You Can Get There from Here!

Abstract

One.enticing.IT.advertisement. asks.the.question,.“Where.do.you. want.to.go.today?”.For.those.of.us. engaged.in.world.mission.that.answer.is.“almost.everywhere,”.but. we.need.sharper.focus.than.that.. The. “web”. is.a. rabbit.warren. to. the.unsuspecting.and.unfocused,. and.you.can.wander.aimlessly.if. you.don’t.have.clear.direction. I.have.many.friends.who.begin. with. Yahoo. (www.yahoo.com). as. their. primary. search. engine.. I. generally. prefer. Google. (www. google.com).as.my.starting.point,. unless I have a specific idea of where.to.go..In.addition.to.being. one.of.the.best.search.engines.it. boasts.an.excellent.set.of.maps,. available.for.the.asking. The two difficulties with Google or.Yahoo.are.that.you.get.almost. everything.and.then.have.to.sift. through.it.all.and.that.is.very.time. consuming.. You. also. get. what. other.people.pay.them.to.put.on. top.of.the.pile..You.didn’t.think. the.web.was.commercialized? Since this is the first in this series,.we.shall.begin.at.the.beginning,.with.some.of.my.favorite. sites.for.traveling..Most.of.us.are. familiar.with.Expedia. (www.expedia.com).and.Biztravel.(www. biztravel.com).for.ticketing..I.generally.check.CNN.for.weather.and. focus down to the specific place (http://www.cnn.com/weather).. I.also.check.CNN.for.information. on.exchange.rates.(http://money.cnn.com/data/currencies).. •(http://www.geocities.com/ mailjohan/index.html).provides. a.primer.on.greetings,.etc.,.where. I.am.going.. •(http://www.flytecomm. com). assists. me. in. checking. flights and flight status. Since. it. is. always.helpful. to. know.something.of.where.you.are. going,.you.should.take.advantage. of.the.riches.of.the.web.. •(http://travel.state.gov/index.html).is.a.great.place.to.look. if.I.suspect.that.there.may.be.security.problems.or.travel.risks.. •American.Express.sponsors. a.very.informative.site.for.business. travelers. at. (http://www. virtualtourist.com).. •(http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com).provides.more.recent.updates.and.insights.from.the.publishers.of.the.great.travel.series.. •(http://www.loc.gov//rr/ international/portals.html). and. (http://www.gksoft.com/govt/ en/world.html). are. two. other. great.sites.with.loads.of.information.on.almost.all.countries. Many.of.these.sites.will.provide. links.to.other.sites..Follow.them.up. selectively,.remembering.my.caution.about.the.“rabbit.warren.” What.are.some.of.your.favorite.websites?.Let’s.make.this.an. interactive. column. by. including. ideas. from. you.. Send. your. suggestions.to.me.at.bcmoyer@ andrews.edu.