A famosa enciclopédia on-line Wikipedia vai ganhar uma versão impressa. Trará os 50 mil artigos mais populares da enciclopédia colaborativa e será publicada pela editora alemã Bertelsmann.

O Wikipedia funciona bem. Todavia, há uma alternativa mais completa, a Answers.com. Trata-se de uma enciclopédia on-line que agrega informações de vários sites (Wikipedia, WikiAnswers, as enciclopédias Britannica e da Columbia etc.).

Search: Answers.com, Ask.com, Google (ofcourse!), Google Earth, Google Maps, Hakia, Live Search, Wikia, Wikipedia, Yahoo!.

Browsing & Tools: Firefox, Google Reader, iGoogle, IE 7, iPhone, Maxthon, My Yahoo!, Opera, Safari, Windows Live Home.

Publishing: .MAC, Blogger, Drupal, Flickr, FotoFlexer, Photobucket, Picasa Web Albums, Twitter, Wordpress & Wordpress.com, Worth 1000.

Social: Bebo, Deviantart, Facebook, Friendster, Gaia Online, Google Groups, LiveJournal, MySpace, Stardoll, Yahoo! Groups.

It seems that Google won in every category except Audio, Utility & Security and Video. Thats still makes Google the winner in 7 out of 10 categories!

The complete list can be viewed here:
http://www.webware.com/html/ww/100/2008/winners.html

________________________

Another day, another bomb scare.

She watched the news with a sigh, listened to the rantings of political madmen on the verge of midnight with that all too familiar glazed over look. Krispy Kreme eyes, the locals called it. The ones that were still fighting said it was a side effect of the zeitgeist. And to an extent, they were right. Mankind was in its elder phase. Every time the world revolved, it wanted to die. There was enough life left for a lick and a promise, not much more.

She remembered when her life was once sapid. Childhood. Before being forced to go to school. Reading grades above her level, the days when she was smart and even a bit innocent at times. In those times, there was nobody else. Just her, mother, and father. There was nobody to please. It was the only way one could be free. Young eyed and bushy tailed. It ended much too quickly. Starting at Kindergarten, she began to grow.

The first day was hard, everyday after that even more so. The teacher automatically disliked her. Her peers thought she was odd. Oh, how she longed to be one of them. Dumbing down to fit in. Realizing too late that it was like fitting a square peg in a round hole. The hate seed was planted and within years, it took root in her veins. The more she looked around at her fellow man, the more she despised. Rare serendipities that cried objection were overruled by studies of human nature. By eighteen, she became a nihilist in every sense of the word. Humanity never cared about itself, she thought, why should I care for it?

Handrolled cigarette pressed against lips. A cheap knockoff of a Zippo lighter provided the flame. Both were contraband, she knew. Getting caught with it meant paying more money she didn't have over to a government that couldn't handle money if it grew on trees. But there was no stopping an urge. It became her praxis in a way. Breaking the law was an art in her mind even for such a minor thing. Plus, she found many ways to start an apartment fire if the event called for such. A hum progressed. Music was in the mind. Though the tune hadn't been heard in over a year, the mantic lyrics rang in loud and clear.

Things are going to slide, slide in all directions
Won't be nothing, nothing you can measure anymore
The blizzard of the world has crossed the threshold
And it has overturned the order of the soul

In that moment, her eyes closed and was taken in by ataraxia. The thought of the rings becoming smaller was calming. Human nature would do what she alone couldn't. It was only a matter of time before the world caved in, becoming semilunar and misshapen.

Until then, she would sit with her smokes and halva, waiting for midnight.

Are you an educator? Your class can enter the Classroom Edition as a team to learn new vocabulary words and sharpen writing skills. The winning class will receive free movie tickets.

Entries are due by October 1, 2007. Click here for full submission details.

Source of message:
Liz Cohen,
Chief BlogWatcher
Answers.com™

 Off I went, once, to Oxford for my PhD
And to think that I thought that was the life for me
But I started to write, and oh golly! Oh gee!
It was fun! What a joy! Yes, sirree! Yip yippee!
I'm famous for cat's hats and green eggs and ham
For yertles and sneetches and grinches, I am —
I teach kids to love reading; I'm glad as a clam!
Anapestic tetrameter — that hits the spot
But iambs and trochees I use, too, a lot.
I've no kids of my own but I'm sure young at heart!

Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Geisel, would have been 103 years old today.

Quote: I meant what I said/ And I said what I meant/ An elephant's faithful/ One hundred percent — Horton the elephant in Horton Hatches the Egg

 Off I went, once, to Oxford for my PhD
And to think that I thought that was the life for me
But I started to write, and oh golly! Oh gee!
It was fun! What a joy! Yes, sirree! Yip yippee!
I'm famous for cat's hats and green eggs and ham
For yertles and sneetches and grinches, I am —
I teach kids to love reading; I'm glad as a clam!
Anapestic tetrameter — that hits the spot
But iambs and trochees I use, too, a lot.
I've no kids of my own but I'm sure young at heart!

Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Geisel, would have been 103 years old today.

Quote: I meant what I said/ And I said what I meant/ An elephant's faithful/ One hundred percent — Horton the elephant in Horton Hatches the Egg

 Off I went, once, to Oxford for my PhD
And to think that I thought that was the life for me
But I started to write, and oh golly! Oh gee!
It was fun! What a joy! Yes, sirree! Yip yippee!
I'm famous for cat's hats and green eggs and ham
For yertles and sneetches and grinches, I am —
I teach kids to love reading; I'm glad as a clam!
Anapestic tetrameter — that hits the spot
But iambs and trochees I use, too, a lot.
I've no kids of my own but I'm sure young at heart!

Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Geisel, would have been 103 years old today.

Quote: I meant what I said/ And I said what I meant/ An elephant's faithful/ One hundred percent — Horton the elephant in Horton Hatches the Egg

 Off I went, once, to Oxford for my PhD
And to think that I thought that was the life for me
But I started to write, and oh golly! Oh gee!
It was fun! What a joy! Yes, sirree! Yip yippee!
I'm famous for cat's hats and green eggs and ham
For yertles and sneetches and grinches, I am —
I teach kids to love reading; I'm glad as a clam!
Anapestic tetrameter — that hits the spot
But iambs and trochees I use, too, a lot.
I've no kids of my own but I'm sure young at heart!

Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Geisel, would have been 103 years old today.

Quote: I meant what I said/ And I said what I meant/ An elephant's faithful/ One hundred percent — Horton the elephant in Horton Hatches the Egg

 Off I went, once, to Oxford for my PhD
And to think that I thought that was the life for me
But I started to write, and oh golly! Oh gee!
It was fun! What a joy! Yes, sirree! Yip yippee!
I'm famous for cat's hats and green eggs and ham
For yertles and sneetches and grinches, I am —
I teach kids to love reading; I'm glad as a clam!
Anapestic tetrameter — that hits the spot
But iambs and trochees I use, too, a lot.
I've no kids of my own but I'm sure young at heart!

Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Geisel, would have been 103 years old today.

Quote: I meant what I said/ And I said what I meant/ An elephant's faithful/ One hundred percent — Horton the elephant in Horton Hatches the Egg

Last night one girl was discussing the skin condition on her upper arms, "ketosis pylaris," that caused little bumps like chicken skin. This caught my attention because I too have this condition, but never really thought much about it. The workout-obsessed guy in the room questioned her use of "ketosis," which he was quite sure actually referred to a metabolic condition caused by burning too much fat or protein or something. So in one question, I can both learn about my bumpy arms and laugh at the girl for using the wrong word. Trust me, she's not nice, and clearly deserves to be mocked at any opportunity.

Because I'm assuming she's using the wrong first word and I don't know how the second is spelled, I just start by googling ketosis pylaris. Google responds with "Did you mean: keratosis pilaris" Why yes, I bet I did! But before switching to that search, I click the Answers.com definition link for ketosis. Workout-man was right, it is a metabolic thing, although the answers provided conflict over whether it's normal or a bad thing.

Armed with the correct word and spelling, I switch over to Wikipedia.

Keratosis pilaris (KP) is a very common genetic follicular condition that is manifested by the appearance of rough bumps on the skin and hence colloqually [sic] referred to as "chicken skin". Primarily, it appears on the back and outer sides of the upper arms... Worldwide, KP affects an estimated 40 to 50% of the adult population...

Keratosis pilaris tends to occur as excess keratin, a natural protein in the skin, accumulates around hair follicles (process known as hyperkeratinization). Bearing only cosmetic consequence, the condition most often appears as a proliferation of tiny hard bumps that are seldom sore or itchy...

There is no cure for Keratosis pilaris; treatments are largely symptomatic and must be repeated. Regardless, exfoliation, intensive moisturizing cremes, Retin-A, and medicated lotions containing alpha-hydroxy acids or urea may be used to temporarily improve the appearance and texture of affected skin.
(see original)

Nifty! As it's purely cosmetic, I don't feel the need to go through extensive loofah and chemical regimes to deal with something half the population has. But I think the name "keratosis pilaris" sounds imminently fatal. "I'm not well, my keratosis pilaris is acting up"... I'm thinking that might get me off work early at least a couple days a year!

By the way, I also used Wikipedia to confirm the proper use of "sic" so I could point out that it wasn't me who mistyped colloquially. I am all ego.