Union Pacific's Great Excursion Adventure

“Sometimes, the odd number wins… The way the big wheel spins.”

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Monday
All-in-all, today was a pretty good day. We took care of some errands this afternoon. Shopped for some grocery essentials. Went to dinner with . Afterward, she came over and gave me some ideas for preparing the backyard for next year. I want to regrade it, especially near the fence. (, I think that I’ll need your assistance with this one…)

…and then there was Poker Night. There were ten players tonight. brought down his case o’ poker chips; they made for a very pleasant playing experience. Tonight’s final three:

  1. Me.

Thanks to everyone who came to hang out and play; I hope that you had a good time.

NPR and Other News
Morning Edition: Never Sure with Modern Art
Morning Edition: Lectured in the Loo
Talk of the Nation: Debating the Success of Charter Schools

BBC News: Jet-powered Wheelchair

Stray Toasters

  • Kevin Smith has announced a sequel to Clerks. This may bear watching…
  • Ass Milk Turns Women Into Wild Sex Kittens
    (The actual title, as taken from Yahoo! Entertainment)
    *keels over laughing*

  • These are seven “not-very-happy-looking” people…
    Getting on their collective “bad side” can’t be good for one’s health.

  • What would you get to do if you had a job with the Canadian Customs and Revenue Agency? Something like this, probably.
  • g0t Farscape? Trailer for Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars
  • Cinnamon Zombie Panda Army
  • Verdammt! This is coming out just a little too late for me to use this year.
  • The Seether is neither big nor small.
    The Seether is the center of it all.

  • Patrick Stewart… as Jor-El? I could go for that.
  • Earlier, I had some cotton candy left over from yesterday’s movie. It made me want a cotton candy maker. Then I could have spun sugary goodness whenever I wanted.

Namaste.

“He deals the cards to find the answer – the sacred geometry of chance…”

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Sunday
Sleeping is good.
Sleeping in is better.
Almost oversleeping and missing today’s movie, however, is not a good thing.

, , , , and I saw Hero today. I liked it a lot; I will have to track it down on DVD. said that the original cut has an additional 00:45 of footage; I would like to see that.

After the movie, there we made an excursion to Best Buy. A trip, I am proud to say, from which I emerged empty-handed! (And there was a lovely 802.11g NIC that I saw… *sigh*) We came home for a bit and then headed to Ogden to hang out with Dee and his family… and play poker! He got a set of chips and a case. Verrrry nice, indeed. We played from 8:30 until 1:00.

And now, home again, home again jiggety jig.

PRE-SEASON FOOTBALL! (Weekend Round-up)

Detroit at Baltimore
6 – 17
I knew that this game was coming up… and completely spaced off taping it. But, it goes in the “W” column, so I’m happy about that.

New England at Carolina
17 – 20
Nothin’ like a little bit of Super Bowl revenge ass-whoopin’ for the cats.

Miami at Tampa Bay
10 – 17
The fish got skewered and served up by the Bucs.

Cleveland at Kansas City
21 – 17
The dog pound scalped the Chiefs. Congrats, . I guess the saying “The sun shines on a dog’s ass, too” really is true.

Cincinnati at Atlanta
10 – 37
The Bengals gave it up to the Falcons. Sorry, .

Seattle at San Diego
26 – 20
The Seahawks took the spark out of the Chargers. So much so that they didn’t even have to score in the fourth quarter to secure a win. Congrats, .

Stray Toasters

Namaste.

“This desert rose… Each of her veils, a secret promise…”

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Saturday
I spent the afternoon with at Utah’s 24th Annual Belly Dance Festival. It was a great alternative to spending a beautiful Saturday afternoon in front the nerd. We saw dancers and dance troupes. bought a few things. tested a batch of henna on me. And, we saw , Carrie, Angela, Beth, Larry and .

Came home and checked on the twins. Lightning seemed a little more animated, but I think that his right paw is still a bit tender.

On to bowling (167 – 142 – 122 – 190 – 143 – 153 – 134). , and met us at the alley for 2D Physics fun. At breakfast, we were joined by , and . Standard amounts of hilarity and hijinks ensued.

Stray Toasters

  • Dad called this morning. All’s well (as well as can be in the middle of wedding preparations) on the northern homefront.
  • I was flipping channels this afternoon and came across a cartoon called Liberty’s Kids. I stopped because I thought that one of the voice actors was doing an Arnold Schwarzenegger impression as one of the characters. It was a pretty good one, too. I decided to look up who it was. It was Arnold. And the rest of the cast was equally impressive. (And it was far better than watching a bad Lord of the Rings knock-off on Superfriends.)
  • By way of Slashdot: Top Banned Books of 2003
  • Kate and are getting together about my GL costume! Hoo-AH!
  • Also from Slashdot: Grow Your Own Replacement Bones
  • Reason # 99352 of “Why we love Todd”

    [13:13] *Iso8* when the fuck did team dancing with hulahoops become an olympic sport? goofy fuckers

  • Laura Branigan passed away on Thursday.
  • “Do you know how I learned about prostitution?”
    “… and so, 20 guys later…”
    “…I was with my cousins and my mother…”
    “…in Nashville…”
    “…and so 20 cowboys later…”
    “…and she only went home with 40 bucks in her pocket.”

    Let’s just say that the conversation from which these snippets were derived nearly resulted in someone spraying the breakfast group in Mr. Pibb. More than once.

  • Fuckin’ UDot!!! *shakes fist*
  • There’s something inherently wrong with having to turn on the heat in the car on the way home… at the end of August.
  • Fashion don’ts and cracked-out looking patrons in restaurants late at night. *shiver* I’m almost afraid to try and go to sleep. Almost.

Quote of the Day
Something that the writers of Justice League Unlimited have been keeping as an subplot is a burgeoning relationship between Wonder Woman and Batman. In “This Little Piggy,” tonight’s episode, the two are staking out a potential crime scene from a nearby rooftop, watching the people on the street. Wonder Woman tries to initiate some small talk:

Wonder Woman: Don’t you ever wish you were down there?
Batman: I’m down there all I need to be.
Wonder Woman: Yes, but it’s just a job to you. I’m talking about going down there and having some fun. Maybe.. maybe with someone special. *pause* No. No dating for the Batman… it might cut into your brooding time.
Batman: *stares at Wonder Woman for a moment*

    One: Dating within the team always leads to disaster.

    Two: You’re a princess from a society of immortal warriors; I’m a rich kid with issues. LOTS of issues, and….

    Three: If my enemies knew I had someone special, they wouldn’t rest until they’d gotten to me… through her.

Wonder Woman: *crushes the head of a gargoyle on the rooftop* Next?
*An alarm goes off*
Batman: There! *jumps off roof*
Wonder Woman: Saved by the bell.*flies after Batman*

I think that I’ve mentioned how much I like the writing on this show. Scenes like this just serve to reinforce that feeling. And, as an added bonus: Batman sang! Quite well, at that.

Time for a shower and maybe a few hands of poker.

Namaste.

“Turn it up or turn that wild card down.”

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Friday
Let the church say “Amen.” Mm-hmm. Amen. Amen, choir.
Now turn with me to the Book of Weekend, Chapter 8, Verse 27…

The day was pretty good. I got a few things accomplished today. That’s always a “good” thing.

Tonight’s coffee was small: , , and me. And I did some drawing for the first time in far too long. Must practice more…

Lightning seems to be favoring a paw a little; the vet said to call back if he’s not feeling better after the weekend. But, he’s still been an attention whore. So has Presto. And, oddly enough, Sissy, too…. when the twins aren’t around.

Stray Toasters
Tonight’s edition of Stray Toasters has been pre-empted.
Instead, we present: Sleep – Til the Sun Creeps over the Mountains.

Tune in tomorrow for our regularly-scheduled programming.

Namaste.

“Net boy, net girl, send your signal ’round the world…”

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Thursday
I saw Jenny (Jess’ sister) again this morning. We talked for a little bit; she still makes me laugh.

The day ended, nicely, with dinner with Jess, Mary, Pat and Staci.

NPR and Other News
All Things Considered: Census: 1.3 Million More in Poverty in 2003
All Things Considered: Remembering the First Time: ‘The Exorcist’
All Things Considered: Young History Whiz Hopes to Cash in with Trivia
All Things Considered: New Planet Detected by Small Telescope
All Things Considered: Rocking in the Key of Nintendo
All Things Considered: Vengeance Has a Gene, Scientists Say
Fresh Air: Roger Corman, Peter Fonda and Dick Miller
(Friday on Fresh Air: John Waters)

Stray Toasters

  • It seems as though the domain transfer and propagation is complete. Thanks to those who suffered through the yellow-orange doom that I stuck there until it was working.
  • Thanks also to those who voted in last night’s icon poll:
    The Winners
  • By way of Backwash: Best Movie Mistakes
  • Now pre-boarding preloading Half-Life 2
  • Slashdot Poll: Favorite Part of the Spectrum
  • From The Guardian: Top 10 Sci-Fi Films
  • Oh yeah, well…. umm… Linux doesn’t exist!
    (Which must mean that I’m hallucinating the OSes on Enterprise and Pegasus…)

  • Tubular Bells (Pt. 1)
  • It’s official: Bryan Singer is no longer attached to X3. A replacement has not been named.
  • : I think that you’ll appreciate this.
  • If this is who they cast as Dazzler, I could live with that. Easily.
  • Fuckin’ UDoT… It would be nice to actually USE all of the roads that were supposedly repaired/upgraded during the pre-Olympics construction. But, that’s obviously asking far too much. So, what do we have? Closed sections of the interstate. On-/Off-ramps that are closed… but just in one direction. Clogged surface streets. And, of course: Utah drivers. *shakes fist*

Quote of the Day
While at dinner, I noted a man at the next table with John Edwards-like hair. Of course, I commented on it. From there, John Kerry came up. That brought up this gem:

Swanny: You know, I always wondered what the child of Herman Munster and Lurch (Thanks, Jess.) would look like…
Mary: I think she was on The Golden Girls. (Bea Arthur)

Time for some pre-bed poker.

Namaste.

“Everybody need reverse polarity…”

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Wednesday
Midweek.

The twins seem to be doing well. Not quite back at 100%, but I’d give them high-80s to low-90s. And they’ve become quite the attention whores, as Jess calls them. Sometimes, they get pretty mouthy when they aren’t being lavished with attention and affection. But, they’re still cute.

On the flip side of the coin, Sissy seems to be more perturbed with them now than she was before we took them to the vet. Maybe she thought that they weren’t coming back and is mad that she has to share again. She’s been growling and generally bitchy to them. *shrug* She’ll get over it. Eventually.

NPR and Other News
Morning Edition: Car Salesman Taken for a Ride
All Things Considered: Paris Marks 60th Anniversary of Liberation from Nazis
Fresh Air: Robert Plant, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, William Shatner
Fresh Air: John Barry (composer) and Tom Jones
KUER-FM: Building a Jazz Library

Electronic Frontier Foundation: Music Publisher Settles Copyright Skirmish Over Guthrie Classic

CNN.com: What would you say?

Stray Toasters

  • Played in my first online poker tournament tonight. I finished 1005 out of 5998 total players. I’m pretty happy with that.
  • Note to self: When uploading pictures, use “Binary” transfer, not “ASCII”
  • Beer Advocate
  • Thanks to for the link to The World’s Largest Pink Ribbon
  • Arthur Alsberg, scriptwriter for The Flintstones and The Jetsons died.
  • I don’t recall what I was looking for, but in going through some old posts I came across the link to Reasonably Clever. It’s chock full of Lego® goodness.
  • loves me so much that she wants to hug my face off.
  • : Dark Knight Returns action figures and screen caps from The Batman
  • When there’s evil on the attack
    You can rest knowing they got your back
    ‘Cuz when the world needs heroes on patrol…

  • I just made the background on part of my page annoyingly bright, so that I can tell when the DNS servers are pointed to the new address.
  • The Superfriends (or at least their voice) speak out…
  • Star-Spangled Ice Cream… “Ice cream with a conservative flavor.”
  • Words can’t even begin to explain how ludicrous this story is…
  • Vin Diesel… as Lex Luthor…? *shiver* That would be wrong on so many levels.
  • I just read an preview about “This Little Piggy,” this week’s episode of Justice League Unlimited. It made me laugh.

    “This Little Piggy,” this Saturday’s episode of Justice League Unlimited, features a musical number with Batman.

    Really.

    “Since 1991, when we first started making Batman, we always joked about making Batman: The Musical because Kevin Conroy, who voices Batman, is a fine singer,” explained Justice League voice director Andrea Romano. “In this episode, Batman is forced to do something humiliating in order for a spell to be reversed. And what he is forced to do is sing a song, and he sings it wonderfully.”

    Rachel York, who plays Circe in “This Little Piggy,” also gets to sing in the episode.

    “You just don¹t get to do many musical numbers in Justice League, so that’s really, really fun,” Romano said.

  • When I think of “Thor,” this (big guy on the left) seems much more appropos than this one.

Poll of the Day

I think that’s all.
For now.

Namaste.

“The spaces in between leave room for you and I to grow.”

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Tuesday
Today’s highlight: Picking up the twins from the vet. We had them declawed and had their plumbing reworked so that there will be no incest kittens. (NOTE: We chose to have them declawed; if you’re not a fan of declawing, I respect that and expect the same type of respect for our choice in reciprocity.) Unlike when we brought Sissy and Xena home from their appointment, the twins have been moderately active… at least as active as their “kitty Lortab” will let them be. Maybe this even means that we will get a kitten wrestling-free night of sleep!

I talked with Mom and my stepfather this evening. All seems well on the eastern front. Mom also said that Kris is adjusting to her new place and law school.

Stray Toasters

  • The great domain migration (Thanks, !) is under way. Sometime over the course of the next few days, some of the images in my posts might go *pfft*. I’ll do what I can to put them into the proper places, post transfer.
  • : I saw this and immediately thought of you.
  • : This one’s for you.
  • Wow.
  • I have a mansion, forget the price…
    I’ve never been there, they tell me it’s nice.

  • It was bound to happen, someone was bound to do it: Cherry has designed a Linux keyboard.
  • Get a girlfriend, you’ll understand.
  • The Virtual Toilet Paper Museum

It’s MUCH later than I had thought. And that means…. Bedtime!

Namaste.

“Don’t ask me, I’m just improvising…”

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Monday
I finally got to sleep around 5:45 this morning. Not good. I slept in MUCH later than I had planned, but it was a very restful sleep… so that was good. I just hope that the cycle breaks soon.

No one showed up for poker, either. *sigh* came over after she got off work. She, Jess and I watched some of the Olympic coverage on NBC and Bravo.

Stray Toasters

  • In theory, putting a new bookcase in a room should help make things more neat and orderly. *looks around room* So, what happened here?!
  • I don’t have a joke here, but I found this and couldn’t keep it to myself. The rest of the site is pretty good.
  • George Lucas may make sequels to the Star Wars trilogy. If Episode III turns out to be another piece of tripe, will audiences really want to pay to see them?
  • “You know, once you feng shui the organs, it’s kind of cozy.” -Stewie
  • I have been doing searches for JLU pics – time to update my GL icon to reflect his new look. I did a search for “Justice Unlimited” and it returned pictures of the U.S. Supreme Court. On the whole, this line-up is even more scary looking than the ’86 Celtics starting five. *shiver*
  • : I think that the transfer can be done fairly easily. And painlessly.
  • This reminded me of far too many days at the REC:
  • The “Ultimatization” of DC comics? Published under their Wildstorm banner? This bears keeping an eye on.
  • From the promo blurb for an upcoming She-Hulk TPB comes the best personal ad for a superhero:

    Single Green Female, outgoing, intelligent, great sense of humor. Enjoys clubbing, dishing with gal-pals and saving the universe. Ready to put old issues behind and make a fresh start. Contact Jen W. at Avengers Mansion.

  • New rumours… of a possible… Legion cartoon…
  • Is it a bad sign that I actually want to see Resident Evil: Apocalypse? Of course, if it’s a total piece, I can hold out hope for Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.
  • “And free cookies.”

  • : The Oompa Loompas in Tim Burton’s new “Charlie And The Chocolate Factory” are planned to be all CGI and each a different colour. They are currently test-shooting footage for this. (from Comic Book Resources)

Okay, time to try sleeping.

Namaste.

“A tired mind become a shapeshifter…”

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Sunday
Sleeping in = GOOOD!!! *gesture* I think that my lack of sleep finally caught up with me. Thank God. Not being able to sleep is not fun. Catching up on the rest was a good thing. And, it’s been a semi-lazy day about the house. I did do few things that I can stick under the “productive” banner.

came over this evening and worked on the gauntlets for my Hallowe’en costume. Aww, yeah.

And there’s poker morrownight. Selah.

Stray Toasters

  • Last night’s 2D high score: 190.
  • The Moody Blues song Nights in White Satin is not about the Klan; it would be Knights in White Cotton, if it was.
    (But, the spoken part at the end of the song used to creep me out as a kid.)

  • Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip…
  • I had yet another good (and thought-provoking) conversation with this evening.
  • Jean Grey… or The Phoenix… or both of them… are coming back. Perhaps for the last time.

    With Phoenix’s 25th anniversary on the horizon, Marvel announced at Wizard World Chicago last weekend that it will celebrate that landmark with a new five-issue mini-series, “X-Men: Phoenix – Endsong,” written by Greg Pak (“Warlock”) with art by Greg Land coming January of 2005.

  • Utah drivers.
  • “Who doesn’t like parfait?” (Or three-legged races?)
  • From Slashdot: News of an origami convention in Japan.
  • , I think that you’ll like this.
  • I should call the ‘rents tomorrow…um… “today.”

Quote of the Day

[22:23] *UglyKid* any one have time stamped when i asked how to spell martyr?
[22:23] [21:52] *UglyKid* how do you spell Mar-ter?
[22:23] [21:53] *DArcThang* martyr?
[22:23] lol
[22:23] *UglyKid* 9:53 then?
[22:24] Technically, you asked at 9:52, but my clock…. but why quibble.
[22:24] *UglyKid* well…yeah…i ment when did i get the word…oh well…
[22:24] That wasn’t the question that you asked, though. 🙂
[22:24] You asked “…when I asked…”
[22:24] *UglyKid* wrote a new song it took me about 30 min 🙂
[22:25] *UglyKid* yeah yeah…always with the technicalites
[22:25] Comes with the job. 😀
[22:25] *UglyKid* 🙂
[22:25] I figured that you’d be used to it by now.
[22:25] *UglyKid* yep..and i wouldnt change it
[22:25] Good answer. 😉
[22:26] *UglyKid* rob i’ve always considered you my batman to superman…my frylock to shake…
[22:26] *UglyKid* dont know if i ever told you that
[22:26] *UglyKid* but that’s how i see our relationship
[22:26] *UglyKid* usual the batman/superman one
[22:26] I can live with that.

And I’m not tired. Verdammt. Maybe a drive will help lull me to sleep.

Namaste.

I think that I broke <lj user=”suzie_lightning”>…

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My affinity for Cartoon Network and Boomerang are common knowledge. Today, Boomerang featured shows from 1980. I caught part of Thundarr the Barbarian and Superfriends. I have been a fan of the Justice League for many years. I remember waiting to watch the various animated incarnations of the team (and the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man and… and… and…) with a bowl of cereal in hand.

Something that I never understood: The “need” to have the “Junior Superfriends” (Marvin, Wendy and Wonder Dog or Jayna, Zan and Gleek). Did the powers-that-be think that kids needed younger heroes’ perspective to be drawn into the shows? C’mon. We’re talking the big guns of the DCU. How many kids have to be prodded into watching Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman and the rest? Well, I can understand needing a helpful nudge for watching Aquaman, but why quibble? And it’s not like the DCU didn’t have young heroes with decent powers, as evidenced when the Wonder Brats disappeared and were replaced with Firestorm and Cyborg. I never liked the Wonder Twins. Unless they were in mortal peril. They were like the poor man’s version of Robin the Boy Hostage Wonder!

But I digress…

Today, they showed an episode called “The Lord of Middle Earth.” I watched a few minutes of it before flagging down to suffer with me. In it the Wonder Hostages, um, I mean “Twins” were captured by “Malhavoc,” turned into trolls and forced to… oh, just read the synopsis.

This is the play-by-play of the conversation that and I had while watching it:

[14:05] : Do you have Boomerang?
[14:05] : Yeah…
[14:05] : I apologize for this, but turn it on.
[14:05] : Episode: “The Lord of Middle Earth”
[14:05] : O_o
[14:07] : Batman sounds like a pussy
[14:08] : *cracks up*
[14:08] : This just reinforces why I [heart] JLU
[14:08] : Bat-Troll
[14:08] : *cracks up*
[14:09] : THREE DEADLY TASKS!
[14:09] : Magic ring of Gandor?!
[14:09] : *FLOOR*
[14:10] : <facepalm>
*Batman/Bat-Troll gets captured by the tongue… of a cave that has become a giant mouth*
[14:10] : Bat-Vienna Sausage
*Troll-der Woman defangs the cave and she, Bat-Troll, Gleek and the King of the Trolls run into the reverted cave*
[14:11] : Wasn’t that just trying to eat him?
[14:11] : what in god’s name?
[14:11] : And they…run…in…?
[14:11] : yeah…
*insert stupid “M.O.T.O.” comment from Bat-Troll*
[14:11] : No shit, Captain Bat-Obvious.
[14:12] : Cro Mag-Bat
[14:12] : heh
[14:12] : Hera to Wonder Woman: Sit up straight! You’ll ruin your posture!
[14:12] : BWAHAHAAHHA
*Batman/Bat-Troll temporarily captures Malhavoc in a Bat-forcefield*
[14:13] : You’ve got to be kidding me…
[14:14] : That’s all it took!?
[14:14] : O_O
*HIGHLIGHT OF THE EPISODE: The Wonder-Trolls, in a cage, are being lowered into… something… that spells certain doom for them*
[14:14] : Let ’em fry!
[14:14] : Let ’em fry!
[14:14] : Superman looks a li’l gawth…
[14:16] : I can’t watch this…
[14:16] : Tolkein must be rolling in his grave.

Finding out that some of the Saturday morning cartoons that I used think were great were just pabulum shatters so many of my illusions. Granted, a lot of today’s toons aren’t much better, but I still hold out hope that more of them will reach the level of JLU or any number of anime series.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled LiveJournal reading…

“More than blind ambition… More than simple greed… More than just a finish line, must feed this burning need.”

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Friday
Not much to the early day to report.

I hung out with Perry for a bit this afternoon. He’s been having some networking issues, so I told him that I’d help out. Seems that Kate’s computer is being uppity. I’m going back over there this weekend to adjust its opinion of the other computers. Or break it. Whichever comes first. (Although, I think that fixing the problem will be the cheapest solution.)

We had a decent turnout for coffee tonight. A good mix of people and a wide range of topics makes for a good way to spend the evening. And, adding to the goodness: has some ideas for GL costumes for Perry and me.

PRE-SEASON FOOTBALL!

Baltimore at Philadelphia
17 – 26
Preseason game in Philly. Since I wasn’t home, I taped it. The boys didn’t win this one, but it was a pretty decent game. There were enough mistakes to cost them a “W” but I’m sure that Coach Billick will have them back in shape next week.

NPR and Other News
Morning Edition: Lactic Acid May Not Cause Muscle Fatigue
TotN – Science Friday: Formerly Conjoined Twins Leading Independent Lives
All Things Considered: Reggae Singers Warned over Anti-Gay Lyrics
All Things Considered: Muslim Women Break Barriers to Reach Olympics
All Things Considered: Relic a Reminder of Slavery’s Horrors
All Things Considered: The Middle East and the West: WWI and Beyond

New York Times: Senator Blacklisted by No-Fly List

InformationWeek: IE Flaw Affects Windows XP SP2 Systems

Stray Toasters

  • If all goes well, we may be rid of one of the lilac bushes tomorrow.
    *crossing fingers*

  • I recently discovered that Reflections has landed on Shockwave.com’s “Gameblast.” A service for which you have to pay. GRRR.
  • Comics Continuum has breakdowns on some of the major characters from Warner Bros.’ new cartoon: The Batman.
  • I think that I have mentioned that I’m a fan of Dick Van Dyke at least once or twice. Something that I didn’t know was that he is into computer graphics. No, not MS Paint. Think more along the lines of Lightwave. Yeah, one of the big guns. Who knew?! Thanks to for the article.
  • Ever wonder what your fish are up to when you aren’t around?
  • Slashdot has an article about D&D documentaries.
  • Infoworld’s Six great myths of IT
  • U.S. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps has been nothing short of spectacular over the course of the Summer Games. In and out of the water. I think that his decision to step aside and give his place in the 400M medley relay to Ian Crocker epitomizes the word “sportsmanship.” And all of this from a nineteen-year-old. If more athletes in other sports were so willing to share the spotlight, what would the sporting world be like…?
  • “If you don’t thtop, I’m going to get vampire cootieth all over you.”

Quote of the Day
Gleaned from Leah at tonight’s coffee gathering:

I thought my boobs were going to fall off…

Namaste.

“Swimming in their pools, they soon forget about the sea…”

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Thursday
Stuff… stuff… more stuff… other stuff.

And then we went to Cheers for dinner. Kate was there. I do believe that I’m going over to her place to hand out with Perry for a bit tomorrow. Gotta talk GL costumes and whatnot.

Chris Rock: Never Scared. I haven’t seen one of his stand-up routines in a long time. It was funny.

NPR and Other News
Morning Edition: Naked Olympics Tale Exposed
Morning Edition: Oscar-Winning Composer Elmer Bernstein, 82, Dies
Morning Edition: Dungeons and Dragons Turns 30
Morning Edition: Spanish Town Hosts Running of the Bulls for Kids
All Things Considered: Women Unrepentant over Man’s Killing in India
All Things Considered: The Middle East and the West: Carving Up the Region
All Things Considered: Maine Lighthouse Searches for New Owner

Stray Toasters

  • Gummy Worlds + Gatorade = Best of both worlds.
  • There’s a preseason game tomorrow night:
    vs.

    At the Vet. Kick-off is at 6:00 (MDT). And I won’t be here. Looks like I’ll see this one on tape.

  • From come two bits of video amusement: Godless video and Reno 911
  • A friend from the USPS sent a link to this.
  • POVCOMP 2004 – Digital art. Very good digital art.
  • I’m not sure how many to whom this will apply: PowerBook G4 Battery Recall
  • Jimmy crack corn
    And I don’t care…

    If he was “popping” corn, on the other hand, I’d be all over it.

  • The Functions of Henna Traditions during the Childbirth and Postpartum Period
  • There’s a rumour (just a rumour, at this point) that Smallville‘s Tom Welling may have agreed to test for the lead in Brian Singer’s version of Superman. Some of the powers-that-be at Warner Bros. aren’t too thrilled about it. (They’re most likely thinking about their Smallville revenue going *poof*.)
  • caloriesperhour.com
  • By way of Backwash: The Great American Road Trip
  • I can usually count on pics in the DCG to make me smile. This was no exception.
  • Former Teen Titans Hawk and Dove move up to the Big League on this week’s episode of JLU

  • Just when you thought that it was safe to buy an aquarium:

Quote of the Day
From Chris Rock: Never Scared

If Iraq was such a bad country… how come we took it over in two weeks? You can’t even take over Baltimore in two weeks!

Namaste.

“I hear their passionate music…”

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Wednesday
Prokofiev.
Schober.
Mozart.

Those are the composers whose works were performed this evening by Keith Lockhart and the Utah Symphony, with guest artists eighth blackbird. It was the last of the Deer Valley Music Festival series. And it was fun. The classical pieces were performed by Utah Symphony; and while I’m not a typically a fan of modern composers, Schober’s work, performed by the symphony and eighth blackbird wasn’t bad. It was a very nice change of pace. I think that I want season tickets to the symphony.

NPR and Other News
Morning Edition: Want Pot with That Shake?
Morning Edition: Mel Brooks: A Lifetime of Laughter
Morning Edition: Ruby Tuesday’s: An Experiment in Eating Out Smart
Morning Edition: Ozomatli: A Multi-Ethnic Musical Fusion (See also: Ozomatli.com)
All Things Considered: College Challenges Oregon’s ‘Diploma Mill’ Law
All Things Considered: A Case for Nude Olympians
All Things Considered: ‘The Reunion:’ The Integration of Shaker Heights
All Things Considered: The Middle East and the West: Rise of the Ottomans

USA Today: Blind students to launch rocket under NASA program

Stray Toasters

  • Toblerone white chocolate. Mm-hmm, that’s right. Bow down.
  • Thanks to everyone who responded to the biking poll. I have one question for those of you who said that you aren’t riders: How did you come about your answers to the other questions if you don’t ride a bike? I’m not trying to be a smartass (this time), I’m just curious. It reminded me of this poll in which I asked “Do you currently have a broadband connection?” The follow-up was “If you answered yes…” And I got responses from non-broadband users. *boggle*
  • Sib3 still wants to be a pirate, but he remembered why he didn’t want to join the Navy (white uniforms aside): He’s not too fond of the water. So, I think that I’ve convinced him to become a sky pirate. That way he gets the best of both worlds: He can be a pirate AND still get to fly.
  • are hatching plans to run for office. We don’t think that we can run as a ticket, so… we have to figure out a way to get him into a position in the ascendency. Something like Speaker of the House.
  • By way of : Bears of discriminating taste prefer Rainier.
  • By way of : Star Trek Service Pack 1
  • Sharon Stone is on The Late Show with David Letterman She’s amusing. She might be a bit tipsy.
  • Interview with Paul Dini
  • Badminton is an Olympic sport!? When did this happen?!?
  • USA Today ran the following poll: “What movie match-ups do you want to see?” As of 12:35 AM (MDT), the results were:
      38.59% – Halle Berry’s Catwoman vs. Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman
      27.16% – Batman vs. Spider-Man
      16.74% – Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man vs. Shrek 2‘s Gingerbread Man
        9.68% – Ewoks vs. the Hobbits
        7.83%Bad Santa vs. Santa Clause
  • Antigravity

Artist of the Day
PCAF exhibitors Amelia Chao and Paul Ogren: Lightscape Gallery

Namaste.

“I’m in a groove now or is it a rut?”

everyday glory No Comments »

Tuesday
Another day done. I didn’t get as much done as I wanted… or would have liked.

But, there’s always tomorrow.

NPR and Other News
Talk of the Nation: Carl Reiner: Comedy as a Life’s Work
All Things Considered: Creative Spaces: Phylicia Rashad’s Nature Escape
All Things Considered: Coal Miners Lose Health Benefits in Bankruptcy
All Things Considered: The Middle East and the West: The Crusades

USA Today: ‘Boots’ takes Gold at the Ferret Olympics
(: You might want to start getting Simon in shape!)
USA Today: Cat in cockpit causes emergency landing
USA Today: Spielberg to direct War of the Worlds, Cruise to star.

Stray Toasters

  • Gummy worms. ‘Nuff said.
  • By way of Slashdot: Article about Star Wars (Eps. IV – VI) DVDs.
  • I just saw a very cool commercial for the Clark Planetarium.
  • Goodbye Kitty
    (Disclaimer: No real cats were harmed in the making of this journal entry.)

  • …speaking of which: , click here.
  • Keep on looking forward, no use in looking ’round;
    Hold your head above the ground and they won’t bring you down.

  • “I got points off for writing ‘incesters’ instead of ‘ancestors.’ Same difference.”

  • Even though I don’t care for Sealab 2021, I have to admit that the “trailer” for Tinfins made me laugh.
  • I just finished watching Pluto Nash. Not a great movie, but it was mindless fun… I’d still have to put it on the Cool World-Long Kiss Goodnight Scale. Mid 7s to low 8s. I’ve been an Eddie Murphy fan since… oy… his early Saturday Night Live appearances. While I watched Nash, was giving me the play-by-play of her latest Bollywood fare. As scary as it might be, I may have to watch it.
  • Time Squad!
  • By way of Backwash: Marry Blaire.
  • I just received spam titled “Re: Spiderman Pharmacy”

Poll of the Day
Based on a couple of things that I saw while driving around today…

Quote of the Day
Comedian Alonzo Bodden, on The Late, Late Show with Craig Kilborn:

I think there ought to be a rule: If you’re hanging out with a bunch of women and they don’t help you get laid, one of them should take one for the team.

Namaste.

“That’s the way that Lady Luck dances. Roll the bones….”

everyday glory No Comments »

Monday
Slept in again this morning. I needed it.

Ran a few errands, including a trip to reprint my resume – I had to correct a point that and pointed out this weekend. Ran into KKKaren at ‘ office. She actually spoke! I gave her a short answer and walked away. If I had really been thinking, the “short answer” would have been the “curt answer.” Maybe next time.

Poker night with one of – if not “the” – largest groups we’ve had. Lots of fun.

Stray Toasters

  • Talked with the parental units today. All is well.
  • I think that I surprised the poker group when they saw my tasty iced creams topped with a heaping helping of Honeycomb® cereal. *shrug*
  • Lego® + Alien = this.
  • By way of came a link for: Quantum Sleeper.
  • Here are a few comics-related goodies:
    • : For you – 1 and 2, 3.
    • : Click here and here.
    • : I think that you’ll like this.
  • If you’re a child of the late 60s or early 70s (or if you have Cartoon Network and/or Boomerang), you know who this is:
    Beginning in November, he will star in a 6-issue mini-series from DC Comics.

    SPACE GHOST #1
    Written by Joe Kelly, art by Ariel Olivetti and cover by Alex Ross.

    It’s the real Space Ghost in a way that’s never been seen before anywhere — in all-out super-hero action!.The cartoon hero is the star of the 6-issue mini-series that sheds light on this mysterious figure’s shadowy past.

    A young policeman joins an elite space force that turns out to be horribly corrupt. When his moral standards don’t permit him to live a lie, our hero attempts to stop them…at the cost of his own family — and his soul. Witness the origin of one of the most beloved super-heroes ever.

  • While I like having the futon in the HALO Command Center, I’m thinking of taking it out. What would I use to replace it? No idea. Putting it in the guest bedroom seems to be a tad more apropos… and it would save us from having to get a bed, at least for the short term. Besides, if I do take it out, I could get a table and put up my Lego® train and Rokenbok® Monorail. Decisions, decisions…
  • I think that I will continue to mow the lawn in the middle of the week. I like not having to deal with it on Saturday afternoons. And that means more play time!
  • Finland, Finland, Finland…

Namaste.