Saturday – 11 September 2010
Today is the ninth anniversary of the attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.
For my thoughts on the matter, I again refer to these posts.
Take a few moments today to think about those whose lives were lost and to thank those who’ve put their lives on the line to keep the rest of us out of harm’s way.
Namaste.
Tuesday – 07 September 2010
The abbreviated work week begins.
The morning commute was accompanied by the radio, which had this in the mix:
Last night, SaraRules and I headed to the local Home Depot – my third trip for the day – to pick up paint supplies to start work on the guest room. As soon as we finish with it, we’ll be done with the upstairs interior. For now. Â We’re considering replacing the railing at the stairs to the basement with a half-wall. Â We’ll see how that pans out.
I also managed to get in a little time in Nova Praetoria, the “other” setting for CoH: Going Rogue. I like the fact that you get to choose between being a Loyalist (supporting the emperor) or a Resistance member (fighting against the oppressive regime)… or even straddle the line between them. My character is currently a member of the Resistance. Whether or not he remains one will depend on how the story plays out.
Stray Toasters
Namaste.
Saturday – 04 September 2010
Day 2 of the 4-day weekend is upon us.
It started out rather lazily – sleeping in and then stretching out on the sitting room sofa and reading comics. I’d pretty much call that a “win-win” start to the day.
Yesterday was a fairly lazy day. The morning was uneventful. A little before lunchtime, I headed down to visit Kate and Perry and the kids (or at least the kids who weren’t in school…). From there, I headed downtown to shoot a spot for an upcoming USUO video for new Thierry Fischer, the symphony’s new Music Director. It was fun. We’ll see if I make it into the final video or wind up on the cutting room floor. Then, I headed over to the USUO offices to say “Hi” to SaraRules.
Then, I did something that I haven’t done in over 25 years: I bought a new train set. (Yes, I do have a LEGO train set, but that was purchased for me.) My new acquisition was the Lionel Chessie System Merger Special Freight Set. Growing up in Maryland, Chessie System was the ‘road that I grew up around. (That and Norfolk and Western, to some degree.) Pictures of the unboxed set can be seen here.
To say that it’s “a little difficult” to find Chessie locomotives and rolling stock around here (Union Pacific territory) would be a minor understatement. Something that I didn’t realize before getting the itch to get back into model railroading – but makes perfect sense – is that hobby shops carry ‘roads that are appropriate to their geographic location. Therefore, I can find UP and BNSF stock with no problem, but finding things that are more common east of the Mississippi is a little more scarce… unless you special order them, in most cases.
Leaving The Train Shoppe, I gave
Two-thousand eight-hundred square feet.
I’ll give you a moment to let that sink in.
Just to put it into a little better perspective: His layout is larger than our house. Yeah, it’s that big. And it was AMAZING. Seriously.
After watching ILTT, it was time to head out for evening entertainment — SaraRules and her dad went off for a “daddy-daughter date” to see Machete (which she said was pretty awesome), while
When we got back home, I unpacked the track, transformer and locomotive from the Chessie set and assembled it in the family room. And I was immediately transformed into an eight-year-old kid again. Yep, just watching the locomotive going around the oval elicited that much nostalgia… and was that much fun.
Stray Toasters
And with that, time to find some trouble to get into!
Namaste.
Thursday – 02 September 2010
Another NBN Thursday kicks off.
And it also kicks off a four-day weekend, as today is my “Technical Friday.”
Maybe I’ll leave a little early to get a jump on the long weekend…
Today also marks the anniversary of the first use of an ATM in the United States.
Last night was Game Night with
After the game – and a stop at Home Depot, to pick up a hacksaw – I headed home and read the day’s four-color haul. It was a good way to wrap up the day.
Stray Toasters
Americans can be all that the rest of the world sometimes accuses them of: brash, loud, insular, obsessive and heavy-handed. But America is great for a reason. It is looked up to, despite all the criticism, for a reason. There is a nobility in the American character that has been developed over the centuries, derived in part, no doubt, from the frontier spirit, from the waves of migration that form the stock, from the circumstances of independence, from the Civil War, from a myriad of historical facts and coincidences. But it is there.
Meetings! Yay!
Namaste.
Thursday – 26 August 2010
It’s Thursday. I was informed of something that might push the day outside of the “NBN” envelope. That – coupled with who told me and what they told me – bring the phrase “People suck” quickly to mind… and serves as a reminder that some people practically beg to be curb-stomped.
Despite this, I shall try to maintain an NBN Thursday state of mind.
(As opposed to a New York State of Mind.)
Last night, SaraRules and I went to Pawit’s Royale Thai for dinner. As always, the food was very good. We started with their Por Pia Sod spring rolls (most excellent) and I had Pad Thai for my entree, while SaraRules had a salad whose name escapes me.
After dinner, it was back home for couch-time with comics! Yesterday’s haul was pretty good. I am really enjoying Justice League: Generation Lost, a “reunion” of sorts of the Justice League International. Another good storyline has been the new Wonder Woman. J. Michael Straczynski has done a good job of reinventing the character (even if people aren’t fond of her new costume). And the Legion made two appearances this month — in their own title and also in Superman/Batman #75.
After reading about superheroes, I went back to work on my HeroClix Wonder Woman mod. The new figure from The Brave and the Bold is… boring:
(gallery bb-figure-018)
So, I decided to try and make something a little more… dynamic. Â I’m combining two figures:
Phantom Girl, from the Legion of Super-Heroes Starter Set
(gallery ls-figure-005)
…and Mary Marvel, from Crisis:
(gallery cr-figure-041)
I should (hopefully) have pictures to share of the finished product soon.
Stray Toasters
(Plan B, by Mitz)
Time to save the world… again.
Namaste
Tuesday – 24 August 2010
aLast night, SaraRules and I went to her parents’ house for dinner (homemade chicken pot pie = WIN!) and football: Arizona Cardinals at Tennessee Titans. For a preseason game, it was a pretty good game… if you’re a Tennessee fan. They worked on both sides of the ball. And worked well. Vince Young looked good in the game, much more composed and poised in the pocket and able to make decent connections with his backs and receivers. They’ll be a team to watch this season.
On the other side of the field, the Cardinals still looked like a team trying to figure out who they are without Kurt Warner. Matt Leinart couldn’t get anything going in the three series that he played. Former Cleveland QB Derek Anderson looked decent, but wasn’t able to put together a scoring drive either. Former BYU QB Max Hall looked rather solid and put together the Cards’ only TD-scoring drive. It will be interesting to see how the team fares with their star receiver, Larry Fitzgerald, back in the game after his knee heals.
After the game, SaraRules and I headed home and wound up the evening with a couple of episodes of Mad Men. We are both enjoying the show quite a bit.
Chew on This: Food for Thought
I have had a couple of teachers and administrators in the family and a few of my close friends are teachers, as well. Teachers often get blamed for all of the ills – perceived and actual – in the halls of our schools, but seldom get the credit for trying to do the right thing for their students. (Drive to Overhaul Low-Performing Schools Delayed, NYTimes) I have both heard and seen first-hand how they deal with students and some of their students’ issues.
Case in point: I was talking with one of these friends earlier and he gave me the Cliff’s Notes version of one of the problems a student of his was facing — it was more “mountain” than “mole hill.” He told me that the student wound up literally crying over the situation.
What many people don’t realize is that teachers – at least the ones that I consider “good teachers” – don’t just shut out their students when the afternoon bell rings. They don’t just see their jobs as ending when the last school bus pulls out of the lot. They get involved. They do what they can to be supportive of their students. In short: They care.
If only more people cared about the teachers and administrators who spend time with their children…
Workout
I have no idea what yesterday’s step count was, as I broke the pedometer as I was heading home from work. Bah. I might have to look into getting another one.
Stray Toasters
“Everybody put me on the back burner for years and years,†said Mr. Allen’s son, Henry C. Allen, 65. He had hoped the cold case initiative would change things, but said the response has been slow. He said the legwork had been done. “Here’s the people you can contact, here’s their phone number, here’s their address,†he said. “I don’t have the authority to go knock on their door, but you do — and it still don’t get done.â€
2: a sudden stroke of fortune
Namaste.
Monday – 23 August 2010
Back in the Land Behind the Zion Curtain again.
Back at work again.
And, for some it’s “back to school” day. Â (Students, Welcome to College; Parents, Go Home)
(I didn’t encounter any school buses on the morning commute, though.)
We got back from Idaho last night. The trip was fun. (Click here for pictures.) And, it was the warmest and driest of the three trips to Redfish Lake that I’ve taken with the in-laws. I consider that a major win. That… and the fact that we had a cabin this time, rather than just tents. I was especially glad to be indoors when, on the second day, the campground manager was going around telling people that there had been a bear IN the campground the night before.
This year, I also took my bike. (The same bike that’s been languishing, unused, for the past two years.) I went for a short ride on Friday evening – about 3 or 4 miles. It felt pretty good. Saturday, while the family fished on the Yankee Fork River, I decided to take the bike and head further into the canyon. My intention was to head for either the Yankee Fork Gold Dredge or Custer, the town just beyond the dredge.
The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.
Just as I started, a snake slithered under my bike. (Most people who know me know that I am NOT a fan of snakes. At. All.) I was proud of myself for not squealing like a little girl. (Very proud, actually.) But, perhaps I should have taken the sign as a portent of how the ride might go…
Part of the way down the road, I realized that my memories of where the dredge was, relative to where the family was fishin, did not coincide with the actual geography. Nor did it jibe with the topography. However, I did come to realize – or at least be strongly reminded of – a few things:
Any of those three things is “not fun.”
All three things together had me sucking wind by the time I hit the first (and not very tall) hill.
I nearly called it quits halfway up. I decided to stick it out and make it up the hill. Once there, I figured that it couldn’t be too much further to the dredge. I was right… more or less. But, that also added another (minor) uphill climb on the return trip. I reached the dredge and turned around; that was a 4.5-mile trek in. The headwind on the way back was not fun. But… I made it.
Saturday, SaraRules and I also visited the nearby Sawtooth Fish Hatchery. That was pretty neat. After that, it was back to the campsite to meet up with the family and decide what to do about dinner. Â We opted to go into town; we ate at Sawtooth Luce’s, a pizzeria and sub shop. The pizza was good — the sauce reminded me of Garcia’s pizza back in West Lafayette. After that, it was back to the campsite for roasted marshmallows and general hanging out before heading back to the cabin for bed. And a shower. Oh, blessed indoor running water…
Sunday, we got the cabin and the campsite cleaned up and said our farewells to Redfish Lake and Stanley, ID. Â SaraRules and I headed back through Sun Valley (and a brush or forest fire), while the others headed back through Challis and Arco — they wanted to get in a little more fishing.
Last night, SaraRules and I also watched The Losers, based on the DC/Vertigo title of the same name. We both enjoyed it, although I’m curious to read the TPBs and see how the story and/or the characters differed from their four-color print counterparts. (Added Bonus: I’ve noticed that I’ve been enjoying Chris Evans‘ acting, from the Fantastic Four movies to Push to Scott Pilgrim to this.)
All-in-all, it was a good (though brief) vacation.
And, waking up for the alarm – and the return to work – this morning was not exactly “fun.”
Workout
Friday’s step count: 3,600-something.
Saturday’s step count: 9,394
Sunday’s step count: 3203
I’m not sure about the actual counts for Friday and Saturday, as they included bike rides and I’m not sure exactly how well the pedometer tracked motion for those rides.
Stray Toasters
Namaste.
Sunday – 15 August 2010
It’s going to be a great day.
This isn’t to say that it hasn’t already been a good one, but… “as it is written, so shall it be!”
Post-Craft Lake City, SaraRules and I stopped in to say “Hello” to the in-laws. We also chatted about dinner plans for this evening. And movies. And music. And stuff and things and whatnot. Once we got back home, it was, as The Fresh Prince put it,”…time to sit back and unwind.”
This morning, SaraRules fixed a great breakfast — pancakes and eggs, with a side of coffee. Win. After breakfast, we decided to tackle a little yard work. (It’s not going to get any cooler as the day wears on.) The lawn has been mowed. The garden has been tended to. And now, we’re looking ahead at a lazy rest of the day… including going to see Scott Pilgrim vs. The World this afternoon. Amen.
Workout
Saturday’s step count: 3,643
Stray Toasters
Be Well.
Be Happy.
Be Yourself.
Namaste.
Friday – 13 August 2010
Yes, it is Friday the 13th… (dun dun DUNNNN!)
But, it’s still Friday, which means that the weekend is nigh. With that in mind, here’s a little Janet (“Ms. Jackson,” if you’re nasty…) to help get your end-of-the-week dance on:
And we can’t just leave it like that, so here’s a little Will Smith, too:
After working a little later than usual on Wednesday and having to go back to work Wednesday night (to deal with a potential water leak), I had an extra hour of work on the timecard… of which I availed myself yesterday afternoon: I left a little after 4:00. Â It was nice. I stopped at Pin-up Girl, ordered a Peach White Tea and then sat and chatted with Jim and his brother, Paul.
Then I headed home to get ready for some football. SaraRules had a Justice Junior League meeting, so that meant that I was on my own for dinner. (Hello, Papa Johns…?) Pizza went wonderfully with beer and football. and it wasn’t just any old football game… it was the Ravens hosting the Panthers. But I’ll go into the game later.
As if the early part of the day wasn’t enough, SaraRules, Bonne, Melissa S. and I went to see The Expendables. SaraRules called it, and I quote:
Quite possibly the best action movie I’ve ever seen… I’d give it nine-and-a-half bricks!
And, just in case that wasn’t enough, here’s what Bonne had to say about it:
If you prefer action over chick flicks, I have one word for you: Expendables!!!
That’s right: My mother-in-law thought it rocked. Â Beat that.
And, yeah, it was pretty damned good. You’re not five minutes into the movie when the bullets – and bodies – start flying. The movie is “a little” thin on plot, but doesn’t suffer from lack of action. You get to see (almost) all of the stars chewing bubble gum, kicking ass and taking names. Something that I wasn’t expecting: The dialogue was actually witty at times. Sure, there were a couple of in-jokes here and there, but the banter was fairly fresh. And, the movie was just plain fun.
SaraRules’ Rating: 
Rob’s Rating:Â
That was my Thursday, how was yours?
Instant Replay: Football
| Carolina Panthers at Baltimore Ravens |
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| 12 – 17 | |
 |
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| The Ravens played host to the Carolina Panthers for both teams’ first preseason game. The weather went from overcast and threatening to “Hey, Noah, where’s your ark?” during the course of the game.
The Ravens have a lot of new talent on both sides of the ball. They also have a good number of returning team members. Among the new talent is former St. Louis QB Mark Bulger. Bulger looked a little rusty, but viewers saw that the talent is still there. QB Troy Smith got the short end of the stick, coming into the game as the rain started pouring down, but that didn’t stop him from engineering a drive that culminated in a rushing TD… by Smith, himself, on a QB draw. The Panthers apparently have twenty-nine (29) new players, including six rookie defensive players. They also have two rookie QBs – Jimmy Clausen and Hunter Cantwell – duking it out for the #2 slot. And I have to say: Clausen looked amazing. Seriously. First NFL game – against the Ravens’ D, no less – and he stood in the pocket, looking cool and in control. His passes were solid. His timing was unexpectedly and impressively precise, threading the needle more than once to complete long yardage passes to receivers in coverage. Yes, this was “just” a pre-season game, but it was still football and it was a good game. It’s good to know that both of my teams will be worth watching this season… especially when both teams meet again in November. |
|
Workout
Thursday’s step count: 4,860
Stray Toasters
(click image to read the question and comments)
Quote of the Day
Today’s quote comes from last night, by way of someone sitting in front of us to his friend who had just returned from the concession stand:
“You’re bitching about salt and sugar?! That much food will grow you two spare asses!”
Have a great Friday!
Namaste.
Thursday – 29 July 2010
Good NBN Thursday to all.
I spent the day in the south office yesterday. That’s always um… a treat. Â We’ve been preparing for some network changes and I went down to help Minion #1 take care of the wiring for that office. And, I did manage to squeeze in sushi for lunch with a few coworkers.
After work, I hauled back up the road and swung past Dr. Volt’s. (There was four-color goodness to pick up, after all…) I made a couple of quick side trips and then went to Hastur Hobbies for D&D night with Jack and
Workout
Tuesday’s step count: 6,758
Wednesday’s step count: 4,207
Stray Toasters
Namaste.
Monday – 26 July 2010
It’s the beginning of another fun-filled work week.
Today would have been my great-grandmother’s birthday, as well. One of the best stories about my great-grandmother also involves Sib-2 and a Power Wheels truck; nearly 30 years later, it still makes me laugh.
Even though it was a three-day weekend, it still seemed far too short. The highlights of the weekend included:
This morning’s musical selection: Orgy – Opticon
Chew on This: Food for Thought
Today’s thought comes from an unknown source:
We all have it within ourselves to rise from feelings of complete hopelessness to a state of renewed strength, clarity, understanding and peace.
Workout
Stray Toasters
Juice! Fruit juice!
Or Kool-Aid, if you choose.
Juice box, please! Or Capri Suns to squeeze!
It’s a fact: Welch’s Grape is like crack!
Juice! Fruit Juice!
Everybody drink… Everybody drink…
Everybody drink… Everybody drink…
Everybody drink… Everybody drink… Everybody….
Everybody drink fruit juice!
Friday – 16 July 2010
It’s (almost) the weekeeeeeend, baby! While this hasn’t been “Longest. Week. Ever,” it has been a long week. I’m pretty sure that it has something to do with last week being a three-day work week… but that’s just a hunch.
Last night, Melissa – our friend who did the 5K with us last weekend – came over and she, SaraRules and I watched Shutter Island. (M had never seen it.) I caught a few very subtle things throughout the movie that I missed the first… two times I saw it. And it was just as solid a film this time as the other times I’ve seen it.
I woke up this morning with snippets of this running through my head. I blame it on the cartoon/kids’ show theme war that I had with Kris a couple of days ago. And, speaking of music, today’s musical selections are:
Utah Saints – Something Good ’08
George Michael – Flawless (Go to the City)
After work this afternoon (Hellooooooo, half-day!), I’ll be running either a demo or a mini-tournament for Dr. Volt’s at the Gaming and Electronics Expo (GEEX) at the South Towne Expo Center. Â The demo/tourney should start about 4:00 PM. Â If you’re free and in the area, come down and check it out.
Workout
Thursday’s step count: 2,054
Stray Toasters
Namaste.
Monday – 21 June 2010
Today is the Summer Solstice.
It seems that I have been remiss with something. And I’d like to take a moment to address the issue:
I usually post some sort of greeting to friends and family in here for their birthdays. It appears that I have neglected to include my sister-in-law’s birthday last week.
In fact, she had apparently been expecting to see… some acknowledgement here… but, well… she got bupkis. And was “a little” shocked by it.
Yeah, I know! Well, at least, now I know now. (She mentioned it to SaraRules on Friday and she also mentioned it to my in-laws… who told me yesterday.)Â This isn’t to say that I forgot her birthday. I didn’t — I was one of the first people to post a birthday greeting on her Facebook page. (Hey, I may be an occasionally forgetful brother-in-law, but I’m not a complete jerk.) Â Besides, it’s not a good idea to tick off the family member who knows how to fight with swords and tomahawks, especially when you’re going to be spending a week in the middle of nowhere camping with them soon. Just saying. Â It’s just that I… neglected… to say anything about it in my most public forum.
And with that in mind, I hereby declare this week: “Missa K. Week.” Â That’s right. All Missa. All week.
(What?! Me? Â Overkill?! Never.)
Happy Belated Birthday, M! Â 🙂
I hope that you had fun playing pirate this weekend!
We now return you to your regularly-scheduled blog entry, already in progress…
Yesterday was good. We did go to The Garden of Sweden. We picked up a couple of lamps and a few other assorted items… and spent more money than we had originally intended. But, they were necessary items. After IKEA, we headed to Home Depot. And, with those two stops, our living room and dining rooms are now finished.
We wrapped up Father’s day with dinner at the in-laws’. And there was bocce. And brownies. And mojitos. Amen.
Workout
Yesterday’s step count: 5,143
Stray Toasters
On to it…
Namaste.
Sunday – 20 June 2010
It’s Father’s Day. With that in mind, I’d like to wish a very Happy Father’s Day to the fathers in my family:
Today’s “Human of the Day” award goes out to these guys.
Yesterday was a good day. Â It started with a trip to the Downtown Farmer’s Market with SaraRules and the in-laws. They’ve expanded the market a bit, so that it now takes over all of Pioneer Park. Of course, that moved the “fringe” artisans from the area at the south end of the park to the adjacent corners and streets.
Next, I headed up to Dr. Volt’s to run another HeroClix tournament. The format was the “HeroClix Wrestling Federation,” in which players had six figures, up to specific point values, and played them tag-team style against another player’s six-figures — when a figure took damage, the player rolled a six-sided die to see which other figure “tagged in.” It is always a fun format to play, and is pretty well-received by the players. I even got a chance to play — the bye rounds, but still… I got to play. Â I went with a Sinestro Corps-themed team:
(gallery aa-figure-044)
(gallery bn-figure-003)
(gallery cr-figure-055)
(gallery aa-figure-100)
(gallery cd-figure-219)
(gallery aa-figure-060)
After the tourney, SaraRules and I went out for a bite to eat and then headed downtown to check out the 2010 Utah Foster Care Chalk Art Festival. Â We arrived too late to see Team Chalkolicous in action, but we still strolled through and took a look at all of the pieces that people did over the course of the event: Pictures here.
Later in the evening, we finally got around to seeing Kick-Ass. It was quite fun and, as I recall, it adapted the source material fairly well… with a couple of changes.
This morning, I woke up and strolled up to Pin-Up Girl Espresso. Â Christy fixed me an Iced Caramel Silk, which was quite good. Shortly after I got back home, the in-laws dropped by to chat for a bit while out running errands. Then, breakfast — Blueberry muffins FTW!!!!
Next on the agenda: A trip to The Garden of Sweden and maybe even a home improvement store or two. Â Win-Win!
Workout
Yesterday’s step count: 6,517
Stray Toasters
Namaste.
Friday – 18 June 2010
It’s almost the weekend. Hallelujah.
And, for the record: I’m in love on the other days of the week, too.
Yesterday was delightfully NBN-tastic. I couldn’t have asked for a less-bothersome day if I tried. As an added bonus, I went to lunch with coworkers to celebrate someone’s birthday. We went to The Dodo. I had their French Dip Sandwich, with a salad and their sinfully delicious Caramel Coffee Cake for dessert. Talk about “food coma-inducing.” After work, I hung out with Perry for a bit before meeting SaraRules for dinner. The night wrapped up with the new episode of Burn Notice.
Chew on This: Food for Thought
Let’s hear it for stepfathers, too
This is a timely and poignant article. I had feelings similar to Justice Sears’ children when my mother first remarried. I was never a really outwardly rebellious kid, but there were often thoughts of “But, he’s not my father…” in the back of my head. And, I know that it caused “a few” odd looks when I would introduce people to “…my Mom and dad… and my mom and dad,” when both sets of my parents would show up at events.
Over the years, I’ve come to not only accept my stepfather, but to appreciate and love him. This isn’t to say that we haven’t had our disagreements — that’s the occasional nature of parents and their children, but he has been a good husband to my mother, a good father to my sister (and myself) and an all-around good man to our family.
If you are part of a blended family, please don’t forget to take some time to call your stepfather, too, this Father’s Day.
And, now it’s time for the breakdown…
Today’s music mix – that’s right, today you get variety – includes songs that celebrate the end of the work week and the beginning of the weekend:
Workout
Yesterday’s step count: 3306
Stray Toasters
…right on to the friction of the day.
Namaste.