Random Access

Saturday – 28 February 2009
The end of the month comes with a lazy, sunny morning.

Last night’s Clitorati was good. We had a small turnout, but it was still fun.  Added bonus: Marci (one of my coworkers) showed up and hung out with us. I also picked up a copy of John Hodgman’s The Areas of My Expertise (1, 2, 3) … along with my fifty-something^th copy of Watchmen.

At some point today, we’re heading up to Red Butte Gardens so that we can render a decision about its viability as a ceremony/reception venue.

Stray Toasters

• In a new twist in mistyping, I almost entered this header as “Starry Toasters.”
• Viagra orgy leads to man’s death
• pointed out The Art of Manliness: How to Dress for a Wedding, First Date or Religious Ceremony. Good information to have. (And, yes, , the ceremony is still going to be semi-formal.)
• What were arcades like, Grandpa?
• Treasure trove of God-awful comic covers

On to the rest of the day… and breakfast!

Namaste.

Friday – 27 February 2009
The last workday of the month starts with snow… well, flurries, at least. But, it’s still Friday. And it’s the “90% of the staff is out of the office” Friday, to boot. (We’ll see what that does for the motivation to get some of the ‘low priority’ items in my queue accomplished.) On the other hand, it does mean that I get to crank up 2112 to get the day started.

Last night, SaraRules and I went to the USPA Fundraiser at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, held at The Point Restaurant. The fundraiser was in support of the Pharmacy School (where SaraRules’ brother, Logan, is a student). It was a nice affair – and the catering was good – and the people watching wasn’t bad, either. A secondary purpose for going was to scout it out as a potential place for our reception – there were a couple of good points, but I don’t think it will make the short list.

Stray Toasters

• I made a couple of changes to my Shado ‘Clix mod last night… which mostly included cutting off the torso and putting it on another figure’s legs. On the whole it seems to be a more “relaxed” look and the pants are closer to what I wanted/needed for the figure.
• Ray Lewis is a free agent, as of 12:01 AM. I really hope that he and the Ravens can come to accord on a salary agreement, because it would be a little too strange to think of Ray wearing another team’s colors.
• Top 5 forgotten video game consoles
  I’m not sure that I agree with all of their choices (Commodore 64?!), but oh well…
• First Solar Eclipse Recorded from Moon
• 
• Um… human-sized human candles
• The world’s shortest escalator
• From the “V for Vendetta” file: Philip Pullman on the collapse of personal liberty in the UK
• It seems as though the Ravens have already lost Bart Scott. *sigh*
• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
• And another from the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Jedi Workout on Today Show
• Steampunk Catwalk

That’ll do for now.

Namaste.

Monday – 23 February 2009
The month is whizzing right by…

Yesterday afternoon, we went to SaraRules’ parents’ for dinner and a couple of episodes of The Muppet Show. One of the episodes had a segment that featured Jim Croce’s Time in a Bottle… a segment I vaguely remembered from many moons past. Trippy.

We headed back home and felt like watching a movie. Nothing too heavy, mind you. We opted for Snakes on a Plane. It was just as entertaining last night as it was in the theatre. (Well, minus the “throwing snakes” part, of course.) And, yes, we MST3K-ed the whole thing.

Stray Toasters

• Since I’m Ivory Soap sure that neither a GL Ring nor a Legion Flight Ring would be acceptable as a wedding ring/band, SaraRules and I asked if she would design our rings. She said “Yes.” I’m looking forward to seeing what she comes up with.
• NPR’s look at Oscars 2009
• AT-AT Walker Boombox
• Sweet Mary, Mother of Jesus… the Chocolate Coworker Count just went up by 100%!
  That’s right: There are TWO of us now! (The plans for taking over are proceeding apace…)
• Microsoft Asks for a Refund from Laid-off Workers
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Office chair explodes, kills boy
• This forum thread contains some rather impressive Heroclix mods.
  (NOTE: There are currently thirty-nine (39) pages in the thread…)
• An early look at the NASA MMO

Nose. Grindstone.

Namaste.

Sunday – 22 February 2009
Friday afternoon, SaraRules and I went to check out a couple of possible wedding venues: Heritage Gardens and the Post Chapel at Fort Douglas. Both had their pros and cons. We still have two more places to check out before rendering our final decision.

Saturday had a good mixture of productivity and leisure. After starting the morning with breakfast and Batman: The Brave and the Bold, I did some cleaning and organizing around the apartment – including getting my HeroClix figures back into their respective storage spaces – before spending the evening at OnlyAly and ‘s, playing poker. Before the cleaning spree, I also managed to get new pictures of my growing ‘Clix map, including Corner #5: Building cluster. (Hint: It’s the one with the skyscraper.)

Today has been fairly lazy, so far. I don’t know that we really have anything on tap to change that, either.

Stray Toasters

• Zombie Food Pyramid, by way of
• Parent of gamer asks son to honor the Geneva Conventions
• ABC Family cancels The Middleman.  Bastards. Maybe someone else will pick it up…
• And, in a semi-related note: On the demise of books, newspapers, music and movies
• Hardware Store Offers Bush Job as Greeter
• iPod Killer: LEGO MP3 Player

That’s good for now.

Namaste.

SaraRules here.

On any given day, the thought of this whole wedding thing leaves me from slightly bemused to extremely befuddled. Not the married aspect, mind you. Being married to this fabulous man of mine is something I’m handsdownwithoutadoubt looking forward to. But the Wedding Industrial Complex ceremony, reception, and grand poobah traditions sometimes make me tilt my head and go “WhaHuh?”

So one place that I’ve found is Offbeat Bride. A little corner of the interwebs for brides who don’t necessarily want to follow tradition just because it’s tradition, but rather want an experience that is a proper symbolic encapsulation of their union. Which I can dig.

Anyway, I ran across an amusing post, and of course had to share it. It’s great, not just because the officiant opens the ceremony by talking about zombies, but because it celebrates the happiness of two people finding each other.

Today I’m going to say a few words about zombies.

So even if there aren’t any zombies at our wedding (which, to be honest, might be a bit safer than the alternative), I’m predicting an abundance of personalized happiness.

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!”

Monday – 09 February 2009
Another overcast day in the valley begins a new work week.

Last night, SaraRules and I watched Appaloosa, starring Ed Harris, Viggo Mortenson and Renee Zellweger and Jeremy Irons. It was a good movie. It both started and ended in unexpected ways, which we both enjoyed. Additionally, we were both surprised to find that the story had been written by Robert B. Parker, best known as the creator/author of the Spenser books.

Stray Toasters

• We still have nothing more concrete than “September or October,” at this point, for those keeping score.  More details as they are available. Stay tuned.
• London police demand that new pub owner installs a CCTV as a licensing condition
• 
• Two monkeys, one banana.
• Speaking of monkeys, last Wednesday’s  Monkey #1 actually apologized. Unglaublich!
• Facebook flashmob shuts down station
• Stevie Wonder’s Do I Do is a long song; it checks in at nearly 10:30 long!
• Steampunk puzzle game preview
• I’m going to try another 300 lb max bench press next week. Operative word: “Try.” The last time I tried, I couldn’t do it… but could get a rep at 250 lbs. We’ll see how it goes.
• Bankers can’t possibly afford NYC on a mere $500K/year
• 

Namaste.

A month or so ago, SaraRules and I were at Borders and I found a book that amused me so much that I had to purchase it:

As the book’s synopsis states:

Product Description
For decades, bookstore childcare sections were dominated by books for women that is, until Quirk’s Baby Owner’s Manual offered a fun and refreshing alternative for male readers. Now we’re crashing the wedding section with The Groom’s Instruction Manual, an irreverent guide to everything guys need to know about:

• Getting Engaged (popping the question, finding a ring)
• Wedding Planning (choosing a location, drafting a guest list)
• The Big Day (rehearsal dinners, toasts, what to do if you start crying)
• Post-Wedding (honeymooning, thank-you notes, newlywedding)

And much more

Illustrated in the award-winning visual style that has made our Owner’s Manual series a smash success, The Groom’s Instruction Manual is the perfect shower gift for (engaged) men of all ages.

About the Author
Shandon Fowler had five hundred guests at his wedding–and if he can survive that, you’ve got nothing to worry about. He and his wife are happily married and live in Charleston, South Carolina.

This book is great, a rather tongue-in-cheek, but informative, look at things to consider as a groom-to-be.A lot of the book features common sense items, but there are a number of “Hey, don’t forget to consider this…” items in there, as well.

I started reading the book during our trip to Cedar City a few weeks ago. Many of the chapters made me laugh, but I think that my favorite (read: “the most amusing”) section of the book has been: “Distinguishing the Woman You Love from Your Fiancée”

Before you delve even further into planning a wedding, take the time to familiarize yourself with the psychological transformation a woman may undergo and how that transformation will impact the tasks at hand.

The Woman You Love is easily recognized by several key traits:

• She means everything to you.
• She is beauty incarnate.
• She makes you smile, comforts you, even makes Journey songs sound not quite so awful.
• She gets along with your friends and family (mostly).
• Should you choose to have children, she will be the perfect mother.
• Most important, she is so indescribably special that you have asked her to be your wife

Unfortunately, the Woman You Love often goes into hibernation for an indeterminate period between your proposal and the wedding, wherein your Fiancée takes over. You will recognize the coming of your Fiancée’s blossoming through several telltale signs:

• Increased agitation, bordering on or spilling over into aggression.
• Decreased and/or sardonic shift in humor. It is not uncommon for humor to be displaced entirely by agitation or aggression.
• The onset of a form of competitiveness that can be as fierce and inexplicable as the Cola Wars. Her singular drive is to outdo any wedding she’s ever attended, watched on television, or read about.
• Any mistake you make, regardless of severity, will be a black mark on your relationship-long record of ineptitude.
• Simple and seemingly joyful tasks, such as taste-testing wedding cakes, can bring her to tears or, possibly, blows.

What Has My Fiancée Done with the Woman I Love?

All this may appear to you as if the Woman You Love is speaking in tongues. But a reason does lie behind the transformation. Your Fiancée, with her unquenchable thirst for perfection and cutthroat tactics, will plan a much better wedding than the Woman You Love because, as the say, great art comes from great hardship. Just don’t forget that the Woman You Love is still in there somewhere, and that the more you help your Fiancée — by reassuring her when she needs reassurance and correcting her when she needs correction – the sooner you’ll get back the Woman You Love.

See? Good information to know.

This is technically engagement/wedding-related post #2 from me and SaraRules has written… *does the math* …none.

I win! (…at least until she reads this post.)

A few weeks ago, SaraRules sent me a link to a website with stories of… unusual? …unique? …oddball?  …pick any of those or come up with your own… weddings. Complete with pictures. (The pictures didn’t really “help” things much, to be honest.)

I told her that she should post something about it and/or any other wedding-related items. She said that she’d think about it… if she had a wedding-related icon to post them with.

Considering that we’re still MONTHS away from a wedding, the closest things that I could think of – other than some goofy clip art or royalty-free picture of strangers – was a picture of us. Even better: A picture of us at our engagement dinner.

She agreed.

So, with all of that said, here’s the new icon:

I’m sure that I’ll probably post a few items, as well… but let’s face it: What don’t I post about?