Stray Toasters:

  • SaraRules and I actually encountered a mythical “good Samaritan” doing a random act of kindness yesterday. It was a refreshing change from all of the “People are no damn good…” stories you hear. He’s today’s “Human of the Day.”
  • Tickets for Transformers Giant Robots Blowing Shit Up have been acquired.
  • Brownies! (Unfortunately, I have no ice cream here at work with which to eat them.)
  • I just had a conversation with some folks at work… that included Star Trek, Superman and the Legion. During that conversation, I had an epiphany:

    Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home was really just an update of Smokey and the Bandit. Seriously. You have to make the following substitutions, but they all track… more or less:

    • Substitute going back in time for going to Texarkana,
    • Substitute picking up a couple of whales for picking up a truckload of beer,
    • Substitute the Klingon Bird of Prey for either the Trans-Am or the semi (or both!) and
    • Substitute William Shatner for Burt Reynolds.

    challenged me on a few of the more esoteric points:

    • What about Paul Williams?
      Answer: The Space Probe.
      Why? Because Paul Williams (along with Pat McCormick) was the reason Bandit and Snowman went to get the beer… just as the probes were the reason Kirk and crew went to get the whales.
    • What about the sidekick?
      Answer: Jerry Reed was Bandit’s partner-in-crime, Cletus (The Snowman).  In ST:IV, Spock provided that role… and comic relief.
    • What about Sally Field?
      Answer: Dr. Gillian Taylor, the whale biologist that Kirk “picked up” and took back to the 23rd Century… just like Bandit picked up Carrie (Field) on the side of the road.
    • What about Jackie Gleason?
      Answer: Gleason, along with every other cop in the movie would be embodied by the Federation.
      Why? Because The Federation represents “The Man,” especially when they bust Kirk – the man who just saved the planet – back down to Captain from Admiral. DAMN THE MAN!!!

    Quod Erat Demonstratum.

  • This is my 9/80 week.  And I get next Friday off for 04 July.  AND… the following Friday is a 9/80 day, too.  Three Fridays off in a row. SCORE!
  • We had a shipment arrive a little while ago. The driver, who recently won a truck driving competition, and a coworker of his are going to Pittsburgh to compete in the national competition. How often does one get to say “I met someone who won a truck driving competition?”  I think that this is the first time I’ve ever been able to do that.