Random Access

Thursday – 18 Sep 2008
Three down.
One in the chamber.
One to go.

Yesterday, after work, I went home and enjoyed a tasty dinner prepared by Ms. SaraRules – baked chicken with rice and a salad. Yes, I said “salad.” As in “food that food eats.” Move along. After dinner I stretched out on the couch… which lead to intermittent bouts of non-consciousness. I did the only appropriate thing to do in that situation: I took a nap. An apparently much-needed nap.

After the recharge, I played a City of Heroes, for the first time in a couple of weeks. I was invited to a group shortly after logging in – we had a nice balance of damage-dealers and a good healer, not to mention a non-tank Warshade who did a good job of tanking. I was a couple of bubbles from 29 when I started; by the time I finished, I was almost halfway to 30. Not bad for less than two hours’ worth of play time.

The alarm went off early again this morning. I opted to stay in bed for a little while longer, but I still managed to get here a few minutes after 7:00.

Stray Toasters

• I got to chat with for a while this morning. It was a fun way to kick off the morning.
• Giant Rocketeer Mosaic by Dave Ware (done in LEGO bricks, natch!)
  Check this site to get a better sense of the scale.
• The Omega Concern
• Pickens says Wal-Mart to study switch from diesel
• By way of come the following…
  • Goon City
  • Paging Leonidas to the Front Desk
    
• 
• : I don’t know if you’ve checked out HeroClix, but you might want to take a gander at this.
• How SEC rule exemptions led to Wall Street Collapse
• 
• Hitchhikers’ Guide series to ride again
• The mysterious Racer D…

He gets right on to the friction of the day.

Namaste.

When: Saturday – 13 Sept 2008
10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Where: Cultural Celebration Center
1355 West 3100 South
West Valley City
801-965-5100

What: Help support Primary Children’s Medical Center by participating in a day of fun and tons of games! There will also be a LEGO Master Builder to help assemble a giant creation of LEGO bricks.

Friday – 12 Sep 2008
Last night, SaraRules came over and fixed dinner (fajitas!) and we watched The West Wing and 21. Nice, quiet evening in. After SaraRules left, I hopped on the nerd and surfed for a while. Then – in a stroke of genius – I decided to stretch out on the couch “for a few minutes.”

That turned into 3 hours.

I woke up and dragged myself to bed. That’s when the odd, 21-inspired dreams set in. Thugs, money and lots of running. Whoop-de-damn-doo.

So far, the work day hasn’t been too bad.
And, it’s Friday. A short Friday, to boot.
Win-Win.

Stray Toasters

• As 2008 Multicultural Week draws to a close, I am reminded of this post that sent me back in July.
• Folks were talking about WoW‘s Harvest Festival in a chat forum this morning; that reminded me that it’s almost time for the 2008 CoH Hallowe’en Event.
• Speaking of Hallowe’en: Dress up your PS3
• 
• The CrüxShadows 2008 US tour brings them to SLC on the 28th. Hm.
• Sunday’s Ravens game has been moved to Monday night, thanks to Hurricane Ike. I’m not sure if there will be coverage outside the Baltimore and Texas areas.
• Your Mama Don’t Dance and Your Daddy Don’t Rock and Roll
• Vintage Monkey Cartoons
  
• 
• LEGO Album Covers on Flickr

Soon: Hometime
Next: Lunch with SaraRules
Later: Errands… and maybe a pickup game of ‘Clix

Namaste.

Thursday – 04 September 2008
Wow. The day is better than half over and I’m just getting to this. It’s been a busy day, but that’s good because it has also been productive.

Last night, SaraRules and I had a date night. There are, indeed, definite perks to living in the same city. We had dinner (spaghetti, homemade sauce, garlic bread and a bottle of Pinot Noir) and decided to watch TV rather than a movie. We watched… three (I think) episodes of Project Runway, with an episode of The West Wing and an episode of Cold Case thrown in for me. It was a nice way to spend the evening.

Today, aside from being busy, was also sushi and comics (and a couple boxes of ‘Clix) day. Tonight, there will be packing for tomorrow’s camping trip… and maybe, just maybe, a little CoH before bed.

Stray Toasters

• For the third day in a row, I’ve been able to see SaraRules as she drives past the office on her way to work. This morning was a bit of a fluke, though: I got to the office and happened to be looking out the window and she drove by; I was fairly certain that I would have missed her by a few minutes and wasn’t expecting to catch her today. When I talked with her a little later, she asked me if this was becoming a new tradition; I told her that I didn’t know… but that if it did, it was one that I was beginning to like. What can I say? It makes for a fun – if odd – start to the day.
• Tonight is the beginning of the 2008 NFL season!
• As I’ve mentioned before, I have an… unusual… desktop wallpaper image. One that gets noticed. This week, it got attention from our COO, in fact. The image is a Photoshop-manipulated version of the cover from Incognegro, which is discussed in this article from BoingBoing.
• By way of ThinkGeek: The Encyclopedia Shatnerica
• Abandoned Space Technology
• had an interesting item in a recent post: Apples to Apples – a look at the current presidential/vice presidential tickets compared to tickets of the past 30 or so years.
  
• Star Wars + LEGO + Olympics = Imperial Sportstroopers Invade Beijing Olympics
• Elderly Superheroes Never Looked So Good!
• 
• Linux Motivational Posters
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” files:
  • Elephant cured of drug addiction
  • Girls warned playing didgeridoo could cause infertility
• Dad builds dream tree house
• Evolution of the AT-AT

Bonus Points to anyone who knows – without looking it up – the relevance of today’s title AND what it’s from.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 02 September 2008
And so, another – thankfully short – work week begins. I’m going camping with SaraRules and her family this Friday. That should prove… interesting. And undoubtedly fun.

Yesterday was a low-key day, as a holiday should be:

• Sleeping in.
• A couple of episodes of The West Wing.
• Tooling around town, including a stop at Gardner Village.
• Dinner with SaraRules’ family.
• City of Heroes.
• The Middleman season finale.

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

Stray Toasters

• Congrats to SaraRules on starting her new job!




• We have a new guy starting in IT today. Selah.
• Sunday’s trip to IKEA bore some fruit… including some geeky fruit. I picked up a KUBBO light. I got a green globe to go on it. Why? Because then, I could do this:

  

  …and this…

  

• I was surprised to read news items about Governor Palin’s daughter in the news.
  I was even more surprised – pleasantly so – to hear Senator Obama’s reaction:

  “Let me be as clear as possible,” Obama said. “I think people’s families are off-limits, and people’s children are especially off-limits. This shouldn’t be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin’s performance as governor or her potential performance as a vice president.” (Full story, from CNN)
  

  I was similarly impressed with the way that he reminded the media that he was born to a young mother and that reporters should “…back off these kinds of stories.”

• How to make a papercraft Masonic Lodge
• By way of BoingBoing: Hot 8 Brass Band
• How to make a 3-D printer out of LEGO

Attack the day like birds of prey…

Namaste.

Wednesday – 27 August 2008
Last night, after work, I picked up Chris and we headed to Far West Comics for this week’s HeroClix tournament. Restricted 300-point teams. After “a bit” of deliberation, I decided to go with:

• Nick Fury
• Susan Richards and
• Red Arrow (with the Loner feat card)

First up, I played Mike, a new player. As such, he was very cautious and… deliberate… in making moves. He fielded three of the Fantastic Four figures from the new starter set:

• Invisible Woman
• Mister Fantastic and
• The Thing

We basically danced around the field, neither of us taking out the other’s figures. Time was called, so it came down to a simple roll of the dice, which went Mike’s way. Loss.

Next up: Ma’afu. He played a mixed team:

• Hawkman
• Ronin and
• Yellowjacket (Skrull)

With the the Vendetta feat on Ronin (targeting Susan Richards) and Hawkman playing taxi, Ronin became my primary target. He was the first to fall. Next I started working on Hawkman. He took more punishment than I would have originally given him credit for, but I wound up taking him down. That left Skrull-jacket. Fortunately, he didn’t get sixes on his Skrull team ability nor on his Shape Change rolls, so I was able to attack him. It took my dice a while to warm up to the idea of actually doing something in my favor… but I got ‘im. Win.

Both Mike and Ma’afu had to leave, so we called the tournament at two rounds. This means that I didn’t have to face Chris. *genuflect* We both wound up at 1-1 for the night.

Keith (the judge) and Nano wanted to get a game in, so the two of them took on Chris and me. I decided to try a theme team: Illuminati. I fielded

• Iron Man (with Outsmart)
• Mister Fantastic (with Brilliant Tactician)
• Namor
• Professor X

Chris played:

• Batman
• Black Adam
• Doctor Strange
• Gamora and
• Knightfall Batman

Keith, much to my painful chagrin, fielded the Legion:

• Cosmic Boy
• Dream Girl
• Lightning Lad
• Saturn Girl
• Supergirl
• Timber Wolf
• Young Superman

while Nano went with a mixed team

• Batman (Justice Legion A)
• Bronze Tiger
• The Flash (Justice Legion A)
• Ms. Marvel (Skrull)
• Warskrull
• Wolverine

And it was game on. To make a long story short, the game ran for about an hour-and-a-half. Chris and I lost a couple of our heavy-hitters early (not taken out of the game at that point, but they took damage that clicked them past their “good” abilities). Then it was a battle of the dice. Both sides had hot and cold dice. Chris and I finally wound up conceding the game around 10:30 PM.

I headed home and wound down, which included a tour of Paragon City. I got onto a team with a couple of people I teamed with a few days ago. I put on at least a level and a half in the hour I played.

And then… sleep.

I’m not sure what I did to deserve it, but I woke up with a headache this morning. Yay.

Today is another research day. We’ve also been talking with a few of the front office guys who have had various questions dealing with a couple of remodeling issues around the office. On the plus side, Julie (Property Manager/Admin/Jill of All Trades) brought in cinnamon rolls for the IT staff. And, I have a frozen mocha. So things ain’t all bad.

Stray Toasters

• FAA computer glitch caused flight delays
• 
• The Ravens are 1-2 in preseason play.
  As are the Bengals.
  But, we’re both ahead of the 0-3 Browns. Just sayin’.
• Senator from Alaska Wins Primary
• From the “Too Much Free Time” file: Guy Builds Full LEGO Boba Fett Costume…

Namaste.

Tuesday – 26 August 2008
One down, four to go.

After work last night, I headed up to SaraRules’ parents’ for dinner (and mojitos!) and general hanging out… which included football: The Chargers vs. the Seahawks. Yes, it was (only) pre-season action, but it’s still rock and roll NFL to me. We tuned in a little late and watched the first half of the game.

At halftime, SaraRules and I headed back to my place for movie date night. We watched The Kingdom. Neither of us had seen it before, so we weren’t entirely sure what to expect. I wouldn’t recommened this movie as a “happy, fun-time” fare, but it was a good film. I give it a couple of solid thumbs-up with a nod and a smile.

After that, it was time for The Middleman. The episode was… entertaining, but lacked a little of its usual punch. Not the episode I would have picked for the first one that we got to watch together, but what’re ya gonna do?

SaraRules headed home and I sat on the couch, trying to decide if I wanted to play CoH… or log into PokerStars… or something. I watched DS9 while I pondered my conundrum. That turned into DS9 watching me. At that point, I decided that it was time to call it a night. And I did.

Today, I’m going to be elbow-up in enterprise KVM research.
Tonight, I’m going to be elbow-up in a ‘Clix tourney… one for which I’m still not completely sure which figures I’m using.

Stray Toasters

• I got home last night to find a package waiting for me… from . Inside, I found a couple of comic-related magnets (Supergirl and Hawkgirl) and a Test for Echo tour baseball cap. Unexpected win-win!
• Happy 30th Birthday to the LEGO minifig
• Our HR/Accounting guy and I were just talking when he noticed some of the ‘Clix I keep on my desk. He saw the Batman figure and noted that his daughter would like it, as she is a Bat-fan. I asked if she had read Batman: The Killing Joke; he said that he wasn’t sure, but would mention it to her. I’m hoping that this doesn’t become a “career-limiting move.”
• Online Beauty Pageant… for Nuns
• This Gizmodo-modified picture of the AT&T Death Star amuses me…



• Han Solo in carbonite cake
• I’m curious about Samuel L. Jackson’s upcoming movie, Lakeview Terrace
• Treadmills used to play WoW
• 

Up, up and away! (Either reference will work here.)

I just learned a new word, thanks to TechTarget’s “Word of the Day”:

Honey Monkey

Okay, technically, that’s two words, but I’m writing this post and you’re not, so deal with it.
(and it’s an excuse to find a way to use my pic of a LEGO monkey, too!)

Tuesday – 12 August 2008
Happy Birthday to :

Last night, I stopped by Far West Comics (again) to talk with Matt and Nano about some suggestions I had made to changing their weekly update email and to bounce around a few ideas they had been asked me about for making some changes to the store. I even helped move a couple of fixtures into new positions, too. As a thank you for helping out over the past few days, they gave me a HeroClix figure.

A big one: Starro the Conquerer, the 2007 Fall Convention Exclusive figure.

That’s right, it’s an alien, evil, giant starfish.
Yes, I actually put “alien,” “evil” and “giant starfish” in the same sentence.
And, yes, that felt almost as ridiculous/ludicrous to say (or type) as it was to read it.
At least I didn’t even mention that it’s really a mind-controlling, alien, evil, giant starfish.
(My operational theory: I think a lot of people at DC enjoyed a few too many recreational drugs in the 60s.)

It’s roughly the size of the Phoenix and Dark Phoenix ‘Clix. It’s currently on the shelf with the Jean Grey Phoenix, but I’ll have to see how well it fits once the DP figure gets here.

After some errand-running, I came home and geared up for watching The Middleman. Last night’s episode featured Kevin Sorbo (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Andromeda) as a cryogenically frozen Middleman from the 60s. It was amusing to watch him not only play a MM whose style was so completely different than Matt Keeslar’s MM, but it was entertaining to see him in a role that afforded a bit of latitude with the tongue-in-cheek style of the show.

After the show I started taking pictures of the ‘Clix that will going up for auction on eBay. So far, I’ve got pictures of seven sets ready; I just need to set up the auctions themselves. We’ll see how this goes.

Stray Toasters:

• SaraRules: Apparently The Walking Dead TPB #8 is out… or will be out this week.
• For :

  

• By way of : Simpsonized Superheroes
• Gas price decline: Day 26 – Even though prices in the western states haven’t fallen quite as much as in the eastern states.
• Cops break into wrong house, leave note in magnetic fridge letters
  (But did they drink all the milk?)
• LEGO + Video game = LEGO Mindstorms Donkey Kong
• Yar’s Revenge
  (Hmm… maybe the folks at Atari found the DC Comics stash.)

I should finish getting ready and get out of here.

Namaste.

Monday – 04 August 2008
A new week is just starting… and I want it to be the weekend already. This isn’t to say that the morning has been bad. Far from it, in fact. I just find that today’s motivation is low. Despite this, I’ve already accomplished a few things and have lined up a couple of things for tomorrow.

This morning started off slowly. I turned off the main alarm… after I finally figured out what it was. I then drifted in and out of consciousness for another hour. I got up, got ready and hit the door in under 30 minutes. A quick stop for a frozen mocha jumpstart and I made my way to the office.

Stray Toasters

• I’ve been hunting for some old files for the past few days. I found them this morning… along with a few things that I had completely forgotten about.
• SaraRules sent me a link to the transcript of Saturday’s talk with Condoleezza Rice.
• Morgan Freeman injured in car accident
• 
• sent a link to Solar LED ‘Leaf’ Streetlights. They look pretty neat.
• LEGO Robot Sends Pictures from Space, Wishes It Had Lasers to Annihilate Us All
• 
• For Want of a Transporter
• I have Power Pack ‘Clix on my work monitor. This amuses me.
• How to Tell Time Without a Clock

I think I’ll be spending part of this evening’s pre-The Middleman time trying to wrangle some of my ‘Clix extras into eBay-able lots.

/lunch

Namaste.

Chew on This: Food for Thought
I’ve seen a couple of links to this article today.

I can’t fathom the amount of… malice?… apathy?… evil?… that it would take to commit a crime like this.

And, from a different perspective: What about the other passengers? What goes through your head when you turn and see something like this occur mere inches from you? Or if you were the guy he smoked a cigarette with? Or the young lady he chatted up?

I’ve heard people say – and even said myself, on occasion – “People suck.”

This goes a long way to reinforcing that belief.

Stray Toasters

• Sushi == good
• From the “Too Much Free Time” file: HALO Corpse Alphabet
• Congratulations to
• Thanks to for pointint out Time-lapse video: Building the LEGO Death Star Diorama
• ‘Smart shoe’ could prevent elderly falls
  
• By way of : My Disguises

Sunday – 27 July 2008
After getting the oil changed (and tires rotated) and having my butt handed to me at HeroClix yesterday, I went down to visit Perry and the kids. We talked City and ‘Clix and other geekery. Go figure.

On the way home, I realized that I was craving Aussie Cheese Fries, so I called in an order from the local Outback Steakhouse. I got home and devoured the whole thing. I don’t know whether it was the full stomach, post-dinner cool down period or what, but I went from “watching TV” to “being watched by TV” intermittently over the next couple of hours. I woke up a little before time to head out to breakfast… only to be rooted in place by Dial M for Murder, which I had never seen before. I watched about 20 minutes of it before I was able to break free. I will be looking for this movie when I next go on a DVD run.

I made it to breakfast. VI was far more quiet than usual; I chalked it up to people taking advantage of the long weekend and going out of town. Part of the night’s conversation included discussions on “Who was the best James Bond” and different interpretations of The Joker.

This morning, my dreams were a weird amalgamation of 70s political thriller movies and IT oddness. No, they didn’t make sense to me, either – dreams rarely do. Thus, I didn’t even try to make sense of them.

Stray Toasters

• If you have an iPhone, there’s a rather addictive labyrinth game for it. I played it on ‘s phone on Friday night. was playing it on his iPhone at breakfast. Did I mention “addictive?”
• , since we were talking about it: Film Noir
• 
• LEGO gets into classrooms with WeDo robotics systems
• Comic Book Resources has good coverage of the 2008 San Diego Comic Con Internation. Some highlights include:
  • CCI: The Black Panel
  • CCI: Secret Invasion
  • couple of notes that Static, last seen on Static Shock and Justice League, will (finally) be seen again in print… as a member of the Teen Titans. And, may I just say: It’s about time!
  • CCI: The Brave and the Bold Preview Screening
  • The Middleman Panel
    • Apparently, ABC Family has done a series of PSAs, featuring The Middleman and Wendy Watson:

  • CCI: Marvel Comics Unleashes Ender’s Game
• Rush plays Rock Band
• I still need to decide on a name for the iMac. As it’s going to most likely replace the current ‘Nine, I may just go with DS9… although I’m still thinking that it may be the new Pegasus. Maybe I’ll just take some suggestions.
• Having just watched a leaked teaser for TR2N (1, 2 – #2 is a larger, rotated version of #1), I just realized that I’ve never (that’s right, “never”) watched TRON, despite spending MANY quarters on the arcade game as a kid.



• 20 Album Covers Recreated in LEGO

I should try to sort out what I’m going to do today.

But first, a bowl of Honeycomb is calling my name.

Namaste.

Friday – 25 July 2008

It’s SysAdminDay!

In honor of this, I once again bring your Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie’s System Administrator Song.

Last night, I hung out with Allie and her friend, David; I haven’t seen her in close to a year, I guess. She’s in town for a CF treatment. When I talked with her earlier in the week, I told her that I’d come visit her. I asked if she wanted anything. Her response: Tiramisu. So, I picked some up and took it to her. It was a fun visit.

I got back home around 11:00. I turned on the TV and watched the tail end of The Late Late Show. I thought about hopping on PokerStars, but realized at 12:30 that I was tapped. So I called it a night.

Stray Toasters

• If the weather stays decent, I may head to a driving range this weekend.
• From the Council for Better Driving: Utah comes Utah Code Section 41-6a-801 – Turning – Manner – Traffic Control Devices

  Loosely translated: “To the road monkey in front of me this morning: You could have turned left – into your designated lane, even though there was oncoming traffic turning right… into their designated lane.”

• No, I don’t play for the 49’ers
• Last Lecture Professor Randy Pausch, 47, Dies
• Wizard People
• 
• Oil paintings of computer cables
• The Shining recreated with WowWee robots

• LEGO Beijing Olympics

Namaste.

Friday – 18 July 2008
Welcome to the weekend.

This morning’s goal was to sleep in. Apparently, my body had other ideas: Despite turning off the alarm, I was up a little after 7:00. And 8:15. And somewhere around 9. I got a call from Perry at 9:15 and decided to finally take the hint that I wasn ‘t really going to get much/any more sleep. He asked something that made me laugh though: “Did you take the day off because of [City of Heroes‘] Double XP Weekend?”

I’ll try the sleeping in thing again tomorrow.

Assuming I get in gear and out the door in short order, I’ll probably head up for a cup o’ Joe with Perry before heading to lunch with and Steph (former coworker of his). Maybe I’ll just go post-lunch.

This afternoon’s agenda includes (but is not limited to) some cleaning… although, I may sneak in a little game time, too. And the idea of hitting some balls at the driving range isn’t entirely off the table, either.

To paraphrase Samuel L. Jackson, I’ve got “nothing but air and opportunity.”

Stray Toasters

• 12
• Just Put a Walkie Talkie in His Hand!
• Watchmen Trailer-to-Comic comparison
• I just chatted with ; she’s having a good time in The Big Easy.
• Keeping His Eye on the Ball
• It’s been a while since I’ve linked to this: Best of Craigslist
• Imposter
• 
• YouTomb: Where copyright-clobbered YouTubes go to die
• From The Brothers Brick: Darth Vader has a tough go of it in Gotham City

Quote of the Day
From a conversation with SaraRules about Mamma Mia!, a movie that she wants to see… and that I’ve agreed to sit through:

SaraRules: Entertainment Weekly called Mamma Mia! “exuberantly vapid”
Me: Yeah…
Me: I saw something along those lines online last night
SaraRules: Awesome. I can’t wait.
Me: hahaha
SaraRules: Dude, I’m sorry, but it’s a hollywood move musical based around the music of ABBA. How can anyone expect it to be art?
Me: High hopes?
Me: Wishful thinking?
Me: Miracle?
SaraRules: Pshaw. Delusions
SaraRules: Pshaw, now i have ABBA running through my brain.
Me: I’m sorry.
SaraRules: Hell, I’m not. Finding it on iTunes right now. 
Me: I love you… but sometimes, you scare me.
SaraRules: Because I like ABBA?
Me: No.
Me: Because you’re actively seeking ABBA out on iTunes. 😉

Time to start/finish getting ready to jet.

Monday – 14 July 2008
It’s Bastille Day.

I don’t remember “what” they were, but I recall having a couple of odd dreams last night.

It’s 7:30 and I’m not exactly feeling rushed about getting to work. I should still be there between 8:00 and 8:30, but I’m really not pressed about it.

Stray Toasters

• Add something new to the Covet List: Aluminum LEGO brick keychains.
• For your Monday morning amusement, from In Living Color: The Wrath of Farrakhan:

• SciFi has information about 30 Days of Night: Blood Trails
• ‘Drunk’ referee shown red card
• The trailer for the upcoming NickToons Iron Man: Armored Adventures is online

Up, up and away!