Welcome to the Web Side Café. Dedicated to broadening the knowledge base of all astro-computer users, we introduce you to subjects that can enhance and enrich the study of astrology. Some of these subjects include astronomy, mythology, history, information technology, computer tools, web users hazards and liabilities, and just plain fun.

Keep in mind that URLs are not immortal. All the following addresses have been checked out by the author, but cannot be guaranteed to answer their summons to your computer beyond the day of publication. We invite you to sit down with a steaming cup of Java or herb tea and explore the following sites. Enjoy!

Your host, Roxana Muise

The Ancient Sky

http://www.ancientsky.com/questing_first.html

I love mythology – mythic stories describe the parables of our lives; I also believe that we need more humor in our lives. This site has the most adorable animated story about Venus, Mars and Hephaistos. Don’t miss it!

TheKnownUniverse

http://www.theknownuniverse.com/comet.htm

Who manufactured the first commercial airliner? If you think the answer is Boeing Aircraft, you would be wrong. But for just one fatal flaw in design, Boeing would be but a footnote in history, and England would be ruling the skies. Links abound to other fascinating sub-sites.

And:

http://www.theknownuniverse.com/olympic.htm

In addition to the Titanic, two other identical ships, titans of the North Atlantic were built and delivered to the White Star, one of the two competing shipbuilders in the early twentieth century – those sister ships were Olympic and Gigantic. This site tells their stories. Just one more of the informative sub-sites of "TheKnownUniverse".

For Researchers:

http://www.findarticles.com/PI/index.jhtml

A neat site that allows you to search for magazine articles on any subject, or by or about any name. Great for researchers. Just looking for articles on or mentioning Astrology dredged up 722 articles. Thanks Jayj, for finding this site!

Bank Holidays of the World

http://www.national-holidays.com/

This site shows much more than days when banks are closed for religious or public occasions. Usable in 15 different languages, this site presents not only all the bank holidays for the year of your choice, but lists the National Day of 300 countries, holy days of 19 religions, monthly exceptional events for the current year. The Webmaster of this site also requests changes or new data for your country.

Propagation Web Site

http://dx.qsl.net/propagation/

Besides showing the correct time (UTC), this site provides radio propagation information, including current, and recent solar storms, sunspot activity, solar activity forecasts, and graphics of auroral activity in the northern and southern hemispheres. An impressive Gray Line Map shows the terminator band around the earth that separates daylight from darkness. Dramatic images of current views of the sun shown at different wavelengths of light as taken by SOHO and the Yohkoh soft-X-ray telescope, which enlarge with a click of your mouse.

Real-time View of the Heavens

http://www.heavens-above.com/

Register your location, and observe the current position of satellites such as the International Space Station. Observe the phase of the Moon, summary of planetary phenomena, and pictures of some of the brightest asteroids. This page shows the correct time and date in many forms, and links to many other astronomical sites.

Space Weather

http://www.spaceweather.com/

Keep up with what’s up in space. View the latest pictures of the Sun as seen from SOHO. The latest information on near-Earth asteroids, comets, and many galleries of photos of space phenomena, such as Lunar occultations, and videos of comets and eclipses. Or, subscribe to Space Weather News! Subscriptions are free, and NASA will send you regular emails describing conditions in space, such as sunspots, solar storms, and auroras. Available in Spanish.

The Age Gauge

http://frontiernet.net/%7Ecdm/age1.html

Got time for a walk down memory lane? Enter your birth date on this site, and you will be shown a list of famous people, and how much difference there is in your ages. It also reminds you how old you were when certain events occurred. Be sure to try all four age gauges.

Secure Computing: Updates for Windows and Macs

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q320454

Fractal Pictures and Quantum Physics

http://www.jracademy.com/~jtucek/gif/swirls.gif

Lots of great fractal pictures that enlarge at a click. This site is loaded with well-written descriptive information about fractals and their uses, quantum and classical physics, and a glossary of terms.

US Postal Service Search Site

http://www.usps.gov/ncsc/lookups/lookup_ctystzip.html

Zip code searches by city and state, or by zip code to locate associated cities.

Bounced E-Mails

http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/2002/BouncedEmail.html

How does your email get lost in cyberspace? There are lots of reasons for bounced email, and it’s not always that the recipient moved or closed the box. This common-sense article enumerates the many ways that your missive can show up back in your email in-box like a lost puppy. Take heart – you may be able to take action to get it delivered to the right place. This single page on the Webopedia site has lots of cross references, as well as successfully providing access to the consummate on-line dictionary of the Web. The main page is http://webopedia.com/

Medical Information from Several Sources

It seems like there are a lot of illnesses and injuries these days. Thank you Rita for sharing these four web sites!

http://mdchoice.com/index.asp?

Medical Information - As in-depth as you want. Descriptions of conditions, treatment options, and patient information. Type in symptoms to find potential problems.

http://www.innerbody.com

In-depth descriptions and illustrations of the different systems of the human anatomy.

http://www.rxlist.com/

The Internet drug index – fast, reliable information about prescription drugs, with cross-referencing for medical conditions. Many articles about procedures, treatments and their effectiveness.

http://www.ama-assn.org/aps/amahg.htm

Search for AMA Doctors select by name or specialty. If you choose to search by specialty, you may enter a City, state, or zip code. You may expand the search to doctors’ education, licensure, and certification.

Alternative Medicine

http://www.pitt.edu/~cbw/altm.html

American Holistic Health Association

http://www.ahha.org/ahre.htm

A database of over 200 AHHA Practitioners Members; organizations that provide referrals to a wide variety of healthcare practitioners; and multidisciplinary health care centers that offer exclusively alternative therapies, or integrate alternative therapies with conventional medicine. In-depth information helps you find the right therapies. Designed for patients and their families. This is a membership organization, but well worth it.

Anatomy and the Zodiac

http://www.janeridderpatrick.com/ma/Anatomy_and_the_zodiac.pdf

An extract from "A Handbook of Medical Astrology" by Jane Ridder-Patrick lists all of the degrees of the zodiac and correlated parts of the human anatomy.

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