THEY'RE EVERYWHERE

You might want to let the shower run for 30 seconds

And you thought Hitchcock's “;Psycho”; shower scene was scary.

Now comes a study by a group of microbiologists at the University of Colorado that finds that a veritable bacterial cocktail hits your face and flows into your lungs with each shower.

The bacteria get into shower heads from the water and build up there, so the dose is highest when the shower is first turned on, researchers found; running the water for 30 seconds before stepping in would cut down on bacteria.

However, for perspective, consider the 10,000 bacteria inhaled with each breath in the average office building, or the 10 million bacteria in each glass of tap water, notes The New York Times.

Yes, that's much better.

AH, TO BE YOUNG!

Texting can be perplexing, but would $1,000 help?

For those who use cell phones barely for voice mail, let alone texting, it's all quite perplexing. But for those in the know, it was high drama at Kahala Mall on Saturday at the Hawaii Central Credit Union's Text Messaging Contest. At stake: a $1,000 grand prize.

Fingers went a-flyin' till Kiani Lacanaria emerged the winner. Texting “;is done by a younger crowd, the customers of tomorrow,”; said Travis Uchino, HCCU marketing manager. “;Financial institutions have to keep re-branding themselves, and we're looking toward the young.”;

Well, at least it's easier to watch than seeing contestants gorge themselves on hot dogs till they're blue in the face.