Thursday, November 30, 2006

A Treasured Christmas Tradition!

I love the Holiday Season! From Halloween to New Years, it's just nonstop fun and festivity. My family - like most - has traditions that go back several years, and in many ways, those consistant activities help define what "The Holiday Season" feels like. I'll be highlighting some of my favorite December traditions over the coming weeks, but first....
This is a tradition I first discovered back in 1999 or 2000, and ever since then, it's been my favorite signal that Christmas is indeed coming.
If you've seen this eager-to-please Burger King employee before, you're probably already giggling... If not, then welcome to one of my treasured Christmas traditions! Skippy just loves his job at Burger King! And he loves to sing about it every year as Christmas approaches. He's got such an infectious enthusiasm, you just can't help but smile and sing along... Ready?
Just click here to kick off the Christmas Season in style!
And let me be the first to say, on behalf of the Brinkerhoffs, "MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Oh Yeah, And Our Friend Code...

Well, I was so excited about having a Wii, that I forgot to give out our Friend code! Any other Wii owners out there who want to join us in online gaming, or share Miis together, or who knows what else will eventually be added, here's the code for the BrinkerWii:

5855-9926-3488-7983

Wii would like to play!

WE GOT Wii!!!

YES!! Behold the crappy camera-phone imagery showing my Wii ticket this morning! I was number 17, and Fred Meyer had 29 to sell. This was my first time ever buying a console at launch, and it was FUN!!

After going back and forth on wether we'd actually get a Wii at launch, or wait until later, it really felt like it was going to be later. Certainly, that was the fully responsible way to go... But then last Monday or Tuesday, Cindy and I were in Target, and watched the demo video at the Wii kiosk, and when they showed "WarioWare: Smooth Moves," even she got excited, and it became clear that it was ON! (note: I resisted the temptation to say "shii" in that last sentence, but it was hard)

So anyway, after church on Saturday night, we heard an ad that Fred Meyer was doing a midnight release... Stopped at our normal FM, and they weren't... they only had 19 systems, and were opening at 7am, their regular time. Hmmmm.... A Line wasn't allowed to form until 11pm when they closed Saturday. I thought about coming back and camping for it, but just wasn't sure... Target already had 30+ people camped out, and they were rumoured to have 51 systems. Iffy. Real iffy. Then an amazing thing happened - while I was talking to the electronics department, Cindy was across the way in the shoe department. (Everyone: "No, Really?") She'd found a pair of boots she really liked, but they didn't have them in her size. So the brainstorm hit, let's go check with the FM in University Place! It's only a little farther from our house (in the other direction) so we were off. While she found her boots - which they had! - I went over to the electronics department and roughed 'em up a bit. Or actually, humbly asked how many consoles they were getting. Unlike our regular store, which had an exact number and all the details, this store was really wishy-washy. They said they had "around 40", but that the number was only a rumour. WHAT?? It's way too close to release time to play these stupid games!! HOW MANY??? Well, they weren't spilling that info. But when I asked if they expected many campers, the answer was like angels singing... "nobody's allowed to camp out here, and if they try, they won't get a system."

CHA-CHING! I'ma Get Me A Wii On Launch Day!! I did some speculation and decided that getting to the store at 5 would be a safe time. It's the same time I get up for my weekday workout, so no real shock to my system. When I got there, I was 17th in line, and naturally, most people ahead of me had been there since approximately 11pm the night before. Oh well, nothing that guy told me Saturday night was accurate. Whatever, I'm 17, so even at the other store it would have worked.

At about 6:20 or so, the manager came out, announced that they had 29 systems, and handed out the highly covetable Wii pink slips. (again, I resisted the temptation to call them Wii Piink Sliips. You should be proud of me) Me, and the three people in line near me that had been getting to know each other all gleefully tucked them away safely in pockets, wallets, purses... and the checked on them about every 3 minutes to make sure they hadn't evaporated!

A few minutes after that, an amazing thing happened: Cindy drove up, with hot chocolate!! This was huge, because she made it clear that I was on my own doing the crazy 5am Wii thing... But she couldn't resist - or wanted to make sure I didn't go buy-crazy - and came to join us.. She got right into the community of the moment, laughing and joking with the group in line.

The last 15 minutes seemed to take FOREVER, so when the manager came back and opened the door at 6:57 ONT (official Nextel time) a cheer came up from the whole line! Interestingly, many people were shouting "Woo!", but I didn't hear anyone shouting "Wii!" or even "Wheee!" I thought about it, but wasn't about to win the prize for biggest dork at the launch...
BrinkerWii!So, minutes later, we left the store with our Wii, an extra controller, Excite Truck, and a 2000 point Wii card. Setup was a breeze - I really like the feel of the Wiimote! I got it on my network, downloaded the updates, and then used my points to buy Mario Brothers. Not Super MB, but the original "flip the turtles over and knock them off the screen" Mario Brothers. Then I popped in Wii Sports and Pwned the opposing team at a game of baseball.
I LOVE THIS SYSTEM!!! Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Hey Aliens! You feel like Chicken Tonight?


You're looking at a satellite image of a desert in Nevada. You know, like seen from space. That happy chicken pusher smiling up at you? He's a whopping 87,500 sqare feet in size... Just over 2 acres. Think of how many houses a modern neighborhood squeezes into 2 acres, and you start to realize how big this thing is. Personally, I'd love to also see it from the ground, just to see how unrecognizable it is from that perspective.
The whole stunt is tied in with KFC updating their logo - Colonel Sanders wears an apron now! I guess that after 50ish years of getting the white suit all greasy, he's ready to finally get serious and wear an apron. Go Colonel! I'm sure Mrs. Sanders is happy!
The company says this is the first brand logo visible from space... So naturally, putting it near Area 51 is the smart marketing decision, because now all the hungry aliens can find a KFC without moving too far off route. Great move, KFC!

Friday, November 10, 2006

Now THAT'S A Great Picture!


I don't think I even need to say much on this one... Our awesome kids with their noses in books - what else could I say?!

Friday Funny!

A little math humor this week... Really brings back memories of first hearing mathematical terms like "find" and "prove". Like the first time the math book said to prove a triangle. Armed with the knowledge gained from growing up on Sesame Street, my answer was "Duh, it has three sides and three corners. Of COURSE it's a triangle!!

I didn't do so well in math that quarter...

Green Eggs and...

Well, I guess it's Green Eggs and Brown Eggs... From our back yard chickens!! Yesterday, Babs finally laid her first egg, and it was a pale turqoise colour! It was so exciting to finally have another of the girls finally start earning their keep. I performed a quality control test on the new green egg this morning, and it passed deliciously!

Two down, one to go... C'mon, Ginger!! LAY THAT EGG!!!

Picture of the Week


I'd heard about this on the news on Tuesday, when the flooding was so bad... but I hadn't actually seen a picture until today. Kinda makes me wonder what happened to Mr. Fish after he crossed the street... In case you're curious, he's crossing Skokomish Valley Road near Belfair. Belfair?? I hope Mason Lake didn't rise too far!

For a whole slideshow of pics from this past week of rain rain rain coming down down down,
click here!