Random Access

Friday : 06 October 2006
Good – albeit rainy – day.  It was also my father and ‘s birthday.

Work was… work.  I was having a terrible case of “It’s Friday,” though.  So, that made the day move a little more slowly than I would have liked.  But, I made it though.

Clitorati was good.  gave me a good run for the money in this week’s crossword race.  A really good run.  She got down to the final clue and I still had four to go.  It was a stroke of luck that I managed to figure out the lynch pin and edge her out this week.  Dinner tonight was… an experience.  The restaurant wasn’t terribly crowded, but we didn’t see our waiter for close to ten minutes after we sat down.  Then, they brought us another table’s food.  Then, when they brought out our orders, my steak was severely undercooked – it was just shy of mooing… about the way that likes his steak.  I sent it back.  It came back, properly prepared, a few minutes later.  At least I had a tasty Guiness to quaff.

Stray Toasters

• Thanks to Comics Continuum, I have discovered Love and Capes.  It’s about a bookstore owner and the accountant that she dates.  An accountant who just happens to be one of the world’s premiere superheroes.  It’s a non-superhero superhero strip in that most of the heroic acts happen off-panel, so you get to focus more on Mark and Abby… and the people around them.  Check out the “Read Selected Strips Here” link on the page to read the story.
• 8 Bit – a documentary about art and video games
• ::: decompress :::
• By way of : Eat Like Snake
• …and Farador D&D
• : You can download a multiplayer demo of Battefield 2142
• I may just have to break out HALO or HALO 2 tomorrow.
• If you haven’t seen the trailer for 300 yet, take a look…

Yep… that’s a wrap.

Namaste.

Thursday : 05 October 2006
Four down, one to go.

Today was a pretty good day… except for the weather. It’s been intermittently raining here in the Land Behind the Zion Curtain. Raining. In fact, when it first started raining this morning, I asked a couple of coworkers: “Isn’t this a high desert plain?” They confirmed that it is. My follow-up question was then: “So, who ordered rain?!” They laughed. The rest of the work day – including the lunchtime workout – was good, too.

Post-work, I took semicolon to pick up his truck. From there, I dropped in to see Perry and the boys. I hung out there and chatted for a while; it was nice to see ’em. Earlier in the week, had invited me over to watch CSI, so I took her up on her offer. Tonight’s episode was… odd. There were four cases, told from the points of views of the victims’ cadavers. Unusual, but nonetheless good.

Stray Toasters

• I should eat something, but I don’t really have an appetite.  Maybe some fruit or something will suffice.
• Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves
• Eric, a coworker, sent me the following this morning:
  

  As I walked into the building to day I saw a car with a Homer Simpson decoration hanging from the rear view mirror. Being a fan of The Simpsons, I stopped to look. It was the typical Homer in underwear holding a beer in the left hand, and the TV remote in the right. I then noticed, that it was not just a decoration, but an ‘air freshener’.

  A freshener that normally looks like a pine tree, or a cherry, or bouquet of flowers, and the fragrance usually has something to do with the picture.

  So what is the appropriate smell to associate with a fat, beer-drinking slob?

  Do you really want that in your car?

• : The Glass Book of the Dream Eaters – Victorian steampunk fiction
• Star Trek XI: What We Know, by way of Twitch Guru
• There’s a new trailer for Justice League Heroes.  One word: “Covet.”
• I’m not sure what to make of this, but it seems as though George Lucas is getting out of the movie-making business… and he’s taking Lucasfilm with him.
• Whoa.  Thunder.  (This really is supposed to be desert, I swear…)
• I’m not sure if I should be happy… or scared… that just dedicated Voltaire’s The Sexy Data Tango to me on her SHOUTcast show.  And all because I mentioned Tasha Yar.
• For : The Seven Levels of Pun Hell
• Speed Bump: Maryland Doesn’t Have a Widespread Meth Problem — At Least Not Yet.

That’s good for now.

Namaste.

Wednesday : 04 October 2006
Despite today’s bout with “Car Alarm Wake-Up Call,” it was a good day.  I even picked up a cup of frozen mocha goodness, to boot.

On the way home, called me to relay some good news.  I also caught up with for a few minutes.  I made it home and got a call from , needing a little technical assistance.  called me a little later to say that she and a few other people were getting together at Borders and invited me to join; I did.    When I got there, and were there; we were later joined by , and Vikki.  We sat around and chatted for a bit before collectively deciding that we were hungry.  The solution: Macaroni Grill.

Stray Toasters

• I think I want a snack.  And, once again, I have no idea what I want.  *sigh*
• By way of Wired: The Best: Movies in the Public Domain
• 
• I am way behind the curve on this, but I just found the Katrina: the Gathering cards today.
• From The Seattle Times: Reading Program Blasted on Ethics
• Guess what’s back…
  
• From Ars Technica: Study says no video games on school nights
• : I know that these aren’t “Jesus” keychains, but are they close enough for jazz?
• You know, it’s really scary how apt this is:
  
• Man demands that book about book-burning be banned — during Banned Books Week

Namaste.

Wednesday : 04 October 2006
*wurg*
I fell asleep on the couch last night. One minute, I’m watching The Late Show with David Letterman… the next thing I know, it’s 1:06 AM. Next stop: Bed. Do not pass “Go.” Do not collect $200.

This morning, the alarm went off and I hit snooze. That was nice. Someone’s car alarm went off shortly after the clock started beeping again. Right outside my window. That was a helluva backup “get your ass out of bed” message.

And, remember kids: Proofreading is your friend. Monday’s post contained this gem:

It should have read:

…but I didn’t go back to check it. *sigh* I didn’t even notice until someone asked me “So, who’s ‘semicolon?'”

And now, for my next amazing feat: Work!

Namaste.

Monday : 02 October 2006
It’s been a long day.

I slept in a bit this morning – I needed the rest, so I got it. And it was good. Work was… interesting. We’ve been waiting for some things to come in for a project. It came in today… and it was wrong. That didn’t make the Team Lead for that project very happy at all. And he made no bones about expressing his displeasure. That set the tone for the latter half of the day around the office. Yay.

After work, I had coffee with ; I needed to bend his ear about a few things. It helped me to decompress.

From there, it was on to Super Target. I picked up some groceries and a few things that I needed around here. It’s pretty damned convenient to have it so close at hand. Unfortunately, I’m a little skittish about buying too many things that need to go into the fridge, as I’m (still) waiting for the new appliances to be delivered.
Stray Toasters

• Do you know where you’re going to?
  Do you like the things that life is showing you?
  Where are you going to?
  Do you know?
  
• Apparently my “signature weapon” is a shotgun.  (Apparently, the Covenant plasma rifle was not an option…)
  

  Shotgun You preferred a weapon with 54% power over speed and 70% range over melee.

  You use a Shotgun. While not the fastest gun in the west, a shotgun’s raw power and ease of use make it an extremely potent weapon. Some shotguns can also be loaded with many different types of ammunition, providing a versatility many guns don’t have. Choosing your shots, you fell your opponents immediately and without pause.

  Link: The What’s Your Signature Weapon Test written by inurashii on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

• I keep neglecting to mention: The proto-IKEA now has some exterior walls.

That’s it for now… which is more than I had expected to have.

Namaste.

Sunday : 01 October 2006
I’m back.

Two days. 2400 miles, split between flying to (2½ hours) and driving back from (18½ hours) Oklahoma (…where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain!). It was good to see Adam and Chelsea, who are now on their way to California; he reports for duty this week.

Western Kansas + eastern Colorado = LOTS of nothing to see. Unless you are big into agriculture, then it’s a veritable cornucopia of things to pique your interest. Unfortunately, I don’t fall into that category, so it didn’t do much for me. And, I missed seeing a good portion of Kansas – from Salina to Kanorado (and no, I didn’t make that name up) – because it was dark. I kept trying to remember some of the places where I stopped when I drove out here eight years ago. That’s an interesting note: It was eight years ago, to the weekend, that I first made the drive out to Utah. Granted, in ’98, I got here on Saturday night, not Sunday… but I’m not going to quibble over that point.

The drive out of Denver, however, was nice. The foliage was changing colors. The yellows were vibrant on the mountain- and cliffsides. I think that I have confirmed that my favorite color is red – I kept looking for red leaves while driving. I didn’t see any. I saw trees with rust and bronze colored leaves. I even saw a few that were creeping towards orange. But, no reds. I admit that I was more than “a little” disappointed by that.

Stray Toasters

• I heard a new version (to me) of Save the Last Dance for Me last night. It’s apparently done by Michael Bublè; I’ll have to check out more of his stuff – I like it.
• As October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I think that this is an interesting idea: Pink for October
• I saw this cartoon….
  
  ….before I posted this link. It’s even more amusing to me now.
• Committee to decide whether or not to allow boys to urinate standing up
• Looking for a little taste of Casino Royale before the movie comes out next month? YouTube has a sample (with video) of Chris Cornell’s You Know My Name, the movie’s theme.

Namaste.