CNN Money just did a fantastic gallery on hot toys for rich brats, (aka things I'd have to sell a kidney just to make a down payment on). Here are some of the inane highlights from the... READ ON

Being a total Scrabble lover, I had to post this. Apparently, Stephen Reed Industrial Design created these Scrabble-tile benches for a Bloomberg financial office in London to help lighten the mood. The idea is that employees can leave joke messages for one another and be a little more playful during their breaks. With my luck, I imagine I'd get stuck on a bench with nothing but vowels, and desperately spend my break fishing for a consonant. Click here to see more pics. Link via... READ ON

In the late-1980s, my grandfather made a bold and sarcastic prediction. One day, he said, video games would magically beam your opponent onto the couch beside you. In 2006, anything is possible. But his comment showed extra foresight, since it came during the Burgertime era. When you look back at the crude animations and clunky game play, it's amazing how far we've come. But there's one piece of mid-80s technology that still strikes me as groundbreaking "“ the Nintendo Zapper. How could my... READ ON

Champagne. That's the word that spelled my downfall in the 1989 Lakeview Elementary Spelling Bee. Some say my ignorance of alcoholic beverages should have been celebrated, not punished. OK, nobody says that. I assume by now, fourth graders are spelling words like Chlamydia and menage a trois. I've sat stationery these last 17 years, knowing there are four better spellers than me. In Denville, New Jersey. Born around 1979. Who attended public school. And weren't sick during the preliminaries. I... READ ON