Random Access

Sunday – 07 June 2009
Today is my mother’s birthday.

I woke up early enough – and just long enough – to wish her a happy birthday before she headed out for the day.

Then, I promptly turned over and went back to sleep.

When the alarm went off this morning, I wasn’t exactly ready for it. (Something about staying up far too late last night/this morning…) But, I got out of bed, ate, did the morning hygiene rituals and got ready for the day. SaraRules and I went downtown to the parade for the Utah Pride Festival. The forecast called for rain, which we got in intermittent spurts that ranged from drizzle to moderate. Oh, well. That’s why we took an umbrella!  met us there and Mr. and Mrs. strolled past a few minutes after that and joined us. The parade was good and the wet weather didn’t seem to dampen anyone’s festive mood. Near the end of the parade, my superpower kicked in, too: I ran into Paul, a former coworker from the USPS.

<< Rewind <<
Yesterday, SaraRules wanted to go to a park and walk, so that we could get in a little exercise. I upped the ante a bit and suggested getting a Frisbee^® and tossing it around. She agreed. The next step was to get one. A trip to Wal-Mart proved (semi-)fruitless: They had them, but wanted $9.00 for it. O,o ?!? It’s just a piece of molded plastic…  (And, to be honest, I really wanted an Aerobie^®.) So, while taking care of another errand, we stopped at Sports Authority where – lo and behold – they had Aerobies. I got an Aerobie Pro for the same price as the Frisbee^®. Win-Win. On to the park! As we were only a few blocks from his house, I called Land to see if he wanted to join us; he did. We spent the next hour or so tossing the disc and chatting. And, it was a pretty good workout, to boot.

Back home for badly-needed showers and downtime. We also started to tackle another project: Cleaning up the office. I finally unpacked the shredder we got a few months ago. It works like gangbusters. I also decided to resort some of my HeroClix that currently have no real rhyme or reason to the way they were tossed into some boxes. While I was doing that, SaraRules decided to see what was on TV. She found Independence Day on A&E. She wasn’t aware that we own the movie, so I asked if she wanted to watch the DVD and not have to deal with commercials. She did… and I stopped sorting ‘Clix to watch The Fresh Prince and The Fly save the world. Again.

> Play >
Not a lot happening now, but we’re heading out to have birthday dinner with Chris (of Chris and Mary) a little later. Beyond that… who knows?

Four-Color Coverage
I picked up Incognegro as part of last week’s comics haul.

I’ve wanted to read it, since hearing about it roughly a year-and-a-half ago, but hadn’t gotten around to it. The story tells the tale of Zane Pinchback, a reporter in 1930s New York whose articles give first-hand accounts of lynchings in the South.

The twist: Mr. Pinchback is a Negro.

He gets away with covering the stories and writing his articles for two reasons:

1. He is passing – his complexion is fair enough to let him appear white.
2. He writes his stories under the nom de plume “Incognegro.”

The story takes an odd turn when Zane is given an assignment go to Tupelo, Mississippi. It appears that Zane’s twin – and darkly-complected – brother is about to be lynched for the death of a white woman.

Incognegro, written by Mat Johnson (1, 2, 3) – a light-skinned Black man, himself – is adeptly written.  Its characters aren’t just stereotypical caricatures; they have depth. The settings aren’t just backdrops, they add to the flavor of the scenes. The story also contains a few interesting plot twists, as well.

All-in-all, this was a solid read, and it’s one that I recommend.

Stray Toasters

• I have come to the conclusion that I want to get (back into) model railroading. Not immediately, but possibly in the next year or so. I think that I want to do O Scale, probably a mixture of Lionel and MTH. (What can I say?  It’s roughly ‘Clix-scale. Win-Win.) I started looking at some of the pieces I want and their prices. This could be a pricey hobby.
• A Giant Awakes in Nantes
• Flashmobs + gold pants = ?!?

  Thanks to for forwarding this to me.

• 8 Things Modern Vampires Could Learn from ‘The Lost Boys’
• On a sadder note: Parents rammed cars into burning day care
• Naturally 7: Where Voices Become Instruments of Soul
• , this might be of help to you: How to Choose Headphones
• The Mother of All Potato Cannons

Namaste.

Saturday – 06 June 2009
Last night, I slept poorly. Phenomenally so. (do0-DOO-do0-d00-d00!) After nodding off on the couch, I decided to call it a night. But, once I got into bed, I couldn’t fall asleep. I tossed and turned for… an interminable amount of time — I tend not to watch the clock when I have a problem falling asleep, as it just tends to irritate and annoy me further. When I finally did fall asleep, I kept having dreams with a common theme: Zombies. The dreams weren’t really “connected” aside from the fact that I think they all had zombies in them. After waking from the last one, I decided to get up and start the day.

This afternoon, SaraRules and I are heading to a park for a walk… and maybe a little frisbee-tossing. Other than that, the day’s fairly wide open.

Stray Toasters

• Apparently, Firestorm is set to appear on Batman: The Brave and the Bold. I wonder which Firestorm (1, 2) it will be…
• 
• Apple to Face Challenge at WWDC
• Ever thought about owning your own railroad car? This site has some valuable information about it.
• US intelligence nominee withdraws
• Tom and Lorenzo, the guys behind Project Rungay, have an interview with comics writer/artist Phil Jiminez: Getting Our Nerd On
• Japan: Man Beaten into False Confession of Child Murder Set Free After 17 Years in Prison

Time to find some trouble to get into.

Namaste.

Friday – 05 June 2009
Another quiet skeleton crew Friday in the office. After starting the day with 2112, I spent about 30 minutes talking with our CTO about some of his experiences with international travel. That was followed up by a conversation with our CFO about our meeting yesterday and the direction that we (IT dept) need to go to make sure that things we discussed yesterday continue to move along.

Last night, SaraRules and I watched Ball of Fire, starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck – a screwball comedy. In it, Cooper plays Bertram Potts, a professor who is part of an 8-man team working on a new encyclopedia. Professor Potts is working on a section on “slang,” but realizes that despite his masterful knowledge of the English language, he knows next to nothing about modern slang; he sets out to find people who know and use it. One of those people is Katherine “Sugarpuss” O’Shea, a nightclub performer… and gangster’s moll. And from there, hijinks ensue. It was a fun movie and, though despite showing its age in a few places , a good way to spend an evening.

Stray Toasters

• Bruce Campbell was interviewed on Talk of the Nation yesterday.
• Apple Above, the Pack Below
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Bacon gumballs
• Festival for New York, That Muslim City
• The Shrinking Majority – Rise & Fall: Mormon Majority Is Slipping Away, by way of
• Database of all the toxins in your cosmetics and personal care products
• 
• The Green Fairy
• The Civic Value of a Bold Statement
• By way of :

  

• D&D-style map of C++
• Ending a 60-Year Gig at the NY Philharmonic

Namaste.

Thursday – 04 June 2009
Last night, I had a couple of new ideas about HeroClix masterboards. While I’ve liked the foam insulation-backed boards, they are thick and, especially in the case of the first one, difficult to transport. (I didn’t cut the first board so that it could fold.) After looking at the multi-level (and multi-layer) board on ToyChop, I started rethinking my ideas about baseboards.  A quick jaunt over to Office Depot gave me what I think is a good idea: Using a project board as the base. The first – and, in my opinion, most advantageous – benefit that it offers is that it is thin. Next, it is light. Third, After I cut off one of the sides, it will fold down to 12″x36″x½”. Win-Win-Win. (Granted, that will still leave 1½” of overhang for the corners, but that’s pretty easy to deal with.)

This morning, I had a meeting that was scheduled to be 3½ hours long. Fortunately, we were done in under two hours. Hallelujah.

Wes and I made it to the gym this afternoon:

• Sit-ups (decline): 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 205 lbs
• Flys: 3 sets/10 reps, 110 lbs
• Lower Back Extensions: 3 sets/20 reps, 140 lbs
• Reverse Flys: 3 sets/10 reps, 80 lbs
• Tricep Extensions (dumbbell, overhead): 3 sets/12 reps, 40 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs

Post-workout weight: 188.1 lbs.

Stray Toasters

• Armstrong’s ‘poetic’ slip on the moon
• OAS revokes 47-year-old suspension of Cuba
• Obama in Egypt reaches out to Muslim world
• SaraRules, and tipped me to some sad news: Actor David Carradine found dead and Police rule out foul play for now. I remember watching Mr. Carradine in reruns of Kung Fu when I was growing up.
• Another tip of the hat to Nyx for pointing out: Comics Grammar and Tradition
• The opening to last night’s Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson featured They Might Be Giants’ Istanbul

• How to Sustain Motivation When You’re Struggling
• It’s apparently “Wear Some of My Old Ties” and “Wear a Themed Tie” week for me. Yesterday, I wore a World Wildlife Fund dolphin tie and today I’m wearing a Save the Children puppet show tie.
• Tetris Turns 25, and It’s Still an Addictive Pleasure
• The new season of Burn Notice kicks off tonight.

Allez-oop!

Namaste.

Wednesday – 03 June 2009
Today is Sushi and Comics Wednesday, as there were no holidays to disrupt the comics shipping schedule. It’s apparently also National Tailors Day.

I’m still feeling pretty well this morning. I’m not sure what yesterday’s mystery malady was, but I’m glad that it’s gone. (Or some reasonable facsimile thereof.)

Stray Toasters

• I had a few odd dreams last night. It happens. But, in one of them, my subconscious apparently came up with a very cool two-part, a capella version of If You Believe, from The Wiz.
• T-shirts that amuse me:
  • Care and Feeding of Your Zombie
  • There is no Pac-Man. There is only Zuul.
• Crucial Air France crash data may be lost at sea
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” and “Everybody needs a bosom for a pillow” files: iBoobs
  (Seriously, who comes up with things like this?!)
• 
• How To… Tip Around the World, courtesy of
• Also from Nyx: What happened to me and the new girl (or “The Girl Who Cried Webmaster”)
• Why Apple can afford to phone it in on the next iPhone

Right on to the friction of the day…

Namaste.

Tuesday – 02 June 2009
I was a little bit slow out of the gate this morning, but not ridiculously so. It was more a case of “Yes, I’m awake… but I’m not really in a rush to get ready.” And, despite the fact that I got ready in a fairly leisurely fashion, I was still in by 8:00.

Last night, we had dinner at SaraRules’ parents’ place. After dinner, she, Logan, Steve and I played bocce (not to be confused with “speaking Bocce“) in the backyard. I’d never played before, but it was rather fun. After the game (Logan won), we watched Taken. It was as good the second time as when we first saw it. Then, we headed home.

Stray Toasters

• Yet another reason I love SaraRules – she sent me a link to this.
• Badda-Bing Indeed
• Last night, a KC-135 and four F-16 escorts were doing circles around the valley. After the third or fourth loop, we decided to look up what was going on. It was to kick of Air Force Week.
• Booker T: A Soul Man Tackles OutKast – this is an interesting instrumental cover of Hey Ya by a legendary soul music artist… and features Neil Young on guitar, as well.
• Jet Cyclist Hits 73MPH and Lives to Tell the Tale
• Playing with the queen of hearts
  Knowing it ain’t really smart
  The joker ain’t the only fool
  Who’ll do anything for you
• Guantanamo files ‘must be public’
• Spirograph business cards… which, in turn, led me to Business cards made from meat
• According to a post on WikiHow, today is National Leave the Office Earlier Day
• Send headshot to get portrait painted

Right on to the friction of the day…

Namaste.

Monday – 01 June 2009
Not only a new work week, but a new month kicks off, as well.

Yesterday was relaxing and fun. SaraRules and I kicked off the morning with breakfast… and Planet of the Apes (the one with Charlton Heston, not Marky Mark and the Monkey Bunch). I hadn’t seen it in a very long time. When the movie was done, we got about the business of the day.

We started off with a trip to Toys ‘R’ Us. I’m in search of 1:43 and/or 1:48 scale cars and trucks – they are much easier to buy than to try and cut out of papercraft models. Perry had mentioned that TRU had some, so I went to check them out. He was right. Exerting Green Lantern-like levels of willpower, I refrained from buying any. (Personal Win!) From there, we headed down to visit Perry, Kate and the kids. They’re doing well.

We headed homeward, with a stop at the store for dinner – we were having SaraRules’ mother and brother over for Sunday dinner. Logan came over a little early and introduced me to Gears of War 2. The overall learning curve for the game isn’t very steep, but getting the finesse points will take me a bit. Bonne showed up a little later and shortly after that, it was time to eat. Last night’s fare: Jambalaya with salad and cornbread. (Dinner Win!) And, for dessert: Chocolate chip cookies. After dinner, SaraRules, Logan and I watched Hostage; neither Logan nor I had seen it before. It wasn’t bad. Bruce Willis starred as a former L.A. police negotiator who transitions to a small town police chief after a negotiation goes… bad. Unfortunately, things in his sleepy burgh didn’t stay quiet for long. All-in-all, not a bad flick.

After the movie, I went to work on a small HeroClix board for Perry’s oldest son.

Small beginner's/teaching board for 'Clix

Perry wants to teach him the game – and wants me to help teach/coach him – so I figured that a small board would be a good way to teach him the basics and then let him move up from there. I’m thinking that I’ll start him off with a “no powers,” just by the numbers game. I figure a basic “police vs. thugs/henchmen” would be a good way to go. To help me test out the theory (and to try out the new board), I stepped SaraRules through the basics of the rules and then we tried a couple of rounds. It seemed to go well and she said that the way I explained the rules was both simple and straightforward. So, it looks like we have a “Go” for this setup.

Stray Toasters

• I looked up the information on Hostage after watching the movie. One of the young actors in the movie was Ben Foster. The name sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it… so, I looked him up on IMDb. He was in X-Men: The Last Stand, 30 Days of Night, and 3:10 to Yuma, among others. He’s a versatile young man.
• Ten Applications That Changed Computing
• How to Play Pinball Like a Pro
• Morbid Anatomy: A blog dedicated to Victorian anatomical curiosities
• Guess what’s (kind of, sort of) back…



• In Pictures: General Motors and GM enters bankruptcy protection
• While I like the shirt that I’m wearing today, I had apparently forgotten something important about it: No matter how much starch I use when ironing it, it wrinkles if you look at it crosswise.  *sigh*
• The Real British X-Files

Attack the day
Like birds of prey…

Namaste.

Sunday – 31 May 2009
Yesterday, SaraRules and I decided to visit the International Peace Gardens. We were concerned about the weather, it looked as though it might pour down rain before – or while – we were there. Fortunately, it didn’t. We were there for about an hour (give or take); I came away with over 200 pictures, but narrowed it down to roughly 160. Pictures of our excursion can be seen here.

Last night, we went to Arbavanel Hall to hear Bernstein’s MASS (1, 2, 3), which also served as Keith Lockhart’s final performance as Music Director and conductor of Utah Symphony. It was an amazing performance. There were roughly 200 performers on-stage – musicians, singers, dancers. It was an epic production; Mr. Lockhart chose well for his final work. The piece followed a Catholic Mass, over the course of which both the congregation and the celebrant come to question their faith. There are some themes that might prove disturbing to some, but as a whole, it is a great work of art.

Stray Toasters

• I used to get Hess toy trucks when I was younger. I didn’t realize that they would become collector’s items.
• NFL announces 2009 AFL ‘Legacy Games’
• 
• Cuba, U.S. to resume talks on migration
• Planet of the Apes (1968) is on Retroplex. Monkeys!
• Undercover at Liberty University
• Canadian cinema fined $10,000 for privacy invasion over bag-search
• 
• Obama meets pre-election pledge: taking Michelle to Broadway
• Homeless people and the Internet
• Dwayne McDuffie fired from Justice League
• Scientists can grow stem cells in a petri dish

Namaste.

Friday – 29 May 2009
Thank God and whomever came up with the 9/80 schedule. Last night, I was tired — so tired that I was in bed before midnight. I slept in this morning… until after 1000. Yep, I was that tired. And it was really nice to be able sleep in. SaraRules fixed pancakes and eggs for breakfast; we ate it while watching Dogfights – “The Flying Tigers” on The History Channel:

FLYING TIGERS
Two weeks after Pearl Harbor, a courageous, rag-tag band of American mercenaries dare to challenge the overwhelming might of the Japanese Air Force. The legendary “Flying Tigers” slash through the skies of China, and help vanquish the unstoppable Japanese. Follow leading Tiger aces Tex Hill and John Alison as their P-40 Tomahawks fight to the death against the agile Japanese I-97 Nate.

It was rather neat. They had historians, as well as a few of the Tigers, describing some of the missions. They also included some animated recreations of dogfights.

Last night, we went to the Main Library to hear a lecture by Jamie Bernstein, daughter of the late composer Leonard Bernstein. She was talking about Mass (1, 2), the piece being performed by Utah Symphony tomorrow night as Keith Lockhart’s final performance as Utah Symphony’s Music Director and conductor. The lecture and most of the questions were quite good. It was nice to hear Ms. Bernstein talk about the piece from a personal perspective. Mass should be something to see ; according to a rep from the symphony, a limited number of tickets are still available.

Stray Toasters

• By way of : EFF chairman makes a ‘Downfall’ remix

• Why our ‘amazing’ science fiction future fizzled
• KISS + LEGO = THIS
• For : Pee-Wee voices BatMite
• McDuffie fired from JLA
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: To the army, Sweat = Threat
• Also from the “WTF” file: Anti-Smoking Pressure Group Takes Aim at Wolverine
• ‘Kidnapped son’ found on Facebook
• Boingboing.net is soliciting questions for an upcoming Michael Moorcock interview.
• 
• Man who drove into City Hall gets 10-year sentence
• More countries should have this problem: Netherlands runs out of criminals, has to shut prisons

Time to go out and find some trouble to get into.

Namaste.

Thursday – 28 May 2009
Another NBN Thursday in the valley. So far this one has been quiet; let’s hope it stays that way.

Last night, SaraRules and I watched The Taking of Pelham One Two Three; I wanted to see it before the remake is released. For a movie that’s thirty-five years old, it was good. Very good, indeed. So good that I’m planning on finding a copy for our movie collection. For those unfamiliar with the story, it tells the tale of four men who stage a daring middle-of-the-day hijacking of a New York City subway and the NY Transit Authority police officer who has to deal with the situation. It was well-paced, well-thought out and (with a couple of minor exceptions) well-acted. It will be interesting to see how things in the new movie are changed to compensate for the changes in technology – computers, GPS, cell phones – in the past 35 years.

Stray Toasters

• How Comic Fans & Shops Are Stereotyped
• …speaking of which, new comics come out today! (But, I’ll probably wait until tomorrow to get mine.)
• Flying in comfort: How do the major airlines stack up?
• The trials you are now facing
  They are not greater than your will
  For there is nothing under heaven
  You cannot overcome
  See the door that lies before you
  And know this too shall pass
  The confrontation of your fears
  In strength drawn from the past
• Banks find ways to boost fees; checking accounts latest target
• Manga collector faces 15 years in jail because some of his comics included sexual images of children
• 
• Toys R Us acquires high-end retailer FAO Schwartz
• Babylonian Heritage
• The Best of Morrison/The Worst of Morrison

Ready, set… go!

Namaste.

Wednesday – 27 May 2009
Yesterday was a long day. A little before lunchtime, I had a meeting that should have lasted 10 to 15 minutes. Operative words: “Should have.” Instead it ran closer to thirty and wound up becoming one person’s “rage against the machine.” That led to a second meeting – which I didn’t have to attend – which, in turn, led to a third meeting (yep, I was in this one). Between meetings two and three, Wes and I went to the gym. I needed a good way to work off some of the frustration and irritation of Meeting #1. Yesterday’s workout included:

• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 205 lbs
• Rotary Chest: 3 sets/10 reps, 70 lbs
• Compound Row: 3 sets/10 reps, 125 lbs
• Dumbbell Curl (with Shoulder Press): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Decline Sit-ups: 3 sets/10 reps
• Push-ups: 2 sets/15 reps

Post-workout weight: 186.6 lbs.

It was a good workout – I was sufficiently tired (and a little sore) when we were done.

After work, I headed home for a bit and then headed over to Chris’ for a game of HeroClix with him, and an as-yet-undetermined fourth player. We decided to go with 600 points  I’d been itching to run a Legion team for a while, so I did:

• Cosmic Boy
• Karate Kid
• Lightning Lad
• Saturn Girl
• Supergirl and
• Young Superman Superboy

Supergirl brought the much-vaunted “Superman Ally” team ability – “Stealth? You have stealth?! WHAT stealth?! Did you not see the big red ‘S’ on my chest?!” The Legion, being a team of Wild Cards, could all copy that team ability.  (“Yes, Batman, all of us can see you over there. You, too Black Canary and Green Arrow.”) brought KC Shazam!, The Mighty Thor and Energizer – he wanted to see how the big guns (Shazam and Thor) played.

As we were without a fourth player, Chris brought his tournament team (OOTS Batman, Green Arrow and The Flash) along with KC Superman. When we noted that our fourth had bailed on us, we chose to let Chris play at 1200 points, because 3-way battles kind of suck. He decided to bring more Justice League members, giving him 1200 points of JLA hurt. When I saw Chris’ lineup, I probably should have changed my team, but I really wanted to play the LSH, so I stuck with them… and then the beatdown started.

Opening moves were good, but the overwhelming force of Chris’ JLA team wore down Shazam… and Thor… and 2/3 of the Legion, before we called it quits. On the plus side, we took out… wait… we didn’t take out ANY of his pieces. No plus side. FAIL. (We did damage a couple of them, though! Pyrric moral victory? Silver lining?) After the game, Chris looked at his team – and the feats that he had on them – and realized two things:

1. We pretty much didn’t stand a chance against that strong of a single-themed team
2. He used too many feats on his figures

There’s a “10% Rule” in HeroClix that says that 10% of your points can be assigned to feats. He was “a little” (about 40 points) over that total. I don’t think that it was a total game-breaker, but it might have affected a couple of things.

This morning, I woke up stiff and sore. As I said, yesterday’s workout was a good one. I also realized that I woke up a few times during the night due to workout-induced achiness in my back and shoulders. But, it’s good training and it builds character… I guess. All-in-all, so far, it’s been a good and relatively quiet day. I like that.

Stray Toasters

• Dance Dance Immolation – “Dance Dance Revolution. With Flamethrowers. Pointed at You.”
• Final Word: The rebirth of cool suits him to a T
• Salt Lake Valley Health Department: Public Health Inspections
  See how your favorite local restaurant scored.
• Bayou: chilling ghost story, a graphic novel about race and haunts in the deep south
• Think you know Ensign Chekov? Guess again.
• We stand our ground, we are young, we rely on our defiance just to lose what we have found
• 
• For – Fear and Loathing: The Board Game
• Burris on wiretap: ‘Keep me in mind’ for Senate seat

Attack the day…

Namaste.

Tuesday – 26 May 2009
Back in the saddle again…
Another work week kicks off, but fortunately… it’s an abbreviated week. Three-day work weeks should be standard. This morning, I wasn’t prepared for the alarm to go off. I was in the middle of a dream and, once my brain wrapped itself around the concept of “alarm going off,” I bolted awake and scrambled for the clock’s off button. *GAH*

Yesterday, SaraRules and I rearranged the bedroom, assembled the bookcases and moved them into the bedroom. The new arrangement looks nice, but will take a bit of getting used to. After that, we headed out for a while. As we slept in and worked through lunch, we decided to have a late lunch/early dinner at Pawit’s. Unfortunately, they were closed when we got there. Instead, we went to Jasmine. I had the House Lo Mein (beef, chicken and shrimp), along with Wonton Soup and an Alaskan Roll (sushi). The food was good, as usual. Then came meandering about town.

Chris called and asked if I was available for and interested in playing HeroClix. That was unexpected, as we are supposed to be playing tonight (which we’re still doing). I told him that I was and invited him over. We decided to go with a 600 point, themed game. We settled on Teen Titans vs. X-Men (pictures here); I hadn’t used them before and thought that they sounded like a fun team to test out. We traded bad dice rolls – Chris’ came early in the game, mine around the middle of the game.  I managed to take out Wolverine and Nightcrawler before the Titans got wiped out. I can’t blame dice rolls for all the problems – I made a few tactical errors a few moves into the game that wound up getting me into a bind later. But, I find that I liked the Titans – I’ll have to play them again and see how they fare.

After Chris left, SaraRules and I watched The Terminator. Some of the special effects don’t hold up – and the cheesy 80’s synth music was cringe-worthy – but it was fun. And it continued the “Robots Blowing Stuff Up” weekend. I discovered a few interesting bits of trivia, after the movie, but among the most noteworthy/laughable:

O.J. Simpson was considered for the role of the Terminator, but the producers feared he was “too nice” to be taken seriously as a cold-blooded killer.

Stray Toasters

• I think I have tonight’s ‘Clix team figured out.
• Giving a voice
• Mouse Guard: kid-friendly RPG where you get to play a mouse with a sword!
• Obama chooses Supreme Court judge
• Why it’s hard not to stare at facial deformities
• 
• Is Crohn’s Disease on the rise because we’ve eliminated hookworm infections?
• DoD Sharing Threat Data with Critical Industries
• U.S. journalists got Watergate tip, but missed scoop of the century
• Nevada wacky race with $500 cars

Zoom.

Namaste.

Monday – 25 May 2009
Today is Memorial Day. Thank you to the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces who sacrificed their lives – or portions thereof – to ensure our safety and security.

After we got back from IKEA, I went to hang out with Perry for a bit. I came back home and hung out while SaraRules started dinner: Barbecue chicken, green beans and cornbread. Logan came over for dinner and we watched Transformers, as kind of a refresher before the new movie comes out. After Logan left, SaraRules and I watched a few epsidoes of Justice League before she called it a night.

Human of the Day
Today’s HotD citation goes out to the servicemen and women – past and present – of the Armed Forces, with a special nod to friends and family.

Four-Color Coverage
I finished reading Locke and Key: Welcome to Lovecraft, a hardcover graphic novel I picked up a couple of weeks ago, on Saturday. It’s a horror/suspense story about the Locke family, who moves to Lovecraft, Massachussetts, following the death of the father and move into the house where he grew up. A house full of secrets – some fun and good, but others dark and almost palpably evil. The story primarily follows the Locke children and their attempts to not only reconcile their father’s death, but to also cope with the new changes in their lives.

This volume collected the first six issues of Locke and Key and was a solid read. I didn’t find the story wholly predictable and enjoyed the twists that the author, Joe Hill, threw at the reader. If you’re looking for a comic that’s not your usual “cape-and-tights slugfest,” I recommend giving this book a once-over.

Stray Toasters

• Obama pays tribute to all vets – Rebels and slaves, included
• Powell: In GOP, says party must be more inclusive
• Today is also Towel Day.

  

• Superb fan-made Green Lantern movie trailer
• Royal chauffeur suspended after alleged palace security breach
• I have at least four theme ideas that I need to pare down to one idea for a ‘Clix team to use tomorrow.
• In Civil War, Woman Fought for Freedom Like a Man
• , this one’s for you: Alaska Hosts Battle of the Beards

That’s a good stopping point.

Namaste.

Friday – 22 May 2009
It’s almost the weekend, and it’s a long weekend, at that. Win-Win. I’m Ivory Soap sure that there will be even fewer people than usual in the office today. I should have brought in my Xbox…

Last night, SaraRules and I had over for dinner. Ms. ‘Rules fixed spaghetti, with homemade sauce and garlic bread… and chocolate chip cookies! We also had a rather good Chardonnay from Sebeka Wines. We watched Planet Earth: Fresh Water and Food Network Challenge: Bartenders Battle as we ate. After each episode of Planet Earth, there is a feature called “Planet Earth Diaries,” in which they detail some of the methods used in filming that particular episode. In “Fresh Water,” there was a segment about The Amazon, in which they filmed pirahna during a feeding frenzy. The cameraman was in the water, just a few feet away from the frenzy… “shooing” away pirahna that roamed away from the underwater buffet with his bare hands. I made a comment to the effect of “I hope that they paid their camera crews really well for this.”

Stray Toasters

• Early Morning Dance Break (extended remix)
  • Mai Yamane & Seatbelts – Tank!
  • Blackstreet (ft. Mya and Ma$e) – Take Me There
  • Was (Not Was) – Walk the Dinosaur
  • Robbie Williams – Feel
  • The Cruxshadows – Carnival
  • Indigo Swing – Regular Joe
• Get The Hint’ mini sticky notes
• pointed out a couple of interesting items:
  • 100 Layer Cake and
  • Web site sparks creative ideas for city’s vacant lots
• Sherlock Holmes trailer released
• The title of this article says it all: Tim Gunn, Agent of Marvel… what?
• 15 Wonderful Uses for Witch Hazel
• Fliptop Twister
• Dan Aykroyd says ‘Ghostbusters 3’ may start filming in winter
• Celebrity Vampires
• 
• ‘Star Trek’ director J.J. Abrams on tribbles and the ‘Galaxy Quest’ problem
• Whites become minority in Kansas county
• Gadgets Gone Wild – Top 10 AIs Run Amok

And so it goes…

Namaste.

Thursday – 21 May 2009
Last night, SaraRules and I went with her father and brother on an expedition to Utah County.  They were heading to Cabela’s and we tagged along. That’s right, another journey to Outdoorsmen ‘R’ Us — Logan wanted to pick up a new fly fishing rod; Steve needed some ammo. So, off we went. There was a Black couple that walked into the store just ahead of us; my first thought: “What are they thinking?!  They’re going in there without a protective shield of White people! They must be lost…” It made me laugh. The rest of the evening was less eventful, but relaxing.

Stray Toasters

• Steampunk D&D Beholder Sculpture
• Rachel sent me a link to You Are What You Eat
• had a few things to say about the outcome of last night’s American Idol finale.
• The Gear of War
• Today is apparently National Waitstaff Day…
• …and, as a friendly reminder: Monday, 25 May 2009, is not only Memorial Day, it’s Towel Day, as well.

  

• : You might consider getting this for either (or both) of the kids.
• While talking with Nathan about Star Wars and Star Trek, I came across an IMDb listing for something called Star Trek vs. Batman, a fanfilm. I actually watched some of the first part. Fascinating… in a geeky/dorky kind of way.
• A&E has a sweepstakes in which you can win a trip to Las Vegas to see Hammer in concert. (You know… in case you missed his tour with Vanilla Ice a few months ago.)
• LEGO: Building Block of Post-War Hope
• From the “Take the Money and Run” file: NZ hunts accidental millionaires
• V teaser – The Aliens Are Our Friends

Moving right along…

Namaste.