Random Access

Friday – 19 November 2010
It’s almost the weekend.
Just a few more hours and it shall be upon us.
Amen.

Last night, SaraRules! and I had a date night – we had dinner at Cafe Zupas and went to see Unstoppable. It’s been “a while” since I’ve seen a good disaster movie involving a train (I don’t agree with all of the movies on this list, but it’s a good starting point). It was a fun and entertaining movie – you have Malcolm X and Captain Kirk saving the day, after all! How can that be a “bad” thing?! Sure, you have to suspend a bit of disbelief in some places, but it’s worth it. I give it a big, old thumbs-up with an okay.

::: Interlude :::
Today’s iTunes shuffle has been good with music to get the day moving:

…and bonus song (because it reminds me of Good Lovin’)…

Stray Toasters

• Leading off with a couple items from the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file:
  • Kentucky Fried Chicken corporate training rap from 1987 on how to make “Chicken Littles”
  • NY-based Iraqi artist to implant camera in the back of his head for Qatar museum
• A history of zombies in America
• 
• Jay-Z ‘Decoded’
• Not that I wasn’t already hooked, but Fringe looks like it’s heating up before the winter hiatus.
• Nike Leaks Unofficial NFL Jersey Sketches?
  Yeah… I’m not sure that I’m very fond of those proposed jerseys. At all.
• 
• The Machinima Expo 2010
• Knowing my fondness for Audrey Heller‘s artwork, sent me a link to the Little People Art Project
• Cheat with Science: Win a Coin Toss

Namaste.

Tuesday – 16 November 2010
The second half of November is upon us.

Last night, and Nathan came over to watch the Eagles-Redskins game. More on that later.

After the game, I went to work on my model railroad. I was trying to incorporate the 90º crossover and two more switches… but couldn’t get a the pieces to line up. Rather than fight it (too much), I decided to call it a night and ponder the issue today. If nothing else, I’ll probably just do another reversing loop and find a way to throw a spur or two off the main line.

Chew on This: Food For Thought/Quote of the Day
Today’s “Magnetic Poetry Self Affirmation Quote of the Day” comes in response to the feeling of being overwhelmed that a coworker is experiencing:

FYI: I refuse to let the small stuff and stupid people be a problem anymore.

I think that can be applied in many situations…

Instant Replay: Football

Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Redskins
59 – 28
Wow. Seriously… that’s just about the most accurate way to describe last night’s match-up between the Eagles and the ‘Skins. Last night’s broadcast of Monday Night Football should have been renamed “The Michael Vick Show.” He did it all: Threw four (4) touchdowns; Ran for two (2) touchdowns; Rushed for eighty (80) yards; Threw for 333 yards; No interceptions No fumbles He also became the first QB in NFL history with: …at least 300 yards passing, …50 yards rushing, …four passing touchdowns and …two rushing touchdowns in a game. One game. The man was money. All night long. Speaking of money, the Redskins’ new $78 million man, QB Donovan McNabb would have had a much better outing… if his receivers had bothered to show up. McNabb’s passes were pretty much on the money all night, but the receiving corps didn’t seem to put up a lot of effort to catch and/or hold onto the ball.

Stray Toasters

• 45 Years Later, An Apology and Six Months
• By way of Maddox: Not everything is epic, shitheads
• If you saw “Oz with Orchestra” this past weekend, why not leave a review on the Utah Symphony blog page?
• 
• Art of Storytelling Alive and Well in Audio Books
• Colorless, Tasteless but not Dangerous
• TSA tee: “We get to touch your junk”
• She Has No Head! — My 20 Favorite Comics Females
  • This list features not only Wonder Woman, but also Planetary‘s Jakita Wagner, another woman who kicked Batman’s ass (in her own words).  Sorry, Nizlee.
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: She’s a hooker for Jesus. Honest.
• When Opera Stars Show Their Frisky Side
• DC Universe Online: Pre-ordered.
• 10 Buildings Shaped Like What They Sell

And with that…

Namaste.

Monday – 15 November 2010
Another work week begins…

This weekend was a good one. Saturday, I went back to the train show and made up for the deal I lost out on Friday by picking up some switches, a crossing grade and some assorted track pieces for a really good deal. There was some damage to a few of the pieces, but nothing insurmountable.

Saturday night, SaraRules! and I went to Oz with Orchestra, as performed by Utah Symphony. As SaraRules had to “…play P.R. Girl,” as she put it (read: “sit with Jeff, a photographer from Riester“), we got to sit in Maurice Abravanel’s box seats… which put us directly above and behind the First Violin section. From this vantage point, we not only had a good view of the movie screen, but we could also read the sheet music of the vilolinists (and some of the bass players), as well.  While the orchestral accompaniment did lose the tempo a couple of times, Associate Conductor David Cho did an excellent job of leading the symphony and getting them back on track. The overall experience was a lot of fun. And, as an added bonus: David Cho proposed to his then-girlfriend during intermission – she said, “Yes” – so, congratulations to him!

Sunday was pretty relaxed. We started the morning with breakfast at Ruth’s Diner. We also ran into Sanaz’ parents while there. Next, I headed back to Chris’ to (FINALLY!) finish his PS3 hard drive upgrade. Fait accompli. Back home for a little time with the trains and then on to the in-laws’ for a belated birthday dinner for SaraRules! and football.

Instant Replay: Football

Cincinnati Bengals at Indianapolis Colts
17 – 23
Sorry, and .

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Tennessee Titans at Miami Dolphins
17 – 29
The Dolphins notched another home win.

.

Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
16 – 31
The Panthers dropped this one to the Bucs.

.

New England Patriots at Pittsburgh Steelers
39 – 26
I don’t know whether or not it was because of the beat-down they took from the Browns last week, but Tom Brady and the Pats manhandled the Steelers last night. BIG time, shutting them down on both sides of the ball. And it doesn’t hurt that the Steelers’ loss helps keep the Ravens atop the AFC North, either.

Stray Toasters

• SaraRules! should check her folder.  Just saying…
• Lead in reusable grocery bags prompts calls for federal inquiry
• Jury Selection Begins for Civil Rights Cold Case
• LEGO ornaments, buy or build your own
• I picked up some new pocket squares from Jos. A. Bank yesterday, thanks to a sale notice posted on their Facebook page.
• 
• Dynamite’s “Lone Ranger” Rides into the Sunset
• Everyone Hates TicketMaster — But No One Can Take It Down
• ‘Black Ops’ breaks records with $360M in first-day sales

Lunch: Eaten.
The Grind: Getting back to it.

Namaste.

Friday – 12 November 2010
Hello, 9/80 “off” Friday.  How I have missed you.

After work yesterday, I headed over to Jos. A. Bank to check out their Veteran’s Day Sale.  Their Executive Suit collection was on a MONSTER sale: Buy one for $177, get another for $57. (That’s a savings of over $800 for the pair!) It turned out that their Business Traveller collection – available in separates – was also on sale. WIN!  (I typically need separates or “Athletic Cut” suits as I have an 8″ drop, rather than the 6″ drop one finds with most suits.)  I found a couple of suits that I liked: A two-button solid navy and a two-button navy with a faint chalk stripe. As an added bonus, I learned that there’s a corporate discount available for Raytheon employees. Aw yeah…!

After the shopping excursion, I came home to watch the Ravens-Falcons game…

Instant Replay: Football

Baltimore Ravens at Atlanta Falcons
21 – 26
I don’t know WHO the Ravens suited up for the first half of the game, but it wasn’t the team that I’ve been used to seeing. Matt Ryan and the Falcons SCHOOLED the Ravens, up one side and down the other. I’m not sure what Coach John Harbaugh said to the guys at halftime, but they finally showed up to play football. Ravens’ QB Joe Flacco led a couple of solid drives, including one in the waning minutes of the game that looked as though it would seal a win for the Ravens and hand the Falcons their first home defeat this season… …but it wasn’t to be.  Falcons’ QB Matt Ryan put on a clinic on “How to Score a Touchdown in Under One Minute.”  It was was amazing – and a little painful – to watch.

Stray Toasters

• The Wasatch Rails Train Show starts today at 3:00.   and I are going to check it out before heading to Clitorati.
• Anne-Sophie Mutter: As Complex as the Music She Plays
• Apple 1 for sale
• 
• Posing for Power: Why Body Language Matters in the Office
• Assertive Chinese Held in Mental Wards
• I have new track for my model railroad… and can’t figure out what to do with it.
• Your Island Five: The Albums You Can’t Live Without
• 
• Kurt Vonnegut’s Tips for Writing Fiction
• Las Vegas Casinos Are a Last Bastion for Smokers
• TSA T-shirt from Despair.com

Time to figure out what kind of trouble I want to get into this morning…

Namaste.

Thursday – 11 November 2010
Today is Veteran’s Day:

It is also my NBN Technical Friday.

Last night, was D&D Encounters night with Melody, Jack and company. My character nearly had his butt handed to him at the beginning of the encounter. Not good. Fortunately, my companions kept me from dying and we went on to beat the holy living shit out of our enemies. Amen.

After that, I headed over to Chris and Mary’s to help Chris install a new hard drive in his PS3. Might I just add the following note to Sony: If you’re going to make it so ludicrously easy to change the hard drive in the game unit, you might think about making a few things in your backup and restore instructions a tad more clear and/or intuitive. Thank you. After about an hour – including some time to surf a few web forums – we figured out what the problem was.

Instant Replay: Football

Baltimore Ravens at Atlanta Falcons
8:20 PM (EDT)
The Ravens and the Falcons meet up in the season’s first Thursday night football game. Both teams are coming off very short weeks – they both played on Sunday – so it will be interesting to see how well they play with so little time between games. Atlanta has eight (8) players on their injury list, to Baltimore’s one: S Tom Zbikowski.

Stray Toasters

• It’s another suit day. I changed it up a bit though: Olive suit, with a khaki knit mock turtleneck. Boo-yah!
  • Speaking of suits: Jos. A. Bank is having a sale on suits – today only.  Guess who’s going suit shopping after work…
• For SaraRules! and : 2010 Zombie Safehouse Competition
• Karmaloop
• Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)

• There is no Dana. Only Zuul…
• ‘Frank’: The Man, The Voice, The Mafia Ties

• Mustang’s 2 keys change pony car’s performance settings
• WGBH American Experience: 2011 Student Freedom Ride
• Sparkles: The Soldering My Little Pony Unicorn
• Every once in a while, something pops up in my iTunes mix that makes me laugh.  This morning, it was the theme from Freakzoid!:

• Targeted, smarter attacks dominate 2010 threat landscape
• The Abandoned City Hall Subway Stop Now Visible to Tourists
• Drug Suits Raise Questions for Doctors, and Juries

It’s the suburb of the week…
Arlington

Namaste.

Tuesday – 09 November 2010
Another day that started with flurries.
Welcome to mid-Autumn in Utah.
They’ve stopped… for now.

It’s also “Take a Model Train to Work” Day.  So, I brought in my LEGO train:

Today, we have a “meet and greet” with our company’s new president. I’ve seen him walking around the office a few times; I’m curious to hear what he has to say about his vision for leading the company.

Last night, , Nathan and Wes came over for Monday Night Football. Wes…. is a Steelers fan. I didn’t discover this until recently. I think I still like him, despite such a major personality flaw.

After the game, I did a little more work on my Signal Tower – it’s probably 90-95% complete, aside from some trim and accessories.

Instant Replay: Football

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals
27 – 21
The Steelers traveled to Cincy to take on the Bengals in a division rivalry game.The boys from Pittsburgh looked like they came to play ball. The Bengals looked like they suited up a junior high JV team… and a poor one, at that. The first half of the game was “All Steelers, all the time.” Period. Somewhere in the third quarter, the Bengals put some actual NFL players in the jerseys and played some good football – coming within a six points of the Steelers – but the Steelers were able to hold on and keep the Bengals out of the end zone during their end-of-game drive. Sorry and … I was actually hoping that the Bengals would pull off the upset.

Stray Toasters

• It’s a suit day: Grey suit, white shirt, red/black/grey/gold deco tie.  Aw, yeah…
  



• Company Accused of Firing Over Facebook Post
• From the “Whoops!  I was…. NEVER… HERE…” file: Two Guys Use Excavator in the Wrong Place and Destroy an Entire Port
• For SaraRules!: 6 year old skateboarder Asher Bradshaw at Venice Beach Skatepark
• What Alcohol Actually Does to Your Brain and Body
• Paul pointed this out to me earlier: The tunnel people of Las Vegas: How 1,000 live in flooded labyrinth under Sin City’s shimmering strip
  • After a little surfing, I found this: Dark Days, a documentary about a subterranean community in New York City
• Scratching Under the Vinyl Era:Warner Music Digs Into Its Archives
• Parents worry about toddlers’ tiny fingers itching for iPhones
• Destroy All Movies!! The Complete Guide to Punks on Film
• I can’t stop thinking big
  I can’t stop thinking big
  In a world where I feel so small
  I can’t stop thinking big
• From the “Get Your Dance On, Girl!” file: First Lady’s Dance Moves Woo Indian Crowds
• Mystery missile launches off California coast

Namaste.

Monday – 08 November 2010
It’s the grey and rainy beginning of another work week…

…unless you’re SaraRules!, who is extending her birthday weekend into today. (Lucky.)

Yesterday was a good day for relaxing.  I worked a little more on my railroad — I started assembling the Signal Tower Kit that I picked up on the trip to The Wonderful World of Trains. I’m probably 75% through with it. I have no idea what the next addition to the railyard or “town” will be. That’s the kind of dilemma that I’m okay with.

Last night, SaraRules and I watched The Walking Dead and followed it up with Twelve O’Clock High, starring Gregory Peck. (I remember watching the TV series when I was growing up…) In the movie, Peck portrayed a general who takes command of a flagging B-17 bomber group from another officer. The movie started a bit slowly, but the pace picked up in the second half.

Instant Replay: Football

Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders
20 – 23
The Raiders hosted the Chiefs… …and came away with a “WIN,” thanks to two kicks from K Sebastian Janikowsi that: A) sent the game into overtime and B) won the game. There was a stat shown at the end of the game that noted that this was Oakland’s first three-game win streak since the 2002 season. Congrats, SaraRules! and lj user=”1silver_seraph”!

.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals
8:30 PM (EDT)
The Steelers and Bengals meet tonight in an AFC North match-up. This will be one of those rare occasions that I will be cheering for the Bengals.

Stray Toasters

• The rain… has turned into snow.
  I’ve already called my father to tell him that it’s snowing…
• Placido Domingo: The Spellbinding Voice of a Titan Tenor
• Nudging Grocery Shoppers Toward Healthy Food
• Possibly a lot closer to the truth than we know…

  

• Kindness of a Stranger That Still Resonates
• For SaraRules!:Grand ole party as Loretta Lynn marks 50 years in biz
• Color Comes to E Ink Screens
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file:
  • A Muggle’s Dream: Quidditch as a NCAA Sport
  • Twinkie diet helps nutrition professor lose 27 pounds
• For : Neil Diamond, Covering His Favorites from Others
• Learning from the Sadness

And that’s a wrap.

Namaste.

Sunday – 07 November 2010
Ah, weekend.
And, it’s been a quite good one, at that.
Hopefully, everyone remembered to set your clocks back an hour for Daylight Saving Time.

Yesterday was SaraRules!’ birthday:

Last night, she threw a “Spaghetti Fiesta” party.  There was spaghetti (obviously), wine, cookies, cake, ice cream… the works.  And it was a lot of fun.

Earlier in the day, I hung out with Chris a bit and judged a ‘Clix tourney. Then, I came home and worked on my train layout a little bit.  Last week, I picked up Lionel’s Engine House – same style, but an older version and a little differently colored and it was a kit, rather than a pre-assembled unit. Yesterday, while waiting for people to arrive, I finished putting it together.  It looks good.

Today is my friend, Jeremiah’s, birthday:

This morning, SaraRules! and I were going to head up to Ruth’s Diner for breakfast. I figured that since Comcast and the local CBS affiliate couldn’t be bothered to let us know which NFL game was going to be aired at 11:00, a nice breakfast out with the missus seemed like a good thing. However, being the amazingly cool wife that she is, SaraRules! suggested that we wait until 11:00 and see who was playing. Good thing, too: It was the Dolphins-Ravens game. Win-Win.

Instant Replay: Football

Miami Dolphins at Baltimore Ravens
10 – 26
Coming off of a bye week, The Ravens hosted the Miami Dolphins… and the game was aired locally, so I got to see my two favorite AFC teams play! Miami came into this game having won all of their road games this season, while Baltimore has won all of this season’s home games. So it was going to be a good match-up. The Ravens received the opening kick-off and QB Joe Flacco drove the team down the field to score a touchdown. Not to be outdone, the ‘Fins scored on their first drive, as well. There was a lot of back-and-forth in the rest of the first quarter, but no one was able to score. Baltimore put up a couple of FGs in the second quarter, to the Dolphins’ one. Baltimore scored another TD on a WR Derrick Mason reception in the third and posted a couple more field goals in the fourth to cement the win. Notable plays in the game: FS Ed Reed‘s third interception… in two games. P Sam Koch‘s 13-yard PASS (that’s right, I said “pass”) to Cary Williams on 4th down in the third quarter. DB Josh Wilson‘s end-of-game pick of a Chad Henne pass. I am taking the win as a belated birthday gift from the Ravens, as the score was 10-26… which happens to be my birthday. But, there’s no time to sit back and enjoy this win, as the Ravens have to travel to Atlanta to take on the Falcons on Thursday.

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New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers
34 – 3
The Saints, coming off last week’s win over the Steelers, went to Bank of America Stadium and handed the Panthers a big-time defeat.

.

New England Patriots at Cleveland Browns
14 – 34
The Pats traveled to Cleveland and got handled by the Browns. Big time.

Stray Toasters

• Listening to Rap for the First Time, with a Book Critic, courtesy of
• Best television adaptations of science fiction and fantasy novels
• BSO’s Mahler and Freud: A Q&A with Didi Balle
• will be able to appreciate this:
  



• I discovered RailModeller, a model railroad layout program… for the Mac a few days ago.  I’m liking it.
• Snow White just rocked my face off
  • Pogomix
• 5 Ways to Really Stay Warm This Fall and, Eventually, Winter
• I like this Call of Duty: Black Ops commercial
• Government D.A.R.E. Program Causes Kid to Narc on Parents & Send Them to Jail
• 33 Conspiracy Theories That Turned Out to Be True, What Every Person Should Know
• The Queen Joins Facebook

Namaste.

Thursday – 04 November 2010
Another NBN Thursday is upon us.

Last night, SaraRules! and I had Angela, Kate, A.J. and John – Utah Opera’s resident artists – over for dinner. We had a fantastic meal (maple chicken, roasted root vegetables, sauteed green beans with mushrooms) and got to learn a little bit more about the artists and what they do. It was a lot of fun. We also had an excellent dessert, as the residents brought a German Chocolate cake with them. It was a great way to spend the evening.

After the residents left and the dishes were put away, it was time to read this week’s comics haul. There were a couple of good reads, including Adventure Comics #520 and Superboy #1.  (I foresee a new Four-Color Coverage in the not-too-distant future…) I should also admit that I’ve been rather pleased with how Paul Levitz and his conspirators have reintroduced a young Clark Kent and Kara Zor-El back into Legion continuity. I was curious to see how it would work, given that Kara has already spent time with the Threeboot Legion, but Supergirl Annual #2 (last week) did a good job of it.

Today’s musical interlude: Anita Kelsey – Sway (“performed” by Jennifer Connelly)

Tonight: Carmina Burana at Ballet West

Stray Toasters

• I woke up this morning with Rocket 2 U, by The Jets, running through my head. I have NO idea “why.” I was more than “a little” disturbed and worried by it.
• Tennessee Titans Claim Randy Moss on Waivers
• might want to consider clicking here.
• 
• 2010 Hess Toy Truck and Jet
  I used to get Hess trucks for Christmas as a kid… but none of them had a jet.
• More than 20 tons of pot smuggled in border tunnel
• Covet!

Namaste.

Tuesday – 02 November 2010
Today is Dia de los Muertos, “The Day of the Dead.”

I’m fairly certain that this makes George A. Romero quite happy.

It is also Election Day here in the U.S. and its territories.

I’m taking a late lunch to cast my ballot.

Last night, came over to watch Monday Night Football. After the game, SaraRules! and I watched the end of Buckaroo Banzai.  Again, I marvel at the fact that I hadn’t seen this movie before.

Instant Replay: Football

Houston Texans at Indianapolis Colts
17 – 30
The Texans went to Indy to take on the Indianapolis Professional Football Club. I don’t know what happened in the first half, but the Texans looked… listless, allowing Indy to take the reins and rack up points in the first half. However, the Texans looked like an honest-to-goodness team in the second half, making a show of it late in the third and early in the fourth quarters… …but it was too little, too late.

Stray Toasters

• Congratulations to the San Francisco Giants for winning The World Series.



• SaraRules! mentioned this item from the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file to me a few days ago: Randy & Evi Quaid: “We’re running for our lives”
• Paul mentioned the Tehachapi Loop to me last week, but he couldn’t remember the name of it until this morning. We looked it up on Google Earth and Wikipedia; it looks pretty interesting.
  • The San Diego Railroad Museum has an HO Scale model of the loop.
• Huge Virus Breakthrough Could Mean a Cure for the Common Cold
• 
• Eisenberg: Harbaugh, Not Garrett, Was Right Choice
• pointed out an interesting website: What the Fuck Has Obama Done So Far?
• Alien Hand Syndrome
• Libraries Say “No DRM,” Springer Agrees

And that should do for now…

Namaste.

Monday – 01 November 2010
Today is All Saints Day.

Yesterday was a relaxed and lazy day. I slept in a bit and then headed to the living room to watch a few things that have been on the DVR for far too long. Later, and I headed down to Lehi to check out a hobby shop… that was open on Sunday!  (You’d possibly have to live here to understand how bizarre it is to find a small town hobby store open on a Sunday afternoon.) When we got there, it was closed — the sign on the door said “Summer Hours: Closed Sundays.” This brought two things to mind:

1. Wasn’t “summer” over an month and a half ago?
2. Couldn’t they have listed something about being closed on their website?

On the way back, we experienced “Adventures in Road Rage” with some yutz in an SUV. Fun times.

After I got back home, I put in a little time playing LEGO Universe. From there, SaraRules and I headed to Home Depot, stopped off to help a friend with a computer problem and then went to the in-laws’ for dinner and football.

Post-game, we headed home and watched The Walking Dead. I liked it. There were a couple of parts that were reminiscent of 28 Days Later, where Cillian Murphy first awakens to discover the world (or at least England) has gone to Hell around him. I’m curious to see how the show progresses… and I should read the graphic novels, as we have them, to see how close the adaptation is.

Instant Replay: Football
The Ravens had their bye week. I hope they got in a good bit of rest because next week is a VERY short week for them: Sunday, they play the Dolphins at home and Thursday they travel to the Georgia Dome to take on the Falcons.

Miami Dolphins at Cincinnati Bengals
22 – 14
The Dolphins headed up to Cincy to face the Bengals… …and swam away with a win. Sorry, janietrain and carefreespirit.

.

Seattle Seahawks at Oakland Raiders
3 – 33
The Raiders are on a roll, with their second big win in two weeks. Congratulations, SaraRules! and 1silver_seraph.

.

Carolina Panthers at St. Louis Rams
10 – 20
The Panthers lost this one on the road… to the Rams. *sigh*

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Pittsburgh Steelers at New Orleans Saints
10 – 20
The Steelers rolled into the Big Easy to face the Saints. I wasn’t sure how this one would turn out, but Drew Brees and company stood up to the challenge and came away with the win. This is a double-plus for me as the Steelers’ loss puts the Ravens back atop the AFC North.

Stray Toasters

• We only had six (6) Trick-or-Treaters this year. And they all came in one group.
  On the other hand, we were able to watch horror movies without interruptions.
• A New Search Engine, Where Less Is More
• For SaraRules!: ‘Frank — The Voice’
• Mechanical Mustache Project
• Click the image…



• From the “Is There Life on Mars?” file: Would you go to Mars and never come back?
• Nonprofits Rush to Solicit Donations via Text, but the System Is Flawed
• Finding Common Ground
• Too soon or too funny?
• Street Art Way Below the Street

Things and stuff to do…

Namaste.

Wednesday – 27 October 2010
First day back in the office.
First day of snow in the valley.
Yay.

But, it’s Comics and Sushi Wednesday… so that helps to make it considerably better.

Yesterday was an amazing day. That’s really the only way to sum it up. Although I’ve known for a few weeks that I had a “birthday surprise” on tap from SaraRules!, I had no idea what it was until 0830 yesterday morning:

Yep… she got me the Ford Racing High Performance Driving School Mustang Experience package at the Miller Motorsports Park. And it was fantastic!

Granted, first thing in the morning, I wasn’t quite as gung-ho about it. In fact, I would describe it more as “ho-hum.” But, when I got out there and discovered exactly what I was in for, my attitude changed. A lot. Over the course of the day we:

• …took a tour of The Larry H. Miller Total Performance Auto Museum, which houses part of the LHM auto collection,
• …got 30 minutes of class instruction on high performance driving,
• …went out on the track and got to drive race-tuned Mustang GTs for ten (10) laps, in a lead-follow behind a professional driver,
• …rode for two (2) laps with a pro driver — we got to see how the course is supposed to be run,
• …toured the entire MMP facility, and
• …got to ride on the go-kart track.

After the whole thing was over, I went back to the museum and took pictures of the car collection. A lot of pictures. Jason, who did our earlier tour of the museum and grounds, was around to talk about each car and the stories behind them; he was very informative. I was expecting to be gone for two (maybe three) hours; all told, it was there for nearly five-and-a-half hours! And it was chock full of awesome!

On the way back home, I stopped at SaraRules! office to thank her (profusely) for such a fun birthday present. From there, I went to The Train Shoppe — I needed some rails to make a couple of siding spurs. Then… home.

We went out for dinner to Rodizio Grill.  Can you say “Meat o’clock,” boys and girls?  I knew you could! Yeah, it was totally “game on” with meats on a stick. And grilled pineapple. And caiphirinas. And their Chocolate Cake Sundae. Want to talk about a couple of VERY full people…?  We were stuffed to the proverbial gills.

We ended the evening with Buckaroo Banzai: Across the 8th Dimension.  Somehow, I had never seen this movie before, although it was apparently a staple of SaraRules! and her sibs’ childhood. It was silly. And campy. And terribly fun.

All-in-all, it was a wonderful day to turn 40.

Stray Toasters

• For SaraRules!: Graffiti of New York’s Past, Revived and Remade
• Take a Model Train to Work Day
  I think that I’ll have to do this.  I believe that I’ll bring in my LEGO train…
• Glaxo to Pay $750 Million for Sale of Bad Products
• 
• By way of former coworker Kristi comes: 2006 Tony Awards – Excerpt from Threepenny Opera, featuring Cyndi Lauper and Alan Cumming
• Electromagnetic burst impact far and wide
• Schomburg Center in Harlem Acquires Maya Angelou Archive

Yeah, that’s good for now.

Namaste.

Monday – 25 October 2010
Okay, I’m not really a pirate, but thanks (and apologies) to Jimmy Buffett for the title of today’s post. (You can listen to the song here.)

I turn 40 tomorrow.

I don’t look at it with trepidation or lots of introspection or trying to figure out what I want/need to get past a mid-life crisis. To be honest, I’m looking forward to it. (Besides, given the fact that I have been known act somewhere in the 8-14 year-old range, I’d say that I have a good ten to fifteen years before I start looking for a fast car or plastic surgery or fake hair.) And the biggest “plus” of all: Another birthday means that I will have successfully avoided the embrace of the Dark Lady for another year. And I have a lot of things that I still want to do. So, bring on forty… and beyond!

Saturday was an eventful day. I started off the day, having breakfast with Chris. From there, we headed up to Dr. Volt’s, where I judged another HeroClix tournament. There were fourteen (14) players in the event – the largest turnout we’ve had in a while. As this was the closest event to Hallowe’en, I decided to make the tournament’s theme “Monster Mash,” in which each team had to have at least one figure with the “Monster” keyword. It went pretty well. After that, six of us played a three-on-three match. That was fun, as I haven’t played in a while. I also established the theme for the next tournament, on 06 November.  I’m calling it “Rock the Vote” and all figures on players’ teams must have either the “Politician,” “Ruler,” or “Reporter” keywords.  That should make for some interesting teams.

After the tourney, SaraRules!, her mother and I went to a birthday celebration fora friend of the family. SaraRules! and I wound up the evening with a couple of movies: Let the Right One In and Eight-Legged Freaks. It’s near Hallowe’en — thus horror movies were in order. We wanted to catch Right One, before seeing its new American remake. It was good… and rather different than I expected. I looked up trivia about the movie and discovered what the movie left out. It also made me interested in reading the book on which it was based. And, Eight-Legged Freaks was just just turn-your-brain-off fun.

Yesterday was a good day. I slept in. I worked at getting my comics collection reorganized.  I moved my train equipment and assembled the second table. I ran errands. I watched football.  And, SaraRules! even watched a couple of movies: The Karate Kid (2009) and Repo Men. We enjoyed both movies.

Instant Replay: Football
Yesterday had a lot of good – and surprising – games:

Buffalo Bills at Baltimore Ravens
34 – 37
The Ravens hosted the 0-5 Bills… …and nearly gave them their first win.  Fortunately, the timely return of Ed Reed – along with an overtime interception by Ray Lewis – helped propel the Ravens over the Bills.

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Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos
59 – 14
The Raiders went to Invesco Field and wrecked shop. Seriously. It was a “Take no prisoners” kind of game. How bad was it? Well, let’s just say that the score was 24-0 at the end of the first quarter. Quarter, not half.  Yeah. It was like that. Congratulations, SaraRules! and .

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San Francisco 49ers at Carolina Panthers
20 – 23
The ‘Cats hosted the Niners… and came away with a win.

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Cincinnati Bengals at Atlanta Falcons
32 – 39
The Bengals dropped this one to Matt Ryan and the Falcons. Sorry, and .

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Cleveland Browns at New Orleans Saints
30 – 17
The Browns went marching into the Superdome beat up Super Bowl champion Saints, who seem to have lost their mojo.

Stray Toasters

• There is more snow on the mountains today. And it’s lower down the mountains, to boot.
• Decoder Ring: Boston Typewriter Orchestra Applies the Wite-Out
• Why Do People Confess to Crimes They Didn’t Commit?
• 
• App Makers Take Interest in Android
• Thanks to for pointing this out: Featherbed Railroad Bed and Breakfast Resort
• Celia Cruz: The Voice from Havana
• Foreclosures Had Errors, Bank Finds

It’s Day 3 of my four-day weekend.  Time to find some trouble to get into!

Namaste.

Sunday – 10 October 2010
That’s right… it’s 10/10/10.
So far, it’s been a good weekend.

Yesterday, I had breakfast with Chris before heading off to judge a HeroClix tournament at Dr. Volt’s. It was another 500/1000 event: Players could field either a 500-point team with no restrictions or field a 1000-point team, with at least one colossal figure. Two 500-point teams would be paired to take on the 1000-point team.

Only one player brought a 1000-point team… with the newest colossal figure: Dr. Manhattan.

However, as there were six (6) other 500-point teams, that meant that all six teams faced off against the good doctor. Needless to say, “The Doctor was in.” All the way in. There wasn’t anyone who could really do enough to him to effectively take him out of the game.

After the game, SaraRules and I met up with the in-laws and ventured to the home of some friends of the family for a Canadian Thanksgiving dinner. We had a wonderful dinner and the company was excellent, as well.  It was a good way to spend the evening.

When we got home, SaraRules turned on The Fly (1986) – which I had somehow never seen – and I fired up LEGO Universe. I had to start a new character, now that the game is out of beta. Most of what I did was “review” from gameplay in the beta, so while I did a little more looking around and lollygagging, there wasn’t a lot “new” that I did.  That does not, however, mean that I didn’t have a lot of fun doing it.

Today, I slept in a bit. That was nice. SaraRules also fixed a tasty breakfast and then came over to help me turn off the sprinklers for the year. And, after that…

…it was time to watch some football: The Broncos at the Ravens.  Boo-yah!

Instant Replay: Football

Denver Broncos at Baltimore Ravens
17 – 31
The Ravens hosted the Broncos at home this week……and the game was televised locally. Hoo-AH! The Boys from Baltimore looked solid.  They opened the game with a drive down to the goal line, but couldn’t convert it into a touchdown… and turned it over on downs.  But that’s okay. They held the Broncos on their drive. The Ravens’ offense and defense looked good, despite a series where QB Joe Flacco couldn’t buy a reception. On the other side of the field, Broncos (and former Purdue) QB Kyle Orton passed for a 300+ yard game… his second in a row. But, all in all, it comes down to this: Baltimore is now 4-1, putting them atop the AFC North.

Ray Rice, you rushed for over 100 yards and two touchdowns today, how does that make you feel?

Yeah… I’d feel like breakin’ it down a little, too.

Stray Toasters

• I’m about to head into work. Yeah, I know… I know…
• BOOM! How Comic Book Sounds Become Movie Sounds
• Add each of these to The Covet List.
• The Periodic Table of Super-Powers

Okay… might as well stop procrastinating and head to the office.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 06 October 2010
Not only is it midweek…
Not only is it Comics (and Sushi) Wednesday…
Not only is it game night with and Jack…

…but it’s also my father’s birthday:

Today would have also been the late ‘s birthday.

Last night, I hung out with , , , , Chris and Alex for a D&D 3.5 game night. We spent most of the time doing character generation and a little time having our characters meet. The campaign that Nox is setting up sounds rather engaging.

Stray Toasters

• Randy Moss… is a Viking again?!
• Stem Cells in Court, Scientists Fear for Careers
• Linguists discover new language in India
• Are you a Facebook user in the greated Salt Lake City metropolitan area?
  If so, are you a friend of Utah Symphony | Utah Opera on Facebook?
  If you are, good.
  If not, why aren’t you?
• DC Universe Online has been delayed… until early 2011.  *shakes fist*
• Prosecuting offices’ immunity tested
• Neurodiversity in D.C.: Interview with first openly autistic presidential appointee
• The Entire ‘Star Wars’ Trilogy in Two Minutes
• For – Hunter S. Thompson’s 1958 cover letter for a newspaper job
• A Graphic Guide to Facebook Portraits
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Realistic Pac-Man Sculpture

And that’s good for now.

Namaste.