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To those who wish to celebrate the day: Happy Valentine’s Day.

To those who do not: I refer you to Paragraph 3 of this.

Be well and be good to each other.
Namaste.

Friday
It was a good day.

• Work was all right.
• I called home to wish Rana (the formerly foreign-based, next-oldest member of the sibko) a happy birthday.
• After work, there was coffee with the usual Friday night group. As usual, it was fun. And, as an added bonus, I paid back for making me nearly spitting coffee last week.

NPR Stories
Morning Edition: Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Live in Studio 4A

Stray Toasters

• : I did some number crunching and determined how fast the cat would have to go to stop the truck. I need to verify that the math is correct and that what I remember from Physics class was right, but it looks like it would have to be going fast. Very fast. I’m not sure if teflon is going to be enough; we might have to look into the heat-shielding tiles that are used on the shuttles.
• I made a snowflake. You can make one, too. Thanks to Nyx for the link.
• By way of : 867-5309. Yes, the number from the song. It is for sale. On eBay. See here for more details.
• …and just so Jenny doesn’t have all of the fun: What does your phone number spell? Go to PhoneSpell to find out. So far, has the coolest phone number-to-word “translation.”

That will be all for now.

Namaste.

Thursday
One more till the weekend. Selah.

Today was pretty good. I made it to the gym this morning and had a decent workout, work wasn’t bad and CSI was on tonight. On the negative side, the battery in my phone decided that it wanted to take a vacation around mid-afternoon… so I was phoneless for a while. That happened just after my phone rang and I tried to answer it. I didn’t even see who the caller was. Oh, well.

NPR Stories
Morning Edition: Commentary: 1974 – Worst Year for Music
Talk of the Nation: Jesus in America
Talk of the Nation: The Seven Deadly Sins: Lust
All Things Considered: San Francisco Officials Conduct Gay Marriage

Stray Toasters

• : If you were messing around with the remote to the radio in my head…. Stop it! It’s not funny to have the theme to the 70s Wonder Woman TV show (the one set in WW II) running through your head and alternate with Schoolhouse Rock! songs first thing in the morning.
• Alphabet. Alphabet. Alphabet. Alphabet.
  Alphabet. Alphabet. Alphabet. Alphabet.
  Alphabet. Alphabet. Alphabet. Alphabet.
  (If you watch Adult Swim, you’ll probably get this.)

• Red letter day. Just because.
• I know people who aren’t thrilled about No Doubt’s cover if It’s My Life, originally done by Talk Talk; I like both versions. But, I have just heard part of a version that’s even more heinous: It’s on the newest Kidz Bop CD. ‘Tis a vile thing.
• As an old Commodore 64/128 owner, this bit of news made me laugh.
• Courtesy of Gazehound: Be My Anti-Valentine
• Utah drivers reaffirmed my (lack of) faith in them today.
• The (Harlem) Globetrotters on Futurama. Amusing.
• From Rolling Stone: The 50 Uncoolest Records (That We Love)

.eof

Namaste.

Mittwoch
On the whole, it was a good day. Blue sky could even be seen at some points. And the sun.

Slept in this morning, with the intent to hit the gym tonight. That got wiped out by an invitation to have dinner/beer (Newcastle Brown Ale, thank you) with friends. We’ll hit the gym tomorrow morning.

NPR Stories
Morning Edition: Snow Fight
Morning Edition: New Music Picks from ‘Village Voice’
Morning Edition: Jenny Toomey, Rocking the FCC
Talk of the Nation: Massachusetts Gay Marriage Amendment
Talk of the Nation: Parker Brothers (As in the game makers…)
Talk of the Nation: Troop Rotation: Coming Home
All Things Considered: Comcast Seeks to Acquire Disney

Programming Note: Thursday’s Talk of the Nation (2nd hour)

According to one survey, the thirteenth-greatest American of all time is Jesus Christ. We talk about a new book that explores the unique and varied role Jesus has played in the United States, from English puritanism to Hollywood movies. Richard Wightman Fox, author of Jesus in America, is our guest.

“Thirteenth-greatest American?” Funny, I always thought that Jesus was from a little town in Judea… in Israel.

Stray Toasters

• I actually listened to Rush Limbaugh for a while today. This is a radical departure for me. As if the NPR links aren’t a dead giveaway, I’m not a big fan of conservative talk radio. But I did. I don’t think that I’ll necessarily do so again in the near future.
• For : The best hand-to-hand weapon poll.
• For : I pay attention to politics poll.
• Do you suffer from N.A.D.D.? Check here to find out.
• Utah drivers did not piss me off today. Who would have thought it possible?!
• Known Spammers (complete with links to spam-fighting tools/websites)
• By way of Comics2Film: “Father Knows Best” – Gina R. Dalfonzo on Smallville & Fatherhood
• There are two Batman projects in the works (the live-action Batman: Intimidation and the animated The Batman), Smallville is holding its own on Wednesday nights, but a live-action Superman movie has been stuck in the mire for years. Many years. (And I am VERY glad that the Tim Burton version never got greenlighted; I like Nicholas Cage, but I don’t see him as Clark Kent. Period.) And then there is the much-talked about Batman vs. Superman movie project. Will it ever see the light of day? *shrug*

That’s enough for now.

Namaste.

Tuesday
Which means that it’s almost Wednesday.
Which means that it’s almost… almost Friday.

The day wasn’t bad.
With the exception of a couple of hours, the night wasn’t bad, either.

Quote of the Day
Jack Hanna was on The Late Show with David Letterman And he brought a beaver as one of the animals he was showing to Dave and Drew Barrymore. After talking about the animal’s diet and lifestyle, he asked:

Have you ever touched a beaver?

Dave looked a little unsure of what to say for a moment; Drew laughed.

Namaste.

I had a good time with Fiona and Gabe. They have to be two of the easiest kids to watch; their mothers have done wonderful jobs in raising them. We watched Schoolhouse Rock! videos and had popcorn. It was funny: Fiona already knows the words to some of the songs (I just loaned the DVD to last week); and Gabe, at 2-1/2, sat and watched them with a degree of interest. When Conjunction Junction came on, he looked at the screen and said “Train!”

After Fiona went to bed, Gabe and I watched Finding Nemo. When and came in, they seemed (pleasantly) shocked that I didn’t have any problems in getting Fiona to go to bed and that Gabe and I were just watching a DVD. Like I said before: They’re great kids.

Stray Toasters

• Insultmonger: The Art of Insults
• Note to Self: Do NOT take I-15 home, if traveling between 4:30 and 6:30 PM. It comes close to becoming a parking lot.
• News about the new Batman animated series: The Batman
• ::: COVET :::
• Marvel Enterprises and Electronic Arts team up to develop games. *bliss*
• For Gazehound: “Parallel lives souls meet at infinity.”

Namaste.

I’m finding that Monday mornings are not my favorite.
Not because it’s the beginning of the work week.
Not because “It’s Monday…”

Because I can’t seem to get out of bed and into the gym on Monday mornings.

Simple, but true. I even got a decent amount of sleep last night. But that doesn’t seem to matter. This morning rolled around, the alarm went off, and I wasn’t having any part of it. Oh, well. Tomorrow morning should be better.

Stray Toaster Leftovers

• The Pro Bowl was good. The AFC lost, but it was fun to watch. And it was great to see the players interact after the game. On the other side of the coin: No more football until August.
• Last night’s gaming wasn’t too doom-laden. No one died. We were able to get through most of the game without a fight.
• Julius Schwartz – often known as “Julie” – died yesterday. He had been an editor for DC Comics and, following his retirement, became their “Goodwill Ambassador,” similar to Marvel Comics’ Stan Lee (but without the love/hate relationship). He knew how to work both sides of the equation and come up with a result that left both sides happy. He was more than just an editor of comic books – he was loved and respected by writers, artists and fans alike. He was a fan, at heart. As Mark Evanier wrote:
  

  He loved conventions. The last few years, nothing depressed him more than the fear that some physical ailment would keep him from the annual San Diego gathering. (Quick Story: Last year, Julie was reticent to come out because he was having trouble walking and didn’t want to be rolled about in a wheelchair. I asked him why not and he said, “Because old men are in wheelchairs.” I told him, “Julie, you’re 88 years old. You are an old man.” He still balked so I said, “Tell you what. Come out, sit in the wheelchair and I’ll arrange for a woman with large breasts to push you around in it.” He said, “In that case, okay.”)

  The comics world has lost a friend… but I’m willing to bet that Heaven’s storytelling table just got a lot more interesting. (Remembrances: 1, 2, 3)

• Tonight: Fiona, Gabe and me. May God have mercy on ‘s downstairs neighbor.
• Anything else that I had to add to this can wait until tonight.

Namaste.

A relaxing, quiet (with the exception of Winamp) Sunday afternoon. The Pro Bowl starts in a few hours… and Game Night has been moved to this evening. All-in-all, I’d say those are the makings of a good day.

Last night’s 2-D Physics (colloquially referred to as “bowling”) was good. I bowled 6½ games: 123, 174, 114, 132, 182 and 124 – the last two games were bowled concurrently. I’m not sure why, but I don’t seem to bowl well on the lane to the left of the ball return; I have to adjust where I stand and aim differently. *shrug* Gazehound and her friend Holly joined us. As did a few folks that we haven’t seen in a while. Post-bowling breakfast was good, as well. Pat (our favorite Sandy City police officer) showed up and hung out with us for a while, too.

Stray Toasters

• “May you live in interesting times.” – Chinese Curse
• Things that go “glow” in the dark… or under black light.
• Thanks to for pointing this out – yet another way to send someone love (or something) on Single Awareness Day Valentine’s Day. And check out the main part of the site, too. There are some rather interesting things in his sketchbook.
• Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!?
• Everybody’s talking to computers,
  They’re all dancing to a drum machine
  I know I’m living on the outside
  Scared of getting caught between
  I’m so cool and calculated alone in the modern world

• After mentioning a few cartoons in a post yesterday afternoon, I found it funny that I should come across a link to Toon Tracker on Backwash. They even have .wavs of theme songs… including the three that I mentioned.
• Also by way of Backwash: The Best of the Worst in Comic Book Advertising. As if that wasn’t enough, it looks like they have a rather complete collection of Hostess ads from 70s comic books.

Quote of the Day
While it isn’t necessarily “politically correct,” I found this amusing:

[15:04] -Iso8- never understood how a culture can have a 10,000 year history, Invent gunpowder, and many wonderful things in the world, and still eat with sticks.
[15:04] it’s cuz they don’t eat pancakes.
[15:05] if they ever tried to eat pancakes with them chopsticks they’d invent a fork in a hurry.

It’s snowing. Again.

Saturday Stray Toasters

• Ninjai Episodic Flash toon.
• How to Survive a Trip to IKEA I don’t need tips on how to survive a trip to IKEA. I need one on how to survive living in a place without IKEA.
• Boomerang. “It’s all coming back to you.” This week: 1973. I remember watching some of these cartoons. Goober and the Ghost Chasers, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids, Clue Club… All of which were based on Hanna-Barbera’s formula of “crime-solving kids” (with or without a pet sidekick).
• Xevoz. Like Stikfas… but different.
• The commercial for the Honda Element (the world’s most non-aesthetically appealing vehicle) where they “build” one out of Mega Blox (cheap Lego knock-offs) was just on.
• Duck Dodgers as Green Lantern. Umm… “Green Loontern” (1, 2) They had Kevin Smith (yes, that Kevin Smith) doing Hal Jordan’s voice. And, John De Lancie (best known as “Q” from Star Trek: TNG) as Sinestro. I like this episode – it was chock full of in-jokes and comic geek references. It’s great.
• Does anyone else remember Bowling for Dollars? I used to watch it as a kid. An ESPN sportscaster mentioned it during a PBA Tournament.
• Holy cow! I just saw an amazing buzzer-beater in the Stanford-Arizona basketball game. Tied 77-77, Arizona had the ball with eleven seconds left. Stanford stole the ball with 3.6 seconds left… Nick Robinson nailed an incredible breakaway three-pointer with 0.4 seconds on the clock to win the game for Stanford.

Rant of the Day
pointed this out to me. “Trainwreck of the Day,” as she called it. I would have to agree. It seems as though a LOT of people have a mad on for a certain user – her nick appears many times. I also saw the username of someone I know on there.

The whole point of sites like this is to allow users to say whatever they want. It isn’t like people are held at gunpoint and forced to read everyone else’s journal. If you don’t like what someone has to say, don’t read it. Drop them from your friends list. Move on. It isn’t that difficult a concept to grasp.

And that’s my 2¢.

Namaste.

Friday
I was in a steadily-worsening irritable mood at work this morning and early afternoon, so I left early and got some down time. It was good… and apparently necessary. By early evening, I was in a much better mood and felt a little more in-balance.

I got a call from my site’s host around 5:30. He told me:

“We had to replace the nuclear fuel rods in the servers.”

He explained that even though the host was down for most of the day, it still kept them within their 99.9% uptime – this was the first time that something like this has happened within the past year-and-a-half to two years.

We went to coffee, as is our usual Friday evening thing to do. We met Gazehound and . almost caused me to shower the group with mocha and/or have it spew from my nose. Almost. It was a fun night. ‘s Young Miss Fiona drew a couple of very nice Valentine’s Day cards in my sketchbook; I told her that she could take it home with her and that I would get it Monday night when I came over to visit/babysit. She seemed rather happy – and surprised – to find out that I was coming over. Or maybe it was because she got to keep my sketchbook for a while. Either way, it was cute.

Stray Toasters

• Buttered penguins. (Same principle as Teflon-coated cats, but without the semi.) Why didn’t someone add a buttering/greasing option to this. It would have made the penguins go much farther.
• The Idiot’s Guide to Tantric Sex has a new challenger: The Pop-up Kama Sutra.
• Care of Gazehound, I was shown Weeeee! Amusing.
• If you haven’t seen the Star Dudes movies. Go here. Now. Rich Cando has compressed the Star Wars movies into five-minute Flash movies. And he took nothing out of the plots of the movies while compressing them into such short pieces.
• He and she are in the house
  But there’s only me at home

• By way of : This.
  It starts with Apple’s famous “1984” Macintosh commercial and moves on to a modern commercial. Don’t forget to read the red commentary text at the bottom of the video window.

My eyelids are getting very heavy. I think that is a good indicator that I should probably call it a night.

Namaste.

Got up and made it to the gym this morning.

I was quite tired because I was up working on a computer for Young Miss Fiona. Part way through the OS installation, it told me to “do a biologically impossible rudeness to myself.” I was not happy. I will finish it up tomorrow.

: Thanks to you (even if it wasn’t directly your fault), they were playing music by the cow at the gym this morning. It was not conducive to working out.

And now, it seems as though my website (and email) host is having server issues. I called to make sure that it wasn’t me. When the guy who runs the host asked me to “just tell [me] that everything else in the world is okay…” I got the idea that it wasn’t a local issue. That made me feel a little better.

On the “plus” side of things, it’s Friday. And there are blue skies again. And those things make up for a lot of evil.

Have a good one.

Got up and not only went to the gym, but did a leg workout. And a pretty decent one, at that. This is a “good” thing, as leg workouts are not my favorite.

The day wasn’t too bad. There was honest-to-goodness BLUE sky interspersed among the clouds.

Tonight’s CSI was… interesting. One of the crimes was a little… odd, but the show, on the whole, was good. As I said to :

[21:20] Shadorunr: Well… it was about vampires.
[21:20] Shadorunr: More specifically: Goth kids who want to be vampires.
[21:21] Shadorunr: And, as a player in a game that has a LOT of vamps in it, it just seemed like a way to get parents agitated about something new.

NPR Stories
Talk of the Nation: Reconsidering ‘No Child Left Behind’
Talk of the Nation: Filmmaking and Animation
All Things Considered: Sex Education in Dallas: Abstinence

Stray Toasters

• Talked with the formerly foreign-based member of the sibko last night. She’s still catching up with the time zone changes.
• Looks like the Baltimore Sun’s website got a facelift. It looks good.
• Matt Wagner will be doing covers for DC’s Trinity in May:
  &nbsp &nbsp
  
  Click the thumbnails for larger images

• By way of Slashdot: Ten Technologies That Refuse to Die
• : 125-158-130, huh? That means that I actually have a chance of beating you this week.
• A little slice of 80s cartoondom: Voltron (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
• Will the Xbox2 be backwards compatible? Maybe… maybe not. Check out this article for details.
• Spyware Masquerading as Spyware Removal Software
• Utah driver madness…