NEIL GAVIGAN

This one has been on all the blogs but just in case you missed it . . .

Quoting from ‘best of craigslist’ Tampa Bay:

Survival of the Fittest

Whenever I get a package of plain M&Ms, I make it my duty to continue the strength and robustness of the candy as a species. To this end, I hold M&M duels.

Taking two candies between my thumb and forefinger, I apply pressure, squeezing them together until one of them cracks and splinters. That is the “loser,” and I eat the inferior one immediately. The winner gets to go another round.

I have found that, in general, the brown and red M&Ms are tougher, and the newer blue ones are genetically inferior. I have hypothesized that the blue M&Ms as a race cannot survive long in the intense theater of competition that is the modern candy and snack-food world.

Occasionally I will get a mutation, a candy that is misshapen, or pointier, or flatter than the rest. Almost invariably this proves to be a weakness, but on very rare occasions it gives the candy extra strength. In this way, the species continues to adapt to its environment.

When I reach the end of the pack, I am left with one M&M, the strongest of the herd. Since it would make no sense to eat this one as well, I pack it neatly in an envelope and send it to M&M Mars, A Division of Mars, Inc., Hackettstown, NJ 17840-1503 U.S.A., along with a 3×5 card reading, “Please use this M&M for breeding purposes.”

This week they wrote back to thank me, and sent me a coupon for a free 1/2 pound bag of plain M&Ms. I consider this “grant money.” I have set aside the weekend for a grand tournament. From a field of hundreds, we will discover the True Champion.

There can be only one.

LINK 

It’s fire time again. blogging.la has some good links to live coverage and a local view on the situation. Hopefully the wind will slow down and the weather get cooler soon. I’m glad I live in the concrete jungle. It’s pretty hard to burn asphalt…

Please, please, please check out The World Beard & Moustache Championships 2007 web site. The greatest beards and staches on earth!

Put up a few pictures from my brother’s going away party. Some animals, but also people. Good luck in NY Andrew!

Friday night was spent at Oktoberfest in Alpine Village (Torrance.) The rain cut our night short but nothing beats Alpine lager in giant styrofoam cups, oompa band and the chicken dance, even if you are in a tent in the parking lot by the 110 freeway. I reccomend everyone try it out at least one night. I think I’ll be going back before they close on the 28th of October.

Continiung with the skating theme of the last post….

While his name may not be as recognizable as Hawk, Alva or Peralta, Rodney Mullen contributed more to street skating than any other skater. His inventions include kickflips and heelflips and hundreds of variations on these tricks which make up the brunt of street skating moves today. Here’s a link to a YouTube clip showing some of Rodney’s finest moment’s.

Despite a lukewarm reception from most game critics and initially by me as well, Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam is a surprisingly fun and addictive game. The controls are a little dumbed down if you are used to the classic THPS controller scheme, but that makes this game easy to pick up for a ten minute session or for a two hour marathon. Probably the most fun I’ve had on the Wii so far…

I’m booking a three day cruise in January and I loved Carnival’s new “Find A Cruise” interface. It’s Flash based and simple and some of the other travel sites could take a hint from the way this works. Why not go book a cruise yourself! LINK

I am currently trying to give away my five dwarf puffers (one of which is pictured here) in an attempt to get new fish in the tank. I think the puffs have been behind the many fish deaths this summer and also may be to blame for our frogs daring escape attempt which left him as a dried up jerky frog in the corner of our pantry (a good 10 yards away, which has to be forever for a tiny frog flopping on the carpet)

So anyone interested in adopting some semi-aggresive but totally entertaining mini puffers get in touch with me!

Just finished eating at Meltdown in Culver City. This relatively new grillery served up a 3 cheese on sourdough with applewood smoked bacon. It was awesome! At 9.50 for the sandwich it’s quite pricey, but the cheesiness is meltastic.