I’ve got Klout and I know how to use it. I apply it directly to my armpits. Sometimes I read it or listen to it or wear it. Some people can drive it or drink it. Hopefully not at the same time.

I’m talking about Klout Perks, the next step from the folks at the social media ranking site, Klout. While Klout Perks have been around for over a year, it seems the program has really picked up momentum lately. These days my Twitter stream is filled with people tweeting their latest perk. I joined Klout on a whim and rarely looked at the site after that, so I was surprised the first time I received a tweet from @KloutPerks notifying me I was eligible for a perk. I almost dismissed it as Twitter spam; along the lines of a free iPad or Walmart gift card. It wasn’t until I saw others tweeting about their Klout Perks that I caught on that it was an actual thing. And it is a good thing.

If you think it’s brutal out on foreign streets during a revolution, try going online sometime. While generally not physically dangerous, the internet is full of brutal people, most masked behind a cloak of anonymity. Over the last several days there has been a deluge of opinion pieces and news reports about the sexual assault of CBS’s Lara Logan in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. It’s big news, so that’s not surprising, but the number of reader comments blaming Logan for the attack is disturbing.

There’s a lot of buzz about 3D these days. Everything has to be in 3D! Our lives will be so much better in 3D! The last time I looked up from the screen – TV, computer, smartphone; take your pick – my life was already in 3D. Do we really need 3D on all those [...]

My twitter feed blew up over the news that the study linking the MMR vaccine to autism had been declared an “elaborate fraud.” The study had actually been retracted a while back, but this makes it official. There have always been parents wary of vaccines, but this study is the one that started the ball rolling. Jenny McCarthy helped it grow into a giant snowball of panic. You know, Jenny McCarthy; former Playboy model, D-list actress and ex-girlfriend of Jim Carrey. She wasn’t in it alone. Oprah helped her spread the word. So did Larry King Live and The View. She was even on The Doctors, discussing the “debate” with doctors. She was a regular on our trusted TV shows; that is, after all, where you go when you have a book to promote.

As a couponer, I like Groupon for the most part, but I don’t view it as something I can’t live without. I don’t need spa treatments and yoga lessons often – my goal is to save money, and purchasing luxury or unnecessary services just because it’s discounted negates that goal. Like most American families, I’m frugal – I need to know I’ll use what I buy, and that I need it. If I’m Groupon’s target market, they’re in trouble.

I hope everyone has been having a nice holiday season. Whatever you celebrate. Which brings me to an interesting subject: the PC-ness of the holidays and the awkward hilarity that ensues. I’m not really talking about whether you say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays or whatever. It’s more about how I’m an idiot. I have [...]