This silly painting was displayed on the very first Turtle's Web, created in 1995 to showcase my artwork and newly budding HTML skills

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Welcome to Turtle's Tool Box. This web page links to some of the coolest USEFUL tools I've found on the web. There are, in some cases, many different versions of the same tool, so I've tried to track down the best for each job... or just had to pick one. So this is just a place to put them all in one spot, where I can find them, and whoever happens along can benefit too! Write to me if you have a hot tip.

LearnTheNet.com Are you new to the 'net? Everything you need to know is right here! Check out this fantastic educational site about everything from what the Internet is to how to set up multimedia plugins, netiquette and emoticons, to how to search the web, and much much more.

[Auto] [Financial/Math] [Health/Diet] [Language Reference] [Learning/Education] [News: World/National or Local] [Pets] [Phone] [Postal] [Shopping] [Travel] [Weather] [World Clocks]

Auto

Kelly Blue Book (How much is that car worth?)
Edmunds Car Buyer Guides
Cars.com Buying Guides (research cars online...)
Carfax (find out that car's history)
MSN Carpoint (another good car site from Microsoft. You can create an account for your cars and get reminders about stuff like maintenance)

Financial & Mathematical[menu]

Online Converter
(Convert anything online)
Salary/Cost of Living Calculator

Health & Diet [menu]

WebMD
(one of the best health & medical resources online)
HealthFinder (another medical resource)
Thrive Online (health, fitness, nutrition, etc)

Calorie Calculator
Burn Barometer (How many calories you are burning)
USDA Searchable Database What's really in that cookie?
Fast Food/Restaurant Nutrition (or not)

Language References [menu]

One Look Dictionary
(this is a master dictionary which cross-searches 757 other dictionaries!)
Dictionary.com
WhatIs (a huge dictionary of computer & internet terminology)
Weboepaedia (another dictionary of computer & internet terminology)
Rhyming Dictionary (type a word and get its synonyms, definitions, rhyme words, more)
Cliche Finder (searching for just the right cliche? This might help!)
Aphorisms Galore (an aphorism is a fancy term for a quote or witticism. Find them here)

Learning & Education

Learn2.com
(awesome site full of "how to" mini lessons to teach yourself stuff)
Ehow (15,000 mini lessons)
SoYouWanna (yet another site full of lessons on doing stuff)
How Stuff Works (this is a really fun, award winning site which explains "how stuff works")

News: National [menu]

CNN
(You can sign up for notification of breaking news which is kind of cool)

News & Events: Local [menu]

Times Union
(the local newspaper, and an award winning online newspaper nationally)
Metroland (the local "alternative" paper)
Albany2Go (this is an awesome calendar of everything going on in my bustling metropolis)

Pets [menu]

HealthyPet.com (a resource which is highly recommended by a vet clinic I design for)

Phone [menu]

Telephone Directory

Anywho Reverse Phone Lookup (search listings by phone #)

Postal & Packages [menu]

USPS Zip Code Look Up
Postal Rate Calculator Get an estimate before you go to the P.O.
USPS Package Tracking
Airborne Package Tracking
UPS Package Tracking
FedEx Package Tracking

Shopping [menu]

I do a LOT of online shopping - these are some of my favorite sites plus a few resources for researching before you buy.

Epinions (before you buy, find out what other people thought of it. I LOVE this site!)
Price Scan (compare prices on electronics, software, books, etc)
Price Grabber (another comparison site)
BizRate (a highly regarded site which rates online shopping sites - find out ahead of time if they have a good track record before you shop)

Bookfinder (find old, used and out of print books online)
Book Closeouts (I browse this site every few months and treat myself to a box of cheap but totally wonderful new books. Imagine 8 hardcover books for $50. Time consuming but its worth a look!)
Amazon (the one and only - probably the best online shopping experience possible. But sometimes I research my books and music here, and go hunt for better prices elsewhere)

Illuminations (I'm addicted to Illuminations candles. The stores are only on the west coast so I get my fix by ordering through this web site. Truly the best candles I've ever sniffed in my life)
ArtUFrame and Art.com (these are fun sites - find a picture you like, experiment with framing online and order it)
Novica (This is a wonderful site, full of hand crafted items from around the world, and the prices are excellent)
Gifts.com (For when you just can't figure out what to buy, this site has lots of ideas)
Ethnic Grocer (this site is really cool because you can find all sorts of exotic ethnic ingredients and have them delivered)

PC Connection (order before 3 pm and have it the next day. ALMOST instant gratification when you need a computer gadget or software really fast)
CDW (really good web site and excellent customer service - all sorts of hardware and software)
Buy.com (Music, books, computer stuff, etc. I usually can find really good prices on this site)
800.com (another excellent site for purchasing electronics & home entertainment stuff)

Travel [menu]

MapQuest Interactive Atlas Get a MAP. Or get DIRECTIONS.
Auto Pilot® (a detailed road trip planner)

Travelocity (my favorite travel booking site)

Weather [menu]

Accuweather (in my opinion this is the best and accurate weather site out there. You get "real feel" temps, all sorts of charts, hour by hour forecasts... its very cool... and partly cloudy ;) )

World Clocks [menu]
US Naval Observatory Time