"What do you think of a person who only does the bare minimum?"

There was something about that neighbor boy that I just didn't trust.

There can be little doubt that the internet has changed everyday life for the better, but Nobel literature prize winner Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio has upped the ante by saying an earlier introduction of information technology could even have prevented World War II. "Who knows, if the Internet had existed at the time, perhaps Hitler's criminal plot would not have succeeded — ridicule might have prevented it from ever seeing the light of day," he said. I have to agree with him. If England had been able to send a "Stop Hitler Now!" petition to 10 friendly countries, those countries could have each sent it to 10 more friendly countries before the invasion of Poland, and one of history's greatest tragedies might have been averted.

A mother is complaining that a game she bought her son to improve his vocabulary is instead teaching him inappropriate language. Tonya Carrington, 36, gave her son the Nintendo version of Scrabble and was horrified to discover that the virtual opponents in the game were laying down words containing crude slang and abuse. Mrs Carrington tried out the program for herself on her sons DS console and was shocked when her "opponent" laid down the word "t*ts." The next word the computer offered was "f*ckers," which it defined as "a slang word for chavs." "Ethan is doing really well with English at school, so I decided to get this to help boost his vocabulary — but obviously not like that," she said. It's tragic that her son was exposed to that kind of mind-warping language, which I'm sure as a nine-year-old boy he has never heard on the playground.

pomke writes "According to WAtoday, 'More than 130,000 inflatable breasts have been lost at sea en route to Australia. Men's magazine Ralph was planning to include the boobs as a free gift with its January issue. The cargo is worth about $200,000, which is another blow for publisher ACP's parent company PBL, which is already in $4.3 billion of debt.' I wonder if they could be used for Global Warming Research?"

Wait until snufulufugus finds out.

Leave it to the Japanese to come up with a beverage merchant more shady than the Kool-Aid Man.

After signing up for Thawte's Personal E-mail Certificates service, a user found some strange questions popping up in his account settings. After a little investigating it became obvious that for some reason Thawte was completing his questions by using other user's questions. Some of the other users' security questions that he dug up are priceless.

I'd like to see someone try this in New York.

Now if he could only find a way to work from the tub.

Having a dog totally prepares you for having a baby.

Joe Richardson lost his blue-stoned class ring while fishing in Lake Sam Rayburn, 21 years ago. On November 28, an anonymous fisherman found it inside an 8-pound bass he had caught and tracked Joe down. Richardson said he had lost the ring only two weeks after graduation. "I have not cleaned it," he said. "I told my wife I don't want to clean it." All this time I've been using live bait and expensive lures like a sucker! This summer my tackle box will be filled with class rings.

The problem with finding the perfect watermelon is the profound sadness that comes with knowing that you'll never taste one as good again.

She gets powerful mean if you keep her locked up in the cellar with the young-ins.

Repton writes "Thanks to the Second Amendment, even the elderly have the right to keep and bear arms. The problem is that many of the guns out there are a bit unwieldy for an older person to handle. However, the inventors of the Palm Pistol are planning to change all that with a weapon that is ideal for both the elderly and the physically disabled. In a statement submitted to Medgadget, the manufacturer, Constitution Arms, has revealed the following: 'We thought you might be interested to learn that the FDA has completed its "Device/Not a Device" determination and concluded the handgun will be listed as a Class I Medical Device.' Physicians will be able to prescribe the Palm Pistol for qualified patients who may seek reimbursement through Medicare or private health insurance companies."

The world's most expensive Christmas tree has been unveiled in Japan. Currently on display at the Ginza Tanaka jewelery shop in Shinsaibashi, Osaka, the tree is made of 24k gold, decorated with more than 240 jewels including diamonds and pearls, and comes with an estimated value of around £1million. "Economic sentiment is sluggish. But, at least in this store, we want people to feel a gorgeous atmosphere," a store official said. At least they spent their money on a useful gift this year, and nothing gaudy.

A creative writing project in a nine-year-old's class has turned into a 46-page hardcover book called "How to Talk to Girls." The original handwritten pamphlet was a bestseller at a school book fair where it sold for $5 a copy. The book fair fame eventually got Alec Greven an invitation to be on a local TV show and a publishing deal with HarperCollins. "It is easy to spot pretty girls because they have big earrings, fancy dresses and all the jewellery," he writes in chapter three. "Pretty girls are like cars that need a lot of oil." I'm sure Alec's book already has a dozen four-star reviews on Amazon.

Mark Ciarmello and his 3-year-old daughter found a 39-year-old message in a bottle while walking along the beach in Corolla, N.C. The note was in a Schaefer beer bottle and dated Aug. 17, 1969. It read: "If found notify the North Haledon Fire Co. 2." Firefighters suspect it was tossed by someone during one of the many fishing trips that they used to take years ago, but are unsure who as their fishing trips, like most, were about the beer.

I'm a big fan of the trilogy, but even I have to admit that the special effects in the new one aren't very special.

Don't his parents have to sign his ticket for him?