The Useful Websites Thread

[Semidi]

This is a thread for websites you find insanely useful. NOT funny ones or ones that are simply interesting. Post what it is and the link. Then describe its use. And don't be stupid, no linking to anything you know you shouldn't.

Gutenberg Project

http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

Huge numbers of free classics. It’s completely legal too! I love it to death, though it IS community run so translations can be a bit meh as can the formatting in some books. All the books/poetry are public domain in the United States.

Syllable Counter

http://www.wordscount.info/hw/syllable.jsp

I use it for poetry like Haiku, saves time remembering or mouthing out words such as “ambidextrous.”

ASL Browser

http://commtechlab.msu.edu/Sites/aslweb/browser.htm

The thing I struggle with in ASL is forgetting the signs and not being able to simply write them down in class. I always have this open when I study.

Dictionary.com

http://dictionary.reference.com/

I think it’s sorta self-explanatory. The thesaurus function also rocks.

Wikipedia

http://wikipedia.org/

I’m honestly just trying to get the big names out of the way.

Babelfish

http://babelfish.altavista.com/

Again, big names out of the way. Crappy translator.

Rhyme Dictionary

http://www.rhymer.com/

Ever write a poem and ask yourself, what rhymes with “miasma?” Me neither, but now you don’t have to. It’s not 100% all the time.

By the way the following rhyme with miasma:

(Both syllables)
asthma, plasma

(Last Syllable)

alma, asthma, brahma, burma, chroma, coma, comma, derma, dogma, drachma, firma, kama, karma, lima, llama, magma, mama, noma, plasma, pneuma, prima, puma, schema, sigma, smegma, squama, stigma, stoma, stroma, struma, trauma, yuma

EasyBib

http://www.easybib.com/

I’m sure everyone who has been through sophomore English knows about this one… But I might as well post it. After discovering this lovely, I haven’t written a bibliography in years.

Brainyquote

http://www.brainyquote.com/

You know those quotes I keep in my signature? Yeah… I get them here instead of typing them out.


So hit me with something that will make my life easier!

[ocato]

cookingbynumbers.com

Click what you have in the house and it tells you how to combine it into foods to each.

[Hazkali]

http://www.pifro.com/dnd

I have no idea who made this site, but if you're posting on the homebrew section of this website it is a serious help, especially when you can't be bothered to write out a table yourself, or you can't remember the exact progression of the save bonuses.

[dehro]

http://www.oanda.com
it's a currency converter

http://www.expedia.com
for traveling at a decent price with non-low cost companies
I know several good planners with lowcost companies but they're all in italian, which I will spare you.

http://www.hansaprint.fi/eypeng.html
white and yellow pages from all over the world

http://www.logos.it/language/translations_en.html
translates single words in a vast ammount of languages and several dialects as well

http://www.slangcity.com/index.html
http://www.slangsite.com/
both very helpfull with more difficult translations

http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/viamichelin/gbr/tpl/hme/MaHomePage.htm
one of the best route planners online

yeah...I travel a lot:smallbiggrin:

[MandibleBones]

Hex Hub:
http://www.december.com/html/spec/color.html
A list of hexadecimal codes for colors; useful for HTML.

Dungeon Generator:
http://www.aarg.net/~minam/dungeon.cgi
Random dungeon generator; useful for games on the fly.

[Serpentine]

The Hypertext d20 System Reference Documents (http://www.d20srd.org/)
Is there anyone who plays D&D who doesn't know this site?

TV Links (http://tv-links.co.uk/)
Downloading various shows, movies, docos, etc. Not perfect, but has a good selection that's constantly changing and being updated.

yourTV (http://www.yourtv.com.au/)
Australian online TV guide.

Convert-me (http://www.convert-me.com/en/convert/length)
A handy conversions thing, though I think there may be better.

Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com/schhp?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&tab=ws&q=)
An absolute must for university assignments, especially but not only biological sciences.

[Ikkitosen]

xe.com (www.xe.com) for currency conversions.

BBC Sport (www.bbc.co.uk/sport) for if I miss Match of the Day :smallbiggrin:

[SITB]

TV Tropes (tvtropes.org) -


What is this about?: This "Wiki" is a catalogue of the tricks of the trade for writing scripts. We dip into the cauldron of story and place it in front of you to read.

This can include clichés, but that's really not the point. If you are just tired of hearing a permutation on one of the Stock Phrases (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StockPhrases), go to that entry and record your displeasure.

Tropes are devices and conventions that a writer can reasonably rely on as being present in the audience members' minds and expectations. If a trope gets used too much, then it becomes clichéd. The word cliché means stereotyped and trite. In other words, dull and uninteresting.

We are not looking for dull and uninteresting entries.

The wiki is called "TV Tropes" because that is where we started. Over the course of a couple of years, the scope has crept out to include other media. Tropes are trans-medium. They exist in life. Art in any form does its best to reflect life, so tropes show up everywhere. We want 'em all.

Suffice to say, this site contains major spoilers for a lot of media. About the only thing we won't spoil is The Mousetrap. It should also be noted that TV Tropes Will Ruin Your Life. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TVTropesWillRuinYourLife)

Take note of the last link, it's true.

[Lemur]

Internet Sacred Text Archive (http://www.sacred-texts.com/index.htm)
Full of mythological, religious, and philosophical documents from around the world. In addition to being an incredible site in general, it even includes a section about the mythology that influenced and inspired Tolkien (http://www.sacred-texts.com/ring/index.htm). Edit: On second thought, maybe I should leave the last one out, at least as a direct link. Look at some of the Ainu folk tales, in the Shamanism section, if you want to read some interesting stories, though.

Behind the Name (http://www.behindthename.com/)
An index of first names and their meanings and origins.

Chainmail Basket (http://www.chainmailbasket.com/index.php)
Good information about making chainmail stuff, should you be interested.