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The Cool Tricks and Trinkets Newsletter #301 6/3/4 |
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Welcome to the 301st issue of the Cool Tricks and Trinkets Newsletter offering weekly insights into new, cool, useful, fun, unusual and interesting sites on the Internet. In this issue: - Space
FX
A1 Discount Hotels (an affiliate of Hotels.com) offer discount rooms in over 40,000 hotels worldwide with choices from budget to 5 star hotels. Lowest rate guaranteed. http://www.a1-discount-hotels.com
For anyone who has ever dreamed of using their mobile phone as a remote control, the future is now here. Upgrade the intelligence of your living space with futuristic ease using Space FX, a company that specializes in 'ambient home media'. Although
this extremely sleek site clearly caters to a wealthier clientele, Space
FX's cool services may be helpful and/or available to all of us one day.
Their integrated systems allow you to customize everything in your house
from security to heating and lighting adjustments to computer networking
and audio settings. A technophile's dream, you can fulfill almost any
whim of convenience, such as turning your mobile phone into a garage-door
opener, logging on to your office from the comfort of your http://www.spacefx.co.uk/spacefx.htm The Happiest Place on Earth It is Disneyland's 50th Anniversary and Disney's theme parks from all over the world are uniting in celebration. From Hong Kong to Paris, Disney will be honoring its original playground with scores of new attractions, activities and entertainment for the entire family. On the official 50th Anniversary website, visitors can scroll through fifty years of "The Happiest Memories on Earth". This interactive timeline tracks the evolution of Disney within our culture, year by year, from its humble beginnings in Los Angeles to the worldwide leader in family entertainment it is today. Learn all about the fascinating history of growth and expansion that began with one man, one charming little mouse, and one dream. Dress The Colonist This fun and educational little game is a part of the official website for the hit new PBS series "Colonial House". Aptly titled 'Dress Me Up', players click and drag items of clothing onto an animated woman until she is fully dressed in the standard garb of a colonist in the year 1628. In addition to the game, visitors can access a bunch of great 'Interactive History' features to learn more about the rigorous and challenging lifestyle of the colonists. You can also access the TV show's official site to read about the extensive work involved in producing this landmark television program, which aims to re-enact life as it was for the first American colonists. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/colonialhouse/history/dress_up_flash.html SHORT TAKES Gas Buddy With gas prices constantly on the rise, car owners could use a good friend. GasBuddy is a portal to over 170 web sites in the US and Canada that allows consumers to share information on where to find the cheapest local gas prices in their neighborhood. <><><><> Available Domain Name of the Week Self-proclaimed computer geek Grant Hutchinson offers up a list of currently available domain names. One-stop shopping for entrepreneurs looking to stake their claim in today's virtual territory. <><><><> World's Largest Ball of Paint What started with an idea, a bucket of paint and a baseball has grown into a feature length documentary and over 900 lbs. of latex. The creators of the world's largest ball of paint hope to attract tourists from all over the world to the small town of Alexandria, Indiana to see their great orb. For now, we're sticking with the website. Enjoy
the newsletter? Tell your friends to subscribe by sending an email to: Cool Cosmos As the passionate astronomer Karl Sagan once said, "We are all starstuff". Which might explain why it is so exhilarating to learn about space, since on some level we are learning about ourselves. Students, teachers and stargazers alike can have a lot of fun while learning about Infrared Astronomy at Cool Cosmos, an educational portal developed by NASA and Cal Tech aimed at nurturing and teaching the young minds of the future. Although our human eyes cannot pick up infrared light, thankfully we can still learn about it. There are a ton of cool educational features and games on this site to help you and your kids learn about the 'invisible world'. Check out the section on Cosmic Fun and Games, go to the classroom to learn about the science behind Infrared Astronomy, and don't forget to go to the Image Gallery where you will find the first ever Infrared Zoo. http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/ Ten Stories The World Needs To Know More About Part of a UN initiative to direct public attention to important international issues, this is essentially a top-ten list of the world's humanitarian emergencies. While there are far more than ten crises currently facing the many nations of the world, the list aims to shine the spotlight on areas that do not regularly receive significant media attention. Admittedly, the very nature of these stories makes them difficult to read about. But awareness is the first step to change. Half of the stories take place on the African continent, in such countries as Uganda and the Central African Republic. The list also addresses several environmental issues, including the perils facing our marine world as well as the indigenous tribes of South America. http://www.un.org/events/tenstories/ The Lost Museum P.T. Barnum's American Museum, which burned to the ground in a fire in 1865, was an influential force in the development of urban culture. Built by one of the greatest showmen of all time, it was part museum and part freak show, part sincere education and part sensational entertainment, and perhaps most importantly, a single place where people of all classes, races and religions could gather in awe. The ultimate online exhibit, the City University of New York and George Mason University have collaborated to create 'The Lost Museum', a virtual re-creation of Barnum's American Museum. Take a tour of the museum, visit the classroom to read essays and articles on Barnum and his influence on modern culture, and search the archives for a look at the exhibits and curiosities that made him famous, including Tom Thumb, The Nova Scotia Giantess, and The FeJee Mermaid. http://www.lostmuseum.cuny.edu/ **********Advertisement**************
Military-Travel.net was established to give something back to the men and women of the Armed Services (active and retired) and members of their families by offering an additional 5% rebate (off the already low prices of Hotels.com) on all hotel reservations. http://www.military-travel.net <Editor's Note> Please support us in getting the word out about your new site.
Baseball Almanac Serious fans of America's favorite pastime should bookmark this site, which is both a comprehensive history of baseball as well as an interactive encyclopedia. The Baseball Almanac offers a daily dose of its over 80,000 stats and facts as well as a fervor for the game that makes ESPN seem apathetic. In addition to its well organized arsenal of historical data, the almanac site has other features to keep baseball's biggest fans occupied for hours. There is a section for everything in the imagination, including Rules of the Game, Humor & Jokes, Poetry & Song, as well as the site's highly-trafficked message boards. Swing Away!! http://www.baseball-almanac.com/ The Webby Awards The Webby awards have finally been handed out, those annual accolades given out to only 'The Best of The Web'. Divided into categories such as Activism, Community, Commerce, Health, Living, Politics, Sports, Youth and many more, they honor the most inspiring, pioneering and successful sites on the Web. Much like the more convential 'offline' media awards, each category has five nominees, one of which receives the coveted Webby. The winners are selected by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences based on criteria such as Content, Functionality, Visual Design and Overall Experience. The offical site lists and links all of this years nominees and winners, which is a great portal into the best the Net has to offer. Do not miss the Weird category for some good laughs. http://www.webbyawards.com/main/webby_awards/nominees.html SUBSCRIBERS' SITES - Many of our subscribers have fascinating on-line projects. This weekly section will introduce you to some of these sites. Please let me know about your project so that I might mention it in this section. Write me at info@tricksandtrinkets.com ~ Carmina - Acoustic Celtic/Jazz - new CD 'Love Like Angels' out now. ~ Cindy Stratton - Acoustic Singer/Songwriter - new cd 'Missing Pieces' out now.
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