Every so often I find websites that are fairly similar to one another but all are worth mentioning in their own right. This gives me a few options of how to handle it when blogging about them. I could either:

• Write an individual post about each site, even if they’re only slightly different
• Create a post which includes all the sites, but has less details than a regular post
• Pick one good site and ignore the rest
• Pick one good site and link to any similar
• Don’t blog about websites like that

I’ve decided that my best course of action is the 2nd so they all get a fair mention, but the post is less indepth about any in particular.

This new feature won’t happen every day, but I expect to post it every so often. Quick Picks sounds like a catchy title to go with for the series, and the first one should be later on in the week. I hope you all enjoy it!

On a side note: even if a website is included in quick picks it doesn’t mean it won’t ever be mentioned separately.

Click to visit: W W W . B O R E D . C O M

The internet is great for many things, especially alleviating boredom. We’ve all felt the need to be entertained while we’re procrastinating or waiting for another website to load and that is where today’s entry makes its appearance!

As it’s a Friday I wanted to go for something a little lighter to get through the rest of the working day or the weekend with and Bored.com ticks all the right boxes. It has a huge selection of pages to browse through which makes it a difficult site to review – where exactly do I start? One thing is for sure - there is enough content on bored.com to take anyones boredom away!

The website has all different kinds of areas that mostly contain quick to view pages for short bursts of fun. It’s very easy to navigate in that there are several sections (games, music, quizzes & trivia, etc.) and once you’ve picked one to look at you’re greeted with a page full of links with a sentence describing what you’re about to see.

Want to read about internet hoaxes? How about have access to thousands of free ebooks? What about a list that tells you specifically what to do when you’re bored? Maybe you’d like to find out how to win small cash prizes? All the things I’ve mentioned and far much more are available on the site. Some pages are linked to a bored.com page or partner site, while others are just links to other websites that have something entertaining to offer its visitors.

Unfortunately the website does have a downside that I feel I must mention. Banner ads are one thing, but this site also has plenty of pop-ups too. If you have a good pop-up blocker or won’t be too annoyed by them, I’d definitely say you should spend a while on the site and have a look around.

In case you didn’t know, it’s High Five Day! I felt I’d be missing a golden opportunity if I didn’t bring this yearly event up today so give yourself a high five and enjoy the websites I’ll be giving attention to.

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Click to visit: W W W . N A T I O N A L H I G H F I V E D A Y . C O M

As the website starts off by saying, National High Five Day (NH5D) occurs the third Thursday of April every year which, this year at least, lands on the 17th. The continues by explaining how the high five came to exist, when NH5D started, what you can do to take part, and the people behind this spirited celebration.

The highlight of this site are the links to various multimedia including;

• NH5D documentary
• Videos showing “intense” high fives
• A comic promoting NH5D
• A list of songs that make up the soundtrack for each year’s NH5D

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Click to visit: W W W . H I G H F I V E . M E . U K

This website is what first showed me the wonders of National High Five Day. It pains me to admit that I didn’t even know that such a thing existed!

highfive.me.uk is a wonderful high five resource website. There’s a blog with the latest news, links to the creators’ social networking pages, a database of high fives in the media, miscellaneous information about our favourite hand to hand gesture (such as the history, culture and science), an extensive collection of pictures, and the types of high fives available… and that’s just for starters!

As if all that wasn’t enough the website also have lots of fun activities for all the family to use such as computer wallpapers, a jigsaw puzzle, a widget that counts down to NH5D and a browser toolbar for all your searching requirements.

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I hope you enjoyed today’s websites and they made you want to high five someone you care about. However, if you’re reading this post a little on the late side, then there’s no need to feel left out… Consider this virtual high five from me!

Special thanks to highfive.me.uk that supplied that image (which, incidentally, was what I was looking for online when I found the website!).

This recommendation of mine lists two separate websites, however, the subject is related and they are owned and run by the same person.

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Click to visit: W W W . E M A I L A D D R E S S E S . C O M

Whether you’re new to the internet or feel like the email provider you use doesn’t give you quite what you want, eventually you may need to look elsewhere. But where to begin… My personal recommendation is Email Addresses!

It’s very easy to find what kind of email service you’re looking for as each are separated into type such as free, paid, POP, IMAP or web based with a handy guide as to what all those terms mean. When you’ve decided on what kind of email address you’d like then you will be greeted with a list in alphabetical order making it a cinch to remember what you were last looking at.

All email addresses on the website have a short summary with a list of some of the best features they have to offer so it’s great for at-a-glance comparisons. The site also lists some handy email or web hosting services (such as reminder alerts and file storage) as well as informative articles and the latest updates regarding various hosts.

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Click to visit: W W W . E M A I L D I S C U S S I O N S . C O M

Email Discussions is the sister site to Email Addresses. It is a place to join with others to write and ask questions about various email providers. The users are very knowledgeable about the subjects at hand and I’ve found there is always someone that can answer an email query in a timely and friendly manner.

Those that have Fastmail, Runbox or Gmail as a provider may find their specific forums of interest but for anyone who doesn’t there are still other sections for questions, advice and email-related updates (such as if a service is shutting down or if they’ll be expanding features).

All in all I’ve been a member of the forums for many years and both websites together helped me to decide what email provider to go with when the one I was with wasn’t giving me what I needed. If you’re new to the internet I’d say its a must have, but there are also plenty of reasons why an online veteran would want to check out the sites too.

Click to visit: W W W . F R E E R I C E . C O M

FreeRice is a simple browser game that involves matching a word with another one of the same meaning – the lower the level the easier the question is. Every three consecutive correct answers you give you go up a level, but for every one question you get wrong you’ll drop a level. It’s surprisingly addictive because, if you’re anything like me, you’ll want to get just one more right… and another, and another…

The benefit is that it only takes a few days of playing to extend your vocabulary so it’s a perfect game for children and adults alike. It soon learns what vocabulary level you should be at by how you answer the first few questions and defines the level based around that. For the less or more adventurous the options available allow you to start at a much lower or higher level should that be preferred.

However, there is another benefit to this game that I’ve yet to mention. Every question you get right not only boosts your self-esteem and level, but (thanks to the UN World Food Program) it also donates 20 grains of rice to the people that need it the most due to the banner ads that are displayed every time the screen refreshes for the next question. From the WFP website:

Clicks on the FreeRice vocabulary game have already translated into WFP food rations for over 20,000 refugees from Myanmar who are sheltering in Bangladesh. Pregnant women in Cambodia, schoolchildren in Uganda and Bhutanese refugees in Nepal are also receiving rice thanks to the award-winning site.

Perhaps that is the addictive appeal of such a game. You slowly watch the grains of rice you’ve donated add up little by little until your total is 100, then 1,000, and then, my personal best in one day, 10,000. However satisfied you feel for doing so well academically, it is nothing compared to the joy of knowing that you helped by giving a little of your time.

If you like word games, want to better your English, or simply want to help someone in need, this website is for you.