Whether you're looking for DIY ideas for a birthday party, killer recipes for a potluck, or hairstyles of the rich and famous that you can duplicate at home, you'll find it all and much, MUCH more at Pinterest, an extremely fast-growing site that has become the go-to place on the Web for gorgeous images from all walks of life.

Feel like a walk down the virtual memory lane? Try The Internet Archive, a great site that has been archiving web pages since 1996.

Go back to the future: Okay, Marty McFly, here's some more historical stuff for you:

• Online Archives: I've put together a good, basic list of online archives for you, with everything from the National Archives to Papyrus Archives (ancient Egyptian hieroglypics!) to Simpsons Archives.
• The Worst Software Bugs in History: a look at some pretty serious viruses through the years.
• Ancient Egypt History on the Web: amazing sites all about Egyptian history.
• This Day In History: fascinating way to look at history.
• A Short History of the Internet: Internet history is interesting, if for nothing else than it's fascinating to see how far we've come in so short a time. Read this short history of the Internet, and learn more about the Internet history timeline.

There are millions of Web sites online, and you have a lot of choices as to what you want to visit. Here are a few sites that will help you figure something out, learn something, or simply help you get a bigger picture of something:

• National Geographic Photo of the Day: National Geographic is known for its amazing photos and photojournalism, and the Photo of the Day definitely does not disappoint.
• FactCheck: From the Annenberg Public Policy Center; FactCheck follows prominent politicians and news stories and checks content for accuracy.
• Popular Science: The latest journalism on gadgets, scientific discoveries, and all sorts of really fascinating technologies.
• SmartPlanet: Creative, thought provoking insights from top thinkers in a variety of different fields, especially technology.
• PBS: We all know and love public television, but the PBS web site offers fans a much deeper look at the background and content for all their shows: timelines, in-depth research, etc.

Do you have a favorite site that you visit that inspires or educates you? Please share it with us!

More smart sites

• 47 Websites You Can Use Instead of Wikipedia
• Ten Things You Can Do With Wolfram Alpha
• Yubnub Search Shortcuts

There are a lot of websites out there that do such a great job at what they do. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's weather hub, aka NOAA Weather, is one of those. Here is just a sampling of what you can find here:

• Doppler Radar National Mosaic: Not only can you see updated Doppler imaging, but you can also take advantage of Warnings & Forecasts, Graphical Forecasts, and Air Quality information.
• Warnings: Get the latest (and usually most reliable) information on severe weather coming your way.
• Forecasts: NOAA Weather doesn't just provide your average 7-day outlook. You can get Local, Aviation, Marine, Severe Weather, even Fire Weather forecasts here.
• Past Weather: NOAA Weather looks at the big picture, which includes Climate. You can learn about Past Weather or get future Predictions here.
• Weather Safety: Many people look to NOAA Weather as their go-to spot when hurricanes, tornadoes, or some other kind of scary weather situation is occurring. They've got a Weather Radio for constant updates, as well as information on how to be StormReady or TsunamiReady.

Do you have a favorite weather site? Please share it with us in the comments.

There are a TON of different ways you can look up weather conditions that might be affecting you, including:

• Google Weather
• Yahoo Weather
• Mobile Weather Sites