Miles Mendoza's Website of the Day ... and more!

Boat Race, British Summertime and Free Online Photo Editing

Something Sporty:
>> The Boat Race
All tributaries lead to the Thames this weekend for the Oxford and Cambridge University Boat Race. The event’s official site is a good ‘un with plenty of video and photos, tips on the best vantage points for spectators and links to reviews of all the pubs along the route.

Something Topical:
>> World Time Engine
Avert post clock-change transatlantic-call catastrophe with this definitive guide to what time it is in any city (or even village) worldwide. Just type in a location to find out whether their clocks have changed yet, or use the meeting planner to work out the best time to make that call.

Something Useful:
>> Photoshop Express
For over a decade Photoshop has been the tool of choice for professional photographers and designers for editing and enhancing digital photos. But at around £600 it’s not a realistic option for cash-strapped amateur photographers. This week Photoshop have launched a completely free online service which provides beginner-friendly online photo editing along with 2Gb of online photo storage for each user.

Sport Relief, Magazine Covers and Long Things

Something worthy:
>> Sign up for the Sports Relief Mile
The big focus for this year’s fundraising effort is the Sports Relief mile on Sunday March 16th – in which anyone (regardless of fitness level) can participate in one of hundreds of different events at athletic tracks all over the country. Find your nearest track or register online at the official Sport Relief site.

Something fun:
>> Mag My Pic
Upload a photo of your choice and mock up a cover of one of 12 glossy magazines including Vogue, National Geographic, Cosmopolitan, Maxim and Rolling Stone. When you have created your magazine cover you can choose to post it straight to a blog, MySpace or Facebook – or to allow other people to rate it in an online gallery.

Something largely pointless but still oddly compulsive:
>> The longest list of the longest stuff at the longest domain name at long last
This site is a long alphabetical list of fairly random categories. (dog tongue, fjord, poker game, pizza etc etc). Simply click on a category name to learn about the longest thing in that category.

Real Buzz

>> Real Buzz
I mentioned this as my first "new year, new you" type pick of 2007 - but it's well worth revisiting as they've added so many new features in the last year.
The site bills itself as the UK's biggest fitness and motivation site, with hundreds of pages aimed at 'people want to take up a new challenge but don’t know where or how to start'. As before it should appeal equally to committed fit-freaks and textbook couch potatoes. New features this year include Map Your Passion (plot your runs and fitness regimes on a customisable Google Map) and Pitch Your Passion (Upload YouTube style videos of you evangelising about your favourite forms of exercise). Meanwhile for those (myself included) who find reaching for the remote control to be energetic work, the Virtual Workout invites you to choose an activity (from treadmill to rowing via aerobics or squash) and enter your weight to see how many calories you’d burn off if you were to try that particular form of exercise for half an hour.

Also mentioned today:
>> Radio 2 Music Club presents: exclusive Jack Johnson live video

Friday Quick Links

>> World Car Free Day
>> Walkit.com
Tomorrow is World Car Free Day – so a good time to remind people about this excellent walking route planner. It currently covers London, Birmingham and Edinburgh with the rest of the UK to follow by late 2008.
>> Read Miles’ original review

>> Rugby World Cup on Five Live
>> Five Live: Drop Kick Rugby Trivia Game
Choose which country you compete as to determine the difficulty of the questions you encounter in Five Live’s new animated rugby trivia game.

>> How to activate the secret Flight Simulator feature in Google Earth
>> Marco’s Blog: Google Earth Flight Simulator >> Download Google Earth
>> Read Miles’ original Google Earth Review

Video Clip of the week: Virtuoso Scratching Demonstration

Personalised Bob Dylan Video Messages (plus Rugby Tips)

>> Send a Bob Dylan video message
To promote the release of the forthcoming Dylan: His Greatest Songs compilation, this site gives all Dylan lovers the chance to create a customised version of the iconic Subterranean Homesick Blues video. Simply type in your choice of message to have your words appear on Bob’s giant cue cards. When you’re happy with the results, you can send the video to a friend.

Also mentioned today:
>> VideoJug: Rugby explained on video
We introduced you to this excellent video site last year. The site offers short clips which teach you the kind essential life skills they don’t always teach you at school, like how to get a perfect wet shave or tie a Windsor knot.
Ahead of the Rugby World Cup they have assembled a series of survival tips for both die hard fans and oval-ball novices. Find out how to avoid a tackle or brush up on related subjects like how to get served quickly at the bar. See also:
>> Rugby For The Girls
>> Rugby World Cup: Official site
>> Rugby World Cup on BBC Sport

The Outdoor Swimming Society

>> The Outdoor Swimming Society
"We believe it’s time to get back to the joy of swimming under an open sky. Water needs no roof!
Our manifesto:

• We believe swimmers have too long been held in chlorined captivity! Everyone with a set of bathers should be set free to immerse themselves in nature
• We support all those keeping lidos open and lakes and rivers clean We promise to enlarge and celebrate the beauty of every day we can by going for a nice outdoor swim
• We pledge to take our friends with us so they can join We embrace the rejuvenating effects of cold water and undertake to strip and dip wherever we can "

If you fancy yourself in a fetching striped Victorian bathing outfit, you can pledge your support for outdoor swimming, find the best lidos and rivers for practice, or even submit a late registration for this Saturday's Breaststrokes swim in Lake Windermere (in aid of breast cancer research).

Friday Quick Links

YouTube Clip of the Week
>> The Worst Police Dog in the world

>> Tour De France: Official
Available in 5 different languages, with video, news, history, games, reviews and more.
>> Tour De Fromages
This site follows the same route as the cyclists but focuses on the different cheese of the regions the race passes through. Includes a good cheese-catching, cow-avoiding Tour De Fromages game

>> Live Earth Webcasts
>> Live Earth Official
>> Live Earth on the BBC
>> Live Earth on Radio 2
>> Climate Change on the BBC
All 7 of this weekend’s global concerts are being webcast, offering 24 hours of online video starting with the Australian leg at 2.30 tomorrow morning.

BBC coverage starts with Jonathan Ross on Radio 2 live from Wembley at 10am, BBC Two coverage starts at 1030 and Russell Brand will be backstage on Radio 2 from 2000.

>> T in the Park
Promising video of 40 acts from 4 stages, and the chance to create and share your own custom video channel . Headliners include Lily Allen, Snow Patrol, Arcade Fire, Razorlight, Avril Lavigne and Scissor Sisters

Football, Nozuka and Monkeys

>> FA Cup Final on BBC Sport
>> FA Cup final select XI
This nifty interactive tool invites you to select a dream team of your favourite players from both Chelsea and Man Utd squads. Pick your formation, then drag the names from each squad onto virtual pitch. Your can email your dream team to friends for their approval

Also mentioned today:
>> Music Club Introduces Justin Nozuka
Watch Simon Mayo’s exclusive video interview with the hotly tipped singer-songwriter, and Listen Again to his Music Club concert for 7 days from 2100 on Saturday 19 May

>> The Three Monkeys
In this game you control three lithe simians with your mouse. Catch the falling fruit, but duck to avoid any tumbling cartoon artillery.

Six Nations on BBC Sport

>> BBC Sport Academy: Play Your Own Six Nations
>> Six Nations Coverage on BBC TV, Radio & Interactive
>> BBC Sport Six Nations Blog
Committed rugby fans will find plenty to hold their attention on the BBC’s unrivalled coverage of the Six Nations. And for those (like myself) who need to brush up on their knowledge of Rugby Union tactics, Play Your Own Six Nations features six animated tutorials designed to help you master the skills including lineOuts, tackling, scrums and advanced kicking.

Skiing on a Shoestring

>> Skiing on a Shoestring
I’ve never been skiing, partially because I lack the basic co-ordination required to avoid breaking a number of limbs and partially because I’ve always assumed that you needed the income of an investment banker before even contemplating a skiing holiday.
This useful (and well written) site shows that it is possible to go skiing or snow-boarding on a tight-ish budget. It’s packed with useful independent information for both novices and experienced ‘powder freaks’ to help you choose the right resort and find cheap clothing and equipment.