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Picks of the Week - What's New - US Picks - Yahoo! Aust./NZ Picks - Yahoo! Canada Picks - Yahoo! France Picks - Yahoo! Germany Picks - Irish Picks - Scottish Picks
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Picks of the Week - What's New - US Picks - Yahoo! Aust./NZ Picks - Yahoo! Canada Picks - Yahoo! France Picks - Yahoo! Germany Picks - Irish Picks - Scottish Picks
We've had fun discovering those sites that make Yahoo! UK & Ireland one of the best places to find UK or Irish sites, so we thought we'd share a few with you. If you have any suggestions, please send us a note about them. Also send any general thoughts or comments about Picks of the Week or even suggest sites you'd like us to consider for the next issue. Click here if you only want to view the list of sites.
I was working late at the office, chasing up the final leads on the MacDougal case. It was one of those hot and balmy nights, the kind of nights that make you want to sink into a chair with a bottle of rye. There was a knock at the door. In walked a dame all dressed in black with legs up to her armpits. She looked mean, the kind of woman who'd be packing a piece and not afraid to use it.
"What can I do for you, Mrs...?"
"...Johnson, but call me Madeleine, please."
"What can I do for you, Mrs Johnson? Lemme guess: husband cheating on you? Cat got stuck up a tree?"
"No, Mr Marlowe. I'm on a mission. A mission to track down some cool sites." She rolled her eyes at me. I had no choice but to roll them back.
"Hey, I'm the one who does the tracking down here." I thought I'd be short with her. I didn't like her tone. She had the kind of voice that could frighten off a tiger at twenty paces. I let her know I was busy.
"Why didn't you call instead of just turning up here unannounced?" I asked.
"I couldn't find your number," she complained.
Typical. Didn't use her intuition. There's no excuse these days for not finding a number. She should've checked BT Phonenet UK, the entire phone book for both residential and business customers now on-line. And about time too. Just a shame it's so damn slow. I pointed this out to her, but she was a smart cookie. I knew she'd have some excuse.
"Every time I use the Internet, I've got to pay for each call I make."
But I was a step ahead of her already. You've got to be if you're going to make it as a decent Private Investigator.
"You don't know about the Campaign for Unmetered Telecommunications?" I asked.
She looked flustered. I had her against the ropes the way Rocky Marciano had Jersey Joe Walcott in Round 4.
"What? Cat got your tongue? The C.U.T. is working for fair pricing and the introduction of unmetered local voice and data calls. The 6th of June will see a European Telecom Boycott to protest at high telecommunications charging. Anyone who uses the Internet ought to read it.
I lit another cigarette. "Do you know what those things can do to you?" she asked. "Sure," I replied, remaining calm and collected. She was glaring at me - cat-like - icy and cold like the winters in Chicago.
"You want to take care of yourself, Mr Marlowe. You're putting on some weight too. Why don't you look at mynutrition.co.uk. The pastel shades may be more subtle than a mouse on tip-toes, but you owe it to yourself to read this on-line guide for everything to do with healthy food, eating and supplements. Buy yourself some vitamins, find out what ailments can be affected by your diet. Sure is enough here to keep you healthy."
I told her I didn't need a lecture. I had work to do and it was growing late. The shadows were lengthening outside as the room filled with smoke and grew murky. It was getting kind of hot in there, somehow things didn't feel quite right. Something about the room's appearance was getting to me. I could feel the walls closing in. She was sensing my discomfort.
"Hey, Mr Marlowe. You okay? You're looking kind of peeky. Look at this place. The way you've arranged this furniture... looks like a blind bull's been dragged through a porcelain shop. Do yourself a favour, take a look at On-Line Feng Shui."
"Who's that? Sounds like a Chinaman."
"No. It's all to do with interior design. The way natural energy affects our daily lives. Colours to enhance the room's energy, what steps you can take to diffuse negative energy."
"That sounds like a heck of a lot of energy."
"Sure is, but with this site you can have your room surveyed by experts on-line for less than a tenth it'd cost to bring them out to your house or office."
"I ain't having no-one telling me how to arrange my room, Mrs Johnson. Now if you wouldn't mind, I got work to be getting on with. I'm busier than an extremely busy bee."
"Sure has been nice talking to you, Mr Marlowe." She turned around and headed for the door, her high heels clip-clopping along the floor like a shetland pony.
I called after her: "You better check out the Raymond Chandler Web Site. He's the boss. He created me. Better show him some respect."
"I'll do that, Mr Marlowe, don't you worry." And in a flash, she was gone.