Now this is more like it! An actual toy!! Why, if you squint, you can even pretend it came out of a Christmas-type package! Not only that, but it's a pretty nifty bit of miniaturization - an R/C Car that fits the scale of a LEGO Mini-figure! If the rest of the calendar can hold this level of holiday spirit, well, it's just possible things may end on a happy note.

Not that I think there's any chance of that, of course. We've only got one more day of the "Playful Child" theme left. But let's enjoy the ride while it lasts.

MC Leetspeak: Th1s R0x0rz by B0xorz!

Soon the R/C Car is zooming off to the limits of the remote control...and then...tragedy! Having reached the end of its electronic tether, the RC Car zooms out of control. Speeding across the alkali flats like a rocket-powered, monkey-navigated...well, you get the idea. But that's not the tragic part.

The tragic part is how the car comes to a sudden...and final...stop.

Meanwhile....

Oil: Look, Grumpypants...you have to stop denying your feelings! You're acting just like Joe Friday on that old Dragnet show...and you know what finally happened to him!

Officer Grumpypants: No, I don't. What happened?

Oil: He went to his grave cold and alone. Never once having tasted the forbidden fruit of Officer Gannon's Love.

Officer Grumpypants: I....I...I don't see how that's relevant. Besides, Joe Friday was a fictional character.

Oil: But, don't you see, Grumpypants??? You're a fictional character, too! We all are!

Oil (quietly): And I love you.

Officer Grumpypants: ...

Oil: ...Grumpypants?

Officer Grumpypants: ...and I love you.

Tune in tomorrow for another episode of "The Bricks of our Lives"