Random Access

Tuesday – 07 September 2010
The abbreviated work week begins.

The morning commute was accompanied by the radio, which had this in the mix:

Last night, SaraRules and I headed to the local Home Depot – my third trip for the day – to pick up paint supplies to start work on the guest room. As soon as we finish with it, we’ll be done with the upstairs interior. For now.  We’re considering replacing the railing at the stairs to the basement with a half-wall.  We’ll see how that pans out.

I also managed to get in a little time in Nova Praetoria, the “other” setting for CoH: Going Rogue. I like the fact that you get to choose between being a Loyalist (supporting the emperor) or a Resistance member (fighting against the oppressive regime)… or even straddle the line between them. My character is currently a member of the Resistance. Whether or not he remains one will depend on how the story plays out.

Stray Toasters

• It would be nice if the weather could figure out whether it wants to be hot or cool.
• Petraeus Wanrs Against Planned Koran-Burning
  I find it sad that people can’t figure out that this is invective and offensive.  It seems a far way from the “Do unto others…” that I was taught in the churches of my youth.
• 8 Incredible LEGO Mods
• And here’s a little classic Ms. Jackson for your day, too:
• North Van dad-to-be’s final act saves family
  And if the name “Brian Wood” sounds familiar to gamers, it’s because he was the lead designer for Relic Entertainment’s Company of Heroes.
• By way of everydave: Conventions: Another day at the office for celebs
• 
• 8 Weight Loss Secrets from Around the World
• 1930 Art Deco Henderson
• The Ravens (finally) released QB Troy Smith over the weekend; he was picked up by the 49ers.
• Researchers Say Happiness Costs $75k
• xkcd Comic Wedding Cake

Namaste.

Sunday – 05 September 2010
So far, it’s been a nice and quiet day.

I slept in.
I decided to take a relaxing hot bath.
I finished Fables Vol. 7: Arabian Nights (and Days), which has been languishing on the bookshelf.
All the way around, I think that qualifies as a good way to kick off a Sunday.

Yesterday, SaraRules and I went for a walk along the Jordan River Parkway. We started at the 6400 South entrance and walked up to the 5400 South pavilions. We figured that the round-trip was somewhere between 2.75 and 3.00 miles.

Later in the evening, we met up with OnlyAly, everydave and Jana and went to see the Real Salt Lake match against the New York Red Bulls. (Pictures here) I even ran into Tyranist and his wife, as well as my former coworker, Carilyn, at the stadium. RSL pulled out the win, which tied them for MLS’ longest consecutive home game win streak — 22 games. Added bonus: It looks as though we’ve converted a few more people into soccer fans.

Back at home, SaraRules and I watched Renovation Realities and Family Renovation before calling it a night. Schadenfreude at its finest.

Stray Toasters

• I need to look into replacing a couple of sprinkler heads.
• Mad Men’s glamourous gift to the world
• The Ultimate Casual Shopping Guide for Fall
• During my latest bout with geekiness, I put a couple of WorldWorksGames buildings in the middle of my train layout.
• Demon children want you to eat
• From the “It’s Probably Me…” file: What’s “wrong” with this picture?

  

  (Hint: Compared to the other items displayed, is it really “news” that someone’s not going to be a judge on American Idol next season?  How about if it’s someone that we’d barely heard of before she became an AI judge?!)

• Flying Cars? Conveyor Belts? The Future of I-95
• How to Wear White after Labor Day
• The NFL 2010 season starts on Thursday!

If I’m up early enough, should I go to the driving range tomorrow morning…?

Namaste.

Current Mood:  relaxed

Friday – 03 September 2010
It’s my 9/80 “off” Friday.
I consider that a good way to kick off a long weekend.

Last night was rather quiet and low-key. The highlights included: Mowing the yard and watching more of Mad Men, season 2. I’ve been trying to follow a tip I saw on DIY Network (I really watch that channel FAR too much…) and have been cutting the grass in different directions each time I mow. The landscaping in the front yard makes it… difficult… but I persevere. The back yard isn’t nearly as annoying to mow, fortunately. And, I also got the mower back behind the gazebo — there was a LOT of ivy/ground cover growth — to see what I was dealing with back there.  Uneven ground. A couple of stumps. A raised planter box.   Yeah, it needs a little attention.  We’ll see what we can do about that.

Stray Toasters

• I just finished chatting with my mother… on Facebook. She seems to be enjoying retirement… for the most part.
• USUO 2010 Fourth Annual Web Sale
• Cinnamon Chip Bread for breakfast!  WIN!
• The crap we put up with getting on and off an airplane
• 
• Preschoolers being radio-tagged
• The Ravens played the Rams last night… and lost. I didn’t see the game, as it wasn’t televised, but ESPN’s Game Center told the tale of the tape.  And these reporters’ comments clarified any further questions. Oh, well… at least the regular season starts soon.
• 
• August jobs report: Signs of life for employment
• Homeroom Security: book about the insanity of zero-tolerance classroom policies
• From the “WAY Too Much Free Time” file comes: Keith Goldman builds Logan’s Run

Time to see what kind(s) of trouble I can get into today…

Namaste.

Current Mood:  good

Thursday – 02 September 2010
Another NBN Thursday kicks off.
And it also kicks off a four-day weekend, as today is my “Technical Friday.”
Maybe I’ll leave a little early to get a jump on the long weekend…

Today also marks the anniversary of the first use of an ATM in the United States.

Last night was Game Night with melodywise and Jack and company. It was fun, but our party got our collective recta handed to us, for the most part. Not zesty. We survived, but it was touch-and-go for a while.

After the game – and a stop at Home Depot, to pick up a hacksaw – I headed home and read the day’s four-color haul. It was a good way to wrap up the day.

Stray Toasters

• The art of James Hance
• Leaders Call for Peace as Mideast Talks Begin
• I just found out that a coworker of mine – one whom I like – is… a Steelers fan.
  I’m not sure if we can be friends anymore.
• I Lost 100 Pounds (And Found Out What the World Thinks of Fat People)
• Tony Blair on Clinton, Bush and the American Character
  

  Americans can be all that the rest of the world sometimes accuses them of: brash, loud, insular, obsessive and heavy-handed. But America is great for a reason. It is looked up to, despite all the criticism, for a reason. There is a nobility in the American character that has been developed over the centuries, derived in part, no doubt, from the frontier spirit, from the waves of migration that form the stock, from the circumstances of independence, from the Civil War, from a myriad of historical facts and coincidences. But it is there.

• New River Gorge Bridge attraction not for the faint of heart
• 35 New Hidden Logos of 2010 – Messages Revealed!
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Trapped Chilean Miners Denied Pay While Underground
• 
• Young, Single & Childless: Women Who Earn More Than Men
• Fall Clothing for Men: 21 of Your Most Pressing Fall Style Problems, Solved
• F.C.C. Seeks More Input on Wireless Internet Rules
• Annihilating the Ivories: A Solo Piano Workout Mix

Meetings! Yay!

Namaste.

Current Mood:  good

Monday – 30 August 2010
Today is both a Monday and a rainy day.
I think that the only “win” to be found here is that it’s a short work week. Despite that, here’s Today’s View:

This past weekend was good. It was equal parts fun/productive and lazy. Saturday, I ran a ‘Clix tournament at Dr. Volt’s. (Pictures here) The theme was “Family Reunion,” wherein each team had to have at least two (2) figures that were related to each other. It made for some interesting teams. I went with a Wonder Woman-themed team:

Wonder Woman (Diana Prince)
(gallery bb-figure-018)

Wonder Girl (Donna Troy, Diana’s sister)
(gallery cr-figure-038)

Wonder Woman (Artemis)
(gallery jl-figure-037)

They held up rather well, going 2-1.  (It didn’t really matter too much as I was just playing bye rounds, but it was still fun.) And, I got to use my new WW figure, to boot… which I need to get a good picture of.

Saturday evening, I fired up the grill and cooked burgers. We ate under the gazebo. It was good. Later, we ran a quick errand to Hobby Lobby – we were looking for frames for the artwork we bought at the Park City Arts Festival. We also ran into Sinister and his wife, while at the ‘Lobby. He told me of a possible monkey wrench in our Sunday plans, so we made a contingency plan.

That night, we watched The Dirty Dozen. I’ve seen bits and pieces of it and SaraRules had never seen it, so I added it to my Netflix queue a few weeks ago. Halfway through the movie, we stopped for a snack intermission. While scooping ice cream, I had a niggling suspicion about the movie…

… I went back downstairs to confirm or deny it.

Myth: Confirmed
Yep, I had bought the movie a few months ago.
*facepalm*

We laughed about it, as we started watching the second half of the movie, which was quite awesome.

Sunday, I got a call from Sinister correcting part of the mix-up from Saturday evening’s conversation. The original plans were for he, Jeremiah, and I to meet at Chris’ for a big JLA-Avengers ‘Clix match. Jeremiah wasn’t able to make it, so we had to call for a stunt double…

…and our stunt double had a conflict.

…so we called in a second stunt double, Johnny. He was able to fill in and save the day.

…and, thus, we gamed.  Sinister and Johnny played the JLA – and a well-fielded JLA, at that – while Chris and I played The Avengers. 2,400 point game. There were good (and bad) dice rolls from both sides of the table. When we finished – we had a time limit – Chris and I had managed to beat down most of the JLA’s big guns and were working clean-up duty on the rest; I lost four of my nine figures, while Chris lost no one. Good game.

Back at home, SaraRules had prepared a nice stew-like dish, served over polenta. It was very good and also marked the first time that I’d had polenta, to my knowledge. After dinner, we watched George Romero’s Survival of the Dead. It was… disappointing. Even SaraRules commented,”That sucked.”

We cleansed our entertainment palates by watching a couple of episodes of Mad Men, Season 2. That helped immensely.

Instant Replay: Football
The Ravens took on the Giants on Saturday. I didn’t get to see the game, but I did keep track of it via NFL.com’s Game Center. And the Ravens pulled out a big win over the Giants, 24 -10.

Stray Toasters

• Revisiting Black History on Martha’s Vineyard
• Three months until Burn Notice returns…
• Too Few Women in Tech? Stop Blaming Men
• This kid, at the 2010 Baltimore Comic Con, could be in my Corps any day:



• Original Kermit the Frog puppet donated to Smithsonian
• Hip-Hop History, Recreated by Those Who Invented It
• Parts of the valley are starting to look like locations from Stephen King’s The Mist.
• 
• Protest at military funeral ignites a test of free speech
• Clean People Feel Morally Superior
• 7 Inconsistencies in ‘The Fresh Prince’

Namaste.

Current Mood:  good

Tuesday – 24 August 2010
aLast night, SaraRules and I went to her parents’ house for dinner (homemade chicken pot pie = WIN!) and football: Arizona Cardinals at Tennessee Titans. For a preseason game, it was a pretty good game… if you’re a Tennessee fan. They worked on both sides of the ball. And worked well. Vince Young looked good in the game, much more composed and poised in the pocket and able to make decent connections with his backs and receivers. They’ll be a team to watch this season.

On the other side of the field, the Cardinals still looked like a team trying to figure out who they are without Kurt Warner. Matt Leinart couldn’t get anything going in the three series that he played. Former Cleveland QB Derek Anderson looked decent, but wasn’t able to put together a scoring drive either. Former BYU QB Max Hall looked rather solid and put together the Cards’ only TD-scoring drive. It will be interesting to see how the team fares with their star receiver, Larry Fitzgerald, back in the game after his knee heals.

After the game, SaraRules and I headed home and wound up the evening with a couple of episodes of Mad Men. We are both enjoying the show quite a bit.

Chew on This: Food for Thought
I have had a couple of teachers and administrators in the family and a few of my close friends are teachers, as well. Teachers often get blamed for all of the ills – perceived and actual – in the halls of our schools, but seldom get the credit for trying to do the right thing for their students. (Drive to Overhaul Low-Performing Schools Delayed, NYTimes) I have both heard and seen first-hand how they deal with students and some of their students’ issues.

Case in point: I was talking with one of these friends earlier and he gave me the Cliff’s Notes version of one of the problems a student of his was facing — it was more “mountain” than “mole hill.” He told me that the student wound up literally crying over the situation.

What many people don’t realize is that teachers – at least the ones that I consider “good teachers” – don’t just shut out their students when the afternoon bell rings. They don’t just see their jobs as ending when the last school bus pulls out of the lot. They get involved. They do what they can to be supportive of their students. In short: They care.

If only more people cared about the teachers and administrators who spend time with their children…

Workout
I have no idea what yesterday’s step count was, as I broke the pedometer as I was heading home from work. Bah. I might have to look into getting another one.

Stray Toasters

• I would ask if it’s too early for office monkeys… but I don’t think that there’s such a thing as “too early” where they are concerned. Unfortunately.
• I discovered this song, by Cee Lo yesterday. It’s definitely NSFW, but it is also pretty damned good:
• Scant Progress in Effort on Old Racial Killings
  

  “Everybody put me on the back burner for years and years,” said Mr. Allen’s son, Henry C. Allen, 65. He had hoped the cold case initiative would change things, but said the response has been slow. He said the legwork had been done. “Here’s the people you can contact, here’s their phone number, here’s their address,” he said. “I don’t have the authority to go knock on their door, but you do — and it still don’t get done.”

• By way of Nyx: Koala survives highway ride wedged in car
• Why Coffee Is Getting More Expensive
• Of Mosques and Men: a new Liberty Street message
• lightning != lightening
  • light·ning (noun)
    1: the flashing of light produced by a discharge of atmospheric electricity; also : the discharge itself

    2: a sudden stroke of fortune

  • light·en (verb)
    light·ened | light·en·ing
    1: to make light or clear : illuminate
    2: archaic : enlighten
    3: to make (as a color) lighter
• 
• 1980s T-shirts
• Another addition to The Covet List: WorldWorksGames’ Mayhem: Under Construction
• New Orleans Levees Nearly Ready, but Mistrusted
• A couple of songs about a certain midwestern state:
  • Rockapella: Indiana
  • Jackson Five: Goin’ Back to Indiana
• Nordstrom Links Online Inventory to Real World

Namaste.

Wednesday – 18 August 2010
Midweek. And that means Comics (and Sushi) Wednesday!

Yesterday afternoon, I called a local sporting goods store to see if they’d be able to do a quick turnaround on tuning up my bike. Yeah, the one that I haven’t ridden in about two years. They said that as long as I could have it there by 1000 this morning, that I could get it back this evening. It was in their store a little after 1800 yesterday. The clerk also told me that, aside from new tubes, it looked like it only needed a minor tune-up. Win!

SaraRules’ sister, Meliko, got into town last night. SaraRules and I stopped by the in-laws’ to visit with her  - and the in-laws – for a while.

The evening finished up with ice cream and an episode of Mad Men… which really isn’t a bad way to wind up a day.

There was just a major accident on the freeway outside of our building; I got a few pictures of the aftermath.  The Council for Better Driving would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone to please be careful when on the roadways.

Workout
Tuesday’s step count: 5, 546

Stray Toasters

• Guess who was just given his first project to manage…
• Depending on how you look at it, August is either a good or a bad month to be a geek with hobbies. The Covet List is chock full o’ goodies:
  • The Lionel Chessie System Merger Special train set that I wanted came out this month.
  • City of Heroes: Going Rogue came out yesterday
  • The Watchmen HeroClix Collector’s Box Set comes out… next week, I think.
  • The Phoenix and Dark Phoenix Bishoujo statues come out… either today or next Wednesday.
  • The DC Direct Blackest Night Series 5 figures come out next week.

  Mr. Sulu, set phasers wallets on “Empty!”

• Given Money, Schools Wait on Rehiring Teachers
• 
• Canned in Washington, Jim Zorn ‘feels fortunate’ to join Ravens
  I liked his response to/interpretation of the situation:

  Looking back on his “learning experiences” without being specific, Zorn said he wished he could’ve changed some things while having no regrets on other issues. He added that he just learned to deal with circumstances as they came.

  “You just get fired, thank you very much, and you move on,” he said. “I really think that’s the way we have to handle it, or we could go sit in our rooms for a few weeks and mope and feel sorry for ourselves.

  “It’s not the way life is, really. We’re called to handle difficult situations as well as glorious situations. That’s the way life is.”

• Reviving ‘The Peony Pavilion’ with Modern Shading
• U.S. Army’s new camouflage debuts
• A Film Unfinished - Yael Hersonski Revisits a Nazi Film of the Warsaw Ghetto
• End to COBRA subsidy means higher health insurance bills

Namaste.

Tuesday – 17 August 2010
It’s another good-looking day here in the valley.

And, because it was playing on the radio, during this morning’s commute:

Last night, nox_aeternus and his son, Josh, came over to watch football and play with LEGO, respectively. We watched the Giants take on the Jets at the New Meadowlands Stadium, home to both teams — last night, the Jets were the “home” team. Both teams looked good, but the Giants seemed a little more hungry for the win… or perhaps they were just out for revenge after the hit that QB Eli Manning took near the end of the first half. Either way, the Giants came away with the win: 31-16.

Workout
Monday’s step count: 4,648

Stray Toasters

• My sister-in-law is coming to town tonight; I need to find some suitable four-color print entertainment for her.
• I also need to figure out what’s wrong with the water cannon sprinkler in the front yard – it’s not working properly. I spent about ten minutes last night trying to suss it out in the dark. Yay for home ownership!
• 
• astronautdinosaur.com – The Art of Scott Listfield
• Where Have All the Giant Robots Gone?
• Dress Code: When You’re Sick of All Your Clothes
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Rochdale man ‘took 200 fireworks on US plane”
• 
• Study finds fraud, abuse in MD energy program
• Musical Interlude:
  • Museum Acquires Storied Trove of Performances by Jazz Greats
  • Your Favorite ‘Great Unknowns’ in Jazz
• Dexter Has Nothing on These Serial Killers
• U.S. Said to Plan Easing Rules for Travel to Cuba

Namaste.

Current Mood:  good

Monday – 16 August 2010
Another work week begins.
At least it’s a great-looking day out there.
And there’s football tonight.

Today’s musical selections come by way of songs heard on the morning commute:

No Doubt – Just a Girl

Oingo Boingo – Weird Science

Yesterday, SaraRules, suzie_lightning and I went to see Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. It was a LOT of fun. I’d say that it was one of the best geek movies I’ve seen in a long time, if not ever. SaraRules said that “…it looked the way I would expect a comic book to be translated into a movie.” I’m not a huge Michael Cera fan – he’s a little like Will Ferrell to me, very hit or miss – but I really enjoyed him as Scott Pilgrim. It was also amusing to see Brandon Routh as one of Ramona’s “Seven Deadly Exes,” and a “super” one at that. It nearly made me laugh out loud when he was flying. All-in-all, it was a fine bit of summer cinema.

After the movie – and after I spent a little time in Paragon City – we headed to the in-laws’ for dinner and a movie. Sunday dinners with the family are made additionally fun by some of the stories told over the dinner table. After dinner, we watched Kick-Ass, which was just as enjoyable this time as it was the first time we saw it.

Workout
Sunday’s step count: 3,640

Stray Toasters

• Signing, Singing, Speaking: How Language Evolved
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: $76k for emergency appendectomy
• Major archeological find at site of Civil War prison
  (Mjolnir?  Cap’s shield?  The Ultimate Nullifier?   Oh, wait… wrong Civil War.)
• Use Coffee Grounds to Clean Sticky Tools
• My Darker Competitive Side
• 14 Warm Weather Style Tips: Use Now, Repeat All Summer

Namaste.

Friday – 13 August 2010
Yes, it is Friday the 13th… (dun dun DUNNNN!)
But, it’s still Friday, which means that the weekend is nigh. With that in mind, here’s a little Janet (“Ms. Jackson,” if you’re nasty…) to help get your end-of-the-week dance on:

And we can’t just leave it like that, so here’s a little Will Smith, too:

After working a little later than usual on Wednesday and having to go back to work Wednesday night (to deal with a potential water leak), I had an extra hour of work on the timecard… of which I availed myself yesterday afternoon: I left a little after 4:00.  It was nice. I stopped at Pin-up Girl, ordered a Peach White Tea and then sat and chatted with Jim and his brother, Paul.

Then I headed home to get ready for some football. SaraRules had a Justice Junior League meeting, so that meant that I was on my own for dinner. (Hello, Papa Johns…?) Pizza went wonderfully with beer and football. and it wasn’t just any old football game… it was the Ravens hosting the Panthers. But I’ll go into the game later.

As if the early part of the day wasn’t enough, SaraRules, Bonne, Melissa S. and I went to see The Expendables. SaraRules called it, and I quote:

Quite possibly the best action movie I’ve ever seen… I’d give it nine-and-a-half bricks!

And, just in case that wasn’t enough, here’s what Bonne had to say about it:

If you prefer action over chick flicks, I have one word for you: Expendables!!!

That’s right: My mother-in-law thought it rocked.  Beat that.

And, yeah, it was pretty damned good. You’re not five minutes into the movie when the bullets – and bodies – start flying. The movie is “a little” thin on plot, but doesn’t suffer from lack of action. You get to see (almost) all of the stars chewing bubble gum, kicking ass and taking names. Something that I wasn’t expecting: The dialogue was actually witty at times. Sure, there were a couple of in-jokes here and there, but the banter was fairly fresh. And, the movie was just plain fun.

SaraRules’ Rating:

Rob’s Rating: 

That was my Thursday, how was yours?

Instant Replay: Football

Carolina Panthers at Baltimore Ravens
12 – 17
The Ravens played host to the Carolina Panthers for both teams’ first preseason game. The weather went from overcast and threatening to “Hey, Noah, where’s your ark?” during the course of the game. The Ravens have a lot of new talent on both sides of the ball. They also have a good number of returning team members. Among the new talent is former St. Louis QB Mark Bulger. Bulger looked a little rusty, but viewers saw that the talent is still there. QB Troy Smith got the short end of the stick, coming into the game as the rain started pouring down, but that didn’t stop him from engineering a drive that culminated in a rushing TD… by Smith, himself, on a QB draw. The Panthers apparently have twenty-nine (29) new players, including six rookie defensive players. They also have two rookie QBs – Jimmy Clausen and Hunter Cantwell – duking it out for the #2 slot. And I have to say: Clausen looked amazing. Seriously. First NFL game – against the Ravens’ D, no less – and he stood in the pocket, looking cool and in control. His passes were solid. His timing was unexpectedly and impressively precise, threading the needle more than once to complete long yardage passes to receivers in coverage. Yes, this was “just” a pre-season game, but it was still football and it was a good game. It’s good to know that both of my teams will be worth watching this season… especially when both teams meet again in November.

Workout
Thursday’s step count: 4,860

Stray Toasters

• Late night + early morning = Rob stopping at Pin-up Girl Espresso for some go-juice.
  Erin and Paul helped me kickstart my morning.



• Hidden World of Girls — Girls and the Women They Become
• Oh, North Carolina Public Schools… I didn’t know just how badly you needed help.
• ‘Tea Party’ members offer a ground-level view
• From Brad Guigar’s Courting Disaster:

  

  (click image to read the question and comments)

• White House against ending birthright citizenship
• 10 great haunted places across the USA
• I haven’t read the book or seen the movie, but I would probably be more inclined to read or see this take on Eat Pray Love:



• Organize your ideas to make more money
• Stock Your Garden with Foods Cheaper to Grow Than to Buy

Quote of the Day
Today’s quote comes from last night, by way of someone sitting in front of us to his friend who had just returned from the concession stand:

“You’re bitching about salt and sugar?! That much food will grow you two spare asses!”

Have a great Friday!

Namaste.

Thursday – 12 August 2010
Not only is it an NBN Thursday…
But there’s an NFL preseason game tonight…

The Baltimore Ravens take on the Carolina Panthers, in Baltimore.
As these are my #1 and #2 teams, this comes out as a “Win-Win” for me.

vs. 

Additionally, The Wizard of Oz was released on this date, in 1939.

SaraRules and I, along with her parents, attended the “Epic Dining” at MacCool’s last night. There was a five-course meal, in which each course was paired with a beer from Epic Brewing:

The whole evening was great.  We sat that the table with Dave and Peter, co-owners of Epic, Dave’s wife, Susan and Michael, Peter’s assistant. We got to talk with them about how they decided to start brewing beer, what they enjoyed about it, and whatever else popped into our heads. It was a great evening, with good company and a fantastic dinner. Pictures of the courses – minus the salad, because I neglected to shoot it before devouring it – can be found here.

Just as dinner wrapped up, I got a call from one of the guys on my team: He had been receiving notifications from a wetness sensor in one of the cooling units. This would make the third time in under three months. Not good. As I was closer to the office than he was, I told him that I’d check it out. And with that, SaraRules and I headed left MacCool’s and headed to the office.

When I got there, I took the front panel off of the unit in question and looked inside. Nothing.

::: grblsnrkx :::

I removed the rear panel and checked there. Nothing.

::: braincramp :::

I went back to the front and looked again… just in case I had missed something. This time, I noticed the remnants of a splash of a water droplet next to the sensor cord. I checked the cord itself — it was damp. Okay, this was progress. The only problem: I couldn’t find any sign of a leak or spill. Upon further investigation, I noted that one of the copper pipes was damp with condensation… and it took a bend just above the splash point. Apparently, enough there had been condensation to form a drop and landed next to/on the wetness sensor cord. It was enough for the sensor to register, but not enough to cause a problem – other than sending out alters – that would affect the unit’s operation. Disaster: Averted.

Back home for comfy pants and comics-reading time.

Workout
Wednesday’s step count: 4,649

Stray Toasters

• JetBlue: Sometimes the weird news is about us…
• In Superman’s Hometown, a Labor Dispute over Health
• With a Google Map, You Can Find Doctors Behaving Badly
• 9/11 museum going up underground in New York City
• LEGO Universe is apparently releasing a Beta Client for Mac. Tomorrow.
• Shopkick can lead you to discounts and sales
• 
• Quick Change in Strategy for a Bookseller
• Five Years Later, The Big Easy Pushes Forward
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: City of Beacon, NY enforces archaic law outlawing pinball, closes retro arcade
• gd

Tuesday – 20 July 2010
Day Two of the work week is upon us.

Last night, SaraRules and I fixed jambalaya for dinner. It had been a few months since we’d made any. It was tasty. After that, we headed up to the Kohl’s in Brickyard (the Kohl’s that I always seem to forget is there) so that I could find a few new shirts. After that it was back at home for…

Stop!
Yard work time!

When the grasses and weeds had been tamed, it was time for a shower and unwinding in front of the TV for a bit. Property Virgins and James May’s Toy Stories set the evening off nicely.

Tonight, SaraRules and I are getting in touch with our inner cowboys/rednecks – or, as it’s part of the “Days of ’47″ celebration, our ‘inner pioneers’ – and going to the rodeo. Tonight is “Tough Enough to Wear Pink” Night, with the proceeds going to support breast cancer awareness… and was the primary reason for last night’s Kohl’s excursion – I needed a pink shirt that wasn’t a dress shirt. It should be an interesting way to spend the evening.

Workout
Monday’s step count: 4,530

Stray Toasters

• I heard Prince’s I Would Die 4 U on the way to work this morning. It would have made a good selection for this morning’s music post, but His Purple Badness has “a thing” about his music and/or videos being posted online, so you’ll have to come up with a viable alternative on your own… or you could go with The Cardigans’ My Favourite Game:
• Keeping the Faith: Finding the cross-cultural colors in classical music
  SaraRules and I will be going to see Imani Wind Quintet perform on Thursday; for details and ticket information, click here.
• As Ravens ready for Super run, Joe Flacco becoming the leader
  



• A lot of people may remember Gatchaman (or Battle of the Planets, as it was known in the U.S.). After many years in development Hell, it looks as though a feature-length film may actually see the light of day. Here’s a trailer:
• African Studies Give Women Hope in H.I.V. Fight
• The Perfect Pour: A Citizen’s Guide
• Bad Ideas from The Little Mermaid
• 7 jobs that pay you to play all day
• Michigan puts 3 lighthouses on the market
  Re-enact your favorite scenes from Shutter Island or Pete’s Dragon with your very own lighthouse!
• A City Outsources Everything. Sky Doesn’t Fall
• Federal grand jury subpoenas Toyota over steering rod issues

Namaste.

Monday – 19 July 2010
Another work week begins.
It’s sunny and warm… on its way to being “hot” later today.

This past weekend was quite good. Saturday, I wound up going back to GEEX and hanging out to run a few more demos. One of the guys who played a demo game on Friday – and dropped a sizable chunk o’ change on ‘Clix right after – came back Saturday and bought even more! And, after running into a Zatanna cosplayer on Friday, I ran into a Harley Quinn (from the Batman: Arkham Asylum game) cosplayer and a friend on Saturday:

A little before I was ready to leave the expo, I got a few notifications of a possible problem at work.

*grblsnrkx*

It turned out not to be a problem, just a situation that needed (a lot of) monitoring. I wound up getting alerts about it from roughly 3 PM until just after 11 PM, which meant that I was getting alerts during…

…the Ben Folds concert at Deer Valley.

(hanging out with 5,000 of my closest friends, waiting for Ben Folds and the Utah Symphony)

The concert was fun; it was roughly two hours long, with one encore. (Only one encore, which was unfortunate, because I was waiting to hear a song that was later in his encore set.)  I also ran into Derek, thanks to the joys of Foursquare. (Turns out that another coworker was there, as well, but we didn’t see her or her husband.)

Sunday, we slept in. Selah. After breakfast – I made blueberry muffins – we went to the gym. Back home for a shower and change of clothes. Then we were off to run some errands before our impromptu ice cream social! I found out earlier in the day that it was National Ice Cream Day and figured that was a good – or at least “good enough” – reason to invite people over for a little get together. And it was. To wind up the evening, SaraRules and I watched The Crazies, the recent remake of the George Romero film of the same name. It was entertaining. There were some plot holes. There were some gaffes. But, all-in-all, it was decent.

Workout
Sunday, SaraRules and I hit the gym:

• Elliptical: 22 minutes/ 5.5 MPH (avg.)
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps
  • 2 sets @ 135 lbs
  • 1 set @ 155 lbs
• Shoulder Press (seated, dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 40 lbs
• Flys: 3 sets/10 reps, 100 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs

Saturday’s step count: 5,490
Sunday’s step count: 1,0707

Stray Toasters

• The razor’s edge of having a new phone:
  • I love the new phone and finding ways to customize it and just… play around with it.
  • Having an 8 megapixel camera – with integration into Facebook – makes it FAR too easy to take random pictures and upload them to the Interwebs.
• I’ve become quite a fan of Foursquare, which I discovered by way of SaraRules. I like its social media gaming aspect, as well as the fact that it can be used as a way to form impromptu gatherings. It’s available for Android, iPhone and Blackberry phones. Another neat feature is that some businesses offer specials to Foursquare users. Check it out.  What have you got to lose?
• Smithsonian’s Spacesuits: Number One on the Runway
• I often post strips from Evil, Inc. in here.  Another light-hearted and fun superhero comic that I enjoy is Love and Capes, by Thom Zahler.  It follows the adventures of Mark (an accountant… who is secretly The Crusader) and his now-wife, Abby (a bookstore owner).

  

  The series rarely shows superheroics, instead choosing to show character interactions, with the action happening off-panel. Love and Capes has recently been picked up by IDW Publishing for print, with the first issue hitting stands in December.  If you’re looking for a fun read, this is a great way to go.

• Take a Walk with “The Walking Dead”
• Jersey Numbers Assigned
• By way of Nyx: Dear Girls Above Me

Namaste.

Wednesday – 30 June 2010
Today is Comics and Sushi Wednesday.

It is also the last day of June. That means that when the day is over, the year will be half over. It seems like it just started…

Last night, just after work, SaraRules and I had a surprise visit from her mother… and her grandparents. We knew that the grands were coming to town, but didn’t expect to see them until today. (Good thing that the house was fairly clean and straightened!) They were on their way home from dinner and, as we were on the way, they stopped in to see us. We sat around and chatted for a bit before they continued on.

A little later in the evening, SaraRules and I went to the Salt Lake Art Center for the opening of:

As described on the Salt Lake Art Center site:

As part of its summer programming, the Salt Lake Art Center is exhibiting Contemporary Masters: Artist-Designed Miniature Golf, 18 fully-playable works of contemporary art like you’ve never seen before. Contemporary Masters features original creations by top artists from Utah and around the nation that explore diverse ideas (the current immigration debate, the fragility of personal identity, and the meditative value of Donkey Kong) in equally diverse media, including woven fabrics, video installations, and shredded paper. Deftly exploring the intersection between art and play, Contemporary Masters reminds us that art can and should be a part of our everyday lives.

The exhibit runs all summer and the admission is free – the SLAC does accept donations in their lobby, though. Some of the holes are challenging, to say the least. It is a fun outing and a different way to look at – and experience – art.

When we got back home, SaraRules found Blindness – which was referenced in the article on dystopian 21st Century visions from Monday’s post – on Netflix’ Instant Queue. It was an odd movie. It started off with a man going spontaneously blind. The movie follows him – and others – as his affliction is visited upon others. Julieanne Moore stars as the lone protagonist who retains her sight, hiding this fact from those around her. This movie provides an interesting character study, as well as an interesting social commentary on how quickly things break down when the conventions to which we are accustomed no longer hold true.

Workout
Yesterday’s step count: 4,302

Stray Toasters

• A few months ago, I had a catastrophic hard drive failure at work. On the “plus” side, I had another rig that I could move into the then-dead machine’s place. On the “minus” side, I lost a LOT of company email… or at least I thought I had. I was able to recover a good portion of the lost email. That is a “good” thing. Today, I found an “even better” thing: I was able to find and recover a year-and-a-half gap of mail that I thought was totally gone. Win!
• LEGO for Grownups (a TED talk)
• Sites that ban you from linking to them. Still. In 2010.
• DC Comics has proclaimed this “Wonder Woman Week,” as the Amazon princess’ title hits Issue #600 today. Along with this, new writer J. Michael Straczynski (as in “The guy who created Babylon 5“) is giving Diana a retconned background and a new costume, courtesy of Jim Lee:

  

  • The Source (DC Comic’s blog) also had an interesting essay from Wonder Woman’s most famous portrayer, Wonder Woman Can Save the World, by Lynda Carter, as part of the celebration
• Best Summer Dance Music
  Sidenote: I don’t get all the flak people are giving Lady Gaga/her music. She’s a bit outlandish, yes. Guess what: It’s a persona/image.  Deal with it. And as for the music?  It’s pop music… it’s supposed to be light, fun, and danceable.  If you’re looking for “deep meanings,” you’re barking up the wrong tree.
• Deliver Bad News in a Good Way
• Bad Day for Bengals, Steelers
• 
• 10 Great Racetracks as Seen from Space
• Here come the Men in Black…
• Mad Dash as Homebuyer Tax Credit Deadline Arrives
• Daly, Conroy Return in “Superman/Batman: Apocalypse”
• Since Eclipse just hit theatres, I figured I’d re-repost this:  Why Breaking Dawn Must Be Made into a Movie

Namaste.

Thursday – 24 June 2010
And, I am sure that today is, in fact, Thursday.
Which makes it “NBN Technical Friday,” this week.

It is also Day Four of “Missa K. Week.”
Happy Belated Birthday, Missa.

(Seen here giving a preview of her stand-up routine from her upcoming Vegas show)

It’s also my friend, Danette’s, birthday.

And, according to Wikipedia, it is also The National Holiday of Quebec.

Last night, SaraRules and I met up with melodywise and her sister-in-law, Mauri, and attended the Cake Wrecks World Tour event at The King’s English and 15^th Street Gallery.

Jen Yates, along with her husband, John, gave a 40-ish minute presentation about how the Cake Wrecks site came about and some of their processes for bringing the site to life. You could tell that there was some… if not “scripted” material, at least some talking points that have come up before… but they were also very candid and ad-libbed a bit, as well. Jen and John held a Q&A session following the presentation and also did a cupcake “Wreck-lication” judging contest. All-in-all, it was quite fun and entertaining.

Workout
SaraRules and I hit the gym last night:

• Elliptical: 30 min/ ~5 MPH (avg.)
• Leg Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 100 lbs
• Calf Raises: 3 sets/10 reps, 100 lbs
• Leg Raises (Roman Chair, full extension): 3 sets/15 reps
• Upright Rows (barbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 50 lbs
• Curls (barbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 50 lbs
• Tricep Extensions (rope): 3 sets/15 reps, 50 lbs
• Plank: 3 sets/30 seconds

Yesterday’s step count: 8,903 steps

Post-workout weight: 181.3 lbs

Stray Toasters

• The swamp cooler now works.
  (Of course, I now have two small holes in the wall to patch…)
• Here’s a little something for your Thursday morning: Hanginaround, by Counting Crows
• Shakespearean Juggling in the Park
• The Ravens have signed a one-year deal with QB Mark Bulger. This will make for a three-way fight for the Number 2 slot, between Bulger, Troy Smith and John Beck. It will be interesting to see how things shake out.
• India’s Diverse Faiths, as Told Through ‘Nine Lives’
• Promise Seen for Detection of Alzheimer’s
• 
• John Isner beats Nicolas Mahut in epic
• Meetings!  Yay.
• iPhone 4 vs. Evo 4G: Total Cost of Ownership
  (…and “Good Luck” to those standing in line to get a new iPhone 4 today.)
• The McChrystal Saga
  • The Runaway General
  • Before and after McChrystal’s removal, a flurry of White House activity
• He’s a superhero. She’s a supervillain. They’re married.
  Complications?  That’s the fun part.
• Three iconic places to see an opera in Italy
• Unlocking New York, One Date at a Time
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Man Arrested for Photographing Cop Who Followed Him into His Home

…and I blamem2ke for the title/subject line of this post.

Namaste.