It's on !

Looks like things are looking up for this Fourth of July!

Kobayashi is in New York and ready to compete (despite his jaw injury) to defend his title! This year will be THE year for Nathan's Hot Dog Contest as Joey Chestnut will attempt to dethrone Kobayashi from his 6 consecutive years of championship. Can Takeru Kobayashi continue his reign and tie Lance Armstrong with his 7 consecutive championships? We'll see next Wednesday. (ARTICLE)

Happy iPhone Day.

No, I'm not buying a $500 phone, but it sure looks cool and it comes out today at 6pm.

The New 7 Wonders of the World

I'm sure you've all heard of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. Maybe you know them all, but I can only recognize the Great Pyramids of Giza. And it turns out that it's the only one of the seven that are still in existence.

So, I think it's about time they redo the list of the 7 Wonders of the World. Well, they're on it! And you can vote yourself! There are 20 candidates to vote on and the winning 7 will be announced in Lisbon, Spain on 7-7-07, the best date ever. (LINK)

Here are the candidates (although you can't vote for the Great Pyramids):


1. Acropolis, Athens, Greece
2. Alhambra, Granada, Spain
3. Angkor, Cambodia
4. Chichen Itza, Mexico
5. Christ Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
6. Colosseum, Rome, Italy
7. Easter Island Statues, Chile
8. Eiffel Tower, Paris, France
9. Great Wall, China
10. Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
11. Kiyomizu Temple, Kyoto, Japan
12. Kremlin / St. Basil, Moscow, Russia
13. Machu Picchu, Peru
14. Neuschwanstein Castle, Schwangau, Germany
15. Petra, Jordan
16. Statue of Liberty, New York, USA
17. Stonehenge, Amesbury, UK
18. Sydney Opera House, Australia
19. Taj Mahal, Agra, India
20. Timbuktu, Mali

So go vote! There are only 9 days left! (VOTE) Don't forget to confirm your vote by email.

And when you're done, put up your votes in my poll on the right. -->

You want my bias? I didn't vote necessarily for the most wondrous, I voted for the most iconic (with some US bias).

Christ Redeemer, the Kremlin, and the Sydney Opera House were next. And I wanted to vote for Petra just because it was in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Thanks, Lily, for the tip! I almost let this one pass!

IMPORTANT SIDENOTE:

Since we're on the topic of The Great Pyramids of Egypt, I'll never forget the fortune my sister got TWICE on separate occasions. What do you make of this?

Steph, you're awesome.

198 Ounces of Greatness

We celebrated two baby showers this past Sunday evening. Daniel and Amy are expecting their baby boy (possibly named Russell) on July 14th (okay maybe it's actually one day before my birthday). Glenn and Michiko are expecting their baby early August. So, all the guys went to have a Dude Baby Shower at Mastro's Steakhouse in Beverly Hills (right next to Spago's...ugh, I don't like Wolfgang Puck). I had heard great things about this place and everything was spot-on accurate. It was amazing! The 7 Card Studs (our poker crew) have always ranked Delmonico Steakhouse (at the Venetian in Vegas) as our #1 steakhouse. Well it looks like we now have a tie for #1. (What's up with all these parenthetical statements?)

Our benchmark steak has always been the Bone-In Ribeye. What a fantastic steak. To cut to the chase, all 6 of us ordered the 33 oz. Bone-In Ribeye Chop. More than 2 pounds! Okay, that's a huge steak, but I have to say that it all goes down real easy when it's this good. Normally, I would say that a 2 pound steak would lack the quality of a regular steak, but our waitress tipped us off to an interesting fact. The Ribeye Chop is the cut of meat at the center of the ribs, resulting in a more consistently marbled steak. There are only 2 cuts per cow!

Amazingly, all 6 of us devoured these steaks...198 ounces of greatness. My steakhouse rankings are now as follows:

1. Delmonico Steakhouse, Venetian Hotel and Casino
1. Mastro's Steakhouse, Beverly Hills
3. Boa Steakhouse, Caesar's Palace
4. N9ne Steakhouse, Palms Casino Resort
5. SW Steakhouse, Wynn Hotel and Casino

Eater Safety

Crazy news. Our beloved Kobayashi is now statused as "Day-to-Day" for his appearance in the Annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest coming up on July 4th. The reason? Not the recent passing of his mother, but JAW ARTHRITIS! What? That's the equivalent of a pitcher with a sprained elbow! Well, we can only hope something improves in the next week. (ARTICLE)

The best part of the article is the quote from the President of Major League Eating:

"Eater safety is our top priority and we will respect whatever decision Kobayashi makes about participating in these events."

Check out Kobayashi's Blog! (LINK)

Cat Tongue

I thought this picture was really amazing. That's why a cat's tongue feels like that!

Kobe and KG?

There's been lots of talk about trading ever since Kobe Bryant expressed his desire for change. The latest talks don't have Kobe being traded at all, but they do pose interesting scenarios that would keep Kobe in LA. Here's the craziest trade I've heard in a long time; 4 teams swapping big players. Here's how the trade would go:

Lakers: Give up Odom and Bynum for Timberwolves' Kevin Garnett
Timberwolves: Give up Garnett for Celtics' #5 draft pick
Pacers: Give up Jermaine O'Neal for Lakers' Odom and Bynum
Celtics: Give up #5 draft pick for Pacers' Jermaine O'Neal

Very creative. But then again they are talking about trading directly with the Timberwolves for 10-time All-Star Kevin Garnett. Kobe and KG? I'll take it. (ARTICLE)

Bumbo Time !

Jack just turned 5 months old this past Friday and he's recently added Bumbo Time to his list of favorite activities. The Bumbo chair is an infant seat especially designed to help babies sit upright all by themselves. It's a deep bucket seat made of nice soft foam that will never tip over. Jack sure loves his Bumbo time.

The only problem is that Jack is still so fascinated by his feet
that he spends much of his Bumbo time leaning over.


Sorry, Bumbo seats are only designed for infants.

Good luck, Jack!

No, not to our boy Jack, but to my coworker Jack. He's left our company to go on to NewzeaLand (as I like to call it). He's sold his house and is moving his family down under. It was great working with you and we'll all miss ya.

Newspapers.

Sometimes newspapers provide a great deal of entertainment.

Here's a story of how one guy handled the police.


And here's a good one about a guy reporting about a murder he witnessed.

Star Wars Robot Chicken

I've posted scenes from Star Wars Robot Chicken in the past, but last night they had an entire Robot Chicken episode dedicated to Star Wars. It was fantastic! Thanks, Chang, for letting me know it was on TV.

My favorite 3 scenes:
1. The Emperor on the phone with Darth Vader.
2. What really happened with Walrusman in the Cantina.
3. When Jar Jar meets Darth Vader.

You can watch the whole episode online! (LINK)

My First Father's Day!

I had a great Father's Day yesterday. Still hard to believe that I'm a dad. Scott and Jaime came by during the day and took me and Jack out to lunch. Jaime got to meet Jack for the first time. It was a great time.

Afterward, we went out to dinner at Houston's with Stephanie and my parents. Hard to go wrong when we all order Knife and Fork Barbecue Ribs and Rutherford Ribeye Steaks.

Thanks again for the great Father's Day!

Softimus Prime

Jack came up to me the other day and asked if he could get a new Transformers toy. How could I turn my boy down? So, we went out to go buy Softimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots. Jack was thrilled. (based on a true story)

Jack can even pose just like Softimus.


The best part about Softimus Prime? He transforms!


Jack loves his new favorite toy.

No Kobayashi?

Have you heard the shocking news? Takeru Kobayashi may not be competing this year in Nathan's Annual Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4th. Reports say that his mother passed away this past March. This would mean that the 6-time champ would not be able to defend his title on the most competitive year of his career. Recently during a qualifying round, Joey "Jaws" Chestnut downed 59.5 HDBs, destroying Kobayashi's record of 53.75 HDBs. (ARTICLE)

Crossword Puzzle

Interesting and fun crossword puzzle. Check it out. (LINK)

More fun with Jack

Here are some more pictures of our favorite son.

Very happy.


Enjoying his cereal.


Right after his bath.


Chillin' with Lambie.


And all tuckered out after a hard day's work.

25 Greatest Sports Moments

USA Today is celebrating its 25th Anniversary this year and are compiling 25 different Top 25 lists each week until September. Their latest one recalls the 25 Greatest Sports Moments in the past 25 years. They put the Red Sox World Series win at #1. The other 11 lists are also quite interesting. (LINK)

The largest island in a lake on an island in a lake on an island

Say hello to Vulcan Point in Crater Lake on Vulcan Island in Lake Taal on Luzan (island in the Phillipines). (Here's a great list of other islands in lakes in islands, etc)

Chuck Norris for President

Just as great as all the Chuck Norris facts out there, here is what Chuck will do for you if you vote him President of the United States. Yes, this was really written by him. (LINK)

Expose the real WMDs – my fists and feet.

If this picture doesn't get your attention, then I don't know what will.

Vote Chuck for President!

Dragonfruit

I'm sure by now many of you have run across the term 'dragonfruit.' What is dragonfruit? Is it a real thing? Just recently, we've been drinking some Vitaminwater and noticed that one of the flavors contains dragonfruit. If I recall correctly, one of Buster's dog shampoos contained it. Well, we had to get to the bottom of this fruit.

Dragonfruit is properly known as pitaya. Pitaya is a cactus fruit that originates from Mexico and South America. They changed the name of the fruit to boost sales...which worked like a charm. Check out how crazy it looks! No wonder they call it dragonfruit!
(via Wikipedia)

And if you thought that was crazy looking, check out the inside!

Of course it's rich in vitamins, prevents diseases, reduces cholesterol, and all that good stuff. And now you can tell all your friends all about dragonfruit.

Shuffle

It's Friday and it's time to put work aside and play some games! Knock the opponent's balls off the board. So far, I have 24,140 with 10 rounds won. (LINK)

Thundercats, HOOOO!!!

Great news everyone. The Thundercats are coming to a theater near you! That's right. Soon we can see all new action from Lion-o, Panthro, and Cheetara as they take on Mumm-Ra. A date hasn't been set, but we'll be waiting to hear more about the movie in the future. (LINK)

Also great news is that He-Man will also be getting a movie soon...possibly in 2009. This is almost too much great news all at once. Time to take a break. (LINK)

Bye-bye, Chip Clip.

If you're like me, you can never find a chip clip when you need one. Well, check out this video and see why you won't need one ever again!

More fun with Jack

Jack is 4.5 months old now and he's been quite busy the past few weeks.

Last month, Jack was introduced to Buddhism (kinda like a Baptism). He wore a tie to celebrate the occasion.

Jack also started up with solid foods. Well, rice cereal is hardly solid, but he likes eating with his spoon! Honestly, I think he just likes eating.

Look at that smile!

Jack's neck and legs are getting real strong these days. He can hold up his head nice and steady now...unless he gets real excited. His legs are also getting real powerful. He's been using his Boppy to work in some leg exercises to prepare for crawling. That's when things will get crazy.

Jack also loves playing with his feet now that he figured out how to grab them.


I sure wish I was still on my 4 week vacation.