Consumer Briefs

Forget about buying dad a tie for Father's Day. What he really needs is underwear.

A recent survey for Jockey International Inc. found that more than a quarter of men say their shorts are at least 4 years old. Their underwear is anything but under-worn -- 77% admit that their undergarments aren't in good shape.

Nearly a third of the 500 men in the telephone survey by Kelton Research say their old boxers or briefs no longer have elasticity, while 15% say they have underwear that doesn't fit and 14% say they keep pairs that are covered in holes.

Underwear at least a decade old is in the dresser drawers of 11% of the men surveyed, while 2% say they have kept undergarments that are more than 20 years old.

TRAVEL

State offers free road trip guide

If gasoline prices are keeping you close to home, you may want to get a copy of a free new guide, "California Road Trips 2008," published by the California Travel and Tourism Commission.

The guide includes maps, itineraries and ideas for places to stop, including historic sites, wineries, parks, beaches and lakes. You can order one by calling (877) 867-3748. The guide also is online at www.visitcalifornia.com, but you'll have to take a bit of an electronic road trip to find it: Click on "travel tools" and then "maps" and then scroll to the bottom of the page to the road trips section. You can also order guides to be mailed to you.

In Southern California, the guide's highlights include romantic Los Angeles getaways, Orange County surf towns and the Temecula wine region.

Other featured attractions include waterfalls and rivers in the Shasta Cascade area, eco-friendly attractions along the North Coast, a family guide to San Francisco, splashing otters along the Central Coast, the natural beauty of the High Sierra and exploring the history of gold and mining in Gold Country.

WORKPLACE

How much do your peers make?

Ever wonder whether you'd be better off working someplace else? A new website, Glassdoor.com, is trying to make it easier to find out by compiling free snapshots of the salaries paid by hundreds of major employers, along with anonymous company reviews written by current and past workers.

By providing sensitive salary information and sometimes blunt reviews of companies, Glassdoor is bound to upset some employers, Jupiter Research analyst Barry Parr predicted. "It just makes me wonder how long it will take before they get sued."