Thanks to all who replied to my request for information about bloggers who have passed on… here’s the full story. Sorry I couldn’t include them all!

I swore by these books (a three-volume set, published 1982) when I was a kid. I recently unearthed them from my parents’ house. I highly recommend them for anyone looking to put their kids at work doing something productive.

Extremely impressive story about investing. I love it.

I hereby offer my freelance services as a proofreader of Chinese restaurant take-out menus. Affordable rates, inquire within.

Why do all the ads for Bulletproof Monk say “BULLETPROOF” in big letters, then have the real title of the movie in small letters elsewhere on the poster (usually at the bottom)?

My crazy day: – Headed for Sonoma Film Festival for lively panel on film criticism which lasted about two full hours. Lots of fun, there will probably be pics online somewhere in the near future. – Had lots of wine on the way home. – Later, at Safeway, a man in a cowboy hat was…

No easy way to say this, but: Do you know of a blogger who has passed away and left his blog behind as a kind of electronic memorial? (Or one whose blog was removed after the death?) I’m doing research for a wired.com story and need more examples. Consider this a way to immortalize your…

Reminder: I’ll be on a panel at the Sonoma Film Festival this Sunday at 12 noon. Check out who else is on the panel… If you’re in the wine country this weekend and want to hear a bunch of self-obsessed film critics talking about themselves, do drop by.

If you think the DMV is bad, try spending an hour at your local Social Security Administration office (don’t ask…). Not only are the employees as slow as tree sap, the only reason people are here is that something has gone dreadfully wrong in their lives. One woman, who must have been 85, was there…

You could have a worse fate.

She is a talented child.

A little humor, Al-Jazeera style. No, I have no idea what a lot of these cartoons really mean since i don’t read Arabic. But it’s fun to wonder.

Yoiks! Good luck, Chris!

Netflix’s top recommendation for me (joke?): Hoop Soldiers Enter the world of no-holds-barred, caged basketball when a young attorney returns to her hometown to investigate the sudden death of her brother.

Joke. No joke.

Hey California, get on the stick. This public service announcement brought to you by the Annoyed to Hell by Telemarketing Society. (The link lets you pre-register for the state’s Do Not Call database, which goes live in October.)

Another pet peeve: People who stand RIGHT IN FRONT of the elevator doors waiting for them to open so they can get on. These people simply forget that, hey, half the people on elevators are trying to get OFF! Idiots.

Strangest gift delivery ever: We went out on our deck this afternoon and saw a plastic bag from Borders Books on the floor. Obviously something inside. Within: A package with card, TO our daughter and FROM the house next door (just the address, not the people). Sure enough, it was a baby gift for our…

Memo to Catherine J. Null of McKninneytown Rd. in North East, Maryland: Your order for the Dr. Atkins Three-Book Package set has been confirmed. Alas, you used my email address instead of yours, so Amazon can’t tell you about it. Let me know when it arrives. Thanks.

Overheard: A few days ago. The scene: Local coffee klatch, mostly 60-year-old women huddled around a table at a coffee shop. Woman #1: Do you like escargot? Woman #2 [abruptly]: No! [pause] Woman #2: I’ve never tried it.