Web Links
New Stuff
This page seems to get updates about every four years. Perhaps I can improve that in the future? Maybe. Maybe not.
This page highlights certain interests I have and interesting links regarding them. Other, older, links of interest are available on my old site. I have (on January 26, 2017) removed dead links, updated the ones that are still around, and added a few that were recommended by e-mail (you know who you are: thanks!). Also added a section on computer programming languages that I've used, use, or hope to use.
Computers
- Jabberwacky - probably the most interesting chat bot around
- Languages - one of my archived Jabberwacky converstions. Quite funny.
Languages
- The Mystery of Nils - learn Norwegian with this excellent book (and the second book in the series). The accompanying website (linked above) has audio and teaching aids (many free, some fee), making an already excellent learning experience even better.
- aprender-ingles.net - learn English (intended for Spanish speakers)
- Google Translate - Google's language translator, including audio in many languages. This is my current favorite.
- Babelfish Translator, formerly "Bing Translator" - Microsoft's translator, formerly AltaVista's "Babelfish" multi-language translator...or something like that. See this article for more information about the history of Babelfish and automated translators in general.
- Learn Chinese Characters - point and click Chinese characters. Also has several famous Chinese texts.
- Google España - Google of Spain - for looking up stuff in Spanish
- International Forum - a Web forum for people of many languages (I'm not a member)
- Internet Terms - Spanish - also has links to other special-purpose lists of Spanish terms
- Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario weather - French-language weather for Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, where I spent a couple of weeks in spring of 2005
- How-to-learn-any-language.com - an interesting collection of linguistic information
- Upgraded Points.com Another "how to learn any language" site, this one is an interesting and informative infographic.
- Spanish Level Test - test your Spanish level on-line (by Transparent.com)
- Oklahoma City Spanish Language Meetup Group - local Spanish group (I'm a member)
- Study in Spain - information on studying Spanish in the country where Spanish is originally from.
- Spain visa information - in case you aren't from the Schengen countries, and want to study Spanish in Spain. Also provides information on other Schengen countries.
Maps
- Google Maps - enter street addresses, intersections, city/town names, or latitudes & longitudes, and Google will (usually) find them (address lookup only works in a few countries)
- OpenStreetMap - user-supported maps of the world, often more up-to-date, at least in the USA, than the "big" map sites, such as Google.
Web Forums
- Georeference.org - (Member: cms) - discusses Manifold GIS (I'm no longer active in this forum)
- Manifold GIS listserver - Argentina - (Member: cmsharpe73071) - in Spanish, with some Portuguese (this forum is almost inactive, and I'm no longer an active participant)
- ESRI - (Member: cms) - ESRI (ArcGIS) user forum
- Google Earth Community - (not a member) - forum for users of Google Earth
Computer Programming Languages
Ones I don't use anymore
- RPG II - The most horrible language I've ever had the displeasure of using. Was required for my first college degree (1977-1978).
- COBOL - Was also required for my first college degree, but I used it on the job for a short time, too (1978-1979 and 1985-1986.)
- Fortran - Formerly called "FORTRAN" (all capitals), this was my first programming language that I used on the job (1983-1985 and mid 1990s).
- Pascal - Now Delphi, I used the Metacomco version for the Commodore Amiga, which was a disaster (was never finished, and didn't have access to graphics/audio!) (late 1980s).
- Perl - Even though it rescued my interest in programming from the charred ashes left by C and C++, I no longer use Perl for anything new (used in mid 1990s).
- Tcl/Tk - Though I never really liked Tcl, the Tk GUI builder was unusually easy to use for its time...and that time was around 2000-2001 or so.
Use rarely
- BASIC - The ubiquitous language of 1980s home computers...now fractured into many dialects. I used this language from 1980 until the early 1990s.
- C - I resisted learning C for several years before finally succumbing to it in the early 1990s. C and C++ nearly killed my interest in programming, because I much prefer higher-level languages. Usage: early and mid 1990s.
- C++ - (See C, above) - I attempted to learn C++ from Microsoft documentation in the mid 1990s. Big mistake. My interest in programming in general went down in flames shortly after that. (But see Perl, above.)
- PHP - Although many (most?) of the pages on this website are at least partly in PHP, I don't develop much in PHP anymore. Usage: approximately 2000-present.
- Java - Java, while still my favorite object-oriented programming language, is awfully complex, and I now prefer to use functional languages and less-intimidating languages. Usage: about 2000 to present.
Still use quite a bit
- JavaScript - Yuck. I really do not like prototype-based languages (Lua, Io, JavaScript). However, it's impossible to avoid this one. My favorite JavaScript quote: "Never forget that JavaScript hates you" (from the end of this article, and repeated here, for example). Usage: 2000-present.
- Python - Easily my "most-used" language. It excels in mediocrity (in terms of programming paradigms–but its libraries are impressive), but is very easy to use for most small programming tasks, and even some large ones. Thanks, Guido von Rossum! Usage: 2001 to present.
Am interested in learning more about...
- Scala - My current (September 2017) favorite, but I'm still learning it. Scala mixes object orientation with functional programming, and has, at least for me, very helpful direct rendering of XML and XML-like data structures. This is the only one of this group of languages that I've already used for a significant project (that program constructs much of the HTML in the newest travel pages). Usage: 2017-present.
- Clojure - Its Lisp qualities are intriguing, and it is one of the more popular functional programming languages.
- Elm - Remember how JavaScript hates you? Well, Elm does, too, but in a much different way. Elm, as of this writing (September 2017) is not yet finished, so it's risky to put much effort into building Elm Web apps/pages...so far. Once finished, it promises to be a great language...sort of an improved Haskell for the Web.
- Haskell - The ultimate functional language...just learning it can improve programming techniques in other languages, whether or not it's used for practical projects. There's a great book on learning Haskell, too.
- R - Not a general-purpose programming language, but specifically aimed at statistics, R is more limited in scope than the others. However, I use statistics a lot, so hope to add some R projects in the not-too-distant future.
- Julia - Maybe. This "interest" list is already really long, but Julia has fascinated me ever since I first heard about it in 2015 (give or take a year). The article then said that Fortran could potentially be replaced someday by the Julia language. Maybe. Similar to R's emphasis on statistics, Julia is heavily weighted toward complex and high-speed mathematical computations. ...And...Julia has, in my opinion, the most attractive logo of all programming languages!
Latest update: November 21, 2019