Uncle Roger's Notebooks of Daily Life

Thank you Mr. Peabody

One of the great possibilities of the Internet is the as a public repository of information. The potential is even greater when the information is compiled and maintained by someone who is honestly interested in it. A prime example is the International Tap Association web site where lots of history and educational info about tap is available.

The internet archive is an incredible resource of audio, video, and even web information. " The Internet Archive is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like a paper library, we provide free access to researchers, historians, scholars, and the general public." There are tons of live recordings available, as well as presidential recordings and more. The moving pictures archive features news, movies, and more.

Best of all, perhaps, is the wayback machine. This is an archive of web sites past and present. Websites are visited and archived on a regular basis, providing the opportunity to look back at the way the web was. You can see how a web site has evolved and see information that would otherwise have been lost.

"The Internet Archive Wayback Machine is a service that allows people to visit archived versions of Web sites. Visitors to the Wayback Machine can type in a URL, select a date range, and then begin surfing on an archived version of the Web. Imagine surfing circa 1999 and looking at all the Y2K hype, or revisiting an older version of your favorite Web site. The Internet Archive Wayback Machine can make all of this possible."

The fact that all this is made available for free is one of the great examples of the true spirit of the internet.

Similarly, the Wikipedia is a free, community-edited encyclopedia. So far, I have yet to find a topic for which there has not been an entry. ABAG and Babar to yurts and Zork. The Wikipedia is extremely well linked, both internally and externaly; each article is full of links to more information in the Wikipedia as well as additional information at other sites.

The Wikipedia is a wonderful example of hypertext, the cross-linking of related bits of information. It is possible to jump from subject to subject, learning constantly as you go.

Another, excellent example of hypertext is the Internet Movie Database. There, you can select a movie to see all of the people who worked on it. You can then click on a name to see all of the movies they worked on. Click on another movie to keep going, almost indefinitely.

To the people behind these fantastic resources, I offer my sincere thanks!