And then there's Jurassic Girl, who's become a bit of a celeb for her quality flash of the automatic camera on the Jurassic Park ride. Get a check up from Doctor Girl and maybe grab some Fast-Food Girl on the way out. Not for the kiddies.

Bork, bork, bork: Get the skinny on swearing like a Swede at Anne & Johan's Cursing in Swedish website.

Disinformation is divided into six areas: propaganda, revolutionaries, censorship, counterculture, counterintelligence and newspeak.

On the site you'll find tons of useful information and some good reading--which is welcome, given political counterculture's tendency towards overwrought manifestos and calls to arms.

Of particular interest to pranksters and media jammers is the section on barcodes. Learn how to make and break barcodes. Slap a $2 barcode onto a $10 item--fun for the whole family!

There are plenty of valuable links here, so it's worth trawling, even if you're not of the mind for reading.

There are a number of different categories to choose from: computers, notebooks, monitors, upgrades & accessories, office products, cameras & optics, consumer electronics, travel, sports & fitness equipment and a treasure chest.

The pickings are a bit slim compared to U.S. auction sites, and the prices aren't super, but it's a start.

If you are inclined to do the gymnastics involved in ordering from a U.S. site, a good one to check out is Onsale (www.onsale.com), with hourly auctions, a large selection and great starting bids ($1) on a lot of products.

This site's been around for a while, and I often wonder if it's just a hoax/joke or someone with a serious, albeit far-out vision: to build a nation on a man-made island in international waters. On the site you will find rendered images of the Oceania model, as well of some sounds of Oceania.

There is also a lengthy Oceania constitution (in English and Spanish), not to mention the Laws of Oceania.

The Oceania mall has slim pickings, though you might want to pick up a bumper sticker or flag. The most attractive product offered, though, is the Oceania passport. Confound border guards, impress your friends. Be the first on the block and get a special price on the first run.

You can look through his trash (he scans the bar codes of everything he throws out), see stats on toilet flushes (599 since September 12), what's in the fridge (and when it was last opened) or who's at the front door and how long they ring.

There are 6 cameras set up around the house so you can keep tabs on van Es, as well as his cat. Or you can go vote at the MP3 alarm clock for van Es' wake-up song.

Amused to death: Looking to kill some time? Why not visit the Centre for the Easily Amused (www.amused.com), and amuse yourself, easily.

Satisfy your voyeuristic inclinations with "workplace diaries"--accounts from fellow stiffs on the front lines of inane corporate culture.

You'll find features ranging from "Is My job Killing Me?" to "Twisted Knickers" (dealing with office romances). There is also a place to "Speak Up" on the job-related discussion board. Garner some free advice on your workplace dilemmas and test your workplace stress with the "Stress-O-Meter". Then visit the "Action Guide" and move beyond bitching.

Another aptly named work-related site is Disgruntled (www.disgruntled.com). The most interesting thing on Disgruntled is the plethora of short work-related horror stories posted by many wage slaves.

Or to fume at. Equally entertaining is the hate mail Cliff has received as a result of his contest, also available on the site.

SàGG features "Your daily dose," a science brief for the day that is well written and entertaining. The briefs range from discoveries made trawling the patent databases (such as cell phone companies applying for a patent on radiation shielding for cell phones--even though they're not dangerous, right?) to a story on how junk food has less carcinogens than a restaurant-cooked steak.

You'll also find "Elsewhere," which is a quirky science story that appeared elsewhere.

Check out "Eureka," a contest where you can win a prize. SàGG provides a question for the month (i.e. Define the Value of a Parking Spot), and the best answer wins.

Or you can visit their bookstore, with bite-sized book reviews of a few featured science books. And there's always the gift shop, where you can get cool geek gifts, such as the backwards clock or a gyroscope.

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.