Top 100 news stories of the century

Vote For The Century’s Top News. In February, 67 journalists and scholars compiled a list of what they considered the 500 most important happenings from 1900-1999, then they narrowed it down to the top 100. No. 1 was the bomb dropped on Japan to end World War II. The surgeon general’s warnings on the hazards of smoking came in at 100. In between were AIDS, civil rights, the Berlin Wall, space exploration and the Beatles.

Now, ordinary citizens can cast a vote for the top 100 news stories from 1900-2000. A project of the Newseum (the Arlington, Va., interactive museum of news) and USA Weekend, The Nation Votes will accept ballots through Oct. 1.

Play Ball! As baseball season gets under way, visit Major League Baseball to find complete schedules, stats and results as well as lots of info on each team. You can also listen to audiocasts of some of the day’s games at the site. Fastball offers lively baseball coverage, while At the Yard concentrates on the minor leagues. Connect to your favorite teams — including the Braves, Yankees, Orioles and Dodgers — via Aaron’s Baseball Links.

You can also keep up on the latest with Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa or take a virtual visit to any of the MLB ballparks. The latter is handy because it provides seating charts and details on obtaining tickets. This week marks the 25th anniversary of Hank Aaron’s 715th homer. Relive those days at The Bravos Web.

Gone But Not Forgotten. The Political Graveyard is a quirky idea with a practical purpose. It’s a list of where more than 30,000 dead politicians, judges and diplomats were born, died and buried. While this is a great genealogical resource, it also lets you locate departed politicos who fit into esoteric categories — those who died in the Civil War (or other conflicts), who were killed in duels or murdered, who belonged to the Knights of Pythias, who drowned, who disappeared mysteriously and many, many other offbeat classifications. Browsing this stuff is sort of like trying to stop after one potato chip. On a more practical level, you can also discover historic cemeteries by state and county.

Financial Gurus. Most stock market sites offer advice, but it’s usually from the same people over and over. Wall Street Guru breaks with tradition by presenting guest columnists and the latest advice from a variety of top-performing newsletters, online pundits and leading brokerage analysts. Daily Guru offers everything an investor needs at the start of a trading day — from market commentary to economic announcements and which stocks are splitting.

What’s That In Dog Years? How old are you in dog years? And how old is your dog in human years? The quick way to find answers to both those questions is at the Human-Dog Years Calculator. (After you enter the figures, scroll down for the answers, if they’re not on your screen.)

What Does It Mean?Are you confused by computer or Internet terms? Do you find that as soon as you think you’ve mastered some, here come more? If you’ve ever wondered about the differences among html, htm, shtml and asp at the end of Web addresses, Whatis offers the answers. It’s also the spot to translate emoticons (those smiley faces on their sides in e-mail) and computer-related acronyms. In addition, the site also provides a nice tour of the Internet that explains how it works.

More Miles. Earn extra frequent flier miles through purchases at online merchants such as barnesandnoble.com, macys.com and OfficeMax.com. The program is called Click Rewards and can currently give you miles on American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, United and US Airways, as well as Marriott Rewards.

Kosovo Quilts & News. An excellent source of what’s happening in Kosovo is the United States Information Agency. It provides maps, photographs, audio, video, articles, new developments and links to international media ranging from BBC News to Radio B92 Belgrade and the Voice of America. Those with relatives or special interests in the region can sign up for the USIA’s Kosovo listserv (mailing list).

Jill Kuraitis of Boise, Iowa, is a quilter who’s following the news of the conflict and wants to do more than send a check to the Red Cross. Hearing that one of the big shortages among the refugees from the fighting in Kosovo was warm blankets, she suggested to the Global Development Center that quilters from around the U.S. and the world be asked to donate handmade quilts to relieve some of the suffering. Many have responded.

Fun For Kids. Middle schoolers will enjoy all the activities at Kids.com, while their younger siblings will get a kick out of the site’s Mousers section.