Random Access

Saturday – 07 June 2008
Today is my mother’s birthday.

It is also Prince’s birthday.

I called Mom to wish her a happy birthday.
I did not call Prince.

Despite waking up late, it was a good day. There was another ‘Clix tournament at Far West today; I picked up Chris on the way to the store. I decided to try a different team, as I don’t want to become a one-trick pony with the Legion. I went with the Doom Patrol:

• The Chief
• Mento (yes, I received a lot of jibes referring to him as “The Fresh-Maker”)
• Rita Farr and
• Red Arrow

I know… I know… Red Arrow is not – nor has he been – a member of DP, but he filled a slot that I needed for long-range attacks.

As Fate would have it… I drew Chris as my first round opponent. Before the match even started, I was ready to chalk it up as an automatic loss. And, boy, was I right. He obliterated me. I think that I damaged one of his characters. Maybe.

Second round, I played a guy named Frank. He had a three-person team of X-related people:

• Archangel
• Emma Frost
• Jean Grey (Age of Apocalypse)

I won this game… on points. Frank played a defensive game and I was able to effectively set up a pincer offense. I lost The Chief in the gambit, but I was able to take out Emma and Jean (and was working on Archangel) before time was called.

Third round: Sean. He played with a mixed force:

• Accomplished Perfect Physician
• The Leader
• Unus the Untouchable

This was a good game. I kept trying to hit Physician, but his damned Super Senses let him keep dodging the attacks. Rita didn’t get close enough to do any damage. The Chief and Mento…? Well, let’s just say that they aren’t exactly damage cannons. In the end, I lost the team to attrition.

So, I was 1 – 2 for the day. On the up side, I won the “Fellowship” (think “Sportsmanship/Good Conduct/etc”) award, for which I got a Stardust figure. Stardust… Herald of Galactus. Nice! And… Chris was the big winner of the day. His prize: A spot in the HeroClix 2008 World Champioship at GenCon… with a first round bye. VERY nice!

There’s another tournament in a couple of weeks. 1,000 points… per player. Unrestricted, which means that if it’s EVER been a figure, it’s usuable. Ostensibly, this means that I could field both Galactus AND Phoenix. Of course, that would be ALL that I could field. And they would be targets. Big targets. Colossal targets, in fact.

After the tourney was over, Sean and Frank wanted to play some more, so Chris and I took them on. 400 points per player. We fielded a mixed team, as did Frank and Sean. We wound up taking out Frank’s part of their team and shortly thereafter – with most of their heavy-hitters gone – Sean conceded the game.

I stopped at Jitterbug to have a bite to eat. Uriah was there and we, along with the other folks in the shop, sat around and gabbed for a while.

From there, it was off to say “Hi” to SaraRules’ family. They were watching Amazon Women on the Moon when I got there. I had not seen it before, so they played a couple of scenes – featuring David Allen Grier as Don “No Soul” Simmons. I cracked up. Check ’em out:

…and…

Next up: Breakfast.

Stray Toasters

• By way of MarknTyme: AA-12: World’s Deadliest Shotgun
• By way of : Indian school names monkey god chairman

Namaste.

Thursday: Coda

After work, I came home for a bit, read today’s four-color haul and then went to Borders to do some drawing. I’ve decided that I am entering Project: Rooftop‘s latest contest – “Superman: Man of Style,” in which the challenge is to reimagine Superman’s costume. I think that I have a decent idea with good reasons for the changes to the iconic costume. After settling on what I wanted to do, I tried some preliminary sketches. (And the fact that I haven’t really drawn anything in months really shows…) The deadline is 15 June 2008, so I do have some time to get things worked out. I hit a bit of a wall, so I switched gears and decided to work on the new piece I started last week. Progress was made.

Back home. I installed the light in the second display case. The two cases look good. I do think that I’ll be rearranging what is on the shelves though.

Four-Color Coverage
It’s been forever since I’ve done one of these, but it was a light week – I only picked up five books – and today’s haul was pretty good. So, on with the show!

• Avengers/Invaders #2 (of 12) – The Invaders, Marvel Comics’ WWII-era supergroup, have wound up in New York City of 2008. Having left the 40s in the middle of an attack on a Nazi stronghold, they aren’t sure what to make of their new surroundings… even to the point of thinking that everyone around them is a Skrull. I mean Nazi. On the other side of the coin, the Avengers have to find a way to subdue the Invaders and minimize their contact with the world of 2008, so that they don’t corrupt the timestream. Piece of cake, right? Riiiight.
• Justice Society of America #16 – I can’t say enough good things about this book. At the end of Issue #15, we were introduced to Gog. The being who gave Magog his power. A self-proclaimed god who was cast out of the Third World. What’s he doing here on Earth? Why does he know Earth-22’s (Kingdom Come) Superman? And what did he do to Damage?
• Secret Invasion #3 (of 8 ) – Skrulls. Everywhere. A couple of new reveals. And… who’s that guy with the eyepatch?
• Supergirl #30 – This version Supergirl has been… an uneven book during it’s fairly short span. Homicidal pawn of Darkseid. Rebellious teen. Super-smart heroine, out to save the world…. literally. DC has said that they are going to more fully integrate the book with the Superman corner of the DCU. They took a giant step in that direction with this issue. Kara, still feeling out of place, tries to find some answers and figure out what to do now that the baby she was sent to Earth to protect is now almost twice as old as she is. And she even has a bonding moment with a certain Dark Knight. I was on the fence about this book recently; it will be interesting to give it a few issues to see if it’s back on track or if this was only a momentary flicker of hope.
• Trinity #1 – When Diana Prince, Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne get together (in their civilian identities, no less) to compare notes about having variations of the same dream, it’s a pretty good indication that something is afoot. In their dreams, a powerful entity is trying to break free from some form of captivity. Sorceress Morgaine LeFey is also aware of the power… and wants it for herself. Kurt Busiek (Astro City) and company have kicked of DC’s newest weekly series nicely. I’m not sure if I’m up for yet another weekly, but I may give it a few weeks to see how it shapes up.

Stray Toasters

• I talked with the parental units today; all’s well in their respective parts of the seaboard.
• I neglected to mention something that I saw on Sunday at Borders: There was a woman, curled up in a chair in the cafe. Her cell phone rang; she answered it. When I looked up, there was a man standing outside the cafe window; he was on his phone. For a few moments, their conversations were synced to the point that you would have thought that they were talking to each other.
• There was a lone box of Mutations and Monsters ‘Clix in Dr. Volt’s today. I couldn’t just leave it there. I’m glad that I didn’t. In it was a rare figure: Omega Red
• I checked out a couple of movie trailers on Apple.com. Has anyone heard anything about City of Ember? I was intrigued by its trailer. I also saw the trailer for The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. This looks like it could be fun.
• Burn Notice. On USA. I’ve only seen a few episodes, but I’m enjoying it.
• WWDC. Monday.

And that’s a wrap.

Namaste.

Tuesday: Coda
When I got home, I turned on the TV and started surfing. I landed on CNN. As the Montana and South Dakota primaries were tonight, I watched the coverage. I missed Hillary Clinton’s… “No I’m not done, yet” speech. There’s a part of me that’s glad I did. I did watch Barack Obama’s speech. Once again, it was a classic. He didn’t bash Senator Clinton and there was only one jab (that I picked up on) at Senator McCain. Other than that, he seemed sincere and humble and appreciative.

After I watched a little more primary coverage, I flipped over to L&O: SVU. It was a rebroadcast of the season finale, which I didn’t see in first-run. It was a good episode, but it left a few questions about next season.

While waiting for dinner to cook (i.e.: “putting it the nukerator”), I installed a light in one of the display cases. It looks nice. I may move some things around to catch the light better. I may not. We’ll see.

Stray Toasters

• I chatted with Rana briefly this evening. She and Bit are back in the States and doing well.
• Liv Tyler is on The Tonight Show. She seems so… grounded. I find that odd/interesting, as her father is Aerosmith front man Steven Tyler. I guess that I was expecting her to be more Jack and Kelly Osbourne.
• , guess what character is getting a new action figure made. Here’s a hint:

  

• With Eric’s help, I was able to recover data from DS9’s former hard drive. After the process, I dismantled the drive – it was the first time that I had done that.
• I made the mistake of flipping to Boomerang a little while ago. Space Ace was on. That reminded me of the proliferation of video game-related cartoons that were part of the CBS Saturday morning lineup in the 80s.
• By way of Despair.com:



• AirPort Extreme. Hmm.
• A commercial for Burger King, featuring The Artist Formerly Known as Puff Daddy, was just on. In it, a BK marketing guy tells P. Diddy (as he is now known),”We need a new ad campaign.” Young Mr. Combs looks at him and, very simply says, “Tell ’em Diddy says ‘BK is open late.'” And then something FINALLY hit me: Something about the name “P. Diddy” struck me as both odd/ridiculous… but strangely familiar, however I didn’t make the connection until tonight:

  

  That’s right: Diddy Kong. He renamed himself… after a cartoon/video game monkey.

• Donkey Kong was adapted into a cartoon, too. Also on CBS. Also far from good.
• There’s a Utah Blaze game Monday night. That could be a nice change of pace way to spend the evening.

Time to figure out what I want for a pre-bed snack.

Namaste.

Thursday – 29 May 2008
A couple of things that started the morning nicely:

1. I Am LEGO



2. Sent to me by CoworkerJG, who knows my proclivity for City of Heroes/Villains:

I think that these were good ways to kick of any NBN Thursday. And this morning’s coffee didn’t hurt, either. Nor did “The Boys in Brazil,” the behind-the-scenes movie from Disc Two of Rush in Rio, made during the Vapor Trails tour, playing on my port side monitor; it’s not only a cool look at what you might not otherwise see or know about putting together a concert and/or a tour, but it’s fun, too.

So, all together, I guess that it would be “No Bad News Sushi and Comic Book ‘Wednesday’,” too.

Stray Toasters

• I am “this close” to ordering a set of HeroClix Giants. It has Colossal Boy and Validus ‘Clix. Must have.
• Terminator Salvation: The Future begins principal photography
• principal != principle
• sent me a link to an article about Nepal abolishing it’s monarchy. In honor of that, I dedicate this Schoolhouse Rock! toon:

  No, it’s not entirely the same thing, but it’s as close as I could get.

• also (indirectly) had to deal with a monkey today:
  

  : there was a goddamn monkey in my yard today
  : O.o
  : while the movers were packing things up
  : Did it get packed into the truck?
  : you assume there was a moving truck
  : Oh.
  : the 9 crates are still in my yard
  : Right.
  Wait…. WHAT?!
  : they have to take them to the airport one by one in a tiny little jeep
  : …
  Wow.
  : yea
  so this little fucker is running around trying to bite the movers
  he climbed inside the crates while they were packing boxes into them
  i was laughing my ass off
  but admittedly
  i was laughing from behind the window inside
  those things are freaking mean

• NBC launches horror anthology series Fear Itself
• Does anyone else remember Tales of the Gold Monkey?
• Private Donor Saves Fermilab
• Update: I bought the ‘Clix Giants.
• Tyranist: James Bond Book Covers
• Ken Jennings, the man who holds the record for the longest winning streak on Jeopardy!, has written a blog post about Mike Allred’s Madman!, whose protagonist is apparently Mormon. I recall reading many rains past that The New Mutants’ Cypher was supposed to be Mormon, but the only other character that I knew was definitely LDS was Dr. Deseret (1, 2) from Will Shetterly’s Captain Confederacy.

/lunch

Namaste.

Tuesday – 27 May 2008
The rain is gone.
The boxes are no longer in my car.
SaraRules is on her way to Colorado for summer camp The Aspen Music Festival.

Today’s going pretty well. For today’s workout, I wanted to do a few back-related exercises, as I feel like we’ve been ignoring that area. So, it went a little something like this:

• Leg raises: 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench press: 3 sets/12 reps, 185 lbs
• Reverse fly: 3 sets/10 reps, 82.5 lbs
• Decline press: 3 sets/12 reps – 135 lbs (first and third sets), 155 lbs (second set)
• Rows (standing, barbell, close grip handle): 3 sets/12 reps – 45 lbs (first set), 70 lbs (second and third sets)
• Leg raises: 3 sets/10 reps
• Back extensions: 2 sets/12 reps

All-in-all it was a good workout. Today’s weigh-in weight: 174.4 lbs.

Stray Toasters

• I’ve been trying to convince a coworker to buy a (at least one) MacBook. He’s considering it.
• Pain Lies on the Riverside
• Do whites need training before raising black children?
• Happy 5th Birthday to WordPress.
• Plants, for your health
• I may have to make a trip to Aspen to attend this.
• If Will Smith had one of these, I Am Legend might have been a (slightly) different movie.
  (Thanks to for pointing this out.)
• Adult balloon-twisters and gospel balloon-twisters battle
• SaraRules just called; she made it to camp Aspen safely and is getting settled in.

Quote of the Day
Just when I think that conversations with can’t get any better, he proves me wrong:

: bot/bit made it to US soil. not to DC yet tho
: Good deal.
They still have about 1:30 to go before they hit DCA, right?
: give or take. she said they were running late but not sure if it was them being late or the planes
: Gotcha.
: How are you this evening/early morning?
: eh…didn’t sleep last night. probably won’t sleep much tonight. frazzled. and in the middle of a packout. no pressure.
: Packout?
: yeah, movers came and started to pack and crate all our stuff
: ah.
: Dude. Condi… on the piano?
In Aspen?
: yeah she’s actually really good
: HAVE to see if SaraRules can score tix for that.
: wait…black person? in aspen?
: *ding*
: is that allowed?
: We’ll find out in 3 weeks.
I’ll send detailed reports.
But… Condi’s there in August. Performing, apparently.
http://www.aspenmusicfestival.com/index.cfm?&swf_plugin=0,9,0
: she going to take over any small countries full of brown people w/oil on her way over?
: No idea.
: there are brown people in texas. maybe we can make arrangements
: True enough.
And there are a FEW in Kansas.
: doubtful. it’s kansas.
: Seen ’em.
Been in a couple of rib joints.
: people see bigfoot too, rob
: But…
*sigh*
FINE.
: lol i think we have the makings of a really offensive comedy sketch
“crikey…i’m on the lookout for a negro…”
: By Jove! Kansas!
: i believe you. really i do
next thing you’ll tell me is that there are black people in utah.
: No.
There aren’t.
Just me.
And I tell people that I just had a really bad sunburn.
: damn. that’s some 4th degree shit
: You’d be amazed what people believe here.
*rimshot*
: dammit. now you have me thinking of ribs.
: 🙂
: http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/05/27/tranracial.adoption.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
: so….moral of the story is that it’s better to leave the little black kids in orphanages/foster homes?
: Apparently.
: i noticed no mention of any white kids being adopted by non-white families
: What self-respecting “person of color” wants to adopt a white kid?
Hell…
Bruce Wayne didn’t even want to.
He just made Dick Grayson a “ward.”
: well if you’re looking for well adjusted, master wayne isn’t the way to go
: I’m just saying…
Mr. Drummond adopted two!
: yes but one of them was a sassy midget
who wouldn’t take that kid?
: Touche.
: he’s the rich man’s webster
: And there’s another case: Webster.
White folk.
Black kid.
Adopt a white kid?
No way, man.
: big fat greek guy.
: I see…
Greek guys want to have black kids.
Is that why you married Bot?
: lol yes, we’re all infected with the fever
: (I’ll allow you to decline to answer that)
: me? decline? please.

Tonight: ‘Clix and Scion.

Namaste.

Monday – 26 May 2008
Once again: Up at 6:00. But, I managed to nod off again until a little after 10:00. So, it wasn’t a complete loss.

SaraRules and I got up, observed the hygiene rituals, had breakfast and then she started packing for summer camp her internship in Colorado. When she was (nearly) done, I asked if she wanted to go with me to run a couple of errands before she took off. She agreed… and we were off:

1. Trip to one of the local Deseret Industries locations to drop off three boxes of clothes. Unfortunately, they were closed for the holiday, so I still have three boxes of clothes in the car.
2. Trip to Expercom to pick up some new memory for SaraRules’ PinkBook. We ran into there. Random. There was a new employee in the store; when he rang up the memory, it came up at FOUR TIMES the price listed Expercom’s website. Needless to say, I was “a little” concerned by this. The more seasoned employee looked over at the screen, pushed a few buttons and the price dropped down to a much more reasonable rate… and so did my blood pressure.

Home again, home again.

SaraRules did more packing and I set about putting more ‘Clix away in their new homes. I still have a plethoric butt-load of them to deal with, but I’ve reclaimed a large portion of the floor. I still need to figure out who I want to use in tomorrow’s tournament.

Speaking of which, tomorrow will be a two-game day: I have the ‘Clix tournament at 5:00 and Scion around 7:30… or whenever I get done with the tourney. This should be interesting.

SaraRules decided that she doesn’t want to deal with the weather, so she’s leaving in the morning. Win-win!

Stray Toasters

• I chatted with a little while ago. Rana and Grace are on their way back to the States; they should arrive tomorrow. He also shared an amusing story:
  

  rana is in full mother hen mode too
  today on the flight to bkk
  some chick went to compliment her on how good grace was the entire flight
  and then the asshole went to touch grace on the face
  rana said she wanted to punch her in the gut
  i would’ve bought her a car if she did that
  talk about an awesome story
  “i had to bail my wife out of a thai jail for punching an asshole in the gut”

  Reason #283794 of “Why is such a cool brother-in-law”

• 
• The original Indiana Jones: Otto Rahn and the temple of doom
• will be able to appreciate this:



• By way of Comics2Film: G.I. Joe‘s bloody Baroness
• Iron Man has grossed over $252 million (USD) since opening almost four weeks ago.
  It had a $140 million (USD) budget.
  If the honchos at Marvel Studios aren’t happy about these numbers, I don’t know what will do it for them.
• New icon:

And now, time to find fixin’s for dinner!

Namaste.

Wednesday – 14 May 2008
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Check.
Houston Hobby Airport. Check.
McCarran International Airport. Check.
In-N-Out Burger. Check.
Six-hour drive to Salt Lake City. Check.

In other words: We are back behind the Zion Curtain.

The vacation was great. We both had a good time. And, let’s face it: Getting a chance to get out of Utah – and head to the Right Coast – is always a bonus. The chance to hang with the family-unit added a few extra points to the score, too.

We had lunch with Kris at Cracker Barrel before heading to the airport; somehow, SaraRules had never eaten at Cracker Barrel before. Back to her place to pack up and get under way for the Great Western Migration.

The flights weren’t bad. On the FLL-HOU leg, we watched Road to Perdition. Wow. How is it that I have owned – OWNED – this movie for months but not watched it?! Unglaublich! I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Since my old laptop was… old… I never watched movies on it. (No DVD player in that one.) So, watching movies on Defiant is a relatively “new” thing. Something brand-spanking new was the idea of watching the movie with the subtitles. This made understanding some of the more quiet parts of the movie much easier. While watching Road to Perdition, I think that the young lady sitting next to me was watching/reading the movie with us… but trying not to look like she was. Added bonus: We shared the flight with a polygamist family. (“It’s not a compound. It’s our home.”)

The HOU-LAS leg of the trip wasn’t hellish, even despite the baby that started screaming about halfway through the flight. Screaming. Banshee wailing. The flight was full and as people were boarding, there was an older Vietnamese (I’m Ivory Soap sure) couple that wound up having to sit apart from each other. The gentleman turned to ask if I would mind changing seats with him. I declined as:

1. I had boarded early enough to choose the seat I wanted.
2. I was sitting next to SaraRules
3. While she is willing fly, SaraRules isn’t overly fond of it.

So, I wasn’t about to abandon her. Tough noogies, Mister.

The drive from Vegas to Salt Lake wasn’t bad. We drove past a moderate-sized brush fire just north of St. George. There were a few minutes before we got to Cedar City when I thought that we might have to stop for the night, but after getting out to top off the tank and get something to drink, I was fine for the rest of the drive. And, other than those things, the drive was rather uneventful.

Stray Toasters

• I neglected to mention that we watched Memento a few days ago, a movie which I have only had a couple of weeks, but also had not seen. I also greatly enjoyed that film.
• Hilary Clinton pretty much swept the West-by-God Virginia primary. Who would have expected that?!
• Rotary iPhone Dial
• Darlin’, it’s better down where it’s wetter: Under the sea!
• passed this along to me the other day; it made me chuckle:



• Why I Started Punching Jerks Again
• Who needs (or “needed”) eHarmony when you could just use the 1939 marital rating scale for wives?
• Mormon Church Goes After WikiLeaks
• And another covet-inducing ‘Clix:

  

  

• Prince Ali!
  Mighty is he!
  Ali Ababwa
  Strong as ten regular men, definitely!
  He faced the galloping hordes
  A hundred bad guys with swords
  Who sent those goons to their lords?
  Why, Prince Ali!

/lunch

Namaste.

Tuesday – 13 May 2008
It’s been a good vacation, but it’s almost time to return to the Land Behind the Zion Curtain.  *blah*

Our flight leaves in a couple of hours. We had breakfast/lunch at Cracker Barrel with Kris. And now, we’re getting the last of our things together to get ready to roll out.

Next stop: The almost-Left Coast.

Namaste.

Monday – 12 May 2008
The ‘rents left this morning, on the way back to Tarheelia.

After Kris got back from the airport, she, SaraRules and I headed to Miami and South Beach.

(click image for gallery)

It was hot and humid. So, naturally, our first stop was a bar called Wet Willie’s. After loading up with frozen drinks, we took to the beach.  We walked along the beach and into the surf, which means that SaraRules and I have done coast-to-coast beaches in just under four months.  After we were done on the beach, we walked along the streets, ate at a restaurant called Puerto Sagua (1, 2) and checked out some shops, including the KidRobot store.

We headed back to Kris’ place… and took naps.  Two-and-a-half hours’ worth of naps.  Let’s see…

• Sun
• Alcoholic frozen drinks
• A good lunch

…yeah, we were FAR beyond “due” for naps.

SaraRules was kind enough to go gallivanting with me, in search of a local comic book shop.  I picked up a few ‘Clix.  At a GREAT bargain.  I got a few rare and super-rare pieces for $1.00 (USD), each.  Yeah… good haul.  We also went for dinner at the nearby Steak ‘n Shake.  Friends and I back home would make the local SnS a late-night dining and gabbing hang-out.

Back to Kris’ to hang out with her and watch the Celtics-Cavs game.  (Cavs won.)

Tomorrow, we chase the sun.

Namaste.

Sunday – 11 May 2008
Happy Mother’s Day

<< Rewind <<
Yesterday was Kris’ graduation; she received her Master of Law degree from St. Thomas University in Intercultural Human Rights.

(click picture to see the gallery)

The ceremony was nice. There was also a posthumous awarding of a Juris Doctor degree to a student who passed away last year. This was the second time in a week that I have seen this – last week a Bachelor of Arts degree was awarded posthumously to a student at SaraRules’ graduation.

After the ceremony, we went to lunch at Texas de Brazil, a Brazilian steakhouse. Sweet Mary, mother of Christ, it was a meatfest. A few of our party hadn’t been to this style of restaurant before, so they weren’t quite prepared for the onslaught of food. They learned. Oh, how they learned…

Back to Kris’ for random naps. Later, we went to the Seminole Hard Rock Cafe and Casino. (For : As SaraRules pointed out, it’s the one where Anna Nicole Smith died.) The casino was mostly slots. Since neither of us are really fans of slots, SaraRules and I wandered around the area. Lots of shops, tons of restaurants, more clubs than you can shake a stick at and an art gallery. And tons – TONS – of people-watching fun. Too many fashion faux pas to mention. (Ah, the joys of being in South Florida.) All-in-all, it was a nice way to spend the evening.

> Play >
So far, it’s been a quiet day. SaraRules and I watched Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. (I didn’t see Dr. Doom, so I’m feeling a little jipped.) I caught online, who often references the scene where Mola Ram pulls a worker’s heart out through his chest:

Me: Mola Ram just pulled the guy’s heart out.
Me: Thought you’d want to know.
: kalima, yuktitay
: rough translation: this gonna hurt, bitch.

Yep. Favorite brother-in-law for a reason.

Not sure what’s on tap for the rest of the afternoon. There’s a rumor that we may visit a beach at some point. We shall see…

Namaste.

Friday – 09 May 2008

It’s… a little after 8:00 AM EDT. I’ve been up since about 6:30. (This is a vacation, isn’t it?!) I’ve been hanging out with Mom – having coffee, watching news, watching her start cooking dinner – since waking up. I’m sure that having been up since O’dark-thirty will catch up with me sooner or later. And, did I mention that Mom is following this year’s election coverage with the same hawkishness with which she followed the O.J. Simpson trial back in the 90s? She is. It’s kind of amusing.

Today will involve a good bit of errand-running, I’m sure. That’s cool.

Stray Toasters

• Severe storms hit the area of NC near Mom’s. I’m waiting to hear what kind of damage the area around the house sustained. I chatted, briefly, with Markin’ Time, this morning; he said that his area was pretty much spared. , what’s the story from your part of the state?
• Burma impounds UN aid deliveries
• 
• Preview of Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four #1
• I haven’t had an NES for over fifteen years, but this NES Controller Coffee Table makes me kind of wish that I did…
• …of course, if they’re putting an XBox in a Microsoft Surface Table, well, I wouldn’t mind one of them, either!
• Close to the Wind
• 
• John Ridley (1,2) author of The American Way (which, if you haven’t read, you need to read) and Undercover Brother, is a commentator on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. Who knew?!
• Mmm, coffee.
• Steampunk in The New York Times
• LEGO + Nathan Sawaya = Skateboard

Namaste.

After seven hours in the air (and a couple of stopovers), we’re in Florida.

I can’t say “sunny Florida,” because it’s night… but it was sunny when we stopped in Tampa. I called to say “Hi” from the airport, but he was in a meeting.

Now, we’re sitting here hanging out with the family-unit.

“…and that’s all I have to say about that.”

Thursday – 08 May 2008
Today is not only the first day of vacation; it’s also my stepmother and younger brother’s birthday…

…and…

…respectively.

The drive to Mesquite was uneventful.  Long, but uneventful.  We stayed at The Oasis.  I was out almost as soon as I hit the pillow.  This morning, we were up and on the way to Florida… by way of Las Vegas.

Human of the Day
The woman on the moving walkway who wasn’t paying attention… and almost faceplanted when it came to and end.

Almost time to push back, so I should probably log off.

Namaste.

Thursday – 01 May 2008
The first day of May. (Granted, it’s just after midnight, but still…)
May Day.
And it’s snowing. Not much, but it’s snowing. On May Day. Snow. Unglaublich.

Today is also Bret’s birthday:

I want a snack.

Zoom.

Sunday – 27 April 2008
All-in-all, it’s been a quiet day.  Not a bad way to spend a day…

• I slept in this morning.
• Talked with my mom and uncle.
• SaraRules and I went on an excursion to St. George.

When we got back, SaraRules did homework and… I forgot that her complex hates City.  Instead, I read a couple of Gotham Central trade paperbacks:

and
(click the titles for more information)

I have to thank Markin’ Time for his suggestion to pick these up.  I’ll have to pick up the rest of the series… even though, thanks to a couple of other DC series, I know what happens to a couple of the characters.

Stray Toasters

• Tonight’s Law & Order: SVU… wow.
• While in St. George, I picked up Space: Above and Beyond and The Pursuit of Happyness
• lj user=”melodywise” has bees.  LOTS of ’em.
• Huh.  Corner Gas is on WGN.  Who knew?!
• Reasonably Clever Pumping Iron Extreme Armor Building Contest
• …and, in related news: Iron Man opens Friday.

Namaste.