Phil, pretty please, do that really sexy pointing thing...again...won't you?

I did something today that made me very happy. And no, surprisingly, it did not involve chocolate.

I registered with the Donate Life California Organ and Tissue Donor Registry. California residents can now register to create a legally binding document confirming their wish to have organs and tissues donated, at the time of their death, to people who need them. (Details.) This is a welcome step beyond the little pink dots we've been sticking on (and having fall off) our driver licenses for years.

George Carlin fans will no doubt be reminded of his rant on organ donation (Essentially: "Hell no, I'm not telling someone before I die that they can have my kidney...what if they get impatient?"), but I am a big believer in it -- to me, the benefits far outweigh all other considerations -- and I think that a registry like this is long overdue. The topic makes a nice compliment to the recent increase in awareness of the need for living wills, because not only do you need to take action to make it happen, you need to let your family know your wishes.

I am curious: What is done in your state/country? Do you consider yourself to be a potential organ donor? If so, what have you done about it? If not, why?

Now, for something totally different: Amazing Race 7!

What was the biggest lesson leaned from tonight's episode? READ YOUR CLUES, PEOPLE. Three teams were held up because they failed to correctly/completely read and absorb their clues. The only ones whose placement it affected, however, were Gretchen and Meredith, who slipped back one place ahead of the eliminated brothers, Brian and Greg.

My Moments:

- Ron saying "I got your nipple in a noose" to a goat. I don't know why he felt compelled to tell the goat this; maybe it's some secret military code, or maybe he was sublimating his desire to put a noose somewhere on the suddenly shrewish Kelly.

- Uchenna ROCKING the "Carry It" task at the Detour. He and Joyce were the only team to complete that option, and Uchenna made it look easy. The time they saved in doing that helped prevent them from losing a place when they, too, made a clue error and had to go back to the Roadblock.

- Lynn, as he and Alex abandoned that option in order to milk a goat, proclaiming "It's, like, Uchenna and Joyce, they were really born to do that." Did I mention that this task took place in Africa? And that Uchenna and Joyce are the only black team in the Race? We had to pause the show at that point because I was laughing so hard in surprised amazement that he actually said that.

- Uchenna then took the humor out of it, however, when they then cut to him explaining that the people in his father's Nigerian village do that all the time and exclaiming "My African roots are kickin' in!" I did like watching him and Joyce really enjoying themselves and soaking up the experience of being in a safari-like part of Africa, though.

- Lynn and Alex's misadventures in driving were amusing -- okay, I took evil delight because they're being very prissy and holier-than-thou about the whole Rob & Amber thing -- but watching their reaction to learning they'd come in fourth cracked me up, as they believed they were last since Alex struggled with the Roadblock. Alex was smarter than I would have given him credit for by deciding to put on as many clothes as he could during the ride to the Pit Stop in case it was a non-elim leg and they were left with only the clothes on their backs.

- Taking the completely opposite approach, Greg and Brian decided to strip down to next to nothing before hitting the mat, showing up in their swim trunks and winter hats. Quite a picture, but it didn't help keep them in the Race. The befuddlement on the face and in the voice of the local man welcoming them to the Pit Stop was funny, but the flustered look on Phil's face was priceless, and he was rendered a bit speechless for a moment. The brothers took a philosophical approach to it all, saying how glad they were to do the Race together, and making a quick, acrobatic dive into the nearby pool since they were already dressed for it. I am very sorry to see them go -- they just couldn't make up the time to the team ahead of them because there were no catch-up bottlenecks this time.

- Rob and Amber came in first, and won a third leg to their completely comped, international, three-week honeymoon trip. Oh, and you'll no doubt be reading this in "People" but here's a scoop: They will be formally announcing that they're adopting the Travelocity Gnome.