From crispen@INTERNIC.NET Sat Oct 11 00:28:34 1997 Date: Thu, 9 Oct 1997 21:20:08 -0400 From: crispen@INTERNIC.NET Reply-To: TOURBUS-Request@LISTSERV.AOL.COM To: TOURBUS@LISTSERV.AOL.COM Subject: TOURBUS -- 9 OCTOBER 1997 -- DARK ALLIANCE/WEB MOLECULES This post contains inline ASCII graphics which look best in a monospace font like Courier. Text-to-speech readers should turn off punctuation now. _________ ____________ ________ __________ _____________ ___ _ / | / | | / | \ | "Why | Surf When / You Can | Ride The | Bus?" / | \ |__________|__________/__________|__________|___________/ | \ / /______|----\ | Visit the TOURBUS website to see the Archives, |//////| | | FAQ, and Subscription Information! |//////| | | http://www.TOURBUS.com |//////| | \________________________________________________________|______|____| / \ / \ / \ \___/ \___/ T h e I n t e r n e t T o u r B u s \___/ TODAY'S TOURBUS STOP(S): DARK ALLIANCE/WEB MOLECULES TODAY'S ADDRESS: http://www.sjmercury.com/drugs/ http://www.sjmercury.com/drugs/start/ http://www.sjmercury.com/drugs/postscriptstart.htm http://molecules.com/vrmlmols/ http://hiwaay.net/~crispen/vrml/ Howdy, y'all! I want to give a special thank you to the folks at the Society of Research Associates (SRA) for inviting me to speak at their 1997 international conference this past weekend in Atlanta. This was the third year in a row that I have spoken at an SRA conference. In fact, some of our old-time bus riders might remember how much trouble I got myself into last year when I mistakenly mentioned that I thought that Toronto, site of last year's SRA conference, was a "frozen tundra." A quick conversation with some of Toronto's famous black squirrels (each of which are roughly the same size as an adult walrus) quickly cleared me of this misconception. :) What does this have to do with today's TOURBUS post? Well, just remember the phrase "I mistakenly mentioned." You'll see why this phrase is so important in just a minute. First, our dear friend Dave Taylor is back as a TOURBUS sponsor. If you haven't stopped by his Web page yet, please do and thank him for his continuing help in keeping our little bus of Internet happiness chugging along. *-------------------------[ BE COOL! ]----------------------------* Jump start your Web pages with a copy of the best-selling book "Creating Cool HTML 3.2 Web Pages" by guru Dave Taylor. For info and FREE online HTML lessons, visit here: *------------ -----------* DARK ALLIANCE ------------- With the number of times that I have stuck my foot in my mouth over that last couple of weeks/years, I really get the feeling that your fearless bus driver is going to develop a case of athlete's tongue!. Last week I wrote . . . [T]he San Jose Mercury News recently received some negative publicity for their three part series titled "Dark Alliance" which erroneously linked the spread of crack cocaine in Los Angeles to the CIA's fund-raising efforts to support the Nicaraguan Contras. It turns out that my use of the word "erroneous" was way too harsh. What I should have said instead is that, according to the Executive Editor of the San Jose Mercury News, "[t]here is evidence to support the specific assertions and conclusions of our series . . . as well as conflicting evidence on many points." So what now? Well, in light of my recent guffaw, I thought that it might be a good idea to make the San Jose Mercury News' Dark Alliance web site our first TOURBUS stop of the day. After all, I'm willing to bet that a lot of you are like me: you've read about the Dark Alliance series in Time, Newsweek, or your local newspaper, but you never had the time to actually sit down and read the series. The kind folks at the San Jose Mercury News have set up a Dark Alliance Web site at http://www.sjmercury.com/drugs/ Actually this page is sort of a welcome screen telling you that you are about to read a recent column written by Mercury News Executive Editor Jerry Ceppos. Ceppos' column is an epilogue to the series, explaining how he feels that the series did not meet the Mercury News' standards in 4 areas (a conclusion with which the series' author disagrees). The 3 original, unedited articles in the Dark Alliance series can be found on the Web at http://www.sjmercury.com/drugs/start/ and a postscript to the series, showing the media and government reaction to the series, can be found at http://www.sjmercury.com/drugs/postscriptstart.htm I'd strongly recommend that you take the time to read both the original series and the reactions that can be found in the postscript. Why? Well . . . 1. As Jerry Ceppos' points out, "[t]here is evidence to support the specific assertions and conclusions of our series . . ." 2. No matter what the final outcome of this series is, I really think that this series is going to be talked about for a long time. I would not be surprised if my kids -- and no, I don't have kids yet ... heck, I can't even get a DATE! -- came home from a Mass Communications class 20 years from now asking me to tell them what I know about the Dark Alliance series. WEB MOLECULES ------------- I think I am losing my mind. I _swear_ that my dad wrote a TOURBUS post some time ago about VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language), but I can't seem to find that post ANYWHERE. Perhaps I am imagining things. :( Anyway, our next stop is at Molecular Arts' Web site at http://molecules.com/vrmlmols/ The reason why I mention VRML is that Molecular Arts has a 3D VRML library of over 2,000 molecules. If you have never heard about VRML (a special modeling language that lets you view and manipulate 3 dimensional objects or worlds on your screen), I would strongly recommend that you take a look at my dad's "Introduction to VRML" page at http://hiwaay.net/~crispen/vrml/ While the nice folks at CNET's builder.com recently posted a "20 questions on VRML article" on their site, I think you'll find that my dad's VRML site is a little more comprehensive (and I am not just saying that because my dad gave me his bank card). Hopefully, my dad's page will help you set up your computer so that you can start viewing VRML worlds in no time. As I said, Molecular Arts' VRML model page has a library of over 2,000 3 dimensional molecules that you can view on your computer screen. Using a frames-capable Web browser with a VRML plug-in (my dad's page can tell you where to download the plug-in), you can view molecules by category, view fragments by category, view molecules by formula, or view molecules by their orbitals and valences. What's cool about the VRML molecule models is that you can use your mouse to fly around inside each of thee various molecules. In fact, you can even fly around the molecules of the contolled substances mentioned in the Dark Alliance series (although, if you want my humble opinion, I'd skip those molecules and instead view some of the more "fun" molecules -- the molecules that you can find lying around the house. Trust me, you haven't _LIVED_ until you have flown through a caffeine molecule). :) That's about it for this week. Have a safe and happy weekend! TODAY'S TOURBUS STOP(S): DARK ALLIANCE/WEB MOLECULES TODAY'S ADDRESS: http://www.sjmercury.com/drugs/ http://www.sjmercury.com/drugs/start/ http://www.sjmercury.com/drugs/postscriptstart.htm http://molecules.com/vrmlmols/ http://hiwaay.net/~crispen/vrml/ -------------------------------- TODAY'S SOUTHERN WORD OF THE DAY -------------------------------- FLAW (noun) - Where most children -- including me -- keep their clothes. Usage: "Dern ... I tumped the glass ovah on tha flaw." (Special thanks to Melody Reynolds for today's wurd) YOU CAN FIND ALL OF THE OLD SOUTHERN WORDS OF THE DAY ON THE SOUTHERN WORD HOMEPAGE AT http://ua1ix.ua.edu/~crispen/word.html [By the way ... that's "you-ay-won-eye-ex"] =--------------------------------------------------------------------= For info on my new book "Atlas for the Information Superhighway" Visit http://ua1ix.ua.edu/~crispen/atlas.html --------------------------------------------------------------------- =====================[ TOURBUS Rider Information ]=================== The Internet TOURBUS - U.S. Library of Congress ISSN #1094-2238 Copyright 1995-97, Rankin & Crispen - All rights reserved Archives on the Web at http://www.TOURBUS.com Join: Send SUBSCRIBE TOURBUS Your Name to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.AOL.COM Leave: Send SIGNOFF TOURBUS to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.AOL.COM PROMOTE your business on the Internet TOURBUS. Reach over 80,000 people in a Net-friendly way. Our sponsors say "It works!" Make it work for you - contact BobRankin@MHV.net for details. Editors: Reprint TOURBUS in your publication for free - Ask me how. Send this copy to 3 friends and tell them to hop on the Bus! ===================================================================== .~~~. )) (\__/) .' ) )) Patrick Douglas Crispen /o o \/ .~ Network Solutions Inc. / The InterNIC {o_, \ { Business E-mail: crispen@internic.net / , , ) \ Personal E-mail: crispen@brigadoon.com `~ '-' \ } )) http://www.brigadoon.com/~crispen/ _( ( )_.' '---..{____} Warning: squirrels.