Random Access

Friday
Another week comes to a close.

All-in-all, it’s been a good day. Despite the sleep-deprivation that came from playing CoH last night. (But, I had fun… so it’s all good.) I probably should have had two shots in the frozen mocha this morning, rather than just one. I’ll keep that in mind for future reference. Nodding off – repeatedly – at one’s desk after lunch is not a good thing.

After work, I took a much-needed 30-minute nap before heading off to Clitorati. Tonight’s gathering was small. Very small, but good. And we even had a special guest star: Land dropped in and stayed through dinner.

Stray Toasters

• I need to replenish my cotton candy supply. Soon.
• By way of IRC: She Blocked Me.
• The second paragraph of this article from the Salt Lake Tribune floored me – not too many journalists would feel comfortable putting the phrase “wacky tabacky” in an article.
• I think that this is one of my – if not THE – favorite strips from Chugworth Academy:
• The bass riff for I Want a New Drug…. I mean Ghostbusters…. I mean I Want a New Drug…
  Oh, Hell…. The bass riff from BOTH songs (since it really is the same riff – Ray Parker, Jr. copped it from the Huey Lewis song) just ran through my head. Fortunately, I had The Ramones’ (I Want To Be) Sedated loaded up in Winamp to purge it.

• “So we’re agreed? We flush Paris’ body out the airlock?”   –   
• C is for Cookie.
  That’s good enough for me.
  And if it’s good enough for Cookie Monster, it’s good enough for me, too.

• I feel his pain…

I think I’ve hit the wall. Yep, that was it. And that means… It’s time to make my way upstairs and into bed.

Namaste.

Thursday : 21 July 05
Yardwork.
*sigh*

I mowed the lawn today. It’s brown in some places. Green in others. I want a vibrant, lush green carpet of grass in the front and back yards… but let’s be realistic: I live in the middle of the desert. And I’m old enough to know that not getting what I want won’t kill me.

That said, I still want a nice lawn. There are still things that can be done to enhance it’s appearance and bring it more in line with what I want. I will have to see about doing those things. Foremost on the list is getting rid of the verdammt dandelions that have appeared in the back yard. All. Over. The. Place. It’s not making for a happy Rob. So, one of these evenings or weekends, I will have to get out there with a weed popper and get rid of the ugly buggers.

Otherwise, it’s been a good day.

And…
And…

I (finally) installed and played City of Heroes. It was fun. I’ve made it part of the way to Level 3 in…. an hour and some change. I will be enjoy this game for some time. I need to hook up with Don and sidekick with him. (Speaking of whom: I think that he’s coming around on teaching the band Hollaback Girl.) And, I’m curious about the upcoming City of Villains. That looks… interesting. When I get a character up to a sufficient level, I’ll have to see if I can find some of the shared zones.

Stray Toasters

• I patched the flat tire on my bike. But, the wheel isn’t aligned properly (It’s Neutral Good, at the moment) – the disc for the front brake is rubbing on the pad. BUT… the tire’s fixed.
• For : Catwoman #48
• , in honor of our recent Outback excursion, I bring you this.
• “Oh, Lord, make me pious. But not yet, not yet.”
     -St. Augustine

• I’m going with to see the Strongman Competition in Orem on Saturday… which means: “No bike ride.” I think I’ll go Sunday, instead. Any takers?
• Top 10 Web Fads of All Time

Namaste.

Wednesday : 20 July 05
And on the five-hundred-sixty-third attempt… I got the new video card working. I got so fed up with everything, that I took both the motherboard and the video card to work to check a few things. I found the problem: A jumper setting for the system bus frequency was set “incorrectly.” It was fine for my processor, but for some reason, the card wasn’t having any of it. So… I changed the jumper setting. I wound up taking roughly a 40% cut in processor speed, but the card works. I’ll go back and try to juggle the system vs. AGP speed issues later.

Mary, Martha, Joseph and Jesus, this was an ordeal.

The rest of the day was rather good. Work wasn’t unpleasant and, unless I’ve missed something, tomorrow is shaping up to be a good “No Bad News Thursday.”

After work, I came home and changed the settings on the board that is in the case. *ding* Card is up and running. And that means that I am this much closer to getting on City of Heroes. I’ve been trying to decide what kind of character want to play. I had a passing thought of creating an elemental character, like the X-Men’s Storm, but a male. And I wanted to call him: Chocolate Thunder! And in my head, he would have a “wocka-chicka-wocka-chicka” 70s guitar riff playing whenever he moved (or flew). And an afro. And big mutton-chop sideburns. *nod* Aww, yeah. put the kibosh on that when he reminded me that there was going to be a Chocolate Thunder comic book. Oh, well. Back to the drawrin’ board….

I had dinner at Outback with and . 12 ounces of Prime Minister’s Prime Rib goodness. Of course, after gorging myself on half an order of Aussie Cheese Fries, it came as no surprise that I had to bring some of the prime rib home.

Stray Toasters

• “One to beam up.”
  James Doohan, best known as Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott from the Star Trek television and movie series, has died at the age of 85. I started watching Star Trek because of my stepmother, who was a big fan of the original series. My affinity for the show has grown ever since.

• I like gummy bears as much as the next guy, but…. Damn, Gina!
• “One way of stopping spoilers”   –   
• Congress wants to add two months to Daylight Saving Time
• Coming soon to a theatre of war near you: Riot control microwave ray gun
• Holy temper tantrum, Batman!
  

• I’m still trying to convince my friend, Don, that he needs to teach his band Hollaback Girl as a stand song for football season. He still seems to think that it is a bad idea. , you need to help me out here.
• How movie studios misuse reviews.
• For :
  A DEATH IN THE BATMAN FAMILY

  Long-time Batman artist JIM APARO passed away the morning of Tuesday, July 19 due to complications from a recent illness. Aparo, 72, was best known for his long-term run on the Brave & the Bold and other Batman titles as well as other characters such as the Spectre and the Phantom Stranger. He was the artist for the contraversial storyline A DEATH IN THE FAMILY for which fans called in to vote whether the then-current Robin (Jason Todd) would live or die.

  The Aparo family has asked that in lieu of Flowers or gifts, anyone wishing to honor Jim’s legacy make a contribution to any worthy charity, as Jim believed that all charities were worth donating to.

  For those wishing to send along their condolences and best wishes to the family, a P.O. Box has been set up for the family to receive cards. The address is:

  THE APARO FAMILY
  P.O. BOX 28
  NORWALK, CONNECTICUT 06852 – 0028

• Do we really need a Smurfs movie?
  Short answer: “No.”
  Long answer: “HELL NO.”

And that’s a wrap.

Namaste.

Tuesday : 19 July 05
Quick recap:

• The day wasn’t bad.
• Discovered that the video card works with another motherboard (same brand and model), so that the problem(s) that I’ve been having could be due to something on the board itself. Bought a new board to test this theory.
• Game Night (moved from tomorrow night)
• Visited Allie again.
• Fought with new motherboard and video card. I can’t tell what the issue is.
• Falling asleep. Going to bed.

Namaste.

It should probably bother/scare me more than it amuses me, but I have the theme from The Fall Guy running through my head.

Monday : 18 July 05
For the most part, today has been a good day. I slept in a little this morning. Work wasn’t bad. All things that point to a decent day…

…until I got home and started dealing with the videocard again. I figured that it might have been a problem with the card that I picked up; so it went back to Best Buy today. I came home with another brand-spankin’ new card. I installed it. And, once again, nothing happened. This is frustrating and irritating.

Stray Toasters

• Did I mention that I’m a *wee bit* torqued about this whole video card thing? It’s almost to the point where I’m considering getting a new motherboard… which will then put me one step closer to bringing the media computer to life. Method, meet madness.
• , after one-too-many fights with the old one, bought a new car today.
• How do you get rid of spyware on your computer? Whatever you do, I doubt that it’s as radical as these peoples’ methods.
• Futurama fans untie! I mean “unite!” Billy West has said that there is a direct to DVD movie currently in production.
• : Batman: Hopelessness & Faith
• : It’s not quite a “rose in Spanish Harlem,” but I think you’ll like this.
• : Cover art for Legion #11
• LEGO® is sponsoring a contest in honor of their 50th Anniversary.
• Liam Neeson will provide the voice of Aslan in the upcoming Chronicles of Narnia movie.
• Bruce Campbell
• wants to go to the Strongman Competition in Orem this weekend. She made a “subtle” comment to me about it. Like I’d say “No” to attending that?!

Time to wend my way to The Dreaming. Or a close approximation.

Namaste.

Sunday : 17 July 05
Today was EveryDave and Alyce’s wedding. It was a small gathering of family and friends and they couldn’t have chosen a better day for it. It was sunny, clear… and not as hot as it’s been recently. They had a nice – and rather brief – outdoor ceremony. It was followed by an equally well-done reception. I have a few pictures that may make it online in the next day or two…

After a quick trip home, to change clothes and check on the cats, it was off to Best Buy. I finally picked up the new video card and City of Heroes. Unfortunately, the card doesn’t want to cooperate. It locks up my system before it even gets to POST. This does not make for a happy Rob. Far from it, in fact. All I wanted was to get the new card in and play a game. Apparently, that was just too much to ask.

, and I went to dinner at Tres Hombres. Good food and good company helped make the evening better. We headed back to Nyx’ to wait for to get home. He did. The four of us chatted for a while before it was time to come home… and fight the #*@#(&!!$ video card again. (Methinks that this card will be going back to the store tomorning and a new one will replace it.)

As Gorillaz said: “Tomorrow comes today,” so I’d better hit the dusty trail and get to bed.

Namaste.

Saturday : 16 July 05
It’s been a good – and a long – day.

I didn’t get a ride in, but I did have coffee with Perry.
…and had lunch with .
…and went to Circuit City… only to leave empty-handed.
…and picked up some plastic crack, along with my four-color crack.
…and spent time with friends, while watching zombie movies.
…and had french fries for “breakfast.”

For my next amazing trick: Sleep. In an honest-to-goodness bed!

Namaste.

Friday : 15 July 05
Two hours’ sleep.
Twenty-four ounces of espresso-laden frozen mocha.
Eight and a half hours of work.
Mix well.
Serve.

That was my day. And, for all of that, it wasn’t bad. I expected to be far more tired than I was, not that I am complaining. I came home and did a thirty-minute inner eyelid study and I was good to go once more.

Clitorati meets Harry Potter. There was a small group tonight for Clitorati… but a LARGE one for the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The store

<intermission>

This intermission brought to you by “Fell Asleep at the Keyboard” Productions.

Wow. I really need to stop doing that. I’ve borked my sleep schedule pretty well, it seems. While I can sleep pretty much anywhere (as evidenced by sleeping here at the desk and in the comfy chair in the living room), I really am an old-fashioned guy and enjoy/prefer sleeping in my bed. I’ll have to make sure that I go to bed when I get tired tonight. Of course, that was the plan last night… but I stopped to pet one of the cats on the way upstairs. It was 3-something when I sat in the chair… next thing I knew, it was 7:00. *sigh*

</intermission>

…was full of kids and their parents/guardians dressed in various forms of wizarding wear. Some of the costumes were good, others… well, let’s just say “It’s the thought that counts.” And, I’m still kicking myself for having forgotten to make sure that my camera was in backpack.

preordered five copies of HPatHBP; she gave three of her tickets to Alyce and . The lines – yes, plural – were long, winding… and a bit unseemly. As midnight approached, people counted down the seconds until they could get their grubby little mitts on copies of the book and CD. There was a great howling of joy (at least, I’m assuming that it was joy) when the clock struck twelve and the books and CDs were unveiled. And, despite some initial confusion on the part of the store’s employees, the lines moved quickly.

Stray Toasters

• I still need to patch the tire on the K2.
• (and others): Salon interview with Bruce Campbell
• Internet Archive now has Plan 9 From Outer Space available for download
• Another fastball over the plate for Ms. : DC Comics’ “Year of the Bat” Panel from SDCC
• …also from SDCC: Is it just me or does the guy in this picture look like John Kerry dressed up like Hal Jordan?
• : A certain animated League is going to meet a certain animated Legion next season.

I should get on with the rest of the day.

Namaste.

Thursday : 14 July 05
I woke up on time (i.e.: “when the alarm went off”), but getting out of bed was the troublesome part. I finally managed to do so, but pre-work prep was slow-going. Rather slow, indeed.

Work wasn’t bad. No fires to put out and my team adhered to the “No Bad News Thursday” rule. At lunch, Eric and I hit the gym. The last to times we’ve gone, he’s done two of my workouts; today I did his routine. I’m used to doing back and triceps or chest and biceps, his workout is a combination of the two. It was a good workout, but definitely something I would have to get used to.

After work, I came home… and faded into an hour-and-a-half long nap. In the middle of CSI reruns on SpikeTV. BAH. I missed the last fifteen minutes of the first episode and pretty much all of the second one. Oh, well.

I spent the better part of the evening – and some of the wee hours of the morning – visiting my friend, Allie, at U of U hospital. She is in for some tests and treatments, but seems to be doing well. Shortly after I arrived, and dropped in for a while. After they left, Allie and I watched Little Shop of Horrors and The Man with Two Brains, neither of which I’ve seen in a very long time.

Now, I’m home. And, thanks to the aforementioned nap, I’m just starting to get tired. This means that Beans & Brews, once again, holds the key to my staying awake at work tomorrow. I’m alright with that concept. Quite alright, indeed.

Stray Toaster
So far, it seems as though Breakdancing Jesus has a commanding lead on MC Hammer in yesterday’s Summer Dance-Off Poll. I’ll keep voting open through the weekend, so that absentee ballots can be tallied, too.

Namaste.

Wednesday : 13 July 05
And so, midweek comes to a close.

The day was a good one. Nothing much to report on the day. In fact, it’s been so non-eventful, I think that “taking a nap” and “washing the car” were the two highlights of the day.

Stray Toasters

• I must find the video for Gorillaz’ 19-2000. (The one with the Jeep and the moose, not the Cowboy Bebop one… I already have that one. And, while it’s rather amusing, it’s not the one that I was looking for.)
• : This had your name all over it.
• Phil, another of my coworkers, introduced me to Terry Tate: Office Linebacker today. I watched the films. I laughed. A LOT.
• Clouds Yes, I said “Clouds.” Now, click the link.
• and Rana are back in the States for a while. He messaged me this evening with a story about something Rana said… and Dad’s response to it. I almost fell out of my chair laughing.
• Christopher Lee was The Man with the Golden Gun
  Jackie Chan had The Tuxedo.
  Hell, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones were well-dressed Men in Black.
  But this suit beats ’em all.

• : This one’s for you…
• I have music videos interspersed with mp3s on my at-work playlist. Today, MC Hammer’s U Can’t Touch This came on. I was curiously mesmerized for a few moments. Then I remembered the Breakdancing Jesus t-shirt that I linked to a few days ago. And that’s when the wheels started turning. That’s when I came up with…

• Forts! See, my desire to build a ‘Mech isn’t so terribly out there! (Thanks, Greg!)
• I like the points that this article makes: Comics in an Age of Terror
• It took me a second to get the last joke, but it made me laugh.
  

• Am I the only one to find an amusing irony between the saying “Keep that up and you’ll go blind” and the fact that excessive Viagra® use can lead to blindness? (Results are still out on a link between Viagra® use and hairy palms.)
• : This preview is for you.

Namaste.

Tuesday : 12 July 05
I overslept this morning.
I remember the alarm going off at 6:15.
I remember turning it off.
I don’t remember falling back through the void to The Dreaming.
But there I was.
“Curiouser and curiouser…”

After that less-than auspicious start, the rest of the day was fine. Work was… a challenge. And it’s one that I still won’t consider “lost” until after I try something tomorrow. Went to the gym at lunch; did a back and triceps workout. It was good. Very good, indeed.

After work, I came home to get ready for tonight’s game. Or what would substitute for it – and Dean had commitments… but was coming by to see if she might be interested in joining the merry band of….of….hm… fallen angels… scoundrels… “mercenaries.” She chatted with , , Chris and me and seemed interested in the concept. It looks like she will be part of the game, starting in two weeks.

Stray Toasters

• I bought an Oreo Blizzard® from Dairy Queen today.
• Thanks to for the tire repair kit!
• tagged me to list my six favorite songs. Since I did this a few weeks ago, and the answers are the same, I’ll use the same answer here.
  1. 1. Chopin – Opus 66: Fantasie Impromptu
  2. About 98% of the music by Rush
  3. Ludacris – Either Act a Fool (from 2 Fast 2 Furious) or Stand Up
  4. Will Smith – Switch (…and to quote [info]nyx_hemsut: Damn you, !)
  5. Madonna vs. Atomic Kitten – Don’t Tell Me/The Tide Is High (remix)
  6. Bob Dorough – Schoolhouse Rock! – Conjunction Junction

  The Chopin, Rush and Schoolhouse Rock! options are pretty static, but given the… “eclectic nature” of my musical tastes, the others are apt to change at any time.

• For : In Support of Palpatine
• Pope Gives Potter the Finger (Thumbs Down)
• Also for Nox: This.

Namaste..

Monday: 11 July 05
When Elastica said “Waking up and getting up has never been easy,” they weren’t kidding. The alarm went off this morning… and I just stared at the clock. I finally managed to roll out of bed and start the morning, but it was a slow process. When I made it to B&B for a cup of frozen wake-me-up, I wasn’t thinking about the fact that “Mocha Monday” not only means free espresso shots, but also that the Grande sized drinks are reduced price as well. I walked out with 32oz. of two-shot frozen goodness.

Work was good. There was a last minute’s notification of a staff meeting. That’s always fun. Fortunately, it was good news… followed by more good news. That made it even better. But, the best part of the meeting: It was short. Fifteen minutes, tops. Nothing wrong with that.

After work, I watched a couple of CSI reruns with and Connor (her nephew, who is in town for a couple of weeks). I hadn’t seen either of them. I think that they were first season shows – the cast, with the exception of Jorja Fox, looks significantly younger. I am almost convinced, however, that Ms. Fox is secretly Dorian Gray. She doesn’t look like she’s aged at all. After dinner, I decided to take a ride. It was a short-lived hope: Apparently, I punctured my tire on the ride. Fortunately, it stayed full of air on the ride back home. *sigh* I have to get a new tube before the weekend.

So, I decided to go to the gym instead. I went around midnight. Sure, most people sleep… I go to the gym. *shrug* I did 18:00 on the recumbent bike; I need to start taking headphones so that I can listen to something while passing the time. I did another chest and biceps routine. It went well… considering that before last week, I haven’t been in a gym in FAR too long. I even did crunches with resistance weight. Before I left, I weighed myself. Haven’t done that in a while. And apparently, it was a LONG while. I’m up to 168 pounds; I’ll subtract five to seven of that for gym clothes, but this is a new high weight for me. I knew that I had gained “some” weight, but this is easily 10 pounds over my previously known high. I’m kind of jazzed about this. Now, all I need to do is make sure that it all gets in – and stays in – the shape that I want.

Stray Toasters

• If a person can “jump the shark”, I think that I may have done so today. As I’ve mentioned before, Eric (one of my coworkers) has been introducing me to the world of Homestar Runner and Strong Bad. And today, I learned of the Homestar Runner Wiki. But, I digress… My jump the shark moment: I sent an email to Strong Bad. I’m curious to see if it gets read and/or turned into a toon. That would be neat.
• Yo, Joe!
• My friend, Don, is the band director at a high school in North Scare-o-lina. (In an “It’s a Small World” kind of coincidence: This is the same school where my stepfather was an assistant principal, before moving to a principal position at another school.) He’s also a former member of a few corps in Drum Corps International. He keeps me abreast of happenings within DCI and some of it’s affiliated organizations. One such organization was Star of Indiana, who left DCI and was reborn as Blast! It turns out that Blast! is touring North America (and Japan); they have three shows in Utah – one in Logan, two in Salt Lake. I will be making arrangements to see one of the SLC shows. , you might want to make sure that Jeff knows about this, too.
• Also, for my favorite Bat-fan: These.
• In our next item of “Has Elton John Lost His Mind” news: Sir Elton and his musical collaborator are bringing forth Vampire Lestat: The Musical! (I’m not making this up.) It’s due to arrive later this year.
• I was looking at a Brickfilms.com and came across a video for tt Lester’s song Mr. Miyagi. Yep… based on that Mr. Miyagi. My cheesy 80s movie sense kicked in and I was compelled to watch it. It made me smile.
• Michael Chiklis: It’s Clobberin’ Time!
• In a related note: I think that it’s great that Fantastic Four has opened at Number 1… despite the overall critical drubbing it has taken.
  

  FANTASTIC OPENING ENDS BOX OFFICE SLUMP
  BoxOfficeMojo reports Fantastic Four to be the number one movie of the weekend, with an estimated 56 million dollars. Despite scathing reviews from major critics, the film has scored surprisingly well with families and comic book fans. (Well, Buzzscope gave it an A*) The film is also the third 20th Century Fox film this year to have an opening weekend gross of more than 50 million dollars, joining Revenge of the Sith and Mr. & Mrs. Smith. The film also exceeded most box office predictions by as much as 20 million. Obviously, the lighthearted tone of the film, coupled with strategic marketing made it the perfect family film, not to mention an alternative to most dark, brooding comic book films. Hopefully, word of mouth stays positive as the film will have to go up against Tim Burton’s Charlie & the Chocolate Factory remake and the Vince Vaughn/Owen Wilson comedy, Wedding Crashers. Should be an interesting competition.

• Hey, …. It’s Rob Liefeld!
• Doomed: How id Lost Its Crown

Namaste.

Sunday: 10 July 05
I woke up this morning to a phone call which brought good news: Mr. and Mrs. have welcomed a new member to their family. Hearing good news is always a nice way to start the day.

After observing the necessary hygiene rituals, I went to B&B to get some frozen mocha goodness. A little later, I headed to Borders to do some drawing. I like the way that the current piece is turning out… even though it’s slow going. Oh, well. Rome wasn’t built in a day, either. (Unless you’re playing Civilization or Empire Earth.)

After Borders, and I met and at Cafe Med for lunch. As always, the food was very good. The service, however, left a little to be desired; but, it wasn’t enough to detract from the overall mood. We left there and headed to Nox’; was there. A short while later, Chris showed up and we (minus ) played Arkham Horror, a board game based on Call of Cthulhu. I hadn’t played Arkham before, but I played the RPG when I was in college. Arkham is a fun game.

And, after the game…. home.

Stray Toasters

• I have had the hiccups, intermittently, for a little over 24 hours. I’m pretty sick of ’em at this point.
  (They are, apparently, in remission at the moment.)

• Utah Festival Opera
• From NPR’s On the Media: The Ransom Method
• Bad Design Kills
• I like the video for U2’s All I Want Is You. No, I didn’t just see it for the first time; but I watched it recently and was drawn by the fact that it really tied in well with the song. It also seemed to have a quality missing from many modern videos: It wasn’t out to dazzle viewers with the latest special effects or distract them with bright, shiny objects. It simply told a story… set to music. And that’s all. And it was good.
• Dragonlance
• I saw an article about 4mula while out and about this afternoon. A blurb (and a picture) about theirErgobar soap line is what caught my eye.
• James Hart Design (The fourth page in “Character Design” kills me… and page eleven is pretty funny, too.)
• I need to get Perry, Chris and Nox together for a game of plastic crack….
• …and I think that I have yet another item to add to the Covet List: X-Men vs. Sentinel Diorama
• I want to find out who did the cover of Close to You from the upcoming Mirrormask soundtrack.
• I was wrong about the hiccups being gone.
  In the words of Paul Simon: “I don’t find this stuff amusing anymore…”
  (Not that I found them amusing in the first place.)

Namaste.

Saturday
The day started with a bike ride up the Jordan River Parkway…

…and ended with EveryDave’s bachelor party.

It was one helluva good day.

Namaste.