Here are a few sites that I have found to be helpful in navigating the Internet.

How do I prepare for disasters, whether earthquake, hurricane, terrorist, fire or flood? Surf over to http://www.72hours.org for a concise and easy-to-read set of suggestions, well organized and graphically attractive. They cover home safety and food, lack of power, emergency services, pet and child care, first aid - all organized under How to Prepare and How to React. This is a site that every family can benefit from.

How do I...? Whatever your questions, try asking them at http://www.ehow.com They offer thousands of answers for thousands of questions. I tried asking about studying for the SAT exams, learning backgammon, buying a good fishing rod, and taking driving lessons. It's a good site to begin your searches. You can also sign up for their free eHow of the day, if you like.

How do I buy books at bargain prices? I always like to check half dot com first http://www.half.com I have saved as much as 70% on their site, and the shipping charges are very low. Another useful site for both books and music discounted is Daedalus Books http://www.daedalusbooks.com.

How do I rate my portfolio of all asset types, whether stocks, bonds, currencies, options, regional exposure, etc? Riskgrades is a fine place to begin http://www.riskgrades.com.You can have them grade an asset class for you, or grade it yourself if you prefer. Membership is free at this data-rich site.

Finally, not a site but a new book that will open your eyes to the revolution that Google has wrought, not only in searching for information, but in the basic structural model of business and the economy. Just published this month, "The Search: How Google and its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed our Culture" by John Battelle from Portfolio (a division of Penguin Books) in hardback at $25.95. is a well-written, thought-provoking and brilliant analysis of how even small businesses will have to change their methods to accommodate this new economic model. BTW, it is $17.95 at half.com.

As a follow-up to last month's discussion of a new Interplanetary Network, Internet Founder Vincent Cerf is leaving his position at MCI Communications to become "Chief Internet Evangelist" at Google, Inc. Dr. Cerf's peace-making skills will also be much in demand at his new location. He plans to concentrate on computer applications rather than network infrastructure, (or "the Internet's basic plumbing", as he calls it), specifically speech-based interfaces and geographically-indexed databases. Dr. Cerf comments, "The Internet has a billion users and we have 5.6 billion to go".

c.Corinne Whitaker 2005