Random Access

Monday – 10 Nov 2008
It was… an interesting weekend, to say the least.

Saturday was a sleeping-in, lazy day… to a degree. SaraRules, her mother, her brother and I went to the Garden of Sweden to pick up a few things. Okay, okay… I (ostensibly) went as an observer, but wound up finding a few things that I couldn’t live without. Next on the docket was a couples massage at The Spa Club, that SaraRules had signed us up for. It was nice. Very nice, indeed.

The relaxation of the massage, however, was somewhat undone by some extended family drama. *grblsnrkx*

I spent a few pre-breakfast hours Saturday evening trying to be productive: I took pictures of and prepared some auctions for some of my extra HeroClix. I should be posting a few auctions this evening, God willing and the creek don’t rise.

Sunday was good: Another sleep-in morning, followed by football. SaraRules and I watched the Titans-Bears game, while I watched the “coverage” of the Ravens-Texans game on NFL.com. The Ravens wound up with another game in the “W” column, which makes me happy – and it means that they’ve already done better than last season’s record.

I headed over to Far West Comics to play dolls ‘Clix with Chris, Nano and Eric. We went with 800 points per player. We broke up into two-player teams: Eric and Nano vs. Chris and me. The teams broke down like this:

• Chris
  • Batman
  • Doctor Destiny
  • Dr. Strange
  • Green Arrow (Oliver Queen)
  • Superman Prime
• My team (themed: Sinestro Corps)
  • Arkillo
  • Batman (Sinestro Corps)
  • Parallax
  • Sinestro
• Eric
  • Benjamin J. Grimm
  • Gamora
  • Hulk (Zombie, dual Hero-/HorrorClix figure)
  • Rampaging Hulk
  • Superman (Justice Legion A)
• Nano
  • Emperor Joker
  • Green Arrow (Connor Hawke)
  • The Flash (Justice Legion A)
  • Living Lightning
  • Time Trapper
  • Trigon
  • Warskrull

And then, it was “Game on.” Chris came out of the gate like gangbusters. Eric had flown his Superman and Gamora to the mid-map area. Chris took Superman Prime, picked up an object and swatted her for 7 clicks of damage, right off the bat… insta-kill.  I was really looking forward to using Arkillo, after hearing Chris talk up the figure last week. Unfortunately, Eric and Nano had other ideas: They put Rampaging Hulk, Ben Grimm and Trigon in close combat. And then, just for an added measure, had Eric’s Superman ping him from long range. *sigh* Oh, well… I guess I’ll have to use him another time.

Chris had good success in using Doctor Destiny to Mind Control Trigon and use his special power, Doppelganger, against the other team. So, we played a game of attrition: We got rid of Eric’s part of the force and the front half of Nano’s team. The we settled in to take on Green Arrow, Flash and… Trigon. Our team consisted of Batman (Sinestro Corps), Parallax, Doctor Destiny, Prime and Dr. Strange. The problem with Trigon – aside from Psychic Blast and Ranged Combat Expert – is his Mystics team ability:

When this character takes damage from an attack, it deals 1 damage to the attacker. This damage may not be evaded or reduced.

We beat up Green Arrow, Chris used Mind Control and Doppelganger to get rid of the Flash… and then it was just the big guy to deal with. Fortunately, Nano dealt Trigon a few clicks of damage by pushing him and we had a couple of figures who did 3, 4 or 5 clicks of damage when attacking him. So, taking a click here or there was worth it.

In the end, with the remnants of our teams, Chris and I came away with a win.

After the game, I headed over to SaraRules’ parents for dinner and football. Not a bad way to wind up the evening, I must say.

Stray Toasters

• Whoa… I just found this on the WizKids site:
  

  The Topps Company announced today that WizKids will immediately cease operations and discontinue its product lines. Scott Silverstein, CEO of Topps, said “This was an extremely difficult decision. While the company will still actively pursue gaming initiatives, we feel it is necessary to align our efforts more closely with Topps current sports and entertainment offerings which are being developed within our New York office.”Upon notifying our partners, Topps will immediately pursue strategic alternatives so that viable brands and properties, including HeroClix, can continue without noticeable disruption. To that end, WizKids will continue supporting Buy it By the Brick redemptions for Arkham Asylum, and the December Organized Play events for HeroClix.

  For consumer announcements, please refer to www.wizkidsgames.com over the coming days for further information.

• For SaraRules (and any other Tim Burton fans): Tales of the Unexpected
• Thanks to for the following: What if The Matrix ran on Windows?
  See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.
• Thanks to SaraRules for pointing out: Before Obama, There Was Bill Cosby and Transgendered Man elected mayor of Silverton
• Circuit City Files for Bankruptcy

And that’s it for now.

Namaste.

Monday – 03 Nov 2008
Happy Hatching Day to :

Last night, I continued a project that I started Saturday evening: Collecting my extra Arkham Asylum ‘Clix into eBay-able groups/lots. Hopefully, they’ll do well.

Stray Toasters

• Teen pregnancy linked to sexy TV shows: study
  Funny, I’d always attributed pregnancy – teen or otherwise – to sex.
• Video Games Linked to Child Aggression
  Hm… next thing you know, they’ll be saying that cartoons and kids shows are linked to child aggression. (And if that’s the case, maybe they’ll finally take the last of the Power Rangers shows off the air…) But, more importantly, when are they going to say something about parents/guardians/mentors teaching kids about positive outlets or foci for their energy/aggression? Or is that just asking too much?
• During last week’s excursion to Dr. Volt’s, SaraRules picked up a Green Lantern t-shirt for me. Not just any GL shirt… but one with John Stewart’s symbol (as opposed to the ones that Hal Jordan or Kyle Rayner used). I’d show you a picture, but Graphitti Designs hasn’t uploaded one yet.
• The LEGO Minifigure Timeline
  This isn’t a complete list, but it does a decent job of getting the ball rolling.
• So… this is my dream car:



For those who can’t identify it, it’s a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird.

• Obituary: Studs Terkel
• I get my thing in action
  Verb! That’s what’s happening!
• Propaganda stamps
• I watched Goldfinger on Spike last night. During a couple of the commercial breaks, the following ad aired… it’s definitely one for the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file:

Attack the day…

Namaste.

Sunday – 02 Nov 2008
Today was the second Ravens-Browns game of the season.

vs

The Ravens made a trip to the Dog Pound to take on Romeo Crennell’s Browns… which includes former Ravens Jamal Lewis (RB) and Dave Zastadil (K). For today’s game, SaraRules, and I headed over to ‘s place. And, as always: It was a penalty shot game.

The Ravens wound up winning the game 37-27. Fortunately, most of the scoring drives were spaced out enough so that no one got completely hammered.

And, it was fun to hang out with .

Other than that, it’s been a relatively low-key day. And I’m good with that.

Namaste.

Sunday: Coda
Today has been a good birthday.
More than that, it’s just been an all-around good day.

SaraRules and I took the Metro downtown to see the Raiders vs. the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium.

at

We had great seats: lower level, 15th row, in one of the corners. It was on the visitor’s side, but there were PLENTY of purple (and black and white… and even a few red) jerseys in the stadium our area. On my right, was a couple (a man and his wife) of Raiders fans, so SaraRules wasn’t all alone in a sea of Ravens fans. The game was good. And it was a lot of fun. It was also SaraRules’ first live football game. Ever.

• High school?  Nope.
• College? Nuh-uh.
• NFL?  Not until today.

The Ravens came out of the gate with their game faces on. And they went to work… although, they did manage to have a little fun, as evidenced by this play. Both teams played well, but the Oakland offense didn’t really come alive until the second half of the game.

Final score: Oakland 10 – Baltimore 29

I took pictures at the game. (Big surprise there…)

After the game, we stepped into Geppi’s Entertainment Museum for a quick walkthrough. It was neat – there were manners of pop-culture memorabilia, past and present. In retrospect, I could/should have taken more pictures… but the ones I took can be seen here.

Next, we went to Harborplace. We ate dinner at Phillip’s Restaurant. (I know… who could have guessed?!) I had broiled crab cakes and calamari; SaraRules had a seafood combination dinner that included shrimp, a crab cake, mahi mahi and a couple of other items. Before leaving Harborplace, we picked up a chocolate mousse cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory.

Back home. Tammy (my Godsister) and her youngest daughter, Kayla, came by to visit for a bit. That was nice, as I haven’t seen Tammy in… I’d say a year to a year-and-a-half. I tried catching up with Bret, but our schedules just didn’t synch up. Oh, well… maybe next time. After Tammy left, SaraRules and I hung out with my ‘rents. We showed them some of our travel pictures while we all had cheesecake.

Thanks to all of the good tidings and well-wishes for my birthday. I am very fortunate and blessed in my collection of friends.

Tomorrow: The Return to the Land Behind the Zion Curtain.

Namaste.

Sunday – 26 October 2008
Yep… I’m 38 today.

Fortunately, the NFL does.

And with that, we’re off to the stadium.

Friday: Coda
I after work I met SaraRules at her place. I hung out with her and her folks for a bit…

…then I ran to Dr. Volt’s – I had neglected to get a couple of receipts for the Arkham Asylum “Buy It by the Brick” figure on Wednesday. And I picked up another brick. *shrug* It’s my birthday weekend; I’m allowed.

Back to SaraRules’ to pick her up and run a couple of errands before heading back to my place to do some cleaning.

At 7:30 we and a few friends, headed to the Outback Steakhouse for my birthday dinner. It was a good-sized group,  18 people in all. (A hearty and heart-felt “Thank you” to those of you who came out to help me celebrate!)  After dinner, most of us came back to my place for cake – yellow cake with chocolate frosting with chocolate chips, made by Ms. SaraRules – and ice cream. It was a great way to spend the evening. SaraRules surprised me with an awesome present:

Mm-hmm, that’s right: A Ravens reversible jacket. As she put it: She “…wanted [me] to have something fun and cool to wear to the game.” I have a very cool girlfriend… even if she is a Raiders fan. Can I get an “Amen,” from the Amen Corner?

After company left, we finished packing for tomorrow’s trip to Charm City. This time tomorrow, we’ll be on the Right Coast… and, most likely, very much asleep.

I should probably wrap it up here. 6:30’s going to come around awfully early, I suspect.

Namaste.

Friday – 24 October 2008
Last night, I headed up to SaraRules’ for dinner and date night. Dinner was a damned fine meat loaf, with mashed potatoes, and carrots (with a little bit of brown sugar), all prepared by Ms. SaraRules. After dinner, we – including her family – watched Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I’d still have to say that it’s my third-favorite Indiana Jones movie, but it was fun. Towards the end of the movie, I was wondering how well other pulp fiction-type heroes would fare in the modern cinema. I remember that there was a rumor of a Doc Savage movie in the works a few years ago, but I haven’t read/heard anything about it in some time.

Stray Toasters

• I just received this from a coworker, who found out that my birthday is this weekend and knows of my affinity for Star Trek:



• A few years ago, there was a submarine (the one used in the movie K-19: The Widowmaker, in fact) that was for sale on eBay. I always thought that Bill Gates should have bought it… after all, he pretty much has one of everything else. But he didn’t. However, this morning, I found the following item on Slashdot: Google Founders Buy Fighter Jet. That’s close enough for me.
• Make my funk the P-Funk
  I want my funk uncut
  Make my funk the P-Funk
  I wants to get funked up.
  I want the bomb,
  I want the P-Funk
  I want my funk stepped on
  Make my funk the P-Funk
  Before I take it home
• Sib-4, , sent me a link to this Questionable Content ‘toon. The last panel made me laugh aloud:



• Cartesian dualism — the latest weapon in the war on Darwin
• …and, in a (somewhat) related note: Evolutionary Scientists Test-Drive Spore, Gripe
• Get your drink on… with Raytheon!
  (After finding “drinkware” on the company store site, we’re suggesting this as a new company slogan.)
• The Fonz, Richie, Andy and Opie are pro-Obama
• WizKids still hasn’t updated their Arkham Asylum page.
• By way of IT Knowledge Exchange: CTO of the USA

Tonight: Dinner at Outback. (Can you say “Aussie Cheese Fries,” boys and girls..?)
This time tomorrow: We’ll be on our way to the Right Coast.
Selah.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 21 October 2008
Last night’s football game was stunning. I was expecting more of an even fight, but the Pats busted the Broncos: 41-7. Hanging out with SaraRules and her family was fun, as usual.

Stray Toasters

• In much the same way that I decided to leave LiveJournal in lieu of Random Access/WordPress for my primary blogging source, I have decided to make a break from MySpace.
• From The Washington Post: Powell Rejects Islamophobia
• If anyone is a model railroad fan, there is a train show at the Salt Lake County Fairgrounds on the weekend of 01-02 November 2008.
• Zombie Day at the Mall t-shirt…
  …but, I think that this shirt is more my speed, especially when dealing with some of the monkeys at work.
• One more day until Arkham Asylum is released…
• “The sun is a mass of incandescent gas…”

  

• By way of : Ferrari de LEGO
• In case of terrorist attack, do not discard your brain.
• JaC64: a Java-based Commodore 64 emulator
• Researchers discover the most creative time of day

…right on to the friction of the day.

Namaste.

Monday – 20 October 2008
Sunday turned out even better than expected, in terms of football:

• The Ravens won…
• …although, that means that the Dolphins lost
• The Panthers beat the Saints
• The Raiders won… barely… which was good news for SaraRules (more on this below)
• The Browns lost.  (Sorry, )
• The Bengals lost to the Steelers. (Sorry, and )

I was shocked – and pleasantly surprised – at the Ravens’ win, especially when you consider how well the Dolphins have looked over the past couple of weeks. But, like I said: It was a win-win situation… I’m just a little more glad that the Ravens won.

Next weekend, SaraRules and I are heading to Baltimore for my birthday. This year’s present to myself is the Raiders vs. Ravens game. We’re both looking forward to the game and we’re looking forward to some (relatively) good-natured ribbing over it. While we were out-and-about today, SaraRules told me that I should hope that the Raiders win. I raised an eyebrow over this. She went on to explain:

“If the Raiders win, you’ll have to hear about it for about a day… maybe two. If the Ravens win, I’m going to have to hear about it for the next 50 years: ‘Do you remember that time we went to Baltimore for that football game…?’ “

I can’t say that she isn’t right about that, either.

We had dinner and watched the late games at her parents’ place. Dinner was enchiladas (chicken and seafood, respectively) with sides of rice, beans, guacamole and mojitos. For dessert, we took a couple of pies: Chocolate Satin and apple. As to the late game, I don’t know what got into the Bucs, but they played a great game; on the flip side, I don’t know who that was in the Seahawks’ uniforms, but it wasn’t their “A” squad.

Stray Toasters

• I made a coffee shake this morning. It’s not too bad; I’ll have to determine how efficient the caffeine delivery is…
• The economic downturn is expected to hit – and hurt – the arts: Museums Fear Lean Days Ahead
• Donation Record as Colin Powell Endorses Obama
• A few weeks ago, Diane von Furstenberg was a guest judge on Project Runway. During that episode, American Express aired a commercial featuring Ms. von Furstenberg. In the commercial, there was a fleeting shot of the DvF studio with a Wonder Woman action figure or statue. I was amused by it, but didn’t think anything of it until I found these items last night:
  • Diane von Furstenberg’s Superheroines
  • Diane von Furstenberg: Wonder Woman
• 
• With Free Bikes, Challenging Car Culture on Campus
• Entertainment Weekly has new pictures from the upcoming Star Trek movie
• , you might be interested in this: Preview – Joker original graphic novel
• Bowling + Star Wars = semi-covet
• In ‘Quantum,’ it’s Bond, James Bond, without the catchphrases
• Don’t add W
  Don’t add X
  And, don’t add Y or Z
  Just add… Silent E!
• From USAToday: 2008 Fall Movie Calendar

Namaste.

Sunday – 19 October 2008
It’s 9:30. I’ve been up for roughly an hour already. So much for the grand designs of sleeping in…

There well be blood football. Today, I have what I refer to as a “push” game: The Ravens are playing the Dolphins, so no matter which team wins, I’ll be happy. (Of course, I’d prefer the Ravens to win, but that’s just me.) I haven’t looked at who the Panthers are playing yet.

Stray Toasters

• One week from today, SaraRules and I will be in Baltimore.
  Destination: M&T Bank Stadium
  Objective: To watch the Raiders vs. Ravens game.
• Colin Powell endorses Barack Obama for president
• This article caught my attention because it’s not far from where my parents grew up; in fact, it’s the next town over from where my mother grew up: West Virginia Voters Wrestle with Race, Rumors
• By way of : The LEGO Apple Store



• Neil Gaiman’s Ghostly Baby-Sitters Club
• 
• In a related bit of news: XKCD invited to New Yorker “Cartoon-off”
• Terrence Howard Talks Tunes, Family, Science
• By way of : Sarah Palin and… Sarah Palin?

• 

On to the rest of the day…

Namaste.

Tuesday – 14 Oct 2008
After a long day in the south forty, it was nice to get to SaraRules’ place and just… veg. We watched Monday Night Football: The Giants at The Browns… and we were all surprised by what we saw: I don’t know WHO it was that showed up in the Browns’ uniforms, but they worked the Giants over. In a BIG way.  I don’t think I’ve seen the Browns play this kind of ball since they moved to Baltimore. (That’s right, … I just went there. Booyah.) They were effective – highly effective, at that – on both sides of the ball:

• They had 454 combined yards
• Derek Anderson threw for 310 yards
• Jamal Lewis ran for 88 yards
• They picked off three of Eli Manning’s passes
• Their punting unit never took the field
• And…AND… they even went for – and made – a two-point conversion.

The Giants, on the other hand…? They, or at least people in their uniforms, were just… there. They did not look like the 4-0, Super Bowl-winning team that we’ve seen over the past few weeks. Maybe they sent in the JV squad. By the end of the third quarter, it looked as though their hearts just weren’t in the game anymore.

All kidding aside: Congrats to on his team’s rather decisive win over the Giants.

After I got home, I opted for a hot bath and reading more of Watchmen. It was a good way to wrap up the evening.

This morning, I decided to wear a tie to work. Just because. And a vest, too. I even opted out of wearing my contact lenses, in favor of my glasses.

Stray Toasters

• Steve Jobs and the Apple Corps will have (a) new MacBook announcement(s) in a couple of hours.
  • A brief history of MacBook Redesigns and Upgrades
• Many Wonder Womans Women to benefit women’s shelter
  Click on the link at the bottom of the article for more information and more images.
• LEGO + Christmas = *COVET* (picture)
• 
• 16 Drawing Contraptions That Are More Artistic Than You
• For some reason, I had the theme from The Streets of San Francisco running through my head while I was brushing my teeth last night.
• Do you prefer self-checkout lines?
• There was a commercial for Robitussin DM Max that came on last night. I wasn’t looking at the television and misheard it as “Robitussin DMX,” and my first thought/question was: “How do you go from rapping to having your own brand of cough syrup?!” Then I looked at the screen… and I was immediately less confused.
• By way of :



• TSA Airport Screener Steals over $200,000 in Gadgets, Almost Gets Away With It
• John Cleese on Sarah Palin: “Monty Python could have written this.”

Attack the day…

Namaste.

Monday – 13 Oct 2008
It was a good – and busy – weekend. After Canadian Thanksgiving, SaraRules, Logan and I went to see Quarantine. There was apparently “an incident” in the showing before ours; we never found out “what” it was. The movie was good. And, to some degree, it finally did something that I have rarely seen in a horror/zombie movie: Contained the situation. Of course, there was still the “No one in a horror movie has ever seen a horror movie” factor, though. On the whole though, I’d give it a definite thumbs-up with an okay.

Sunday, I woke up and looked out the window and saw snow on the ground. Not a lot – it melted by noon or thereabouts – but it was snow, nevertheless. Then, it was time for football and breakfast. Breakfast was good; football, not so good:

• The Ravens lost to the Colts, which I expected… I just didn’t expect the drubbing they took.
• The Fish lost to the Texans.
• The Panthers dropped their game to the Bucs.

After the first round of games were over, we headed over to SaraRules’ parents’ place. We hooked up with Logan and we went a’shopping. Back to the house for dinner and the late games. After the late game, SaraRules and I went back to my place to watch No Country for Old Men. Neither of us had seen it before… Wow. It was a good movie… but it was definitely not a “feel good” movie. I see why it received the acclaim that it did; I heartily recommend it.

Today, I have been in the American Fork office. The original intent was to help rack some server equipment and clear out my AF desk, since I’m never down here. We tagged the equipment, but couldn’t rack it… because the rack is the wrong height. I’ve only been able to gather some of my stuff in sporadic intervals, because of small fires. Actually, there’s been only one fire… but it’s spawned a couple of smaller ones.

Stray Toasters

• By way of SaraRules: Amazing Holocaust Love Story Lives On
• With Software, Artists Put Yet Another Spin on the Presidential Debates
• Has anyone heard of “Presidential Decree 51?”
• American game designer follows father into orbit

Namaste.

Tuesday – 07 Oct 2008
Happy Birthday to :

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

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

Of course, there were some miscues, too:

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

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

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

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

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

Stray Toasters

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



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

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

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

Namaste.

Sunday – 05 Oct 2008
Yesterday morning, I slept in… a little. Until about 8:30. I woke up when SaraRules got ready to head to her quilting club. I needed to get up then because I needed to get a team or two together for a ‘Clix tournament. I came up with a couple of ideas… none of which I wound up using. Instead I went with:

• Batman
• Captain America
• Elektra (Skrull)
• Merlyn
• Psycho-Pirate and
• Susan Richards (Skrull)

It was a good team, but I wound up going 1-2. One guy (not Chris, who had to work yesterday) went 3-0; I think that there was one 2-1 and three of us went 1-2. I liked the overall balance of the team and wound up loosing both matches on points. I also reaffirmed that I am not fond of the prison map – I am getting better need to play on it, but I need more practice with it.

I got home to find that my Kilowog figure had arrived. If it had gotten there earlier, I might have tried an even different team. Who knows? The Shadow knows…

After lunch at Hopper’s, SaraRules and I headed to visit Perry and the kids; Kate was at work. Back home for a bit and then off to breakfast. We tried a new location this week and it was a nice change of pace.

Today started off slowly. I actually managed to sleep in until a little after 9:00. Then it was time for breakfast and coffee… and EPSN’s football pregame show. And then… football. It was a good (2 for 3) day:

• The Ravens lost to the (then) 4-0 Titans.
• The Dolphins won over Sandy Eggo… and looked good doing it, too!
• The Panthers beat the KC Chiefs.

Tonight, after dinner, we’re heading over to Chris and Mary’s for horror movie night.

Stray Toasters

• Who would win: An Imperial Star Destroyer or the USS Enterprise?
• The OS that wouldn’t die: Windows XP Gets Another Six Months to Live
• Huh. I guess that’s it for the ‘Toasters.

Namaste.

Monday: Coda
After work, I came home to change clothes and then it was off to SaraRules’ to watch Monday Night Football.

There are two (2) teams – which means four games – that I love/hate to see the Ravens play each season:

1. The Pittsburgh Steelers
2. The Cleveland Browns

It’s a love/hate relationship because of family and friends – Bret and my uncle are BIG Steelers fans; is a Browns 2.0 fan. Then there’s the fact that both teams are in the AFC North, as well… so, they are Division games, to boot.

Tonight, the Ravens traveled to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers in Heinz Field.

I expected it to be a close game. And it was… at first. Then, the Ravens jumped out to a 13-3 lead. It was great. Then the Steelers put another 7 on the board. They kicked off to the Ravens… and then it happened: Joe Flacco fumbled the ball deep in Ravens’ territory. The Steelers recovered and ran it back for a touchdown. Fourteen (unanswered) points in fifteen seconds. Talk about painful.

The fourth quarter was a defense brawl. No one scored and so, the game went into overtime. At that point, I knew that the game was pretty much over. The Ravens won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball. But, thanks to penalties, wound up deep in their own territory. They kicked off to the Steelers… who engineered a drive down the field and scored the game-winning field goal.

After the game, I messaged Bret; I figured that I head that one off at the pass. I congratulated him on the win; he said he’d take it, because his team looked bad (in his opinion). He said that he was worried about this game, too. And, he also acknowledged that the refs – and the Ravens’ coordinators in the booth – muffed a call that cost the Ravens a touchdown early in the first quarter.

There’s another game in December. We’ll see how that one goes.

This was also the first game where I really got to watch Joe Flacco in action. He looked good, especially for a starting QB who’s in his rookie year in the NFL. He pulled off a few plays that I didn’t expect him to and looked, for the most part, comfortable on the field. After his fumble, it took him a couple of series to get settled down and get his head back in the game, but he did. I know that there were a lot of questions about him and his readiness for the big time, but based on what I saw tonight, I think he’s good to go.