Hot Wheels

The creator of the Hot Wheels cars, and co-founder of Mattel, has died.

This was probably my favorite car:

I saw one in an antique mall display case a few years ago, with a $35 price tag on it.

Most of my Hot Wheels cars were purchased at the Gibson's Discount store at the corner of O'Connor Road & Pioneer in Irving, Texas.   I later worked for a year or so at another Gibson's store when I was in high school.  At least one store remains, in Weatherford, though I don't know if it has any ties to the original Gibson family. 

http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/07/22/3240410/elliot-handler-inventor-of-hot.html

More bits

• Sure, it's an old gag.  But someone actually took the time to paint this Suburban (sort of):

• I don't know how I'd never seen this marker before:

• I want to live on this street:

Not today

Byte sized

Just a collection of random thoughts:

• I liked the video of the Oceanside (CA) police officer who interviewed an open carry activist with courtesy and decency. But later, the question that rattled around in the back of my mind was: Why would the activist (who was wearing a 'button' camera) post a video that more or less made him[self] look like a jerk?
• An outdoor resident at my house - pointed out to me by my daughter:

• NFL season will happen.  Meh.
• This would be a good time of year to be in Canada, eh?
• I do most of my grocery shopping at Kroger.  I have a Kroger card (woo-hoo!).  Kroger apparently thinks that because I have reached the cinco-cero, I am a senior señor.  Last week they had a 'power buy' special on diced tomatoes with chilies, very useful for chili, chicken tortilla soup, and 'Rotel-style' cheese dip.  Normally 65¢/can, 15¢/can when you buy ten.  Doing the math, that's $1.50 for ten.
• But wait!
• At the end of checking out at the self-scan, the computer deducts my '10% senior discount' - not on the discounted price of 15¢ per can, but on the original 65¢, for an additional discount of 7¢ per can.  My total landed cost then, was 8¢ a can.  Yeah, I bought about a case.
• No, it's fresh stuff - sell by February 2013 or so.
• I don't know if RPM would say that is smart grocery business.
• This looks like fun:

• If I made the rules, I would expand the 'Do Not Call' registry concept to 3rd class [junk] mail, and to free newspapers/flyers that are thrown on my driveway.  If I want to know about the latest daycare, workout gym, roofing contractor, pest control - I'll Google it.  If other people want that, fine, but I don't think the companies have the right to fill my mailbox, and quickly thereafter trash bin, with their crap.
• Of course, if the post office couldn't deliver all that third-class mail, they'd shut down half the offices and only deliver two days a week...
• Nice boat, but wonder how that goes over with the lake patrol?

• Reality TV is boring to me, but I like the show Shark Tank.  People pitch their business ideas to a panel of investors, trading an equity stake (negotiated while you watch) for capital, or sometimes turned down altogether.
• A couple of the panelists can be fairly rude/abrupt, but it's an interesting concept.  I'd like to be a venture capitalist, but have no capital to venture at the moment.
• I also like the Undercover Boss, but think the premise is going to be hard to carry over to a third season.
• More outdoor, albeit underwater residents:

• At Lowe's the other day, I was looking for something in the outdoor section.  An older couple were looking for something for a project.  The wife was telling the husband what she wanted, and the husband was responding, in a thoughtful manner, about how they could do the project.  Then she tells him "I don't care how it gets done - I want it finished this afternoon.  Make it so."
• Maybe I shouldn't be so concerned about being single.
• Sweet ride:

• Does the steering wheel operate the elevons/ruddervator?

Lady Antebellum in American Idol -Just a Kiss

More Maple Leaf Power Rock...from different ages

Rush - Closer To The Heart by manon42

If it 'needs more cowbell', I'm sure Neil Peart will find a way to fit it in there somewhere.

This Blog's for you!

A comment received today, to a post from August 30...2009 - it was caught by Blogger's spam filter and never attached to the post:


The extremely heart of your writing while appearing reasonable originally, did not settle correctly with me personally following some time. Someplace throughout the sentences you really managed to create me a believer but only for a short whilst. I nevertheless have got a difficulty with your leaps in logic and you might do nicely to fill in those breaks. When you really can accomplish that, I could surely be fascinated.


I was afraid that someday someone would call out my glib prose which initially soothes and satiates, but later leaves a case of intellectual indigestion - and now it's happened.  Let me assure the anonymous commenter that his/her full fascination is my goal. 

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go practice my logic leaps.

And please, don't bring Shirley into all this.

Ouch! I think I sprained something...