Tired of subsisting on Ramon noodles? Wife annoyed you never cook? Better see these 20 lessons on basic, basic cooking. From boiling water to baking a cake, this introduction to your kitchen might not make you the next Rachel Ray, but will certainly get you started.
The Personal MBA has become popular among young professionals unable to commit to a program as well as graduates who feel that they've wasted their time and money. These websites show how to get an "MBA equivalent" education in their free time through books and learning materials. In addition to the typical advice to network and read prolifically, this short guide by Rajesh Shetty (only 23 pages) adds some practical suggestions on getting a good mentor, building karma by helping a core group of friends, and deversifying your opportunities through volunteer work in organizations and start-up's.
Gilberto Gil, legend of latin american music and current culture minister of Brasil, has a great website. In addition to videos, interviews, and writings, the site contains streaming audio for every track on every disc spanning his incredibly prolific musical career. Many of these discs are tough to find - such as this great live version of Kaya N'Gon Daya, his Bob Marley tribute album. For more on his perspective on open software and copyright reform, see this article from the Guardian. Here's an except:
He is politician enough to hold back from endorsing the breaking of laws, for example on music downloading, but only just. "The Brazilian government is definitely pro-law," he grins. "But if law doesn't fit reality anymore, law has to be changed. That's not a new thing. That's civilisation as usual." (He is not a hi-tech person himself, he says, but readily concedes that his children have "probably" done a fair bit of illegal downloading.) 
Some very difficult analytical puzzles. Less difficult ones are also available. (photo by plusverde)
From popsicles to X-Rays, the top 10 accidental discoveries.
The Completely Useless, Yet Interesting Fact Collection is a huge database of worthless-but-true information.
A list of free science and math lectures online. Many of these will be familiar, but it's a handy round-up.
The Internet Detective is a research guide showing internet-savvy university students how to make the most of web resources while avoiding common pitfalls. Included are tips on smart internet research, exercises on evaluating the quality of information, and tips on avoiding plagiarism and copyright infringement. One of the site's most important messages is that key resources may not be found on the internet. Students should be aware of the academic evaluation process and use all resources at their disposal.
The OAIster project is after my heart. How often have you been prompted to pay $30 to read an article found on Google Scholar search? Or been frustated by lack of access to the JSTOR database? Not here. We're talking about free materials. Quality materials. No sifting. Free access. Free. Free. Free.
Both nostalgics and retro hipster will love the Kiddie Records collection of old 78's converted to high-quality mp3's and jpeg's. This 2-year project has already posted an ample number of classic albums from the 40's and 50's including major productions from Disney. Sounds to me like a good way to pass long car trips.
Some excellent political sites from Fred Lapides:
This collection from Cornell's Institute for Digital Collections contains beautiful and bizarre images from rare books in Weird Science, Bestiary, the Grotesque, and other fantastic literature themes. The images can be viewed by theme, by book, or all at once.
SocialLearning.ca is a network of British Columbian educators introducing the basics of podcasting, blogging, and Web 2.0 apps.
