Union Pacific's Great Excursion Adventure

Quick hit from the Left Coast

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Thursday
Day One of Easter Vacation 2005 was a good one. If it can be used as an indicator of the rest of the trip, we are going to have a great time.

After getting up far too early, we finished getting ready and waited for Vikki, Jess’ stepsister, to show up at the house. She did. We loaded the car. We left. We made it to the airport, through check-in and security and the Cinnabon line without much ado. None, really. Boarded the plane and were on our way… to Reno. After a brief stop, we were on our way to Oakland. The flights were short: an hour from SLC to Reno and forty-five minutes from Reno to Oakland. We collected our things – and Jess’ nephew, whose flight got in a few minutes after ours – just about the time that Jenny and Sandi came in to pick us up. We met the rest of the family unit in the parking lot; in all, there were/are ten of us: Jess, Jenny and Connor, Julie, Brayden and Bryeson (her sons), Vikki, Sandi, Jim and me. Then we were off to San Francisco for an afternoon of tourism.

We went to Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf. I had lunch, fish and chips, at a place called Chowders. Fresh (hours-old from the water) seafood is the only way to go; seafood that has to be flown somewhere is not “seafood,” it’s “fast food.” Period. We walked around Pier 39 and the shops there. We saw sea lions. We took pictures of Alcatraz. We headed back to Embarcadero and continued wending our way to Ghirardelli Square. Mmm… Ghirardelli chocolate.

On the way, we passed a man who was sitting by a trash can. He was holding branches of a bush in front of himself, as though he was hiding from someone or something. Every once in a while, he would stick a branch out and scare an unsuspecting passer-by. They would jump and the people around them would laugh. Hell, I laughed. It sounds rather childish, but it was something of a spectator sport: People would gather to watch as victim after victim fell prey to the “Bush Man.”

After Ghirardelli Square, we stopped in at the Maritime Museum. Lots of neat stuff there. The boys really liked it. And then it was back to Pier 39 to get dinner… at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. Interesting place/concept. And, appropriately, Forrest Gump was silently playing on the TVs as the soundtrack played over the loudspeakers. The food wasn’t bad.

We left the Wharf and headed home to Santa Rosa. I can now say that I have crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. Of equal coolness: Seeing the full moon and night lights of the city, reflected across the water of the San Francisco Bay. I nodded off a few times on the way to the house; it’s been a long day. We got home and sat around, chatted and drank wine for a couple of hours… until we started getting tired and decided to call it a night.

Stray Toaster

  • For those who asked, I’ll be working for Oakley Networks (not Companion, as previously hinted by ). I hadn’t intentionally left out their name before – I just didn’t really think about it when I posted last night.
  • Thanks again, , for looking in on the kids. Also, would you please call me when you go to check on them on Friday?

Tomorrow: We’re heading to the beach (…assuming that the weather permits it.)! If not, I think that the plan is to visit local wineries for wine-tasting. Either way, I need to remember to unpack the kites and put them with my “things to take” pile.

That’s pretty much all for now. It’s time to make up for last night’s lack of sleep.

Namaste.

“Stratospheric traces of our transitory flight, trails of condensation held in narrow paths of white…”

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Wednesday
Let’s start with the big stuff:

  1. I officially have a job.
    I signed the offer letter this morning and start work on Tuesday.

  2. I will be in San Francisco tomorrow morning.
    In the words of emmet swimming: “I’m going on a big vacation…”

I’ve been to California a few times, but never to San Francisco. And, from the sounds of it, Sandi and Jim have plenty of things planned to keep us occupied. And it’s a holiday weekend, to boot.

But, I digress…

I had lunch with today. I introduced him to the joys of the 2005 IKEA catalog. I took him to the ADP campus to show him a black SUV (that I’m Ivory Soap sure is an Escalade) with gold trim. Everywhere. Including the rims. It’s a hideous work of art. Unfortunately, it wasn’t there. So, we adjourned to Best Buy; I came out empty-handed. From there, it was on to Ra-El-Co, a local electronics shop. I wanted to get an idea of how much LEDs cost in bulk. They didn’t have any in stock. That’s fine. There is time to find them. Plenty of time.

I watched The West Wing tonight, as well. I have to admit that I wasn’t originally thrilled when they started the Presidential Campaign story arc. It felt as though the episodes… lacked something. Granted, Aaron Sorkin was no longer involved with the series, but just seemed like there was an “emptiness” in the show. It didn’t “feel” right. The past couple of episodes, however, have been better. Not perfect, but they seem to be heading back in the right direction. Tonight’s episode felt more like The West Wing of which I had grown fond. I am actually interested in seeing who will be President next season.

News
Morning Edition: Librarian’s Picks: One-Word Wonders
Morning Edition: A Few (Older) Men
Morning Edition: Clothes Make the Woman: 1940s Style on Display

Stray Toasters

  • I was looking at my friends’ friends list and saw the following icon, from . I like it. It makes me smile.
  • Solar Death Ray – No evil lair should be without one!
  • sent me a link to this post earlier. I’m not sure what to say about it, other than I was rather amused by it. Not so much the content (it’s not a “funny” subject), as the style in which it was written.
  • The life and art of Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • I’ve mentioned my kites before… but never shown a picture of what they look like. Click here and check the two kites in the middle of the top row. In an odd sidenote, my first parafoil kite was purchased in San Francisco. So, this will be sort of like “homecoming” for it. In a kite sort of way.
  • A woman… found… a fingertip in her Wendy’s chili in San Jose.
  • : The cover from LSH #4
  • Captain and Coke. Amen.
  • “Guidance? What I need is a spiritual chainsaw.”

  • Does anyone remember New Zoo Revue? Well, it seems as though Doug and Emily (Emmy Jo) are still together and have started a production company: Laguna Productions.
  • If you’ve seen this, then you will most likely get this…

  • I don’t think that this appears on the list of “Top 10 Ways to Land a Helicopter on an Aircraft Carrier.”
  • There are two IKEAs in the San Francisco area. *genuflect*

I’m not sure which traveling song I prefer in this case:

All my bags are packed,
I’m ready to go
I’m standing here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye…

…or…

She packed my bags last night
Pre-flight,
Zero hour, nine a.m.
And I’m gonna be high as a kite by then.

Either way, I’m out of here. I don’t know if I’ll post between now and Monday, but I wouldn’t bet against it. But, just in case: For those of you who observe them: Have a good Purim and/or a Happy Easter.

Namaste.

“And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time…”

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Tuesday
I had a slow start to the day. It was grey and overcast and gloomy-ish when I woke up. That’s not really conducive to wanting to bound out of bed. So, I didn’t. But, I did eventually roll out of bed and made my way to the shower. Nothing like a hot shower to start the day. And soap. Soap is good, too.

I met for cups o’ caffeinated goodness. We chatted for a while about this, that and the other. And you. And you, too. But we still like you. For the most part. Except for that… thing… you do. After dropping Nyx off, I went to do more A+ reading. I was pretty successful at it, too. I spent about three hours straight at it… and my head didn’t go all splodey.

I got a call this afternoon with good news: It seems that I am going to be made a job offer. That was a definite rainbow in an otherwise dull grey day.

I am supposed to go in tomorrow to get the offer letter. This was definitely some good news to receive before heading off to San Francisco for the holiday weekend. (Must remember to take kites…) This was good news to receive, period. I called the parental units to share the joy. Mom’s reaction actually made me laugh:

“That’s great! Now, I can stop worrying God and Ma about it!”
(referring to my late great-grandmother)

Dad was equally happy, but nowhere near as colorful in expressing it.

The evening closed with dinner with , Nyx and . Actually, and I just had dessert and cocktails, as we had eaten shortly before Nyx and Nox contacted us. I had a Captain and Coke… and it was strong. Popeye-after-eating-spinach strong. I actually had to ask for a bit more Coke. And it still had a bite, after that.

News
Morning Edition: Bill Summers: A Percussionist in His Own Words
Talk of the Nation: Women and War
Talk of the Nation: Examining the Rise of American Regional Theater
All Things Considered: Schiavo Case Sparks Interest in Living Wills
All Things Considered: Teachers in Berkeley Refuse Homework

BBC News: Female chromosome has X factor

Stray Toasters

Quote of the day

: Two words: “Zipper error.”

Namaste.

“Wheels within wheels, in a spiral array…”

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Monday
Enterprise is still giving me problems when I go to install its OS. I think it’s a hard drive issue. Everything seems to check out pretty well otherwise, so I’m going with that as the basis for my plan of attack.

Dave and Jamie came over tonight for poker. The final breakdown:

  1. Me
  2. Jamie and Dave (tie)

<< Rewind <<

Last night, we had dinner with and . After dinner, we watched 10 Things I Hate About You; I had never seen it before. I enjoyed it. However, as a retelling of The Taming of the Shrew, it is still in second place behind “Atomic Shakespeare”, the Taming of the Shrew episode of Moonlighting. Seeing Allison Janney (The West Wing‘s C.J. Cregg) in it was an pleasant bonus.

News
Morning Edition: Cabaret Singer Bobby Short, 80, Dies of Leukemia
Morning Edition: Need a Prom Date? Try eBay.
All Things Considered: Death Row Inmates Seek Low-IQ Exception
All Things Considered: A Daily Ritual: Prayers Like Shoes
All Things Considered: College in Flap over Corporal Punishment Essay
All Things Considered: CDC: Rubella No Longer a Threat

Stray Toasters

And that… is… all.
For now.

Namaste.

Trainwrecks, Coffee and Cliterati

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AKA – The Sacred Order of the
Cliterati

Before getting to business and recapping the various fun times that were had, I must also pass along that just informed me that our old editor at the Oregon State Daily Barometer, Matt LaPlante is now working for the Salt Lake City Tribute…..the serendipity may never end! On a very loosely related note, I received a free copy on my doorstep yesterday morning, and I had to laugh when I found that you have to read the Faith section in order to get to the Comics hahhah!

Soon after I hit the hotel lobby, I was greeted by a pleasant (and just as I had expected!) …we made our greetings and then were swiftly joined by (Who is absolutely adorable!). After logistics for travel were discussed, we headed out to the parking lot, parted ways, and then very quickly ended up right back together as the only two open spaces in the lot were filled by none other than our fearless friend’s cars. After the serendipity factor wore off, we headed over to
Borders to meet up with (who is less LJ-whorish than the rest of us, and now is easier to picture in her effervescence!), ‘s sister, Dave (who both and I both thought looked familiar, causing me to call him “Every Dave”, further resulting in singing a bit of Whitney Houston…), and Brian for the regional meeting of the Sacred Order of the Cliterati. A little later we were greeted by another friend of the gang’s, Perry, and his small son, Max (who I believed that a certain Flea must have looked like as a child).

It is at this time that you may ask yourself Why Cliterati? Well let me tell you, after a quick poll.

The general consensus of the group was, as posted earlier, is that Cliterati is the answer, although thorough research on the matter was later done by , who found that it is actually Clitorides (sounds like a mouthwash!), pronounced kli-‘tor-&-“dEz. This had not occurred to any of us, however, as the closest runner-up was actually Clitorii (much like penii or pelvii, as the case may be *wink*), but that is neither here nor there. Sidenote: posted a link to another use of Cliterati, which does not affect our adoptation of the moniker for our own deviant purposes.

Thus began the convesation of the evening, that was frenetic, deviant, random, poly and not for one second dull – however, there was a roughly four second pause after I managed to push the envelope just a bit (*cough* Applebees *cough* Plants *cough*)…again, neither here nor there. Shortly after arrival, and I made for the coffee counter, ordered two *hot* mocha mudslides (which we were each asked if we wanted whipped cream on that? twice – we attributed this duplicity to the fact that somehow, barista could see our Gemini twins…). A bit later we were greeted with our drinks….in milkshake form. They were still good, but we both wanted hot drinks! At least he got the whipped cream on there! Sidenote: Aside from our obvious lack of physical twinness, I was tickled at the fact that and I exhibited many the same doppleganger characteristics as a few of my other friends on LJ! When I received my drink reciept, I was also informed that if I took a short survey that I would receive 15% off of my next ENTIRE STORE PURCHASE. As I have no self control when it comes to such stores, I had already decided to don my Elizabethan Collar in order to avoid any fugue into glassy-eyed out of control bookstore purchase that I would surely regret (if only financially!), so I gave the reciept to who took the survey…the AT LEAST 7 MINUTE survey! (Not to be confused with Seven minute Abs…)

I was pleased that someone had allocated a copy of Happy Sumo, HERPES, NO Harper’s for reading and ruminating over… you see, the Harper’s Index is one of my favorite things to read. Sadly, the index that we had up for discussion is not appearing on the website. HOWEVER, we have been kind enough to provide you with perhaps the most fascinating of all index items, EVER. Behold, the Chain Mail Condom. MUCH discussion surrounding said item ensued, including a debate on whether it was actually a prophylactic or a decorative accessory, and also whether or not it had a reservoir tip that is easily answered now that we know what we’re dealing with (which amuses me to no end!). Additional topics of discussion included, but are in NO WAY limited to: Balls, can you play ping-pong or tetherball with them (speaking of, I believe that I have finally found my ideal safe word, Tether Ball, sadly no one in the Order has yet seen Key Party), the naivete of people in regards to sex and reproduction, appropriate attire for browsing through bookstores (incidentally, the red-patterned, baggy surfer pants and black trench coat combo was NOT appropriate, but surely provided ample entertainment!), and then later after Perry and Max arrived, we were treated to the most talented array of sound-effects known to man. I am terribly jelis that I have no skillz in this department, but Max sure had them down!

About at this point, and I were suffering from serious food pains and coffee stomach, and finally it was time for food. Applebees to the rescue! We headed over and continued the break-neck speed of conversation, this time accompanied by a cacaphony of 80’s classics. I can’t tell you how pleased I was to hear Electric Blue by Icehouse. There were several times during dinner that the entire table was over taken by the music – although I’m fairly certain that and I were the only ones that got at all moved by Lionel Ritchie’s Running with the Night.

After we received our food, I was rather taken by the fact that my chezburger appeared to have not one, but TWO icecream scoop sized balls of shredded (…and heat wilted) lettuce. Since this was not OK (1. I prefer leaf lettuce on my burgers. 2. There was SO MUCH OF IT! 3. It was UNDER the burger, making the lettuce wilt and the burger bow.), I surgically removed the lettuce (but I swear it was mating under the patty!). Then burger was fantastic. Every Dave had ordered hot wings, and when a cupful of handi-wipes appeared at the table, I eyed them covetously, as they are the best invention ever. When we got ready to head out, was kind enough to proffer up the remaining wipes for my own personal use.

For picture proof, I offer up evidence of and discussing the ramifications of too much lettuce – too bad you can’t see the pile very clearly! and the Top Secret *shhhhh* Group Shot …said the Bishop to the Actress…

As it was getting late and everyone was either tired or needing to work in the morning, dropped me off at the hotel, where I spent the next few hours listening to the neighbors move furniture, and then earlier in the morning, a family of fighting elephants unoccupied the three rooms surrounding me. Needless to say, it was yet another night of little and restless sleep.

The next morning, rescued me from the hotel confines, in exchange for mixed CDs (tribute to where we met), and we headed over to meet at the Villiage Inn. We used to have them in Idaho, but they are no longer here – I miss that! Anyhow, after and I had our “community meeting greeting” which consisted of me handing over a package of crack Crystalized Ginger in return for the Jelly Babies she had given me the night before (gotta love friends!), we headed in for the dining fun times. Eventhough there were only three of us at breffas – aside from the occasional Drew Barrymore (waitress) and manager – we still managed to keep up the furious chat pace and content. Of course, we were privvy to an even greater display of People Watching Good Times at the Inn. Perhaps most disturbingly hysterical was Santa on vacation with his cowboy straw hat and red sweatpants held up by suspenders. was especially taken by a Kelly Ripa wannabe who was accompanied by a friend who had on the most stellar pair of black leather scrunchy stilleto heels. Breathtaking! I think that our table managed to run the restaurant out of coffee. Following in perfect WonderTwin suit, and I both had some sort of southwestern chili skillet – although I had toast and she had…. wait for it… three words: Peanut Butter Pancakes! I would have probably gotten those if I’d thought about it. Either way, I’m glad that she was able to expose to the joys of PBPs!

Sadly, our journey was coming to an end, so we made the longest goodbyes ever (well, it was more like, We should go, but…..!). I was then taken back to the Midvale McDonald’s where dropped me off to Cain’s mom and sister… who I can only assume what was going through their heads! I really was not prepared to leave, as I’d been having such a grand time – besides, there was still a bowling showdown at stake…… but I will come again! ….said the Bishop to the Actress!

Namaste!

::: This space for rent :::

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Lots of things to say.
But I’m tired.
Sleep wins.

Namaste.

“He says he’s an outlaw, and he always scores. They all have a motto: Be rich, dress poor…”

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Friday
For the most part, today was a quiet day. I was going to have lunch with this afternoon, but we wound up having to reschedule it. C’est la vie. I wasted time on the interweb and installed a few more things on Nine.

I am either attempting to use the incorrect installation CD or something in the ATI driver that I got from Micro$quish’s Windows Update site isn’t playing nicely with my graphic card. Whatever the problem is, I can’t get use the “All-In-Wonder” portion of my card. I’ve looked at the ATI site, but my card is old enough that looking for drivers is akin to seeking the proverbial needle in the haystack. I will find it, but I will probably wait until Sunday to do so. For the most part, “it ain’t no big thang,” as Lita Ford put it. I simply can’t watch TV on my monitor; but, since I haven’t taken the television out of the HCC, I’m still good.

made the trek to the Land Behind the Zion Curtain tonight. She and joined us for coffee. I’m not sure if they were fully prepared for the random nature of our group, but they fell into place rather quickly. A couple of things caught them off-guard, but they both recovered quickly.

It was a good day wrapped-up with a good night.

News
Morning Edition: An Amputee’s Long Walk Back to Flight Duty
Morning Edition: Financial Planning for Retirement
Morning Edition: Indecent Ads?
Day to Day: At the U.S. Memory Championships
Day to Day: My Fellow Americans: Maria Elena Fernandez, Cha-Cha Feminist
All Things Considered: Century-Old Utah Western-Wear Store Says Adios
All Things Considered: Philadelphian Amos Lee’s Country-Fried Soul

Stray Toasters

  • Note to self: Call Mom.
    Today.
    Before she sends out a search party.

  • For : From Broken Frontier – Two Faces, One Perfect Villain
  • One of the kittens horked up a hairball this afternoon. On the bed. I think that I saw it within a few minutes of it happening. And dealt with it accordingly.
  • Joss Whedon has been officially named as the director of the forthcoming Wonder Woman movie.
  • And, further proving that his grasp on sanity is tenuous, at best: Lucas to Redo Star Wars in 3-D Correct me if I’m wrong about this, but didn’t he say that the version that was released last fall on DVD was his “perfect vision” of how Star Wars should – and would – have been, had the technology of the time allowed for it?
  • From Newsarama: More with Moore on Firestorm
  • : Guess who are getting their own limited series.
    Hint #1 and Hint #2

  • “Hey… Is it wrong that I think she’s kinda hot?”

    …and…
    “So, you used to be a guy, huh?”
    “Well, more like ‘wearing’ a guy.”

  • I forgot to mention this a couple of days ago: and I were channel surfing. We stopped on a channel (CMT. Yeah, that one…) because The Dukes of Hazzard theme was starting. I sat there and sang through the entire theme. It was at this point that I realized that I haven’t seen the show since the early-/mid-80s… but I remembered ALL of the lyrics. That was a somewhat frightening revelation.
  • “Honey, can I hack a little chunk of metal off your body?”

Quote of the Day
While at coffee, I had stepped away from the table to get… something. (I forget exactly “what.”) A few moments later, I returned to the table… and to the following question.

Wilson: What is the plural of “clitoris?”
Me: *thoughtful look* “Cliterati.”

Namaste.

“Everything’s Going Green”

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Thursday
I hope that everyone had a Happy Green Lantern Day.
(And, in the case of , a good birthday.)

Chris came over and we fed our plastic crack addictions: We played Heroclix. We managed to get in three games. He won all three. But, I was glad for the chance to play because:

  1. This was only the third time that I’ve played.
  2. I am picking up the game mechanics.
  3. I am applying what I’m learning.
  4. I got to play superhero!

I was kind of bummed to find out that CSI wasn’t on tonight. I had completely spaced off the fact that the NCAA Basketball Tournament would be on in its place. So, and I watched back-to-back episodes of Whose Line Is It Anyway? on ABC Family. and came over for a while this evening. We mostly hung out and talked. We watched parts of Miss Congeniality (which I had never seen), Fear Factor and The Daily Show.

Stray Toasters

  • I like peanut M&M’s.
  • It snowed a bit tonight.
    This is NOT the weather that I asked for.
    I specifically requested temperatures no lower than 70°.

  • The rebuilding of ‘Nine‘s C: drive is almost complete. The format and OS installation went smoothly. And I have been through the eleventy-seven reboots that go along with doing the various Windows updates. Next on the agenda is reinstalling device drivers and applications… which is proving to be a bit “tricky” because I the ATI CDs that I have are ignoring my video card when I try to install the drivers.

I’m sure that I had much more to say, but it’s nearly 4:00 AM and I need to get away from the computer and into bed.

Namaste.

431360

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Happy Green Lantern Day!

Huh? It’s not Green Lantern Day?
But what about everyone wearing green ?
Saint WHO?!
St. Patrick?
Oh. Right.
*sigh*

Well, then…. Happy St. Patrick’s Day.
(But I still say that “Green Lantern Day” would be cooler.)

“Too many hands on my time, too many feelings, too many things on my mind…”

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Wednesday
Today has been another mixed day; but, on the whole, I would have to give it a passing grade.

I had an interview this morning. I don’t want to make any assumptions, so I’m not going to put the cart (or even Descartes) before the horse. I had – and still have – a good feeling about the way that it went. And from there, I’ll wait to see what happens.

We also had the cable modem installed today. The installer was here at the scheduled time! I took that as a good omen. I think that the total time of install – from drilling the hole for the line to saying “You’re good to go” – was just shy of an hour. And most of that time was configuring and reconfiguring and re-reconfiguring the network settings. In the end, he just ran the line into the modem; I said that I could deal with getting the rest of the systems online. That took a little brain power, but I sussed it out.

And that’s where the day started taking a downward turn.

I decided to reboot ‘Nine. That was a mistake. Apparently, Saturday’s problem wasn’t really fixed. ‘Nine was conveniently ignoring the full scope of the problem. It powered down with no problem. On reboot, however, it would get stuck at the “Verifying DMI Pool Data……” portion of the POST.

Not good.

So, I rebooted. And got the same thing. A few times. I flashed the BIOS. “No go, Flight.” *grrr* So, I tried reflashing the BIOS…. changing settings… doing a ceremonial dance…. Nothing worked. And I wasn’t liking the thoughts that came to mind: “Either the motherboard and CPU or the drive are fried.” That’s definitely not something that you want to think about when the funding for new tech isn’t readily available.

So, I set it aside for a while and went about calling Sprint Broadband, Earthlink and DirecTV. I needed to cancel services with Sprint and Earthlink and make some changes to our DirecTV account. I figured that these calls should take fifteen minutes or so.

I was wrong. It took nearly an hour.

The Sprint call was cake. Five to ten minutes. I explained that I wanted the service cancelled/disconnected, and it was done. The CSR asked was I leaving due to cost or service. “Cost.” She said that she could lower the rate… by $10. That wasn’t bad, but I already had the Comcast installed. And I was happy with it. Even if I couldn’t use it on ‘Nine, for the time being. She cancelled the service… and said that I’ll be getting a pro-rated refund. I then asked her about charges that I’d been getting from Earthlink, who provide SBBD’s email infrastructure . She said that I should not have had any charges from them and that I should call them to find out about it.

So I did.

Three times.
Along with a call to my bank to verify the charges.

The final story: I apparently had a dial-up account with them. Since 30 Aug 01. An account that I don’t remember having ever signed up for. (NOTE: I just had a thought – Sprint might have put in the order with Earthlink, but since their partnership was new, someone might have entered the wrong information about how the account should be charged.) But, there it was. While we did have a dial-up account prior to getting SBBD, it wasn’t with Earthlink or its predecessor/partner, Mindspring. So, I wasn’t (over)paying for email service. I was paying for a complete Earthlink dial-up package. That I never used. The Earthlink CSR who finally helped me clear up the matter was very understanding of my frustration. When he asked what I thought was fair re compensation, I told him that I didn’t care about getting any money back, I just didn’t want to pay for it any longer. That caught him off-guard; I think that he expected me to fly off the handle and demand copious amounts of money. He cancelled the service, effective immediately and verified that I would not be charged for the next billing cycle.

Two down, one to go.

I called DirecTV to change a billing option and to have my information set so that I could access my account information online. From the amount of time that it took for the billing CSR to understand what I wanted to do, I am under the impression that their billing support has been outsourced. But, it got taken care of with minimal gnashing of teeth. She then transferred me to the accounts department so that I could have the online settings dealt with. That was another couple of minutes, but was also relatively painless.

The day took an upward swing around evening: Tonight was Game Night. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go, mostly because of ‘Nine‘s problems, but I did. It was apparently a good – and needed – outlet. After the game session ended, and I watched a couple of episodes of Invader Zim. I have to agree with a statement she made: “I want to meet the Jedi Master who managed to get this show on the air past the Nickelodeon execs.” It definitely wasn’t what one would expect from the usually squeeky-clean Viacom company. At least, not the Nickelodeon division. I could easily see it having aired on “We-used-to-show-music-videos” MTV, however.

I came home and stuck my head inside ‘Nine‘s case again. Persistence… or something like that. I finally had the bright idea of trying to boot the system with the drive that I took out a couple of weeks ago. It booted up immediately. *boggle* I tried rebooting, with the new HD. Nothing. I tried the old one again. Boot. I tried starting it with both drives in, using the older drive as the master. Boot.

It seems as though the Master Boot Record on the new drive has been erased. Which means that my C: partition effectively no longer exists; the other two partitions are intact. While this isn’t “great,” it is far from the disaster that it could be. This is yet another reason that I partition my drives the way that I do: If something happens to the MBR or to Windows, I can reformat the partition and go on about my business. I will have to reinstall some applications and I will lose a few settings, but that’s better than losing everything on the drive.

But, that’s a project for sometime after the sun comes up.

Stray Toaster

  • and : Given the time constraints that we’re going to be under, I don’t think that and I will be able to have our bowl-off. This time. We’ll have to arrange another cross-border excursion for that. But we shall. Oh, yes… we shall, indeed.

I’m tapped.

Namaste.

“I’m just an average guy, with an average life…”

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Tuesday
It was a mostly uneventful day. I wasn’t as productive as I could have been, but I did manage to get a few things done.

I was disappointed that tonight’s episode of Law & Order: The Next Generation…. uh… Special Victims Unit was a rerun. It was a decent one, but not one that I felt like watching. I wound up half-watching Blind Justice, ABC’s new drama about a newly-blind police officer, trying to prove to everyone else – and himself – that he still has what it takes to be one of New York’s finest. Even though he possesses no superhuman abilities, I kept wanting to make comparisons to Daredevil.

On a definite “up” note: will be in town Friday night. She had mentioned earlier in the day that Cain was coming down for part of the weekend and that she wanted to come down. But, there were a couple of potential issues that might preclude her from doing so. Apparently, they were all worked out.

I shall finally meet my bowling nemesis.
</moustache twirling and evil laughter>

She also said that she had mentioned , another of her LJ compatriots who lives here in the SLC Valley, to me before. I think that she must have me confused with some alternate dimension Doppelganger because I don’t remember her having done so. But I have since added to my list of people whose lives I read about.

News
Morning Edition: India’s Ruling Odd Couple
Morning Edition: Photos of Jazz’s Memory Lane, for Sale
Day to Day: Nevada’s Atomic Museum Opens to Criticism
Day to Day: The Color of Money: Making Use of Your Tax Refunds
All Things Considered: President Johnson, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Civil Rights
All Things Considered: Educational Filmmaker Sy Wexler Dies
Fresh Air: Tim Curry Tries on King Arthur’s Mantle

Stray Toasters

  • I had Chef Boyardee Beef Ravioli for lunch today. I blame it on Rana. Why? Because:
    1. I picked up the habit from her – She used to have it every Friday night while watching The X-Files or Millennium.
    2. …and quite simply: Because I can.
      (Which I colloquially refer to as “Privilege of the First Born.”®)

    I hadn’t had the Chef’s Ravioli in a while. It was pretty good. And it sated my lunchtime hunger. Rana may have been onto something, after all…

  • sent me this. I was amused.
  • We’re switching ISPs. Tomorrow. After four years of using Sprint Broadband, we’re getting rid of the antenna and switching to Comcast. Overall, I’ve been happy with SBBD, but when you are effectively paying two ISPs for one basic service, there comes a time when you have to say “Enough is enough.” I called this afternoon to see about a special that Comcast is running and when I asked the CSR how soon they could install it, he paused and then asked “How’s tomorrow, between 1:00 and 5:00?” I was floored. I was expecting a few days’ lag time. Nope. Of course, I’m going to have to figure out how to access Comcast’s newsgroup servers. Because Rob without newsgroups is not a happy Rob.
  • I finally kicked Marrow’s ass in X-Men: Legends.
    Barely.
    But, I beat her.

  • Dracula vs. King Arthur. I don’t have anything witty to add here mainly because I really don’t know what to make of this.
  • “Hm… Uh-oh.”
    “Now what?”
    “Oh nothing… I’m just going to stand behind you for a minute.”

  • and : CBR has more info about Bruce Campbell and Man with the Screaming Brain.
  • We have not yet acquired our copy of The Incredibles. This will have to be corrected.
  • It seems as though the third X-Men movie now has a director.
  • By way of Wired.com: Need a Building? Just Add Water.
  • “So, do I even get to know your name?”
    “Gee, you would have thought the nametag would be a dead give away.”

  • “God wasn’t ready for it.” I still can’t believe this one.

I should hit the rack. I have a couple of pre-cable modem installation appointments and it wouldn’t do to miss them.

Namaste.

“Nights growing colder… Children growing up, old friends growing older.”

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Monday
I woke up far later than I had planned this morning. And the only reason that I woke up that early was because the phone rang. Sure, I didn’t get to bed until 3:00-ish this morning, but that’s not the point. The point is, I woke up somewhere around 9:30-something and thought “I’ll just lie here for a minute or two…”

An hour-and-a-half later… the phone woke me up. It was my father, calling to touch base and see how things were going here. About two sentences into the conversation, he asked: “Did I wake you up?” To which I responded that he had, but that I had planned on being up long before that and that I was grateful that he had called. All is well with that side of the family.

After the call, I observed the hygiene rituals and got ready to face the world. Or the small part of it that is the Land Behind the Zion Curtain. I went to Borders to read more of my A+ Certification book. I was joined shortly thereafter by .

I came back home and played X-Men: Legends. (Wow, BIG surprise there.) And then it was off for dinner at Barbacoa and coffee at Cocoa Caffe to celebrate our friend Steve’s birthday. If you’re in the SLC Valley, check out one of Barbacoa’s four locations.

Stray Toasters

  • I’m not sure that having a cafe mocha at 9:30 PM will be the most conducive thing I could have done to induce sleep tonight.
  • and I (finally) added a few more cards to SLC Card Exchange today. If you’re in the SLC area or anywhere in the great state of Deseret… I mean “Utah”… and would like to submit a local/area/regional business to the Exchange, feel free to grab one of their business cards, scan it and send it to either of us. We are also looking for reviews, good and bad, of places that are on the site.
  • Comic cover cavalcade
    • Lex Luthor gets his mack on…
    • The new Firestorm
    • Simple. Understated. Zatanna.
    • I like this Wonder Woman cover. Not (just) for the gratuitous cheesecake factor, but I like the composition. The now-blind, former warrior princess-turned-ambassador is a figurative and literal pawn in an Olympian power struggle. I like the way that this has been presented using the chess motif.
    • How much hairspray, spirit gum or other fixative does it take to keep this outfit in place?
  • “I am the worst spy ever…”

  • They’ve taken a couple of liberties with continuity in X-Men: Legends. Nothing that I’m going to get bent over (it’s a game about a comic book, after all), but they were a little surprising. It seems as though former comic book X-Woman, Marrow, has been cast as the leader of the Morlocks (deformed mutants who formed a community in abandoned Manhattan tunnels). In the comic continuity, their leader was Callisto. A character that seems to be Cal is in the game, but she’s one of the “grunt” Morlocks who is only designated as “Morlock Goth.” *shrug* I still love the game.
  • “You make me so angry… you know what I’m going to do? I’m going to get drunk and whine in my LiveJournal!”

  • is going to feed my tech parts addiction. Who needs “a chicken in every pot” when you can have “a computer in every room?!”
  • Can’t afford a guru
    Who’s gonna save my soul
    Where will my money go
    I can be spiritual too you know
    But I can’t afford a guru
    So when you lay next to me
    Pour on the sympathy
    As sold on TV

          “Guru” by emmet swimming (from “Big Night Without You”)

  • I must have this: It has the bald John Stewart figure.
  • And, speaking of things JLU-related: They have done a nice job with the Black Canary maquette.
  • For and : DC Direct’s Batman: The Long Halloween figures. Scroll down to “Related Images” for the link to a larger picture.
  • I find it amusing that two of the Ravens’ last three free agent picks are former Tennessee Titans. The Titans and the Ravens have “something” of a rivalry. Not as bad as the Baltimore-Pitt one and definitely not as bad as the Baltimore and… um…. that team in Cleveland… The Oranges or something silly like that.

    Oh, and the third free agent acquisition? He is a former Pittsburgh Steeler.

Quote of the Day
While at coffee, someone said something to which I replied with a comment ending in “…and playing some N.W.A. in the background.” At which point, looked at me and asked: “Does that mean what I think it does?” I said that it did. And then the conversation moved into the old assumptions/urban legends of what AC-DC and KISS’ names were rumored to have stood for (1, 2). I debunked those… and made a reference to Snopes.com. Then, Steve figured that I had been kidding about N.W.A., as well.

Steve: You had us going with that N.W.A. thing.
Me: No, that really does mean what you think it does.
: *quizzical expression* So… what does it stand for?
: “Niggaz With Attitude.”
: *nodding* Oh.

The whole exchange made me smile.

Namaste.

“Sunlight on chrome, the blur of the landscape…”

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Sunday
Sleep last night was not restful. It was pretty much anything but restful, in fact. I woke up a couple of times during the night feeling ill. Not pleasant. I’ve also noticed that, like many of my friends, I’ve been having weird dreams lately. This morning’s dream had something to do with me being at home (Baltimore) and some odd madness which wound up getting my father upset with me. That ‘We’re going to talk later’ mad. I woke up confused and uneasy.

Add to that the fact that I woke up with a headache and my morning… no, my “afternoon”… started out less-than-perfect. Fortunately, the rest of the day was great.

and I decided to go for a drive. We went to Draper, in the southeastern part of the valley. We drove up South Mountain and looked around some of the Suncrest development. Nice houses, but damn and a half… it’s one helluva drive up the mountain. But the views were amazing, both the Salt Lake County side and the Utah County side.

We drove back home and I dropped her off. Then I was off to see Ong Bak with Mary and Matt. It took me back to my youth and the days of Black Belt Theater and Kung Fu Theater on Saturday afternoon TV. It was a Thai movie and the martial art was muay thai (rather than karate or kung fu). There was a simple story and you had to suspend a little disbelief here or there, it was fun. And, keep an eye out for the name Tony Jaa, from what we saw on the screen today, he could be the next big name in martial arts movies.

After the movie, I came home for poker night (I went out in fourth place). I turned on Bravo, expecting to find Celebrity Poker Showdown. It wasn’t on. Instead, Purple Rain was on. But, it was edited and commercial-ridden. So, I put on the DVD and we watched the movie as we played. I don’t care what anyone else says: Prince – by any name – is talented entertainer. Period. He was then. He is now. And how could I resist the opportunity to see Morris Day and the Time? I couldn’t. And I’m glad that I didn’t.

Stray Toasters

  • I don’t know who turned down Utah’s thermostat, but I would like to request that they turn it back up. Thank you.
  • Jess has been playing a game called “Pop-Fu” on Pogo lately. At certain points in the game, there is a gong sound. Whenever I hear it, the first thing that pops into my head is the “Get down! Get down!” line from Kool & the Gang’s Jungle Boogie. She was playing it when I got out of the shower today. As soon as I opened the door, the gong sounded. I started singing “Get down! Get down!” Then I realized that she wasn’t playing the mp3; she was playing the game. It made both of us laugh.
  • Halle Berry earned a bit of credit with me when she appeared at the Golden Raspberry Awards to accept her “prize” for “Worst Actress.” (But not enough to make it back onto my “Outs” list.) I still think that Karma kicked her ass – repeatedly and deservedly so – for the response to Catwoman after her outbursts about not needing to do “bit parts” now that she was an Academy Award winner. But, she seems to have recanted. A little. Where she had previously said that she didn’t want to be part of a third X-Men movie, she is now saying that the on-screen character would have to be portrayed more closely to the comic book version.

    “I love Storm, and really want to be part of the last film.”

    *sigh* My thoughts: “Shit or get off the pot.” Commit to doing it – small role or not – or say, “Thanks for the opportunity” and move on. After all, Bryan Singer said that even though the movie was called X-Men, it was a journey into the world of mutantdom through Wolverine and Rogue’s eyes.

  • “Love is like a can of paint.”

  • I like A Prairie Home Companion.
  • “Thanks” to for posting the link to Jeff Russell’s STARSHIP DIMENSIONS. I saw this site a couple of years ago, but neglected to bookmark it.
  • Marshmallow Peeps® Plush Toys
  • Eastbound and Down
  • For : Kitty and Piotr

“…and that’s all the news from Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking and the children are above-average.”

Namaste.

“1-0-0-1-0-0-1…. S-O-S….”

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Saturday
The day started well. I listened to Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me. I got a phone call from . I chatted with and . I even got to hang out with and for a while.

The early evening was good, too. I played more X-Men: Legends.

The later part of the evening: Not so good. “Something” happened to ‘Nine. It powers up, but it’s unresponsive. And there’s no video signal getting to the monitor. I think that the motherboard has gone the way of all things flesh silicon. I don’t know what the problem is, but I need to find a solution or, at least, a work-around. Soon. As in “yesterday” soon. And, with ‘Nine down for an indeterminate amount of time, I am a little agitated. Go figure.

It’s 4:00 AM.
I’m tired.
And I know that trying to work on the problem now will not serve me well. So, I am going to try to get some rest and tackle it in the morning. The post-sunrise morning.

Namaste.

<edit>

I lied.

I tried one thing: Resetting CMOS.

It worked. And I’m happy. But, I’m still tired. And I’m still going to bed.

</edit>

“To pass an evening with a drink and a friend…”

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Friday
End of the week.
Not much to report about the day.

Coffee was a relatively small affair tonight. I also discovered something: I don’t really care how many people show up, I simply enjoy passing the evening with friends. The randomness of the conversation apparently doesn’t depend on how many people show up, either.

News
Day to Day: Slate’s Big Idea: Who Should Be Considered a Journalist?
Day to Day: Bruce Willis: A Life in Film and a New Movie
All Things Considered: Genital Mutilation Can Be Grounds for Asylum Status
All Things Considered: Photographers Help Foster Children Find Homes

Random Access

Midday light, the earth jump started
lying in a bed
No burning arms, no shivering back
there’s nothing in my head
The world revolves so fast around
don’t let it in the way
The gift that morning light has brought me is
just another day

     “Judas” by emmet swimming (from “Dark When the Snow Falls”)

I found a review of the collected Marvel miniseries, Powerless, on Broken Frontier earlier. I found the following passage particularly interesting and thought that it made a good follow-up to my post about “Capes” a couple of weeks back:

Powerless asks us if heroes would still be heroes without their powers. In this imagined scenario, Peter Parker is a reluctant hero of sorts, while Logan is sadly wasted. But Matt Murdock? His story demonstrates why people love heroes in the first place. We all want to believe that there are people out there who will risk every imaginable consequence to do what is morally right. Even as a superhero, Daredevil has never been very powerful. He’s a handicapped gymnast who knows martial arts. But when you strip him of even those meager skills, when you reduce him to being just another attorney, a blind one at that, you realize that the idea of anyone actually being powerless is ludicrous.

We are all powerful, and super talents and extraordinary gifts have nothing to do with it. We can make choices, we can stand up for what we believe in, we can fight far beyond the point when others would admit defeat. We don’t need powers to accomplish miracles, and we don’t need costumes to inspire hope.

Can you imagine how… “powerful”… people could/would be if only they realized this in their everyday lives? Leaping over tall buildings in a single bound? No problem. Change the course of mighty rivers? Sure… and without breaking a sweat. Bending steel in their bare hands? Do you want that in a pretzel or just a U-shape?

Take the real-world example of Ray Charles. He started going blind at the age of five. Despite this, he became one of the most prolific musicians… no, “entertainers,” of our time. He didn’t let his blindness stop him from doing things that most of us take for granted as sighted people:

  • He learned to write music in Braille.
  • He learned to play piano, clarinet, sax, trumpet and organ.
  • He learned to ride a bike at 10.
  • He later learned to ride a motorcycle, drive a car and fly a plane.
  • He was an avid chess and poker player.

Yes, he had his shortcomings (his storied drug addictions and womanizing come to mind); he was human, after all. But, he didn’t let his blindness cripple him. He found a way to rise above and beyond it. And in the final analysis, I would say that the world was made a little more rich with him in it.

Unfortunately, too many people get it in their heads that there’s nothing that they can do to pull themselves out of the mire, real or imagined. And so, they just waste away until all that’s left is a shell of the person that we once thought we knew so well. Or they retreat into a cave and watch the rest of the world pass them by and wonder why there doesn’t seem to be a place for them in it.

There is. All that they have to do is step outside.

And fly.

Stray Toasters

  • While we were eating dinner, a song by Mariah Carey came on the music system. I admitted – before God, country and a tableful of people – that I own one of her CDs. I got a couple of amused (and maybe even “slightly pitying”) looks. *shrug* I’m not embarrassed by it. Nor of any other CD in my collection. Not even the M.C. Hammer’s Greatest Hits one.
  • As if hearing the Borg on your comlink wasn’t bad enough, I think that this would be enough to make even Captain James T. Kirk have to change his scivvies.
  • Having mentioned Bruce Willis above, I’ll use this space to point you in the direction of
  • : I know that you’re still a bit puckered about the upcoming Loonatics cartoon. Would this help ease the pain any?
  • “What makes you think I give a shit about your needs as a consumer?”

  • pointed out Hurra Torpedo’s video, with their rendition of Total Eclipse of the Heart. It’s one of the most bizarre, yet oddly captivating, things that I’ve seen in a while. : I am not sure whether this video counts as your superpower at work, but consider yourself duly warned. (Broadband recommended.)

Namaste.