Random Access

Wednesday – 12 January 2011
It’s midweek, which means that it’s Comics Wednesday.
As for returning the “sushi” to Wednesdays, well that’s something that we’ll have to see how it develops… but last night, the missus and I had dinner at Tsunami, so the sushi craving has been abated for the time being.

SaraRules! and I, along with Melissa and her friend, Kate, went to see The King’s Speech after dinner.

We had heard a number of glowing reviews from friends who had seen it, so it seemed like a fairly safe bet. At least in my case, friends’ comments didn’t do it justice. It was a fantastic film. Colin Firth did an excellent job as Albert, Duke of York (and later, King George VI). Geoffrey Rush was equally good in his role as Lionel Logue.  And, this was the first movie in some time in which I’ve seen Helena Bonham Carter act and didn’t just want to shake my head and go, “Really…?!  This again?!” She was… charming… in her role as Queen Elizabeth. This was a wonderful bit of cinema, proving that you don’t need to spend exorbitant amounts of money on special effects in order to tell a compelling story.

Stray Toasters

• I pre-ordered DC Universe Online: Collector’s Edition two months ago, because I wanted perks that came with it.
  The game went live yesterday.
  I received an email from Best Buy – at 11:09 PM last night – saying that it was “backordered.”
  I am not happy.
• 
• A Pink Lambo? Well, It’s Personal
• Face-Lift for Met’s Costume Institute
• The Onion‘s take on an extended football season:

  Onion SportsDome

• Credit scores get easier to track down and less secretive
• Battle Is Set as Verizon Adds iPhone
• 
  (And for those who don’t get the ‘Poser’ double entendre, click here.)
• This American Life: The Invention of Money
• Ten Awesome Things Most People Don’t Know About PHP
• James Bond Returns! And Not a Moment Too Soon!

Quote of the Day
Today’s quote comes from Derek Hunter, a local writer and illustrator:

Nitpick about your looks all you like, but let’s face it ladies, you’re all pretty gorgeous.

Know what?  He’s right.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 11 January 2011
Day Two of the work week and all’s pretty much well. We just finished stacking 44 chairs into a U-Haul for delivery to the other office. Not quite the most Tetris-worthy feat I’ve been party to, but it was still pretty impressive.

Last night, I started playing Call of Duty: Black Ops.

In theory, I was going to meet up with a couple of coworkers online, but they weren’t around. So, I started playing the campaign. I will most likely want to look into changing my controller configuration, as I found myself pushing buttons and discovering that they didn’t do what I wanted/expected.  (Yeah, something about the layout being different than HALO. Go figure.) I made it through a few missions before calling it a night.

Stray Toasters

• I’m planning on taking next Monday off from work and (hopefully) working a service project for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  While checking out some of my options online, I came across the following graphic on Volunteering in America:



• Dick Winters, ‘Band of Brothers’ Inspiration, Dies
• DNA upends century-old murder verdict
• Bringing a Bikini to a Sword Fight
• Thanks to for pointing out Three Minutes
• A Resurgent Chrysler Says It Is Here to Stay
• Amber Case: We are all cyborgs now
• Reasons to Be Cheerful
• For the amount of monkeydom that she’s dealing with, I dedicate The Monkey Song to :
• What really happened to Endor when they ganked the Death Star
• I miss Dunkin’ Donuts.

Back to the work grind.

Namaste.

Monday – 10 January 2011
A new work week begins. This one actually has some blue sky and sun associated with it. Of course, there is still a good bit of haze about the valley, but I’ll take what I can get.

Yesterday, and came over to watch the Ravens-Chiefs game. Nox brought Josh and Sabriel with him; both of the kids did a good job of entertaining themselves while we yelled at the television watched the game. After the Ravens-Chiefs game, we flipped over to the Packers-Eagles game, which was also a good contest.

After football was over, SaraRules! fixed dinner: Homemade beef barley soup, squash and dinner rolls. ‘Twas very good. After dinner, we played Trivial Pursuit and then I somehow convinced her to watch Smokey and the Bandit. It might not be the world’s best movie, but it’s one of my favorites — if I believed in “guilty pleasures,” it would be one of mine. (If memory serves me correctly, I believe that my father took me to see it in the theatre… three times.) I learned a couple of interesting things about the movie, thanks to IMDb:

• The second highest grossing movie released in 1977 next to Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)
• Was a Guilty Pleasure of Alfred Hitchcock according to his daughter Patricia Hitchcock

After the movie, I finished up Rough Weather and called it a night.

Instant Replay: Football
There were some good games over the weekend… even though I missed both of Saturday’s games.

Baltimore Ravens at Kansas City Chiefs
30 – 7
The Ravens and Chiefs met at Arrowhead Stadium for the AFC Wild Card Playoff Game. The Ravens came to play some serious ball, too. After leading 10-7 at halftime, the Ravens went on to score another 20 unanswered points and seal the deal. Next stop: Heinz Field on Saturday, for a meeting with AFC North rival Pittsburgh Steelers.

Joe…?  Derrick…? You guys just scalped the Chiefs and are going to the Division game against the Steelers!  How do you feel about that?

Yeah, I’d be passing around the high-fives, too!  Congratulations!

Green Bay Packers at Philadelphia Eagles
21 – 16
The Packers and Eagles faced off in Philly… …and the Pack came away with the win There was a lot of post-game talk about the two missed field goals by Eagles’ P David Akers… six points which would have secured a Philadelphia win. Should’a. Could’a. Would’a. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers move on to face the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday.

.

New York Jets at Indianapolis Colts
17 – 16
Last week, I was worried about the Ravens having to face the Indianapolis Professional Football Club in the playoffs. More specifically, I was worried about the teams having to meet yesterday. Fortunately, Indy lost last week’s game and the Ravens wound up taking on the Chiefs. Saturday, Mark Sanchez and the Jets eliminated Indy – and the last Manning standing – from the playoffs. I only wish that I had seen that game.

.

New Orleans Saints at Seattle Seahawks
36 – 41
Are the Seahawks this year’s Cinderella team? They upset last year’s Cinderella and have their sights on da Bears in next weekend’s matchup.

Stray Toasters

• SaraRules! tested out a very good blueberry pancake recipe for breakfast yesterday.
  I have third-party independent verification of this, as young Ms. Sabriel packed away two of them, herself.
• It wasn’t a workout, per se, but I walked up five of the six flights of stairs to get into the office this morning. I’m thinking that I might challenge myself to do it at least once a day during the work week.
• Federal Charges in Giffords Shooting Cite Assassination Plan
• TV ‘Wonder Woman’ Not Going at This Time
• Taking a trip into history with the Freedom Riders
  • The Freedom Riders movie referenced on the second page of the article is the one that SaraRules! and I saw last year at the Sundance Film Festival.  If you have a chance to see it, I highly recommend it.
• 
• Library of Congress Gets a Mile of Music
• Theme park giant’s ups, downs lead to investor showdown
• Muslim and Christian, Egyptians stand together against violence

I don’t know when it happened, but most of the haze has burned off and you can now see across the valley.

Namaste.

Sunday – 09 January 2011
Typing “2011” still feels a little “off” to my fingers.

It started snowing again last night. I haven’t made it to a window to see how deep the snowfall is yet. I’m hoping for the light, powdery snow, as opposed to heavy, wet snow.

Yesterday, I judged another HeroClix tournament at Dr. Volt’s Comic Connection. The turnout was good; there were ten players. The tourney was a “constructed” event, with players having to build a 300-point team, utilizing at least one figure from the new set. Once again, first and second places were separated by only three (3) points. After the tournament, I got into a 6-player game with some of the guys. 1,000 points per player. One map. We split into two teams of three. I played the Black Lantern Corps:

• Black Hand
• Kal-L
• Martian Manhunter
• Nekron
• Scar

I also used the Black Lantern object. I was rather pleased with how well the team worked and how useful the figures’ abilities were, despite having my pieces eliminated first. I can’t be too upset about that though: The other team saw my figs as threats… and, quite frankly, I would have done the same, were situations reversed. It was a fun – and very long – game.

After I got home, I watched Resident Evil: Afterlife with SaraRules!, and later introduced her to The Thomas Crown Affair. While somewhat entertaining, Afterlife was not a good movie. It also had more “bullet time” than all three Matrix movies, combined! (“Hey! Our movie’s crap… let’s use lots of slow-motion to make it seem cool!”) Thomas Crown, on the other hand, was both entertaining and good. It had been a long time since I’d seen it and it made me want to see the 1968 original version, with Steve McQueen.

Resident Evil: Afterlife –
The Thomas Crown Affair –

Instant Replay: Football
In a couple of hours, the Ravens will face the Chiefs in today’s AFC Wild Card Playoff Game.

Stray Toasters

• In the span of less than 24 hours, we went from this to this.
  I can’t say that either event instills me with lots of hope for humanity…
  • Born, died between two tragedies
• With all of the negative news items that get posted about NFL players, it’s nice to read an article that focuses on the positive side of a player’s off-field life. What makes it even better, at least for me, is that it’s about a Baltimore Ravens player: TE Todd Heap.
• Profile Valet for Android
• 
• I (finally) picked up Call of Duty: Black Ops the other day.  I may give it a try later this afternoon or evening.
• From the “Isn’t It Ironic…?” file: US Government Strategy to Prevent Leaks, Is Leaked
• To say that I “enjoy” Cee-Lo’s Fuck You would be something of an understatement. It’s a song, with a catchy and danceable beat… and it’s just “fun.” So, what could possibly make it even more entertaining?

  Thanks to for pointing this out!

• South Sudan Poised to Create New Nation
• Can sitting too much kill you?
• The Definitive Classification System for T-Shirts

Time to find something to do (hopefully, other than shovel snow) until and get here for the football game…

Namaste.

Friday – 07 January 2011
It’s Friday and my 9/80 “off” day. Despite that, I’ve been somewhat productive this morning. I’ve already take my car to the shop (tune-up and tires), started laundry, prepped the carpets for vacuuming.  And it’s barely 10:30. (Well, it was when I typed that…) I consider that “productive.”

Last night, SaraRules! and I hit the gym, for my first workout of the year. She started a new routine, so I figured that I’d give it a go.  It wasn’t too bad… except for the lunges:

• Bench Press: 3 sets/8 reps, 165 lbs
• Front Squat/Push (shoulder) Press: 2 sets/10 reps, 40 lbs
• Step-ups: 2 sets/10 reps, 25 lb dumbbells
• Bent-over Row: 2 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs
• Lunge (static, one foot elevated): 2 sets/10 reps
  • Set 1: 25 lb dumbbells
  • Set 2: 15 lb dumbbells
• Push-ups: 2 sets/10 reps
• Plank: 2 sets/45 seconds
• Cable Horizontal Wood Chop: 2 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs

All-in-all, not a bad workout. There were a couple of exercises that were awkward, but nothing insurmountable.

Chew on This: Food for Thought
I read this yesterday, and shared it with Nyx, but neglected to add it to yesterday’s post: The Agonizing Last Words of Bill Zeller

Stray Toasters

• It’s a lovely shade of grey, inversion-induced “blech” outside this morning.
• Government recommends lowering flouride levels in U.S. drinking water
• From Indexed: A Little Something for the Pagans
• Harry Potter plagiarism case dismissed
• 
• Wizkids! Games’ site is jacked up, at the moment. Feh.
• Saudi Arabia ‘detains’ Israeli vulture for spying
• Congratulations to Greg and Liz Dean (of Real Life Comics)! Why?  Click here.
• This Is the Perfect House if You Are a Cat
• 
• US unemployment rate drops in December
• There’s been Sex Bomb and Sex Bob-omb, but neither was as insidious as this.

And with that, on to the rest of the day…

Namaste.

Thursday – 06 January 2011
It’s Thursday.  Amen. That means that it’s an NBN day… and it’s the last day of my work week, which means that it’s “NBN Technical Friday.” If only there was less inversion-induced haze…

Last night was D&D 4.0 night with and company. There was far less death among our party than in Tuesday night’s game. But, that doesn’t necessarily mean that we didn’t have a good fight on our hands. We did. But we persevered.

After the game, SaraRules! and I knocked out another episode of NCIS. The DVR queue is growing shorter!

Stray Toasters

• As our game wrapped up last night, I received a call from Young Miss Grace; she (with “a little” help from Sib-1) called to thank us for her Christmas present. It was very cute.
• GWU honors Gray’s athletic legacy from time of segregated sports
• IRS tax liens jump by 60%, but how effective are they?
• 
• Training and Trust: Partners on the Flying Trapeze
  When I was 12 and 13, my summer camp had a 28′ flying trapeze. (This fact is made even more interesting when you consider the fact that I went to a computer camp.)  Campers were able to choose non-computer-related activities to complement their more geeky ones; I chose flying trap.  I didn’t do any of the catches – and regret that a little – but I still had a lot of fun on and learning about the trapeze.
• Mac App Store Launches with Thousand Apps, Big Discounts
• 
• Thanks to an ad that I didn’t need to see, I just realized that I could easily add an elevated subway to the city side of my layout…  *sigh*
• Starbucks drops its name from logo

Back to it.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 05 January 2011
It’s midweek, which means that it’s Comics Wednesday! Unfortunately, no word has been given on if/when “Sushi Wednesday” will be reincorporated into the mix. I guess time will tell.

Last night was D&D 3.5 night with and company. Our party got into a fight… and got seriously smacked around. In fact, ‘s character took a beating at the hand a a war chief and came down with a sudden case of death. And, even though my character has some cleric-like (read: “healer”) abilities, he was beyond the scope of my power. So, I called in a favor. A big one. Really big. We got ‘s character back, but it came at a pretty steep cost.  (That whole cleric thing I mentioned before…?  It’s gone, at least for the foreseeable future.) Hopefully, that won’t come back to bite us in the collective recta.

Today, I got to work only to discover that I had left my ID badge at home.

*grblsnrkx*

I have a temp badge. Yay. Although, I really shouldn’t gripe too much… it does what I need it to. Mostly.

Chew on This: Food for Thought
Publisher Tinkers with Twain

A new edition of “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” is missing something.

Throughout the book — 219 times in all — the word “nigger” is replaced by “slave,” a substitution that was made by NewSouth Books, a publisher based in Alabama, which plans to release the edition in February.

Alan Gribben, a professor of English at Auburn University at Montgomery, approached the publisher with the idea in July. Mr. Gribben said Tuesday that he had been teaching Mark Twain for decades and always hesitated before reading aloud the common racial epithet, which is used liberally in the book, a reflection of social attitudes in the mid-19th century.

I read this article before heading to work this morning. When I got to the office, angstd messaged me to ask if I had seen it and what I thought about it…

I first read Huck Finn when I was in 8th Grade. I remember having a little bit of difficulty with it, not because of the content or offensive language, but from a few of the slang used. Aside from that, it was “just a book.” The fact that it dealt with social issues – especially slavery – wasn’t a big concern of mine, at the time. (Come on… I was 13 and it was reading for school.) I do remember thinking that it was a good book, however.

I’m not on board with Professor Gribben’s argument. I understand translating books from one language to another, but this was written in English – granted, some word structures are a bit dated, but English, nonetheless – and as a classic work of American fiction, I say leave it. Mr. Twain wrote it in a particular manner and I think that it should remain in that form. “Nigger” has a… colorful… history, but it is part of the American lexicon and, more importantly, it was part of the daily speech of many in the 19th Century. Changing the word to “slave” changes the dynamic of the language. I’ll concede that both words were used to denigrate the people about whom they were used, but one has a history of being used more harshly and cruelly. (Three guesses which it was.)

I was pleased to note that the article included a counterpoint:

“I’m not offended by anything in ‘Huck Finn,’ ” said Elizabeth Absher, an English teacher at South Mountain High School in Arizona. “I am a big fan of Mark Twain, and I hear a lot worse in the hallway in front of my class.”

Ms. Absher teaches Twain short stories and makes “Huck Finn” available but does not teach it because it is too long — not because of the language.

“I think authors’ language should be left alone,” she said. “If it’s too offensive, it doesn’t belong in school, but if it expresses the way people felt about race or slavery in the context of their time, that’s something I’d talk about in teaching it.”

Agreed. Were some of the issues that came along with and out of slavery offensive?  You bet they were. But I don’t see them as things to be swept under the rug or turned away from. If we do that, we forget about a powerful and divisive part of our history.

I’m sorry that Professor Gribben has a hard time with a few words. But, that’s all they are: Words. They can be used destructively, but we can learn many things – from who we were and where we’ve come from to what we have achieved and where we are going – from even the most harsh of words.

Perhaps the professor should take some time to read Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word, by Randall Kennedy. The book takes the word and attempts to present ways to diffuse its volatile nature and history.

Maybe that would help.

Stray Toasters

• Escaped from Belarus, Actors Raise Voices
• 8 Superhero Movies That Broke the Mold (Please Copy Them!)
• By way of my coworker, Corey: Detroit in ruins: The photographs of Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre
• 
• Swear Freely In Pennsylvania: It’s Your #$%^&*^ Constitutional Right
• I’m not a big country music fan, but I do like Darius Rucker… and Hootie and the Blowfish (much to my friend, Peggy’s, chagrin).  I caught a performance of this song on Palladia the other night. I was amused and entertained by it:
• “Whoops! #1”
• Could the days of the British “pint” be numbered?
• 
• A Most Successful Self-Experiment: Over 18 Months Soap and Shampoo Free
• “Whoops! #2”

Namaste.

Tuesday – 04 January 2011
In the words of The Pretenders, I’m “back on the chain gang.” 
Of course, as Big Daddy Kane said, “A Job Ain’t Nothin’ but Work.”
So far, the transition back to the working world hasn’t been too painful. And I actually remembered how to log into my systems, so that’s an added bonus.

Last night, I set up a couple of the 2’x4′ boards on my layout. Now, my rail yard is 4’x10′ long…

…and the base of the “U” is on  sawhorses and a board, rather than a 2″x4″ blocks… on a board… on a filing cabinet. I also extended the passing track by 10″, for no other reason than “because I could.”

SaraRules! and I had a quiet evening in, catching up on episodes of NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles. I find it amusing and somewhat ironic that I had two weeks off but didn’t catch up on very much of the DVR content.

Stray Toasters

• Our company gave us yesterday off.
  A number of people weren’t aware of this and showed up yesterday.
• Something old, something new at the Utah Symphony
• For Tolstoy and Russia, Still No Happy Ending
• By way of :



• Spider-Man’s ‘dad,’ Stan Lee, to get his Hollywood star
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Research babies
• 
• Struggling Borders to Meet with Publishers
• Temporary zombie tattoos by Mitch O’Connell
• There seem to be a lot of shake-ups (and a few break ups) in the NFL today.

Lunch is over; back to the grind.

Namaste.

Monday – 03 January 2011
Today is the last day of my vacation; our robot overlords gave us the day off. (Did I say “overlords?” I meant “protectors.”) Tomorrow, the new work year begins. Fortunately, this is the week with my 9/80 “off” Friday, allowing me to ease into this whole “working” thing again.

So far, 2011 has been alright. After playing ‘Clix with Chris on Saturday morning, SaraRules! and I headed up to her parents’ place for a New Years’ food and football. ‘Twas good. After that, we headed to the theatre and caught Tron: Legacy. I enjoyed it; SaraRules! didn’t. And, that’s not to say that I didn’t have a couple of issues with the movie, but it was entertaining.

Sunday started with and me hitting the local Lowe’s and Home Depot. He was kind enough to offer his time – and Jeep – to allow me to pick up and transport more sawhorses, plywood and foam for my growing railroad. I still need to set up the saw horses and paint the foam. All in due time. I also need to start thinking about more permanent railroad structures — SaraRules!’ father is going to help me frame and finish the basement in the not-too-distant future. He also gave me a couple of ideas about extending my layout… vertically. I was intrigued with his idea and haven’t ruled anything out yet.

We headed back up to the in-laws’ for New Years’ leftovers. (Every bit as good the day after as they were the day of…) We watched a little football and then headed home to watch The Godfather: Part II, which I don’t believe I’d ever seen before. It was good… quite good, but I had a little bit of a rough time following the corollaries between the flashbacks and the “present day,” until the end of the movie.

Today, I met Perry and a couple of his kids for coffee. I also worked a little on a drawing that has been stagnating in my sketchbook for the better part of 10 months. It felt good to get something – anything – done on it.

Instant Replay: Football

Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens
7 – 13
The boys from Cincy came Baltimore to wrap up the final week of regular season play. Bonnie and Clyde… I mean, Batman and Robin… I mean “T.O. and Ocho” didn’t play, though. That’s fine, because the Ravens seemed to have a tough enough time dealing with Bengals’ QB Carson Palmer, despite FS Ed Reed’s two interceptions.But, nevertheless, the Ravens wound up coming away with  “W,” and that’s always a good thing in my book. Sorry, and .

Ray! Hey, Ray!  Hey… yeah, so you guys just beat a division rival, are going to the Playoffs for the third straight year – a team record – and you don’t have to face Indy in the first round!  How does that make you feel?

Yeah, I bet it does feel pretty sweet!

Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs
31 – 10
The Raiders went to Arrowhead Stadium and scalped the Chiefs. They finished the season 8-8, their best record in seven (7) years! They also set a curious record: It marked the first time that a team has swept their division (6-0), but did NOT make it into the playoffs. Congrats, SaraRules! and 1silver_seraph.

.

Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons
10 – 31
I don’t know what it is about the Panthers and teams with bird-themes, but once again, they managed to lose. There’s always next season, I guess…

.

Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots
7 – 38
The ‘Fins dropped this one to the Pats. ‘Nuff said.

Stray Toasters

• This post, from made me grin this morning.
• Class Decides Whether to Donate Professor’s Kidney
• Actor Pete Postlethwaite dies
• 
• Into the Tunnels: Exploring the Underside of NYC
• Courting Disaster: Family Ties
• 
• Body of former Pentagon official found in landfill
• How to stay safe at a public Wi-Fi hotspot

Namaste.

Friday – 31 December 2010
Snow falls on the ground.
The broom sweeps away the snow.
The driveway is clear.

BOOM!  Just like that: Two days of haiku!

It snowed again last night, with very light snow falling this morning. This time, it was the light, powdery snow for which Utah is know. Thus, I was able to literally sweep away the snow. Today’s snow removal music was 2112; I finished in the time it took to listen to “2112” (the A-side) and “A Passage to Bangkok,” so… 24:08.  Not too shabby.

Last night, SaraRules! and I went down to Abravanel Hall to hear – and see – The Blue Planet Live! We went with Logan and Sanaz, and wound up running into and Jeff, as well as Mickey and Sammie . The performance was narrated by Utah Senator Orrin Hatch. It was a good production. It was made more amusing by the woman sitting behind us who was amazed/fascinated by practically everything on-screen. (Seriously… you’d think that she didn’t use her television for anything but watching The Young and the Restless and maybe Martha Stewart Living.)

I was originally planning on heading up to The Wonderful World of Trains with today, but his schedule won’t allow it. I may still head up on my own, as I’m itching to get a look at the new location of The Bookshelf… and it’s three blocks from WWoT.

Chew on This: Food for Thought
Today is the last day of 2010. It’s been a year of ups and downs, but mostly “ups”:

• SaraRules! and I bought a house (…and discovered a great little neighborhood espresso shop)!
• My mother retired.
• I lost another good friend.
• I got back into model railroading after a nearly 30-year absence.
• I celebrated my first anniversary.
• I turned 40… and, thanks to the coolest wife ever, got to race cars for my four-hour mid-life crisis!
• My third niece was born.
• We got to host Thanksgiving in our new home.
• We had my family come out and celebrate Christmas with us.

…and, as I said last year: “…these are all part of ‘life.'”

On the whole, 2010 was a good year. I am thankful for the many new people I met and I am grateful for the many wonderful things that I got to experience. If you were part of my year – no matter how big or small a part – thank you for the pleasure of your company and for being a part of my journey.

I wish you a very happy and prosperous 2011 and beyond.

Stray Toasters

• I think that I like sweeping snow far better than shoveling it.
• The Sartorialist
• 
• John Ridley’s Top 7 ‘Nontroversies’ of 2010
• GeekDad, meet GeekMom
• Nyx is dealing with ever-increasing levels of monkeydom. I think that she should keep a dead-blow hammer handy, for just such occasions.
• 
• DC Women Kicking Ass – The most memorable moments in DC history for women: Nominee #21
• I believe that I’ve solved the “problem” of streets in my model railroad: SuperStreets
• Demolition of the Paris Metro
  • Berlin – The Metro
    
• The Style Guy’s 15 Rules to a Sharper, Smarter Life
• How to Take Better Pictures with Your Smartphone’s Camera

And with that…

Be well and be good to yourself and to others.

Namaste.

Thursday – 30 December 2010
NBN Thursday
Falls silently upon us.
Like new-fallen snow.

That’s right. I just busted out a haiku.  Just. Like. That!

What’s more, the haiku references a few pertinent things:

1. It’s Thursday;
2. I have declared it a “No Bad News ” Thursday; and
3. There is snow on the ground.

And you got all of that information in seventeen syllables.

Yesterday, I visited The Train Shoppe. In itself, not too out-of-the-ordinary. However, this trip was made a little different by the fact that I was joined by my father-in-law and grandfather-in-law, both of whom have a soft and warm spot in their hearts for model railroads. I picked up a package of earthen bumpers and a half-curve of O36 track.

I came back home just as snow started to fall last night. By the time SaraRules! got home, about an hour later, a couple of inches of snow had fallen. We decided to stay in for the night and watched Seven Pounds. It was a good movie, although there was something in the pacing and the way the story was told that was a little “off.” I definitely felt that it was more of a “watch at home” movie than a “sit in the theatre” one. But, as I said: It was good; it was also a bit unexpected.

After the movie, SaraRules! and I bundled up and went outside to shovel the driveway and sidewalks. We were done in about twenty minutes. It’s amazing how quickly it goes when there are two shovels at work!

We woke up this morning to find another 3-4″ of Mother Nature’s frozen, mocking laughter blanketing the ground. *sigh*

Stray Toasters

• I don’t have the background in economics, history or politics to refute the information within, but I found this to be an interesting read: Bill Moyers: Welcome to the Plutocracy
• Thanks to for pointing out: Kawah Ijen by night
• Something for (and possibly Meliko): How to Open a Champagne Bottle with a Saber
• 
• Pianist Billy Taylor, Jazz Ambassador and NPR Host, Dies
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” and “Eww, creepy!” files: Muppets with People Eyes
• Julie Taymor Withdraws from New York Times Event
• While reading friends’ blog posts, I found something in ‘s entry that reminded me of this:
• Top Scientific Breakthroughs of 2010
• Five days after Christmas and I’ve already added a bunch of stuff to The Covet List…
• Ew’s and Ah’s: Photos from a hospital medical museum

Okay, enough procrastinating… time to make the donuts shovel the snow.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 28 December 2010
It’s quiet around here again.  Things are returning to what passes for “normal” around here.

I just talked with my mother and uncle — they both made it home, although MUCH later than either of them had anticipated. Thanks to a three-hour delay getting out of SLC, my parents didn’t get home until almost 0100 AM EST. My uncle didn’t fare any better, as he made it into and out of Chicago with no problem… but couldn’t land in White Plains. At least, not the first time. His flight was re-routed to Hartford for refueling and then went back to White Plains. He got home after 0200 AM. But… everyone made it home safely.

Last night, I had dinner with my in-laws, before they took Meliko to the airport. We went for Mexican food at El Chihuahua. I had the beef enchiladas; they were good. After dinner, I met at MacCool’s for the last Monday Night Football broadcast of the season: The Saints at the Falcons. It was a very good game and pretty much came down to the last few minutes. Add to that a couple of Black and Pumpkin beers and an order of Finn’s Skins and it made for a good evening in good company.

Stray Toasters

• I’m thinking (seriously) about tearing out my rail yard and reconfiguring it. Again.
• 1980s cartoon intros in other languages
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” and the “People Are People” files: Harry Potter actress in hiding after death threats
• Coded American Civil War Message in Bottle Decoded
• 
• Big Bird Behind the Beak – A Look Behind the Feathers
• Infographic: Bad Science in Movies Chart
• Despite the fact that I left my old web hosting company nearly three months ago, I still get email from them.  (No, I’m not still getting billed by them.)

I should probably start getting ready to face the day.

Namaste.

Monday – 27 December 2010
It’s quiet around here. VERY quiet. It’s amazing how “quiet” it is, in fact. I guess that’s just one of the things you notice when you go from having five people in the house to being alone at home.

I had a fantastic Christmas. It was made even better by the fact that I was able to have (most of) my family here — we’re looking at ways to get Kris out here later in the season or this Spring/Summer.  We started some new traditions this year (Christmas Eve spaghetti dinner and Christmas morning mimosas) and incorporated some of our favorites as well. The man in the red suit did me a good turn this year; he brought me:

• A couple of really nice sweaters
• A pair of boots (…which I need to send back because they were both for the right foot)
• An overcoat and scarf
• A new pair of lounge pants… with the Ravens’ logo on ’em!
• A couple of passenger platforms for my railroad
• A LEGO Creator set
• Buckyballs
• A “gift certificate” to Dr. Volt’s or The Train Shoppe (Woo!)
• A Sawz-All
• A new train set

SaraRules! and I got a couple of very nice gifts as a couple, too.  So, I can honestly say that I had a very good Christmas this year.

Saturday, before heading to SaraRules!’ parents’ place for dinner, I took the family up to Brighton — I figured that since they had come all this way to visit, the least that I could do was take them for a drive up one of the canyons and let them see the mountains. I think that they were taken aback a bit at how truly “big” the mountains are here. They were also a bit surprised when I told them the elevation.

After the drive, we met up with SaraRules’ side of the family for dinner. We had a magnificent feast with all kinds of foods: brisket, ham, borscht, mixed vegetables, roasted root vegetables, breads, potatoes and more! All of it was wonderfully prepared.

Sunday, we got up and took my folks to Music and the Spoken Word. My mother has mentioned many times that she wanted to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, but hadn’t been able to get out her to do so. But, with retirement comes time… and, fortunately, we were able to make it in to see this week’s recording.

After the broadcast, we went up to Park City for brunch at Cisero’s. It started to snow shortly after we arrived, but was coming down a little more heavily as we left Park City and headed down Parley’s Canyon. After we got in, we settled in for a relatively quiet afternoon at home. Later in the afternoon, we took my uncle down to the Cathedral of the Madeleine and picked up dinner.

This morning, SaraRules got up for work and I got up to take my family to the airport. It was really nice to have them here for the long weekend; I’m glad that they were able to come out.  (Now, I just have to get Kris out here…) We got everyone to their respective flights on time, although I got a call from my mother a little while ago saying that her plane was grounded because of a “mechanical problem.” I’m waiting to see if/when they get boarded on another plane and how that will affect their connection home.  My uncle, on the other hand, might not get out of Chicago – or at least not to his home airport – thanks to the snowstorm that hit the northeast over the weekend. We’ll see how everything shakes out.

Stray Toasters

• How was your Christmas?
• The Ravens beat the Browns and secured a spot in the playoffs!
• Five Best Resources for Free Games
• Teena Marie dies at 54; R&B singer-songwriter
  • Lovergirl
    
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Man Faces Five Years in Jail — for Reading Wife’s Emails
• I need to replace the battery on my MacBook. This one has developed a “bulge.”  You know, the “This battery has reached the end of its useful life cycle…” kind.
• Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival

It seems as though my parents made it out of here… nearly three hours late.  But, they’re in the air.

Now, it’s time to find some trouble to get into.

Namaste.

Friday – 24 December 2010
It’s Christmas Eve.
My uncle will be here in a few hours, as will Meliko; we’re still waiting to see if Kristen will be able to make it.

My mom and stepfather got into town about noon yesterday. We spent the afternoon and evening in; we had lunch and sat around and talked for a bit.  Later, Mom tagged Christmas gifts – she and Kris had shipped them here earlier in the week – and then we watched the Panthers take on the Steelers on Thursday Night Football. It was seriously like watching David take on Goliath… except this time, Goliath knew what was up and completely manhandled David. The final score was 27 – 3; I was just happy that the Panthers put some points on the board. After the ‘rents went to bed, SaraRules! and I watched the mid-season finale to Fringe and an episode of Burn Notice.

SaraRules! and I are heading to the gym in a bit; I think that my stepdad is going to join us… if he’s awake. (He and Mom were up at 0330 yesterday to make their first flight, so I can understand and appreciate that they’re “a little” tired.) Later, we’re all going to lunch with SaraRules!’ parents. Pat’s Barbecue.  Mmmm. I think that there will be a little shopping done and then it will be off to the airport to pick up Uncle Ronnie and Meliko – their flights gets in around the same time).

Workout
And…. we’re back. My stepfather didn’t join us, after all. The workout was short and sweet:

• Bench Press: 3 sets/8 reps, 155 lbs
• Deadlifts (barbell): 2 sets/8 reps, 70 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell): 2 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs
• Shoulder Press (dumbbell): 2 sets/10 reps, 35 lbs
• Lat Pulldown: 2 sets/10 reps, 110 lbs
• Lunges: 2 sets/8 steps per leg, 20 lb dumbbells
• Crunches (Swiss ball): 2 sets/15 reps

Stray Toasters

• It’s been fun having my parents here.  There… I said it.  (And meant it.)
• 
• America has a serious drug problem
• Hyperbole and a Half: The Year Kenny Loggins Ruined Christmas
• What Happens When You Steal a Hacker’s Computer
• 
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Pearl comes out of ear 41 years later
• Wright’s ‘Falling Water’ in gingerbread
• California beaches ‘contaminated’ after rain storms

And, just in case I don’t get back on here tomorrow (or later tonight): I hope that everyone has a safe and very merry Christmas.

Namaste.

Thursday – 23 December 2010
How did my NBN vacation Thursday kick off?
By picking up my parents at the airport!
Let the Christmas revels begin!

Yesterday, SaraRules! and I headed over to her parents’ house to make Christmas sugar cookies. Last night, we went back over to decorate those cookies with her parents, Sanaz and Logan. As part of the fun, I made a Green Lantern gingerbread man:

“In brightest day,
In blackest night,
No cookie shall escape my sight!”

His lantern symbol might not be awesome-looking, but it’s the best I could do with a toothpick.  I’m pretty proud of him.

Chew on This: Food for Thought
Yesterday, I had an item in my blog post that mentioned the outrage some groups are having about Idris Elba playing Heimdall in the upcoming Thor movie.  What I neglected to mention was that these same groups haven’t said ANYTHING about the fact that Tadanobu Asano was selected to portray Hogun the Grim (another Norse god)… despite the fact that Asano’s involvement was known – and fairly public – well before Elba’s.  So, let me get this straight:

1. Some people are getting bent because a black actor is portraying a Norse god in a movie based on a comic book…?!
2. The same people have nothing to say about an Asian actor also portraying a Norse god in the same movie based on a comic book…?

Isn’t that kind of saying,”Hey, we’re racists… sorry… “racial purist” bastards, but see, we’re only nitpicky when it comes to some people!” or am I wrong?

Stray Toasters

• I know what one thing that Santa’s bringing for is. How do I know? Mom delivered it for Santa…and I had to unbox it for her. WIN!
• 16 Holiday Movie Spoofs from ‘Rejecting Sobriety’
• Sorry, Kids. Fire Stations Are Ditching Fire Poles
• Thanks to for pointing this out: Remembering a jolly duet: When Bing met Bowie
• Photographer Bill Durgin’s unusual figure studies
• Jayson Weidel Colors His X-Men One at a Time
• 
• Miminalist effect in the maximalist market
• A Very Zombie Holiday (Zombie apocalypse advice for the holiday season)
• This has to be wrong on some level: I just saw something about the old Chuck Norris TV series, Walker: Texas Ranger… and in my head immediately reparsed it as Walker: Texas Power Ranger.

Yeah… that’s good for now.

Namaste.