Wednesday – 05 March 2008
Sweet frozen mocha.
Double-shot of espresso.
Good start to my day.
More days should start with haiku.
I’m not saying that “every” day should, but the occasional haiku can’t be a bad thing.
Of course, this is coming from the guy whose internal radio kept looping the theme from Inspector Gadget while getting ready for work. (I blame
Monday: Coda
Ten-and-a-half hours.
That’s how long my Monday work day wound up being. Don’t misunderstand me: I’m not complaining. Sure, it was a long day and I had a fairly boring and rote task that took up the back half (or more) of the day, but I was not a bad day by any stretch of the imagination. Just… long. And, on the “plus” side of the equation: That gives me an “extra” two-and-a-half hours to play around with on this week’s schedule, if I want.
After work, I came home for a short bit and then headed back out to take care of a couple of errands before heading over to Mary and Chris’ so that Chris and I could play dolls HeroClix. As usual, he cleaned my clock, but I had a lot of fun. The first game (400 points), I tried a team with something of a Green Lantern focus:
This was something of a war of attrition, but Chris’ tactics and skill wore me down. We decided to play one more game (200 points) before calling it a night. I decided that I wanted a “fun” team, so I went with a Justice League International theme. (I deserved to get my ass kicked just on principle for that one.) This team’s lineup included:
Chris brought out Nick Fury and agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. And Blade. Between some rather craptacular dice rolls on my part and some pretty good ones on his part, he picked my team apart. It was almost as funny to watch/play as the JLI comic series. Almost. But, again, it was fun.
We loosely talked about getting together again and playing in the not-too-distant future. I had a couple of ideas for themes, based on the point values we decide on: The Earth GLs, The New Mutants or the Captain Marvel family.
Stray Toasters
That’s close enough for jazz for tonight.
Namaste.
Sunday – 02 March 2008
It’s been a quiet and lazy day.
And that’s not a bad thing.
The morning didn’t start (for me) with comics and coffee in bed. It did start with coffee – and SaraRules did read the most recent acquisition of The Walking Dead in bed – but we wound up in the living room listening to music and hanging out.
In the afternoon, we headed to Jitterbug for a coffee and a quick bite to eat with
From there, on to SaraRules’ parents’ house for dinner and to hang out. After dinner, we watched 30 Days of Night. During the first third to half of the movie, I multi-tasked and played City of Heroes while watching the movie. By the time I was done, I was three bars closer to Level 46. Not too shabby for 30-40 minutes’ work. After the movie – and talking geek with SaraRules’ dad for a bit – we headed home. Since it was still early, we decided to watch something fairly light before calling it a night. We agreed on Justice League: The New Frontier. SaraRules liked it, especially because of its different spin on the characters; I liked it because… well, yeah.. “just because.” Duh.
This morning came early. Very early. We got up, ready and out the door and had breakfast at Paradise Bakery and Cafe before SaraRules had to head off to pick up one of her roommates and hit the road for southern Utah.
Chew on This: Food for Thought
This I Believe – Leaving Work Early to Watch the Sunset
Stray Toasters
“…right on to the friction of the day.”
Namaste.
Wednesday: Coda
After work, I headed to Dr. Volt’s to get this week’s selection of comics… and a few packs of the new HeroClix Crisis set. Of the three boxes, I only had one duplicate, which I immediately traded for another figure. Included in the take were:
I also pulled a Dial “H” for Hero dial. It will be interesting to see how it plays.
All-in-all, it was a good haul for ‘Clix.
When I got home, I ate dinner, read this week’s comic selection and then played City of Heroes. I didn’t manage to hit Security Level 45, but I’m less than 300,000 XP away from it. I did, however, help a teammate get a character to Level 20; that was fun… although it was more fun after we added a Controller to the team. (Who knew?!)
And now: Bed.
Namaste.
Tuesday: Coda
After work, I stopped at Best Buy to pick up copies of 30 Days of Night and Justice League: The New Frontier. After a stop to pick up some groceries, I came home to have dinner and watch some TV and video.
Four-Color Commentary/Reeling by on Celluloid
I started with Justice League Unlimited: “For the Man Who Has Everything.” This episode was an adaptation of the Alan Moore DC Comics story of the same name. Again, this was an episode that I haven’t watched in a long time. It was just as good to watch tonight as it was in 2004.
Next up: Justice League: The New Frontier. I had read a only few chapters of the graphic novel, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect.
Wow.
It was a good story: It was set in the mid-1950s, in the wake of McCarthyism, in an America in which heroes have been sent into hiding and/or exile by a government that fears them… or wants to control them. The characterizations, writing, the animation and… well… the whole damned thing, to be honest, were spot on. And there were plenty of Easter eggs for long-time comics fans. This movie is rated PG-13, for some language and violent content. But, if you’re looking for a good story and a nice way to spend 75 minutes, this is a good way to go.
Not a bad way to spend an evening.
Monday: Coda
I just finished watching Justice League Unlimited on Boomerang. I lucked out, they were showing “Initiation,” the first episode of the show. Kind of. It was the first episode of the new 30-minute format, as opposed to its previous two- or three-episode (60 or 90 minutes) format as Justice League. They shined it up, added a bunch of heroes to the group and gave the theme song a rock-and-roll twist.
I haven’t seen this episode in at least a couple of years. I had forgotten how good it was and how little I should have worried about the change in format. They did a great job with the characterizations:
The lack of teamwork nearly jeopardized the mission, but after regrouping – and having two members of the team taken out of the fight – they were able to dispatch the DCAU version of Brimstone.
I heartily recommend this episode to any and everyone.
Monday – 25 February 2008
Back in the saddle again. The commute wasn’t too bad, despite pea-soup fog from Enoch to just south of Beaver and again from Scipio to Mills. They have apparently “fixed” the “NEHPI” sign…
…by covering the “HPI” with a “PHI” banner. Priceless.
Stray Toasters
And, it’s not like he takes the ring off when he’s not on-duty.
Namaste.
Saturday – 23 February 2008
Last night’s Clitorati gathering was fun. It was a very nice way to wind up the week. And, even though I was told “Don’t play with your food” while I was growing up… there are just some things that can’t be passed up:
The second pic nearly did not get taken:
While setting up the shot, I asked
to move a bit. He did. Just as I prepared to take the picture, the cup – with coffee still in it – tipped over. I put down the camera and reached for the cup. And the camera fell off the table.
Fortunately, I was able to catch it between my legs.
As the camera was falling,
looked over and saw me catch the camera. After we all shared a “Did that really just happen?!” moment, she reached over to get it… …just as the camera took a picture.
There was a pregnant pause and then we all broke out in laughing fits.
Today has been a mix of what I planned to do, a few things I didn’t plan on… and completely skipping a couple of things that I planned on. All-in-all, not too bad.
The morning started, as usual, with the Legion and The Batman. Both, however, were repeats… but that didn’t stop me from enjoying both. As I was rounding the clubhouse turn and watching Stargate SG-1,
After that, I ran a few errands and then went to visit Kate, Perry and the kids. Next up: A stop in the Red Balloon to see if they had anything that I just couldn’t live without for my Rokenbok set. I considered a couple of things, but ultimately walked out empty-handed. There is a set that I am looking for, but they didn’t have it in stock.
I headed up to say “Hi” to SaraRules’ parents. I finally remembered to take over a couple of movies that they hadn’t seen. When I got there, they kindly invited me to stay for dinner; I did. Over dinner, they asked how the trip was; I gave them my side of the story (which was a positive accounting of events). I showed them pictures from the trip, as well.
Back home to chill out and spend some time in Paragon City.
Now, off to breakfast!
Namaste.
Friday – 22 February 2008
I wound up staying in SLC all day Thursday. I was going to head down to AF after working on a system here, but was… convinced to stay north of the county line. The day was… something. In fact, at one point it came precipitously close to breaking the No Bad News Thursday rule. I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t bad news, just a very poor presentation of information.
After work, I ran a couple of errands and then headed to Jitterbug to meet
Next up: A jaunt to
Home again. I fired up City of Death Heroes and joined a team with a couple of guys whom I’ve grouped with before. They’re both “a little” gung-ho. Unfortunately, they were both Scrappers and not Tankers. Suffice if to say that there was plenty of death to be had for everyone. *sigh* I left that team and was invited to join another. The second team had their act together.
Stray Toasters
While getting ready for work, I saw the packaging for some toilet paper in the trash can and had the following thought: “Cottonelle… Cotton-elle… Hm… Superman’s Krytonian aunt… who was a sanitation engineer? Yeah, that works.”
Namaste.
Friday – 15 February 2008
We got in this morning around 1:20 AM. The flight was rather uneventful… which is “good” when talking about air travel.
Today, Harborplace and the National Aquarium in Baltimore. After that/other than that, I have no idea. But, it’s a vacation, so we’re not really pressed about it.
Tomorrow, my uncle is coming down from New York to spend a few hours.
Stray Toaster
While sitting in the airport yesterday, I saw this article. It had a picture. When I saw the picture, this was the first thing that came to mind:
For those of you who don’t get the joke (or why I’m going straight to Hell), click here.
Now, to finish getting ready and attack the day.
Namaste.
Tuesday: Coda
Part of today’s lunch break was spent picking up a new sleeve for Defiant. As I don’t want to (and can’t) have eleventy-seven carry-on bags, I wanted to be able to carry the laptop, as well as books and assorted distractions in my backpack. A sleeve seemed the best way to carry and protect Defiant in the backpack. As CompUSA is going out of business, I decided to see if they had any good deals. They did; I wound up getting a Brenthaven Eclipse Sleeve I.
After work, I came home and relaxed for a bit before heading to Kohl’s in search of a new suitcase. I saw online that they had up to 50% off on luggage; how could I pass that up? I wound up buying a complete set, instead: 5 pieces for $60 USD. Not a bad deal.
I was hungry, but indecisive, on the way home, so I meandered my way from West Jordan back to Fort Union. I finally settled on something, picked it up and headed home. While eating, I killed a little time in Paragon City – four more bubbles to Security Level 43.
Stray Toasters
MiniMates movies!
Time to finish packing (48 hours from now, I’ll be in Bawl’mer) and call it a night.
Namaste.
Monday: Coda
The work day wasn’t too bad. It was fairly quiet, so aside from dousing a couple of small fires, I got some reading done. I also stayed a little later at work than I had originally planned, but that’s not a bad thing. In fact, I may put in a few extra hours tomorrow and Wednesday so that I can shave a few hours off the PTO I am taking.
Workout
Today’s weight: 171.0 lbs
Stray Toasters
I should have called it a night long ago. Time to rectify that.
Namaste.
Monday – 11 February 2008
This morning started early. 5:10 AM early. And, after a night of not sleeping well, that’s pretty damned early, indeed. But, it was worth it: SaraRules and I had breakfast at Paradise Bakery & Cafe before she headed back to Cedar City. We’ve been trying to go there for a few weeks, but never managed to get there during breakfast hours. It was pretty good and not too terribly priced; more than fast food, but a bit more substantial, too. We also discovered something else: That has to be the safest place in Cottonwood Heights at 6:00 AM — there were six or seven sheriff’s deputies there. And, it’s not the first time that I’ve noticed that.
Chew on This: Food for Thought
I’m willing to bet that this has been tossed around the Internet and other media before, but it just dawned on me: Lost is basically Gilligan’s Island with more people.
Stray Toasters
Quote of the Day
I received a random text message from Adam yesterday:
I’ll call you when I get back, I just set sail with the Captain.
I haven’t heard from him since. I just hope that it wasn’t one of those proverbial “three-hour tours.”
Sunday – 10 February 2008
It’s been a quiet day here in Lake Wobegon Salt Lake City.
The morning started with comics in bed, but changed to breakfast, coffee and yesterday’s toonage in the living room – Legion was (yet again) a rerun, but The Batman was new.
Then there was Pro Bowl and dinner with SaraRules’ parents and brother.
Now, I’m back in Paragon City with the Hand of Nefer-Tem while SaraRules quilts some more. Maybe I’ll hit 42 before the night – and Double XP – ends.
Human of the Day (weekend)
This weekend, it was a tie:
Stray Toasters
By the way…. Security Level 42. 🙂
Namaste.
This afternoon, John F. and I were talking about the naming of the new President of the LDS Church. It wasn’t Jesse Jackson. Or Al Sharpton. Or Reverend Ike. Or even Jimmy Swaggart. It was Thomas Monson. But, from our digression, we were led to wonder just what became of our good friend, The Reverend Jimmy Swaggart. A quick look on Wikipedia led to this article… which, in turn, pointed us to JSM.org. Oh, my. The good reverend is looking a little rough around the gills.
After work, I stopped at the store to get some milk and then home. I unpacked, started dinner and just… unwound. I flipped back and forth between Star Trek: Enterprise, a couple of the Law & Order shows and… something else. At 9:00, I flipped over to Boomerang to watch Justice League Unlimited. Tonight’s ep was “Double Date,” featuring Black Canary, Green Arrow, The Huntress and The Question. I hadn’t seen it before, so that was an added bonus. Damn fine episode. As the review said:
If I had to pick one episode of Justice League Unlimited to show to someone to try and get them into the show, this would be one of the high-ranking possibilities on the list. There’s an intense amount of action present, as well as great dialogue, character interaction and great animation to back it up.
None of the “big guns” were in the episode and it was still a solid story. That’s what I loved about that show. Too bad they took it off the air.
Next up, a trip to Paragon City. Security Level 40 or bust! It took a while to find a team, but I did. We ran assorted missions.
Stray Toasters
And guess who made it to Security Level 40.
Mm-hmm, that’s right.
Now, I just need to figure out what my new costume will be…
Namaste.