Timewasters

I know everybody's busy right now, but sometimes a (short!) break is just the thing. If you're tired of Facebook games, add some variety with these:

• Knoword - A game that tests your vocabulary and spelling abilities. The default seems to be Canadian/British spellings, so be sure to click on the dropdown menu on the top right of the screen and select "English (U.S.)" for your language, unless you'd like an extra level of difficulty.
• Ancient Lives - The best thing about this one is that you'll actually be doing something useful. The Ancient Lives project allows people with no knowledge of Greek to help decipher Greek text on bits of papyrus. There are lots of similar projects, like Galaxy Zoo, Planet Hunters, Foldit, and EteRNA, but this is the only one I've tried very often. Ancient Lives doesn't require you to sign up for an account or install anything, but some of the others do.