Tom Fairlie.com

Car Doesn't Notice Kids' Skate Ramp

2008-09-29T07:54:00.002-05:00

It was just a matter of time before an adult decided to have this kind of fun, but with a car?

Car Doesn't Notice Kids Skate Ramp - Watch more free videos

Walt Disney World - Part 1 of 2

2008-09-24T22:34:00.004-05:00

My family and I are at Disney World in Orlando, Florida this week and it is absolutely wonderful. If you love to eat (and drink, of course), there are some places I'd like to recommend:

Citricos at the Grand Floridian
Chef Phil Ponticelli and servers Bruce or Danny will make sure that your trip is memorable. My picks: gâteau of crab for starters; braised veal shank for the entrée; and warm chocolate banana torte for dessert. Let Bruce pick your wines from their outstanding selection. Your tummy will thank you. Definitely the best Disney dining experience (except maybe V & A). Say, "Hi!" to Bruce from us if you go.
California Grill at the Contemporary Resort
The experience here was exciting. The menu was daring, the open kitchen was entertaining, the staff was professional, and the food and drink were top notch. Plus, the rooftop view lets you watch the evening fireworks at Magic Kingdom. If you're not feeling adventurous, just get the oak-fired filet of beef (but ask for Cedric's smashed potatoes instead of mashed). Wow!
Flying Fish Café at Disney's Boardwalk
Chef Tim Keating has an approach similar to Chef Ponticelli's at Citricos (not surprising, since they grew up in the same neighborhood): an open kitchen, an excellent menu, and good service. Personally, I think Citricos has the edge, but Chef Tim decided to make a special foie gras french toast for my wife (to mourn its impending demise) with fresh peaches and a matching wine. It was absolutely unique and wonderful (but my citrus cheesecake with a perfectly matched Riesling ice wine was better ;-).

My wife and I hope to try Victoria & Albert's next time.

For those of you into pin trading, I thought I would share what I picked up. First, I was able to score four of the five Disney Villain "snowglobe" series. Then, I was able to get a couple more "hidden Mickey" pins, including a Peter Pan Fastpass ticket (my family adores this ride) and a coveted monorail. Next time, I'll definitely be on the hunt for more monorails.

Windshield "Saves" Plunging Man

2008-09-17T22:12:00.000-05:00

This video [link] was taken in Australia, where a drunk named Bruce tried to jump off a bridge. Fortunately, an emergency vehicle arrived at the scene to save Bruce from hitting the pavement. Too bad it saved him by using its windshield.

Silly Humans! You Can't Contain Me!

2008-09-16T07:34:00.001-05:00

Priceless!

Jon Stewart Skewers Palin's Supporters

2008-09-05T22:57:00.003-05:00

There are few things funnier than Jon Stewart when he hits gold. Check this out.

Help Me: Sarah Palin

2008-09-04T07:34:00.005-05:00

I am creating a new series (hopefully) of satirical cartoons. Since my drawing skills have atrophied over the years, I'm going to be using Photoshop in the meantime (and yes, I need to practice there too; thanks!).

The series is called "Help Me" and is dedicated to people who are in over their heads.

Hope you like it.

McCain's Leadership?

2008-08-23T13:24:00.003-05:00

John McCain seems to believe that Barack Obama does not have sufficient leadership experience to be president. For the most part, I have to agree with him. After all, once you throw out Obama's community activism, his teachings on constitutional law, his civil rights law career, and his 10-year stint as a legislator, there is really nothing else to lead you to believe that might make a good president.

However, McCain's focus on presidential leadership really misses the point: our recent presidents have been lacking as well.

George W. Bush? A lifetime of commercial, political, and personal failures culminated in his being elected the governor of Texas, the second most powerful position in that state. Although he took refuge from his short workday with long breaks of video golf and solitaire, his friends still managed to fabricate a record of accomplishment.
Bill Clinton? His main qualification was the governorship of Arkansas. Although he managed to look the other way while his state was the major transshipment point for Iran-contra cocaine, he couldn't stay completely clean either.

And what about McCain himself? His qualifications include a long career in the Navy and then in Congress, where he engaged in at least one bad act. Strangely, McCain's major character feature seems to be his status as a POW. I'm more than willing to go easy on POWs, but I found it more than a little disturbing that McCain has spent much of his career actually stopping any legislation aimed at determining the status of POW/MIA soldiers.

If anyone wants, I'll publish an article on the sordid details somewhere else, but in the meantime you can read pages 88-94 of this book.

Quote of the Day

2008-08-22T23:24:00.001-05:00

Seen on the Internet:

"That amount of strange hurts my thinker. My thinker thunkered out."

Ouchie! Ouchie! Ouchie!

2008-08-21T22:38:00.002-05:00

It's good to see motorcycle riders wearing helmets. It's not so good when you see some guy pop a wheelie with their girlfriend on the back of the bike. (Injury)

Spontaneous Right-Wing Hypocrisy

2008-08-20T22:02:00.000-05:00

I cannot help but be amused when Fox News gets burned at their own game. Trying to muster a group slam against John Edwards' recent admission of infidelity, their plan backfires (between the 2:31 and 3:15 mark) when Ronald Walters and Alan Colmes bring up the fact that John McCain cheated on his wife. Watch the balance of the video to see how the moral majority explain away McCain's infidelity as somehow justified because he was a POW.

The Cornhole Song

2008-08-19T21:45:00.002-05:00

I was recently introduced to the game of Cornhole. No, not the old fashioned, NSFW type of cornholing, I mean the new safe type of cornholing! Let this amusing video explain what I'm talking about.

Bootdisk.com

2008-08-18T22:03:00.001-05:00

So you just finished rebuilding your home PC with Windows 98 (hey, it was the only free OS you had lying around) and you forgot that you needed to format the hard disk with the FAT32 filesystem first. Or, you needed to make a Windows XP boot disk to help you create a dual-boot system with Vista (yuck!) or Linux (_yawn_). What do you do?

Luckily, Bootdisk.com can help. Go to their website, download the appropriate file, and image your floppy disk (assuming that you didn't throw them all out back in 2002). It's worked for me several times.

Online Color Schemer

2008-08-17T23:55:00.001-05:00

If you design web pages (or produce any type of digital art), then you might be interested in the Online Color Schemer. The company publishes other products, but this online color picker is free and often useful for finding the right color when you need it.

Give it a try.

A Junior Daredevil We Can Be Proud Of

2008-08-16T22:42:00.002-05:00

The Internet is littered with young fools experimenting with danger. Sometimes, however, their feats of bravado are so extreme that you cannot help but appreciate these fools and the entertainment that they provide for us with their failures. (Likely injury)

Superdickery

2008-08-15T23:41:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite websites is Superdickery.com.

This site has captured tons of old comic book covers and panels showing various superheroes (and assorted characters) in scenes that, well, don't look so innocent today. The name of the site comes from the Superman comics of the 1950s and 60s where he occasionally acted, shall we say, like a dick.

Give it a look and let me know what you think (click on Galleries first). You're sure to have some laughs.

Quote of the Day

2008-08-14T22:46:00.004-05:00

(that I came up with myself)

"You're the man! In fact, you're two men!"

Wiretapping for Good

2008-08-13T22:47:00.005-05:00

So I was wondering: if the U.S. government has no problems wiretapping U.S. citizens in lieu of a legal warrant or even probable cause (as evidenced by the sweeping, impersonal way in which the NSA collects data), then why can't it stop organized crime overnight?

I mean, if we can snoop the ether at random hoping to catch even a glimpse into organizations that might not even exist or that might not be planning anything even mildly interesting, then why can't they turn their prodigious data collection efforts towards something that is known to exist and that performs tangible bad acts every day of the week?

Yes, that was a rhetorical question.

Newlywed Game My Ass!

2008-08-12T22:53:00.002-05:00

Back in the 1970s, I watched an episode of The Newlywed Game in which a contestant blurted out an answer that was both funny and shocking. By the early 1980s, my retelling of this incident stopped being funny and started sounding like I was making it up. By the late 1980s, so many others were passing along this story that I started to doubt it myself (did I really see that or am I just repeating what everyone else is saying?).

Thanks to YouTube, we can put this urban legend to bed.

Chris Markle, a Good Friend

2008-08-04T13:15:00.006-05:00

A friend of mine, Chris Markle, died this past week. Chris had some struggles in his life, including some health problems, but the world was certainly a better place with him in it. As a teacher, he touched the lives of countless students, inspiring many of them to become better.

My thoughts and my love go to his wife Sophia and his daughter Zoe. Although Chris will be forever missed, we must remember that life goes on.

Finally! I'm an Uncle!

2008-07-31T23:28:00.007-05:00

My first nephew, Calder James, was born today! I can't wait until he's five so I can perform the traditional uncle duties of riling him all up with candy, pop, physical activity, and the promise of unlimited adventure... and then leaving him with Mom and Dad at the end of the weekend.

Video Roundup

2008-07-13T23:13:00.006-05:00

BEST of the WEEK:
"Stevie Starr - Professional Regurgitator!" -- SFW -- Is he for real? Watch this and determine for yourself.
"Amazing Juggling Finale" -- SFW -- I've seen a lot of jugglers, but this guy really impresses me for some reason.
"Amazing R/C airplane demo" -- SFW -- I had no idea that RC airplanes could fly this accurately -- indoors too!
"Mr. Splash Jump into 12 inches of water from 35 feet tower" -- SFW -- I never get tired of 35' belly flops.
"RC Jet Takeoff (and a Faceplant)" -- SFW : (Possible) Injury -- It's cool seeing a 6-foot F-15 take off. Too bad it almost killed someone.
"Amazing Photos" -- (Mostly) SFW -- These are really just images, but most are worth watching.
"Wrestling Back Flip to a Pin" -- SFW -- Was this kid watching The Matrix or something?
"Catch Phrase Blooper" -- NSFW -- Sometimes, everyone gets the hidden joke at the same time.

Note: All videos are intended to be reviewed by an adult first. To help sort this all out, I use the following terms when necessary:

NSFW = NOT safe for work (you should probably watch this solo before letting others see it)
SFW = Safe for work (you can probably watch this in a mixed adult crowd)
No Injuries / Injuries / Death = Warnings about something that might make you squeamish (or not)

Video Roundup

2008-07-06T21:03:00.004-05:00

BEST of the WEEK:
"Staplefahrer Klaus - Das Original" -- NSFW : (Many Fake) Injuries & Death -- It's in German, but pain and satire are international languages.
"Sign Language, Parts 1, 2, 3, and 4" -- (Partially) NSFW -- (Images only) The Telegraph (UK) published an awesome series of poorly translated signs.
"Jerry Needs No Help Playing With His Ball" -- SFW -- If they had a contraption like this for kids they'd probably call it "Halo".
"Top 3 Laughing Babies" -- SFW -- The name says it all. Guaranteed to make you smile/laugh.
"Bose Active Suspension" -- SFW -- When can I get this for my car?
"El Camino del Rey" -- SFW -- Built in 1901, this is the approach to Makinodromo, the famous climbing sector of El Chorro.
"Lazy Sunday" -- SFW -- You've probably seen this before, but it's important that you never forget how funny this is.
"Insane Jungle Bike Run" -- SFW -- To all you bikers out there. All of you want this place within a short distance of your home.
"Artillery Accident" -- SFW : Injuries (Death?) -- Never operate a cannon without reading the manual first.
"Colon Blow" -- SFW -- One of the best SNL commercials to date (probably Top 10; certainly Top 20).

Welcome to TomFairlie.com (and Happy 4th!)

2008-07-04T22:16:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the nth iteration of this site. Hope you like it. I was going to spend a lot of time on this welcome message, but I would prefer it if you just read my articles instead. Thanks for stopping by.