Random Access

This morning’s commute was made bearable – the road monkeys were in rare form today – with the help of:

• emmet swimming – Sunblock
• Digital Underground (ft. Tupac) – Same Song
• Theme from Men in Black: The Series
• emmet swimming – Fake Wood Trim
• Rush – Dreamline

How does your day sound?

Sunday – 08 April 2007
Happy Easter to all.

I just got back from Mass. That’s right Mass. And, no, I haven’t converted to Catholicism. Yet. It was my way of keeping a tradition with my uncle… kind of. When both of us are home for the holidays, I usually go to Mass with him. Well, neither of us is home, so that was Strike One. I’ve been toying with the idea of going to the Cathedral of the Madeline for a while now. Going today just seemed to fit on many levels.

So, I went.

It was my first time there. It’s a beautiful building, inside and out (…even if the paintings creep out ). The acoustics were very good as well, a fine tribue to the interior design and architecture. I went to the 10 AM service, which was presided over by Father Joseph Mayo. His homily was based on “The Easter story as a story of Life.” He noted that we, as a culture, seem to focus on death – in social and political topics, on the streets, in war, et al. – too often. He said that many people look at – and stop at – the crucifiction of Christ, which is a story of death without continuing on to look at Sunday and the resurrection, which is a story of rebirth and life. It was a very good message… and he delivered it in an adroit, but very direct and effective, manner. I’m glad that I went.

I called the progenitors, the sibko and my uncle to wish them all a Happy Easter.  I batted the cycle with the sibs; I was amazed, I even got to speak with Carmen!

I’m not sure what I’m doing with the rest of my day. But, it’s a great day outside and, as Tom Petty said: “The future was wide open…”

So there you have it.

Have a wonderful¹ day.
Be good to each other.
Namaste.

¹ – Many moons ago, when I was working retail, I had a customer who said something that has stuck with me:

I approached him and asked how he was doing. He responded, “I’m wonderful! Do you know what that means?”I looked at him and said that I wasn’t sure how he meant it, but I took it to mean that he was doing well.

A twinkle in his eye, he smiled and said, “No. It means I’m full of wonder. Isn’t that awesome?”

I thought about it for a moment. And I had to agree… it was.

Saturday (coda)
Today was a very good day.  After being far too lazy with my morning and early afternoon, I made it out to get a frozen mocha.  Then I thought about the fact that I hadn’t eaten anything, either.  So, I stopped at Barbacoa.  I came home and devoured the burrito and slaked my thirst with mocha.

and onlyaly had talked about getting sushi last night at Clitorati.  Having only tried it once before, I asked if I could join the outing.  So, the three of us – and – went to Tsunami (“Nucular Toonami!”).  We ordered a few different types… and I also ordered a squid nigiri.  And it was good.  All of it.  Well, all of it that I tried – there was one that had roe on it, of which I am not a fan, so I skipped that.  Since we were next to the movie theatre, we decided to see if anything struck our fancy.  We opted for Marky Mark and the Gun-toting Bunch…. I mean Shooter.  It was pretty good.  In fact, it was a little better than I was expecting.  But, for some reason, I kept thinking about The Big Hit, which I need to buy. We headed back to onlyaly and ‘s for a bit before breakfast.  And then… breakfast.  There was some decent people-watching tonight.  And I acquired a couple “new” chairs.

Stray Toasters

• 
• I played “Video Tag” with Tracy this afternoon.  Among some of the gems that were tossed around were:
• Michael Jackson at the Motown 25th Anniversary Celebration performing Billie Jean, featuring the first time that he did the moonwalk onstage
• Rockwell (ft. Michael Jackson) – Somebody’s Watching Me
• Depeche Mode – Personal Jesus
• Oran ‘Juice’ Jones – The Rain
• Duran Duran – Save a Prayer
• Eddie Murphy (ft. Rick James) – Party All the Time
• Phil Collins – In the Air Tonight (from the Miami Vice pilot)
• Don Henley – Dirty Laundry (live)
• Santana (ft. Rob Thomas) – Smooth
• Harold Faltermeyer – Axel F
• I found a dial generator for custom HeroClix figures.
• found these user icons.
  …and…
  They amuse me.
• The Astro City Rocket
• By way of : South Park and Life
• Inkscape

Namaste.

Multi-Touch Interface

This kicks about eleventy-seven kinds of ass.

Saturday – 07 April 2007
Trying out Axis & Allies: War at Sea yesterday was fun. I played an Allied fleet, comprised of:

• HMS Rodney
• USS Baltimore (as if I was going to let that opportunity pass…)
• HMS Javelin
• F4F Wildcats (2)

Chris used a mixed Axis fleet, with four ships and a squadron of planes. We didn’t fight a historical battle, instead we fought for three objective points. I took out his planes, which happened to be bombers, in my first attack. He retaliated by taking out the Baltimore and Javelin in his next couple attacks. That’s not what one would consider a very auspicious start… even for a beginner. I was left with the Rodney and the planes. Against a battleship, a cruiser, an aircraft carrier, and a destroyer (I think). The carrier couldn’t really do any damage to me, so it was a bit of a non-factor. The rest of the fleet could be… troublesome. Fortunately, I the Luck Lords of Ventura were apparently with me: I wound up destroying the three main ships while his carrier hid behind an island.

Clitorati was good. I couldn’t get my head into drawing last night, so it was all about the socializing. Both and Ms. onlyaly made quote-worthy comments. I don’t think I’ll post the former… and I can’t remember the latter.  The crossword in this week’s City Weekly gave me a bit of a problem.  More specifically, the clue “donut like” was the primary antagonist.  I couldn’t figure out what 7-letter answer they wanted.   I had “OS_APED” staring me in the face for the longest time before I sussed out that it was supposed to be “OSHAPED.”  As in “O-shaped.”  As in “shaped like an O,” which most donuts are.  *sigh*  I’m a genius.
Last night, after Clitorati and trying to play a little CoH (detailed below), I hit the rack around… 1:30 or 2:00. And was awake at 4-something. And 7:00. Sharp. And a little after 8:00. And a little before 9:00. I hope that’s not an augury of how the rest of the day is going to be.

This morning, I watched the rebroadcast of “Lightning Storm” on today’s Legion of Super Heroes. I noticed something in the Legion tryouts that I had missed the first time: Fire Lad, Polar Boy and Night Girl – all members of the Legion of Substitute Heroes – were there.

And in a couple of other Legion-related items, : Click here and here.
The Scales of Justice
After getting home last night, I decided to go on patrol in Paragon City. I joined a team with a couple members of my Super Group and we took on The Freakshow. It was a little tough, we could have used some backup… but we did alright.

Until we got to the second floor of the building.

Then, two things happened:

1. We started getting our butts kicked. Repeatedly. Badly. Painfully.
2. Two of us started nodding off… in the middle of fights.

That’s not exactly a good combination. So, we scrubbed the mission. And I went to bed.

Stray Toasters

• I should really give serious consideration to getting dressed and getting something to eat.  Maybe even in that order.  Maybe not.  *shrug*
• Cyanide and Happiness – a webcomic from Explosm.net
• 
• The Codpiece of Terror!!!
• Sent to me by coworker Matt: My Humps… as done by Alanis Morrisette
• In case you haven’t heard of this already: House Ransacked After Craigslist Hoax
• 
• The Webcomic List
• From Broken Frontier: Webcomics Review: Sinfest
  
  (click image for the full strip)
• Microsoft dropping DRM from Zune Music Store
• They’re talking about Jurassic Park 4?  As if we needed another one.

Time to go play in the sunshine for a bit.  Or something like that.

Namaste.

Friday – 06 April 2007
Today’s been good. A cup of frozen mocha goodness in hand, I raced the monkeys to A.F. They weren’t too badly behaved, either. Of course, I had the help of a good driving soundtrack to distract me. The morning was low-key and quiet… just right for a Friday morning.

We just finished a team-building exercise. Quake III. Eight players. Lots of weaponry. Lots of (virtual) running around. It was fun. This may have to become an irregular regular Friday lunchtime feature.

After work, I’m heading over to Chris’ to check out Axis & Allies: War at Sea before heading to Clitorati.

Stray Toasters

• I neglected to mention that I picked up 24: Season Two a few nights ago. $20 USD. Unfortunately, none of the other seasons were similarly marked down.
• Prices for ‘.com’ and ‘.net’ will rise
• I watched The Call of Cthulhu the other day. It was modern silent movie, made to look and feel like it had been made in the 20s. It did a good job of evoking the feel of the times, too.
• Opticon (live)
• Not just a new Hall of Justice…
  
  (larger images: 1, 2)

  …but a new Watchtower, too…
  

  

• Shake, shake, shake, Senora, shake your body line
  Shake, shake, shake, Senora, shake it all the time
  Work, work, work, Senora, work your body line
  Work, work, work, Senora, work it all the time
• By way of Derek: Origins of Rock Band Names
• Echo-X: The artwork of Echo Chernik

Namaste.

Thursday – 05 April 2007
Another bright, sunny day in the valleys of the Land of Zion.  I actually got more than a couple hours’ sleep last night, which definitely comes under the heading of “a good thing.”  Getting up and out the door wasn’t too much of an ordeal, either.  The road monkeys weren’t flinging poo.  And, the path to caffeination zen has been a smooth one.  Not a bad way to kick off a Thursday, I must say.

On the way home, last night, I picked up my weekly dose of four-color crack – more on that below. Then, I headed home to decide how best to spend the evening.  Apparently, that translated into “Take a forty-minute nap.”  I can’t say that it wasn’t needed.  I also needed to eat.  Post-nap, and I went to Fascist Place to assault the food court.  (I never said that I wanted something “good for me.”)  Then, we wandered around the mall.  Here’s a question for those of you who are familiar with See’s Candy: Does anyone remember a candy that they (used to) sell that fits this description:

• Chocolate base, about 1″ square
• A thin layer of marshmallow on top of the chocolate
• A green mint “jelly” on top of the marshmallow

Someone sent me a box of them many, many rains ago… but I haven’t seen them since.  I seem to recall that they arrived somewhere around Easter, or at least in Spring.  If anyone remembers this candy and/or knows what they were called, I’d appreciate any information on it.  Thanks.

After the mall, it was off to Borders.  I really wanted to finish the drawing that I’ve been working on.  And I did.  Finally.  It’s not necessarily a masterpiece, but I’m happy with the way it turned out.  I was going to scan a picture of it last night… but that didn’t happen.  I’ll try to get to it tonight.

Four-Color Coverage
As I mentioned above, I picked up this week’s offerings from my local comics emporium.  I don’t know what happened or who kicked people in the pants, but the books this week were all pretty good… even the one title that I wasn’t planning getting – Avengers: The Initiative, a Civil Bore aftermath title – was good.  Here’s this week’s breakdown:

• 52: Week Forty-Eight – This was a Renee Montoya issue.  She finally comes into her own as the new Question.  We all knew that it was coming, but it’s been interesting to watch as she came to realize – and accept – that she the fact.
• Avengers: The Initiative #1 – What happens when the U.S. Government decides to license and train metahumans to use their powers safely and effectively?  And give them a chance to step up and be part of the senior team?  You find out here.  That’s right…. welcome to The Xavier Institute for Higher Learning.  Wait… wrong book.  Welcome to Camp Hammond.  Okay, there we are.  It’s not all fun and games, though.  Instead, think: “superhuman boot camp,” and you’ll get the idea.  There was even a Starship Troopers-like accident during one of the training exercises.  I was shocked… and a little impressed by the fact that they did that.  I’m not sure if I’ll continue to collect this – Marvel’s lost a bit of their luster for me, lately – but I’ll probably give it another couple of issues to see where it goes.
• Justice League of America #7 – For all my opinions about JLA #6 and that it was what the new direction was all about… I was wrong.  It was this issue.  The latest incarnation of the JLA finally – officially – came together as a team.  One member finally “graduated” to the senior class.  One potential member shared a possibly dangerous secret with a former teammate.  And there even may be a romance in the offing.  And, the last two pages seem to be tie-in with some pages from Justice Society of America, setting up the upcoming crossover: Lightning Storm – an arc that will unify the legacies of the JLA, and the JSA with the Legion.
• Supergirl #16 – Finally.  FINALLY!!!  We now see why it is that Little Miss Argo is so messed up.  It’s an interesting look at the introduction of the Phantom Zone, from the point of view of Zor-El, brother of Superman’s father, Jor-El.  There is still a little bit to go to unravel full mystery of Kara’s psyche, but we’re finally on the yellow brick road.  Next stop: Oz.  Or the Fortress of Solitude.  Or somewhere.  But, even with all of this… this is probably the weakest issue of the week.  The weak?  (The strangest of the strange?  The queerest of the queer…  Do do do do-do-dooo)
• Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #28 – The new/latest Dominator war comes to a head.  The Legion and the Wanderers square off against the Dominators’ armies.  The teams are splintered.  And battered.  And definitely on the thin edge of the wedge.  Not to mention Cosmic Boy and Triplicate Girl are both subjected to some fairly brutal torture – at one point, I wondered if Trip would be changing her name; it would have been a very interesting twist on the original story.  And, was that Polar Boy with The Wanderers (Threeboot)?!
• Superman #661 – A Superman/Wonder Woman story… featuring Lois Lane.  You’d think that with two of the three members of DC’s trinity in the story, Lois might get overshadowed.  Nope.  Granted, she doesn’t have a lot of “screen time,” but she does hold her own with Clark and Diana.  It was an interesting one-off story, but far from a “bad” one.
• Superman/Batman #33 – This issue was the wrap-up of what I’m referring to as the “Black Rock Invasion.”  I was a little surprised at how quickly/tidily the story concluded.  In fact, it included a plot hole that was large enough to pilot a Khundian battlewagon through.  And given that hole, one wonders if there’s a way to bring a certain Infinite Crisis villain back to the fore in the DCU…  Hmm.  Not a horrible story, but possibly the second-weakest of the week.  On the plus side, though, it did show an interesting side of the Bruce/Clark relationship and it also showed a more light-hearted Bruce Wayne than we’ve seen in recent years.

Scales of Justice
The Hand of Nefer-Tem took to the streets – and sewers – of Paragon City last night.  The objectives: Follow-up on the missing Kheldians… and hit Level 20.  Both objectives were accomplished.  It also turned out that the Kheldian mission was the last of that storyline.

I trained up to Level 20 and got my new power: Black Dwarf.  This means a new form and six new powers.  I didn’t test them out; I’ll do that this evening.

Stray Toasters

• I talked with the Matriarch this morning.  Things seem to be proceeding apace for Kris’ graduation preparations.
• Technical predictions from the grave
• I had a rather… unusual… conversation a little while ago with Brett and Paul about male and female villains and their motivations.  Brett used Darth Vader and Cruella DeVille as his case studies.  His argument: Vader simply wanted control and order, whereas Cruella just wanted a new coat.  Tell me:  Who is the more “evil” in that case?  Order… or a new coat?  Do the math.
• Population change in states’ top urban areas
• VA surgeon cuts off the wrong testicle – I’m almost sad to admit that and I are probably going to Hell (handbasket, gasoline drawers and all) because of the conversation that this article started.
• 
• Swap porn, leak defense secrets
• Welcome to my secret lair here on Skullcrusher Mountain…
• Legendary Grambling coach Eddie Robinson dies
• I want another BAF Sentinel for my collection.
• Top 21 Tech Flops
• 

Namaste.

Wednesday – 04 April 2007
Mittwoch!

Today marked Day 2 of “The Lack of Good Sleep Chronicles.”  I slept in until a little after 8:00, to try and offset the lack of pre-alarm sleep.  It helped.  To a degree.

Today has been quiet; I’ve been playing with …  I mean “testing!”… kubuntu Linux.   And reading.  And, despite an utter lack of caffeination, trying to avoid in-depth studies of my inner eyelids.  I’m trying to decide if I should go home and nap after work or find a quiet spot – with coffee – and do some drawing.  Despite the lack of sleep, I’m leaning towards coffee and drawing.

Last night’s Shadowrun game went pretty well – the group is set for their next mission.  In setting up the run, I managed to  have an NPC piss off Chris’ character.  That was one of three outcomes that I had predicted would result from the situation… and it was the most “neutral” of them.  But, everyone survived the encounter and I think that the NPC’s explanation of “Why” was sufficient enough to get the ball rolling.  For now, at least.

Stray Toasters

• I am having a late lunch today.
• Prefab Housing by IKEA
  Speaking of which, the local Temple of Sweden is nearing completion…
• Erase Rewind is now playing on my iTunes.  I liked (like?) The Cardigans; has anyone heard anything from them in the past few years?  I remember racing to My Favourite Game in Gran Turismo 2 (the game, not The Cardigans’ album of the same name).
• US Housing Prices Graph as a Rollercoaster
• Twizzlers or Redvines?  I’m going with Twizzlers, personally.
• : Legion Animated Triplicate Girl, from the DCG
• The Mummy Returns‘ Arnold Vosloo as Black Adam
• 
• How Pro Gaming Will Change World of Warcraft
• Goldfish.  They are still very damned tasty.
• Joss Whedon: A to Z

Lunch: Done.
Linux: Resumes.

Namaste.

What Would Jesus Drive?

Brought to you by
His Chocolate Holiness, Pope Groovalicious

Groove on, brothers and sisters…. Groove on.

Tuesday – 03 April 2007
Another bright, shiny morning in the Land Behind the Zion Curtain.  The morning begins – as all mornings should – with a cup of frozen mocha goodness.  Two shots.  Selah.  The race with the road monkeys wasn’t bad, but it was amusing: As I was getting onto I-15 from the I-215 interchange, I watched as four monkeys attempted the impossible (at least according to modern physics) – They tried to put themselves into the same space at the same time.  I noted this to coworker John and we came up with what I think would make good copy for an UCBD ad campaign on “How To Be an Ass-Monkey to Your Fellow Drivers”:

Drive offensively among others before they drive offensively unto you.

Of course, there would be ads for “How To Be a Sensible Driver,” as well.  Or we could just take it on faith that people have a modicum of common sense.  Or would that be giving them too much credit?

There was no game last night.  Instead, I hung out with Frankie and watched 24, an episode of Homicide and Hustle & Flow.  I hadn’t seen Hustle & Flow before… and I can’t figure out why I waited.  It was a good movie.  Very good.  Terrence Howard – and the rest of the cast – did an excellent job.  This is the second Craig Brewer movie that I’ve seen in the past month or so… and I have enjoyed them both.

The Scales of Justice
Last night,  The Hand of Nefer-Tem led a small team into The Hollows for a couple of missions against The Council and some Trolls.  Beatings were dispensed.  Justice was served.  The missions also advanced the missing Kheldians storyline.

…and I’m a short way from Level 20.  Which means that I need to start thinking about Costume #2, which will again be civilian clothes.  I haven’t settled on a look yet, but I think that I might go with something more casual and possibly a little more ethnic, in keeping with Nefer-Tem’s background.

Stray Toasters

• I got a trophy from .
• 50 Best Tech Products of All Time
• Eric Poulton has added to his Steampunk Star Wars collection: Sir Obi Wan Kenobi
• For: , and : This and this.
• Every breath a static charge
  A tongue that tastes like tin
  Steely-eyed outside to hide the enemy within…
• “The Difference” – from xkcd.com
  
• showed me this video… which was based off of this video, which is one of the banes of my existence.
• …and since we’re here anyway: The Internet is for PORN!!

Back to it.

Namaste.

In light of the upcoming Live Free or Die Hard,a new poll on IMDb which asks who is better at taking down terrorists: 24‘s Jack Bauer or Die Hard’s John McClane. I am a bit torn because both of them are damned good at what they do… but I lean towards Jack Bauer.
Opposing arguments:

• Jack Bauer, because of his job with CTU, has given up – and lost – A LOT in the process of catching the bad guy(s).
• One could argue that John McClane simply has the misfortune of being at the wrong place at the right time – I don’t think that any of his (mis)adventures came directly in the line of duty. Granted, in Die Hard 3, he he wound up on-the-job for part of the movie, because it happened in his back yard and on his shift… but Die Hard and Die Hard 2 both happened while he was on vacation.

I’m interested in seeing what the rest of you think, though. So…

To use the phrasing from the IMDb poll: “Who is the more bad ass for taking down terrorists?”
Jack Bauer (24)
John McClane (Die Hard)

Have at it.