The incredible shrinking URL

This one comes early since I've got a busy day Friday.

You know when someone sends you a link in an e-mail and it takes up 23 lines of text because it's so long? It might be a map from Mapquest or their favorite porn site. Either way, it's annoying. You might be familiar with today's Your Daily Click but if you're not it can be a lifesaver.

It's a well-known site, but I still run into people who haven't heard of it. It will shorten the longest URL to a few letters. Check it out, and use it often. Enjoy.

So you think you can dance?

The thing about dancing is that everyone can do it, but few people can do it well. You're either too stiff or too loose or use your hands too much or not enough. There's really no way to win, so it's better to use household items as a type of surrogate dancer. Kind of like a voodoo doll without the pain and suffering.

Today's Your Daily Click gives you that rare chance. By using a simple pipe cleaner, you can be a dancer. Show off your movies in the privacy of your own computer screen. Enjoy.

Hey, hey, we're the monkeys.

"People go to the zoo and they like the lion because it's scary. And the bear because it's intense, but the monkey makes people laugh." - Lorne Michaels

Remember back when you were younger, your mom would sometimes warn that if you didn't eat all of your broccoli you'd turn into a lonely monkey, left to throw darts at geometric arrangements of balloons just to pass the time. Well, fortunately for many of us, that was just an old wives' tale...

But, have you ever stopped to wonder just what your life would be like if a broccoli-deficiency did actually result in this radical transformation? Oh happy day, Your Daily Click gives you an opportunity to do just that. Aim your throw with the mouse, click and hold to choose the power of your throw, and try to pop enough balloons to get to the next level. Enjoy.

Happy Your Dad Misses His Cellmate Day

That's right. Every day has a cause for celebration. By creating some unique holidays and providing an explanation behind them, Your Daily Click today gives you a reason to celebrate — and laugh — every day. Today, for example, we learn that your dad misses Ronald, and we find out why. It's an interesting story, to say the least. Check back every day for a reason to laugh. It could be Dermatologist Appointment With A Happy Ending Day, or Your Staff Knows Your Wife Left You Eleven Years Ago Day! Enjoy.

Start digging

5-year-old: "Mom, if I dig a hole straight through the earth, where will I end up?"

Mother: "In Hell, Timmy."

Well, not quite. That question we all pondered as children has been answered with a simple hack into Google maps. It's Your Daily Click. Enjoy.

Mood sings

There are certain songs that you only can appreciate when you're depressed, lonely or tired just like there are some you'll only listen to if you're excited, happy or hyper. But what if you can't find the perfect song to match your current mood? What if you're not even sure how you'd describe your current mood?

Your Daily Click has the answer. It's a Web site called "Musicovery" in which you click on your current spot on a mood matrix and it will let you play a song that matches that. If you're not into new music, you can have it only play hits, or if you'd prefer only songs from a certain decade, you can choose that option too. Enjoy.

Crunching numbers

Remember in math class when you would play "math games"? Your teacher would always sound so excited to try to get you pumped for the break from word problems and multiplication tables. I was competitive, and I liked to win, but let's be honest: They were never really that fun. And they weren't really games. Solving long division problems to try to get the bird back to its nest doesn't count as a game.

I'm here to change that misconception about math games. With the help of Your Daily Click, of course. It's a very simple game where you're given a sum and you must click numbers that add up to that sum. Plan ahead and you'll clear the board. It's quite addicting. Enjoy.

Worth a thousand laughs

If I were to ask you, "What is the most important part of the newspaper?", you might say the Front Page or the Editorial section or maybe even the Obituaries. But, you'd be wrong. Dead wrong. The most indisputably crucial part of the daily newspaper is the comics section. I know many a worker who would not be able to make it through their 9 to 5 without a daily reminder that Dilbert's job sucks worse than theirs. And who can help but wonder just what that fat orange cat is going to do next.

The problem, as you all know, is that newspapers have other sections, too. Sections with news stories about current events around the world. Stories that use up the limited space that should be devoted to more comics. Well, have no fear, for today's Your Daily Click lets you, the comic enthusiast, create your own three-panel comic. Choose a background, the characters, and type in some dialogue. You can even save the comics to share with your friends and co-workers. Enjoy.

Starting strong

Can you remember any great opening title sequences from recent films? In the old days, films would practically show their entire credits before the movie even started. There's been a departure from that for most movies, but Your Daily Click showcases some great exceptions. It's a site that highlights some of the best opening title sequences that Hollywood has to offer. They help set the mood for the rest of the film — and look cool doing it. I particularly like the one for "Thank You For Smoking." Enjoy.

Fur your consideration

Did you see any good movies over the weekend? I saw about a dozen at today's Your Daily Click. These 30-second movies are re-enactments of some of the best (and worst) films in movie history. They're short enough to be tolerable and long enough to be funny, and the stars of the movies would make a tasty stew. Enjoy.

Thanks to Liz for sending in this site.

Broken brackets

If after Day 1 you had more wrong picks than right ones or you picked Duke or BYU to make the Final Four, I feel for you. Your NCAA Tournament is basically over. Instead of worrying about your atrocious bracket, why not check out a different kind of bracket? In the spirit of the season, Your Daily Click brings you four other types of interactive brackets:

• Where were you when moments, like the JFK assassination or the Columbia shuttle disaster
• Best film deaths, like Leo sinking in "Titanic" or Darth Vader downing Obi-Wan
• Marital arguments, like "Why don't you make more money" or "Can I watch this in peace?"
• Ad slogans, like "Got milk?" or "Reach out and touch someone"

So have some fun and try a bracket where there are no wrong answers. Enjoy.

Thanks to Lily for this great submission.

Finding the winners

It's the time of year that any sports fan can't help but get excited about. It's the NCAA tournament, and that means 65 teams all have a shot at winning a national title. There are plenty of well-known national favorites, like Texas and North Carolina, but there are also plenty of schools you've probably never heard of. Where in the world is Wright State? Well, today you'll find out, because Your Daily Click tests your ability to locate all 65 tournament teams. Think you've got what it takes? Enjoy.

Thanks to Greg for submitting this site.

Preview of Coming Fabrications

"I watch these infomercials late at night, I start to believe them. I don't know what the hour is, there is an hour that I'm watching and I start thinking, 'You know... I don't think I could cut through a shoe with any of my knives. That does look pretty good. I'm going to get this knife and cut my shoes up.'" - Jerry Seinfeld

TV infomercials, while notoriously misleading, can be mildly entertaining. Their wild promises and "incredibly low" prices always seem to catch my eye. Today we look at a different kind of misleading advertisement, the movie trailer.

Have you ever been watching a movie and thought you were in the wrong theater because the plot is nothing like the trailer portrayed? Today's Your Daily Click takes this deception to the next level. Here you will find a collection of trailers that have been re-cut to completely change the story line. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll even want to go see some of these movies based on their new trailers. Enjoy.

You've got good jeans

Whether your friends e-mail them to you or you stumble across them accidentally on a Web site, everyone's familiar with the personality profile. Answer a dozen text-based questions and the geniuses at these sites can tell you your DNA. That's crap. Today's Your Daily Click tries a different approach — it allows you to choose which picture best answers a question and uses that to provide insight into your personality. It's worth checking out and could give you some unknown info about your jeans... er, genes. Enjoy.

And... action!

When we read a book, we all can't help but visualize the characters. If we don't, the author did a poor job. For some people like me, we like to imagine which Hollywood actor would play our favorite characters in a movie. Today's Your Daily Click gives you that chance to "take your turn on the casting couch." This site allows visitors to vote on the actor that would best fit the characters they know and love.

For example, the site asks you to cast classics like "Sideways Stories from Wayside School" or even video games like "Super Mario Bros." For the latter, voters want Sacha Baron Cohen to play Luigi. Perfect. Enjoy.

Not your type

Well aren't you lucky. As a week-ending treat for Friday, you get a double dose of Daily Clicks. Today's theme: typography. You use letters every day; words are just a part of human existence. Most people use them for e-mails, memos, essays or chatting, but these two sites use words and letters in entirely different and creative ways. The first, Bembo's Zoo, shows you animals made using the letters that spell their name. For example, a newt made out of only those four letters. It's today's first Your Daily Click.

Today's second Your Daily Click is a scene from "Pulp Fiction" done entirely in words. There are two versions there, and both have their strong points. Warning: If you're in a work or public setting, the second version does have some strong language. Might be best to wait until you're home.

Oh, and one last thing: Both of today's sites require your speakers to be turned on. Thanks to Claire for "Bembo's Zoo." Enjoy.

Time of our lives

Sometimes you'll notice that Your Daily Click is just something cool to look at and really serves no purpose in our society. Today is one of those days. It's a series of clocks/timekeeping devices. It's better seen than explained. Enjoy.

Film school

"I'd like to see a nature film where an eagle swoops down and pulls a fish out of a lake, and then maybe he's flying along, low to the ground, and the fish pulls a worm out of the ground. Now that's a documentary." - Jack Handy

A documentary is a sneaky tactic used by movie producers to trick viewers into learning against their will. Over the weekend, Columbia, Missouri, the city with the country's oldest journalism school, played host to the True/False Film Festival, a four-day celebration of the documentary genre. If you did not have the fortune of partaking in the festivities and you do not own a time machine, fear not for Your Daily Click is the next best thing. Browse through this collection of online documentaries and you are sure to find something that piques your interest. Enjoy.

Get carded

Let's play a game. Before you visit today's Your Daily Click, let me issue a warning: It's not in English. All that means for you is that you won't be able to read the instructions. What you need to know is that you must put the cards in order as they fall down the screen. You can go forwards or backwards and an Ace can be paired with a King or a 2. Confused? Don't worry, it's much easier to learn as you go along, and once you learn it you'll probably be hooked. Enjoy.

They've only just begun

As much as the computer-savvy generation uses the Internet for information and social networking, it was about time the generation before us got in on the action. Your Daily Click is a site for people 50 and older who are looking for social networking or support groups, useful information, games to build and maintain brain power and much more. Check it out for yourself or e-mail it to your parents. Thanks to Don for this suggested site. Enjoy.

Cross-country road trip

Join me on a journey across the United States. Where are we going? Well, everywhere, if you can show that you have skills. Today's Your Daily Click is a very simple but still challenging test. Name all 50 states without a map in 10 minutes. If that seems like it's a long time, just wait until you've got 49 and can't come up with the 50th.

Please post the number you remembered in 10 minutes in the comment section. If you got all 50, post how long it took you. Good luck, and enjoy.

Getting away with chatter

"When people hear the term 'big brother' they immediately think it's bad or scary. I don't. I think, 'Wow, I love my big brother.'" — Michael Scott, in "The Office"

Whether you're at work or at school, Big Brother can always be watching. Your office or school might have a program that blocks you from using AOL Instant Messenger or your favorite equivalent chat program. Well, have no fear, Your Daily Click is here. Today's site lets you chat in any number of IM programs with a clean, unobtrusive interface that is right in your browser. It's also useful if you're on a public computer that doesn't have the program you need to chat. Best of all? It's free. Enjoy.