Random Access

Thursday : 05 October 2006
Four down, one to go.

Today was a pretty good day… except for the weather. It’s been intermittently raining here in the Land Behind the Zion Curtain. Raining. In fact, when it first started raining this morning, I asked a couple of coworkers: “Isn’t this a high desert plain?” They confirmed that it is. My follow-up question was then: “So, who ordered rain?!” They laughed. The rest of the work day – including the lunchtime workout – was good, too.

Post-work, I took semicolon to pick up his truck. From there, I dropped in to see Perry and the boys. I hung out there and chatted for a while; it was nice to see ’em. Earlier in the week, had invited me over to watch CSI, so I took her up on her offer. Tonight’s episode was… odd. There were four cases, told from the points of views of the victims’ cadavers. Unusual, but nonetheless good.

Stray Toasters

• I should eat something, but I don’t really have an appetite.  Maybe some fruit or something will suffice.
• Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves
• Eric, a coworker, sent me the following this morning:
  

  As I walked into the building to day I saw a car with a Homer Simpson decoration hanging from the rear view mirror. Being a fan of The Simpsons, I stopped to look. It was the typical Homer in underwear holding a beer in the left hand, and the TV remote in the right. I then noticed, that it was not just a decoration, but an ‘air freshener’.

  A freshener that normally looks like a pine tree, or a cherry, or bouquet of flowers, and the fragrance usually has something to do with the picture.

  So what is the appropriate smell to associate with a fat, beer-drinking slob?

  Do you really want that in your car?

• : The Glass Book of the Dream Eaters – Victorian steampunk fiction
• Star Trek XI: What We Know, by way of Twitch Guru
• There’s a new trailer for Justice League Heroes.  One word: “Covet.”
• I’m not sure what to make of this, but it seems as though George Lucas is getting out of the movie-making business… and he’s taking Lucasfilm with him.
• Whoa.  Thunder.  (This really is supposed to be desert, I swear…)
• I’m not sure if I should be happy… or scared… that just dedicated Voltaire’s The Sexy Data Tango to me on her SHOUTcast show.  And all because I mentioned Tasha Yar.
• For : The Seven Levels of Pun Hell
• Speed Bump: Maryland Doesn’t Have a Widespread Meth Problem — At Least Not Yet.

That’s good for now.

Namaste.

Wednesday : 04 October 2006
Despite today’s bout with “Car Alarm Wake-Up Call,” it was a good day.  I even picked up a cup of frozen mocha goodness, to boot.

On the way home, called me to relay some good news.  I also caught up with for a few minutes.  I made it home and got a call from , needing a little technical assistance.  called me a little later to say that she and a few other people were getting together at Borders and invited me to join; I did.    When I got there, and were there; we were later joined by , and Vikki.  We sat around and chatted for a bit before collectively deciding that we were hungry.  The solution: Macaroni Grill.

Stray Toasters

• I think I want a snack.  And, once again, I have no idea what I want.  *sigh*
• By way of Wired: The Best: Movies in the Public Domain
• 
• I am way behind the curve on this, but I just found the Katrina: the Gathering cards today.
• From The Seattle Times: Reading Program Blasted on Ethics
• Guess what’s back…
  
• From Ars Technica: Study says no video games on school nights
• : I know that these aren’t “Jesus” keychains, but are they close enough for jazz?
• You know, it’s really scary how apt this is:
  
• Man demands that book about book-burning be banned — during Banned Books Week

Namaste.

Wednesday : 04 October 2006
*wurg*
I fell asleep on the couch last night. One minute, I’m watching The Late Show with David Letterman… the next thing I know, it’s 1:06 AM. Next stop: Bed. Do not pass “Go.” Do not collect $200.

This morning, the alarm went off and I hit snooze. That was nice. Someone’s car alarm went off shortly after the clock started beeping again. Right outside my window. That was a helluva backup “get your ass out of bed” message.

And, remember kids: Proofreading is your friend. Monday’s post contained this gem:

It should have read:

…but I didn’t go back to check it. *sigh* I didn’t even notice until someone asked me “So, who’s ‘semicolon?'”

And now, for my next amazing feat: Work!

Namaste.

Monday : 02 October 2006
It’s been a long day.

I slept in a bit this morning – I needed the rest, so I got it. And it was good. Work was… interesting. We’ve been waiting for some things to come in for a project. It came in today… and it was wrong. That didn’t make the Team Lead for that project very happy at all. And he made no bones about expressing his displeasure. That set the tone for the latter half of the day around the office. Yay.

After work, I had coffee with ; I needed to bend his ear about a few things. It helped me to decompress.

From there, it was on to Super Target. I picked up some groceries and a few things that I needed around here. It’s pretty damned convenient to have it so close at hand. Unfortunately, I’m a little skittish about buying too many things that need to go into the fridge, as I’m (still) waiting for the new appliances to be delivered.
Stray Toasters

• Do you know where you’re going to?
  Do you like the things that life is showing you?
  Where are you going to?
  Do you know?
  
• Apparently my “signature weapon” is a shotgun.  (Apparently, the Covenant plasma rifle was not an option…)
  

  Shotgun You preferred a weapon with 54% power over speed and 70% range over melee.

  You use a Shotgun. While not the fastest gun in the west, a shotgun’s raw power and ease of use make it an extremely potent weapon. Some shotguns can also be loaded with many different types of ammunition, providing a versatility many guns don’t have. Choosing your shots, you fell your opponents immediately and without pause.

  Link: The What’s Your Signature Weapon Test written by inurashii on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

• I keep neglecting to mention: The proto-IKEA now has some exterior walls.

That’s it for now… which is more than I had expected to have.

Namaste.

Sunday : 01 October 2006
I’m back.

Two days. 2400 miles, split between flying to (2½ hours) and driving back from (18½ hours) Oklahoma (…where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain!). It was good to see Adam and Chelsea, who are now on their way to California; he reports for duty this week.

Western Kansas + eastern Colorado = LOTS of nothing to see. Unless you are big into agriculture, then it’s a veritable cornucopia of things to pique your interest. Unfortunately, I don’t fall into that category, so it didn’t do much for me. And, I missed seeing a good portion of Kansas – from Salina to Kanorado (and no, I didn’t make that name up) – because it was dark. I kept trying to remember some of the places where I stopped when I drove out here eight years ago. That’s an interesting note: It was eight years ago, to the weekend, that I first made the drive out to Utah. Granted, in ’98, I got here on Saturday night, not Sunday… but I’m not going to quibble over that point.

The drive out of Denver, however, was nice. The foliage was changing colors. The yellows were vibrant on the mountain- and cliffsides. I think that I have confirmed that my favorite color is red – I kept looking for red leaves while driving. I didn’t see any. I saw trees with rust and bronze colored leaves. I even saw a few that were creeping towards orange. But, no reds. I admit that I was more than “a little” disappointed by that.

Stray Toasters

• I heard a new version (to me) of Save the Last Dance for Me last night. It’s apparently done by Michael Bublè; I’ll have to check out more of his stuff – I like it.
• As October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I think that this is an interesting idea: Pink for October
• I saw this cartoon….
  
  ….before I posted this link. It’s even more amusing to me now.
• Committee to decide whether or not to allow boys to urinate standing up
• Looking for a little taste of Casino Royale before the movie comes out next month? YouTube has a sample (with video) of Chris Cornell’s You Know My Name, the movie’s theme.

Namaste.

Friday : 29 September 2006
It was a busy day that ends the week, but the week is over.

Clitorati was small tonight; nevertheless, it was good.

Tomorrow, I’m flying to Oklahoma.  I’ll see Adam and Chelsea for a little bit… then, I’m turning around and driving back.  Just like Smokey and the Bandit.  But without Burt Reynolds.  Or Jerry Reed.  Or Sally Field.  Or Jackie Gleason.  And, alas, without the semi full of beer.

I should be in bed.  O’dark-thirty comes early.  I’m both “tired” and “not tired,” I don’t think that’s a terribly good combination.  But, damn the clowns, I need to sleep.

Namaste.

< groove>

• Yaz – Situation (Hip Hop Remix)
• 112 – Dance With Me
• Moloko – Fun For Me

< /groove>

That’s right… Pope Groovalicious the Chocolate is bringin’ you the Friday afternoon dance break.

Thursday : 28 September 2006
Another NBN Thursday in the books.

The first half of the workday went pretty quickly. After lunch/gymtime, things got a little more interesting, but not too bad. A couple of systems weren’t playing nicely with their primary users. We got one back on track and I’m Ivory Soap sure that the second one’s problem was at least partly due to a software issue.

Post-work, I came home for a bit and then headed over to ‘s to visit and to watch the new episode CSI and a rebroadcast of Law & Order: SVU.

The Adventures of Indigo Bolt
I neglected to mention this before: Security Level 44.

Stray Toasters

• I need to do laundry.
• I also need to unbox and shelve some things from the eleventy-seven boxes around here…
• Keith Olbermann’s special commentary about Clinton vs. Fox Wow. The man had a lot to say (ten-and-a-half minutes’ worth) and didn’t hold back in saying it, either.
• This sounds pretty cool: The Salt Lake Film Society presents Sundance 25th Anniversary Gala Celebration, with guests Stanley Tucci and John Waters
• The new Villains Trailer for the upcoming Marvel Ultimate Alliance looks pretty nice.
• Um… Robert Downey, Jr…. as Tony Stark, the invincible Iron Man? Curiouser and curiouser…
• Widgetbox – an online directory of web widgets for blogs and other web pages.
• *voop*

Namaste.

Wednesday : 27 September 2006
Three down, two in the chamber. On top of that, it’s been a decent day. And that’s not a bad thing.

The apartment is coming along nicely. Kind of slowly… mainly because I don’t feel like doing lots of unpacking when I get in from work (go figure) but, things are finding their appropriate places. That’s a plus. And, after some minor beating of my head on my desk, I got my router to work with the modem. Alright, alright… I can’t really take credit for it: I used the built-in setup wizard – it did all the work. Which looks exactly like the same settings that I tried to enter the other night. *braincramp* But, It’s done.  Selah.  Which means that I can use the Vonage line again.  And get Intrepid back online.  Now, I just need to suss out why I can’t get Defiant to make a wireless connection to the router.

Stray Toasters

• I need to get a sheet of the DC Comics superhero stamps at some point.
• Ashes to ashes, funk to funky
  We know Major Tom’s a junkie
  Strung out in heaven’s high
  Hitting an all-time low
• Mixtionary – check out some of the bonus pages.
• I’ve been looking forward to the release of Renaissance for a while.  It opened this past weekend… in limited release; I’m not sure when it goes into wide release.  Check out the trailer and the “Exclusive Clip.”
• Tokyo Rose (aka Orphan Ann) Dies at 90
• Every so often, I receive email from Build-A-Bear Workshop.  Apparently, they are having a Winnie the Pooh themed event this weekend.  I went to their website to find a link about the event to forward to someone.  Couldn’t find one, but I did see that they offer games… and printable items… and desktop wallpaper.  Because, you apparently can’t have “too much” Build-A-Bear stuff.
• …and in a tangentially related note:
  
• The Acrid Smell of Gunsmoke – Broken Frontier looks at Jonah Hex: Face Full of Violence
• Marvel Comics announced the development of Marvel Universe Online, their entry into the MMO game arena.  It’s being developed exclusively for the XBox 360 and Windows Steaming Pile of Crap Vista by Marvel, Microsoft and… Cryptic Studios.  The same Cryptic Studios that developed my addiction of choice, City of Heroes.  The same Cryptic Studios, along with NCSoft, that Marvel attempted to sue the bejeezus out of for potential copyright infringement.  It will be interesting to see how this – and the pending DC Comics/Sony Online Entertainment DC Universe game (for which I can find no information on the SOE site) – turns out.
• : There’s something here that might interest you.
• By way of Slashdot: The Man Who Literally Saved the World… not to be confused with The Man Who Sold the World (the Bowie version, not the Nirvana one, of course)
• NPR is hiring a blogger.  Details here.
• The Art of James Jean.  Wow.
• What do you get when you cross Looney Toons and 8 Mile?  Something like this.

Namaste.

Monday : 25 September 2006
Oy.

Shortly after I stopped in the SLC office, random lyrics from Olivia Newton-John’s A Little More Love running through my head. I will happily blame for this as his payback for what the Ravens did to the Browns yesterday. After all, I can’t complain about the Ravens’ first 3-0 start in franchise history!

I got to spend most of the afternoon (“…someone will be there between 1 and 5…”) and evening waiting for the satellite installer and the cable installer, television and Interweb, respectively. The satellite installer showed up around… 3:00. That was good. Because my apartment is behind a fairly large tree, he said that I’d require a custom installation – changing the mount point of my dish. That wasn’t so good. So, I’m mulling over the option. The cable installer was supposed to be here between 4:30 and 5:00; I called him earlier to let him know that if he had an opening, I would be available earlier in the day. He arrived somewhere around 6:30; he’d been on a service call with what sounded like a rather cantankerous customer for about two hours before he got here. Then, there was a problem with my order – it was supposed to be a simple transfer, from the house to the apartment. Somewhere along the line… it got SNAFU’ed. Great. After a couple of calls – and a longer waiting period than either of us had anticipated – the tech was able to restore my account information. I was good to go. Then came the problems with getting my router to behave… it still isn’t playing nicely with the modem… so it’s currently out of the loop…. which means that my Vonage line isn’t connected. *sigh*

Around 9:00, I realized that I was getting hungry. Go figure. I didn’t wind up leaving until a little past 9:30. Hi-ho, Super Target! What I didn’t consider was that they close at 10:00. So, it was an abbreviated shopping trip. I came back, nukerated some food and watched a little bit of David Letterman. It turns out that I can get most of the major area channels with the antenna. That’s better’n nothing.

One thing that I neglected to do – mainly because it never crossed my mind to do so before tonight – was to check the setting on the water heater. I decided that I wanted to take a long, hot soak. That was not to be. The water heater was turned to “warm,” which is to say that it was far too cool/cold to be relaxing. Unless you’re a polar bear. Which I’m not. I turned up the setting and waited a bit. Finally, I opted for a shower. It wasn’t bad – the heater had done it’s job; I’ll just save the bath for another night.
Stray Toasters

• Why am I still awake?
• Check out The Fifth Annual Blogger Boobie-Thon for Breast Cancer
• : Gambit had another fall.  His hand – yep, the same one – could use your ministrations, if you have the time.
• 
• : Click here.
• Do we really need another Die Hard movie?
• < /consciousness>

Namaste.

Saturday : 23 September 2006
Moving day.  I signed papers.  I got keys.  Got the move process under way.  It’s been a busy, but good, day.  Move time coincided with cartoon time, so I missed the premiere of The Legion of Super-Heroes… but I’m sure that I’ll be able to find it “somewhere” in the near future.
Many thanks to , , , and Tommy for their time and effort today.

And now, back to the grind…

Namaste.

Wednesday : 20 September 2006
It was another cold/cool day behind the Zion Curtain. Today was overcast and rainy; it was a perfect “I’m going to lie in bed and sleep, wake me when the hot chocolate is ready” kind of day. Unfortunately, that option didn’t present itself… thanks to the timely intervention of work! Hurrah! Work wasn’t bad, though. It would have been better, had I slept decently last night. I woke up at 4:00… and again around 4:30…. thoroughly convinced that I was about to oversleep. It was great. Dandy. Peachy. *bleh* That lack of sleep made sitting at my desk very conducive to wanting to do inner eyelid studies. Coffee didn’t even help.

I came home and napped. For about two hours. It made life considerably better. I woke up around 8:30, when Adam called. Had he not called… I don’t know when/if I would have awakened before morning.

Stray Toasters

• I am looking forward to Jet Li’s Fearless
• Hack Everything
• Just when you thought that there was nothing new to say, see or do with chess: Beyond Chess
• Top Ten Dumbest Secret Identities
• The new Slim Jim “snapalope” commercials are… weird.  And a little dumb.
• “Parallel lives meet at infinity.”
• 10 Scientific Frauds that Rocked the World
• Because every guy (secretly) wants to be James Bond: The Office Espionage Kit
• Batman and Robin… and Batman’s son.  Powder keg, meet spark.
• 
• Broken Trinity
• Does anyone else remember the game “Towers of Hanoi?”

Namaste.

Tuesday : 19 September 2006
All-in-all, today was a good day.  It was followed by an equally good evening.

Tonight was Shadowrun night.  , and Chris came over and hammered out new characters.  Less powerful than locomotives.  Unable to change the course of mighty rivers.  And definitely not leaping over tall buildings in single bounds.  Two, maybe.  Three, if it’s particularly tall.  But, not one.  Nox even found a nifty Excel-based character builder; we found that it isn’t perfect, but it was good enough to get the job done.
Stray Toasters

• Sissy the Wonder Cat is in my lap; she’s kneading my leg.  It’s not a full-on massage, but beggars should not choosers be.
• The other guy who’s the best he is at what he does…
• Ben Folds.  William Shatner.  Together again: William Shatner Has Been
• Sara (not ): It looks like Prince has a song on the soundtrack for the upcoming movie Happy Feet.

Lastly, if any of you in the SLC area is free on Saturday (23 Sept 06), I’d be very appreciative of/for any help that you could offer in a cross-valley move.  Send me a comment, email, IM… or even semaphore or smoke signals – NO Morse Code, please… for additional information.   Thanks.

And with that… namaste.

Monday : 18 September 2006
Compared to the shock of how cold it was this morning, the rest of the day was rather mundane.  The evening brought ‘ D&D game.  No one died.  We talked our way into an adventure.  One of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” kind of adventures.  Post-game, we also talked about a change for the Shadowrun game – following the jump to Fourth Edition rules, the team is a little… top-heavy.  So, we’re going to reboot the game.  New characters.  New situations.  And a dragon.

Okay… okay… No dragon.
Yet.

But I reserve the right to put one on layaway.

Stray Toasters

• Thank you to for making sure that I saw today’s “Featured Article” on Wikipedia: Rush
• By way of Boingboing.net: Tale of the First Penis Transplant
• : Do you know anyone who might be interested in DC Direct’s Batman/Scarecrow “Fear” Gift Set?
• : Start savin’ your pennies.  The Women of the DC Universe: Batgirl Bust will be hitting shelves in May.
• 

That’s close enough for jazz…

Namaste.

It’s 8:45 AM.

With my trusty cup of frozen mocha goodness in hand, I was checking out the news of the morning to see what’s going on.

• There was a story about a man who drove his SUV through the barrier at the US Capitol.
• An article on “Chi Running,” from NPR
• A CNet article about Intel’s upcoming ad campaign for Viiv

…and then I decided to check out weather.com and see what the current conditions are. I shouldn’t have done that. As of 20 minutes ago, it was an almost tropical 37° F outside. It’s still September. It’s way too early for it to be that cold. Even here behind the Zion Curtain. *sigh*