CLICK & DOUBLE CLICK: READY FOR FUN? INTERNET SPLANS HOROSCOPES TO PATENT SEARCHES

Cybertip: The clock is ticking on the launch of our SEMissourian.com web site. We hope to open with a soft launch later this week. You can sneak-a-peek at http://www.semissourian.com while we work out the bugs. Our shameless self-promotion will begin the first of May.

This week we decided to take a look at some fun sites out on the Internet.

That's the great thing about the Internet. You can't put it into a single box. We do lots of surfing and the things we find never cease to amaze us.

Joni: Let's start with a site that's not only fun but also informational. IBM offers a pretty extensive patent server.

http://patent.womplex.ibm.com

You can access over 26 years of patent and trademark information. The first entries date back to January 1971.

Peggy: You can search, retrieve and study over 2 million patents. Also they have the last 17 years of invention images. They also have the Gallery for Obscure Patents. Let's start there.

Joni: In the search for a better mousetrap, lawn mower or golf cart, inventors have come up with some pretty bizarre inventions. The gallery is the result of visitor searches on the patent pages. When visitors come across something they think unusual, they vote.

Peggy: There are such patents as a hat simulating a fried egg, a fly swatter with sound effects, and remotely-controlled transformable water-squirting toy vehicles.

Joni: You can search by patent number, Boolean text search or advanced text search. Search for people you know -- like my father. I'm proud to say he's an inventor with several patents. You can also search by subject.

Peggy: For something completely different, let's take a tour of a horoscope site on the Internet. We know a person who checks her horoscope on the web each and every morning.

http://www.swoon.com

Joni: This site gives you a simplistic horoscope reading for each day. Click on your sign and read. The site is done by Swoon, Mademoiselle and Details magazines. Swoon offers you daily readings. Details tells your horoscope a month at a time. Mademoiselle gives you details about your man's horoscope as well as yours.

Peggy: You can also read your horoscope for a whole year, through the turn of the century at this site. You can also see how your stars align with the love of your life -- is it a match or is it a mistake? True love, magnetism, friendship or Uh-oh. My husband and I rated true love, but Joni doesn't want to talk about her reading.

Joni: Oh well, it's just for fun. For those who want a little more, you can calculate your rising sign and your lucky numbers. You can also find out your Chinese horoscope. I'm a monkey, smart persuasive and playful. It says here I get what you want by using my head. Now, this is more like it. Ever notice that the horoscopes you like are those you agree with?

Peggy: You say you want more? We know another site that goes even farther on this prediction thing. It's called Facade. It bills itself as the original prophecy site.

http://www.facade.com

Joni: The site currently offers free readings using Tarot, Runes, the I Ching and biorhythms. They also delve into bibliomancy and stichomancy.

Peggy: Just for fun, we'll try one. They have been providing free Tarot readings since 1993, and use different decks. Today's featured deck is the Russian Tarot deck of St. Petersburg.

Joni: You put in your gender and age, and then pick a single card spread, a three card spread, a Celtic cross spread or a cross and triangle spread. Interesting. Can I try again? I knew I was having a bad day. I lost my keys this morning.

Peggy: Let's look at the Rune readings. You can pick Runes of Black for questions regarding spiritual matters; Runes of Gold for material possessions; Runes of Jade for family and physical well-being; or Runes of Stone for relationships.

Joni: This stuff is pretty far out. In the biorhythm section, you can generate a chart for you and even for another person to see if you're compatible. All you need is their birth date. And for all you who need to check 20 people at one time, there's even such a thing as a group check on this site.

Peggy: Let's get back to something a little more down-to-earth. What is your salary worth across the U.S.? Check out the Salary Calculator.

http://www.homefair.com/homefair/cmr/salcalc.html

Joni: You can use this calculator to compare the cost of living in hundreds of U.S. and international cities. The calculations are not adjusted for taxes, but the site does provide U.S. tax tables for comparison.

Peggy: You initially have to click on state to state or country. In the next window, you have to type in the salary in question and the specific town you're moving from and to. Cape Girardeau is not an option, but Poplar Bluff is. We'll choose $30,000 in Popular Bluff. What does that equal in Honolulu?

Joni: Don't pack your bags anytime soon unless they promise a hefty raise. The calculator said if you make $30,000 in Poplar Bluff, you'd have to make $71,931 in Honolulu for a comparable standard of living. Ouch.

Peggy: Let's visit one more rather unusual site. If you need to know the three closest ATM machines to your current location -- and you have a computer at hand -- then visit this site.

http://visa.infonow.net/usa.html

Joni: This ATM locator asks you to pick a state, and then narrow down the search to a city and street address or intersection. The zip code helps, if you know it. The search will return a map and ATM list.

Peggy: The search tells us the address, location, hours and institution.

Joni: What's your favorite fun site on the Internet? E-mail us at click@semissourian.com

See you in Cyberspace.

~Joni Adams is managing editor and Peggy Scott is graphics editor at the Southeast Missourian.