Each year, without fail, I get to December 22nd and have yet to get my Christmas shopping sorted. Admittedly, in many previous years the reason for this is that I had lost all of my money gambling and was hoping that Christmas would somehow vanish, along with the requirement to buy gifts for people. Still, occasionally it was down to my legendary laziness.

But not this year. Oh no, not this year. It's now the end of the first week in December, and I have ordered almost all of my gifts. There are still a few people to buy for, but on the whole I'm pretty much sorted. Of course, my distate for shopping has meant that most of it has been done over the Internet.

Helping me out in my quest to get sorted was Music2Buy, a UK based music store that offers a massive range of music - from topsellers to hard to find rare albums. Since the majority of my friends are musical snobs it helps to be able to track down a rare CD or two. Additionally, the prices aren't that bad either. I picked up the new Take That album for a very reasonable price for my sister (she's 19, so she was a big fan the first time around). I also got a few classical albums for my Dad. I can usually get on board with a bit of classical, but I tend to tune out after a few pieces. Still, my Dad loves it so it's an easy choice of gift.

Of course, as usually happens when I'm gift shopping I ended up buying something for myself. Well, I say something - I bought more or less the entire back catalogue of Bob Dylan. I've always been a fan but for some reason I only own Blood on the Tracks on CD - I had lots more on Minidisc, but... well, Minidiscs are crap. Now I have everything on CD you'll be able to hear old Bob's nasal tones whining out of my car stereo from space. Rock on.

As I mentioned a couple of days ago I've always had a weakness for beautiful cars (I'm a guy, and I believe it's built in at the genetic level). While I'm not too bothered about actually owning a nice car (after all, I only use mine to drive to the supermarket at 2 in the morning - who am I trying to impress?) I can't help but stop and turn my head when I spot a truly stunning machine in the street.

Unfortunately, where I live in Cheshire the pinnacle of automobile aspirations seems to be a sleek executive car. Everybody wants a Mercedes of BMW - nobody seems interested in buying a car designed for racing. So, my only recourse is to stare at cars on the Internet. Bah.

Fortunately, the Internet is a great place to sate the urge to ogle at cars. Sites such as www.2FastLane.com are favourite, on account of the fact that they focus on the kind of cars that you'd expect to see zipping by at 100mph on a racing street at 2am - y'know, ridiculously tuned Japanese rally cars and American muscle cars. If you have any interest in any aspect of car tuning, or if you just like to look at the kind of machines you rarely get to see on the streets, go take a look at www.2FastLane.com.

I've been really stewing over the cost of my mobile phone bill this month. As I mentioned earlier it's the bill that covered my trip to New York, so it includes the ridiculous cost of several overseas calls. What really gets me isn't the cost of the voice calls but the cost of text messages. It turns out that not only does sending a text cost about a pound ($2), but it costs the recipient to receive it too. While a big bill isn't the end of the world for me, my brother is a different story altogether.

Y'see, my brother went to NY to run the marathon, and a condition of his entry was that he had to raise £1,500 (about $3,000) for charity. Since he sucks at fundraising he ended up paying much of the donation out of his own pocket, and he's only a lowly underpaid library assistant. So, on top of the donation, the cost of the trip itself and the general high price of the approaching festive season he's faced with a monster phone bill from simply receiving messages. That sucks.

Fortunately, however, there is a way around it. In the past few years there have arisen several services by which you can send text messages online at no cost. While the idea is great in theory, the execution of these sites always left something to be desired. In the early days the services were only available for certain network subscribers, and in the main you would have to go through a long drawn out regisration process before you could send a single message.

SMSJunky seems to be the first free SMS site to have actually got it right - for two reasons:

The first, and perhaps most important, is the fact that the service caters for several hundred service providers across the globe. No matter where you are in the world the chances are you'll be able to use the service. Secondly, registration isn't required. You don't have to give your name and address to some mailing list, and you don't even have to enter your own phone number. Since the early SMS services were little more than elaborate schemes to grab your personal details, this is an enormous step in the right directions.

As well as the SMS service, SMSJunky offers a range of phone-related services - primarily, reviews of new handsets and a wide range of free ringtones. The thing that strikes me about the site is that all of these services are entirely free of charge. You don't have to register for anything, and you don't have to disclose your details. In a world that becomes ever more commercial by the day, this site is a breath of fresh air. Why not drop in and give it a try?

Whenever I find that I have a little more money in the bank that I really need I tend to go a little crazy and buy some sort of gadget from the Internet. Just a few weeks ago I invested in a new laptop, digital camera and iPod, and within the next couple of weeks I'll probably get a new mobile phone.

While I'm not really that much of a gadget freak (I never buy top-of-the-line gadgets I can barely afford) I do like my little fancy bits of technology. Most of all I love to read about the amazing gizmos that are constantly flowing onto the market - even if I could never bring mysef to spend top dollar on them.

So, as a kind of voyeuristic exercise I love to browse sites such as Wonova, a personal gadgets blog devoted to reporting the latest crazy gizmos in the PC, music and gaming worlds among others. For instance, just in the past fortnight I've been reading about the mind-blowing success of the Scarface game, a new Philips DVD player that plays almost every DVD format you can imagine and the latest ploy by Microsoft to make a success out of the poorly received Zune music player.

While it's true that technology blogs are ten a penny these days it's rare to find one that's so well written and engaging. It's for that reason that Wonova has quickly become my favourite tech blog. I suggest you take a gander when you're next in the market for a gadget.

Ever since I was a little boy I wanted a dog. Well, actually that's not true at all. I was terrified of them ever since a little terrier who lived across the road gave me a nasty nip when I was 5. Still, as soon as I overcame my fear I fell in love with them.

Unfortunately, my parents were cat people. We had cats ever since I was born, and the folks never showed any interest in getting a dog. Now, as an adult, I know I'm far too lazy to properly take care of a dog so it's probably not a good idea.

Still, whenever I hear that a dog in my neighbourhood had puppies I always get the urge to take one. Most of the time families can't take care of a bunch of new pets, so all too often they get shared out between friends and neighbours. The puppies who don't find homes are inevitably sent to the local pound, and who knows what will happen to them there. The danger of the needle is ever present.

Luckily, though, the Internet is here to help. Dogup.com is a site devoted to finding new homes for unwanted puppies - taking the job out of the hands of the overcrowded and underfunded pounds. At Dogup you can put your dogs up for sale, attracting a much larger audience of potential owners than would ever be possible at a dog pound.

In addition to this great service, Dogup provides all sorts of features for dog lovers - a list of over 10,000 suggestions for dog names; news and articles of interest to dog owners; even a dating service for dogs. All in all, Dogup should be the first port of call for anyone who lives with one of man's best friends. A fantastic site, and of great benefit to the dog world. Why not take a look?

The Scottish people have earned themselves a reputation through the years as a plain spoken, down to earth and honest bunch of folks. It makes sense, then, that one of the best sources of financial advice on the Internet should be ThriftyScot.

ThriftyScot is a simple, easily navigable site that gives no nonsense, down to earth advice on personal finance. Arranged into several categories, ThriftyScot's advice guides you through the often confusing world of personal finance and leads you towards the best money-saving deals available.

Of all the categories offered at ThriftyScot perhaps the most useful is the credit cards section. With advice on credit cards offered by a wide range of lenders, ThriftyScot can help you track down the lowest rates available today. Depending on the feature you're looking for, ThriftyScot can help you find cards that offer 0% balance transfers, 0% on new purchases and cards with great introductory offers and rewards.

Beyond the credit card pages, ThriftyScot offers fantastic advice on mortgages and secured loans. Since a home tends to be the most expensive and important purchase of your life, it makes sense to find good solid advice before you take out a mortgage. Additionally, it's just as important that you make sure you have all the facts before you take out a loan that uses your home as collateral.

All in all, ThriftyScot is a fantastic resource for anyone looking to take out a loan, buy a home, make an investment or simply buy a pair of shoes on credit. With ThriftyScot guiding the way you'll never get lost in the world of personal finance.

Y'know, it never fails to surprise me how little the average person understands about computers. I was woken up last night by the wife of a friend asking me to visit her next week to help set up an online something or other - I was half asleep when she called, but I think it has something to do with simply posting a survey on a website.

Now, I'm no genius when it comes to computers. I can just about set up a blog and fiddle with the template enough to make it look a little individual (if I could be bothered), but compared to the average man on the street I'm a computer whiz.

So, considering the poor IT expertise of the average person you can imagine the difficulties small businesses face when they need to establish a web presence. If an enterprise can't afford to hire a full time IT professional they can struggle to build a serviceable website that will properly represent and uphold the reputation of the company and allow them to take part in effective e-commerce.

Fortunately, though, there are hosting services who are more than willing to take on the full job in building a website. In addition to creating the template and hosting the site itself, service providers such as BitExtra Web Solutions will control the project from start to finish. Initially, BitExtra will design and build the site from scratch, before publishing and hosting the site themselves. While most service providers would stop there, BitExtra will devise and execute a web marketing campaign, provide ongoing product support and continuously update their technology to reflect the latest developments in the web hosting market.

Service providers such as BitExtra are ideal for those small businesses who can't afford to retain a full time IT staff but would nevertheless like a strong online presence at a reasonable price, Best of all, BitExtra take on the entire project, enabling the business owner to get on with the vital task of ensuring the financial success of the enterprise. At the end of the day, that's the most important thing, isn't it?

Here's another great web directory for you to try: WebDir.

WebDir markets itself as the most comprehensive directory on the Internet, and it would be difficult to dispute their claim. With 23 primary categories ad several hundred secondary categories WebDir is perfect for webmasters and regular readers alike.

As I mentioned in a post earlier on, the vast majority of webmasters believe that there is a greater benefit to be had by receiving a link from a website that shares the theme of your own than from a site that is unrelated. Basically, if you run a Playstation 3 website and you get a link from another PS3 site you'll see a much greater benefit in your search engine rankings then if you received a link from, say, a knitting website.

So what does this mean in terms of WebDir? Well, since the WebDir directory focuses its categories down to the smallest possible field, any links from the directory to your related site will carry a greater benefit than if you had simply submitted your link to the broader categories offered by many other directories. With categories as sharply focused as 'Science in Society' instead of just 'Science', and 'Rural Living ' rather than simply 'Home' webmasters can fid a category that perfectly suits their site.

With the sort of intelligent categorisation displayed by WebDir I wouldn't be at all surprised to see this becoming one of the most popular web directories within the next few months. Webmasters looking to get included on the WebDir Directory can do so for less than $5 - a great price, for such a sharply focused backlink.

I got my phone bill this morning for the month that included my trip to New York. I had to make a lot of calls back to the UK while I was away, and I've been dreading the bill ever since. The problem with using cell phones abroad is that the service providers are never too eager to tell you how much it costs. In fact, even though my service provider is a global business - one of the largest in the world, at that - there is nowhere either in the small print of my contract or on their website that would suggest the cost of a trans-Atlantic phone call. I had to call customer services in the end, and even they had to look it up for ten minutes before giving me an answer.

Anyway, the bill is around 4 times the usual amount. Each call cost around £1.50 ($3) just to connect, and then it was arond £1 (2) per minute for the actual call. When you need to check in with a client back home and talk for 15 minutes that quickly becomes ridiculous.

I'm heading back to the Big Apple with a friend in February of next year, and I've promised myself that I won't use the phone once while I'm away. Instead I'll invest in phone cards to cut down on the costs. By using a simple calling card I can cut my costs down from $2/minute to around 2 cents. When you take a look at the offers available from the various phone companies it makes you wonder why anyone bothers to make international calls at the full rate. I guess I'm just stupid.

The problem would be even worse for those who struggle for money. Imagine a student who has to get by on a student loan calling home to another continent every few days. It isn't inconceivable that the phone bills could stretch to several thousand dollars over the course of a year - money that your average student can ill afford. However, by simply investing in a steady supply of calling cards they could cut down the cost to 1% of the ridiculous charges levied by the cellphone providers. Makes sense, don't it?

Just to further demonstrate the professionalism of real estate agents who work on the web, here's a nice little site set up to provide news for realtors, keeping them up to date on the latest trends in the real estate world and offer tips on the best methods by which to pass on the benefit of their expertise to their customers.

In addition to the main news site, WebNewsForUs also offers a range of services designed to aid real estate agents and consumers both on- and offline. For example, the site offers a simple, functional and easy to use real estate directory listing agencies in all 50 US states, allowing real estate agents to advertise their services while allowing consumers to track them down by geographic area. This sort of service can be especially useful for homebuyers who are considering a cross-country move. Instead of having to travel several times across the country to scout out possible new homes they can simply search for a real estate agent working in the area and delegate the job to the agency.

Perhaps the best evidence of all that real estate agents stick together to serve a common purpose is the fact that a large portion of the site is given over to informing real estate agents of the location of the many real estate directories on the web. Rather than selfishly keep the information hidden, the owners of WebNewsForUs choose instead to distribute it freely within the industry. Good on 'em.

As I mentioned a few days back I'm a fresh convert to the cause of online realtors. I used to think they were useless until a good friend of mine found a quick sale online - making a decent profit on his old home and closing the deal in time to close on the home he really wanted to move into. If it hadn't been for online real estate agencies he's probably still be sat in the old house with his girlfriend and kid, being terrorised each night by loud parties and boy racers screaming down the road.

Once I realised that realtors who work online aren't the bunch of money grubbing layabouts I always thought they were I kept noticing better and better deals being offered online. For instance, Suburban House Hunters (an agency specialisinig in Chicago, IL real estate) offer what they call a 'Sold in 60 Days Guarantee'. Basically, if they don't find an acceptable buyer for your home within 60 days of you putting it on the market they will take a 50% pay cut in their fees. You really can't beat that. The guarantee gives the agency a firm incentive to get out there and find potential buyers, allowing you to sit back and wait for the offers to roll in.

If you're still not convinced as to the professionalism of online realtors, all you have to realise is the fact that they're bound by the ethical rules and business guidelines that must be followed by all agencies. Every real estate agency must follow the same rules or they'll be in serious trouble with industry regulatory bodies such as the National Association of Realtors.

This comes with a word of warning, of course. Before dealing with an online realtor you should always look into the company. Are they a member of NAR or another regulatory body? Do you know anyone who has sold or purchased a house through them before? Only by checking into a realtor before you sign any agreements can you relax in the knowledge that you're getting the best possible service available. As with all things in life, a little common sense can prevent big problems down the line. Good luck!

Y'know, every so often you come across a website and slap yourself in the head because you didn't think of it first. Planjam is one of those sites.

For many years now there have been countless dating sites on the web - some very popular, and others that vanish into the ether with a whimper. As the stigma attached to online dating sites reduces, the competition becomes ever more fierce to attract the millions of people looking for love on the web. In order to succeed a site needs a hook - something that sets it above the crowd. Planjam seems like it could become one of the next generation of mega dating sites.

To begin with, of course, a dating site has to offer the ability for people to actually find a date. Without that it's useless. Planjam allows users to search for potential partners by area, displaying users who live within a certain radius of a zip code or city. This much is simple - a service offered by every dating service.

Planjam, however, goes one step further. While the majority of dating sites offer the means by which a user can introduce themselves and build a rapport with a potential partner, Planjam provides an application for users to plan the date down to the tiniest detail. Once you've found that special someone and taken the leap in asking them on a date, Planjam allows you to search your local area and set up an itinerary.

Y'see, one of the most stressful parts of a date comes well before the big day - you have to decide where to take the lucky lady or gent. Your choice of venue will play a big part in determining whether the date will end with breakfast in bed or a hug at the door and a lonely cab ride home. Choose wisely, and you're good to go. Choose bowling and... well, you'd better make sure you bring enough cab fare (unless your date is a huge bowling fan, in which case good luck to ya).

The Planjam app is surprisingly simple. You type in yor zip code and the app presents you with a range of activities in your local area, from kite flying in your local park to dinner in a fancy restaurant all the way to sky diving from a Cessna. By presenting you with a comprehensive list of things to do it makes the process of planning the perfect date as easy as pie. All you have to do is drag and drop your selection into your itinerary and it'll tell you how much time you should schedule for each activity and how much you can expect it to cost.

So, once you have the perfect date planned all you have to do is shine your shoes and put your game face on. Planjam provides you with the weapons that will make that first date perfect. Good luck soldier.

p.s. If the date ends badly, it isn't the end of the world. You can just go sky diving with your buddies next weekend.

Y'know, until just a few weeks ago I had no interest whatsoever in owning an iPod. I rarely leave the house without taking the car, so shelling out a pile of cash on a portable music player seemed a little pointless. My car stereo already has an mp3 player, so it just seemed wasteful.

Still, when I decided to head to New York for the week I thought I'd pick up an iPod so I'd have something to do on the flight. I flew Continental, and the in-flight entertainment on their long haul flights is several miles beyond awful - a single 7-inch screen every 4 rows showing some God-awful Lindsey Lohan movie - am I the only straight man on earth who just doesn't see the attraction of that plain-faced skinny harridan?

Anyway. The iPod didn't arrive on time, so I was left without music on the flight (fortunately, the outgoing flight passed over Greenland so I got to see glaciers and icebergs from above - not a bad consolation prize). Since I got home, though, I haven't put the thing down. You can consider me a born-again iPodian.

My new-found obsession is set to reach fever pitch with the coming release of the Apple cellphone. While no release date has yet been set, the phone - expected, naturally, to be named iPhone - will combine an iPod with all the functionality of a traditional cellphone.

While I'm not really that much of a gadget freak even I can see that this would be huge. It isn't just a case of Apple milking their cash cow for every last drop - an iPhone would serve a genuinely useful purpose. Since the vast, vast majority of iPod owners also own a cellphone, the iPhone would allow them to throw away one bulky piece of kit in favour of a single tiny device. It's the next inevitable step towards full integration of all cool technologies - before you know it we'll me carrying pocket sized PCs, phones, iPods and ice cream makers all in one.

While no official design concept has been released by Apple that hasn't stopped the fans from coming up with a few conceptual designs for the device. This range of Apple iPhone pictures should whet your appetite ahead of what will sure to be a beautifully designed official version. Enjoy!

Here's another directory for you to feast your eyes on (yeah, that sentence was gramatically flawed, but I don't care. I'll end in a preposition whenever I damn well please).

TechTopList is a web directory with a difference. Rather than providing hundreds of categories of websites - from shopping to health to home repairs - TecTopList focuses exclusively on technology related websites. With categories ranging from social networking to webmaster resources, tech blogs to script services, TechTopList provides great benefits to both webmasters and consumers.

It's commonly believed that when related sites links to each other they each get a greater boost in search engine rankings than if they were unrelated. For instance, if two tech sites link to each other they will both benefit more than if a humour site linked to a political site. So, since TechTopList has built up a solid reputation as a technology site its outgoing links carry a great benefit to other tech sites.

Additionally, this sharp focus of tech sites allows consumers to use TechTopList as a handy resource with which to track down tech services. Whether a reader needs a new site design, custom web content or online advertising they will be able to hunt down a relevant service at TechTopList. I'd gladly recommend this great directory. A+

As many of you who've been reading my dross for several years will know, I used to enjoy my gambling. In fact, I enjoyed it so much I had to give it up. While I enjoyed it I was never very good at it - at least, that's what my bank manager kept telling me.

Still, despite my past gambling problems I don't oppose gambling itself. I wrote an article for Tech Central Station to that effect earlier in the year, and most readers found it difficult to understand how I could defend an addiction that cost me many thousands of pounds. My answer, of course, is meh. I'm complex, and more than a little stupid.

Anyway. If you enjoy your online gambling you could do worse than head on over to Bet Bonus, a site that offers links to all the free bets offered by UK bookmakers. By simply signing up you can get free money to use in a range of sportsbooks from Ladbrokes to Paddypower.

If you're more interested in roulette than rugby you might want to click through to the casino bonus page at Bet Bonus. Much the same as the sportsbook offers, Bet Bonus offers registration bonuses for a wide range of online casinos - such as BetFred, Virgin Games and 888. Perhaps the best offer comes from Casino Classic - you get a free £500 and an hour to gamble with it. Whatever you have won by the end of the hour you get to keep.

Finally, if you're not quite sure about how all this gambling business works - or if you'd simply like to brush up on your skills before risking your money - you should have a read of the Bet Bonus gambling articles page. Offering tips and guidance on a wide range of sports and casino gambling, the gambling articles will give you the edge you need to beat the house. Good luck!

A couple of years ago my brother spent six months in India, where a mixture of poor hygeine and stupidity landed him with a nasty case of malaria mixed with a touch of gastroenteritis. Fortunately, though, the leaps in modern medicine we've made in the last century or so meant that there was little danger of either of these illnesses proving fatal (they don't like it when monied Westerners die from tropical diseases - much better to leave that to the locals, don't you know).

Unfortunately, the stress of falling ill alone in a far-off land - combined with having to make his way home to England and stay in hospital for a month - caused something in my brother's brain to snap, and since then he's suffered from the occasional anxiety attack. Shortness of breath, a cold sweat, and a general bad time of it - you know the symptoms.

Anxiety seems to be something that runs in the family here at Taylor Towers. At least half the extended family seem to suffer from some form of anxiety disorder or crippling phobia. In fact, I'm one of the few mentally healthy folks in the Taylor clan (of course, a 2-day working week tends to do that to a guy).

The thing about anxiety attacks is that they affect everyone differently. While many people respond to medication, others have to try self-help techniques to prevent attacks. Anxiety medication did nothing to help my brother, but he found that meditation techniqies worked (all a little too hippyish for me, but it seemed to work for him). A few months ago he spent a week in a crazy ashram where he took a week long vow of silence. He came back feeling great, and hasn't had an attack since. Personally, I'd just take the drugs. I can't shut up for seven minutes, never mid seven days.

Since before I remember I've been obsessed with cars. I've never really cared about actually owning a nice car (as I've mentioned before, the two cars I've owned in my life have been pieces of junk) but I just love the look of them. I'd never trust myself with a really good car as I tend to treat them badly. I don't wash them, and I almost never get them serviced on schedule. It's OK treating a Ford Fiesta badly, but there should be alaw against doing the same to a Porsche.

It's for that reason that the Free Car Wallpapers site is so perfect for me. I get to stare at beautiful cars without the responsibility of taking care of them. For the past few months I've had a basic blue background on my desktop, but that changed half an hour ago to be replaced by this Aston:

Now, that's just automotive porn. The problem now, of course, is that I'll get very little work done from this computer. There are thousands of wallpapers available on the site, so I'll be spending hours hunting through for ever more beautiful sports cars. With choices ranging from Ferrari, Koenigsegg, Aston Martin and the simply unbelievable Bugatti Veyron (yes, the one with over 1,000 Bhp) fellow petrolheads will find plenty to stare at on Free Car Wallpapers.

Hydroponics & Grow Lights from Plantlighting Hydroponics

Plantlighting Hydroponics specializes in the sale of hydroponics, organic and soil based growing products at the lowest possible prices with superior customer service. Products are stocked at and shipped from their Twinsburg, Ohio warehouse and from supplier warehouses throughout the United States.

Plantlighting Hydroponics offers the complete line of Sunlight HPS and Metal Halide Grow Lights including, Sun System 2, Sun System 4, and Sun System 5 Self Enclosed Grow Lights, Sun System 1 and Sun System 10 Remote Grow Lights, and Sun System VI and Sun System 10 Switchable Grow Lights. New electronic grow lights that operate both HPS and Metal Halide lamps are also available with the full selection of Sun Light Reflectors. Plantlighting Hydroponics also features the Tek-Light, New Wave, and Sun Blaze high output T5 Fluorescent grow lights and Compact Fluorescent Grow Lights for propagation and full maturity lighting.

A complete selection of Metal Halide, High Pressure Sodium, Fluorescent, and Compact Fluorescent grow lamps in all wattages and Kelvin Temperatures are available for use in all Grow Lights and for specific plant growth stages. Plantlighting Hydroponics features enhanced spectrum grow lamps from Hortilux and Sunmaster.

Ebb & Grow, Drip Watering, Aeroponics, and Cloning Hydroponics systems are stocked from major manufacturers General Hydroponics, American Agritech and EZ clone. Hydroponics Cloning systems allow the grower to clone cuttings in 5-10 days for transplant in soil based or Hydroponics growing systems. Hydroponics system types are the easy to use and manage Ebb & Flow systems, Drip Systems that conserves water and nutrient solution and high growth Aeroponics systems.

Visit Plantlighting Hydroponics for a great selection of plant nutrients, plant supplements, grow media, propagation products, test meters, air purification, CO2 system, lighting controls and atmosphere controls for use in your grow room and in conjunction with your Grow Light and Hydroponics Growing System.

For those webmasters who are just starting out in the business, here's a brief post with a few pointers to help make your sites popular and profitable as quickly as possible.

To begin with, get your site listed on web directories. If you have unlimited time you should submit to as many as possible - if you're operating on a limited time frame, however, you should select a web directory or two that will bring you a decent boost and submit just to those - you could try the directory I've linked in the previous sentence or this word links directory.

Perhaps the best way to make your sites succeed is to read the advice of those webmasters who have already achieved success. These webmaster articles can guide you towards the most effective route, allowing you to avoid the pitfalls of those who went before you.

Finally, you should take a good long look at sites that have already succeeded in your field. If you're looking to set up a search engine you should study the big boys - Google, Yahoo and so on. Learn how they operate and take plenty of notes. If you're looking to set up a forum (which can be one of the most difficult tasks possible for a webmaster) you should take a look at a few that have already attracted a good membership. The Teen Forums at the Teen Hut, for instance, is a pretty lively venue. There you can pick up tips on how to attract a specific demographic to your site - in this case, kids and young adults. You may be looking for a very different dempographic or subculture for your forum - gamers, for instance. In order to attract them you'll have to get in their heads an dlearn what makes them tick. Learn what they're looking for in a forum, and provide it.

Now this I find fascinating. I speak two languages - English, and bad English - and I definitely don't have it in me to learn another. The language part of my brain seems to be missing, so new words refuse to stay in my head. However, despite my inability to pick up a new tongue I'm fascinated by the structure of different alphabets. Chinese script, in particular, I find very intreresting. Most fascinating of all, though, has to be the beautifully flowing structure of Arabic.

D1G.com is the 1st website that has built a search engine designed especially for the Arabic language. D1G.com has developed its own spider algorithm and it is currently is in its beta release.

The website offers a number of services such as free email service with unlimited storage space, image gallery, video hosting, online arcade, forums and free International SMS services including all of the Arab world countries. As the Arabic Google, I hope it goes far. Since I'm unable to read anything at the site, though, I'll be content to simply look at the writing in wonderment. Take a trip over there and see for yourself.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the Sleek Directory in the same breath as Biz-King. Of all the directories I've come across Sleek is one of the few that can rival Biz-King in its quality of service. Once again, the best feature of the site is the range of Sleek Web Directories links - a directory of directories offering a list of almost 400 active directories. Once again, these links allow webmasters to prioritise their time and select only the best directories to which to submit their links.

Much the same as Biz-King, the Sleek Business Links page offers several hundred links to excellent business sites, offering consumers a single reference point from which to hunt down a range of products and services that will make life run just that little bit smoother - you can find builders, investment advice, legal representation and a hundred other services from this one page alone. As a time saver it's second to none.

Finally, it's hard to ignore the benefits of a great shopping directory - especially this close to Christmas. If you want to get your gift shopping sorted out and delivered in time for the big day you could do much worse than to get connected to the Sleek Shopping links page. There you'll find several hundred links to the best shopping sites on the net. That'll take a weight off your mind - simply order your gifts through some of these great sites and then put your feet up.

Here's episode 15 or so in my endless quest to find the best web directories on this here Internet. As I've mentioned several times before in the past week or so, web directories are one of the most effective methods by which a webmaster can gain exposure for a new website - or simply boost the rankings of an established site.

Of course, it's important for webmasters to be able to identify directories that will actually bring some benefit. After all, there are probably thousands of directories out there, and they were definitely not all created equal. Additionally, since submitting a link to a directory can take anywhere from a few seconds to twenty minutes or so it's vital that webmasters choose wisely so they can avoid wasting their valuable time.

Biz-King Web Directory Resources is one of the best I've found in my travels. For the webmaster in a hurry it's an extremely useful resource for tracking down the best web directories to which to submit a site. At time of writing there are over 300 directories listed at Biz-King, allowing webmasters to quickly prioritise their time.

In additional to a first class directory of directories, Biz-King has a wide range of services to offer to webmasters and regular readers alike. The Biz-King Shopping Resource offers a list of over 400 excellent shopping sites. With categories ranging from clothing to toys and games to guns and ammo, the Biz-King shopping resource is an excellent directory for Christmas shopping, offering consumers a starting point for all their gift buying needs.

Biz-King doesn't just offer directories and shopping sites, either. Once Christmas has passed and readers need to get back to the business of doing business there is a fantastic directory of general business sites. The Biz-King Business Resources page offers over 400 listings for business sites engaged in real estate, marketing, education, employment and several dozen other categories. Not only is this page an excellent resource for folks looking for business services, but it's also an excellent venue for webmasters to advertise their own services. The directory keeps growing with each passing day, offering more and more services as time goes on. In time, Biz-King could quite easily become a contender for the crown of Best Directory. Keep up the good work, guys.

Here's yet another directory - but this time, one with a little difference. e-Topic is an free article directory designed to store the work of web writers such as myself. Webmasters and professional writers pen articles on a vast range of subject and submit them to sites such as e-Topic.

Here's how it works. You submit articles for free and get free content on your website. When webmasters use the content you have submitted they include a backlink to your site. When you take the work of other webmasters you return the favour. Simple.

As well as being a free article directory, e-Topic aso includes a top class searchable, human edited web directory with categories including business and finance, entertainment, education and health. The directory also offers paid and featured listings for greater exposure, and the sites in the directory are family friendly and spam free.

As if that wasn't enough there is a great webmasters forum thrown into the mix, allowing webmasters to get together and chew the fat on whatever web promotion and SEO topics they like. Great site.

Website templates are essential to creating attractive, yet affordable web designs. Templates Factory offers the finest in web templates and website templates for individuals or businesses looking to take a website to the next level.

With a large range of professional quality design products, Templates Factory has a solution for all website development needs. Obtaining an expert grade template will offer not only tremendous monetary savings, but a great deal of time saved as well. The templates are simple to customize and adapt.

Personally, I've never adapted the templates of any of my sites further than the ones offered by the blog hosts themselves, and it shows. None of the 6 or so sites I own look good. By investing a little money in a nice layout (like this one) you can create a space that readers want to return to. After all, given the choice between visiting a friend who lives in a mansion and a friend who lives in a one room bedsit, which would you choose? Websites work on the same principal, brother.

Here's another couple of New York pics to alleviate the tedium.

The NBC Studio - obviously. As seen on the titles to 30 Rock.

Some Avenue or other, selectively colourised.

Once again, a little more about directories. There really are directories for everything under the sun. I spoke yesterday about a friend of mine who sold his house online. Well, here's a directory site devoted to helping homeowners track down real estate professionals online - advertising, marketing US mortgage brokers. By clicking through to the site you can search for mortgage brokers located in every US state - making the process of getting a mortgage much simpler.

Here's another: thebest25sites.com, a site that allows webmasters to add text link advertising - submit URL to the best category to suit your site and you can get listed quickly. The site offers a vast range of categories, with everything from consumer electronics to education. Cool site.

Yet another directory in the same vein allows webmasters to engage in a little SEO promotion - buy one way text links to their site, boost exposure and page rank without having to add a reciprocal link. As most webmasters believe, one way links are much more powerful than reciprocal links. By adding a simple one way link to the directory a webmaster can shoot up the search engine rankings. With enough links they can even get to the top of the front page!

Being a web writer I'm often met with the problem of signing contracts and other documents with clients. When you work with people you never get to meet it's more important than ever to get contracts and agreements properly signed before spending time and money on a job - you'd be surprised how often web writers are stung by non-payment or get their job specs altered suddenly.

These days, I don't commit to a large job without getting a signed contract beforehand. The problem is that, what with working with a lot of people from far-flung lands, the negotiation and contract phase of any new job can last days and weeks - time that could be spent writing.

It's for that reason that the electronic signature is something of a Godsend. By integrating digital signature technology from companies such as Wondernet into applications like Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat I can get a contract set up in hours rather than days - allowing me to get on with the job as soon as possible.

The technology isn't just useful for folks who make a living from the web, either. We've all seen those tablets used by delivery companies - you sign the tablet with a little plastic stylus and your signature can be uploaded to head office. Now, imagine the savings of a global company such as FedEx by enabling a paperless office. Instead of having to print off thousands of delivery confirmations, bills of lading and countless other signed documents they can slice their printing and document storage bill to a fraction of its previous cost. The future is now, guys. Analog signatures are so 1990's.

Just a few quick notes to make before I sit down with my dinner to an episode of Planet Earth (God, do I love lazy Sundays).

Domain Link Exchange is a cracking directory for all those webmasters looking to increase exposure for their websites. With categorized sections including arts, business, shopping and many more, there is a catogory for every site under the sun. All you have to do is submit your link to your chosen category and you're done. Simple.

Another one for webmasters: DMP3Host is the top dog for Palm Beach web hosting - if you're in or around Palm Beach (or, hell, Kuala Lumpur) you could do much worse than host your site at DMP3. With solutions to suit everyone from the smallest of bloggers to the largest Fortune 500 company, you can't really go wrong with DMP3 - especially since their anti-spam and anti-virus e-mail filters ensure that you don't get anything nasty in the mail once you've set up your site.

Trespass is a weekly two hour radio show that focuses on the kind of music your parents always tried to steer you away from. Home of Ditch and Dabaldo, the show is hosted by a 22-year radio veteran and a founding member of the Grammy nominated hard rock band Saliva. You can guarantee that Otto Man is tuning in.

ReelReports.com is the hottest local fishing reports resource that is updated by the minute with fresh saltwater and freshwater fishing reports from around the globe. Professional captains, guides, and anglers come to ReelReports.com to post and read about the latest catch sorted by area and author.

Bass Fishing Reports are updated daily by lakes and river guides from around the world. With thousands of current reports in their database, you can be sure to find what you are looking for.

Each fishing report contains a detailed description of what’s biting, where, and how along with pictures. From bait used to depth of water, the fishing reports at ReelReports.com will give you an edge on catching fish. The latest reports are always posted on the home page also with just one click to your report of choice.

ReelReports.com offers RSS Feeds and Syndication for webmasters to post fishing reports on their website by captain or by area. Using one simple line of JavaScript coding, they make keeping your website fresh with reports very easy.

SwordfishingCentral.com (SFC) is the leading online resource for Fishing Reports enthusiasts from around the world. The latest fishing reports, discussion, news, and pictures from the fishing scene can always be found on SFC.

Deep sea fishing for swordfish, marlin, tuna, sailfish, and sharks are among the latest discussions on the SFC Fishing Forums. With thousands of active members, you can be sure to find the answer to your question or just a friend to talk fish stories with.

SFC also offers the latest boat reviews and tackle reviews. All reviews are unbiased, providing you with a real review. Don’t forget to check out the picture galleries with real anglers and real fish!

There's something slightly disturbing about hitting my mid twenties. It's around this time that my friends are starting to settle down and raise families, while I'm still out spending my disposable income on beer and cigarettes. There's nothing quite like my little brother having children to make me feel like I'm both 12 years old and 40 at the same time.

Still, I love the little blighters. I try to visit the little'uns whenever I can, and they're my favourite people to buy gifts for - it's a challenge, you see, to buy gifts for people who could just as easily be more interested in the box than the gift. You have to pick carefully. On the one hand the gift could be discarded among the elephant's graveyard of unused toys that litter the house of any toddler. On the other the gift could become that one toy that wins pride of place as the kid's favourite - it could even be one that is saved for years, destined to be boxed away in 10 years time and found in the attic in 20.

So, much of my Christmas shopping this year will be at Characters 'n' Toons. As I've mentioned previously I hate shopping in real life - especially around Christmas - so sites like Characters 'n' Toons are a godsend.

The site contains toys, collectibles and other merchandise for all of the most popular characters around today, from that old standard Barbie to my best friend's son's personal favourite Thomas the Tank Engine.

As an added bonus, there are even a few gifts I can buy for my adult friends. I don't know how it works elsewhere in the world, but here in England you can safely give a guy in his twenties something like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figure under the guise of irony. It's an unspoken rule that nobody mentions the fact that we still love this stuff anyway. Hell, I could do all my Christmas shopping here. Magic.

Fast Cars and Motorcycles at DragTimes.com

Dragtimes.com is a well-known automotive racing resource that maintains a database consisting of over 9,000 1/4 mile drag racing timeslips for fast cars and fast motorcycles. Each record contains dyno graphs showing actual horsepower and torque data for many of the cars as well as all modifications to the vehicle. A horsepower calculator is available to provide a horsepower estimate calculated from the car’s ET, trap speed and weight.

Thousands of pictures and hundreds of drag racing videos for many of the submissions are available to search through by car make and model. Since all submissions are reviewed to preserve the website’s integrity, DragTimes.com serves as an extraordinary resource to find out what other fast cars are running around the world. Each month one of the drag racing submissions is featured on the home page of DragTimes.com as a result of user’s voting for their favorite fast cars.

DragTimes.com has RSS feed and email notification systems to keep users informed with the newest fast cars as they come in for their favorite make and model. Syndication scripts for automotive website owners are available to present live drag racing timeslip data directly on their website with one line of HTML code.

With Christmas quickly bearing down on us like a red-suited fat man pulled by a team of rabid reindeer it's getting to the point at which we'll have to get all that annoying gift shopping out of the way before the crowds get too crazy. Of course, you could always avoid the crowds and just do your shopping online.

I've tracked down a few great sites that are perfect for buying gifts for those awkward people who always seem difficult to buy for. We all know at least one friend or relative for whom we end up buying a pair of socks for lack of a good alternative idea. It used to be impossible to find a decent gift for these awkward folk, but now we have a few options:

Coolest Gadgets' Gadget Gifts Section

Gadget Gifts is a fantastic site for knick knacks and gadgets - stocking fillers and novelty doo-dahs. There are hundreds of gadgets in three dozen categories including everything from remote control toys to iPod accessories. There's something here for everyone, so you can't go wrong.

SoftSift

SoftSift offers all the latest software news to keep you up to date with the latests PC apps and novelties. The site is a great source of information when you're buying gifts for your computer-obsessed friends and relatives. Perhaps the most interesting piece of software at the site is the Local Cooling 1.03 - an application that can tell you how many trees you save when you remember to shut down your PC when not in use. This little gizmo would be an ideal gift for your environmentally-conscious buddies.

Coolest Gadgets Kitchen Gadgets Section

But what to buy for the budding chef in your life? Simple - kitchen gadgets. When it comes to the kitchen you simply can't beat Coolest Gadgets' range of culinary gizmos. Ranging from brownie pans that make every piece a corner piece to dishwashers that are designed to clean toys, there is sure to be something in this section for every kitchen inhabitant in the land.

Since I got my driving licence 8 years ago I've been driving absolute piles of crap. My first car was a Fiat Punto that quickly fell apart as soon as I began to drive it. A dear old lady in Yorkshire sold it to me (though I'm sure that as soon as I drove from her house she pulled off her kindly mask to reveal the visage of Satan that surely lurked beneath). Everything went wrong with that car. It was beyond ridiculous.

After scrapping the Punto I borrowed a pile of money and bought myself a nice little Ford Fiesta. It's still sitting out front feeling sorry for itself after all the oil boiled away while I was on a road trip. I didn't notice the screaming noise coming from the engine until I got home, and it hasn't been the same since.

Of course, being a man I've always dreamed of the day I could buy my very own Ferrari. It's never gonna happen (I couldn't save money if my life depended on it), but a man can dream... a man can dream.

The feelings of the average man with regards to Ferraris are pretty much perfectly captured by Ferrari-cars.net:

“Wow” is the first word that comes out of anyone whenever one sees a Ferrari . However, before that reaction, the mouth remains wide open for some time.

This Ferrari site is basically automotive porn. If you suffer from high blood pressure or a heart condition you should not click through to the Ferrari Images page: your head may explode. The pictures of the Ferrari F50 alone are enough to make a grown man weep.

It's not just pretty pictures, though. Ferrari-cars.net also includes a page on Ferrari history and plenty of information about the many cars produced by the iconic marque. I'm gonna have to stop reading now. If I don't stop looking at that F50 I'm going to fall over.

Time for another couple of pictures before I sit down to a movie, I think.

L-R: Anthony, Nicola, Jamie Lad, Alexis - some bar, somewhere near the Meatpacking District, probably. Sorry, drunk again.

Times Square, selectively colourised

One of the stereotypes about the British that never seems to die is that we don't do food very well. We have no decent national dish, and anything that is known as typically English is invariably disgusting and made of some part of an animal that no sane person would ever eat - the blood, for instance.

I've always ignored these claims. I've always thought we did food pretty well, on the whole. OK, we don't have anything that can beat the mighty pizza, and I can't imagine anyone planning to eat out would ever say 'Hey, let's go for an English!'. Still, visiting a few restaurants in the US turned me around. We can't cook for shit, if the eateries of New York are to be used as a yardstick.

On my return I've become a bit of a foodie. I've never really bothered to learn how to cook beyond the basic bacon and eggs. Everything else I eat comes fresh from a tin or foil package. Now, though, I'm desperate to turn up my sleeves and get busy in the kitchen.

The problem, of course, is that I'm so bad at cooking I could burn Corn Flakes. In order to work my way up to a full-blown decent meal I'll have to take some cues from the Internet. Fortunately, this here web is more than up to the task of turning me from a culinary dunce into a diamond (see what I did there? That's alliteration. Take that, high school English teachers. Never amount to anything, my ass).

The best site I've found so far to help transform me into a chef is TheFiveStarChef.com, a nice looking site packed with recipes, tips and tricks designed to whip folks like me into shape. The site is built around what is basically a food-based search engine - you pick a category of nosh and the engine hunts down relevant information. Perfect for when you need a quick recipe.

In addition to the recipe search, TheFiveStarChef also contains an excellent food-related article service - a section that finds the best food-related articles from around the Internet and presents them to the reader in a single place. These articles offer great ideas for recipes, tips on how to use food and drink to maintain your health and even the latest food-related news from the media.

Where the site really comes into its own, though, is in the forum. The FiveStarChef food forum offers cooking enthusiasts the opportunity to chat with kindred spirits, exchanging their favourite recipes or just chewing the fat (buh-dum, tssss... Thank you - I'm here all week).

So, if you're a dedicated foodie or just a little peckish, TheFiveStarChef should be your last stop before cooking up a storm in the kitchen.

In the couple of weeks since I returned from the US I have gone absolutely Google Earth mental. Seriously, I must have spent an hour a day on the application since I got back, floating through the 3D model of New York and visiting some old haunts in Australia and various other locations I've landed on my travels.

What surprised me was the level of detail Google have achieved in the year or so since I last used it. When I had the app loaded on my old desktop the detail of Melbourne in Australia was awful. It didn't even have decent resolution for St Kilda, the suburb I lived in for a while just a few miles from the CBD (and the home of the Melbourne Grand Prix at Albert Park). After a year away I find everywhere I look is accurate down to the tiniest detail - even my own home town in the sticks a dozen or so miles from Manchester in the UK. I can even see my car parked on the street in front of my house. Amazing.

If you have yet to experience the wonders of this application you can get the Google Earth download from Earth11. Bear in mind that you can download Google Earth for free. If anyone tries to charge you to download the basic package you should laugh heartily in their face. Then punch them. Or something.

Back when I had Google Earth on my old desktop I didn't really understand how to get the most out of it. I'd basically browse around the globe for a few minutes before getting bored and shutting it down. Now I've discovered some of the additional features I've found a whole raft of things to do apart from simply zooming into towns and cities. When you download the app you should make sure to take a look at a few Google Earth videos - the tutorials that will teach you how to use the advanced features that push the app from a simple curiosity to a life-consuming obsession. You can learn a range of tips and tricks involving overlays, placemaps and so on. Trust me - investing a few minutes into learning how to really use the app is well worth the effort.

After espousing the consumer benefits of web directories, it's interesting to come at the subject from another perspective - that of the webmaster.

The reason web directories evolved, I think, was not to provide information for the reader. That much was just a happy accident. No, many would argue that the primary reason for the existence of web directories is simply to allow webmasters to gain new backlinks pointing towards their site. Directories help the owners of new sites get a foothold on the search engines, allowing engines such as Google and Yahoo to find and index them, and they help established sites boost and secure their rankings.

What's interesting is the way in which web directories work together to maintain their own strength. Most webmasters agree that the more outgoing links there are on a site the weaker the effect of those links will be on the recipient. Since most directories contain hundreds - and often thousands - of outgoing links it's vital that the owners work constantly to maintain and boost their own page rank and link strength in order to continue attracting webmasters.

That's why directories such as DeluxeDir.com, the Deluxe Web Directory, list directories within themselves - that is, a directory of directories. By supporting each other with links these directories build a solid base by which to ensure their page rank.

Perhaps the most impressive feature of the site is the DeluxeDir.com Link Campaign page. For many directories there is little evidence that a link will result in any great benefit. At DeluxeDir, however, the details of incoming links are logged for all to see - the number of PR7 links pointing towards the site, the number of forum signature links from webmaster and other forums, and the number of links coming in from other directories. By tracking these figures it's possible to roughly gauge the strength of a link from DeluxeDir, giving webmasters a powerful tool in deciding where to invest their time. Top notch idea, guys.

As I mentioned earlier, web directories are fantastic resources for tracking down information on the Internet. You see, Google results are organised not by the quality of the information on the sites but by the skill of the webmaster at optimising his or her site to ensure that Google will deem it worthy of a spot on the front page. While Google's system usually works to some degree it isn't always ideal when you're looking for specific information - and a dozen useless sites have managed to crowd out the info you need by dint of a masterly SEO campaign.

Directories, however (such as the Dirmoz Web Directory), care not for Google. Their results don't depend on optimised keywords, manipulated meta tags and so forth. Instead they are simply categorised repositories of useful, relevant websites. That's the way the Internet should work, don't you think?

Here's an example for you. Let's say you want to track down a list of web hosting providers. Your first port of call would probably be a search engine such as Google. Unfortunately, if you type in 'Web Hosting' into a search engine the results will reflect only which provider spent the most money on site promotion - not which provider offers the best service or the most reasonable rates.

Fortunately, the Internet section of the Dirmoz web directory can offer that information. Rather than spitting out a list of the hosting providers who shelled out the most cash, Dirmoz presents a simple list of every provider who has submitted their site to the directory - allowing you to browse through them at your leisure and pick out a provider based on facts, not marketing dollars.

Perhaps more useful for the everyday Internet user would be the computer directory section. With categories displaying sites involved with software, peripherals, security, multimedia and many others, the computer directory section of the Dirmoz web directory offers users a simple, convenient list of service providers that allows readers to browse through - in my opinion, much more effective than the keyword Hell of your average search engine results.

In short, directories allow readers to make up their own minds. Instead of battling for search engine placement by investing in promotion rather than good service, directory sites offer users an unbiased, simple presentation of the websites they need - these sites will be judged purely on quality, and not on search engine optimisation.

Growing up in the UK barely 50 miles from Liverpool I've always been a huge fan of the Beatles. There's probably an old unrepealed law that states that every home in the north of England must contain at least one copy of The White Album on vinyl. I know there are at least three here at Taylor Towers, along with dozens of other original vinyl albums, 'Best-of' CDs, home-recorded cassettes and downloaded tracks. They truly were the gods of British music.

On my Internet travels I've come across a great Beatles Blog written by a fellow die-hard fan. What makes the blog so interesting is that it is based on a day-by-day update of the movements of the band - beginning on February 9th, 1961 when the Beatles made their debut at the famous Cavern Club in Liverpool. Every day brings a new real-time entry - sort of like '24', only with a Scouse band and with slightly less gunfire (though still, tragically, some).

On top of that great concept is a raft of fascinating Beatles information, ranging from modern day news of Beatles memorabilia auctions to stories from way back that we young folk missed out on the first time. If you've ever wanted to know more about the Beatles you can't go wrong with this site.

Personally, I've always been fascinated by John Lennon. While his politics never failed to annoy me (I don't know why - he just rubbed me up the wrong way), there is no denying that he was one of the most naturally gifted musicians of the 20th century. The man could write a song. On my recent trip to New York I passed the Dakota, the apartment building on West 72nd Street where he was killed. I was on a bus at the time, but I managed to grab a blurry picture of the spot. I returned later to visit the Dakota and Lennon's memorial in Central Park properly, but inexplicably there were around 38,000 people running through the city getting in my way. I later learned this phenomenon was something they call a marathon. Seems like a waste of time, when the taxi service in New York is so reasonably priced.

The Dakota apartment building, West 72nd Street, NY

Something that always used to amaze me was those little subscription cards that drop out of magazines. Wait, scratch that. I shouldn't say 'amazed', as it makes me sound simple. I suppose I was intrigued. Yeah, that's a smarter word. I was intrigued by the way that my copy of the US edition of FHM Magazine could cost about $6 (or whatever it costs these days - I haven't bought one from the news stand in a while), while a 12-month subscription could cost less than $10. It amazed me that the profit margin of the retailer could account for so much - based on those figures, buying FHM from the news stand would cost 720% of the subscription price over a year.

Anyway. I used to throw away those little cards (they are, after all, very annoying). As I've already mentioned several hundred times I'm a lazy shopper. I'll gladly fork over too much money rather than go to the effort of filling out and mailing a subscription card. It makes little sense, but that's just the kind of guy I am. Lazy to a fault, and my bank manager agrees.

This state of affairs remained until the Internet got in on the game of magazine subscriptions. Sites such as Subscriba.com now offer the same ridiculously low prices without the chore of filling out a subscription card. Even better, there's no trip to the mailbox. Joy of joys!

So, these days I get my discount magazine subscriptions online and save hundreds of dollars each year on the various high-brow scientific and industry journals I devour (by which I mean, of course, FHM, Maxim, GQ, Esquire, Newsweek, Time and New Scientist - a group of naked ladies followed by real writing, just to throw you off). The problem, of course, is that with such low prices I can't resist paying a few dollars for a subscription I only vaguely want, so I end up with dozens of unread magazines lying around the house along with a very unhappy mailman. Such is life.