Random Access

Sunday – 21 December 2008
She said “Yes.”

(To be honest, she actually said,”Of course,” but you get the idea.)

Saturday – 20 December 2008
Today has been “a bit” busy. After getting up and having a tasty breakfast, SaraRules and I headed out:

• We got (most of) the last of the Christmas shopping taken care of…
• We made a gingerbread train with Logan, pictures forthcoming
• I picked up a Christmas tree (thanks, OnlyAly and )!
• We went to Fiddler’s Elbow for dinner and to watch the Ravens-Cowboys game — the Ravens won!
• We went to OnlyAly and ‘s for the annual “Nightmare Before Christmas” horror movie get-together; we only stayed for The Exorcist, but it was fun to watch with people who hadn’t seen it.

Home again, home again… jiggity-jig.

Friday – 19 December 2008
And it’s almost vacation-time. Amen.

I wound up not going to the gym yesterday… but I still got a workout (of sorts): All of the equipment that we moved last week?  We moved it to more permanent locations. In about 3 hours. It wasn’t an entirely pretty process, but the results don’t look half bad.

Last night, SaraRules and I went to Gardner Village to pick up a few Christmas gifts… and to stroll (briefly) around the grounds and look at the lights. Briefly because it was cold and windy. But, the trip was otherwise successful. After that, we had dinner at Olive Garden. I had the Chicken Carbonara with a glass of Kendal Jackson Riesling; SaraRules had the Apricot Chicken.

Last night’s sleep was… broken. Very broken. I woke up at least three times between 3 AM and 6:30 AM. For no apparent reason that I can discern. Oh, well. I don’t have to get up for anything tomorning, so I’ll try to make it up tonight.

Stray Toasters

• Sweet Game-loving Jesus: The CoH Mac client is in beta testing. *downloading*
• By way of SaraRules – The Sartorialist: On Zoot Suits, Baggies, Stacy Adams & 125th Street
• Since the Satorialist’s post references them…  Ladies and Gentlemen, I give to you… The Time
  Morris Day |MTV Music
• For Meliko: McCarthyism
• Help select the 100 greatest Looney Toons
• 
• Father punishes son with public humiliation

Namaste.

Thursday – 18 December 2008
It’s snowing. So far, I haven’t seen any driving issues that compare with the ones from Tuesday; let’s hope that it stays that way.

Last night, I went home and started reading some of yesterday’s four-color haul; more on that below. SaraRules came over a little later. She quilted; I read. It was a nice, quiet evening. Logan came over around 9:00 to hang out. We watched a show called Time Warp – which featured Cirque de Soliel – and MythBusters, which aired their Top 10 Viewer Favorite Myths.

Four-Color Coverage
I somehow neglected to grab a copy of Tiny Titans when I picked up yesterday’s haul. *shakes fist* Otherwise, the comics were something of a mixed bag. Among the standouts were:

• DC Universe Holiday Special 2008 – I don’t often pick up holiday special issues, but I was curious about this one. I’m glad that I picked it up. It contained eight or nine (maybe even 10, but I forget the actual number) stories, ranging from 4 to 8 pages. Among them were “the super secret origin of Santa Claus,” an Aquaman (yes, THAT Aquaman) story that reflected the nativity, an excellent Gotham City story, featuring Commissioner Gordon, a Nightwing and Robin story that touched on their family tie, and one of the better stories I’ve read featuring Dr. Light II.



• Justice League of America: The Nail – This is an Elseworlds title from 1998, yet I had never read it until last night. Its premise was simple: What would the DCU have been like without Superman.

  

  It was a good read – I found myself juxtaposing it with Marvel’s Civil War and Secret Invasion, as The Nail dealt with issues of fear and isolationism in a not too dissimilar manner than the Marvel series. There is a sequel, JLA: Another Nail, that I will have to look for.

Stray Toasters

• Maddox is expanding his empire: The Best SHOW in the Universe.
• ‘Nanny’ state: Fran Drescher seeks Clinton’s Senate seat
• 
  
• Timecrimes director Masters Creepy Sci-Fi on a Shoestring
• I was wrong – shortly after I typed the “no driving issues” comment above, the “fun” started. (Pictures) It took the black car almost a half-hour to get from the first picture to the fourteenth one.
• Want a retired space shuttle? They’re up for grabs
• Gingerbread Revolution, by way of

Meeting time!

Namaste.

George Michael: Killer/Papa Was a Rolling Stone

…and, for : Animaniacs – The Monkey Song

Groove. Boogie. Sway.

Wednesday – 17 December 2008
The roads are/were much less treacherous this morning than yesterday. This is a good thing. After yesterday morning’s traffic snafu, you would think that UDoT would have made sure that the roads were well-salted. It just makes sense. Apparently, no one got the memo at UDoT, though. We saw a few slides and even a 360 around 3:30 PM, long after the morning lack-of-rush hour.

As a corollary, by way of : “Cars Sliding Down Icy Hill”

Last night, Chris came over to play ‘Clix. We decided to play a 600 point game, but I neglected to put a team together until a few minutes before game time. I wound up using:

• Bronze Tiger
• Captain America (Ultimates)
• Deathstroke
• Lex Luthor
• Marvel Girl
• Moon Knight and
• Nightshade

…against his X-Men themed team of:

• Bishop
• Magneto (Ultimates)
• Professor X
• Psylocke, with three Feats (which I don’t recall) and
• Wolverine, with Vault

Through attrition, I wound up winning. He said that I “…built a team to be mean,” (since I had two characters with Outwit) which wasn’t what I was trying to do at all – I just built a 600-point team. So, he said that he’s going to build Batman into whatever team he plays from now on… which I usually expect him to do. *shrug* I’ll just have to deal with (or get beat down by) The Bat when he shows up.

Stray Toasters

• By way of SaraRules: Laurence Fishburne’s Starring Role on CSI: Could Be a Boon for Black Actors
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Cake request for Adolf Hitler, 3, denied
• Steve Jobs Skips MacWorld; Apple Denies Health Rumors
• 
  
• By way of NPR Music:
  • NPR Listeners Pick the Year’s Best Music
  • The 10th Annual CD, er, MP3 Gift Guide
  • The Best African Music of 2008
  • Living Your Life with 2008’s Best in Jazz
  • Invoking Improv: Best Classical CDs of 2008
• Also by way of SaraRules: RuPaul: The Obamas Are a Drag
• FBI: Drunk flier forces diversion of JetBlue flight
• , I don’t know if you read Newsarama, but they have a Legion Blogpost

Namaste.

Wes, Marci and I hit the gym at lunch today:

• Leg Raises: 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 185 lbs
• Incline Press (Icarian): 3 sets/10 reps, 140 lbs
• Rows (machine): 3 sets/10 reps – 1 set @ 120 lbs, 2 sets @ 100 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell, hammer): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Shrugs (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Lower Back Extensions (aerobics room): 3 sets/10 reps
• Push-ups: 3 sets/10 reps

All-in-all it was a good workout… especially for a day when I was somewhat ambivalent about going to the gym.

Post-workout weight: 180.8 lbs

Tuesday – 16 December 2008
Happy birthday to

It was snowing when I woke up this morning. However, since I didn’t look out the window, I didn’t know it until I opened the door and walked outside. The morning commute roughly doubled in duration thanks to the still-falling snow. When I got in, a few of us looked out the window at the shenanigans on 215.

(click images for larger versions)

We didn’t see any accidents or injuries.

The Council for Better Driving: Utah would like to remind every to drive cautiously in the inclement weather.

Stray Toasters

• I like this picture of Dawnstar; it’s from the upcoming Legion of 3 Worlds #5
• By way of : Rare Snow in U.S. Deep South
• Pentagon Researcher Conjures Warcraft Terror Plot
• For those who haven’t seen it yet, here’s the trailer for X-Men Origins: Wolverine

• Kenneth Brannagh Talks Thor: Directing and Casting
• Marking a Milestone: McDuffie on Milestone Characters’ Return

Namaste.

As Winter approaches, the Council for Better Driving: Utah would like to remind everyone that using your cruise control in wet/snowy conditions is dangerous and could cause you to lose control of your vehicle.

For further information about cruise control and the danger of hydroplaning, see the following items:

• Snopes.com: Wild When Wet
• WikiAnswers
• HoaxSlayer

Please keep these in mind when you’re out on the roads during the holiday season… and the rest of the year!

Monday – 15 December 2008
Yep… it’s definitely “a Monday.” While nothing has exactly blown up, there have been a few issues to deal with around the office this morning. YAY! I’ve already had to make an executive decision on one thing (so far, so good), and deferred a couple of others; hopefully things will calm down a bit around lunch time. If not, it may be Monday Night Drinking – rather than Monday Night Football – tonight.

Football Update
Last night, the Ravens hosted the Steelers in a game with big implications for a playoff berth.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens
13 – 9
As is the case with every Steelers-Ravens game, there was no love lost on the field between these teams. When it was gametime, it was 60 minutes of no holds barred football. This was a decidedly defensive battle, with neither side’s offense able to get a good foothold. Matt Stover scored all nine of the Ravens’ points – it was eerily reminiscent of many Ravens games of the past… Pittsburgh scored the game’s only “touchdown” late in the Fourth Quarter, on a controversial call: Santonio Holmes made a goal line catch that was ruled “not a touchdown” on the field. Since it was inside of two minutes, the review was sent to the official’s booth upstairs. They overturned the call and ruled it a touchdown. Even SaraRules’ mom – who was rooting for the Steelers – and her brother agreed that they flubbed the call by overturning the decision on the field… as did most of the post-game commentary that we heard. Oh, well… the Ravens are still in the hunt for a Wild Card spot. We’ll have to see how the last couple of games shake out.

Stray Toasters
Maybe I’ll get some posted this afternoon.

Back to the grind.
<sarcasm>YAY!!!</sarcasm>

Namaste.

Sunday – 14 December 2008
Quiet, lazy morning following a quiet, lazy evening. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with that.

After running a few Christmas shopping errands in the snow yesterday, SaraRules and I came back to my place, put our feet up and vegged in front of the TV. We watched an episode of NCIS from a couple of weeks back; it was good… and it ended a little differently than I was expecting. That was followed by the middle third of The Year Without a Santa Claus – I switched over just as they were starting the Snow Miser song. WIN! After that, we flipped back and forth between Superman: The Animated Series (The Last Son of Krypton, Pt 3, A Little Piece of Home and Feeding Time) and Justice League Unlimited (The Balance). I am very lucky that SaraRules doesn’t mind me being a big kid sometimes often.

We also decided to skip heading back out for breakfast last night. (Something about being in… and warm… and comfortable vs. heading back out in the cold – kind of a no-brainer there.)

This morning, we’ve watched the CBS and Fox pre-game shows. And the early games have just started. But, what I’m waiting for is the middle game: Pittsburgh at Baltimore.

Stray Toasters

• Yesterday afternoon, a couple pieces of plastic crack arrived on my doorstep in my mailbox:
  • Clown Prince of Crime (1, 2, 3, 4)

    
    (Just for size reference, that’s a 4″ base that he’s standing on)

  • Wonder Woman (Justice Legion A)

    

• The Year 2008 in Lists: The 12 Biggest Douchebags of the Year
• From Comic Book Resources’ “Comics Should Be Good” column: Bloody Saturday – a look at why Punisher movies haven’t been so good.
• No Limit Texas Dreidel
• By way of Evil, Inc.‘s Brad Guigar: Sweetcheeks
• 30 Ways to Die of Electrocution
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” and Politics files: McCain-Palin campaign dumps Blackberries loaded with personal numbers, internal email

On with the show…

Namaste.

Saturday – 13 December 2008
Yep, it’s snowy. I’m not sure when it started snowing, but it dropped a few inches here in the valley and on the mountains.

This morning, I had a ‘Clix tourney: 900 points, unrestricted rules and no single figure under 150 points – although, you could add feats to characters to get them up to 150. I went with:

• Batman (Sinestro Corps)
• Crispus Allen LE (The Spectre)
• Dr. Strange
• Ms. Marvel (Skrull) and
• Sinestro

My first match was against Shane, who fielded three (3) Superman variants:

• Earth-2 Superman
• Kingdom Come Superman and
• Superman Prime.

Just looking at the table, I knew that was a loss waiting to happen. It was.

Next, I played against Ryan, who fielded four versions of Dr. Doom:

• Doom (2099)
• Doom (Secret Invasion)
• Doom (Supernova) and
• Victor Von Doom

I was able to take out both 2099 Doom and the Victor Von Doom… but lost on points in this one.

Last round was against Duane, who fielded a non-themed team:

• Batman (Sinestro Corps)
• Grodd (Sinestro Corps)
• Ms. Marvel (Skrull)
• Superman Prime

I lost this one on points, again, but it was a good fight. So, I wound up going 0-3, but I had fun. It seems that since I’ve changed my game strategy to “playing to have fun,” rather than “going to try to pummel someone into submission,” I’ve been enjoying the tournaments more… even when I lose.

Next up: Christmas shopping with SaraRules.

Later: Aside from trying to stay warm, who knows?

Namaste.

Juxtapose

Main Entry: jux·ta·pose
Pronunciation: \ˈjək-stə-ˌpōz\
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): jux·ta·posed; jux·ta·pos·ing
Etymology: probably back-formation from juxtaposition
Date: 1851

: to place side by side <juxtapose unexpected combinations of colors, shapes and ideas — J. F. T. Bugental>

I like this word. I first learned it in.. 8th grade, if I recall correctly. I just used it in an IM with .

Friday – 12 December 2008
I was up at Far-Too-Early O’Clock again today because I had to be in at 7:00. Yay. But, I’m done at noon, so I shouldn’t kvetch too much. And the office moves/changes are coming along at a decent pace.

Last night, SaraRules came over and made a very tasty sauteed shrimp, mushroom and potato dish – served with rice pilaf and salad – that was very tasty. While we ate, we watched last week’s episode of CSI:, which had a solid bit of storytelling to it – not over the top, nothing “jump the shark” worthy, just a good story. And, as an added bonus (at least to me): Robert Guillaume was in the episode. We followed that with this week’s episode, which was also good… and was the first episode that included/featured Laurence Fishburne. After that, we caught the tail end of The Year Without a Santa Claus – Snow Miser and Heat Miser!!!

Next, we watched an episode of Justice League Unlimited, “Doomsday Sanction,” and The Herculoids.

Chew on This – Food for Thought
For those of you who didn’t catch it in yesterday’s post: I’m still taking suggestions for this year’s charitable donation. So far, I’ve had the following suggestions:

• : Primary Children’s Medical Center
• : Kiva
• : Utah Food Bank

If you have a good suggestion, please post it in a comment (or email or IM).  Thanks!

Stray Toasters

• By way of SaraRules: ‘Chicago’ model train has $2 million price tag… and is now on The Covet List.
• From : Santa to the Rescue (I like the reworking of the Alex Ross painting) and How to Know When It Is Time to Leave the Bar
• MarknTyme pointed this out to me last night: 40 Inspirational Speeches in 2 Minutes
  See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.
• Bettie Page dies at 85
• I’ve discovered another webcomic: Sunday at Ten.
  This comic, from early in its run, amused me.
• MPAA to Obama: Censor the Internet…
• Also from :



• Mixtapes move from Beat Street to Main Street
• From Boing Boing: Steampunk Second Life machinima

Namaste.