Random Access

<groove>
     
</groove>

How are you getting’ your groove on today?

Monday : 24 October 05
For a Monday, it wasn’t a bad day. Not even the fact that I had to get up at 5:30 to get ready for work dampened the day. Besides, it was nice to beat my Team Lead into the office – especially since he has at least half of the commuting distance that he used to and would often arrive at work before I would. If I beat him in tomorrow, I think that I will have Wagner’s Die Valkyrie playing (loudly) on my computer. (Now all I need are some plastic helicopters, Army men and napalm…)

<post arrival-at-the-office edit>
I was the first one in this morning. I put in the Wagner CD and pumped up the volume. The payoff came about 15 minutes later:

“Good morning, Rob. Riding the Valkyries today, huh?”

</edit>

There was a coffee machine and bean grinder waiting for me when I got to work this morning; it turns out that they were in the old office but rarely got used. So… I inherited ’em. I took some coffee down with me this morning. But, I neglected to pick up any milk or creamer. Oh, well.

This evening has been good, as well. We got together with the Black-and-Tan gang and had dinner at Porcupine Pub and Grille. Bad puns, good beer and good company.

News
BBC News: US civil rights icon Parks dies
The New York Times: Rosa Parks, 92, Founding Symbol of Civil Rights Movement Dies

Stray Toasters

• One week later, I have finished with the pictures from the trip to Disneyland, although I still contend that they could/should call it “Dizzyland.”
• I got a birthday present a couple of days early: A new gas grill. Booyah! Sunday football barbecues are back!
  Lots of “Thank yous” to .

• City of Heroes and VG Cats…? Together? Be afraid.
  

• , you here’s a little something that you might be able to put into a Backwash: Red or Sex-Kitten column: Eco-friendly erotic spanking paddles
• …and, speaking of kittens: Sissy, Lightning and Presto.
  

• iPod Shuffle cross cap
  

• : Miyazaki film festival on TCM
• : This bunny’s for you.
• : Cthulhu DVD said to be totally coolh
• “Is there a word for being both flattered AND perplexed?”
  

• 2005 HALO Machinima Award Winners
• Lucas Unveils Star Wars Exhibit

Namaste.

<dance break>
     
</dance break>

What’s in your dance break today?

Sunday : 23 October 05
It’s been a decent day. I didn’t do much during the early part of the day… other than watch some football, that is. This evening, I had dinner with , and her boys. And somewhere in there, I even took some time out to save the world.

Baltimore at Chicago
6 – 10
The Ravens headed to the Windy City to take on Da Bears. Everyone was expecting a defensive battle… and that’s exactly what they got. Both teams’ defenses were on top of their games. The offenses, on the other hand… *shrug* Jamal Lewis still doesn’t seem to have found his “A” game. Chicago’s Thomas Jones apparently found it. He was Chicago’s go-to guy on the ground. The passing game looked all right, but the Bears’ defensive line and backfield were tough. There is one semi-silver lining to all of this: Chicago’s QB, Kyle Orton, is a fellow Boilermaker. If the Ravens had to lose, at least it was to a team led by someone from Purdue.

Stray Toasters

• I just heard the new Blitz: The League described as “Grand Theft Madden” on VH1’s Best Week Ever. That made me laugh.
• The Robot Hell Song from Futurama.
• “It was a zombie jamboree…” – Zombie Lurch
• and : The Escapist #8 cover art
• “I found this game Mom bought called Calamari and Monkeys!”
  

• : From the DCG – Sensor (v4)
• , the following Applegeeks comic has your name all over it.
  

• The video for Nine Inch Nails’ Only is… interesting.
• Yes! Someone understands!!!
  

• Do we really need a new release of Titanic, with three hours of behind-the-scenes extras? Actually, maybe we do… but ONLY if they finally tell us who the genius was that decided to include a scene with the guy bouncing off the propeller when he jumped overboard. *chuckles* That was my favorite scene from Titanic; it made sitting through the movie, up to that point, worthwhile.

Quote of the Day
From tonight’s episode of Futurama on Adult Swim

Bender: “Don’t worry, guys. I’ll never be too good or too evil again. From now on, I’ll just be me.”
Leela: “Uh, do you think you could be just a little less evil than that?”
Bender: “I dunno. You think you could survive a seven hundred foot fall?”
Fry: “Heh heh. Good old Bender.”

Namaste.

Saturday : 22 October 05
The first half of the day was lazy. Very lazy. I woke up somewhere around 9:15 and made my way downstairs to the den to watch some TV. Then it was 10-something. I think that it was roughly 11:30 before I managed to drag myself off the couch and stop letting the TV watch me.

Of course, that didn’t stop me from continuing to be lazy. Or bored. I was bored for a good while before Ms. informed me that she was heading to Fascist Pla…. I mean “Fashion Place” Mall. I asked if she would mind some company – she said that she would not – and thus, I got ready and headed out to meet her. I met her, and young Mr. Sebastian… whom shall henceforth be known as “BabyArmadillo42.” (You had to be there.) We ate lunch and then began to wander the mall.

The first stop was in Meier & Frank. And that is where the hijinks began. I’m not sure if the highlight (or possibly lowlight) was me asking a clerk “Where are the ladies unmentionables,” or semi-trying on what looked like a prom dress – Nyx has a picture of this somewhere… On to Nordstrom’s with stops in Gap Kids, Victoria’s Secret (where I got to play out my vampiric inclinations on a window-front mannequin) and The Bombay Company.

Nordstrom’s was a story unto itself. needed something from the MAC counter. Nyx and I stood off to the side with the now-sleeping BabyArmadillo42. And we people-watched. Oh, my. The entire staff at the MAC counter was done up in glittery makeup. O.o It was a sight to behold. Then there were the random passers-by. And the lady at the counter next to where we were standing? She was desperately trying to hold on to her (lost) youth.

I left the mall to pick up from work. I drove up I-215 with the intent of taking Route 201 to get to the new REC building. No go, Flight. Before I got to the off-ramp, I could see traffic backed-up and moving very slowly. So I decided to head up to I-80 and come in from just above the REC. What I had neglected to consider was taking the California Avenue exit, which lies between 201 and 80. And it would have taken me right up to the REC. Of course, this revelation didn’t occur to me until I had just passed the off-ramp for California Ave. *sigh* I’m brilliant.

Home. I had intended to save the world for a while. Instead I was enthralled by the Cartoon Network presentation of The Batman vs. Dracula… which I had considered taping. I only caught the last 00:40 or so of it, but it seemed to be rather well done. I’ll have to catch an encore presentation to see what the first 1:20 was like.

Off to Jo-Ann Fabrics to get material for my costume. This time, I took the measurements! The fabric that I chose was not only a good price, but had a coupon that took an extra 50% off of the price! We also picked up a few Hallowe’en decoration/party favor things.

Home again. Jiggety-jig. This time, I made the trip to Paragon City.

A couple of hours later founr me on the road, heading to breakfast. I left a little early and took a bit of a drive before heading to Cheers. It was a decent turnout. And The Singles weren’t there! All-in-all, it was a good breakfast.

The High-Flying Adventures of Indigo Bolt
I ran a couple of short missions with my friend, Don. I was taking on The Family again. And, again, they were beaten down. I went to get a mission (against Sky Raiders) from my contact and then headed to the train station, which is where I normally log out – it’s a “safe-spot.” I got to the station… and proceeded to see myself lying face down on the ground. Dead. *ARRRRRGH* It seemed that the Raiders had decided to bring the fight to me. Thanks to this death – and a few others from two nights ago – I now have 34,000 points of experience debt to work off. Yay!

Stray Toaster

• By way of Nyx: Pirate Facts

Quote of the Day

: Crackheads are always after me Lucky Charms!

And with that, I bid you good morrow.

Namaste.

Friday : 21 October 05
It’s late and I’m tired, but it’s been a good day.

I’ll post more in the post-sunrise morning.

Namaste.

<dance break>

*boogie*

</dance break>

Thursday : 20 October 05
It’s been an all-around good day. I got to sleep in a little this morning, that’s always a good thing. It was “No Bad News Thursday” at work and thus no one was harming in the making of this work day. My lunchtime workout was good; I was muscle fatigued (but not overly so) by the time that we left. We went to the gym in… American Fork, I think; I’m not sure if we had crossed into Pleasant Grove. *shrug* Doesn’t really matter, either way. The gym has an… odd layout. It’s going to take a little getting used to. And we’re going to have to learn what equipment is where. Again. The rest of the day was good and before I knew it, it was time to head home. Aside from a couple of Utah drivers who acted like… Utah drivers, the commute home was relatively uneventful.

After a little rest at home, there was trip to Jo-Ann Fabric to get the rest of the fabric for my Hallowe’en costume. Being a fabric store and since they carried patterns, I didn’t think that I’d need to check the cloth requirements before leaving the house.

I should have. Why? Because I couldn’t find one – NOT ONE – copy of the pattern in the store. *braincramp* On the plus side, I did find what I think will be excellent fabric for my cloak… and I did remember how much of that I needed. So, there is at least one more trip to the store in the works.

Tonight’s CSI was good. I was expecting the case to simply be a Hallowe’en prank that a family pulled. I was wrong. Very wrong. And I liked the mostly-subtle psychological things that the writers are using with the Nick Stokes character.

Stray Toasters

• How Rail Guns Work (Now, where’s the Teflon®?)
• The Simpsons… now playing…. on Arab television?
• Giant steps are what you take, walking on the moon…
• I’m not really sure what to say about Mr. Suicide Bathtub Plug
• I think that the premise of Marvel Comic’s upcoming mini-series, Ares sounds interesting:
  

  ARES #1 (of 5)
  Written by MICHAEL AVON OEMING
  Pencils & Cover by TRAVEL FOREMAN
  For thousands of years, Ares, The God of War, has been the most violent and ruthlessly efficient killer in Zeus’s stable. The Nuclear Option to be sent in when absolutely, positively, need to kill everything in sight. Now, Ares — who has invaded Olympus, attempted to take over earth, stood at the walls of Troy, and fought toe to toe with and against Earth’s greatest heroes – has turned his back on Olympus and centuries of brutal warfare to begin life anew on Earth with one goal: to raise his child. But what happens when Olympus – under siege and in danger of falling – calls on its most violent son to come to its rescue? And what happens if Ares refuses? Will Zeus destroy his son…and his grandson…to save his city? This five issues miniseries, illustrated by Travel Foreman and written by Mike Oeming, brings together heroes new and old, uniting Hercules and the Greek Pantheon with the Marvel Universe. Ares is the God of War, so we promise this is like no heroic book Marvel has done before. Heads will fly and blood will flow between Ares and anyone who stands in the way of his son.
  32 PGS./ PARENTAL ADVISORY …$2.99

  And another thing: When did Mr. T get promoted to God of War? (click for image)

• Has someone ever forwarded you the email that tells you to forward it to all of your friends and Microsoft will send you a check for $5.00? Yeah… that one. I was walking the web and came across an article on Life’s Little Annoyances, by Ian Urbina. In it, he tells the story of Jeff Zickgraff and what he did when friends sent him that email. It’s a thing of beauty.
• From boingboing.net: Starbucks to print God quote on cups
• By way of Real Tech News: Yo! The Speech Accent Archive Available Online
• Apparently, I’m on something of a meme/quiz-taking kick… at least for me.
  

  You scored as Blade. Thats right you are the booty kicking you cross me and I will stomp a mudhole in your butt type. Sexy and a great fighter with mad fighting skills Blade 75% Marius 67% Lestat 58% Armand 50% Louis 50% Spike 42% Dracula 42% Deacon Frost 25% Angel 17% Akasha 0% Whose your Vampire personality? (images) created with QuizFarm.com

• I came across this blog (of sorts) by way of Backwash. I saw this quote and it made me laugh:
  

  Friday, April 18, 2003
  “did you notice i cleaned the car?” said the mother to her three kids, piling into the SUV. “did you notice i need braces?” the eldest daughter replied.
  –near my office

  The parent blog can be found here.

• Here’s another look at the upcoming All-Star Superman #1, by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. I remember when I first saw Mr. Quitely’s artwork, a few years ago; I didn’t care much for his style. It’s grown on me, over time. I remember having the same opinion about Stuart Immonen’s work. It’s grown on me, too. The work of Mike Mignola, the creator of Hellboy, however… it still does nothing for me.
• Melissa Etheridge with short, blonde hair. Huh. That’ll take a little getting used to. *shrug* I still like her music, though.
• “You know the one thing I miss most about the ’80s?”
  “Underoos?”
  “No, but they’re a close second.”
  

And that’s a wrap…

Namaste.

Wednesday : 19 October 05
Today was a better day in the South Office …aside from the fact that we were still effectively cut off from the rest of the world.

But, my mood was greatly improved. And the day went fairly quickly.

Post work, I came home and took what was apparently a much-needed nap. Then it was off to dinner with and Heather. Otherwise, it’s been a pretty quiet night.

I think I’ll go save the world.

Stray Toasters

• I chatted with my Godsister, Tammy, for a bit this evening. I was rather surprised – but quite happy – to find her online, considering the two-hour time difference.
• 
• I’ve seen this quiz/meme floating around and decided to try it out. I’m amused.
  What Would Eastwood Do?
  You are the type to not take crap from anyone. If
  someone slaps your right cheek, you clobber
  them in theirs. Your idea of fair is “an
  eye for an eye.”

  What is your personal WW_D?
  brought to you by Quizilla

• Flexible electronic paper
• I just saw an ad for tonight’s Tonight Show. Herbie Hancock will be on… with Christina Aguilera as his vocalist. I’m intrigued by this combination.

  (Update: It was rather nice. Mr. H., as always, was good and, Ms. Aguilera was rather… uncharacteristically restrained, not to say that she didn’t sing well; she just wasn’t as “animated” as I’ve come to expect her to be.)

• From boingboing.net: Freeze-dried funeral
• : I saw a link to this and thought of you.
• I could try to set this up, but that would spoil the fun.
• What’s Nolan Bushnell been up to? This.
• “And I don’t…
  No I don’t mind, at all”

• and : I saw this and thought of you guys.
• “It’s like Esperanto met ADHD and they adopted a greyhound.”
  

• “And stuff.”
• : This comic made me think of you.
• I still enjoy Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series. I like the fact that Boomerang shows them back-to-back. In fact, tonight’s episode is “Livewire,” featuring Lori Petty as Leslie Willis/Livewire.
• “Holy crap! It’s like watching the end to every 80’s movie all at once!” –
• Grant Morrison… writing… Batman? Interesting.

Namaste.

Tuesday : 18 October 05
Today was the first day back in the post-vacation swing of things.

And I wished that I had been swinging a scythe.

I got to the new office and found that the claim I’d staked had been jumped. My team lead explained how the seating had been selected: Seniority. *nod* Okay, I have no problem with that. What I did have a problem with was my new desk/cube. No, not with the location. With the contents. It seems that someone – or someones – thought that it would be “funny” to load my area with bubble wrap and plastic packing wrap.

They were ever-so-slightly mistaken.

Between trying to clear out the wrap and set up my workstations, I think that it took me nearly three hours to even get close to something that could be considered “work-ready.”
I also found out that we have neither telephones nor Internet access. And we don’t have a target date for connectivity, either. *braincramp* On top of that, not only is there no Internet, but… *deep breath*… because my cube was full of wrapping, the guys who set up our network couldn’t test my jacks for signal. So, when I got everything clear and started plugging things into the LAN, I got…. NOTHING! Absotively, posilutely nothing. This did nothing to improve my mood. I was… irritable for the better part of the morning. Around lunchtime, most of the feeling had faded. I kept a fairly grim game face on for the rest of the day, though – it kept most people from bothering me and let me be productive. Both of those were good things.

Around 9:00, I headed to the break room to find assorted snacks on tables/trays and the refrigerators stocked with beverages (soda, water, juice), but there was no sign of a coffee maker. It wasn’t too bad today because I had a bottle of Frappuchino with me. A little while later, the VP with whom I had spoken about getting a coffee maker showed up at the office. When he had a free moment, I approached him and said,”I noticed a distinct lack of a coffee maker in the break room.” He looked at me and said,”About that: I went out to look for one and realized that I had no idea what to look for. I was going to tell you to go out and get one and just expense it.” Hoo-AH! Some good news! Something to make me smile. I have to give him lots of credit for acknowledging and admitting that coffee and coffee makers were out of his knowledge base. I’ll even toss in a “Thanks” for letting me be the one to decide what I want – especially since I’ll probably be the only person using it or at least I will for a while.

I skipped lunch and plowed on through the day. I finished up the day in our lab/storage room. I tried to bring a measure of order to the chaos. I did a fair job of it, but I need to finish it tomorrow. And I will. And I’ll get a few other things.

After work, I had dinner with and then , Chris and came over for what was supposed to be the return to the Shadowrun game. Unfortunately, and Dean were unable to make it. *sigh* So, the five of us – six, when got in from a 12-hour workday – sat around and chatted the evening away. As the song Anagram (for Mongo) says:

miracles will have their claimers
more will bow to Rome
he and she are in the house
but there’s only me at home

Rose is a rose of splendor
posed to respond in the end
lonely things like nights,
I find, end finer with a friend

…and I have good friends.

Stray Toasters

• I almost typed “box_aeternus” earlier. That made me laugh.
• I don’t know who keeps sticking quarters into Sissy and the twins, but if they are going to continue to do so, they need to do it earlier in the day.
• : Thank you for the card.
• 
• From Slashdot: Transparent Aluminum a Reality
  

  “Many of us remember the scene from Star Trek IV where Scotty barters the formula for transparent aluminum for a small run. It now appears that we can now add transparent aluminum to the science fact column.”

• By way of boingboing.net: HOWTO make a quill pen
• 
• : Saturn Girl
• “An open letter to Jack Thompson”
  

• Know Any Starving Writers or Programmers?
• *stare* “Launch.”
  *stare* “Launch.”
  *stare* “Launch.”

• For my Worlds of Warcraft-playing friends –
• The Official Website of the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) …also known as “MI-6”
• Musical… breast implants? No, really. Read it yourself.

Quote of the Day
: “Pencil-dicked weevils.”

Namaste.

Monday : 17 October 05
Y’know… I started out thinking that I was going to make a deep, introspective post. Then I decided against it. That’s not to say that the post isn’t forthcoming; it’s just not coming tonight. Stay tuned.

After arriving at home in the wee hours of the morning, I fired off an email to my team lead saying that I wouldn’t be at work today. Then I slept. Oh, did I sleep. I woke up sometime around 11:00 and decided that it was finally time to get out of bed.

I puttered around the house for a bit and then decided that I needed to introduce myself to hot water and soap. The meeting went well. I didn’t “do” anything for another couple of hours, but I felt better just knowing that I was clean.

Today’s highlights included:

• A trip to Dr. Volt’s to pick up two weeks’ worth of four-color print goodness. (More on this later.)
• A trip to REI to deliver ‘s Trader Joe shwag. Unfortunately, he wasn’t in. But, he swung by the house later and picked it up.
• Looking for fabric for my cloak. (Still no go.)
• Impromptu coffee with and .
• Rearranging some furniture.
• Monday Night Football.
• Saving the world (for the first time in a week!).

The High-Flying Adventures of Indigo Bolt
Three words (well, two and a number): Security Level 25.

Upon my return to Paragon City, I headed to Independence Port to take on some members of “The Family.” That’s right: Paragon City’s own Mafia. They’re tougher than I had anticipated. I wound up in the hospital – and in experience debt – twice. But, I did what I had to do and made the streets a little bit safer. I even took on a few members of the Freakshow and the Tsoo, for good measure.

Stray Toasters

• I had an amusing epiphany yesterday, on the way to IKEA. We were driving along Harbor Boulevard and a saw a sign for “Orange County” something-or-other. It was then that I remembered that Indigo Bolt is part of a Supergroup called “Orange County Supers.” It made me chuckle.
• I read DC Comics’ Infinite Crisis #1 this evening. Wow. I’m not sure if DC is leaning towards recreating a multiverse, but this looks like it’s going to be one Hell of a story. It took me until the next-to-last page to figure out who the four shadowy figures were. The #6 issues of The OMAC Project (article, with spoilers) and Rann-Thanagar War, both of which tie into and lead into Infinite Crisis, were very good stories. The DCU – or possibly the DC Multiverse – is about to become a very turbulent place. If you’re up for a spoiler-heavy read about Infinite Crisis, you can take a look at this article from Newsarama. (Sorry, Don.)
• Model Railroad Slums
• Gotta get back, back to the past… Samurai Jack!
• According to Brainiac, an airliner’s “black box” flight recorder can withstand a point-blank explosion of napalm.
• What would Jesus blog?
• I think that I have found yet another thing (or five) to covet. That Darkseid figure looks really good. And, there are a few things from the Marvel line, too: Dark Phoenix Saga Colossus and Wolverine statues. AND… you can combine them into a “Fastball Special.”
• 122 Ways to Speed Up Windows XP
• I enjoy a good text message or ten, but… Damn!
• Apparently, 05 November 05 is Dungeons and Dragons Day.
• Techies: They’re everywhere
• w00t! There will be a trailer for X-Men 3 before Peter Jackson’s King Kong.
• Marvel’s The House of M #7… *jawdrop* It wasn’t Magneto, after all. I didn’t see this one coming, either.
• : The cover of Catwoman #51.
• : The cover of Legion of Super-Heroes #14.
• From boingboing.net: Best mag covers of the past 40 years

And with that… goodnight.

Namaste.

and I loaded up the car and headed south and west. Which was the complete opposite direction of the way that we needed to go to get back to The Land Behind the Zion Curtain.

However, it was the direction of the shining Mecca known as the Costa Mesa IKEA. *genuflect*

After brunch in the IKEA restaurant, we walked through the store. I am now convinced that IKEA either employs tesseracts for extra storage space or has mastered the are of time dilation. I have no other explanation for the way that time passes so slowly inside the store… but flashes past outside. “It’s just so bizarre,” to quote Dr. Rosenblatt. I came dangerously close to purchasing a new Poang chair – getting it back to Salt Lake would have required exercising my 3-D Tetris-playing skills with the other things in the back seat of the car. *sigh* Oh, well… another time. That didn’t stop me from making a few other purchases.

Back into the car and on to Trader Joe’s.

And then… back on the road. North and east, this time. May I just say that the ride from Victorville to Vegas is boring. Desolate. Dull. *thud* Lots and lots of nothing to look at. Except sand. There is a lot of sand. And some mesas and mountains in the distance. Other than that, bupkis.

There is a rest stop/gas station just outside of Baker that is my new favorite place on Earth. Mainly because it had a restroom. But that’s not the point. Well, actually… I guess that it is the point. Either way, if I ever make that trip again, I will stop there. The attendant (owner?) was pretty amusing, too. He chatted with us for a few minutes as we paid for a couple of bags of corn chips.

We rolled into Vegas and stopped for gas and food. We decided to go to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. They have a good Herb Grilled Chicken entree. From there, we wandered over to the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. I decided to try the roulette table there; it had been good to me in the past. It was good to me again. Not “quit your job and live the high life” good, but enough to recoup a bit of my vacation spendin’s.

• : I played the 00, as requested. It hit.
• : Yep. Roulette.

After fueling up, it was back to the blacktop. The ride through the Mojave Desert was boring, the ride through southern Nevada, the tip of Arizona and southern Utah – by the light of the moon – was equally unimpressive.

We got back into the Salt Lake Valley a little after 3:00 AM. It was a LONG drive. We came in and the cats looked at us as if to say: “Who are you? Do we know you?” But, when we started petting them, they seemed to lose a little of their indignation. Okay.. they lost all of it. They seemed rather happy to see us. They proved it by following us everywhere and playing around on the suitcases.

And so, Disneyland Vacation 2005 is at an end. I’m taking today off for rest, recovery and a little errand running. Tomorrow, back to the grind.

Namaste.

And so the Great Disney Trip winds down.

Friday morning, we met ‘s parents at their hotel and had breakfast by the pool with them. Then, it was off to Dizzyland for more “Get yo’ ride on” excitement.

We got on the Disneyland Railroad at the Main Street Station. (This time, the train was running!) We rode over to Tomorrowland and made our way to…

• Space Mountain – I think that this was closed when we were here in 2001. They made some improvements and modifications to the ride. Instead of the bobsled-like 1×4 cars, the cars are now 2×2. I think that they also made it a little faster. Some of the new visual effects add to the sense of nausea motion. *shrug* It was fun.
• Next, it was on to Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. You’re a Space Ranger with Star Command trying to stop Zurg from stealing power supplies to use in his new “ultimate weapon!” (Translation: You have a light gun and you’re zappin’ the bad guys.) Bright, flourescent colors. Lots of sounds. This was pretty fun. You get a score, based on your number of hits and/or special targets hit. Jim took all of us to town, I came in 2nd, was next, followed by Sandi.
• The Matterhorn was next on tap. I never rode this in Walt Disney World and it was closed the last time that we were here. I liked it, but the cars were CRAMPED for two riders – my knees were not exactly liking me when we got done.
• We headed to Toon Town and Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin. I promised that I’d ride this and look for something in the ride for her. I went, I rode, I looked… but I did not find. S’ok, though… I enjoyed the ride.

We decided to leave the park for a while and let the sun do its thing. We headed to the hotel, where I introduced Sandi and Jim to the joys of the Strong Bad email: “Garage Sale”. They were amused. The ladies decided to nap, so Jim and I sat by the pool and chatted for a bit. A little later, it was back to the park.

• We got into the park shortly after the Parade of Dreams started. For a 50th Anniversary celebration, it seemed a little… lackluster. But, maybe we missed something by not seeing the beginning of the parade.
• We headed to Frontierland and got on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. I won’t say that the ride is “better” at night, but there are some subtle things in the tunnels that are more visible without the sun. And there was an added coolness to not always being able to see what was coming up.
• We went to Fantasyland to catch the fireworks display. This was something of a mistake: When one watches the fireworks from the Main Street side of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, you don’t really think about where the fireworks are being set off. It turns out that for the anniversary ‘works, they are shot of from multiple places, including: In front of the castle, around/on the castle or Fantasyland and from behind Fantasyland. We spent a lot of time looking towards the castle and away from it, trying to see where the next bursts would explode. One very neat thing about the display: They used a cast member as Tinkerbelle and flew her from The Matterhorn over the castle and a little off to one side. It was an impressive effect. (More on the fireworks display below.)
• We headed to Frontierland again to watch Fantasmic. I had never seen it before, but everyone tried to tell me a little about it before the show. Their descriptions didn’t do it justice. Water. Light. Sound. Pyrotechnics. Once again, Disney showed just how adept they are at wowing a crowd.

We found our way back to our hotels, after wading through the sea of humans (and human-like beasts) to the exit. I took a much-needed hot soak – it was nothing short of delightful. And relaxing.

Saturday night might be alright for fighting (at least it is according to Elton John and/or The Who), but Saturday morning is alright for sleeping in. And I did. And it was good. After the proper obisiences were paid to the Lords of Hygiene, we headed back for the last day of our Dizzyland excursion. We met Jim and Sandi in California Adventure. We grabbed a bite to eat – and margaritas – near Paradise Pier. That’s right… margaritas. In a Disney park. And, they weren’t bad, either.

• and Jim took a ride on California Screamin’, DCA’s big rollercoaster, while Sandi and I opted to shop. (I’m not a huge fan of rollercoasters, generally speaking. Every once in a while, I’ll get the wild hair to ride a ‘coaster… but not terribly often.) We didn’t really find anything that caught our eyes.
• We all headed to the Orange Stinger. We rode, spun, “flew” and had a good time of it. But, for flying, nothing beats…
• Soarin’ over California. We met an older couple who had never been to California Adventure – and possibly even Disneyland – before, despite living an hour or so away. At one point, the Mrs. decided that they should just get out of line and do something else. I asked if she had ever been on Soarin’ before; she said that she hadn’t. I suggested that she stay in line and try it. She did. After it was over, she found me and said that it was worth waiting for. Ahh, vindication…
• We went to Downtown Disney for some shopping. Oh, the shopping. When I go on vacation, I may pick up a hat or a t-shirt to commemorate my trip. This time, I got a 50th Anniversary jacket and hat. After all, 50th anniversaries only come along once. And I think that I’m worth it. And there was even some pragmatic thought that went into the purchase: It was getting cool and I didn’t have a jacket or sweatshirt – not that I needed any justification to make the purchase, but having a decent reason to do so made the expenditure a little easier.
• The trip to the LEGO store, however, was pure consumerism at its finest. As this is also the 50th Anniversary of the LEGO brick, I picked up a 50th Anniversary Tub – with the gold bricks, thank you very much. I picked up a few other knick-knacks and goodies, too… including a “minifigure mug” with my name on it. Like people aren’t already aware of my obsession…
• Dinner at House of Blues. Jambalaya GOOOD! *gesture*
• Back to Disneyland for the “Remember… Dreams Come True” fireworks display. Seeing the show from the “proper” side made all the difference in the world. The musical selections synched with the bursting pyrotechnics. The other effects made sense. And there was stilll Tink, flying high above the park. It was, quite simply, spectacular.

  Between this display and last night’s Fantasmic! show, I have little doubt in my mind that if Dubya really wanted to “shock and awe,” he should have called up a few Disney Imagineers. I’m sure that they could have come up with something to fit the bill. And probably for MUCH less money. I would love to know how much Disney spends, per year, on electrical power and pyrotechnics. It has to be an astronomical figure.

• A little more shopping (had to get a set of ears) and then our Disney adventure came to an end.

It’s been a good – but tiring – four days in the shadow of the Magic Kingdom. Lots of fun, but now I need a vacation to recover from this trip! It’s also a little odd to think that with the exception of tonight, I haven’t really been anywhere else but the Disney parks. Tonight, we drove past the Crystal Cathedral. Even in the dark – and unlit – the building is impressive. I will have to try and swing past there on the way out tomorrow and get a better look.

I’m sure that I’ll have a few retrospective thoughts to share later, but that pretty much sums up what I have to say for now. I hope that all is well on your respective sides of the monitor.

: Next time. 🙂

Tomorning, it’s back to the Zion Curtain.
Tonight, it’s nearly sleepy-bye time.

Namaste.

Yep, online from the hotel. Where there’s a wireless access point – and a will to be online – there’s a way. And, God bless VNC, too. Getting to surprise a few people with instant messages was a nice way to end the evening.

So far, it’s been a good trip. We haven’t had to kill anyone in the group. Yet. Hell, we haven’t even had to maim anyone, so far. All things considered, that makes for a rather pleasant vacation. (Which also means that the electrodes and sponges that I brought were for nothing…)

Tuesday : 11 October 05
There’s something about Las Vegas that you just don’t get from watching CSI or Las Vegas… or even the old Robert Urich series Vega$. Frank Sinatra called New York City, “the city that never sleeps.” I get the feeling that modern-day Las Vegas would give the Big Apple a run for the money, no pun intended. I remember a couple of years ago, my parents flew to Las Vegas for the first time. and I drove down to see them. My mother was… fascinated… by the experience that is Las Vegas. She was astounded to learn that people will wander The Strip 24/7 in search of their big score. And that they would willingly lay down hundreds of dollars for a shot at “the big money” – even it was a fleeting shot in the dark.

Walking through the casino Tuesday night, around 11:00 PM, I saw people from all walks of life. There was a man at a roulette table whom I heard say that he had lost – LOST – $3300… but that he was going to win it back. There were the people at the slot machines, some looking bored, some looking hungry for just a little payoff. There were the poker players, their attention divided between The World Series of Poker tournament being replayed on TV screens around the casino and their cards.

Kenny Rogers sang that you have to know when to hold ’em and know when to fold ’em. I walked away from the roulette table after $20. I can’t even begin to fathom what losing over $3000 would be like.

On the positive side of our stay in Las Vegas, we had dinner Tuesday evening with ‘s nephew, Connor. We last saw him a few months ago, when he came to SLC for a visit. It was a good little get-together.

Wednesday : 12 October 05
Drove from Lost Wages to the City of Angels Ducks. Actually, I rode. And slept. Not for the whole thing, but for a couple of hours. The bed in the Las Vegas hotel room was far too soft for my tastes; I slept very poorly because of it.

We pulled into Anaheim a little before 1:00 PM (Pacific). We found our hotel in fairly short order and then made the phone calls to find out where the various members of ‘s family (her parents, sister, sister’s boyfriend and nephews) were – some were in Disneyland; the rest were in California Adventure. We walked (1/2 mile, maybe) from our hotel to California Adventure to meet the rest of the group. When we got to the edge of the property, I noted a hedge surrounding some electrical junction boxes. It occurred to me just how adept the Empire of the Mouse is at illusion and misdirection. At that moment, No Doubt’s Tragic Kingdom started playing in the back of my head. We entered the grounds and headed for California Adventure.

First stop: Soarin’ over California, a flight simulator of sorts. It’s probably my top candidate for “Favorite Attraction” in California Adventure. After we finished, it was time to find food. I had forgotten just how expensive in-the-park food is.

Next Stop: Twilight Zone – Tower of Terror. I first rode this in Walt Disney World about nine years ago. Even though I have an amusing story to tell about this ride, I opted not to repeat the experience. (I’m not a big fan of “drop” rides.) No one else had been on it before… and I wasn’t about to ruin the surprise for them. When they finished, I discovered that a few of them learned that the ride wasn’t exactly to their liking either.

Walk across to the Disneyland entrance. Just inside the gate was Captain Hook. I had to get a picture with him. So, I did. One of the first things that he did was look at my watch – I was wearing my LEGO watch. He shook my hand and then posed with me. It took me a couple of moments to note his hook, poised just below my neck. I attempted to put on an astonished look, I’m not sure that it worked. Oh well, I still have a picture with the Captain. (I may try to work in another one before vacation’s end.)

First ride: Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye. I always enjoy this ride. What I don’t enjoy is the wait in line. Fortunately, our wait was brief – almost non-existent. When we boarded the “Jeep,” the ride attendant made an announcement that they had received word from an associate inside the cave that a 500′ long snake was rumoured to be on the loose and that it was known to eat adventurers wearing grey polo shirts… which just happened to be what I was wearing. The attendant looked at me, nodded and smiled; I returned the nod and laughed. “Snakes…. Why did it have to be snakes?!” And we were off! I think that the boys (9 and 7) spent good portions of the ride with their eyes closed. And all too soon, it was over.

Next: Jungle Cruise. This ride is usually as fun as the “guide” makes it. Our guide, Tami, made it fairly amusing. Sure, you hear pretty much the same spiel from each guide, but she seemed to enjoy telling the tale.

Pirates of the Caribbean: I saw neither Johnny Depp nor Captain Jack Sparrow but, as usual, I had fun on this ride, too. As our boat floated past the restaurant (near the beginning of the ride), I couldn’t resist yelling to the patrons,”Don’t eat the fish!” A few seconds later, the boys were shouting it, too. Ahh, yes. Impressionable young minds…

Haunted Mansion: I don’t think that this was open when I was here in 2001. This has since reopened and has been done up in the manner of The Nightmare Before Christmas. It was a fun combination of both the classic mansion and Nightmare.

Splash Mountain: I don’t think that I need to say more than: “We came. We rode. We got soaked!” And in some cases: Thoroughly soaked.

The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: Sweet mother of mercy, this was a BRIGHT ride. The first part of it was colorful, in the traditional (Disney traditional, that is) colors for Pooh and company. Then we hit the Heffalumps and Wuzzles part of the ride. These were colors that neither God, Mother Nature nor Andy Warhol never intended to go together. Yet, there they were. Big as day and fifteen times as flourescently bright. Thankfully, we got back to the traditional color scheme before the end of the ride. O.o

After this, we fought the crowds to get through the exit and to the shuttles. We managed to get onto the third shuttle for our hotel. Yep, there were that many people in line.

Back to the hotel, into the car and off to grab a bite to eat with and her parents. We ate at a place called Coco’s. It wasn’t too bad. I resisted the urge to get a slice of chocolate cream pie. This time.

Tomorrow: Early entry into the park.

Thursday : 13 October 05
I slept in.

I let everyone else enjoy the thrill of being in the park an hour early. I wanted sleep. Besides, I couldn’t see the point of getting up as early as I would for work when I am on vacation. A few hours later, I got out of bed, observed the hygiene rituals and got on my way.

I arrived in time to meet everyone in Disneyland as they stood in line for Peter Pan’s… something or other ride. (I can’t remember the proper name and Disney’s web site is apparently fubar’ed.) They rode. I stood outside and waited and watched the masses go by. For a week when it was supposed to be nearly empty, there were TONS of people in the park… Turns out that four (4) school systems were on break this week. Joy. We left there and headed to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad… which was not running. *braincramp* We went to the Disney Railroad with thoughts of riding around the Magic Kingdom. Those thoughts were shortly dashed, as we found the train – full of passengers – sitting at the station. It sat so long that people started getting off the train. In droves. *sigh* Strike Two! We got Fastpasses for Indiana Jones (a group favorite), but they were not valid until 4:00. So, on to California Adventure.

We thought about getting Fastpasses for Soarin’ over California, but they were only available for 3:50 – 4:50. The same time as our Indy passes. No go, Flight! We went to Grizzly River Rapids. Again, we planned to get Fastpasses and come back later. Instead, we found a fast-moving line and soon… we were in a raft! Cold water + hot day = Instant refreshment. I don’t think that anyone escaped getting fairly wet.
We went into the replica Golden Palace theatre to see a short film called Golden Dreams, about a little of the history and the spirit of California. It was good – better than I had anticipated, actually.

Back to Disneyland for the Indiana Jones ride. Fastpass? Move along, thank you. Again, the ride was fun. The boys wanted to go on Pirates of the Caribbean after Indy. So, we did. Once again, I yelled “Don’t eat the fish” to the patrons of the Blue Bayou; the lady in the seat in front of my screamed out “Oh, my GOD..!!!” Between the two of us, we turned a few heads.

We left the park a little early and went in search of dinner. Mimi’s Cafe. Back to our respective hotels for some down time.

…and that brings us to the more-or-less present.

I caught up with Sara (formerly from SLC) this evening. We chatted and decided to try and get together sometime Saturday. That should be fun.

: I hope that Sissy and the twins are behaving. Thanks again for babysitting.

: I got your messages. Our passes are through Saturday… and we’re heading back to The Land Behind the Zion Curtain on Sunday. I’ll try to call/message you tomorrow (Friday) and touch base with you.

: I got your message, too: I thought that it was pretty much common knowledge that I’d be out here, as I have been making comments about the trip since mid-September.

I know that it’s only 10:30 here, but damn-and-a-half… the way that some of the people are stomping around or yelling and just generally carrying on makes me wish for a little napalm. Maybe I’ll get to use the electrodes, after all.

That’s all the news from Lake Kittamaqundi (*sigh* I wish this post was from near Lake Kittamaqundi). I hope that all is well in your respective necks of the woods.

Namaste.

Tuesday : 11 October 05
It’s 11:40 and we’re minutes from pulling up stakes and heading to California (“..with an aching in my heart….”). Four days in the sun and warm weather. *nod* This should be just what the doctor ordered.

: Don’t know if you’re still wanting to get together while we’re enjoying the House the Mouse Built, but if so, leave me a message and contact information and we can try to figure things out.

And with that…

Up out.