Three More Days. Next year, you promise yourself, I’ll start
working on my taxes earlier. But that’s next year and this is now — and
the filing deadline is three days away. Take a deep breath and head to
Yahoo’s Tax Center or Essential Links to Taxes, both
of which will connect you to tax forms and state tax agencies as well as
providing lots of advice and even filing addresses.
Many “Happy” Returns. How does what you owe Uncle Sam compare
to what Bill and Hillary paid last year? Thanks to the Presidential Tax Return
site of the Tax History Project at
Tax Analysts, you can easily find out that the Clintons
coughed up $76,305 (plus self-employment tax) on total income of
$577,341. Other 1040 forms on the site include those of Bush,
Reagan,
Carter,
Nixon
and Franklin
Roosevelt (who earned $75,000 for being president in 1936).
If Mark McGwire Were A Stock, what would he cost? That’s the
premise of Wall Street
Sports.Com, a free game where fans can “trade” sports stars (similar
to the stock market) and win prizes. As of April 8, the highest “prices”
belonged to Ken Griffey Jr. ($174.95 a share), Patrick Roy ($148.84),
Mark McGwire ($148.68), Alonzo Mourning ($130.66) and Sammy Sosa
($130.07).
Live Event This Afternoon. For the first time, you can listen
to the Pulitzer Prize ceremony as the prestigious awards are being
handed out. The Freedom Forum
will carry the event from 2:30-3:30 p.m. EDT. If you’re reading this
after that time, check out the winners at the Pulitzer Prize site. The broadcast
will be in RealAudio, so if you don’t have a RealPlayer, you’ll need to
download one
for free. (To find the free one, click on “choose a RealPlayer,” then
“basic RealPlayer.”)
The Word According To Webster. On April 14, 1848, Noah Webster
published “An American Dictionary of the English Language,” which
simplified spelling (plow for plough, musick to music) and documented
distinctly American words. Read all about Webster and America’s first
dictionary
and visit his
birthplace and
boyhood home.
When you’re searching for just the right word, access the online
WWWebster dictionary and thesaurus. Kids can have fun
at Merriam-Webster’s Word
Central, which offers a student dictionary, a daily buzzword and a
second floor where
students can create their own dictionaries and access computer and
science labs.
Word Fun. In honor of Webster, flex your mental muscles with a
word workout. Start with a warm-up quiz on
your vocabulary skills, then move on to the full workout.
Expand your way with words with the word of the day, the daily word game and cool words.
A Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words. Do you remember those photo
booths where you stepped inside, pulled a curtain, inserted some coins
and received a strip of pictures? The results were generally pretty
hilarious, as you can see at Wade’s Photobooth Gallery.
Lots of people seem to have fond memories of these machines, whose history
is much older than you might imagine.
Uncle Sam Wants You. Well, he did during World War II.
Thirty-six of those nostalgic propaganda
posters are now online, courtesy of the National Archives. They range from
exhortations to women to why
drivers should be ride sharing, as
carpooling was called.
Going To The Dogs … At The
Poop, dog lovers can ask questions of a vet, a breeder, an animal
behaviorist and other canine experts, in addition to looking at cute
pictures of pups . If you don’t have a dog, they point you to the
locations of 2,400 animal shelters and rescue groups.
… Or Cats. Cat Fanciers
offers feline fans equal opportunity. General info about cats,
descriptions of cat breeds, the latest veterinary medicine resources,
lists of cat shows and clubs, shelters, breeder referrals and links to
other sites for feline fanciers.
Life In The Middle Ages. What was it like being a serf during
medieval times? It wasn’t all lavish banquets and knights in shining
armor. Anyone railing against his HMO might want to be grateful he
didn’t live then: Bloodletting was a popular “cure” for illness and early
surgery was done by barbers. Homes
were no haven. It was generally colder and darker indoors than outside.
Read all about it at the Annenberg/CPB Project online exhibit about the Middle
Ages.
Kosovo Crisis. While all the major news organizations have
Kosovo sections on their Web pages, the Introduction
to Kosovo site from Central
Europe Online is outstanding in its depth of information, its varied
and extensive collection of top-quality links and for its European
slant, which gives Americans a slightly different view than they usually
get.
2 things that should happen now after Trump landslide
Wayne Allyn Root