Welcome to the 346th issue of the Cool Tricks and Trinkets Newsletter offering weekly insights into new, cool, useful, fun, unusual and interesting sites on the Internet.

In this issue:

- The Worst Jobs In History
- MiltCentral.com
- The Business Of Baseball
- Short Takes
- Modern Living
- Eric Straw's Masks
- Watch it Shred
- The Color Television Revolution
- 90-Year-Old Sydney Streetwalker
- Subscribers' Sites

~~~~~ Cool Tricks and Trinkets is made possible by~~~~~~

<Publisher's Note> Over the past 5 years (with a little help from my friends) I have built my company A1 Discount Hotels, into one of the largest affiliates of the Hotels.com family.

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Travel Club members will receive an additional 5% rebate on all pre-paid hotel reservations. This rebate will be on top to the already low prices quoted by hotels.com.

Please support the newsletter by spreading the word about A1 Travel Club.

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The Worst Jobs In History

If you are feeling tired of the 9 to 5 grind, this site is sure to cheer you up. Being stuck in a cubicle may not be all that inspiring, but it's paradise compared to what millions of workers have endured over the past 2,000 years of European History.

The Worst Jobs in History website offers often overlooked insights into the trials and tribulations of the working class throughout history. Read various job descriptions from the Roman/Anglo-Saxon, Medieval, Tudor, Stuart, Georgian, and Victorian Eras. The exceptional difficulties of being a Roman Gold Miner, Spitboy or Violin-String Maker will make modern-day office woes seem like a walk in the park.

http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/W/worstjobs/index.html

MiltCentral.com

A year and a half ago, Milton Mermikides was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Milt Central is his personal website, a brave and positive approach to healing and dealing with his very serious disease.

Milt's creativity and optimism are a source of light from within the dark and painful reality of cancer. Visitors can read up-to-date news on Milt's condition and treatment, watch videos, and read his personal writings. The pure positive energy coming from this website and its creator should serve as an inspiration to all of us, as well as a reminder of how precious life is.

http://www.miltcentral.com/index.html

The Business Of Baseball

The grandeur of the stadiums, the hot dogs, the seventh-inning stretch, it is no wonder that the game of baseball is America's favorite pastime. But like all sports, behind the glory and excitement of the game there is a big business to be maintained.

The Business of Baseball website is a research source for those who want to learn more about the business side of professional baseball. Visitors can view articles on current issues facing the game, learn about expansion projects in the works (the Washington D.C. Nationals!), and read interviews with influential owners, commissioners, announcers and other baseball personalities. Let's Play Hard Ball!

http://www.businessofbaseball.com/

SHORT TAKES

Net Disaster

Get revenge on any and all websites that have been bugging you, with this cool site entitled Net Disaster. While you won't be doing any harm to the actual site, you will still get to watch as meteors, Martians, and mayhem rain down on the terrible website of your choosing.

http://www.netdisaster.com/

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Blink O Rama

In the wide world of blogging you can find just about anything these days. Blink O Rama features photos of celebrities caught, you guessed it, in mid-blink. Targets include Donald Trump, John Edwards and other famous faces.

http://blinkorama.blogspot.com/

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Comic Book Characters Database

Comic Book junkies will want to bookmark this site, which has an extensive database of comic book characters from every generation. Simply search for your favorite superhero to find an image the hero or villain, as well as a brief history of how they came to possess superpowers and a cool costume.

http://pc59te.dte.uma.es/cdb/main.htm

Modern Living

This cool animation series was created by Han Hoogerbrugge and is entitled "Modern Living/the Neurotica Series". It is an interactive animation series that uniquely incorporates stories from our everyday lives.

Most of the images are activated by dragging your mouse over specific parts of the animation, which makes the character move or respond to his surroundings in different, creative ways. There are over a hundred different interactive Flash pieces in the series, all of which have a quirky and funny take on everyday modern life.

http://www.hoogerbrugge.com/ml.html

Eric Straw's Masks

Eric Strawczynski is a man of many talents that include sculpting, designing, mask-making, photography, toy-making and several other areas of experimental creativity. His personal website is a passionate tribute to his art, primarily his extensive work with cardboard and terra cotta masks.

The many different faces of Straw's Masks are a representation of his eccentricity and his talent. Using corrugated cardboard, Straw has been making these masks since 2003 and has produced different series of work such as "Encounters" and "Families and Tribes". Scroll through the gallery of images, read Straw's biography, and be sure to check out the "About Straw" section to learn more about the motivation behind this French artist's work.

http://www.ericstraw.com/

Watch it Shred

Forget about paper, the shredders made by SSI are built to shred everything from tree stumps to torpedoes. At the company's website, visitors can watch movies of a variety of objects being destroyed via shredding.

Simply click on one of the many objects listed, and watch one of SSI's destructive masterpieces make mince meat of DVD's, medical waste, couches, boats and a host of other objects. The destructive capability of the shredding machines is an awesome sight to see.

http://www.ssiworld.com/watch/watch-en.htm

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The Color Television Revolution

With recent advancements such as Tivo, HDTV, and Direct TV, it is easy to forget television's humble roots. Take a trip down memory lane to a time when color was considered the latest in television technology.

The Color Television Revolution website takes us back to the time in the 1950's and early 1960's when color on the boob tube was a new phenomenon. There are cool video clips of the original network logos and one of the first color broadcasts, as well as other fun features such as photos of the original television camera equipment and NBC studios in Burbank, California circa 1955.

http://www.ev1.pair.com/colorTV/

90-Year-Old Sydney Streetwalker

Australia's answer to Forrest Gump is a ninety-year old Sydney gentleman by the name of Alan Waddell. Grief-stricken after his wife of sixty years passed away, Mr. Waddell turned to walking as a way to 'keep going' in the face of his terrible loss.

This inspiring and touching website documents Mr. Waddell's mission of walking every single street in all of Sydney's 138 suburbs. Visitors can tour this beautiful city by looking through over 350 photographs taken by this brave Australian wanderer. Browse the suburbs alphabetically and also check out the "Secrets" section to see some of the lesser known corners of Sydney.

http://www.walksydneystreets.net/index.htm

SUBSCRIBERS' SITES - Many of our subscribers have fascinating on-line projects. This weekly section will introduce you to some of these sites. Please let me know about your project so that I might mention it in this section. Write me at ctt@net-market.com

~ Restore * Recharge * Replenish

~ Authortainment

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OOo-(_)-oOOo--------

Master Juchi had, so people say,
A peaceful, kindly, unassuming way,
Was never heard to speak and never taught,
For words are but illusions, and he sought
To keep illusions faithfully at bay.
And so, while others chose to air their learning,
While novices and monks spoke out concerning
The meaning of the world, its why and wherefore,
And boldly found for each "because" a "therefore,"
He listened and said nothing, always turning
A warning finger upward, and the same
Was his response whenever people came-
Questioners who, careless or perplexed,
Inquired as to the meaning of some text,
The dawning of the truth or Buddha's name.
Silent but eloquent, this pointing finger
Grew ever more insistent, more commanding;
Instructing, guiding, praising, reprimanding,
Of the world's meaning and of truth it spoke
So well that many a pupil, understanding
It's gentle message, suddenly awoke.

~ Bi-Yan-Lu

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Have a great weekend.

Charles Kessler