As if lifeguards don't lounge around enough, underwater cameras installed in pools are now able to page them when somebody drowns. This article includes a link to dramatic footage of the rescue in progress, along with the video system flashing "ALERT" when the little girl hits bottom and stops moving.

Now that's $150,000 well spent! Seriously.

Unlike most people, I don't think of camping, or big parties, when I think of Labour Day weekend. I think of a masochistic event that has called to me unsuccessfully for several years: the 3-Day Novel Contest.

It's pure, wondrous insanity: you have the entire 3 days of the long weekend to write a complete novel. You can start out with an outline, but the actual writing must take place from Day 1 12:01am to Day 3 11:59pm (this year, that's September 3 to 5). In the past, I've always seemed to have something else to do, and this year, starting teaching new subjects at a new school on September 6, I surely have more to do than I can handle.

All the more reason to sign up! I sent my registration in today, and I'll try to post some updates as the weekend progresses.

In keeping with the contest's survival guide, I will not be answering phone calls, socializing with friends, etc. over the weekend. There is one small exception: if you are willing to deliver food, you're welcome. For five minutes.

Just when you thought you'd seen every crazy piece of crap, they come up with this: the scrolling belt buckle.

That's right. It's a belt buckle with a tiny LED screen that you can use to display six messages up to 256 characters long. Wow. The only catch is that I can't think of a single thing to put on it that wouldn't get me beaten up in a bar. For that, I am enlisting your help.

Just drop me a line and suggest something useful to put on this thing. I'll post the best suggestions here at a later date.

When I discuss my retirement with people, I usually imagine myself as a crotchety old guy on a porch, yelling at the kids to stay off my lawn. I've been outdone before I could even begin.

Apparently there's some guy in the states who flips the bird to everybody who passes his house. He's so famous that people use him as a landmark when giving directions.

You can read about it, and even watch it captured on video, here. (Also note the hilarious quotes of the late Mitch Hedberg down the right hand column.)

As recently promised, I have finished a short article about online Texas Hold 'Em outlining how you can use the greed of the burgeoning industry to rake in cash and prizes.

While most of us are familiar with the up-and-down (no pun intended) history of the American space program, few of us know the whys behind the whats.

This intriguing article outlines the problems, both accidental and intentional, with the current shuttle, and intelligently questions the rationale behind manned space flight.