Two good causes, oddities, and loads of information about cities and towns in the United States caught be attention on the Web this week.  Plus, a mental challenge that escaped my attention earlier rounds out this week’s selection of websites. 

Outpost For Hope (www.outpostforhope.org). This is something akin to an Amber Alert, except that the grassroots organization which built the website focuses on advocacy for kids off the grid. Not only  missing children, either, are posted here. The organization works with families, social services and law enforcement to provide guidance, education and training. They work toward the goal of reunification. The missing persons are, as best I can guess, not necessarily in harms way. They are people who have walked away from their former lives. This site might be helpful to someone you know, so pass on the information.

Operation Happy Note (www.operationhappynote.com). The website helps a volunteer effort to send musical instruments to deployed service men and women around the world. This project appears to boost the morale of soldiers, judging from the photos posted at the website. One volunteer group holds concerts in Minnesota to raise funds and awareness of “Operation Iraq & Roll.” Donated guitars, and there have been many of them sent off, appear to be a big hit with the soldiers. If you have dusty instruments lying around unused, perhaps you would like to learn more about this project. Log on and find out more.

Oddities (http://oddee.com/). This blog focuses entirely on oddities of our world. A link took me to /item_91568, “7 Incredible Natural Phenomena You’ve Never Seen.” Three of the phenomena I read about (and viewed pictures of) were the raining fish of Honduras, red rain in India, and a fire rainbow in Idaho. Very interesting. I browsed some of the other offerings at Oddee and would say that half are truly worth reading and the rest is trivial junk.

City Data (www.city-data.com). Certainly not the only demographics information site, yet I liked the amount of information, the bar graphs, statistics, and general look of this website. Plug in a zip code and you will unearth all sorts of information, including a breakdown of the zip’s population by gender and race, the average adjusted gross income and other tax information, graphs related to the age of homes in the zip code, and most interesting to me, the companies that have received federal contracts. Maybe all this is boring to you, but not to people in real estate, or those thinking of relocating. Or the curious, like me.

  Ponder This (http://dominoresearch.ibm.com/comm/wwwr_ponder.nsf). Do yourself a favor and go directly to www.refdesk.com and click the link near the bottom of the right sidebar. It is much easier than writing down the extra-long url above. Once on the site, you can read the month’s challenge—guaranteed to make you ponder, and keep your mind sharp. Everyone who correctly solves the puzzle will find his name listed the following month, along with the solution. Personally, I hated those types of math reading quizzes. The January challenge reminded my of those dreadful math classes of long ago. On the other hand….I forgot what I was going to say.

“winter in Holland”

from Pizdaus.com via J-Walk Blog

A dose of inspiration, testimonies from etiquette faux pas, a huge repository of green advice and markets, and a most useful lost and found service are among this week’s finds.

Internet Lost and Found (www.lostandfound.com). In addition to posting to or browsing through print classifieds for items lost or found, you can check this site on the Web. Select a state—don’t bother to home in on a county or city—and scan the postings. Indiana has several listings for found items, mostly class rings. In fact, found class rings appear to dominate the found listings from several states. Categories for items include jewelry, clothing, tools, tickets, baggage, media, and tech items. The site allows you to contact the finder directly. Ditto for the unfortunate person who lost something. It’s free to post an item, by the way.

Cash for CDs (www.cashforcds.com). Although I am not a user of this site, you may be interested in the offer of from $5 and up for your used cds, dvds, and games. You have to sell at least 6 at a time, and they have to be in decent condition. The condition they are in, as well as the demand for the title, will dictate how much this service will pay you. If it wants what you have, it will send you a postage-paid mailer for your items. Sounds like a decent way to recycle your unwanted collections.

Ecomall (www.ecomall.com). If you are conscientious about recycling and striving for a healthier, greener lifestyle, you’ll want to know about this website, whose tagline is “a place to save the earth.”Among the topics with links, you’ll find resources for renewable energy, eco-restaurants, eco-quotes, activism, eco-investments, and tons of links to articles and companies and products.

Etiquette Hell (www.etiquettehell.com). Before wedding season begins, read what some invitees have to say about their invitations, or their nonexistent thank you notes for gifts. Ah, but weddings are just one category of rants you’ll read. Add work-related and everyday outrage to the mix and you’ll find some entertaining reading. Of course, the best use of this reading is to learn from it, and to avoid the faux pas that cause enmity.

Inspirations (www.zeltzer.com/inspirations/).  Blogger Lennie Zeltzer asked his readers to submit examples of things that inspire them. The feedback he received makes for a pleasant read, and it encourages me to know that there is a big dose of intelligence on the web. Here is one reader’s inspiration: “the smell of melting snow bringing the warmth of spring.” Find dozens and dozens more to make you feel grateful for being alive.

Retroland (www.retroland.com). I was very excited when I logged on to this shiny, colorful site, but then felt let down when there wasn’t much to say about the eras we card-carrying AARP members want to remember. And yet, the writing is done well, and somewhat informative. You decide whether it’s worth more than five minutes of your time.

Opt Out Prescreen (www.optoutprescreen.com). If you are tired of receiving those credit card offers or junk mail from insurance companies, you can now use this website to opt out of receiving these offers. Just think of how many trees you can save. The service is free, too, as it should be.

 America @ 10mph Video. Remember our visit from Segway riders Hunter and Josh? You can view their complete documentary free at YouTube. http://youtube.com/watch?v=DdR41fe9Zeg
Give Hunter and Josh $1 by joining OurStage for Free: http://www.10mph.com/ourstage  

Web Cam of the Week: (www.thaicam.com). Travel to Thailand and watch revelers enjoy the warm weather on the beach at several Thai resorts. This might help chase some winter blues away.

Only one week left to help Rusty’s Morningstar Ranch in their efforts to help MORE adults with autism. If everyone gave just $10, it would help the ranch’s efforts incredibly. While at their site, be sure to read the “Blessed Are…” message at the bottom of the home page.

Thanks a bunch!

            I am not the only one who has mentioned that the Internet has become a visual medium. Do you know anyone who reads books from the ‘net? Neither do I. Project Gutenberg, the noble attempt to provide thousands of classic books to readers, probably ranks near the bottom in most surfers’ agendas. Have our attention spans become that short? I believe it is a trend that is steamrolling out of control. Meanwhile, YouTube has become a household name.

Video sites. I already mentioned YouTube, and I’m guessing that you are familiar with it, too—unless you are still using a dial-up connection that works too slowly for viewing videos. I did not realize how many other video sites there are. Here is a list, in case you are an internet video junkie: IFilm (www.ifilm.com); Daily Motion (www.dailymotion.com); MetaCafe (www.metacafe/); Vidiac—which appears to appeal to the younger set (www.vidiac.com); www.putfile.com; vidlife.com, Google Video (http://video.google.com);  andYahoo Video (http://video.yahoo.com. There are movie aggregators, too. If you want to see what’s “hot” in one of the above-named sites, you can go to MAGG (www.dapper.net/dapplications/Magg) to see the so-called “latest and greatest” videos uploaded for anyone’s viewing. Movie sites are an entirely different category. I have mentioned some in past columns, and will likely mention more of them in the future.

Free Panoramic Photo maker (www.clevr.com). If you don’t happen to have Photoshop or other sophisticated photo editing software, you can still make yourself a panorama to impress yourself and your friends.. You’ll have to shoot overlapping photos first. Then you can use this stitching program to put together an impressive panorama. Last time I was in Sedona, I was in a picturesque spot with some tourists who were bemoaning the fact that they forgot to buy a disposable panoramic camera. I told them about overlapping their shots, but I did not know the url of this stitching site. But you do, so you, too, can wow your friends with your travel photos from your next trip.

Free Poster Maker (www.blockposters.com). Here is another way to have fun with your photos without worrying about expensive editing software. Follow the directions and enjoy your original piece of wall art.

Group Shot (http://research.microsoft.com/projects/GroupShot). This beta program works only with Windows XP. For those of us who take lots of group photos (think: Beacher writers), we can create a composite image from the same scene and same point of view. If Susie blinks and everyone else has great smiles, we can manipulate another shot of Susie and edit it into one of the other shots we’ve taken.  Our editor, Sally Montgomery, would be very happy if we used this software. I’m guilty of taking too few group shots where every one of them has someone either blinking or frowning, or looking away. Now I have no excuse to submit terrible group shots.

Jigsaw Puzzle (www.jigzone.com). If you are a fan of jigsaw puzzles, you will love this site. You can solve easy, 6-piece puzzles or tease your brain with a 240-piece challenge. The site has a “Puzzle of the Day,” plus others in a large gallery. And, you can upload your own photo and turn it into a puzzle to email to friends.

            Will the Internet be great in 2008? Or, can we pc users expect more patches to keep bugs and hackers at bay? I’m still using a fairly “old” computer with Windows XP. From what I hear, the new Vista is not impressing anyone who now has it. And I remain in the dark ages, because I don’t IM, webcam, or use VOIP. Nor do I have any plans to do so. One big change I have made is resurrecting the CyberScribbles blog with clickable links for all you loyal readers. You’ll find it at http://cyberscribbles.wordpress.com.

Calendar Maker (www.mycalendarmaker.com). I forgot to purchase a desk calendar as we began the new year, so I decided to make a few weekly calendar sheets in the interim. I looked around at various free calendar makers on the ‘net, and this one is the easiest: no strings, simple to make, and no registering. You can choose from weekly, monthly or yearly versions, and can start at any date you wish. Your personal calendar is transformed into a .pdf file, and you can print from there.

Earth Hour (www.earthhour.org). Speaking of calendars, mark March 29 on yours now. At 8 pm that evening, folks around the globe will turn off their lights for an hour as a way to create “a positive tipping point” in the race to slow down global warming. This concept is a global attempt to replicate what the city of Melbourne, Australia started last year. At the Earth Hour website, individuals from businesses, town and city governments, and anyone else can pledge to get an awareness campaign started. You can watch a short video and see Melbourne go dark, as well as listen to appeals. Sounds like a good idea to me.

Birding Pal (www.birdingpal.org). Birders who travel can connect with local bird guides in a host of communities globally, thanks to this website. I noticed that Michigan had dozens of willing bird guides throughout the state, while Indiana’s numbers were lower. Maybe Hoosier birders have yet to discover this website, which also lists lodging options for birders all over the world. The site has great links, too. Read on for more.

What Bird? (www.whatbird.com). The trees are bare, so birders have an easier time spotting their feathered friends this time of year. If you are like me, you can spot them, listen to their birdsong, and still not know what you are seeing. Then comes a website like this to help us clueless observers. This is a wonderful reference source for all ages. To engage the interest of the younger set, there is an interactive game, “The Call of the Wild,” that lets you attempt to identify various birds from three different ecosystems: mountains, marshes and uplands. Plus, there are three levels of play, from easy to difficult. You can use virtual binoculars to zoom in, too.

Bird Feeder Cam (www.wbu.com/feedercam_home.htm). Live from Ithaca, New York, the Cornell Ornithology Lab has set up a webcam for us to watch what’s happening in a garden filled with bird feeders. If you’ve passed the quizzes at Call of the Wild, then you’ll have no trouble identifying the birds flying in and out of view. By the way, I plan to mention a different webcam location each week this year. I’m amazed at how many are available to Internet surfers.

 Election 2008 Astrology (www.thestrangehouse.com). Seems that all eyes have been on Iowa and New Hampshire lately. What is really interesting about this website is that it offers a daily horoscope for all the presidential candidates, as well as their horoscopes for Election Day. If you have the time and energy and inclination, you could check your favorite candidate’s horoscope and see how it matches up to what is being written up in the news as the countdown toward November approaches.

Welcome to CyberScribbles’ new (and returning) blog at its new home on WordPress.com. The first column will be posted on or around January 9. See you soon!