Pondering what to write about this week, I first decided that I would check out the paper and see what was going on in the world outside of Hanover. Although I have my subscription to the New York Times, I figured that I would get more up-to-date and comprehensive information. I turned on my computer, opened Netscape, and proceeded to ride the Third Wave towards a more enlightened future.
Perusing one of the free on-line newspapers, I realized that there was a lot going on out there, but rather than exploring the ramifications of Friday's unveiling of the bloody glove or look into Colin Ferguson's mental state, I decided to continue toying around on Netscape. One warning: this is a great way to waste time (although the time is not always wasted). Realizing that it was getting late and that I still had not decided on a column topic, I figured that I would use this space to give a hint of the kinds of things one can find using Netscape at Dartmouth.
Before I go on, you may have some questions about how to find really interesting stuff on the "Internet" and how to get Netscape and how to do computer type things. My advice to you is to ask someone else and seek information regarding those matters elsewhere. That said, join me now for a short excursion onto the World Wide Web.
First, I went to a place called URoulette. This site contains a picture of a big roulette wheel floating in the sky, which upon clicking with your mouse, magically transports you to some random place. I ended up on the Boston Celtics' Clubhouse Page, which contained the latest scores and standings for the team. This page linked to Satchel Sports, a great source for all kinds of sports information.
Tiring of sports, I looked elsewhere for edification and entertainment. Recalling the sage advice of Michael Pryor '98, I decided to go to NeWWW, a brand-new and engaging on-line magazine set up by folks here at Dartmouth to keep the Dartmouth Community informed of the new developments on the Internet and to educate Dartmouth Community members about the Internet. Delving into the premier issue, I was struck by the variety and depth of the resources to which one can link.
Feeling a bit crazy and in search of greener pastures, I ventured out to the Cows Page. I skipped over the bovine portrait offerings and went straight to the cow trivia where I saw that February 18 "is the anniversary, in 1930, of the first flight by a cow in an airplane. Elm Farm Ollie, while watched by reporters, produced milk that was put into containers and parachuted over St. Louis, Mo." That was enough for me, for however captivating the Cows Page was, I realized that I was representing Dartmouth on the World Wide Web and must therefore demonstrate my quest for intellectualism.
Returning once again to NeWWW, I searched for an "intellectual" type page to go to. I went to the Mark Twain Library, where one can find many of his writings and links to many others. Realizing that I did not have enough time to examine this page in-depth, I headed back to NeWWW and from there, to The Professor's Guilt List. This is a list that's produced by an English professor at San Jose State University in California. It is a list of books that one is supposed to have read before receiving his/her BA in English degree. My advice is simply to ignore this page, for it can easily lead to despair.
From there I went back to NeWWW and headed over to the Games Domain, where I downloaded a novel arcade game. Realizing that I was running out of time, I decided to move on to some more functional sites. I went to a place to get stock quotes and checked up on my meager holdings, scanned the latest world news provided via electronic newspaper, headed over to Bucknell's newspaper to read up on the latest over there (so as to be informed when speaking to my brother) and capped off the journey with a visit to Carlos' Coloring Book, where I colored in a picture of a house on-line.
What I am trying to say is that there is a lot one can learn and experience using Netscape. Much of it is useless but interesting, useless but not interesting, useful and boring or both useful and captivating at the same time. The point is that it is all out there and accessible to us while we are here at Dartmouth and it would be unfortunate to let such an opportunity pass us by. Don't just think of it as "surfing the net" or "driving down the Information Superhighway," but as something more exciting such as ... oh, how about virtual cow-tipping?
