You can get a pretty awesome Barack Obama victory sticker designed by Shepard Fairey at moveon.org - for free - or you can order multiples for a few bucks.

Unfortunately you have to have an American address to get one - so i'll post the image here for all to see.

I had the pleasure of meeting future President of the US of A, Mr. Barack Obama, while i was in DC this past week. He is much thinner in person, and didn't really have much to say... But I'd still totally vote for him if i could.

Fifty People, One Question: Restored from Benjamin Reece on Vimeo.

August 31, 2008. My good friends the MacLeod brothers decided to settle a bet to see who could run 100 meters the fastest, and who could come closest to Usain Bolts world record of 9.69 seconds.

They only had two rules for the race:

1. Absolutely no training allowed.

2. They  both had to consume a full turkey dinner before the race.

Here are the results:



The final times:

Kent MacLeod: 14.75 seconds [5.06 seconds off Bolts world record]
Dwayne MacLeod: 16 seconds [6.31 seconds off Bolts world record]

Though i'm guessing if Usain Bolt had to eat a turkey dinner before his race, he might be a little slower.

Pre race interviews as well as post race celebrations can be seen here.

Apparently, there is a small chance that the world might end on Wednesday:

My sister and I had a funny email conversation a week or so ago. It started out with an email from her telling me that she had heard a new term on the radio that morning which someone came up with for people who have had their iPods stolen - apparently I had been "Apple Jacked" - which we both found amusing. The term Apple Jack reminded her of something from when we were younger [no, not the cereal].

What she remembered was that when we were kids, our cousin Breck fell in love with one of her My Little Pony toys. He was so enamoured with it, that he had a hard time giving it back after visiting, so my mother decided to buy him his very own My Little Pony, whose name happened to be Apple Jack. We still make fun of him and his little pony.

This made me laugh out loud while reading her email, and then it got me thinking, what would be the one toy I owned as a child that I would be the most embarassed by now? I didnt have to think too long. The answer came to my mind immediately.  It was no contest at all - the winning toy by a mile would have to be this Sport and Shave Ken Doll that my brother and I both received one Christmas from our grandmother. He came with the following accessories: "Brush, comb, tennis racket, cologne, toothpaste and toothbrush, shaving mug, hair dryer and watch." He also came with a brown marker which you could use to draw stubble on his face - and then use his plastic razor with sponge blade attachement to shave him.

Yes, just like the box says, "Shave him. He's athletic. He's all man."

Yikes.

I'd like to say that I never used that marker to colour in a nice full beard on Mr Ken and then use the razor to shave it off. I'd really like to say that....

Anywho.

I guess the Sport and Shave Ken doll might be a bit more embarassing than a My Little Pony doll... but at least I didn't have a poster on my wall of two flamingos eating ice cream that said - "When the going gets tough, the tough get ice cream."... Right Dwayne?

And at least i never owned a Pink Popple... Right Kent?

I was having lunch with a friend last week when the discussion turned to 'signs that you've made it in life'. She said she had a list of 3 material things - that once they were in her possession, her life would be that much more complete and she would have crossed some sort of threshold from regular mundane existence, into the 'awesome life'. Her list consists of the following three things:

1. A brand new truck. Nothing too fancy - she'd be happy with a Ford Ranger. Though she decided with gas prices these days, she might have to settle for some sort of battery powered hybrid. But she was ok with that.

2. A nice sectional couch. She pointed out that in order to actually have a nice sectional couch, she would need an apartment/house that was big enough to fit said sectional into. She wasn't specific as to whether the couch would be leather or not. I suspect she would go with some sort of microfiber.

3. Her very own water cooler. I told her this one was actually pretty easy for her to attain as water coolers are getting to be fairly affordable. I think her real reason for wanting one would be so that some muscle bound water delivery dude would show up at her house once a month.


At the time of our lunch i was hard pressed to come up with my own list, but now that I've had a few days to think it over, I've been able to narrow it down to three specific items:

1. A side by side door fridge/freezer with water and ice dispenser [ice dispenser must have a 'crushed ice' feature].  I don't need one with a built in TV, just the regular kind. I would prefer stainless steel because everyone knows they are much more awesome than the white ones. I almost chose a Pepsi machine over the fridge - but figured the fridge was a more practical choice - and a crushed ice dispenser would be awesome.

2. A pinball machine. This would of course mean that i would be living in a house or apartment that was big enough to house a pinball machine. I am no pinball wizard, but i do enjoy all the lights and buzzers and what not. If i got to choose which pinball machine i would purchase, i would have to go with the Terminator 2 Judgment Day machine or maybe a vintage KISS one. I would also totally modify the machine so you didn't have to put quarters in to play.

3. This chair. When we travel through New England to visit clients for work we often stay at our friend Toms house just outside of Boston. He has one of these chairs - and whenever we visit it becomes my chair for the stay. It is the most comfortable chair i have ever sat upon. If i am ever wealthy enough to buy a $4000 chair, then i will  know i have truly made it.

Isn't stuff awesome?