Random Access

Sunday – 17 May 2009
Yesterday evening, SaraRules and I went to Capitol Theatre and saw Don Pasquale… but this version had a twist: It was reimagined as a western. It not only worked, but it worked well. The adaptation was fun and quite good.

After the opera, we met and for a late-night bite to eat at V.I. None of us had been there in a long while — so long, in fact, that we didn’t even recognize the new manager. Then home and sleep. And I slept pretty well, which was rather nice.

This morning, the four of us met at the newly reopened Ruth’s Diner for breakfast, before had to get on the road back to Idaho. The new color scheme is nice; the food is as good as ever. In an interesting sidenote: Our waiter, Trevor, had an interesting tattoo on one leg: Catwoman, Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, standing on a Gotham City rooftop, with the Bat Signal behind/over them — approved wholeheartedly. As we got ready to leave, a parade (cavalcade, horde, whatever-you-wish-to-call-it) of bikers (motorcyclists) rode past the restaurant – there had to be at least 300 of them. Just when we thought it was safe to pull out of the parking lot, another group would ride past.

Next on the docket was a trip to SaraRules’ parents’ place. Our mission: Helping her father cut down the top of a tree in the front yard. A tree that is was at least 35′ high. We took pictures, but I don’t have the camera with me, so those will have to wait. We used a manual pole saw, some rope, a block and tackle and a rock… and we got the job done. Any need I might have felt about going to the gym was quite easily satisfied with this task. Win-Win.

After adventures in tree-felling, SaraRules and I headed downtown to the Living Traditions Festival.

We weren’t there very long, but we saw a lot of neat crafts, artwork and exhibits. And, my primary superpower kicked in, too: We ran into Dave from Dr. Volt’s while we were there.

Next stop: Home. It was (long past) time to have our daily meeting with soap and water. (I don’t think I’ve been so happy to take a shower since last summer’s camping trip.) After getting clean and presentable, we headed returned to SaraRules’ parents for dinner. There are rumors that we’ll watch a movie in a bit.  We shall see…

Namaste.

Saturday – 16 May 2009
Today is going to be busy:

• Birthday party for Josh this morning
• Memorial service for Jess this afternoon
• Don Pasquale (opera) this evening

And whatever else needs to get squeezed into the cracks between.

Attack the day
Like birds of prey

Namaste.

Friday: Coda
Earth was good. It runs for ninety minutes and follows the journeys of three animal families: Polar bears, elephants and whales. The imagery is stunning and deserving to be seen on the big screen.

On the ride home, SaraRules and I decided to (finally) break open the Planet Earth DVDs that she got me a few months back. We started with the first DVD, first episode: “Pole to Pole.” We were a little stunned to see footage that looked incredibly similar to some that we had just seen at the theatre. After that happened a couple more times, I consulted IMDb and discovered something: Planet Earth and Earth are, more or less, the same thing, with a couple of differences.  Basically, Disneynature is simply distributing Earth in the U.S., as it has been released in other countries as long as two years ago, by other local distributors. Other things I learned:

• Richard Attenborough narrated the original BBC version of Planet Earth, which is the version we own).
• Sigourney Weaver narrated the version which aired on The Discovery Channel, which is what we originally saw.
• There are (at least) three narrators for Disneynature’s Earth:
  • James Earl Jones, in the U.S.
  • Patrick Stewart, in the U.K.
  • Ulrich Tukur, in the German version
• The narration for Earth uses much/most of the text from Planet Earth.
• Earth “changes”/creates some of the story of the animal family seen in Planet Earth. Specifically, when discussing the polar bears – there are references to a father and his journey in Earth… that aren’t seen in Planet Earth…. or, at least not in the part we’ve seen.
• Earth simplifies some of the narration, making it a little more accessible to families and children, whereas Planet Earth takes a more scientific, “here is why/how this happens” approach.

On the whole, am I upset that we spent money to see Earth? No. As I said in the opening paragraph: It deserves to be seen on the big screen. And, I enjoyed it enough to recommend others to see it in the theatre as well. If it helps, think of Earth as a prelude or teaser to the more in-depth coverage provided on the Planet Earth DVDs.

After the movie, SaraRules and I headed to coffee. We hung out with some of the usual suspects, but were surprised, pleasantly so, to see Victoria and Jim (her father/Jess’ stepfather) come in a little while later. Coffee was good. Following that, some of us went to Applebee’s for dinner. Shannon, our normal waitress, had prepared something for us: A framed copy of Jess’ obituary. It was very sweet of her. After giving it to us, she asked what had happened and how — all she had known was that Jess was “sick,” but not to what degree; we gave her a rundown of the past few months. The company of friends was good, very good indeed.

Stray Toasters

• There is a new addition – or four – to The Covet List.
• Airman Spots Jetliner Fuel Leak at 35,000 Feet
• Girl Scouts have a Comics badge!
• Open Letter to J.J. Abrams About the Star Trek Sequel

Time to call it a night.

Namaste.

SaraRules loves me. There are lots of ways that she shows it, but few make it more evident than when she suggests that we go and torture ourselves workout. Okay, it was not really that bad, but I just realized that it has been a month since I’ve been in the gym. That is not exactly a “plus.” Today’s routine included:

• Leg Curls: 3 sets/10 reps, 50 lbs
• Kick-backs: 3 sets/10 reps, 70 lbs
• Leg Extensions: 3 sets/10 reps, 50 lbs
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 205 lbs
• Incline Press (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 35 lbs
• Lateral Raises: 3 sets/10 reps, 10 lbs
  • Sets 1 & 2 included flys
• Bent-over Row: 3 sets/10 reps, 35 lbs
• Sit-ups (decline bench): 3 sets/10 reps

Post-workout weight: 186.1 lbs.

All-in-all, it was a good workout. I need to be more consistent at getting to the gym.

And now, we’re off to see Earth.

Friday – 15 May 2009
Another 9/80 Friday off begins. I seem to have slept well last night – that’s always a “good” thing.

After work, SaraRules and I went to Chris and Mary’s to celebrate Mary’s birthday. and , and and their kids were their, as well as Chris’ brother, Ryan, whom we hadn’t met before. It was a nice get-together… and, before all was said and done, we hammered out some rough details for another bad horror movie night. And… AND… Chris and I are playing dolls ‘Clix on Tuesday. Win-Win!

Stray Toasters

• My copy of Battlefield 2142 (for Mac) showed up yesterday. I’m REALLY rusty at that game.
• ‘Exiled for life’ in Somali camp
• Lauren Montgomery talks Green Lantern: First Flight and Victor Garber talks Green Lantern: First Flight
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Scouts training to fight immigrants and terrorists
• Texts From Last Night, by way of
• Personal Freedom, by State
• 
• …along the same lines, SaraRules has taken to watching Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?
• Adding Incompetence to Insult
• Was 1971 the best year to be born a geek? (I think they’re off by a year, personally)
• Texas Is Under Seige From Zombies!
• The Metropolitan Museum brings out American art again
• The All-Time Top 10 List of Best – and Worst – Mothers in Comics
• Ten Beautiful Computers

So far on the afternoon’s agenda: A trip to the gym and we’re going to see Disney’s Earth.

Namaste.

Thursday – 14 May 2009
Last night, SaraRules and I stopped by to see Jess’ (‘s)  parents for a while. It was nice to be able to visit with them. Jess’ obituary can be read here. Jenny and Julie, Jess’ sisters, have put together a memorial blog for her at: Jessie’s Memories. The family has asked that, in lieu of sending flowers, people make a donation to the Pulmonary Hypertension Association.

After we got back home, came over. She had dinner (chicken and dumplings) with us and we watched The Darjeeling Limited. It was… an odd movie. I don’t think that I’ve seen a Wes Anderson film before, but I’ve heard that The Royal Tennenbaums is possibly his best work, so I’ll give that one a try at some point.

Stray Toasters

• Star Trek-related geekery
  • Is the new Star Trek movie scientifically sound?
  • Can Young Kirk Really Survive the Car Jump in the new Star Trek?
  • Star Trek conventions in the 1970s (Thanks to )
• Pope preaches against prejudice
• Ben Franklin Death Ray
• Lunar Junk
• 
• What grown men do with their G.I. Joe action figures
• “Something” just went wrong around here. No answers as to “what” or “why” yet.
• Steampunk preschool TV show from Weta
• For those of you in the SLC metro area: Ruth’s Diner reopens on Friday, 15 May 2009
• Real Life Spy Gadgets

Back to it.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 13 May 2009
Thank you to everyone who extended thoughts, prayers and well-wishes. I appreciate your thoughtfulness and concern and I am grateful for your friendship.

Last night, SaraRules and I met , and Mr. and Mrs. for dinner/dessert at The Cheesecake Factory. It was nice to hang out with them. As I have said many times before: I have been blessed with many very good friends. I don’t think that it’s a bad thing to remember/rediscover that fact. (I also rediscovered the inherent problems of having cups of coffee shortly before going to bed, too… but that’s another story altogether. *sigh*)

Stray Toasters

• Exotic Star Trek Locales Are All Over the California Map (contains a few possible spoilers)
• EU slaps record fine on Intel
• From NPR Music:
  • Lady Sovereign: The ‘Biggest Midget’ Returns
  • Mozart’s Turbulent Final Symphonies
  • John Coltrane’s ‘A Love Supreme’ Live, with Strings
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Jesse Ventura: I could make Chickenhawk Cheney confess to the Sharon Tate murders with a waterboard
• Lite Brite Cubed
• Slain Lawyer’s YouTube Video Plunges Guatemala into Crisis, Protests Form on Facebook
• Greece Halts Google’s Street View
• City of Heroes Is Going Rogue
• 220MPH Solar-Powered Bullet Train on Arizona Horizon

…and back to it.

Namaste.

I just lost one of my best friends.

Jessica Porter lost her battle with pulmonary hypertension this afternoon.

I’m not mad. I’m not upset. I’m not… a lot of things that one might expect at this moment. There’s a part of me that’s been expecting this for some time now. Of course, that doesn’t make it “easier.” Nothing ever does.

There are a lot of things that I could say about Jess. And, no matter what – or how much -  I said, I’m sure that I’d leave out something that showed how great a person she was. I’ll miss having her around. She was, as I said, one of my best friends. I can only hope that I was as good a friend to her, as well.

Blue skies and gentle landings, Jess.
You’ve earned them.

Tuesday – 12 May 2009
Today is apparently Limerick Day.

Yesterday, loonybin88, Sean and I headed over to the driving range at Old Mill for lunch. I had a few good  drives, but it was apparent that it has been “a while” since I’ve teed off. I foresee more trips to the range in the next few weeks.

Last night, SaraRules and I played Trivial Pursuit. She kicked my trash, eight ways from Sunday. Seriously. In about twenty-five minutes. We both started off slowly… then, next thing I knew, she had four wedges. I managed to get four by the time she got her sixth wedge, but then she headed for the center space and wrapped things up.

Stray Toasters

• In Turnabout, Iran Releases U.S. Journalist
• Before yesterday, it had been a while since I’d been to Broken Frontier; they’ve had a facelift.
• Mountain Game: Craig Adams’ Kurosawa-inspired Artsy designed, Alpinist
  (I actually own the movie that this was based on.)
• Their Name Is Legion
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: 747 sucks a baggage container into its engine at LAX
• Dear Spike, by way of
• Rachel sent me a couple of amusing items:
  • A quote from QDB and
  • A Shortpacked comic strip
• Thanks to Dana, from Galaxy of Comics, for pointing this out: Fathers’ Day: 2 Legendary Comic Creators Proud of WOLVERINE
• For , a couple of New Mutants-related articles:
  • New Mutants: Birth of the X-Babies
  • Mighty Week of Marvel #29
• One shot: Harvard College founder, UNSC soldier, HALO destroyer
• By way of : Vitamins Found to Curb Exercise Benefits

Quote of the Day
From an IRC conversation:

[23:23]  : blizzcon 2009 noncombat pet reward : grunty, the space marine murloc.
[23:24]  :

[08:26]  : nah, not going to blizzcon.  i was planning on buying the PPV broadcast on directv anyway though – grunty is an excellent bonus to go along with that. 🙂
[08:30]  Ahpuc: “grunty” ?
[08:30]  : The 8th Dwarf
[08:30]  : He was sick on the main day of filming, so they cut him out of Snow White altogether.
[08:31]  Ahpuc: Huh. I always thought the 8th dwarf was Sodomy, and they had to censor him out.
[08:32]  : Sodomy, or “Dom” as he was known in some circles, was replaced by Dopey… in an effort to make the movie more “family-friendly.”
[08:33]  Ahpuc: Family-friendly, because sodomy == contraception?
[08:33]  : Family-friendly as in “less therapy-inducing for small children”

Attack the day
Like birds of prey

Namaste.

Monday – 11 May 2009
The alarm went off at 0620 this morning and I promptly turned it off, turned over and went back to sleep. My phone rang at 0650 (!), but it took a few moments to register that it was, in fact, the phone and not another alarm. Once that sank in, I looked at who it was (loonybin88) and answered it – it could have been a work-related “get into the office ASAP” issue, after all. It wasn’t. He was just calling to see if I’d be interested in going to the driving range at lunch… which does interest me. And that’s when I decided to go ahead and start the day.

Yesterday, SaraRules and I headed to the Garden of Sweden. We didn’t necessarily need anything, but it had been a while since our last trip, so we decided to head over and see what they had to offer. We wound up leaving empty-handed. Last night, after spending time with SaraRules’ family for Mother’s Day, we went home and watched Bullitt, starring the late Steve McQueen. It was good. It turned in a few directions that neither of us saw and thus kept us engaged. Good action. Decent acting. And a good high-speed car chase through San Francisco. I may have to pick up a copy of this movie for my collection. I give it… seven-and-a-half bricks.

Stray Toasters

• Don’t forget that US postage rates for First Class Mail goes up 2¢ today.
• ‘Star Trek’ maps out new frontier at box office
• The Truth Is Out There, and the Nation’s Maddest Scientists Are After It
• What would you have gotten if SimCity had been done in comic book style: Simsville
• How LEGO Bricks Are Made: The 80s Version

Namaste.

Sunday – 10 May 2009
Happy Mother’s Day

Seeing Star Trek a second time was every bit as enjoyable as seeing it the first time.  (And I still want to see it in IMAX…) And, this time, I caught the reference to Captain Admiral Archer and Porthos. And, thanks to for posting a link to this, which I would have otherwise missed:

After the excursion, SaraRules and I had lunch/dinner at Porcupine Pub and Grill. As usual, the food (Cajun Chicken Alfredo) was quite good, as was the chocolate stout I had to wash it down.

Back at home, we lounged the early evening away, then decided to go for a walk around the complex. That wound up getting expanded to include a trip to Red Mango for dessert. We got back and I felt the yen to watch a few episodes of Justice League… and we did:

• Hereafter (Parts I & II)
• The Terror Beyond (Parts I & II) and
• Comfort & Joy

It was fun to see the original – and longer – episodes. SaraRules commented that she wasn’t aware that Hawkgirl was such a bad-ass.

This morning has been lazy. So far we’ve had breakfast, watched the tail end of the History Channel’s coverage of a Star Trek auction held by Christie’s Auction House and Thursday’s episode of CSI:.

Next on the docket: A trip to The Garden of SwEden.  Selah.

Namaste.

Saturday – 09 May 2009
It’s been a quiet and lazy morning, so far. I’ve been surfing the Interwebs and relaxing. Later today, I’m going to see Star Trek (again) with some of the usual suspects.  And after that… who knows?

Stray Toasters

• 10 Things Parents Should Know About the New Star Trek
• Man who wouldn’t walk again finishes marathon
• Apple Buying EA?
• 
• Germany to ban paintball in wake of high school shooting

And now, it’s breakfast time.

Namaste.

Friday – 08 May 2009
Today is my stepmother and younger brother’s birthday(s):

…and…

I slept poorly last night. I attribute it to the fact that I had to be up early this morning – earlier than usual – to get into the office early. The first few hours of sleep were alright, but from about 0430 on, it was rather touch-and-go. And that was annoying. But, here I am… with a large, triple-shot-laden frozen mocha to help me not rip peoples’ throats out make it through the day.

Nathan was also in early. We spent a good bit of time talking about the Star Trek movie, our likes and dislikes. As a bigger fan of Star Wars, there were a few things that he didn’t grok in fullness, but he thought it was a very good movie – enough so that he’s planning on seeing it again.  *nod* I approve of that.

Stray Toasters

• By way of comes: Ada Lovelace – The Origin
• National Guard to cut forces after recruiting creates surplus
• Minority youngsters dying weekly on Chicago streets
• Pope begins Mid-East pilgrimage
• Real supervillains don’t use CraigsList
• 
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Chinese provincial government orders local officials to smoke more
• Zombie Snack Bib
• Disney stokes publicity engine with ‘Christmas Carol’ train
• Lady Liberty’s crown to reopen
• Rubik’s Cube Salt and Pepper Mills

Unintentional Porn Overheard at Work
They are still wiring in a few new electrical connections to finalize our server room upgrade. I just heard the following, between Mike (lead electrician) and Aaron (his assistant), while running new wire:

Aaron: Give me more, Mike…
Mike: Six inches more?
Aaron: Yeah, that’s good… whoa!  Whoa!  Stop!  That’s enough!

And, yes, it made my inner teenager grin like a fiend.

Have a great day!

Namaste.

Thursday: Coda
SaraRules and I just got back from seeing J. J. Abrams’ Star Trek with most of the IT team.

And it was good. Quite good. I think that it was a rather satisfying bridging of the old and the new. There was something there for both long-time fans of the original show and movies as well as new fans. The story was good. The actors played their roles well – and I was very happy to note that “secondary” characters like Checkov and Uhura and Sulu were given personalities and were allowed to be characters, not just cardboard cutouts.

I happily give this movie a thumbs-up with an okay… I’ve finally come up with a new rating system: The LEGO brick:

And with that in mind, I give the new Star Trek…. nine bricks.

Namaste.

Thursday – 07 May 2009
Happy Anniversary to Adam and Chelsea:

After work yesterday, SaraRules and I met Bill Byrnes – Dean of the College of Performing and Visual Arts at SUU – for dinner. We went to Desert Edge at Trolley Squre. I had a rather tasty roast beef/French Dip sandwich, that had a little “kick” to it. Both the food and the company were good.

After dinner, we stopped in to say “H’llo” to SaraRules’ parents before heading home. Once at home, we watched The Dark Knight. It’s still a rather watchable – and enjoyable – movie. I still have some reservations about whether or not Harvey Dent/Two-Face is actually supposed to be dead (or just very broken) at the end of the movie.  Yes, there was a memorial… but they never showed a body or even a casket. Just sayin’.  (And, after all, it is based on a comic book – people in those come back from the dead all the time.) And, as I have said before: The late Heath Ledger provided the right Joker for that Batman.

Stray Toasters

• SaraRules made brownies last night.
• NASA mission aims to revive Hubble telescope
• The Awesomer – Awesome Stuff
• Pullman Porters Helped Build Black Middle Class
• Duke Nukem Developer Shuts Down
• 
• Best worst Star Trek parodies
• The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite
• FDA is failing to meet its food safety inspection audit goals
• 100 Years, 100 Novels, One List

And, tonight: Star Trek.
Win!

Namaste.