Random Access

Thursday – 12 August 2010
Not only is it an NBN Thursday…
But there’s an NFL preseason game tonight…

The Baltimore Ravens take on the Carolina Panthers, in Baltimore.
As these are my #1 and #2 teams, this comes out as a “Win-Win” for me.

vs. 

Additionally, The Wizard of Oz was released on this date, in 1939.

SaraRules and I, along with her parents, attended the “Epic Dining” at MacCool’s last night. There was a five-course meal, in which each course was paired with a beer from Epic Brewing:

The whole evening was great.  We sat that the table with Dave and Peter, co-owners of Epic, Dave’s wife, Susan and Michael, Peter’s assistant. We got to talk with them about how they decided to start brewing beer, what they enjoyed about it, and whatever else popped into our heads. It was a great evening, with good company and a fantastic dinner. Pictures of the courses – minus the salad, because I neglected to shoot it before devouring it – can be found here.

Just as dinner wrapped up, I got a call from one of the guys on my team: He had been receiving notifications from a wetness sensor in one of the cooling units. This would make the third time in under three months. Not good. As I was closer to the office than he was, I told him that I’d check it out. And with that, SaraRules and I headed left MacCool’s and headed to the office.

When I got there, I took the front panel off of the unit in question and looked inside. Nothing.

::: grblsnrkx :::

I removed the rear panel and checked there. Nothing.

::: braincramp :::

I went back to the front and looked again… just in case I had missed something. This time, I noticed the remnants of a splash of a water droplet next to the sensor cord. I checked the cord itself — it was damp. Okay, this was progress. The only problem: I couldn’t find any sign of a leak or spill. Upon further investigation, I noted that one of the copper pipes was damp with condensation… and it took a bend just above the splash point. Apparently, enough there had been condensation to form a drop and landed next to/on the wetness sensor cord. It was enough for the sensor to register, but not enough to cause a problem – other than sending out alters – that would affect the unit’s operation. Disaster: Averted.

Back home for comfy pants and comics-reading time.

Workout
Wednesday’s step count: 4,649

Stray Toasters

• JetBlue: Sometimes the weird news is about us…
• In Superman’s Hometown, a Labor Dispute over Health
• With a Google Map, You Can Find Doctors Behaving Badly
• 9/11 museum going up underground in New York City
• LEGO Universe is apparently releasing a Beta Client for Mac. Tomorrow.
• Shopkick can lead you to discounts and sales
• 
• Quick Change in Strategy for a Bookseller
• Five Years Later, The Big Easy Pushes Forward
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: City of Beacon, NY enforces archaic law outlawing pinball, closes retro arcade
• gd

Tuesday – 20 July 2010
Day Two of the work week is upon us.

Last night, SaraRules and I fixed jambalaya for dinner. It had been a few months since we’d made any. It was tasty. After that, we headed up to the Kohl’s in Brickyard (the Kohl’s that I always seem to forget is there) so that I could find a few new shirts. After that it was back at home for…

Stop!
Yard work time!

When the grasses and weeds had been tamed, it was time for a shower and unwinding in front of the TV for a bit. Property Virgins and James May’s Toy Stories set the evening off nicely.

Tonight, SaraRules and I are getting in touch with our inner cowboys/rednecks – or, as it’s part of the “Days of ’47” celebration, our ‘inner pioneers’ – and going to the rodeo. Tonight is “Tough Enough to Wear Pink” Night, with the proceeds going to support breast cancer awareness… and was the primary reason for last night’s Kohl’s excursion – I needed a pink shirt that wasn’t a dress shirt. It should be an interesting way to spend the evening.

Workout
Monday’s step count: 4,530

Stray Toasters

• I heard Prince’s I Would Die 4 U on the way to work this morning. It would have made a good selection for this morning’s music post, but His Purple Badness has “a thing” about his music and/or videos being posted online, so you’ll have to come up with a viable alternative on your own… or you could go with The Cardigans’ My Favourite Game:
• Keeping the Faith: Finding the cross-cultural colors in classical music
  SaraRules and I will be going to see Imani Wind Quintet perform on Thursday; for details and ticket information, click here.
• As Ravens ready for Super run, Joe Flacco becoming the leader
  



• A lot of people may remember Gatchaman (or Battle of the Planets, as it was known in the U.S.). After many years in development Hell, it looks as though a feature-length film may actually see the light of day. Here’s a trailer:
• African Studies Give Women Hope in H.I.V. Fight
• The Perfect Pour: A Citizen’s Guide
• Bad Ideas from The Little Mermaid
• 7 jobs that pay you to play all day
• Michigan puts 3 lighthouses on the market
  Re-enact your favorite scenes from Shutter Island or Pete’s Dragon with your very own lighthouse!
• A City Outsources Everything. Sky Doesn’t Fall
• Federal grand jury subpoenas Toyota over steering rod issues

Namaste.

Monday – 19 July 2010
Another work week begins.
It’s sunny and warm… on its way to being “hot” later today.

This past weekend was quite good. Saturday, I wound up going back to GEEX and hanging out to run a few more demos. One of the guys who played a demo game on Friday – and dropped a sizable chunk o’ change on ‘Clix right after – came back Saturday and bought even more! And, after running into a Zatanna cosplayer on Friday, I ran into a Harley Quinn (from the Batman: Arkham Asylum game) cosplayer and a friend on Saturday:

A little before I was ready to leave the expo, I got a few notifications of a possible problem at work.

*grblsnrkx*

It turned out not to be a problem, just a situation that needed (a lot of) monitoring. I wound up getting alerts about it from roughly 3 PM until just after 11 PM, which meant that I was getting alerts during…

…the Ben Folds concert at Deer Valley.

(hanging out with 5,000 of my closest friends, waiting for Ben Folds and the Utah Symphony)

The concert was fun; it was roughly two hours long, with one encore. (Only one encore, which was unfortunate, because I was waiting to hear a song that was later in his encore set.)  I also ran into Derek, thanks to the joys of Foursquare. (Turns out that another coworker was there, as well, but we didn’t see her or her husband.)

Sunday, we slept in. Selah. After breakfast – I made blueberry muffins – we went to the gym. Back home for a shower and change of clothes. Then we were off to run some errands before our impromptu ice cream social! I found out earlier in the day that it was National Ice Cream Day and figured that was a good – or at least “good enough” – reason to invite people over for a little get together. And it was. To wind up the evening, SaraRules and I watched The Crazies, the recent remake of the George Romero film of the same name. It was entertaining. There were some plot holes. There were some gaffes. But, all-in-all, it was decent.

Workout
Sunday, SaraRules and I hit the gym:

• Elliptical: 22 minutes/ 5.5 MPH (avg.)
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps
  • 2 sets @ 135 lbs
  • 1 set @ 155 lbs
• Shoulder Press (seated, dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 40 lbs
• Flys: 3 sets/10 reps, 100 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs

Saturday’s step count: 5,490
Sunday’s step count: 1,0707

Stray Toasters

• The razor’s edge of having a new phone:
  • I love the new phone and finding ways to customize it and just… play around with it.
  • Having an 8 megapixel camera – with integration into Facebook – makes it FAR too easy to take random pictures and upload them to the Interwebs.
• I’ve become quite a fan of Foursquare, which I discovered by way of SaraRules. I like its social media gaming aspect, as well as the fact that it can be used as a way to form impromptu gatherings. It’s available for Android, iPhone and Blackberry phones. Another neat feature is that some businesses offer specials to Foursquare users. Check it out.  What have you got to lose?
• Smithsonian’s Spacesuits: Number One on the Runway
• I often post strips from Evil, Inc. in here.  Another light-hearted and fun superhero comic that I enjoy is Love and Capes, by Thom Zahler.  It follows the adventures of Mark (an accountant… who is secretly The Crusader) and his now-wife, Abby (a bookstore owner).

  

  The series rarely shows superheroics, instead choosing to show character interactions, with the action happening off-panel. Love and Capes has recently been picked up by IDW Publishing for print, with the first issue hitting stands in December.  If you’re looking for a fun read, this is a great way to go.

• Take a Walk with “The Walking Dead”
• Jersey Numbers Assigned
• By way of Nyx: Dear Girls Above Me

Namaste.

Wednesday – 30 June 2010
Today is Comics and Sushi Wednesday.

It is also the last day of June. That means that when the day is over, the year will be half over. It seems like it just started…

Last night, just after work, SaraRules and I had a surprise visit from her mother… and her grandparents. We knew that the grands were coming to town, but didn’t expect to see them until today. (Good thing that the house was fairly clean and straightened!) They were on their way home from dinner and, as we were on the way, they stopped in to see us. We sat around and chatted for a bit before they continued on.

A little later in the evening, SaraRules and I went to the Salt Lake Art Center for the opening of:

As described on the Salt Lake Art Center site:

As part of its summer programming, the Salt Lake Art Center is exhibiting Contemporary Masters: Artist-Designed Miniature Golf, 18 fully-playable works of contemporary art like you’ve never seen before. Contemporary Masters features original creations by top artists from Utah and around the nation that explore diverse ideas (the current immigration debate, the fragility of personal identity, and the meditative value of Donkey Kong) in equally diverse media, including woven fabrics, video installations, and shredded paper. Deftly exploring the intersection between art and play, Contemporary Masters reminds us that art can and should be a part of our everyday lives.

The exhibit runs all summer and the admission is free – the SLAC does accept donations in their lobby, though. Some of the holes are challenging, to say the least. It is a fun outing and a different way to look at – and experience – art.

When we got back home, SaraRules found Blindness – which was referenced in the article on dystopian 21st Century visions from Monday’s post – on Netflix’ Instant Queue. It was an odd movie. It started off with a man going spontaneously blind. The movie follows him – and others – as his affliction is visited upon others. Julieanne Moore stars as the lone protagonist who retains her sight, hiding this fact from those around her. This movie provides an interesting character study, as well as an interesting social commentary on how quickly things break down when the conventions to which we are accustomed no longer hold true.

Workout
Yesterday’s step count: 4,302

Stray Toasters

• A few months ago, I had a catastrophic hard drive failure at work. On the “plus” side, I had another rig that I could move into the then-dead machine’s place. On the “minus” side, I lost a LOT of company email… or at least I thought I had. I was able to recover a good portion of the lost email. That is a “good” thing. Today, I found an “even better” thing: I was able to find and recover a year-and-a-half gap of mail that I thought was totally gone. Win!
• LEGO for Grownups (a TED talk)
• Sites that ban you from linking to them. Still. In 2010.
• DC Comics has proclaimed this “Wonder Woman Week,” as the Amazon princess’ title hits Issue #600 today. Along with this, new writer J. Michael Straczynski (as in “The guy who created Babylon 5“) is giving Diana a retconned background and a new costume, courtesy of Jim Lee:

  

  • The Source (DC Comic’s blog) also had an interesting essay from Wonder Woman’s most famous portrayer, Wonder Woman Can Save the World, by Lynda Carter, as part of the celebration
• Best Summer Dance Music
  Sidenote: I don’t get all the flak people are giving Lady Gaga/her music. She’s a bit outlandish, yes. Guess what: It’s a persona/image.  Deal with it. And as for the music?  It’s pop music… it’s supposed to be light, fun, and danceable.  If you’re looking for “deep meanings,” you’re barking up the wrong tree.
• Deliver Bad News in a Good Way
• Bad Day for Bengals, Steelers
• 
• 10 Great Racetracks as Seen from Space
• Here come the Men in Black…
• Mad Dash as Homebuyer Tax Credit Deadline Arrives
• Daly, Conroy Return in “Superman/Batman: Apocalypse”
• Since Eclipse just hit theatres, I figured I’d re-repost this:  Why Breaking Dawn Must Be Made into a Movie

Namaste.

Thursday – 24 June 2010
And, I am sure that today is, in fact, Thursday.
Which makes it “NBN Technical Friday,” this week.

It is also Day Four of “Missa K. Week.”
Happy Belated Birthday, Missa.

(Seen here giving a preview of her stand-up routine from her upcoming Vegas show)

It’s also my friend, Danette’s, birthday.

And, according to Wikipedia, it is also The National Holiday of Quebec.

Last night, SaraRules and I met up with and her sister-in-law, Mauri, and attended the Cake Wrecks World Tour event at The King’s English and 15^th Street Gallery.

Jen Yates, along with her husband, John, gave a 40-ish minute presentation about how the Cake Wrecks site came about and some of their processes for bringing the site to life. You could tell that there was some… if not “scripted” material, at least some talking points that have come up before… but they were also very candid and ad-libbed a bit, as well. Jen and John held a Q&A session following the presentation and also did a cupcake “Wreck-lication” judging contest. All-in-all, it was quite fun and entertaining.

Workout
SaraRules and I hit the gym last night:

• Elliptical: 30 min/ ~5 MPH (avg.)
• Leg Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 100 lbs
• Calf Raises: 3 sets/10 reps, 100 lbs
• Leg Raises (Roman Chair, full extension): 3 sets/15 reps
• Upright Rows (barbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 50 lbs
• Curls (barbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 50 lbs
• Tricep Extensions (rope): 3 sets/15 reps, 50 lbs
• Plank: 3 sets/30 seconds

Yesterday’s step count: 8,903 steps

Post-workout weight: 181.3 lbs

Stray Toasters

• The swamp cooler now works.
  (Of course, I now have two small holes in the wall to patch…)
• Here’s a little something for your Thursday morning: Hanginaround, by Counting Crows
• Shakespearean Juggling in the Park
• The Ravens have signed a one-year deal with QB Mark Bulger. This will make for a three-way fight for the Number 2 slot, between Bulger, Troy Smith and John Beck. It will be interesting to see how things shake out.
• India’s Diverse Faiths, as Told Through ‘Nine Lives’
• Promise Seen for Detection of Alzheimer’s
• 
• John Isner beats Nicolas Mahut in epic
• Meetings!  Yay.
• iPhone 4 vs. Evo 4G: Total Cost of Ownership
  (…and “Good Luck” to those standing in line to get a new iPhone 4 today.)
• The McChrystal Saga
  • The Runaway General
  • Before and after McChrystal’s removal, a flurry of White House activity
• He’s a superhero. She’s a supervillain. They’re married.
  Complications?  That’s the fun part.
• Three iconic places to see an opera in Italy
• Unlocking New York, One Date at a Time
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Man Arrested for Photographing Cop Who Followed Him into His Home

…and I blame for the title/subject line of this post.

Namaste.

Thursday – 17 June 2010
So… it seems as though today is actually my mother’s last day of work.  She had told us “the 16th” when we visited last month, so that’s what I went with. *shrug* Whether it was yesterday, today (or even tomorrow), she’s put in nearly 40 years in the public education system, which is a long time to work in any one job.

I’m also hoping that today actually is an NBN Thursday. I think that last week’s deviation from the norm has affected this week… at least, that’s what I’m attributing the week’s problems to. Last night, SaraRules and I came home from work to find water in the basement. On the floor.

*braincramp*

It wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been.  It appeared that the feed tube for the swamp cooler disconnected from the pipe that goes to the roof and sprayed over the floor in the unfinished portion of the basement. Fortunately, most of it stayed in the area where there’s a floor drain. Thank God.  The rest of the water flowed onto another part of the floor that goes under the stairs that lead to the main floor (concrete slab) and a little got onto the landing at the bottom of the stairs — about ten or so square feet of carpet.

*grblsnrkx*

I headed back to work to get the ShopVac that I had borrowed from my father-in-law, while SaraRules headed to Target to get a couple of fans. We vacuumed water out of the carpet and padding. Twice. Then, we set up the fans to dry things out. We’ll see how much – if any – vacuuming we need to do tonight.

All things being equal, I consider it no small blessing that the water was confined to a couple of areas and that the “damage” was not nearly as bad as it could have been.

Workout
Yesterday’s step count: 5,937

Human of the Day
My mother.

Stray Toasters

• This morning’s musical selection was co-selected by SaraRules:
• Oh, snap!
• By way of SaraRules: Redoing those ’80s ‘Dos
• ‘The Golden Ticket’ Is Finally Unwrapped
• The newest addition to my Green Lantern Corps arrived yesterday: Kilowog
  

  

• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: B.C. school yearbooks to be reprinted after teacher cut out student’s photo
• Poster for a notional ‘Left 4 Dead’ movie
• 
• CD on one side, vinyl record on the other
• The Bell Tolls: Injuries, money factor in expanded NFL season

Namaste.

Friday – 11 June 2010
It’s my 9/80 day off, thank Heaven.

Yesterday was… “a day.” Or, it might be more apropos to say that it was “half a day.” After we got a solution for the morning disaster in play, I stopped at Pin-up Girl Espresso to get my second – stronger – frozen mocha of the day. While waiting for it, I talked with Jim (Pin-up Girl’s owner) about how my morning had gone. He noted: “…there is no news that cannot be cured with a shot and a beer.” When I said that doing shots (and drinking beer) at the office was generally frowned upon, he suggested that I have them when I get home. I had decided more or less against taking the advice, as it was bound to be detrimental to my plans to paint later in the evening.

A short while later, called. She invited me out for dinner. And beer.  Right then. When the universe gives you not one but two signs that you should have a post-work beer, you might want to follow up on that. We met  at Hopper’s for dinner. And beer. And, it was good. , as always, proved an excellent dinner companion. We commiserated over how craptastic our days had been. It was a nice way to end the day.

After dinner, I came home. I remembered to water SaraRules’ garden, as she had asked. While I was outside, I also took a look at the… landscaping… in the front yard and tried to figure out how best to execute our plans for it without simply leveling the whole thing and starting over from scratch. I have a couple of ideas. (And none of them require – or even include – “commercially unavailable” explosives or corrosives.  Maybe next time…) I’m just not sure when we’ll move from the “theory” phase to the “practical application” phase.

Back inside, I moved the DVD cases back onto the family room’s north wall and started moving furniture so that I could paint the west wall. That’s about the time that I remembered that there were a couple of spots on that wall that needed some pre-painting TLC. I attended to them as best I could, but that also meant that I couldn’t paint that wall, as I needed the spackle to dry first. *sigh* Okay… two walls get painted today (or tomorrow).

Workout
Yesterday’s step count: 4308

Stray Toasters

• I talked with my sister-in-law (Sib-3’s wife) last night. It appears that they are expecting their second child later this year.
• Guess who’s wearing their black jerseys for three home games this year…
  Here’s a hint:



• Is it a bad sign that I’m actually enjoying some of the new books that Marvel Comics is putting out during “The Heroic Age?” Granted, the X-books have been good, but I’d almost sworn off of all Avengers-related titles. And now… they’re… good. (There’s got to be a catch or a “Gotcha!” coming soon…)
• Diversity in the USA: A county-by-county map
• O-E-O-E-O!
• I’m not sure where this falls, with respect to coolness or over-the-top geekiness, but it definitely pings on the Weird-Shit-o-Meter: By Any Other Name: An Evening of Shakespeare in Klingon with special guest George Takei (.pdf)
  Let’s go over that again, one piece at a time:
  • An evening of Shakespeare… Okay, good.
  • An evening with George Takei… Also good.
  • An evening of Shakespeare with special guest, George Takei… Still doing fine.
  • An evening of Shakespeare in Klingon with special guest, George Takei… YeahbuhWHAT?!?
• I missed Burn Notice, because I thought it came on at 2300 MST, rather than 2200 MST. Fortunately, I had the DVR set for “Season Recording,” so I can still catch it.
• 
  • …and in a related note: She-Ra Figure, from MattyCollector.com
• Army inquiry finds 211 graves mishandled at Arlington Cemetary
• Hey, Microsoft…? When are you going to have a rectal craniotomy and figure out how and when to get a Blu-Ray drive into XBox 360 owners’ hands?
• Is This the Craziest Bridge Ever Designed?
  And, what happens at high tide?
• Salagadoola mechicka boola bibbidi–bobbidi–boo
• Not all the oil in the Gulf is coming from BP’s spill
• I’ve picked up Teenagers from the Future again, after a rather lengthy hiatus.  I’m still enjoying it.

And, with that, I’m off to meet Perry for coffee.

Live long and prosper.

Wednesday – 12 May 2010
Midweek and all’s (relatively speaking) well.
It’s Comics and Sushi Wednesday.

Today also marks one year since I lost my friend, Jessica, to a battle with pulmonary hypertension.

It doesn’t have to be dark for you to reach for the stars — they are always out there waiting to be touched

…and sometimes, if we’re lucky, a star reaches out for us, too.

My thoughts and prayers go out to her and her family – my adopted family – today. She was a great person; I still miss having her around, but I’m glad for the time that we had to spend together.

Stray Toasters

• Here is the latest chapter in The Great Comcast Saga:
  

  Yesterday, I got home from work and saw a Comcast technician, John, working around the corner from the house.  I asked if he was working on our seemingly never-ending quest for service. He said that he wasn’t… but he then asked if I had just moved into the neighborhood. I told him that I had and that I was waiting for service to be restored to the house. He said that he had done service work for [our] house for the past few years.

  And then he hit me with a bombshell: The service node in which he was working – NOT the one in our front yard – was the one that contained the line that goes to our house.

  *blink blink*

  Yeah. Not only does that mean that Steve, the first Comcast tech to attempt reconnection, went to the wrong box, but that NO OTHER Comcast representative figured out that Box A != Box B…. which means that we could should have had service two weeks ago.

  *grblsnrkx*

  As it stands, John, cancelled the dig/burial work order and put us in for reconnection. Our new reconnection appointment is scheduled for “early Friday morning.”  (Good thing it’s my Friday off…)

• U.S. to Split Up Agency Policing the Oil Industry
• Get ready to pay: 18 NFL teams raising ticket prices for 2010
• 
• Strange Signs from Abroad
• …said the Bishop to the Actress
• A Simple Photo of a Plane Taking Off…. From Head-on
• Novel-Ts – I have (at least) two new items for The Covet List:
  1. Poe (Raven)
  2. Poe (Heart)
• High-Tech Underwear for Adventurous Geeks
• Home prices could sink without tax credit
• Keep holding on so long
  ‘Cause there’s a chance
  that we might not be so wrong
  We could be down and gone
  But we hold on
• Trigger Green Traffic Lights

Meetings and things and stuff.

Namaste.

Friday – 07 May 2010
It’s my “on” Friday… but that’s okay: The team is seeing Iron Man 2 at lunch.

SaraRules and I saw the movie last night… well, “very early this morning.” And it was worth the lack of sleep. It was a well-done bit of entertainment. Mr. Downey looked quite comfortable, once again, as Tony Stark. Don Cheadle turned in a good performance as Lt. Col. James Rhodes, the “voice of reason” to Tony’s “poor impulse control.” Samuel L. Jackson was one bad mother… no, wait…. had it with these motherf…. wait… “he was good in his expanded role as S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury.”  Scarlett Johansson also did a good turn as The Black Widow. Mickey Rourke did a good job of turning Marvel villain Whiplash (whose back story was given a tweak to fit into the movie’s storyline) into a credible threat and Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer was equal parts unctuous slimeball and opportunistic business man. All-in-all, Jon Favreau did a good job of bringing viewers back into the world of Tony Stark. I was impressed with how his nod to Demon in a Bottle was handled – very subtly, but it made the point. I was also amused by some of the cameos in the film, as well. (Look for “Larry King.”) And, don’t forget to stay for a little bump after the credits. Just sayin’.

And… there were a couple of interesting trailers before the movie, too: A new one for The Last Airbender (which looked pretty nice) and one for an upcoming J.J. Abrams project that looks… intriguing.

Before the movie, Chris came over. We were originally planning on throwing a HeroClix game together, but opted to play HALO 3: ODST, instead. And it was good. Selah.

Stray Toasters

• Most of my cold symptoms are gone… but I’m still dealing with a sore/scratchy throat and swollen lymph nodes. Bah.
• The Art of Style, and the Style of Art
• For SaraRules: No sleep til…
• For Amy: Click or tap along with new ‘Sam & Max’ series
• Couch Forts: A Critique
• The pill: 50 years of birth control changed women’s lives
• The Bell Tolls: Lots of blame in Raiders’ JaMarcus Russell flop… sorry, SaraRules
• By way of Rachel: Things That Can Make You Feel Like an Idiot Almost Instantly
• F.C.C. Proposes Rules on Internet Access
• Nyx showed me this video…

  …and all I could think of was:

  Spider-Bear! Spider-Bear!
  Whats she doing up in the air?

• Former MySpace security chief starts company
• Music round-up:
  • Gustavo Dudamel: Making Classical Cool in L.A.
  • U.S. Troops Spoof Lady Gaga Video
  • Moby: One Song, Two Days, Three Versions
• How a Cellphone Call Works
• April Jobs Report: Best gain in four years

Yep, that’s good for now.

Namaste.

Monday – 26 April 2010
Last night was our first night sleeping at the house. It made sense to sleep there as (almost) all of our stuff is there now… including/especially the bed. It wasn’t the most sound sleep I’ve ever had – I woke up a few times, for no reasons that I’ve been able to discern – but it is nice to be out of the shadow of the pending move.

Now comes the “Where did I put the [fill-in-item-name]…?!” portion of the move.

And figuring out what kind of desk I want.

Stray Toasters

• I spoke with the parental units yesterday; they are doing well. After mentioning the work I want to do in the basement at the house, I think that I have volunteered to finish my mother’s basement. We’ll have to see how that works out…
• Ms. Nyx forwarded a couple of interesting items:
  • Antwone Fisher: What guys need to know to be men
  • Hong Kong architect turns shoebox apartment into 24 rooms
• Amy sent a link to Stephane Halleux’ artwork.
• I found a CD I’d been missing for the past couple of months… in my trunk. *facepalm*
• 
• Sony to end floppy disk production, by way of
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Man Goes to ER after One ‘Wicked’ Sandwich
• As Lost Ends, Creators Explain How They Did It, What’s Going On
• I missed the NFL Draft. All of it.
• Blood glucose meter attaches to Nintendo DS
• By way of : The police get involved in the lost iPhone case

Quote of the Day
Today’s QotD actually comes in two parts, both of which are courtesy of Anne (one of the graduating MFAs from SaraRules’ program) to two other MFAs:

1. You need Jesus. Or a midol and a snickers. Whichever.
2. There really is only one way to give a PowerPoint presentation in your senior capstone class: still drunk.

…right on to the friction of the day.

Namaste.

Thursday – 22 April 2010
It’s another NBN Thursday in the valley and it started off with… well… I wouldn’t go so far as to say “flurries,” but there was “some snow” falling when I left the apartment this morning.

It’s also Earth Day.

Last night, SaraRules and I packed up a good portion of the things in the kitchen. I’ll probably tackle the pantry, the remains of the office and some of the bedroom closet this evening. Have I recently mentioned that I’ll be happy when all of this “moving” business is done?

Stray Toasters

• Guess who has Sloppy Joes and Thin Mints AND a fortune cookie in his lunch today!
• Today is a Three-Meeting Thursday, apparently.
• Environmentally-Friendly Clothing
• pointed out Daring Fireball’s take on the 4G iPhone leak; it’s a good read.
• New Zeus version targeting Firefox users for bank fraud
• 
• I heard a remake of Cyndi Lauper’s Time After Time on the radio during this morning’s commute. I had no idea how many times this song has been covered; this morning’s version was by a band called Quietdrive.
• Hearing that song made me think of other covers, which somehow made me think of C+C Music Factory’s cover of U2’s Pride (In The Name of Love):

  ….which, in turn, led me to their cover of Aretha Franklin’s Pride/A Deeper Love

• Ben Roethlisburger has been suspended for six games, though he could possibly be out for only four.
• ….and it seems as though the Steelers are possibly looking to trade Big Ben… to the Raiders.
• Checkmate
• Yesterday’s comic haul was light, but good. I’m planning another Four-Color Coverage review… but after The Great LEGO Brick Debacle of 2010, courtesy of “some setting changing/being changed in WordBook, I’m a little leery of doing so.  Tests shall have to be run.
• Clerks Find Papers from 1881 Gunfight at OK Corral
• New Fringe tonight.
• New Burn Notice …in 6 weeks.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 21 April 2010
Another Comics and Sushi Wednesday is upon us.
And, it’s also Melissa S.’s birthday:

Last night, Chris and I were supposed to get together to play dolls. Yesterday afternoon, I got a call from Jeremiah – one of the guys from Dr. Volt’s – asking if we would be interested in checking out the store’s display copy of the soon-to-be-released Blackest Night set.

Um… YES!
Duh.

So, after work – and a quick dinner with SaraRules – Chris and I met at Jeremiah’s. And we saw the new hotness. And it was good. Selah. I’m looking forward to picking up this set. After we shot the bull for a while, we finally decided to play a game. 1200 points. Chris vs Jeremiah and me. (Pictures here.) In the hour-and-a-half we played, there was only one casualty: Jeremiah’s Sinestro Corps Batman. And then it was time to put away our toys and go home. It was, nevertheless, fun.

I’ll take a moment here to thank SaraRules for suggesting that I take the evening off from the hullaballoo of packing and do something fun. Best. Wife. Ever. In fact, let’s just cut to the chase and make her today’s Human of the Day.

Stray Toasters

• The Ravens’ 2010 schedule has been posted.
• I think that I want (at least) one of these t-shirts.
• I have a couple of guys hanging out at my desk today:



• By way of comes ModHero
  • : Check out the upper left corner
  • MarknTyme: Check out the lower left corner
• Balloon hoax dad must pay restitution
• pointed out: Subway Etiquette Posters
  I need to adapt some of these to be “Office Etiquette Posters.”
• 
• Apple Didn’t Leak the iPhone — and Why That Matters
• Maddox has a new item on his site: Safety Tips for Safe Kids!
• Technical Difficulties at the Supreme Court
• The Alot Is Better Than You at Everything, courtesy of

Namaste.

Monday – 12 April 2010
Time flies when you’re having fun… and when you’re working to get your new house ready for moving in. This weekend has been a whirlwind of activity, a good portion of which involved house work. But, I’m back in the office, with a triple-shot-laden large cup of frozen mocha goodness. At least the view from the office windows was nice this morning.

Saturday morning, SaraRules and I met Chris and Mary for breakfast. After that, Chris and I headed up to Dr. Volt’s  for the HeroClix tournament; I decided to make the theme for this event “Ragnarok,” as it was the final tournament for the Hammer of Thor set. There were (technically) 14 players – two players (a father and his young son) played as a team – so there were seven matches per round. Everything went swimmingly. Pictures of the event can be seen here.

After the tourney, I dropped Chris off and headed to the house. SaraRules and Swiz had spent the early afternoon painting. I helped SaraRules finish off the first coat of paint in the master bedroom. By the time we finished Round 1 of the weekend painting, notable progress had been made. Next, we cleaned up and then joined OnlyAly, and a few others for the Grizzlies game against the Las Vegas Wranglers. Unfortunately, the Grizzlies lost — they just seemed to play a soft game against an aggresive opponent.

Sunday, we headed up to the in-laws’ for breakfast. Homemade waffles! Then it was back to the house for Painting: Round 2 – second coats of paint in most rooms… and laundry! After that, back up to the in-laws’ for cake and ice cream (to celebrate Logan’s birthday.) Back to the house to pick up the last load of laundry and then on to the apartment to call it a day.

Stray Toasters

• Our home’s previous owners left us… stuff. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!
• There’s a small room in the basement that SaraRules has considered turning into a boudoir. I discovered this weekend that the male equivalent of such a room is traditionally referred to as a “cabinet.” To be honest, I think that I prefer that term to “man cave,” although, I am still partial to “HALO Command Center.”
• A week or so ago, MarknTyme forwarded a link to Nuit Blanche. Last week, Wired had an interview with its director, in which he explained some of the techniques and processes used in making the short.
• Space Pussy, which – despite its name – is actually quite safe for work.
• Jamie posted a link to a new How It Should Have Ended: Star Trek
• I’ve become far too enamored of DIY Network. I think that I watched at least two hours of Yard Crashers and Turf Wars late last night/far-too-early this morning.
• It seems as though Santonio Holmes is now a Jet.
• By way of comes something with which every LEGO fan will be able to empathize:

  

• We’re having a “Captain, the ship canna take much more of this…!” moment in the office. Yay.
• Space shuttle sequel slated for lift-off
• Maps on the backs of detective novels

Namaste.

Tuesday – 06 April 2010
It snowed last night. There’s a coat of snow on the ground, but it didn’t seem to stick to the roadways, fortunately.

I need to give a very quick, but heartfelt, “Thank you” to for lending his time and his handy-dandy Jeep to help me ferry a ladder (and other painting supplies) from the local home improvement store to the new house.

After spending a bit of time getting ready, I set about applying primer to the walls. A short while later, SaraRules got home – well, “new” home – and helped with the process. I had realized, shortly before she arrived, that I still needed a couple of tools. She had a couple in her car, but I still needed to come home and pick up my Channel-Locks. Good thing. I also remembered to pick up a couple of other things. Then, back to the primer slinging.

Today, I am continuing with my desk move. I have accumulated a LOT of stuff – including a herd or three of dust bunnies – in the two years I was at my old desk.

And again tonight, there shall be blood primer…

Stray Toasters

• SaraRules just added Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus to the Netflix queue. God help us all.
  (Although, this does mean that I’ll get to see a giant shark leap out of the water and attack an airplane again.)
• Geoff Peterson made his debut last night. We’ll have to see how his career at CBS progresses…
• Awesome Artwork Made with Sharpies
• By way of comes: What You Didn’t Know about Nintendo
• How Americans are propogandized about Afghanistan
• Jazz is for the Birds
• Jam Session with Improvised Instruments
• Why games will take over our lives
• 
• 1:40 scale Fallingwater is as gorgeous as the real landmark
• World’s biggest scrap-metal sculpture is a steampunk wonderland
• Mapmaker, Mapmaker, Draw Me My Life
• Donovan McNabb… as a Washington Redskin.  Huh.
• Changes are afoot at Digg
• Cyber Insecurity: U.S. Struggles to Confront Threat

Namaste.

Friday – 02 April 2010
Today is Good Friday.
It’s also my 9/80 day off.
Added bonus: SaraRules has the day off, as well.

Last night was relatively low-key. After getting home from work, I cooked dinner – steak, fries and salad – and we hung out, watching Project Runway. messaged me and asked if I was up for going out for a beer. Naturally, I said, “Yes.” (Duh.) We went to Hopper’s — it’s close and they have good beer and appetizers. I had the Madame X Stout, had a Black and Tan and we split an order of their Black Pepper Parmesan Fries. Good calls all around.

After I got back, I surfed the Interwebs for a while before getting back to work on the floors and walls of the WWG rail station.

Stray Toasters

• Commentary: Today, on Good Friday, Here’s Why I Remain Catholic
• Verdict is in on Apple iPad: It’s a winner
• 10 Secrets to Affordable Style
• The Sex Scholar
• Noel Kerns Photography
• iPad Is the Future
• …and since its advent is around the corner: The Future Soon
• My new Ravens jerseys were just delivered.
• Hacking Nerves to Revive Paralyzed Limbs
• Area 51 vets speak
• Computer Problems:
  
• Say Thank You to This Guy for Video Game Consoles
• What Your Birth Date Song Says About You
• Shyamalan Addresses Airbender’s Race Controversy And Answers Your Questions

Off to see what 02 April has to offer…

Namaste.