Bunnies are nasty little animals

Sure, they’re super soft, but that’s the only positive thing I can say about rabbits. I can’t stand them. My parents go me and my brother a rabbit when I was about five. We named him “Hopperoo” and built a pen for him in the backyard of our house in Chicago. The only thing I remember about Hopperoo is that he used to bite all the time. He eventually dug a hole under the fence and got away. Good riddance.

Fast-forward to my freshman year of college. My friend Karen needed someone to watch her rabbit while she went to New Orleans on spring break. It was litter box trained, she said, but that didn’t seem to be the case. That nasty little rabbit pooped everywhere but the litter box. It was disgusting. Oh, and all he ever did was bite too. What’s the fun of having a pet that bites you all the time?

So I’m happy to see that the Apex, NC-based nonprofit All Creatures Rescue & Sanctuary is holding its third annual “Adopt a Plush Bunny” campaign to help prevent impulse purchases of Easter bunnies in the Triangle area.

The “Adopt a Plush Bunny” campaign features “adoption” kits that come with a plush bunny of your choice, an adoption “contract” and care guide, a coloring book, and lots of other information on rabbits and rabbit care! Impulse pet purchases are almost always misguided, but when the pet is as misunderstood as the domestic rabbit, it can be even more problematic. Contrary to popular perception, rabbits are not cuddly pets happy to be toted around.

The organization is teaming up with the SPCA of Wake County to help keep bunnies out of the hands of people who won’t take care of them. Apparently, animal shelters and rescue groups receive an influx of rabbits following Easter each year. I volunteered at the SPCA of Wake County in January and was surprised to see rabbits there. Here’s some footage I took of the local bunnies.

Maybe you’ve had a better experience with bunnies than I have. If so, try to help me see the light.

Don’t hate me just because I microwaved my Peeps

Perhaps the most amusing thing happening in the Triangle this weekend is PeepFest 2008 at Market Street Books in Chapel Hill. The daylong event celebrates the marshmellow chicks and bunnies with activities such as Peeps jousting and a Peeps fashion show. This year’s theme is “Imagine World Peeps.” For the full list of activities click here. Market Street Books is located in Arts & Letters Community Center, 610 Market St.

In honor of this Peepabration, I made a quick video featuring the sugary, gooey animals. If you want to follow along, log onto How to Microwave a Peep while you watch this.

Without being grossly inappropriate, please tell me if you’ve ever put something else in the microwave that wasn’t supposed to go in there and what happened.

Some businesses just won’t tolerate poor cell phone manners

I stopped by Busse’s Lock Service at lunch so a friend could get a key made, and I was immediately impressed with this sign:

As the owner so aptly put it: “Tell you what, if you come in here talking on your cell phone, I won’t talk to you until you get off because I think that’s about as rude as you can get.”If you missed the short video I made with my co-worker, Wayne Sutton, last week on cell phone etiquette, check it out to see some other things you shouldn’t do while on your cell phone. You can read about some other rude things you shouldn’t do on your cell phone here.Do you always put down your cell phone at the check out line?

Two more reasons you should go to Durham

I spent Wednesday morning in Durham with my co-worker and Earth-conscious friend Ashley Sue. Part of her job involves getting to know the Bull City inside and out, and since I used to live there, I thought it would be fun to show her some of my favorite sites.

For a lot of silly reasons, Durham has a bad rep in the Triangle. But Ashley Sue and I know the charms it beholds. So we decided to highlight some of those in a vlog. But because I’m new to this whole speaking on camera thing, I wasn’t too impressed with a couple of clips. So, instead, you get the Reader’s Digest version of cool places to check out in Durham.

The first is the Durham Athletic Park (called DAP by locals), not to be confused with the Durham Bulls Athletic Park (or the DBAP). It’s starting to crumble to the ground, but Durham voters approved bonds in 2005 that will eventually pay for its renovation. The park was the set for the move “Bull Durham” (which if you live in the Triangle and haven’t seen this flick yet, add it to your queue on Netflix immediately) and it also plays host to the World Beer and Durham Blues festivals. So there are definitely multiple reasons to go.

BTW, the audio on this video is terrible, so you may have to turn up the volume (I’m working on getting a lapel mic). But if you turn up the volume for this one, be sure to turn it back down for the one below (I don’t want to hurt your precious little ears).

The other place that I highlighted is the Scrap Exchange. This huge store is located just around the corner from the ballpark, so you can knock out both places in one trip. The nonprofit store collects all kinds of materials from businesses, industries and individuals and sells them for super cheap. You can use the scraps (you’ll never believe the stuff you can find here) for everything from art to classroom projects. It’s crazy cool. There are a bunch of other places worth visiting in Durham, and I hope to visit more soon and show them off to you. In the meantime, why don’t you tell me about some of the spots in the Bull City you love. Maybe I’ll highlight some of them in an upcoming video.

Don’t you hate it when someone does this while talking on their cell phone?

At some point, we’ve all been annoyed by someone using their cell phone inappropriately. Maybe they’re yapping while the clerk is checking them out of the grocery store, or they’re talking so loud you can hear everything they’re saying from 20 feet away.

SpinVox, a company that converts voicemails into text messages, sent a news release this week with the top 10 most cited antisocial cell phone usage habits. My co-worker Wayne Sutton and I took a few minutes this morning to demonstrate a few to you. To see the full list, click here. Otherwise, watch as we show off some of the more annoying behaviors, then tell me what some of your pet peeves are.