Random Access

Tuesday – 29 May 2012
To quote the late Mr. Fred Rogers: “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood.”

Team DiVa was up “a little” early this morning, so the day got off to a bit of an early start.

Diana

Vanessa

After breakfast – both for the girls, as well as SaraRules! and myself – we played in the living room for a bit until Bonne got here. And then…

…SaraRules! (who has the day off) and I set about the business of tearing down the gazebo in our back yard. We got started about 9:30 AM and worked until about 12:30; and in that time, this is what we accomplished. It’s not completely gone, but as SaraRules! put it: “…there’s a lot less gazebo than there was this morning.” Not bad for three hours’ work.

And tonight is Guys’ Night Out. I’d call that a good way to wind up a rather productive day.

Namaste.

Friday – 25 March 2012
Today, I’m hanging out with Team DiVa:

Friday morning reading/eating time with Diana (l) and Vanessa

A few days ago, I mentioned that I would post a video of the little ladies”caught in the act” of one of their new habits… if I could catch it.

I did and here’s the video to prove it. I hereby declare that it is the cutest thing that you will see today (and possibly all weekend):

Team DiVa – Mr. Bass Man
[FMP]http://www.echopulse.net/teamdiva/Team%20DiVa%20-%20Mr%20Bass%20Man.m4v[/FMP]
Right-click or ctrl-click this link to download

For those who aren’t familiar with what the girls are watching, it’s this video, from The Muppet Show.

Tuesday – 22 May 2012
Today’s another sunny day in the valley.
Tomorrow, however, there’s rain in the forecast, long with a nearly 15 degree drop in temperature. Yay.

There will (hopefully) be a new Adventure Babies: Team DiVa video short in the next few days… if I can catch them doing one of their new cute habits.

Stray Toasters

• Experts explain why PSA test is not worth risk
• There’s a rumour going around that I might actually go to the gym this evening. (I started it.)
• A ‘Leap’ forward in gesture-control interfaces?
• Tracking the Junk Food the World Eats After Dark
• Are Bananas Really as Bad For You as Cookies?
• 
• Lucasfilm Retreats in Battle with Wealthy Neighbors
  I’d read about this last week, but wanted to get a second verifying source.
• Miles Davis: his wardrobe, his wit, his way with a basketball…
• Stuff and things. Yadda Yadda Yadda.
  (Not to be confused with Boom De Yada or Boom De Yada.
• Engineering Infrastructures for Humans
• I skimmed over a new ad for DC Super Heroes: LEGO Batman 2 and thought that LEGiOn of Super-Heroes would make a great game. Hey, a guy can dream.
• Hitchhiking Director John Waters Picked Up in Ohio by Indie Rock Band
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Baby trapped in tumble dryer after ‘joke’ goes wrong.
  (Also, the child was in a washing machine, not a dryer. And, no, that doesn’t make it any better.)  I’m glad that the child in this story is reported to be fine, but I have nothing “good” to say/think about the father in this video. Seriously, what kind person puts his child in a washing machine?!  Even as a “joke.” As my father would say, “That doesn’t even make good crazy peoples’ sense.”
• Cake Wrecks. ‘Nuff said.
• The history of the U.S. electric grid

Namaste.

Tuesday – 15 May 2012
Huh.  It’s been a week since my last post. And there have been goings-on… which is to be somewhat expected, as seven days have gone by.

The biggest happening is: I resigned last week. And it was good. I’m going to miss the people. (And possibly the view from my window, but they are looking at moving fairly soon, so the view was going away anyway.)

The next biggest happening was that Sunday was Mother’s Day. More specifically, it was SaraRules!’ first chance to celebrate Mother’s Day as a mother.

We had a fairly quiet morning at home, and then dropped the girls off at the in-laws’ while SaraRules! and I went to the Utah Opera performance of Of Mice and Men. It was my third American opera; I was cautiously optimistic, as I was one-and-one on American opera to this point. My optimism was rewarded. I enjoyed the performance.

And, just in case you needed more Team DiVa cuteness:

Stray Toasters

• Diablo III has been released. I’m not playing it (yet), but I look forward to seeing my friends return when some of the “shiny” wears off.
• Sandwich celebrates 250th anniversary of the sandwich
• The Best Films You Never Want to See Again
• Why Nikola Tesla was the greatest geek who ever lived
• Combining one of my favorite literary works and LEGO: Mihai’s Inferno: The 9 circles of Hell made in LEGO
• Finnish court rules open WiFi network owner not liable for infringement
• 
• Boys Forfeit Baseball Game at Catholic School Because of Girl
• NASA trains astrounauts for asteroid mission
• Ask Chris #105: Batman, ‘Die Hard,’ and Super-Heroes’ Favorite Movies
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Moonshiners’ cow shoes
• How close to reality are the androids in Aliens and Prometheus?

Namaste.

Tuesday – 08 May 2012
It’s Tuesday.

Yesterday was Diana’s 8-month-birthday; today is Vanessa’s:

Vanessa (l) and Diana

Today is also my stepmother and brother’s birthday:

And, it’s also Teacher Appreciation Week.

This past weekend was a busy one. This isn’t to say that it wasn’t also fun, but it was definitely busy. I could have used another day to recuperate. Or something like that.

Friday, I had hoped to get a chance to nap while the girls were having their post-lunch siesta, but that didn’t come to pass… mostly because they didn’t take naps. So, when I went back to work, I was tired. After returning home from work, I was still tired. The evening was rather low-key, spent mostly Fringe and helping SaraRules! make superhero onesies for the twins:

She had already made the GL one, but has asked my help in getting the emblems for Batman, Wonder Woman and The Flash. I thought – briefly – about trying to hand-draw them. Then I had a minor epiphany: I could use my Silhouette to cut the shapes. I downloaded images of each emblem, imported them into Silhouette Studio and did a test cut. They came out better than I had expected. So, we were ready to do the cuts on the masking paper. The picture above shows how they turned out.

Saturday, SaraRules! had brunch with her friend, Sara(NotSaraRules!), so I got to spend a couple of solo hours with Team DiVa. After SaraRules! and Sara(NotSaraRules!) returned, I got ready to head to Dr. Volt’s for Free Comic Book Day. At The Avengers premiere, I made an agreement with Dave (the owner of Dr. Volt’s) that if he came to FCBD as Dr. Who – Matt Smith version, with fez! – that I would come as Green Lantern. So, when I showed up at the store like this:

Dave gave me a bit of flak. Until I turned down the collar of my shirt to reveal the GL costume underneath:

It was the first time that I’d gone to an FCBD event dressed in a costume… let alone two costumes… but it was made even more fun and worth it, because a few kids came up to me and asked if they could have pictures with me.

And remember those superhero onesies I mentioned? Well, the twins wore them to their first Free Comic Book Day:

Sunday, we met up with the Kelly clan for a picnic at Liberty Park.

The reason: Celebrating Logan’s graduation with his Doctorate in Pharmacy.  It was a little brisk if you weren’t in the sun, but it was an otherwise excellent day. And fun.

Monday was… Monday. (As Mondays are wont to be). It included quality time with SaraRules! and Team DiVa, which is never a bad thing. It also included a couple of changes to the status quo which should yield good things.  After the girls were asleep, SaraRules! and I wound down the evening with burgers that I cooked on the grill,  TopGear and Castle.

Stray Toasters

• ‘Where The Wild Things Are’ author Maurice Sendak dies
• Fresh Air Remembers Author Maurice Sendak
• RIP, Maurice Sendak
• Paralysed Claire Lomas completes London Marathon
• 
• Hilary Hahn and Hauschka: Bounce Bounce
• Simulating Mars in Austria
• Does suffering suggest the cause of all our little questions
  The answer was not coming soon she paused for reflection
• Legendary Steam Locomotive Celebrates Union Pacific’s 150th Anniversary
• 
• From the “Science!” file: Air is mightier than eight Frenchmen
• Fan Recreates ‘The Avengers’ Weapons Using LEGO Bricks
• Blueseed: Silicon Valley’s visa-free offshore startup community

Namaste.

Friday – 04 May 2012
“May the 4th be with you.

Today’s my working Friday.
It’s also the day that my brother-in-law, Logan, graduates with his Doctorate in Pharmacy.
It’s also the day that I got to go home and spend a couple of hours in the middle of the day with Team Diva…

Vanessa (l) and Diana

…so that Bonne and Steve could attend the graduation. Getting to take a little time off work to spend with my girls? Yeah, I have absolutely no problem with that.

Around 9:00 last night, I got a call from my friend, Jeremiah, asking if I wanted to go with the Dr Volt’s staff to see

It didn’t take much convincing, though I did check with SaraRules! to see if she’d mind me being gone until the wee hours of the morning. She didn’t. (Best. Wife. Ever.) I even broke out the Nick Fury eyepatch and black trenchcoat for the occasion. (Hey… comic book movie. Seen with comic shop guys. Do the math.)

It was a great movie. Joss Whedon did a fantastic job of bringing all the characters together and weaving a coherent and cohesive reason for them to work together. There was a LOT of action. A fair bit of wit. (Even a little smarm thrown in, for good measure.) All-in-all, it was pretty much a fanboy/fangirl’s dream team-up movie. If you enjoyed the movies that led up to this, you’ll have a blast.

Of course, I didn’t get home until after 3:30… and the girls started waking up around 7:00. So, I’ve been working to thin out the blood in my caffeinestream for most of the day. So far, so good.

|| PAUSE ||

Blackberry cobbler.

That was the second thought that crossed Jones’ mind when he saw the sign for Dalton. Sure, his first thought was an amalgamation of  “Home/Bed/Emma,” but he knew that there’d be cobbler, too. Emma always had one cooling on the kitchen counter when he came home from long trips. This one was a west coast turnaround, had him gone for a week. He swore that he could smell it already; his mouth watered.

Just a few more miles and we’re there, he thought, patting the dashboard through the steering wheel. He didn’t mind the miles. The rig had a smooth ride. The bunk in the sleeper was comfortable enough. And the people he met on the road were generally pretty decent.

Jones eased onto the off-ramp, letting of the gas. He stopped at the top of the ramp and then turned right onto Freeway Drive. Just ahead on the right was Cal’s Diner. There was almost no one on the road at this time of night, but there were still a few cars in front of Cal’s. He’d catch up with the boys tomorrow or Sunday and they could sit around, drink a few beers, and tell lies about their past week. He stopped for the flashing light at Rolling Road. He eased through the intersection. Jefferson… Barnes… McCutcheon. Almost home.

As he turned onto Clarksville Pike, the weariness of the trip started to weigh on him. By the time he got to Lake Avenue, he was ready for a shower, a slice of cobbler and bed – maybe even in that order. He parked on the street. He shut off the engine, turned off the lights and sighed heavily. He sat there for a few moments before reaching into the back to get his gear. As he got ready to climb down, he remembered to grab the gift bag sitting on the floor of the passenger seat. He climbed down, closed the door and walked around the front of the truck.

He walked across the lawn and up the sidewalk to the side porch. He fumbled through keys until he found the one for the door. He put his bag down and opened the screen door; the spring groaned a little. He’d have to look at that. Tomorrow. It would wait.

He put the key in the lock and turned the knob. He opened the door, inhaling deeply.

Blackberry cobbler. Home.

> PLAY >

Stray Toasters

• Go see The Avengers.
• Supervillain Schemes That Ought to Have Worked
• A Prose By Any Other Name
• Ten Things You Probably Didn’t Know About DNA
• That Spells DNA, by Jonathan Coulton
• THEY FINALLY MADE A REAL LIGHTSABER!
• Mindplay: Bricks on me

Namaste.

Thursday – 03 May 2012
It’s another NBN Thursday in the valley.

This morning, Diana decided that 6:20 was a good time to wake up. She’d managed to roll herself onto her stomach again. I rolled her over and put her blanket back on her and hoped that she’d knock out for another half-hour to hour.

No go, Flight.

She played in her crib until I 6:50. (And, yes, she’d inverse-turtled herself a couple more times by then.) When I went in, Vanessa was also up; I decided to turn on their light, do their morning diaper change and start their day.

And then, I started mine.

Last night, SaraRules! and I watched Royal Wedding for our Date Night movie. I’d gotten the movie from Netflix “a while ago,” mostly because I wanted to see Astaire’s famous dance around a hotel room:

I wasn’t disappointed. For a 60-year-old effect, it was pulled off very well. And the movie itself was rather light-hearted and fun and a good way to spend the evening.

|| PAUSE ||

Mornings were always rough, not that Carl would admit it to anyone. Mornings always reminded him that she wasn’t there to share the new day with him. He looked at the other side of the bed and ran his hand over the spot where she used to lay. “Good morning, sweetheart,” he said. He swung his feet out of bed and sat up. He paused, hands on his knees, before standing up. A yawn – one that sounded more like a wild bear’s growl – forced its way to freedom.  He scratched his chin, stood and shuffled to the bathroom.

A few minutes later, Carl made his way downstairs. He stopped in front of the cluster of pictures at the bottom of the stairway. He reached up and touched the picture in the silver frame. Her picture. He smiled… and his heart ached a little. He stood there a moment before continuing on to the kitchen. He fixed a bowl of oatmeal while waiting for his coffee to brew. When breakfast was ready, he sat at the small table and ate. He looked out the window and watched as people headed to wherever they were going. Work? Home? Vacation? He shrugged. He didn’t really care. They were just going places.

After breakfast, he went back upstairs and got dressed. He didn’t have anywhere to go, but Carl had never been one to just sit around in his bedclothes all day. It just didn’t seem right. He came back downstairs and sat down in his comfy chair. He turned to look out the window, watching another little slice of the world passing by.

Adventure is out there, he thought. But not for me. Not today.

> PLAY >

Stray Toasters

• ‘The Scream’ Is Auctioned for a Record $119.9 Million
• Testing spacesuits beneath the Earth’s surface
• Cancer Patients Transformed By Gorgeous Henna Dome Designs
• 
• ‘Supermoon’ coming this Saturday
• Stompy Is Coming – Project Hexapod
• Former NFL star Junior Seau dead in apparent suicide
• From the “Whiksey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file:
• Woman buys tampons stuffed with cocaine at local store
• Tennessee man jailed for using old $50 bill
• Prosecutor rates ‘Law & Order: SVU’ episodes for technical accuracy
• Cybercrime as a Tragedy of the Commons

Namaste.

Tuesday – 01 May 2012
A new month begins.
As it’s May, that means that today is May Day.
Or, if you’re Jonathan Coulton: First of May (NSFW)

It also means that it’s my friend Bret’s birthday:

Last night, SaraRules! had to work late. She was going to get home after it was time for Team DiVa to start getting ready for bed, so I asked Galadriel to come over and lend a hand. She did. And I was very grateful, especially since last night was also Adventure Baby Splash Zone bath night for the girls.

When she got home, SaraRules! fixed jambalaya for dinner. We ate and watched TopGear, Hawaii Five-O and Castle. TopGear was… TopGear, as it should be. I fortunately stumbled onto the Hawaii Five-O episode; it was the first of a two-part crossover with NCIS: Los Angeles. And the Castle episode was a zombie-themed episode, of which SaraRules! stated:

This may be the best episode of Castle ever!

It was rather fun.

|| PAUSE ||

Davis took a deep breath.  He told the others that it was just to center himself. It wasn’t. He’d been calm and focused since he entered the garage. He had to be. There was a lot riding on his part in this. He held the breath for a few seconds before exhaling slowly.

The others were talking. He wasn’t paying too much attention, but he could hear the anxiety in the new kid’s voice. Part adrenaline, part fear. Hopefully, the adrenaline would give the newbie enough of an edge to stave off her fear. On the other hand, Flynn wouldn’t have let her tag along if he didn’t think she could pull her weight.

If she’s good enough for Flynn, that’s good enough for me.

Davis closed his eyes and took another deep breath. He held it a little longer this time.

All the chatter stopped as an someone’s alarm beeped.

“Time to go,” Flynn said.

Everyone shouldered their gear and got into the van.

Davis got up, stretched and made his way over to the driver’s door. He climbed in and closed the door. He reached over his shoulders and pulled the harness down, clipping it into the buckle. He flipped switches on the dashboard and gauges flared to life. Looking over the instrument cluster, he cinched down the harness.

Check… check…check… he thought, as he looked at the readouts.

“About set here,” Davis said.

“Roll when you’re ready,” Flynn replied evenly.

Davis reached for the cable in the center console. His hand ran down the cable until he reached the jack.

Deep breath. Hold.

He plugged the jack into the port at the base of his neck. The instrument cluster gauges dimmed as images of them  painted themselves in his field of vision. He exhaled slowly…

…and the engine revved, dying down as he finished exhaling.

“We’re gone”, he said and pulled out into the night.

> PLAY >

Stray Toasters

• Spam is down, but malware is as hot as ever, Symantec finds
• Excerpt from The Middleman: The Doomsday Armageddon Apocalypse
• Lawsuit against ‘Three Cups of Tea’ author dismissed
• 
• I really wish that Google would add one thing to their Gmail account creation documentation: The part that says that Gmail doesn’t always parse dots/periods between user names.
• Role to Role, from Sherlock to ‘Star Trek’
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Woman stops child ‘sacrifice’ in San Diego cemetery
• Amanda Palmer: The new RECORD, ART BOOK, and TOUR

Quote of the Day
While I promised the person that the quote would remain unattributed, I had to share this:

Concubines usually get paid.

Which as I recall, isn’t necessarily true (unless you count the whole “I’m not having you beheaded” thing), but was still amusing.

Namaste.

Monday – 30 April 2012
A new work week begins as April ends.

This morning, Diana decided to wake up around 5:30. I thought it somewhat odd, as she took fairly short naps yesterday and fell asleep fairly easily last night. While she’s been “inchworming” herself backwards for the past few weeks, she’s recently started rolling over in her sleep, from her back to her stomach. When she wakes, this distresses her for some reason. Usually, we can turn her back over and she’ll nod off again. But, sometimes – like this morning – the nodding off takes a while. (Fortunately, she’s pretty good about playing somewhat quietly in her crib.) Still… 5:30.

Meanwhile, Vanessa slept. Until a little after 7:00.

Vanessa (l) and Diana

That aside, this was a good – and busy – weekend. SaraRules’ sister, Meliko, came into town Thursday for Steve’s birthday.

Friday, we went to Pat’s Barbecue for lunch. It was quite good. (Typing that, I just realized that I have leftovers that would have been perfect for lunch today…) Then, it was home for the girls’ nap. Later in the day, we headed over to Steve and Bonne’s for dinner.

Friday evening, I swung by SteamHead Cafe for their grand opening. They had a great turnout. Some of the Clitorati group were there, so there were familiar faces, too.

Saturday was another busy day. I was set to judge the April “Infinity Gauntlet” ‘Clix tournament for Dr. Volt’s Comic Connection. Or most of it, anyway. It turned out that I was double-booked: Red Butte Garden was having a Beginners Bonsai class that coincided with their Bonsai Show and competition (pictures) and I had signed up for the class. It was instructional and informative, but there was not a hands-on component.

By the time I got back to Dr. Volt’s they’d already finished the tournament. So, I headed home… just in time to watch Team DiVa, while SaraRules! fixed dinner.

Sunday, we got up and met the Kelly clan at Millcreek Cafe and Eggworks for breakfast before Meliko had to leave. After breakfast, SaraRules! and I had planned a pilgrimage to The Garden of Sweden, but we forgot that it didn’t open until noon. We got there just after 11 AM.

*shakes fist*

So, we took a leisurely drive around the valley and wound up at Pin-up Girl Espresso. We did make it to IKEA, after the girls’ lunch and all-too-brief naps. And then, up to the in-laws’ for dinner. I wound up the evening with episodes of Firefly, Young Justice and The Legend of Korra.

|| PAUSE ||

He stared at the twin vases on his desk. They were, generally speaking, rather non-descript. Glass. Round. Six inches tall. The only difference between them was that one was filled with glass beads, the other only had one.

“Twenty-nine,” he said to the empty room.

He’d been pondering this idea for a while, almost a month. He leaned forward, grabbing the nearly-empty vase, and turned it upside-down. The lone glass bead dropped to his desk. He watched as it wobbled and finally came to a rest. He reached forward, returning the empty vase to its home. He sat back in his chair, staring at the bead. Not surprisingly, the bead didn’t have much to say.

A lopsided grin crossed his lips. He batted the bead across the desktop a few times before picking it up. He stood and walked around to the front side of the desk. He dropped the bead into the full vase.

“Thirty.”

He inhaled deeply, turned and walked out the door.

> PLAY >

Stray Toasters

• Where Nations Debate, Harmony of a Jazzy Kind
• The Spring Suit Upgrade
• Ranking NFL teams’ drafts 1-32
• Holladay arcade brings back nostalgia of classic gaming
• Amid Rural Decay, Trees Take Root in Silos

Namaste.

Friday – 26 April 2012
It’s my “off” Friday. It’s also SaraRules’ “off” Friday. Mostly. She had to run to the office to take care of something, but she just called to say that she’s on her way home.

Today is also my father-in-law Steve Kelly’s birthday:

As part of the birthday celebration, we – Steve, Bonne, SaraRules!, Meliko, Team DiVa and I – went to Pat’s Barbecue for lunch. Burnt ends!  It was very good. Very good, indeed. This afternoon, we’re supposed to be visiting the new Natural History Museum; I’m looking forward to that.

On to the rest of today’s post!

I’m not sure if it’s readily apparent or if I mention it enough, but I have the coolest wife in the world. It’s true. I’m sure that there are some close runners-up, but I pretty much hit the jackpot in the “Choosing a Wife” lottery. She’s a great woman and an all-around great person.

I was reminded of how much I enjoy her company last night while we were eating dinner: We were watching some of the amassed DVR fare while we ate. We started with TopGear. We both like it. Go figure. After that, I wanted to – and did – watch the third episode of The Legend of Korra (which, by the way, is a fantastic successor to Avatar: The Last Airbender). After that, I cued up the most recent episode of Young Justice. And here’s where it got amusing…

I’m a long-time comics and cartoon fan; SaraRules, not so much, but she humors me a lot. I’ve been a fan of YJ since it first aired; I think that SaraRules! was turned off by one of the characters and her oft-used/overused catchphrase – I will agree that it did get annoying – but, she’d still watch it from time to time. She’s watched the last two episodes, wherein the Justice League and the junior team are [REDACTED] and seemed to enjoy them somewhat. In fact, after the episode from two weeks ago, she commented:

I always thought that Robin was a little bitch, but he’s not so bad.

That made me laugh. Last night, however, was one of the crown jewel moments:  On the cartoon, the League discovered that a villain was using a mind-control agent on heroes. They referred to it as “Starro tech.” At that, SaraRules! sat forward and got her “I’ve heard that somewhere before…” look. She worked through it enough to ask the question:

“Starro…? Isn’t that the giant…?”

“Starfish alien,” I completed. “The one I have a ‘Clix of.  Yes.”

At that, she sat back on the couch and shook her head, laughing and rolling her eyes. I knew exactly what was going through her head: “I remember comic book/cartoon stuff!  GAH!” (Ask her about the Superboy/Karate Kid fight sometime. It’s hilarious.) I could only chuckle.

Why?

She’s a loving wife and mother.
She’s intelligent and smart… and, “yes,” there is a difference.
She’s fun and funny.
And she’s not afraid to laugh at herself.

Like I said earlier: Jackpot.

And I couldn’t be happier.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 25 April 2012
It’s the middle of the week… which means that it’s new comics day as well as Movie Date Night.

Last night, Matt, Dave, and I missed our usual Guys’ Night Out activities and, instead, went to see the Utah Jazz take on the Phoenix Suns in a game with major playoff implications: If the Jazz won, they would be in the playoffs. If they lost, Phoenix would have to lose their next game and the Jazz would have to win their next game.

Needless to say, there was a lot of anticipation about this game. What we didn’t know until we got to the Energy Solutions Arena was: Tip-off had been delayed from 7:00 to 8:30, for TNT’s broadcast coverage. On the other hand, this gave us plenty of time to get something to eat. We opted for Settebello Pizzeria Napoletana. And we finished it off with gelato from Capo Gelateria.

Meanwhile, back at the arena, we got to our seats and got ready for the game.

This was my first Jazz game in over 14 years; I haven’t been to one since before I moved out here. Seriously. And it was a great game to attend. The Jazz played well, except for late in the 3rd and early in the 4th quarters. But, they pulled it off with a 100-88 win, clinching a playoff berth.

It was a fun way to spend the evening and a great change of pace for Guys’ Night Out.

Stray Toasters

• Fees and Anger Rise in California Water War
• Give the Gift of Experience
• Number of interracial couples in U.S. reaches all-time high
• 
• Jessica Thom’s Tourette Syndrome Superhero Educates, Entertains and Inspires
• I still need to finish LEGO: Batman. Now, more than ever. Why?  Because they’ve just given me a reason to add LEGO: Batman 2 – DC Super Heroes to The Covet List. What is it?  This:
  
  Yeah, it’s Hal Jordan and not John Stewart, but I’m not going to complain.
• The GQ Guide to Shirting
• This sounds curiously interesting: Leviathan: graphic novel of a gigantic cruise ship lost at sea for 20 years

Namaste.

Monday – 23 April 2012
Another weekend has come and gone. In its wake, a new work week begins.

While “too short,” as most weekends are, this was a good weekend. It wasn’t overly eventful, but there was just enough to keep it interesting and exciting. And, of course, I got to spend most of it with SaraRules! and Team DiVa:

The arm block comes after Vanessa tried to make Zombie Chow of Diana’s shoulder. Go figure.

Yesterday morning, we went to Millcreek Cafe for breakfast. We decided to try something new-ish: We left the girls’ car seats in the car and let them sit in the “big kids'” high chairs. And they did just fine.  They slumped a little, as the chairs didn’t have any cushions, but otherwise, they were great. We also discovered just how far Diana’s reach is. Our waitress set my toast on the table, at what I thought was a safe place. Next thing I know, Diana had reached over, grabbed the plate, pulled it to her and knocked a slice of toast off the plate. I had to recover it quickly. (I did.) Kids. Who knew?!

Later in the afternoon, we took the little ladies to Liberty Park for a stroll:

Then, it was back home for a little play time, dinner and bedtime for little girls.

Later in the evening, I checked out the Diablo III open beta. It was my first-ever foray into the world Diablo. I can see what people enjoy about it. I will have to consider picking this up when the full version releases.

Stray Toasters
I’m going to pass on these until tomorrow.

Namaste.

Thursday – 19 April 2012
It’s a grey and intermittently drizzly NBN Thursday in the valley. Looking into the distance, it looks as though we’ll have clear(er) skies a little later.

Last night was my turn to give the girls their baths. Given how well they did in the hotel tub, we decided to remove the chair from the girls’ baby tub. Diana had a ball, discovering that she could splash in new ways:

Vanessa was more apprehensive at first, but warmed up to the concept after a few minutes:

The next few bath times should be interesting, to say the least.

After Team DiVa was abed, SaraRules! and I watched Hugo for our date night movie. We both knew next to nothing about the film, other than it won awards and that people we knew said that it was good. So, we took a chance…

…and it was totally worth it. It was a fantastic film. I’d heard it described it as “Scorsese’s love story about movies.” And, I’d have to agree – it was definitely a movie about a man’s love and passion for movies. And it was very well done.

Stray Toasters

• TV Emperor of Rock ‘n’ Roll and New Year’s Eve Dies at 82
• How Your Name May Cost You at the Mall
• Oregon Town Weighs a Future With an Old Energy Source: Coal
  The first thing that I thought of when I read this was The Energy Blues.
• 
• Vatican orders crackdown on American nuns
• Which Carriers Have the Fastest 3G and 4G Right Now?
• Anticipating Space Shuttle’s Arrival, Old Warplanes Ship Out

And, it looks as though the sun has finally put in an appearance.

Wednesday – 18 April 2012
It’s midweek. Which means new comics and Pasta and Movie Date Night. (I should really figure out what we’re watching, as it’s my night to choose a movie.)

Last night, Team Diva (and SaraRules! and I) had a visit from SaraRules!’ Justice League Junior League co-members, Brittany and Jana. The girls were fairly social, although Diana once (re-)discovered the knocker on the front door, she found it nearly impossible ignore. (She also makes the cutest flinching face just before she lets it go.) After Brittany and Jana left, we fed the girls and put them to bed — they fell asleep quickly. I think they might have still been a little worn out from the trip.

SaraRules! and I watched NCIS over dinner and followed that up with the tail end of Top Shot. The part we caught was an elimination challenge: The competitors had to run an obstacle course in which they had to breach three doors and shoot nine targets, against each other’s time. After the elimination, SaraRules! proclaimed:

I don’t know what this is, but I think it might just be the greatest show ever!

We’ll have to see another episode before I can make that claim, though.

Stray Toasters

• I’m confused – and strangely amused – by the seeming dichotomy of this concert lineup.
• How That Tupac Hologram at Coachella Worked
• Marco D’Alfonso Draws the Mashups That Make the Whole World Sing
• ‘Calvin and Hobbes’ Mashups With Everything from ‘Watchmen’ to ‘The Walking Dead’
• The 2012 HotelChatter Hotel WiFi Report
• Thanks to iTunes, I’ve been listening to a couple of radio stations from back home today.
• The 21 Absolute Worst Things in the World

That’s good for now.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 17 April 2012
Day One of the work week. It started off rainy, but skies have cleared a bit.

TeamDiVa’s first road trip was a success.  The basic breakdowns were:

• Five days.
• Four states.
• Three hotel rooms.
• Two little ladies who traveled incredibly well, all things considered.
• One honest-to-goodness zebra.

It would be something of an understatement to say we’re “a little” tired. That was a lot of driving. But, it was a good trip. And, I wasn’t kidding about the zebra:

“Sure, there’s a zebra and some llama, Daddy… but there are cars and trucks right over there!”

There’s a petting zoo at the Flying J Truck Stop in Scipio, UT. We’d heard – and forgotten – about it, since we don’t go through there much anymore. But, we needed to stop so that the girls could have lunch. Thus, zebra.

And, while I don’t say this very often: I’d like to commend UDoT for the five (5) 80 MPH zones between Provo and the Arizona state line. They made a few of the long, boring stretches much more tolerable.

Stray Toasters

• Space Shuttle Discovery flies over D.C. to cheers — and warnings
• World’s Greatest Piggyback Ride
• I Love Ya But You’re Strange — That Time Wonder Woman Worked at Taco Bell
• 
• I am trying to avoid too much coverage of both Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises; I’d like there to be at least a few on-screen surprises.
• New treatment for prostate cancer gives ‘perfect results’ for nine in ten men: research
• 
• How to Fit Reading Into Your Schedule and Actually Finish the Books You Want to Read

Namaste.