e-card pwn -- I don't even open e-cards anymore since the spammers adopted them as a way of invading my PC, but someecards.com has caused me to change my mind. Instead of the usual meaningless phrases like 'Thinking of you', someecards carry relevant messages, such as

• Courtesy hello -- I really enjoyed awkwardly waving at you
• Graduation -- Congratulations on getting through the easiest part of your life
• Business – Just getting on your radar because I may need something from you soon

Robot spy blimp – According to Lewis Page of The Register, the U.S. Army's $11 million order with Telford Aviation could be for the company's 30,000 cubic foot unmanned blimp, the Skybus 30K. I presume the spy blimp will be used to monitor football games and other sporting events for terrorists. You suppose the Army will offer naming rights to Goodyear (NYSE: GT)?

Spiderpig hoax – Those millions of you that have seen Fox's (News Corp, NYSE: NWS) The Simpsons Movie will remember Homer's pet, Spiderpig. Today we learn from Offbeat Enough that Oli Young, who had promised to name his second child Spiderpig if 100,000 people joined his Facebook group, has reneged on this promise. Apparently, his wife is not even pregnant, and I'm pretty sure she wasn't consulted beforehand. Spiderpig is about the only name that doesn't appear in any of the baby name books I've seen.

Fishy Spas --Thanks to Boingboing.net for a story about an ancient middle-Eastern skin treatment that has become popular in China. There, those with skin ailments are immersing themselves in pools filled with Doctor Fish, a minnow-sized fish that feeds on the affected and dead skin, in essence nibbling the patient to health. Those with really serious cases might toss in a couple of piranhas to speed the process. How long before this becomes an American fad? Are you listening, Estee Lauder (NYSE: EL)? Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ)?

With all of the multitude of options available to today's advertiser, I find it hard to believe that placing an ad in plastic airport security bins will hold much of an attraction.

Why would any advertiser be interested in reaching a consumer who is not only probably in a bad mood but in a rush to get someplace? Besides, the consumer can't act on any message that the advertiser is giving them and probably will forget it once their plane lands.

Who is going to buy these ads? National advertisers can reach their audience more effectively through the Internet or television. Local advertisers probably wouldn't want to buy these ads either considering the huge numbers of people from outside their area that are in airports.

Rolodex, though, gave it a shot and placed its ads in bins at Los Angeles International Airport, according to USA Today. I doubt it did much to boost sales. Advertisers are always willing to give a new thing a shot at least once. The head of the company who provided the bins to LAX told the paper that "people have a heightened sense of awareness" at a checkpoint" making them more open to a message.

Give me a break.

The Transportation Security Administration is requiring that companies who buy the 12-inch by 17-inch supply the airport checkpoints with new bins, carts and stainless steel table, according to USA Today. The problem is that people who notice the ads may not notice pickpockets, according to airport security officials quoted by the paper.

--Jonathan Berr is editor of http://www.desperateinvestors.com.