dating
Match.com
The most popular meat, er, meet market on the Web. Some 800,000 of the site's 8 million visitors are paid subscribers. Post your profile and you can have the site e-mail you the goods on 10 new matches every day. Or just take the new 'scientific' personal attraction test. And when things fizzle, ladies, you can always recommend your newly-minted ex to others on greatboyfriends.com.
electronics
Crutchfield.com
The best place to shop for (and buy) consumer electronics, particularly home theater (and any other area that's got you confused). The buying guides will teach you what you need to know to make smart purchasing decisions, and the customer service is excellent. The car audio section helps shoppers find the best gear for their own make and model. Click on What Fits My Car? to get started.
fashion
Dailycandy.com
Light and sweet, like a dusting of confectionary sugar. Full of fashion and beauty tips and trends, plus what to do and where to go to take care of such matters in New York City and L.A. Daily alerts cover restaurant openings and sample sales. The I Spy NY mobile discussion group lets members share 'what's new, cool and underground' via cell phone.
mothers
Urbanbaby.com
Reminds harried city moms why they chose to raise their families in such a grueling, exhilarating environment. Guides give ideas on what to do, where to eat (family-friendly restaurants) and where to shop. Lively message boards help connect parents with child care providers, and the Garage Sale is a great way to get rid of that old stroller. Covers seven major U.S. cities, from Austin to Seattle.
summer sport
Geocaching.com
Home base for the new international pastime featuring geeks armed with GPS. To participate in this global treasure hunt, you need a handheld receiver that talks to Global Positioning System satellites in order to pinpoint your location, at least within 20 feet (the site has its own gear guide). Search for coordinates to 'caches' in your area, report the coordinates to new caches you've hidden or discuss your new hobby in one of the site's many forums.
time-waster
20q.net
Play 20 Questions against an artificial intelligence engine. Simple, fun. The computer guessed broccoli on the 19th question (I almost had it that time!). Warning: sometimes the site is too busy to accept new players.
travel companions
Lonelyplanet.com
The site's Thorn Tree travel forum is full of personal tales and tips you won't get from any guide book. Browse through a list of 'branches' (neatly organized by continent/country and special interests such as biking and traveling with a disability) or search for discussions by keyword. The Travel Ticker sums up latest advisories (such as country-specific warnings regarding SARS) but it's a good idea to cross-check the serious stuff against the State Department’s site .
volunteering
Idealist.org
Whether you're independently wealthy or newly unemployed, this site will help you find a fruitful way to fill the hours. The site lists 33,000 nonprofit and community organizations in 165 countries, which you can search or browse by name, location or mission. You can also sign up to receive regular emails listing volunteer opportunities that fit your criteria, or post a profile to help the right organization find you.
adventure
Iexplore.com
Itching to go sailing in Antigua, or mountaineering in Nepal? This site offers destination guides covering all corners of the globe, plus activity guides ranging from rainforest exploration to sea kayaking to horseback riding (Happily, it also lists adventures involving food and wine). Once you've zeroed in on your next high-energy vacation, you can search for the right travel package from among thousands of pre-screened trips. Plug in what you want to do and where and when you want to do it, then select the physical, mental and technical levels of difficulty you think you can handle to pull up a list of options. The site will book your spot and sell you the gear too. Affiliated with National Geographic.
airfares
Sidestep.com
This mega search engine is Windows-only, and you must download a little bit of software, but the effort is worth it. The program searches for fares on Orbitz and dozens of individual airline sites ¡X including our favorite, Jetblue.com ¡X in one fell swoop. Run a search on Travelocity or Expedia and the program will automatically launch in the left side of your browser window for a quick comparison. Note: to use this feature, you must have 'Auto-Search' selected under 'My Preferences.'
baseball
Baseballthinkfactory.com
We thought we were covered with Baseball-reference.com. But then we found this site, which links to our favorite first-stop for stats and info plus three other major sites devoted to the game: Baseballprimer.com, home of the popular Clutch Hits web log; Baseballnewsstand.com, the sport's own Nexis-Lexis; and Baseballstuff.com, a collection of links grouped by subtopic (coaching, fantasy, history, etc.). Play ball.
cooking
SauteWednesday.com
For foodies who like to read too. Comprehensive links include virtually every food magazine and newspaper section published in the U.S.; a handful of chef sites; food blogs; and, of course, dozens of recipe sites, from Epicurious to The Reluctant Gourmet. Site creator and freelance food columnist Bruce Cole will post the occasional (amusing) personal anecdote, but mainly stays focused on food news, posting excerpts (and links to) other food writers
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