Random Access

Friday – 11 March 2011
It’s Friday! Hallelujah!

Last night, SaraRules! and I went out for a dinner and movie date night. We ate at Pawit’s Royale Thai. We started with the Por Pia Sod appetizer and I had the Pad Khing; I can’t remember what SaraRules! had… but she said that it was very good. From there, we went to catch a showing of Unknown. It wasn’t a bad flick. (C’mon… a movie with Liam Neeson kicking ass and taking names?  Win.) We both enjoyed it.

Stray Toasters

• Huge Quake and Tsunami Hit Japan
  • Prepare for Massive Wave of Earthquake Scams
• It’s Friday.  Here’s a little Morris Day and The Time to get it moving:

  …and…

  
  Morris Day & The Time – The Bird by coolfunk

• Allred Takes on Wonder Woman for M*A*C
• Involuntary Collaborations
• While gallivanting last night, SaraRules! and I stopped at a local grocery store to pick up a few things. On the door was a notice that the store’s pharmacy was scheduled to close, permanently, in the near future. We thought it odd, but shrugged and moved on. SaraRules! sent me this article a little while ago; apparently, it’s not just the pharmacy that’s closing.
• 
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Microsoft idea: Dating service for people with a ‘source of shame’… like comic books
• Interview with author of The 100 Thing Challenge
• Why They Endure: Booster Gold – a favorite character of mine from the 80s/90s, who still holds a fond spot in my comic readers’ heart. This article does a good job of explaining some of the “why.”
• The LockCracker

And with that… it’s lunch time!

Namaste

Thursday – 10 March 2011
It’s a sunny and bright NBN Thursday, which is a very nice change of pace from the past few grey days.

Last night, I didn’t do a whole lot… and it was pretty damned nice. I think that the highlights of the evening were: A) sitting down to read yesterday’s comics haul and B) bidding on a new (read: “yet another”) van for my layout.

Stray Toasters

• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Man gets 25 to life for beheading wife
  I want someone to explain to me HOW he only got a second-degree murder charge for this.
• Most Public Schools May Miss Targets, Education Secretary Says
• Microsoft closes four vulnerabilities, including DLL issues
• 
• Thursday is, apparently, “Meeting Day.” Yay.
• Could new wireless network render GPS devices useless?
• The Style Blog
• From the “Say It Isn’t So!!!” file: Heat Damages Columbian Coffee, Raises Prices
• Dalai Lama ready to give up political power
• Shuttle Discovery Comes Lands on Earth After Final Voyage
  • Space Shuttle Discovery Lands for the Last Time
• Honda has had spider infestations like Mazda

Namaste.

Wednesday – 09 March 2011
Midweek.
New comics day.
Not D&D 4.0 night… because ‘s little Thunder turns one-year-old today. (And, quite frankly, celebrating your kid’s birthday is a good reason to cancel your gaming session.)

Today is also Ash Wednesday (1, 2, 3, 4) the first day of the Lent.

Last night, SaraRules! had mentioned having pancakes for dinner, as it was Shrove Tuesday. By the time I got home, she had changed her mind. But, she still kept a bit of the Mardi Gras spirit alive with her selection: Jambalaya. We also finished off the last two episodes of last season’s Burn Notice. Shortly after that, I went to spend a little time in LEGO Universe. My minifig now has pets. That’s right, pets: A dog, a cat and two rabbits.

Stray Toasters

• Is it bad that my first inclination for an “Ash Wednesday” picture was to post a picture of Ash Williams?
• Vicious Assault Shakes Texas Town
• Daily drink specials may end for Utah bars
• Photo: Mad Dash to Catch Space Shuttle Crossing the Sun
• 
• U.S. Economy Better Prepared for Rising Gas Costs
• ‘Spider-Man’ Overhaul Forces a 3-Month Delay
  • Julie Taymor Could Depart Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark
• The Volkswagen Inspection Car that I’ve been coveting has long been absent from MTH Trains’ catalogs. On a bit of a lark, I posted a question about them on MTH’s Facebook page. This morning, I received a reply: The cars were made for MTH by a company out of the Czech Republic… and that this company was still in business. I found their website and it turns out that they still make the cars. This bears a little further investigation…
• 
• NPR CEO Vivian Schiller Resigns
  • NPR chief Vivian Schiller resigns amid video scandal
  • NPR executive calls Tea Party supporters ‘racist’
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Charlie Sheen Bio Comic – “The Winning Edition” – Coming Soon from Bluewater
• RB Tiki Barber to end four-year NFL retirement

Ollie ollie oxen free!

Namaste.

Tuesday – 08 March 2011
Today is International Womens Day.

It is also Fat Tuesday, apparently also making it Pancake Day.

For me, the morning started out with me shoveling somewhere between 8 and 10″ of snow off the driveway (… the closest thing that I’ve done to a “workout” in longer than I’d care to admit). That’s right, Mother Nature looked down on the Salt Lake Valley and decided that we needed a fresh blanket of snow. And it appears as though the east side of the valley got the brunt of it; west-siders got 2-3″ of new powder.

Yesterday, I received the newest addition to my layout: Angelo’s Pizza Delivery Van. That’s right, I now have “traffic.” I also noted a difference between the two vans: the pizza van is faster on the straight sections; the painting van is faster in the curves. I’m still a little torn as to whether or not I want to expand the SuperStreets to the other board. *shrug*

Stray Toasters

• ‘Oreo’: A Satire of Racial Identity, Inside and Out
• Debit Card Fees Prompt a Push Near Deadline
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Man allegedly karate chops air marshal
• The Astronaut’s Playlist: Groovy Songs for Space Travelers
  • William Shatner delivers wakeup call for Discovery’s STS-133 crew
• I played LEGO Universe for a little bit last night.
  
• Honda, Toyota, Chrysler issue recalls
• I would watch this: Zibby Challenges Ochocinco to a Fight
• DHS seeks increased cybersecurity funds for 2012
• Microsoft begs users to stop using IE6
  Two words I never thought I’d see together: “Microsoft begs.”
• Cost of Hard Drive Storage Space

Namaste.

Monday – 07 March 2011
Today was one of those “Do I really have to get up and go to work today…?” days. Not that there was anything overly ominous waiting at the office. It was more of a “Monday…blah,” kind of thing.

The weekend was good. On Friday, I had brunch with at Gourmandise. The food and the company were both excellent. Later in the day, and I made our way to the Hostler’s Train Festival, in Ogden. It was a good show; it may have even had a better turnout than last year’s show. While wandering, I saw something that I have been pondering for a while – an MTH gas station. This one was a Shell station and the seller had a really good price on it. So… I bought it:

The only difference is that mine has a VW minibus, rather than a Beetle. I also bought a/another USPS rail car:

Friday night, after work, I changed the layout again, as I mentioned in Saturday’s quick post. I like it. I may take a spur or two out of the long end… and run some SuperStreets track up there, giving me the possibility of having road traffic moving alongside rail traffic. We’ll see.

Saturday, I judged another HeroClix event at Dr. Volt’s Comic Connection. It was a themed event – “Science vs. Magic” – and had a good turnout. After the game, I headed back home for a quiet evening in.

Yesterday was also rather low-key. I woke up to a grey day, which didn’t do much for motivation. I spent the morning watching TV for a couple of hours, before moving on to Call of Duty. After brunch with SaraRules, I played DCUO until it was time to do some errand-running. We had dinner-and-a-movie night with the in-laws. Last night’s fare was Unstoppable, which the in-laws hadn’t seen. Back at home, we watched a little television and then I met a coworker online for more CoD action. I wrapped up the night/early morning with a Skype call to the Vancouver branch of the family. I didn’t get to talk with Bit or Pixel, as it was well past their bedtimes… but I might do that this evening.

Stray Toasters

• If you haven’t taken a look at Utah Symphony’s new website, why not take a few moments and check it out?
• Piano Jazz Presents: The Women of Song
• Tight Budgets Mean Squeeze in Classrooms
• Wingsuit Formation Flying
• 
• Hello Kitty’s Identity Crisis
• More Women Opt for Less Invasive Breast Biopsies
• Utah G.O.P. Adopts Immigration Alternative
• 
• Microchip Paintings
• LVMH to Take Control of Italy’s Bulgari
• NFL, players’ union settle in for another week of labor talks
• Improv Everywhere: King Philip IV

Namaste.

Saturday – 05 March 2011
Last night (read: “Far too early this morning…”), I reworked the rail yard side of my layout – I tore out the old yard and decided to put in a dogbone, so that I could have a spot where a train, assuming it was long enough, could pass itself as it entered/exited the curve.

I’m trying to decide if I want to do a dogbone on the city side, and put the Superstreets and building in front of the rails…

…and maybe even extend the streets in the general direction of the rail yard, too.

Namaste.

Somehow, this didn’t wind up posting yesterday. *shrug* Well… here it is.

Friday – 04 March 2011
It’s my 9/80 day off.  Earlier, my friend, Peggy, made a comment about it being (almost) the weekend and looking forward to it. With that in mind, these were the first two songs/videos that came to mind:

…and…

And equally – if not more – importantly: Today is also the first day of the Hostler’s Model Railroad 2011 Festival. Amen. and I are heading up there this afternoon. We might even squeeze in a visit to Wonderful World of Trains, too.

Last night was another low-key night around the house.  I made dinner: Spaghetti. SaraRules! and I watched a little TV before I joined a coworker online for some Call of Duty: Black Ops action. Next, I read this week’s four-color haul.

Stray Toasters

• Unemployment Rate Ticks Below 9% in February
• Women Who Inspire: Share Your Photos
• Va. group creating slave name database
• Are whites racially oppressed?
• 
• Muslim student sues FBI over GPS tracking device placed on his car without a warrant
• The new van that I ordered for my model railroad shipped this morning.
• …and in a related note: I’m think of tearing out my rail yard (at least in it’s current configuration) and replacing it with a dog-bone, for that “train-passing-train” look.
• How Did Mike Make Out?
• 
• NFL negotiators close to another extension of talks
• Home prices falling to level of 1890s

And with that, it’s time to finish getting ready so that I can meet Sib-4 for breakfast.

Namaste.

Thursday – 03 March 2011
TGINBNTF!

It started off as a grey and rainy day, but the clouds have moved on and it’s sunny (with some blue sky) outside. Bonus: It’s the end of my work week and the forecast for the next couple of days looks decent.

Last night, SaraRules! and I attended the Guinness Brew Dinner at MacCool’s Public House:

We were seated at a table with a younger couple, Audrey and Garret, with whom we chatted over dinner. As usual, the food and beer pairings were fantastic. I was skeptical about both the Oyster and Leek Soup (I’m not a big fan of oysters) and the Cheese Cristini (cooked apples… not a favorite), but they were both very good. We’d had the coffee-rubbed steak at the last Guinness dinner; this time, the steak was drizzled with a reduction that made a great dish even better. I just ate the filling out of the lettuce wrap, trying to save room for the brownie. My mistake. The brownie was HUGE. And rich. And oh-so-filling. I had to revise my plan from “save room for the brownie” to “try to finish your Guinness and just take the brownie home.”

After we got home, we changed into comfy clothes and started watching some TV. I was so stuffed with good food and beer that, shortly thereafter, the TV started watching me. That was a sign that it was time to call it an early night. And I did. And it was good.

Chew on This: Food for Thought – Super Powers
Today’s Question: What super power do you NOT need?
(More specifically: What power would it be in others’ best for you not to have?) For example: A lot of people might say “invisibility” or “x-ray vision,” for somewhat obvious reasons.

My answer: Telepathy.
Reason: The ability to read minds and/or impose my will on others might not be a… “good” thing… for others.

Stray Toasters

• T-minus one day to the train show…
• Teachers Wonder, Why the Scorn?
• SB314 — Heavy on Enforcement, Light on Licenses
• Robert Kirkman Talks ‘The Walking Dead’ Season 2
• 
• Hipster Heroes and Heroines
  • I Liked Hipster Ariel Before She Was Mainstream
  • Hipster Disney Villains Are Way More Underground Than Hipster Disney Princesses
  • Hipster Superheroines: An Infinite Crisis of Irony
• Meetings!
• Work stoppage looms as NFL talks approach midnight deadline
• 
• Stravinsky’s Tales, Dunked in the Spin Cycle
• Han Solo in Carbonite Throw Pillow
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file:
  • Middle school student suspended for opening door
  • Spiders lead to Mazda recall

Namaste.

Wednesday – 02 March 2011
Not only is it the middle of the week…
Not only is it new comics day…
MacCool’s is having another Guinness dinner tonight. And SaraRules! and I are going.

Last night, SaraRules! and I attended the Utah Symphony 2011-12 Season Announcement Reception at Abravanel Hall. Music Director Thierry Fischer (1, 2, 3) spoke about his vision for the Utah Symphony and the seven directives that drove his choices for the upcoming season and beyond. (There will be a Beethoven cycle throughout the season!) The symphony also unveiled their newly updated website. The event was neatly run and well-managed, and seemed to come off without any outwardly visible problems.

After the event, I jetted over to ‘ for our D&D 3.5 game. A couple of the players weren’t able to make it, but we still managed to accomplish a (not-so) minor goal and give ourselves a slightly longer-term objective, to boot. Now, if we can just manage to pull it off without getting ourselves killed…

Stray Toasters

• In Labor Clash, N.F.L.’s Union Calls Old Play
• Google pulls 21 apps in Android malware scare
• Galliano Case Tests Dior Brand’s Future
• 
• Supreme Court rules in favor of church that pickets funerals
  • Supreme Court Rules on Corporate Privacy
• Police Departments Turn to Volunteers
• I found the following LEGO: Star Wars ads on Ads of the World. The tagline for each ad (below the LEGO logo) is “Make Your Own Story.”
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 

• iPad 2: Electric Boogaloo
• Chaotic Good or Lawful Neutral?
• Hollywood’s conservatism: Why no one wants to make a “risky” movie

Namaste.

Tuesday – 01 March 2011
A new month begins.
Today also marks the beginning of Women’s History Month.

T minus three days to the train show.
T minus sixteen days until Green Lantern/St. Patrick’s Day.

Last night was very low-key around the house. SaraRules! fixed soft-shelled tacos and rice for dinner. While eating, we knocked out the last two episodes of NCIS: Los Angeles on the DVR and watched an episode of House Hunters about a couple in Texas. (They were almost as finicky as the couple I posted about a few days ago who were looking for the one-level home.) But, they found a spot they liked.

Tonight, SaraRules! and I are attending Utah Symphony‘s 2011-12 Season Announcement Reception at Abravanel Hall. (Yeah, I get some pretty swank fringe benefits of having a wife with a cool job.) After that, I’ll be dashing off to join ‘ D&D game. No rest for the wicked, I guess.

Stray Toasters

• Women Have a Right to Talk About… Everything
• Drinking Soda May Increase Your Blood Pressure
• I finally got robandsara.org back up and running… only to realize that we never posted much after (read: “anything”) after the wedding. There’s still some fine-tuning to be done, but the pages are there. I’m thinking that I’ll be adding content from here (and from some photo galleries) over the next little while to bring it a little more up-to-date.
• 
• “BlackHole” malware, in beta, aims for Mac users
• Screen legend Jane Russell dead at 89
• lj user=”gazehound”: You’ll want to check out some of the images on this page. (Particularly, the third one.)
• What’s behind home-sales-scuttling low appraisals?
• Egypt’s nostalgia and ancient civilizations
• The following ‘toon came from this page on Let’s Be Friends Again:

  

  • The notes on that page also referencedThe Racial Politics of Regressive Storytelling, a very good commentary from Comics Alliance’s Chris Sims (1, 2)
• I bought a new van for my railroad layout’s Superstreets last night. I should have it in-hand sometime next week, God willin’ and the creek don’t rise.
• This ad…

  

  …somehow reminded me of this:

  

• Remapping Computer Circuitry to Avoid Impending Bottlenecks
• Dance! Dance! Dance! (And, by the way, Ms. , you might want to check some of these out, as well…)
• Famous, With Foot in Mouth
• NYC’s Last Chinatown Arcade Shuts Its Doors
• 
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Union Pacific Railroad Billboard Campaign Reminds Truckers to Stop for Trains
  Really…? You have to remind drivers of this? Even for non-rocket scientists, the concept of “crash” should be fairly easy to grasp.
• The Art of Video Games

She would waste not, not in struggle
No other shall there ever be
And what she is to love, listen oh my brother
Is as the wind to Mercury

Namaste.