By MONICA HAYNES, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Let's try former child stars for $800, Alex

He was a professional drummer by the age of 3 and on a hit television show by 5, playing the son of a Cuban band leader and his zany redheaded wife.

Sound like Little Ricky from "I Love Lucy" fame?

How about who is Keith Thibo-deaux?

That's correct!

An emergency generator can prevent many headaches when there's a loss of electricity for more than a few hours.

However, it's important to determine what your electrical needs are so you can select the best one, said Neal Waldron, co-manager of the Home Depot in Ross, Pa.

While Democrats convening in Denver select their presidential nominee and create the necessary synergy for their fight against the Republicans' choice, a familiar face is absent from the festivities.

John Edwards.

It was a time of full skirts, curve-hugging dresses, narrow suits and fabulous fedoras.

It is the time of "Mad Men," AMC's highly stylized hit series set in the early-1960s world of Madison Avenue that begins its second season Sunday.

Who can forget the frenzied strings, the funky guitar licks and the horns from "The Theme from Shaft"? It's Isaac Hayes' best-known work, written and recorded for the 1971 film. The man who let everybody know that film hero John Shaft was a bad mother -- and won an Oscar for it in the process -- remains a soul man at age 65.

Do you have scattered pictures and misty water-colored memories of your graduating high-school senior?

There are a number of ways to turn some of the pivotal times of their lives into a treasured keepsake. With most high-school graduations occurring in June, there is still time to either tackle a small memory quilt, video or scrapbook or have it done by a professional.

Just like the dodo bird and full-service gas stations, here are a few things that are either extinct or fading away:

8-TRACK TAPES

You've been had. You've been hoodwinked. You didn't land on the next-generation DVD format; it landed on you. And boy, did it leave a mark!

That could pretty much sum up the feeling of many early technology adopters seduced by the sirens of the HD DVD player only to learn they were on the losing end of a war they probably didn't know they were a part of.

Most of you have probably gathered up your gently worn but slightly dated clothing and shoes, placed them in a plastic bag and taken them to the nearest thrift store or charity.

But have you ever taken money, folded it up, placed it in a plastic bag and given it to the thrift store?

Blink during the television trailer for Sylvester Stallone's "Rambo," and you'll miss Julie Benz.

Fortunately, since Benz is the female lead, she gets a lot more screen time in the film, the fourth featuring Stallone's Vietnam-veteran anti-hero, Rambo.