A Pregnancy Test at 3,300 metres

Thousands of metres above sea level in Zermatt, Switzerland

Imagine being stuck on the ski slopes and never knowing? Could you be pregnant? Have no fear Switzerland is here! Pregnancy tests will be in vending machines owned by the company Selecta in offices, trains stations and other public places!

Hey if condoms are sold in vending machines why not the tests to make sure they work? Or at least that is the logic of Selecta’s director Thomas Nussbaumer who told AOLNews: “You will find pregnancy tests at 3,300 meters of altitude, as well as in tiny villages.”

Baby on a Bong? Facebook

Who knows where the mom in this story got her test. What is probably more important is where did she learn about parenting? Not being a parent myself I can say I know what not to do i.e. do not get my child high and do not post a photo (left) of my baby smoking out of a bong.

Ahhh parenting at its best. According to The Frisky the 19-year-old Floridian mom said it was staged and she wouldn’t get her 11-month-old son high.

Authorities tested the baby and he was clean. Phew! No stop list (where Bermudians convicted of drug crimes are not allowed to go into the United States) for him.

But maybe they should have been helping-out in British Colombia, Canada. Why? Because cops there discovered a woman up to no good and up to her neck in more than $1 million worth of marijuana plants.

What the cops didn’t expect was her back-up – 10 black bears.The “Bear Lady” , as the woman is affectionately called, is known in the area for only escaping the woods for minor provisions. These might have included dog food, which the bears seemed to be quite happily eating and cause the officers to harm.

So don’t go wandering through the woods of British Colombia on your own. Some  other parenting advice from someone who has only played a parent as a nanny so far: don’t let your kids watch cartoons.

Bugs bunny wasn’t always so sweet. Cartoons dating back to the WWII era were created by Warner Brothers for the troops overseas. The one below Bugs imitates Hitler. In another, not shown here, he feeds ice cream bars laced with bombs to Japanese soldiers.

I would say probably not the safest videos to show your infants.

And I would say it’s Friday and I hoped you enjoyed these fun facts and photos from around the world. Stay tuned for tomorrow to go Top Less!

Labouring away all summer?

Sun setting on the summer

Maybe you need a break? Maybe it’s a last hurrah before kids go back to school (and need to find backpacks)? Or maybe you’ve already planned a vaca for the first weekend in September? Whatever the case is, this is time to stop labouring (well except for you momma’s to be and there are a lot of you out there right now) and enjoy some time off. I know I am!

But the Americans know how to do it best. In fact they started the holiday dedicated to workers by not working. Somehow seems backwards but there you have it.

So where did it all begin? In New York of course. On September 5, 1884 it was celebrated as a “workingman’s holiday” when workers united in a parade 10,000 strong down Broadway, NYC proudly led by Irish-American activist Peter MacGuire. None of them got fired (or too few to matter) so they did it again the following year and now even Canada gets in on the mix.

What am I going to do to celebrate Labour Day? Well, for one, I am going to be in Bermuda so probably not much. But I hope to go to New York the weekend before and maybe catch a game of….tennis?!

While it’s Labour Day and most take the time to hang with their families, the tennis elite struggle under the last hurrah of the summer sun for the U.S. Open. From August 30 to September 12 thousands of spectators will trample through New York’s Underground for a chance to see the likes of Serena Williams and the American James Blake.

Combine major city with a major sporting event and you’ll be lucky to make it out …..happy. So before you go check out these ten tips for helping you survive this tremendous event. Check them out.

Looking for something closer to home, Bermudians? Want a way to celebrate Caribbean pride? Why no head to…..Brooklyn. Yes, I wrote Brooklyn. Why? Good question. Well on Sunday, September 6 the colours, music and people descend on the streets to celebrate the West Indian Parade.

Or perhaps you’re looking for a more subtle music experience. Well America does it right with two, yes I wrote two Jazz festivals to finish their summer.

To start you off there’s the Chicago Jazz Festival or heading further North? What about Detroit? They’re in the game too with the Detroit Jazz Festival.

Or maybe you want to find the Largest Free Concert in The United States? And you want to do it on Labour Day Weekend? Try and head for Atlanta, Georgia and their Freedom Atlanta Concert. It’s the largest, free one-day outdoor concert and takes place on Saturday during Labor Day weekend at Jim R. Miller Park (new location) from about 10 a.m. until 11 p.m. with a fireworks finale. Celebrate Freedom Atlanta Website.

Catch yourself some Catfish in Georgia over Labour Day

Atlanta may be it’s capital, but why not explore a little more of Georgia and catch yourself a catfish? Yep. This quirky state celebrates the Annual Labor Day Weekend Catfish Festival. What more can you ask for?

Are you heading to America’s Capital? Labour yourself in Washington, D.C. with another free concert courtesy of The National Symphony Orchestra. This is held on the West Lawn of the U. S. Capitol each year, the Sunday before Labor Day. The annual concert is led by NSO Associate Conductor Emil de Cou and the event is part of theKennedy Center’s Prelude Festival, which includes free performances to kickoff the performing arts season in Washington, DC.

Looking for a last-minute vacation for your weekend? Why not head to Maine….Sebago Maine: For $119 a night the Park Homes on a family resort and mile of beach and 18-hole golf course. Check out this deal here.

Or go to Canada – yes they celebrate Labour Day too – for your last hurrah on these deals.

It’s a small world in Iceland

Shirley Lui a Canadian and, until two weeks ago, a Bermudian resident, is now circling the globe trying to decide where to land with her fiance. Before she departed our 21-square-mile shores, however, Shirley spent a little time in another, Northern island – Iceland. And while it may be bigger than Bermuda she found familiar faces on the journey. Here is here travel log:

Iceland.  Why Iceland?  There are many countries on my list of places I want to visit in Europe, but Iceland never occurred to me until I received a Save the Date for a friend’s wedding almost a year and a half ago.  She was going to have a destination wedding in Iceland in June 2010.  What better opportunity to go visit this island?

We booked a self drive 9 night /10 day tour of the country after the wedding weekend in Budir, 2 hours northwest of Reykjavik.  Not being familiar with Iceland and how easy it would be to find accommodation outside the capital city, I booked the tour with Icelandic Farm Holidays (http://www.farmholidays.is/) which is an association of approx. 150 farmhouses around the country.

A little tired from the 4 hour red-eye flight from Toronto, my first impression of the island upon landing was that it was purple…everywhere….there are lupines all over the country.  Even some mountains were purple.

The bus ride to Budir was scenic, ocean on the left and mountains on the right.  We arrived at the quaint Hotel Budir shortly after 2pm and started exploring the property.  Budir, situated on the snaefellsnes peninsula, was stunning – we were surrounded by lava fields and yellow beaches.    Our first night was spent meeting the other guests that have flown in from all over and getting used to the midnight sun…the sun sets around midnight and rises around 3am…but it never gets dark!  Some even went for a middle of the night hike to nearby waterfalls.

The wedding ceremony was held outdoors in the lava fields and was absolutely beautiful.   Everyone had a blast and celebrated all night long under the midnight sun.  Check out the photos at: http://100layercake.com/blog/archives/7436 and http://kylehale.net/blog/2010/07/19/christina-mark-budir-iceland/

Once we returned to Reykjavik, we picked up rental car and began our 10 day roadtrip.  A week before we arrived in Iceland, we found out that a friend of ours from Vancouver just happened to be vacationing in Reykjavik for a month; naturally, the more the merrier on a road trip, so he joined us for first few days of the trip.

Gullfoss, part of the Golden Circle (the other 2 sites making up theGolden Circle are Thingvellir and Geysir)

We toured the island following the Ring Road heading in a counter-clockwise direction.  The landscape and climate in each part of the country was so distinct that driving was never boring.   In the course of one day, we’d see a rift valley (Thingvellir), geysirs, and waterfalls and still have time for late night hike through Smoke Valley (Reykdalur) to bathe in steaming rivers.

Geothermal ponds at Geysir

Icelandic people love their nature baths, they are everywhere around the island and perfect after a day of hiking and exploring or something to do on a rainy day.   Although Iceland is a much larger island than Bermuda, some things still the same; on a couple of occasions we ran into travellers we met at guesthouses at some point earlier in the trip in the opposite side of the island or at the airport.

Facebook for Farmers? Wokai?

And other fun facts from around the world on this lovely Thursday and first of the month.

Farming away...

Yes you read it. Facebook for farmers. Well it’s something like that. It’s called Wokai and it’s a US microfinance firm that provides Chinese farmers with loans to help with particular projects.  The Facebook part? Well these loans are not from banks. Nope. They’re from private, small investors who get to decide exactly what their money finances.

The great part? These entrepeneurs get to start the business of their dreams and Wokai has a 100% repayment record…..Can’t argue with that can you?

From China to change in the air……Yes. Airlines grew hearts last night and decided to wave flight, change fees for those who may be affected by Hurricane Alex. So that could be anyone in Texas and Mexico.

I don’t even want to start to think how this is going to affect those already struggling to keep the oil from BP off their shores. Well let’s put it this way cause that’s really all I have to say.

Fancy a more content area of the world? What about New Zealand? Napoleon never lost his head, but he did lose some of his hair. Just last week that very hair that was snipped while he was ostracized from life on St. Helena was auctioned for $13,000!

Before you board your Boeing Express, however, make sure you’re not hiding your terrapin anywhere. A ten-year-old on a flight between Atlanta and Milwaukee recently held-up the plane because of her hidden reptile.

And finally for your Thursday round-up….spies! No not James Bond…but real, actual spies. Only the Americans can’t seem to find the top-secret documents the Russian spy ring must have been sending out. I guess they must have been that good!

Oh!!! O……Canada! Yeah I haven’t forgotten….just thought farmers in China were more interesting. Yeah I get to say it! I’m Canadian (ok got the passport through my grandmother but it still counts). So enjoy you’re day Canadians trying to find Labatts in Bermuda!