Occasionally I shop at the Publix Supermarket just around the corner. During my last trip I noticed a sign on the front of my shopping cart:

“This shopping cart will automatically stop if taken beyond the yellow line at the end of the parking lot”

I thought it was a joke – or at the very least, an idle threat designed to make people think twice about taking carts out of the lot. Now I find out this a new technology that actually works. It is estimated that up to $800 million worth of shopping carts go missing each year in the U.S. alone. Often, they are used by homeless people to carry their belongings, and the carts are eventually abandoned alongside Read the rest of this entry »

A live webcast of the dissection of the largest colossal squid ever caught is scheduled for April 30th at the Te Papa Museum of New Zealand. Weighing nearly 1000 pounds and measuring the length of a school bus, the behemoth was caught in Antarctic waters in February of 2007 by a fishing vessel trolling for toothfish with long lines – single lines with many baited hooks. When the crew raised the lines they discovered the colossal squid, which was hooked when it tried to eat a toothfish caught on the line. Because Read the rest of this entry »

You know how so many people have trouble sleeping? Well, that’s not my problem. For me, the problem is GETTING to sleep. I can be sitting in the recliner, watching TV, my eyes so heavy I can barely keep them open, but the moment my head its the pillow – Boinggg! – my eyes are wide open. Some nights, I lie there just looking up a the gray ceiling, endless thoughts swirling around in my head. I’ve tried playing calm music, taking a shower, reading a book, turning over on my belly and sticking my head under the pillow, doing yoga in bed, drinking Chamomile tea, and meditating (sometimes the meditating helps).

Strangely, once I fall asleep, I sleep soundly. Even if I have to get up three times during the night to go to the bathroom, I fall asleep the moment I lie back down. This difficulty falling asleep doesn’t happen all the time, perhaps two or three times a month. I’ve been looking for the common denominator. Does it happen Read the rest of this entry »

My sister, Linda, sent me a link to the video “Mom’s William Tell Overture” today. Since Linda and I are separated by only two and a half years, we have many of the same memories of growing up, so I’m sure she related to the video as strongly as I did. But I’m willing to bet it is ageless. Mom’s are still saying the same things they did when I was a kid, ‘lo so many years ago. Just goes to show you that he more things change, the more things stay the same. Take a look – it’s a quick video (about three minutes long) and it’s good for a chuckle:

Love ya’ Lin!

Three weeks ago, the East African country of Zimbabwe held a Presidential election. By all accounts, incumbent President Robert Mugabe was soundly defeated, however his administration has so far refused to release the official results of the election. Instead, Mugabe’s corrupt government has unleashed a brutal campaign to retain power. The opposition says that ten have died, and hundreds have been injured; now, a “human wave” of refugees is fleeing to South Africa and other neighboring countries and Zimbabwe’s crisis is getting worse.

I traveled to Zimbabwe last year and it is one of my all-time favorite destinations. Everyone I met was quick to smile and thrilled that I was visiting their country. By the end of my stay, I felt I had made wonderful, lifetime friends. In view of the current situation, I have been especially concerned for their safety and have tried to stay in touch. The following is an excerpt from an email I recently received from one of my Zimbabwean friends, who shall remain nameless, for obvious reasons:

“Our President has been compared to the likes of Saddam, which is scary to think we had such a man rule us for 28 years. Everyone in the country wants peace and a normal economy once again, regardless of race or social circles. At this point people are getting frustrated and Read the rest of this entry »

When I moved to Florida a number of people warned me against drinking the tap water. Their mantra was, “Drink only bottled water!” One friend pointed out that because Florida is one of the country’s largest agricultural states, the aquifer was almost certainly contaminated with runoff pesticides.

I have mixed feelings about bottled water. First, I recoil at the idea of buying water that is bottled by Coca-Cola (Dasani) and Pepsi (Aquafina). I have a hard time believing the two companies that manufacture the majority of the world’s unhealthy, carbonated, sugar-and-sweetener laden soft drinks are providing bottled water because they are concerned about the quality of our tap water (or our health). An examination of Dasani’s label will reveal that Coke adds trace amounts of minerals, including magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt), potassium chloride, and common salt to their bottled water. Pepsi’s brand contains no additives, but the water used to produce Aquafina is drawn from municipal sources, despite the fact that the label on the bottle features a series of high mountain peaks that suggest crystal clear mountain streams as the source.

Indeed, 40 percent of bottled water begins life as regular tap water. Aquafina is produced from municipal water in Wichita, Kansas. Coke’s Dasani is taken from the taps of Queens, New York; Jacksonville, Florida; and elsewhere. Everest bottled water originates from Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re like me (read “computer attached at the hip”) you not only use the computer for work and research, you also use it for entertainment. One of my favorite pastimes is reading other people’s blogs. Several are written by friends; I love being able to check in at any time and see what is going on in their lives. Others are blogs written by people I’ve never met, but whose lives I find interesting, or whose writing styles amuse and entertain me.

Occasionally I search for new bloggers and this is usually a difficult task. For instance, recently I was searching for good travel blogs. I tried Google’s regular search and their blog search, but it just referred to large commercial sites like Travelocity, Lonely Planet, and Boots ‘n All, rather than individual bloggers writing good posts about travel. Fortunately, when I found Alltop.com , my problem was solved.

Alltop is what is known as an aggregator – a web site that pulls in information from many other sites and puts it all in one place. In this case, Read the rest of this entry »

As I walked through the front courtyard of the complex where I live today, I was acutely aware of a delicious fragrance wafting through the air. I followed my nose to the Confederate Jasmine creeping over the wrought iron fence that surrounds the site. The sweet, fruity scent of the Jasmine immediately brought back memories of living in Puerto Rico, where the air was always infused with the scent of the luscious tropical flowers that bloomed year-round.

Smells are powerful stimuli. The odor of freshly baked cookies lingering in a house that is for sale can often be the deciding factor for buyers deciding between properties. The scent of fresh mowed grass reminds me of summer nights on the south side of Chicago, when as a child, I ran around at dusk, catching fireflies Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve previously talked about the dangers of crossing a street in various parts of the world, but this video of people in Japan boarding the train is jaw dropping:

The midwest airlines as well as the air deccan, both have partnerships with national car rental as well as the infamous chicago hotel.