The Best Worst Place To Ask Questions

The best worst place to get information isn't Wikipedia... it's Yahoo Answers. I use this site all the time, but always with a grain of salt. Most recently, I've been using the site to bounce off ideas for my upcoming wedding. Whether it's centerpieces, invitations or gifts for the groomsmen and bridesmaids... I've used Yahoo Answers to get an unbiased point of view. And for that, I generally give Yahoo Answers a thumbs up. However! Yahoo Answers can be a dangerous little beast!

When you use this site, you have to remember that any "yahoo" can pass off their opinion as factual or justifiable knowledge.

A couple months ago, I put up a post asking what the general consensus was on serving "pigs in a blanket" at my wedding reception. The caterer's only option my fiance Tim thought his family would enjoy. I'd never heard of anyone serving such a thing at a wedding reception and was a little hesitant. So I thought, "What the hell? Lets see what Yahoo Answers thinks!" I threw the question out to the world wide web, and waited for the responses to pore in. It didn't take long, and the answers I received were completely unexpected. Instead of actually ANSWERING my question, the general consensus on my post was that I was a snob for questioning my fiance family's tastes. I was cussed at and personally insulted like never before! I immediately reported the other users for their language and offensive content. I showed it to Tim, thinking he too would be just as appalled. But after he read through the post, he started laughing hysterically. But, not at the responses I received (while he thought those were funny too). He was laughing at me for taking something so seriously.

And he's right. Yahoo Answers is absolutely ridiculous. Browsing the questions its amazing to see how many people are searching out answers about their pets, spouses and hell... appliances!

And, while I've cut back on asking, I've instead started answering questions! I've found adding my two cents on what dress I think is cuter or what recipe to try is extremely addicting.

More for Less

Everyone knows my wedding is coming up. (33 days, but who's counting?) Now, like every bride I'm doing what I can to look my best on the big day. And of course that means eating less and lots of cardio. I've been doing 30 minutes of cardio, five times a week. And after two weeks of my new regime, I decided it was time to step on the scale and celebrate the fruits of my labor. But, I was disappointed to find that I had not lost a single pound. I couldn't believe it! I thought, "Surely... there must be something wrong with the scale! There must be something wrong with me..." Then I decided to do some research. After hoping online, I learned my problem wasn't that I wasn't working out enough or eating too much... Actually, I wasn't eating enough! The recommendation for my little dilemma was to actually eat MORE! Apparently, my body was holding on to my fat cells because it was in starvation mode! Faced with the reality that I may not be able to shed any weight unless I ate more, I've started counting calories for the first time in my life! My saving grace in all of this is the Calorie Counter Database. It has a database of 1000s of foods and tracks how many calories you consume each day! I've yet to find a food not listed on the site! It also has a lot of great diet and nutrition tools to help you figure out your BMI, your calorie burn profile and your diet profile. Since I've started using this site and eating MORE, I've lost two pounds! I always thought loosing weight was about working out more and eating less, but I guess that's not always the case!

People of Walmart

I rarely go grocery shopping alone. And, while I hate shopping at Walmart, I'm forced to do so because of my wonderful wages as a reporter. But, going to Walmart alone opens up so many people watching possibilities. I do it every time I go, and now there's a website that is based solely on that. People of Walmart is a collection of all the great characters you can only find at Walmart. Here are some recent featured customers.

The site has also received a lot of media attention lately, with features on CNN and Time websites. Apparently, that's flooded People of Walmart with more visitors it can handle and isn't working regularly. Still worth a visit if you have a chance to check it out. I'm anxious to see it up and running again, so I plan on checking it regularly.