NEWS

You know how to get to ABC, MSN, etc.  The following are ones you may have heard of but never actually visited.  Be aware that some of these are full of official propaganda (i.e. the Chinese site)

BBC World News - The UK version (of everything).  A proven source of good news, including some from the U.S. that our own media don't/won't include.

Official Chinese News - Government run and very biased and censored.  A good example of a bad news system.

National Public Radio - Lots of stuff.

German News - Interesting if you live(d) there.

The Nashville Tennessean - Interesting if you...

KREM (TV) Spokane - You gotta live here.

Ajazeera - The Arab web site you've heard about in the news.  The number one site for Middle East nationals.  You may be surprised at their point of view, or not.

News for Specific Topics

These sites should be reliable for the topic they cover.  They are created and kept up by long established authorities.  Access is free, but you may only get to see part of the articles, etc. without paying.

Washington Earthquakes - We have a lot!

Mt. St. Helens Cam - Watch it blow! (requires patience.  A very lot of patience - 1,000's of years from now or maybe in a few minutes while you are watching.)

Spokane DOT Cams - See local highways.

Glacier National Park Cams - Popular sites at this great, but melting, park. 

Washing State DOT Cams - CAMS all over WA.

Computer Survival Stuff

Adeona - monitors the current location of a laptop, gathering information (such as IP addresses and local network topology) that can be used to identify its current location.  If your laptop has the correct software and a built in camera, it can even photograph who is using the laptop.  This is free - developed by the University of Washington.

Belarc Adviser - A great free program that lists everything about your PC - a must have! Download for free as many times as you like.

File Hungry - Tons of shareware/low cost software for all occasions.  Download at your own risk.

Star Office - The best cheap alternative to Microsoft Office.

SPYBOT - Get this free software that detects and deletes spyware and adware off you PC.  I no longer use this product.

Ad-Aware - Get this free software that detects and deletes spyware and adware off you PC.  I no longer use this program.  I use Norton Antivirus which now has very good spyware and adware detection and elimination functionality.

The Best Web Hosting - "1and1" is the best deal on web hosting I've found.  Get 1,000+ email mailboxes, huge storage and traffic limits and much more dirt cheap.  I host this and my clients' sites with them.

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Practical Topics

These sites should be reliable for the topic they cover.  They are created and kept up by long established authorities.

The Time - Now! Accurate! Bet on it! Its the Atomic Clock.  You may need to download java to see the display: Get Java

Doppler for Spokane - Weather radar for Spokane

U.S. Doppler - Weather radar for the rest of the U.S.

Map and ZIP Code - If you know most of an address and the town, this site will give you a map of the area and the ZIP Code.

A Life Time of Search Engines - This yahoo site lets you select search engines that are as general as Google or that specialize in specific topics.

Get a Human! Tired of not being able to talk to a human when you call a business?  This free website is run by volunteers and is powered by over one million consumers who demand high quality phone support from the companies they use.

Friends & Family Sites

Linda's Belly Dancing - Want to learn to belly dance, get the info on belly dance classes in Nashville, TN?  My daughter, Linda Reed, teaches, performs and helps organize events around the country.  Just click on this link.

Reverend Forman - Yes, he is a real pastor and an old high school friend of mine.  If you are in the Mexico, Missouri area check out the Friendship Baptist Church.  Tell him I sent you and you'll find out he is so forgiving he still won't kick you out.

Fleet Painting - Among other duties for this company, I created their web site.  It has some pretty good photos of interesting commercial rigs.

Evergreen Powder Coating - Among other duties for this company, I created their web site.  If you don't know what "powder coating" is, you should check this out.

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U.S. Government

IRS Forms/Publications - They can't tell who you are, so download the forms, etc, you need.

Refund Status - Find out the status of your income tax refund.

Passport - Need a passport?  Go here and find out how to get one, the cost, etc.

Do Not Call List - Add your phone number(s) to the national Do Not Call List.

Register your Copyright - Write a book? Take a good photo? Create some other work of art?  Want to copyright it?  See how at this site.

U.S. Patent Office - Got that new mouse trap perfected?  This is the official web site to research and apply for patents.

The National Archives - An incredible collection of information about the U.S.   A must visit for anyone interested in U.S. history, politics or facts. 

Shopping

Bayside Sniper - The site of a must have program for serious eBay shoppers.  It helps you get that winning bid. I know people who use this and swear by it.

Buy Something - This site leads you to sites that in turn lead you to hundreds of other General Merchandise sites.

Auto Shopping - This does for cars what "Buy Something" does for general merchandise.

Kelly Blue Book - Find out what your old clunker is worth.  Caution: It's always worth less than you want.

Craig's List for Spokane - Free classifieds for the Spokane area.  You can also use this site to find similar Craig's lists for the rest of the U.S.

Cables N More -  If you need a computer cable, these guys have it.

The Better Business Bureau - The national site, however, you can find local branches from here.

Energy/Environmental

Environmental News - Unbiased in overall coverage, but in my opinion, contains some biased articles.

Sunshine to Dollars - A source of solar cells, etc.

References

Google Search (Advanced) - The most commonly used search engine in the world.  This is the advanced page which allows you to customize your searches.

Merriam-Webster Online - A complete dictionary and thesaurus online.

Google Earth - The home site of the awesome images of everyplace on earth.  See how your home looks from space.

Hoax Busters - This is where I find out if the incredible stories, chain email, etc. you forward to me are anywhere close to true or not.

Reverse Phone Number Search - Find out who a phone number belongs to (USA only).

Monster Job Search - Find a job so you can send me money!

XP Tips - A British site that gives a lot of really handy tips on how to get the most out of Microsoft XP.

Convert from X to Y - Want to find out how many grams are in an ounce? Convert Fahrenheit To Celsius?   This site won't help convert currency, but it helps with most other measurement conversions.

Make History!

These sites use the growing phenomenon of Distributed Computing with BOINC technology - the use of individually owned free standing computers sharing in the analysis of huge amounts of data to solve complex problems - the most complex known to man.  If your computer makes a lucky calculation, in some projects you get the credit and may go down in history!

SETI - Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence is what "SETI" stand for.  But this ain't no X-Files: These guys  work with NASA, DOE, NSF, etc. and use some of the most incredible technology there is.  They were the first I know of to use distributed computing on a really large scale.

Climate Change - This joint BBC/Oxford project has individuals run climate change models on their own computers to predict what the world is coming to. 

Other Distributed Computing Projects - Help in the search for cures to disease, sources of unlimited cheap energy and more!

I'M SMART (not) - Think you're smart?  Prove it and get some cash for your brain power.  This site has real problems that someone is willing to pay you $$$ if you come up with a solution.

Fun Stuff

Learn to Quail Hunt - If you think this is  tasteless humor about the VP, your right!

Why women outlive men - Just a few examples of men doing what we do.

Great Ads - This site has page after page of what I think are some of the most entertaining ads ever made for TV.

Bus Pirates - Beware you land lubbers!  It may be PC to ride public transportation, but as this site proves, or not, you may be waylaid by seagoing, or not, pirates at the next stop.  "Watch for broadsides and may your scabbard always be nearby." - Earl the Gray - cir. 2006.

Science

National Science Foundation - NSF is the only federal agency whose mission includes support for all fields of fundamental science and engineering.

Whirlpool Galaxy- A Hubble Telescope project.  Click on the "Full Screen" button before starting the movie.

Orion Nebula - A Hubble Telescope project.  Click on the "Full Screen" button before starting the movie.

Science Daily - Not technical - some items cost.

NASA - See what the space agency is up to these days and get some great photos.

Mars - Mars Exploration - The rovers that were expected to last a few months are still going strong.  Mars winds unexpectedly keep cleaning the solar panels allowing them to obtain the energy they need.

How To

Howcast videos -  Howcast is a great place to watch fun, informative how-to videos

Istructables - Instructables is a web-based documentation platform where passionate people share what they do and how they do it, and learn from and collaborate with others. The seeds of Instructables germinated at the MIT Media Lab as the future founders of Squid Labs built places to share their projects and help others.

How a computer "thinks" - This site shows, in a very down to earth way, how the logic in computers works.  Go to the bottom of the page at this guy's site and watch the YouTube video.  Click here to go to his home page: Woodgears

Auto Repairs - A link to how to make auto repairs or even make your own car.

How to Whatever - This general link will get you started finding how to repair, evaluate or do a lot of different things.  Includes etiquette and other behaviors.

How to Study or How to Study II - Two good sites for tips you really can use grade school through life.

Get Legal Records - Where to obtain missing or lost birth, death, marriage, or divorce certificates.  Requirements for identifying yourself as an appropriate recipient of said documents are not addressed here.

How to be a Hacker - Want to learn how to break into computer networks, etc?  This will help.  Recommended follow-up: Get very familiar with the criminal division of the Legal Database  It may help pass the time in jail.

How to Build a Computer - I haven't found a good site yet.  My advice: Contact a reputable computer parts store and ask for help.  They should be more than willing since they want to sell you all the components.  It will cost more than buying a ready made unit, but the components almost certainly will be better.

SideStep - The best airfare search engine I have seen yet.  It checks over 300 websites to get you the best price.  One of the best features is the "Chart" tab that lets you know the cheapest day to travel.

Map Quest - Maps and directions on how to get there.  A good source to use to determine distances for your mileage expense.

European Travel  venere.com is not a travel agency; it allows internet users to book accommodations directly online and view properties' pages, check availability and prices and then send reservation requests directly to the business.

Belong to AAA? - Order your TripTiks and other maps at this site, or download and print them yourself.

Tristan da Cunha - Want to really go off the beaten track?  Trips to the most isolated community in the world need to be well planned. Many would-be visitors have sailed to Tristan, but failed to land.  Please note: "well planned" should not be taken lightly on this trip.

U.S. National Park Site - Very interesting and informative.

More to come!

I'm just getting started.

Check back often for more topics and links.

Don't forget to let me know if you want me to find good sites for a favorite topic.  feedback@earlreed.com

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Star Trek Stuff

The following sites were created by Star Trek fans who haven't had enough movies, TV shows, etc. and so decided to add to the Star Trek culture and have created their own movies.  They are free. Paramount Pictures leaves them alone since no one actually profits. You should have high speed Internet access and may need the free Quick Time media player to see some of the movies - get it at: QuickTime   Live long, prosper and enjoy the shows:

Hidden Frontier

New Voyages

Star Ship Farragut

Star Ship Exeter

USS Intrepid