Random Access

Sunday – 27 July 2008
After getting the oil changed (and tires rotated) and having my butt handed to me at HeroClix yesterday, I went down to visit Perry and the kids. We talked City and ‘Clix and other geekery. Go figure.

On the way home, I realized that I was craving Aussie Cheese Fries, so I called in an order from the local Outback Steakhouse. I got home and devoured the whole thing. I don’t know whether it was the full stomach, post-dinner cool down period or what, but I went from “watching TV” to “being watched by TV” intermittently over the next couple of hours. I woke up a little before time to head out to breakfast… only to be rooted in place by Dial M for Murder, which I had never seen before. I watched about 20 minutes of it before I was able to break free. I will be looking for this movie when I next go on a DVD run.

I made it to breakfast. VI was far more quiet than usual; I chalked it up to people taking advantage of the long weekend and going out of town. Part of the night’s conversation included discussions on “Who was the best James Bond” and different interpretations of The Joker.

This morning, my dreams were a weird amalgamation of 70s political thriller movies and IT oddness. No, they didn’t make sense to me, either – dreams rarely do. Thus, I didn’t even try to make sense of them.

Stray Toasters

• If you have an iPhone, there’s a rather addictive labyrinth game for it. I played it on ‘s phone on Friday night. was playing it on his iPhone at breakfast. Did I mention “addictive?”
• , since we were talking about it: Film Noir
• 
• LEGO gets into classrooms with WeDo robotics systems
• Comic Book Resources has good coverage of the 2008 San Diego Comic Con Internation. Some highlights include:
  • CCI: The Black Panel
  • CCI: Secret Invasion
  • couple of notes that Static, last seen on Static Shock and Justice League, will (finally) be seen again in print… as a member of the Teen Titans. And, may I just say: It’s about time!
  • CCI: The Brave and the Bold Preview Screening
  • The Middleman Panel
    • Apparently, ABC Family has done a series of PSAs, featuring The Middleman and Wendy Watson:

  • CCI: Marvel Comics Unleashes Ender’s Game
• Rush plays Rock Band
• I still need to decide on a name for the iMac. As it’s going to most likely replace the current ‘Nine, I may just go with DS9… although I’m still thinking that it may be the new Pegasus. Maybe I’ll just take some suggestions.
• Having just watched a leaked teaser for TR2N (1, 2 – #2 is a larger, rotated version of #1), I just realized that I’ve never (that’s right, “never”) watched TRON, despite spending MANY quarters on the arcade game as a kid.



• 20 Album Covers Recreated in LEGO

I should try to sort out what I’m going to do today.

But first, a bowl of Honeycomb is calling my name.

Namaste.

Saturday – 26 July 2008
Yesterday, after work, I started tinkering with the iMac. I want to have it in the living room area, so I was looking at bridging two routers. The older router wouldn’t do what I wanted/needed, so I had to investigate other options. While an AirPort card would work, I think that I’m just going to pick up a USB network adapter and call it good.

Coffee and dinner were good. Mary found a book that amused me. I bought it and decided that I would have to go on my desk at work… alongside this. That made my little inner subversive smile.

I slept in until 9:30 this morning. It was nice. Too bad there aren’t any good ‘toons to watch. I killed an hour or so flipping channels, until I hit on Nickelodeon. Sozin’s Comet, the Season 3 finale of Avatar: The Last Airbender was on. I’ve only caught sporadic episodes of Avatar, but I’ve enjoyed what I saw. The finale was no exception.

Stray Toasters

• showed me the trailer for “Legend of the Seeker,” the upcoming adaptation of Wizard’s First Rule

  

• linked me to the following article: I fell in love with a female assassin. Wow.
• The Washington Post Online has a transcript of an online chat with Neil Patrick Harris
• The following Sinfest strips amused me:
  • 
  • 
  • 

TIme to get under way. I need to get the oil changed in the car and then it’s off to play ‘Clix with Chris for a while.

Yeah, weekends are good.

Of things dead, undead, not-yet-dead and not-of-this-world:

• SaraRules and I are going to visit Doc Holliday‘s grave next weekend.
• American Vampire League

• Zombie Harmony
• Multi-National United and District 9
• Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver take on The Flash in The Flash: Rebirth

And that’s a wrap.

Friday – 25 July 2008

It’s SysAdminDay!

In honor of this, I once again bring your Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie’s System Administrator Song.

Last night, I hung out with Allie and her friend, David; I haven’t seen her in close to a year, I guess. She’s in town for a CF treatment. When I talked with her earlier in the week, I told her that I’d come visit her. I asked if she wanted anything. Her response: Tiramisu. So, I picked some up and took it to her. It was a fun visit.

I got back home around 11:00. I turned on the TV and watched the tail end of The Late Late Show. I thought about hopping on PokerStars, but realized at 12:30 that I was tapped. So I called it a night.

Stray Toasters

• If the weather stays decent, I may head to a driving range this weekend.
• From the Council for Better Driving: Utah comes Utah Code Section 41-6a-801 – Turning – Manner – Traffic Control Devices

  Loosely translated: “To the road monkey in front of me this morning: You could have turned left – into your designated lane, even though there was oncoming traffic turning right… into their designated lane.”

• No, I don’t play for the 49’ers
• Last Lecture Professor Randy Pausch, 47, Dies
• Wizard People
• 
• Oil paintings of computer cables
• The Shining recreated with WowWee robots

• LEGO Beijing Olympics

Namaste.

A few minutes ago, Rock Me Amadeus popped into my head. I’m not really sure “why,” as the song playing on iTunes had nothing to do with it. Thanks to Paul, a friend in a former D&D group, ever since… freshman year in college, I think… when I hear Rock Me Amadeus, it often gets reparsed in my head as “Rock me, Asmodeus.” (1, 2) *sigh* Thanks, Paul.

Anyway…

I was looking at Gizmodo when, like a bad Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup commercial, the two items came together in my head:

“If Asmodeus were the Demon Lord of Technology, what would his name be?”
Asmodo?
Gizmodeus?

That’s right… I’m thinking the big, world-changing thoughts here.

God help me.

Thursday: 24 June 2008
Three down, one in the chamber and one to go.

Today is Mormon Christmas Pioneer Day in Utah. As such, all state-owned and many locally-owned businesses are closed. There’s a parade… for which people started lining the streets last night. A rodeo. Fireworks. The whole kit and kaboodle.

Extreme Makeover: IT Lab Edition should wrap up today. Selah.

Stray Toasters

• This morning’s commute was enhanced with:
  • Hollaback Girl (which I still think MarknTyme should teach his band…)
  • The Boomin’ System
  • Drop It Like It’s Hot
• I miscounted the Secret Invasion set. There are 60 figures, but there are some figures not listed on the site, because they are members of the invasion force. And those figures come with a “dual identity” character card, reflecting their status as a hero or a Skrull.
• Steamboy Machine Mini Figures
• Someone brought in doughnuts this morning.
• Marco…?

Attack the day.

Namaste.

Wednesday: Coda
After work, I headed to Dr. Volt’s to pick up this week’s comics haul and my brick of ‘Clix:

It’s a fifty-five piece set, of which I pulled 42 unique figures.
76% of the total set in one swoop. That’s not bad.
And, I got 11 pieces that I wanted, including:

• Captain America (Isaiah Bradley)
• Cloak and Dagger
• Hawkeye (Kate Bishop)
• Howard the Duck
• Iron Man
• Nick Fury
• Power Pack
  • Energizer
  • Gee
  • Lightspeed
  • Mass Master
• Super Skrull: X-Men

And, since I got the brick, I can send in for the Super Skrull: Illuminati figure.

On the way home, I stopped in to visit SaraRules’ family. And, I picked up the “new” iMac. Now come the two most difficult parts: Figuring out where it’s going and deciding on a name for it.

Stray Toasters

• Science!
• I’m still on the fence… but leaning towards wanting to play DC Universe Online.
  When it goes live, that is.
• This amuses me not only because of the caption, but also because the kitten reminds me of Lightning… when he was still tiny.



• A live-action Cowboy Bebop movie? Could be.
• Motorist draws gun at ‘Grey Poupon’ question

I should probably give some thought to calling it a night.

Wednesday – 23 July 2008
After getting home from work, I took a relaxing – and somewhat necessary – shower. The last thing I wanted while gaming last night was B.O. It would have just been embarrassing.

Last night’s Scion session was good, if less than entirely productive. We were given our marching orders and set out to act upon them. Maybe we were a little headstrong. Maybe we were a little rash. Maybe it was Maybelline. Whatever it was, we almost got our collective recta handed to us. Fortunately, we all survived long enough to escape and try to come up with something that resembles “a plan” for next time.

I slept rather well last night. I was hoping that would be the case, given the all-day workout I had. I even indulged in a little sleeping in this morning.

Human of the Day
In what I believe to be a first, I am nominating someone under the age of five for Human of the Day. At last night’s game, did the nigh-unthinkable: She pulled up Superman: The Movie on Netflix, as a way to keep Josh quiet. I don’t think that she was aware of my affinity for the movie… or how torn my attention would be. She gave Josh headphones so that he could watch – and listen – without disturbing our gaming.

The reason that Josh gets the nod for today’s HotD is not only because he was as rapt by the movie as I usually am (although, I have apparently seen the movie enough times to be able to glance at the screen and do dialogue…), but because he would get so excited by the movie that he’d leap out of ‘s lap and bound over to Nox to say “I’m watching Superman!” and then run back over to the desk to watch more of the movie.

As a counterpoint, Nox, ever the Lex Luthor fan, kept reminding Josh and me: “You know that the good guy doesn’t win at the end of this movie, right?”

Stray Toasters

• Adam just called… because he was bored and didn’t feel like doing any work. I’m not sure if I mentioned it previously, but he and Chelsea are expecting a baby this fall/winter; they will find out the baby’s sex this afternoon.
• Church minister shames congregation by dressing as a tramp
• 
• From Broken Frontier: Uncanny X-Memories – this round has a couple of fond remembrances of issues #153 (“Kitty’s Fairy Tale”) and #186 (“LifeDeath: A Love Story”).
• Batman Then and Now: The Cost of Being Bruce Wayne
• 
• More DC Universe Online news… including screenshots
• Tyranist: I know you hate “thriller” as a genre title, but… DC to launch thriller imprint, Vertigo Crime
• Sandman 20th Anniversary Poster
• And tomorrow is Mormon Christmas, as some of us like to call it.

Time to dive in to Storage Room: Day 2.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 22 July 2008
I have been having… issues… with my cable box for the past few weeks. It decided to become more problematic late Sunday night. I was particularly miffed because I was geared up to watch The Middleman last night… and ABC Family is one of the channels whose reception has been “less than perfect.” Fortunately, I was able to jiggle things around (yes, that’s a technical term) and get reception on most of the failing channels. After calling Comcast – twice -yesterday, it’s basically come down to “there’s something wrong with your receiver; you should just bring it in and exchange it.” Great. The office hours are from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, which just happen to be the hours I’m usually at work. So, I’ll be taking it in on Friday, when I will hopefully be getting out of work early.

Not only was I able to watch The Middleman, but I caught a rebroadcast of Burn Notice… and still put in a little time in City of Heroes. I ran Corvus Nox’ cape mission… not that I’m planning on him wearing a cape, but I did it anyway.

This morning, breaking up waking up was hard to do, but I managed to rouse myself and get up and on the way. Stopping for a free frozen mocha didn’t hurt, either.

Today, for a change of pace, I volunteered to attempt to bring a measure of order to the chaos that our IT Lab/storage area. It keeps me off the main floor (for the most part). I brought in my powered speakers and hooked them up to Defiant, so I’ll have music to keep me company. It sounds like the sub has seen better days; maybe I’ll just leave this set of speakers here and look for a better set for home.

This might just wind up qualifying as today’s workout. I’m good with that.

Back to it.

Namaste.

I was chatting with Liz when Coupling came up. Specifically, she mentioned something and I countered with “The Melty Man.” She, never having seen the show, had no idea what I was talking about, so I forwarded her a link to the episode synopsis and this quote from Jeff Murdock:

All of us in our time are visited by the Melty Man… Don’t say his name, Patrick. Don’t even think his name, or he will rise from the shadow dimensions to do his evil work inside your terrified pants.

That reminded me of other Jeff-isms… which, not so oddly, have been collected in a Wikipedia entry.

EDIT:
I just got a call from Land, which included a line that not only ties into the above, but also pretty much qualifies as Quote of the Day-worthy:

Oh, the perspective Ohio gave me… I just went to a Singles’ Ward and I now understand why men masturbate to porn here!

*shakes head and chuckles*

Monday – 21 July 2008
A new week begins.

Last night, Perry and I spent a few hours in Paragon City – I played Corvus Nox, he played his Reforming Demon character. We joined a team that was running a few missions in the low to mid-20s. The team was “top heavy” with Tankers. This was a good and bad thing:

• Good: We had people who could hold aggro (keep the bad guys’ attention).
• Bad: They had to be elbow-up in bad guys… which meant that as the de facto healer, so did I.

I’ve mentioned before that Corvus Nox can heal, but that he’s not a primary healer. I tried making this point more that abundantly clear to my teammates. I think that the multiple deaths helped to underscore my point. Nevertheless, thanks to Double XP weekend, I put three-and-a-half levels on ‘Nox.

In an amusing side note, I ran into another character on the server named “CincinnatiJen,” who was a Bengals fan. In fact, the character concept was that of a super-powered Bengals fan. I commented to the player that, as a Ravens’ fan, I found it amusing. I’m not sure whether he/she knew enough Latin to know that “Corvus Nox” (roughly) translates to “Night Raven.” Oh, well.

And… I got my Rikti Monkey last night!

I’m not sure what to name him.. er.. her… um… it… though.

I wasn’t tired when I went to bed, so I used a crossword puzzle to help induce sleep. It worked… about 20 minutes later. I should have just stayed awake – I had one of the most disconcerting dreams I’ve had in a long time. It not only woke me up, but rattled me enough to make getting back to sleep difficult. *grblsnrkx* Thus, when the alarms went off this morning, I turned them off – with gusto – and returned to The Dreaming for a bit.

It’s Monday, but I’m hoping that wasn’t a harbinger of things to come.
On the plus side, Take Me There, by Blackstreet and Mya, greeted me on the morning commute and I have sauteed spaghetti for breakfast.

Stray Toasters

• SaraRules made it back to Aspen in good time.
• I finally found the link to the Heroclix Batman: Alpha site.
• Speaking of Mr. Wayne, The Dark Knight made $155 million in its opening weekend, setting a number of records.
• S’mores brownies.
• Band Geek Hero
• A couple weeks ago, I picked up four packs of NYTTJA frames from the Garden of Sweden, in red, green, yellow and blue. Yesterday afternoon, I pulled a number of comics out of my collection. Once I figure out which covers and frames will compliment each other best, I’m going to hang copies of cover art on the walls in my office. (Oddly enough, the green frames were easy to find cover are to match.)
• Comcast. *shakes fist*
• I picked up A Show of Hands (DVD) at Best Buy yesterday. It shall be included in today’s musical oleo.
• just had to deal with an issue – which should have never been an issue – that someone in the office created… all because that person wanted to have things his way. Apparently, he forgot that we do NOT, in fact, work for Burger King.
• Wow… and Mr. just did a little jig. Welcome to Monday.

Attack the day…

Namaste.

Sunday – 20 July 2008
It’s been a great weekend.

SaraRules got into town Friday night, a little after 10:00. I skipped post-coffee dinner with the Clitorati crew to come home and hang out with her. I also discovered the joys of screw-top (as opposed to cork-topped) wine bottles. Same great taste, less hassle.

Saturday morning, we got up and ran errands before getting on to the fun parts of the day. I stopped at Dr. Volt’s to pick up my copy of the new Fantastic Four HeroClix Starter Set… and a box of Batman: Alpha HeroClix. I wanted an Oracle figure so, I figured that I’d pick up a box a go for broke. Not only did the box have an Oracle, but I got an Alfred figure – which I’d also wanted – as well. Win-Win. We also popped next door to C.K. Cummings for chocolate (…and Swedish fish!). Talk about confection overload.

After leaving Dr. V’s we headed up to see SaraRules’ family. They were doing well.

Next stop: Larryland for a trip to Gotham City. And… I saw the Watchmen trailer in big screen glory. Wow. That was nice. Most of the other trailers were rather forgettable, though. Then… The Dark Knight. The movie was well done and a lot of fun to watch. For a movie that was two hours and forty-two minutes long, it certainly didn’t feel like it. The script was solid. The cinematography was top notch. The whole thing was a joy to watch.

The leads seemed comfortable in their roles, even the newcomers:

• Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne/Batman was believable both as a man with a secret and a man whose inner demons drive his unrelenting passion.
• Michael Caine’s Alfred was equal parts confidante, assistant… and protector – exactly what you would expect from Bruce Wayne’s manservant and best friend.
• Morgan Freeman, once again, did an excellent turn as Lucius Fox. I appreciate the fact that the script portrays him as a man who is willing to push the envelope, in the name of the greater good, but not push it so far as to compromise his principles and morals.
• Maggie Gyllenhaal’s performance as Rachel Dawes actually made me wonder “WHO did this role in the first movie?” She was solid as the flickering light at the end of Bruce Wayne’s tunnel.
• Gary Oldman. ‘Nuff said.
• Aaron Eckhart’s Harvey Dent/Two-Face was an interesting character. I didn’t mind the twist that they put in his origin. But, his descent into madness, while seemingly fast, was believable.
• And Heath Ledger’s Joker was spot-on. I know that there were many questions as to whether or not he would be up to the performance or if he could stand up to the Jokers of the past. To that, I counter with a paraphrase of a repeated line from the movie: “He was the Joker that the film needed.” This isn’t to diminish the performances of other actors in the role. To the contrary, I think that each person who has become The Joker has been exactly what the role demanded: Cesar Romero. Jack Nicholson. Mark Hamill. And when the torch was passed to the late Mr. Ledger, he bore the mantle admirably. It’s a shame that we won’t get a chance to see him reprise the role.

All-in-all, I give the movie an enthusiastic thumbs-up with a couple of batarangs on the side.

After the movie, SaraRules and I split up: She headed to her folks’ place, while I went to Chris and Mary’s for our Dark Heresy game. We didn’t get very far (at least, not while I was there – I left early), but it was fun. I headed up to meet SaraRules and visit with her family again… and then back home.

This morning was a lazy, lie about kind of morning. Then came breakfast (sauteed spaghetti!) and coffee. I’m not entirely sure what, if anything, we’re up to before Ms. SaraRules heads back to Aspen, but I’m heading over to Perry and Kate’s later to enjoy the last of the Double XP Weekend… and get my Rikti Monkey!

Namaste.

Friday – 18 July 2008
Welcome to the weekend.

This morning’s goal was to sleep in. Apparently, my body had other ideas: Despite turning off the alarm, I was up a little after 7:00. And 8:15. And somewhere around 9. I got a call from Perry at 9:15 and decided to finally take the hint that I wasn ‘t really going to get much/any more sleep. He asked something that made me laugh though: “Did you take the day off because of [City of Heroes‘] Double XP Weekend?”

I’ll try the sleeping in thing again tomorrow.

Assuming I get in gear and out the door in short order, I’ll probably head up for a cup o’ Joe with Perry before heading to lunch with and Steph (former coworker of his). Maybe I’ll just go post-lunch.

This afternoon’s agenda includes (but is not limited to) some cleaning… although, I may sneak in a little game time, too. And the idea of hitting some balls at the driving range isn’t entirely off the table, either.

To paraphrase Samuel L. Jackson, I’ve got “nothing but air and opportunity.”

Stray Toasters

• 12
• Just Put a Walkie Talkie in His Hand!
• Watchmen Trailer-to-Comic comparison
• I just chatted with ; she’s having a good time in The Big Easy.
• Keeping His Eye on the Ball
• It’s been a while since I’ve linked to this: Best of Craigslist
• Imposter
• 
• YouTomb: Where copyright-clobbered YouTubes go to die
• From The Brothers Brick: Darth Vader has a tough go of it in Gotham City

Quote of the Day
From a conversation with SaraRules about Mamma Mia!, a movie that she wants to see… and that I’ve agreed to sit through:

SaraRules: Entertainment Weekly called Mamma Mia! “exuberantly vapid”
Me: Yeah…
Me: I saw something along those lines online last night
SaraRules: Awesome. I can’t wait.
Me: hahaha
SaraRules: Dude, I’m sorry, but it’s a hollywood move musical based around the music of ABBA. How can anyone expect it to be art?
Me: High hopes?
Me: Wishful thinking?
Me: Miracle?
SaraRules: Pshaw. Delusions
SaraRules: Pshaw, now i have ABBA running through my brain.
Me: I’m sorry.
SaraRules: Hell, I’m not. Finding it on iTunes right now. 
Me: I love you… but sometimes, you scare me.
SaraRules: Because I like ABBA?
Me: No.
Me: Because you’re actively seeking ABBA out on iTunes. 😉

Time to start/finish getting ready to jet.

Stray Toasters

• Act II of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog went live today.
• Tonight’s episode of Fear Itself was directed by Darren Bousman (Saw 2, Saw 3, Saw 4)… and it has post-apocalyptic zombies.
  (Check local listings for times)
• The Watchmen trailer hits the web, a day early.
• I forgot to mention something this morning: I also had Everybody to the Limit running through my head shortly after I woke up.



• It’s apparently too much to expect for people to check their (work) email more than once a day? Good thing that I’m not planning on doing anything with their responses before Monday.

While at lunch, asked:

So, there’s no way to get a fistful of fish without getting all goopy, is there?

Ah, the joys of sushi.