Columns

This week I’m heading to Alaska to participate in a facet of the Iditarod Dog Sled Race in Anchorage.

I’m heading there to help support a group of soldiers from Walter Reed Army Medical Center who will be riding in the initial phase of the race, as well as to shoot footage for a perspective story for The Christian Broadcasting Network, and to cover the race for The Beacon.

A man in Toronto, Canada, offered a $15,000 reward for the return of his chocolate Labrador retriever.

“There isn’t any sum of money that I would associate with him,” said Bert Clark, quoted in the Toronto Star. “Life isn’t about money — it’s about the connection you make with other souls. Huckleberry was like my soulmate.”

A woman in Land O’Lakes, Fla., spent $4,200 on a pacemaker for her 10-year-old pug, a breed that has an average lifespan of 10 to 12 years.

I spent Valentine’s Day with the occupational course of study students at Brunswick County Academy. I can honestly say it was the best Valentine’s Day I’ve ever had.

The students were operating The Bakin’ and Makin’ Shoppe as part of their diploma requirements. The students must spend 900 hours outside the classroom gaining work experience and operating a student-run business.

These students have turned into talented chefs and bakers and savvy entrepreneurs.

Just when you thought you’d mastered all the technology in your home, along come more inventions to make your situation as hip as a candlestick phone, the TouchTone-less kind that requires “Miss Sarah” to connect your call.

Ah, but weren’t those the uncomplicated Mayberry days?

This year’s Consumer Electronics Show, held between gambling stints last month in Las Vegas, served up thin TVs, a digital message board, a sensor bed and a driverless car, which probably requires no-fault insurance.