"Training In Progress" cries the banner outside the new Grapevine location of P.F. Chang's. Two minutes from the office, about 15 minutes from the house. No more half-hour-minimum drives for our favorite Chinese bistro! Chicken lettuce wraps! Chang's Spicy Chicken! Mongolian Beef! Yum!

Thanks to Gary and Chuq, I blew water out my nose when reading this. Highly entertaining.

The March 3 issue of Business Week features a blurb regarding controlling your credit card usage. In the past, the solution to credit card overusage has been to cut up the card--which leaves you stuck in the event of an emergency. A tip from the book Good Advice for a Bad Economy suggests that you put your credit cards in a sandwich bag full of water, then stick the bag in the freezer. This way, you have access to the cards in the even of an emergency, but "impulses must wait for the ice to thaw."

Gibson offers a "readymade" novel to anyone willing, founded upon this news item from Tokyo.

Tech gear lust can begin at an early age. For me, in 1985, I wanted a Banana Junior 6000. (Thanks to Gruber for the link.) My personal favorites are "Fritos," "Toaster Ovens," and "I Think."

Lee was not familiar with the term, so I pointed him to Webster's, which defines it as a noun, Yiddish in entymology etymology, and means "trinket" or "knickknack." As I told Lee, the word saw a jump into the mainstream during the dot-com glory days, when those companies would give out all kinds of logo-emblazoned crap at trade shows, conventions, expos, and to anyone the marketing people ever came into contact with. Maybe too many tchotchkes is yet another reason why so many of them dot-bombed. That said, I do appreciate a quality tchotchke, like the metal Apple luggage tag I received from them last year at MWNY.

Brian informed me that Rush's stand-in nailed the French today:

Q: What did the leader of France say when Germany invaded? A: Table for 100,000? Q: Why are the streets of Paris lined with trees? A: The Germans prefer to march in the shade.

Michael has me gear-lusting after this. I've always felt more like a rice rocket kind of guy than one who'd straddle a hog. I'd like it in Liquid Silver, please. Of course, my wife thinks I'm crazy...

I just saw the motorcross commercial on Fox Sports (Southwest) for their show "54321." The motorcross biker clapping at the end, after the doofus crashes the gate--just seems like something Dan would do. :)

Mark Newhouse's daughter Jordan donated a 14-inch ponytail to Locks for Love on Valentine's Day, and Mark has documented the event in the form of a QuickTime movie:

"Locks of Love is a non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children across the U.S. under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss. "It takes ten to 15 donated ponytails to make one hairpiece because Locks of Love only uses lengths of 10 inches and longer. 80% of donors are children."

A little over two weeks ago, I joined the ranks of the bespeckled:

Eyemasters wanted $90 for the non-polarized clip-on sunglasses for them! Thanks to a tip from my dad, I picked up slip-on polarized lenses at Sam's for 13 bucks. They don't conform exactly to my lenses (they overlap slightly), but you can't beat the performance for the price: I have an astigmatism; according to my optometrist, I could have foregone getting glasses for another year, maybe more, but I decided to go for it now, while I have vision insurance! Sitting in front of computer screens 10+ hours a day, for both work and fun, as well as lots of reading for pleasure, helped spur the decision to get them now. I wasn't really surprised; my dad's worn glasses since I was a small child, and my mom has to wear them to read and drive, so it was inevitable. The style is Chaps 51 by Ralph Lauren, just in case you're so dazzled by them you want to rush out to get your own pair.

I'd just like to take a moment to wish my wonderful wife of ten and a half years a Happy Valentine's Day. I love you, sweetheart.

A Pekingese from Kenner won the toy dog category at the Westminster dog show this week, though she lost out in the Best in Show finale. Why do I care? I called Kenner home for three years, and my wife's parents live there. She moved there when she was 7, grew up there. Her father was a city councilman for 12 years. I worked for the Pontchartrain Center. For the uninitiated, Kenner is actually where the New Orleans International Airport is located. Leaving from the airport, you drive through Kenner, then Metairie, before entering Orleans Parish and New Orleans proper. Kenner is the 5th largest city in Louisiana. We watched the Best in Show judging, and Yakee was simply adorable, waddling along with her fur all poofed out. Cute as a button. It would not surprise me to learn that my father-in-law knows the owners...

"Triumphant in their kill of the elephant chew toy, feline and canine shared bedding in front of a warm fire, and there was peace throughout the land..."

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(Thanks, Jim!)