| Personal Links |
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My Webshots Photo Page
Begun in October 2005, this page displays some of the photographs I have taken.
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Scoutng: Troop 747 (Phoenix, AZ)
The website of Boy Scout troop 747 in Phoenix, AZ, in which our daughter, son-in-law, and grandsons are active participants. Our daughter runs the site.
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My Weblog: The Curmudgeon's Corner
Subtitled "Ramblings of an Old Poop," this Weblog was the predecessor of The Grammar Curmudgeon. I don't keep it up anymore, but it contains some short, lighter articles that may be of interest.
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Another Weblog
Our daughter's Weblog, which is devoted to her experiences on family vacations in Maine – a different perspective from what I present on this site. (Maybe if she gets enough hits and comments, she will be motivated to work on it a bit more.)
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Yet Another Blog
A new Weblog posted by a good friend, who has a lively style of writing and a penchant for expressing strong opinions. I must add that I disagree with his politics, but I enjoy his writing style.
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Grammar Discussion Board
Located within the Grammarmudge site, this board is an excellent place to post questions about language and grammar. (Registration is required.)
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ESL Board
My forum for discussion of topics pertaining to English as a second language, specifically for non-native speakers.
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Message Board
Also located within the Grammarmudge site, the general message board is a forum for any topic that visitors wish to discuss. (Registration is required.)
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| Reference Sites (See also: Links for Writers) |
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Library Spot
Extensive resources are available from this free megasite designed "to break through the information overload of the Web and bring the best library and reference sites together with insightful editorial in one user-friendly spot."
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Reference Desk
A veritable cornucopia of links, readily accessible from the home page, exist on this site. You may subscribe here to a newsletter that sends you a free e-mail service that links you daily to an information website. We've discovered numerous resources that we would not have known about otherwise. (Downside: The site tends to produce a lot of pop-ups.)
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Information Please
A veritable bookshelf, this site has an almanac, an encyclopedia, an atlas, and a dictionary. Links and cross-references make it exceptionally easy to navigate. (It's actually more comprehensive than Britannica's and Columbia's online offerings.)
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American Heritage Dictionary
The online 4th edition of the new (2000) American Heritage Dictionary. Look up words here, check usage rules, and jump to other reference sources. (You'll have to tolerate one pop-up ad.)
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OneLook Dictionaries
A huge database of dictionaries of all sorts. One can even do word searches by using "wild cards." For example, "qui*" will bring up a list of all words beginning with "qui."
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Columbia Encyclopedia
A good general information source – nothing fancy here, but the site is utilitarian. Short articles contain internal links to locate more details.
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Search Reference
If you're looking for something on the Web and unsure of which search engine to use, this site recommends which search engine to use for that type of search, with links to the various search engines.
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The Glossarist
A gateway to glossaries on a variety of subjects, from the arts to travel, business to sports, computers to signs and symbols. Search by using categories on the site or by entering a word or phrase in a search box.
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| Other Word Sites |
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Word Play
Here is a veritable cornucopia of links to sites concerned with word play and word information – homonyms and eponyms; palindromes, oxymorons, and malaprops; cliches and obscure words; anagrams and crosswords; even tips on how to create a "Shakespearean insult." More than 100 sites are listed. (I have included among the links here a few that I thought worthy of separate mention.)
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Acronym Server
If you encounter an acronym such as SEATO or NATO (or even SNAFU or FUBAR) and you want to know what it stands for, search this database.
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Acronym Finder
Here is anothes source for finding the meanings for acronyms and abbreviations – more than 225,000 of them. (Unfortunately has some pop-up ads.)
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Banished Words List
The folks at Lake Superior State University have been suggesting, since 1976, lists of words that should be banished from the English language. The lists are right on target and a lot of fun.
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Government Acronyms and Abbreviations
Here's the place to look up the meaning of all that bureaucratic vegetable soup.
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S.P.E.L.L.
This is the homepage of the Society for the Preservation of English Language and Literature. Its members devote themselves to spotting and commenting on errors in usage and grammar; they send "Goof Cards" to the perpetrators of these errors. The site isn't much, but one can sign up as a member of S.P.E.L.L. and receive the monthly newsletter.
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Homonym List
An impressive list of homonyms compiled by Alan Cooper. If you think of any he has missed, he will be happy to hear from you.
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Amanda's Mnemonics Page
This site offers mnemonics (memory devices) for remembering the planets, spelling of certain words, and many other bits of knowledge. These little shortcuts are conveniently clasified into categories.
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Cliche Finder
Although I have no idea why anyone would want to do this, you can go to this site, enter a word, and find a cliche that uses this word.
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| Curiosities |
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Origin of Names
Want to know what your given name means and where it comes from, whether it's a common name or a highly unusual one? Look here.
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Broken Rules Page
Of interest here is a list of words that violate the spelling rule that declares "I before E except after C or when sounded like A, as in neighbor and weigh" – proof that this rule has more exceptions than you thought it had. (It also discusses "don't end a sentence with a preposition.)
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| Just for Fun |
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Sploofus
An excellent site for playing trivia games. After you register there, you can spend hours exploring the well-designed, user-friendly site and will receive daily trivia questions to rack up points. Like The Grammar Curmudgeon, this appears to be the work of someone who runs a website for the fun of it. Highly recommended.
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Webshots
If you like pictures – nature, animals, fireworks, flowers, boats, etc. – this is an excellent site for wallpaper and a slideshow screen saver (you can easily insert your own photos too). Download a free photo manager, and you're all set. You can download a few photos per day (including thousands of "community" photos sent in by photographers), or you can go with a subscription fee for unlimited access – with no advertising. I post my own photos here (see the link on my homepage).
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Interview with God
Here's another inspirational link, similar to the one above. Allow time for the program to load; it's worth the wait. (If you have pop-up killing software, you will need to disable it to view the presentation.)
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Bulwer-Lytton Awards
Every year there is a contest to see who can write the most abominable beginning sentence to a novel. This site presents the winners and runners-up. Be sure to see the "Lyttony of Grand Prize Winners." (It's hard to write stuff this bad.)
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The Darwin Awards
If you are amused by the really stupid things that people do, check this out. The site is "devoted to those who improve the gene pool by removing themselves from it."
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Titan TV
Whether you receive TV by cable, satellite, or off the air, you can register here free, enter your zip code and program source, and get an online television schedule. You can also create a customized schedule that lists only your favorite programs. It's even easier to navigate than on-screen guides.
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Really Slick Screensavers
Here's a source for "Skyrocket," one of the neatest free screensavers on the Web. It's a large file (about 3.7 MB), and it will download as a zip file. But it's a fantastic fireworks show on which you can shift camera angles, freeze the camera, and fire your own rockets (see the "About" details in the settings after you install it).
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Despair, Inc.
Do you think those motivational posters they hang up in offices are corny? Try these "Demotivators," such as, "If you want to get to the top, prepare to kiss a lot of the bottom."
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