Random Access

Friday – 20 February 2009
Helloooooo, 9/80 Friday.

Last night, after CSI:… and watching Batman sing… SaraRules and I took a stroll over to Red Mango for yogurt; she had a pomegranate/green tea twist; I had green tea. While we ate, we finally watched an episode of Burn Notice that’s been on the DVR for a couple of weeks. Later, when SaraRules headed to bed, I started in on a new corner for my ‘Clix map: Building Cluster. (Pictures to come later)

This morning, I slept in a bit. I still haven’t figured out what I’m doing with the rest of my morning and early afternoon, but later this afternoon will be spent checking out a couple of possible wedding venues.

Stray Toasters

• posted an interesting/amusing meme in his journal this morning:
  

  Tell me your favorite bad/silly/punny/groan inducing joke, then ask the same on your blog/journal/diary/whatever…

  My joke is at the bottom of the post.

• Happily married? – a look at a rise in polygamy in the UK among the Muslim community
• Cave house for sale in Festus, MO
• Someone on HCRealms questioned: What ‘Clix should be used in an Alice in Wonderland-themed game?
• NY Post sorry for ‘Obama’ cartoon
• 
• Tesla coils sing the Doctor Who theme
• pointed out this article: Utah state senator to lose his committee chairmanship after homophobic diatribe
• Terry Pratchett gets a knighthood
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Skinless skin-tight cycling outfit
• Playlist of great movie themes

Time to do… something.

Namaste.

Oh yeah, the joke:

A snail goes to a local Nissan dealership and looks at the inventory. A salesman walks up to him and asks “May I help you?”

The snail looks at him and says, “I’m here to buy a car. I’d like to test drive…. that one,” as he points to a brand new Z.

The salesman looks a little surprised. “Oooh-kay.” He walks inside, comes back outside and returns to the snail. He hands him the keys. “Here you go.”

“Thanks!” The snail gets into the car and turns the key. The engine purrs. The snail presses the accelerator and the roars. He drops it into gear and races out of the parking lot.

Ten minutes later, the car whips back into the lot. The snail gets out with a huge grin. “That was great! I’ll take it! But there’s just one thing…”

The salesman shifts a little. “Yes, sir…?”

The snail turns to look at the car and turns back to the salesman: “I want you to take off the “Z”.”

“But, sir… that’s… that’s….”

“That’s my condition. I’ll pay for it right now and drive the car off the lot, but the “Z” has to go. I want you to put an “S” on it, instead.”

The salesman looks a little uneasy. “Let me… see what I can do.” He heads inside of the dealership. He returns a few minutes later. “Okay, it looks like we can take care of that for you. It will take about twenty minutes.”

The snail smiles widely and says,”That’s no problem.”

The two go inside as a mechanic exits the building and drives the car into the auto shop. They fill out the paperwork and shortly afterwards, the snail and his new car are tearing out of the parking lot.

Another salesman comes over to the first one and asks,”So… what was that all about? The deal with taking the car into the shop and whatnot?”

“Oh, he wanted the “Z” removed from the car… and an “S” put on in its place.”

“Huh?! That’s weird.”

“Yeah, but look at that little “S” car go!”

Thursday – 19 February 2009
Another Thursday/Friday begins. I’ve already been informed that if I would like to day to remain an NBN Thursday, that I should avoid the boss two rungs up the ladder – his day was already shot… two hours ago. On the plus side, I figured out “Hurdle One” with a PHP/SQL program I’m working on, now I get to add features onto it.

Last night was a lazy night in: NCIS (from Tuesday night) and reading of yesterday’s comics haul. Of the books that I read, the standouts were:

• Action Comics #874
• Batman #686: “What Ever Happened to the Caped Crusader?”
• Black Lightning: Year One #4
• Green Lantern Corps #33
• Supergirl #38
• Tiny Titans #13

Additionally, my copy of Teenagers from the Future: Essays on the Legion of Super-Heroes came in yesterday.  I’m looking forward to reading it.

Other than that, it’s another fun-filled, action-packed day in paradise…

Stray Toasters

• The new issue of RAILBRICKS is out.
• …in a related note, Emerald Night (which is not Green Lantern-related) is coming soon.
• ‘Racist’ US cartoon causes stir
• Iraqi shoe thrower: Bush’s ‘soulless smile’ set me off
• Guess what’s coming to the SLC metro area…

  
  (click image for news)

• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Obama sushi
• Half-Life: Escape from City-17

• Steampunk Frankenstein casemod
• By way of and the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: The Grilled Cheese Invitational

Namaste.

Tuesday – 17 February 2009

After work yesterday, I came home to find a new addition to the decor: SaraRules had gone to the Garden of Sweden and picked up two BESTA wall shelves for our DVDs. She set them under the bar between the dining room and kitchen; they look quite good there. I also discovered that she’d hung a new set of sheer curtains in the bedroom, too.  Also, a nice touch.

There were flurries when I left home this morning, but it’s clear now… “for now,” rather. We’ll see what the rest of the day brings.

Stray Toasters

• Lincoln wins: Honest Abe tops new presidential survey
• Gibbs’ Rules
• Scientology TV show blames psychiatry for turning Osama Bin Laden into a terrorist
• Should George Lucas Be Condemned for Crimes Against Our Childhood?
• Given my latest adventures in papercraft, I found this amusing.
• Let’s explore what defines the American car
• Best Dysfunctional Relationships in Genre Films
• 
• School that uses game-based learning opens in NYC

And, tonight… Avengers vs. JLA: Round 2.

Namaste.

I stumbled across this comic by way of an ad on a webcomic I read:

And, yes, it made me laugh.

Monday – 16 February 2009
Another work week begins… but at least it’s a short week.

The Splendid Heritage exhibit was amazing.  It displayed pieces of Native American art while detailing the pieces’ artistic and cultural significance. On display were such things as clothing, weaponry, a winter count, and even childrens’ toys. There were also a number of “touch stations,” where visitors could actually handle samples of items. The exhibit runs from 09 February 2009 through 03 January 2010; I think that it would make an excellent family – or even date – outing.

Last night, Chris and I got together to play a (or “yet another”) game of HeroClix. We’d settled on the Avengers vs. JLA for our teams. I played the JLA:

• Batman
• Black Lightning
• Flash
• Green Arrow
• Green Lantern
• Martian Manhunter
• Superman
• Wonder Woman and
• Zatanna

Chris fielded the Avengers:

• Box
• Captain America
• Dr. Strange
• Hercules
• Iron Man
• Ms. Marvel
• Spider-Man (Iron Spider/Civil War costume)
• Wolverine

We played on the masterboard I took to the tournament a couple of weeks ago, with one modification: I finished the new corner – gas station/garage, single room apartment and armory. I didn’t put roofs on the new buildings, so that we could have some indoor space in which to play and we took the shelter off of the gas pumps, so that we could play in the space under it. We played a two-hour game and at the end of it, I won on points, 412 – 213. Pictures of the game and actual board can be seen here.

Stray Toasters

• Disney adds African-American princess Tiana to royal family
• From today’s “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Jacksons star in Nigerian resort row
• Esquire’s 75 Books Every Man Should Read – I need to get cracking on this…
• I saw this cartoon on Applegeeks last night:

  

  I wondered how true it was, so I did a little poking around for news items… until I found this article: Dead rodents, excrement in peanut processor lead to recall

• British, French submarines collide
• The NBA All-Star Weekend was this past weekend. Events included the three-point shootout, dunk competition and the All-Star Game. Dwight Howard had an impressive – and amusing – dunk in the first round:

  but in the end, Lex Luthor Defeating Superman, NBA-style

• Top 10 Comic Book Romances
• Hey kids (and nostalgic adults), it’s Runway Barbie!

And that’s a wrap… for now.

Namaste.

Saturday – 14 February 2009
Happy Valentine’s Day.

…or Single’s Awareness Day.
…or Anti-Green Lantern Day¹.

After sleeping in a bit and getting ready to face the day, SaraRules and I waited for Rachel to drop by. The three of us went to The Cheesecake Factory for brunch. I had the Cajun Jambalaya Pasta and a slice of the Chocolate Cake Cheesecake, both of which were very good. We came back home and hung out for a while before Rachel had to head back to Cedar City.

Later, SaraRules and I are having dinner at Braza Grill.

And somewhere in the middle, I’m going to try and finish up another portion of the new street corner. for the ‘Clix map, either the gas station or the gun store. If I’m lucky, maybe even both of ’em. We’ll see.

Stray Toasters

• Knowing how much I enjoyed the brief portions of it that we got to watch, SaraRules got me Planet Earth for my Valentine’s Day gift.
• NYCC ’09: Green Lantern at 50
• My ‘Clix Storm just arrived.

  

• DesktopGaming has Killer Retro Gaming Wallpapers
• 10 Cheap of Free Home Theatre Upgrades
• Homophones! Learn what they are, if you don’t know.

Namaste.

¹ – The traditional colors of Valentine’s Day are red and white.
The color of a Green Lantern’s uniform are, oddly enough, green and black.

If you look at a color wheel, red lies opposite green and white is the opposite of black.

Therefore, Valentine’s Day (at least in terms of color) == Anti-Green Lantern Day.

Q.E.D.

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Wes almost backed out of going to the gym this afternoon. Fortunately, he didn’t and we had a pretty good workout:

• Leg Raises: 3 sets/15 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 205 lbs
• Lat Pull-downs: 3 sets/10 reps, 120 lbs
• Rows (Nautilus, compound): 3 sets/10 reps, 130 lbs
• Lateral Raises (with fly): 3 sets/10 reps – 2 sets @ 10 lbs, 1 set @ 12 lbs
• Shoulder Press (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 35 lbs
• Tricep Extensions (rope): 3 sets/15 reps, 60 lbs

Post workout weight: 184.9 lbs

Stray Toasters

• “To boldly take your fetish geekery where no one has gone before…”
• And, in an oddly-related note, sent by Coworker DaveW: “That Jean-Luc Picard“
• I like LEGO zombies
• Ledger fans demand The Joker retired from film.
  Nine Hells.  Yes, he did a great job. Stellar, even. But… he was not – nor will he ever be – the only person to ever play The Joker. Get over it and move on.  This campaign is about as silly as saying “Don’t make any more James Bond movies if/when (fill in your favorite Bond portrayer) dies!” *sigh* Monkeys.
• Body dragged nearly 20 miles on NYC highways
• LEGO Star Wars magnets make collecting rare minifigs cheaper
• Pac-Man Ghost Lamps

Back to the grind.

Today’s workout was a mostly back and shoulders (with a little triceps thrown in, for good measure) workout:

• Leg Raises: 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 185 lbs
• Lat Pull-downs: 3 sets/10 reps, 120 lbs
• Rows (Nautilus, compound): 3 sets/10 reps, 125 lbs
• Lateral Raises (with forward rotation): 3 sets/15 reps, 10 lbs
• Tricep Press (T-bar): 3 sets/15 reps – 1 set @ 70 lbs, 2 sets @ 80 lbs
• Dips: 3 sets/15 reps – 2 sets, bench dips; 1 set unassisted

It was a good workout.  At least, that’s what my triceps are telling me.  I might add a little more shoulder work in on Thursday.

Stray Toasters

• passed this along to me: Dear Spike, Love Dad: Of a Dream
  I think it might even be Quote of the Day.
• By way of SaraRules: Michelle Obama to Grace Cover of Vogue Magazine
• Steampunk cake
• Hey, Stop Staring at This Lady’s… Arm
• From today’s “Unintentional Porn Overheard at Work” file comes this gem:
  

  “I’ll have to play with it until I’m comfortable with it…”

• Turning an iPod Touch into an iPhone
• Pong Museum
• Stopping Trucks the Superhero Way
  To which, SaraRules replied: “Hmm…. interesting. But I do think Superman would be more effective.”
• 50 of the Most Insane Things Never Seen on Google Street View

Back to it.

Tuesday – 10 February 2009
Snow is falling across the valley. Oddly enough, the road monkeys seem to be behaving… for them. That, in itself, is impressive.

Last night was a lazy night in. SaraRules fixed a tasty goulash dish and we watched a couple of NCIS reruns and  24. (Oh, Jack Bauer, you’re such a scamp.) She quilted, I nerded. And we also enjoyed some green tea yogurt from Red Mango. We also caught an episode of Unwrapped that featured an abbreviated tour of the Tastykake factory.

Stray Toasters

• The Council for Better Driving: Utah would like to remind motorists to watch your speed and spacing when driving in today’s weather.
• Mistrial declared in 12-year-old girl’s alleged assault on police officer
  • Final arguments in trial against 12-year-old girl mistaken for hooker
    
• Actor James Whitmore has passed away.
• USB devices stuffed into LEGO
• New York Comic-Con was this past weekend. A few items of note from it:
  • DC’s Superman Panel and Superman – Building a Better Tomorrow
  • DCU Online Panel
  • Green Lantern: Blackest Night, with Eddie Berganza (video)
  • Marvel and Activision Panel
  • The X-Men Panel
  • Hickman and Eaglesham talk Fantastic Four
  • Comic Book Resources also… drafted (?)… Jill Pantozzi, maintainer of Has Boobs, Reads Comics, as a reporter/commentator.  I like her style and may have to follow her blog more regularly.
• Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
• My favorite part of Newsarama’s review of Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #3 (of 5) was:
  

  Seriously, if you aren’t having a blast reading Legion of 3 Worlds, you should stop reading superhero books, because you’ve lost your joy. Conversely, if you’ve been looking for a fun experience after too many books have been bogged down by disconnect and bleak self-importance, you have arrived.

• Slashdot slashdots Slashdot
• I finally managed to track down a reasonably-priced Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)/Star Sapphire pair of Minimates.
• Hallucinations that are tied to eye disease

Meetings!  WHEEEEEE!

Namaste.

Sunday – 08 February 2009
Yesterday was a good day, all around.

I went 1-2 at the tournament, but I was happy with my choice in teams and how it fared against others. I played a team based on the theme “Gotham City PD,” using:

• Captain Gordon – team captain
• Gotham City Detective (x3)
• Gotham City Policeman (x2)
• Gotham City Undercover

I got a bye – and lone win – in the first round, playing against Keith, who fielded five Multiplex figures, with the Atom LE as the team captain. Next up, I faced Jerry, who used two Doombots, a White Martian and a Spider-Slayer. My last game was against Ryan, with his S.H.I.E.L.D. team, captained by Sharon Carter. That was my closest game, coming down to the last kill – Ryan won by five points.

On the other hand, the tournament was a “success” for me on two levels:

1. We got to play on the map that I built
2. I got the Fellowship Prize (which I’m sure the map helped me secure): Henchman LE

After that, I met SaraRules at home and we then headed to her parents’ place for dinner and to hang out with the family. After that, we made a pilgrimage to the Garden of Sweden, before heading home for a lazy evening and watching the end of West Side Story.

Today… we’re off to brunch and waiting for the Pro Bowl. Other than that, the sky’s the limit.

Namaste.

Saturday – 07 February 2009
Yesterday evening, SaraRules and I had dinner with her family – including an aunt, visiting from out-of-town – at Jasmine. Sushi, Chinese food, good atmosphere and good company.

After dinner, I headed to meet the usual suspects at Clitorati while SaraRules got to spend some quality time with her aunt and the rest of her family. The gathering was smallish, but both and put in appearances; it was good to see them both. SaraRules also showed up a little later, but opted out of going to get a bite to eat. Returning home, I watched about roughly half of West Side Story with SaraRules – I’ve never seen it before, so I had to ask “Who’s who” and “What’s the story here” more than a few times.

This morning, I was up before I had planned: The Leash went off shortly after 8:00 AM. I waited for a follow-up alert… which canceled the first one. Thank God. SaraRules got up to get ready for quilt club; I got up to finish my street corner map for today’s Clix tourney. As an added bonus, I watched last night’s Batman: The Brave and the Bold while enjoying my morning coffee. The episode featured the Green Lantern Corps and Despero. I had to make a quick run to Target and Office Depot, too – I needed to get more glue and to find some way to make sure that the map’s corners didn’t move around during gameplay. I was going to use binder clips, but I found some sticky-backed Velcro^® tabs. After a quick “Is this going to work” test, I’m glad that I decided against the binder clips.

Time to finish getting ready and get out of Dodge.

Namaste.

I actually exerted Green Lantern-like willpower at lunch and did not have a beer… even though we went to Porcupine Pub & Grill. I did, however, indulge in rather tasty cuisine:

• Chicken Noodle Soup (more like a “cream of chicken noodle soup,” actually)
• Cajun Chicken Alfredo
• Chocolate Almond Mousse Pie

…and three Arnold Palmers. It was very tasty.

I got back to the office to find a message from SaraRules:

These both made me think of you:

…and…

Both of them made me laugh.

Back to the grind…

Tuesday – 03 February 2009
Today is the fiftieth anniversary of the plane crash that took the lives of Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper; immortalized as “The Day the Music Died.”

It is also the 200th Anniversary of the birthday of Felix Mendelssohn.

It’s also the second day of the work week… but that’s kind of a given.

Last night, SaraRules and I had dinner with her folks and watched Shadow of the Vampire. Good movie. It was interesting to hear their reactions to it, as well.  (They both enjoyed it.) Back home for 24, The Late Show and the monologue of The Late Late Show. Steve Martin was a guest on The Late Show; I’d nearly forgotten that he is a rather accomplished banjo player, which he demonstrated at the show’s end.

Stray Toasters

• SaraRules, knowing my affinity for NCIS, pointed me in the direction of this article.
• Unearthing Mendelssohn’s Lost Works
• surprised me with FAO Schwartz’ The Muppet Whatnot Workshop this morning. That’s right, you can design your own Muppet. Not only that, it be made and delivered. To. Your. Door.
• Kids Movie, Adult Lessons
• That Time Is Now (because mentioned a version of the Superfriends Theme by The Hit Crew)

• We Drove the Warthog!
• By way of BoingBoing: A LEGO Orange
• 
• Why do we name servers the way we do?
• Seeing Profits in the Postal Service’s Predicament

Harambee.

This game is due this summer and features the voices of Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill.

A first-hand tour of Batman: Arkham Asylum (Wired preview article)