Welcome to our new blog home. Come on in, put your feet up, watch the dog.

Like with any new place, we’re getting used to opening the windows and locating the closets, so bear with us as we learn the ins and outs of this blogging tool.

Be back later this week.

After last week’s rather somber blog entry, I was in dire need of a shot of mirth to boost my endorphins, not to mention my productivity.

My usual antidote to days that turn blue is to listen to the Daily Giz Whiz, a funny podcast about tech gadgets. It’s how I learned about the Clocky, an alarm clock on wheels that jumps off the table squawking at your wake up time, forcing you to chase it down the hall to shut it off. Owning the Clocky means never having to ask, “Are you up yet?”

It was fortunate last week, just when I had run out of new Giz Whizzes to plug into my ear, that the ThinkGeek.com catalog arrived in the mail. I frequent the Web site on the pretense that I need to shop for co-workers, but the catalog is much better. You get the full experience thumbing through its pages, filled as they are with screaming monkey slingshots, wi-fi detector T-shirts, 20-sided fuzzy dice, USB rocket launchers and the like.

I’m seriously considering the $22.99 marshmallow shooter because there are several people I really, really need to take out with peeps. The Airzooka also caught my eye, until I read the blasts of air it shoots are harmless.

For those who wonder what all of this has to do with productivity, I direct you to allegedly valid studies that suggest workplace humor increases output and creativity.

Laughing ’til you get the hiccups may not boost widget sales, but it feels a lot better than throwing yourself under a bus. Plus, if you do the latter, the e-mail tends to stack up.

So, what’s your sure-fire way of pulling yourself out of the doldrums, and do you work better as a result? Do share.

Having recently experienced the death of a family member, I can share the observation that you can’t prepare enough for the day when you or someone in your care passes away.

Taking a few steps ahead of time will save you or your family considerable heartache at the end, so skip the ball game this weekend to put things in order.

Here’s what you need:

–Health care power of attorney, to give your family the authority to make decisions about your medical care if you are unable to.
–Health directive or “living will,” to let those close to you know if you want life-sustaining medical treatment in the event you are incapacitated.
–Your will, just so your obnoxious nephew doesn’t get the high-def TV.
–Social security numbers, IDs, financial accounts, insurance policies, veterans benefit information, funeral plans, trust documents and anything else that your family will need to know about.

Put these in a binder tucked away in a safe place and tell your trusted family members where to find it.

The University of Hawai`i Elderly Law Program has sample forms and information on health care power of attorney and advanced health care directives.

Consult an attorney to draft a will or trust and arrange for a funeral plan if you want dye-colored pigeons flying overhead at your service.

Have you any pre-need insights to share? Let us know.