Today is Sunday, June 29, the 181st day of 2008. There are 185 days left in the year.

Faced with its Alzheimer's residents' tendency to wander away, the Benrath Senior Centre in Dusseldorf, Germany, came up with a novel approach: a fake bus stop (an exact replica of a real one) out front. Straying residents might be attracted to the familiar colors and design of the kiosk (because long-term memory is typically still robust) and wait there for a bus instead of trying to "go home" on foot. But short-term, the resident is typically unaware of how long he has been waiting and will remain until a Centre employee sees him and can guide him back into the home (which often is easy because the resident has by then forgotten why he is sitting there, according to a June dispatch from Berlin in London's Daily Telegraph).

Bright ideas

• Minor league pitcher John Odom was traded in May by the Calgary Vipers of the independent Golden Baseball League to the Laredo Broncos of the independent United League, but his exchanged counterpart balked at leaving the U.S. for the Canadian team. The clubs huddled and announced that Odom would still report to Laredo, which would send Calgary not a player in return, but 10 bats.

KETCHUM, Idaho -- A Blaine County judge has rejected Tom Hanks' second request for arbitration over what the actor says was $2.5 million in faulty workmanship by the construction company that built his sprawling compound north of this central Idaho resort town.

This classic Dave Barry column was originally published July 7, 2002.

Summer is a lazy, relaxed, carefree time of year, when our thoughts turn to the possibility that our flesh will be stripped from our bones by millions of razor-sharp mandibles.

HOLLYWOOD -- Early evening settles on a quiet suburb of spacious homes and lush lawns. Suddenly, an ominous voice pierces the tranquillity: America is about to elect the first black president of the United States.

Air Force Airman Travis D. Blurton graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. He is the son of Stanley and Sindy Wardle, Spanish Fork.

Air Force Airman Devin B. Christensen graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. He is the son of Charles Christensen, Elk Ridge and a 2004 graduate of Payson High School.

Coast Guard Seaman Niels Christiansen graduated from U.S. Coast Guard Recruit Training Center in Cape May, N.J. He is the son of Hans and Marsha Christensen, Cedar Fort and a 2004 graduate of Lehi High School.

Army Reserve Sgt. 1st Class Thomas C. Cornaby has been mobilized and activated for deployment overseas to a forward operating base in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He is the son-in-law of Ray and Luana Martin, Lehi.

Air Force Airman 1st Class Jake R. Cottle graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. He is the son of Lisa Cottle, Lehi and a 2007 graduate of Lehi High School.

Navy Lt. Paul D. Hendricksen graduated from Patient Administration Course while assigned to Naval School of Health Sciences, Bethesda, Md. He is the son of David and Mayleen Hendricksen, Heber. He joined the Navy in August 1996.

Air Force Reserve Airman Dmitri A. Jacobsen graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. He is the son of Kent Jacobsen, Lehi and a 2003 graduate of Springville High School.

Air Force Airman Hursel T. Johnson graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. He is the son of Daril Johnson, Provo and a 2005 graduate of Provo High School.

Army National Guard Pvt. Stephanie E. Lewis graduated from basic combat training at Ft. Jackson, Columbia, S.C. She is the daughter of Alfred Lewis, Orem.

Cody Clark

In the f/Stop Café at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City, the clear glass tabletops are emblazoned with gold-lettered quotations from the wit and wisdom of fine arts luminaries. One such artistic tidbit declares that, "Bad artists copy. Good artists steal."

While I'm away, readers give the advice: