Gardening

Shoot is a good looking site that aims to help people who are reasonably new to gardening. It is UK-based but has tons of information on improving your gardening skills.

Check out www.shootgardening.co.uk
It has all the basic stuff but also shows some interesting lateral thinking in that it also has a piece on how to keep fit when you are gardening.

The inspirational gardens section makes a fascinating read even if you are not a gardener, with pictures and ideas on how to make your green space even greener.

There are regularly updated hints and tips on the site and if you register they will email you specific information on how to look after your garden.

All of this is free but if you are a UK gardener and want to pay money you can and they will send you even more information. This is a great place to go if you are interested in plants but I suggest you stay away if you only have a window box

DELETE THAT FILE

Sometimes when you try to delete a file, windows will refuse to delete it, saying it can`t because some other program is using it or because the file is locked, or some other excuse. I found a good freeware utility on the web that can delete these awkward files. Its called FILE ASSASSIN and it can be downloaded from www.malwarebytes.org I use the portable version and carry t around on a USB drive.

The Weather Pixie

www.weatherpixie.com is the best named site I have seen in ages It grabs weather data from around the world and feeds it into a little cartoon character.

You point to the part of the world where you want to see the weather from, pick a character and then the character automatically dresses according to the temperature of the place you are looking at.

A feature I love is the world weather selector. You click on a map of the world and it tells you to what the weather and time is there - perfect for just browsing the world on a rainy day.

There is code you can use to embed your weather pixie on your site if you wish and if you feel so inclined you can even have the character sitting on your desktop - you have to switch active desktop on and the instructions on how to do that are on the site. It may not be too ground breaking but it is fun!

Name That Tune

Theres nothing more frustrating than having a tune in your head and not knowing who sang it then check out www.midomi.com , you can plug a microphone into your computer and hum the tune and the site will search its database to find your elusive track.

Overheard in the UK

People say some stupid things, and none more so than the great british public. Chek out some of the bizarre or plain silly things people have said at www.overheardintheuk.com Whether its someone overhearing a daft comment or something someone else has said.

What Are You Worth

Its not unusual to feel a little undervalued from time to time, whether its because your friends didn’t bother to invite you along on a night out or you didn’t get a response you expected from a great piece of work you have created. So to potentially cheer yourself up, find out exactly how much you’re really worth at www.humanforsale.com Answer the questions honestly and hopefully you’ll get the value you were hoping for

Unable to open file!!!!

www.fileinfo.net is a site that is a little more technical but very helpful for those of you stuck with files on your computer that you cannot identify.

It is a resource that lists the last three letters of a file - known as a file extension - and explains what they are, or do.

So if someone sends you a file with an extension you do not recognise you type it into this site and it will give you a chance to find out what software you need to use or play it.

There is a very useful page explaining the different formats used by MP3 players and what software will play them.

Getting Crafty

If DIY and craft projects are your thing then www.instructables.com is the site for you. It is full of instructions on how to make and do things, from crafting a case to carry your MP3 players in to making toffee sauce. And best of all there’s a “how-to” section that you can turn into every eventuality.

LAND OF QUOTES

If you’re curious about reincarnation and wonder if you’ve been suppressing memories of previous libes, then look at www.thebigview.com/pastlife . Simply enter your date of birth and the site offers an insight to who you were before your current incarnation. You’ll get a rough date and area of birth, details of your aims in life and the kind of work you did and why you were brought back to this mortal coil.

The Movie

Now, if you are the kind of person who cannot resist shouting out "the butler did it!" at moviegoers outside a theatre, then this site will be right up your street.

www.themoviespoiler.com gives you a brief synopses for a fair few major Hollywood releases. The home page has the most recent additions, and there are dozens more to explore in the archive, which, in addition to proving useful for those with a mean streak, could be genuinely handy if you have come out of a film thinking "Eh? Didn't quite follow that!"

Top 20

Starting on 16th April at 11pm we will count down a retro top 20 and ask you to identify the year and the month and if you are very clever then maybe you know what the number one song was.

Heres where you get your chance to re-live those great years of musical memories and you are invited to email me your favorite memorable month and year and listen out at 11pm Monday-Thursdays as we count down the top 20 singles from the year you chose.

Email your chosen date together with your name and any other comments to bill@abbeyfm.co.uk
or call 01229 808 222 and leave your details on my voicebank

Webcams

If the internet is a gateway to the world, then webcams are the windows of the world - allowing you to glimpse the everyday happenings in the most remote locations, all from the comfort of your computer.

www.earthcam.com is a site that celebrates the webcam craze, gathering together links to some of the best and most interesting feeds the world over - all just a click or two away.

The site itself is relatively basic in design, laid out magazine style with various lists and sections clickable from the opening page.

But as most webcam feeds are found buried away in obscure sections of their host website, EarthCam does a great job of just placing them all within reach after just a click or two of your mouse.

Check out the Top 10 section, which apparently changes quite often. You will find street scenes and beach scenes, and even some small furry animals.

Love of Food

Wet your appetite with this revamped website whos upgraded search engine lets you find recipes, places to eat and Britains best local and regional food shops. Take a look at www.foodloversbritain.com. The recipe search is very clever letting you narrow your hunt for tasty dishes by ingredients. The site also contains a wide range of eateries ranging from greasy spoon cafes to swanky restaurants.

Remember The Milk

Wednesdays website of the day is called "REMEMBER THE MILK" and is a website that remembers things for you. www.rememberthemilk.com is a personal organizer service that will send you reminders via text or instant message

Seeking Picasso

www.seekingpicasso.com "A Pop Idol site for artists now." Seeking Picasso is a place where artists can show off their work to the public, who become the judges, voting who should stay and who should go until an ultimate winner is found.

Each week presents a different theme on which the 12 artists chosen to enter the competition have to deliver an artwork based upon. The works can be viewed using the gallery link from the main page.

The first week's theme was Excess and there were some thought-provoking, colourful and funny takes on the same subject. The artworks are available to buy and it is this money which in part then helps fund the prize for the winner.

It is a lovely idea to get people talking about art and one that could be set up anywhere.