Random Access

Friday
A few more hours at the place of employment and then a couple of days to decompress.

I was up far too late putting together yet another computer. I fought with the system for longer than necessary before deciding to try the components on a different motherboard. I’m not sure what’s wrong with the first board I tried, but it seems to have issues; the second board works just fine. *shrug* Technology. Go figure. I’ll work on the OS and other miscellaneous configuration things either tonight or tomorrow before the HALO LAN.

But for now, I am off to be one of the working masses.

Namaste.

I have not been a soda drinker since May of 2002 (with a rare exception of a mixed drink once every blue moon), but I found this rather interesting.

Water or Coke? This is really an eye opener. We all know that water is important but I’ve never seen it written down like this before:

WATER:

1. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated.
2. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger.
3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one’s metabolism as much as 3%.
4. One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of Washington study.
5. Lack of water, the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.
6. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.
7. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page.
8. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.

And now for the properties of COKE:

1. In many states (in the USA) the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coke in the truck to remove blood from the highway after a car accident.
2. You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of coke and it will be gone in two days.
3. To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl and let the “real thing” sit for one hour, then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous China.
4. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers: Rub the bumper with a rumpled-up piece of Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola.
5. To clean corrosion from car battery terminals: Pour a can of Coca-Cola over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion.
6. To loosen a rusted bolt: Applying a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes.
7. To bake a moist ham: Empty a can of Coca-Cola into the baking pan, wrap the ham in aluminum foil, and bake. Thirty minutes before the ham is finished, remove the foil, allowing the drippings to mix with the Coke for sumptuous brown gravy.
8. To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of coke into a load of greasy clothes, add detergent, and run through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help loosen grease stains. It will also clean! road haze from your windshield.

For Your Info:

• The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid. Its pH is 2.8. It will dissolve a nail in about 4 days. Phosphoric acid also leaches calcium from bones and is a major contributor to the rising increase in osteoporosis
• To carry Coca-Cola syrup (the concentrate) the commercial truck must use the Hazardous material place cards reserved for Highly corrosive materials.
• The distributors of coke have been using it to clean the engines of their trucks for about 20 years!

Now the question is, would you like a glass of water or coke?

Covenant extermination is always a good thing. and came over and the revels began.

Knowing that I’m a bit of a Magic: the Gathering fan, thanks to for forwarding the link to Mormonism: the Gathering. It made me laugh. Quite a bit, in fact. She even threw in a link to TDM, at no extra charge.

Also, a tip of the hat and a wave of the cane to for the link to The Star Wars Liquor Store.

What’s your favorite M&M’s commercial? (Vote here)

Namaste.

The LAN is up and running. Good
The WAN is up and running. Good
There seems to be an intermittent port issue that slows down or stalls on some Internet access… which is most likely a proxy issue. Not so good, but it can be dealt with.

And, there is Covenant extermination tonight.
Where did I leave my sniper rifle and plasma rifle…?

Tuesday
Happy Veteran’s Day to those for whom it applies.

After a night of broken and fitful sleep, the alarm going off at 8:35 was not very welcome. To say that I was “sluggish” this morning would be a gross understatement. Coffee helped, but just enough to keep me moving. Hopefully, tonight’s attempt at sleep will be more successful. I wonder if I can spend one Willpower for an automatic success? *shrug*

Work.
(This space intentionally left blank)

Home.
Tonight’s episode of 24 was good, as was Bravo’s episode of The West Wing. I then watched a bit of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy; there was three-minute period where they were going through the straight guy’s house when I could not stop laughing. I don’t know how much of the show is scripted and how much is ad libbed, but that part was perfect.

Song of the Day
Dinosaur by Al Jarreau, from the CD “Tenderness”

NPR/PRI Stories
Talk of the Nation: Veterans History Project

• StoryCorps – An Oral History of America
• Veterans History Project website

All Things Considered: Art Carney Dies at 85
Fresh Air: Interview with Cartoon Network’s Mike Lazzo

Stray Toasters

• Generally speaking, does the word “altruism” have any meaning in society today?
• Jess baked a cake. I wasn’t really in the mood for it tonight… but I can see myself wanting chocolate cake for breakfast. “That’s nutrition!”¹
• Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum
• Nemesis Factor
• Carnegie Mellon University’s Robot Hall of Fame
• Batteries Continue to Suck
• Pistachio Nuts.

Tomorrow evening, and I will lead a small – but stalwart – cadre of recruits in Covenant extermination exercises. That’s something to to which I can look forward.

Namaste.

¹: As mentioned in the “Chocolate Cake for Breakfast” part of Bill Cosby: Himself

Monday
Today was a “dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s” day at work. We spent most of the day getting the offices to look like… offices. I also set up four of the computers on the network. I kept having the overwhelming urge to bitchslap pimpslap the network administrator of the office’s former tenants: What is the point of numbering the Ethernet jacks in the offices if they don’t match the numbers listed in the server room?!?! I spent a lot of the set up time doing trial and error “Is this the right port? No. Is this one…? No.” *sigh*

Tonight was RPG night. No one died nor was there an overwhelming amount of doom. It seems that the party may have found some semblance of “balance” and cohesion. One can only hope…

Stray Toasters
Rule One: No Toasters!
Rule Two: No member of the faculty is to maltreat the Abbos in any way at all —
if there’s anybody watching
Rule Three: No Toasters!
Rule Four: Now this term, I don’t want to catch anybody not drinking.
Rule Five: No Toasters!
Rule Six: There is NO … Rule Six!
Rule Seven: No Toasters!

Right. That concludes the readin’ of the rules.

This here’s the wattle, the emblem of our land. You can stick it in a bottle, you can hold it in your hand.

Amen!

Namaste.

I went to Borders, but I didn’t get much drawing done; my friend Angela met me there and we chatted the time away.

A small army of us went to see Matrix Revolutions. I’m a little mixed on this one: I was satisfied with most of the movie, but certain parts left me feeling… unfulfilled. I would watch it again, especially since we were sitting on the front row in the theatre; it would be nice to see the movie without looking up Morpheus and Neo’s noses. I would buy it to complete our DVD set. On the whole, I’d give it a passing grade on the report card, but comments would say “Could use improvement.”

Post-movie fare was at one of the local IHOP restaurants. We were joined by and Young Mister Gabe, one of the (if not THE) best-mannered two-year-olds that I know. It was a good dinner with good company.

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Football Update
I was 1 for 3 today. The Ravens and Dolphins both took one in the “Losses” column, while the Panthers took a win.

In a related note, Bret called me to tell me that the Steelers finally won a game… and that they were closing the gap. But, as Jerry Reed sang in Smokey and the Bandit: They “…got a long way to go, and a short time to get there.” And, Baltimore is still leading the division.

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I’m not sure what I want to do with the next few hours before bed. I think that I want to play a game, but I don’t know which one. Decisions, decisions…

Namaste.

I’m starting to feel the effects of the move and bowling. My ankles and feet are achy. And my back is a little stiff. Other than that – and a few minor cuts and scratches – I seem to be all right.

Bowling last night was decent. My scores were low, but I can deal with that. I started hitting my stride about 00:10 before we left. Of course. And the odd thing about that is that I was ironman bowling for everyone at that point. Go figure.

Breakfast kicked off with Kate, who was managing, giving me my birthday present from the staff at V.I.: A Village Inn name tag. I walked in and Kate came over and said, “You aren’t dressed properly…” as she pinned it on me. We all got a good laugh from that. And… it’s a name tag that the general manager, whom we never see, approved! Now, I am “official” when I go back to the make line to get things.

I think that I’m going to head to Borders in a bit and do some drawing before we see Matrix Revolutions this evening.

Namaste.

Fait accompli.
The move is done.

Three days of boxes and equipment.
And Little Caesar’s Pizza.

DONE.

…and now, I’m going bowling.

Peace.

Day 2 of “The Move”
I’m not as sore or achy – and nowhere near as grumpy – as I was last night. This is a good thing as it means that the general populace is not in danger of me going on a murderous rampage.

After the move, Jess, , , , Sharon, Adrian and I went out for dinner. We thought about going to Cheers Village Inn, but since we will most likely be there tomorrow night, we opted for Applebee’s.

We have one load of things going to storage and then a few odds and ends to get from the old shop and then it’s over. Selah.

Stray Toasters

• Warm canola oil, rebar, turkey baster.
• I have had two equally annoying songs running through my head for the past few days: The theme from ABC’s The Littles and Rupert Holmes’ Escape (The Pina Colada Song). Whether she’s responsible for it or not, I’m going to blame for the former; the latter… I have no ideas there.
• Just as a friendly side note: When you are trying to lift an arc welder with an engine hoist, resist any urge that you may have to introduce your cranium to the hoist’s lift arm. It hurts. A lot.
• As mentioned by : Savage Love

That’s all for now.

Namaste.

Thursday
I am tired.
I am very sore.

We moved equipment and fixtures and stuff from 10 AM until almost 9:00 tonight.
There’s a fair amount left, but that will be dealt with tomorrow.

I’d like to add a HUGE thank you to , Bill, and for their help in getting things from Point A to Point B.

A hot soak is in order.

Namaste.

Wednesday
After breaking down shelving units and moving lots o’ boxes, I was a tired (and slightly sore) unit this evening.

Of course, that didn’t preclude my watching Smallville, The West Wing and Law & Order. All of the shows were good and had their share of surprises:

• It seems that Smallville is paralleling a story in the mainstream DC Universe: Jor-El visited Earth before sending Kal-El there… and his arrival in Kansas may not have been as coincidental as previously thought.
• I like the way that The West Wing doesn’t just focus on the “President of the United States of America” as a pedagogue, but that it is not afraid to show the man behind the title. Martin Sheen’s Josiah Bartlet is a very human – and very believeable – President. This was showcased once again on tonight’s episode.
• The number of twists on tonight’s Law & Order would have made the most capable contortionist blanche. The show focused on a case that dealt with identity theft and the mental competence of the elderly gentleman who was the prime suspect.

NPR/PRI Stories

• “Whose Demcracy Is It?” – A Public Radio Collaboration
• Talk of the Nation: Controversy over CBS’ Reagan Telemovie
• Talk of the Nation: TV Docu-dramas
• Talk of the Nation: Interview with director Peter Weir
• All Things Considered: Motorists’ Protected Speech: Flashing Headlights
• All Things Considered: Spider-Man Stunt Trumpets Fathers’ Rights

Stray Toasters

This is a story of two sisters: Jessica Tate and Mary Campbell.
These are the Tates.
And these are the Campbells.
And this is __________.

Namaste.

Another day in the soon-to-be-former-office.
We’re moving out this week. Better location. Better facility. Closer to home!

After work, I cooked dinner and watched 24 and Law & Order: SVU. Both programs were good. Based on the trailers, I am quite curious to see how next week’s ep of 24 sets up the rest of the season.

NPR/PRI Stories
Fresh Air: Interviews with singer Donna Summer and actor Sean Penn
All Things Considered: Kit Offers Better Testing to Protect Peanut Allergics

Stray Toasters

• Yesterday, I came across something that said that the artist currently (and formerly) known as Prince had converted to become a Jehovah’s Witness. After a little research, I found out that it was true. But, a little more digging brought me to this article. I guess that it’s a case of balance: You win some, you lose some.
• Soo, you will be able to download music from MTV. This will give an entirely new meaning to “I want my MTV.”
• The website for Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence is now up; the trailer for the anime is available.
• There was a link that I had wanted to post from Backwash, but the site is being difficult. Maybe tomorrow.
• Thanks to for the rugby primer!
• Comics Continuum has new pictures from The Punisher.
• Excerpted from tonight’s IRC nerding…
  

  [23:20] *Iso8* http://www.richsalter.btinternet.co.uk/
  [23:24] BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!
  [23:24] the meows brought both cats out of the woodwork.
  [23:35] *Iso8* roo didn’t like it either. came over and sat on my feet while I was cat smackin
  [23:38] Jess: “What were you doing that sounded like you were shooting cats?”
  [23:38] me: “Shooting cats.”
  [23:38] * Gibraltar cracks up.

  Disclaimer: This was a Flash game, no actual cats were harmed.

• I am craving tasty iced creams. Fortunately, the freezer is well-stocked.
• Comic Book Resources linked to pictures of Keanu Reeves as John Constantine, the protagonist of Hellblazer. I’m sorry, but I am still having a hard time accepting this casting. Not to mention the fact that they made him American rather than English. So help me, if he pops off with “Whoa… I know magic,” I’m booking a ticket on the first thing smoking to L.A. to clean break the fingers of whomever thought that it might be “cute” to have in the movie.

And with that…

Namaste.

Monday
Post-Game Night.

We didn’t die.
(That’s a plus.)

We gained a plethoric buttload of paradox.
(That’s a definite minus for the mages in our group… of which I am one.)

We had fun.
(That’s the bottom line.)

It looks as though this storyline has a snowball’s chance in Utah (in November) of actually progressing. I’m hoping that it does; the story took a rather interesting twist this evening: For the past few weeks, my character has been under investigation by an agency with a strong bent for the paranormal. They are particularly proficient in staying unnoticed. We noticed one of the agents in a big, blatant way tonight. I was contracted by another player’s character to look into this agent and the firm for which he works.

Qui custodiet ipsos custodes?
I do.

And with that, I bid you good night and good morrow.

Namaste.

Jess, Mary and I went to see Wonderland, starring Val Kilmer. Good movie. It wasn’t what I was expecting… especially when you consider that the movie was focused on the late porn actor John Holmes. It was a little disturbed/disturbing – along the same lines that I think that Kids was disturbing, although not NEARLY as much so. (Translation: It’s not a “feel good” movie, but one that makes you think…)

After the movie, we headed to Salt Lake Coffee Break. met us there. We also had two surprise guests: George and his friend, Tim. Salt Lake City incumbent mayor (and mayoral candidate) Rocky Anderson came in shortly after we arrived; we spent a while trying to figure out if he came to put in a pre-Election Day appearance and shmooze the “young and hip” voters. Although, I didn’t see him pushing himself on anyone; he walked in, got coffee sat down and basically minded his own business… at least as much as politicians ever do.

The ladies and I then headed to Chili’s for dinner and then, it was time to bring the evening to a close. All-in-all, it was a good day.

Namaste.