PrepForOne

04.01.10: TODAY IS...

-April Fools Day, referred to as All Fools Day in Poor Robin's Almanack in 1760
-St. Stupid's Day in San Francisco
-Boomer Bonus Day for everyone past 50 years old that have stopped celebrating birthdays.




POP QUIZ: Two guys named Steve pooled $1,350 to create (this) company in 1976...

ANSWER: Apple computer. Steve Jobs sold his Volkswagen and Steve Wozniak sold his programmable calculator. The two created a computer circuit board in Jobs' garage. This weekend, look for the Apple iPad.

IN SEARCH OF

What folks are Googlin' this morning

"april fools pranks for work" -- Looks like folks are looking forward to April Fools Day, so here are a few ideas from AprilFoolZone for playing pranks at the office today:

Kidnapped

Take an item from the victim’s office (something they use a lot such as a special coffee cup, stapler, pencil cup, etc.). Take a picture of the item and leave it on the victim’s desk (in the same spot where the item was located), along with a “ransom” note.


Musical Chairs

Take the fancy office chair out of the boss’s office and switch it with the ugliest chair. Whoever had the ugliest chair will probably be happily surprised to see their “new” chair, and the boss will probably be embarrassed to have to come and take it away. Of course, you better make sure your boss has a good sense of humor!


Did You Call Me?

If you have an office phone system that allows conference calling, you can prank two people at once. Call the first victim’s extension, then very quickly call the second victim and push the conference button. Now both people will think the other person called them and will begin arguing over who called whom!


Time Off Trickery

Coordinate everyone in your office to play a practical joke on your boss. Throughout the day, each person should email, voicemail or leave a note for the boss, saying they need extended time off. Each person should give a different explanation: pregnancy, sick family member, etc


Invisible Ink


Go into the victim’s office and locate every pencil and pen in their desk. Paint the tips with clear nail polish. When they try to write, none of them will work. (After the prank is revealed, the nail polish can be removed by dipping the pens and pencils in polish remover.)

No Comprende

Borrow the victim’s cell phone when they aren’t around and change the language setting to a foreign language. Then watch and laugh as they struggle to translate the setting instructions on their phone.

Strung Up

Attach a string to the back of the victim’s desk drawer. Then run it up the wall, into the suspended ceiling, to a small container attached to the ceiling directly over the victim’s head. When the drawer is opened the string will be pulled, dropping a shower of confetti onto the victim’s head.

Get many more here





"research in motion" - Blackberry maker Research in Motion had mixed news yesterday. They claim strong sales for its fiscal Q3 2010 but saw shares slip 7%. They sold 10.5 million units. Analysts thought they'd be closer to 11 million. Apple, on the other hand, shipped 8.7 million iPhones. Is the Blackberry done? What are you using?


"sandra bullock files for divorice" - Everybody's searching for the report about Sandra Bullock filing divorce papers. Problem is - it ain't true. Yes, RadarOnline.com reported that she's considering divorce, but it hasn't happened yet.



"american idol results" - Nice to see big Ruben last night. Ruben Studdard, winner of American Idol season 2, stopped by to sing Don't Make 'Em Like U No More. After Ruben came yet another cheesy commercial for Ford, and then Usher took the stage to show everyone how its done. After that - the results... out this week: Didi Benami

Here are the top 9:
Crystal Bowersox
Lee DeWyze
Michael Lynche
Casey James
Aaron Kelly
Andrew Garcia
Siobhan Magnus
Katie Stevens
Tim Urban

Next week- songs from the John Lennon-Paul McCartney files.

PHONE BUZZ

Light 'em up!


Innocent April Fools pranks that went very, very wrong (sounds like a show on FOX)
Today is April Fools Day, and how it started nobody knows. There are theories that date back to the ancient Romans and Celts who celebrated a festival of mischief-making. LiveScience.com says the best guess dates back to the 16th century when we went from the old Julian to the Gregorian calendar - the one we use now:

"Under the Julian calendar, the New Year was celebrated during the week between March 25 and April 1, but under the Gregorian calendar, it was moved to Jan. 1. Those who were not notified of the change, or stubbornly kept to the old tradition, were often mocked and had jokes played on them on or around the old New Year."
article



Is it Sandra Bullock's fault that her husband (allegedly) cheated?
There's a column by a New York Times columnist that is getting a lot of attention this morning. David Brooks asks the question - "Would you exchange a tremendous professional triumph for a severe personal blow?" In it, he talks about Sandra's triumphs professionally over the past year, but to get there, she sacrificed her marriage. The column then goes into what makes us personally happy, and what make societies as a whole happy. In the column he writes - " If you have an unsuccessful marriage, it doesn’t matter how many career triumphs you record, you will remain significantly unfulfilled." Can you have a balance between a successful marriage and successful career? Or will one always give to the other? Or... maybe consider this... is JESSE JAMES JUST A DOG?

FACEBUZZ

Post this: What is "the best thing ever?" A cold beer on a Friday night? Trip away to the beach? Jumping out of an airplane? What is it for you?

CELEBRITY TWEETS

Tonight at 9 eastern, Robert Downey Jr will be chatting online with Sherlock Holmes fans. You have to be signed up for Waner's BD-Live community to submit a question. More details here


The 30 Rock cameo club continues. Rumor has it Matt Damon will appear on the NBC sitcom. If true, he'll join a line of big names to have appeared on the show including Edie Falco, Jame Franco, Jon Hamm, Salma Hayek, Oprah, Jennifer Aniston, Jerry Seinfeld and Jon Bon Jovi.


Speaking of TV, look for Oscar nominee Gabourey Sidibe to host an upcoming episode of Saturday Night Live. No exact date has been set.


Oh this should be good. We're getting very early word that there will be a Halloween box office fight between Paranormal Activity 2 and Saw VII 3-D.


It took six-months for everyone to agree on a deal, but it's done, and there will be a Hangover 2. Each actor will get $5-million plus a cut of the action. They'll start shooting in October.


Disney star Selena Gomez will unveil a budget-friendly fashion line for Jr's at Kmart. The "Dream Out Loud" collection will include apparel, handbags, belts, scarves, hats, hair accessories, socks and hosiery.



POP QUIZ: The soap that kicked-started the careers of Demi Moore, Jack Wagner, Rick Springfield, John Stamos and Mark Hamil debuted on this day in 1963... which one?

ANSWER: General Hospital




CUTTIN' CAKE TODAY
Ali MacGraw is 71
Bijou Phillips turns Jon Gosselin is 33
Susan Boyle turns 49


BIRTHDAY QUIZ: Recognize this guy?

He's 33 today... who?

ANSWER: Jon Gosselin (on one of the reasons he left Kate)


PRIMETIME, BABY!
ABC: FlashForward (NEW), Grey's Anatomy (NEW), Private Practice (NEW)
CBS: Survivor: Heroes vs. VIllains (NEW), The Mentalist (NEW), CSI: (NEW)
NBC: The Office, The Office, The Marriage Ref (NEW)
FOX: Bones (NEW), Fringe (NEW)
CW: The Vampire Diaries (NEW), Supernatural

TV NOTE: If you missed "The Office" episodes where Pam had her baby, they are replaying both tonight at 9.


GADGET OF THE DAY
Got a big hairy dog (or big hairy husband)? Here ya go - it's a dog brush hooked to a vacuum. Now most dogs FREAK OUT at the sound of a vacuum, so I don't know how this will fly, but it seems like a good idea. $78. More here


GOTTA SEE THIS
In 2010, a broadcasters only goal is to NOT become a famous YouTube video...watch




WHO SAID IT?
“I spoke to Tina’s husband, Jeff, about it saying, ‘I really think your wife has a problem with me. She’s clearly in love with me.’ I thought he was going to punch me!

-Steve Carell after his "Date Night" co-star Tina Fey suggested the two kiss all the way through the credits. Source


JOKE OF THE DAY
While sports fishing off the Florida coast, a tourist capsized his boat. He could swim, but his fear of alligators kept him clinging to the overturned boat.

Spotting an old man standing on the shore, the tourist shouted, "Are there any gators around here?"

"Naw," the man hollered back, "they ain't been around for years!"

Feeling safe, the tourist started swimming leisurely toward the shore.

About halfway there he asked the guy, "How'd you get rid of the gators?"

"We didn't do nothing,'" the beachcomber said.

"Wow," said the tourist.

The beachcomber added, "The sharks got 'em."


SURF THIS!
I love these websites for no real reason. It's another deal-a-day site called 2DailyDeals.com where (mostly electronic) items are posted for only a day, or until they sell out, for an incredibly good deal.