Commercial of the Week from IKEA: Always Pick Up Your Toys

IKEA's ads are generally light, fun and well-filmed. This one's just a little funnier than most... (MPEG file approx. 2.2 Mb)

Senior Dress Codes

This one's been around the block a few times but it still holds true...

Many of us "Old Folks" (those over 50, WAY over 50, or hovering near 50) are quite confused about how we should present ourselves. We are unsure about the kind of image we are projecting and whether or not we are correct as we try to Conform to current fashions. Despite what you may have seen on the streets, the following combinations DO NOT go together And should be avoided:

1. A nose ring and bifocals
2. Spiked hair and bald spots
3. A pierced tongue and dentures
4. Miniskirts and support hose
5. Ankle bracelets and corn pads
6. Speedo's and cellulite
7. A belly button ring and a gall bladder surgery scar
8. Unbuttoned disco shirts and a heart monitor
9. Midriff shirts and a midriff bulge
10. Bikinis and liver spots
11. Short shorts and varicose veins
12. Inline skates and a walker

And last, but not least...

13. Thongs and Depends

The Best Toaster

SLATE ran a fun article today by Tom Bartlett entitled Toast of the Town. I sure didn't know that the key component in a toaster, Nichrome (which is what the heating elements are made from), was invented over 100 years ago by chemist Albert Leroy Marsh.

Anyway, Bartlett takes on the daunting task of picking the best toaster on the market today from a field of 8 top contenders. Nice review.


And if you want to learn even more about toasters, check out Toaster.org.

How to Build an Airbus A380

Business Week just ran an article on how they build the world's largest commercial airplane, the AirBus A380. But there's also an even better video on GoogleVideos How to Build and Airbus A380 in 7 minutes. Wish Boeing could put out some cool PR stuff like this...

Why We Need to Make Sure Our Kids Get Sex Ed...

Italians vs. Other Europeans

Cute flash animation -- takes a bit of time to load.

Still Think You Need That New SUV?

If you think your current vehicle is overworked and overloaded, check out this collection of overloaded modes of transportation!

THIS IS WHAT LOVE IS ALL ABOUT!

My Note: Corny but touching and I felt worth passing along as well.

It was a busy morning, approximately 8:30 a. m., when an elderly gentleman in his 80's, arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He stated that he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am. I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound.

On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound. While taking care of his wound, we began to engage in conversation. I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife.

I then inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer's Disease. As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.

I was surprised, and asked him, "And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?" He smiled as he patted my hand and said, "She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is."

I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, "That is the kind of love I want in my life." True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be. With all the jokes and fun that are in e-mails, sometimes there are some that come along that have an important message, and this is one of those kind. Just had to share it with you all.

The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

Please share this with someone you care about.

Chris Bliss Diss

Remember that video of Chris Bliss juggling to the Beatles' tune that made it all over the web a week or so ago? (In case you didn't, click here.) Well, another dude named Jason released a new video on GoogleVideo that does Chris Bliss one (actually two!) better. This guy juggles FIVE balls to the strains of Carry That Weight... and he does it even more effortlessly! Check it out here.

This Just in from Last Friday's St. Patrick Day Celebration

Crowds Panic as Flood Threatens Ireland...

Smart Chinese Goldfish

The more stuff becomes available online, the zanier some of it gets. Just think: we'll be able to get clips of useless programs like this from China. But then again, I do like fish. Especially smart fish. (Windows Media wmv file approx. 740K)

Best Selling Albums of All Time (according to WIKI)

No one can say with any certainty how many copies of an album sold globally since there are no international bodies keeping an honest count. However, WIKI has a best-guesstimate list of the top-selling albums worldwide. Interestingly, Michael Jackson's Thriller tops the list as the all-time selling album with something like 50 million copies sold. The Beatles have sold more albums collectively than anyone else. Great list.

I Would Have Sh*t My Pants!

Holy crap! Take a look at this picture of what's left of an Audi TT after it got crushed on the freeway on Long Island by a tractor trailer and a bus. The driver of the truck was cited for carrying a load that was something like 16,000 lbs. overweight on bald tires. The video on the news clip was shot out the front window of a tour bus that was following the car when the truck came across the highway out of control. And the driver of the car? He survived with relatively minimal injuries -- and in one piece! Check out the video here (Windows Media WMV file).

100 MOST OFTEN MISSPELLED WORDS IN ENGLISH

The list of the 100 most misspelled words in English.

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

Good : Your wife is pregnant.
Bad : It's triplets.
Ugly : You had a vasectomy five years ago.

Good : Your wife's not talking to you.
Bad : She wants a divorce.
Ugly : She's a lawyer.

Good : Your son is finally maturing.
Bad : He's involved with the woman next door.
Ugly : So are you.

Good : Your son studies a lot in his room.
Bad : You find several porn movies hidden there.
Ugly : You're in them.

Good : Your hubby and you agree, no more kids.
Bad : You can't find your birth control pills.
Ugly : Your daughter borrowed them.

Good : Your husband understands fashion.
Bad : He's a cross-dresser.
Ugly : He looks better than you.

Good : You give the "birds and bees" talk to your daughter.
Bad : She keeps interrupting.
Ugly : With corrections.

Good : Your son is dating someone new.
Bad : It's another man.
Ugly : He's your best friend.

Good : Your daughter got a new job.
Bad : As a hooker.
Ugly : Your co-workers are her best clients.
Way ugly : She makes more money than you do.

360-degree View of Paris

As much as a lot of us may dislike the French these days, I still LOVE Paris! Here's a 360-degree view of Paris at night. If you look closely, you'll see the Eiffel Tower, the Seine, Notre Dame Cathedral and Montmartre. Beautiful. (Use the scroll bar at the bottom of your browser screen to scan the horizon.)

Check Out a Live Volcano!

The folks up in Alaska have sure found a neat way to bring in a lot of traffic to a website. Their Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) has had over 250 million hits (yes, that's 250 MILLION!) since the beginning of the year when they first started posting a live web cam link to the Augustine volcano on the south shores a few hundred miles down from Anchorage.


And while we're at it, here's a link to a webcam of Mount St. Helens in Washington.

Blue Water from Your Faucet!

Some geeks have too much time on their hands and too much money to spend prototyping some crazy-ass ideas! Want blue water to really come out of your faucet? Just get one of these blue LED attachments from ThinkGeek for a mere $14.99! And check out some of their other goodies while you're at it...

Having Fun Reading

When my kids and I first arrived in Seattle nearly 9 years ago (!), we were happy to find out that it had one of the most voracious appetites for book reading in the county. I don't know if you'd attribute it to the rainy weather or the dark days while riding the Metro buses to get around but you sure see a lot of people with their noses in books all the time. Hmm -- maybe that's why Amazon started up in Seattle...

In any event, Michelle and Brian Watters from Pickering, Ontario (Canada, eh?) decided to have some fun with book covers. Actually, the dust jackets that wrap around them. Most people just can't help looking at the cover of the books that other people are reading across the aisle from them on the bus. So what if you had a book that was titled, "How to Murder a Complete Stranger and Get Away with It."? Or how about other delightful conversation-starters like, "Do-it-Yourself Dentistry" or "How to Make your Grandmother a Porn Star." Or maybe the ever-popular "Perfecting the Art of Fart Projection"? Oh -- and my personal favorite, "The Nutritional Benefits of Nose Picking." You can view and purchase these great dust jackets on their site, FlapArt. Order a couple today and impress your friends!

Commercial of the Week from Toyota

This one's a new commercial for the RAV4 called Happy Together (remember the old Turtles hit from the 60's?). (Windows Media WMV file approx. 2.85 Mb)