WHAT'S COOL WHAT'S HOT WHILE YOU'RE WAITING FOR DISCOVERY TO RETURN SAFELY TO EARTH ...

Byline: - Staff and Wire Services

HOT DOG

These really are the dog days of summer, especially for Fido. With temperatures hitting 100, your dog craves something cool and refreshing just like you do. Just plain water is essential but boring. That's why Purina, the maker of Dog Chow, has introduced Frosty Paws, frozen protein treats for dogs. You can find them in the freezer section of the grocery store, right next to your favorite ice cream. If it weren't for the package with a Scotty wearing a scarf, you might mistake these for frozen treats for humans. There are four individual cups to a package, and each frozen protein treat comes with its own removable lid. Fido can lick the treat right out of the plastic cup while you hold it or the treat can be taken out of the container and put into the dog's bowl. My dog loved the peanut butter flavor (no sugar added) but other flavors are available.

IT'S A PUZZLE

Do you Sudoku? If you do, you're not the only one working the numbers game. The Japanese puzzle has been snapped up by newspapers across the country (the Daily News has been running Sudoku Monday though Saturday since July 11). Those who have tried it can't seem to get enough of the logic puzzle that uses the numbers one through nine in every row down and across and in each highlighted box on the playing grid. Sudoku means single number. For those who want more, there are the puzzle books. There's ``The Book of Sudoku,'' ``The Big Book of Sudoku'' and ``New York Post Sudoku.'' Not enough? Just Google it and dozens of selections will pop up. If you just don't get the game but want to impress your friends, pick up ``Sudoku for Dummies.'' Your bragging will be more convincing.

REMEMBER FURBY?

When this furry little electronic toy came out in 1998, it was an instant hit - more than 40 million were sold worldwide. Now Furby is back in a new version that has 500 kilobytes of memory, which is six times what the original had, and uses voice recognition to respond to its owner. The latest Furby has a wider range of expressions, movement and vocabulary. It can laugh, smile, frown, gasp, yawn and express fear or boredom using its flexible beak, ears and eyebrows. Most intriguingly, the new Furby responds to vocal commands. If you ask Furby to tell you a joke, it will most likely deliver a knock-knock zinger. This Furby has back, mouth and stomach sensors that respond to petting, feeding and tickling. A communications sensor in its belly can detect the presence of companion Furbies. The motors and chips inside, including a 14-megahertz processor, are powered by four AA batteries. Hasbro, Furby's manufacturer, says that the toy should be widely available in the next few weeks for $39.99. To build interest, the company took a page from the Willy Wonka playbook, making 1,000 of the creatures available early to lucky online buyers.

OUT OF THIS WORLD

Kristen Bell seems a little too cool - and a little too hot - to be playing an unpopular high-school student, but ``Veronica Mars'' is a little too cool for lowly UPN. Which is why the offbeat mystery series is getting a four-week shot on its big brother network, CBS (Channel 2), beginning at 8 p.m. Friday. On the show, Bell (who just turned 25) plays the smart and charming title character whose best friend, Lilly, was murdered. When her father, the town sheriff of the wealthy seaside community of Neptune, accused the girl's father of the crime but can't prove it, he's fired, and Veronica is considered an outcast in the snobbish school. Now she spends her days unraveling the mysteries of teen life and her nights helping her dad get his struggling private detective business off the ground. Along the way, Veronica also digs up some of the California town's dirty little secrets, and Bell always makes it cool to watch the series that's been described as `` 'Twin Peaks' meets 'The O.C.' and 'Dawson's Creek.' ''

CAPTION(S):

7 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 4 -- color) no caption (Sudoku books)

(5 -- color) no caption (Furby toy)

(6 -- color) no caption (Frosty Paws)

(7 -- color) no caption (Kristen Bell)