Random Access

Friday (coda)
Thanks to onlyaly and for their offer of an alternative to our usual Friday night Clitorati gathering. Tonight, we (the three of us and eight others) attended an Arena Football League game: the Utah Blaze versus the Los Angeles Avengers.

It was familiar, yet different. Shorter field. Fewer men on the field. Faster pace. And, it was fun. High-scoring fun. I’ve seen NFL games where the combined scores of the teams never broke double-digits. That wasn’t the case with this game. The Blaze beat the Avengers 76-63. Before tonight’s game, I wasn’t aware that former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Danny White was the Blaze’s Head Coach. His squad did a great job on the field. I may try to catch another game before the season ends in July. I may actually have a Utah-based team that I don’t mind rooting for now. Who knew?!

Added bonus: This game adds the first check mark on my 2007-2008 sports quest to see at least one game of as many professional sporting events as possible.

This was a nice – and different – way to spend the evening… end the week… hang out with friends. Thanks, again, to onlyaly and .

Namaste.

Friday – 13 April 2007
Last night, I started on the new lyric drawing. I’m about halfway done… unless I decide to get OCD about one of the sections. We’ll see how that goes.

This morning started early. Well, what should ostensibly be my “normal” time… but hasn’t been for the better part of the week. It also started with a chalice of frozen mocha goodness and a quick stop in the north office.

Then the fun began.

Actually, the fun began before this but the story isn’t as good if I didn’t word it that way. *shrug* As the song says, “Time is a spiral, space is a curve.” So, by that rationale, I can make this as non-linear as I so choose.

The race with the road monkeys was fraught with obstacles. You would think that they could climb, swing, jump or otherwise avoid said obstacles. Apparently, I gave them far too much credit. There were three roadside incidents, one on the I-15 southbound collector from I-215, two on southbound I-15. And all of them – ALL of them – brought with them the phenomenon known as “spectator slowing.” Seriously, that’s how the radio stations here refer to it. For those who can’t suss it out from the name: “Spectator slowing” occurs when commuters slow – nearly to the point of stopping – to stare at an accident or someone getting a ticket… or someone who’s pulled onto the shoulder to make a phone call. And Utahns are no-no-notorious (notorious!) for doing it. In fact, the “second” incident on I-15 was caused by spectator slowing tied to the first I-15 incident.

So, the commute had pockets of stop-and-go flow. (There’s a bad joke in there to the effect of “See your doctor if this describes your symptoms…”). Knowing how the road monkeys often react, I’m sure that there were a lot of angry commuters in their shiny metal boxes. I, on the other hand, was cool with the whole thing. Why? Because the technopathic link with Nomad was in full effect again this morning:

• Rush – The Body Electric
• Rush – New World Man
• Madonna – Die Another Day (while possibly not a “great” song, it’s one I like AND it was quite possibly the best part of the movie by the same name)
• Rush – Kid Gloves
• Led Zeppelin – Rock and Roll (I think Nomad chose this solely for the fact that we were in the CTS… and it’s a good song)
• Rush – Turn the Page
• Rush – Force Ten
• David Bowie – I’m Afraid of Utah Drivers Americans
• Parliament – P-Funk (I Wants to Get Funked Up)

In that order. Without me having to skip through songs. I am seriously beginning to think that ‘s sentient Winamp technogeist has taken up residence in Nomad. Which is cool… as long as it doesn’t start trying to reshape the Federation in its image. But, the fact that it was pumping out good music just meant that the traffic jams were allowing me more time to enjoy it.

Stray Toasters

• I was sent a link to this by Nyx…
• …which, amusingly, ties in nicely with this:
  
• Nyx also hooked me up with some Goldfrapp vids:
• White Horse (Isle of White 2006)
• Strict Machine
• Number 1
• Do you think that someone has a wee bit too much free time?
• WizKids explains the new Powers and Abilities Card and Special powers, using the Legion Starter Game.
• I may have to add another statue to my collection. Click the image for a full view.

Quote of the Day
This came from Tuesday night’s aborted gaming session:

and I started talking about our characters in City of Heroes/Villains. At one point, while I was talking about Nefer-Tem and his new abilities, he looked at me and this exchange came about…

nox_aeternus: Is it not true that when you go from running around half-naked, showing off your manly chest, to your Kheldian form, you are a nebulous ball of purple energy?
shadorunr: No, I’m a squid.
nox_aeternus: Are you sure?
shadorunr: Yes.
nox_aeternus: Because, when I saw you, I half-expected to see you hanging out around Prince’s groin.

Namaste.

Thursday – 12 April 2007
Last night, I played Battlefield 2142 for the first time since God was a boy.  Okay, it hadn’t been that long, but it had been since early January.  I met up with the rest of team and we exchanged bullets, rockets, and grenades with opposing forces.  It was fun.  I do, however, need to remember to turn Multiplicity off before playing – the mouse kept tracking over to Intrepid at inopportune moments.
I woke up with a phenomenal (do DO do-do-do) headache this morning.  I decided to take some Aleve and sleep in.  That seemed to do the trick, for the most part.  I still have a slight twinge, but not nearly as bad as it was earlier.

I’m not sure if the headache was contagious or if I’m developing a new level of technopathy, but Nomad was a bit cross this morning, too:

• David Bowie – Look Back in Anger
• Rush – War Paint
• MC 900 Foot Jesus – While the City Sleeps
• Prince – Electric Chair

That’s right, my iPod is apparently not to be trifled with.

Quote of the Day (so far)
Excerpted from a conversation with :

[10:33] shadorunr: So..
[10:33] shadorunr:  I saw [this]
[10:33] shadorunr: And the first thing in my head was
[10:33] shadorunr: “Vagina Dentata…….”
[10:33] shadorunr: To the tune of Hakuna Matata
[10:33] shadorunr: Hell.
[10:34] shadorunr: Handbasket.
[10:34] nyx_hemsut: hahahaahahaahahahahahahahaha
[10:34] nyx_hemsut: I loves you 😀

And that’s that.

Namaste.

The 2007 NFL schedules were released today. Dates to remember:

: 10 Sept 07 and 11 Nov 07

: 30 Sept 07 and 18 Nov 07

Wednesday – 11 April 2007
Two and change down, two to go.

Last night, after work, I met , Staci and Pat for coffee at Jitterbug. (Once again: If you’re in the Sugar House area, drop in and say “Hi” to Bruce and crew. The shop is at 1855 South 700 East.) Apparently, Tuesday night is Stitch ‘n’ Bitch – or a close analogue – night at Jitterbug. I walked in to see at least 12 people, knitting needles and yarn in hand… more showed up over the course of the evening.

Last night was All Flesh Must Die night. Or, it was supposed to be. We showed up. Gaming materials were produced. But, we didn’t play. Instead, we sat around and BS’ed the evening away… which was at least as much fun as playing would have been.

This morning started off with me attempting to procure a cup of frozen mocha goodness. The Fates, however, had different ideas. It would seem as though the machine from which the Blessed Elixir is given was broken. BROKEN!!! Frozen caffeinated salvation was not to be mine. Instead, I wound up getting iced mocha almost-as-goodness.

I would make an “Ice Ice Baby” reference here, but I am afraid that nearly everyone who read it would immediately assume that I meant the song by Vanilla Ice. That would be about as far from the truth as one could get.

My reference would be from the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, from whom Mr. Van Winkle lifted the tag line… for which he was subsequently sued (second paragraph).

From there, it was on to the SLC office to pick up a few things that needed to come south of the county line. The road monkeys were intermittently annoying. Fortunately, the iPod picked up most of the slack, once again:

• Rush – Crossroads
• Snoop Dogg (ft. Pharell) – Drop It Like It’s Hot
• Ozzy Osbourne – Crazy Train
• Snake River Conspiracy – How Soon Is Now
• Tina Turner – The Bitch Is Back
• Drowning Pool – Bodies
• Kool & the Gang – Jungle Boogie

Hearing Jungle Boogie put me not in the mindset of Pulp Fiction, but this.

Break’s over. Back on your heads.

Namaste.

Once again, the iPod was on the one:

• Rockapella – Fliptop Twister
• No Doubt – New
• Will Smith – Black Suits Comin’ (Nod Ya Head)
• David Bowie – Dead Man Walking
• Janet Jackson – You Want This

That’s not a bad way to start off.

::: EDIT :::
I just got back from my morning constitutional (a very brisk constitutional, it’s 41° F and windy) and I’m beginning to think that my iPod is channeling the sentience once attributed to ‘s Winamp.  It gave me three songs with good tempos for walking:

• Mansun & 808 State – Skin Up Pin Up
• Gwen Stefani – Hollaback Girl
• Sneaker Pimps – 6 Underground (Nellee Hooper Mix)

Monday – 09 April 2007
I, very unintentionally, slept in this morning.  Apparently, Saturday night’s lack of sleep, coupled with Sunday morning’s early awakening, caught up with me.  Sleep Hard: With a Vengeance (coming soon to a theatre near you!)  The rest of the day was cake.  Aside from the road monkeys, there were no other monkey antics in the day.  I consider that a plus.

After work, I met at ‘ders.  I thought about starting a new drawing, but I didn’t have anything in mind to work on.  So, I thumbed through magazines.  I also found a plethora of interesting links that I want to explore.  And, I think that I have a couple of lyric-to-drawing ideas.  I need to give them some consideration.

And, of course, I watched the Jack Bauer show.  *beep*…*beep*…*beep*…*beep*… (fade to black)

Stray Toasters

• I had far more fun on the driving range than I think should be allowed.  Especially since my swing and accuracy are very inconsistent.  Very.  After whacking a few golf balls down the range, I tried my hand at the putting green.  There were no windmills or clown faces, but it still was not a piece of cake.  At one point, I tried a long putt.  While I was lining up my shot, I had an image of Electronic Arts’ PGA Tour Golf (for the SEGA Genesis, of course) putting green, with hash marks and lines denoting the lie of the green.  It made me laugh.  (Sidebar: I didn’t know that EA had acquired a company in the SLC area.  Apparently, they did it last year.)
• League of Marvels: Denouement – Custom-crafted figures, done in the style of an alternate Marvel Universe. (, check out the Kurt Wagner figure.)
• For some reason, saying “nukerate” amuses me much more than simply saying “microwave.”
• A few years ago, I picked up a copy of Dragon Magazine Archive, the first 250 issues of Dragon Magazine on CD.  I was perusing a few issues today and read some of the comic strips in the “Dragonmirth” section.  On a whim, I decided to see if I could find any information on a couple of the strips online.  I found more than information on two of them, I found websites: Yamara and Twilight Empire.
• By way of (not to be confused with Sgt. Trellos from Squad 003): The 10 Worst PCs of All Time
• All that I can say to or about this is, “Amen.”
  
• I was explaining “non-sequitur” to someone the other day, when the name “Non-sequiturial Guinea” popped into my head.  I wonder if Equitorial Guinea would mind changing their name and, if so, what their flag would look like.
• It all makes sense now…  (Thanks,