Random Access

Thursday – 08 November 2007
Another NBN Thursday draws to a close. Work was good. Today was “Sushi Wednesday.” (Yes, I know it was Thursday. Deal with it.) I picked up this week’s four-color goodness. And, I have brand-spankin-new sexy black hotness.

Human of the Day
There are actually three HotDs today: Joanne, from the laundry where I get my clothes done and Jerry and an unnamed manager at the Apple Store.

I decided to kill two avians with a single piece of silicate tonight and get my laundry done while I was exchanging my MacBook. (Sidenote: One of the Coworker Daves, misheard Code Monkey and me talking about the laptop and thought that we had referred to it as my BlacBook. That amused me.) So, off I went in search of adventure to swap my BlacBook MacBook and to get some clean drawers…

• Joanne: I got to the laundry a little later than planned, but was still hopeful that I could get same-day service. Couldn’t hurt to ask, after all. So, I walked in… got up to the counter… and posed the question. Joanne looked at the clock, thought about it and said yes. When I went back later to pick up the clothes, she said that she basically did it because I’ve been a fairly regular customer and that she knew that if I said I needed them tonight, that I’d be back for them. (Truth be told, Joanne has consistently been the easiest-to-deal with person at that laundry in all of the time that I have been going there; I think I actually sigh in relief whenever I see that she’s working.)
• Jerry and the unnamed Apple Store manager: While waiting on the laundry, I took the old and busted MacBook to the Apple Store to trade it in for new hotness. An associate named Jerry came up to help me. Bang. Zoom. I summarized last night’s call to the store and told him with whom I had spoken. He said that he could take care of it; he took the receipt and the MacBook and headed to the Genius Bar. A couple of minutes later, he came back – he needed my password to get into the system. And then, he was off again. He returned with the old MacBook and a fresh-in-the-box new one.There was a slight problem in matching the receipt to the MacBook – there had been some arcane workings in getting proper credit applied when the purchase was made. Enter: Unnamed manager. She came over, sussed out the deal and got the proper ducks in a row. A few minutes later, Jerry returned and told me how much it would cost to complete the exchange.

  Cost? Huh…wha?!?

  When I called last night, that was one of the things that I specifically asked. The associate said that his manager had authorized a waiving of any restocking fee. Jerry disappeared again. While he and Managerette were trying to hammer out the particulars, I wandered about the store. I also made a discovery: Battlefield 2142 has been ported to the Mac. I wandered back to the front of the store, just as they were trying to figure out where another discount had been taken in purchasing the old MacBook. I tried, unsuccessfully to call (who picked up the MacBook for me) to help sort things out. But, Managerette came up with a solution and… no more than three minutes after that, I was walking out the door with the new system.

Stray Toasters

• I picked up a copy of Peaceful Warrior this evening. It was a good adaptation of the book.
• Ou.
• Apparently, the Chasing Amy “What’s a Nubian?” clip has been removed from YouTube. But, I found a link to a similar clip of it (minus about 30 seconds) on MySpace.
• Tesla Coils Playing the Mario Bros. Theme Are Unsurprisingly Awesome
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Teen Gets Strippergram at School
• Gawker Artists
• Zombeatles’ Hard Day’s Night of the Living Dead
• By way of Maddox: Fashion tips for women from a guy who knows dick about fashion and 9 things I learned about the world from anonymous stock photo models

Namaste.

Saturday – 03 November 2007
So far, it’s been, to quote Mr. Rogers, “…a beautiful day in the neighborhood.”

As with any good Saturday, it started with sleeping in. This was followed by breakfast and coffee (and college football) and then cartoons (Legion and The Batman, natch). After observing the necessary hygiene rituals, SaraRules and I headed out to check out the shops on Main Street. Highlights included a couple of bookstores (picked up a new-to-me Spenser book!), the kite shop and the sporting goods store. The latter store amused me because I noticed that the guy working the desk was playing poker on PokerStars; he seemed a little surprised when I mentioned it. Back home for lunch (and more college football) and some other random TV watchin’.

Tonight, we – along with a couple of the roommates and their S.O.s – are going to see American Gangster. We had considered making it a double-bill with Across the Universe, but the roomies’ schedules wouldn’t work with it. Oh, well.

Stray Toasters

• I think that I have found the perfect item for use in this year’s Christmas card. Perfect, I say!
• Duane “Dog” Chapman has had his show placed on indefinite hiatus, after a conversation in which he used racial epithets in trying to convince his son to dump his girlfriend was brought to light. But, he apologized. I would like to think that he apologized because he was sorry for what he said… rather than simply because he got caught.
• Whose Kingdome Come? Geoff Johns Talks JSA
• “What’s a Nubian…?”
• BBtv: American Furry – Life, Liberty and the Fursuit of Happiness
• 
• 8-bit retro game sound synthesizer
• I have been wanting to play some good, old school fashioned Lode Runner, lately.
• Impossible Mission, too.
• Steampunk Pac-Man
• From Baltimore’s City Paper: Hallowe’en Masks VIII… especially notable/amusing – the “Play Caller of Cthulhu” mask.
• Here there be zombies!
• For those of you who watch NFL on Fox, you’re familiar with “the Touchdown Robot.”  Well… guess who’s getting his (its ?) own action figure?
• Hot chocolate.  Boo-yah!

Namaste.

Thursday – 01 November 2007
Good All Saints Day to everyone.

When I got in from work, I started reading some of the four-color shwag I had picked up before lunch. Among the things I started was the latest issue of Action Comics… featuring the Legion. I was so stoked about reading it that I was a little late getting to last night’s gaming session. I had to make a concerted effort to stop reading it after only a few pages. (Yep… that was pretty much the last nail in the coffin, confirming beyond any/all doubt that the Legion – in all of its incarnations – is my “warm, happy place” in comicdom.)

Last night, we wound up not playing Call of Cthulhu. Sort of. We played Arkham Horror, which is more or less a boardgame version of the RPG. More specifically, we played with The King in Yellow supplement – as weird as the original game is, this addition adds another couple levels to the weird-shit-o-meter.

Today has been relatively uneventful. I had to stop in the north office before coming down to the South Forty. Things here have been quiet. I’ve been able to answer a few questions from the field and get some reading done. Today’s workout was basically a repeat of Tuesdays, with a couple of changes:

• Bench press: 185 lbs, 3 sets / 10 reps (third set was 8 @ 185, 3 @ 155)
• We added shoulder presses (20 lbs, 3 sets / 15 reps) before back raises.
• Unlike Tuesday, I managed to do all three sets of back raises.

And stuff.

Stray Toasters

• I have Twix.
• Twenty-six and change.
• Wired‘s various looks at Rock Band
• By way of Broken Frontier: Whoreoween Isn’t Just for Girls Anymore
• Pragmatism. Go figure.

Wow. Nice to completely space off the fact that this was open for a while… considering that I had planned to post this right after lunch. Huh. I should probably do that now.

Namaste.

Sunday – 28 October 2007
Last night and today were both quite good.

After Friday night’s festivities, we slept in Saturday morning. Ms. SaraRules fixed a… sauted (I think) pasta dish for breakfast; it was pretty damned good. We ate and had coffee while watching ‘toons and Jim Croce videos.

Next, it was off in search of costume goodness. I had toyed around with the idea of doing a Hand of Nefer-Tem costume and even taking a suggestion from and going as Bill Cosby – Heaven knows that I have more than enough sweaters to pull it off. Sara was going to go as Little Red Riding Hood, but wasn’t able to find a red cloak… so, a trip to Target later, she went as Red Riding Hood… in the ‘hood. That made me rethink my idea. Instead of America’s favorite Jell-O Pudding-eating dad, I opted to redo my White Trash Party outfit and go as Tha’ Wolf. Complete with 40 of Miller Genuine Draft (which I think will be used to cook brats or shrimp). Home to change and then we were off…

First we stopped at Chris and Mary’s. Horror movie party. We sat around and shot the bull for an hour or so before starting the first movie: Eight-Legged Freaks. Unfortunately, the movie decided to be… uncooperative, so we only made it about 30 minutes into the movie. That’s when we noticed the time; we needed to roll out. We headed across town to and onlyaly’s place… unfortunately, we missed out on ‘s gathering. For pics of some of the Hallowe’en costumes, click here.

Sunday morning started with breakfast at Sara’s parents’ house. Waffles. Homemade, none of that Eggo stuff. Then… football. The Ravens had a bye this week. We watched the Pitt-Cincy game. As much as it hurt to do, I was rooting for Cincinnati to win. They didn’t. We left to meet up with and to take some pictures in Memory Grove. After that, we all stopped at Redrock for drinks. Back to Sara’s parents’ place for dinner… and MORE football.

Back home.

Stray Toasters

• I am typing this post on the new black hotness that is the new Defiant. I think that I shall rechristen the old laptop either Valiant or Sao Paulo.
• I still have two boxes of Butterscotch Krimpets… and haven’t eaten any of them – I gave one box to , as she is rather fond of them.
• Talking Action with Gary Frank (: This includes some LSH news)
• 114
• Simon Pegg (you know, from Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz)… as Scotty in J.J. Abrams’ upcoming Star Trek film? Interesting.
• If the Dead Ruled – a Worth1000.com Photoshop contest
• From The Salt Lake Tribune: Liquor commissioner wants booze out of view
• Failed Futuristic Predictions

And there you have it.

Namaste.

Saturday – 27 October 2007
Yesterday was fantastic! Thank you to everyone who sent well-wishes for a good and happy birthday. Thanks also to those of you who came out for dinner and then came over for cake. I had a wonderful time; I hope that you did as well.

After indulging in one of my favorite pastimes, sleeping in, I puttered around the apartment, doing some cleaning (…and getting distracted by random bright, shiny objects). I got calls from everyone in the family and a few friends, as well as a few emails, text messages (*shakes fist at ) and other electronic notes.

SaraRules arrived a little before 6:00; she brought a delicious yellow cake with chocolate/chocolate chip frosting that she baked. We ran out to pick pick up a few party-related items, brought them back and then headed off to dinner at Outback. We took over a good bit of their real estate, both in the (TINY) waiting area and in the dining area. Cheese fries. Food that food eats (a.k.a. “salad”). Prime rib. And Foster’s (“Australian for beer!”). Tasty.

Back home for cake, ice cream and assorted beverages. And chat. And just a good time hanging out. It was just like going to the bookstore for Clitorati… without the annoying “they’re having a good time, tell them to stop” people. Or the volumes of books. (I have books here, but they have me beat, ever so slightly.)

Great way to kick off thirty-seven.

Now, it’s time to go tune in Legion of Super-Heroes (new episode!) and play with the new black hotness.

Namaste.

Thursday – 25 October 2007
Dreams are weird.

Sometime this morning, I dreamed that lj user=”asdf_cat”, Jason and I had gone… somewhere.  I’m going to guess that it was a business trip, because we were staying in a hotel.  We were talking about something when there was a knock the door.  I went to the door and there was someone my brain almost immediately identified as Brian Tochi (1, 2).  Odd, in itself.  The weirdness hit Shade, the Changing Man levels when a second person entered the room: The man who had been the Manager at the REC when I first moved to Outpost Planet: Utah.  That was bizarre.

Willpower is a good thing:

• I still have three unopened boxes of Butterscotch Krimpets
• I haven’t thrown this [expletives deleted] server that I’ve been working on out the window.

After I got home last night, I learned something about “The Leash” – it was locked and I had no clue what the code to unlock it was.  *d’oh!*  Fortunately, there were no alerts last night… so I didn’t have to wind up calling someone else at odd hours of the night.

And now, we dance!

Wednesday: Coda
Today, I was given “The Leash,” as would put it. I’m now in the on-call rotation for servers, one week out of every… six, I think. and I had talked a few months ago about adding me to the rotation at some point, now that I’m working out of the Salt Lake office a few days a week. In the words of Lita Ford, Reel Big Fish and (according to ) Generation X: “It ain’t no big thing.”

After work, I remembered something that Dwim said earlier in the day: “It’s Wednesday…” Now, I knew that it was Wednesday, but I wasn’t following his drift. I made some comment about it being another day closer to Friday. And, as Friday is International Annual Rob Day – not to mention New Black Hotness Day – I was kind of in a one-track mind. Dwim, however, was referring to the fact that:

Wednesday == New Comics Day.

In light of this fact, I headed to Dr. Volt’s to feed the need. I also treated myself to twelve pieces of plastic crack, two singles and two boosters. The singles I picked up were Batman and Dr. Light; in the boosters I got:

• Aztek
• Batman (same as the single that I picked up… go figure)
• Batman (from the Justice Legion A)
• Bouncing Boy (to add to my growing plastic Legion!)
• Bronze Tiger
• Bulleteer (two of them, one in each booster)
• Firestorm
• The Flash and
• Major Disaster

After a stop at the local SuperTarget, I came home to deal with the fact that I was hungry. I decided to make spaghetti; I even made sauce. In an even more rare twist, I made garlic bread from a couple of hot dog buns. It was good, despite burning the little finger on my left hand by being a bit upid-stay.

While eating dinner I watched the last few innings of the World Series – The BoSox opened a six-pack on the Rockies. They set a new World Series Game 1 record also: Largest win margin – 12 runs.

Stray Toasters

• I picked up a box of Fat Boy ice cream sandwiches tonight. I like ice cream sandwiches.
• Zaibatsu
• “Creative counting”
• I am still digging the Across the Universe soundtrack.
• asked what I plan to name the new laptop. I told him that I would probably christen it “Defiant,” like the old laptop, in the same way that the Sao Paulo was renamed/renumbered (fourth paragraph from the bottom) to become the new Defiant.

I should hit the rack.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 24 October 2007
Two down, one in the chamber and one to go.

Last night, I met , , and Pat for dinner at Jitterbug before heading to non-Game Night. I think that I am getting addicted to the Tropical Smoothies there – I had two last night… and could have easily gone for another.

Chris wasn’t running on all cylinders last night, so there was no zombie killin’. *sigh* Oh, well… there’s always next time. Instead, we spent a couple of hours talking comics and related geekery and then played a bit of Justice League Heroes. It was a good way to spend the evening.

I got home and decided to chill on the couch with the October issue of GQ. “The best-laid plans of mice and men,” as the saying goes. I wound up falling asleep while reading the Colin Powell interview. Next stop: 3:30 AM. Right. Bed. Bed good. I slept pretty well. I slept so well that, at one point, I managed to wake up to move (i.e.: “toss off the bed”) a pillow and wound up taking out a cup of water on the nightstand. *grblsnrkx* Way to go, Robzilla.

The day, so far, has been good. We’re having a meeting today, for which we’re being required to dress “business casual” (no jeans). No problem. I even broke out one of my favorite sweaters – It’s similar to this one, but with buttons rather than a zipper.

Stray Toasters

• I had Linus and Lucy, the theme from Peanuts, running through my head a little while ago. I mentioned it to SaraRules. She countered with this article. I volleyed back with this one.
• From KUER’s RadioWest: Mothers Who Know
  

  SALT LAKE CITY, UT (2007-10-22) Earlier this month at the LDS Church’s General Conference, the head of the Relief Society Julie B. Beck praised the power in motherhood. She encouraged women not to postpone having children, and equated nurturing with homemaking. Her words re-ignited a controversy about the role of Mormon women, and within hours, LDS blogs were inundated with responses. Tuesday on RadioWest, Doug talks to LDS women about Beck’s remarks and what those say about women’s position in the LDS Church and culture.

• By way of Wired: When Geeky Goes Bad – Tackiest PC Mods
• Alienware announces Alien Exchange program
• Merry Christmas from Chiron Beta Prime,
  where we’re working in a mine for our robot overlords.
  Did I say overlords? I meant protectors.
• Free Cake.
• The Brothers Brick – LEGO Blog

Namaste.

To borrow a line from Dave Brubeck and/or Al Jarreau, I’m taking five; I’ve had it up to about “here” with TCP/IP for a bit.

Eric wasn’t in the office today and Karl punked out on us, but Jake and I went to pick up and put down heavy things:

• Bench press: 225 pounds / 3 sets, 8 reps each
• Pull-ups: 2 sets of 10 (unassisted); 1 set of five (unassisted) and 6 assisted (90 lbs)
• Rows: 120 lbs /3 sets of 12 reps/rows
• Cable fly: 110 pounds / 1 set, 10 reps; 95 pounds / 2 sets, 10 reps – all sets with a 10-second hold on the tenth rep.
• Curls: 30 lbs (dumbbells) / 3 sets, 10 reps
• Decline dumbbell press: 40 pounds / 3 sets, 15 reps

It was a good – and somewhat tiring – workout.

Stray Toasters

• Did you know that 90% of the total US pumpkin production is within 90 miles of Peoria, IL? I didn’t either.
• By way of : Dr. Frankenstein to Head Medical Group
• I had a fun conversation with about Batgirl and the DCAU the other night, including how the art for the animated Batman series changed when it went from Fox Kids to Kids’ WB.
• Guiding Lines: Women in Comics
• A tip of the hat and a wave of the cane to for pointing out the LEGO Pathfinder Space Ship
• More to Mac sales than a halo
• Smurfs. *heh*
• Also from Gizmodo: Unintentional LEGO Goatse
• Officer Surrenders After Road-Rage Shooting
• The pictures that I hung in the dining room have steam locomotives in them. Somehow, thinking about them lead to the question: Do steam locomotives count as steampunk technology, even if only in the broadest sense?
• Glamguns.com – featuring Hello Kitty AK47, Care Bear Body Armor and the My Little Pony M4A1 Carbine
• I’m craving sushi.
• Blog of comic panels depicting groin punches

Okay. That was a good breather. Back to it.

Saturday – 20 October 2007
It’s been a good day, so far:

• SaraRules and I met , theimaginarygirl, Tyranist and Rish to see 30 Days of Night.

  

  According to tig and Tyranist, who have both read the graphic novel, the movie was a good adaptation. It was a good movie and I give it a thumbs-up with an okay.

• Stopped by to say “Hi” to Kate and Perry.
• I came home to find a package from my father – my birthday package. It was chock full of Butterscotch Krimpets. Three boxes of ’em. Mm-hmm, that’s right. Three. And, there were other things in the box too, but none of them were Krimpets – although that’s not to say that they weren’t equally cool.

Yesterday, I did made it not only to the Garden of Sweden, but also to Costco. Yeah, I joined the masses and bought a membership. On a whim, I stopped at the one near 21st South… and ran into one of the technicians from the REC. As he walked down the aisle, we looked at each other with that “I… think I know you…” expression. Recognition seemed to kick in for both of us about the same time. It was a pleasant and unexpected surprise.

Last night’s Clitorati was also good. Pretty decent turn-out. The conversations were… lively and varied, as usual.

Four-Color Coverage

• Action Comics #855 and #856 – Richard Donner and Geoff Johns give us a new look at Bizarro and how Htrae and its Bizarro inhabitants came to be. But, what does all of it have to do with Jonathan Kent? Best image: Bizarro JLA, including a Bizarro Batman… with a smiley-face on his chest.
• Countdown: Issues 30, 29 and 28 -The New Challengers continue their journey through the multiverse. Jimmy Olsen catches up with the Newsboy Legion… or is it the other way around? The further adventures of Mary Marvel, magically-powered spoiled brat-at-large continue. Karate Kid breaks one off. Monarch puts in an appearance.
• Elephantmen #11 – This issue was a look at the lives of two men. Two men who saw opportunities… and worked to fill what they saw as voids. The issue was written in an overlapping manner, so that common threads in the mens’ stories lead to “crossover” points between their tales. Once again, this was a solid issue in a book that continues to impress me.
• Green Lantern Corps #16 and Green Lantern #24 – The Sinestro Corps War continues. The tide seems to turn a bit when GLs are allowed to use lethal force against the Sinestro Corps. A powerless Hal Jordan takes on Kyle-Parallax. John Stewart snaps off a little somethin’ for Parallax, too.



And Kyle gets a (or “yet another”) a new costume and job description.

• Justice League of America #14 – The JLA vs. The Injustice League, Round 2: Superman and Black Lightning versus… well, just about everyone. And we actually see a subtle, yet still-twisted, side of The Joker’s humor:
  

  Lex Luthor (hologram): Your friends need help. Come and get them.
  Superman: Where are you?
  Luthor: You’re Superman — find me.
  *hologram blinks out*
  Black Lightning: Dammit. I was tracking the resonance of his broadcast frequency, but it’s too subtle–
  Superman: It’s already gone. I was trying to do the same thing. But he did leave us something to work from. His holgraphic projector. *picks up the projector*
  Black Lightning: Superman, WAIT!
  *projector explodes in Superman’s face, splattering him with green paint*
  Superman: AHHHH!
  Black Lightning: Superman…?
  Superman: Get it… OFF me…!
  *cut to Luthor and Joker, watching a video feed*
  Luthor: Kryptonite paint?
  Joker: Who knows? We might get lucky.
  Luthor: Unlikely.
  Joker: True. But you did say you wanted him mad. And in the irritating department, a face full of Kryptonite has to rank right up there with a cavity search from airport security. Not that a rousing cavity search between loved ones can’t be a good time…
  Luthor: Too much information, Joker.

• The New Avengers #35 – The Hood, apparently taking a page from Lex Luthor’s journals, is gathering villains in the Marvel Universe and bringing them together as a… coalition? …society? …league? All of this while Venom symbiotes seem to be taking over New York City.
• Superman #666, 667 and 668 – The first two issues deal with Superman continuing his quest for Arion. And, being Superman, he does manage to find him. Duh. Issue #668 is a “Superman and son” issue: Chris Kent, bored with having to hide his powers, decides to play hooky. The problem with that is that when your foster father is Superman, there aren’t a lot of places that you can hide. Solution: Introduce the kid to Batman and Robin… and while Chris and Robin are getting acquainted, have Batman rig up a miniature red sun projector to help keep Junior’s powers under wraps. He’s the Batman. It’s what he does.
• Superman/Batman #40 – Superman, brainwashed by Darkseid. Batman, beaten to a near-pulp by Superman. Bekka, wife of New God Orion, to the rescue.
• Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Cyborg Superman #1 – We learn exactly why it is that Hank Henshaw despises Superman and why he has spent the past few years trying to destroy him. We also learn what it is that he hopes to achieve through siding with the Sinestro Corps.
• Uncanny X-Men #490 and #491 – The X-Men vs. Masque’s band of Morlocks. And, much to their chagrin, Masque discovers why it’s not a good idea to entrap a claustrophobe. Especially one who commands the weather. And especially why you shouldn’t do it while you’re standing in fairly short visual range.
  

  Storm (in a coffin-sized box): Where are we, Masque?
  Masque: ’bout an hour away from yer funerals. But that’s okay… they’ll be prayin’ up there by then, anyway.
  Storm: No… it’s early morning.
  Masque: Yep. Sunday mornin’. An’ the tunnels above us, right below that fancy old cathedral, are loaded with explosives… ready ta blow at my say-so. An’ when the cops find all yer X-Men corpses at the site of the bomb… there’s gonna be no turnin’ back.
  Caliban: Masque cannot mean that! Masque is not evil!
  Masque: Yeah, well maybe evil’s just a point’a view…
  Storm: No, it isn’t. Killing innocents is evil… no matter where you look at it from. *eyes glowing*
  CAPTION: Even from below ground, she can feel the wind and the thunder. The lightning. She calls it to her. And it listens. Like it always has.
  Masque: What?!
  *lightning shatters the chains binding Warpath and Hepzibah*
  *Storm’s coffin explodes*
  Masque: NOOO! What’d you do?!
  Storm: I may not like confined spaces, but it’s been a long time since a wooden box could hold me… so all you’ve done is make me mad.

  

  Masque: Damn you! This ain’t how it happens! *clutching the book of Prophecy*
  Storm: I suppose we’ll see.

  And who’s that certain silver-haired gentleman meeting a former New Mutant in a late night cemetary meeting?

Stray Toasters
None tonight… mayhaps tomorrow.

Namaste.

Friday – 19 October 2007
And so the week winds down.

Last night, I had dinner with lj user=”khayla”. Sushi. Tsunami. But, they were out of Ika. (KHAAAAAAAAN!) Oh, well, another time, perhaps. After that, I went to visit Kate and Perry. Then, a couple of errands and then home to try and make a little sense of the chaos before Ms. SaraRules got in.

This morning, I turned off the alarm… and turned off consciousness for an extra hour and some change. As I drifted in and out of sleep for the next little while, I phased in and out of The Dreaming. During my last excursion, I dreamed that I was playing basketball – I don’t remember with whom, though. Whomever the other guard was, we were approaching the half-court line when he lost control of the ball. I dove and stretched out for the ball…

…instead, I wound up nearly knocking my lamp off the nightstand. Fortunately, I found, I didn’t dive off the bed.

That was my cue to actually get out of bed and start the day.

Stray Toasters

• I chatted with Kris for a bit yesterday. It was a pleasant surprise.
• I enjoy Instructables. I’ve found many interesting and fun things on there. However, I think that this item has to be one of the most creative articles on there.
• Whatis.com Word of the Day: Unconference
• I Got Six
• Hmm… I found a non-Rockapella version of Zombie Jamboree on YouTube, done by The Kingston Trio.
• Zombie wedding cake topper
• SaraRules and I are making a sojourn to the Garden of Sweden this afternoon.  *genuflect*
• Darth Vader Rules Hot-Air Balloon Event
• “Did I say ‘overlords?’  I meant ‘protectors.'”
• God’s Mechanics: Vatican astronomer reconciles religion and science
• Prophet 60091…

Namaste.

Wednesday – 17 October 2007
Midweek. Grey. Rainy.

Last night was D&D game night. We… kind of, sort of accomplished some things. In the grand scheme of things. We managed to uncover at least one new mystery. (We would have gotten away with it, if it hadn’t been for you meddling kids and your dog!) And, in the words of Jerry Reed, “We got a long way to go, and a short time to get there.” So, we’ll see how things progress.

I wasn’t in the mood to make a trip to Paragon City or the Rogue Isles, so I opted for a hot – and relaxing – bath, with a glass of Pinot Noir and Black Seas of Infinity. It was a good way to end the day.

Stray Toasters

• This morning, for the first time since God was a boy, I had breakfast from McDinkle’s: an Egg McMuffin. It wasn’t hellish.
• Marvel unveiled the new look of the new Captain America. Wizard also had a couple of items about it: 1, 2.
• 
• pointed me in the direction of this: Georgia Russel’s Book Sculptures.
• I have found a new – and horrible – new toy/distraction: IKEA Room Planner.
• Time Bandits map replication
• Sex, Nazi, Burrito and Viagra: Who Googles What?
• I found a community called Mock the Stupid, by way of . Holy monkeys on parade, Batman!
• 10 Wacky Wii Accessories
• “i think i just threw up my appendix”

Wheeeee!

Namaste.

Thursday – 11 October 2007
Last night, I stayed at work a little later than I had originally planned. I spent the time hanging out and talking with a coworker; it was cool.

When I finally decided to head home, I remembered that I still needed milk. So, a quick jaunt to the local Super Target was in order. Of course, I completely spaced off the fact that I need soap, as my in-house supply is running low. *sigh* Oh, well… there’s always tomorrow.

When I got home, I tried calling Kris. No answer, so I left a message. No sooner than I hung up… the phone rings. Kris’ number – she was picking Mom up from the airport. So, I got to talk with both of them. Bonus.

While trying to decide what to have for dinner, I chatted with (not Sara), and … who found a sushi restaurant with 95 different rolls on the menu, including one called “Dracula Killer.” I finally settled on spaghetti – quick, easy and there would be a little something left over for Thursday’s lunch.

While eating, I indulged in a few episodes of Legion of Super Heroes and Justice League Unlimited, courtesy of Perry’s early birthday gift. Of the JLU episodes, I watched Kid Stuff, For the Man Who Has Everything and a couple of minutes of This Little Piggy. I had forgotten how incredibly well-written these episodes were.

Chew on This: Food for Thought
“Without direction is not the same as without purpose.”

Four-Color Coverage
I finished reading the V for Vendetta graphic novel, upon which the movie was based.

I would definitely say that I’m glad that I read this after I saw the movie. The movie captured and adapted the story very well, but there’s only so much that can be put into two hours’ worth of film. That said, I can understand why omissions and changes were made in the screenplay and that they didn’t detract from the telling of the overall story. But, there was something about reading the whole story that makes the experience more complete.

“Thank you,” to for allowing me to borrow his copy of the book.

Stray Toasters

• While in Target, I made the mistake of walking through the toy section. I was able to muster the willpower to resist purchasing anything.
• “You have 22 Seconds. Go!”
• 20×200
• The hate-powered Red Lantern Corps will apparently make their debut in the Green Lantern #25.
• Matthew Vaughn: The Brit who’s making the stars shine
• , Lightning Lass gets introduced on this weekend’s episode of LSH.
• Wal-Mart’s total area larger than Manhattan’s
• Rob Zombie was a production assistant on Pee Wee’s Playhouse.

And now, off to work. Hi-ho, hi-ho and all that.

Namaste.

Monday: Coda
I called this afternoon to ask her a work-related question. We haven’t spoken in a few months – we’ve had an email or two and some random blog comments here and there, but we haven’t actually spoken to each other since I was home in May – and she mentioned something that caught me flat-footed. I asked her if there was something that I should know about. She said, “No… you already know about this.”

I’m glad that she couldn’t see the blank/lost expression on my face.

After a few moments, I managed to wrangle a couple of brain cells, rub them together and come up with something that approximated “a clue.” *sigh* Slowly, the details came back to me. Genius I am.

Fortunately, I didn’t have to deal with too many other “thinky things” as the day wound down.

Post-work, I stopped off to see Perry, Kate and the kids… and to drop off my Sentinel for Perry to use in a game this week. Perry gave me my birthday present, a little early. I now have more toon-related and geeky goodness than you can shake a stick at.

Home.

Off to Jitterbug for dinner and coffee with , , and Pat.

Home again. Home again.

Stray Toasters

• I should really be giving more than just “consideration” to going to bed.
• The pictures from this weekend’s excursion to The “C” Overlook are up.
• A key in the door
  A step on the floor
  A note on the table
  And a meal in the micro…
• 
• While the man may have gone right ’round the bend, Michael Jackson is/was quite the entertainer. As a case in point, I present Remember the Time – featuring Eddie Murphy, Iman (still my first choice to play Storm in an X-Men movie) and Earvin “Magic” Johnson.
• By way of : IKEA hacker
• Sequins != Sequence
  (Learn the difference. Please.)
• Than != Then
  (Learn the difference here, too. Seriously.)
• Happy 30th Birthday to the Atari 2600
• From the “This Has to Be Fifteen Kinds of Wrong” file: Anna Rexia Hallowe’en Costume
• Do you want/need to stand out at your next company party or high school reunion?
  Would rolling up in new hotness set it off?
  Rent a tank.
  Guaranteed to turn heads… and if it doesn’t, blow ’em away.

Alright, time to try this “sleep” thing.

Namaste.

Saturday – 06 October 2007
Today’s my father’s birthday. I called him this morning to congratulate him on avoiding the embrace of the Dark Lady for another year. He laughed at that. When I asked what he had on-tap for the day, he said nothing, other than enjoying the day. I told him that sounded like a good way to spend the day.

Today is also ‘s birthday:

…and tomorrow is ‘s birthday:

So far, the day has been lazy. I’m waiting for Legion of Super Heroes to come on so I can do some premium couch-surfing, while enjoying a nice bowl of Honeycomb.

After, I can get “right on to the friction of the day” and do things like running errands and cleaning and getting on the road.

::: cartoon break :::

Four-Color Coverage: Animated
Today’s Legion episode was “Cry Wolf.” It spotlighted Timber Wolf, who had been convicted of murdering his father – the man responsible for turning him into an ordinary young man into the feral Timber Wolf. The episode had a good deal of “inner monologue” voiceover, which was used rather effectively. Secondary characters in this episode were Phantom Girl and Chameleon Boy, the only Legionnaires who refused to believe the charges against TW. There was an interesting moment between Timber Wolf and Superman-X (Kell-El) where ‘Wolf challenged Superman about doing what he thought/knew was right versus blindly following Cosmic Boy’s orders. Another scene, between Timber Wolf and Phantom Girl reminded me of a few panels from “A Cold and Lonely Corner of Hell.”

I followed up the LSH by watching today’s episode of The Batman, “Vertigo.” The episode introduced Green Arrow and Count Vetigo to this version of the DCAU. There were a couple of minor tweaks to the Green Arrow origin, but they stayed fairly faithful to the original story. I liked the way that they portrayed Green Arrow and his civilian identity, Oliver Queen – the once-proud, now-humbled rich guy looking out for the “common man.” The interaction between Batman, Robin and Green Arrow was also handled well… especially as Green Arrow began to piece together Batman’s secret identity.

Stray Toasters

• I need to get moving… but the motivation isn’t fully there yet. Given the state of disarray around here, you would think that the motivation would be kicking me squarely in the tuckus. Repeatedly.
• James Sturm on Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow
  My father actually saw Satchel Paige play. I’m going to have to track down a copy and get it sent to him.
• Acolyte Derek has been promoted to “Deacon.” Selah and groove on.
• Blog Action Day
• From the XXXenophile card game: Oh No, There Goes Tokyo!



• While looking through CYMK, I saw the following ad for a drink called Sinalco:

  

• 6
• Click for art.
• From the Scrubs musical episode: Everything Comes Down to Poo
• It appears as though the Stepford Cuckoos are going to be a part of the upcoming HeroClix “Mutations and Monsters” set.

Quotes of the Day
From last night’s Clitorati gathering came the following:

1. You hit the jerky spot… and I don’t mean “beef.”
2. Speaking of “third time,” did you have the three-way?!

Okay, time to get a move on.

Namaste.