Random Access

Tuesday – 22 June 2010
It’s Day 2 of “Missa K. Week” here at Random Access:

Belated Happy Hatching Day (twice removed), Missa!

(See that blur where her left had should be?  Yeah.  She’s THAT fast.)

Last night, SaraRules and I went to the gym. That’s right… the gym.  We did a light “getting back into the swing of things” workout:

• Elliptical: 5 min/5 MPH (avg.)
• Leg Raises (Roman Chair, full leg extension): 3 sets/15 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 135 lbs.
• Lat Pulldowns: 3 sets/10 reps, 100 lbs
• Shoulder Press (seated, dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs
• Tricep Kickbacks (dumbbells): 3 sets/10 reps, 15 lbs

Yesterday’s step count: 7,168 (as of 23:00)

Post-workout weight: 182.9 lbs.

Stray Toasters

• I knew that I had meetings today, but they somehow managed to fade into distant corners of my mind… until the guy we’re meeting with showed up this morning. This is an obvious sign that I have far too much blood in my caffeinestream.
• Sub Makes Unexpected Find Under Floating Ice Shelf
• Not for Public Display: Backstage at the American Museum of Natural History
• 
• Diamond Find Could Aid Zimbabwe, and Mugabe
• New Air Conditioner Process Cuts Energy Use 50-90%
• Chris and I are getting together with Jeremiah and Sinister for a little mid-week ‘Clix gaming tonight. I’m sorely tempted to use an all-Legion team if Chris uses a Batman-themed team… just to have a bunch of flying, invisible-when-behind-cover superpowered teenagers on the field. (As “wild card” pieces, the Legion would be able to use the Batman team ability, which would give them Stealth when in or behind cover.)
• See ya all in Persia
  Or maybe France
  We could be India
  Or perchance
  Be with us in Bangkok
  Make no difference
  Everywhere the actions at
  We’re involved with this or that
  • …and for those who didn’t grok that, see if this helps:
    
• Donny Hathaway: Neglected Heart of Soul
• My affinity for Top Gear is fairly well-known. I wasn’t watching it last night, but SaraRules was. I happened into the room when the following aired… and laughed heartily at it:
• And, for Ms. Amy…



• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Motel 6 comments on 28 cats, mess discovered in hotel room

Time to get on with the gettin’ on.

Namaste.

Sunday – 20 June 2010
It’s Father’s Day. With that in mind, I’d like to wish a very Happy Father’s Day to the fathers in my family:

Today’s “Human of the Day” award goes out to these guys.

Yesterday was a good day.  It started with a trip to the Downtown Farmer’s Market with SaraRules and the in-laws. They’ve expanded the market a bit, so that it now takes over all of Pioneer Park. Of course, that moved the “fringe” artisans from the area at the south end of the park to the adjacent corners and streets.

Next, I headed up to Dr. Volt’s to run another HeroClix tournament. The format was the “HeroClix Wrestling Federation,” in which players had six figures, up to specific point values, and played them tag-team style against another player’s six-figures — when a figure took damage, the player rolled a six-sided die to see which other figure “tagged in.” It is always a fun format to play, and is pretty well-received by the players. I even got a chance to play — the bye rounds, but still… I got to play.  I went with a Sinestro Corps-themed team:

• Yellow Lantern

  (gallery aa-figure-044)

• Scarecrow

  (gallery bn-figure-003)

• Sinestro

  (gallery cr-figure-055)

• Sinestro Corps Batman

  (gallery aa-figure-100)

• Parallax

  (gallery cd-figure-219)

• Superman Prime

  (gallery aa-figure-060)

After the tourney, SaraRules and I went out for a bite to eat and then headed downtown to check out the 2010 Utah Foster Care Chalk Art Festival.  We arrived too late to see Team Chalkolicous in action, but we still strolled through and took a look at all of the pieces that people did over the course of the event: Pictures here.

Later in the evening, we finally got around to seeing Kick-Ass. It was quite fun and, as I recall, it adapted the source material fairly well… with a couple of changes.

This morning, I woke up and strolled up to Pin-Up Girl Espresso.  Christy fixed me an Iced Caramel Silk, which was quite good. Shortly after I got back home, the in-laws dropped by to chat for a bit while out running errands. Then, breakfast — Blueberry muffins FTW!!!!

Next on the agenda: A trip to The Garden of Sweden and maybe even a home improvement store or two.  Win-Win!

Workout
Yesterday’s step count: 6,517

Stray Toasters

• Top 10 Dads in Science Fiction and Fantasy
  (…and just look at who made Dad #2 on the list.  Boo-yah!)
• Pulling Museum Mile Uptown
• From the “Duh…!” file: BP CEO’s yacht outing infuriates Gulf residents
• Baghdad Nights Glitter, Behind Shatterproof Glass
• Students with Autism Learn How to Succeed at Work
• Reflections in the Facebook Mirror
• Were Botticelli’s Venus and Mars Stoned?

Namaste.

Friday – 18 June 2010
It’s almost the weekend. Hallelujah.
And, for the record: I’m in love on the other days of the week, too.

Yesterday was delightfully NBN-tastic. I couldn’t have asked for a less-bothersome day if I tried. As an added bonus, I went to lunch with coworkers to celebrate someone’s birthday. We went to The Dodo. I had their French Dip Sandwich, with a salad and their sinfully delicious Caramel Coffee Cake for dessert. Talk about “food coma-inducing.” After work, I hung out with Perry for a bit before meeting SaraRules for dinner. The night wrapped up with the new episode of Burn Notice.

Chew on This: Food for Thought
Let’s hear it for stepfathers, too

This is a timely and poignant article. I had feelings similar to Justice Sears’ children when my mother first remarried. I was never a really outwardly rebellious kid, but there were often thoughts of “But, he’s not my father…” in the back of my head. And, I know that it caused “a few” odd looks when I would introduce people to “…my Mom and dad… and my mom and dad,” when both sets of my parents would show up at events.

Over the years, I’ve come to not only accept my stepfather, but to appreciate and love him. This isn’t to say that we haven’t had our disagreements — that’s the occasional nature of parents and their children, but he has been a good husband to my mother, a good father to my sister (and myself) and an all-around good man to our family.

If you are part of a blended family, please don’t forget to take some time to call your stepfather, too, this Father’s Day.

And, now it’s time for the breakdown…
Today’s music mix – that’s right, today you get variety – includes songs that celebrate the end of the work week and the beginning of the weekend:

• Just Got Paid – Johnny Kemp
• A Couple Days Off – Huey Lewis and the News
• Weekend (C-4) - FLCL Soundtrack
• Working for the Weekend – Loverboy
• Weekend -Wet Willie
• The Weekend – Michael Gray

Workout
Yesterday’s step count: 3306

Stray Toasters

• I’m still digging the Evo.
  (The NES and Sega Genesis emulators I’ve found for it don’t hurt, either…)
• Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me Daily News Quiz
• 
• I’m so into you
  But I’m way too smart for you
  Even my henchmen think I’m crazy
  I’m not surprised that you agree
• Something more people need to think about: Rules for Using the ‘Reply All’ Button
• World’s Weirdest Hotels
• I discovered that the Kilowog figure I got the other day wasn’t the one I thought it was. And, to be honest, I think it’s better that I received the one I did — it’s more in scale with my other GLs.
• ‘So’ Pushes to the Head of the Line
• 
• MarknTyme sent me links to a couple of neat items:
  • Artist Builds Amazing Vintage Racer from Cardboard and Hot Glue
  • Man Builds Detailed Model Cars from Discarded Aluminum Cans
• I’ve been reading more of Teenagers from the Future… and, with one exception, I’ve really been enjoying it. The exception, an essay about architecture – which is ordinarily on interest to me, was incredibly dry and boring.
• FCC to tighten Internet rules

…right on to the friction of the day.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 16 June 2010
Today is not only (Sushi and) Comics Wednesday.
Nor is it just my mother and stepfather’s anniversary.
Today also marks my mother’s last-day-EVER of teaching.

I hereby declare today “Triple-Win Wednesday”.
I also declare my mother today’s Human of the Day.  (Yes, I’m biased. But, it’s my blog; I’m allowed to be.)
And for today’s musical fare: Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine:

Last night, SaraRules and I had dinner with the in-laws, including the brothers-in-law and Swiz. Grilled Salmon. Salad. Asparagus. Homemade rice pilaf. Mojitos. It was a good dinner, all around. And, for dessert, Logan and Swiz made mini-pecan tarts, which were very tasty.

Back at home, SaraRules and I enjoyed a quiet (read: “uneventful”) evening. After the headaches of Monday evening, it was a very welcome change of pace. We wound down the night with last Thursday’s episode of Burn Notice.

Workout
Yesterday’s step count: 3,987

Stray Toasters

• There were numerous articles in the news yesterday about lightning striking the statue of Jesus near I-75 in Cincinnati yesterday. That reminded me of two things:
  1. Captain Marvel Jesus
  2. Big Butter Jesus
• I saw an ad on Facebook for Pretzel M&M’s which somehow led me to the thought “Pretzelcoatl.”
• ‘Godfather of the Dead’ George A. Romero Talks Zombies
• The new “Hope” trailer for the upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic has been released/leaked.
• Miniature sit-com sets
• After talking with the service techs who came to the house to work on the swamp cooler, I feel quite justified in my opinion that our home’s previous owners were perfectly satisfied to half-ass their way through a home “improvement” projects.
• Sperm whale feces ‘helps oceans absorb CO₂‘
• 
  
• Shortest-possible Monopoly game
• New FDA website lets public find drug safety info

Namaste.

Monday – 14 June 2010
Today is Flag Day.

What?!  There’s a flag in the picture!  Yes, it is a CoH picture. That’s more of a “Win-Win,” if you ask me.

It’s also my friend, Keith’s, birthday.

And, as it’s Monday morning, let’s have a little somethin’ to kick off the day with a groove. Today’s offering is Maxwell’s Gotta Get: Closer

To paraphrase Ice Cube, yesterday was a good day:

• SaraRules got back from the City of Lost Angels.
• I finished the painting of the family room; we still need to figure out what we want to use for a trim color, but the main job is ovah!
• We saw The A-Team.
  
• We had dinner with Jana, OnlyAly and .

Workout
Saturday’s step count: 4443 steps
Sunday’s count: 1332 steps (official count… because I didn’t put on the pedometer until 4 PM)

The Best: Closer vs. Gotta Get: Closer
Nine Inch Nails vs. Maxwell

Given this morning’s bit of musical oleo, I was reminded that I like both versions of the song. That, in turn, made me think that I should do a juxtaposition and see which version edges out the other for the title “The Best.”

• Nine Inch Nails:

  Let’s just call a spade “a spade:” This song is just straight-up sex. There’s no question about what’s on Trent’s mind. In fact, he tells you. Bluntly. More than once. Let it never be said that the man doesn’t know how to convey what he’s thinking.

• Maxwell:
  (see video at top of post)

  What I like about this version is that Maxwell took the song and put his on spin on it. Yes, I can hear purists saying: “But, it’s not the same!”  No, it’s not. To me, that’s the essence of what makes an artist’s cover of a song a “good” cover: Being able to put their own unique stamp on it. Where NIN’s version is blatant and raw, Maxwell’s version is more… seductive, with a groove to it. To put it another way: Nine Inch Nails’ take is raw and rough sex, whereas Maxwell wants to take his time and enjoy the mood and the moment.

  • A similar example of “same brand, different flavor” along these lines can be found in another pair of songs that were released around the same time: Color Me Badd’s I Wanna Sex You Up and Extreme’s More than Words.

So, which version is “The Best?”

For me, it’s a tie. Why? Because each song holds its own for the mood that the artist is trying to convey. It’s a “Neither is ‘wrong’ and everybody wins” kind of situation.

Stray Toasters

• Who has the best corned beef sandwich in the greater SLC metro area?
• 23 Things Not to Write in an Email
• 100,000 LEGO Bricks Build One Hell of a Robotic Chess Set
• 
• Add It Up: Pricing Out a Visit to TV’s ‘Dr. House’
• Steampunk-Inspired, Hand-crafted Arduino Wristwatch Runs ‘Breakout’
• “Nude is the new Black”
  • That article reminded me of this card: 1, 2
• Pilot Kisses Death on the Lips and Flies Away
• Military Still Failing to Diagnose, Treat Brain Injuries

And with that… on to the rest of the day.

Namaste.

Saturday – 12 June 2010
First off: It’s my friend, Jen’s birthday.
Happy birthday to my favorite Rollergirl…

And now, back to your regularly-scheduled program.

It’s the middle of June.
So, why is it (only) 56F outside?!
We’ve taken a 20F nosedive in the past few days. *shakes fist*

I slept in this morning. Yes, it felt good, but I stayed in The Dreaming later than I had planned. On the other hand, I didn’t get to bed until 0400 this morning, so I guess it all washes out.

Yesterday was fairly low-key. My major accomplishment: Painting two walls in the family room. Technically, it was four walls, but for all intents and purposes, three of those walls comprise “one” wall. As far as the overall painting goes, I’m down to the last wall. Of course, it’s the wall with the entertainment center and display cases along it. The painting should go fairly quickly, as I’ve already moved the cases, and started backing the entertainment center away from the wall.

Wait… I just realized another (fairly big) accomplishment: I didn’t go to The Train Shoppe or Toys ‘R’ Us.

Workout
Yesterday’s step count:  3723

Stray Toasters

• I couldn’t get the mobile hotspot feature on my new phone to work last night. That will be another thing I need to discuss with a CSR when I pop into the Sprint Store today to ask a few questions.
• A helpful reminder for modern life
• Don’t Remake These 21 Movies, Film These Books Instead!
• Another little something for your Saturday morning:
• Surgery no longer a requirement for changing gender on passport
• F-18 Coming Out of Hyperspace
• Brightest Day Exclusive: Who is the new Aqualad?
• 
• Swords and Sandals: The New Sons of Hercules
• GE Engineer Crushes Your Childhood Dreams

Time to get on to the friction of the day.

Namaste.

Friday – 11 June 2010
It’s my 9/80 day off, thank Heaven.

Yesterday was… “a day.” Or, it might be more apropos to say that it was “half a day.” After we got a solution for the morning disaster in play, I stopped at Pin-up Girl Espresso to get my second – stronger – frozen mocha of the day. While waiting for it, I talked with Jim (Pin-up Girl’s owner) about how my morning had gone. He noted: “…there is no news that cannot be cured with a shot and a beer.” When I said that doing shots (and drinking beer) at the office was generally frowned upon, he suggested that I have them when I get home. I had decided more or less against taking the advice, as it was bound to be detrimental to my plans to paint later in the evening.

A short while later, called. She invited me out for dinner. And beer.  Right then. When the universe gives you not one but two signs that you should have a post-work beer, you might want to follow up on that. We met  at Hopper’s for dinner. And beer. And, it was good. , as always, proved an excellent dinner companion. We commiserated over how craptastic our days had been. It was a nice way to end the day.

After dinner, I came home. I remembered to water SaraRules’ garden, as she had asked. While I was outside, I also took a look at the… landscaping… in the front yard and tried to figure out how best to execute our plans for it without simply leveling the whole thing and starting over from scratch. I have a couple of ideas. (And none of them require – or even include – “commercially unavailable” explosives or corrosives.  Maybe next time…) I’m just not sure when we’ll move from the “theory” phase to the “practical application” phase.

Back inside, I moved the DVD cases back onto the family room’s north wall and started moving furniture so that I could paint the west wall. That’s about the time that I remembered that there were a couple of spots on that wall that needed some pre-painting TLC. I attended to them as best I could, but that also meant that I couldn’t paint that wall, as I needed the spackle to dry first. *sigh* Okay… two walls get painted today (or tomorrow).

Workout
Yesterday’s step count: 4308

Stray Toasters

• I talked with my sister-in-law (Sib-3’s wife) last night. It appears that they are expecting their second child later this year.
• Guess who’s wearing their black jerseys for three home games this year…
  Here’s a hint:



• Is it a bad sign that I’m actually enjoying some of the new books that Marvel Comics is putting out during “The Heroic Age?” Granted, the X-books have been good, but I’d almost sworn off of all Avengers-related titles. And now… they’re… good. (There’s got to be a catch or a “Gotcha!” coming soon…)
• Diversity in the USA: A county-by-county map
• O-E-O-E-O!
• I’m not sure where this falls, with respect to coolness or over-the-top geekiness, but it definitely pings on the Weird-Shit-o-Meter: By Any Other Name: An Evening of Shakespeare in Klingon with special guest George Takei (.pdf)
  Let’s go over that again, one piece at a time:
  • An evening of Shakespeare… Okay, good.
  • An evening with George Takei… Also good.
  • An evening of Shakespeare with special guest, George Takei… Still doing fine.
  • An evening of Shakespeare in Klingon with special guest, George Takei… YeahbuhWHAT?!?
• I missed Burn Notice, because I thought it came on at 2300 MST, rather than 2200 MST. Fortunately, I had the DVR set for “Season Recording,” so I can still catch it.
• 
  • …and in a related note: She-Ra Figure, from MattyCollector.com
• Army inquiry finds 211 graves mishandled at Arlington Cemetary
• Hey, Microsoft…? When are you going to have a rectal craniotomy and figure out how and when to get a Blu-Ray drive into XBox 360 owners’ hands?
• Is This the Craziest Bridge Ever Designed?
  And, what happens at high tide?
• Salagadoola mechicka boola bibbidi–bobbidi–boo
• Not all the oil in the Gulf is coming from BP’s spill
• I’ve picked up Teenagers from the Future again, after a rather lengthy hiatus.  I’m still enjoying it.

And, with that, I’m off to meet Perry for coffee.

Live long and prosper.

Wednesday – 09 June 2010
Mid-week is upon us.
That means that it’s Comics and Sushi Wednesday, as well.

SaraRules flew out to L.A. last night. For the next five four days, I’m a bachelor. (Hopefully, I won’t destroy the house or turn it into an unrecognizable mess.) After dropping her off, I stopped in to say “Hi” to Perry, Kate and the kids. And, despite being near Hobby Lobby, I refrained from going in. But, I did go to the Lowe’s next door. I figured that I needed paint and (in theory) they had the color I was looking for.

Theory: 1
Practical Application: 0

I couldn’t find the paint card for Swiss Coffee… which apparently meant that I was S.O.L. for getting paint — the paint mixing system could identify the color, but couldn’t “reverse engineer” it without the barcode from the back of the paint card. FAIL. So, I wound up driving to another Lowe’s. I had to hunt for the color card, but they had it. And, a few minutes later, I was on the way out the door with two gallons o’ paint.

Workout
Yesterday’s step count: 4051

Stray Toasters

• The Blackest Night HeroClix Starter Set (FINALLY) gets released today.
• Our new living room set arrived yesterday; it goes quite well with the color we chose for the room.
• Packing tape spiderweb
  • More information about the installation can be found here; click “Enter” and look under “Projects.”
• Sculptures made out of Rolodex cards
• 
• Play honors life of early African-American Latter-Day Saint, courtesy of
• Polish inmates help restore Jewish legacy
• Here’s a little something to get your Wednesday moving…

• Border Agent Shoots, Kills Mexican Boy at Bridge
• Top Gear Season 15 Returns June 27th
• Robert Schumann: A Romantic Hero
• Digitizing the past and present at the Library of Congress

Namaste.

Tuesday – 08 June 2010
I apparently know a lot of people with birthdays today. With that in mind, I’d like to say “Happy Birthday” to:

• Julie
• Kenneth
• Landon
• Nolan and
• Serena

*whew*

Last night, SaraRules and I went to the Junior League Annual Dinner. During this event, provisional members (like SaraRules) advanced to become active members. There was also the “changing of the guard” with respect to the leadership and board. The event was held at The Alta Club. Out of roughly one hundred people, I was one of three (3) men in attendance… and the other two guys looked as though they would have rather been just about any place else. They looked really uncomfortable and generally unhappy about escorting their significant others to the event. And I have no idea “why.”  The dinner was good, the company was pleasant and there was no Waiting to Exhale-like man-bashing. Sounds like a “Triple Win” to me. All-in-all, I found it to be a nice way to spend the evening.

Stray Toasters

• SaraRules is leaving on a jet plane this evening. She’s heading to L.A. for an opera conference. I, on the other hand, will be at home being a bachelor for the next five days. Hopefully, I won’t have “too much” of a disaster area to clean up before she gets back home.
• Our sitting room furniture is being delivered today… sometime between 0930 and 1330.
• Red Carpet Report: Fashion’s Oscar-caliber night
• Huge seas ‘once existed on Mars’
• I watched/read the Ars Technica coverage of yesterday’s WWDC. They’ve made some nice advances with the iPhone 4… but I didn’t see anything that made me feel like I made a bad choice by going with the Evo.
  • iPhone 4 – Droid Incredible – Evo 4G – Nexus One Comparative Chart
  • iOS 4 Jailbroken Within a Day of First Release
• Janis Joplin: The Queen of Rock
• 
• Announcing Star Trek-based Games from WizKids
• DIY Sci-Fi Trailer Draws Avatar Producer to Technotise
• Brooklyn Bridge getting a $500 million makeover
• Meetings!

Namaste.

Monday – 07 June 2010
It’s my mother’s birthday.

As my friend, Melody M., noted about it being a Monday: “Here we go…”
Which, in turn, reminded me of Here It Goes Again:

OK Go – Here It Goes Again from OK Go on Vimeo.

Yesterday afternoon, SaraRules and I headed up to Park City… okay, “Kimball Junction”… to do a little shopping at the outlets. It was a beautiful day, with lots of sun and blue sky. The shopping wasn’t so bad, either. On the way home, we detoured through Emigration Canyon. After some down time at home, we went back to the in-laws’ place for cake presents, as the second part of ‘s pre-birthday:

After we got home for the evening, SaraRules put Doomsday in the 360 and we watched that before calling it a night.

Stray Toasters

• Once again proving that too much free time on my hands is not necessarily a “good” thing, I took this picture because it made me laugh:



• 3 Campaign Ads That Aren’t True; 1 That’s Amazing
• Apollo 12 art caper: Does the moon harbor a tiny museum?
• Thanks to SaraRules for pointing this out: Cake Wrecks author coming to Utah
• Apple and Google square off over smartphone supremacy
• 
• Historic Route 66 bowling alley shuts down
• I just pre-ordered LEGO Universe.
• Adobe acknowledges critical security flaw in software
• 
  Of course, this comic doesn’t help with the indecision I’ve been feeling over starting a new Shadowrun campaign…
• How Times Have Changed, Ex-Playboy Bunnies Say
• Obamas attend Ford’s Theatre gala

Namaste.

Sunday – 06 June 2010
Today’s been a good day… and there’s still lots of day left!

Last night, SaraRules and I went to see Splice. We’re of different minds about the movie: She thoroughly enjoyed it, whereas I enjoyed it… up until the last 30 minutes, where it went completely off the rails for me.  Up to that part, it was fine — a nice sci-fi/horroresque movie. It had very good special effects. It had psychological twists. It had moral and ethical issues. All-in-all, a decent start and first two-thirds of the movie.  But the end fell flat for me.  And, as I understand it, that was what SaraRules found the most intriguing about it.  Oh, well… maybe the director’s cut will be better for me. *shrug*

This morning, we got up and headed to the in-laws’ for a pre-birthday brunch for . Grilled bacon. Sweet potato muffins. Fresh fruit. Scrambled egg casserole. All of which was very tasty. We’re going back this evening for cake and presents and whatnot.

We came back home to do some cleaning around the house. Necessary evil.  In a little while, we will head to the Tanger Outlets in Park City.

Workout
Yesterday’s step count: 5587

Stray Toasters

• Yesterday, SaraRules and I got new telephonic hotness: HTC Evo 4G. We’ve had them less than 24 hours, but we’re both digging on them. We also got gel cases for them: pink for hers, black for mine. SaraRules noted, after we’d picked them out, that “…we got them in our signature colors,” as they match our respective MacBooks.
• Autism finding could lead to simple urine test for the condition
• From the “Color Me Not Surprised” file: Gizmodo Not Welcome at 2010 WWDC
• Screenshots vs. Multi-tasking.   🙂
• I shall soon have two new additions for my display case’s Sinestro Corps shelf.

Quote of the Day
Today’s quote came from none other than pre-birthday guest of honor, :

‘Muffins,’ spelled backwards, is ‘Sniff ‘um.’

This was proclaimed across the breakfast table this morning… and was met with hails of laughter.

Namaste.

Friday – 04 June 2010
It’s my 9/80 “on” day.
And I technically¹ have The Leash this week.
Today is also National Doughnut Day; I brought in doughnuts for the team – or those of us who are here – today.

Last night, SaraRules and I headed up to Dr. Volt’s, so I could get this week’s four-color paper crack. It was a light week and, with Green Lantern-like willpower, I avoided “supplementing” my haul with miscellaneous/extraneous goodies. After that, we headed over to the local Cafe Zupas for dinner… where I was treated to a rather pleasant surprise: Vivi (who used to be our favorite waitress-turned-manager at Applebee’s) is that location’s manager. It had been at least…. two years, probably closer to three… since I’d seen her.

After dinner, we headed home and hung out. SaraRules quilted; I started putting things away in my office. She was more successful at being productive than I was, but I made some progress. I took a break from working on the office at 2300 to watch the summer season premiere of Burn Notice. It was a good episode and has set up a potentially interesting arc for this season.

Workout
Yesterday’s step count: 3857 steps

Stray Toasters

• A few songs from The Little Mermaid Soundtrack (it’s one of my favorite “modern” Disney movies… deal with it) have made their way into this morning’s random play. I’ve been remembering how we’d listen to these songs when I worked at the USPS… and – especially in the case of Les Poissons – sing along with them while working.
• Broken Bells – Ghost Inside

• McDonald’s pulls 12 million Shrek glasses
• By way of my friend, Joe: If Google Released SkyNet
• Sephora is opening their first full retail location in Utah this morning at Fashion Place Mall.
• Chumbawamba: Tubthumping

• Most U.S. Catholics say nuns should speak up on public social policy
• Zombie Workout: Get Fit Enough to Fight the Undead
• Commercially Available ATM Skimmers
• I need to find a copy of Brassed Off.
• 
• Good Enough: Celebrating 25 Years of The Goonies
• Annie, are you okay?
  Annie, are you okay?
  Are you okay, Annie…?
  Um… NO.  If you have to ask more than three or four times – let alone over fifty times – it’s a pretty safe bet that, no, Annie is NOT “okay.”
• The Luxury Spot

Namaste.

1 – “Technically,” because we’re trying something different: We’re forwarding the system notifications to our individual cell phones, rather than carrying the on-call phone and our personal phones.

Thursday – 03 June 2010
Good NBN Comics Thursday to all.

Despite every intention to do so, I didn’t get a nap yesterday afternoon. That worked out alright, as I managed to make it to bed at a decent (for me) hour… and slept pretty much until the alarm went off at 0630. Of course, this means that I didn’t make it to the gym this morning. S’okay, I needed the rest.

Workout
Yesterday’s step count: 6104 steps

Stray Toasters

• I just bought and downloaded the two new Rush songs, Caravan and BU2B.  I like.
• Craig Ferguson’s Twitter feed amuses me.
• By way of Nyx: BPGlobalPR Billboards
• By way of everydave: Model Train Stuff
• 
• United States’ First Megaplex Closing Before End of Year
• Five things you don’t know about your airline ticket
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Imperfect Umpire Blows Pitcher’s Perfect Game
• 
• Jobless claims decline
• Agent of S.T.Y.L.E.: The Fashionable World of Krypton
• She’s got electric boots a mohair suit
  You know I read it in a magazine oh oh
  B-B-B-Bennie and the Jets…
• Vermont allows monkeys to be service animals
  (Apparently, no one in Vermont saw Monkey Shines.)

Namaste.

Wednesday – 02 June 2010
Midweek and all’s well.
Today is NOT Comics and Sushi Wednesday, however. There may be sushi, but comics will not arrive in stores until tomorning. Of course, that just means that NBN Thursday will be that much better.

Last night, I spent some time at the local B&N, doing some drawing. I’m not sure how soon it will be done, but I am rather happy with the direction this piece is taking. While at the store, I indulged in a Mocha Frappuchino…

…which may have contributed to my staying up later than planned — I was up until 0100 this morning. Granted, I wound up watching my first Doctor Who episode in more than fifteen years, but still… I hadn’t planned on being up quite so late. Serendipitously, I managed to catch “The Eleventh Hour,” the first episode of the newest Doctor’s incarnation, Matt Smith. It was… fun. My friend Dana has been telling me that I should watch the show for months now. I might just have to add it to the DVR’s queue.

After getting to bed somewhere around 0120 or 0130, I woke up this morning at 0543. *sigh* When I woke up around that time yesterday morning, I told myself that if I was up again that early this morning, I would go to the gym. The decision to actually get out of bed and do something was much harder to make this morning, though. But, I persevered and went to the gym.

Workout

• Elliptical: 5 min, avg speed 5.5 MPH
• Sit-ups (incline): 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press (decline): 3 sets/10 reps, 135 lbs
• Compound Row: 3 sets/10 reps, 125 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell, with shoulder press): 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs

For the second trip to the gym in a row, I couldn’t get on the fly machine that I like… and I didn’t feel like trying dumbbell/bench flies. Maybe next time…

Yesterday’s step count: 3250 steps.
I already have nearly 2000 steps logged today.

Stray Toasters

• I assembled my new desk/drawing table (except it’s the birch finish) last night. Now, I need to decide where I want it to go…
• Honey-Nut Cheerios.  Win!
• I still covet this… but I really don’t feel like paying what people are asking for them on eBay.
• Bill Nye Reviews Ideas for Solving Gulf Coast Oil Spill
• By way of Nyx: Premakes – The Empire Strikes Back
• LEGO Printer: I Made This!
• The iPad and Dolphins (for real)
• At NYC science fest, physicists ask ‘What if we’re holograms?’
  My opinion: That would be Truly Outrageous.  (Yeah, I went there.  Deal with it.)
• For Ms. Melodywise:  Shingles!

  

• As part of the marketing for Issue 17: Dark Mirror, City of Heroes opened a “Declare Your Loyalty” contest. The winning entries can be viewed here.
• 0543… what was I thinking?!
• LEGO ship in a bottle!

Namaste.

01 June 2010
Welcome, June.
May is now in the rearview mirror.
Let’s hope that it takes the wintry weather with it…

Yesterday, while relaxing was also productive: The lawn was mowed. The garden was worked on. The trim in the sitting room was cleaned up (No more red paint!). And, my office was painted. Not only that, our excursion to The Garden of Sweden netted me a new desk/drawing table.

We also had dinner with the in-laws yesterday. Grilled steaks with sweet potatoes and yams, salad and fresh corn-on-the-cob. Dessert was brownies with ice cream.

All-in-all, it was a good day.

Workout
Yesterday’s step count: 2948 steps
Of course, I neglected to wear the pedometer while I was mowing the lawn yesterday.  *sigh*

Stray Toasters

• Official Synopsis Revealed for Green Lantern movie
• Now that my office is coming along, I’m looking forward to finishing the rest of the basement… and finding room for a model railroad layout! I want to do O-Scale, but I believe that it will probably include some HO-Scale as well. I’m not sure exactly where I’ll put the LEGO train and/or the Rokenbok monorail, though.
• 44 million stolen gaming credentials discovered
• 
• ‘How Sweet It Was’: The Cultural Impact of Gospel
• Massive sinkhole swallows building in Guatemala City in wake of Tropical Storm Agatha
• The Theme from S.W.A.T., which I contend is still one of TV’s coolest TV theme songs. Ever.
• A Love Craft: Art Inspired by Monsters, Madness and Mythos
• Adventure Comics #12 preview
• I restarted  American Psycho again last night. I got distracted from it by… well, a lot of things. This time, I should be able to plow through it.
• US sculptor Louise Bourgeois dies aged 98
  • No Doubt: Spiderwebs
    
• From Elvis to Lady Gaga: Playing with Shock Value in Music
• Why Science Needs to Step Up Its PR Game

Attack the day
Like birds of prey…

Namaste.