Random Access

Saturday – 28 July 2007
Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down.

That’s what my sleeping hours were like last night/this morning. It wasn’t horrible – and I didn’t feel exhausted when I finally got up this morning – but it was a little annoying. After dealing with the necessary hygiene rituals I met Perry and Max for coffee this morning.

I tried to work on my new lyric-to-drawing piece today, but didn’t get very far today. I did, however get a good bit done last night. The new piece is based on The Black Crowes’ She Talks to Angels. I finished most of the angel last night: Upper body and wings. Wings. Take. Forever. To. Fill. In. (But, I think that they look good.) I still need to figure out how the positioning for her arms. After I finish that, I have to add the other figure into the piece and that’s going to be a little more involved: I want the other figure to look like my grandmother. Yeah… like I’m not going to be picky/meticulous about how that looks. More so than usual, anyway.

The piece that I interrupted to do this one is based on emmet swimming‘s Ed’s Song. But, I’m putting a small twist on the point of view. More on that later. Maybe. Or maybe it will just be a surprise – at least to those of you who haven’t seen me working on it.

Four-Color Coverage

• Countdown: 40 – Donna Troy, Jason Todd, “Bob,” and Ryan Choi (The new Atom) meet some of the denizens of the subatomic universe. Some rather unfriendly denizens. Hostile and unfriendly, at that. Mary Marvel takes a cruise… kind of. Darkseid masses an army. And is that Ms. Renee Montoya, the new Question, lurking on rooftops?
• Elephantmen #010 – I really can’t say enough good things about this title. The method/manner of storytelling is reminiscent of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman in many ways. This issue, titled “Unicorn,” featured rhinoceros- based Elephantman, Obidiah Horn. It tells his story in two parts/perspectives: One, harsh and grim, from Obidiah’s… and the other, comparing him to the mythological unicorn.
• Green Lantern Corps #14 – This issue continues the Sinestro Corps War. GL Soranik Natu returns to her home planet, Korugar, to try and bring stability and balance to her people. Unfortunately, Korugarans are leery of Green Lanterns, following their treatment under renegade GL Sinestro’s “leadership.” So, they are a little “less than happy” about Natu’s attempts to help……until Sinestro shows up. But what is he after?
• Love and Capes #5 – I first discovered this title last year… and I like it. Quite a bit, in fact. This issue finds Mark and Abby dealing with… Mark’s parents. I think that one of my favorite exchanges in the issue is between Abby and her sister Charlotte (who knows that Mark is The Crusader):
  

  Charlotte: Don’t worry, I’ve got something that will wake you up.
  Abby: Please tell me it’s something with two creams and three sugars.
  Charlotte: Here you go. *hands Abby a cup of coffee*
  Abby: Thank you. You’re now my favorite little sister.
  Charlotte: Oh, hey– Mark called just before you got here.
  Abby: *to her coffee mug* Come to me, oh sweet, sweet elixir of life that men call “Joe.”
  *to Charlotte* What did Mark say?
  Charlotte: He wanted me to let you know that his mother is coming into town next week.
  Abby: *sputter* What? Mark’s MOM?
  Charlotte: See? I told you I had something to wake you up.
  Abby: You don’t understand, Charlotte. Mrs. Spencer hates me.
  Charlotte: Any particular reason or just general principle?
  Abby: More like multiple choice. Worse yet, she doesn’t say anything outright, she just kind of hints around it. It’s like she has some insidious plan to drive me away, and– –just what is so darned funny?
  Charlotte: *snicker* When you said “insidious” it just clicked– Mark’s mother is your arch-nemesis.

  …although, this post-visit exchange was pretty good, too:

  Mark: Hi, honey!
  Abby: Hey, Mark. How was the airport?
  Mark: Not too crowded. My parents got on with no problems. They told me to tell you “good-bye” for them.
  Abby: I’m sorry I couldn’t go with you. Charlotte couldn’t cover for me today. It’s pretty late though. Was their flight delayed?
  Mark: No, I just wanted to make sure they got home okay, so I followed their airplane to the Ohio border.
  Abby: You do know that planes are statistically speaking the safest way to travel, right?
  Mark: You wouldn’t say that if you’d caught as many of them as I have.

• The Mighty Avengers #4 – Ultron takes on the world… and plans to remake it in its own image. And, as an added caveat, it plans on using Tony Stark’s own technology to help! All while (still) looking like The Wasp. But, the real Ms. VanDyne hasn’t lost any of her spark – While the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. are looking for ways to take down Ultron, they bring in cyberneticist/biophyicisit (and former Avenger AND Wasp’s ex-husband) Hank Pym:
  

  Black Widow (acting as head of S.H.I.E.L.D.): Where is Reed Richards? Can’t he look outside his window and see the world is coming to an end? Carol, go knock on the Baxter Building and see if anyone is home.
  Hank Pym: Actually, although clearly Reed Richards is the biggest brain of all time, in this particular field, I am the world expert.
  Wasp: Sweetie– when the world is about to come to an end because of something you created and lost control of… bragging about how smart you are… not cool.

• Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #32 – Mekt Ranzz, Star Boy and Sun Boy. On Winath. With U.P. Special Prosecutor Tenzil Kem. Still on the hunt for Cosmic Boy.
  

  Tenzil Kem: Let the record show that Thom Kallor, alias “Star Boy,” confirms incriminating statements made by the fugitive Rokk Krinn, alias “Cosmic Boy.”
  Mekt Ranzz: What record? This is a farm, not a courtroom.
  Tenzil Kem: As an officer of the Adjudication Bureau, I am authorized to conduct field depositions. Everything I lens is part of the official transcript, Mister Ranzz, so you might want to mind your manners. I’ll be arresting Cosmic Boy when we find him. Try to stop me and you jeopardize the Legion’s partnership with the United Planets.
  Sun Boy: Like I care. I quit the Legion, Mister Kim.
  Tenzil Kem: That’s Kem. Tenzil Kem. And I know all about you… Dirk Morgna — alias “Sun Boy” — current leader of a noted meta-terrorist cell.
  Sun Boy: They aren’t terrorists. Not anymore.
  Tenzil Kem: Don’t worry, I’m only after the guy who blew up the Dominators.
  Mekt Ranzz: And what if we don’t let you have him?
  Tenzil Kem: Mekt Ranzz. Lightning Lad’s big brother. I know all about you, too.
  Mekt Ranzz: If you did, you’d get as far from me as possible.
  Star Boy: We’re wasting time here. Bottom line, Mister Prosecutor — We’d all be dead if not for Cosmic Boy. If we find Cos and you lay a hand on him, I will drop you where you stand.
  *breep breep*
  Star Boy: What’s that?
  Tenzil Kem: My glasses have a built-in lie detector. Don’t make empty threats, Star Boy. Not to me.
  Mekt Ranzz: Tell me if this is a lie– You stay out of my way, or I’ll poke my finger in your eye and cook your sprokkin’ brain. *lightning arcs from his fingertip*
  *Mekt and Kem stare at each other*
  Mekt Ranzz: Whaddaya know… it works.

  And… what is the Cult of Validus?

• Superman #665 – This issue was a bit of a two-for-one filler issue: It serves as a bit of a bridge to Jimmy’s current goings-on in Countdown and it gives background into “When Jimmy met Superman” and how Jimmy came to be known as “Superman’s Pal.” Not an entirely bad retcon of young Mr. Olsen’s origins.
• Ultimate Fantastic Four #44 – The FF versus the Silver Surfer… again. Still. Or something like that. Although, in this case, the Surfer doesn’t seem to be the herald of Galactus (or however they spell it in the Ultimate universe).

Stray Toasters

• I talked with the Matriarch for a bit this morning. All is well.
• I talked to Kris. She’s (still) packing for her pending move; aside from things being a bit hectic, she’s doing well. On top of that, she will be living minutes from Pro Player Stadium… where the Dolphins play. Not that she’s a ‘fins fan, but… she is a Ravens fan. And guess who’s playing the Dolphins in December? Mm-hmm, that’s right! She’s looking into getting us tickets for that game.
• I also chatted with the too-infrequently seen/heard from <lj user=”yerac”> this afternoon.
• WTF!?: The 8 Strangest Communities on the Web
• By way of comes Unfortunate Placement of Yahoo! Ad

Time to go play in the sunshine some more.

I saw Sunshine with Tyranist at lunch.

A spaceship.  (A BIG spaceship.)
An eight-person crew.
And the literal weight of the world on their shoulders.

Pop quiz:

1. Could you handle the responsibility?
2. If it came down to it, could you make the tough, hard-line decisions that deal with peoples’ lives… and potential deaths?
3. Would you be able to function – just “function” – if the world started falling apart around you?

Going into this, I had (a few small) fears of this being a rehash of The Core.  Fortunately, this movie did not succumb to the many failings that plagued that film.  I think that Mr. Boyle did a good job of showing the underlying tension that the crew felt.  And the special effects were good.  Very good. (One word: “Mercury.”)  One thing that I would have liked to have seen done a little differently: I would have preferred if the exterior shots had been completely silent, except for radio chatter/static.  I think that would have done a great deal to reminding the audience of how big and ominous – and silent – space is.  As it was, the sounds that they did use were used relatively sparingly and did not really detract from the scenes.

All-in-all, I give the movie a thumbs-up with an okay.  I’d even go see it again.

Friday – 27 July 2007
Four down, one in the chamber.

I don’t know what happened, but I must have been phenomenally tired last night. I slept like a proverbial rock. I even slept in a little this morning.

The Best
Many moons past, I was given the Schoolhouse Rock! Box Set. All of the Schoolhouse Rock! songs that many of us grew up singing along with… in glorious CD form. Some of ’em in stereo, even!

Fast-forward a couple of years: I discovered Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks, covers of fourteen Schoolhouse Rock! songs.

Fast-forward again, to the near past: Given my new hobby in determining “The Best” versions of songs, I wondered who would win in an SR! vs SR!R battle. So, I listened to the originals and covers. Below is my take on the songs¹:

And there you have it.

Coming soon: The Best – Classic Cartoon Themes vs. Saturday Morning Cartoons’ Greatest Hits

Stray Toasters

• I have off-site training this afternoon.
• 
  (click the image)
• …and in honor of SysAdminDay: The System Administrator Song
• My inner 6-year-old thinks that these are pretty neat.
• 

Notes (The Best):

1. Results may vary, by user
2. Blind Melon did a nice job of trying to keep some of the sound and feel, but the original hits all the marks.
3. C’mon… it’s Conjunction Junction. Do I really need to spell this one out for you? Jazz.
4. As much as I like the late Mr. Sanders’ work, Goodness makes this song their own.
5. Ween did a great homage to Bob Dorough’s version… but came up a little short.
6. The was very close: You’d almost swear that Biz Markie was channeling Jack Sheldon.
7. This is a photo-finish. Both versions have merit for their respective sounds.

Up out.

Namaste.

Wednesday (coda)
Crossposting seems to be back on track, so let’s give this a go, shall we…?

The day was good. Work wasn’t bad and I had plenty to keep me occupied. That’s never a bad thing, “idle hands” and whatnot. At lunch, I fed not only myself, but also my four-color crack addiction… with a single serving of plastic crack as dessert. Total win-win situation.

Came home and read a bit of Deathly Hallows. I’m seven chapters in. Stuff has happened. Spells have been cast. And monkeys! Flying monkeys! Wait… that was The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Nevermind.

Stray Toasters

• I am appalled by this story: Man dies of heart attack after VA hospital turned him away. I would like to hear both sides of the story, as there is possibly more to it than…
  

  The unidentified person who answered the phone inside the hospital said the ambulance should take the patient to a hospital located about three miles — or 10 minutes — away.

  …but that a medical center would turn away a patient? Granted, from the “transcript” of what the paramedic said, there is no indication that she or he said that the victim was suffering a heart attack. Hopefully, the truth will come out in the next few days.

• Samuel Adams: Brewer. Patriot. Homeboy.
• 
• Queen guitarist wraps studies for doctorate
  “So what are you, some kind of rocket scientist…?”
  “Well, as a matter of fact, yes… yes, I am.”
• From the “Truth, stranger than fiction” file: Nude blonde, gold stilettos and a Ferrari
• , I’m not sure if you’ve heard this: Weekly World News dies after 28 years of awesum, Bat Boy bummed
• With The Simpson Movie just around the corner and this being the 30th Anniversary of the release of a little film by George Lucas, this seemed appropos: I Bent My Wookiee! Celebrating the Star Wars/Simpsons Connection
• I’m rockin’ the suburbs…
• And a little somethin’ for the math majors out there:

That’s good for now. Maybe I’ll go check out the invasion.

Pax vobiscum.

Wednesday – 25 July 2007
Thank you to and onlyaly for their kind hospitality last evening. They had people over for a cookout and to watch the Cottonwood Heights fireworks display.

and Beth challenged and me to a warped version of Six Degrees of Separation. The two challenges they presented us were:

• Trent Harris to Elvis Costello
• William Shatner to Denis Leary

We managed to make both connections.

Stray Toasters

• Dwim sent me a link to this. Please check your sanity at the door…
• Snapple, Advil and Denis Leary
• Sign up for Explosives Camp
• We’re getting a reprieve on the high temperatures again today; it’s supposed to be around 85°
• Trailers from Hell: Directors muse on schlocky movie faves
• From Newsarama: Crossover? Ka-ching!
• Old Harry Potter Is Back in Troll Remake

In the words of Kool Moe Dee: “I go to work.”

Namaste.

Tuesday – 24 July 2007
Merry Mormon Christmas!

It’s Pioneer Day here in the Land Behind the Zion Curtain. The commemoration of the day when Brigham Young, leading “a rag-tag fugitive fleet on a lonely quest: A shining planet territory, known as Earth Deseret,” came into what is now known as the Salt Lake Valley and said, “That’s it. I’m done. Set up camp. Call me when supper’s ready.” What this mainly means is that many local businesses are closed (not us, though…). And there will be parades. And fireworks. And stuff. And whatnot.

Last night, after work, I hung out with and the kids for a bit. I also borrowed her copy of Deathly Hallows. I think I made it to page 16 before I was powerless to resist the siren call of the bed.

And that’s another thing…

I know that dreaming basically sticks the subconscious mind on a couple of Vivarin and two liters of Mountain Dew. But, last night…? Damn. Who added crack to the mix?!

Most people who know me (especially at Clitorati) know that I think in terms of pop culture media/trivia and “hyperlinked” thoughts – and there’s not necessarily much conscious thought given to some of the connections I make… but the connections are logical and valid, when I trace them back.

Last night’s dreams were bi-fucking-zarre. Not only was the pop culture trivia there, but a lot of disparate parts of my life… all jumbled together.

I woke up, staring at the ceiling… and I think my first waking words were literally,”What the fuck was that?!”

The Scales of Justice
Before reading, though, I took a trip to Paragon City. No sooner than I had logged on, I was invited to join a team of my supergroup members. We took on The Council and The Freakshow. There were no Shadow Freaks, though… I was a little disappointed. But, it wasn’t my mission, so not part of my storyline. Oh, na. We also took on a safeguard mission: Prevent a bank robbery. We did. With the quickness. (And… there were a few deaths, but that’s not what we’re focusing on here.)

The Best
Madonna’s cover of Don McLean’s American Pie just hit the iTunes rotation. It’s good. I like it. (Of course, I also like Weird Al’s parody, The Saga Begins (video) But, I think that Mr. McLean’s version wins out over the former Material Girl’s version.

Stray Toasters

• Welcome to Post #500, according to WordPress.  (It’s not exactly 500, but I don’t want to burst its bubble.)
• I need to remember to download Northern Strike.
• Zaz!
• Much to Tyranist’s chagrin – and my satisfaction: Samuel L. Jackson has been confirmed as General Nick Fury in the upcoming Iron Man movie.  This makes sense, as the Ultimate version of Nick Fury was based on Mr. Jackson’s features.  Hilary Swank has also been confirmed to appear in the movie, in an as-yet undisclosed role – I’m personally banking on her playing Natasha Romanova, the Black Widow.
• Mandelbrot Set you’re a Rorschach Test on fire
  You’re a day-glo pterodactyl
  You’re a heart-shaped box of springs and wire
  You’re one badass fucking fractal
  And you’re just in time to save the day
  Sweeping all our fears away
  You can change the world in a tiny way
• By way of : Female Orgasm is Deadly for Men
• I like Basia’s Time and Tide; I have for many years.
• – Iraq War amputee’s bionic hand moves all five fingers
• 
• I still contend that the themes from Thunderball and Duck Dodgers, both done by Tom Jones, sound eerily similar.
• – Wii speeds up the rehab process
• Secret list of buildings you can’t photograph
• Jane, divided
  But I can’t decided which side I’m on

Namaste.

Monday – 23 July 2007
A new week begins.

Yesterday morning, I was too lazy to make a pot of coffee. I think I was awake for about an hour and a half before I managed to drag myself out of my chair and meander the way into the kitchen. After that, the laziness continued.

Until roughly 2:00.

At that point, my six-month muse whacked me in the back of the head… and the lethargy/laziness disappeared. In its place was the compulsion to rearrange furniture. Yeah, most people get the urge to play video games or go for a bike ride or hang out in the park; I get the urge to move furniture. Go figure. Although, the thought of going to the gym did cross my mind. Briefly.

After that, I went to see 1408. I liked it; it was interesting, in a not bad way. It reminded me of the Jack Nicholson version of The Shining in many ways. Couldn’t be because they were both based on Stephen King works, could it? Nah. After the movie, I dropped by Kate and Perry’s for a bit. Then home… then to the airport – I needed to mail a couple of letters and figured that going to the AMF would be the easiest way to accomplish that. Wrong. They have changed their hours and are no longer open to the public 24/7/365… which meant that I had to double back and drop off the letters at the GMF. *BAH*

Stray Toasters

• I have had All Time High intermittently running through my head since early yesterday afternoon, when it popped up on the iPod. My thought process went: “All Time High… Rita Coolidge….no, Melissa Manche… no, it was Rita Coolidge…. I wonder what she’s up to?” So, I checked Google. That led to her website, which, in turn, led me to see that she will be coming to Sandy in two weeks. That could be an interesting show… and possibly a nice change of pace.

  I just infected Tyranist with All Time High. He threatened to kill me if it gets stuck in his head. I’m willing to take that chance.

• By way of :
• I recounted Friday’s tale of being in a foul mood at Borders amidst the Harry Potter hoopla to Tyranist. He said that I could be one of The Seven Duffs. I was amused by this.
• I got my certain and my
  sure ‘nough on
  and I’m puttin’ on my really
  for real
• The following was a sponsored link on my Gmail page:

  Mormon Ringtone – RingRingMobile.com – Send this complimentary ringtone to your phone right now!

• Wow… I just had a horrible collision in my head: The Swedish Chef and the former lead singer of The Sugarcubes – Bjork! Bjork! Bjork! (Please… shoot me now.)
• 
• What is “Cloverfield?”
• 
• By way of TechTarget’s WhatIs.com: “What does PCMCIA stand for? (The slot in your laptop). ‘People Can’t Memorize Complex Industry Acronyms.'”
• makes me laugh.
• Interplanet Janet is currently in rotation on iTunes. For those of you who grew up on Schoolhouse Rock, you may remember that it’s the Science Rock tour of our solar system. I’d never paid attention to the fact that when Lynn Abrams, the vocalist on the track, gets to the following line…
  

  Uranus is built on a funny tilt

  …she pronounces it “ure-AH-nuss,” instead of the more commonly heard “ure-AY-nuss.” I wonder if the powers-that-were at ABC made that decision or if Ms. Abrams did.

• Back in the 80s, Michael Jackson and Sir Paul McCartney performed a couple of songs together: Say, Say, Say and The Girl Is Mine. I’m going to leave Say³ out of this one and look The Girl Is Mine for a moment. There’s something… creepy… in thinking about the two of them fighting over the same girl. And when you throw in their age differences…? Adds a whole new level of *ick*.

Namaste.

Sunday – 22 July 2007
After errand running and an unfulfilling (and debt-increasing) trip to Paragon City, I headed to and Jack’s wedding reception. It was nice and I got to see quite a few people I haven’t seen in many rains. I was also reminded that m3l is one of the first people I met after moving out here.

Post-reception, I came home and puttered around the apartment for a bit before heading to breakfast. joined us. Hopefully, we didn’t scare her too badly. At least, nothing that a little psychotherapy and or hypnosis can’t take care of.

The Best
Last night, I heard a cover of Easy Like Sunday Morning. I had heard it many times before and it’s a decent cover… but I still think that The Commodores’ version – the original – is the best one.

Likewise, I was listening to Annie Lennox’ version of A Whiter Shade of Pale. Good version, but still not quite enough to knock Procol Harem’s version out of the box.

Stray Toasters

• I got bored again: Family pictures
• I haven’t rushed out to get my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; I’m more inclined to pick up a new Spenser book before breaking my neck to power-read HP7. Sure, I’ll read it. And, yes, I’m going to make efforts to avoid seeing/hearing spoilers, but I’m not too stressed about it.
• “Super plasma frag some bitches… expialidocious!” and “Napalm is Nature’s toothpaste!” (by way of Ctrl-Alt-Del)
• Chafing and vagina dentata.
• I’m about *this far* from rewriting King of Pain as a testament to life in Utah on a Sunday, like I did with Salt Lake Valley Sunday.
• Amusing sequence: Applegeeks Issues #123 and #124 and Ctrl-Alt-Del “Issue 124 and a Half”
• …and that reminds me: Sequins vs. Sequence
• I think I may have just broken …
• This is definitely going on the outside of my cube wall at work:
• 10 tech disappointments… with cool names
• I may wind up at a driving range within the next 36 hours. Maybe less. Maybe much less.
• Irregular Webcomic: Not just entertaining, it’s educational, too!
• By way of :
  …and…
  

“And now, for something completely different…”

Namaste.

Friday – 20 July 2007
I crashed a little early last night… which was a bit disappointing as I had wanted to finish Vision of the Future. Oh, well… that will give me something to read tonight. No, I didn’t pre-order Deathly Hallows. *shrug* I’ll read it when I read it.

This morning is moving along nicely. The abbreviated commute didn’t hurt, either.

Stray Toasters

• I was cruising boingboing.net when I saw an article titled “Thriller” as performed by inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center. Of course, that caught my attention. But, I then noticed a link to LEGO Thriller. LEGO…. and Thriller… all rolled into one? How could I resist. Not only was it the music video, it was the long-form video, redone shot-for-shot. Thirteen minutes of LEGO stop-motion animation. Someone had way to much free time.
• Chuck Berry
• UUCP
• That Spells DNA
• Constitutional. As in “walk,” not as in “allowed by law.”
• I Feel Fantastic

Pow.

Namaste.

Thursday: coda
The post-work evening looked rather drab, until called and asked if I was interested in getting sushi.

Well, let me think about that… Sure!

And out we went. Tepanyaki Japanese Steak House. I think that this is the first time that I’ve eaten in a Japanese steak house since I went to visit and Tyanna back on Long Island. (And that’s been a while!) It was fun… even though I missed the shrimp that the chef tossed at me. Oh, well. I had a Chicken and Shrimp combination plate, with Ika (squid) nigiri and California Rolls. Quite tasty. It also reminded me of Kabuto, the Japanese steakhouse that Mom used to take us to in Greensboro, so it was not only a nice change of pace, it brought back a few pleasant memories.

Stray Toasters

• I am, once again, talking with the lovely Ms. .
• Safest Seat on a Plane: PM Investigates How to Survive a Crash
• Fluffernoodle. Almost as amusing to say as “Jigglypuff.” But not quite.
• Thank you to Tyranist for returning me to a softer world.
• Chocolate. Milk.
• CubeNews1
• I was wrong: There is an Iron Lad ‘Clix… which means that it makes even less sense for there not to be a Hawkeye II ‘Clix.
• I Would Die 4 U/Baby I’m a Star – two songs that make me bounce like a fiend.
• This excerpt from Ask Kate amused me.
  

  Dear Kate,
  I wonder what early Borg looked liked? Was it just some alien race that decided to go cybernetic? If so, when did they start assimilating other races? Is there a species 01? Questions like this just go on and on, like why do the Borg speak English(they even think in it). I find these questions confusing, maybe you could give me some insight.
  YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED 10 of 23-
  
  Hi 23,
  Well, since you’ve asked me… early Borgs are among us! You’ve seen those people who walk around dazed with an earbud in one ear — early Borg! And those people who have a phone on one hip, an iPod on the other, and a PDA, and have to have the latest and greatest electronic gadgets — oh yeah, Borg too! Besides, haven’t we all seen the way the cellphone has evolved, remember how big they used to be only a few years ago? Next we’ll be implanted with our phone and we’ll have to plug the charge cable into our arm to power the batteries. See, we’re being consumed and dependent upon our technology… Technology is overtaking us! Grab your less advanced 8-tracks, and manual typewriters — and go! Run for the hills! Save yourselves!!!
  

• And, since I’ve already crossed the Neutral Zone… for : Requiem for Methuselah
• Oh, and here’s a bit of trivia for : Yvonne Craig, probably best known for her role as Batgirl from the 1960s Batman television series, also had a guest appearance on Star Trek: The Original Series. Whom did she play? Marta, you know… “the green chick.”
• The theme from The Simpsons, played on two guitars… by the same guy. Check it out.

Namaste.

Thursday – 19 July 2007
So far, it’s been a fairly decent day. The worst thing, so far, was the collection of monkeys on the road during the morning commute. Slow-in-the-fast-lane monkeys, truck-driving monkeys, monkeys who didn’t know how to merge when an opening was presented. Monkeys. But, I managed to make it down to AF without having to unload the disruptor cannons.

I had another good – and tiring – day at the gym. Today’s bench presses were:

• Set 1: 205 pounds/10 reps
• Set 2: 205 pounds/10 reps
• Set 3: 200 pounds/8 reps and 3 (slow and painful) reverse reps – instead of pushing the bar up, I had to allow it to/make it slowly descend

So, I’m pretty jazzed about that. Now, it’s just a matter of continuing to move that weight… and eventually see how much I can increase beyond 200 pounds.

The Best
I’ve been a fan of the song Tempted, by Squeeze, for many moons.
I’m also a fan of the Rockapella cover.

I’m a bit torn over which version is “The Best,” but I think that the Rockapella version edges out the original, ever so slightly… because of the harmonies that the group added.

Stray Toasters

• I’m not sure why continues to try to kill me… but she does. Although, today’s attempt was far less painful than last week’s. In fact, I even found this one entertaining and amusing.
• Seems as though Carmen and (and a few other family-types) may be in the area next month. If the timing is right, I may be able to kill multiple avians with a single piece of silicate.
• By way of : Messner ‘in God’s hands’
• Moab Brewery. (Damn you, !)
• That’s it. I’m moving to Sweden. Not (just) because of the Garden of Sweden, but because of this: Swedish woman gets superfast Internet.
• : Based on your comment, as we were leaving Clitorati last week, I think that I’ve found a theme that works: Parisien du Nord (instrumental), by Cheb Mami and K-Mel. This isn’t to say that I won’t change my mind at some later date, but this works pretty well for now.

Namaste.

Wednesday (coda)
The expedition to Dr. Volt’s was a success. I went back to work with my four-colored bounty and three (and ONLY three) pieces of plastic crack: Patriot, Stature and Sunspot. While I can understand why there’s no Iron Lad figure, I’m still a little unsure of why they did nor do a figure for Hawkeye (Kate Bishop). Oh, well… maybe they’ll put one in the next set.

Four-Color Coverage
Let’s get to it:

• Action Comics #852 – It’s the Jimmy Olsen issue. Watch as Jimmy – and his reporter pal, Clark Kent – observe a release hearing for The Kryptonite Man. Also, we see what led to Jimmy getting his handy-dandy Superman hypersonic signal watch. And, what’s going on with those monkeys at the zoo…?
• All Flash #1 – Wally West is back. And, he’s not exactly happy about the circumstances of his return. Here are the opening, pre-title, captions:
  

  My name is Wally West. I’m the Flash. The fastest man alive.

  And I’m still… too… late.

  I got super-speed back in grade school. Freak accident. Grew up running alongside my uncle, Barry Allen, the Flash before me.

  About midway through my adult career with the Justice League, I met Bart Allen, Barry’s grandson, who inherited Barry’s speed. The boy was flaky, unpredictable, and had the attention span of a bullet. He got codenamed “Impulse,” and it was probably the first thing that ever stuck to him.

  His grandmother, my Aunt Iris, brought Bart to me to train, and I spent months trying to figure out what I’d done to hack her off.

  I misjudged them both.

  Over the years, I watched Bart go from “Impulse the annoying” to “Kid Flash the amazing.” I learned to like him. A lot.

  When I decided to retire with the wife and kids, I had no hesitation about giving the Flash costume and identity to him. That’s what the Flashes do. We run our race, then we pass the baton to the next guy.

  I always figured I’d come back to check up on Bart–

  –not to catch his killer.

• The Brave and the Bold #5 – Batman and the Legion. Supergirl, Green Lantern and Adam Strange. And, what’s this..?! Another (somewhat different) Batman/Karate Kid fight? And what happens when you put a Kryptonian on a planet in a trinary-solar system? Three guesses. (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)
• Countdown: 41 – “Secret identities are such a pain…” Mary Marvel has a few moments of introspection. And, holy Titan A.E., Batman…. are Donna Troy, Jason Todd and Monitor #1 (I think) having a moment?:
  

  Donna: You deserve thanks, too, for helping our reality, and for helping Jason and me try to discover our places in it at last.
  Jason: She’s right. And we don’t even know your name.
  Monitor: Any gratitude paid me is irrelevant. My name is my mission– to maintain the balance in which you are elements and to prevent the coming of the Great Disaster.
  Jason: Then I’m gonna call you Bob.
  Donna: “Bob?”
  Jason: Because “To maintain the balance in which you are elements and to prevent the coming of the Great Disaster” is too much to say every time I want to ask you to pass the ketchup or something.
  Monitor: Mm. Very well, if calling me “Bob” will simplify matters for you, do as you will.

  And, , you’re going to want to pick this one up to see just who it was that kept Karate Kid from returning to the 31st Century.

• Green Lantern Corps #12 and #13 – Two dead Green Lanterns. Guy Gardner… the prime suspect?! Kilowog on a rampage. What’s wrong with Mogo? What are all of those… yellow… spores on its surface?
• Justice League of America #11 – First off, let me say how beautifully painted (or possibly drawn) this issue was; Gene Ha did some amazing work here. Brad Metzler wasn’t exactly a slouch either: Red Arrow and Vixen, buried alive. No signs of help on the way. And time is running out.
• Martha Washington Dies – This is the closing chapter in a book that Frank Miller started nearly twenty years ago, Give Me Liberty. I never read that book, but having read this one, I think that I might have to track it down.
• Superman #664 – Magic + Kryptonians = Not good (for the Kryptonian, that is). Arion apparently knows this. And using this knowledge, takes Superman down… Just before a newly-minted government team, dubbed “Squad K,” comes to kick Superman’s butt… Just before the Justice League comes to… well, you get the picture. And, as you can imagine, none of that does much to improve Superman’s mood.
• Superman/Batman #38 – Someone’s going around inciting fear in some of the citizens of Metropolis. And their ultimate target: A certain high-flying Kryptonian hero. But, the instigator is not The Scarecrow. Nor is it Sinestro nor anyone in his newly-formed Sinestro Corps. But, once their – and their co-conspirator’s – identity is revealed, I don’t think that you’ll be surprised at just who it is.
• Ultimate Power #5 and #6 – Irresistable Force (Nick Fury, along with the Ultimates, X-Men, Spider-Man and the FF), meet Unmovable Object (the Squadron Supreme). And… what usually happens when two groups of superhumans get together? That’s right: BIG. FIGHT. Knock-down. Drag-out. The only thing missing is hair-pulling. And, just who is that person lurking around the Helicarrier with Nick Fury? They look… familiar.
• Ultimate Spider-Man #111 – I stopped reading this title (regularly) almost a year ago. I saw the cover of this issue and decided to flip through it. The few pages that I read made me decide to take a chance on it. It wasn’t a bad choice. This issue was aptly titled “The Talk.” May Parker. Peter Parker. The kitchen table. And the truth about Spider-Man. In the words of the Rush song, Force Ten:
  

  
  Tough times demand tough talk
  demand tough hearts

  Well worth the price. This issue also sees the end of Mark Bagley’s run as writer. He has been on the book since it began, nearly ten years ago – these days, you don’t find a writer who sticks with a title for that long, especially at one of the big publishing houses. I won’t say that Mr. Bagley saved the best for last – he had some good stories along the way – but he definitely goes out with a bang.

Stray Toasters

• I have breathed new life into my LEGO and Bionicle LEGO watches! All thanks to the modern technology known as “new batteries.”
• Unfortunately, my clear-backed Fossil watch seems to have suffered fatal deceleration trauma. I need to take it into a jewelry shop and see if it can be made whole once more.
• Thanks to for sending me a link to this picture.
• Acolyte Derek’s training proceeds nicely, as evidenced by this post. He also gets bonus credit for this post, particularly the second cartoon – the seventh bullet point on this list is why… and he wasn’t aware of that item when he created his blog entry.
• : NPR is running a series called “Vocal Impressions: Hearing Voices,” where the commentator “…has been asking listeners to describe their impressions of famous voices.” They are currently on Round Six; Round Five apparently included “She Whose Sole Purpose On Earth Is for Me to Ridicule” (scroll down for the comments).
• Guitar Hero fans should take a look at this t-shirt.
• Down for the Count Profile: Karate Kid
• and/or : Glow-in-the-dark cross-stitch
• Tori Amos’ Big Wheel (video)

Namaste.

Wednesday – 18 July 2007
4:43 AM.

That’s when a rocket launched from just outside my bedroom window. Needless to say, I was roused from sleep – rather suddenly. It took me a moment or two to realize that I was not, in fact, on a launch pad at Kennedy Space Center. It turns out that it wasn’t anything so grand.

It was my air conditioning unit. Yay. I need to call maintenance and get them to take a look at it.

Otherwise, the day’s been fairly uneventful, so far.

Stray Toasters

• I think I’ll visit the good Dr. Volt’s at lunch.
• By way of comes: Basic Instructions – How to Apply the Laws of Physics to Personal Relationships
• DNS, stub zones and hosts! Oh, my!
• I have a pending “forgiveness vs. permission” matter coming up. Nothing major, it’s more amusing than anything.
• Dolphin and Iraq veteran share wonder of prosthetics
• “Melissa digs art. A lot.”
• 
• I didn’t bring anything for lunch today, so I faced the age-old conundrum of “What do I want for lunch?” I just decided to go to Dasks and get a gyro. That, in the way that my brain works, led immediately to Schoolhouse Rock’s My Hero, Zero…. which, in turn, led to “My Gyro, Zero.” *sigh*

Namaste.

Monday (coda)
The post-work day has been somewhat productive.

• I got a new phone, as my old one was quite literally falling apart. I didn’t need anything incredibly fancy, so I went with the Motorola V3m.
• I looked in on a friend’s place, while he’s out of town.
• I cooked dinner (chicken breasts; rice, cooked in cream of mushroom soup; stir-fried vegetables)… and after it was done, fixed tomorrow’s lunch.

So, all-in-all, it wasn’t a bad evening. And I have a glass of Gewürztraminer (Holy crap, Firefox actually knows how to spell that… correctly) next to me. *nod* Not a bad evening at all.

I even caught online and chatted with her for a while. She pointed back in the direction of Monster by Mail. I then found the link to his Flickr page, with tons o’ zombified goodness. and I spent the next… half-hour or so stumbling across things that “fit” different people. Here’s what we came up with:

• and Tyranist: This should be up your alley.
• : You get two, this and this.
• : Pour vous… ceci
• : I saw this and thought of you.

And what conversation would be complete without the barbs and jabs…?

[21:03] : ah – for brad: http://flickr.com/photos/jawboneradio/670912335/
[21:04] : BWAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAH
[21:04] : You should [send] that to him… or post it.
[21:04] : i’ll let you 😀
[21:04] : you’ll be a hero
[21:04] : I already am… duh!
[21:04] : 🙂
[21:05] : i mean in the REAL world, silly
[21:05] : not where you dress in skirts 😉
[21:05] : I’m the Pope. What more do I need?
[21:06] : And, I look nice in that skirt.
[21:06] : I mean “shenti”
[21:06] : And I even shaved my legs for that!

Stray Toasters

• I really don’t feel like cleaning the kitchen. But, I will.
• and , this is a “Two birds, one stone” item: click here.
• Jelly Bellys.
• For :
• These Games Are So Bad, It’s Not Funny
• I have another idea for a lyric-to-drawing picture… and I think that it might supersede the one I’m planning on doing for Ed’s Song, because I can do this one much faster.
• The World Is Not Enough (video, by Garbage)
• Acolyte Derek posted a link to this video, done in LEGO. I countered with this video. And, I held this one in reserve, just in case… but I didn’t need it.
• I want another Sentinel Build-A-Figure.
• Jackie Chan (mp3)

And, that’s a wrap.

Namaste.

Monday – 16 July 2007
It begins anew…

I’m not exactly sure what’s going on, but I think that my body is on “automatic pilot” or something along those lines. I was up at 6:11 AM. That’s not really a bad thing, as the alarm is set to go off at 6:15 AM. The… unusual (?) part is: I haven’t done anything like this since I was in high school, I think. Sure, I know that it’s basically my circadian rhythms getting in line with the (rough) schedule that I keep. I just found it a little odd. I’m pretty sure that it’s why I’ve been getting up so early on the weekends, too, though.

There’s something that I neglected to note last night: I noted how the new table – when the leaves are collapsed – looks a little small in the dining room. That’s fine, because I don’t need a huge table… and when I do need more space, I can extend the leaves. TADA! But, the table – like Mother Hubbard’s cupboards – was a bit bare. I have the place settings that Sib-1 and gave me a few years ago on the table (and they look rather nice, I might add), but there was still something missing. Basically, it needed a centerpiece or something to break up the blandness.

I found the perfect thing – at least for now or until something else strikes me as possibly “better.”

When my grandmother died, my father asked me if there was anything that I wanted from the old house. At the time, I could only come up with one thing (technically “four,” but let’s not quibble): A set of angels that I had given my grandmother for Christmas many years ago. I’m not sure exactly what they are made of; I don’t think it’s plaster or ceramic, but it’s something along those lines. I had originally planned to put them someplace else, but opted to set the four of them – wings to the middle, facing away from each other – in the center of the table. I’m rather happy with them there and they look good, to boot.

Stray Toasters

• Read this.
• I actually took the time to eat breakfast this morning. Just a bowl of cereal, but still… it’s something.
• From the “Some Peoples’ Children….” file (NOT to be confused with the “Children of Some Peoples’ Children” file): Nev. couple accused of starving infants while playing video games.
• By way of : Tokyo Dance Trooper
• 
• Code Monkey very simple man
  With big warm fuzzy secret heart:
  Code Monkey like you

Namaste.