Shrimp Flavored Cracker

Who wants shrimp flavored cracker? Not everyone raise their hand at once.

XLerator Hand Dryer

Has anyone seen these yet? This was my second contact with an Xlerator and the experience is exhilarating! Wow are my hands dry, and so fast too!

The advantages of blowers are varied and many over paper towels; no trees, no landfill - however, until now they just... took... too... long... to... dry... your... hands. In a crowded restroom like say, an airport, they would be downright frustrating.

www.wikipedia.com has an interesting article on hand dryers and cites studies done that seem to contradict their seemingly obvious superiority over paper towels. One even states that bacteria can be sprayed in a 3 foot radius around them.

Well, I say good riddance to paper towels and apparently, McDonalds has said the same. The McDonalds' WC's that I have visited in the last few years have been exclusively hand dryers. Unfortunately, not the high speed ones yet though.

High speed hand dryers are the future. Dyson of the vacuum empire has even entered the ring. I haven't seem one yet but I'm sure they look very cool. Another manufacturer even boasts an air velocity on 185 mph.

Go green, viva hand dryers, and if Dyson says they're cool, then who am I to blow against the wind.

I'd like some Chicken Terityaki please!

Yet another classic example of Engrish (www.engrish.com), but this time in Waikiki.

This is the signage of a plate of plastic food in a glass display [which is so typical in Japan] - but what makes this case so special is that it's in front of the Japanese Restaurant in the Hilton.

Purchasing a plate of "plastic food" will fetch a few hundred dollars for display - and more precisely, they are made from vinyl. First, a silicone mold is made of the real food, then the vinyl is poured in and baked. They are all meticulously hand painted.

The practice, from what I've read, has been around for nearly a century. Originally, the pieces were made from paraffin wax and Takizo Iwasaki is given credit for creating the idea, back in 1917.

I was thinking, they should have just had Paris proof read the plastic food before they put them out.

This is German Extreme Scootering

A friend of mine in Chicago found this moped and a matching blue jumpsuit and invented the sport of German Extreme Scootering. It involves, though is not limited to, going off curbs and one-handed riding.

Basically, general extreme-ness is exhibited with a hefty dose of mayhem. It looks like fun and I would love to join the ranks; however, I seem to lack some of the necessary requirements. Mostly the following:

1) A scooter
2) A matching jumpsuit
3) Mayhem

I think I could bring the extreme-ness, full force, but without the prerequisites, unfortunately all I am left with is being a wannabe. Viva "GES!"

This is McDonalds.

Granted this is a McDonalds in Hawaii, but this is the first time I've seen something on the menu there that I don't have a clue what it is. This was next to the 'SPAM and Eggs Breakfast' poster, which we all can appreciate, and I'm going to assume haupia is a fruit.

If it were a poster for a Loco Moco, I'd know that was - that is a hamburger patty with fried eggs over rice and smothered in gravy. I had one of those this morning. Truly glutonous but "when in Rome" you should indulge at least once.

In Japan you often get asked if you want the Western breakfast or the Japanese breakfast. So what if smoked fish and a raw egg over rice is not your idea of the best way to jump start the day, you have to try it.

I think it is unfortunate that so many Americans wake up to corn flakes with pasteurized and homogonized milk, white toast, and robusta coffee. Pass the smoked fish please...

"Your Car Warranty Has Expired..."

A very strange thing happened to me yesterday. I got a recorded voice mail on my cell phone telling me that the warranty on my car has expired but that it is not too late to renew it. Bla bla bla.

When I got back to my hotel room (here is the hotel phone in case you were wondering what it looked like) - the same voice mail was waiting for me there! This is Twilight Zone material!

I don't even know the number to the hotel. Only my wife knows where I'm staying, and she'd probably have to look it up. How did they find me? Are they calling everyone in America? What is going on here?

How bizarre!

I'm so thirsty, I need something to dring!

Right next to the mall, on Mission St., in downtown San Francisco lies a classic example of Engrish. If you don't know what exactly Engrish is, please visit www.engrish.com and be prepared to laugh. That means no milk because milk has a propensity to be expelled from the nostrils while laughing.