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Author Topic: Useful webpages
Sara Sasse
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Here are a few I've used today. They are geared for those certain circumstances when nothing else will do.

1. To shrink an url (or to use when a site like Hatrack won't accept a mark in an url you want to post): www.tinyurl.com

2. To generate a letter of recommendation using a walk-through tool, click on the top link at this site: http://www.boxfreeconcepts.com/reco/masgen.html

(The letter of rec generator is great for beginners or to dash something off, but you really should personalize it if you can. Personalized reference letters with specific illustrative examples are much better.)

3. To use a simple or complicated calculator online: www.calculator.com

4. Basic dictionary and thesaurus tool from Merriam Webster Online at: www.m-w.com

5. To convert from metric to English measurement or vice versa: http://convert.french-property.co.uk/

I don't know why that last one is at "Internet French Property" -- always cracks me up. [Smile]

[ October 13, 2004, 02:57 PM: Message edited by: Sara Sasse ]

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ketchupqueen
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For checking spelling or the meaning of a word, or finding that word you can't quite think of using their reverse lookup feature, One Look Dictionary Search. Recipes for almost anything are at Recipezaar.

[ October 13, 2004, 02:54 PM: Message edited by: ketchupqueen ]

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zgator
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If you're a Halloween decorations freak, you'll like this.

Halloween Monster List

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Sara Sasse
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Wow, adam. Thanks!
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WishfulWiggin
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Word Unscramble

Not only does this page unscramble words, it also provides a dictionary, cross-word finder, and rhyming dictionary.

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Bokonon
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www.onelook.com

It ups Sara's m-w.com ante. It looks up a word in that, and about 2 dozen other dictionaries quickly, providing you a quick definition, and allowing you to check each dictionary's subtle differences.

-Bok

EDIT: Doh, I missed the reccommendation above.

[ October 13, 2004, 03:16 PM: Message edited by: Bokonon ]

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James Tiberius Kirk
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http://www.google.com -- Best. Site. Ever. [Big Grin]

And < http://www.archive.org >, the internet public archive, for a number of things:

1) You can see old webpages, you can see what a website looked like a few years ago (try hatrack.com, for example) Do note however, that the wayback machine (the old webpage service) went offline recently for maintenence.

2) You can find old and historical videos (such as the Duck And Cover video and other educational videos-- some of which are now considered blatant propaganda-- from that time, the Why We Fight series, etc)

3) Texts/links to texts of books with expired copyrights, much like Project Gutenburg

And so forth. It's my second favorite website, after Google.

And there's always VPlanet < http://vplanet.cjb.net >, a modern qbasic programming site, with a bunch of free DOS games to pass the time. It's amazing what such an old language can do with the right amount of ASM and various libraries. [Smile] Go! Have a look!

--j_k

[ October 13, 2004, 03:22 PM: Message edited by: James Tiberius Kirk ]

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Sara Sasse
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I can always remember m dash w dot com. It's useful and streamlined, but usually all I need -- either simple dictionary check for spelling or thesaurus for ideas while writing a paper, to keep me from repeating myself.

Sometimes you just want a quickie.

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James Tiberius Kirk
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well, google has a define <blah> function. [Razz]

--j_k, googlelover

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Sara Sasse
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I can't believe I ever used any search engine other than google. There are a zillion things you can do with it, even use it as a calculator.

(I know, I know, sometimes some people find the structure of yahoo groupings to be helpful. But it's google all the way for me now.)

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dabbler
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zgator, that's incredible. Thanks so much for the link.
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Teshi
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To add another dictionary link, I have no idea how it compares to onelook but the Oxford English Dictionary online (www.oed.com) has many words from England's past that definately aren't in use anymore. It's useful if you're studying that sort of thing!

Without a subscription It offers a basic but extremely useful service.

EDIT: I had a very useful site that divided names by ethic category, but unfortunately it's only available through subscription, now. [Frown]

[ October 13, 2004, 03:48 PM: Message edited by: Teshi ]

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aspectre
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Whether powering spaceships to drop asteroids or melting the Antarctic icecap to make a financial killing on beachfront properties bought in the Midwest before they became beachfront, the TableOfNuclides is always a handy dandy reference when plotting to takeover the world.

[ October 13, 2004, 03:58 PM: Message edited by: aspectre ]

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Corwin
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And to add to the dictionary sites, since these seem to be everyone's favorite:
  • www.dictionary.com - based on other English dictionaries, you can search the word or, if you give an incorect sppeling, it will return words close to that one.
  • www.yourdictionary.com - a very useful collection of dictionaries, single or multi-language.
 
And since Teshi mentioned names, check this out: www.behindthename.com .
 
 
 
If there are any chessplayers around here - and I mean obsessed chessplayers - two of the top sites are:
(* for premium members; a membership costs $22/year)
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margarita
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Another awesome thing for Google is the unit conversion tool:

<number> <unit> (to) <new unit>

The first answer is generally the conversion, calculated for you.

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Corwin
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*bump*
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Lanfear
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www.digg.comAn Awesome site, that has awesome news. Users submit news, or an awesome website and it is temporarily on the main page. It enough people "digg" it , then it stays there, until it is replaced by another article with more diggs or dugs... i guess
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Shigosei
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

A free, open-content encyclopedia. Not considered completely reliable, but it's fun to browse, and is often a good starting point for learning about a subject.

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CaySedai
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Lanfear:

there is something wrong with your link, it has part of the UBB code in it. Can you edit it to take that out so it's just: http://www.digg.com?

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Beren One Hand
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http://www.sxc.hu/

Free stock photography for web designers.

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Mr.Funny
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Google Scholar: it searches through peer-reviewed scientific articles on the web. Great for people who are in school.
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