When I was very, very, very, very, very young, my favorite toy was tied between those little slimy figures found in A Bad Case of Worms, and the thing shown above -- another worm. I swear it's a coincidence; I've never been fond of worms otherwise. The one in the picture is new (called a "Wiggle Worm"), but the string-activated "pets" were once sold under another name, in fancier, action figure-esque packaging. (Fuzzzz-something?) I loved these worms, I really did. By using the almost-invisible string connected to the figure's snout-like nose, you could make it seem like the worm was moving under its own power. Or so the legend went. Personally, I was more fond of keeping the plastic-eyed cuties in my shirt pockets, a statement I'd stand behind much more firmly if I could remember wearing even a single shirt with a pocket.

Though they've always used cheap materials to make these, the current crop of fuzz worms aren't nearly as intricate as the ones I grew up hugging, with googly eyes and multicolored fuzz patterns. To me, those worms were alive. They were my friends. Since they were so easily damaged (both unintentionally and on purpose), I plowed through dozens of the things.

Think I'm done talking about that.

Thanks to all who've e-mailed in about their Halloween/Christmas goodies. I'm excited to report that there were a few good Hallo-related things in the mix -- if I haven't gotten back to you yet, I will this weekend. Is it wrong to be excited about the Halloween Countdown already? You know me, I can't help it. Last year's was a major challenge because I'd already started on the job, and I'm a bit fearful because the job is about, oh, 500,000x more intense now than it was back then. It's really just a matter of deciding on a schedule, sticking to it and staying ahead of personal deadlines. Writing against the wire usually isn't a good thing, and towards the end of last year's Countdown, I was writing too many of the entries on their "due date," or worse yet, after the fact. Oh jeez, why am I talking about this in July?

We live in a strange world: Outside at work today, I noticed an alarming amount of police cars. A LOT. Like, parked up on the sidewalks and everything, lights on and all. Opinion on why they were there was split between two things: It was either to answer some kind of terrorist threat, or to keep control over a crowd supposedly there to catch a glimpse of goddamn Halle Berry. We really are living through some odd times.

Uh, a survey, I guess: What's your worst habit? Could be something like smoking, could be something like lying. I have many, but the one that I really wish could be fixed is obsessing over the worst part of any situation rather than the best part, if that makes sense. Oh, smoking, too.