Random Access

Friday – 07 May 2010
It’s my “on” Friday… but that’s okay: The team is seeing Iron Man 2 at lunch.

SaraRules and I saw the movie last night… well, “very early this morning.” And it was worth the lack of sleep. It was a well-done bit of entertainment. Mr. Downey looked quite comfortable, once again, as Tony Stark. Don Cheadle turned in a good performance as Lt. Col. James Rhodes, the “voice of reason” to Tony’s “poor impulse control.” Samuel L. Jackson was one bad mother… no, wait…. had it with these motherf…. wait… “he was good in his expanded role as S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury.”  Scarlett Johansson also did a good turn as The Black Widow. Mickey Rourke did a good job of turning Marvel villain Whiplash (whose back story was given a tweak to fit into the movie’s storyline) into a credible threat and Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer was equal parts unctuous slimeball and opportunistic business man. All-in-all, Jon Favreau did a good job of bringing viewers back into the world of Tony Stark. I was impressed with how his nod to Demon in a Bottle was handled – very subtly, but it made the point. I was also amused by some of the cameos in the film, as well. (Look for “Larry King.”) And, don’t forget to stay for a little bump after the credits. Just sayin’.

And… there were a couple of interesting trailers before the movie, too: A new one for The Last Airbender (which looked pretty nice) and one for an upcoming J.J. Abrams project that looks… intriguing.

Before the movie, Chris came over. We were originally planning on throwing a HeroClix game together, but opted to play HALO 3: ODST, instead. And it was good. Selah.

Stray Toasters

• Most of my cold symptoms are gone… but I’m still dealing with a sore/scratchy throat and swollen lymph nodes. Bah.
• The Art of Style, and the Style of Art
• For SaraRules: No sleep til…
• For Amy: Click or tap along with new ‘Sam & Max’ series
• Couch Forts: A Critique
• The pill: 50 years of birth control changed women’s lives
• The Bell Tolls: Lots of blame in Raiders’ JaMarcus Russell flop… sorry, SaraRules
• By way of Rachel: Things That Can Make You Feel Like an Idiot Almost Instantly
• F.C.C. Proposes Rules on Internet Access
• Nyx showed me this video…

  …and all I could think of was:

  Spider-Bear! Spider-Bear!
  Whats she doing up in the air?

• Former MySpace security chief starts company
• Music round-up:
  • Gustavo Dudamel: Making Classical Cool in L.A.
  • U.S. Troops Spoof Lady Gaga Video
  • Moby: One Song, Two Days, Three Versions
• How a Cellphone Call Works
• April Jobs Report: Best gain in four years

Yep, that’s good for now.

Namaste.

Thursday – 06 May 2010
This NBN Thursday finds me feeling much better than I was feeling yesterday. By the time I left work, my sore throat had invited its friends “aching,” “lethargy” and “weakness” to come over for a visit. When I got home – after a rather abbreviated trip to Dr. Volt’s – I was only too happy to soak in a tub of hot water and read a few items from the day’s four-color haul. After dinner, I spent the better part of the evening in bed. I slept for a couple of hours. I read more comics. I medicated. I hydrated.

This morning, I feel about 90-95% of baseline normal. This is a good thing.

Stray Toasters

• Dressed for Success, the Frugal Way
• Cutting Libraries in a Recession…
• Women under 50 ‘face work stress risk’
• 
• Facebook Glitch Brings New Privacy Worries
• The Little Bang: Small, simple drawing show offers big rewards
• Ms. Amy, you might (just *might*) want to click here.
• Profile in Style: Kelly Wearstler
• 
• Gay Couples Challenge Defense of Marriage Act
• Nigeria swears in new president
• My Demotivators (Cluelessness, Indecision and Insight)arrived a couple of days ago. I forgot to bring them to work… which just means that I have more time to figure out where I want them to go.
• A little something for your Thursday: The Brian Setzer Orchestra – Jump Jive and Wail:
• Editorial: Video Games and Free Speech
• I, Zombie: A Jug of Wine, A Lobe of Brain and Thou
• Mayan Plumbing Found in Ancient City

Namaste.

Wednesday – 28 April 2010
It’s snowing.
Yes, it was better than 70F a day or two ago.
Now, it’s not. According to The Weather Channel, it is 40F right now.
Yesterday, it was also very windy. A LOT of dust was blown into the valley from the desert, making things grey and drab.

Last night, SaraRules and I met at the old apartment to pick up some of the last few things we left there. Things were moving along nicely – we had loaded her car and had started putting things in mine – when, about 21:30/21:45, the power went out.

::: braincramp :::

The flashlight was at the house, as were the candles, so we were effectively done. We piled into our cars and headed home…

…only to discover that the power was out there, too.

*grblsnrkx*

The first and most immediate issue that created: No automatic garage door opener. And the door doesn’t seem to have a handle or manual method for opening it. So, we had the privilege of parking outside. No power also pretty much meant that unpacking most things was out. We found the flashlight and SaraRules tracked down a couple of the big candles and we sat around and chatted (and listened to the still-howling wind) until she nodded off. I tried – somewhat unsuccessfully – to stay away, but drifted off about 23:15.

At 23:34, the power came back on. I took advantage of the situation and prepped the coffee maker, put away some of the fortunately still-frozen food that we had brought from the apartment. Since I had been up and moving around, falling back asleep wasn’t the easiest thing, so I grabbed my GameBoy and played a few rounds of Tetris. Sleep found me about thirty minutes later.

Stray Toasters

• No power + new house = BAH!
  (Of course, it kind of made the no TV/no Internet thing easy to cope with…)
• I’m debating advancing my timetable for having DirecTV installed.
• Check out Jim Lee’s variant cover for Legion of Super-Heroes #1

  

  “I’d buy that for a dollar!”
  (Who am I kidding?  It’s a Legion book.  I’d easily pay TWO dollars for it!)

• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Sprint employees fired for capturing shoplifter
• Who was the best/worst astronaut… and why:
  • Captain Anthony “Buck” Rogers
  • Major Anthony “Tony” Nelson
  • Colonel Steve Austin

  Discuss.

And with that, Kenneth and I are off to the South 40 to deal with a couple of issues with the kids down there. Pray for us.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 27 April 2010
Another day in the valley kicks off with sun and mild temperatures…

…too bad we’re supposed to take a thirty-plus degree dive over the next couple of days. Yep, we’re going from upper-60s/low-70s to… mid-40s. Lucky us.

Last night, we spent the evening with the in-laws, celebrating Steve’s birthday. There was bocce (the game, not the language), lots of good food:

• Tasty grilled ribs
• Rice pilaf
• Salad
• As well as potato salad and carrot salad for those who like them…

…marzipan cake and ice cream. And, boozy beverages. All-around win.

After SaraRules and I got back home, we decided to put the family room together. Somewhat. We moved furniture into its more or less permanent locations. We didn’t, however, put media away… as we are going to have to primer/paint the walls — they are in need of a little help, shall we say.

And the walls in my office? They don’t need help, they need a hero. I don’t know what color they were going for, but the walls just look… dingy. I was looking at how bright SaraRules’ office – next door to mine – looked at the same time of day with the same size window in it. It wasn’t quite a “day and night” difference, but it was definitely “day and dusk.” A fresh coat of white paint will do wonders for that room.

Stray Toasters

• Yay for waiting for return calls from corporate!
• Best of Craigslist
• The Sandy Hobby Lobby opens sometime in May.
  (This is both a “good” and a “bad” thing… )
• Modern dance inspired by science
• This comic…

  

  …reminded me of playing Indigo Bolt in City of Heroes – I used one of the available costume slots to create a “formal dress” costume for him. Yep, I’m just that geeky.

• By way of Nyx:
  • Rebekah & Shayne’s Hospital Wedding — This was a cute story.
  • Nick, Bryan & Otto’s Milwaukee Studio
• A bumpy economic recovery, with hope in Midwest, South
• The Family Stand: Ghetto Heaven
• Running down a dream: Leg amputee makes U.S. Track team
• Just for the record: If you have a Comcast cable box/DVR with programs on the hard drive, you can’t watch them if there’s no signal from Comcast.  So much for catching up on 24…
• Eggs flying in Parliament, Ukraine approves deal for closer Russia ties
• Canadiens stymie Capitals to force series-deciding Game 7 (Go, Caps!)
• Good times and riches
  And son of a bitches
  I’ve seen more than I can recall…
• Ben Heine’s pencil drawing-photo hybrids

Namaste.

Thursday – 22 April 2010
It’s another NBN Thursday in the valley and it started off with… well… I wouldn’t go so far as to say “flurries,” but there was “some snow” falling when I left the apartment this morning.

It’s also Earth Day.

Last night, SaraRules and I packed up a good portion of the things in the kitchen. I’ll probably tackle the pantry, the remains of the office and some of the bedroom closet this evening. Have I recently mentioned that I’ll be happy when all of this “moving” business is done?

Stray Toasters

• Guess who has Sloppy Joes and Thin Mints AND a fortune cookie in his lunch today!
• Today is a Three-Meeting Thursday, apparently.
• Environmentally-Friendly Clothing
• pointed out Daring Fireball’s take on the 4G iPhone leak; it’s a good read.
• New Zeus version targeting Firefox users for bank fraud
• 
• I heard a remake of Cyndi Lauper’s Time After Time on the radio during this morning’s commute. I had no idea how many times this song has been covered; this morning’s version was by a band called Quietdrive.
• Hearing that song made me think of other covers, which somehow made me think of C+C Music Factory’s cover of U2’s Pride (In The Name of Love):

  ….which, in turn, led me to their cover of Aretha Franklin’s Pride/A Deeper Love

• Ben Roethlisburger has been suspended for six games, though he could possibly be out for only four.
• ….and it seems as though the Steelers are possibly looking to trade Big Ben… to the Raiders.
• Checkmate
• Yesterday’s comic haul was light, but good. I’m planning another Four-Color Coverage review… but after The Great LEGO Brick Debacle of 2010, courtesy of “some setting changing/being changed in WordBook, I’m a little leery of doing so.  Tests shall have to be run.
• Clerks Find Papers from 1881 Gunfight at OK Corral
• New Fringe tonight.
• New Burn Notice …in 6 weeks.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 21 April 2010
Another Comics and Sushi Wednesday is upon us.
And, it’s also Melissa S.’s birthday:

Last night, Chris and I were supposed to get together to play dolls. Yesterday afternoon, I got a call from Jeremiah – one of the guys from Dr. Volt’s – asking if we would be interested in checking out the store’s display copy of the soon-to-be-released Blackest Night set.

Um… YES!
Duh.

So, after work – and a quick dinner with SaraRules – Chris and I met at Jeremiah’s. And we saw the new hotness. And it was good. Selah. I’m looking forward to picking up this set. After we shot the bull for a while, we finally decided to play a game. 1200 points. Chris vs Jeremiah and me. (Pictures here.) In the hour-and-a-half we played, there was only one casualty: Jeremiah’s Sinestro Corps Batman. And then it was time to put away our toys and go home. It was, nevertheless, fun.

I’ll take a moment here to thank SaraRules for suggesting that I take the evening off from the hullaballoo of packing and do something fun. Best. Wife. Ever. In fact, let’s just cut to the chase and make her today’s Human of the Day.

Stray Toasters

• The Ravens’ 2010 schedule has been posted.
• I think that I want (at least) one of these t-shirts.
• I have a couple of guys hanging out at my desk today:



• By way of comes ModHero
  • : Check out the upper left corner
  • MarknTyme: Check out the lower left corner
• Balloon hoax dad must pay restitution
• pointed out: Subway Etiquette Posters
  I need to adapt some of these to be “Office Etiquette Posters.”
• 
• Apple Didn’t Leak the iPhone — and Why That Matters
• Maddox has a new item on his site: Safety Tips for Safe Kids!
• Technical Difficulties at the Supreme Court
• The Alot Is Better Than You at Everything, courtesy of

Namaste.

Monday – 19 April 2010
Goodbye, weekend.
Hello, work day grind.
At least the weather is nice. I might even have to go for a constitutional later today.

Yesterday saw a little more work around the house. And… (yet) another trip to Home Depot. At this rate, I’m beginning to wonder how long it will be before employees there know us on a first name basis. This time, we needed to get a lawnmower… and a few other items. We got what we needed and went to put them to work.

SIDENOTE: I’m… not the biggest fan of the former owners’ landscaping in the front yard. I understand the concept, but find the execution to be poor. (Sort of an ” ‘A’ for effort…” kind of thing.) It’s a little disjointed — there are three distinct areas in the landscaped bit, with no real cohesion between them. And, I find it annoying to mow around. I have some ideas of how I’d like to redo that area, but they will have to wait.  But, you better believe that I was mentally cursing whomever thought that curved lines were the way to go there.

Logan and Swiz came over just after I finished the yard work. (It was almost as if they were waiting around the corner until it was done…) They came to see the new floor. They liked it. They hung out and chatted for a little while, before heading out to The Garden of Sweden.

We cleaned up and headed back to the apartment to get cleaned up and ready for dinner. We headed up to SaraRules’ parents’. Dinner included bratwurst and mojitos. Selah. After dinner, we took the in-laws over to the house, so that they could see things post-paint/post-floor. Then, it was back to their house for dessert and then, it was back to the apartment for us. More packing! YAY! And, I managed to catch up on an hour of 24 while packing. Win-Win.

Stray Toasters

• Airlines condemn ‘European mess’
• Poll: 4 out of 5 Americans don’t trust Washington
  • Here is a corollary article, including graphs, from The Atlantic
• Something that shockpuppet found makes me smile:



• From the “Is it live… or is it Memorex?” file: This Is Apple’s Next iPhone
• Olympics track contributes to Kumaritashvili death
• 

• Despite New Law, Salary Gender Gap Persists
• Meetings!

And that’s a wrap!

Namaste.

Wednesday – 14 April 2010
Today is not Sushi and Comics Wednesday…
Today is the day that The Brave and the Bold set for HeroClix releases!
(What can I say?  It’s the little things in life… literally, in this case.)

Last night, SaraRules and I visited Lumber Liquidators. We were in search of flooring for the dining room.  We had originally considered going with a laminated floor (think: Pergo), until my mother mentioned the idea of reclaimed hardwood — made from strips of hardwood, as opposed to synthetic materials with a “picture of wood” on top. After looking around for a while, we found something that we both agreed upon. Seven boxes and a few trim pieces later, we were under way. Tearing out the carpet and laying the floor will be this weekend’s big project.

The night was, otherwise, relatively quiet. SaraRules made cheesesteak sandwiches for dinner. Win! We watched an episode of NCIS and Turf War — it was odd to see Diane Neal, whom I last saw on Law & Order: The Next Generation SVU, on NCIS as a CGIS agent… but not disconcertingly so. After Turf Wars, we set about boxing a few things, in preparation for our move.

This morning, I woke up at 0527… for reasons unknown. After realizing that I still had an hour to sleep, I made my way back to The Dreaming. When I woke up to start the day, I was greeted with blue skies and chirping birds. I also had Johnny Gill’s Rub You the Right Way running through my head. I thought about making it this morning’s video… which was further cemented when Christina Aguilera’s Genie in a Bottle (a song I think of in conjunction with Rub You the Right Way) played during the morning commute:

We’ll see what the rest of the day holds…

Stray Toasters

• For the homeowners out there: It’s been a while since I’ve had to deal with mowing a yard, let alone having to buy a lawnmower for said task. I’m in the market for a new mower (gas-powered) and will most likely buy one this weekend. What kind of mower do you have and what do/don’t you like about it?
• I’m considering ordering this:
  



• Lincoln’s Missing Bodyguard
• When Students Ignited a Change in Racial Politics
• It seems as though Jonathan Coulton has released some of his songs for play in Rock Band, including Code Monkey and Ikea.
• 
• Steve Thomas’ Arcade Game Propaganda Posters
• Horrifying stationery
• I’ve been looking for a good library program for cataloguing my comics (and DVDs and books and…and… and…).  I think that I may have found something to fit the bill… without having to code it myself! I may just have to go ahead and pull the trigger on this one.
• What I’ve Learned: Jack Bauer
• U.S. standards on beef are lax, inspector general says
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Robot Toilet Paper Holder

Attack the day
Like birds of prey…

Namaste.

Tuesday – 13 April 2010
Happy Birthday to John:

Yesterday was a long day. Eleven hours and change in the office — what started as a small fire turned into “The Towering Inferno.” That was followed by over three hours at the house, the majority of which was spent climbing ladders and painting. On the “plus” side, I got Beef Lo Mein and Shrimp Fried Rice for dinner. Win! I hit the rack about 11:30 PM… and was quite happy to call it a day.

This morning, I stayed in bed for about 20 or so minutes after the alarm went off, but I managed to drag myself out of bed and get ready to face the day. So far, coffee has a good companion this morning.

Stray Toasters

• Painting: Phase One is now 95% complete. SaraRules is going to do a small section in the kitchen tomorrow night and that will wrap up all of the pre-move painting. Next project: Replacing the dining room floor.
• By way of comes: The Bridge at Hoover Dam
• Lehman Used ‘Alter Ego’ to Transfer Risks
• Birthday cake == good
  Zombies == good
  Zombie birthday cake == Double-plus good
• If you’re in the Salt Lake City metro area and looking for something to do this evening, why not go to see the Grizzlies take on the Las Vegas Wranglers?  It’s Game Five of the playoffs and tickets are only $10.
• Sezen Aksu: The Voice of Istanbul (not Constantinople)
• Soap in Carbonite, courtesy of
• 
  I wholheartedly agree with the middle panel.
• Europe Finds Clean Energy in Trash, but U.S. Lags
• Nation’s soaring deficit calls for painful choices
• Future Tech: Driverless Audi set to climb curvy Pike’s Peak
• 

• The Brave and the Bold set drops tomorrow…
• Is it fair to patent genes? ACLU takes on biotech over issue
• Math tutor uses numbers to fight red light camera ticket
  

Namaste.

Monday – 12 April 2010
Time flies when you’re having fun… and when you’re working to get your new house ready for moving in. This weekend has been a whirlwind of activity, a good portion of which involved house work. But, I’m back in the office, with a triple-shot-laden large cup of frozen mocha goodness. At least the view from the office windows was nice this morning.

Saturday morning, SaraRules and I met Chris and Mary for breakfast. After that, Chris and I headed up to Dr. Volt’s  for the HeroClix tournament; I decided to make the theme for this event “Ragnarok,” as it was the final tournament for the Hammer of Thor set. There were (technically) 14 players – two players (a father and his young son) played as a team – so there were seven matches per round. Everything went swimmingly. Pictures of the event can be seen here.

After the tourney, I dropped Chris off and headed to the house. SaraRules and Swiz had spent the early afternoon painting. I helped SaraRules finish off the first coat of paint in the master bedroom. By the time we finished Round 1 of the weekend painting, notable progress had been made. Next, we cleaned up and then joined OnlyAly, and a few others for the Grizzlies game against the Las Vegas Wranglers. Unfortunately, the Grizzlies lost — they just seemed to play a soft game against an aggresive opponent.

Sunday, we headed up to the in-laws’ for breakfast. Homemade waffles! Then it was back to the house for Painting: Round 2 – second coats of paint in most rooms… and laundry! After that, back up to the in-laws’ for cake and ice cream (to celebrate Logan’s birthday.) Back to the house to pick up the last load of laundry and then on to the apartment to call it a day.

Stray Toasters

• Our home’s previous owners left us… stuff. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!
• There’s a small room in the basement that SaraRules has considered turning into a boudoir. I discovered this weekend that the male equivalent of such a room is traditionally referred to as a “cabinet.” To be honest, I think that I prefer that term to “man cave,” although, I am still partial to “HALO Command Center.”
• A week or so ago, MarknTyme forwarded a link to Nuit Blanche. Last week, Wired had an interview with its director, in which he explained some of the techniques and processes used in making the short.
• Space Pussy, which – despite its name – is actually quite safe for work.
• Jamie posted a link to a new How It Should Have Ended: Star Trek
• I’ve become far too enamored of DIY Network. I think that I watched at least two hours of Yard Crashers and Turf Wars late last night/far-too-early this morning.
• It seems as though Santonio Holmes is now a Jet.
• By way of comes something with which every LEGO fan will be able to empathize:

  

• We’re having a “Captain, the ship canna take much more of this…!” moment in the office. Yay.
• Space shuttle sequel slated for lift-off
• Maps on the backs of detective novels

Namaste.

Tuesday – 06 April 2010
It snowed last night. There’s a coat of snow on the ground, but it didn’t seem to stick to the roadways, fortunately.

I need to give a very quick, but heartfelt, “Thank you” to for lending his time and his handy-dandy Jeep to help me ferry a ladder (and other painting supplies) from the local home improvement store to the new house.

After spending a bit of time getting ready, I set about applying primer to the walls. A short while later, SaraRules got home – well, “new” home – and helped with the process. I had realized, shortly before she arrived, that I still needed a couple of tools. She had a couple in her car, but I still needed to come home and pick up my Channel-Locks. Good thing. I also remembered to pick up a couple of other things. Then, back to the primer slinging.

Today, I am continuing with my desk move. I have accumulated a LOT of stuff – including a herd or three of dust bunnies – in the two years I was at my old desk.

And again tonight, there shall be blood primer…

Stray Toasters

• SaraRules just added Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus to the Netflix queue. God help us all.
  (Although, this does mean that I’ll get to see a giant shark leap out of the water and attack an airplane again.)
• Geoff Peterson made his debut last night. We’ll have to see how his career at CBS progresses…
• Awesome Artwork Made with Sharpies
• By way of comes: What You Didn’t Know about Nintendo
• How Americans are propogandized about Afghanistan
• Jazz is for the Birds
• Jam Session with Improvised Instruments
• Why games will take over our lives
• 
• 1:40 scale Fallingwater is as gorgeous as the real landmark
• World’s biggest scrap-metal sculpture is a steampunk wonderland
• Mapmaker, Mapmaker, Draw Me My Life
• Donovan McNabb… as a Washington Redskin.  Huh.
• Changes are afoot at Digg
• Cyber Insecurity: U.S. Struggles to Confront Threat

Namaste.

Monday – 05 April 2010
A new work week begins. It’s partly cloudy and the forecast is calling for rain, but I’m glad for the little bit of blue sky that greeted me this morning. And, being a Monday, I think that calls for a little something to get in the mood of getting back into the workday grind:

Last night, we watched Help! with the in-laws and a couple of the sibs-in-law. It was interesting. To be honest, it really just felt like a long episode of The Monkees.
… maybe

After we got home, we watched a bit of DIY Network. (Not so oddly, we’ve been watching a lot of DIY Network lately…) I’ve become a fan of: 10 Grand In Your Hand, Yard Crashers and House Crashers… and Renovation Realities has become a “Oh, you poor bastard…” kind of guilty pleasure.

Stray Toasters

• I was in the office at 0730 this morning. The motivation: I need to put some primer on the walls in a few rooms tonight. I figure that getting in here early will get me out of here early and afford me a little extra time to slap a coat or two on this evening. And that brings up two things:
  1. Does anyone want to come over and help wield a roller? I pay in pizza!
  2. People have asked about pictures of the house. Click here to see a few shots of it.
• Nyx sent a link to Video Game Renaissance. Some of them made me laugh.
• How the Paperback Novel Changed Popular Literature
• 
• Beyond 50: American States That Might Have Been
  Even though this includes a look at ‘Deseret‘ — and “No,” I did not make up that name — they didn’t left out the state of Ar…
• 2010 Hugo Nominees
• Geoff Peterson hits the airwaves tonight: ‘He Has No Armaments’: Does Craig Ferguson’s Robot Sidekick Truly Come in Peace?
• Nine Days to The Brave and The Bold…

He gets right on to
The friction of the day…

Namaste.

Tuesday – 30 March 2010
“Wow.”
That’s really the best way to describe how the morning has gone. There were some… networking issues that took a little longer to sort out than planned. They have been dealt with and all is well with the world once more. At least, for the time being.

::: hangs up cape :::

Last night was relatively quiet. I hung out at home while SaraRules was at a club meeting. Then we met up at the mall and did a little shopping. Back home for some TV and downtime. I also worked on the railroad building for the Dr. Volt’s masterboard.

Stray Toasters

• Today is ‘s  farewell lunch. Pawit’s. Should be good.
• For reasons relating to solving this morning’s network snafu, is also my Human of the Day.
• For SaraRules: Eagles sending quarterback Donovan McNabb to Raiders? , by way of
• This morning, I had Nelly’s Shake Ya Tailfeather playing in my head. That was a good way to start the day.
• Sony’s PS3 Update Could Affect Supercomputer Users
• Xbox 360 to Accept Any and All USB Storage Starting April 6^th
• My new NFL jerseys have shipped. They should arrive early next week. This is good.
• Wye Oak: Tiny Desk Concert
• ::: This Space Left Intentionally Blank :::
• 
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Court OKs Repeated Tasering of Pregnant Woman
• My friend, Melissa S., posted a link about this fashion atrocity – which is apparently called a “Peekaroo” – on Facebook:
  

  With it, you can re-enact your very own version of the chest-burster scene from Alien.

• First Listen: Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings
• Gadget and video game-themed baked goods

Namaste.

Huh.  I just noticed that I’m actually dressed like my icon, with the exception of the tie color being different.

Thursday – 11 March 2010
Last night, I went home and tried to figure out what I wanted to do with a free evening. A good portion of that time – about two hours – was spent sitting on the couch, watching MythBusters.  After fixing something to eat, I finally decided to hit the neighborhood Barnes & Noble and try to get in some drawing. I took a few ‘Clix with me, as it’s always nice to have some figure references and set about putting graphite to paper…

I started by going through the issue of Lurzer’s Archive that I was using as reference/inspiration last week. I more or less finished a sketch that I started and then tried moving on to another piece. After that, inspiration struck: I started on a new piece based on a song lyric. If I can maintain a nominally steady pace, I should have something to show in the next week or so.

I left the bookstore and headed home. SaraRules got home shortly afterwards. We chatted about our days, watched a bit of TV and called it a night…

…unfortunately, I could not easily find my to The Dreaming. I laid in bed for what seemed like hours before finally drifting off. Maybe that White Chocolate Mocha I drank while drawing had something to do with it.

Oddly enough, I didn’t wake up feeling horribly tired this morning. That’s a good thing for an NBN Thursday.

Stray Toasters

• Today starts my week with The Leash.  Despite that, it’s still a good day.
• Four-Color Coverage got a nod from The Legion Omnicom.
• Max Brooks Joins G.I. Joe Comics
  And, yes, he’s “that” Max Brooks.
• Thanks to for making sure I was able to pickup the latest MacHeist bundle before the offer ended.
• In Which I Try To Use All Of WGN’s Newly Banned Words In One Sentence
• I just got out of a 30-40 minute long conversation with our CTO.  Impromptu. Unexpected.  And… good.
• 
• Multitasking in for iPhone 4.0?
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” File: Lesbian panic shuts down Mississippi high school prom
• Former TSA analyst charged with computer tampering
• For the gamers out there: Recommend a good first-person shooter for me.  I’m starting to miss Battlefield 2142, but there haven’t been any updates for it since DICE/EA has allocated their resources to supporting Battlefield: Bad Company.
• IKEA’s Soft Toys Raise $35 Million for Charity

Namaste.

Tuesday – 09 March 2010
Another workin’ day in the valley…  This one begins with a few high clouds, but they’re moving eastward and they seem to be leaving sunlight in their wake.  I’m good with that.

Last night, I treated myself to dinner at Outback Steakhouse. I had been craving their bad-for-you-but-oh-so-tasty Aussie Cheese Fries for about a week and decided that it was time to do something about it. So… I decided to go. Stag. When I mentioned this to a couple of people I got the “raised eyebrow” treatment:

“You’re going… by yourself?”
“Yep.”
::: blank stare :::

I don’t understand why it is that going out to eat alone is such an alien concept. People go shopping alone. They go to the movies alone. It seems, to me, a natural progression that one might choose to eat out alone. *shrug* Oh, well.

Dinner was good. I got the full order of cheese fries, which means that I have a fair-sized portion of left-overs waiting in the fridge.  My steak was good, despite originally brought to the table slightly undercooked. I sent it back so they could do more than just scare it with the flame. Both my waitress and the manager we quite amenable about the whole thing. All-in-all, it was a rather pleasant dining experience.

Stray Toasters

• Female WWII Pilots: The Original Fly Girls
  I have to say that I’m a little disappointed that NPR missed having this article ready yesterday, in time for International Women’s Day.
  
• How Henrietta Lack’s cells fueled medical breakthroughs
• For and shockpuppet:



• Purdue Men’s Basketball Brings Home a Bevy of Conference Honors
• Have you seen the latest trailer for Tron: Legacy? If not, click here and enjoy.
• Straight out of the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” files:
  Yesterday, posted the following:

  [19:11] ok r0b
  [19:11] i know you’re into star wars.  and legos.
  [19:12] but can you identify star wars lego figurines using ONLY YOUR MOUTH?   cause this german kid can:

  I shared the vid with my friend, Eric.  He countered with this:
  

  I shared that video with who, in a masterful stroke, retaliated with:
  

• Boldin Seeking Revenge on Steelers
• By way of come a couple of things:
  • Up, Up & Away – Get Your Own Jet Pack for $75k (This goes squarely on The Covet List.  Duh.)
  • 1024-bit RSA encryption cracked by carefully starving CPU of electricity
• Real-life Hurt Locker: How Bomb-proof Suits Work

Namaste.