Random Access

Friday – 20 November 2009
It’s already the 20th. Where does the time go?!

9/80 “on” Friday, but it’s the quiet day in the office, so I can’t really complain. And, tonight, rather than going to coffee, some of the Clitorati are going to a Grizzlies hockey game. That will be a nice change of pace.

Last night, we had Melissa, one of SaraRules’ coworkers (and former schoolmates), over for dinner. SaraRules fixed chicken and dumplings (!) and for dessert, we had the Chocolate Cream Pie that we made Wednesday night. (And the pie was good.)

Instant Replay: Football

Miami Dolphins at Carolina Panthers
24 –17
The 4-4 Dolphins headed to Charlotte to take on the 4-4 Panthers… and came away with a win. As I’ve said, I was torn about this game. On one hand, I’ve liked the Fins for nearly 20 years; on the other hand, the Panthers are my #1 NFC team. I was going to be good with a win, either way, but “There can be only one,” as the saying goes.

Stray Toasters

• I woke up this morning with a couple of songs running through my head
  • Pope, by Prince
  • Undercover Angel, by Alan O’Day

  I’m good with the former; I’ll just blame “Random Play” on the radio in my head for the latter.

• Texas’ gay marriage ban may have banned all marriages
• Glowing bacteria that finds landmines
• I have Cracker Jack in my lunch today!
• posted this picture; I found it interesting/amusing:

  
  (click for larger version)

• Britain’s new Internet law — as bad as everyone’s been saying, and worse. Much, much worse.
• For SaraRules and Tyranist: DRM-free top-flight horror novels
• Monster Manual

  Monster Manual from Dan Meth on Vimeo.

• Oprah Winfrey to end her talk show in 2011
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file:
  • ‘Chicken’ interrupts council meeting
  • Hamster Hotel lets you live like a rodent
• WizKids/NECA (finally) has their new site up. There’s not a lot of content, but it’s a start.
• Man who killed wife while dreaming is freed

Namaste.

Thursday – 19 November 2009
I was up FAR too late last night. I got two bricks of Hammer of Thor ‘Clix and – after dinner and errand-running and making a pie and other stuff – I had to open both bricks and see what I got. I almost completed the set; I think that I’m ten or so pieces from complete at this point. In addition to the brick, I also picked up an Organized Play Kit, which basically means that I can run tournaments(!), should I choose to go that route. (I need to check with my local crack comic book shop and see what the owner thinks about it…) But, I’m happy with what I got. Very happy indeed.

Stray Toasters

• We’re having cheesecake – instead of ice cream – for today’s work snack. WIN!
• ‘Computer Glitch’ Is Delaying Flights Across the Nation
• By way of SaraRules: Blackface Filmmaker Wallraff Sparks Race Debate
• Robots Perform Shakespeare
  (This has already been done, at least it has in the book Too, Too Solid Flesh)
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers blamed for Katrina floods
• 
• Lab worms are stunned by ‘phaser’
• Overlooked 80s Sci-Fi Flicks, Recalled by Wired Readers
• Guns ‘n Gardens: How to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse

• The “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file has a few bits of monkeydom today:
  • Maricopa deputy steals defender’s paperwork during a court case
  • Man Blames Planes for Divorce, Seeks $555 Million
  • SFPD cops from imaginary anti-dance-party squad steal laptops
• Power-guzzling TVs to be banned

All of that and it’s NBN Thursday… AND there’s football tonight!

Namaste.

Wednesday – 18 November 2009
Last night, SaraRules and I attended Play! A Video Game Symphony, as performed by Utah Symphony and the Utah Symphony Chorus.

It was an odd night for a concert, let alone a concert about videogames. Add to that: Two new games – Assassins Creed 2 and  Left 4 Dead 2 – just released yesterday, which meant that most hardcore gamers would be… at home playing games, rather than in the symphony hall listening to music from games. But, I digress. The program included music from:

• Super Mario Brothers
• Sonic the Hedgehog
• World of Warcraft and
• HALO

For an encore piece, the symphony performed d from Final Fantasy VII. All-in-all, it was a fun way to spend the evening and I got to see and , to boot.  Thanks to SaraRules for not only getting us tickets for the event, but also for putting up with a bunch of geekiness for the evening.  Coolest. Wife. Ever.

Stray Toasters

• Not only is it Comics and Sushi Wednesday, but it’s also New ‘Clix Day, too! Win-Win-Win!
• What to Wear No Matter Where You Go for the Holidays
• For (among others): Cthulhu Holiday Decorations
• Had flu? You may have H1N1 protection
• 
• Tom Ford’s Style Rules
• just shared this with me – Jon Ronson on telling his son the worst swear word in the world – and it made me laugh.
• 15 Things Worth Knowing About Coffee
• I need to hit my mother up for her hush puppies recipe…
• Teen Titans GO!

• Two words: Office monkeys.
• 1977 Star Wars Computer Graphics

Namaste.

Tuesday – 17 November 2009
The new work week begins. Yay.

Yesterday, despite the pager incident, was a good day. I went to Chris’ and played HeroClix. Yesterday’s match-up saw the Chris’ Justice League of America taking on my Justice Society of America (pictures here). He won the game, but I was able to put away a few of his pieces before he left me fielding only one figure.

After the game, I headed home to take care of some straightening up before company came over for…

Instant Replay: Football

Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns
16 – 0
Ravens 1.0 traveled to Cleveland to take on Ravens -1.0, in a game that was not only an AFC North battle, but also a rivalry match. Too bad that there wasn’t really a “game,” to speak of.  The first half was very lackluster – neither team scored: Not a field goal (K Steve Hauschka shanked yet another kick wide left) Not a safety. Nada. Zip. Zero. Zilch. Browns’ QB Brady Quinn, who got benched earlier this season after a poor performance against the Ravens, got the start… and suffered from the same lack of ability to get anything going last night. Granted, the teams’ defenses got a good workout, but neither offense could get their game in gear. Coach Harbaugh must have gone George Patton on the team at halftime, because both the offense and the defense actually looked like they came to play: Joe Flacco and WR Derrick Mason hooked up for a long pass that set up a TD by RB Ray Rice Seventeen seconds later, SS Dawan Landry pulled down an interception and ran it back 48 yards for a TD Hauschka got it together and put up a field goal. The Ravens went to 5-4 and are still potentially in the hunt for a wild card berth.

Coach Mangini, your team just took another one on the chin.

How do you feel about that?

I can emapthize with that. Sorry, .

Stray Toasters

• Tonight: Play!
• Tomorrow: New HeroClix set – Hammer of Thor – comes out!
• pointed me in the direction of this little gem.
• Senators draw maps of their home states
• By way of CNN: 5 tips for fixing your Facebook page
• China’s Newest Export: Punk Rock
• 
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Cannibals reportedly sold body parts to kebab vendor
• Chipsounds
• “We’ve Got Some Work to Do Now” t-shirt
• Lou Jing, half-Black Chinese girl, sparks race debate in China

Namaste

Sunday – 15 November 2009
It’s 25°F outside. It makes me very glad to be inside. Yesterday saw the first real accumulation of snow in the valley; it’s not too much – only a couple of inches, maybe – but it’s snow. On the ground.

Yesterday was a long day that was both fun and productive. It started out with breakfast with SaraRules, Chris and Perry and two of his boys. The mealtime conversation was heavily-laden with geekery. (Did I mention that SaraRules is a saint for putting up with us? She is.) After breakfast, we headed home, did a little cleaning and then headed out to see 2012 with , and Aaron. To be fair, the movie wasn’t nearly as atrocious as we had expected. It was even… decent. Seriously:

• Yes, it was a disaster movie…
• Yes, some of the acting could have used a boost…
• Yes, a few of the special effects were a little cheesy…
• Yes, there were plot holes you could have driven a semi through…

But, it was actually fun. And funny. If nothing else, you have to credit Roland Emmerich with being able to blow things up in spectacular fashion:

In an interview by USA Today, Roland Emmerich has stated that this will be his final disaster film: “I said to myself that I’ll do one more disaster movie, but it has to end all disaster movies. So I packed everything in.”

And he did. But, it wasn’t an unwatchable film:

After the movie, SaraRules, and I went to The Garden of Sweden, where we (finally) picked up the couch we’ve been looking at/talking about for the past… year or so. We also picked up a buffet, in which our new china will be stored. We managed to pack the new couch into the apartment and load the old one onto ‘s truck and took it to SaraRules’ parents.

After that, I headed over to Chris and Mary’s to play in Chris’ Dark Heresy game… for the first time in over a year. My character has been bumped up a few levels and can actually do things now. It was a fun change of pace; I’ll have to decide if it’s something I’d like to do on a regular basis. Again.

Stray Toasters

• A big, hearty “Thank you” to for his time and help in moving the couches yesterday! (Also a big thanks to shockpuppet for letting us borrow him!)
• I ran into someone I used to work with many moons past while shopping at Target the other night.
• UK child migrants apology planned
• Commodore 64 Runs Again on the iPhone

  

• There are a few items in the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file today:
  • Snow globes? TSA will likely just say ‘no’
    • TSA bans snow globes. TSA, meet Archimedes
  • Happy Little Drop-and-Give-Me-50
  • Orgy: the game from 1967
• Robbery Suspect Cleared by Facebook Alibi
  
• 
• Alternate Star Trek TOS Pilot Found

Namaste.

Friday – 13 November 2009
That’s right… it’s Friday the 13th.

9/80 Friday off.  Amen. I’ve been deliciously lazy today. And, to be perfectly honest: I’m good with that. It seems like a good way to kick off a four-day weekend. Today should continue to be (mostly) lax. There’s Clitorati tonight, which is always something to look forward to. Tomorrow, SaraRules and a few of the usual suspects are going to see 2012; we’re not expecting a “great” movie, we’re just going for the mass destruction!

Stray Toasters

• Vanished Persian Army Said Found in Desert
• sent me a link to the following item from It Made My Day, which made me laugh:
  

  I wore my glasses to work for the first time recently. My coworkers were making lame jokes about how I looked like clark kent. 5 minutes later I started laughing really hard when I remembered I was wearing superman boxers. IMMD

• Elecom Lego Brick Earbuds
  Hm, I have plenty of LEGO bricks. And a Dremel… just saying.
• Microsoft Responds to “Like OS X” Comment
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: ‘Thatcher dead’ text sparks fears
• Some of the best advice… EVER:

  
  “Yield not to misfortunes, but advance all the more boldly against them.”

• Flash Vulnerability Found, Adobe Says No Fix Forthcoming
• I have found that I am really enjoying Mega Builders on The Science Channel.
• NASA to Bomb Monkeys with Gamma Radiation
  Um… HELLO?!  Don’t they know what could happen if they do that?!
• From CBR’s “Wonder of Wonders” column: War and Peace: Paraphernalia
• NASA sees “significant quantities” of water on the moon
• New ‘Clix in five days!

Off to get into some trouble…

Namaste.

Thursday – 12 November 2009
It’s another grey, overcast day here. There are rumours of snow in the forecast.

Last night, we had Kenneth, Akiba and their kids over for dinner. SaraRules fixed some very tasty enchiladas (with rice and salad); dessert was ice cream and ginger snaps. We had a good time eating and chatting the evening away.

After our company left, it was “chill out on the couch” time. We watched… something… on TV, but I don’t really remember what it was. Eventually, SaraRules decided to put on 2001 (Go, go, Godzilla! Netflix Instant Queue!) I realized that I have never seen this movie all the way from start to finish…

…and last night kept the streak alive. I started getting sleepy about 20 minutes into the movie. I started nodding off about 15 to 20 minutes later. And, thus, decided to call it an early evening. And I did. And it was good.

Stray Toasters

• First thing out of the gate, I want to point people to my friend Apryl’s blog: 365 Day Girl -  “A real girl’s grand experiment to master social media… in 365 days!”
  

  I started this project after being inspired by Flickr’s 365 Days Project. But I in my grand ambition decided to take it up a couple notches by tackling the whole spectrum of content: text, photo AND video! Perhaps I’m crazy, but it’s crazy fun and super interesting! I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to expand my sphere of realness by connecting with REAL people both near and far while sharing my story and expertise in the process.

• Intel to Pay AMD $1.25 Billion to Settle Disputes
• Host Lou Dobbs to Leave CNN
• How to avoid falling victim to a hospital mistake
• Just a reminder of upcoming concerts by Utah Symphony:
  • 
  • 

  Click the images for more information about the respective concerts.

• 
• From the “Holy overkill, Batman!” file: 8-way video card
• made a good and amusing point in a post this morning:
  

  I just read that some paparazzo got in Mike Tyson’s face at LAX and now is filing battery charges. Have people forgotten that Mike made a living beating people up? That was his job – beating other guys’ asses. What would make you intentionally piss this guy off?

• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: MPAA shuts down entire town’s muni WiFi over a single download
• The Last Day on Earth, by Stefano Bonazzi

Namaste.

Wednesday – 11 November 2009
Happy Veterans Day.

“Thank you” to military personnel, past and present, for your duty and sacrifice in maintaining the peace and freedoms that we enjoy.

Last night, SaraRules had Book Club… so I hung out with , , and Eugene (a friend of ‘s). We met at The Bayou. I’d already eaten dinner with SaraRules, so I only had an appetizer – Paprika Shrimp.  It was delicious; I highly recommend it. And, hanging out with friends was definitely a nice way to spend the evening.

After “dinner”/book club, SaraRules and I met back at home and watched last night’s NCIS and The Late Show.

Workout
I made it to the gym for a lunchtime workout yesterday:

• Lower Back Extensions: 3 sets/12 reps, with additional 25lb weight
• Sit-ups (incline): 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/8 reps
  • 1 set @ 215 lbs
  • 1 set @ 205 lbs
  • 1 set @ 195 lbs
• Shoulder Press (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Reverse Punches: 3 sets/10 reps, 10 lbs
• Compound Row: 3 sets/12 reps, 125 lbs

Pre-workout weight (morning): 183.0 lbs.

Stray Toasters

• Comics and Sushi Wednesday…. Check!
• Be a Grown-Up on Facebook
• Clash of the Titans (First Trailer)

• Space Mountain queue gets short-play video games
• Garden gnomes are so passe.
  Get a Garden Jawa, instead!
• The deep-sea crab that eats trees
• sent me a link to this, which I found cute:

  

• Kalashnikov ‘wanted to be poet’

Namaste.

Monday – 09 November 2009
Welcome to a new week.

Yesterday saw a nice balance of laziness and productivity. After watching the early game – and watching the stats of the Ravens game – I started working in the office. It needs to be brought out of chaos and into order.  In a big way. Next came some errand-running. Then we headed to dinner at SaraRules’ parents’ house.

Waking up this morning was a tedious process. Of course, not going to bed until nearly 0230 could have had something to do with that. Maybe.

Instant Replay: Football
Yesterday was a day of across-the-board upsets, good and bad:

Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals
7 – 17
The Ravens (4-3) headed to Cincinnati to take on the 5 – 2Bengals… and maybe get a little closer to the top of the division.Quoth the Ravens: “Never score. I don’t know what happened, but I’m willing to wager that it was one of two things: Someone suited up Owings Mills’ JV team in Ravens’ uniforms The Bengals were seriously out for blood Whatever it was, the Ravens apparently didn’t perform like the team that ended Denver’s perfect season last week.  And, according to , they couldn’t buy a decent call, either. *sigh* It makes me glad that the game wasn’t broadcast here. Congratulations to and on both the win and sole possession of the lead in the AFC North.  (And, yes, I’ll be a Broncos fan tonight, when Pitt takes on Denver.)

Coach Harbaugh, you just got chumped by the Bengals. Big time.  How does that make you feel?

Yeah, I understand.  I wouldn’t want to talk about it, either.

Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots
17 – 27
The Dolphins, continuing their road series, headed to New England for a rematch against the Patriots! Everyone in Foxboro apparently got the  “One if by land, two if by sea” memo, because they went to town on the Dolphins. Where’s Greenpeace when you need them…?

.

Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints
20 – 30
I didn’t get to see this one, but I was a little torn on it. On one hand, it’s Carolina, my NFC team. On the other hand, it’s the 7-0 Saints, led by former Boilermaker Drew Brees. Loyalties… torn…. In the end, the Saints went marching in with a win and an 8-0 record.  And I was just fine with that.

Bye Week: Oakland Raiders, Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns.

Stray Toasters

• By way of SaraRules: Jewish Arts Festival: Esther, the superheroine
• Berlin Marks 20th Anniversary of Wall’s Fall
  • In a related note: Controversy over U2’s Berlin Wall
• High Court Weighs Life Terms for Minors
• 
• Mixed Race Americans Picture a ‘Blended Nation’
• By way of : The Hoover Dam Bypass Will Make You Ooooh and Aaaah

Quote of the Day
A while back, I asked to write a recommendation for me on LinkedIn. He sent me the first draft last week:

Rob was a great hire. He has the skills to fit into which ever technical role we happened to throw at him at the time. However his true talent came forward whenever we needed to put a little pressure on an employee or make someone disappear. We still don’t know what happened to some of the bodies.

I thought that it was fine, as-is. He wound up changing it a little, to make it a bit more… palatable to the masses.

Namaste.

Sunday – 08 November 2009
This has been a good weekend.

Friday was SaraRules’ birthday. After work, we went out for dinner. SaraRules’ first choice was Red Iguana… unfortunately, there was an hour-plus-long wait to get in. No go, Flight. Her second choice was Sawadee, a Thai restaurant near downtown. I didn’t know that it was even there; in my defense, I don’t get to that part of the city very often. The food was very good (and very spicy!). After dinner, we met up with some of the usual suspects at Clitorati, including a special guest appearance from and .

Yesterday was a good day. It had a good mix of laziness and productivity. SaraRules went to her quilt club in the morning; I hung out with Chris and Perry. After we got home, we headed back out to run a few errands. Back home again. SaraRules took a nap, I assembled a bookcase. Later, we headed to Abravanel Hall to watch Utah Symphony perform a pair of works by Brahms:

• Concerto No. 1 for Piano in D Minor, op 15
  
• Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, op. 98

Pinchas Zuckerman conducted and Jonathan Biss was the guest pianist. The performance was good. I was particularly impressed/pleasantly surprised by Mr. Zuckerman’s attire – he wore a slightly oversized black silk (I think) shirt with a pair of black slacks, rather than the traditional tuxedo that most conductors wear. Our seats were in the first tier, about five rows from the stage. This afforded an excellent view of the orchestra and of the conductor… as well as being close enough to hear Mr. Biss breathe. Seriously. When playing particularly intense passages, he breathed heavily. Very heavily. So heavily, in fact, that SaraRules said that it was like watching and listening to Darth Vader play.

This morning has been quiet. Breakfast.  Football. (If only the Ravens could act like they remember how to play the game. *sigh* I’ve been spoiled by being able to watch them play for the past three weeks, but I think I’m glad that I can’t watch this one.)  This evening, we’re heading over to the in-laws’ for SaraRules’ birthday dinner (with the family) and football.

Stray Toasters

• Complaint Box: Public Grooming
  Another of my personal pet peeves is people who clip their nails at their desks at work.
• sent a link to: Comic books are good for children’s learning
• I watched part of The Hunt for Red October yesterday. I like that movie.
• Visually impaired gamer sues Sony Online
• 
• As I mentioned on Facebook:
  

  Thanks for the items and requests… but my Mafia Wars account is wearing cement shoes and sleeping with the fishes.

• Wonder of Wonders: Identity, No Crisis
• Troy Polamalu has already had an injury this season.
  Larry Fitzgerald is still getting it done… and is having a decent season.
  So, what does this mean as far as “The Madden Curse” goes?
• Tiny jack-o-lanterns carved in seed pods
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Swarm of Giant Jellyfish Capsize 10-Ton Trawler

Namaste.

06 November 2009
Happy Birthday to SaraRules!

Also, Happy Birthday to :

Today is bright and sunny. Unfortunately, it will only be “moderately warm,” as temperatures are only expected to reach the low 60s. I guess that comes with the whole “Autumn” thing. This morning, after waking up and getting ready for the day – and card-/gift-giving – I had breakfast at Paradise Bakery and Cafe with The Birthday Girl, who has the day off. Great way to kick off the day.

Speaking of the day, it feels like today’s going to be a great big “Mulligan.” As far as “things to look forward to” go, there’s  have dinner with SaraRules this evening and Clitorati tonight. I know that it’s early and that I might actually find some motivation to do something that qualifies as “productive” along the way, but at this point…. bupkis. Good thing that I have my DreamCast here to help me get through the day.

Stray Toasters

• posted a link to The Geek’s Guide to Being Interesting
• By way of SaraRules: A Common Nomenclature for LEGO Families
• …and from xkcd:

  

• Technology and Your Local School: What to Donate and What NOT to Donate
• Sweet monkey-squeezin’ Jesus…
  

  J.J. Abrams, who created the TV show “Lost” and directed this summer’s “Star Trek” film, is in discussions to produce a movie about Japanese toy line Micronauts, which Hasbro just acquired.

  I used to have a ton of Micronauts toys when I was a kid. This could either be an awesome movie… or it could be Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen Suckage. (I’m hoping for the former, though.)

• Speaking of toy-to-movie transitions, SaraRules found out that a Jem movie may be in the works.
• Have Yourself a Merry LEGO Christmas
• Doom Patrol #4 came out yesterday. I have pretty much decided to drop this title, but yesterday’s release was not only a “Blackest Night” tie-in issue, but it also had something packaged with it that made it Simply Irresistable, to quote the late Robert Palmer:

  

  A yellow, Sinestro Corps ring… which now rests comfortably in my display case. On the shelf with my other non-Green Lantern corps figures/accessories.  Two rings down, six to go…

• High Octane, High Art from Mini

Namaste.

Thursday – 05 November 2009
It’s a lovely day outside. The Weather Channel even says that we might brush up against 70°F  today. That’s a good thing in my book.

Today is also NBN Thursday… or at least, it’s supposed to be. The day is trying to turn into “Too many monkeys, not enough sticks to beat them with,” however. But, I’m trying to take  advice from U2: “Don’t let the bastards grind you down.” On the plus side, Paul just gave me a smiley-face sticker for the way I handled a couple of things. Yay for stickers!

Last night, I stopped at Whole Foods and picked up a couple of stuffed chicken breasts for dinner. I cooked them… or thought I did.  Mine was pretty much cooked through; SaraRules’ wasn’t quite as done. So, back in the oven they went. When we did “Dinner Redux,” they turned out very well. Post-dinner, we watched G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra; SaraRules picked it up at a Redbox location. Silly, yes. Cheesy, a bit. But, it was fun. Stephen Sommers did a good job of turning a toy/cartoon property into a popcorn movie. (FAR better than Michael Bay did earlier this year with another Hasbro property…) Would I buy it?  Sure. Like I said, it was fun.  Also, it would be good to have for “turn your brain off” fare or something to have in the background while I’m gaming.

Stray Toasters

• I should not listen to DMX when responding to certain IT issues/requests…
• Magic and Bird: A Rivalry Gives Way to Friendship
• Congrats to the New York Yankees on winning their 27th World Series.
• pointed out the following program: Master of Arts in Diplomacy
• New York City Opera Rises from Turmoil
• For :

  

• Hand-cut paper street maps of world cities
• Holy crap!  13 days until NECA/Wizkids releases the new Hammer of Thor ‘Clix!
• Wu-Tang album covers redesigned as Blue Note album covers
• All Folked Up: The Punk Rock Collection, Vol.1

Namaste.

Tuesday – 03 November 2009
I can see clearly now
The rain is gone…
Not that it’s rained here recently, but the haze that usually hovers over the valley is gone… or at least it has thinned a bit.

Happy Birthday to !

Last night, we headed over to the in-laws for dinner and football. Both were very good – we had lamb and fresh vegetables…. and an eggplant dish whose name I can never remember.

Instant Replay: Football

Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints
27 – 35
The 6-0 Saints hosted the 3-3 Atlanta Falcons. I wasn’t expecting too much from this, but it was a very good game. Both teams scored on their opening drives.  Not only that, both teams played well – all game long, on both sides of the ball. Boilermaker Watch: Saints QB Drew Brees had yet another game with big passing yards. He threw for 308 yards, with two TDs and one interception.

Stray Toasters

• Fastball Special
• pointed out Put This On: A Web Series about Dressing Like a Grownup
• We have found a home for Couch 1.0, now we need to arrange to get it there and then acquire Couch 2.0…
• Americans for the Arts has a new ad campaign: “Feed Your Kids the Arts!”

• Gambit != Gamut
  • gambit
  • gamut
• First, RB Jamal Lewis says he’s retiring after this season.
  Next, GM George Kokinis gets the boot.
  , it looks like your team is just falling apart. What’s next?!
• I’m missing the ability to play X-Men: Legends… Stupid “No, we’re not making the 360 completely backwards compatible” Microsoft!
• Digital Bread Crumbs: Following Your Cell Phone Trail
• No matter how bad your day is, at least you’re not this guy…

• I want a new black or grey hat, preferrably a fedora.
• Josie and the Pussycats has been replaced by The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan on Boomerang.

Namaste.

Saturday – 31 October 2009
Happy Hallowe’en to all.

Yesterday saw the conclusion of “The Great Boot-Finding Adventure of 2009.” I needed boots for my costume… and couldn’t find anything that really fit the bill. Nothing in men’s boots. Nothing in women’s boots. And the clock was not only ticking, it was winding down pretty quickly. (Not good.)

I had been looking online and the closest thing that I saw to what I wanted/needed were these. And that wouldn’t work, because I was well past the ordering/shipping deadline. That… and the fact that I didn’t really want to kick out $120 for a pair of boots that possibly wouldn’t see light of day again, other than in a costume situation (read as: “Almost never.”). So, I got to gallivant all over Hell and half of Georgia. I found a prospect for $30 online at Dick’s Sporting Goods. And there’s a Dick’s at The Gateway!  Win-Win! I headed downtown – with a quick stop to say “Hi” to SaraRules at work – assured that my quest was at an end… but, once I got to the store, I discovered that they had nothing of the sort on-hand.

*facepalm*

Undaunted, I continued my trek. I wound up heading to the Sports Authority in Murray. I was hoping that they would have a boot that I had seen in the Sandy Sports Authority. They had them… but the only color they came in was olive. Okay. Fine. I could deal with that. I bought a pair.

After a quick stop to say “Hi” to , a trip to the Home Depot paint department, and a trip to Dr. Volt’s, I headed home… and set to work on the boots. A couple of hours and two coats of paint later, they were ready.

SaraRules came home from work and finished working on my costume – she made both of our costumes this year. When she was done, we headed to OnlyAly and ‘s for their Hallowe’en party. (Pictures here.)  As always, it was a lot of fun.

Stray Toasters

• Let me start off by saying that SaraRules did a completely kick-ass job of making our costumes.
• And a few other Hallowe’en-related items:
  • Hallowe’en is safe, your kids are safe, the only scary thing is the warnings
  • How to Survive the Thriller
  • Be a Comic Book Character for Hallowe’en
  • Witches’ Brews
• Dutch girl’s solo voyage banned
• After the Game, What Happens to the Losing Team’s Swag?
• The good, bad and ugly hair days
• Periodic Picnic Table Fills Your Tummy with Chemistry
• LEGO Transformers Characters
• I think that I’m going to do some more WWG modeling this afternoon.

Have a happy Halloween,
Halloween, Halloween.
Have a happy Halloween,
Silver Shamrock!

Namaste.

Tuesday – 27 October 2009
It is snowing in the Salt Lake greater metropolitan area today:

It’s not much (at the moment), but it’s still snow. With that in mind, the Council for Better Driving: Utah advises drivers to exercise caution when traveling.

Yesterday was a fairly lax day, as birthdays should be. The day ended with dinner with SaraRules and the in-laws, while watching Monday Night Football. It was a nominally better game than I expected.

Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Redskins
27 – 17
The Eagles brought a lot of pressure and seemed to completely flummox the ‘skins in the first half of the game. Washington Head Coach Jim Zorn also seemed a little… lost… on the sidelines; having play-calling duties removed from you will do that, I guess. In the second half, Washington QB Jason Campbell looked a bit better, making plays and completing passes… but still wasn’t able to seal the deal.

Stray Toasters

• My Silhouette SD should be arriving this afternoon. I should be putting it to work with new TerrainLinX bits by the end of the week, I imagine.
• From Comic Book Resources’ “Wonder of Wonders” column:
  • The 12 Triumphs of Wonder Woman Day
  • Star-Spangled Panties: You are what you wear.
• ‘Hot Mormon Muffins’ calendar pokes fun at stereotypes
• Why am I looking forward to tomorrow’s comics?  This could have something to do with it:

  

• Book: Rules for My Unborn Son
• Cities, volunteers fight blight caused by foreclosure crisis
• Northwest pilots’ “distraction” blamed in airport overshoot
• Netflix Coming to Sony PS3
• Church of Scientology convicted of fraud in France

It looks like we’re off to the gym.
In the snow, which has started to come down with a little more “oomph.”

Namaste.