BEHOLD!!!

TOAST!

Posted by: Wonderduck at 06:20 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Right, Giving Up!

I've just discovered how hard it is to write something interesting on a subject you thought would be fun to write about, but was horribly wrong.  So instead here's a picture of a flat-out beautiful ship.

That's the HMS Enterprise.  Darn, that's pretty.

Posted by: Wonderduck at 07:49 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Meet My Newest Duck

As the title says, I'd like you to meet my newest duck!

I know he looks like a racing duck that you'd find in a river somewhere, and to be honest, that's why I picked him off the shelf in the first place.  It wasn't until I got him home that I discovered his true purpose in life and the skill that sets him apart from all of my other rubber duckies.

He glows!  Now, to be sure, I have other light-up duckies, but they all flash or color-cycle; none of them just glow brightly enough to show up on camera without a ridiculously long exposure.  Because of this, I've named him Cherenkov, or "Cherny" for short.  I've got Frank next to him, just so you can see that he gives off light... and since Frank already glows, no worries!

Posted by: Wonderduck at 09:22 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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45

Today is English Language Day at the UN.  It's also the honored Independence Day for the Conch Republic, first declared in 1982.  Japanese composer Kenji Kawaii was born today in 1957, as was Roy Orbison in 1936.  Today is an important day for the navy of the Netherlands, as both Karel Doorman and Maarten Tromp were born on April 23rd.  New Coke debuted today in 1985, leading Vaucaunson's Duck and myself to scurry around Duckford trying to find as much "old" Coke as we could.  The confusingly named People's Liberation Army Navy was founded today in 1949.  And 45 years ago, in a hospital somewhere on the North Side of Chicago, a Wonderduck was unleashed upon the world.

Nobody is more surprised than myself.

Posted by: Wonderduck at 08:02 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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Ego Crushing

I'm a blogger.  Well, allegedly.  By definition, I have to have a fairly substantial ego; I write because I think I have something to say that complete strangers on the internet will find fascinatingly interesting.  Oh, don't get me wrong, I'll deny the existence of my ego until I'm blue in the face, because that's who I am, but have no fear, it's there, it's real and it's spectacular.  Which makes my encounter on Tuesday so disturbing.

You see, I met an honest-to-gawd Hero.  I met a man who flew the F-4 Phantom II, F-15 Eagle, F-16 Falcon, the U-2, the SR-71, the B-52 and the B-1.

 He earned a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, a Distinguished Flying Cross, and two Purple Hearts.  He's an author of a book of poetry, poetry that he created as a Prisoner Of War during his six years as a POW in the Hanoi Hilton.  Poetry that he had to memorize, as he was allowed neither paper nor pencil, and disseminated to his fellow POWs via "tap code."  Of course, if he was caught at it, he'd be savagely beaten.  He retired a Major General in the US Air Force after a 37 year career.  Oh, did I mention that he's a Formula 1 fan, and has raced Formula 5000 and other open-wheel cars? 

And along the way, he picked up the skills of an excellent public speaker, too.  Funny, intelligent, clever without being in your face about it, he was one of the most entertaining speakers I've ever heard.  The only thing I couldn't figure out is where he kept his wheelbarrow. 

This was a guy who's real life makes that "Most Interesting Man In The World" character look like... well, like a blogger.  As I said, I have an ego, and a robust one at that.  I consider myself the equal of any man, and better than many.  This guy's simple existence made me doubt whether I'm the equal of his damn socks.  It's a sobering experience.

So of course, I'm blogging about it.  Smell the irony.

Posted by: Wonderduck at 10:49 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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April Fools Zen

The best April Fool's joke is the one that isn't.

Posted by: Wonderduck at 07:15 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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