Random Access

Tuesday – 18 October 2011
Documentation. WHEEEEE! Yeah, maybe if I keep trying to convince myself that I’m having fun, it will either come to pass or I’ll actually start believing it.  (cue: Journey)  That aside, it hasn’t been a bad day.

Last night, I got home to find SaraRules! carrying Vanessa, who had apparently decided that she needed to be held/cuddled for most of the day… while Diana was just taking it easy in her crib. The girls were good, if a little restless, for most of the evening. In fact, they were quiet and calm enough that SaraRules! and I were able to watch a little of the second half of the Dolphins-Jets game. Hey, “some football” is better than “no football.” It would have been nice, however, if the Dolphins had bothered to show up for the game. *sigh*

Stray Toasters

• Turns out that President Obama is in North Carolina today… and had lunch about 10 minutes from my mother’s house. Huh. Never would have seen that one coming.
• Amazon Signs Up Authors, Writing Publishers Out of the Deal
• Lowe’s to close 20 stores
• Superman Fan Mike Meyer Shares Donated Comics & Collectibles with Children’s Hospital
  Human of the Day?  You bet.
• Excellent model railroad storage shelf
• By way of :

  

• Feds Shy Away From Raiding Email Without Warrant
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Noses
• Massachusetts Tries to Rein in Its Health Costs
• The Future of LEGO (Or How to Use an iPhone to Play with LEGO)

Namaste.

Thursday – 13 October 2011
It’s a sunny No Bad News Technical Friday. The morning started with a frozen mocha and doughnuts. Personally, I think that’s a great way to kick off the last day of the work week.

It’s pretty much common knowledge that I appreciate good customer service. A few months ago, I signed up for a digital subscription to a model railroading magazine. One of the features that swayed my decision was the ability to download issues of the magazine. Win. Win.

Or so I thought until I actually tried to download an issue.

It turns out that the third-party company who distributes the digital copy uses Google Gears as their medium. Gears is being deprecated next year. So, I emailed the third-party and received the following a week later:

[THIRD PARTY] is aware that Google Gears is no longer supported by Google.  The publisher, however, at this time  has not yet opted to include the optional pdf downloadable version.

Well, okay then. And then I promptly forgot about it…

…until I got a notification that the new issue of the magazine was available. This time, I emailed the magazine directly — the subscription manager… and the editor-in-chief… and the publisher — with my question. Barely 24 hours later, I got a response from the magazine’s publisher:

The Firefox/Google Gears issue is relatively new. We have been waiting to see if [THIRD PARTY] develops an alternative solution. If they do not, we may have to offer a PDF download.

Okay. That’s all well and good, but doesn’t really give me much to go on. Still, I replied. I noted that I appreciated that the publisher took time to personally respond and that I hoped that they found a reasonable substitute for their current digital model. A few hours later, I received another response:

Rob,

A couple of things…

First off, “Mr. Melvin” was my father. No need to be that formal with me.

Secondly, thanks for the kind words about the magazine. I’m glad you are enjoying our work.

We’ll make an announcement about the download problem soon.

And it was sent, as best I can figure, from his home – not his office. Nice. And it seemed to indicate that the digital download issue would be addressed with a little more urgency than “…we’re just waiting to see what happens.” I can live with that.

Stray Toasters

• Race Remixed: In Strangers’ Glances at Family, Tensions Linger
• Lady Gaga reflects on sex, service for MAC
• For : The Wayne Tech Fall Kidz Catalogue
• Another PlayStation Network breach stings Sony customers
• 
• Grant Morrison’s Wonder Woman Series Planned for 2012 “Or Thereabouts”
• Female Super-Hero Characters and Sex: Creators Explain How Comics Can Do Better
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Oh, baby! Artist due to give birth at a New York gallery
• Denied Veterans Benefits Over Same-Sex Marriage, Ex-Sailor Challenges Law
• Religion hits the comedy circuits
• Joel Schumaker Owns Batman Mistakes , Wanted a Darker Take
  “…a darker take?” Really. With all the campiness and neon accents?!  Really, Joel?  Really?! Although, I do have to give him credit for (FINALLY) taking the blame for the atrocity that was Batman and Robin Robin 2: Electric Boogaloo

Namaste.

Wednesday – 12 October 2011
Midweek. New comics day. Selah.

A little while ago, I walked a couple of buildings over to give Josh his own “Little Plastic Legion” (HeroClix figures). While I was there, I ran into a couple of other former coworkers — Jan and Nathan. As an added bonus, Jan shared a new-to-me “Sven and Ole” joke. That, alone, was worth the trip.

Stray Toasters

• Out and Proud After ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Repeal
• John Waters on coming out
• Ravens Matt Birk gets fined $5,000 for not wearing microphone
• Bringing Russian Soul to Tchaikovsky’s Symphonies
• What I’ve Learned: Tim Allen
• 
• Seattle “superhero” charged with pepper-spray assault
• FBI agent and federal prosecutor take Ferrari for joyride and total it; insurance co. out of luck
• Video, a New Tool for the Police, Poses New Legal Issues, Too

Namaste.

Tuesday – 11 October 2011 (or: 11-10-11)
It’s been an intermittently sunny and rainy day today. But, it’s been a good day, nevertheless.

I woke up this morning, for some reason, thinking about Charlie Chan. It may have had something to do with thinking about the twins and mentally referring to them as “Number One Daughter” and “Number Two Daughter.” Who knows. Regardless, I wound up at Charlie Chan. And from there, it was only a small jump to The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan. And with that, the theme started running through my head while I was shaving:

Last night, SaraRules! had a Mom’s Night Out and attended Utah Opera’s performance of Fidelio, which opened last week to many positive reviews. Angy and were kind enough to come over and watch the girls – and Monday Night Football – with me, while SaraRules! was away. The girls were well-behaved… after all, they had no lack of attention… but, did their damnedest to avoid entering The Dreaming. Little Miss Diana was still fighting sleep – hard – by the time that SaraRules! got home; but there also seemed to be a look of “See, Mommy… I stayed awake until you got home!” on her face, too. And it still took her a while to nod off.

So far, the work day has been decent. I finally had a chat with someone from building management – which I’ve been waiting for since about 10 AM this morning – about a cooling issue in our space. We want to try changing a couple of things; they’re amenable to the idea. We’ll see how things shake out.

Stray Toasters

• In case you somehow missed it: The Avengers trailer is now online.
• Cybersecurity Awareness Month launched
• German States Used Malware to Spy on Their Citizens
• Cloud Cities art installation of giant plastic bubbles
• 
• In Peru, A Hunt for Chocolate Like You’ve Never Tasted It
• Government Aims to Build a ‘Data Eye in the Sky’
• Disney, Dali and toy trains — Do I really need to say more, really?
• 
• Fu-Schnickens. I still find the name funny.

Namaste.

Monday – 10 October 2011
A new work week begins. My day started with feeding Little Miss Wonder Girl before heading off to work. I have to say that it was a rather nice way to start the morning. And speaking of the little ladies, they were supporting their mother’s team this weekend:

(Click pictures for larger helpings of cuteness)

Yeah… and the Raiders even pulled off a win yesterday.

The weekend was good, all around. From Canadian Thanksgiving on Saturday to dinner with the in-laws last night. As an added bonus, I was able to make it to Dr. Volt’s 21st Anniversary Sale and Signing and chat up my friend, Jake Black, for a few… as well as speak geek with a few of the guys on Saturday.

Stray Toasters

• What Happened to the American Work Ethic?
• Is This the Most Amazing Time Lapse Video Yet? (Spoiler: It Is)
• Wonder Woman’s origins have been tweaked. [SPOILER WARNING]
  I’m okay with the concept and I’m interested to see how it plays out.
• The Friendly’s That Used to Be a Lot Friendlier
  There was a Friendly’s in The Mall in Columbia that my parents used to take me to as a kid; it was one of my three favorite places in the mall, along with the miniature golf course and Patowmack Toys. It was also the place that fostered my love of sprinkles on ice cream.
• It’s Never Really Dead in Zombieland
• 
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: October 31 is Jesusween
• A Ten-Step GQ Guide To Nailing Office Style
• The Week in Style: 10.07.11
• For Archie Comics, a Return to Superheroes
• The Boilers beat the Gophers this weekend…
  …and, yes, I did bring my old, beat-up Purdue hat in to rub it in to my manager.
• Rick Rubin, Russell Simmons: Def Jam’s First 25 Years
• Poker Inc. to Uncle Sam: Shut Up and Deal
• Dr. Seuss vs. Call of Cthulhu

Namaste.

Friday – 07 October 2011
It’s a chilly 9/80 “on” Friday. It’s also Ms. ‘s birthday.

It is also our Little Miss Wonder Girl’s one-month-day.

Last night, Diana, Vanessa and I undertook a new nighttime ritual last night — Bath time! The girls received baby bathtubs as shower gifts and since the last remnants of their umbilicals have fallen off, they are now able to use them. They were a little fussy – which was quite understandable – but on the whole did just fine.

After their baths, SaraRules! read them Goodnight, Moon before feeding them and putting them to bed.

Stray Toasters

• I credit/blame SaraRules! for this morning’s subject line. She had an idea for Hallowe’en costumes for herself and the girls that amused me… and put that lyric in mind: Getting a leopard print bodysuit and onesies, respectively, and dressing up as Josie and the Pussycats.

• For Meliko: Dinosaurs and Robots: Art Opening in Anchorage, AK
• Nightmares Fear Factory’s photostream — you know, since it’s October.
• Race-Based Names Dot the Landscape
• Love and Capes: If you’re not reading it, I want to know why.
• Remember the Toys You Played With As a Kid With This Video
• 
• Feds to outline plans today for shutting down California pot shops
• U.S. Panel Says No to Prostate Screening for Healthy Men
• Under 4% now: 30-year mortgage rate hits record low

Namaste.

Wednesday – 05 October 2011
Midweek… which means that not only is the week half-over, but it’s new comics day, too. Win. Win.

Yesterday was a pretty busy day around the office. That was followed by a busy evening with the girls:

Eat. Sleep. Change diapers.
Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Both girls are doing well. They’re still a bit congested – we’re thinking inflamed sinuses, as there’s been no nasal drip – but otherwise fine. And, they’re still damned adorable.

Stray Toasters

• Flu shot. I got one this morning.
• 40 Mysteries of Fall Style, Solved in Seconds
• The Alpha Male
• The Sartorialist
• Los Angeles Orchestra to Lead Youth Effort
• Would it be too early to get this for the girls?

  

• The Essentials: Great Things and How to Wear Them
• The ‘L.A. Rebellion’ returns
  

• Everybody (everybody), loosen up
  Shake it like U just don’t care (Shake it like U just don’t care)
  Never mind your friends
  Girl, it ain’t no sin
  2 strip right down 2 your underwear

  I say everybody (everybody), mm, screw the masses
  We only want 2 have some fun (I only wanna have some fun)
  I say do whatever we want
  Wear lingerie 2 a restaurant
  Policeman got no gun, U don’t have 2 run

• 
• Do Civil Rights Apply to Parochial Schools?
• Civil rights leader Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth dead at 89
• A friend’s grandmother passed away recently. As we were chatting, I looked up – and shared – this, which I wrote when my grandmother died. I also reread the piece… and it made me smile to remember her.
• ESPN drops Hank Williams, Jr. from ‘Monday Night Football’

And that’s that… for now.

Namaste.

Monday – 03 October 2011
Happy 2nd Anniversary to SaraRules!

It’s been an amazing couple of years and I look forward to many more with you!

Today has definitely been “a Monday.” The first half of my day was chock full of things that needed to get done with the quickness. And the hits just kept coming. Fortunately, things slowed down enough around 1:30 that I was able to have lunch.

Stray Toasters

• The Ravens beat the Jets (again) last night.
  Ravens Drive the Jets into the Turf
  It wasn’t the world’s most beautiful win, but it still goes in the “Win” column AND it puts the Ravens in lone possession of first place in the AFC North.
• ‘Christian’ as the magic word of politics
• 10 Small Towns with Fantastic Fall Colors
• I want to change my model railroad layout. Again.
• Caffeinated Women May Be Fighting Depression with Every Cup
• A State Grooms Its Best Students to Be Good Teachers

And that’s a wrap.

Namaste.

Friday – 30 September 2011
It’s my first 9/80 Friday off since the girls were born. They were nice enough to let me sleep until 9:30 this morning. I thought it was pretty generous of them. They even slept pretty well through the night, clocking about 2.5 to 3 hours between feedings.

And they are pretty damned cute… and getting more so by the day.

Today, we had Family Adventure Time (which pretty much translates to: “We got out of the house for a little bit”). We stopped to return lj user=”melodywise” ‘s baking dish, hit RubySnap (COOKIES!!!) and The Train Shoppe, as well as Dr. Volt’s Comic Connection and the Chow Truck. The girls were sacked out in their car seats for most of the outing. But, for SaraRules! and me, it was nice to be out for a while.

Stray Toasters

• What Gail Simmons Is Cooking Up for Rosh Hashanah
• How do I make my document look like it was written by an Cthulhu worshipping madman?
• Coming in two days…

  

• Sting at 60 looks back, and ahead
• For those not up on it, the kid in this strip is supposed to be Miles Morales, the new Spider-Man in Marvel’s Ultimate Universe:

  

• From Esquire’s “The Style Blog”: Threads That Impress the Ladies
• States Putting Hopes in ‘Bottoms Up’ to Help the Bottom Line
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Man in ice cream costume mistaken for KKK protester
• Bank of America joins banks charging monthly debit card fees

Namaste.

22 September 2011
This NBN Thursday finds me, to quote Roy Rogers and/or Aerosmith, “back in the saddle (again).”

It’s been a good two weeks away with SaraRules! and the girls, but it’s nice to be back. Well, as nice as it ever is to go to work. Getting up and out the door was a little difficult as the little ladies didn’t sleep well last night. At least there was coffee.

Stray Toasters

• I finally broke down and joined Twitter. Oddly, the two things that pushed me over the edge were:

1. WizKids Games posted previews of upcoming ‘Clix figures there
2. Minor dissatisfaction with Facebook’s continuing “It ain’t broke, but we’re fixing it!” policy.

• The Cult of Physicality
• 
• Carter: Davis execution shows system is “unjust”
• Pictogram Music Posters, courtesy of
• House defeats Republican spending plan
• By way of : Samuel L. Ipsum
• Have You Seen This? Unhinged Trike Racing, courtesy of… *sigh*… I don’t remember
• This is more true than you might think…
  
• “Floamy”
• World’s Eeriest Abandoned Places
• From the “D’oh!” file: Gore’s loose lips let new iPhones slip
• The Line It Is Drawn: Comic Book Characters/Children’s Picture Books
• Public Said to Be Misled on Use of the PATRIOT Act

Namaste.

Tuesday – 20 September 2011
120 minutes.  Two hours. 7,200 seconds. It both “does” and “doesn’t” seem like a lot of time. When you’re rushing to get that last-minute assignment complete, it’s too little time. When it’s a movie – that’s been done well and is entertaining – it’s just enough.

When you’re trying to compress all of the things on your “to do” list into 120 minute increments, it seems far too fleet.

But, it’s totally worth it.

The girls are now just shy of two-weeks-old. “Schedule” is still not part of their vocabulary. And that’s fine. We’ve started trying to get them used to the concepts of day (bright and somewhat noisy) and night (darker/low-light and much more quiet), in the hopes that we get them adjusted to the idea that being awake during the day is good and sleeping at night – and letting Mom and Dad sleep a little, too – is a “good” thing.  We’ll see how this goes.

They are still very cute – awake and/or asleep:

Last week, when my mother was in town

Last week, with SaraRules!’ Parents…

Modeling their Wonder Woman and Flash onesies that SaraRules! made…

It’s been a challenging couple of weeks in some respects, but it’s also been fun getting to know the newest members of the family.

Stray Toasters

• Fatherhood, Not Testosterone, Makes the Man
• This LEGO Robot Helped Beta Test a New iOS App
• 
• Rick Perry’s made-up ‘facts’ about climate change
• What we SHOULD have been taught our senior year of high school
• 10 Words You Need to Stop Misspelling
• Scott Beatty on “Six Stories That Changed How I Read (and Write) Comics”

Namaste.

Wednesday – 31 August 2011
Back in the north office again. Yesterday’s excursion to the south office wasn’t too bad. Yes, there were a couple of “Things that make you go ‘Hmm,'” but on the whole, it was fairly painless.

Last night was Guys’ Night Out. And, it will most likely be the last one I get to attend for a while. That’s okay, because the company and the food and the beer were good.

This morning started slowly, by choice. I woke up and decided that I wasn’t going to necessarily rush to get into the office. It made for a nice, leisurely start to the morning. On the flip side, this morning’s cup of coffee wasn’t  enough to stave off my attempts at conducting an inner eyelid study. So, I was on Coffee: Round 2 a little early.

And today was also New Comics & Sushi Wednesday! Sushi was good; the comics haul was VERY light: Two books. I wound up with three books, as I bought two copies of one title.

Stray Toasters

• T-minus six…
• This was emailed to me by my friend, Lianna:

  

  I’m pretty sure that this sums up SaraRules!’ feelings, as well.

• America’s Muslims, fact vs. fiction
• Arguing liquor laws: A failure to communicate
  I listened to part of this on the way to work this morning. It was… something to behold.
• Eight Miami players suspended by NCAA for improper benefits
• Hurricane Cost Seen as Ranking Among Top Ten
• Federal Austerity Changes Disaster Relief
• The Art of the Title
• TopGear + HALO = Amusingly Awesome
• The New Resentment of the Poor
• Parenthood Got You Down? You’re Not Alone, courtesy of
• In Latest Breach, Hackers Impersonate Google to Snoop on Users in Iran
• there there: City Pride T-shirts

Namaste.

Tuesday – 30 August 2011
Day Two of the work week finds me, once again, in Utah County. I actually volunteered to come down here a week early — it works better with the timing of kids on the way. And, so far, it hasn’t been bad.

Last night, there was football. The Jets vs. the Giants. (Even though both teams are based out of the New Meadowlands, the Giants were the home team.) There was A LOT of bickering between the teams – so much so that two players had themselves disqualified from play.  It was also a fast game; I think that it was only a little more than two hours, in all.  After the game, SaraRules! and I took care of more of the last stages of baby prep: I assembled Bassinet #2, while she figured out how to install the kids’ car seats in her car. (I took a cursory look at how they’d install in my car, as well, but I’ll put more effort into that tonight.) And then, there was new Top Gear to watch, as well as ice cream sandwiches to eat. It was a good Monday night.

Stray Toasters

• David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” Recreated as Children’s Book
• Federal Court: recording cops an unambiguous first amendment right
• Twenty Iconic Male Movie Roles in Which Helen Mirren Would Have Ruled
• DC Comics’ reboot/DCnU/whatever they’re calling it kicks off tomorrow.  Here’s my take on DC’s view of what they’re doing:

  

• At 35,000 Feet, a Russian Image Problem
• Single tickets for Utah Symphony’s 2011-12 season are now on sale.
• 12 Things You Should Stop Buying Now, by way of
• The ANGRY BIRDS put on superhero costumes
• “Awe” != “aww…”
• Astronauts May Have to Abandon Space Station

Okay… back to the post-lunch grind.

And tonight: Guys’ Night Out.

Namaste.

Friday – 26 August 2011
It’s my “on” 9/80 pre-season “Purple Friday.”

Last night, and his kids came over to watch the “Battle of the Beltway.” (More on the game, below). The kids played with LEGO and stuffed animals and action figures – and occasionally watched the game – so, I’m taking that to mean that they were sufficiently entertained.

This morning, I got into the office a little early. The fringe benefit of that: Being able to play this – fairly loudly – before anyone else showed up.

It was a good way to kick off the morning.

I left for a while to head to the hospital: SaraRules! had what should be the next-to-last NST of the pregnancy. And, once again, the kids were showing off. In a BIG way. So much so that Cathy, today’s nurse, said that she was done about ten minutes in… but was required to take at least 20 minutes of readings. (Not only were they showing off, but they are doing fine.)

And, on the way back to the office, I managed to get this picture:

So, all-in-all, not a bad Friday, so far.

Instant Replay: Football

Washington Redskins at Baltimore Ravens
31 – 34
The Battle of the Beltway 2011 For a game that started off slowly, this one gained steam and just kept right on rolling. Both teams’ first strings looked pretty good. The Skins’ defense was fast and moved with purpose. Fortunately, the Ravens seemed to have learned a few things in the past two weeks and patched a lot of the holes in the offensive line. QB Joe Flacco’s first “reception” was an interception. Fortunately, his aim and timing got better. Tyrod Taylor got into the game in the 3rd Quarter and looked good – he showed some serious poise in the pocket, even under pressure, but he also showed that he wasn’t afraid of running the ball himself. I think that he’d make a fine backup to Flacco. And, WR Brandon Jones…?! (click for larger image) Welcome to Baltimore! Way to make your presence known! Next, the Ravens hit the road to take on the Falcons – who handed them an ugly loss last year – for the last preseason game of 2011.

Stray Toasters

• For SaraRules!, three words: Chuck. Finley. T-shirt.
• Buffett to Invest $5 Billion in Shaky Bank of America
• Five Takeaways from Skins Game
• Comic Book Resources had this picture in their D23 coverage, with the caption: “They call him… Bruce”

  

  He doesn’t look a thing like Batman OR Bruce Campbell!

• Buy “Made in China” goods? Benefits to U.S. may surprise you
• Smart Versus Realism — Greg Rucka takes Hollywood to task
• 
• In Britain, a Meeting on Limiting Social Media
• Like No Other View on Earth
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: The Holy Bible: Stock Car Racing Edition

  

• Han Solo in Carbonite ice molds
• Quake a wake-up call for Eastern U.S.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 24 August 2011
Two down, one in the chamber and two to go.  Must be Wednesday. I’m not sure if I’ll partake in “Sushi Wednesday,” but I do have a doctor’s appointment – check up for SaraRules! and the kids – and new comics to look forward to.

Today is the birthday of Utah Symphony‘s Principal Pops Conductor, Jerry Steichen.

Last night, after far too long, I mowed and edged the lawn. I’m not saying that it was a jungle, but I’m pretty sure that I saw a guy in a loincloth riding an elephant through the middle section of the yard. I had considered hitting the gym afterwards, but it was a good enough workout for the day.

Stray Toasters

• Yesterday’s Earthquake Caused More Twitter Traffic Than Bin Laden’s Death
  I called family on both sides of the epicenter; everyone – and everything – is fine.
• After many years of “longing from afar,” my mother is taking something off her Covet List and putting into the living room: A white baby grand piano.

• I think that these are going on The Covet List.
• Above All Else, Eastern Quake Rattles Nerves
• 
• The Geek Zodiac
• NYPD Intelligence Unit Seen Pushing Rights Limits
• 15 Dangerous Cities for Driving
• By way of my friend, Josh: The History of ‘Mahna Mahna’: From a Swedish Sex Film Soundtrack to the Muppets and Beyond
• 
• Skeleton aprons
• Rocket failure dooms space station cargo freighter launch
• By now, many/most people know that there’s a remake of Footloose in the offing. What I didn’t realize, until today, is that it’s being directed by Craig Brewer, the same man who directed Hustle & Flow and Black Snake Moan.

UPDATE: Just got back from SaraRules!’ appointment a little while ago. Looks as though two weeks from today, we will have kids.

Two weeks.  Wow.

Namaste.