Random Access

Damn and a half….
Rhapsody in Blue is a FINE piece of music. Period.

Tuesday – 19 June 2007
Just a couple of quick things:

• I saw something about Bat for Lashes’ What’s a Girl to Do? on boingboing.net last week, but neglected to check it out until this morning. It’s an interesting and quirky song. And, pound for pound, it has at least as many furries as Goldfrapp’s Number One or Strict Machine.
• Correct me if I’m wrong, but haven’t we seen this… before? And didn’t it wind up leading to something bad? As much as I hate to admit it, maybe Bruce was right. Again.

Namaste.

Monday (coda)
Post-work, I did something that I neglected/avoided doing yesterday: Grocery shopping. I was rather proud of myself for sticking (mostly) to the things on the list.

Came home and cooked – soft tacos for dinner tonight AND pasta for dinner/lunch later this week. came over; we ate and watched Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut – something we’ve been planning on doing for months, but never got around to actually doing. While Donner never finished his version of Superman II – he was fired from the production by the Salkinds and replaced with Richard Lester – this is a closer version to his vision. There were scenes that had been completely changed – and a screen test that was added as footage. I liked the feel of the “new” stuff. I think that it worked well with the story and, to be honest, I couldn’t be happier that they got rid of the “kiss of forgetfulness” scene. On the whole, I think that this version edges out the “classic” version – at least in spots. And it was a fun way to spend the evening.

Four-Color Coverage
First off: The Sinestro Corps.

They are being set up as the anti-Green Lantern Corps. (Duh.) Instead of being able to overcome great fear, their power comes from being able to instill fear in others. Fair enough. In… Green Lantern #9, I think, we see one of the Sinestro Corps rings choosing a new host: This guy. Makes perfect sense, as instilling fear is his M.O.

Tyranist made a good counterpoint though: Of all of the characters in the DCU, why doesn’t Scarecrow get a Sinestro ring?

And now, on to the reviews:

• Action Comics #850 – A look at the Man of Steel… through the eyes of the Girl of Steel (who is still temporally displaced in the 31st Century). An interesting thing here is that we get – through Kara and the Legion’s eyes – a look at Superman through the years, but we also get some insight into Kara’s feelings about her cousin.
• Avengers: The Initiative #2 and #3 – Superhero-in-training boot camp continues. Some of the cadets are hiding secrets from some of the senior Avengers. An ex-New Mutant pays a visit to Camp Hammond. Nanobots? Who are the guys in the familiar-looking red-and-gold outfits?
• Elephantmen #9 – What do you do with a drunken sailor an Elephantman with a broken leg? How does he get his groceries home? Why is that truck barrelling out of control down the road? And… was that a pick-up line?
• Green Lantern #20 – We learn more about the nature of the Star Sapphire and the Zamorans. It also seems that the Zamorans are capable of rubbing a couple of brain cells together and coming up with “a clue.” How will that bear out for the Green Lanterns? Will the Sinestro Corps find a place in the equation? Somebody get me a color wheel!
• Justice #12 – The 12-part maxi-series comes to a close. Wonder Woman is falling apart. Literally. Superman is… uncertain? Aquaman is pissed off. Green Lantern calls some friends for a sleep-over a little assistance. And Batman is, as ever, cool as the other side of the pillow. Speaking of which: Why is Toyman sporting an almost-cyberpunk look? Black Manta without his helmet is just as megalomaniacal… but just not as threatening. Brainiac’s master plan has been thought out to the nth degree, but Lex Luthor is hedging his bets… just in case. All of this AND a two-page spread of my favorite 31st Century team? Yeah, this story closes out with a bang. And a smile.
• Justice Society of America #6 – I covered this one yesterday.
• Liberty Girl #2 and #3 – I’m still trying to get a handle on this title. I like it… but trying to figure out the timeline is a bit like trying to read current issues of The New Avengers. Despite that, it’s still intriguing enough to keep me turning the pages.
• The New Avengers #31 – Wong asks Jessica Jones a breast-feeding question. (How, exactly, does one “delicately” ask a former superhero a question about breast-feeding?) Ninjas. LOTS of ninjas. And [spoiler deleted].
• newuniversal #6 – The Starbrand and Nightmask travel the Superflow. Justice is served. The President calls a meeting. And, the Project: Spitfire HEXsuit comes online. Can World War III be far behind?
• Supergirl #17 and #18 – We learn more about what’s going on inside the Girl of Steel’s head. And it’s not a very happy place. And it may just be that someone else is pushing her buttons and pulling some strings to push her farther and farther out of synch. Who would do something like that? Ask Troia, I’m sure she’d have an idea or two.
• Superman #662 and #663 – Pop Quiz: What do you do when an ancient Atlantean sorceror comes to you and basically tells you “Get off of Earth or everyone and everything dies?” Yeah… aren’t you glad that your biggest decision today is “Should I super-size the fries and drink?” All this and a surprise appearance from the New Gods. Plus, Lana and Clark get some time to talk. Plus, Lois and Clark get some time to talk.
• Superman/Batman #34, #35 and #36 – Dr. Magnus, I presume? And the Metal Men. And Brainiac…? And… wait… the last time we saw [spoiler deleted], didn’t it just about bring the DCU to a flaming, screeching, crashing halt? Right. I thought so. So… why has Batman kept this around?! Warning: Bumpy ride.
• Ultimate Fantastic Four #42 – Reed lets his father get under his skin. Again. Ben Grimm’s mom shows her poker face. Literally. And… a surfboard?!
• Uncanny X-Men #487 – The Morlocks are back. Hepzibah does her best Yoda impression. And Storm pulls rank… not only as an X-Man, not only as a member of the Fantastic Four, but as the Queen of Wakanda. How much do you want to bet that the Office of National Emergency blinks first?

Stray Toasters

• Sissy the Wonder Kitty strikes again!

She was in the master bathroom.
She walked out, next to the cabinet under the sink…
Raises a paw to open the cabinet door…
Looked down the hall to see if I’m watching her…
Saw that I was…
And walked off like she never planned to touch the door in the first place.

• John Williams’ Superman Theme is a great piece of music.
• For :
  
• HOWTO knit a baby Viking helmet
• Instant Karma’s gonna get you
  Gonna knock you off your feet
  Better recognise your brothers
  Everyone you meet

  …which reminds me of…

  Take a walk outside myself
  In some exotic land
  Greet a passing stranger
  Feel the strength in his hand
  Feel the world expand

Namaste.

Monday – 18 June 2007
Another week begins.

So far, the day has been rather quiet and uneventful. This morning’s excursion to Ye Olde Shoppe of Coffee yielded an improper elixir. I didn’t really notice it until after I had gotten into the car and was preparing to leave – apparently, the machine that makes the “frozen” part of the “frozen mocha” was not working properly. It just gave out mocha-colored liquid, far from frozen. You would think that I would have noticed that the triple-shot of espresso just… sank to the bottom of the cup beforehand. Nope. Ok, well. I went back in, asked about it and Niki went about fixing a new – frozen – drink from another dispenser.

Yesterday, post-pilgrimage to the Garden of Sweden, I went home and hung out with the kids for a few hours… after which, I decided that I wanted to get out for a bit. I headed up Fort Union Boulevard and towards Wasatch Drive. Then, I noticed that I was getting hungry. Not ravenously so, but enough to allocate a couple of brain cells to the task of figuring out what I wanted and where to get it. I called Angela, with whom I haven’t spoken since God was a boy, to see what she was up to. Not much, it turned out… and she hadn’t eaten, either. We opted for Redrock Brewing Co. They have a very smooth Oatmeal Stout. And calamari. And “Maryland Crab Cakes.” The calamari was good, as always. The crab cakes were alright… but I’m pretty picky about anything claiming to be “Maryland Crab Cakes” or “Maryland-Style Crab Cakes.” After dinner, we headed over to The Gateway to check out the remnants of the Chalk Art Festival. Most of the drawings along the south end of The Gateway had been removed, but the north end was still cordoned off and the drawings were mostly intact. Mostly. There were footprints in a lot of the drawings and – this was irritating – people were taking the beadwork off of the picture (based on this piece) drawn by Gina Jrel. Some peoples’ children…

The Scales of Justice
After I got back home, I decided to see what was going on in Paragon City. I’d already missed (most of) Double XP Weekend, but I had finally worked up the desire to play. I started the CoH loader and was greeted with a notice about Issue 10: Invasion. Wait… Issue 10?!?! We just barely got Issue 9 and they are already talking about Issue 10!? Sweet! Looks as though the Rikti are back… and they’re not happy about having been repelled.

I was invited to a team shortly after logging in. I played for a couple of hours and managed to get two levels under my belt before logging off. That’s right: Security Level 30. Which also means a new costume slot. Which also means that I have to figure out what I want to do for the new costume.

Stray Toasters

• I finally finished the picture of :
  

  

• CNet Top 5 Worst Things About the iPhone
• Cover to Cover: Deja vu All Over Again – A Crisis of Infinite Homage Covers
• For <lj user=”trellos”> and Carmen: Nepali “Living Goddess” is rather into gadgets
• Starfish and coffee
  Maple syrup and jam
  A butterscotch cloud
  A tangerine
  And a side order of ham
  
• What Steampunk Means
• By way of Wired: Steampunk gallery
• 1408 opens this weekend…
• …as does the Utah Arts Festival

Namaste.

Stray Toasters

• Safari for Windows already hacked
• These are pretty neat: High-speed still and motion captures
  • Milk drops in a coffee cup
  • Igniting a cigarette lighter
• Lids down, I count sheep
  I count heartbeats
  The only thing that counts is
  that I won’t sleep
  I countdown, I look around
• Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookies
• I was playing with Photoshop and with an old picture that took many moons past and came up with this:
  

  

  AND it even comes in a bite-sized version, perfect for use as a topping on your favorite dessert icon:

  

• Music to walk by:
  • Queen – Princes of the Universe
  • Tupac – Changes
  • Liz Phair – Supernova
  • No Doubt – New

*voop*

Tuesday – 12 June 2007
I must have been “a little” tired last night – I fell asleep reading Vision of the Future. But, I did it in my comfy chair – thank you, Cardinal Fang – so it was alright.

This morning is proceeding apace. Up, equipped and on the road. Traffic was a little heavier than usual, but not horribly so. As I was passing out of Sandy and into Draper, Drowning Pools’ Bodies found its way into the drivetime musical oleo. I found myself reparsing the lyrics to “Let the monkeys hit the floor!” It amused me. Now that I think about it, though, it probably should have been something along the lines of “Throw the monkeys out the door!” I would also like to say that I Would Die 4 U/Baby I’m a Star make for some fine traveling music.

I’ve been toying with the WordPress portion of my site. I’m considering moving most/all/some (who knows?!) content into it and unifying the overall look of the site. Of the parts that I have played with, I like the way it looks.

Stray Toasters

• I just had a toaster pastry… from a not-so-stray toaster.
• Let me see if I got this right: First, we have a wooden marionette that wanted to be a real boy. Now we have a bicycle made of wood?
• just sent a link to this story. Words fail me.
• ATI or nVidia? What’s your weapon of choice and why?
• Superhero Celebrity Poker
• Conversations with often take amusing – if not very odd – turns:

[06:59] evangelinaarion: wow if you cross the two pics you sent me, you get the pic i sent you
[07:02] shadorunr: Yep.
[07:02] shadorunr: Like a… digital Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.
[07:03] shadorunr: “You got your Catwoman in my Strawberry Shortcake!”
[07:03] shadorunr: “You got your Strawberry Shortcake on my Catwoman!”
[07:03] shadorunr: Mmmmm.

• Is the Xbox 360 Core System about to undergo a price drop?
• Papurika (Paprika) is coming to the Broadway in a couple weeks. It looks like it could be as weird as Perfect Blue. I shall have to go and see it.

  

• Oh, YEAH!
• Quentin Tarantino’s Penny Dreadful: Steampulp Fiction

Namaste.

Sunday (coda)
The day ended well.

• I picked up from the airport and delivered her home.
• Presto has apparently forgiven me for giving her cat treats that apparently didn’t agree with her. Eleven times.
• I hung out with Perry and the kids.
• I talked with Kris for a bit.
• I didn’t die while playing CoH.
• I had ice cream.

So, all-in-all, it was a relaxing way to end the weekend.

And it’s only four days till Friday. Apparently, Loverboy was right: Everybody’s Working for the Weekend. But, that then makes me wonder where Huey Lewis And the News’ Workin’ for a Livin’ fits in… We know that Kool Moe Dee is all about working, since he told us I Go to Work; and Big Daddy Kane said I Get the Job Done, so I’m not to worried about his work ethic. Geddy Lee is Working at Perfekt, so you have to admire his desire to get things done right… if not his spelling skills. And, he’s apparently been at it a long time – since 1974, in fact, when he told us that he was the Working Man, back from the days when he worked with Misters Lifeson and Rutsey.

Hmmmmmmmmmmm, now what’s a title to fit me?
A champ like Tyson, a Captain like Kirk, no
Employee of the Month, cause yo, I do work
The K-A-N-E is on the J-O-B
An expert, cause I get it D-O-N-E
So lights, camera, action – all hail the one!
That gets the job done

*blink*

Um… sorry about that. It slipped.

Stray Toasters

• I’m craving cotton candy again.
• : I’m not sure what possessed me, but I tried posting something on ‘Opinionated… and it ate it. All of it. Didn’t even leave seeds or stems. Besides that, where did everything else go?!
• Superhero Recipe
• I bought a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Stephen Colbert’s Americone Dream ice cream last week. It’s not bad. Tasty, even.
• “…on a train.” (which is NOT to be confused with: “To. Your. DOOR!”)
• Day Watch. Wednesday.
• …speaking of which: Tyranist, if you acquired Night Watch, I would like to borrow it tomorrow, please.
• The Stardust movie website has been updated.
• Sometimes, songs get stuck in your head. When it’s something like Brian Wilson or Scotty Doesn’t Know or Chiron Beta Prime or Code Monkey, I’m okay with that. Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car? No problem. When it’s something like Pina Colada… it makes me want to perform a slow, painful frontal lobotomy on myself. You know the song…
  

  If you like Pina Coladas
  And getting caught in the rain
  If you’re not into yoga
  If you have half a brain

  That one. I had this song stuck in my head for three days once. Three. Days. Like I said, “slow, painful frontal lobotomy.”

• 
• Ed Brubaker on “The Rise and Fall of the Shi’ar Empire” – Conclusion
• Should the words “World’s cutest” and “goatse” ever be used together?
• 30 Days of Night (official site)
• M.O.D. are you out there?
  I can’t see your face
  But you left a trace on a data back-road
  That I almost erased
• : Legion Animated Cosmic Boy

Namaste.

Stray Toasters

• Clitorati Question: Since our usual hangout will be undergoing renovations over the next few weeks, do we want to relocate? Drop me a line with your suggestions and I’ll let you know the concensus on Thursday.
• I have a toaster pastry that would be a Pop Tart… if it was made by Kellogg’s.
• Madonna’s Secret played in the morning musical oleo during today’s commute. It made me laugh because when it got to the following part:
  

  Happiness lies in your own hand
  It took me much too long
  To understand how it could be
  Until you shared your secret with me

  I had the horrible thought of that being repurposed and used as the background music of a Secret deodorant/anti-perspirant ad.

• Check out the videos and information on the SawStop: 1, 2
• I was showing Tyranist the video for Hooverphonic’s 2Wicky a little while ago.  Today was the first time that I paid attention to the lottery balls shown near the end of the video: 6-0-0-9-1.  This ties back into the first lyric of the song: “Prophet 60091“  Nice touch.

Monday – 04 June 2007
One down, four to go.

Today was good. Quiet. No fires. And, I got to start the day in the Salt Lake office. And, I get to do it again tomorning. This evening has been a relaxing night at home with the kids. I ran a recovery mission in Talos Island with Nefer-Tem. And, I did some reading – I now have about sixty pages left in Specter of the Past. Thanks to Eric, I can move right on to the next book, Vision of the Future, when I finish. And, at some point, I need to get back into Pattern Recognition.
Stray Toasters

• Force fields, Underoos^® and datajacks.
• World of Warcraft Language Translations
  
• Dr. Steel
• Tyranist and I were discussing “the Uncanny Valley” today, because of these articles: 1, 2.
• Same Actor, Different Role 2 – A Worth 1000 contest (image heavy)
• Scotty Doesn’t Know (Damn you, Tyranist!)
  
  Okay, okay…. fine. Here’s the actual video for the song. (Can you spot Matt Damon in the video?)
• The 2012 Olympics + London + goatse = something that probably looks like this.
• Anti-DRM t-shirt design contest
• 
• Do the Right Thing recreated with Sesame Street toys

Namaste.

Sunday – 03 June 2007
It’s been a quiet day. The kids are… around. Somewhere. Sissy is curled up and asleep in the chair across the room; I’m going to assume that the twins are napping as well. There’s been some progress: Sissy isn’t hissing madly at the twins (especially Presto) when they cross her DEW Line. In fact, Sissy even let Presto sniff – and possibly lick – her a little while ago. I was shocked, but pleasantly so.

Stray Toasters

• I’ve discovered a new distraction:
• I’ve finished with the major work on ‘s pic; I got some decent time in on it yesterday. If I do the same today, I should be finished with it this afternoon/evening.
• Shoe Box
• 
• We come into the world and take our chances
  Fate is just the weight of circumstances
  That’s the way that lady luck dances
  Roll the bones…
• 
• HOWTO make an Aliens pulse rifle
• Sissy is snoring. Too bad my camera’s outside – the way she’s lying, with her head kind of lopped over, is cute.
• Does Marvel have an analogue for/of either Oracle or The Calculator?
• This looks interesting…
  
• and : Did you know about this contest?

“The night has a thousand saxophones. And nary a clarinet between us.”
(Bonus points for knowing where that comes from…)
Namaste.

Thursday – 31 May 2007
And so, another month draws to a close.

Yin: I overslept this morning.
Yang: The barista at the caffeine dispensary made a mistake and gave me a large frozen mocha… for the price of a medium.

Starting tonight, I have the kids for a week.

I talked with Mom. She doesn’t remember talking with me yesterday… which I pretty much expected. She ‘splained what was wrong and what the surgery did – including the addition of a bit of titanium. I’m gonna start calling her X-23 or Lady Deathstrike from now on. I don’t think they added claws, but to err on the side of caution I’ll make sure that I’m out of arms’ reach before I call her either of those names.

Stray Toasters

• I took my morning constitutional a little while ago. As I walked past a bird, it warbled and flew off. I had a Dr. Doolittle moment and wondered what it would be like to know what it was “saying.” That hyperlinked to a mental image of Tarzan. Then things took an even more odd turn, as the next mental image that popped into my head was NOT Shanna, the She-Devil or even Sheena, Queen of the Jungle. Those, I could have fairly easily explained. No, the first post-Tarzan thought was Jana of the Jungle. Whiskey Tango…?!
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’ opening date has been pushed up two days.
• Knowing his affinity for most things zombie, I pointed Tyranist in the direction of this item from Marvel’s website.

[11:16] Tyranist: Wow. I guess Zombies are marketing gold.
[11:31] shadorunr: Apparently so.
[11:31] shadorunr: Cold and (un)dead are the new “in” thing.
[11:31] Tyranist: And normally I like zombies. Just not Marvel’s version. They . . . uh . . . bite.
[11:31] shadorunr: *rimshot*

• 
• My weekly work commute just got 32.31% shorter. (Where’d I put that Ares Alpha with grenade launcher…?)
• scares me sometimes… such as when he shows me things like this.
• By way of boingboing.net: The Battle of Ham’s Deep – Helm’s Deep made with Muppets
• I was a big fan of Jonny Quest back in the day. While I get that it’s a parody/satire, I am not such a fan of Venture Bros. However, there are two things from the show that make me smile:
• Major Tom Dies
• Best Entrance Ever
• …and, speaking of Mr. Bowie: What in the Nine Hells is this?!

Time to pick up and put down heavy things.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 30 May 2007
I talked with Mom last night – everything went well.  Of course, I neglected to factor in time zones when I called, so she was already asleep.  I’m going to try again in a little while.
Last night was also D&D night.  wasn’t there, but we sallied forth without her.  Somewhat.  I ran her character.  *shrug*  Two characters, no big deal.  (I ran five in a campaign once, many moons past.  That was… interesting.)  I didn’t get her – or myself – killed, so I consider that an accomplishment.

This morning’s commute moved to the beat of my “Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll” playlist.  A few songs came on that reminded me of people:

• Lola (The Kinks) – I’ve enjoyed this song for years, but the thing that always makes me chuckle about it comes from high school.  A student named Brian, one year ahead of me, held an assembly which was basically a mini-“concert”.  He played the piano… and guitar, if I remember correctly.  He closed out the assembly with a great piano rendition of Lola.  It went over pretty well with the student body; the administration…. had issues with it.
• Kiss Me Deadly (Lita Ford) – Johnny M.  He was one of the guys from my dorm, sorry “residence hall,” at Purdue.  And he had a HUGE mad on for Ms. Ford.  Massive.  Huge.  Ginormous, even.  I don’t know if it’s possible to wear out a CD, but I think that he tried to with Lita.  And he’d rock out to this song – and most of the others on the CD, too.
• Love Rollercoaster (both versions – The Ohio Players and RHCP) – I first heard the RHCP version of the song, when it was part of the Beavis & Butt-head Do America soundtrack.  I remember thinking, “How long could it have taken them to write this?!  Five minutes, if that?!”  Then, I discovered that it was a cover of The Ohio Players’ song… which meant that the only new part of the song was the “rap” that Anthony Kiedis does during the bridge.  Right.  This reminds me of a former postal coworker, Chad.  We would often share a tape player or CD player at work – it was good for saving on batteries and getting some variety in what we listened to.  Even when I wasn’t listening to the same thing as him, I could tell when this song came on because he’d lean way back in his chair and his typing – already rather fast – got even more fast.

This morning also started in the SLC office, which is almost never a bad thing.
Stray Toasters

• I, once again, managed to not spill my mocha on the way in.
• Sisyphus
• Last night, I went to a local grocery store to pick up a package of razor blades.  Actually, I wound up going to two stores – one was out of them.  *grblsnrkx*  At the second store, I found the razor blades… locked behind a plexiglass barrier.  Ô.õ  ?!  I don’t think that I’ve seen that before.  And it was just the blades.  The razors – including the multi-packs and some of the more expensive hand razors – were sitting out in the open.  Big as day, twice as bright.  It shocked me to also note that that locked up the razor blades… but left the condoms out.  Maybe they are more worried about kids going emo than the local birth rate.
• He’s a little bit afraid of dying
  But he’s a lot more afraid of your lying…
• 
• Gear Clock
• I saw this article and the first thing that came to mind was: “What would George Clinton have to say about that?”
• I’m craving cheese fries and prime rib from Outback.
• Finally, the perfect lamp for the chiropractor – Mortal Kombat fan – on your Christmas list.

Back to the mill.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 29 May 2007
The first thing that went through my mind when I was typing the date was: “Tuesday is Blues day.” Bonus points if you remember what that meant.

A/another short week begins. Amen.

My mother’s going in for surgery this afternoon. From what I understand, it’s not a big deal, but it could/will prevent a much bigger deal. When I called her to say “Hi” this morning, she was in the salon, preparing to get her hair done. Before… going… to…. *sigh* Yeah. That’s Mom. Kris is going to call me, post-op, to give me the low-down on how it went and how Mom’s doing.

The commute was, for the most part, good. There were a couple of monkeys who made me wish that I had shock collars or a cattle prod, but the rest of the… huh, “a barrel” really is one of the names for a group of monkeys… anyway, the rest of them were fairly docile. This morning’s musical oleo came from my Rush playlist. (I’ll avoid making any other bad “Rush hour” jokes, other than that one.):

• Cold Fire
• The Spirit of Radio
• Tai Shan
  
• Grand Designs
  
• Animate
  
• Freewill

That made dealing with the road monkeys a little easier, too.

Stray Toasters

• I had a cinnamon roll and a frozen mocha… which I managed to get into the building without issue this morning.
• The Politics of Dancing
• 
• Go, Pacers!
  (Huh…? They aren’t in the playoffs? Oh. Nevermind, then.)
• “Less Human Than Human”
• Does anyone remember Gorf? I used to love that game.
• As His Chocolate Holiness, I think that Derek deserves elevation to a position above “Acolyte.” Possibly even something above “Priest.” My inner anarchist – which in this case may be “my inner Antichrist” – wants to make him “Bishop,” just because of the fact that we are in Utah.
• 
• Alter Ego: author’s audio slideshow of gamers and avatars
• Death by Pillsbury
• I have made references to satisfying my inner Kryptonian/Daxamite while taking my morning and afternoon constitutionals. This morning, I came up with a variation on that theme: Who are solar-powered heroes/villains in the MU/DCU? I came up with the following:
• Superman
• Supergirl
• Mon-El (M’onel / Valor)
• Andromeda
• Any other Kryptonian or Daxamite you’d care to name
• The brothers Summers: Cyclops and Havok (I’m not sure abot Vulcan, as his powers haven’t been fully explained.)
• Bizarro, I would assume
• SunspotI’m sure that I’ve missed a few, but those were the only ones who came to mind.
• ::: CLASSIFIED :::
• 777-9311

Namaste.

Friday – 25 May 2007
Aside from dropping my mocha – 23½ ounces of pure frozen mocha goodness – on the way into the building this morning, it’s been a good day. Quiet. Only a couple of very small fires to put out. And, I got a headstart by starting the day in the SLC office.

But there is still that whole “I dropped 23½ oz. of frozen mocha goodness” thing. *sigh*

Last night, some of the Clitorati got together for dinner at Olive Garden. I had one of the new featured dishes: Stuffed Chicken Marsala. It was rather good. I recommend it. After dinner, I went home, with the intent of checking my email and then spending some time on the mean streets of Paragon City. I made it as far as checking the email and starting the CoH loader. While waiting for a new patch to be applied, I went into the bedroom and stretched out on the bed, ostensibly “just for a minute.”

Three hours later…

Yeah, the only thing left to do at that point was turn off the lights and go to bed. And that’s what I did.

Stray Toasters

• I have spread the Gospel According to IKEA to and onlyaly. They have seen the light. *genuflect*
• knows of my… affinity… for IKEA. We were talking yesterday and this came up:

[15:23] asdf_cat: so i’ve realized something that might be a serious problem.
[15:23] shadorunr: ?
[15:23] asdf_cat: you.. drive by IKEA twice every day.
[15:23] shadorunr: Yeah.
[15:23] shadorunr: I know.
[15:24] asdf_cat: that just doesn’t seem safe for you or IKEA.
[15:29] shadorunr: http://www.applegeeks.com/comics/viewcomic.php?issue=165
[15:29] shadorunr: It’s kind of like that.
[15:30] shadorunr: http://www.applegeeks.com/comics/viewcomic.php?issue=166
[15:30] asdf_cat: yeah. a problem!
[15:31] shadorunr: Potentially.

• Shortly after this conversation, I remembered that my weekly Status Report was due. And, since it has to go to Mr. , I attached the following to my report. And it took almost NO time to come up with. Apologies to Misters Lee, Lifeson and Peart…

We’ve taken care of everything
From food to eat
To sheets you clean
And hooks on which
Your wet linen can dry

Poäng for all, Amon for one
Put together
Groove and tongue
Lack – tables or shelving
Hung up high…

We are the priests
Of the Temples of Sweden
Our great furniture
Fills the hallowed halls.
We are the Priests
Of the Temples of Sweden
Sofas, beds and lights
Are held with in our walls

• Derek sent me a link to this story, with the following commentary, which made me laugh:

[16:44] Derek: the title made me laugh more than anything
[16:44] shadorunr: Wow.
[16:45] Derek: now we know who let those mother freaking snakes on that mother freaking plane

• just sent me a link to following “news story” (link below) from Utah ABC4. Could they sensationalize this any more?! Or researched it any less?! Monkeys.

[14:54] janietrain: You should be so rpoud of your locals.
[14:54] shadorunr: Hiya.
[14:54] shadorunr: Um…
[14:54] janietrain: http://www.abc4.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoId=65333
[14:54] shadorunr: MD or NC locals?
[14:54] janietrain: Utah locals
[14:54] janietrain: Check out that video.
[14:54] janietrain: You shall laugh until you pee.
[14:55] shadorunr: Very little that they do makes me proud.
[14:55] shadorunr: 🙂
[14:55] shadorunr: *watches*
[14:55] janietrain: hehehe
[14:55] janietrain: This is possibly the most out of touch, reactionary thing I’ve ever seen in the history of TV news.

• J.A.F.O.
• Eric sent me a link to a story on NPR called ‘Rethinking Thin’ and the Myths, Realities of Dieting. It’s about a book by Gina Kolota. When I read her name, the first thing that came to mind was…

If you like Gina Kolota
Getting caught in the rain…

• Demented kids’ book photoshopping contest
• 
• Steampunk turntable

And I’m going to hit “Publish” before Firefox decides to firmly insert its head up its ass. Again.

Namaste.

Thursday – 24 May 2007
Another day at the desk, but yesterday’s excursion was a nice break to the middle of the week. This morning’s commute was relatively painless, and it was made better by the fact that Nomad seemed to be in a good mood:

• Billy Ocean – Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car (which reminded me of… this, again)
• The Wiseguys – Start the Commotion
• Snoop Dogg ft. Bootsy Collins – Undercova Funk
• Outkast vs. Modjo – The Way You Move
• Stevie Wonder – Superstition
• Atomic Kitten vs. Geri Halliwell – Ladies Night
• Red Hot Chili Peppers – Soul to Squeeze
• Girls Aloud vs. Madonna – Some Kind of Beautiful Stranger
• Rhythm Heritage – Theme from S.W.A.T.

Then, I got to work and found the following on my dry-erase board:

…which made me nearly double over laughing when I figured out what it was. For those who need a translation: “…just some oak and some pine and a handful of Norsemen.”  Now, I just need to figure out who put it there.

Namaste.