Flying W Things

A Product Review For You

Kids are not to be understood. For instance, my kids love the movie Treasure Planet.

Imagine the gnashing of teeth when the Treasure Planet DVD was found to be deeply scratched a few weeks back. I told Katy I'd pick up a disk repair kit and we'd try to salvage the current Number One Movie in the house.

That week at Fry's, Mike and I purchased different disc repair products and agreed to review them. His review of the SkipDr Disk Repair System appears here.

For my part, I purchased Memorex's OptiFix Plus, which set me back about $10. I figured it was worth a shot at that price.

It was extremely easy to use. You put the disc in, apply three drops of the included aluminum oxide solution, close the cover, and turn the handle for 15 seconds. As with shampoo, you are told to repeat if necessary - for instance, if there are deep scratches on the disc.

The handle turns a small circular pad, which orbits about the disc, smearing the goo into the disc. The process made a series of shallow spiral scratches on the disc, which I must admit caused me some concern. However, it did fill in the existing scratches, and the DVD now plays flawlessly - which is what matters, right?

I give it two thumbs up and the Value Minded Guy Seal Of Approval.

Comic Books

For a guy who hasn't bought a comic book in his life, I seem to spend a lot of time lately in comic book stores.

The last two Wednesdays I have found myself on a Lunch Outing to the Comic Book Store with the guys from the office. (Come on, everybody knows that new titles come out on Wednesday.)

I don't really have any fresh observations on what the inside of a comic book store is like - The Simpsons pretty much nails it - but I will say this: Comics ain't cheap - seems like your normal run-of-the-mill Super Abled Being Doing Heroic Things In Tight Clothes will run you around $3 these days.

In other comics news, a few weeks ago I was looking for information on Hostess Fruit Pies (thanks to Dean) and stumbled across this collection of old Hostess advertisements from comic books. Who knew snack cakes were such a salve for the ills of mankind?

Free Time

Now that the 2004 Tour de France is over, I might have some free time to post here.

Not sure if I'd bet on that, though. Lots going on around here these days.

This Year's Baseball Conspiracy Theory

Why did Roger Clemens get lit up like a Christmas tree in the first inning of last night's All-Star Game?

You don't suppose Piazza was telling hitters what was coming, do you?

Getting Married

I'm all for getting married. But don't you think this couple seems a bit young?

The kids were in a wedding - their first babysitter's - this weekend. They had a great time getting all dressed up.

I am very proud of them. Not only were they cute, they also behaved very well under difficult circumstances.

Run Brad Run

I blame Devo.

I suppose it really started about two years ago. Like just about everybody, my doctor told me I needed to exercise more. So I started walking and jogging, halfheartedly and very occasionally.

At my physical last year, my doctor wanted to put me on medication to control my high cholesterol. I was not too excited about the prospect of going onto maintenance drugs at the ripe old age of 36, so I asked him if there was any other way to control it. Again, regular exercise was offered as a solution.

Faced with the choice of exercise vs. daily drugs, I started taking jogging a little more seriously. I was going out two or three mornings a week, pushing through a couple miles or so and wondering what on earth was wrong with people who claimed they actually enjoyed doing this stuff. Good Lord, it’s boring!

My sister Anne encouraged me to train for a couple races with her, but I dismissed her with a wave of my hand. “Are you crazy? I’m not interested in racing,” said I.

That’s where I was in late March, when a college friend emailed me to tell me about the Run Hit Wonder. “Can you run a 5k? Devo is playing at the finish line of this event!” I thought it sounded like fun and signed up. The promise of a Devo set was the only thing I was really interested in.

It turns out that the Run Hit Wonder (see old entry here) led me from the streets of L.A. to the road to Damascus. Somehow, running that race changed my perspective. I got a glimpse of what I was capable of, and I wanted to explore that.

Now I look forward to my runs. I’m covering more ground and I’m pushing myself farther. I have experienced something I had always thought to be a myth - Runner’s High. It’s all very amusing to me.

Why am I telling you this? Because I’m kind of excited about it. I honestly never thought I would find the place where I enjoyed exercising. Generally, “rah rah” cheerleading drives me crazy, but I will make an exception for myself and say this – if I can do it, you can get there too.

Go!

Independence!

We had a great Fourth of July here at Flying W. I hope you all enjoyed the day as well.

Claire In Two Pictures

Katy took Claire for her first professional pedicure a couple weeks ago. Claire was pretty excited about the whole business. When I told her she seemed quite grown up she said "I know, Dad! I feel like I'm already six!"

I'm doomed.

In other news, Claire lost her first tooth last week. It had been loose for a while, and Katy was worried it would come out while we were in Hawaii, but it popped out right before we left.

I'm not sure who was more excited about the Tooth Fairy, Claire or Katy.

Fess Up

Somebody signed me up for Details magazine. I don't know if you're familiar with this publication but I find the description "Cosmo for Men" apt. Not really Brad-typical reading, although it is sometimes funny.

According to the sticker the subscription runs through 2006.

Which one of you jokers did this?