Random Access

Tuesday – 18 August 2009
Another day in the mines.

Last night, SaraRules and I went to dinner at El Chihuahua. We ate. We talked. We watched football. After that, we ran a couple of errands – one of which involved a Hostess Fruit Pie (but perhaps I’ve said too much…) – and then headed home for a quiet evening in.

The management at our apartment complex is having some of the roads in the complex repaved. I think that this would be referred to as a “Charlie Foxtrot” in the military.

Football Update
The Panthers traveled to New York to take on the N.Y. Giants for their first preseason game. (GameCenter) They put on a… decent… showing. The first half was primarily the Giants’ half. Somewhere in the second half, the Panthers seemed to remember why they were there.

With under two minutes left in the game, QB Josh McCown executed a rather impressive drive that went in for a touchdown AND two-point conversion to tie the game at 17. The Giants had a chance to drive downfield, but couldn’t. On the first play of the Panthers’ next drive, McCown, setting up a pass play, had the ball knocked from his hand, which was recovered – in the air – by a Giants’ lineman and run back for the go-ahead winning touchdown… just as time ran out.

Carolina: 17
Giants: 24

And, in other gridiron news: Brett Favre is back in Minnesota…

Workout
Marci and I went to the gym this afternoon:

• Calf Raises: 3 sets/10 reps, 100 lbs
• Leg Extensions: 3 sets/10 reps, 70 lbs
• Leg Curls: 3 sets/10 reps, 70 lbs
• Sit-ups (incline): 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 185 lbs
• Tricep Extensions (bar): 3 sets/12 reps, 80 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell, hammer grip): 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs
• Reverse Punches (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 lbs
  • Set 1: 20 reps
  • Set 2: 10 reps

Weight (morning): 184.5 lbs

Stray Toasters

• Last night, I was messaged by someone I haven’t spoken with in nearly five (5) years. It was a bit of a shock, pleasantly so… but surprising, nonetheless.
• By way of : While I Was Away

• IKEA Draper Crayfish Party
• Utah Museum of Fine Arts is holding a film and lecture series, beginning next week.
• Why Is PETA Making Fun of Fat Women?
• I’m a fan of Bobby McFerrin. Check out his rendition of The Pink Panther Theme
• Insanewiches
• Car 54 Jamar Nicholas, Where Are You?
• pointed this out to me: Do You Wanna Date My Avatar?

• Has the Spidey Musical been deep-sixed?
• But we’re never gonna survive
  Unless we are a little crazy…

Quote of the Day
Today’s quote is gleaned from a conversation I had last night with . He wanted to make sure that we were alright with Bit and Pixel being at the wedding ceremony (in the chapel, that is).  Duh – we only get to see them (or at least Bit, to this point) every so often; naturally, we want them there. That led to the following:

9:47:10 PM : aiiight so urchins ok, i’ll load them both up with nyquil.
9:47:21 PM : heh or mountain dew
9:47:24 PM : either way, fun at parties
9:47:26 PM : 🙂
9:47:59 PM : SaraRules: “How about one and one?”
9:48:06 PM : “He gets to pick which one.”
9:48:24 PM : hahaha ok awesome, Bit on mountain dew then.  i’ve been wanting to play with THAT shotgun for months.

Namaste.

As I mentioned before, today was Sushi and Comics Wednesday.

We went to Oh Sushi (as usual). As we were wrapping up lunch, the discussion turned to TV shows. Firefly became a favored topic.  (Yes, shockpuppet, you still need to watch Firefly… especially as you own the DVDs.  Just sayin’.) From the guys at the table went to Kaylee… and Inara… even River… then – and I really wish that I could remember how we got there – Angela Bassett came up. The conversation took the following turn…

Jeff (looking at me): Hey… didn’t you say that Angela Bassett was your aunt?
Me: *blank stare*
Rest of the Table: *blank stare*
Jeff: Maybe it was… somebody… else…
Me: *blank stare* followed by *raised eyebrow*
Jeff: No!  Really! I was hanging out with this guy and we were [LOST TO BACKGROUND NOISE] and I said, “Angela Bassett” and he said,”Dude… that’s my aunt!” And then he pulls out his wallet and had pictures of her and him in there!”

The whole backpedal was a lovely thing to behold.

Tuesday – 12 May 2009
Today is apparently Limerick Day.

Yesterday, loonybin88, Sean and I headed over to the driving range at Old Mill for lunch. I had a few good  drives, but it was apparent that it has been “a while” since I’ve teed off. I foresee more trips to the range in the next few weeks.

Last night, SaraRules and I played Trivial Pursuit. She kicked my trash, eight ways from Sunday. Seriously. In about twenty-five minutes. We both started off slowly… then, next thing I knew, she had four wedges. I managed to get four by the time she got her sixth wedge, but then she headed for the center space and wrapped things up.

Stray Toasters

• In Turnabout, Iran Releases U.S. Journalist
• Before yesterday, it had been a while since I’d been to Broken Frontier; they’ve had a facelift.
• Mountain Game: Craig Adams’ Kurosawa-inspired Artsy designed, Alpinist
  (I actually own the movie that this was based on.)
• Their Name Is Legion
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: 747 sucks a baggage container into its engine at LAX
• Dear Spike, by way of
• Rachel sent me a couple of amusing items:
  • A quote from QDB and
  • A Shortpacked comic strip
• Thanks to Dana, from Galaxy of Comics, for pointing this out: Fathers’ Day: 2 Legendary Comic Creators Proud of WOLVERINE
• For , a couple of New Mutants-related articles:
  • New Mutants: Birth of the X-Babies
  • Mighty Week of Marvel #29
• One shot: Harvard College founder, UNSC soldier, HALO destroyer
• By way of : Vitamins Found to Curb Exercise Benefits

Quote of the Day
From an IRC conversation:

[23:23]  : blizzcon 2009 noncombat pet reward : grunty, the space marine murloc.
[23:24]  :

[08:26]  : nah, not going to blizzcon.  i was planning on buying the PPV broadcast on directv anyway though – grunty is an excellent bonus to go along with that. 🙂
[08:30]  Ahpuc: “grunty” ?
[08:30]  : The 8th Dwarf
[08:30]  : He was sick on the main day of filming, so they cut him out of Snow White altogether.
[08:31]  Ahpuc: Huh. I always thought the 8th dwarf was Sodomy, and they had to censor him out.
[08:32]  : Sodomy, or “Dom” as he was known in some circles, was replaced by Dopey… in an effort to make the movie more “family-friendly.”
[08:33]  Ahpuc: Family-friendly, because sodomy == contraception?
[08:33]  : Family-friendly as in “less therapy-inducing for small children”

Attack the day
Like birds of prey

Namaste.

Friday – 01 May 2009
It’s May Day, but more importantly (to me, at least) it’s my friend’s birthday.

Happy Hatching Day, Bret.

Last night, SaraRules and I had dinner at the local Olive Garden. We both had the Chicken & Gnocci Veronese; we also both had the same opinion of it: It was good, but the dumplings left a little something to be desired. They felt/tasted “too doughy,” as though another few minutes of cooking would have firmed them up just a little more. Otherwise, dinner was good. Our waitress, Kyrsten, was good and rather attentive, which is always a plus.

We came home and had a laid-back evening, including reading this week’s comic book haul and watching CSI: and a good portion of Hellboy. I also built a bus, from the Bits of Mayhem set, for my city. We also watched The Late Show (Dave’s laryngitis was much better) and The Late Late Show, on which Craig’s monologue included an amusing bit about Olive Garden.

This morning has been quite lazy. Despite turning off my alarms, I was awake at 7:08 this morning. Fortunately, I was able to turn over and fall asleep again. After all, getting up that early is no way to kick off a long weekend, now is it? I’m not sure what’s on tap for the rest of the morning and afternoon, but I’m good with the idea of just being lazy.

Four-Color Coverage
This week’s haul was a bit of a mixed bag. But, by the numbers, the “good” outweighed the “bad,” fortunately.

• Green Lantern #40 – This was another “Prelude to Blackest Night” issue. We start with a look at Yrra Cynril, the Star Sapphire formerly known as the Green Lantern-killer, Fatality. From there, we move to Oa and witness the creation of the Fourth Law of the Book of Oa. And that leads to a run-in with the Orange Lanterns.
• Justice Society of America # 26 – This issue was a great example of what the JSA stands for: Family and legacies. We get to see this, in a unique way, through the vantage point of Stargirl. Though she’s one of the younger members of the team, we see the affect she’s had on her peers – older and younger.
• Uncanny X-Men #509 – Just when it looked like things were going (relatively) well for the X-Men and they were settling into their home in San Francisco, it seems as though someone wants to pass (yet another) new legislation limiting mutants’ rights. On top of all of this, Madelyne Pryor’s master plan is brought to light… and, she decides to pay the X-Men a visit.
• Wonder Woman # 31 – Former head of the Queen’s Guard, Alkyone, made a deal with [SPOILER DELETED]. Achilles paid a visit to the United Nations. Diana got a visit from [SPOILER DELETED] and learned a few interesting facts about Genocide’s origins. None of these came under the heading of “good things.”

…and, last, but far from least…

• Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #4 – I have been enjoying this series and will be sad to see it end. This issue bounced between the 21st and 31st Centuries… and the end of time. [SPOILER DELETED] is back and Superboy-Prime is not happy to see him; nor is he thrilled about seeing Sodam Yat, for that matter. The Time Trapper makes his move. Starman’s mission in the 21st Century is revealed. [SPOILER DELETED] joins the fight. And, in one of the best origin revisions I think that I’ve ever read, the true identity of [SPOILER DELETED] is revealed.

Stray Toasters

• I’ve been given the green light to post a link to robandsara.org
• Daily LEGO: Exterminate!
• Someone has created a papercraft Defiant…
• ArtWerk’s map of his “beloved Europe

  

• sent me the following: IKEA lover or hater? You’ll know soon enough
• Apple not paying iPhone developers, reports of lawsuits brewing
• Have you ever wondered “What if Cthulhu was a furniture-maker?” Wonder no more.
• The Mind-blowing World of Human Chimeras
• Can’t get enough of William Shatner? Shatnerquake might be up your alley.

Quote of the Day
From this week’s issue of Legion of 3 Worlds:

Brainiac 5 (Legion 1): Have you ever read Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein?
Brainiac 5 (Threeboot Legion): Frankenstein? That book is for children.
Brainiac 5 (Zero Hour Legion): And incomplete. I followed it step-by-step with little success.
Brainiac 5 (Legion 1): You’re both missing the point.
Gates: What is the point?
Brainiac 5 (Legion 1): “The point is, with the right amount of genius and a touch of perceived insanity, science can conquer anything.”

Namaste.

Thursday – 09 April 2009
It’s overcast, rainy and… cool (not really “cold”) and I find myself thinking: “We left California… and the sun… and the warmth… for this?!” Oh, well.

The drive back was just as long as the drive down, although it was shorter in terms of time, because we didn’t make quite as many stops; we did stop at the In-N-Out in St. George, though. I phased in and out of sleep, many times. (I realized later that was due to a sleeping poorly Tuesday night.) On the whole, the trip was uneventful.

As we were getting stuff out of SaraRules’ parents’ car, it started to sleet. That urged us to hasten our efforts to get things into the house, oddly enough. We said our goodbyes and headed off to pick up the apartment key from . (Thanks again for keeping an eye on things!) Next, a quick stop at Rumbi to get some dinner and then home. We were both beat; we watched last week’s CSI: while we ate. We watched a bit of The Late Show and called it a night.

Stray Toasters

• Thanks to for pointing out Dr. Funkenberry.
• The Complete Manual of Things That Might Kill You
• In world news: Georgians rally against president
• Gentleman in New Orleans Loses Chunk of Arm in Possible Zombie Attack
• Sandy Collora, possibly best known for his Batman: Dead End fanfilm, has a trailer out for his upcoming fanfilm, Hunter Prey

• Dungeons & Dragons Co-Creator Arneson Dead at 61
• Self-Resucing Princess t-shirt
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Women Meat Pioneers
• By way of comes “Your Business Card Is CRAP!”

Quote of the Day
Julie, our Property Manager, was asking me how our trip went.  I was recounting it and told her that SaraRules had found her dress… but that I couldn’t tell her anything about it, because I haven’t seen it and won’t see it for six months. That led to the following exchange:

Julie: That’s right, you’ll be getting married on the next Conference weekend.
Me: Oh… yeah… Well, there goes about half of our guest list.
Julie: That’s what TiVo is for!

We both got a good laugh out of it.

And, with that, back to the grind…

Namaste.

Tuesday – 17 March 2009
Happy Green Lantern Day!
(Happy Saint Patrick’s Day to the rest of the world.)

After work yesterday, SaraRules and I headed up to Liberty Park for a stroll. (She’s been rather positive in helping me stick to this whole “doing cardio” thing.) We walked the inner loop, which is 1¼ miles, give or take a bit. The weather, mild and comfortable, was quite agreeable. All-in-all, it was a pleasant change of pace.

We got back home and SaraRules decided to try recreating the Pollo Limon Rustica dish that she had the other night at Macaroni Grill. I didn’t have any of the dish then, but last night’s fare was very tasty. After dinner, we watched the new episode of 24. Not too surprisingly, there were a couple of twists… including a one that I didn’t see coming; neither did SaraRules. And it was a pretty good one, in fact. We also watched reruns of The Late Show and The Late Late Show that we taped last week.

This morning, I woke up with The Beach Boys’ Fun Fun Fun running through my head.

Stray Toasters

• By way of :
  • The Interpreter – this is a pretty amazing story
    
  • Glenn Beck recycles X Files plot to Spread Fear of Obama
  • The new sexual double-standard
    
• NFLShop.com is offering 30% off on orders today.
• Week-long Africa visit for Pope
• Jasper Morello: stunning steampunk short animated film
• By way of and the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Rubber Johnny. I will add the comment that he told me when he sent it to me: don’t read the description beforehand..just let it play

• US Capital blighted with HIV/AIDS
• Tailgunner Jo
• By way of : Din Daa Daa

• Brain Decline Begins at Age 27
• Juror Tweets Could Cause Mistrial

Quotes of the Day

• Quote 1
  I posted the following as my status on Facebook:

  Happy Green Lantern Day! Wait… What? St. Patrick’s Day? Really?! Well, that’s just silly.

  To which replied:

  By your powers combined, I am Captain… no wait. These are the other guys with rings. 🙂

• Quote 2
  Jeff, another coworker, just came over and told a St. Patrick’s Day joke:

Why did St. Patrick drive the snakes out of Ireland?

Because Samuel L. Jackson wouldn’t let them on the plane.

It made loonybin88, Tom and me laugh.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 04 March 2009
Midweek. And only two more days to Watchmen.  And the new Star Trek trailer. Selah.
And, as if that’s not enough, it’s Comics and Sushi Wednesday.
Win-Win.

Last night, I headed to Chris’ for Round Two of our JLA/Injustice League fight. The match started off slowly, but we eventually moved our pieces into position for smacking each other’s teams around… and then both of us had to deal with hot and cold streaks with our dice. In the end, my dice decided to effectively go on holiday and Chris wound up with a win. We both enjoyed the fight with the two teams and may revisit this in the not-too-distant future. I think that our next match will be the (Teen) Titans vs. the X-Men.

Stray Toasters

• I neglected to take my camera to Chris’ last night, so no pics of the game… or of my two mods.
• By way of Nyx: How To Make an Anatomically Correct LEGO Cake
  (Despite it’s title, it’s quite work-safe.)
• The Repair Manifesto
• Design for a nine-square-foot house
• This user icon makes me laugh:

  

• Ladies and gentlemen… Morris Day and The Time!
  
  Morris Day & The Time – The Bird
• From The Daily What: Ways To Be Cool
• Christian salt, a wingnut alternative to kosher salt
• Smokey and the Bandit would have been a much different movie with a few of these…

Quote of the Day
Today’s gem comes from an NPR story about a man fighting court fees for badminton in San Francisco.

Today’s “Last Word in Business” comes from Ed Leong. The former San Francisco Housing Inspector is an avid player of badminton.  He’s been whacking shuttlecocks…. there’s a phrase that I didn’t know you could get away with saying on the radio….

You can find the story – and the audio (RealPlayer, I think) – here.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 03 March 2009
What a day. And it’s not over yet.

This morning started with a massive headache. Literally. To the point that I crawled back into bed to try and sleep off. Nearly three hours later – and with significantly reduced pounding in my head – I decided to give it a go and head to the office. Once in the office, I was informed of a number of changes that are coming down the pike… in fairly short and fast order. Yay.

A little after noon, Wes and I headed to the gym. Because I had a meeting starting at 2:00, we opted for a short workout:

• Leg Raises: 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 205 lbs
• Reverse Fly: 3 sets/10 reps, 80 lbs
• Lower Back Extensions: 3 sets/15 reps, 140 lbs
• Dips: 3 sets/10 reps
• Curls (barbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 60 lbs

Post workout weight: 186.1 lbs.

Back in the office for what turned into the first of two meetings. It was fairly short, but it propogated a second – and slightly longer – meeting. There wasn’t any moaning, wailing or gnashing of teeth, so it wasn’t bad.

Tonight, Chris and I are getting together for a rematch of the JLA vs. Injustice League battle. I have a couple of ideas for my JLA team… one of which just makes me laugh. I may also build a fake team, just to see his reaction, and then switch to my actual team for the game.

Stray Toasters

• Thanks to SaraRules, I have Cadbury Creme Eggs!
• I finished my second modded HeroClix figure last night: Bucky Barnes as Captain America.  I’ll get some pictures of it – and the Shado ‘Clix – tonight… hopefully.
• By way of : Sitting Pretty
• By way of : This Is Why You’re Fat
• What’s the ideal number of friends?
• pointed out this video:

  It made those of us in the office who saw it laugh. A lot.

• Top 11 Concept Cars of the 2009 Geneva Motor Show
• There is apparently a new Star Trek trailer that will be seen in front of Watchmen.
• And there’s a new Terminator: Salvation trailer, too.
• Ryanair Pay-to-Pee Proposal Pisses Off Customers

Quote of the Day
Sean, one of my minions employees, was talking about the lack of diversity in Utah. He had a situation where his son, who is five, made a comment that kind of caught him off-guard. (He told me what it was and it wasn’t “bad,” just an amusing observation from a kid… using kid logic.) Sean, having grown up in Chicago, felt that he had failed as a father, with respect to teaching his kids about diversity and other races. As a member of the LDS Church, he also realizes how sheltered many people can be and made the following comment:

I want my son to know that there are more races than “Member” and “Non-member.”

Julie, who was also listening to Sean’s tale, and I both cracked up.

Namaste.

Today’s workout was a mostly back and shoulders (with a little triceps thrown in, for good measure) workout:

• Leg Raises: 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 185 lbs
• Lat Pull-downs: 3 sets/10 reps, 120 lbs
• Rows (Nautilus, compound): 3 sets/10 reps, 125 lbs
• Lateral Raises (with forward rotation): 3 sets/15 reps, 10 lbs
• Tricep Press (T-bar): 3 sets/15 reps – 1 set @ 70 lbs, 2 sets @ 80 lbs
• Dips: 3 sets/15 reps – 2 sets, bench dips; 1 set unassisted

It was a good workout.  At least, that’s what my triceps are telling me.  I might add a little more shoulder work in on Thursday.

Stray Toasters

• passed this along to me: Dear Spike, Love Dad: Of a Dream
  I think it might even be Quote of the Day.
• By way of SaraRules: Michelle Obama to Grace Cover of Vogue Magazine
• Steampunk cake
• Hey, Stop Staring at This Lady’s… Arm
• From today’s “Unintentional Porn Overheard at Work” file comes this gem:
  

  “I’ll have to play with it until I’m comfortable with it…”

• Turning an iPod Touch into an iPhone
• Pong Museum
• Stopping Trucks the Superhero Way
  To which, SaraRules replied: “Hmm…. interesting. But I do think Superman would be more effective.”
• 50 of the Most Insane Things Never Seen on Google Street View

Back to it.

Tuesday – 20 January 2009
And with these words:

I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. So help me, God.

Barack Obama has become the 44th President of the United States of America.

Monday – 22 December 2008
Day One of Vacation.  In two days, SaraRules and I will be on a plane headed east.

Last night, we finished wrapping a few gifts. At some point today, I’ll have to brave the snow and head to the post office to get two of them in the mailstream.

Stray Toasters

• By way of comes This Old Studio Apartment, not to be confused with The Old Apartment.
• I just burned 2 GB of pictures (all from this year) from Defiant onto a DVD. Finally.
• Ex-astronaut again asks court to toss evidence
• Word Twist is an addictive game.
• Will people really boycott Apple over DRM?
• Scientists Build Neonatal Incubator from Car Parts
• This sounds like something out of the Saw movies: Stanley Milgram’s shocking experiment, redux
• Top 100 Comic Book Battles Master List
  



• Cartoon Network Creates First AAA, Browser-Based MMOG for Kids
• It’s snowing, once again.

Quote of the Day
From a conversation with a little while ago…

Me: What’s shakin’ over Companion-way?
: sausage mcmuffin with egg and cheese!
: heeeeeeeoooooooo yeah
Me: Nice.
Me: I’m contemplating a bowl o’ Honeycomb, personally.
: the top of my mouth cries for you.
Me: But, I likeses the Honeycomb.
: it’s a cruel, cruel cereal.
: so delicious, but it hates you.
Me: No, Cap’n Crunch is a cruel cereal.
: that’s the cruelest. honeycomb wishes it were capt. crunch.
: it’s a copycat killer.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 26 November 2008
First off, congratulations to and on the birth of their daughter.

Last night, I stopped in to see and help sort out a problem with her bed. Fortunately, it seemed to be a fairly easy fix. After that, we headed down to Red Espresso, a new coffee shop at 509 East 300 South. It’s a very small, but quite cozy little shop; it’s been open for about a month. I had a caramel mocha (made with real caramel, not just caramel-flavored syrup), while Nyx had a chai latte – we enjoyed our respective drinks. If you’re downtown and looking for a new place for a coffee drink, give it a try.

After that, SaraRules met me at my place and we traipsed off to Best Buy… who is having a great movie sale. We walked out with something on the order of ten movies for a little over $70, including the new 2-disc Hancock and 24: Redemption (which I missed the other night); the other movies clocked in between $3.99, $4.99 or $6.99. Check out the Best Buy website for titles and prices – as I recall, there are about 520 titles on sale.

Today will hopefully be a relatively quiet day around the office. I have a training module to do and a server fan to replace, but I think that’s pretty much it. Then, I’m Ivory Soap sure that I’m heading to Far West to play a game or two of ‘Clix before heading off to make sweet potato pies for tomorrow.

Stray Toasters

• Cars and Guitars: Autopia’s 10 Best Songs about Cars
• A Pillsbury cookie commercial came on last night and the following question popped into my head: Who would win in a fight between the Pillsbury Dough Boy and the Gingerbread Man (from Shrek)?
• Marine Boy

  As a kid, I think that this was one of my favorite after-school cartoons. And it also piqued my curiosity about boomerangs… thus generating many trips to Toys ‘R’ Us to buy toy boomerangs.

• I just found a bunch of opening credits from cartoons that I used to watch as a kid:
  • Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch
  • Devlin
  • Jonny Quest – which I occasionally catch on Boomerang
  • Hong Kong Phooey
  • The Perils of Penelope Pitstop
  • Star Trek: The Animated Series – which, if I remember correctly, is part of Star Trek canon.

  

  • Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids – look, I didn’t name the show, I just watched it.
  • Valley of the Dinosaurs
• Ann Coulter’s Jaw Wired Shut
• Quietly Terrifying Karl Rove NYT Interview

Quote of the Day
Today’s bit o’ banter comes from yet another IRC chat:

(08:26:43) entered the room.
(08:27:07) : damn dirty market.
(08:27:50) Ahpuc: Dirty, filthy, slutty market
(08:28:27) : YEAH
(08:30:45) : that is all.
(08:30:45) left the room (quit: Leaving).
(08:55:35) Me: O,o
(08:58:32) Me: damn dirty == apes
(08:58:42) Me: damn dirty == market
(08:58:48) Me: So… market == apes?
(09:04:09) Ahpuc: And apes = monkeys – tails
(09:04:18) Ahpuc: So market = monkeys – tails
(09:04:25) Me: Ah…. this shit is bananas.’
(09:04:34) Ahpuc: Therefore monkeys = market + tails !
(09:04:41) Ahpuc: Pin the tail on the market!
(09:04:48) Me: tails = tuxedos
(09:05:00) Me: Therefroe monkeys = market + tuxedos
(09:05:14) Me: apes = monkeys – tuxedos
(09:05:30) Ahpuc: tuxedos = penguins ?
(09:06:13) Me: So, by that rationale: Charleton Heston starred in “Planet of the Monkeys – Penguins”
(09:06:16) left the room (quit: res pls).
(09:06:43) entered the room.
(09:07:01) Ahpuc: apparently does not like our logic.
(09:08:12) Ahpuc: r0b, I just realized the implications here. Charlton Heston could fix the market!
(09:08:15) Ahpuc: Too bad he’s DEAD.

Friday – 17 Oct 2008
Last night, I headed home for a quiet date night with SaraRules – on tap: CSI:, Sleeping Beauty (the Disney version… which I’ve never seen) and Senator Palpatine McCain on yea). Shortly after I got in, I received an unusual text… from . She was at SLCIA with a 90-minute layover and was wondering what I was up to.

*blink blink*
I told her to hang tight while I made a couple of calls.

I touched bases with and to see what they were up to; both of them had things on their agendas. I called up SaraRules to see where she was (just down the street) and when she got here, we headed to the airport. We got to spend about 45 minutes or so with before she had to head back to the gate area to catch her next flight. It was a pleasant – and quite unexpected – surprise.

On the way home, SaraRules and I realized that we were getting hungry and neither of us felt like cooking. We chose Macaroni Grill for dinner. (Actually, she chose it; I just did the driving.) It was a good call, too. I had the Chicken Marsala with a calamari appetizer. Both were quite good.

We got back home, found the couch, stretched out… and, in fairly short order, both of us were knocked out. That meant that we missed most of The Late Show interview; we woke up in time to catch the very last part of it. SaraRules went home and I finished reading Top 10: Book 2 and DC: The New Frontier.

Workout
Wes managed to get me to go to the gym yesterday. I would like to make it a more-regular occurrence. Before we got started with the main workout, I wanted to try a max press… just for the Hell of it. I was pretty sure that I couldn’t get a rep at 300 lbs, even though I had 275 on the bar and had found a couple of 10-pound weights and two 2.5-pound weights to get to 300.  (There was a guy, a few machines away, watching as I added and subtracted weights from the bar. The expression on his face seemed to say,”Is he really going to try to press that much…?”) I backed it down to 250 lbs… and got two reps out of it. Not bad for not having really done bench press in nearly four months. The rest of the workout was good and tiring:

• Bench press: 3 sets/10 reps (2 sets – 185 lbs; 1 set – 155 lbs)
• Fly (machine): 3 sets/10 reps, 100 lbs (10 sec hold on 10th rep)
• Back Extensions (machine): 3 sets/12 reps, 80 lbs
• Curls: 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs (1 set), 30 lbs (2 sets)
• Lateral Raises: 3 sets/10 reps, 15 lbs
• Side Bends: 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs
• Tricep Extensions (rope): 3 sets/10 reps, 60 lbs

My post-workout weight was 179.9 lbs. That’s… a little higher than I like. Time to lay off the extra helpings of brownies and ice cream after dinner.

Four-Color Coverage – DC: The New Frontier and Top 10
I was introduced to DC:The New Frontier by way of the video that was released earlier this year. It adapted the story into a (roughly) seventy-minute animated feature. The ‘toon was good and adapted the story well, but it missed a lot of the details and richness that two trade paperbacks afforded.

The story is set in 1950s America. Thanks to the air of fear created through McCartyism, costumed adventurers have been outlawed… unless they take an oath of loyalty to the U.S. administration. A couple of heroes do, most decide to just fade into the sunset.

The movie focused more on the story of Hal Jordan, using him as the readers’ main connection to the story (similar to the way that Wolverine and Rogue were used in the first X-Men movie) and that worked well for the animated feature. The books, with the wider pallete of characters, included Jordan but also gave much more insight into the other heroes featured in the story. For example, “John Henry,” a character who received a brief nod in the movie, had a plotline that ran throughout the books and – along with the Martian Manhunter’s story – served to show a couple of sides of the racial struggles in America in the 50s.

The story was a fun read. Darwyn Cooke did an excellent job of taking characters whose adventures have become so familiar and placing them in a different time, but making them – and their stories – relevant and interesting. And, in another interesting tie-in to history, the book ended with excerpts (mostly from the last half) of John F. Kennedy’s 1960 Democratic National Convention Nomination Acceptance Address.

Top 10 is the story of Neopolis, a city where all of the residents have superpowers. The book was written by Alan Moore, also known for such books as V for Vendetta, Watchmen and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

The book follows the police force, based out of Precinct 10 – more commonly known as “Top 10” – in their daily routines. The feel of the book is a cross of Astro City (1, 2) and Gotham Central… and it works. In the stories, we see not only the officers’ working their beats, but also glimpses of their personal lives, as well.

An unexpected treat that Top 10 also provides is the artwork. Not just the characters and the architecture… but the background characters. If you look carefully you’ll see that some of the extras are… “oddly  reminiscent”… of other, well-known figures in comics and literature.

Alan Moore has created a rich setting with characters whose motivations and idiosyncracies are as diverse as the city in which they live and protect. The books were good reads and I look forward to checking out the two spin-off series and the sequel.

Stray Toasters

• Urban Desi: A Genre on the Rise
• On the political front:
  • By way of SaraRules: A Rising Political Star Adopts a Low-Key Strategy
  • McCain, Obama roast each other at charity dinner
  • John McCain Gets Absolutely Humiliated By Technology, Photoshop
• Thanks to for pointing this out:

  

• Shortly after sent me a link to this picture, this video popped up on Boingboing:

• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: High school student in Kentucky faces felony charges for writing a zombie story
• Speaking of zombies: Zombie papercraft dolls
• From the “I cut so much, you thought I was a DJ” file: Butterfly Knife USB Drive

Quote of the Day
Excerpted from John F. Kennedy’s 1960 acceptance speech:

Can a nation organized and governed such as ours endure?

That is the real question.

Have we the nerve and the will? Can we carry through in an age where we will witness not only new breakthroughs in weapons of destruction, but also a race for mastery of the sky and the rain, the ocean and the tides, the far side of space, and the inside of men’s minds?

That is the question of the New Frontier.

That is the choice our nation must make — a choice that lies not merely between two men or two parties, but between the public interest and private comfort, between national greatness and national decline, between the fresh air of progress and the stale, dank atmosphere of “normalcy,” between dedication of mediocrity.

All mankind waits upon our decision. A whole world looks to see what we shall do. And we cannot fail that trust. And we cannot fail to try.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 15 Oct 2008
I finished reading Watchmen last night. I enjoyed it. It’s a great alternative take on the Cold War. It will be interesting to see how well – and how much – they were able to adapt for the film version.

SaraRules came over for a bit last night. We started watching The DaVinci Code; we got about halfway through it. I have seen it before; she hadn’t. She started getting tired, so we decided to stop the movie for the night. After she left, I watched a little bit of The Late Show and The Late Late Show before calling it a relatively early night.

Stray Toasters

• Every once in a while, you wind up stumbling across something that makes you go,”Wow… I dodged a bullet there…” I had one of those this morning. It was “I Feel Better Than James Brown” great.
• SaraRules pointed out a couple of interesting items:
  • Photo project gives voice to ‘backbone of America’
  • Cheadle replaces Howard in Iron Man sequel
• From Fafblog – Barack Obama: Black?
• 
• Comic Book Characters Grouped by Religious Affiliation
  Some of the affiliations are rather… loose. For example: Neil Gaiman’s Death? (Yes, that one…) She’s Mormon. Who knew?!
• Christina Applegate: Why I got a double mastectomy
• I’m still stunned by the Don Cheadle news. As much as I like Terence Howard, I think that Don Cheadle will add a little harder edge to the character of James Rhodes. And if they go the War Machine route… even better.
• Blog of funny newspaper clippings
• By way of NPR Music:
  • West Coast Cool: The Jazz Sound of ’50s California
  • Songs for a Drab and Unfulfilling Existence
  • 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die
• I like this illustration, by Harris O’Malley

  

  In case you can’t make it out, the book is Demon Summoning for Dummies

• Ezekiel 25:17… as translated by Quentin Tarantino
• Snake-proof baby crib from the 1900s

Quote of the Day
has been sharing the wisdom of Lao Tzu on Wednesdays. Today’s entry:

Namaste.

Tuesday – 07 Oct 2008
Happy Birthday to :

Last night, I hung out with SaraRules and her family and watched the rollercoaster (of love… say WHAT!?!) of a game that was Minnesota vs. New Orleans. Wow. There were a LOT of impressive plays in the game:

• Saints QB Drew Brees threw for 330 yards.
• Vikings QB Gus Frerotte threw for 222 yards and engineered a couple of impressive drives, despite taking a beating from the Saints’ defense.
• Saints’ RB Reggie Bush ran for a combined 176 yards, including two (2) punt returns for touchdowns.
• Vikes’ RB Chester Taylor (former Ravens RB) threw a touchdown pass
• And where did Vikings’ CB Antoine Winfield come from?!  He was everywhere. EVERYWHERE. Special teams?  POW!  Defensive line?  BAM!  In the Saints’ backfield?  Yep. He was there, too.

Of course, there were some miscues, too:

• Martin Gramatica’s off-the-mark field goals.
• The Saints’ problems with holding on to the ball.
• Drew Brees’ interceptions.

I just noticed that this week’s NFL passing leaders are Kyle Orton (CHI) with 334 yards and Drew Brees (NO) with 330 yards. Both of them were Boilermakers.

This morning, the alarm went off at 6:20. I did my level best to ignore it. That didn’t work, so I turned off the alarm and laid in bed, pondering the prospect of starting the day.

Somewhere between “pondering” and “starting the day,” I nodded off again.

This is why I have a secondary alarm. It went off. I got up. Yay.

Stray Toasters

• LEGO Eggo waffles.
• WizKids has posted the new Batgirl figure on the Arkham Asylum page, but there’s nothing about it in their news headlines.



• In a rather geeky moment, I realized that 2’x3′ Heroclix maps will fit under the glass top of my living room table.
• 10 IT Power-Saving Myths Debunked
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Monkey waiters at restaurant
• Farewell, Opus; Hello, Pete, the Perfectly Practical Pig

Quote of the Day
Today’s nugget of joy comes from an IRC conversation:

(08:54:52) Ahpuc: When you are sitting on an airplane next to someone who is too chatty, what’s your favorite way to end the conversation?
(09:21:36) : Headphones.
(09:21:55) Xeen: falcon punch
(09:22:37) : Or open up manuals on taxidermy… and tell them you’re looking for test subjects.
(09:25:53) *** scratches their head and goes “hmmm!”.
(09:49:27) Ahpuc: A friend of mine was near a chatty 65-70 year odl woman, she was going around to everyone near here, asking what they did, etc…Like meet-me-get-to-know-me day on the damned airplane.
(09:49:55) Ahpuc: When she got to him and asked what he did he said he ran a porn site, and that they were looking for models for some of the sennior citizen porn.
(09:50:03) Ahpuc: She shut up for the whole flight at that point. 🙂
(09:50:10) : nice. 🙂
(09:50:34) : porn’s a good choice for that. It’s enough to shut people up, but not likely to get you thrown off the plane/mobbed like the other likely answers to those questions.
(09:50:37) : Win.
(09:52:50) Ahpuc: I was thinking of riffing off Fight Club: “Insurance Adjuster for the airlines. Do you know how many of these planes actually crash every year, due to poor maintenance? I mean, if it’s not near a big city, they just cover it up, it never sees the press…This airline in particular is notorious for painting over holes in the cabin. Hmm…Does it feel drafty in here to you?”
(09:54:38) : “No english. Arabic?” *fiddles with a box cutter*
(09:54:50) : CHOSEN WEAPON OF MY PEOPLE, BITCH.
(09:54:52) *** has more coffee.
(09:55:45) ***Ahpuc kicks off the airplane.
(09:56:11) : at 30,000 feet? that’s harsh.
(09:56:24) : That was my other thought – just reply only in Arabic.
(09:57:38) : or Esperanto.
(09:57:49) : or swedish chef?
(09:57:53) : klingon.
(09:58:06) : or KKKKKKKKHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAANNNNN!
(09:58:24) : You could just stare at her. Really up close in her face. Wide eyes. don’t say anything.
(09:58:34) : only reply with direct quotes from Airplane!. “looks like i picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue.”
(09:58:49) Ahpuc: Or reply only with Biblical quotations, carefully chosen for effect.
(09:59:13) : naa. just quote ricardo montalban at ’em.
(09:59:48) Ahpuc: Matthew 10:34 – Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

Namaste.