Answers to the reader question, "How has the invention of the squeaky toy fundamentally changed your life?" follow:

• From Richard C.: "Not at all squeak squeak."

• From Christine: "They've made my life squeak-a-licious!"

• From "El Baberino": "I think that squeaky toys are very funny, especially when they're given to people as gifts. Try giving a plush squeaky toy to someone as a gift sometime, and you will get a polite smile and a "What the...?" type look. People simply won't be able to figure out why you gave them a squeaky toy."

• From "Dracimas": "Fundamentally speaking, the invention of the squeaky toy has become the cornerstone of American Society. I support this grand notion not by virtue of physical evidence, but instead by the emotional well being of children and pets world wide.

  "The child first. Without such a toy to release pent-up frustrations a young adolescent may be forced to repress the emotional scars left by the embarrassment of such things as diaper wetting/messing, drooling, the inability to speak, or, when able, to speak clearly. These things surely cause ridicule among and within the baby population. And as that prodding about the control of one's bodily functions, or lack thereof, begins to overwhelm the child, he could find himself in need of a release of those feelings. The squeaky toy can provide just such a release. By being able to focus one's anger and frustration on an inanimate object, one can begin to remove these feelings without fear of harm or retribution, which starts a healing process that can lead to a more happy and productive childhood and eventually allow him to become a strong and productive member of the adult class workforce that doesn't make enough money to feed his family or be able to buy a squeaky toy for his own infant because the IRS and other government appointed agencies are taking so much of his paycheck that he has to drive his car as a taxi cab on a cash only basis so he doesn't have to report his earnings to anyone...ummm...excuse me...I...well, sorry.

  "Anyway, now for the pets. Pets are particularly keen on the idea of owning a squeaky toy. This access gives the pet the benefit of training in the area of much needed hunting skills. The pet can sneak up on and attack the squeaky toy over and over again. Now you might think this would only be of use if the pet ever encountered a wild and dangerous squeaky toy on a ferocious rampage that needed to be stopped. While that is one benefit from this training it is not the only reason to provide a squeaky toy to your pets. Like the children above, pets have a social stigma which does not allow for slackers to prosper. The pet that cannot "throw down" with a squeaky toy may find himself the object of ridicule. And, like the child, the pet that has access to his own squeaky toy has the necessary tool to avoid such a compromising situation.

  "How has this invention changed my life? How has it not? Every aspect of my existence has been touched by this marvel of technology. The fore thought and planning that must have gone into these 'playthings' overwhelms me. Is it possible that the inventor actually knew just how important the squeaky toy would be to our culture and others around the globe? I have to believe the answer to that question would be a resounding 'Yes!' Any mind brilliant enough to conceive and then create such a fantastic piece of equipment could surely have foreseen the benefits such an item could hold for humanity.

  Carpe Squeeze 'em (Seize the Toy)."

• From Stephen K.: "The squeaky toy has instilled into me a deep seated hatred of babies, dogs, and cats. The constant 'squeak, squeak' of the infernal rubber things drives me mad! Mad, I say! As I hear it, my mind does not think 'squeak, squeak' but rather a mocking laughter, as if to say 'Ha ha, ha ha, you're a failure, and you'll never climb Mt. Everest without any rope, you sad sack.' Obviously with it demeaning my life long dream, I transfer all feelings of inadequacy over to the baby/cat/dog playing with the toy. As such, I fear and loathe babies and run from them when I see them (if people ask, I explain something like I'm afraid of germs). Dogs or cats I try to distract with a clever play using finger puppets. It is only marginally successful, but the Village Voice gave it a rather glowing write-up, so perhaps it's not a total waste."

I'm sure anyone who's tried to answer Wednesday's reader question has noticed my email isn't working correctly. The problem is being worked on and should be fixed soon, ideally later today. So hold on to those answers, and I'll let you know here when sending them to me should work.

Update: My email seems to be working again. If you tried to submit an answer to Wednesday's question before, or would like to now, have at it! If for some reason it still doesn't work, try sending later today -- but it should work.

Stephen K. wrote in to express his concerns about how the new Reader Poll feature will affect the reader questions that appear here in the Site Journal from time to time. The answer, in case anyone else was also concerned, is not at all. The Reader Poll is something added, not something replaced -- a little frivolity that gives readers something else to do when they visit RinkWorks and heightens the interactivity of the site. The reader questions that show up here in the Site Journal are directed toward an entirely different end: it gives you, the reader, a chance to be creative, and all of us a chance to continue to build our sense of community.

So, with that, today's reader question is as follows: How has the invention of the squeaky toy, such as those given to dogs and cats and babies as playthings, fundamentally changed your life, both personally and as a member of society? Answers go here.

On a different note, the RinkWorks motto contest has been judged, and an entirely new contest has begun. It's all at the Contests page.

What better way to start the day than with a morning prayer?

Dear Lord,

So far today, I am doing all right. I have not gossiped, lost my temper, been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or self indulgent.

However, I am going to get out of bed in a few minutes, and I will need a lot more help after that.

Amen.

Unless you're a brand spanking new reader -- in which case, welcome to RinkWorks! -- you probably noticed that the front page looks a little different. I've been wanting to add a site index column for some time now, but it was the addition of the Reader Poll section that triggered me to do it now. Since I was changing the front page anyway, why not do both jobs at once?

With the Reader Poll questions, I hope to mix in a blend of silly fun questions and questions that will help me learn about RinkWorks' readers. For that matter, you'll get to learn about yourselves, too.

A second contest is underway, on the Contests page. It's a contest to see who can come up with the best RinkWorks motto. The more entries, the merrier, so don't forget to send in yours. My goal is to make the judging job as difficult as possible.

A straggling answer to the reader question "Corks: good or bad?" came in. She sent it earlier, but for some reason it didn't reach my mailbox until a day later. See the September 30, 1999, journal entry for what this is all about.

• From "Unipeg": "I think corks are good, because you get lots of interesting stories out of them. Like, once, when my dad was in college, he was working at a restaurant. One of the tables ordered a bottle of champagne, because they had come into the restaurant and sat at a table next to these people whom they hadn't seen in years. So, my dad brought the champagne out. Having never opened a bottle of champagne, he didn't know how to. He HAD seen people pop corks out in movies and such though, so to the cheers of the people who had bought the champagne, he popped the cork. It flew around the room, bounced off a couple walls, and landed in a lady's lap. Just as he did so, the manager walked around the corner. Luckily, the lady's lap it landed in was one of the people the people were buying the champagne for, so he just got a reeeeally big tip. Anyway, I've always really liked corks. I think they're happy."