Random Access

Sunday – 30 November 2008
Today is the last day of November. It’s odd to think that we’re almost in December already.

It’s been a lazy day. It started off with sleeping in – which is a pretty good way to kick off a Sunday, I must say. Next up was football and breakfast. And coffee. Tasty, hot coffee.

After the first games, SaraRules and I headed to her parents’ place… for more football and hanging out. We also worked on this year’s Christmas card. *nod* Later this evening, we might watch Hancock. We’ll see.

Football
What do and NY Giants’ WR Plaxico Burress have in common?

Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens
3 – 34
The Bengals took on the Ravens in Baltimore today. The game wasn’t televised here, but I followed the game on NFL Game Center.Joe Flacco threw for 280 yards, 2 TDs and 0 interceptions. Mark Clayton even got in on it, with a 32 yard TD pass to Derrick Mason. Clayton also had a touchdown, as did Todd Heap.On the other side of the ball, Ryan Fitzpatrick couldn’t seem to pull his offense together into a fully-cohesive unit. He did put together a good drive near the end of second half… but he couldn’t turn it into six points. Sorry, and .

—

Carolina Panthers at Green Bay Packers
35 – 31
The Panthers took on the Packers at Lambeau Field. Jake Delhomme passed for 177 yards, with 0 INT. He also ran for one touchdown and DeAngelo Williams ran for four more. The game came down to a Jon Beason interception of an Aaron Rodgers pass, with 1:09 left in the 4th Quarter.

—

Miami Dolphins at St. Louis Rams
16 – 12
The fish took on Marc Bulger and the Rams in St. Louis. After a 1-15 run last season, the Dolphins had pieced together a 6-5 season coming into this game. It wasn’t a powerhouse game. Chad Pennington threw for 166 yards, 0 INT. RB Ronnie Brown ran for Miami’s only touchdown. The game came down to the last forty-two seconds (00:41), when Andre Goodman picked off a Marc Bulger pass.

Stray Toasters

• I talked to Adam for a bit, earlier. Chelsea and Caden are home, both are doing well. He hasn’t sent or posted any pictures yet, but there should be some forthcoming.
• Trains on the Brain
• I have a taste for sushi.
• Vintage space age illustrations
• From Slashdot: Diet of Fast Food and Candy May Cause Alzheimer’s
• From Irregular Webcomic:



• Mile-long secret tunnel in central London for sale
• From the “Spreading Christmas Cheer” file: Large Candy Cane Used to Beat Threatening Neighbor
• Top 10 Comic Book-Based Movies of All Time

Dinner time!

Namaste.

Thursday – 27 November 2008
Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Last night, I watched Tropic Thunder with SaraRules and her family. I was originally ambivalent (at best) about seeing this movie. After seeing it, I have to say that I not only enjoyed it… I laughed my ass off at parts of it. (Not a bad thing, given that today is Thanksgiving and will be a “pile on the pounds and calories” fest.) It was silly, mindless, turn-off-your-brain fare, but it was well-done. And, Robert Downey, Jr. playing an Aussie playing a Black guy was very funny, as well. If you’re looking for a light – and funny – way to pass an hour and a half, this isn’t a bad way to go.

Today, I slept in. Way in. Double-digits in. And it was good. SaraRules stopped by and picked me up for Thanksgiving dinner. And football, which I’m watching now. The Titans vs. the Lions – the best team in the NFL vs. the worst team in the NFL. I’m not sure that I’d call 35-10 “a game,” as much as a “blowout.” But, it’s football. And that’s enough. Soon there will be food. Lots of food. And sweet potato pie. Selah.

Stray Toasters

• MightyGodKing takes a look at the last year of Spider-Man in Brand New Year.
• It’s the Superman Next Door
• By way of :



• I just saw the new/latest/whatever trailer for The Spirit.  I like.
• I just spoke with , who is on his way to visit his family for the holiday – he said that it’s (nearly) time for the holiday season “stop driving like an idiot” posts from the Council for Better Driving.

And that’s a wrap.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 26 November 2008
First off, congratulations to and on the birth of their daughter.

Last night, I stopped in to see and help sort out a problem with her bed. Fortunately, it seemed to be a fairly easy fix. After that, we headed down to Red Espresso, a new coffee shop at 509 East 300 South. It’s a very small, but quite cozy little shop; it’s been open for about a month. I had a caramel mocha (made with real caramel, not just caramel-flavored syrup), while Nyx had a chai latte – we enjoyed our respective drinks. If you’re downtown and looking for a new place for a coffee drink, give it a try.

After that, SaraRules met me at my place and we traipsed off to Best Buy… who is having a great movie sale. We walked out with something on the order of ten movies for a little over $70, including the new 2-disc Hancock and 24: Redemption (which I missed the other night); the other movies clocked in between $3.99, $4.99 or $6.99. Check out the Best Buy website for titles and prices – as I recall, there are about 520 titles on sale.

Today will hopefully be a relatively quiet day around the office. I have a training module to do and a server fan to replace, but I think that’s pretty much it. Then, I’m Ivory Soap sure that I’m heading to Far West to play a game or two of ‘Clix before heading off to make sweet potato pies for tomorrow.

Stray Toasters

• Cars and Guitars: Autopia’s 10 Best Songs about Cars
• A Pillsbury cookie commercial came on last night and the following question popped into my head: Who would win in a fight between the Pillsbury Dough Boy and the Gingerbread Man (from Shrek)?
• Marine Boy

  As a kid, I think that this was one of my favorite after-school cartoons. And it also piqued my curiosity about boomerangs… thus generating many trips to Toys ‘R’ Us to buy toy boomerangs.

• I just found a bunch of opening credits from cartoons that I used to watch as a kid:
  • Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch
  • Devlin
  • Jonny Quest – which I occasionally catch on Boomerang
  • Hong Kong Phooey
  • The Perils of Penelope Pitstop
  • Star Trek: The Animated Series – which, if I remember correctly, is part of Star Trek canon.

  

  • Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids – look, I didn’t name the show, I just watched it.
  • Valley of the Dinosaurs
• Ann Coulter’s Jaw Wired Shut
• Quietly Terrifying Karl Rove NYT Interview

Quote of the Day
Today’s bit o’ banter comes from yet another IRC chat:

(08:26:43) entered the room.
(08:27:07) : damn dirty market.
(08:27:50) Ahpuc: Dirty, filthy, slutty market
(08:28:27) : YEAH
(08:30:45) : that is all.
(08:30:45) left the room (quit: Leaving).
(08:55:35) Me: O,o
(08:58:32) Me: damn dirty == apes
(08:58:42) Me: damn dirty == market
(08:58:48) Me: So… market == apes?
(09:04:09) Ahpuc: And apes = monkeys – tails
(09:04:18) Ahpuc: So market = monkeys – tails
(09:04:25) Me: Ah…. this shit is bananas.’
(09:04:34) Ahpuc: Therefore monkeys = market + tails !
(09:04:41) Ahpuc: Pin the tail on the market!
(09:04:48) Me: tails = tuxedos
(09:05:00) Me: Therefroe monkeys = market + tuxedos
(09:05:14) Me: apes = monkeys – tuxedos
(09:05:30) Ahpuc: tuxedos = penguins ?
(09:06:13) Me: So, by that rationale: Charleton Heston starred in “Planet of the Monkeys – Penguins”
(09:06:16) left the room (quit: res pls).
(09:06:43) entered the room.
(09:07:01) Ahpuc: apparently does not like our logic.
(09:08:12) Ahpuc: r0b, I just realized the implications here. Charlton Heston could fix the market!
(09:08:15) Ahpuc: Too bad he’s DEAD.

It’s been a pretty decent day… even for a Monday.

Stray Toasters

• Before the collapse of WizKids, Jake Theis – former Brand and Product Development manager – wrote a series of blogs on “Brand Development and Philosophy.” They were good. Very good. It was supposed to be a ten-part series, but he only got five of them into print before Topps decided to fold the WizKids line. This afternoon, I finally jotted an email to him about my thoughts on the series and whether the rest of it would see print. A short while later, I received a reply. And, it looks as though Parts Six through Ten may see print.
• Jonathan Glancey on why LEGO is the best brick on the block
• Burj Tower: the world’s largest cloud buster
• Because it’s always good for a laugh or twenty-seven: Best of Craigslist
• Despite the fact that you weren’t born to millionaire/billionaire parents AND the fact that you haven’t traveled the world to study martial arts AND the fact that you don’t have the limitless resources of a multinational company at your disposal, have you ever wanted to be Batman? Well, maybe these will help you get one step closer.
• Speaking of billionaire industrialists: Iron Man Children’s Costume Modded to Be Deadly-Cute
• By way of : Mega Man “trailer”

Today’s Challenge
I’m in search of a Mäkta Decorative Sphere, specifically the amber/yellow one. Unfortunately the local IKEA does not seem to have any in stock.

So, my challenge to those of you who live near a Garden of Sweden: Find one.
If you should happen to find one, please let me know in which location you found it.

Namaste.

Thursday – 20 November 2008
Another NBN Thursday kicks off.

Last night, after work… and dinner… and a trip to Dr. Volt’s and to the fabric shop… I watched WALL•E with SaraRules and her family.  SaraRules watched some of it – she was busy working on a quilt for my soon-to-be-born nephew. It’s cute. I’ll post pictures of it when she’s done with it. After the movie and the first few minutes of The Late Show, I headed home. I half-watched The Late Late Show while reading through yesterday’s four-color haul. Then I crashed.

Four-Color Coverage
I’ve been reading Tiny Titans since the book started.

It’s part of the Johnny DC line, DC Comics’ young kids series of books, but it’s one of the best – and most consistently funny – books that they publish.

It features the Teen Titans, as elementary school-aged kids, in out-of-continuity (and rather non-sequitur) adventures. Most of them revolve around… being kids: Going to school. Hanging out on the playground or in their treehouse. Getting into “fights” with other kids (usually the Tiny Titans versions of Titans East or The Fearsome Five). This month’s issue features Supergirl and Batgirl trying to find a place to have a tea party; the issue also features Streaky the Super-Cat and Ace the Bat-Hound.

If you’re looking for a light, fast and fun read – or if you have a young reader in your household – I highly recommend this title.

Stray Toasters

• I am sick of this head cold.
• The “miniatures killer” is back on tonight’s CSI:.
• The Wonder Woman animated feature has a release date: 03 March 2009
• 
• From NPR Music: Feeling the Vibes: The Short History of a Long Instrument
• J.J. Abrams previews 30 minutes of Star Trek footage at New York event
• By way of :

And that’s it for now.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 19 November 2008
After work – and after taking SaraRules to pick up her car – we headed to Best Buy. I picked up Wall·E, Season 1 of Smallville and The Illusionist. With my goodies in hand, we headed back to my place, where SaraRules made a rather tasty chicken and spinach gumbo.

Later this morning, I get to make the trek over Point of the Mountain and go to Happy Valley for a bit. Yay. Hopefully, I’ll be back in SLC by or shortly after lunch.

Stray Toasters

• I have to thank Sib-3 for pointing me in the direction of Fringe.
• Speaking of Sib-3, he and my sister-in-law are expecting their first little bundle of joy in a few weeks – it’s a boy.
• It’s fairly common knowledge that if I get to choose how God appears to me, I want him to look like Morgan Freeman. However… last night, I was poking around Amazon.com for Christmas presents and stumbled across The King James Bible, read by James Earl Jones and thought: “That’s awesome!” I mean, how cool would it be to have an audio version of The Bible narrated by Darth Vader… Mufasa… King Jaffe Joffer… Admiral Greer… I mean James Earl Jones?!
• These comics, from Invisible Spiders, amused me: One and Two
• And, on the topic of zombies: 4 Things to Keep in Mind While Killing Zombies in Left 4 Dead

I should probably start getting ready to head to the southlands.

Namaste.

I was assigned a task this afternoon that made no sense to me.

I asked DaveW (on another team) about it – the item looked like something that he might have some insight on. He just rolled his eyes and started on an abbreviated tirade about the complete lack of thinking that some people do when they have a problem.  This culminated in him saying that the task should have never crossed my desk and the person who created it should have known better in the first place. He also suggested that I verify the nature of the problem with the originator and, if necessary, suggest that they reassign it to the proper team.

A few minutes later, the task was out of my queue.

Yay for monkeys!

Stray Toasters

• Stan Lee and Olivia de Havilland Among National Medal of Arts Winners
• Rather’s Lawsuit Shows Role of G.O.P. in Inquiry at CBS
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” and “Eww…” files: Washington prisons, inmate settle disfigured groin case
• Five Gadgets That Were Killed by the Cellphone
• Seven (More) Gadgets Killed by the Cellphone

Namaste.

Tuesday – 18 November 2008
Today, while relatively uneventful, has been good. Discounting the road monkeys that I had to deal with on the way to work being the main exception.

Marci, Mark, Wes and I hit the gym for a back and triceps workout today:

• Lat Pull-downs: 3 sets/10 reps, 100 lbs
• Reverse Flys: 3 sets/10 reps, 70 lbs
• Row (machine): 3 sets/10 reps, 80 lbs
• Dips (unassisted): 3 sets/10 reps
• Tricep Press (t-bar): 3 sets/10 reps, 45 lbs
• Tricep Extension (rope): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Push-ups: 3 sets, 15-15-10

It was a good, focused workout and everyone seemed to like it… despite the pain/tense muscles.

Post-workout weight: 182.4 lbs.

Stray Toasters

• I have a tasty birch beer to go with my lunch!
• The LJ server upgrades must (finally) be complete – I can access WP again. Apparently, the LJ Crossposter plugin has to check in with LJ on every page load.  Fortunately, someone posted an easy workaround for the “transport error” problem that occurs when LJ is unavailable.
• By way of Drew: NASA Dryden Research Aircraft Photo Collection
• I got some ‘Clix auctions posted last night. A couple of them already have watchers.  That’s a good sign.
• Today’s Questionable Content is amusing.
• Will President Clinton provide a major obstacle to Senator Clinton’s becoming “Secretary Clinton?” We shall see.
• Arkham Asylum, by the numbers

Back to lunch and then back to the grind.

Namaste.

Thursday – 13 November 2008
There’s a mix of sun and clouds here in the Land Behind the Zion Curtain: To the west, there’s blue sky… to the north, it’s a little cloudy.

Last night was a quiet night. I stopped by to see for a bit. She seems to be doing much better.  Her mother – whom I haven’t seen in three-plus years – is also in town, so I had the opportunity to visit with her, as well. After that, I hung out with SaraRules and her folks for a bit before heading home.

Stray Toasters

• My work desk set-up is: Defiant (my laptop) flanked by two PC monitors; with a few PCs on the floor. The monitor on the left serves as the secondary monitor for the laptop, the one on the right is connected to two of the PCs. I also have powered speakers that I usually connect to Defiant, with the subwoofer resting behind the laptop screen. Standing atop the subwoofer, I have a Captain Sisko Hallmark ornament and a Green Lantern figure.

  A few minutes ago, the Sisko figure fell forward and wound up leaning against Defiant‘s screen. (How apropos is that..?) It looks almost as if he’s trying to peer into the monitor to see what’s going on.

• sent a few interesting items my way:
  • Game show winner gives money to local food bank
  • Russian church missing, presumed stolen
  • Luminescent fiber optic wallpaper
    
• 
• This Sinfest cartoon pretty much says it all…
• …and I’m not really sure what to make of this.
• The Obama Secret Service code names have been revealed… along with past presidents’ handles.
• Legislator in the clear over collection

Namaste.

Tuesday – 11 Nov 2008
Yet another in the work-a-day grind.
But, I hit the ground running and got a couple of items off of my task list, right after I got in.

Last night, I watched the 49ers – Cardinals game with SaraRules and her folks. I wasn’t expecting a lot out of the game, to be honest. I was pleasantly surprised that an actual football game broke out. Kurt Warner still looks fairly impressive – it was almost like he couldn’t throw a bad pass if he tried. The receivers and running backs did good jobs. And on the other side of the ball, Shaun Hill (SF’s 3rd string QB) did a good job of leading the team, including an impressive end-of-game drive that very nearly won the game for SF.

Stray Toasters

• Barack Obama: The 50 facts you might not know
• And, in a related note, by way of SaraRules: Michelle Obama’s real-world style
• And, since we’re dealing in style/fashion, sent these two “tasty” items:
  • Chocolate Superhero Costumes
  • Chocolate Show
• Comic Book Resources has a couple of new trailers for Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
• An interesting read: The Comic Book Virgin Reads Watchmen
• If you kids (or are just a big kid), you may be familiar with Marvel’s Super Hero Squad toys. Marvel Comics is now showing the (mis)adventures of the heroes and villains in daily strips (1, 2, 3) on their website:

  

  …and…

  

• Six Real Gadgets Minority Report Predicted Correctly
• Thunder!
  Thunder!
  Thunderpanties HO!
  (Blame/credit to for this link.)
• Djimon Hounsou to voice BET’s Black Panther

And stuff.
And whatnot.

Namaste.

Friday – 07 Nov 2008
What better way to kick off a Friday than with a little Johnny Kemp?

Yeah. And there you have it. I believe that’s the first Dance Break we’ve had in a while. I’ll have to see to it that there are more in the future.

Last night, SaraRules and I went to The Paris for her birthday dinner. I haven’t had a lot of experience with French cuisine before, but this restaurant was very nice. Great service. Excellent atmosphere. And wonderful food. I had a rotisserie chicken, prepared in a “lavender honey glaze,” and it was simply wonderful. Succulent, flavorful… delightful. I’ve eaten many chicken dishes – including different takes on rotisserie chicken – but this seriously beat them. Hands down. If you are looking for a new or different dining experience, I heartily recommend The Paris.

Back home for CSI:, MythBusters and Letterman.

Then I called it an early (for me) night.

Stray Toasters

• Change.gov – The Office of the President-Elect
• This video, aptly entitled “Parenting Fail,” was sent to me by way of . I watched it and was shocked… and horribly amused.

  In the words of the guys from ESPN’s SportsCenter:

  “That kid got what…?”
  “JACKED UP!”

• The 5 Most Scientifically Plausible Sci-Fi Movies
• Also from : and the “Cool and Interesting Tech” file: New type of overpass coming to Utah County
• Letters from Johns
• Jack, relax
  Get busy with the facts
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Stick entered into the Toy Hall of Fame
• This has to be one of the most interesting – and odd – remix/mashups that I’ve ever seen – Gwen Stefani and The Soggy Bottom Boys:

• All of us get lost in the darkness
  Dreamers learn to steer by the stars
• This made me laugh for many reasons. , you really need to check it out. Really.

Groove on, brothers and sisters.
Groove on.

Namaste.

Thursday – 06 November 2008
Happy Birthday to SaraRules:

Yesterday, it snowed. The news originally said that it should taper off around 2:00 or so. The news lied. It did stop somewhere around 4 or 4:30.

After work, I headed over to SaraRules’ for dinner and we hung out for her folks for a bit, swapping stories. After dinner and coffee, we headed over to my place. We watched The Late Show and a bit of The Late Late Show; both of them featured some good post-election wit.

This morning, there was no snow… but it was cold (20°F) when I woke up.
But, there was sun. (I guess Annie was right: The sun really did come up [tomorrow].)
That counts for a lot.
And it’s a gym day.
…not to mention NBN Thursday, too.

Stray Toasters

• 
• Shades of Dewey! Colbert LOSES Presidential Election – in Marvel Universe
• Rob Kapilow did a great deconstruction of Somewhere Over the Rainbow on Decoding the Rainbow with NPR Music’s “What Makes It Great”
• Also from NPR: Five (Plus One) Vintage Videos to Improve Your Inclement Wednesday… even though it’s Thursday.

That’s good for now.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 04 November 2008
It’s Election Day in the U.S.

Get out there and vote… if you haven’t already, that is.

I don’t care for whom you vote.
Really.

As long as you’re voting with your conscience (yes, I take mine out of storage, dust it off and actually employ it on certain occasions) and not just to be “one of the ‘in crowd'” or because someone said that you should vote for Candidate So-and-so because they are voting for him/her.

Vote for the person who best reflects the values that you want in a leader, be it local, state or national.

Just… vote.

And remember:

Stray Toasters

• It was snowing earlier.

  

  In keeping with tradition, I called my father to let him know.
  Also, in keeping with tradition, he laughed.

• loonybin88 made a comment about “dressing up” for a meeting this morning. I told him that sounded like a challenge. I haven’t seen him yet, but from what I’ve heard, he didn’t. I did… somewhat.

  

  To complete the look, I wore my tan double-breasted trenchcoat and my fedora. (A couple of the ladies at my polling place complimented me on the ensemble, which was a nice way to kick off the day.)

• , in response to someone’s tirade about political candidates, posted a great forum item called “Why I HATE Milk.”
• ‘Bubblegum Music A-Z’ DVD
• NickToons has provided Comics2Film/Mania.com a preview reel for Wolverine and the X-Men:

• Man with gun and flag shuts down US 101, then gives up
• Something new to add to The Covet List: HeadHood LEGO Hoodie
• The Laptop Celebrates Its 40th Year

That’s it for now.

And, don’t forget: Vote!

Namaste.

Monday – 03 Nov 2008
Happy Hatching Day to :

Last night, I continued a project that I started Saturday evening: Collecting my extra Arkham Asylum ‘Clix into eBay-able groups/lots. Hopefully, they’ll do well.

Stray Toasters

• Teen pregnancy linked to sexy TV shows: study
  Funny, I’d always attributed pregnancy – teen or otherwise – to sex.
• Video Games Linked to Child Aggression
  Hm… next thing you know, they’ll be saying that cartoons and kids shows are linked to child aggression. (And if that’s the case, maybe they’ll finally take the last of the Power Rangers shows off the air…) But, more importantly, when are they going to say something about parents/guardians/mentors teaching kids about positive outlets or foci for their energy/aggression? Or is that just asking too much?
• During last week’s excursion to Dr. Volt’s, SaraRules picked up a Green Lantern t-shirt for me. Not just any GL shirt… but one with John Stewart’s symbol (as opposed to the ones that Hal Jordan or Kyle Rayner used). I’d show you a picture, but Graphitti Designs hasn’t uploaded one yet.
• The LEGO Minifigure Timeline
  This isn’t a complete list, but it does a decent job of getting the ball rolling.
• So… this is my dream car:



For those who can’t identify it, it’s a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird.

• Obituary: Studs Terkel
• I get my thing in action
  Verb! That’s what’s happening!
• Propaganda stamps
• I watched Goldfinger on Spike last night. During a couple of the commercial breaks, the following ad aired… it’s definitely one for the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file:

Attack the day…

Namaste.

Friday – 31 October 2008
Happy Hallowe’en.

This year’s costume marks the third time (in four years) that I’ve gone with a Samuel L. Jackson-inspired costume: Mace Windu (SW: The Phantom Menace), Neville Flynn (Snakes on a Plane) and this year…

Yep, Nick Fury (1, 2), from Marvel Comics’ Ultimate Universe and the verrrrry end of the Iron Man movie. And a tip of the hat and a wave of the cane to Mr. Jackson for making sure that I have at least one possible costume idea per year. I’ll have more pictures of the overall costume later tonight… to be posted probably tomorrow.

It’s “a little” busy around the office, as we’re prepping for an audit by our robot overlords.  (Did I say “overlords?” I meant “protectors.”) Fortunately, our little “pre-audit” seems to be going fairly well.

Stray Toasters

• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Guinness Record for Wheelchair Backflip
• Microsoft SecondLight, caught on video
• 2 Blue Angels grounded for inappropriate relationship
• 
• Also from the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Escaped rhino drill at Japanese zoo
  This led to the following exchange with SaraRules:

  SaraRules: I remember seeing an escaped gorilla drill a while back. Crazy Japanese.
  Me: Well, it’s hard to hold Godzilla drills, I guess…
  SaraRules: That would, however, be awesome.

• How to hack LEDs into LEGO minifigures for Hallowe’en
• By way of : Bowler collapses and dies after rolling 300 game
  (Remind me to never bowl a 300 game…)
• Video game cakes

And that’s it for now.

Namaste.