Random Access

Sunday – 10 August 2008

Last night’s breakfast was good. The people-watching was a little lackluster, though. But, came up with a cereal that could/should be marketed alongside Chocolate Jesus Crunchies:

Gettin’ Lucky Charms

It brought a lot of amusement from the table.

This morning, I met Shelley and Billy for brunch. Shelley is one of my oldest friends in Utah… but we haven’t seen each other in, at least, a few years. Thanks to the power of the Interwebs and the telephone, we do talk from time to time, though. Our original plan was to go to David’s Kitchen, but they are not open on Sundays, it seems. We wound up at Sampan in Sugar House. Good food and good company. I had the beef lo mein, with wonton soup and an eggroll.

I stopped into Jitterbug to get my daily dose of caffeine. Spydr and Uriah were there… and we started talking about The Dark Knight and other geekery. Uriah pointed me in the direction of Shaffer the Dark Lord’s Supervillain. It made me laugh.

Stray Toasters

• For SaraRules, Meliko and Tyranist (and others): Zombie Tools – Accessories for the Apocalypse
• First Bernie Mac died (complications from pneumonia), and now Isaac Hayes has died.
• I stumbled across this when trying to show something to Spydr. It made me laugh again; Spydr laughed, too:

  

• Hot Chicks: The Roleplaying Game
• Exclamation point.
• Superhero Fashion Emergency
  See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

• The Flat Earthers Are Still With Us
• From the “Where Does He Get Those Wonderful Toys” file: Shrinky Dinks As a Threat to National Security

This post brought to you by Spydr, a rocket, and the Angry Yellow Sun.

Namaste.

Friday – 08 August 2008
Eight-Eight-Eight.

The 2008 Summer Olympic Games have gotten under way.

Last night, I went to see The Knight (explanation) The Dark Knight with Perry. He’d never seen it and I was up for seeing again. Hell… I’d even see it again, in IMAX. It was a nice way to spend a Thursday evening.

I got home and found that I wasn’t very tired, so I puttered around the apartment for a bit. Then, I remembered that ‘Nine has been semi-lobotomized for a while and started to reinstall XP on it. Suffice if to say that it’s still dysfunctional. Around 1:00, I could tell that I was winding down, but not “sleepy,” so I got Wednesday’s still-unread comics and sprawled across the bed to read. And read I did. About 1:30, took my glasses off, to “rest my eyes for a minute.”

A few minutes after 5:00, I was apparently done resting my eyes.

It was still too early to start prepping for work, so I did the only logical thing: I finished reading my comics. That took another twenty or thirty minutes. Plenty of time to return to The Dreaming… which I did. When I finally woke up to face the day, I decided that I wasn’t in a big rush to get to the office – I have a short work day, as I put in some extra hours over the past few days – so, I lounged about for a while. It was nice.

The morning’s commute – without any input from me – was rather heavily comic-themed:

• True to Myself – Eric Benet (from the Batman and Robin soundtrack)
• Give Up the Funk – Parliament (adapted by Snoop Dogg for the Undercover Brother soundtrack)
• Supergirl – Krystal Harris

Yep, technopathy is a good thing.

And for those who weren’t aware of it: Undercover Brother began as a webcomic before being picked up and adapted into a movie.

Food for Thought: Chew on This
It’s been in the news that Morgan Freeman and his wife are preparing to divorce.

You know what?
I don’t really care.

For me, it’s like…

• Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s kids…
• Jewel eloping…
• Verne Troyer’s sex tape…
• Gwen Stefani being pregnant again…

What affect does it – or any of the above items – have on my day-to-day life?
Zip.
Zero.
Zilch.
None at all.

At most, I could say that I feel badly that their marriage has come to an end. But, I’m Ivory Soap sure that they didn’t just wake up one morning and decide: “Hey, you know what sounds like fun? Let’s get a divorce!” It seems to me that decisions like this take some time – and soul-searching – to reach. And, if they have come to the realization that the best of their time together has passed, then I wish each of them the best of luck and hope that they find the happiness that they seek elsewhere… assuming that they haven’t achieved that level of happiness and/or satisfaction already.

Stray Toasters

• Clitorati: Check your email.
• and I had a brief discussion about steampunk and LEGO computer case mods (1, 2, 3) this morning. Helluva good way to kick off a Friday.
• Thanks to for pointing out this Puzzle Calendar
• Intel and the (lack of) SATA controller recognition on their DG33FB motherboard can bite my entire chocolatey ass.
• By way of Coworker Drew: Star Wars-Coming to America mashup:

  
  Star Wars Coming to America – Watch more free videos

• From the “Kids Have No Fear” file: Video of Kid Climbing into a Claw Machine
• Reporters booted from Black Hat conference for hacking
  (Umm… isn’t that part of the whole “black hat” thing?! *blink blink*)

Namaste.

Thursday – 07 August 2008
Belated Happy Hatching Day to :

After work, and I headed downtown to have dinner at Poplar Street Pub.

We had barely gotten in the door when Kade came up to us and invited us to join him, his girlfriend Emily and Rob and Michelle K at their table. The atmosphere is rather Cheers-like. They have a full bar and offer a menu of fairly typical pub fare:

• Burgers
• Bratwurst
• Fish and chips
• Chicken sandwiches
• Pizza

The difference is that the food is made on-site… even the bratwurst is ground and packed in the restaurant. And the food is VERY good. I had a burger with fries, chased by a Guinness (on tap!), but I tried some of Michelle’s pizza, which was quite tasty. For dessert, I had a bowl of Guinness ice cream (yes, I said “Guinness ice cream”) and a chocolate chip and pecan cookie. And the prices were rather reasonable.

and Jack showed up a little before we left, so we hung out an chatted with them for a bit.

All-in-all, it was a fun evening. I recommend checking out Poplar Street Pub if you’re looking for someplace different to dine and/or have a drink. Yes, being Utah it is “a private club for members;” memberships are:

• $5.00 (USD) for a temporary membership
• $12.00 for a one-year membership

After dropping off I headed home… and found that I was winding down fairly quickly. I was showered and ready for bed before 12:30.

And I slept well. Very well, indeed.

Stray Toasters

• I just had a conversation with Meliko. That was a nice – and pleasantly unexpected – way to kick off NBN Thursday.
• Zombie Rhymes
• By way of Reverend Tom: Sorting Out Coffee’s Contradictions
• Cthulhu Fonts
• 
• Demographic landscape shifts across United States
• DC Comics has updated their website
• …speaking of which, I still haven’t read yesterday’s comics.
• Legion of Substitute Heroes
• What goes up must come down
  spinning wheel got to go round
  Talking about your troubles it’s a crying sin
  Ride a painted pony
  Let the spinning wheel spin
• By way of comes news of Colorware’s iPhone customization
• Another Police Raid; More Dead Dogs
• This Courting Disaster comic made me laugh:


(click image to go to the accompanying CD item)

Attack the day…

Namaste.

Stray Toasters

• I picked up another brick of ‘Clix over lunch. Hopefully, I’ll be able to round out my set… and/or find some eBay-worthy figures.
• I also picked up the three trade paperbacks of The Middleman.
• Other Middle-stuff
  • Javier Grillo-Maruach has a LiveJournal.
  • The Middleblog
  • The non-ABC Family Middleman site
• By way of : Al Gore Places Infant Sun in Rocket to Escape Dying Planet
• I took a look at the stats for the Invisible Woman and Susan Richards (Skrull) ‘Clix figures. Wow. They’re getting used in a game soon, I think.

  

• 10 Things to Scratch from Your Worry List
• Back in the day, I bought The Typing of the Dead for my DreamCast. Until today, I had simply thought that it was a port of The House of the Dead. I had no idea that there was an actual arcade version of TotD.
• Just as a point of reference, Google Maps “doesn’t understand” the following phrases:
  • “Nuke this location”
  • “Bomb this location”

  It does, however, recognize “Target this location”

• Looking for a place to get away from it all? Try Private Islands Online, they offer islands for rent and for sale.
• Maybe I’ll actually buy some eggs so I can (finally) make some brownies tonight.

*voop*

Monday – 28 July 2008
You know that it’s going to be an interesting day when you wake up and the first question that pops into your brain when turning off the alarm is:

Who put all those giant marshmallows in the alarm!?

Seriously. That’s what went through my head as I rolled over. I actually laid in bed and pondered the question for a moment, before I began to ponder its absurdity. *shakes head*

That was the cap on a strange trip through The Dreaming, which included a visitation from an odd – and highly unexpected – Ghost of Christmas Past. Weird.

Last night, I spent a couple of futile hours trying to get a certain USB wireless networking adapter to work with the iMac. After checking a number of forums, I found that this model – mainly due to lack of fully functional drivers – doesn’t work with Panther (OS X 10.3.x)… Oh, well. I found one that does. And it’s locally available, I think. I’ll find out after work. (EDIT: Turns out that it’s on order.)

Benefit of being the first one in the IT area: I can listen to 2112 – loudly – on my speakers.
I just made a reference to “Raiders of the Lost Arcade,” since I’m listening to Rush. The person didn’t get it.

Stray Toasters

• I stopped in and chatted with , freshly back from the Left Coast, for a few minutes yesterday. Among other things, we talked a little about The Dark Knight, about which she raved. Speaking of which:
  • The Brave and the Bold trailer

  • Neil Gaiman writes Batman
• Thanks to Drew for linking me to video of Rush on The Colbert Report. I only watched the first, second and fifth sections… but they made me laugh.
• For :

  

• I’ve got the brains
  You’ve got the looks
  Let’s make lots of money…
• How many children in your state are in foster care (.pdf)
• There was a road monkey in one Hell of a hurry this morning. In the… mile and half to two miles that I was around her, I saw her nearly cause two accidents – both of which involved her cutting people off. Idiotstick.
• There’s a new episode of The Middleman tonight.
• Where are the new movie themes?

Back to it.

Namaste.

Sunday – 27 July 2008
After getting the oil changed (and tires rotated) and having my butt handed to me at HeroClix yesterday, I went down to visit Perry and the kids. We talked City and ‘Clix and other geekery. Go figure.

On the way home, I realized that I was craving Aussie Cheese Fries, so I called in an order from the local Outback Steakhouse. I got home and devoured the whole thing. I don’t know whether it was the full stomach, post-dinner cool down period or what, but I went from “watching TV” to “being watched by TV” intermittently over the next couple of hours. I woke up a little before time to head out to breakfast… only to be rooted in place by Dial M for Murder, which I had never seen before. I watched about 20 minutes of it before I was able to break free. I will be looking for this movie when I next go on a DVD run.

I made it to breakfast. VI was far more quiet than usual; I chalked it up to people taking advantage of the long weekend and going out of town. Part of the night’s conversation included discussions on “Who was the best James Bond” and different interpretations of The Joker.

This morning, my dreams were a weird amalgamation of 70s political thriller movies and IT oddness. No, they didn’t make sense to me, either – dreams rarely do. Thus, I didn’t even try to make sense of them.

Stray Toasters

• If you have an iPhone, there’s a rather addictive labyrinth game for it. I played it on ‘s phone on Friday night. was playing it on his iPhone at breakfast. Did I mention “addictive?”
• , since we were talking about it: Film Noir
• 
• LEGO gets into classrooms with WeDo robotics systems
• Comic Book Resources has good coverage of the 2008 San Diego Comic Con Internation. Some highlights include:
  • CCI: The Black Panel
  • CCI: Secret Invasion
  • couple of notes that Static, last seen on Static Shock and Justice League, will (finally) be seen again in print… as a member of the Teen Titans. And, may I just say: It’s about time!
  • CCI: The Brave and the Bold Preview Screening
  • The Middleman Panel
    • Apparently, ABC Family has done a series of PSAs, featuring The Middleman and Wendy Watson:

  • CCI: Marvel Comics Unleashes Ender’s Game
• Rush plays Rock Band
• I still need to decide on a name for the iMac. As it’s going to most likely replace the current ‘Nine, I may just go with DS9… although I’m still thinking that it may be the new Pegasus. Maybe I’ll just take some suggestions.
• Having just watched a leaked teaser for TR2N (1, 2 – #2 is a larger, rotated version of #1), I just realized that I’ve never (that’s right, “never”) watched TRON, despite spending MANY quarters on the arcade game as a kid.



• 20 Album Covers Recreated in LEGO

I should try to sort out what I’m going to do today.

But first, a bowl of Honeycomb is calling my name.

Namaste.

Saturday – 26 July 2008
Yesterday, after work, I started tinkering with the iMac. I want to have it in the living room area, so I was looking at bridging two routers. The older router wouldn’t do what I wanted/needed, so I had to investigate other options. While an AirPort card would work, I think that I’m just going to pick up a USB network adapter and call it good.

Coffee and dinner were good. Mary found a book that amused me. I bought it and decided that I would have to go on my desk at work… alongside this. That made my little inner subversive smile.

I slept in until 9:30 this morning. It was nice. Too bad there aren’t any good ‘toons to watch. I killed an hour or so flipping channels, until I hit on Nickelodeon. Sozin’s Comet, the Season 3 finale of Avatar: The Last Airbender was on. I’ve only caught sporadic episodes of Avatar, but I’ve enjoyed what I saw. The finale was no exception.

Stray Toasters

• showed me the trailer for “Legend of the Seeker,” the upcoming adaptation of Wizard’s First Rule

  

• linked me to the following article: I fell in love with a female assassin. Wow.
• The Washington Post Online has a transcript of an online chat with Neil Patrick Harris
• The following Sinfest strips amused me:
  • 
  • 
  • 

TIme to get under way. I need to get the oil changed in the car and then it’s off to play ‘Clix with Chris for a while.

Yeah, weekends are good.

Of things dead, undead, not-yet-dead and not-of-this-world:

• SaraRules and I are going to visit Doc Holliday‘s grave next weekend.
• American Vampire League

• Zombie Harmony
• Multi-National United and District 9
• Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver take on The Flash in The Flash: Rebirth

And that’s a wrap.

Friday – 25 July 2008

It’s SysAdminDay!

In honor of this, I once again bring your Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie’s System Administrator Song.

Last night, I hung out with Allie and her friend, David; I haven’t seen her in close to a year, I guess. She’s in town for a CF treatment. When I talked with her earlier in the week, I told her that I’d come visit her. I asked if she wanted anything. Her response: Tiramisu. So, I picked some up and took it to her. It was a fun visit.

I got back home around 11:00. I turned on the TV and watched the tail end of The Late Late Show. I thought about hopping on PokerStars, but realized at 12:30 that I was tapped. So I called it a night.

Stray Toasters

• If the weather stays decent, I may head to a driving range this weekend.
• From the Council for Better Driving: Utah comes Utah Code Section 41-6a-801 – Turning – Manner – Traffic Control Devices

  Loosely translated: “To the road monkey in front of me this morning: You could have turned left – into your designated lane, even though there was oncoming traffic turning right… into their designated lane.”

• No, I don’t play for the 49’ers
• Last Lecture Professor Randy Pausch, 47, Dies
• Wizard People
• 
• Oil paintings of computer cables
• The Shining recreated with WowWee robots

• LEGO Beijing Olympics

Namaste.

Wednesday: Coda
After work, I headed to Dr. Volt’s to pick up this week’s comics haul and my brick of ‘Clix:

It’s a fifty-five piece set, of which I pulled 42 unique figures.
76% of the total set in one swoop. That’s not bad.
And, I got 11 pieces that I wanted, including:

• Captain America (Isaiah Bradley)
• Cloak and Dagger
• Hawkeye (Kate Bishop)
• Howard the Duck
• Iron Man
• Nick Fury
• Power Pack
  • Energizer
  • Gee
  • Lightspeed
  • Mass Master
• Super Skrull: X-Men

And, since I got the brick, I can send in for the Super Skrull: Illuminati figure.

On the way home, I stopped in to visit SaraRules’ family. And, I picked up the “new” iMac. Now come the two most difficult parts: Figuring out where it’s going and deciding on a name for it.

Stray Toasters

• Science!
• I’m still on the fence… but leaning towards wanting to play DC Universe Online.
  When it goes live, that is.
• This amuses me not only because of the caption, but also because the kitten reminds me of Lightning… when he was still tiny.



• A live-action Cowboy Bebop movie? Could be.
• Motorist draws gun at ‘Grey Poupon’ question

I should probably give some thought to calling it a night.

Wednesday – 23 July 2008
After getting home from work, I took a relaxing – and somewhat necessary – shower. The last thing I wanted while gaming last night was B.O. It would have just been embarrassing.

Last night’s Scion session was good, if less than entirely productive. We were given our marching orders and set out to act upon them. Maybe we were a little headstrong. Maybe we were a little rash. Maybe it was Maybelline. Whatever it was, we almost got our collective recta handed to us. Fortunately, we all survived long enough to escape and try to come up with something that resembles “a plan” for next time.

I slept rather well last night. I was hoping that would be the case, given the all-day workout I had. I even indulged in a little sleeping in this morning.

Human of the Day
In what I believe to be a first, I am nominating someone under the age of five for Human of the Day. At last night’s game, did the nigh-unthinkable: She pulled up Superman: The Movie on Netflix, as a way to keep Josh quiet. I don’t think that she was aware of my affinity for the movie… or how torn my attention would be. She gave Josh headphones so that he could watch – and listen – without disturbing our gaming.

The reason that Josh gets the nod for today’s HotD is not only because he was as rapt by the movie as I usually am (although, I have apparently seen the movie enough times to be able to glance at the screen and do dialogue…), but because he would get so excited by the movie that he’d leap out of ‘s lap and bound over to Nox to say “I’m watching Superman!” and then run back over to the desk to watch more of the movie.

As a counterpoint, Nox, ever the Lex Luthor fan, kept reminding Josh and me: “You know that the good guy doesn’t win at the end of this movie, right?”

Stray Toasters

• Adam just called… because he was bored and didn’t feel like doing any work. I’m not sure if I mentioned it previously, but he and Chelsea are expecting a baby this fall/winter; they will find out the baby’s sex this afternoon.
• Church minister shames congregation by dressing as a tramp
• 
• From Broken Frontier: Uncanny X-Memories – this round has a couple of fond remembrances of issues #153 (“Kitty’s Fairy Tale”) and #186 (“LifeDeath: A Love Story”).
• Batman Then and Now: The Cost of Being Bruce Wayne
• 
• More DC Universe Online news… including screenshots
• Tyranist: I know you hate “thriller” as a genre title, but… DC to launch thriller imprint, Vertigo Crime
• Sandman 20th Anniversary Poster
• And tomorrow is Mormon Christmas, as some of us like to call it.

Time to dive in to Storage Room: Day 2.

Namaste.

Monday – 21 July 2008
A new week begins.

Last night, Perry and I spent a few hours in Paragon City – I played Corvus Nox, he played his Reforming Demon character. We joined a team that was running a few missions in the low to mid-20s. The team was “top heavy” with Tankers. This was a good and bad thing:

• Good: We had people who could hold aggro (keep the bad guys’ attention).
• Bad: They had to be elbow-up in bad guys… which meant that as the de facto healer, so did I.

I’ve mentioned before that Corvus Nox can heal, but that he’s not a primary healer. I tried making this point more that abundantly clear to my teammates. I think that the multiple deaths helped to underscore my point. Nevertheless, thanks to Double XP weekend, I put three-and-a-half levels on ‘Nox.

In an amusing side note, I ran into another character on the server named “CincinnatiJen,” who was a Bengals fan. In fact, the character concept was that of a super-powered Bengals fan. I commented to the player that, as a Ravens’ fan, I found it amusing. I’m not sure whether he/she knew enough Latin to know that “Corvus Nox” (roughly) translates to “Night Raven.” Oh, well.

And… I got my Rikti Monkey last night!

I’m not sure what to name him.. er.. her… um… it… though.

I wasn’t tired when I went to bed, so I used a crossword puzzle to help induce sleep. It worked… about 20 minutes later. I should have just stayed awake – I had one of the most disconcerting dreams I’ve had in a long time. It not only woke me up, but rattled me enough to make getting back to sleep difficult. *grblsnrkx* Thus, when the alarms went off this morning, I turned them off – with gusto – and returned to The Dreaming for a bit.

It’s Monday, but I’m hoping that wasn’t a harbinger of things to come.
On the plus side, Take Me There, by Blackstreet and Mya, greeted me on the morning commute and I have sauteed spaghetti for breakfast.

Stray Toasters

• SaraRules made it back to Aspen in good time.
• I finally found the link to the Heroclix Batman: Alpha site.
• Speaking of Mr. Wayne, The Dark Knight made $155 million in its opening weekend, setting a number of records.
• S’mores brownies.
• Band Geek Hero
• A couple weeks ago, I picked up four packs of NYTTJA frames from the Garden of Sweden, in red, green, yellow and blue. Yesterday afternoon, I pulled a number of comics out of my collection. Once I figure out which covers and frames will compliment each other best, I’m going to hang copies of cover art on the walls in my office. (Oddly enough, the green frames were easy to find cover are to match.)
• Comcast. *shakes fist*
• I picked up A Show of Hands (DVD) at Best Buy yesterday. It shall be included in today’s musical oleo.
• just had to deal with an issue – which should have never been an issue – that someone in the office created… all because that person wanted to have things his way. Apparently, he forgot that we do NOT, in fact, work for Burger King.
• Wow… and Mr. just did a little jig. Welcome to Monday.

Attack the day…

Namaste.

Sunday – 20 July 2008
It’s been a great weekend.

SaraRules got into town Friday night, a little after 10:00. I skipped post-coffee dinner with the Clitorati crew to come home and hang out with her. I also discovered the joys of screw-top (as opposed to cork-topped) wine bottles. Same great taste, less hassle.

Saturday morning, we got up and ran errands before getting on to the fun parts of the day. I stopped at Dr. Volt’s to pick up my copy of the new Fantastic Four HeroClix Starter Set… and a box of Batman: Alpha HeroClix. I wanted an Oracle figure so, I figured that I’d pick up a box a go for broke. Not only did the box have an Oracle, but I got an Alfred figure – which I’d also wanted – as well. Win-Win. We also popped next door to C.K. Cummings for chocolate (…and Swedish fish!). Talk about confection overload.

After leaving Dr. V’s we headed up to see SaraRules’ family. They were doing well.

Next stop: Larryland for a trip to Gotham City. And… I saw the Watchmen trailer in big screen glory. Wow. That was nice. Most of the other trailers were rather forgettable, though. Then… The Dark Knight. The movie was well done and a lot of fun to watch. For a movie that was two hours and forty-two minutes long, it certainly didn’t feel like it. The script was solid. The cinematography was top notch. The whole thing was a joy to watch.

The leads seemed comfortable in their roles, even the newcomers:

• Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne/Batman was believable both as a man with a secret and a man whose inner demons drive his unrelenting passion.
• Michael Caine’s Alfred was equal parts confidante, assistant… and protector – exactly what you would expect from Bruce Wayne’s manservant and best friend.
• Morgan Freeman, once again, did an excellent turn as Lucius Fox. I appreciate the fact that the script portrays him as a man who is willing to push the envelope, in the name of the greater good, but not push it so far as to compromise his principles and morals.
• Maggie Gyllenhaal’s performance as Rachel Dawes actually made me wonder “WHO did this role in the first movie?” She was solid as the flickering light at the end of Bruce Wayne’s tunnel.
• Gary Oldman. ‘Nuff said.
• Aaron Eckhart’s Harvey Dent/Two-Face was an interesting character. I didn’t mind the twist that they put in his origin. But, his descent into madness, while seemingly fast, was believable.
• And Heath Ledger’s Joker was spot-on. I know that there were many questions as to whether or not he would be up to the performance or if he could stand up to the Jokers of the past. To that, I counter with a paraphrase of a repeated line from the movie: “He was the Joker that the film needed.” This isn’t to diminish the performances of other actors in the role. To the contrary, I think that each person who has become The Joker has been exactly what the role demanded: Cesar Romero. Jack Nicholson. Mark Hamill. And when the torch was passed to the late Mr. Ledger, he bore the mantle admirably. It’s a shame that we won’t get a chance to see him reprise the role.

All-in-all, I give the movie an enthusiastic thumbs-up with a couple of batarangs on the side.

After the movie, SaraRules and I split up: She headed to her folks’ place, while I went to Chris and Mary’s for our Dark Heresy game. We didn’t get very far (at least, not while I was there – I left early), but it was fun. I headed up to meet SaraRules and visit with her family again… and then back home.

This morning was a lazy, lie about kind of morning. Then came breakfast (sauteed spaghetti!) and coffee. I’m not entirely sure what, if anything, we’re up to before Ms. SaraRules heads back to Aspen, but I’m heading over to Perry and Kate’s later to enjoy the last of the Double XP Weekend… and get my Rikti Monkey!

Namaste.

Friday – 18 July 2008
Welcome to the weekend.

This morning’s goal was to sleep in. Apparently, my body had other ideas: Despite turning off the alarm, I was up a little after 7:00. And 8:15. And somewhere around 9. I got a call from Perry at 9:15 and decided to finally take the hint that I wasn ‘t really going to get much/any more sleep. He asked something that made me laugh though: “Did you take the day off because of [City of Heroes‘] Double XP Weekend?”

I’ll try the sleeping in thing again tomorrow.

Assuming I get in gear and out the door in short order, I’ll probably head up for a cup o’ Joe with Perry before heading to lunch with and Steph (former coworker of his). Maybe I’ll just go post-lunch.

This afternoon’s agenda includes (but is not limited to) some cleaning… although, I may sneak in a little game time, too. And the idea of hitting some balls at the driving range isn’t entirely off the table, either.

To paraphrase Samuel L. Jackson, I’ve got “nothing but air and opportunity.”

Stray Toasters

• 12
• Just Put a Walkie Talkie in His Hand!
• Watchmen Trailer-to-Comic comparison
• I just chatted with ; she’s having a good time in The Big Easy.
• Keeping His Eye on the Ball
• It’s been a while since I’ve linked to this: Best of Craigslist
• Imposter
• 
• YouTomb: Where copyright-clobbered YouTubes go to die
• From The Brothers Brick: Darth Vader has a tough go of it in Gotham City

Quote of the Day
From a conversation with SaraRules about Mamma Mia!, a movie that she wants to see… and that I’ve agreed to sit through:

SaraRules: Entertainment Weekly called Mamma Mia! “exuberantly vapid”
Me: Yeah…
Me: I saw something along those lines online last night
SaraRules: Awesome. I can’t wait.
Me: hahaha
SaraRules: Dude, I’m sorry, but it’s a hollywood move musical based around the music of ABBA. How can anyone expect it to be art?
Me: High hopes?
Me: Wishful thinking?
Me: Miracle?
SaraRules: Pshaw. Delusions
SaraRules: Pshaw, now i have ABBA running through my brain.
Me: I’m sorry.
SaraRules: Hell, I’m not. Finding it on iTunes right now. 
Me: I love you… but sometimes, you scare me.
SaraRules: Because I like ABBA?
Me: No.
Me: Because you’re actively seeking ABBA out on iTunes. 😉

Time to start/finish getting ready to jet.

Thursday – 17 July 2008
4th and 1, so to speak.
I’m good with that.
AND… it’s NBN Sushi Thursday.
Bang.

Last night, I picked up an anemic number of books from Dr. Volt’s. I supplemented it by picking up one box, each, of Justice League and Avengers HeroClix. The JL box was nothing but duplicates; the Avengers box had a Rare Bucky figure.

I stopped in to hang with SaraRules’ family for a bit before heading home. When I got home I plopped down on the couch, unpacked Defiant, turned on the TV… and proceeded to nod off. I’m still not sure exactly how long I was out, but it was a little odd to awaken and not be really sure “what just happened…?”

I got up, got mobile and fixed a bite to eat. Then, it was time to hit the mean streets of Paragon City. I logged in and was invited to join a team almost immediately. I did. We fought The Freakshow. Level 30+…. which meant that I got sidekicked up to 29. And the XP started rolling in. By the time I logged off, I had tacked on a level-and-a-half. As an added bonus, an old server-mate from when I first started playing logged on and joined the team.

And I got to watch The Sisko Show and Seven Days, to boot!

I had a few (more) odd dreams this morning…

…and woke up with Here He Comes, by Will Smith, running through my head.

Workout
Mark, Wes and I hit the gym at lunch yesterday. Wes wanted to do some triceps exercises, so we worked back and triceps:

• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps – 205 lbs
• Pull-downs: 3 sets/10 reps – 120 lbs
• Reverse Deltoid Flys: 3 sets/10 reps – 1 set @ 60 lbs, 2 sets @ 70 lbs
• Tricep Press (rotating flat bar): 3 sets/10 reps – 80 lbs
• Tricep Press (rope extensions): 3 sets/10 reps – 60 lbs
• Push-ups (diamond): 1 set/15 reps

It was a good workout… and tiring. My shoulders are a little stiff/sore this morning, but I’m otherwise rather pain-free. But, I forgot to check my post-workout weight. Bah.

Stray Toasters

• Happy Anniversary to OnlyAly and !



• Ravens agree to deal with first-round QB Joe Flacco
• From the “Can’t Win for Losing” file: Rev. Jackson allegedly used ‘n-word’ on Fox News
• 
• Gaping hole in Gmail privacy
• Raspberry or not-Raspberry? You make the call.
• “Okay, son… we’ll go camping right after I stop at the bank.”

• The Bicknell International Film Festival
• I [heart] CoH/CoV… but I may have to give this some consideration:

• Sega Says the iPhone Is As powerful As the Dreamcast

Namaste.