You can use the host file to have your computer route to whatever addresses you desire (instead of using your nameserver). For example, by putting

[bash]sudo nano /etc/hosts[/bash]

Then add a line to the file with the ip address and the name you will use.
[bash]204.11.50.136 wastetime[/bash]

One useful way to use this is to test out a website on a new host prior to changing the nameserver to point to the new host. In this case, if you want to make sure your host file is being read you can ping wastetime and if it is working it will show the results for a ping to 204.11.50.136