Random Access

Wednesday – 13 October 2010
Technically, I wrote this last night, before going to bed. But, thanks to the miracle of WordPress’ scheduler, I can have it post after the sun is up.  (Or, at least after it’s up on the east coast.)

It’s Comics and Sushi Wednesday. Amen. After a couple of days of getting into the office between 0600 and 0615, I shall gladly take some time in the middle of the day to retrieve my four-color crack and indulge to in a bit of raw fish goodness.

To recap the past couple of days…

I went to work for a couple of hours on Sunday afternoon.  Some progress was made, but there were still a couple of issues to be dealt with on Monday.  After that, I went with the lovely SaraRules! (I keep forgetting to add the exclamation point on that) to enjoy a lovely German-themed dinner with the in-laws. It was quite good.  After we got home, I was a bit brain-dead and all I wanted to do was flop down on the couch and watch some TV. The ever-understanding SaraRules! was kind enough to keep me company until it was time to hit the rack.

Monday was… “a day.” I was in the office early — I expected it to be a “less than pleasant” day of work and I wanted to just get it over with.  And, I was right: It wasn’t pleasant.  As I noted in a brief foray to Facebook, I felt like the mythical Sisyphus. (Unfortunately, no matter how many times Carve Away the Stone ran through my head, it did nothing to alleviate my mood.) The day got better after I left work… despite dropping a full cup of frozen mocha goodness on the garage steps – and myself – while getting ready for Monday Night Football. *sigh*

Tuesday was a remarkably better day. While it wasn’t a necessarily “perfect” day, things fell into their proper places and my urge to punch people in the throat was notably absent. After work, I strolled up to Pin-up Girl Espresso for a white tea with peach. I chatted with Jim and Natalie (and Deja, from the neighboring floral/garden center) for a bit before walking back home. After dinner, SaraRules! went gallivanting, while I waited for Chris to come over.  On tonight’s agenda: Halo: Reach.  There was a wonderful bit of (much needed) catharsis in wantonly shooting things. It was a good way to spend the evening.

Stray Toasters

• By way of MarknTyme: Homeless Man – Under Pressure
  (NOTE: Be sure to watch the CNN interview with the performer.)
• Dan Savage’s Message to Gay Youth: ‘It Gets Better’
• Worf: Worst Klingon Ever
• 
• IRS servers go down during crucial week
• X-Men Arcade Coming to Playstation Network and Xbox Live Arcade
• WWII Star Wars action figure mods
• This both amuses and frightens me…



• …however, the cosplay photography of Jay Tablante reaffirms my faith.
• 10 Things You Didn’t Know about The Empire Strikes Back
• Monkeys…
• Improv Everywhere’s 8 Geekiest Stunts

I should get to bed: It’s early and I have to get up later.

Namaste.

Friday – 08 October 2010
It’s almost the weekend.
It is my 9/80 “on” Friday… and there’s some work that needs to get done before it’s Miller time.

Speaking of work: I’ve been part of a project that has been in various stages of development and progress for a year or so. A couple of months ago, a large part of it wound up falling into my lap. To be honest, a good portion of what needed to be done fell “a little” outside of my personal experience/knowledge base. But it was mine, so there no use crying over “But, I can’t…” or “I don’t…”  (Not that there haven’t been times that I’ve wanted to say those things and walk away.)

On more than one occasion, I’ve been reminded of a song, Discipline, by Bobby McFerrin:

for those who have been trained by it,
no discipline seems pleasant at the time but painful.

The lyrics are actually taken from Hebrews 12: 11 (NIV):

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Very apt.
More to the point, I haven’t walked (or run) away from the project.
And, despite the learning curve – and some frustration/irritation from learning a good number of things on the fly – it’s been a great learning opportunity.

Stray Toasters

• LEGO Universe is live, as of this morning.
  Of course, I won’t get to play it until this evening or later tonight. *shakes fist*
• Flawed Foreclosure Documents Thwart Home Sales
• Tom Bancroft’s DCU Elementary
• 
• Rediscovering an Earthy Master
• Pirate Johnny Depp makes surprise school visit
• For : Batman: The Killing Joke Relived Via LEGO
• Spammers Using Soft Hyphen to Hide Malicious URLs
• There is a new anime-styled ‘Iron Man’ animated series coming to G4 this Spring. Not too surprisingly, someone’s found the opening title sequence and posted it on YouTube:
• Fringe Star Anna Torv Explores a New Reality
• If the future’s looking dark
  We’re the ones who have to shine
  If there’s no one in control
  We’re the ones who draw the line
  Though we live in trying times
  We’re the ones who have to try
  Though we know that time has wings
  We’re the ones who have to fly…
• Duke Winces as a Private Joke Slips Out of Control
• The Art of Steve Thomas
• From the “Everything’s Heavy Underground” files:
  • Underground: graphic novel thriller set in a cave
  • Luxury underground community: bomb-shelter meets gate-guarded community
• Ancient Roman helmet sells for ten times estimated amount
• Newspaper Publishers Still Hope Tablets Will Save Them

Back to the grind…

Namaste.

Wednesday – 06 October 2010
Not only is it midweek…
Not only is it Comics (and Sushi) Wednesday…
Not only is it game night with and Jack…

…but it’s also my father’s birthday:

Today would have also been the late ‘s birthday.

Last night, I hung out with , , , , Chris and Alex for a D&D 3.5 game night. We spent most of the time doing character generation and a little time having our characters meet. The campaign that Nox is setting up sounds rather engaging.

Stray Toasters

• Randy Moss… is a Viking again?!
• Stem Cells in Court, Scientists Fear for Careers
• Linguists discover new language in India
• Are you a Facebook user in the greated Salt Lake City metropolitan area?
  If so, are you a friend of Utah Symphony | Utah Opera on Facebook?
  If you are, good.
  If not, why aren’t you?
• DC Universe Online has been delayed… until early 2011.  *shakes fist*
• Prosecuting offices’ immunity tested
• Neurodiversity in D.C.: Interview with first openly autistic presidential appointee
• The Entire ‘Star Wars’ Trilogy in Two Minutes
• For – Hunter S. Thompson’s 1958 cover letter for a newspaper job
• A Graphic Guide to Facebook Portraits
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Realistic Pac-Man Sculpture

And that’s good for now.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 05 October 2010
Work week: Day 2
Rain clouds have moved out of the valley and the sun is trying to peek through…

I just caught an email that informs me of a training session that I had forgotten about. That’s on top of another meeting, later in the day, which I did know about/remember.  Two hours that I kind of need to work on other things… gone. C’est la vie.

Last night, and Josh came over to watch the football game beat down that the Patriots handed the Dolphins. More on that in a minute. In typical Monday Night Football fashion, there was pizza and beer. SaraRules even baked cookies. It was a good evening.

Instant Replay: Football

New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins
41 – 14
The Patriots traveled to Sun Life Stadium to take on the Dolphins in the month’s first Monday night game.Early on, the Pats didn’t look too impressive, only scoring a pair of field goals in the second quarter. That was NOT the case, however, in the second half. They put up three touchdowns in the third quarter and two more in the fourth. It was almost as if they scored at will. The Pats’ special teams corps really put in a performance, including a 103-yard kickoff return for a TD to start off the third quarter. The Dolphins, on the other hand… well… I don’t know what happened after a decent start to the game, but they just fell apart. The vaunted “Wildcat” formation did nothing for the offense. Receivers dropped balls that were thrown right to them. Chris Henne threw three (3) interceptions. They put up TDs in the first and third quarters, but that was it. In a bitof a historic note, the Patriots scored in all but two possible ways last night: Field Goal Rushing TD Passing TD Kickoff return for TD Blocked punt return for TD and Interception return for TD. The only other ways to have scored were: Safety and punt return for TD. If I remember the stat/graphic correctly, the Patriots are the only team in NFL history to pull off this feat. It was a helluva good game… unless you happen to be a Dolphins fan.

Stray Toasters

• Today’s Musical Interlude: Sting – After the Rain Has Fallen
• From Heaps of Junk, a Melodious Clang – New York Philharmonic as Junkyard Players
• The ‘Disintegration’ of America’s Black Neighborhoods
• Style… it’s like a second cousin 2 class
• Bank of Japan Cuts Rates to as Low as Zero Percent
• 
• Along highways, signs of serial killings
• Aiming to Learn as We Do, a Machine Teaches Itself
• I, along with the rest of my team, just got an award from a coworker for the way we handled a number of IT emergencies last month.  Nice way to kick off the morning.
• She Has No Head!  — Ladies Comics Project, Part 1
• Japan Recycles Minerals from Used Electronics

Namaste.

Sunday – 03 October 2010
Happy first anniversary to my lovely wife.
This has been a wonderful year.
I love you and I look forward to many, many more years together.

Today marks the one year anniversary of one of the best decisions that I have made. Ever. When I first told my friends, Bret and Dave P., that I had proposed to Sara and that she had said, “yes,” they literally both said the same thing:

Congratulations!  You lucked out!  Does… she… know that she’s getting the short end of the stick in this deal?

Both of them, despite never having met each other. With friends like these, I tell ya…

I was also blessed and fortunate enough to be able to share the day with family and friends.

Since October 3, 2009, we:

• …got married…
• …bought a house…
• …have talked about the prospect of having children…
• …have talked about our hopes, plans and dreams for the future…

I could not have found a better person with whom I can share those milestones… and with whom to find and set others.

Like the Indigo Swing song says: How Lucky Can One Guy Be?
My answer?  Pretty lucky, indeed.

Saturday – 02 October 2010
So far, it’s been a good weekend.

Yesterday morning, I got to hang out with Perry and a couple of the kids.  All were well. And, since I was in the area, I popped into MRS Hobbies, as well.  I only walked out with a catalog. I had a couple of errands to run and then I met back at the house…

…so that we could head to Orem and take a tour of the ExactRail offices. had a problem with a set of rolling stock that he’d picked up and – learning that ExactRail was a local company – asked if he could come in an have it repaired or replaced. And… if he could have a tour of the facilities. He was kind enough to ping me and ask if I wanted to tag along. (I did. Duh, TRAINS!)

We met with Blaine, VP of Operations. He was very candid about the business and operations. We walked through the offices and were introduced to a few members of the staff, including a couple of their graphic designers. They told us a little about the process of going from concept to finished design work. We also got a look at their shipping and warehousing operations, as well as a (somewhat distant) view of their molding/modeling operation. At the end of the tour, Blaine presented us with a couple of ExactRail boxcars…

…one each in HO-scale and N-scale.

All-in-all, it was a very cool trip and I thank for inviting me to tag along.

After that, we had something of an adventure: I-15 northbound was congested, thanks to an accident near 90th South. So, we opted to get off the freeway at 106th South and take surface streets back to my place. And, in doing so, we drove through just about every construction project in the south-central part of the valley. Yay.

This morning, SaraRules and I got up and had breakfast at Millcreek Cafe and Eggworks. It was a nice change-of-pace way to start the day. After that, we stopped at Heritage Gardens to pick up our anniversary cake. SaraRules had the brilliant idea of having them prepare a new cake for our one-year anniversary (TOMORROW!!!), rather than trying to eat year-old, freezer-burned cake. Brilliant, I say! And, next on the docket: A couple’s massage.  Mmm, relaxation. We’ll see what the rest of the day brings…

Stray Toasters

• WorldWorksGames has just released a papercraft 1:1 steampunk gun prop, called The Lightning Gun.
• What do you get when you mix Marvel Comics and Isaiah Mustafa?  I think it’s a little something like this:
• David E. Kelly to take on “Wonder Woman”
• Phil Collins: ‘Going Back’ to Motown

And that’s a wrap, because it’s almost massage time!

Namaste.

SaraRules here. Rob won’t mention this, but I wanted to let everyone know that he’s a super-duper husband, and he was recruited to be in a video. He came. He conducted. He did a fabulous job! Check out the video, and send it along to your friends. 🙂

Oh, and let him know that, although he’s not Thierry Fischer good, he’s not bad.

Wednesday – 29 September 2010
Comics and Sushi and D&D Wednesday is upon us.

Here’s a little something to get your day moving: Stevie Wonder – Superstition… as performed on Sesame Street:

Last night, after some errand-running, SaraRules and I sat down to watch Superman/Batman: Apocalypse.

The story was adapted from the second story arc, “Supergirl,” in the Superman/Batman book, in which a young Kryptonian girl named Kara falls to Earth… claiming to be Superman’s cousin. Darkseid – ruler of Apokalips and the film’s primary antagonist – seeks to harness the power of the young Kryptonian for his own ends. There were a few changes, but nothing that seemed to detract from the source material. The film is rated “PG-13” for language and violence… and there’s plenty of violence to be found, from Wonder Woman and Big Barda‘s fight with the Female Furies to Superman’s fight with Kara to the climactic battle with Darkseid.

Kevin Conroy and Tim Daly reprised their roles as Batman and Superman, respectively; Susan Eisenberg, who voiced Wonder Woman on the Justice League/Justice League Unlimited series, returned as the Amazon princess. Andre Braugher was brought in to voice Darkseid.  (Andre Braugher. Darkseid. Win-Win!) Summer Glau (Firefly, Serenity, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) voiced Kara.

The DVD also contained a “DC Showcase” backup featurette, starring Green Arrow. In it, Green Arrow has to protect a young princess from an assassination attempt. The piece was well-written, with a wryly witty Green Arrow. The piece also featured appearances from Merlyn, a long-time Green Arrow villain, Count Vertigo and Black Canary.

All-in-all, this was a worthy addition to the new DC Universe animation line.

Stray Toasters

• In a bit of a new twist, I started to mistype the title as “Stray Roasters.”
• The Gods Are Stranded as Set Misfires
• Background Listening and Passive Exposure Can Improve Your Skills
• Tron’s long journey back to into theaters, by way of
• “Birds of Prey” from Batman: The Brave and the Bold
• Toy Makers Fight for Exemption from Safety Rules
• Amtrak unveils plan for high-speed rail on East Coast
• The New Xbox Software Is Here and It’s Better

And that’s a wrap!

Namaste.

Tuesday – 28 September 2010
Work Week Day 2.

Here’s a little something to get your morning moving:

Tom Brown: Funkin’ for Jamaica

Moby (ft. Gwen Stefani): Southside

Instant Replay: Football
Last night, I had a few of the guys over to watch Monday Night Football…

Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears
17 – 24
The Green Bay Packers traveled to Chicago to take on the Bears at Soldier Field.It was a sloppy game for the Packers. Early on, it looked like they came to play, but their zeal seemed to wane a bit as the game went on.  On the other hand, Chicago looked kind of lax early on, but dialed up the effort in the second half… just enough to come away with a late game-winning field goal.

Stray Toasters

• SaraRules shared this video yesterday:

  I found this picture this morning:

  

• 4,100 Students Prove ‘Small Is Better’ Rule Wrong
• How to Survive When Your Elevator Plunges
• By way of the Council for Better Driving: Texting ban may add risk to roads
• Still Few Women in Management, Report Says
• 
• Philharmonic President to Depart, as Music World Changes
• By way of : Atheists, agnostics most knowledgeable about religion, survey says
• Skyy pushes the envelope with sexy ad campaign
• Former Marvel E-i-C Bob Harras Named DC Editor-in-Chief
• Websites suffer from 13 security flaws on average
• Ben & Jerry’s Take ‘All-Natural’ Claims Off Ice Cream Labels
• It would seem as though Raytheon isn’t the only one with a “death ray” these days: Vegas’ Vdara focuses sunshine into hair-singeing death ray

Namaste.

Monday – 27 September 2010
Another morning where the alarm goes off far too early…

Sunday was a good day. The day started with breakfast with SaraRules, Mary and Matt. Breakfast fare included items from Rich’s Bagels and Pin-Up Girl Espresso. After breakfast, we headed back to the house and chatted for a bit before Mary and Matt had to leave.

Then… came cleaning time. Yay. I intermittently distracted myself by checking the stats on the Bengals-Ravens game. The cleaning went well, as did the game. A little later, SaraRules and I went for a drive up Emigration Canyon — we wanted to see the fall colors. Unfortunately (for us), the leaves were still mostly green. There were hints and traces of other colors, but we’re at least a week out from full fall colors.

After dinner, we flipped back and forth between Sunday Night Football and The Amazing Race. Okay, okay, I flipped between them. It was the episode of TAR where a woman caught a watermelon… with her face:

Yes, part of the reason was schadenfreude, but I also wanted to see what happened afterward. And, as it turned out, Claire – the victim of the watermelon assault – not only continued, but she completed that portion of the challenge on the second try after being hit. She also earned the respect of a number of the competitors for the way she got hit… and went on to complete the challenge. Additionally, Brook and Claire finished the challenge in fourth place. (I have to say that Brook came off as a little high-strung — bordering on “bitchy” –to me. I realize that it’s a game/contest, but your best friend just took a melon — fired from a ballista — IN THE FACE! What about cutting her a little slack?! ) I just finished watching the “Brook and Claire” video (above); Claire referred to Brook as “…a control freak.” Bingo. Nailed it. Explains much.

I wound down the night with a Spenser book, Now and Then. I’m going to miss the comfort of these books when Mr. Parker’s last novel hits stores.

Instant Replay: Football

Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens
17 – 24
The Ravens’ home opener against Browns 2.0… …unfortunately, this game wasn’t televised here. Sorry, , wherever you may be.

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Oakland Raiders at Arizona Cardinals
23 – 24
The Raiders dropped this one to the Cards… by one point.Congrats, Marr. Sorry, SaraRules and 1silver_seraph.

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New York Jets at Miami Dolphins
31 – 23
Jets’ LB Jason Taylor returned to Miami to help lift his new team over his old one This was a better match-up than I expected… even though I would have preferred that the ‘Fins take away the “W.”

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Cincinnati Bengals at Carolina Panthers
20 – 7
The Owens-Ochocinco Brigade rolled into B of A Stadium… …and rolled out with a win. BAH! Congrats and .

Stray Toasters

• At Lincoln Center, Using Both Sound and Silence
• U.S. Wants to Make It Easier to Wiretap the Internet
• How Shazam Works to Identify (Nearly) Every Song You Throw at It
• 50 years after win, Kennedy legagy endures
• Rules for small-screen superheroes
• 
• Anger as a Private Company Takes Over Libraries
• Wage Law Squeezes South Africa’s Poor
• For the ladies: Dress Code: The Proper Care and Feeding of Garments, Part 1
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” files:
  • Segway Company Owner Dies After Driving Segway Off Cliff
  • The Bra That Doubles as a Gas Mask Is Now For Sale
• Patients to be frozen into state of suspended animation for surgery
• Warhammer 40K + LEGO = Space Marines!

Sunday – 26 September 2010
Last night, SaraRules and I went to Abravanel Hall to attend the debut of Thierry Fischer as the Music Director for Utah Symphony:

Last night’s program consisted of:

• Igor Stravinsky - Fireworks, op. 4
• Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D Major, op. 35
• Igor Stravinsky - The Firebird

The violin concerto was performed by guest violinist Hilary Hahn:

Photo: (c) Glenn Ross

Before the concert, Maestro Fischer talked with patrons during a lecture. Among the things he discussed were:

• A few of his  reasons for selecting Fireworks and The Firebird as his debut pieces,
• His reasons for changing the seating locations of some of the sections of the orchestra,
• His ideas for having the orchestra members employ different techniques in playing their instruments,
• Thoughts on musical education and the role and responsibility of musicians to share their craft,
• Working with young performers in the upcoming Salute to Youth concert, and
• Observations about having Ms. Hahn as a musical guest and the way that she and the orchestra interacted.

The lecture was followed by a brief question-and-answer session.

Fireworks, though a brief piece, nevertheless makes a bold opening statement. Mr. Fischer guided the orchestra through the four-minute piece with passion while eliciting an amazing quality of sound from the musicians.

Next, Ms. Hahn took the stage for the Violin Concerto; I was quite taken by her performance. Her attention to detail – not only to her own performance, but to that of the orchestra’s playing, as well – was remarkable.  (Mr. Fischer mentioned this quality during his lecture: He noted that she would often stop playing to listen to how the orchestra was playing and make comments or ask questions… before resuming and making adjustments to how she played.) Her acumen was phenomenal. Having the opportunity to see her perform was truly a treat.  At the end of the piece, the audience gave a standing ovation through three (3) curtain calls. Ms Hahn performed a Bach partita for solo violin as an encore. This, too, was met with thunderous applause.

After intermission, Maestro Fischer and the symphony returned to perform The Firebird. If opening with Fireworks made a statement, then closing with The Firebird was the closing punctuation – an exclamation point! Mr. Fischer conducted with passion and verve — it was very easy to tell that he enjoyed conducting the piece. The orchestra, likewise, responded with a sound unlike any other Utah Symphony performance I have attended, from pianissimo so soft that you weren’t sure that instruments were actually playing to booming  fortissimo. The overall experience – and it was truly an experience – was both moving and amazing.

After being named Music Director of the Utah Symphony, Mr. Fischer had this to say:

A new Music Director should bring new energy and a new way of looking at things. I can bring a lot to the Utah Symphony, and they will bring a lot to me. As a team we can raise our level of performing to new heights.

If last night’s performance was any indication, Utah Symphony has found an excellent match in selecting Thierry Fischer.  I look forward to watching them grow and flourish under his direction.

Monday – 20 September 2010
It’s definitely a “Monday” morning.
Following some changes to the office network on Friday, things are… a little wonky… this morning. Yay.

Today’s Musical Interlude: Living Colour – Cult of Personality:

Yesterday, SaraRules and I went to the Utah State Fair for a bit. It was a nice change of pace. A bit of oddness: As we walked past one of the bandstands, I noted that the band was playing – of all things possible – the theme from WKRP in Cincinnati. Odd. On the plus side, I picked up a package of cinnamon almonds.

Later in the evening, Logan and Swiz came over for dinner.  SaraRules fixed a chicken dish, with sides of rice pilaf and zucchini and carrots strips. Then we watched the Manning Bowl Sunday Night Football. SaraRules and I wrapped up the evening with an episode of Mad Men.

Instant Replay: Football

Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals
10 – 15
The Ravens traveled to Cincy to take on Batman, Robin and the rest of Marvin Lewis’ Bengals… ..and came away with a loss. Just like last season. Of course, having QB Joe Flacco throw four (4) interceptions didn’t help things, either. This game wasn’t televised here, and I think I’m kind of glad for that. Congrats, janietrain and carefreespirit.

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St. Louis Rams at Oakland Raiders
14 – 16
The Raiders took down the Rams Congrats, SaraRules and .

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Miami Dolphins at Minnesota Vikings
14 – 10
The ‘Fins took on the Vikings and came away with a win.

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Arizona Cardinals at Atlanta Falcons
7 – 41
In this battle of the birds, the Falcons came away with a BIG win. Sorry, Marr.

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers
20 – 7
The Bucs skinned the Cats.  ‘Nuff said.

Stray Toasters

• I don’t know what to say, the monkeys won’t do!
• Today’s look: Black suit, pink shirt, pink/grey/black tie and pink pocket square.
• Quadruple Amputee Swims Across English Channel
• Performers Discover the Downside of Twitter
• Just How It Sounds: Reading ‘Playboy’ to the Blind
• 
• Fired teacher fights to clear name after ‘hit’ allegation
• By way of SaraRules and the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Ky. man claims caffeine insanity in wife’s death
• Laura Jernegan: Girl on a Whaleship
• This Too Shall Pass: Avoid Kidney Stones Through Diet

…right on to the friction of the day.

Namaste.

Sunday – 19 September 2010

Yesterday was a good day off. I didn’t get to sleep in, as we had to drop off SaraRules’ car at the shop at 0800. After that, we swung past Pin-up Girl Espresso for some morning go-juice. Back home for a bit before SaraRules headed off for quilting and I met up with Kate, Perry and the kids.  (A visit that included a trip to Toys ‘R’ Us, no less!)

Back at home, we had lunch and tried to figure out the rest of the afternoon. SaraRules had a quilt that she needed to work on, while I headed to Dr. Volt’s for the 20th Anniversary Sale and Signing.  Jake Black, Derek Hunter, Gabriel Hardman and Jeff Parker were in the store for signings and doing sketches. And Kerry Jackson and company were taping an episode of The Geekshow Podcast.  I got a chance to speak with Jake and the other creators and even wound up with a couple of sketches:

Derek Hunter’s GL John Stewart:

Jeff Parker’s Luke Cage (from The New Avengers and Thunderbolts):

Shortly after I returned home, pinged me to see if I wanted to make a quick trip to The Hobby Stop. Hm… trip to another model railroad store…? Yes, thank you.  And we were off. We both found things that piqued our interests, but we both managed to walk out empty-handed. But, we didn’t leave Utah County empty-handed, thanks to a stop at the local Krispy Kreme.

Back home to change and get ready for a night on the town with SaraRules. Last night’s entertainment was seeing Utah Symphony performing with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. It was a great concert.

I was up early this morning (0715) and made my way to the living room. I found Renaissance on IFC. I watched it before heading over to HGTV for an episode of Yard Crashers.  (Imagine that…)

And now, after a hearty breakfast, SaraRules and I are on the way to the Utah State Fair.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 15 September 2010
It’s the middle of the week.
It’s the middle of the month.
And, it’s Sushi and Comics Wednesday.
Triple-score win.

Last night, SaraRules and I went to Kingsbury Hall for an event:

Mr. Lee talked about his background, his introduction to film and his reasons for wanting to get into film. He also discussed how he has used the director’s chair to make films that deal with race relations as well as other subject matter. Following his roughly hour-long talk, he did about forty minutes of Q&A. He prefaced the session by saying that he would entertain “intelligent questions, but wasn’t here to take auditions, screenplays, mix-tapes” or other “Hey, notice me!” fare. His answers to the questions seemed sincere and direct, but were also rather no-nonsense.  It was a great event and a fine way to spend the evening.

We tried a new place for sushi today: Sushi Groove. We liked it. A lot. It had a lot of things going for it: Good atmosphere, good food, and some of the former Oh Sushi staff. It was full of “Win” all around.

Stray Toasters

• Have I mentioned that I have the Coolest Wife in the World lately?  No? Well, I do.
• Today is another suit day: Black suit, light blue shirt, black tie with gold and blue swaths and a gold pocket square.  And, yes, it has raised the obligatory “What’s the occasion?” questions.
• Tyranist was in the north office yesterday. We chatted about a number of things, including our mutual affinity for Cee-Lo’s new song. A short while later, Tyranist told me that I had gotten the song stuck in his head; I told him that was payback for getting Scotty Doesn’t Know stuck in my head a year or two ago. We then noted that the two songs were actually complementary sides of the same figurative coin.
• For the Dishwasher’s Sake, Go Easy on the Detergent
• Awesome Limited Edition Cycling Prints
• 
• Ray Lewis’ son has a 504-yard monster game in Florida
• Rokenbok has updated their website.
• “Elder Spice”
• I’m not sure if I even care about getting the “Buy It By The Brick” figure for Web of Spider-Man…
• A New Name for High Fructose Corn Syrup
• The 20 Worst TV Shows

Namaste.

Namaste.