1. Obscure facts and tips for the Hilton Waikoloa Village was fun to write, compiling many years of experience staying there.

2. I pioneered the sticky "News flash" thread that sends you an email when I post hot news for Southwest. I keep it valuable by posting only about 10 times per year. There's something interesting on there right now about converting Continental miles to Southwest and tripling their value.

The same sticky thread gives forum posting guidelines and links to the huge Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Wiki FAQ that I wrote. Using one sticky thread for all three purposes saves users' screen space. JetBlue's Seat13c copied this sticky thread and posts the news for that forum.

3. Buying Savings Bonds for miles was one of the biggest bonanzas ever. People got hundreds of thousands of miles and very good interest rates, too, churning Savings Bonds every six months or just buying and keeping them.

4. I contributed some detective work to the most entertaining thread ever on the Southwest forum. Girl seeks 15 minutes of fame, and FT busts her (pun intended, sorry about that).

5. For the fifth pick, I'll indulge myself by raising the profile of my very favorite getaway spot. Be sure to bring your driver's license and insurance card. You'll need them to get in the gate. You won't realize just how valuable this post is until you actually visit the place.

It's too bad I can't post some of my PM exchanges, because those are what I'm most proud of. There are some great FT members who started out on the edge of suspension. I helped them realize how to get the respect they deserved through better posting habits. I haven't found a single member that couldn't turn this corner with sufficient diligent and respectful attention. I moderated the Southwest forum for 5+ years with PM only and no ability to delete anything. So PMs are where I provide the most value to FT.