Random Access

Sunday – 29 April 2007
Coffee…? Check.
Honey Bunches of Oats…? Check.
Interweb connection…? Check.

Let’s get this thing moving, then.

So far, it’s been a quiet morning. I’ve been up a little longer than I would have expected – since a little before 9 AM. Yet, miraculously, I haven’t done much. Oh, sure, I have observed the rituals d’hygiene and made a pot of coffee, but other than that…? Bupkis. And I’m okay with that.

I’ll be getting out of here shortly to check out Patryck’s team play some baseball. That will get me out in the sunshine for a while. Gotta work on getting a good base for my tan, after all. Beyond that, I’m not sure what kind of trouble I’m going to get into. But I’m pretty sure that I can find something.

Stray Toasters

• For the first time in a LONG while, I actually went top-to-bottom through the list of webcomics in my bookmarks… and read them all. I need to eighty-six Megatokyo, I think. I haven’t read it with any regularity in at least six months. On the converse, I need to go back and fill in the gaps in my The Gods of Ar-Kelaan reading. The Tao of Geek? Hit or miss.If anyone has a suggestion of a good webcomic that I should check out, please let me know.
• From the City Paper: Social Studies: “Ho Down” and The Cool of Birth
• May the Farce Be With You – a look at the upcoming Robot Chicken/George Lucas collaboration
• Silly song? Yeah… maybe.
  Silly video? Yeah.
  But, damn and a half if I still don’t like Walk the Dinosaur. It makes me bum wiggle.
• OldSuperstitions.com – The Largest List of Superstitions on the Web
• By way of The Guardian Unlimited: Fascist America, in 10 easy steps
• Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! is coming to Salt Lake City in June. Details here.
• To seek the sacred river Alph
  To walk the caves of ice
  To break my fast on honeydew
  And drink the milk of Paradise…
• Steampunk guitar
• From the “Things that make you go ‘Hmmm’ ” file: Satan responsible for illegal immigration, saysUtah delegate

Out-of-Context Quote of the Day

: You don’t need lube for grab-ass.

Namaste.

Friday – 27 April 2007
This is it.  The end of the week.  Amen.

So far, the day’s going fairly well.  I am thinning out the blood in my caffeinestream.  I didn’t have to wrangle road monkeys – PoW or otherwise – this morning.  There were people paragliding off Traverse Mountain.  And it’s been quiet here at the ranch.
I spent a portion of last night hanging with Kate, Perry and the kids.  It was a nice way to wind down after work.  Then I went home and vegged.  And it was good.  I even managed to catch the rare and elusive online; we chatted for a bit.  She makes me laugh… even if she did say that the outfit that I (currently) have Dhoruba in makes him look like a gay Mr. T.

Winged Justice
After that, I took Corvus Nox to Paragon City.

You know it’s hard out there for a pimp Level 10 hero.  I couldn’t find anyone from my supergroup online, so it took some time to find a team.  I was invited to join a group for missions in The Hollows.  My big complaint about The Hollows: They expect low level characters to run – RUN – across the zone to a mission… and avoid higher-level bad guys in the process… and not die.  *sigh*  Or in my case: Hover.  We had a member with teleport for one of the missions, that was a boon.  WHen he left, however… it was back to hover-ifficness.  Wa.  Hoo.
The team – actually “teams” – I was on was/were good.  I was worried in a couple of cases because we were heavy with Tankers and Defenders… and only one blaster, at one point.  Typically, you want to have a well-rounded team – especially one with members who can do some ranged damage, hence my concern.  I shouldn’t have been quite so worried – we did pretty well.  Yes, we died a few times, but not as frequently as I had originally feared.

I even managed to add a couple more levels and make it to Security Level 12 before I logged out.

Stray Toasters

• I am craving something.  I think it’s cotton candy.
• Why isn’t the new Legion set of ‘Clix out yet?!?  Oh, wait… it’s not June.  *sigh*
• Super-Ventriloquism.  This may actually push Hover out of the “second most-stupid superpower ever” slot.   Tyranist disagrees; he thinks it is the – and I quote – “Worst. Power. Ever.”
• Speaking of Tyranist, he introduced me to a song from EuroTrip called Scotty Doesn’t Know.  It cracked me up.  Even worse: About halfway through the song, I started picturing Cyclops as the Scotty in the song… and Jean and Logan as Fiona and the lead singer.  That made me laugh even more.
• 301 Useless Facts (not all of which have been verified, so take them with a grain of salt)
  I found these most interesting: 11, 20, 29, 37, 49, 53, 92, 104, 111, 117, 124, 126, 145, 149, 168, 175, 176, 179, 183, 204, 246, 256 and 289.
• By way of Wired: Is ‘Internet Normal’ the New ‘Sex Normal’?
• – Jack Valenti dies at 85
• I was able to find (because I finally remembered to look for) the long video for Janet Jackson’s Alright, featuring Heavy D.
• Chuck Berry’s My Ding-A-Ling makes me laugh.  And sing along.  Every time.
• The 52 Most Important Video Games of All Time

Back to it.

Namaste.

Wednesday: coda
I spent more time than I really care to admit trying to bend the Wireless Network Connection settings in MicroSquish Vista to my will… and that of ‘s network.  I swear, setting that thing up was like going around your ass to scratch your nose.  I finally got it set up… I think.  Of course, I thought that I had it set up once… and it wound up dropping the connection a short while later.  *braincramp*   I need to take some time and tinker with Vista more.  But it will be a long while before it winds up on any of my boxes as the standard OS.  I may be getting a chocolate cake out of the deal, too.  That ain’t bad.

After Vista-aerobics, I hung out with Liz for coffee.  Unfortunately, B&B was closed so I had to fall back on one of the local embassies of the Seattle Coffee Empire.  Beggars.  Choosers.
Thursday is the last day of Suit Week… because we can’t justify suits on Friday.  Not that we really need to justify them, but we’re talking Friday.  If ever there was a “not a suit day” day, it’s Friday.  So, to cap off Suit Week: Tuxedos.  And, we even talked one of our other coworkers into joining us.  Yowza!
Stray Toasters

• I am taking suggestions for lyrics to use as the basis for my next few drawings.
• I also need to make some time to get in some freehand drawrin’ practice with my Wacom.
• For some reason, Signe – the opening track from Eric Clapton: Unplugged – is running through my head.
• 
• …and we’ll throw in a “Felgercarb,” at no extra charge!
• By way of Slashdot: How Wii Is Creaming the Competition
• 
• , this one’s for you: Amateur Batman movie destined to become cult favorite
• “I… I… I… want the knife!”   *spin prayer wheel*
• – Australia bans Snoop Dog
• Tom’s Diner, the way it was meant to be… and with an introduction by Suzanne Vega

Namaste.

Sunday: coda
I need more time on the driving range.

It’s not so much a matter of feeding the newfound addiction as it is that I don’t want to injure, maim or kill anyone.

Out of the 100 balls that I had (105, if you count the one’s gave me out of his bucket), I managed to – somehow – hit four or five of the balls behind me.  Into the area where spectators stand.  With a good amount of force.  While physics and I aren’t necessarily on hanging out terms, we have come to terms and I do have a basic understanding of forces and vectors.  Although, to have seen those balls, you would not have known it.

Despite this, I had a fun time.  I hit a few solid drives.  And a lot of ground-skimmers.

After our time on the live ammunition obstacle course… I mean “driving range,” , Chris and I went to lunch.  Mimi’s Cafe.

The Scales of Justice
After a good afternoon out, it was time hit the mean streets Paragon City.

I was invited to join a team with an old teammate.  After that team broke up, I was invited to join another team.  All in all, it was a productive patrol: I hit Security Level 24… and made it a few bubbles in the direction of Level 25.

Stray Toasters

• I have a bottle of Merlot.
• I do NOT have a corkscrew.
• The above statements, together, both amuse and frustrate me.
• , by way of , sent me a link to the following: Mechs in the II World War   And, all I can say is “Wow.”
• It would be great to learn ASL (American Sign Language).   But, is it bad that part of me wants to learn because of this video?
• I’m liking Thunderbird.  The email client, not the drink.
• The Brave and The Bold #5, featuring….
  
• What happens when you cross Super Mario World with 300?  Something like this…
• …and “a certain movie” and pirates will give you something like this.
• and , in case you don’t already know: Goatse.cx domain is for sale
• This… is not a good thing.
  

  More info here.

• Do you remember the scene in The Incredibles when Bob and Lucius went “bowling” (i.e.: “snuck out to secretly fight crime”)?  And how… “unhappy” with that whole situation Helen was when she found Bob trying to sneak back in the house?

  Well, let’s extrapolate a little… hypothetically, of course.

  What happens when six guys – say these guys – decide to take a pro-active stance in shaping the course of events around the world.  And… what if they got caught “sneaking in the house,” so to speak, by say their respective significant others… like these ladies, for example?

  How much Hell do you think a certain six somebodies are going to have to pay?  Mm-hmm, that’s right.  A LOT.

And that’s a wrap.

Namaste.

Friday – 20 April 2007
And, since it’s 4-20, let’s get this out of the way now…

And, with that out of the way…

Last night, I had to return to Fiddler’s Elbow. Why? Because I had apparently been double-charged… no, triple-charged for dinner the other night. So, I went to clear things up. The manager was shocked, to say the least, but she found the problem and explained what she thought had happened. However, there’s really nothing that can be done until the charge tries to clear my bank — which she explained should go through with the proper amount. All I can do now is wait and see. It was a little irritating – and a bit inconvenient – but nothing bad enough to throw off the NBN part of Thursday.

After that, all I wanted to do was go home. And, I did. I ordered a pizza and tried to figure out what to do with the rest of the evening, since CSI: was a repeat. to the rescue! She had picked up the second season of The West Wing from the library, so she brought it over and we watched a couple episodes. That was such a good show; it’s too bad that Aaron Sorkin wasn’t there for the end – I would be interested to see how it would have been different had be been there.

The Scales of Justice
Post-Wing, The Hand of Nefer-Tem took to the streets of Paragon City.

After a little aimless wandering, and a conversation with VikingPrincess, I was invited to join a team. A team on which no one had any missions, except me. So… we ran my mission. It was tied into the last story arc (find the missing Kheldians)… but this time, we were up against The Council. We died. A few times. But, we did complete the mission.
Stray Toasters

• I gave my site a minor update: I added CoH and CoV sections. Because I could. I still need to do a little more work on them, but they are there.
• Thanks to for bringing me back to a softer world
  
• The Lyrid Meteor Shower – coming to a sky near you this weekend.
• 
• Puttin’ on the Ritz…. Mel Brooks style
• By way of boingboing.net: The Blasphemy Challenge. Um… yeah. Kids today, I tell ya.
• To borrow a line from Jonathan Coulton: “It’s the Future Now”
• Adjustable breast implants. Make your own punchlines.
• It’s not exactly “steampunk,” but boingboing also has an article on Insane Archive of Retro-Tech Creations
• Gamers of the world, take a sip of your 2-liter Mountain Dew… and then pour a little on the sidewalk: Paizo to Discontinue Dragon and Dungeon Magazines
• In light of last night’s escapades at Fiddler’s Elbow, I found this appropriate:
  

Namaste.

Wednesday – 18 April 2007
Yesterday, I left work a little later than I had planned.  It happens.  I had to come home because, in all of my brilliance, I neglected to consider the benefits of taking a pair of jeans to work with me.  Home.  Changed.  Off on [my] way, hit the open road… and made my way to the driving range.  , onlyaly and Chris were already there.  I didn’t do so well with the 2-iron.  The 5-iron was… okay, as was the 7-iron.  My trusty 5-wood was, once again, my best friend.

And, I finally got to test drive my 1-wood/driver.  Sweet monkey-squeezin’ Jesus…!  When I managed to pull off a good swing and make a solid connection, the ball moved.  Nicely.  I still need to get a bit of practice in with it – this was the first range I’ve been on that allowed the use of a driver.  But, I can see that I’m going to enjoy using that club.

After the range, onlyaly, and I headed to Fiddler’s Elbow for dinner.  I don’t think that I’ve been there since I lived in – or shortly after I moved out of – Sugar House.  Nice place.  I’ll have to keep it on the “Places to Remember for Lunch/Dinner” List.  Good dinner and conversation.

After dinner, I met my friend, Emily – whom I haven’t seen in a proverbial month of Sundays – for coffee.  And then home again, home again.  Jiggety-jig.

Stray Toasters

• I spoke with Dad.  All’s well in the Northern Reaches.
• Tracy sent me a link to this video: Shift Happens.  Very interesting information… although I’m not sure about the number they quote on the number of laptops sold last year.
• Sherpa, ah llama llama
  You are my mountain guide
  And you help me climb K2…
• 
  
• Gamegrene.com – For the Gamer Who’s Sick of the Typical
• Matt:  Funnybooks needs an update!  (…although this still makes me laugh.)
• “It’s amazing what you can do with a hacksaw…”
• Spring-loaded Steampunk Specs
• This one is for , given his affinity for timepieces: Mechanical Watch with Miniature Slot Machine
• Frank Castle.  The Punisher.
  • Look One: Old and busted
  • Look Two: New hotness (inspired by the Civil Bore War death of a certain star-spangled Avenger)

Out-of-Context Quote of the Day

“…throwing a strap over my head and going to town.”

Namaste.

Tuesday – 20 March 2007
Another day in the valleys.

Speaking of valleys, does anyone else remember Valley of the Dinosaurs? It was a Hanna-Barbera ‘toon from the 70s; Boomerang airs – or it used to air – episodes on Saturdays and Sundays. I liked it. But, I digress…

Last night was D&D night. But, we didn’t play. Instead, there was Lunch Money and Guitar Hero 2. I did “okay” at lunch money; I still equate my GH2 (lack of) skill to the first time I tried DDR: It was bad. Fun… but bad. After that, I went home and tried my hand at PokerStars, no pun intended. I didn’t do too badly. And, before bed, I read more of Specter of the Past.

We’ll be heading to the gym in a few minutes. Picking up and putting down heavy things. Mm-hmm, that’s right.

Stray Toasters

• I can only think of this as a “career-limiting move.”
• Houses cheaper than cars in Detroit.
• Grape juice. I have some. You do not.
• Do not injustice to another
  Defend the weak and innocent
  Let truth and honor always guide you
  Let courage find the light within

  Stand up when no one else is willing
  Act not in hatred or in spite
  Be to this world as a perfect knight
  Even if it means your life

• Code Monkey (because it’s been a while since I’ve linked to it)
• I was going to ask: “Why are you wearing an NWA t-shirt?”
• Tony Bedard on Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #31
  
• Don’t you worry about sleeping on the vent so often?”
  

*voop*

Namaste.

Monday
It was cold and rather dreary. It was also Errand Day. and I had lunch with at Noodles & Co. On the way out of that complex, we stopped in the Thomasville Furniture store. It was something of a compulsion: I grew up about 25 miles from their headquarters. One of the sales associates approached us and asked if we, and I quote: “…had a project.” I told her that we did, inasmuch as we have a house. Then I informed her that I had lived in NC and she looked at me and said: “You don’t sound like you’re from North Carolina.” That made me happy; not picking up a southern accent was one of the things that I worked hard at when we moved to NC. Nice to know that all the effort paid off.

I made another few changes in the HCC. I moved my DSS receiver to the top of my monitor. I figured that when I watch TV, it’s usually on the PC, so it made sense to move the receiver and not have to do all manner of inhuman contortions when I wanted to change the channel. Logic, who knew!? Thanks to a couple of PS/2 extension cables, I was able to move Enterprise. I think that it was a printer cable constraint that kept me from moving DS9, but now that we have the new printer, it may be relocated as well.

>> fast forward >>

Poker night. There were only five of us: , , Matt, Dave and me. Tonight’s standings:

2. me
3. Dave

To say that she kicked our asses would be a horrible understatement. Even saying that she mopped the floor with us wouldn’t be enough. She was the modern-day Spanish Inquisition (Nooo one expects the Spanish Inquisition!!!) And I do mean “no one.” She just eliminated us one-by-one and her chip stack kept growing.

Venit. Vidit. Vicit.
“She came. She saw. She royally kicked our asses… and laughed.”

News
Morning Edition: Agribuisness Boom Brings Change to the Amazon
Morning Edition: Web Site Publisher Prepares to Defend Against Apple Suit
Morning Edition: San Francisco Fights Paper and Plastic
Day to Day: The ‘Spiral Jetty’ Re-Emerges from Great Salt Lake
All Things Considered: Ohio Universities Continue Domestic Partner Benefits, Despite Referendum
All Things Considered: Supreme Court Declines to Intervene in Schiavo Case

BBC News: World ‘must learn from Holocaust’
BBC News: Why didn’t the Allies bomb Auschwitz?

Stray Toasters

• It turns out that I will not be going to Moab on Wednesday, after all.
• I’m glad to be able to use Semagic again, rather than the web interface. ‘Nine is up and running again. I haven’t installed everything yet, but that will come over the next couple of days. One change that I did make: I switched from the Mozilla suite to just Firefox and I have gone back to using Eudora for my mail client. Now I need to remember how to use Eudora again…
• Just when everything in the world seems topsy-turvy, something comes along that restores my faith that there is a God.
• The next two Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers DVDs will be released in April. *covet*
• By way of comes this: Screen Clean
• For writers: 50 Strategies for Making Yourself Work
• and I often send each other… “odd” links. I sent her this video clip; in return, she sent this one. We probably shouldn’t be allowed to play on the Interweb without supervision.
• “So how does making crop circles help with invading Earth?” –
• Let Them Sing It for You
  Insert the lyrics to your favorite song and enjoy. And laugh. A lot.
• I have a few friends in the food service industry. One of their common complaints is that people often don’t consider how much they leave for a tip… IF they leave one. In light of that, I present: How Tipping Works. When talking with a friend’s father-in-law, I found out that tipping isn’t “expected” in Australia. One major difference is that wait staff is paid a “maximum wage,” I believe he called it. In other words, waiters in Oz are making something on the order of $8.00 (AUS) an hour, instead of the $2.13/hr that their U.S. counterparts make.
• “Bobby, so help me, if you don’t knock this crap off right now, I’m going to string you up the flagpole by your weiner and play pinata!”
  
• Real-snow versions of Calvin and Hobbes’ gory snowmen

Namaste.

Monday
This morning, I woke up from the singularly most bizarre dream that I can remember in a very long time. I was in a Buffy-like setting (even more weird since I wasn’t a fan of the show) and running from… something. Apparently, someone had cast a curse and I was caught in the effect. It was Medusa-like spell. Except that instead of the snakes growing from my head, they kept coming out of my right arm, either from the inside of my wrist or the palm of my hand (similar to the way that Ron Weasley kept spitting up slugs in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets). And they kept coming. And coming. And coming. It was very disconcerting. What woke me up was when I tried to stop more snakes from exiting and one slithered up my arm, towards my face. I woke with a jump and a bit of a yell, I think. In the words of Dr. Henry Jones, Jr. (better known to his associates as “Indy”): Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?

The rest of the day was mercifully less stressful. It included calls from Bret, Adam and my father. It will be good to see them next week.

And tonight: Poker!

::: fast- forward :::

, and came over for poker. had to bail early. brought electronic crack HALO 2. *covet* It’s another definite “buy” for me. Tonight’s poker rankings:

1. Me.

Stray Toasters

• Many of you are familiar with the Penny Arcade webcomic. Last year, the strip’s creators came up with the idea for Child’s Play, a charity that donated $250,000 in toys and money to Seattle Children’s Hospital. This year, they are expanding to Children’s Hospitals across the country. Check it out and pass it on.
• I was chatting with my brother-in-law-to-be, , this afternoon when he forwarded the URL to “MoveThemOn.org – Real Democracy in Action.” It made me laugh.
• From an IRC conversation: Rate My Network Diagram
• John Schneider was being interviewed about Smallville the changes in this season’s storyline following the death of Christopher Reeve. He was also asked if he had been approached for a role in the upcoming Superman movie. (He hasn’t.) Then, the interviewer asked if he would be appearing in the upcoming The Dukes of Hazzard movie. He laughed and responded: “I wouldn’t drive in that movie in your car.”
• Harry Lampert, co-creator of The Flash, died Saturday. Even though he retired in 1980, he still made appearances at comics conventions.
• Nat King Cole. Unforgettable. *nod*
• “Do you think that Sims feel pain?”
  
• : Guess who’s on the cover of the third issue of the new LSH. And, as an added bonus: This.
• By way of Slashdot: Atlantis found. Again.
• On Wookiees and nudity taboos…
• Firestorm vs… Firestorm? But, isn’t he supposed to be dead. Firestorm, I mean. Well, that Firestorm.
• Biz Markie’s Just a Friend just rolled around on the Winamp’s random play. The first thing that popped into my head was last year’s Pepsi commercial that used it.
• : For you
• “Hi! I’d like some meatloaf!”
  
• : Click here.

Namaste.