Mars and satellite tracking on the Web

High In The Sky. Longtime reader Ed Farabaugh wrote to
recommend a neat little Java applet site, J-Track
3D, which lets you view where satellites are above Earth. Ed
suggested that you poke around the site a bit to find all its bells and
whistles. You can zoom in and out, track shuttles as well as the Mir and
do your viewing in real time (or speed it up to 100 or 1,000 times
faster). This is truly fascinating.

The Red Planet. Everything you ever wanted to know about Mars
(well, at least the things that are actually known) can be found
at the Planetary Studies Foundations’ Mars Database.

More On Mars. Tomorrow, Sept. 28, at 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m.
EDT), NASA’s Chris McKay, Robert Anderson and David Seidel will be
answering questions about the Mars Millennium Project and what they
think life would be like on Mars. If you want to simply listen to them
talk, go to Live on the
Net. But if you want to ask a question, you have to pre-register at
Mars Millennium Quest
Chat Signup. This ought to be especially interesting in light of the
loss last week of another NASA Mars probe.

Space Age Encyclopedia. Have you discovered the Space
Educators’ Handbook? It’s filled with astronomy information, images,
bios of space luminaries, 21 Quick Time NASA movies and more — even
space comics!

Who’s On Tour? To find out when your favorite musicians are
headed to a city near you, check on them at Tour Dates, which lets you search by
artist, city or venue.

Musical Celebrity Chats. Today at 4 p.m. PDT (7 p.m. EDT),
teen pop star Britney Spears will be chatting at Yahoo! Tomorrow, Tuesday, Sept. 28, NBC Talk City will be hosting a
chat with country music superstar Garth Brooks at 4:15 p.m. PDT (7:15
p.m. EDT).

Unusual Holidays. Bad Poetry Day (Aug. 18) has come and gone
— and I’ll bet you forgot to celebrate it. Ditto Hug An Australian Day
(April 26) and Stay Away From Seattle Day (Sept 16). Whether you’re
looking for an excuse to party, or just want a giggle or two, Wellcat Holidays will fill
the bill. Thomas and Ruth Roy have come up with a bunch of zany holidays
— such as Answer Your Cat’s Question Day and Take Your Houseplants for
a Walk Day — that surely aren’t any worse than those days and weeks
that Congress designates for special-interest groups.

The Best Rates. Whether you’re looking for a car loan, a home
improvement loan or a mortgage, Rate Net
lets you compare the interest rates of 11,000 financial institutions in
175 markets.

Pictures Worth 1,000 Words. Photojournalists tell the stories
behind the photos at Behind the Viewfinder.

Famous Sayings. When you need a good quotation to spice up
your writing or a speech, Quoteland
comes through with a variety on a wide range of topics. If you need a
laugh, look at the site’s humorous quotes from ads, TV and movies as
well as authentic headlines.

The Greatest Movies. It’s the sort of thing that people can
argue endlessly over — the greatest films of all time. But The Greatest Films has lots of
“greatest” lists: from the 100 greatest film scores, to the 50 greatest
directors and the all-time top 100 box office leaders (actually two
lists, adjusted for inflation and not).

Libraries Galore. The Web specializes in information and so do
libraries, so the two together make a great combination. If a library is
on the Internet, it can be found at Public Libraries.com.
Presidential libraries, specialized libraries, university libraries,
state libraries, national libraries of the world and, of course, public
libraries (listed by state). When you have a few extra minutes, this is
a good place to surf to see what’s available. You may come up with a
number of sites you’d like to bookmark.

Become Webwise. At Internet 101
anyone who’s putting up his or her first Web page can learn the basics
— beginning and advanced HTML, frames, CGI and Web design. There’s also
good information here (see the left column) for Internet newbies.
Another good spot for newcomers to gain Web know-how is through the BBC.

Free Internet Access. If you don’t mind ads, you can drop the
traditional $19.95 (or more) per month you’re paying for getting
connected to the Net. One company that offers a free connection, as well
as a free Web page, to people who live in certain areas is Dot Now.com.