Random Access

Thursday
On the whole, today was a pretty good day. Indeed.

Now, let’s get down to brass tacks.

NPR and PRI Stories
Talk of the Nation
All Things Considered

There was sabre-rattling news today, but the story that sticks out the most was not about Iraq or North Korea. It wasn’t about stem cells. It wasn’t even about corporate scandals and misdoings.

It was about a man. The man was Fred Rogers, more commonly known simply as “Mr. Rogers.” He died today at the age of 74. Like many others in my age group, I spent many afternoons in his neighborhood. Some called him corny or out of touch. I wouldn’t go that far. Think about it: There had to be something behind what he said – the show did run for over 30 years. And, as popular as it was with kids, I know a few kids-at-heart who would tune in every once in a while, too.

Tomorrow, Fresh Air will rebroadcast Terry Gross’ interview with Mr. Rogers; check your local NPR station for the time.

Fred Rogers
1928 – 2003

‘Bye, neighbor.

Songs of the Day

• Oval Cast as Circle by 33.3, from “Plays Music”
• Oval River by Licorice Roots, from “Melodeon”
• Oval Office by Third Bass, from “Cactus Album”

Stray Toasters
Just one thing. Before I left work, I was trying to decide what to have for dinner tonight. I considered cooking (steak) versus going out. I came home and still hadn’t figured it out. Fortunately, I had the wherewithal to look in the refrigerator. And there I saw it: Leftovers from Macaroni Grill. My hunger would be sated! But I was still tempted by the prospect of the steaks…

What did I do?

I cooked both. I ate the Macaroni Grill food and wrapped the steaks for dinner at a later date. I can easily deal with 0:05 of reheating versus 0:30 when all that I have to do is prepare vegetables to go with the steak. And, when prepared properly, reheated steak does not have the consistency of beef jerky or shoe leather.

Quotes of the Day:

• From yesterday’s coffee with :
  It’s a good thing we’re not professional. I’d have to kill people.

• From work today: I was working on a network problem and had to check behind a desk where a mini-vacuum was standing against the wall. I placed the vacuum on the floor…
  

  Me (to vacuum): Just lie there and look pretty.
  Erin: I bet you say that to all the girls.
  Me: No, just the ones who… (looking down… )
  And it was at this point that I realized that there was no good way out of this… and so I shut up. Until we both burst out in laughter.

And now, it’s time for bed.

Namaste.

Wednesday
Another quiet day. No fires to put out. It was nice.

Song of the Day
Pentagon Afternoon by Frank Zappa, from “The Yellow Shark”

Stray Toasters

• Bill Maher was on Larry King tonight. I find him an interesting figure; I like him. I’ve also been asked “how” I can like him. That’s easy to answer: I may not always agree with what he says, but I respect him for standing behind his views. No, he does not always say or do a popular thing and he can be quite an ass, at times. But, I like the fact that he doesn’t change his mind mid-stream just to make everyone like him. Also, if he is proven wrong about something, he is willing to admit that he was mistaken. To me, that’s honorable and worthy of respect.
• I met for coffee tonight. We went to a place called “Brew’d Awakening,” which I thought was an amusing pun. Their mochas are triple-laced with espresso; I think that I am finally coming down from the rush.
• I was listening to random mp3s at work today… mainly because KUER’s streaming NPR was being very temperamental. When You Wish Upon a Star, as done by Billy Joel, came on at one point. In the middle of singing along with it, I realized that I like the song. It’s Disney. It’s a bit syrupy-sweet. But I think that it’s a good song.
• Draw. Draw. Draw.
• They did air the first ep of Cowboy Bebop tonight. Looks like I’ll get to catch all/most/many/some of the episodes that I missed.

And now, time to seek the lands beyond the Waking World.

Namaste.

Tuesday
I woke up to snow this morning. The local forecasters said that there was “a chance” of snow. That “chance” turned into 0:10 of clearing off my car. Other than that, it was a good day:

• It was a light day at work… and tomorrow looks like it will be another fairly light day.
• Dinner at Macaroni Grill.
• After-dinner coffee and conversation at Borders.

Song of the Day

• Square by Stevie Wonder, from “Jazz Soul of Little Stevie”
• Square Roots by Cassandra Wilson, from “Point of View”

NPR and PRI Stories
There were segments on both All Things Considered and The World that featured Shazia Mirza, a female comedian who happens to be Muslim. I found her interviews (The World) to be good and a delightful counterpoint to this post that was shown to me last night.

Quote of the Day
I was walking around the office this afternoon and discovered a roll of Life Savers in my jacket.

Me: Finding Life Savers in your pocket is like finding a little ray of sunshine.

Stray Toasters

• Mary and I engaged in a round of people watching at Borders. I had almost forgotten how fun (and entertaining) that could be.
• Tonight was the last episode of Cowboy Bebop on Adult Swim; I’m not sure if they will loop the series and restart from the beginning. But, I digress… It was not what I expected… and at the same time, it was exactly as it “should” have been. (I’ll come back to this later in this post.) Not too surprisingly, there is a link for the show on IMDb. There are a number of quotes from the show, as well.
• They are (still) accepting applications to be on Junkyard Wars this season. The main difference, however, is that they are not accepting team applications; you sign up individually and get matched with a team, chosen at random.

As I mentioned above, the final ep of ‘Bebop aired tonight. There was a sense of finality to it. And giri. For those who don’t know what that means, it translates as “duty,” “obligation” or “justice.” It’s more than that though. There is a measure of personal honor that comes along with it. More than a measure, really, but you get the idea. (For the comics buffs out there, think Wolverine and his code of honor; Cartoon Network viewers, think Samurai Jack.)

That’s something that I’ve noted about many anime works: Unlike many (most) of their Western cousins, the characters (even the “bad/evil” ones) have complex motivations and drives. They are often three-dimensional characters, not just archetypes. It seems that many of today’s Western toons are watered-down eye candy. Yes, there are exceptions, but some are just fluff and pabulum (Def. 3). Something to keep the kids quiet and entertained and out of Mom and Dad’s hair. *shrug* And people wonder why cartoons (and, by association comics) are often looked down upon.

It comes down to the writing and creating not only a believable world in which the characters live and interact, but also believable characters. Some things are meant to be over-the-top and/or fantastic, but if you build it with structure and give it a bit of plausibility, there’s no reason that it couldn’t be “real.”

::: gets down from soapbox :::

Anyway, I hope that they do restart the series. I’d like to see how it began and how it arrived at the conclusion that I saw tonight.

But, for now… it’s bedtime.

Namaste.

Monday
Not a bad way to start off the week. No fires to put out. Even went on a minor field trip about midway through the shift.

Song of the Day
Circle Dream by 10,000 Maniacs, from the CD “Our Time in Eden”

NPR/PRI
Refer to previously posted links for the national shows.

KCPW talked about the new movie Poolhall Junkies on today’s “Talk of the City.” The movie was conceived of and shot here in SLC. Who knew!?

Johnny Doyle: The poolhall’s a great equalizer. In the poolhall, nobody cares how old you are, how young you are, what color your skin is or how much money you’ve got in your pocket…It’s about how you move. And I remember this kid once who could move around a pool table like nobody had ever seen. I mean, hour after hour, rack after rack, his shots just went in. The cue was part of his arm and the balls has eyes. And the thing that made him so good was…He thought he could never miss. I know, ’cause that kid was me.

Stray Toasters

• Thanks to and for their cat-related comments yesterday. I laughed. A lot.
• Sam Cooke. If I need to say more than that, you just don’t (and won’t) get it.
• The Pacers will be in town on 14 March. I should look into getting tickets to go. Yes, I know that this is the home of the Jazz, but I’m not a fan. I have attended one Jazz game and that was because the former Charlotte Hornets were playing here; I was still living in N.C. at the time, but was here on vacation. It was more than mildly amusing to be the only person (not on the court) rooting for the away team in a venue like the Delta Center.
• I think that I want (although not quite “covet”) this. Geeky? Sure. But definitely different.
• Looks like this month’s SLC LJ Meetup isn’t going to happen. *shrug* I was looking forward to it. I may just go to the location and have a cup of coffee and watch the ice skaters… and do some drawing. Or, I could go to the advance screening of Poolhall Junkies. Decisions, decisions…

I should probably do more than just think about getting some sleep. Something more pro-active. Like actually going to bed.

Namaste.

Sunday
I got to sleep in a bit this morning. That was nice. Somewhere around 10:30, Sissy decided that she wanted to climb into the window directly above the bed. Through the blinds. The racket of her picking at the blinds was enough to bring me out of my reverie.

I was planning on having an afternoon full of HALO-playing with Dee. Unfortunately, it seems as though something happened to a member of his family, so he won’t be able to make it. That is a matter of giri, for which I needed no explanation.

Stray Toasters

• I mentioned last night that there were a couple of things that I saw at Comics Utah that couldn’t live without. This (1, 2) is one of them. The other was an unofficial “guide” to DS9. Go figure.
• I should do some cleaning. I don’t feel the motivation to do so, however.
• There isn’t much on TV today. ::: BLAH ::: I actually watched some bowling on ESPN. BOWLING! And that was one of the “better” options. I’m watching the Wizards and Mavericks game now. It isn’t too bad. (Update: FINALLY!!! There’s something decent on Boomerang to watch.)
• If you have never listened to (or for that matter “heard of”) Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me, check this out. Listen for the question about “Operation: KFC.” It’s an interesting bit of military planning. That’s right: Your tax dollars at work.

I suppose that I should do something that could be considered “productive” before I go out to play.

Namaste.

Saturday

• I worked (longer than I had intended).
• I went to the soon-to-be-closed comics shop to have my subscriptions transferred to another store… and to see if there was anything that I couldn’t live without. It turns out that there were a couple of things. *sigh*
• Dinner at the Olive Garden. Correction: The very crowded Olive Garden.
• Some down time at B&N before bowling.
• Post-bowling breakfast at our favorite V.I. and then…
• Home.

Not so surprisingly, I’m winding down pretty quickly. That might have something to do with the fact that I slept poorly last night. Just maybe. There were probably a few random things that I wanted to add to this post, but I shall forego them until tomorrow. The realms of sleep sing a siren’s call that I cannot ignore.

Namaste.

Friday
Today was a long day. I spent a good portion of the morning and early afternoon putting out fires, figuratively speaking. We dealt with them, in equal measure, but by the end of the night, I was completely tapped. I left work a little before 8:00 and headed to Guru’s for breakfast lunch dinner. It was nice to sit and relax and catch my breath. After that, I went to Borders for a Cafè Mocha and some drawing. That was relaxing, too. It had apparently been four days since I’d sketched/drawn anything.

Song of the Day
Closing out “Family Reunion Week”: Sister Moon, by Sting from “The Dream of the Blue Turtles”

NPR and PRI Stories

• Talk of the Nation – Science Friday
• All Things Considered
• The World (as of 01:17 on 22 Feb 03, this link isn’t working, though)
• Fresh Air, featuring a very good interview with Kevin Spacey

Stray Toasters

• I found out that my local (well, it’s not right around the corner, but it’s close enough) comic shop, Comics Utah, is closing. SOON. I was shocked. Amazed. Flabbergasted, even. They have contacted other local shops and are offering to transfer current patrons’ subscriptions to those locations. Another prime example of their good customer service. I’ll be sorry to see them go – it was a good store and I liked the staff.
• Brian, a co-worker of mine, has recommended Germs: Biological Weapons and America’s Secret War and Cobra Event. Non-fiction and fiction, respectively. He says that they are good books about the threat of “NBC” warfare.
• I have come home over the past couple of nights to find cabinets and drawers open. No, Jess didn’t leave them open. And, no, we don’t have poltergeists. We do, however, have two cats. Apparently, Sissy has discovered the “Hey, I can open this” factor. She is flaunting this talent now.
• I heard The Eurythmics’ Missionary Man on the radio yesterday. I think that the LDS Church should use it as the theme for a new recruitment drive or marketing campaign. Not that they really need it here behind the Zion Curtain. But it could be used to present a “fresh face” for their missionaries. I can see the commercials now…

Word of the Day
For : Phlat.

I should probably get some sleep. I’m going to work for a few hours tomorrow and it probably would not be a good idea to show up looking like an extra from Michael Jackson’s Thriller video. Alas, poor Yorick Michael, we knew him well… and then you went and got all weird on us.¹

Namaste.

¹ Sincere apologies to The Bard of Avon.

Thursday
Another day in the neighborhood. There wasn’t really anything out of the ordinary today. But, what do you expect from a Thursday. Well, sure, there’s NBC’s “Must See Thursday,” but I haven’t felt that compulsion in many years.

Song of the Day

• Mother Earth Is a Vicious Crowd by Live
• Mama Said Knock You Out by LL Cool J
• Mother Popcorn (Part 1) by James Brown

Stray Toasters

• I went to dinner with a friend. She is in the middle of a quandary, so we talked. I don’t know if it helped, but I tried.
• I’m still trying to figure out configuration issues with my Linux rig. Yay. Yes, I could post questions to , but I’m enjoying the ringing in my ears that comes after a round of banging my forehead against the wall. No, it’s not really that bad; it’s a learning experience.
• I just got DirecTV’s “This Week’s Pay Per View Movies” email. FearDotCom is on the list. As you may recall, I had a pass to see an advance screening of this movie. That was an excruciating hour-and-a-half waste of my time. So, I wonder: Is DirecTV going to pay the viewers to watch this movie? They should. Hell, the distributors should throw in a few consolation prizes, too.
• Does anyone else remember New Zoo Revue (1, 2)? I am not sure why thoughts of that show just popped into my head, but they did. And, if I have to suffer…. so do those of you who remember it. But, I digress… It seems like game show host Chuck Woolery was a cast member of the show. Who knew?!?

And now, it’s bedtime.

Namaste.

Wednesday
It was a pretty good day. Good weather. Productive day at work. Talked to 2/3 of the sib-units. Got a package from home. Not a whole lot to complain about. And, that ain’t bad.

NPR and PRI Stories

• Talk of the Nation
• Fresh Air
• The World
• All Things Considered

Song of the Day
Brother K by the late Dizzy Gillespie, from the CD “Be Bop”

Stray Toasters

• After talking with my uncle last night and telling him how there was no snow here… it snowed last night. Not much, but there was snow on the ground when I woke up this morning. It was just a dusting – it looked like someone had sprinkled (a LOT of) powdered sugar on the ground.
• started my day off with this little gem.
• I heard Buffalo Soldier on the radio the other day. I was struck by something… odd. If you listen to the part where they are singing “woy yoy yoy, woy yoy-yoy yoy,” it is very reminiscent of (read: “virtually identical to”) the cadence of the refrain from “The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana)” (the theme from The Banana Splits Adventure Hour).
• Think that you’ve had a bad day? Take a look at this story and compare it to your day.
• I watched both DS9 and Voyager tonight. Both shows featured episodes that I had seen, although I hadn’t seen the Voyager ep, “Relativity”, from the beginning before tonight. The DS9 episode, “Shattered Mirror”, was the one where Sisko’s deceased wife’s doppleganger from the Mirror Universe crossed over to coerce him to go to the MU and help build their version of the Defiant.
• Every other Wednesday night, a group of us (friends whom I met through a mutual friend) get together for dinner and coffee. Tonight was one of those nights. Jess and I met after work and went to meet them. We got there… and no one was there. Right time, yes. Right place, no. I had confused the location for next week’s SLC LJ Meetup with tonight’s gathering. *GAH* That’s okay though; Jess and I had a nice time relaxing and talking while enjoying our coffee and tea.

And now, off to the realms of sleep.

Namaste.

Tuesday
Woke up this morning.
Observed the hygiene rituals.
Got coffee and bagelettes.
Went to work.
Came home.

But, it was a great-looking and rather temperate day: Sunny, relatively warm. In a nutshell: Nice.

Song of the Day:

• Grandma’s Hands by Bill Withers
• Grandma (Interlude) by Wreckx N EffectNPR and PRI Stories
  • Talk of the Nation
• All Things ConsideredStray Toasters
  • : Check out Adult Swim… other than Futurama.
• I talked to my uncle this evening. He was giving me a recap of how the snow had affected the area of New York in which he lives; they got roughly 19″ of the stuff. I told him that we’d been having fairly decent, if cold, weather here. And no snow.
• Neil Gaiman is coming to Salt Lake City. Who would have thought it possible…? (Note: I was just looking at that site and noticed that where it should have said “…free to the public” it actually says “…free to the pubic.” Sigmund Freud would have probably had a field day with that one.
• and I were talking about candy/candy bars last night. The conversation reminded me of the Eddie Murphy skit from Raw about the two guys in the concessions line at a movie theatre… and the 22 lbs of Jujubees that I sent to a friend as payback for his “creative” decoration of my car.Jujubees. They’re not just a candy. They’re retribution in a box.
• I have known for some time that Kelsey Grammar (of Cheers and Frasier fame) was done the voice of Sideshow Bob on The Simpsons. What I did not know was that David Hyde Pierce, who plays Frasier’s brother Niles, did at least one episode of the show as Sideshow Bob’s brother, Cecil. It was almost like watching an animated episode of Frasier… with Bart Simpson.And now, off to see if I can locate my copies of Smoke and Mirrors and The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes. Of course, that could wait until tomorrow and I could just get some sleep. Hmm. Sleep. Yes, that would be a good thing, I think.

  Namaste.

Monday
Got more clarity on some things at work. Had a good, but rather busy, day. Other than that, it wasn’t too bad.

Song of the Day: Papa Was a Rolling Stone
Choose from The Temptations (the original), the Was (not Was), or the George Michael versions. Of course, the George Michael version is done as half of a track that includes a cover of the song Killer, by Seal.

Stray Toasters
Just one tonight.

I got home just as Joe “Wannabe” was telling the “winner” of the show that he was choosing her and that he wasn’t a millionaire. Talk about a let down. I wanted to see some antics. Hysterics. Blood. What did we get? Nothing. And a lot of it. I mean, the first runner-up was more animated than the “winner.” *sigh* I had a bit to say about it earlier:

[20:55] (Shadorunr) NINE FUCKING HOT SWEATY MONKEY BALL-SUCKING HELLS.
[20:55] (Mycah) Hi Rob.
[20:56] (Shadorunr) I just turned to Joe-Not-a-Millionaire to watch the “winner” kick his ass.
[20:56] (Shadorunr) She didn’t.
[20:56] (Shadorunr) HORSE.
[20:56] (Shadorunr) SHIT.
[20:56] (Shadorunr) Oh…. Hi, Mycah. 🙂
[20:56] (Mycah) she probably knew the whole time.
[20:56] (Shadorunr) I don’t think so.
[20:56] (Shadorunr) She looked a little put off when she found out.
[20:57] (Shadorunr) AND, she maintained her composure.
[20:57] (Shadorunr) I wanted to see some blood.
[20:57] (Shadorunr) ….and THEN…. THEN, they GAVE him a million dollars.
[20:57] (Mycah) sadist.
[20:58] (Isotropy) they shoulda given him the bill for it all.
[20:59] (Shadorunr) …and then put him in a cage with the 19 “losers.”

BAH. This is why I hate so-called “reality TV.” In the real world, the “winner” would have kicked his grass eight ways from Sunday. And then trash-talked about him to friends, family and anyone else within earshot. I liked my friends’ comments for a follow-up show:

[21:07] (Isotropy) the show would have benn better if the guy was some fat stinky slob none of the women would give the time of day too without money
[21:07] (Mycah) yeah. i’m still waiting for that call.
[21:09] (Isotropy) me too
[21:10] (Gibraltar) They gotta do a version for the fellas. 50 guys vying for the attention of a supermodel type. then at the end it turns out that she had a masectomy. or maybe that “she” is a “he.”
[21:11] (Isotropy) then you would see blood. the “BTW I got a dick speech” could be dangerous

But, we’re not the ones pitching the new shows to the networks. And for that, you should all fall to your knees and thank whatever (if any) higher power you believe in.

Until tomorrow night…

Namaste.

We went to see Daredevil. By “we” I mean: Jess, Mary, her brother Bob, Larry, Mycah, Paul, , her bf Brad, and me. It was good. From the reactions that I heard, we all liked it. Being a comics fan, I was a little biased towards liking it. I’ll take this opportunity to say: If you get an opportunity to read the current Daredevil series, do so.

One of the funniest moments in the movie wasn’t in the movie; it came from a kid in the row behind us. There was a scene about an hour into the movie where DD is getting his butt kicked. The kid asked her/his father: “Is he blind?” (For those who don’t know: Matt Murdock/Daredevil is blind.) I think that just about everyone on our row cracked up. We did try to stifle it, but it wouldn’t be held back. It was cute.

Some of the trailers before the movie included X², LXG (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen), Bulletproof Monk, and one for The Core.

So, in the final analysis: It was a fun movie, not necessarily in the same league as Gladiator, but good nonetheless. I give it a thumbs-up with an okay. So, go see it.

Namaste.

Sunday
Today has been a lazy day. I have done a lot of sitting around and doing nothing. We’re leaving in a bit to go out to dinner and see Daredevil with some friends.

Stray Toasters

• I talked to my father earlier. He was telling me about the nearly two feet of snow in Baltimore. had been telling me about it, as well. Not to mention all of the mid-Atlantic area journals that I’ve read today.
• I have spent the last… at least hour-and-a-half… watching Batman on SciFi. Sure, we have this on DVD, but a) there wasn’t much else on TV and b) I like it. I remember how jazzed I was when this movie came out. Fortunately, this wasn’t hard to watch; in fact, unlike a number of other comics-related properties that were released around that time, it was good. And fun.

  I think that Jack Nicholson made a good Joker. Michael Keaton was, in my opinion, the best of the Bruce Waynes in the series. Val Kilmer was good, George Clooney wasn’t bad (Does anyone else remember that he used to be on The Facts of Life?), but Keaton pretty much nailed it. Best Batman until the animated series came out. That was the epitome of how the character should be portrayed… but, that’s another story. And, on a related note, would Billy Dee Williams, who played Harvey Dent in the first movie, have been as good or a better a “Two-Face” as Tommy Lee Jones? *shrug*

• Cartoon Network and Boomerang. Can’t beat ’em with the proverbial stick.
• The Arena Football League. Yes, it’s football, but it’s just not the same. Maybe I’ll give it a try next week.
• BWAHAHAHAHA!!!! I was just checking out TVGuide Online to see what is currently on the air. The Spice Channel is showing the following:
  

  The Osporns
  90 min.
  Adult Movie.
  Chronicling the adventures of an aging superstar patriarch (Steve Hatcher) and his eccentric family. Tawny Roberts, Chloe, Nikita Denise.

Quote of the Day
As I mentioned above, I spent some time watching Batman this afternoon. So, we’ll take the QotDs from there.

The Joker: My balloons. Those are my balloons. He stole my balloons! Why didn’t anyone tell me he had one of those… things? Bob, gun.
::: Bob hands Joker a gun :::
::: Joker shoots him :::
Joker: Boys, I’m going to need a minute alone.

Vicki Vale: Some people think you’re as dangerous as the Joker.
Bruce Wayne: He’s psychotic.
Vicki Vale: Some people say the same about you.
Bruce Wayne: What people?
Vicki Vale: Well, face it. You’re not exactly normal, are you?
Bruce Wayne: This isn’t exactly a normal world, is it?

And in the “Most likely to be taken, out of context, as a porn movie line” category…

Batman: See that thing on my belt? Grab it! Whatever you do, don’t let go.

I should probably start getting ready to be seen in public.

Namaste.

Saturday
I slept in this morning… and it felt good. I didn’t really want to go to work today. But, I had to go and reconcile the issues of what happened last night. It went better than I had expected.

Post-work, Jess and I went to dinner at Sampan with Mary. After that, we went to Barnes & Noble for a while before going bowling. Shelly, Bill, Clay (Shelly’s son) and Larry met us there. We bowled and it was good. A few others joined us later. And it was still good. Traditional post-bowling breakfast followed; there were many interesting (and that may be something of an understatement) people at the V.I.

Tomorrow shall be a day of leisure. As an added bonus, Jess took the day off.

Quotes of the Day Past Few Weeks

• You know, if people are laughing because they think that you wet your pants, at least they’re still staring at your crotch. – Dee
• Go ahead and grab the bag, you know you want to… said the Bishop to the Actress – Adrian
• I don’t think that I can listen to any more stories about your naked father. – Random V.I. Patron
• I don’t make fun of you, Pat. You make fun of yourself. I just laugh at you. – Random V.I. Patron
• I wouldn’t presume that even if he had his dick in my butt! – Mary
• There is a God, because they’re not breeding. – Mary

That is it for now. The denizens of The Dreaming are calling me and I think that I shall spend time among them.

Namaste.

Friday
It was a “50-50” day today. It started off rather well, but ended on a less-than-stellar note. It’s amazing how a day can turn sour when you get called on the carpet for following the chain of command. Some days… I bitched and moaned about it for a while, but then I realized that I didn’t do anything wrong. That helped to improve my mood a bit. That and a supportive talking-to from my father.

On an “up note,” when I got home, I found that Jess had gotten me some rather amusing (and cool) Valentine’s Day gifts:

• A bear holding a big red heart from Hallmark
• A frog holding a heart that says “Kiss me”
• A small frog. It has a drawstring. When you pull it, the frog vibrates.
• The Schoolhouse Rock 30th Anniversary Edition DVDs
• Spider-Man (widescreen)
• …and a balloon!

Song of the Day
To wrap up “Who-What-Where-When-Why and How” week, let’s go with:

• When Morning Comes by emmet swimming
• Who Can It Be Now by Men at Work

Stray Toasters

• It was a rather overcast and drab day today. At one point, you couldn’t tell where the clouds met the mountains; it was just a wall of grey.
• I’m giving serious thought to setting up an Apache server on my Linux PC. It would be a good learning experience, I think.
• I was contemplating a trip to Borders, but decided against it when I noted the time. It’s not worth the travel time for just 0:20 – 0:30 of bookstore time. Maybe, I’ll go tomorrow afternoon.

That’s about it for now. Time to veg out in front of the TV and do some drawing. And maybe throw in a little XBox time, too. At least until it’s time for ‘Bebop.

Namaste.