Just to end the day, here are a couple of things that made me say, “coooooo-uhllll,” like Bart Simpson when I saw them:

First, courtesy of Andrew Sullivan (who occasionally takes a break from politi-blogging for cooooo-uhlll stuff), it’s Jet-Man, a crazy Swede Swiss guy who likes to bail out of airplanes with a small, jet-powered wing attached to his back. Jet-Man’s website compares him to Batman, but this guy reminds me more of The Rocketeer.

If you’ll recall, in the Rocketeer movie starring Billy Campbell, Howard Hughes himself asks our hero, “What was it like strapping that thing to your back and flying like a bat out of hell?” Good old YouTube provides us with something of answer:

If flying like a bat out of hell doesn’t appeal to you, how about taking a ride on a futuristic superboat that’s powered by biodiesel and pierces through waves instead of riding up over the top of them? The boat is called Earthrace, and its crew is currently trying to circumnavigate the world in record-breaking time using only renewable fuels. It’s a cool cause (i.e., trying to draw attention to the possibilities of biodiesel) and a really wicked-looking machine, too (hi-res photo here). Not surprisingly, given my obsessions, it reminds me of Amidala’s personal chromemobile from Attack of the Clones. I’ll be following this one with great interest…