Is it wrong that I still have a bedroom closet filled with stuff over at my mom’s house? It’s mostly just paperbacks, textbooks, yearbooks, trophies, certificates, and other memorabilia from my school days. The stuff doesn’t even take up that much space, but my mom calls me every few months asking me if she can throw everything out.

I wish I had room to store the books at my house, but I don’t. Is it asking too much for my mom to hold on to these items? Isn’t this a normal thing for adult children to do?? Sheesh!

I just read that Larry Harmon, one of the men (there were several) who dressed up as Bozo the Clown, died at the age of 83 from congestive heart failure. According to the article I read, Harmon was the one largely responsible for popularizing Bozo around the country, as he came up with the idea of licensing the character and training others to act like him.

I grew up watching the Chicago version, which starred Bob Bell as Bozo. The show was on every morning at 7:00 and I’d tune in while I was eating breakfast and getting ready for school. I didn’t care much for the comedy segments between Bozo and Cookie, but I absolutely LOVED the Grand Prize Game. I thought the kids who were chosen for the game were so lucky, and I was sooo jealous when one of them won the $50 bill and the brand-new Schwinn bicycle. I would have loved going to a taping of the show, but never did.

Anyway, it was sad to hear about Harmon’s passing today. The Bozo Show is definitely a fond memory from my childhood!

I read a pretty cool article today from LiveScience.com about how other countries celebrate their independence days. I have to admit that aside from France’s Bastille Day, I didn’t even know the dates of the other celebrations listed in the article — not even Canada Day (sorry to all my friends in the Great White North!).

If you want to learn how France, Canada, India, Mexico, Peru, Australia, and a few other countries celebrate their independence, click through the link below. Some places do party with fireworks and parades like we do, but I think you might be surprised by a few of the other celebrations!

Live Science

That doesn’t sound very appetizing, does it? Nevertheless, it seems that a lot of people are buzzing about the positive effects of eating red yeast rice regularly.

I’d never heard of this stuff before, so I had to look it up. Apparently, red yeast rice is rice that has been specially cultivated with a mold called Monascus purpureus and has been used in Chinese medicine for more than a thousand years.

Red rice yeast is becoming more popular in western countries because studies have shown that this particular kind of rice can lower LDL (”bad” cholesterol) levels. Many people have reported success in taking red rice yeast as an OTC dietary supplement.

I checked out a few pictures of red rice yeast, and think the stuff looks absolutely nasty! I guess it wouldn’t be so bad in supplement form or whatever, but the thought of eating it in its natural state makes me want to gag.

Oh, and this is not a miracle cholesterol drug or anything like that. While LDL can be lowered, there are several side effects, including liver damage. So don’t go off and take this stuff by yourself. You need to be closely monitored by a doctor for safety and effectiveness.

The last time we went to Disney World was two years ago. My son was 3 at the time, and even though he enjoyed the experience while we were there, he doesn’t remember too much about it now. But whenever he glances through our photo albums and sees all the snapshots we took at Disney, he starts clamoring about taking another trip there. This has been happening for the past two weeks now, with no letup in sight.

So Jerry and I had a bit of a discussion about vacations tonight, and while we don’t have any money for a big trip in the near future, we could probably do something good next year (provided we save enough). We’ve always wanted to go on a Disney cruise, so that’s what we’re shooting for. Hopefully if we find some good cruise deals out there, we’ll be able to have the best family vacation ever next summer!

Oh, and of course we’ll have to stop by the theme park for at least one day. I can’t pass up a chance to go on Space Mountain or Pirates of the Caribbean!

Remember disgraced American cyclist Floyd Landis? He ostensibly won the 2006 Tour de France, but was stripped of his title shortly after the conclusion of the race when a French lab said that he tested positive for banned substance (i.e. performance enhancing drugs).

Well, Landis swore up and down that the lab results were faulty, and the case went to court (or arbitration), where Landis lost. He then appealed with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, a process that took more than three months from beginning to end.

Today, the Associated Press reports that Landis lost his appeal, as the three-person panel decided to uphold the original decision.

There is still one appeal avenue left to Landis — the Swiss Federal Court — but it’s unclear if he’ll exercise that option.

I don’t follow cycling all that much, but in nearly every mainstream article I read, there are talks of the widespread use of PEDs. Was Landis guilty of using illegal substances? I have no idea, of course, but it certainly seems as though these appeals are getting him nowhere. His reputation is basically ruined and he’s lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, endorsement opportunities, and salary (he’s banned for 2 years, remember?).

On the one hand, I feel like he should give up. It might be a European vs. American bias (ask any European if they think Lance Armstrong doped up during his Tour days) or it could be that Landis really was guilty. Either way, it doesn’t look like he’ll get a ruling in his favor. So why go to the extra time and expense of another appeal?

On the other hand, leaving things as they are would disgrace Landis for life and ruin what bit of a career he might have left. This is the “nothing left to lose” approach, which obviously could backfire if the Swiss Federal Court finds the lab tests valid as well.

If Landis was guilty of doping, he’s probably wishing he had just ‘fessed up on the spot and not gone through the last two agonizing years of arbitration and legal wrangling. Yikes.

Since I work from home most of the time, I of course need to have a bit of office space for my computer, reference books, and files. We don’t have a spare room to accommodate these things, and even if we did, I probably wouldn’t use it since I don’t want to completely isolate myself from my family. So the best compromise we could come up with was to section off the back part of the living room and set up my stuff there.

This arrangement has worked tolerably well for the past two years, though there are definitely times when I wish I had a fourth wall and a door to shut out the traffic and noise. Heck, I’d even settle for a couple of pieces of velvet theater rope to keep my son and his friends from letting their games of tag or hide-and-seek spill over into my office!

On the whole, however, I do like my current setup. I’ve got everything I need within reach of my desk, plus a nice big window right next to me, which lets in all the sunlight and fresh air I could want. Plus, if I swivel 180 degrees in my chair, I can watch the ballgame on our big 37-inch LCD screen or check out the playroom to see what my son is up to. This sure beats a corporate cubicle any day!

I’ve been on a real reading tear (well, for me anyway) in 2008. After the first six months of the year, I’ve already read 30 books! I usually don’t keep track like this, but since I have to write up the reviews for Reviews and More, it’s easy to see where I stand.

In looking over the list of titles I’ve finished this year, I see that most of the stuff I’ve read fall into the mystery/detective/crime thriller genre (Agatha Christie, Michael Connelly). I also have more “modern” novels (written in the past 10-15 years or so) than I usually read, but very few classics (only Walden and Sybil).

I’d definitely like to keep up this pace for the next six months, and don’t foresee any problems with achieving this mark. However, I’m going to make much more of an effort to insert more classics into my list instead of sticking with the easy stuff. One a month should do, beginning with something from Dickens. Both The Pickwick Papers and Martin Chuzzlewit are available as free audiobooks at Librivox, so I’ll likely go with one of those.

It’s official: I’m completely clueless when it comes to interior design. I don’t know the first thing about how to dress up a room or how to make a certain area more functional. I don’t know how to arrange furniture in an attractive way, nor do I know how to add flair with the right accessories. And I certainly don’t know the differences between the top brand names and manufacturers of appliances, faucets, or furnishings.

Is Kenmore better than Amana? Where does Whirlpool fit in? Are Danze faucets as good as everyone says? Should I go ahead and pay more for Ethan Allen furniture? Heck, I have no idea!

That’s why I’m going to bite the bullet and have an professional come in to help me out. Jerry and I want to start entertaining more, so we’ve been talking about redoing our home for a long time now. Since he’s do a performance bonus at work next month, this seems like a good time to get the ball rolling.

I’d love to begin either in the kitchen or the living room, but really, every room needs an overhaul, so we can’t go wrong wherever we decide to start!

Houston Astros pitcher Shawn Chacon was placed on waivers today, following a well publicized incident in which he grabbed the team’s GM Ed Wade around the neck and threw him to the ground. According to Chacon, this happened after Wade started yelling and cursing at the player in public (in the team’s cafeteria or something). Apparently, Wade got in Chacon’s face and wouldn’t back down even after Chacon repeatedly asked him to stop.

Nevertheless, there’s absolutely zero excuse for what Chacon did, and I’m glad to see the team take this kind of action. Hopefully no one else will claim this piece of trash off the wire by Monday, at which point the Astros will be free to terminate his contract without pay.

The sooner Chacon is out of the league, the better.

If you read my shopping blog at all, then you know that Jerry and I are both gadget freaks. We love buying and using all the latest tech toys, from MP3 players to digital WiFi hotspotters and more. So when I heard that Today’s Gizmos is hosting a giveaway for a FREE digital photo keychain, I decided to enter.

I’ve actually wanted a digital photo keychain for a long time now, but haven’t quite gotten around to buying one yet. Hopefully I won’t have to if I’m one of the three lucky winners randomly selected to receive a prize!

The digital photo keychains were made available courtesy of WholesaleKeychain.com. I went over to their website to take a look at some of the products they have to offer, and really liked what I saw — especially the black 1.5 inch digital photo keychain pictured above.

This item features a 4.8MB internal memory, making it capable of storing around 72 photos. You can set up a slideshow so your pictures scroll continuously, or you can switch the display to manual and keep your favorite photo up all the time. When you’re not showing off photos, you can simply choose to display the date and time.

This particular keychain also comes with software that automatically crops photos to fit in the display, making it even easier to show off your best snapshots. Plus, it has a rechargeable battery so you never have to worry about buying replacements!

At any rate, I’m crossing my fingers and waiting anxiously to hear who the winners of this giveaway are! If you’d like to enter, you better hurry up and get your posts done by tomorrow, because that’s when the drawing will be. Check out TodaysGizmos.com for further details!

Occasionally, I go through spurts where I buy lots of stuff from eBay. That site is usually not my first choice as far as shopping outlets go, but every once in a while I start looking at different auctions and get hooked on the rush of finding great bargains over there.

Anyway, the last time I went on an eBay spree, I noticed that there was a definite improvement in the shipping materials used by sellers. For instance, gone were the bulky, oversized boxes filled with tons of packing peanuts or bubble wrap that cost an arm and a leg to ship. Instead, many sellers were using what appeared to be custom boxes that fit the product more snugly and that even had business logos and website addresses on them.

I’d been down on eBay for a while, so it was cool to see some of the changes over there. I know that the credit goes to the specific sellers that I used and certainly wasn’t a site-wide revolution, but still… I was happy with all my purchases. What a difference the shipping container can make!

I’m not too familiar with the NHRA Top Fuel series, but I just wanted to post about the fatal crash that occurred on Saturday. Scott Kalitta, a 46-year-old veteran and past champion of the series, died when his funny car burst into flames during a qualifying round of the Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals. This happened at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in New Jersey.

Kalitta was driving a Toyota Solara funny car at speeds of up to 300mph when it suddenly caught fire and crashed. In the AP report I read, no cause for the fire was cited.

Kalitta is survived by wife Kathy, and two sons Corey (14) and Colin (8).

What a sad story. As the wife of someone who participates in an “extreme sport”, this kind of thing hits a bit close to home. Thoughts and prayers to Kalitta’s family in this time of need.

(AP Photo)

One of Jerry’s bosses is retiring after 40 years of service, and his wife is throwing a big party next weekend. I don’t really like these types of events because I’m not going to know anyone else there, but this isn’t something Jerry can just blow off.

So now I’ve got to scramble to find something to wear that night (it’s not as though I have a closet full of cocktail dresses and evening gowns) and also come up with a decent gift to give to the retiree. We don’t know the man well enough to warrant getting him a gold watch or a set of golf clubs, so we’re kind of stuck for ideas.

Personally, I think we should find out if he’s a drinker. If he is, we can get him a membership to one of those wine of the month clubs that seem to be so popular these days.

At any rate, I’m just glad Jerry told me about this party early enough that I have time to do some shopping. Usually he forgets until a couple days before, so this is definitely an improvement!

Wow, that Spears family is really something. Britney’s younger sister Jamie Lynn gave birth to a baby girl in Mississippi today — at the age of 17. Yep, she got pregnant at 16, which of course made national headlines, and is now a mom. For some reason, I think she’s about as well-equipped for the job as her older sister….

Jamie Lynn is engaged to some guy named Casey Aldridge, who is all of 19. Hmm, do you think this kid would have stuck around if Jamie Lynn’s last name was anything other than Spears? Me neither.

Somehow, I don’t think congrats are in order here. This looks like another train wreck waiting to happen.