So, I didn't ever pick one of these up when available at Walmart. They seemed a little expensive at the time, so I passed. Then I heard that they were going on sale, but that the deadline to mail them in was closing fast and I figured I wouldn't have time to track one down AND mail it off in time. But I've recently learned that the deadline has been extended to December of this year, which leads me to this post.

I'm looking for one of these Early Bird Kits at the sale price. I've heard sporadic reports that they're still clogging some shelves at Walmarts for like $5 a pop. Can anyone help? Just let me know.

Thanks!

If I remember right, we've had at least six new babies born to JDers this year:
Deanpaul, Commander Cuda, Bill Cable, Mikey D and Rebeltrader, as well as myself (our second daughter, on March 3). Not to forget also those I haven't mentioned and those from years past.

We just went to the 2-year and nine-month checkups for our daughters and I was just reminded how quickly time flies when they're young (well, it flies when they're not screaming in the middle of the night). So, just wondering how all the new (or newish) dads (and moms) are doing with your youngin's, and what challenges, surprises, etc. you've all encountered with your kids, how they're doing, and how you all are adjusting.

Anyone else?

The wife and I have our hands full with two little 'uns (18 months and 2 months) and no family or friends close or able to watch them for us, so getting out for 3 hours to see a movie is pretty much a no-go. We haven't seen a movie in the theatres since 2003. We both want to see it, but we also realize it'll be in the theatres for a while, or we'll at least catch it on DVD eventually. And we're not about to take the kids. In addition, neither of us like big crowds, so the idea of a packed theatre is not greatly appealing. In fact, I waited at least three weeks after opening night for both Ep. I and Ep. II before seeing them, just to avoid the masses.

Just curious to see if anyone else is planning to wait a bit (or longer) before taking the Ep. III plunge. But to fulfill my Ep. III cravings, I am trying to soak up just about every bit of spoiler info/data possible.

I saw this program on A&E (I think) the other night about competitive eating (I believe it was called Zen and the Art of Competitive Eating). Basically it just followed this one guy and his attempts at getting into the "circuit" of competitive eating. It was pretty fascinating, really. The guy would see an eating contest, then try it at home. He'd make a science out of it by attempting different methods and such. His attempts at butter were almost nauseating.  He went on to actually win an oyster-eating contest, and became a member of the IFOCE (International Federation of Competitive Eating). Yes, really.

Anyway, the next day I visited the IFOCE website, and took a gander at all the eating records. Some are pretty astounding, but others are questionable. Most of us know about the hot dog eating record of 53 1/2 in 12 minutes, and there is also a record for Matzo Balls (21 baseball-sized in 5 min., 25 sec.) and Turducken (7 3/4 pounds in 12 minutes), but the record for corn dogs is only 12 in 10 min., and there's a record for 2 pounds of candy bars in 6 minutes, but what type of candy bar?--surely that makes a difference.

Other records:
7 quarter-pound sticks of butter in 5 min. yuck!
11 pounds of cheesecake in 9 min.
49 glazed donuts in 8 min. (what type of donuts?)
65 hard-boiled eggs in 6 min., 40 sec.
1 gallon, 9 ounces of vanilla ice cream in 12 min.

There's also a couple records that are beyond disgusting, including:

4 32-ounce bowls of mayonnaise in 8 min. double yuck!
6 pounds of SPAM from the can in 12 min.
and 17.7 pounds of cow brains in 15 min. Ugh!

I've never tried or even thought of eating something for a record (or even a t-shirt), but I have been know to be able to put away my share of certain items (especially for a tall, skinny person). Personally, I think that corn dog record is weak and reachable, but I'm not about to try. A cookie or brownie record is mysteriously absent from the list. Takers?

Just to make it easier for anyone that had the misfortune of getting my name in the JD Secret Santa thingie-ma-doodle, I'm cheap poor not much of a collector anymore, so I haven't picked up much of anything for a while. If you want to narrow it down, I really like Stormtroopers and Clone troopers. Here's just a small list of the stuff that I can think of, though basically anything's good in my book:

Kubricks:
Series 2:
Indiana Jones (gotta try!)
Sandtrooper with white pauldron (gotta try!)
Series 3:
AT-AT Driver
C-3PO
Han Solo Hibernation Sickness (gotta try!)
Jawa (vinyl cape) (gotta try!)
Lando
Logray (gotta try!)
Series 4:
Han Hoth
Palpatine
Vader Dagobah
Vader
Stormtrooper
Nien Nunb
Luke Stormie
Luke Bespin
Han Stormie
Series 5:
Yoda
Snaggletooth (both red and blue) (gotta try!)
Slave Leia
Ponda Baba (gotta try!)
Han Endor
Admiral Ackbar
Series 6:
Wedge
TIE Pilot
Rebel Fleet Trooper
RA-7
R4-M9
Luke X-Wing
Grand Moff
Veers
Death Star Trooper
Series 7:
Senate Guard
Yakface
Leia Boushh
Lando Skiff
Gamorrean Guard
Anakin
Any Box Sets or carded, too!

Loose or card/packaging unimportant:
McQuarrie Snowtrooper
McQuarrie Boba Fett
Legends Dark Trooper
The EE Astromech multipacks
The EE Mandalorian multipacks
Stormtrooper Evolutions
Deathstar Briefing multipack
Republic Commando multipack
Stormtrooper from the Imperial 4-pack that had Vader, black R2...
Any of the Jedi Starfighters...the Black Darth Vader version would be sweet!
The newer TIE Fighter or X-Wing
Any Galactic Heroes

MOMC:
Tri-Logo CommTech Stormtrooper
Tri-Logo Green Card with hologram Stormtrooper
OTC Stormtrooper-Canadian packaging
POTC Stormtrooper
Silver Boba Fett
Silver Sandtrooper
Silver Darth Vader (the newer one, not the ToyFair DV)
POTJ Chewbacca Mechanic (yeah, I know that's a bit random)

In addition, when I did get out of the collecting circle, I stupidly sold all my loose POTF2, POTJ, EP. I, etc. figures (see website). Now, I kind of wish I had them back. So, any extra loose or carded figures from this era would be most welcome, especially POTJ and Episode I.

As for any other stuff, well, it's all about my two little girls (ages 4 and 2) right now, so a gift for them is a gift for me. Really. They like Galactic Heroes, so that's an idea. They also love Hotwheels, Matchbox, and the cars from...erm...Cars (the movie, which they haven't seen even)...really!

Hope that gives the (un)lucky shopper a good enough idea. Basically, anything is fine, it's the thought that counts, 'tis the season, it's better to give than receive, may the force be with you, ya gotta tip your cap to 'em, go out and give 110%, and any other cliche I can think of.    

I have a loose, complete B-Wing for sale. I recently had this up for auction and it ended at over $31 (the high bidder did not meet my TOS, and the second-chance bidder (over $30) was no longer interested). I am selling for $30 + USPS Priority Mail shipping plus Delivery Confirmation (3.5 lbs for shipping calculation).

From the auction description:

"The vehicle is in excellent condition with just minimal play wear and slight yellowing. All guns and wings are intact and the wings still unfold and the landing gear still works. The battery compartment looks clean, but when I tried some batteries, nothing happened, so I'm not sure whether the battery compartment is dead or not."

Photos can be seen here:

 vintage B-Wing

I can ship within the U.S. only, and I am only able to ship on Saturdays because of work (but it'll be the very first Saturday after I receive payment!). I will take PayPal or money orders.

If interested, please email me. Thanks!