I'VE GOT THE TOUCH!

Last week I went home to see the family in NC for birthdays. My nephew Grant's, my brother-in-law Jon's, and my birthday are all in a row, April 13, 14 & 15. Adrienne and Jon gave Grant a Sony PSP which was awesome. He completely flipped. I gave him Madden '08 for the PSP. I remembered being that excited after getting the new, state-of-the-art electronic game, Mattel Football...which I still have by the way. Hey, that was cutting edge baby!!!

After that trip, I drove back home and got on a plane the next day for Las Vegas. I went for an annual work-related trade show, the Electronic Transaction Association or ETA. The show was at the Mandalay Bay resort. There are hundreds of booths giving away knick-knacks, pens, toys, etc, all with their company's logo. One of the booths was demonstrating a new point of sale computer system called Global Transport. The marketing ploy was this unit was so easy to install and operate, it could be removed from the box, connected, and running a transaction in under 3 minutes...and to prove it, they set up a competition to see who could do it in the fastest time during the 3 day show, the winner receiving an iPod Touch. Game on.

First day I watched a couple of people do it, noticing where time could be shaved. By the end of the second day I was ready. The best time had gotten down to 1 minute 56 seconds. After 4 beers and a shameless schmoozing of the people running the booth, it was my turn. In the end, I came in at 1 minute 30 seconds...THE IPOD WAS MINE!! The crowds cheered, champagne flowed, confetti dropped, the white doves were released over the convention hall, etc.

I actually didn't win it for myself. Don't get me wrong, I love competition and I was bound and determined to win that contest regardless of any prizes. So the winning part was for me, the iPod was for my niece Logan for her 17th birthday coming up in a couple of weeks. She'll love it and get a lot more use out of it than I will.

Other than that, the only thing I won in Vegas was a free continental breakfast. Fun trip though. However, next time I would like to go for fun, not for work.

ULTIMATE TOY

In the Bond film, The Spy Who Loved Me, James Bond drives a Lotus Esprit S1. When submerged, it morphed into a submarine type vehicle allowing the spy to drive under water. Rinspeed has developed a similar car based on a Lotus Elise, called the sQuba.

The sQuba is unique on several levels. It can drive itself, complete with a radar scanning system on the front of the car that keeps it within lines and stops if an obstacle obstructs it's path. It's a 100% zero emissions automobile using rechargeable Lithium batteries. And, it can fly underwater. Too cool.

The sQuba has built in scuba gear. When the car is in the water, you put the scuba gear over your face and mouth, then take her down for an amazing underwater ride.

Imagine driving your car underwater one weekend. Getting into a little fender bender. Calling your insurance carrier or going into the body repair shop and explaining, "Well I hit a shark...it just came out of nowhere".

Check out Rinspeed's website for other cool, eco-friendly concept cars.