TIME just named the top 50 best websites for 2008. Here we’ve pulled the sites from their list that we found to be the most useful and inventive:

1. TripKick…tells you which hotel floors are best and which rooms to avoid. “When we searched for the Hilton Las Vegas, for example, TripKick told us not only which rooms had the best view, but also which were too close to the elevators and noisy vending machines.”

2. Nymbler: “Choosing a baby name just got more inspired, thanks to an ingenious calculator that uses phonetics to give you fresh ideas. Type in up to six names you like, and Nymbler will suggest dozens of similar-sounding suggestions.”

3. Gasbuddy: “Where’s the cheapest gas? GasBuddy can tell you. The site collects real-time prices from some 750,000 volunteer price “spotters,” who send in daily updates from their local stations.”

4. WikiTravel: “The best travel guides have one thing in common: they’re up to date. That’s why WikiTravel has become the most invaluable travel resource on the Web.”

• TIME’s 50 Best Websites 2008

Have a site you just can’t live without? Post it in the Comments below!

After researching a query from a reader, I rediscovered a gem of a website we’ve already linked to in the past: the Department of Transportation’s Aviation Consumer Protection Division’s website.

Focusing on the consumer side of air travel, the Aviation Consumer Protection Division (ACPD) operates a complaint handling system for consumers who experience air travel service problems. They also have a plethora of helpful tips for any traveler whether you’re a frequent flyer or a once-a-year vacationer.

Here are the top five tips from their site I found to be the most helpful:

1. Refunds. Contrary to the belief of some, airlines are not required to compensate passengers for “damages” when flights are delayed or canceled. Compensation is required by law only when you are “bumped” from a flight that is oversold.

2. Delayed passengers - food and amenities. Each airline has its own policies about what it will do for delayed passengers waiting at the airport. There are no federal requirements regarding these amenities or services. If you are delayed, ask the airline staff if they will pay for meals or phone calls. Some do not provide any amenities to stranded passengers.

3. Know where your bags are checked to. They may be checked only to one of your intermediate stops rather than your final destination if:

• you must clear Customs short of your final destination, or
• you are taking a connecting flight involving two airlines which don’t have an interline agreement (e.g., Southwest Airlines does not transfer bags to other carriers).

4. Avoid overnight stays. When selecting a flight, remember that a departure early in the day is less likely to be delayed than a later flight, due to “ripple” effects throughout the day. If you book the last flight of the day, you could get stuck overnight.

5. Consider paying by credit card, which provides certain protections under Federal credit regulations. For example, in all recent airline bankruptcies passengers who had charged their fare and were not provided service were able to have their credit card company credit their account for the amount of the fare.

• Aviation Consumer Protection Division
• Get Ready: Air Travel

Your personal and financial information is only as strong as your passwords.

We’ve written about this on the blog before here and here but the best passwords include numbers, letters and symbols (i.e. 5RT!sm345@). Why? Because these take much longer to hack.

Lifehacker, a personal productivity blog, has also just reviewed a free online tool called The Password Meter. “The Password Meter web utility tests the strength of your passwords as you type it, scoring your password strength based on a number of positive and negative password attributes.” Give it a shot:

• The Password Meter [via Lifehacker]

Have a site or software you’d like to recommend? Post it in the Comments section below!

Ever wish you could have a friend to remind you about all those things you gotta do, like update and check your emergency kit, file taxes, or even to let you know when it’s time to rotate your car’s tires?

Well, today’s neat site doesn’t help you with all of those tasks but it does tackle a pretty big one: car maintenance. ServiceBeacon.com is a free and easy-to-use program that helps you keep track of your car’s regular maintenance needs like when to check your timing belts, when to get your tires rotated or how long it’s been since your last oil change.

It also sends you notifications about any major recalls regarding your car and you can also sync up your service needs with your local auto dealer.

Just gives you one less thing to worry about. Now if they only had this for everything else in life!!

• About ServiceBeacon.com

Ever wish you could learn more about what causes your migraines? Your family’s history of breast cancer? Or just more about health care in general.
Today’s neat site, Healthfinder.gov, offers a huge health library, information about health care and links to health organizations. The site is run by the National Health Information Center of The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

I especially like the consumer guides section - it’s easy to navigate and provides a lot of information on many different topics. Check out for yourself:

• Healthfinder.gov

Have a medical site to recommend? Post it in the Comments!!

Over 9 million Americans were affected by identity theft in the last year…were you a victim? Chances are you might not know it yet - the average time to detect identity theft is 14 months!

Today’s neat site, The Identity Theft Resource Center, offers helpful information for victims as well as for those looking to avoid identity theft. The ITRC is a nonprofit program dedicated exclusively to identity theft and also includes regional victim support groups on its web site. Check out their site to read identity theft facts, figures and how to protect yourself:

• Identity Theft Resource Center

You’ve come back from the doctor with a new prescription for a new condition you’ve been diagnosed with…but you wanted more answers than the doctor had time for.

Enter Medline Plus. A service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health, this neat site offers info on over 740 conditions, a medical encyclopedia and dictionary, and info about your prescriptions and over-the-counter medicines.

The best part is that the information is direct and straight-forward (although some pages might be a bit scientifically-worded). There are no drug or any other advertisements clogging the pages - you can just read up on the information you’re interested in.

So even if you’re feeling well at the moment, bookmark MedlinePlus for later reference. Or better yet, bookmark our Doctor Visit - Links page for a longer list of helpful medical references sites.

Have a health care or medical site to recommend? Post it in the Comments below!

Sometimes other people just do the dirty work for you!

Today’s neat site is actually more than just one. The team at Lifehacker, a tech and productivity blog, has compiled a very helpful list of web sites that everyone should bookmark…just in case.

Titled “Where to Find Public Records” online, the list includes sites that could help you recover vital records, search obituaries, find licenses and so on. While you may not need this information at the moment, it could prove to be very useful sometime especially after losing important records in a fire, disaster or theft.

Have a suggestion for a neat site? Post it in the Comments section below!

Wildfires are happening in many states across the country and the fire danger level is at high, due to the scorching temperatures. As pictures of these fires appear online, on TV, and in newspapers, your kids might be asking questions about these fires.

You could use this as an opportunity to talk to your children about fire safety. Not sure where to start?

Well, today’s Neat Site, USFA for Kids, can help you out. The site design is built in an easy-to-use design and has great graphics and colors. The content is easy to follow and there are fun educational games and quizzes for kids. (A great activity for a rainy day or when it’s too hot outside to play!)

It covers three main topics:

• Home Fire Safety
• Smoke Alarms
• Create an Escape Plan

Click here to get started!

Finished with the site but want more fire safety tips? Here are a few additional resources:

• Kids and Fire Safety
• Be Prepared - Home Fire (adults need to have a fire safety plan, too!)
• What to Know About Wildfires

It’s hard to talk about the unexpected…but sometimes it’s better to be prepared than sorry.

Today’s neat site, Who Gets Grandma’s Yellow Pie Plate?, is especially designed to help you and your loved ones talk about a tough issue: who will get your (or a loved one’s) possessions after you’re gone?

“It’s harder to divide possessions equally among family members. You just can’t,” says Marlene Stum, Ph.D., Professor in the Department of Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota and lead researcher/author of the Pie Plate site. “Items are tied to family rituals and traditions. For instance, the oak dining table might be worth $500 but when you look at the table you don’t see [money], instead you see ‘family dinners with Grandma’.”

It might be hard to talk about these decisions with loved ones so the Pie Plate site has developed free articles and tips on how to start this conversation. Stum also offered four key steps of action you should consider when starting this process:

1. Figure out what you hope to accomplish: Do you wish to give certain items to certain family members? Or prefer to donate other items to museums or to sell the items to raise money for other family members? Think about what your wishes might be.

2. Think about what’s fair: Who should get what? What is the fair process to make these decisions - both now and later?

3. Think about what items are meaningful to certain family members: Maybe a grandchild treasured a music box you once had; or a sister loved your old baseball memorabilia collection. Have conversations with family members about their connections and feelings towards certain items in your home.

4. Write a will. Then create a written list, detailing which family member receives which item. It’s probably best to stick to major items at first then add on smaller items. Mention in your will that you have created this additional list and include this list with your will.

If you’re not creating your own list at the moment, the Pie Plate site also has helpful tips on helping loved ones start this process.

Thanks to Marlene Stum and the others behind the “Who Gets Grandma’s Yellow Pie Plate?” project.

Have a neat site to recommend? Post it in the Comments section below!