YouTube - Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

Great speech by a professor with cancer.

Danica Patrick and Milka Duno argue in Pits

If you missed this, you gotta check it out. It's not really a catfight but it's close. It probably would've been much better if they were naked.

Danica and Milka argue in Pits

Over 40 Mosquito Bite Itch Relief Tips

Over 40 Mosquito Bite Itch Relief Tips » TipNut.com: "It’s mosquito season and I have buffalo sized ones zipping around the backyard as I type this.

Thanks to their first feast on my ankles tonight and an earlier comment from Kim, I was inspired to dig through every tip I had regarding mosquito bites and relief from the itching. Scritch Scratch.

I haven’t tried most of the suggestions below, but I’ll note which ones have worked for me.

Here are more than 40 mosquito bite itch relief tips organized in one neat file, each bullet tip is a single method:

Household Items:

* Rub a bar of soap over the itch. I just tried this (Ivory soap) and the relief was near instant. I used a dry bar of soap directly on the skin, but I also have notes that you can spritz bite with water and then run bar of soap over area–or use a wet bar of soap.
* Place a piece of scotch tape on the bite; or dab rubbing alcohol or ammonia on the bite first then stick on a piece of tape.
* Hot water: Take a hot shower, or a hot bath, or apply a hot compress. As hot as you can stand it without burning you.
* Ice cube, ice pack or very cold water

Dabbers: The quicker you can apply one of the remedies below, the faster the relief. These are topical suggestions, apply directly to the bite area.

• Nail Polish
• Strong tea mixed with rubbing alcohol
• Toothpaste (works for me)
• Mouthwash
• Vinegar (apply directly to bite or take a hot bath with 2 cups of vinegar in the water)
• Honey
• Underarm deodorant (solid or roll-on) - apply directly to bite area
• Rubbing Alcohol
• Ammonia
• Bleach
• Tea: Use a hot tea bag or a cotton ball soaked in hot tea to dab on bite area

Pastes: Mix these fresh then apply to bite as soon as possible. The consistency should be nice and thick so it won’t run, yet will still stay in place on the affected area. You could also spritz bite with water then apply grains/powders directly (generously) and rub them in.

• Baking Soda & Water (works for me)
• Meat Tenderizer & Water
• Salt & Water (works for me)
• Epsom Salt & Water (could also do this as a foot soak if it’s the ankle/foot area affected)
• Tums Tablets: crush and add a few drops of water
• Aspirin: crush then add a few drops of water
• Aspirin - crush then apply a few drops of rubbing alcohol

Commercial Product Lotions, Creams & Applications: Apply directly to bite area.

• Calamine Lotion
• Benadryl Cream
• Orajel
• Anbesol
• Caladryl
• Vicks VapoRub (works for me)
• Preparation H (works for me)
• Lucas Papaw Ointment
• Tiger Balm
• Bag Balm
• Gold Bond Medicated Cream (or the Gold Bond Medicated Powder)
• Mylanta (heartburn relief product)
• After Bite

Essential Oils: Apply full strength directly to bite area. Edit: There are concerns about using essential oils on children and pre-teens, especially repeated use.

• Tea Tree Oil
• Lavender Oil
• Witch Hazel (astringent)
• Cedar Oil

Leaf Applications: Crush the fresh leaves roughly then apply to bite area

• Basil
• Plantains (Plantago)

Fruity Applications: Use fresh fruit & apply directly to bite

• Lemon Juice
• Lemon Slice
• Lime Juice
• Lime Slice
• Banana Peel (rub inside of peel on bite)

Whew! Big List! If I’ve missed your favorite remedy for mosquito bites, please add them below.

If a remedy doesn’t provide fast relief, don’t despair. Give it another try, sometimes it will take 2 or 3 applications before it kicks in.

The itch from mosquito bites comes from the saliva of the mosquito that it injects into you as it feasts on your blood. There are several dozen different species of mosquitoes and you may react to some species bites more than others.

If large swelling occurs (like welts), contact a doctor or pharmacist for suggestions (especially if it’s a child with a strong reaction). It could be an allergy to the bite. It’s important to watch the throat for swelling and get treatment asap.

Espresso, Extra Bitter - washingtonpost.com

Espresso, Extra Bitter - washingtonpost.com

This may be the best free publicity you could ever ask for. An argument between a barista (fancy word for a coffee server) and a customer makes national headlines. We're not talking about a big coffee shop like Starbucks, but a small, local, mom and pop store. This coffee shop is actually owned by Nicholas Cho. Here are the policies at his store:

"No modifications to the Classic Cappuccino. No questions will be answered about the $5 Hot Chocolate (during the months we offer it). No espresso in a to-go cup. No espresso over ice. These are our policies. We have our reasons, and we're happy to share them."

The policy in question is "No espresso over ice." A customer comes in and asks for his espresso over ice and the barista says no. "It's against company policy." An argument ensues and the rest is history.

Let me throw something out there. What if this was all a setup by the Murky Coffee owner? What if this is a great publicity stunt? Could someone have planned this out to create publicity for a small coffee shop that is surrounded by the behemoths like Starbucks? I don't know but I do know that the buzz generated by this incident put Murky Coffee on the map.