Everyone has websites that they go to everyday, no matter what is going on in their life...the websites they have to check, have to learn from, have to enjoy. These four have been my recent additions, and I know someone out there will get as much use from them as I have.
Monkey See's concept is simple...experts upload tutorial videos and "Monkey do, Monkey do." Their tagline is "watch how the experts do it." The site is definitely still young...it launched last January...but they already have an unreal amount of how-to videos.
This website has proved unbelievably useful to me lately. I actually did what most people consider impossible in the last three days...I learned how to solve a Rubik's Cube. I still have to go back a couple times a day when I get stuck to watch one of Bob Burton's videos again, but I can honestly solve the whole thing myself from watching his videos.
Through the tutorials on the site, you can learn card games, how to play darts, how to cook, do your finances...pretty much anything you want to do.
I love this site. A college kid claims to have written most of the code in a drunken stupor one night, and originally used it so he and his buddies could bet on sports for fun and talk trash to each other.
Now, when people sign up they are given $.10 to bet with...paid for by advertisements on the site, free to you and me. You can bet on almost any sport you want, with absolutely no money out of your pocket.
The greatest part? If you do well, and turn that $.10 into $10, you have the opportunity to cash out your money through paypal or a check sent to your house, or you can keep going and try to earn more. The top balance when I last checked was almost $300.
If you lose a lot, like me, you are continually given a new $.10 to bet with. No risk, no hassle betting, awesome site.
This is one of my favorite blog writers of all time. I lost track of him probably a year ago when he had to change domain names, and just found it again the other day. I've been reading through the site non-stop to make up for lost time.
Most of his posts are about his incredibly, hilariously messed up child hood. Click "archives" at the top, and start with some of the older posts to get a feel for his style. I promise you'll get hooked.
About a month ago I realized that my girlfriend's 15 year old sister has read more classic books than I have. I decided that this needed to change, and set out on the internet looking for a free, convenient way to read a lot of books.
DailyLit.com doesn't have every book that I could think of, but it has enough to keep me busy for a long, long time. The best part about it, besides the fact that the books are free, is that it sends you installments of the book in intervals. You can get read the whole book in one day, or have it send you a piece a day for 250 days for the really busy people.
Just check your email or RSS reader for your installment, and read just the one installment or the entire book right then. Its a very, very useful site for people that want to catch up on some reading.
Hopefully you'll find these four sites as useful and entertaining as I have. Whether you've decided to hit the books or pick up a new hobby, I hope you've found something!
