Random Access

Thursday – 22 May 2008
It’s a wet and rainy morning in the Land Behind the Zion Curtain.
After Tuesday’s 90° high and yesterday’s (possible) 60° high… today’s projected high is 50°.
Fifty. Five-zero.
Unglaublich!

Last night, SaraRules and I watched Poolhall Junkies. Christopher Walken. Rod Steiger. Chazz Palminteri. Lex Luthor Michael Rosenbaum. And where in the world has Carmen Sandiego Ernie Reyes, Jr. been?! Somehow, I had managed never to see this movie. That’s a shame – it’s a good movie. And, although they never overtly say it, it was filmed (and set) in Salt Lake City – you can even see the SLC LDS Temple in an exterior shot. (That, I did know before seeing the movie, though.) Being a film about a young hotshot pool player, it reminded me of The Color of Money. I even considered watching both of them for a better juxtaposition. And, if I do that, I am Ivory Soap sure that I will add The Hustler to the mix, just for good measure.

Not only is it NBN Thursday, it’s also “Sushi Wednesday.
And “Comic Book Day-After-Wednesday.”

Stray Toasters

• I’m not a fan of “reality TV,” generally speaking. I think I’ve made that fairly apparent over the years. However there are two things that have come to my attention this season that are somewhat noteworthy:
  • American Idol. I didn’t watch the show, but I caught a couple of episodes at Kate and Perry’s over the past couple of months. I mentioned David Cook back in March as having caught my attention. And, as of last night, he was chosen as American Idol’s champion for the 2007-2008 season.
  • Deion and Pilar: Prime Time Love. Kris (Sib-2) brought this show to SaraRules and my attention when we were in Florida. This show is… to call it “a trainwreck” doesn’t do it justice. You just can’t help but stare at, mouth agape. And laugh. Doubled-over on the floor, holding your sides laughing. And the opening theme? Comedy. Pure comedy. , I take back (just about) everything I ever said about your fascination with The Anna Nicole Smith Show after watching Deion & Pilar.
• Claire Beale interviews Apple’s Jonathan Ive
• I am looking for suggestions of new musical artists/bands.
• Pirate’s Booty: An ex-Jack Sparrow spills on life at the Magic Kingdom
• Getting ‘Nine back into shape is becoming… tedious. Certain things don’t seem to want to install properly. It’s getting a little annoying, in fact. And, it really is making me give more consideration to picking up a Mac Mini or an iMac this year, maybe as a second birthday present or Christmas present to myself.
• Sushi Jihad!
• The Secret History of Star Wars
• SaraRules left me a message: My friendly, neighborhood Spider-Man letter carrier brought me a package chock full of plastic crack. Selah.

Quote of the Day
Somehow, Christopher Walken always manages to get both some of the most random – and some of the most cool – lines in any movie he’s in:

Mike: You watch those nature documentaries on the cable? You see the one about lions? You got this lion. He’s the king of the jungle, huge mane out to here. He’s laying under a tree, in the middle of Africa. He’s so big, it’s so hot. He doesn’t want to move. Now the little lions come, they start messing with him. Biting his tail, biting his ears. He doesn’t do anything. The lioness, she starts messing with him. Coming over, making trouble. Still nothing. Now the other animals, they notice this. They start to move in. The jackals; hyenas. They’re barking at him, laughing at him. They nip his toes, and eat the food that’s in his domain. They do this, then they get closer and closer, bolder and bolder. Till one day, that lion gets up and tears the shit out of everybody. Runs like the wind, eats everything in his path. Cause every once in a while, the lion has to show the jackals, who he is.

/lunch

Namaste.

Wednesday: Coda
Today hasn’t been bad. I started the day (briefly) in SLC and then headed to AF. Not too much was going on there, but there were a couple of small… not even fires… to deal with. And the first workout in about two weeks. It was a decent workout, but having been out of the gym for so long, it was a definite challenge:

• Leg Raises: 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 185 lbs.
• Upright Rows: 3 sets – 1 set/8 reps @ 70 lbs, 2 sets/10 reps @ 50 lbs (we think)
• Curls (dumbbell, concentration): 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs
• Rows: 3 sets/12 reps, 120 lbs.

I weighed in at 174.4 lbs. I don’t think that’s too bad.

I headed back up to SLC to round out the day. It was pretty quiet, so I was able to get a decent bit of Win 2K3 reading done.

Home to play around with ‘Nine. Installing a couple of the drivers was like going around my ass to scratch my nose. Yay for Windoze. Blah.

Stray Toasters

• City of Heroes/City of Villains new update, Issue 12: Midnight Hour, went live today.
• asked me if I had seen this article about PHP coding (all functions that begin with the letter “a”). I hadn’t. I asked him if he had heard A, by Barenaked Ladies. He hadn’t. He has now.
• On today’s Fresh Air, David Bianculli interviewed Mark Evanier, author of Kirby: King of Comics
• Five Gadgets That Will Make You a Super Hero
• …however, although I don’t think that injections of radioactive scorpion venom will turn Senator Kennedy into a superhero, it will hopefully slow the progress of his tumor.
• Spider-Bot!
  Spider-Bot!
  Does what Ted Kennedy cannot!
  (Climb walls, that is.)
• I bagged on Twitter a few of days ago. I still agree with ‘s comment – and I find this Penny Arcade toon to be fairly spot-on (and amusing) – but I think that Gizmodo found a good use for Twitter.
• 
• Refurbished iPhones Might Still Have Previous Owners’ Personal Data, No Way to Erase It

Namaste.

Wednesday – 21 May 2008
It’s raining.
It’s currently 49° outside.
Not only that, today’s projected high is 60°F.
Yesterday’s high, according to The Weather Channel, was 92°.

Last night, after dinner, I stretched out on the couch for a bit. What I had intended to be a few moments’ rest turned (almost immediately) into a nap. Go figure. After watching CSI: and L&O:SVU, SaraRules and I watched Kingdom of Heaven. I had not watched it since its theatrical release, but remembered it to be a solid movie; I did not misremember it.

Stray Toasters

• A few minutes ago, a kid getting ready to catch the bus was humming the theme from Super Mario Bros. If you have to pick a theme song for the day, I suppose that’s not a bad one to choose.
• Morpheus has led me into strange corners of The Dreaming lately.
• From CNN: Commentary: Make wearing a flag pin the 28th Amendment
• Does this offend you? Why or why not?
• At lunch yesterday, Naked Eyes’ (There’s) Always Something There to Remind Me played over the sound system. Code Monkey, Scott and I remembered the song… but couldn’t name the band. We mentioned it to and stumped him, too. Wikipedia to the rescue! What none of us knew was that the song was co-written by Burt Bachrach. In the ’60s. And the demo was recorded by Dionne Warwick.
• 
• Yes, the new iPhone will be on sale 09 June.

Time to finish getting ready and get on the way to work.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 20 May 2008
More workdays should start like this:

Paul, one of our VPs, was talking to a few minutes ago. I had been away from my desk and returned to hear say: “…you’ll have to ask Rob about that.” Naturally, my curiosity was piqued. Paul turned to me, nodded to my desk and said:

“Jay (one of our new corporate overlords overseers protectors) was in the office a few weeks ago and saw that picture on your desktop…”

“…he didn’t see you sitting there and he got REALLY worried and started going off about how this office was out of control and needed to get diversity training in here immediately.”

I started laughing. A lot. Then I quipped, “That probably explains why he looks at me so oddly when he walks down the hall.”

, not missing a beat, retorted: “No, that’s just Jay.”

I told Paul that he made my day by relating that story to me.

I’ll have to name Paul today’s Human of the Day for this.

Intelligent != Smart

Monday – 19 May 2008
A new (work) week begins. At least this one is sunny. And it’s supposed to be warm/hot today, too. But, it’s a dry heat.  Should I be… concerned… that Ozzy Osbourne’s Crazy Train just felt like the “right” song to listen to? I mean, that shouldn’t be taken as an omen for the day, should it?

*looks around for Cthulhu cultists*

Last night, SaraRules and I watched Constantine. All-in-all, it wasn’t a horrible adaptation of Hellblazer… although, it would have been nice if they had stayed a little closer to Alan Moore’s vision/version of John Constantine and Hellblazer, but isn’t that the way things seem to go with adaptations of his work? I had forgotten that Shia LeBeouf was in the movie. He’s everywhere these days.

Stray Toasters

• Gewurtztraminer
• A couple of bits of LEGO-related goodness:
  • 5 million-piece LEGO boulder chases Indy, crashes into car
  • Builds LEGO model inside bag without telekinesis
• Just a friendly reminder: Towel Day is coming up!



• DS9 has contracted… something. It will boot in Safe Mode, but I can’t get it to boot in normal mode. It’s not the power supply. It’s not (as best I can tell) a problem with the motherboard. I should just get an iMac and be done with it.
• Hello Kitty comes to Warhammer 40K with the Sisters of Battle
• 
• While flipping channels last night, I saw that The Empire Strikes Back was on TNT. So, we flipped back and forth between that and The Office. One of the scenes we watched was the one in which Han Solo is frozen in Carbonite. I noticed a continuity goof that I had never noticed/overlooked:
  

  Continuity: When Han Solo is lowered into the carbon freezing chamber, his hands are bound by metallic handcuffs. As soon as he’s frozen, his hands are separated in the carbon block. (from IMDb.com)

• Museum of Counterfeit Art
• 

Quote of the Day
When Code Monkey and I went for our morning constitutional, he related a comment that had been attributed to a former coworker of ours:

Code Monkey: Doug’s definition of “perfect democracy” – Two wolves and a sheep deciding on what’s for dinner.

/lunch

Namaste.

Sunday – 18 May 2008
Today has been quite nice. It started off with sleeping in. That’s always a good way to kick off a weekend morning. We had a couple of options of how to start the morning: A trip to the Garden of Sweden or brunch at The Cheesecake Factory.

We opted for The Cheesecake Factory. This time, we actually got in and got seated. The decor, as SaraRules commented, was an odd combination of art deco, Tuscan and Egyptian. It… “works,” but it was a little odd to see all together. I had the French Toast with a side of ham; I thought that it was pretty good. And our waitress, Brandy, was rather attentive and had a pleasant demeanor. All-in-all, I’d give it a thumbs-up.

Next on the docket: Utah Opera’s production of Don Giovanni (1, 2). The production was very good. The principals all did an excellent job, especially Christopher Schaldenbrand, as Don Giovanni – he made the rakish Don both likable and detestable. As added bonuses, we ran into ‘s aunt, a coworker and an ex-coworker of mine.

Next, we stopped in to say “Hi” to SaraRules’ family-unit. Then, home. SaraRules fixed a very tasty lemon chicken, with rice pilaf and broccoli.

Don’t know what’s up for the rest of the evening, but I’m pretty sure that we’ll come up with something.

Stray Toasters

• I stumbled across this on Engadget, it made me laugh:

• How to Pack Everything You Own in One Bag
• I just made a really bad She Talks to Angels joke to SaraRules. She didn’t shake her head at me or pat me patronizingly.
• The new teaser poster for the upcoming Punisher: War Zone movie:



• Pulp Non-Fiction: I don’t care for pulp in my fruit juice.
• If I wanted to do my third Samuel L. Jackson-based Hallowe’en costume in four years (Mace Windu and Neville Flynn, from Snakes on a Plane), I could go as either Nick Fury, from Marvel’s Ultimate line and the recent Iron Man movie or The Octopus, from the upcoming The Spirit movie.



• Donald Soffritti has an amusing look at superheroes in their old age in his blog.

And, that’s a wrap.

Namaste.

Saturday – 17 May 2008
One of the great things about the weekend is the ability to sleep in.

Too bad nobody told my body about that.

I’ve been awake since 6:45 this morning.  In an effort not to awaken SaraRules, I headed into the living room and read some of the books that Dave set aside for me during Free Comic Book Day.  When I tired of that, I fired up the XBox 360 and played a bit of Marvel Ultimate Alliance.  I figured that if I couldn’t watch superheroes (since my favorite ‘toons are off the air), I would play superhero.  I haven’t played this game in a LONG time – and the last time I played was on the old XBox… so I was starting over.  From Square One.  But it was fun.

After SaraRules woke up, she made – MADE – a coffee cake.  We also channel-surfed a bit, until settling on The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

Today, we’re going to run some errands and just… hang out.

Tonight, breakfast.

In between… well, we’ll just see what comes up.

Namaste.

Friday – 16 May 2008
Another week draws to a close…

Last night’s (first) CSI: episode was, thankfully, much better than last week’s episode; I didn’t watch the season finale as SaraRules wanted to see The Office season finale. (And, thanks once again to On Demand, I’ll be able to watch the CSI: episode at my leisure.) While she watched The Office, I finished reading this week’s four-color shwag. I’ll come back to that in a few.

I believe that jet lag – and just general weariness – caught up with me last night, too. While watching an episode of L&O: SVU, I started getting tired. With twenty minutes left in the show, I realized that there was pretty much NO way that I was going to make it that long. We got up, got ready for bed and I was out within minutes of my head hitting the pillow…

…which must have been fairly hard, because I woke up with a lovely headache. *blah*

Four-Color Coverage
Part of this week’s comic haul included a couple of books that I didn’t get last week because of the trip to Florida. A few of the books included Secret Invasion tie-ins/crossovers. While I really hope that Marvel isn’t taking a cue from Staples and just pushing the “Easy” button…

…I have to admit that I am finding the storyline rather interesting. So far, we know that:

1. Some heroes are not who they appear to be.
2. The Skrulls have a SERIOUS mad on for Earth.
3. October 12th is important to Hawkeye.
4. Johnny Storm’s ex-wife has some… unresolved issues.
5. Tony Stark is still a jerk (at least in the comics).

I’m waiting to see how this storyline plays out and what it means for the Marvel Universe after the dust clears.

I also read the long overdue Action Comics Annual, which wrapped up the “Last Son” storyline which began over a year ago in Action Comics. Unfortunately, there have been so many problems in getting that story to print that DC had actually gone ahead and run stories that followed the “Last Son” story… which means that we already know how things wound up. Sure, we might not know all of the “hows” and “whys,” but we can connect the dots fairly easily.

I have a similar problem with Astonishing X-Men, by the way. Joss Whedon’s run was supposed to be 24 issues, but because of delays it ran to 25 issues… with the final issue still not on shelves yet. But, once again, we know how things wind up, to some degree; there are just a few loose ends to tie up.

Stray Toasters

• I have been greatly amused by some of the Lil ‘Formers cartoons, including this one:



• BET Struggles to Relate with Black Viewers
• From NPR Music: Esperanza Spalding – Voice of the Bass
• Cracking open the Atari 2600
• When it was introduced, the 2600 was known as the “Atari 2600 VCS.” Bonus points if you know what “VCS” stood for… without having to look it up, of course.
• Fullscreen Multitouch Mac OS X Is Here (but not from Apple)
• I think I’m going to have a go at making a character card for Phoenix.
• Upcoming Star Wars minifigs

Quote of the Day
Quote #1 comes from conversations with shockpuppet and :

Me: If you and shockpuppet ever get to this point, you HAVE to get it on video: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080515/ap_on_fe_st/odd_frying_pan_assault_3
: oh. we do that for fun every friday night.
shockpuppet: totally
shockpuppet: I prefer a panini maker though
Me: Huh.
shockpuppet: it’s a little harder to get swinging
shockpuppet: but

1. it’s heavier
2. it leaves a funny pattern on his face

Me: Best of all possible worlds, huh?
shockpuppet: Well, I’m a believer in efficiency and aesthetics.
Me: I see
: mmm. panini face.

Quote #2 comes from another conversation with :

Me: Did you tell loonybin88 that he’s on point for [project]?
: That’s what I’ve been trying to do.
Me: Is he trying not to hear you?
: Yeah, I think so, actually. But, I figured that I’d go ahead and volunteer him for it and just ask forgiveness later.
Me: What is this… “forgiveness?”
: You wouldn’t understand. It’s like a haircut.

Namaste.

1. has a post, entitled “Unpopular Opinions,” in which she shares her opinion of three trends in popular culture. While I somewhat disagree with her first point and have no frame of reference for her third, I wholeheartedly agree with her second point:
   

   Twittering is the equivalent of short-attention-spam theatre (and in case you are wondering, that typo is indeed intentional). If you want to communicate with/to me, I need substance and depth. Reading twitter posts is like watching Robot Chicken minus the clever humour and pop culture references. It’s like eating plain rice cakes, boring as all fuck and not satisfying at all.

2. I like tulips. I would go so far as to rate them as one of my favorite flowers.
3. 
   (by way of Indexed)

Thursday – 15 May 2008
SaraRules and I had breakfast with her family at Ruth’s Diner this morning.

Sweet Mother Mary…

If you’re in the SLC metro area, go there. Their Sunday brunch is also very good… but be warned: Either get there early or be prepared for a lengthy wait to be seated.

Today has been good, so far. Warm, sunny, a few clouds in a blue sky. Not shabby at all. Work hasn’t been bad either.

Stray Toasters

• Thanks to the joy of Comcast On Demand, SaraRules and I were able to watch last week’s episode of CSI:. I’m not sure that I’m necessarily “better off,” so to speak, for having seen it. It was just… way too over-the-top. I mean, I enjoy a good pun, but you could have set a clock by how often the one-liners and zingers were coming. I hope that tonight’s episode is back to relative “normal” for the show.
• Senator John Edwards endorsed Senator Obama yesterday. Four of the delegates formerly pledged to Edwards have also swung to the Obama camp. The next week, running up to the Kentucky and Oregon primaries, should prove rather interesting.
• The Question of Leadership
• I believe that SaraRules and I are going to see Iron Man again in the next few days. (Must remember to look for Cap’s shield this time…)
• 7 Insane Conspiracies That Actually Happened
• For :



• TorsoPants, by way of …
• …speaking of whom: I saw the Wolverine/Kitty Pryde statue this weekend. If you can get to a comic shop in the area, see if they have a copy of it; pictures of it don’t do it justice.
• Marvel’s universal approach makes it a world apart from DC
• 

/lunch

Namaste.

Wednesday – 14 May 2008
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Check.
Houston Hobby Airport. Check.
McCarran International Airport. Check.
In-N-Out Burger. Check.
Six-hour drive to Salt Lake City. Check.

In other words: We are back behind the Zion Curtain.

The vacation was great. We both had a good time. And, let’s face it: Getting a chance to get out of Utah – and head to the Right Coast – is always a bonus. The chance to hang with the family-unit added a few extra points to the score, too.

We had lunch with Kris at Cracker Barrel before heading to the airport; somehow, SaraRules had never eaten at Cracker Barrel before. Back to her place to pack up and get under way for the Great Western Migration.

The flights weren’t bad. On the FLL-HOU leg, we watched Road to Perdition. Wow. How is it that I have owned – OWNED – this movie for months but not watched it?! Unglaublich! I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Since my old laptop was… old… I never watched movies on it. (No DVD player in that one.) So, watching movies on Defiant is a relatively “new” thing. Something brand-spanking new was the idea of watching the movie with the subtitles. This made understanding some of the more quiet parts of the movie much easier. While watching Road to Perdition, I think that the young lady sitting next to me was watching/reading the movie with us… but trying not to look like she was. Added bonus: We shared the flight with a polygamist family. (“It’s not a compound. It’s our home.”)

The HOU-LAS leg of the trip wasn’t hellish, even despite the baby that started screaming about halfway through the flight. Screaming. Banshee wailing. The flight was full and as people were boarding, there was an older Vietnamese (I’m Ivory Soap sure) couple that wound up having to sit apart from each other. The gentleman turned to ask if I would mind changing seats with him. I declined as:

1. I had boarded early enough to choose the seat I wanted.
2. I was sitting next to SaraRules
3. While she is willing fly, SaraRules isn’t overly fond of it.

So, I wasn’t about to abandon her. Tough noogies, Mister.

The drive from Vegas to Salt Lake wasn’t bad. We drove past a moderate-sized brush fire just north of St. George. There were a few minutes before we got to Cedar City when I thought that we might have to stop for the night, but after getting out to top off the tank and get something to drink, I was fine for the rest of the drive. And, other than those things, the drive was rather uneventful.

Stray Toasters

• I neglected to mention that we watched Memento a few days ago, a movie which I have only had a couple of weeks, but also had not seen. I also greatly enjoyed that film.
• Hilary Clinton pretty much swept the West-by-God Virginia primary. Who would have expected that?!
• Rotary iPhone Dial
• Darlin’, it’s better down where it’s wetter: Under the sea!
• passed this along to me the other day; it made me chuckle:



• Why I Started Punching Jerks Again
• Who needs (or “needed”) eHarmony when you could just use the 1939 marital rating scale for wives?
• Mormon Church Goes After WikiLeaks
• And another covet-inducing ‘Clix:

  

  

• Prince Ali!
  Mighty is he!
  Ali Ababwa
  Strong as ten regular men, definitely!
  He faced the galloping hordes
  A hundred bad guys with swords
  Who sent those goons to their lords?
  Why, Prince Ali!

/lunch

Namaste.

Tuesday – 13 May 2008
It’s been a good vacation, but it’s almost time to return to the Land Behind the Zion Curtain.  *blah*

Our flight leaves in a couple of hours. We had breakfast/lunch at Cracker Barrel with Kris. And now, we’re getting the last of our things together to get ready to roll out.

Next stop: The almost-Left Coast.

Namaste.

Monday – 12 May 2008
The ‘rents left this morning, on the way back to Tarheelia.

After Kris got back from the airport, she, SaraRules and I headed to Miami and South Beach.

(click image for gallery)

It was hot and humid. So, naturally, our first stop was a bar called Wet Willie’s. After loading up with frozen drinks, we took to the beach.  We walked along the beach and into the surf, which means that SaraRules and I have done coast-to-coast beaches in just under four months.  After we were done on the beach, we walked along the streets, ate at a restaurant called Puerto Sagua (1, 2) and checked out some shops, including the KidRobot store.

We headed back to Kris’ place… and took naps.  Two-and-a-half hours’ worth of naps.  Let’s see…

• Sun
• Alcoholic frozen drinks
• A good lunch

…yeah, we were FAR beyond “due” for naps.

SaraRules was kind enough to go gallivanting with me, in search of a local comic book shop.  I picked up a few ‘Clix.  At a GREAT bargain.  I got a few rare and super-rare pieces for $1.00 (USD), each.  Yeah… good haul.  We also went for dinner at the nearby Steak ‘n Shake.  Friends and I back home would make the local SnS a late-night dining and gabbing hang-out.

Back to Kris’ to hang out with her and watch the Celtics-Cavs game.  (Cavs won.)

Tomorrow, we chase the sun.

Namaste.