Random Access

Wednesday – 17 November 2010
Midweek… which means that it’s Comics (and Sushi) Wednesday!
I’m not sure if I’m partaking of sushi today.  We’ll see how the morning progresses.

Last night was D&D night with and company. We met a new NPC. We’re not sure about him yet. There are a few signs that he may not be “a good fit” for the rest of the party. We’re keeping an eye on him. On the other hand, he does provide another pair of hands and weapons in a fight. That’s good, because our current quest has us in the ruins of what appears to be an old temple… complete with its very own horde of zombies. Yay.

Today, we’re having our furnace replaced!
Out with the old and busted.
In with the new hotness… literally.

Stray Toasters

• The first trailer for the upcoming Green Lantern movie was released yesterday:

  This looks a lot better than the “first footage” that came out last week.  I’m still a little unsure about the mask, but feel a bit more confident about the overall look and feel of the movie.

• Watch the Leonid Meteor Shower
• Rare Honor for a Living Service Member: Medal of Honor for Army Sergeant
• Giant Star Wars Minifig Alarm Clocks = Holiday Shopping, Done
• 
• Top 10 Movie Plot Holes You Probably Never Noticed Before
  • As to the Superman/Superman II plot holes:
    1. The whole “turn the world backwards” was a visual device. They used it to signify Superman flying back in time, a power that he’d been shown using – as both Superman and Superboy – since at least the late 50’s.
    2. The “amnesia kiss” was something that director Richard Lester used after Superman director, Richard Donner, was fired from Superman II; Donner shot some scenes for both Superman and Superman II concurrently. In the “Richard Donner Cut” of Superman II, it shows Superman flying back in time (again) to erase Lois’ memory… not using some cockamamie “amnesia kiss power” to make her forget.
• One Way to Trim Deficit — Cultivate Growth
• 
• The Monsters of H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos, as Drawn by Children
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file:
  • Unusual horse bike
  • ‘Saw 3D’ Accidentally Screens for Kids; Subsequently Scars Them for Life
• Career Day: Chambara JLA
• This is some rather sage advice from a former coworker of mine.
  (If the page won’t display for you, let me know and I’ll find a way to either transcribe or repost the picture.)

And that’s that…

Namaste.

Tuesday – 16 November 2010
The second half of November is upon us.

Last night, and Nathan came over to watch the Eagles-Redskins game. More on that later.

After the game, I went to work on my model railroad. I was trying to incorporate the 90º crossover and two more switches… but couldn’t get a the pieces to line up. Rather than fight it (too much), I decided to call it a night and ponder the issue today. If nothing else, I’ll probably just do another reversing loop and find a way to throw a spur or two off the main line.

Chew on This: Food For Thought/Quote of the Day
Today’s “Magnetic Poetry Self Affirmation Quote of the Day” comes in response to the feeling of being overwhelmed that a coworker is experiencing:

FYI: I refuse to let the small stuff and stupid people be a problem anymore.

I think that can be applied in many situations…

Instant Replay: Football

Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Redskins
59 – 28
Wow. Seriously… that’s just about the most accurate way to describe last night’s match-up between the Eagles and the ‘Skins. Last night’s broadcast of Monday Night Football should have been renamed “The Michael Vick Show.” He did it all: Threw four (4) touchdowns; Ran for two (2) touchdowns; Rushed for eighty (80) yards; Threw for 333 yards; No interceptions No fumbles He also became the first QB in NFL history with: …at least 300 yards passing, …50 yards rushing, …four passing touchdowns and …two rushing touchdowns in a game. One game. The man was money. All night long. Speaking of money, the Redskins’ new $78 million man, QB Donovan McNabb would have had a much better outing… if his receivers had bothered to show up. McNabb’s passes were pretty much on the money all night, but the receiving corps didn’t seem to put up a lot of effort to catch and/or hold onto the ball.

Stray Toasters

• 45 Years Later, An Apology and Six Months
• By way of Maddox: Not everything is epic, shitheads
• If you saw “Oz with Orchestra” this past weekend, why not leave a review on the Utah Symphony blog page?
• 
• Art of Storytelling Alive and Well in Audio Books
• Colorless, Tasteless but not Dangerous
• TSA tee: “We get to touch your junk”
• She Has No Head! — My 20 Favorite Comics Females
  • This list features not only Wonder Woman, but also Planetary‘s Jakita Wagner, another woman who kicked Batman’s ass (in her own words).  Sorry, Nizlee.
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: She’s a hooker for Jesus. Honest.
• When Opera Stars Show Their Frisky Side
• DC Universe Online: Pre-ordered.
• 10 Buildings Shaped Like What They Sell

And with that…

Namaste.

Saturday – 13 November 2010
So far, it’s been a good day… and it’s only half over.  I’d call that a “win,” quite frankly.

<< Rewind <<
and I went to the Wasatch Rails Train Show yesterday afternoon. It is at the Utah State Fairpark and runs through tomorrow afternoon; it’s being held in the Grand and Promontory Buildings.  There is a lot of model railroading goodness there. A. Lot. I missed out on an amazing deal on some Fastrack, but I did come home with a book that I used to own when I was much, much younger.

After the train show, I came home and painted one of my train tables green. Doing so gives me a (more or less) “grass-colored” board AND it saved me from having to buy a grass mat. And, if I want a more grass-like surface, I can use some Spray Mount^© and sprinkle flocking on the boards. Next, it was off to coffee and dinner…

This morning, ‘s father came over to look at our furnace and give us an estimate on installing a new and more energy-efficient unit. Turns out that if we hurry, we should be able to get in on some good incentives and rebates.

And, tonight: Oz with Orchestra

Stray Toasters

• I am giving some serious thought to heading up to The Train Shoppe… and/or back to the Wasatch Rails show.
• Entire New Zealand town goes steampunk
• Uncivil Society
• By way of SaraRules!: How to Gift Wrap a Cat
• Web Designers Versus Web Developers, Visualized
• Pascal’s Wager, courtesy of
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Effervescent Brain Salt
• November 2010 Reader Art Gallery, from Comic Book Resources

Off to find some trouble to get into…

Namaste.

Friday – 12 November 2010
Hello, 9/80 “off” Friday.  How I have missed you.

After work yesterday, I headed over to Jos. A. Bank to check out their Veteran’s Day Sale.  Their Executive Suit collection was on a MONSTER sale: Buy one for $177, get another for $57. (That’s a savings of over $800 for the pair!) It turned out that their Business Traveller collection – available in separates – was also on sale. WIN!  (I typically need separates or “Athletic Cut” suits as I have an 8″ drop, rather than the 6″ drop one finds with most suits.)  I found a couple of suits that I liked: A two-button solid navy and a two-button navy with a faint chalk stripe. As an added bonus, I learned that there’s a corporate discount available for Raytheon employees. Aw yeah…!

After the shopping excursion, I came home to watch the Ravens-Falcons game…

Instant Replay: Football

Baltimore Ravens at Atlanta Falcons
21 – 26
I don’t know WHO the Ravens suited up for the first half of the game, but it wasn’t the team that I’ve been used to seeing. Matt Ryan and the Falcons SCHOOLED the Ravens, up one side and down the other. I’m not sure what Coach John Harbaugh said to the guys at halftime, but they finally showed up to play football. Ravens’ QB Joe Flacco led a couple of solid drives, including one in the waning minutes of the game that looked as though it would seal a win for the Ravens and hand the Falcons their first home defeat this season… …but it wasn’t to be.  Falcons’ QB Matt Ryan put on a clinic on “How to Score a Touchdown in Under One Minute.”  It was was amazing – and a little painful – to watch.

Stray Toasters

• The Wasatch Rails Train Show starts today at 3:00.   and I are going to check it out before heading to Clitorati.
• Anne-Sophie Mutter: As Complex as the Music She Plays
• Apple 1 for sale
• 
• Posing for Power: Why Body Language Matters in the Office
• Assertive Chinese Held in Mental Wards
• I have new track for my model railroad… and can’t figure out what to do with it.
• Your Island Five: The Albums You Can’t Live Without
• 
• Kurt Vonnegut’s Tips for Writing Fiction
• Las Vegas Casinos Are a Last Bastion for Smokers
• TSA T-shirt from Despair.com

Time to figure out what kind of trouble I want to get into this morning…

Namaste.

Monday – 01 November 2010
Today is All Saints Day.

Yesterday was a relaxed and lazy day. I slept in a bit and then headed to the living room to watch a few things that have been on the DVR for far too long. Later, and I headed down to Lehi to check out a hobby shop… that was open on Sunday!  (You’d possibly have to live here to understand how bizarre it is to find a small town hobby store open on a Sunday afternoon.) When we got there, it was closed — the sign on the door said “Summer Hours: Closed Sundays.” This brought two things to mind:

1. Wasn’t “summer” over an month and a half ago?
2. Couldn’t they have listed something about being closed on their website?

On the way back, we experienced “Adventures in Road Rage” with some yutz in an SUV. Fun times.

After I got back home, I put in a little time playing LEGO Universe. From there, SaraRules and I headed to Home Depot, stopped off to help a friend with a computer problem and then went to the in-laws’ for dinner and football.

Post-game, we headed home and watched The Walking Dead. I liked it. There were a couple of parts that were reminiscent of 28 Days Later, where Cillian Murphy first awakens to discover the world (or at least England) has gone to Hell around him. I’m curious to see how the show progresses… and I should read the graphic novels, as we have them, to see how close the adaptation is.

Instant Replay: Football
The Ravens had their bye week. I hope they got in a good bit of rest because next week is a VERY short week for them: Sunday, they play the Dolphins at home and Thursday they travel to the Georgia Dome to take on the Falcons.

Miami Dolphins at Cincinnati Bengals
22 – 14
The Dolphins headed up to Cincy to face the Bengals… …and swam away with a win. Sorry, janietrain and carefreespirit.

.

Seattle Seahawks at Oakland Raiders
3 – 33
The Raiders are on a roll, with their second big win in two weeks. Congratulations, SaraRules! and 1silver_seraph.

.

Carolina Panthers at St. Louis Rams
10 – 20
The Panthers lost this one on the road… to the Rams. *sigh*

.

Pittsburgh Steelers at New Orleans Saints
10 – 20
The Steelers rolled into the Big Easy to face the Saints. I wasn’t sure how this one would turn out, but Drew Brees and company stood up to the challenge and came away with the win. This is a double-plus for me as the Steelers’ loss puts the Ravens back atop the AFC North.

Stray Toasters

• We only had six (6) Trick-or-Treaters this year. And they all came in one group.
  On the other hand, we were able to watch horror movies without interruptions.
• A New Search Engine, Where Less Is More
• For SaraRules!: ‘Frank — The Voice’
• Mechanical Mustache Project
• Click the image…



• From the “Is There Life on Mars?” file: Would you go to Mars and never come back?
• Nonprofits Rush to Solicit Donations via Text, but the System Is Flawed
• Finding Common Ground
• Too soon or too funny?
• Street Art Way Below the Street

Things and stuff to do…

Namaste.

Friday – 29 October 2010
It’s my 9/80 “off” Friday and the start of my weekend. Amen.

Last night, SaraRules and I went to Market Street Grill for the retirement party of my company’s President/COO.  It was done as a cocktail hour… without cocktails, but was still a nice affair.

After that, we came home and got ready for the evening’s entertainment: We had SaraRules!’s parents, brother and his fiancee over for Hallowe’en cookie decorating and then watched the classic Disney The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, featuring the voice of Bing Crosby.  It was a fun way to spend the evening.

Stray Toasters

• What Can You Do in Twenty-Five Words?
• The year is 2010. Detroit is a crime-ridden carcass of the gleaming metropolis it once was. The city only has one hope. And he’s 2 years old.
• Is the proper use of an apostrophe really that hard to figure out?
• Welcome to Dracula’s Castle
• Lisa Black: Gear-Turning Steampunk Taxidermy
• 
• National parks have room for all races
• Comic Book Resources has a preview of the upcoming Superboy #1, from Jeff Lemire and Pier Gallo. This version of Superboy is not a young Clark Kent, but a clone spliced from the DNA of Superman… and Lex Luthor, known as Conner Kent. The character first appeared in the “Reign of the Supermen” storyline, following the “The Death of Superman” in 1992.  I think that I have a fair portion of his first series (1993-2000), but mostly followed it because it was a Superman-related title; the character was still a bit… rough. Over the past year, Paul Levitz has breathed new life – and definitely added some depth – to the character. (That… and he’s renewed/strengthened Conner’s ties with the Legion.) This new title has the potential to be good. And just plain fun.
  • I just talked with Jeremiah – one of the guys from Dr. Volt’s Comic Connection – and found out that he did an interview with Jeff Lemire for Big Shiny Robot.
• The Biggest Movie Monster Ever
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Police arrest man after beer found in child safety seat

That’s good for now. I need to get ready to get out of here — and I are grabbing lunch and then heading up to Ogden to visit The Wonderful World of Trains.

Namaste.

Monday – 25 October 2010
Okay, I’m not really a pirate, but thanks (and apologies) to Jimmy Buffett for the title of today’s post. (You can listen to the song here.)

I turn 40 tomorrow.

I don’t look at it with trepidation or lots of introspection or trying to figure out what I want/need to get past a mid-life crisis. To be honest, I’m looking forward to it. (Besides, given the fact that I have been known act somewhere in the 8-14 year-old range, I’d say that I have a good ten to fifteen years before I start looking for a fast car or plastic surgery or fake hair.) And the biggest “plus” of all: Another birthday means that I will have successfully avoided the embrace of the Dark Lady for another year. And I have a lot of things that I still want to do. So, bring on forty… and beyond!

Saturday was an eventful day. I started off the day, having breakfast with Chris. From there, we headed up to Dr. Volt’s, where I judged another HeroClix tournament. There were fourteen (14) players in the event – the largest turnout we’ve had in a while. As this was the closest event to Hallowe’en, I decided to make the tournament’s theme “Monster Mash,” in which each team had to have at least one figure with the “Monster” keyword. It went pretty well. After that, six of us played a three-on-three match. That was fun, as I haven’t played in a while. I also established the theme for the next tournament, on 06 November.  I’m calling it “Rock the Vote” and all figures on players’ teams must have either the “Politician,” “Ruler,” or “Reporter” keywords.  That should make for some interesting teams.

After the tourney, SaraRules!, her mother and I went to a birthday celebration fora friend of the family. SaraRules! and I wound up the evening with a couple of movies: Let the Right One In and Eight-Legged Freaks. It’s near Hallowe’en — thus horror movies were in order. We wanted to catch Right One, before seeing its new American remake. It was good… and rather different than I expected. I looked up trivia about the movie and discovered what the movie left out. It also made me interested in reading the book on which it was based. And, Eight-Legged Freaks was just just turn-your-brain-off fun.

Yesterday was a good day. I slept in. I worked at getting my comics collection reorganized.  I moved my train equipment and assembled the second table. I ran errands. I watched football.  And, SaraRules! even watched a couple of movies: The Karate Kid (2009) and Repo Men. We enjoyed both movies.

Instant Replay: Football
Yesterday had a lot of good – and surprising – games:

Buffalo Bills at Baltimore Ravens
34 – 37
The Ravens hosted the 0-5 Bills… …and nearly gave them their first win.  Fortunately, the timely return of Ed Reed – along with an overtime interception by Ray Lewis – helped propel the Ravens over the Bills.

.

Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos
59 – 14
The Raiders went to Invesco Field and wrecked shop. Seriously. It was a “Take no prisoners” kind of game. How bad was it? Well, let’s just say that the score was 24-0 at the end of the first quarter. Quarter, not half.  Yeah. It was like that. Congratulations, SaraRules! and .

.

San Francisco 49ers at Carolina Panthers
20 – 23
The ‘Cats hosted the Niners… and came away with a win.

.

Cincinnati Bengals at Atlanta Falcons
32 – 39
The Bengals dropped this one to Matt Ryan and the Falcons. Sorry, and .

.

Cleveland Browns at New Orleans Saints
30 – 17
The Browns went marching into the Superdome beat up Super Bowl champion Saints, who seem to have lost their mojo.

Stray Toasters

• There is more snow on the mountains today. And it’s lower down the mountains, to boot.
• Decoder Ring: Boston Typewriter Orchestra Applies the Wite-Out
• Why Do People Confess to Crimes They Didn’t Commit?
• 
• App Makers Take Interest in Android
• Thanks to for pointing this out: Featherbed Railroad Bed and Breakfast Resort
• Celia Cruz: The Voice from Havana
• Foreclosures Had Errors, Bank Finds

It’s Day 3 of my four-day weekend.  Time to find some trouble to get into!

Namaste.

Friday – 22 October 2010
Bonus points to those of you who get the subject line without having to look it up.

It’s my 9/80 “on” Friday.
It started off somewhat quietly… but it picked up a little, around 9:45. No big deal. Nothing insurmountable.

Last night, after a couple of rounds of “Let’s Clean the House,” I managed to sneak off to Nova Praetoria for a while. I hadn’t played City for a week or two, so it was a nice change of pace. I ran a few missions. I leveled up once. I remembered how slow running through a city can be… although it’s still faster than Hover.

I also got in a bit more reading in Starship Troopers.

Stray Toasters

• Tweaking Tradition, Even in Its Temple
• Moon Crater Contains Usable Water, NASA Says
  • Shawn Colvin & Ernie: I Don’t Want to Live on the Moon
    
• Recently Rediscovered Letter Shows Wonder Woman’s Earliest Costume
• Middle Classes in Africa
• Haunted Mansion ghost hearse made from LEGO
• A Son Grows Thankful for His Father’s Tough Love
• Gays, Mormons and Boy Scouts’ discrimination
• 
• Credit Cards Soon to Get a Makeover
• T-shirt turns into a zombie
  • Sears reaches out to the neglected Zombie-American demographic
• No Net for the Man in Charge

Namaste.

Wednesday – 13 October 2010
Technically, I wrote this last night, before going to bed. But, thanks to the miracle of WordPress’ scheduler, I can have it post after the sun is up.  (Or, at least after it’s up on the east coast.)

It’s Comics and Sushi Wednesday. Amen. After a couple of days of getting into the office between 0600 and 0615, I shall gladly take some time in the middle of the day to retrieve my four-color crack and indulge to in a bit of raw fish goodness.

To recap the past couple of days…

I went to work for a couple of hours on Sunday afternoon.  Some progress was made, but there were still a couple of issues to be dealt with on Monday.  After that, I went with the lovely SaraRules! (I keep forgetting to add the exclamation point on that) to enjoy a lovely German-themed dinner with the in-laws. It was quite good.  After we got home, I was a bit brain-dead and all I wanted to do was flop down on the couch and watch some TV. The ever-understanding SaraRules! was kind enough to keep me company until it was time to hit the rack.

Monday was… “a day.” I was in the office early — I expected it to be a “less than pleasant” day of work and I wanted to just get it over with.  And, I was right: It wasn’t pleasant.  As I noted in a brief foray to Facebook, I felt like the mythical Sisyphus. (Unfortunately, no matter how many times Carve Away the Stone ran through my head, it did nothing to alleviate my mood.) The day got better after I left work… despite dropping a full cup of frozen mocha goodness on the garage steps – and myself – while getting ready for Monday Night Football. *sigh*

Tuesday was a remarkably better day. While it wasn’t a necessarily “perfect” day, things fell into their proper places and my urge to punch people in the throat was notably absent. After work, I strolled up to Pin-up Girl Espresso for a white tea with peach. I chatted with Jim and Natalie (and Deja, from the neighboring floral/garden center) for a bit before walking back home. After dinner, SaraRules! went gallivanting, while I waited for Chris to come over.  On tonight’s agenda: Halo: Reach.  There was a wonderful bit of (much needed) catharsis in wantonly shooting things. It was a good way to spend the evening.

Stray Toasters

• By way of MarknTyme: Homeless Man – Under Pressure
  (NOTE: Be sure to watch the CNN interview with the performer.)
• Dan Savage’s Message to Gay Youth: ‘It Gets Better’
• Worf: Worst Klingon Ever
• 
• IRS servers go down during crucial week
• X-Men Arcade Coming to Playstation Network and Xbox Live Arcade
• WWII Star Wars action figure mods
• This both amuses and frightens me…



• …however, the cosplay photography of Jay Tablante reaffirms my faith.
• 10 Things You Didn’t Know about The Empire Strikes Back
• Monkeys…
• Improv Everywhere’s 8 Geekiest Stunts

I should get to bed: It’s early and I have to get up later.

Namaste.

Friday – 08 October 2010
It’s almost the weekend.
It is my 9/80 “on” Friday… and there’s some work that needs to get done before it’s Miller time.

Speaking of work: I’ve been part of a project that has been in various stages of development and progress for a year or so. A couple of months ago, a large part of it wound up falling into my lap. To be honest, a good portion of what needed to be done fell “a little” outside of my personal experience/knowledge base. But it was mine, so there no use crying over “But, I can’t…” or “I don’t…”  (Not that there haven’t been times that I’ve wanted to say those things and walk away.)

On more than one occasion, I’ve been reminded of a song, Discipline, by Bobby McFerrin:

for those who have been trained by it,
no discipline seems pleasant at the time but painful.

The lyrics are actually taken from Hebrews 12: 11 (NIV):

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Very apt.
More to the point, I haven’t walked (or run) away from the project.
And, despite the learning curve – and some frustration/irritation from learning a good number of things on the fly – it’s been a great learning opportunity.

Stray Toasters

• LEGO Universe is live, as of this morning.
  Of course, I won’t get to play it until this evening or later tonight. *shakes fist*
• Flawed Foreclosure Documents Thwart Home Sales
• Tom Bancroft’s DCU Elementary
• 
• Rediscovering an Earthy Master
• Pirate Johnny Depp makes surprise school visit
• For : Batman: The Killing Joke Relived Via LEGO
• Spammers Using Soft Hyphen to Hide Malicious URLs
• There is a new anime-styled ‘Iron Man’ animated series coming to G4 this Spring. Not too surprisingly, someone’s found the opening title sequence and posted it on YouTube:
• Fringe Star Anna Torv Explores a New Reality
• If the future’s looking dark
  We’re the ones who have to shine
  If there’s no one in control
  We’re the ones who draw the line
  Though we live in trying times
  We’re the ones who have to try
  Though we know that time has wings
  We’re the ones who have to fly…
• Duke Winces as a Private Joke Slips Out of Control
• The Art of Steve Thomas
• From the “Everything’s Heavy Underground” files:
  • Underground: graphic novel thriller set in a cave
  • Luxury underground community: bomb-shelter meets gate-guarded community
• Ancient Roman helmet sells for ten times estimated amount
• Newspaper Publishers Still Hope Tablets Will Save Them

Back to the grind…

Namaste.

Thursday – 07 October 2010
Another NBN Thursday is upon us.
This one brings with it grey clouds…

…and ‘s birthday!

Last night was D&D v4 game night with and Jack and company. It was a decent encounter. A bunch of us nearly bought the farm.  (Not good.) But, we muddled through it.  I think that I have also determined that my dice have some form of performance anxiety — whenever I needed a good (or just “decent”) roll, they pretty much just rolled some “blah” number.  Thanks, dice!

SaraRules and I finished off a couple more pieces of anniversary cake as we watched the last two episodes of Mad Men‘s second season 2. Quite a few twists we didn’t see coming. And it ended with a pretty big cliffhanger. So far, I’ve been pretty good about not reading season or episode synopses of what’s coming up, so I’ve been enjoying the surprises as they unfold.

Stray Toasters

• I completely forgot that LEGO Universe opens to Founders tomorrow.
  Looks like I’ll have something to keep me occupied between getting off work and heading out to Clitorati.
• Picasso masterpieces to tour the U.S.
• When the Yogurt Took Over: A Short Story
• Rampant Fraud Threat to China’s Brisk Ascent
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Dodge City museum bans nooses after tourist accident
• 
• FDA to spend $25M to improve its science
  (Is that really ‘enough?’)
• Minecraft Makes $350,000 a Day
  I had heard of Minecraft, in passing, but never looked into it. It sounds like a versatile and robust game; in talking with Jack last night, I discovered that not only had people made the things listed in the article, but someone had also ‘recreated’ Portal inside of Minecraft.
• “What the Hell is an ‘Aluminum Falcon?!’ “ (Bonus points for knowing that reference, too.)
• It seems that I am more prone to drink the post-cereal milk after eating Honey Nut Cheerios than after a bowl of  Honey Bunches of Oats.
• ‘God views’ and issues
• Latest Zeus attack propagated via fake iTunes receipt

And that’s a wrap.

Namaste.

Friday – 01 October 2010
A new month begins and it falls on my 9/80 “off” day.
Convergence?
Coincidence?
Serendipity?

Who knows…?

Today also marks the beginning of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. And, as such, this blog will once again “Go Pink for October.”

Last night, SaraRules and I met up with Marcie and her niece and… dun dun DUNNNNN…. went to the gym.  According to the blog-a-tron, it looks as though it’s been a two (2) months since my last confession trip to the gym. And, as an added bonus: just joined our gym and may work out with us, from time to time.

Last night’s workout (courtesy of SaraRules) included:

• Elliptical: 5 minutes
• Leg Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 100 lbs
• Leg Extensions: 3 sets/10 reps, 70 lbs
• Leg Curls: 3 sets/10 reps, 65 lbs
• Calf Raises: 3 sets/10 reps, 100 lbs
• Incline Chest Press (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 35 lbs
• Sit-ups (incline): 3 sets/10 reps
• Upright Row (barbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 40 lbs
• Curls (barbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 40 lbs
• Tricep Extensions (rope): 3 sets/15 reps, 60 lbs

It was a good workout and a bit of a challenge, as I haven’t been in such a long time… but I’m looking forward to getting back into the swing of things.

The Legend of Chimpy
I was half-kidding yesterday, when I said that I should start a new section of the blog…

…but a few minutes ago, Minion #2 messaged me with this bit of monkeydom from Chimpy:

Is it wrong to laugh out loud if Chimpy 2.0 locked himself out of his own testing machine and then asked me if I knew the password?

Yeah.  This is the kind of thing we deal with.

I should also clarify something: The person we currently refer to as “Chimpy” is actually the second person to carry his own special monkey designation. The original Chimpy left the company a year or so ago. However, “Chimpy 2” has done a banner job of maintaining the high levels of monkey-rifficness that we came to expect from his predecessor.

Stray Toasters

• StoryCorps: The Human Voice, featuring the late Studs Terkel
• ‘Black Dynamite’ Ass-Kicking His Way to Adult Swim
• For SaraRules: Great Comics That Never Happened: The Justice Luchadores of America
• A History of Rap: Jimmy Fallon, Justin Timberlake and The Roots

• The Sea Monkeys and the White Supremacist
• LEGO wedding Ring
• While this is cool, I’m still quite happy with the rings SaraRules and I have — with lots of thanks to for an amazing design job! (After all, how many guys get to have one of their favorite comic book symbols worked into their wedding band?!)
• Speaking of rings, as of Sunday morning, SaraRules and I will have been married one year.  Wow.
• Speaking of LEGO: My copy of LEGO Universe arrived yesterday.
• SF Says: “It Gets Better.”
  • In a related note, Ellen Degeneres taped this PSA:
    
• The Photographer’s Right: A Downloadable Flyer Explaining Your Rights When Stopped or Confronted for Photography
• The Inside Scoop on Making Gelato
• From the “I, Zombie” file: 17-yo Girl Must Digest Brain Fluid to Survive

And now it’s time to find some trouble to get into…

Namaste.

Wednesday – 29 September 2010
Comics and Sushi and D&D Wednesday is upon us.

Here’s a little something to get your day moving: Stevie Wonder – Superstition… as performed on Sesame Street:

Last night, after some errand-running, SaraRules and I sat down to watch Superman/Batman: Apocalypse.

The story was adapted from the second story arc, “Supergirl,” in the Superman/Batman book, in which a young Kryptonian girl named Kara falls to Earth… claiming to be Superman’s cousin. Darkseid – ruler of Apokalips and the film’s primary antagonist – seeks to harness the power of the young Kryptonian for his own ends. There were a few changes, but nothing that seemed to detract from the source material. The film is rated “PG-13” for language and violence… and there’s plenty of violence to be found, from Wonder Woman and Big Barda‘s fight with the Female Furies to Superman’s fight with Kara to the climactic battle with Darkseid.

Kevin Conroy and Tim Daly reprised their roles as Batman and Superman, respectively; Susan Eisenberg, who voiced Wonder Woman on the Justice League/Justice League Unlimited series, returned as the Amazon princess. Andre Braugher was brought in to voice Darkseid.  (Andre Braugher. Darkseid. Win-Win!) Summer Glau (Firefly, Serenity, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) voiced Kara.

The DVD also contained a “DC Showcase” backup featurette, starring Green Arrow. In it, Green Arrow has to protect a young princess from an assassination attempt. The piece was well-written, with a wryly witty Green Arrow. The piece also featured appearances from Merlyn, a long-time Green Arrow villain, Count Vertigo and Black Canary.

All-in-all, this was a worthy addition to the new DC Universe animation line.

Stray Toasters

• In a bit of a new twist, I started to mistype the title as “Stray Roasters.”
• The Gods Are Stranded as Set Misfires
• Background Listening and Passive Exposure Can Improve Your Skills
• Tron’s long journey back to into theaters, by way of
• “Birds of Prey” from Batman: The Brave and the Bold
• Toy Makers Fight for Exemption from Safety Rules
• Amtrak unveils plan for high-speed rail on East Coast
• The New Xbox Software Is Here and It’s Better

And that’s a wrap!

Namaste.

Tuesday – 28 September 2010
Work Week Day 2.

Here’s a little something to get your morning moving:

Tom Brown: Funkin’ for Jamaica

Moby (ft. Gwen Stefani): Southside

Instant Replay: Football
Last night, I had a few of the guys over to watch Monday Night Football…

Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears
17 – 24
The Green Bay Packers traveled to Chicago to take on the Bears at Soldier Field.It was a sloppy game for the Packers. Early on, it looked like they came to play, but their zeal seemed to wane a bit as the game went on.  On the other hand, Chicago looked kind of lax early on, but dialed up the effort in the second half… just enough to come away with a late game-winning field goal.

Stray Toasters

• SaraRules shared this video yesterday:

  I found this picture this morning:

  

• 4,100 Students Prove ‘Small Is Better’ Rule Wrong
• How to Survive When Your Elevator Plunges
• By way of the Council for Better Driving: Texting ban may add risk to roads
• Still Few Women in Management, Report Says
• 
• Philharmonic President to Depart, as Music World Changes
• By way of : Atheists, agnostics most knowledgeable about religion, survey says
• Skyy pushes the envelope with sexy ad campaign
• Former Marvel E-i-C Bob Harras Named DC Editor-in-Chief
• Websites suffer from 13 security flaws on average
• Ben & Jerry’s Take ‘All-Natural’ Claims Off Ice Cream Labels
• It would seem as though Raytheon isn’t the only one with a “death ray” these days: Vegas’ Vdara focuses sunshine into hair-singeing death ray

Namaste.

Wednesday – 15 September 2010
It’s the middle of the week.
It’s the middle of the month.
And, it’s Sushi and Comics Wednesday.
Triple-score win.

Last night, SaraRules and I went to Kingsbury Hall for an event:

Mr. Lee talked about his background, his introduction to film and his reasons for wanting to get into film. He also discussed how he has used the director’s chair to make films that deal with race relations as well as other subject matter. Following his roughly hour-long talk, he did about forty minutes of Q&A. He prefaced the session by saying that he would entertain “intelligent questions, but wasn’t here to take auditions, screenplays, mix-tapes” or other “Hey, notice me!” fare. His answers to the questions seemed sincere and direct, but were also rather no-nonsense.  It was a great event and a fine way to spend the evening.

We tried a new place for sushi today: Sushi Groove. We liked it. A lot. It had a lot of things going for it: Good atmosphere, good food, and some of the former Oh Sushi staff. It was full of “Win” all around.

Stray Toasters

• Have I mentioned that I have the Coolest Wife in the World lately?  No? Well, I do.
• Today is another suit day: Black suit, light blue shirt, black tie with gold and blue swaths and a gold pocket square.  And, yes, it has raised the obligatory “What’s the occasion?” questions.
• Tyranist was in the north office yesterday. We chatted about a number of things, including our mutual affinity for Cee-Lo’s new song. A short while later, Tyranist told me that I had gotten the song stuck in his head; I told him that was payback for getting Scotty Doesn’t Know stuck in my head a year or two ago. We then noted that the two songs were actually complementary sides of the same figurative coin.
• For the Dishwasher’s Sake, Go Easy on the Detergent
• Awesome Limited Edition Cycling Prints
• 
• Ray Lewis’ son has a 504-yard monster game in Florida
• Rokenbok has updated their website.
• “Elder Spice”
• I’m not sure if I even care about getting the “Buy It By The Brick” figure for Web of Spider-Man…
• A New Name for High Fructose Corn Syrup
• The 20 Worst TV Shows

Namaste.