Random Access

Saturday : 27 May 2006
Three airports, two planes and two time zones later…

…I’m home.

Namaste.

Friday : 26 May 2006
I (finally) saw X-Men: The Last Stand today. Twice. I talked my Team Lead into letting us see “a training film” this morning. He agreed… and he went with us. I liked the movie and was pleased to find that Brett Ratner did a bang-up job of bringing the Homo Sapiens – Homo Superior war to a head. I think that he created a piece of work that was worthy being included in a trilogy with Brian Singer’s movies. There were a couple of things that I didn’t expect. At all. Mostly, I think that this was due to the fact that I made a concerted effort to avoid finding out “too much” about the movie beforehand.

I saw the movie again this evening with . She liked it. As she’s been reading some of the Uncanny X-Men issues, she had some questions about characters and their on-screen counterparts. One of the characters that I tried to explain was Jean Grey/Phoenix (comic book version). I think that I might have broken her head with some of the things. But, she seemed to take most of it in stride.

In a matter of hours, I will be boarding a plane and heading for home.

Namaste.

Thursday : 25 May 2006
Despite the efforts of a rather persistent monkey, it was a pretty painless work day. The lunchtime workout was good, as well.

It was a rather quiet evening, too. I hung out with and her boys for a while before coming home to pack for the weekend excursion to the Right Coast. I also spent a little time in Paragon City. I ran an “aura mission.” In Crey’s Folly. Defeat fifteen (15) each of The Freakshow, Rikti and Devouring Earth. It took a while to get all forty-five, but I did it. I chose “Electricity” for my aura: Now, random bolts of lightning race around – and across – my character.

Tomorrow Today: X-Men – The Last Stand. Finally.

Tomorrow: The East Coast.

Namaste.

Wednesday : 24 May 2006
Robert A. Heinlein wrote a book called Job: A Comedy of Justice. If he was alive today – and collaborating with the late Bard of Avon, William Shakespeare – it would probably be called Rob: A Comedy of Errors. [Today] was the day I had originally planned to see a sneak preview of X-Men: The Last Stand, with , Chris and .

“The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” – Robert Burns

I’ll cut to the chase and just say: “We didn’t see the movie.” Among the reasons:

1. The theatre ran out of tickets by 4:30 PM.
2. None of us thought to ask any of the others to pick up the tickets earlier in the day.
3. I didn’t get off work until 4:30 and then had to make it from American Fork to SLC.
4. Lady O locked herself out of her condo… just as she was getting ready to head over to Nox’ place.
5. Chris had a last-minute job come up at work, which kept him there until 5:30.

At least I know that I’ll see the movie Friday morning – I have a ticket – not a pass – for a 10:15 showing; God willing and the creek don’t rise, I’ll be in the theatre, popcorn in hand.

Since we missed out on the movie, we went out to dinner. We ate at Buca di Beppo, at Nox’ suggestion. I give the place high marks. Good food (served in very healthy portions), good service and nice atmosphere. I will definitely dine there again.

I came home and tinkered around with ‘Nine a little more. The video card works, but was being a little temperamental about certain things. And, though I am a proponent of “percussive maintenance,” I didn’t think that it would be in my best interest to pummel the machine into submission. So, I downloaded. And installed. And configured. Lather, rinse, repeat. This went on far longer than I had intended. But, in the end, I got the desired result: A video card that does what I want it to do.

Stray Toasters

• I have tried converting MPEGs into a format that Nomad should think are great. Unfortunately, it doesn’t. Thanks to my Team Lead, I now know why.
• 
• The Cafe Guide – The Worldwide Guide to Cafès
  (It needs some entries for SLC…)

• “Thanks” to for pointing me in the direction of Ill Will Press and Foamy. I had heard of them before, but had not seen them before last night. I am amused. I even shared it with a coworker. He was amused, as well.
• – The Happiness Formula
• “…the size of China.”
• By way of Real Tech News: Doctor, Are You a Gamer?
• : I stumbled across Smile And Act Nice on Backwash last night. I thought that it might be something that you could use in a column.
• 14 Tips for Using Email Safely
• What Your Mama Never Told You About Spam
• Magnum (P.I. and not-P.I.)

Namaste.

Tuesday : 23 May 2006
It’s been a good day. With bumps.

The biggest bump was finding out that it looked as though ‘Nine had been hacked. *sigh* Some peoples’ children. So, rather than get bent about it and let ruin my workday, I stayed calm and took it offline. I consulted one of the Windows whiz kids at work; we tossed some ideas back and forth and I decided to lobotomize ‘Nine when I got home. And I did. Along with Defiant and Intrepid, ‘Nine is now running Windows XP. She’s packed (SP2), patched and ready to go.

In other news, and I got an eleventh-hour offer to see X-Men: The Last Stand tonight. (Thanks, !) We went… and it was “sold out” LONG before we got there. So, we had dinner. It was nice to sit and chat with her.

Stray Toasters

• Four days ’til North Carolina.
• One of the local channels is airing Magnum, P.I. episodes. I’m a die-hard Spenser fan, but I liked Magnum, too. Tonight’s episode was one of my favorites: “Home From the Sea.”
• “I was kind of hoping for Hawaii.” –
• uath != utah
• “Oh, hear that old piano, from down the avenue…”
• Rest a while at Snowybrook Inn
  

  Snowybrook Inn is an enchanting fantasy set in a backwoods hostel. When you own an inn in a wondrous fantasy world, who needs to goquesting for adventure?  The adventure will come to you.  After all,those heroes out in the world looking for lost rings, slaying dragons and such, all have to sleep sometime, don’t they?  Sooner or later,they will all come through Snowybrook Inn.

• I read a piece on The Emissary a few months ago… but I had forgotten about it until I read this. I am intrigued.
• I know that it’s a stupid song, but something about Kenny Loggins’ Danger Zone makes me bop around like a fiend.
• I need to reinstall CoH and CoV. In theory, if I log into CoH before installing Villains, I should once again have access to the flattop haircut that ‘Bolt used to have. And then, I can reinstall CoV. And I still need to decide what changes I’m going to make to his third costume.

Quote of the Day
From a Monday conversation with , after seeing this picture:

[13:11] : Saloon girl!
[13:11] : And Shotgun Jack!
[13:39] : *cracks up*
[13:40] : Ms. Melody’s Saloon and Speakeasy.
[13:40] : *nod*
[13:40] : That’s it.
[13:40] : shotgun jack’s pretty good too.
[13:41] : You should tell him to come up with a western-themed character and call him “Shotgun Jack”
[13:41] : *Cracks up*
[14:44] : The Life and Times of Sasparilla Melody and Shotgun Jack
[14:44] : Coming soon to USA Network.
[14:44] : (Check local listings for time)
[14:45] : *snorts*

Namaste.

Monday : 22 May 2006
Yep. Monday. Not a bad one, on the whole.
No monkeys were harmed in the making of this Monday.

I tried tuning a new Magic: the Addiction deck, on the fly, at lunch. Didn’t work too well – I was too light on mana. Which means that after a stellar two opening rounds, I was screwed.

The High-Flying Adventures of Indigo Bolt
I joined a team with Captain Ginsu and Stormy Skyz (whom I’ve teamed with before) and a couple of other people. We took on The Freakshow and Nemesis. There were a couple of deaths. There was experience debt. But, by the time we completed our last mission, I was free and clear of debt.

I’m thinking of changing my third costume, but I’m not sure what I want to do with it. I’d like to keep the cape/cloak, but I’m not sure what to do about the rest of it. Oh, well… I’ll save that for another time.

And… I rocked out. I took a little down time and headed to Pocket D, the interdimensional dance club where Heroes and Villains can chill.

And I rocked out under a rock arch (not in Utah) near the waterfront.

Stray Toasters

• Since my iPod will (technically) be part of my computer network, I christened it in accordance with my network naming convention: Nomad.
• And while I’m on the Star Trek line of thought… Matt (co-worker) and I were talking about various and sundry topics, including comics and Star Trek for a bit this morning. I came up with a question: If the Delta Quadrant was basically the one place in space that everyone wanted to be out of, what was the Delta Quadrant in the Mirror Universe (1, 2) like? I personally think that it would be the bright, sunny corner of the galaxy. And the Borg would be like some hyper-friendly Mary Kay salesforce. “Your money will be added to our own. Resistance to buying something is futile.” (I’m still not sure if their cubes would be pink, though.)
• *voop*
• As if I wasn’t already excited about it, I saw the international trailer for Superman Returns this morning. Five weeks.
• Parity bit not set.
• From Reuters: Personal data on millions of US veterans stolen
• You think Siskel & Ebert always got along on-camera? Think again. Twelve minutes of mostly safe-for-work amusement.
• This has to be one of the best case mods I have ever seen. (Other than the LEGO mods, that is.)
• 70’s Toy Commercials I remember having SSP Smash-Up Derby cars. (Check out that kid’s afro. Holy Jungle Boogie, Batman!) And, The Masterpiece Game? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is that?!

Namaste.

Sunday : 21 May 2006
Today was a quiet day in the valley. The highlight has been going to see Over the Hedge with and the boys. Cute movie. Fun, too. But if asked which part of the movie was my favorite, it was near the end of the film and I can sum it up in two words: “Mach 6.” (See the movie, you’ll understand.)

I talked with the parental units today, as well. Turns out that Mom and my stepfather have to go to Florida on Saturday (they’ll be back Sunday) and Dad isn’t sure if he’ll be going to West-by-God Virginia (as he calls it). So, I’ll have even more limited time with the ‘rents than I’d thought. But, I’m not complaining – getting to see them at all is a good thing.

The High-Flying Adventures of Indigo Bolt
I just have one thing to say: Security Level 35. Mm-hmm. That’s right!

Okay, make that two things: I decided to go with the “Medicine” pool for my new power group. I am starting with “Aid Other.” Why? Because if I max out the pool, I can get “Resuscitate.” That’s right, I can become Indigo Bolt – The Human Defibrillator.

Stray Toasters

• I tried Ben & Jerry’s “Phish Food” ice cream today. It was pretty tasty. Reminded me of Rocky Road, minus the nuts.
• : The WizKids HorrorClix site has gone live… so to speak. Check it out.
• They could have just asked Will Smith Agent J about this:
• She Draws Comics: 100 Years of America’s Women Cartoonists – a new exhibit at The Museum of Cartoon and Comic Art in New York City

Namaste.

Saturday : 20 May 2006
And so, the week comes to a close. Selah. It’s been a good week and so far, the weekend has been good, too.

<< Rewind <<
Friday was good. Work wasn’t stressful. The monkeys were, for the most part, quiet. I had lunch with a friend at a place called Costa Vida; the food was good. It will be a nice lunchtime option in the future.

After work, Clitorati. Good turn-out. Odd conversations, per usual – topics ranged from “frozen penis” to “serial killers,” with some unusual stops along the way. Yes, you read that correctly: “Frozen penis.” Explanation: a couple of weeks ago, I was thumbing through Salt Lake Magazine and found the following historical tidbit:

Answer Bee
Tackling all your Utah-related quandaries

Monday, May 1, 2006
Q. I’ve heard that “wasatch” (as in Wasatch Mountains) means frozen, er, anatomy. Is this true?

A. Back when Answer Bee was just a larvae we used to joke about this one, too. On the hive schoolyard we’d say things like, “It’s so cold out here my little bee ‘wasatch’ is going to fall off,” that kind of thing. Then when I got older, and started my lustrous career as a pollen gatherer and magazine mascot, guess I either forgot that dirty little linguistic fact or simply chalked it up to urban myth.

But it turns out “Wasatch” comes from a Ute/Paiute Indian phrase pronounced wu-hu’seai. It does mean “frozen penis.” According to Southern Paiutes, an otherwise dry history book by LaVan Martineau, centuries ago, Utes hunting between Heber and Provo were hit by a big blizzard and one of the hunters died. When they found him he was kaput, and “his penis was frozen stiff.”

Living in the valley between the Oquirrh (pronounced “ochre”) and Wastach “Frozen Penis” Mountains, how was I supposed to pass that up?! That’s right: I couldn’t.

> Play >
Today was rather relaxed and relaxing. I slept in this morning, I apparently needed the rest. (Go figure.) brought the boys over around 1:00; I watched them while she ran some errands. When she came back, the four of us went to Dr. Volt’s (to feed my four-color addiction) and then to T.G.I. Fridays for a late lunch/early dinner. After that, it was on to The Gateway. While I ran into the Apple Store, she watched the boys as they played in the fountain. I came out and watched them play. Comedy. Straight up, soaking wet comedy. We brought the boys home so that they could bathe, warm up and get into dry clothes.

I went back out to and Uriah’s place. They were throwing a party for multiple occasions, but my reason for going was to say “Goodbye and good luck,” to , who is going to California (with an aching in [his] heart…). He was hired by a firm in a field that interests him. He seemed quite hopeful about this prospect. Best wishes and safe travels to him.

The Adventures of Angel Eva and Indigo Bolt –    
Back to ‘s to watch (and offer some assistance) as she leveled her CoH character. She’s been doing a good job of beating down the criminal element in Paragon City. And, as of tonight, she made it to Security Level 8. (But, she did not rock out.) When she was done, I went on patrol for about an hour. I met my contact in Founders’ Falls; she sent me on a couple of missions in Brickstown. Objective: Take on The Freakshow. I did. Many times over. I fought seventy-plus of them. And I’m still 128k away from Security Level 35.

But, I did rock out today and last night:

• I rocked out on the elevated part of the train line in Brickstown
  

• I rocked out on top of a guard tower in “The Hollows”
  

• I even rocked out on top of City Hall in Atlas Park.
  

And that, as they say, is that.

Namaste.

Thursday : 18 May 2006
I slept poorly last night. Thus, I woke up a bit… irritable… this morning. I was slightly better by the time I thinned out the blood in my caffeine-stream. As the day progressed, my mood got better. The monkeys weren’t problematic today, not even the new one. My lunchtime workout was good.

came over around 6:00. We were going to the sneak preview of See No Evil. The only problem: I had forgotten what time it started. Most previews I’ve seen have started around 7:00 or 8:00. I had presumed 7:00-ish for this one. It started at 10:00. *sigh* So, Nox helped with some World of Warcraft stuff and then came down and read some four-color goodness while I installed and setup a TV tuner card in Intrepid. Then, it was off to The Gateway. Dinner at Applebee’s – I had the Bistro Sirloin Sandwich, on Nox’ recommendation. It was very good.

Then… the movie. As Nox put it: “It was a good bad movie.” This is to say that it was a bad movie and made no attempts to apologize for being one. “We’re light on plot and story… so, we’ll make up for it with lots of gore and suspense!” And, boy, did it ever. It was a WWE Films production. That’s “WWE” as in “World Wrestling Entertainment” and “Vince McMahon.” (Yeah, the guy who cut a deal with the NFL a couple of years ago to create the XFL.) Parts of the movie were just plain laughable. Others weren’t… but we laughed anyway. I wouldn’t pay full price to see this movie, but it might be worth catching at the dollar theatre. If only for laughs. I recognized one of the actors – Christina Vidal – but couldn’t remember “why” it at the time. I turned to IMDb. It didn’t let me down. She sang on (and appeared in the video for) the remix version of Will Smith’s Nod Ya Head (Black Suits Comin’) from Men In Black 2. And, if I remember correctly, she was also under consideration to take up the role of Ororo Munroe (Storm) in X2: X-Men United when Halle Berry decided to be a diva and say that she was too good to do “bit parts.”

After the movie, we stopped in to say “Hi” to .

The High-Flying Adventures of Indigo Bolt
I got to Paragon City and was invited to join a team on its way to Founders’ Falls to take on The Council. We fought them and rescued a defector. From there, it was on to Brickstown and Crey’s Folly to destroy a Devouring Earth hideout. That mission was successful, too. No one on the team died tonight.

I did not rock out tonight. But I shall, at least once, this weekend.

Stray Toasters

• I had cotton candy tonight.
• Seven days until X-Men: The Last Stand.
• Eight days until I go home for vacation.
• 
• I found a “Coming Soon” notification for A Prairie Home Companion… the movie. This intrigued me. Having heard nothing about this before today, I sought more information. As usual, my go-to source for movie information provided what I was looking for. (And, if Bono still hasn’t found what he was looking for, maybe he should give IMDb a shot, too.) I think that I will have to see this movie. It looks fun.
• By way of Wired: The Geek Guide to Kosher Machines
• Questions for the NSA

Quote of the Day
From today’s conversation with :

[11:55] : la la la
[14:17] : *voop*
[14:18] : voop? that sounds ilke a fun noise.
[14:18] : *nod*
[14:18] : It is.
[14:18] : hehe
[14:18] : Just say it. 🙂
[14:18] : Voop
[14:18] : 😀
[14:18] : i can’t say it without laughing
[14:19] : It’s not “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” but it’s mine. So I can say it whenever and wherever I want…. and not infringe on Disney’s copyright. 😀
[14:19] : *voop*

Namaste.

[13:34] : I should start sending my screen caps here… and using them as desktop backgrounds.
[13:35] : Especially last night’s last picture.
[13:35] : *cracks up*
[13:35] : i’ve done that. *nerd*
[[13:39] : *zips screen shot folder*
[13:39] : *uploads to site*
[13:39] : 😀
[13:39] : *g33k*
[13:39] : brouhahas!
[14:10] : *sets new wallpaper*
[14:20] : CoH screen on one machine. CoV on the other. 😀
[14:20] : *Cracks up*
[14:20] : NERD
[14:22] : You’re just jealous. 😛

     

Tuesday : 16 May 2006
Another day down and one closer to the end-of-the-week. The work day was good, as was the day’s workout.

Post work, I came home, did my best Spider-Man impression (climbing up a ladder and on the roof) to set up the swamp cooler. Mission: accomplished. After that, I headed to ‘s to install a new video card in her system… so that she can now play City of Crack Heroes. After installing… and patching… and patching… and patching… she was good to go. She re-created her character with a different name – Angel Eva, since her other character is on my account. She skipped the tutorial and headed directly into Atlas Park to begin her adventuring career. Again. Kind of.

The High-Flying Adventures of Indigo Bolt
I came home… and headed to Paragon City. I was invited to join a team; I accepted the invitation. We were taking on Nemesis. *sigh* Those guys are regimented ass-whoopin’s in uniforms. And that is what they proceeded to do to us. We cleared the missions, but we took some heavy casualties. I think that I died three times. Fortunately, the missions were worth quite a bit, so I ended the night about 40% of the way through Security Level 34 and out of XP debt.

After I left the team, I went back to Founders Falls. Because I had to get my groove on.

The Man couldn’t keep me from rocking out.

The Devil may have gone to Georgia. That’s fine. Because I still rock harder than him. I feel so good, I feel better than James Brown. That’s right: I’m gettin’ it on the good foot.

Stray Toasters

• Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream. *nod*
• : Guess who’s about ready to snap her foot off in someone’s ass and wear them like a shoe. Here’s a hint.
• From Comic Book Resources’ “Lying in the Gutters” column: “Howard Chaykin believes the Oans are highly evolved Smurfs.”
• RIAA Sues XM Satellite Radio
• Here are some rather incredible paper sculptures.
• Custom-printed toilet paper. I have no joke here.
• I believe that will understand why I find this amusing:
• The Book of Clichès – Phrases to say in times of trouble
• Free, legal games for download: Liberated Games

Namaste.

Tuesday Morning Good Things:

1. Waking up a little before the alarm… and drifting back off to The Dreaming
2. Talking with before work
3. Twenty-four ounces of double espresso shot-laden frozen mocha goodness
4. The baby girl smiling/laughing at me while I waited for my mocha
5. Bagels from Einstein Brothers
6. Songs that make you want to sing along with the radio
7. Learning that my uncle is making reservations to come out for a visit

…and it’s not even 9:00 AM yet.

Exit the warrior,
Today’s Tom Sawyer,
He gets high on you,
And the energy you trade,
He gets right on to the friction of the day.

Monday : 15 May 2006
Good day, all around.
Except for getting beaten in both games of Magic at work. And even that wasn’t so bad.

Tonight was D&D night at ‘ place. In the words of Dr. Peter Venkman: “We came. We saw. We kicked its ass.” Which is true. For the most part. The exceptions would be when most of the party wound up needing some form of healing. (Which was more than “once.”) And when the main bad guy – who was actually not a guy – decided to summon something to whip our asses… and botched in the middle of the summoning. She wound up opening the door for something MUCH more powerful to come through. Not being completely braindead, we did what any intelligent party would do: We left with the quickness. With the utmost quickness, at that. (Well, John wanted to stay and fight; we were ready to leave him there to die on his own – we were that severely outclassed.) But, no one in the party died. This time.

The High-Flying Adventures of Indigo Bolt
I decided to go on patrol this evening. Mystical Temptress invited me to join her on a couple of missions against Devouring Earth. I joined her and the hunt was on. But, not before I headed to Founders’ Falls and got my dance on.

We went on a couple of missions. The first one was fine. The second one involved deaths. And I don’t mean the D.E.s, either. We died. A few times. By the time we decided to call it a night, I had racked up 15k in XP debt. Wahoo.

Stray Toasters

• I finally caught up with Mom today. All’s well there.
• I had a minor craving for a Slurpee this evening. I didn’t act upon it, though.
• 
• Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?
• : Batman Series 1 Mini Figures
• : Cthulhu Tales #1

Namaste.

Sunday : 14 May 2006
Happy Mother’s Day to those of you to whom it applies. I hope that the day found you in good health, good spirits and – when and where able – in the good company of your family and/or other loved ones.

Slept in this morning… which meant that I missed calling Mom and Kitty and wishing them a Happy Mother’s Day. Verdammt. But, I left her enough messages (in enough places) to let her know that I tried calling her… more than once… over a period of many hours. I did get to speak with my father (fully recovered from last weekend’s events) and Kris, Third of Four in the sibko. They were both doing well.

This afternoon, I took to Park City for Mother’s Day brunch. We went to Cisero’s. Natch. We didn’t stay in Park City for the usual gallery and shop stroll… but we did stop in Java Cow for tasty iced creams.

Back to SLC. We headed back to my place. I’m not sure if there was some celestial convergence of which I wasn’t aware, but the next-to-impossible finally happened…

The Spellbinding Crusades of Eva Angel –

That’s right, actually created a character and played City of Crack City of Heroes. And she liked it. She really liked it. She created a Magic Controller. Then she ran around Atlas Park kicking ass and taking names. (Something about her being all out of bubble gum…) Not only did she beat down a lot of Hellions, she took some time to rock out in the local train stationMm-hmm. That’s right. Looks like ‘s Valarinne has a new dancin’ partner. (I’m waiting to see when Eva’s going to want to go to Pocket D, the in-game dance club.) Next mission: Picking up a new video card for her computer, so she can pick up a copy and play it at home.

And that’s all the news from Lake Saline (and Paragon City).

Namaste.

Saturday : 13 May 2006
Today’s been a good day. It started off quietly – well… except for the washing machine – and has been pretty mellow. I had lunch at Jitterbug Coffee Hop; and I chatted with Bruce and a couple of the regulars. From there, it was off to REI to check out their Anniversary Sale. (I managed to walk out empty-handed.) Next stop was a used book store off of 33rd South, just north of 13th East. I didn’t even know existed, but there was a small, sign pointing it out on the street… and I was helpless to resist. It was a small shop;owner was rather nice. I will most likely revisit it.

We caught Mission: Impossible III. It was a great leap forward from Mission: Impossible 2. I’ll probably do a more in-depth review tomorrow or next week. I will say that if you are looking for fun summer fare with lots of things going *BOOM*, this should definitely fit the bill.

We met , Chris, his brother Ryan, and others for dinner at Tres Hombres, celebrating ‘s birthday. On the whole, it was a good time. Our waitress, however, left quite a bit to be desired: She neglected taking ‘ food order and repeatedly forgot to refill his drink. When she came around to ask if anyone else at the table wanted or needed anything, most people said “Yes, drinks…” Yet, she neglected to bring them. On two occasions. It dawned on me, about halfway through dinner that I had received equally poor service at this restaurant once before. And it was from the same waitress. I, and others at the table, reflected our displeasure through our gratuities. Fortunately, the dinner company made up for the lack of attention and service.

Breakfast saw a small turnout: Only four people. Five, if you count Bill, who showed up as we were preparing to leave. Melody (the manager at Cheers, not to be confused with ) had some happy news.

And that’s all the news from Lake Wobegon Saline. For now, at least.

Namaste.