All political parties hate being out of power... But what can be done? Some opposition parties are so far out of power that speeches and pamphlets are all they can muster... Some parties still wield enough influence to slow, or in some cases block, what the ruling party wants to accomplish... A very few opposition parties have enough influence to get people in other countries to act on their behalf...

But the Civic Platform party in Poland, while not in power, has more influence than anyone... In fact, it's influence extends to other planets! Well, at least according to the Gazeta Wyborcza, a Polish newspaper... They have been investigating the sudden drop in alien pictograms in Poland - those figures carved into wheat, corn and other fields when the spacecraft land... Wylatowo, Poland, by far the mjost popular place for aliens to land in Poland (at least according to the number of pictograms created), has not had any aliens visit all summer! In the absence of any scientific clues, the newpaper decided to ask the Polish "Man-On-The-Street" why they thought the aliens had stopped visiting...

The results were surprising: 63% of people surveyed blamed the Civic Platform party! So while the Civic Platform party may not be able to get earthpeople to vote for them, they apparenlty can get extraterrestrials to listen...

(Just imagine what they could do if they ever got elected to power!)

Most people look at a map to find out where they are or where they are going... Adrian White of the University of Leicester, however, likes to look at a map to find out how happy people are... Why? Because he has created a World Happiness Map! To do it, he took over 80,000 survey responses from people all over the world and mapped out the results on a world map...

So what drives a nation's happiness? "When people are asked if they are happy with their lives, people in countries with good healthcare, a higher GDP per captia, and access to education were much more likely to report being happy," he said... And while happiness may not be the most objective of measurements, he notes that "a recent BBC survey found that 81% of the population think the government should focus on making us happier rather than wealthier..."

(Let's see... I'm pretty happy overall... Most of my friends are... And ... Yep - the map says that's about normal!)

If you really need to, you can blame the Norbergs... They hold the world record for the largest gathering of people with the same name - 583 in Sweden... But they don't say to keep up with the Norbergs, do they? Nope - it's keeping up with the Joneses!

So Welsh broadcaster S4C is planning a world-shattering gathering of Joneses on November 3rd, 2006 at the Wales Millennium Centre in Blaenau Ffestiniog Cardiff, Wales England in the UK... They made the announcement in Blaenau Ffestiniog... Why Blaenau Ffestiniog? Because Blaenau Ffestiniog is home to the highest proportion of Joneses in Britain... And Jones is the second most popular surname in all of the UK... "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be involved in a record-breaking attempt," S4C editor Meirion Davies said...

And if that were not enough to get people to show up, a variety show called Jones Jones Jones will star a host of famous Joneses and will trace the name through music, dance and comedy performances, special guest appearances and competitions...

So if you are a Jones, plan ahead now! The only rules are that you have to bring a passport or driver's licence as proof of identity and maiden or hyphenated names do not count... More information is available from the Wales Millennium Centre Ticket Office at 08700 40 2000...

(Revised 8/30/2006)

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Some people say math is not that exciting... Obviously, they are not working on the right kinds of math... Some math can be downright hilarious! Here are 6 examples

Summer... Time for ice cream! But what flavor? There are literally hundreds out there these days... Still, you will probably pick vanilla... Why? Because it is the most popular flavor according to a survey just released by the International Ice Cream Association...

The top flavors were:

1. Vanilla (29%)
2. Chocolate (8.9%)
3. Butter pecan (5.3%)
4. Strawberry (5.3%)
5. Neapolitan (4.2%)
6. Chocolate chip (3.9%)
7. French vanilla (3.8%)
8. Cookies and cream (3.6%)
9. Vanilla fudge ripple (2.6%)
10. Praline pecan (1.7%)
11. Cherry (1.6%)
12. Chocolate almond, 1.6%)
13. Coffee (1.6%)
14. Rocky road (1.5%)
15. Chocolate marshmallow (1.3%)
16. All others make up 23.7%

Ever see those cars that are so dirty that the dust and sand is practically a second coat of paint? Some people get a kick out of writing "Wash Me" or something else pithy on the back of the car... Scott Wade, however, likes to go a step further... Take, for instance, the time he sketched C.M. Coolidge's picture of dogs playing poker on the back of his car!

(Now if only I could get that truck in front of me to hold still long enough for me to finish my masterpiece!)

It all started back on July 12th, 2005, when Kyle MacDonald put up a picture of a single red paperclip on his website at http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com... He had a simple proposition: he wanted to trade it for something bigger... And he did! And then he traded that for something bigger, which he traded for something bigger, and so on... The details on the website of who offered what for each trade are absolutely amazing... And now?

Now Kyle has a house in the town of Kipling in Saskatchewan, Canada!!! Plus, he gets a Key to the city, a day as honorary mayor, honorary lifetime citizenship, a holiday named One Red Paperclip Day, construction of the world's largest paperclip, a community welcome package, and $200 Kipling Kash! All for the price of a paperclip!

Most places are working hard to get rid of outhouse and ensure everyone makes use of indoor toilets... Chauncey, Ohio, however, is working to ensure an outhouse is in as many yards as possible! Why? To keep the lights on, of course! Apparently, the city had been having problems coming up with funds to pay the bill for all the street lights - about $500 a month... A plan to raise taxes failed... So the Chauncey Emergency Management Group came up with a new way to raise the money... Jerry Dowler, one of the group's members, takes an old wooden outhouse and puts it in someone's yard... Instead of a toliet, the outhouse contains a donation box... The owner of the house puts a donation in the outhouse, which goes towards the light bill... Plus, they get to choose who gets the outhouse next!

Just in time for July 4th... Why buy sparklers when you can make you own! While everyone else opens their "Brand X" sparklers, you can have customized sparklers as big or as colorful or whatever you like... Plus, if you have kids, you earn "Cool Parent" bonus points!

NOTE: This process produces actual pyrotechnics - use with caution!

What you need:

• Iron wires or wooden sticks
• 300 parts potassium chlorate
• 60 parts aluminum fines, flitter, or granules
• 2 parts charcoal
• 10% dextrin in water solution
• For color (optional)
  • 500 parts strontium nitrate (for red)
  • 60 parts barium nitrate (for green)

1. Mix the dry ingredients with enough dextrin solution to make a moist slurry... Include the coloring agent if you so desire...
2. Dip the wires or sticks in the sparkler mixture... Be sure to leave enough uncoated space at one end to safely grasp the finished sparkler...
3. Allow the mixture to dry completely before storing or igniting the sparkler... This may take several hours...
4. Store unused sparklers away from heat or flame, and protected from high humidity...

Ask any real estate person and they'll tell you the secret to a good business: it's all about location.... Location, location, location! Which makes this guy in Mexico pretty smart! Apparently, he truck a drum full of gas out into (literally) the middle of nowhere near Bahia de los Angeles on the Baja Penninsula and then waits for people who need gas... According to one guy who made use of his services, he charged about $2 a gallon...