Random Access

I was assigned a task this afternoon that made no sense to me.

I asked DaveW (on another team) about it – the item looked like something that he might have some insight on. He just rolled his eyes and started on an abbreviated tirade about the complete lack of thinking that some people do when they have a problem.  This culminated in him saying that the task should have never crossed my desk and the person who created it should have known better in the first place. He also suggested that I verify the nature of the problem with the originator and, if necessary, suggest that they reassign it to the proper team.

A few minutes later, the task was out of my queue.

Yay for monkeys!

Stray Toasters

• Stan Lee and Olivia de Havilland Among National Medal of Arts Winners
• Rather’s Lawsuit Shows Role of G.O.P. in Inquiry at CBS
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” and “Eww…” files: Washington prisons, inmate settle disfigured groin case
• Five Gadgets That Were Killed by the Cellphone
• Seven (More) Gadgets Killed by the Cellphone

Namaste.

Friday – 14 November 2008
And the week is nearly at an end.

Last night was date night… and my night to cook. SaraRules had requested spaghetti and homemade sauce; that’s what she got. We watched a couple episodes of The West Wing and the new episode of CSI: before we fell into channel surfing.

Today we are having a team-building exercise; that exercise is known as Quantum of Solace. ‘Nuff said.

Stray Toasters

• LEGO kitchen crafts
• Sib-2 sent me a link to this article: Man Finds Racial Slur Printed on Receipt
• By way of SaraRules: U.S. To Name First Female 4-Star General
• By way of Drew, a couple of fun items:
  • LEGO, a Flickr set
  • Star Wars, a Flickr set (with the 501st Legion)
• Because style never goes out of fashion:
  • The Return of the Interview Suit, thanks to SaraRules for the link
  • How to Choose a Multi-Occasion Suit
  • Wearing a Sport Coat with Jeans
    

And… that’s all for now, because it’s movie… uh… I mean “team-building” time.

Namaste.

Wes, Marci and I went to pick up and put down heavy things again today. We ran into Tess (another coworker) there, as well. Wes mentioned that he wanted to do some work that targeted specific groups… and that’s what we did, to some degree:

• Bench press: 3 sets/10 reps – 1 set @ 190 lbs; 2 sets @ 200 lbs
• Foward Chest Press (Icarian): 3 sets/10 reps, 80 lbs.
• Decline Barbell Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 45 lbs
• Flys (dumbbell, flat bench): 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs
• Curls (dumbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs
• Push-ups: 3 sets, 10 reps

Post-workout weight: 182.1 lbs

Both of them said that they liked the workout.
Hopefully, they’ll still feel that way after tomorrow…

Thursday – 13 November 2008
There’s a mix of sun and clouds here in the Land Behind the Zion Curtain: To the west, there’s blue sky… to the north, it’s a little cloudy.

Last night was a quiet night. I stopped by to see for a bit. She seems to be doing much better.  Her mother – whom I haven’t seen in three-plus years – is also in town, so I had the opportunity to visit with her, as well. After that, I hung out with SaraRules and her folks for a bit before heading home.

Stray Toasters

• My work desk set-up is: Defiant (my laptop) flanked by two PC monitors; with a few PCs on the floor. The monitor on the left serves as the secondary monitor for the laptop, the one on the right is connected to two of the PCs. I also have powered speakers that I usually connect to Defiant, with the subwoofer resting behind the laptop screen. Standing atop the subwoofer, I have a Captain Sisko Hallmark ornament and a Green Lantern figure.

  A few minutes ago, the Sisko figure fell forward and wound up leaning against Defiant‘s screen. (How apropos is that..?) It looks almost as if he’s trying to peer into the monitor to see what’s going on.

• sent a few interesting items my way:
  • Game show winner gives money to local food bank
  • Russian church missing, presumed stolen
  • Luminescent fiber optic wallpaper
    
• 
• This Sinfest cartoon pretty much says it all…
• …and I’m not really sure what to make of this.
• The Obama Secret Service code names have been revealed… along with past presidents’ handles.
• Legislator in the clear over collection

Namaste.

Tuesday – 11 Nov 2008
Yet another in the work-a-day grind.
But, I hit the ground running and got a couple of items off of my task list, right after I got in.

Last night, I watched the 49ers – Cardinals game with SaraRules and her folks. I wasn’t expecting a lot out of the game, to be honest. I was pleasantly surprised that an actual football game broke out. Kurt Warner still looks fairly impressive – it was almost like he couldn’t throw a bad pass if he tried. The receivers and running backs did good jobs. And on the other side of the ball, Shaun Hill (SF’s 3rd string QB) did a good job of leading the team, including an impressive end-of-game drive that very nearly won the game for SF.

Stray Toasters

• Barack Obama: The 50 facts you might not know
• And, in a related note, by way of SaraRules: Michelle Obama’s real-world style
• And, since we’re dealing in style/fashion, sent these two “tasty” items:
  • Chocolate Superhero Costumes
  • Chocolate Show
• Comic Book Resources has a couple of new trailers for Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
• An interesting read: The Comic Book Virgin Reads Watchmen
• If you kids (or are just a big kid), you may be familiar with Marvel’s Super Hero Squad toys. Marvel Comics is now showing the (mis)adventures of the heroes and villains in daily strips (1, 2, 3) on their website:

  

  …and…

  

• Six Real Gadgets Minority Report Predicted Correctly
• Thunder!
  Thunder!
  Thunderpanties HO!
  (Blame/credit to for this link.)
• Djimon Hounsou to voice BET’s Black Panther

And stuff.
And whatnot.

Namaste.

Wes and I hit the gym at lunch today:

• Bench press: 3 sets/10 reps, 185 lbs
• Fly (machine): 3 sets/10 reps, 100 lbs
• Dumbbell curls (hammer grip): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Tricep extensions (dumbbell, overhead): 3 sets/10 reps, 45 lbs
• Side bends: 3 sets/10 reps per side, 25 lbs
• Row (machine): 3 sets/10 reps, 80 lbs

Post-workout weight: 182.1 lbs

Back to the grind…

Wes, Marci and I hit the gym at lunch today. Just a basic upper body/arm workout today:

• Bench press: 3 sets/10 reps (2 sets and 7 reps – 185 lbs; 3 reps – 165 lbs)
• Fly (machine): 3 sets/10 reps, 100 lbs (10 sec hold on 10th rep)
• Back extensions (machine): 3 sets/12 reps, 120 lbs
• Dumbbell curls (hammer grip): 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs
• Tricep press (bar): 3 sets/10 reps, 60 lbs
• Core (plank): 2 @ 30 seconds, each

It was good.

Post-workout weight: 181.1 pounds.

Friday – 31 October 2008
Happy Hallowe’en.

This year’s costume marks the third time (in four years) that I’ve gone with a Samuel L. Jackson-inspired costume: Mace Windu (SW: The Phantom Menace), Neville Flynn (Snakes on a Plane) and this year…

Yep, Nick Fury (1, 2), from Marvel Comics’ Ultimate Universe and the verrrrry end of the Iron Man movie. And a tip of the hat and a wave of the cane to Mr. Jackson for making sure that I have at least one possible costume idea per year. I’ll have more pictures of the overall costume later tonight… to be posted probably tomorrow.

It’s “a little” busy around the office, as we’re prepping for an audit by our robot overlords.  (Did I say “overlords?” I meant “protectors.”) Fortunately, our little “pre-audit” seems to be going fairly well.

Stray Toasters

• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Guinness Record for Wheelchair Backflip
• Microsoft SecondLight, caught on video
• 2 Blue Angels grounded for inappropriate relationship
• 
• Also from the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Escaped rhino drill at Japanese zoo
  This led to the following exchange with SaraRules:

  SaraRules: I remember seeing an escaped gorilla drill a while back. Crazy Japanese.
  Me: Well, it’s hard to hold Godzilla drills, I guess…
  SaraRules: That would, however, be awesome.

• How to hack LEDs into LEGO minifigures for Hallowe’en
• By way of : Bowler collapses and dies after rolling 300 game
  (Remind me to never bowl a 300 game…)
• Video game cakes

And that’s it for now.

Namaste.

Thursday – 30 Oct 2008
Not a bad day, so far.

Stray Toasters

• I’ve spoken with this morning; she’s doing alright.
• posted a link for this online: Mystery Science Theater 3000 20th Anniversary Edition
• By way of : Stiff Washes Up on UK Shore – A Giant LEGO Minifig Stiff (Looks like it’s been pulled)
  In its place, I give you… LEGO Sofa: Complete LEGO Life Transformation Now Possible
• Wars and social unrest lead to more zombie movies?
• Meetings. YAY!
• Rock Band licenses The Beatles
• From NPR Music: Anthems for the Angry and Underpaid
• Given that the election is coming up: Mosh
  Eminem |MTV Music
• Bat-Manga: the lost Japanese Batman comics of 1966
• For the gamers: UK Opens National Video Game Archive

That’s good for now.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 29 Oct 2008
I vaguely remember turning off the alarm this morning. I was a lovely combination of “tired” and “lazy.” There was a part of me that was having an “I don’t care” moment when I turned off the alarm… so, I turned over and decided to grab some more shut-eye.

So far, the morning has been good and even a little productive… despite the fact that I keep thinking that it’s Thursday.

Stray Toasters

• The morning started with sending me this gem from Not Always Right.
• Comic Book Resources has the new story trailer for the upcoming Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe game:

• By way of : Downey, Favreau sign on for “Avengers” at Marvel
• The Secrets of Chugging a Beer Revealed
• By way of Prelate Derek: 20 Costumes That Will Earn You a Halloween Beating
• I just got my flu shot.
  

That’s a good start.  There may be more later.

Namaste.

Friday – 24 October 2008
Last night, I headed up to SaraRules’ for dinner and date night. Dinner was a damned fine meat loaf, with mashed potatoes, and carrots (with a little bit of brown sugar), all prepared by Ms. SaraRules. After dinner, we – including her family – watched Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I’d still have to say that it’s my third-favorite Indiana Jones movie, but it was fun. Towards the end of the movie, I was wondering how well other pulp fiction-type heroes would fare in the modern cinema. I remember that there was a rumor of a Doc Savage movie in the works a few years ago, but I haven’t read/heard anything about it in some time.

Stray Toasters

• I just received this from a coworker, who found out that my birthday is this weekend and knows of my affinity for Star Trek:



• A few years ago, there was a submarine (the one used in the movie K-19: The Widowmaker, in fact) that was for sale on eBay. I always thought that Bill Gates should have bought it… after all, he pretty much has one of everything else. But he didn’t. However, this morning, I found the following item on Slashdot: Google Founders Buy Fighter Jet. That’s close enough for me.
• Make my funk the P-Funk
  I want my funk uncut
  Make my funk the P-Funk
  I wants to get funked up.
  I want the bomb,
  I want the P-Funk
  I want my funk stepped on
  Make my funk the P-Funk
  Before I take it home
• Sib-4, , sent me a link to this Questionable Content ‘toon. The last panel made me laugh aloud:



• Cartesian dualism — the latest weapon in the war on Darwin
• …and, in a (somewhat) related note: Evolutionary Scientists Test-Drive Spore, Gripe
• Get your drink on… with Raytheon!
  (After finding “drinkware” on the company store site, we’re suggesting this as a new company slogan.)
• The Fonz, Richie, Andy and Opie are pro-Obama
• WizKids still hasn’t updated their Arkham Asylum page.
• By way of IT Knowledge Exchange: CTO of the USA

Tonight: Dinner at Outback. (Can you say “Aussie Cheese Fries,” boys and girls..?)
This time tomorrow: We’ll be on our way to the Right Coast.
Selah.

Namaste.

I’m not sure if I’m done with meetings for the day… or just between meetings. Either way, I’m not complaining. For lunch, loonybin88, a couple of guys from corporate and I went to Cafe Zupa’s. It made for a very nice break.

It felt like I forgot something in this morning’s post. I didn’t remember what that was… until about 45 minutes ago: Happy Birthday,

Back to the grind…

It’s been an interesting day.
Not “bad,” just… “interesting.”

I’ve been in and out of meetings for the better part of the day. The first meeting was for benefits open season. Straightforward and to the point. The second meeting is…was…has been… about our new console system; we have a couple of reps from the manufacturer here to help with training and setup. Too bad that some of our [expletive deleted] servers don’t want to play with the shiny new system.

Workout
Wes, Mark and I went for an abbreviated workout today. It was better than not going at all. Today’s workout included:

• Bench press: 3 sets/10 reps (2 sets – 185 lbs; 1 set – 155 lbs)
• Fly (machine): 3 sets/10 reps, 100 lbs (10 sec hold on 10th rep)
• Back Extensions (machine): 3 sets/12 reps, 120 lbs
• Tricep Extensions (rope): 3 sets/10 reps, 60 lbs
• Leg Raises (Roman Chair): 2 sets/20 reps

I tried another max bench press today. Just for grins, I tried 300 pounds. I was successful in getting the bar off my chest, but that was about it. I dropped back down to 250 pounds; no worries.

Today’s post-workout weight: 182.0 pounds.  In thinking about it over the past few days, I think that staying between 175 and 185 will be good.

Stray Toasters

• Under Maryland Streets, Ties to African Past
• I was tooling around the Interweb earlier, looking for more pics of Arkham Asylum figures. I didn’t find them, but I did find a list of the dials for the figs on HCRealms. As if that wasn’t enough, I then found: Presidential Clix. That’s right, someone Photoshopped pictures of the candidates as HeroClix figures. From right to left, the figures are: Maverick, Captatin Cold, Black Lightning and Bizarro #1.
• How to Take a Punch
• SaraRules pointed out Rain Words, a nice time-waster diversion.
• pointed out that my birthday apparently falls on “World Zombie Day” this year.

Tonight: Cleaning up the apartment for company Friday night.
Tomorrow: Arkham Asylum and… maybe… sushi?

Namaste.

Tuesday – 21 October 2008
Last night’s football game was stunning. I was expecting more of an even fight, but the Pats busted the Broncos: 41-7. Hanging out with SaraRules and her family was fun, as usual.

Stray Toasters

• In much the same way that I decided to leave LiveJournal in lieu of Random Access/WordPress for my primary blogging source, I have decided to make a break from MySpace.
• From The Washington Post: Powell Rejects Islamophobia
• If anyone is a model railroad fan, there is a train show at the Salt Lake County Fairgrounds on the weekend of 01-02 November 2008.
• Zombie Day at the Mall t-shirt…
  …but, I think that this shirt is more my speed, especially when dealing with some of the monkeys at work.
• One more day until Arkham Asylum is released…
• “The sun is a mass of incandescent gas…”

  

• By way of : Ferrari de LEGO
• In case of terrorist attack, do not discard your brain.
• JaC64: a Java-based Commodore 64 emulator
• Researchers discover the most creative time of day

…right on to the friction of the day.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 08 Oct 2008
Middle of the week and all’s well. In the words of the Dave Matthews’ Band, So Much to Say, so let’s get it started…

SaraRules came over after work last night. We ran a couple of errands, including picking up a barbecue chicken pizza from Papa Murphy’s and headed back to my place. We watched Senators Obama and McCain in the second presidential debate. Again, I’m not really sure that either candidate “won” the debate, but if I had to pick a winner, I’d have to go with…

Tom Brokaw.

That’s right: Tom Brokaw, the moderator. Why? He had the best lines – including a couple of snarky jabs at the candidates for not sticking to the agreed format.

After the debacle debate, we headed to the gym. Lo and behold, I still remember how to workout! Unglaublich! SaraRules did cardio; I headed to the machines and free weights:

• Lat Pulldowns: 3 sets @ 100 lbs
• Close-grip pulldowns: 3 sets @ 80 lbs
• Reverse Flys: 3 sets, 1 set @ 60 lbs, 2 sets @ 50 lbs
• Overhead tricep extensions (dumbbell): 3 sets @ 40 lbs
• Side Bends: 3 sets, 25 lbs dumbbells
• Tricep Extenstions (T-Bar): 3 sets, 80 lbs
• Core: 2 sets, 45 seconds

I neglected to weigh myself pre- or post-workout. Oh, well.

We headed back to my place to catch David Letterman’s monologue and Top 10 List before she headed home. She made the comment that it seems like he’s got “…a personal vendetta” against Senator McCain and that it’s rather amusing to see what he’s going to say/do next. She’s right.

The Best: Rocket Man
I think that I first became aware of this song when it appeared on The Greatest American Hero, many moons ago. Since then, it’s been a favorite.

I apparently have four versions of it in iTunes:

1. Elton John – the classic, original version
2. Kate Bush – a synth and bass-rich version, from the “Two Rooms” tribute CD
3. Me First and the Gimme Gimmes – a punk cover
4. Jamie Cullum – a jazzy piano take on the song.

If I had to rate my favorites, it’d go in this order:

1. Elton John
2. Jamie Cullum
3. Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
4. Kate Bush

The rationale (as much as there is for it) is as follows: The Elton John version is, like I said classic. To me, it reminds me a bit of David Bowie’s Space Oddity, in that its protagonist simply seems… resigned to his fate and is trying to make the best of his situation. The Jamie Cullum version seems to put a different, more upbeat spin on it: Here’s a guy who has a secret (I’m not the man they think I am at home…), but is fine with it and he gets to see all kinds of things that no one else gets to see or do. He doesn’t come off as resigned, but kind of “Wow, too bad you guys can’t be here to check this out.” The Me First version is just… frenetic and fun and full of energy. And the Kate Bush version is… Kate Bush. *shrug*

Stray Toasters

• MarkinTyme sent me a link to A Literal Take on Take On Me, in which someone… just take a look at it for yourself. Hilarious… in a “You had WAAAY too much free time on your hands” way. And, yes, it’s work-safe.
• Hey Ensign Redshirt… why don’t you go investigate that odd noise while we talk to the locals?
• It’s been a while since I’ve had a steampunk-related entry, but here we go: Steampunk Keyboard, the Mini-Me version
• Buy a LEGO Life-Sized Replica of Yourself for $60,000
• With Hallowe’en just around the corner:
  • The Zombie Apocalypse Is Less Terrifying in LEGO
  • Dismember-Me Plush Zombie
  • Zombie Brain Jell-O Mold
• 
• Democrats Still Most Tech-Savvy, Rent Digital Billboard to Text Message Sarah Palin at Rally
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: US Customs: Sketching an SUV makes you a copyright infringer
  
• I moved the speakers that I hook up to my laptop at work. It made a noticeable – and greatly improved – difference in the acoustics.
• Yokai Attack: The Japanese Monster Survival Guide
• By way of : Operation Double Y’d Targets Women
  (Um… aren’t women “Double X?”  And XYY Syndrome is a little… rare.  And “male.”  Just sayin’.)

And now, meeting time!

Namaste.