Random Access

Sunday – 17 June 2012
It’s my first Father’s Day. And, so far, it’s been quite good.

I’d like to wish a “Happy Father’s Day” to the fathers out there, as well.

The day started with Team DiVa waking up at 7:00. It was slightly earlier than I had wanted to get up, but that’s the way it goes with twin-fants. That was followed by breakfast and play time, which translates (roughly) as: “Climb all over Mommy and Daddy Time.” But, they are cute. And learning to walk:

…so that helps make it a lot more bearable. (And, despite the workout, it’s fun.)

I’m not sure what the middle of the day holds, but I’m hoping for a trip to the Garden of Sweden.  This evening, we’re having Sara!’s parents over for dinner. And tonight, there may be some gaming: I’ve had an itch to play/finish LEGO: Batman.

Stray Toasters

• Living in the Past Is a Full-Time Gig
• Rodney King dead at 47
• The more I listen to Clockwork Angels, the more I like it.
• Cruise ship tour: A last look at the original ‘Love Boat’
• Learning from LEGO: Building Your Social Strategy
• Scientists discover evidence of Neanderthals being responsible for early cave paintings
• 
• ‘Caribbean: Crossroads of the World’ Spans 3 Museums
• Go Daddy, Danica Patrick going conservative
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: ‘Scary’ toilet paper coming soon to a stall near you
• Get Ready, Because Voyager I Is *This Close* to Leaving Our Solar System

Thursday – 14 June 2012
Not only is it another NBN Thursday in the valley, but today is also Flag Day.

In Team DiVa news: The girls apparently want to skip crawling and go straight to walking:

Vanessa (l) and Diana

They are “cruising,” where they’ll hold onto something and attempt to use it to toddle around. But, anything that makes a sound sometimes distracts them, which leads to a problem with that pesky “balance” thing that they haven’t managed to overcome yet… and most often winds up with a gravity-induced sitting down.

Diana will… pseudo-crawl… but that’s usually only under duress and/or to get closer to someone who will hopefully pick her up. Go figure.

Last night, Sara! (a.k.a. “She Who Still Rules”) and I watched John Carter (not to be confused with Coach Carter) for Movie Date Night.

I haven’t read Burroughs’ A Princess of Mars yet, so I don’t know how faithful or far afield the movie’s plot was from the source material. But, it was an enjoyable film. Yes, we did wind up MST3K-ing parts, but… *shrug*… what’re ya gonna do?

Stray Toasters

• Google Wants Love and 100 Other Things
• Rome’s famous Trevi fountain is crumbling
• How an 11-Year-Old Invented the Popsicle and Changed Summer Forever
• I believe that I have mentioned Little League on here before. For those who missed it, consider this your shot across the bow:
  
  And, I also recommend these strips (1,2,3,4,5), which lead up to the outfits seen above and are the basis for this post’s subject line.
• Girl Gets New Veins Made From Her Own Stem Cells
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file”: Cop dies during 3-way sex; widow wins $3M lawsuit
• Superman Mosaic… made out of LEGO bricks!
• And, speaking of LEGO and Superman: New ‘LEGO Batman 2’ Trailer Unveils Talking Characters, Snarky Superman
• 
• NASA’s Robo-Garden Is a Terra-Forming Trifecta
• ‘House Hunters’ houses aren’t always for sale?

Wednesday – 13 June 2012
Middle of the week means new comics and Pasta and Movie Date Night. I’m good with both of those.

Last night, I went to the gym with special guest star, Dave. He wanted to check out one of my upper body workouts, so we went through my chest and biceps workout. The full one:

• Elliptical: 10 minutes/1.05 miles
• Bench Press: 3 sets/8 reps, 135 lbs
• Incline Chest Press: 3 sets/8 reps, 120 lbs
• Shoulder Press: 3 sets/8 reps, 60 lbs
• Fly (machine): 3 sets/8 reps, 100 lbs
• Fly (dumbbell): 3 sets/8 reps, 20 lbs
• Curls (barbell): 3 sets/8 reps, 40 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell): 3 sets/8 reps, 25 lbs
• Wrist Curls (barbell): 40 lbs (approx)
• Reverse: 3 sets/15 reps
• Forward: 3 sets/15 reps
• Plank: 3 sets, 30 seconds

It was a good – and tiring – workout. But, it was also nice to have company while working out.

Stray Toasters

• Among the songs that Team Diva likes are:
• Mr. Bass Man, as performed by The Muppets
• The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana), theme from The Banana Splits Adventure Hour¹, which I used to watch (in reruns) as a kid.
  
• Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It (They can almost sing along with the “na-na-na-na-na-na-na” part of the chorus.)
• Sugar Sugar, by The Archies
• Burn Notice returns tomorrow.
• Trailer for crowd funded zombie web series: The Silent City
• While I’ve always had a soft spot for LEGO ads, I particularly like this ad campaign:

  
    

• New enery source for future medical implants: sugar
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Romanian gang attempt to rob moving truck
• By way of Dave: Luther Campbell fights to coach Miami Northwestern football
• What the Lines of a Red Solo Cup Actually Mean

Namaste.

¹ – The live-action parts of the first season of The Banana Splits Adventure Hour were directed by Richard Donner.  (Yes, that Richard Donner.)

Thursday – 07 June 2012
Not only is today NBN Thursday, it is also my mother’s birthday:

And, it is also the day that Diana turns 9-months-old:

To celebrate the day, the girls get to go for another visit to the pediatrician… which means: Shots! (Which also means “Cranky children this afternoon.”) Yay.

::: INTERLUDE :::

Well, as it turns out, the girls did not have to get shots today. But, they will be getting four at their one-year check-up. (Joy of joys.) On the plus side, we found out that their pediatrician’s office will be moving… to our neighborhood right before that visit. So, I guess that means the offices will still have that new car office smell.

Stray Toasters

• Dresden Codak’s X-Men Reboot
• Thanks to my friend, Sunny, for pointing out this story: From scrubbing floors to Ivy League: Homeless student to go to dream college
• And, on the other side of the spectrum: Ohio school withholds diplomas for excess cheering
• 
• MST3K robots in LEGO
• Cat Bowl-Sized Gardens
• The Gardens of Paspas

Yeah, that’s good for now.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 06 June 2012
Midweek.
New comics day.
Pasta and Movie Date Night… maybe.

Yesterday, the destruction of the grotto demolition of the gazebo was complete. There’s now just a slight depression (and a little debris) where the gazebo once stood. Pictures here. Now, we just need to decide what we want to do with the space.

Last night, Logan and Sanaz came over to watch the girls so that SaraRules! and I could have an actual, out-of-the-house date night. It was glorious. We went to see The Avengers – second time for me, first time for SaraRules… and it was just as much fun the second time around. While she enjoyed the movie, I had to ‘splain a few things about characters to SaraRules! after the movies. (Comics, go figure.) But, it was a great way to spend a Tuesday evening.

And, yesterday also saw a notable dip in temperatures around here.  It was in the upper 90s on Monday; yesterday barely made 60.  And last night, we actually had to turn on the furnace. Yeah. Welcome to June in Utah.

Stray Toasters

• Sci-fi legend Ray Bradbury dies
• The pros and cons of living with your significant other
• Are you a tabletop gamer? Do you use terrain for your miniature games? Would you like custom terrain? You should check out Children of Mercury.
• The New Internet Starts Now
• These two strips made me laugh:
  …and…
  
• High Blood Caffeine Levels in Older Adults Linked to Avoidance of Alzheimer’s Disease
• A Brief History of Video Games
• Cablox
• Army Scientists Build a Better Battery
• 
• Dull and Boring? Not anymore for Scottish village and US town
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Russian Millionaire Hurls Money Paper Airplanes from Office Window, Starts Riot
• These Incredible LEGO Beasts Liven Up Iowa State’s Reiman Gardens

Namaste.

Tuesday – 22 May 2012
Today’s another sunny day in the valley.
Tomorrow, however, there’s rain in the forecast, long with a nearly 15 degree drop in temperature. Yay.

There will (hopefully) be a new Adventure Babies: Team DiVa video short in the next few days… if I can catch them doing one of their new cute habits.

Stray Toasters

• Experts explain why PSA test is not worth risk
• There’s a rumour going around that I might actually go to the gym this evening. (I started it.)
• A ‘Leap’ forward in gesture-control interfaces?
• Tracking the Junk Food the World Eats After Dark
• Are Bananas Really as Bad For You as Cookies?
• 
• Lucasfilm Retreats in Battle with Wealthy Neighbors
  I’d read about this last week, but wanted to get a second verifying source.
• Miles Davis: his wardrobe, his wit, his way with a basketball…
• Stuff and things. Yadda Yadda Yadda.
  (Not to be confused with Boom De Yada or Boom De Yada.
• Engineering Infrastructures for Humans
• I skimmed over a new ad for DC Super Heroes: LEGO Batman 2 and thought that LEGiOn of Super-Heroes would make a great game. Hey, a guy can dream.
• Hitchhiking Director John Waters Picked Up in Ohio by Indie Rock Band
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Baby trapped in tumble dryer after ‘joke’ goes wrong.
  (Also, the child was in a washing machine, not a dryer. And, no, that doesn’t make it any better.)  I’m glad that the child in this story is reported to be fine, but I have nothing “good” to say/think about the father in this video. Seriously, what kind person puts his child in a washing machine?!  Even as a “joke.” As my father would say, “That doesn’t even make good crazy peoples’ sense.”
• Cake Wrecks. ‘Nuff said.
• The history of the U.S. electric grid

Namaste.

Thursday – 17 May 2012
It’s another NBN Thursday in the valley. This one even came equipped with sun (with a slight chance of rain). So far, it’s been a good day… and there’s still a lot of day to go.

Last night, SaraRules! and I watched Where the Wild Things Are for Movie Date Night.

I thought that it was pretty good. I was a bit surprised in that I was expecting something… a little closer to the book, at least in some respects, but the differences didn’t diminish my enjoyment of the movie.  It was also helpful to watch one of the special feature short pieces which highlighted the collaboration of author Maurice Sendak and director Spike Jonze.

The movie is rated “PG,” but there are a few scenes that might be scary for younger children. Nevertheless, I recommend it.

Stray Toasters

• Can You Call a 9-Year-Old a Psychopath?
• I finished Play Ball (1, 2)  earlier. It’s well-written, fun and… a even better than I had expected, even having read the preview on Comics Alliance. It’s a well-told (and rather frank) coming-of-age story, as well as a good reminder to follow your dreams, no matter what challenges you face.
  
• Donna Summer, RIP
• Chuck Brown, godfather of Go-Go music, dies at 75
• How to Tell From a Trailer That a Movie Is Going to Suck
• Mark Hamill Returns as The Joker in “DC Universe Online”
• 
• Rocking Horses of the Apocalypse
• Urban Plant Tags
• Mind-controlled robot arms show promise
• Because, you know, it’s going to be The Future Soon…
• If Diablo 3 was a girl (video)
• 
• Straight White Male: The Lowest Difficulty Setting There Is
• Big Black Book Spring 2012: A Blue Portfolio
• Comparing Gender in LEGO Minifig Heads

That’s good for now.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 15 May 2012
Huh.  It’s been a week since my last post. And there have been goings-on… which is to be somewhat expected, as seven days have gone by.

The biggest happening is: I resigned last week. And it was good. I’m going to miss the people. (And possibly the view from my window, but they are looking at moving fairly soon, so the view was going away anyway.)

The next biggest happening was that Sunday was Mother’s Day. More specifically, it was SaraRules!’ first chance to celebrate Mother’s Day as a mother.

We had a fairly quiet morning at home, and then dropped the girls off at the in-laws’ while SaraRules! and I went to the Utah Opera performance of Of Mice and Men. It was my third American opera; I was cautiously optimistic, as I was one-and-one on American opera to this point. My optimism was rewarded. I enjoyed the performance.

And, just in case you needed more Team DiVa cuteness:

Stray Toasters

• Diablo III has been released. I’m not playing it (yet), but I look forward to seeing my friends return when some of the “shiny” wears off.
• Sandwich celebrates 250th anniversary of the sandwich
• The Best Films You Never Want to See Again
• Why Nikola Tesla was the greatest geek who ever lived
• Combining one of my favorite literary works and LEGO: Mihai’s Inferno: The 9 circles of Hell made in LEGO
• Finnish court rules open WiFi network owner not liable for infringement
• 
• Boys Forfeit Baseball Game at Catholic School Because of Girl
• NASA trains astrounauts for asteroid mission
• Ask Chris #105: Batman, ‘Die Hard,’ and Super-Heroes’ Favorite Movies
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Moonshiners’ cow shoes
• How close to reality are the androids in Aliens and Prometheus?

Namaste.

Tuesday – 08 May 2012
It’s Tuesday.

Yesterday was Diana’s 8-month-birthday; today is Vanessa’s:

Vanessa (l) and Diana

Today is also my stepmother and brother’s birthday:

And, it’s also Teacher Appreciation Week.

This past weekend was a busy one. This isn’t to say that it wasn’t also fun, but it was definitely busy. I could have used another day to recuperate. Or something like that.

Friday, I had hoped to get a chance to nap while the girls were having their post-lunch siesta, but that didn’t come to pass… mostly because they didn’t take naps. So, when I went back to work, I was tired. After returning home from work, I was still tired. The evening was rather low-key, spent mostly Fringe and helping SaraRules! make superhero onesies for the twins:

She had already made the GL one, but has asked my help in getting the emblems for Batman, Wonder Woman and The Flash. I thought – briefly – about trying to hand-draw them. Then I had a minor epiphany: I could use my Silhouette to cut the shapes. I downloaded images of each emblem, imported them into Silhouette Studio and did a test cut. They came out better than I had expected. So, we were ready to do the cuts on the masking paper. The picture above shows how they turned out.

Saturday, SaraRules! had brunch with her friend, Sara(NotSaraRules!), so I got to spend a couple of solo hours with Team DiVa. After SaraRules! and Sara(NotSaraRules!) returned, I got ready to head to Dr. Volt’s for Free Comic Book Day. At The Avengers premiere, I made an agreement with Dave (the owner of Dr. Volt’s) that if he came to FCBD as Dr. Who – Matt Smith version, with fez! – that I would come as Green Lantern. So, when I showed up at the store like this:

Dave gave me a bit of flak. Until I turned down the collar of my shirt to reveal the GL costume underneath:

It was the first time that I’d gone to an FCBD event dressed in a costume… let alone two costumes… but it was made even more fun and worth it, because a few kids came up to me and asked if they could have pictures with me.

And remember those superhero onesies I mentioned? Well, the twins wore them to their first Free Comic Book Day:

Sunday, we met up with the Kelly clan for a picnic at Liberty Park.

The reason: Celebrating Logan’s graduation with his Doctorate in Pharmacy.  It was a little brisk if you weren’t in the sun, but it was an otherwise excellent day. And fun.

Monday was… Monday. (As Mondays are wont to be). It included quality time with SaraRules! and Team DiVa, which is never a bad thing. It also included a couple of changes to the status quo which should yield good things.  After the girls were asleep, SaraRules! and I wound down the evening with burgers that I cooked on the grill,  TopGear and Castle.

Stray Toasters

• ‘Where The Wild Things Are’ author Maurice Sendak dies
• Fresh Air Remembers Author Maurice Sendak
• RIP, Maurice Sendak
• Paralysed Claire Lomas completes London Marathon
• 
• Hilary Hahn and Hauschka: Bounce Bounce
• Simulating Mars in Austria
• Does suffering suggest the cause of all our little questions
  The answer was not coming soon she paused for reflection
• Legendary Steam Locomotive Celebrates Union Pacific’s 150th Anniversary
• 
• From the “Science!” file: Air is mightier than eight Frenchmen
• Fan Recreates ‘The Avengers’ Weapons Using LEGO Bricks
• Blueseed: Silicon Valley’s visa-free offshore startup community

Namaste.

Friday – 04 May 2012
“May the 4th be with you.

Today’s my working Friday.
It’s also the day that my brother-in-law, Logan, graduates with his Doctorate in Pharmacy.
It’s also the day that I got to go home and spend a couple of hours in the middle of the day with Team Diva…

Vanessa (l) and Diana

…so that Bonne and Steve could attend the graduation. Getting to take a little time off work to spend with my girls? Yeah, I have absolutely no problem with that.

Around 9:00 last night, I got a call from my friend, Jeremiah, asking if I wanted to go with the Dr Volt’s staff to see

It didn’t take much convincing, though I did check with SaraRules! to see if she’d mind me being gone until the wee hours of the morning. She didn’t. (Best. Wife. Ever.) I even broke out the Nick Fury eyepatch and black trenchcoat for the occasion. (Hey… comic book movie. Seen with comic shop guys. Do the math.)

It was a great movie. Joss Whedon did a fantastic job of bringing all the characters together and weaving a coherent and cohesive reason for them to work together. There was a LOT of action. A fair bit of wit. (Even a little smarm thrown in, for good measure.) All-in-all, it was pretty much a fanboy/fangirl’s dream team-up movie. If you enjoyed the movies that led up to this, you’ll have a blast.

Of course, I didn’t get home until after 3:30… and the girls started waking up around 7:00. So, I’ve been working to thin out the blood in my caffeinestream for most of the day. So far, so good.

|| PAUSE ||

Blackberry cobbler.

That was the second thought that crossed Jones’ mind when he saw the sign for Dalton. Sure, his first thought was an amalgamation of  “Home/Bed/Emma,” but he knew that there’d be cobbler, too. Emma always had one cooling on the kitchen counter when he came home from long trips. This one was a west coast turnaround, had him gone for a week. He swore that he could smell it already; his mouth watered.

Just a few more miles and we’re there, he thought, patting the dashboard through the steering wheel. He didn’t mind the miles. The rig had a smooth ride. The bunk in the sleeper was comfortable enough. And the people he met on the road were generally pretty decent.

Jones eased onto the off-ramp, letting of the gas. He stopped at the top of the ramp and then turned right onto Freeway Drive. Just ahead on the right was Cal’s Diner. There was almost no one on the road at this time of night, but there were still a few cars in front of Cal’s. He’d catch up with the boys tomorrow or Sunday and they could sit around, drink a few beers, and tell lies about their past week. He stopped for the flashing light at Rolling Road. He eased through the intersection. Jefferson… Barnes… McCutcheon. Almost home.

As he turned onto Clarksville Pike, the weariness of the trip started to weigh on him. By the time he got to Lake Avenue, he was ready for a shower, a slice of cobbler and bed – maybe even in that order. He parked on the street. He shut off the engine, turned off the lights and sighed heavily. He sat there for a few moments before reaching into the back to get his gear. As he got ready to climb down, he remembered to grab the gift bag sitting on the floor of the passenger seat. He climbed down, closed the door and walked around the front of the truck.

He walked across the lawn and up the sidewalk to the side porch. He fumbled through keys until he found the one for the door. He put his bag down and opened the screen door; the spring groaned a little. He’d have to look at that. Tomorrow. It would wait.

He put the key in the lock and turned the knob. He opened the door, inhaling deeply.

Blackberry cobbler. Home.

> PLAY >

Stray Toasters

• Go see The Avengers.
• Supervillain Schemes That Ought to Have Worked
• A Prose By Any Other Name
• Ten Things You Probably Didn’t Know About DNA
• That Spells DNA, by Jonathan Coulton
• THEY FINALLY MADE A REAL LIGHTSABER!
• Mindplay: Bricks on me

Namaste.

Wednesday – 25 April 2012
It’s the middle of the week… which means that it’s new comics day as well as Movie Date Night.

Last night, Matt, Dave, and I missed our usual Guys’ Night Out activities and, instead, went to see the Utah Jazz take on the Phoenix Suns in a game with major playoff implications: If the Jazz won, they would be in the playoffs. If they lost, Phoenix would have to lose their next game and the Jazz would have to win their next game.

Needless to say, there was a lot of anticipation about this game. What we didn’t know until we got to the Energy Solutions Arena was: Tip-off had been delayed from 7:00 to 8:30, for TNT’s broadcast coverage. On the other hand, this gave us plenty of time to get something to eat. We opted for Settebello Pizzeria Napoletana. And we finished it off with gelato from Capo Gelateria.

Meanwhile, back at the arena, we got to our seats and got ready for the game.

This was my first Jazz game in over 14 years; I haven’t been to one since before I moved out here. Seriously. And it was a great game to attend. The Jazz played well, except for late in the 3rd and early in the 4th quarters. But, they pulled it off with a 100-88 win, clinching a playoff berth.

It was a fun way to spend the evening and a great change of pace for Guys’ Night Out.

Stray Toasters

• Fees and Anger Rise in California Water War
• Give the Gift of Experience
• Number of interracial couples in U.S. reaches all-time high
• 
• Jessica Thom’s Tourette Syndrome Superhero Educates, Entertains and Inspires
• I still need to finish LEGO: Batman. Now, more than ever. Why?  Because they’ve just given me a reason to add LEGO: Batman 2 – DC Super Heroes to The Covet List. What is it?  This:
  
  Yeah, it’s Hal Jordan and not John Stewart, but I’m not going to complain.
• The GQ Guide to Shirting
• This sounds curiously interesting: Leviathan: graphic novel of a gigantic cruise ship lost at sea for 20 years

Namaste.

Friday – 20 April 2012
It’s my “on” Friday. And, it’s also “4/20.” (Insert your own jokes here.)

Last night was my night to fix dinner. After wracking my brain over what to fix, I decided to head up to the local Whole Foods and see what they had in their meat counter. I returned home with four good-sized Parmesan Chicken breasts. While they were in the oven, I prepared some rice in chicken broth (and a little lemon pepper, for flavor). I added a salad for our vegetables and we called it a meal.

We watched Castle while we ate; it was a fun episode, with Nathan Fillion’s Firefly costar, Adam Baldwin, as a guest star. After dinner, I joined a couple of coworkers online and played a little MW3. And had my virtual ass handed to me. Repeatedly. But, it was still fun… despite the ego-bruising.

Stray Toasters

• Girl born with no hands wins national penmanship award
• LEGO + guerilla art = Banksy
• Investigation: Two Years After the BP Spill, a Hidden Health Crisis Festers
• When I first read this strip…
  
  …I wasn’t sure what to say about it. Then I read the commentary that accompanied it:

  An annoying distraction in the gay marriage debate is the idea that it infringes on a parent’s right to leave their kids in the dark about homosexuality. Preserving a kid’s ignorance is a pretty weak argument, unless there’s a truly compelling reason to keep them ignorant… such as a giant bug monster issuing forth from their heads.

  And that’s really every kid’s dream anyway, so I still don’t see what the fuss is about.

  And that, I thought, summed things up nicely.

• By way of Dave: Trains have a long-time, little-known history at HAFB
• Fears Rise That Recovery May Falter in the Spring
• 
• Ultimate Shopping Guide for Men, Spring 2012
• By way of Matt: Facts, 360 B.C. – 2012 A.D.
• The art of Jessica Lynn Gonzalez
• 
• Trojan designed to take screenshot of hotel payment apps
• Breast cancer rules rewritten in ‘landmark’ study
• While I’m an O’s fan, I’m both happy and a little weirded-out by the fact that they are currently atop the AL East.
• Speaking of baseball: Fenway Park is celebrating it centennial season.
• 
• The World’s First Bionic Foot Mimics Flexion to Aid Gait
• The Candle Problem

Namaste.

Tuesday – 10 April 2012
Another day in the valley. And it’s a rather nice day, at that. A bit breezy and few high clouds, but nothing horrible.

And, today is also my brother-in-law, Logan’s birthday:

Last night, SaraRules! had a Justice League meeting. My father-in-law came over to help me get Team DiVa ready for bed and to do some duct work in the basement. Both jobs were successful. When SaraRules! got home, we relaxed and watched a bit of House Crashers and Yard Crashers to wind out the evening.

Stray Toasters

• Even as Violent Crime Falls, Killing of Officers Rises
• Microsoft quietly buys Netscape browser technology
• Seeking Robots to Go Where First Responders Can’t
• For Galadriel:
  
• LEGO CUUSOO
• Raising the Floor on Pay
• It’s the End of the World as We Know It, and It’s a Small, Small World

Namaste.

Thursday – 05 April 2012
Another Thursday in the valley. Hopefully, this one will maintain the NBN tradition; it’s doing pretty well, so far.

This week’s been pretty decent. Busy, but decent. SaraRules! and Team DiVa are doing well.

Diana, Sara and Vanessa

Vanessa

Diana

Last night was Pasta and Movie Date Night. It was SaraRules!’ turn to pick a flick; she chose to start catching up on Mad Men. I was good with that, considering that we’re a season-and-a-half behind. We watched three episodes and are only two away from only being one season behind. (Hey, we’ll take the small victories where and when we can.)

I didn’t play MW3 last night, opting to read some of yesterday’s new comics. As part of the haul, I also downloaded Marvel Comics’ Avengers vs. X-Men: Infinite #1 – available only as a digital comic – which serves as a prelude to the Avengers vs. X-Men miniseries, which also started yesterday (technically, it came out on Tuesday, but let’s not quibble). If this is a possible look at “the future of comics,” as it claims, I have to give it thumbs-up for presentation. Well played, Mark Waid and Stuart Immonen.

Stray Toasters

• Many Colors of Prejudice Are Revealed in ‘Dark Girls’
• By way of SaraRules!: Robot with Human Skeleton Steps Toward Artificial Intelligence
• Nike’s new NFL uniforms built for speed, comfort
• The Nike Elite 51 Uniform
• 
• College Student Pieces His Way to LEGO Mastery
• Untangling a Border Could Leave a Mess for Some
• By way of one of my brothers-in-law: Quietest place on Earth mutes all sounds, messes with your head
• Yet another babysitting concern:
  
• Chrysler’s new SRT Viper bares its fangs
• Jeffrey Brown Imagines a More Fatherly Sith Lord in ‘Darth Vader and Son’
• Apple, Priceline and Google race to hit $1000-a-share mark

That’s good for now.

Namaste.

Thursday – 29 March 2012
It’s another Thursday in the valley. So far, it’s held up to NBN scrutiny.  Hopefully, that will continue.
(UPDATE: It did.)

Last night, SaraRules! and I watched…

…for our Date Night movie; I’ve seen it before (we own the DVD), but she hadn’t. She liked it, despite a couple of uncanny valley issues.

Stray Toasters

• Tonight, SaraRules! performs with the Utah Symphony! Again!
• By way of @wbalradio:
  

  On this date in 1996, the Baltimore #Ravens came into being when the team was officially given the name.

• Just Say No to the ‘Cinnamon Challenge’
• GM, WellStar Develop LEGO® based Visual Management Tool
• Medvedev blasts Romney for ‘number-one foe’ remark
• Hopefully, I won’t have to worry about something like this with babysitters…
  
• Looks as though Bachmann Trains has finally released their E-Z Streets line.
• The Line, It Is Drawn #83 – Comic Book What If…?’s
• In Court, Sharp Questions on Health Care Law’s Mandate
• Shelby unveiling 950-horsepower, street-legal Mustang
• Shelby doctors pictures of Shelby 1000 lifting off ground
• Maryland’s Batman Looks Like a Real Hero

Quote of the Day
This nugget of joy comes by way of my sister-in-law, Chelsea, and my nephew, Caden:

Caden: Mom, what’s that?
Me: It’s a water tower.
Caden: Oh. . .Where’s the othere one’s?
Me: What other one’s?
Caden: The milk tower and the juice tower.

The utter brilliance and genius of the three-year-old mind.

Namaste.