Greetings from Venice !

Joanne and I are here with our family in Venice! We just got here yesterday and already we've seen all sorts of stuff. I'd post up some pictures except that there isn't any way to do so.

If you haven't already been here, it reminded us of the Venetian in Las Vegas since that's what we saw first.

We already miss Buster and miss you all!

- Russell and Joanne

It's a boy !

Today, we went to see the doctor for our 20 week ultrasound and the big news was that our baby is a boy! He (finally we can say "he") is perfectly healthy for a 20 week old fetus. He sure moves a lot now, which Joanne can tell you from first-hand experience. Here he is, just relaxing in the womb.

And here's a picture of the goods...proof that he's a boy!

Our new baby.

Oh, not that baby. Last night, Joanne and I signed the papers on our new Acura TL. We love it. The only sad news is that I had to bid farewell to the Mini. :( Thanks, Mini, for all the great times.

So, why do we like this car so much? Joanne likes it mostly for its comfortable ride, grown up appearance, fun GPS navigation, and the fact that she can finally drive my car (since it's an automatic). I like it mostly for the fantastic engine (258 hp), the color (black with black leather), the Bluetooth phone link, and the fact that it puts the driver's seat in the right position before I get in the car (no more scooting the seat all the way back after Joanne drove it). And we'll both soon be liking it for all the space it gives us when baby arrives.

So, during my fantastic jury duty experience (which is still ongoing), I decided to take a picture of the car this morning. Doesn't it look great in front of the Disney Concert Hall?
(Yes, I am in the right hand turn lane. It didn't say 'No Parking.')

Mouse Game

Yet another game to keep you all busy. How quickly can you mouse? (LINK)



Sidebar: I was stuck in jury duty today and have to go back tomorrow...stupid jury duty.

Conan at the Emmy's

I never got around to checking this out this past weekend, so if you didn't either, here you go. (LINK)

Speaking of The Office, have you seen all 8 webisodes? By the time you read this, there might be 9! (LINK)

The Star Wars Last Supper

Finally, some art I can appreciate.

Farewell, Mini.

It's not often that I post a blog entry about things that aren't "good times". But, it's time I let go of the Mini. With baby on the way, I'll be needing something with a little more room. So, I must cherish my final moments with the Mini and bid farewell to the fun it's provided. No more fast-action cornering, no more stick shift, no more farking spots, and no more squeezing into tight parallel parking spots. I'll miss you, buddy.

Speaking of parallel parking, I was never this good. (LINK)

Mother F'ing Snakes...

...on this mother f'ing plane!

That's right, we went to go see the first showing at 10:00 last night. With a title like Snakes on a Plane, we had to go see what it was all about. I thought it did a pretty good job of what it was promising...being a campy B-movie. I definitely enjoyed the movie-going experience. The audience was almost more excited than that of Star Wars on opening night. Crazy. But, I did notice a lot more nerds in the audience. I guess that means I'm a nerd, too. Dang.

Superfriends do Office Space !

I couldn't stop laughing when I saw this one. If you like Office Space, then you'll love this! (LINK)

Also, I heard Mike Jude (creator of Office Space) is making a new movie called Idiocracy, which comes out in later September.

Cubefield

And another great game to enjoy your Friday. Good practice for flying your X-Wing through the trenches of the Death Star. (LINK)

X-Games

Alright, so I was late in checking out the X-Games. Luckily between ESPN2 repeats and YouTube I can watch the best parts. Last night, I got to check out Travis Pastrana's double backflip in the Moto X Best Trick. Very impressive. Unbelievable that he took 3 golds.

And via YouTube I got to watch Pastrana's and McRae's rally runs. Colin McRae's run was truly amazing...despite the 2nd place standing. I can't believe he rolled his car and still got 2nd! Check them both out here. Pastrana / McRae.

Next year, Lara, we're going...

Squares

Since I know you can't get enough of the games, here's another. Gather all the black squares and don't touch the red ones. Get the black circles for special powers. Enjoy. (LINK)

My best score so far is 5105.

Where do the states go ?

Just drag and drop them in. Make sure you get as close as possible. Just beware of Hawaii...I never know where that one goes... (LINK)

Chat with Samuel L.

To promote the upcoming movie Snakes on a Plane, you can have Samuel L. Jackson call up your friends to help convince them to go see it with you. Just put in a few details and he'll customize the message for you. Enjoy! (LINK)

Rumbly in the tumbly.

Hello everyone. Here's an update on Baby Hirotsu. Joanne is now in her 16th week of pregnancy and just yesterday morning she felt a little fluttering in her tummy! The baby is developing perfectly and is maybe about 4 inches tall now! Watching the baby move around during the ultrasound was truly amazing. Hopefully soon we'll be able to find out if Baby Hirotsu is a he or a she. We'll let you know as soon as we find out.

Violent Femmes

For my birthday, I got lots of monetary gifts to contribute toward my purchase of a new camcorder. That way I'm all ready for when the baby arrives. :) Here's what I ended up getting...a Sony HDR-HC3 camcorder! Now all our memories will be captured in high definition.

And since I never got around to taking any pictures at the Violent Femmes concert at Del Mar, I can at least feed you some of the video footage I took with my new HD camcorder (except it's nowhere near HD in quality on your computer).

More Chuck Norris

Here's a good informational clip from the cartoon that will teach you why you'll never be able to run away from Chuck Norris. (LINK)

Velcro

I thought this picture was pretty cool. It's a stereomicroscope image (magnified 94x) of the hook and pile connection of Velcro. Now you know why they sometimes call it a "hook and loop fastener". Credit to BBC Magazine.

What song was that?

I'm sure you've asked that question one time or another while listening to the radio. Now you can get the answer just by typing in the call letters for the radio station. You can even look at the Top 10 most played songs. And the web address is easy, too. http://yes.com

Ice Sculpture

Check out these guys putting the finishing touches on their amazing ice sculpture. (LINK)