Random Access

Tuesday – 08 December 2009
It snowed last night. You can tell not only by the new blanket of white across the valley and the mountains, but also by how slowly – and, to some degree, courteously – people are driving. For me, this morning’s commute took a few minutes longer than normal, but for other people I know, their commutes doubled, tripled… or worse. In fact, it took on of the guys on my team just shy of two hours to get to the office – a trip that’s roughly twenty minutes for him under normal conditions.

With that in mind, the Council for Better Driving: Utah would like to remind motorists to drive carefully and to please take your time while commuting… or you could end up like this:

Instant Replay: Football

Baltimore Ravens at Green Bay Packers
14 – 24
The Ravens traveled to Green Bay to face the Packers.To call the Ravens’ first half performance “lackluster” would be a gross overstatement. They couldn’t get anything going: The run was contained. Passing lanes were locked down. The offensive line broke down often, causing QB Joe Flacco to hurry passes. On the other side of the ball, the defense had a fair showing, but couldn’t prevent the Packers from going up 17-0, going into halftime. The game turned around, somewhat, in the third quarter. The Ravens capitalized on the field position – GB 26 – after a great kickoff return by rookie CB Lardarius Webb.  Less than a minute later, LB Jarrett Johnson intercepted a pass, setting up the Ravens’ second TD… but after that, it was “All Packers, all the time.” Packers QB Aaron Rodgers led an excellent game on the offense. Rookie OLB Clay Matthews showed some pretty amazing talent – he was a constant presence in the backfield, he was solid in man-to-man coverage and his closing speed was impressive. With this loss, the Ravens drop to 6-6, along with half of the y AFC, making the race for the Wild Card an interesting – and much more muddled – one.

Coach Harbaugh, your boys just got schooled by the Packers. Big time. How does that make you feel?

Yeah, I’m kind of hurt and heart-broken, too.

Stray Toasters

• We’re meeting with our wedding photographer and getting our pictures back – or at least the CD/DVDs of them – tonight!
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: $10 an hour with 2 kids? IRS pounces
• From NPR News in Washington: A Carl Kasell Tribute
• Secret Service report details 91 breaches
• Amanda Conner’s ‘POWER GIRL’ Girl Power
• For those who haven’t heard: Threadless is having a $9 Holiday Sale
• New Execution Method Is Used in Ohio
• From the “Whoops… my bad” file:
  • TSA can’t redact documents properly, releases s00per s33kr1t operations manual
  • TSA Leaks Sensitive Airport Screening Manual
• This decade ‘warmest on record’
• Boo’s Door

Back to the grind.

Namaste.

Thursday – 03 December 2009
Thirteen.

That’s the answer to “How many degrees (Fahrenheit) was it when I left home this morning?” Low relative humidity or not, that’s just cold.

Last night, SaraRules and I went out to do a little Christmas shopping and errand-running.  Our first stop was at Gardner Village; we picked out our 2009 Christmas ornament. From there, we headed to The Downtown Philly Cheesesteaks for dinner – SaraRules had the Philly Bleu, I had the Mushroom Pepper. Next stop: Hobby Lobby. And after that, a pilgrimage to The Garden of Sweden.

After we returned home, we watched Shade, a movie that SaraRules got from Netflix; excerpted from their synopsis:

A trio of grifters (Thandie Newton, Gabriel Byrne and Stuart Townsend) plots the con of a lifetime when they scheme to hustle a notorious card shark known as “The Dean.”  Jamie Foxx and Melanie Griffith co-star in this twisting tale of deception, danger and double cross.

It was a good movie, better than we expected actually. It made for a good evening’s movie watching and I’d definitely recommend it.

Workout
Wes and I made it to the gym today. The fact that I’m still sore from Tuesday’s workout didn’t help… at all:

• Sit-ups (incline): 3 sets – 10/20/10*
• Bench Press: 3 sets/8 reps, 205 lbs/195 lbs/185 lbs
• Lat Pulldowns: 3 sets/10 reps, 100 lbs
• Side Bends (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps per side, 25 lbs
• Lateral Raises (w/ fly): 3 sets/10 reps, 10 lbs
• Push-ups: 3 sets/15 reps

Post-workout weight: 190.1 lbs

Stray Toasters

• The Council for Better Driving: Utah suggests reading this article: ‘Road Rage’ Case Highlights Cyclist vs. Driver Tension
• Malware Alert: Zeus faked as H1N1 alert
• 365DayGirl posted a link to Tabloach Productions – Barbie (et al.) doll customizations
• Steampunk assemblage glasses
• Monkeys! >.<
  
• Look Out Below! Wingsuits Pushed for Airborne Assaults
• 
• : Sorry to hear about this, no one should have to go out like this – Lewis’ career likely over after he suffers post-concussion symptoms
• NBC Universal + Comcast = NBC CEO Jeff Zucker’s Statement to Staff
• Vladamir Put ‘to think about’ presidential bid
• My Hilarious Warner Bros. Royalty Statement
• The PlayStation Turns 15: What did it mean for you?

Back to the grind…

Namaste.

Tuesday – 27 October 2009
It is snowing in the Salt Lake greater metropolitan area today:

It’s not much (at the moment), but it’s still snow. With that in mind, the Council for Better Driving: Utah advises drivers to exercise caution when traveling.

Yesterday was a fairly lax day, as birthdays should be. The day ended with dinner with SaraRules and the in-laws, while watching Monday Night Football. It was a nominally better game than I expected.

Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Redskins
27 – 17
The Eagles brought a lot of pressure and seemed to completely flummox the ‘skins in the first half of the game. Washington Head Coach Jim Zorn also seemed a little… lost… on the sidelines; having play-calling duties removed from you will do that, I guess. In the second half, Washington QB Jason Campbell looked a bit better, making plays and completing passes… but still wasn’t able to seal the deal.

Stray Toasters

• My Silhouette SD should be arriving this afternoon. I should be putting it to work with new TerrainLinX bits by the end of the week, I imagine.
• From Comic Book Resources’ “Wonder of Wonders” column:
  • The 12 Triumphs of Wonder Woman Day
  • Star-Spangled Panties: You are what you wear.
• ‘Hot Mormon Muffins’ calendar pokes fun at stereotypes
• Why am I looking forward to tomorrow’s comics?  This could have something to do with it:

  

• Book: Rules for My Unborn Son
• Cities, volunteers fight blight caused by foreclosure crisis
• Northwest pilots’ “distraction” blamed in airport overshoot
• Netflix Coming to Sony PS3
• Church of Scientology convicted of fraud in France

It looks like we’re off to the gym.
In the snow, which has started to come down with a little more “oomph.”

Namaste.

Wednesday – 23 September 2009
Midweek and all’s well.

Today is… well… I’m not sure that it’s going to be Comics and Sushi Wednesday, as we have a coworker whose last day is tomorrow; I was invited to his going-away lunch, which will conflict with going to sushi. Of course, since SaraRules has a work-related function right after business hours, I am on my own for dinner. Maybe I’ll just go get sushi and comics a little later than usual.

For the first time in weeks, I felt like working on a couple of custom HeroClix figures. I’m still a little torn about what to do for Cyclops. I want to do a figure of him in his black Astonishing X-Men outfit – the original one, not what it’s morphed into in the past year or so. I’m not sure which figure I want to use for it – I ordered a couple of the ones from the Danger Room set, but they will require some surgery and modeling putty to make them look “just right.” Of course, I may just borrow the arms and torso from a spare Booster Gold, since his cuffs are right… then I’d have to find legs and add a little putty in the torso, again. We’ll see how this goes.

Stray Toasters

• Thanks to everyone who responded to this post. If you haven’t responded – or if you have something else to add – please feel free to add comments.
• Working cigarette lighter cufflinks
• I’ve been a Superman fan for… well, let’s just say “a long time.” The 1978 Superman, starring the late Christopher Reeve, is still my #1 movie – a combination of it being a good movie and the memories attached to seeing it. I even enjoyed Superman Returns, warts and all. That being said, I was quite scared – and more than “a little” leery – when I heard that Tim Burton, hot off the successes of his Batman movies, was possibly being tapped to direct a reboot of the Superman franchise, based on a Kevin Smith (Clerks, Mallrats) treatment, called Superman Lives (1, 2).
  

  *blink blink*

  Tim Burton. Superman. No, they do not go together like chocolate and peanut butter. His choice for Clark Kent was even more left-of-center: Nicolas Cage. Yes, THAT Nicolas Cage:

  Nicolas Cage, a comic book fan, signed on as Superman with a $20 million pay or play contract, feeling he could “re-conceive the character.” Peters felt Cage could “convince audiences he [Superman] came from outer space.” Burton stated it would be “the first time you would believe that nobody could recognize Clark Kent as Superman, he [Cage] could physically change his persona.”

  Yeah. Granted, after seeing a (relatively) slightly more serious Cage in The Rock, I was willing to give him a shot.. but I was still leery. Don’t get me wrong, I do like Mr. Cage’s work in some things (Ghost Rider!!!), but yeah.

  All of that to say this: Yesterday, a picture surfaced of Mr. Cage’s costume test. Not the Clark Kent costume, but the Superman costume. Click here to see it, if you dare.

• FDA OKs First Human Trial of Neural Stem Cell Therapy
• James May’s LEGO house is demolished
• Photos of Edward Gorey’s house
• Improv Everywhere strikes again: Subway Yearbook Photos
• Utah Tackles Texting and Driving Problem Head-On
• The next X-film: X4 or New Mutants
  (Personally, I’d go New Mutants.)
• Church converted into magnificent bookstore
• Two things that you probably never thought of putting together: Left4Dead Teletubbies mod
• Andrei Condrescu: Growing Up the iPod Way

Namaste.

Monday – 31 August 2009
It’s not only the first of the work week; it’s the last day of August.

It was a good – and relatively quiet/lazy – weekend. Saturday, after hanging out with Perry, I headed home and just chilled. When SaraRules came home from her bridal shower, she took some time to tell me how it went and show me what she had received. It sounded like it was quite a bit of fun (independently verified later by shockpuppet). A little later, we strolled over to Target and Red Mango; I’m getting used to the original (plain) yogurt flavor, but I still miss the Green Tea flavor.

Back at home, I started working on my ‘Clix house, while SaraRules quilted and put on a movie. She had pulled up Lifeboat on Netflix Instant Queue. I stopped working on the house and watched the movie. It is the story of nine survivors of a torpedo attack against a Merchant Marine ship in a lifeboat, adrift in the Atlantic Ocean. Add to the mix one German naval officer (from the sub that fired the torpedo and was subsequently sunk). Short on food. Short on water. And tempers and attitudes getting shorter by the day. The movie provided an interesting look at the lengths people would go to in order to survive.

Sunday, I slept in. Way in. 1100 in. (Of course, given that I didn’t get to bed until after 0400, it’s not a stretch.) After lounging about for hours, I got in gear. I did a little cleaning and then set about taking pics of the now-complete ‘Clix house (link to full gallery is just below the thumbnails). I stopped at Beans & Brews for a cup of frozen mocha goodness before heading up to SaraRules’ parents’ for dinner and football. After the game, we headed home and watched part of the “Caves” episode Planet Earth.

Football Update
The Ravens played the Panthers on Saturday… and won. They’re now 3-0 in preseason. I know most people don’t think that preseason play really counts much, but I’m not one of those people.

Yesterday’s match-up pitted the Chicago Bears against the Denver Broncos, in Denver.

Chicago Bears at Denver Broncos
27 – 17

This game had a few notable features:

1. Jay Cutler’s return to Denver, following his trade to Chicago.
2. Kyle (Go Boilers!) Orton’s first game against the Bears since his trade to Denver.
3. Chicago RB Adrian Peterson. (No, not that one… this one.)

I don’t know where Chicago’s been keeping their Adrian Peterson, but his performance last night was impressive. When Chicago needed yards on a short run, he was there. Long run…? He was there. He came up with 68 yards in 12 carries. Yeah, looks like someone is looking for a first string slot.

*** In a “You Heard It Here First” prognostication: Given Mr. Peterson’s performance – and how he performs in the next preseason game and during the regular season – I am willing to bet that you will be seeing some “Adrian Peterson (CHI) vs. Adrian Peterson (MIN)” ads in the next few weeks.

Stray Toasters

• Today’s big comic-related news: Disney to buy comic book powerhouse Marvel
  • Confirmed by BBC News
  • …and Mightygodking has something to say, as well.
    
• I really need to replace my Ethernet cord at work.
• Denny Unger, CEO/Designer at WorldWorksGames, has released mostly-complete version of the TerrainLinx instructions (.pdf in .zip file). All I can say is “Wow…”
• A few weeks ago, I mentioned that James “Captain Slow” May, of BBC’s Top Gear, was planning on building a house out of LEGO bricks. According to an entry on Gizmodo: The LEGO House Looks Beautiful from the Outside, Too
• 
• London bus with 16 CCTV cameras inside
  (Big Brother really is watching you.)
• Friday Flashback: Spidey and Friends
• Texting Toddlers, How Young Is Too Young?
• Something is buggered with Safari on Defiant, but it only really seems to appear when I am trying to browse my site’s directory tree. So, back to Firefox for me… at least for the time being.
• How Science Reporting Works
• 
• Damn Dirty Zombies 4: HOLY CRAP, SUPERMAN JUST PUNCHED HIS FACE OFF!

Namaste.

Wednesday – 29 July 2009
Midweek.
It’s also Comics and Sushi Wednesday.

I got a call back from the dealership about my car late yesterday afternoon. They found the reason that the “Check Engine” light came on (a faulty Cam Shaft Position Sensor), which is a good thing. They also (FINALLY) found the source of the leak that I went in and asked about two weeks ago – you know, the one they said was the water pump – which, oddly enough wasn’t the water pump. *sigh* It was the Oil Filter Adapter. Ian, the service rep, told me how much the sensor would be… and, surprisingly, there was no sphincter tightening. Nice! Then he told me how much the adapter was. Tightening. Then I remembered how much the radiator hoses – custom parts! – were and realized that, as Freddie Mercury and Queen said:

There’s nothing you can
Nothing you can
Nothing you can do about it…

I asked SaraRules to pick me up a little early from work. I was “done.” We headed to the local Best Buy, so I could pick up the new Green Lantern: First Flight DVD. They had the single-disc version in the front display, but not the two-disc version… and there were absolutely none of the two-disc with figurine versions to be found, either.

*grblsnrkx*

Just put another nail in the coffin, why dont’cha? At that point, I was truly done. And all I wanted was to just go home. And we did. Rather than sit and fester over the state of things, I turned my attention and energy to cleaning out more things from the office. Using a couple of “creative location management” techniques, I was able to get rid of two large boxes from under the office table, completely clean out one of the sections in the closet bookcase and throw away some old/unnecessary things; thus bringing order (or a semblance of it) from the chaos (of my mood).

At least it wasn’t a Thursday.

Later in the evening, SaraRules and I went to the gym:

• Pull-ups: 3 sets/10 reps
  • 1 set: unassisted
  • 2 sets: assisted (80 lbs)
• Flys (dumbbell, incline): 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs
• Reverse Flys (dumbbell, seated): 3 sets/10 reps, 10 lbs
• Lateral Raises (dumbbell, with fly): 3 sets/10 reps, 10 lbs
• Reverse Punches (dumbbell): 2 sets/20 reps, 10 lbs
• Curls (barbell, standing): 3 sets/10 reps, 60 lbs
• Sit-ups (decline): 3 sets/20 reps
• Tricep Extensions (rope): 3 sets/15 reps, 80 lbs
• Pilates Crunches (seated, V-position): 2 sets, 30 seconds

Weight (morning): 182.5 lbs

Hopefully, today will be ever-so-slightly better.

Stray Toasters

• On the way to work yesterday, we were passed by a blue VW Beetle. The first thing that occurred to me was how amusing – and thoroughly geeky – it would be if its license plate had said “KORD.” I mentioned this to MarknTyme; he said that it would have been equally good (or bad) had the plate said “REYES.”
  • If you got that, you know why I found it amusing.
  • If you didn’t get it, you’re probably better off for it.
• Active Kids Sleep Better
• Beer diplomacy
• Retro Mini X Handheld NES System
• 
• Consumer Culture: Top 10 Ironic Ads from History
• Poll Results: The Best Music of 2009 (So Far)
• Zombie Protest Hoodie
• Rude Drivers Reduce Traffic Jams – The Council for Better Driving has not ruled on this yet.
• 

Namaste.

SaraRules, Marci, Wes and I met at the gym for a lunchtime workout. On the way to the gym, we passed a car in which a young woman and her baby were passengers. Wes made a comment that I think is perfect for a Council for Better Driving slogan:

Drive like you have a baby on-board.

He said that I was free to use it.

From there, on to the workout:

• Lat Pulldowns – 3 sets/10 reps, 120 lbs
• Rotary Lat pulldowns – 3 sets/10 reps, 85 lbs
• Lateral Raises – 3 sets/10 reps, 10 lbs
• Bent-over Rows (dumbbell) – 3 sets/10 reps, 10 lbs
• Sit-ups (decline) – 3 sets/20 reps
• Overhead Tricep Extensions – 3 sets/15 reps, 45 lbs
• Side Bends – 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Plank – 3 sets/45 seconds

This morning’s weight: 183.0 lbs

For lunch, leftover chicken molé that SaraRules made the other night.

And, for my next amazing feat: Back to the grindstone.

Namaste

Friday – 20 February 2009
Helloooooo, 9/80 Friday.

Last night, after CSI:… and watching Batman sing… SaraRules and I took a stroll over to Red Mango for yogurt; she had a pomegranate/green tea twist; I had green tea. While we ate, we finally watched an episode of Burn Notice that’s been on the DVR for a couple of weeks. Later, when SaraRules headed to bed, I started in on a new corner for my ‘Clix map: Building Cluster. (Pictures to come later)

This morning, I slept in a bit. I still haven’t figured out what I’m doing with the rest of my morning and early afternoon, but later this afternoon will be spent checking out a couple of possible wedding venues.

Stray Toasters

• posted an interesting/amusing meme in his journal this morning:
  

  Tell me your favorite bad/silly/punny/groan inducing joke, then ask the same on your blog/journal/diary/whatever…

  My joke is at the bottom of the post.

• Happily married? – a look at a rise in polygamy in the UK among the Muslim community
• Cave house for sale in Festus, MO
• Someone on HCRealms questioned: What ‘Clix should be used in an Alice in Wonderland-themed game?
• NY Post sorry for ‘Obama’ cartoon
• 
• Tesla coils sing the Doctor Who theme
• pointed out this article: Utah state senator to lose his committee chairmanship after homophobic diatribe
• Terry Pratchett gets a knighthood
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Skinless skin-tight cycling outfit
• Playlist of great movie themes

Time to do… something.

Namaste.

Oh yeah, the joke:

A snail goes to a local Nissan dealership and looks at the inventory. A salesman walks up to him and asks “May I help you?”

The snail looks at him and says, “I’m here to buy a car. I’d like to test drive…. that one,” as he points to a brand new Z.

The salesman looks a little surprised. “Oooh-kay.” He walks inside, comes back outside and returns to the snail. He hands him the keys. “Here you go.”

“Thanks!” The snail gets into the car and turns the key. The engine purrs. The snail presses the accelerator and the roars. He drops it into gear and races out of the parking lot.

Ten minutes later, the car whips back into the lot. The snail gets out with a huge grin. “That was great! I’ll take it! But there’s just one thing…”

The salesman shifts a little. “Yes, sir…?”

The snail turns to look at the car and turns back to the salesman: “I want you to take off the “Z”.”

“But, sir… that’s… that’s….”

“That’s my condition. I’ll pay for it right now and drive the car off the lot, but the “Z” has to go. I want you to put an “S” on it, instead.”

The salesman looks a little uneasy. “Let me… see what I can do.” He heads inside of the dealership. He returns a few minutes later. “Okay, it looks like we can take care of that for you. It will take about twenty minutes.”

The snail smiles widely and says,”That’s no problem.”

The two go inside as a mechanic exits the building and drives the car into the auto shop. They fill out the paperwork and shortly afterwards, the snail and his new car are tearing out of the parking lot.

Another salesman comes over to the first one and asks,”So… what was that all about? The deal with taking the car into the shop and whatnot?”

“Oh, he wanted the “Z” removed from the car… and an “S” put on in its place.”

“Huh?! That’s weird.”

“Yeah, but look at that little “S” car go!”

Tuesday – 10 February 2009
Snow is falling across the valley. Oddly enough, the road monkeys seem to be behaving… for them. That, in itself, is impressive.

Last night was a lazy night in. SaraRules fixed a tasty goulash dish and we watched a couple of NCIS reruns and  24. (Oh, Jack Bauer, you’re such a scamp.) She quilted, I nerded. And we also enjoyed some green tea yogurt from Red Mango. We also caught an episode of Unwrapped that featured an abbreviated tour of the Tastykake factory.

Stray Toasters

• The Council for Better Driving: Utah would like to remind motorists to watch your speed and spacing when driving in today’s weather.
• Mistrial declared in 12-year-old girl’s alleged assault on police officer
  • Final arguments in trial against 12-year-old girl mistaken for hooker
    
• Actor James Whitmore has passed away.
• USB devices stuffed into LEGO
• New York Comic-Con was this past weekend. A few items of note from it:
  • DC’s Superman Panel and Superman – Building a Better Tomorrow
  • DCU Online Panel
  • Green Lantern: Blackest Night, with Eddie Berganza (video)
  • Marvel and Activision Panel
  • The X-Men Panel
  • Hickman and Eaglesham talk Fantastic Four
  • Comic Book Resources also… drafted (?)… Jill Pantozzi, maintainer of Has Boobs, Reads Comics, as a reporter/commentator.  I like her style and may have to follow her blog more regularly.
• Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
• My favorite part of Newsarama’s review of Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #3 (of 5) was:
  

  Seriously, if you aren’t having a blast reading Legion of 3 Worlds, you should stop reading superhero books, because you’ve lost your joy. Conversely, if you’ve been looking for a fun experience after too many books have been bogged down by disconnect and bleak self-importance, you have arrived.

• Slashdot slashdots Slashdot
• I finally managed to track down a reasonably-priced Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)/Star Sapphire pair of Minimates.
• Hallucinations that are tied to eye disease

Meetings!  WHEEEEEE!

Namaste.

Monday – 26 January 2009
There’s a new blanket of snow in the valley. It started yesterday – mostly flurries in the valley, slightly heavier on the benches.

I got into the office this morning to find an email requesting that we move some equipment… by close of business today. That’s all well and good. The problem that I had was that it wasn’t sent until almost 7:00 PM Friday night – long after I had left. *grblsnrkx* We got most of it done before lunch. We’ll finish the minor stuff later.

Stray Toasters

• The Council for Better Driving: Utah would like to remind motorists to take care when driving in this week’s inclement weather.
• Obama pushing stronger fuel-efficiency standard
• The case against Candy Land
• 
• The Great Escape + Benny Hill = Something Like This
• How to Become a Bounty Hunter
• Quick rebound? Success of young NFL coaches gives hope
• 
• Pope welcomes Facebook, but cautions
• The MST3K Crew Reunites for Live Webcast

Lunch beckons.

Namaste.

Thursday – 18 December 2008
It’s snowing. So far, I haven’t seen any driving issues that compare with the ones from Tuesday; let’s hope that it stays that way.

Last night, I went home and started reading some of yesterday’s four-color haul; more on that below. SaraRules came over a little later. She quilted; I read. It was a nice, quiet evening. Logan came over around 9:00 to hang out. We watched a show called Time Warp – which featured Cirque de Soliel – and MythBusters, which aired their Top 10 Viewer Favorite Myths.

Four-Color Coverage
I somehow neglected to grab a copy of Tiny Titans when I picked up yesterday’s haul. *shakes fist* Otherwise, the comics were something of a mixed bag. Among the standouts were:

• DC Universe Holiday Special 2008 – I don’t often pick up holiday special issues, but I was curious about this one. I’m glad that I picked it up. It contained eight or nine (maybe even 10, but I forget the actual number) stories, ranging from 4 to 8 pages. Among them were “the super secret origin of Santa Claus,” an Aquaman (yes, THAT Aquaman) story that reflected the nativity, an excellent Gotham City story, featuring Commissioner Gordon, a Nightwing and Robin story that touched on their family tie, and one of the better stories I’ve read featuring Dr. Light II.



• Justice League of America: The Nail – This is an Elseworlds title from 1998, yet I had never read it until last night. Its premise was simple: What would the DCU have been like without Superman.

  

  It was a good read – I found myself juxtaposing it with Marvel’s Civil War and Secret Invasion, as The Nail dealt with issues of fear and isolationism in a not too dissimilar manner than the Marvel series. There is a sequel, JLA: Another Nail, that I will have to look for.

Stray Toasters

• Maddox is expanding his empire: The Best SHOW in the Universe.
• ‘Nanny’ state: Fran Drescher seeks Clinton’s Senate seat
• 
  
• Timecrimes director Masters Creepy Sci-Fi on a Shoestring
• I was wrong – shortly after I typed the “no driving issues” comment above, the “fun” started. (Pictures) It took the black car almost a half-hour to get from the first picture to the fourteenth one.
• Want a retired space shuttle? They’re up for grabs
• Gingerbread Revolution, by way of

Meeting time!

Namaste.

Tuesday – 16 December 2008
Happy birthday to

It was snowing when I woke up this morning. However, since I didn’t look out the window, I didn’t know it until I opened the door and walked outside. The morning commute roughly doubled in duration thanks to the still-falling snow. When I got in, a few of us looked out the window at the shenanigans on 215.

(click images for larger versions)

We didn’t see any accidents or injuries.

The Council for Better Driving: Utah would like to remind every to drive cautiously in the inclement weather.

Stray Toasters

• I like this picture of Dawnstar; it’s from the upcoming Legion of 3 Worlds #5
• By way of : Rare Snow in U.S. Deep South
• Pentagon Researcher Conjures Warcraft Terror Plot
• For those who haven’t seen it yet, here’s the trailer for X-Men Origins: Wolverine

• Kenneth Brannagh Talks Thor: Directing and Casting
• Marking a Milestone: McDuffie on Milestone Characters’ Return

Namaste.

As Winter approaches, the Council for Better Driving: Utah would like to remind everyone that using your cruise control in wet/snowy conditions is dangerous and could cause you to lose control of your vehicle.

For further information about cruise control and the danger of hydroplaning, see the following items:

• Snopes.com: Wild When Wet
• WikiAnswers
• HoaxSlayer

Please keep these in mind when you’re out on the roads during the holiday season… and the rest of the year!

Wednesday – 10 December 2008
Last night, SaraRules and I met her parents for dinner at Hoppers. Repeat after me: “Madame X Stout.” I had the Steak Sandwich – every time I’ve had it, it’s had a section that’s been very tough/gristle-laden… last night was no exception, but the sandwich was still very good. They’ve added salmon to their winter menu; SaraRules’ folks both had salmon dishes and said that it was quite good.

SaraRules and I headed back to my place and started to watch There Will Be Blood. Just for the record:

Movie that starts slowly + Tired-from-waking-up-early Rob = Rob who nods off

We had to put the movie on hold until a later date… and I was in bed – and knocked out – a little after 11:00. I slept fine… but woke up at 4:30. Realizing that it was Ridiculous O’Clock, I went back to sleep until 6:00, when my upstairs neighbors’ dog decided to go on a barking jag. I could deal with it, but it sounded like someone else had a BIG issue with it – there was much (LOUD) knocking on the door upstairs after about 20 minutes of barking. It was oddly amusing.

So far, the work day has been good. Hopefully, that trend will continue.

Stray Toasters

• I called my friend, William, whom I haven’t spoken with in [far too long], this morning. We did a bit of catching up and agreed to try and get together when I go home for Christmas.
• I just upgraded to WordPress 2.7 (Release Candidate 2). I like it. A lot.
• By way of SaraRules and the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Man Lives with Female Robot
• IKEA hacker
• The Council for Better Driving: Utah would like to remind Salt Lake and Utah County drivers about the rules for using the express/HOV lanes.
• Hacking Knowledge: 77 Ways to Learn Faster, Deeper and Better
• I love this image from BoingBoing:

  
  (click image for accompanying article)

• Obama Wants Broadband, Computers Part of Stimulus
• This Is the Way the World Ends
• Also from SaraRules: Detroit Homeless Men Adopt Local Families for Christmas
• Student Faces Suspension for Spamming Profs

Sushi and Comics Wednesday was a success.

As I’ve mentioned before, we’re having some work done to/around the office. This includes some electrical work (which is why I was in early yesterday) and some wall/office moves. We were expecting the latter to start either tomorrow, Friday or next week. They showed up today. So, we’ve spent the past hour or so moving things to get them access/room to move. YAY!

Back to the grind.

Namaste.

Wes and I hit the gym at lunch. We decided to try max presses first: He’s just shy of 225 lbs. and I couldn’t do anything with 300, but I was good with 250. We’re going to try again in a couple of weeks. With that out of the way, we got on to the rest of the workout:

• Leg Raises: 50 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 185 lbs
• Flys (dumbbell, flat bench): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell, hammer grip): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Tricep Extension (dumbbell, overhead): 3 sets/10 reps, 40 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell, middle block): 3 sets/10 reps, 15 lbs
• Flys (machine): 3 sets/10 reps – 1 set @ 100 lbs, 2 sets @ 110 lbs
• Back Extensions (machine): 3 sets/10 reps, 140 lbs
• Push-ups: 3 sets/15 reps

Post-workout weight: 181.2 lbs.

Stray Toasters

• The Council for Better Driving: Utah would like to note that UDoT has updated the Commuterlink site.
• I’m tired.
  I’m also pretty much done for the day.
  I may just go home and take a nap before heading out for dinner.
  (Or I may play City. Or Ultimate Alliance. Or something.)
• Thanks to for pointing out Beware of the Doghouse
• Meetings. YAY! *ack-phbbbpt*
• has convinced me that some people “…should never ever have clones.”
• USPS Server Meltdown – “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds…” but a busted server? Yeah, that’ll do it.

Namaste.