Random Access

Monday – 26 January 2009
There’s a new blanket of snow in the valley. It started yesterday – mostly flurries in the valley, slightly heavier on the benches.

I got into the office this morning to find an email requesting that we move some equipment… by close of business today. That’s all well and good. The problem that I had was that it wasn’t sent until almost 7:00 PM Friday night – long after I had left. *grblsnrkx* We got most of it done before lunch. We’ll finish the minor stuff later.

Stray Toasters

• The Council for Better Driving: Utah would like to remind motorists to take care when driving in this week’s inclement weather.
• Obama pushing stronger fuel-efficiency standard
• The case against Candy Land
• 
• The Great Escape + Benny Hill = Something Like This
• How to Become a Bounty Hunter
• Quick rebound? Success of young NFL coaches gives hope
• 
• Pope welcomes Facebook, but cautions
• The MST3K Crew Reunites for Live Webcast

Lunch beckons.

Namaste.

Friday – 23 January 2009
The week draws to a close… with fog and haze in the valley. It’s dense enough that I can barely see the freeway. Then it rolls out. And back in. Even Otis Redding didn’t see this much action.

Last night, OnlyAly and came over for dinner.  SaraRules cooked a maple chicken, with carrots and roasted potatoes, which was delicious. During and after dinner, the four of us discussed wedding-related items: Things that SaraRules and I have talked/thought about and things to consider, reminiscences of their wedding and the lead-up to it, and the like. It was a great way to spend the evening.

Later in the night, I watched an NCIS rerun and the new episode of CSI:. I am liking Laurence Fishburne’s character, Dr. Ray Langston. He portrays him with an interesting sense of curiosity and wonder… balanced with a desire to prove that he can hold his own on the established team. I didn’t get to watch the season premiere of Burn Notice, but it’s on the DVR.

Stray Toasters

• By way of SaraRules: 10 Stories behind Dr. Seuss stories
• Apple’s first Macintosh turns 25
• My feelings about Hover, as a superpower, are pretty well-known. It seems as though there is now a site dedicated to Super-useless Superpowers.
• The Art of Phil Noto
• From Newsarama’s Blog: Craig McCracken – PPG, Foster’s and Comics?
• President Obama Still Has His Blackberry in White House
• Obama’s Outfits: ‘A real departure for first ladies’
• Lawsuit may stop impeachment trial
• Green light for US stem cell work
• By way of and Best of Craigslist: This bitter little pill.
• Zombie Fluxx Card Game

Namaste.

Thursday – 22 January 2009
Last night, SaraRules and I went downtown to see Utah Opera’s performance of Regina. I was looking forward to it, as it is not only a modern (1949) American opera, but it is performed in English – I wanted to see if it was easier to follow without having to divert my attention to the supertitles.

It was… well… let’s just say that I now have a “least favorite opera.” I was truly underwhelmed by the overall performance, as was SaraRules. I asked her to rate it, she gave it a 5.8; she asked me to do the same – I gave it a 4.0… possibly a 5.0… out of ten.  Why? My reasons include:

• In the first act, there were two or three portions where the cast broke the fourth wall… that seemed rather contrived, almost as if they didn’t expect the audience to be able to piece together something that had just occurred onstage,
• The breaks between accompanied and a capella parts – both spoken and sung – were harsh and jarring to me,
• The casting of Deanne Meek as Regina Giddens – mostly her voice didn’t seem to lend itself to the performance; she often seemed overwhelmed by the orchestration,
• The costuming seemed out of place for the period, and
• The production quality – sound, use of microphones(!?) – didn’t seem up to Utah Opera’s normal standards.

There were some redeeming qualities, however:

• The casting of Lisa Vroman as Birdie Hubbard
• The casting of Kristopher Irmiter as Horace Giddens
• The casting of Tracey Luck as Addie
• The set design – I really liked how the set transformed from indoors to outdoors and back

And, to be honest, the redeeming items added at least two points to my rating. To be fair, I would be willing to see this again, if performed by another company, to juxtapose the performances before completely writing off this opera.

Stray Toasters

• Not many men wear hats these days. Not baseball caps, hats. I’ve started wearing them more often. While I have “more than a few” baseball caps in my collection, I also have a fedora, a kofia and a couple of newsboy-style hats. Along with wearing a hat comes etiquette for wearing one.
• Obama sworn in for second time
• ‘Queen of Soul’ not pleased with performance at inauguration
• The not-so-super team: Best players never to reach the final
• First look: Star Trek toys go boldly nouveau
• Another item for men’s style and fasion: A Salesman’s Guide to Men’s Shopping with Success
• The 2009 Oscar nominations are out…
• …as are the 2009 Razzie nominations.
• The Obama Administration brings back the Freedom of Information Act and transparency in government

Namaste.

Wednesday – 21 January 2009
Midweek and all’s well.

Last night, Chris came over for dinner and ‘Clix gaming. SaraRules fixed a tasty southwestern chicken dish, with corn and tomatoes and rice pilaf. Very tasty. We ate and watched NCIS before playing.  After dinner, SaraRules went into the office and quilted; Chris and I played dolls.

We had Round 2 of our Green Lantern Corps vs. Sinestro Corps battle; this time, I played the Sinestro Corps. As an added bonus, I finally got to use some of the terrain I got from World Works Games:

(click images for larger versions)

Chris lined up with:

• Abin Sur
• Big Barda and Mister Miracle
• Ganthet
• Green Lantern (Guy Gardner)
• Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)
• Kyle Rayner
• Sinestro
• Tomar-Re

I brought a fairly beefy SiCorps to the table:

• Arkillo
• Batman
• Lyssa Drak
• Manhunter (Arkham Asylum, 2 figures)
• Manhunter (Cosmic Justice, Rookie)
• Parallax
• Sinestro
• Superman Prime

And it was on. We weren’t playing tournament rules, so we just had a good, old-fashioned slugfest and shootout. And, in the end, I wound up winning the game. This brings the Sinestro Corps to two wins and zero losses. We discussed the fact that – assuming that the HeroClix line finds a pulse soon – WizKids/Pinata needs to update a lot (read: “most”) of the Green Lantern Corps’ figures, because there aren’t a lot of heavy hitters in the current sets… and while they may do “okay,” they can’t really go toe-to-toe with many of the newer figures for long.

Stray Toasters

• Black first family ‘changes everything’
• From BBC News: Notes to Obama: Maya Angelou
• Apple quietly updates $999 white MacBook with unibody specs
• Drew sent a ink to: Rainer Spehl Wood MacBook Case
• 
• Because it came up on the iPod this morning while I was eating breakfast – and got stuck in my head – here’s a bit of musical joy (or pain) for you:
  

  You’re sleek as a thoroughbred.
  Your seats are a feather bed.
  You’ll turn everybody’s head today.
  We’ll glide on our motor trip
  With pride in our ownership
  The envy of all we survey.

  Oh Chitty, you Chitty
  Pretty Chitty Bang Bang
  Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
  We love you.
  And Chitty our Chitty
  Pretty Chitty Bang Bang
  Chitty Chitty Bang Bang loves us too.
  High Chitty low Chitty anywhere we go
  On Chitty Chitty we depend.
  Bang Bang Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
  Our fine four fendered friend.
  Bang Bang Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
  Our fine four fendered friend

• Science vs. emotion in NJ’s river dolphins debate
• And, in today’s “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” news: Blow-up doll sex suspect arrested in Australia
  

Namaste.

Tuesday – 20 January 2009
And with these words:

I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. So help me, God.

Barack Obama has become the 44th President of the United States of America.

Monday – 19 January 2009
First, I’d like to wish everyone a good Martin Luther King Day.

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As I wasn’t sure what we’d be doing or where we would be today, I didn’t make plans to volunteer anywhere. But, SaraRules and I did decide to do something: We have collected clothing and household items that we no longer need – or have too many of – and will be taking those to the local Salvation Army in a little while. Hopefully, someone will be able to benefit from them.

Tomorrow, another piece of Dr. King’s dream will come to fruition as Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States of America.

Some have claimed that he is the realization of Dr. King’s dream. Some have ascribed nigh-superhuman powers to him, expecting him to stride into office and make everything alright by the sheer magnitude of his presence. Others say that the fight for equality is merely one step closer to being won rather than being something in our past:

• Most blacks say MLK’s vision fulfilled, poll finds
• Civil rights vets: Fight not over because Obama reaches top

The truth lies somewhere in the middle, I think.

The best way to respond is to say this: Barack Hussein Obama is a man. One man. A man with a vision of what he would like to see America and her citizens become. He is a man who came from a background that, not long ago, people would have easily dismissed as not being viable or suitable for becoming President of the United States of America.

But, there is where people would be wrong.

The promise of the American Dream is that anyone can aspire to – and achieve – that lofty goal, if they are willing to reach for it. Dr. King pointed it out over forty years ago. It just took time for many of us to realize it:

I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor’s lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with a new meaning, “My country, ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.”

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true.

Namaste.

Saturday – 17 January 2009
Today’s been a busy day… of sorts. We rode down to Cedar City with SaraRules’ parents to see the Zion: A Creative Perspective exhibit at SUU. Rachel came over to the gallery for a few, while we were there; it was nice to see her. Next stop: Cafe Orleans, for lunch – I had the Etoffay and a cup of the Shrimp and Chicken Gumbo. We picked up a few more things from SaraRules’ storage unit and then got on the road back to SLC.

Next on the docket: SaraRules’ company Holiday/Winter Party.

Zoom.

just posted a link to this: Pro-Life Group up in Arms over Krispy Kreme’s Abortion Doughnuts

YeahbuhWHAT?!

Seriously… do people really have nothing better to do than nitpick every little thing someone says just to try and come up with new ways of being offended?!

Political correctness is one thing, but this is just plain ridiculous.

Friday – 16 January 2009
Seven more hours and not only is the workweek toast, but I am also taking a three-day weekend, in honor of National Black Peoples’ Day Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  And, starting next week, we also start 9/80 weeks, which will give us a day off – a Friday off, at that – every other week. Win-Win.

Tomorrow, SaraRules, her parents and I are going to pull off a Smokey and the Bandit-like Cedar City run: There’s an exhibit at the Braithwaite Fine Arts Gallery that we want to see… and we have to be back in SLC in time for SaraRules’ company party tomorrow night. Hopefully, we’ll manage to see Rachel and a couple of the other MFAs while there.

Stray Toasters

• Airplane crash-lands into Hudson River; all aboard reported safe
  This is nothing short of amazing – the worst injuries that I have heard of were broken bones. Considering how much worse this could have been, that’s incredible.
• Julie, our company’s Property Manager, came up to me a little while ago and said: “You’ve had a busy week. Have some cookies,” and gave me three Tollhouse Cookies.
• I’m thinking of changing my office computer desktop to one of these for the weekend.
• Speaking of which: My jersey shipped this morning.
• Granddaughter of slave: I was ‘afraid’ for Obama
• 
• Yesterday, just before I got ready to leave work, someone from the exec end of the office came to the IT area and noted that she had “a problem” with her system. I went to check it out… yeah, there were issues. But it led to a good bit of amusement.
• I don’t know if the flight rings that they used in last night’s episode of Smallville were these rings, but it reminded me that I had looked for one a few years ago… unsuccessfully.
• Bike-light that paints a laser-lit bike lane on the road around you
• 
• HOWTO make a tailfin retro media center PC

Bippidy boppidy boo.

Thursday – 15 January 2009
Last night, we had SaraRules’ parents over for dinner. On the menu: Jambalaya. It was a nice change of pace to have them over rather than us going to their place. At one point, her father commented about it being weird, because he remembered being on the other side of the equation, years ago, and the first time that they had SaraRules’ grandparents over for dinner.

Post-dinner, SaraRules spent time finishing a quilt that she’s been working on and I channel surfed… and web-surfed. Among the things that we watched was The Late Show with David Letterman; Clint Eastwood was his first guest. The interview was good and, at one point, Dave was listing some of the pictures that Mr. Eastwood has been in and how long his career has spanned – over 50 years.

Stray Toasters

• I will have one of these in my grubby little hands in the next few days…
  

• …and one of these, too.



• By way of SaraRules:
  • Adolf Hitler, sisters taken away from parents’ home
  • Graffiti artist spins a new kind of yarn
• As I glibly mentioned yesterday: Ricardo Montalban passed away, age 88
  • NPR report
  • LA Times article
  • USA Today article
• Also, Patrick McGoohan, TV’s ‘Prisoner’ Number Six, passed away
• By way of : Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn’t seen it)

  
  Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn’t seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo.

• Obama’s ‘Beast’ of a car revealed
• pointed out this story: Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl is now Luke Steelersthal and this as well:

  

• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Vote for your favorite nominee
• Although now might not be the best time to visit: Flintstones theme park/campground in Custer, South Dakota

And, back to the the grind… and soon to the gym.

Namaste.

I just found out that Ricardo Montalban has passed away.

Even James T. Kirk was upset by this…

Wednesday – 14 January 2009
Midweek and all’s pretty much ship-shape.

Last night, SaraRules and I watched Hellboy. I’d only seen bits and pieces of the movie over the past few years, so it was nice to see it all the way through. And, it was fun.

Stray Toasters

• I talked with Rana for a bit last night; that was a pleasant surprise.
• 
• “Hold it… I ain’t pushin’ no ‘Moon’ button.”
• There will be a train show at Thanksgiving Point on 23-24 January 2009.
• If Barack Obama was a Green Lantern, would this be his emblem?

  

  (Thanks to for pointing out this pic!)

• Aretha Franklin lends her voice to history at inauguration
• Commentary: Bush still doesn’t get it
• Harper’s Index: the Bush years
• I’m (still) liking CoH on the Mac client.
• Shoot the baddies
• 
  (Click image for details)
• Zelda map in cross-stitch form
• In today’s “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!” news: RC helicopter used to smuggle contraband into prison
• US ‘fake death businessman’ found

And tonight: We’re having SaraRules’ parents over for dinner. On the menu: Jambalaya.

Namaste.

Monday – 12 January 2009
Another grey workday in the valley begins.
There’s a rumour of snow, too. We shall see…

The weekend was good, but too short… as is the complaint with most weekends. I’m extending next weekend by a day by taking Martin Luther King, Jr Day off.

Last night, SaraRules, Logan and I went to see Gran Torino. It was an amazing bit of cinema.  In trying to find things that it reminded me of, I came up with the following:

• All in the Family
• On Golden Pond and a dash of
• The Karate Kid

The analogies are not perfect, the film was not “just like” any of those, but it seemed to evoke elements of them in different ways. If you have not yet seen it, I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Stray Toasters

• Good: Baltimore is playing in the AFC Championship.
  Bad: The other team is Pittsburgh.
• I just got to pass an equipment request from a couple of our developers up the chain to my boss’ boss… and – after he stopped laughing and then posing questions to which I didn’t have answers – managed to walk out of the room without having to shop for pants with “bottom-enhancing shapewear.”
• Happy Birthday Motown
  • Motown marks its 50th anniversary
  • The tears of a town with no music around
• Top 11 Compounds in US Drinking Water
• 
• Stuff Journalists Like
• Three Rules of the Internet

• By way of The Artclash Collective: Fun-A-Day 5
• HAL’s pals: Top 10 Evil Computers

Time to see what other  kinds of trouble are looming in the wings…. or that I can stir up.

Namaste.

Saturday – 10 January 2009
After work, I came home and purchased and downloaded the CoH Mac edition. I set up the installer and then went off to coffee. When I got home, everything was ready for me to log into City. I opted to watch a little of The Late Late Show… which turned into The Late Late Show watching me. *sigh* I got into bed about 12:30.

And was up at 8:00 this morning.

That’s not an entirely “bad” thing. There’s a tournament this afternoon and this affords me an opportunity to figure out who I want to use in it. And, I can watch Batman: The Brave and the Bold while doing it. Win-Win.

Stray Toasters

• The Ravens-Titans game is at 2:30. I’m going to miss part of it, because of the tourney… but I’ll be watching as much of it as possible. And, I can always record the game, if I choose.
• put in an appearance at Clitorati last night. It was fun hanging out with him. In a not-so-odd twist, we started talking about football, while at coffee… and a guy at the next table joined in the conversation. The odd twist: He was from Cleveland and a Browns fan, too.
• Cars: Inside the Rocket-Proof Obamamobile
• Hotel 747 now boarding

Time for some Honeycomb and cartoonage, methinks.

Namaste.

Friday  – 09 January 2009
The weekend is within sight. Yesterday wasn’t a bad day, in accordance with NBN Thursday bylaws. There were a few issues, mostly resulting from some office/cubicle moves, but those were easy to deal with.

After dinner, Logan came over and watched Hellboy II: The Golden Army with us. Then he mopped the floor with me at Madden 09.

Stray Toasters

• I’ve had a couple people point out that CoH is now available on the Mac. (I don’t recall if I posted anything about it, but I’ve been playing the Open Beta for a few weeks.) The full City of Heroes Special Mac Edition is out… which means that the game is now playable on live servers. I’m still a little torn as to whether I want to spend $20 for the download (which comes with a few exclusive items) or just get the upgrade patch to go from the Beta to the Live version (no exclusive content).  Decisions, decisions…
• sent a link to the “I’m a Hero. I’m a Villain” parody ad:

• (who got it from ) sent a link to this picture and to this xkcd comic.
• Radical cheap: $1000 homes
• also sent a link to Henry Rollins: A Love Letter to Ann Coulter (some of the audio is NSFW)

• Dragon made of cake
• HDMI == good
• Yo-Yo Ma Brings Remix Culture to Music’s Ivory Tower
• EGM Magazine shutting down
• In today’s “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” news:
  • 6-Year-Old Says Grand Theft Auto Taught Him to Drive a
  • US man who gave kidney to wife includes it in divorce claim
  • Electric Batch Duckie

Namaste.