Random Access

Wednesday – 06 April 2011
It’s mid-week again, which also means that it’s new comics day and D&D 4.0 night. I’m good with all of those.

Yesterday’s Utah County excursion wasn’t too bad. The monkeys were fairly quiet; I did, however, get a little tired of people asking me when someone else was going to be in that office. After the third time, it got harder and harder to retort with a smart-assed answer. *sigh* On the plus side, I managed to squeeze in a trip to The Hobby Stop during lunch. Hey… it’s train stuff. Go figure.  🙂

I got home a little later than I had planned, had dinner and was back on the road again. Last night was D&D 3.5 night with and company. We accomplished a few things which were good/necessary and have nominal plans for the next part of our adventure.

Chew on This: Food for Thought – Personal Hygiene
When a person is getting ready for work in the morning – or even the night before – isn’t that the “ideal” time for them to take care of things like clipping their nails?

As opposed to, say, waiting until they get into the office…?!

There are a few possible exceptions to this:

• Salon workers
• Spa workers
• Veterinarians

I’m not someone who gets squidgy at the sound of someone clipping their nails, but it just seems that it is something best done at home. With that in mind, there are times when I think a quick trim/cut are acceptable, the prime example being when someone chips, cracks or tears a nail and needs to trim it down. But that’s (usually) just one nail. Not all ten.

I suppose that I should just happy that I have neither seen nor heard (that I know 0f) anyone clipping their toe nails on the clock.

Stray Toasters

• I’ve been really enjoying the Tony Toni Tone’ CD that I picked up earlier in the week.
• 57 Spectacular LEGO Scenes
• Bored with World of Warcraft? Make Your Own Fun
• 
• More Pupils Are Learning Online, Fueling Debate on Quality
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file:
  • Giants fan beaten at Dodgers’ Stadium appears to have brain damage
  • Girl Trains Cow as a Show Horse
  • Michigan couple to walk some 2,500 miles for wedding
  • 
• Firefox 4 is taking a little getting used to…
• CWA: Why should you care about species extinction?
• Queen Guitarist Shares Love for Astronomy Through Stereoscope
• 
• An Artist Takes Role of China’s Conscience
• Grand Jury Investigates Whether Apps Like Pandora Are Stealing Your Info
• Lawmakers tell Google to do more on antipiracy

Namaste.

Tuesday – 05 April 2011
Day two of the work week… and I’m in the south office today. Some of us are doing rotations down here once a month. And, today is my day. Well, one of them — I think I’ll be back down at the end of the month, too. Oh, well.  It’s a nice change of pace.

Last night, after dinner, SaraRules! and I ran a few errands and then went to Frogurt for dessert. It was good and it wasn’t as tart as the yogurt at Red Mango. (On the other hand, they didn’t have a Green Tea Yogurt, so it’s kind of a draw.) We wrapped up the evening with an episode of Castle and an episode of Top Gear.

I stopped at Pin-up Girl Espresso this morning, to get a caramel mocha for the road. I was pleasantly surprised to see (former) Pin-up Girl Erin in the window. I didn’t get a chance to ask if she was going to be a semi-permanent regular in the store, though.

And tonight is D&D 3.5 night.

Stray Toasters

• Commodore is back!  (Not to be confused with the music group, The Commodores.)
• Roberts’ three-run home lifts Orioles to first 4-0 start since 1997
• Salt Lake Art Center takes an outsiders look at SLC
• 
  
• Advocate for the Arts
• Obama Invites Republicans to Meet on Budget
• Chemical found which ‘makes bone marrrow repair skin’
• FAA to Order Airlines to Inspect 737s for Cracks
• 
• Guess who went to The Hobby Stop and looked at train stuff while at lunch.
• NFLPA’s Mike Vrabel arrested for alleged theft, calls it ‘misunderstanding’

Namaste.

Monday – 04 April 2011
It’s the beginning of a new work week. (At least it’s sunny)

Today is also my stepfather’s birthday…

…and my friend, Mark’s, birthday…

…and my friend, Spydr’s, birthday.

Yeah. S’a lotta birthdays today.

Yesterday was a very lazy day. I woke up to snow, a continuation of the snowfall that started before I went to bed Saturday night. Throughout the day, it was alternately snowy and sunny. (“Welcome to Utah…”) In the late afternoon, I decided to visit the soon-to-be-closed local Borders. I found a few items that I couldn’t live without. After returning home, I took a trip to Gotham City, via DC Universe Online. I ran a series of missions that featured crimes by Poison Ivy. But, in the end mission, Ivy kicked my trash… using Robin to do so. (Of course, that kind of means that I got beaten up by Wil Wheaton. Or at least a character whose voice actor was Wil Wheaton.)

During and after dinner, we watched a new-to-me show called Bert the Conqueror. Hilarious. SaraRules! had apparently seen it before. It was a ton of fun. The premise of the show has the host, Bert Kreischer, traveling to different parts of the country “…in search of can’t-miss thrill rides and local activities, from the crazy to the insane to the downright dangerous.” The episodes we were: Maine and Virginia. After the Maine episode, I mentioned to SaraRules! that we had four years to prep for the 15th annual North American Wife Carrying Championship. She smiled and stopped short of patting me on the head and saying,”Sure we do, dear.”

We wrapped up the evening watching a movie called Monsters; SaraRules! had heard of it by way of a couple of friends. It was part Cloverfield, part The Mist and part… either Logan’s Run and/or The Road. It was a small studio/lower budget film, but its production quality was still better than 95% of the original movie content that SciFi… sorry, “SyFy”… comes up with. Part of the movie was interesting and engaging and somewhat as I expected, but the ending was a little flat and anticlimactic to me. Still, I’d say it’s worth a viewing.

Stray Toasters

• The Neville Brothers: Yellow Moon
• Breach exposes Chase, Capital One, TiVo customers
• Ex-astronaut Lisa Nowak’s criminal record to stay open
• BBC’s ‘Top Gear’ fires back at Tesla lawsuit
• HeroClix World has a link to the new Green Lantern footage, which debuted at WonderCon last weekend.
• 
• Vast Gene Study Yields Insights on Alzheimer’s
• Rubber’s Psycho Tire Rolls into Pantheon of Road-Rage Cinem
  There’s a part of me that is just curious enough to want to see this movie…
• Just because: A History of Rap

• The Spirit of Sharing: Museums Pursue Engagement with Social Media
• Steve Rogers Returns as Captain America in July
  While I realize that this is most likely being done due to the release of Captain America: The First Avenger, I’m a bit sad/disappointed by this, as I’ve enjoyed the “passing of the mantle” from Steve to his former sidekick.
• Searchers find pieces of crashed jet in Atlantic
• Ruling Spurs Effort to Form Digital Public Library

That’s pretty good for now…

Namaste.

Sunday – 03 April 2011
It’s snowing.

I figured I’d get that one out of the way, right off the bat. It started last night, before I went to bed, so I’m estimating that we have three to six inches of the stuff on the ground. I’ll do a measurement later, when I go out to shovel the driveway.

It’s been a good weekend. Friday, I had brunch with at The Park Cafe. The food and the atmosphere were both good. From there, I stopped at The Train Shoppe for a minute; I needed to inquire about a problem that I am having with the couplers on one of my locomotives. Randy told me that it was a pretty fast and easy fix. Armed with that knowledge, I headed out. I took Defiant back to Expercom. They installed the new PRAM battery and the new top case… and it was less expensive than they’d originally quoted me. So, I once again have a fully-operational Death Star BlacBook. Later in the evening, SaraRules! and I skipped meeting the usual suspects for Clitorati and, instead, went to a Utah Grizzlies hockey game. The game was good, although the Grizzlies lost. (My guess is that since they’d already locked up a playoff berth, they: A) didn’t have anything to prove and B) didn’t want their players to get injured.)

Saturday, I met Chris for breakfast and then we headed up to Dr. Volt’s for this weekend’s HeroClix tournament. There was a decent turn-out — nine players, so I played the bye rounds. Dr. Volt’s also hosted a book signing with Valerie Finnigan, one of the authors of Untold Stories from Iraq and Afghanistan. After our tournament was over, I had the opportunity to speak with Valerie for a bit. She was a charming woman with a few interesting story to tell. (Jeremiah also did an interview with her.) I got back home and tried to figure out what I wanted for dinner. SaraRules! to the rescue! She suggested Famous Dave’s Barbecue. So was it done. And it, too, was good. And very filling. After that, we came home and assembled a LEGO airplane that I got for Christmas. (Hey, some people do puzzles together; we assemble LEGO toys.)

Pictured here, with LEGO Universe Astronaut

Next, we watched (500) Days of Summer. Good movie. Not quite what I expected, but it was rather enjoyable… and a bit quirky.

Stray Toasters

• According to Google, today marks the “119th Anniversary of the First Recorded Ice Cream Sundae”

  

• Plane makes emergency landing with hole in cabin
  • Southwest Airlines grounds jets over mid-air hole scare
• This is one way to get down stairs, I guess…
• By way of Christopher M.: Wall of Sound: The iPod has changed the way we listen to music. And the way we respond to it.
• 
• Lynda Carter Reveals Opinion on New ‘Wonder Woman’ Costume
• Hands-Free Faucets Not Germ-Free, Study Finds

Today is a good day for getting in some DCUO or LEGO Universe… or both!

Namaste.

Thursday – 31 March 2011
It’s a blue sky NBN “Technical Friday.” And I’m good with that.

Last night was supposed to be D&D 4.0 night. So, after dinner, I ran a couple of errands and headed over to Hastur Hobbies to partake in hack-and-slash goodness. I arrived to find no one from my group there.

*headscratch*

I went back through my messages to see if I had missed something. I had. had called the game earlier in the afternoon… but, that message was basically attached to another thread of messages, so I didn’t catch it when I skimmed over them.

*D’oh!*

That just meant that my evening freed up for me to go and hang out with the missus. Which I did. For the most part…

…until I decided that the best thing for me and my newfound head cold was a nice relaxing soak while reading the day’s new comics haul. And I was right – it was good.

A little later, SaraRules! and I finished off the last DVD of Mad Men that we got from Netflix. I now understand what and meant by “the lawnmower episode,” and why they both agreed that I’d “get” it as soon as I saw it.

This morning, I woke up with this song running through my head…

…and I was okay with that.

Stray Toasters

• Shannon Tavarez, Nala in “Lion King,” Dies at 11
  I can’t recall if she was the performer I saw when The Lion King was here last year.
• Phishing scam poses as Adobe upgrade
• Possible Safety Risks Put Met Opera Tour to Japan “in Jeopardy”
• Today is opening day for most of the MLB.
  The O’s open tomorrow night against the Devil Rays, in Tampa.

  

• Stanley Chow Does ‘Dr. Who,’ He-Man, Super Jon Hamm and More
• Fat Stigma Spreads Around Globe
• Lawmakers try to stall law on cutting debit card fees
• Spring Trends for Men, According to Women
• 
• BP “leaks” data of 13,000 Gulf oil spill victims
• Antitrust Cry from Microsoft

Namaste.

Tuesday – 29 March 2011
It’s (so far) a bright and sunny day in the valley. I’m good with that.

Last night, SaraRules! and I opted for a quiet evening in. We ordered pizza and caught up on episodes of  NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles. After that, I played DC Universe Online ; I ran a couple of missions and felt super-heroic for an hour or so. I finally remembered to take a picture in front of the Bat-Signal, as well:

After that, we watched a bit of Top Gear, before calling it a night.

Tonight, I’m heading out with a few of the guys for a pre-moving send-off for Perry. It should be good.

Stray Toasters

• My Tuesday was meeting-free… until I had to call a meeting. *sigh*
• Gender and the Supreme Court’s Wal-Mart Case
• Michigan Cuts Jobless Benefit by Six Weeks
• Discovery heads into retirement
• iZombie: snappy, sassy supernatural comic
  I have been reading – and enjoying – this book since it began last year. This compilation makes an excellent jumping-on point for new readers.
• Players claim ‘irreparable harm now’ from NFL in court filing
• 
  …and, in a somewhat related note:

  

• Amber Waves to Ivory Bolls
• Oracle’s MySQL.com hacked via SQL injection
• 3-Month Nightmare Emerges in Rape Inquiry
• Mario Brothers 2 – Kong Country (another “Serious Mario Movie Trailer”)
• Fires could be extinguished using beams of electricity

Namaste.

Monday – 28 March 2011
Another work week begins. And this one comes complete with snow! (Well, flurries, but still…)

Yesterday was good. It was a mostly low-key day. I did head over to West Valley Hobbies for a bit, but didn’t buy anything. I also stopped at Dr. Volt’s, to pick up the Apocalypse ‘Clix that they had on display. SaraRules! and I had dinner with her family and, after dinner, we watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, which I hadn’t seen in a while. Back at home, we watched last week’s episode of Fringe before calling it a night.

Today, we’re having issues in the office. And there have been many “Why” and “How” and “When” questions asked. We’re handling it as best we can. (Which, surprisingly, doesn’t include punching monkeys.)

Stray Toasters

• How to Raise the Status of Teachers
• World’s largest LEGOLand taking shape in Florida
• Mobile phones may rot your bones
• A couple of Star Wars-related items:
  • Distracted by Star Wars
  • Homages, Ripoffs and Coincidences: Star Wars
• 
  
• When test scores soared in D.C., were the gains real?
• Paul Baran, Internet Pioneer, Dies at 84
• Thanks to for posting a link to this video, which shows the pre-launch preparations for Discovery‘s last flight:

• The Nintendo They’ve Tried to Forget
• 12-Year-Old Rewrites Einstein’s Theory of Relativity

On to the rest of Monday…

Namaste.

Thursday – 24 March 2011
It’s a grey, rainy No Bad News Thursday in the Land Behind the Zion Curtain. WHEEE!

Last night was the first D&D 4.0 game that I’ve been able to attend in the past… three, I think… weeks. And when I arrived, it was without my character. This was a fact that I didn’t recognize until I’d walked in the door and thought “Shouldn’t I have something else?”

*grblsnrkx*

Yep. Genius move on my part. So, I got to play the part of one of the NPCs. An evil NPC, at that. I believe that it was the first time in all the years I’ve played D&D that I’ve actually played a character with an evil alignment. And, it was fun. I think that I caught a couple of my party member when I… kind of… started a fight with a bunch of guys because my character didn’t like his attitude. (We won the fight, though.) Partway through the game, I had an apostrophe epiphany: My character might actually be in my car, not at home… so I went and checked. Lo and behold, there it was.

::: facepalm :::

So, I went and got it. I played both characters for a few turns, until the NPC left the game. (His story arc was done, I didn’t get him killed.) It was a good game session.

Stray Toasters

• I’m contemplating running walking a 5K this weekend: Running of the Leopards. The two mitigating factors for me are:
  1. Weather
  2. If I can find a walking partner.
• Smithsonian. Historically Hardcore.
• Long-lost Frederic Chopin letters recovered by museum
• Bearing Witness Beyond the Witnesses
• 
• I’ve had four, count ’em… FOUR… meetings today. Before lunch.
• Gadgets You Should Get Rid Of (or Not)
• Posting “not-so-great” news about this guy might not win me any fans among the BYU crowd, considering how… revered… he is in this neck of the woods. Oh, well, here it is anyway: N.B.A. Scouting Report on Fredette: Good but Not Great
• The new – full – trailer for the upcoming Captain America movie has finally been released:

• Inside Mac OS X 10.7 Lion Server: Apple replaces Samba for Windows networking services
• Germany Steps Away from European Unity
• David E. Kelley Talks Wonder Woman
• 
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file:
  • Airport tower silent as planes land
  • Woman suing Carnival: Ship sailed too fast, made me sick
• How Western Diets Are Making the World Sick

Namaste.

Wednesday – 23 March 2011
New comics day + D&D (4.0) game night = A good combination.

Last night, Chris came over and – after a lot of shooting the bull – we played dolls. We did a Teen Titans (Chris) vs. the X-Men game. And he cleaned my clock. Six ways from Sunday. It started off as a good game, but my dice decided to play jokes early on. That wasn’t insurmountable. The problems began when Chris moved a couple of his pieces into positions I wasn’t expecting and then made like LL Cool J and knocked a couple of my key pieces out… and then picked apart the rest of my team. One bright spot in the game: Having my Wolverine eviscerate Robin. All-in-all, it was a good game. But, I need to plan some revenge for the game where I run the Titans.

Stray Toasters

• Elizabeth Taylor dead at 79
  • Hollywood Icon Elizabeth Taylor Dies at 79

  

• Japanese Vegetables and Milk Banned from Import to US
• NFL moves kickoff line from 30-yard line to 35; no change on touchbacks
• A Queens Guy Toughs It Out in Hollywood
• Android: Sued by Microsoft, Not Linux
• 
• Are We There Yet?: new art installation at SF Contemporary Jewish Museum
  It turns out that a high school classmate of mine is the Deputy Director of Development at the museum.
• Terry Pratchett’s Discworld Being Adapted to Crime-of-the-Week Mystery TV Series
• 
• Weimar Rail-Zeppelin: streamlined white-elephant
• ‘Spider-Man’ Broadway musical shaken by another injury
• Detroit Census Confirms a Desertion Like No Other
  • Motor City population declines 25%
• 
• DCU Online Gets Lucky with Two-Face, Mxyzptlk in March
• Race Issues Rise for Miami Police
• But I be done seen ’bout ev’rything
  When I see an elephant fly Wonder Woman, Amazon Baby Sitter!
• For Consumers, Little to Cheer in AT&T Deal

Quote of the Day
Something that I enjoy (and look forward to) is the occasional instant message from my brother-in-law, recounting something – usually highly entertaining – that either my niece or my sister has said or done. This morning, I found this gem, which he sent last night:

your niece.
today two verbal gaffes that made Rana inform me i’m doing harm to my children
playing Mario Kart
she [Bit] first asks to play the character “honky kong”
then when we unlock a new character, “funky kong”
of course…now she’s informing Rana she wants to play “fucky kong”
i give up.

That made me laugh. A lot.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 22 March 2011
March winds
And April showers
Bring forth May flowers.

That’s the way I was taught.

I’m good with the “March winds.”
“April showers” are good too.
And, “May flowers?” Yep, I’m fine with them, as well.
It’s the whole “March intermittent rain and snow showers” thing that I’m taking issue with today.

On the other hand, today is William Shatner‘s 80th birthday, so it can’t be all bad.

Last night was quiet and uneventful. I think that the highlights were sorting ‘Clix, making hamantaschen and watching Top Gear with SaraRules! and having a bowl of ice cream for an evening snack… not necessarily in that order.

Tonight, Chris is supposed to come over to play dolls. We’re doing an updated match of the X-Men vs. the Teen Titans. I should probably start considering who I’m going to use…

Stray Toasters

• BAMF!
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Competitive Chess Boxing: Brain Meets Pain in Iceland
• Stop the presses: Teenagers actually like, gasp, symphony concerts
• Pakistani actress Veena Malik schools a mullah about Islam
• How about a little Raphael Saddiq: Tiny Desk Concert to get your Tuesday moving?
  • Bonus track: Get Involved
• 
• As lockout lingers, NFL and players continue to trade barbs
• If you haven’t taken a look at the artwork of Colleen Coover, you should.
• Adjusted U.S. figures paint a rosier jobs picture
• Zach Snyder won’t look back: ‘There’s been no other Superman movies’
  • Zach Snyder looks to ‘Batman Begins’ for his inspiration
• Ever have one of these days?

  

• How to make a hamantaschen Sierpinksi triangle
• Goldman Sachs programmer sentenced for code theft

Namaste.

Monday – 21 March 2011
It’s the second day of Spring. Here behind the Zion Curtain, it’s grey and drab… although the sun appears to be making some efforts at breaking through the clouds.

This past weekend was rather low-key, which wasn’t a bad thing. Saturday, I had breakfast with Chris before heading over to Dr. Volt’s, where I judged a HeroClix tournament. There was a good turnout, with nine players. As there was overlap between the last DC 75th event and the new Giant-Size X-Men release, I just combined the prize support for the winners. That seemed to go over fairly well. Saturday evening, SaraRules!’ parents and grandmother came over to visit for a bit. We capped off the evening watching Demolition Man; it had been many years since I had last seen it.

Sunday was another quiet day… or, at least, it started that way. Perry called in the late morning to elicit my help in moving some of his martial arts practice equipment. We headed over and chatted with Kate and him for a bit; then he and I set about the heavy lifting. After that, SaraRules! and I caught a matinee of Battle: Los Angeles. This movie’s been getting knocked around in the reviews, but it wasn’t all bad. In fact, it was decent.  About halfway through the movie, I realized what it reminded me of: Independence Day. The only things missing were The Fresh Prince, The Fly and a virus-uploading MacBook. It was still a decent popcorn flick.

After the movie, we headed over to the in-laws’ for a belated St. Patrick’s Day dinner of corned beef and cabbage. SaraRules’ grandmother was in town, so we hung out with the family for a bit after dinner. Then it was back home for relaxing with DC Universe Online and a couple of episodes of Mad Men.

Stray Toasters

• Smithsonian to keep meteorite that fell in Virginia
• 
• Diamond Comics’ Previews offered up this item: Adrianne Palicki Debuts as the New Wonder Woman
  • Dear NBC, I Fixed It For You, by way of Derek H.
• Gains, and Drawbacks, for Female Professors
• Abortion Foes Target Family Planning Program
• 
• Spectacular LEGO Reenactments of March Madness Classics
  • And now, a moment of silence for the Boilermakers, who were knocked out of this year’s March Madness by VCU.
• AAP: Toddlers in rear-facing seat until 2
• Where the Music Still Roils in a Critical Mass
• 
  • Also from xkcd: Radiation Dose Chart, which is rather informative… and BIG!
• The Tragic Story of the Russian Cosmonaut Who Was Sent into Space Knowing He Would Die
  • Cosmonaut Crashed to Earth ‘Crying in Rage’
  • It’s kind of odd, but if you consider the first two paragraphs of the NPR account, you can find a similarity to the story told in David Bowie’s Space Oddity, though as pointed out: In Space Oddity, the pilot – not the ship – was “broken.”
• AT&T to Buy T-Mobile USA for $39 Billion
• The sun appears to have given up on trying to break through the clouds.

And that, I think, is a wrap.

Thursday – 17 March 2011
It’s my “Friday.”
Happy Green Lantern Day.
Or, for some of you: “Happy St. Patrick’s Day.”

Could the day possibly get better? Somehow, I doubt it.

Yesterday was a pretty good day. I left work a little early and made a trip down to The Train Shoppe. I managed to not buy a ton of stuff, just a few sections of track. Of course, I was exhibiting some restraint because I was picking up a case of ‘Clix, as the new Giant-Size X-Men set was released yesterday. And, with release day comes… Release Day Tournament. On the plus side: This was an event that Jeremiah ran for the store, meaning that I got to play in the event, rather than having to judge it. Win-Win.

Stray Toasters

• Here’s a little “green” music for your day – Booker T and the MG’s: Green Onions:

• This morning’s first cup of coffee included a little St. Brendan’s Irish Cream.
• Saint Patrick as a Green Lantern.  Hm… this might work.
• First Guinness store in the USA to open in Las Vegas
• I turned my 4-year-old daughter into a Dungeons & Dragons geek
• 
• For SaraRules!: Amy Ahlstrom: Urban Quilter
• Long Pause for Japanese Industry Raises Concern About Supply Chain
• How to fix “sexting” laws
• Ten Things People Say Right Before Being Punched on Saint Patrick’s Day
• 
• Coaches’ salaries slashed in NFL lockout cost-cutting
• Health Net breach prompts investigation, affects 1.9M
• ‘The New York Times’ Unveils Metered Online Paywall

Namaste.

Wednesday – 16 March 2011
Apparently, it’s going to be a grey and rainy day. So be it. It’s midweek, it’s new comics day, and the new HeroClix set – Giant-Size X-Men – releases today. So there’s my ray of sunshine. In a bag.

Yesterday was The Ides of March… and it felt like it. I had an 11.5 hour day at work, thanks to a network traffic issue. I got so fed up at one point, that I went out for lunch and wound up going home, heading to the basement and running my train for a little bit of mid-day serenity. It helped. Fortunately, loonybin88 was still in town and helped sort through most of the issue. I still need to track down another (hopefully small) part of the puzzle.

When I got home, and after a late dinner and a little TV, I settled in for a hot soak and some light reading, Fables Vol. 14: Witches. That made for a perfect end to the day.

Stray Toasters

• Rapper Nate Dogg Dead at 41
  • Warren G (ft. Nate Dogg) – Regulate

• Train cars derail in Salt Lake City
• I don’t speak Russian, but Comics Alliance got their hands on the Russian preview trailer for the upcoming X-Men: First Class, which features some different footage than the American trailer.
• Mormon Politicians from Utah Feel Tea Party Heat
• Kids and Dead Tree Comics
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Powder at Kennedy Space Center tests positive for cocaine
• 
• N.J. agencies failed to wipe hard drives before resale
• What We’re Reading: March 15-21
• Remember the song, Brimful of Asha?  Meet Asha Bhosle: the voice of Bollywood
• Both of these go straight to The Covet List. Do not pass “Go.” Do not collect $200.
• 
• How Pee Helps Us Understand Social Media
• Threats to Traveling Data
• NASA: Japan quake shortened Earth’s day, shifted axis

Namaste.

Wednesday – 09 March 2011
Midweek.
New comics day.
Not D&D 4.0 night… because ‘s little Thunder turns one-year-old today. (And, quite frankly, celebrating your kid’s birthday is a good reason to cancel your gaming session.)

Today is also Ash Wednesday (1, 2, 3, 4) the first day of the Lent.

Last night, SaraRules! had mentioned having pancakes for dinner, as it was Shrove Tuesday. By the time I got home, she had changed her mind. But, she still kept a bit of the Mardi Gras spirit alive with her selection: Jambalaya. We also finished off the last two episodes of last season’s Burn Notice. Shortly after that, I went to spend a little time in LEGO Universe. My minifig now has pets. That’s right, pets: A dog, a cat and two rabbits.

Stray Toasters

• Is it bad that my first inclination for an “Ash Wednesday” picture was to post a picture of Ash Williams?
• Vicious Assault Shakes Texas Town
• Daily drink specials may end for Utah bars
• Photo: Mad Dash to Catch Space Shuttle Crossing the Sun
• 
• U.S. Economy Better Prepared for Rising Gas Costs
• ‘Spider-Man’ Overhaul Forces a 3-Month Delay
  • Julie Taymor Could Depart Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark
• The Volkswagen Inspection Car that I’ve been coveting has long been absent from MTH Trains’ catalogs. On a bit of a lark, I posted a question about them on MTH’s Facebook page. This morning, I received a reply: The cars were made for MTH by a company out of the Czech Republic… and that this company was still in business. I found their website and it turns out that they still make the cars. This bears a little further investigation…
• 
• NPR CEO Vivian Schiller Resigns
  • NPR chief Vivian Schiller resigns amid video scandal
  • NPR executive calls Tea Party supporters ‘racist’
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Charlie Sheen Bio Comic – “The Winning Edition” – Coming Soon from Bluewater
• RB Tiki Barber to end four-year NFL retirement

Ollie ollie oxen free!

Namaste.

Tuesday – 08 March 2011
Today is International Womens Day.

It is also Fat Tuesday, apparently also making it Pancake Day.

For me, the morning started out with me shoveling somewhere between 8 and 10″ of snow off the driveway (… the closest thing that I’ve done to a “workout” in longer than I’d care to admit). That’s right, Mother Nature looked down on the Salt Lake Valley and decided that we needed a fresh blanket of snow. And it appears as though the east side of the valley got the brunt of it; west-siders got 2-3″ of new powder.

Yesterday, I received the newest addition to my layout: Angelo’s Pizza Delivery Van. That’s right, I now have “traffic.” I also noted a difference between the two vans: the pizza van is faster on the straight sections; the painting van is faster in the curves. I’m still a little torn as to whether or not I want to expand the SuperStreets to the other board. *shrug*

Stray Toasters

• ‘Oreo’: A Satire of Racial Identity, Inside and Out
• Debit Card Fees Prompt a Push Near Deadline
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Man allegedly karate chops air marshal
• The Astronaut’s Playlist: Groovy Songs for Space Travelers
  • William Shatner delivers wakeup call for Discovery’s STS-133 crew
• I played LEGO Universe for a little bit last night.
  
• Honda, Toyota, Chrysler issue recalls
• I would watch this: Zibby Challenges Ochocinco to a Fight
• DHS seeks increased cybersecurity funds for 2012
• Microsoft begs users to stop using IE6
  Two words I never thought I’d see together: “Microsoft begs.”
• Cost of Hard Drive Storage Space

Namaste.