The Aquapub

Although here in the Midwest pool season is almost over, there are those lucky to be living in areas where they may just be getting started with the warm season or else it's toasty all year round. For those folks (or those of us in colder climates can put it on our wish list for next year) this Aquapub not only looks like bunches of fun, but it looks like unique fun your neighbors probably aren't offering. It's one thing to enjoy a Mai Tai by the pool, but what about in it? That can be a little awkward unless you have the Aquapub that seats six and comes complete with cup holders, 2 stashes, and an umbrella. It drains water, is a portable 90 lbs and is made of recycled materials. What more could you want?

Make your Internet Speed 20% Faster

Make Your INTERNET SPEED 20% Faster - video powered by Metacafe


This only works on Win XP Pro. It really works. I've been using it for years, some time it goes over 20% faster

China to ban tobacco marketing within four years?

I find this fascinating -- the Chinese media said today that the world's largest country by population will ban all tobacco advertising by 2011. China is currently the largest cigarette producer and consumer, which makes this announcement even more baffling.

It's estimated that there are 300 million avid smokers in China, more than the entire population of the U.S. With that fact comes an intense focus of international health concerns, but banning tobacco marketing in four years seems too short a timeframe from my viewpoint, although I applaud it heavily.

Perhaps China does not want to see a cigarette-smoking epidemic alongside its rapidly growing economy after watching an obesity epidemic explode in the U.S. recently.

Sugar found to be more addictive than cocaine

We've known for years that sugar isn't good for us. It promotes tooth decay, provides quick highs and lows and offers nothing but empty, nutritionless calories that pack on the pounds. However, it appears that it is even worse than we previously thought. Researchers recently determined that refined sugar is actually more addictive than cocaine. In a recent study rats were given a choice between sugar water and cocaine, and 94% them chose sugar. Even the rats that had previously been addicted to cocaine switched to the sugar once it was a choice. No wonder it's so hard to give up that 3 pm pack of M&M's, it's more addictive than illegal drugs.

The 10 Most caffeinated diet sodas

When most people choose a diet soda over a regular one, they are doing it for their waistline. In other words, they are only paying attention to the zero or low calorie number. Very rarely are they looking at the caffeine content.

If you are watching your caffeine intake, it's worth noting that most diet versions of their regular counterparts contain more caffeine. Though it's not the highest content among all diet drinks, Diet Coke has 30% more caffeine that regular Coke! To get an idea of how much of a difference there is, and to see how the diet sodas stack up against each other, Diet Blog has put together a list of the 10 Most Caffeinated Diet Drinks. Number one? Pepsi Max, with 69 mg of caffeine. As a reference point, 1 tsp of instant coffee powder has 57 mg of caffeine.

Of course, if you're "dieting," then you might actually appreciate that extra caffeine.

The King Is Dead: The Truth About Elvis

Elvis Presley died 30 years ago on Aug. 16. End of story.

He did not fake his death. He did not enter the witness protection program. He does not troll the nation's back roads for cheeseburgers.

He died. And he died precisely because he trolled the nation's back roads for cheeseburgers or some comparable artery-clogging delicacy. At least that was the essential conclusion of the autopsy performed on Presley back in 1977.

You know, when he died.

For the hard to convince, Find a Death has the two-page autopsy report (page 1, page 2), which cites cardiovascular disease teamed with cardiac arrhythmia as the cause of death. The report can be found on other sites as well, but Find a Death gets points for posting a PDF version that's pretty easy to read, and even more points for translating the stuff that's not at all easy to read (like the cause of death). Suffice to say, the Tennessee medical examiner who signed the report, one Dr. Jerry Francisco, suffered from a bad, bad case of illegible handwriting.

Among the report tidbits that can be readily deciphered: Elvis died in the dressing room, unclothed and, per the checked box on page one, uncircumcised. As far as we can tell, there's no mention of drugs, 'nana sandwiches, and the bathroom, which later accounts would peg as the death scene. If this doesn't jibe with what we know of Elvis' final days today, keep in mind, Francisco was on a quick turnaround schedule, releasing the initial autopsy findings on the night of Presley's death.

Yes, the night of his death.

Sorry about that.

The $40,000 iPod Shuffle

I don't quite get it, but we seem to be seeing the smallest of the iPods, the Shuffle, getting decked out more than any of the others. Now don't get me wrong, the Shuffle is cute as a button and the bling looks good on it, I just can't understand why people would bother to decorate a gadget that costs less than $100 and is the "lowest" member of its own family.

But if you're going to do it then do it all out, right? How about $40,000 worth of 'all out?' Because that's how much this pretty little diamond and gold coated iPod will run you. And for that price no detail is overlooked -- there's even diamonds and gold on the earbuds.