VIRTUAL FAVORITE: It had to happen. People are spending so much time in cyberspace that they’re starting to prefer it to the real thing. Case in point: Staffer Tara Wood, development assistant in the College of Arts and Sciences, sent in a Web site as her favorite place on campus. It’s at http://www.washington.edu/cambots/archive.html. According to her, this site has tons of pictures of Red Square from all the different seasons throughout the year. It also has funny pictures of spiders and seagulls, and a whole series of pictures that have been altered. There are still images that have been converted into mini movies in which a whole day’s series of pictures have been smoothed out into a “dawn-to-dusk” replay of the day. Wood’s favorite: snow melting after a winter storm. And lest you think Wood is one of those Web addicts, she also told us about a favorite place in the real world.

WEIGHTY SUBJECT: Last spring, UW research associate physics professor Jens Gundlach and postdoctoral researcher Stephen Merkowitz got a lot of attention - both at a scientific meeting and in the press - when they reported the most precise measurement ever of Newton’s gravitational constant. An aside - and the one that got most of the press notice - was that with the new figure, they established a more precise weight of the Earth, 5.972 sextillion metric tons. Now the two’s research has been published in Physical Review Letters and Gundlach wrote to News and Information staffer Vince Stricherz to say thanks for the publicity. “My aunt who lives somewhere in the deep forests of Bavaria found my name in her 10 page, small-format, local newspaper!” Gundlach reported.

MILLIONAIRE MIKE: Director of Trademarks and Licensing Michael Reagan is a millionaire, but not the kind you might think of. Reagan has for years been drawing portraits of celebrities, then asking the celebrities to autograph the pictures. He then sells the drawings or copies of them, with all the money going to charity. Well, this year, Reagan passed the million-dollar mark on donations. He praises the willingness of the celebrities - even some who don’t normally sign autographs - being willing to do so for a good cause and expects to continue his efforts.

WEDGIE WINNER: When the media needs to talk to an academic expert, they often turn to Profnet, a national e-mail list that is sent to PR types at universities all over the country. Profnet sends out a list of queries from reporters, and PR people try to connect those reporters to the right expert. Well, occasionally Profnet has a little fun by sponsoring a contest for fake media queries, with real cash prizes. And recently, News and Information’s own Rob Harrill won third prize for his entry on “the history of wedgies.” Rob says he’ll use the $75 of ill-gotten gain to take his wife to dinner.

LANGUAGE OF LOVE: Teste de Iubre is the Romanian and newest foreign language edition of sociology professor Pepper Schwartz and sociology doctoral student Virginia Rutter’s 1998 book The Love Test. In addition to the English version, the book also has been published in Chinese, Flemish, Japanese and Czech.

GIRL POWER: The Women’s Center needs volunteers willing to work with high school girls interested in math, science and technology. Women mentors will work individually with a student and encourage the pursuit of post-secondary education. For more information or an application, contact Carmen Goldsmith at the Women’s Center (206) 616-2366 or crgold@u.washington.edu. Applications are due on Oct. 18.