If you’re reading this on your trusty Sony Vaio, better turn it over and look for the fine print. Then go to this Sony site, to find out if yours is one of 440,000 Vaios being recalled because of faulty wires and overheating problems. Nineteen models in the TZ series (made in 2007-2008) are potentially problematic. Apparently, wires were improperly placed, were wearing, then short circuiting, then overheating.

Sony, which announced the recall Thursday, said it has gotten more than 200 reports of overheating, including seven people who were burned, according to the Associated Press. About 72,800 of those laptops are in the U.S., Reuters said. If your product code and serial number pops up on the Sony site as one of the troubled Vaios, Sony promises to come to you for on-site repair at your house or office (or you can send it to a service center).

Sony, you may recall, was also the maker of defective batteries that forced the recall of many thousand notebooks (from Dell, Apple, Hitachi and others) in 2006.

We’ll be thinking a lot about politics in the next few weeks: Obama and Biden, McCain and . . . whoever his running mate will be. But plenty of Americans’ are going to get worked up over something much more intense and competitive: political buttons. Collecting them is a passion of thousands that has given birth to publications, books, auctions and The American Political Items Collector, the largest group of button groupies. There’s no way to begin to dissect the complexities (and lucrative nature) of this hobby, so we’ll give you some fun facts and sites to check out. The buttons (known as cellos) were first issued for the 1886 presedential campaign. Among the most popular are Harry Truman and John Kennedy buttons, according to collector Jeff Figler.  Mark Warda, the author of 100 Years of Political Campaign Collectibles, told MSNBC  that hard-to-find buttons can be very valuable. Ron Wade, another major collector, says that a 1920 James Cox/Franklin D. Roosevelt button recently sold for more than $100,000. (more…)

All TV stations will broadcast only in digital starting Feb. 17, 2009. If you’re reading this, you probably don’t need an analog-to-digital converter box for your TV, but your parents or grandparents or elderly friends who still rely on rabbit ears or rooftop antennas do. And they may not even know it (a January report said 36 percent of all Americans - predominately Hispanics - didn’t know about this impending change). Another report earlier this year said there are a little more than 14 million households - 13 percent of all households with TVs - that will lose their signals if they don’t buy the boxes (which cost from $40 to $70). The government’s TV converter box coupon program Web site answers most all questions, but that doesn’t help if the person doesn’t have a computer. You can help them apply for two free coupons worth $40 each at the Web site, or they can call (888) 388-2009. or mail an application to P.O. Box 2000, Portland, Ore. 97208-2000 (download the application here.) The coupons must come from the government, not retailers. The coupons (which look like plastic gift (more…)

There has been a pitched battle for Olympic gold going on 1,222 miles from Beijing this week, but it’s likely only aficionados or little girls have watched. The equestrian competition ended in Hong Kong with Germany coming out on top with three gold medals (the U.S. won two, including a gold). Anyone who watched the events marveled at the sheer strength, skill and hutzpah of horse and rider, but in case Michael Phelps and Nastia Liukin distracted you, there are lots of little girls who live and breathe horses. One person even attempts to decipher the riddle of why girls love horses on Yahoo!Answers. Now all these girls are going to need a horsey fix: If she’s around 6 to 8 years old, get her the “Fashion Angels” equestrian sketchbook ($15) from Toys’r'Us, or the Equestrian Challenge for PC for $20. If Barbie is her thing, the omnipresent doll has a complete equestrian outfit for $50 from etoys (if you want the horse and tack, that’s extra). There’s even a lovely book from the American Girls library, Girls and their Horses for $9. Mom, do you remember how much you loved horses? Maybe it was because of the classic movie National Velvet. Lest we forget that Jackie Kennedy made equestrian style chic, England’s Equestrianism.net maintains the standard. More recently, the O’Halloran Co. turned it into couture styling. (If you pay attention to fashion, you’ve noticed the riding boots that designers are churning out, such as Burberry’s $995 pair.) If the grown-ups have become enamored of dressage, this classy coffee table book shows you how to put the horsey into your home décor ($41). Finally, to make sure the holiday’s are just right, grab a Little Girl Riding Horse ornament from Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland for $6.

You may already know that Nike created the shoes for the U.S. Olympians (and also China’s Olympic team). A visit to the part of the Nike Web site about these shoes is a veritable encyclopedia/laboratory of custom shoe-making. They offer close-up views and detailed explanations of the design process for every sport’s footwear. Not just running and basketball, but field hockey, BMX, archery, wrestling, badminton, weightlifting and all 28 sports in the summer games.  They first show off their “flywire” technology, which uses cable to function as “synthetic tendons” that wrap around the foot. The development has reduced the shoe’s weight by 50 percent, they say.  A click over to their “lab” profiles the way every shoe was made for each sport. The Ballestra, for example, is for fencers. It has a traction pattern on a flat sole for balance, and extra foam because fencers put seven times their weight onto their front foot with every lunge.  The Grigorios for kayakers are sleek water shoes with split toes that are as close to being barefoot as possible. Equestrians wear the Ippeas, black boots modernized with zippers , lighter heels and a small titanium spur. You can even watch a video conversation with the designer of each shoe. But the best part is that you can buy some. Even if you don’t play badminton, you can check out the shoe and get a pair for $90, or grab a pair of the wildly patterned BMX shoes for $220 (pictured). You can’t buy the custom footwear for every sport, but there are plenty to pick from.

Ever heard of Zara? Good, then you heard it here first. If you haven’t heard of it, you’re probably not much of a world traveler. Zara is a hot brand that has just become the world’s largest clothing retailer. That honor was given to Gap until this week. A slumping U.S. consumer sales market has dropped Gap’s revenues by 10 percent in the first quarter of their fiscal year. For your edification: Zara clothing is trendy , chic, inexpensive, you can’t buy it online and there are 3,900 Zara stores in the world, compared to 3,100 Gap outlets. There are five Zara stores in New York City and surrounding areas. The retail giant was born in Spain (in the bedroom of 72-year-old founder and chairman Amancio Ortega, who made bathrobes) and the first store opened in 1975. Now you can shop in Zara stores in Bahrain, Croatia and Iceland. British Vogue says the Zara philosophy is fast fashion: they quickly take (more…)

Your badminton is probably suitable for the suburbs: You and a buddy running around with a beer in one hand and a flimsy racquet in the other until the plastic shuttlecock gets stuck in a tree. In Asia, especially China, badminton is serious business, and you can see it in the Olympic competition. Even Bill Gates has been watching the action in Beijing. The birdie (or shuttlecock) can travel 200 mph, and pros can cover 4 miles at high speeds in a single game. If you want to try some serious badminton, start with serious equipment.  Yonex is the premiere manufacturer of pro badminton goods, and Badminton Alley is a good place to start. At the top of the heap is the Yonex Arc-Saber 10 racquet for $230 (on sale!) which weighs about 85 grams and is made of graphite, carbon and has custom strings. At a lower price point is the Muscle Power 99 racquet for $175, used by lots of pros and several world champions. Ditch the plastic and get a real goose-feather shuttlecock (16 feathers glued to a cork base), such as the Yonex AS Professional for $26. A less expensive but still fancy Black Knight 6600 yellow shuttlecock is $17 (it should be humidified before use - don’t ask us why). You can pay around $180 for carbon nano-fiber strings and a professional-level net will run $65. Perhaps you didn’t know there are badminton shoes that look like lightweight flat running shoes with curved toes, as well as grip tape for $3.50 and grip powder spray. To really bring the heat to the back yard, put it all in a pro bag for $65. And, yes, you can buy a whole badminton set at lower prices if you must. Now, just toss in some badminton lingo, like “flick,” “push shot” and “kill” and you’re ready to roll.

Thank goodness for the Web. How else would you be able to score handmade home goods from around the world? (Unless of course you’re going to pull a Phileas Fogg?) Enter Poppytalk Handmade, an online “street market” showcasing handmade goods from artisans worldwide. The key differentiator from other craft sites like Etsy.com is that Poppytalk Handmade features a monthly theme. July’s market is themed “Home Sweet Home!” and features goods to make a house a home. August’s theme is “School Days!” appropriately enough. Much like an antiques emporium, the site features a limited number of screened “sellers,” who rent their space by the month. We were drawn to artist Michelle Brusegaard’s unique take on formalwear, which includes striking, signed digital prints of gowns hanging on clotheslines ($15 each). Also nifty: Domestic Construction’s pendant lighting made entirely of tea cups ($58). Beehive Kitchenware’s bird measuring spoons ($88; pictured) and other kitchen goods are the antithesis of standard issue culinary wares. The same can be said for Flappergirl Creations’ sexy aprons and coffee cup cozys ($28, $12).