Random Access

Sunday – 17 February 2008
Today’s been a good – and full – day.

SaraRules and I got up this morning and went to church with Dad. While Dad’s church usually has a fairly short service, today was a red letter day for short services – I think that we were in and out inside of an hour. (They had a special service between the regular services that they had to fit in.) We got back home… and took naps. For me, three hours. Apparently, I needed it.

After that, we headed to Columbia to meet up with Bret and his girlfriend, Elizabeth. We met at The Mall in Columbia. That place has changed quite a bit since the last time that I had been there. And… there’s an Apple Store there. I have finally seen and held a MacBook Air. Just as I was examining it, a young lady was looking at the Macbook Air next to me. She closed the lid, to see how thin it was…

…and an alarm went off.

She had the “Oh, God… What did I do?!” look on her face. Her boyfriend/husband/guy-with-her just looked on like, “I don’t know this woman.”

Turns out that the alarm was connected to a computer on a different table altogether. It just so happened that the timing was perfect.

After we left Bret and Elizabeth, we headed to Ellicott City to visit Aunt Rea and Uncle Marion. I took the laptop, so that I could show them pictures of Grace, Adam’s graduation and wedding weekend and a few pictures of Utah. It was a nice visit.

Back home for dinner and to hang with the family. I finally took my official first turn as “Uncle Rob, holding Grace.” She was a little fussy at first, but quieted down rather quickly… and then drifted off to The Dreaming. All of us sat around and talked for a bit. While we were chatting, heard about his next posting. Shortly after that, Grace decided that it was feeding time again, so we called it a night.

I’m not entirely sure what’s going on during the day tomorrow – aside from trying to catch up with Tammy – before heading back to Utah, but I’m sure that we’ll (try to) squeeze something in.

Stray Toaster
SaraRules taught me something about a function on the computer. Granted, it was something on a Mac and not something that I was familiar with doing… but she still taught me something. And I promised that I would document it. “For posterity.” (And for her to get the satisfaction of being able to say “Do you remember that time when…?”)

Namaste.

Saturday – 16 February 2008
Yesterday was spent downtown at Harborplace and the National Aquarium in Baltimore.

The day started with lunch at Phillip’s Restaurant.  Crab cakes.  Not just one style, but two!  Broiled (favorite) and fried.  Well worth the trip.

Next, we headed to the Aquarium.  The gentleman at the ticket counter suggested that we delay going in until 5:00, when the admission rate dropped to $16 USD.  So, we spent a half-hour at the Barnes & Noble in the Power Plant.  It was the first time that I’d been in that B&N; I like the layout a lot – two floors, two cafes, plenty of space for customers to sit and even spots where small groups could congregate.  In other words, it would make a great place for Clitorati… if there was a B&N like this in Salt Lake City.

Back to the aquarium.

Three buildings, multiple floors of fish, mammals, amphibians, birds… and even a sloth.  Pictures here.

Back home to hang out with the family.

Today, my uncle is coming down for the afternoon from New York.

I should probably finish – read “start” – getting ready.

And with that…

Namaste.

Friday – 15 February 2008
We got in this morning around 1:20 AM. The flight was rather uneventful… which is “good” when talking about air travel. met us at the airport and brought us home. SaraRules got to meet the paternal side of the family-unit, including a sleeping Grace. (When we saw her this morning, she was in full “I’m hungry, where’s Mommy?!” mode – the girl has a good set of lungs.)

Today, Harborplace and the National Aquarium in Baltimore. After that/other than that, I have no idea. But, it’s a vacation, so we’re not really pressed about it.

Tomorrow, my uncle is coming down from New York to spend a few hours.

Stray Toaster
While sitting in the airport yesterday, I saw this article. It had a picture. When I saw the picture, this was the first thing that came to mind:

For those of you who don’t get the joke (or why I’m going straight to Hell), click here.

Now, to finish getting ready and attack the day.

Namaste.

Thursday – 14 February 2008
First off: Happy Valentine’s Day.

Now that we have that out of the way…

Yesterday was…interesting. On many levels. I started the day in SLC, so that I could work on a couple of server issues. The biggest headache of the issues was replacing a mainboard and a couple of sideboards. That took longer than planned, but I got it done.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get it finished before the latest snow storm to hit Utah – not just SLC – rolled in. I left the SLC office, popped home to pick up a couple of things I needed for the trip and got back on the road. It took me two-and-a-half hours to get from SLC to AF. This was due mostly to the fact that UHP and UDoT had closed a couple of roads that branched off of I-15 in Utah County. And, let me tell you, a gridlocked I-15 at the top of South Mountain is not where you want to be when you’re having an Wakko Warner-like potty emergency. *sigh* I made it to the AF office, took care of the two things I needed to and got back on the road.

The snow wasn’t hellish through Provo, but – to their credit – drivers weren’t behaving like heroin-addicted monkeys, either. That was a pleasant surprise. Outside of Utah County, the roads were a mixed bag: Some were well-cleared, others were not-so-cleared, but passable. I managed to get behind a couple of snow plows, which was nice. Falling in behind a few semis wasn’t bad, either…

…but it still took me SIX HOURS to get to Cedar City. *gah*

I had planned to get up and go to the gym when SaraRules headed to work this morning. Yeah… “theory vs. practical application” at its finest. I didn’t wake up until nearly noon.

Now, it’s final packing prep and on the road to Vegas.

And then… Baltimore.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 13 February 2008
It was twenty thirty years ago today
When Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play my first sibling was born.

Happy Birthday, Rana!

Monday: Coda
The work day wasn’t too bad. It was fairly quiet, so aside from dousing a couple of small fires, I got some reading done. I also stayed a little later at work than I had originally planned, but that’s not a bad thing. In fact, I may put in a few extra hours tomorrow and Wednesday so that I can shave a few hours off the PTO I am taking.

Workout

• Chin-ups: 3 sets/10 reps
• Leg Raises: 3 sets/20 reps
• Incline Bench Press: 3 sets/12 reps @ 135 lbs.
• Curls (standing, hammer grip): 3 sets/10 reps @ 30 lbs
• Bench Dips: 3 sets/15 reps (with additional 25 lb plate in the lap)
• Decline Bench Press (wide grip): 3 sets/10 reps (1 set @ 135, 2 sets @ 155)
• Pull-overs: 3 sets/10 reps @ 45 lbs.

Today’s weight: 171.0 lbs

Stray Toasters

• I upgraded the back-end of WordPress to 2.3.3 today. It went much more smoothly than the 2.3.2 upgrade/debacle.
• In a related note: Over the past few weeks, I have been weighing the pros and cons of moving all commenting to my main site, rather than splitting it between LiveJournal and my site. At this point, I’m Ivory Soap sure that I’ll be making that move in the next week or two. Consider this your friendly, neighborhood “warning shot across the bow.”
• Tertiary note: I have been relocating some pictures in the gallery in a manner that (hopefully) makes more sense. If you find that a picture is no longer where you once found it, let me know and I’ll (try to) point you in the right direction.
• sent a couple of new pictures of Grace; click here to see them.
• I took a few new pictures of my new display case and its contents.
• 
• The 20 Worst Foods in America
• Newsarama had a few interesting articles today:
  • Geoff Johns re-ups with DC Comics
  • Sterling Gates on the Alpha Lanterns in GLC
  • The Q: What brought you in?
• By way of BoingBoing: Which Book Should Neil Gaiman Post Online for Free?
• ThunderLOLcats

I should have called it a night long ago. Time to rectify that.

Namaste.

Sunday – 10 February 2008
It’s been a quiet day here in Lake Wobegon Salt Lake City.

The morning started with comics in bed, but changed to breakfast, coffee and yesterday’s toonage in the living room – Legion was (yet again) a rerun, but The Batman was new.

Then there was Pro Bowl and dinner with SaraRules’ parents and brother.

Now, I’m back in Paragon City with the Hand of Nefer-Tem while SaraRules quilts some more. Maybe I’ll hit 42 before the night – and Double XP – ends.

Human of the Day (weekend)
This weekend, it was a tie: and :

• for the gift card to the Garden of Sweden, which went towards this (1, 2).
• for her repairs to my Batman and Morpheus statues.

Stray Toasters

• There was… something that was going here. I don’t remember what, so it will keep until later, I’m sure.

By the way…. Security Level 42. 🙂

Namaste.

As promised, more pictures of Grace

Weight: 6 pounds, 4½ ounces
Length: 20 inches.

Thursday – 07 February 2008
I talked with briefly this morning; Bot and Bit are both doing well.

I started my morning in the SLC office, but was due to be in the AF office today. The commute was relatively uneventful… except for the snow that I ran into at Point of the Mountain.

Things have been fairly quiet around the office today. I consider this a good thing.

Workout
Today’s workout varied from Tuesday’s workout, with more of a focus on upper back:

• Leg Raises: 3 sets/20 reps
• Pull-ups: 3 sets/10 reps (2 sets unassisted; 1 set assisted @ 80 lbs)
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 205 lbs (third set broken up into 5-and-5)
• Pull-downs (wide-grip, behind the head): 3 sets/15 reps, 100 lbs
• Reverse Deltoid Fly: 3 sets/10 reps, 75 lbs
• Dips: 3 sets/10 reps

Today’s weight: 172.6 lbs.

Stray Toasters

• I tried a couple of new-to-me tech items yesterday; I think that I like them both:
  • iGoogle
  • Spaces
• Mitt Romney is bowing out of the 2008 Republican race. It will be interesting to see how things shake out.
• New iPhone and iPod Touch Safari exploit discovered
• How much of a toy geek am I? I present Exhibit A: Action Theatre: Colossus vs. Train

  

  

  

  I actually powered up the train… and Piotr did keep it from moving.
  Colossus: 1
  Train: 0

• Speed & Angels: fighter pilot documentary
• I need to go to the Garden of Sweden soon.
• TANSTAAFL… or is there?
  I had one.
  Granted, it was left over from a manager meeting that was held here, but it was free.
• 

Namaste.

I have a niece: Grace Anya.

Weight: 6 pounds, 4 ounces
Time of birth: 10:36 PM EST

I don’t have the exact details of length (but the thought is about 16″), but according to (and my father… and my stepmother…), both Bot and Bit are doing well.

More details and pictures as they become available.

As I was finishing up my work day, I was thinking about the fact that Rana, whom and I occasionally refer to as “Bot,” is about to give birth to her first child.

Which led to the following hastily-sent text message:

You are aware that if we keep referring to Rana as Bot, the baby is inevitably going to be referred to as Bit, aren’t you?

A few minutes later, I received the following message from :

HAHAHA!!! That is better than Ecru!

I just got a message from : Sib-1 is in labor.
Naturally, I followed this up with a quick phone call.

Updates as they become available.

Monday – 04 February 2008
Another week begins…

…but it’s one daycloser to the 14th, which is not only Valentine’s Day (or Single Awareness Day, as some would say) but also the day that SaraRules and I head on another long weekend vacation.

Destination: Baltimore.

We’re heading home to see the miracle of the new little grey (or zebra-striped or polka-dotted) addition to the family. I’m still hoping that is able to convince Sib -1 that “Ercu Latte” is a good name for a baby.

The commute this morning wasn’t hellish. UDoT took care of most of I-15 with their usual aplomb. Of course, the areas just south and just north of Beaver were a little lacking in attention to detail, but them’s the breaks. For the most part, the other drivers were decent and courteous… although there were a couple of monkey-riffic ones, including a semi driver whom I had to fight my way past in Cove Fort.

SaraRules had mentioned something last weekend, while she was up here: About 6 miles south of Nephi, on the east side of the highway, is a sign for a Super 8 Motel. But… there’s a problem with the sign. See if you can figure out what it is:

For those of you who don’t see anything wrong, let me help you:

The name of the town is Nephi, pronounced “knee-fie.”
As spelled on that sign, it would be pronounced: “neh-pee” or “neh-pie.”

That sign had to go through, at least, two or three levels of quality control before it made it to the roadside. You would think that someone – the motel owners, the graphic designer or even the printer – would have caught the error before clearing the sign for use.

Oh, Schoolhouse Rock! , how we miss you…

Namaste.

Wednesday – 23 January 2008
Mid-week and all’s well… if grey, gloomy and generally “blah” can be considered “well.”

I got a decent start on the morning… even after someone dialed my number at 5:45 AM. No idea who it was, because no number came up on the Caller ID. Monkeys. I was up and nominally mobile a little after 7:00 this morning and out the door, caffeinated (and bagel-laden) and in the office by 8:30. As an added bonus, the first song on Nomad’s shuffle play was Big Daddy Kane’s A Job Ain’t Nuthin’ But Work. Nice way to kick off the short commute.

Mo’ money, mo’ money, mo’ money got get made
To get paid in this trade
And I believe that I can acheive
To make ends meet like a hair weave

Survivin’ in this economy people in the world wanna be
Stayin’ in the upper class so you’re the path
The rich gets the most and the poor gets so little
And only Monie Love can make it in the middle

The work day wasn’t too chaotic. Fortunately. I was asked to check out a problem with a server… which not only was not having a problem (today), but was also in the middle of running some tests for one of our engineers. So, that got downgraded from “Put this at the top of today’s to-do list” to “Keep an eye on this.” I’m okay with that. I’ve also managed to work in some hardware testing… which means that I have been able to clear stacks of dysfunctional machinery out of my work area. I actually found some work space under all of the dreck!

Sushi Wednesday.
New Comics Day.
‘Nuff said.

Genius that I am, I left the power cord (POWER CHORD!) for Defiant at work. *sigh* This meant that – rather than go buy a (“yet another”) new one – I had to go back to the office to retrieve it. This was good on a couple of counts… as I also forgot that I needed to pick up a few things at the store, too. So, I headed to the office to find…

…neither of my badges worked on the main doors of the building. *grblsnrkx* Fortunately, I had messaged Code Monkey BB to see if he was still at work before leaving home. He was. I called him and he brought my cord down to the lobby. We chatted a bit before I took off to run some more errands and he went back upstairs to sling some more code.

After errand-running, I decided to see if was in. She was. I told her that I had her Trader Joe’s shwag with me and would drop it off, if that was alright. Not only was it alright, she asked if I’d mind lending a hand to , who had been helping her resurrect her PC – at this point they were having a problem getting her mouse to respond and needed to rejoin the PC to the wireless network.

No problem!
Piece of cake!
We’d have it back online and humming in no time!

An hour and a half later, we finally had things up and running again. Just like Tom Tom the Piper’s Son… but without the pigs.

Stray Toasters

• I had many things in the four-color hold today… and I picked up a couple new Stikfas:
  1. Alpha Male Samurai with Stallion
  2. Omega Male Black Knight
• By way of comes Gaslight Justice League, a steampunk/Victorian Era look at the JLA.
• had a few things to say about peoples’ reactions to Heath Ledger’s death.
• Today was also Sushi Wednesday for … who, along with the Sib-1 sister-unit, has been interviewing pediatricians. It sounds like it has been a feast-or-famine kind of thing.
• : has your Trader Joe’s items, as you are more likely to see her on Friday evening.
• Area 51 designated with a new name
• By way of : The Internet Party: What happens when Google’s parents leave town for the weekend?
• By way of : The 5 Most Horrifying Bugs in the World
• SR-71A… made out of LEGO. Win-Win!

I’m sure that there was probably more that I was going to add to this… but all I want to do now is save the world (if I can find a team) and read the rest of this week’s four-color haul.

Namaste.

Monday – January 21, 2008

Text of the “I have a dream…” speech

Human of the Day
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Namaste.