Proving that fruit from the Garden of Sweden has many uses…
everyday glory, geekery, IKEA No Comments »I just stumbled across this ad on IKEA Hacker:
More than “…just some oak and some pine
And a handful of Norsemen,” indeed.
Namaste.
I just stumbled across this ad on IKEA Hacker:
More than “…just some oak and some pine
And a handful of Norsemen,” indeed.
Namaste.
Friday – 31 July 2009
First and foremost: Happy Birthday,
It’s not my 9/80 Friday, but at least it’s quiet around here today. Maybe I’ll be able to clear a few things off my “To Do” list…
…of course, I might just have to add “Play Typing of the Dead” to that list, though. I wonder if I can justify it as “Training,” since it (theoretically) is a typing game/tutor..?
Stray Toasters
WHEEEEEE!
Namaste.
Wednesday: Coda
I picked up my car after work. My wallet was much lighter after that stop. But, after nearly 100,000 miles, things were bound to need replacing. So, all things considered (on NPR), I can’t really complain. That… and the car runs better – without leaks and without the “Check Engine” light being on.
SaraRules fixed Pad Thai for dinner. We ate it while watching last week’s episode of Burn Notice. Win-Win.
Next on the agenda: The gym. We did a chest and biceps routine:
Weight (morning): 184.5 lbs
It was a nice end-of-the-day workout.
Stray Toasters
Quote of the Day
SaraRules hit a new max bench weight today: 95 pounds. With that came the following gem:
Yeah, I’m a bad-ass. Take that, bitches!
Take that, indeed.
Thursday – 30 July 2009
Another NBN Thursday kicks off in the Valley of the Lake of Salinity. Seems like I was just “here.” Of course, doing a late night post and then turning right around and doing another in the morning will do that to you.
I chatted with Dana, from Galaxy of Comics, for a bit last night. In the course of our conversation, she pointed out a something about the latest issue of Batman that I hadn’t considered: It made sense for Two-Face to deduce who was under the cowl. After all, he has been the closest thing that Dick Grayson has had to a recurring (arch)villain… ever since Dick’s days as Robin. Brilliant. And, as a side note: If you’re in the Los Angeles area, check out Galaxy of Comics, it’s a nice little shop.
Stray Toasters
Friction of the day and whatnot…
Namaste.
Wednesday: Coda
The day turned out better than Tuesday, after all. Selah.
After work, SaraRules and I headed to Kate and Perry’s – I had a few Blackest Night-related comics to hand off. On the way there, we were passed by a couple of scooter riders whose helmets looked… vaguely familiar; I confirmed later that it was
Back home, SaraRules started in on dinner and I started in on today’s four-color crack. For tonight’s fare, SaraRules made maple chicken, cheesy potatoes, green beans and glasses of Novella Synergy Blanc. Dinner was, as always, quite delicious. During dinner we watched GL:FF. After that, SaraRules went back to work on our wedding quilt and I finished up my four-color shwag.
Reeling by on Celluloid
Green Lantern: First Flight, the latest release from DC Universe Animated Original Movies, is an adaptation of the origin story of the Silver Age Green Lantern, Hal Jordan. The feature hits the ground running and, before the opening credits even roll, you’ve been introduced to Hal and two major supporting characters. Things don’t exactly slow down after the opening credits, either, as Hal meets Sinestro and three other Lanterns and is escorted to Oa, home of the Green Lantern Corps. The story doesn’t retell Hal’s first days as a GL entirely as recounted in comics, but that’s okay – the story that they do tell is a good one. The story makes the characters accessible to viewers who neither watched Justice League/Unlimited nor read the comic book and it even lends itself for more GL features down the road. As an added bonus, one of the special features on the disc is a preview of the upcoming Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. Win-Win.
Four-Color Coverage
Stray Toasters
Namaste.
Wednesday – 29 July 2009
Midweek.
It’s also Comics and Sushi Wednesday.
I got a call back from the dealership about my car late yesterday afternoon. They found the reason that the “Check Engine” light came on (a faulty Cam Shaft Position Sensor), which is a good thing. They also (FINALLY) found the source of the leak that I went in and asked about two weeks ago – you know, the one they said was the water pump – which, oddly enough wasn’t the water pump. *sigh* It was the Oil Filter Adapter. Ian, the service rep, told me how much the sensor would be… and, surprisingly, there was no sphincter tightening. Nice! Then he told me how much the adapter was. Tightening. Then I remembered how much the radiator hoses – custom parts! – were and realized that, as Freddie Mercury and Queen said:
There’s nothing you can
Nothing you can
Nothing you can do about it…
I asked SaraRules to pick me up a little early from work. I was “done.” We headed to the local Best Buy, so I could pick up the new Green Lantern: First Flight DVD. They had the single-disc version in the front display, but not the two-disc version… and there were absolutely none of the two-disc with figurine versions to be found, either.
*grblsnrkx*
Just put another nail in the coffin, why dont’cha? At that point, I was truly done. And all I wanted was to just go home. And we did. Rather than sit and fester over the state of things, IÂ turned my attention and energy to cleaning out more things from the office. Using a couple of “creative location management” techniques, I was able to get rid of two large boxes from under the office table, completely clean out one of the sections in the closet bookcase and throw away some old/unnecessary things; thus bringing order (or a semblance of it) from the chaos (of my mood).
At least it wasn’t a Thursday.
Later in the evening, SaraRules and I went to the gym:
Weight (morning): 182.5 lbs
Hopefully, today will be ever-so-slightly better.
Stray Toasters
Namaste.
Tuesday – 28 July 2009
Another day kicks off… with me taking my car to the dealership. The “Check Engine” light came on last night, so I figured that getting it looked at would be a good thing.
Yesterday, SaraRules and I headed to Utah County to get our engagement photos taken. I finally had the opportunity to meet Twila, our photographer; SaraRules had told me nothing but good things about her – from their first meeting and from her bridal photos. She was right. Twila was fun to work with and I’m looking forward to seeing how our shoot turned out.
Stray Toasters
Namaste.
Monday – 27 July 2009
Back in the saddle again…
Last night, after dinner (and Bocce) with SaraRules’ family, we headed home to wind down the weekend. SaraRules quilted; I worked on the second story of my ‘Clix building. I think that I’ve finally determined the best way to get the top to stay in place when the first story interior isn’t being used. I’ve also discovered that I’m looking forward to making a building using the Shellendrak Manor set, which allows for less unusable/unplayable space in building interiors. While we were working away at our respective crafts, we watched I Am Legend.
Today is SysAdminDay. Â (At least, we’re celebrating it today, as people will be off on Friday – and we need something to make Monday less suck-tacular.)
Show your SysAdmin some love. Julie, our “Distinguished IT Admin,” came in with a box this morning. The box contained this:
Aww, yeah…
Stray Toasters
Namaste.
Sunday – 26 July 2009
SaraRules and I did a little shopping yesterday. I picked up some new gym gear and a few pairs of shorts. Later in the evening, we hung out with shockpuppet,
This morning was a lazy sleep-in day. I woke up and picked up American Psycho again. Unfortunately, I’d forgotten where I stopped reading, so I had to go back and cover about 10 pages again. Then, it was time for breakfast and the first three eps of Wolverine and the X-Men. And then…
Workout
…SaraRules and I went to the gym for a workout:
Weight: 184.5 lbs
Stray Toasters
Namaste.
Saturday – 25 July 2009
For some reason, it feels like a Sunday morning. I can’t really put my finger on “why,” though. It might have to do with the abbreviated work week, but I don’t think that’s it. *shrug* Oh, well… I’m not going to spend too many cycles trying to figure it out. Â Instead, I’ll enjoy the “extra” day of relaxation.
Rachel made it to town yesterday; she was stopping over on her way home to California. The s’mores brownies she’d requested were ready shortly after she arrived. Later, she, SaraRules and I went to dinner at Red Iguana; despite living in SLC for over 10 years, I had never eaten there before.  I had the Chimichanga Original with a side of Spanish Rice, both of which were very good.
After dinner, we met up with the usual suspects for Clitorati. Fortunately,
This morning, SaraRules, Rachel and I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of pancakes and eggs (fixed by Ms. ‘Rules). After breakfast, Rachel got back on her westward trek.
Stray Toasters
Namaste.
Friday – 24 July 2009
It’s my 9/80 Friday.
It’s not even 8:30.
So, why am I wide awake? (written when it was still “morning” in Utah.)
Oh, well.
Last night, SaraRules and I had dinner with OnlyAly,
The evening was spent lazily lounging around. Nothing wrong with that.
Today is also Pioneer Day in Utah. (And Missouri and California, according to one joke I’ve heard.)
Stray Toasters
Stray Toasters are preceding Four-Color Coverage today. Why? Because I think that FCC may get to be “a bit” lengthy and I’m going to try using the never-seen-in-this-blog “MORE” tag. Or, for a shorter answer: “Because I can.” So, without further ado:
Namaste.
Four-Color Coverage
It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these; hopefully, I remember how it goes. Since it’s been so long, I’m also going to cover some of the highlights from the past weeks, as well. With that in mind, I’m going to use the “MORE” tag to cut the bulk of the text. Hopefully, it will work as expected…
Thursday – 23 July 2009
Welcome to NBN Thursday/Technical Friday.
Last night, SaraRules and I watched High Noon. Both of us enjoy Westerns, but neither of us had seen it. (My father was even surprised when I mentioned that I hadn’t seen it.) After dinner, we settled in to watch it. The story revolved around Will Kane, Marshall of a small town named Hadleyville. On his last day as Marshall – and the day of his wedding – he learns that Frank Miller, the man who ruined The Spirit he sent to prison five years earlier, has been freed… and is coming back to town for vengeance. Marshall Kane has to decide between leaving town with his bride or staying to take on Miller and his cronies. Both SaraRules and I agree that it was an excellent film.
I also picked up yesterday’s four-color shwag. I’m planning on writing up a comprehensive Four-Color Coverage tomorrow – it will cover the last four or five weeks – but let me just synopsize as follows:
Stray Toasters
Right on to the friction of the day…
Namaste.
Wednesday – 22 July 2009
Last night, after dinner, I crashed on the sofa for about an hour. Crashed. And the fact that I made it through dinner was a feat of willpower in itself. I was that tired. After waking up, I felt better and then proceeded to just lounge around for the rest of the evening.
Chew on This: Food for Thought
In a rare – but not unprecedented – instance, Craig Ferguson had a bit of a rant last night in his… pre-monologue:
Intersting… and rather insightful, too.
Stray Toasters
Tonight: High Noon, with Gary Cooper. (“Super duper…!”) 1
Namaste.
1 – Bonus points for anyone who can identify this reference.
SaraRules, Marci, Wes and I met at the gym for a lunchtime workout. On the way to the gym, we passed a car in which a young woman and her baby were passengers. Wes made a comment that I think is perfect for a Council for Better Driving slogan:
Drive like you have a baby on-board.
He said that I was free to use it.
From there, on to the workout:
This morning’s weight: 183.0 lbs
For lunch, leftover chicken molé that SaraRules made the other night.
And, for my next amazing feat: Back to the grindstone.
Namaste
Tuesday – 21 July 2009
Apparently, the seventeenth fourth time is the charm. The water pump is in and things seem to be as expected.
After getting the car, SaraRules and I went out to Hobby Lobby and IKEA. Our trip to the Garden of Sweden came after learning that a sofa we were considering, Varnamo, had been discontinued; we went in search of a suitable alternative. We think that we found it in the KARLSTAD series.
Back at home, I finished up the first floor of my ‘Clix house… only to discover that the plan we’d come up with for the second floor wasn’t going to work. *sigh* Back to the literal drawing board. After moving a staircase here and a wall there, I think that things will pan out pretty well.
Stray Toasters
Namaste.