Random Access

Monday – 12 July 2010
Holy cow… where’d the weekend go?!

Saturday, SaraRules and I did the Lavender Harvest 5K in Mona with our friend, Melissa. The race was held at the Young Living Lavender Farm, where SaraRules’ bridal pictures were taken.

The race started a little late, but there was a good turn out — according to Doug, Young Living’s CEO, the race has grown from about 300 people to over 1,000 in four years. As this was my first-ever 5K (and as I am not a runner), there was a little jogging (briefly) and a lot of walking in this event. SaraRules figures that we finished in about 45 minutes or so.  It was a good first experience with a 5K.

On the way back to SLC, Melissa started feeling decidedly “not well.” We stopped a couple of times… and finally wound up heading to the InstaCare in Springville. Shortly after arriving – and before the doctor really did anything – she started feeling better.

Back home, I took a shower, grabbed gear and headed up to Dr. Volt’s for the weekend’s ‘Clix tourney. Almost as soon as I got in the care, I realized that needed caffeination. Badly.  (Which sounds really funny, if you hear the voice from Gauntlet saying “Green Elf needs food badly!”) I swung into the parking lot at Pin-up Girl… but there were five cars in line and I was already running late. Not an option. So, I headed on to Dr. Volt’s. Fortunately, Dave has “Mexican Coke” (the one that has real sugar, not artificial sweeteners) at the store, so I had a bottle of that to get me through. The tournament went well; I wound up playing bye rounds — my team was the Justice League of Arkham.

After the tourney, I went back home to take care of a few last-minute items before our open house. We had a good afternoon with family and friends who were able to make it.

By 11:00, “awake” was becoming less and less of an option. I don’t think that I made it to (or much past) 11:15.

Sunday, I was up at 8:30. That was fine; I was quite happy with a good seven hours’ sleep. I was a little restless, but couldn’t figure out what to do. I solved that by plopping down on the sitting room sofa and wasting time with my Evo. Then I headed downstairs and wasted time online. After she got up, SaraRules made omelettes! We watched the Spain – Netherlands game. (The regulation time seemed… dull and a little lifeless.)

After the match, we headed up to the in-laws’ for a few before going to see Predators. Both SaraRules and I agreed that it didn’t suffer from “sequel suck” and that it was definitely a good choice for an afternoon popcorn flick.

Workout

• Saturday’s step count: 13,228 (Thank you, 5k!)
• Sunday’s step count: 2,308 (It was a lazy day.)

Stray Toasters

• Deer Valley Music Festival: Power to the People
• Hyperbole and a Half
• Gospel Singer Walter Hawkins Dies at 61
• Iran woman escapes stoning death for adultery
• ‘Avatar’ Finally Reaches Feature-Film Length
  (Because, you know James Cameron just *needs* more money…)
• Columbia, Gaithersburg make Best Places to Live List
• 
• Do other countries have their own Uncle Sams?
• Enter the LEGO Design Challenge
• From the “Gully Dwarves” file:



• Roman Polanski freed after Swiss reject U.S. extradition request
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Zombies in Car Crash Confuse Onlookers
• ‘Voice Blind’ Man Befuddled by Mysterious Callers

Namaste.

Thursday – 08 July 2010
Good NBN Comics Thursday!

Last night, SaraRules and I met her parents and aunt and uncle for an evening at Abravanel Hall. Utah Symphony was putting on a ZAP (Zoo, Arts and Parks) concert, benefitting The Road Home. The Symphony performed an encore presentation of their Patriotic Celebration concert. It was quite good. After the concert, we – along with – headed over to Capo Gelateria for gelato. Nice way to cap off the evening.

Today has been relatively uneventful, not to say that it hasn’t been busy-ish. And meetings. Yay!

Workout
Yesterday’s step count: 6,458

Stray Toasters

• I’ve been looking at Wikipedia for storylines from DC and Marvel to (hopefully) give me more team ideas for this weekend’s tournament. I discovered that I can actually pull off a few variant teams that could be fun to play… assuming that I actually wind up playing bye rounds.
• made a comment about being “Espresso powered” this morning.
  I think that makes him “Coffeepunk.”
• Printing in 3D
• Someone in the neighborhood near the office has a blimp. Not Goodyear-sized; this one is more like something you’d see at a basketball or football game — maybe about 10 to 12-feet-long.  Still, it was odd seeing it in the air this morning.
• Is THE LAST AIRBENDER Shyamalan’s Last Chance?

  

• SETEC ASTRONOMY
• The Sartorialist
• Thanks to for posting a link to M.C. Escher in LEGO
• eBacon != virtual Kevin Bacon
• 101 Fast Recipes for Grilling

Namaste.

Tuesday – 06 July 2010
The new (and short!) work week begins. I hope that everyone had a safe and enjoyable long holiday weekend.

I was informed, this morning, that I completely missed two coworkers’ birthdays… despite wishing a third coworker a “Happy Birthday” on the same day. So, with that in mind:

Friday was very quiet around the office… although, there were more people in the office than I had expected. One of the day’s highlights was getting to watch the Uruguay vs. Ghana World Cup soccer match. I had hoped that Ghana would be able to pull off a win, but it wasn’t meant to be. After work, I hung out with Jim at Pin-up Girl Espresso, while waiting for SaraRules to get home from work. Then, it was off to Clitorati.

Saturday, Chris and I got together for breakfast (Millcreek Cafe and Eggworks) before heading to Dr. Volt’s for the weekend’s tournament, “Patriotic Fight for Freedom:”

We had nine players, so it was a good turn out for a holiday weekend. As there were an odd number of players, I got to play – I put together a team comprised of:

• Uncle Sam
• Wonder Woman
• Captain America
• Winter Soldier
• Harvey Dent LE and
• The Question

After the tourney, SaraRules and I visited her folks… and her aunt and uncle, who are in town for the week.

Sunday was a nice sleep-in day. Then we headed to The Garden of Sweden, for brunch and to pick up a few things… unfortunately, they had changed their hours (again), so we wound up visiting the Ashley Furniture,  across the street, while we waited. Into and out of the IKEA. On to more errand-running and then back to the in-laws’ for dinner and birthday cake for SaraRules’ mom.

Monday was a “work around the house” day. We walked up to Pin-up Girl for caffeinated goodness and then came home, where SaraRules fixed breakfast. After that, we got to the business of housekeeping. This also included hanging pictures and making the space look generally “lived in.” Later in the evening, SaraRules suggested that we go for a walk. We went up Big Cottonwood Canyon and walked around Silver Lake. While out, we saw two deer (just hanging out along the road), a moose (!) and SaraRules saw/I heard a beaver jump into the lake, just ahead of us.

Workout
Walking step counts for (most of) the past few days:

• Friday: 7,403
• Saturday: 5,794
• Sunday: —
• Monday: 6,480

Stray Toasters

• There’s a free Utah Symphony concert at Abravanel Hall tomorrow, just call the ticket office and reserve your tickets: 801-533-NOTE (6683). For more information, click here.
• Caramel Mocha Frappe from Pin-up Girl == Win.
• 
• Puttin the Punk Back in Steampunk
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Alligator takes late-night stroll through town
• loonybin88 just put in an appearance in the office. He was here to follow up on a project on which we’ve been working; apparently, I haven’t bolloxed things up. Win!
• I was feeling a bit nostalgic, so I checked out some old posts:
  • http://blog.echopulse.net/?p=401
  • http://blog.echopulse.net/?p=402
  • http://blog.echopulse.net/?p=403
  • http://blog.echopulse.net/?p=404

  They made me smile.

• lj user=”chromeangel” posted this, it made me laugh:
  



• Underwater Baskey Weaving: The Real Story
• I still haven’t picked up a copy of Batman: Under the Red Hood.
• Zombies in Wonderland tee shirt
• These changes in temperatures 15F+ are not helping me to shake this congestion.
• This is possibly one of the best business cards I’ve ever seen.

Namaste.

Friday – 02 June 2010
It’s my 9/80 “on” Friday, but it should be even more of a ghost town around here than usual, being a holiday weekend and all.

Timecards: Approved.
Issue Tracker: Checked.

There are a few other things I need to do today, too… but motivation to do them is hard to find.

Last night, SaraRules and I went to see The Last Airbender.

There’s been a lot of hullaballoo as to whether M. Night Shamalamadingdong Shyamalan could:

1. …pull his head/ego out of his ass and direct a solid film (The Sixth Sense was 10+ years ago, buddy.)
2. …pull his career out of a downward spiral or
3. …do both

I’m not entirely sure that this is the movie in which he does that… but he seemed to be trying. Somewhat. The acting was rough in too many places. SaraRules noted that Sokka didn’t get as many humorous/sarcastic quips in the movie as he did in the series. And, for a man who’s directed young actors — and for more mature actors who have been in a number of productions — there didn’t seem to be a consistent hand guiding the action at times. They had to rush through a lot of things, of course trying to compress twenty-two 30-minute episodes into an hour and forty minutes kind of dictates that.

That said, I actually enjoyed the movie. The effects were quite good. I think that they conveyed the weight of Aang’s burden a little more realistically in this movie than in “Book One” of the series. (Take that last sentence with a grain of salt: I’m the same guy who thinks that Ang Lee did a good job of explaining what Bruce Banner is eight kinds of jacked up – before he became big, green and destructive – in 2003’s Hulk.)

Was this a perfect movie? No.
Was it a good movie?  Yes.
Why? Because it was entertaining.

To be honest, I think that bringing the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender to life would have been a daunting task for any director to undertake. There are certain expectations that people have with favorite characters and stories. I also think that this movie suffered from the “double whammy” of:

1. Since this is based on a cartoon, people expected it to have the same light tone of the cartoon. It didn’t. And, I don’t think that was necessarily a “bad” thing.
2. M. Night Shyamalan as the writer/director. Audiences haven’t been happy with his films since… Signs, perhaps. (That’s unfortunate because The Lady in the Water really wasn’t a bad movie. I think that people just expected the then-usual “M. Night Shyamalan twist” near the end of the film and there wasn’t one.) I think that there’s been something of an expectation of failure – or at least some very serious trepidation – with this movie because his name is attached to it.

No director is going to get everything “just right” for everyone. No one. Joel Schumacher didn’t do it with his Batman movies. Bryan Singer didn’t do it with his X-Men or Superman movies. The various directors of the Harry Potter films left things out that annoyed some viewers. Sam Raimi didn’t with his Spider-Man movies, although he was doing alright until Spider-Man 3. Shyamalan didn’t do it with this one…

…but he got enough right for me.

Workout
Yesterday’s step count: 4420

Stray Toasters

• I broke out the Ray Rice Pro Bowl jersey today. It’s red and white with a blue collar and has stars, for that pre-holiday patriotic touch.
• shirt.woot.com is not, in fact, selling the shirt I thought that they had brought back to the marketplace. Bah.
• Lady Gaga vs Ace of Base
• I have a couple of additions to The Covet List:
  • This and
  • This
• 30th Anniversary of Airplane and Don’t Call Me Shirley (An Airplane Quiz)
• By way of NPR Music: A Mix for America
• Mel Gibson’s new racist rant and Mel Gibson Reportedly Hurled Racial Slurs
• Base jumper survives parachute error

Namaste.

Thursday – 01 July 2010
It’s kind of nice – and refreshing – to have the start of a brand-new month be an NBN Thursday. It puts a nice spin on things, I think.

It is also Canada Day.

What…?!
Alpha Flight is a team Canadian super-heroes.
(There’s even a maple leaf on Guardian’s costume!)
To me, that’s a “Win-Win.”

Last night, SaraRules fired up the grill and cooked up some mighty tasty burgers. (Have I mentioned: “Coolest Wife Ever,” lately?) After dinner, we headed up to her parents’ place for a bit — We spent some time with the grand’rents and I helped her dad troubleshoot a new wireless router he’d picked up.

Back at home, we wound down the evening with Top Gear and comic books (me) and ice cream (again, me). I tried to make it through the first two segments of The Late Late Show… and failed miserably. So, off to bed.

Workout
Yesterday’s step count: 3,937

Stray Toasters

• Someone brought doughnuts to the office this morning.  NOM!
• Again in the “Coolest Wife Ever” category (or at least the “Human of the Day” category): SaraRules just messaged me, asking if I wanted her to pick up tickets for The Last Airbender for tonight.
• LEGO + Futurama = Something Like This
• Toyota says 270,000 vehicles have faulty engines
• Scotty Doesn’t Know (featuring Matt Damon)
• For : A whole blog about the most science fictional garment of all time: The Unitard
• It seems as though the redesign of Wonder Woman’s outfit stirred up a lot of controversy yesterday. I found it all rather amusing.
• By way of SaraRules: Street-Legal Electric TRON Lightcycles for sale on eBay
• A Mild-Mannered Reporter: For the greater good
• From the Council for Better Driving: You Only Think Your Commute Sucks

Namaste.

Wednesday – 30 June 2010
Today is Comics and Sushi Wednesday.

It is also the last day of June. That means that when the day is over, the year will be half over. It seems like it just started…

Last night, just after work, SaraRules and I had a surprise visit from her mother… and her grandparents. We knew that the grands were coming to town, but didn’t expect to see them until today. (Good thing that the house was fairly clean and straightened!) They were on their way home from dinner and, as we were on the way, they stopped in to see us. We sat around and chatted for a bit before they continued on.

A little later in the evening, SaraRules and I went to the Salt Lake Art Center for the opening of:

As described on the Salt Lake Art Center site:

As part of its summer programming, the Salt Lake Art Center is exhibiting Contemporary Masters: Artist-Designed Miniature Golf, 18 fully-playable works of contemporary art like you’ve never seen before. Contemporary Masters features original creations by top artists from Utah and around the nation that explore diverse ideas (the current immigration debate, the fragility of personal identity, and the meditative value of Donkey Kong) in equally diverse media, including woven fabrics, video installations, and shredded paper. Deftly exploring the intersection between art and play, Contemporary Masters reminds us that art can and should be a part of our everyday lives.

The exhibit runs all summer and the admission is free – the SLAC does accept donations in their lobby, though. Some of the holes are challenging, to say the least. It is a fun outing and a different way to look at – and experience – art.

When we got back home, SaraRules found Blindness – which was referenced in the article on dystopian 21st Century visions from Monday’s post – on Netflix’ Instant Queue. It was an odd movie. It started off with a man going spontaneously blind. The movie follows him – and others – as his affliction is visited upon others. Julieanne Moore stars as the lone protagonist who retains her sight, hiding this fact from those around her. This movie provides an interesting character study, as well as an interesting social commentary on how quickly things break down when the conventions to which we are accustomed no longer hold true.

Workout
Yesterday’s step count: 4,302

Stray Toasters

• A few months ago, I had a catastrophic hard drive failure at work. On the “plus” side, I had another rig that I could move into the then-dead machine’s place. On the “minus” side, I lost a LOT of company email… or at least I thought I had. I was able to recover a good portion of the lost email. That is a “good” thing. Today, I found an “even better” thing: I was able to find and recover a year-and-a-half gap of mail that I thought was totally gone. Win!
• LEGO for Grownups (a TED talk)
• Sites that ban you from linking to them. Still. In 2010.
• DC Comics has proclaimed this “Wonder Woman Week,” as the Amazon princess’ title hits Issue #600 today. Along with this, new writer J. Michael Straczynski (as in “The guy who created Babylon 5“) is giving Diana a retconned background and a new costume, courtesy of Jim Lee:

  

  • The Source (DC Comic’s blog) also had an interesting essay from Wonder Woman’s most famous portrayer, Wonder Woman Can Save the World, by Lynda Carter, as part of the celebration
• Best Summer Dance Music
  Sidenote: I don’t get all the flak people are giving Lady Gaga/her music. She’s a bit outlandish, yes. Guess what: It’s a persona/image.  Deal with it. And as for the music?  It’s pop music… it’s supposed to be light, fun, and danceable.  If you’re looking for “deep meanings,” you’re barking up the wrong tree.
• Deliver Bad News in a Good Way
• Bad Day for Bengals, Steelers
• 
• 10 Great Racetracks as Seen from Space
• Here come the Men in Black…
• Mad Dash as Homebuyer Tax Credit Deadline Arrives
• Daly, Conroy Return in “Superman/Batman: Apocalypse”
• Since Eclipse just hit theatres, I figured I’d re-repost this:  Why Breaking Dawn Must Be Made into a Movie

Namaste.

Tuesday – 29 June 2010

Another working day begins… although mine began a little later than usual. Since I wasn’t feeling 100% yesterday and last night, I decided to sleep in a bit this morning. And it was good.

Today is also, apparently, Camera Day.  With that in mind, here are a couple of shots from around the office:

Last night, SaraRules and I went to Citris Grill with the Pin-up Girl Espresso crew for a farewell dinner for Monica – one of the (former) baristas – who is moving to Oregon this week. I had the Wood Fired Chicken Breast, with roasted potatoes and green beans and a Guinness to wash it down. The food and the company were both quite good. Christy, another barista, attempted to put me on the spot at one point and asked: “Who makes the best frozen mocha?” I politely declined to answer. Hey, I don’t want someone putting “extra stuff” in my mochas from now on, because I said that someone else made a better mocha than they did. I might be a little crazy, but I’m not stupid. All told, it was a nice way to spend the evening… and we got to check out a new (to us) restaurant, to boot. Win-Win.

And, speaking of Pin-up Girl, Jim brought this back from Seattle over the weekend:

She’s a 1946 Pontiac. At some point, I’ll try to get some interior shots, too

Chew on This – Food for Thought: Foursquare

I’ve started… using/playing (?)… Foursquare. I would blame SaraRules, but I don’t like sleeping with one eye open. She has joked “There goes the marriage….” because I keep jockeying for her “mayor” position at Pin-Up Girl.

I’ve found Foursquare to be an interesting application/game. The “competition” of becoming mayor is kind of fun (and a bit silly, too), but the social aspects of the app are also interesting. For example: If you check in at a local haunt, Foursquare will notify your other Foursquare-unsing friends that you have checked in at Locatino X. That notification also includes the following: “Swing by and say hi!”  While that might not be the most appropriate thing to do, based on where a person is checking in, it is an easy way to set up impromptu gatherings – almost like a flash mob – if you’re heading to your favorite pub or coffee shop.

So far, it’s been fun. We’ll see how it goes.

Workout

Yesterday’s step count: 3,502

Stray Toasters

• I need to figure out “what pictures” are going “where” in my office.
• The Modern Slavery Problem
• MarknTyme posted a link to something that could be either incredibly awesome… or chock full of FAIL. Take a look at just what it is here. And for more information about it, go here. And, if that’s still not ringing a bell, see if this jogs your memory.
• posted a link to a cute video, shot and edited on an iPhone 4: Apple of My Eye.

  (Yes, this was pretty much an automatic “Win” for me, given the subject matter.)

• How bad are your past sins really?
• A few musical notes:
  • Snoop Dogg: Oh, Sookie
  • The Many Voices of Lauryn Hill
  • Gogol Bordello: Tiny Desk Concert
• 
• Owning a pet AT-AT walker is a ridiculously heartwarming experience
• Secret Stash 2010
• Officers claim they don’t need law to stop photographer taking pictures

Namaste.

Monday – 28 June 2010
Another work week begins. I’m trying to decide if it’s going to be a full 40-hour week or if it’s trending towards 36 or less. At this point, I’m feeling like the “36-” idea sounds pretty damned good.

I also feel like I really want to be over this sinus congestion. I’m not sure if it’s due to something that SaraRules brought back with her from California or due to the weather rollercoaster (of love! Say what?!) that we had here a week or so ago. Either way, hopefully Sudafed can keep me from looking like a Garbage Pail Kids throwback.

For some reason, I woke up this morning with Shawn Colvin’s Steady On running through my head. Good thing I like the song.

Yesterday, , and Matt came by for brunch… and to help me figure out what was wrong with the sprinkler system. It basically came down to the lawn care equivalent of a PEBCAK — As I never adjusted the solenoids on the valves for the system at the Taylorsville house, I never knew that they could be opened to help drain the system. Fortunately, and Matt knew this. A few twists of the screwdriver an not only did the waters flow, but there was actual, honest-to-goodness water pressure that went along with it! (The head in front of the sitting room windows looked more like a riot water cannon than lawn sprinkler… but at least it worked.) Thus, I’m making and Matt co-Humans of the Day for yesterday.

Later in the day, SaraRules and I went to see Knight and Day. Yes, I know… a lot of people think that Tom Cruise is Tom Cruise Crazy, but I don’t have a beef with the guy. In fact, despite my theory that many Tom Cruise movies were actually the same movie:

Young hotshot (fill-in-the-job title) is known for not playing by the rules.
He gets a reputation for being arrogant and/or reckless.
He is given (fill-in-the-task) and muffs it ~or~ he crosses the wrong person.
He struggles to make a comeback (Don’t call it a comeback, he’s been here for years…).
He saves the day by the end of the movie.

…I found Knight and Day to be fun and entertaining; it was like a mix of “Mission: Impossible meets True Lies.”

And, just how many movies does the above formula work for?  Let’s see:

• Top Gun — young hotshot pilot
• The Color of Money — young hotshot pool hustler
• Cocktail — young hotshot bartender
• Days of Thunder — young hotshot race car driver
• A Few Good Men — young hotshot lawyer
• The Firm — young hotshot lawyer (again!)
• Mission: Impossible — young hotshot spy
• Jerry McGuire — young hotshot sports agent

Just saying.

Anyway… the movie was fun and made for good lazy afternoon fare.

We wrapped up the day with dinner at the in-laws’ place and a movie, Shutter Island, which holds up as a solid film even on subsequent viewings.

Workout
Yesterday’s step count: 4,653

Stray Toasters

• Senate stalwart Robert Byrd dies at 92
• For SaraRules, by way of MarknTyme: The Roots (on Yo Gabba Gabba)
• I watched the first half of the Germany vs. England World Cup match last night, before bed. It was good.
• 14 Warm-Weather Style Tips
• A Neuroscientist Uncovers a Dark Secret
• For Mark D.: SyFy brings us Tiffany vs. Debbie Gibson. How much 80s-nostalgia camp can you handle?
• 
• Steampunk Art Show and Sale
• 30 post-apocalyptic visions of the 21st Century
  I have seen twelve (12) of these films.
• World Leaders Agree on Timeline for Cutting Deficits
• Nervous About Alzheimer’s? Coffee May Help

And that’s good for now.

Namaste.

Sunday – 27 June 2010
This month has pretty much flown by.

Yesterday, SaraRules and I – along with her parents – went down to the Utah Arts Festival. Even for the third day of the event, the turnout seemed good. Aside from just wanting to attend the festival, we were also looking for some art with which we would decorate the house. No luck. Fortunately, the Park City Kimball Arts Festival will be around in about six weeks. We’ll see how our luck fares then.

On the way to the arts festival, we walked past a bar in which the World Cup match between the U.S. and Ghana was being shown. The game had just/recently ended as we approached the bar. A trio of patrons – two men and a woman – walked out, one of the men raging, “Fuck Ghana!” at the U.S.’ loss. I was tempted to go up to him and say “Some of my family is from Ghana…,” just to mess with him. Part of me now wishes that I had.

We watched Men Who Stare at Goats last night. I’m not really sure what I expected from the movie, but what I got was an enjoyable and rather entertaining film. It was witty and quirky, without going too far over the top. I was also pleasantly surprised to learn that the movie was based on a book by Jon Ronson, an author whose work I enjoy.

Stray Toasters

• Is the US finally going World Cup mad?
  (or are they just mad now that the U.S. team has been eliminated…?)
• Handmade jointed glass robotling
• More Couples Have Friends Perform Wedding
• From the world of music:
  • For SaraRules: The Roots: Getting Personal in ‘How I Got Over’
  • For : ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic: Tiny Desk Concert
• Pinup Art That Kicks You in the Teeth
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Gaming with Defendant Costs Judge His Seat
• Geek-a-Week trading cards

is on his way over for bagels and coffee… and then to help me suss out what’s going on with the sprinklers.

Namaste.

Saturday – 26 June 2010
It’s Technical Day Five of “Missa K. Week.”
(I didn’t post yesterday. Sue me.)

Belated Happy Birthday, Missa!

Thursday evening, SaraRules and I had an honest-to-goodness Date Night. We went to The Gateway and listened to jazz – courtesy of the Curtis Woodbury Quartet – at the water fountain plaza. That was followed by dinner at Thaifoon; I hadn’t eaten there in a few years… at least. The food was quite good. We followed that up with a stroll down the length of the shopping center and back. We also got to see all of the people in line to get a shiny, new iPhone 4. Back at home, I was eager to watch Burn Notice… but discovered that I didn’t have it set to record until the 1:00 AM showing. *BAH* Oh, well.

Friday was a good day off. I started by sleeping in. Next up: Mowing the lawn. That didn’t take too long, and it wasn’t too bad as I got out there before it got too hot. There are, however, some brown patches in the grass.

I finally turned the sprinklers on Wednesday or Thursday, only to discover a couple of things:

1. There are dysfunctional sprinkler heads in the system.
2. The previous owner appears to have hard-wired the system into power… somewhere.

Item 1 is somewhat expected, under the “These things happen…” catch-all.

Item 2, given some of the things we’ve discovered about the house, should have been somewhat expected, too. The reason I think power is hard-wired is that the controller doesn’t seem to turn off the sprinkler heads, so I have to turn the water on and off at the main valve.

After mowing, I came in, showered and changed and went to the farewell lunch for Marci. It was held at Porcupine Pub and Grill. After lunch, I thought I’d head down and say “Hi” to Perry.

Good intention.
Poor execution.

I missed a turn off of Wasatch Boulevard… and wound up in Draper. Not being one to pass up a random pilgrimage to The Garden of Sweden, I went to pay my obeisances. I found what I was looking for, took a few pictures of the items and their prices and then I was off. I drove downtown to say “Hi” to SaraRules. I showed her the items, we agreed on which one we liked and planned to go back later in the weekend to pick it up.

From there, I headed to The Train Shoppe. Randy, one of the employees, had been working on a park scene:

I managed to leave the store without buying anything. Again! I headed home and hung out until SaraRules got home from work. Later in the evening: Clitorati and dinner.

This morning, from the “We do more before 9 AM 10 AM than most people do all day” file, we helped a friend of OnlyAly and move. Then we stopped by ‘s for a minute and then came home for showers and preparations for our next adventure: We’re heading downtown to explore the Utah Arts Festival.

Workout
Thursday’s step count: 7,403 steps
Friday’s step count: 5,794 steps
Today’s count: 3,564 (as of 2:00 PM)

And that’s that.
For now, at least.

Namaste.

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.

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.

Thursday – 17 June 2010
So… it seems as though today is actually my mother’s last day of work.  She had told us “the 16th” when we visited last month, so that’s what I went with. *shrug* Whether it was yesterday, today (or even tomorrow), she’s put in nearly 40 years in the public education system, which is a long time to work in any one job.

I’m also hoping that today actually is an NBN Thursday. I think that last week’s deviation from the norm has affected this week… at least, that’s what I’m attributing the week’s problems to. Last night, SaraRules and I came home from work to find water in the basement. On the floor.

*braincramp*

It wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been.  It appeared that the feed tube for the swamp cooler disconnected from the pipe that goes to the roof and sprayed over the floor in the unfinished portion of the basement. Fortunately, most of it stayed in the area where there’s a floor drain. Thank God.  The rest of the water flowed onto another part of the floor that goes under the stairs that lead to the main floor (concrete slab) and a little got onto the landing at the bottom of the stairs — about ten or so square feet of carpet.

*grblsnrkx*

I headed back to work to get the ShopVac that I had borrowed from my father-in-law, while SaraRules headed to Target to get a couple of fans. We vacuumed water out of the carpet and padding. Twice. Then, we set up the fans to dry things out. We’ll see how much – if any – vacuuming we need to do tonight.

All things being equal, I consider it no small blessing that the water was confined to a couple of areas and that the “damage” was not nearly as bad as it could have been.

Workout
Yesterday’s step count: 5,937

Human of the Day
My mother.

Stray Toasters

• This morning’s musical selection was co-selected by SaraRules:
• Oh, snap!
• By way of SaraRules: Redoing those ’80s ‘Dos
• ‘The Golden Ticket’ Is Finally Unwrapped
• The newest addition to my Green Lantern Corps arrived yesterday: Kilowog
  

  

• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: B.C. school yearbooks to be reprinted after teacher cut out student’s photo
• Poster for a notional ‘Left 4 Dead’ movie
• 
• CD on one side, vinyl record on the other
• The Bell Tolls: Injuries, money factor in expanded NFL season

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.

Tuesday – 15 June 2010
The middle of the month is upon us.
Beware the Ides of June?
Hm. Doesn’t have the same ring as “…of March.”
Oh, well.

Today is also my friend, Frankie’s, birthday:

The post-work part of yesterday was… “interesting,” to say the least. It went a little something like this:

• On the way to do some shopping, SaraRules’ car decided to break down. On I-215. We managed to get it to her parents’ house without too much trouble.
• Around 21:00, I got a call from my manager: One of the cooling units in our server room had decided to try its hand at being an irrigation unit and was leaking water into the server room… and the ceiling of the floor below us. I headed into work with my father-in-law’s ShopVac in tow.
  ::: cue Jonathan Coulton’s Shop Vac :::

As you can see, it wasn’t the quiet, relaxing night that I had been expecting. But, it did inspire my selection for this morning’s musical selection:

Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake & Timbaland – 4 Minutes to Save the World

Workout
Yesterday’s step count: 4,993

Stray Toasters

• A couple of features that Microsoft announced for the 360 at yesterday’s E3 session sound intriguing; I’m especially curious about the streaming of ESPN content.
• World Cup 2010 Instant Replay in LEGO
• 
• Excluding The Pie and/or Wasatch Pizza, who makes the best pizza in the SLC metro area?
• Read This Before You Volunteer to Clean Up the BP Oil Disaster
• The Seventeen Magazine Project
• 
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: This Is the Pianist’s Equivalent of the Laptop Bed-Table, Right?
• Awaiting the Genome Payoff
• AT&T Breach May Be Worse Than Initially Thought

He gets right on to
The friction of the day

Namaste.