Jumbo Links 1999

Some people I like have Web pages. Some people have Web pages I like. This is a small, noninclusive, highly arbitrary selection.

In the olden days, I tried to set up a links page that included all the fun things I'd ever seen on the Net. The Net quickly grew past my ability to keep the page up to date. Also, better-equipped, professional outfits (think: Yahoo) took up the task in a much more exhaustive way. So now I just link a few curiosities, rather than the whole compendium. Here, then, are a few gumdrops, not the whole candy store.

• When you make plywood, you quickly learn that glue is thicker than water.
• Good thoughts. Good words. Good actions. HTML that’s not so bad either. Some Java you could call interesting. Forest pictures that approximately conform to the Isis RFC. And did I mention a Buddhist temple? You can find all these things on one site, but it’s Miles from here.
• Chris Mathers, who's more than capable of instigating his own brand of trouble, spent some time and effort developing a great site dedicated to pictures of his trip last year to Botswana. I was really impressed with the outcome. His talents are available for hire, by the way.
• Chris also put up a whole mess of pictures of his and his wife Vreni's wedding. Some album! You'll find a few in there that also include another old friend, Willem, whose fault it all apparently is.
• Sally Merriman, who introduced me to Frank Zappa’s opinions about bassoons, shows that it’s not how much HTML you know, but how you use it.

• If your experiences with humans haven't completely dashed your faith in the principle that there must be other intelligent life in the universe, you can use your computer to help in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). This is a really cool project, and by tapping the potential of volunteer computers when they're idle, the folks who put together SETI@home have inadvertently created the world's largest supercomputer (as of September 19, 1999, more than 1.2 million people had signed up to help).

• Putting a little starch back in the Web, a percussionist explains the difference between drums and musical instruments.
• The drummer offers a responsible opposing viewpoint.
• Tam Gray, a colleague, set up a site called Senior Women Web. Her idea: older women, who are coming online in droves, don't have any hub sites dedicated to their special interests. Now they do.
• Tam's daughter put together another intriguing resource, Wing of Madness, disseminating information about clinical depression.
• Darkle, darkle. Hey, your nose is on fire!
• The folks who organize Punkin Chunkin every year finally seem to have stabilized around a permanent Web address.
• Are you hungry? Someone out there is. Help feed them.
• People send me pictures. Here are a few.

Latest update: Monday, December 20, 1999