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Wikis are everywhere and there is one for everything nowadays. Here are some of my favorites:

Wikipedia - Everybody knows about this website by now. It’s always the first place I check when I want to research/read more info about something. It’s mostly right. :)

WikiTravel - I’ve blogged about this website before but it’s worth mentioning again. Great resource for travelers!

WikiHow - Another one I link to a lot. This pretty much has a howto for everything.

CookbookWiki - everything to do with food and cooking…includes recipes, howtos, and tips

Wikimapia - This is a cool google mashup that lets people make comments about anyplace in the world.

Uncyclopedia - this is the funny/sarcastic version of wikipedia. always good for a laugh.

Lostpedia - must read for lost fans

Mentat Wiki - this one is pretty cool. it has different methods on thinking and gives you tips for studying/memorizing. Great if you’re still in school.

Click here to check on the status of your tax return

How to turn your $1800 stimulus check into $1980

Sorry, I’m running short on time to blog for tomorrow but I thought I would share this nifty site I found with you guys. If you’ve ever needed to fax something, you know it’s quite a hassle for people who don’t have their own fax machine. This website Free Fax, lets you send documents for free! The only catch is that they print an ad on the cover sheet. Not really a big deal to me.

If you need to send a more professional fax, you can pay $1.99 to send one without an ad. Beats driving to Kinkos any day!

Free Fax

Fodor’s has a great list of 27 top websites for the super-organized traveler. There were even some I had never heard of! Here are a few I liked:

Viator - Find things to do including Shows, tours, and other attractions by city/area

Theme Park Insider - Tips and advice for theme parks. You can find out which rides are the most popular and how to get the most out of your visit to any theme park.

Check airport security wait times - based on historical data

HopStop and Subway Navigator - a must if you are going anywhere with a subway system

Roadfood - perfect for finding cheap, unique eats during your roadtrip

Fuel Cost Calculator - determine how much you’ll spend on gas

The Bathroom Diaries - public bathroom reviews

Wow this trip planner is awesome!! If you are planning a trip or even some kind of outdoor event, this is such a useful tool. It analyzes the history of the weather of a given date and tells you what the chances of it being cold/hot/rainy/cloudy on that particular day(s). I checked my tentative wedding date April 18th (2009!) and I got this:

Historical Summary for April 17 - April 19

Temperature:
The Average High Temperature is 69 F with a historical range of 63 F to 80 F
The Average Low Temperature is 53 F with a historical range of 49 F to 56 F
There is a 0% chance of a Hot Day (temperature over 90°F / 32°C).
(0 days out of 21 in historical record)
Most consecutive days found in historic record: 0
There is a 0% chance of a Freezing Day (temperature below 32°F / 0°C).
(0 days out of 21 in historical record)
Most consecutive days found in historic record: 0

Warm
Daily Precipitation:
The Average Daily Precipitation is 0.00 with a historical range of 0.00 to 0.01
There is a 5% chance of a Precipitation Day.
(1 day out of 21 in historical record)
Most consecutive days found in historic record: 0

Dry
Cloud Cover:
Average Cloud Cover is mostly sunny
There is a 10% chance of a Cloudy Day.
(2 days out of 21 in historical record)
Most consecutive days found in historic record: 2

Clear
Wind:
The Average Wind is 2 mph with a historical range of 0 mph to 6 mph
There is a 0% chance of a Windy Day (average wind over 10 mph / 15km/h).
(0 days out of 21 in historical record)
Most consecutive days found in historic record: 0

Humidity:
The Average High Dew Point is 51 F with a historical range of 44 F to 58 F
The Average Low Dew Point is 39 F with a historical range of 13 F to 53 F
There is a 0% chance of a Humid Day (dew point over 65°F / 18°C).
(0 days out of 21 in historical record)
Most consecutive days found in historic record: 0

Looks like the perfect day for a wedding!! :)

AOL compiled a nice list of their favorite user submitted food tips, a lot of them I’d never heard of. My favorites:

“So you’ve been out at the beach, and you are fried lobster red. Don’t panic — just take a potato and grate it (leaving peel and everything on it) and put it where you are burnt. Wait 30 minutes and remove the potato. Take a cool shower. Not only is the heat gone, but the next day so will be the pain and most of the red — if not all.” — Juliana

But what helps bread stay fresh? Joy Taylor says, “To keep bread longer place a carrot in the bag. It will freshen bread like it was just baked.”

“Put some cola in your coffee pot let it soak. Add some ice cubes, swirl them around the coffee pot and most stains will rinse right out.” — Rhonda

“I spilled red wine on cream carpet, I immediately covered it with a box of salt. The next morning, I vacuumed it up. No stain was visible.” — Patty (Note - this also works for Kool-Aid stains.)

“If you’re having trouble with mosquito bites, put a piece of raw onion on them for about 2 minutes. It stops the itch, and takes the redness away.” — Cher

“Cats HATE the smell of citrus, so lightly rubbing your wood furniture with orange or lemon rinds or oils will help deter cats. It doesn’t do much for dogs, though.” — Jenni

“When you move a piece of furniture and the area is all matted down, put a few ice cubes on the spot and allow them to melt. Then vacuum and voila! The spot looks as good as the area around it.” — Nicole

“Take a small bag of Fritos corn chips with you hiking or camping as a great fire starter. They are loaded with oil and will easily burn long enough to get a fire started.” — Mark

“Cinnamon works for repelling ants. If you find where they are coming in, sprinkle cinnamon on the trail and they will not go over it. It worked for me and I had no more ants in my kitchen.” — Raelene

Read tons more here.

Seems like people are getting sick all around me, here are some new ways I read about how to not get sick!

Use your knuckle to rub your eyes. It’s less likely to be contaminated with viruses than your fingertip. This is particularly important given that the eye provides a perfect entry point for germs, and the average person rubs his eyes or nose or scratches his face 20-50 times a day, notes Jordan Rubin, Ph.D., author of the book The Maker’s Diet.

Run your toothbrush through the microwave on high for 10 seconds to kill germs that can cause colds and other illnesses. You think it gets your teeth clean — and it does. But once you’re done brushing, your toothbrush is a breeding ground for germs. Sterilize it in the microwave before you use it, or store it in hydrogen peroxide (rinse well before using), or simply replace it every month when you change the page on your calendar and after you’ve had a cold.

Lower the heat in your house 5 degrees. The dry air of an overheated home provides the perfect environment for cold viruses to thrive. And when your mucous membranes (i.e., nose, mouth, and tonsils) dry out, they can’t trap those germs very well. Lowering the temperature and using a room humidifier helps maintain a healthier level of humidity in the winter.

Inhale air from your blow-dryer. It sounds nuts, we know. But one study conducted at Harvard Hospital in England found that people who breathed heated air had half the cold symptoms of people who inhaled air at room temperature. Set the dryer on warm, not hot, and hold it at least 18 inches from your face. Breathe in the air through your nose for as long as you can — 20 minutes is best.

Take a garlic supplement every day. When 146 volunteers received either one garlic supplement a day or a placebo for 12 weeks between November and February, those taking the garlic were not only less likely to get a cold, but if they did catch one, their symptoms were less intense and they recovered faster.

Eat a container of yogurt every day. A study from the University of California-Davis found that people who ate one cup of yogurt — whether live culture or pasteurized — had 25 percent fewer colds than non-yogurt eaters. Start your yogurt eating in the summer to build up your immunity before cold and flu season starts.

Scrub under your fingernails every night. They’re a great hiding place for germs.

At the very first hint of a cold, launch the following preventive blitz. Here’s how:

* Suck on a zinc lozenge until it melts away. Then suck another every two waking hours. Or use a zinc-based nasal spray such as Zicam.

* Take one 250-milligram capsule of the herb astragalus twice a day until you are better.

* Cook up a pot of chicken soup.

* Roast garlic in the oven (drizzle whole clove with olive oil, wrap in tinfoil, roast for an hour at 400°F), then spread the soft garlic on toast and eat.

See the full list here.

Yeahhhhh, I’m going to Washington DC on Wednesday and I can’t wait! I’ve been there once, but I honestly don’t remember very much. I can’t wait to see all of the famous monuments and eat yummy food. The best part is this trip isn’t going to cost us (me and boyrobot) very much at all!

For the airplane tickets, we got in on such a hot deal. The new Virgin America airlines had a sale where their tickets were buy 1 get 1 free. We scored roundtrip tickets for less than $140 each!!! Does it get any better than that?

For the hotel, we used Priceline. Here’s a guide on how to use Priceline effectively which outlines the method we used. We basically looked up the prices for the area we want to stay in and then bid about $10 cheaper than the latest winning prices. We didn’t expect to get it but we ended up scoring a 4 star hotel for only $75 in a GREAT location (Dupont Circle). We are within 5 minutes from a major subway stop!

Also, pretty much all of the major sightseeing points are free: the monuments, tons of museums (I can’t wait to check out the Smithsonian!), the zoo, and there is even a free daily performance at the Kennedy Center every evening.

For food, we usually do splurge and eat at nice places but for the most part, we take advantage of CHEAP EATS! Is it just me or do the highly rated cheap eats sometimes taste better than the food you pay for that costs 10 times as much??

So yeah, that’s how to plan a trip to DC! Hopefully, I’ll have some cool pics to share with you all when I get back next week. In the meantime, if you’ve been to DC…any food/places to recommend?

If you’re like me sometimes a particular song gets stuck in my head and I like to listen to it over and over again for a week or so. It doesn’t really warrant me buying the CD and I try to avoid buying things off of Itunes unless I really love the song. In these cases, for instant listening pleasure, I turn to these new websites that have been popping up. My favorite, Songza, and another popular one called Songerize.

All you do is type in the name of the artist/song and hit play! I prefer Songza because you can create a playlist of more than one song.

This was perfect for that one week where I couldn’t stop listening to Tila Tequila’s Paralyze song. And then after that week was over and I came to my senses, I really had no reason to ever listen to that song again!

It’s also great for those Apple commercial songs. They are just so darn catchy aren’t they?

PS. Speaking of music, anybody fans of NPR music? Did you know they have a new website!!! I always discover great new artists listening to NPR.

A good substitution for a tripod:

$1 Image Stabilizer For Any Camera - Lose The Tripod - Watch the best video clips here

Christmas can be an extremely wasteful holiday. I know that after we finished opening our presents our living room was filled with torn open wrapping paper everywhere! You could barely see the ground! Also, I never know what to do with all of the Christmas cards I receive. I end up guiltily throwing them away in the trash. This year, I decided to do these things as a way to recycle what would have been trash.

Wrapping paper
- shred it with a paper shredder and use as stuffing for my next gift bag

Christmas cards
- cut out the ones with cool designs and use as gift tags for next year
- cut out the front and send off as a postcard

I also found out there are tons of other things you can do with leftover wrapping paper and creative ways to recycle cards (like make this box for Hakushaku :))

Lucky for me, I don’t suffer from migraines but I know a few people who do. My sister, offered this great tip for anyone who suffers from a migraine. It worked within an hour for boyrobot who had a migraine for almost 3 days! Her tip?

Take Motrin IB, lay down, and try to nap for at least 30 minutes

Pretty simple, huh? I guess the most important part is to not waste your time with the other pills like Tylenol or Advil which don’t seem to work well against migraines. Tell me if it worked for you or if you have tips for curing a migraine!

If you’re thinking about switching cell phone carriers, this website is a great resource!

Signal Map lets you input an address and see how strong a particular carrier is at that spot.

It’s based on user input so you can add your own and help build their user data for others as well. Best part…no registration required!

I love going to plays, shows, concerts…you name it. But this can become costly depending on how often you go. Here are my favorite ways to never pay full price for a ticket!

Work - If you or someone you know works at a fairly large corporation, most likely they have access to company-discounted tickets. This can include plays, amusement parks, and even movies! I’ve even gotten discounted orchestra tickets to the sold out Wicked musical that has been playing in town. If you don’t work at a company that supplies you with these, definitely ask around.

Goldstar (or non-referral link)- I signed up for this a few years ago and I love it! They also keep me up-to-date on events happening around my area that I wouldn’t normally hear about. They have discounts on plays, comedy shows, and even spa treatments. Almost everything is pretty much 50% off the ticket price. Unfortunately, they currently only offer tickets for a handful of cities (Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, San Jose, Orange County, Chicago, Washingtdon DC, NY, Boston, and Las Vegas). They also give you credit for referring friends which is easy because this is a great service that I don’t feel bad recommending to my friends.

Craigslist or Ebay - If the show you want to see isn’t sold out, you are almost guaranteed a cheaper price if you look here. Best part, no fees!

Go right before the show (For Musicals/Broadway plays) - You’ll have to check with each individual theater by calling since most of the time this information is not publicly listed but sometimes they have really cheap tickets right before the show. There is usually a “rush or cancellation line” for last minute tickets. Or like for Wicked, several theaters nationwide (check yours) are having a lottery for front row tickets at $25! (BTW, I read for lottery tickets, Sunday matinee shows have the best odds)

TKTS - Most tourists already know about TKTS but it’s the well-known discount booth for broadway/off-broadway shows. I stood in line for this when I visited NYC, it’s part of the experience! And well worth it for the amount of money you can save. Tickets are up to 50% off.

Group Tickets - A great way to get cheaper tickets is to round up a bunch of your friends. Some theaters will offer you discounted tickets if you have a certain number of people in your party.

I’m a total Google fanatic and I can’t believe I totally missed out on using this google application called Google Notebook. If you’re like me, sometimes you read or see something on a website. Maybe it’s just a few lines so you don’t want to bookmark the whole website. Besides, my bookmark list is overflowing right now! This is where Google Notebook comes in. If you download the app to your browser, you can highlight the line(s) you want to keep track of and “Note this”, in other words, add it to your Google Notebook.

Google Notebook will copy/paste the lines you highlighted including the URL it came from.

I’ve been using Google Docs to copy and paste things but this will make it so much easier. Different notebooks I would keep would be:

Gifts - Sometimes I’m surfing the web and I see a great idea for a gift for someone’s birthday. Now I can easily highlight the product, add it to my notebook with a little comment about who it’s for and have an ongoing list of gift ideas for people.

Recipes - I’m a recipe hoarder. I probably bookmark a recipe a day because I always see something I want to one day make. Now I can highlight the recipe name and keep track of them in this online notebook.

Blog Ideas - Easy way to keep track of blog ideas and where they came from!

The best part about all of this is since it’s Google, I don’t have to set up yet another account (doesn’t everybody have a gmail account already?) and the fact that I can access the notebook from any computer. Now if only the GPhone would come out already.