Intelligent Business Results

FexIt allows a user to perform various business related searches Whether you're looking for info on brand building or global marketing this site has links for you. In addition to searching it has a business directory containing over 280,000 selected websites. There's an Acronym and Term Search tool as well.

Searchable Documents

The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 is the subject of an free AskSam version of the act. It is simply a searchable version of the document. Other documents are also available: Patriot Act, 9-11 Commission Report, Debate transcripts from 2004 election, and many more. I didn't find any particular bias. It appears to simply provide the actual text for use by reporters, historians, and political analysts.

Here is what the site says about itself:
"The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act is the most dramatic reform of U.S. intelligence capabilities since the National Security Act of 1947. We've imported the complete legislative text into a searchable askSam database file.

"Use the free askSam Viewer or the askSam free-form database to browse, search, and analyze the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act on your computer (Windows PCs only).

"We hope this will help researchers, political analysts, journalists, academics, and others. Enjoy - and please let us know if there are other files you'd like to see in searchable askSam database. "

Coffee Forever

I am not a coffee drinker myself, but if I worshipped at the coffee maker like many do, I would want INeedCoffee to appear in my favorites list. Everything here relates to coffee. Coffee news, coffee history, coffee recipes, coffee cartoons and much more.

The Internet Guy. He's Incredible.

He bills himself as the Incredible Internet Guy and his site is interesting. Each week Ken Leebow puts together a list of 10 websites that focus on a particular topic. This week the topic is Google. Previous topics include: Digital Photography, Stopping Spam, Identity Theft, Online Dating and more. Find these listings by viewing the archives.

More New Goggle Stuff

Google keeps coming up with new stuff. And when Google doesn't come up with something new, someone else finds a new way to access and use Google.

GOOGLE VIDEO SEARCH
This is a fairly new feature currently in Beta testing. Simply type in a quote from a recent television program and retrieve a still from the scene and show the quote came from. The more unique the phrase, the smaller the number of hits. For example "Leaping Lizards, Batman" will find a more specific hit then "Are you sure" which is a common phrase and will show many hits. The search tool shows only stills, video files may be available in the future.

GOOGLEFONE
This site is not officially connected to Google. The function is simple. Type the name and city of someone you are seeking and it sends the info in proper format to Google which finds the address, phone number, and even maps to your destination. You start with GoggleFone and the results show up in Google.

Just Put Your Lips Together and Blow

The above line was spoken by Lauren Bacall in the movie "To Have and Have Not." Of course the reference was to the ability to whistle. At the Online Guide to Whistling Records you can find a whole lot of folk that know how to whistle. Not only can you find biographies of famous whistlers but also dozens of MP3 files of those whistlers.

Fred Lowery was one of the most famous of these and as a high school student he performed at my school. He was absolutely amazing. His grand finale was to whistle the William Tell Overture. Yes, the section they used for the Lone Ranger. Try it and see how far you get.

There's listings of recordings and in some cases where you can obtain them, although in most cases they can only be had as collector's items on old 78s. Listen to a couple of these recordings. You'll be impressed.

Google Goes Mobile

First, let me state that I am not a cell phone user. Does this really work the way it's supposed to? I don't know. But here's the blurb from Google about SMS (Short Message Service).

"Google SMS (Short Message Service) enables you to easily get precise answers to specialized queries from your mobile phone or device. Send your query as a text message and get phone book listings, dictionary definitions, product prices and more. Just text. No links. No web pages. Simply the answers you're looking to find."

Google Extreme

If you want to make Google even better, learn more about it at Google Links.

"Some of the best Google links for learning about all things Google as rated by webmasters. One of the members at Cre8asite Forums, projectphp, have put together an excellent list of links that pertain to many Google related sections. It was followed up with some other good lists. From whitepaper to patents to Froogle to Adwords, a lot of it is here."

What's the Password?

Are your passwords all starting to look alike? Are you running out of relatives, birthdates, pet names, and other terrible passwords? Well now you have the Random Password Generator. You can get passwords that use upper/lower case and numbers, upper/lowercase/numbers and punctuation, or even encrypted passwords. Now how you remember them? That's up to you.

Up...Down...and Around

That's right. We're talking roller coaster. At Funderstanding Roller Coaster not only do you see the roller coaster but you design it. You create the height of the hills. You determine the mass of the coaster. All aspects of the design are yours. Does your roller coaster deliver thrills or does it run off the track and crash. Could be interesting for engineering or physics classes...or just for fun.

Someone Was There--And They Wrote it Down

What was it like during the Civil War? What made the great and brave George Washington tremble? What was considered proper dining etiquette when feasting with Genghis Khan? Find out from people who were there at EyeWitness to History. This collection of first person accounts from people who were at the assassination of Julius Caesar, the Salem Witch Trials, and lots more.

WebCams from Around the World

When you're in Chicago and the snow is falling it's nice to fantasize about the beach at Acapulco. Wouldn't it be nice to see the beach as well?. Well at EarthCam you can visit Acapulco and hundreds of other sites around the world. EarthCam is a database of webcam links. Beaches are very popular but there are streets, resorts, cities, mountains, tourist attractions and more. Hundreds of live webcams are listed here. Many of the cams have 10 seconds refresh rates which may be a problem if you are using a dial-up connection.

Civil War--Where

For Civil War buffs, there seems to be nothing better than to discuss battles, reenact battles, or discuss strategies. Now, thanks to the Library of Congress, you can get Civil War Maps that show exactly where the battles took place and the strategies that went with them.

"Civil War Maps brings together materials from three premier collections: the Library of Congress Geography and Map Division, the Virginia Historical Society, and the Library of Virginia. Among the reconnaissance, sketch, and theater-of-war maps are the detailed battle maps made by Major Jedediah Hotchkiss for Generals Lee and Jackson, General Sherman’s Southern military campaigns, and maps taken from diaries, scrapbooks, and manuscripts—all available for the first time in one place."

The sites not totally finished but additional maps are being added all the time.

The Traveler's Search Engine

That's how SideStep bills itself. According to Smart Money magazine: "SideStep blew away the competition for airfares." And The Washington Post says, SideStep often trumps Expedia and Travelocity, especially for last-minute trips." I'm not a big traveler but the reviews seem to be pretty good. Give it a try.

Just What I Need Right Now

For those not from Chicago let me tell you about our seasons. We have only two--Winter and Road Construction. Right now we're in the middle of Winter. It's January and we've had days close to 60 and others below zero. And there's been snow. I even fell in the snow yesterday. So is it any wonder that we include All About Snow in this blog?

At this site you can find answers to FAQs about snow. Do you know what graupal means? Or the difference between a blizzard and a squall? You'll also find FAQs about avalanches. Like I said everything you want to know about snow is here--even snow removal.

Pharmaceutical Bargain Hunting

At Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs you don't necessarily get the best price available for your particular drug. What you do get however is information concerning alternatives or substitutes for higher priced drugs. The site is sponsored by Consumer Union, which publishes Consumer Reports. It's a well-trusted and tested group. Visit the site. See what they have to say and then talk with your doctor before making any changes.

Burt's Place

When you think celebrity museum, most folks think Elvis Presley, maybe Frank Sinatra. But who would think Burt Reynolds? I wouldn't. I've always enjoyed his films but never realized some of the awards and things he has done. The press covers all the exotic and sex scandal stuff but the museum focuses on his body of work in entertainment and the other involvements he has. The Burt Reynolds Museum is in Florida but you can take a little visit online as well.

The Ultimate Fake Band List

A short time ago, I posted a link to the Bohemian Opera, a database of all classical music used in major motion pictures and television programs. Now we have Rocklopedia Fakebandica. It is another music database. This consists of fake bands or performers in movies and television. In other words you go to a movie and in that movie there is a band playing or a singer performing. They are not using their real name, and may not actually be performing the music, but a name is given to them. You want to find out more about this non-group of musicians so you go to Rocklopedia Fakebandica. The book also covers "created" bands such as the Partridge Family, Monkees, and others.

Atomic Veterans

The Atomic Veterans History Project (AVHP) covers the history, stories, and photos of armed service personnel and their experiences with the development of atomic weapons. The site is billed as commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Military Participation in Operation Teapot. For some truly amazing stories and photos you must visit this site. The AVHP is also looking for stories from others who participated during this time.

Illinois Weslyan Database

Illinois Wesleyan University is now making available the Argus Digital Collection. It is the University's student newspaper and has been in existence from 1894. All issue are available. Indexed terms only cover 1965-2003. I don't know if they plan to extend the index back any further. Could be an interesting source for genealogists or just tripping the light fantastic remembering those bright college days if you're an alum.

You Could Be a Winner

There's a new search engine out there. It's called Blingo. It takes the idea of the old IWon search engine with one minor twist. You don't have to register. Every time you do a search Blingo does whatever random chance thing it does and determines if you're a winner. I've only tried it a couple times and as a search engine it's not too bad. As far as winning anything...well I'm still waiting for a winning notice to pop up on the screen. Good searching and good luck!

History of GUI

I still remember my first encounter with the Mac OS back in 1986 (2 years after the Mac was introduced). It was a strange new way of giving instructions to the computer. Why would anyone want to use multiple choice lists, pull-down menus, and icons when they could simply type a run command? Well, once again, I was proven old-fashioned. Almost everyone is using some form of graphical user interface. Guidebook: Graphical User Interface Gallery covers the history of this phenomena with timelines, descriptions, and even screenshots of early GUIs.

Comment: The reason I said "almost everyone" above is that about 2 weeks ago I received a phone call from a former student who needed information about MSDOS. He never could understand what all the Windows/Mac fuss was about. And yes, we did answer his question and solved the problem in the old text interface fashion. Moral of the story: If it still works, it ain't obsolete.

Books Online

The Internet Text Archive is a link to various book archives like Project Gutenberg and the Million Book Project. There are other archives as well. It's not only books but various archives include periodicals, papers and journals.

World War I in Newspaper Photos

"The images in this collection [Newspaper Pictorials] track American sentiment about the war in Europe, week by week, before and after the United States became involved. Events of the war are detailed alongside society news and advertisements touting products of the day, creating a pictorial record of both the war effort and life at home. The collection includes an illustrated history of World War I selected from newspaper rotogravure sections that graphically documents the people, places, and events important to the war."