As we toil about our daily lives within the confines imposed by our planet, space crafts of amazing designs and configurations are careening off galactic energy fields light years away, transmitting a record of their journey and opening a window to worlds unimagined. The images beamed back to earth are nothing short of breathtaking. (Makes shoveling the driveway seem pretty trivial, eh?)

Take full advantage of the Internet to get a glimpse of the beauty these unmanned, new-age, galactic explorers capture during their voyage. Check out http://www.spaceimages.com

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, we thought we’d delve into a topic with an over-riding theme of love; Aphrodisiacs. Do they work, or is it all in your head?

Today’s conversations about aphrodisiacs deal with the pleasure aspect of a relationship. But in years gone by, when procreation was more of a focus, aphrodisiacs played an important role in the process. And since procreation was an absolute necessity for mankind’s continued existence, so too were aphrodisiacs. Many of the foods we eat for their aphrodisiac value today have their origins in ancient times.

It is also important to note that there are foods on the following list that have no proof of their true power as an aphrodisiac. These merely serve to support the theory that ‘if you think it works, it does.”

Check out these seductive selections:

Caviar - prized by such expert lovers as Casanova, Dostoevsky and Rasputin.

Chocolate - women have known for centuries that chocolate is one of the most effective aphrodisiacs available.

Coffee - a well-know stimulant, but too much and it becomes a depressant.

Cucumbers - phallic in shape, these cool vegetables also stimulate a woman's olfactory senses.

Garlic – it’s 'heat' is said to stir sexual desires.

Ginger - raw, cooked or crystallized is a stimulant to the circulatory system.

Honey - in Egyptian times, considered a cure for sterility and impotence.

Licorice - chewing on bits of licorice root is said to enhance love and lust, particularly stimulating to woman.

Mussels – reputed to pack a bigger punch than their notorious oyster cousins.

Mustard - believed to stimulate the sexual glands and increase desire.

Nutmeg - highly prized by Chinese women as an aphrodisiac.

Onions - used in ancient Hindu, Egyptian and Arabic kitchens. One of the oldest-known aphrodisiacs. Can have the opposite effect if only one eats them.

Oysters – perhaps the most famous, documented as a aphrodisiac food by the Romans in the second century A.D.

Pine Nuts - rich in zinc, pine nuts have been used to stimulate the libido as far back as medieval times.

Pineapple - used in homeopathic treatments for impotence.

Raspberries and Strawberries - perfect foods for hand feeding your lover.

Truffles - the musky scent is said to stimulate and sensitize the skin to touch.

Vanilla - the scent and flavor of vanilla is believed to increase lust.

Wine - relaxes and helps to stimulate our senses.

Planning a winter vacation? Don’t forget to pack your laptop. Seasoned travelers around the world are beginning to appreciate how valuable their computer can be when away from home. If planned properly, your laptop can store, inform and entertain:

Store Pictures – and videos from your digital camera/recorder when your memory card gets full. Just be sure to pack a memory card reader or the proper cable to connect your camera to your computer.

Create a Trip Diary – record the details of your vacation while still fresh in your memory; weather, sites, restaurants, activities, etc.

Store Important Information – emergency phone numbers, travel details, airline information, tourist attractions, etc.

Watch a Movie - most new laptops can play DVDs. Add one or two sets of headphones and you have all you need for a mobile cinema.

Listen to Music – familiar tunes can be soothing and relaxing. Include the kids’ favourites, too.

Play a Game - perhaps it’s raining, you feel unwell, or you’re waiting for your flight, you can enjoy favourite games like Solitaire, Minesweeper, Hearts and Pinball. Or you can buy a game that will help to kill some time (and maybe some aliens too).

Surf the Net – check the news, local conditions back home, or read e-mail. While many hotels offer internet connections, it’s a good idea to bring a wireless card so you can take advantage of hotspots if your hotel doesn’t offer this service.

Word sleuths, scrabble players, and reading buffs will enjoy these unusual words:

Abcaree, Abchalazal, Abcoulomb, crabcake, and drabcloth are among the only words in the English language that contain "abc" in order.
Hydroxyzine is the only word in the English language that contains "xyz."
You and ewe are pronounced the same but share no letters in common. Eye and I is another such pair. Oh and eau is yet another.
Strengths, nine letters long, is the longest word in the English language with only one vowel.
The word chincherinchee is the only English word which has one letter occurring once, two letters occurring twice, and three letters occurring three times.
Cimicic and Cimicid, each seven letters long, are the longest words that are exclusively made up of Roman Numerals.
Aegilops, eight letters long, is the longest word whose letters are arranged in alphabetical order.
Spoonfeed, nine letters long, is the longest word whose letters are arranged in reverse alphabetical order.
Io (an interjection in Chambers and one of the moons of Jupiter), Ai (the three-toed sloth), Eo, and Aa (rough volcanic rock) seem to be the shortest two-syllable words.
Of is apparently the only word in which an F is pronounced like a V.
Usher contains four personal pronouns (us, she, he, her)
The only word which can be typed using the bottom row of letters is Zzz (to indicate sleeping), which is found in at least one dictionary. There are no vowels in the bottom row.

Tired of the two-step process of deleting objects and then having to empty the Recycling Bin? Annoyed at having to delete unwanted e-mails, only to do it again from the Deleted Items section to be truly rid of it? Then this tip will make you smile and save you some time.

To delete items in just one step, highlight the item you want to get rid of and hit Shift + Delete. Done! But be careful, because it's really gone!

Cool Sites

Air Junk Detectors – Willie, age 11, says, “My friend and I made 8 airborne junk detectors and put them around the house. This site shows you how. It’s amazing what we collected in them.”

Animal Scrambles & Flip-Over Jigsaws – Porsche, age 8, says, “There are a whole bunch of different puzzles to unscramble. You have to do different things to different ones to be able to see the picture. It’s fun!”

Paintings in the Sky – Rachel, age 12, says, “I have to do a project about the Aurora Borealis and found this site. It has all the information I was looking for, plus some amazing pictures. They look so cool.”

Battleships – Jeff, age 10, says, “I love playing battleships with my friends and my sister. I have a strategy that beats them every time. This site is really easy to get used to.”

News flash! Bill Gates isn’t planning to give you (or anyone else for that matter) $250 for each person you forward an email to. Fab Vacations isn’t giving away all-expense paid trips to exotic lands just because they feel like it. Finding that particular file on your computer doesn’t mean your system is compromised. And that guy trying to get his multi-million dollar savings out of that African country isn’t going to give you some of it if you help.

They’re email hoaxes – and they’re all fake!

E-mail scams and shams abound, promising money, gifts or good fortune to recipients who forward them to others. Some luck-based hoaxes, often called chain letters, play on people’s fear of bad luck. Money-based hoaxes offer incredibly quick cash for simply forwarding a message. ‘Malware’-related hoaxes give false information regarding certain malware threats. In most cases, malware-related hoaxes are warnings of fictional malware threats that create unnecessary panic. These hoaxes often prompt users into deleting integral files or performing unwanted actions on their systems.
Though you might think that participating in such pie-in-the-sky offers is perfectly harmless (“What have I got to lose?”), such participation only serves to clog-up already overtaxed resources. Plus, it gives the tech-morons who cooked up these frauds a big laugh at your expense.

You can help clean-up such unwanted e-mail server traffic by not forwarding these on, by telling whoever sends you these e-mails that you don’t want them, and by sending people this article with the following sites where they can see for themselves that the offer is a hoax:
http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/inboxer.asp
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html
http://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/hoaxes/default.asp

Here’s a handy tip when fixing furniture and stuff around the house. When gluing a rod into a hole (like in a wooden chair), apply the glue to the hole, not the rod. As the rod is inserted, it pushes the glue up the sides of the rod. If you apply the glue to the rod, the edges of the hole will scrape the glue off, leaving a weaker joint.

When faced with problems, apathy rarely makes the situation better. Yet when it comes to curbing the effects of global warming, many Canadians say “What difference can I make?” – leading to a lack of action. But when faced with this question, individuals should recognize that collectively they can make a difference.

Not convinced? A perfect example of how individuals can make a difference can be seen in how effectively we recycle. A mere 20 years or so ago, few people recycled or were concerned about it. Yet today, it’s common place – leading to a very significant reduction in the amount of garbage that we have to bury or burn.

How you can help:
In the Home - Cut your utility bills through the use of energy-efficient appliances, fixtures, and other home equipment and products. Proper insulation, reduced water usage, compact fluorescent lights, etc. will also save you money!

In the Yard - Use a mulching lawnmower. Strategically plant deciduous trees for shade and coniferous trees to block winter winds. Plus, they remove carbon dioxide and other pollutants from the air.

At the Store – Look for reusable or recyclable packaging, or reduced packaging. Buy products made of recycled content, such as recycled paper for your computer printer.

On the Road – whenever possible, carpool, bicycle, or walk. Coordinate errands to reduce fuel consumption. Keep you vehicle tuned up and maintain proper tire pressure. When buying a new car, pay attention to fuel efficiency.

Everywhere - Educate others. Tell people how much money you save, the positive impact it has on the environment and how you do it.

When we learn to appreciate the impact we as individuals can have on this global problem, it’s easy to change our apathetic attitudes and make a positive contribution.

“If at first you don't succeed, try again. Then quit. There's no use being a damn fool about it.” ~ W. C. Fields

“The closest I ever came to a menage-a-trois was when I dated a schizophrenic.” ~ Rita Rudner

“Atheism is a non-prophet organization.” ~ George Carlin

“I wish to thank my parents for making it all possible...and I wish to thank my children for making it necessary.” ~ Victor Borge