Favorite Links

The Internet contains an amazing mass of information and it keeps changing. Sorting the gold from the flotsam and jetsam gets harder all the time. While I occasionally discover great new sites, I have a core few that I visit often. I hope you find some of mine enjoyable as well. The list is presented in alphabetical order. Those with an RSS feed are indicated with the RSS icon ().

Amazon

Probably the best eCommerce site on the web in general. While I have other sites that are great for niche items, Amazon remains the best for most items that are reasonable to buy over the Internet. The free shipping they award for most purchases really can't be beat. Most of my books and software come from this venerable site.

Board Game Geek

This site is an amazing database of nearly every game made over the past 100 years. It is maintained by user-contributed photos, reviews and other information. Remember a game from your childhood you can't find anymore? Look it up here, they're sure to have it, including probably many different versions and where to buy it. No video games (use MobyGames, below, for those), but every other type of game which you play face to face with other real people (and several hundred solitaire games too) is included in this fun, informative website. If you're feeling generous, you can get me a game from my wish list!

Google

The number one search engine has become a suite of useful and thoughtful applications. While just their number one search would be enough, Google has upped the ante with scores of side projects and web apps. I use Google Reader for reading my RSS feeds, Gmail for my web-based email service, Google Language Tools for translating foreign text and, before I got a Tom-Tom, I couldn't live without Google Maps. I even have iGoogle as my web portal. You never know what will come out of Google Labs next, but you can bet it'll be cool and useful.

Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Its association with Amazon.com aside, the IMDb is probably the most useful site for film and actor information on the Internet. The IMDb has full credits, production notes, business notes, location details and user reviews for nearly every movie ever made. It also covers the entire works for every actor in every movie. Many actor pages even have full biographies as well. The IMDb even covers shorts and direct-to-video movies. I always check here to see what movies are playing near me—I haven't looked for this stuff in the newspaper in years. If you ever need detailed information on an actor or a film, check here (along with Wikipedia, of course).

Kona Earth

Gary Strawn has a great blog on the ins and outs of running a coffee farm. Gary is a former game programmer turned coffee farmer, a rarity to be sure. He's a personal friend of mine (he was my mentor, as a matter of fact), which is how I learned about his blog. But even more important than that is that I hear his coffee is some of the best in the world. And I don't have to take his word for it. I've gotten some from him and people who've tasted it say it's incredible (I don't drink coffee, so I'll have to assume they're right). So, head over to his website and order some, already.

MobyGames

A great site for video game information. This site goes neck and neck with Wikipedia for this type of content. I usually check both for the best information. Wikipedia wins sometimes because they carry articles on games that haven't yet been released, but MobyGames usually has tons of screenshots and information on older, obscure titles. Of course, MobyGame's greatest feature is full game credits. Though it is not complete, it even has a profile on me. Check it out for all the minutia on your favorite video games.

New Egg

A great site for video cards & other PC perpherals. I ordered a video card from them, it arrived quickly and it didn't fit my PC! I shipped it back, I got a refund, no questions asked (well, a few, but they were quick and easy). I ordered another smaller card and it arrived just as quickly as they first one had. I still have it and it works great. Check this site out first if you need a digital gadget.

Ninjawords

Ninjawords is a really great, fast dictionary. I used to use Merriam-Webster's site all the time for word spellings and definitions. Now I use Ninjawords almost exclusively. Not only is it very fast, as it bills itself, it's also ad-free, which is more than I can say for most Internet dictionary sites (but, since I have the brains to use Firefox with the AdBlock add-in, I never see ads anyway). Also, unlike other Internet dictionaries, it automatically gives you synonyms without asking for them (other dictionaries I've used require you to do a seperate query for synonyms). Another nice feature is a small history of words you've looked up recently. Plus, it has a cool tie-in with Wikipedia—it uses Wiktionary for its content!

Snopes

The greatest hoax and myth debunking site on the Internet! Whenever I see a photo of something extraordinary of hear of a killer virus, I go here first to check it out. No, Alfred Nobel's wife didn't run off with a mathematician and, no, Walt Disney's body isn't cryogentically frozen. Check out your pet myths on this great site. Warning: Some myths are, er, rather gross. Though the site has warnings of its own, proceed at your own risk. Snopes isn't censored.

The Straight Dope

Another great site that debunks several myths, but also has information that is rather difficult to come by. The site's author, Cecil Adams, is actually a whole group of experts with specialties in various fields. Each myth or question is answered thoroughly and in language easy enough for the layman. This site also has a PG-13 rating because some people just ask some really bizarre questions. And sometimes the site's illustrations are pretty risque.

Think Geek

Probably the greatest collection of geek toys and tools anywhere! Want an LED Binary Clock? They have it! How about a Wi-Fi Detector Shirt? Yep. What about a Swiss Memory USB w/ Laser? Of course. A Giant Swiss Army Knife? Absolutely! Just about any geek toy or tool you can think of, they have. And they have scores you probably have never heard of, but once you see them, know you need them. A great site for geeks and for those who love them.

Violent Acres

I don't read many blogs, but Violent Acres is one that I do read. The anonymous "V", as she refers to herself, is a great vessel of wisdom, humor and—sometimes horrifying—material. She swears like a sailor and, while this would be offensive if it came from someone like me (a bald, fat, middle-aged, white male), coming from a skinny thirty-something housewife (somewhat a housewife), it's just hilarious. I've already discussed one of her posts, but I may discuss more in the future. Beware: She swears a lot. If you're offended by such things, don't visit her site.

Wikipedia

It's kind of ironic that this site is almost last since it is my number one favorite site. If you don't know what Wikipedia is, where have you been hiding? Wikipedia is the number one greatest source of information on all subjects. While it may not be the best source for information on a single subject, such as David Crosby, it sure is the best source for information on a variety of subjects. No matter what you're looking for, you're almost sure to at least find some information on it in Wikipedia. And chances are, it has links to more information.

I've been a Wikipedia editor for years, and while I'm probably more of a WikiGnome than anything else, I have authored several articles. Take a look at my user page and my edit count. Warning: like other sites on this list, Wikipedia is not censored. While it has tons of information on lots of cool stuff, it also has articles on stuff which is really weird, really deviant and some stuff that is downright sick. So use with discretion and probably only with an adult. The gross stuff is not hard to avoid.

Worse Than Failure

This site was originally called "The Daily WTF?" While I think it stood for something very different then, it now stands for "Worse Than Failure". WTF has semi-daily accounts of adventures in IT and software engineering in general. Most are light-hearted, while some are warnings of being light on Internet security. While I don't purport to understand everything that is posted there (I'm not a database monkey who dabbles in SQL or a PHP coder), those I do understand are funnny and often enlightening. It's really worth a look if you're a coder or in some manner involved in programming.