<afternoon cover song break>
      *rock*
</afternoon cover song break>

My team and another group will be moving to a new office in Utah County in the next few weeks. I took a field trip to the site with this morning to take a look at what’s what and what’s where. It knocked a couple of hours out of the standard work day.

After lunch, I ran into Bradford, one of the higher-ups, in the break room. He and someone (one of the young ladies in the office whose name eludes me) were going over things that we would want/need for the south office break room. I caught their conversation as the “someone” asked: “What about a coffee maker? Do they have one?”

At this point I chimed in: “I’m probably the only person in that office who’s going to need a coffee pot.”

They both looked at me, momentarily befuddled. Then, the logic of what I said apparently sunk in: Most of the people (I would even dare say ALL of them) with whom I will be working down there are LDS… and do not drink coffee. You could see the lightbulbs dimly turn on and then flare to life.

I added: “This isn’t to say that I wouldn’t like to have a coffee pot down there.”

The young lady smiled and said: “Maybe we’ll just get a French Press for you.”

Have I mentioned how much I like my workplace lately?

Wednesday : 21 September 05
First and foremost: Happy Birthday to !

Aside from the fact that the weather couldn’t decide what it wanted to do (Rain! No… sun! No, RAIN! No…. no… SUN! Yes! No, RAIN!), it was a good day.

After work, and Alyce joined us for dinner at Macaroni Grill and then at Borders for some light after-dinner chat. (And… I picked up a pack of Magnetic Poetry: Movie Quotes for my cabinet at work….)

And then, a relaxing evening at home.

Stray Toasters

• Curiosity finally got the best of me, so I decided to check out the Politics Quiz that’s been going around.
  

  You are a Social Liberal (71% permissive) and an… Economic Liberal (30% permissive) You are best described as a: Democrat Link: The Politics Test on OkCupid Free Online Dating

  
  It seems to have pegged me fairly well.

• , knowing that Tyra Banks heads up my “Three Outs” list, sent me a link to this article.
• Have you ever called “Corporation X” to try and handle some business only to get stuck in the seeming endless loop of their automated voice system? All you wanted was a flesh-and-blood body to sit there, listen to what you had to say, push some buttons and make the world – or at least your transaction – all better.

  Here’s a little help: Find-A-Human: IVR Phone System Shortcuts
  Dial on, player! Dial on! *nod*

• “To stand within The Pleasure Dome
  Decreed by Kubla Khan
  To taste anew the fruits of life
  The last immortal man
  To find the sacred river Alph
  To walk the caves of ice
  Oh, I will dine on honey dew
  And drink the milk of Paradise”

• is looking for cohorts to accompany her to Dizzy Land… I mean “Disneyland”… this Sunday. I can’t make it this go ’round… but, I’ll damn well be there in three weeks.
• Katie and Kurt, from X-Men and Power Pack #3
• Warning! Incoming plot complication…     
• Is your GameBoy (fill in your specific type) not cutting it? Try a GameMan!

Namaste.

<morning dance break>
      *groove*
</morning dance break>

A few things for your funny bone:

• Lovin’ Your Mama
• Man Show Boy Buys Beer
• Man Show Boy Beer Stand
• Weird Al interviews Eminem   (, download this for .)
  

Tuesday : 20 September 05
I’m not sure, but I may have broken one of the guys at work.

A coworker asked me to take a look at something that wasn’t working properly. I did. During the time that I was working, a couple of other guys came over. Just as I was getting things working, Coworker B came up to me and said,”So, you got the goat entrails in the proper place and alignment?”

I immediately went into gamer mode. I tossed out some quick quip, dealing with magic rituals… which I promptly proceeded to forget. But, I followed it with: “But the tricky part is the warding circle… and remembering where to place the candles.”

And I said it all with a deadpan calm, no trace of a smile.

Coworker B just… kind of… looked at me oddly… as he walked away.

Across the aisle, Eric was doing all that he could not to laugh out loud, because he knew pretty much exactly what I was doing. And that made it even more amusing to me.

Tonight was Shadowrun night. I was expecting to get to a major conflict scene. I didn’t. I did manage to work in a plot twist that I’ve been mulling over. I’m waiting to see how things pan out. The big fight scene should play out next gaming session.

Stray Toasters

• I… don’t know what I want to put here.
• , you might want to click here.
• Quantum Link (or Q-Link) is back online. Q-Link is what would later become AOL. All on 300 to 1200 baud modems. It was for the Commodore 64 and 128 Personal Computers, of which I had one of each. I just remembered that it was on Q-Link that I learned to start calling San Diego: “Sandy Eggo.”
• 
  

  LJ Interests meme results

  1. basketball:
     I’ve enjoyed basketball, whether watching or playing, since I was a kid.
  2. bowling:
     Even though I haven’t done so in… nearly six months (!), I like to bowl.
  3. david bowie:
     The Man Who Fell to Earth.
     The Thin White Duke.
     Ziggy Stardust.

     The man who married Iman.

     And he makes some pretty damned good music, too.

  4. dvds:
     Movies! To go! Now, how can you not like that?!
  5. halo:
     The game, that is… not to be confused with the former working title of the second Charlie’s Angels movie.

     Master Chief. Sniper rifle.
     *genuflect*
     ‘Nuff said.

  6. lyrics:
     I usually have some sort of music running through my head. And I often find that there is a musical lyric or phrase for just about any occasion. In fact, most of my posts’ subject lines are taken from lyrics.
  7. photography:
     It’s been a hobby of mine since high school – both taking pictures and looking at other peoples’ work.
  8. robert b parker:
     If you’re a thirty-something, you may remember ABC’s post Moonlighting offering: Spenser for Hire, starring the late Robert Urich and Avery Brooks. Robert B. Parker is the author of the book series on which the television show and subsequent movies are/were based. I am a big fan of the show and I am equally, if not moreso, fond of the books.
  9. sports:
     What does Huey Lewis and the News’ CD have to do with this?

     Oh, wait… “sports” as in “athletics.” Right. “Sports.” Got it.
     Yes, I like playing and watching sports: Football. Basketball. Baseball/softball. Volleyball (which I haven’t played in far too long). Soccer.

  10. trains:
      My interest, although “fascination” might be a better word, with trains started when I was very young. My grandparents lived just up the hill from railroad tracks. Trains would go past their house at all times of the day and night… and I would run to the porch to watch them. While I no longer try to break my neck – or any other body part – to see them, they still hold a fond place in my heart.

  Enter your LJ user name, and 10 interests will be selected from your interest list.

• For (since I didn’t see you online today): Cisco security certifications changing
• The wasting/wasted remains of Heritage USA can be found here.
• Recruits Sought for Porn Squad
• For : Frank the Bunny, from Donnie Darko
• The Sculptor’s Corner (, click here)
• Miss , click on this link and then scroll to the third picture.

I’m Ivory Soap sure that there was something that I wanted to add to this post, but I can’t remember what it was.

Namaste.

<pre-gym dance break>
      *boogie*
</pre-gym dance break>

There are a number of reasons that is one of my favorite people. I am constantly reminded of why that is so:

• (07:45:15) : LMD
• (07:47:40) : ’cause [LMD]‘s not capable of actually being funny
• (08:03:19) : one big happy fuckwad circle

Some of the references are from shared jokes, but just know that it makes me laugh like a fiend.

Monday : 19 September 05
ARRRRRRR!

Oh, wait… I was going to be a Chinese pirate today.
*ahem*

ELLLLLLLLL!
There. That’s better.

Today wasn’t a bad way to start the week. I slept in a bit. Work was productive. And there’s a double-header on Monday Night Football. There’s rum on the counter and Coca-Cola in the fridge. Tonight, I sail with the Captain.

Stray Toasters

• I’m happily watching football. (At least, I am at the moment; this may not be posted until the games are over.) I’ve been flipping back and forth between the games, but I find that the Dallas – Washington game doesn’t hold my attention as much as the New Orleans – New York game.
• From CNET.com: Top 100 Products and Top 10 Worst Products
• Ultimate Wolverine vs. Ultimate Hulk.
  
  A… retelling/reinvention of the classic Incredible Hulk #181 first meeting of the two… not to mention the first appearance (ever!) of everyone’s favorite mutant Canuck. As reported on Broken Frontier:

  Dr. Bruce Banner (a.k.a. the Hulk) has been presumed dead since his execution following a murderous rampage through Manhattan. But when reports start cropping up of an unidentified creature appearing around the globe, General Nick Fury – head of America’s premiere intelligence organization, S.H.I.E.L.D. – begins to get worried. Not because Banner can turn from man to unstoppable monster in seconds, but because Banner’s existence is the one secret that can bring down Fury. So Fury turns to the only man he can trust: James Logan, a.k.a. Wolverine of the X-Men, to take care of Banner – by any means necessary.

  The pain comes your way this December.

• Intelligence in the Internet Age
• A little somethin’ for everyone:
  • For me: Firestorm and Animal Man
  • For : The Legion
  • For everyone: John Constantine, the way he was meant to be.
  • For : The Joker and The Joker
  • For : Catwoman
  • For : Poison Ivy
• Here we are
  Born to be kings
  We’re the princes of the universe…

• From TechNudge: Most Annoying Website of the Week – Dell
• 
• [Mike] Newell Saw Goblet As Thriller
• Lightning is playing with the ring from a milk jug. He’s running/bounding all over Hell and half of Georgia chasing it… and he keeps seeming to wind up under my feet or chair. It’s rather amusing.
• Millions of Games
• More and more, I’m turning to the Dark Side coming to appreciate Homestar Runner, especially Strong Bad emails. Here (in the vertical list) is a list of all of the email menus.
• How fast are your reactions? My best time: 0.119 seconds.

That’s it for now. I’m going to finish watching the game… and then go save the world.

Namaste.

<afternoon dance break>
      *bounce*
</afternoon dance break>

Sunday : 18 September 05
Today’s been a good day… even despite the fact that the Ravens decided to take yet another game on the chin.

I didn’t do much during the early part of the day. When I realized that I was getting hungry, I figured that it would be a good time to get out of the house for a bit. I asked to ring up to see if she and Matt wanted to get something to eat. They, along with Pat and Staci, were already on their way to get something to eat – and invited us to join them. We did.

Lunch at P.F. Chang’s. Do I really need to say more than that? Didn’t think so.

After that, we headed to the Utah State Fair; ‘ niece hooked up with us there. We didn’t do much sightseeing – at least, I didn’t, but I had to leave early (more on that later). We went… to see…. the demolition derby. There. I said it. *big exhalation* That’s right: I got in-touch with my inner redneck. (And I just saw that has started using that phrase. Yes! It’s catching on….) It was my first time at one of these… events. It was interesting. And oddly fun. I mean… I’ve played Destruction Derby and Twisted Metal on the PS1 and that was fun. I’d even seen it in an episode of Happy Days. But this… this was something else. It was nothing short of fascinating to watch as the contestants slammed into each other on the dirt. Metal crunching and bending. Axles bending. Wheels falling off. Radiators bursting. There was one car that flipped upside-down when it got rammed. Unglaublich!

I watched two heats of the competition. Before the third started, I got a call from . She was having “a day,” and needed to talk. So, I broke from the group and went to talk with her for a while. She was just in an odd space at the time and needed a sounding board. It was a good talk.

Wound up getting back together with the Sunday Fair Irregulars at and Matt’s place. We sat around and talked for a bit and then… it was time to come home.

Football

Baltimore at Tennessee
10 – 25
The Ravens headed to Adelphia Coliseum to take on the Titans. The Olympian Gods themselves might as well have been on the field today. First downs. Touchdowns. And even a safety. The Titans played as if they were the favored of the Gods, if nothing else. Baltimore… just fell apart. They were held scoreless in the first half and mounted a too-late comeback attempt, late in the second half. Once again, unnecessary penalties took their toll on the team. And next week is a bye week. *sigh* Oh well, at least the Browns lost, too. 🙂

Stray Toasters

• In a little over three weeks, I’ll be in Disneyland.
• brought this to my attention: He-Man covers 4 Non-Blondes’ What’s Up?
• For those of you in the greater SLC Metro Area:
  

  Meet the Director, Cast and Creative Minds Behind This Divided State

  Discussion and Signing Event to coincide with the Disinformation DVD Release of This Divided State at Borders! September 28, 2005.

  Join Director Steven Greenstreet and the rest of the cast and minds behind This Divided State for a discussion and signing at the Salt Lake City, Utah BORDERS store in the Crossroads Mall on Wednesday, September 28th, at 7 PM. Special musical performance from “The Utah County Swillers.” More information on This Divided State.

• …and pointed out The History of Dorcus Men’s Wear.
• …and sent me a link to Katrina: the Gathering the other day.
• “Yet Another Warm Fuzzy Disney Tale” (or “How Disney Has Brainwashed You”)
• 
• For : You might want to take a look at a few of these… starting around Number 10, for example.
• There’s a part of me that wants to buy a set of Magnetic Poetry (I’m not sure which set, though…), take it to work and set it up on the cabinet in my cubicle.

  There’s also a part of me that realizes how dangerous that could be.
  And that part smiles wickedly at the thought.

• For :
  “The conclusion is inescapable, my friends. We face…”

• Videogame to movie translations are often… dicey… at best. That said, I’m not too sure what to make of this.
• Need a Mac Mini robot?

Namaste.

Saturday : 17 September 05
After getting to bed far too late, I was up again at 6:30. Shortly after 7:00, I returned to The Dreaming. I ran some errands and then met Perry for coffee. When that was done, I swung by to see for a bit.

and I spent the afternoon and evening on a double-date with Alyce and . We started with Lord of War – which I thought was well-done. After the movie, it was off to David’s Kitchen for a tasty meal. From there, we went to NickelCade…. and we had a ball.

Stray Toasters

• I have rediscovered I Don’t Want to Live on the Moon, by Shawn Colvin and Ernie from Sesame Street. (lyrics)
• Cleveland Doc Wants to Try Face Transplant (Think Face-Off.)
• After playing old-school arcade games at NickelCade, I almost want to install M.A.M.E. on ‘Nine.
• I very nearly wrote and sent a rather acerbic email reply to something that was forwarded to me. The email concerned evacuation efforts for the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. The tone of the email irritated my quite a bit. Fortunately, I looked up additional information about the item before I hit <SEND>. I may still send the email, but its tone will change slightly.

Namaste.

Friday : 16 September 05
As a DJ back home would say: “It’s the weekennnnnnnnnd, baby!”

Work was good today. It was productive and I had a good conversation with a couple of my coworkers about faith – more specifically: How some people have it and how some others… don’t. The first part of the conversation lasted a little over an hour. The reprise was about ten or fifteen minutes. The coda was, probably, another thirty or forty minutes. Over the course of the talk, I think that we managed to expand one coworker’s view of things… or at least give him something new to chew on.

Tonight’s Clitorati was good. Someone asked me how my day was and, in recounting the work conversation, we wound up talking about faith and religion. I enjoy it when people can talk about a topic, bring different viewpoints to the table… and discuss them like rational adults.

The High-Flying Adventures of Indigo Bolt
When NCSoft released “Issue 5,” the latest patch/update to City of Heroes, they gave all players a free opportunity to re-apportion their powers. I decided to try some changes/ideas on the test server. I got rid of a few powers and picked up some others. Then, I went out for a field test. The “balance” was a little different, but not unpleasant. I think that I could make these changes on the live server and be happy with the results.

Stray Toasters

• I’ve been sporadically working on a drawing of for the past two months. (If I’d stuck to it with a bit more dedication, I could have been done inside of a few hours.)

  Here are the reference picture and the drawing:

  

  

  I’m happy with the way that it turned out.

• From the “Whoops! I should have proofread that” file: Last week, Land and Catherine came over to visit. Land brought with him a flyer from the SLC Remote Encoding Center, where he, and I worked. He quit a couple of weeks before I quit. When he quit, there was little to no chance of him ever going back there for employment. So, imagine his surprise when this appeared in his mailbox.

  If you look at the greyed-out box at the top of the page, the address is wrong. WRONG! It is “reversed.” It should be 1275 South 4800 West. Did I mention that this is for the Remote Encoding Center? A division of the United States Postal Service. You know… the people who are supposed to know how to properly address mail. No, I don’t miss working for this particular group of mis-managers.

• From : EFIT – Facial Composite Software (for law enforcement only)
• It’s the Slurpee® at 40

Namaste.

<morning dance break>
      *boogie*
</morning dance break>

Thursday : 15 September 05
For a “No Bad News Thursday,” I couldn’t really ask for more. The day was good. Work wasn’t bad. I had a good workout. I talked with my dad. I even cooked dinner… AND I made enough for there to be leftovers.

Note from the gym: They were testing body fat percentages and body mass index (BMI). I decided to check out my numbers.

• Body fat percentage: 15.4%
• Body mass index: 28.1

The last time that I had my body fat percentage checked was roughly ten years ago. Then, it was roughly 11%. A four percent gain in ten years? I can live with that. According to the BMI, I am overweight. (That makes me chuckle.) The “medical recommendation” for my ideal weight is 118 – 155 pounds; the “Peoples Choice Ideal Weight” is 158 pounds. I weigh 174 pounds. I can realistically see me getting down to 160 or 165… which would still be “marginally overweight,” according to the BMI. Oh, well. (But it still makes me laugh.)

And tomorrow… is Friday. Selah.

The High-Flying Adventures of Indigo Bolt
I was roughly halfway through Security Level 21 – with 1750 points worth of experience debt – when I started playing tonight. My goals: Work off the debt and get closer to Level 22. Simplicity in itself.

Or so I thought.

I hooked up with a semi-regular teammate (and a few other people) and we took on a few missions. Oh, and I took on more experience debt, too. Yep, I died. A few times, in fact. I wasn’t upset, we got into a couple of situations that could not be helped. One of them, however was kind of stupid: A group of Tsoo decided that I would make an excellent pincushion and sword practice dummy. *sigh*

But, I made it to Security Level 22 and cleared my XP debt.

Stray Toasters

• In lieu of cotton candy, I had a cinnamon roll with ice cream for a rather late dessert.
• “The Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory”
• Monkey Pants!
• : I think that you’ll be able to appreciate this picture of Storm and this picture, featuring Batgirl.
• The Mirrormask Interviews: Neil Gaiman & Dave McKean

  These are music box dolls from Mirrormask.
  

  

  

  
  (images from Comic Book Resources)

  They sing an interesting version of The Carpenters’ Close to You. “Haunting” would be a good description. Haunting, but very good.

• Another of Rob’s Pet Peeves:
  • People who drive in the passing lane. I don’t mean just using the lane. I’m talking about driving in the lane after they have passed someone. Just… cruising along. It’s called the “passing” lane for a reason.
• The Xbox 360 is scheduled to be on store shelves on 22 November 2005. How long they will remain on the shelves is anybody’s guess.
• Typing “anybody’s guess,” in the previous ‘Toaster, reminded me of Icehouse’s Anybody’s War.

I think that I’ve finally wound down enough to try this “sleep” thing that I’ve been hearing so much about.

Namaste.

<morning dance break>
      *groove*
</morning dance break>

Wednesday : 14 September 05
All-in-all, it was a good day.

The Wednesday night gaming group got together for our C’hthulu game. No one died, although one character lost a little bit of sanity. And this game is all about staying sane while saving the world from ancient and unspeakable horrors.

The High-Flying Adventures of Indigo Bolt
When I got home, I took a trip to Paragon City to try and work off the 1750 XP debt that I got last night:

I was trying to be a good Samaritan and pull some members of the Tsoo away from a lower-level character. It worked. They left her alone… and came after me. A few of them were my level; most of them were higher than me. I died. On the plus side, the lower-level hero did manage to escape. So, I couldn’t be too upset.

Tonight, I flew around Steel Canyon, Perez Park, Skyway City and Talos Island. I was given a new mission – from a new contact – in Talos, but my head wasn’t in the game, so I decided not to force the issue. Besides, there’s always tomorrow night.

Stray Toasters

• I would really love a little cotton candy right now.
• Five things to ask Supreme Court nominees
• Virtual tour of Atomic Fireball® candy production
• Also by way of boingboing.net: How to make an X-Wing Fighter out of a Paris Metro ticket
• How old should a person have to be before he or she is allowed to have a tech gadget?

I’m tapped.

Namaste.