First Photos of Mach 5 for Upcoming Speed Racer Film

Here is it folks, straight from today's USA Today, the Mach 5! I gotta say they did a great job bringing this car to life. I don't know too much about the movie itself, but at least they got the car right. A very sweet ride.

Fatherly Knowledge

I had the opportunity to spend some quality time with the boy over the weekend and this afternoon. It had me thinking about the things I'd learned since he was born as I've spent the past year as new Dad. I know the cliches about how having a child can change you and how there is never enough time because it goes by so fast. I'm not getting that deep or philosophical. This is pretty surface level stuff. Here's a little list that I came up with of what I've learned and discovered.

1. Gerber Graduates and other toddler brand snacks are pretty damn good. Seriously the toddler brand cheese puffs could give Cheetos a run for their money. They are so crisp and they practically melt in your mouth. Some of the other puff flavors like veggie dip are great too. Asher is nice enough to share some puffs with his Dad now and then, because he thinks putting food in my mouth is funny. However, I've been tempted to buy a couple cans of those things to keep at the office for snacks.

2. Toy stores are fun again. I'd jump into a toy store now and then to check on a video game or for comic book geek toys, but other than that toy stores were a quick shop kind of hunter/gatherer experience. Now its fun to browse through the whole store(well almost the whole, the girls toy section is still off limits). So many of the old standbys have change in regards to kids toys. Fisher Price Little People have sure come along way since the '70s. When I was a kid they were wooden pegs with wooden or plastic heads. Now the little people have legs, arms and much more elaborate playsets including a pirate ship which was Asher's big weekend purchase.

3. Diapers are not a big deal. I wasn't really concerned, but some guys relayed how much they hated diaper changing and how terrible it was to me before the kid was born. I guess having a dog really desensitized me to dealing with poo. Dirty diapers no matter how foul, really don't bug me. I'm not exactly a man with a steel stomach, these guys who have a gag reflex during diaper changes are some supreme wimps.

4. Whole new world of tv and music. My inner child still has me watching cartoons on a daily basis, but my days of watching PBS kids programming are long gone. I didn't realize how many new programs were out there. Asher doesn't really watch tv, we keep it on in the background for music when there isn't an iPod or radio nearby. My top show that I think are the most interesting would have to be: Noddy, Wonder Pets, and Kipper.

Noddy is based off of some British kids stories from the 50's. So the characters styles are that of old toys but they are brought to life with computers. It's an odd mesh of styles that I find hard not to look at. Plus the beginning theme song is kinda catchy in a cheesy kind of way.

Wonder Pets and Kipper are both cute for different reasons. Kipper's quiet adventures remind me of the tone of some of the Winnie the Pooh stories I liked when I was a kid. Nothing too over top, or zany.

Sure I know about Thomas the Tank Engine or Bob the Builder or any number of kids programs and characters, but those three are some of the ones I've just caught on with this past year.

Which reminds me the "Goodnight Show" is on the Sprout Network as I write this, I hope haven't missed Kipper yet.

Memorial Day

First off a big thank you to all those in armed forces serving night and day to protect our nation and our allies. A special thanks and prayers to the families of those who have given their lives in serving our country. I really hope that everyone at least takes one moment today to remember those who gave their life in military service or veterans who are no longer with us.

It was a three day weekend for me as it was for most folks this Memorial Day weekend. I wish I had an alternate work schedule like I did a decade ago. Having a 3 day weekend every other week is such a great thing to have. I'm so much more productive and recharged after 3 days off. I get enough time to decompress and get things done around the house. Trying to cram all that into 2 day is just a sucker's quest.

This weekend we got the backyard together for the little man. He's got a sandbox, a deck chair (with cupholder), a little pool, and plenty o' outdoor toys for pool and sandbox. We braved Lowes on this holiday weekend to get some new yard equipment and mulch. All in all the backyard is looking great, the patio is clean, the little guy's stuff is set up. It's fantastic.

I grilled up a couple of ribeyes (bought'm at Costco yesterday, they have some of the best steaks). I'm glad we didn't decide on heading to the beach or anything. The DC Metro area is so much nicer when half the populous leaves home for a little vacay. The roads are less crammed, lines are shorter at the stores, and the waits aren't that bad in restaurants. It so nice... too bad they don't all stay away more often.

Great Judgement Call of the Week

Check out the link to read about these elementary school teacher who thought it'd be a good idea to scare the living crap out of 10 year olds as a vehicle to generate discussion about how they'd handle themselves if faced with a gunman attacking their school. This ham handed handling of the situation and poor judgment have me even more motivated to find a way to keep my kid out of public school.


Reading other articles tonight, it seems two of the teacher have been suspended. That's a good start to making this situation right.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18645623/

Mother's Day -- Mission Accomplished

"M" is for the million things she gave me,
"O" means only that she's growing old,
"T" is for the tears she shed to save me,
"H" is for her heart of purest gold;
"E" is for her eyes, with love-light shining,
"R" means right, and right she'll always be,
Put them all together, they spell "MOTHER,"
A word that means the world to me.
--Howard Johnson (c. 1915)

Ah yes another Mother's Day has come and gone. I and the day ended with smiles for both my mom and my wife. This year I had my stuff together with Mother Day for the most part. I had gifts in mind from the get-go. Mothers day is not a day taken lightly in my family, its a MAJOR holiday. No last minute shopping at the mall that Sunday to hand her something later in the day. No way, that can lead to a very unpleasant day for all.

My gift idea was a locket, a tasteful piece of jewelry that the Lady can keep a few photos within. As I wandered from store to store and browsed online the vast majority of lockets are in the shape of hearts and seem to run to either extreme of the design. Either they are very plain to the point of being unimpressive as a gift or gaudy to the point of being unwearable. And again all of them were these damned heart shaped things. The Lady doesn't wear hearts around her neck, ain't her style... Through my browsing online I knew that there were a few oval shaped lockets out there, that matched my mental images of the perfect gift. I found one, because I'm a born and bred shopper 1st class. But I'm sure plenty of schmoes were buying these guady things for their wives and moms. Those jewelry cases are such a minefield of bad decisions waiting to be made.

I'm happy Mother's Day went well for our family this weekend, but man am I glad its over. These holiday's stress me out to no end. All I asked for this Father's Day is a card, that's it. Not that Father's Day is as huge a deal to begin with... but that's a topic for another day.