Random Access

Tuesday – 06 September 2011
Today’s the day: SaraRules! is getting induced this evening. Sometime within the next… let’s say 24-36 hours, for the sake of argument… we’ll be parents. To twins. Wow. I’ve been getting lots of “Are you nervous” inquiries from family, friends and coworkers. The simple answer has been “Not yet,” with the expectation that I most likely will be nervous/anxious when we get to the hospital.

This past weekend was good. Nothing like a solid four-day weekend to help you get ready for – or at least (somewhat) relaxed before – having kids. As much as anything can get you “ready” for having kids. But…

• …bags have been packed
• …bassinets have been moved
• …car seats have been installed

…among other details. So, we’re about as ready as we’re going to get.

Stray Toasters

• 7 Scientific Ways Coffee Gives You Super Powers
• Troubled Schools Try Mimicking the Charters
• Badass of the Week: Paddy Mayne
• Fear the helmet: Maryland’s new uniforms draw attention
  I’m actually okay with the jersey. The helmet isn’t too bad… but the cleats!?
• 
• No pointing fingers: Defense in the cloud is everyone’s responsibility
• Google Doodle: Happy 65th, Freddie Mercury
  If, for some reason, you haven’t seen this already, it’s yet another cool ‘Doodle. Check it out.
• Postal Service Is Nearing Default as Losses Mount
• Postal Service may default on a $5.5 billion trust fund payment
• ‘We the Animals’ Delivers a Fiery Ode to Boyhood
• 
• 5 tactics for dumping digital trash
• A Debate Arises on Job Creation and Environment
• I should turn the last panel of this strip into an icon…
• Family Guy = The Office
• What’s in Store: 3 Tales of a Terrifying Future

Namaste.

Wednesday – 10 August 2011
Two down, one in the chamber and two to go. It’s midweek and all’s well. It’s not a game night – and most likely, a non-sushi day – but there will be new things to read at Dr. Volt’s; that’s good enough for me.

This morning, I woke up with Europe’s The Final Countdown playing in my head. Why? No idea.

Last night was a fairly quiet and low-key night around the homestead. Highlights included a phone call with my mother, a very tasty dinner (chicken, couscous and corn — The ‘C’ Trifecta of Dinner!) that SaraRules! fixed, and SportsCenter. Speaking of SportsCenter, I heard this… odd… item on there. Although, it’s not so odd when you consider the source, actually:

Patriots receiver Chad Ochocinco is still settling into his new surroundings in New England, and he’s taking an unusual approach to his living situation.
“I’m going to do something different, I’m actually going to stay with a fan for the first two, three weeks of the season,” he said Tuesday. “That should be fun, until I get myself acclimated and learn my way around.”

Ochocinco hasn’t yet picked the fan.

“I’m not sure how it’s going to work, but they have to have internet and have to have Xbox,” he said. “That’s about it.”

Asked if he was serious, Ochocinco said, “Have I ever lied to you before?”

Told there were some “crazy” fans, Ochocinco said, “I rode a bull.”

Yeah. The man is the walking, talking embodiment of the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file.

Stray Toasters

• Londoners strike back with ‘Operation Riot Clean-up’
• Test Can Tell Fetal Sex at 7 Weeks, Study Says
• ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ vs. the Internet: How has a culture of leaks changed the moviegoing experience?
• QR Codes on Athletes’ Butts Is a Stupid, Sexist Idea
• 
• Heavy Trucks to be Subject to New Rules for Mileage
• Soldering Is Easy
• Ty Templeton simplifies comic fandom’s problem with the new Ultimate Spider-Man:

  

• Sillof’s Workshop: Serial Wars — Star Wars reimagined as a 1940’s serial
• Hacker to Demonstrate ‘Weak’ Mobile Internet Security
• 
• And in a somewhat related note: Oops! A Phone Number on a Toy Truck Turned Out to Be a Sex Line
• Giant water nymph causes a stir in Hamburg

Namaste.

Tuesday – 02 August 2011
Day two of the work week. Day two of the month. Let’s see how it shapes up.

Last night, SaraRules! and I assembled the second crib. With this, the nursery is nearly complete, at least in terms of furniture. For now. I also did a rough count of diapers that we have preemptively picked up: We have somewhere between 900 and 1000 of them. That should get us through the first month or two… we hope.

Groove. Boogie. Sway.
If nothing else, the morning’s musical selections have been good:

• Garbage – The World Is Not Enough
• U2 – One
• Babyface – It’s No Crime
• Rush – Red Sector ‘A’
• Herbie Hancock – Rockit

Not a bad start to the morning.  Hopefully, the rest of the day will keep pace.

Stray Toasters

• I, once again, almost typed the above line as “Stray Taoists.”
• Space shuttle Columbia part found in East Texas
• Pooktre Tree Shapers
• 
• Arts Outposts Stung By Cuts in State Aid
• An Interview with Fabio and Isaiah Mustafa from the “New Old Spice Guy” Campaign
• I believe that I am amused enough by this mug to put it on The Covet List:

  

• HHS announces free birth control for women in the U.S.
• Space program’s environmental cleanup could take decades
• How to Drink Like a Gentleman
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: PBS revisits ‘Mister Rogers’ with new show

And that, as they say, is that.

Namaste.

Friday – 29 July 2011
It’s my 9/80 “on” Friday…

…and I am beat. Yesterday was a long day – work, doctor’s appointment and childbirth class – that stretched into the later early hours of this morning, because SaraRules! (and the kids) and I had an unexpected trip to the hospital in the wee hours of the morning. Both SaraRules! and the kids are fine.

I repeat: “SaraRules! and the kids are fine.”

It turned out that she had a few sporadic contractions after a particularly long and busy day. Rather than ignore them or “hope they’d settle down on their own,” we called her doctor, who suggested that we go in to make sure that everything was alright. Our nurse, Karren, was great; she was attentive, responsive and explained all of the things that she was checking for.  She also made sure that we were as comfortable and at ease as could be. It’s just that the process – monitoring and observation – took four hours…

*headdesk*

After getting the “All clear,” we headed home. Sleep was not hard to find. And understanding that “the annoying bell-sounding-thing” was actually this morning’s alarm was, at first, a “slightly” difficult concept to grasp. But, I grabbed a frozen mocha on the way into the office, so that I could be at least nominally awake and coherent. Fortunately, the day hasn’t been to bad/busy/hectic.  And, I even got to have lunch with Tyranist and Cade.

There is most definitely a nap in my post-work future. (Or at least some time in the train room…)

Stray Toasters

• Today is System Administrator Day.

  
  
  

• 10 Reasons to Be (Really) Excited About Football
• Your complete guide to Google+
• Training Modules. Yay.
• Carmakers Back Strict New Rules for Gas Mileage
• A Father Who Creatively Captures His Kids
• 
• I’ve been browsing some of the pictures of the costumers and cosplayers from this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. I have also had an epiphany: The so-called “sexy” costumes – or, rather, the “sexy” variants of other characters’ costumes –  that have become so popular/prevalent…? Yeah, they do absolutely nothing for me. Yes, some of the women wearing them are good-looking, but the costumes don’t so much say “sexy” to me as “slutty.”  *shrug* Tyranist – who agreed with me – and I discussed this for a bit before lunch.
• House Committee passes bill requiring your ISP to spy on every click and keystroke you make online and retain for 12 months
• A Young Clown Follows in a Father’s Giant Footsteps
• Hubble Telescope’s successor could face budget ax

Namaste.

Thursday – 21 July 2011
This NBN Technical Friday is a bright, sunny day with blue skies and no clouds.

Last night, SaraRules! and I went to a screening of Captain America: The First Avenger, thanks to Jeff and Jimmy at Big Movie Mouth-Off and about 20 of my friends, who helped me win tickets.

Where some directors might have a problem making a solid comic book adaptation or a period piece, Joe Johnston has successfully crafted a movie that works not only as a big-screen comic book movie AND a period piece, but also as a lighter World War II fare. The only thing that our screening didn’t have was the post-movie teaser clip for The Avengers. (Thank God for YouTube…)

Sidenote: I just noted that Mr. Johnston also directed a few other movies of which I am fond:

• October Sky,
• Hidalgo, and
• The Rocketeer (which I’ve only seen in bits and pieces, but is also a comic book adaptation and period piece)

I also find it somewhat amusing that it’s been 20 years between his forays into comics-related fare.

Chris Evans did a fine job as Steve Rogers, a young man looking for a chance to serve his country, but unable to do so because of his frail constitution. When given a chance to join the military, he finds that it’s not the role he wanted or expected… but that doesn’t stop him. Nor does it keep him from becoming the soldier — not just “super-soldier” — that he hoped to be.  Stanley Tucci‘s turn as Dr. Erskine – who developed the super-soldier formula – was also quite good. He came across as a man who, like Steve Rogers, understood the difference between doing something because you can and doing something because it’s right. Hayley Atwell was a good choice for Agent Peggy Carter, the romantic interest. Most importantly, she wasn’t relegated to a “damsel in distress” role; Agent Carter was as much in the thick of things as any of her male counterparts. In a bit of a surprise to me, Tommy Lee Jones‘ Colonel Phillips was in more of the film than I expected. And I enjoyed every bit of screen time that he had. And Hugo Weaving was an excellent choice as Johann Schmidt/The Red Skull. He made a believable adversary, mixing the right amounts of ego and megalomania.

This is a fun bit of summer cinema, with a little something for everyone. The movie apparently earned its PG-13 rating for one scene —  an action/violence issue, rather than a language or nudity issue. With this movie, Marvel Entertainment – and Disney, by extension – has hit the proverbial trifecta, with respect to comic book movies this summer, in the releases of Thor, X-Men: First Class and Captain America.

(Yeah, I could have used LEGO bricks for this, but… I liked this better.)

See Also: Captain America’s cinematic comeback, from USA Today and Comics, Everybody: The History of Captain America Explained, from Comics Alliance.

Groove. Boogie. Sway.
Today’s musical oleo has included:

• US3 – Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)
• Annie Lennox- Walking on Broken Glass
• Santana (ft. Rob Thomas) – Smooth
• Led Zeppelin – Heartbreaker
• LL Cool J – Mama Said Knock You Out

Stray Toasters

• Marvel Entertainment and the LEGO Group announce strategic relationship in construction toy category
• Tax Bill Imperils Slavery Museum
• Apple does away with the MacBook
• Apple Tops Nokia to Become Worlds’ Top Smartphone Vendor
• 
• Space shuttle Atlantis lands, ending NASA’s shuttle program
• Last Space Shuttle Lands, Ending 30 Year Era
• Spaceflight Is Getting Cheaper. But It’s Still Not Cheap Enough.
• To Nullify Lead, Add a Bunch of Fish Bones
• MarknTyme sent me a link to a trailer for the upcoming Conan the Barbarian. I’ve been somewhat ambivalent about the movie, but the trailer has piqued my curiosity…

• Computer theft impacts 400K South Carolina patients
• Social Media History Becomes a New Job Hurdle

Namaste.

Monday – 18 July 2011
A new work week dawns in the valley with clouds and a forecast of rain and/or thunderstorms. But, it doesn’t appear as though the rain will alleviate the high temperatures we’ve been experiencing. Fortunately, there’s air conditioning technology to keep us cool.

The weekend was a good and, though brief, enjoyable one. I even managed to drag myself to the gym Saturday morning. I got out of the house a little later than I had planned, but still got in a brief workout:

• Elliptical: 15 min, 1.41 mi. (approx. 5.7 MPH avg.)
• Bench Press: 3 sets/8 reps, 155 lbs
• Sit-ups: 3 sets/15 reps
• Curls (dumbbell, seated): 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs
• Flys: 3 sets/10 reps, 100 lbs

From there, it was back home for a quick shower and change of clothes and then on to meet Chris, Alex and Harley for pre-tournament breakfast. The tournament was good; there were ten participants. It was also one of the closer events we’ve had: less than fifteen (15) points separated first and third places.

Later in the evening, SaraRules! and I headed over to shockpuppet and ‘s house for a reception for and his fiancee, Erica. It was a nice gathering. We also found the oft-mentioned “fairy path” that shockpuppet created — although, at the time of night we saw it, it was more “creepy, dark, wooded path” than “fairy path.”

Sunday was planned to be rather laid back. Instead, it started off with a bit of automotive stress: I ran out to get bagels and some milk for breakfast. The bagel stop was fine; however, as I was attempting to leave The Store, the car decided not to start. *sigh* I gave it a minute and tried again. Nothing. I called SaraRules! and had her come to jumpstart the car. No go, Flight.

::: grblsnrkx :::

So, the tow truck was called. And off to the local Pep Boys we went… because, apparently, my Sunday mornings are not complete without a trip to Pep Boys. Turned out that it battery was dead. I had them check the alternator and starter — both of which were fine after testing. And, thanks to being a member of Pep Boys Rewards, the towing was half-off and the battery was covered under warranty. So, the out-of-pocket cost was FAR less than it could have been. I’m just not sure whether it’s a good or a bad thing that I’m getting to know some of the techs there on a first name basis…

Groove. Boogie. Sway.
The Monday morning musical shuffle selection wasn’t bad this morning:

• The Wiz (Original Cast Recording) – Ease on Down the Road
• No Doubt – Just a Girl
• Luscious Jackson – Naked Eye
• Girls Aloud vs. Madonna – Some Kind of Beautiful Stranger
• Guy (ft. Teddy Riley) – Teddy’s Jam

Not a bad way to kick off the work week, I’d say.

Chew on This: Food for Thought
Muslim hate crime victim asks TX court to spare life of white supremacist who shot him
Wow. Seriously… “Wow.” How many of us could – or would – do the same in Mr. Bhuiyan’s position?

Stray Toasters

• Congratulations to my friend, Bret, for having a/another tropical storm named after him.
• Brainscans in the Uncanny Valley
• Politicians Can’t Agree on Debt? Well, Neither Can Economists
• Sides Aim to End Lockout This Week
• 
• The American Man: What I’ve Learned
• Gun-Totin’ Brunnhilde
• Japan wins 1st World Cup title in penalty shootout
• A Resilient Team Soothes a Nation
• LEGO Folding Farm
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Bee-wearing competition
• 21 Google Plus circles you can actually use

Namaste.

Thursday – 07 July 2011
It’s a grey and overcast..

…but it’s Technical Friday, so I don’t really care.

I was the first person in the IT area this morning, which means that I was able to plug in my speakers and listen to a choice selection of music to get my morning started. That’s not a bad way to kick off the day. Some of the things I got to listen to included:

• Tank! – Mai Yamane and Seatbelts
• Scotty Doesn’t Know – Lustra
• I’ve Got to Groove – Tower of Power
• The Distance – Cake
• Play With Me – The Thompson Twins (one of the few good things to come out of Cool World)
• 2112 – Rush  (that’s right… all 20:43 of it)

Yeah, I’m not about to complain. And, there weren’t any fires to put out, either. Win. Win.

Last night, Corey and Jessica came over for dinner. SaraRules! fixed salmon filets (in a pastry puff), couscous, green beans with mushrooms, and salad. She was testing out the salmon recipe and it was pretty amazing, I must say. The whole meal was fantastic. And for dessert…. ice cream and ginger snaps (the cookie, not the movie). It was a great way to spend the evening.

Stray Toasters

• Is the Life You’re Living Worth the Price You’re Paying to Live It?
• A tip of the hat to for pointing out a link to Total Energy.
• Painted People — may be NSFW, use your best judgment.
• As Plastic Reigns, the Treasury Slows Its Printing Presses
• The Art of Dave Bullock
• 
• Basic HTML That Everyone Should Know
• I’ve just found two more words that I never thought I’d use together: Zombie bikinis
• What Does It Mean to Be a Woman Hackerspace Member?

And now, for my next amazing feat: Meeting time!

Namaste.

Friday – 01 July 2011
It’s finally Friday. It’s my 9/80 “on” Friday, but it’s still “Friday.” And it’s the First of July. And it’s the beginning of a long weekend. Win. Win . Win.

Today is also Canada Day.

Happy national birthday to our beer and hockey-loving neighbors to the north!

Last night, SaraRules! and I did a little more to consolidate offices. We also looked at repainting the soon-to-be-guestroom. We headed out to the local Home Depot and picked up a couple of paint samples. We painted a couple of test sections and waited for them to dry. When we came back to look at them, we decided on Lemon Ice… which looks much more like it should have been named “Lime Ice,” but oh well. It will be a good shade for the room.

I also managed to sneak in a few minutes to run my trains. It was relaxing. And fun.

Stray Toasters

• I just got back from a rather tasty lunch with Nyx at Jasmine.
• Stalemate in Final Talks Forces N.B.A. to Shut Down
  • The NBA Isn’t Allowed to Post Pictures of Basketball Players on Their Website
• I’d be fine if the word “bromance” just… disappeared… from the cultural lexicon.
  I’d also be fine if “man cave” followed it.
• Panetta takes control of Pentagon
• 
• S2K: Polamalu or Reed? Good luck deciding between the two
• They want you to be Jesus
  They’ll go down on one knee
  But they’ll want their money back
  If you’re alive at thirty-three…
• Citing Homeless Law, Hackers Turn Sights on Orlando
• 
• I just ordered this shirt. How could I not: It’s a raven (duh) and it’s Poe. I was powerless to refuse.
• Plan Issued to Save Northern Spotted Owl
• Mac OS X Lion Is Basically Done

Namaste.

Thursday – 23 June 2011
It’s another bright and sunny No Bad News “Technical Friday.” Amen.

Yesterday, SaraRules! and I had another prenatal appointment — another ultrasound. Baby A was in photogenic mode, while Baby B was a bit camera shy. Both babies are doing well and are growing nicely.

Last night was game night with and the usual suspects. We had a HUGE fight on our hands: Five of us (plus five NPCs) versus a small horde of villagers. And we couldn’t kill them. Not that we weren’t capable of killing ’em – morality aside – but they were possessed, and killing the hosts would have caused us to face the entities possessing them. And they, combined, would have kicked our collective recta eight ways from Sunday. So, it was a long fight:

Knock out villager.
Exorcise villager.
Trap exorcised spirit in vessel.
Lather.
Rinse.
Repeat.

But, we managed to pull it off. And… we did it without anyone dying. (Well, no one in our group died; a couple of the villagers wound up as ‘collateral damage.’ Oops.)

Stray Toasters

• Burn Notice returns tonight!
• In North Dakota City, River’s Threat Renewed
  My brother (and sister-in-law and nephew and one of my nieces) live in this town, but I spoke with my brother last night and he said that their house isn’t threatened by the flooding.
• The Magnetic Dead – 3D Zombie Magnets
• A Brief History of the Corporation: 1600 to 2100
• Pulitzer Prize winner reveals he’s an illegal immigrant
• 
• Movie Legends Revealed: A White Shaft? Elm Street’s Happy Ending?
• As Start-Up Matures, Working with Amex
  • American Express Specials — now for everyone, nationwide
• Postal Service suspends retirement plan contributions
• Abandoned 1940s Power Station

Namaste.

Thursday – 16 June 2011
Another NBN Thursday is upon us.
Today is also an unofficial “Technical Friday,” as I’m taking tomorrow off.

I didn’t get to see yesterday’s Green Lantern screening. (By the same token, neither did about a hundred other people who were also in line.) That’s cool on a couple of counts:

1. I got to play D&D (4.0) with and company, which was a rather fun time. It turns out that we hadn’t played in nearly a month!
2. I’m going to the screening that Dr. Volt’s is co-hosting — tonight at The Gateway.

Win-Win.

Stray Toasters

• It’s another “chock full o’ meetings” day.  Yay.
• Optimism over new deal emerging from latest round of talks
• Energy Plant, Left for Dead, Shows a Pulse
  • Nuclear Plant Safety Rules Inadequate, Group Says
• 
• Abandoned Skyscraper – Fifty Level Abandoned Building
• New York Public Library Buys Timothy Leary’s Papers
• Song “Covers” Uploaded to YouTube Could Land You in Jail for Five Years
• 
• iCufflinks
• Comics, Everybody: The History of Green Lantern Explained

  

• Dear Photograph

Namaste.

Wednesday – 25 May 2011
It’s not just midweek. Nor is it just new comics day or D&D 4.0 game night…

Today is also Towel Day. (1, 2)

For those who don’t grok why a towel should have it’s own day, perhaps this will help explain it:

A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapors; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-bogglingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can’t see it, it can’t see you); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.

More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: non-hitch hiker) discovers that a hitch hiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, face flannel, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitch hiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitch hiker might accidentally have “lost”. What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is, is clearly a man to be reckoned with.

Hence a phrase that has passed into hitchhiking slang, as in “Hey, you sass that hoopy Ford Prefect? There’s a frood who really knows where his towel is.” (Sass: know, be aware of, meet, have sex with; hoopy: really together guy; frood: really amazingly together guy.)¹

That pretty much sums it up.

Last night, SaraRules! and I ran a few errands – including setting up a baby registry at the local Babies ‘R’ Us – and then capped the evening with cups of ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery. We also (finally) got around to watching last season’s finale of NCIS… which, not so oddly, explained a few things about this past season. Go figure.

Stray Toasters

• Given that the sun was out for about seven hours before I got home, I mowed the lawn yesterday. I may have cut it a little shorter than I had originally planned… but it’s cut. And it looks much better. Now, I just need to find some time to do the edging.
• What Will Come After
• The Facts (and Fiction) of Tornadoes
• A New Approach to Railroad Switching
• USA comes up a bit short in global Better Life Index
• 
• Oh, the Stuff Those Lions Guard
• Secret Origins: Firestorm
• Google Expected to Introduce a Wireless Payment System
• This is what happens when we don’t vaccinate
• 
• The Stanford Prison Experiment
• Chrysler Pays Back Rescue Loan

Quote of the Day
“Rebar is not forgiving…”

So long and thanks for all the fish.

¹ — Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Monday – 23 May 2011
Monday. You know it’s going to be “a day” when you come in to four-hundred-sixty-five (yes, that’s “465”) emails. That is not what I consider an auspicious start to the day. Fortunately, I stopped at the local Beans & Brews for a 32-ounce cup of frozen mocha goodness… with a triple shot o’ espresso.

Last night, SaraRules! and I took my friend, Ron, to Cafe Med for dinner. I had the Turkish Yogurt Pasta and dolmas. And they were good. Unfortunately, the restaurant was out of Akbar Mashti. Instead, we hit the local Super Target, picked up a couple of flavors of ice cream and headed home. Ron and I wound up chatted into the wee hours of the morning — hence, this morning’s triple-shot-laden bit of liquid fuel. But, it was a great way to spend the evening.

Stray Toasters

• Mother Nature mocks me. Yet again. She refuses to let my lawn dry out enough to mow. Soon, I’ll need a machete – not to be confused with Machete – to mow my lawn.
• Talk Show Ends, and Oprah Moves On
• Minister not seen after apocalypse fails
• Thanks to Skott for making me think about this song… even though this isn’t the Batman movie that it was taken from:

• What I’ve Learned About Fatherhood
  • What I’ve Learned Archive
• Is Anti-White Bias a Problem?
• Automotive Black Boxes, Minus the Grey Area
• 
• Warner Bros. TV CEO on Wonder Woman’s future: ‘We haven’t given it a lot of thought.’
  • Even if it didn’t fit NBC’s lineup, I think that they could/should have tried shopping it to USA Network (you know, with that whole “Characters Welcome” thing…) or maybe even SyFy.
  • What Might Have Been: A Look at Those Wonder Woman Shorts
  • Podcast Review of the Actual Wonder Woman Pilot
• Police Seek New Ways to Defuse Tension

The show must go on…!

Namaste.

Wednesday – 18 May 2011
Midweek finds a soggy, grey day settling in over the valley. (“Desert plain,” my ass.) And, naturally, with all of the rain – and snow – that we’ve had this Winter/Spring, flooding is now a concern — so much so that there have been major sandbagging efforts around the valley to hopefully stave off damage to homes and property.

Yesterday’s venture to the southern reaches was not bad. We (Minion #2 and I) were kept somewhat busy, so that helped pass the time. I made it back home in time to meet the swamp cooler techs, who were prepping our unit for use this season. (Of course, with the rain and cool temps we’ve had for the past few days, we don’t need to run the cooler. *sigh*)

Last night was also D&D 3.5 game night. We adventured. We didn’t die. I always view that combination as a “good” thing.

Stray Toasters

• Chemical Suspected in Cancer Is in Baby Products
  • Coffee Wards Off Cancer

• McNabb to Ravens “A Bad Match”
  • Locked-out players line up for cash loans
• Bionic hand for ‘elective amputation’ patient
• Blacks’ exodus reshapes cities
• 
• Walker moves to ban hospital visitation rights for same-sex couples
• One Death Provides New Life for Many
• Rock band KISS to play Carnival cruise ship
• 
• In Japan Reactor Failings, Danger Signs for the U.S.
• I completely spaced off the this past Monday was Miracle Monday.
  I actually owned this book many moons ago. I guess there’s still a chance that it’s lurking somewhere in my parents’ house.
  • Books — That is exactly how they work
• Fringe season finale = YeahbuhWHAT?!

Namaste.

Friday – 13 May 2011
It’s Friday, the 13th.
It’s also my 9/80 day off.
That can’t be a bad thing… can it?!

I just thought of something:

• Friday the 13th has a negative connotation, thanks to superstitious beliefs.
• Olivia Wilde’s character on House is nicknamed “Thirteen.”

Why not just take the “best of both worlds” and just start referring to Friday the 13th as “Olivia Wilde Day?”

It could work…

Last night, SaraRules! and I had dinner at Dask’s. Mmm, tasty greek food. From there, we headed up to visit the in-laws. While there, I discovered that I might have inadvertently caused a… misunderstanding… with my sister-in-law-to-be: Apparently, when she read Tuesday’s post (about going over to the in-laws’ for banana rum cake), she thought that there was some dinner that I and had been invited to… and to which she and Logan hadn’t been. Nope.  He just happened to show up on the same night that my MIL and FIL were having me over, in an effort to keep me from being home alone while SaraRules! was in Beantown.

No conspiracy.

No big secret.

But, hilariously funny in the retelling by my father-in-law.

Sorry, Swiz.

After we got home, I headed down into the train room and finished work on the new layout, based on Michael Fritschie’s 8×12 layout. It doesn’t have the sidings or the wye reversing loop – and I changed the far right curve to O48 – but it looks and runs well.  And… it allows for two trains to run at the same time!  Win.  I still have a bit of clean-up to do, but I really like the way it turned out. Now, all I need to do is wait for my passenger cars to show up, so I can run both a freight and a passenger line at the same time.

I tried sleeping in this morning. It worked… sort of.  I slept until 7:15. At that point, I just got up and decided to watch a bit of TV. It was mostly DVR fare, but it kept me out of trouble.

I’m not sure what’s on tap for today. I think that we are heading up to Park City to do some shopping. I wouldn’t mind making a run to Clearfield, but I may put that off until tomorrow.

Stray Toasters

• If you’re in the area of 33rd South and 20th East tomorrow, drop into Dr. Volt’s Comic Connection. Valerie Finnigan, one of the authors of Untold Stories from Iraq and Afghanistan, will be doing a book signing from 12 to 3.
• Despite White House Report Advocating Arts Education, Budgets Face Cuts
• NBC Passes on Wonder Woman
  • NBC Turns Down David E. Kelley’s ‘Wonder Woman’ TV Pilot
• 
• White House Wants Tougher Penalties for Computer Breaches
• Smallville ends its ten-year run tonight. My friend, Jake Black, worked on the show for a while.
  • 5 Smallville Spinoffs We Would Actually Watch
    A ‘Legion: Lost’ show?  I’d be there.  And, I’d watch good Booster Gold show, too.  Just saying.
• Disaster Plan Problems Found at U.S. Nuclear Plants
• Classical Music Never Goes Out of Style

Up. Out.

Namaste.