This photo by Flickr user jwannie is entitled "How to build a salad tower." The bright oranges and yellows caught my eye when I fist saw the thumbnail and that's why I clicked on the image. As for what a salad tower is and why it's so comical, I defer to the accompanying blog post on frites & fries for a full explanation.

I recently received an e-mail forward from my dad about the Chinese Pizza Hut salad bar from a Chinese colleague. The Pizza Huts there typically offers a salad bar but you can only fill it once in a small salad bowl - I think the salad is a free with purchase type of deal. To get their money's worth, some people use their fantastic engineering skills to build salad towers.

I support this ingenuity 100%. You get way more food for your money and it's salad, so it's healthy. Way better than those Domino's Pasta Bread Bowls.

Have a photo of some food that used for an impromptu game of Jenga? Submit your images to Gadling's Flickr group right now and we might use it for a future Photo of the Day.

The beholder's eye just lost some of its decision-making power. A court in the Netherlands has ruled that private sex shows, among the major draws for Americans looking to let loose in a permissive culture ready to exploit repressed visitors, are not art. This is a departure from a 2008 ruling that called the gyrating in private booths cultural. Of course, the upshot of the change in direction is not any form of prohibition. After all, that would be counterproductive. Instead, the government is looking to maximize revenues. As "culture," the sex show fees were taxed at 6%, but having lost this status, a 19% rate will apply.

The case was Belgian but has implications for the Netherlands. According to the ruling, the lower tax rate only applies to art forms in which people participate together. One-on-one performances don't apply ... do don't try to rationalize your lap dances as an alternative to MoMA.

The finance ministry hasn't wasted any time, with a spokesman saying that sex biz bosses need to start shelling out at the higher rate.

If you are in Chicago this weekend, and looking for a way to escape the snow, then consider heading over to the Donald E. Stephens convention center for the 2010 Adventures In Travel show.

At the show, you'll find 100's of exhibitors showing off their destinations, and handing out information that can help you decide where to head this vacation season.

The show is also home to several fantastic seminars, with speakers like Sean O'Neill of BudgetTravel.com and Zac Sunderland, who is the world's Youngest Solo Circumnavigator.

Admission is $15, kids under 16 are free. The show is open today (Saturday) till 5pm, and tomorrow from 11am till 4pm. For more information on the show, head on over to their site.

Did someone mention a travel slump? Second Porch, up in Portland, Oregon, must not have received the memo.

Damned memos.

The new company just picked up $1 million in A-round financing (an early round, for those not of the finance world) which was led by the Oregon Angel Fund. Translation: a few people are making a seven-figure bet on a travel company in a shitty market. And I think it's pure genius. Now is the time to make a play in the travel market, as there's nowhere to go but up. Also, Second Porch has a nice social media connection which is not only all the rage with the kids right now (and the Baby Boomers and everyone else, for that matter) but has demonstrated continued potential for the travel and tourism industry.

The premise behind Second Porch is straightforward: these guys want to harness the power of social media to make it easier for you to book a vacation home. The company has put together a free Facebook application – a portal into the vacation home rental process. End-user ease, however, is only part of the plan. Second Porch CEO Brent Hieggelke says, "The typical Facebook personal network comprised of 'friends of friends' reaches almost 17,000 people, all of whom can be vouched for by a friend in common. For a homeowner, this is an obvious opportunity to find prospective guests to rent to with a higher level of comfort and peace of mind."

Right now, Second Porch has only 1,100 fans and 2,450 users ... but give it time. A million dollars buys a lot of friends.

Trying to make a Skype call on the road at a hotspot? Up till now, you first had to pay to access paid Wi-Fi hotspots - which often meant having to pay for an entire day just so you could make one phone call.

The new Skype Access service takes care of this by combining Skype calling with hotspot access.

When you use the most recent version of the Windows or Mac Skype client, the application will offer to take care of paying for your hotspot access. Accessing paid hotspots costs $0.19 per minute - which is substantially cheaper than the $15 or $20 charged by many public paid access points.

A list of all the supported Wi-Fi hotspot providers can be found here. All the major providers are covered, including those at airports and hotels around the world.

At the moment, Skype Access is not (yet) available on their mobile clients, but hopefully that is only a matter of time.

Being able to make a Skype call, and pay for both the call and your hotspot access from your Skype credit is a brilliant idea - and one that will make phone calls on the road even easier. Click here to learn more about the new Skype Access feature, or to download the latest version of Skype.

This week's video of the week, called Sandpit, is from Sam O'Hare who wanted to use a tilt-shift lens to turn a New York City scene into something that looks like a tiny model. But he discovered he could improve the look and feel by shooting the video with a normal lens and then blur the background and foreground after it was produced.

Tilt-shift videos of cites are nothing new, but Sam took it to a new level.

Sam explained the process of making Sandpit in an interesting interview by Aero Film if you need to know how it was created.

The effects are amazing. Coupled with the music from Human, you may find yourself hypnotized in no time.

Do you have a great travel related suggestion for our Video of the Week? Fill out this form or just include my twitter handle @veryjr in your tweet about it. Maybe we'll use it as next week's Video.

Delta airlines just announced the introduction of 22 new daily flights between Chicago and New York. The new flights will be operated as Delta Shuttle flights, and will start June 10th.

The new hourly service out of O'Hare replaces current Delta flights between Chicago Midway and LaGuardia.

Delta obviously means business - because they are also going to offer free coffee and newspapers at the gate, which will be located as close as possible to the terminal 2 security checkpoint.

More flights on this route means cheaper fares for everyone, because the other airlines will clearly be paying attention to this increased capacity. Delta kiosks will be available for same-day ticket purchases.

The route will be operated by an Embraer 175 jet - with 12 seats in first class, and 64 seats in coach. Because this is a narrow body jet, there are no middle seats. The flights will offer Delta's "enhanced shuttle service" which means meals in first class, and free wine and beer in all cabins.

Here are the hottest gear deals for today, Saturday March 20th 2010. Remember, these deals are often valid for just one day, so act fast before they are gone.

Today's first deal is for the Bushell ONIX 400 GPS unit with XM NEXRAD weather. This is not the GPS unit you want if you are looking for a car navigation system, but it'll be perfect for people planning to navigate the outdoors. The unit comes pre-loaded with a US topographic map, and overlays satellite photos and XM weather radar. On sale at Woot for $79.99. Click here for this deal.

Next up is is cheap eBook reader from Newegg. The 5" jetBook-Lite may not look as nice as some of the others on the market, but it'll still do the job - especially since it accepts books from Barnes and Noble and a huge variety of other book seller formats. On sale for $112.99 with free shipping. Click here for this deal.

Next up are the Altec Lansing Backbeat PRO reference headphones. These nose isolating earphones block out a huge amount of noise, making them the perfect accessory for a (long) flight. They come with a variety of earpieces and a nice carrying case. On sale for just $28. Click here for this deal.

Today's fourth and final deal is for an old favorite - the Orbit MP3 speaker is compact, battery operated and loud - three things you'll want if you'd like some music in your (hotel) room. On sale for $15.54. Click here for this deal.

If you're looking for something to do in Vienna that's off-the-beaten-path, I would suggest a visit to the historic Spittelberg area in the 7th district. Some define the entire 7th district as Spittelberg, but purists will tell you that it is actually just a collection of about six little cobbled streets, each more charming than the last. It's just a quick skip-and-a-jump from the MuseumsQuartier, which I'll tell you about, as well.

Spittelberg

Spittelberg was built from the 1700s to the early 1800s in an area belonging to a hospital. Over the years, the area became more and more run down, and by the 1960s, it had devolved into a red light district complete with drugs and prostitutes. The government made a move to tear it down, but suddenly, support for the area sprang up from groups all over Vienna. It was decided that Spittelberg should be restored and preserved. Now, it's home to interesting boutiques and restaurants, art galleries and even a playground. Like with much of Vienna, Spittelberg is a mix of old and new.

Gallery: Vienna: Spittelberg and the MuseumsQuartier

MuseumsQuartier

On Wednesday of this week, a tourist ship named the M/S Alta ran aground, and became stuck on a reef in the Galapagos islands while entering the harbor at Puerto Ayora, along the southern coast of Santa Cruz island. The extent of the ecological damage to the reef has yet to be determined, but fortunately no one aboard was injured in the accident, which was caused, at least in part, due to a malfunctioning lighthouse that normally marks the entrance to the harbor.

The 140-foot long sailing ship is operated by Quasar Expeditions and was carrying 16 Canadian passengers, 8 Ecuadorian crew members, and an Ecuadorian National Park Guide at the time of the incident. All of the passengers were evacuated from the boat, and spent the night in a nearby, ocean front hotel, before continuing on to Darwin Station and the Santa Cruz Highlands the following day. They did cut their tour a day short however, leaving the islands yesterday, rather than today as scheduled.

As of Friday, efforts were underway to remove the Alta from the reef, but the process is a slow one, and caution must be exercised in order to contain any fuel that may have spilled. Initial reports indicated that as much as 3500 gallons had leaked into the harbor, but later reports refuted that number, saying that no leaks had been found. All the fuel will be pumped out of the ship before it is pulled off the reef and into dock for a complete inspection before it returns to service.

One of the hottest topics in sustainable travel over the past few years has been the impact of tourism on the fragile environments of the Galapagos. Fortunately, it seems that this incident will not have any long lasting effects on the region, and it seems like the Alta will be back in service shortly.