Work is hard. School is boring. And taxes are due. Fortunately, the Internet is filled with wonderful distractions that can eat up between twenty minutes of your day and that period of time known as "the remainder of the Bush presidency."

In fact, I'm fairly certain there are only four truly useful sites on the Web. (Five if you include my MySpace page.) The rest? Awesome excuses to procrastinate.

That's why I've asked all the Buzzsters to post about their favorite online time waster this week. Starting tomorrow, they'll reveal their secrets.

So what's YOUR favorite Internet time waster? Where do you go to mindlessly blow an hour or two? What site can you always rely on, that never lets you down? Drop us a line and if we like it, we'll include your submission in our SmileyBuzz Readers Time Waster Super Finale Extraordinaire. Which, in and of itself, should be a mighty fine time waster.

I'm so good at wasting time, I've added it to my résumé. So when Patrick asked us SmileyBuzzsters to pick our favorite way of wasting time, I knew it would be an easy task. I got out my "Time Wasters" folder from the filing cabinet, and leafed through to pick a favorite. (Incidentally, creating a "Time Wasters" folder is a great way to waste some time.)

My first pick was bloglines.com, but that seemed like picking "oxygen" as my favorite inhaled gas — just a bit too obvious. So my next choice is Ask Metafilter, a place for visitors to post questions they can't find answers to elsewhere, hoping that the "Hive Mind" can help. And they usually do.

The questions range from absurdly specific ("Where can I find commercial software package that will allow online reservation of bowling lanes in a bowling alley?") to abstract ("How does one live a meaningful life in a world that one has come to believe is meaningless?"). The variety keeps the site from becoming a one-trick-pony, and the frequency of postings (about 60 per day) means there's always something new to read.

To discourage spammers and jokers, you have to make a one-time $5 donation to ask or answer a question. "Lurking" is free, just like at the bus station in real life.

Oh, incidentally, AskMetafilter has some suggestions on how to kill time, as well:

1. How to kill downtime at work
2. What to do online 7 hours-a-day
3. Online games to pass the time
4. Cool flash movies

I'm a gamer, a serious gamer. I own a Wii and I have a Mii. I even break out the ol' Xbox from time to time for some first-person shooters. But when I'm unable to get my gaming console fix, I turn to online games.

My favorite time waster is called Flood It. It's a game that you can start up and play for that quick fill of gaming goodness.

The goal is to fill the playing area with a single color in less than 25 attempts. You control the color of the top left most cube by selecting the different colors on the right. When you choose a new color, it consumes adjacent cubes of the same color. As you consume more and more cubes, your control expands. Confused? Don't be, just give it a shot and you'll understand quickly.

Trust me, once you try this game, you won't stop until you win. It's that addicting. How many times have I won? Only once, but now I'm trying to end on my favorite color: purple.

As an information junkie, there are many sites that could qualify as my favorite Internet time waster. But I quickly realized that my choice would likely boil down to two particular passions: my lifelong interests in baseball and the written word. I thought long and hard about using this space to extol the virtues of one of my favorite sites devoted to the Grand Old Game -- but asking me to choose a "favorite" is a bit like asking Paris Hilton to pick her favorite nightspot. And then there's the whole matter of whether anything devoted to such a perfectly designed game could ever be deemed a "time waster." Is browsing through endlessly fascinating baseball statistics more of a time waster than watching late night infomercials, the Harlem Globetrotters, cat shows or American Idol? I think not, and I speak from experience.

But if you like words and the many ways you can rearrange ordered letters, then you can get countless hours of wasted time and fun over at the Internet Anagram Server at Wordsmith.org. According to our good friends over at Dictionary.com, an anagram is "a word, phrase or sentence formed from another by rearranging its letters." I was first introduced to anagrams, not ironically, through my interest in baseball. The very first editions of the Rotisserie League Baseball book ran a series of anagrams between its player descriptions -- and through them I was able to learn that the names of one of my favorite players, Mookie Wilson, could be rearranged to read "Look Women, Is I!" And thankfully, anagrams never inspired baseball nicknames, otherwise the legendary Cal Ripken might today be known as "Lean Prick."

So if you're looking for a good way to pass the time, just enter your name - or the name of a friend, family member or favorite celebrity - into the search box on the site, and click on the "Get anagrams" button. And presto - instant anagrams! What better way to find out that the aforementioned Paris Hilton could be known as "Lost Hairpin," or "Lion Pit Rash"? Or that Jennifer Aniston is "Fine in Torn Jeans"? Hey, no arguments here.

If the names Strong Bad, Coach Z, Marzipan or The Cheat mean anything to you, you'll know I'm referring to the gang over at HomeStar Runner. HomeStar is the clueless, armless but lovable character with the propeller hat. He is surrounded by a cast of friends who are just as bizarre. The most popular, Strong Bad, likes to read through his emails on his trusty old computer and often makes fun of the senders. Some particularly humorous ones that I never get tired of are Little Questions (have you sometime play football?) and Crying (he's got the heart of a champion).

Then there's Strong Bad's stick figure cartoon, Teen Girl Squad and the world famous music video Everybody to the Limit. And how's this for a 404 page?

The strong bad emails have lots of easter eggs too. Some folks were kind enough to document them all as well as transcripts for all the emails at the HomeStar Wiki.

So if you're in the mood for some mindless fun, check out the myriad of cartoons and games as well as the plethora of Strong Bad Emails. If this stuff doesn't make you laugh, consult a doctor because your sense of humor may be dead.

Looking for an effortless way to spread the luck of the Irish this weekend? Well, it couldn't be easier than heading over to My Fun Cards - our free online greeting cards site - and sending one of our many fun St. Patrick's Day eCards to friends and family members. You won't even have to wear green, leave the comfort of your home, or drink oddly colored beverages.

Whether you're actually Irish - or just pretending to be on Saturday - you and your mates will get a kick out of our recent additions to our St. Patrick's Day online greeting card collection. We've got the perfect card for folks who may need St. Patrick's help after getting too deep in the holiday spirit, and another card for people who may like the corned beef and cabbage, but not the side effects. There's even a sing-along card dedicated to green beer.

If games are more your thing, you'll love our interactive Find the Clover, Lucky Gift and Leprechaun Game cards. We even have cards with Irish blessings and St. Patrick's Day poems for folks whose idea of celebrating the holiday is a bit more...well...sober.

So don't waste your time this weekend searching for shamrocks. Get in the green by sending one of our free St. Patrick's Day eCards instead!

When I was a sophomore in college, I called my parents one night to inform them that my girlfriend and I had just broken up. I was 19 at the time, my ex-girlfriend was 23, so during our courtship I had felt like pretty hot stuff dating "an older woman." Now I was crashing back to earth.

When my mom answered, I started, "Mom, I've got some news..." and then suddenly something inside me just couldn't get me to say, "Sarah and I broke up." Perhaps I was embarrassed, maybe I didn't want to have to explain the details, or it could have been because I was on a public phone in the middle of my dorm floor surrounded by six guys playing lacrosse in a hallway the size of a brick oven.

Whatever the case, what came out of my mouth was likely meant as a joke to stall time, but wow if it wasn't the worst joke of all time.

"Mom...Sarah is pregnant."

"WHAT?!?!?!?!"

My mom didn't so much scream as she made a sound somewhat akin to the gasp a crowd of high-diving onlookers might make after witnessing a fat guy do a belly-flop into a pool of French Onion Soup.

If that wasn't enough of a clue that I had done wrong, my roommate came bounding out of our room and into the hall with this look of, "What did you just say to your mother?" It's the same look one might expect someone to give you if you admitted to having gone seen Rocky V. Or anything starring a Baldwin brother whose first name wasn't Alec.

"No, no - sorry, mom," I quickly said. "I was just kidding. I'm sorry. So sorry. I have no idea why I just said that..." And before she could tell me how wrong it was what I had just done, I finished, "Sarah and I broke up." My mom, being amazing, jumped from exasperated and bewildered to empathetic and comforting. We've never spoken of that moment since.

Again, I have no idea to this day why I told my mother I had impregnated someone rather than simply tell her that we had gone our separate ways. I did, however, make a mental note that perhaps in some other situation, to another person, there might have been an opportunity for some real humor in what I had just done.

Fast-forward to today and our line of free April Fools' Day ecards. Including a simple "I'm Pregnant!" card inspired by the events above. Perfect for any of you sick-minded ladies out there who want to put the fear of God into your boyfriend. Or his mother.

Note: No need to wait until April 1st to send a card. You can personalize your card today, then set the delivery date for April 1st and we'll deliver it for you.

(April Fools' Day is on a Sunday this year, which isn't a great day for remembering to send a prank card. It's the perfect day to receive one, though. Because who's expecting a prank card while getting ready for church or suffering through a hangover? Or both? Seize the day, my friend!)

When I was in college, I was a big prankster. One April Fools' Day came around and I decided to play a few pranks on my roommates. My favorite prank? Definitely the Red Shower.

How does it work? Easy, follow these steps...

1. Unscrew your shower head.
2. Pour your favorite red powdered mix into the end of the shower head. You can use Koolaid, Crystal Light, anything.
3. Screw your shower head back on, and hide outside the bathroom.
4. Listen for your target to scream when they turn on the shower and get blasted with red water.

Prank at your own risk. I do not want to be responsible for any harm caused by you, or to you. That red faced target of yours may be looking for revenge.

It's been said that a "Jack of all trades, is a master of none". Over the past few years, a number of restaurateurs have taken this saying to heart by opening chow-worthy locations that specialize in a particular type of food. For example, if you're in the mood for cereal, you might want to go to “Cereality”. In a cheesy mood? Try some macaroni and cheese. Or perhaps you'd like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a tasty Japanese cream puff, or maybe some fried potatoey goodness.

Our first experience with this phenomenon was in Scottsdale, Arizona, when we came across P.B. Loco, which helped satiate Drew's obsession with peanut butter. It's been a few months since that trip to Scottsdale, so we were pleasantly surprised last night during a walk through Nolita in Manhattan when we came across "Rice to Riches" - a restaurant focused on rice pudding. They serve rice pudding, and ONLY rice pudding. We can honestly say that we never knew how much we needed an exclusively rice pudding vendor until we tasted its rich, sweet deliciousness. We opted for the "Coast to Coast Cheesecake" flavor, but we are looking forward to future visits to try out "Fluent in French Toast", "Category 5 Caramel", and "Stubborn Banana", as well as the seventeen additional flavors that are offered, which may vary from week to week.

Now that these food speciality locations have come to our attention, there are a number of concepts we would like to put out there for all of you budding entrepreneurs. We eagerly await the opening of "Make Room For Jello", "Please Gimme Pierogies" and "Matzoh Balls and Mo'".

Did you almost forget it was Easter weekend? Don't fret. Whether you're looking for chocolate bunnies, chicks or something that reflects the real religious meaning of the holiday, you'll find something for everyone in our large collection of Easter eCards at My Fun Cards, our free online greeting card site.

Ever wonder what would happen if you left the kids alone with their Easter candy on Sunday morning? Our talented 3D animator Stephen provides a very clear picture of the resulting scene in our brand new Easter Candy Coma card. And if you're one of those folks who just has to know the secret behind how the Easter Bunny manages to deliver all that candy to overeager youngsters on Easter morning, you'll find the answer in our Ho Ho Happy Easter card....although the title might actually give the secret away.

But we also realize that Easter is about far more than well-traveled bunnies and children consuming endless quantities of sugar. People looking to share the deep and moving religious meaning behind the holiday will find a few cards with biblical passages and religious themes - including a brand new card, Holiest Day, which is set inside a church.

There are also a few interactive Easter cards if you'd like to challenge a friend or family member to decorate their own Easter egg, or find some cleverly hidden eggs to reveal a special holiday message.

On behalf of everyone at My Fun Cards and Smiley Buzz headquarters, we wish those celebrating this weekend a happy, healthy and holy Easter.

Here at SmileyBuzz headquarters, we're always looking out for you. Because we spend many hours each day thinking up new ways to make you smile - and we recognize that those smiles can be hard to come by should an unfortunate accident happen to befall you.

That's why we'd like to take this opportunity to advise you that if any black cats should happen to appear in front of you today, you might want to turn and walk the other way. And don't even think about walking underneath that ladder perched up against the side of that building. You may want to avoid even stepping on those cracks in the sidewalk pavement...just to be safe.

Why? Well, a quick glance at the calendar will tell you all you need to know. It's Friday the 13th!

For all you paraskavedekatriaphobics out there, we have just two words: be careful. And because we recognize that you'll likely want to remind your fearful friends, family members and neighbors what day it is, we created a special Friday the 13th eCard just to help you out.

If sending a smiley to warn your friends is more your style, you'll find our "cat"-ostrophic kitty in the Holiday section of Smiley Central - simply by clicking on the "Other" link at the top of the section window.

But we'd also like to take this opportunity to learn more about you, dear reader.

Are there some particularly unique or dark superstitions that you'd like to share?
Now's the time to come clean. Shoot me an email by clicking on the link on my profile page - and your idiosyncrasies may very well make it into a future post...for all your fellow SmileyBuzzsters to see.

Yes. We know you’ve been lying awake at night thinking. “I love using Smileys in my IMs, emails and phones, but I wish there were more ways I could express myself with them.” It’s been hounding you, right? Well, friends, your wish is our command.

Introducing the new Smiley Central store. Now you can speak your mind with your favorite smileys through t-shirts, mugs, mouse pads, cards, bumper stickers, stamps and lots of other stuff!

What? You want more? Like making them customizable allowing you to insert not only smileys, but pictures and text, too? Done! Dream up practically anything you want and make it happen. How 'about a shirt, or a mug featuring your favorite canine pal? Perhaps a card, or even a stamp?

Just drop in now and pick up cool Smiley Gear at http://www.zazzle.com/smileycentral and have fun!