I’m sure there are a lot of things you associate with Christmas and Toys for Tots is probably one of those things. In fact, 2007 is the 60th anniversary of Toys for Tots, the endeavor headed up by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves that brings toys to millions of needy children at Christmas.

More and more people contribute to this effort each year, most by donating a new, unwrapped toy. You can contribute by donating toys at various drop locations in your area, or you can simply use the Month2Month.com e-card site.

Almost sounds too easy, huh? The site makes a donation to Toys for Tots for each holiday e-card that is received. And, the cards are free. It’s effortless on your part, since the site does not require a subscription and actually has cool cards you’d be proud to send.

Pass this information around to everyone in your address book. The more people who send the free e-cards, the more Month2Month will donate to Toys for Tots. And, the more they donate, the more toys will find their way into eager hands this Christmas.

Here's where to find Toys for Tots free eCards

In the midst of today’s headlines about the mall shooting in Omaha and the glitches in the Natalie Holloway case, there sits a headline that reads, “Brad Pitt ponders quitting acting.”

Huh?

How is this even news? Seriously, How. Is. It. News? Does it impact lives? Change National policy? Have a bearing on the war?

Nope.

I’m all for it. Pitt says he wants to focus on building his family and pouring efforts into his Make It Right project, which will provide eco-friendly homes in New Orleans and in other locations along the gulf Coast. His dream to rebuild New Orleans is noble – certainly nobler than this year’s superfluous Ocean’s Thirteen.

Yes, Mr. Pitt, get on with your life. Lead a quietly effective life and kindly step away from the industry that assaults us regularly with images of your face on the covers of tabloids. I can surly live without seeing that. Do what you can to make sure a bloated superstar does not take up any more valuable real estate in the daily headlines.

I have a website where I offer free hair bow instructions. Connected to that site is a mailing list of over 1000 people, most of who are small business owners. I get asked a lot of questions about starting a small business and most often what people ask is, “how do I choose a web host?”

I wish I had one answer for everyone, but I don’t. There are so many factors involved: scope of your business, online tools you will use, presence of ecommerce, reach of customer base, your budget, and so forth.

It’s often good to find an online tool that helps you explore a variety of web hosting companies at a glance. There is a site called Web Hosting Choice that has a good selection of tools you can use to filter through hosting companies, their various hosting packages and parameters such as options, bandwidth, cost and extras. You can look at several option, choose a few companies that look like they may work for you, and do some follow up on your finalists,. In the end, you will come out with an educated selection that has been made on your own terms.

You can browse through the webhosting listings in a simple directory format. There is a directory that list my host and another that lists by plan. Or, you can use the advanced search if you have particular aspects that are important to you in choosing a host. Maybe you want to find a package that has a monthly cost of less than $10, or maybe you need to make sure your plan will include a shopping cart system, pre-installed scripts, or that is allow FrontPage extensions. There are over 40 parameters on the webhostingchoice.com search you can specify when using the advanced search.

Don’t just use the hosting company that your friend uses or that someone e-mailed you a coupon for. Do your research and pick the host that will give you the plan that is perfect for your needs.

Sex with students seems to be the hot topic in Tampa lately. Right on the heels of the Debra Lafave situation, there is news that Jaymee Wallace received three years in prison (to be followed by three years of probation) today lewd and lascivious battery and unlawful sexual activity with a minor student. She used to be a math teacher and basketball coach at Wharton High School in New Tampa. I have family at that school, by the way.

Wallace had a relationship for 18 or 19 months with a girl who was in one of her math classes and was also on the basketball team she coached. The teacher attached a note in an envelope to a graded paper that she returned to the student telling the student that she found her attractive. That started a series of back and forth notes that eventually turned into a physical relationship after the student indicated she was interested in more than just note.

The student is 18 now, but was 15 when the relationship started. Police reports and court documented detail a relationship that was carried out in parked cars and in the teacher’s apartment – the same apartment she shared with the husband she married in the midst of the affair with her student.

Wallace pleaded guilty earlier in hopes of lightening her sentence, which could have been up to 30 years in prison. The victim also stated that she did not want Wallace to go to prison, admitting the relationship was consensual.

Many people are speculating as to why Debra Lafave got away with house arrest while Wallace will be serving time in a cell. Most agree that it comes down to the appearance of the two teachers and the argument presented by Lafave’s attorney that she was “too pretty” to spent time in jail.

A pretty face might get you a second date or a modeling gig, but it’s a sick world that allows that same asset to determine severity of punishment.