~ Early Web Links ~

Maintained by Melody Orfei, this page serves as a comprehensive directory of Massachusetts Special Education Parent Advisory Councils (SPED PACs) that have an online presence, organized alphabetically by town. Each entry notes the year the PAC went online, site size, hosting platform, and available features like email lists and Facebook groups, making it an invaluable resource for parents navigating special education advocacy across the state.

A searchable glossary of Sanskrit terms drawn specifically from Sri Aurobindo's works and the Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library, making it a specialized reference for students of Integral Yoga philosophy. The indexed entries span hundreds of Sanskrit terms with alphabetical navigation sections and references to scriptural texts, offering a focused scholarly tool for readers of Aurobindo's writings.

Behind the Name is a comprehensive encyclopedia of first names from around the world, covering etymology, history, and cultural origins for thousands of given names across dozens of languages and traditions. Visitors can browse by letter or origin, check name popularity by country, explore namesakes, and even use tools like a random name generator and baby name advisor.

Education Creations offers a curated collection of free educational links for teachers, homeschoolers, and parents, with categories covering gifted education resources, reading, phonics, math, and fun learning sites. The broader site also includes free worksheets and curriculum samples organized by grade level, making it a handy hub for K-6 classroom materials.

A curated Oxford University LibGuide collecting free online resources for local history research, compiled by the Bodleian Libraries' continuing education department. Researchers will find links to British History Online, the Victoria County History, county record societies, historic environment databases, and open-access journal repositories all in one place.

MadSci Network is a nonprofit Ask-A-Scientist platform where a collective of real scientists answer user-submitted questions across biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, and more, with over 36,000 archived answers available. The site also features science fair resources, FAQs on common topics like bread molds and caffeine, interactive labs, and a Random Knowledge Generator, making it a rich hub for curious minds of all ages.

A specialized web tool by Ben Bullock that lets users draw kanji characters by hand with a mouse and have them automatically recognized, making it invaluable for looking up unfamiliar Japanese characters. The site also offers multiple lookup methods including multiradical, four-corner, and SKIP codes, with support for over a dozen interface languages.

PsychonautWiki is an open encyclopedia dedicated to psychonautics, covering psychoactive substances, subjective effects, harm reduction, lucid dreaming, and altered states of consciousness. With thousands of articles spanning experience reports, tripsitting guides, meditation practices, and detailed substance indexes, it serves as a comprehensive reference for those exploring the science and philosophy of consciousness.

Cosma Shalizi's sprawling academic homepage offers a remarkable archive of book reviews, research notes, lecture materials, and personal essays spanning mathematics, statistics, science, and more. The Bactra Review alone contains over 130 wide-ranging book reviews, making this a genuinely rich intellectual resource built over decades.

Zhongwen.com offers a comprehensive Chinese-English etymological dictionary focused on traditional Chinese characters, tracing the pictographic and historical origins of each character. Learners of Mandarin and linguistics enthusiasts alike will find it invaluable for understanding how Chinese writing evolved from ancient pictographs through sources like the Shuowen.