Things I Love About The Internet

Search engines that work - Thank God for Google, the best search engine on the web. Until Google came along with a new way to categorize sites, the spammers had filled the search engines with porn and money making trash. 

Good on-line stores - Finding a good on-line store is one of the true pleasures of the internet. An online drugstore such as Wisdomking.com, a jewelry store like ice.com, and a gift store such as Midnight Velvet. These stores are all well laid out, have good shopping carts and reasonable prices.

Personal web sites - Everyone who creates a web site about something they find of interest adds to the knowledge and wisdom of mankind. The site could be about their pets, their afflictions or their family. Those sites which contain pictures, crafts and articles are of interest to many others. All of these sites allow people to communicate with others, which allows all of us to become more friendly towards one another.

Good bulletin boards - A well run bulletin board is one of the real pleasures of the internet. One of the best boards about webmastering is called Webmasterworld (http://www.webmasterworld.com). If you have an interest in the internet, give it a visit.

Freedom of speech - Sometimes it's very disconcerting to run across a site which is touting beliefs very different from my own. However, it is encouraging that anyone at any time can throw up a web site and expound their own ideas. The internet allows people to have true freedom of speech, perhaps for the first time in the history of the planet. This is one of the true joys of the internet.

Good graphics - There is an incredible about of horrible graphics on the internet. On the other hand, sometimes I'll run across a gem, some image that's truly exceptional. Some of the September 11th memorial graphics or the Princess Diana pictures are incredible.

Togetherness - When the September 11th insanity occurred, I turned to the internet. I created my own new web site with articles that I had written explaining my feelings about the events. I gathered literally thousands of images, hundreds of articles and even a few flash movies and put together a site that showed how I felt. Thousands of others did likewise. I am sure that these efforts helped us all cope and live through these terrible days.

Surfing - Sometimes it's great just to go to Yahoo or Dmoz and surf around the internet. I like to pick a subject and just move from site to site, learning all that I can. This is a pleasurable way to spend a rainy day or a cold weekend.

The Swedish University Network FTP Site - You want to have a great time finding some interesting things to download? Check out ftp://ftp.sunet.se/pub/ - but be prepared to waste a day or more!

Government Sites - Want to have some fun? Check out any of the tens of thousands of government sites. All of this information is available free and is, believe it or not, public domain (it's your tax dollars that pay for it all). Check out NASA (http://www.nasa.gov/) to get an idea of what I am talking about.