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Misc. Web & Reference Resources

  • Fonts
  • Gardening
  • "How-To" sites
  • Internet
  • Legal Information
  • Money & Finances
  • Music
  • Photography
  • Policing & Public Safety
  • Urban Legends & Hoaxes
  • Miscellaneous

  • FONTS

    Esperfonto
    Good basic information on typography, including a tutorial on choosing appropriate typefaces. With links to the major suppliers and font foundries.
    Fonts by Dennis Palumbo
    A large font gallery, a font guide, and over 1,500 links.
    The Font Fairy
    Links to piles of free fonts
    The FontSite
    Digital typography and design — style guides and other neat stuff
    Media Builder
    Over 1,000 freeware fonts, lots of graphics, and other eye candy
    MyFonts.com
    A marketplace for over 30 font vendors, and some useful tools. There's even one to help you identify a particular font. And even a few free samples. (7/01)
    TrueType core fonts for the Web
    courtesy Microsoft
    The Georgia and Verdana fonts
    Why they work better for screen display

     

    GARDENING

    About Flowers
    "Learn about the history of flowers, how to properly plant and care for them." Mostly history, but there are some delightful comments in that department. (7/04)
    Biological Control: A Guide to Natural Enemies in North America
    "This guide provides photographs and descriptions of biological control (or biocontrol) agents of insect, disease and weed pests in North America. It is also a tutorial on the concept and practice of biological control and integrated pest management." Brought to you by Cornell University. (7/04)
    W. Atlee Burpee
    In business for 125 years. Seedstock, supplies, and other resources. (7/04)
    CalPhotos
    "CalPhotos is a collection of 67,939 images of plants, animals, fossils, people, and landscapes. A variety of organizations and individuals have contributed photographs to CalPhotos." Searchable by a large number of criteria. (7/04)
    Composting
    Gardening Launch Pad
    Composting for Soil Health — A very comprehensive guide.
    SoYouWanna's guide to composting (7/01)
    GardenGuides
    "... a growing resource for gardeners". Lots of guides, and a particularly comprehensive tips & techniques section. A good navigation system too. (9/01)
    The Garden Helper
     A wide range of information for the novice and beginning gardener, including USDA hardiness zones and average last frost dates. (7/04)
    GardenWeb
    Provides discussion forums for gardeners, and links to gardening resources. (7/04)
    Home & Garden
    The Vancouver Courier's home & garden site. The tips are not detailed, but they might point you in a useful direction. Unfortunately, the pages can be slow to load. (10/01)
    Home Horticulture
    "Home Horticulture contains information of interest to home gardeners. Nearly 1800 images are linked to this data base." Provided by the Michigan State University Extension World Wide Web site. (12/01)
    Hortiplex Database
    "The HortiPlex database contains plant data as well as links to information sources, images and vendors." Searchable using either the common or the biological name. A very extensive resource. (7/01)
    Klehm's Song Sparrow Perennial Farm
    Provides a large on-line catalogue with some good photos, and some reference materials. (7/04)
    Lee Valley Gardening Tools
    No plants here. But lots of good gardening tools. (7/04)
    Mountain Valley Growers
    If you have the Latin name for a plant of interest, the "plant list" will likely be able to show you a picture and give you some information about the plant. There is a also a category listing, with more useful information. There is also a useful glossary. (7/04)
    The Old House Web—Gardening
    Check out the Encyclopaedia and the MSUE sections. The information isn't detailed, but there's a wide range of topics. (7/04)
    Oregon State University
    Gardening info from a source that should be highly reliable. (7/04)
    The Plants Database
    "Welcome to the largest plant database in the world with 67,763 entries, 45,343 images and 22,609 comments. Currently entries are from 318 families, 2,778 genera, 6,771 species, and 52,693 cultivars. The PDB continues to grow through the collaborative efforts of 6,896 gardeners from around the world." (7/04)
    Plants For A Future
    Provides "a resource centre for rare and unusual plants, particularly those which have edible, medicinal or other uses." PFAF has compiled a database that provides "extensive details on edible, medicinal and other uses of plants together with information about their cultivation and habitats" and lists over 7,000 plants. The site is maintained by a British charitable organization with distinctly ecological and vegan leanings. (7/04)
    Rebecca's Garden
    Gardening tips from the TV show of the same name. (7/04)
    Strawberries and More
    Information about growing strawberries. More goodies from the University of Illinois. (7/04)
    Taunton's "Fine Gardening"
    Taunton's is the publisher of some very classy magazines on several topics. Lots of good "how-to" info here, and information on the uses of many kinds of plants in your garden. (7/04)
    Turfgrass Information Center
    Information about turf grasses, turf, and anything connected. Brought to you by the Michigan State University. (7/04)
    USDA Hardiness Zones
    Provided by the United States National Arboretum. Useful, but the resolution could be higher. (7/04)
    Watch Your Garden Grow
    "A guide to growing, storing, and preparing your vegetables." Brought to you by the University of Illinois. (7/04)
    Yard & Garden Briefs
    "Information from the Yard & Garden Clinic"; provided by the University of Minnesota's Extension Service. Briefs on a wide range of topics, from air layering to zoysia grass. (7/04)
    Yardcare.com
    Creating and maintaining a beautiful lawn. (7/04)


    "HOW-TO" SITES

    AllExperts
    Over 4,000 volunteer experts to answer your questions
    Ask An Expert Page
    Find all sorts of answers to all sorts of questions. Links to other similar sites too.
    Glue This to That
    What do you want to glue to what? This page will tell you which glue is best for the purpose. (8/01)
    HomeDoctor
    A good site for Mr. Fixit around the home.
    How Stuff Works
    A suprising collection of articles on how things work. Comprehensive and well-written articles, with links to more detailed information for those who want it.
    Fluorescent Lamps, Ballasts, and Fixtures
    KnowPost
    "We're know-it-alls. We're striving to create a social experience unlike any other: One where people can come and freely exchange knowledge." A resource that involves some pretty good social engineering The users provide the questions and the answers — and rate them too.
    Learn2
    Quick on-line tutorials on a host of topics, from how to make a complaint to how to read music. Computer software-related tutorials are also available, but some are not free. 32-bit browser may be required.
    Rechargeable Battery Handbook
    The things the manufacturers don't tell you. How to choose the type that best fits your needs, and how to restore a rechargeable battery that is no longer performing well. (9/01)
    SoYouWanna.com
    "Teaches you how to do all the things nobody taught you in school." Uses JavaScript.
    Technocopia
    Technical support for all of your electronic and elctrical gizmos — computers included.

    INTERNET

    About the Web
    "An Internet Guide for Newcomers to the World Wide Web" An omnibus site, sort of like The WizWorks Collection. And it loads quickly — very few graphics. (8/05)
    BrainPaint
    "The Web magazine for Internet coaching"
    Internet News
    News on and about the Internet. (8/05) 
    Internet Privacy
    Why Internet privacy is an issue, and what you can do about it. (8/05)
    Internet Traffic Reports
    "The Internet Traffic Report monitors the flow of data around the world. It then displays a value between zero and 100. Higher values indicate faster and more reliable connections." (8/05)
    Internet "Who-Is" services
    Who owns that domain name? What's it's IP address? All that, and lots more. (8/05)
    On-Line Auction Fraud
    ZDNet's guide to on-line auctions and how to protect yourself. This page is now 5 years old, but still has useful information.  (8/05)
    Links for Web Investigators
    Many of the search engine and directories links appear on the Internet Search Utilities page on this site, but some of the subject links at the bottom of this page may be useful. (8/05)
    ScamBusters
    "The #1 website dedicated to helping you protect yourself from clever scams  -- online and offline." If what you just read sounds too good to be true, it might be. Check here. But it might be a hoax, too. If you don't find it here, check in with some of the sites listed below under "URBAN LEGENDS and HOAXES". (8/05)
    YouSendIt
    Trying to send a large file to someone whose ISP has too tight a limit on attachment sizes? Want to be sure that your e-mail attachment isn't considered hostile and stripped from the message? Want to ensure that the attachment travels only by a secure link? Send the attachment to this site, and let your recipient download it from there. One catch: YouSendIt will hold the file for download only for 7 days. But it's free. (8/05)

    LEGAL INFORMATION

    Intellectual property law — FAQ
    Brought to you by Oppedahl & Larson LLP, a Colorado law firm as a public service. Lots of general information on copyrights, patents, and other aspects of intellectual property law. But it is not a substitute for legal advice. (8/05)
    Law Library
    Links to a number of government and private sites. Maintained by the Legal Services Society of British Columbia. (8/05)
    World-wide Legal Information
    Information on legal issues of a general nature. It's no substitute for legal advice, but it may help you get started. The site is American, but does pay some attention to Canadian law. Unfortunately, the links in the text body do not reveal themselves until you hover your cursor over the link. (8/05)
     

    MONEY & FINANCES

    Currency Converters
    Currency Converter - Bank of Canada
    Converts between a wide range of currencies based on current and historical conversion rates. Also provides historical exchnage rates. (7/04)
    Oanda.com FXConverter
    Provides conversions for 164 currencies in nearly as many languages. Does historical conversions. There are links to other finance business tools. (7/04)
    Yahoo's Currency Converter
    Converts any major currency into any other. But I didn't see any indication that it can do so for other than current rates. But this site does provide graphs of conversion rates over time. (7/04)

    Information

    Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association
    This trade association represents the life insurance industry in Canada. It also provides a Consumer Assistance Centre that provides a wealth of consumer information and can deal with some complaints about life insurance companies. (7/04)
    CEO Express
    "Designed by a busy executive for busy executives". Links to a large collection of financial sector publications dealing with current financial and other news, business research, office tools, and travel. There's even a section for your break time. (7/04)
    Insurance.Com
    Tips and solid information regarding life insurance. Find out what's best for you. Financial strength ratings also available. (7/04)
    Insurance Bureau of Canada
    The trade association that speaks for the property & casualty insurance industry in Canada. They provide some useful consumer information, and can sometimes provide an insight into how the general insurance industry works. (7/04)
    Insurance Canada
    "Provides consumers and insurance professionals with information about insurance-related topics pertinent to Canada." A good source of consumer information about insurance of nearly all kinds. (7/04)
    Investment Strategy
    Investment information on many topics
    Investor WEBHome Page
    MoneyAdvisor
    Financial calculators, reference topics, referrals, etc.
    The Money Page
    "The net's Consumer Guide to Investment, Banking, and Finance"
    RetireWeb
    Financial planning for retirement

    Reference
    SEDAR:  System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval
    Profiles and filings for Canadian mutual funds and securities issuers. Brought to you by The Canadian Depository for Securities Limited with the co-operation of the major Canadian stock exchanges and the major Canadian financial institutions.

     

    MUSIC

    BarFly
    Musical notation in ASCII characters. For the computer purist, really. But the site provides a program that reads the notation, plays it, and converts it to standard musical notation. Apparently, it can handle Gregorian notation too. Available only for the Mac—or for a PC with a Mac emulator. (8/05)
    ChoralNet
    Resources for the choral conductor, particularly one who conducts a children's choir. (8/05)
    Choral Public Domain Library
    Over 3100 choral scores available for downloading, thanks to the efforts of a bunch of good souls to make public-domain works available. Most of them are available as .pdf, MIDI, and Encore files. (1/02)
    MIDI FOR CHOIRS
    Downloadable MIDI files for a number of choral classics in several genres. You'll have to do your own shaping and voicing, but you can use them to print a score if you have music notation software that will import a .MID file. (8/05)

    Gregorian Chant

    Listen to Plainchant
    A site with a somewhat unusual structure assembled by a webmeister with a clear love of the topic. He provides a fresh look at the history and practice of Gregorian chant in Europe, and a large collection of relevant links. His list of "Abbeys in Europe" where Gregorian chant may be heard includes a few monasteries in Brazil, Canada, and the United States. Also provided: a link to software for creation of a score using Gregorian notation (neumes). (8/05)
    Gregorian Chant Notation
    A good Gregorian Chant notation resource. Good illustrations of both the neumes and their translation to modern notation. (8/05)
    Gregorian Chant Home Page
    Lots of links, apparently provided by a researcher on the topic of Gregorian chant. Brought to you by Peter Jefferey, of Princeton University. (8/05)
    Lots & Lots of Links
    Another researcher's collection of links to Gregorian chant resources. (8/05)
    Hildegard von Bingen
    Aids to neumes as used by Hildegard von Bingen, and a few transcriptions of her music. And for the purists, software to transcribe Hildegarde's notation into modern notation. (8/05)

     

    PHOTOGRAPHY

    Corbis
    A digital image databank — over 200 galleries of good stuff. But it's not free. But you can use them for free e-cards. (8/05)
    Fire and Ice
    Outdoor photography, some of which is quite lovely. (8/05)
    Searching for Solitude
    This site is really about hiking locales, but some of the photographs are quite wonderful. (8/05)
    Webshots
    "Where The World Shares Photos". Thousands of photos for downloading – and screensaver software that is designed to use the photos available. (8/05)

     

    POLICING AND PUBLIC SAFETY

     National Police Services
    Stolen property identification, and information concerning various databases maintained by law enforcement authorities. (8/05)

     

    URBAN LEGENDS and HOAXES

     The Snopes Urban Legends Reference Pages
    Seemingly, a good resource. Makes a credible effort to separate fact from fancy, and documents the former for those who are prepared to be convinced by the truth. But sometimes, the fiction is more fun. (8/05)
    TruthorFiction.com
    This one goes well beyound urban legends. It aims at keeping track of — and debunking — all kinds of rumours, especially those that are circulated by those pesky "tell all your friends" e-mail messages. Check here before you pass them on. The site will even notify you of new reports, etc., if you subscribe. (8/05)
    Urban Legends and Folklore
    From the Mining Co. Now brought to you by About.com. Which means it's all here. Urban legends, chain e-mail, rumours, and other wild stories, along with an indication as to what you can believe and what you can't. (8/05)
    Purportal.com: The bunk stops here
    Not for the gullible. It rains on their parade. The site provides links to five urban legend sites so that you can search them by keywords found in the e-mail message you just received. It also provides an exensive collection of links to other sites that also provide myth de-bunking information. (8/05)

     

    MISCELLANEOUS

     Advanced Book Exchange
    Search ABE for used, out of print, rare, antiquarian and hard to find books. (7/04)
    BeliefNet
    For spiritual omnivores. A basic resource for comparative religion—news, discussion, guidance, and commentary. (7/04)
    ICBC
    All about auto insurance in British Columbia. (7/04)
    BugBios
    "Shameless promotion of insect appreciation." Insect biographies, with some quite fascinating photos. Includes details on the characteristics of each of the 14 orders of Insecta. (7/04)
    Webopedia
    "The only online dictionary and search engine you need for computer and Internet technology definitions." (7/04)
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    This page last updated on August 1, 2005