Random Access

Wednesday
Midweek and all is well.

Song of the Day
Revolution by Aimee Allen

Stray Toasters

• It seems that I got a bit more sun on Saturday than I thought. wasn’t the only leper at work today – I’m molting. (And, no, I did not misspell that.) The top of my head is peeling. It looks like the process should be done in the next 48 hours or so. At least the color difference isn’t too extreme.
• From Time Magazine’s “What Next” issue: What’s Always Next
• The paradoxes of broadband…
• In the words of : “Doom.” Fear it. Then laugh.
• ::: This space brought to you by the friendly folks at Land’s End :::
• Chinese take-out from Sampan. That’s right. Sampan. You may now feel unbridled pangs of jealousy.
• SoulCalibur GOOOD. ::: gesture :::
  SoulCalibur II ::: covet :::
  One word: Mitsurugi.

• Identify theft story from Campbell’s Condensed Newspaper
• Check this out from ‘s journal.

Idiotstick of the Day
Another Utah driver moment. A semi was turning off of California Avenue on to Swaner Drive. In itself, that’s not too difficult… but it’s a bit narrow when a semi is turning and there are cars waiting to turn left onto California. Typically, this means that the cars are sitting in the middle of the truck’s turning radius. The trucker, in a move that surprised me, decided to wait for the cars to turn. Amazing! Unfortunately, it turned into more of a wait than he had planned on. He got impatient and decided to make the turn anyway.

(sidebar)
On the corner – at the inside part of this turn – there are some white landscaping stones… and three decent-sized landscaping boulders.
(/sidebar)

The process started off alright. The cab of the semi made the turn without a hitch. Next up: The trailer. And there’s the rub. The trailer didn’t have enough clearance on the inside of the turn. At least one of the wheels scraped one of the boulders… and punctured.

and I laughed.

And about ten seconds later, traffic had cleared enough for the cars on Swaner to turn onto California.

.eof

Namaste.

Tuesday
The start of a short work week begins… and ends. All in all, it wasn’t a bad day. After work, we had a quiet evening at home and followed it up with dessert and drinks at the V.I.

Song of the Day
My Girl by The Temptations
(and/or Bob Turk by the Temptations for WJZ-TV… from way back in the day)

Stray Toasters

• Teachers now have to make the grade….
• Soon, we may have to see how well we learned the lessons taught to us in Deep Impact and Armageddon. And Missile Command. And Asteroids. Why? Oh… just this.
• From tonight’s “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: I was on the phone, looking out of my office window, when I saw something rather unusual: Westbound traffic on California Avenue. That wasn’t the unusual part. In fact, it was rather run-of-the-mill. The oddity was that the vehicle leading the pack was a van… driving backwards down the street. At roughly the posted speed limit. The driver was doing a remarkable job of keeping the van in its lane. I said “What the Hell….?!” half into the phone when I saw this. I then explained to the person on the other end of the phone why I said that. He seemed to understand.
• and I took some packages to Ye Olde FedEx Centre this afternoon. While we were waiting for the clerk (not Doug) to finish processing the boxes, someone came up, placed a cooler (like you’d take on a picnic) on the counter, and left. seemed a little shocked that someone would bring a cooler to FedEx to be delivered somewhere.
  

  Me: It probably has… parts… in it.
  : *blink* *blink* Parts… like… organs?
  Me: *nod*
  : *blink* *blink*

  The clerk confirmed that, indeed, the cooler probably contained a vital organ to be rushed off to a waiting donor. The concept of shipping organs this way seemed FAR outside the boundaries of ‘s paradigm. I, on the other hand, thought that it would make a great commercial:

  ::: Fade In :::

  A man enters a FedEx center, wheeling in a large crate on a hand truck. On the side of the crate, in stenciled letters: Hammond Organ

  Another man enters, carrying an Igloo® cooler. On the side of the cooler: Vital Organ Transport

  The two men look at each other, note the other’s respective parcels and smile, knowingly at each other.

  Voiceover: Organ delivery. Big or small. FedEx. When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.

  ::: Fade Out :::

• I was doing random searches this evening when I came across this site. It gets style points for the name alone.
• There was an ad for a children’s game called “Gooey Louie” on Cartoon Network tonight. The premise of the game: Pick worm-like… umm… “magic nose goblins” (as Ren and Stimpy would say) from Louie’s nose; if a player picks the “wrong one,” Louie’s head explodes. *boggle* I’m not sure what to make of this…

Quote of the Day
, and I watched tonight’s episode of Samurai Jack (Episode XXVIII) “together.” Kind of. and I watched it here, s_l watched it at her place; we were all connected via AIM. Chatting with people online while watching a show can add a new dimension of entertainment to your viewing experience. During one scene, Jack and the rave kids were dancing. All of them were doing the same moves, at the same time. The IM exchange that followed made me laugh:

[20:13] : WTF!?
[20:13] : It’s a rave.
[20:13] : Raver Line Dancing!?
[20:13] : Binkey and all!?
[20:13] : *nod*

Namaste.

During a conversation about the death of Charles Bronson…

[13:32] (Todd) yeah, that suxs. not many of the old kick ass action stars left.
[13:33] (Todd) considered going to the video store and renting a deathwish marathon yesterday.
[13:36] * cracks up.
[13:36] that sucks! why couldn’t it have been walker, texas ranger?
[13:36] (Todd) or at least renting mr. majestic.
[13:38] (Todd) ‘course he was 80. not like he had made any movies recently. wonder what his last movie was.
[13:39] (Todd) then again, a deathwish in a rest home movie might have kicked ass. rolls out in his powered wheelchair, shoots a punk in the face, then goes back to have his diaper changed.

(addendum)
[16:33] deathwish in a resthome. bwahahaha. maybe the resthome could be called “deathwish”
(/addendum)

Charles Bronson (1921-2003)

Yet more reasons I like Backwash – The 40 Most Popular Links for the Week. Selected from this week’s offerings:

• Need more beer? After this, you may swear off it. Forever.
• Brain Persuasion Test
  
  Rob, you are mildly left-hemisphere dominant while showing a slight preference for auditory processing. This overall combination seems to indicate a well-working blend of logic and judgment and organization, with sufficient intuition, perception and creativity to balance that dominance.

  You will at times experience conflict between how you feel and what you think which will generally be resolved in favor of what you think. You will find yourself interested in the practical applications of whatever material you have learned or whatever situation you face and will retain the ability to refine whatever knowledge you possess or aspects of whatever position you are in.

  By and large, you will orient yourself toward intellectual activities and structure. Though not rigid, you will schedule yourself, plan, and focus on routine and continuity of operations, rather than on changes and disruptions

  When changes or disruptions occur, you are likely to consider first how to ensure that such disruptions do The same balance is reflected in your sensory preference. You will tend to be reflective and measured in your interaction style. For the most part, you will be considered objective without being cold and goal-oriented while retaining the capacity to listen to others.

  Preferentially you learn by listening and maintaining significant internal dialogues with yourself. Nevertheless, you have sufficient visualization capabilities to benefit from using graphs, charts, doodles, or even body movement to enhance your comprehension and memory.

  To the extent that you are even implicitly aware of your hemispheric dominance and sensory style, you will feel most comfortable in those arenas which emphasize verbal skills and logic. Teaching, law, and science are those that stand out among the professions, along with technical sales and management.
  

• One Word
• Towel Amnesty Day
• 17 Tips for Falling Asleep
• Fun with Words
• The Nicotini: a tobacco-infused drink
• For : DFilm Moviemaker
• Arcata Police Blotter
• Before College, I Wish I Had Known….
• The Foot Trick

I was up, for reasons that I have yet to discern, at 8:30 this morning. I lazed about the apartment for a couple of hours and then got in gear and headed to Borders. I had a new idea for a drawing and found what I considered the perfect basis for it. I will do a little more work on it tomorrow. So far, I’m rather happy with it.

and I went to Steve and John’s for dinner, croquet and conversation. It was quite fun. Even for their informal gatherings, they put on quite a to do.

And now, Stargate.

Namaste.

I forgot to add the Quote of the Day from yesterday’s excursion:

:Swap meet. it’s like… Cro-Magnon eBay.

Nine Hells.

We took some things from work to one of the local swap meets this morning. Early this morning. VERY early this morning. (So, yes , I was working when you messaged me this morning.) Some of the people and things that we saw there…. *jawdrop* It was more than a lesson in culture studies, it was an experience. Fortunately, it wasn’t too hot. Well, it wasn’t too hot to me; , on the other hand… She took on a little more sun than planned. I do, however, have a rather distinctive tan line.

Some of the highlights (or maybe “lowlights”):

• Mullets galore.
• Fashion don’ts. LOTs of them.
• “Apex of Apathy”
• in a hat.
• Rewriting The Muppet Show theme as The Mullet Show

Getting up at 0630 (hereafter referred to as “Oh-dark-thirty”) was not fun. I wasn’t tired until I got home. I started nodding off around 5:30. I decided to take a nap. A thirty-to-forty-five minute nap. I woke up a couple of times, but didn’t get up until shortly before 7:30. Oy.

And now the weekend can begin.

Quote of the Day
: I had one cheek on the crack.

Namaste.

Just after leaving the apartment complex this morning, I realized that I had left my phone at home. So… I flipped a U and headed back. As I approached the entrance to the complex, I saw a vehicle waiting to get out. Due to the uneven grade between the complex pavement and the newly paved road, the vehicle was taking up about 3/4 of the available space of the entrance. Under normal conditions, this wouldn’t have bothered me – it’s understandable that a driver wouldn’t want to scrape the undercarriage of her or is car. This was an SUV, however. PLENTY of ground clearance. Idiotstick.

The yawning girl at the bus stop. Wide-mouthed and unashamed. It made me grin.

Another Utah driver moment: A woman passes – two lanes to my left – to get in front of a double-trailered semi… cut back across two lanes of traffic…. and make a right-lane exit. In less than a quarter of a mile. Oh yeah, she almost cut off another truck in the process. Idiotstick.

For : Conscience. Jar. Pantry.
I just saw that she quoted me earlier. *amused*

If you haven’t taken a crack at the poll that I posted last night, take a look and weigh in.

Lake smell. The Harbor back home never smelled this bad.
Dead brine shrimp + wind blowing from the northwest = *ACK*

::: addendum :::
Some of our customers…. *sigh*
Some of the questions that they ask…. *sigh*
How much is the shipping to… Address X? As with 99.954387% of all eBay auctions, the shipping information is at the bottom of the auction text! SCROLL DOWN!
General questions about a given item? You’re already online. Access to the answers to most (95%+) of the questions are at your bloody fingertips, you gits! You can look it up on the manufacturer’s site or on any of a bazillion review/opinion sites.

Thursday
Another day comes to a close.

Song of the Day
Hungarian Rhapsody by Franz Liszt

Stray Toasters

• Driving back to the office from the FedEx center, we passed a building where a young man was driving a forklift. The forklift manufacturer was Clark. On the rear of the forklift, next to the Clark name, someone had painted “Kent.” It made me laugh.
• Mark Hamill (best known for his role in Corvette Summer the Star Wars trilogy) has stayed rather busy doing voice work in a lot cartoons and videogames. He did the voice of Wolverine for X2: Wolverine’s Revenge… which also features the voice talents of Patrick Stewart and Mayim Bialik (whom you may remember from NBC’s Blossom).
• Oreo Cookie Shake. Mmmmmm.
• BBC News article about “the financial impact on game developers of the next generation of consoles”
• In tonight’s “David vs. Goliath” news: “Small Webcasters Sue RIAA”

I think that pretty much covers it for now.

Namaste.

Wednesday
Mid-week and all is well.

We opted out of coffee/beer night. Instead, I had a quiet evening of L&O and anime. Life is good. I even got a call from my friend, Joe… as he was driving through Alabama. Poor guy.

Song of the Day
Ave Maria by Charles Gounod

Stray Toasters

• Thanks to for pointing out the following: this and this.
• Disney has a walking animatronic dinosaur.
• Wait ’til Micro$oft and SCO hear about this.
• BratStreet. Read it and laugh.
• Yet more about Florida’s plan to tax LANs.

And now, off for a drive and to look at the closest-that-it-will-be-for-60,000+-years Mars.

Namaste.

Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries is another song that should be enjoyed at high volume. It’s also rather good driving music.

Last week, while looking over the Lego website I found something that surprised me: The U.S.S. Constellation has been replicated in a Lego set! Something that latches on to both my Lego affinity and hometown pride. Not a bad two-for-one. Not bad at all.

Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.
It makes a nice change of pace from the standard morning coffee.

Question for cat owners: Does anyone else have a cat that likes to play with Q-Tips®?

Tuesday
Another day done. Nothing major to speak of work-wise. And it was a quiet evening. I cooked dinner, watched TV and tried to grok a little bit of Linux lore so that I can better understand how to use it effectively.

Song of the Day
The Mission by John Williams (the composer, not the guitar player)

Stray Toasters

• I emailed my uncle a request for suggestions of CDs that I should get since I want to start a classical music selection. He’s a Beethoven man, but I trust his knowledge of the genre. I caught him online a couple of hours later and chatted with him about it. He gave me a few suggestions (including a Beethoven selection). What made me laugh was his closing:
  

  [14:01] (My Uncle): let me know…but…GET BEETHOVEN FIRST!!!

• On the drive home, I was listening to a tape that I’d made many moons ago of John Williams. Olympic Fanfare is a song to be enjoyed at high volume.
• Seen on Amazon.com while I was looking up some item information:
  

  1049 Action Figures…… 25716 poses.
  Toys ‘R’ Us
  teamed with Amazon.com
  We take FUN seriously.

  Well, it’s good to know that some things never change. Or, at least, they don’t change too much.

• Nominally work safe… but damn funny. Oh, what has the Green Lantern Corps come to…?
• Item #1 from the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” File: Nature’s Harmonic Simultaneous 4-Day Time Cube
• Item #2: Activists defacing SUVs on dealership lots… in an effort to save the environment. There was a story on this on Fox News Channel earlier this evening.
• Samurai Jack Episode XXIV: Jack… in a warped permutation of Alice in Wonderland. VERY amusing.
• After watching that ep of Samurai Jack, I decided to look up the voice talents on IMDb. Phil Lamarr does Jack’s voice. Then I noticed all of the other things that he is doing/has done. That is one busy man. VERY busy. And very talented. I watch… *counts*… three of the shows on which he is currently working. Had I not previously known that he did John Stewart’s voice on Justice League and Virgil Hawkins/Static’s voice on Static Shock, I would have never known that he worked on both. AND…. he was Marvin (the kid whom Vincent shot in the back of Jule’s car) in Pulp Fiction.
• I’m not sure if Craig McCracken is an X-fan or not, but the Powerpuff Girls just used the phrase “Fastball Special.” And they set it up just like Colossus and Wolverine used to. It made me smile.
• I am not a fan of stereotypes – and I’m not sure if this qualifies as one – but this made me laugh: A young man in his Jeep-like vehicle passed me on the way home. On the back of his car was a bumper sticker: Got Rice. The thing that made me laugh about the situation was that the young man was of Asian descent.
• “Curse you, man-bird! You’ll pay for this!”
  (taken from an old Hawkman cartoon that I saw – and forced to watch along with me – on Boomerang tonight)

• Bad pick-up lines? We’ve all heard them. But this made me laugh.
• Spike Spiegel. *nod*
• AOL for Broadband commercial. *sigh* The spin doctors at AOHell are making it sound like having any other broadband connection automatically means that you are leaving your computer – and personal information – open to attack. And ONLY AOHell for Broadband can keep you safe.

Quote of the Day

Jet: I never did understand you… right to the very end!
Spike: I don’t understand either.

And with that…

Namaste.

There are TONS of baby dragonflies on the walls of the building this morning. I missed them when I walked in… and I have no idea HOW I could have missed that many. I went out to get the mail and noticed them on by way back.

[11:23] : Hoi chummerette
[11:23] : What’s the good word?
[11:24] : a good one. let me pick one out of a hat, ummm, donut. donut is good.
[11:24] : Nice.
[11:24] : what’s your good word? 🙂
[11:24] : bandersnatch
[11:25] : oh, sounds naughty.
[11:25] : Indeed.

(Almost) Nothing makes ya wanna wiggle yer bum in your office chair like Copacabana.
::: bounce and wiggle mode :::