Union Pacific's Great Excursion Adventure

Sunday… something… something… something else…

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Sunday – 21 April 2007
If anyone can explain to me why I was up this morning before 9:00 – even though I couldn’t fall asleep until after 4:00 – I would be very grateful.

So far this morning, I have:

  • Chatted with Nyx
  • Surfed the Interweb
  • Looked up – and watched – videos by Hooverphonic, Jane Child , White Town and The Spice Girls on YouTube
  • Installed Thunderbird on Intrepid.  (After years of being a Eudoran, I’m trying an old favorite again.)

Yep, I’m chock full of productivity!  (Nevermind the fact that my office needs a thorough cleaning.)  And now, I’m killing time until , possibly and a few others of us head to the driving range.  *taps vein*

Stray Toasters

  • I decided to do a search for “top 100 videos of all time,” for some reason.  The top entry on Google led to a link from Stylus Magazine.  Click here to see what they picked.
  • Goldfish.  So… tasty…
  • I still have no idea what song to use for my next lyric-to-drawing picture.
  • Phoenix vs. Cthulhu…  Hm.

Off to the range.

Namaste.

Travelogue

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[16:11] asdf_cat: greetings from miami!
[16:12] shadorunr: Bienvenido a Miami!
[16:13] asdf_cat: I have recently remembered something.  i hate humidity.
[16:13] asdf_cat: 😀
[16:13] shadorunr: Awww….
[16:13] shadorunr: 🙂
[16:13] shadorunr: Welcome to the Right Coast.
[16:13] asdf_cat: yeah.

” ‘What’ ain’t no country that I ever heard of! They speak English in What?!”

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What American accent do you have?
Created by Xavier on Memegen.net

Northern. Whether you have the world famous Inland North accent of the Great Lakes area, or the radio-friendly sound of upstate NY and western New England, your accent is what used to set the standard for American English pronunciation (not much anymore now that the Inland North sounds like it does).

“Look in- To the eye of the storm. Look out- For the force without form…”

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Saturday – 21 April 2007
This morning started off with “Chain of Command,” today’s episode of Legion of Super Heroes.

In it, Winath – home planet of Legionnaire Lightning Lad – was experiencing severe storms due to a malfunction of their environmental control system.  In comes the Legion to try and avert disaster.  Naturally, the Legion’s resident spark plug was a bit anxious about this mission.  And then, there was yet another monkey wrench thrown into the works: Cosmic Boy, the Legion’s leader, who had been absent from the team for months, showed up.  Not only that, he brought with him a new recruit: Ferro Lad.  Needless to say, Lightning Lad – who had been acting as the “field leader” for the Legion in Cos’ absence – reacted badly to this double whammy.

The episode wasn’t bad… but I wasn’t happy with their portrayal of Lightning Lad.  He, Cos and Saturn Girl are the three founding members of the Legion.  They’ve been friends since before there was a Legion.  (Granted, it was very shortly before there was a Legion, but that’s not the point…)   His attitude towards Cos was downright antagonistic, which was out of character for him.  But, it did work for the story… to a point.  Also, Cosmic Boy was a bit more… overbearing than I’m used to.  Well, with the possible exception of the v5 Cos (in the current Waid/Kitson version of the Legion).
Other highlights of the episode include:

  • Colossal Boy and Cosmic Boy’s exchange:  “Hey, CB-1.”   “Hey, CB-2.”  *high fives*
  • Ferro Lad’s comment: “I’m doing you a favor.  You don’t want to see what’s behind this mask.”
  • Superman (sorry… it really should be “Superboy”) starting to act more… mature.  Which isn’t to say that he hasn’t been written that way before; but there was a moment in the episode where he had been struck down and, after a short respite, put on his “I have to get back in the game” face… and took off.

But, the real stand-out in this episode was Bouncing Boy.  Yeah, I said “Bouncing Boy.”  Long looked at as a secondary character or one who could easily be brushed aside, he actually stepped up and made some noise in this episode.  Even in the various four-color series, he was usually just… there.  Sure, he and Duo Damsel ran the Legion Academy after they resigned from active duty, but he was never really an A-lister.  I was pleasantly surprised with his characterization in this episode and it should be interesting to see how they develop it in the future.

On the whole, I give this episode a thumbs-up.

=====

And, in non-toon related news: I just chatted with .  She and are on their way back to The Land Behind the Zion Curtain.

=====

Attack the day like birds of prey…

Namaste.

“Everything old is new again, everything under the sun…”

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Friday (coda)
The work day ended well.  No coworkers were harmed.  No road monkeys were harmed on the way out of Happy Valley.

I headed to Borders directly from work.  I worked on – and finished (for the most part) – the drawing I’ve been working on; this drawing was based on Jim Croce’s You Don’t Mess Around with Jim.  I’m mostly happy with it, but I still want to do some work on the rightmost picture.  Shading mostly.  But, it’s done for now.  And I can move on to the next drawing… if only I had a lyric in mind to work with.  I also realized that I don’t think I posted a link to the last drawing: It was based on Barenaked Ladies’ When I Fall.

The rest of the Clitorati showed up a little while later.  And hilarity ensued.  As usual.  A former coworker, from the REC, joined us tonight.  And, we had a special surprise guest: .  It’s kind of funny: The original groundwork for Clitorati came from the Friday nights that she and I would spend drawing.  Okay… let me amend that: She would draw and she would coach me in developing my drawing skills.  That was… about six years ago.  Then, we started inviting people to come join us and hang out.  And they told two friends.  And so on.  And so on.  And so on.  And now, we’re here.  Roll the bones.
Stray Toasters

  • This song came up in the iTunes rotation at work.  It makes me laugh… and sing along.
  • Coworker Matt sent me the following, after learning about a new Firefox plugin:

    Matt: http://digg.com/software/Firestorm_Adds_BitTorrent_Support_to_Firefox
    Matt: Super hero
    Matt: College student
    Matt: Multiple-personality disorder
    Matt: And now…
    Matt: Firefox developer!

  • The 28 Days Later Survival Test
    My results:  The Handyman -  81% Combatives, 71% Survival, 80% Judgement
    I showed the test to Tyranist…

    Me: How’d you do?
    Tyranist: 99% in all three categories.
    Me:
    Me: Wow.
    Tyranist: Too many horror movies.
    Me: Okay.
    Me: You’re one to keep around.

  • Quotes from The Long Kiss Goodnight
  • I am about 153% sick of pop-over ads.

Namaste.

“sun dogs fire on the horizon, meteor rain stars across the night…”

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Friday – 20 April 2007
And, since it’s 4-20, let’s get this out of the way now…

And, with that out of the way…

Last night, I had to return to Fiddler’s Elbow. Why? Because I had apparently been double-charged… no, triple-charged for dinner the other night. So, I went to clear things up. The manager was shocked, to say the least, but she found the problem and explained what she thought had happened. However, there’s really nothing that can be done until the charge tries to clear my bank — which she explained should go through with the proper amount. All I can do now is wait and see. It was a little irritating – and a bit inconvenient – but nothing bad enough to throw off the NBN part of Thursday.

After that, all I wanted to do was go home. And, I did. I ordered a pizza and tried to figure out what to do with the rest of the evening, since CSI: was a repeat. to the rescue! She had picked up the second season of The West Wing from the library, so she brought it over and we watched a couple episodes. That was such a good show; it’s too bad that Aaron Sorkin wasn’t there for the end – I would be interested to see how it would have been different had be been there.

The Scales of Justice
Post-Wing, The Hand of Nefer-Tem took to the streets of Paragon City.

After a little aimless wandering, and a conversation with VikingPrincess, I was invited to join a team. A team on which no one had any missions, except me. So… we ran my mission. It was tied into the last story arc (find the missing Kheldians)… but this time, we were up against The Council. We died. A few times. But, we did complete the mission.
Stray Toasters

Namaste.

everydave will understand why…

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This ranks right up there with “Ow!” and “Smooth Albinya”

“Don’t think, ’cause I understand, I care. Don’t think, ’cause we’re talking, we’re friends…”

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Thursday – 19 April 2007
So far, the day’s been good.

I woke up… and realized that there was no need for me to rush to get ready and out the door.  So, I didn’t.  It was nice.  And, I was still in the SLC office a little after 8:30.  I opted to wait until I got to the office before thinning out the blood in my caffeinestream.  Irish Creme coffee.  Tasty.

Last night, it snowed.  Again.  Nothing really stuck in the valley, but… it was still snow.  I called Dad to tell him that it was snowing.  Again.  When he stopped laughing, he made his usual request:  That I enjoy the snow, but not to feel under any obligation to send it eastward.  I went to Borders to try and polish off my latest drawing.  The theory was sound, but the practical application was lacking one thing – a picture that I had intended to use as a reference for the last part of the drawing.  *ARGH*  So, I did what I could and then just… sketched a couple of other things.

Stray Toasters

And now, it’s time to pick up and put down heavy things.

Namaste.

“Why I Selected Derek to be My Acolyte and Apprentice…” (Reason #723)

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Derek just sent me a link to The Landlord
Yes, that is Will Ferrell.

Here is some forum-gathered information on the short.

::: edit :::
Here is an article about it from Ars Technica.

“Wheels within wheels, in a spiral array…”

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More amusement from xkcd…

  • This is what sparked yesterday’s grue question…
  • And this amuses on general principle…

I’ve been informed that it’s snowing in SLC.  Does this mean that zombie Jesus did not see his shadow when he came out of his tomb and that we have six more weeks of winter?  Or should I just chalk it up to “It’s Utah…?”

“Beyond the rim of starlight…”

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Wednesday – 18 April 2007
Yesterday, I left work a little later than I had planned.  It happens.  I had to come home because, in all of my brilliance, I neglected to consider the benefits of taking a pair of jeans to work with me.  Home.  Changed.  Off on [my] way, hit the open road… and made my way to the driving range.  , onlyaly and Chris were already there.  I didn’t do so well with the 2-iron.  The 5-iron was… okay, as was the 7-iron.  My trusty 5-wood was, once again, my best friend.

And, I finally got to test drive my 1-wood/driver.  Sweet monkey-squeezin’ Jesus…!  When I managed to pull off a good swing and make a solid connection, the ball moved.  Nicely.  I still need to get a bit of practice in with it – this was the first range I’ve been on that allowed the use of a driver.  But, I can see that I’m going to enjoy using that club.

After the range, onlyaly, and I headed to Fiddler’s Elbow for dinner.  I don’t think that I’ve been there since I lived in – or shortly after I moved out of – Sugar House.  Nice place.  I’ll have to keep it on the “Places to Remember for Lunch/Dinner” List.  Good dinner and conversation.

After dinner, I met my friend, Emily – whom I haven’t seen in a proverbial month of Sundays – for coffee.  And then home again, home again.  Jiggety-jig.

Stray Toasters

Out-of-Context Quote of the Day

“…throwing a strap over my head and going to town.”

Namaste.

For Nyx…

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“I don’t know what to say, the monkeys won’t do!”

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Tuesday – 17 April 2007
Today started late.

No, that’s not right.

I started the day late. There, that’s better. I slept in this morning. A little more than I had intended, but hey… it’s sleep. I opted to skip coffee this morning; we’ll see how wise a decision that was.

While most of the road monkeys behaved themselves – as much as they ever do – there was one standout in the crowd. Brave. Bold. Stupid. I’m not sure which, but he was definitely marching to his own drummer. Coming out of Salt Lake County into Utah County on I-15, you drive down the southern face of Traverse Mountain. There was a line of semis (most of which were hauling two trailers) in the second lane from the right. Near the front of this line, a van slides in between two of the semis. And I do mean “slide.” There couldn’t have been more than four feet of space between the van and the semi that he pulled in front of. And the semi didn’t slow down. I don’t know if the van driver had balls of steel or a really good supply of Depends®, but he stayed right there. Four feet in front of that semi. And didn’t flinch.

Last night was D&D night. We started late – and there was a good bit of tangentially related silliness involved – but we did accomplish part of our goal – we made it to a dragon’s lair. (No, Dirk the Daring wasn’t there, nor was Singe or Princess Daphne.) The dragon, however, was quite dead. Actually, it was a bit undead. But that’s another story. Another reason that we went was to seek out a particular sword. While others in the party were talking, I decided to check some notes that I’d written a couple of months ago… because there was something in the back of my head that said “Something about this isn’t quite right.” Then I saw it: We had been told – in fairly certain terms – that the sword we were after had been stolen from the dragon’s lair a few centuries back. So, that part of the trip was a wash. *braincramp* We may be able to get a lead on who took it and/or where it went, but we’re effectively back at Square One on the sword quest. Yay.

Tonight brings a trip the driving range. The Shadowrun game is going on hiatus, for the time being. (This means that I don’t have to rush at the range tonight. Bonus!)
Stray Toasters

  • I know that I’ve called Hover the second most-stupid super power ever, behind super-breath, but this made me chuckle:
  • Speaking of Shadowrun, this is what happens when people can’t separate their “real life” from their “fantasy life.”
  • “That’s no access tunnel. But you’ll find that out about… now.” *zombie attack*
  • How come you never hear about anyone getting eaten by a grue anymore?

Namaste.

Groove. Boogie. Sway.

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< dance break>

  • MC Hammer – 2 Legit 2 Quit
  • Madonna – Don’t Cry for Me Argentina
  • The Cruxshadows – Ariadne

< /dance break>

“Prophet Six-Zero-Zero-Nine-One…”

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Monday – 16 April 2007
Back on the chain gang… (with apologies to The Pretenders).  So far, it’s been a pretty decent day, for a Monday, that is.  If nothing else, it’s Mocha Monday at B&B.  This means thirty-two ounces of triple-shot laden frozen mocha goodness.  Amen.

I just got back from my morning constitutional.  Nomad kept me on a good pace with the following offerings:

  • Duran Duran – Wild Boys
  • emmet swimming – Judas
  • Poe – Angry Johnny

I remember seeing Poe live at The Big Shindig in June of 1997.  Before she started her set, a guy with an electric cello came onstage, sat down and started to play.  I don’t recall what he played, but it was classical… definitely a bit “out of sorts/out of place” for an all-day concert.  He played a few songs and then… he… broke into the bass line of Angry Johnny.  You could see the looks of disbelief on peoples’ faces – mine included – as they realized what he was playing.

I don’t know exactly what I did yesterday, but I did something to my right arm while at the driving range yesterday: My right bicep hurts.  It’s roughly the same feeling I get after a good workout with dumbbell/barbell curls.  But, there’s just something… wrong… about saying that you injured yourself playing golf.  I mean, is there a less-intensive sport out there?  It’s golf.  And not even “real golf.”  Just the driving range.  Stand.  Swing.  That’s it.  My sides hurt last week, from the twisting motion.  That was understandable.  But, this…?  I got nothing.

Today’s musical offering: Hooverphonic – 2 Wicky

Namaste.