Web Tips #3



*1. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BUDGET SURPLUS?            
            
May 7th, 1999            
            
Nothing happened--it's just that, as the creators of the U.S. 
National Debt Clock tell us, the surplus isn't stopping our 
national debt from growing at an average rate of $289 MILLION 
PER DAY! Once you get past the shock--if you still have the 
ability to be shocked by Washington goings-on--take this site's 
links to all kinds of other topics, including our favorite, a 
page that "does a great job of explaining why a $5 trillion 
debt is a bad thing." Is this something that really needs 
to be explained? 

http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/


*2. GO SOMEPLACE ELSE FOR NEWS            
            
May 10th, 1999            
            
WebActive bills itself as an "alternative news source." In these
days of about a million cable and cable-Web news outlets, this 
isn't exactly a differentiating claim. Still, WebActive does 
provide access to news outlets not likely to be foremost in your 
mind: The Nation, Pacifica Network News, and Democracy Now, for 
example. Our favorite was the not-so-alternative Hightower Radio 
section, where you can listen to RealAudio rebroadcasts of 
cheerily sarcastic Jim Hightower's two-minute muckraking radio 
spots (he's like Paul Harvey, with more bite and less 
voice trouble). 

http://www.webactive.com


*3. BECAUSE READING IS BROADENING            
            
May 12th, 1999            
            
Sure, you've got time to go to the library--right after you get 
off work, get dinner together, put the kids to bed, mow the 
lawn, spend some time with your significant other . . . 

Here's an idea: Squeeze in some reading while you surf the Web. 
NetLibrary offers a free collection of more than 1,000 public 
domain eBooks--many supplied by the Gutenberg Project reviewed 
here previously but in an easier-to-read format. You have to 
register for access to ALL the titles, but every month you can 
choose from several featured titles without registering. 

http://www.netlibrary.com/free.asp


*4. REMEMBER WHEN . . .            
            
May 11th, 1999            
            
"And so we beat on, boats against the current, borne ceaselessly
into the past." When Fitzgerald penned this last line to "The 
Great Gatsby," he scarcely could have imagined Pop History Now, 
the Web site that indulges your irresistible urge to be borne 
ceaselessly into your youth. Every day this site delivers the 
chart toppers and big news of the current week in a past year. 
That's five years covered per week, for you nonmath majors. 
Visit daily, and you'll experience more than a few "where was I 
then?" recollections. And who can have too many of those? 

http://www.pophistorynow.com


*5. EAVESDROP, WITH PERMISSION            
            
May 13th, 1999            
            
Every time a company is about to announce earnings--or something
else that will affect its stock price--it passes on the news to 
investment analysts via a conference call. Wouldn't it be great 
if you, the private investor, had access to these calls? 
BestCalls.com wants to give you that access. It tracks upcoming 
conference calls (and tracks them specifically based on your 
criteria, if you like) and lets you know how you can either 1) 
participate directly in the calls (as some companies allow) or 
2) get a transcript/recording of the call within hours after 
it's finished. We're not exactly investment enthusiasts here, 
but if we were, we'd be all over this. 

http://www.bestcalls.com


*6. HOW GOOD AN IDEA IS *THIS*?            
            
May 21st, 1999            
            
Sick of commuting? Maybe you need to look at it from a different
perspective--specifically, from behind a set of handlebars. 
BiketoWork.com is a complete guide to riding your bike to 
work--the equipment you'll need, the benefits, the need for 
employer support (you may not want to try this, for example, if 
your company hasn't installed an in-office shower), and the 
potential hazards (such as bees flying in your mouth or up your 
pants). This is truly a site--actually, an idea--that could 
change your life in many ways. 

http://www.biketowork.com


*7. GIVE IT TO ME STRAIGHT
            
May 24th, 1999
            
Find SVP will find it--for a minimum of $500. Lest you get 
suspicious, this is no fly-by-night, freshly minted make-a-buck 
Web enterprise: These folks have been conducting business and 
market research since 1969 and are publicly traded on NASDAQ. 
Fill in a form and ask your question, and they'll tell you how 
much of an answer they can provide and what that answer will 
cost. You can't get more up front than that. 

http://www.findsvp.com


*8. 3,001,000 YEARS OF HISTORY, AT THE TIP OF YOUR MOUSE POINTER            
            
May 25th, 1999            
            
The Timeline of the Entire History of the World is slightly 
misnamed; it actually only covers from 3,000,000 B.C. through 
1000 A.D. But unless you slept through history class (your 
mother TOLD you to pay attention), you should know the rest. 
Read this entire timeline at once or try the subtimelines 
categorized by regions or civilizations. You can learn a lot 
here--and even more if you use these timelines as launching 
points for further reading and research. 

http://personal.jax.bellsouth.net/jax/t/m/tmlove2/


*9. WHY DO WE SAY THESE THINGS?            
            
May 26th, 1999            
            
"The Clink." "Minding your P's and Q's." "The short end of the 
stick." "The whole ball of wax." Where do these idioms--or some 
might say, idiocies--come from? Olde English, it turns out--at 
least according to the folks at Ye Olde English Sayings, at 

http://www.rootsweb.com/~genepool/sayings.htm 

Learn, debate, and even submit the origin of hundreds of blurbs 
you toss off daily without a thought. And find out why we owe 
so much of our jargon to that greatest of social institutions, 
the English pub.


*10. I'M LOOKING FOR A SEVEN-LETTER WORD FOR . . .            
            
May 27th, 1999            
            
Having trouble finishing that crossword, jumble, or cryptic 
crossword? The final answers you need are no further than The 
Jumble and Crossword Solver, at 

http://ull.chemistry.uakron.edu/cbower/jumble.html 

Type your scrambled or partial word into the blank and click a 
button; in a few seconds (actually, a slower Internet connection 
might take more than a few seconds), you have at least one--and 
usually several--alternative solution words. Each solution word 
is linked to its definition in Webster's Online Dictionary, so 
you can be sure you're choosing the word with the correct 
meaning. All that remains is to find a way to claim that YOU 
solved the puzzle, when in fact your computer did.
