CLICK & DOUBLE CLICK: HOT SITES OFFER ECLECTIC COLLECTION OF INTERESTING SITES ON WEB (COLUMN 123)

People are always asking us "How do you find all these sites on the Internet?"

Here's one of our secrets. We look for Pick lists and other people's hot sites wherever we go. We've been to a number of award sites in past columns. That's another way to find good Web pages.

Joni: One site that seems to consistently pick good hot sites is USAToday. You can find their hot site of the day at

www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/ch.htm

Peggy: If you can ignore the animated flames announcing that the sites are "hot" you'll find a good selection. They pick hot sites every day and on weekends. You can also find their archives for the past three years.

Joni: It's a very eclectic list. Last week sites range from legal help to traffic cones. There is no theme here.

Peggy: One of the Web sites they chose brings the Internet into the motion picture realm. It's worth visiting this site to watch the Shockwave and Flash introduction.

www.youvegotmail.com

Joni: The You've Got Mail story is about two people who meet via e-mail and fall in love while in real life they know each other and don't like each other. My disappointment with the movie is that it glamorizes online chat and infidelity. They also feature AOL when there are lots of good local providers.

Peggy: As usual, I haven't seen the movie. But on the Web site you can take a tour of upper New York sites and listen to the sounds of the city, including the street, the subway and street drummers.

Joni: You can also submit your own stories about meeting on the Internet and you can get a copy of AOL's instant messenger and start chatting.

Peggy: They have quite a collection of online love stories. I like their gallery of art. They've taken emoticons, those smileys :-) that people put at the end of e-mail, to a higher level. You can also submit your works.

Joni: AOL's message on the screen says "You have mail." Somehow it evolved into "You've Got Mail." It is snappier?

Peggy: We know a lot of people who are into genealogy. They might find good information at Cemetery Junction. They have addresses and Web links to more than 10,000 active and retired cemeteries across the nation.

www.daddezio.com/cemetery/index.html

Joni: You can browse by state, and if you know of a cemetery that isn't listed you can fill out the online form.

Peggy: You can also learn about tombstones, obituaries and wills -- all designed to aid in genealogical searches. Ah ha, here are links to other sites, including the political graveyard.

Peggy: For something really different, you can find out why cats paint. This site includes 18 cards to test your cat's creative potential.

webpages.netlink.co.nz/~monpi/index.html

Joni: I've never met anyone from New Zealand, but now I'm wondering. Painting cats? Cats dip their paws in paint to create masterpieces. I'm really their tongue is firmly planted in cheek.

Peggy: And in case you're skeptical, you can read their tips for spotting fakes. Yes, people are attempting to fake feline works of art.Joni: They give you a selection of paints, some by cats, some by humans and one by a dog. For those who wonder if the Internet has a sense of humor, check this out. This is very funny.

Peggy: For something different, unleash the animal within you with help from Kodak. You can morph your digital photo with dozens of photos of animals.

Joni: You have to have a photo of yourself, which you can upload from an Internet location, your computer or your Kodak CD.

alts1.kodak.com/US/en/corp/further/animal

Peggy: Morph your face with that of a cat, a bear, a beagle, a kitten, an orangutan, a gorilla, a koala bear, an owl or a panda. We borrowed Joni's husband's face and morphed him into several different animals.

Joni: We liked this site. It was very easy and provided great comic relief for the day.

Peggy: Are you a little nervous about how your computer will fare when 2000 rolls around. You can test your system from SecureNet Technologies Inc. Try it for free.

www.securenet.org

Joni: You can download a free test for either Windows or DOS. You have to agree that you will download for evaluation or personal use and that it will be used on personal PCs only.

Peggy: You can also learn more about the Y2K problem and whether you will have trouble. Here's one more to my liking, the Pig Latin converter.

Joni: It converts any Web page to Pig Latin. You may need a little patience while the page is Piglatinized.

voyager.cns.ohio.edu/~jrantane/menu/pig.html

Peggy: They suggest C-Net as a good example of the power of Pig Latin conversion. And indeed the page has been rewritten in Pig Latin.

Joni: OK if you need some Tuesday morning funnies, this would be the site for you. Bizarre.

Peggy: On a more serious note, NASA introduces another stellar Web site called from Stargazers to Starships. It's dedicated to helping high school students understand everything from the motion of the earth to space flight.

www-spof.gsfc.nasa.gov/stargaze/Sintro.htm

Joni: The site is a tutorial. You can learn about the pole star, how to mount a telescope, the Ancient Greeks and the Zodiac.

Peggy: Many online telephone directories let you find phone numbers. Several let you find people from their numbers. One reverse phone look-up can be found at Anywho.

www.anywho.com/telq.html

Joni: We tried it. It worked once. Let's try it for another number. Well, it worked again.

Peggy: You don't even have to have the entire number. If you have just part of the telephone number, you may be able to find them here. You can search for people, businesses or both. What's your favorite hot site? E-mail us at click@semissourian.com

See you in Cyberspace.

~Peggy Scott and Joni Adams are members of the Southeast Missourian online staff.