If your old computers are starting to stack up in the basement at a rapid pace, there's good news for Apple users.

Apple recently announced that users will receive free shipping and envionmentally friendly disposal of their old machine with a purchase of a new one through the Apple Store or Apple's retail stores. The press release says the program expansion will begin in June.

The Purdue University Liberal Arts featured myself and The Developers in its spring issue. I had communicated with a representative in Alumni Relations about sending information for the magazine, but little did I know that they would devote more than a quarter of a page to me. I shared the page with Ted Allen, the cook from "Queer Eye For the Straight Guy," who is also a Purdue grad. On the preceding page, basketball great John Wooden, yet another Purdue alum, is spotlighted for receiving a reward.

Batteries don't seem to last long these days. Even if you have rechargeable batteries, they lose life the more you use them. My information on batteries is a little outdated, as I haven't graphed circuits since college.

As I begin scheduling stops on my summer book tour, I'm working on putting together a simple program that involves computers, charitable organizations and recycling. No, I don't have a cute name for the program, nor do I have any idea how it will even work. But I'm going to give it a try.

If I told you that somewhere in the world, there sits a huge container filled with salt, one grain for each person on the planet at the very moment, would you believe me? Of course not, but little do you know that it does, indeed, exist at The Salt Monument in Boulder, Colo.

With the recent surge in reality television, I have decided to create my own

hit series called "The Communicator." I need someone to be in charge

of my phone decisions. So every time a telemarketer calls, urging me to move

my phone plan to another galaxy, I will transfer them directly to The Communicator.

At that point, I would hope the telemarketer would be told that I'm locked

into a contract until the year 2348, but that it was OK to call back after

that time.

Let's get to the point quickly here -- all Web sites look different depending on various factors: the type of computer you are using (Mac vs. PC), the type of browser you are using (Netscape vs. Internet Explorer vs. WebTV vs. others), the types of extensions you have enabled (Java vs. QuickTime vs. others), your favorite soft drink (Coke vs. Pepsi vs. RC). It's complicated because there are so many variables, more than you had during your entire high school math career.

If you are familiar with the Periodic Table (and if you aren't, please have a chat with your chemistry teacher soon!), you might be interested to know that someone has compiled a list of English words that can be spelled with chemical symbols.

No, the person wasn't me. Actually, the computer did most of the work, but Dr. Nandor's Exhaustive Chemical Words Pages shows a multitude of ways to combine elements to form words.

Amazingly enough, there are a handful of people out there who still have not purchased an iPod yet. It's too bad, really, because studies have shown that people who have iPods experience less back pain later in life, most likely because they aren't carrying around boom boxes on their shoulders during the formidable years of their lives. Haven't you wonder why chiropractors have yet to endorse the handheld music device?

Every day, scientists are discovering more of space, which, I suppose, is still the Final Frontier. That is, unless you count the salad bar at truck stops, since that is another weird phenomenon as well.

There is an ongoing treasure hunt for sustainable-life planets. That's not surprising, considering the world's population is more than 6.6 billion (and growing, if you want to view). Where are all of the people going to go? There's just not enough space between the croutons and bacon bits.