reduxExplains use of Soundex (etc) in some driver's license IDs.
[2003 Nov 17] [/reference] [#]
From the Columbia Journalism Review, a guide to media ownership.
[2003 Nov 07] [/reference] [#]
Open Source Vulnerability Database
"OSVDB is an independent and open source database created by and for the community. Our goal is to provide accurate, detailed, current, and unbiased technical information."
[2003 Nov 14] [/reference/computer] [#]
Specifications for various motherboard, power supply, etc, system components.
[2003 Nov 07] [/reference/computer] [#]
From Ars Technica, a collection of FAQs and links for case cooling concerns.
[2003 Nov 07] [/reference/computer] [#]
A large collection of specifications for computer cables and connectors. A little out of date, but good for older devices.
[2003 Nov 07] [/reference/computer] [#]
The most used security mailing list. All sorts of security holes, exploits, and patches are topical.
[2003 Nov 19] [/reference/computer/security] [#]
Promoting Open Source Security - "The core mission of this site is to facilitate program audits and provide a core repository for reviewing and submitting them."
[2003 Nov 19] [/reference/computer/security] [#]
Symbols.com - Enclopedia of Western Signs and Ideograms
Online counterpart to a reference book on symbols and signs.
[2004 Apr 27] [/reference/dictionaries] [#]
Animal Group Names (Collective Nouns)
From the Christchurch, New Zealand Library system comes this reference for collective nouns for different types of animals: "caravan of camels", "pride of lions", "murder of crows", etc.
[2003 Dec 10] [/reference/dictionaries] [#]
This online dictionary is a good reference for new, crude, and obscure slang, edited by the readers.
[2003 Dec 09] [/reference/dictionaries] [#]
Strange and Unusal Dictionaries
Online dictionaries of one letter words, all vowel words, and all consonent words, plus recommendations for print titles.
[2003 Nov 14] [/reference/dictionaries] [#]
A site devoted to cataloging information about arcade games. Manufacturer, year of release, graphics type, some pictures, some trivia.
[2006 Dec 21] [/reference/games] [#]
Probabilities in the Game of Monopoly
Extensive statistical analysis of the chances of landing on any particular space on the Monopoly board. This is useful, eg, in evaluating the potential income of a property. Further tables include data on average income per roll of the dice for properties and other spaces. It then includes advice based on this like: "The square most landed on other than Jail is Illinois Avenue, and in fact a hotel there will bring the most income other than a hotel on Boardwalk."
[2004 Oct 20] [/reference/games] [#]
The Proceedings of the Old Bailey London
Over one hundred fifty years of court case transcripts from the Old Bailey in London, starting from 1674. How would you react if you heard someone breaking into your house? Now if you couldn't call the police? Thomas White got his man and neighbors to help search his cellars when it happened to him on 22 October 1780. This and many other stories of the impact of crime on everyday lives are found here.
[2004 Oct 21] [/reference/history] [#]
United States Central Command (USCENTCOM) galleries of images and propaganda leaflets, primarily of second Iraq war.
[2004 Oct 21] [/reference/history] [#]
Propaganda Postcards from the Great War
A large collection of cards, photos, and stories to go with them from World War I. Read about and see zeppelin attacks, the story of Mata Hari and publicity pictures of her, propaganda cartoons, etc.
[2004 Oct 21] [/reference/history] [#]
In 1870 Hiram Codd patented a bottle with a marble (ball) stopper. This page provides a history of ball sealed bottles starting with rubber balls used prior to glass Codd stopper and up until patents issued in the 1940s.
[2004 Oct 20] [/reference/history] [#]
In 1972 in Oklo, Gabon, while mining for uranium a very strange thing was discovered: the fossilized remains of a naturally occuring nuclear reactor. Later several other similar reactors were discovered, each dating back about two billion years. This is one of the few sites I've been able to find with explanations of the phenomenon and photographs of the site.
[2004 Oct 20] [/reference/history] [#]
History and other information (such as recipes) on Horn and Hardart's Automat resturant. Too bad the pictures are so small.
[2004 Sep 21] [/reference/history] [#]
This Library of Congress page has page by page scans of scrapbook kept by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland author Charles Dodgson. The book contains newspaper clippings, Punch cartoons, and text by Dodgson. Additionally, the LoC has collected photos of people mentioned in the text.
[2004 Aug 10] [/reference/history] [#]
Cronological listing of England's kings.
[2004 Jul 01] [/reference/history] [#]
This site has mp3 files of the oral arguments in many important older decisions: Miranda v Arizona (1966), Roe v Wade (1973), NY Times v US (1971, the Pentagon Papers case), Loving v Virgina (1967), and a number of less famous cases. These files are large, and not always very clear.
[2004 Jun 11] [/reference/history] [#]
18th Century Apparel / First hand accounts
"18th Century apparel / First hand accounts from The Annals of Philadelphia by John F. Watson Pub. 1830"
[2004 Jun 01] [/reference/history] [#]
Historical media and inventions, like pnuematic trains, camera obscura, the Difference Engine, wax cylinder audio recordings, etc.
[2004 Mar 10] [/reference/history] [#]
FOIA, etc, archives related to US national security.
[2004 Jan 06] [/reference/history] [#]
The Progressive, Nov 1979, The H-Bomb Secret
The best non-classified reference on the hydrogen bomb, at least when it was published. A victory for the First Amendment getting it published.
[2003 Nov 12] [/reference/history] [#]
Scans from an 1881 encyclopedia dealing with all manner of home life issues: agriculture, medicine, cleaning, pottery, etc.
[2003 Oct 21] [/reference/history] [#]
The Avalon Project at Yale Law School
This collections bills itself as "Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy". While some of the documents are purely of historical interest, many have current legal standing in international affairs. This is the place to go to find the text of the Dayton Peace Accords, the peace agreement that ended the Bosnian war; the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty, which gave the US a chunk of Panama to build a canal; the Good Friday Agreement, which has brought some peace to Northen Ireland; and a wealth of many other documents.
[2004 Oct 20] [/reference/legal] [#]
Compiled by the Cornell law school, a table of laws related to marriage. Find out what states allow kids to marry at 14!
[2003 Dec 02] [/reference/legal] [#]
CDC: The centers for disease control and prevention
This US Government site is usually the first one I turn to for information about any particular disease. I love the blunt terminology, such as this statement about when to keep kids with hand, foot, and mouth disease out of childcare: "Some benefit may be gained, however, by excluding children who have blisters in their mouths and drool or who have weeping lesions on their hands."
[2004 Oct 20] [/reference/medical] [#]
Ed's Pathology Notes include a step by step discussion of the autopsy process illustrated with 8-bit style doctors and subject. There are notes on many other pathology and non-pathology topics, but not all of pages have relevant content. A good source of links to other pathology sites, though.
[2004 Oct 20] [/reference/medical] [#]
An online aircraft museum with a focus on the SR-71 Blackbird, a long range reconnaissance aircraft. Included is, eg, the entire flight manual.
[2003 Oct 28] [/reference/military] [#]
This page applies the big label formulas for royalties to values you provide. Helpful if you are going to negotiate a recording contract, and very informative for non-musicians to understand the big label payment schemes that the RIAA is so vigorously defending.
[2003 Oct 03] [/reference/music] [#]
This website, structured after the standard "Latin name" taxonomy of known to science living things, has entries on many thousands of species, with many photographs, life cycle details, etc. I've looked nearly all of the cephalopod pages.
[2004 Oct 21] [/reference/nature] [#]
The work of one dedicated ant researcher, this site has information on the different species of ants. Emphasis is on those found in (but not necessarily native to) California and Madagascar, but that is not an exclusive focus. If you drill down, you can see some pretty big pictures of these little bugs.
[2004 Oct 21] [/reference/nature] [#]
History of Telephones and Telephone switches (US focused). Includes MP3 sound samples for various telephone network sounds (busy, automated recordings, etc).
[2007 Sep 26] [/reference/telephone] [#]
A whole lot about Ma Bell, the Western Electric phones she built, and other Bell companies.
[2007 Sep 26] [/reference/telephone] [#]
All about the quirkly styled one-piece phone designed in the 1950s by Ericsson.
[2007 Sep 26] [/reference/telephone] [#]
Western Electric Rotary Prototypes
Guide to development of rotary phones at Western Electric.
[2007 Sep 26] [/reference/telephone] [#]