Random Access

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

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

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

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

Stray Toasters

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

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

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

Tonight: ‘Clix and Scion.

Namaste.

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

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

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

Home again, home again.

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

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

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

Stray Toasters

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

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

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

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



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

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

Namaste.

Thursday – 22 May 2008
It’s a wet and rainy morning in the Land Behind the Zion Curtain.
After Tuesday’s 90° high and yesterday’s (possible) 60° high… today’s projected high is 50°.
Fifty. Five-zero.
Unglaublich!

Last night, SaraRules and I watched Poolhall Junkies. Christopher Walken. Rod Steiger. Chazz Palminteri. Lex Luthor Michael Rosenbaum. And where in the world has Carmen Sandiego Ernie Reyes, Jr. been?! Somehow, I had managed never to see this movie. That’s a shame – it’s a good movie. And, although they never overtly say it, it was filmed (and set) in Salt Lake City – you can even see the SLC LDS Temple in an exterior shot. (That, I did know before seeing the movie, though.) Being a film about a young hotshot pool player, it reminded me of The Color of Money. I even considered watching both of them for a better juxtaposition. And, if I do that, I am Ivory Soap sure that I will add The Hustler to the mix, just for good measure.

Not only is it NBN Thursday, it’s also “Sushi Wednesday.
And “Comic Book Day-After-Wednesday.”

Stray Toasters

• I’m not a fan of “reality TV,” generally speaking. I think I’ve made that fairly apparent over the years. However there are two things that have come to my attention this season that are somewhat noteworthy:
  • American Idol. I didn’t watch the show, but I caught a couple of episodes at Kate and Perry’s over the past couple of months. I mentioned David Cook back in March as having caught my attention. And, as of last night, he was chosen as American Idol’s champion for the 2007-2008 season.
  • Deion and Pilar: Prime Time Love. Kris (Sib-2) brought this show to SaraRules and my attention when we were in Florida. This show is… to call it “a trainwreck” doesn’t do it justice. You just can’t help but stare at, mouth agape. And laugh. Doubled-over on the floor, holding your sides laughing. And the opening theme? Comedy. Pure comedy. , I take back (just about) everything I ever said about your fascination with The Anna Nicole Smith Show after watching Deion & Pilar.
• Claire Beale interviews Apple’s Jonathan Ive
• I am looking for suggestions of new musical artists/bands.
• Pirate’s Booty: An ex-Jack Sparrow spills on life at the Magic Kingdom
• Getting ‘Nine back into shape is becoming… tedious. Certain things don’t seem to want to install properly. It’s getting a little annoying, in fact. And, it really is making me give more consideration to picking up a Mac Mini or an iMac this year, maybe as a second birthday present or Christmas present to myself.
• Sushi Jihad!
• The Secret History of Star Wars
• SaraRules left me a message: My friendly, neighborhood Spider-Man letter carrier brought me a package chock full of plastic crack. Selah.

Quote of the Day
Somehow, Christopher Walken always manages to get both some of the most random – and some of the most cool – lines in any movie he’s in:

Mike: You watch those nature documentaries on the cable? You see the one about lions? You got this lion. He’s the king of the jungle, huge mane out to here. He’s laying under a tree, in the middle of Africa. He’s so big, it’s so hot. He doesn’t want to move. Now the little lions come, they start messing with him. Biting his tail, biting his ears. He doesn’t do anything. The lioness, she starts messing with him. Coming over, making trouble. Still nothing. Now the other animals, they notice this. They start to move in. The jackals; hyenas. They’re barking at him, laughing at him. They nip his toes, and eat the food that’s in his domain. They do this, then they get closer and closer, bolder and bolder. Till one day, that lion gets up and tears the shit out of everybody. Runs like the wind, eats everything in his path. Cause every once in a while, the lion has to show the jackals, who he is.

/lunch

Namaste.

Tuesday – 20 May 2008
More workdays should start like this:

Paul, one of our VPs, was talking to a few minutes ago. I had been away from my desk and returned to hear say: “…you’ll have to ask Rob about that.” Naturally, my curiosity was piqued. Paul turned to me, nodded to my desk and said:

“Jay (one of our new corporate overlords overseers protectors) was in the office a few weeks ago and saw that picture on your desktop…”

“…he didn’t see you sitting there and he got REALLY worried and started going off about how this office was out of control and needed to get diversity training in here immediately.”

I started laughing. A lot. Then I quipped, “That probably explains why he looks at me so oddly when he walks down the hall.”

, not missing a beat, retorted: “No, that’s just Jay.”

I told Paul that he made my day by relating that story to me.

I’ll have to name Paul today’s Human of the Day for this.

Monday – 19 May 2008
A new (work) week begins. At least this one is sunny. And it’s supposed to be warm/hot today, too. But, it’s a dry heat.  Should I be… concerned… that Ozzy Osbourne’s Crazy Train just felt like the “right” song to listen to? I mean, that shouldn’t be taken as an omen for the day, should it?

*looks around for Cthulhu cultists*

Last night, SaraRules and I watched Constantine. All-in-all, it wasn’t a horrible adaptation of Hellblazer… although, it would have been nice if they had stayed a little closer to Alan Moore’s vision/version of John Constantine and Hellblazer, but isn’t that the way things seem to go with adaptations of his work? I had forgotten that Shia LeBeouf was in the movie. He’s everywhere these days.

Stray Toasters

• Gewurtztraminer
• A couple of bits of LEGO-related goodness:
  • 5 million-piece LEGO boulder chases Indy, crashes into car
  • Builds LEGO model inside bag without telekinesis
• Just a friendly reminder: Towel Day is coming up!



• DS9 has contracted… something. It will boot in Safe Mode, but I can’t get it to boot in normal mode. It’s not the power supply. It’s not (as best I can tell) a problem with the motherboard. I should just get an iMac and be done with it.
• Hello Kitty comes to Warhammer 40K with the Sisters of Battle
• 
• While flipping channels last night, I saw that The Empire Strikes Back was on TNT. So, we flipped back and forth between that and The Office. One of the scenes we watched was the one in which Han Solo is frozen in Carbonite. I noticed a continuity goof that I had never noticed/overlooked:
  

  Continuity: When Han Solo is lowered into the carbon freezing chamber, his hands are bound by metallic handcuffs. As soon as he’s frozen, his hands are separated in the carbon block. (from IMDb.com)

• Museum of Counterfeit Art
• 

Quote of the Day
When Code Monkey and I went for our morning constitutional, he related a comment that had been attributed to a former coworker of ours:

Code Monkey: Doug’s definition of “perfect democracy” – Two wolves and a sheep deciding on what’s for dinner.

/lunch

Namaste.

Friday – 16 May 2008
Another week draws to a close…

Last night’s (first) CSI: episode was, thankfully, much better than last week’s episode; I didn’t watch the season finale as SaraRules wanted to see The Office season finale. (And, thanks once again to On Demand, I’ll be able to watch the CSI: episode at my leisure.) While she watched The Office, I finished reading this week’s four-color shwag. I’ll come back to that in a few.

I believe that jet lag – and just general weariness – caught up with me last night, too. While watching an episode of L&O: SVU, I started getting tired. With twenty minutes left in the show, I realized that there was pretty much NO way that I was going to make it that long. We got up, got ready for bed and I was out within minutes of my head hitting the pillow…

…which must have been fairly hard, because I woke up with a lovely headache. *blah*

Four-Color Coverage
Part of this week’s comic haul included a couple of books that I didn’t get last week because of the trip to Florida. A few of the books included Secret Invasion tie-ins/crossovers. While I really hope that Marvel isn’t taking a cue from Staples and just pushing the “Easy” button…

…I have to admit that I am finding the storyline rather interesting. So far, we know that:

1. Some heroes are not who they appear to be.
2. The Skrulls have a SERIOUS mad on for Earth.
3. October 12th is important to Hawkeye.
4. Johnny Storm’s ex-wife has some… unresolved issues.
5. Tony Stark is still a jerk (at least in the comics).

I’m waiting to see how this storyline plays out and what it means for the Marvel Universe after the dust clears.

I also read the long overdue Action Comics Annual, which wrapped up the “Last Son” storyline which began over a year ago in Action Comics. Unfortunately, there have been so many problems in getting that story to print that DC had actually gone ahead and run stories that followed the “Last Son” story… which means that we already know how things wound up. Sure, we might not know all of the “hows” and “whys,” but we can connect the dots fairly easily.

I have a similar problem with Astonishing X-Men, by the way. Joss Whedon’s run was supposed to be 24 issues, but because of delays it ran to 25 issues… with the final issue still not on shelves yet. But, once again, we know how things wind up, to some degree; there are just a few loose ends to tie up.

Stray Toasters

• I have been greatly amused by some of the Lil ‘Formers cartoons, including this one:



• BET Struggles to Relate with Black Viewers
• From NPR Music: Esperanza Spalding – Voice of the Bass
• Cracking open the Atari 2600
• When it was introduced, the 2600 was known as the “Atari 2600 VCS.” Bonus points if you know what “VCS” stood for… without having to look it up, of course.
• Fullscreen Multitouch Mac OS X Is Here (but not from Apple)
• I think I’m going to have a go at making a character card for Phoenix.
• Upcoming Star Wars minifigs

Quote of the Day
Quote #1 comes from conversations with shockpuppet and :

Me: If you and shockpuppet ever get to this point, you HAVE to get it on video: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080515/ap_on_fe_st/odd_frying_pan_assault_3
: oh. we do that for fun every friday night.
shockpuppet: totally
shockpuppet: I prefer a panini maker though
Me: Huh.
shockpuppet: it’s a little harder to get swinging
shockpuppet: but

1. it’s heavier
2. it leaves a funny pattern on his face

Me: Best of all possible worlds, huh?
shockpuppet: Well, I’m a believer in efficiency and aesthetics.
Me: I see
: mmm. panini face.

Quote #2 comes from another conversation with :

Me: Did you tell loonybin88 that he’s on point for [project]?
: That’s what I’ve been trying to do.
Me: Is he trying not to hear you?
: Yeah, I think so, actually. But, I figured that I’d go ahead and volunteer him for it and just ask forgiveness later.
Me: What is this… “forgiveness?”
: You wouldn’t understand. It’s like a haircut.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 07 May 2008
Midweek. Grey and Rainy.

Vacation starts tomorrow. Or tonight, depending on your point of view. Florida. Forecast is sunny and hot (upper 80s). Yeah, I think I can deal with that.

Stray Toasters

• Pink Floyd’s Money just turned up in my iTunes rotation. I like have liked this song for many years. I even used it as the theme for my radio show in college.
• In order received, , and got the right answer.
  (Technically, only got half of it, but she still got her half right.)
  The answers were: Vasco da Gama and Amerigo Vespucci.
• loonybin88 pointed me in the direction of Not on the Test. Amusing… and sadly true, in many cases.
• Duck season!
  Wabbit season!
  DUCK season!
  WABBIT season!
  Zombie season!
• Yay for Windows Server 2003 manuals! ZzzzzzzZZzzzzz…
• Webcomic WTH takes an amusing look at City of Heroes.
• I haven’t played City in… at least a week. *taps vein*
• While I’m happy with Senator Obama’s performance in last night’s primaries, I’m not so naive as to think that he’s an automatic shoe-in for the Democratic Party nomination, as some news sources seem to be reporting. The race isn’t over and there is still a long way to go.
• I ‘Toastered Isabella Rossellini’s Green Porno yesterday; the link led to stills from the videos. The Sundance Channel’s website has posted the videos.

Quote of the Day
has been chatting with one of our robot overlords (Did I say “overlords?” I meant “protectors.”) about an email issue. This was part of the conversation:

Robot Overlord: “I’ve sent your request on to Adam and Jamie to see if they know the right people to contact.”
: “You sent it to the Mythbusters guys!? How can they help with an email forward problem??”

He didn’t get a reply. Sad. Humorless robot overlords.

Anyway…

I just got back from lunch with SaraRules and Perry. While out, I took a couple of pieces of equipment to be exchanged for an RMA. I went to a new place to take care of this. The young lady at the store, God bless ‘er, didn’t quite understand what to do. So, what normally took about five (5) minutes to do took on the order of twenty-five. Yay. But, it’s done.

Back to the grind.

Namaste.

We got back a little while ago from seeing the Utah Valley Handbell Choir perform; a friend of SaraRules is a member, so that was added incentive to go.  The performed ten pieces:

1. Allegro Glorioso, by Catherine McMichael
2. Grazioso, Arnold Sherman
3. Staccato Giocoso, Cathy Mokelbust
4. Psalm Nine, Carl Wiltse
5. Pirates of the Carribean, Hans Zimmer
6. Takeda Rhapsody, T. Kanzaki
7. Hava Nagila, Traditional Israeli
8. Colonel Bogey March, F.J. Ricketts
9. Fantasy on “Lasst Uns Erfreuen”, Traditional German (arr. by Glen Hicks)
10. Hymn to Joy, Ludvig van Beethoven

The performance reminded of drum corps productions, in the timing and the similar tonalities.  It was also a little amusing to find that I remembered all of the words to Hava Nagila, which I haven’t really sung in over 30 years.

Stray Toasters

• As of Round 2, Baltimore has drafted Joe Flacco (QB) and Ray Rice (RB).
• Babies seized by Robert Mugabe’s forces as Zimbabwe hounds voters
• I just bought three (3) pieces of plastic crack:
  • The Dark Knight
  • The Mighty Thor
  • Vlad the Impaler

Quote of the Day

SaraRules: “I love you more than garlic.”

Namaste.

Tuesday – 22 April 2008
Last night, I had big brother/little sister time with . We decided to have dinner; Jitterbug sounded perfect to both of us. Unfortunately, when we got there the place was closed. And dark. Darker than usual. Darker than a thousand midnights. Okay, maybe not quite that dark, but you get the gist. We went to Fiddler’s Elbow instead.

Too bad neither of us had considered that there was an NBA playoff game last night.
A Jazz game.
Do the math.
We still had a fun time. People-watching is always fun, after all.

When I got home, I decided to take a trip to Paragon City. I arrived just in time for a Rikti invasion. After the aliens were repelled, I was invited to join a couple of my SG-mates for a couple of missions. Level 52+ missions. Knives of Artemis and Carnival of Shadows. Yay. We died a few times. As it stands, you don’t earn any experience after you hit Level 50 (the CoX level cap), but you can still earn XP debt from dying. But, it was still fun.

This morning, I was actually up shortly after the alarm went off. Of late, I’ve had… issues… with pulling that off.

Stray Toasters

• I’ve been taking a look at some of the costumes from this year’s New York Comic Convention on Flickr. (There are “a few” tags to choose from…) Some of ’em are pretty good. Pretty good, indeed.
• SaraRules linked to Mercy, by Duffy. Good stuff. Put it in your ear:

• Markin’ Time linked to an article from Popular Mechanics: Hollywood Sci-Fi’s Bronze Age – Are Comics to Blame? This article led to the following soapbox rant:
  

  Me: Nine Hells…
  Does this guy not get “suspension of disbelief?”
  It’s a &%(%*&#( COMIC BOOK MOVIE!
  People AREN’T going to them for the science; they are going to be *GASP* entertained!
  /soapbox

  Markin’ Time: i believe he is saying that the things we are willing to suspend for our comic entertaining is dumbing down good science fiction

  Me: L.C.D.
  Let’s face it: Not a lot of the comic book/summer blockbuster readers/viewers are rocket scientists.

  Markin’ Time: ?
  true dat

  Me: Lowest Common Denominator

  Markin’ Time: ah

  Me: They aren’t going for the science.
  Sure, they might pick at the more glaring plot holes and “That couldn’t happen” points, but the bottom line is: They are going for escapism.

  Markin’ Time: but what even comes close to Blade Runner for believable extrapolation of current science. What even tries?
  I happened to LOVE Primer….but i realize thats not for everyone

  Me: Hm.
  Primer was going to be an example.
  Sunshine was good.

  Markin’ Time: he cites that in the article also sunshine, which i haven’t seen

• loonybin88 linked to an article that goes in the “People suck” file: Vandals hit in Placedo
• …he also linked me to this: Muslim call to adopt Mecca time …which almost immediately reminded me of:
  

  From a point on the compass
  To magnetic north
  The point of the needle moving back and forth

• I posted a link to this image a few months ago, not only because it shows John Stewart breakin’ of a little somethin’, but also because it contains part of an old Black boast of defiance:
  

  I don’t have to do anything but stay Black and die.

  I’ve been trying to convince SaraRules that she needs to work it into a conversation at some point; she’s considering it. But, I’m digressing from my original point: Andrew, a coworker, brought a dysfunctional monitor to me and asked if I could have it returned/replaced.

  

  I told him that wouldn’t be a problem. Then, I read the note that he had attached to it:

  

  That’s right, the monitor stayed black and died.

Quote of the Day
Last night, while looking at NYCC costumes, I found a couple and shared them with SaraRules:

Me: Okay… http://flickr.com/photos/7648924@N08/2429218357/
comic book convention == geeks

SaraRules: Umm.. yeah. Those comic book convention people kinda scare me. 😉

Me: Some of whom haven’t seen – let alone touched – a “real live girl” in years.
Then you show up dressed like this.
Mayhem ensues.

SaraRules: Yeah. They don’t need to be seeing underboob. That would cause them to explode on site.

Me: Exactly!

SaraRules: Icky. It’s just dangerous.

Me: No good can come of it.
http://flickr.com/photos/eggrollboy/2423911917/

SaraRules: Whoa. That’s way too much leg. I think my brain just broke.

Me: Sorry, but I couldn’t suffer that one alone.

SaraRules: Oh gee. Thanks. I’m going to have to wash my eyes out with lye now. 🙁

Me: I don’t have any lye. I just have to live with that pain.

Back to it…

Namaste.

Sunday – 19 April 2008
Turns out that the Interwebs at SaraRules’ was okay… for the most part. The complex had changed a few settings and the wireless router didn’t “know” about them. So, it pretty much ignored them. A quick reset and the series of tubes were carrying information once more.

<< Rewind <<
We wound up not going to SOAPFest last night. Instead, SaraRules made dinner, Lish came over and we hung out. About the time that dinner was wrapping up, Rachel and Tyler showed up… followed shortly by Josh. We hung out and shot the bull for a while. And then a couple rounds of flip cup started. Post-flip cup, we sat around and talked until about 2:30 this morning. I gave Lish control of the camera. I take (almost) no responsibility for what he shot (pictures here).

> Play >
Today was a lax and lazy day. I believe that everyone in the apartment availed themselves of the opportunity to sleep in. After coffee and breakfast, SaraRules suggested a trip to Park Discovery where we could fly my kite. With an offer like that, I couldn’t refuse. It was sunny and windy… and a little brisk. Neither of us took jackets with us. After a couple of fair attempts at getting the kite aloft, I “untangled” (not really the right word, but it fits) the lines. Sure enough, the kite flew much better. After we flew the kite for thirty or so minutes, we headed over to the tot lot. We climbed, slid, swung and had an all-around fun time.

Once we’d had our fill of fun – and the chillier-than-expected outdoors – we headed back to the apartment. I have been watching an item on eBay for the past couple of days. I wanted to be back in time to get a bid in on it. We did. What was I so hell-bent on bidding on?

That’s right: A Green Lantern John Stewart Minimates figure (1, 2). These were given out as convention promotions at the 2006 San Diego Comic Convention. With the release of other DC Minimates figures, including various GL figures, I had wondered why there wasn’t a John Stewart figure in the mix. A little digging showed why. So, I was bound and determined to see if I could get this one. And I won it.

Not sure what’s on tap for the rest of the day/evening.

Stray Toasters

• I chatted with for a bit this afternoon. All is well in his, Bot and Bit’s corner of the world. He also posted new pics of Bit:

  
  (click image to see other pictures)

• Your Claim to Fame LEGO Challenge
• Bit ‘o Honey candy
• Legion turns 50
• BET has landed the upcoming Black Panther animated series.
  (I wonder if the fact that Reggie Hudlin is BET’s President and writing Black Panther for Marvel had anything to do with it…?)
• Carne Asada is not a crime!
• Shakespeare’s Pulp Fiction
• I watched a few trailers on Apple’s site today, including Wanted, Boarding Gate, Incredible Hulk, Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull, Chaos Theory… and Zombie Strippers.

Quotes of the Day
As heard during and after last night’s Flip Cup Challenge

• Darillyn: “I just need to fill my pockets full of vibrators”
  (to SaraRules, about a bellydance move that SaraRules was trying to teach her)
• Rachel: “I’ll drink just about anything.”
  Me: “Not in a Two Girls, One Cup kind of way, but almost anything.”
  (about Rach’s choices of beverage for flip cup)
• Steve: “You could totally do me”
  (to me, about being able to bench press him)

And that’s a wrap!

Namaste.

Wednesday – 16 April 2008
Another midweek day in the valley. After yesterday’s snow (yes, SNOW), there are blue skies and scattered high clouds today. Go figure. Most of the snow in the valley has melted, but there are still remnants on the benches (def. 5) and mountains.

I managed to get out of bed – and out of the apartment – at a decent hour today. I even stopped for a cup of frozen mocha goodness and a copy of The Gray Lady on the way into the office. I thought of a couple of ways to modify my database UI this morning… and I’m trying them out. So far, I’m making decent headway in getting them established; turning the page into a self-referencing form shouldn’t be (too much of) a problem. And, I have to say that I’m pretty happy with the progress I’m making.

And, it’s new comics day.
Can’t beat that with a stick at twice the price.

Stray Toasters

• I have (yet) another new addition to the Covet List: Superman vs. Darkseid Statue

  

  I have been a Darkseid… fan, I guess… ever since The Great Darkness Saga (a Legion story, go figure). I have a few ‘Clix figures and a Superman: The Animated Series production sericel fromfeaturing him. I just wish that I had been able to get one of the 1999 Darkseid statues, though.

• From the “Why, yes, it IS rocket science” file: Schoolboy Corrects NASA’s Math on Killer Asteroid
• I’m a little scared by this: Children’s book about plastic surgery
• 
• I enjoy my comics and figure collections.  But, compared to this collection, I have next to nothing.  Unglaublich…
• Maverick Swedish Rock Star Reveals What Britney Could Have Been
• Moviehole has an interview with Iron Man director Jon Favreau
• Woman goes on YouTube to air divorce grievances

Quote of the Day
Today’s quote is an “Ole and Lena” joke, that Coworker Jan told me.  He usually tells me a couple of these a week and they’re made even better because Jan affects a great Scandinavian accent. The version of the joke that I found online was written phonetically, so you will get the idea of how it sounds.

Ole was out working in the field when his mule squares off and kicks him right in his wedding tackle.  Writhing in agony, he falls to the ground. As soon as he could manage, he took himself to the doctor.
“How bad is it doc?  I’m getting married next veek and my fiance, Lena, is still a wirgin – in every
vay.  I vant her to know that I’m right there with her.”

The doctor told him, “Everything looks okay, but I’ll have to put your Willie in a splint.  It should be okay next week.”  He took some tongue depressors and formed a neat little splint, and taped it all together quite an impressive work of art.

Ole mentions none of this to Lena.  They get married and go on their honeymoon. That night in the motel room, Lena rips open her blouse to reveal her beautiful untouched breasts. She said,”No vun has EVER seen deez. You’re the first vun.”

Ole immediately drops his pants and replies,”Look at dis… still in da crate!”

Namaste.

Monday – 14 April 2008
Another week begins.

Alarm clocks are a necessary evil. That said, the day started with me hitting snooze more times than I had intended. After the hygiene rituals were observed and the car was packed, I began my journey back to north-central Utah. The drive was uneventful. And there weren’t any monkeys to speak of.

I got into the office and checked my email. Among them was one from Friday morning, asking me to submit my time card. *blink blink* Then, I checked the timestamp on the email: It was sent roughly two minutes before I submitted my time card, which means that I was already on the system and preparing to submit it before the email was sent. *sigh*

<< Rewind <<
Yesterday afternoon, SaraRules and I headed to the MFA house so that she could do some work… and I could use the connection there to make my way to Paragon City. We were both successful in our endeavors. Nefer-Tem is now a little less than 2 bars away from Level 50.

Steph and Kim decided to have a Taco Fiesta for dinner last night. Chicken and beef. Hard and soft shells. When dinner was done, we played Buzzword: The Not 5s (the roommates) vs. The 6-7-8s (honorary roommates). The 6-7-8s won. Barely.

Mark and Lish came over a little later. Mark asked our opinions about the Ballroom Dance Concert (he’s the director of that program); we gave him feedback. Then… it was time to play 3-way Slayer HALO. Selah. (Mark pwned both of us. Repeatedly. I need to practice.)

I showed Steph how to make the s’mores brownies. Lish said that he might try making them himself… and that he wanted to get a chef’s torch, so that he could toast the marshmallows. Ah, pyromania. A little later, Darillyn and Lish played shot glass checkers:

Lish won both games. However, Darillyn came up with a number of “Unintentional Porn Overheard in…” quotes.

> Play >
I found out that I need to add some more systems to my db and tweak the UI to be able to select from any/all systems.

Workout
Back in the saddle again:

• Leg Raises: 3 sets – 1 set, full extension; 2 sets, bent leg (lowered to only 45°)
• Bench Press (dumbbell): 3 sets/12 reps, 60 lbs
• Pull-downs: 3 sets/15 reps, 130 lbs
• Rows (T-bar style, with a barbell): 3 sets/12 reps, 55 lbs
• Tricep Press: 3 sets/12 reps, 120 lbs
• Core: 4 sets – 2 sets/full extension, 45 secs.; 2 sets/elbows, 30 secs.

Pre-workout weight: 175.6 lbs.

Stray Toasters

• There was an interesting discussion about Emperor Popetine Pope Benedict’s visit to the U.S. on The Diane Rehm Show this morning.
• Secret Invasion: Who do you trust?
• 
• Conductor Hero?: Touring game rocks concert halls
• 
  While I’m not overly taken by most of the figures, the Warrior Isis figure is nice.
• Microsoft: Vista feature designed to ‘annoy users’
• Scotty Doesn’t Know
• …and I don’t know what I want for dinner. *blah*
• Sillof’s Workshop

Quotes of the Day
As I mentioned above, Darillyn made some special “Unintentional Porn Overheard in…” quotes while playing checkers with Lish:

• “I can’t reach that with my face”
• “I was so waiting to jump you there.”
• “You get confused about a lot of things, but I’m not going to point them out.”
• “Hold on, I can’t get him out – he’s sticky.”
• “I got it out this time.”
• “You just jumped me. It’s my turn.”

Checkers and alcohol. Who knew?!

Namaste.

Tuesday – 04 March 2008
Sunny day here in the valley… but TWC warns of a threat of snow. 30%, but still…

We had a meeting/training this morning, but the videostream didn’t work – it had buffering issues and was thus quite choppy. So, it’s been postponed. It was actually rather amusing to me: It reminded me of the scene in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back where Darth Vader is having a holo-conference with captains and Moffs, but the feeds are laced with static and/or breaking up because of interference from being in an asteroid field. (Unfortunately, no one got struck by an asteroid in our meeting, though.)

Stray Toasters

• I discovered Waiting for Coffee this morning. And on there, I found this:

  
  …and this…
  

  I was greatly amused. And the post contents aren’t bad, either.

• Silicon Valley Losing Its Middle Class
• After 17 seasons, Brett Favre is retiring.
• 
• A Lesson in Internet Anatomy
• Dungeons & Dragons creator Gary Gygax has died.
  (…or, as a news headline read: Gary Gygax Fails Final Saving Throw)
• Chris just called. He’s having his plastic crack dealer hold a Dawnstar for me.

Quote of the Day
From a conversation with Dwim:

(11:09:00) Dwim: Flying’s for lazy pansies.
(11:09:15) Dwim: Real superheroes take long walks for their health.
(11:09:38) Me: Not even Batman walks – he swings from rooftop to rooftop.
(11:09:56) Dwim: Superman on Earth-105 jogs everywhere.
(11:10:01) Me: Oh.
(11:10:03) Me: Huh.
(11:10:18) Dwim: Blue and red leg warmers, baby.
(11:10:29) Me: *eyes burn*
(11:10:40) Dwim: Sewn by Ma Kent from the sweater he wore from Krypton.
(11:10:53) Me: Wow.
(11:11:03) Me: No amount of drinking will save me from that mental image.
(11:11:42) Dwim: Drinking’s for the lazy. Real superheroes take their liquor through their gills.
(11:12:01) Me: But, I wasn’t born in Atlantis.
(11:12:16) Dwim: As usual, Aquaman can’t hold his liquor. The guy’s a lousy drunk, frankly.
(11:12:39) Dwim: He… doesn’t get by on land as well as you get by underwater when he’s drunk.
(11:12:55) Me: I would imagine not.
(11:13:02) Dwim: Superman always has to jog him home.
(11:13:08) Me: In the ocean, you can just… drift along on the currents.
(11:13:13) Me: On land, you just… fall down.
(11:13:14) Dwim: It’s a long jog from the JLA orbital platform.
(11:13:31) Dwim: Easier just to drop him.
(11:13:47) Dwim: *plop*
(11:14:04) Me: Re-entry must be a right bitch, though.
(11:14:14) Dwim: Sucks to be Aquaman.

And that’s a wrap for now.

Namaste.

Thursday – 28 February 2008
As I was getting ready for work, I heard what sounded like water drops falling on the floor or in a cabinet.  And, after the toilet debacle of a few weeks ago, I decided to see if I could track it down.

I checked the master bath.  Nada.

Hall bathroom…

• Under-sink cabinet: Dry.
• Floor: Dry.
• Countertop: Mostly dry, except for one area along the wall.

I looked higher up the wall.  Bingo.  There’s a section of paint that’s been cracking/peeling for a little while.  I had been attributing it to the building settling.  I was wrong.  It’s where water has been leaking from one of the apartments above me, apparently:

• Down the wall.
• Onto and behind the light fixture.
• Behind the mirror.
• Onto the counter and/or floor.

It hasn’t been “a lot” of water, but that whole “onto and behind the light fixture” thing had me concerned.  So, I took a picture of it and made it management’s concern.   The person I talked with seemed… “a little”… concerned by the issue and immediately dispatched someone from maintenance to look into it.  I’m just hoping that it doesn’t require waiting until the re-piping job  (scheduled for next week) to get fixed.

And, fortunately, it hasn’t been enough of a problem to ruin NBN Thursday.

Quote of the Day / Unintentional Porn Overheard at Work
I was talking with a coworker about a problem in the AF office.  He’s not directly in-the-loop, but he’d been helpful in getting us in touch with the person needed to fix the issue.  When I asked him how we should proceed from this point, he said:

“I’m not really part of that.  I just… reach-around.”

I had no response for that other than, “Uh-huh.”

And now to “get on to the friction of the day.”

Namaste.

Wednesday – 20 February 2008
Midweek already. Where does the time go?

Little Miss Bit is two-weeks-old today.

Quote of the Day (so far)
From yet another conversation with :

(10:02:56 AM) : The person sitting across from you wants to kill you.
(10:03:12 AM) : Are you sure…?
(10:03:17 AM) : I can’t see anyone.
(10:03:19 AM) : O.o
(10:03:26 AM) : I am sending these messages from the future.
(10:05:55) : But.. but… why ME?!
(10:11:54) : *checks to make sure that my name is not Sarah Connor*
(10:11:56) : In the future you become the leader of a group of super heros.
(10:12:56) : your mild mannere.. oh.. wait.. we don’t have any of those…. your co-worker becomes the leader of a group of super villains.
(10:13:08) : and since we know that evil always wins because “good” is dumb……
(10:13:38) : wait. you are dating a Sara. HMM.
(10:13:49) : perhaps it’s your kids! 😀
(10:13:51) : But, she’s a [last name], not a Connor.
(10:13:59) : Marty.
(10:14:14) : But, neither of us has a DeLorean.
(10:14:29) : Or a flux capaci…. Oh, crap.
(10:14:53) : ahh. now you begin to see the tangled and painful weave of the future as it is to play out.
(10:15:11) : Damn the Fates! *shakes fist at the sky*
(10:15:30) : I did not say this. I was never here. The spice must flow.

And now, back to the grind.