Random Access

01 June 2010
Welcome, June.
May is now in the rearview mirror.
Let’s hope that it takes the wintry weather with it…

Yesterday, while relaxing was also productive: The lawn was mowed. The garden was worked on. The trim in the sitting room was cleaned up (No more red paint!). And, my office was painted. Not only that, our excursion to The Garden of Sweden netted me a new desk/drawing table.

We also had dinner with the in-laws yesterday. Grilled steaks with sweet potatoes and yams, salad and fresh corn-on-the-cob. Dessert was brownies with ice cream.

All-in-all, it was a good day.

Workout
Yesterday’s step count: 2948 steps
Of course, I neglected to wear the pedometer while I was mowing the lawn yesterday.  *sigh*

Stray Toasters

• Official Synopsis Revealed for Green Lantern movie
• Now that my office is coming along, I’m looking forward to finishing the rest of the basement… and finding room for a model railroad layout! I want to do O-Scale, but I believe that it will probably include some HO-Scale as well. I’m not sure exactly where I’ll put the LEGO train and/or the Rokenbok monorail, though.
• 44 million stolen gaming credentials discovered
• 
• ‘How Sweet It Was’: The Cultural Impact of Gospel
• Massive sinkhole swallows building in Guatemala City in wake of Tropical Storm Agatha
• The Theme from S.W.A.T., which I contend is still one of TV’s coolest TV theme songs. Ever.
• A Love Craft: Art Inspired by Monsters, Madness and Mythos
• Adventure Comics #12 preview
• I restarted  American Psycho again last night. I got distracted from it by… well, a lot of things. This time, I should be able to plow through it.
• US sculptor Louise Bourgeois dies aged 98
  • No Doubt: Spiderwebs
    
• From Elvis to Lady Gaga: Playing with Shock Value in Music
• Why Science Needs to Step Up Its PR Game

Attack the day
Like birds of prey…

Namaste.

Monday – 03 May 2010
It was a good weekend.

Saturday, after coffee with Perry, Kate and the kids (no, the kids didn’t have coffee), I met SaraRules and went to Porcupine Pub and Grill for lunch… which turned into “brunch.” We weren’t previously aware that they offered a weekend brunch – until 1500 – so we decided to see how it was. And the verdict was: “Pretty darned good.” After a bit of errand-running, SaraRules headed off to work – and I met up with the in-laws and head downtown to see – The Temptations with the Utah Symphony. It was a very good show. Otis Williams, the sole remaining original member, has been performing with The Temps for 49 years… and hasn’t lost a step. (Granted, they might not be as flamboyant as the ‘younger guys,’ but the man can still move. And, more importantly, he looks like he’s still having fun.

Sunday, SaraRules and I slept in. It was wonderful. We both commented on how… odd, but very good… it felt to not have something on the agenda that had to get done by Time X or Date Y. We’ve both commented on how much moving – and prepping the house and apartment for the move – felt like having a second job; the past month has worn us out. So, it was delightful to actually be able to slow down and just enjoy the day. After breakfast, we did some (much-needed) grocery shopping. Next, we returned home; Logan came over to help me move the china buffet. After he left, SaraRules and I went to The Garden of Sweden. After paying a small tithe, we left with far less than we had anticipated… which wasn’t necessarily a “bad” thing. Back home for a bit and then up to the in-laws’ for dinner and a movie. Last night’s fare was lamb sausage with imam bayildi, mixed vegetables, pita and hummus, and rice pudding for dessert; last night’s feature presentation was Cloverfield. All-in-all, it was a good way to wrap up the weekend.

Stray Toasters

• In theory, we only have one week until Comcast drops a new line for us.
  • Saturday, I got a third call from Comcast collections about returning the modem and receiver. *sigh* I was even more curt with this agent than I was to the second agent who called. At the end of the call, she said that I shouldn’t hear from them again – if at all – until 11 May. We’ll see how that goes.
• Kid apps become special on the iPad
• How to Build a Trebuchet
• The Day BMW Became ‘The Ultimate Driving Machine’
• 
• Outnumbered, Outgunned: How Underdogs Prevail
• Vinegar as a stain remover
• $25,000 Family Sedan Shootout: Can a family afford a good car?
• Earth Wind and Fire: Boogie Wonderland
• Pitting the Web’s Users Against Its Gatekeepers
• Polanski breaks silence about American extradition threat

Namaste.

Sunday – 25 April 2010
The deed is done.
We’re officially residing in the new house.

And, I’m still without Interwebs at home.  Yeah.  I know. The basic story breaks down something like this:

Steve, the tech arrived about 1615 this afternoon. He went to the junction box on the street and then came back into the house, saying: “I have some bad news…”

It appears that there isn’t a line running from the box to the house. That’s not to say that there isn’t a conduit running from the box to the house – there is.  Steve said that it looked like someone had been trenching in the yard and just… pulled the line back down the conduit.

::: blink blink :::

So, Steve called the Comcast Mothership and had them set up a “pre-bury” plan. Basically, they’re going to come out, dig up a section of yard – and possibly the sidewalk – and drop a brand new line.

Installation date: 10 May 2010

That’s right. Two weeks out.

*grblsnrkx*

Oh, well. At least I’ll be able to get A LOT of unpacking and organizing done.

And, there’s possibly a trip or two to The Garden of Sweden in there, too. I need a new desk, after all.

Anyway… If anyone needs to contact me after working hours, phone or text me. Or just wait for me to respond via email/IM the next business day.

But, at least we’re in the house.

Until tomorrow.

Namaste.

Monday – 19 April 2010
Goodbye, weekend.
Hello, work day grind.
At least the weather is nice. I might even have to go for a constitutional later today.

Yesterday saw a little more work around the house. And… (yet) another trip to Home Depot. At this rate, I’m beginning to wonder how long it will be before employees there know us on a first name basis. This time, we needed to get a lawnmower… and a few other items. We got what we needed and went to put them to work.

SIDENOTE: I’m… not the biggest fan of the former owners’ landscaping in the front yard. I understand the concept, but find the execution to be poor. (Sort of an ” ‘A’ for effort…” kind of thing.) It’s a little disjointed — there are three distinct areas in the landscaped bit, with no real cohesion between them. And, I find it annoying to mow around. I have some ideas of how I’d like to redo that area, but they will have to wait.  But, you better believe that I was mentally cursing whomever thought that curved lines were the way to go there.

Logan and Swiz came over just after I finished the yard work. (It was almost as if they were waiting around the corner until it was done…) They came to see the new floor. They liked it. They hung out and chatted for a little while, before heading out to The Garden of Sweden.

We cleaned up and headed back to the apartment to get cleaned up and ready for dinner. We headed up to SaraRules’ parents’. Dinner included bratwurst and mojitos. Selah. After dinner, we took the in-laws over to the house, so that they could see things post-paint/post-floor. Then, it was back to their house for dessert and then, it was back to the apartment for us. More packing! YAY! And, I managed to catch up on an hour of 24 while packing. Win-Win.

Stray Toasters

• Airlines condemn ‘European mess’
• Poll: 4 out of 5 Americans don’t trust Washington
  • Here is a corollary article, including graphs, from The Atlantic
• Something that shockpuppet found makes me smile:



• From the “Is it live… or is it Memorex?” file: This Is Apple’s Next iPhone
• Olympics track contributes to Kumaritashvili death
• 

• Despite New Law, Salary Gender Gap Persists
• Meetings!

And that’s a wrap!

Namaste.

Sunday – 21 March 2010
Good morning, Second Day of Spring.
It’s a bright and sunny day outside. I can hear birds chirping in the trees outside the sliding glass door.

Yesterday also turned out to be a very nice day, weather-wise. Low-to-mid 50s, with lots of sun and no clouds. In fact, it was nice enough to ride around with the sunroof open and the windows down a bit.

SaraRules and I went to Cottonwood Cafe for lunch yesterday. One of these days, maybe I’ll remember how messy their Mushroom Bacon Cheeseburger is before I order it. (But, it’s oh so tasty…)  After lunch, we trekked south and west to visit Hobby Lobby. We wandered around the store for a bit; I found a couple of model railroading books that followed me home. Next stop: The Garden of Sweden. Miraculously, I walked out of there empty-handed. I was proud of myself. (Or is it that I was disappointed in them for not having anything that I couldn’t live without…?) After the fun part of the excursion, came the less-fun-but-just-as-important task of running errands.

After errands were run and there was no place else that we needed/wanted to go, we came home. SaraRules took a nap, I hopped on the nerd. After an hour-plus of surfing the Interwebs, I had a minor epiphany: I was hungry. I awakened SaraRules and we decided to get something to eat. We agreed upon Olive Garden, called Galadriel to see if she wanted to join us and we were on our way. We were seated inside of five minutes. Our server, Jaron, was pretty quick on the uptake. I had the calamari appetizer, Pasta e Fagioli soup and the Chicken and Shrimp Carbonara, washed down with a glass of Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay. Everything tasted very good.

Back home to finalize plans for the rest of the evening. We decided to go bowling. We figured that we’d check out Karen Pullman’s Pro Shop and Bowling Center, which is pretty much just around the corner from where we live. Nice place. Fifteen lanes. Not nearly as chaotic as Sandy All-Star Lanes used to be. Jana and Chris also joined us. My games were off — two of them were WAY off: I bowled 102, 106, 165. I couldn’t close a frame in the first two games to save my life. Seriously. And I missed some/most of the spares by inches. However, Galadriel had the hot hand last night: 144, 141, 186. Yeah, she was all over it.

Today, I have absolutely no idea what I want to do, let alone what I’m going to do. SaraRules has the final performance of The Italian Girl in Algiers this afternoon, which means that I’m a bachelor from about 1230 until 1800. We’ll have to see what comes up.

Stray Toasters

• Last night, I had a dream with my paternal grandfather in it. In the… over twenty years… that he’s been deceased, this is the first time that I recall having a dream with him in it.  Odd.
• 10 Essentials: Paul Smith
• We finally confirmed that the little girls who live upstairs are actually roller-skating in their kitchen. That fact is made even more scary/fascinating given how small the kitchen is.
• Mom-and-Pop Site Busts the Web’s Biggest Myths
• It appears as though Live+Press is working again.
• My Very Own Gagavolution
  Including a link, for those who haven’t seen it, to the video (NSFW) for Telephone
• Sequels, reboots bring sizzle to summer box office, by way of
• How did Lois afford that apartment anyway?
• Children’s Drawings, Painted Realistically
• Abraham Lincoln Reborn as a Vampire Hunter
• Bishops’ remains stolen in Cyprus
• And this is why I use Keynote:



And, for those who don’t get it: Edward Tufte.

Thursday – 11 March 2010
Last night, I went home and tried to figure out what I wanted to do with a free evening. A good portion of that time – about two hours – was spent sitting on the couch, watching MythBusters.  After fixing something to eat, I finally decided to hit the neighborhood Barnes & Noble and try to get in some drawing. I took a few ‘Clix with me, as it’s always nice to have some figure references and set about putting graphite to paper…

I started by going through the issue of Lurzer’s Archive that I was using as reference/inspiration last week. I more or less finished a sketch that I started and then tried moving on to another piece. After that, inspiration struck: I started on a new piece based on a song lyric. If I can maintain a nominally steady pace, I should have something to show in the next week or so.

I left the bookstore and headed home. SaraRules got home shortly afterwards. We chatted about our days, watched a bit of TV and called it a night…

…unfortunately, I could not easily find my to The Dreaming. I laid in bed for what seemed like hours before finally drifting off. Maybe that White Chocolate Mocha I drank while drawing had something to do with it.

Oddly enough, I didn’t wake up feeling horribly tired this morning. That’s a good thing for an NBN Thursday.

Stray Toasters

• Today starts my week with The Leash.  Despite that, it’s still a good day.
• Four-Color Coverage got a nod from The Legion Omnicom.
• Max Brooks Joins G.I. Joe Comics
  And, yes, he’s “that” Max Brooks.
• Thanks to for making sure I was able to pickup the latest MacHeist bundle before the offer ended.
• In Which I Try To Use All Of WGN’s Newly Banned Words In One Sentence
• I just got out of a 30-40 minute long conversation with our CTO.  Impromptu. Unexpected.  And… good.
• 
• Multitasking in for iPhone 4.0?
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” File: Lesbian panic shuts down Mississippi high school prom
• Former TSA analyst charged with computer tampering
• For the gamers out there: Recommend a good first-person shooter for me.  I’m starting to miss Battlefield 2142, but there haven’t been any updates for it since DICE/EA has allocated their resources to supporting Battlefield: Bad Company.
• IKEA’s Soft Toys Raise $35 Million for Charity

Namaste.

Thursday – 03 December 2009
Thirteen.

That’s the answer to “How many degrees (Fahrenheit) was it when I left home this morning?” Low relative humidity or not, that’s just cold.

Last night, SaraRules and I went out to do a little Christmas shopping and errand-running.  Our first stop was at Gardner Village; we picked out our 2009 Christmas ornament. From there, we headed to The Downtown Philly Cheesesteaks for dinner – SaraRules had the Philly Bleu, I had the Mushroom Pepper. Next stop: Hobby Lobby. And after that, a pilgrimage to The Garden of Sweden.

After we returned home, we watched Shade, a movie that SaraRules got from Netflix; excerpted from their synopsis:

A trio of grifters (Thandie Newton, Gabriel Byrne and Stuart Townsend) plots the con of a lifetime when they scheme to hustle a notorious card shark known as “The Dean.”  Jamie Foxx and Melanie Griffith co-star in this twisting tale of deception, danger and double cross.

It was a good movie, better than we expected actually. It made for a good evening’s movie watching and I’d definitely recommend it.

Workout
Wes and I made it to the gym today. The fact that I’m still sore from Tuesday’s workout didn’t help… at all:

• Sit-ups (incline): 3 sets – 10/20/10*
• Bench Press: 3 sets/8 reps, 205 lbs/195 lbs/185 lbs
• Lat Pulldowns: 3 sets/10 reps, 100 lbs
• Side Bends (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps per side, 25 lbs
• Lateral Raises (w/ fly): 3 sets/10 reps, 10 lbs
• Push-ups: 3 sets/15 reps

Post-workout weight: 190.1 lbs

Stray Toasters

• The Council for Better Driving: Utah suggests reading this article: ‘Road Rage’ Case Highlights Cyclist vs. Driver Tension
• Malware Alert: Zeus faked as H1N1 alert
• 365DayGirl posted a link to Tabloach Productions – Barbie (et al.) doll customizations
• Steampunk assemblage glasses
• Monkeys! >.<
  
• Look Out Below! Wingsuits Pushed for Airborne Assaults
• 
• : Sorry to hear about this, no one should have to go out like this – Lewis’ career likely over after he suffers post-concussion symptoms
• NBC Universal + Comcast = NBC CEO Jeff Zucker’s Statement to Staff
• Vladamir Put ‘to think about’ presidential bid
• My Hilarious Warner Bros. Royalty Statement
• The PlayStation Turns 15: What did it mean for you?

Back to the grind…

Namaste.

Monday – 16 November 2009
I know that Mondays are, generally speaking, usually the least looked forward to day of the week. They’ve gotten a bum rap over the years, what with the whole “first day of the work week” thing. We’ve all come to expect Mondays to be “blah,” at best.

For some reason, I had actually expected something a little different this morning. I took the day off because… well, I wanted a four-day weekend. And I could. So, I did. I was expecting to sleep in and have a relaxing morning with SaraRules, who was going to work a little late this morning – she had to work over the weekend – so that could only add to the rare and elusive “goodness” of a Monday morning.

Unfortunately, I have the on-call pager for work this week. It decided to chime in at 0800 this morning.

*grblsnrkx*

I acknowledged the alert and then set about making phone calls to have someone check the system in question. No answer.

*grblsnrkx*

I waited a few minutes and tried again. No answer. I tried calling a different person. No go, Flight.

*braincramp*

I sent a warning message to Paul to let him know what was going on and then tried a slightly different tack – checking to see if anyone was in the other office. Both Minion #2 and loonybin88 were there. I explained what was going on to loonybin88 and he took care of the problem…

Hallelujah!!!

…which is definitely a good thing, but it doesn’t change the fact that I was up at least an hour before I had planned to be. *sigh*

Yesterday was a good day. It started off with sleeping in, football and homemade coffee cake for breakfast. Next, SaraRules and I assembled the buffet we got at The Garden of Sweden. After that, we headed up to the in-laws’ place for more football and dinner. It was both a relaxing and productive day, all in one.

Today, despite the way it kicked off, has the potential to be a pretty awesome day as well. I’m playing ‘Clix with Chris a little later. (We’ll see how that goes…) This evening, the Ravens take on the Browns on Monday Night Football; we’re having people over to watch it with us. (: Don’t forget the shot glasses!)

Instant Replay: Football
Yesterday was a good day of gridiron action:

Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers
19 – 28
The Panthers hosted the Falcons and came away with a win. This will be a short week for the Panthers, as they are featured in this week’s Thursday night game against the Dolphins.

.

Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders
16 – 10
The Chiefs took a trip to the Bay Area… and took away a win, over the Raiders. Sorry, SaraRules.

.

Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings
10 – 27
Brett Favre and the Vikings hosted Matt Stafford and the Detroit Lions… …and went to work on ’em. It wasn’t the blow out that many people were expecting, thanks to some miscues on the Vikings’ part, but at the final whistle, Minnesota came away with the win. Congrats, .

.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Miami Dolphins
23 – 25
The Bucs took a road trip down to Miami to take on the Dolphins at Land Shark Stadium. It was apparently a close game, but a Dan Carpenter field goal – with 10 seconds left in the game – gave the Fins the go-ahead score and the win. The Dolphins travel up I-95 (and I-85) to take on the Panthers on Thursday night.  I’m a little torn about who I want to win that game.

.

Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers
18 – 12
There aren’t many times – in fact, I can’t really ever think of a time – when you’ll hear me say that I actually want the Steelers to win a game. This was one of those times. The Bengals not only won, but they completed a sweep of the Steelers  and are one game away from sweeping the entire AFC North division. Congrats, and .

Stray Toasters

• Giant iceberg spotted off Australia
• SaraRules and I were just talking about what we wanted for Christmas.  She asked me what I wanted and I said, “A hippopotamus.” At that point, we apparently both started singing I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas in our heads. Moments later, that had somehow reworked itself in my head as Hippo Pottermus and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I need help.
• This item, from Tiny Titans, made me snicker:

  

• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: New Dating Sites Match People Through DNA Tests
• Mandelbulb: 3D Mandelbrot
• State police slash patrols as forces shrink
• The First Windows 7 Zero-Day Exploit

Off to face the (rest of the) day…!

Namaste.

Sunday – 15 November 2009
It’s 25°F outside. It makes me very glad to be inside. Yesterday saw the first real accumulation of snow in the valley; it’s not too much – only a couple of inches, maybe – but it’s snow. On the ground.

Yesterday was a long day that was both fun and productive. It started out with breakfast with SaraRules, Chris and Perry and two of his boys. The mealtime conversation was heavily-laden with geekery. (Did I mention that SaraRules is a saint for putting up with us? She is.) After breakfast, we headed home, did a little cleaning and then headed out to see 2012 with , and Aaron. To be fair, the movie wasn’t nearly as atrocious as we had expected. It was even… decent. Seriously:

• Yes, it was a disaster movie…
• Yes, some of the acting could have used a boost…
• Yes, a few of the special effects were a little cheesy…
• Yes, there were plot holes you could have driven a semi through…

But, it was actually fun. And funny. If nothing else, you have to credit Roland Emmerich with being able to blow things up in spectacular fashion:

In an interview by USA Today, Roland Emmerich has stated that this will be his final disaster film: “I said to myself that I’ll do one more disaster movie, but it has to end all disaster movies. So I packed everything in.”

And he did. But, it wasn’t an unwatchable film:

After the movie, SaraRules, and I went to The Garden of Sweden, where we (finally) picked up the couch we’ve been looking at/talking about for the past… year or so. We also picked up a buffet, in which our new china will be stored. We managed to pack the new couch into the apartment and load the old one onto ‘s truck and took it to SaraRules’ parents.

After that, I headed over to Chris and Mary’s to play in Chris’ Dark Heresy game… for the first time in over a year. My character has been bumped up a few levels and can actually do things now. It was a fun change of pace; I’ll have to decide if it’s something I’d like to do on a regular basis. Again.

Stray Toasters

• A big, hearty “Thank you” to for his time and help in moving the couches yesterday! (Also a big thanks to shockpuppet for letting us borrow him!)
• I ran into someone I used to work with many moons past while shopping at Target the other night.
• UK child migrants apology planned
• Commodore 64 Runs Again on the iPhone

  

• There are a few items in the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file today:
  • Snow globes? TSA will likely just say ‘no’
    • TSA bans snow globes. TSA, meet Archimedes
  • Happy Little Drop-and-Give-Me-50
  • Orgy: the game from 1967
• Robbery Suspect Cleared by Facebook Alibi
  
• 
• Alternate Star Trek TOS Pilot Found

Namaste.

01 November 2009
Welcome to November.

Is it a “bad” thing that I wish that more people and places remembered that the next American holiday after Hallowe’en is not Christmas? *sigh*

Alas, poor Yorick Thanksgiving! I knew it, Horatio.

At least we are keeping the holiday spirit alive here at home: SaraRules changed the fabric in the picture frames in the bathroom to the Thanksgiving-themed fabrics we found last week:

Last night, SaraRules and I opted to stay in and hand out candy to kids here in our complex. We were partially successful – we had two sets of Trick or Treaters. We even got into costume for it. Oh, well. We also wound up Hallowe’en with a couple of horrible… I mean “horror”… movies. (Actually, they were both pretty bad.) We watched a pair of Uwe Boll movies:

House of the Dead

and

Bloodrayne

SaraRules actually owns House (on VHS, no less!) and she found Bloodrayne on Netflix’ Instant Queue.  I’m not sure that there’s ever been a movie based on a videogame that’s been “good,” but I do know that neither of these movies qualifies. We MST3K-ed both movies… and had fun doing it.

This morning, SaraRules fixed a coffee cake, which we ate while watching football. Also during the game, I set my digital cutter to work on some WWG pieces – I got a lot cut out, I just need to glue and assemble now. After the early game, we went to the store to pick up some things for dinner tonight – we’re having jambalaya. Tonight will be another low-key night around the homestead.

Instant Replay: Football Update
Today has been a good football day. A good day, indeed.

Denver Broncos at Baltimore Ravens
7 – 30
The Ravens (3-3), after a three game losing streak and a bye week, we looking to make up some lost ground in the AFC North.Coming into today’s game, the Broncos hadn’t only allowed more than 10 points in the second halves of their games; with their 6-0 record, they headed to Baltimore to notch another win. Quoth the Ravens: “Nevermore.” This was a helluva game, especially if you are a Ravens fan. On the first play of the opening drive, Raven’s LB Jarret Johnson introduced Broncos QB Kyle Orton to the turf, on an for a sack with an 8-yard loss. And the hits just kept coming. Orton was hurried, rushed and sacked twice. And it wasn’t just the Ravens’ defense doing some work today, the offense and special teams helped out, including a 95-yard kickoff return touchdown, by CB Ladarius Webb. The Ravens looked – and played – like a team on a mission. And it was good. Amen.

Ray, how does a big win against a previously undefeated football team make you feel?

Yeah, I’d be feeling like that, too.

Miami Dolphins at New York Jets
30 – 25
The Dolphins took a trip to New York to take on the Jets in Giants Stadium… …and were able to hold on for a win. Go, fish!

.

Oakland Raiders at San Diego Chargers
16 – 24
The Chargers hosted the Raiders and were able to keep them at bay long enough to eke out a win. Sorry, SaraRules.

.

Carolina Panthers at Arizona Cardinals
34 – 21
The Cats traveled across the country to take on the Arizona Cardinals… …and came away looking like the cat that ate the canary.

.

Cleveland Browns at Chicago Bears
6 – 30
Um… sorry, .

…and the Game of the Day:

Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers
38 – 26
Brett Favre took the Vikings to Green Bay to take on his former team. How would it be to go back to Lambeau Field after playing there for sixteen years… and being gone for two? Let’s just say that Favre had a solid game: 244 passing yards. Four touchdowns. No interceptions. No sacks. It was every bit as good a game as I was expecting. Congratulations, .

Stray Toasters

• SaraRules and I picked up our wedding bands from the jewelers yesterday. We had to have them resized, because they were both (at least) a half-size too small.  For those of you who haven’t seen them before, here’s a look:

  
  (click picture for larger image)

  The bands were custom-designed for us by . She asked us what we wanted on them… and we both drew a blank. After some discussion, asked us what our interests were and that she would adapt something from that. That made it easier for both of us: SaraRules is a quilter and I’m a collector/gamer. We wanted something that represented both of us, and that’s what we went with:

  • SaraRules chose a log cabin quilting pattern
  • I chose a Green Lantern symbol. (Duh.)

  The pattern, quilt square/lantern, is repeated around the ring.

• I realized something this morning. After sleeping in my wedding band, I had a negative imprint of the ring’s pattern on my skin. It took me a moment or two to realize why it looked so familiar.  It looked like this (the symbol on Kyle’s uniform). I had always wondered how/where they came up with the symbol; now I have a better idea.
• If you get a chance, vote for SaraRules and me!
• Computer Activities for Those with Speech and Language Difficulties?
• I don’t mind the extra hour of “fall back” when we go from Daylight Saving Time to Standard Time… but I do miss the late-in-the-day sunlight.
• No word yet on when S.F. Bay Bridge will reopen
• SaraRules and I made a pilgrimage to The Garden of Sweden yesterday. We bought stuff, too.
• Zombies as American Zeitgeist Proxies
  Oh, yeah… we watched the original Night of the Living Dead last night, too.

  

• This makes me chuckle:

  

• The iPhone Now Officially Runs Doom
• I believe I’m craving a Slurpee… but I don’t think I’ll be getting one tonight.

Saturday – 24 October 2009
Today’s been a good – and somewhat busy – day around here.

So far we’ve had breakfast (pancakes!) and watched the first half of the Illinois-Purdue game, run some errands, done some cleaning – including the storage closet(!), SaraRules is baking a cake, I’m trying to wrangle the office into usable shape once again. In a little bit, we’re heading out for Errands II: Electric Boogaloo… which includes a trip to The Garden of Sweden. And tonight, we’re heading out to dinner for my birthday.

Stray Toasters

• The Boilermakers beat the Illini, 24-14. That makes me smile.
• I have a couple of new icons:

  and 

• An F-16 and a couple of F-22s were flying over the valley earlier. My guess is that it was in advance of today’s Air Force/Utah game. (And… I just had this confirmed.)
• Dioramas “captured” from nature
• I need to get back into HALO 3 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance.  And CoH, once they fix the cursor glitch.
• DodgeDot (iPhone game)
• NASA Releases Cool, Free iPhone App

Time to get back to it.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 20 October 2009
This morning is rather grey and dreary… but it’s also without precipitation, so far. I think that maybe – just maybe – Fall weather has (finally) settled in over Utah.

Last night was a quiet evening in. There was football and a horror movie, 30 Days of Night. According to SaraRules and Reverend Tom:

“The goal isn’t just to watch ‘good’ horror movies or ‘bad’ horror movies; the goal is to watch ALL horror movies.”

And, after all: It’s October, the month made for horror movies. Or something like that.

Workout
Wes and I hit the gym today:

• Lower Back Extensions: 3 sets/12 reps
• Sit-ups (incline): 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 205 lbs
• Flys: 3 sets/12 reps, 120 lbs
• Dips: 3 sets/10 reps

Pre-workout weight (morning): 184.5 lbs

Instant Replay: Football
Last night’s match-up between the Denver Broncos and Sandy Eggo Chargers wound up being more of a slugfest than I had originally expected:

Denver Broncos at San Diego Chargers
34 – 23
Any game where you have three (3) kicks/punts run back for touchdowns is a good game… especially when both teams get in on the action.  This game was not an exception to that. It was a definite back-and-forth struggle, until the Chargers started fumbling the ball in the second half. After that, Denver forged ahead and never looked back. All-in-all it was a good game, from start to finish.

After the Patriots’ 59 – 0 beat down of the Titans on Sunday, I decided to look up a couple of football facts:

1. Highest-scoring game in NFL history: November 27, 1966, when the Washington Redskins defeated New York Giants 72-41
2. Widest margin of victory in NFL history: December 8, 1940, in the NFL Championship Game, the Chicago Bears beat the Washington Redskins 73-0

So…at least the Titans don’t have the distinction of “the worst loss ever.” That’s gotta count for something, right? But, on the other hand, the Redskins have the (dubious) distinction of being part of the both the highest-scoring and widest margin of victory games… which qualifies them for the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file.

Stray Toasters

• Apple unveils new hotness
• At the centre of time – A look at the Greenwich Prime Meridian
• Car seats can be dangerous outside the car
• How forensics use Photoshop to find missing children
• NASA’s rocket roll-out complete
• How do you solve a problem like IKEA?
• From Threadless: The Horde t-shirt
• Chillits 2009 ambient music mixes online

Okay…. lunch beckons.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 14 October 2009
Midweek and all’s well.
As if that wasn’t enough, it’s Comics and Sushi Wednesday!

Last night was a laid back night. After a few post-work errand with SaraRules, we stopped at Dask’s to pick up dinner and then headed home. NCIS and Greek food isn’t necessarily a combination that most people would put together, but you know what? It works. After NCIS went off, we headed up to the in-laws’ for a quick visit and then headed back home – Project Runway for SaraRules; foamcore cutting for some WWG terrain for me.

Workout
For the first time in… two weeks, I think… Wes and I hit the gym for a quick workout:

• Sit-ups (incline): 3 sets/20 reps
• Lower Back Extensions: 3 sets/12 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 185 lbs
• Flys: 3 sets/10 reps, 110 lbs
• Curls: 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs
• Reverse Punches: 3 sets/10 reps, 10 lbs

Pre-workout weight (morning): 183.5 lbs

Stray Toasters

• Wonder of Wonders: Star-Spangled Panties (not nearly as NSFW as it sounds)
• continues to send things that entertain/amuse me:
  • Best of IKEA for the Kitchen
  • 1964 letter “…not in my official Church position, but as a friend…” on the LDS Church’ stance on “The Negro Problem”
    • …and an interesting follow-up
      
• What actual Mayans are saying about 2012
  I think that “What actual Rush fans are saying about 2112” would be an appropriate follow-up to this article.
• Soda Tax Could Shake Up Industry
• 
• ‘Twin Towers’ warship sets sail
  • USS New York (Wikipedia article)
• Wild Cherry – Play That Funky Music

• Airlines that charge fees lost more money than airlines that didn’t
• Comics cover artist Greg Horn’s take on Wonder Woman (full article can be read here).

Namaste.

Thursday – 08 October 2009
Having a week off was good, but it’s back to the grind for another NBN Thursday.

Yesterday, I went to sushi with shockpuppet, , and .  Before heading over to Dr. Volt’s, I stopped at Evergreen Framing Co. & Gallery – I’ve been past it many times without going in. It’s a nice little shop, with art from local artists. If you’re in the 33rd South and 20th East area, check it out. Next stop: Dr. Volt’s and then… back home.

Later in the evening, SaraRules and I made a pilgrimage to The Garden of Sweden. We picked up a GORM storage unit for the pantry and a few knick-knacks.

Today has been mostly getting back into the swing of things. And, a tasty lunch at Taste of Punjab.

Stray Toasters

• We have Dunkin’ Donuts Munchkins.  Booyah!
• For SaraRules:

  

• What’s Inside a Cup of Coffee?
  Aside from life-giving (and/or life-saving) goodness, you mean…?
• Rock out to Spider-Woman’s Tangled Web
• Missile Silo Fixer-Upper Now Swanky Bachelor Pad
• Ctrl-Alt-Del‘s Tim Buckley has a few things to say about the Left4Dead 2 “boycott”
  • I boycott the boycotters
  • Boycott: From the other side
• Wondermark’s Genre Fiction Generator
• Finding Common Ground in a Tiny Barbershop

Namaste.

Tuesday – 18 August 2009
Another day in the mines.

Last night, SaraRules and I went to dinner at El Chihuahua. We ate. We talked. We watched football. After that, we ran a couple of errands – one of which involved a Hostess Fruit Pie (but perhaps I’ve said too much…) – and then headed home for a quiet evening in.

The management at our apartment complex is having some of the roads in the complex repaved. I think that this would be referred to as a “Charlie Foxtrot” in the military.

Football Update
The Panthers traveled to New York to take on the N.Y. Giants for their first preseason game. (GameCenter) They put on a… decent… showing. The first half was primarily the Giants’ half. Somewhere in the second half, the Panthers seemed to remember why they were there.

With under two minutes left in the game, QB Josh McCown executed a rather impressive drive that went in for a touchdown AND two-point conversion to tie the game at 17. The Giants had a chance to drive downfield, but couldn’t. On the first play of the Panthers’ next drive, McCown, setting up a pass play, had the ball knocked from his hand, which was recovered – in the air – by a Giants’ lineman and run back for the go-ahead winning touchdown… just as time ran out.

Carolina: 17
Giants: 24

And, in other gridiron news: Brett Favre is back in Minnesota…

Workout
Marci and I went to the gym this afternoon:

• Calf Raises: 3 sets/10 reps, 100 lbs
• Leg Extensions: 3 sets/10 reps, 70 lbs
• Leg Curls: 3 sets/10 reps, 70 lbs
• Sit-ups (incline): 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 185 lbs
• Tricep Extensions (bar): 3 sets/12 reps, 80 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell, hammer grip): 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs
• Reverse Punches (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 lbs
  • Set 1: 20 reps
  • Set 2: 10 reps

Weight (morning): 184.5 lbs

Stray Toasters

• Last night, I was messaged by someone I haven’t spoken with in nearly five (5) years. It was a bit of a shock, pleasantly so… but surprising, nonetheless.
• By way of : While I Was Away

• IKEA Draper Crayfish Party
• Utah Museum of Fine Arts is holding a film and lecture series, beginning next week.
• Why Is PETA Making Fun of Fat Women?
• I’m a fan of Bobby McFerrin. Check out his rendition of The Pink Panther Theme
• Insanewiches
• Car 54 Jamar Nicholas, Where Are You?
• pointed this out to me: Do You Wanna Date My Avatar?

• Has the Spidey Musical been deep-sixed?
• But we’re never gonna survive
  Unless we are a little crazy…

Quote of the Day
Today’s quote is gleaned from a conversation I had last night with . He wanted to make sure that we were alright with Bit and Pixel being at the wedding ceremony (in the chapel, that is).  Duh – we only get to see them (or at least Bit, to this point) every so often; naturally, we want them there. That led to the following:

9:47:10 PM : aiiight so urchins ok, i’ll load them both up with nyquil.
9:47:21 PM : heh or mountain dew
9:47:24 PM : either way, fun at parties
9:47:26 PM : 🙂
9:47:59 PM : SaraRules: “How about one and one?”
9:48:06 PM : “He gets to pick which one.”
9:48:24 PM : hahaha ok awesome, Bit on mountain dew then.  i’ve been wanting to play with THAT shotgun for months.

Namaste.