Binkomonster!

Long Weekend? Yep. Sick? Check.

After an overly packed week, all of the officers of Binkomonster are back at headquarters, and enjoying the first of the lovely weekend sunshine. Unfortunately, we are also enjoying the presence of cold germs as well. As luck would have it, we are all ridden with nasty chest colds (well the CEO and CTO at least). The other board members are trundling along in the usual evil fashion, sowing disruption everywhere in the office. On the bright side, today's post is brought to you courtesy of a new piece of equipment here at the castle. And ohhhhh how we love it! Our posting frequency may actually increase as a result (wouldn't that be novel?) Seriously though. We are huge fans of the built in camera and Photo Booth application (loving the filters!) The form factor works, the speed is delightful, and of course, having our usual iApps preloaded is always a nice plus. A grand total of 10 minutes from being out of the nice cardboard box and online. You just can't beat it.

We'd offer some new recipies for both drinks and food, but given that the collective tastebuds are rather on the deadened side right now, there hasn't been much experimentation. We're sticking to things that will help get us past this nastyness, like chicken soup, and rosehips tea (as much as we can get past the kidneys). We will however weigh in with our verdict on the grand finale episode of Top Chef. In one word? Perfect. Finally Bravo has concluded a reality arc on the note it should, with the best man getting top honors. Congrats Harold. We were rooting for you all the way. And we intend to come to NYC and eat at your restaurant when it opens!
And now, back to our regularly scheduled tea and rum...

WinBLEAH 2006

Another year, another field trip for 'the man'. That's right. The CTO is off this week, cape in tow, special power endowed boots in hand to survey the landscape of all things Windowhee. We admit to being tired (see Bay to Blisters) and even more tired (pass the Motrin please). Rather than listening to uber-geek Gates drone on about convergence, and ease of use, and unprecedented scalability, in truth, we'd rather just be curled up somewhere recharging the batteries (which have run somewhat dry). But hey, as someone once said '..them's the breaks.' And so it is. But on the positive side, in town for exactly 90 minutes and already we've added a new culinary gem to add to the black book. It is nice to know that our culi-sleuthing skills are still in top form. Hee. For those 2 people out there reading this little channel, and hoping to catch some buzz on the actual show, you are probably better served by going here, or there, or even over there. As for ourselves? We staunchly refuse to change course on our current (and held since 1988) brand loyalty. We've had what Vista will offer for some time now, and we're pretty happy about it. Now to the important closing note... Drink of the day? Grapefruit kamikaze martini.

Bay to Blisters

Yesterday, both the CTO and CEO participated in the lovely Bay to Breakers run.
For the first time in history, BOTH of us together in 1 event.

Huge. Smile.
Photos were taken, but not ones that are downloadable. See, they are stuck in the rapidly deteriorating gray matter of CTOs head. So you will just have to content yourself with the official story.
As for our take? Let us try to sum it up as best we can:
1. There was Marge Simpson running by with a box of fresh donuts,
2. Steve Jobs was standing on the side observing,
(on 2nd thought, this might have just been a hallucination of the CTO)
3. Thing One, Thing Two, Thing Three and Thing Four made their appearance,
4. There was the Chipotle spaceship (we still have a coupon for a free burrito!)
5. There were the Fandango people (the exactness of your costumes was scary)
6. There were the bare schlongs flapping about (hope you used sunscreen, it was sunny later)
5. There was Hagrid, Harry, Hermione, Professors McGonagall and Quirrell too,
6. There was the 'Save the boob' (?) support party on Hayes,
7. The free Tiki punch? Not so much. Our CEO was tempted, but the CTO knows better,
(we don't accept strange liquids from unknown sources)
8, There was the Crazy Tiki Warrior centipede (we like the coconut shell bras)
9. And don't forget the martini antenna people
(we like where you were going with this idea)
10. 9th street SMURFS! YES the SMURFS!
(they even had their woodland mushroom too!)
That was the silly.

Then there was the inspirational.
Those older than the CEO + CTO combined, (and whipping our collective arse!)
There was the wonderful lady with the prosthetic leg, pushing all the way through the park.
You inspire us, and leave us in awe.

Lastly, there was the hurt.
6 aspirins and a long day's nap still don't erase the bruised toes and blisters and aching joints.

But we'll do it again next year, in a heartbeat.
Thanks SF. Thanks Bay to Breakers.
For letting us truly have the city streets even if it is for a paltry few hours.
The view from afoot is like no other.
It puts a smile on our face and laughter in our heart.
It amazes us every time, and reminds us of why we are so happy to live and be part of such a diverse and interesting city.
Most importantly, it reminds us that the moment is one of the upticks on the roller coaster of life.
Something we've needed lately....