Stephen Lynch - 'If I Were Gay'

It was related to the punching bag post.

Claim: Vending machines in Japan offer for sale panties purportedly worn by schoolgirls.

Status: True.

Snopes article here, if you must know.

Funny, but grody.

Costco Recalls Dirty Underwear Punching Bag

eHarmony getting eSued because they eSuck my eBalls.

I cringe every time I see their ads. Thanks to Clay!

eHarmony sued for excluding gays

Matchmaking site founded by evangelical Christian Dr. Neil Clark Warren

'LOS ANGELES - The popular online dating service eHarmony was sued on Thursday for refusing to offer its services to gays, lesbians and bisexuals.

A lawsuit alleging discrimination based on sexual orientation was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of Linda Carlson, who was denied access to eHarmony because she is gay.

Lawyers bringing the action said they believed it was the first lawsuit of its kind against eHarmony, which has long rankled the gay community with its failure to offer a “men seeking men” or “women seeking women” option.

They were seeking to make it a class action lawsuit on behalf of gays and lesbians denied access to the dating service.

eHarmony was founded in 2000 by evangelical Christian Dr. Neil Clark Warren and had strong early ties with the influential religious conservative group Focus on the Family.

It has more than 12 million registered users, and heavy television advertising has made it one of the nation’s biggest Internet dating sites.

Carlson, who lives in the San Francisco Bay area, tried to use the site’s dating services in February 2007. When she was denied access, she wrote to eHarmony explaining its anti-gay policy was discriminatory under California law but the company refused to change it, according to the lawsuit.

“Such outright discrimination is hurtful and disappointing for a business open to the public in this day and age,” she said.

eHarmony could not immediately be reached for comment. Commenting in the past on eHarmony’s gay and lesbian policy, Warren has said that he does not know the dynamics of same-sex relationships but he expects the principles to be different.

“This lawsuit is about changing the landscape and making a statement out there that gay people, just like heterosexuals, have the right and desire to meet other people with whom they can fall in love,” said Carlson lawyer Todd Schneider.

Carlson’s lawyers expect a significant number of gays and lesbians to join the class action, which seeks to force eHarmony to end its policy and unspecified damages for those denied eHarmony services based on their sexual orientation.'

Stranger With Candy Quote Of The Day

Jerri Blank: 'That's what I want to be, Orlando! A robot!!'

Whoa!

Real or fake, it's neato.

Did I just drop acid and not know it?

Geek Squad CEO is kinda cute.

UPDATE: Geek Squad CEO Promises To Resolve Any Consumerist Reader Complaint He Receives, And Then Does So

Ha.

The Holloways - 'Dancefloor'

Hopefull they redo the decor.

The interior design is bufugly. We're talking hunter green paired with blond wood and brass. Yick.

Downtown Adam's Mark Hotel sold

'A San Francisco-based group buys Colorado's largest hotel. Industry experts say they expect the building

Downtown Denver's Adam's Mark Hotel - the largest hotel in Colorado - has been sold to San Francisco-based Oxford Lodging Advisory & Investment Group, owner Fred Kummer confirmed Wednesday.

The 1,225-room property, at 16th Street and Court Place, was sold as part of a package that includes all five hotels in the small Adam's Mark chain. Other locations are in Dallas and St. Louis.

The purchase price was not disclosed, but Kummer called it "a large one."

Kummer's St. Louis-based HBE Corp. has owned the hotel, which features 133,000 square feet of meeting space, since 1995.

Oxford Lodging president Rob Kline confirmed the purchase but declined to comment further.

The company has a $4 billion portfolio of 30 luxury and upscale hotels and resorts throughout the United States and Japan. Its properties operate under a variety of flags, including Hyatt Regency, Doubletree and Hilton.

Some Denver lodging-industry insiders said they expect the hotel to be rebranded.

"From what I've heard, they're going to make it into a big national brand, which means more sales effort and more demand drivers," said Richard Scharf, president of the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau. "It will definitely be good for Denver."

The deal is expected to close Aug. 16.

"I don't think there will be that big of a change - the hotel has been busy and will continue to be busy because it's in a prime location and their available meeting space is huge," said Ilene Kamsler, head of the Colorado Hotel & Lodging Association. "But they may be able to push up the room rates, depending on the level of investment that the new owners make into the property."

The hotel was originally built as a Hilton in 1960 and was designed by distinguished architect I.M. Pei. It was later converted into a Radisson.

HBE bought it in 1995 and spent $135 million on a controversial expansion that included adding rooms on the site of the old May D&F department store. It reopened as the Adam's Mark in 1997.

"I'm pleased that rather than selling it as a piece of real estate, I'm selling it as an operating business, which will make a big difference to the people who are with the company," Kummer said.'

Record

Season wraps Sunday at A-Basin

'Dillon - Arapahoe Basin ski area is set to close for the short summer at the end of the day on Sunday, ending the longest ski season in the state.

The ski area, which became the earliest in the nation to open last Oct. 13, has offered a total of 234 ski days and still has ample top-to-bottom snow coverage.

"It's time. We have things to do this summer," said ski-area spokeswoman Leigh Hierholzer, alluding to a big terrain expansion slated for Montezuma Bowl. "It was a great season. It was a very successful season." '

Ack!

From Why Oh Why?:

'Google has implemented a new feature that enables you to type a telephone number into the search bar and you will be given the person's name and address.

If you then hit "map," you will get a map to the person's house. It's a nationwide reverse telephone book. It may even show additional information such as a description of your dog if it is licensed under that phone number.'

It's true!

I checked my home number and my bidness was all up on the interwebs.

Cool old-timey photo of Denver.

More Things To Do When A Co-Worker Is On Vacation

I never noticed....

how much I washed my hands over the course of a day. The water is out in our section here at The Corporation. You don't notice the little conveniences of life, until they're gone.

You would think after the fifth one.....

you'd realize you have a problem.

Man pleads not guilty in 28th DWI charge

'ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - An Albuquerque man arrested for the 28th time on a drunken driving charge has pleaded not guilty.

Joseph Brill, 53, entered his plea Tuesday to charges of aggravated driving while intoxicated, driving on a suspended license and having an open container of alcohol in a vehicle.

Bernalillo County sheriff's deputies arrested Brill in an Albuquerque neighborhood on March 14. Deputies said they saw him park, then fall out of his pickup truck.

The deputies said they tried to give him a field sobriety test, but he could not complete it. They said he then refused a breath test.

A criminal complaint said Brill had 27 prior DWI offenses, with at least 14 convictions, before the arrest.

State District Judge Ernesto Romero set bond at $100,000.

"The probabilities are if you get behind the wheel, you're going to hurt or kill somebody," the judge said.

An attorney for Brill said the man had not been in any accidents.'

TB guy is kinda cute.

Besides the TB thing, it's kind of a sweet gig. You get to call in sick for 18 months. I wonder who is paying for his treatment? The government?

Paul Van Dyk - 'For An Angel'

Prophetic, don'tcha think?

Lindsay Lohan's freefall

Spector Trial Medical Examiner Rationally Explains Why He Had Murder On His Mind

Run!

Killians 1978

My first stab....

at taking product photos for the magazine.

Thoughts?

It's the raw photo. I haven't had the chance to color correct it yet.

Gossip - 'Listen Up!'

Kaiser Chiefs - 'Everything Is Average Nowadays'

WTF?

Sacajawea called dibs on the blond. I called on the one standing up.

Headboards Kill

Yikes!

Headboard crashes through windshield, 1 killed

'LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) - A Loveland woman was killed after a heavy headboard blew out of the bed of a pickup truck and crashed into the windshield of a Suburban in Wyoming.

Wyoming Highway Patrol says 56-year-old pickup driver Brian Soukup of Livermore, Colorado, was cited for driving with an unsecured load.

The accident happened Monday on Wyoming 230 about 10 miles south of Laramie.

The 250-pound headboard blew out of the bed of Soukup's pickup and crashed into the windshield of a Suburban that 54-year-old Lois A. Dewey was driving.

The Suburban went off the road, struck a culvert and rolled over, killing Dewey. A Texas woman in Dewey's vehicle was injured.

The headboard also struck a van, but no other injuries were reported.'

Reverend & The Makers - 'Heavyweight Champion Of The World'

ELO - 'Don't Bring Me Down'

Wake me up, before you dose - dose.

Court: Michael Had 'Date-Rape Drug' In His System

'LONDON -- George Michael, who has pleaded guilty to driving while unfit, had several drugs in his system when he was arrested, a court heard Wednesday.

Tests showed the 43-year-old singer had taken a therapeutic quantity of an antidepressant as well as gamma-hydroxybutyrate, or GHB, Prosecutor Andrew Torrington told Brent Magistrates' Court in London.

GHB is often called the "date-rape drug" because it leaves people groggy and powerless.

Michael, who wasn't in court Wednesday, pleaded guilty May 8 to driving while unfit due to drugs. He said his condition was caused by "tiredness and prescribed drugs."

The former Wham! singer, whose real name is George Panayiotou, was arrested in the early hours of Oct. 2 after police responded to complaints that a car was blocking an intersection in North London. Police said Michael was found slumped over the wheel of the car.

His lawyer, Michael Grieve, told the court a prescription sleeping drug was the most likely explanation for Michael's condition.

Michael said in a TV interview earlier this month that he is addicted to prescription drugs and believes the world would be a better place if more people smoked marijuana.

He blamed his erratic behavior to an attention-seeking and "self-destructive" impulse brought on by the death of his mother a decade ago.

The case was adjourned until June 8 for sentencing, the day before Michael performs at Wembley Stadium as part of his European tour.'

That sucks.

Net taxes could arrive by this fall

'The era of tax-free e-mail, Internet shopping and broadband connections could end this fall, if recent proposals in the U.S. Congress prove successful.

State and local governments resumed a push to lobby Congress for far-reaching changes on two different fronts: gaining the ability to impose sales taxes on Net shopping, and being able to levy new monthly taxes on DSL and other connections. One senator is even predicting taxes on e-mail.

At the moment, states and municipalities are frequently barred by federal law from collecting both access and sales taxes. But they're hoping that their new lobbying effort, coordinated by groups including the National Governors Association, will pay off by permitting them to collect billions of dollars in new revenue by next year.

If that doesn't happen, other taxes may zoom upward instead, warned Sen. Michael Enzi, a Wyoming Republican, at a Senate hearing on Wednesday. "Are we implicitly blessing a situation where states are forced to raise other taxes, such as income or property taxes, to offset the growing loss of sales tax revenue?" Enzi said. "I want to avoid that."

A flurry of proposals that pro-tax advocates advanced push in that direction. Enzi introduced a bill that would usher in mandatory sales tax collection for Internet purchases. Second, in the House of Representatives, politicians weighed whether to let a temporary ban on Net access taxes lapse when it expires on November 1. A House backer of another pro-sales tax bill said this week to expect a final version by July.'

Maybe it was Trump[?].

Golden bathtub stolen from Japanese hotel

Fancy tub weighs 176 pounds and is worth nearly $1 million

'TOKYO - A glittering bathtub made of gold worth nearly $1 million has been stolen from a resort hotel, an official said Wednesday.

A worker at Kominato Hotel Mikazuki in Kamogawa, south of Tokyo, notified police that the fancy tub was missing from the hotel’s guest bathroom on the 10th floor, according to a local police official who only gave his surname, Ogawa.

The round tub, worth $987,000, is made of 18-karat gold and weighs 176 pounds.

The tub, flanked by two crane statues, has been a main feature of the hotel’s shared bathroom. Visitors can take a dip in the tub, but it is only available a few hours a day “for security reasons,” the hotel’s Web site said.

Someone apparently cut the chain attached to the door of a small section of the bathroom where the bathtub was placed, but not riveted, and made off with the tub, Ogawa said.

“We have no witness information and there are no video cameras,” he said. “We have no idea who took it,” the official said.'

DJ Jean - 'The Launch'

Oldie but goodie.

Denver's 'Big Art' Habit

[Click images for full size view]

A different view of the Mall.

So....

Walking around on Memorial Day, I noticed the BID [Business Improvement District] put up a new set of banners on the mall.

I wonder if it is for Pride.

If it is, that's pretty ballsy of Denver, as even though we have one of the largest Pride events, the city has never really gone all out like this before.

The Brits

'"It's like the U.S. is the flash kid in school with the money and great clothes and neat stuff who gets 'wanker' muttered behind their back as they walk down the hall," says Smith. "But they either don't hear or don't care, because they have the money and great clothes and neat stuff."'

How American Travelers Are Viewed Abroad: The U.K.

Strangers With Candy Quote Of The Day

Geoffrey Jellineck: 'I'm not pushing you away Chuck, I'm pulling myself towards me.'

Ha.

Kennedy - 'Your Momma'

Screaming Hot Dog!

So she won't eat it, but she'll squish it with her foot?

Thanks to Lioux!

What to do when your co-worker is away.

Don't be a stank ho.

O. M. G.

Thanks to Bobby Whispers!

If you need proof that our attention spans have changed....

check out this drug educational film.



Legos?

Drugs?

Babies?

Drugs?

Whua?

I think the person who made this movie, was on drugs.

OMG, OMG, OMG!

powered by ODEO

I finally got a copy of a song I have been dying to get!

'A Beautiful Thing'

Caught this on Logo over the weekend, and every time I see this movie, I heart it more. This is the final scene.

Plus Brits are sexy.

It's one of my fave homo movies ever.

Today In 'Too Cute'

If you don't smile watching this, you're pure evil.

Me on a Saturday night.

Today In - 'Luke Chueh'

Pour Some Sugar On Me

Kinda cute.

Even though Brokeback is SOOO two years ago.

Jake Sleeps

Ha.

via Zombie Fights Shark.

But wait, there's more:

Fire At A Fireworks Factory

Blurb Movie Reviews - 'Over The Hedge'

Pleasantly surprised. Was channel surfing and came across it. I love the social commentary on how we over consume and are intruding in on Mother Nature. Also, Steve Carrel as Hamilton Squirrel, rocked. Definitely my favorite character.

Plus, I love squirrels.

Blurb Movie Review - 'Pirates Of The Caribbean - Curse Of The Black Pearl'

So, yah, I am kind of behind on the 'Pirates' thing, but this movie reminded me why I don't like pirate movies. Although Depp is great as Jack Sparrow.

Blurb Movie Reviews - 'Munich'

Long, drawn out, and kind of pointless. Although it was interesting to see a dramatization of the hostage incident, by the end I was kind of rooting for the Palestinians.

A kid in my high school, died in the parking lot, doing this.

Mom warns parents about 'computer dusting'

'ENGLEWOOD – When Dana Acker went to check on her 15-year-old son in the bath, she never imagined she would never see him alive again. Joshua Dean Knight died after inhaling from an aerosol can used to clean electronics.

"I never suspected this. I've never heard of it. Didn't know anything about it," Acker said.

More and more kids around the country are engaging in a dangerous practice they call "computer dusting." The product, made by a variety of manufacturers, produces a burst of air which is meant to blow dust off keyboards, cameras or other hardware.

Acker says more and more kids are dying each year because they don't realize the burst of air contains a chemical, Freon, which is used in refrigerators and air conditioners. She says officers who responded to her son's death told her it's a growing problem.

"Dusting will kill you instantly off of one huff. They explained it as playing Russian roulette," Acker said.

Joshua aspired to be a professional skateboarder. His mother says he was always known as the funny kid. She now wears his ashes around her neck and his death weighs heavily on her heart as she works to save the lives of other kids.

"They think it's a game and it's not. My son's gone from it," Acker said. "I'm on a mission. I think it's a good mission."

She is now visiting with schools to talk to students and parents. Acker says not enough people know about it. According to her research, more and more boys ages 13-15 are trying dusting because they think it's harmless.

"My goal is to reach out to these kids that are doing things they shouldn't be doing and letting them be aware of how dangerous this is," said Acker.

According to the National Inhalants Prevention Coalition, parents can look for warning signs such as redness in the eyes along with white blisters in the mouth or numbness in the throat. Also, unexplained empty cans of dusting products in the trash could be a clear sign.

"I just want parents to be aware of what their kids are doing. Don't be afraid to go through their room. Don't be afraid to go through their stuff," Acker said.'

If it flooded before....

why would you put 'valuables' back there in the same place?

Homeowners cleaning up after sewage line backs into basement

'CENTENNIAL – Randy and Cindy Hass had just finished refinishing their basement. Now, they have to start over.

The Hasses, who live at 21295 E. Powers Ave., say the city's sewage line backed up Sunday and flooded their basements and the basements of two of their neighbors.

The couple took home video of the damage. By their estimates, there was about a foot of raw sewage on the floor.

A cleaning crew spent Monday vacuuming and tearing up the floor, while the Hasses worked to dry out their pictures.

Cindy Hass said sewage also backed up into their basement six years ago.

"It happened almost six years ago to the day and my husband had just refinished this. We had just finished the basement the way we wanted it and he did it all himself and it was all his work to nothing," Cindy Hass said.

Julie Mercado and her family moved into a neighboring house three years ago.

"Yesterday when I walked into my house, I could smell it. It almost made me want to throw up," Mercado said. "The carpets were just soaked. You could step on it and your shoes filled with water."

Now that the estimated four inches of sewage has been removed from her basement, what is left of her walls is being replaced. Mercado says she cannot put a price tag on everything she lost.

"All my kids' artwork and little poems and stuff that they wrote. Little things like that is all gone," Mercado said.

Also, because she walked through the sewage to try to retrieve her possessions, she is now getting hepatitis shots.

"It just looked like water. You don't realize you're standing in raw sewage," Mercado said.'

Dayum.

I had heard he had a heart attack, but didn't know he died.

Man dies during Bolder Boulder

'BOULDER – For the first time in its 29-year history, a person participating in the Bolder Boulder has died.

Race organizers say 65-year-old Ross "Jack" Lowe of Littleton collapsed on Monday at 19th Street and Balsam, halfway through the race just before 9:45 a.m.

Paramedics on bicycles rushed to his aid but he was pronounced dead later after being taken to Boulder Community Hospital.

The paramedics on bicycles were able to treat Lowe in under a minute with a defibrillator and a breathing tube, according to race organizers.

A medical spokesman for the race says Lowe had a scar on his chest that suggests he could have had a previous cardiac surgery.'

You know what I don't get?

Is why do I always hook up with dudes who are bigger than me?

The last few guys have all been at least six foot, and had/have about 50 pounds on me. I'm not complaining, I just find it funny.

Ha.

Over at Cokane's Bloggery, there was a haiku contest, of sorts. The contributions are hilarious. Here's mine:

Cranberry Crimson Hair
Who is it that left you there?
Polyester, ne'er.

.....like another hole in the head.

W.Va. man sleeps through gunshot to head, notices blood when he wakes

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Michael Lusher apparently is a sound sleeper.

'A small-caliber bullet struck the 37-year-old Huntington man in the head as he slept Sunday morning, but he didn't realize it until he awoke nearly four hours later and noticed blood coming from his head, said Cpl. R.H. McQuaid of the Cabell County Sheriff's Department.

The bullet that struck him was one of five that someone sprayed across his mobile home and truck in Huntington's Altizer neighborhood at about 4:20 a.m. Sunday, McQuaid said. The one the struck Lusher apparently lost velocity as it traveled through two walls.

"We're just glad he didn't suffer any life-threatening injuries with a head wound," he said.

Lusher came home from a night on the town about an hour before he was shot while lying in bed, McQuaid said.

His condition was not immediately available Monday.'

The Devil And Martha Stewart

Sugar Ray totally ganked Malo.

Malo - 'Suavecita'




Sugar Ray - 'Every Morning'

'I'm 50!!'

I would hate to have bought a loft...

and have my view be of homeless people waiting to get in to the shelter.

20 years to a better Denver

Natalie Portman Rap

Robot Insurance

'They eat old people's medicine for fuel.'

'Mortini Tiny Table Top. WRONG!!'

Zapped!

Video shows officer zapping man in groin

'TENINO, Wash. (AP) - It was just a little stun gun fun, but a police officer who demonstrated his Taser by zapping a willing subject in the genitals has drawn a warning from his bosses.

Officer Randy Reynolds ran into trouble when video of the incident last spring was posted on YouTube.com. The unidentified man wasn't injured, and onlookers can be heard laughing in the background.

Interim Police Chief Larry Dickerson said Tuesday that Reynolds had been attending a social gathering, but was in uniform and on his way to work at the time. The man repeatedly asked Reynolds to use the weapon on him, and Reynolds eventually obliged - twice.

"He said he just wanted to know what it felt like. Randy didn't want to do it at first, but the guy kept asking," said Dickerson, who interviewed the man.

No uniformed officer should be demonstrating his stun gun outside of the line of duty except during training exercises, the chief said. "You don't just go around doing your own demonstrations."

Reynolds, 30, has been with the police department in the southwestern Washington town since December 2005. He will receive a formal reprimand in his personnel file and a warning not to misuse police equipment, Dickerson said. He also must review the department's Taser policy and go over them with an instructor.'

Beth Orton - 'Central Reservation'

Haven't heard this in ages. I like the remix I have better, though.

Strangers With Candy Quote Of The Day

'You don't want to beat me, or screw me?! What kind of marriage is this? Bring a book.'

Officer Buzzkill

I partied the whole week after graduating high school. At one party, thanks to quaffing shots of Rumple and Jager, I ended up coming out to pretty much everyone, and woke up the next morning with a towel as a blanket, curled up by the toilet, with nary a memory of 90% of the night. In a house in the middle of a big old prairie, mind you, with no idea how to get home.

Police on alert for graduation parties

'FORT COLLINS - Bob Younger is hoping the long arm of the law won't be reaching out to touch graduates and their families this weekend.

But he realizes rowdy graduation parties, excessive noise violations and underage alcohol consumption can result in police intervention.

"We'll have party patrols out (today) and Saturday to answer noise and other complaints," said Younger, liquor enforcement officer with Fort Collins Police Services.

"We'll be launching an aggressive attack to quickly and efficiently make sure some situations don't get out of control," he said.

Summonses will be handed out for underage possession of alcohol, open container violations and to any adult who provides alcohol to minors, whether at a bar, liquor store or private parties, Younger said.

"Our officers will be out in two-man patrols today and Saturday," Younger said. Patrol officers will pay special attention to area liquor stores to thwart any "fishing" attempts by underage kids asking adults to purchase alcohol for them. "We'll be watching for any handoffs in parking lots," he said.

Officers also will be vigilant in keeping the peace at graduation parties throughout the city and in monitoring illegal drinking.

"For high school age students, there's more of a propensity to drink at this time (graduation) than any other time," Younger said. "We want to make sure kids don't get into trouble."

Younger said authorities depend on parents to set the tone for graduation parties that are safe and sober.

"Any parents who think they can monitor drinking by taking kids' keys away and keeping them together in a so-called 'safe' environment are breaking the law," he said.

By law, parents may provide alcohol to their own underage children in their own home. "But they may not allow anyone else's child access to alcohol," he said. "We want to remind parents or guardians that there is a substantial liability in letting kids drink at a party. If an underage child is allowed to drink at your home, leaves and gets involved in an accident or any harm comes to that child, criminal charges and huge lawsuits may be brought against the parents who provided the alcohol and allowed the drinking."

Serving underage children who are not your own is a class 2 misdemeanor with a fine of $250 on up, Younger said.

Parents are urged to monitor their children's comings and goings throughout the weekend and to know which parties the kids will attend and who will supervise.

"It's important that if you are throwing the party, you are directly involved. You need to be checking everything. There should be no free rein for the kids. Kids will be kids and they'll naturally try to sneak in some alcohol so you have to be watchful and set the standard of what your expectations are," Younger said.

"If your child is going to another party, contact those parents and make sure they will be present and ask what their rules about alcohol are," he said. "If necessary, drive by the party or make some calls later on just to check."

Younger said it's important to devise a safety plan for your child should he or she consume alcohol.

"My advice to parents is to set a course of action for your child beforehand," Younger said. "Let your child know that should he drink, you would be thankful for a call home to ask for a ride. Tell your child you will be disappointed, but that you will pick him or her up with no reprimands, no questions asked at the time. You can talk about it the next morning."

The important thing is to build trust with your child and keep your child out of harm's way, Younger said.

"I've talked to some parents who have lost a child and their regret is that they didn't have that 'what if' talk," he said.'

Just what is Tapioca anyway?

'Tapioca is an essentially flavourless starchy ingredient, or fecula, produced from treated and dried cassava (manioc) root and used in cooking.

It is similar to sago and is commonly used to make a milky pudding similar to rice pudding.

Purchased tapioca comprises many small white spheres each about 2 mm in diameter. These are not seeds, but rather reconstituted processed root. The processing concept is akin to the way that wheat is turned into pasta.

These tapioca pearls are made mostly of tapioca starch, which comes from the tapioca, or bitter-cassava plant. In other parts of the world, the bitter-cassava plant may be called "manioca" or "yuca".

Cassava is native to Asia. The balls are prepared by boiling for 25 minutes, until they are cooked thoroughly but have not lost pliancy, then cooled for 25 minutes. The pearls have little taste, and are usually combined with other ingredients, savory or sweet.'

Today In - 'Mountain Lions'

Mountain lion killed by wildlife officials

'BOULDER – A mountain lion, which had been deemed a "nuisance cat" by wildlife officials was shot and killed on Thursday.

Division of Wildlife officials say for the past three days, the mountain lion had been reportedly in the Pinebrook Hills subdivision within the city limits.

"We had a problem up there," said Jennifer Churchill, a spokeswoman for the Division of Wildlife.

Churchill says the mountain lion had been aggressively taking pets from people's yards and had clearly become far too comfortable around people.

In one instance, a woman went to let her dog out and realized the lion was not only in her yard, but was at her back porch, according to Churchill. The woman saw the mountain lion and did not let her dog out.

Churchill says the male cat weighed an estimated 100 pounds. His body will be sent to Fort Collins for a necropsy.'

I feel your pain.

I had to return the rental car yesterday, and went to fill it up.

A quarter of a tank cost $15 [!].

Usually when I rent a car, it costs less than 10 bucks to fill it up.

'Do you poop out at parties?'

Feng Shui For The Bedroom

SIMPLE SOLUTION: Here are 16 tips to Feng Shui your bedroom. Make this all-important room a sanctuary:

* Ideally, the bedroom should be as far away as possible from the front door, mirroring the practice of our prehistoric ancestors who did not sleep in the mouth of their cave.

* On entering your bedroom, note where the windows are located. Chi tends to travel between the door and any windows, so avoid positioning your bed in line with this ‘draught’ of chi.

* Position your bed so that you can see the door from where you sleep. This gives you a deep sense of inner security.

* If it is feasible, position your bed as far away from the door as possible.

* Avoid sleeping with your head close to a window as your chi will dissipate through the window and make you feel more tired on awakening.

* If you have a bathroom, toilet or shower leading off your bedroom, make sure that the toilet door is always shut while you are asleep.

* To help you protect your own chi while you are asleep, to internalize it and recharge it, make sure you have a strong, stable headboard. Chi energy enters and exits the body through the feet, hands and the top of the skull, Having a solid ‘mountain’ behind you while you sleep is far more beneficial than a cold, blank wall or worse, the cutting chi of an ornate brass bedstead.

* If you sleep with another person, note the position of your bed relative to the wall that it is up against. Is it equidistant--in the middle of the wall? This is vital in a relationship as it gives both individuals who share the bed equality in the relationship. A shared bed crammed into the corner of a room, is giving more freedom of chi to the individual on the open side whereas the partner will literally and symbolically feel up against a wall.

* Make sure all bedside tables have rounded edges and not square to prevent cutting chi being focused towards the occupants. If two sleep in the bed, ensure matching beside tables on either side for added stability and protection in the relationship.

* Ceiling beams above the bed are a Feng Shui nightmare. They can be a source of cutting chi and the beams carry a tremendous load, and this pressure is focused into the beams generating chi which continues downwards, placing direct pressure on you while you sleep. Some tips:
Paint the beams; drape fabric over the beams; hang bamboo flutes 2-3 inches below the beam to soften the load (the flutes are hung at a 45 degree angle to the beam with the mouthpiece downwards).

* If you sleep with another, make sure your bed is symbolic of this relationship. Beds that are rickety or likely to fall part speak volumes about the state of the relationship.

* Given that the bedroom is a more yin environment, the lighting that you choose needs to reflect this. Soft lighting is ideal. Avoid having ceiling lamps right directly over your bed.

* Pastel colors are ideal.

* Avoid sleeping with your image visible in a mirror. the worst scenario of all is a mirror at the foot of your bed.

* Place something beautiful that inspires you where you first look in the morning.

* Pay attention to what is under your bed. Keep the space clear and get rid of any unwanted items there.

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