TREND MILL

WELL WRITTEN PIZZAS!
Will your pizza soon deliver its own message? In 2002, Florida schoolteacher Rich Errera received patents pending for the Gourmet Impressions tools he invented, which can emboss words or logos on pizza crusts, ice cream, vegetables, fruit, breads and doughs. The custom-order lines of text created by a roller or stamper are called “pizzals” (pronounced by Errera as PIT-sells). According to Errera, the concept was a big hit with retailers but six years later he is still looking for investors and the “proper licensee willing to manufacture and distribute the tools.” To watch a video of how they work, go to gourmetimpressions.com.
(LATWP)

ROCKING APPARELS!
If you’re an older boomer or younger senior, you have probably attended several rock concerts over the decades. Perhaps buying a $4.99 souvenir T-shirt was too expensive back then, but there’s still a chance for those who hope to tie-dye before they get old. Retro rock T-shirts can be found at various sites on the Internet. For example, hippieshop.com has a large selection of concert, rock band and ‘60s-themed T-shirts. If you can’t fit into your size small tie-dyed peace sign T-shirt from 1968, you can order a new, larger one here. Other sites where you can find some groovy new versions of your old 100 percent cotton friends include concerttee.com and freakshop.com. And wolfgangsvault.com sells apparel as well as some original poster art from concerts.
(LATWP)

DOGGIE’S DAY OUT
June 20 is Take Your Dog to Work Day, and many companies are rolling out the welcome mat. FirstComp insurance in Omaha will offer pets a bone-shaped cake and a wading pool, while the conference room at Village Green, a property-management company in Michigan, will host a doggie masseuse. Seventeen percent of Americans say that their companies are Fido-friendly. If you’re among the estimated 5 percent of the population with dog allergies, though, Take Your Dog to Work Day may be a misery — a good time to Take a Personal Day. There’s a reason that most hospitals and schools don’t permit dogs. Companies typically require visiting pooches to be gentle and housebroken — or else the pets get “fired.” Even dogs, it seems, aren’t safe from downsizing.
(Newsweek)