Random Thursday – The EOY Edition

Welcome to the last (yay!) Random Thursday post of 2010. Unfortunately, while I tried to save the best for last, that plan didn’t work out so well, as you’ll soon see. Nevertheless, we lunge forward through the fog…

• 2011 might seem like a pretty lame number for a year – it’s not a round number, and no ancient civilizations have predicted the end of the world, as far as I know, next year – but consider this: it’s the last year in which the sum of the last three digits equal the first digit until, um, the year 3003. So, it’s got that going for it. I hope you’ll treat 2011 with a bit more respect now. [Update – 12 hours later: Well, I was hoping that someone would read this post critically point out the error in this part. So far, no such luck.]
• What do Barfy Scorpion, Kooly the Bear, and Howie the Dawg have in common? They provide cautionary evidence of the dangers of mixing Photoshop with mass quantities of psychotropic drugs. Visit True American Dog for confirmation.
• I confess that one of the side effects of getting involved with ballroom dancing is the need to pay more attention to how I dress. I don’t mean to imply that I’m dressing any better; I’m just more aware of my sartorial shortcomings. But I’m trying to do better, and I figure there’s no better role model than James Bond. The Suits of James Bond is not only a great primer on how to dress as if you have a License To Kill, but it’s yet another cautionary tale of what can happen to bloggers if they fail to medicate their OCD.
• I’ve now used “cautionary” twice (no, now THRICE) in this post. Did you notice?
• At first glance (no pun intended), Word Lens (now Google Translate) appears to be a really cool and valuable iPhone app, because it allows you to point your camera at a sign in Spanish and it gives you an instant onscreen English translation (it also goes the other direction). I think it would break down in actual use, however, as it might be tough to convince people to carry a Sharpie and poster board and write their instructions in big letters when directing you to the nearest bathroom in Cozumel. Just sayin’. (Link via Neatorama)
• I know the networks need the revenue to stay in business, but next to political ads during election season, is there a more annoying period for television than the year-end ads for new car sales? Could we just get a quick headcount of those who received (or gave) a new Jaguar (pronounced “jag-you-are,” by the way) or Lexus for Christmas? I think mine is still backordered.
• I did once see an Audi TT coupe being delivered by FedEx. But it wasn’t at Christmas, so I figure it was either a birthday present for a spoiled teenager, or a “gee, dear, I really messed up and I hope this little token makes it all better” gift from a desperate husband.

I hope you’re as excited about the upcoming new year as I am. I pledge to you to never try to exceed your expectations, a pledge I’ve thus far never failed to deliver on. No need to thank me; it’s what I do.