The NASA Homepage
It would take me literally months to dissect and review each and every section
of NASA's infinite Web site. Dare I say NASA has more server space than
anyone else, ever? Maybe not, but it's huge! There's art, science projects,
spacey info, shuttle news, technology development, student projects, and
more more more. Everyone and anyone can probably find something of interest
here. My only qualm with a site this big is that there *should* be a search
engine, else muddling through could take days. If they have one, I sure
couldn't find it.-SK
A-
Space Images Archive
Pictures, pictures, and still more pictures. Search or browse through hundreds
of space-related pictures: planets, space observatories, art, eclipses,
launchers, and anything else having to do with space stuff. I typed in the
word "Pluto" and got seven pictures to choose from, ranging from
the planet to satellites that track the planet. Very cool. It's quick and
if you get a chance, look at the X-ray photo of the sun - it's amazing.-SK
A
Physics
Unbound
Ahhh. I get giggly and excited when I think that one person created this
amazing physics resource page just for the fun of it, solely for the purpose
of "hypertexted scholastics". Our physicist Web friend has built
some basic pages to describe some basic premises of physics: Newtons Laws,
the periodic table, Hamilton's Principal, and so on. He encourages surfers
to contribute their pages of knowledge, either to link, or to archive on
his server. It truly is unbound and perfect for craving minds.-SK
A
Ocean
Planet Homepage
Speaking of NASA, it seems they've conspired with the Smithsonian to bring
us a hypertexted version of "Ocean Planet," a traveling exhibition
to explore and present the planets ocean history. Surfers can search for
specific ocean-related data they'd like to learn about or take one the curators
"special tours" on biodiversity, women and the sea, pollution,
sea surprises, or others. There is a lot of info here, so plan on spending
a great deal of time soaking it all up.-SK
B+
Interactive
Maps
It's weather. Plain and simple. It's about the same as watching the Weather
Channel on cable, though there are no commercials and you can get the local
forecast anytime you want. Click on the image map for a general region or
type in the specific city you're looking for. It's fairly accurate (as accurate
as any weather interpreter can be), and it's updated about about every six
hours. Sometimes, the server gets bogged down (it's a popular site), so
be prepared to wait for data at times.-SK
B+
Electronic
Zoo
If you're looking for any sort of animal-related information and want your
list to have more structure than Yahoo! or Lycos, check out NetVet's Web
extravaganza. It's out of control huge with links to, as mentioned, all
animal-related everything. Don't worry, there's a search engine to help
guide you through the site, and low and behold, it works! The graphics are
so-so to great, depending on the section, but the information and organization
will leave animal lovers smiling.-LS
A
ECOLOGY Channel Homepage
The ecology channel wants to keep you current on the trials and tribulations
of man vs. nature. There's an extensive news section that covers topical
issues, a kids corner (with Captain Seaweed), a profile of species in danger
(with photographs and information), and additional information on a wide
variety of conservation and environmental organizations. The site itself
is slow, however, and sometimes waiting for a page takes a little longer
than any reasonable person has time for. But if you're determined, there
is good stuff here.-SK
B
Animal
Resources
These pages are part of the larger SeaWorld Web site, but taken on their
own, they cover a large spectrum of general animal information, including
reproduction, conservation, characteristics, scientific classification,
and much much more. It's not the prettiest learning tool available, but
it's quick to respond and full of hard-core animal facts. There's also an
interesting section geared to interested young people on how to become a
marine mammal specialist. Whales to hippopotamuses to birds in danger of
extinction, it's all here.-SK
A-
Albert
Einstein Online
Well, I can't hide my disappointment. I had hoped to find this a page created
by an Einstein fanatic who had spent years researching and writing and compiling
archives of or about Mr. Relativity. But no. It's just another hotsy shotsy
link list of other people's content. Big deal. Sure, the layout and organization
are nice, and the links are a bit more selective than, say, a Lycos search
might provide, but overall, it's nothing special. Sigh.-SK
C
Astral
Projection Home Page
If you're into astral projection and lucid dreaming, tell your analyst this
site may be a trove of useful information. The meat of the site is a searchable
library of all the articles and pages on the Web relating to these topics.
There's a a fairly extensive collection of articles and an interesting feedback
form the author uses to collect data for future articles. There's also a
place where readers can leave tips on how to improve your astral projection
skills. The site lost marks from me because over half the navigation links
did not work.-BB
B+
Fun
With Numbers The Home Page
This is one of those sites that remind me why I like the Web so much. Some
math fan with an interest in writing C programs that calculate prime numbers,
Pi, and other series that excite mathematicians decided to put the results
on a page. To top if off, the guy has a really good sense of humor. He also
has some useful items, such as all 100,000 digits of 2 to the 33,333 power,
and fractional equivalents of Pi. Be sure and check out the author's home
page.-BB
A
Home Page of VolcanoWorld
This site is geared toward children and designed for classroom use. That
didn't stop me from spending several hours searching through it. This site
does a good job of giving enough information about volcanoes to keep readers
interested without burying them in a sea of data. There are several good
information and interactive sections (including 'Ask the Vulcanologist,'
complete with FAQ). The site is searchable and has a good bit of volcano
tourism info.-BB
A-
IMLAB
IMLAB is the satellite imaging lab of the University of Illinois. The site
gives a good general introduction to imaging and its benefits. It also goes
into detail about many of the projects that the lab is currently involved
with, from inner city revitalization to Asian reforestation projects. I
found the site fascinating. The projects are interesting to read about and
the images are impressive.-BB
A-
National
Zoological Park Home Page
This is an extremely well-done site. It is very much geared toward persons
planning on taking a trip to the park. Included are maps of the zoo, schedules
of activities, and a wealth of other information that would help plan a
trip. There are also interesting behind-the-scenes articles that talk about
the reality of managing a zoo and the ideals and goals of the zoo itself.
You can currently FTP animal pictures, but hopefully they will put a full-blown
zoo on the Web soon.-BB
A
Rob's Granite
Page
There's something charming about a guy fixated on granite. This page has
everything you ever wanted to know about one of our most common rocks. A
lot of it are technical research papers that were way over my head. Any
serious geology buff, especially one who's into granite, will probably enjoy
this site. Also, for those of you who live in Texas, there's an excellent
section on the Llano Uplift written at a lay level. There's also a comprehensive
set of links to the granite research community. -BB
B+
Search
the Light Holography
This is an advertisement for a book you're supposed to get excited about
and buy. It did not work for me. The site does feature a whopping one photo
of a hologram by one artist. There's a list of holographic artists and one
of their works, which may be of interest to those with a newfound interest
in holography. The site's creators also have mastered the art of having
lots of pages with lots of text while saying nothing. Pretty much the site
is just bizarre.-BB
D+
Southern
Forest Nursery Management Cooperative
This a site with extremely limited appeal. I'm sure those of you who are
professional foresters will find it fascinating. The rest of us will be
less than dazzled. The high point for me was the collection of Pesticide
Information Profiles, which informs about the acute toxicity of the hundreds
of chemicals served to us on our food. Click on over to the Methyl Bromide
section to ponder deep forestry philosophy questions such as, "Is soil
fumigation with methyl bromide consistent with ecologically sound principles?"The site does have a lot of good information for those who are serious about
silviculture.-BB
B
The Tele-Garden
Tele-Garden is an actual garden planted, watered, and viewed by a robot
controlled by members via the Web. The interface is excellent, and you can
communicate with other gardeners via a message wall. This is one of the
most technologically advanced sites I have ever seen on the Web. It's designed
to be viewed for a short period of time on a regular basis. And I believe
it personifies the nature of the Web. Like the Web, it's creative, offers
an interesting use of technology, and, most of all, is a place you can waste
away hours doing something completely useless.-BB
A+
THE ULTIMATE UFO
PAGE
UFO mania (or is it awareness?) has reached an all-time high. This site
appears to be an attempt to capitalize on this to sell books. The site features
several articles, most of which are links to other sites, and a few pictures.
Links to only 15 other UFO sites are provided, surprising considering the
deep interest in this subject on the Web. The design is good and if the
page were greatly expanded, it would be an excellent site. Perhaps we should
all send in our abduction experiences to be added to the site.-BB
C