Matrix Guy
What do you get when you mash up Family Guy with The Matrix?
Fun fact: Both of these pop culture dynasties debuted in 1999. [Wave of the phin to Dan.]
The Empire Strikes Back. In 60 seconds.
To quote Geekdad, where I first saw this: "Sheer brilliance."
AirHogs Press Conference
The Grand Prairie AirHogs are a new minor league team in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, and we have some footage from a recent press conference:
The AirHogs season begins in May, and I'm looking forward to taking in a game or two this year.
Ride'em, cowboy!
This past weekend, we spent a few days visiting my parents in the suburbs of Birmingham. (That would be Alabama, not England. Just in case it wasn't clear.) My dad pulled my old rocking horse, Donut, out of storage, cleaned up the parts, and assembled him in the basement, all for my son to ride while we were visiting.
If you want to see a slightly larger version, click on the video.
I got Donut about the same age as the little phisch is now, roughly 1974. The nostalgia from watching my own child ride the same horse I did thirty-three, thirty-four years ago, was overwhelming.
If George had hired Saul
Opening credits of Star Wars, Saul Bass-style:
[Wave of the phin to Laughing Squid.]
Swedish Sushi
My pal Heather sent me a great recipe for sushi that nearly anyone will eat. I know what you might be thinking: Not me, I'll never eat raw fish. I've had that thought, too, but I love this sushi!
Here's the recipe:
Swedish Fish/Rice Crispy Sushi Treats
Ingredients:
- 1 package Swedish fish
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 (10.5 oz.) package of marshmallows
- 5 cups crispy rice cereal
- 1 box fruit by the foot (blue or green)
Directions:
1. In a large microwave safe bowl, combine butter and marshmallows. Microwave on high for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until smooth.
2. Remove from the oven and stir in the cereal.
3. Working with the mixture while it is still warm, shape into small ovals in the palm of your hand. It helps to put a little butter on your hands before working with it.
4. Cut strips of fruit by the foot to fit around each ball. Place one Swedish fish on each ball and wrap fruit strip around it. Let cool and serve!
Click on the photo to see the entire set.
As the chef, I, of course, had to sample the product, for quality assurance purposes. Two enthusiastic thumbs up!
Eight things you probably didn't know about me
Raena tagged me. Normally, I'd politely ignore it, but I must give her props for the way she linked to me. The rules: 1. Link to your tagger and post these rules. 2. List EIGHT random facts about yourself. 3. Tag EIGHT people at the end of your post and list their names. 4. Let them know they’ve been tagged. So, here are eight things you probably didn’t know about me. Well, maybe some of you know some of them, but not everyone knows all of them. Well, maybe my wife. Perhaps my parents. Whatever... 1. I have never tried Vietnamese food, nor do I plan to. Seriously, it's like pulling teeth to get me to try non-rice-based Chinese or Thai dishes, so I'm not really interested in trying pho-anything. Noodles should be a form of pasta, covered with marinara or alfredo sauce. 2. I utterly detest the song "You Light Up My Life". Made popular by Debby Boone in the late 1970s, this was one of the songs we were forced to sing as a collective choir in fifth-grade as a tribute to our parents during the incredibly lame fifth-grade "graduation" ceremony we were equally forced to participate in. While I sincerely am thankful to my parents for all they have ever done for me, the repeated practices of this song burned it so deeply in to my brain, that even now, as I type this, I can hear Ms. Boone's voice coming over the jambox we used to listen to the words and music, and I cringe in abject horror. 3. I managed to get a position I held eliminated. No, I was not fired, thank you very much. Half of the workload was redundant, given the responsibilities of others on the staff, and the other half could easily be folded in to the responsibilities of others on the staff. I eventually took this information to my boss, and, more importantly, his boss, and the decision was ultimately made to phase the position out. I made such an impression with the head honcho that he actually tried to create a totally new position for me elsewhere in the small management company, but I chose to leave instead, to pursue other endeavors I was passionate about. I like to think that this shows I can think outside the box, and think about the good of the company, if need be, rather than just myself. (Viz: "team player".) 4. I have been a pallbearer in a military funeral. My sophomore year in college, one of my best friends was killed by a drunk driver. We were in Air Force ROTC together, and Brett's fondest dream had been to be a navigator for the United States Air Force. It probably wasn't as pretty, or as crisp, as a military funeral one would get if they were actively serving, but Brett got full honors, it was the best we could do, and it was from the heart. 5. I have been a jury foreman. The only time I was ever picked for jury duty was five years ago. It was a misdemeanor trial, and there were only six jurors. No one else wanted it, so I volunteered. Didn't mean much, other than I was the one who interfaced with the baliff, and then read the verdict. The trial turned out to be a he said-he said situation, rife with reasonable doubt, and we acquitted the accused. (Aside: the judge on the case sent each of the jurors a hand-written thank-you note.) 6. I have met Michael Jordan and Oliver North. Jordan participated in a basketball clinic at the convention center I worked at (see item #3), and I was part of the staff assigned to show him around behind the scenes. No, I did not get his autograph, or a photo with him. The man had been at a charity golf tournament earlier in the day, and was clearly tired from that and the other events he'd participated in while in town. But he lit up when he saw the kids. Colonel North was doing a book signing at an area book store, and I got my copy autographed. 7. I have never been drunk. I'm not kidding. Not lying. Never been drunk. Don't plan to be, either. 8. I don't really listen to the radio any more, nor do I watch television news. (Yes, I'm kind of stealing this one from Raena.) Between the music I rip from CDs and download from Amazon or the iTunes Store, and podcasts, I have no reason to listen to the radio, other than traffic updates. I get my news online. I shall be merciful, and break rules #3 and 4, by not tagging anyone and passing the meme along. Of course, you may feel free to share in the comments, or on your own blog, if you'd like me/us to know eight things about you that we probably don't know...
Little green men
I love the little aliens from the Pizza Planet vending machine in Toy Story. Thanks to my friend Heather, and a long ago giveaway of some kind, I have two of the little guys guarding my favorite Mac, which is a little otherworldly in its own right...
Click on the photo to see the entire set.
Computer literacy is very important
One day last month, the little phisch wanted to play his Cars computer game, so Dad set it up for him on Mom's computer (a Dell running Windows Vista! Icky!!), then grabbed some "action" shots.
Click on the photo to see the entire set.
Third skating lesson
Two weeks later, some more skating fun! The little phisch got better moving around the house without help, but seemed to regress when it came to getting up when he fell.
Click the photo to see the entire set.
First skating lesson
Whenever he's been asked what sports he wants to play, our son has been consistent: "Baseball and hockey!" The first skill required in hockey is the ability to ice skate, so with that in mind, we enrolled him in ice skating lessons earlier in the year. Of course, Dad had to take photos of the first lesson!
Click on the photo to see the entire set.
Things you won't see in Star Tours at Disneyworld
As a Star Wars geek, I love one-offs and mashups of Star Wars-related stuff. Ceth Stifel, aka "Thumper-001" on deviantART, inspired by a recent trip to Disneyland and the Disney/Star Wars figurines one can purchase there, has created a unique set of mashup art combining my favorite movie franchise with the Disney characters millions have come to know and love.
Donald Duck as Boba Fett, Goofy as Darth Maul, Mickey as Lando Calrissian, as well as a host of other Star Wars characters, Chip and Dale as Wookies. Great, great stuff.
Proud geek dad moment
This past Saturday, the missus and I took the little phisch to see The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. The film was released by Universal, and had the studio's latest audio-visual intro at the beginning, as is the norm for motion pictures. The little phisch leaned over and whispered to me, "Daddy, what music is that?" I told him, and we settled in for a fun time. That little exchange immediately took my mind back a few weeks before, at the end of 2007, when the missus and I took the little phisch to see Alvin and the Chipmunks. That particular film was released by Twentieth-Century Fox, and its extremely recognizable audio-visual intro rolled at the beginning. Then, the little phisch leaned over and excitedly exclaimed, "Daddy, it's the Star Wars music!" I smiled broadly, and assured him, that yes, it was indeed "the Star Wars music." Amazing how those blaring trumpets and the monolithic wording have become synonymous with Star Wars for him, just as it did for me when I was a boy. To this day, whenever I see or hear that intro, I'm half-expecting the "Star Wars Main Theme" to follow shortly thereafter, or to see "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..." centered on the screen.
