Forget Gmail -- whatever happened to postcards?

If you collect postcards, and even if you don't, you might like The Tacky Postcard Archive, a bizarre collection of well-meaning but incredibly outrageous cards from around the world guaranteed to leave you scratching your head. There's nothing like a postcard with a photo of a gigantic roll of toilet paper (seriously, it's huge). You can't order these quirky cards by mail, but you can send electronic versions via e-mail.

But if snail mail is more your style and you'd like to send and receive postcards from around the world, log on to Postcrossing. Sign up for a user account, request an address and you'll be e-mailed information from another user. Send your postcards and you're on your way. Your own address will end up in the database for another person to retrieve. Before you know it, your mailbox will be full of cards from Finland, Malaysia, Australia or any of the other 184 participating countries. It's an addicting and cheap way to make some use of your downtime. Even your little ones can get some mail; several users have signed up accounts for their children.