On This Day

Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster. Who can forget.

Paperwork-Tolerance Segmentation Strategy

US News and World Report explains why we fall for the rebate deal and then fail to follow-up with the paperwork ... making the item more expensive to us in the first place ... in Your Money Why Shoppers Love to Hate Rebates The article also links to several websites designed to help us track expiring rebates in Your Money: Rebate Help On the Web such as Rebate List.net. Don't expect anything but electronic and computer-related rebates, though. One tip (that works for me) suggested by researcher Tim Salk is to cut out the UPC code immediately upon arrival home or to your office. Also read tips in Your Money: How to Win the Rebate Game by Kimberly Palmer.

Fighting Blues

There's nothing better for cheer in the midst of winter than a pair of new bookends. These are by Jonathan Adler and are happily very cheap. Barnes and Noble has a great collection for various budgets ... and since I don't get out shopping much I brightened my day by browsing online.

58 Degrees of Freezing Separation

Blowing soap bubbles at minus 20C (-29F) turns them into floating ice bubbles, and if these hit the ground they either shatter or roll around for hours. At minus 40C (-40F), tossing a pan of boiling water into the air makes a bizarre hissing noise as the water instantly turns into a cloud of tiny dust-like ice crystals that float in the air. The noise comes from miniature explosions as each drop of water first turns to ice on the outside forming an icy shell, followed by a freeze on the inside that shatters the shell. You can see where people have walked by the trails of icy mist left hanging in the air at head height. From Times Online

The article "Fun things to do when it is 58 degrees below zero" explains what to do in the Arctic freeze currently hitting some parts of Siberia, Russia.

Free Music?

I just checked out Last.fm

what you listen to, learns what you like, gives you personal top charts and new music to discover. Last.fm

I'm not sure what it means for the future - three plays for any track and you'll need to subscribe for future listening of that particular track.

As of [this week], you can play full-length tracks and entire albums for free on the Last.fm website. Last.fm

I played around with one of my favorite artists, Alison Kraus, and found her biography, all of her albums and most of her full tracks. One of the cool things is that like Amazon (and unlike Amazon you can listen to the FULL track, not just a snippet) Last.fm will suggest other like artists. This is a great way to discover more music. No one knows for sure how long the music will be free but take a listen yourself.

Behind the Amazon Mystique

Ever wonder who writes the reviews at Amazon? Read Garth Risk Hallberg's interesting expose, Who is Grady Harp at Slate.com. From Library Link of the Day.

Overbooked

Overbooked.org

"is a web site, established since 1992, for ravenous & omnivorous readers. Overbooked provides information about fiction and readable nonfiction.Overbooked originals include annotated lists of nonfiction, fiction and mystery books which received starred reviews, themed booklists, featured titles lists and hot lists of hard cover US fiction releases."

Liebrary

Like word games like Balderdash and Hugger Mugger? You will love Liebrary, a game designed by another bright blonde, actress Daryl Hannah.

"You don't have to be well-read to play Liebrary. All you need is your sense of humor and creativity! Each player will hear the title and a short description of a book. Create a convincing first line to fool your fellow players into thinking yours is the REAL first line of the book. The player who reaches the end of the board first wins!"

This game is a blast and even the reluctant game player becomes addicted.

Share Your Photos!

Photos are more fun when they are shared. Thankfully, online photo sharing services make it easy to back-up your photos and share them with the world. If you want to encourage your friends or family to start sharing photos online, double click in the center of the movie.

The Truth: Do Not Make the Call

The Truth about Cell Phones and the National Do Not Call Registry: I've just received the frantic e-mail telling me that my cell phone is about to be assaulted by telemarketing calls as a result of a new cell phone number database. Don't waste your time and be assured that this is not the case. Click here for the scoop from the Federal Trade Commission.

Or read the extensive Snopes research and commentary.

Do Your Research

Received any candidate-bashing chain mail? Be sure to check out Urban Legends Reference Pages at Snopes.com - the legends are highly researched and you'll be, too, when the subjects come up. Don't spread the rumors ... research the source and content.

Find Your Candidate

Take a poll created by Minnesota Public Radio to find out which Presidential candidate aligns most closely with YOUR views.
Or here's another by Select Smart

Twelfth Night

Yes, it's more than Shakespeare. Twelfth Night, the eve of January 5, is an English folk custom for the end of Christmas merrymaking and in ancient Celtic tradition the end of the 12-day winter solstice celebration. On Twelfth Night, it was customary for the assembled company to toast one another from the wassail bowl. In Old English, wassail means "Be in good health," but the term also was applied to the drink itself (usually spiced ale).
Try the Old Farmer's Almanac's Light Wassail recipe.

Tricks from the Heart

Heartgard brings us doggie tricks to lighten up your day. Getting back to work after vacation can be tough going. Go ahead - amuse yourself!