Bookmarks for a cynical biped

Last updated November 9, 2023

Me

Alan P. Scott—Home
the cynical biped his own self
Gmail
Added 11/30/2005. Updated 12/6/2005.
Infinity Internet—Webmail
...And beyond. Added for convenience 4/4/2006. Updated 4/15/2009, 7/16/2020.
MyPCC—Portland Community College
Classy. Added 12/8/2006. Updated 7/16/2020.

Inside

Evergreen ClassLink
One-stop shop. Added 4/5/2017.
Evergreen Public Schools
New! And Improved! Updated 6/29/2007.
Educational Service District 112
ESD112 contains the Evergreen School District. Updated 8/30/2002, 7/16/2020.
Evergreen bandwidth stats from Washington State K-20 Telecommunications Network
Pretty graphs monitor the District's link to Washington's K-20 network. Added 2/4/1999; updated 4/9/2004, 8/15 and 12/13/2005, 9/20/2018, 1/7/2022.
Northwest Regional Data Center Technical Operations
Tips and tricks for accessing WSIPC services. Added 1/21/2010. Updated 4/5/2017.
Outlook (Office 365) Web Access
Look out! Added 4/20/2009. Updated 2/2/2015, 4/5/2017.
WSIPC
The Washington School Information Processing Cooperative. Added 4/12/2004. Updated 12/28/2007, 7/16/2020.

Frequent Flyers

Ars Technica
Dispatches from the Ministry of Innovation. Added 12/26/2012. Updated 4/5/2017.
bOINGbOING
"A Directory of Wonderful Things." Eclectic. Added 3/20/2001.
The Comics Curmudgeon
Yep. Focused and funny. Added 4/5/2006 via Greg Knauss, guest-starring on Kottke. Updated 4/5/2017.
Flutterby
Eclectic, San Francisco. Added 3/20/2001. Updated 4/5/2017.
Futility Closet
Not futile at all. A lively compendium of miscellany with a deep archive of prior posts to explore. Added 3/15/2022. Back from a year's hiatus as of 8/29/2023.
Gizmodo
"We come from the future" with news for the present. Added (as io9) 1/2/2008 via multiple sources. Updated 12/29/2011, 4/5/2017, 8/26/2021.
Kottke
Eclectic; design. NYC. Added 3/20/2001. On sabbatical 5/9/2022-12/1/2022.
Metafilter
The massive community weblog. Added 3/12/2001.
Neatorama
Neat and high-density collaborative blog, added via the late BBspot 6/2/2011.
UNDERNEWS
The Progressive Review—News You Won't Find Elsewhere, by Sam Smith. Added 5/18/1999; updated 1/23, 12/31/2001, 6/11/2010.
Waxy.org: Links Miniblog
Wide-ranging. Added 4/4/2008. Updated 4/5/2017.
Whatever—John Scalzi
SF author, media critic and smart, sarcastic guy. Added 2/24/2011.

Watch List

Alas, a blog.
Articulate, intelligent and liberal—but I repeat myself. Plus, cartoons! Portland, OR. Added 8/30/2002. Updated 1/12, 3/17/2005, 4/5/2017.
Arts & Letters Daily
Dense, multifaceted, wide-ranging and current. Added 12/28/2000. Updated 6/11/2001, 10/7, 28/2002, 4/5/2017.
Crooked Timber
"Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made." Politics and general awareness. Added 2/5/2009.
Dangerous Minds
An astonishing deep trove of alternative culture, featuring fellow WVan Richard Metzger as frequent contributor. Added 2/8/2022.
Dark Roasted Blend
A Thrilling Wonder publication. Added 1/1/2008. Updated 2/29/2008.
David Byrne Journal
Yes, THE David Byrne. Long, thoughtful posts from this brilliant artist. Added 3/23/2007.
The Early Days of a Better Nation
UK SF author Ken MacLeod. A real leftist. Added 4/14/2003 per More Like This.
Follow Me Here
Psychiatry, medicine, science, politics. Originally added 3/20/2001; pulled 5/24/2006. Found at its own domain when checked 4/6/2017.
JOHO the Blog
David Weinberger, coauthor of The Cluetrain Manifesto. Computing. Added 10/17/2002.
Neal Pollack
Previously known as Alternadad and "The Maelstrom"—somewhat muted but still a pure and shining beacon of hostility in a world gone mad. Added 9/20/2002. Updated 12/26/2012, 4/5/2017.
Photo Critique
Qiang Li's online photography forum. Added 4/25/2002.
Scientific American
Official site—good-looking and content-rich for more than 20 years. Updated 12/23/1996, 4/5/2017.
Washington Monthly
California, politics. By way of Kevin Drum, formerly of CalPundit and Political Animal. Added 4/1/2004. Updated 4/5/2017.
Wil Wheaton dot NET 2.0
Wil Wheaton, ever more impressive as an actor and a person. Added 4/5/2011; updated 12/26/2012.
Wired News
Current and electrifying (heh). Added 6/13/2007. Updated 4/5/2017.

Look

Area Code Lookup
Area code (NPA) and prefix (NXX) lookups via Gerald D. Added 4/5/2017. Updated 7/16/2020.
"Ask Woody"
This one keeps changing names... was Windows Secrets ("Everything Microsoft forgot to mention"), Brian's Buzz and WinFind—the Windows Tips Search Engine. Added per FollowMeHere 2/20/2003. Updated 4/5/2005, 4/5/2017, 7/16-17/2020.
Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
E. Cobham Brewer's work from 1894, "a browser's joy." Originally added 7/9/1997. Lost track of 1/2001. Found again 4/5/2017.
DuckDuckGo
DuckDuckGo promises not to track you, or sell at you. Ever. Makes a nice change, doesn't it? Added 4/5/2017.
Google
The search engine, and more. Added 1/28/1999 via early adopter CJ Silverio.
Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
Movies, TV and celebrities. Added 10/26/1995, updated 6/12/1996, 5/5/2010, 7/16/2020.
MACLookup - MAC Address Lookup
Look up MAC (Media Access Control) addresses by number or vendor. Added 2/9/2023, after a previous entry fell ten years out of date.
MapQuest
Interactive atlas and trip planning. Added 3/8/1996. Updated 4/5/2017.
Merriam-Webster Online
Online dictionary and thesaurus—single-word lookup. Added 2/20/1997, updated 12/29/2003, 4/5/2017.
The National Map (USGS)
It's official. Added 3/20/2002 as The National Atlas of the United States of America (which was retired in September 2014) via GirlHacker. Updated 4/5/2017.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Official site includes online trademark search. Added 5/26/1999. Updated 4/5/2017.
WHOIS lookup from ICANN
Added 1/18/2020 to replace the moribund InterNIC and NetSol versions.
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Added 2/17/2006. Updated 4/5/2017.
XE.com—The World's Favorite Currency and Foreign Exchange Site
Exchange rate calculator and much more. Added 1/2/2008.
Yahoo!
The ur-engine. Added 3/30/1995. Updated 4/5/2017.

Biz

Browser News
Dispatches from the front. Added 8/14/2001.
DNS Stuff
Tools for DNS, reverse DNS, MX record and blackhole lookups. Added per Gail P. 11/20/2002; updated 4/18/2008, 7/16/2020.
Common Errors in English
Useful usage hints, added 7/14/2003 via FmH. Updated 7/16/2020.
Font Squirrel
Handpicked free fonts for graphic designers with commercial-use licenses. Added 4/28/2009 via Haddock. Updated 4/5/2017.
Gibson Research Corporation
Maker of SpinRite, ShieldsUp! and other fine products for Windows... tightly written in assembler! Added 4/4/2000. Updated 4/5/2017.
Hewlett-Packard
Printers, scanners, sometimes even computers. Added 3/1/2000.
Outlook Web App
"Everything OWA"—Added 2/10/2010. Updated 4/5/2017.
Power Pine: Getting the Most Out of Unix-, Mac- & PC-Pine by Nancy McGough
I still want to look into this someday. Added 4/13/2006. Last modified 12/10/2007.
The Register UK
"Biting the hand that feeds IT." Added 7/28/2000 per Robot Wisdom. Updated 7/16/2020.
SANS—Internet Storm Center—Cooperative Cyber Threat Monitor And Alert System
Added 1/3/2006. Updated 7/16/2020.
Scanner Basics 101
Wayne Fulton's scanner and digital photography tips. Specific and comprehensive help. Added 8/6/1998. Updated 7/16/2020.
Startups—Contents
Windows startup programs that might appear—and how to manage them. Via Flutterby 4/2/2003; updated 12/30/2003.
TinyApps.Org : Home
Could be the start of a beautiful relationship... Added 2/14/2002. Updated 4/5/2017.

Local Interest

Belmont Station
Right down my street. Beer from around the world and imported British food. Added 11/6/2006. Updated 12/29/2011, 7/16/2020.
City of Roses
Serial fantasy set in Portland, by Kip Manley. Via More Like This, 3/16/2007.
C-TRAN
Clark County Public TRANsit page. Bus schedules &c. Added 11/24/1998. Updated 7/16/2020.
Emil Fries School of Piano Tuning and Technology
A man on the bus told me about this landmark school for the blind. Added 12/4/2002.
Kaiser Permanente
HMO site added 4/5/1999. Updated 2/24/2000, 12/30/2003, 4/5/2017.
Movie Madness
The best video store on the planet, as far as I'm concerned. Added 2/24/2006. Thoroughly revamped and at a new URL when updated 7/16/2020.
Multnomah County Library
Portland OR's library system. Added 4/22/1997; updated 1/26/2001, 4/5/2017.
Municipal Research & Services Center of Washington
Searchable clearinghouse for WA laws and codes. Added 8/9/2000.
Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI)
Added 6/18/1996. Updated 7/16/2020.
PDX History
Backstory. Added 5/15/2009 via Metafilter.
PDX—Portland International Airport
Arrivals, departures and other flight information at PDX. Updated 11/18/2002, 12/30/2003, 4/5/2005, 4/5/2017, 7/16/2020.
PortlandMaps
City of Portland data by address or map. Added 1/2/2003 via Jenn. Updated 4/5/2017.
Powell's Books—The World's Largest Independent Bookstore
New, Used, and Out of Print. Added belatedly 2/23/1999. Updated 4/5/2017, 7/16/2020.
Tri-Met: Public Transit in Portland, Oregon
Bus and light rail service. Added 3/30/1999. Updated 4/5/2017.

Nooz and Whether

The News-Review Online
Oregon news from Douglas County. Added 4/4/1996, updated 7/9/2002, 12/29/2011, 4/5/2017, 7/16/2020.
The New York Times
Added 8/18/1998. Updated 4/5/2017.
The Portland Mercury
Local indie. Added 5/24/2001. Updated 4/5/2017, 7/16/2020.
The Weather Channel
Weather for Portland, OR. Added 12/30/1996. Updated 10/30/2003, 4/5/2017.
The Weather Underground
Weather for Portland, OR. Wonder why they picked the name? Added 6/8/2001. Updated 4/5/2017, 7/16/2020.
Willamette Week
Indie local. Added 5/24/2001. Updated 7/16/2020.

Fun

Cosma Shalizi
Hyper-Weirdness by World Wide Web. Proudly text-based. Added 7/3/1995; updated 2/28/2000, 5/6/2010, 4/5/2017.
DaFONT
Fun and funky free and shareware fonts. Added 7/31/2003 via bOING bOING. Updated 7/16/2020.
DP: The Distributed Proofreading project
Another project for that copious free time I keep hearing about. Added 4/1/2008 (no joke). Updated 4/5/2017.
An Entirely Other Day
Greg Knauss' very funny—though very occasional—personal journal. Added 1/18/1996; updated 6/8/2000, 4/5/2005, 7/16/2020.
H.R. Giger
The official website for the late artist (d. 5/2014). Added 2/14/1997. Updated 7/16/2020.
Hugh's Ominous Valve Works
Part of the pre-millennial web. Starts with video test patterns and gets weirder from there. Lost track of it back in 2000, then found alive and well on 4/5/2017.
Imagination Engines
Dr. Stephen Thaler builds neural nets, then kills them—and makes other nets watch. From this he draws some very interesting conclusions. Added 4/2/1997.
Justin's web love
Since 1994, an ongoing inquiry into the human condition. And computer games. Be a grown-up. Added 5/1/1995.
Kevin Kelly—Cool Tools
Things that work, in whatever category. Via Randy M. 1/20/2005. Updated 7/16/2020.
Kibo : Kibo's official main menu
Added 4/2/1999. I wanted to say added 4/1/1999, because that would fit this site better than you know, but that would be a lie and I never lie in a bookmark description. I'm also ten feet tall. Honest.
The Museum of Jurassic Technology
Deadpan exhibitions of ridiculous claims and offbeat science. The physical Museum in Culver City, CA, just off Venice Boulevard, is well worth a visit. Added 1/30/1996. Updated 7/16/2020.
The Onion - America's Finest News Source
Chronicle of our times. Added 7/11/1997. Updated 7/16/2020.
Rotodesign - Patrick Broderick
Sly humor and fine free fonts in the same package! Added 2/8/2001, updated 2/20/2002.
Skeptic Friends Network
Thomases rejoice... added 3/10/2006.
Snopes - The definitive resource
All the latest rumors, urban legends, myths and misinformation gathered together in one nifty list—plus, Snopes is just plain fun to say. Snopes Snopes Snopes... Added 4/19/2002. Updated 4/5/2017, 7/17/2020.
The Straight Dope
"Fighting Ignorance Since 1973 (It's taking longer than we thought.)" Added 3/2/1998 per Jeff G. Updated 7/17/2020.
Strange Horizons
Weekly speculative fiction magazine—added 2/8/2001.
TechTales::Tech Room
True Tales of Tech. Support... all the old urban legends, but real ones too. Added 12/10/1997.
Uchronia: The Alternate History List
Added 6/2/2003—at least in THIS universe...
The Word Spy
The Word Lover’s Guide to New Words. It's verbalicious! Via Kottke 4/23/2004. Updated 7/17/2020.

Toyz

Things that DO things

ACME License Maker
Neat, if weird, little webtoy. Added 2/28/2000 per CJ Silverio.
ASCII Art Generator—Make your picture into text
Flexible and fast. Added via Kottke 3/22/2007.
ATOM.SMASHER.ORG
Their pictures, your text. Added 12/19/2006.
Flickr Photo Sharing—Search
For added fun, use this with a random word generator. Added 4/7/2006. Updated 7/12/2006, 7/17/2020.
FreeRice
Charitably speaking. Multiple-choice synonym game. Added 7/8/2008. Updated 7/17/2020.
Heavens-Above (Satellite Visibility)
Watch the skies! Updated 12/30/1999, 7/17/2020.
Instant Rimshot
Ba-DUM-pum. Via Metafilter, June 2008.
Newspaper snippet generator
Neato... added 5/9/2006 via Metafilter. Updated 4/5/2017.
Online Alarm Clock
Free online alarm clock displaying your computer's time. Added via Cool Tools 4/27/2009. Updated 7/17/2020.
Random Word Generator (Plus)
Several different flavors of randomly-generated text. Added 11/28/2007. Not found 2/13/2009. Found again at a new URL 4/6/2017.
Sad Trombone
Wah-wah-wah-waahhh. Via Metafilter in June 2008. Updated 7/17/2020.
Visual Thesaurus
A neat concept—proximity in meaning displays as proximity in space. Added 3/11/1999. Updated 1/16/2003, 7/17/2020.

Kinder

Sites specifically for children and/or education

P E A C E F I R E
Teens run this anti-censorship site, itself often blocked by censorware. Watchdog group to watch. Added 3/18/1998.
TeleRead
Keeping a sharp eye on education and the 'Net. Updated 8/8/1997, 12/29/2011, 4/5/2017.

Tunage

Things that SAY and PLAY things

3WK
Internet-only alternative radio, 24/7. Added 2/28/2000.
KEXP 90.3FM Seattle
90.3 FM. Seattle, Washington's Experience Music Project and the University of Washington are partners for this slick, wide-ranging stream. Much better than I'd have expected. Added May 15, 2003; updated 9/20/2018, 7/17/2020.
KNRK 94.7FM, Portland OR
Portland's alternative rock station. Added 7/9/1997; updated 7/7/2004, 4/5/2005, 12/31/2007, 7/17/2020.
Pandora Radio
Personalized Internet radio based on the Music Genome Project. Added 9/9/2009 via Jolly and Cathy D. Updated 12/29/2011.
Radio Paradise
Eclectic and commercial-free, this carefully-curated streaming station has all sorts of nice features. Added belatedly 1/23/2022.
SomaFM
Commercial-Free, Independent Internet Radio—eclectic, mostly electronic, several streaming types. Added 2/27/2008. Updated 7/17/2020.
Southern Shelter
Sloan Simpson maintains this extensive collection of shows recorded in and around Athens GA. Look for Bloodkin and the Dashboard Saviors. Added 6/13/2007. Updated 7/17/2020.

Folks

A Sanitarian Abroad
Sean Carver, posting from WV and elsewhere. Added 7/9/2008. Last post 11/26/2008. Link updated 7/17/2020.
Hill Trash
Sarah Einstein, posting from Morgantown WV. Added 4/18/2008. Last post 9/22/2013—but check the sidebar. Link updated 7/17/2020.
Strawbelly Jerry Films LLC
Former cow orker Jeff Grinta, on to bigger and better things—added 8/15/2006 per Rob and the Columbian. Updated 12/26/2012, 7/17/2020.
Loch Lomond
Portland chamber folk ensemble. Viola player Amanda also taught violin to certain children of my acquaintance. Added 11/15/2007. Updated 4/5/2017.
Official Website of "Burning Annie"
High-school classmate Van Flesher's feature film. Added 12/30/2002.
Pua Lahilahi
Laura (hey, Hap!), posting from Hawai'i. Added 4/18/2008. Last updated 5/6/2009.
Talisman
Talented traditional Celtic music. Added 7/6/2001.
underdog hopelessness
Added 10/29/2001 per JG, updated 4/9/2003, 12/21/2005, 7/17/2020.

Talk.bizarre

Oldbies and newbies and cavenewts, oh my!

Ceejbot
Former t.b regular now focused on physical fitness. Added 7/7/2004 as http://www.ceejbot.com/blog/space/start; updated 7/7/2009, 5/5/2010, 7/17/2020.
nj's face
Talk.bizarre emeritus Narciso Jaramillo, or alter ego Rictus Hep. Added 4/9/1997; updated 1/25/2001.
talk.bizarre's Friends
Graduate spool. Added 4/9/2004 via Rone. Updated 7/17/2020.
The talk.bizarre 'Web Directory
Selected t.b posters—a club that, as of March 2003, had enfolded me in its loving molten biomatic arms! Added 3/8/1999, updated 3/11/2003. Last update 6/23/2003.
The 100 Words Stories Podcast
Laurence Simon—check out 100-word stories read aloud. Added 1/12/2007 as "This Blog Is Full Of Crap"; updated 12/26/2012, 7/17/2020.

HTML

Art and the Zen of Web Sites
Opinionated and quirky Web advice. Added 12/14/1999.
Dave Raggett's Introduction to CSS
Cascading Style Sheets for beginners. Added 2/19/2002.
Hypertext Markup Language—2.0—HTML Public Text
Document Type Definition for HyperText Markup Language, level 2. Added 12/23/1998. Updated 7/17/2020.
The W3C Markup Validation Service
W3C's easy-to-use HTML validation service, based on an SGML parser. Added 7/9/2008.

Unchanging or Rarely Changing Links

These DON'T DO MUCH AT ALL anymore, but somehow they're still around...

Bruno
Chris Baldwin's brilliant comic, which was largely PDX-based. Via Alas, a blog: "Like the real thing, but cross-hatched." Added 2/6/2003. Discontinued 2/14/2007. Rerunning strips as of 2010. Baldwin does do other stuff...
Caledos LAB
Windows-based wallpaper changer, back in the day. Free ("cardware") and very well-behaved. I sent 'im a postcard and got a mention! Added 10/17/1997; updated 1/25/2001.
Chip Rowe—Humor, Humour, Satire, Pranks, Reviews by Chip Rowe
From Boing Boing 6/1/2000.
Creating Passionate Users
That's pep! Added 4/6/2005 via Haddock. Officially abandoned by creator 4/2/2007 due to online harassment. Keeping around in case she ever changes her mind. Updated to HTTPS link 7/17/2020.
defective yeti
Funny. Added via Robot Wisdom 1/21/2003. Updated 12/29/2011. Last update in 2016.
Flavorwire
High-density pop-culture tracking system. Added 3/1/2011. This one just... stopped being updated, sometime in early 2020.
GirlHacker
"Random." Silicon Valley. Added 3/20/2001. Last change 8/10/2014.
Haddock
Eclectic. Australia. Added 3/20/2001. Updates stopped in 2015. Updated to HTTPS link 7/17/2020.
I want a Freeware Utility to... (eConsultant)
Hundreds of links to utilities. Added 4/17/2006; last update in 2006 as well.
"I Just Want To Be Friends."
From one insignificant other to another, a sardonic look at people who, you know, just don't like you *in that way*. Added 2/16/1996. Last updated 9/3/2004.
Looka!
Food and drink, New Orleans. Los Angeles. Added 3/20/2001. Updated 12/29/2009. Last change 5/2/2020.
Making Light
Editors Teresa and Patrick Nielsen Hayden's way-cool blog. Added 1/16/2002, updated 5/1,7/2002, 3/20/2006. Most recent update on November 1, 2022.
Modern Humorist
Nice retro design, plus, it's funny! Added 5/23/2000; updated 7/7/2000. Last updated sometime in 2011.
The Null Device
Music, computing, politics. Australia. Added 3/20/2001, updated 2/4/2004.
the notes
Author and keen observer Miles Klee. Was "hate the future" for awhile. Added 12/29/2011. Updated 12/26/2012. Last update August 20, 2018.
The Pixel Lab
Java and VRML stuff—neat. From memepool 11/29/2000. Last change in 2004. URL updated 7/17/2020.
Plep in New York
World-spanning detail. Added 1/23/2002 per Bifurcated Rivets. Updated from http://www.nutcote.demon.co.uk/nutlog.html 12/28/2007. Infrequent; last update 2/3/2011.
RC3
Computing, politics. Added 3/20/2001. Updated 4/5/2017. Last update 1/8/2017.
rebecca's pocket
Eclectic. Web design, politics. Added 3/21/2001. Last updated 2/28/2014.
THE SLOT: A Spot for Copy Editors
Just my style—curmudgeonly—though we differed on the hyphenation of "email." By the late Bill Walsh (d. 3/15/2017). Added 12/28/1998. Not updated since shortly after Walsh's passing in 2017.
Thoughts from the Center of the Universe.
Clever. Hometown friend Randall Moeller's friendly blog. Added 3/11/2004 via the author. Last updated 4/1/2004.
Tigers & Strawberries
Barbara Fisher's tasty blog. Added 10/10/2005; updated 11/28/2005, 2/21/2010, 11/25/2010. "Down for maintenance" as of 8/30/2012... a full decade ago.