No News Is Good News

As we welcomed in 2010, our news station celebrated with a list of the 10 most newsworthy events of the last decade. Whoever was responsible for this lineup of facination might do well to try a little cognitive therapy and take a pill or two as every item on the list involved death and/or destruction. I wanted to have a panic attack just to purge the adrenalin from my system.

I thought it ironic that SARS made the top ten but H1N1 did not...once an immunization became available and the ICU's emptied, it stopped being newsworthy. Maybe when we watch the news, we feel lucky if we're not the guy who's parachute forgot to open, but watching unlucky stuff messes with my head. So I tried to compile my own list of cool things that have happened in the last decade and while they are probably not newsworthy, I don't need medication when I think about them. So here are my examples to get the ball rolling.

1) Leapfrog. The brains behind leapfrog toys must know kids like nobody else. Every leap toy my kids have had have entertained them for ages...from fridge magnets to singing frogs. I recently handed Gracie the leap cellphone as I wheeled around the Target store and it kept her entertained for the entire shopping trip. Shocking. Leapfrog rocks. Green is still my favorite colour.

2) Minimally invasive surgery. Its been around for awhile but docs are getting really good at fixing what ails us and taking big things out of little holes. Of course this doesn't apply to giving birth...the kangaroos won that lottery. But now the docs can put a sling in women who have bits fall prey to gravity after pushing out their 8 pound darlings.

3) Skyping Grandma. We tried out Skype when we were in China and called three continents daily over a two week period and spent about 5 bucks. Grandma got to meet Gracie on adoption day complements of the webcam and we are able to have weekly visits across the pond without anyone getting on an airplane.

4) A leash trained mini-schnauzer. Only schnauzer owners will truly understand how much pain is involved in walking a schnauzer who is intent on smoking out and chasing any rodent within sniffing distance. Lucy pulls so hard on the leash that she passed out one day. Bella is truly a mutation because she walks nicely on a leash and also fetches balls, which is also unheard of in schnauzer society. Unfortunately, we had her neutered before we realized her potential as an egg donor.

5) Stem cells...what a great idea to use something we already make in our bodies to save ourselves from serious health risks. Science is getting so darn smart. Now if they could invent sperm with a sense of direction.

So there's five a my personal favorites to get you started....and may your parachute always open.