Another Countdown Clock

Created for Ally Carter to promote her new book: Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover

Oh NO! The Clock Started! Which Wire Do I Cut?

Refrigerator Worthy

Two online comic strips (webcomics) made me laugh out loud recently.

I'm posting the links, since both strips have an archive which is worth the time wasted.

http://xkcd.com/574/

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/4/22/
(And, no, it's not too soon.)

Diamond Previews May/July 2009

Here's what appeals to me in the May issue of Diamond Previews, a catalog of everything that is available to comic book stores.

P.47 Dark Horse The Secret History of the Giant Man
P.49 Dark Horse Pictures That Tick
P.58 Dark Horse Classic Uncle Scrooge Characters #2: Donald Duck

P.68-69 DC Comics Wednesday Comics
P.72 DC Comics Batman and Robin #2
P.93 DC Comics A Death in the Family HC
P.100 DC Comics Billy Batson... #6
P.110 DC Comics Tom Strong Deluxe HC
P.116 DC Comics Fable Deluxe HC

P.149 Image Comics Liberty Meadows Sunday Strips, Volume 1

[insert p.49] Marvel Franklin Richards: School's Out!
[insert p.58] Marvel Marvels: Eye of the Camera #6
[insert p.80] Marvel Powers: The Definitive Collection, Volume 3

P.210 Bluewater Productions [various biographies]

P.222 Cartoon Books RASL: THE DRIFT COLLECTOR’S EDITION HC

p.243 Drawn & Quarterly THE JOHN STANLEY LIBRARY: NANCY VOLUME 1 HC

P.245 Emotional Content BIOGRAPHICAL NOVEL: CHE GUEVARA GN

P.252 Hill & Wang CHE: A GRAPHIC BIOGRAPHY HC (HILL & WANG EDITION)

P.253 IDW The Hunter

p.270 Little, Brown THE IMPOSTER’S DAUGHTER: A TRUE MEMOIR HC

P.278 Raw Jr. LLC JEFF SMITH: LITTLE MOUSE GETS READY HC

p.317 Hermes THE LIFE AND TIMES OF WALT KELLY HC

P.374 (Disney) WALT DISNEY CLASSICS COLLECTION: RUNAWAY BRAIN FIGURINES [Mickey figure]

P.389 BARACK OBAMA: “CHANGE YOU CAN COUNT ON” COIN BANK

P.390 MICKEY MOUSE: RUNAWAY BRAIN “CANDY FLAKE VERSION” VINYL FIGURE

If I Won The Lottery...

The current MegaMillions jackpot (the multistate lottery of which New York is a member) is currently $181 Million.

If half is subtracted for taxes, that leaves $90.5 M. Paid out over twenty years (only fools take the lesser lump sum payout) that equals $4,525,000 a year, or about $12,000 a day.

So, what would I do with all that money? I think I would become a nomad. No, not a vagrant backacker, trying to find America... I'd buy an Entertainer coach, the kind used for rock tours. An RV on steroids. Convert it so it can store a motorcycle with sidecar (nothing fancy) for local trips to grocery stores or whatnot.

Then I'd buy a warehouse somewhere and convert it into a home base. A place to display and store my property, and possibly retreat to when I tire of driving across the country. Maybe I'd buy a mountain or an old missile silo in Montana... and a small office somewhere to handle the legal affairs, junk mail, and anything else requiring a permanent address.

Maybe I'd monetize my travels, film some travelblogs. Search out the unusual and interesting.

So, what would you do with if you won? What if someone gave you a $12,000 gift card, and told you you only had tomorrow to spend it? That you could only pay for services used that day? (No buying airplane tickets for next week, for example.) I think I'd ask to reschedule the day, and plan for a big homeless dinner somewhere... try to get donations in kind... Or something similar to help a group of people.

Or spend it all on slot machines, $20 at a time, cashing out whenever my winnings exceeded $20. Even if my percentage win is only 0.1% ($0.02), that's $12K + $12. I fulfill the requirements, and take the money and invest it wisely. Or if a casino is not nearby, I buy scratch-off lottery tickets and play a few each day.

Or I find a random attractive woman (preferably a tourist), explain my dilemma, and spend the day enjoying the city with her.

Hmm... reminds me of the old TV show "The Millionaire".