Random Access

Tuesday – 10 November 2009
It’s grey and a little hazy outside. The sun tried to put in an appearance as I was driving in to work, but the clouds don’t seem to want to give way. Makes for a kind of “blah” morning.

Last night was a lazy evening in. We had dinner (Sloppy Joes!) and watched Monday Night Football. After the game, I spent a little time trying to wrangle the office into shape. I managed to actually make a bit of headway… while also realizing just how much detritus I’ve allowed to accumulate in the “To be shredded..” pile. Oh, well.  One cool notable item: I was trying to figure out what to do with my TerrainLinX WWG tiles, when I remembered why I thought they were so cool: The whole thing breaks down into component pieces! I grabbed a shoebox and put the bits – both finished and in-progress pieces – in the box.  Neat, discreet, and (best of all) out of the way!  Little by little, the office is getting back to “good” shape.

Instant Replay: Football
It was Monday night. There was football. Amen.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos
28 – 10
The Steelers went to Mile High Stadium to take on the Broncos and try to stay tied with the Cincinnati Bengals for the lead in the AFC North. Can you say “Take it to the house,” boys and girls? The Steelers could. And they did. Repeatedly. Pittsburgh dominated the field on both sides of the ball, at least they did after the first half. Their offense was consistently able to move the chains. The “Steel Curtain” completely shut down the Bronco’s run game. Boilermaker Watch: Broncos’ QB Kyle Orton had a “less than stellar” game: He threw for 221 yards (which is good), but with no TDs and three interceptions. It was not a good night for him – he never really went for deep routes and he missed picking up the blitzes on run plays.

Stray Toasters

• Basketball great Abdul-Jabbar has cancer
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Duke University Students: you should not just ‘sit around and masturbate”
• Koalas ‘could face extinction’
• By way of come a couple of items
  • Fine and Dandy Shop
  • Driving a car with an iPhone
    
• Glittergeddon!
• For : The Spider Awards: Wired.com’s Arachnid Hall of Fame
• Scamville: The Social Gaming Ecosystem of Hell
• For Tyranist: Science fiction from outside the English-speaking world
• Howl’s Moving Castle made out of LEGO

It looks as though the sun has finally won the battle.

Namaste.

Monday – 09 November 2009
Welcome to a new week.

Yesterday saw a nice balance of laziness and productivity. After watching the early game – and watching the stats of the Ravens game – I started working in the office. It needs to be brought out of chaos and into order.  In a big way. Next came some errand-running. Then we headed to dinner at SaraRules’ parents’ house.

Waking up this morning was a tedious process. Of course, not going to bed until nearly 0230 could have had something to do with that. Maybe.

Instant Replay: Football
Yesterday was a day of across-the-board upsets, good and bad:

Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals
7 – 17
The Ravens (4-3) headed to Cincinnati to take on the 5 – 2Bengals… and maybe get a little closer to the top of the division.Quoth the Ravens: “Never score. I don’t know what happened, but I’m willing to wager that it was one of two things: Someone suited up Owings Mills’ JV team in Ravens’ uniforms The Bengals were seriously out for blood Whatever it was, the Ravens apparently didn’t perform like the team that ended Denver’s perfect season last week.  And, according to , they couldn’t buy a decent call, either. *sigh* It makes me glad that the game wasn’t broadcast here. Congratulations to and on both the win and sole possession of the lead in the AFC North.  (And, yes, I’ll be a Broncos fan tonight, when Pitt takes on Denver.)

Coach Harbaugh, you just got chumped by the Bengals. Big time.  How does that make you feel?

Yeah, I understand.  I wouldn’t want to talk about it, either.

Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots
17 – 27
The Dolphins, continuing their road series, headed to New England for a rematch against the Patriots! Everyone in Foxboro apparently got the  “One if by land, two if by sea” memo, because they went to town on the Dolphins. Where’s Greenpeace when you need them…?

.

Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints
20 – 30
I didn’t get to see this one, but I was a little torn on it. On one hand, it’s Carolina, my NFC team. On the other hand, it’s the 7-0 Saints, led by former Boilermaker Drew Brees. Loyalties… torn…. In the end, the Saints went marching in with a win and an 8-0 record.  And I was just fine with that.

Bye Week: Oakland Raiders, Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns.

Stray Toasters

• By way of SaraRules: Jewish Arts Festival: Esther, the superheroine
• Berlin Marks 20th Anniversary of Wall’s Fall
  • In a related note: Controversy over U2’s Berlin Wall
• High Court Weighs Life Terms for Minors
• 
• Mixed Race Americans Picture a ‘Blended Nation’
• By way of : The Hoover Dam Bypass Will Make You Ooooh and Aaaah

Quote of the Day
A while back, I asked to write a recommendation for me on LinkedIn. He sent me the first draft last week:

Rob was a great hire. He has the skills to fit into which ever technical role we happened to throw at him at the time. However his true talent came forward whenever we needed to put a little pressure on an employee or make someone disappear. We still don’t know what happened to some of the bodies.

I thought that it was fine, as-is. He wound up changing it a little, to make it a bit more… palatable to the masses.

Namaste.

Sunday – 08 November 2009
This has been a good weekend.

Friday was SaraRules’ birthday. After work, we went out for dinner. SaraRules’ first choice was Red Iguana… unfortunately, there was an hour-plus-long wait to get in. No go, Flight. Her second choice was Sawadee, a Thai restaurant near downtown. I didn’t know that it was even there; in my defense, I don’t get to that part of the city very often. The food was very good (and very spicy!). After dinner, we met up with some of the usual suspects at Clitorati, including a special guest appearance from and .

Yesterday was a good day. It had a good mix of laziness and productivity. SaraRules went to her quilt club in the morning; I hung out with Chris and Perry. After we got home, we headed back out to run a few errands. Back home again. SaraRules took a nap, I assembled a bookcase. Later, we headed to Abravanel Hall to watch Utah Symphony perform a pair of works by Brahms:

• Concerto No. 1 for Piano in D Minor, op 15
  
• Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, op. 98

Pinchas Zuckerman conducted and Jonathan Biss was the guest pianist. The performance was good. I was particularly impressed/pleasantly surprised by Mr. Zuckerman’s attire – he wore a slightly oversized black silk (I think) shirt with a pair of black slacks, rather than the traditional tuxedo that most conductors wear. Our seats were in the first tier, about five rows from the stage. This afforded an excellent view of the orchestra and of the conductor… as well as being close enough to hear Mr. Biss breathe. Seriously. When playing particularly intense passages, he breathed heavily. Very heavily. So heavily, in fact, that SaraRules said that it was like watching and listening to Darth Vader play.

This morning has been quiet. Breakfast.  Football. (If only the Ravens could act like they remember how to play the game. *sigh* I’ve been spoiled by being able to watch them play for the past three weeks, but I think I’m glad that I can’t watch this one.)  This evening, we’re heading over to the in-laws’ for SaraRules’ birthday dinner (with the family) and football.

Stray Toasters

• Complaint Box: Public Grooming
  Another of my personal pet peeves is people who clip their nails at their desks at work.
• sent a link to: Comic books are good for children’s learning
• I watched part of The Hunt for Red October yesterday. I like that movie.
• Visually impaired gamer sues Sony Online
• 
• As I mentioned on Facebook:
  

  Thanks for the items and requests… but my Mafia Wars account is wearing cement shoes and sleeping with the fishes.

• Wonder of Wonders: Identity, No Crisis
• Troy Polamalu has already had an injury this season.
  Larry Fitzgerald is still getting it done… and is having a decent season.
  So, what does this mean as far as “The Madden Curse” goes?
• Tiny jack-o-lanterns carved in seed pods
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Swarm of Giant Jellyfish Capsize 10-Ton Trawler

Namaste.

06 November 2009
Happy Birthday to SaraRules!

Also, Happy Birthday to :

Today is bright and sunny. Unfortunately, it will only be “moderately warm,” as temperatures are only expected to reach the low 60s. I guess that comes with the whole “Autumn” thing. This morning, after waking up and getting ready for the day – and card-/gift-giving – I had breakfast at Paradise Bakery and Cafe with The Birthday Girl, who has the day off. Great way to kick off the day.

Speaking of the day, it feels like today’s going to be a great big “Mulligan.” As far as “things to look forward to” go, there’s  have dinner with SaraRules this evening and Clitorati tonight. I know that it’s early and that I might actually find some motivation to do something that qualifies as “productive” along the way, but at this point…. bupkis. Good thing that I have my DreamCast here to help me get through the day.

Stray Toasters

• posted a link to The Geek’s Guide to Being Interesting
• By way of SaraRules: A Common Nomenclature for LEGO Families
• …and from xkcd:

  

• Technology and Your Local School: What to Donate and What NOT to Donate
• Sweet monkey-squeezin’ Jesus…
  

  J.J. Abrams, who created the TV show “Lost” and directed this summer’s “Star Trek” film, is in discussions to produce a movie about Japanese toy line Micronauts, which Hasbro just acquired.

  I used to have a ton of Micronauts toys when I was a kid. This could either be an awesome movie… or it could be Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen Suckage. (I’m hoping for the former, though.)

• Speaking of toy-to-movie transitions, SaraRules found out that a Jem movie may be in the works.
• Have Yourself a Merry LEGO Christmas
• Doom Patrol #4 came out yesterday. I have pretty much decided to drop this title, but yesterday’s release was not only a “Blackest Night” tie-in issue, but it also had something packaged with it that made it Simply Irresistable, to quote the late Robert Palmer:

  

  A yellow, Sinestro Corps ring… which now rests comfortably in my display case. On the shelf with my other non-Green Lantern corps figures/accessories.  Two rings down, six to go…

• High Octane, High Art from Mini

Namaste.

Thursday – 05 November 2009
It’s a lovely day outside. The Weather Channel even says that we might brush up against 70°F  today. That’s a good thing in my book.

Today is also NBN Thursday… or at least, it’s supposed to be. The day is trying to turn into “Too many monkeys, not enough sticks to beat them with,” however. But, I’m trying to take  advice from U2: “Don’t let the bastards grind you down.” On the plus side, Paul just gave me a smiley-face sticker for the way I handled a couple of things. Yay for stickers!

Last night, I stopped at Whole Foods and picked up a couple of stuffed chicken breasts for dinner. I cooked them… or thought I did.  Mine was pretty much cooked through; SaraRules’ wasn’t quite as done. So, back in the oven they went. When we did “Dinner Redux,” they turned out very well. Post-dinner, we watched G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra; SaraRules picked it up at a Redbox location. Silly, yes. Cheesy, a bit. But, it was fun. Stephen Sommers did a good job of turning a toy/cartoon property into a popcorn movie. (FAR better than Michael Bay did earlier this year with another Hasbro property…) Would I buy it?  Sure. Like I said, it was fun.  Also, it would be good to have for “turn your brain off” fare or something to have in the background while I’m gaming.

Stray Toasters

• I should not listen to DMX when responding to certain IT issues/requests…
• Magic and Bird: A Rivalry Gives Way to Friendship
• Congrats to the New York Yankees on winning their 27th World Series.
• pointed out the following program: Master of Arts in Diplomacy
• New York City Opera Rises from Turmoil
• For :

  

• Hand-cut paper street maps of world cities
• Holy crap!  13 days until NECA/Wizkids releases the new Hammer of Thor ‘Clix!
• Wu-Tang album covers redesigned as Blue Note album covers
• All Folked Up: The Punk Rock Collection, Vol.1

Namaste.

Tuesday – 03 November 2009
I can see clearly now
The rain is gone…
Not that it’s rained here recently, but the haze that usually hovers over the valley is gone… or at least it has thinned a bit.

Happy Birthday to !

Last night, we headed over to the in-laws for dinner and football. Both were very good – we had lamb and fresh vegetables…. and an eggplant dish whose name I can never remember.

Instant Replay: Football

Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints
27 – 35
The 6-0 Saints hosted the 3-3 Atlanta Falcons. I wasn’t expecting too much from this, but it was a very good game. Both teams scored on their opening drives.  Not only that, both teams played well – all game long, on both sides of the ball. Boilermaker Watch: Saints QB Drew Brees had yet another game with big passing yards. He threw for 308 yards, with two TDs and one interception.

Stray Toasters

• Fastball Special
• pointed out Put This On: A Web Series about Dressing Like a Grownup
• We have found a home for Couch 1.0, now we need to arrange to get it there and then acquire Couch 2.0…
• Americans for the Arts has a new ad campaign: “Feed Your Kids the Arts!”

• Gambit != Gamut
  • gambit
  • gamut
• First, RB Jamal Lewis says he’s retiring after this season.
  Next, GM George Kokinis gets the boot.
  , it looks like your team is just falling apart. What’s next?!
• I’m missing the ability to play X-Men: Legends… Stupid “No, we’re not making the 360 completely backwards compatible” Microsoft!
• Digital Bread Crumbs: Following Your Cell Phone Trail
• No matter how bad your day is, at least you’re not this guy…

• I want a new black or grey hat, preferrably a fedora.
• Josie and the Pussycats has been replaced by The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan on Boomerang.

Namaste.

Monday – 02 November 2009
Another lovely workin’ day in the valley. It’s clear and sunny… and supposed to get into the low-to-mid 60s today. That’s not a bad thing at all.

Last night, SaraRules and I watched Chinatown, a movie that I got from Netflix weeks ago. It started off slowly, but told an interesting story of deception, murder and greed in 1930s Los Angeles. I wasn’t aware that it was a Roman Polanski film, until the pre-movie credits began. We both thought that it was a very good movie and I would  recommend it.

After Chinatown, we both set about our respective hobbies: SaraRules did some quilting, I glued and assembled some of the WWG pieces I had cut out earlier in the day. SaraRules put on X-Men Origins: Wolverine while we worked. I tried not to pick out “too many” continuity gaffs. “Tried” being the operative word. All things considered, it’s still a decent movie.

Stray Toasters

• In honor of the Ravens’ win yesterday – and because my in-laws got me a snazzy purple and white shirt for my birthday – I’m in black and purple today:

  

  I’m even wearing my purple LEGO cuff links.

• PassiveAgressiveNotes.com
• pointed out this xkcd comic:

  
  (click for full-sized version)

• Fall Auctions – Traditional Offerings at Bargain Prices
• Despite being fun – and addictive – at the outset, I find that Mafia Wars no longer holds my interest or attention.
• “Apple Sense… tingling!”
• Congress prepares to curb bank overdraft fees
• Mechanical computer uses matchboxes and beans to learn Tic-Tac-Toe

Namaste.

01 November 2009
Welcome to November.

Is it a “bad” thing that I wish that more people and places remembered that the next American holiday after Hallowe’en is not Christmas? *sigh*

Alas, poor Yorick Thanksgiving! I knew it, Horatio.

At least we are keeping the holiday spirit alive here at home: SaraRules changed the fabric in the picture frames in the bathroom to the Thanksgiving-themed fabrics we found last week:

Last night, SaraRules and I opted to stay in and hand out candy to kids here in our complex. We were partially successful – we had two sets of Trick or Treaters. We even got into costume for it. Oh, well. We also wound up Hallowe’en with a couple of horrible… I mean “horror”… movies. (Actually, they were both pretty bad.) We watched a pair of Uwe Boll movies:

House of the Dead

and

Bloodrayne

SaraRules actually owns House (on VHS, no less!) and she found Bloodrayne on Netflix’ Instant Queue.  I’m not sure that there’s ever been a movie based on a videogame that’s been “good,” but I do know that neither of these movies qualifies. We MST3K-ed both movies… and had fun doing it.

This morning, SaraRules fixed a coffee cake, which we ate while watching football. Also during the game, I set my digital cutter to work on some WWG pieces – I got a lot cut out, I just need to glue and assemble now. After the early game, we went to the store to pick up some things for dinner tonight – we’re having jambalaya. Tonight will be another low-key night around the homestead.

Instant Replay: Football Update
Today has been a good football day. A good day, indeed.

Denver Broncos at Baltimore Ravens
7 – 30
The Ravens (3-3), after a three game losing streak and a bye week, we looking to make up some lost ground in the AFC North.Coming into today’s game, the Broncos hadn’t only allowed more than 10 points in the second halves of their games; with their 6-0 record, they headed to Baltimore to notch another win. Quoth the Ravens: “Nevermore.” This was a helluva game, especially if you are a Ravens fan. On the first play of the opening drive, Raven’s LB Jarret Johnson introduced Broncos QB Kyle Orton to the turf, on an for a sack with an 8-yard loss. And the hits just kept coming. Orton was hurried, rushed and sacked twice. And it wasn’t just the Ravens’ defense doing some work today, the offense and special teams helped out, including a 95-yard kickoff return touchdown, by CB Ladarius Webb. The Ravens looked – and played – like a team on a mission. And it was good. Amen.

Ray, how does a big win against a previously undefeated football team make you feel?

Yeah, I’d be feeling like that, too.

Miami Dolphins at New York Jets
30 – 25
The Dolphins took a trip to New York to take on the Jets in Giants Stadium… …and were able to hold on for a win. Go, fish!

.

Oakland Raiders at San Diego Chargers
16 – 24
The Chargers hosted the Raiders and were able to keep them at bay long enough to eke out a win. Sorry, SaraRules.

.

Carolina Panthers at Arizona Cardinals
34 – 21
The Cats traveled across the country to take on the Arizona Cardinals… …and came away looking like the cat that ate the canary.

.

Cleveland Browns at Chicago Bears
6 – 30
Um… sorry, .

…and the Game of the Day:

Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers
38 – 26
Brett Favre took the Vikings to Green Bay to take on his former team. How would it be to go back to Lambeau Field after playing there for sixteen years… and being gone for two? Let’s just say that Favre had a solid game: 244 passing yards. Four touchdowns. No interceptions. No sacks. It was every bit as good a game as I was expecting. Congratulations, .

Stray Toasters

• SaraRules and I picked up our wedding bands from the jewelers yesterday. We had to have them resized, because they were both (at least) a half-size too small.  For those of you who haven’t seen them before, here’s a look:

  
  (click picture for larger image)

  The bands were custom-designed for us by . She asked us what we wanted on them… and we both drew a blank. After some discussion, asked us what our interests were and that she would adapt something from that. That made it easier for both of us: SaraRules is a quilter and I’m a collector/gamer. We wanted something that represented both of us, and that’s what we went with:

  • SaraRules chose a log cabin quilting pattern
  • I chose a Green Lantern symbol. (Duh.)

  The pattern, quilt square/lantern, is repeated around the ring.

• I realized something this morning. After sleeping in my wedding band, I had a negative imprint of the ring’s pattern on my skin. It took me a moment or two to realize why it looked so familiar.  It looked like this (the symbol on Kyle’s uniform). I had always wondered how/where they came up with the symbol; now I have a better idea.
• If you get a chance, vote for SaraRules and me!
• Computer Activities for Those with Speech and Language Difficulties?
• I don’t mind the extra hour of “fall back” when we go from Daylight Saving Time to Standard Time… but I do miss the late-in-the-day sunlight.
• No word yet on when S.F. Bay Bridge will reopen
• SaraRules and I made a pilgrimage to The Garden of Sweden yesterday. We bought stuff, too.
• Zombies as American Zeitgeist Proxies
  Oh, yeah… we watched the original Night of the Living Dead last night, too.

  

• This makes me chuckle:

  

• The iPhone Now Officially Runs Doom
• I believe I’m craving a Slurpee… but I don’t think I’ll be getting one tonight.

Friday – 30 October 2009
Hello, 9/80 Friday off. I slept in this morning… but I woke up in time to see SaraRules – and her Hallowe’en costume – off to work. It’s a pretty snazzy costume (sorry, no spoilers) that she made from scratch.

The rest of the morning has been a bit lazy. It’s a day off, what’d you expect?! I got to watch an episode of The West Wing, as well as Colossal Construction. That’s not a bad way to kick off the day.

Last night, I finally got a chance to test out my digital cutter. Wow. I’m impressed. I’ve been reading the comments of other WorldWorksGames builders who have been using cutters over the past couple of months and thinking,”Come on… I’m sure it’s ‘good,’ but it can’t be as amazing as some of these people are making it out to be.” Well, I was wrong. (Second time this year.) I tested it out on a page of wall anchors – 36 on a page – and let it go to work. About five minutes later, it was done.

Done.
Finis.
Accompli.

It cut and perforated all thirty-six of the anchors; all I had to do was peel them off the cutting sheet. They were ready to be folded and glued. Yeah, I’m happy with this.

Stray Toasters

• Last night, SaraRules called out MarknTyme about doing a Four-Color Coverage. It was amusing. (Speaking of which, I should have a new FCC ready to go tomorrow.)
• If you were building a LEGO-themed hotel, what would you include?
• Take talk of food racism with grain of salt
• Federal Judge Says Email Not Protected by 4th Amendment
• Does anyone else remember Fisher-Price’s Adventure People?
• 
• Top 10 Hallowe’en Movies for Younger Kids
• The 9 Levels of Hell for the Living
• Because they apparently don’t have enough money coming in: Nintendo Announces DSi XL
• Vote for the best ‘Sesame Street’ segments
• FCC Mulling More Control for Electronic Media

Time to find some trouble to get into.

Namaste.

Thursday – 29 October 2009
Welcome to a new NBN Thursday. The sun is shining. The snow is… well, it’s not really warm enough for it to continue melting yet, but the day is still young.

Yesterday was Comics and Sushi Wednesday. It’s a day that usually brings me great joy. Yesterday was no exception. I went to Dr. Volt’s and saw that Superman: Secret Origin #2 was on the shelves. Blissfully, I went about picking up a few other titles that weren’t part of my hold service.

Fast forward to last night…

I started going through my books, sorting them from “least interesting/read first” to “I’ve been waiting for this.” I got down to the Blackest Night and Green Lantern books and realized that there was a great disturbance in The Force something amiss. I couldn’t find S:SO #2. Hm. I checked the bag. I checked to make sure that it hadn’t gotten shoved between a couple of other books. Nothing. So, I get to wait even longer to read a story that I’ve been waiting all month to read. *sigh*

On the “good things that happened last night” side of things, we reinstated a tradition from SaraRules’ childhood. and SaraRules’ brothers came over and we decorated sugar cookies and then watched Disney’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, narrated by Bing Crosby.

It was a great change of pace and it was a lot of fun, too.

And today is “Meeting Day.” Yay.

Stray Toasters

• The “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file is chock full of goodies today:
  • Teens cited after rapping order at McDonald’s, courtesy of
  • Coyotes kill Canadian folk singer
  • Goat Rentals for Clearing Brush
  • Bees That Drink Human Tears
• I still haven’t had a chance to fire up my Silhouette, but I will… I will…
• Star Trek Uniform Onesies
• 
• GDP Grows by 3.5%
• Intel Solid-State Drive (SSD)
• Google Wave as an RPG environment
• The Life and Times of Martha Washington: The Whole Frank Miller ‘Give Me Liberty’ Saga

And…. it’s time for our team meeting.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 27 October 2009
It is snowing in the Salt Lake greater metropolitan area today:

It’s not much (at the moment), but it’s still snow. With that in mind, the Council for Better Driving: Utah advises drivers to exercise caution when traveling.

Yesterday was a fairly lax day, as birthdays should be. The day ended with dinner with SaraRules and the in-laws, while watching Monday Night Football. It was a nominally better game than I expected.

Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Redskins
27 – 17
The Eagles brought a lot of pressure and seemed to completely flummox the ‘skins in the first half of the game. Washington Head Coach Jim Zorn also seemed a little… lost… on the sidelines; having play-calling duties removed from you will do that, I guess. In the second half, Washington QB Jason Campbell looked a bit better, making plays and completing passes… but still wasn’t able to seal the deal.

Stray Toasters

• My Silhouette SD should be arriving this afternoon. I should be putting it to work with new TerrainLinX bits by the end of the week, I imagine.
• From Comic Book Resources’ “Wonder of Wonders” column:
  • The 12 Triumphs of Wonder Woman Day
  • Star-Spangled Panties: You are what you wear.
• ‘Hot Mormon Muffins’ calendar pokes fun at stereotypes
• Why am I looking forward to tomorrow’s comics?  This could have something to do with it:

  

• Book: Rules for My Unborn Son
• Cities, volunteers fight blight caused by foreclosure crisis
• Northwest pilots’ “distraction” blamed in airport overshoot
• Netflix Coming to Sony PS3
• Church of Scientology convicted of fraud in France

It looks like we’re off to the gym.
In the snow, which has started to come down with a little more “oomph.”

Namaste.

Monday – 26 October 2009
That time of year has rolled around once again: It’s my birthday.  I just realized something, too: Not only does my birthday fall on a Monday this year, but I was born on a Monday.  Fortunately, I have had better luck than Solomon Grundy – this one, not this one… although I guess it’s really been better than either of them.

Once again, I have taken International Day off from work.  It’s been a good – though short, so far – day, as I slept in this morning. Way in. And it was good. Selah. I have no “big plans” for the day, aside from running a couple of errands. Tonight, we’re heading over to SaraRules’ parents’ for “Birthday Dinner 2: Electric Boogaloo” and Monday Night Football.

Yesterday, SaraRules and I had a low-key Sunday. We slept in. We watched football. We went to the grocery store. She made an excellent beef stew, served in bread bowls. Logan came over for dinner, after which we plugged in one of the VCRs (old school, that’s right!) and watched Event Horizon. I’d never seen the movie before; it wasn’t bad. After I had some time to think about it, I realized that aspects of Sunshine reminded me of this movie. Maybe it’s me; maybe it’s Maybelline.  *shrug* Either way, it was a decent movie.

After Logan left, I decided to watch another episode of Fringe. I’ve almost caught up with the regular broadcasts now; I think that I’m only one – maybe two – episodes back.

Instant Replay: Football Recap
It was an odd day of football. There were some good games, as well as some real sleep-inducers. More importantly, there are fewer undefeated teams than there were last week. Here’s how the day wound up:

New York Jets at Oakland Raiders
38 – 0
We didn’t see this game; maybe that was a “good” thing. Sorry, SaraRules.

.

Buffalo Bills at Carolina Panthers
20 – 9
Another game that we missed. And, once again, one that I think I’m glad that I didn’t see. Maybe the Panthers will be good again, someday…

.

New Orleans Saints at Miami Dolphins
46 – 34
Not even the Dolphins could bring me any joy this week. To their credit, they hung in there pretty well – keeping the lead, even – until the fourth quarter started. Then the Saints racked up twenty-two unanswered points. And that’s how you lose ball games. In today’s Boilermaker Watch: Mr. Brees threw for 298 yards in today’s win.

.

Green Bay Packers at Cleveland Browns
31 – 3
Another game that we didn’t get to see. Sorry, … but thanks for keeping us out of the bottom of the division!

.

Minnesota Vikings at Pittsburgh Steelers
17 – 27
This game we did watch. Wow.  Brett Favre and the Vikes dropped their first game to the Steelers. The game started off as a good contest, but the Vikings started making mistakes – fumbles and dropped passes – late in the game that cost them the win. Sorry, .

.

Chicago Bears at Cincinnati Bengals
10 – 45
I didn’t see this game, but I had hoped that the Bears could pin an “L” on the Bengals. No such luck. Apparently, the Bengals – and more importantly, Cedric Benson – had a few things to prove the the boys from the Windy City. And they went about it in a big way. Congratulations to and .

Stray Toasters

• Thanks for all of the birthday wishes and good tidings!
  (There’s a lot of crosspollination between LJ and Facebook, it seems…)
• SaraRules woke up feeling poorly this morning. (Physically, not “Oh, no… it’s swine flu!”) Please send well-wishes her way.
• Listening, Party for Two: Ella Fitzgerald Live
• I used to be a fairly regular reader of The Gods of Arr-Kelaan. Then, it kind of fell of my daily radar. I now go back every few months and catch up on the story. Last night, I stumbled across this strip, which made me chuckle, especially the middle and last rows of panels:

  

• Reversing the brain impairments caused by sleeplessness
• World’s smallest working model train set unveiled
• I should probably try to avoid The Apple Store, Best Buy, The Garden of Sweden and Toys ‘R’ Us today…
• Detroit house auction flops for urban wasteland

He gets right on to
The friction of the day…

Namaste.

Sunday – 25 October 2009
So far, it’s been a lazy, football-watching day around here.  That’s not a bad thing for a Sunday.

Yesterday, after a bit of cleaning, straightening and rearranging, SaraRules and I went to the local Outback Restaurant with a couple of the in-laws and a handful of friends for my pre-birthday dinner. While the food was good, I was a little disappointed with the service – mainly because for eighteen people, they only gave us one (1) waitress. Granted, we were her only table, but she seemed a little overwhelmed.  To her credit, she seemed to try her best to be available and maintain a friendly disposition.  It was just unfortunate that management didn’t give her a little backup.

After dinner, most everyone came back here for cake – a Devil’s Food cake with cream cheese frosting, both made by SaraRules from scratch – and ice cream. We sat around, ate and chatted for a couple of hours. All said, it was a good way to spend the evening.

Today, we’re heading up to Doughnut Falls for a hike. Other than that… who knows?

Stray Toasters

• The Ravens have a bye week. I’m watching the Vikings take on the Steelers. I’m really hoping that the Vikings can pull off a win against the Steelers… which, given Favre’s fumble that was just loped in for a TD by Woodley, looks like it might not happen.
• Ratification of the Magna Carter: Is Jay-Z the Greatest MC Alive?
• Hobby Lobby apparently hates me. They put their train sets on sale this week. Granted, it’s a safe bet that they’ll go on sale again. And, of course, there’s the whole matter of “Where would I put one, if I got it?”  But, it’s the principle of the matter.
• DJ Spooky delivers keynote address at MICA’s Transformations: New Directions in Black Art
• 
• Last night, SaraRules and I watched “Menace of the Music Meister,” Friday’s episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold. While it showcased Neil Patrick Harris’ singing voice, the episode on the whole was a disappointment, especially the lyrics. They were… trite, at best. The episode was almost painful to watch.
• Percy Harvin just ran back a kickoff for a Vikings touchdown.
• Love, 1962 American High School Style
• …and after a great drive, Pittsburgh just picked off a tipped pass and ran it back for a touchdown.  Wow.
• The Biggest LEGO Mario Ever Built is available for bid on eBay.

Namaste.

Saturday – 24 October 2009
Today’s been a good – and somewhat busy – day around here.

So far we’ve had breakfast (pancakes!) and watched the first half of the Illinois-Purdue game, run some errands, done some cleaning – including the storage closet(!), SaraRules is baking a cake, I’m trying to wrangle the office into usable shape once again. In a little bit, we’re heading out for Errands II: Electric Boogaloo… which includes a trip to The Garden of Sweden. And tonight, we’re heading out to dinner for my birthday.

Stray Toasters

• The Boilermakers beat the Illini, 24-14. That makes me smile.
• I have a couple of new icons:

  and 

• An F-16 and a couple of F-22s were flying over the valley earlier. My guess is that it was in advance of today’s Air Force/Utah game. (And… I just had this confirmed.)
• Dioramas “captured” from nature
• I need to get back into HALO 3 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance.  And CoH, once they fix the cursor glitch.
• DodgeDot (iPhone game)
• NASA Releases Cool, Free iPhone App

Time to get back to it.

Namaste.

Friday – 23 October 2009
It’s my prerogative… 9/80 “on” Friday.
That means that it’s vewwy, vewwy qwiet around here.
I might just have to break out the DreamCast in a little while…

::: lunch break :::

I went to lunch with Paul (Boss⁺¹).
Five Guys.
Good.
Filling.
Nearly food coma-inducing.

It was still quiet when we got back.  That was good.  I’m getting a 3-day weekend, as Monday is International Robert Neal Day… and I’m taking the day off. So, all things considered: Win.

Stray Toasters

• I still want to build one of these someday. You know, when I have a yard.  And some woodworking equipment. And a welder. And… And… And…
  • I was discussing this in a chat… which, in turn, led to today’s Quote of the Day (below).
• I could pretty much add all of the stuff from this site to the O-Scale Railroad/HeroClix Covet List.
• Woman with dystonia can only walk backwards
• I stumbled across Bowling for Sandercoe on Oblong Pictures last night; I thought it was amusing:

• posted a link to Prince Armory earlier. Nice stuff… nice, spendy stuff.
• From the Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Ice skating bear kills Russian circus hand
• I watched part of Whose Line Is It Anyway? last night for the first time in… in… well, let’s just say “a long time.” They did “Greatest Hits” as one of the sketches; as usual, Colin Mochrie made it fun:

• The Creepiest Thing You’ll Ever See

Quote of the Day
The aforementioned BattleMech conversation:

[12:36]     Ahpuc: r0b: Better not have an HOA when you have a yard. They are bitchy about cool stuff like that.
[12:37]     r0b: “What part of ‘rocket launcher’ and ‘flamethrower’ did you not understand, Mr (or Ms) HOA President?”
[12:38]     r0b: ….as I power up the weapon systems.
[12:38]     r0b: 😀
[12:38]     r0b: Wait.
[12:38]     r0b: That leads to “terrorist action” police reports.
[12:38]     r0b: Hm.
[12:38]     Ahpuc: Not just that, but if YOU can do it, so can your neighbors.
[12:38]     r0b: Have to remember to install trap doors and cells.
[12:38]     Ahpuc: I mean, sure, you can be trusted with an operational battle-mech. but what about the jerkoff who can’t even be bothered to mow his lawn noce a month?
[12:38]     r0b: Well, DUH!   Then we could have a full lance of ‘Mechs.
[12:39]     r0b: Think about it.
[12:39]     Ahpuc: You think he will remember to rotate the rocket propellant and service the engines?
[12:39]     r0b: If he can’t deign to mow, what is the workmanship of the mech going to be like?
[12:39]     r0b: *power on*
[12:39]     r0b: *SPLODE*
[12:39]     r0b: -problem solved-
[12:39]     Ahpuc: Then he gets methed up one night, tries to use it to shoot an invisible cat that is inside his left eyelid, and blows up the whole neighborhood.
[12:39]     Ahpuc: Property values rapidly decline.
[12:40]     r0b: Okay… you might have a point with that one.
[12:40]     r0b: “Miles doesn’t know it, but we’ve secretly switched his rocket propellant with decaf!  Let’s see what happens…”
[12:40]     Ahpuc: This is the problem I have with the “right to bear arms” branch of the libertarians…They all think THEY should be able to have RPGs if they can afford them, but they don’t think through the implications when it comes to the average retard.
[12:42]     r0b: Hm.  So maybe I shouldn’t start with a Mech.  Maybe I should just start with Elemental armor, instead.
[12:43]     Ahpuc: How about you start with a bomb shelter?
[12:43]     r0b: Of course, finding someone 8′ tall to pilot it might be a bit difficult.
[12:43]     Ahpuc: Cause then you can do whatever you want indside it without the neighbros seeing.
[12:43]     r0b: Bomb shelter…. Mech Bay….
[12:43]     r0b: It’s “same brand, different flavor,” isn’t it really?
[12:46]     Ahpuc: If they neighbors cannot see inside, call it whatever you want.
[12:46]     Ahpuc: “Now that I have a shed up, with power, I need to put a lattice around the bottom to cover the “crawlspace” thing.”

Namaste.