it's a name game

since the u.s. hit that 300,000,000 people mark, i thought this site was appropriate. all you have to do is type in your first and last name. they then give you a breakdown of how many people have that same name - both first, last, and full name - in the united states.

unfortunately, they show zero for many names - my last name included. they say these are rare names and, in fact, my last name is not common. but i know of relatives with the same last name, so i know that it's not true when they say zero people have the same name. at least i know there are 323,966 people with the same first name :)

how many of me?

haunted houses

real haunts

just in time for halloween.... this site gives you a breakdown, by state, of real haunted places. they also have a few "spooky" ghost stories. if you're in to this kind of stuff, you must check it out. they also take submissions if you know of some place that's haunted.

how stuff works

ever wonder how stuff works? electronic stuff or science stuff? you might be able to find out about that kind of "stuff" anywhere on the internet. but at howstuffworks.com, they explain a lot more. just browsing for 15 minutes, i found out how gossip works, how conspiracy theories work, how paypal works, how climbing mt. everest works, and the list goes on. if you're interested in how stuff works, you could spend a lot of time on this site.

how stuff works

southpark characters

southpark studios

create your own southpark characters. choose the different elements to make your character all your own. easy to use but no way to save the picture. i copied my screen and cropped it down. still, if you're a southpark fan, this is a must.

song tapper

song tapper

nothing i find anymore on the internet should surprise me. instead, i should just be amazed at the things that people think up and are able to execute. here's a good example of that. on this site you can tap out a tune using the spacebar on your keyboard. they then give you a list of songs that it could be. if your song is there (mine wasn't - and it was jingle bells) you can listen to it on itunes or napster. the site does require macromedia flash player 6.0

let's say thanks

let's say thanks

what a neat site. here you can pick from 30 different postcards designed by children and then pick a pre-made thank you message or write one of your own. they then print the message on the designated post card and mail it off to someone serviing in the war.

there's other neat stuff on the site, like hearing back from the troops. this is super easy to do and i'm sure it's great encouragement for our service men and women. please go send a card.

pandora

CAN YOU HELP ME DISCOVER MORE MUSIC THAT I'LL LIKE?

that's the question that started pandora. this site allows you to create your own radio station, of sorts. you start by selecting an artist and they'll start feeding you similar songs and artists for you to approve, or not, for your "radio." there are a few things you can do from there.

it seems like a good way to expose yourself to new music. and it looks like you can place a "radio" on a personal site or blog, but i was either unable to figure that out correctly or it wasn't working right. worth taking a look at.

pandora

just yell fire

EMPOWERING GIRLS TO PROTECT THEMSELVES

just yell fire is not only a web site but a movie and a method for girls to protect themselves from predators. in what some describe as the coolest high school project ever, two high school girls from portland set out to show girls how they can fight back in a date-rape or predator situation. it started out as a script but then turned into a 45 minute movie giving 10 strategies that cannot be easily forgotten by anyone. a lot of people and organizations were eager to jump on board to help with this project. two stars from the hit tv show LOST believed in it so much that they have cameos in the film. the debut of the film is today, sept. 28th but will be available FREE, in the form of a download or dvd, to anyone interested.

just yell fire

facebook

BIG NEWS!! facebook, a social networking site previously only available to college students (you had to have a school e-mail address), is now open to everybody and anybody. i don't think the college student bodies are going to be too happy about this. not only has facebook opened themselves up to anyone who wants an account, but news is that they are up for sale. they want to compete with myspace. good luck!

facebook

critique my blog

have a blog? want someone to critique it? that's what billy mac does over at critique my blog. i had already planned to showcase his site in today's post when i went over and found that he had just critiqued my blog - the one you are reading right now. this is what he had to say:

Lots to do and see on the world wide web...which is exactly what susnshine explores in this blog...reviewing blogs, websites, and much more...worth a look!

thanks billy. i appreciate it. i would recommend this site for two reasons. one) it's a great way to give your blog some exposure and have it critiqued by someone who must read lots of blogs, and 2) his site is like a small catalog of blogs where he gives you a description of each one. you pick the ones that sound interesting to you to read.

sign generator

sign generator

boy, you get a lot with this post... and with this website. they give you 79 different generators plus a link to another site with many more. those who are clever with words will love these generators.

cockroach brooch

i don't think i've had a post about something you can buy on-line (okay, maybe one). but this one is just strange and weird, so i had to let you know about it.

black chandalier sells what they call a giant madagascar hissing cockroach brooch. the thing is... they are LIVE cockroaches. they come on a little leash attached to the part of the brooch that's pinned to your clothing. that way they can move around a bit. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!? i'm having a hard time. but you can go check it out for yourself. the site also gives you instructions on how to take care of the little critters.

squidoo

squidoo

the internet is always evolving and here's something new and different. suidoo gives the common man the opportunity to share his/her expertise with the rest of the world... or atleast the cyber world. anyone can create a "lens," which is basically their own page, where they can write what they want to share on a specific topic. it's fun to browse thru the differents lenses and if you think you have something you want to share... here's your chance.

everybody's golf club

here's another one that's hard to explain. a video takes you thru 9 crazy holes of golf where you have to guess the answers to silly scenarios. scenarios such as how far can the golfer hit a head of lettuce or how many tries will it take for the golfer to hit the ball thru a basketball hoop. your score is dependent on how well you guess.

everybody's golf club

postsecret

P O S T S E C R E T

i actually found this little gem of a web site a long time ago and you probably already know about it. postsecredt is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard. postsecret has become so popular that they have published a book and have had a show where they displayed all the collected postcards. they publish new secrets every sunday.

postsecret

comic relief

comic relief

i'm a big believer in "laughter as the best medicine." research has shown that laughter provides a way for stressful emotions to be harmlessly released from the body. so try to laugh more and laugh often. this site has some funny jokes and stories. i found myself laughing out loud while i browsed thru the site.

do a good deed

my good deed

it's not too late. even tho 9/11 is only 2 days away, you can still come up with some kind of good deed to perform in honor of the victims, heroes, and volunteers of 9/11 and then pledge to do that deed by going to this site.

i'm hoping the site then does a follow-up and posts all the different deeds done that day.

our story is YOUR story

our story

our story is really a site for YOUR story... a place where you can capture your stories, memories, photos, videos, and more on a chronological timeline of your life. you can then share it with your family or friends or keep it entirely or partially private.

i have an account (which is free) and have been writing little snipets from my life whenever i think of something or i feel like writing about some event in my life. i'm thinking that i might have most of my life story told by the time i have grandkids. what a great thing to pass on in your family.

9-11 remembrance

9-11 remembrance

as we approach the 5 year anniversary of 9-11, we enter into a time of reflection and remembrance of that infamous day. this site has done a wonderful job of putting together inspirational stories from those who were part of the tragedy of that day.

fun soundboard

okay... i'm not sure how you would use this site, but i liked it anyways cuz i'm a super mario brothers fan.

as far as i can tell, it's just a sound collection of all the sounds you hear on the original game. maybe you can somehow transfer the sounds to your computer and use them in a variety of ways. i just don't know how to do that yet. but i'll go back and try to figure it out.

super mario bros soundboard