Random Access

The inbound commute was relatively painless. There was a PoW monkey that I got stuck behind from Lehi to just shy of my exit, but she was able to intermittently find the skinny vertical pedal with her right foot, so I didn’t have to run her off the road. (Although the temptation was there a couple of times…)

Stray Toasters

• Happy Birthday to

  

• By way of : “Sabbasattā bhavantu sukhitattā” — May all beings without exception be happy — Metta Sutta
• By way of : World Clock – “…shows current statistical figures for world population, births, deaths, deforestation, and much more.”
• NASA’s Dawn takes off for asteroid belt
• By way of Eric: Picture of the Day
• Happy SGN Thursday to !
• From the “Nucular Toonami” file: First New Nuclear Power Plant in US in 30 Years
• 
• I’m sorry, but whenever I think about this article, my first thoughts are either:
  • Take the Lobster-heads Bowling
  • Take the Skin-suits Bowling
• LEGO Millennium Falcon goes on sale

Quote of the Day
The following was sent to me in a text message, it was the perfect way to start an NBN Thursday:

May the crabs of a thousand whores infest the crotch of the person who fucks up your day and may their arms be too short to scratch.

Namaste.

Stray Toasters

• I checked my mail this morning, on a whim. (Mostly because I couldn’t remember whether I checked it yesterday…) I’m glad that I did – there was a letter waiting in there that made for a great start to the morning.
• Sara posed an interesting – and somewhat unusual – question last night: “What is your favorite texture?”
  My counter was “Tactile or other, such as ‘food texture,’ for example?”
  “Tactile.”
  So, I started thinking about it. The one that I’ve come up with so far is: Skin. It is common and similar… yet it can also be so varied: rough, smooth, calloused, pitted, wrinkled.
• Last night, I continued my reading of the graphic novel V for Vendetta, on which the movie was based. I had the iPod playing in the living room. I was reading the scene where Evey is being tortured in “prison” and Madonna’s Die Another Day started playing. It reminded me of the opening scenes of Die Another Day (the movie), where Bond is being tortured in time with the song.
• Along those same lines, I had forgotten that the fight between the pirates and Prince Septimus’ guard in Stardust had been choreographed against Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld (“Can-Can”), until seeing the movie again this past weekend.
• By way of CNet: Blocking memorable scenes with LEGOs
• The drive-time commute included Van Halen’s Dreams. I like the video for the song, it features the Navy’s Blue Angels. The song started playing just as I was coming to the summit of I-15 on Traverse Mountain. When I looked to my left, there were paragliders floating around the ridge. Sure, they aren’t F/A-18 Hornets, but the overall effect was good enough for me.
• , Comics2Film has a few stills from the upcoming season of Legion of Super Heroes.
• If you haven’t heard about Warner Brothers upcoming adaptation of New Frontier (1, 2), a graphic novel by Darwyn Cooke, check out this teaser/preview.
• Tonight, God willing and the creek don’t rise, I’m going to a preview of Resident Evil: Extinction. Zombies!!!

Quote of the Day
I responded to a department email with lyrics from Working in a Coal Mine, by Lee Dorsey:

Working in the coal mine
Going down down down
Working in the coal mine
Whoop about to slip down

This was the IM response I received from :

(10:38:03 AM) : Oh LORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRD.
(10:38:12 AM) : I am SO TIRED.
(10:38:20 AM) : 🙂
(10:38:21 AM) : How long can this GO ON?
(10:38:41 AM) : Good morning, Mr. B.
(10:38:53 AM) : (ps- damn you for getting that song stuck in my head this early.)
(10:39:07 AM) : Could have been worse.
(10:39:13 AM) : I could have gone with Sixteen Tons.
(10:39:15 AM) : …or…
(10:39:20 AM) : The Pina Colada Song.
(10:39:21 AM) : 😀
(10:39:24 AM) : eh, sixteen tons wouldn’t have been…. FUCK YOU

Back to it.

Saturday: Coda
I played a couple of hours of CoH this afternoon. As soon as I logged in, I was invited to join a team. Caught me a little off-guard, as I didn’t recognize the person who had asked me to join. Clarity came a few minutes later. And then it was off to adventure.

The Hand of Nefer-Tem is now at Security Level 35. And, with the new level came a new power. I decided to go for Dark Extraction, which basically allows me to extract the (waning) life essence from a defeated enemy, infuse it with energy and turn it into a “pet,” of sorts… kind of like Sparky was for Indigo Bolt.

I was feeling run-down, thanks to this lovely cold, so I decided to leave Paragon City and head to Arkham. I read a bit of Black Seas of Infinity, while chugging yet more orange juice. Reading soon gave way to sleep – I took a two-hour nap (a two-hour naaaaaap!). I felt a bit better, post-nap.

Then, it was on to breakfast.

Stray Toasters

• Velocirobs vs. T-Robs.
  “I’m learning to open doors.”
• The Elevens.
• I may try to squeeze in a trip to the driving range in the morning.
• Dremel Pumpkin Carving Kit
• While driving to breakfast, LL Cool J’s The Boomin’ System came on the iPod. What is it about that song that makes it so timeless? And just damn good and fun to listen to? I think that it has secured a place on my list of “Driving Songs.”
• Beefcake! BEEFCAKE!!!
• I can tell that I’ll be making a pilgrimage to the Garden of Sweden soon: I’m looking up the prices for picture frames.
• Tiny Titans…. interesting….
• Behold the inertial-dampening powers of coffee creamer!

Quote of the Day
While talking about travel, we wound up discussing the need to remove one’s shoes at airport security. This led into the best types of shoes to wear and wearing socks. This, in turn, led to talking about removing one’s shoes at various airports. On the subject of McCarran International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas:

: “There’s syphilis on the floor! C’mon… Drippy hookers!”

Namaste.

Friday – 31 August 2007
Day Two of the Great Vegas Road trip.

I put the SL and Utah Valleys in the rear view mirror and headed south on I-15. I stopped over in Cedar City to visit the fabulous Ms. Sara. We had dinner – at a restaurant… that served Louisiana-themed cuisine (very tasty) … in southern Utah (*blink blink*) – and then went to see Twelfth Night at the Utah Shakespearean Festival. After that, we chatted away a good portion of the night.

This morning: Drive a-go-go. Part two.

Most of the drive was good… then I got into Vegas… and traffic came to a crawl. On the freeway. *sigh* Oh, well, I finally made it to my hotel and contacted the family-unit to see where they were. We met up at the ESPN Zone in New York New York. We wandered around for a bit, after lunch. And… there was some roulette involved. Down $15. I can live with that.

And I’m still on the fence about BBVD tonight. I’ll let Fate decide.

Stray Toasters

• And I’m still on the fence about BBVD tonight. I’ll let Fate decide.
• “What are you…?! 12?!?”

Quote of the Day
I love my stepmom for a number of reasons. Among them, was the gem she spouted off while we were in the Coca-Cola store on The Strip:

“I’m going to get you some squirrel nuts.”

The looks around the table – and the silence, then broken by lots of laughter – were priceless.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 22 August 2007
It’s not Tuesday.
This isn’t Belgium.
But I am in Amurric’n Fark today. Unexpected trip to the south forty, but work is work. So, I can’t complain.

Last night’s game went… well. Translation: “We didn’t get our asses handed to us. Much.” Sure, we took some damage. But the Luck Lords of Ventura smiled upon us (along with a bit of goodwill from lj user=”nox_aeternus”) and we survived. Thus, our characters live to adventure another day.

Stray Toasters

• I need to make or find a Master Chief icon.
• Tyranist brought in his copy of Black Seas of Infinity, a collection of H.P. Lovecraft stories. So much for catching up on other reading…
• “I’m sorry… I don’t speak Blonde.”
• From the “How NOT to Use The Internets” file: An IM Infatuation Turned to Romance, Then the Truth Came Out
• One day I feel I’m on top of the world
  And the next it’s falling in on me
  I can get back on
  I can get back on
  One day I feel I’m ahead of the wheel
  And the next it’s rolling over me
  I can get back on
  I can get back on
• sent me a link to this; I shall have to print a copy of it and put it on my cubicle wall.
  
• Most Dangerous Object in the Office This Month: $2 Pocket Shots
• From the “Almost Too Absurd to Be True” file: China to Tibetan Buddhist monks: no reincarnating without our ok
• Cheesecake from The Fresh Market (GSO) would be very good right now.
• Halo 3: How Microsoft Labs Invented a New Science of Play
• Sweet Mary, mother of Jesus… A friend has a couple of kids who will be going to this school. Brand-spankin’ new school. State of the art. Green. Check out the information brochure (.pdf) on it.
• NMKY (Finnish cover of YMCA)

Quote of the Day

: Wow. You could teach the Japanese something about polite rudeness.
Me: *bow* I’m going to take that as something of a compliment.
: You should.

Namaste.

Wednesday: coda
And so, another mid-week ends…

I came home this evening and took a somewhat unexpected nap. Then it was time to feed. But, I didn’t feel like cooking and, as I do not have the powers of Ronson (yet), making pizza and beer appear from thin air wasn’t an option, either. So, I did the next best thing: I went to Charlie Chow’s Dragon Grill. And, as an added bonus, went with me. Spring rolls. Beef with broccoli. Oolong tea. And a fortune cookie! After dinner, we headed over to Salt Lake Coffee Break for a bit. Nyx shared with me some of her ideas for upcoming art pieces; my thoughts hovered somewhere around “Wow.” I am looking forward to seeing them when she’s done with them.

Stray Toasters

• Don called shortly after I got home; I don’t think that we’ve had a chance to talk since I got back from the Right Coast, so it was a rather pleasant surprise. He had a couple of questions about Silk Road Online and how some of its stats/info compared with other RPGs/MMOs. I wasn’t familiar with the game… but that’s what the Interweb is for.We also talked comics, books, movies, and other games. (Go figure!) So, it was a pretty standard conversation for us. Among the things we talked about, he mentioned a series of books – the Cassandra Kresnov trilogy, by Joel Shepherd – that sounds like an interesting read.
• Vindication 2.0
• Missing Heroes?
• I’ve been a fan of Irregular Webcomic for… a couple of years, I think. Maybe more. Maybe less. I found the editorial/thoughts in this post to be particularly interesting – it’s a somewhat lengthy read, but it’s good food for thought.
• UnRealID.com
• Giant Otter Pop of Doom.
• Designer Interview: City of Heroes & Villains – Issue 10: Invasion
• From Comic Book Resources: Dwayne McDuffie on the Balance of Justice and Injustice
• When ‘Digital Natives’ Go to the Library
• Yes, it’s an iPhone news round-up
• I just had a horrible audio-visual pun go through my head when I glanced at a Magic: the Gathering card: Que Serra Serra…
• Oldman to quit acting?

Quote of the Day

[19:40] : So.
[19:40] : Aye?
[19:40] : When buying a new SATA drive for your PC it is best to make sure your PC has SATA support first.
[19:40] : sigh. 🙂
[19:40] : SATA add in card here i come.
[19:40] : I take it that you didn’t confirm this beforehand.
[19:41] : You’re aware that this will be posted, aren’t you?
[19:46] : yeah. i didn’t. i just assumed. *sob*
[19:46] : mistakes were made.
[19:46] : some deaths were involved.
[19:46] : or maybe i just wanted a new motherboard, CPU and RAM too. hmm. 😀
[19:47] : Maybe so.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 26 June 2007
You know that it’s going to be an interesting day when it takes you at least fifteen seconds to remember what day it is. Seriously. The alarm went off and I couldn’t remember if it was Sunday, Monday or possibly Tuesday. Slowly, clarity – or some semblence of it – made its way into the dark recesses of my brain and I came up with “It’s Tuesday.” The rest of the morning prep went fairly well after that.

Into the SLC office to finish up a task that I had started on Friday. I had planned to finish it yesterday, but I was in AF all day. From what I could gather, it would take an hour-and-a-half or so to wrap up. Wrong. Try almost four hours, thanks to a couple of hardware issues and the fact that there are parts of the process that I am completely unfamiliar. Wrapped it up and headed down to AF…

…just in time to head to the gym. Today’s workout shouldn’t have been overly taxing, but it was work – Eric agreed. But, we muddled out way through it.

Back to the ranch for the back half of the workday. Whoop.

Stray Toasters

• I need a nap.
• The new LSH ‘Clix come out tomorrow.
  …as does the new Avengers set.
• …and, since we’re on the topic of The Avengers: New Iron Man movie photo
• Dirty Microbe – “World’s best funny t-shirts and stuff.”
• Video Ga-Ga (Neither is exactly work-safe.)
  • You’ve probably seen or heard Hey There, Delilah by The Plain White T’s. A coworker sent me this parody.
  • Dwim sent me a link to an SNL sketch starring Christopher Walken: Colonel Angus
• Have dinner with Joss Whedon, help a good cause.
• It’s sad how accurate this is…
  
• “The Baby Jesus” meat product
• …and Supreme Court-approved drugs for Jesus
• 
• GoogleTalk and Safari don’t mix well.
• Instructables
• So… are they bringing Magik back?

Quote of the Day

From a conversation with earlier this afternoon:

[14:54] : you have 5 minutes to reach minimum safe distance.
[15:13] : Um.
[15:13] : That’s not a good sign.
[15:14] : sorry. you were vaporized about 5 minutes ago.
[15:14] : Sweet.
[15:14] : I am a vapor trail!
[15:15] : you’re awfully talkative for someone who was recently vaporized. maybe it was a dud. is there an ICBM in the parking lot there?
[15:15] : You mean that big, shiny metal thing that crashed about 15 minutes ago?
[15:16] : no no.. that’s just a busload full of nuns.
[15:16] : Oh.
[15:16] : Then…. no.

Namaste.