NETDISASTER WEBSITE OFFERS ONLINE STRESS RELIEF

As we approach the holidays, I usually do the typical things such as finding some really cool technology gifts that most any computer geek will love. Don't worry as I certainly don't plan on deviating from that plan this year. However I'd like to add something new into the traditional fare by tossing in some offbeat websites that really don't fit into the mainstream. For the next few columns, the only requirements these websites will need to make the grade is that while they really won't be anything you'd consider to be useful, they will more than likely be something entertaining at the very least.

With that in mind, let me introduce you to the netdisaster website. How many times have you surfed over to a website only to become really annoyed at what you see when you get there? Happens all the time to me when I read things on CNN.com and several other news-orientated websites. Pick a newspaper site like the New York Times website or the Washington Post's virtual pages. Or if you've ever had your browser hijacked to some really despicable advertisement page or the like, you're really going to love netdisaster. In fact, whenever you find yourself stressing our over something you're seeing online, just make sure you make a note of that website's address and then surf on over to netdisaster.com. Basically, netdisaster is an online toy. After spending a small amount of time there, I promise that you're going to feel a lot better. Here's why.

Netdisaster allows you to select any website, preferably a website you have found for some reason to be extremely annoying or even offensive, and literally do just about every terrible thing imaginable to it.

To begin, you log onto the netdisaster website and enter the offending website you want to trash into the Target field. Beneath that is a pull-down menu entitled "Disaster" from which you can select from a wide variety of disasters you wish to apply to the offensive website. As of the moment, your choices fit into one of six categories. These are Nature, Technology, Life Forms, Home Office, Miscellaneous and Dirty. Respective examples of each are Meteors, Gun, Mold, Scribbling Baby, God Almighty, and Cow Dung. The final pull down menu entitled "Control" lets you choose from auto or mouse. Auto usually means that your selected disaster will increase or persist without any further intervention on your behalf. Mouse lets you apply your disaster manually.

Once you have made your choices, the fun begins. Netdisaster then takes you to the website and upon initial viewing, everything looks like it normally would appear. Depending on your Disaster choice, what happens next should make you feel a lot better about the offending website. For example, had you selected the Gun disaster, you would see the barrel of a large gun superimposed over the website image. As you move the mouse, the barrel repositions itself along with a red laser dot. Click the mouse and you hear a loud gun retort as you see a realistic-looking 3D bullet hole appear where the laser dot was just a moment ago. A metallic surface appears just below the blown-away surface of the website. Click again and more bullet holes appear. Or hold down the mouse button and spray a line of bullet holes into the website. It's amazingly real-looking and you're definitely on the road to recovery.

Now that you get the idea, the associated Disaster names are fairly self-explanatory as to what they will do to any website that you choose. Of course you're not really burning any bridges here. Whatever Disaster you inflict on the website is only seen on your computer and can easily be restored in but a moment. Still, the stress relief is quite real and will hopefully last a lot longer that the trail of Spilled Coffee or Dog Poop you just had netdisaster deposit on the offending website page.

Netdisaster is completely free and really is a lot of fun. Give it a try on your favorite website that you love to hate.


www.netdisaster.com