Random Access

The Beatles’ Drive My Car is a fun song to sing along with and to bounce around the office to.

That ends this interlude; we now return you to whatever you were doing…

Wednesday
Work. Blah, blah, blah… Good overall day. Blah, blah, blah… and I were approached by a wandering artist who was peddling his art work. Blah, blah, blah… More work. Blah, blah, blah… Hometime.

After work was an off-week Wednesday night coffee. With a surprise: Sara is back in town. (If you don’t know who she is, don’t worry. If you do know her -and you didn’t know already- she’s back.) We hung out, drank coffee, ate VERY rich chocolate mousse and gabbed.

Song of the Day
Yakko’s Universe from Animaniacs

Stray Toasters

• I had a very pleasant – and rather unexpected – IM chat with a friend (and ex-coworker) in N.C. It had been far too long since we’d chatted. I will have to make it a point to keep in touch with him.
• Strange goings-on outside the 7-11 across from the Salt Lake Roasting Company. O_o
• The much embattled “Spike TV” will apparently feature a series featuring cartoon shorts gleaned from the Spike & Mike Sick & Twisted Festival of Animation.
• Arnold Schwarzenegger political cartoons
• The new Matrix Revolutions trailer is here.
• From Slashdot: MSN Messenger Access to be Restricted
• Big Brother is watching you. Anyone who has read George Orwell’s 1984 (or seen the movie) is familiar with that line. Now, it’s not just Big Brother… or maybe it is…. anyway, Microsoft has been monitoring newsgroups and some public email lists, at the suggestion of their “in-house sociologist,” Marc Smith. Fact stranger than fiction? Maybe. Read more about it here.
• Super-teen extraordinaire
  Freakazoid! Freakazoid!
  Runs around in underwear
  Freakazoid! Freakazoid!

  Rescues Washington D.C.
  Freakazoid! Freakazoid!
  Unless something better’s on TV
  Freakazoid! Freakazoid!

• Do you like Microsoft Flight Simulator? Do you like it this much? (Yes, that is an actual setup – 13 monitors and 9 PCs.) Yes? No? Maybe? Well, that setup is good… but then there is this. This is definitely the brainchild of someone with lots of free time.
• Chun Li… or, as we used to call her “Thunder-Kick Barbie.”

Namaste.

Tuesday
What. A. Day. But, I mean that in a good way. I spent most of the day going through the backlog of customer service email. Oi. It wasn’t all bad. And, it made the day pass quickly. And we even received a few positive emails, to boot!

Quiet evening at home. And… ‘Bebop’s about to start.
::: pause :::
Okay, where were we…? *thinks* Right. Got it. So, it was a quiet evening. Watched L&O: Special Victims Unit. Watched Adult Swim. Enjoyed a Stolichnaya Citrona.

Song of the Day
The Little Blue Frog and Lonely Fire both by Miles Davis

Stray Toasters

• *sigh* Microsoft wants to be able to automatically update patches on your system. Linux is looking better and better…
• For : This.
• For : This.
• I just love the last line of this. “Yay for trustworthy computing.” *laughs*
• When talking about possible candidates for Wonder Woman (Diana), Nicole Kidman never crossed my mind. And, I still have to go with my top three candidates. But… after seeing this, I think that Nicole would make a good Artemis (1, 2)… who was Wonder Woman (3) for a brief time.

Quote of the day

But all too soon the serums and the shocks took their toll, and the dear lad began to share such secrets with me, secrets that are mine alone to know… Bruce. It’s true batsy, I know everything. And kind of like the kid who peeks at his Christmas presents I must admit it’s sadly anti-climactic. Behind all the sturm and bat-o-rangs you’re just a little boy in a playsuit crying for mommy and daddy. I’d be funny if it wasn’t so pathetic. Oh what the heck, I’ll laugh anyway. HA HA HA HA HA!
-The Joker, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker

Oh, Hell… Take a look at the other quotes from Return of the Joker, too.

Namaste.

Monday
Not a typical Monday. At least, it wasn’t typical by the last few Mondays’ standards. In fact, it started off amazingly well. It turns out that a customer with whom we had been having a few problems (delays, lack of contact, and a few other assorted issues) gave us great feedback. That made my day. It even countered the end of the day where we had a meeting that was less-than-great. (Even though said meeting pushed me off the timetable that I had set for the afternoon AND it left me feeling a little edgy… but no where near as tense/irritated as last week).

Mondays happen. Oh well. Take a number, move on. We have a game plan worked out for tomorrow and – barring any unforeseen complications – the day should will go well.

Song of the Day
Anthem by Rush from “Fly By Night

Stray Toasters

• :::: edited :::
  Thanks to for leaving a link to (something that you won’t get to see because apparently Something Awful doesn’t like off-site linking). It made me laugh. I am almost tempted to do something like that to my stop sign. Almost.

• What do chess, knights and magic have in common? And, if you said “Archon” you get points for creative thinking… but that’s not the answer that I was looking for. The correct answer was this. Even more impressive: The nine-year-old kid who can do that in his head.
• Can you say “double standard,” boys and girls? No? Well, take a look at this and I’m sure that it will be much easier to say. Thanks to for pointing that out.
• And, on the David Bowie front, Is There Life on Mars? If the Russians have their way, not only will there be life on Mars, there will be nuclear power.
• We’re tiny!
  We’re toony!
  We’re all a little loony!
  And in this cartoony…
  We’re invading your TV!

• A rolling stone gathers no moss. Apparently, neither do Rolling Stones. But they do gather a large discography. And they even put it online. Who says you can’t teach an old dog Stone new tricks?
• Stikfas!

Joke of the Day
This has been one of my favorite jokes for years. Why? I don’t know. It just.. is. Anyway, here it is:

A snail goes to a local Nissan dealership and looks at the inventory. A salesman walks up to him and asks “May I help you?”

The snail looks at him and says, “I’m here to buy a car. I’d like to test drive…. that one,” as he points to a brand new Z.

The salesman looks a little surprised. “Oooh-kay.” He walks inside, comes back outside and returns to the snail. He hands him the keys. “Here you go.”

“Thanks!” The snail gets into the car and turns the key. The engine purrs. The snail presses the accelerator and the roars. He drops it into gear and races out of the parking lot.

Ten minutes later, the car whips back into the lot. The snail gets out with a huge grin. “That was great! I’ll take it! But there’s just one thing…”

The salesman shifts a little. “Yes, sir…?”

The snail turns to look at the car and turns back to the salesman: “I want you to take off the “Z”.”

“But, sir… that’s… that’s….”

“That’s my condition. I’ll pay for it right now and drive the car off the lot, but the “Z” has to go. I want you to put an “S” on it, instead.”

The salesman looks a little uneasy. “Let me… see what I can do.” He heads inside of the dealership. He returns a few minutes later. “Okay, it looks like we can take care of that for you. It will take about twenty minutes.”

The snail smiles widely and says,”That’s no problem.”

The two go inside as a mechanic exits the building and drives the car into the auto shop. They fill out the paperwork and shortly afterwards, the snail and his new car are tearing out of the parking lot.

Another salesman comes over to the first one and asks,”So… what was that all about? The deal with taking the car into the shop and whatnot?”

“Oh, he wanted the “Z” removed from the car… and an “S” put on in its place.”

“Huh?! That’s weird.”

“Yeah, but look at that little S-car go!”

Namaste.

Sunday
Sleeping in is nice. Very nice, indeed. So is spending a lazy morning around the apartment. Know what else is nice? Crab cakes from Phillips (I like the Harborplace location). But, since I didn’t have those today, I won’t mention them in this post.

I went to Borders and did a bit of drawing. I also went through a few photography books to get some ideas for things to draw; there were many good pictures from which I could choose. The book on Herb Ritts portraits was a particularly good source; the Cindy Turlington picture on which I am currently working is from that book. I need to do a little more work on her mouth and eyebrows and a touch more shading, but it is coming along nicely.

Now, I’m killing a little time before heading out to our Sunday evening fare. And, as a change of pace, we’re heading to the Clark Planetarium. They have a program called “Universe Tonight” and will be talking about Mars this evening. I haven’t been to a planetarium in many, many years; this ought to be both entertaining and educational.

Stray Toasters

• Holy prognostication, Batman! Wired Magazine ran an article last September about putting the world on one power grid. I’m sure that the people in the midwest and northeast would have been much happier last week had something like that been available.
• Does anyone remember the days when Apple computers, especially the Apple II series, were all that you saw in schools’ computer labs? According to this, Apples’ presence may fade away…
• Thank Heaven for Slashdot. I was checking out the recent articles and came across this article, which led to: The Scout Walker Kama Sutra.

And with that…. Auf Wiedersehen.

Namaste.

Saturday (Abridged)
No time to watch toons this morning, there were aliens to kill! , one of his coworkers and I went to an XBox LAN party (“Did you say ‘LAN party’?”) this morning at 10:30. Almost seven hours of digital fragging. And it was good. I [heart] the pistol and sniper rifle.

After that, I came home for a while. I watched this morning’s toons (VCRs are wonderful inventions) and tonight’s ep of Teen Titans. Then it was off to bowling and breakfast.

I think that I had a few thoughts for ‘Toasters, but none of them are coming to mind. Oh well. If they return in the morning, I’ll jot them down. If not… I won’t. Amazing how simple that is.

Namaste.

Friday
The work week is done. Let the revels begin.

After work, I came home and discovered that I was not as clean-smelling as I had thought myself to be (working in the warehouse does that…). A shower was called for! And so it was done. And it was good. Amen. Then it was on to Borders for coffee, chat and a bit of drawing. And after that, Applebee’s.

Song of the Day
Jimmy Olsen’s Blues by the Spin Doctors from “A Pocketful of Kryptonite”

Stray Toasters

• Not only do we have e-tickets to Hell, and I even have our seat assignments and our meal preferences taken care of. Why? Because today was the introduction of “Nano-Jesus,” even smaller than “Micro-Jesus.”
• Utah drivers. *GRRR*
• It’s time for Animaniacs!
  And, we’re zany to the max!
  So, just sit back and relax…
  You’ll laugh till you collapse…
  We’re Animaniacs!

• Pulse Detonation Engines Very interesting…
• Chemical Element 110 To Be Named My personal suggestion would be “Chemical X,” but there might be a few copyright issues involved with that.
• A Roseanne Barr reality TV show. Do we really need this? (For the record: This was a rhetorical question.)

I need to hit the rack; I’m going to a Halo LAN tomorrow at 10:30.
Have sniper rifle, will travel.

Namaste.

This happened as I was getting ready for work this morning:

I had just finished shaving and was preparing to get dressed. I got a pair of socks and my tennis shoes from the office (where my clothes closet is) and headed to the bedroom (where my jeans were).

I put on my socks and started to untie the shoes. When I last wore these, I apparently kicked them without untying them – which is something that I do very rarely. With the shoes now untied, I started to put the left one on.

Something in the back of my head clicked and whirred, but the actual calculations were not immediately forthcoming. Then it dawned on me… just as Jess was asking, “Shouldn’t you put your pants on first?”

We both laughed.

Genius I am, I tell you!

And that is Reason #27 why I’m glad that today is Friday.

Thursday
It was a rather productive day. It went by quickly. That was a plus.
Quiet night at the homestead: Watched CSI and anime.

Song of the Day
Madrigal by Rush, from “A Farewell to Kings”

Stray Toasters

• I have no problem admitting my Lego addiction:
  • Two (2) Lego watches
  • The new train set
  • Star Wars Jedi Defense set
  • A Bionicle figure
  • A Monkey – it came with one of the watches.
    (Haven’t you always wanted a monkey?!)

  Not to mention the Rokenbok monorail which is Lego-compatible. Yeah. I couldn’t deny it if I tried. So, naturally, I got all wrapped up in the Lego site last night… when I had planned to be sleeping. Nope. No go. Nuh-uh.

  Lego site. *click* (O_o)
  Club Lego. *click* (o_O)
  Lego trains. *click* (@_@)

  In retrospect, it was funny. In a Lego kind of way.

• The Perils of Penelope Pitstop, featuring the Ant Hill Mob and their car, Chug-a-Boom. On Boomerang. I remember watching this many rains ago.
• Cheryl Ladd. Before she was an Angel, she was a Pussycat.
• Doug, the uber-cool FedEx guy.
• Lady in the white Chrysler 300M. Not cool. Nor,apparently, was she familiar with the concept of “Check your mirrors and your blind spots before backing up.” *sigh* Utah drivers.
• Like Don Quixote tilting at windmills, so goes SCO. Now, they are apparently trying to delcare the GPL (General Public License) invalid because they claim that it violates the U.S. Copyright Law. *boggle* The Don Quixote analogy may be more apropos than I had realized. Dulcinea, Don Quixote’s beloved, existed only in his mind; many have said that the “threat” to which SCO is reacting is similarly illusory.
• Scientists in China have created hybrid embryos. “What sort of hybrids,” you ask.. Ones with a mix of human and rabbit DNA.

Quote of the Day

[22:46] : Got the pocket watch set. *beam*
[22:46] : ?
[22:46] : Ah!
[22:47] : Congrats. 🙂
[22:47] : Thanks. 🙂 I’m resourceful.
[22:47] : Does this mean that I should start calling you MacGuyver?

And with that… good night.

Namaste.

We’ve had a couple of people interested in having us sell things for them:

• One person is selling a completely rebuilt 1972 Oldsmobile 442. This car has been tweaked out and has raced at the local track (I’ve seen the speed/time sheets).
• Another person has a hand-crafted piano for sale. A very expensive hand-crafted piano.

So… I’ve been doing some research as to how similar items are selling. The cars are more or less what I expected. The piano… Let’s just say that the prices vary. A lot. The one that made me stare in awe: This one

Folks on IRC were talking about the Megalomaniac World Conqueror Name Generator, so I decided to give it a try:

• Robert the Gratuitous Violator
• Rob the Fierce Breadpuncher

Now that I have a name to strike fear into the hearts of my enemies and The Evil Overlord List, I am one step closer to total global domination!

::: insert maniacal laughter here :::

Wednesday
Mid-week. And today was better (by FAR) than yesterday. I didn’t get quite as much accomplished as I’d hoped, but there is always tomorrow.

I came home and discovered yet another reason why I have the coolest girlfriend in the world. Knowing the kind of day that I had yesterday, she wanted to make sure that I had a better day today. This included a surprise waiting for me when I got home from work. There was a bag in the living room, near the front door. In the bag:

• A Lego® train set (picture)
• Wolverine: Adamantium Rage for my XBox
• A paddle-ball/marble/bubble set
• A DVD rack to hold my XBox games

I was floored. And, it definitely made me smile.

After a refreshing shower (I spent most of the day in the warehouse and schlepping packages to FedEx and the Post Office) and a bite to eat, it was off to Wednesday night coffee. It was a nice evening, so we sat on the patio. We drank coffee and tea. We talked. We watched the moon and Mars rise.

In all, today was an excellent counterpoint to yesterday.

Song of the Day
I Can See Clearly Now by Johnny Nash or Jimmy Cliff

Stray Toasters

• My dad called a little while ago. He made it back from Oklahoma… although not through the itinerary that I had set up for him; he had to make a last minute change in one of the segments in his route. But, he’s home.
• Kudos to and for sussing out the origin of last night’s quote/paraphrase.
• I’m still curious: What does your Personal Heaven look like… and who’s going to be there?
• “Young Lady.”
• Doug, our favorite FedEx clerk, is a definite keeper.
• “Ask for your own long handle…”
• Australian researchers have found that creatine not only enhances athletic performance, but it can boost intelligence and memory. But… one of the side effects is “an unpleasant body odor.” Read more about it here.
• There’s nothing like having your coffee cup lid decide that it doesn’t want to be attached to the cup. Right after you take a sip of mocha latte. While wearing a white shirt. Thank Heaven for Spray and Wash Stain Stick! I wasn’t able to really appreciate how funny it looked until I got home and looked in the mirror. It was at this point that I came up with what would have been a great off-the-cuff retort to anyone who asked what had happened:
  

  Person: What did you spill on your shirt?
  Me: Nothing. I’m lactating.
  Person: But… that’s brown.
  Me: Yep. Chocolate milk.

• An aquarium case mod for a PC? Yes. You read that correctly. “Aquarium. Case. Mod.” Details here… kind of. (They are in Danish… with a conclusion in English.)
• One of our topics of discussion over coffee this evening was: Comic book movies. (Aww yeah! Right up my alley!) The big question was: For iconic characters, should they have to tell an origin story? My take: Yes. Even if they don’t go in-depth with it. A minor recap, even done as quick flashes, is good; it helps to show what made a character wake up one day and decide to put on a cape, tights/armor and maybe a mask.
• Homemade Voodoo Kit! *cracks up*
• In what might be a partial admission of guilt, Microsoft blames third-party code/software for half of all Windows crashes. Just half. So… are they owning the blame for the other half?

Quote of the Day
: For a photographer, he isn’t very observant.

.eof

Namaste.

Tuesday
Today was not a good day. The edginess that I was feeling earlier in the day did not subside. In fact, it got worse. I feel… thin. Worn down. I believe that Jimmy Buffet stated it best with Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude. That’s what I need. And in fairly short order.

Song of the Day
Rain by Madonna

Stray Toasters

• I saw a Jeep Cherokee with the license plate: RSH2112. It made me smile.
• While going to pickup some packing supplies, I thought about something that almost made me laugh. We drove past the water park (pools, slides) on 17th South. It’s called “Raging Waters.” What amused me was the irony: “Raging waters” …in the middle of the desert.
• Utah drivers. *sigh* There was a lady driving beside us on the way back from getting the supplies… reading a magazine while she was driving. *GRRR* I watched her for a good 10 to 15 seconds. She spent as much time reading as she did driving.
• On the way home, I was passed by a truck with “Fly By Night deliveries” painted on the door. Complete with the white owl. This made me smile, too.
• Popeye cartoons on Boomerang. A couple of things…
  1. There was a toon called ‘Popeye’s Aladdin’s Lamp.’ I am a little fuzzy on the details from the original tale, but there seemed to be plenty of things that the Disney version… borrowed from this one. I need to look into the original story and figure out what was common to all three versions.
  2. Some toons featured his four nephews. And they all have corncob pipes. But no one ever said anything about that.
  3. In one cartoon had Bluto inadvertently kissing Popeye. A couple of times. I’m curious as to what made people find this funny as opposed to instilling feelings of homophobia. I’m sure that something like that would never get past today’s censors.
• Identity Theft Countermeasures
• Samurai Jack. *nod*
• Adult Swim has returned ‘Bebop to the lineup! And, while whirling in eddies in the space-time continuum (Ah, is he? Is he?)¹ the Adult Swim thought-stream: I’m not sure that I grok FLCL, but I think that I like it.
• The Diamond Age. Now, it’s more than just a book by Neal Stephenson.
• The Crow… animated series? Don’t laugh. It may actually happen.

Namaste.

¹ – Bonus points to whomever can identify that reference…

Today is grey, overcast and windy.
Prelude to a storm.
Rain would be good.

I feel… something.
Inside.
But I cannot give it a name.

I am not quite on the brink of a storm…
But there is a quiet chaos roiling
Just below the surface.

I need something
To wash away this disquiet.
To restore a balance.

Rain would be good.

Monday
Not a bad start to the week.

Song of the Day
I Can’t Make You Love Me by Bonnie Raitt (although the George Michael or the Prince versions are good, too)

Stray Toasters

• Salacious Crumb (from Return of the Jedi) and Stripe (from Gremlins)
• Lee Press-On® Whiskers
• The disappearing Highway Patrol officer
• Microsoft… lost a patent case!?
• Chimera twins (people with two (2) sets of DNA)
• Lee Press-On® Tongue
• Black Cherry Kool-Aid.

.eof

Namaste.