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

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     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"]

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            .~~~.  ))
  (\__/)  .'     )  ))          Patrick Douglas Crispen
  /o o  \/     .~        Network Solutions Inc. / The InterNIC
 {o_,    \    {          Business E-mail: crispen@internic.net
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