I have admitted in this column before that I'm an info junkie! Unfortunately there is no 'Information Anonymous Agency' (IAA?) that I know of, so I have to suffer without a cure. It's a tough job thinking for a living. Don't you hate not knowing the answer to a question?
During my hours of surfing the Net I always keep my eyes open for sites that can quickly supply me with answers. This week I will share some of them with you. Ok, searching for the presence of extraterrestrials may not be so quick, or knowing the chocolate chip cookie was invented in 1933, or the LP record first appeared in 1948, isn't going to save the world, but it sure is fun and makes great small talk at boring parties!
Ask An Expert
http://k12.njin.net/curriculum/aska.html
Have you ever found yourself in need of an answer in a topic you are not particularly savvy with, but no one can help? Why not ask an expert? This Web page has several categories from science & technology to simple curiosity. Each category lists various Web sites that will answer your questions, usually via email, from experts in those disciplines. A great resource for kids and adults.
Did You Know?
http://www.didyouknow.com/
Did you know that the average person takes about 21Ž2 million steps in a year. A cow has no upper front teeth. Eating with a fork was once considered scandalous! These interesting tidbits and much more are available on the 'Did You Know' Web site. Fascinating facts and amazing stories is the sub title and it has several categories to choose from. Lots of interesting facts for stumping your friends.
InBox Weather
http://inbox.weather.com/
Is it snowing out? Would you like to get the latest weather forecast delivered to your email box? How about delivered to your cell phone? The Weather Channel has a great little free service that does just that. Sign up and have the weather delivered to your email three times a day. If your cell phone service has email capabilities you can have it sent right to your cell phone. The site is very slow in the sign up process.
The Home Page Finder
http://ahoy.cs.washington.edu:6060/
Looking for someone's personal homepage but don't know the address? This site searches the Web for the name of the person and gives you a listing of any Web site that contains it, and in addition provides a list of email addresses as well using the WhoWhere? and Internet Address services.
Finding ET!
http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/
Would you like to help me find ET? The SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) program searches the cosmos for radio signals that may come from civilizations other than our own Earth based ones. This enterprising group of researches have created a program (actually screen savor) to grab chunks of the massive amount of data their radio telescopes gather and help analyze it on your home computer when you are idle.
The screen savor goes into action and analyzes the data sending it back when it's done and picking up another chunk.
I have created a team (go to groups, under clubs) called Rittner's SkyWatchers. So grab the software and join our team so we can be the first to find that first welcome message from another civilization. We have analyzed more than 70% of the rest of the participants so far!
E-Conflict World Encyclopedia
http://www.emulateme.com/
Want to know about countries and their anthems, flags, maps, history, weather, geography, government and economic Information. The sub title of this site is "Eradicate Conflict by Increasing Cultural Awareness." A very good idea. This reminds me of a Rand World Atlas, only in electronic form.
Encyclopedia Smithsonian
http://www.si.edu/resource/faq/
Ever wonder just how extensive the holdings are at the Smithsonian? This is an alphabetical listing of all topics and holdings with links to their resources. What you will find here is a massive amount of information on topics ranging from Aeronautics to Zoology.
I remember visiting the Air & Space Museum years ago and viewing the Apollo 7 space capsule. I was impressed to see that cramped behind the seats all the wires were bundled together and held by Scotch tape. Now that is a confidence builder! If you are looking for a place to spend a week of vacation, go to the Smithsonian. There is a local connection too. The first director of the Smithsonian was Albany scientist Joseph Henry.
Information Please
http://www.infoplease.com/
This is another great database of information that contains a searchable encyclopedia, dictionary and number of almanacs covering almost every conceivable subject area. You can search the entire site or a specific database. They have a kids almanac that is great for homework study.
Are you Inside the Net? Read Don's column here every Monday to stay in the link. Contact Don at drittner@aol.com.