For all the gadgets that my family buys, I can’t believe that we don’t have a digital camcorder yet. Granted, we don’t take that many videos to begin with and the movie mode on our point-and-shoot camera fills a bit of the void, bu still. I was just watching some home movies of our trip to the Grand Canyon a decade ago, and was reminded of how fun a camcorder can be on vacations.

Part of the reason we haven’t bought a digital camcorder is the price. Back when we were looking a few years ago, everything was in the $600-$1,000 range. But I just saw a decent Samsung model for less than $300. We’ve paid more than that for MP3 players and ebook readers, so I’m sure we could swing a camcorder now. I’ll have to bring this up to Jerry a little later!

Now that practically everyone is on Facebook, the question of friending your boss on the social networking site will eventually come up. According to this article I read, 56 percent of Americans say it’s not right to Facebook friend their boss, while 62 percent think it’s wrong to friend an employee. Interesting numbers. I interpret the numbers to mean that people don’t mind friending their boss if it’s their move, but wouldn’t want to be put on the spot by having their boss try to friend them.

I’m kinda torn on this question because I’m the boss where I work. Because of the nature of the job, I usually become pretty good friends with some employees, and naturally want to Facebook friend them. But at the same time, I feel weird about doing it because of the work relationship. That, and the fact that I’m usually 10+ years older than my employees and am posting status updates asking for a good treatment for wrinkles while they’re posting pics from all night drinking binges still!

Anyway, I haven’t been friending any employees recently and will probably stop the practice altogether. It does make things kind of uncomfortable when I have to take disciplinary measures at work…

I loved the movie Precious and thought both Mo’Nique and Gabourey Sidibe did amazing jobs in their roles. I am thrilled that Mo’Nique won an Oscar, because her performance was really that powerful. Gabourey also very much deserved her nomination, though she eventually lost to favorite Sandra Bullock.

But one thing I have to say is that Gabourey must pay attention to her weight! That young woman is morbidly obese, and will undoubtedly have serious health problems stemming from her weight. Now that she’s a star, she can afford to buy the best weight loss products or hire the best personal trainer to help shed the pounds. So please, please, PLEASE do so!!!

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe that the thin-as-a-rail Calista Flockhart, Sarah Jessica Parker, or Lara Flynn Boyle are healthy either. But there has to be some balance between the two extremes.

Gabourey is very talented and needs to be around for a good, long time. That won’t happen if she doesn’t do something about her weight problem!

I’m still in shock over the moves the Chicago Bears made on the first day of free agency. Known for being tightwads, the organization actually loosened the purse strings to splurge on DE Julius Peppers, RB Chester Taylor, and TE Brandon Manumaleuna. The total tab for the three players runs in excess of $100 million, with the bulk of that salary going to Peppers.

I haven’t watched much of Peppers, but have heard various things about him not giving 100 percent on each snap. I hope that doesn’t happen here in Chicago. Also, I have to wonder how much he has left in the tank. He’s 30 years old, and has a lot of wear and tear on his body/knees already. Will he be able to last through his entire six-year contract? Will he put forth maximum effort, or will he be satisfied with his $40+ million of guaranteed money and worry more about buying Ferrari parts to pimp his ride than getting after the quarterback. Who can say.

The guy I’m most looking forward to watching is Chester Taylor. I thought he was awesome as Adrian Peterson’s backup in Minnesota, and I think he’ll do well in Chicago. He will give the Bears some much-needed depth at running back (or even as a starter if he beats out Forte). Either way, Forte-Taylor or Taylor-Forte is a much more potent combo than Forte-the other AP-Garrett Wolfe.

Between the new OC, DC, and these free agents, this is shaping up to be a whole different team. I can’t wait until training camp starts!

I’ve been falling off the wagon again in terms of eating right. I’m not the healthiest eater to begin with, but usually I’m able to keep my junk food intake under control and take some multivitamins to make sure I get a proper amount of nutrients on a daily basis.

But recently I’ve been really frustrated with my lack of weight loss. Despite jogging every day, lifting weights three times a week, and reducing my fat intake, I haven’t lost any weight at all. So in the last couple of weeks, I’ve just given up and have been doing things like eating ice cream for breakfast, scarfing down half a bag of Doritos in one sitting, eating entire chocolate bars right before dinner, etc.

I need to get back on track and start eating healthy again. But how can I stay motivated to do that when I don’t lose weight even when doing everything else right??? This is so, so frustrating!

Even though I have a netbook, I hardly ever use it for doing work anywhere other than right here at my desk. Occasionally I’ll bring it into the kitchen so I can watch some YouTube videos while cooking or washing dishes, but I don’t usually use it to tap out blog posts when I’m sitting on the couch or in bed. Not that I wouldn’t love to do that; it’s just that I can’t find a comfortable way to prop the netbook up so I can type or surf while lounging around.

This Portable Netbook LapDesk might be the solution to my problem. I’ve been looking for one of these for a long time, but never found one that seemed worth buying — until now. This LapDesk has several cool features that make it stand head and shoulders above other models out there. For instance, I love that it comes with a built-in LED lamp, making it possible for me to work in bed without disturbing my husband. The LapDesk also comes with a built-in cup holder, which is also necessary since I almost always have a Diet Coke or bottle of water near me when I’m working. Furthermore, the cushion adjusts to the shape of my lap to make balancing the thing a breeze.

Right now this Portable Notebook LapDesk from ThinkTank Technology is on sale for just $15.99 as part of Buy.com’s Weekly Specials. That’s a bargain considering the features, so I’m putting this item on my Wish List!

Before the Blackhawks game against the Islanders the other night, the four Olympic medal winners on the team had a chance to show off their hardware. Patrick Kane won silver with team USA, while Brent Seabrook, Jonathan Toews, and Duncan Keith won gold with team Canada. I love this picture and only wish that Tomas Kopecky and Marian Hossa could have won bronze with team Slovakia. That would have been a perfect ending for the Olympics!

And what can you say about Kane and Toews? These guys are the heart and soul of the Blackhawks for sure. Toews was voted best forward in the tournament and opened a lot of eyes with his play. Much has already been made about how Kane was able to increase lean muscle mass on his frame over the summer and is now able to fend off checks a lot better than last year. He proved just how strong he is by controlling the puck an awful lot and creating tons of offense for his line while notching two assists in the gold medal game.

Now it’s time for the Hawks to focus on winning the Stanley Cup. I don’t know if the goaltending is up to the task, but wouldn’t it be sweet if this is the year???

(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)