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Every now and then it’s good idea to clean up that drawer or basket where you keep your receipts, dead batteries, expired medication, Kinder Toys, extra screws, and all kinds of other sundry crap you should have had the foresight to chuck in the

Every now and then it’s good idea to clean up that drawer or basket where you keep your receipts, dead batteries, expired medication, Kinder Toys, extra screws, and all kinds of other sundry crap you should have had the foresight to chuck in the first place.

Computers are the same way. Over the past six months or so I’ve been collecting a variety of Web sites that have little to no real importance and don’t follow any organized theme, but are kind of cool nonetheless.

If you don’t have any time to waste, you might want to stop reading.

Homestar Runner – www.homestarrunner.com

I mentioned this site once before in a previous Cybernaut as part of a look at Flash animations. Since then the site has boomed, with millions of visitors each month. One character, Strong Bad, gets more than a thousand fan e-mails a day. Around Whistler, I’ve seen the T-shirts a few times, and I know of one person who bought a CD of Homestar Runner songs.

Homestar Runner is your basic flash cartoon, with some simple but highly entertaining graphics. What makes it work is the incredible writing, the hilarious characters and character voices, the off-beat scenarios, the special features, and the direction – brothers Mike and Matt Chapman worked hard enough on this site to quit their day jobs.

Zombo.com – www.zombo.com

"Welcome to Zombocom. You have come to Zombocom…Welcome!" Prepare to by hypnotized at Zombo.com, where everything is attainable and everyone is welcome. I only heard about this site recently, and I can’t get that creepy "zombocom" voice out of my head.

After about five minutes you can sign up for a newsletter before the whole audio track starts up once again. I haven’t signed up yet because the last thing I need is more e-mails, but I can feel my resolve wavering – maybe that’s why I’m being hypnotized.

Pitchfork Media – www.pitchforkmedia.com

If you’re content with top-40 tunes, carefully programmed at a head office somewhere by somebody who gets paid to make the major labels look good, then by all means continue to read Rolling Stone and listen to FM radio. You’re not going to hear anything new or different, as you remain safely in the mainstream.

Or you could try Pitchfork Media, a music news and reviews site that is so comprehensive I can’t even begin to describe how deep the archives go. The reviews are well-written by funny and knowledgeable people, and album reviews frequently come with a few sample songs to hear for yourself.

If you’re into fringe music, like honest music reviews, or just like to seek out and discover new bands then you’re going to be visiting this site a lot.

Wacky Uses – www.wackyuses.com

I stumbled across this strange but useful site by accident one day when trying to find out what portion of vinegar to mix with water to make a homemade glass cleaner.

The protagonist of the site is a vaguely scientific guy by the name of Joey Green who has assembled collections of odd uses for household items. He’s published books full of this kind of information, but hundreds of ideas are available for free at his Web site.

For example, take Alka-Seltzer – sure it will soothe an upset stomach, but did you know you can use this product to clean toilets, polish jewelry, clean bottles, remove grease from pots and pans, unclog drains and soothe insect bites? Did you know that Miracle Whip can be used to condition hair, remove stuck rings, give yourself a facial, remove rings and spots from wood furniture, remove tar and dead skin, and ease sunburn pain? Did you know that Bounce fabric softener will also repel mosquitoes, eliminate T.V. static, dissolve soap scum, remove baked on food, collect pet hair, and take static and dust off venetian blinds?

Visit this site and prepare to be astounded. The answer to all your household problems was probably in you fridge or pantry this whole time.

Archie Comics – www.archiecomics.com

I started to read Archie Comics in Grade 2, and they were a staple all my life – mainly for road trips and bathroom breaks, but nobody ever said it was Shakespeare. I hadn’t bought any Archie Digests in a while and decided to see what kind of presence Archie and the gang had online.

Riverdale comes to life, with comics, games, animations, tours of Riverdale and all kinds of other special features. Head to East Riverdale and visit Jughead’s house and get a snack food recipe. Go to Archie’s to read comic books, or to Betty’s to read her diary. If you’re looking for some fun activities to do you can head to West Riverdale and go to the high school for classes on Art, Math, Language Arts and Science. Mr. Weatherbee’s office still needs work, but you can still hang out the ‘Bee. The games are at the arcade in North Riverdale – I recommend Dilton’s Lunar Lander. Oh, and the jukebox at Pop’s? It really works!