Random Access

Sunday: coda
I accomplished one of the things I had intended earlier today: I made it to IKEA.

Also on the list were: drawing (, I’ll let you know when I get started on that pic… which should be tomorrow morning) and going to the grocery store.  Those two things went *pfft* because I decided to stop by and see Kate, Perry and the kids.  Time well spent… and I can still do the other things tomorning.  I also had dinner with at Sampan.

This evening, looking for something to do, I decided to check out Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.  I have to admit that it wasn’t the movie that I was expecting.  I felt that Dead Man’s Chest (or “Pirates 2: Electric Boogaloo”) was a decent movie… but it suffered from sequel-itis, to me.  And scenes like the swordfight-on-a-waterwheel – all forty-five minutes of it (yes, I know that it was shorter than that, but it just seemed to go on forever) – seemed like they were trying too hard.

I didn’t get that feeling from AWE.  The story actually moved.  And, I was especially taken with the opening scene: The subtle, somber-to-almost-uplifting defiance of the crowd was handled very well.  Yes, I can understand some peoples’ comments about too many interweaving plots, but I don’t feel cheated.  And, probably most importantly: The movie surprised me.  In more than one spot.  Just when I thought I’d come up with “viable solution x” to a problem in the movie, they pulled a Kobayashi Maru and came up with a different answer.  I’m not going to spoil the movie for those who haven’t seen it, but I will note that viewers should stay through the credits.  Additionally, there was a trailer for The Golden Compass before AWE that looked rather interesting.

Stray Toasters

• I have just confirmed (once again) my geekiness: In the new issue of LEGO Magazine, they have a list of winners of their LEGO Clubhouse Building Challenge.  Quite frankly, they had some good nice concepts.  My first thought after looking at it: “I wonder if I have enough bricks to do Legion HQ…?“
• Homework sucks: The case against homework
• By way of Derek: Top 15 Unintentionally Funny Comic Book Panels
• While web-crawling, I came across The Greatest Harry Potter Theory Ever?  It makes a couple of interesting points…
• LEGO.com Star Wars Homepage
• Since I’ve already indirectly referenced Mr. Shatner, I’ll go ahead and link to William Shatner: The Dancehall Remix
• Skidmarks 3: Burnin’ Assphalt – Silly, but amusing stop-motion movie.
• I thought that this was funny: Ten New Rock n Roll Ice Cream Flavors for Ben & Jerry
• Tyranist, click here.
• They should release Pirates of Dark Water (1, 2, 3) on DVD.  Wait… maybe not.  I remember how much I anticipated the release of Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers (1, 2, 3) on DVD and how poorly the animation and looping held up.  Maybe they should just redo both series.
• I’d buy a ticket to see this.
• and , click here.

Namaste.

Friday – 25 May 2007
Aside from dropping my mocha – 23½ ounces of pure frozen mocha goodness – on the way into the building this morning, it’s been a good day. Quiet. Only a couple of very small fires to put out. And, I got a headstart by starting the day in the SLC office.

But there is still that whole “I dropped 23½ oz. of frozen mocha goodness” thing. *sigh*

Last night, some of the Clitorati got together for dinner at Olive Garden. I had one of the new featured dishes: Stuffed Chicken Marsala. It was rather good. I recommend it. After dinner, I went home, with the intent of checking my email and then spending some time on the mean streets of Paragon City. I made it as far as checking the email and starting the CoH loader. While waiting for a new patch to be applied, I went into the bedroom and stretched out on the bed, ostensibly “just for a minute.”

Three hours later…

Yeah, the only thing left to do at that point was turn off the lights and go to bed. And that’s what I did.

Stray Toasters

• I have spread the Gospel According to IKEA to and onlyaly. They have seen the light. *genuflect*
• knows of my… affinity… for IKEA. We were talking yesterday and this came up:

[15:23] asdf_cat: so i’ve realized something that might be a serious problem.
[15:23] shadorunr: ?
[15:23] asdf_cat: you.. drive by IKEA twice every day.
[15:23] shadorunr: Yeah.
[15:23] shadorunr: I know.
[15:24] asdf_cat: that just doesn’t seem safe for you or IKEA.
[15:29] shadorunr: http://www.applegeeks.com/comics/viewcomic.php?issue=165
[15:29] shadorunr: It’s kind of like that.
[15:30] shadorunr: http://www.applegeeks.com/comics/viewcomic.php?issue=166
[15:30] asdf_cat: yeah. a problem!
[15:31] shadorunr: Potentially.

• Shortly after this conversation, I remembered that my weekly Status Report was due. And, since it has to go to Mr. , I attached the following to my report. And it took almost NO time to come up with. Apologies to Misters Lee, Lifeson and Peart…

We’ve taken care of everything
From food to eat
To sheets you clean
And hooks on which
Your wet linen can dry

Poäng for all, Amon for one
Put together
Groove and tongue
Lack – tables or shelving
Hung up high…

We are the priests
Of the Temples of Sweden
Our great furniture
Fills the hallowed halls.
We are the Priests
Of the Temples of Sweden
Sofas, beds and lights
Are held with in our walls

• Derek sent me a link to this story, with the following commentary, which made me laugh:

[16:44] Derek: the title made me laugh more than anything
[16:44] shadorunr: Wow.
[16:45] Derek: now we know who let those mother freaking snakes on that mother freaking plane

• just sent me a link to following “news story” (link below) from Utah ABC4. Could they sensationalize this any more?! Or researched it any less?! Monkeys.

[14:54] janietrain: You should be so rpoud of your locals.
[14:54] shadorunr: Hiya.
[14:54] shadorunr: Um…
[14:54] janietrain: http://www.abc4.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoId=65333
[14:54] shadorunr: MD or NC locals?
[14:54] janietrain: Utah locals
[14:54] janietrain: Check out that video.
[14:54] janietrain: You shall laugh until you pee.
[14:55] shadorunr: Very little that they do makes me proud.
[14:55] shadorunr: 🙂
[14:55] shadorunr: *watches*
[14:55] janietrain: hehehe
[14:55] janietrain: This is possibly the most out of touch, reactionary thing I’ve ever seen in the history of TV news.

• J.A.F.O.
• Eric sent me a link to a story on NPR called ‘Rethinking Thin’ and the Myths, Realities of Dieting. It’s about a book by Gina Kolota. When I read her name, the first thing that came to mind was…

If you like Gina Kolota
Getting caught in the rain…

• Demented kids’ book photoshopping contest
• 
• Steampunk turntable

And I’m going to hit “Publish” before Firefox decides to firmly insert its head up its ass. Again.

Namaste.

Monday – 21 May 2007
Another week begins.   A short week, although I’m not sure how short it will be:  The Temple of Sweden opens on Wednesday and I think that I want to be one of the early morning teeming masses.  If that’s the case and I wind up taking the day off, I may work a full 8 – 10 on Friday.  We shall see.
Yesterday was very lax.  Uber lax.  Lax-tastic.  I went for a drive up through Parley’s and Emigration Canyons; I hadn’t done that in a while.  I capped it with a trip to Jitterbug.  I headed home and made an amazing discovery:

As a Green Lantern in training, I’m pretty familiar with the uses of willpower.  With proper focus, you can use it to create pretty much anything.  (Yeah, there’s a good reason that they call GL rings “the most powerful weapon in the universe.”)  For the past few months, I had taken it for granted that the items around my keyboard and monitors were being held up through force of willpower alone.

I was mistaken.

There was actually a desk under the accumulated debris.  The desk is still there; the debris is not.

The Scales of Justice
The Hand of Nefer-Tem spent some time in Paragon City.  The person leading the team decided to run one of my missions.  Great!  The more, the merrier.  Apparently, I should have said: “The more, the deadlier,” because we got our collective recta kicked.  A lot.  So much so that the team abandoned the mission and disbanded.  Oh, well.  I led a small group on the same mission a little later.  Yes, we died a few times… but we cleared the mission.  Now, I just need to clear that 13K of XP debt…

Stray Toasters

• I have Goldfish.  Both pretzel and cheddar.
• The Reverend Al Sharpton is in the Land Behind the Zion Curtain today, meeting with members of the LDS Church – trying to (re)build some bridges after a few… less-than-thoughtful… remarks he made over the past few weeks.

  I think that they should have him meet with members of the clergy and the laiety.  And my top pick for the secular member for him to talk with: Gladys Knight.

• I wasn’t sure if there would be one, but I was glad to see that Wikipedia does have an entry for “…said the Actress to the Bishop.“
• …and then, there’s always the Brian Bolland poster.
• galilieo’s head was on the block
  the crime was looking up the truth
  as the bombshells of my daily fears explode
  i try to trace them to my youth

  then you had to bring up reincarnation
  over a couple of beers the other night
  now i’m serving time for mistakes
  made by another in another lifetime

• Poang
• Duran Duran White Lines
• :  Thanks!  That made me smile.
• …which reminds me:  While having a comics-related conversation with Tyranist and Jason earlier, Tyranist said “Stop…” to which I replied “Hammertime!”  And then, a horrible image passed through my head:  Thor, swinging Mjolnir, doing Hammer’s “Chinese Typewriter” dance.
• 
• NOTE TO SELF: Northern Strike
• Topsy-turvy Bus

Back to it.

Namaste.

Thursday (coda)
The work day ended.  Blah blah blah.

I came home, cooked, watched two… two… two! episodes of CSI:.   Yadda yadda yadda.

Four-Color Coverage
Wow.   I didn’t realize it had been so long since I’d done one of these.  Let’s get rolling:

• The Ultimates 2: Issue 13 – It’s been… months… since the last issue of The Ultimates came out – something on the order of four to six months, I think.  But, it came out.  And I bought it.  And… and… and… yeah.  So, let’s say, hypothetically, that you’re going to invade America.  Let’s say that you’re going to send in legions of troopers, some metahumans… and the Norse God of Lies, just for good measure.  It should be a piece of cake, right?  Roll in, snap ’em off a little something and…. voila!  New land acquisition!  Right?  Right?!  Wrong.  Oh, so very wrong.  Because, you apparently forgot about Captain America and his intrepid band of heroes.  Oh, and that Norse God of Thunder.  Six months in the making… and worth the wait.
• Ultimate Fantastic Four #41 – The UFF versus Diablo.  Time travel.  Alchemy.  Magic.  Science.  And a new look for The Thing.  The only thing (no pun intended) that would have made it better would have been if Ben had said, “What a revoltin’ development!”  Oh, well… can’t have it all, I guess.
• Ultimate X-Men #81 and #82 – Sentinels, Morlocks and Beast!  Oh, my!  Wait… Beast?!  Didn’t he die about 30 issues back?!  *blink blink*  Okay.  Fine.  Moving on… I’m not sure about this title.  It seems to have lost… something.  I know people who practically say that Robert Kirkman can do no wrong.  I’m not necessarily of that opinion.  Yes, he has shaken up the status quo.  He’s pulled rabbits out of hats.  He made the book interesting… for a while.  But, I fear that my time with this title may be approaching an end.
• The Mighty Avengers #2 and #3 – What happens when Tony Stark’s armor reshapes itself into the newest incarnation of Ultron… with Tony in it?  This.  Wait…  Isn’t…um… wasn’t…. Tony a… guy?!  And why does he… she… it… look like… The Wasp?!  Oh, boy.  So, you have Ultron, the Mole Man and a bunch of the Mole Man’s creatures duking it out with the newly-minted Mighty Avengers.  In midtown Manhattan.  This brings to mind two words: “Collateral damage.”  And, there was a lot of it.  But, this is what people pay for: A book with people in costumes beating on other people in costumes.  And, as an added bonus: We find out who’s a Level Ten Agent with S.H.I.E.L.D. and just how much power that person potentially wields.
• The New Avengers #30 – More backstory on how the team wound up in Japan and their encounter with The Hand, led by Elektra.  Readers also learn who the new face is behind Ronin’s mask.  On the down side: I’m sorry, but Leinil Yu’s artwork isn’t really doing anything for me; it’s almost enough to detract from my enjoyment of the story.
• Uncanny X-Men #486 – “The Rise and Fall of the Shi’ar Empire” comes to a close in this issue.  And it goes out with a bang.  The X-Men and the Starjammers fight against the Shi’ar Imperial Army and the Imperial Guard.  And, Vulcan lashes out and kills [spoiler deleted].
• Green Lantern #19 – What do we know about Star Sapphire?  Not enough, apparently.  This issue serves as a history lesson.  We learn a little more about the “emotional spectrum” of the DCU (Green for willpower, Yellow for fear): We see that Violet represents love… as (mis)understood by the Zamarons.  We are shown how the Star Sapphires – yes, plural – choose their hosts and discover their roles, relative to the Zamarons.  I’m still getting used to Daniel Acuna’s artwork.  It’s not bad… in fact, it reminds me of Stuart Immonen’s early work in Legion of Super-Heroes, which also took me a while to warm up to.
• Justice League of America #8 and #9 and Justice Society of America #5: “The Lightning Saga” – Wow.  Seriously, wow.  This storyline is supposed to cement the ties between the JLA and the JSA… and tie their legacies to the Legion, as well.  (So you know I was hooked from the get-go.)  Seven Legionnaires trapped in the 21st Century.  For an as-yet-unrevealed mission.  Long-time Legion readers will recognize certain items that appear in the third chapter  of the story.  Hint: The last time we saw these items, it involved a dead Legionnaire.  I think that my favorite exchange, so far, comes in Chapter Two, between Superman, Stargirl, Red Tornado and Cyclone:
  Stargirl: I’d never heard of the Legion of Super-Heroes before today.  Who are they?
  Red Tornado: The Legion is a team from the 31st Century made up of representatives from dozens of different alien worlds.  They stand as a symbol of unity in a universe plagued with separatism and xenophobia.
  Superman: They were my friends.
  Cyclone: Wow.  You had a lot of friends.
  
  (click image for larger picture)
  Superman: I didn’t for a long time.  When I was your age, there weren’t any other kids around that could fly.
  Stargirl: I can’t even imagine you as a kid.
  Superman: You two are lucky to have each other.
  Cyclone: Totally.
  Superman: My powers were hard to get under control when they were developing.  I broke a boy’s arm playing football when I was twelve.  For years, the only people I could be myself around were my parents.  Then one day, these three showed up.
  Stargirl: Saturn Girl?
  Superman: Cosmic Boy told me when I was older I’d become the inspiration that would help found the Legion.  They brought me to their future to make me an honorary member.  They had a clubhouse.  And “flight rings.”  Every single one of them could fly.
• Astonishing X-Men #21 – Joss Whedon is writing a book that lives up to its title: “Astonishing.”  The X-Men are on Breakworld to stop a prophecy from occuring: A prophecy that foretells of Colossus destroying Breakworld.  A world where almost every living creature wants Colossus dead.  On sight.  Bargains are made.  As are new discoveries.  And a couple of shocking revelations, too.  All-in-all, this was a solid issue with great art.  Whedon and Cassady will be a tough act to follow.
• Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #29 – We finally learn the reason behind the Dominators’ attack on Earth.  Through a bit of a history lesson, it is tied in nicely with the mid-90s Invasion crossover/mini-series.  And there’s a major tie to 52.  And there’s a lot of fighting.  A lot.

Stray Toasters

• I should have been in bed hours ago.  Oh, well.
• Street lockdowns proposed for Baltimore  WHAT?!?
• By way of : Worst Movie Scenes Ever
• Dwim sent me a link to this.  Make of it what you will…
• Marvel Comic artist defends suggestive statueette of Spidey’s girlfriend
• 
• North Korean rollercoaster
• Chinese crime blotter reports recreated as art photos

Namaste.

Thursday – 17 May 2007
Post-work yesterday, I (finally) went to pick up my four-color crack… for the past two or three weeks. Yeah. I needed my fix. I didn’t get everything, just the important stuff. Okay, the really important stuff. And, Dave was kind enough to save the Free Comic Book Day items that I had requested… which is good, because he apparently ran out of stuff quickly. AND… I even got the limited edition FCBD plastic crack: Batman.

After that, back home for a bit and off to dinner and a movie with Liz. Tres Hombres. I need to remember to travel with Tums – the food was tasty, but it came back with a bit of a vengeance a few hours later.  *sigh* The movie was Disturbia. I enjoyed it. I would call it “a thriller,” but I fear that a certain Tyranist would pelt me with office supplies over the cube walls. The movie did a good job of building suspense and holding it. I even jumped a time or two because I didn’t see something coming. I give the movie a thumbs up with an okay. It might even make it into the collection someday… And, there was a life-sized, 3-D Silver Surfer… mannequin/standee in the lobby.  It’d make a great lawn ornament: “Oh, sure… anyone can get a cement statue; we decided to do something different!”
Three days and change down… one to go. This morning started, once again, in the SLC office. Followed by another trip to the caffeination dispensary. Selah.

Stray Toasters

• I’m craving crab cakes. From Phillips, of course.
• Woman survives internal decapitation
• Shucky Ducky quack quack!
• Quiz: Are You Smarter Than a 5^th Grader?
• Matt – who shall hereafter be occasionally referred to as “Dwim,” – pointed me in the direction of Chris Dimino’s Cuckoo Clock… based on The Shining.  Check out some of his other stuff, too.
• More scary old ads about Lysol: Nazi babies and Spider-Crotch
• 
• Microsoft to Dump 32-Bit After Vista
• 2 Legit 2 Quit (Hey! Heeeey!)
• Usenet is my friend.   It brought me more episodes of Legion of Super Heroes.  *genuflect*
• Guy who remodeled his flat to Star Trek specs finally sells it

Just getting back from the gym; it was good.  Very good: Three sets of 200.  Ten reps each set.  Hoo-AH!

And now, food.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 16 May 2007
Yesterday was good. It started early – and in the SLC office, at least for a few minutes. The workday was fairly quiet and monkey-free. Selah. Eric and I decided to do some heavy sets for the bench press portion of today’s workout. I did 225 lbs. (dropped to 185, to finish the set), 200, 200. I was rather pleased. (Yes, it’s three months past when I wanted to be able to do it… but I did reach the goal.) I want to get at least two sets of 200 lbs. in each workout… preferrably, starting from this point. We’ll see how that goes.

Last night was D&D night. We learned some important things pertaining to our current… quest… to prevent a new god from rising to power. Fun for us. And, most importantly, we neither died nor killed each other. That’s something positive!

Stray Toasters

• I finally got around to scanning my latest “lyric-to-pencil” drawing: Presto
• By way of : Hue & Cry (or what I like to call: “That sofa is WHAT color?!”)
• The Next Fad: Old Game Music on iTunes
• Tyranist pointed out Marvel’s site for the upcoming Doctor Strange video.
• 
• Heather Jansch: Life-size Driftwood Sculpture
• Women in Comics’ Special Outrage of the Week Edition – The issue: the upcoming Mary Jane Watson statue
• 
• Pictorial History of Vidgame Consoles
• Tyranist: Pan’s Labyrinth is back at the Broadway.
• Do we really need a Shrek “holiday TV show?”

And now to finish getting ready for – and on the way to – work.

Namaste.

Monday (coda)
Tonight, I watched the next-to-last episode of the season of the Angry Jack Show 24. It was good… and, of course, had a last-minute plot twist that I didn’t see coming. And I’m still trying to get my head around the concept of Powers Boothe as a not-so-likable Vice President. Although, he did play the charismatic Jim Jones in Guyana Tragedy many moons past…

Other than that, it’s been a rather quiet evening.

Stray Toasters

• I want to clarify something from this afternoon’s post: IMPACT = creepy/odd/bizarre. I have no desire or intent of becoming one of the Stepford Children. Some of the things my coworker told me about that organization – a member of his family became involved with IMPACT a many years ago – came off sounding almost cultish or like a Mirror Universe version of Amway. Thank you, no… I’ll pass.
• For those of you who are planning on boycotting gas stations tomorrow: You might want to read this. I’m not trying to dissuade you from doing not buying gas, if you feel that it will make a difference, but there is some good information here.
• Geek Troubador Jonathan Coulton profiled in New York Times Magazine
• For Tyranist and :
  
• Pirates of the Great Salt Lake
• – Japan boy ‘severs mother’s head’
• PX! Book One: A Girl and Her Panda
• I should see if I can track down a copy of Tailgunner Jo; I don’t think that I fully appreciated that story when it was originally released.
• …and I also need to figure out to whom I loaned my copy of The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes. My signed copy. *sigh*
• …and I want to track down issues of The Griffin.
• From lordmesa, of the Comics2Film Digital Concept Gallery, comes a simple – yet effective and elegant – solution to Civil Bore War:
  
• I believe that I shall have a Merlot nightcap again tonight.
• If anyone has suggestions of a good brand and/or type of wine that I should try, please let me know.
• Papercraft Back to the Future III Train

Time to go punch holes in the walls of the universe and screw with continuity.  Again.

Namaste.

Monday – 14 May 2007
To borrow a line from The Pretenders, “I’m back on the chain gang…”  So far, it’s been a rather quiet day.  I put that under the heading of “Good things.”  Especially for a Monday.

One of my coworkers read yesterday’s post and asked me a question about IMPACT.  I told him what little I knew about it… and he filled in the gaps.  Unglaublich! I was not expecting to come to work and get a little lesson in all things IMPACT, but I did.  Wow.  Check it out for yourself.

The Scales of Justice
Yesterday, The Hand of Nefer-Tem spent a few hours patrolling the streets – and a few islands – in Paragon City.  I got in with a pretty decent team… but our mortality rate was a little high, as we couldn’t find any empathic Defenders or Controllers.  But we marched on.  And on.  And on.  On series of missions that we did continued another branch of the missing Kheldians story arc that I’ve been playing.  This branch deals with a couple of villain groups who are developing weapons designed specifically for use against Peacebringers and Warshades.  Wonderful.

Somewhere, amidst all of the fighting – and dying – I managed to hit Security Level 26.

And, I came up with a couple of handy-dandy Nefer-Tem icons… but I need to decide which one I want to use:

  

Stray Toasters

• There are a few productions, opera and ballet, coming to Capitol Theatre that I want to see.
• “Youre lucky, I happened to be at the rib joint across the street…”
• I dedicate this song to .   He knows why.
• Health Education: Stress, Depression, Anxiety, Drug Use
• 
• From DrugDigest: Check potential interactions between two or more drugs
• Tyranist: Click here.

Hey, look!  The Interweb’s back!

Namaste.

Thursday – 10 May 2007
It’s only a three-day work week… and I am phenomenally (do DO do-do-do) glad about that.  In retrospect, I think that I should have just taken the entire week off.  Oh, well.

Last night, I shopped for groceries.  Because: a) I needed them and b) I like to eat.  Two birds.  One stone.  I was a bit disappointed to find that the store I went to did not have any beef or chicken stir-fry strips (and I didn’t feel like taking the extra effort to cut steaks/chicken breasts into the appropriate size and shape).  So, I cooked another batch of spaghetti and sauce.  Liz came over and we watched Aliens.  Hudson cracked me up… as usual.

So far, today has been good.  I slept in… because I needed it, apparently.  Stopped in the north office before trekking to the south one.  Gym.  And now… food.  (And a quick post.)

Stray Toasters

• I saw this article on boingboing… and it reminded me of this.
• pointed out this article: Armless driver eludes police chase
• I completely spaced this off the other day when I talked about Spider-Man 3: There’s a new trailer for Fantastic Four 2: Rise of the Silver Surfer
  
• Speaking of the FF movies, Tim Story – the movies’ director – has said that he’d like to do a sequel with the Black Panther in it… with Djimon Hounsou as T’Challa
• , this one’s for you…
  
• One of the Daves at work sent me a link to this video.  Cute… and pretty damned funny.
• And Eric sent this Emo Philips audio clip.

Back to it.

Namaste.

I’m back behind the Zion Curtain.
And for my next amazing feat…
< /consciousness>

Tuesday – 08 May 2007
Aside from today being travel day, it’s got another ever-so-slightly more important meaning: It’s my stepmother, Sib3 and Max’ birthday.  I called the family unit – talked with both – and left a message with Max’ parents.  So, all bases covered.
I didn’t manage to catch my old teachers, but I did run a few errands, so the morning hasn’t been a complete wash.

We’re leaving for the airport in a little bit and then I’ll be chasing the sun.  I’ve had a great time and wish I didn’t have to leave so soon.  It was good to see family and friends and get a chance to hang out with them.

Stray Toasters

• I’m not sure why, but I Didn’t Mean to Turn You On was running through my head this morning.  While I like the Robert Palmer version, it was still missing something from the Cherrelle version from the mid 80s: A breakdancing King Kong.  I think that’s what Peter Jackson was missing from his version of King Kong, too – Kong gettin’ it on the good foot.
• Alter Ego: Portraits of players and their avatars
• Generally speaking, I don’t drink soda… unless it’s part of a mixed drink.  For Cheerwine, however, I am willing to make an exception.  This and – if I could find it – Birch Beer, from a soda company back in Maryland.
• Microwave popcorn is the new asbestos

Hello, I must be going.

Namaste.

Monday – 07 May 2007
Lazy day.

Imagine that… a lazy day… on a vacation.  Who would have thought such a thing possible?!  But here it was.  I slept in.  I stayed around the house for a while.  Mom decided that she needed a new printer, so I made a trip to the not-so-local (but-full-of-fun-things) Best Buy.  One printer, one cable (and one copy of Snakes & Arrows) later, I was on the way back home.

It was also a nominally productive day.  I…

• …installed the printer and hardware
• …replaced a tail light in Mom’s car
• …went to the grocery store
• …visited an aunt whom I hadn’t gotten to see over the weekend
• …still…need to do…. laundry.

Four out of five ain’t bad.  And I did get to see tonight’s episode of 24.
Tomorrow, I get to chase the sun.  Tomorrow evening, that is.  Tomorrow morning, I want to try and catch up a couple of my old teachers.

Stray Toasters

• As if I needed something else to covet: Elektra
• Two States Restrict Used CD Sales
  Why does it not surprise me that Utah is one of the two states?
• Mario: Game Over
• Desert Island Discs: Can one game last a lifetime?
• 
• Interesting new gadget: LaptopTablet
• I had my hands on Butterscotch Krimpets today… but I didn’t buy them.  I may have to make a run at them tomorrow before I head to the airport.
• Weather.cx
• 
• 
• The 52 Cover Gallery

Namaste.

Sunday – 06 May 2007
Today has been good.

Long, but good. Last night, post-graduation party, some of us wound up in the rents’ room for a conversation that evolved/degenerated into the typical socio-economic discussions that seem to arise when members of my family and extended family get together. It lasted into the wee hours.

This morning started with two trips to the airport and a trip to Kris’ place. From there it was back up 85/40 to the homestead. I relaxed for a bit before heading out to meet , Thomas and Don for dinner at Outback. Prime rib. Cheese Fries. Beer! Don and I went to see Spider-Man 3.

It was good. And fun. It wasn’t Amazing, Sensational or Spectacular, but it was a nice way to pass a couple of hours with a friend. It will make a nice addition to the comics-to-film collection. After the movie, I took Don home and hung out with his family for a bit. While there, I was informed that “…cats are nocturnal.” By Thomas. Which caught me ever-so-slightly off-guard. I wasn’t expecting to hear that… let alone from the resident 5-year-old. But, then I considered the gene donors and things made a little more sense. A little.

Stray Toasters

• I have 12 Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
• This short, Swing, played before Spider-Man 3.  It’s by Esteban Azuela… and it’s cute.  Watch it.
• Don has a monkey.
  A Rikti monkey.
  For a pet.
  (*mutter*  You magnificent bastard!)
  He got it for being in Paragon City for three years.
• I have read the last three installments of 52. Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.
• – Online Communites Map
• By way of boingboing.net – Iraq: Kurdish girl stoned to death, mob films it on cameraphones
• : Aitch N I C. Mastermind. Thugs. Dark.
• By way of slashdot: Utah Anti-Kids-Spam Registry “a Flop”
• The front door may slam
  But the back door it rings…
• America’s Favorite Cites 2007, from Travel + Leisure
• Not that I needed it, but has given me another reason to love her.

Namaste.

04 May 2007
Greetings from the Right Coast.

Red eye flights… not necessarily my favorite way to travel, but they do serve the purpose. Because, God knows, airlines don’t serve much else.  A cup – maybe a can – of a soft drink or juice, if you’re lucky. Food? Forget it.  Unless you want to pay for it. Um… yeah. No, thanks.

But, Jessica Hagy at Indexed made a good observation…

…and I have to agree.  Especially at  McCarran International Airport (LAS). Sweet traveling monkey-squeezin’ Jesus!  Let’s see… we had:

• First there were the “Gotta get my last fix” monkeys, playing slots at the gate. Keep feedin’ them machines!!! Keep the quarters coming!!! Yeah.  Them.
• Then, there was the young lady who decided that rather than sit next to anyone, she would just… pull out a mini-blanket, throw her duffel bag on the floor and just… stretch out.  And she did. With the quickness.
• But, the best people were the ones who couldn’t stop staring at the lying-down girl. It was like it was some oddity/novelty. And I do mean full-on stare.  Mouths open. Eyes wide. You would have thought that they were codfish.

Those were the prime examples. The rest of the people were fairly run-of-the-mill. But, they were still fun to watch.

The flights were uneventful.  I read from SLC to Vegas.  I slept most of the way from Vegas to Charlotte. And dozed from Charlotte to Raleigh – short flight. When I got to Raleigh, I went to the baggage carousel to get my bag. I watched it go around.  And around.  And around. And no bag.

 *braincramp*

  The first thing that I thought of was the Christmas baggage debacle.  That did not fill my head with happy thoughts.  I walked into the Baggage Service Office to see if someone could figure out what happened to it… and there was my bag.  Apparently, there was a direct flight LAS – RDU flight that left a little before my flight did.  My bag – being smarter than my ticketing service, apparently – took the non-stop flight.  *sigh*
And, so, in the words of Queen: “Now I’m here…”  And, it sounds like the day is going to be… busy.  Oh, boy.

Stray Toasters

• I didn’t even eat any of my snacks on the flight.  Oh, well… that means more for later!
• Gallery of 1970s Kirby covers
• I’ve put decent dents in Specter of the Past and Pattern Recognition
• I think that Don and I are going to try and catch Spider-Man 3 in Sunday.
  
• Celebrating Alice Day with the finest Wonderland edition I’ve seen
• has been on something of a cat picture kick of late.  And it’s been funny cat pics, including this one:
  
• sent me a link to this flickr page.  First picture made me laugh.
• How to Open Things
• : It’s not “anal bleaching,” but I figured that you’d appreciate this.

And it looks like we’re about to start doing stuff.  Which means a lot of running around. Wahoo.  Yippeeki-yay.

Namaste.

Thursday – 03 May 2007
Down to the hours now.

Someone asked if it’s hard being at work, knowing that I’m going to be on the Right Coast tomorrow morning.  Nope.  It’s not.  “SSDD,” as my father would say.  Just another day in Paradise… this is the Land of Zion, after all.

Yesterday ended quietly.  Me, sitting at home… avoiding packing through modern technology.  That’s right, boys and girls: City of Heroes.  More importantly, Issue 9: Breakthrough went live yesterday.  There are now crafting skills and auction houses in Paragon City and the Rogue Isles.  So, the Hand of Nefer-Tem went to the University to learn about making new toys.  I still need to take Corvus Nox and Indi through the course, but that will wait until next week.

After leaving Paragon City, I decided to distract myself with a little poker.  That was a joke.  My game was off.  Way off.  Far enough off to be measured in astronomical units.  It wasn’t pretty.  Fortunately, the Fates decided to stop using me as their whipping boy and show me a little favor.  Things turned around.  Quickly.  I decided to stop while I was ahead.

Then, I packed.  Zaz!

I also wound up at The Clone’s V.I. last night.  This time, she was there.  It took her a moment to recognize/remember who I was – you could almost see the disk access light blinking.

Stray Toasters

• I had I Don’t Need Anything But You, from Annie, running through my head a little while ago.  I don’t know why.
• News about Jon Favreau’s upcoming Iron Man movie here and first look at the official site here.
• Redirect your animal instincts with a French letter
• From boingboing.net – Petition to restore habeas corpus
• 
• Design a Counterstrike mod, get expelled from school
• So, maybe he wasn’t quite as tarnished as we were led to believe: A look at the upcoming Booster Gold series from Wizard.
• Cover art from 52: Week Fifty-Two… which makes a nice bookend piece with the art from 52: Week One
• For , and – Faces of Guitar Heroes

Namaste.