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Ah, the lazy days of summer! Who wants to work anyway? This summer I’m taking a break from
too-serious articles, so here’s a list of some amusing, absorbing, interesting,
and just plain strange websites. Take a
break yourself, waste some time, and who knows, maybe you’ll even learn something (while
having fun, of course).
If you’re a "word nerd" like me, here’s a
site that will suck you in – and it’s for a good cause, too. The freerice.com
website is a paradise for logophiles (look that up at dictionary.com). It tests your skill in defining unusual
words, and for each definition you get right, they donate 10 grains of rice to
the UN World Food Program. That may not
sound like much, but it adds up fast when you can’t resist trying “just one
more word”. Half an hour later, you’ve
donated a lot of rice!
Cooking fanatics (or even jaded cooks just
trying to put something together from what’s in the fridge) should check out cooks.com.
A feast of recipes, nutritional information, conversions, and forums,
this site is set up so that you can search by ingredients and find the recipes that
contain them. I bet you never knew that
there were recipes that contain both beef and bananas (enter beef banana in the
search box). It’s called Babootie, and
you know, I think I’ll try it – it sounds delicious!
If you’re looking for a website that you
can rationalize as “working”, try the “Super
Hyper Spider Typer”. This animated
website improves both your typing speed and accuracy, by pitting your typing skills against
smiling blue iguanas. (Just
try it – it’s fun).
For some good laughs, Yahoo.com has a huge selection of
syndicated comic strips. From the old
classics like Charlie Brown, through newer classics like For Better or Worse,
Garfield, and Dilbert, all the way to newbies like Secret Asian Man, the links
are all there.
Nature photography buffs, have I got some
“sights” for you: try naturalart.ca for the breath-taking photos
taken by Brad Hill. Or, if you’re a
Manitoba expat (as so many of us are), check out Stan Milosevic’s work at manitobaphotos.com. You’ll see everything from nature to
architecture to airplanes, as well as images of historical and cultural
Manitoba events like Folklorama, the flood of 1950 and yes, even the 2006 Grey
Cup.
For you shoppers, there’s always the Shopping Channel website, but if
you’re looking for some unique, strange and wonderful items, try vat19.com or Hammacher Schlemmer. Or what the heck, if you want to make and
sell your own products, look up ponoko.com. Provide them with your drawings and specs,
and they’ll build your gizmo for you, out of wood, plastic, and/or laser-cut
metal. How cool is that?
Birdwatchers, if your field guide is
frustrating you, try the searchable database at whatbird.com. This interactive site lets you search for
that mystery bird by size, colour, wing shape, beak shape, habitat, and so on,
so that you can narrow down what you think you saw. You can also look up specific birds, and even
hear their songs online to confirm identities.
And finally, if you’re looking for a dose
of joy and laughter (mixed with general oddness and social irreverence), look up 1000awesomethings.com. I still haven’t made it through the whole
list, but every now and then I go back and read a few more, just for smiles. Enjoy - happy summer!
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Article Directory
By: Diane Henders, Bright Ideas Personalized
Learning Inc. Bright Ideas Personalized Learning Inc. is a
Calgary-based mobile computer training company that provides on-demand,
cost-effective training to corporations and individuals. For more
information about this topic, or to schedule a training session, please
call (403) 269-2347.
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