If you're faced with the prospect of a wet Saturday, you can do what I did. These are some good sites to begin at:

SoYouWanna (SYW)

Here's a site that 'teaches you how to do all the things nobody taught you in school'. Doesn't matter that there are some things not everyone would want to learn, like getting a change of sex.

While most of the 'how tos' have sarcastic overtones, they do contain useful tips and information. You can learn about script-writing for sitcoms, acing your job interview, improving your table manners and buying an engagement ring.

If you're visiting an art exhibition, and you're clueless about art, you may wish to pretend to an in depth knowledge of art.

'The first thing you should know is that some art really is crap. The catch, though, is that nobody can agree on which art is crap. This means that if you learn the tricks, then you can fake an expertise in art analysis,' says the guide.

There's an array of pretentious comments that you can learn and repeat, like "Note how the perspective is more an allusion to space than an illusion of space." Or "The way the bountiful figures spill over from darkness into light is so typical of the Baroque style."

If your office has a betting pool for the Oscars and such, you can get tips on predicting the winners. Each guide begins with a humorous ramble on the topic: The Oscar pool guide says, '…a group of old actors, actresses, directors, and producers decided that they should give themselves awards every year for being beautiful and perfect.' However, should you wish to cut straight to the point, you can check out the Mini-Wannas - where you only click on those sections of a guide that you want to read.

Visit their bulletin boards, if you want to have your say.

Glossarist

Ever wanted to know the meaning of a technical term that couldn't be found in a dictionary? You'd have to search for a specialised glossary on the subject. Well, the Glossarist has collected many such topical dictionaries and glossaries -- all you now have to do is visit this site, browse through a category-wise listing of subjects and topics, select the one you want, and you should get a bunch of links to various relevant online sources. There are glossaries for literature, architecture, music, alternative medicine, cardiovascular terminology, and many more.

Alternatively, you could type a keyword into the search box and see what gets thrown up. Also browse through recommended glossaries like the World Music Instruments that answers questions like 'which one comes from where?'

"I spend hour upon hour scouring the Internet for glossaries and dictionaries of all kinds. I also use spidering software to help find new ones," says Woz, the Webmaster, who includes all kinds of glossaries except those promoting racism or pornography.

And if you still cannot find the one you need, write in to Woz - He'll go hunt one down for you.

The Modern Word

For fans of Waiting For Godot and the like, this site is a must visit. The Modern Word is a compilation of Web sites dedicated to famous experimental postmodern authors of the 20th century. The primary focus is on Samuel Beckett, Jorge Luis Borges, Umberto Eco, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, James Joyce and Thomas Pynchon, but there are also briefer mentions of other writers around that time.

The works of these great authors has inspired art. Take a look at etchings and oil paintings centered on Joyce's masterpiece, Ulysees.

Peripheral features include a What's New section that currently has a review of Mulholland Drive along with other additions to the site.

LivingInternet

The more we surf, the more we realise how little we know about the Net. And that's where 'the Internet's most comprehensive source of information about the Internet' is useful. It serves as a guide to those who have only recently logged on and as a reference point to veteran Internet junkies.

When I first got online, I'd use the terms 'Net' and 'Web' interchangeably. My misconception was soon cleared, but I was left a bit confused. This site helped clear my doubts. For starters, I discovered that the Internet was invented in 1969 - a good 21 years before the invention of the Web. Their sections on the Internet and the World Wide Web deal with their inventions, workings, uses, importance and even security issues. They also reveal interesting facts, such as the first use of the word 'surf' in connection with browsing; various kinds of URLs; organisations that manage the Internet, etc.

This site also has comprehensive information on email, Usenet newsgroups, mailing lists, IRC and more.