The Really Short
Links Page
This isn't a very exhaustive links page, mostly because I'm a fairly lazy fellow, and other people have really very impressive links pages that I'm not even going to try to compete with. If you want a Big Ass Links page, go to The Blue Room (below). This is just my humble collection of oddball sites that I've found to be useful or interesting and think other oddballs might be interested in as well.
Literary
Helix is a new SF Quarterly fighting a desperate rear-guard action against the wave of timidity that seems to be overwhelming the major SF 'zines. The publishing industry has never really considered SF to be 'grown up' and it shows in the type of stories they'll accept. Does no one else think it odd that SF novels supposedly written for adults use made-up profanity, so as to not offend anyone with real naughty words? (For an excellent, if slightly unfair, example of the gulf between SF and the literary mainstream, compare STARSHIP TROOPERS to THE THIN RED LINE. The books, not the movies.) Helix takes the stories the other magazines won't touch, for whatever reason, wraps them up in a slick, professional package, and puts them up on the web for your reading pleasure, unsullied by ads or registration. Go, read, enjoy.
William Sanders is one of the best writers you've never heard of. When I 'discover' an author whose work I enjoy ("I think I'll call him... America.") it's not unusual for me to go on a binge of buying and reading everything I can by that person. With some authors this is easier to do than others. The publishing industry is nominally interested in putting the books they publish in the hands of readers, but William Sanders is living testimony to what a poor job they do of it. Make the effort to track his work down; you'll be glad you did.
Steve Brust's Dream Cafe is mostly interesting for his comments on his novels, but they're interesting novels and he's a nice fellow.
Holly Lisle is a very bad writer with some very interesting things to say about the writing process. (That's a little unfair. Her line by line writing is fine, but her plotting and characterization are terrible. She could be a good writer if she'd slow down a little.) She has quite a few very good essays on the writer's craft and lifestyle, all in a very direct, no holds barred style -- indeed, almost bare knuckle in places. The good and bad of the writer's life, what to do and what not to do, she tells it all. If you have any interest in writing for money, spend an hour or two reading what she has to say and, if she hasn't scared you off, you'll learn a lot. And if she does scare you off, well, you've learned something then too, haven't you? Do stay out of the discussion forums, though; some of the unhealthier aspects of 'wannabe writer' culture are very strong there.
History/Military
I've started putting together the War Page, but it's still a work in progress. While that's filling out you'll have to make due with this, and the nightly news.
The U.S. Army has a site for their official Center of Military History.
The Forum Romanum seems to have disappeared, but here is another decent site on, you guessed it, Rome.
And check out The Web Grognards for some old fashioned wargaming.
Technical
For the techie types, be sure to check out Ars Technica. A Faux Latin name and interesting computer news, reviews, and articles. What more could a tech wonk want?
Server Watch is a site that reviews and tracks updates in various server software packages (webservers, mailservers, etc). Most people won't find a thing here to interest them, but those who work with this sort of thing should find a lot of useful information here.
Miscellaneous
Mr. Cranky is a must if you enjoy movies. His reviews will quickly cure you of that.
Check out Urban Legends and Folklore before spamming your friends and relatives. Please. They'll thank you for it.
I came across this Language Dictionaries and Translators page while digging for some English/Chinese translations. Very useful.
Then there is The Grumpy Pundit. Ramblings on personal finance, work, family, and freedom.
Well, that was about enough of that, huh?
Go back Home or to the Grumpy Pundit Blog.