Random Access

Tuesday – 15 May 2012
Huh.  It’s been a week since my last post. And there have been goings-on… which is to be somewhat expected, as seven days have gone by.

The biggest happening is: I resigned last week. And it was good. I’m going to miss the people. (And possibly the view from my window, but they are looking at moving fairly soon, so the view was going away anyway.)

The next biggest happening was that Sunday was Mother’s Day. More specifically, it was SaraRules!’ first chance to celebrate Mother’s Day as a mother.

We had a fairly quiet morning at home, and then dropped the girls off at the in-laws’ while SaraRules! and I went to the Utah Opera performance of Of Mice and Men. It was my third American opera; I was cautiously optimistic, as I was one-and-one on American opera to this point. My optimism was rewarded. I enjoyed the performance.

And, just in case you needed more Team DiVa cuteness:

Stray Toasters

• Diablo III has been released. I’m not playing it (yet), but I look forward to seeing my friends return when some of the “shiny” wears off.
• Sandwich celebrates 250th anniversary of the sandwich
• The Best Films You Never Want to See Again
• Why Nikola Tesla was the greatest geek who ever lived
• Combining one of my favorite literary works and LEGO: Mihai’s Inferno: The 9 circles of Hell made in LEGO
• Finnish court rules open WiFi network owner not liable for infringement
• 
• Boys Forfeit Baseball Game at Catholic School Because of Girl
• NASA trains astrounauts for asteroid mission
• Ask Chris #105: Batman, ‘Die Hard,’ and Super-Heroes’ Favorite Movies
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Moonshiners’ cow shoes
• How close to reality are the androids in Aliens and Prometheus?

Namaste.

Tuesday – 08 May 2012
It’s Tuesday.

Yesterday was Diana’s 8-month-birthday; today is Vanessa’s:

Vanessa (l) and Diana

Today is also my stepmother and brother’s birthday:

And, it’s also Teacher Appreciation Week.

This past weekend was a busy one. This isn’t to say that it wasn’t also fun, but it was definitely busy. I could have used another day to recuperate. Or something like that.

Friday, I had hoped to get a chance to nap while the girls were having their post-lunch siesta, but that didn’t come to pass… mostly because they didn’t take naps. So, when I went back to work, I was tired. After returning home from work, I was still tired. The evening was rather low-key, spent mostly Fringe and helping SaraRules! make superhero onesies for the twins:

She had already made the GL one, but has asked my help in getting the emblems for Batman, Wonder Woman and The Flash. I thought – briefly – about trying to hand-draw them. Then I had a minor epiphany: I could use my Silhouette to cut the shapes. I downloaded images of each emblem, imported them into Silhouette Studio and did a test cut. They came out better than I had expected. So, we were ready to do the cuts on the masking paper. The picture above shows how they turned out.

Saturday, SaraRules! had brunch with her friend, Sara(NotSaraRules!), so I got to spend a couple of solo hours with Team DiVa. After SaraRules! and Sara(NotSaraRules!) returned, I got ready to head to Dr. Volt’s for Free Comic Book Day. At The Avengers premiere, I made an agreement with Dave (the owner of Dr. Volt’s) that if he came to FCBD as Dr. Who – Matt Smith version, with fez! – that I would come as Green Lantern. So, when I showed up at the store like this:

Dave gave me a bit of flak. Until I turned down the collar of my shirt to reveal the GL costume underneath:

It was the first time that I’d gone to an FCBD event dressed in a costume… let alone two costumes… but it was made even more fun and worth it, because a few kids came up to me and asked if they could have pictures with me.

And remember those superhero onesies I mentioned? Well, the twins wore them to their first Free Comic Book Day:

Sunday, we met up with the Kelly clan for a picnic at Liberty Park.

The reason: Celebrating Logan’s graduation with his Doctorate in Pharmacy.  It was a little brisk if you weren’t in the sun, but it was an otherwise excellent day. And fun.

Monday was… Monday. (As Mondays are wont to be). It included quality time with SaraRules! and Team DiVa, which is never a bad thing. It also included a couple of changes to the status quo which should yield good things.  After the girls were asleep, SaraRules! and I wound down the evening with burgers that I cooked on the grill,  TopGear and Castle.

Stray Toasters

• ‘Where The Wild Things Are’ author Maurice Sendak dies
• Fresh Air Remembers Author Maurice Sendak
• RIP, Maurice Sendak
• Paralysed Claire Lomas completes London Marathon
• 
• Hilary Hahn and Hauschka: Bounce Bounce
• Simulating Mars in Austria
• Does suffering suggest the cause of all our little questions
  The answer was not coming soon she paused for reflection
• Legendary Steam Locomotive Celebrates Union Pacific’s 150th Anniversary
• 
• From the “Science!” file: Air is mightier than eight Frenchmen
• Fan Recreates ‘The Avengers’ Weapons Using LEGO Bricks
• Blueseed: Silicon Valley’s visa-free offshore startup community

Namaste.

Friday – 04 May 2012
“May the 4th be with you.

Today’s my working Friday.
It’s also the day that my brother-in-law, Logan, graduates with his Doctorate in Pharmacy.
It’s also the day that I got to go home and spend a couple of hours in the middle of the day with Team Diva…

Vanessa (l) and Diana

…so that Bonne and Steve could attend the graduation. Getting to take a little time off work to spend with my girls? Yeah, I have absolutely no problem with that.

Around 9:00 last night, I got a call from my friend, Jeremiah, asking if I wanted to go with the Dr Volt’s staff to see

It didn’t take much convincing, though I did check with SaraRules! to see if she’d mind me being gone until the wee hours of the morning. She didn’t. (Best. Wife. Ever.) I even broke out the Nick Fury eyepatch and black trenchcoat for the occasion. (Hey… comic book movie. Seen with comic shop guys. Do the math.)

It was a great movie. Joss Whedon did a fantastic job of bringing all the characters together and weaving a coherent and cohesive reason for them to work together. There was a LOT of action. A fair bit of wit. (Even a little smarm thrown in, for good measure.) All-in-all, it was pretty much a fanboy/fangirl’s dream team-up movie. If you enjoyed the movies that led up to this, you’ll have a blast.

Of course, I didn’t get home until after 3:30… and the girls started waking up around 7:00. So, I’ve been working to thin out the blood in my caffeinestream for most of the day. So far, so good.

|| PAUSE ||

Blackberry cobbler.

That was the second thought that crossed Jones’ mind when he saw the sign for Dalton. Sure, his first thought was an amalgamation of  “Home/Bed/Emma,” but he knew that there’d be cobbler, too. Emma always had one cooling on the kitchen counter when he came home from long trips. This one was a west coast turnaround, had him gone for a week. He swore that he could smell it already; his mouth watered.

Just a few more miles and we’re there, he thought, patting the dashboard through the steering wheel. He didn’t mind the miles. The rig had a smooth ride. The bunk in the sleeper was comfortable enough. And the people he met on the road were generally pretty decent.

Jones eased onto the off-ramp, letting of the gas. He stopped at the top of the ramp and then turned right onto Freeway Drive. Just ahead on the right was Cal’s Diner. There was almost no one on the road at this time of night, but there were still a few cars in front of Cal’s. He’d catch up with the boys tomorrow or Sunday and they could sit around, drink a few beers, and tell lies about their past week. He stopped for the flashing light at Rolling Road. He eased through the intersection. Jefferson… Barnes… McCutcheon. Almost home.

As he turned onto Clarksville Pike, the weariness of the trip started to weigh on him. By the time he got to Lake Avenue, he was ready for a shower, a slice of cobbler and bed – maybe even in that order. He parked on the street. He shut off the engine, turned off the lights and sighed heavily. He sat there for a few moments before reaching into the back to get his gear. As he got ready to climb down, he remembered to grab the gift bag sitting on the floor of the passenger seat. He climbed down, closed the door and walked around the front of the truck.

He walked across the lawn and up the sidewalk to the side porch. He fumbled through keys until he found the one for the door. He put his bag down and opened the screen door; the spring groaned a little. He’d have to look at that. Tomorrow. It would wait.

He put the key in the lock and turned the knob. He opened the door, inhaling deeply.

Blackberry cobbler. Home.

> PLAY >

Stray Toasters

• Go see The Avengers.
• Supervillain Schemes That Ought to Have Worked
• A Prose By Any Other Name
• Ten Things You Probably Didn’t Know About DNA
• That Spells DNA, by Jonathan Coulton
• THEY FINALLY MADE A REAL LIGHTSABER!
• Mindplay: Bricks on me

Namaste.

Wednesday – 02 May 2012
‘Tis midweek once more.

Last night after dinner SaraRules! went to her book club and I hung out at home with the sleeping Team DiVa. By the time that I’d finally finished cleaning baby bottles and putting dishes in the dishwasher – after mostly chatting with friends online – SaraRules! came home. We watched the second part of the Hawaii Five-O/NCIS: Los Angeles crossover and then I played a little MW3 with a coworker.  All-in-all, a low-key evening.

|| PAUSE ||

Waiting.

She didn’t like being kept waiting. Yet, here she was. And here she’d been for ten minutes longer than she’d told herself that she would wait. She glanced at her watch. Again. Typical, she thought. She reached for her glass, turning it slowly on the coaster before bringing it to her lips. Five more minutes…

She watched the other people in the r0om. There were a few couples, but mostly small groups. She also noted a few people obviously enjoying dinner at their company’s expense. None of her concern, really. It wasn’t her money, after all.

She glanced at the clock at the far end of the room. That’s it. She started pushing her chair back from the table as someone rushed past her in a flurry of arms, fabric and a hastily-spoken apology/excuse of some sort. She looked behind her, to see if the aisle was clear. Turning to her front, she saw that the chair across from her was no longer empty.

“Hi,” said the new arrival with a nonchalant grin. “Sorry I’m a little late.”

A little..?!  She stared back, impassive. “We agreed on 8:30.”

“True. True. But, you’re still here. And I’m here now.” He turned up the grin a little.

“Yes, you are. But, unfortunately, you are late. And I am leaving. Good night.” She stood and began to turn.

“But… Okay. Fine. I’m late.” He lowered his voice, “But, you still need someone… to get something… from somewhere.” He punctuated his statement with air quotes. A touch archaic – and definitely melodramatic – but he found himself in a playful mood. Sure this was business, but why shouldn’t he have a little fun, too?

She turned to face him. “I do. But you are no longer that someone. Once again, good night.” She walked towards the exit.

> PLAY >

Stray Toasters

• Somehow, I managed to forget that today was new comics day. It dawned on me just before lunch.
• John Constantine finally debuts as a HeroClix figure. And, yes, add it to The Covet List.
  
• Earth 2 Lets James Robinson Re-Invent DC Comics’ Biggest Superheroes
• By way of SaraRules!: Shaquille O’Neal Earns Ph.D. in Education
• Thank you, emmet swimming.
• How to Fix All of Your Biggest YouTube Annoyances
• The 8 Most Sexually Awkward Moments in Comic Book History
  This article is full of amusing comments, but these were near the top of the list:

  This terribly awkward adventure begins when Superman realizes that he and Batman are both pretty stressed from all that saving-the-world nonsense they do every day, so he invites Batman over for a goddamn sleepover at the Fortress of Solitude to discuss their feelings and have pillow fights and so forth. Batman accepts, because dealing with stressful situations in an emotionally healthy way has always been a trademark of Batman.

  …and…

  The main problem with this is that the Iron Man armor is one of the most powerful weapons on Earth and is now being controlled by a mind only a few hours old that, oh by the way, also shows signs of being hopelessly in love with Tony. It’s like an obsessed Twilight fan following Robert Pattinson around all day in a tank that could fly.

• More than meets the blue eye: You may all be related
• Birch beer!

Namaste.

Tuesday – 01 May 2012
A new month begins.
As it’s May, that means that today is May Day.
Or, if you’re Jonathan Coulton: First of May (NSFW)

It also means that it’s my friend Bret’s birthday:

Last night, SaraRules! had to work late. She was going to get home after it was time for Team DiVa to start getting ready for bed, so I asked Galadriel to come over and lend a hand. She did. And I was very grateful, especially since last night was also Adventure Baby Splash Zone bath night for the girls.

When she got home, SaraRules! fixed jambalaya for dinner. We ate and watched TopGear, Hawaii Five-O and Castle. TopGear was… TopGear, as it should be. I fortunately stumbled onto the Hawaii Five-O episode; it was the first of a two-part crossover with NCIS: Los Angeles. And the Castle episode was a zombie-themed episode, of which SaraRules! stated:

This may be the best episode of Castle ever!

It was rather fun.

|| PAUSE ||

Davis took a deep breath.  He told the others that it was just to center himself. It wasn’t. He’d been calm and focused since he entered the garage. He had to be. There was a lot riding on his part in this. He held the breath for a few seconds before exhaling slowly.

The others were talking. He wasn’t paying too much attention, but he could hear the anxiety in the new kid’s voice. Part adrenaline, part fear. Hopefully, the adrenaline would give the newbie enough of an edge to stave off her fear. On the other hand, Flynn wouldn’t have let her tag along if he didn’t think she could pull her weight.

If she’s good enough for Flynn, that’s good enough for me.

Davis closed his eyes and took another deep breath. He held it a little longer this time.

All the chatter stopped as an someone’s alarm beeped.

“Time to go,” Flynn said.

Everyone shouldered their gear and got into the van.

Davis got up, stretched and made his way over to the driver’s door. He climbed in and closed the door. He reached over his shoulders and pulled the harness down, clipping it into the buckle. He flipped switches on the dashboard and gauges flared to life. Looking over the instrument cluster, he cinched down the harness.

Check… check…check… he thought, as he looked at the readouts.

“About set here,” Davis said.

“Roll when you’re ready,” Flynn replied evenly.

Davis reached for the cable in the center console. His hand ran down the cable until he reached the jack.

Deep breath. Hold.

He plugged the jack into the port at the base of his neck. The instrument cluster gauges dimmed as images of them  painted themselves in his field of vision. He exhaled slowly…

…and the engine revved, dying down as he finished exhaling.

“We’re gone”, he said and pulled out into the night.

> PLAY >

Stray Toasters

• Spam is down, but malware is as hot as ever, Symantec finds
• Excerpt from The Middleman: The Doomsday Armageddon Apocalypse
• Lawsuit against ‘Three Cups of Tea’ author dismissed
• 
• I really wish that Google would add one thing to their Gmail account creation documentation: The part that says that Gmail doesn’t always parse dots/periods between user names.
• Role to Role, from Sherlock to ‘Star Trek’
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Woman stops child ‘sacrifice’ in San Diego cemetery
• Amanda Palmer: The new RECORD, ART BOOK, and TOUR

Quote of the Day
While I promised the person that the quote would remain unattributed, I had to share this:

Concubines usually get paid.

Which as I recall, isn’t necessarily true (unless you count the whole “I’m not having you beheaded” thing), but was still amusing.

Namaste.

Monday – 30 April 2012
A new work week begins as April ends.

This morning, Diana decided to wake up around 5:30. I thought it somewhat odd, as she took fairly short naps yesterday and fell asleep fairly easily last night. While she’s been “inchworming” herself backwards for the past few weeks, she’s recently started rolling over in her sleep, from her back to her stomach. When she wakes, this distresses her for some reason. Usually, we can turn her back over and she’ll nod off again. But, sometimes – like this morning – the nodding off takes a while. (Fortunately, she’s pretty good about playing somewhat quietly in her crib.) Still… 5:30.

Meanwhile, Vanessa slept. Until a little after 7:00.

Vanessa (l) and Diana

That aside, this was a good – and busy – weekend. SaraRules’ sister, Meliko, came into town Thursday for Steve’s birthday.

Friday, we went to Pat’s Barbecue for lunch. It was quite good. (Typing that, I just realized that I have leftovers that would have been perfect for lunch today…) Then, it was home for the girls’ nap. Later in the day, we headed over to Steve and Bonne’s for dinner.

Friday evening, I swung by SteamHead Cafe for their grand opening. They had a great turnout. Some of the Clitorati group were there, so there were familiar faces, too.

Saturday was another busy day. I was set to judge the April “Infinity Gauntlet” ‘Clix tournament for Dr. Volt’s Comic Connection. Or most of it, anyway. It turned out that I was double-booked: Red Butte Garden was having a Beginners Bonsai class that coincided with their Bonsai Show and competition (pictures) and I had signed up for the class. It was instructional and informative, but there was not a hands-on component.

By the time I got back to Dr. Volt’s they’d already finished the tournament. So, I headed home… just in time to watch Team DiVa, while SaraRules! fixed dinner.

Sunday, we got up and met the Kelly clan at Millcreek Cafe and Eggworks for breakfast before Meliko had to leave. After breakfast, SaraRules! and I had planned a pilgrimage to The Garden of Sweden, but we forgot that it didn’t open until noon. We got there just after 11 AM.

*shakes fist*

So, we took a leisurely drive around the valley and wound up at Pin-up Girl Espresso. We did make it to IKEA, after the girls’ lunch and all-too-brief naps. And then, up to the in-laws’ for dinner. I wound up the evening with episodes of Firefly, Young Justice and The Legend of Korra.

|| PAUSE ||

He stared at the twin vases on his desk. They were, generally speaking, rather non-descript. Glass. Round. Six inches tall. The only difference between them was that one was filled with glass beads, the other only had one.

“Twenty-nine,” he said to the empty room.

He’d been pondering this idea for a while, almost a month. He leaned forward, grabbing the nearly-empty vase, and turned it upside-down. The lone glass bead dropped to his desk. He watched as it wobbled and finally came to a rest. He reached forward, returning the empty vase to its home. He sat back in his chair, staring at the bead. Not surprisingly, the bead didn’t have much to say.

A lopsided grin crossed his lips. He batted the bead across the desktop a few times before picking it up. He stood and walked around to the front side of the desk. He dropped the bead into the full vase.

“Thirty.”

He inhaled deeply, turned and walked out the door.

> PLAY >

Stray Toasters

• Where Nations Debate, Harmony of a Jazzy Kind
• The Spring Suit Upgrade
• Ranking NFL teams’ drafts 1-32
• Holladay arcade brings back nostalgia of classic gaming
• Amid Rural Decay, Trees Take Root in Silos

Namaste.

Friday – 26 April 2012
It’s my “off” Friday. It’s also SaraRules’ “off” Friday. Mostly. She had to run to the office to take care of something, but she just called to say that she’s on her way home.

Today is also my father-in-law Steve Kelly’s birthday:

As part of the birthday celebration, we – Steve, Bonne, SaraRules!, Meliko, Team DiVa and I – went to Pat’s Barbecue for lunch. Burnt ends!  It was very good. Very good, indeed. This afternoon, we’re supposed to be visiting the new Natural History Museum; I’m looking forward to that.

On to the rest of today’s post!

I’m not sure if it’s readily apparent or if I mention it enough, but I have the coolest wife in the world. It’s true. I’m sure that there are some close runners-up, but I pretty much hit the jackpot in the “Choosing a Wife” lottery. She’s a great woman and an all-around great person.

I was reminded of how much I enjoy her company last night while we were eating dinner: We were watching some of the amassed DVR fare while we ate. We started with TopGear. We both like it. Go figure. After that, I wanted to – and did – watch the third episode of The Legend of Korra (which, by the way, is a fantastic successor to Avatar: The Last Airbender). After that, I cued up the most recent episode of Young Justice. And here’s where it got amusing…

I’m a long-time comics and cartoon fan; SaraRules, not so much, but she humors me a lot. I’ve been a fan of YJ since it first aired; I think that SaraRules! was turned off by one of the characters and her oft-used/overused catchphrase – I will agree that it did get annoying – but, she’d still watch it from time to time. She’s watched the last two episodes, wherein the Justice League and the junior team are [REDACTED] and seemed to enjoy them somewhat. In fact, after the episode from two weeks ago, she commented:

I always thought that Robin was a little bitch, but he’s not so bad.

That made me laugh. Last night, however, was one of the crown jewel moments:  On the cartoon, the League discovered that a villain was using a mind-control agent on heroes. They referred to it as “Starro tech.” At that, SaraRules! sat forward and got her “I’ve heard that somewhere before…” look. She worked through it enough to ask the question:

“Starro…? Isn’t that the giant…?”

“Starfish alien,” I completed. “The one I have a ‘Clix of.  Yes.”

At that, she sat back on the couch and shook her head, laughing and rolling her eyes. I knew exactly what was going through her head: “I remember comic book/cartoon stuff!  GAH!” (Ask her about the Superboy/Karate Kid fight sometime. It’s hilarious.) I could only chuckle.

Why?

She’s a loving wife and mother.
She’s intelligent and smart… and, “yes,” there is a difference.
She’s fun and funny.
And she’s not afraid to laugh at herself.

Like I said earlier: Jackpot.

And I couldn’t be happier.

Namaste.

Thursday – 26 April 2012
It’s another NBN Thursday Technical Friday.

It is also, apparently, National Pretzel Day.

After Tuesday night’s basketball-a-gogo, last night was a much lower-key Pasta and Movie Date Night. SaraRules! chose Midnight in Paris.

I didn’t know what to expect, as I’d only heard “It’s a good movie” from people, but not much else about the movie. It was, in fact, a good movie. It took a number of turns that I didn’t fully expect. Of an even greater surprise: I really enjoyed Owen Wilson’s performance. (He’s usually VERY hit-or-miss for me, much like Will Ferrell.)

I also commented to SaraRules! that this was not only our second consecutive movie that was set in Paris, but it was also a movie that captured two different qualities of the “magic” of Paris as envisioned by their protagonists. And both movies did it well.

Stray Toasters

• Before going to bed last night, I decided to read a few titles from this week’s comics haul. One of the titles was Battle Scars #6 (of 6), in which a new “Nick Fury” was introduced into the Marvel 616 Universe. Strangely, he looks like the Nick Fury from the Marvel Ultimate Universe… who was based (before the fact, actually) on the Nick Fury from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

  Coincidence? I think not.

  And, it also seems that new Nick brought a friend with him: An agent named Coulson. Phil Coulson.

• Black Man’s Killing in Georgia Eludes Spotlight
• I didn’t pay a lot of attention to The White Stripes when they came on the scene. At the beginning of the last football season, during the Ravens’ home opener, 70,000 fans started singing/chanting the hook from Seven Nation Army before the game. More recently, it’s been used as the backing theme on trailers for the upcoming G.I. Joe: Retaliation. Now, whenever I hear the song, it makes me smile. I might have to go back and check out some of their music and give them a fair shake.
• Artists “paint” on dirty car windows
• Is it a bad sign that I find this amusing?
  
• What is CISPA?
• For Galadriel (among others): Vintage 1960s Batman TV show photos
• Senate Passes Plan to Give Postal Service Fiscal Relief
• I was unaware that Cee-Lo covered Kung-Fu Fighting. I’m listening to a House remix of it. Not bad.
• Speaking of remixes, I heard a dubstep remix of Mr. Roboto on the way home from the Jazz game the other night. This morning, I tried to track it down. I wound up going through six (6) versions of the song, but I think I found the one I was looking for.
• NASA: Minivan-sized meteor over California weighed 75 tons

Namaste.

Wednesday – 25 April 2012
It’s the middle of the week… which means that it’s new comics day as well as Movie Date Night.

Last night, Matt, Dave, and I missed our usual Guys’ Night Out activities and, instead, went to see the Utah Jazz take on the Phoenix Suns in a game with major playoff implications: If the Jazz won, they would be in the playoffs. If they lost, Phoenix would have to lose their next game and the Jazz would have to win their next game.

Needless to say, there was a lot of anticipation about this game. What we didn’t know until we got to the Energy Solutions Arena was: Tip-off had been delayed from 7:00 to 8:30, for TNT’s broadcast coverage. On the other hand, this gave us plenty of time to get something to eat. We opted for Settebello Pizzeria Napoletana. And we finished it off with gelato from Capo Gelateria.

Meanwhile, back at the arena, we got to our seats and got ready for the game.

This was my first Jazz game in over 14 years; I haven’t been to one since before I moved out here. Seriously. And it was a great game to attend. The Jazz played well, except for late in the 3rd and early in the 4th quarters. But, they pulled it off with a 100-88 win, clinching a playoff berth.

It was a fun way to spend the evening and a great change of pace for Guys’ Night Out.

Stray Toasters

• Fees and Anger Rise in California Water War
• Give the Gift of Experience
• Number of interracial couples in U.S. reaches all-time high
• 
• Jessica Thom’s Tourette Syndrome Superhero Educates, Entertains and Inspires
• I still need to finish LEGO: Batman. Now, more than ever. Why?  Because they’ve just given me a reason to add LEGO: Batman 2 – DC Super Heroes to The Covet List. What is it?  This:
  
  Yeah, it’s Hal Jordan and not John Stewart, but I’m not going to complain.
• The GQ Guide to Shirting
• This sounds curiously interesting: Leviathan: graphic novel of a gigantic cruise ship lost at sea for 20 years

Namaste.

Friday – 20 April 2012
It’s my “on” Friday. And, it’s also “4/20.” (Insert your own jokes here.)

Last night was my night to fix dinner. After wracking my brain over what to fix, I decided to head up to the local Whole Foods and see what they had in their meat counter. I returned home with four good-sized Parmesan Chicken breasts. While they were in the oven, I prepared some rice in chicken broth (and a little lemon pepper, for flavor). I added a salad for our vegetables and we called it a meal.

We watched Castle while we ate; it was a fun episode, with Nathan Fillion’s Firefly costar, Adam Baldwin, as a guest star. After dinner, I joined a couple of coworkers online and played a little MW3. And had my virtual ass handed to me. Repeatedly. But, it was still fun… despite the ego-bruising.

Stray Toasters

• Girl born with no hands wins national penmanship award
• LEGO + guerilla art = Banksy
• Investigation: Two Years After the BP Spill, a Hidden Health Crisis Festers
• When I first read this strip…
  
  …I wasn’t sure what to say about it. Then I read the commentary that accompanied it:

  An annoying distraction in the gay marriage debate is the idea that it infringes on a parent’s right to leave their kids in the dark about homosexuality. Preserving a kid’s ignorance is a pretty weak argument, unless there’s a truly compelling reason to keep them ignorant… such as a giant bug monster issuing forth from their heads.

  And that’s really every kid’s dream anyway, so I still don’t see what the fuss is about.

  And that, I thought, summed things up nicely.

• By way of Dave: Trains have a long-time, little-known history at HAFB
• Fears Rise That Recovery May Falter in the Spring
• 
• Ultimate Shopping Guide for Men, Spring 2012
• By way of Matt: Facts, 360 B.C. – 2012 A.D.
• The art of Jessica Lynn Gonzalez
• 
• Trojan designed to take screenshot of hotel payment apps
• Breast cancer rules rewritten in ‘landmark’ study
• While I’m an O’s fan, I’m both happy and a little weirded-out by the fact that they are currently atop the AL East.
• Speaking of baseball: Fenway Park is celebrating it centennial season.
• 
• The World’s First Bionic Foot Mimics Flexion to Aid Gait
• The Candle Problem

Namaste.

Wednesday – 18 April 2012
It’s midweek. Which means new comics and Pasta and Movie Date Night. (I should really figure out what we’re watching, as it’s my night to choose a movie.)

Last night, Team Diva (and SaraRules! and I) had a visit from SaraRules!’ Justice League Junior League co-members, Brittany and Jana. The girls were fairly social, although Diana once (re-)discovered the knocker on the front door, she found it nearly impossible ignore. (She also makes the cutest flinching face just before she lets it go.) After Brittany and Jana left, we fed the girls and put them to bed — they fell asleep quickly. I think they might have still been a little worn out from the trip.

SaraRules! and I watched NCIS over dinner and followed that up with the tail end of Top Shot. The part we caught was an elimination challenge: The competitors had to run an obstacle course in which they had to breach three doors and shoot nine targets, against each other’s time. After the elimination, SaraRules! proclaimed:

I don’t know what this is, but I think it might just be the greatest show ever!

We’ll have to see another episode before I can make that claim, though.

Stray Toasters

• I’m confused – and strangely amused – by the seeming dichotomy of this concert lineup.
• How That Tupac Hologram at Coachella Worked
• Marco D’Alfonso Draws the Mashups That Make the Whole World Sing
• ‘Calvin and Hobbes’ Mashups With Everything from ‘Watchmen’ to ‘The Walking Dead’
• The 2012 HotelChatter Hotel WiFi Report
• Thanks to iTunes, I’ve been listening to a couple of radio stations from back home today.
• The 21 Absolute Worst Things in the World

That’s good for now.

Namaste.

Thursday – 05 April 2012
Another Thursday in the valley. Hopefully, this one will maintain the NBN tradition; it’s doing pretty well, so far.

This week’s been pretty decent. Busy, but decent. SaraRules! and Team DiVa are doing well.

Diana, Sara and Vanessa

Vanessa

Diana

Last night was Pasta and Movie Date Night. It was SaraRules!’ turn to pick a flick; she chose to start catching up on Mad Men. I was good with that, considering that we’re a season-and-a-half behind. We watched three episodes and are only two away from only being one season behind. (Hey, we’ll take the small victories where and when we can.)

I didn’t play MW3 last night, opting to read some of yesterday’s new comics. As part of the haul, I also downloaded Marvel Comics’ Avengers vs. X-Men: Infinite #1 – available only as a digital comic – which serves as a prelude to the Avengers vs. X-Men miniseries, which also started yesterday (technically, it came out on Tuesday, but let’s not quibble). If this is a possible look at “the future of comics,” as it claims, I have to give it thumbs-up for presentation. Well played, Mark Waid and Stuart Immonen.

Stray Toasters

• Many Colors of Prejudice Are Revealed in ‘Dark Girls’
• By way of SaraRules!: Robot with Human Skeleton Steps Toward Artificial Intelligence
• Nike’s new NFL uniforms built for speed, comfort
• The Nike Elite 51 Uniform
• 
• College Student Pieces His Way to LEGO Mastery
• Untangling a Border Could Leave a Mess for Some
• By way of one of my brothers-in-law: Quietest place on Earth mutes all sounds, messes with your head
• Yet another babysitting concern:
  
• Chrysler’s new SRT Viper bares its fangs
• Jeffrey Brown Imagines a More Fatherly Sith Lord in ‘Darth Vader and Son’
• Apple, Priceline and Google race to hit $1000-a-share mark

That’s good for now.

Namaste.

Thursday – 29 March 2012
It’s another Thursday in the valley. So far, it’s held up to NBN scrutiny.  Hopefully, that will continue.
(UPDATE: It did.)

Last night, SaraRules! and I watched…

…for our Date Night movie; I’ve seen it before (we own the DVD), but she hadn’t. She liked it, despite a couple of uncanny valley issues.

Stray Toasters

• Tonight, SaraRules! performs with the Utah Symphony! Again!
• By way of @wbalradio:
  

  On this date in 1996, the Baltimore #Ravens came into being when the team was officially given the name.

• Just Say No to the ‘Cinnamon Challenge’
• GM, WellStar Develop LEGO® based Visual Management Tool
• Medvedev blasts Romney for ‘number-one foe’ remark
• Hopefully, I won’t have to worry about something like this with babysitters…
  
• Looks as though Bachmann Trains has finally released their E-Z Streets line.
• The Line, It Is Drawn #83 – Comic Book What If…?’s
• In Court, Sharp Questions on Health Care Law’s Mandate
• Shelby unveiling 950-horsepower, street-legal Mustang
• Shelby doctors pictures of Shelby 1000 lifting off ground
• Maryland’s Batman Looks Like a Real Hero

Quote of the Day
This nugget of joy comes by way of my sister-in-law, Chelsea, and my nephew, Caden:

Caden: Mom, what’s that?
Me: It’s a water tower.
Caden: Oh. . .Where’s the othere one’s?
Me: What other one’s?
Caden: The milk tower and the juice tower.

The utter brilliance and genius of the three-year-old mind.

Namaste.

Friday – 23 March 2012
It’s my working Friday. ‘Nuff said.

Last night, after Team DiVa went to bed – and after dinner – I headed to the mall to do a little shopping. I went with four (4) objectives:

1. Get a screen shield for my iPad
2. Have the battery in one of my watches replaced
3. Pick up a new pair of jeans
4. Get shaving cream, if the new Lush store was open.

I was able to accomplish the first three. The Lush at this location hadn’t opened yet, which I found a little odd as they opened the store at City Creek Center yesterday. I would have figured that they’d do the whole “Two birds, one stone” thing. Apparently not. Feh.

Speaking of Team DiVa, here’s a picture of them from a few days ago:

Vanessa (l) and Diana

Since this picture was taken, they’ve been making a lot of improvement in their sitting. Some assistance is still needed, but they are getting better at sitting up on their own. (Although it doesn’t show in this picture, Vanessa is actually quite adept at sitting up. But sometimes, you just gotta get your lean on, I guess…) Diana, I should note, still sees sitting up as a necessary evil on the way to standing and will make an attempt to stand – usually by just straightening her legs – almost every time you get her into a seated position. It makes for a lot of “make sure you have a good grip on her” moments.

Stray Toasters

• U.S. Inches Toward Goal of Energy Independence
• Spread Reckoning: U.S. Suburbs Face Twin Perils of Climate Change and Peak Oil [Excerpt]
• 1/3 Scale TIE Fighter Up For Sale on Craigslist
• 
• Orbiter Autopsies: What NASA will learn from dissecting Atlantis, Discovery, and Endeavour
• You still have a little time to become a backer of Love and Capes creator Thom Zahler’s Kickstarter project.
• Lover of Trains, Lover of People
• This made me laugh:

• Taking on Police Tactic, Critics Hit Racial Divide

Tonight: Possibly coffee… and maybe some MW3 or DCUO.
Tomorrow: The Running of the Leopards 5k!

Namaste.

Wednesday – 21 March 12
Midweek is upon us once again. Today is apparently supposed to return warm(er) weather to the Land Behind the Zion Curtain. This would be a “good” thing, in my book… even if we are only two days into Spring.

Team DiVa are doing well. We’ve been working on their independent sitting; they are progressing well. We have also tried introducing them to Gerber Graduates Puffs. Vanessa seems okay with them, but Diana is not a fan. At least, not yet. But, she makes the most adorable “What is THIS?!” face while chewing and just before she spits it out.

Stray Toasters

• In vitro babies denied U.S. citizenship
• War Rocket Ajax #105: ‘Princeless’ Writer Jeremy Whitley On Making a Better Fairy Tale
• One more sleep ’til Lush opens. Selah.
• 
• Your brain, your food and obesity
• Artist Treats San Francisco Beach Like an Enormous Etch-A-Sketch
• Monkeys!
• Fooling facial recognition surveillance cameras with cunning and crocheting
• The Search for Amelia Earhart Resumes with Help from Hilary Clinton
• Clue In Old Photo Leads To New Search For Amelia Earhart’s Plane
• 
  
• Minimalist LEGO Sculpture Ads Capture Cartoon Favorites
• Can wooden skyscrapers transform concrete jungles?
• Dark Energy and the Joy of Being Wrong
• Original Einstein manuscripts posted online

Namaste.