My Favorite Links
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My Favorite Links |
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Home Page > Links
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This page has been linked from my front home page since March 2002. And I haven't changed it since April 2007. I've decided to retire this page and not link to it from the front page, but I'll keep a copy here for the sake of archiving it. Back in the late 1990's, a "links" page seemed the thing to do. So when I posted this in 2002, I felt lik it was overdue. But at this point, it seems old-fashioned. However, I still think it's interesting to see what I historically felt was worth linking to. --Matthew, June 12, 2010
My brother Andy asked me to post a list of some of my favorite web sites. For all the years that I've had this web site, I hadn't ever posted a traditional "links" page until now.
There's nothing too novel in this list, as I tend to use the big, standard web sites that everyone else does. I've added some comments about why I use each particular site.
Friends, Etc.
Songs from a Distant Planet
A Blog by David ShackelfordShaun and Gypsy.com Personal Home Page of Shaun Martin & Gypsy. Lots of pictures. BrianPedigo.com - Ex Mea Sententia
Brian's personal web siteRecent Earthquakes Live feed of recent California earthquakes. Search Engines
No surprises here. I use the standard, popular sites for searching the internet. If you're dissatisfied with the search results you get, you probably need to learn to use the existing search engines better, rather than finding some newer search engine.
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Which search engine should you use? This is an easy one. Use Google. It's the best one out there. In fact, I someday plan to add a little Google search to my own web page. |
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Sometimes I'll use altavista.com, too. But usually only when my Google search doesn't find what I want. |
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I also like Yahoo for some kinds of searches. Every entry is hand-checked by a person, so this is the best place to look through a hierarchical index of information. |
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About.com collects the best information on the internet on certain topics. They also write their own articles. I really like their Computing & Technology Section: http://about.com/compute/, which has all kinds of links to tutorials on programming. |
General Information
| An ad-free Yahoo-like site |
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MapBlast.com is my favorite place to look up driving directions because they have this LineDrive technology that draws really easy-to-follow directions. |
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MapQuest.com has the standard maps, but has recently added the ability to see aerial photos, like the picture of my house at left. Very cool. |
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Formerly Zip2.com, This site, infospace.com/info.zip is an great way to find businesses near an address. For example: what are the Five closest Taco Bells to my house? |
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Current calendar at: timeanddate.com/calendar This site also has the current time. |
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USPS.gov is the official site of the Post Office. It's the best place to find ZIP codes. |
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Where I look for movie times, and TV show times: movies.yahoo.com and tv.yahoo.com |
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The Internet Movie Database (imdb.com). Lots of information on almost all movies made. Run by the Amazon.com people. |
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Amazon.com has an amazing amount of information on all kinds of books. They also sell movies, electronics, etc. There may be cheaper places to buy from, but their customer service and all the extra features makes it worth it to use Amazon. I especially like their Wish List feature, which makes it easy to remember books you want to eventually buy. |
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Online Dictionary. www.m-w.com |
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Systran, at http://www.systransoft.com/, translates text and web pages between English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, and Portuguese. |
Computer Stuff
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I like cnet.com for their hardware reviews. I usually spend a lot of time reading reviews on this site before I buy any electronics. |
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ZDNet.com is somehow affiliated with c|net. Same type of site. |
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Tom's Hardware Guide (tomshardware.com) reviews the latest computer hardware. It's a good place to look for suggestions when you're putting togethether a computer. There are good articles about all the latest technology. |
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Similar to Tom's Hardware. Anandtech.com started as a teenager writing reviews about the new computer stuff he'd bought. |
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Another resource for hardware reviews, arstechnica.com has some well-written articles. |
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Once you've read the above sites to decide what to buy, go to GoGoCity.com to get it cheaply. I buy hard drives here. |
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ExtremeTech, "Passionately Committed to Technology". Articles about current technology. |
Fun
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Be careful: once you visit sodaplay.com, you may find yourself spending hours playing with these little toys. |
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HyperComplex.org has a bunch of cool-looking 3-D fractals, and some 4-D ones (videos, time is the 4th). You'll probably need a high-bandwidth connection to enjoy this site. |
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The Earth and Moon Viewer at http://www.fourmilab.ch/earthview/vplanet.html is a lot of fun to play with. That's where I got the pictures of where I live for my Place in Life article. |
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The Anagram server at WordSmith.org will mix up the letters in your name to spell interesting things. For example: "Matthew Weathers" is "Hate the Warm West". Try it yourself at: http://www.wordsmith.org/anagram/advanced.html |
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| Yahoo's Odd News | |
| Online Employee Evaluation |
Local
This section has local Los Angeles and La Mirada information that I sometimes use.
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The Recycler magazine has been in business since the 1970's. The have a unique business model of making the buyer pay for the ads. It's completely free to advertise in their paper, but buyers pay $1.35 to buy the magazine. But now you can see the ads for free at Recycler.com. It's a good place to buy used cars, used computers, used electronics, household appliances, etc. |
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The PennySaverUSA.com web site is another online version of a local magazine. It gets delivered with the mail free to every household in my area. In the La Mirada, Whittier, and La Habra area, it is the place to advertise apartments and houses for rent. |
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The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority (mta.net) runs all the buses, the light rail, and subway in L.A. County. This site has up-to-date schedules. |
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The Orange County Transportation Authority (octa.net) has bus schedules for Orange County, California. |
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The Los Angeles Department of Transportation (ladottransit.com) runs the 25-cent downtown DASH buses, and some commuter lines. |
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Norwalk Transit only runs a few bus lines, but one of them goes
along Imperial Highway, from La Mirada to the Metro Green Line Station: www.ci.norwalk.ca.us/transportation.asp |
| An official web site for them doesn't exist. So I made an unofficial one. |
Airline/Travel
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Airline
Ticket FAQ |
Before you buy an airline ticket, read this FAQ about how the airline industry works. Summary: Most web sites will show you the same info. For international flights: definitely go through a travel agent, they can get cheaper deals through consolidators, like airlineconsolidator.com |
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Expedia.com has a nice interface. It will show you mostly the retail prices. See FAQ above. |
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Use HotWire.com instead of PriceLine.com. HotWire tells you the lowest price you'd get with PriceLine. You trade flexibility for price at this site. |
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Southwest Airlines (iflyswa.com) doesn't list their flights on the other systems, but you can look up prices on their web site. |
| Sometimes, airlines will offer a little discount for buying tickets directly off their web site. Here are a few of the official airline web sites. | |
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Greyhound Lines (greyhound.com) might be a good alternative to flying. I saved $250 on a trip to Green Bay by flying to Chicago, and taking Greyhound the last 200 miles. |
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Or you could take the train. Amtrak.com (Note: there's no C in "Amtrak") |
If you notice any broken links on this site, please write a quick note below. Thanks.
Created and maintained by Matthew Weathers.
Last updated Jun 12, 2010.
