Science Blog reports that watermelon may have, um, Viagra-like qualities.  Do tell!

“The more we study watermelons, the more we realize just how amazing a fruit it is in providing natural enhancers to the human body,” said Dr. Bhimu Patil, director of Texas A&M’s Fruit and Vegetable Improvement Center in College Station.

“We’ve always known that watermelon is good for you, but the list of its very important healthful benefits grows longer with each study.”

That's apparently not the only thing that can grow longer.  Hur hur hur.

Yes, I've done it.  I've acquired a Macintosh . . . a MacBook Pro 2.5 GHz, to be specific.

And yeah, I wimped out and installed Windows on it, too.

Pictures and stories forthcoming, I'm sure.

Ah, the sweet innocence of siman-blogging (a recurring feature of Medary.com).   This from Yahoo News:
Ape applicant vies for star on Walk of Fame

The petition notes that Cheeta's canine colleagues Lassie, and 1920s stars Rin Tin Tin and Strongheart are immortalized on the boulevard, along with fictional animals Kermit the Frog, Godzilla and Donald Duck.

"He's up against really big celebrities," Ana Martinez-Holler, a spokeswoman for the Chamber of Commerce said.

But, at least Cheeta would be able to put an honest-to-goodness handprint on the walk.  No paws here.

Some helpful hints from Cruise Critic, with helpful little notes on such things as:
Cruising Segments
How to Pick a Cruise Line
Make a Date
How to Pick a Cabin
What to Pack

Via Gizmodo:

The War Hammer

Don't get any ideas, Snookums . . .

Yes, via Fark, and this one, from the U.K.'s Telegraph.  A story about bread bowls.  Yeah, bread bowls.

A Birmingham food firm has started making bowls and plates out of dough. The idea is that diners enjoy a soup, chilli or curry, then eat the bowl too.

David Williams, the managing director of Butt Foods, which has developed the idea, admits: "Our banks, our investors all thought we were crackers. But we've now proved them wrong."

No, not crackers, Mr. Williams, bowls.  And plates. Maybe . . . BUNS!  Ha-HAH!!!  Oh-ho!  Hee-hee-hee!!!!

OK, here we go.  I got this (cut/pasted in its entirety) in my e-mail today:

Subject: RE: Dinky Pottychunks


MY NEW NAME IS IN THE SUBJECT.....DON'T LAUGH UNTIL YOU FIND OUT WHAT YOUR
NEW NAME IS!! 

We all need a little stress-reliever! This only takes a minute.

Please don't be a bore & ruin it. Send it on to everyone you know including
the person that sent it to you.

Sometimes when you have a stressful day or week, you need some silliness to
break up the day. If we are honest, we have a lot more stressful days than
not.

Here is your dose of humor... 

A. Follow the instructions to find your new 
name.

B. Once you have your new name, put it in the 
subject box and forward it to friends and 
family & co-workers.

Don't for get to forward it back to the person who sent it to you 
so they know you participated. 

And don't go all adult - a senior manager is now known far & wide as Dorky
Gizzardsniffer!

The following is excerpted from a children's book, Captain Underpants And
the Perilous Plot Professor Poopypants, by Dave Pilkey, in which the evil
Professor forces everyone to assume new names... 

So:-

1. Use the third letter of your first name to 
determine your New first name:

a = snickle
b = doombah 
c = goober
d = cheesey
e = crusty
f = greasy
g = dumbo
h = farcus
i = dorky
j = doofus
k = funky
l = boobie
m = sleezy
n = sloopy
o = fluffy 
p = stinky
q = slimy
r = dorfus
s = snooty
t = tootsie
u = dipsy
v = sneezy
w = liver
x = skippy
y = dinky
z = zippy

2. Use the second letter of your middle name to determine the first half of
your new last name: 

a = dippin
b = feather
c = batty
d = burger
e = chicken
f = barffy
g = lizard
h = waffle
i = farkle
j = monkey
k = flippin
l = fricken
m = bubble
n = rhino
o = potty
p = hamster 
q = buckle
r = gizzard
s = lickin
t = snickle
u = chuckle
v = pickle
w = hubble
x = dingle
y = gorilla 
z = girdle

3. Use the third letter of your last name to determine the second half of
your new last name: 

a = butt
b = boob
c = face
d = nose
e = hump
f = breath
g = pants
h = shorts
i = lips
j = honker
k = head
l = tush
m = chunks
n = dunkin
o = brains
p = biscuits
q = toes
r = doodle 
s = fanny
t = sniffer
u = sprinkles
v = frack
w = squirt
x = humperdinck
y = hiney
z = juice

Thus, for example, George W. Bush's new name is: Fluffy Chucklefanny.

Now when you SEND THIS ON...use your new name as the subject. 

And remember that children laugh an average of 146 times a day; adults laugh
an average of 4 times a day.
 

You know, I don't think I am under sufficient stress to warrant something like Dorky Gizzardfanny . . .

My lovely wife Snookums is, of course, Sloopy Dippinchunks, which my eyes insist on reading as Sloppy Dippinchunks . . .

Oh, and for future reference, George W. (Walker) Bush is Fluffy Dippinfanny, not Fluffy Chucklefanny (Unless, of course, you think his middle name is "Dubya").

Having completely recovered from my India Pale Ale experience the other night, I ready a glass of the third in the Smokestack Series of ales from Kansas City's Boulevard Brewing Company.

The Long Strange Tripel ale is lighter in color, and in flavor than either of the previous two entries in the Smokestack Series that I've sampled.  It is of course a more full-bodied beer than the mass market Bud/Miller/Coors stuff, and probably a bit more full than Boulevard's Wheat beer.  It is not bitter at all (danke Gott) and I deem it most agreeable.

Now, all I need is a Jackrabbits win in men's basketball vs. San Jose State tonight, and the evening will be complete.

I admit up front--I don't care for India Pale Ales.  I find them too bitter for my taste.  And the second in the Boulevard Brewing Company's Smokestack Series of ales doesn't disappoint there, with an IBU of 55, it's quite bitter to my palate.  But it shares a lushness with the previous entry, the Sixth Glass ale, and has a sweetness which is unusual in an India Pale Ale. 

Boulevard's web site warns that this one is "not for the pedestrian palate."  I'd have to agree there--if your tastes run to Bud or Miller or Coors or any of the mass-market American beers, you probably won't care for the Double-Wide.  If however you're a bit adventurous in your beer consumption, and don't shy away from sampling microbrews or obscure foreign beers, you'll find this one interesting at least, and possibly more.

First of a series of four "Smokestack Ales" from the beloved Boulevard Brewing Company right here in ol' Kansas City Mo.

It's . . . yummy.

Its color was a robust reddish-brown in the wine glass from which I partook of its charms.  It has a bit of a thick feel in the mouth, not at all bad.  A bit creamy, actually.  It has not a harsh taste in it at all, being a mellow, well-behaved ale--actually, a bit sweet.  The 750 ml bottle is not nearly enough but at the same time, probably quite enough for an evening's beverage enjoyment.  Trust me, you don't want more than one bottle, unless you're with friends.  Whoo, it's starting to take it's effect on ol' filbert here.   Very nice.  I'll be going to bed soon.

I'll give it a full 10/10.  Very, very good.  If you see it in a liquor/package store near you, snap it up.  Good stuff, Maynard.