Random Access

Tuesday – 01 January 2013
Welcome to 2013: The Year of the Snake.

Today is also the seventh day of Kwanzaa; today ‘s principle is “Imani” or “faith”:

To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

I hope that everyone had a safe and fun New Year’s Eve and that you have a prosperous 2013.

Be well and be good to one another.

Namaste.

Monday – 31 December 2012
The end of the world year is here.

Chew on This: Food for Thought
Today is the last day of 2012. Some of the experiences of the year include:

• I left my old job and found another one.
• Team DiVa had their first birthday party.
  • They also started walking, talking, signing and doing other all-around amazing things.
• I started a new blog: Pinstripes and Polos
• My mother went back to work… as a consultant.
• We did some renovations to the house and grounds:
  • We tore down the gazebo to facilitate new landscaping in the back yard.
  • We started felling trees and shrubbery in front yard, also to accomodate new landscaping.
  • We built a new gate to replace the one that a storm demolished. (I need to replace one of the sides of the gate – again! – following another storm.)
  • The Train Room has been finished; I just need to schedule an appointment to have carpet installed.
• I turned 42… I’m still not sure what the Ultimate Question is, but I do know where my towel is.
• My fifth niece was born.
• I played City of Heroes for the last time. Ever.
• We got to celebrate a very lovely Christmas with Sara!’s family.

…and, as I said a couple of years ago: “…these are all part of ‘life.’”

On the whole, 2012 was a good year. I am thankful for the many new people I met and I am grateful for the many wonderful things that I got to experience. If you were part of my year – no matter how big or small a part – thank you for the pleasure of your company and for being a part of my journey.

Stray Toasters

• Over the past few days, Sara! and I have combatted the 2012 Death Plague. I’m not sure where we picked it up, but I’m glad to have it in the proverbial rear view mirror. I didn’t leave the bedroom for over 18 hours (Thu night/Friday) and for 10 of those hours, I didn’t even leave the bed. Sara! was laid up all day Saturday and part of the day on Sunday. Somehow, Team DiVa seem to have avoided the worst of it.
• Sunday afternoon, I headed to the airport to see my friend, Megan, during a long layover. While there, I also ran into Dave, Erica and Aria, as well as former Utah Opera Resident Artist John Buffett. Superpower-on-overdrive for the end-of-year win!
• I’ve finally gotten around to continuing the Sword of Truth series, which was suggested to me years ago by my friend, Jess. (It was one of her favorite series.) It’s equal parts thrilling and maddening. I’ve also learned that having access to the Internet while reading/listening is not always a necessarily “good” thing, as I have semi-spoiled a couple of things for myself.
• Snow. 10″ in the past week and we’re having flurries now.
• I really need to figure out exactly what I want to do with the spare computers around here.
• While they lost their last game, the Ravens are still the #4 Seed in the AFC and made the playoffs for the fifth straight year under Head Coach John Harbaugh and QB Joe Flacco.
• By way of Mike B.: Off Topic: A Movie So Bad, It’s Good: The Legacy of Road House
  I’ve not seen the movie before, but this just about makes me want to invest the hour-and-a-half to see it.
• I’m sure that there were eleventy-billion other things I was planning on adding to this list. Oh, well.

I wish you a very happy and prosperous 2013 and beyond.

Tuesday – 25 December 2012

(Photograph by Amanda Nelson of Amanda Nelson Photography and Design)

Tuesday – 18 December 2012
Christmas is nigh upon us.

Sara! and I finally got our Christmas cards back from the printer. We are quite pleased with them. Last night, before addressing envelopes, I may have put a loop of track and a trolley under the tree. Tonight, I may put a few buildings under there. We shall see…

Vanessa surprised me last night with a new phrase: “Chocolate milk.” It came out more like “Chah-mick,” but she was pointing at my then-full glass of chocolate milk when she said it… and then, along with Diana, proceeded to drink about half of the glass of milk before I got a sip myself.

Vanessa (l) and Diana

Stray Toasters

• I watched last week’s Burn Notice last night. The preview for the next episode said “Season finale,” but I thought that it was supposed to be the series finale. Huh.
• Season’s Greetings from Hubble
• Classic Films Re-Imagined in LEGO Form
• Hm. I need to find some time in the next few days to play some DCUO.
• Instagram’s new legalese pisses off users

Quote of the Day
From a conversation with Sara! yesterday:

Saturday – 27 October 2012
First off, I’d like to thank everyone for the well-wishes on my birthday. It was nice to have so many people take a little time out of their day to say “Hi” and “We’re glad you survived another year.”

The day was very good. Sara! took the day off, so I was able to sleep in while she watched Team DiVa for a while. Later in the day, I made a trip to Dr. Volt’s to indulge my four-color print and ‘Clix habits. We went out for an early dinner at Outback Steakhouse (It’s tradition!); the girls were great the whole time we were there and Diana made friends with a little girl at the next table. Next, it was back home for cake and ice cream with a few friends:

Another fine homemade cake by Sara!

The day’s birthday gifts included:

…as well as a couple of very thoughtful gift certificates.

The evening wound down with us watching Fringe and me playing a little MW3 and reading the day’s four-color haul before bed.

I couldn’t have asked for a better day.

This morning, Team DiVa slept in a little… which means that Sara! and I got to sleep in a bit. After breakfast, we headed to the State Fair Park to check out the Wasatch Rails Train Show. There seem to be fewer vendors this year, but the girls had a good time watching the trains on the various layouts. I may just have to head back tomorrow and see if there’s anything that I just can’t live without…

Namaste.

Friday – 26 October 2012
Not only is it Friday…

…nor is it just…

…but, as of 7:00 AM Eastern, I turn(ed) 42.

I’m not panicking and I know where my towel is. And I’d like to think that I’m a (at least somewhat) hoopy frood. Now, if I could just figure out what the Ultimate Question to which 42 is the answer is, I’d be set.

It’s been a good year. To paraphrase last year’s comment: I have a great family and friends, as well as met some new great people.

Sidenote: In case I haven’t said it recently – or enough – I’m grateful for the people in my life. Yes, this means you.

I’ve been fortunate enough to do some fun things. So, I’m ready for forty-two to bring it on.

Stray Toasters

• One of the things that I want to do this year is write a book. I’ve had the idea and a rough story for a children’s book for more than “a few” years.
• For those who don’t know, I started a new blog a couple of months ago: Pinstripes and Polos. Please check it out, if you have a few minutes. Comments and questions are welcome.
• HALO 4, meet The Covet List. It comes out on Sara!’s birthday. But, as she doesn’t play, I don’t think she’d  appreciate it as a present. Pity.
• Coulson lives!
• This is the cover of Green Lantern #80, which has a cover date of my birth month:
  
• There’s a train show in town this weekend. I shall attend!
• Download a FREE unpublished Halloween scary short story written & read by [Neil Gaiman], and raise money for education and literacy!
• Oh, by the way: Thanks, Apple, for introducing a new iPad six months after I bought mine…. although, the new iMacs do look damn sexy. We’ll call it a draw.
• We have the technology to look for life on Mars
• Last Resort. Watch it. Love it.

So long and thanks for all the fish!

Monday – 15 October 2012
I need to convince Sara! that these would make excellent family Hallowe’en costumes:

Sisko and Dax in TOS uniforms

…and either:

…and/or…

(minus the ears and hairpiece)

…for Team DiVa.  (Not in red, though, because… well, you know… the whole “non-senior staff Redshirt don’t often come back from an away mission” thing.

Monday – 14 October 2012
It was a good weekend…

…but let’s go back a few days. I mentioned on Thursday:

I was also informed that there’s also some good news from one of the East Coast contingents of the family. Good news is always welcome.

Well, the good news was: I’m an uncle again. My sister, Kristen, had a little girl on Thursday:

Kennadi Noelle

She was 5 lbs., 18.5 inches. Wee thing. Kennadi and Kristen are doing well and both should be going home from the hospital tomorrow (Monday).

Saturday, Sara and I took Team DiVa to the Junior League of Salt Lake City’s Touch-a-Truck event. The girls got to see – and touch and climb into – a number of trucks and buses:

Vanessa (l) and Diana, on a school bus

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Later, Sara! and I attended the opening performance of Utah Opera‘s 2012-2013 season, Il Trovatore:

And, aside from being a great date night, it was also a great opportunity to wear my tuxedo:

The performance was quite good. If you live in the greater Salt Lake City metropolitan area, I’d recommend seeing this opera.

Sunday was a mostly quiet day around the house, but we did manage a trip downtown to the Urban Flea Market. Later, Sara!’s parents came over for dinner. Sara! made a french onion soup, which was delicious. We weren’t sure how Team DiVa would respond to it. We shouldn’t have worried: They loved it.

Instant Replay: Football
Today, the Ravens hosted the Dallas Cowboys.

Dallas Cowboys at Baltimore Ravens
29 – 31
Tony Romo led the 2-2 Cowboys into M&T Bank Stadium… and the Ravens sent ‘em back to the Lone Star State with a loss. Joe Flacco and the offense started out strongly, but ended their first drive with a field goal. Dallas marched down the field and scored a touchdown. The defense got broken down like fractions by Dallas’ run offense. Fortunately, Defensive Coordinator Dean Pees figured out where the gaps in the defense were and closed them for the most part. Possibly the game’s biggest highlight: In the Third Quarter, WR Jacoby Jones, fielded a kick-off – eight yards deep in the end zone – and ran it 108 yards for a touchdown, tying a NFL record and breaking WR David Reed’s former Raven record of 103 yards. The game came down to a Dallas 51-yard field goal attempt… which went wide to the left. It wasn’t a pretty win, but the Ravens still came away with the “W” and stay atop the AFC North with a 5-1 record.

Stray Toasters

• Congratulations to Felix Baumgartner and the Red Bull Stratos Team.
• If you’ve never watched The BBC’s Luther, you should.
• Google’s ‘Little Nemo’ Doodle
  (Hint: Click on the drop-down bookmarks on the right.)
• What happened to DC Nation on Cartoon Network?!
• Incredible LEGO Batcave Built Out of 20,000 Pieces
• Ottoman Was Geeky

Tuesday – 11 September 2012
Today marks the eleventh anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York, NY and Washington, D.C.

My friend, Joe – a former New York native  – posted a picture of the World Trade Center, the last one that he took before moving away from New York.

My two… favorite, I guess… pictures/memories of the towers are these, from 1999:

…and…

The first picture is me, atop 2 WTC, the South Tower (1 WTC, North Tower behind me).  I remember looking down from the roof, across to Liberty Island and thinking how tiny the Statue of Liberty seemed from that vantage point. I also recall looking out across Manhattan and thinking about the failed attempt to collapse the towers across Midtown in 1993.

The second picture is my friend, Peggy – who we led into the plaza between the towers with her eyes covered – as she took in just how tall the towers were. Her first words as her eyes lifted towards the rooftops: “Holy… shit…”  Priceless.

For my thoughts on the attacks and the aftermath, I again refer to these posts.

And, as I said in last year’s post:

Remeber the past.
Cherish the present
Look with hope to the future.

Namaste.

Sunday – 09 September 2012
It’s Sunday morning, the day after the girls’ first birthday party.

That’s right… The girls of Team DiVa are no longer “Adventure Babies,” they’re “Adventure Tots!”

Vanessa (l) and Diana… with cake!

More pictures – and a couple of videos – from the day can be seen here.

This has been a busy weekend,  and I would like to extend a very grateful “Thank you” to everyone who helped make it fun and special for the girls.

My mother and uncle left a little while ago for the airport. It’s the first time I’ve seen Mom (other than a couple of video chats) in just shy of a year and the first time I’ve seen my uncle since last Christmas.  I am delighted that they were able to be here for the girls’ birthdays.  My father and stepmom weren’t able to make it out, but we did have them on a Skype video call for some of the party festivities.  (Hey, it was better to have them virtually present than not having them involved at all.  Thank you, Technology!)

Team DiVa: Year One has been good and I look forward to Year Two… and beyond!

Namaste.

Saturday – 08 Septembert 2012
Today is Vanessa’s first birthday:

Like her sister, she’s come a long way since this:

Sleeping through the night. Eating solid foods. Blowing raspberries. Dancing. Understanding a little sign language… and talking. Walking. Taking road trips.

As far as Vanessa’s personality goes, she’s just as fun-loving as her sister. She’s also a little more mischievous. Yeah, mischievous… at one; we are doomed. She loves to dance to songs from The Muppet Show and Sesame Street… as well as the theme from Josie and the Pussycats. (And, she’ll even give a few good wiggles to Harry Belafonte’s Jump in the Line.) And she loves to watch cars go by on the street.

As I said in yesterday’s post: Sara and I have been blessed with a fantastic couple of daughters. It’s been an amazing first year of parenthood and I’m looking forward to all the years of parenthood to come.

Friday – 07 September 2012
Today is Diana’s first birthday:

This little girl has come a long way since:

Sleeping through the night. Eating solid foods. Blowing raspberries. Dancing. Understanding a little sign language… and talking. Walking. Taking road trips.

It’s also been a lot of fun watching her personality develop, too. She’s a fun-loving girl who enjoys “reading” books – which usually turns into handing said book to Sara! or me to read to her. (And, yes, she does have a couple of favorites.) She is also pretty fond of her computer (at least the AlphaBaby application), too.  She also  seems to already have something of a soft spot for Will Smith’s music, as well. And she loves a good game of Chase/Hide-and-Seek.

Sara and I have been blessed with a fantastic couple of daughters. It’s been an amazing first year of parenthood and I’m looking forward to all the years of parenthood to come.

Wednesday – 11 July 2012
It’s 7/11…

…which means that it’s Slurpee Day at your local 7-Eleven.
…which means free mini-Slurpees at your local 7-Eleven.
…which means… Oh, Hell.  If I have to spell it out for you, then what’s the point!?

It’s also new comics – and new ‘Clix – day.

And, as if all of that wasn’t enough, it’s Movie Date Night, too.

Triple score!

Stray Toasters

• 10 Things Most Americans Don’t Know About America, by way of Melissa
• Sunday, 15 July 2012, is National Ice Cream Day. Celebrate accordingly.
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Piranha Used as Scissors
• Could We Build Star Trek‘s Starship Enterprise?
• This is easily my favorite song from Clockwork Angels:
  
• African Robotics Network (AFRON) 10 Dollar Robot Design Challenge
• This poster goes on The Covet List.
• GQ Rules: It’s Your Pocket, Rock It
• Lullaby, the latest Spenser book is out. I should read it.
• A Guide to Electronic Music

Namaste.

Monday – 09 July 2012
And, we’re back.

Thursday night, we packed up Team DiVa and drove to Idaho. This marked the girls’ third road trip in three-and-a-half months. We went for a memorial service for Sara!’s grandfather.

We also unlocked a few achievements on the trip:

1. Achievement Unlocked: #TeamDiVa‘s First National Park/Monument +10 Points
   
2. Achievement Unlocked: #TeamDiVa‘s First Trip to Redfish Lake
   
3. Achievement Unlocked: Add “Idaho” to the “States I’ve Bowled In” list. +10 points

All-in-all, it was a good trip… a little tiring, due to its whirlwind nature, but good.  And the girls traveled well, once again.

I will most likely post more pictures of the weekend later.  But for now…

…on to the week!

Namaste.

Wednesday – 04 July 2012
It’s Independence Day in America.

Not:

But, rather:

I hope that everyone has a safe and enjoyable holiday.  And, also take time to remember that there’s more to the day than just fireworks and sales.

Namaste.