Inspired by a post on BlueCirclet.com, which was inspired by a post on TechCrunch.com, I thought I’d take a look at the resources I use and love as we begin 2009. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Google Search – I have the Google bar installed, which not only provides an easy way to search, but also displays Page Rank. I can also type an address directly into the search and quickly locate an address on Google Maps. Another feature I use often is “define:” – put that before a word to get definitions from several sources, or to check spelling.
2. Google Calendar – My wife and I were having a hard time getting our schedules in order and since I only use web-based email accounts I can access from anywhere, Outlook was out of the question. Google Calendar lets us add our appointments and repeating events like birthdays, and then sync our calendars together.
3. Digg / Reddit – They’re essentially the same thing being news aggregators. I use each to get the latest news and, while I’ve used Digg longer, I tend to open both at the same time and peruse each equally. One thing I don’t like about Reddit is how the news on the front page can be stagnant throughout a day.
4. Woot – While I think most of the crap on Woot is… well… crap, I try to check it daily. I have gotten some good deals on some mp3 players and a Roomba. And, I got a DVD player that turned out to be a complete piece of junk, but they took it back. I have yet to get a Bag of Crap…
5. Snopes – With the amount of junk that spreads quickly around the Internet, everyone should have this bookmarked or on their start page. Most recently I used it to learn that Mr. Rogers was, in fact, not an ex-Navy Seal, nor are his arms covered with tattoos.
6. NetFlix / RedBox – Together, these two resources make a great combination. I never thought we got our money’s worth out of the 3-DVD package on NetFlix, so we dropped it down to one-at-a-time. And if we ever need a movie quickly while waiting for NetFlix to deliver, we can dash over to a RedBox and rent it for $1.00 per 24hrs.
7. NewEgg – Whenever I need, say, a new flash drive, the first place I turn to is NewEgg. The reviews are usually accurate and well written. Even if I read reviews elsewhere, I’ll return to NewEgg for low prices and because I’ve always had a great experience.
8. Facebook / MySpace – I started, reluctantly on MySpace and never did much with it except keep in touch with some family members. Unfortunately, it seemed like most of the people I went to school with missed the social networking bandwagon. It turns out many of them were on Facebook. I prefer Facebook’s clean GUI and faster speeds, but keep both accounts open.
9. Consumerist – This is, by far, one of my favorite blogs. It’s a great blog that deals with poor customer service and shady business practices, and it’s not rare that something can stir up something in my emotions. I recently linked to two of their articles involving McDonald’s.
10. SlipperyBrick – I’m sure there are a zillion gadget blogs out there, but this one stood out and made it to my bookmarks first. I think I originally found it on Digg or Reddit with a link to a “Lego safe.” From then on, I’ve been hooked. I even posted about a cool tool I found on that site.
11. ABestWeb – This is a wonderful resource for anyone interested in, or involved with, affiliate marketing. There are also sections devoted to other forms of revenue generating and general design and promtion discussion. The owner, Haiko, is a real stand up guy who doesn’t take crap from anyone.
12. Firefox – I’ll admit that I haven’t tried Opera, or Chrome, but I don’t think I need to, other than for cross browser compatibility testing. Firefox does everything I need it to and then some. I’m always finding something new and great about it. Best of all, it’s not Internet Explorer.
13. WordPress – With this blog, I’ve become quite interested in new plugins, widgets and themes. There are many resources related to WordPress. Too many to list. It amazes me, to this day, that it provides so much for free, yet is so well supported.
14. Picasa – We recently moved most of our family photos over to Picasa from being hosted on our own site. Picasa offers numerous options to users and visitors, including allowing people to print your photos. There are also several WordPress plugins to display your Picasa albums in your own blog’s photo gallery.
15. CPSC Recall List – I strongly suggest that people sign up for the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) subscription lists for recall notifications. Through this list, I found that our son’s crib was being recalled. These lists also provided information regarding recalls for pet food and toys made in China. Don’t wait for this stuff to show up on the news!
16. My Start Page – There are so many resources I utilize, not to mention links to my sites, admin panels, stats, etc., that I have a fully loaded custom start page with everything I use on a regular basis. I’ve also added feeds for some other sites I track, as well as having the Google Calendar embedded.

Other blogs have created similar lists as you can see here, here, here, here, here and here.

What’s on your list? Do you see anything I use that has a better alternative?