This is really cool: Mike Commodore is going to shave his head to raise money for the Jimmy V Celebrity Junior Golf Classic. For those of you who don't follow hockey or the Carolina Hurricanes, Mike Commodore is a 'Canes defenseman known for his trademark carrot-top afro and bathrobe locker room attire.

The head-shaving will occur within 10 days of the end of the Hurricanes' season - which could be as early as tomorrow but hopefully will be mid-June when we bring home Lord Stanley's cup for a little beer & BBQ! The cool thing is that a friend of mine who volunteers faithfully for the Junior and regular Classics gets to participate, as do the top ten bidders for Mike C's hair on Ebay. Bids or pledges for $250 or more also get an entry in the raffle for a 2006 XL 883 Harley Davidson Roadster autographed by the Carolina Hurricanes team (pictures are in my gallery if you want to see). Or you can just buy raffle tickets... Either way, please consider making a donation. All proceeds benefit the V Foundation and are earmarked for pediatric cancer research.

I thank you and more importantly, the kids at Duke Children's Hospital thank you.

Small print on a TV ad for Lunesta (a prescription sleep aid):

"May cause drowsiness."

I watched Super Size Me the other night (yes, I know, I'm a little behind in my movie rentals). I knew that fast food was bad for you - hey, I'm not an idiot - but some of the information, not to mention the images, in that film was simply appalling. The DVD has a bonus feature where writer/director/producer/star Morgan Spurlock does an experiment to determine the shelf life of "real" french fries (i.e., from a sit-down restaurant), a "real" hamburger, a Big Mac, Filet O Fish, and McDonald's french fries. Everything got moldy and gross except for the fries. After 10 or 12 weeks, they looked fresh from the fryer. That's just not right. Then again, I could have saved Morgan the trouble of that experiment - I'm sure there are some month- or even year-old fries under my kids' seats in the van. By the end of the film, I was sufficiently grossed out so that I think our Happy Meal purchases will take a nosedive. I haven't been fond of McDonald's for a while now due to the nutritional value (or lack thereof) but I confess to succumbing to a Big Mac craving now and then. Maybe not anymore. I haven't broken this news to Grover and Ollie yet. I'm sure you'll be able to hear the screams of protest when I do.

Just for kicks, I went on the McDonald's website and perused their Corporate Responsibility Report issued August 5, 2004, (interestingly, it doesn't seem to have been updated since then) and it seems to be one big doublespeak denial of the aforementioned film.

P.S. While my patronage of the burger joints will most likely go from infrequent to almost never, watching this movie in no way affects my affinity for Taco Bell. In fact, I ate there for lunch today.

There's a 3- or 4-mile stretch on the interstate close to where I live where they are doing construction to add an interchange for a new bypass. Recently, they put up a large scrolling sign that reads "TRUCKS EXITING HIGHWAY...DO NOT FOLLOW". Now, there is always a fair amount of road construction around here and I don't recall ever seeing a sign like that. It seems to be common sense not to follow construction trucks off a highway. This leads me to the conclusion that someone must have done it in order for them to put that sign up. Would I be surprised? Not really.

I had a doctor's appointment today (to pursue the possible gall bladder issue) and while in the waiting room, I happened to overhear a conversation between the receptionist and a patient. (And yes, I did just "happen" to overhear it because I was sitting two feet away and it couldn't be helped.) The patient, incidentally, was a dad with his toddler-age son in tow in a jogging stroller.

Receptionist: Has any of your information changed since your last visit?

Mr. Mom: Uh, I don't think so. Oh yeah, I think my insurance changed. Here's my card.

Receptionist: Thank you. Oh, you have Humana. Hold on, I have to check something. [phones someone else in the office] We don't accept Humana. You can still see the doctor but you'll have to pay out of pocket and file for reimbursement with your insurance company.

Mr. Mom: Oh. What was I seeing him for again?



As it turned out, his wife made the appointment and it was for a cholesterol check. He was obviously one of those "just tell me where and when to show up" kind of people.