Union Pacific's Great Excursion Adventure

“You’ll believe a man can fly.”

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That was the tagline from one of my all-time favorite movies: Superman. It propelled an unknown actor named Christopher Reeve into international stardom. And, in the summer of 1978, I did believe that a man could fly.

He returned to the nation’s eye in 1995 when he was paralyzed after being thrown from his horse in an equestrian competition. He became a proponent of new research for paralysis research, including stem cell research. He was a firm believer that a breakthrough would be found and that he would someday walk again. He and his wife, Dana, opened the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center, U.S.’s first center devoted to teaching paralyzed people to live more independently, in May 2002.

More recently, Reeve was added to the cast of Smallville as Dr. Virgil Swann, a scientist with knowledge of Krypton… and Clark Kent’s ties to it. He was supposed to appear in more episodes this season, along with his Superman co-stars Annette O’Toole and new cast addition Margot Kidder.

I just found heard that Christopher Reeve died (1, 2). He fell into a coma on Saturday after going into cardiac arrest; he passed away Sunday.

Christopher Reeve made us believe that a man can fly.
More importantly, he showed us that a man can inspire.

Rest in peace.

Football


Baltimore at Washington

17 – 10


The Ravens played sixty minutes of hard scrabble defensive football tonight.

The Ravens went into halftime down 0 – 10. It looked pretty bleak. There were three back to back to back interceptions for the Ravens; although, Ravens QB wasn’t responsible for the first pick. Jamal Lewis couldn’t find a run lane. And the passing game? Non-existent. The second half, however… That was a totally different story. Ed Reed forced a fumble by ‘Skins QB Mark Brunell. B.J. Sams ran back a punt for a touchdown. And Jamal Lewis found holes in the Washington Defense; in fact, he rushed for 116 yards… more than the Redskins’ combined yardage.

But the bottom line: It was a win.

Stray Toasters

  • Jess and I were enjoying a leisurely loop of the city on I-215 when Copacabana came on the radio. I wasn’t driving, so I chair-danced madly while singing along. I’m sure that other drivers/riders must have been amused by my antics. But, I don’t care… it was fun.
  • I like Jaguar’s new “7 Sins” commercial for the XJ8.
  • For the first time in a while, Jess and I went to the mall. I had forgotten how amusing mall patrons can be. And that does not even include the Hot Dog on a Stick lemonade-making antics.
  • Sean Howard, the creator of A Modest Destiny and The Starship Destiny had a few interesting points about Star Trek: TOS in his latest blog.
  • I held a copy of both X-Men Legends and Fable in my hands this afternoon. I think that one of them might be my birthday present to myself.
  • Perry and Max are coming over tomorrow to play.
  • By way of Slashdot: Scientists Define Murphy’s Law
  • Ooo eee, ooo ah ah ting tang
    Walla walla, bing bang

  • I cooked bratwursts and burgers on the grill (again) today. I’m sure that our neighbors must wonder why it is that I cook out so much. *shrug* Let ’em wonder.
  • “Why are you talking stupid?”

  • If you get The Travel Channel, check out Vegas Revealed. It’s an interesting and informative show.

Namaste.

“One moment’s high and glory rolls on by…”

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Saturday
I muddled through a wave of domesticity today. We’ve had the new entertainment center for a couple of weeks, but haven’t done anything to rearrange furniture around it. Until today. There wasn’t much to do, but I did it. And I like the way that it makes the room flow.

I unpacked the three boxes of CDs today, too. For the time being, the CDs are being housed in the wire cubes that weren’t getting much use. That’s a stopgap measure, but my CD collection is fairly easily accessible again. And, in the aftermath of that exercise, the HCC is in need of a good straightening. Again. As always.

I also watched the boys in Black and Gold take it to the house on Penn State. They won. And, it was the first time, since 1945, that Purdue has beaten Penn in on Penn’s home field!

Stray Toasters

  • Bowling: 128 – 153 – 149 – 126 – 158
    I wasn’t on my “A” game, but I was more-or-less satisfied with the way I bowled.

  • Bill makes me laugh. Even when he’s not “drunker’n twenty-eight Indians.”
  • : I shared the joys of The Escapist with tonight. He liked it. And, according to an article on Comics Continuum, there will be a new Escapist book out in January.
  • hindu muslim catholic creation evolutionist
  • Drinking Gatorade + coughing = A big mess.
  • Wombats and counterweights. *twitch*

Namaste.

“I’d go out of my mind but for you…”

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Friday
Blessed Madonna (the Holy Mother, not the converted Kabbalist music star)… I found the Installation CD for my video card! Hallelujah! It was, of all places, in a box with my music CDs in the bathroom. Well, the proto-bathroom. It is a box – one of three – that I haven’t unpacked. Obviously. I happened to check them on a whim. Lo and behold… it was in the third box.

Coffee was a small affair tonight: , , and me. We sat around and talked about our varying degrees of acrophobia… which made for a much more interesting (and amusing) conversation that it would seem.

NPR and Other News
Morning EditionSerious Pumpkin Smashing
Morning EditionTexas Men Executed Despite Evidence Find
Talk of the NationThe Future of Private Space Travel
Day to DayCollecting and Archiving All 50 State Songs
All Things ConsideredColo. Dispute over Organ Donor Brain Death
Fresh AirSinger and Songwriter Tom Waits

Stray Toasters

  • As if no one could tell, I’m a long-time Legion of Super-Heroes fan. Yeah, I know. BIG surprise there… I was looking over an LSH newsgroup on Usenet and found an came across a post asking if anyone knew of a website that had a list of the Legion Rules. Someone responded with a list of their own; numbers 3 – 6 even include a nod to Jim Croce. and I might be the only ones who get a laugh out of them, but here they are anyway…

    Never eat at a restaurant called “Moms”

    Never play cards with a man called “Doc”

    Don’t you tug on Superboys cape

    Don’t spit into the wind

    Don’t pull the mask off the old Green Lantern

    And you don’t mess around with Gim

    Try not to kill anyone

    Try not to have the same powers as anyone else on the team, or at least
    havea novel use for aan existing one… Unless you’re Kryptonian, in which
    case, come on in!

    Don’t stand around on the plains of Korbal with a super conducting stick in
    your hand unless you’re absolutely sure you mean to.

    REALLY try not to kill anyone

    If you’re wearing less than Mike Grell’s Cosmic Boy costume, pray that you
    aren’t susceptible to colds, or are at least stunningly good looking (This
    applies to both genders)

    Don’t make “One on, one off, one in the wash” jokes to Triad, she’s heard
    them all before…

    Don’t make “Pull my Starfinger” jokes to Garth, he doesn’t think they’re
    funny.

    Don’t leave giant roach motels near Gates room again, not after the…
    unpleasantness that night he got blitzed on Silverale and went through the
    wrong door.

    Ultra Boy isn’t as thick as he pretends to be, or he might be, and is just
    pretending he isn’t… or he might be REALLY smart and, knowing that you’d
    think he wasn’t, is pretending that he is… Oh frell it, just shoot Glorith
    on sight…

    When someone whose codename is “Reflecto” says “Don’t shoot me”, for the
    love of Nass LISTEN to him…

    The risk of ice powers going out of control is instantly more dangerous than
    say, fire powers going out of control.. or gravity suddenly increasing a
    hundredfold.

    When Mordru says “Do you like the hat?” just nod.

    When the girl who keeps announcing that “My powers is creating illusions”,
    suddenly seems to be surrounded by giant monsters that weren’t there a
    moment ago, act like you haven’t worked out they’re not real… she’s
    sensitive to these things…

    Don’t step on Shrinking Voilet


    By the way, , you might want to check this out.

  • Gummy Worms 2: Electric Boogaloo
  • If you were a child of 70s Saturday morning cartoons (or even Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law) you might get a kick out of this.
  • Go Toora Loora Toora Loo-Rye-Aye
  • Glacier Freeze Gatorade Frost. (Or, “Smurf Juice,” as I have come to call it.)
  • Rumors speak of a possible new Supergirl movie; hopefully, it won’t be as dreadful as the 1984 Supergirl, starring Helen Slater.
  • I don’t recall what I was doing when I came across this, but it amused me.
  • Stan Lee + Hugh Hefner + MTV = Hef’s Superbunnies
    I’m wondering if this is a “spinoff” of the Hef toon that was on Atom Films…

  • and I are rifling through our mp3 collections and seeing who has the most ridiculous music. I pity the people on IRC watching this…
  • From an ad in Newtype, an anime magazine, for Najica:

    She’s Sexy.
    She’s Deadly.
    She Smells Really Nice.

  • : The Big O 2

Namaste.

“The pattern of moonlight on the bedroom floor is a cold fire…”

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Thursday
‘Nine is back up and running. Thanks to for the suggestion on the driver CD. *sigh* It looks like ATI wants me to pony up $10 for a new CD for the DVD Decoder. Ass-ninjas.

Otherwise, it’s been a decent day. I let Sissy, Presto and Lightning out in the back yard this morning. The most amusing thing: Lightning was stalking Sissy… while Presto was stalking him.

Tonight, , and I watched CSI and Without a Trace. AIM and TV are our “interactive media.” It might be a bit geeky, but it’s fun.

NPR and Other News
Morning Edition: Exploring America’s “National Identity”
Morning Edition: South Park Creators Jab Hollywood, Terror War
Talk of the Nation: How Americans View Immigrants
Day to Day: Re-Creating the 60s Sound for Percy Sledge
Fresh Air: Excerpts from a panel discussion with Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather (I know that it sounds rather dry, but it was rather interesting.)

Stray Toasters

  • I don’t know what I meant to tape, but I apparently taped an episode of 60 Minutes. Odd. But, on the plus side, there’s an interview with Jimmy Buffett on it. There’s a part of me that would would like to attend one of his concerts; I think that it would be incredibly fun.
  • I recently found the track listing for the first music CD that I made, called “Overtures of Addiction”. That CD’s been AWOL for a couple of years and I’ve been wanting to recreate it.

      Suite 1: “Temptation”

      • Crack City – Tin Machine
      • New Jack Theme – Living Colour
      • Temptation Waits – Garbage

      Suite 2: “Denial”

      • Not an Addict – K’s Choice
      • I Don’t Like the Drugs (But the Drugs Like Me) – Marilyn Manson
      • Not My Idea – Garbage

      Suite 3: “Suite d’Addiction”

      • (Can’t You) Trip Like I Do – Filter and The Crystal Method
      • TNT for the Brain – Enigma
      • The Perfect Drug – Nine Inch Nails

      Suite 4: “Recovery”

      • Long Hard Road out of Hell – Marilyn Manson and Sneaker Pimps
      • Dead Man Walking – David Bowie
      • No Control – David Bowie

  • : Take a look at this.
  • Come join the Warner brothers and the Warner sister, Dot.
    Just for fun, we run around the Warner Movie lot.
    They lock us in the tower, whenever we get caught…
    But we break loose and then vamoose
    And now you know the plot!

  • By way of Slashdot: World Cyber Games
  • By way of Backwash: A Mean Trick: When Homecoming Elections Turn Cruel
  • “Ellellator go down the hoooooole.”
  • No-Sew Hallowe’en Costumes
  • : Catwoman: When In Rome
  • And, on the subject of Catwoman, Gwyneth Paltrow had a few things to say about the Catwoman movie:

    While out promoting her own version of a big-budget action film, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow the new mum told MSNBC that she could have been the lead kitty but turned down the role and opted for the more adventurous Jude Law vehicle, saying “…if (the film) was going to fail, it was going to fail, but I wanted to take that risk and not be in a standard Hollywood adventure. After seeing Catwoman, I thought the character and movie were unoriginal.”

  • Elektra movie poster
  • Given the last item in this post, by , I think that he and might have a common interest in the oddities of the human body.
  • “I was going to mail the hammer back, but I think I’ll send him Windows ME instead.”

  • Free subscription to Computer Games Magazine.

Quote of the Day
By way of an Animaniacs episode that I found on a tape. A tape that had a commercial for The Three Musketeers (the one with Charlie Sheen and Kiefer Sutherland) and Addams Family Values. Yeah… from 1993. Ô_õ

Survey Ladies: Would you like to take a survey?
Wakko: Okay.
Survey Lady #1: Do you eat beans?
Survey Ladies #2: Would you like to see a new movie starring George Wendt?
Survey Lady #1: Do you eat beans with George Wendt?
Survey Ladies: Would you like to see George Wendt eating beans in a movie?
Survey Lady #1: Do you eat beans at George Wendt movies?
Survey Ladies: Would you like to see George Wendt in a bean-eating movie?
Survey Lady #1: How many beans do you eat at George Wendt bean-eating movies?
Survey Ladies #2: How many bean-eating movies have you seen with George Wendt?
Dot: Umm… it’s not that we wouldn’t like to take your survey….
Yakko: Uhhhhh… It’s more like we’d rather have dental surgery.

And that’s a wrap.

Namaste.

“Pause. Rewind. Replay.”

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Wednesday
Rebuild Day 2 of God-only-knows-how-many…

Do you remember the Death Star in Return of the Jedi? It looked half-built, but was actually fully functional? That’s what DS9 (my Windows PC) is like now; it works and just about everything is ready for reinstallation. Except, I’m still having an issue with the drivers for my video card. Specifically, the card is about two years old (give or take), I have two ATI CDs here and either could be the one that I need and the ATI site isn’t being forthcoming about which package to get for my card. Whoop-de-fuck. I’ll get it figured out, but it’s a bit irritating. At least the rest of the system seems to be functioning properly.

To unwind somewhat – and to keep me from punting computer parts all over the HCC – I took some time to watch a little Wednesday night television and some things that I had taped over the past couple of weeks. That kept my head from going all splodey. And that’s a good thing. Included in this were the season premiere of Smallville, the last episodes of Cartoon Network’s Star Wars: Clone Wars and three of the four previously unreleased episodes of Samurai Jack. A few things I noted:

  • This season of Smallville should prove interesting. As Warner Bros. and DC have decided to tie the series into the Superman mythology, I’m curious to see how they retcon things to make them fit.
  • “Episode L” of Samurai Jack was film noir-inspired. I like that.
  • “Episode LI” reminded me of Disney’s The Lion King, in many ways.
  • “Episode LII” had a “Lone Wolf and Cub” feel to it.
  • I forget which episode it was, but one of the Clone Wars shorts reminds us just how bad a man Jedi Master Mace Windu is. One man alone against a droid army? No problem. Against a devastating warship? He’s got that covered, too. And, he even had time to share a smile with a young boy who saw the battle from a distant hilltop.

NPR and Other News
Morning Edition: Don Flavin’s Fantastic Lights
Day to Day: Two Hip-Hop Documentaries from Russell Simmons

Stray Toasters

  • I called Dad for his birthday. All’s well there. He, my stepmother, Rana and John went out for lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. Downtown. At Harborplace. In the Pratt Street Pavilion. *sigh* Just a few, short steps from Philip’s, in the Light Street Pavilion.
  • Dennis Farina is on Law & Order now, having replaced Jerry Orbach. I like him; he’s been a favorite actor of mine since I became aware of him on NBC’s Crime Story in the early 80s.
  • Static Shock is getting new life on Cartoon Network. That’s pretty cool.
  • For a reason I have yet to determine (casting a sidelong glance at ), for the past few days, I have had Smashmouth’s Padrino running through my head when I wake up. It’s even more peculiar since I haven’t heard that song in a couple of years.
  • “You’re like some kind of giant black hole that only sucks out joy…”

  • Counterweights.
  • I had a “Star Wars meets Pink Floyd” moment while watching the Clone Wars episode in which the young boy watches Mace Windu fight the Imperial droids. He hears a rumbling in the distance before running off to see what it is. For some reason, “A Delicate Sound of Thunder” came to mind. My next thought was “The sound of war is as the distant sound of thunder over the hills.”
  • I don’t see what all the kvetching about the new web interface for entries is all about. It’s not that bad. Hell, I don’t think it’s bad at all. Granted, I usually post using a client, but this isn’t unreasonable.
  • It seems as though there will be a few changes to the Legion lineup when “The Legion of Super-Heroes” reboots – this will be the 6th such reboot for this series; it’s had more reinventions than Madonna’s image. One of the changes: Thom Kallor (Star Boy) will be African-American. I’m not sure if this is being done to add a little more diversity to the mix, as was the case with adding John Stewart to Justice League Unlimited, but I look forward to seeing how he’s handled.
  • Gummy worms!
  • : I believe you mentioned that you have Battlefield 1942, don’t you? Check these out when you get a chance:
    http://www.galactic-conquest.net
    http://www.bfpirates.com (Yes, a pirate mod.)
    http://www.bf1982.com
    http://www.wl2042.com (That’s an “L”… and this is a “Mad Max” mod.)

  • Gizmo has gone to the most vile and wretched time period in all the history of time.”

Quote of the Day
Jess got a subscription to Entertainment Weekly. I was thumbing through the October 8th issue and came across the follow:

Obviously, it’s not nice to shoot people.”
Former Long Island Lolita, Amy Fisher, discussing her crime on The Oprah Winfrey Show

I… really don’t have anything else to add to that. Well, maybe “No shit.” *shrug* Maybe was onto something when she said that we should stop mollycoddling the stupid and the weak and let a little social Darwinism come into play.

And with that… good night.

Namaste.

“I am made from the dust of stars…”

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Tuesday
We almost lost a cat this morning.

Sissy was batting at things/knocking things off of the shelf above the sink in the bathroom. Repeatedly. I was pretty sure that Jess was going to turn Sissy into a wall hanging. The Counting Crows and the Aristocats said that everyone wants to be a cat. Not me, not this morning. No way. And, in a surprising bit of common sense, the twins steered clear of Jess this morning (until she had her coffee) too.

And, before any more of them slip by: Happy Birthday to:

  • (Belated. Sorry about that!)
  • …and me.

NPR and Other News
Morning Edition: Libraries See Renovated Reading Rooms and Coffee Bars
Talk of the Nation: Census Shows Shifting Demographics
All Things Considered: Bill Would Drop Native-Born Presidential Rule
All Things Considered: Library of Congress Seeks Digital Preserves
The Tavis Smiley Show: A Chat with Sax Player Maceo Parker
Fresh Air: Interview with ‘Gourmet Magazine’ Editor-in-Chief Ruth Reichl

USA Today: Urban Greenway: An alternate route from Maine to Florida
USA Today: N.C. woman sells naughty Barbie dolls
USA Today: Theater showing ‘Anacondas’ hunts for movie-going snake

Stray Toasters

  • Rest in Peace, Rodney Dangerfield. May you find the respect in the next world that you found so elusive in this one.
  • + Winamp + music videos = Copious amounts of laughter.
  • A different take on Snow White…
  • The new Burger King commercials… the one with the guy who wakes up to find Burger King in bed next to him…. Yeah. That one. The mask/head of Burger King looks like the actor who portrayed the character in the early/mid 70s. (How many of you remember those commercials?)
  • : That 70s Legion: Invisible Kid
  • The X-Prize competition may become an annual event.
  • Rumours of a Wolverine solo movie starring… Hugh Jackman? Could be…
  • Whoa… Tiny Toons and Animaniacs on Nicktoons?! Nice!
  • *groove*
    *boogie*
    *sway*

  • By way of Slashdot: Anheuser-Busch has developed caffeinated beer
  • posted the following quote in his journal:

    “A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.” — Robert Heinlein

    I’ve done 13 of those.

  • The new Citi credit card commercials – with the people enacting calls to automated voice systems – amuse me.

I should probably install some more drivers and apps. *sigh*

Namaste.

“I don’t know what to say, the monkeys won’t do!”

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Monday
Jess and I had a lazy day today. The pre-game and poker highlight was heading to Kate and Perry’s for a bit. Oh… and getting Justice League: Starcrossed in the mail! Hoo-AH!

Poker was good. We started late, because of the football game… but we played. Tonight’s top three were:

  1. Me.

Monday Night Football

Kansas City at Baltimore
27 – 24
The Ravens lost, but they played well – their second half performance was better than the first half, though. The Chiefs simply outplayed them in a lot of key areas. I can’t be too upset with the loss because the game was close despite the fact that the Chiefs controlled the ball for three-quarters of the game. And they still only won by three points. The loss hurts, but it was a good game.

Stray Toasters

  • I mailed birthday cards to my father this afternoon. And, Im going to open up the Second Annual “Wish My Father a ‘Happy Birthday'” commenting. If you’d like to send well-wishes to my paternal progenitor for his birthday, leave a comment here; I’ll pass them along when I talk with him on Wednesday.
  • Voodoo Zombie Pandas… from Space!!!
  • + Pixy Stix® = amusement.
    Add Animaniacs songs, shake well, serve at room temperature.

  • also brought goodies from India in the form of postcards (one is somewhere in transit) and a copy of Wonder Woman #6 (India edition, in English) by John Byrne. I’m not sure, but I think that it is a reprint of the series from when Byrne took over around Issue #100 (American printing). Nox knew just the things to bring back. *nod* Very cool.
  • ::: This space intentionally left blank :::
  • We caught the video for The Devil Went Down to Georgia on VH1 Classic this afternoon. It was spliced together footage from various concerts. And it was seriously up-tempo. But, it’s still a fun song.

This post has been brought to you by the letters “V” and “Q” and the number “6”

Namaste.

“Give me that window to the world…”

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Sunday
Today has been the penultimate lazy day.

I haven’t left the house all day. (Stepping outside to empty the trash doesn’t count as “leaving the house,” although it does cover the “Yes, I went outside” angle.) I watched football and reformatted DS9. Finally. After many “good intentions” to do so. The road to Hell… and all that. Of course, I spent the better part of a few hours looking for a verdammt 98 boot disk. Apparently, all of my disks and CDs had not been unpacked and/or brought in here, as I had thought. I got Win2K installed. Now, I just need to track down drivers and re-install software.

As I mentioned, last night was… something. Bowling was good; I bowled eight games and had a high of 185 (my last game, go figure). Five of us headed to breakfast and all was quiet. A few people showed up a little later – among them, and the recently-returned-from-India , who looked rather dapper in a shirt that he picked up on the far side of the world. And things were still quiet. Around 1:30 AM, things got interesting: A customer on the other side of the restaurant grabbed one of the waitresses, in a suggestive and rather untoward manner. He is in his late 30s/early 40s; she’s 17. Needless to say, she was more than a little freaked out by it. Something good that came out of it: Pat and Brent (both police officers and one who works part-time as a security guard for the mall of which the Village Inn is part) were at our table when it happened. They went to check out what happened when a patron from the other side of the restaurant came to our table asking for help. People applauded as they escorted the “gentleman” out of the restaurant.

Football Update

New York (Jets) at Miami
17 – 9
I didn’t watch this game. Looking at the score, I’m glad that I didn’t. The Dolphins have dropped to 0-4. Not good. Who would have thought that they would effectively fall apart like this with the sudden retirement of Ricky Williams?

Atlanta at Carolina
27 – 10
Atlanta rolled into Charlotte… and all over the Panthers. For a while, it looked as though the Panthers had a bit of the good fight left in them. Then, the Falcon s put the final nails in the coffins. They say that cats have nine lives. That’s a good thing. At this rate, Carolina is going to need them. This does not look like the team that went to the Super Bowl last year. *sigh*

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati
30 – 13
I watched this game with the hopes that Marvin Lewis’ team could tear down the Steel Curtain. Apparently, they couldn’t. and I talked last week about the lack of experience that Bengals’ QB Carson Daly Palmer has. It’s his second year in the league, but he’s still effectively a rookie – he was a bench-warmer last season. He threw a couple of ill-timed and ill-fated picks. The Steelers capitalized on all of the Bengals’ mistakes and move to 3-1… which makes them the AFC North Division leaders. That will not do. Hopefully, the Ravens will be able to join them after tomorrow’s game.

Washington at Cleveland
13 – 17
Congrats, . I guess that the sun really does shine on a dog’s ass, too. Kidding. (Mostly.) The Browns 2.0 served up a little somethin’ to the Deadskins. And I’m happy with any team that can do that to the Capitol Beltway boys. Even if it’s the Browns.

St. Louis at San Francisco
24 – 14
Did anyone besides and me see the 40 of Whoop Ass that the Rams shook up and opened on the Niners? Not pretty. The Rams held them scoreless through three quarters. Even more impressive: The Rams didn’t score in the second half. And still won by ten.
Kansas City at Baltimore
Monday at 9:00 PM (ET)
The Chiefs roll into Charm City for what is becoming an NFL rivalry match-up. Priest Holmes, the Chiefs’ star running back, was a Raven during their Super Bowl season (2000-2001). Dante Hall is the back who made the Ravens’ defensive special teams look like they were non-existent last year. But, the Chiefs are having problems this year; they are 0-3, thus far. This isn’t to say that they can’t perform, they just haven’t shown it thus far. We’ll see how this one turns out.

Stray Toasters

  • Who has homemade chocolate chip cookies? I do. Mm-hmm, that’s right! Why? Because I have the coolest girlfriend in the world. And she made a batch for me.
  • The twins are knocked out – and sprawled across each other – on the futon.
  • When reformatting your hard drive, don’t forget to transfer your browser’s bookmarks to another partition/drive before you reformat. I didn’t, but they hadn’t changed much since the last time that I put a copy on another partition. Fortunately.
  • I had bratwursts, cooked on the grill, yesterday. For no other reason than they were there and I had the time to do it. And they were good. Very good.
  • What’s the point of playing in a poker tournament if you’re just going to sit out for at least the first hour? Just to advance in the rankings? If you’re not sure enough of your poker-playing skills to actually play – and hopefully advance rightfully – then why waste the time to even register? I don’t get it.
  • Die Hard with a Vengeance was on yesterday. I remember seeing that in the theatre.
  • “Jacknuts.” When “jackass” isn’t quite strong enough, but “fucknut” is a little over-the-top.
  • I treated myself to a few episodes of Justice League Unlimited this afternoon. They were on a videotape (unlabeled) that I had lying near the VCR. Pleasant surprise. Now, I need to go back and watch the season premiere of Smallville and “The Cat and the Bat,” Saturday’s episode of The Batman. I’ll do that tomorrow while I’m installing applications on DS9.
  • : Another from the “That 70’s Legion” series – Karate Kid
  • I’ve been craving cotton candy again.
  • West is not east. Unless you go REAAAAAALLY far west.
  • I still think that The Remedy by Abandoned Pools is a good song.

It’s MUCH past the time that I had planned to be in bed. But, I managed to find a driver that I needed for my video card… although I’m not sure that it’s the exact one that I wanted. However, any further modifications can wait until tomorrow.

Namaste.

392338

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Saturday
The early part of the day was relatively uneventful.
The later part of the day was not.

Purdue beat Notre Dame, 41- 16.
In South Bend.
For the first time (at Notre Dame) since 1974.
Go Boilers!

I’m tired. Any further musings on the day will have to wait until after I get some sleep.

Namaste.

“O-E-O-E-O!”

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Friday
And the end of the week was good. Selah.

I mowed the jungle yard today. It’s been at least two weeks since I did that. I still contend that people have offspring not so much to continue the family name as to do the damnable yard work.

NPR and Other News
Morning Edition: ‘Hidden Kitchens’ Calling
Morning Edition: Award-Winning Comb Over
All Things Considered: Unreal Travel Destination: Molvania (Learn more here)
All Things Considered: Famed Photographer Richard Avedon, 81, Dies
Fresh Air: Steve Martin and James Earl Jones interviews

Various Sources: After two months of searching, the body of the late Lori Hacking was found today in the Salt Lake County landfill. Her husband has been in custody since shortly after her disappearance.

Stray Toasters

  • I’ve been looking at various sites’ galleries from Dragon*Con 2004 and Anime Weekend Atlanta 2004. Some of these costumes are incredible. And some are… um… well… “not-so-incredible.” But you have to give credit for the time and effort that (most) people put into them.
  • forwarded the following to me:
    http://www.deviantart.com/print/60080/
    http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/11051039/

  • : Click here. (Hint: Shadowcat bust… with Lockheed)
  • Did anyone ever watch Moonlighting? You know, Tuesday nights on ABC… back in the 80s… Bruce Willis… Cybill Shepard… Yeah. That show. Well, we’ve seen Bruce in some good (and some really crappy) movies since then. Cybill’s been in a few TV shows and movies… and, I think, a show or two on stage. But what happened?!?
  • It’s an aquarium.
    It’s a toilet.
    It’s…. Oh, Hell…. you figure it out.

  • Someone has apparently stuck quarters in the twins. *sigh*

Quote of the Day
While at Borders, I looked at a few new comic books. Among them was a copy of DC Comics’ Outsiders, issue #14. I found a couple of passages amusing:

*following a fight with The Frightful Five*
Thunder: Does being… being a superhero… always involve… this much… puking?
Jade: Depends. When I was with Infinity Inc, I never stopped throwing up.
Arsenal: Classy broads, that what you guys are.

…and…

*The Frightful Five meet with their benefactor, Dr. Sivana*
Psimon: Lex Luthor had a facility near Joshua Tree. I know you know this. We should take it.
Dr. Sivana: No.
Psimon: Okay. I was being polite. We are taking it. We spoke at great length amongst ourselves and as much as we appreciate the little things you’ve done–
Dr. Sivana: Like freeing you from incarceration, like the roof over your heads, like breathing life into the dead siblings in the group? The “little things,” Psimon?
Psimon: My dear doctor, I have only allowed this to go on as far as it has because, well, you managed to block my psychic and telepathic abilities–
Dr. Sivana: Just of you use them on me.
Psimon: Yes, just if I use them on you, yes. But now that we’re all gathered up, and have set aside our differences…
Dr. Sivana: You’d like to spread your wings without the old man?
Psimon:Pretty much, yes.
Dr. Sivana: *activates a laser and kills Gizmo*
Frightful Five: *stunned silence*
Dr. Sivana: Look, it’s “The Fearsome Four.” Want to go for “The Threatening Three?” Did you think it would be that easy? You think I didn’t see this coming? THIS is why you constantly fail. This is why you keep getting caught. Jailed. Stripped of your powers. This is why you keep killing each other.
Shimmer: Because, what? We’re evil…?
Dr. Sivana: No. Because you’re schmucks. You see a good thing and you can’t just stick with it. Even for a little while. Schmucks.

And with that… it’s time to call it a night.

Namaste.

“He’s going the distance, he’s going for speed…”

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Thursday
Another day in the neighborhood.

I’m not sure what’s up with the twins, but you would think that we never paid them any attention. I’m starting to refer to them as “Little Ms. Attention Whore” and “Little Mr. Attention Monger.” Don’t get me wrong (…if I come and go like fashion…), they are still adorable and I love playing with them, but there are times when I’d like to not have a kitten roaming around my lap and/or desk. And, I did take them outside for a half-hour of backyard jungle stalking play time.

and I spent some time looking for a visor for her Hallowe’en costume. This lead to a trip to Deseret Industries (think the LDS Church’ version of Goodwill). Jumpin’ monkey-squeezin’ Jehosephat! I don’t even know how to begin to describe it. It was… an experience. Some of the things that people donate… *shrug* We followed this up with a trip to Big Lots, Family Dollar, Everything’s-a-Dollar and Thrift Town. Oy.

Jess and I hung out with Perry and Max this evening. We watched the debate and followed that up with the “new and improved” Return of the Jedi. About 2/3 of the way through the movie, I started improvising dialogue. That made it even more fun. It also gave me the warped idea of watching A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back (and Jedi, again) with the sound off and coming up with an entirely improvised script.

NPR and Other News
Morning Edition: A Surprise in Crawford
Morning Edition: One Man’s Junk Is Another’s Marvel
All Things Considered: Surfer Hangs Ten on a Whale, Not a Wave
Fresh Air: Interview with John Stewart (The Daily Show)

NOTE: James Earl Jones will be the guest on Friday’s Fresh Air

Stray Toasters

  • I finished the Moab and Thompson pictures today. FINALLY. There are about 125 pictures; they range from 50kb – 200kb, each. Consider that your warning – I don’t want to hear any bitching about “They were too big to look at” or “They took too long to load.”
  • drew this for me last year. Whenever I look at it, it makes me smile. Or laugh.

  • Bang Bang Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
    Our fine, four-fendered friend!
    Bang Bang Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
    Our fine… four-fendered… friend…

  • A Guide to Hard Drive Troubles – brought to you by the friendly folks at…

  • The Pillows. They did the music for FLCL. Good stuff.
  • , I think that you’ll like this…
    “The folks over at Rooster Teeth Productions, best known for their Red vs Blue comedy movies based on the Halo rendering engine, are branching out with a second series, with more of a sitcom flair, called The Strangerhood. This time, they’re using the Electronic Arts Sims 2 game as their rendering engine.” (Article taken from Slashdot.)

    I watched three of the Red vs. Blue episodes. Very funny.

I should hit the rack, but I’m not quite that tired yet. Maybe a few hands of poker will do the trick.

Namaste.

“No, his mind is not for rent…”

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Wednesday
Today was a run-of-the-mill day. Nothing major happened.

News
Talk of the Nation: A Zeppelin for the Holidays
All Things Considered: Queen Latifah: From Hip-Hop to Big Band

USA Today: Some of the best books in life are… banned?
USA Today: The art & soul of Jamie Foxx

Stray Toasters

  • One of my favorite sections of Harper’s Magazine is “The Harper’s Index.” It is described as:

    Each month, the Harper’s Index provides a statistical snapshot of the world’s economic, political, and cultural climate. The Harper’s Index is published to Harpers.org one month after print publication.

    I found an old issue of the magazine and decided, on a whim, to look up the magazine’s website… and The Harper’s Index section, as well.

  • Monkey Shines (directed by George Romero, no less) was on SciFi earlier. I remember seeing this in the theatre. I enjoyed it then; I only got to see a few minutes of it today. And, I had forgotten that Janine Turner (pre-Northern Exposure) was in it.
  • Umm… a Star Wars TV show? It looks that way.
  • And… Mel Brooks is working on a sequel to Spaceballs.
  • I need to draw more. I haven’t forgotten everything, but I need to get back into a more regular habit of taking the time to practice.
  • Ghirardelli Chocolate. If I have to say more, you just don’t understand.
  • Toblerone White Chocolate. Ditto.
  • For : “Aaah! A Mac!!”
  • She blocked her eyes and drew the curtains
    with knots I’ve got yet to untie…

  • The twins are on the futon. Presto is bathing Lightning, who is sprawled out and seems to be enjoying it. They usually make a bit of a ruckus when they come down here… this time, if I hadn’t happened to look over my shoulder, I would have never known that they were down here.
  • ::: working on Moab and Thompson pictures :::

Good night and good morrow.

Namaste.

“Of human interface and interchange…”

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Tuesday
Today was a good day. I started working on a follow-up letter for a possible interview… only to realize that a one-sentence letter isn’t much of a letter. So, I looked on a few sites for some viable templates. I only met with nominal success. So, I opted to head to the bookstore and see what was available there. I met with a bit more success and came away with a slightly different idea of how to proceed with said letter.

joined me on the bookstore excursion. Before the store, we stopped to drop off the Camelbak that loaned me for the Moab trip and then had lunch at Noodles & Co. We hung out for a while at the bookstore, picked up and headed to get some dinner. After dinner, it was back to Nyx’ place for some downtime chat.

Stray Toasters

  • nerd*o*rama (It reminds me of ThinkGeek.)
  • and : Click here.
    (Here‘s an early review…)

  • Does anyone else remember how cool it was to get lollipops from the drive-up teller at the bank as a kid? I remember hoping to get a red/cherry one. The yellow ones were okay, too.
  • Ten Classic Resume Bloopers
  • – “Buckaroo! Buckaroo!” *ducks*

Quote of the Day
From a conversation with :

She should be a gay man.

Hm. I just “lost” an hour-and-a-half; falling asleep at the keyboard is not a good thing. No keyboard impressions in my forehead – that’s good. But that’s a definite sign that it’s time for my daily visit to The Dreaming.

And with that… goodnight.

Namaste.

“As he passes his reflection, he considers his direction..>”

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Monday
Where did the weekend go?
Oh yeah: Moab and Thompson.

Today was errand-running day. Of course, that didn’t start until after sleeping in. Until 10:30. In a bed, not a sleeping bag (although it was fun). Selah.

Then, the fun began: When shaving, I tried to carve my initials into my head. Well, not really. But, I did manage to cut myself on the back of my head. I did a good enough job to warrant sporting a bandage. A couple of people have suggested that I forego my Green Lantern costume this Hallowe’en and go as Marcellus Wallace from Pulp Fiction instead. I found this amusing. Promising, but amusing. I’m still planning on wearing the black and green, however.

Tonight, there was poker. It was a small group, but it was fun. When and The LJer Formerly Known as “xstillbornx” arrived, I asked them to help me move the entertainment center that we got from Kate and Perry. It looks nice in its new location. Now we just have to figure out what we are going to do with the old one. , do you remember that crate of A/V cables that you gave me before you moved? The one that I said that I would never need? Well, some of them got used tonight. Go figure.

Stray Toasters

  • We let Sissy and the twins play in the back yard for a while this evening. Sissy has a… habit (?)… of rolling around on the concrete for a few minutes when she first gets out. The twins stalk bugs flying over the grass – and each other – before bounding all over the yard.
  • : A couple of Legion-related things for you: 1, 2
  • : A little bit of Harley Quinn for you.
  • “Maybe like this…?”

  • Frog. Smile. Pleasure robot.
    Disjointed? Just a bit. But still pretty damned amusing.

  • Allosaurus for President
  • Once in a Lifetime came on the radio today. Whenever I hear it, I still picture Kermit the Frog performing it on Muppets Tonight. And I laugh.
  • Wombats!
  • Suddenly, ahead of me, across the mountainside…
  • After I set up the entertainment center, I turned on the A/V equipment to make sure that I hadn’t miswired things and inadvertantly created an evil artificial lifeform. (The jury’s still out on the sentience, but the equipment did work as expected.) I flipped channels on the satellite dish and wound up on SciFi. “The Day of the Dove,” an episode of Star Trek: TOS was on. It featured Kang, a Klingon captain with a mad-on the size of a small planet for Kirk. I couldn’t recall the details, but I was sure that he had either appeared on another episode of TOS. So, I looked it up. He didn’t. BUT… he was on an episode of Voyager and DS9. And, he was played by the same actor, Micheal Ansara, on all three shows; I thought that was pretty cool.

Quote of the Day
I was perusing random sites of Dragon*Con 2004 pictures when I came across the following on The Wing Commander CIC site:

Hades: Porn stars are there too. They don’t whip out their breasts at the con though.
Blonde: At least not that we know of.
ace: They probably have too much self-respect.
LOAF: Porn stars have self respect in much the same way as a caterpiller may someday become a bulldozer.

Namaste.

“Into the great wide open, under the skies of blue… “

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Sunday
Wow.
I am sore and tired and… I had a GREAT TIME. Camping with and her family in Moab was a blast.

We left Saturday morning about 7:30. I fell asleep (the first time) somewhere around Thanksgiving Point. The rest of the ride to Moab was sprinkled with bouts of consciousness – I remember glimpses of scenery between my inner eyelid studies.

We got to Moab around noon. We unloaded, had a bite to eat and then it was off to the slickrock. The bike ride to the rock wasn’t far. Then I saw where we were going to ride. The first thought in my head was: You want me to ride…WHERE?! On WHAT!? The words “up there” and “this bike” did not seem to fit those questions. I didn’t see any way to get the It looked like utter madness. Up the rock face is where we had to go. So I went.

There were two ways to get to the part of the slickrock that we wanted: The “low road” and, appropriately enough, the “high road.” The low road was the more difficult of the two. , , Cam and Rich took the low road; Diane and I took the high one. (No one got to Scotland a’fore anyone else, though.) We rode around on the rock. I never thought that I’d go biking in Moab – let alone on the edges of cliffs – but there I was. I didn’t try the “Toilet Bowl,” as m3l called it, but Cam did. Twice. The first run wasn’t so successful, but the second one was a beauty. Quite the biker, he is.

Everyone else went down a run of rocks that I probably could have done… but after seeing Diane take a nasty fall (on her first try), I opted out of making a go of it. Maybe I’ll try next year. Maybe. If I’m feeling really adventurous. Back to camp for a while and then back up on the rock for an hour or so.

Back to camp for dinner and dessert. For dessert: S’mores. I have now made s’mores. While camping. Who would have thought it possible?! Me… making s’mores. Wait. Let’s go back: I was camping! Who would have thought THAT possible?!? I slept outside. Well… in a tent, but this is my story, so I’ll tell it the way I want. Outside! I made s’mores. I biked on slickrock and near cliff edges?!

This morning, we got back up on the rock for a little ride and then loaded up the camper and headed to Thompson ( mentioned it back in April). We rode into a little… town… that looks to be on its last legs. If it has that much life left in it. There was a ramshackle motel whose glory days have long since gone by. Then we checked out the old cafe and railroad station. We headed further in and saw ancient Native American pictographs. A little further in: The ghost town. We saw the hulk of a car from the 40s that had been run off the road and whose driver’s door was full of bullet holes. We saw the remains of a cemetary, general store and boarding house and a couple of homes, as well.

We ate lunch and headed out of the canyon. Cameron, Diane, , and I rode our bikes – Rich figured that it would be best for us to ride them past the washes – so as not to damage them. We were going to just ride past the washes, but Cam and m3l took the lead… and kept riding. and I were about a half-mile behind them, while Diane stayed back with Rich. We wound up riding roughly four miles back into Thompson. It was a good ride.

We reloaded the bikes – and ourselves – in the camper and hit the road for Salt Lake. We stopped in Green River for gas – and picked up some melons at a vendor stand; I got an Israel Melon (also known as an Ogen Melon). And then… back in the camper and back home.

I’m tired and achy – I have a horrible case of “bike butt,” as calls it. But, I had a wonderful time. The city kid in me was awed at the sheer silence. I’ve been in places that were quiet – it’s pretty noiseless near my mother’s house – but this beat them all. Quiet and serene. As an added bonus, Rich and Diane told me that I handled my first camping trip and first slickrock biking experience pretty well. That made me feel pretty good about the experience. I hope to go back down there with them again.

I would also like to offer a hearty “Thank you,” to for the use of her bike with front suspension; I would have rattled my shoulders loose, if I had taken my bike. Her bike handled the rocks and the dirt roads wonderfully.

I took over 130 pictures. I’ll try to get them posted in the next couple of days. But, for now, I believe that I’m going to sit here relax and try to keep my stair-climbing to a minimum.

Namaste.