a
robust destination covering everything related to mostly
Hollywood-generated entertainment. You can spend hours perusing weekly
box office grosses, local theater and TV listings, entertainment news,
and movie reviews and previews. You can even read your horoscope, take
a quiz, or play original, interactive animated games. It seems that
everyone in Hollywood--including Entertaindom--wants to be a producer
nowadays, as evidenced by the original made-for-Web movie shorts and
animations.
Unfortunately, I don't get the Outdoor Life Network on my cable
system, but I'm a huge fan of its Web site. It just makes me feel
so... Xtreme! Great Outdoors covers virtually every outdoor activity
except sunbathing and barbequing. You'll find articles, reviews, and
resources about skiing, climbing, hiking, sailing, mountain biking,
and surfing, just to name a few. Anything strenuous and cool, dude.
Great Outdoors is easy to navigate and packed with diverse
information. Where else can you learn how to take underwater photos
and read reviews of the latest hardcore synthetic underwear? It makes
me wonder, though: if I'm such a rugged outdoorsman, then why do I
spend so much time sitting in front of my computer reading this site?
You won't find FOX or Disney stock listed here. But how about some
shares of Cameron Diaz or Oliver Stone? This site is actually one big
game, where members track and influence the popularity of movies,
actors, and recording artists using a stock market-like trading
system. HSX is a fun way to find out (and even help decide) who's hot
and who's not, who's a rising star and who's almost washed up. Sign up
for free and you get $2,000,000 Hollywood Dollars to begin trading.
Amass enough of this fictional currency and you can buy real world
prizes. Just imagine how much you could have made buying up shares of
pre-"Pulp Fiction" John Travolta and selling it all post-"Face Off"!
It seems that nowadays, every ISP offers free server space along
with your Internet access. The problem is you usually end up with a
long, confusing address. And it isn't easy to build your own site from
scratch. Let's face it: plenty of folks still think FTP is a flower
delivery service. Homepage.com solves both of these problems. Your
address is easy to remember--yourname.homepage.com. Second,
Homepage.com automates the Web site building process, allowing you to
choose from several templates (including Personal Home Page, Wedding
Photo Album, Baby Announcement, Resume, Fan Page, and Small Business
Page) then customize it using any easy interface. Change the colors,
then add your own text and photos. You don't even have to know what
HTML and FTP stand for. Now all you need is a reason to build one!
What would you expect to find on a music club's Web site? Concert
schedules and menus? Directions and hours? Well, fortunately, Mr. Dan
Ackroyd and company have a bit more vision than that. Far from being
an online brochure, Hob.com is a music destination in its own right.
You can listen to (and sometimes watch) live concerts just about every
day. Meanwhile, HOBRadio streams the blues 24/7 worldwide. There are
exclusive music tracks from a variety of non-blues artists just
waiting to be downloaded. Plus you'll find music-related games,
giveaways, artist bios, profiles, interviews, news, and videos. It's
perhaps the only Web site in existence that lives up to its real-world
counterpart!
Although IMDB has recently been spiffed up with games, contests,
message boards, recommendations, and other entertaining goodies, the
main attraction is still the unfathomably gargantuan, indescribably
extensive and detailed database of movies, TV shows, and the people
who made them. Type in your favorite actor, producer, director, or
writer, and it will spit out every movie in which he or she has been
involved. Click on a movie, and you'll find more than you wanted to
know: filmography, awards, plot summaries, trivia, box office grosses,
and everyone who was involved in the making of that movie. Every
proper noun is hyperlinked! It goes on forever!!!
Sure, this site is great for kids, but considering that its founder
(David Leung, age 17) has managed to parlay an initial stake of 100
shares into a $500,000 portfolio in a mere seven years, even adults
might want to check out Investing for Kids. Learn basic investing
concepts, play an educational investment derby game, and test your
knowledge with his investment quiz. In this day-trader world, it's
comforting to see a teenager preaching traditional values: live
frugally, save diligently, research carefully, then buy and hold!
Every once in a while, out of the never-ending muck of mediocrity
called homemade Web sites emerges a creation that manages to stand up
and shout out to the horizon, "This Site Rules, Dude!" Kenny's Krib
(the brainchild of "Webjunkie," an employee of an outboard motor
manufacturer in Georgia) has done just that. Webjunkie started out
with a clear, concise vision: to create cartoon versions of pro
wrestlers that look suspiciously like certain characters from Comedy
Central's animated comedy, "South Park." This vision is executed with
such professionalism, such creativity, such selfless dedication, you
don't know whether to laugh or simply look on in wonder and amazement.
If junior has to do a report about your state, whatever you do,
don't let him find out about this site! The poor tyke will end up
dragging a 100-page manuscript to school. From Alabama to Wyoming,
50states.com is packed with information and links about all 50 states
and capitols. In addition to the usual trivia like state birds,
flowers, songs, mottos, and nicknames, it helps you find local graves,
Webcams, tax forms, real estate, and pen pals. It's also great for
looking up quick facts. What's the highest point in South Dakota? What
does California mean? What's the population of Wyoming? If you ever
manage to get through all 50 states (is it possible for a human to
have that much free time?), then be sure to keep coming back for the
Capitol Link of the Day.
One of the great things about the Net is that it lets anyone tell
his or her side of the story, no matter how "out-there" it may sound.
Take for example Robert Cohen, author of "Milk: The Deadly Poison." He
firmly believes cow milk is simply "not suited for human consumption."
In fact, it seems there's a conspiracy to brainwash the American
people into drinking this stuff! Who's behind it? How about the dairy
industry and the Federal Government, for starters.... Dioxins, Bovine
Growth Hormone, estrogen, freak amino acids, the "calcium myth", up to
20,000 live bacteria cells per quart...the truth is out there if
you're willing to do some reading. But watch out: an extended visit to
this site might turn your knowing chuckles into full-blown
lacto-nausia.
Crossword puzzling is a love-hate sport. Sure, we've all managed to
"solve" puzzles with our newfound knowledge of what appears to be
Swahili, but those last few questions can stick in your head worse
than the latest Back Street Boys tune. So why torture yourself? Just
head over to One Across and remember: it isn't cheating if you've
already given up! Just give One Across a clue and how many letters
you're looking for. It will then spit out a list of possible answers.
Or, if you're fairly confident of the first, fourth, and seventh
letter of the answer, just tell One Across and it will narrow the
possibilities for you. It even provides a link to an online
dictionary, just in case you don't have a paper one handy. Still
starved for puzzles? Try decoding hundreds of One Across' Cryptogram
phrases. It's not the same high you get from crosswords, but it will
get you through the day in a pinch!
The Open Directory Project (called "Newhoo" before it was purchased
by Netscape Communications) is the fastest growing Web directory
assembled by human surfers. We can only guess that the address stands
for "Directory Mozilla"--you'll find Mozilla, Netscape's unofficial
mascot, at the bottom of each page. While most Web directories, like
Yahoo, are created by teams of professional Web surfers, The Open
Directory Project is compiled by over 22,000 volunteers. And for the
most part, its 1.5 million Web site descriptions are surprisingly
accurate and up to date. Not bad for a bunch of amateurs! Of course,
DMOZ is always looking for volunteers. Who knows, you might just help
it reach the 2 million mark!
Drs. Foster and Smith are two net-savvy vets who have created an
excellent site covering all aspects of your pet's health (assuming, of
course, that your pet is either a dog or a cat!). Read up on
parasites, nutrition, and allergies. Consult the dictionary of
veterinary terms, so you can actually talk to your vet. Just imagine,
never having to ask what Anthelmintic means again! There's even a quiz
where you can test your Pet IQ (but not your pet's IQ, unfortunately).
If you still haven't decided who you're going to vote for this
November, then this site is here to help. If you'd rather be charmed
by televised interviews and staged baby kisses, great. If not, then
President match provides you with concise profiles of each candidate,
outlining their views on a number of issues. If this is too much work
for you, then head over to the Decision Guide. It will ask you some
simple questions and then pick a candidate for you. It's almost like a
dating service, just don't expect these ineligible bachelors to return
your calls after election day.
This is a must-see site for anyone who's "in the market." It comes
with all the standard features you'd expect from an investing site,
like stock quotes, charts, SEC filings, news, and articles. You can
even sign up for the My Bull service and get a free custom portfolio
tracker and a your_name@ragingbull.com e-mail address. But what really
separates Raging Bull from the rest of the pack is its message board.
Raging Bull isn't just a publisher of stock information. It's a
virtual community of investors. There is a message board about each
stock where investors can post news, rumors, analyses, and opinions
about the company. Go ahead, feel like an insider, but remember to
take everything with a grain of salt!
Rivals.com is a huge online community for sports fans. Like the
other big sports sites, it provides tons of news and information on
college and high school sports, and the NFL, NHL, and NBA. But what
sets Rivals apart from the crowd is that it makes it easy for people
to join in creating their own specialty and fan sites. There are also
other interactive features like very active message boards and fantasy
leagues. So search through Rivals' database of thousands of players,
watch some videos, read some analysis, and then start your own sports
column!
So, you think you know how to search the Net? Feeling pretty
confident in your abilities, are you? Did you know that there are an
estimated 1 billion Web pages out there? And that none of the top 13
(13?!) search engines catalog more than 300 million of them? And
furthermore, about half of all Web pages out there appear in only one
search engine! Maybe it's time to tune up your Web searching skills.
Search Engine Showdown teaches you searching strategies and provides
you with search news, reviews, feature comparisons, and mountains of
search data and statistics, just in case you start feeling a bit
overconfident.
Part cheesy Y2K media stunt, part "The Real World" without crazy
roommates, this site somehow manages to keep bringing you back, just
when you think you've forgotten about it. On January 1, 2000, "DCG"
locked himself in the "Dot Compound," an empty house furnished only
with a computer and modem. He is determined to survive without going
outside for one year, thanks to the modern day miracle of online
shopping. Will he be forced to survive by eating flowers and funky
protein powders? Will he be able to pay his phone bill online? Find
out by watching DCG on a live net cam (sorry, no skinny-dipping yet,
Real World fans) and reading his daily journal entries.
This Wizard may not grant you your wish, but he'll sure be happy to
lay out the odds of your local casino doing so. This site is an
excellent resource for any gambler, from novice to expert, who holds
probability in higher esteem than luck. The Wizard starts off by
teaching you the rules and strategies (and dispelling the myths)
behind most casino games. He even throws in a quick section about
etiquette, so you'll know how to win 49.7 percent of the time in
style! Not sure why it's easier to roll a seven than a two in craps?
Delve into his mathematical breakdown of the house edge, then learn
how the Wizard's optimal strategies can boost your odds a fraction of
a percent. When you think you've mastered his techniques (or when you
start getting that same headache you used to get during trigonometry
class), you can try out your skills in the Wizard's free online
casino. Or, if you're really feeling confident, you can pull out your
credit card and follow his links to the real thing: offshore, online
casinos.
If you live in a big city and commute to work in a car, then this
is a site that just might change your life. TrafficStation provides
real-time traffic maps for over 20 U.S. cities (and the list is
growing fast). That means you can check out traffic conditions before
you hit the streets. The site plots average freeway speeds on a
color-coded map. Beware the dreaded red dot! You can even register
your route and TrafficStation will alert you with an e-mail if there's
a traffic problem on your way home. If you happen to work at home or
take public transportation, no problem: TrafficStation is perfect for
Friday afternoon gloating.
Welcome to the History Department at North Park University, where
both students and faculty have discovered that contrary to how most
courses are taught, history isn't just a collection of unrelated
timelines from around the world. As it turns out, no matter what was
happening in one part of the world, there were still plenty of other
things happening everywhere else. Select one of many detailed regional
or cultural timelines, then start linking over to other timelines.
Find out what was going on in India when Athens was prospering. Or
what was going on in China during the Renaissance. Just think of it as
the history of the world, hyperlinked.
At last, you can finally throw out that faux-leather binder you've
been running around with all day. Your new online organizer, available
on any Internet-connected computer, will keep track of every
appointment, meeting, birthday, anniversary, and upcoming sick day.
When.com's interface is intuitive and user friendly. Just click on the
day and type a brief explanation of what you're supposed to be doing
in the proper time slot. Best of all, it's totally free. You'll never
need to buy those overpriced refill packs again. And if your calendar
is looking a bit sparse, just tell When.com what kind of events you're
interested in. It will search its database and plug the matches
directly into your calendar. But that's not all! When.com isn't just
for individuals, it's also great for groups. Just imagine, your
relatives will no longer be able to conveniently "forget" your next
annual family reunion and sack race! They'll just have to start coming
up with better excuses.
Sick of two thumbs up? Then get ready for movie reviews with
"flava!" LaLa, Bams, and The Diva join forces to dish up weekly
reviews of new releases. If you have the attention span of someone
raised on MTV, then head directly to the Movie Bytes section. There
you can quickly digest a dozen current flicks in a few minutes, thanks
to a handy "Oh no," "Hold up..." and "Get going" rating system. The
Trailer section features premature predictions of soon-to-be-released
flicks based on nothing but their trailers. If you're more apt to rent
than head for the local megaplex, then visit Video Vault Treasures,
which features cinematic picks from the 30s, 40s, and 50s. Or just
visit the Archive section for reviews of past flicks that are probably
in your local video store by now. If you've been to the theater
recently, then head for the View Voices section and put in your own
two cents. This site always welcomes more attitude!
With all the 98-pound waifs populating magazine covers, perfume
ads, and ultra-popular sitcoms, it's easy to get a distorted view of
the female body. This Web page is devoted to women who are "a size 16
trying to make it in a size 6 world." Instead of pedaling the usual
I'm OK, You're OK, self-help psychobabble, this site is packed with
practical, useful information. The Style section focuses on fashion
tips, including how to flaunt your best features. Read an interview
with a plus-sized model, not for its informational or entertainment
value, but just to let the reality of a plus-sized model sink in.
Learn how to "scrap your scale" and take a holistic approach to
health, exercise, and nutrition. And what women's fashion site would
be caught dead without a shopping section?
http://www.anonymizer.com With all the "cookie" technology out
there, Webmasters can track your movements within their site and
recognize you (or at least your Web browser) when you return. Want to
learn exactly what they can find out about you? Then visit the
Anonymizer and check out the "Who Are You?" section. Up pops a Privacy
Analysis detailing the information a Web site can find out about you
the second you view its home page. If this has you concerned, then
visit the up-to-date news section covering Internet privacy. Then, if
you're concerned enough, you can use the Anonymizer to cloak yourself
(just like a Klingon) and surf other Web sites anonymously. Just type
a Web address into the box, and Anonymizer will take you there, and no
one else has to know.
Getting sick of meatloaf? Then select a country from the map of
Asia, from Mongolia to Malaysia, for a list of regional recipes.
You'll end up with dozens of main dishes, desserts, sauces, even
vegetarian dishes. Don't let your lack of technique hold you back.
Even if your kitchen experience is limited to the toaster, The Cooking
Methods section will teach you how to stir-fry, de-bone chickens, and
poach properly. The Herbs section covers everything from edible
flowers to folklore and alternative medicine. There's even extensive
background information on each Asian country, including history,
climate, culture, and a map. Still have questions? Then head to the
message boards and ask other Asian cooking fans.
This site is dedicated to helping you understand your unconscious
mind by examining your dreams. The dreams are sorted by subjects, such
as romance, men's, and women's. Each section contains a collection of
dreams submitted by individuals and interpretations of those dreams.
There's even a section covering rare "lucid dreams," where people
realize they're in a dream, but don't wake up. The Daily Dream is a
feature where readers can submit a dream and let the Dream Doctor
(Charles McPhee, author and sleep researcher) help them uncover its
underlying meaning. And if you aren't dreaming enough, maybe it's
because you aren't sleeping well. There are plenty of suggestions to
help you sleep better and a whole section explaining Sleep Disorders.
Sweet dreams!
http://www.beliefnet.com Where else could you find articles
covering the shortage of black nuns, punk rock preachers, spiritual
tips on getting pregnant, and a Taoist meditation on aging all on the
same Web site? This online hub of religion and spirituality is
diverse, extensive, well written, and co-founded by the former
National Editor for US News & World Report. It manages to take its
subjects seriously, but still be interesting and lively. Read
pertinent news stories, topical articles, book reviews, and probing
columns. And in case you need some background information, you can
even examine the full text of sacred texts from Buddhism,
Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Taoism. There are even
special sections for teens and families. This site is highly
interactive. You can participate in a text-based discussion about
morality or join an online prayer circle. Yes, God is everywhere--even
on the Internet.
Are you a numbers-adverse investor? Do you secretly enjoy looking
at the pictures in books more than reading the books? Then this is the
investment research site for you. Have you ever wondered if your
favorite dot-com stock is beating the S&P 500? With a click of a
button, you can generate a custom chart and see for yourself. You're
then free to customize your chart by changing the size, timeframe,
colors, or adding other financial benchmarks for comparison. Don't let
the user-friendly interface fool you. BigCharts lets you access all
the financial information you'll ever need, including stock and mutual
fund quotes, financial news, and detailed industry analysis.
This site is a truly useful hub of information for African-American
families. Locate black businesses or churches in your neighborhood, or
follow links to online black newspapers. In the Finance section,
you'll find a list of black-owned and publicly traded companies and
mutual finds. Search through a directory of other Web sites by, for,
or about African Americans. If you're an expectant parent in search of
a culturally meaningful (or just plain memorable) name, then look no
further than the African-American Baby Name Finder. You'll find
hundreds of African and Muslim names, complete with their origins and
meanings. There's even a Personals section, if you're looking to meet
that special someone online.
http://www.loveblender.com The exact recipe d'amour may never be
discovered, but Kirk Israel manages to mix up a pretty good concoction
at the Blender of Love. This smart and sassy digest serves up a
diverse collection of poems, short stories, photos, and cartoons. Some
are by well-known authors; others come from aspiring poets via the
Net. Don't miss the Ramble Regarding Romance, a monthly essay that
might be insightful, probing, or whimsical. Amateurs can submit their
verse to Heart-on-Sleeve Corner. Or you can simply head for The
Blend-O-Matic and let this Web site feed you random romance-oriented
quotes. But if you find yourself hugging your computer, then maybe
it's time to look for another Web site.
What if you could build your own private Web directory that
contained only your favorite Web sites? Well, now you can, at a site
called Blink. And, unlike your Web browser's bookmarks feature, your
Blink directory can be accessed from any computer--at home, at work,
even when you're traveling. You can even share your directory with
friends and co-workers. All you need to do is create a few subject
categories, then start populating them with your favorite Web sites.
Blink even lets you write a brief description of each site. You can
also use Blink to search the Web for new sites that you may like based
on your current bookmarks. Or, if you're curious to search through
thousands of sites selected by fellow Blink users, just head to the
Public Library. Maybe they should have called this site "Youhoo?"
If this site were merely an online transcription of this
232-year-old encyclopedia, it would be worth visiting. But fortunately
for knowledge hungry Web-surfers everywhere, it's much, much more.
Type in a keyword or two and you'll get a complete EB entry on the
subject. But alongside it will be recent magazine articles, books, and
related Web sites from EB's database of over 125,000 reviews. If you
don't know exactly what you're looking for, start exploring
subsections like Health, Science, or Philosophy. There are also
detailed news sections (including financial and sports news) and
weather information. And to top it off, they've thrown in a searchable
version of the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. The whole
thing's free, but if you absolutely love paper, you can order the
hardcover edition for only $1250!
Can't find information about your favorite celebrity on the Web?
Well, maybe you're just looking in the wrong place. Celebhoo is a
Yahoo-like directory that contains Web sites about actors, models,
musicians, authors, and athletes. There's even a "newswire" of
celebrity gossip culled from reputable outlets like E! Online and
Billboard magazine. Once you've gawked at hundreds of photos and know
the celebrity's life story, then perhaps it's time to send your
favorite celeb an email. Feel free to consult Celebhoo's dubious
directory of email addresses, but just don't lose any sleep waiting
for a reply.
It seems celebrities are a bit more adventurous than the rest of us
when it comes to naming their kids. Just look at Frank Zappa, proud
father of Moon Unit, Ahmet Emuukha Rodan, Dweezil, and Diva. In case
you haven't guessed yet, this site contains a huge list of names of
celebrity offspring. There's even a Great Expectations & New Arrivals
section with up-to-the-minute news on Tinseltown pregnancies and
newborns. Wacky names like Dandelion and Rumer may be the most
memorable, but according to the Trends section, Jack is currently the
most popular name.
A few decades ago, these folks harnessed the power of a new medium
and created the first truly educational TV show, Sesame Street. So
it's no surprise that they've been quick to embrace the Internet with
the same enthusiasm. Their Web site is a great resource for both
parents and children. Kids will dive into all sorts of games and
online activities without even realizing that they are learning.
Parents can peruse interesting resources like the Sibling Rivalry
Quiz, and The ABCs of Child Care: A Sesame Street Research Report.
Bored of peek-a-boo? CTS has suggestions for similar but more
inventive learning games. Of course, you can never underestimate the
nostalgia value of a site like this. People who grew up watching
Sesame Street can visit all their old friends in the Golden Grover
Awards section. You can even email virtual Sesame Street greeting
cards to your pals. As Snufflupagus would say, "Ohhhh, deeeeear!"
Unfortunately, this isn't the subtitle for "Teenaged Mutant Ninja
Turtles XIII." It's actually the brainchild of the Minnesota Pollution
Control Agency, which is caring for seven deformed Northern Leopard
frogs. Found in the wild, these frogs probably wouldn't have survived
for long. The agency started finding deformed frogs in 1993.
Scientists are still trying to figure out if their abnormalities are
the result of pollution or simply a natural occurrence. There are
close-up photos and descriptions of each frog's unfortunate defect.
Check out the frogs (living quite happily in their frogquarium) on a
live Web cam, or peruse archives of past images if you happen to visit
when it's nighttime in St. Paul.
http://www.digitaldog.com It's sad to consider that most people
spend more time researching their new cars than their new puppies. And
because dogs usually last longer than cars, you have a long time to
live with your decision. This site claims to be dedicated to teaching
everyone about "The Dog Within Us," but we've found it more helpful in
evaluating real world pooches. First step--learn about the various
types of dogs. What makes a pointer a pointer and a hound a hound?
Learn how to distinguish between sporting dogs, toy dogs, and working
dogs. Next, delve into detailed profiles of dozens of dog breeds,
including lifespan, temperament, trainability, and intelligence, from
Afghans to Yorkshire Terriers. Looking for a little dog fiction? Read
musings about the origins of dogs and other heartwarming "dog tales."
This site promises to teach you about yourself, your relationships,
and the world around you. But instead of using an army of online
psychics, it relies on an age-old tool called the multiple-choice
quiz. There are dozens of tests organized under four main categories:
health, relationships, career, and personality. To help you choose,
each test is rated by length and mood, from light to serious. They
range from the Suave-o-Meter (guys only) to Your Arguing Style. There
is also a searchable database of quotes, supposedly to help you use
other people's words to express yourself once you've learned more
about yourself. Hmmm.... Free registration gets you a more detailed
analysis of your test results, lets you compare results with others,
and allows you to save your test results for future viewing. Let the
inner journey begin.
http://www.esbnyc.com A U.S. National Historic Landmark, this Art
Deco masterpiece reaches more than a quarter of a mile into the air.
So it isn't surprising that this is perhaps the only building in the
world that can boast a Web site suitable for a Hollywood celebrity.
Read the ESB's storied history and inspect its star-studded guest
list, from Fidel Castro to the King of Siam. If you want to find out
more, consult the searchable trivia database. You can also find out
everything you want to know about the building, how to get there, when
the observation decks are open, how to lease office space, even the
exterior lighting schedule. If you aren't among the 117 million people
who have peered from its observation decks, then head for the Web cam
and admire the view from your computer screen. There's even a section
for kids and a Filmography that includes "King Kong." Maybe ESB is a
celebrity after all?
http://www.enature.com Is the only time you feel connected to
nature during a Jeep commercial? Then perhaps it's time to escape the
concrete jungle, or at least visit ENature.com during your lunch break
while playing a nature sounds CD. This handsome site is brought to you
by the publisher of the National Audubon Society Field Guides.
ENature.com helps you identify nearly 5000 species of plants and
animals by listing them in a searchable field guide. Learn all about
habitats from Wetlands to Deserts. There are even local guides that
list birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals in your area. Or you can
learn to be a birdwatcher and catch up on all the latest bird-watching
news. Hopefully, you have a window office and some binoculars.
Last time we checked, Luge was a fairly respectable Olympic winter
sport that takes place on carefully designed ice courses. Take away
the carefully designed course, the ice, and replace the Luge with a
souped-up skateboard and you've got the newest extreme sport, Street
Luge. Meet "LugeBabe" and the other riders, then watch some
heart-stopping, gut-wrenching videos of them speeding, maneuvering,
and careening down hills. Skim over the safety section, then learn how
to build your own Luge. For only $35, you can be zipping along on your
own homemade board at a mere 75 miles per hour! This site even helps
you find gnarly Luge-friendly hills. But just make sure you check out
the Name That Wound section before you hit the streets. Maybe surfing
the Web isn't as exciting, but it's definitely less painful!
Why is ETeamz one of the fastest growing sports sites on the
Internet? Because instead of focusing its efforts on a few dozen
professional teams, it has opened its doors to little leagues, high
schools, and weekend softball teams across the nation. This amateur
sports virtual community connects coaches, players, leagues, and fans.
Anyone with a team can build a free Web page, complete with schedules,
standings, player rosters, directions, news, weather, message boards,
and photos. You don't even have to know the first thing about
designing Web pages. ETeamz has created a Web site building wizard
that walks you through the whole process. The Tips & Drills section
will turn anyone into a coach in a matter of minutes. And there's even
a handy locator for local clinics, tournaments, and camps.
The next time you're planning a big event or even a dinner with
some friends, forget about paper invitations and voicemail. If your
friends are online, then just blast out email invitations from
Evite.com. Choose from dozens of preformatted cards, from Baby Showers
to Poker Games. Even Wedding Invitations! It only takes about a minute
to fill out an invitation, which can be customized to include a pop-up
map and directions to the designated meeting place. Evite
automatically tracks responses, giving you a detailed account of
yeses, nos, and maybes. If there's an invitation-worthy event in your
future, just tell Evite.com and it will send you an email reminder.
You've probably heard of online auction Web sites, like eBay.
E-Wanted is kind of like one of those sites turned upside down--it's a
reverse auction. Post a description of what you want. Then sit back
and wait for others to start offering to sell it to you. Competing
sellers bid the price down until the lowest offer is left standing.
Or, if you're looking to sell, browse thousands of buyer's entries
organized into over one hundred categories. You'll find everything
from Horses to Internet domain names! Who knows? Someone might be
willing to pay top dollar for that orange beanbag you've been storing
in the garage. Note: This site only connects buyers and sellers, it's
up to both parties to work out the details of the transaction.
Fortunately, E-Wanted uses a rating system so you can see a buyer's
track record.
http://www.findwhat.com This Internet search engine claims to
provide more relevant searches than most, because it allows Web sites
to buy their way to the top of the search results list. Their theory
is that the most relevant Web sites will end up first, because they're
willing to pay more to get there. In reality, while the system does
work sometimes, in most cases the results seem just as cluttered as
any other search engine. However, the nice thing about FindWhat is
that you can preview Web sites in pop-up windows and easily return to
your results page. FindWhat also warns you if there are adult sites in
your results and allows you to filter them out before you see them.
But the real reason to use FindWhat is blatant bribery. Register to
win their $1,000,000 jackpot, and increase your chances of winning by
using FindWhat more often.
It seems that these days, most sites on the Internet are festooned
with stock quotes. But did you know that these quotes are usually
twenty minutes old? In today's unstable markets, that's enough time to
make or lose a fortune. With FreeRealTime.com, you can sign up for
free access to actual real-time, live stock quotes. The sign-up
process is a tad in-depth and includes several waivers containing
endless legal jargon.
Once you're in, come for the real-time quotes, but stay for the
robust market analysis. There are sections covering industry news,
earnings reports, and IPOs. A Most Active section sorts heavily traded
stocks by volume, percent, and dollar winner/losers. There's even a
handy What's Hot, What's Not section, broken down by price, industry,
and sector. So you own a few stocks, but you aren't obsessed with the
market? Well watch out: obsession is only a personalized, real-time
StartPage or WatchList away.
"Welcome to the HOTTEST site on the Web for hardcore furniture
action." This well-produced satire lampoons all the raunchy porn sites
that populate the net, complete with "you must be over 18" disclaimers
and gaudy flashy graphics. Several slideshows depict various pieces of
furniture in compromising positions at work, at home, even outside
("Check out these HOT lounge chairs do anything but lounge!"). Each
photo comes complete with a punny caption so you can follow the
"plot." There's even a faux-news section covering the "Furniture Porn
industry." And if you get tired of furniture, there are links to other
"porn" sites, including XXX rock photos and totally nude carrots.
You'll never look at your office chair the same again!
Who cares if the hottest facial hairstyle of the decade is named
after a shoe-gnawing farm animal? Surely not this site's creator, for
whom goatees are more a way of life than a fashion statement. "I've
had my goatee for about 6-7 years and lost it once during that time
and I didn't feel myself..." This site features no less than eleven
galleries of goatee photos (the faces wearing them are purely
incidental). There's also plenty of goatee information, including
their storied history, from ancient Egyptians to the Three Musketeers.
Don't forget to vote for your favorite celebrity goatee. You can even
try and contact a goatee, but chances are, you'll just end up talking
to its owner.
At last, a well-thought-out, carefully planned forum for totally
spontaneous political action. This non-partisan site doesn't care what
you believe, as long as you're passionate enough to do something about
it. Visit issue-specific forums that range from Abortion to Education
to Transportation. There you can read up on the latest news and then
head for a chat room or message board to make your opinion...read. You
can even form or join an online activist group. If politics is your
thing, then look up contact information for all your local elected
representatives. Check out their voting records or send them an email.
If you feel like greasing the wheels of Democracy, Grassroots will
even help you make a donation to your favorite candidate, party, or
cause. And let's face it, Grassroots.com is much faster than waiting
on hold for hours just to get a word in on your local talk radio
station.
Let's face it, it's difficult to go through life without becoming
at least a little bit jaded. You probably don't realize how much until
you visit a Web site that is completely devoid of all skepticism,
sarcasm, and pessimism. Heart's Ease is not only dedicated to romantic
art, poetry, music, and beauty--its author is a hopeless romantic
who's optimism shows through on every page. The lengthy reading list
recommends specific works from authors as diverse as Plutarch to
Shakespeare. Learn all about classical music, from Early Baroque to
Late Romantic. The Art section features a detailed breakdown of the
entire Romantic Movement, from Goya to Cezanne. A huge Poetry section
is complete with selected works, bios, and explanations. And last, but
certainly not least, Closet Full of Stuff features daily musings from
the site's creator. You can tell that her heart's at ease!
http://www.iping.com Who says you have to be staying at a hotel to
receive a wake-up call? This Web-based service has a helpful cyber
personality for every occasion. Register for free, and then decide why
and when you want to be called. If you don't believe it works, then
click Demo, and you'll receive a sample call in moments. Mr. Wakeup
gets you out of bed in the morning. He'll even announce news, weather,
or horoscopes while he's at it. Ms. Reminder can be programmed far in
advance to call and remind you about important events, like upcoming
birthdays and anniversaries. Mr. Dollar calls you with market updates
from the Wall Street Journal. Ms. Follow-up will track your FedEx
packages and call you when they arrive at their destination. Now
that's service! I suppose you could even schedule calls on a lonely
Saturday night. It isn't often that you actually get to talk to a Web
site!
http://www.itsyourturn.com Chess, Checkers, Backgammon, Reversi,
Pente, Battleship, Connect4. These games aren't original, but the way
you play them at ItsYourTurn.com is. Instead of playing against a
computer, you play real people, one move at a time. Because you can
make your move only after your opponent has moved, this turn-based
system is ideal for busy people. Making one move a day (perhaps only
30 seconds) is all it takes. In fact, ItsYourTurn.com makes it easy to
play several games at once. Play with friends, far-off relatives,
coworkers, or simply meet an opponent in the Waiting Room. Once you've
started a game, you can look at the history of all previous moves.
Registration is free, and your opponents never know your email
address. ItsYourTurn.com is free of Java, Shockwave, Flash, and
scripts. It just might be the first games site guaranteed not to crash
your Web browser.
Warning: If you have a lot of free time, then be sure and steer
clear of this site. It is highly addictive! At first it seems harmless
enough. A simple collection of games, surveys, trivia quizzes, and
puzzles. You know, solitaire, crossword puzzles, poker, bingo--that
sort of thing. But what gets you hooked are "icoins," a fictitious
currency that you earn by playing the games and solving the puzzles.
You can then use your icoins to purchase raffle tickets in drawings
for real prizes. You can select from hundreds of options ranging from
cold hard cash to patio furniture sets. So far, IWin.com has awarded
over $1.2 million in cash and prizes. Who needs Regis! You just might
be the next cyber-millionaire!
http://www.studyspanish.com Who says you need to enroll in night
school or buy a wheelbarrow full of cassette tapes to learn Spanish?
This Web site will teach you to Habla Espanol for free. Work at your
own pace through 75 clearly written tutorials. Each covers a different
topic, from Days of the Week to Preterit vs. Imperfect Review. You can
also practice vocabulary words, which are sorted into convenient
groups like Downtown and Restaurants. Perfect your pronunciation by
listening to audio lessons and attempting to repeat them. Or practice
conjugating verbs by taking an interactive quiz. If you get stuck,
just type a word or phrase into the Translator (Spanish to English or
English to Spanish). If you're ready for a break, then check out 10
Phrases That Don't Translate Well. Bet you can't guess what "To
another dog with that bone" means!
Look, in the sky... it's a bird, no a plane, it's Superman... or
maybe that was just a cloud shaped like Superman. This site is devoted
to empowering your imagination with clouds. For children, clouds are
magical and inspirational. Where a cloud might cause an adult to start
imagining muddy footprints on the new living room carpet, a child
might envision a dragon. This site is an invitation to daydream, and
you don't even need to be near a window. It features dozens of photos
of cloud formations, with new selections added each week. Click on a
tiny cloud photo and it blows up to full screen proportions, complete
with commentary by the person who submitted it. There's even a Grow
Your Own Cloud kit, but we don't recommend it. There's just no
substitute for the real thing!
A spoof of Monopoly and Microsoft? We just don't get the
connection. This site looks just like a Monopoly board game, but each
of the property squares is a company that Microsoft owns or has
invested in. Instead of Boardwalk and Park place, you'll find an
eye-opening assortment, including Apple Computer, WebTV, Hotmail, and
DreamWorksSKG. In anticipation of a visit by Redmond lawyers--or
perhaps even Mr. Gates himself--the site's creators have included a
handy "It's lawsuit time!!!" button. M$ Monopoly sure looks fun to
play. Now if we could just find some $1,000,000,000 bills!
MedicinePlanet is an indispensable health resource for
international travelers before, after, and during a trip. Just select
a destination, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, and learn about the
quality of local health care, local diseases, available immunizations
(if any), and the contact information for all known hospitals. Several
sections provide specialized information for women, children, seniors,
and adventure travelers. Free registration lets you access the
Medicine Translator, so you can figure out what that foreign medicine
you've been prescribed is called in the States. The Ask the Experts
section promises free answers to all your malaria, diarrhea, altitude
sickness, and bug repellant questions. Don't want to put your health
in the hands of some Web site? Don't worry. This one was founded by
Dr. Jordan Shlain, MD.
Mensa is an organization whose entire membership of 100,000 has
IQ's in the top two percent of the population. Although you can't
qualify for membership online, you can take the Mensa Workout.
Guaranteed to be stimulating or headache-inducing, depending on your
mood, you have 30 minutes to solve 30 problems like "What is the
number that is one half of one quarter of one tenth of 400?". After
automatically tabulating your score, the Workout will tell you if
you're likely to be Mensa material. If not, then you probably don't
want to know that Mensa's youngest member is only four years old.
http://www.moviebloopers.com No matter how many millions Hollywood
spends to produce a feature length film, it seems the film will never
be perfect. This site uses still video captures from popular movies to
point out cinematic errors and inconsistencies from scene to scene.
For example, in one "Ghost" scene, Demi Moore's hands are covered in
clay one moment, then magically clean in the next. Or in "American
Pie," a plastic keg cup magically changes colors between scenes. Your
reaction, from "So what?!?" to "Wow!", is probably a good indication
of how much you'll enjoy this site. Movies are sorted into genres,
such as action, comedy, horror, and, of course, Star Wars, which gets
its own category. It seems than even Mr. Lucas and company couldn't
get those light sabers to work perfectly all the time.
If you're too busy, too poor, or just too lazy to watch movies,
well...even this site can't really help you. Because even though it
specializes in breaking down movies into a few dozen words, you'll
appreciate its accuracy and wit only after seeing the real thing. The
bane of scriptwriters everywhere, this site extracts the essence of
their masterpieces of plot and dialog and leaves you thinking, "Yeah,
that pretty much sums it up." There are over 50 reviews, but at a
minute each, this site will easily fit into your lunch hour.
http://computingcentral.msn.com/topics/bandwidth/speedtest.asp How
fast is your Internet connection? Visit this interactive page and find
out. It takes only a few moments to automatically test your Internet
connection's actual speed. Is your 56K modem really delivering 56,000
bytes per second? How fast is your brand new cable modem or DSL
connection? Remember that Internet traffic and network congestion can
alter your connection's speed from moment to moment, causing each test
to generate slightly different results. So it's a good idea to do
several tests in a row to get a rough idea of your average speed. Are
downloads really slower in the morning, or is it just your brain? You
might want to test your speed at different parts of the day. And if
you want to find out how fast your connection should be, just consult
the handy thermometer diagram, which lists the optimal speeds for
Internet connections like cable modems, ISDN, DSL, and T1.
Welcome to one of the great paradoxes on the Web: mySimon is really
your Simon. Actually, he's not even a person at all, despite all the
computer-generated caricatures of him on the site. He's actually a
Virtual Learning Agent--an intelligent piece of comparison shopping
software that scours the Web on your command. Just tell Simon what
you're shopping for, from socks to servers, and he will search
thousands of online stores carrying millions of products. The
resulting list of matching items can then be sorted by price or
retailer. If you don't know exactly what you're looking for, feel free
to browse through thousands of items sorted into helpful categories.
Simon's too smart to guarantee that he'll find the lowest price, but
he's a real time saver!
Just looking at this site has a calming effect. Its design is
simple and balanced. Its earth-toned color scheme is soothing. But
what exactly is it? Art Wells has culled 3000-year-old Chinese wisdom
from the I Ching and made it available in a handy Web oracle. Whenever
you have a problem or a question, ask it here and get an answer from
the I Ching. First define your concern (self, another, or the world)
and a realm (love and happiness, work and money, truth and mystery).
Then type in your question. The results don't always make perfect
sense. But at least answers like "We obscure what we stand upon" will
get your mind off your initial problem.
You don't have to be home all day to enjoy Oprah. This official
site isn't just a hypertext fluff-piece hyping her daytime talk show.
It's actually a destination in its own right, loaded with plenty of
information. All her Book Club picks are archived and updated
regularly. The Food section lists recipes from celebrity chefs. This
site is loaded with self-help and motivational features. Read online
advice about a variety of subjects by Oprah regular Dr. Phil McGraw
("20 years experience in problem solving, human motivation and life
strategies"). Feeling low? Then head straight for Oprah's positive
daily thoughts and words of encouragement. Find a new workout in the
Health section. Or, if you discover you're a "Carb Addict," explore
some carb-free meal ideas or join the Carb Addict Support Group. If
carbs means french fries and pasta, sign me up!
This thorough documentation of an experimental surgical technique
is not for the squeamish-at-heart. In one grueling but groundbreaking
series of operations, Dr. Jim and his dedicated team attempt to
separate conjoined quintuplets. First, a Karo Syrup intravenous drip
is started. After all, the patients are four "Peeps." You may remember
Peeps as pastel-colored, sugarcoated marshmallow treats that are
popular around Easter. The team encounters complications along the way
and is at times forced to use evasive techniques to save the
individual peeps.
Be prepared for graphic photos of exposed fluffathelium being
cauterized, sutured, and stapled. Not content with mere medical
success, the kind doctor even experiments with cutting-edge plastic
surgery to cover his patients horrific scars. Don't try this at home.
Especially if you have a sweet tooth.
Some connoisseurs enjoy caviar. Others are well-studied in
varieties of fine wine. Who would have guessed that ketchup could
achieve a similar following? And not just as a condiment, but as a
world class copper tarnish remover! Far from being a simple shill for
the Ketchup industry, this site is an extensive grassroots effort by
ordinary (or maybe not so ordinary) ketchup fanatics. Start off by
learning the difference between Ketchup and Catsup. Then catch up (no
pun intended) on the latest ketchup news. Reminisce about Baskin
Robbins' ill-fated Ketchup Ice Cream and peruse a gallery of
ketchup-related items. And for the serious connoisseur, there are even
exotic recipes, like Cumin-Chipotle Ketchup and Banana Ketchup. Bon
Appetite!
For nearly 20 years, Pollstar has been the leading publisher for
the music concert industry. Thanks to its Web site, Pollstar.com, the
world's largest database of international concert information is now
on the Net. And you can tap into this database without being a
promoter, roadie, agent, manager, or rock star. Scour a staggering
40,000 events featuring over 5,000 artists in just a few clicks of
your mouse. The database is searchable by artist, city, or venue.
There is also plenty of other music-related content available, like
concert news, articles, interviews, reviews, and a list of the most
popular tours according to Internet users. A real must for any music
fan!
This nonprofit organization is dedicated to helping your privacy
stay, well, private. Privacy sounds pretty abstract until your credit
card number falls into the wrong hands. Worse yet, imagine that some
cyber-ne'er-do-well accumulates enough of your personal information to
actually steal your identity and buy a couple of Ferraris using your
good credit.
Information on this Web site is organized into helpful Fact Sheets
that teach you diverse and useful skills, such as how to shield
yourself from junk mail and telemarketing calls, how to be a safe
e-shopper, and how to make sure your medical records stay
confidential. If you don't believe the hype, then go ahead and read
some sample cases of privacy-related crimes. This site may not look
flashy, but by the time you leave you'll be ready to take action!
It seems that nowadays most Internet search engines are crowded
with stock prices, news headlines, horoscopes, and sports scores. It's
refreshing to find one with nothing more than a logo and a search
input box. Meet Raging Search, a new, simplified search engine from
the folks at AltaVista.com. Besides the uncluttered interface, what
makes Raging Search different from other popular search engines, like
Lycos.com and Excite.com? How about fast, uncluttered, and
customizable search results. You can display up to 50 listings at a
time, filter out adult content, and even make listings more compact.
Its database of over 350,000,000 Web pages makes it one of the most
comprehensive search engines out there. And so far (keep your fingers
crossed), there are no annoying banners ads either!
Thanks to this Web site, you don't have to travel all the way to
Cleveland, Ohio, to see the coolest museum on the planet. The original
I.M. Pei architectural masterpiece contains thousands of artifacts and
memorabilia, but many can be viewed directly from this official Web
site. The Museum is clearly a place where everyday items, like a Fats
Domino shirt, take on the aura of an original Picasso. Search for your
favorite group or artist in the extensive inductees' list. Or just see
who made it in this year. There is a photo and detailed profile of
each inductee, often with a description of a related artifact. How
cool is it? Let's just say that the online Hip Hop exhibition comes
with suggested lesson plans. If only all teachers were that hip!
Warning: This site is graphics-intensive, so be patient.
This Web site is a public service created by Environmental Defense,
a leading "green" nonprofit organization that's grown to over 300,000
members in the last 30 years. Scorecard lets you quickly access local
environmental information. It brings over 300 scientific and
government databases into one easy-to-use interface. Explore
interactive maps that track various pollution sources, and see how
your city compares to the rest of the nation. Scorecard also profiles
a staggering 6,800 chemicals, making it easy to find out where they
are used and how hazardous they are. From air pollution to pesticides
to lead paint, from industrial facilities to farming operations to
apartment buildings, it's all here. So remember: surf globally, act
locally!
Next time you're out stalking celebrities, forget about Hollywood
Blvd. Head for St. Sophia's Greek Orthodox church. At least you'll be
sure to spot Telly Savalas. Not just a guide for spotting celebrities
in their natural surroundings, this site is the ultimate destination
for cyber-tourists everywhere. Find out which stars own what
restaurants and where they went to college. Take virtual tours of
studio back lots, landmarks, streets, and museums. Learn where the
stars really shop, live, play, worship, eat...even die. Spend some
time on this site and you'll feel like a real Hollywood insider, even
if you've never been there.
This giant online directory of charities makes donating a snap! To
find a nonprofit that strikes your fancy, consult the Charity Guide.
You'll find hundreds of deserving organizations sorted into categories
like Disaster Relief, Environment & Animals, and Education & Literacy.
You can even search for local charities in your town. Feeling consumed
by crass consumerism? Then next time you're searching for a gift,
avoid the mall, and instead make a donation in a friend's name and
email them a greeting card announcement. Or if you'd rather donate
time instead of money, Shine will help you find a rewarding volunteer
opportunity. And if you're involved in a charitable organization that
isn't online yet, then head to Shine and sign up for your free Web
page.
SmellTheCoffee.com is trying hard to be the best Web site to visit
while you're drinking coffee. To that end, it has provided worldwide
news feeds, games like checkers, and bulletin boards where you can
post messages to other coffee drinkers in cyberspace. But even if
you're visiting empty-handed, you'll still find this site to be an
interesting resource. Peruse its growing directory of coffee shops,
coffeehouses, and cyber caf's around the globe, including over 10,000
in the US. There are plenty of hot beverage recipes, including
delicious sounding treats like "Holiday Spice Au Lait". A section
called The Bean provides articles about coffee, including an
explanation of all types of beans (from Arabian to Sumatran),
descriptions of various brewing methods, the history of coffee, and
coffee terminology that will allow you to describe your next cup of
java like a pro.
Do you ever get sick of reading impartial, dry, well-researched,
fact-checked, non-partisan journalism? Looking for something a little
different? Something sarcastic, self-effacing,
amateurish...something...Smug? This online publication contains all
sorts of interesting columns and articles. There's always a feature
article covering just about any topic at all, really. Plus more
focused columns that range from movie reviews to septuagenarian
rantings. In the end, it isn't the story that matters. At Smug,
content is merely a means to an end, and that end seems to be
conveying a wittier-than-thou-but-I'll-never-admit-it attitude. If you
want the facts, go elsewhere. If you're looking to be entertained,
insulted, and infused with an overpowering feeling of smugness, well,
you know where to go.
Are you sick and tired of being at the whim of marketing directors
and advertising executives to find out more about the Next Big Thing?
Are you ready to start thinking about next summer's box office
blockbusters in fall? Or curious when Microsoft is going to release
Windows 2001? Then quit scanning ads and head for Soon to be Released.
This handy site tells you the planned release dates of hundreds of new
movies, music albums, DVDs/videos, books, and software. It even
provides a brief description of each title, plus a link to its Web
site, if available. Let the waiting game begin!
Not just for astrology club geeks, this site is interesting (and
accessible) to anyone interested in space and related topics. In any
given day, you might see the Roman Coliseum as seen from satellites,
an update on the hunt for earth-like planets, and a story on how
Wal-Mart is considering using a satellite to spy on its competitors.
Professional journalists cover space stations, the space shuttle,
worldwide launches, just about anything pertaining to space. There's
also a daily quiz, a stargazing guide, and a history of space
exploration. This site is so extensive you might just feel like you're
lost in space!
Some call it a new "post-modern, cross-cultural literary form."
Others call it amateur humor. Call it what you will, but even
vegetarians will be amazed by this collection of over 15,000
"SPAM-kus." And that's not counting hundreds of Spam sonnets and
limericks (the sonnets are not to be missed). You can search the
entire archive for a Spam-ku covering a specific subject, such as
jazz, childhood trauma, addiction, or literature. Or head for the
Select Slices section to sample some of the best poems, according to
John Nagamichi Cho, SPAM Haiku Archive Master (SHAM). If you're
feeling inspired, then go ahead and submit your own Spam-ku. We can
only wonder if Hormel Foods Corporation is flattered or just plain
scared. It looks like its luncheon meat has evolved into a pop culture
icon.
Sign up for this free service, tell it what you're looking for, and
it will notify you when that information appears on the Web. On a very
basic level, you can have an Instant Spy notify you whenever your
favorite Web page is updated. Or you can tell the Get a Job Spy what
position you're looking for, and it will notify you when a matching
job listing appears on the Internet. You can do the same thing for
stocks, auctions, weather, even your own name. You can choose how you
want to be notified: email, pager, instant message (AOL Instant
MessengerTM, ICQ, Yahoo! Messenger, MSN Messenger), Web phone, Palm
VIITM, or your own private "My Spies" Web page. Choose from hundreds
of prepackaged spies, or advanced users can try their hands at
creating their own customized spies. Good luck. This email will
self-destruct in 3 minutes...
This site is designed for all of us who still remember (or even
long for) the sport utility vehicle of the seventies: the Station
Wagon. Sure, there's info on current models from Volvo and Audi, but
that's kind of like saying dinosaurs are still around, they're just
called lizards nowadays. Delve into a complete history of these great
rambling workhorses, browse through a photo gallery featuring over 400
models, and look up the largest wagon ever produced. If you're really
overcome with nostalgia, then head for the classifieds and buy
yourself that 1970 Chevy Impala Kingswood you've always wanted. It
probably gets better gas mileage than a brand new Excursion--and hey,
where can you find an SUV with an eight-track player in the dash?
>From leukemia to breast cancer to skin cancer, this ultra
comprehensive site is a tremendous resource for anyone who is
interested in learning more about cancer. It provides the latest
information, news, and research relating to cancer prevention,
detection, and treatments. A glossary demystifies medical terms with
easy-to-understand explanations. An extensive cancer FAQ answers most
general questions. But if you can't find an answer there, just go to
the Ask a Nurse feature, which lets you email a cancer-related
question to a certified Oncology nurse, who will reply within 24
hours. This site also serves as an online community for cancer
survivors linked by chat rooms and message boards.
This Web site is the electronic version of the highly respected
Financial Times, a daily newspaper covering business and financial
markets around the world. You're likely to find stories covering
China, Mexico, and Finland in the same issue. Read global news by
industry or by region. Look up stock quotes and check the performance
of financial markets around the globe, from currencies to commodities,
from the Hang Seng to the NASDAQ. There are also insightful columns,
special reports, and concise profiles of several countries and
industries. Even if you aren't a business or finance person, the world
news coverage is excellent. There's even an opportunity to speak your
mind in subject-oriented online forums. Don't wait any longer, it's
time to join the global economy.
What happens when you give a group of seasoned, professional
journalists access to a revolutionary new medium? They make fun of it,
of course. FNwire is one of the most well written parody sites on the
Net. It's actually a subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) satire of
all those technology news Web sites, right down to the layout. The
authors seem a bit exasperated by the mainstream media's headlong,
"fools rush in", rah-rah coverage of the growing technology sector.
The fictional stories are totally twisted and often hilarious. A
sample headline reads: "Employee-Slapping Widespread, Effective."
Read, enjoy, laugh...just don't let your boss see it!
Consider yourself warned: Depending on your age, diet, weight, and
other "lifestyle" issues, this site can end up being a pleasant
surprise or a terrifying agent of the grim reaper. More of an
actuarial calculator than a game, this site attempts to predict how
long you will live based on an initial round of questioning. Note:
this site has no apparent magical powers, so don't use it just to make
sure your next plane isn't going to crash. It's only apparent function
is to make you aware of your need for a life insurance policy!
Did your boyfriend forget your dog's birthday? Again?!? Or perhaps
your wife threw away that favorite pair of underwear you've had since
college? Then maybe you should consider sending a Love Citation. Don't
worry, you're qualified! Just by visiting this Web site, you'll be
automatically deputized as a Love Police officer. Fill out the handy
online form, and a citation will immediately be emailed to the
offender explaining his or her crime. The offender has the opportunity
to dispute the infraction, plea for mercy, post bail, or simply call
you a social misfit incapable of communicating your emotions in
person.
Who knows what lurks under your friendly neighborhood librarian's
conservative attire? This site demonstrates that butterflies, iguanas,
and metal hoops and rods aren't out of the question. The Modified
Librarian features about a dozen library workers who take their jobs
as seriously as they do their tattoos and piercings. It's also a forum
for challenging society's stereotypes and pushing workplace dress
codes to the limit. This is serious stuff! One featured librarian on
this site even had to ask to be removed because of "coercion and
threats" by his employer. Check out photos of the modifications and
read rants by their owners describing intimidation, discrimination,
and general looks of bewilderment and shock at the workplace. Who
knows? Maybe someday pierced tongues will be just as acceptable as
bifocals. Just be sure to keep it down while you're visiting this
site.
In today's modern society, it's easy to conclude that the age-old
process of natural selection has itself become extinct. But a quick
visit to this site will prove the contrary. It is filled with news
accounts of people who met an untimely demise due to nothing more than
their own substandard intelligence genes. Take for example, the
enterprising genius who hopped a fence at the Grand Canyon to retrieve
some good luck coins tossed in by his fellow tourists and (surprise!)
fell to his death. New stories are added each month, and there are
eight years of archives just waiting for you. And just when you're
starting to believe that truth is indeed stranger than fiction, head
over to the urban legends section, which is filled with even more
outrageous and shocking stories.
Marilyn may be gone, but her memory lives on, especially on the
Web. This official site is elegantly designed and overflowing with all
things Marilyn. Read a detailed biography of Norma Jean Mortenson, a
Los Angeles native discovered by an Army journalist. Learn all about
her favorite things, including colors, books, poets, and stores.
There's even a page full of surprisingly quotable Marilyn quotes.
Browse through her extensive list of silver screen appearances. And
what Marilyn Monroe site would be complete without a glamorous photo
album? If you find yourself hooked, or maybe even in love, then join
the fan club. Yes, it's still growing!
Fredd Culbertson started collecting names of phobias back when the
Internet was an obscure network used by scientists and the military.
His Web site features the fruits of his labor with over 500 known
phobias culled from reference books and medical papers. The phobias
are listed both alphabetically and by subject. Go ahead, it's easy to
diagnose yourself. Afraid of unlucky number 13? You have
Triskadekaphobia. Spend too much time in front of your computer? Then
perhaps you have Stasiphobia the fear of standing up. Many people
would say the federal government is experiencing epidemic levels of
Phronemophobia, the fear of thinking. Once you've spent some time with
the list, read a brief explanation on how phobias are named or read
through a collection of famous quotes relating to fear. Unless, of
course, you have Phobophobia.
Just leave it to an advertising agency in North Dakota to out-hip
Madison Avenue with one of the most creative, wacky Web sites in the
industry. PAW invites you to step into the shoes of a busy ad
executive and show off your wit and creativity. Come up with The
World's Worst Slogan for a pair of shoes that double as a foot
operated keyboard. Or go to the Jingle Berries section and write a
memorable jingle for a new teleporter. If you need inspiration, check
out winning slogans and jingles from past challenges. So get creative.
PAW might just pick your slogan and send you a fabulous prize. Who
knows, they might even offer you a job. But then you'd have to
relocate... brrrrrr!
If articles like "The 10 Key Impact Wines and Spirits of the 20th
Century" get your blood pumping, then pour yourself a glass and head
over to the Spirit Journal. F. Paul Pacult, founder and editor, has
created an online journal for people who like reading about liquor as
much as they enjoy drinking it. Every month you'll find new articles
covering distilled spirits, beer, and wine. And because the Journal
accepts no advertising, you're ensured of unbiased professional
evaluations and appraisals. On this site, you can learn all about
Tequila, then read reviews and ratings of several brands, including
1800 Edicion Gran Reserva del Nuevo Milenio (a steal at $18,000.00 per
barrel). The University section demystifies a dizzying array of brews,
from Porter to Stout. There are also tips on how to store your
distilled spirits and fortified wines. Bottoms up!
Culled from the transcripts of countless interviews by television
announcers and articles by sports writers, this searchable index of
cliched quotes will have you talking like a real media professional in
no time. The quotes are divided into handy sections like Fired
Coaches, The Crowd Factor, and Team Analysis. Even if you've been a
sports fan for decades, you just might be surprised, annoyed, or even
appalled by the overuse of cliches in this business. In fact, it's
entirely possible to turn anyone into a seasoned "color man" just by
studying this site. All it takes is reaching into the bag of cliches
and coming up with time-honored workhorses like "They've got
tremendous mental toughness," "The noise factor" and "He's an
unselfish player". Beware; games will never sound the same again!
This Web site has pulled out all the stops in an attempt to become
a one-stop Web destination for "ThirdAgers" in their mid-40s through
50s. (Apparently, BabyBoomer.com was already taken.) A variety of
sections like Health, Politics, News, Family & Pets, and Computers are
all geared toward this targeted audience. For example, the Money
section lets you find out if you're saving enough for retirement (the
"Fourth Age?"). Even the crossword puzzles and trivia games are
tailored for middle-aged users. Sign up for a free email account or a
free home page. Participate in a personals section where divorce is
more of an assumption than a stigma, reminisce about tie-dyed t-shirts
on an electronic message board, or buy some vintage Bob Dylan records
on the classifieds section. This site is really comprehensive and well
designed. A perfect place for Bill to hang out after his term is over.
This vegetarian resource guide is valuable to some and entertaining
to others. It all depends on whether you think Vegan is a way of life
or an alien race from Star Trek. An extensive database of recipes like
Cauliflower and Potato Curry will all but ensure that you'll never
even have a chance to miss meat. A very comprehensive FAQ covers all
aspects of vegetarianism, from Non-leather Shoes to Soy vs. Nut or
Rice Milk. Stay informed by signing up for the VegWeb Newsletter,
delivered for free via email. Or you can be inspired by reading some
Veggie Poetry ("Wouldn't it be wonderful/if steaks grew on trees").
Read real-life testimonials from vegetarians or head to the bulletin
boards and catch up on the latest meat-free hot topic. There's even a
rather sparse personals section where you can meat, er meet, fellow
veggie lovers.
Get ready for adventures in Internet dating, but beware, this site
contains some adult situations and humor. Lorina created this site as
a monument to her online dating experiences. Read her own personals
ads, then browse through dozens of responses they elicited from online
suitors. She's sorted them into colorful categories like Just Plain
Ick, Yawn, Cool Dudes, and TMI Disasters, each punctuated with
humorous comments by Lorina and her friends. There's even a message
board so you can interact with other Internet daters or curious
visitors. If you're serious, then her ad advice section will help you
compose a personal ad that's geared to attract that special someone.
After all this, you'd expect Lorina would be through with online
dating. But that's where she found her boyfriend Fritz, so it looks
like there's hope after all.
Welcome to the happiest Web site on earth! Disneyphile Werner W.
Weiss has created Yesterland to help us remember the days when an "E"
ticket cost 85 cents and to introduce us to attractions that have
been--how shall we put it?--axed by the Mouse. For each former
Disneyland attraction, he's compiled a detailed description, photos,
history, and even a transcription of audio announcements. You'll find
recent closures like the Submarine Voyage and Captain EO right along
side vintage favorites like Rocket to the Moon and Rainbow Ridge Pack
Mules. There's also plenty of historical information, from the
"A-B-C's of Tickets" to a totally groovy scanned menu from the
Tahitian Terrace, circa 1960.
This world-famous pocket directory of restaurant reviews is now
online. You can access over 20,000 reviews of restaurants in many
major metropolitan areas in the US, plus London, Paris, Toronto, and
Vancouver. The search feature is powerful, allowing you to locate a
top French restaurant downtown with excellent decor and reasonable
prices... assuming one exists! If you don't believe or agree with
Zagats' professional eaters, then become a member and you can cast
your own vote alongside their review. Zagat's time-honored rating
system (food, decor, service, price) makes it easy to sort through
possibilities. And next to each review, you'll find links to maps and
driving directions. There are even interesting top-20 lists of great
restaurants, ranked by criteria like service, decor, views, romantic,
and outdoor. We're still holding out for Internet Cafe rankings.
Seattle, how are you feeling tonight! I'd like to introduce to you
a lifelong guitarist, rock musician, Jimi Hendrix fan, billionaire...
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen! Yep, you won't find Mr. Allen's
newest creation in a software package. Instead, it's located in a
twisted, flowing building beneath the Space Needle in the city
Microsoft calls (and Jimi Hendrix) called home. The $100 million,
140,000 square foot interactive museum of rock music is now open to
the public. In case you aren't able to make the trip anytime soon,
this Web site is here to keep you occupied (and whet your appetite for
the real thing). Experience online exhibits, explore rock-n-roll
artifacts, even learn the history of Hip Hop. Then download some free
software that will let you create your own virtual guitar music on
your computer. Who says you need an instrument to be a rock star?
This site pulls no punches. It's a huge resource for guitar players
and fans of guitar-centric music. Guitar.com features several regular
columns on playing guitar, including hints, tips, and Q&A with people
who make a living playing the six string. There are plenty of
discussion boards, including long-standing debates like "What's the
best color for a guitar?" Read industry-specific press releases. Watch
video guitar lessons for beginners and experts alike, many by famous
musicians from BB King to Sugar Ray. Listen to guitar music in MP3
format, participate in live chats with musicians, read album reviews,
or find a live instructor near you. On a guitar amp scale of 1 to 10,
this site is definitely an 11.
If you're a sports fan, then you've probably discovered that the
Web is an indispensable information resource. The problem is that
there are so many sports Web sites, you have to do a lot of surfing to
track it all down. At last, here's a free service for sports-loving
mouse potatoes. Register for free, then tell SportsSLEUTH what teams
(up to 5) you'd like it to stake out. It will then search the Web and
send you a daily, customized email containing all the information it
found. You'll get news stories from top sources, recent scores, injury
reports, game recaps, odds, game day weather, rosters, even postings
from popular message boards. Currently, SportsSLEUTH.com tracks the
NFL, NBA, NHL, Major League Baseball, NASCAR, NCAA Basketball, and
College Football. Thanks to SportsSLEUTH, you can spend even more time
on the couch!
This site may not yet be intelligent, but it does have a
photographic memory. It's one of the most complete, in-depth health
resources on the Web. Find information about hundreds of diseases,
conditions, and procedures, each in a convenient one-page format. Read
health-related news stories, and keep track of new treatments and
risks. InteliHealth contains several Featured Health Areas that
provide information on everything you ever wanted to know about a
variety of popular topics, from Allergies to Weight Management.
Getting Paxil and Prozac mixed up? Consult the Drug Resource Center,
which features a searchable database of news and information on just
about every drug imaginable. Decode your doctor with the handy Medical
Dictionary, or visit the Ask the Doc section and your question might
be answered by a specialist from Johns Hopkins University.
Fortunately, this Web site makes house calls, and you won't have to
fill out any insurance forms.
Any Web site that starts off with a claim like "Fortified with
Enough Preservatives to Keep You Alive Through the Next Ice Age" is
surely worth investigating. The Empty Bowl is a cleverly written
online magazine devoted entirely to--you guessed it--cold breakfast
cereal. Fourteen breakfast-obsessed editors take turns reviewing
cereal on a scale of Repulsive to Classic. They check out everything
from Reptar Crunch to Natural Mates Groovy Grahams. Learn the art of
"cereal mixing" and try some time-proven recipes. Scientific-sounding
Crunch Tests measure how long various cereals stay crunchy in milk
(complete with audio files of actual crunch volume). A monthly Top Ten
List of cereal and other breakfast-related stuff keeps you
entertained. This site may contain humor, but make no mistake, it's
serious about cereal!
and simply click the Donate Free Food button, you can supply food
to starving people around the world.
"The page's sponsors agree to donate money based on the number of
individual page visits per day. Clicking the button counts only once
per day. It's an excellent cause and costs nothing. Also, when you
visit the Hunger Site, take some time to read about its mission and
results."
Changes to this page are IN PROGRESS 