Kim Komando turned me onto the Health Age Calculator -- an online tool that helps you determine how "in" or "out"-of-line your Health Age is with your True Age.

It takes into consideration your responses to a number of personal and family-history related questions. Don't worry, it doesn't pry too much (which also means it's less reliable than say, your DOCTOR!), but it's enough to give you a general idea as to the direction you and your body are headed in, and roughly how long you can expect to live at this rate.

Kim said: "You already know that diet and exercise affect your life expectancy. But this test incorporates other things, like psychological issues and risk taking. And if you don't like the results, it can help you decide what to change."

It's too cooooool! I did it, and here's what I found out...

Summer fun fact: Pontoon boats are "Jeeps of the water".

They're not built for speed, or looks... they're just built for FUN!

Listen to Bud Light's Real Men of Genius "Mr. Homemade Pontoon Boat Maker".

Just as you can rent a Jeep for day, or even a weekend... you can also rent a pontoon boat for a little off-road fun afloat!

The best part: Take a couple friends with you, and it's a fairly inexpensive way to have a good time on the water.

Land-Locked?... Take A Drive!
If you live in a place that's land-locked (like us), then you're probably THRILLED whenever you have an occasion to spend some time on the water in the summertime.

The answer: take a road trip! (Here's what we do.)

Of course, it rained on our little spontaneous trip to South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and East Tennessee a couple weekends ago...

So we didn't camp (as planned). We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express instead.

What's So Great About Holiday Inn Express?
One of the first things we noticed was the VERY modern bathroom & shower! No joke. You could practically LIVE in that bathroom -- it was so spacious, and clean, and there were so many efficiencies.

Two of the most obvious:

The hip and cool shower area.

Jim noticed the arched shower rod and hookless shower curtain liner first. I noticed the powerful water pressure and multi-setting shower head!

Neither of us noticed the "proprietary cinnamon roll-inspired scent". (see below)

So, What's With Those Showers?
We enjoyed our night at the Holiday Inn Express (exit 27 off I-65 in South Carolina) very much. We especially enjoyed the free high-speed Internet, and we even found several tasty treats on the FREE breakfast bar the next morning which we enjoyed.

But once we hit the road, what's the first billboard we saw?

One like this:

--- > Here's the ad from the front page of USAToday.

I had to laugh... A high-dollar billboard to tout the praises of a SHOWER HEAD?!

While I enjoyed the experience myself, I had no idea that it warranted something as bold as THIS.

So, you know me... I had to research it and find out why the showerhead at the Holiday Inn Express -- not just the one WE stayed at, but ALL of them -- is so highly rated.

Here's what I found...

According to Consumer Reports (September 2005), "studies conducted up until 2002 found that from 20% to 90% of health information on the Internet was incomplete or inaccurate. Experts say there's no reason to think that's changed much."

Such is why the following list of health & medicine websites is so valuable.

I learned something about myself this morning...

...and it's wrong on so many levels!

Our Review of the World's Longest Yard Sale...
The World's Longest Yard Sale took place this past weekend (August 4-7, 2005) along U.S. Highway 127 from Gadsden, Alabama... through the state of Tennessee... and up to Covington, Kentucky, just shy of Ohio. They get upwards of 100,000 yard sale shoppers each year.

Of course, we had to blog this!

And of course, you can expect to find the real "inside scoop" here when it comes to...

...what it's REALLY like.
...whether it's worth making the drive.
...whether it's all that's it's cracked up to be.
...the high points (and low points).
...what you should know if you go.
...if we'd go again.

As I've written here before, I go to a chiropractor regularly. It started as treatment for carpal tunnel, shoulder, and neck pain.

After monthly visits over the course of 7 months or so, I tried weaning myself off of chiropractor visits. However, largely due to the fact that I spend upwards of 13 hours a day at a computer, the pain managed to creep back into my neck and shoulders again.

So now I go in for a chiropractic adjustment "as needed", which is about every other month.

A Chiropractor Can Cure Whatever Ails You
There are certainly a number of benefits to having a chiropractor put your body back in alignment through a series of adjustments called "spinal manipulations".

However, there's also a serious warning about neck adjustments that I just learned about.

Following is some important advice before letting a chiropractor crack your neck, including some of the risks associated with chiropractic neck adjustments...