Ok so, my Mom and Dad bought a cool boat today, "more after the jump" (that's Blog speak for after you click the "Read More" link below). Anyway, I was thinking back to when my parents bought our very cool ski boat in 72' and I realized that... OH SHIT, MY DAD INVENTED THE BOOMBOX!

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So when I was 9, my parents did the coolest move in the history of cool parenting moves, they bought a sleek, fast, bad ass, ski boat while we were on vacation with one of my buddies! As a result, I spent many summers water skiing at the lake (Clear Lake) or river (The Delta). Well, the following year my dad wanted tunes in the boat. He was afraid to have a nice stereo mounted in the boat since it sat, unattended at the dock for weeks at a time. So, he created the worlds first boombox! He built a plywood box, mounted a car stereo deck (8-Track) and speakers. Mounted handles on top and powered it with (2) 6-volt lantern batteries. The thing cranked! We could take it anywhere and did. Well a year later, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (That's Panasonic to most of us), applied and was granted a patent for the same device http://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPATD241164&id=oSEqAAAAEBAJ&dq=portable+cassette+player)
If only my dad had run into a patent attorney that summer. Oh well, all that money would have ruined the great guy I turned out to be? or some shit like that!

Anyway, my parents did buy a cool boat today. It looks like the perfect family boat for us and perhaps it will create another world class product from my dad! and now, I have a friend who is a patent attorney.