Random Access

Thursday – 30 April 2009
It’s another NBN Thursday and this one kicks off a four-day weekend. Selah.

Last night was a lazy evening in, which was nice.  SaraRules and I watched Tuesday night’s episode of NCIS, “Legend,” the first of two parts which introduces the “Office of Special Projects.” (It looks as though NCIS is about to spin-off a new series in the same manner in which it was spun-off from from JAG.) The new group features LL Cool J, Chris O’Donnell and Louise Lombard, late of CSI:. SaraRules made the observation that Lombard’s character, Lara Macy, was virtually no different than her CSI: character, Sofia Curtis – her hair, clothing and overall disposition was exactly the same.  (We also had an apparent age discrepancy issue… but that’s a story for another time.)

The episode took Gibbs and McGee to L.A., to work on a joint investigation with OSP, while Tony and Ziva remained in D.C. There were a couple of references to “Judgment Day,” the episodes in which then-NCIS Director Jeny Shepard took Tony and Ziva to L.A. and wound up getting killed; those scenes created a couple of tense moments, which I thought played well to character development. On the whole, the episode was good and it will be interesting to see how the new series does, if it gets off the ground.

Stray Toasters

• SaraRules started setting up wedding registries last night.
• referenced an interesting comment on MetaTalk this morning:
  

  My favorite thought-piece about Ferris Bueller is the “Fight Club” theory, in which Ferris Bueller, the person, is just a figment of Cameron’s imagination, like Tyler Durden, and Sloane is the girl Cameron secretly loves.

  One day while he’s lying sick in bed, Cameron lets “Ferris” steal his father’s car and take the day off, and as Cameron wanders around the city, all of his interactions with Ferris and Sloane, and all the impossible hijinks, are all just played out in his head. This is part of the reason why the “three” characters can see so much of Chicago in less than one day — Cameron is alone, just imagining it all.

  It isn’t until he destroys the front of the car in a fugue state does he finally get a grip and decide to confront his father, after which he imagines a final, impossible escape for Ferris and a storybook happy ending for Sloane (“He’s gonna marry me!”), the girl that Cameron knows he can never have.

• Lose the Fish and Justice LEGO of America
• Obama “Pleased” But Says Much Work Remains
• For Free Comic Book Day, DC Comics is releasing Corps 101: The Sinestro Corps
• 
• Raising Katie: What adopting a white girl taught a black family about race in the Obama era
• For the fashionable gamer in your life: Wiimote Cufflinks
• Windows 7 Will Be Free for a Year
  • Microsoft To Disable Autorun
• Virgin America Now Serves Absinthe
• One Nation, Seven Sins

…right on to the friction of the day

Namaste.

Wednesday – 29 April 2009
Last night, I went over to Chris’ to play the second half of our Brotherhood vs. X-Men match. (Pictures can be seen here.) This time, he fielded the Brotherhood and I had the X-Men. The game, again, was rather balanced… mostly because I decided not to use my biggest gun, Phoenix, although I did take her. I wound up losing the game, in no small due to the fact that I completely forgot something that would have been a huge game-changer during my first turn. *grblsnrkx* On the whole though, it was a good match.

This morning, it took a few moments for my brain to process that the alarm was going off. Once I did, however, things fell into place.  Now, if only the last of the network issues would resolve themselves, as well…

No comics or sushi today. But tomorrow, oh tomorrow, there shall be blood raw fishes and four-color goodness.

Stray Toasters

• Coffee and homemade blueberry muffins.
• Past Chiefs of Staff Analyze Obama
• Metropolitan Opera cuts back on live park performances
• 
• Sean just informed me that the Cardinals cut Edgerrin James. O,o ?!?
• ‘Camina Burana,’ Music of Monks and Drunks
• Cirque du Soliel, in New York (Mostly) to Stay
  
• From Comic Book Resources: Sample Pages from Was Superman a Spy?

I turn my back to wind
To catch my breath
Before I start off again…

Namaste.

I was starting to winddown a bit, but  iTunes picked up the slack – and picked up the pace – and threw a few upbeat tunes into the rotation:

• Robbie Williams – Rock DJ
• Geri Halliwell – Look At Me
• The Time – Jerk Out

Groove.  Boogie.  Sway.

That should help get through the 3:30 blahs rather nicely.

What’s in your afternoon playlist?

Tuesday – 28 April 2009
First off, let me start by saying Happy (Belated/Early) Birthday to the following people:

• and

I didn’t want to forget (again) to do that. And now that it’s taken care of, we now return you to your regularly-scheduled post…

After work, I went home and took a brief nap while SaraRules did some errand-running. It was good enough to get em through the rest of the evening.

When she got back, SaraRules and I went with her family down to Red Rock Brewing Company for dinner, to celebrate her father’s birthday. I had a very tasty cream stout along with a French Onion Steak Sandwich (on sourdough bread), which was very good. After dinner, we headed back to her parents’ place for cake (which was a very good homemade coffee cake) and coffee.

We left there and headed home. I changed into comfy clothes and plopped down on the couch. We watched The Late Show and The Late Late Show, which featured a rather amusing take on the swine flu coverage in the news:

By the way, : Dolly Parton will be on The Late Show (Letterman) tonight.

And, most importantly: I got a good amount of sleep last night. I even slept in this morning and when I got up, I decided that I wasn’t really in a rush to get to work. It felt pretty nice, actually. Although, when I got to the office, one of the managers of the development team came over and congratulated/thanked me (for the IT Team) for getting everything done and back online without horribly impacting their productivity. That was a good way to kick off the morning.

Stray Toasters

• The wedding website is getting more content. I might even get the go-ahead to post its link later.
• Game Changers: Brainteasers for Hardcore Videogame Fans
• , you’ll want to take a look at this: Full of Pryde
• Mormon Crickets Dislike Led Zeppelin
• The Words in the Mental Cabinet
• HOWTO make edible circuit diagrams out of candy
• 
• Kevin Smith Explains What Happened to His Superman Movie
• Cool Tools: New Editor, Same Deal
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Michael Jackson’s weirdest detritus, a photoset

Namaste.

I just had a proof-positive sign of how brain-dead I am after working this weekend:

Paul (my 2nd tier boss) just asked me to spell SaraRules’ name.

Paul: First name?
Me: “S A R A…”
Paul: *writes*
Paul: Last name?
Me: *blank look*
Me: I’m getting there…

Fortunately, was able to answer for me.

I would have loved to have seen the look on my face, because the whole “Please stand by…” look must have been priceless.

I need a nap. Badly.

Monday – 27 April 2009
It’s almost 7:30 (at least it was when I started writing this)… and I’ve already been at work for over thirty minutes. And I spent most of my weekend here, as well. But, for the most part, the server room upgrade is done. Thank God… because we’re all beat. Dog tired. Worn out. We are the walking dead today. We’re expecting a few minor issues, but hopefully, no one will expect lightning response times. (Now, if I can just remember where the cots are stored…)

Stray Toasters

• This morning, I am thankful for a large frozen mocha with a triple-shot of espresso.
  (Whether they know it or not, so are my coworkers…)
• I have caught up with yet another schoolmate – and one of my favorite people from school – on Facebook.
• JoS A. Bank is having another sale.
• Apple and Verizon consider iPhone deal
• The NFL Draft is over.  USAToday has graded the teams’ draft picks as:
  • Baltimore Ravens: B-
  • Carolina Panthers: C
  • Cincinnati Bengals: B
  • Cleveland Browns: B
  • Miami Dolphins: C
  • Minnesota Vikings: C+
  • Oakland Raiders: F
  • Tampa Bay Bucanneers: D+
• G.E.’s Breakthrough Can Put 100 DVDs on a Disc
• 
• So you think you’re having a bad day?  Check out FMyLife.com… then reconsider.
• Chrysler and Union Agree to Deal Before Federal Deadline
• Enter Theatergoers, Gently Welcomed

Namaste.

Sunday – 26 April 2009
Day Three of the Great Server Room Upgrade Saga is going to begin soon.

<sarcasm>
WHEEEE!
</sarcasm>

Things are proceeding apace, but we still have “a few” hours’ work ahead of us. On the plus side, we made some serious progress yesterday and the server room – aside from being a bit cluttered and messy – looks like… well… a server room. However, that doesn’t mean that I won’t be happy to see this project in the rear view mirror.

To say that I was “tired” last night, would be something of an understatement. I came in and just collapsed on the floor. After a hot soak and bath (complete with a little bit of Queen & Country), dinner (Rumbi Grill) and dessert (Red Mango), I felt pretty close to “human” again.

Stray Toasters

• The Ravens picked up OT Michael Oher and DE Paul Kruger (thanks, !) in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft.
• Drug Company Merck Drew Up Doctor “Hit List”
• Maude and Golden Girls actress Bea Arthur died at 86
• 
• 4 Things to Consider Before You Try to Join the Amish
• The Making of the PlayStation

“Time to make the donuts…”

Namaste.

Saturday – 25 April 2009
It’s 7:00 and I’m already at work. Day Two of Server Room Weekend begins.  We’ll see how this goes…

Stray Toasters

• NFL Draft 2009
• Man, 84, fends off attackers
  It should pretty much go without saying that he’s my Human of the Day
• , this one’s for you: Your Day Can’t Possibly Be as Bad as Richard Simmons’
• Improving the Abilities of Bionic Arm Patients
• GM Ready to Scrap Pontiac Brand

And here we go…

Namaste.

Friday – 24 April 2009
This morning started slowly and lazily, thanks to the server room upgrades. I got to come in a little late… since we have to work later into the evening.

Many evenings, SaraRules and I will kick back and watch The Herculoids (1, 2, 3).  (Hey, it’s a childhood favorite…) Sure it’s horribly dated, but we enjoy watching – and MST3K-ing the episodes. I’ve been wanting to mod a few ‘Clix figures into Herculoids figures, mostly because it would amuse me to do it, but last night, I started to wonder: “Why haven’t there been any Herculoids toys?” To the BatWeb!

A few keystrokes later, I came across this:

That’s right, Toynami is producing a line of Herculoids toys. Yep, yet another “Add” for the Covet List.

Stray Toasters
…are going to have to wait until later – we’re elbow-up in server room work.

Namaste.

Today was “Sushi Wednesday.” We took Chad (yet another coworker) with us; he’s been wanting to try sushi for a while, but the timing was never good for him.  Until today. He liked it, for the most part – there were a few things that he wasnt crazy over. That happens.

After lunch, loonybin88 and I took a field trip to pick up some supplies for this weekend’s server room work. If there’s a “plus” to working on Saturday (aside from getting paid), it’s that the weather is supposed to take a dive again. “Supposed to” being the key words in that phrase.

Stray Toasters

• While discussing lunch plans today, I posted “Red Five, standing by…” as a response. That led to Jeff posting a link to this. We all got a good laugh from it.
• Caution Signs Endangered Movie Characters Really Need
• I think I might take a post-work nap when I get home.
• Robert Rodriguez Confirms Predator Series Reboot
• Google Calendar + Calaboration + iCal = WIN!
• Woman thanks her lucky bra as it saves her from a bullet

Namaste.

Thursday – 23 April 2009
Another NBN Thursday begins. It’s not quite as bright and sunny as the past couple of days have been, but it’s supposed to get into the 80s. And, this morning’s commute started with Limelight… so, that can’t be all bad.

I picked up yesterday’s four-color haul after dinner last night; I haven’t read anything yet. I might get to that this evening, post-CSI:.

Last night, SaraRules finished a new quilt and I finished up both the Mayhem Rail platform and the WildWood Grove chapel. I stuck them both on the masterboard… and I took pictures. (Big surprise, I know. But, I did.) I still need to do some of the interior props for the chapel, but I’m happy with the way the exterior turned out. And, there’s something about having an 18 square foot play area that amuses me.

Stray Toasters

• SaraRules made banana bread. (You can be jealous now.)
• Queen Rania: The World Cannot Afford to be Cynical
• The NFL Draft begins tomorrow.
• Could YOU Be Batman? Here’s How You’d Do It.
• Historic St. Louis Schools Face Uncertain Future
• 
• A Eulogy for the Boombox
• From the “Paging Mr. Cobblepot…” file: Bionic penguins take to the water – and the skies
• Pentagon Cyber-Command in the Works
• Star Wars cupcakes

Namaste.

Wednesday – 22 April 2009
It’s Earth Day.

It’s also Administrative Professionals’ Day.

Last night, SaraRules had Book Club, so I spent a fair portion of the evening finishing up the chapel for Wildwood Grove and assembling a train stop for Mayhem Rail. I like the way that the chapel turned out; I still need to do a little work on the rail station, but it’s coming along nicely. Pictures will follow… eventually.

Stray Toasters

• ‘Deeper’ recession ahead says IMF
• Opening Skinner’s Box: ten psych experiments that remade the world
• The Geeks’ Guide to World Domination
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Gummy Bacon
• 
• Mission Impossible: The Code Even the CIA Can’t Crack, by way of
• 747 converted to a restaurant, then abandoned
• From NPR Music: Puccini’s ‘La Boheme’ At Its Best
• Star Trek’s Beast Master Reveals How to Create a Monster

Namaste.

Tuesday – 21 April 2009
Another sunny and warm day in the valley. It was even warm enough for me to leave home without a jacket! (Of course, I had an extra jacket already in the car. Just in case…)

Last night, came over for dinner. SaraRules fixed chicken and dumplings… and they were delicious, as usual. We sat, ate and chatted away the better part of the evening. ‘Twas good.

Stray Toasters

• Holocaust Remembrance Day marked
• LEGO Rock Band unveiled, slated for ’09 release
• Prelate Derek sent me a link to a tongue-in-cheek look at the appeal of Twilight‘s Edward called Midnight Sun: Edward Undone
• First Look: New Robin Hood on point with ‘Gladiator’
• UN puts global treasures online
• Inevitable Betrayal t-shirt
• sent a link: Cassini’s continuing mission – The Big Picture
• J.J. Abrams on the Magic of Mystery

Namaste.

It’s that time of year again…

…at Ben & Jerry’s.

Click the image for more details.

As I mentioned earlier, we’re adding new coolers to handle the load in our server room.

And now, there are pictures to go along with that story: Click here.