Happy Birthday to Busymom! The Big 40 is nothing to trifle with, youngster. I’d go out and buy a pair of those magnifying glasses for far-sightedness right now, because very soon you’ll need them. And remember, you’re only as old as you feel, so if you’re feeling old, go out and feel something young. Works every time.

Fran Mason urges you to visit the Ozarks, and I have to second that sentiment. And by all means follow her link to the MSNBC story that extolls their virtue. 

The Obvious? reports that Tom Peters, yes, THE Tom Peters who is the top management guru around, has a blog. A real blog.

Some simple advice for herself that works for me, and probably you too from Da Goddess.

I can’t help myself, Tom McMahon tells an oldie but a goodie, and he discovers that a team of top flight doctors have concluded that The Red Baron was shot down because he was suffering impaired judgement as the result of a nasty head wound.

Justin Katz asserts that Truth must be conveyed honestly by looking at some attempts to convert Catholics by less than honest means.

Science Blog reports that volunteering is good not just for the soul but the health as well (no word on desert and floorwax effects). They also report that some smart person has figured out why some paintings have eyes that follow you around the room: “All it takes for the effect to work is to have the person in the painting, or photograph, look straight ahead. If a person in a painting is looking straight out, it will always appear that way, regardless of the angle at which it is viewed.” And rounding out the trifecta, the FTC is considering offering bounties for spammers. I think $50 a head is about right.

Shelley Powers went to the balloon race here in Forest Park and has the pictures to print it. Poke around to discover more, lots more.

I must be watching the wrong TV shows, but I can’t recall seeing one of the Miller High Life ads Brad Rolfe likes so much. Perhaps it’s because I watch girly man shows (hey, Oprah is very informative), or perhaps I can’t think of anything I like to watch less on TV than poker, except perhaps for golf. I do remember the cat fight ad, although for the life of me I couldn’t tell you which Miller product they were pushing.

Eamonn Fitzgerald reports that Mel Gibson and John Boorman (the latest version of the odd couple?) are going to make best-seller The Professor and the Madman into a movie. The crazy thing is (no, not that I read and enjoyed the book) that the book was about the making of the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. Would that there were more people in Hollywood who can make movies that interest them.

I’m going to let Brian Tiemann handle that whole pirate thing, which I neither understand nor care about.

Are you ready for some football? Ben Domenech is.

I’ve heard of White Punks on Dope, but David at Cronaca warns about pigeons on dope.

Oh yeah, they handed out Emmy’s last night but frankly I couldn’t care less about stupid award shows anymore. OK, I’m sure I’ll watch the Oscars with my wife, but I don’t enjoy it.