Space buffs should run, not walk to this neat site. The Calendar is a listing of all sorts of space related events and launches scheduled for the next year, many with embedded links to corresponding web sites. A quick look at April shows The 10th Annual Space Settlement Design Competition (4/7-4/9), the 25th Anniversary (1970) of the Apollo 13 Launch (4/11) with links to the historical archive for that ill fated mission, information on the Galileo Trajectory Correction Maneuver #23 (4/12) and the Galileo home page, and data dealing with the annular eclipse visible from South America (4/29). There are also links to this month in space history, and a guide to celestial events for the current month. Well worth a browse. "http://newproducts.jpl.nasa.gov/calendar/"
Seen enough good stuff on the Web? Now, balance out your perspective by visiting David Mirsky's "Worst of the Web" home page. From here, you'll be able to link up with some truly tasteless and just plain bad sites. New entries are added every day. A word of warning: you never know what you're going to find; some sites may be unsuitable for young children and easily offended browsers. "http://turnpike.net/mirsky/Worst.html"
ON BELAY! CLIMBING! CLIMB AWAY!
World-class climber John Middendorf has put together the definitive page for those interested in attempting the ultimate in rock climbing challenges: the multi-day big wall climb. His tips and opinions on some of the classic big walls in Yosemite, Zion, and even the world's biggest in Trango, Pakistan, come from years of experience. Practicalities like where to buy food, how to get permits, what to hang on your rack as well as photos that take you up close and personal make this site worth a visit for rockhounds and armchair jocks alike. "http://www.primenet.com/~midds/"
EVEN THE USENET DIETIES HAVE A WEB PAGE
Those of you wrestling with life's many irritating little dialemmas (heavy use of blinking text or just a 1 Gig graphic on my home page?) will be pleased to note that the mighty and occasionally jejune Usenet Oracle has a home page. This is no upstart web sprite, but rather an ancient and fully acredited Usenet Diety[tm]. Simply ask any question, and you shall receive the answer from the omniscient, omnipotent, and omnibuslike Orrie, ably assisted by his girlfriend the delectable Lisa. No clue what this is about? Tune in to this page and find out all about the Usenet Oracle and how it can change your life. But beware, as prominantly noted "In return, the Oracle may require you to perform a small service....." "http://www.pcnet.com/~stenor/oracle/index.html"
Don't miss this chance to explore strange new words. The Web site for the mailing list A.Word.A.Day (AWAD) supplies a new vocabulary word and definition every day. Information on subscribing to the daily e-mail is available through the site, as are links to the word of the day and word from yesterday. A sample word of the word: hebdomadally, which means every week. Now don't you feel smarter? "http://lrdc5.lrdc.pitt.edu/"
...UND ZEEN TRUNSLETE-A ZEEM INTU SVEDISH CHEFF
Usenet feteruns vill unduoobtedly hefe-a nuticed un oobscoore-a noosgruoop celled alt.swedish.chef.bork.bork.bork. Zee Svedish Cheff pege-a brings zee primery fucoos ooff zee gruoop tu zee VVV - a prugrem celled zee Inchefferizer. It is used tu toorn oordinery text (like-a this erticle-a) intu zee lungooege-a spukee by zee belufed Svedish cheff frum zee Mooppet Shoo. Zee pege-a elsu cunteins cheff pics und suoonds (bork, bork, bork!) und a FAQ ebuoot zee prugrem, vhich is efeileble-a fur muny pletffurms. "http://www.stir.ac.uk/~sac06/chef/chef.html"
MORE THAN A LOAF OF BREAD AND THOU
Billed as your source for great wine on the Net, this page lets you tour numerous small vineyards and inspect a clear and concise tasting chart assembled by master sommelier Peter Granoff. The bios of the proprietors and winemakers give a sense of the people behind each bottle. Most conveniently, you can choose to remember particular wines along your tour for ordering directly. Check the wine and food pairings for some mouth-watering recipes ready to be printed and whisked into kitchen reality. And if that's not enough, you can get any wine-related question answered by e-mailing the Cork Dork, who will post it to a moderated forum and guarantees an answer. This site is well worth it for wine-buffs and winos alike. "http://www.virtualvin.com"
ONE MAN'S VOYEURISM IS ANOTHER'S ART
Jason Hutchens is a Ph.D. student in Information Technology at CIIPS in Western Australia. Apparently, he has way too much time on his hands - as evidenced by this Web site, which is wired to let anyone who logs on spy on his lab and labmates via a permanently erected indycam. For fun, you can spy on a second-floor lab or even watch what's on TV down under. And in case this really tickles your fancy, he's included a manual on how to give others a video thrill (or not). Quirky without question, but oddly appealing to a dark side of human curiosity. We know we shouldn't approve, but go ahead - check it out. "http://ciips.ee.uwa.edu/~hutch"
CyberPond brings to the Web a cute little site that's just the way we like 'em - entertaining, froggy, and devoid of significance. The main feature is the "Tell me a story!" link, which tells the tale of a tadpole named Sue. The bright images and simple storyline make this a perfect place to visit with your own tadpole on your lap. The sequel, the adventures of an adolescent Sue, is still being written. A cute "Update" feature jumps the page's frog image header to another position. Also included are links to other frog sites, including Sandra Loosemore's at Yale. "http://199.100.182.2/cyberpond/"
THE ONLINE WRITERY: OPEN TO ALL
This student-oriented environment provides a place where writers can communicate with others and get information about any type of writing, computers as learning tools, and Internet resources for writing, research, and learning. A staff of student assistants are online regularly to correspond with users through e-mail or the MOOs (the latter are in The Writery on DaedalusMOO, which has guest access, and ZooMOO, available to registered players only). Information on contacting the staff is available at the URL below. Also featured is a forum where writers can publish their work: the Gallery accepts a variety of creations, including essays, poetry, and graphic arts. "http://www.missouri.edu/~wleric/writery.html"
The School of Wisdom's WWW site is for those seeking enlightenment about the origin and structure of the universe, metapolitics, wisdom, and the Internet; law and disorder: the science of chaos; global consciousness; and related lofty topics. The School of Wisdom's home page offers links to these subjects, as well as information about the School of Wisdom itself, which features such activities as a Joseph Campbell mythology class, a Women of Wisdom discussion group, and Laws of Wisdom classes and workshops. Still wondering what wisdom is all about anyway? The School of Wisdom defines it as "the ability to live in a chaotic world." "http://www.webcom.com/~metanoic/wisdom/"
The CBS TV site on the WWW has pleasing graphics, a clickable image map that makes sense, and lots of really neat features. They manage this all without exceeding 50 KB on any graphic (strong hint to other Web builders). If you click on "Eye On Club" and fill in the form, you can get a free, special CBS screen saver. They've made good content choices and have crafted them in a very professional manner; we offer a maximum "well done" to the site builder. You'll see it for yourself at "http://www.cbs.com/"
GAZILLIONAIRE: A WACKY NEW GAME
The home page of LavaMind Productions is, well, weird. Who are the LavaMinders? They are independent game developers who have created a new CD-ROM title called Gazillionaire, which they describe as similar to playing Monopoly "in outer space with funky Dr. Suess/Yellow Submarine style graphics". The site includes the Lava Zone, with links to "Talk of the Town" (containing opinions and letters), "Explore the Galaxy of Gogg" (an introduction to the Gazillionaire game), "Lunatic Landings on the West Side" (very bizarre), and links to other home pages. "http://www.lavamind.com"
THE VIRTUAL TOURIST PRESENTS WWW SERVERS WORLDWIDE
Sorry, folks, the Virtual Tourist is not a vacation planning tool or a travel guide. But as a well known geographic directory of WWW servers located all over the world, it is a mighty useful tool. Utilizing an extensive series of interactive maps, you can find out how many and which servers are located in Bermuda, Boston, or Great Britain. Pretty nifty, we think. "http://wings.buffalo.edu/world/"
Picture Vermont in winter: snowshoeing kids, sleigh-riding through a glacial valley, dining before a big stone fireplace, amputating frostbitten toes. The Travel and Tourism Department here has really done justice to the Green Mountain State's strongest attractions. Did you know snowboarding started in Vermont? Us neither. From daily snow conditions to a calender of winter events with prices and contact info, this site provides everything to kindle the flame for a visit and make it happen. For those of us who can't get away, there's the online version of Vermont Life, the award-winning full-color magazine that celebrates the life, traditions and people of a small and beautiful state. "http://cybermalls.com/cymont/vermont"
TRAVEL THE NORTH COAST OF SPAIN
A lovely little out of the way site on the WWW covers a lovely little out of the way travel destination: the region of Asturias on Spain's northern coast. The quadralingual site comes together kind of like the three bears' porridge - some of it has too much text and no pictures, the image index could use more text, and the "Way to Santiago" is just right. The images are literally professional; they come from a book on the region. Take a peek at one the few places in the world where Canadians should masquerade as Americans instead of the other way around. (In case you've been in a hole, Canada and Spain almost came to military blows last week over turbot.) "http://www1.uniovi.es/asturias"
TAKE A TOUR BUS DOWN THE U.K. INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY
The U.K. Page has it all for vistors: a huge clickable map; links to U.K.
sites featuring dancing, diving, and a malt whiskey tour; and official
(dull phone numbers) and unofficial (the best places to stay) tourist info.
But all this pales in comparison to the Tourbus guided tour. Starting in
London and travelling clockwise, the virtual bus stops in every city on the
aforementioned map, from Aberdeen to York. City pages are packed with
coolness - great photos, wonderful town histories, and tourist sights.
London, for example, has a page devoted exclusively to its museums, while
Canterbury puts its occasionally gruesome history in a humorous light. All
travel sites should be this good.
#map"
MT. RUSHMORE, IN YOUR (PRESIDENTIAL) FACE
Now that South Dakota has its own home page, finding your way around the
40th U.S. state is easier than ever. This visually interesting site features
information about South Dakota government, higher education, cities and
other Internet resources. You can also get travel information on the Bad
Lands, the Black Hills, Mt. Rushmore and more. Nice visuals. Cool
interactive map. Well done, South Dakota. "http://www.state.sd.us"
ONLINE NEWS OF IRELAND PUBLICATION
This weekly Web newspaper features timely events in Ireland in a
headline-oriented, USA Today-style. Headlines in a recent issue, for
example, included "Abortion information bill passed", "British fury at
Adams' White House invitation", and "Beef baron wins back empire". The
home page offers the opportunity to subscribe, as well as a sample
viewing of the newspaper. Also included in the News of Ireland are
sports (don't miss reading about Ireland's "crushing defeat, at the
hands of the French" in rugby) and an amusing section entitled Briefing,
which offers a potpourri of information (did you know two of Ireland's
biggest chat show stars, Gay Byrne and Pat Kenny, squabbled publicly
after Kenny, citing the pressures of a young family, suggested that
Byrne give him his Friday night TV spot?).
"http://iol.ie/~johnos/news1.html"
VOTE IN POST-APOCALYPTIC ZOOLOGICAL SURVIVOR DUEL
The year is 2057 and only two animals have survived a global nuclear
holocaust: a rat and a snake. Vote for the one you think will overcome the
other. We like the rat.
"http://www.interport.net/~rick/ratvssnake/ratvssnake.html"
THE PI BIRTHDAY SEARCH - SORRY, IT'S OUR FAULT
Our esteemed publisher, Arthur, asked, "Why not go all out and search for
your birthdate within the wellspring of uselessness that is Pi?" Well,
Jonathan set up a page that does so. "http://cad.ucla.edu:8001/amiinpi"
Javed Anwar, a student at the Oregon Graduate Institute, is conducting a
very brief survey of Web surfers. Help him out, it really takes less than a
minute. "http://www.cse.ogi.edu/~anwar/survey.html"
TOP 10 REASONS SURFING THE NET IS MORE FUN THAN WATCHING THE O.J. TRIAL
No, it's not a clip from David Letterman. It's the results of a contest
from the Macmillan USA Information SuperLibrary, which runs a new top 10
list in each of its monthly newsletters. To check out the list, subscribe
to the newsletter, or enter upcoming contests, stop by
"http://www.mcp.com/general/new.html"
Here you can find Press Club speeches and press conferences and a
collection of Net research resources designed to aid journalists seeking
information as deadline approaches. Ooops - gotta go....
"http://town.hall.org/places/npc/"
Users registered with NetCheque accounting servers are able to write checks
to other users, authorizing the transfer of account balances. For more
info, see: "http://nii-server.isi.edu/info/NetCheque/"
"ftp://prospero.isi.edu/pub/netcheque/information"
FREE TEXT-ONLY WEB SPACE FOR RENT
LawMall will provide a free page to anyone wanting to put a resume or
business info on the Web. Posting/removal are free; alterations cost you
$10. To post, e-mail your copy and an eight-character filename to
"CarlPers@lawmall.com", or visit first at: "http://www.lawmall.com/lawmall"
ASIA, INC. JOINS THE E-ZINE CROWD
Asia, Inc., self-described as Asia's leading monthly business magazine, has
launched an online edition. "http://www.asia-inc.com"
DUTCH YELLOW PAGES TO THE INTERNET
Of limited use, we know, but this directory of commercial Dutch WWW pages
just kinda seemed cool. "http://hydra.cs.utwente.nl/~stan/IG/"
OUTPOST FOR NETSURFERS WITH PORTABLES
If you use a portable computer, the Road Warrior Outpost is definitely
worth a visit. They've got everything from upgrades to wetsuits to
insurance. They even have an e-mail newsletter you can subscribe to.
"http://warrior.com"
This index supplies the most recent covers and tables of contents of 166
leading magazines. It's really kind of nifty. "gopher://mag-browse.com"
A.O.L. IS GOING TO BRING ORDER TO THE NET
America OnLine recently announced the formation of a new venture called
WebSoft, Inc, intended to promote open standards for companies who want to
build a presence on the Internet. Given A.O.L.'s rapid growth, who's to say
that the industry doesn't need another guiding light to, as Steve Case,
president and C.E.O. says, "...accelerate the growth and popularity of the
Internet." One can hope they have learned some lessons since they first
unleashed the undisciplined hordes (the ones with @aol.com addresses) that
have flooded the newsgroups with get-rich-quick schemes and worse for the
past several months.
SPECIFICATIONS FOR PNG, THE PROPOSED GIF REPLACEMENT FORMAT
The PNG format is intended to provide a portable, legally
unencumbered, well-compressed, well-specified standard for lossless
bitmapped image files. In addition to containing all the features
of the current GIF format PNG incorporates support for color images
of up to 48 bits per pixel, full alpha channel, gamma (brightness)
indication, error detection, and faster progressive display.
The specification was recently posted to the newsgroups
news:comp.graphics and news:comp.infosystems.www.providers and
is available at:
"http://sunsite.unc.edu/boutell/png.html"
Everyone's favorite tool to untangle those cryptic CGI form arguments
in your programs has just been updated. This version features
a SCRIPT_NAME environment variable with the name of the backend
script run by uncgi, the QUERY_STRING variable is no longer mangled
on some systems, and there is support for backend programs residing
in subdirectories of the script directory. Find it at:
Docs: "http://www.hyperion.com/~koreth/uncgi.html"
Un-CGI: "ftp://ftp.hyperion.com/pub/uncgi-1.3.shar.Z"
NOVELL OFFERS WEB VIEWER ADD-IN FOR WORDPERFECT 6.1
With award-winning hype that would put sideshow barkers everywhere to
shame, Novell last month announced two new Web products based on their
WordPerfect word processing program. The first, Internet Publisher, is
available from Novell's Web site and online services. It has a template for
HTML creation and the Netscape Navigator browser is included. The second
soon-to-be-released product, WordPerfect 6.1 SGML Edition, will let users
edit HTML documents in native format but save them in HTML or WP6.1 format.
Info at "http://www.novell.com/".
KEEP UP WITH THE LATEST WEB BROWSERS
"BrowserWatch" has news about the latest Web browser releases and
statistics on types and versions of browsers used to view their pages. This
new service is now capturing use reports of Mozilla 1.1b1 and other clients
in testing or in pre-release. The site also points to other sites with even
more stats. This Web site would be even better with more use of absolute
addressing for later reference.
"http://www.ski.mskcc.org/browserwatch/index.html"
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