1.)     Who do you look at more favorably - the United States Congress or the Kardashians?       According to Public Policy Polling, only 9 percent of Americans have a good opinion of our Congress.     In their latest poll, cockroaches, head lice and the NFL Replacement Refs are all looked at more favorably than Congress.    But, our elected representatives did score better than the Kardashians by a 49% to 36% margin, and Lindsay Lohan by 4 percentage points, 45 to 41 percent.

2.)     If you have the flu, you can find out who you should blame for sharing it with you because, of course, there’s an app for that.     “Help, I Have the Flu” is a new Facebook app that checks your friends profiles looking for keywords like “sneezing,” “coughing” and “vomiting,” as well as looking at check-ins for clues.    Clicking on the “Who Made Me Sick” button tracks down people who have mentioned ‘flu’ in their status or have had multiple late night posts, as people who might be up late because they’re sick.     

3.)     It’s been hot Australia where high temperatures in some areas have hit 122 degrees, and yesterday, the average temperature in the country was 104.      2012 was the hottest year on record across the 48 contiguous states in the US, according to NOAA.     Last year featured the warmest spring ever, the second warmest summer, the fourth warmest winter, and an above-average autumn.    Overall, the average temperature was 55.3 degrees, which is 3.2 degrees above the 20th-century average.     Based on the U.S. Climate Extremes Index, it was also the second-most extreme year on record, which takes into account factors like tropical storms, precipitation, and extreme temperatures.