-Where I Live-
EastBayArtists on DeviantART
A deviantART Group for artists located or interested in the San Francisco East Bay counties of Alameda and Contra Costa.
Blue Jean Blankie
If you want to recycle your blue jeans but aren't sure where to start, go here! A few tools and the most basic quilting skills are all that's needed to recycle old denim clothing into beautiful baby quilts.
REVA
A small but growing C2 archive of quality fanfiction, amassed by weeding painfully through many, many rotten eggs. Suggestions are welcome but only the best is accepted.
Shadowshock's World
Some original and TF stuff. Also a wee bit of FF6, since we're both fans.
Made4USA
My host, of course. They also run the GBC Sermon Archive, and update it weekly with Christ-centered teaching.
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-Who Gets My Money-
Art Supplies from Dick Blick Art Materials
The best place I've found so far to buy art stuff. Taxes and shipping adds up, but the convenience, materials selection and discounts are worth it. Plus sometimes you can catch a special. Avoid the tree charcoal, though! It's hard and light.
ChristianBooks.com
I go here when Amazon doesn't have it or charges too much.
AbeBooks.com
A good source of used and rare books.
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-Fun Places to Go-
Civic Arts Education Center in Walnut Creek, CA with Shadelands Campus
Great life drawing classes, plus many other classes in different mediums, as well as dance, drama, and music. Nice place.
Also see
Jody Mattison's Website; she's one of the teachers there. Take her life drawing class if you can. Good stuff!
CONTENT WARNING: There are some art nudes and stuff on that page.
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-Dictionary and Language-
OneLook Dictionary Search
My favorite one-stop dictionary site.
MSN Encarta Dictionary and Thesaurus
This site often puts a finer point on definitions than Onelook, and usually seems to have the best definitions all round.
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-HTML Helpers-
SnipURL
A great way around those annoying, 200-character links with weird symbols that insist on translating to emoticons or otherwise breaking.
HTML Encoder/Decoder at Opinionated Geek
Nice for encoding or decoding HTML when it's in the wrong format and you reeeeally need it the other way.
Also check out their URL Encoder/Decoder, where you can encode and decode URLs (another great way around link-breakers).
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-Money Matters-
Freecycle.org
A completely free network of freecycling groups, through which you can keep your own or someone else's usable unwanted-eds out of a landfill. Use the home site to find your local group. I don't use mine as often as I might since the mods can be a bit brusque. Do use your head as you are dealing with complete strangers.
PaperBackSwap.com
A free site on which you can swap your unwanted books (including hardcovers and audio books) for credits, then swap your credits for wanted books! Generally speaking, books should be in Good to Very Good condition with no water damage or underlining; exceptions apply for Cookbooks and Textbooks.
There are also two sister sites, SwapADVD.com and SwapaCD.com.
XE's Universal Currency Converter
Handy for comparing all kinds of currencies to your own, especially when purchasing internationally.
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-Everything Else-
Voice of the Martyrs
Ministering to persecuted Christians worldwide.
The Macedonian Outreach
The greatest need met through The Macedonian Outreach is to supply clothing, shoes, heat and electricity, and food to orphans and others in dire need. Clothing and shoes are sent or taken in all the Balkan nations year round.
The Grand Master Jimmy H. Woo Kung-Fu San Soo Associates
Learn more about the ancient and effective self-defense art of San Soo. Especially recommended for women.
The Pan Flute of Douglas Bishop
A great place to learn about this lovely musical instrument. Free video "lessons," links, and more.
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