Random Access

Wednesday
When you woke up this morning everything was gone.
By half past ten your head was going ding-dong.
Ringing like a bell from your head down to your toes,
Like a voice telling you there was something you should know.

The thing going “ding-dong” in my head was the thought: “It’s Thursday… gotta take out the trash.” A few moments later, my reality filter kicked in and reminded me that it was not Thursday, but was Wednesday. From that point on, things were all right. I took care of the hygiene rituals and got ready to face the day.

Somewhere between home and work, I apparently encountered a temporal anomaly.

I stopped at the neighborhood Beans & Brews to get a cup of frozen mocha wake-your-ass-up goodness. I stood patiently in line. I placed my order. I took out money and my punch card. When I handed it to the cashier, she took the card and punched it. Once. This… was… odd. So, I asked her about the double punch. She said: “Yes, we do double punches… on Thursday.”

I stared at her blankly. A couple of seconds passed before the reality filter, which had apparently slipped out of place, realigned itself and asserted its influence on my cognitive functions.

I finally said, “…which is tomorrow.”

She simply said: “You’re not awake yet. That’s why you’re here,” and smiled patiently at me. Then she handed me the mocha and a bagel. I took them and headed out, chuckling at myself.

On to work…

Following up on yesterday’s conversation about slave reparations, I started the day by introducing a couple of the guys on my team to the concept of 40 acres and a mule. They’d never heard of it. Thus, I fulfilled my role, at least for today, as Minority Cultural Information Liason. The rest of the day was fairly uneventful.

and her friend, Marie, are in town for a few days. They picked me up and we paid a visit to . (On the way there, she brought me a gift: Jujubees! Naturally, I took a picture of the box and sent it to …) We got there as he was going to lunch, so we accompanied him. From there, it was on to dinner with at David’s Kitchen. Good food and one fortune cookie later, I was on my way to and ‘ place to do character gen for the WoD game.

Despite the day’s… “interesting”… start, it ended well.

Stray Toasters

• While at Nyx and Nox’ place, Nyx played some music videos. At one point, she said that she was putting one on just for me. It was the Spice Girls’ Spice Up Your Life. I think that I shocked most everyone in the room when I didn’t moan in mock-pain, but instead started couch-dancing to it. *shrug* I enjoy the song. I’ll be the first to admit that the Spice Girls were cheesy, pre-fab pop… but they made some catchy/bouncy music. I can even admit that there are a few of their songs that I like. (See, Nyx…. told you that I was comfortable enough to admit that freely! 😛 ) On the other hand, the ten minutes of Spice World that I caught a few months ago was not good. I don’t think that I’d watch it again. Unless I was drunk. And was going to MST3K the movie. While drunk. Very drunk.
• For Nyx: Bollywood Album Cover Gallery
• : Can you explain this to me?
• ARRRRRR!
• By way of Slashdot: London Turned into Giant Board Game
• : You may want to mark June 29^th on your calendar.
• What will The Onion be like in the future? Check it out.
• Top Firefox Tips and Tricks
• I’ve been avoiding Mediasharx for the past month or so because it continually gave me an error whenever I tried to open it in Mozilla. I’m not sure what made me decide to try it with Internet Exploder… but, I did. And it opened with no problem. Go figure.
• The Bunny Suicides… not to be confused with .

…and that’s a wrap. I should try to get some sleep… despite the fact that my caffeinestream seems to want me to stay awake.

Namaste.

Tuesday
Welcome to the first day of Summer.

Last week, I loaned my copy of Spike Lee’s Malcolm X to a co-worker. He returned it yesterday. Over the course of the day, we talked about the ways that Malcolm’s philosophies – both secular and religious – changed as he matured as man and as a spiritual leader. Towards the end of the day, we were getting into the topic of slave reparations. I tabled that one until this morning.

We picked up the conversation without missing a beat. We agreed that neither of us saw the point in someone who has never been a slave to demand $XXX from Person X or Company Y because their ancestor was a slave. *shakes head* Other people from our team eventually joined in the discussion. I think that we spent about fifteen or twenty minutes on it, altogether. The rest of the work day went by fairly quickly. And incident-free.

Perry and Kate brought a ladder over so that I could play Spider-Man and walk around on the roof. After what would say was “far too long,” I unwrapped and started the swamp cooler. Maybe by this time next year, we’ll be able to get central air installed. I enjoy getting up on the roof (we have a good view of the Salt Lake Valley from up there), but damn and a half… climbing up and down the ladder eleventy-seven billion times to make sure that everything was open or working or flowing or… or… or… BAH! For the birds. Of which, one sat on the aerial (installed by the previous owners) and watched me for a while.

Shortly after I finished, and Dean showed up. A few minutes later, , Chris and arrived. Tonight was character generation and final prep for the Shadowrun game, which will kick off next week. That should be interesting: I haven’t run a game in over ten years. Hopefully, it won’t suck. I’m looking forward to it, though.

Stray Toasters

I didn’t take the bike out today, but I figure that the trips up and down the ladder – not to mention trying not to fall off of the roof – was a decent workout. I’ll try to squeeze in a ride tomorrow before heading to Nyx and Nox’ for the WoD game.
• Adopt a Chinese Blog
• “I get my thing in action…
  Verb! That’s what’s happening!”

• CheapCooking.com
• “It’s more romantic than Batman and King Kong combined.
  

• If the cloud cover in your area allows for it, check out the Summer Moon Illusion.
• This preview is a prime example of why I’ve added Ultimate Fantastic Four to my reading list.
• g0t Jesus?
  “I sure do! He’s on my feet!”

• What are the Top 50 Most Shoplifted Items? (Requires Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader.)
• “Wabbit Season!”
  “Duck Season”
  “Wabbit Season!”
  “Duck Season”
  Tennis season –

• How to Lose Friends and Alienate People with Email (Part 1)
• Not-so-random Wikipedia entry: Yoko Kanno
• Dragonlance Chronicles Get Adapted
  (Now, if they could just develop it into a movie…)

• I saw this piece in Comics2Film’s Digital Concept Gallery. I was impressed by the style and decided to check out the artist’s site, Agent of Rome. I was equally impressed with the work there.
• , and : I think that there’s something here that each of you will like.
• Holographic television. It’s not as far away as you might think…

Namaste.

Monday
Today wasn’t a bad start to the week. I woke up a little later than planned, but not too much later. The day moved along quickly and rather painlessly, which is always good for a Monday.

I mowed the lawn for the first time in far too long. The term “jungle” was apt. I need to get some weed killer for the non-grassy things that are popping up back there. When I finished mowing, I decided to take the K2 out for a quick spin. It turned into a slightly-longer-than-planned spin. It also showed me just how out of shape my legs are. *sigh* But, I had fun. And the bike handles wonderfully. This was a good investment.

Stray Toasters

• I had an interesting conversation about religion with someone online this evening. The young lady had quite a few questions about Protestant denominations.
• Blade Runner was on IFC. I haven’t seen it in a long time. You’d think that – being the movie buff that I am – I would own it. Nope. I don’t. I should correct that in the near future.
• I’m not sure if this is from JLA #118 or #119, but I like this cover.
• HBO has been playing the Hell out of X2: X-Men United. Seriously. You can’t turn to one of the HBOs without seeing the movie.
• I like this cover to Flash #226
• Women of the DC Universe: Wonder Woman Bust
• Independence Day was on AMC earlier this evening. It’s not a great movie, but I like it. It’s good, turned-off-brain fun. Kind of like Starship Troopers (which is too bad, because it was a really good book).
• God bless Cinescape
  

  Monday: AFI LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: A TRIBUTE TO GEORGE LUCAS (8 PM CST, USA) Is it too much to hope for that Harrison Ford might kick George in the nuts for making Han shoot second?

  …which was followed by…

  Tuesday: AFI’S 100 YEARS: 100 MOVIE QUOTES (7 PM CST, CBS) The AFI is busy this week, what with the asskissery of George Lucas and all.

• and : Batman Knightfall Action Figures
• Optware to Release 30 GB Holographic Card for Less than $1 at the End of 2006
• : LSH #10
• “Oh… downtown, eh?”
  “Yeah… Is there something wrong with downtown?”
  

• : You might want to check this out.
• Random Wikipedia Page of the Day: List of video game music: R

Namaste.

Sunday
I hope that the dads out there had a Happy Father’s Day. I made calls to both sides of the family-unit and to friends who are fathers today. All seems to be well with them. I’ve been blessed and fortunate enough to not only have a great father and a good stepfather, but I’ve also had a number of father-figures/role models in my life, as well. As the Indigo Swing song asks: How lucky can one guy be?

I started the day by sleeping in. That was good. Patryck called to tell me that he had another baseball game down here. I started to get ready and he called back – the other team didn’t have enough players, so they forfeited the game. Right. So, he headed back to Ogden…

…and I headed to REI. I was in search of a new bike. Having ridden ‘ bike last year, I wanted something that would be good for road and trail. She has a K2 Zed 2.0 – 2004, I think. I got the 2005 model. Nice bike, hardtail with front suspension. Disc brakes. I’m happy with the purchase. Now, I can get some aerobic conditioning in without having to plop down on the recumbent bikes at the gym.

After I brought the bike home and took it for a test spin around part of the neighborhood, and I dropped in to see and her boys for a while. We had a nice visit. After a quick trip to The Gateway, we came back home to ponder what to have for dinner…

A few messages to and later, we settled on Spaghetti Mama’s at Larryland: Central. Perry and Max met us there. Dinner was good… and there was a lot of it. After that, we went to see Batman Begins. I now understand why was so thrilled. It was a good movie. Very well done. I also enjoyed the easter eggs that they threw in for fans. This is another movie that I’m putting on my “Must be purchased” list.

Stray Toasters

• will be here – VERY briefly – this week!
• Llama…
  Ah, sherpa sherpa…
  You are my mountain guide…
  And you help me climb K2….

• I like Anthony Michael Hall‘s portrayal of Johnny Smith in USA Network’s The Dead Zone. I should watch the original, starring Christopher Walken, again…
• “Choppy says I’m going with Hawk — have you met Choppy?”
  

• An $18,000 bar of soap O.o ?!
• The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• The creator of Troops, the Cops-like satire of Star Wars, is back again. This time, its: I.M.P.S. The Relentless, “a documentary style feature following the crew and missions of an Imperial Star Destroyer during the height of the Galactic Empire.”
• How many antennas are hidden in your car?
• One Fish
  Two Fish
  Red Fish
  Blue Fish

• From the “Father, forgive us…” file: Priest crucifies nun

I have an early start to the day tomorning, I should call it a night.
Without further delay.
Right this minute.
Immediately.
Post haste.
Now.

Namaste.

Saturday
It’s been an interesting day.

I started nodding off at my desk last night, so I stretched out on the floor next to my work/play table (where I tinker with my computers and where the LEGO® train is set up). Brilliant move that was. I woke up sometime around 4:00 AM. I regained my bearings and then trudged upstairs to bed.

A couple of hours later, I was up and on the way to take to administer an entrance exam for the REC. I came back home – mostly on autopilot – and konked out in the living room. I didn’t even bother to turn on the TV. I was out for at least a couple of hours. I woke up because Sissy had gotten herself stuck behind the entertainment center. Again. So, I let her bitch, moan and mew… until she managed to extricate herself. I went upstairs and sprawled out on the bed for… I don’t know how long.

I got up and called Perry and set up a time to get together for coffee. I caught online and mentioned coffee; she said that it sounded like a good idea. A short while later, I was on the road and on the way to pick her up. met us at the coffee shop, too. We sat and chatted – and drank our assorted caffeinated beverages – for a while. Twas good.

Then I headed off to Best Buy. *genuflect* I went with the intention of getting one thing. ONE thing. A DVD burner. More specifically: The HP dvd640i with LightScribe. Booyah. I got it and a pack of LightScribe DVDs. Just like I had planned. And the only other thing that I picked up was a Memory Unit for my XBox. This doesn’t mean that I wasn’t tempted by other items. Far from it. I came a lot closer than I care to admit to buying a TV to replace the one in the living room. No, it wasn’t an LCD TV, but it was nice. Really nice. And the price wasn’t bad, either.

Back home for a bit and then I was out and about again. This time, I stopped at Dr. Volt’s. Had to pick up this week’s four-color shwag. Unfortunately, my hold box was empty. Again. I picked up Green Lantern Secret Files 2005, Marvel Knights: 4 #19 and Girls #1 by the Luna Brothers. From there, I headed to Hastur’s and picked up a copy of the Shadowrun Sourcebook (3rd ed.). I figured that since I’m going to be running a game, I should probably have the current version of the rulebook. It just… made sense.

I came back home and watched the first new episode of JLU that I have seen in… a couple of months, at least. I don’t recall the episode title, but it featured Hawkgirl Shayera Hol, Vixen (both of whom are/were romantically attached to one Mr. John Stewart) and Vigilante. It was a good epilogue to last season’s finale, “Starcrossed.”

Breakfast tonight was good. The people watching, however, was only mediocre. Oh, well. Can’t expect to knock one out of the park every week.

Stray Toasters

• Thanks to Nox, I am the proud owner of four Shadowrun figures from Shadowrun Duels: Draven von Drekill, Kyushi, Liada and Silver Max.
• The Future of Star Wars
• It seems as though Queen Elizabeth II (the monarch, not the ship) has joined the Borg Collective known as iPod owners. Check it out.
• Sony Online Entertainment and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment are teaming up to create a MMORPG based on the DC Universe. This could prove interesting…
• Does anyone else remember the game Populous? What about Clockworks?
• Histeria!, your random Wikipedia word of the day.

Namaste.

Friday
The Doctor is in…

The work day moved along nicely. For a change of pace, instead of going to the mall for Mallday, we went to Olive Garden. Chicken Giardino with Pasta e Fagioli, with frozen raspberry lemonade. Tasty. I don’t think that many/any of us wanted to go back to work after lunch. But, we did. And, a few hours later, my work week was done. I went to Costco with … and I walked out empty-handed.

Tonight’s Clitorati gathering was good. played hooky, sort of, from work and was there. My superpower kicked in and I Charlie hooked me up with a free piece of Totally Turtle Cheesecake. I also picked up copies of the X-Men: Days of Future Past and Superman/Batman: Public Enemies trade paperbacks. Then, it was on to dinner. One of our more interesting dinner conversation threads dealt with song lyrics that we misheard/mis-sang. Some of the “lyrics” were just plain scary. And funny.

Stray Toasters

• I like the “Brushed” theme for Firefox.
• Neal Stephenson talks about the old and the new Star Wars
• , I think that you’ll appreciate this: I received an email from this evening. In it was a link to a Flash animation that someone did to Billy Joel’s We Didn’t Start the Fire. In it, we are given pictures to go along with the vocal timeline that the song provides. And, as if that wasn’t enough: There are even subliminal messages interspersed throughout the video. It’s pretty neat… and you can even save the file to your hard drive.
• I know that it may be hard to believe, but Apple is the current fastest-growing brand.
• According to a poll, people prefer to see movies at home. I was never asked. *hmph* I might be old-fashioned in my tastes, but some movies just have to be seen on the silver screen.
• : I think that this sounds right up your alley.
• By way of : Walk Smash Walk.
• “Checkmate.”
  

  Quote of the Day
  After and I left the Costco, we saw an older gentleman in a Cadillac Escalade… who looked like he was going to flip a U-turn directly in our path. Without missing a beat, she looked at the driver and said:

  “What’s with all the white people driving Escalades?! And look at this guy! What’s my grandpa doing driving an Escalade?!?

  We both got a good laugh out of it.

  And with that…

  The Doctor is out.

  Namaste.

Thursday
The Doctor is in…

Today wasn’t bad. Work proceeded apace. After a few false starts, I was actually able to get some work done, too. Imagine that. I took Schoolhouse Rock! to keep me company, but neglected to actually listen/watch. But, there’s always tomorrow. Or Monday. I’m thinking “Monday,” at this point. Especially given my plans to turn into a vapor trail shortly after lunch.

Random Access
Press this key to see amazing things…
     – “Virtuality,” by Rush (from the CD “Test for Echo”)

A few days ago, I received the new issue of FHM in the mail. The one with Pam Anderson on the cover. She’s on the inside, too. And, as an added bonus: There was a shiny new AOHell coaster CD in the poly-wrapper, too! I opened Pandora’s box the case to see the wonders within.

According to the insert (seen above), I could get 1175 hours of AOHell usage. FREE! For fifty days. “What a bargain!” And… AND… as if that wasn’t enough, there was an additional registration number and password so that I could condemn a friend to the 9th Circle of Hell along with me! share all of the AOL goodness with a friend! Then I saw all of the added features that I could get, too:

• Surf (up to) 5x FASTER with TopSpeed^TM Technology*
• Block Pop-Ups! Block Spam!
• New Comprehensive McAffe® Virus Protection Included!
• 24/7 FREE Customer Support!

Such wondrous things, indeed! How could I resist calling the number and telling them that I wanted to forego my cable modem and get AOHell dial-up?

Actually, it was pretty easy.

I took a look at some of the “fine print” on the back of the insert, too. It made for an interesting read:

TopSpeed^TM Technology, available only with AOL 9.0, loads certain web page text and graphics faster than with a standard 56.6K dial-up Internet Service. Actual Speeds may vary. Minimum system requirements apply.

“Actual speeds may vary?” Really? You’re kidding?!? And I have yet to see anything that explains exactly “what” makes AOL 9.0 slicker’n greased moose poop. Sure, it’s some sort of download accelerator, but what makes it so much better than… whatever else might be out there? And why do I need AOL 9.0 Security Edition? And does this mean that they have an “Insecurity Edition,” too? Or was someone in the marketing department, let’s call him “Skip,” just feeling his Wheaties and come up with the idea: “If we call it ‘Security Edition,’ people will feel better about their decision to use AOL as their Internet Service Provider! And then, more people will join! And they’ll feel safe, too! And then… and then… and then…” At this point, his brain shuts down, with visions of sugarplums dollar signs dancing in his head. “I have to go tell this to (fill in the name of some middle manager) and see what he thinks!” And off Skip goes. And his manager sucks it up faster than a 13-year-old with a Slurpee®: “Security Edition. I LOVE it! Skip, you’ve got a good head on your shoulders! You’re gonna go places!” And the next thing you know: Here it sits on my desk. Just sitting there. Sitting. The portal to The Abyss (as in “Hell” and not to be confused with the James Cameron movie The Abyss) in a modest (BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! I actually typed “modest” with a… *chuckle*… straight… *snicker*… face….) black and gold tin.

McAfee VirusScan Online brought to you by AOL is now available free with AOL membership. Separate activation required. Details available via pop-up after registration.

Why in the Nine Hells does registration have to be a separate process? I mean… by the time you’ve signed your name on the virtual dotted line, AOL pretty much has every bit of data that they, the NSA and the dumpster diver around the corner could possibly need. Why can’t they just add a button or a checkbox saying “Click here if you would like to add McAfee Online to your service?” If you click the box, the applicable information would then be sent to the appointed McAfee agents and then you’d be good to go. Would it really be that much harder to do? (Here’s a hint: “No.”) Sure, it might seem “easier” to let AOL worry about keeping all of the naughty things on the Internet from attacking/infecting my computer… but I’m more concerned with keeping AOHell off my computer. (…says the guy who’s using Gaim to access AOHell Instant Messenger.)

*deep breath*

I’m sure that there are those who find the AOL experience to be “all that they would ever dream of.” I would say that they dream of small things, but my mother happens to be one of the masses…. *sigh* …despite my best efforts to get her off of “the Internet with training wheels” and onto a better ISP. But, as for me, this coaster disc is making its way to File 13. With the quickness.

But, I think I’ll keep the FHM around for a while.

For the articles, of course.

Stray Toasters

• It’s official: I’m craving cotton candy again.
• Broken Frontier interviews The Luna Brothers about Girls
• By way of : The Visionary Art of Gil Bruvel
• Aliens is playing at the Tower next weekend. Is anyone else interested in going?
• The “other” Catwoman movie: Colin Blakeston talks Catwoman: Copycat (Check out the first look trailer, too.)
• From “His Purple Badness” to… whatever people are calling him now, Prince is one bad mother–
     Shut yo’ mouth!
  I’m just talkin’ about Prince!
     We can dig it!

  The man has talent. And a helluva lot of it, too.

• From Baltimore’s City Paper: Oops, We Did It Again
• Can’t decide which of the next-gen gaming consoles you should get? Take a look at them side-by-side and compare for yourself. (Not that this is really going to make it any easier on you, but I had to offer.)
• Bruce Campbell is coming to Salt Lake City. Check out ‘s post in for more, detailed information.
• Random Wikiness: BLU-82

This is a good place to call it a night.

The Doctor is out.

Namaste.

Wednesday
The Doctor is in…

The week speeds along.

It was a decent day. I started it with a frozen mocha… but neglected to get an espresso shot or two added to it. Nevertheless, it was a tasty beverage. The rest of the workday was rather quiet.

After work, I looked forward to the beginning of the World of Darkness game that we have been nagging to run for the past few months. I came home, collected my necessary accoutrements and prepared to walk out the door when Nox messaged me. No game. The scheduling was off. Instead, it will begin next week. This should be interesting because I was planning on starting the Shadowrun game next week. Granted, it will be on Tuesday, but still… *shrug*

For dinner, we had a taste for Chinese. We considered Dave’s Kitchen, the restaurant we went to this past weekend. I checked with Nox to see if he and wanted to join us. They did. And we were off. Unfortunately, the restaurant – which CitySearch assured me didn’t close until 9:30 PM – was closed. At a few minutes past 9:00. Disappointing. Instead, we adjourned to Cafè Med. And all was well.

Stray Toasters

• I can now admit that I actually have a… a… *deep breath*… a favorite Vin Diesel movie. There. I said it. Anyway, I do. It’s The Iron Giant, which I watched earlier. It’s a great movie. If you (and your kids, if you have any) haven’t seen it, do so soon. If you need further incentive, here it is: Brad Bird, the man who brought us The Incredibles, directed the movie.
• My friend, Don, pointed me in the direction of a new webcomic today:
• Thanks to Nyx, I have discovered iharthdarth.
• Here come old flat top
  He come groovin’ up slowly
  I still really enjoy this animation. (Broadband recommended)

• Everything You’ve Always Wanted to Know About Tetris
• I am a self-professed Homestar Runner novitiate. I have seen a few of the toons and I find them amusing. One of the guys on my team at work has been slowly introducing me to the world of Homestar Runner and Strong Bad. Today, I was introduced to Trogdor the Burninator. I laughed. A lot. Then, I saw what Strong Bad would be like in a video game. I then played one of the games. And I laughed some more.
• : I don’t remember if I already sent you this picture of Ms. Kyle.
• Because the Doctor Who reference makes me laugh:
  

• I have bacon and cheese popcorn. No cotton candy yet, but this will do nicely.
• MoMA – The Museum of Modern Art
• : If you haven’t seen this yet… you need to add it to your site. She looks like she’s ready to break off more than “a little” somethin’. I’d say that she’s ready to bring the whole whoop-ass stick. And then some. But, it’s still funny.
• I have only seen two episodes, but I am enjoying Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

As Sheryl Crow sang, Tomorrow Never Dies. And with tomorrow comes work. I should hit the rack.

The Doctor is out.

Namaste.

(Bonus points to anyone who can correctly identify how the subject ties into tonight’s post.)

Tuesday
The Doctor is in…

The Delicate Sound of Thunder rolls across the valley tonight. No, Pink Floyd is not here on a reunion tour. Mother Nature is clearing her voice and it is echoing across Salt Lake City.

Today was a good one. I slept in a little. I worked. I watched Mononoke Hime. I came home to a relaxing evening. We even let the cats prowl around the backyard. And, for the first time in a long while, I had a comics-related conversation with my friend Don.

Stray Toasters

• I think that was right: I need cotton candy.
• Hey, , I’ve found the perfect thing to help you become a super-sekrit crimefighter (and stuff): The Batman Handbook
• From boingboing.net: Chicks and guns in LEGO®
• By way of : Gentoo is for Ricers
• I haven’t posted a link to MysteryNet.com in a long time.
• Another reason that I like HowStuffWorks.com: They teach you to make Gauss rifles.
• Seven Questions with Samuel L. Jackson, from Comic Book Resources
  Question #3 refers to the fact that drawings of the Nick Fury of Marvel Comics’ “Ultimate” Universe are based on Mr. Jackson.

• “Welcome to the USS California…”

The Doctor is out.

Namaste.

Monday
The Doctor is in…

Aside from sleeping in a little longer than I had intended, it was a good day. Work wasn’t bad… even though I didn’t get to work on something that I had planned to work on Friday. *sigh* Oh, well, maybe I’ll get to it tomorrow. I watched Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 while I was working; that helped speed the day along.

Tonight, we met some friends at The Bayou for a not-so-impromptu “Hi/Bye” get-together for Sara, who had dropped into town for a visit. She’s heading back to L.A. tomorning. It was nice to see her and hang out for a bit. And there was Guinness. Dark, lovely Guinness.

News
ACLU to Challenge Utah Porn-Blocking Law

Talk of the Nation: ‘Lost Boys of Sudan’ Finally Find a Home
Talk of the Nation: History of Lynchings in America
Day to Day: Building ‘The World’ Off the Coast of Dubai
All Things Considered: This I Believe – Jazz Is the Sound of God Laughing
     …and This I Believe – The Ultimate Victory of Faith, Hope and Love

Stray Toasters

• I had forgotten how astounding the Fantasia movies were are.
• Star Wars, M&M’s and LEGO? You bet. –
• United Surrenders, Trashes $230 Million Computerized Baggage System in Denver
• I’ve been a comic book fan for many years. I’ve been a Superman fan for longer than that. Go figure. I even liked Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman when it aired; it’s now available on DVD. I looked up “Memorable Quotes” for the show on IMDb earlier.
  

  Lois: I don’t think I can trust Clark anymore.
  Perry: Would you care to tell me why?
  Lois: He lied to me.
  Perry: Oh. Well, uh, don’t you lie to him?
  Lois: Of course I lie to him. All the time!
  Perry: Ooh, I’m just not going to go near that.

  I remember now why the show always struck me as one part Moonlighting to two parts Superman. I may have to add this to the “DVDs I wouldn’t mind owning” list.

• In a related note: Lane Smith, who played Daily Planet editor Perry White on Lois & Clark, died today.
• By way of : Batti’s Placentero Chair – the Placenta chair
  I… wow… I really don’t have anything to add about this one.

• Chocolate Thunder
• Where was this when I worked for the USPS: www.iworkwithfools.com

That’s enough for now.

The Doctor is out.

Namaste.

Sunday
The Doctor is in.

I slept in today. Way in. In fact, I slept in so far, that I think I would have slept longer had the phone not rung. It was a good call – and well within the guidelines of the 10:00 Rule – so it was no harm, no foul. I got a slow move on and proceeded to do a lot of nothing for the next hour or so.

Following the necessary hygiene rituals, and I headed to Lowe’s to pick up new knobs and lock sets for the garage and front doors. The sales associate in that department even set all of the locks to a master key. This made me quite happy; I didn’t want to have seventy-leven keys for two doors – that wouldn’t even make good crazy peoples’ sense. We walked around the store while he fixed the locks. I found lots (Did I mention “LOTS?!”) of things that made me go “Oooooh.” But, in the end, we left with just the knobs/locks. I installed the hardware with no real problems. This also made me happy. Let’s face it: The thought of having dysfunctional locking mechanisms on two of the three main entry points of the house was not a good one.

I headed to and ‘ place to pick up my new toy: A Milwaukee 10-Amp Sawzall® Reciprocating Saw. We sat around and talked for a bit… and then decided to go out for coffee. I collected and we met Nyx and Nox at Greenhouse Effect. Apparently, we just missed their Sunday night poetry slam. I think of this as something of a mixed blessing: On one hand, it would have been nice/interesting to hear some of the locals do their thing, but Greenhouse is a small shop and it would have been obnoxiously crowded. But, we got there and the inside was nearly empty, so we pressed on for crepes, coffee and chat. When it started to get a bit crowded – and noisy – we adjourned to Nyx and Nox’.

Stray Toasters

• I love IKEA because they send me email announcements about sales.
  I hate IKEA because there isn’t one near here.

• I have a lovely new Sawzall®, but I have no idea where my drill has gone. This does not make me happy. In fact, it makes me rather upset.
• sbrowning.com – This is a neat little site.
• GPO is working with the library community on a national digitization plan, with the goal of digitizing a complete legacy collection of tangible U.S. Government publications. The objective is to ensure that the digital collection is available, in the public domain, for no-fee permanent public access through the FDLP. More information about this can be found here.
• I had (almost) forgotten how much I enjoy Ben E. King’s Spanish Harlem. If you’re not familiar with it, call your local oldies station and request it.
• Museum of Hoaxes – Technology Section
• From the Association of Children’s Museums: Visit a Children’s Museum
• Here are more reasons to love Morgan Freeman… as if being Easy Reader on The Electric Company wasn’t enough.
• From Buzzscope: Sandy Collora’s On the Fly #9 – Remakes
• I’ve been picking up issues of assorted titles to see if there’s anything that I want to add to my weekly intake of the four-color press. I’m still mixed on a lot of them. One title that I have been enjoying – and will be adding to my list – is Ultimate Fantastic Four. It’s well-written. It has good art. And, it’s just… fun.

That’s a good stopping point for the night. Time to hit the rack so that I can be (nominally) bright-eyed for work tomorning.

The Doctor is out.

Namaste.

Saturday
On the whole, it’s been a decent day. Parts of it, however, have sucked. How much? Think:

• Two dollar hooker
• A golf ball
• 50 feet of garden hose.

That should give you a decent idea. But, as I said: The day balanced out and things got better as the day came to a close.

I started the day helping set up some software on her computer. That went fairly well, although it seems as though there’s some sort of “disconnect” between the OS and the hardware. I’m not sure what the problem is, but I think that it could be connected to a possible issue with the hard drive not reading properly. Then, we headed to Big Kids’ Toys ‘R’ Us (colloquially referred to as “Home Depot”) to get dryer vent hose for her as-yet-unconnected dryer. Side trip to Dr. Volt’s, to pick up this week’s four-color goodies; this week I got there with more than five minutes to spare before they closed. Back to ‘s to install the vent hose… which – thanks to the inadequate clamps that came with the hose – was an exercise in itself.

Home. I got into an impromptu fight with the garage entry door. The knob refuses to turn more than 2/3 of its full rotation… and thus won’t fully disengage the bolt. In simple terms, this translates into: “The door will not open.” But, the astute reader will also discern the more subtle translation: “A trip to Home Depot or Lowe’s to purchase a new knob/lockset is in my immediate future.” Unfortunately, the timing of this… inconvenience… was ill: We were scheduled to go to dinner and a movie with EveryDave and Alyce. Trying unsuccessfully to at least temporarily fix the door soured my mood.

We had Chinese food at a place called David’s Kitchen. Small, out of the way restaurant. Good food. Very good food. I’ll be going back there. The theatre was across the street, so I offered to try and find a parking space. Kismet, in her fickle way, smiled broadly… and then thumbed her nose at me.

• Rainy Saturday night in Utah.
• Crowded parking lot.
• People driving through said parking lot like they were doing pace laps at Indy.
• Some of the aforementioned people driving in the near-dark with their lights turned off.
• People jumping in front of you… because God forbid that you possibly find a parking spot before them.
• …and an already-irritable me.

As far as “favorable combinations” go, this wasn’t even on the list. I spent nearly fifteen minutes circling the parking lot and the surrounding blocks looking for a spot. And with each passing minute, my ire and blood pressure rose. By the time I found a spot and got into the cineplex, I was rapidly approaching a level of anti-socialness that I rarely ever attain. I was so tense that while we were waiting for our theatre to open for seating, I went to stand outside, away from people.

We saw Mr. & Mrs. Smith. This movie did wonderful things for my mood. By the time it ended, I felt closer to “center” again. There was “something” in the movie that kept saying “This reminds you of another movie…”, but the epiphany didn’t come until the movie was almost over: It reminded me of True Lies. I give the Smiths a thumbs-up with a big okay.

Breakfast was a decent affair. There was a moderate turn-out. The people-watching was good, even though The Singles were absent for the second week in a row.

Stray Toasters

• tagged me to do the “Six Favorite Songs” meme thingamabob. So, in no particular order, here they are:
  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 : 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. And, as far as tagging six other people to do this, I’ll pass. But, if someone wants to post their Top Six, feel free.

• By way of Wired: Boards Get Brains, Chalk Vanishes
  I think that this is a great idea; I’m surprised that it took this long to come into being.

• send me a link to this. I’m still not sure what to say about it.
• : Hunter S. Thompson tribute beers with Steadman labels
• This article is just reinforcing my desire to do this year’s Christmas lights with LEDs…
• Law & Order‘s S. Epatha Merkerson was a guest on this week’s Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me.
• By way of Slashdot: Russian Firm Pays to Infect PCs with Adware
• Calling 2001’s Planet of the Apes remake “Marky Mark and the Monkey Bunch” still amuses me.
• Cucumbers and reindeer.

Time now to see if I can find my way to the gates of The Dreaming.

Namaste.

Friday
In the words of Morris Day:

America, I’m back!
The aristocratic black…
My whip ain’t got no crack…
It’s got a helluva bang!

Mm-hmm. That’s right. The fever’s gone, the sickness is past and I’m feeling human again. (Well, demi-human, but why nitpick?) Turns out that I’d hit at least 102° at the height of the fever. I sweated out as much of it as I could during a two-hour soak (…a two-hour sooooak). When I woke up this morning, I was down to 99.5°. That was a much more acceptable figure.

I made it to work today. And it was a busy day, to boot. It was good to be able to get back into the swing of things on a day when things had to get done. There even came a point where it looked as though I was going to be there late. Very late. Make-me-late-for-Clitorati late. But it didn’t happen. *whew* (And, despite missing yesterday, I am only three hours “short” for the week.)

Tonight’s Clitorati gathering was as good and eclectic as usual. I’m not sure how many people we ran out of the cafe with our talk of (more or less) everyday objects being stuck in not-so-usual places in the human body.

Stray Toasters

• I called Kris, middle sib of the sibko, to wish her a happy birthday today; she was on her way to Hotlanta for the weekend. She’s grown into quite an incredible young woman…
• …however, that won’t stop me from posting a link to this:
  (…even though my sibs aren’t pains. Most of the time.)

• Since did it, I had to follow suit:
  
  You’re a Cappicinno!

  What Kind of Coffee are You?
  brought to you by Quizilla

• By way of the BBC: The Beethoven Experience – free Beethoven downloads
• “Man-thing” (not to be confused with the Marvel Comics character of the same name.)
  “Tetherball”
  “Hammertime”

• Rule Six: There is NO Rule Six!
• Add this to the “Covet List” : Days of Future Past Wolverine with Kitty Kate Pryde.From one of the best X-Men story arcs of the 1980s: The Days of Future Past
• When I first saw the thumbnail for this picture, my first thought was “Luke Skywalker… as Gilligan!?”
• “Personal bubble! Personal bubble!!” –

Namaste.

Thursday
My weekend got an impromptu, early start today: I was sick. I’m not sure if it was because I ate something that didn’t agree with me or a 24-hour bug. Either way, at various times between 3:30 and… let’s call it 10:00, I developed a rather intimate relationship with the commode. Not fun.

After emailing my team lead and telling him that I would be late coming in – if I came in at all – I spent most of the day, literally, conducting inner eyelid studies, too. I just hope that I’ll be able to sleep tonight.

I haven’t even been to the HCC today. The closest that I got was the couch in the living room. However, on the “plus” side, I got to see the last forty-five minutes or so of Glory. I hadn’t seen it before, but from the portion that I did see, I can tell that I am going to have to purchase it. I also saw Baby, Hit Me 1 More Time, NBC’s version of VH1’s Where Are They Now. Tonight’s bands included: The Knack, Haddaway, The Motels, Tommy Tutone… and Vanilla Ice. Yeah, you read that correctly: “Vanilla Ice.” Most of the bands still sounded good. I’ll just leave it there.

Time to go soak in a hot bath and try to burn this fever out.

Namaste.

Wednesday
As of quittin’ time today, my work week has twelve hours left in it. Twelve. One-two. You know what that means: Cutting out early on Friday. Mm-hmm. That’s right.

The day started off *ehn* but got better. I didn’t feel like breaking things today, but there were a couple of moments when I seriously pondered studying the effects of deceleration trauma on a computer after being launched out of a sixth-story window.

This evening was low-key and quiet. After dinner, I nodded off during the first episode of the Law & Order double-header. *sigh* Now, I’m going to have to track down an episode guide to see how it ended. I made it through the second episode with now problem.

Stray Toasters

• I caught the last forty-five minutes of La Femme Nikita on TV. The Luc Besson film. Not the USA Network version of the American remake, Point of No Return.
• : It’s not quite powered armor, but this is a step in the right direction.
• “In just seven days, I can make you a…” Oh, just read it yourself.
• This is DC Comics’ Mary Marvel (seen here with Captain Marvel III and Captain Marvel). Next to her, even something as pure and wholesome as Wonder Bread® seems “dirty.” Yeah… she’s that squeaky clean. This is Mary, too. I think that she’s doing something different with her hair… but I’m not sure.
• Here’s a little trivia from the upcoming Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
• HALO + tea bag = ???
• “David, meet Goliath.”
  “Goliath, David.”
  Microsoft loses Excel patent case

• Leave it to to find site of Clitorati-worthy cattiness: Go Fug Yourself
• I received an email from LEGO® Shop at Home today. It was entitled: “Give Dad the Ultimate Gift: A LEGO® Collectors Set!” In and of itself, that’s not so bad. But the first thing that they show was Set #10030 – Imperial Star Destroyer, which weighs in at a mere $299.00 (USD). Unless Little Johnny has parlayed his milk money into a 401K-worthy amount of capital (…or maybe he’s just hustling the big kids on the pool tables…), I don’t think that Dad should expect to see one of these on the kitchen table on Sunday morning.
• : Comic Book Resources has an interview with the cast of Batman Begins.
• For and , from the “Two Birds with One Stone” file: Catwoman vs. Batgirl

Namaste.