sree.net > tips > newsletters > September 2001
Web version: http://www.sree.net/tips/2001sept.html

Sree Tips
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From Sreenath Sreenivasan
Columbia University journalism professor
WABC-TV's "Tech Guru" on Thursday mornings in NYC area
[ Tech Guru text archives at http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/technology/ ]

http://www.sree.net/ * sreetipsreax@sree.net

Sree Tips Newsletter
September 2001: http://www.sree.net/tips/2001sept.html

Sree Tips

A free monthly newsletter of tips and tricks about useful and/or fun Web sites.
Archive: http://www.sree.net/tips

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Manhattan, Sept. 30 -- Greetings, and welcome to the belated September issue of the "Sree Tips" newsletter -- focusing on the Sept. 11 attacks.

First of all, many thanks to those of you who wrote in on and after Sept.11 to ask if I was all right (I am sorry I could only respond with that form response back then).

My wife, Roopa and I, had been in Bermuda (for the Society of American Travel Writers conference) from the Friday before the Tuesday attacks and were scheduled to return on Sunday -- until we got stranded till Tuesday morning because of Hurricane Erin. On Sept. 11, as we approached NYC on our American Airlines(!) flight, I looked for the Twin Towers as I always do. All was well on that bright, clear morning. We landed on what turned out to be one of the last flights into JFK just before the attacks. By the time we got into a cab and neared the Triborough Bridge into Manhattan, we saw dark smoke billowing from one of the WTC towers. At that point, we started listening to the radio and watched as emergency crews drove past us. The rest, you know.

I had had a regular issue of this newsletter ready to go, but have decided to send you that in a few days. For September, I have put together a short newsletter with items about the attacks -- many of these are borrowed from the SAJA Roundup I helped assemble at http://www.saja.org/roundup

Instead of the usual four useful sites and four fun sites, below you will find several useful sites, and one fun site (not about the attacks, obviously) and an encore listing of last month's sites.

As always, I look forward to YOUR tips, feedback and suggestions: sreetipsreax@sree.net

Why wait a month for the next newsletter? Visit the constantly updated "Smarter Surfing" links at http://www.sree.net/tips/web.html

{Cheers, Sree}

USEFUL SITES DEALING WITH THE WTC ATTACKS...

HELPING THE VICTIMS
Donations and other resources

KEEPING TRACK OF THE NEWS
Staying informed about Ground Zero, The Upcoming War & The Backlash

RUMORS & E-MAIL HOAXES
Keeping track of various Web hoaxes surrounding the attacks, including: Did Nostradamus predict the attacks? Did CNN fake Palestinian celebrations? Did Canadian writer Gordon Sinclair rise from the dead to comment on the attacks? Did a camera capture a photo of an unlucky tourist at the top of the WTC just before one of the planes hit? (answers: no, no, no and no)

E-MAIL ALERTS
Sign up to receive the latest news via e-mail

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ONE FUN SITE
For a change of pace

  • Chasing the Mark -- in pursuit of the home run record
    http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/chasing
    In the midst of all the tragedy, I have been glad for the distraction of sports. In addition to watching some NFL football, tracking the Yankees and following the most recent un-retirement of Michael Jordan, I am cheering the exploits of Barry Bonds as he chases the single-season home run record in Major League Baseball. As I write this, Bonds is still at 69 home runs -- one short of the main milestone, 70, by Mark McGwire in 1998. The best site to learn about the chase (including how Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs is doing) is from ESPN.com and is my one fun site for September.

ENCORE: Last month's New-ish USEFUL SITES
from http://www.sree.net/tips/2001aug.html

ENCORE: Last month's New-ish FUN SITES
from http://www.sree.net/tips/2001aug.html

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MY DEFAULT SUCH & SUCH...
(my starting points for various things; may change monthly)

Search Engine:
Google
http://www.google.com/
The best search engine out there. 'Nuff said. But here's Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal on Google: "...simply the best search site I've ever used." If you know Walt's work -- and you should be following it religiously at http://ptech.wsj.com/ -- you know that he doesn't hand out such praise often. Be sure to download the free Google toolbar; it will change the way you search: http://toolbar.google.com/

Reference Site:
Refdesk
http://www.refdesk.com/
Excellent reference site. Don't just take my word for it. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told The New York Times this is his favorite Web site. Run by Bob Drudge, Matt's dad (though Refdesk doesn't run rumors).

Encyclopedia:
Britannica.com
http://www.britannica.com/
The Encyclopedia Britannica on the Web -- basic info free of charge (the full-access version, which used to be free, now costs $5 a month, or $50 a year).

Dictionary:
Merriam-Webster
http://www.m-w.com/
In offices, dictionaries grow legs and walk. Hence an online dictionary is a must. This one addresses a major problem I have had with traditional dictionaries: You need to know how to spell a word before you look it up. Not here. Just punch in an approximation, and it will give you a suggested list. And nice etymology.

Atlas:
National Geographic's Map Machine
http://plasma.nationalgeographic.com/mapmachine/
Leave it to National Geographic to make the best online atlas with these dynamic maps that will take you to any spot you choose and allow you to change what kind of map you see, on the fly. I had no idea there are three towns named Santa Claus in the U.S. or that my grandfather's village in India is an easy find.

Driving Directions:
MapQuest
http://www.mapquest.com/
For U.S. driving directions, MapQuest remains the best site. But I also really like the new "straight-line" maps from MapBlast <http://www.mapblast.com>

World Time:
TimeAndDate.com
http://www.timeanddate.com/
The best set of world clocks and calendars. I like the personal world clock, which allows you to track time in up to 16 cities at one glance.

Media Goings-on:
Jim Romenesko's Media News
http://www.medianews.org/
Hosted by Poynter.org, this is news-junkie heaven. I read it more often and more closely than any other site.

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SELF-PROMOTION...

Must-Sree TV
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/technology/
My "Tech Guru" segments on WABC-7 in the New York City area run every Thursday morning on channel 7 at 6:45 (yes, that's the a.m.). This is a link to archived Web versions of my segments.

"Smarter Surfing" Workshops
http://www.sree.net/web
Smarter surfing for people of all skill levels. Interested in scheduling a class for you and your colleagues? Learn more.

"Smarter Surfing" Links: Better Use of Your Web Time
http://www.sree.net/tips/web.html
Links for various categories of sites, annotated for your surfing pleasure.

Sree Tips -- the Web page
http://www.sree.net/tips
Links to my tips and thoughts on various items, including laptops, digital cameras, freelance writing, Web production and more.

Sree Talks
http://www.sree.net/talks
List of forthcoming talks and presentations in various cities.

Content is Still King: Lesson from the Online Journalism Awards
http://www.sree.net/talks/c&w.html
A keynote speech I gave at the "Computers & Writing" conference in May 2001 at Ball State University.

Info Overload & Moi
http://www.usatoday.com/news/comment/columnists/mediasavvy/savvy1.htm
An essay for USAToday.com on handling information overload (yes, I am a major info polluter).

[Reprint requests: reprints@sree.net]

That's it for now.

Remember, you can track my "Smarter Surfing" links at http://www.sree.net/tips/web.html

See you (your inbox, actually) next month.

Cheers, Sree
http://www.sree.net/

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Sree Tips List
Copyright 2001 Sree.net

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sree.net > tips > newsletters > September 2001



See text archives of my Tech Guru appearances on Channel 7 -- Thursday mornings at 6:45 in NYC area more...