Random Access

I don’t know who ordered “Double snow with a side order of WTF…?!”

But that’s okay.
There’s still music.
Get-you-going morning music.

<groove>
   Yoko Kanno & Seatbelts – Tank! (from Cowboy Bebop)
   Walter Murphy – A Fifth of Beethoven
   Sting and Cheb Mami – Desert Rose (Victor Calderone remix)
   New Order – True Faith
</groove>

Monday
It was 68 degrees (F) yesterday.
Today, I think we peaked around 42 degrees.
And there was snow this morning. Lots of it.

Other than that, it was a good day. It was capped by Family Home Evening at Brother ‘ place. We played D&D as our (typical) group activity. Twas good.

Stray Toasters

• For the first time in a couple of snowfalls, I called my father to tell him that it was snowing. His response: “I know.” (He had seen it on The Weather Channel before I had called.)
• Rather Opinionated.com
• I watched a few minutes of the unaired live-action Justice League of America pilot. >.< Brain hurty.
• Abuses of Surveillance Cameras
• American Ethnic Geography: Map Gallery of Religion in the United States
• : Cover art to Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #20
• Dungeon Escape – a low-res homage to classic laserdisc games like Dragon’s Lair and Space Ace
• Seeing Triple with the Matrox TripleHead2Go
• There’s a joke to be made here about Diana having her hands full… but I’m not going to make it.
• Journey into Comics: A JLU Lament – a look at the end of Justice League Unlimited
• From InfoWorld: Stupid User Tricks: Eleven IT Horror Stories

Quotes of the Day
Quote #1 comes from IRC. I was listening to the Schoolhouse Rock! mp3 of The Preamble and decided to post a couple of lines in the channel. provided the counterpoint.

[13:16] We… the people…..
[13:16] In order to form a more perfect union….
[13:18] will stick our collective foot in your ass if you so much as think about having a free thought!

Quote #2 comes from tonight’s gaming session. , making an analogy about the difference between monks and clerics (in the game), came up with with the following:

“It’s the difference between… Buddha… and some schmuck.”

Namaste.

Sunday : 16 April 2006
Happy Easter to all.
It was a good day in the valley. Sunny. Warm. Good. (Too bad that it’s going to be back in the mid-40s tomorrow.)

I had lunch with and Land at the Olive Garden. It was a good time with good friends and good (and funny) conversation – a good way to spend some time on a lazy Sunday afternoon. This was followed by a trip to Memory Grove. I had only been there once before, for ‘s wedding. and I walked up the trail for a bit; I took a few pictures along the way. I also realized that I haven’t taken random photos like this in a long time.

Stray Toasters

• I spoke with the ‘rents, the youngest member of the sibko and my uncle today. All are well.
• Lindsay Lohan is being looked at to play… Sailor Moon…in a… live-action movie. Along with Jennifer Garner… and a non-Asian cast. Um, yeah.
• Loaded Bible: Jesus vs. Vampires
• : There are a couple of pictures of Storm (and her wedding dress) here
• SR-71 Blackbird losses
• I just saw the E. Peterbus Unum episode of The Family Guy on Adult Swim. The “You Can’t Touch Me” take-off on MC Hammer’s U Can’t Touch This had me laughing out loud. Straight-up comedy.
• Apple calls meeting after making little girl cry
• I didn’t fly my kite today… which is a shame since the wind was great for it.
• The History of Easter Candy
• 
  (click here for the rest of the strip)

• I have a taste for Tastykake Butterscotch Krimpets.
• MANGA yanked from library shelves
• : I think that you’ll appreciate this as much as I did…
• For :

Namaste.

Saturday : 15 April 2006
The day started off with sleeping in. That’s always a good way to start off a day off. After that, I got to play Spider-Man for a bit: Spring swamp cooler preparations at ‘s grandparents’ house.

Most of the day was fairly uneventful until evening set in. and I went to see Swan Lake at Capitol Theatre. I believe that this was the first time I have been to the ballet. It was a great performance. I wasn’t entirely familiar with the story behind Swan Lake, but it was summarized in the programme. The dancers, orchestra, set design and choreography were all top-notch. Following the ballet, it was off to Cheers for breakfast and coffee. There were lots of fashion risks/don’ts there. *shiver*

Stray Toasters

• I am (finally) getting over a headache.
• Stupid crap that female tech writers have to put up with
• There are the makings of a good prank somewhere in this story
• There was more that I had to put here… but I’m tired and can’t think of any of them right now.

Namaste.

Goodnight, moon.

Put the needle on the record.
Put the needle on the record.
Put the needle on the record…
Put the needle on the record…
Put the needle on the record when the drum beats go like this!

Thursday : 13 April 2006
Another No Bad News Thursday has, in the words of David Bowie: “…come, been and gone.” On the whole, it was a good day. I did come close to snapping off a little something on one of the monkeys today. *sigh* After all was said and done, I went to my Team Lead, explained the situation and my thoughts on the matter. He seemed amenable to what I said.

After work, it was off to birthday dinner and Easter egg dying at ‘s grand parents. After dinner, we had cake and ice cream for ‘s birthday. Then… it was egg-dying time. It was fun watching how excited the boys got over dying and decorating the eggs. Then it was home, where I watched the last half of CSI and generally decompressed from the day.

The High-Flying Adventures of Indigo Bolt
I started out with a mission in Crey’s Folly. While I completed the mission alone – with Sparky’s help – I died once. But, as I said: I completed the mission. After that, I hooked up with a couple of people with whom I usually team and headed to Peregrine Island and Perez Park to take on Nemesis. We died. Many times. But, one good thing came out of it: Security Level 33.

Stray Toasters

• “Happy Birthday” to .
• I should be FAR more tired than I am.
• Bollywood star mourners trash offices that don’t shut for mourning – Maybe it’s just me, but this just doesn’t make sense:
  

  The death of Rajkumar, a legendary Bollywood star has triggered riotsat the offices of companies that did not close for a day of mourning.

• Here are some of music-related links:
  • http://www.somafm.com/
  • http://www.gohomeproductions.co.uk/mp3.html
  • http://www.stereogum.com/archives/002120.html
    (contains a link to a Gwen Stefani – Cameo remix of Hollaback Girl and Word Up)
• Chips and salsa.
• Good Things in Small Packages, Part 2
• Robocop 12″ model and ED-209 15″ model

I’m sure that there were eleventy-seven things that I was going to add to this… but I can’t think of them. So, I’ll call this good for tonight.

Namaste.

Wednesday : 12 April 2006
Today was a markedly better day than yesterday…

…even though I overslept this morning. By roughly an hour. D’oh! I was able to go from bed to ready-to-go in about twenty minutes, so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

Work was good. Post-work was good. And quiet. And relaxing. Selah.

Four-Color Coverage
Yep, it’s a new section. I decided to break some/most of my comic-related chatter out of Stray Toasters for those who don’t really care about comic books and the like. But, as I said: “Some/most of [it],” because there are times, when things are just going to go turned into ‘Toasters. That said, here we go…

Although I was skeptical about it at first, I’ve been reading Marvel’s Young Avengers for the past few months. Allan Heinberg (Wikipedia entry), the series’ author, has been drawing rave reviews for his portrayal of life as a (super-powered) teenagers.

And the reviews are spot-on.

Heinberg, who has also gained acclaim for his writing on Fox’ The O.C., has a definite handle on the way that kids think and act. Add to that the fact that these aren’t just any kids: They’re superpowered teenagers looking to be the next generation of heroes (and heroines). So, on top of the pressures of family and school, they are balancing saving the world (or just the city or even one or two blocks of it) along with just trying to fit in.

Heinberg’s story-writing is sharp and full of more than just “A leads to B leads to C” plots. There have been twists, turns and even a loop or two (for good measure). More than once, I’ve found myself thinking: “Wow… didn’t see that coming.” Issue #11, the latest one on the stands, features the Kree, Skrulls, the possible answer to a long-standing question from The Avengers (and The House of M… and a few other special guests. And a “Wow… didn’t see that coming” moment on the next to last page. Go figure.

If you’re looking for a new series – or trade paperback – to get into, I recommend this one.

Stray Toasters

• I talked with the middle sib this afternoon. She’s heading into finals. Finals + Law School = Not fun.
• : posted a link to this photography article in his journal. As you’re currently using both digital and film cameras, I thought I’d get your 2¢ on it.
• By way of boingboing.net: Savant childrens’ drawings
• : What did you say that your favorite ‘Mech was?
• sounds sticky –
• I don’t know why I’m surprised to find a site dedicated to “Bringing you the fun, fashion & science of shoelaces“: Ian’s Shoelace site
• Robin Williams as… The Joker? Hmm. While he’s definitely frenetic enough, I’m not sure if he’s the best choice.
• Page becomes her characters – Interview/profile of Ellen Page, soon to be seen in Hard Candy and X-Men: The Last Stand
• Ray Filmmaker Taylor Hackford to Direct Musical Version on Leap of Faith Hmm. I liked the movie, but I don’t know how well it will translate to the stage.
• Pirates of the Caribbean massively multiplayer game in the offing

Namaste.

Tuesday : 11 April 2006
Today was… a day. I’m not entirely sure what happened, but somewhere around 10:00 this morning, it became “a Monday.” And not a good one. I could tell that I was getting in a progressively declining mood. I tried taking a late morning constitutional, hoping that it would help clear my head. It did… a little. But not enough. I spent the next hour trying keep my head down and just stay more or less “away” from people. Or at least as much as you can in an office. And it was at that point that I had a problem child show up at my desk. *braincramp* She’s a nice person and under normal conditions, we get along well; today, however, I was irritable… and she was being bubbly and Care Bear happy. Not a good mix. *sigh* I dealt with her in as calm and civil a manner as I could muster. Soon, it was time for lunch. Today, that meant a trip to the gym. *genuflect* I was able to work most of the irritation and angst out of my system. I felt considerably better post-gym. The rest of the day wasn’t as much of an obstacle course.

I came home and just… unwound. I found Don online and convinced him that we needed to save the citizens of Paragon City from the nefarious forces that had aligned against them. Okay… to be honest, it didn’t really take a lot of arm-twisting. We ran a few missions. I died three times. Blah blah blah. But, by the end of our run, I was out of XP debt and well on my way to Security Level 33. I wrapped up the evening with episodes of Batman: TAS and Superman: TAS.

Stray Toasters

• I spoke with my mother this evening. She’s on “Spring Break” – since they don’t/can’t call it “Easter Break” – this week; she said that she hasn’t done a thing all week. Which for her is both an amazing (as in “unusual”) and a very good thing.
• By way of Maximum PC: Fight Disease with your PC’s Spare Cycles (Team 11108)
• GamesRadar.com
• : A couple of items about CoH/CoV Issue 7: Destiny Manifest: 1, 2
• I didn’t know (until a few minutes ago) that Carrie Fisher (yes, that Carrie Fisher…) is only 5′-1″ tall. She was just on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. She was witty and seemed to be enjoying herself.
• The Harper’s Index
• “Don’t you know who I am?” (Yes, this still amuses me.)
• I just saw a promo for an upcoming show: Celebrity Cooking Showdown, set to air Monday night on NBC. Think Iron Chef… with celebrities. Nine Hells.

Namaste.

There’s something fun (nice… amusing… fill-in-an-adjective…) – with a bit of a subversive feel – about:
     … being the first person in the office
     … turning on Winamp
     … listening to music (mostly Rush) at a good volume (no headphones)
     …and turning volume up more when I Don’t Like the Drugs (but the Drugs Like Me) comes on.

And I haven’t even had my coffee yet.

A few songs later, I was treated to the following trio of songs:

• The Time – Jerk Out
• George Michael – Fastlove
• Cornershop – Brimful of Asha (the up-tempo version)

How does your Tuesday sound so far?

Monday : 10 April 2006
It was a good day… even for a Monday.
And, despite a wee bit of oversleeping.

This evening was relatively quiet. I got to watch 24 for the first time in about a month. That was good. I also watched “Trek 2.0,” on G4 (which used to be a good channel… back when it was TechTV). It was the original series pilot – the pre-Kirk one: The Cage, with Captain Christopher Pike. “Trek 2.0” is Star Trek for the ADD/ADHD crowd – it had a chat window at the bottom of the screen, the “Spock Market” on the right and random trivia on the left. *shiver* In the words of Living Colour (the band, not the TV show): “Information Overload.” After that, I watched Batman: TAS and Superman: TAS on Boomerang. I am amused (and a little ashamed to admit) that I just picked up on their tagline tonight: “Boomerang. It’s all coming back to you now.” It’s not like I’ve been watching this channel for a few years. You would think that it would had dawned on me a long time ago. Nope. It didn’t. Until tonight. *sigh*

The High-Flying Adventures of Indigo Bolt –
I joined a couple of higher-level teams tonight. The experience was good, I’m about 30% of the way to Security Level 33. And, also on the “plus” side: I didn’t die tonight.

Stray Toasters

• I talked with my uncle for a brief bit today. All’s well in New Amsterdam.
• I didn’t get my Blizzard, but I do have Creme Eggs.
• Leftover tidbit from this past weekend: I took ‘s boys with me to the comic shop. They waited (more or less) patiently while I picked up my books. Curtis, the four-year-old, asked me to come look at something. As I got closer – though my view was blocked by another patron – he told me: “You could get this costume!” That was immediately followed by Troy, the six-year-old, saying: “That’s what you look like naked.” (Did I mention that he’s six? And to the best of my knowledge, has never seen me topless, let alone naked…) Then I saw what they were talking about. It made me laugh. A lot. It made the guy standing next to me laugh, too.

  What was it that they wanted to show me?

  This.

  I had to buy the issue after a build-up like that. And it still makes me laugh.

• Thanks to for pointing out: Thriller… done in LEGO.
• *sigh* It looks as if this really is the last season of Justice League Unlimited. That’s a shame.
• 20th Century Fox has signed Kiefer Sutherland to a 3 year (“three day”) deal for 24. Hopefully, it won’t jump the shark.
• : You’re thinking of The Theme from Shaft.
• Dual-headed video.
• Jets transformed into limos prowl Chicago streets
• Yoda… Easter eggs.
• I just watched the video for Jack Johnson’s Upside Down, from the soundtrack from the recent Curious George movie. Very cute. Not to mention that it’s a rather catchy little ditty, too.
• Man stabbed for his PowerBook in SF WiFi cafè

Namaste.

<boogie>
     Was (not Was) – Walk the Dinosaur
</boogie>

This was a good way to spend a four minutes chair-dancing this morning.

How does your Monday sound?

Sunday : 09 April 2006
Pretty low-key weekend.

Saturday, we visited and had lunch with ‘s grandmother and aunts (on her father’s side of the family). That was followed by a quick trip to Best Buy; I walked out empty-handed. Back to her aunt’s house for a bit and then on to take to the nail salon (while the boys and I headed to Dr. Volt’s). On the way, we made a “side trip” to the Sandy Best Buy. I didn’t walk out of their empty-handed. Post-salon, we stopped at Kate and Perry’s. The boys played with Max for a bit before we headed over to visit Kate (at work) and get a bite to eat.

I slept in this morning. After I achieved something that approximated “coherence,” I watched Chicken Little with and the boys. I hadn’t seen it before. It was cute. I picked up on the actors behind the mayor’s and Ace’s voices (Don Knotts and Adam West, respectively). I looked up trivia on IMDb after the movie was over. Headed back to my place and decided to cook out. (After all, the weather today was great.) Chicken, bratwurst, burgers and hot dogs. After that, we headed to Jordan Landing and watched Ice Age 2: The Meltdown. It was a cute – and fun – movie, but the overall experience was marred by a lady sitting a couple of seats next to me – she not only neglected to turn off her phone, she proceeded to have a conversation on it when someone called her. I – and a couple of other people – tried to quiet her, unsuccessfully. Then she proceeded to talk – loudly – to her kids throughout the movie, as if they couldn’t see or get what was happening on-screen. *sigh* Ass hat.

Stray Toasters

• I’m craving an Oreo Blizzard again.
• LaserMonks – “Saving you money, serving those in need.”
• How to stop the dreaded Firefox Memory Leak
• 
• LEGO, mythology and a Rush reference, all in one! –
• A musical… based on Young Frankenstein? Hmm.

Namaste.

Friday : 07 April 2006
After yesterday’s Weather-of-the-Moment experience, today was decidedly different: Sunny and blue skies. Not that I’m complaining about that. Far from it, in fact. On the whole, it was a good day… despite the fact that I had to really fight to find the motivation to work. I am still having a couple of issues with my PHP code, but I am making progress.

Clitorati was good. We had a decent group and, with them, a good bit of conversation and entertainment.

Stray Toasters

• Ballet West has two shows left on its schedule for this season. I think that I’d like to go to one of them.
• Blast! is in town. They had a show tonight and another one tomorrow. I really wish that I had remembered that before Thursday night; I would have liked to have seen them perform.
• “Shit weasels.
• Renaissance – It’s in French, but it looks cool.
• Free cake.
• Land was working on his resumè tonight. He asked if he should add some LDS-related items to it. , and and I offered our thoughts on the matter. We determined that such a resumè could be referred to as a “resuMo.”
• Kidrobot.com

Quotes of the Day
Both of today’s quotes came from tonight’s Clitorati gathering:

• Unknown cafè patron: “Time is simply a matter of difference between two states.”
• Rob #2: (working on crossword puzzle) “What does ‘Ryder’ mean?
  : “Grab her hair and hold on tight.”
  : Depending on the size of her ears, you could use them.”

Namaste.

<groove>
     Rose Royce – Car Wash
     Yoko Kanno & Seatbelts – Tank! (Theme from Cowboy Bebop)
     Rush – Crossroads
     Rhythm Heritage – Theme from S.W.A.T.
</groove>