Names don't bother me much. Well, okay, they do, but not when they belong to people. Well, okay, they still do, but only when those they belong to take offence at my way of pronunciation. Still, I wouldn't lose sleep over the way I pronounced someone's name.

Some people do lose sleep though. Why else would the Voice of America Pronunciation Guide exist?

Presumably for the sole benefit of Yanks -- who have a knack of messing up all names except Bill, Ted, Bob and Greg - the Guide has a vast list of foreign names and a text search to help you find something specific. For those who still don't get it, some names come with accompanying audio files.

And yes, they'll have you know, it's Prahb-HAH-kah-rahn VEH-loo-pih-l-eye, MOO-stah-fah mah-MOOD sah-EED AH-mehd, and Toe-MAH Sahn-KAH-rah. Thank you.

Life's complicated. I envy kids, software engineers and management students their ignorance, and subsequent bliss. They can actually afford the luxury of being excited about something as innocuous as, say, the next dinosaur flick. It happens to be Jurassic Park III, by the way, and opens in theatres on July 18. Third in a series of instalments from the Spielberg money-machine, this one comes minus the great man at the helm. Not that it makes a difference, what with all those Stegosaurs and Pterodactyls looking so incredibly lifelike.

The site lets you explore the island of Isla Sorna, where the action is based, using a Flash-enabled surveillance device. Surfers can also get production notes, cast and crew info, wallpapers, or a 'Jurassic passport' for behind-the-scenes footage, movie news and a daily dose of trivia.

Makes me feel archaic, all this talk of Flash enabled computer wizardry. And, as if to rub it in, I find 21st Century, the 'portal to the future'. It acts as an educational resource for everything you may need to know about science, technology, gadgets and gizmos. You can, for example, read about the Cye Personal Robot, a compact personal robot that cleans your house while you surf; the Robomow RL500 fully-automatic robotic lawnmower; or the SoloTrek open-air VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircraft that transports people in upright positions for up to two hours.

And then I wonder why today's kids rarely believe black and white TVs ever existed…

When an overdose of technology begins to get to you, do what I do. Party hard! iPartyHard should help, with its drink recipes, hangover helpers, party stories, and even a pickup line of the day - 'Your body is 70 per cent water, and I'm thirsty…'

No date? No fear. There's a database beyond your black book you probably haven't ever thought of before: ladies sitting in prison! Jail Babes is a pen pal and singles introduction service for these special women and, what's more, you can even choose your soul mate by ethnicity or state.

If you think that's a weird idea, what would you say about the Organisation for the Advancement of Facial Hair, I wonder. Their goal is to 'promote the advancement of facial hair on all people and equality for all those who grow such.' They exist, they add, simply 'to aid those who have been discriminated against due to their growing of the godlike matter.'

Maybe concentrating on something as mundane as pronunciation may not be such a bad idea, after all. Archaic, I may be. Stupid, I'm not.

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