First, for those of us not familiar with ‘vanilla slice’, it is a kind of cake filled with custard. You can find it in Australia, where it is also called ’snot block’.

The town from which the vanilla slice statue (made of steel) was stolen is known for its annual vanilla slice/snot block competition.

I found a picture of vanilla slice , and might look for one of the statue tomorrow. Surely, something with six arms and is ‘human-like’ has to be online.

I only needed tomato cages, but just outside the entrance at Home Depot, there was a display of dahlia plants in one-gallon pots. Not plate-sized, but saucer-sized, double ones. No price tag. A fellow with a forklift kind of vehicle was loading stuff, so I asked him if he knew how much they were, guessing that he wasn’t a clerk. He was quite helpful, picked up one, and said he would scan it for me. As he walked to the checkout, the dahlia, single-stemmed and very top-heavy, snapped off at the base, and fell to the ground.

There was a moment of silence. Then I said that I probably didn’t want that particular one. He was somewhat embarrassed, but told me the price. The barren pot, with its stub of dahlia stem, sat awkwardly on the counter.

Loretta has her first mealworm. She wasn’t quite sure what to do, so I cut a small portion away. That did the trick. I suspect my days of trapping fruit flies are over.

According to a study at Ohio State, there is a definite correlation between losing weight and gaining wealth. That’s quite an incentive to drop some pounds.

These boots will give us much-needed coolness. When live pictures of the Golden Gate show a disappearing bridge, the temps in the ‘burbs will go down soon.

In Hawaii, you just can’t be too careful.

After learning that a Texan is offering canned haggis, offended Scottish haggis makers are asking that their products be given EU protection.

Do you get a headache when you eat ice cream? Or when you gulp an icy, slushy drink? It has to do with swelling blood vessels caused by the cold. If you slow your rate of intake, you won’t be as likely to suffer.

He joins VC firm Kleiner Perkins, and will not be attending entrepreneur pitches, but will focus instead on leadership and organizational issues with portfolio companies.

The brown, big-eyed, snake-like creature swims at high speeds in Utah.

I was actually hoping it would be more bear-like, as in furry and pawed, but this will have to do.

Why some musicians prefer to freeze their instruments .

Perhaps the name of the dish was an unfortunate choice of words. For example, I would have difficulty ordering an entree called ‘Mr. Steer is dead’. Or, for that matter, ‘Ms. Chicken is dead’.

An unseen danger far more prevalent than sharks or jellyfish stings, the rip current or undertow pulls swimmers from the safety of the shore.

Sorry, Tom, but you will not become an honorary citizen of Paris.

Anyone who has suffered through years of orthodontic work, or watched children endure headgear, will be happy to learn that testing is underway for a drug that will cut the treatment time in half. Researchers at the University of Florida will use a natural hormone to facilitate teeth movement, and say that retainers will no longer be needed after treatment.