Random Access

Thursday – 25 March 2010
Another NBN Thursday kicks off in the valley. This morning is a bit overcast, but the forecast isn’t calling for rain… at least not that I’m aware of. Doesn’t really matter, either way, because I kicked off the morning with 112 and that is a good thing:

I left work a little early yesterday; I was tired and my productivity  was flagging. I took that as an indicator that it would be beneficial to go home and take a nap. And that’s exactly what I did. And it was good. After that, SaraRules and I headed to Dask’s for a bite to eat. She later went to see Legally Blonde: The Musical with Melissa, while I stayed home and read yesterday’s four-color haul. After that, it was off to the mall to see if the local Eddie Bauer store to pick up a new pair of jeans – they were out of my size – and to do a little window shopping. I headed home and watched another episode of 24 — I’m slowly catching up on this season.

Stray Toasters

• Today’s word of the day is: Copacetic.
  (Not to be confused with “Copacabana“)
• Easter flowers for the mother-units: Check.
• By way of SaraRules:
  • First Sikh in decades graduates at US Army officer school
  • Flash mobs take violent turn in Philadelphia
• From the “Titles I Wish I Had Made Up” file: How the TSA will inspect your monkey
• It appears that Angela Bassett, who would have been my first choice to play Storm in an X-Men movie, will be appearing in the upcoming Green Lantern movie as Amanda Waller.
• 
• Steampunk Stormtrooper Helmet, Boba Fett and Princess Leia
• Grieving mothers blame baby slings for infant deaths
• The WWG railroad masterboard for Dr. Volt’s should get some structure tonight. I’d like to have it ready to deliver for Saturday’s tournament.
• Gates eases ban on gays in the military
• Iron Alloy Could Create Earthquake-Proof Buildings
• Several coaches not thrilled about how owners held OT vote
• Alien vs. Pooh: Webcomics realize their full potential at last

And with that… meeting time!

Namaste.

Wednesday – 24 March 2010
The sun is out.
It’s Comics and Sushi Wednesday.
And, the work day morning is starting off with a little Ludacris:

Last night, I headed over to Chris’ to play dolls. We decided to do a 1500-point Avengers vs. Justice Society of America game. We played on the “Fountain of Asgard” map, which I don’t think that I had previously played on. It was a good game; while I won’t say that Chris completely picked my team apart (My Superman did, however, fall at the hands of a angry Hercules…), he did win the game. Decisively. It was fun and we both got to field some pieces that we hadn’t had opportunities to play before.

Stray Toasters

• I just made a bet with Bret over this year’s NFL games (although, it may just be down to the Ravens vs. Steelers games). The loot: Jersey of the winner’s choice.
• March 24, 2001: Apple Unleashes Mac OS X
• For sale in Utah: “die-hard survivalist bunker”, just in case anyone is looking to move out here to The Land Behind the Zion Curtain…
• 
• Amy: Kitty Pryde comes back today.  Just thought you should know.
• Jackie Wilson: The Singer and the Showman
• Cost-cutting is important in tough times but too much can cause harm
• I’m not quite sure what to make of this Lil’ Vampire Pacifier, but this picture does amuse me:



• App developers are gearing up for Apple’s iPad
• WizKids has posted their 2010 release schedule
  • April ’10 – The Brave & The Bold
  • May ’10 – Blackest Night Starter
  • July ’10 – The Watchmen 25 Figure Collector Set
  • August ’10 – Web of the Spiderman
  • October ’10 – Brightest Day (7 Figures – Like starter but no fiddly bits)
  • November ’10 – DC 75th Anniversary Set
  • Q4 2010 – Halo Reach ActionClix (Battle Packs & Mega Battle Pack)

• US charges car firm Daimler with violating bribery laws
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Bacon-flavored toothpicks
• HOW TO: Run an Ultramarathon

Back to it.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 23 March 2010
This morning there was… well… to call it a “flurry” would be a bit of an overstatement. Yes, there were snow flakes. Yes, they were falling. But, no, they weren’t falling en masse. And, you sort of had to look to see that there really was snow falling and that it wasn’t an illusion or trick of light.

Last night, I needed some “down time.” I got it. It was good. I spent a portion of the time assembling a team of ‘Clix for tonight’s game with Chris.

I am often amused and stymied by the randomness of the music that pops into my head first thing in the morning. Today was no exception. This morning’s “Song Stuck on Repeat” was Only In My Dreams, by Debbie Gibson. Yeah. Really. And, to be honest, it wasn’t even the whole song. It was mostly just a few lines from the first verse. I blame my old dorm-mate, Mark D., for this one — he was a pretty big fan of hers, back in the day.  Thanks, Mark.

Stray Toasters

• The Arc of Electromagnetic Radiation Connection
• National Chains Turning to Free Food on Tuesday
  • Special Note: Today is Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry’s
• 
  
  The bill passed.  This is not necessarily a “bad” thing.  Move along. Thank you.
• From the far-too-infrequently-used “Cyberpunk” tag: The Beauty of Bones (and Skinput)
• Drink Darker Coffee for a Happier Stomach
• Nyx sent me a link to this:
  
  …which, in turn, reminded me of this:

  ….as well as the Closer fan video, but I figured that I’d keep things safe-for-work today.

• Binder Clips as Cable Catchers Redux
  This kind of simplicity and ingenuity reminds me of the old – and quite false – chestnut about NASA, in the early days of ‘The Space Race,’ attempting to develop a pen that would write in space (pesky ink vs. zero-gravity issues and whatnot…), where as the Russian space program found a very simple, but effective solution: They just used pencils.
• Wrecking ball lamp.  I like. Quite a bit. I’m not sure, but it might even find a spot on The Covet List.
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Row over ‘torture’ on French TV
• Youdunnit: Locked Room Murder, Backwards in Time
• From the “Double dumb-ass on you!” file: US couple jailed after boasting on TV about shoplifting toys

Back to the grind…

Namaste.

Monday – 22 March 2010
To quote Mr. Rogers: “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood…” The sun’s getting ready to put in an appearance over the mountains, there are a few clouds in the sky (although the forecast says we’ll get some precipitation later in the day) and the temps are supposed to be in the middle 50s.

Yesterday was a somewhat lazy and quiet day. I slept in a bit and then hung out in the living room, playing on the Interwebs. After SaraRules got up, we headed over to Rich’s Bagels for a bite to eat before she had to head downtown for the last performance of The Italian Girl in Algiers. When she left, I had all kinds of grand designs of how I’d spend the afternoon:

• Drawing
• Building a WWG masterboard for Dr. Volt’s
• Playing LEGO Batman
• Reading comics

Suffice if to say that the world was my proverbial oyster! So, how did I spend my time?

Cleaning.

That’s right… cleaning. It needed to be done, so I can’t really say that it was a waste of time.

When I was done, I headed up to the local Beans & Brews for a frozen mocha (no shots, the espresso machine was on the fritz) and to sketch up a design for the WWG masterboard – I’m going to build a railroad station.

>> FAST FORWARD >>

SaraRules fixed a tasty dinner of seasoned shrimp over rice pilaf and I threw together a salad to go with it. We had a white wine – I can’t remember what it was though – to go with it; it was very palatable.

After dinner – and some shopping – we came home and watched Surrogates. It was a good movie and an interesting analogue to Gamer, in the same way that Armageddon and Deep Impact were analogous. I would have to say that Surrogates was a better movie, on the whole, though.

Stray Toasters

• I woke up this morning with Hey Ya! running through my head.
• Four Alternatives to Jeans as Usual
• It seems that we’re about to have a new health care bill. I, for one, say that this is a “good” thing.
• Nyx shared a picture that made me laugh… which is a great thing for a Monday morning:



• Palm’s sales slump as its new phones struggle
• Purdue’s men’s basketball team made it to the Sweet Sixteen. Next up: Duke.
• Antique Typewriters – The Martin Howard Collection

I need more coffee.

Namaste.

Saturday – 20 March 2010
It’s the first day of Spring.
It’s sunny outside… hopefully, it will stay that way. Yesterday seemed to suffer from multiple personality disorder, as it was alternately sunny and snowy. Yeah. “Welcome to Utah — If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes.”

Yesterday was a good day, all around. I had lunch with Galadriel and Paul at California Pizza Kitchen. I hadn’t been there in… years, I don’t even know how many. I had their jamabalaya, which I recalled as being good. (It was, indeed, quite good.) The lunch was a kind of meet-and-greet for Paul and Galadriel — I realized that he could provide a wealth of information to her about finance and accounting and thought that it would be a good opportunity to set up some kind of mentoring relationship. Thankfully, it went very well. Fait accompli.

After lunch, as I was around the corner from where she worked, I stopped in to say “Hello,” to my friend, Danette.  We chatted for a couple of minutes before I was in the wind again.

Next stop: USUO offices.
Objective: Drop in for a quick visit to a certain SaraRules.
Mission: ACCOMPLISHED.

From USUO, I headed over to The Train Shoppe. I’ve been threatening to go there for a couple of weeks, but never quite getting around to it. They had an old Lionel 4-4-2 engine and tender with C&O markings that I’d seen the last time I visited the store…

…and I wanted it. Fortunately, it was still there. And it came home with me. It was from Lionel’s 6-1184 Alleghany Steam Freight Ready-to-Run Set, from 1971/1972.  I had originally planned to put it atop the railroad pictures in our dining room – I currently have some HO scale train pieces there now – but reconsidered when I realized just how much the engine weighs.

Next, I headed down to visit Kate and Perry. We shot the bull for a bit, as the kids played. While I was there, Perry showed me the opening credits from – and I wish I was making this up – a Japanese Spider-Man show. Yeah. Complete with a giant robot. O,o Madness. And just in case you think that this was all just some bizarre fever-dream:

There. Told you so. Straight from the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file.

Next, it was home for a longer-than-planned pre-Clitorati nap… and then, I was off for the evening.

Stray Toasters

• Arrest made in Wal-Mart racial announcement incident
• For Galadriel: Spanish Inquisition
• Snoop Dogg wants to know why there are no black superheroes [UPDATED]
• Seeing the Littlest, Cutest Voltron of Them All Made Me Melt

Time to go greet the day.

Namaste.

Friday – 19 March 2010
It’s my 9/80 Friday off.  Amen.

Last night, SaraRules and I watched Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief, starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. In it, former jewel thief John Robie is the prime suspect in a rash of high-dollar thefts. In order to clear his name, Robie has to figure out who the thief is and what his next target will be. This movie was fun… and funny.  “Witty” would be a better word than “funny,” in this case. It was also well-paced and well-acted. It was a definitely well worth watching.

After the movie, I did a little channel-surfing. I found Enter the Dragon, Bruce Lee’s last movie. More whoop-ass per square inch than all six Rocky movies. The movie only had about 45 minutes left in it, by the time I turned to it… but that was hardly a reason not to watch it. After all: It had Bruce Lee.  I mentioned that, didn’t I? I did?  Okay, just checking.

To Catch a Thief:
Enter the Dragon:

I also realized that I didn’t give a rating to Alice in Wonderland, yesterday. Big oversight on my part.

Alice in Wonderland:

Stray Toasters

• Back to using the standard WordPress interface, for this post at least. I’m still liking MacJournal, on the whole, but I need to spend some time getting to learn how to use it more effectively.
• Jake Theis is back at WizKids. Bully for him! I enjoyed his posts on the old WK site, especially his “behind the scenes” looks at what went into branding and marketing. It will be good to see what he brings to the table now that he’s back on the block.
• Commodore is back.
• I was watching Property Virgins (I think) last night and they featured a young teacher from Ottawa, ON who had accepted a job in Dubai and was looking for a home. Every time they said “Abu Dhabi,” I kept wanting to substitute in “La Di Da Di.”  And for those of you who are unfamiliar with it:
• “Piracy” sounds too sexy, say rightsholders
• I just saw a commercial for Brawny paper towels that had the lumberjack on the package singing Lean On Me… and while I’m not bothered by the “uncanny valley,” the animation on the character looked… wrong.
• Bill Nye the Science Guy: Don’t Worry, Your Phone Isn’t Making You Dumb
• Google Reported Ready to Leave China April 10
• 
• A few weeks ago, I toyed with the idea of tossing a game-related blog/sub-blog on the site. Mostly, I wanted a centralized way to contact the HeroClix tournament regulars… and to have a way for people to easily contact one another, in case someone wanted to kick off a pick-up game during the week or on non-tournament weekends. I found BuddyPress. It looked like just the thing to fit the bill. I installed it – a few times – to try and get the setup right. And never did. It turned out that BP builds on WordPress MU (“multi-user”), rather than the standard version of WP. Once I got that installed, things seemed to fall more or less into place. There’s still a little tweaking to do on it, but I’m happy with where it is at this point.
• UCSB Physicists Show Theory of Quantum Mechanics Applies to the Motion of Large Objects
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: TV presenter gets death sentence for ‘sorcery’
• Old Websites Sure Are Embarrassing

Time to get a wiggle on, I have people to meet for lunch!

Namaste.

Wednesday – 17 March 2010
Happy Green Lantern Day.
(And for the rest of you: Happy Saint Patrick’s Day.)
Today is also Comics and Sushi Wednesday — that’s right, it’s a three sushi meal week!
Win, Win and Win.

Last night was a low key night. There was no opera last night, so SaraRules had the night off. After work, we had dinner and then went on a trip to check out Tai Pan Trading. It was more… knick-knacks and what have you than we expected; we were thinking that there would be more furniture and larger goods. *shrug* Oh, well… now we know (and knowing is half the battle!). Next up, we hit the local Old Navy and Target and then headed back home.

Once we got in, SaraRules watched Project Runway; I split my time between watching Project Runway and my inner eyelids. I made a (quick-ish) run to Wal-Mart and then came home and watched a couple of shows that I’d recorded: Shatner’s Raw Nerve, with guest Leonard Nimoy, and an episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

Stray Toasters

• Look around the Internet and you’ll find many articles about the National Broadband Plan and “FCC pushes to get broadband internet to more people.” Granted, I am a big fan of the Internet and of broadband, but… I find it interesting that people are so gung-ho about getting faster Internet, but can’t seem to wrap their heads around the idea of fixing the problems in our schools or in providing better health care – or even just BASIC health care – to Americans.
• New high-speed rail network could trump air travel
• WizKids! realized that they published the Power Girl ‘Clix figure and card without one kind of important stat: Super Strength. (Yeah, Kryptonians aren’t exactly known as being slouches in the strength department). They posted the corrected version on Monday.
• For Galadriel:
• 
• NASA Finds Shrimp Where No Advanced Life Should Be: 600 Feet Beneath Antarctic Ice
• LEGO + Ninjas = Awesomeness
• ClockworkZero: Cyberpunk and Steampunk Jewelry
• Michael Chabon on Columbia, MD
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: IRS visits Sacramento carwash in pursuit of 4 cents
• Florida Family Policy Council “mistakenly” uses wrong photo of lesbian parents
• Super power: Visualizing the internet — Of the 100 listed, I have 19 bookmarked.
• Break the law and your new ‘friend’ may be the FBI

And that’s good for now.

Namaste.

Saturday – March 13, 2010
Last night, SaraRules and I forewent (yes, I checked to make sure that “forewent” is an actual word) our usual Friday night doings and headed downtown. After a tasty dinner at Macaroni Grill, we headed to the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center to see Wallace. It was… two-plays-in-one, but performed in alternating parts. It was well-acted and very well-done. After the play, we met up with the Clitorati crew for “non-dinner” (at least for us).

Today, I am judging a ‘Clix tournament at noon. I am curious to see how the players take to today’s format. I’m calling today’s scenario “Mosaic,” in no small part due to the Green Lantern series of the same name. In today’s scenario, all games will be played on the same map — this is to put everyone on a level playing field, so to speak. The biggest variable will be Battlefield Conditions (BFCs), which change the overall game conditions. Each game will start with a BFC… but the BFCs will change every ten (10) minutes.

Also happening today, SaraRules hits the stage in Utah Opera’s production of The Italian Girl in Algiers. She’s a supernumerary in the production. Her role: Harem girl. The show runs through Sunday, 21 March 2010; if you have the opportunity, you should check it out.

Stray Toasters

• Don’t forget: Daylight Saving Time begins at 0200 on Sunday, 14 March 2010.
  (And, yes, it’s “saving,” singular… not “savings,” plural.)
• At the Guggenheim, the Art Walked Beside You, Asking Questions
• WizKids has unveiled their latest figure from The Brave and the Bold set: Power Girl

• Georgian monasteries offer to take in prisoners
• Marque Cornblatt retrospective art opening in Baltimore
• 
• US Census infographics from 1870 — NOTE: The click-through link loads slowly (graphics-heavy).
• Beheaded Vikings found at Olympic site
• Laptop sleeve made out of recycled wetsuits
• More Than Super: Searching for Christ in comic book culture

Quote of the Day
Yesterday, I semi-watched Titan A.E., the last film produced by Fox Animation Studios. (Added trivia: Don Bluth – whose studio did the animation for the Dragon’s Lair video game – was one of the co-directors of the film.) The movie contains one of my all-time favorite movie quotes: At the movie’s climax, Cale (voiced by Matt Damon) and Akima (Drew Barrymore) walk around a newly-formed planet – think “Genesis Planet” from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan:

Cale: I think I’ll call it… “Bob.”
Akima: You can’t call a planet “Bob.”
Cale: So now you’re the boss. You’re the King of Bob.
Akima: Can’t we just call it “Earth”?
Cale: No one said you have to live on Bob.
Akima: I’m never calling it that.

And that’s a wrap — I need to finish getting ready and ease on down the road…

Namaste.

Friday – 12 March 2010
It’s (almost) the weekend.
In honor of this fact, I kicked off the morning with Tank!, Just Got Paid and The Spirit of Radio (Live). After all, if you have to work on a Friday, you might as well start off the day with a little something to get the blood pumping, nicht wahr?

Last night, I had grand designs of heading to the local B&N and drawing. Laziness/tiredness, a comfy couch and a call from my father won out, however. I did see an interesting show on the National Geographic Channel, Man-Made: Supersize Steamship. It detailed a moving company’s task of moving an old paddlewheel steamship from St. Louis, MO to St. Elmo. The reason they couldn’t just float the ship to the new town: St. Elmo is landlocked. It was cool to watch how the movers dealt with the obstacles involved with getting the ship from Point A to Point B.

Stray Toasters

• It seems as though MacJournal not only plays nicely with WordPress, but it apparently routed the post through WordBook, too. It didn’t automatically post to LiveJournal… but I think that’s due to a recent problem with the LivePress plugin. And, it didn’t have an option for the PostAvatar plugin, which means that if I’m going to have an avatar on a post, I’ll have to update the post in WordPress. That’s not too bad/big a deal.
• Thalidomide effect mystery solved
• I have no idea (yet) if this will set link targets to “_blank”.
• Mini-documentary on the British war on public photos and video
• Esperanza Spalding: Just Bass and Voice
• Paris Fashion Week 2010
• Deal Gives New Life to Overhaul of Student Loans
• 
• Hm… I can’t reset an image’s alignment in here. Good to know.
• Americans: Test Your Broadband Speed, Help the FCC Keep ISPs Honest
• Student Work — Kyoto University of Art and Design
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: French bread spiked with LSD in CIA experiment

Okay, this should be a decent test of MacJournal. Let’s see how it goes.

Namaste.

::: EDITED :::
Added Post Avatar
Changed image alignment

But, all-in-all, I could get used to MacJournal.

Wednesday – 10 March 10
Another Comics and Sushi Wednesay dawns. And, from a glimpse at Diamond’s “New Releases” page, it should be a good day.

Last night, Chris came over to play HeroClix. He had an idea for a match that he lovingly referred to as “Femme Fatales.” I, on the other hand, referred to it as something much more simplistic: “Catfight!” (Pictures can be seen here.)

Chris brought a team of figures with which he was more than “passingly” familiar:

• Gamora
• Jean Grey (Age of Apocalypse), with Mental Shields
• Loki (female version) and
• Ms. Marvel (Skrull), with Fortitude

Yeah. Ouch. I picked a team with some figures I’ve used before, but a couple that I’ve either never played or only played once or twice:

• Batgirl
• Circe
• Dawnstar
• Marvel Girl (“First Class” version)
• Spider-Girl and
• Storm

No feats. That’s right: No feats.

The game started off with both of us making crappy dice rolls. Then my dice decided to get into the game… and decided to get out of it again, just as quickly. It was lovely. Then began the back-and-forth “good roll/bad roll” portion of the game for both of us. The game wound up coming down to our last figures – I had Dawnstar, he had Loki. Loki won.

It was a better game than I’d anticipated, especially given the fact that I pretty much just threw my team together and didn’t put in any ringers/cheese.

Stray Toasters

• [MESSAGE REDACTED]!!!
• Live+Press is apparently borked again.
• The Best Jobs in America
• Soldier ‘threw back hand grenade’
• 
• forwarded this: Colorado Doctors Skirt FDA Jurisdiction to Provide Stem Cell Therapies
• Get Jazzed for Monster Miles Davis Giveaway
• I saw this yesterday, and I kept coming up with horrid ad campaigns for it.
  “Looking for a gift for your man? Give him Pussy Galore,” was possibly the least lewd of them.  Yeah, really.
• 
• Your Computer Really Is a Part of You
• By way of MarknTyme: No One Knows What the F*** They’re Doing (or “3 Types of Knowledge”)
• Waterboarding for Dummies
• shared this; it made me laugh.

  

• Alexander McQueen’s final collection
• 10 Years After: A Look Back at the Dotcom Boom and Bust
• LHC to shut down for a year to address design faults
• Web Browser Grand Prix: The Top Five, Tested and Ranked

Tongue-tied and twisted
Just an earthbound misfit, I…

Namaste.

Tuesday – 09 March 2010
Another workin’ day in the valley…  This one begins with a few high clouds, but they’re moving eastward and they seem to be leaving sunlight in their wake.  I’m good with that.

Last night, I treated myself to dinner at Outback Steakhouse. I had been craving their bad-for-you-but-oh-so-tasty Aussie Cheese Fries for about a week and decided that it was time to do something about it. So… I decided to go. Stag. When I mentioned this to a couple of people I got the “raised eyebrow” treatment:

“You’re going… by yourself?”
“Yep.”
::: blank stare :::

I don’t understand why it is that going out to eat alone is such an alien concept. People go shopping alone. They go to the movies alone. It seems, to me, a natural progression that one might choose to eat out alone. *shrug* Oh, well.

Dinner was good. I got the full order of cheese fries, which means that I have a fair-sized portion of left-overs waiting in the fridge.  My steak was good, despite originally brought to the table slightly undercooked. I sent it back so they could do more than just scare it with the flame. Both my waitress and the manager we quite amenable about the whole thing. All-in-all, it was a rather pleasant dining experience.

Stray Toasters

• Female WWII Pilots: The Original Fly Girls
  I have to say that I’m a little disappointed that NPR missed having this article ready yesterday, in time for International Women’s Day.
  
• How Henrietta Lack’s cells fueled medical breakthroughs
• For and shockpuppet:



• Purdue Men’s Basketball Brings Home a Bevy of Conference Honors
• Have you seen the latest trailer for Tron: Legacy? If not, click here and enjoy.
• Straight out of the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” files:
  Yesterday, posted the following:

  [19:11] ok r0b
  [19:11] i know you’re into star wars.  and legos.
  [19:12] but can you identify star wars lego figurines using ONLY YOUR MOUTH?   cause this german kid can:

  I shared the vid with my friend, Eric.  He countered with this:
  

  I shared that video with who, in a masterful stroke, retaliated with:
  

• Boldin Seeking Revenge on Steelers
• By way of come a couple of things:
  • Up, Up & Away – Get Your Own Jet Pack for $75k (This goes squarely on The Covet List.  Duh.)
  • 1024-bit RSA encryption cracked by carefully starving CPU of electricity
• Real-life Hurt Locker: How Bomb-proof Suits Work

Namaste.

Sunday – 07 March 2010
Yesterday wound up being fairly lazy. After SaraRules and I did our afternoon errands, we both came home and took a nap. Okay, I tried to fall asleep on the couch – and was doing a fair job of it – when she suggested that I’d probably be more comfortable (and have a less-achy neck) if I laid down. Once again, she was right.

Post-nap, She headed off to rehearsal; I tried to figure out what I wanted to do with my evening. I started out watching DC Showcase: The Spectre. It was a short feature on the Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths DVD. It had a bit of a 70s feel, both in looks, style and music. I think that it would lend itself well to being a full-length feature… or even done as a live-action movie.

Next up was HALO: Legends. On the whole, it wasn’t bad. There were a couple of the shorts that I could have done without, but on the whole, it did a good job of portrayal the HALO universe as more than something that centers around Master Chief John-117. In particular, I enjoyed “The Duel” (which was done in a lovely watercolor-looking style), “Homecoming” and “Be Human.”

After SaraRules returned from rehearsal, we watched Monsters vs. Aliens. When an alien probe appears in San Francisco, a government-sanctioned team of monsters is dispatched to take it down. Mayhem ensues. This was fun… and a bit “cute.” There were a few groan-worthy moments, but on the whole, I found it rather enjoyable.

Stray Toasters

• I’m still on the fence about heading to the train show today.
• Improving Education Through Better Teachers
• MarknTyme sent me a link to Nuit Blanche:

  Nuit Blanche from Spy Films on Vimeo.

• Steampunk Film Festival in San Francisco
• I’ve heard of going “all out” to enhance your gaming experience, but this sets the bar rather high.
• The Police Aren’t Legally Obligated to Protect You
• Christian Hate Group ‘Repent Amarillo’ Terrorizes Texas Town, Harassing Gays, Liberals and ‘Other Sinners’ (courtesy of )
  Isn’t “Christian Hate Group” a pretty big oxymoron?
• 
• Cobra!
• Who Protects The Internet?

I think that and I may wend our way northward and check out the train show after all.

Namaste.

Saturday – 06 March 2010
Today… I’m not really sure exactly what I’m doing today. SaraRules is currently off at quilting; I don’t really have anything that I have to do. After she gets back, there will be a bit of errand-running, but beyond that…? No clue. I may run up to Dr. Volt’s and actually play a game or two of ‘Clix (as opposed to running around, answering rules questions). We shall see…

Yesterday, I went to visit Perry and the kids for a bit. We’re still trying to see if we’re going to make it to the Hostlers Model Railroad Festival this weekend. After that, I headed back home to wait for SaraRules to get home so that we could run some errands. Then, it was time for Clitorati.

Chew on This: Food for Thought
I was going through an old notebook and came across the following quote:

We excuse ourselves from greater efforts. We learn to be good and to treat well those who treat us well. But we don’t give ourselves over to that which demands not goodness, but greatness.
-Paul Darcy, author/speaker, Sacred Journey (Aug. 2004)

Stray Toasters

• I just found myself craving a Chicken Filet Biscuit from Bojangle’s. *sigh*
• A few days ago, I posted a link to this Evil, Inc. webcomic. I was talking with MarknTyme, and he mentioned that he “…didn’t get the bulletin board reference.” It was kind of obscure, to be honest — the last two panels of the strip reference A Cask of Amontillado, a story by Edgar Allan Poe.
• And, since we’ve mentioned Mr. Poe, that gives a (loose) tie to the next item: Ravens Trade for WR Anquan Boldin
• The Brave and the Bold Preview: Green Lantern and Green Arrow

  

  GL/GA duo figure. Quite nice. It also seems that Captain Jordan is getting a lot of play (so to speak) in the world of HeroClix lately:

  • He had a solo figure in the Crisis set, released in 2008
  • This figure — and the GL/Flash figure — being released next month and
  • The figure being released in the Blackest Night Starter Set, in May.
• US administration to block vote on Turkey ‘genocide’
• Infographic: Mega Shark, courtesy of
  (Don’t forget to click on the link at the bottom of the first paragraph, either!)
• 
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: South Korean couple starved child while raising “virtual baby”
• Android Phone Grows Up, Becomes Brain for Real Robot
• From CNN and HLN: Gunn: Kardashian look is vulgar
• The Jobs of Yesteryear: Obsolete Occupations
• New Jersey snow sculpture gets frosty reception

I should probably get some coffee and prepare to face the day.

Namaste.

Friday – 05 March 2010
Happy Birthday to Liz and Jenny, a couple of my high school classmates:

…even if you’re not really conjoined.

It’s snowing outside. I have to admit that isn’t doing much for my motivation.

Last night, I spent the evening hanging out with ; she interviewed me for a school project. We had planned to go to Borders… but we discovered that their cafe closes at 1900 during the week. YeahbuhWHAT?! Yeah. I think that qualifies as “lame.” We wound up at the nearby Barnes & Noble, instead… where we ran into an old friend of ‘s. The interview took about a half-hour; after that, we sat and chatted almost two hours away.  It was a good way to spend the evening.

Stray Toasters

• Body scanners are headed to 11 major airports
• 10 Jobs You Absolutely, Positively Should Not ‘Take Your Child to Work Day’
• The West Wing
• Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn



• Apple’s iPad to be released April 3
• Alien vs. Eel
• Ubisoft’s new DRM cracked in under 24 hours
• Yep, There’s a Patch for That
• 
• They’re doing a new version of The Rockford Files?!  Nice!
  And, for the nostalgia buffs: The Theme from The Rockford Files, courtesy of YouTube.

There’s a Friday out there; I should go introduce myself to it.

Namaste.

Thursday – 04 March 2010
So far, it’s been a good NBN Thursday.

I started the work day with an impromptu meeting with Tom, one of our project managers who was just named as the new IT Manager; I think that it went quite well. After that, we had our team meeting, which also went well. And, as a fringe benefit: We’re having ice cream today.

I found out about yet another meeting, which started at 1430.
Which was RIGHT after I finished my lunch. *sigh*
I got a bowl ice cream before heading into it.
Life == good.

Workout
Wes and I hit the gym for one of our last workouts together:

• Elliptical – 10 minutes/avg. 5.7 MPH
• Lower Back Extensions – 3 sets/12 reps
• Bench Press – 3 sets/8 reps, one set each @ 225 lbs, 205 lbs, 185 lbs
• Flys (dumbbell, bench) – 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Sit-ups (incline) – 3 sets/20 reps
• Overhead Tricep Extensions – 3 sets/12 reps, 40 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell) – 2 sets/5 reps, 40 lbs

Post workout weight: 187.8 lbs

Stray Toasters

• I need to figure out what I want to do this evening. SaraRules has rehearsal, starting at 1800, so I am on my own until at least 2130.  “What to do? What to do…?”
• By way of SaraRules: Craig Ferguson, late night’s cheeky monkey
• HALO: Reach Multiplayer Trailer.  Ooooooh…..
• 50 Practical Uses for Super Powers
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file:
  • How to Keep Windows Fog Free Using a Potato
  • Family sued for replacing yard grass with drought-tolerant landscaping
• While the first part of this is funny enough on its own merits, the real payoff comes at the end:
• There was going to be something else here, but I can’t remember what.

Namaste.