Now I Really Want A Bow And Arrow

This is truly mind-blowing:

Whoa!  Pure, amazing awesomeness.  I need a bow and arrow set now...

Superhero Vs. Superhero

In my humble opinion, this is the kind of thing that fame and notoriety should be used for:

With the Super Bowl just around the corner, even Hollywood superheroes are getting excited about the match-up between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks — and in the case of Marvel movie stars Chris Evans and Chris Pratt, they’re making a bet that’s worth cheering for.

The bet came about after some good-natured jabbing at each other on Twitter, initiated when Captain America star Evans (a Patriots fan, of course) told Guardians of the Galaxy star Pratt (a Seahawks fan) that, despite their Marvel movie alter egos, they’re required to be sworn enemies in the run-up to this year’s NFL championship game. After some back-and-forth in which Pratt told Evans that Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson is the real Captain America and Evans wondered exactly what a “seahawk” is anyway (it’s this), the pair agreed to make a bet on the outcome of the game.

According to the bet, a Seahawks win will result in a visit from Evans to the Seattle Children’s Hospital dressed as Captain America while waving the “12th Man” flag that has become a symbol of Seattle Seahawks fandom. If the Patriots win, Pratt will don his Star-Lord outfit and the jersey of New England quarterback Tom Brady for a visit to Christopher’s Haven, a nonprofit that provides housing and support for families while children receive cancer treatment in Boston.

It’s the sort of bet that makes you hope the Super Bowl ends in a tie, but knowing these two actors’ willingness to spend time with their youngest fans, it wouldn’t be a surprise if both visits happen (possibly without the corresponding NFL accessories for the bet’s winner).

Here is the series of posts on Twitter that brought the bet about:

@ChrisEvans We both know there's only one Captain America and his name is Russell Wilson. #SuperBowlBound #LOB #Repeat

— chris pratt (@prattprattpratt) January 19, 2015

@ChrisEvans OK. Seahawks win you fly yourself to Seattle, visit @seattlechildrenhospital as Captain America, waving the 12th man flag.

— chris pratt (@prattprattpratt) January 21, 2015

@prattprattpratt I accept. And when the Patriots humiliate your seachickens, I expect Star-Lord to arrive at @chris_haven in a Brady jersey

— Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) January 21, 2015

Well done, gentlemen!  Well done.

It's Hard To Get More YES Than This

No, seriously.

More deliciousness here.  And here.  And the official reveal here.

YES.

Darth Vader Gets Down

I am greatly amused!

It's That Time Of Year Again...

Lightsaber + Katana = Awesome

What could be better than a katana or a lightsaber?  Why, both of course!

More Awesome Yo-Yo-ing

I couldn't yo-yo my way out of a breezy hallway, though I rarely have a desire to do so.  However, as I've said before, I do have an appreciation for awesomeness in all forms, and this video of the winner of the 2014 World Yo-Yo Championships certainly fits the bill.  An added bonus - he's an American from California.  Congrats and way to go, Gentry Stein!

I don't care who you are, that's just awesome.

Covet Alert...I Mean, Christmas Wish

Um, yeah, so if anyone needs any ideas for this year...

Assassin's Creed In Real Life

One of the hot video game franchises right now is Assassin's Creed by Ubisoft.  The latest iteration of this series is Black Flag, set in the world of pirates.  One of the themes of the game is how the protagonist climbs, leaps, and bounces his way through the world of the game to accomplish his missions, especially using very high places as an advantage point from which to strike.  It's basically digital parkour.  So, it is only natural, then, for parkour experts in the real world to want to simulate the world of the game.  One group in particular was  selected to do an official promo video for the game at Comic-Con last year, and it's amazing.  Check it out:

I always enjoy seeing how videos like this are made; it's often just as interesting and entertaining as the video itself.  For a look at how they actually made this promo, here's the behind-the-scenes video:

Too cool!  Makes me want to go out and learn parkour...

Honest Job Descriptions In The Age Of Social Media

Just for fun:


 








It's that grain of truth that makes it funny.
 

A 6 Year Old Kid Rocks The Yo-Yo

Wow!  I can barely get the stupid yo-yo to come back up most of the time...this is amazing!

Driving Fast And BEST...WIFE...EVER!!!

One of Lindsey's many talents is that of giving gifts to those around her.  This year, there were the usual delicious special meals and eating out and fun things, but for the big gift she outdid herself this year.



 I'm not at all a fan of NASCAR (though I'm much more favorably disposed toward it now!), but I do love thrill rides, roller coasters, and such, so she thought I might enjoy this.

She was oh so right!

It started with a briefing and some videos talking about how to follow the various markers on the track, when to speed up and slow down, and how to stay on target as we drove around the track for a fast and enjoyable ride.  Family and friends were able to share in the briefing with all of the drivers (there were about 25 in my group), so they got to see and learn everything we did.  These cars weren't the same ones used in the actual NASCAR races, but they were pretty close - any differences boiled down to making it easier/possible for untrained newbies like myself to drive them, like a much softer clutch.  Then they gave us uniforms and fitted us for helmets.

After the training videos and Q&A session, we put on our uniforms and went outside to take pictures (the confetti is left over from Jeff Gordon winning the 5-Hour Energy 400 last night).

Then we went down to the pit road area and waited for our turn to be called.  Family and friends were in the section right next to us, so they were very close for some good photo ops.  I was lucky enough to be the first driver called up, and was paired with a trainer named Bill Bruce.  We were connected to our trainer via our helmets and microphones throughout the drive, and despite the loud cars it was easy to communicate with him.  The trainers were experienced race care drivers who would guide us throughout our drive from the passenger seat.  They strapped the helmet and hans brace (the thingy that keeps your neck in place) onto me, and I slid into the car through the window.  It was surprisingly easy getting in, even for someone of my *ahem* size.  Getting out was another matter, and I'm not going to post that video for obvious reasons.  :)

 

After that, it was time to drive!  They waved us onto the track one at a time:

I got a total of 8 laps, but the first one was a warm-up lap where I got onto the track and got used to things, and the last one was a cool-down lap where we came back into the pit road, so only six laps really counted.  Here are a couple of the laps in the middle:

They gave us a printout of our stats afterward.  Here are my numbers:

Lap Time        AVG MPH        Top Speed
62:47            86.44              106
61:67            87.57              108
52:25            99.54              120
51:01            105.85            126
51:89            104.06            124
53:86            100.25            120

I had to slow down a bit on the last lap because we were catching up to the guy in front of me and Bill didn't want me to get too close.  Bummer.

I have no idea how 126mph compares with the other drivers, but I can assure you it felt much faster than it looks in those videos!  Those cars were 650hp beasts, and it seemed like even my top speed wasn't really pushing it all that hard.  I was only unnerved at one point, when I was decelerating into a turn after coming out of a fast straightaway - it felt like when you're cornering hard in a normal car, and you start to get that feeling like it might tip over.  But, Bill was apparently unconcerned, and it seems unlikely that at the relatively low speeds I was going that anything bad would have actually happened.  I think I did a very good job of staying between the markers on the track (I'm pretty sure I nailed all of them, actually) and was thus able to make up time on the guy in front of me.  It was a pretty surreal experience to come rocketing out of the turn into a long straightaway and move up close to the wall, just like you see in the movies.  Pure, unadulterated awesome sauce.

So, the nominations for Best Wife of the Year award can close now.  It's done, the voting is over, and the award can be given out now.

Best. Wife. Ever.

Fortunately, I wasn't the only one to get in on the fun:

 

 

It was a ton of fun, and I would absolutely do it again.  Loved it!!!

Fun With Google Glass

A friend of mine runs a mobile app development and strategy company here in Kansas City called Engage Mobile.  One of the nice benefits of that position is that he gets to play with fun stuff like Google Glass.  First they got an inside peek at the Kansas City Symphony, then the new penguin exhibit at the KC Zoo.  Now they've got an inside look at an Indy car pit stop:

Awesome stuff!  Check it all out.

Happy Star Wars Day!!!

This was announced a few days ago, but it's still some awesome news so I thought I should highlight it today:

The Star Wars team is thrilled to announce the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII.

Actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker in the new film.

Director J.J. Abrams says, "We are so excited to finally share the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII. It is both thrilling and surreal to watch the beloved original cast and these brilliant new performers come together to bring this world to life, once again. We start shooting in a couple of weeks, and everyone is doing their best to make the fans proud."

Star Wars: Episode VII is being directed by J.J. Abrams from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and Abrams. Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk are producing, and John Williams returns as the composer. The movie opens worldwide on December 18, 2015.

 

May the fourth be with you!

This Is eSports Episode 16 (FINALE) - PartinG Takes the Crown

This Is eSports Episode 15 - Welcome To Battlegrounds

This Is eSports Episode 14 - The Story Of StarCraft

Over the next couple days, we're going to complete the 2013 Red Bull Battlegrounds series "This is eSports."  Enjoy!

$6.6 Million Worth Of Awesome

Oh. Yes. Please.



Hit the link for more info.  The short version is that they're building three of these, each of which will be sold for a cool $3.19 million.  If anyone is looking for a birthday idea for me, this would work nicely.

But what could be better than that, you ask?  Perhaps unbelievably, there is something...


[...]

That's me being speechless, by the way.  This supercar/rocketship looks and sounds phenomenal:

Upstart supercar companies are a dime a dozen, but W Motors is certainly the boldest of these dreamers.

Last fall, it showed what it said was a production-ready version of the Lykan Hypersport, a 245-mph piece of of geometric fury billed as the Middle East’s first supercar.

No one has had a chance to verify that top speed claim, but the Hypersport will make an appearance at the Top Marques show in Monaco later this week, making it seem a little less insubstantial.

W Motors has also said that it plans to build a factory in the United Arab Emirates sometime this year, which would make it seem even less like vaporware, and force the universe to confront the question of whether more than one of these outlandish machines can exist without irreparably damaging the space-time continuum.

The Hypersport is powered by a 3.7-liter turbocharged flat-six developed by legendary Porsche tuner Ruf. Lykan says it produces 770 horsepower, enough to launch the Hypersport to 60 mph from a standstill in 2.8 seconds, and on to that aforementioned 245-mph top speed.

It had better be quick, though, considering Lykan plans to ask $3.4 million for the privilege of owning one.

Granted, the Hypersport will come with some lavish features, including a diamond-encrusted cockpit and a “holographic display”.

Another feature is exclusivity: only seven cars will be made. That hardly seems like enough to warrant an entire factory.

Then again, Lykan plans to offer a Supersport model, which will keep the Hypersport’s Transformers styling, but is rumored to be even more powerful.

Here are a few more pictures, just because I want to:



 



[... ... ...]
 

Flight Attendant Delivers A Verbal Masterpiece

I love it when people are genuinely awesome.  Like this:

She rightly understands that transforming one of the more tedious moments of a hectic travel day into a surprising and refreshing treat is not only appreciated but heartily embraced.  I've been on a couple of Southwest flights where they've been far above average, but this lady delivers a verbal masterpiece.  It's the little things that make the day go well, you know?  Well done, Awesome Flight Attendant Lady!!!

Ferrari's New Concept Car/Spaceship

W.O.W.

If nothing else, the Ferrari 458 Italia is a great-looking car. While it was styled primarily with aerodynamics in mind, it has a presence few cars – even those with a prancing horse badge – can match.

So is it possible to improve on the 458′s winning looks. Dutch design firm Ugur Sahin decided to give it a try with the Project F.

While the stock 458 is modern, the Project F is pure science fiction. It’s impossibly low roofline looks like it was pinched from Kevin Flynn’s Tron light cycle, while the slab-like fenders look like they were milled from solid blocks of Unobtanium.

Yet this Dutch flight of fancy bears a familial resemblance to a few current supercars, especially in the rear, which looks like it was taken straight from a LaFerrari, and the wraparound windshield, which is very Koenigsegg.

The appeal of all this is obviously in the eye of the beholder, but if the goal was to create something that would stand out among other supercars, then mission accomplished.

There’s always someone who wants there Ferrari to be truly one-of-a-kind, which is why Project F isn’t the first re-styled car from Maranello, and probably won’t be the last.

In fact, Ferrari has set up its own in-house specula projects division to handle one-off builds like the recent SP Arya, and Italian coach builders have taken on custom projects like Enzo-based P4/5 commissioned by James Glickenhaus.

Ugur Sahin hasn’t found any takers for the Project F yet, but given the One Percent’s insatiable demand for mobile displays of individuality, it’s probably just a matter of time until it does.

Just for the record, my birthday is coming up.  Just sayin'...