You'll also find Top Two + 2, the equivalent of a short Top-10 list. For example, the "Top Two things Jean Chrétien says pepper spray isn't as bad as: 1. The gas chamber." Visit the site to get the rest of that list.

22online includes a daily one-liner for use around the water cooler and a nice North/South poll based on current events chez our southern neighbours.

Another site always worthy of mention is the Onion (www.theonion.com), the news parody site by which all others should be judged. Probably one of the funniest sites online, the Onion prefers to mock the whole concept of serious news. Sample headline: "State Department to Hold Enemy Tryouts Next Week." Sadly, the Onion is only updated on a weekly basis.

Designed to be your internet valet, Ask Jeeves allows you to ask questions in plain English. It then gives you a concise list of possible links. Jeeves will also query other search engines for you, and return the top 10 from those sites.

Obviously, Jeeves isn't nearly as smart as computers in Star Trek, but it's a start -and it's a good idea for a search-engine alternative.

Jeeves also features a virtual "keyhole" that you can peep through to see a random sample of questions others are currently submitting.

Every daily selection is not necessarily a winner, but there are enough good ones to make this site a fine springboard for your time-wasting endeavours.

PS: In the cruel history section, you'll find a link to a Sony Cam Night Shot page, in case you were wondering what all the fuss was about.

Personally, I'm not too concerned about the four horsemen riding into town. My main concern lies in the reams of code and hundreds of thousands of embedded computer chips that make our modern playland work, and that might just fall like dominoes when the digits roll to "00".

Enter the Cassandra project a non-profit group dedicated to spreading info on Y2K and how to get prepared . A non-alarmist site, they see the problem as more of a social issue, and are trying to raise awareness about the potential magnitude of the problem. They believe it would be negligent to not have some form of contingency plan.

In any case, it's a good starting point to look into the issue for yourself.

Alert: There's a new Mac virus going around, and it's pretty nasty. Point your browser to http://www.macintouch.com/graphacc.html to get the skinny.

Billing itself as "the soft white underbelly of the Net," rotten dot com collects images and info from various sources on bad things that happen to people, and its contents can make people with weak stomachs lose their lunch.

The site features a number of autopsy photos, including one of Tupac Shakur. As well, you can also find the Fuck of the Month Club, some famous photos (one of Hitler's pants being burned) and some viewer submissions. My fave is the "today in rotten history," a compilation of rotten events on this day over the years.

Oh, and don't forget to stop at the gift shop on your way out.

The site has nine categories of messages: movies, TV, comedy, musical, adult, serious, people, weird and other. Obviously, not all the messages are winners, but browse around a bit and you'll be sure to find one you like--audio clips from King of the Hill, The Muppet Show and Ren & Stimpy. Inventive original items include, "this answering machine has been connected to a 5,000-volt power supply that has been wired to this small kitten..."

Tech note: the messages come in either .wav or the much more compact MP3 formats.

And let me say Howdy-Ho! With lots to do on this site, I suggest starting in the bathroom with the Mr. Hanky Construction Set. Then it's off to see Chef, who acts like a magic 8-ball, answering your yes or no question with his Solomon-like wisdom. Follow that up with a hunting excursion in Jimbo's shooting gallery. Then kick back and watch some classic clips--like the Weight Gain 4000 ad.

On another front, if anyone still hasn't read it, the Starr Report can be found at www.broadcast.com/news/, where it can also be listened to in audio format. It sounds like it's being read by Larry King and they've "thoughtfully" broken it into excerpts, in case you don't want to listen from beginning to end.

The Internet may be a gold mine of information, but like any mine, you need a good company to get at the ore. Enter the Mining Co. (www.miningco.com). A nicely designed site, TMC features 14 areas of interest, each of which then branches out to sites for over 500 topics.

This description makes it seem a lot like Yahoo! But what makes TMC stand out from Yahoo! or other portal sites is its use of Guides. Each topic page is maintained by a Guide--a real netizen involved and/or interested in the topic.

The site is easy to navigate, and I like the concept of having Guides--it keeps the information current and it puts you in direct contact with someone who has an interest in the same area.

All in all, TMC is worthy of being near the top of any bookmark list.

The site is a collection of incriminating evidence against Bert, culled through many "anonymous sources who choose not to be revealed." The body of evidence includes interviews with Bert's colleagues, as well as some e-mail between Bert and cannibalistic serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. It also features a wonderful photo archive: Bert at the recent U.S. bombing sites, Bert with Osama bin Laden, Bert on Jerry Springer and Bert on Ernie, to name but a few.

After a visit to this site, you'll find it impossible to look at Bert the same way again.