This page displays links to sites I find interesting, diverting, well designed, or invaluable.
Personal blogs/journals
- Sincerely ~ The personal blog of Misaki.
- Tainted Soul ~ The personal (and extensive) blog of Euri.
- HamsterTracker
- The best animal blog in the world. Extensive photoblogging from a Dutch software engineer about his hamster obsession. Lucy is such a lucky girl.
- Cavemonkey50
- Ronald Heft's blog where he shares his technological ramblings with the rest of the world. I use his WebSTAT Tracker WordPress plugin.
Web design
- mezzoblue
- Weblog of Canadian Web designer, Dave Shea. Also writes many articles about Web design and related technologies.
- Christopher Schmitt
- Personal blog of Web designer, author, and idea generator extraordinaire, Christopher Schmitt.
- Stuff and Nonsense
- A well known and well respected Web design studio led by the Creative Director, Andy Clarke.
- SimpleBits
- The site for a Web design studio founded by Dan Cederholm, as well as his personal journal.
- Yesterdayishere
- The personal blog and portfolio of an award-winning Web designer, Bojan Janjanin.
- Touché Diseño
- Una agencia de diseño y desarrollo web de México.
- CSS Zen Garden
- Repository of hundreds of CSS designs that can be applied to a single HTML template. "A demonstration of what can be accomplished visually through CSS-based design."
Computers/Software
- PortableApps
- A collection of free, portable versions of popular open source software that can be installed and run portably from a removable storage device without leaving a trace on the host computer. Infinitely useful for those who frequently use public computers.
- SourceForge
- A repository (of mind-boggling size) of free, open source, publicly distributed software by independent developers. Many popular software are available here for download, including FileZilla (a free FTP client) and Audacity (a free audio-editing application).
- Best Mac Software
- List of the best and most useful Mac applications. For those without iWork or Microsoft Office for Mac, NeoOffice is a must-have.
Amusements
- xkcd
- Like the site says, "A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language." Deliciously wicked and smart. The author is a genius.
- Dark Legacy
- A fantasy, role-playing MUD (Multi-User Dungeon) that I occasionally frequent. Fairly beginner-friendly. I'm stuck at my current level because I constantly pick fights with higher-level monsters, get spectacularly gored, and lose all of the XP that I gained several hours before.
Music
- Metal Observer
- A very informative online magazine (in English and German) with reviews on CD releases of metal bands around the world, organized by name and country. Also offers a slew of free mp3 downloads. THE number one resource for metalheads, period. I personally visit the site every time I anticipate a new metal release just for the staff's take on the album.
- Metal Storm ~ A beautifully designed, highly organized, and community-driven metal resource. All your band profiles, album reviews, rankings and other news conveniently located in one place.
Online shopping
- Lolita Kisama
- An Internet-based shopping center for Japanese visual kei and gothic lolita-inspired fashion. Ships internationally. The items here are relatively low-cost as long as you keep away from the coats and leather goods.
- YesAsia
- A top-notch Asian entertainment and music CD vendor based in, I think, Hong Kong. Offers free international shipping. One criticism I have of the site, however, is that they mostly seem to cater to the needs of pop music fans and rarely stock items that aren't mainstream. For example, Japanese rock/metal by independent labels.
Other
- Browse Happy ~ Find out why Internet Explorer should be abandoned in favor of four better browsers.
- Spoon Revolution
- "Revolution! One with the pen, another with the sword; ours is with the spoon. We know they have put meat on your dish. Well, now it's time to take it off your dish!"
In short, an incredibly informative and entertaining Web site devoted to vegetarianism. Among their offerings: detailed articles outlining the reasons and benefits of joining the "revolution," and a Meat Eater Anonymous forum.