CNN contributor Chris Guillebeau shares some of the most practical, straightforward travel advice I've ever read in this blog for "Anderson Cooper 360": http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2009/10/13/28-things-i-wish-i-knew-before-i-started-traveling/ . This is a must read for any North American leaving the continent.

Warning: these Halloween costumes are not for those who want to use the holiday as an excuse to wear glorified underwear in public. Each of the homemade costumes featured on this getFreshMinds.com blog post shows great creative promise, and some even have costume-contest-winning potential. My favorites are the shower loofah and the "one night stand."

There's still enough time before Halloween to whip one up: http://www.getfreshminds.com/2008/10/creative-hallow.html

This pumpkin "Predator" is one of the intricate, eccentric works of art carved by Texan, Scott Cummins. His other impressive temporarily idolized icons include Wallace and Gromit, The Dude, Davy Jones (of Pirates of the Caribbean 3), Beethoven and, my personal favorite, the "Weird Al Yank-o-lantern." Somehow I think that even after studying the tutorial on Cummins' website, the only recognizable public figure my pumpkin carvings might slightly resemble would be Jason's hockey mask.

Check out his complete carving gallery at http://www.pumpkingutter.com/gallery2/main.php.

Remember when a buck-fifty was a good-days work peddling lemonade as a kid? Well, Steve Carell's daughter recently cashed in on all the paparazzi action in her L.A. neighborhood when she made $36 in 30 minutes selling lemonade to neighbor Billy Ray Cyrus and the paparazzi and police that subsequently followed him. Sounds like she's daddy's little entrepreneur!

Read the full story here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/dailydish/detail?blogid=7&entry_id=48831

I woke up today, looked at my degree on the wall, and let out a deep sigh as I rolled over to prepare for another exciting day at work as a "customer service representative" at medium-sized call center. But while I was relishing in my brief moment of emo-flavored self-pity, an article I saw on wired reminded me of just how luck I am.

"One million spiders make golden cloth." At first glance it sounds and looks pretty cool, until you read on realize that 70 people in Madagascar spent four years of their lives picking giant biting spiders off of telephone poles. Now I can't say, "Thank you for calling ________. This is Nancy. How may I assist you today . . .?" fast enough!

Read the full story and learn about the kevlar-like properties of spider silk here: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/09/spider-silk/

My mom and I popped over to Atlanta this Sunday to do a little early birthday celebrating and a lot of eating at South City Kitchen in Midtown. The restaurant is in it's 15th year of operation at this location, which is just blocks from the Woodruff Arts Center and the High Museum. Executive chef Chip Ulbrich's modern, gourmet interpretations of classic, homey southern dishes have garnered South City Kitchen a handful of national awards and heaps of loyal clientele.

Highlights from our Sunday brunch included sauteed chicken livers, she-crab soup and trout with potatoes. Each dish sounds deceivingly simple. But South City's polished execution and updated flavor profiles transform the common dishes of our childhood into memorable, delectable fare. Service during our meal was seamless from start to finish. Prices are staggeringly reasonable in relation to the quality of food, service and atmosphere.

To view the complete menu, contact information or photos go to http://www.southcitykitchen.com/midtown/index.htm .

Being from and/or living the South we've all come across those ever-changing church signs. They're about as big a part of our landscape as barbecue joints and antique stores. Many are optimistic ("SALVATION INSIDE," this one was on 280 coming back from Birmingham yesterday), a others are witty, while a few are downright threatening and usually involve Hell. Now, you can make your own church sign at this website: http://www.says-it.com/churchsigns/ , like my design which I think ranks much lower on the blasphemy scale than it could have. Design templates also include Church of Scientology and generic Temple.