Lifestyle13

If you stay in hotels, you’ll want to see this video. Once you do, you’ll never drink out of the glasses there again:

Don’t Ever Drink From Hotel Glasses

Better bring one of those collapsible drinking cups.

A man in Winnipeg hasn’t seen his wife in 18 years.  Now he wants to get married again, but before he can do that he needs to divorce his long-lost wife.  So, he’s taken out a radio ad looking for information on her so he can get a divorce.

Man runs radio ad in hopes of divorcing wife

So, this email showed up in my mailbox this morning:

Hello

My name is SGT.DAVID PAM, I am an American soldier with Swiss background, serving in the military with the army’s 3rd infantry division. With a very desperate need for assistance, I have summed up courage to contact you. I found your contact particulars in an address journal. I am seeking your kind assistance to move the sum of ( $ 25 million u.s. dollars ) Twenty Five million united states dollars to you, as far as I can be assured that my share will be safe in your care until I complete my service here, this is no stolen money, and there are no danger involved.

Source of money:

Some money in various currencies was discovered in barrels at a farmhouse near one of Saddam’s old palaces in Tikrit-Iraq during a rescue operation, and it was agreed by staff Sgt Kenneth buff and I that some part of this money be shared among both of us before informing anybody about it since both of us saw the money first. This was quite an illegal thing to do, but I tell you what? No compensation can make up for the risk we have taken with our lives in this hell hole. Of which my brother in-law was killed by a road side bomb last week. You will find the story of this money on the web address below;

{there was no web address listed in this spot}

The above figure was given to me as my share, and to conceal this kind of money became a problem for me, so with the help of a British contact working here and his office enjoy some immunity, I was able to get the package out to a safe location entirely out of trouble spot. he does not know the real contents of the package, and believes that it belongs to a brithish/american medical doctor who died in a raid here in Iraq, and before giving up, trusted me to hand over the package to his family in united states.

Now this where you come in this if you are willing to assist me in this transaction, the money has been packed as family valuables and it will be delivered to America in two days, if you are willing to assist me in this venture you are advised to get back to me with your complete contact information which will be forwarded to the diplomat who is carrying the said consignment.

He will contact you on your direct phone number for the clearance of the consignment from the homeland security at J.F.K international airport, after that the consignment will proceed to your home which is the final destination, note that it is not a must that you should assist me in this transaction but if you are willing and sincere to help me out in this transaction be rest assured that this transaction is 100% risk free and it does not contradict the laws of any country.

Indicate your interest in assisting me as well as Providing the following information to facilitate the smooth conclusion of the Transaction.also note that you are advised to get back to me via the below contact address:

1) YourName:——————————————
2) YourAddress:———————————————
3) Your Telephone Number:—————————
4) Your Fax Number:————————————–
5) Your Mobile Number: ———————————
6) The Name of the Closest Airport to your City of
Residence: –.

God Bless

SGT.David Pam

Now, I know I’m not really going to get rich from this.  It’s just the latest version of the old Nigerian scheme to rip people off.  These sorts of emails have been floating around for years, but I’m amazed at the people who fall for this scam. 

Here’s some info from Snopes.com on the Nigerian email scam.

Yahoo! has been struggling financially with announcements in the past week that they’d be laying off about 1,000 workers.

Now Microsoft is making a $44.6-billion offer to buy Yahoo!

Check out this monkey riding a dog at a rodeo

A U.S. spy satellite that can no longer be controlled could hit the Earth in late February or early March.

Link

I really don’t like shopping — but maybe that’s not such a surprise since I’m a guy.  Some guys like it, but most don’t.

However, when I go shopping I like to think I’m savvy about looking for good deals.  I’ll be the first to admit, I’m a cheap skate.

A lot of us, though, think we’re getting a deal when we really aren’t.  Like in the case where we get a “double discount.”  You know, the store says it’s a 20% and they’ll give you 30% more at the register.  Is that a better deal than if it just says 45% off?  A lot of people think it is because 20 + 30 = 50, so you might assume you’re getting a 50% discount.

That’s where the stores fool you.

To see the ways stores can trick you into giving up more of your money, check out Six Ways Stores Trick You Into Spending More.

I’m not a big one for making New Year’s Resolutions.  However, I do think goal setting is important.  Resolutions are too easy to break.  If you do your goal planning correctly, you’ll be able to stick to your goals and accomplish them.

A person should set his goals as early as he can and devote all his energy and talent to getting there. With enough effort, he may achieve it. Or he may find something that is even more rewarding. But in the end, no matter what the outcome, he will know he has been alive.
 
- Walt Disney

Many goal-setting experts recommend using the mnemonic SMART when setting your goals.

SMART stands for:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Realistic
• Time-bound

For example, you can’t just say, “I want to make more money” because if you make one dollar more, you’ve made more money, but that probably wasn’t your goal.  At the same time, you must be realistic and the goal must be achievable.  If you have a $20,000 a year job, saying, “I want to make a billion dollars this year” isn’t realistic and probably isn’t achievable. 

Instead, you could say, “I plan to make an additional $5,000 by December 31, 2oo8.”  With this goal, you’ve been specific in what you want.  Your goal is measurable because you can measure your progress by tracking your income.  Making an additional $5,000 is both achievable and realistic, and you’ve time-bound the goal by saying you’ll accomplish it by December 31, 2008.

The next step is to make a plan for how you’ll accomplish your goal.  In this example, to make the additional $5,000, you could get a part-time job.  You could also work to convince your employer that you need a raise.  Or you could look at starting a small side-business that would generate enough revenue to create a $5,000 profit by the end of the year.

Once you have a plan in place for achieving your goal, you should break down the plan into manageble pieces and do something every day to move you closer to accomplishing your goal.

For some inspiration on goal setting check out How to Achieve Ridiculous Goals from the Self Made Chick.

From the first time I saw Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, I knew he reminded me of someone I’d seen before.  I couldn’t put my finger on it, though.  It was driving me nuts.

Then it hit me.  I knew exactly who he looked like:

Mitt Romney looks like Guy Smiley from Sesame Street.

In fact, I’ll go one step further.  I think Mitt Romney IS Guy Smiley. 

What’s my proof?

Has anyone ever seen them in the same room at the same time?

This week, Yahoo announced the top searches in 2007 .

Yahoo press release:

SUNNYVALE, Calif., December 03, 2007 – Yahoo! today announced the Top Trends in Search, as told through the billions of searches in 2007 conducted by millions of Yahoo! searchers around the globe. Yahoo!’s Top Trends in Search reveals a portrait of a culture on the brink of political breakaways, celebrity breakdowns, technological breakthroughs, environmental action, sporting errors and final farewells to popular icons.

“Searches can give us insight into a culture in motion and Yahoo!’s Top Trends in Search in 2007 reflects the world’s fascination with crossroads and breakthroughs. People weren’t just buzzing about celebrity. More than ever they sought to be environmentally responsible, were using the Web to find out about food and product safety and getting the scoop on the latest gadgets,” said Heather Cabot, Yahoo! Web Life Editor.

Top Trends in Search in 2007

News Stories – top 10 news stories

1.      Saddam Hussein

2.      Iran

3.      Iraq

4.      President George W. Bush

5.      Oil and Gas prices

6.      Barack Obama

7.      Hillary Rodham Clinton

8.      San Diego Fires

9.      Afghanistan

10.    Virginia Tech

This year, the availability of footage of Saddam Hussein’s final moments caused searches for him to soar making the late Iraqi leader the most searched figure in the news of 2007.  In addition, the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan propelled buzz throughout the year. With the ongoing diplomatic situation with Iran and visit from the Iranian president, Yahoo! users searched for more information on Iran than Iraq this year.  Among the Presidential hopefuls, who embraced the Web in larger numbers this year, Democratic contenders Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton once again drummed up a large number of searches.

Grass is Always Greener – top 10 environmental searches

1.      Recycling

2.      Global Warming

3.      Freecycle

4.      Earth

5.      Pollution

6.      Al Gore

7.      Environmental Protection Agency

8.      Live Earth

9.      Hybrid Cars

10.    Solar Energy

2007 may go down as the year people stopped talking about the climate crisis and actually did something about it.  Yahoo! Searches found that people searched for ways to help the environment, on a global and personal level. Al Gore’s, “An Inconvenient Truth,” won an Academy Award and brought global warming to the fore-front. Also, “Freecycle.org,” a social networking approach to local recycling, emerged as a hit to consumers that sought to exchange used goods in their neighborhoods. 2007 saw searches about global warming and energy-saving cars reach their highest levels ever.

Celebrity Downslides – top 10 troubled stars

1.      Britney Spears

2.      Paris Hilton

3.      Anna Nicole Smith

4.      Vanessa Anne Hudgens

5.      Nicole Richie

6.      Amy Winehouse

7.      Rosie O’Donnell

8.      Tara Conner

9.      Michael Vick

10.    Owen Wilson

This year, Yahoo! searches kept up with the twists and turns of troubled Hollywood stars with Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Anna Nicole Smith at the top. Traffic violations drove socialites Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie to jail, and Lindsay Lohan went to rehab numerous times. The story of Anna Nicole Smith and her unexpected death resulted in a great spike in searches and Vanessa Ann Hudgens, the Disney star of “High School Musical”, became even more popular following her photo scandal.

The Year of I, You and Wii – top 10 in tech

1.      YouTube

2.      Wikipedia

3.      Facebook

4.      iTunes

5.      iPod

6.      iPhone

7.      Nintendo Wii

8.      Xbox

9.      Sony PlayStation 3

10.    Guitar Hero

In 2007, a cell phone had people camping on the doorsteps of local wireless stores. Apple co-founder, Steve Jobs, introduced the iPhone at MacWorld in January. From that moment on, searches on Yahoo! soared as people clamored for the latest gadget from the company who also brought us the infamous iPod. Nintendo’s Wii had a similarly seductive quality. The game console debuted in late 2006, amidst predictions of a stiff competition from the Sony PlayStation 3 and the new Xbox. However, gadgets and games weren’t the only things pushing tech to its limits - 2007 was also the year that presidential candidates en masse appealed to their citizenry through the Internet. Technology wasn’t so much breaking new ground, as it was entering into a new maturity.

Tag, You’re It – top 10 on del.icio.us

1.      Design

2.      HDTV

3.      Games

4.      Music

5.      Web 2.0

6.      Video

7.      Ubuntu

8.      Travel

9.      Photography

10.    Mac

Creativity and creation marked the 2007 searches on social search and bookmarking site, del.icio.us (http://delicious.com), which serves as the “shared Web memory” for millions of technologists, librarians, journalists, and others who enjoy staying on the cutting edge of what’s new and interesting in technology and society. The pursuit of design took the top spot among the millions of del.icio.us users, who shared and tagged Web pages and articles on how to groom a website and tinker with typography for maximum effect.

Recalling the Recall – top 10 consumer call-backs

1.      Pet Food Recall

2.      Fisher Price

3.      Thomas the Tank Engine

4.      Dog Food Recall

5.      Menu Foods

6.      E. coli

7.      Food Poisoning

8.      Toy Recall

9.      Peanut Butter recall

10.    Topps

In early spring of 2007, reports of poisoned dog food spurred frantic searches about the pet food recall. For weeks, pet owners examined every brand of food to gauge its safety, and some resorted back to homemade recipes just as a precaution. Toy recalls, bearing the likeness of Thomas the Tank Engine and Fisher Price, suddenly spiked in searches due to the discovery of lead based paint in their products.  Ultimately, the commanding search of food safety-related searches such as Menu Foods, E. coli, and Topps, surged to the top in an effort to stay informed. As companies’ spot-testing measures and governmental agreements worked to restore consumer confidence, searches of these issues and additional recall announcements continued.

Elementary Deductions - top 10 searches on Yahoo! Kids  

1.      Games

2.      Animals

3.      Dinosaurs

4.      Math

5.      Hannah Montana

6.      Solar System

7.      George Washington

8.      Halloween

9.      Sally Ride

10.    Global Warming

This year, kids ages 7–12 showed their environmental consciousness as they searched on topics of global proportions and endangered animals.  Global warming was among 2007’s top 10 searches on Yahoo! Kids. Although math topped the list of the most-searched school subject, science was also popular, with related searches on dinosaurs and the solar system remained high on the list among both boys and girls.

Hits, Runs and Errors – top 10 sports news

1.      NASCAR

2.      Maria Sharapova

3.      Boston Red Sox

4.      David Beckham

5.      Serena Williams

6.      Chicago Bears

7.      Christiano Ronaldo

8.      Super Bowl

9.      Ronaldinho

10.    Ashley Force

2007 featured several buzz-worthy sports searches, with Nascar at number one, continuing to be an American favorite.  Searches showed that Maria Sharapova was very hot this year, and Serena Williams’ triumph in the Australian open after a series of injuries made her a favorite of Yahoo! searchers.  In a final ode to joy, the Boston Red Sox capped the year with a fantastic finish to the baseball season.

Final Farewells – top 10 send-offs

1.      Harry Potter

2.      Anna Nicole Smith

3.      The Sopranos

4.      Rosie O’Donnell

5.      Gilmore Girls

6.      The OC

7.      Barbaro

8.      Richard Jeni

9.      Iwao Takamoto

10.    Captain America

In 2007, we said goodbye to a number of favorite characters, both real and fictional. Harry Potter, Hermione, and Ron, the creations of author J.K. Rowling, all of which whom earned the most fare-thee-well searches of 2007, and making it the final chapter of the young wizards’ adventures.  Anna Nicole Smith’s tragic passing intrigued many fans to search for her throughout the past year.  In that curious intersection of real and fictional worlds, the assassination of comic-book character, Captain America, who was gunned down after defending his civil liberties, was too laden with symbolism to ignore. His death provoked a strong search reaction, although plans for his legacy continue to be in the works.

To find out more about the top trends in Yahoo! Search go to http://buzz.yahoo.com/toptrends2007 or search for “Top Trends 2007″ on yahoo.com.

Week In Review

We asked the question What If The Internet Crashes?  And then realized that if it did we might get rid of A Lot of Spam.

Are you like us when it comes to To Do Lists?

When I Was A Kid… brought back some great Christmas-time memories.

C’mon, Ladies, Shave Those Legs.

If you need a good laugh, check out May I Have The Envelope Please?

I think I’ll plead the Fifth on the question Are You Addicted to E-Mail?

Feeling stressed about the holidays?  Here are 13 Great Things About The Holiday Season, plus some Holiday Shopping Tips.

On The Web

We asked this week Are You Addicted to E-Mail?  So it seemed fitting that I found this post from Thomas Hawk titled Email, 1961-2007 R.I.P… Thank God!

It’s that time of year when the Oscar contenders show up on movie screens around the country.  Marnie and I love watching The Soup on E! every week.  This past Friday, they showed this trailer for “The Oscar Movie.”

A research firm says that if there isn’t $42-billion to $55-billion invested in Internet infrastructure the Net could start “bogging down” by 2010.

While I wouldn’t mind if it slowed down the amount of SPAM that gets to my Inbox, the serious side of this is the impact it could have on the economy, especially in North America.  So many businesses in the U.S. have become dependent on the Web that “brownouts” could cripple those companies, especially the ones that rely on sales and service through the Web.

Report: Internet Outages Could Occur By 2010 As Capacity Stalls