Additional
Articles for Sept./Oct. 2004 Issue
Web Sites of the Month:
www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/winrg.php
With so much election controversy and angst going
about, we thought perhaps we could all use a break. Therefore this month’s
web sites are unproductive except in a regenerative fashion. In other
words they are simply enjoyable and entertaining.
Those of you who use any version of Windows will immediately recognize
both the veracity and brilliance of this Windows RG release from albinoblacksheep. “RG”,
by the way, stands for “Really Good Edition.” Those of you
who have taken the road less traveled and managed to avoid Windows will
understand why you took that road and thank your lucky stars for having
heeded the more distant drummer.
You will find that the program is just as intuitive and user friendly
as the earlier versions of Windows. Our favorite is Word, but you will
probably discover others which are just as mind-boggling.
Our thanks to Joy Metcalf of Hypnogenics in Belfast who called our attention
to Windows RG The site will provide you with a pretty good understanding
of what it feels like to be a worm on sandpaper in a psychology lab— almost
like running a PC with Windows.
www.snopes.com
We have yet to decide why this site is called Snopes and wonder if it
has anything to do with the family described at such length by William
Faulkner. Snopes is THE place to go to investigate urban legends. The
site lists a huge variety of topics starting with: Autos, Business,
Cokelore, running through Disney, Food, and Glurge (“Think of it as chicken soup with several cups of sugar mixed
in...the sending of inspirational (often supposedly ‘true’) tales
that conceal much darker meanings than the uplifting moral lessons they purport
to offer, and that undermine their messages by fabricating and distorting historical
fact in the guise of offering a ‘true story.’ “). The catalog
concludes with Wedding, Wooden Spoons, and Rumors of War. And there’s lots
to be gleaned in between.
In “Quotes,” the Snopes researchers disprove the Internet story about
Neil Armstrong and Mr. Gorsky. And under the heading of Science, Snopes refutes
the claim that Nobel didn’t institute a prize for mathematics because his
wife was having an affair with a mathematician. Snopes points out that Nobel
was never married.
www.urbanlegens.com also shines the light of truth on these myths of our times,
but Snopes seems to us better organized. Both sites, however, will provide you
with great cocktail party conversation.
www.theadvocates.org/quiz.html
Finally, for those who are hooked on politics and will not be diverted by our
proffered entertainments, this site created by Advocates for Self-Government
offers “The World’s Smallest Political Quiz.” We offer
it without comment.
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