Thursday : 16 February 2006
It continued to snow last night. I finished shoveling the driveway and sidewalk (and one neighbor’s driveway and sidewalk) around 6:30 PM yesterday. By the time I left to go to play Call of Cthulhu, there was a fresh 2″ of snow on the ground. And driveway. And sidewalk. *sigh* When I woke up this morning, there was about 3 – 4″, total. This meant a very slow drive to work. I headed to the SLC office to get a few things. The drive normally takes about fifteen minutes, depending on traffic. Today, it took thirty-five. Given that, I wasn’t looking forward to the drive to Utah County. Fortunately, by the time I got underway, things had cleared up considerably. It still took a little longer than usual, but it wasn’t nearly as painful an experience as I had feared that it might be. And the trip home was relatively uneventful.

Random Access
Watch his every move
SUPERCONDUCTOR
Orchestrate illusions
SUPERCONDUCTOR
Watch his every move
SUPERCONDUCTOR
Hoping you’ll believe
Designing to deceive
That’s entertainment
     “Superconductor” by Rush (from the CD “Presto”)

One of the topics on Wednesday’s Talk of the Nation was: What Makes an Oscar-Winning Performance?… which led to the following conversation on IRC:

[13:38] They were talking about “What Makes an Academy Award-winning Performance” on Talk of the Nation.
[13:38] Specifically, actors in roles for which they were never nominated…. even though the acting was worthy of at least a nomination.
[13:39] Someone brought up Andy Serkis, who was the actor behind Gollum (Lord of the Rings) and King Kong (duh).
[13:39] Should he be able to be nominated for an award in the “Best Actor” or “Best Supporting Actor” categories?
[13:39] Shawn: make a new category like the MTV awards
[13:50] Interesting point… and one that someone here made, as well.
[13:51] Shawn: use that category for cgi people and voice actors in animated movies or something
[13:51] : I’m pretty sure that such a category may be created as more directors use digital enhancements for their actors.
[13:51] Shawn: but the gollum thing takes more because its not just voice
[13:52] : And, with King Kong, he *was* the “lead actor.”
[13:52] : …covered in mo-cap gear.

What’s your take on this?

Stray Toasters

  • I’m not sure exactly what the problem is, but Trillian has been dropping messages. Chat windows will pop up, but they are occasionally empty. That’s not good.
  • Something that is good: My new back massager. With heat. I may never leave my computer chair again.
  • Morning Edition: Last U.S. MASH Unit Handed Over to Pakistan
  • RIAA, MPAA, Others: Backups are not “Fair Use”
  • From the L.A. Times: Bedrock of a Faith Is Jolted – DNA tests contradict Mormon scripture
    (I haven’t heard anything about this locally, but it will be interesting to see peoples’ reactions when word gets out…)

  • Prostitutes Call for a Ban on GTA
    (“Curiouser and curiouser,” said little Alice…)

  • This is the face of a man who just found out that his soon-to-be-former-favorite store is out of Afro Sheen. I really wouldn’t want to be the guy behind the counter.
  • Today’s “Unintentional Porn Overheard at Work” : You take out the plug and I’ll squeeze.
  • Will Apple Adopt Windows? – Interesting theory…
  • Lionel Luthor knows?!
  • : A Mutant, A Dragon, and Lotsa Ninjas
  • The Most Popular Myths in Science
  • Morning Edition: Batman Goes After Bin Laden
  • Slightly A’Musing
  • An Emissary Arrives – This May, Image’s Shadowline imprint releases a book that poses thequestion of how the real world we live in would react to an actualsuper-being.  And what if he were black?
  • This part of WizKidz’ description of the Krypto HeroClix figure cracked me up:

    It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s a dog!

    If a dog is man’s best friend, then Superman will need a super dog – and that dog is Krypto. This is the post-Crisis Krypto, whose as loyal a dog as you could ever want – but unfortunately, only as smart as your standard beagle or golden retriever. Therefore, he’s not exactly a rocketscientist, but what he lacks in wits he makes up for in the fact that he’s a dog with teeth and claws and Super Strength.

  • Babylon 5‘s Ambassador G’Kar Dies
  • Galactica Finale Goes Long

Namaste.