Random Access

Tuesday – 16 November 2010
The second half of November is upon us.

Last night, and Nathan came over to watch the Eagles-Redskins game. More on that later.

After the game, I went to work on my model railroad. I was trying to incorporate the 90º crossover and two more switches… but couldn’t get a the pieces to line up. Rather than fight it (too much), I decided to call it a night and ponder the issue today. If nothing else, I’ll probably just do another reversing loop and find a way to throw a spur or two off the main line.

Chew on This: Food For Thought/Quote of the Day
Today’s “Magnetic Poetry Self Affirmation Quote of the Day” comes in response to the feeling of being overwhelmed that a coworker is experiencing:

FYI: I refuse to let the small stuff and stupid people be a problem anymore.

I think that can be applied in many situations…

Instant Replay: Football

Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Redskins
59 – 28
Wow. Seriously… that’s just about the most accurate way to describe last night’s match-up between the Eagles and the ‘Skins. Last night’s broadcast of Monday Night Football should have been renamed “The Michael Vick Show.” He did it all: Threw four (4) touchdowns; Ran for two (2) touchdowns; Rushed for eighty (80) yards; Threw for 333 yards; No interceptions No fumbles He also became the first QB in NFL history with: …at least 300 yards passing, …50 yards rushing, …four passing touchdowns and …two rushing touchdowns in a game. One game. The man was money. All night long. Speaking of money, the Redskins’ new $78 million man, QB Donovan McNabb would have had a much better outing… if his receivers had bothered to show up. McNabb’s passes were pretty much on the money all night, but the receiving corps didn’t seem to put up a lot of effort to catch and/or hold onto the ball.

Stray Toasters

• 45 Years Later, An Apology and Six Months
• By way of Maddox: Not everything is epic, shitheads
• If you saw “Oz with Orchestra” this past weekend, why not leave a review on the Utah Symphony blog page?
• 
• Art of Storytelling Alive and Well in Audio Books
• Colorless, Tasteless but not Dangerous
• TSA tee: “We get to touch your junk”
• She Has No Head! — My 20 Favorite Comics Females
  • This list features not only Wonder Woman, but also Planetary‘s Jakita Wagner, another woman who kicked Batman’s ass (in her own words).  Sorry, Nizlee.
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: She’s a hooker for Jesus. Honest.
• When Opera Stars Show Their Frisky Side
• DC Universe Online: Pre-ordered.
• 10 Buildings Shaped Like What They Sell

And with that…

Namaste.

Tuesday – 14 September 2010
So far, today is starting off about 16347 times better than yesterday. I’m good with that.

Yesterday did wind up being a decent day. Not too surprisingly, the day got (much) better when I left work… which I did early. I headed home to do some straightening and then ran out to pick up some snacks for the game, as I was expecting company for Monday Night Football. Nathan and Wes from work came by, as did , and Josh. It was fun.

Instant Replay: Football

Baltimore Ravens at New York Jets
10 – 9
The Ravens traveled to the New Meadowlands Stadium to take on Rex Ryan’s New York Jets. The game was delayed, due to lightning, but once the kick-off rolled around, it was on. There hasn’t traditionally been a “rivalry” between these teams, but given their history – Jet’s head coach Rex Ryan was the Ravens’ former defensive coordinator – I think that there may be a new match-up on the East Coast. For the past week, there has been a lot of trash talking and posturing… from both sides. Last night it came to a head. The Ravens’ defense was solid, allowing only 74 passing yards and 114 yards on the ground. The offense took a little while to get into gear – the Jets were able to effectively contain the run game – but QB Joe Flacco found new WR Anquan Boldin 7 times for 110 yards (out of a total 278 passing yards). TE Todd Heap put in an impressive performance, as well, snagging 72 passing yards in 6 catches. New addition WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh also pulled in catches for 27 yards. RB Willis McGahee ran in the Ravens’ only TD. On the other side of the ball, the Jets were…very physical, but not everyone seemed to be on the same page.  QB Mark Sanchez looked decent, but couldn’t seem to get his receivers to hold on to passes. Former San Diego Charger LaDainian Tomlinson had a couple rushes, but didn’t get a lot of yards on the ground. The Ravens picked up twenty (20) first downs in the game, compared to the six (6) that the Jets picked up. Penalties also played a large pat in the game: The Jets racked up 10 penalties, for 100 yards, in the first half alone. A lot of them were unnecessary, but did help the Ravens get advantageous field position. All-in-all, it was a tight game… and far closer than I would have liked. But, a win is a win.  Selah.

Yo, Ray..?!  There are some haters out there who say you might be too old to play or that you’ve lost a step or two. What do you have to say about that?

Mmh.  Mmh. MMH!  I know that’s right!

Stray Toasters

• I discovered, late yesterday, that this is National Aerospace Week
• Converse + DC Comics = AWESOME
• I believe that one of SaraRules’ aunts is about to become a member of Improv Everywhere…
  (This makes me smile for a number of reasons.)
• Sukkah vs. Sukkah
• Conservatism does not equal racism. So why do many liberals assume it does?
• 
• Hollywood’s Racism Exposed… by LEGO
• Rumors continue to suggest that Jon Hamm (Don Draper on AMC’s Mad Men) is under consideration to become the next Superman…
• Artificial skins detect the gentlest touch
• Five myths about prostitution
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: School suspends son of murdered man because his eyes were red
• From the “I’ve had it with these motherfucking shuriken on this motherfucking plane” file: Steve Jobs Stopped at Japan Airport over Ninja Stars
• LEGO & Lyrics

Quote of the Day
I was talking with Bill and Scott, a couple of coworkers, a little while ago. Sports came up. Then the distinction between “sports” and “games.” After a few minutes, we hit on motocross. Scott said that he didn’t consider it a sport. Bill and I both countered.  Finally, Bill made this observation:

Anything that causes snot to drip off your chin, I consider a sport.

Amen.

And with that…

Namaste.

Thursday – 19 August 2010
It’s the NBN Thursday before my 9/80 “off” Friday…
…which is only made better by the fact that I’m working a half-day. Boo-yah!

Today is also, apparently, National Aviation Day.  Who knew?!

Last night was D&D game night with and Jack. It was fun. We had a “somewhat socially awkward” member in our group.  (Yeah, yeah, I know.  “Socially awkward” and “game-playing geek” pretty much go together like Ronald McDonald and Grimace.)  *shrug* It happens.

BUT… the “best” part of the evening was catching sight of one of the players at another table…

…dressed in a white shirt and black pants (okay, so far)…

…and, um, “adorned” with glitter.

Yeah. Glitter. All over his arms and a TON of it on his face. “Go, Team Edward.”  We weren’t quite sure if it was sad or hysterically funny. (We went with “hysterically funny,” just to be safe.)

Post-gaming, I hit up the local blue-and-yellow electronics purveyor to get my copy of City of Heroes: Going Rogue. I looked at a few other things, too, but managed to subdue the urge to walk away with “one of everything.”

Back at home, I found SaraRules and Meliko hanging out. Other than pictures, Meliko hadn’t seen the house, so she’d come over to check it out. She approved. *whew* We took her home (i.e.: “dropped her off at the in-laws’ place”) and visited with the ‘rents for a bit.

Workout
Wednesday’s step count: 4,409

Stray Toasters

• I have not yet read yesterday’s four-color shwag, so don’t go giving away spoilers. Thank you.
• American Lives: James Baldwin, “Lifting the Veil”
  

  The writer James Baldwin once made a scathing comment about his fellow Americans: “It is astonishing that in a country so devoted to the individual, so many people should be afraid to speak.” As an openly gay, African-American writer living through the battle for civil rights, Baldwin had reason to be afraid — and yet, he wasn’t. A television interviewer once asked Baldwin to describe the challenges he faced starting his career as “a black, impoverished homosexual,” to which Baldwin laughed and replied: “I thought I’d hit the jackpot.”

• Who Elected Me Mayor? I Did – an interesting article about Foursquare
• Of the items from The Covet List that I noted yesterday, I not only picked up CoH: Going Rogue, but also the Dark Phoenix statue. Two down, three to go…
• Medevac industry opposing upgrades wanted by NTSB
• What would a steampunk smartgun/smartgun link look like?
• Hindu Deities Conjure Magic in Movement Downtown
  



• For New Orleans cops, scandals linger
• Illinois Unconvinced Corruption Culture Will Fade
• Drug Made Infamous by Date Rapes Gets Second Look for Fibromyalgia
• 
• Towns block chain restaurants to save charm
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: American to Charge for Easy On/Easy Off Planes
  (Or, as the original link put it:  “Stupidest Airline Fee Ever? ‘Express Seats’ Gets Our Vote”)

Namaste.

Friday – 13 August 2010
Yes, it is Friday the 13th… (dun dun DUNNNN!)
But, it’s still Friday, which means that the weekend is nigh. With that in mind, here’s a little Janet (“Ms. Jackson,” if you’re nasty…) to help get your end-of-the-week dance on:

And we can’t just leave it like that, so here’s a little Will Smith, too:

After working a little later than usual on Wednesday and having to go back to work Wednesday night (to deal with a potential water leak), I had an extra hour of work on the timecard… of which I availed myself yesterday afternoon: I left a little after 4:00.  It was nice. I stopped at Pin-up Girl, ordered a Peach White Tea and then sat and chatted with Jim and his brother, Paul.

Then I headed home to get ready for some football. SaraRules had a Justice Junior League meeting, so that meant that I was on my own for dinner. (Hello, Papa Johns…?) Pizza went wonderfully with beer and football. and it wasn’t just any old football game… it was the Ravens hosting the Panthers. But I’ll go into the game later.

As if the early part of the day wasn’t enough, SaraRules, Bonne, Melissa S. and I went to see The Expendables. SaraRules called it, and I quote:

Quite possibly the best action movie I’ve ever seen… I’d give it nine-and-a-half bricks!

And, just in case that wasn’t enough, here’s what Bonne had to say about it:

If you prefer action over chick flicks, I have one word for you: Expendables!!!

That’s right: My mother-in-law thought it rocked.  Beat that.

And, yeah, it was pretty damned good. You’re not five minutes into the movie when the bullets – and bodies – start flying. The movie is “a little” thin on plot, but doesn’t suffer from lack of action. You get to see (almost) all of the stars chewing bubble gum, kicking ass and taking names. Something that I wasn’t expecting: The dialogue was actually witty at times. Sure, there were a couple of in-jokes here and there, but the banter was fairly fresh. And, the movie was just plain fun.

SaraRules’ Rating:

Rob’s Rating: 

That was my Thursday, how was yours?

Instant Replay: Football

Carolina Panthers at Baltimore Ravens
12 – 17
The Ravens played host to the Carolina Panthers for both teams’ first preseason game. The weather went from overcast and threatening to “Hey, Noah, where’s your ark?” during the course of the game. The Ravens have a lot of new talent on both sides of the ball. They also have a good number of returning team members. Among the new talent is former St. Louis QB Mark Bulger. Bulger looked a little rusty, but viewers saw that the talent is still there. QB Troy Smith got the short end of the stick, coming into the game as the rain started pouring down, but that didn’t stop him from engineering a drive that culminated in a rushing TD… by Smith, himself, on a QB draw. The Panthers apparently have twenty-nine (29) new players, including six rookie defensive players. They also have two rookie QBs – Jimmy Clausen and Hunter Cantwell – duking it out for the #2 slot. And I have to say: Clausen looked amazing. Seriously. First NFL game – against the Ravens’ D, no less – and he stood in the pocket, looking cool and in control. His passes were solid. His timing was unexpectedly and impressively precise, threading the needle more than once to complete long yardage passes to receivers in coverage. Yes, this was “just” a pre-season game, but it was still football and it was a good game. It’s good to know that both of my teams will be worth watching this season… especially when both teams meet again in November.

Workout
Thursday’s step count: 4,860

Stray Toasters

• Late night + early morning = Rob stopping at Pin-up Girl Espresso for some go-juice.
  Erin and Paul helped me kickstart my morning.



• Hidden World of Girls — Girls and the Women They Become
• Oh, North Carolina Public Schools… I didn’t know just how badly you needed help.
• ‘Tea Party’ members offer a ground-level view
• From Brad Guigar’s Courting Disaster:

  

  (click image to read the question and comments)

• White House against ending birthright citizenship
• 10 great haunted places across the USA
• I haven’t read the book or seen the movie, but I would probably be more inclined to read or see this take on Eat Pray Love:



• Organize your ideas to make more money
• Stock Your Garden with Foods Cheaper to Grow Than to Buy

Quote of the Day
Today’s quote comes from last night, by way of someone sitting in front of us to his friend who had just returned from the concession stand:

“You’re bitching about salt and sugar?! That much food will grow you two spare asses!”

Have a great Friday!

Namaste.

Wednesday – 11 August 2010
Mid-week and all’s well.
It’s Comics and possibly-Sushi Wednesday.

Last night, Chris, Jeremiah and Sinister came over to play ‘Clix. (Yeah, I know… what a concept!) Our theme for the game was “War of Light,” based on the “Blackest Night” storyline from DC Comics’ Green Lantern titles.  Chris and I played the Sinestro and Green Lantern Corps, respectively, while Jeremiah and Sinister played the Black Lanterns. For some reason, we thought that 1200 points per player was a good idea. And we also thought that starting (theoretically) at 7:00 was a good idea. We didn’t really get under way until 9-ish… and wrapped up somewhere around 12:30 this morning. We just called the game, but I think that if we tallied up points, Chris and I were ahead… but the other guys played one Hell of a game. And, it was a lot of fun. Pictures of the game can be seen here.

Workout
Tuesday’s step count: 4,633

Stray Toasters

• Tonight is the Epic Brewery Dinner at MacCool’s. SaraRules and I are going with the in-laws. If it’s anywhere on the level of the Guinness dinner from a few weeks ago, it should be fantastic.
• Letter from a freed man to his former slave owner
• I’m not a Twitter user, but found this article interesting: How black people use Twitter
• City of Heroes: Going Rogue comes out on Tuesday.



• Last week, Comic Book Resources’ “Comics Should Be Good” column asked for submissions of Disney-Marvel crossovers. This week, they posted some of the submissions — and they are good. Check them out here.
• This had me literally laughing out loud… and then sharing it with the rest of my team, when they came over to see what was up: Soul-Toons
• Another cooling unit’s pump appears to have gone out in our server room.  This would be (more)  understandable… if the units were more than a year old!
• Anti-terrorist hotline ad banned for being ‘insensitive’
• By way of Brad Guigar (Evil, Inc.): 



• My Day of “Dreckoning”
• Literary Destinations: Five Books to Help You Escape

Quote of the Day
Today’s quote comes from last night’s game.  Attacked by two Black Lanterns, my Ganthet evaded an attack from BL Superman and shrugged off part of an attack from BL Martian Manhunter.  Jeremiah looked at Ganthet’s dial and saw that he was still ready to rumble. Rolling his eyes, he muttered:

“Stupid Ganthet…”

…and considered options for trying to remove him from the game. (Didn’t happen, just for the record.)

Namaste.

Sunday – 06 June 2010
Today’s been a good day… and there’s still lots of day left!

Last night, SaraRules and I went to see Splice. We’re of different minds about the movie: She thoroughly enjoyed it, whereas I enjoyed it… up until the last 30 minutes, where it went completely off the rails for me.  Up to that part, it was fine — a nice sci-fi/horroresque movie. It had very good special effects. It had psychological twists. It had moral and ethical issues. All-in-all, a decent start and first two-thirds of the movie.  But the end fell flat for me.  And, as I understand it, that was what SaraRules found the most intriguing about it.  Oh, well… maybe the director’s cut will be better for me. *shrug*

This morning, we got up and headed to the in-laws’ for a pre-birthday brunch for . Grilled bacon. Sweet potato muffins. Fresh fruit. Scrambled egg casserole. All of which was very tasty. We’re going back this evening for cake and presents and whatnot.

We came back home to do some cleaning around the house. Necessary evil.  In a little while, we will head to the Tanger Outlets in Park City.

Workout
Yesterday’s step count: 5587

Stray Toasters

• Yesterday, SaraRules and I got new telephonic hotness: HTC Evo 4G. We’ve had them less than 24 hours, but we’re both digging on them. We also got gel cases for them: pink for hers, black for mine. SaraRules noted, after we’d picked them out, that “…we got them in our signature colors,” as they match our respective MacBooks.
• Autism finding could lead to simple urine test for the condition
• From the “Color Me Not Surprised” file: Gizmodo Not Welcome at 2010 WWDC
• Screenshots vs. Multi-tasking.   🙂
• I shall soon have two new additions for my display case’s Sinestro Corps shelf.

Quote of the Day
Today’s quote came from none other than pre-birthday guest of honor, :

‘Muffins,’ spelled backwards, is ‘Sniff ‘um.’

This was proclaimed across the breakfast table this morning… and was met with hails of laughter.

Namaste.

Saturday – March 13, 2010
Last night, SaraRules and I forewent (yes, I checked to make sure that “forewent” is an actual word) our usual Friday night doings and headed downtown. After a tasty dinner at Macaroni Grill, we headed to the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center to see Wallace. It was… two-plays-in-one, but performed in alternating parts. It was well-acted and very well-done. After the play, we met up with the Clitorati crew for “non-dinner” (at least for us).

Today, I am judging a ‘Clix tournament at noon. I am curious to see how the players take to today’s format. I’m calling today’s scenario “Mosaic,” in no small part due to the Green Lantern series of the same name. In today’s scenario, all games will be played on the same map — this is to put everyone on a level playing field, so to speak. The biggest variable will be Battlefield Conditions (BFCs), which change the overall game conditions. Each game will start with a BFC… but the BFCs will change every ten (10) minutes.

Also happening today, SaraRules hits the stage in Utah Opera’s production of The Italian Girl in Algiers. She’s a supernumerary in the production. Her role: Harem girl. The show runs through Sunday, 21 March 2010; if you have the opportunity, you should check it out.

Stray Toasters

• Don’t forget: Daylight Saving Time begins at 0200 on Sunday, 14 March 2010.
  (And, yes, it’s “saving,” singular… not “savings,” plural.)
• At the Guggenheim, the Art Walked Beside You, Asking Questions
• WizKids has unveiled their latest figure from The Brave and the Bold set: Power Girl

• Georgian monasteries offer to take in prisoners
• Marque Cornblatt retrospective art opening in Baltimore
• 
• US Census infographics from 1870 — NOTE: The click-through link loads slowly (graphics-heavy).
• Beheaded Vikings found at Olympic site
• Laptop sleeve made out of recycled wetsuits
• More Than Super: Searching for Christ in comic book culture

Quote of the Day
Yesterday, I semi-watched Titan A.E., the last film produced by Fox Animation Studios. (Added trivia: Don Bluth – whose studio did the animation for the Dragon’s Lair video game – was one of the co-directors of the film.) The movie contains one of my all-time favorite movie quotes: At the movie’s climax, Cale (voiced by Matt Damon) and Akima (Drew Barrymore) walk around a newly-formed planet – think “Genesis Planet” from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan:

Cale: I think I’ll call it… “Bob.”
Akima: You can’t call a planet “Bob.”
Cale: So now you’re the boss. You’re the King of Bob.
Akima: Can’t we just call it “Earth”?
Cale: No one said you have to live on Bob.
Akima: I’m never calling it that.

And that’s a wrap — I need to finish getting ready and ease on down the road…

Namaste.

Monday – 07 December 2009
Another week begins… and this one has snow. Or at least it will in a few hours. That’s fine. I’m indoors and plan on staying that way until evening rush hour.

Today is also the anniversary of the WWII attack on Pearl Harbor.

Yesterday was a rather lazy day. It primarily involved sleeping in, watching football and being lazy. And that was just fine in my book.

Instant Replay: Football
Yesterday was a good day for fans of gridiron action:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers
6 –16
We didn’t get to see this game, but a game with a “W” for the Panther is almost always good in my book.

.

Oakland Raiders at Pittsburgh Steelers
27 – 24
Yet another game that we didn’t get to see, but the Raiders beat the Steelers. Let’s go over that point again: Oakland beat Pitt. In Pitt. Raiders QB Bruce Gradkowski threw three fourth quarter touchdowns for a come-from-behind win. Congrats, SaraRules.

.

Detroit Lions at Cincinnati Bengals
13 – 23
The Lions jumped out to an early lead in this one… but the Bengals came away with the win. Congrats, and .

.

New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins
21 – 22
This was another game that wasn’t broadcast locally. I did catch some of the highlights, but all I needed to know is that the Fins got the win… even if only barely.

.

San Diego Chargers at Cleveland Browns
13 – 23
The Bolts broke down the Dog Pound… but Cleveland apparently proved that their bite was almost as bad as their bite, outscoring San Diego 16 – 3 in the Fourth Quarter. Sorry, .

.

Minnesota Vikings at Arizona Cardinals
17 – 30
What. Happened. Here? Where was the Brett Favre that we’ve seen in the past twelve weeks of the season? Where was the Adrian Peterson run game? And what happened to the Vikings’ defense?! I don’t have answers to those, but apparently Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald and the Cards did. Sorry, .

Boilermaker Watch

• Drew Brees and the Saints tried just about everything possible to give up the game to the Washington Redskins yesterday. But, thanks to an 18-yard FG in overtime – by K Garrett Hartley, the Saints remain undefeated.
• Denver QB Kyle Orton led the Broncos to a 44- 13 win over the Chiefs.

Stray Toasters

• SaraRules did a little digging and came up with a little more information about the “911 vs. 9/11” item that I posted yesterday:
  

  A copy editor changed a reference to “911 Is a Joke,” a song on “Fear of a Black Planet,” the classic 1990 rap album by Public Enemy, to “9/11 Is a Joke.”

  “The error was not the fault of Akeya, the reporter on the story, but was made during the copy-editing process. A correction was printed once the error was discovered,” Kris Coratti, director of communications at the Washington Post, told Journal-isms, referring to reporter Akeya Dickson.

  The correction was picked up on Web sites from Regret the Error to FishBowl LA to Wonkette to Gothamist.

  “Brutal,” wrote Gothamist. “The song ‘911 is a Joke’ was of course released in 1990, on the seminal Fear of a Black Planet album, approximately 11 years before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.”

  With no indication of familiarity with the author of the story, Wonkette wrote, “Why WaPo Neocons Should Not Write About Hip Hop.”

  With that, I transfer yesterday’s “Wow… I’m an idiot” comment from Ms. Dickson to whomever her copy-editor is.

• DC Opens Up Earth One
• How does today’s weather make me feel?  I can sum it up in two words: Boat Drinks
• Cool Toys for Nerds, Ages 8 to 80
• 
• Virgin Galactic to Unveil Commercial Spaceship
• …and in a semi-related note: US Air Force Confirms New Stealth Aircraft
• Fox says ‘Avatar’ is costliest film it’s ever made
• Cirque du Soliel preps ‘Viva ELVIS’ show
• How Men and Women Badly Estimate Their Own Intelligence

Quote Pun of the Day
messaged me this morning with the following:

: ‘morning
Me: Howdy.  How goes?
: and…the puns start early…I just thought of the perfect present for : …catholic eclesiasitcal converse all stars…
Me: *snicker*
: nun chucks
Me: ::: rimshot :::

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.

Wednesday – 04 November 2009
Yesterday was our… whatever you want to call it, yesterday marked one month since SaraRules and I got married. (Yep, I totally lucked out.) We spent a quiet evening in, eating dinner, watching TV and drinking wine. It was a nice way to spend our… um… one-twelfth-iversary?  One-month anniversary?

I woke up this morning with a couple of Wham! songs running through my head. I haven’t decided if it’s a “good” thing or a “bad” thing. Granted, they were upbeat and bouncy – which isn’t a necessarily bad way to kick of the morning – but it was 80s pop, after all. First thing in the morning…?  *shrug* I suppressed the idea of subjecting people on Facebook to videos of the songs this morning, at least, and I went with this, instead.

I’m not sure if any of the usual suspects will be going to sushi today. I might just have to make another excursion without them, after all… there are comics to get!

Workout
Wes and I made it to the gym yesterday afternoon:

• Sit-ups (incline): 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 205 lbs
• Lateral Raises (with Flys, dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 10 lbs
• Reverse Punches: 3 sets/15 reps, 10 lbs
• Curls: 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs
• Tricep Extensions (dumbbell, overhead, standing): 3 sets/15 reps, 40 lbs

Post-workout weight: 185.3 lbs (gym clothes, shoes)

I think I might – voluntarily – do some side bends next time. Ugh. I’m also thinking of dropping my bench press reps down to eight, per set, and seeing if I can start increasing the weight a little more.

Stray Toasters

• There was an explosion at one of the area oil refineries a little while ago.
• Healthcare provision seeks to embrace prayer treatment
• By way of : In test, Windows 7 Vulnerable to 8 Out of 10 Viruses
• Science fiction as a predictor of the present
• I think that I’m going to create a new page or two on here, one for comics-related posting, one for game- and hobby-related posts… if I can figure out a good way of having the “sub-pages” done blog style.
• AT&T Sues Verizon over “Map for That” Ads
• Some random pictures from my office window.

Quote of the Day

“That’s so big, it’s not a jet… it’s a Seabus!”
“Airbus…?”
“Dammit!”

Namaste.

Friday – 23 October 2009
It’s my prerogative… 9/80 “on” Friday.
That means that it’s vewwy, vewwy qwiet around here.
I might just have to break out the DreamCast in a little while…

::: lunch break :::

I went to lunch with Paul (Boss⁺¹).
Five Guys.
Good.
Filling.
Nearly food coma-inducing.

It was still quiet when we got back.  That was good.  I’m getting a 3-day weekend, as Monday is International Robert Neal Day… and I’m taking the day off. So, all things considered: Win.

Stray Toasters

• I still want to build one of these someday. You know, when I have a yard.  And some woodworking equipment. And a welder. And… And… And…
  • I was discussing this in a chat… which, in turn, led to today’s Quote of the Day (below).
• I could pretty much add all of the stuff from this site to the O-Scale Railroad/HeroClix Covet List.
• Woman with dystonia can only walk backwards
• I stumbled across Bowling for Sandercoe on Oblong Pictures last night; I thought it was amusing:

• posted a link to Prince Armory earlier. Nice stuff… nice, spendy stuff.
• From the Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Ice skating bear kills Russian circus hand
• I watched part of Whose Line Is It Anyway? last night for the first time in… in… well, let’s just say “a long time.” They did “Greatest Hits” as one of the sketches; as usual, Colin Mochrie made it fun:

• The Creepiest Thing You’ll Ever See

Quote of the Day
The aforementioned BattleMech conversation:

[12:36]     Ahpuc: r0b: Better not have an HOA when you have a yard. They are bitchy about cool stuff like that.
[12:37]     r0b: “What part of ‘rocket launcher’ and ‘flamethrower’ did you not understand, Mr (or Ms) HOA President?”
[12:38]     r0b: ….as I power up the weapon systems.
[12:38]     r0b: 😀
[12:38]     r0b: Wait.
[12:38]     r0b: That leads to “terrorist action” police reports.
[12:38]     r0b: Hm.
[12:38]     Ahpuc: Not just that, but if YOU can do it, so can your neighbors.
[12:38]     r0b: Have to remember to install trap doors and cells.
[12:38]     Ahpuc: I mean, sure, you can be trusted with an operational battle-mech. but what about the jerkoff who can’t even be bothered to mow his lawn noce a month?
[12:38]     r0b: Well, DUH!   Then we could have a full lance of ‘Mechs.
[12:39]     r0b: Think about it.
[12:39]     Ahpuc: You think he will remember to rotate the rocket propellant and service the engines?
[12:39]     r0b: If he can’t deign to mow, what is the workmanship of the mech going to be like?
[12:39]     r0b: *power on*
[12:39]     r0b: *SPLODE*
[12:39]     r0b: -problem solved-
[12:39]     Ahpuc: Then he gets methed up one night, tries to use it to shoot an invisible cat that is inside his left eyelid, and blows up the whole neighborhood.
[12:39]     Ahpuc: Property values rapidly decline.
[12:40]     r0b: Okay… you might have a point with that one.
[12:40]     r0b: “Miles doesn’t know it, but we’ve secretly switched his rocket propellant with decaf!  Let’s see what happens…”
[12:40]     Ahpuc: This is the problem I have with the “right to bear arms” branch of the libertarians…They all think THEY should be able to have RPGs if they can afford them, but they don’t think through the implications when it comes to the average retard.
[12:42]     r0b: Hm.  So maybe I shouldn’t start with a Mech.  Maybe I should just start with Elemental armor, instead.
[12:43]     Ahpuc: How about you start with a bomb shelter?
[12:43]     r0b: Of course, finding someone 8′ tall to pilot it might be a bit difficult.
[12:43]     Ahpuc: Cause then you can do whatever you want indside it without the neighbros seeing.
[12:43]     r0b: Bomb shelter…. Mech Bay….
[12:43]     r0b: It’s “same brand, different flavor,” isn’t it really?
[12:46]     Ahpuc: If they neighbors cannot see inside, call it whatever you want.
[12:46]     Ahpuc: “Now that I have a shed up, with power, I need to put a lattice around the bottom to cover the “crawlspace” thing.”

Namaste.

Sunday – 11 October 2009
This has been a good – and relaxing – weekend.

Yesterday, we slept in a bit and then went to the Downtown Farmer’s Market, where we picked up a few things. On the way to the car, my super power kicked in, as we ran into our friend Lawrence. We came home and did a bit of cleaning. Chris and Mary called to see if we were interested in joining them for seeing Zombieland. We were. And it was a riot. We had a lot of fun watching it. Seriously. If you’re looking for a fun way to pass an hour-and-a-half or so, you should go see this movie.

After the movie, the four of us had dinner at Spaghetti Mama’s. Kate was there, but off the floor… so we got to see her for a bit, but she didn’t wait on our table.

Back at home, SaraRules and I watched Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, the latest DC Animated Feature, based on the graphic novel of the same name. There were a few differences from the book, but on the whole, it was decently-adapted. And, while it did have many of the good lines from the book, it did miss the a couple that I expected to hear, including:

Superman: “Your butler guards the cave with a shotgun? You didn’t have a spare Mr. Freeze gun lying around?”
Batman: “This coming from a man who protects his fortress with a flying dog in a cape.”

On the whole, I thought that it was a decent adaptation and worth a viewing or two.

Today, we slept in again and then headed up to Park City for brunch at Cisero’s. After that, we went to the Kimball Art Center to see The Art of the Brick, an exhibition by LEGO Master Builder, Nathan Sawaya. It was interesting to see how someone can express themselves through such an… unusual… medium.

We came back to Salt Lake for Canadian Thanksgiving with friends of Sara’s family. They put on a nice spread and it was nice to hang out with friends and family. After dinner, we did some grocery shopping and then came home to watch some football.

All-in-all, I’d say that this has been a good, low-key weekend… and one that was definitely needed following last week’s festivities and hullaballoo.

Namaste.

Sunday – 27 September 2009
Holy cow. This has been one helluva weekend. It has also reaffirmed my thoughts and feelings that I have an amazing fiancee and some equally amazing friends.

Saturday started with sleeping in. It was nice. SaraRules and I had planned on a relatively low-key day together, before the last week before the wedding. When we finally got in gear and out of the apartment, we headed to the Garden of Sweden and Hobby Lobby – we were looking for some picture frames (IKEA) and some ribbon for our wedding guest book. We found both. AND, we even had Slurpees! We eventually meandered back home. We straightened up a few things and chilled out before heading out to Tucano’s, a Brazilian steakhouse, for dinner.  Mmm… food-induced coma.

Then things went completely off the rails.

Around 6:00, when we were supposed to be leaving, there was a knock on the door. I looked out the peephole and thought I saw . Opening the door, I was more than “a little” shocked to see standing there, instead. Then he yelled, “Get ‘im!” and rushed in the door. He was followed by seven other people.

My first reaction: Fall into defensive mode and prepare to start throwing punches.

That’s when I noticed that loonybin88 was one of the people…

::: processing:::
::: processing :::
::: processing :::

It then clicked that I recognized the people and could stand down from preparing to fight, but I was still resistant to them trying to usher me out the door. (According to SaraRules, it apparently took four of them to push/pull me out.) As they got me out into the parking lot, looked at me and announced, “Welcome to your bachelor party!” As I was still in shock over the abruptness of what had just happened, the only thing that came to mind was:

“But I have dinner plans…”

Yeah. Brilliant. Because it hadn’t clicked in my head that my beautiful bride-to-be would have anything to do with me getting kidnapped and taken out for a surprise bachelor party. (Tricksy like a Hobbit, she is.) Apparently, she and had been planning this for weeks, once it became fairly public knowledge that I wasn’t planning on having a bachelor party. Their co-conspirators included: , and Chris S., , loonybin88, and Land.

We headed to Rodizio Grill, where , Chris (whom I play ‘Clix with) and SaraRules’ brother, Logan, joined us. While it wasn’t the quiet evening out with my fiancee that I was expecting, I enjoyed the deadly sin of Gluttony just as much. The food, as ever, was very good. The company was equally good.

After dinner, we piled into cars and headed to Fat Cats for some bowling and to shoot some pool. (And me without my bowling balls or shoes… *sigh*) According to Ye Olde Blog, I hadn’t been bowling since April 2008. Sad. We got in two games, I bowled a 170 and a 143; that wasn’t too bad, considering the lapse in time on the lanes. Next we played a couple hours’ worth of pool. There was a lot of slop, but we also had a lot of fun.

Next stop: and OnlyAly’s place for poker and drinking and general shooting the bull. We played until 0330 this morning. I bummed a ride home from Chris and Nox.

All told, I had an excellent game/geek-inspired bachelor party in the company of some great friends, to whom I can only say, “Thank you very much.”

Not too surprisingly, I slept in a bit on Sunday morning. I couldn’t sleep in very late, though, because it was the season’s first meeting between the Browns and the Ravens. We headed over to ‘s place, where Nox was already waiting. We also met a couple of ‘s friends, Christy and Clark… who were also Browns’ fans – we won’t hold that against them… much. Besides, it will be nice for to not have to drink alone for the next game. The Ravens brought their “A” game today, handing the Browns a 34-3 shellacking.

Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens
3 – 34
Joe Flacco had another excellent week, posting 342 passing yards.

Let me repeat that, for those who missed it: Thirty-four to three. SaraRules, Nox and I did one shot, each, to ‘s seven. It was a beautiful thing.

After the game, SaraRules and I headed down to Kate and Perry’s; we were babysitting the kids this evening. Two of us… four kids… GO! Of course, watching the kids was a piece of cake. They started off watching a couple episodes of Lazy Town. (SaraRules noted that it will only be a few years before we are subjected to shows like this on a regular basis…) Next, they watched Next Avengers, which wasn’t too bad. We then fed the group and then sent the older kids to baths. We popped corn and let them watch Cars before sending them off to bed.

And now, it’s pre-Monday winding down time.

But, it’s been a great weekend.

Namaste.

Thursday – 03 Sep 2009
Tis the day before 9/80 Friday. Amen.

Last night, I started printing off a few things from Himmelveil: Streets. Nothing major, just some LinxTabs and a few street tiles. There’s going to be a lot of cutting involved with getting stuff set up, but I think that the flexibility will make it worth the work.

Workout
Wes and I got in a late workout today… but that’s still better than no workout at all!

• Calf Raises: 3 sets/10 reps, 100 lbs
• Leg Extensions: 3 sets/10 reps, 80 lbs
• Leg Curls: 3 sets/10 reps, 80 lbs
• Sit-ups: 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps each, 225 lbs/205 lbs/185 lbs
• Lat Pulldowns: 3 sets/10 reps, 120 lbs
• Fly: 3 sets/10 reps – 2 sets @ 100 lbs, 1 set @ 120 lbs

Weight (morning): 185.5 lbs

Then, I rushed back to the office for the… 13:30 meeting… that got cancelled… at 13:25.  *blink blink*

Stray Toasters

• sent a few pics of the family to me last night.  The cutest of the bunch:

  
  (She’s asleep, but it looks as though Pixel’s saying “No, really, talk to the hand…”)

• Outlook poor for Great Barrier Reef
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Japan’s new first lady says [she] rode UFO to Venus
• Smash and grab robbers clean out Apple Store in 31 seconds
• 
• The Art of Manliness, by way of
• From the “Ewww, gross!” file: FDA says residue is frog or toad, how did it get in Pepsi can? Worst pun/quote of the article:
  

  But the DeNegris say they’re hopping mad over Pepsi’s handling of the matter.

• YouTube may stream movie rentals

Quote of the Day
Today’s QotD also has the added (dubious) distinction of being “Unintentional Porn Overheard at Work.”

I was talking with Coworker Andrew about a salad that he was making. Not seeing any meaty bits in his salad (they were at the bottom of the bowl, apparently), I asked if he was a vegetarian. He told me that he was not.

A couple of minutes later, on his way out of the break room, he stopped by my desk to note that while he is not a vegetarian, he prefers not to eat “animal-shaped” meats – he’ll eat chunked, sliced, diced or other not-on-the-bone meats, but other than that it’s “No Go, Flight.” He summed it up this way:

I don’t put anything in my mouth that I don’t have the intention of swallowing.

I immediately told that I owed a dollar to the swear jar. (Which will use my last “banked” buck in there… but it was worth it.)

Namaste.

Thursday – 20 August 2009
Having a mid-week day off was a nice change of pace.

The only construction that I wound up doing on my ‘Clix building was adding the interior half-wall in the upstairs hallway. I did, however, start printing some props, including beds, dressers, bathtubs, toilets, and sinks.

Four-Color Coverage
This week’s take mostly featured Batman- and/or Superman-related titles. That didn’t stop it from being a good haul, mind you:

• Batgirl #1 – First, there was Barbara Gordon. Then, there was Cassandra Cain. Now there’s… well, just who is under the cowl? Someone old? Someone new? (Hint: It’s not someone borrowed or blue.) I figured it out just before the big reveal. And the last page..? Both perfect and fitting. All-in-all, it was a good first issue.

  

• Blackest Night: Superman #1 (of 3) – Kal-L, Superman of Earth-2, rises from his grave and goes home. To Smallville. The same Smallville where the Earth-1 Clark Kent and Conner Kent (Superboy) are enjoying dinner with Martha Kent. Let’s just say that the rhubarb pie dessert is going to have to wait. And, why is a Black Lantern ring flying through space near [SPOILER DELETED]?

  

• The Brave and the Bold #26 – Further cementing Dakota (formerly part of DC’s Milestone line) in the mainstream DC Universe, this issue see’s The Spectre teaming up with Xombi. Fair issue, for the most part, but its hints at possible “trouble in Paradise” for The Spectre add a brick or two to the count.

  

• Justice League of America #36 – Vixen is in charge of… well… what’s left of the JLA, with a special guest appearance from [SPOILER DELETED]. Roulette and Amos Fortune’s “game” goes another round. There was what seemed to be a bit of a retcon to the origin of the Royal Flush Gang, as well. I was rather pleased to note that Vixen was shown to rather strong-willed, as evidenced not only in her conversation with [SPOILER DELETED], but also in the way she refused to accept any backtalk from Dr. Light, after assigning her a mission partner that she didn’t like/want. On the “down” side, I wasn’t really taken by this issue’s artwork and the overall story was mediocre.

  

• The Middleman: The Doomsday Armageddon Apocalypse – This issue wraps up the story originally started in The Middleman: The Trade Paperback Imperative and continued in the too-short-lived television series -in fact, it picks right up from the last aired episode. The artwork has changed a bit, but the good stuff is still there in the writing. Reading the issue, it was easy to hear Matt Keeslar and Natalie Morales’ voices as The Middleman and Wendy Watson. This was a fun, quirky read and a fitting end to the series… or, at least, this incarnation of it. Here’s hoping that we are treated to more tales from O2STK in the future.

  

• The Mighty Avengers #28 – Stature clues in that things with the Scarlet Witch aren’t as hunky-dory as they seem. Now, if she could only get others to see it, too.

  

• Supergirl #44 – With a little information here and some misdirection there, General Lane and Project 7734 see the plans against Kryptonians move forward. Lois Lane decides there’s someone she doesn’t want to interview – and, no, it’s not Lex Luthor. Additionally, readers get to learn how Kryptonians (and Daxamites) play “Tag.”

  

• Superman Annual #14 – Mon-El has a problem. Well, other than the fact that his exposure to lead as a youth is killing him… again. He’s received a pair of (what appear to be) Sunstones that contain stories of ancient Daxam. But is it a story that he wants to hear? Also, after nearly fifty years, readers get a well-told… retelling (not exactly a retcon)… of how Mon-El Lar Gand met Clark Kent.

  

• Superman/Batman #63 -Who do you put your money on when only one man is left to fight against the absolute ruler of the world?
  

  “Grodd won. We lost. Gorilla Grodd now controls the mind of every person on Earth. Man, woman, child. Hero and villain.”

  If that “one man” is Batman, I’d say him. But, maybe I’m a little biased. I wasn’t incredibly thrilled about the artwork in this issue, but the story raised the bar significantly.

  

• Tiny Titans #19 – Tiny Titan Bumblebee and Terror Titan Plasmus discover there’s plenty to smile about when you have a friend to hang out with. This was not only a fun issue, but it was “terminally cute,” as well.

  

Stray Toasters

• There is far too much blood in my caffeinestream this morning. This must be remedied.
• Purdue ranks among nation’s top universities
• 25 Style Questions Answered in Seconds
• Poor design choices in the Star Wars universe
• sent along this bit of amusement:

  

• Zombaritaville – song lyrics rewritten as zombie tunes
• Haunted Mansion 40th Birthday Video
• 10 Car Ads That’ll Rev Your Engines

Quote of the Day
Tim Gunn was on Good Morning America and Live with Regis and Kelly yesterday morning; he was promoting the new season of Project Runway (starting tonight on Lifetime). Regis asked him what his number one suggestion was to people concerning fashion and style:

Accept responsibility for what you’re wearing. Since our clothes send a message about how the world perceives us – the semiotics of clothes – accept responsibility for the message you’re sending to the world.

Amen.

Namaste.