Random Access

Monday – 11 January 2010
On the whole, it’s been a good weekend. Yesterday, was fairly lazy and full of football… and a couple of movies.

Julie (our IT admin) came over to watch her Pats take on the Ravens, details below. After the game, I played a little City of Heroes. I was invited to join a team “…for missions in Croatoa,” which was fine. Somewhere along the way, we switched from that mission set to running a Task Force (extended series of linked missions), which I neither expected nor had time for. So, I had to leave, mid-TF. Oh, well… I managed to eke a couple of levels out of the experience.

We headed over to the in-laws’ for dinner and a movie, Star Trek. The dinner, the movie and the company were all quite good. I also inherited Logan’s old Xbox… which is good, as I’ve been hankerin’ to play some of my old Xbox games, but couldn’t, because my old Xbox decides to shut down/stop reading discs after a few minutes. *shakes fist*

After we got back home, SaraRules and I watched a movie that Logan recommened: The Signal. It was a story, told in three parts – as interpreted by three directors. While there was a single plot thread that wove through the film, the three directors’ visions didn’t exactly gel into a cohesive movie.

Instant Replay: Football
The playoffs started this weekend:

Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots
33 – 14
The Ravens traveled to Foxboro to take on the Patriots in the chilly New England air. Going into the game, the Ravens had not beaten the Patriots in their last five games and the Pats had not lost at home all season. But, once RB Ray Rice broke off an 83-yard TD run – on the Ravens’ first play from scrimmage – it looked as though the Ravens might be on to something… When Terrell Suggs strip-sacked Tom Brady – on the Pats’ first series – setting up another Ravens TD, the tide and momentum seemed to favor the Ravens even more. LB Ray Lewis and FS Ed Reed even got in on the action, with a sack and an interception, respectively. QB Joe Flacco only went 4/10, with 34 yds passing, but he managed a great ground game that kept Baltimore in control of the ball and the clock. Saturday, the Ravens continue their playoff run against the Indianapolis Colts.

Joe, you and the boys just beat the Pats for the first time in five meetings!  How does that make you feel?

Coach Belichick, Tom looks a little down-in-the-mouth.  Even though your lucky pom-pom hat didn’t help you win the game, does it offer any sage advice as to what you can say or do to help cheer Tom up?

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New York Jets at Cincinnati Bengals
24 –14
The Bengals took on the Jets. Again. And came away with a loss. Again. For the second time in two weeks… although this time it was in Cincinnati.Sorry, janietrain and carefreespirit.

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Green Bay Packers at Arizona Cardinals
45 – 51
The Packers traveled to the desert.  Again. This time, however, the Cards handed them an overtime loss. Congrats, Marr.

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Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys
14 – 34
The Cowboys handed the Eagles a loss in the House That Jerry Built.

Stray Toasters

• I won’t get to see Saturday’s game, as we have tickets to Utah Opera’s performance of Carmen. (Thank Heaven for DVRs…)  While I’m hoping for a Ravens win, I’m not betting the farm on it.
• The Price of Apple MacBook Pros Around the World
• Tombs of pyramid builders offer look into daily lives
• Race Riots Grip Italian Town, and Mafia Is Suspected
• DC has announced their Blackest Night follow-up, Brightest Day:

  

  I’m not sure how I feel about a/another year-long, bi-weekly book.

• A Nation of Hunkered-Down Homebodies
• Booth Babe Confessions
• Secret London: guide to the weird and wonderful secrets of London-town
• Um… when exactly did Ray Lewis become a member of Delta Sigma Theta?



• Steampunk mask: “Raptor Pilot”
• Malicious App in Android Market

Namaste.

Friday – 08 January 2010
9/80 Friday… and I don’t have anything on the agenda. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; I will probably wind up doing some cleaning, especially since I’ve been avoiding it for the past few days.

Last night, SaraRules and I watched another movie that’s been in our Netflix Instant Queue for a while: Vanishing Point (1, 2). It was a car chase movie from 1971… and it was… something. Neither of us was quite sure “what,” though. Although, I think that we both agreed that “good” wasn’t it. It was severely disjointed, as if a two or three movies were mashed together, without rhyme or reason. There were not only plot holes, but a distinct lack of continuity in a couple of places – things just seemed to happen and the audience was left to make the connections on their own… if they could. And, despite the addition of a Jerry Reed song on the soundtrack, it’s no Smokey and the Bandit (but, then again, what is?).

Stray Toasters

• This teaser image was on the Wizkids/NECA site this morning:

  

  What does it mean? Quite simply: Wizkids’ May HeroClix release will be a “Blackest Night” Starter set. And, of course, this goes squarely on The Covet List.

• Lewis Suspicious of Brady’s Injury
• The Empire Strikes Back 30th Anniversary Playing Cards
• There needs to be a Dunkin Donuts in Salt Lake City.
• From The Wall Street Journal: Best and Worst Jobs 2010

• 
• Remnants of the Biosphere
• Big Lebowski rewritten as a work of Shakespeare
• …and in another movie-related item:

  A-Team Trailer – TheFilmStage.com from Clive Owen on Vimeo.

• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Potato Salad.
  (Safe for work, but just… plain… weird.)
• Toy Train Runs to Calibrate Sensors in a Princeton Reactor

I should probably give some thought to lunch, too.

Namaste.

Monday – 04 January 2010
It’s the first work day of the new year. It’s also my first day back in over two weeks. I’m still not sure that I remember all of my logins. We’ll see… maybe… if my system ever recovers from the updates that are being pushed down to it.

Yesterday was a good day, all the way around.  There was sleeping in. There was football. There was dinner with the in-laws and MORE football. After we got home, I even felt up to the challenge of sorting some of my extra ‘Clix into their respective new homes, while SaraRules watched Club Paradise.

Instant Replay: Football
Yesterday was a good day for football, as the playoff picture fell into place:

Baltimore Ravens at Oakland Raiders
21 – 13
This game wasn’t aired here, but SaraRules and I tracked it on NFL.com’s Game Center, as the game involved both our teams.The Ravens seemed to play decently and didn’t get themselves saddled with excessive penalties. And, on the other side of the ball, the Raiders had a decent game and just roll over and give away a win. With this win, the Ravens secured a playoff berth (and knocked the Steelers out of playoff contention, in the process). Sorry, SaraRules and 1silver_seraph.

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Jacksonville Jaguars at Cleveland Browns
17 – 23
The Browns handled their business and eliminated the Jags from playoff contention.Congratulations, zeeke.

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Pittsburgh Steelers at Miami Dolphins
30 – 24
The Steelers headed south to Land Shark Stadium and handed the Fins a loss that also took the them out of playoff contention, even though the Dolphins would have needed losses from other teams to make the playoffs. With this win, and a Ravens’ loss, the Steelers would have made the playoffs.

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Cincinnati Bengals at New York Giants
0 – 37
The Bengals took on the Jets… and came away with a loss, in a game that the Jets had to win in order to make the playoffs. Mark Sanchez and company did the home crowd proud, handing the Bengals a big loss on the road. And who do they play next week? The Bengals… but this time, they’ll be playing in Cincinnati. Sorry, janietrain and carefreespirit.

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Green Bay Packers at Arizona Cardinals
33 – 7
The Packers traveled to the desert and handed the Cards a loss… and a pretty big one, at that.Sorry, Marr.

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New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers
10 – 23
The Panthers handed the Saints a loss……in a game with no playoff implications for either team.

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New York Giants at Minnesota Vikings
7 – 44
The Giants headed into Minnesota, just to have Brett Favre and the Vikings serve ’em up a heaping helping of beat-down and eliminating them from the playoff picture.Congratulations, .

Tonight, the Vikings take on the Bears in what should be a good game.

Stray Toasters

• By way of : 10 Purchase not to put on credit cards
• 10 Sci-Fi Weapons that Actually Exist
• 

  (click to find out your score)

  

• Where was this when I needed it: LEGOland California: An Adult Visitor’s Guide
• TSA Special Agent who threatened blogger spaces out, drops notebook in public place
• 
• Avatar smashes $1bn speed record
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: BeautifulPeople.com axes holiday weight gain members

I finally remembered my password. I had changed it on one system, but not the other… and I was trying to enter the wrong password on the first machine. *sigh* But, I finally sussed it out.

…right on to the friction of the day.

Namaste.

Monday – 28 December 2009
Week 2 of vacation kicks off… and I’m trying to decide what to do with myself. Blah.

Today is also the third day of Kwanzaa. Today’s principle is:”Ujima” or “collective work and responsibility”:

To build and maintain our community together and make our brother’s and sister’s problems our problems and to solve them together.

Yesterday, we headed over to the in-laws’ to see Meliko before she headed back to sunny (and warmer) California. After that, we came back home for a quiet day. Last night, we watched House of Flying Daggers. For some reason – despite owning the movie – I had never seen it before. If I had to summarize it in three words, I’d have to go with:

1. Love
2. Betrayal
3. Duty

It was very good. I enjoyed the story, cinematography, the acting and the costuming. It also ended differently than I expected, but it was quite fitting.

Instant Replay: Football
So, I got married a couple of months ago. This isn’t exactly “news.” In the process, I not only gained another set of parents (so to speak), but I also inherited a new set of grandparents. Not only that, but grandmother-in-law is a football fan. More specifically, she’s an Arizona Cardinals fan. And she “gently reminded” me that I’ve been… remiss… in covering Cards games in my football coverage. So, starting this week, the Cards will get added to the list o’ teams that I run down.

And with that, on to the games:

Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers
20 – 23
I was surprised to see this televised in this market. Pleasantly surprised, yes, but surprised, nevertheless… The Ravens played a decent game. I’d love to say that they played a “good” game, but they shot themselves in the foot with senseless penalties. How bad were the penalties? Well, let’s just say that they killed two scoring opportunities, which would have secured a win. Despite giving the game away, Baltimore is still in the hunt for an AFC Wild Card spot, although they have dropped to the #7 Seed. They need a win in Oakland next week to get a Wild Card spot.

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Oakland Raiders at Cleveland Browns
9 – 23
The Raiders dropped this one to… the Browns. Sorry, SaraRules and 1silver_seraph. Congratulations, .

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Houston Texans at Miami Dolphins
27 – 20
Last week, it was the “former Houston team.” This week, it was the “current Houston team.” Both weeks, it was a loss.

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Kansas City Chiefs at Cincinnati Bengals
10 – 17
A late-in-the-game TD by Chad Ochocinco Johnson secured the win for the Bengals. Congratulations, and .

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St. Louis Rams at Arizona Cardinals
10 – 31
This was another game that wasn’t broadcast locally, but it looks as though the Cards had this one well in hand. Congratulations, Marr.

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Carolina Panthers at New York Giants
41 – 9
The Panthers went on the road to face the Giants in the last game to be held in The Meadowlands… …and they came away with a win. A big win, at that.

In other football news

• The Indianapolis Professional Football Club suffered their first defeat of the season, handed to them by the Jets… after Indy benched all of their starters.
• The New Orleans Saints also took one on the chin in overtime… from the Buccaneers.

Tonight, the Vikings take on the Bears in what should be a good game.

Stray Toasters

• I’ve been meaning to post these for the past two days: Saturday morning, when we left the apartment, there was a trio of hot-air balloons overhead. By the time I got my camera, I missed the first one, but I got the other two:

  
  (click for larger images)

  And, how cool a way is it to start off the day with balloons?!

• MarknTyme sent me a link to Car Lust: Great Cars of Song – Red Barchetta. It not only gives the background of the Rush song, it also includes a link to the story, A Nice Morning Drive, which served as the song’s inspiration.
• Percy Sutton, trailblazing businessman, dies at 89
• For :

  

• Antique Steam Engine Rescues Passengers After Electric Trains Fail in the Bitter Cold
  • This is the LEGO Emerald Night. I find that it looks like the train in the story above.
• The Fastest Train in the World
• Tori Amos’ Track-by-Track Guide to “Little Earthquakes”
• I believe that I posted a link to this before, but 60 Minutes rebroadcast the story last night, so here it is again: The Birdmen

  
  Watch CBS News Videos Online

• Why transplants use ‘imperfect’ organs
• The Mysteries of Rabies

Okay, it’s time to find some trouble to get into.

Namaste.

Sunday – 27 December 2009
It’s almost 0930 and I’m awake. No phone. No knocking on the door. Just… awake and not feeling like sleeping any longer. I’m a little surprised, as I didn’t exactly make it “an early night” last night. *shrug* Onward and upward…

Today is also the second day of Kwanzaa. Today’s principle is “Kujichagulia” or “self-determination”:

To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves.

When I first read that, the thing that popped immediately into mind was the line from The Greatest Love of All:

I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone’s shadows
If I fail, if I succeed
At least I live as I believe
No matter what they take from me
They can’t take away my dignity

I think that the song, first out in 1977 – no, Whitney Houston wasn’t the first one to sing it (neither was Eddie Murphy) – exemplifies the principle of self-determination quite well.

Yesterday was a rather lazy day, with an odd set of bookend moments. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, it started with breakfast with Perry and the kids. After some downtime at home, I decided to get out for a bit; I visited , as I hadn’t really talked with him in a while. After that, I met SaraRules at home and we then headed up to her parents’ place to see her brother’s girlfriend, who’s in town for the holiday. On the way home, I got a text message asking if I was up for getting some coffee; this came from my friend, Adrian, whom I haven’t seen in a couple of months’ of Sundays. I said that I was and wound up spending a couple of hours catching up… in the same restaurant where I had breakfast. (Have I mentioned “Welcome to Small Lake City,” lately?)

Today, the Ravens take on the Steelers in Pittsburgh. They beat the Steeltown boys a few weeks ago; it will be interesting to see if they can sweep them for the season.

Stray Toasters

• Reading Practice Can Strengthen Brain ‘Highways’
• Amazon Sells More eBooks on Christmas than Real Books
• Brain Cancer Genes Found
• 
• Cinderella Revisited: Rossini’s ‘La Cenerentola’
  We saw Utah Opera’s staging of this last year.
• She Has No Head! – A Feminist Dialogue about Girl Comics

Namaste.

Tuesday – 22 December 2009
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas the vershluggen inversion has set in… permanently. Fortunately, weather forecasters say that we have a stormfront moving in that will bring snow showers tonight or tomorrow. That should help clear the air for Christmas… I hope.

After yesterday’s outing with SaraRules and my m-i-l, we came home and had a little downtime. Said time included a much-needed nap for me. After I got up, SaraRules and I hit the mall to pick up a couple of gifts – in and out of the mall in under ten minutes(!) – and then headed downtown.

We met and checked out the lights at Temple Square. Let me rephrase that: “We planned to meet Nyx and wound up waiting for each other on opposite corners of the same intersection for about fifteen minutes before meeting up to see the lights at Temple Square.” Yeah, that is a much better explanation. And it’s far closer to the way things turned out. Let me also add: It was COLD last night. Seriously cold. Temple Square had throngs of people, which is far from atypical, especially at this time of year. The lights were nice and there were five Nativity creches to see, as well. Pictures of the outing can be seen here.

After the lights, SaraRules, Nyx and I headed to Coffee Connection to meet up with 365DayGirl. Nyx had been there – and mentioned that I should check it out – before. It was something of an eclectic place: The main entry area has a spartan, almost industrial feel; the “study area” was full of booths and had a bit of a diner-like feel to me; and the “lounge” area was full of couches and had a much more casual feel. We hung out and chatted for a while before calling it a night.

Stray Toasters

• Thank Heaven, God and Baby Jesus for polypropylene long underwear.
• How to Practice Mindfulness
• Nyx sent me links to two amusing sweatshirts last night:
  • Green Lantern
  • Shredder
• While watching How Do They Do It? yesterday afternoon, they had an item about modular houses built – within a week – by Huf Haus.
• 
• How to Teach Physics to Your Dog
• It looks as though Corey Ivy will be taking Lardarius Webb’s place in the Ravens’ lineup.
• Someone on HCRealms has posted a picture of the “Buy It by the Brick” HeroClix figure for the upcoming “Brave and the Bold” set:



• East Coast Blizzard Seen From Space
• District 9 is out today.
• I’m not sure how many – if any – of you are familiar with the Mark Millar comic book, Kick-Ass…
  

  Dave Lizewski, an otherwise ordinary New York City high school student and the child of Greg Willer, loving single father, takes his interest in comic books as inspiration to become a real-life superhero. He assembles a suit and mask, which he wears under his normal clothing, begins exercising, and practices things like walking on roofs, sating his ambitions for a time. He eventually seeks to fight crime, with his first attempt leading him to receive a severe beating and stabbing by thugs, followed by his wandering into the street and being hit by a car.^[1] He retains his secret identity, however, stripping off and hiding his costume before paramedics arrive.

  …but there’s a live-action movie coming out next year. One of the characters in the book is Hit-Girl, a 12-year-old vigilante who patrols the city with her father, Big Daddy (portrayed by Nicolas Cage). Here’s a trailer of Hit-Girl’s… um… “greatest hits.” (Definitely for mature audiences)

• Climate, Habitat Threaten Wild Coffee Species
• Monkey knife-fighting with octopus tattoo

Time to get out there and face the day.)

Namaste.

EDIT
I just got a message from my father: Our holiday cards were shipped to Maryland, rather than here… despite my calling FedEx to verify where they were supposed to go. *sigh* On the “plus” side, Dad had them Express Mailed here; we should have them tomorning.

Monday – 21 December 2009
Vacation is good.
Sleeping in is good.
And in a bit, shopping will be good, as well. Not so much because of the joy of the crowds… but that’s to be expected at this time of year. The bonuses are that I’m hanging out with SaraRules and her mother… and that there’s a trip to Hobby Lobby involved. I don’t really need anything from there, but it’s Hobby Lobby and you just don’t know what you’ll find.

Yesterday was a good day that also involved some sleeping in. After that, there was football. And that was mostly good (details below). Then we were off to the in-laws’ for dinner and more football. Then, back home for downtime and a movie: Run, Lola, Run. I had heard of the movie before, but never seen it. So, thank you, Netflix. It was… interesting. I enjoyed the stylized look of the movie, as well as the “What if…?” aspect shown in each version of the story.

Instant Replay: Football
I missed the Thursday and Saturday games of Week 15, but the outcomes were:

• The Colts remain undefeated
• The Saints lost to the Cowboys, but are still atop the NFC playoff chart

In Sunday action:

Chicago Bears at Baltimore Ravens
7 –31
This was the game that almost became a Monday night doubleheader. As Baltimore got pummeled with two feet of snow, it was questionable whether the Bears would be able to fly in for the game on Sunday. As it was, the NFL agreed to postpone the game from 1300 to 1615. The Bears were able to make it into BWI late Saturday.I would have liked to have seen this game, but it wasn’t aired in the Land Behind the Zion Curtain. But, from the NFL.com Game Center coverage, it looked as though the Ravens came to play on both sides of the ball. Additionally, this win not only keeps the Ravens in the hunt for an AFC Wild Card spot, it moves them up to the #6 Seed.

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Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos
20– 19
The Raiders took this one away from the Broncos… in Mile High Stadium. And that’s not even the crazy thing.  The “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” moment belongs to Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell – who came in when Charlie Frye was taken out of the game – and led the drive that sealed the Raiders’ win.Congratulations, SaraRules and 1silver_seraph.

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Miami Dolphins at Tennessee Titans
13 – 23
The Dolphins put up a good fight, but they lost this one in OT, when the Titans scored a field goal, after picking off a pass from Chad Henne.

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Cleveland Browns at Kansas City Chiefs
41 – 34
This was another game that wasn’t broadcast locally, but the highlights were all over. The Browns had two players with record-tying or record-setting days: WR Joshua Cribbs returned two punts for TDs, 100 and 103 yds. RB Jerome Harrison rushed for 286 yards. Congratulations, .

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Minnesota Vikings at Carolina Panthers
7 – 26
The Vikings went to Charlotte to take on the Panthers. When the game started, I noted that the starting QB for the Panthers was Matt Moore. I don’t remember hearing his name before. In a moment of clarity, I called my friend, William, to find out what the deal was. His response: “He’s Carolina’s savior, now that Delhomme’s on the bench.” And, to his credit, Mr. Moore – along with RB Jonathan Stewart – put on one helluva show, as the Panthers took down the Vikings. Sorry, .

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Cincinnati Bengals at San Diego Chargers
24 – 27
This was another game that wasn’t broadcast locally, but this one apparently came down to the wire. Commisserations, janietrain and carefreespirit.

Stray Toasters

• sent me this item for the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: HP Face-Tracking Webcams Don’t Recognize Black People
  I’m not sure whether I should be horribly amused or offended by this.  (I’m leaning towards “amused,” though.) Thanks, HP!
• sent me a link to Punched-Out Font, which she suggested could be used with my ‘Clix pictures.  “BIFF!” “POW!” “BAM!”
• Why Hollywood security is better than the Pentagon’s
• US Officer draws gun on snowball fight crowd

And, now… off to shop!

Sunday – 20 December 2009
Yesterday was a good – and full – day. I started at 0830… and was on the move until around 2300. But, it was worth it.

I started the morning with a call to my uncle; it was his birthday. SaraRules and I talked with him for a few minutes before we headed out to start our respective days: She was shopping with her mother; I was having coffee with Chris and Perry. After that, Chris and I headed up to Dr. Volt’s for another HeroClix tourney (pictures here). This time we had four people (including Chris) show – technically, it was five people… but the fifth showed up after I had started the first matches, so he opted not to play. He said that he’s in for the next tournament, though. Chris won the event, going 3-0.  He played Josh (one of the new arrivals) who until that game was also 2-0. Josh took home the Fellowship prize.

After I dropped Chris at home, I came home and then SaraRules and I headed to Five Guys for burgers and fries. They were, as usual, quite tasty. Back home to change and get ready to head out to the Utah Symphony Holiday Pops with Jerry! concert. It was a lot of fun, with a lot of good music… but, the best part of the concert came just after the concert:

I was walking backstage with SaraRules (she had to put away some work material), when we came to a doorway that led to steps from one of the upper tiers. A few people exited the door, among them an older lady in a red dress.

She turned and looked at me.
I looked at her.

She looked at me… like she knew me.
I looked at her… blankly.

She looked at me… like she knew me… and came over and took my hand.
I stood there… still not knowing her… not quite sure what to say.

“You don’t remember me, do you?  I’m Lotta Mae¹ ” she smiled and said.
“I don’t believe that we’ve met before, ma’am,” I responded, warmly and with a smile.
“Oh… you’re not Eric, are you?”
“No, ma’am… I’m not.”
“Oh, well, then… I’m sorry.”

And, with that she walked off.

SaraRules and I continued down the hallway, she with a grin on her face. I was still completely in the dark as to exactly why, but I did find the situation a bit comical. After we got to her desk, SaraRules explained that after thinking about it, she understood why the woman thought that I was this “Eric” chap. As we were walking out, we saw Eric and she introduced us. Eric…

• …is roughly my height
• …is roughly my build
• …is very similar to my complexion (Yep! There’s another Black guy in Utah!)
• …also has a shaved head
• …was also wearing a black suit.

That’s about where the similarities end:

• He was in a white shirt; I was in a white/purple-striped shirt
• He had a gold jacquard tie; mine was with purple with white/grey squares.
• He was clean-shaven; I have a goatee.

When SaraRules explained to him what had just happened, he broke out in hearty laughter. I did, too. Again. We came to the conclusion that we were apparently Mirror Universe opposites and that Lotta Mae had failed to notice that I was actually the “evil twin.” (And, I actually made a Driving Miss Daisy joke to SaraRules about it on the way back to the car, as well.)

But, it was a heckuva funny way to end the evening. And for that reason, I’m naming Lotta Mae and Eric as co-Humans of the Day.

Stray Toasters

• The Bears – Ravens game has been postponed until 1615 (EST), due to weather.
• Bryan Singer on X-Men: First Class
• By way of Rachel: Star Wars Weather Forecast
  (Enter your city in the text box at the top of the page.)
• ‘Alien’ Screenwriter Dan O’Bannon, Dead at 63
• 99 Luftballons, Side-by-Side Comparison – the German translation and the bastardized version that we got in English.
• 
• British troops to get first new camouflage in 40 years
• Traveler’s worst nightmare: East Coast snowfall cancels over 800 flights
• A Lament for Saab

And now, I believe that it’s time for coffee and some form of breakfast.

Namaste.

¹ – I’m not sure that’s how her name is spelled; since this is my story, I get to spell it the way I want. Hopefully, I’m at least close to how it’s supposed to be spelled.

Friday – 18 December 2009
It’s the end of the work week.
It’s also the end of my work year.
And, if that wasn’t enough, it’s a week before Christmas.
And, on top of THAT… in four (4) more days, the days will start getting longer again. Selah.

Last night, SaraRules and I ran some errands and made some (more) Christmas candy. When that was done, we watched Tuesday’s episodes of NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles. Not a bad way to spend a Thursday evening. What we didn’t do was watch the Colts-Jags game; from what we heard from SaraRules’ father, it actually turned out to be a good game. Oh, well. If it comes down to it, I’ll just look for the rebroadcast on NFL Network.

I slept fairly well last night, but – for the third time this week – I woke up due to a rather disturbing dream. You know the kind: The “Should I really be upset with Person X for that…?” kind. It took me a minute or two to realize that the transgression occured in a dream and to calm the urge to tell someone where to go, how to get there and where they could find a pair of gasoline drawers to wear on the way. *sigh* My subconscious is apparently a cruel and evil bastard.

On the plus side, today is the quiet Friday in the office. I’m not saying that one of the Star Wars movies or Green Lantern: First Flight might make their way onto the big monitor today… but I’m not not-saying it, either.

Stray Toasters

• In the name of “holiday cheer” (and just because I could), I’m wearing my Santa hat today.
• I don’t remember who posted this first, but it makes me laugh: What Really Happened
• posted a link to The Morgan Freeman Chain of Command
• YouTube video leads to Hollywood contract
• Office monkeys!  *grblsnrkx*
• 
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Spite Houses, built to piss off the neighbors
• The list of films showing at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival has been posted.
• Vertabrae necklace
• US man freed by DNA evidence after 35 years in prison

Namaste.

Thursday – 16 December 2009
Day 3 of the work week and it’s NBN Thursday, to boot.  That’s a nice combination, no matter how you slice it.

Last night, SaraRules and I had one of her former MFA classmates, Sara… hm… I guess I’ll just have to refer to her as “Sara2″… over for dinner. SaraRules made chicken and dumplings for the entree. The ladies chatted about their experiences in the MFA program, including their trip to NYC a couple of years ago. I’d heard about this trip – part of the trip, anyway – from SaraRules; last night, I got some more behind-the-scenes info and insight, which was both sad and rather funny. All-in-all, dinner and the company were quite fun.

This morning, I woke up when the alarm went off… but I really don’t remember turning the alarm off. I do remember looking at the clock, a couple of minutes after the alarm sounded and wondering why it was not going off and why I was awake.  Yep, it was one of “those” mornings. But, I have my trusty cup of coffee at my side, so things can only look up from here.

Stray Toasters

• December 17, 1903: Bicycle Brothers Make Aeroplane Work Wright
• The new trailer for Iron Man 2 is online; take a look here to check it out.
  • Semi-related: People Magazine Loves The Super Hero Squad Show
• Steampunk Menorah
• Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry dies after fall from truck
• Bank of America names new CEO to replace Ken Lewis
• 
• The Year in Media Errors and Corrections, courtesy of
• Extrasolar ‘Super Earth’ is first to have atmosphere
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Brazil boy found with 40 needles in ‘black magic rite’

Time to make the donuts…

Namaste.

It’s Monday night.
Dinner is in the oven; it was my night to cook.
There’s football on the TV… even though I’m not really invested in the game.

I got some shopping done today, which is a good thing.  I think that I can cover most of the other Christmas shopping online.

Stray Toasters

• Today, we received what I think is the best wedding mail we’ve received from Washington, D.C.:

  

  

• While I was out shopping, I remembered a Christmas CD that my mother has and that I’ve considered buying… but haven’t: Handel’s Messiah: A Soulful Celebration

  

  I checked at Best Buy. Nothing.
  I checked Borders… Nothing again.
  So, when I got home I looked it up. Barnes & Noble had it at one location within 60 miles: The B&N that is a couple of doors down from the Best Buy that I went to.

  ::: braincramp :::

  I just got an email saying that that don’t, in fact, have it there.

  *grblsnrkx*

  I’m still toying with the idea of heading down there to look, just in case it wasn’t where they thought it would/should be.

• T Campbell and John Waltrip have done an amazing – and funny – mashup of Disney-Marvel characters:

  
  (click image for full-sized version)

• Ranking DC Comics’ 2009 DVDs, from Great to Ghastly
• This football game – Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers – has turned into a FAR more interesting game than I expected.

And now, we’re off!

Namaste.

Monday – 14 December 2009
I’m enjoying another extended weekend Monday off. I got up when SaraRules did, to see her off to work, and then proceeded to veg on the sofa. There’s been the typical morning TV (meh) and CSI: is on now. I should get a bite to eat. And then, consider getting around to some errand-running.

Instant Replay: Football
Yesterday was a pretty good day for football action:

Detroit Lions at Baltimore Ravens
3 –48
We didn’t get to see this game, but a game with a “W” for the Ravens always makes me smile. I would have liked to have seen this game, as it appears as though Lions QB Dante Culpepper tried to put up a fight… but both Joe Flacco and Troy Smith did some decent work on the Ravens’ side of the game. Additionally, this win helps to keep the Ravens in the hunt for a Wild Card spot in the AFC playoffs.

.

Washington Redskins at Oakland Raiders
34 – 13
The Raiders took one on the chin from the ‘Skins.Early in the game, it looked as though the Raiders were making a game of it, until QB Bruce Gradkowski left the game in the third quarter, after injuring both knees. Sorry, SaraRules and .

.

Miami Dolphins at Jacksonville Jaguars
13 – 23
This is another game I would have liked to have seen, but at least the Dolphins came away with a win.

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Cincinnati Bengals at Minnesota Vikings
10 – 30
This was another game that wasn’t broadcast locally. Congratulations, . Commisserations, and .

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Carolina Panthers at New England Patriots
10 – 20
The Cats dropped this one to the Pats.  *sigh*

Boilermaker Watch

• • Drew Brees and the Saints fought off the Falcons – led by former Ravens QB Chris Redman, who played one heck of a solid game – to remain undefeated. Too bad Redman was too far down the depth chart to get much playing time when he was in Baltimore; he looked solidly in control yesterday.
  • Denver QB Kyle Orton and the Broncos dropped this one to the undefeated Colts.

Stray Toasters

• Stan Lee Explains Hannukah for Digital Holiday Special
• The Facts About Bottled Water
• The Orient Express Takes Its Final Trip
• posted a link to Zoho International Artforms. Yep, Covet List.
• 
• How electricity became a right, and it that means for broadband
• I need want a new brown hat.
• Southwest thrives on policy of free checked bags
  • Trivia: Southwest trades on the NYSE under the keyword “LUV”
• The Problem With Best-of Lists

…right on to the friction of the day.

Namaste.

Sunday – 13 December 2009
Yesterday was a long and busy day…

After breakfast and a fairly lazy morning, SaraRules and I headed out to do a little Christmas shopping. Next, we stopped in to see Kate, Perry and the kids. From there…

…we went to see The Princess and the Frog (1, 2). The movie marked a return to 2-D animation by Disney Animation Studios. The movie follows Disney’s newest princess, Tiana, in her quest to achieve a dream that was inspired by her father. Tiana also holds a couple of  distinctions in Disney lore:

1. She is Disney’s first African-American princess
2. She is not a “help me, save me” princess, but more of a driven/determined young woman – much in the vein of Pocahantas or Mulan.

Let me start by saying it was a great movie. I enjoyed pretty much everything about it, from the animation to the voice casting (including Oprah?!) to the songs. The movie was set in New Orleans, in the… 20s and 30s. The animators did a good job of capturing the look and feel of the Crescent City in those days. Additionally, the animation used in a couple of Tiana’s dream sequences was also fantastic.

The movie’s dark side – provided by villain Dr. Facilier, a street con/voodoo magician – includes some scenes in which he… works his magic (sorry, couldn’t be helped)… that could be frightening to younger viewers. Dr. Facilier’s methods and motivations are reminiscent of Aladdin‘s Jafar.

The music was a fine combination of jazz, zydeco, and gospel. The different styles were used, quite effectively, to enhance the given atmosphere and attitude of specific scenes.

All-in-all, this was a fine movie and a worthy successor in Disney’s line of “Princess” movies. SaraRules made the comment: “I feel that I could let our children watch this without feeling like I just fed them a bunch of shite.” I concur.

After the movie, we headed home for a bit and then, it was time to head over to OnlyAly and ‘s for their annual “Nightmare Before Christmas” horror movie marathon.

We watched Pitch Black, The Descent and Dawn of the Dead (2004). As always, it was a fun way to spend an evening. Thanks, again, to the hosts for their hospitality.

This morning involved a good bit of sleeping in. And now… there’s football. Unfortunately, the Lions-Ravens game isn’t being aired in this market, so I’m relegated to tracking the game on NFL.com’s Game Center.

Stray Toasters

• It’s snowing. Surprise!



• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Santa Claus banned from visiting locked-up children in UK asylum detention centre
• I just saw this commercial; I like it and the message it conveys: LEGO: Build Together

• Drug money saved banks in global crisis, claims UN adviser
• forwarded a link to My Fortress of Solitude. I think that this belongs on The Covet List. I’d love to do something like this, but I’m not sure that I could pull it off, given the types of desks that we have at work.
• Black Mesa Coffee Mug
• I looked up a little more information about The Super Hero Squad Show, specifically the voice acting talent. I was surprised and amused to note that they got Shawn Ashmore and Ray Stevenson to do the voices for Iceman and The Punisher, respectively… given that the actors portrayed those characters in live-action movies.
• went to see the Faster Than a Speeding Bullet: The Art of the Superhero exhibit yesterday. I’m a tad jealous.

Namaste.

Thursday – 10 December 2009
Hello, NBN 9/80 Thursday.  I’m looking forward to the weekend. Why? Because it’s the weekend. Duh. And it’s another extended, four-day weekend… although, I’m trying to decide if I want to flip Monday for next Friday and just extend my Christmas vacation. *shrug* We’ll see.

Last night, SaraRules had her Book Club Holiday Dinner Party; she was this year’s hostess. I’m assuming that things went well – while the ladies enjoyed dinner and chat, I holed up in the office and played City of Heroes… for the first time in nearly two months. I joined a team and ran a few missions. It was fun. I need to do that more often.

Stray Toasters

• Last night, SaraRules told me of a new blog that she’s been following: Style Rookie. In the words of the blog’s author:
  

  Tiny 13 year old dork that sits inside all day wearing awkward jackets and pretty hats. Scatters black petals on Rei Kawakubo’s doorsteps and serenades her in rap. I have no where near 4 million readers. Rather cynical and cute as a drained rat. In a sewer. Farting. And spitting out guts.

  It really is quite cute.

• By way of – the English version of Hispabrick Magazine
• Diamond announces Free Comic Book Day titles
• It’s common knowledge that I am FAR from a Cleveland Browns fan.
  By the same token, I’m not a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, either.
  I am torn as to whom I should back in tonight’s game:

1. After the Ravens’ loss on Monday, they have the same record as the Steelers; a Steelers’ loss would put us a half-game up on them.
2. The Browns are… well… the Browns.

Yeah, not an easy call to make.

• The Art of Ryan Abegglen

  

• From the “Holy cow” file: Calf with a cross on its head
• A 19th Century Mathematician Finally Proves Himself
• Top Ten Archaeology Finds: Most Viewed of 2009

And now it’s time for yet another meeting.  WOOHOO!!!!

Namaste.

Tuesday – 08 December 2009
It snowed last night. You can tell not only by the new blanket of white across the valley and the mountains, but also by how slowly – and, to some degree, courteously – people are driving. For me, this morning’s commute took a few minutes longer than normal, but for other people I know, their commutes doubled, tripled… or worse. In fact, it took on of the guys on my team just shy of two hours to get to the office – a trip that’s roughly twenty minutes for him under normal conditions.

With that in mind, the Council for Better Driving: Utah would like to remind motorists to drive carefully and to please take your time while commuting… or you could end up like this:

Instant Replay: Football

Baltimore Ravens at Green Bay Packers
14 – 24
The Ravens traveled to Green Bay to face the Packers.To call the Ravens’ first half performance “lackluster” would be a gross overstatement. They couldn’t get anything going: The run was contained. Passing lanes were locked down. The offensive line broke down often, causing QB Joe Flacco to hurry passes. On the other side of the ball, the defense had a fair showing, but couldn’t prevent the Packers from going up 17-0, going into halftime. The game turned around, somewhat, in the third quarter. The Ravens capitalized on the field position – GB 26 – after a great kickoff return by rookie CB Lardarius Webb.  Less than a minute later, LB Jarrett Johnson intercepted a pass, setting up the Ravens’ second TD… but after that, it was “All Packers, all the time.” Packers QB Aaron Rodgers led an excellent game on the offense. Rookie OLB Clay Matthews showed some pretty amazing talent – he was a constant presence in the backfield, he was solid in man-to-man coverage and his closing speed was impressive. With this loss, the Ravens drop to 6-6, along with half of the y AFC, making the race for the Wild Card an interesting – and much more muddled – one.

Coach Harbaugh, your boys just got schooled by the Packers. Big time. How does that make you feel?

Yeah, I’m kind of hurt and heart-broken, too.

Stray Toasters

• We’re meeting with our wedding photographer and getting our pictures back – or at least the CD/DVDs of them – tonight!
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: $10 an hour with 2 kids? IRS pounces
• From NPR News in Washington: A Carl Kasell Tribute
• Secret Service report details 91 breaches
• Amanda Conner’s ‘POWER GIRL’ Girl Power
• For those who haven’t heard: Threadless is having a $9 Holiday Sale
• New Execution Method Is Used in Ohio
• From the “Whoops… my bad” file:
  • TSA can’t redact documents properly, releases s00per s33kr1t operations manual
  • TSA Leaks Sensitive Airport Screening Manual
• This decade ‘warmest on record’
• Boo’s Door

Back to the grind.

Namaste.