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Pick the best musicians, win a prize

Leading off, Green Day. Batting second, Snoop Dogg. Batting third, Tim McGraw. And the cleanup hitter, Britney Spears.

If you think this is a weird baseball lineup, you're right. On the other hand, if I were playing in the Fantasy Music League, I'd probably be in the World Series.

This is not a joke. The object of the FML, according to the website, is to create a label that generates the most revenue, based on the world music charts. Apparently the winners share in $25,000 cash and prizes.

Living in cardboard maybe isn't so bad

Building a playhouse/fort out of a cardboard box used to be a chore enough. Now, Australian researchers and architects have created something that goes beyond that: a fully sized and usable cardboard house that can be completed in six hours by just two people.

Time to get a handle on your spam

It's difficult for me sometimes to understand why spammers do what they do. Do they really expect that the millions and millions of emails sent will provide income from the products they are selling? Do they enjoy intentionally slowing down the Internet to a relative crawl for email users? Do they have any idea why even non-watchers of Country Music Television have noticed that Shania Twain seems to be on an endless loop infomercial on that station?

Help out the survivors of the tsunami

Google has set up a simple page to allow Internet users the ability to get involved with the cleanup and rebuilding of the areas affected by the recent tsunami. There are also links to information resources, including the Tsunami help blog.

It's never too late to purchase Christmas gifts

Even though it might be after Dec. 25 by the time you read this, it is still not too late to make that last shopping run. This year, especially if you live in the Midwest, your excuse will work even better:

"I ordered your present online, and it hasn't arrived yet."

That simple sentence should give you at least an additional week to make purchases. And with the 236 inches of snow some areas have received, there's no telling when a present, even ordered after Lincoln's birthday, will appear.

From the Archive

Proper Netiquette includes reading this column

As I agonize about writing this opening paragraph,

I wonder what type of people read this column. I mean,

are they reading this while they chew gum with their

mouths wide open, are they chewing their toenails or,

worse yet, are they putting gum between their toes?

OK, I really wasn't thinking about that, I was wondering

how much Dr Pepper I could drink. But this brings up

Time to get a handle on your spam

It's difficult for me sometimes to understand why spammers do what they do. Do they really expect that the millions and millions of emails sent will provide income from the products they are selling? Do they enjoy intentionally slowing down the Internet to a relative crawl for email users? Do they have any idea why even non-watchers of Country Music Television have noticed that Shania Twain seems to be on an endless loop infomercial on that station?

Cents or dollars? For Verizon, they are the same

I have had Verizon service for almost two years. I guess I would classify myself as being a little less than satisfied with the product. I had to switch phones four times, and I've spoken with the company's reps more than 10 times regarding my service. While nothing was ever completely solved, the reps always attempted to help me, which gave me a little satisfaction in knowing they were at least trying.

But after the recent Verizon debacle regarding an erroneous rate charge, I have to consider questioning what is occurring at the phone super giant.

Get it for free or give it away at Freecycle

Today, I'm continuing to help clean out my dad's house. It is interesting to see all of the board games and random items I used to have 15 years ago, but in reality, there are a fair amount of things that I don't need anymore. On top of that, there objects that I'm not even positive I'll ever have a need for again, other than to take up space in my basement. And besides books and dust, I really don't like to collect things at my house.

Get control of your clutter, well, at least some of it

If you are one of those people who have trouble of digging out of messy areas (and you aren't in the construction business), you may want to check out FlyLady.net. The site is dedicated to helping people learn new cleaning habits and generally ridding themselves of clutter.

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