William P. Barrett
                 Journalist
            Res Ipsa Loquitur
       (The Thing Speaks for Itself)

    Links to Interesting Web Sites
                 
                  Financial Information

American City Business Journals  Regional wannabees
Better Business Bureau  Search a business's bona fides
BigCharts  Minute by minute trading data to check your broker   
Bloomberg  A comer in business news, when he's not a mayor
Bureau of Public Debt  Buy those bonds, notes and bills here
Business Wire  Official line from the company
CFA Institute  No scandal among chartered financial analysts
Charles Schwab  Quick stock quotes from discount brokerage king
Consumer Price Index Since 1913  How much cheaper back then? 
Cost of Living Comparisons  If you're thinking of moving
CNN Financial News  Latest happenings in business
Corporate Information  Company profiles worldwide
The Economist  International financial view from London
Economic History  Chatty economists, lots of neat links
Federal Trade Commission  Warnings on many industries
Financial Times  Pinko business newspaper in London
Forbes Magazine  Shameless plug for my employer
Fraser  Nifty economic data compiled by the St. Louis Fed
Free Erisa  Possible details on your own pension plan
Free Edgar   Smart retrieval of SEC filings
Free Lunch  Huge amount of economic data
Hedge Fund Adviser Records  Check out that secretive outfit
Hoover Online   Basic information on public companies
IPO Central  Good way to track new initial public offerings
Internal Revenue Service  Taxing information
Investment Adviser Records  Check out that money manager
Investor Guide  Directs you to other sites
Market Guide  Much basic data here
Minyanville  Quirky site features dancing bulls and bears
Mergerstat  Tracks mergers and acquisitions
Morningstar  The Bible on mutual funds
Motley Fool  Amusing but informative financial information
PR Newswire  More official line from the company
Quatloos  Heads-up on scams, frauds and dubious investments
Quicken Financial Network   Personal finance advice
Raging Bull  Where unverified market gossip reigns supreme
Real Estate ABC  Name says it all
Real Estate Records  Links to free property records on the Web
Securities and Exchange Commission  Public company filings
SEC Info  Makes sense out of raw SEC documents
Social Security   Figure out what you got coming
State Securities Regulators  Where to blow the whistle
Stockbroker Records  Helpful but rather limited from the NASD
TheStreet.com  Broad financial coverage
Tax-Exempt Form 990s  Get the skinny on tax-dodgers 
10-K Wizard  Clever retrieval and analysis of SEC filings, but not free
Vanguard Lots of financial information here
Yahoo Finance   Best investor chat around
Zillow  Computer estimate of a property's value

                                General Research

About  The skinny on nearly everything
Acronym Finder  A guide to alphabet soup
American Rhetoric  Live feed of famous speeches
Answers.com  Hot new quick source to everything from Gurunet
Babelfish  Altavista's neat translating service
Bartlett's Quotations  Who said what when where how but no why
Biography Resource Center  Search for people
Census Data  Plenty of numbers here
CEO Express  Well-designed links to just about everything
County Clerk Offices  Every single one in the United States
Dictionary  Plus thesaurus
Dictionary.com  For various languages
Double-Tongued Word Wrestler Dictionary  Includes slang
The Elements of Style  William Strunk's classic work on writing
eLibrary  A paid Web site for general research
eNature  Broad database on animals and plants
Encarta  Microsoft's encyclopedia, atlas and dictionary
Encyclopedia Britannica   Great book but barely afloat
FedStats  Numbers from all over the government
FirstGov  Owner's manual to the Federal Government
FreeDictionary  Lots of technical definitions
Internet Public Library  Good collection of reference sites
Librarians' Index to the Internet  Vetting by the pros
Library of Congress  Terrific way to track down old books
Library Spot  Another good collection of reference sites
LOUIS  One-stop search of federal records
Martindale's The Reference Desk  Links aplenty
Merriam-Webster Online  Dictionary
Metric Converter  How many meters in a mile?
National Obituary Archives  Links to 50 million death notices
Online Dictionaries and Thesauri  Galore
OneLook  Word definitions drawn from 100 dictionaries
Portico  Good collection of research links
Questia  Another paid Web site that is a virtual library
Rapleaf  Claims 50 million people profiles
Reference Desk  Still another good collection of reference sites
Smithsonian Institution  Wide scope
Statistical Abstract of the U.S.  Even more numbers
UN Data  United nations clearinghouse
University of Michigan  Wide collection of links to statistics and data
Wayback Machine  Amazing archives of the entire Web back to 1996
Who2  Lots of biographies here
Wikipedia User-written encyclopedia of uncertain veracity 
Wink  Surprisingly effective people searches
ZoomInfo  Good at finding official bios on the Web

       Internet, Computers and Wireless

Astalavista Security Group  Where hackers and the hacked meet
Bandwith Meter  Measure the speed of your Internet connection
Broadband Home Central  How to set up that home network
Bug Me Not  Enter Web sites without registration
Cell Reception  Provides map of nearby cell phone towers
Download Squad  Witty update on software, Web apps
Internet Domain Lookup  The skinny on domain owners if not hiding
Internet Traffic Report  Congestion on the information superhighway
NetHistory  Amazing story of the Internet
PC Magazine  Free software and helpful computer reviews
SamSpade  Tools to protect online privacy
Search Engine Showdown  Critiques the backbone of the Web
Spyware Info  Tipoff sheet about Internet snoops
Spyware Warrior  Tips on shaking that virus
TechCrunch  Review Internet sites and services
TechDirt The Page Six of the tech industry
WiFi Freespot.com   List of no-cost wireless access
WiFi Hotspots  Searchable database of paid and free wireless access
WiFiMaps.com  Plots Internet wireless access on map
Wi-Fi Planet  How to get wireless

   Media, Entertainment and--Gasp!--Gossip

ABC  Major broadcast network with newsy site
Ad Age Power 150  Links to top marketing and media blogs
AJR Newslink  Find most U.S. print media with Web sites
All-News Radio Station Live Feeds  Check NYC traffic from L.A.
Alternative Weeklies  Links to the down and dirty of journalism
Arts & Letters Daily  Points to humanities-oriented material
Associated Press  The granddaddy of wire services
Associated Press Stories Plotted on a Map  Visual news
Audit Bureau of Circulations  Shocked by fraud in Chicago, Dallas, etc.
BBC World Service  Listen to its famous radio reports right here
Book Publishing Industry Directory   Everyone who's anyone
Box Office Mojo  Movie stats galore
Breaking News  When you got to know the scoop right away
Chicago Tribune  Not Zellous of World's Greatest Newspaper
Christian Science Monitor  Top newspaper that nobody reads
Classical Music Radio Stations Online  Hear Mozart right now! 
CNN  Good for breaking news
Commentary Today  Left, right and in-betweens listed here
The Dallas Morning News   Sad testimonial to family control
Defamer  Hollywood gossip
Drudge Report   General gossip without verification
E! Online  Brad and Jennifer and Angelina and other such stuff
eWeek  What's happening in the digital world
Fishbowl LA  More Hollywood gossip
Forbes Magazine  Another shameless plug for my employer
Fox News  When you like your news with a spin from the right
Gawker  New York gossip
Gizmodo  New gadget blog
Google News  Fastest way to grab breaking news
Guerrilla News Network  News stories without verification 
Houston Chronicle  Largest local daily never to win a Pulitzer Prize
The Huffington Post  Blog of blogs
Informer  Forbes Magazine's business gossip page
LAObserved  Online critique of things Los Angelesian
LA.COMfidential  Hollywood gossip blog from William Dean Singleton
Los Angeles Daily News  The other paper in Los Angeles
Los Angeles Times  West Coast outlet of Chicago Tribune
MSNBC  Even better for breaking news
MSN Money  Lots of material here
Music Archive  Huge number of performances, all for free 
National Geographic  Without the dirty pictures
National Public Radio   A decent site, All Things Considered
New Mexico Magazine  Touts Land of Enchantment
News Links  Links to media outlets worldwide
Newspaper Association of America  Another list of print links
News Voyager  Another link to media outlets everywhere
The New York Observer  Thoughtful, witty Gotham weekly
The New York Post Gossip Columns  The best in daily dish
The New York Times  Still the U.S. newspaper of record
O'Dwyer's P.R. Newsletter  Spin about the spin
The Onion  Satire, not news, but who cares?
Opera Broadcasts  Daily listings of when the fat lady sings 
Overlawyered  Daily accounts of why there are too many lawyers
PressThink  Journalism blog by Professor Jay Rosen
PR Watch Amusing dissections of paid propaganda and media spins
Pulitzer Prizes  All the winners since the very first one in 1917
Radio Locator  Locate that AM or FM outlet
Regret the Error  Amusing newspaper corrections
Reuters  Detached foreign view with funny spellings
Jim Romenesko  His famous MediaNews summary
Salon  Online magazine of note
Santa Fe New Mexican  Fine small daily that escaped from Gannett
Science Daily  News on the next breakthrough
Scriptsales.com  Track those movie deals
Slate  Another online magazine of note
The Smoking Gun  Collection of gossipy documents
Sunday Times (London)  Surprisingly interesting for non-Brits 
Talking Biz News  Giving business news outlets the business
TV Tome  Everything about the small screen   
The Times of London  International perspective
Toronto Globe and Mail  Canada's top newspaper
TruthDig  Links to political journalism
United Press International  A shadow of its former self
Valleywag Silicon Valley gossip blog
The Washington Post  Scoop and poop from the nation's capital
Weather Channel  What it's doing outside, everywhere
Wired  Intersection of technology and culture
USA Today  Free searches back to 1987

                             Political Sites

The Note  ABC News go-to site for daily political dish
Fact Check  Tries to keel pols on the straight and narrow
PolitiFact  Features the "Truth-O-Meter"
Spinsanity  Another set-'em-straight site
Wonkette  Political gossip blog

                 Search Engines and Portals

A9  Search engine from Amazon.com
AfterVote  Combines results from Google, Yahoo and MSN
All The Web  Norwegian import with very broad coverage
AOL  Search engine with a tilt toward partners and own sites
Altavista  Still a damn good engine
Ask Jeeves  Stunning search logic using ordinary questions
Ask X  Ask Jeeves search engine in drag
ChaCha  Takes you to a real human guide
Clusty  Cleverly classifies hits by topic a la the old Northern Light
Congoo  Seaches beyond the free Web.
Deja News  Indexes Usenet posting by everyone
Dogpile  Searches other search engines
eTBLAST  Searches Web by text similarity rather than keywords
Google  Also searches other engines, plus deleted pages
Google Groups  Searchable archives of newsgroup postings
Internet Archive  Dig up that old Web site
Mahalo  Claims to be "human-powered"
Microsoft Live Search  Surprisingly decent coverage
MsDewey.com  Scantily clad host talks back at you during searching
MSN  It's a search engine, too
Prefound  Search your own Internet universe.
Rollyo  Sometimes works better for obscure topics
SearchMash  All-in-one Google engine for Web, video, blogs, pix
Stumble Upon  Your past searches help guide this engine
Wayback Machine  Amazing archives of the entire Web back to 1996
Yahoo  Best known engine, although, frankly, coverage is spotty

                              Services

Get Human.com  Find the codes to evade company phone trees
Track My Shipments  Even provides maps of that UPS order
Zillow  In case you missed it above

                   Sites for Searching Blogs       

Alltop  Blog-posting collector by industry
Bloglines  Search recent blog postings
Blogdigger  Name says it all
Bloglines  Keep track of new blog postings
Blog Pulse  Track that Blogosphere chatter here
Blogsearch  Find that snarky posting on blogs
Google Blogsearch  Claims it can search minutes-old postings
Ice Rocket  Another way to search bogs
Sphere  A comer in blog-searching
Technorati  Yet another source for researching blogs

                       Specialty Searches

Banished Words List  Lake Superior State Univ's gift to the world
Canada Statistics  Pin down those numbers up north, eh?
Centers for Disease Control  Health info galore
Dead People Server  Is that celebrity finally gone yet?
Earthquakes This Week in Los Angeles  Many more than you think
Federal Campaign Contributions  Democracy at work     
Federal Prisoner Locator  Records of past and current inmates
Footnote  Documents in the National Archives
Genealogy Records  Mormon Church's famous archives
Graves of Famous People  Exhaustive index to final resting spots 
Healthopedia  Links to medical information
How Stuff Works  The basics on the basics
The Memory Hole  Stories that deserved better play
Internet Movie Database  Track down Hollywood trivia
KnowX  Nationwide lawsuit and lien searches for modest fees
Lifehacker  All kinds of shortcuts
Martindale's List of Lawyers  Find that mouthpiece
The Memory Hole  Stories that deserved better play
Muckety  Interactive organization charts showing relationships
Museum of Hoaxes  When it sounds too good to be true
New York City Official Web Site  Lots of information here
Nonprofit Organizations  Forbes Magazine list of 200 majors
Nonprofit Governance BBB Wise Giving Alliance ratings
Open Secrets  Details the best democracy that money can buy
Patent and Trademark Server  Index goes way back--to 1790
Political Organization Filings With IRS  Who got what from whom
Project Gutenberg  Full-text of many old books in public domain
Public Records Search  Free and paid sources
Search Engine Guide  Links to specialized Web findings
The Straight Dope  Basic answers to basic questions
Social Security Death Index  Dearly departeds back to 1933
State Lawmaker Financial Disclosures  Actual filings
Useless Knowledge  All kinds of trivia
U.S. Gazetteer  Interesting geographical index 
U.S. Postal Service  Figure out the freight and the rules
Web MD  Reference manual for the body
World Health Organization  Early word on the next epidemic

         Telephone Numbers and Addresses

Anywho  AT&T's directory assistance
Argali  Lots of numbers, lots of ads
At Hand  Directory assistance often more current than others
Links to Online Directories  Courtesy of the University of Texas
FindFone  Useful in tracking down location of phone exchange
Hard to Find 800 numbers  name says it all
Infospace   Another phone and address directory
InfoUSA  Still another phone and address directory
Reverse Phone Directory  Get name or address from number
Search-It-All  Another reverse directory
Switchboard  Also provides maps and directions
Verizon  Can search by first name only.
WhitePages.com  Also pulls up email addresses and bio
Zip Codes In A Radius  Find out who's nearby

                                   Travel

Accutraffic  Real time traffic reports from government agencies
Airfare Watchdog  Real people searching for real discounts
Airline Crashes  Details every airplane crash since 1970
AirTran Airways  Watch those discount flights to Florida
Alamo Car Rental  A tad cheaper than others
American Airlines  More accidents than most other carriers
American Trans Air  Discount carrier in the Midwest
America West Airlines  Back from the dead
Amtrak  Puts the drama back in long-distance travel
Avis  They try to try harder
Booking Buddy  Helps search other travel sites
Cheap Tickets  Another place to look for air deals
Citysearch  Guides to the city you are visiting
Continental Airlines  Still rising from the ghost of Frank Lorenzo
Czech Airlines  When you really want to take a flyer
Currency Converter  How many pesos to the dollar?
Delta Air Lines  Made ``Change in Atlanta'' famous
Driving Directions  How to get anywhere on the road
Driving Distance Calculator  In miles, not six-packs
Enterprise Car Rental  Also on the low side
Expedia  Book those airfares here
Farecast  Buy that plane ticket now or later?
Fare Compare  Good for traveler with flexible dates
Flightstats Tells you how often a specific flight is late
Flying Distance Calculator  Figure out the frequent flyer mileage
Foders  Lots of travel information
Frommers  Lists cut-rate deals
Frontier Airlines  Lower fares, but not low fares, through Denver
Google Maps  Trying to muscle in on Mapquest
Google Pedometer  Figure out the length of your daily walk
Hertz  King of rental cars
Inside Trip  Search airfares by price, speed, comfort or ease
Jet Blue  Discount carrier that goes coast to coast--in good weather
Kayak  Better than most at finding lowair fares
Lonely Planet  Oriented toward backpackers
Los Angeles Transit  Featuring subways to nowhere
Mapquest  King of online mapping
Mesa Air  Getting around New Mexico and environs
Metrolink  Southern California's commuter train system to nowhere
Mile Maven  How to get maximum frequent flyer points
MizPee  When you gotta go
Mobissimo Another site to check for best airfares
New York City Transit  Get that subway map here
New York City Trafficcams  When you're really, really bored.
Nextag  Comparison shop air, hotels, cars
Northwest Airlines  Unhappy workers in Minneapolis, Detroit, etc.
Orbitz  Best for finding flights
Point Maven  How to get maximum frequent hotel points
Priceline  Frankly, you often can do better elsewhere
Seat Guru  Spotlights airplane seats with the most legroom
SideStep  Search engine for best travel deals
Southern California Freeway Traffic  Amazing detail in real time
Southwest  About to run US Airways out of Philly
Spirit Airlines  Discount flights mainly along the East Coast
TerraServer  Microsoft's answer to Google Maps
Thrifty Car Rental  A dubious outfit, from my dealings
Time Zones and Current Time  Set your watch right here 
Travelocity  Good place for last-minute airfares
Trip Advisor  Helpful in booking hotel rooms
Trip Connect  Share your travel war stories
United Airlines  Squeezes customers in Denver and Chicago
US Airways  Still known as US Error
WalkJogRun  Calculates distance of your jogging route
Weather Channel   Local conditions anywhere in the world
World Health Organization  Check for outbreaks before you go
Yapta  Monitors airlines for fare cuts after ticketing

                Video, Images and Personal

AOL Video Search  Serious place to look for tape
Ask Images  From the Ask Jeeves crowd
Blinkx  One way to find that clip online
FaceBook  Check out that college student here
Google Video  Broad coverage of the medium
Google Image Search  Still the best for stills
LinkedIn  A Facebook for professionals
MySpace  Check out that high school student here
Picsearch  Name says it all
TubeSurf  Searches all the video search sites
Twitter  A Facebook for techies 
Yahoo Live  Broadcast of live video
Yahoo Video  Mark Cuban's revenge
YouTube  Where copyright is just a quaint thought