(990901) Medical Antiques
Fort Myers, Florida, USA
Watertown, New York, USA
The Medical Antiques site features museum quality instruments and sets dating back to the 1700s with an emphasis on Dentistry (Echols) and Surgery (Arbittier). American Civil War era items bring the collection up to 1900. An amazing collection which will prove interesting to collectors, historians, students and even individuals involved in the fields of motion pictures and television. The science of Medicine has come a long way from the days when visiting the Saw Bones in town was a literal experience, a visit to Medical Antiques will leave no doubt about that. Long-time Site du Jour of the Day readers might remember Michael Echols' AntiqueLures () (SdJotD 970329), and the fishing objects on display at the site. Pointers, educational information, sharp photographs, and additional comments from both doctors make Medical Antiques a must see. (Back to top of page)
(990902) Igor I. Sikorsky Historical Archives,
Igor I. Sikorsky Historical Archives, Inc.
Stratford, Connecticut, USA
This year marks the 90th anniversary of the construction of the Sikorsky Helicopter. Next year will be the 90th anniversary of Igor I. Sikorsky's first flight. As an Aviation pioneer, Igor I. Sikorsky was responsible for numerous inventions and innovations, originally in Russia and then in the United States. Supported by Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, Igor I. Sikorsky went on to found the Sikorsky Aero Engineering Corporation and created a string of "firsts" which remain impressive to this day. The Igor I. Sikorsky Historical Archives, Inc. preserve the history of the man and the research he conducted. This site is full of photographs and articles, among them are gems like the following.
Aerodynamics & Curve Balls ()
"For over a century baseball fans have debated the question of whether a 'curve ball does in fact curve'. Only rarely has there been objective scientific testing in order to verify what is so obviously the appearance of a curve.
Igor Sikorsky's interest had stemmed from a phone call he received from United Aircraft's Lauren (Deac) Lyman who over lunch with Walter Neff of United Airlines, had discussed the question of the trajectory of a baseball.
Mr. Sikorsky, who has a wind tunnel, called his engineers together presenting the problem as follows: 'Here we have a solid sphere, moving rapidly in space and rotating on a vertical axis. You see? the object is to elude the man with the stick'. It should be noted that baseball was a rather foreign endeavor to Mr. Sikorsky "
Yesterday's look at the Igor I. Sikorsky Historical Archives, Inc. () (SdJotD 990902) generated an unusual amount of interest from Site du Jour of the Day readers in the way of messages back commenting on the site and requesting more like it. Back on the first of April, a reader in New Brunswick, Canada suggested both sites featured in this episode. Mike wrote, "I've had a lifelong interest in all things aviation-related, having grown up under the approach to runway 28-right at Heathrow airport, and find some of the grinding detail in the accident reports at this site quite fascinating (particularly the one on PanAm 103)." He went on to explain that there was no particular morbid curiosity, " just admiration for the work done by air accident investigators everywhere." Most research done in the field of Aviation takes place before a craft is even put into production, much less into the air. On occasion though, the design flaws go undetected for years and then there is a higher cost paid than simply metal. Government agencies have been established to investigate these events, providing an unbiased account of how and why such disasters occur. Retrofits and design modifications become the direct results of these findings and more importantly, help to prevent the loss of additional lives and property. These two sites each contain detailed accounts and findings investigations in the United Kingdom and Canada in addition to statistics on air travel safety. The Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board looks at Marine, Pipeline, Rail "transportation occurrences" as well. Never before has so much information about this subject been so readily available, and if you have ever wondered how these studies are conducted have a look. (Back to top of page)
Grammy and Dan
Prince George, British Columbia, Canada
What initially attracted me to this site was my own cynicism the title alone has the makings of a future daycare center news story. The description I read was "Interactive stories about Smokey the guinea pig for young children". As it happens, there are currently two very short adventures here, only one stars Smokey, but the artwork begs to be seen. Raw artistic talent and an opportunity for visitors to suggest ideas for Smokey's next adventure. An odd site which has tremendous potential. (Back to top of page)
(990905) KidPub WWW Publishing
Pepperell, Massachusetts, USA
KidPub has over 30,000 stories and poems written by children from around the world. Originally started for Perry Donham's daughter, KidPub has grown to include submissions from other children and even entire schools. With KidPub Schools, creative writing assignments are shared on a global level with family members, other students and anyone else who might be interested in developing talent. A completely non-commercial site, KidPub WWW Publishing does not print books, this is the extent of the empire. Ideal for teachers and parents interested in getting children involved in writing, the site has suggestions for story submissions and also hosts a section called KidPub KeyPals for finding PenPals. With all of the adult themed material available out there it's nice to find a safe site like this where kids can be kids. (Back to top of page)
(990906) The History of Labor Day
a part of
United States Department of Labor
United States Department of Labor
Washington, District of Columbia, USA
Basically established to display "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" in the US, Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday in September and has become the last big hurrah of summer in Northern Industrial cities. The three day weekend is spent outdoors, visiting with family and friends or used to pad out August vacations by a few days. The History of Labor Day page looks at the 1882 origins of the holiday, and the huge United States Department of Labor site provides a wealth of information for both labor and management. (Back to top of page)
Le Navire du Jour
A fresh photograph or illustration of a different ship every day. Often, not much is known about a particular craft so requests are made to visitors who might be able to provide additional information. Submissions of photographs are always welcome too. This page is in both French and English language versions and is connected to La Mailing-List "Marine-Marchande" () which should also prove interesting to Maritime buffs. (Back to top of page)
(990908) The Pan Page - a forum for the
steel pan instrument
Toucans Steel Drum Band
Seattle, Washington, USA
Basil Stetson wrote in about the MIDI version of Under The Sea played at Ship of the Day-Le Navire du Jour (http://www.altern.org/jeg/journalier.htm) (SdJotD 990907) as featured in yesterday's episode. Basil commented that he had " been meaning to check out steel drums for a while. These are extraordinary instruments and they always spark the desire for an immediate trip to the Caribbean." and suggested two sites, one of them a page titled Where to buy a Steel Drum, A limited resource guide Provided by the Toucans () at the Toucans' site.
Steel Drums were originally created from discarded oil drums in the 1940s in Trinidad and quickly spread throughout the Tropics, and eventually the world. Steel Drums have indeed spread, as evidenced by The Pan Page - a forum for the steel pan instrument is based in Stockholm, Sweden. This particular site contains news and pointers galore for and about the Steel Pan Community. The Toucans, when they aren't busy politely talking to lawyers from the Kellogg Company () about Toucan Sam (), entertain audiences in Washington State as they have for over a decade. Their site has all sorts of fun stuff about the band as well as musical samples, pictures and a section outlining an educational program that children of all ages apparently enjoy. For even more Steel Drum music, be sure to look at MP3.com > World/Folk > Steel Drums (). (Back to top of page)
Ontario, California, USA
Every time I look at this site I'm reminded of the classic story, true or not, about the individuals who sued the Xerox Corporation () because the platen of a copier the company manufactured broke while the same individuals were making photocopies of their back sides. Broken glass can cut tender body parts. This is especially true when a machine is not used for its intended purpose. CliffyB's caT sCan conTesT is a every so often competition and display of scanners with cats on them. Quite obviously another example of "not the intended purpose" at work. The results are often interesting, and with the hate mail CliffyB gets, not everyone feels the same way.
**If you feel that images of cats on scanners or strong language used as punctuation will get you down, do not visit this site.**
On the other hand, contest entries are never accepted if the animal(s) look like they are in any kind of pain. In short if you are so inclined to try this with a cat or any other living thing, do not force the animal to play along! It's cruel and unusual. Read the tips and tricks, notice that CliffyB does not advocate hurting the cats and has even scanned himself to "feel their pain". Suggested by two different readers just days apart from each other, CliffyB's caT sCan conTesT presents an entertaining look at what some cats and their owners will do for fun and prizes. When you are done here, and don't forget to read some of the articulate hate mail, visit CliffyB's next project, Tales From The Hellmouth (http://www.hellmouth.org/) for "an ongoing expose on peer and administrator abuse in the public school system". It looks at how life in school has changed since the olden days, and may help parents to come to grips with what Junior has to deal with when he's not wrecking dad's brand new $65 scanner.. (Back to top of page)
(990910) Vudu Cafe
Queenstown, New Zealand
With their Vudu Cam running live from 8am to 6pm, New Zealand Time, chances are you'll be able to see the Queenstown "In-Crowd" out being seen. The Vudu Cafe is a relatively isolated coffee joint, but they seem to be generating quite an international reputation. The Vudu Cam is updated more frequently than any other part of this site with the exception of the chat part. Fresh news and still images would make for a nice change here, but if you've never been to the Vudu Cafe site before it probably won't matter much anyway. A nice example of technology and advertising working well together. (Back to top of page)
Galt Technology, Inc
Acton, Massachusetts, USA
Along with faster computers and bigger monitors, the pleasure of working with our machines is enhanced by the ability to customize the appearance of the operating systems we use. Windows98 for example, allows for Desktop Themes packages which let users put up different wallpaper, modify cursors and change sounds. ThemeHeaven from Galt Technology, Inc () houses over 4,000 different themes, all available for free download. Their selection of wallpaper and screen saver files is extensive as well. Visitors will find themes for almost every interest, from animals to video games. Several utilities are also available for rotating wallpaper images and even creating your own themes. There is plenty to discover at the Galt Technology, Inc site and the best part is in that most of it is free. (Back to top of page)
Tabloid News Services, Inc.
San Francisco, California, USA
TABLOID is a collection of news stories, editorials and regular columns all looking at the unfortunate, and sometimes ugly side of the news. With the mainstream news outlets more concerned with happy pieces, a lot of the details presented in these accounts would often go unreported otherwise. The opinion angle of this material can be somewhat heavy handed at times, but as Ben Franklin once said "The freedom of the press belongs to those who own one". The outstanding feature of TABLOID, both at this site and in the e-mail version (http://tabloid.net/info/email.html) is best described by a quote from the site, "TABLOID resurrects the lost art of real tabloid newspapers. This Internet news service has nothing in common with the supermarket weekly papers and their silly tales of celebrities and miracle diets. TABLOID exists to shock and enlighten readers with the horrors, follies, frauds, heroes and villains of the real world -- and to amuse and educate with true reports of bizarre people, weird events and odd science." Read all about it! (Back to top of page)
George Washington University
Washington District of Columbia, USA
Price's List of Lists is a fantastic resource for researching many things. Hundreds of pointers to diverse lists include the Top 50 Upholstery Manufacturers (udm) (), Top Metro Areas for Woman Owned Businesses (National Foundation for Women Business Owners) (http://www.womenconnect.com/LinkTo/jun2999_nfwbo_rptBIZ.htm), International Standardizing Bodies (), Worlds Busiest Airports (Airports Council International) (), to name just a few. Categories include Education, Entertainment Related Lists, Living, Politics, Science, and Odds & Ends You'll probably want to bookmark this site, it's full of items that will bring you back again and again. (Back to top of page)
a service of
BreastCancerInfo.com from the Komen Foundation
The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
Dallas, Texas, USA
Since its beginning in 1982, The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation has help to raise over $90 million for breast cancer research, screening, treatment and awareness in the US. Part of the awareness campaign has been programs like the Breast Self-Exam Shower Card. This water-proof card is designed to hang in the shower and acts as a reminder and instructional guide for self-examination. Printed on one side with English language instructions, and on the other in Spanish The card will be sent to you free of charge if you e-mail your name and full address to (email@example.com). The cards can also be ordered in quantities of 250 for $68.50. Additional assistance can be found by dialing the foundation's toll-free number in the US, 1-800 I'M AWARE (1-800-462-9273) from 9am to 4:30pm Central Standard Time. Available Monday through Friday, the 1-800 I'M AWARE Helpline has TDD available and certain volunteers habla español. (Back to top of page)
(990915) The National Inline BasketBall
NIBBL Properties, Inc.
New York, New York, USA
As I get older, something comes along every so often to remind me that I have quite a bit left to see in life. Things do not surprise me with the same regularity they once did, but it does still happen. When Site du Jour of the Day reader John Hoh suggested this site I knew I had to take a look. John wrote a single line with the URL, "Thought you might enjoy this site". He was right. The National Inline BasketBall League is the work of USA Basketball Olympic gold medalist and former NBA pro Tom LaGarde and ultimately, 10 teams playing in New York. The original idea and game in late1992 have led to The Junior Inline Basketball League, the Organizacao Inline Basqetebol de Setubal in Portugal, the Dutch Roller and Inline Basketball League (DRIBBL), and even the French have adopted the game. World Championship games are played every year in October and as the season heats up only the best teams will be left standing. Visit the site for rules, history, scores and pictures of the league. There is even a schedule of games if you should be in New York City now through mid-October. This is Major League Basketball on skates fast games, high scores and big fun. What will they think of next? (Back to top of page)
The Citizen's Self-Arrest Form is just one section of The Police Notebook (http://www.ou.edu/oupd/), an extensive public service and safety site operated by the University of Oklahoma. The idea is simple enough if you were to see someone committing a heinous crime you would stop them if at all possible and wait for a peace officer to arrive on the scene. What to do if the law breaker is yourself? Fill out the The Citizen's Self-Arrest Form and wait right where you are for the man to come and get you. As the page points out, it's a great way for communities and agencies to save money and clean up the streets at the same time. One is left wondering how many confessions the University of Oklahoma has actually received as a result of this attraction. The rest of The Police Notebook has useful information about crime prevention and safety, both on the OU campus and around the world. Even though this is a very popular site you may not have seen it yet and a visit is recommended. Thanks to Bjork for the suggestion. (Back t\
Like the vinyl phonograph picture disks of days gone by, The AVO-Card® takes digital playback media to the next level. You may have already seen these Compact Disc business cards if you have any contact with multi-level marketing professional or receive a lot of promotional material. Holding less than a standard CD-ROM, these specially shaped discs were introduced by AVOMEDIA GmbH, Switzerland () a few years ago and have become quite popular. Hundreds of people are now "Authorized Agents," acting as nothing more than media brokers for companies manufacturing CDs in custom shapes and sizes, but if you are interested in this item as a premium the best bet is to go right to the source. If you haven't seen these novelties yet have a look at both sites. If someone offers you one, go ahead and take it. When they ask for it back the next day explain how cute you thought it was and tell them that you would like to keep it. Somebody further up their MLM food chain will thank you. Priced at anywhere from $3 to $15 each this is an expensive but highly effective premium. (Back to top of page)
(990919) Sales Horror Stories
Sales Autopsy, Inc.
Streamwood, Illinois, USA
Sales Horror Stories is a wonderful collection of sales stories exploring the ones that got away. Either through bad timing and/or lack of skill, most sales calls go cold as anyone who has ever sold things knows. Some of these stories will leave you wondering "what exactly made you pick sales as a profession?" yet others may be food for thought. Updated on a monthly basis and also available by e-mail, Sales Horror Stories is a service of Sales Autopsy, Inc., a training and consulting firm. Read tales others have submitted and maybe share your own. (Back to top of page)
(990920) Postmark Collectors Club
Postmark Collectors Club
Norfolk, Virginia, USA
An affiliate of the American Philatelic Society, the Postmark Collectors Club has members who are more concerned with where a stamp has been than where it is going. The site states that there are over 35,000 named Post Offices in the US, and visitors can order the Post Office Directory on either disk or paper for the purpose of collecting cancellations. The site also has information about joining the Postmark Collectors Club, the Margie Pfund Memorial Postmark Museum and highlights from The Bulletin, a publication mailed out 11 times a year. The Bulletin highlights page for September briefly lists an article by Joe Giaunta which shows the diversity of this hobby. He points out that several ZIP Codes will match the date this coming week, they are San Diego, California 92199 - Yucaipa, California 92399 - Santa Ana, California 92799. Of special interest will be the page titled "An Introduction To Postmark Collecting" (). A rewarding hobby to be sure. (Back to top of page)
Site du Jour of the Day reader Eric Goff sent in a message reminding me about a resource that would have come in handy while looking at CNA: Servicio Meteorológico Nacional de Mexico () and Instituto de Meteorología de la República de Cuba (http://www.met.inf.cu/) (SdJotD 990921) sites yesterday. The AltaVista Translations page will assist in making very basic text and site translations from English to French, German, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish. You can also use it to translate up to 5k of text to English from French, German, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish. Powered by Systran (), they too have a version of the translator up and running. Visitors can learn about and purchase several different products the company has available for sale. I've used the AltaVista Translations services on many occasions and cannot recommend them strongly enough. The accuracy level here depends on many factors and even though this utility is fairly sophisticated, you should still run any translation by someone who reads and writes both languages. Especially if the document is important. (Back to top of page)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Here is a great free utility/site that allows users to transfer, share and/or store up to 20 megabytes of files. Useful for distributing photographs with family members, large projects, and even stuff you'd like to access remotely without the burden of keeping track of disks and other media. Password protection adds a level of security many users will find beneficial. How does FreeDrive.com generate revenue for Nextec Communications? Every FreeDrive user agrees to receive one e-mail message a week advertising products and services tailored to interest data provided at sign-up, and with banner advertisements displayed while utilizing the file space and transfers. I've been using FreeDrive for over a week now and have found it quicker than standard e-mail for sending files to colleagues, in addition to freeing up e-mail clients on both ends for other things during uploads and downloads.
This glowing review was for the most part written before I discovered the FreeDrive Affiliate program and even though I have avoided any such program up to this point, the temptation proved too great. If the word sellout comes to mind and FreeDrive still interests you get your FreeDrive at the URL listed above. On the other hand, if you would enjoy having your very own genuine Site du Jour of the Day branded FreeDrive visit the Site du Jour of the Day FreeDrive Login page at (). Included below is the gist of the FreeDrive affiliate plan. I've gone for the first option and will use any revenue to get rid of the Tripod pop-ups at the Site du Jour of the Day Archive site.
"Depending on which option you selected when you signed up, your revenue will be generated in one of the following two ways.
1. You will receive 25% of the banner ad sales generated by Site du Jour of the Day FreeDrive users. This is calculated based on the total number of ad views that Site du Jour of the Day FreeDrive users see when in their Site du Jour of the Day FreeDrive. Please remember, banner ad revenue depends on many variables and may fluctuate.
2. You will receive $0.25 for each user who signs up."
(990925) Manned Missions to Mars, Jupiter,
Denton, Texas, USA
The second departure of this journey is scheduled for this date in the year 2020 and if the project does indeed get off of the ground it's the one I would be on. Only one problem, the required investment/fare of $2,000,000. Being the first to take Chris Willis up on his offer would entitle a maverick to an extra ticket free which is a plus. On the downside, that first investor would probably have to work extra hard to convince 998 others to cough up the funds. A private corporation is the goal, followed by 2 seperate 3 year adventures to Mars. Visit this site to discover more about this elaborate plan. (Back to top of page)
(990926) Daily Golf Jokes
The Better Golf Institute
San Diego, California, USA
As the annual tourist season starts to crank up here in Florida, greens fees at area golf courses will ultimately double to take advantage of golfers from northern climes looking to play a round or two in the pleasant Florida winter. Having never warmed up to the game myself, this unfair increase in charges doesn't really bother me. My golf handicap is still that darn windmill and that's the extent of that. Golf humor however is a favorite. Maybe it's because golfers take the game so seriously that what passes for funny in the world of golf could be considered absurd in the real world. Daily Golf Jokes are available here and/or via e-mail subscription. Golfers will enjoy the additional information and tips to be had by following pointers at the site. (Back to top of page)
(990927) The Real Monica Inc.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
"Made especially for you by Monica" is what the label on these purses and tote bags reads. Although it doesn't actually declare that the Monica in question is the one who shared headlines with the President recently, there is a photograph of her on the first page you see when visiting this site. The product is the result of someone, maybe Monica wh states that, "Keeping busy and creative was the biggest help in getting through a time of high anxiety and difficulty, and I started by learning to knit. Once I survived the frustrating stages of dropping every other stitch, it became a new form of relaxation. However, I lacked a fundamental tool essential to every knitter the knitting bag".
Prices range from $70 to $130 and "a buck for every bag purchased will be donated to a variety of charities". No specific charities are named though. The purses and totes are reversible and like many high quality textile items, if soiled they should be dry cleaned only. With design names like Garden Patch, Crimson Black, Blue Diamond, and Bohemian Baroque how can you go wrong? (Back to top of page)
(990928) Stammtisch Beau Fleuve
A multidisciplinary collaboration for Communication, Research, and Lunch.
Alfred M. Kriman
University at Buffalo
Buffalo, New York, USA
Either jump to the individual Glossary feature articles which interest you or follow the Shortcut to glossary thumbtabs () and be prepared for the most fun you've ever had just learning stuff. Mostly abbreviations and acronyms, the definitions are both insightful and simple. A great deal of what is here is common knowledge to specific disciplines, but what is most amazing is the fact that almost every visitor will come away with something new after looking at just a fraction of a page. Available in 2 flavors, there are 28 Jumbo pages with up to 400k of text each, or as over 160 Giant Sized pages which an average of about 25k each. Setting a bookmark will not be a question. Getting up from the computer or getting around to doing actual work will be a challenge. If this were not enough, there are in-context pointers galore, over 18,000 of them at last count. No fancy monkey-on-a-stick graphics or magical code to go bad here, mostly just basic text and a few in-line illustrations. An incredible set of pages. (Back to top of page)
(990929) The Surrey Stick Figure Theatre
There's something about The Surrey Stick Figure Theatre of Death which leads me to speculate that David Thorpe must have played with toy soldiers as a child. It's probably safe to say that they were the kind made out of lead. The Surrey Stick Figure Theatre of Death features a lot of the things fans of cartoon physics have come to enjoy over the years, all without that extra color. A new production opens every Tuesday, sending the previous week's work to The Archives at the site. This may prove to be the only reason animated GIFs were ever invented. (Back to top of page)
(990930) Pinball 2000
Williams Electronics Games, Inc.
Site suggestions have become a big part of Site du Jour of the Day episodes during the past year and just because a tip isn't used immediately doesn't mean that it has been ignored. Case in point is a site suggested by David Grossman back in February. Dave's World Pinball Directory () (SdJotD 990202) was featured at that time and in correspondence regarding the site, Dave wrote a nice message about the state of his industry. As an employee of Williams Electronics Games, Inc., Dave mentioned the Pinball 2000 site and mentioned that "The game has been unveiled but is not in production yet. Pinball's been dying and this is our attempt to save it". The modular assembly of the Pinball 2000 system allows operators to repair and maintain this new breed of pinball table and introduces full motion video and a load of other new features to the game. Using a color monitor and images which appear in the playfield, a new dimension is added to gameplay. Powered in part by a Cyrix MediaGX motherboard, this unique level of sophistication is the focus of all new pinball development by the company. Revenge from Mars and Star Wars Episode 1 Pinball () are the two titles currently in distribution and production. The Pinball 2000 site has details for both operators and consumers and offers a decent look at the efforts one company is making to keep the wonderful game of pinball from going down the drain. (Back to top of page)