Random Access

Thursday – 29 December 2011
Another NBN Thursday is under way and I have already been to – and returned from – the airport. My uncle came to town Tuesday night for a post-Christmas visit and to meet the new additions to the family:

It was a short visit, but a very full one. The girls, who’ve been a bit fussy with new people lately, took to him fairly quickly; he took to them immediately. It was fun watching the three of them interact.

We also managed to squeeze in a trip to see the Lights on Temple Square last night. We bundled the girls into their bear suits and car seats and set off for downtown. We got there around the time that the girls are usually beginning to wind down before bed. But, with so many things to see – and all of the sounds – they were awake and staring at all the sights. About two-thirds of the way through our stroll, Diana started to fade; Vanessa was still going strong… until we got to the car. Then they traded: Diana woke up and Vanessa napped. We got home, changed and fed them and put them to bed. Diana faded out somewhat quickly; Vanessa, however, got a second wind and decided that bedtime was the perfect time to tell SaraRules! all about the adventures she had during the day. It took her almost an hour to wind down and fall asleep. On the “plus” side: They slept until almost 5 AM.

After the girls went to bed, my uncle and I went to Pawit’s to pick up dinner. He, SaraRules! and I ate and we introduced him to TopGear (UK). It was a good way to wind down the day and his visit.

Stray Toasters

• For SaraRules!: Not sure where this rates on your “uncanny valley” scale, but it has graffiti: Robot that paints random graffiti
• While I haven’t gotten in a lot of play time, I’ve been enjoying CoD: MW3
• I also realize that I still need to go back and finish three HALO games: 2, 3, and Reach.
• Young girl rages over pink toys and gendered play-choices
  This reminds me of of this post from my brother-in-law, about my niece, Grace:

  Yes lady, I’m aware that the “space explorer” pajamas were in the boys section. I’m also aware that my child is a girl. No, she wouldn’t rather have the pink princess ones. And yes, I can assure you that she picked them out on her own, so wipe the condescending look and eye roll off your face. My little girl can be a space explorer if she wants to, so suck it, wench.

  Amen.

• And, as a corollary to the above: Gamer Girl Manifesto
• A Brutal Chapter in North Carolina’s Eugenics Past
• Thanks to Keith for (re-)posting this picture:

  

• Disney Princesses as Street Fighter-style warriors
• Instead of Work, Younger Women Head to School
• Thanks to Corey for this: Photos of the Steam Festival at Golden Spike Historical Site
• Scheduling Partnership Links Pac-12 and Big Ten
• 
• Sears, Kmart to close up to 120 stores
• From the “What’s Wrong With This Picture…?” file: Police storm Church of the Nativity to break up brawling priests

I just put the girls down for a nap. Let’s see how this goes.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 30 November 2011
Not only is it the middle of the week… or new comics day… or the date that Michael Jackson’s Thriller album was released… it’s also the last day of the month. A month that seemed like it just started a few days ago. How the time flies.

Last night, SaraRules! and I attended the opening night auction for the 2011 Festival of Trees. We were looking for something – not a tree – to add to our holiday decorations; we settled on looking for a centerpiece for the living room table. We found – and bid on and won – one that will go nicely with the tree we got last year:

We also saw a number of really nice trees and gingerbread houses. More pictures can be seen here. If you have a chance to visit the Festival of Trees, do so. It runs through Saturday, 03 December 2011; admission is:

• $5.00/adults
• $3.00/children age 2 to 11
• $4.00/senior citizens.
• Children under age 2 are free

All proceeds benefit Primary Children’s Medical Center, so it’s a very worthwhile cause.

After the Festival, we picked up the girls, took them home and put them to bed. Then SaraRules! kicked me out of the house… to go to Guys’ Night Out.  (Have I mentioned: “Coolest wife ever” recently? She is.) It was nice to hang out with the guys over beer (Black and Pumpkin!) and food. It was a good way to wrap up a rather good day.

Stray Toasters

• Today was (another) suit day: Black suit, white shirt, black/pink/grey tie, pink pocket square, black shoes.
• A Christmas Card from The Middleman (Part One)
• Improv Everywhere has unleashed a new bit of mayhem:

• I received an amusing spam this morning from the INTERNATIONAL POLICE AUTHORITY. Here’s the first bit of it:
  

  We, office of the international police authority (IPA) hereby write to inform you that we stopped a diplomatic lady by the name Mrs. Vernon Wallace here in  (John F Kennedy International Airport) New York with a consignment box filled with United States Dollars.

  In the course of interrogating her, she said that the consignment box belongs to you and that she was sent by one Edward Somto to come deliver the consignment box to you not knowing that the content of the box is money.

  Now, the diplomat is under detention in the office of (INTERPOL) security, and we cannot release her until we carry out our proper investigation on how this huge amount of money managed to be yours. So, in this regards you are to reassure and prove to us that the money you are about to receive is legal by sending us the Award Ownership Certificate showing that the money is not illegal.

  Boy howdy! INTERPOL “rescued” free money for me?! Where do I sign?

• The Ormes Society Supports African-American Women in Comics
• By way of my friend, Janie, and the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Pike church takes stand against interracial couples
• The Math That Saved Apollo 13
• The Answerphone Of Cthulhu is hard to resist:

  

• A Timeline of the Best-Selling Christmas Gifts…Ever
• Line Grows Long for Free Meals in U.S. Schools
• Cyber warfare developing into larger threat for U.S., its allies
• 
• Let’s put this Civil War Steampunk musical on Broadway
• The Fall Checklist for Men

And, that should be good for now.

Namaste.

Monday – 28 November 2011
Waking up and getting up has never been easy…

…especially after a five-day break. But, we do what we must. The alarm went off and up I got. On the plus side: I have fourteen (14) working days until Christmas break. I’m Ivory Soap sure that I can make it.

The weekend was a good one. There was some productivity. A good bit of laziness. And the upstairs Christmas tree (and some lights) are up. I might work on the downstairs tree tonight during Monday Night Football.

And, I neglected to post a picture of the girls in their Thanksgiving dresses. That shall be rectified now:

Stray Toasters

• It’s after Thanksgiving. I’m alright with Christmas music in stores and on the radio now.
• SIDENOTE: Lexus has a series of commercials in which Person A gives Person B some gift that plays a melody – apparently the Lexus “theme” – just before presenting Person B with a brand new car. My hang-up with the commercials is this: WHO THE HELL (outside of these commercials) KNOWS WHAT THE LEXUS THEME IS?!
  Seriously. The only reason I can (somewhat) recognize the music now is because the damned commercials aired eleventy-seven billion times over the past five days.
• Cyber Monday to bring increase in online threats
• 
• New Translation of Catholic Mass Makes Its Debut
• Would the World Be Better Off Without Religion?
• Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: The Giggle Loop
• In Egypt, Long Lines for a Vote Clouded by Army’s Role
• Christmas Gift Idea: The Zombie-Killing Weapons Used on ‘The Walking Dead’
• For SaraRules!: Sex Pistols imagined as a Hanna-Barbera cartoon
• Fugazi Rises Again, in Online Archive
• From the “Purple Monkey Dishwasher” file:

  

• Eating Canned Soup Makes BPA Levels Soar
• Invasive species are blight on U.S. landscape
• If Ghostbusters was a Dr. Seuss book

Namaste.

Monday – 31 October 2011
It’s Hallowe’en.

• Improv Everywhere: Who ya gonna call…?
• Free Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft for Nook and Kindle (…and in .pdf format, too)
• …and, of course:

Many people have been posting “Happy Hallowe’en” on their various social media outlets. Thanks to them, I have had the “Silver Shamrock” jingle (from Halloween III: Season of the Witch) running through my head for the past 3+ hours. It’s been about as annoying as the time I had Escape stuck in my head for three days…

The weekend was good, but a bit long and tiring. SaraRules! messed up her back sometime Thursday night/Friday morning. As such, I was the point man for taking care of the girls for most of the weekend. Fortunately, they took a modicum of mercy on me — they weren’t extremely fussy or irritable. (Thank you bouncy chair and swing!)

 
Diana (left) and Vanessa (right)

But, by the time we were putting them to bed last night, I realized just how tired I was and how ready I was for them to be down for the count.

On the flip side, I was still home when they woke up this morning, so I got kid cuddles before heading to work.

Last night, we also headed up to SaraRules’ parents’ house for dinner, Disney’s Ichabod Crane and Hallowe’en cookie decorating. It’s tradition! (And, it’s pretty fun, too.)

Stray Toasters

• Stuff That Defines Us
• Dammit, MTH Trains! I have kids now and not as much disposable income as before. Stop putting out sets (1, 2)  that I want to immediately put on The Covet List!
• Penn Jillette’s 10 Commandments for atheists
• It took me a moment to get the joke, but it did make me laugh:

  

• World population hits 7 billion
• Visualizing How a Population Grows to 7 Billion
• Dining Etiquette 101, courtesy of Nyx
• NASA Is Considering Fuel Depots in the Skies
• Psychiatrists Call Out DC on Depictions of Mentally Ill
• 
• Products R Us: Are We ‘Brandwashed?’
• Cable Is Holding Web TV at Bay, Earnings Show

And that’s that… for now.

Namaste.

Thursday – 20 October 2011
Today is not only another NBN Thursday, it is also Spirit Day.

 What’s ‘Spirit Day?’ you ask.  (I had to ask the same thing a couple of days ago…) From the GLAAD.org site:

Millions of Americans wear purple on Spirit Day as a sign of support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth and to speak out against bullying. Spirit Day was started in 2010 by teenager Brittany McMillan as a response to the young people who had taken their own lives. Observed annually on October 20, individuals, schools, organizations, corporations, media professionals and celebrities wear purple, which symbolizes spirit on the rainbow flag. Getting involved is easy — participants are asked to simply “go purple” on October 20 as we work to create a world in which LGBT teens are celebrated and accepted for who they are.

So, I’m in a purple shirt and tie today, supporting friends and family. (And, as a fringe benefit – not to be confused with a “Fringe benefit” – I get to wear Ravens team colors. Win. Win.)

::: insert work and meetings here :::

I was going to have something here, but it’s been a few hours (Yay for work and meetings!) and I don’t have the foggiest idea “what” it was anymore.

Stray Toasters

• My coworker, Wes, just got back from a trip to the east coast. While there, he attended the dedication ceremony for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. And, he brought me a souvenir:

  

• Gaddafi’s death – Who pulled the trigger?
• Porn hackers take over “Sesame Street” YouTube station
• Reactions to Brandon Flowers’ Mormon.org video
• 
• Next Xbox to launch in 2013, report says
• 8-bit remixes fix the past
• Controversy Erupts Over Sex-Segregated Brooklyn Bus

That’s good for a late-afternoon post.

Namaste.

Thursday – 13 October 2011
It’s a sunny No Bad News Technical Friday. The morning started with a frozen mocha and doughnuts. Personally, I think that’s a great way to kick off the last day of the work week.

It’s pretty much common knowledge that I appreciate good customer service. A few months ago, I signed up for a digital subscription to a model railroading magazine. One of the features that swayed my decision was the ability to download issues of the magazine. Win. Win.

Or so I thought until I actually tried to download an issue.

It turns out that the third-party company who distributes the digital copy uses Google Gears as their medium. Gears is being deprecated next year. So, I emailed the third-party and received the following a week later:

[THIRD PARTY] is aware that Google Gears is no longer supported by Google.  The publisher, however, at this time  has not yet opted to include the optional pdf downloadable version.

Well, okay then. And then I promptly forgot about it…

…until I got a notification that the new issue of the magazine was available. This time, I emailed the magazine directly — the subscription manager… and the editor-in-chief… and the publisher — with my question. Barely 24 hours later, I got a response from the magazine’s publisher:

The Firefox/Google Gears issue is relatively new. We have been waiting to see if [THIRD PARTY] develops an alternative solution. If they do not, we may have to offer a PDF download.

Okay. That’s all well and good, but doesn’t really give me much to go on. Still, I replied. I noted that I appreciated that the publisher took time to personally respond and that I hoped that they found a reasonable substitute for their current digital model. A few hours later, I received another response:

Rob,

A couple of things…

First off, “Mr. Melvin” was my father. No need to be that formal with me.

Secondly, thanks for the kind words about the magazine. I’m glad you are enjoying our work.

We’ll make an announcement about the download problem soon.

And it was sent, as best I can figure, from his home – not his office. Nice. And it seemed to indicate that the digital download issue would be addressed with a little more urgency than “…we’re just waiting to see what happens.” I can live with that.

Stray Toasters

• Race Remixed: In Strangers’ Glances at Family, Tensions Linger
• Lady Gaga reflects on sex, service for MAC
• For : The Wayne Tech Fall Kidz Catalogue
• Another PlayStation Network breach stings Sony customers
• 
• Grant Morrison’s Wonder Woman Series Planned for 2012 “Or Thereabouts”
• Female Super-Hero Characters and Sex: Creators Explain How Comics Can Do Better
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Oh, baby! Artist due to give birth at a New York gallery
• Denied Veterans Benefits Over Same-Sex Marriage, Ex-Sailor Challenges Law
• Religion hits the comedy circuits
• Joel Schumaker Owns Batman Mistakes , Wanted a Darker Take
  “…a darker take?” Really. With all the campiness and neon accents?!  Really, Joel?  Really?! Although, I do have to give him credit for (FINALLY) taking the blame for the atrocity that was Batman and Robin Robin 2: Electric Boogaloo

Namaste.

Monday – 10 October 2011
A new work week begins. My day started with feeding Little Miss Wonder Girl before heading off to work. I have to say that it was a rather nice way to start the morning. And speaking of the little ladies, they were supporting their mother’s team this weekend:

(Click pictures for larger helpings of cuteness)

Yeah… and the Raiders even pulled off a win yesterday.

The weekend was good, all around. From Canadian Thanksgiving on Saturday to dinner with the in-laws last night. As an added bonus, I was able to make it to Dr. Volt’s 21st Anniversary Sale and Signing and chat up my friend, Jake Black, for a few… as well as speak geek with a few of the guys on Saturday.

Stray Toasters

• What Happened to the American Work Ethic?
• Is This the Most Amazing Time Lapse Video Yet? (Spoiler: It Is)
• Wonder Woman’s origins have been tweaked. [SPOILER WARNING]
  I’m okay with the concept and I’m interested to see how it plays out.
• The Friendly’s That Used to Be a Lot Friendlier
  There was a Friendly’s in The Mall in Columbia that my parents used to take me to as a kid; it was one of my three favorite places in the mall, along with the miniature golf course and Patowmack Toys. It was also the place that fostered my love of sprinkles on ice cream.
• It’s Never Really Dead in Zombieland
• 
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: October 31 is Jesusween
• A Ten-Step GQ Guide To Nailing Office Style
• The Week in Style: 10.07.11
• For Archie Comics, a Return to Superheroes
• The Boilers beat the Gophers this weekend…
  …and, yes, I did bring my old, beat-up Purdue hat in to rub it in to my manager.
• Rick Rubin, Russell Simmons: Def Jam’s First 25 Years
• Poker Inc. to Uncle Sam: Shut Up and Deal
• Dr. Seuss vs. Call of Cthulhu

Namaste.

Wednesday – 05 October 2011
Midweek… which means that not only is the week half-over, but it’s new comics day, too. Win. Win.

Yesterday was a pretty busy day around the office. That was followed by a busy evening with the girls:

Eat. Sleep. Change diapers.
Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Both girls are doing well. They’re still a bit congested – we’re thinking inflamed sinuses, as there’s been no nasal drip – but otherwise fine. And, they’re still damned adorable.

Stray Toasters

• Flu shot. I got one this morning.
• 40 Mysteries of Fall Style, Solved in Seconds
• The Alpha Male
• The Sartorialist
• Los Angeles Orchestra to Lead Youth Effort
• Would it be too early to get this for the girls?

  

• The Essentials: Great Things and How to Wear Them
• The ‘L.A. Rebellion’ returns
  

• Everybody (everybody), loosen up
  Shake it like U just don’t care (Shake it like U just don’t care)
  Never mind your friends
  Girl, it ain’t no sin
  2 strip right down 2 your underwear

  I say everybody (everybody), mm, screw the masses
  We only want 2 have some fun (I only wanna have some fun)
  I say do whatever we want
  Wear lingerie 2 a restaurant
  Policeman got no gun, U don’t have 2 run

• 
• Do Civil Rights Apply to Parochial Schools?
• Civil rights leader Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth dead at 89
• A friend’s grandmother passed away recently. As we were chatting, I looked up – and shared – this, which I wrote when my grandmother died. I also reread the piece… and it made me smile to remember her.
• ESPN drops Hank Williams, Jr. from ‘Monday Night Football’

And that’s that… for now.

Namaste.

Monday – 03 October 2011
Happy 2nd Anniversary to SaraRules!

It’s been an amazing couple of years and I look forward to many more with you!

Today has definitely been “a Monday.” The first half of my day was chock full of things that needed to get done with the quickness. And the hits just kept coming. Fortunately, things slowed down enough around 1:30 that I was able to have lunch.

Stray Toasters

• The Ravens beat the Jets (again) last night.
  Ravens Drive the Jets into the Turf
  It wasn’t the world’s most beautiful win, but it still goes in the “Win” column AND it puts the Ravens in lone possession of first place in the AFC North.
• ‘Christian’ as the magic word of politics
• 10 Small Towns with Fantastic Fall Colors
• I want to change my model railroad layout. Again.
• Caffeinated Women May Be Fighting Depression with Every Cup
• A State Grooms Its Best Students to Be Good Teachers

And that’s a wrap.

Namaste.

Friday – 30 September 2011
It’s my first 9/80 Friday off since the girls were born. They were nice enough to let me sleep until 9:30 this morning. I thought it was pretty generous of them. They even slept pretty well through the night, clocking about 2.5 to 3 hours between feedings.

And they are pretty damned cute… and getting more so by the day.

Today, we had Family Adventure Time (which pretty much translates to: “We got out of the house for a little bit”). We stopped to return lj user=”melodywise” ‘s baking dish, hit RubySnap (COOKIES!!!) and The Train Shoppe, as well as Dr. Volt’s Comic Connection and the Chow Truck. The girls were sacked out in their car seats for most of the outing. But, for SaraRules! and me, it was nice to be out for a while.

Stray Toasters

• What Gail Simmons Is Cooking Up for Rosh Hashanah
• How do I make my document look like it was written by an Cthulhu worshipping madman?
• Coming in two days…

  

• Sting at 60 looks back, and ahead
• For those not up on it, the kid in this strip is supposed to be Miles Morales, the new Spider-Man in Marvel’s Ultimate Universe:

  

• From Esquire’s “The Style Blog”: Threads That Impress the Ladies
• States Putting Hopes in ‘Bottoms Up’ to Help the Bottom Line
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Man in ice cream costume mistaken for KKK protester
• Bank of America joins banks charging monthly debit card fees

Namaste.

Wednesday – 28 September 2011
Midweek… and it’s a short work week, to boot! And, it’s new comics day. And, it’s HeroClix: Superman release day. Today is also Rosh Hashanah. That’s a lot of “Win” in one package, if you ask me.

Work has been good; learning the new phone system has been a little challenging, but in a good way. There’s just been A LOT of information thrown at me over the past few days.

On the home front, the girls are doing well and are still quite adorable:

The girls with Mommy:

Vanessa with Daddy:

Diana with Mommy:

They’ve been “a little” fussy over the past couple of days, but (thankfully) have been sleeping fairly well at night. And they’re getting big: At their pediatrician appointment last Friday, they were both 7.5 lbs. I’d wager that they are close to – if not a little above – eight (8) lbs., each, at this point.

Stray Toasters

• Let’s see how well this Wordbooker plugin works…
• Listeria Outbreak in Cantaloupes Is the Deadliest in a Decade
• Robots Extract Coolant from Old Refrigerators
• For SaraRules! and : Penn and Teller’s Magic and Mystery Tour: exploring magic’s roots in China, India and Egypt
• 
• For Hackers, the Next Lock to Pick
• Badass of the Week: Tyrannosaurus Rex
• Logging Out of Facebook Is Not Enough
• Idris Elba: The Man Who Is Luther, Was Stringer, and Could Be James Bond
• 
• Sesame Street Wants to Make Science and Math Fun Again
• Foam on the Range: Colorado’s Beer Trail

All that AND we get to hang with Nyx and Ms. this evening…?! This day is truly full of good things.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 31 August 2011
Back in the north office again. Yesterday’s excursion to the south office wasn’t too bad. Yes, there were a couple of “Things that make you go ‘Hmm,'” but on the whole, it was fairly painless.

Last night was Guys’ Night Out. And, it will most likely be the last one I get to attend for a while. That’s okay, because the company and the food and the beer were good.

This morning started slowly, by choice. I woke up and decided that I wasn’t going to necessarily rush to get into the office. It made for a nice, leisurely start to the morning. On the flip side, this morning’s cup of coffee wasn’t  enough to stave off my attempts at conducting an inner eyelid study. So, I was on Coffee: Round 2 a little early.

And today was also New Comics & Sushi Wednesday! Sushi was good; the comics haul was VERY light: Two books. I wound up with three books, as I bought two copies of one title.

Stray Toasters

• T-minus six…
• This was emailed to me by my friend, Lianna:

  

  I’m pretty sure that this sums up SaraRules!’ feelings, as well.

• America’s Muslims, fact vs. fiction
• Arguing liquor laws: A failure to communicate
  I listened to part of this on the way to work this morning. It was… something to behold.
• Eight Miami players suspended by NCAA for improper benefits
• Hurricane Cost Seen as Ranking Among Top Ten
• Federal Austerity Changes Disaster Relief
• The Art of the Title
• TopGear + HALO = Amusingly Awesome
• The New Resentment of the Poor
• Parenthood Got You Down? You’re Not Alone, courtesy of
• In Latest Breach, Hackers Impersonate Google to Snoop on Users in Iran
• there there: City Pride T-shirts

Namaste.

Friday – 26 August 2011
It’s my “on” 9/80 pre-season “Purple Friday.”

Last night, and his kids came over to watch the “Battle of the Beltway.” (More on the game, below). The kids played with LEGO and stuffed animals and action figures – and occasionally watched the game – so, I’m taking that to mean that they were sufficiently entertained.

This morning, I got into the office a little early. The fringe benefit of that: Being able to play this – fairly loudly – before anyone else showed up.

It was a good way to kick off the morning.

I left for a while to head to the hospital: SaraRules! had what should be the next-to-last NST of the pregnancy. And, once again, the kids were showing off. In a BIG way. So much so that Cathy, today’s nurse, said that she was done about ten minutes in… but was required to take at least 20 minutes of readings. (Not only were they showing off, but they are doing fine.)

And, on the way back to the office, I managed to get this picture:

So, all-in-all, not a bad Friday, so far.

Instant Replay: Football

Washington Redskins at Baltimore Ravens
31 – 34
The Battle of the Beltway 2011 For a game that started off slowly, this one gained steam and just kept right on rolling. Both teams’ first strings looked pretty good. The Skins’ defense was fast and moved with purpose. Fortunately, the Ravens seemed to have learned a few things in the past two weeks and patched a lot of the holes in the offensive line. QB Joe Flacco’s first “reception” was an interception. Fortunately, his aim and timing got better. Tyrod Taylor got into the game in the 3rd Quarter and looked good – he showed some serious poise in the pocket, even under pressure, but he also showed that he wasn’t afraid of running the ball himself. I think that he’d make a fine backup to Flacco. And, WR Brandon Jones…?! (click for larger image) Welcome to Baltimore! Way to make your presence known! Next, the Ravens hit the road to take on the Falcons – who handed them an ugly loss last year – for the last preseason game of 2011.

Stray Toasters

• For SaraRules!, three words: Chuck. Finley. T-shirt.
• Buffett to Invest $5 Billion in Shaky Bank of America
• Five Takeaways from Skins Game
• Comic Book Resources had this picture in their D23 coverage, with the caption: “They call him… Bruce”

  

  He doesn’t look a thing like Batman OR Bruce Campbell!

• Buy “Made in China” goods? Benefits to U.S. may surprise you
• Smart Versus Realism — Greg Rucka takes Hollywood to task
• 
• In Britain, a Meeting on Limiting Social Media
• Like No Other View on Earth
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: The Holy Bible: Stock Car Racing Edition

  

• Han Solo in Carbonite ice molds
• Quake a wake-up call for Eastern U.S.

Namaste.

Thursday – 25 August 2011
It’s another fine NBN Thursday in the valley.

It’s been busy… in a good way. Hectic, but good. Meetings. Stuff. Things. And whatnot.

For those who may have missed it elsewhere: We have a date for the arrival of the twins: Assuming that she doesn’t deliver before, SaraRules! will be induced on the 06 September. Which means that in twelve (possibly thirteen) days, we’ll be parents. Holy cow.

Stray Toasters

• I just got a message from my mother: The new piano has been delivered.
• …and I just ordered this. It ships tomorrow.
• Former Orioles pitcher Flanagan dead in apparent suicide
• Former Oriole Flanagan Found Dead
• 
• In case you’ve been under a rock for the past 24 hours: Steve Jobs Resigns as CEO of Apple
• Jobs Steps Down at Apple, Saying He Can’t Meet Duties
• Steve Wozniak Comments on Jobs Resignation Announcement
• While You Were Out: Apple’s Years With and Without Steve Jobs
• Tim Cook emails Apple employees: “Apple is not going to change”
• Alternate Histories Does the Monster Mash-Up
• 
• Baby’s Got Bass
• Atheist Billboard Goes Up in Salt Lake City, Utah!
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers give each player an iPad as a playbook

And tonight: The Ravens take on the Redskins on Thursday Night Football.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 23 August 2011
Day Two. I apparently have far too much blood in my caffeinestream. This may require a supplemental infusion of bean squeezin’s.

Yesterday was a pretty good day, even for a Monday. The zoo office wasn’t chock full of monkeydom, which makes for a good day. I made dinner last night. Despite the appeal of this…

…I cooked Spaghetti (with my sauce recipe), salad and garlic bread. We ate while we watched Monday Night Football. At halftime, we got to talk with Grace and Sophia (as well as Rana, John and my father) on Skype. And after the game, there was the season premiere of Top Gear. Win-Win-Win.

We’re roughly two weeks (plus or minus) from the advent of The Next Generation. Is it a bad sign that I can envision something like this conversation taking place:

Stray Toasters

• Visitors moved by first look at MLK Jr. memorial
• The 80th Anniversary of Babar
• Engagement Proposal as an Elaborate Portal 2 Level
• Motown songwriter Nick Ashford dies
• 
• Raiders pick Terrelle Pryor in supplemental draft
• Weighing Race and Hate in a Mississippi Killing
• 15 days exploring Muslim America
• 
• We have Columbus to thank for lager beer
• A 15-Year-Old Girl’s Bionic Hand Lets Her Live a Normal Life
• For those who haven’t seen it yet: OK Go performing The Muppet Show Theme

• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file:
• In Peoples’ Minds, Being a Zombie Is Better Than Being a Vegetable
• A Chinese version of Batman’s origins
• Tron Guy and Duct Tape Go Perfectly Together

Quote of the Day
Near the end of our video chat with Grace and Sophia, Leila (the newborn) started crying, to which John said:

“Sound of angels, Rob… Sound of angels. Just remember: Lucifer was an angel, too.”

The best part was the total deadpan delivery. It made SaraRules! and me laugh.

Namaste.