My CES 2008 Mid-Life Crisis

Spotted this beauty whilst touring the auto floor at CES a few weeks back.

Note the smooth lines ..

.. the European styling ..

.. fast, even while standing still ..

No, silly. The car .. not the booth bait.

She raced into the frame and posed while I was setting up the picture.

Could you have said more .. and still said less?

Word salad from the label on vanity-labeled bottle of wine from a major purveyor of wines (some edits to preserve the identity of the sender), titled "A wine experience for discriminating tastes":

Impeccably chosen, cultivated in quality, fermented in spirit and matured in excellence, characterizes this collection.

A superlative wine, distinguished by varietals of consistency, excellence, delivery and longevity.

With its delectable smoothness, mingled with notes of exquisite finesse and robust complexity, (the wine) gives mouth-filling richness, excites the taste buds and stimulates the intellect, making it the perfect accompaniment for any dish.

From the first luscious taste to the sumptuous long-lasting finish, this wine promises to leave you in delicious winning satisfaction.

By the way: the wine wasn’t bad at all. It was free, and drank like $2. 😛

Aauugh! (The Wilhelm Scream)

While reading Wired at the gym, I came across the article: "Cue the Scream: Meet Hollywood’s Go-To Shriek".

The scream was from a scene in a 1951 film, "Distant Drums", where a cowboy found himself too close to an alligator and lost an arm in the process.

The scream echoes through film history, finding it’s way into film after film, as a sort of inside joke amongst sound professionals in the business. The article even provides a spiffy timeline as to some easily recognizable uses of the clip.

That’s just a taste. For more history, check out the Wikipedia article: "Wilhelm Scream".

I’d isolate the scream, but cannot for copyright reasons. However, there’s a link in the Wired article (above) and chrisofduke posted a fun compilation on YouTube: "The Wilhelm Scream Compilation".

Whilst Sitting at the Outback ..

.. and waiting for the guys from a partner to arrive, I noticed a table tent proclaiming:

Kick Back. Enjoy an Aussie Autumn

The tent urged you to sample:

big, bold, fresh flavors of Fall

.. and went on to list two tasty items.

However, anyone who is anyone knows that what it’s Fall up here, it’s Spring Down Under. Imagine my outrage.

Nothing compared to Aussie and fellow evangelisto Frank Arrigo, in: "The One About the Outback Steakhouse".

Hunter’s Whoopie Costume

This was Hunter’s dream costume for Halloween this year:

Five years, 50 pounds and two chins later ..

My birthday is next month, so time for a new license.

Even though these look like mug shots, I just had to share:

Veggie Art

The closest I can come to this is a mutant Mickey Mouse pancake that I’ll make for Cassie for a weekend breakfast.

I used to cut it for her and make "ouch" noises as I did so.

Only until she was old enough to tell me it creeped her out.

This happened surprisingly early, by the way.

Connor won’t touch anything that’s green (including Lime Jell-O and guacamole; I’ve tried).

He is game for Sushi these daze, though.

Hunter? Fuggedaboudit.

Hunter is carbo-boy. We keep a bag o’pasta in the refrigerator for when he gets the munchies.

If torturing vegetables like this provides a means of getting kids to eat them (sans sound effects, of course), I’m game:

This snap from "Food for Thought", by Joost Elffers and Saxton Freymann.

My, what an interesting button in the Ford Escape

While pondering the instrument panel on a rented Ford Escape, I noticed the most interesting button.

Now, it’s an interesting coincidence that I was in the heat of receiving static from the passenger side of the car at the time.

Not that I was looking for an ‘eject’ button.

However, my seeing it, and the timing when I saw it .. such a coincidence!

In the heat of the static .. I pushed it.

I pushed it again.

The static continued.

Perhaps it’s better said as haiku:

Oh, eject button.

Why is it that you taunt me?

I press. Wait. Nothing.

Fortunately, we arrived without further incident.

Okay, so today, I’m a wolf in woman’s clothing

I had an incredibly splashy coffee mishap at the hotel this morning, rendering my favorite cargo shorts unusable for the day (or forever, from the looks if it). Despite the lather-rinse-repeat treatment, they remain horribly stained and reside soaking wet in my Tumi.

Fortunately, a 24-hour Walgreen’s came to the rescue (well, I went to them to get rescued) with a nice pair of khaki shorts that are comfortable, roomy and just my size.

Unfortunately, they’re for dames, not for dudes. Of course, with my un-tucked Polo, no one can tell the difference.

Well, I can: there’s no zipper. No belt, either, just this handy drawstring, like a bathing suit. Unlike a swimsuit, there’s no "package control" inside, but my tighty-whities see to this nicely.

The zipper thing puzzles me though: there’s a flap like as though there’s a zipper therein, but nothing underneath. The flap, not the shorts.

I get that there doesn’t need to be a zipper (for all the obvious reasons), but it’s a bit unusual from my (grunt) male perspective nonetheless.

Hunter’s Early Dismissal Note

This is priceless.

He wrote a note for his teacher requesting early dismissal.

The note reads:

Note for you, Mrs. Russell.

Need my parents to pick me at 1155 ’cause I’m goin’ to Woodland Park Zoo.

Yours truly,

Hunter

I’m guessing Hunter isn’t enjoying school quite as much as we’d hope.

At least he didn’t sign it: "Hunter’s Dad".