Things I learned this week- Late Night edition

This week was Conan O'Brien's last week on The Tonight Show. I'm too old to stay up late enough to watch, but I did catch the highlights at Gawker.tv. Here is what I learned:

* I learned that Brandon Tartikoff offered Rosie O'Donnell a permanent guest-host-on-Friday position on the Tonight Show, similar to Joan Rivers', during the Jay/Dave "Night Shift" shake-up. She was thrilled, and signed on. The deal came undone when Jay refused to take any days off or vacation. I think Rosie would have been great at that.

* I learned that both Jimmy Fallon and Conan can play guitar. I saw Jimmy play two chords in the hilarious "Neil Young does Pants on The Ground" sketch, and I saw Conan keep up with Beck and ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons on Freebird on Conan's last show.

* I learned that snowshoes are expensive! My girlfriends and I are talking about a snowshoeing trip in a few weeks. I really thought that snowshoes were made of bent canes and leather. I had no idea until I googled that they are quite advanced now, and cost hundreds of dollars. I will rent.

* I learned about the island nation Maldives, but I am not 100% sure how to pronounce its name. The highest point in Maldives is 7 feet above sea level, and it is the smallest nation in Asia. My daughter's girl scout troop is doing a presentation next month.

* I learned that Kirkland brand espresso roast beans, roasted by Starbucks, in the red package, make delicious espresso. It is definitely not the same as Starbucks' espresso roast. I have also perfected the espresso tamp and I now make a pretty damn good mocha.

* I learned that if you forget the salt in the artisan bread recipe, the bread tastes like communion wafers.