Mystery Writers Forum
General Discussion and News => Writing Advice => Topic started by: Bob Mueller on October 27, 2007, 08:51:28 PM
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Use this thread to make suggestions for useful websites.
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NewScientist.com hosts a lot of useful articles. For example:
Death special: How does it feel to die? (http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19626252.800)
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19626252.800
There's a search (http://www.newscientist.com/search.ns;jsessionid=NHLGMJJCHACB?doSearch=true&query=forensics) box at the top of the page.
EDIT:
I might have misunderstood this thread. Do you want sites specifically for mystery writing, or do you also want general purpose writing advice and writing resources (programs, grammar reference, and so on)?
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FORENSICS
LEGO lie detector (http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2006/03/lego_lie_detector.html)
Lie Detector Electronic Kit and Circuit Explanation (http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2006/01/lie_detector_electronic_kit_an.html)
Modern Mechanix » Crime-Detection Tests FOR THE Home Chemist (http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/10/28/crime-detection-tests-for-the-home-chemist/)
Howstuffworks "How Crime-scene Clean-up Works" (http://people.howstuffworks.com/crime-scene-clean-up.htm)
Drugs and Poisons (http://www.drugsandpoisons.com/index.html)
Topics - Latent Print Examination (http://onin.com/cgi-bin/fp/discus.cgi?pg=topics)
Forensic Science (http://www.hgexperts.com/hg/forensic-science.asp)
Federal Bureau of Investigation - Uniform Crime Reports (http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm#hate)
Howstuffworks "How Police Interrogation Works" (http://people.howstuffworks.com/police-interrogation.htm)
Welcome to Forensic Magazine (http://www.forensicmag.com/)
Forensic-Evidence.com Master Index (http://forensic-evidence.com/site/MasterIndex.html)
FirearmsID.com- An Introduction to Forensic Firearm Identification (http://www.firearmsid.com/new_index.htm)
The Lab Home Page (http://www.dplylemd.com/)
Forensic Pathology Index (http://library.med.utah.edu/WebPath/FORHTML/FORIDX.html)
Crime and Clues (http://www.crimeandclues.com/)
Crime Scene Investigation (http://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/)
FSS The Forensic Science Service - UK (http://www.forensic.gov.uk/index.htm)
Contents - Forensic Science Communications - January 2007 (http://www.fbi.gov/hq/lab/fsc/current/index.htm)
ANONYM
Craigsnumber Auto expiring. FREE anonymous phone numbers for online safety. (http://craigsnumber.com/)
Free Web Proxies (http://proxy.org/cgi_proxies.shtml)
How to Set Up an Offshore Banking Account (http://www.askmen.com/fashion/how_to_250/272_how_to.html)
Scroogle (http://www.scroogle.org/)
Search Google by proxy.
Disposable e-mail address services round-up (http://www.tipmonkies.com/2005/10/04/disposable-e-mail-address-services)
dodgeit - free. receive-only. email. no set up. rss. (http://www.dodgeit.com/)
inurl:"nph-proxy.cgi" "Start browsing through this CGI-based proxy" - Google Search (http://www.google.com/search?q=inurl:%22nph-proxy.cgi%22+%22Start+browsing+through+this+CGI-based+proxy%22&hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&start=0&sa=N&filter=0)
Long list of CGI proxies.
Do A Background Check On Yourself - Consumerist (http://consumerist.com/consumer/privacy/do-a-background-check-on-yourself-265223.php)
MISC.
Penguin Magic Index (http://www.penguinmagic.com/discuss/index.php)
A forum for discussing magic tricks.
The Magic Cafe Forums - The Magic Café Forum Index (http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/index.php)
How to Turn Your Mobile Phone into a Covert Listening Device (http://kunoichi.info/blog/2006/05/15/how-to-turn-your-mobile-phone-into-a-covert-listening-device/)
CSO Homepage - The site for chief security officers & other security executives. - CSO Home Page (http://www.csoonline.com/)
Mystery / Detective (http://manybooks.net/categories/MYS)
Copyright free or expired copyright novels.
CRIME
Return Fraud -- and How the Criminals Do It (http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/07/01/17/the_biggest_crime_youve_never_heard_of_--_return_fraud_--_and_how_the_criminals_do_it.htm)
Cons, Frauds and Other Lies (http://www.fraudtech.bizland.com/Con%20Games.htm)
Crimes of Persuasion (http://www.crimes-of-persuasion.com/)
Urban Legends Reference Pages ATM Camera (http://www.snopes.com/fraud/atm/atmcamera.asp)
Dark Roasted Blend - How they steal your card at ATM (photos) (http://thrillingwonder.blogspot.com/2006/12/how-they-steal-you-card-at-atm-photos.html)
Shoplifting - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoplifting)
Cheating and Marked Cards - The Gamblers' Crimp (http://www.blackjackforumonline.com/content/crimp.htm)
totse.com | Stealing SuperTarget - How to Hit the Bullseye (http://www.totse.com/en/bad_ideas/scams_and_rip_offs/stealingsupert179426.html)
SEARCH
LjFind (http://www.ljfind.com/Search.do)
Searches only LiveJournal.
Yahoo! Video Japan (http://video-search.yahoo.co.jp/web_search?p=search&yz=1)
A web-video search that looks in personal websites.
PODZINGER starbucks (http://www.podzinger.com/results.jsp?scol=youtube&il=en&q=starbucks&cat=&sname=&col=en-all-youtube-ep)
Search for words spoken in YouTube videos.
blogs gada.be (http://gada.be/b/harumi-nemoto)
Google alternative for searching blogs.
A9.com Home Page (http://a9.com/-/home.jsp?nc=1)
Google alternative, many search engines in one.
tyoogle.com (http://www.tyoogle.com/)
Google search by filetype (it inputs the advanced operators for you).
FREE411.COM (http://www.free411.com/searchresults.php?searchtype=2)
Directory assistance. 1-800-373-3411
HACKING
JAJAH - web activated-telephony (http://jajah.com/)
Free trial allows one to connect any two numbers for a five minute conversation. This is similar to the calls-for-the-blind service in that it doesn't go
through like a normal phone call. The person hears a recorded message.
Social engineering reloaded (http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1860)
GeoTool (http://www.rleeden.no-ip.com/geotool.php)
Google Maps/IP Locator Mashup
Gummi Bears Can Also Fool Fingerprint Scanners - Independent Tech (http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/3129)
The Metasploit Project (http://www.metasploit.com/releases.html)
Tracing An Email (http://www.onimoto.com/cache/50.html)
Thermal keypad combo snooping - hack a day (http://www.hackaday.com/entry/1234000860069190/)
Orange Boxing / Caller ID Hacking FAQ (http://artofhacking.com/files/ob-faq.htm)
The SSN Numbering Scheme (http://www.ssa.gov/history/ssn/geocard.html)
SamSpade.org Tools (http://samspade.org)
Net Tools (http://users.pandora.be/ahmadi/nettools.htm)
What are numbers that always ring busy? (http://www.tech-faq.com/ring-busy.shtml)
Portable USB Programs List Combobulate.com (http://combobulate.com/usbutils.htm)
IP Address Locator (http://www.geobytes.com/IpLocator.htm)
Geolocation IP Address to Country City Region (http://www.ip2location.com/)
FAQ How to find people's E-mail addresses (http://www.cs.queensu.ca/FAQs/email/bigfinding.html)
DNS tools, DNS hosting tests, WHOIS, traceroute, ping, and other tools. (http://www.dnsstuff.com/)
Default Passwords (http://www.cirt.net/cgi-bin/passwd.pl)
Default login/password for 1500+ products.
FORGERY
Unique ID - The numbers that control your life (http://www.highprogrammer.com/alan/numbers/index.html)
Brainstorm ID Supply (http://www.brainstormidsupply.com/)
SHADOWCLUBSOFTWARE (http://www.shadowclub.org/apps.htm)
Lamination Station (http://www.laminationstation.com/)
hologram_counterfeiting (http://www.nli-ltd.com/publications/hologram_counterfeiting.htm)
$2,500 and good bit of technical know-how required to counterfeit a hologram.
Check Washing - WHAT IS IT? (http://www.ckfraud.org/washing.html)
Celtic Kane Online - Project Check Washing (http://celtickane.com/projects/washing/)
Schneier on Security Check Washing (http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/02/check_washing.html)
Schneier on Security Erasable Ink Scam (http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/11/erasable_ink_sc.html)
LOCKPICKING
Paperclip Lock Picking Video (http://www.metacafe.com/watch/423253/paperclip_lock_picking/)
Video - Making a beer can shim (http://www.i-hacked.com/content/view/243/48/)
Locksport International (http://locksport.com/home/index.php?entry=entry061027-222056)
A comic book format guide to lockpicking.
Bump Key HOWTO - Google Video (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5177213949300140850)
Project Autodialer - The inner mind of Kyle Vogt (http://web.mit.edu/kvogt/www/safecracker.html)
Bump keying (http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2006/08/bump_keying.html)
Electroatomics - How to recover a lost Master padlock combination (http://www.fusor.us/lockpick.html)
I-Hacked.com Taking Advantage Of Technology - Beer Can Padlock Shim (http://www.i-hacked.com/content/view/189/48/)
Quick Vibrating Lockpick - Overview (http://www.inventgeek.com/Projects/lockpick/lockpick.aspx)
TOOOL (http://www.toool.nl/index-eng.php)
"TV item about Bumpkeys creates awareness and fear" - includes 65MB .wmv
How to Recover the Combination for a Master Combination Lock (http://www.geocities.com/masterunlocked/)
Guide to Lock Picking (http://www.gregmiller.net/locks/mitguide/)
MIT Guide, Locksmith Course, Impressioning Guide, Videos (http://www.lockpicking101.com/viewtopic.php?t=588)
IMPRESSIONING MANUAL FOR AMATEUR LOCKSMITHS (http://www.gregmiller.net/locks/impress.html)
Cheap, Easy, DIY Pick Making (http://www.lockpicking101.com/viewtopic.php?t=2465)
MEDIA
E-mail Oprah.com (http://www2.oprah.com/email/email_landing.jhtml)
Contact Us - Blogs Etc. - MSNBC.com (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10285339/)
openPR.com - Open Public Relations - Publish Press Releases Free of Charge (http://openpr.com/)
Free Press Release Distribution Center - I-Newswire.com - Press Releases (http://www.i-newswire.com/)
REFERENCE
ESV Bible Blog » Mapping New Testament Social Networks (http://www.esv.org/blog/2007/01/mapping.nt.social.networks)
A useful idea for visualizing character relationships. Compare this to the relationship charts provided for Japanese dramas.
EDGED WEAPON TACTICS AND COUNTER TACTICS (http://members.shaw.ca/tmanifold/edged_weapon.htm)
See also the Google videos.
CategoryConspiracy theories - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CategoryConspiracy_theories)
BibleGateway.com - Topical Index (http://www.biblegateway.com/topical/)
Personal Camouflage from FM 21-76 (ArmyStudyGuide.com) (http://www.armystudyguide.com/content/army_board_study_guide_topics/camo_and_concealment/personal-camouflage-from-.shtml)
PollingReport.com - Public Opinion Online (http://www.pollingreport.com/)
Orangoo Spell Check - Online spell checking (http://orangoo.com/spell/)
List of redundant expressions - Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_redundant_expressions)
264 of them.
SCREENPLAYS
Useful for pop-culture reference.
Simply Scripts (http://www.simplyscripts.com/)
ScriptCrawler (search engine) (http://www.scriptcrawler.net/)
Screenplays for You (http://www.sfy.ru/)
Science Fiction and Fantasy Movie Scripts (http://www.scifiscripts.com/)
Movie-Page.com (http://www.movie-page.com/movie_scripts.htm)
The Luna Lounge (http://www.geocities.com/thelunalounge/site/sections/_screenplays.html)
Internet Movie Script Database (search engine) (http://www.imsdb.com/)
Drew's Script-O-Rama (http://www.script-o-rama.com/snazzy/dircut.html)
The Daily Script (http://www.dailyscript.com/)
Awesome Scripts and Screenplays (http://www.awesomefilm.com/)
John August's Downloads (http://johnaugust.com/downloads)
WRITING
Creative Writing Software from Esoteric Sensationalism (http://www.esoteric-sensationalism.com/)
Horror Writers Association - Writing Tips (http://www.horror.org/writetips.htm)
40+ Tips to Improve your Grammar and Punctuation - by Dumb Little Man (http://dumblittleman.blogspot.com/2006/12/40-tips-to-improve-your-grammar-and.html)
The Erotic Thesaurus - A Guide to Purple Prose for the Literary Artist (http://www.darkerotica.net/EroticThesaurus.html)
11 Rules of Writing -- a concise guide to important grammar, punctuation, and writing style rules (http://www.junketstudies.com/rulesofw/)
TOC About Writing (http://www.sfwa.org/writing/)
Cliche Finder (http://www.westegg.com/cliche/)
Overcoming Procrastination by Steve Pavlina (http://www.dexterity.com/articles/overcoming-procrastination.htm)
Creativity techniques and creative tools for problem solving (http://www.mycoted.com/creativity/techniques/)
Fifty (50!) Tools which can help you in Writing - lifehack.org (http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/fifty-50-tools-which-can-help-you-in-writing.html)
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USEFUL BOOKMARKLETS
I couldn't get these to work with the forum code, so I uploaded an html document (http://www.geocities.com/john.wheatfield/bookmarklets.html) on GeoCities.
I also recommend going to the Mycroft Project (http://mycroft.mozdev.org/install.html) Search Engine Plugins page and browsing the list there. They have thousands of search engines you can plug into Firefox.
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Thanks Doc,
There goes my afternoon with all those sites, but it looks good. ... Would you mind if I added some of them to my site mysteriouswrit.org ? I like to think there are some useful links there as well.
CKing 8)
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Feel free to use these however you like.
If I ever start a real website, you might put a "Thanks, Doctor Allen (http://www.google.com/search?q=%22doctor+allen%27s+website%22&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a)!" or "source: Doctor Allen (http://www.google.com/search?q=%22doctor+allen%27s+website%22&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a)" somewhere below the list. It's not necessary, though.
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More than you ever wanted to know about SMS texting, including how texts can be traced:
http://www.sms411.net/index.html (http://www.sms411.net/index.html)
http://www.imconf.net/imc-2006/papers/p26-zerfos.pdf (http://www.imconf.net/imc-2006/papers/p26-zerfos.pdf)
http://compilers.cs.ucla.edu/vids/thesis.pdf (http://compilers.cs.ucla.edu/vids/thesis.pdf)
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Want to prosecute a murder suspect, and you don't have a body?
http://www.nobodymurdercases.com/ (http://www.nobodymurdercases.com/)
For over 12 years I was an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Columbia and I prosecuted homicide cases for most of those years. In January of 2006, I prosecuted the second "no body" murder case tried in D.C. and have been interested in "no body" cases ever since.
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This is a youtube site with some videos on writing as well as photoshop (looks like those vids are all pg-13) but I found the playlists overall helpful and a good starting point for newbies. Too, the guy is selling an editing program, but you don't have to buy to listen. ...
http://www.youtube.com/user/architectus777
Charles 8)
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Unfortunately, I have nothing to add here.
I just wanted to say a BIG thank you for all these sites!!
Penny
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Just out of curiosity, does anyone know if these links are still working? (the large list from 2007 looks interesting.)
Also, does anyone have any mystery links or links to help a mystery writer that are up to date (2010) and would like to share?
I've been trying so many links lately, only to find they've gone belly up.
Thanking you in advance...
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Just out of curiosity, does anyone know if these links are still working? (the large list from 2007 looks interesting.)
Also, does anyone have any mystery links or links to help a mystery writer that are up to date (2010) and would like to share?
I've been trying so many links lately, only to find they've gone belly up.
Thanking you in advance...
I agree that links going belly up is a problem. Links left available but becoming obsolete is also a problem. The way to find out if these links still work is to click on them. Then you not only find out if they work, but you also get an idea whether they are likely to be useful to you. I have lots and lots of links kicking around someplace, as do most of us, but we tend to come up with them (if we can find them) only when somebody seems to need them. Bob's list looks good to me, but I haven't checked any of it lately, since recently I haven't needed to; however, I try to remember that it's there.
Byron
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Well, here some cozy mystery links, that as of February 25, 2010 are alive and active!
http://www.cozy-mystery.com/blog/
http://www.cozy-mystery.com/
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Ever need to know what a North Dakota license plate looks like? Try http://www.plateshack.com/ (http://www.plateshack.com/). It has over 14000 pictures of license plates from the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
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The "for dummies" guide to NYPD homicide investigation, written by retired NYPD detectives:
http://www.homicidesquad.com/index.htm (http://www.homicidesquad.com/index.htm).
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Indescribable, strange, cool, time-sucking monument to serendipity: http://www.howtobearetronaut.com/ (http://www.howtobearetronaut.com/)
Photos and videos of places, people, fashion, ephemera, urban ruins, and anything else "retronauts" can think of. Could be a source for off-the-wall period visual data.
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This looks like it would have been a great thread but most of the links are either no good or send you to somewhere completely different. Anyone have anything to add to this?
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Bartleby.com (http://www.bartleby.com/)
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Great resources overall! Adding one more reference site with essays on wide range of topics: 123helpme.com (https://www.123helpme.com/)