It looks like the median is about $60,000. Not bad change for
sloshing some HTML around. Well, it takes a little more then that,
but you can read all about it in this exhaustive and fascinating
Web/Intranet Manager Salary and Career Survey from Network Computing.
Lot's of figures and graphs covering everything from salaries,
demographics, regional differences in pay, job satisfaction,
responsibilities, and career opportunities. Too much good stuff to
summarize here. Basically, if you're in the industry or trying to
get in this is mandatory reading.
<http://techweb.cmp.com/nc/810/810f31.html>
JOHN UPDIKE AND AMAZON.COM WANT TO GIVE YOU $100,000
The only catch is that you have to write a killer installment in a tale
started and ended by the author. In case you don't know, John Updike is
a two time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, several time winner of the
National Book Critics Circle Award and the recipient of the American
Book Award, and not a bad scribbler despite all that. In fact, Amazon
has a good well hyperlinked biography of the author, as well as a
write-up about his soon to be published novel "Toward The End of Time",
a futuristic sci-fi "Thoreau-esque meditation". The writing contest
also includes $1000 daily prizes for the best few lines which advance
the tale that day. The contest runs until September 19.
Updike: <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/features/g/greatest-tale/greatest-tale-updike.html>
Contest: <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/features/g/greatest-tale/greatest-tale-home.html>
WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS DEAD AT 83
In general, you never read Burroughs for the story. You read him for
the images which tend to leave fleshy sphincters on certain portions
of your psyche. An excerpt from his most famous work, "Naked Lunch",
is a typical example. William S. Burroughs died on August 2 of a
heart attack leaving behind a body of writing which influences huge
chunks of modern subculture. Cutting edge art, music, writing and
even some bits of pop culture owe not a little of their creepy edge to
this ex-junkie and revered member of the Beat generation. A memorial
and guestbook is available at the The William S. Burroughs Files site.
The guestbook alone makes for fascinating reading as people all over
the world tell how they were influenced by his work. The site also
contains an extensive guide to his literary works, recordings,
film, video appearances, samples, and other publications.
Naked Lunch Excerpt: <http://canton.charm.net/~brooklyn/Texts/LunchBuyer.html>
Files: <http://www.hyperreal.org/wsb/>
We first reported on the worlds oldest documented living human,
the now deceased Mm. Calment, in NSD 03.08. She died on August 4
from unspecified causes, though one may be forgiven for thinking
it was old age. Born 21 February, 1875 she came into the world
before the invention of just about everything modern, and lived to
record, of all things, a rap CD. An early brush with greatness came
with meeting Van Gogh ("dirty, badly dressed and disagreeable") in
her father's art supply store. We refer you to the web page we
originally covered dedicated to Jeanne. It has a very extensive
biography and bibliography of this sharp and witty woman. The obvious
question now is who's next in line and will they go with ambient
or heavy metal?
<http://avsunxsvr.aeiveos.com/longevity/jlcinfo.html>
COMMANDER WENDY LAWRENCE, ALIVE, BUT NOT ALOFT
Usually, small size is an asset in the space program. Less fragile
flesh to throw into the air translates into more hardware. Alas, in the
case of Mir, less is less for Commander Wendy Lawrence. She was yanked
from the next America rotation to the crumbling Russian space station
because she was too small to fit into an ex Communist space suit.
Bummer. However, don't cry for me Valentina, because Commander
Lawrence has already been up on STS-67, the ASTRO observatory mission
and will most likely be rotated back to Mir again due to her
extensive experience as Director of Operations for NASA at the
Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City Russia. She'll also
go up with Atlantis when it delivers her backup. We dug up a rather
interesting bio, but could find no e-mail address to send our
condolences.
Wendy: <http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/lawrence.html>
Valentina: <http://www.encarta.msn.com/schoolhouse/womensci/Tereshkova.asp>
One may be forgiven for thinking this is some new men's
encounter group, and in fact the metaphor may not be that
extended for these particular bodies (oh, the delicious
levels of subtleties here...). This site is part of a campaign
urging U.S. citizens to meet their elected representatives and
tell them how they feel about a government which insists on
reading their private messages. A broad coalition of free speech
advocates including Center for Democracy and Technology, the
Electronic Frontier Foundation, EFF-AUSTIN, the Voters
Telecommunications Watch, Americans for Tax Reform, and Wired
Magazine are urging you to get in contact with your representative
during the summer congressional break. That's typically when
congress-critters hold town meetings where you can give them a
piece of your mind about cryptography. Visit, enter your zip
code and find out where your rep stands and what you can do.
<http://www.crypto.com/member/>
Netscape teamed up with HotWired this past May to run a contest for
sites which make good use of dynamic HTML. The results are now
available on these pages, and are probably of interest to web
designers. Dynamic HTML uses combinations of HTML, style sheets,
the document object model, and JavaScript to create interactive
pages. You'll need to use Communicator 4.0 to get the best view of
these sample pages, which range from an interactive real estate
property brochure, to a variety of games, as well as to examples
of interesting dynamic font effects.
<http://developer.netscape.com/devcon/contest/winner.html>
This new search engine lets you either browse or search for specific
sites which support the CDF push standard. If you publish a web
site which employs push, you can submit your own listings. There are
eight main categories you can browse through, such as news,
travel/lifestyle, education, and sports. Convenient buttons allow
you to subscribe directly from this site. Simple, clean, push
content search engine.
<http://www.phlip.net/>
W3C DRAFTS A WEB FONT STANDARD
Web site design is getting more and more versatile and at the same time
more complex. The W3C is doing its bit buy drafting rules for how fonts
can be specified for and downloaded to web pages. Read it in all its
technical glory here.
<http://www.w3.org/TR/WD-font>
BOARDWATCH SPONSORS ISP CONVENTION
We've sung the praises of Boardwatch Magazine a number of times
in the past, most recently when they cut through the marketing
bs and published an excellent set of access speed statistics
for various ISPs (see NSD 03.22). The magazine is also sponsoring
the second annual ISP convention in San Francisco, from August 20-23.
If you work for or run an ISP this is the place hobnob with
your colleagues and grill the vendors competing to sell you the
latest set of rack mounted all in one Modem/ISDN/T1/UPS/WebTV/Coke
machines. These events always have lots of very good educational
sessions, with this year's lineup including setting up POPs, dealing
with SPAM, the politics of domain names, buying/selling ISPs, network
management, routers, financing, DSL, and much more. If you're in the
ISP business, you need to be there.
<http://www.ispcon.com/>
TREASURES OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Home of countless treasures, the Library of Congress recently
offered a few dozen cultural touchstones in a new permanent,
rotating exhibit. Thomas Jefferson, whose personal collection is at
the heart of the Library, organized his own library along thoughtful
law, geography) and Imagination (invention, architecture, arts).
Imagination produces intriguing juxtapositions, linking Jelly Roll
Morton, Frank Lloyd Wright, prototype baseball cards, and Jefferson's
own schematics for a pasta machine. Reason gives at the same time
a sense of continuity and discontinuity, traced through the General
Fundamentals of the Plymouth Colony, Susan B. Anthony's personal
transcript of the 1872 trial in which she was fined $100 for voting,
and handwritten margin notes from a draft of the US Supreme Court's
Brown decision on school desegregation. In Memory, look for Maya
Lin's Vietnam Memorial contest entry, early Jewish presence in
America and a review of slavery law in the District of Columbia.
<http://lcweb.loc.gov/treasures/>
If the concept of a couple machines bashing the bejeezus out of
one another is your idea of a good time, Robot Wars is the place to
be. The fourth annual robot rumble is scheduled for August 15-17 in
San Francisco (assuming a lawsuit doesn't threaten the brawling
bots -- more about that at the site). Billed as a "mechanical sporting
event" featuring radio controlled and autonomous robots engaged in
mechanical mayhem, the Wars website features general information
on the contests, images from past competitions, and complete
information on how to obtain an IRWA membership card. If anyone asks
what that is, just coolly tell 'em you're a member of the
International Robot Warriors Association. Those of us who've been
to one of these events can tell you that it's more fun then nude oil
wrestling with a plugged in toaster. Life doesn't get much better
for techno gearheads.
<http://www.robotwars.com/>
SCIENCE FICTION WRITERS OF AMERICA
If ever there was an instant mecca for entertainers, it's the Web
site of Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA). If you're
looking for comic-book monsters or offers of free ray guns from
men in black, forget it, bubba - or at least check out "Art Gallery."
The official SFWA site is a directory and gateway for writers,
editors, publishers, producers, and other visionaries in speculative
fiction, although it's clear that fans, too, are welcome. You'll
find some serious stuff here: sample contracts, articles from The
Bulletin (SFWA's newsletter), background on the Nebula Awards, the
SFWA Handbook ("Learn everything you need to know about going pro --
how to get there, and what to do once you've made it."), and loads
of advice about writing. Young and not-so-young short-story writers,
novelists, and screenwriters would do well to download the entire
site. And, of course, revisit.
<http://www.sfwa.org/>
TODD'S GALLERY OF PATHETIC HUMAN REGRET
Todd has some bad memories of childhood. Well, so do we all, but
do we go around parading them in front of the teeming millions
moping about the Web? Nope. And thus, we are not nearly as
entertaining as Todd. Hear Todd regret not better knowing his
friend with a beard which looked like he was being strangled by
a ferret. Marvel at Todd's regret that he could not see Holly,
the voluptuous teen taking a shower through the fence, while at
the same time regretting that he didn't "play more Scrabble and
lay off the fooling around" with his girlfriend. Gasp in horror
at his regret at not being able to make Ken, his next door
neighbor and playmate, believe that the huge clearing in the
woods was populated by invisible dinosaurs. There's more, much
more to this site, not least a great Da Vinci design motif
and a general salute to patheticism. While we already regret using
that silly word, we have absolutely no regrets, or even scruples,
about sending you to Todd's site.
<http://www.eden.com/~tfast/regret1.html>
Wings of Liberation reports on the trials of a volunteer crew flying a
restored W.W.II vintage DC-3 from Mesa, Arizona, to a new home in a
Dutch museum honoring those who fought for the liberation of the
Netherlands during the Big One. The site lacks the ever-burgeoning
corporate slickness found on the web these days, and in its place
offers a simple but engaging enthusiasm for the project. Daily
dispatches penned by Ron Kilber report on the flight and offer some
reflections on Jimmy Stewart, crop circles, the Dutch Resistance
during W.W.II, and the wonders of the pyramids as well.
<http://www.serve.com/essex/dc3.html>
PLUMBING THE DEPTHS OF SEARCH ENGINES
Search engines send out spiders, or hire human editors, or both, to keep
watch on the Web in order to make life online easier. Who watches search
engines? Why, Search Engine Watch, of course! This site has a neat guide
for Webmasters that is a nice site in itself. "Facts and Fun" gives
you an overview of search engines, history, and usage tips; if you
haven't gone off searching by then, you can test your knowledge with
a game. "Search Engine Status Report" has a chart that compares
performances of a search services from AltaVista to Yahoo, along
with a features chart and a monthly report. Reviews, tutorials, a
glossary, and links to articles and other "search-enginely" resources
make this a site to revisit and recommend to newbies and Net vets
alike. If you use search engines often, you may want to sign up for
the free mailing list.
<http://www.searchenginewatch.com>
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCKIN' ON HEAVEN'S DOOR
We're hard pressed to be deeply offended by the religious satire
of The Door. On the whole, it draws less blood than other sites
of its kind; it targets wider, willfully credulous groups with
none too savage satire and a certain amount of clucking bewilderment
rather than malice. If anything, there's a faint sadness to it
that demonstrative hooey wins such prominence while reflective
spiritual ethic earns so little respect. Still, we don't doubt
some people will be offended by the confessions of a Lemmings'
Gate survivor or the televangelist free video offer to new print
subscribers. Pseudoreligions get a bumpy ride, too; Roswell
celebrants crash and burn, and the horoscope practically chortles
the news that Mussolini and Kathie Lee Gifford are astrological
littermates.
<http://www.flash.net/~thedoor/>
Americans may exert great influence on the Asian world, but the
Eastern Standard Time site proves that the reverse is also true.
As the site notes, common wisdom used to say that "East and West
were as compatible as, say, ham and hot fudge. Of course, this wouldn't
be the first time that conventional wisdom was proven to be an utter crock"
Think about it - Asian food, Hong Kong movies, martial arts, Eastern fashion
and more are all alive and well in the good old US of A. The site is actually
based on a recent book by the same name and contains all sorts of interesting
sections. It explores not only the obvious influences but also more
obscure areas such as the cult of Hello Kitty, borrowed words, Cantopop
music, and even sex manuals. New articles are added to the site
monthly and intercultural trivia though it may be, it's entertaining
intercultural trivia.
<http://www.channelA.com/a>
&e/est/index.html
Got a paper to write or a class to teach but haven't the foggiest
about your subject? Don't even know which subject to choose?
Check out Study Web, a collection of "over 15,000 Research Quality
URLs". The Web doesn't get much easier to use than this. Each
study category (such as animals and pets, education, history,
literature, math, or music) has subcategories; each subcategory has
hotlinks to Web resources, and each hotlink has a ranking of
visual content, an approximation of grade level, and a brief
description to help you select a site that may have images, reports,
news, or other items for your research. Students without access to
this wonderful site will be at a disadvantage. It just isn't fair
to the adults among us who never had the Web when we were growing up!
If your kids -- or the other kids -- are running intellectual circles
around you, Study Web may have something to do with it. It's another
excellent reason to wire classrooms and public libraries.
<<http://www.studyweb.com>
>
WebRPG offers one stop shopping (and role playing) for serious RPGers.
You can download software for online role playing, register as a
player, check on events, conventions, and surveys, and, of course,
join a game or two (or more). Pretty straightforward, really.
<http://www.webrpg.com/>
FARMERS MARKETS FROM SUNNY CALIFORNIA
A site about Farmers Markets and the fruits and vegetables that they
sell. Articles are about the finer points of shopping at local open
air markets and interviews with chefs who share some of their favorite
finds. Also some unique ways of preparing common and uncommon produce.
There are new recipes, recipes from the past, and hints on how to
preserve fresh produce for use later. Also a great list of local
California markets and a listing of markets in other U.S. States.
Granted, that bit is not much use to our subscribers in Iceland,
but they will linger for the recipes. Keep those drool jars handy.
<http://marketreport.com/>
Which came first, the chip or the dip? You won't find the answer to
questions this profound at Salsa Central, but you will find just about
anything you could possibly want to know (or care) about salsa in all
its fiery manifestations. Recipes abound, as do suggestions for dousing
the oral infernos created by the unintentional ingestion of habanero
chiles (10 out of 10 on the Scoville Scale). Salsa sales and a
salsa-of-the-month club are available for those daring to go out in a
blaze of gustatory glory.
<http://www.salsacentral.com/>
"Beach Invaded by Models!" This headline was recently sighted,
beneath some in-your-face glamor photos of contestants in bikinis,
on the bright and slick Web site of Anguilla Local News, which
would seem to target young male surfers in fickle climes who dream
of adventure on distant isles in the tropics. But other vacationers,
as well as real-estate buyers and developers, are obviously welcome
to hang ten or twenty mil in this Caribbean hotbed. As you might
expect, the site is part travel guide and part brochure, with
plenty of hotel and resort listings, local news, a "weather report"
(with data over a month old, at last visit, but hey, mon, what's
the diff?), panoramic pix, testimonials from visitors with fond
memories, and a tempting profusion of hotlinks. Rest assured, when
the only curves in sight are mounds of snow and we curse our
northern exposure, we will surely surf here to bask in fantasy
and plan our conquest of sea and sand.
<http://news.ai/>
SPOTTING THE LAKE CHAMPLAIN MONSTER
Somewhere beneath the surface of North America's Lake Champlain, lives a
Loch Ness-like monster (or several) affectionately known as "Champ."
Read all about this alleged dinosaur/reptile, view photos of his wakes
and humps, and enjoy story after story. Are they all fish tales - or
even fish tails? We'll let you be the judge as you go with the
mysterious flow between Vermont, New York and Quebec.
<<http://www.together.net/~ultisrch>
>
This travel site is most interesting if you live in one of the 40
largest cities selected for inclusion in the their Farefinder airline
ticket rate search engine. Of course you also have to want to travel
to another of the same list of cities. You'll also find program notes
and info on their companion TV show, Travel Update. The TV pages have
good, brief articles on foreign and U.S. travel destinations, plus a
listing of the TV stations that carry the show.
<http://www.previewtravel.com/>
The maker of world's most popular mail client (we think) has just
released the Eudora Productivity Toolkit on CD-ROM. The toolkit
includes modules to PGP sign and encrypt your messages, a virus
scanner, a compression/archive utility, a file viewer which
lets you look at attachments in all sorts of oddball formats (like
Microsoft Word) directly from Eudora. A decent collection of
useful utilities nicely integrated with Eudora.
<http://www.eudora.com/eudorapro/toolkit/>
CANADIAN ENCRYPTION SOFTWARE AVAILABLE FOR TEST DRIVE
A Canadian company made news this week when it got an export permit
for a suite of strong encryption products, one of which is available
for a test drive at their site. This is unusual because Canada
generally is in sync with the U.S. on its crypto export policy,
and this software would probably not pass muster for U.S. export.
You can download their Entrust Solo personal encryption software
for Windows from this site. There is also a bunch of information
about the whole product family, though most is in Adobe PDF format.
This may be an alternative to ViaCrypt and PGP 5.0.
<http://www.entrust.com/>
Last week we called it alt.cult.movies, but we should have pointed you to the <alt.cult-movies> newsgroup. It's still there, still reasonably spam free.
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