More Useful Spots on the Web--Plus Goofy Sites

I'm not done giving you a tour of some of the cool sites I recently discovered. This seek I've got a spot for you to bid on unclaimed stolen items, a place to compare shipping rates, a few new ways to communicate, and more than enough goofy sites you can use while ignoring your upcoming deadlines.

When I was a teenager, I'd go to police auctions, looking for bicycles that I could use for spare parts. I haven't been to one in years... and wouldn't you know, I can now do it online.

PropertyRoom.com is an auction site specializing in items that were stolen and never claimed. Bid on jewelry, electronics, bikes, tools, and a host of other stolen property. The site, run by a former detective, cops its inventory from police property rooms across the country.

Are you going to get a bargain? It's hard to say; just as with eBay, you have to do your due diligence and pay attention to bidding. For example, when I looked, a portable stove, the kind you take on a camping trip, had a current bid of $24. I saw the same stove at Harbor Freight on sale for $20.

Do you need a thesaurus that's sure to impress your Luddite friends? Try Visuwords, a weird but accurate and useful online word-finding tool. The word you've filled into the field appears and other, related words spring up from out of nowhere.

Instant messaging is a valuable tool and one I use fairly often. Instead of downloading and installing an IM program like Trillian, you might try Meebo, a Web-based service. You get access to all the majors--AIM, Jabber, Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk, and MSN--all from one screen.

Whenever I ship a package, I struggle with finding the best deal. I go through the steps and fill out the forms on FedEx, UPS, and the U.S. Postal Service's site. Just recently I've added RedRoller to my list. The free service compares shipping rates for the USPS, DHL, Overnite Express, and Eastern Connection.

The Transportation Security Administration has a blog now, Evolution in Security. It's our chance to let off a little steam (oh, and I have plenty) and see how TSA bloggers respond to typical issues, such as shoes, liquids, and my favorite, the annoying inconsistencies at different airports.

I'm traveling next month and just realized I have yet another hassle to contend with. Did you know the TSA has limited the number of lithium batteries you can carry onboard the plane?

We posted a story on the issue in December; you can read the official TSA rules in "Safe Travel With Batteries and Devices" and on SafeTravel.dot.gov.

BTW, if you're traveling out of the country, you might also want to read "Five Things to Know About U.S. Border Laptop Searches," a piece that talks about warrantless searches of laptops and other electronic devices at U.S. borders. Swell.

I'm long in the "Dig This" department, and from the responses I usually get when you read these, I'm pretty sure you enjoy them. So dig in...

Canon's new Canon 1200/5.6L USM lens. Only $99,000. I want one.

Nose Job is a funny video. I mean, the gag is good, but what they're selling with it makes absolutely no sense.

My cousin Judy sent me this earthquake quiz. It helps determine if you know what to do in an earthquake. I dunno, I thought heading under the desk with someone you like was a good plan.

In my hippie days, the radical seventies, I owned a VW bus. At the start of a road trip, I'd wrap a hamburger in aluminum foil and throw it into the engine compartment. By noon, lunch would be ready. (I tossed wet sneakers there, too, but not while the burgers were cooking.) Technology has made that technique obsolete; witness the Exhaustburger. (Sure, it's probably Photoshopped, but I'll bet it'd work.)

I'm a sucker for creative Web sites and Fred & Friends is just blowing me away. The site has hundreds of weird, useless, and intriguing products for sale. You browse through the product line as you would a paper catalog--turn a page by grabbing the corner. (You can also click the right or left arrow; it's quicker and easier if you use a touchpad.) Double-click a picture to enlarge it; drag and drop to move; and double-click again to reduce the size. In the lower-right corner, click on the cluster of squares to see all the pages; the Exit button is on the upper right. For the left panel, you can add bookmarks, search, and pop up a contents menu. Too bad more Web sites don't try this style.

I spent way too long playing around with the Uniqlo_Grid. Once you're on the playing field, draw a circle, slice a box, move a square. If you're lucky, someone in another country will be doing the same thing with other colored boxes. Make sure to click on the Information box in the right corner and then click on one of the images near the bottom of the page.

Brad from Atlanta says the Non-Line-of-Sight Cannon Challenge is one of the best games he's tried. It's great fun, especially if you turn the sound way up.

Steve Bass writes PC World's monthly "Hassle-Free PC" column and is the author of "PC Annoyances, 2nd Edition: How to Fix the Most Annoying Things About Your Personal Computer," available from O'Reilly. He also writes PC World's daily Tips & Tweaks blog. Sign up to have Steve's newsletter e-mailed to you each week. Comments or questions? Send Steve e-mail.