Fall is here so it’s time to dust off the crock pot. Crockery Pot Cooking offers a huge array of recipes to try in your slow cooker.

ThriftBooks stated purpose is they “believe reading empowers people, offering them empathy to live for a moment in someone else’s shoes, offers them education, a critical asset to improving one’s life, and offers an occasional escape to fantastic worlds inhabited by interesting characters. Yes, we save millions of books every year from being destroyed, but our mission goes beyond the environment. We save these books and make them accessible to readers for the chance to shape another mind, share another story, and teach a bit of wisdom.”

The Poorhouse Story provides “a clearinghouse for information about 19th century American Poorhouses for … history buffs, genealogists, teachers/students, and others with a similar interest.”

Rather-Be-Shopping.com “is an online coupon and deal finding site where our mission is to find, sort, and post the best online coupons and free shipping codes available to help you save money when shopping on the Internet. We currently have over 5,000 coupons in our database, good at 800+ online stores.”

Homesteading.com “is a place for information and ideas to be shared about homesteading, skills, craftsmanship, and sustainability. We strive to help people of all experience levels take steps towards happier, healthier, and more holistic lives with a natural and thoughtful approach to a safer and more effective way of living. Whether on or off the homestead, we believe in making and growing, harvesting and raising, creating, and doing.”

Wassily Kandinsky is one of my favorite artists and this site has to be one of the most comprehensive compilations of his life and work on the web.

Live Science features articles about space and physics, history, health, animals, culture, tech and, my favorite, strange news. They also offer a free email newsletter.

“Since 2008, RepairPal has provided Fair Price Estimates to millions of users. These estimates are developed by Master ASE Certified mechanics and based on both manufacturer and aftermarket parts. For labor pricing, we rely on labor guides and expert input.”

Food Routes Network, “provides communications tools, technical support, networking and information resources to organizations nationwide that are working to rebuild local, community-based food systems. FRN is dedicated to reintroducing Americans to their food – the seeds it grows from, the farmers who produce it, and the routes that carry it from the fields to their tables.”

“Since 1982 the Bulwer Lytton Fiction Contest has challenged man, woman, and (very precocious) child to write an atrocious opening sentence to a hypothetical bad novel. We’re honored to receive thousands of odious entries from around the world each year.”

Gangrule “is a look at the emergence of organized crime in New York through 1900–1920, leading up to the well documented prohibition era. The database of historic events, family histories and photographs is based on research from primary sources including police, federal, court, immigration, business, and prison records.”

Check out 999 Ideas by Steve Gillman for “ideas for inventions… political theories… mental experiments… new business concepts… story outlines… philosophical thoughts… essays… and much more.”

Wilderness Connect is a great resource to to learn more about protected public wilderness areas, “found in most states, but concentrated in the west, they protect lush forests, arid deserts, snow-capped peaks, dank swamps and sandy beaches. Yet, the reasons Americans love wilderness are even more diverse than the areas themselves.”

“As a permanent home for spontaneous art, Doodlers Anonymous is a modern art blog featuring a vast archive of creative inspiration, hand-drawn interviews by contemporary artists, doodle challenges and prompts, giveaways, and a catalog of art-based goods.”

StarDate offers a constellation guide, moon phase calculator, sunrise and sunset calculator, meteor shower schedule, lunar and solar eclipse schedule, when to view planets, a primer on the solar system and much more. A good resource.

Kanopy partners “with public libraries and universities to bring you ad-free films and series that can be enjoyed on your TV, mobile phone, tablet and online.” My library began offering it for free last month and I have really been enjoying it. If your local library does not offer it yet put in a request.

Want to make your favorite restaurant dish at home? Check out CopyKat Recipies to search for the recipe.

“Claiming inspiration from “old-school American values mixed with a little punk-rock idealism,” Mike Brodie, aka The Polaroid Kidd, hopped trains across the U.S. for seven years, documenting his friends, lovers, and travels with a Polaroid and a 35-millimeter camera and amassing a critically acclaimed body of images.” His own site is static and he has supposedly given up photography.

Maps of War “was created to help people understand current events, as seen on TV and in our newspaper headlines, as being one small chapter in the much bigger and longer story of human history. Each map is well-researched and based in fact, and none of the work is meant to be biased or political. No spin or opinion, just fact-based conclusions about the history of war.”

Raise “is an online gift card marketplace where you can sell gift cards for cash or buy discount gift cards to all your favorite brands.”

Cooks.com is an extensive recipe and cooking site that also offers nutritional information, a forum and a free newsletter.

AdFlip says it is the “worlds largest archive of classic print ads.” It seems most of the content is for paying members, but you can browse through quite a few free examples.

Cyndi’s List “has been a trusted genealogy research site for more than 20 years. Cyndi’s List is free for everyone to use and it is meant to be your starting point when researching online.” I have relied on this site for research many times over the years. One of the very best genealogical resources on the web.

While Amazon has succeded in convincing many that they have the lowest prices online, take a minute to check out BookFinder. They have “made it easy to find any book at the best price. Whether you want the cheapest reading copy or a specific collectible edition, with BookFinder, you’ll find just the right book. BookFinder.com searches the inventories of over 100,000 booksellers worldwide, accessing millions of books in just one simple step.”

The Core Historical Literature of Agriculture “is primarily a collection of landmark agricultural texts published between the early nineteenth century and the middle to late twentieth century. These full-text materials cover agricultural economics, agricultural engineering, animal science, crops and their protection, food science, forestry, human nutrition, rural sociology, and soil science. Teams of scholars selected the titles in this collection for their historical and scientific importance.” This free resource offers 2,084 books and 36 journals ranging from 1623 to 1969.

I first came across this site several years ago when I was looking for information on Buddy Rich. Drummerworld “is a encyclopedia-like website and features Drummers from all genres in the history of Jazz and Rock – from the past till present times.” This addictive site includes photos, videos and extensive biographies.

ScienceDaily “features breaking news about the latest discoveries in science, health, the environment, technology, and more — from leading universities, scientific journals, and research organizations.” Don’t forget to sign up for their free email newsletter.

Poets.org “is produced by the Academy of American Poets. The site was launched in 1996, becoming the original online resource for poems, poets’ biographies, essays about poetry, and resources for K-12 teachers.” They also offer a free email newsletter.

The Foundation For Intentional Community states their mission is to “support and promote the development of intentional communities and the evolution of cooperative culture.” Communes today are associated with hippies and as settings for horror movies, but exploring this site should help part the curtain of old stereotypes.

If the suggested viewing Netflix offers you is coming up a little short try What’s on Netflix for some ideas. Whether you are looking for some recommendations or want to dig into a sub-genre, it’s all there. A very useful site.

Gnod is a project of Marek Gibney’s that allows you to “use the latest technological advances to make us all discover more and better things.” Input a few samples of music, products, art, literature or movies that you like and Gnod will make recommendations of new things to try.

Black and WTF is full of funny and bizarre, mostly vintage, photos. The site has not been updated for a few years, but it still makes for addictive viewing.

Have a good weekend!

While there are plenty of prepper sites on the web I decided to link to the Fed’s site for the basics. Ready asks you to “do four key things: (1) stay informed about the different types of emergencies that could occur and their appropriate responses (2) make a family emergency plan and (3) build an emergency supply kit, and (4) get involved in your community by taking action to prepare for emergencies.”

Julia Solis has been photographing abandoned buildings and underground spaces for 20 years. She is also a writer, event organizer and curator. Check out her site to find out how she blends all of these interests.

“In the decades around 1600, the astrologers Simon Forman and Richard Napier produced one of the largest surviving sets of medical records in history. The Casebooks Project, a team of scholars at the University of Cambridge, has transformed this paper archive into a digital archive.” A fascinating and addicting look into what was considered medical treatment during that time period. Selected Cases In Full “transcribed the full text of several hundred cases and grouped them by theme. These transcriptions are intended to be read alongside the edition and the images of the manuscripts on the full Casebooks website.”

The Soil and Health Library “provides free downloadable e-books about radical agriculture, natural hygiene/nature cure and self-sufficient homestead living. There are secondary collections involving social criticism and transformational psychology.”

I subscribed to the Taste of Home newsletter just a few months ago and I have been overwhelmed by recipes and cooking ideas. When they bundle a type of recipe to include in their mailing it will have 10 to 100 varieties. (example: 55 Chicken Skillet Recipes) You can use the recipes as is or cobble together your own version from the many they offer. A site worth your attention.

“The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex. We are a community of learning and the opener of doors. Join us on a voyage of discovery in person or learn and explore online.” I have been a reader of their excellent magazine for years. You can subscribe to their free newsletter here.

Artcyclopedia is searchable database of 9,000 listed artists, 2,900 indexed art sites and 160,000 links to other sites. You can search by name, artwork title or art museums.

I think I remember reading some movie reviews years ago by Joe Bob Briggs, but I had not thought of him since then. Somehow I recently rediscovered him and have really been enjoying his writing. He offers much more than that on his offical site.

Have a good weekend!