7 Things I Learned This Week--Part 40

New Blogger Commenter Widget

This week I learned how to get a Blogger commenter widget for my blogs that shows a cumulative total for the last 500 posts! If you'd like one, I got it at www.bloggerplug-ins.org

Breast Cancer Odds

At Grugger's Way I learned that 1 in 8 women get breast cancer and some time during their lifetime.

CAT Scan

I had my first ever CAT scan last week which was no big deal. Monday, I saw this interesting video of an orangutan getting its annual examination at the Cleveland Metropark Zoo's veterinary clinic:
Visitors are allowed to walk through but every time we have, no animals were actually being examined. I liked watching this short video and thought you might too.

Bumpits

When visiting "A Brunette Making It One Day at A Time" I learned what bumpits are. I never even heard of them before but have seen them. I just didn't know that's what they are called. They are little plastic things that you hide in your hair to make it look poofier.

New Disclosure Rule by FTC

In the Book Blogs forum I learned about this new rule by the FTC regarding testimonials and endorsement of products by bloggers. We need to disclose if it's a paid endorsement or if it was a free product. Here is an excerpt from http://www.ftc.gov/

The revised Guides also add new examples to illustrate the long standing principle that “material connections” (sometimes payments or free products) between advertisers and endorsers – connections that consumers would not expect – must be disclosed. These examples address what constitutes an endorsement when the message is conveyed by bloggers or other “word-of-mouth” marketers. The revised Guides specify that while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service.

So if you do book reviews and get the book for free from the author, that should be disclosed. (Our books that we review come from the library and no one pays us to review them.) Bloggers can be liable for up to an $11,000 fine for being caught promoting a product without disclosure that they were paid to endorse the product. So make sure whenever you are accepting blog opportunities that you are complying with these new FTC rules which will go into effect on December 1st 2009.

NFL blog

Through Blog Catalog I discovered a great football blog that is a collaborative effort which covers all the NFL games and chats about all the teams. It's called NFL Gridiron Gab. If you miss a game, want to discuss a game, this is a must read blog for football fans! In the left column under the "Sports Gab Network" separate links to blogs for each team are listed.

The Biggest Loser Training Tips

I watched "The Biggest Loser" this week and Jillian shared an eating tip: She said to substitute cauliflower for mashed potatoes and that it tastes about the same but is healthier. I never tried cauliflower but love mashed potatoes with corn. Can anyone confirm that it tastes like mashed potatoes?

Trainer Bob had two easy exercises that he recommended for people who sit all day at a desk to help strengthen their backs. One is called table top and the other is Supermans. For table top you get down on all fours and extend one arm and the opposite leg and hold for 30 seconds to a minute or so, then switch sides. Supermans are harder (at least for me). Lie on the floor on your stomach and lift your arms in front of your head and your legs as high as you can.

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