Random Access

Friday – 16 October 2009
Today has been a good 9/80 “off” Friday. After dropping SaraRules off at work – we took her car to the shop this morning – I came home and did a little cleaning in the dining room and living room. After that, I met Marci and Josh for lunch at Taste of Punjab. Next, went and hung out with Perry and the kids for a bit before returning home. Back out to get SaraRules, her car and to run a couple of errands and we’re home again. For the moment. Clitorati’s tonight, so there’s that, too.

Stray Toasters

• I was on a bit of a Will Smith/Fresh Prince kick this morning. My Facebook links bear witness to this fact.
• Balloon Science Lesson
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Dead man slumped on balcony mistaken for Hallowe’en decoration
• 
• Disney gags on “Ho White” beer
• A while back, I posted a link to What does Marcellus Wallace look like?, a typographic “interpretation” of a scene in Pulp Fiction. Today, posted a link to Pulp Wave Fiction, yet another interpretation of the same scene:

• Yo momma so fat THX can’t even surround her.
  (Damn and a half, I like the dozens.)
• Also from the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Interracial couple denied marriage license in Louisiana

Namaste.

Yep, definitely time to change gears and have a little break.

So far, the day has gone well and has been incident-free. We like those kinds of days… especially when they fall on NBN Thursdays.

Wes and I hit the gym at lunch for a workout. I am trying to keep in mind that I can’t just jump back into the saddle and expect to be working out using the same weight for some exercises that I did before my hiatus. Nevertheless, we had a good workout:

• Sit-ups (incline): 3 sets/20 reps
• Lower Back Extensions: 3 sets/12 reps
• Bench Press (decline): 3 sets/12 reps, 185 lbs
• Flys: 3 sets/10 reps, 110 lbs
• Shoulder Press (machine): 3 sets/10 reps, 60 lbs
• Compound Row: 3 sets/10 reps, 140 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs
• Push-ups (elevated): 3 sets/10 reps

Pre-workout weight (morning): 184.5 lbs

Stray Toasters

• Super-Social Networking: Superhero Facebook Status Updates
  • From the same author – Dracula Week: Dracula’s Soul Brother!
    (It’s a funny look at Scream, Blacula, Scream.)
• sent me a link to: What do you do with an old Vespa motorcycle?
  (Somehow, I don’t think that it would work if you substituted “a drunken sailor” for “and old Vespa motorcycle,” though.)
• sent a link to this, which is pretty spectacular: 9 year old scores greatest goal in Boston this season
• : Live-action ‘Clix bases for your wedding. That’s all I’m sayin’…
• En Vogue – My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)

Namaste.

Thursday – 15 October 2009
NBN 9/80 Thursday = ‘Technical Friday’
Nothing has blown up yet, so I’m counting the morning as good. So far.

Last night, I headed over to Chris’ to help him get his Windows machine up and running. It had a hard drive crash, so we had to reinstall the OS on a new drive and get drivers and… well, the usual stuff associated with an OS installation. All things considered, it went fairly smoothly. He still needs to install some programs, but he has a working box once again.

Stray Toasters

• There are many things in this article that are being placed on The Covet List. Many things, indeed.
  • In a related note, DC Comics has a rather decent Blackest Night site up, as well.
• Mormonism and the Negro
  I found this yesterday after a brief search, based on the articles that sent me. I am not casting aspersions about it, I merely find it interesting and curious.
• Reality TV’s Thoroughly ‘Modern’ Mistakes
  (This caught my attention because they mentioned Project Runway, specifically, when discussing this.)
• Lost in space race: Female pilots
• , you might be interested in the fact that this, this and this are now available as prints.
• 
• Social Security Makes It Official: No COLA in 2010
• Cool and Classic – Enlivening a Dallas Cultural District
• Kid ‘n Play – Rollin’ With Kid ‘n Play

• A G.O.P. Agitator Not Named Palin
• The Monty Python circus keeps rolling on
• From KUER’s RadioWest: The Art of Making Money
• In Texas, a Police Officer for Everyone?

Namaste.

Wednesday – 14 October 2009
Midweek and all’s well.
As if that wasn’t enough, it’s Comics and Sushi Wednesday!

Last night was a laid back night. After a few post-work errand with SaraRules, we stopped at Dask’s to pick up dinner and then headed home. NCIS and Greek food isn’t necessarily a combination that most people would put together, but you know what? It works. After NCIS went off, we headed up to the in-laws’ for a quick visit and then headed back home – Project Runway for SaraRules; foamcore cutting for some WWG terrain for me.

Workout
For the first time in… two weeks, I think… Wes and I hit the gym for a quick workout:

• Sit-ups (incline): 3 sets/20 reps
• Lower Back Extensions: 3 sets/12 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 185 lbs
• Flys: 3 sets/10 reps, 110 lbs
• Curls: 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs
• Reverse Punches: 3 sets/10 reps, 10 lbs

Pre-workout weight (morning): 183.5 lbs

Stray Toasters

• Wonder of Wonders: Star-Spangled Panties (not nearly as NSFW as it sounds)
• continues to send things that entertain/amuse me:
  • Best of IKEA for the Kitchen
  • 1964 letter “…not in my official Church position, but as a friend…” on the LDS Church’ stance on “The Negro Problem”
    • …and an interesting follow-up
      
• What actual Mayans are saying about 2012
  I think that “What actual Rush fans are saying about 2112” would be an appropriate follow-up to this article.
• Soda Tax Could Shake Up Industry
• 
• ‘Twin Towers’ warship sets sail
  • USS New York (Wikipedia article)
• Wild Cherry – Play That Funky Music

• Airlines that charge fees lost more money than airlines that didn’t
• Comics cover artist Greg Horn’s take on Wonder Woman (full article can be read here).

Namaste.

Tuesday – 13 October 2009
So far, it’s been a relatively quiet morning. That’s not a bad thing.

Football Update
I have been a Dolphins fan since… 1990, roughly. They were “my team” until Carolina got the Panthers and Baltimore got the Ravens. They’re still my #2 AFC team. They haven’t been really noteworthy in many years, but they are still one of my favorites. When I heard that they were playing in this week’s Monday night game, I was excited, but I wasn’t expecting much.

New York Jets at Miami Dolphins
27 – 31
Wow. I was expecting a bit of a sleeper, to be honest. I had no idea that a football game was going to break out. And it was a good game, at that! Chad Henne, Miami’s QB, looked good under center – he was poised, cool under fire and was able to deliver the ball, on target, in both long and short pass plays. Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown ran the Dolphins’ famed “Wildcat” offense with more options than Baskin-Robbins has flavors. Even third-string QB, Pat White, got in on the fun. Mark Sanchez and the Jets had a solid offensive game, staying close to the Fish throughout the game. Their defense, however, only showed up intermittently. Head Coach Rex Ryan called the Jets’ performance “…an embarrassment” during the post-game interview. All-in-all, this was a satisfying – and exciting – game to watch with my #2 AFC team. If, for whatever reason, you missed it, look for the rebroadcast on NFL Network this week.

I also had something of an apostrophe epiphany last night: My favorite teams cover air, land and sea: Ravens, Panthers and Dolphins. In a very geeky way, it made me laugh.

Stray Toasters

• Methinks I need to start looking at picking up a Dolphins jersey or two…
• I was looking for an animated .gif of the Lion (or Tiger) from Kenya, when I stumbled upon these:

  
  (click for more info)

  Yep… these are going straight to The Covet List.

• Should Americans banish the burger?
• You Let Our Child Watch What!? Army of Darkness
• As that there are a few runners who will read this: How to run, meditate, and not get hurt
• Has hip-hop grown up?
• 
• Guy’s Guide to Geek Girls (The Sequel)
• The Clothes Make the Superman
• Girls sell sex in Hong Kong to earn shopping money
• Super Mario Cupcakes
• Memory not first Alzheimer’s sign

Namaste.

Monday – 12 October 2009
You know it’s going to be a great day when you walk into the office and the first thing – the FIRST thing – that someone says to you is not “Good morning” or “How was your weekend,” but “We’re down…”

Yay.

After a little bit of hunting, I discovered that one of our main servers decided to shoot itself in the virtual foot. Sometime in the wee hours of the morning. Did I mention “Yay?” We’re working on getting it back online now.

Last night, SaraRules and I watched a couple of episodes of Planet Earth: “Great Plains” and “Jungles,” both of which were rather fascinating. There was some footage that we’d seen in other episodes (and in DisneyEarth: Nature), but the episodes followed different tacks.

Football Update

Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens
17 – 14
The Ravens lost this game because of some poor play and, say it with me, “Penalties.” Lots of stupid and unnecessary penalties, late in the game. Thus, with 22 seconds left in the game, the Bengals scored the go-ahead TD and sealed not only a win, but also the lead in the AFC North. Congratulations to and .

.

Oakland Raiders at New York Giants
7 – 44
Just… “ouch.” Sorry, SaraRules.

.

Cleveland Browns at Buffalo Bills
6 -3
As if to prove “The sun shines on a dog’s ass, too…” the Browns finally put one in the “W” column for the 2009 season.   Sorry, T.O. Congrats (finally) to on his team finally digging up a win.

.

Washington Redskins at Carolina Panthers
17 – 20
The cats finally scratched out a win, too…

.

Minnesota Vikings at St. Louis Rams
38 – 10
Brett Favre and the Vikes continue to ride herd in the NFC North. NFL.com added the following notes: The Vikings are 5-0 for the first time since 2003, when they started 6-0. … Favre turned 40 on Saturday and Sunday became the 12th QB in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) to start a game at the age of 40 or older. He is 5-0 for the first time in his career. Congrats, .

Maybe, just maybe, my beloved ‘fins will be able to bring me a little joy tonight and pull off a win against the Jets.

New York Jets at Miami Dolphins
Tonight at 8:30 EDT

Stray Toasters

• Groom’s cake: Finished.
  Wedding cake: Almost finished…
• Prelate Derek sent me this picture yesterday:

  

  That’s right, it’s a Blackest Night pic, with cereal mascots as Lanterns:

  • Tony the Tiger (Frosted Flakes) as a Green Lantern
  • Count Chocula (um… DUH) as a Sinestro Corps member
  • Sugar Bear (Super Golden Crisp) as a Blue Lantern
  • The Trix Rabbit (again… DUH) as an Orange Lantern
  • Cap’n Crunch as a Red Lantern
  • Toucan Sam (Froot Loops) as an Indigo Lantern
  • Pebbles Flintstone (Fruity/Cocoa Pebbles) as a Star Sapphire and
  • Quisp (Quisp) as a Black Lantern

  This made me laugh.

• Bright spot for fliers: Holiday fares lower than last year
• Tinker Bell has cool new look for ‘Lost Treasure’ adventure
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Six-year-old sent to reform school for bringing a weapon (Cub Scout camping cutlery) to school
• This made me snicker:

  

• lightening (definition) != lightning (definition)
• How to create a fiber-optic starfield ceiling
• Crop Art Is for Everyone!
• My generation: How Indie Game Makers Are Embracing Controlled Chaos

Namaste.

Sunday – 11 October 2009
This has been a good – and relaxing – weekend.

Yesterday, we slept in a bit and then went to the Downtown Farmer’s Market, where we picked up a few things. On the way to the car, my super power kicked in, as we ran into our friend Lawrence. We came home and did a bit of cleaning. Chris and Mary called to see if we were interested in joining them for seeing Zombieland. We were. And it was a riot. We had a lot of fun watching it. Seriously. If you’re looking for a fun way to pass an hour-and-a-half or so, you should go see this movie.

After the movie, the four of us had dinner at Spaghetti Mama’s. Kate was there, but off the floor… so we got to see her for a bit, but she didn’t wait on our table.

Back at home, SaraRules and I watched Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, the latest DC Animated Feature, based on the graphic novel of the same name. There were a few differences from the book, but on the whole, it was decently-adapted. And, while it did have many of the good lines from the book, it did miss the a couple that I expected to hear, including:

Superman: “Your butler guards the cave with a shotgun? You didn’t have a spare Mr. Freeze gun lying around?”
Batman: “This coming from a man who protects his fortress with a flying dog in a cape.”

On the whole, I thought that it was a decent adaptation and worth a viewing or two.

Today, we slept in again and then headed up to Park City for brunch at Cisero’s. After that, we went to the Kimball Art Center to see The Art of the Brick, an exhibition by LEGO Master Builder, Nathan Sawaya. It was interesting to see how someone can express themselves through such an… unusual… medium.

We came back to Salt Lake for Canadian Thanksgiving with friends of Sara’s family. They put on a nice spread and it was nice to hang out with friends and family. After dinner, we did some grocery shopping and then came home to watch some football.

All-in-all, I’d say that this has been a good, low-key weekend… and one that was definitely needed following last week’s festivities and hullaballoo.

Namaste.

Friday – 09 October 2009
Waking up wasn’t so bad this morning. Staying awake, however, was an entirely different matter. So, I didn’t really fight it. All told, I probably logged an extra forty-five to fifty minutes of sleep. Not a bad way to kick off a Friday.

Last night, SaraRules and I headed down to The Bayou to meet , , , OnlyAly and and to celebrate ‘s birthday (before she headed back to the Eastern Reaches). It was a lot of fun. And loud. And the people-watching was pretty good, too. The food was good, too – SaraRules had the Shrimp Etouffe and I had the Jambalaya.  It was also nice, as we weren’t able to go to Cafe Orleans while we were in Cedar City; it had closed down sometime in the past few months.

Stray Toasters

• Barack Obama Wins the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize
  The BBC’s article starts off with an interesting take:
  

  “In awarding President Obama the Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian committee is honoring his intentions more than his achievements. After all he has been in office only just over eight months and he will presumably hope to serve eight years, so it is very early in his term to get this award.”

• Why the FBI Director Doesn’t Bank Online
• Girl, 12, slugged back at Phillies slugger
• SaraRules noted that we hadn’t made any pretzels in a long time. We need to change that.
• LEGO Transportation Exhibition in Ottowa
  • Wheels, Wings and Waves – A LEGO History of Transportation (Flickr set)
• Left 4 Dead 2 Approved in Australia After Edits
• Punk Animals Photoshopping Contest
• I still haven’t watched Superman/Batman: Public Enemies yet.

Lunch time!

Namaste.

Thursday – 08 October 2009
Having a week off was good, but it’s back to the grind for another NBN Thursday.

Yesterday, I went to sushi with shockpuppet, , and .  Before heading over to Dr. Volt’s, I stopped at Evergreen Framing Co. & Gallery – I’ve been past it many times without going in. It’s a nice little shop, with art from local artists. If you’re in the 33rd South and 20th East area, check it out. Next stop: Dr. Volt’s and then… back home.

Later in the evening, SaraRules and I made a pilgrimage to The Garden of Sweden. We picked up a GORM storage unit for the pantry and a few knick-knacks.

Today has been mostly getting back into the swing of things. And, a tasty lunch at Taste of Punjab.

Stray Toasters

• We have Dunkin’ Donuts Munchkins.  Booyah!
• For SaraRules:

  

• What’s Inside a Cup of Coffee?
  Aside from life-giving (and/or life-saving) goodness, you mean…?
• Rock out to Spider-Woman’s Tangled Web
• Missile Silo Fixer-Upper Now Swanky Bachelor Pad
• Ctrl-Alt-Del‘s Tim Buckley has a few things to say about the Left4Dead 2 “boycott”
  • I boycott the boycotters
  • Boycott: From the other side
• Wondermark’s Genre Fiction Generator
• Finding Common Ground in a Tiny Barbershop

Namaste.

Wednesday – 07 October 2009
We’re back. It’s been an amazing weekend… long weekend, that is. And it’s been fun, exciting, too fast/too short, and a whole list of other adjectives that are slipping my mind. In short: It’s been wonderful. I took a lot of pictures of the weekend, minus wedding (natch) and there seem to be a few that others have taken floating around various places in the Interwebs.

The wedding went off, literally, without a hitch. Seriously. Heritage Gardens was nothing short of excellent at taking care of all of the details. We arrived Saturday morning at 0900 and had a brief walkthrough of the ceremony. Amber, our coordinator, ushered us through everything, even without a few family members there. Next the wedding party got dressed and we took pictures.

Let me stop here to note that I hadn’t seen SaraRules’ dress before Saturday morning. Not during the trip to L.A. to find it. Not during the past six months that it’s been at her parents’ house. I didn’t see it until she came down the stairs from the Bride’s Room.

It was totally worth the wait.
She looked amazing in it.

Twila, our photographer, wanted to get a picture of my reaction to the dress, as SaraRules came down the stairs. I can’t wait to see that picture, because I know what the reaction felt like: A total jaw-dropping “Wow…” It was also the first time that I’d seen her bouquet: It was made of glass, as was my boutonniere.

We took pictures with our families… wait, I guess that’s just “family,” now. Twila, once again, was right on top of things – she took three pictures for each setting, to ensure that she gets “just the right one.” Parents. Grandparents. Siblings. Blended family. Wedding party. Us with Ben (our officiant). You name it, I think we have a picture of it.

Then it was time for the ceremony. We lined up and walked in. When SaraRules came down the steps and into the chapel, it was another “Wow…” moment – she really did look fantastic in her dress. We stood at the altar with our sibs as our groomsmen and bridesmaids – my Godsister, Tammy, filled in as a “stunt bridesmaid,” since we weren’t sure what Rana would have to deal with, as far as Bit and Pixel were concerned. Ben, Tammy’s husband, officiated the ceremony… and it was lovely. A nice blend of a traditional, spiritual ceremony with a few insightful words and a little humor for a modern marriage. We couldn’t have asked for anything better.

The reception was equally fun. We had lovely toasts from Adam and Melissa. We mingled with the guests and even managed to get in a bite or two of lunch. Then we danced. All that anyone knew of our dance was that it had been choreographed by SaraRules’ former classmate, Mark Baker, the Ballroom Dance Coordinator for Southern Utah University. No one expected The Spanish Inquisition us to break out in swing dancing to James Brown’s I Feel Good (I Got You). It was a big hit. Next up, SaraRules and her father danced to Stevie Wonder’s Isn’t She Lovely. Then it was time for the mother-son dance; we danced to If You Believe, from the Broadway production of The Wiz. (Mom liked my choice of song. WIN!) After more mingling, things began to wind down. But, It was awesome to have so many members of our family and friends there to share it with us.

We left the reception center… and headed to Beans and Brews for coffee. (It had been a long morning.) We went in our tux and dress. A patron came up and shyly asked if we had just gotten married; we told her that we had. She sweetly congratulated us and wished us well. Then we were off to our hotel. We changed into comfy clothes and proceeded to try and catch a nap before dinner. No such luck. We were far too wired from the day to sleep, so we chatted away the afternoon until time to head to…

…The Paris Bistro. It was our second trip to the restaurant and, again, everything was practically perfect. Our waitress, Lindsay, was attentive and quite sweet. The food was exquisite: We started with their Shrimp Paris appetizer, then SaraRules had their Bouillabaisse Provençal Fish Stew while I had the Grilled Mystic Wild Alaskan Silver Salmon. We had opted out of having dessert… but Lindsay, whom we had told that it was our wedding day, brought us a Bananas and Nutella Crepe dessert.

Leaving the restaurant, we decided to go in search of ice cream. The place I had intended to go wasn’t there anymore, so we cut our search short and opted to head back to the hotel and crash. And we did, in fairly short order.

Sunday morning, we got up and headed to SaraRules’ parents; they had decided to throw a brunch for the families family. If our count was accurate, there were fifty-three people there. It was nice to be able to see everyone once more before they took off for their respective parts of the country.

Back home to pack and then we were off for a mini-honeymoon in Las Vegas. We got under way around 1530. We stopped in St. George at the In-N-Out Burger and at the Dairy Queen and then were on the road again.  SaraRules had gotten us a room at the Luxor. By the time we got there, we were ready for dinner. After dinner and a little wandering, we were ready to call it a night.

Monday, we got up, got ready and got out. We had breakfast and then hit the road to visit Hoover Dam. The drive to Boulder City was nice, but traffic slows (to a crawl) a few miles from the dam. But, when we finally got there, I was amazed: It is an incredible feat of engineering. We walked along the front and back walls of the dam, from the Nevada side to the Arizona side and back. Naturally, I took a plethora of pictures (which are available from the link at the top of the post). Back to Vegas, where we drove around looking for Trader Joe’s, quilt shops and comic book stores. We were successful at finding all of them. We had dinner at Roy’s, a Hawai’ian fusion restaurant that SaraRules suggested. It was another fantastic place: The service was exemplary, the food was succulent. Everything about the place was spot-on. We started with a calamari appetizer, which came with a delicious macadamia nut pesto. Our main courses were: Hawaiian Style Misoyaki Butterfish (SaraRules) and  Chili Pepper Scented U-10 Scallops (me). Next came the “Roy’s Melting Hot Chocolate Souffle,” for dessert. And, were were sent a congratulatory mini-dessert of a berry custard on cake, as well. All-in-all, it was an excellent dining experience and one that I heartily recommend to anyone heading to Las Vegas.

We headed to Town Square to do a little shopping (we wound up only window shopping, though) and then headed back to the Hotel where Josh and Lish met up with us. It was nice to see them and catch up on some of the latest news from southern Utah and Massachusetts.

Tuesday morning, we got up, stopped to take pictures by the “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign…

…before hitting a nearby Dunkin’ Donuts for coffee and doughnuts (and Munchkins!) and getting on our way back to Utah. We stopped in Cedar City to watch a production of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged). It was hilarious. Thanks to Josh for getting us tickets and for the in-play nod to our new marriage. And then, back on the road to Salt Lake City.

It was a wonderful (extended) weekend. Thanks to everyone who shared it with us.

Namaste.

Friday: Coda
We’re at just under ten-and-a-half hours now.
I’m exhausted from all of the running around of the past two days…

…but I’m also quite excited for tomorrow morning later this morning.

After leading six cars from Midvale to downtown Salt Lake City (which SaraRules likened to “herding cats”), I had a wonderful time at dinner with family, friends and soon-to-be-family. I also realized the this evening was the first time I’ve had my whole family – both sides of it – in the same place, at the same time, since I graduated from high school. Added bonus:Having SaraRules’ family there as well. On a side-/amusing note: It just dawned on me a few days ago that I’m about to have three sets of parents. And, I’m picking up a set of grandparents, as well. Win-Win.

Tonight’s dinner was at Biaggi’s, at The Gateway. The food was great – I had their Pork Chop al Forno, SaraRules had a Penne pasta dish – as was the company.

All-in-all, it was a great way to kick off the wedding weekend.

And now, sweet sweet sleep.

Namaste.

Friday – 02 October 2009
Another day of picking family up at the airport. (Grace has gotten big!)

And a trip to Men’s Wearhouse to get the tuxes.

And…
And…
And…

*whew*

And we’re about to head off to the rehearsal dinner.

By this time tomorrow, we’re gonna be married!

Namaste.

Thursday – 01 October 2009
This NBN Thursday kicked off around 0745… and at only 32°F. Of course, following a day where it snowed (TWICE!), I’m glad that this morning was just clear and cold. Additionally, none of the snow in the valley lasted; on the mountaintops, however… *shrug*

This morning saw the first of today’s airport runs that SaraRules and I will be making:

1. Adam (Sib-3), Chelsea and Caden (Nephew-1) arrived at 0900. Their baggage… we weren’t too sure about. From the time they deplaned to the time they made it down to baggage claim, nothing with their flight number came up. This didn’t make them – nor the other people on their flight – very happy. Adam went to see what had happened while Chelsea went to get the rental car. According to him, the baggage claim clerk said that the people on their flight “didn’t make it to baggage claim fast enough,” so they took their baggage off the carousel and put it in the claims office. “Not fast enough?!” They walked from the gate to baggage claim! Any faster and they would have had to ‘port there. Idiotstick. Meanwhile, Chelsea was still waiting in line at the car rental counter – they only had one person working the desk. All told, it took almost an hour to get everything straight, which put us there when…
2. My stepsister, Barbara, arrived. In fact, I had to leave the others to finalize the rental arrangements to meet her. She had already gotten her luggage by the time I got back to baggage claim. We met the others at the rental counters. She got her car and we were off.

We had a “slight miscue” getting out of the airport, but that was clarified a couple of phone calls later. I dropped SaraRules off at home – she was meeting her sister and mother for a spa day and afternoon tea – before leading Adam and company to their hotel; I didn’t have to lead Barbara, as she had a GPS in her car… and she took off without us. Everyone checked in and then we went out for lunch.

Now, I’m back at home to take care of some cleaning while there’s some down time.

Stray Toasters

• T-minus two days…
• Caden is adorable. That’s really all there is to it. Or, as SaraRules put it: “Adam’s very lucky to have Chelsea help him make a cute kid.”
• Despite sending emails with weather updates to the family, I’ve already/still gotten two calls asking me how cold it is and if it really snowed yesterday.
• Movie Posters for Minimalists
• Being a bad guy can be good for career
• I still haven’t watched Superman/Batman: Public Enemies yet!
• I’m a bit late getting up to speed on this one, but it’s Banned Books Week.
• Monster Cereal: Fan Art Month
• Are you an Xbox Live subscriber? If so, what’s your gamertag?
• Are you a member of Good Reads?  What’s your username?
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Bank of America demands thumbprint from man with no arms

Namaste.