NaturePods

This is so cool! Tom and Nancy Condon have developed NaturePods! These are field/tour guides that you can download to your Ipod or Mp3 player. Their first one is of Cades Cove! Go to www.naturepods.com to download it.

Plastic Surgery...for the dead.

Wow...this is disturbing. I found this article on msn.com today. A new trend in plastic surgery is emerging from an unlikely service provider. No longer content to just LOOK lifelike, people making their own funeral arrangements are adding plastic surgery to the list. For decades morticians have used chemicals and cosmetics to give those who have passed a "peaceful" facial expression. These days, clients want to look better in death than they did in life. Seriously???? That makes no sense to me at all. Why on earth would you PAY good money to have your face improved AFTER you are dead? You are just going to be buried and decompose. No one will see you ever again after you are buried. Are you going for the "wow...she looks great" thing that people like to say when they are hovering over dead people? Some people just have too much money. Take that money you would spend to improve how you look in the casket and donate it to charity. People who are living that can benefit from your generosity. Whew...this one got me going.

Here are the popular postmortem procedures:
Lip plumper, Wrinkle Remover and Breast Augmentation. And as a side note for breast augmentionation. If you opt for this postmortem procedure and plan to be cremated, most facilites will insist the implants be removed before the fire. They will explode like little bombs during the cremation process. Ewww...

Delaying the transition from Analog to Digital...what???

So you know how we’ve been bombarded since the beginning of last year with messages about the switch-over from analog to digital TV next month right? Well you may also be aware that Congress is debating whether to hold off the transition until June. They estimate that more than 6.5 million households aren’t ready. Okay, seriously? 6.5 MILLION households aren’t ready? How can they not be ready? If you did not know about this transition, you have been living in a hole somewhere. This has been a topic in the news and local television for MORE than 1 year. There has been plenty of notice. I don’t think Congress should have sympathy for these folks. I’m sorry if that sounds rude, but I just don’t understand how that many people are NOT ready for this. Even when the government offered these converter boxes for FREE! We shouldn’t’ have to be penalized for other people’s procrastination. Just saying. Plus, delaying the transition will cost broadcasters money as well because they have to air both digital and analog signals for another four months. The delay could also effect public safety agencies and wireless companies who are waiting for the airwaves to be freed up by the release of the analog signals.
I just don’t even understand how it’s up for discussion. I think they need to do what they said they were going to do and switch it February 17th. Tell you what. Those that have procrastinated will snap to it really quick when they can’t watch tv. What do you think?

Why are the commercials so LOUD on televison?

Okay...at first I thought it was the transition between analog and digital for television stations, but after reading an article in Reader's Digest and upon my own observation, I have realized that television commercials are loud on purpose. You'll be watching your favorite television show and then it will fade out and cut to a commercial. All of a sudden, you are stunned to attention and blown back from the television because the commercial is SO LOUD!!!!! What is UP with that? In a flailing attempt to make us watch commercials, are clients choosing to make their commercials louder? I'm a DVR girl so I fast forward through some of the commercials, but occasionally I watch tv in real time and have found that this loud commerical thing is a recurring situation. Know what I do? I hit MUTE!!!!!!! How's that for effective marketing?

Can anyone tell me WHY this is happening? I know who to call to find out, but I'd rather hear from you. Also, is it just me or do you feel the same way?

It's Inauguration Day...

I was reviewing the blog posts at WBIR dot com and was overcome with a wave of sadness. Some posts were so excited about today and our future. Some were bitter and angry about today and had nothing but horrible things to say. The first thing that came to my mind is this: How nice to live in a country where we can express ourselves so freely and choose to support the President or not. In other countries, they have no choice but to support their leader. I think some folks need to remember that we are lucky we live in a free country. How lucky we are to think and feel whatever we want.

I never once stated this on the air, because I feel it is not my place to cram my opinion down your throat. But this is my Blog and I can say whatever I want.

I VOTED FOR BARACK OBAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am excited to have some hope for our future and our children's future. He has a huge job on his hands living up to our expectations and I wish him the very best of luck. He will be under a lot of scrutiny from the opposing team.

Most of all, I haven't seen our country so united and so excited about anything in a very long time. It's nice. There is an excitement in the air and a strong hope for the future. If Barack Obama can give people a sense of pride to work hard and be good Americans, that is one huge step in the right direction.

One more thing. I really wish people would stop basing this election on race. That's just ignorant. You are assuming that black Americans only voted for Obama because he's black. Well that would be stupid. Are you calling black Americans stupid? Perhaps you should double-check on your own racial issues first before you judge others. Black Americans and white Americans made their choice together along with Asian Americans, Latin Americans, Jewish Americans and on and on and on. The best man won the election. Fair and square. United States citizens were given the opportunity to vote. We voted.

Here's to a productive 8 years.

Correction to Island Job website

Hey, it's this website: http://www.islandreefjob.com/

I had Island F-R-E-E job. It's Island R-E-E-F job. Little dyslexia. Sorry.

Best Job in the World

There is a job opening in Australia you might be interested in. The tourism department in Queensland is offering someone $100,000 to lay around on an island near Australia’s Great Barrier reef for six months. Seriously. They are calling it The Best Job in the World. All you have to do is promote the island on a blog. In exchange for salary, you would get free accommodations in an oceanfront villa and airfare from your home country. You will be required to stroll the island’s white sand beaches, snorkel, swim in the pool and post photos and videos of your experience on a weekly blog. Applications are accepted until February 22nd when 11 finalists will be flown to Hamilton Island in May for the final selection process. The job would begin July 1st. Interested? Visit www.islandfreejob.com.

Jefferson Bass

Hey! I am so excited! The new Jefferson Bass novel Bones of Betrayal is out in stores on Tuesday, February 3rd! Join me at Borders Books & Music on Morrell Road near West Town for their first public booksigning. It's at 7pm on Wednesday, February 4th! To learn more about the book click here: http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9780061284748/Bones_of_Betrayal/index.aspx

The Banana Experiment - Continued

So, if you read my earlier post, it said if you seperate bananas when you get them home they will last longer. I did that. SO not true. I experimented with a bunch this week. I left them together lovingly as a bunch. They are rotting at the same rate as the unbunched bananas.

I suppose there is a difference in how ripe they are when you buy them, but really, I don't want to get into a huge full-fledged experiment here. I just wanted to know.

My hypothesis is that seperating the bananas when you get them home makes no difference.

The End.

Interesting in Swapping your old DVD's?

Good Housekeeping approved two DVD swapping websites. www.swapadvd.com and www.switchplanet.com.