Random Access

Tuesday – 24 August 2010
aLast night, SaraRules and I went to her parents’ house for dinner (homemade chicken pot pie = WIN!) and football: Arizona Cardinals at Tennessee Titans. For a preseason game, it was a pretty good game… if you’re a Tennessee fan. They worked on both sides of the ball. And worked well. Vince Young looked good in the game, much more composed and poised in the pocket and able to make decent connections with his backs and receivers. They’ll be a team to watch this season.

On the other side of the field, the Cardinals still looked like a team trying to figure out who they are without Kurt Warner. Matt Leinart couldn’t get anything going in the three series that he played. Former Cleveland QB Derek Anderson looked decent, but wasn’t able to put together a scoring drive either. Former BYU QB Max Hall looked rather solid and put together the Cards’ only TD-scoring drive. It will be interesting to see how the team fares with their star receiver, Larry Fitzgerald, back in the game after his knee heals.

After the game, SaraRules and I headed home and wound up the evening with a couple of episodes of Mad Men. We are both enjoying the show quite a bit.

Chew on This: Food for Thought
I have had a couple of teachers and administrators in the family and a few of my close friends are teachers, as well. Teachers often get blamed for all of the ills – perceived and actual – in the halls of our schools, but seldom get the credit for trying to do the right thing for their students. (Drive to Overhaul Low-Performing Schools Delayed, NYTimes) I have both heard and seen first-hand how they deal with students and some of their students’ issues.

Case in point: I was talking with one of these friends earlier and he gave me the Cliff’s Notes version of one of the problems a student of his was facing — it was more “mountain” than “mole hill.” He told me that the student wound up literally crying over the situation.

What many people don’t realize is that teachers – at least the ones that I consider “good teachers” – don’t just shut out their students when the afternoon bell rings. They don’t just see their jobs as ending when the last school bus pulls out of the lot. They get involved. They do what they can to be supportive of their students. In short: They care.

If only more people cared about the teachers and administrators who spend time with their children…

Workout
I have no idea what yesterday’s step count was, as I broke the pedometer as I was heading home from work. Bah. I might have to look into getting another one.

Stray Toasters

• I would ask if it’s too early for office monkeys… but I don’t think that there’s such a thing as “too early” where they are concerned. Unfortunately.
• I discovered this song, by Cee Lo yesterday. It’s definitely NSFW, but it is also pretty damned good:
• Scant Progress in Effort on Old Racial Killings
  

  “Everybody put me on the back burner for years and years,” said Mr. Allen’s son, Henry C. Allen, 65. He had hoped the cold case initiative would change things, but said the response has been slow. He said the legwork had been done. “Here’s the people you can contact, here’s their phone number, here’s their address,” he said. “I don’t have the authority to go knock on their door, but you do — and it still don’t get done.”

• By way of Nyx: Koala survives highway ride wedged in car
• Why Coffee Is Getting More Expensive
• Of Mosques and Men: a new Liberty Street message
• lightning != lightening
  • light·ning (noun)
    1: the flashing of light produced by a discharge of atmospheric electricity; also : the discharge itself

    2: a sudden stroke of fortune

  • light·en (verb)
    light·ened | light·en·ing
    1: to make light or clear : illuminate
    2: archaic : enlighten
    3: to make (as a color) lighter
• 
• 1980s T-shirts
• Another addition to The Covet List: WorldWorksGames’ Mayhem: Under Construction
• New Orleans Levees Nearly Ready, but Mistrusted
• A couple of songs about a certain midwestern state:
  • Rockapella: Indiana
  • Jackson Five: Goin’ Back to Indiana
• Nordstrom Links Online Inventory to Real World

Namaste.

Wednesday – 18 August 2010
Midweek. And that means Comics (and Sushi) Wednesday!

Yesterday afternoon, I called a local sporting goods store to see if they’d be able to do a quick turnaround on tuning up my bike. Yeah, the one that I haven’t ridden in about two years. They said that as long as I could have it there by 1000 this morning, that I could get it back this evening. It was in their store a little after 1800 yesterday. The clerk also told me that, aside from new tubes, it looked like it only needed a minor tune-up. Win!

SaraRules’ sister, Meliko, got into town last night. SaraRules and I stopped by the in-laws’ to visit with her  – and the in-laws – for a while.

The evening finished up with ice cream and an episode of Mad Men… which really isn’t a bad way to wind up a day.

There was just a major accident on the freeway outside of our building; I got a few pictures of the aftermath.  The Council for Better Driving would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone to please be careful when on the roadways.

Workout
Tuesday’s step count: 5, 546

Stray Toasters

• Guess who was just given his first project to manage…
• Depending on how you look at it, August is either a good or a bad month to be a geek with hobbies. The Covet List is chock full o’ goodies:
  • The Lionel Chessie System Merger Special train set that I wanted came out this month.
  • City of Heroes: Going Rogue came out yesterday
  • The Watchmen HeroClix Collector’s Box Set comes out… next week, I think.
  • The Phoenix and Dark Phoenix Bishoujo statues come out… either today or next Wednesday.
  • The DC Direct Blackest Night Series 5 figures come out next week.

  Mr. Sulu, set phasers wallets on “Empty!”

• Given Money, Schools Wait on Rehiring Teachers
• 
• Canned in Washington, Jim Zorn ‘feels fortunate’ to join Ravens
  I liked his response to/interpretation of the situation:

  Looking back on his “learning experiences” without being specific, Zorn said he wished he could’ve changed some things while having no regrets on other issues. He added that he just learned to deal with circumstances as they came.

  “You just get fired, thank you very much, and you move on,” he said. “I really think that’s the way we have to handle it, or we could go sit in our rooms for a few weeks and mope and feel sorry for ourselves.

  “It’s not the way life is, really. We’re called to handle difficult situations as well as glorious situations. That’s the way life is.”

• Reviving ‘The Peony Pavilion’ with Modern Shading
• U.S. Army’s new camouflage debuts
• A Film Unfinished – Yael Hersonski Revisits a Nazi Film of the Warsaw Ghetto
• End to COBRA subsidy means higher health insurance bills

Namaste.

Tuesday – 17 August 2010
It’s another good-looking day here in the valley.

And, because it was playing on the radio, during this morning’s commute:

Last night, and his son, Josh, came over to watch football and play with LEGO, respectively. We watched the Giants take on the Jets at the New Meadowlands Stadium, home to both teams — last night, the Jets were the “home” team. Both teams looked good, but the Giants seemed a little more hungry for the win… or perhaps they were just out for revenge after the hit that QB Eli Manning took near the end of the first half. Either way, the Giants came away with the win: 31-16.

Workout
Monday’s step count: 4,648

Stray Toasters

• My sister-in-law is coming to town tonight; I need to find some suitable four-color print entertainment for her.
• I also need to figure out what’s wrong with the water cannon sprinkler in the front yard – it’s not working properly. I spent about ten minutes last night trying to suss it out in the dark. Yay for home ownership!
• 
• astronautdinosaur.com – The Art of Scott Listfield
• Where Have All the Giant Robots Gone?
• Dress Code: When You’re Sick of All Your Clothes
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Rochdale man ‘took 200 fireworks on US plane”
• 
• Study finds fraud, abuse in MD energy program
• Musical Interlude:
  • Museum Acquires Storied Trove of Performances by Jazz Greats
  • Your Favorite ‘Great Unknowns’ in Jazz
• Dexter Has Nothing on These Serial Killers
• U.S. Said to Plan Easing Rules for Travel to Cuba

Namaste.

Monday – 16 August 2010
Another work week begins.
At least it’s a great-looking day out there.
And there’s football tonight.

Today’s musical selections come by way of songs heard on the morning commute:

No Doubt – Just a Girl

Oingo Boingo – Weird Science

Yesterday, SaraRules, and I went to see Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. It was a LOT of fun. I’d say that it was one of the best geek movies I’ve seen in a long time, if not ever. SaraRules said that “…it looked the way I would expect a comic book to be translated into a movie.” I’m not a huge Michael Cera fan – he’s a little like Will Ferrell to me, very hit or miss – but I really enjoyed him as Scott Pilgrim. It was also amusing to see Brandon Routh as one of Ramona’s “Seven Deadly Exes,” and a “super” one at that. It nearly made me laugh out loud when he was flying. All-in-all, it was a fine bit of summer cinema.

After the movie – and after I spent a little time in Paragon City – we headed to the in-laws’ for dinner and a movie. Sunday dinners with the family are made additionally fun by some of the stories told over the dinner table. After dinner, we watched Kick-Ass, which was just as enjoyable this time as it was the first time we saw it.

Workout
Sunday’s step count: 3,640

Stray Toasters

• Signing, Singing, Speaking: How Language Evolved
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: $76k for emergency appendectomy
• Major archeological find at site of Civil War prison
  (Mjolnir?  Cap’s shield?  The Ultimate Nullifier?   Oh, wait… wrong Civil War.)
• Use Coffee Grounds to Clean Sticky Tools
• My Darker Competitive Side
• 14 Warm Weather Style Tips: Use Now, Repeat All Summer

Namaste.

Friday – 13 August 2010
Yes, it is Friday the 13th… (dun dun DUNNNN!)
But, it’s still Friday, which means that the weekend is nigh. With that in mind, here’s a little Janet (“Ms. Jackson,” if you’re nasty…) to help get your end-of-the-week dance on:

And we can’t just leave it like that, so here’s a little Will Smith, too:

After working a little later than usual on Wednesday and having to go back to work Wednesday night (to deal with a potential water leak), I had an extra hour of work on the timecard… of which I availed myself yesterday afternoon: I left a little after 4:00.  It was nice. I stopped at Pin-up Girl, ordered a Peach White Tea and then sat and chatted with Jim and his brother, Paul.

Then I headed home to get ready for some football. SaraRules had a Justice Junior League meeting, so that meant that I was on my own for dinner. (Hello, Papa Johns…?) Pizza went wonderfully with beer and football. and it wasn’t just any old football game… it was the Ravens hosting the Panthers. But I’ll go into the game later.

As if the early part of the day wasn’t enough, SaraRules, Bonne, Melissa S. and I went to see The Expendables. SaraRules called it, and I quote:

Quite possibly the best action movie I’ve ever seen… I’d give it nine-and-a-half bricks!

And, just in case that wasn’t enough, here’s what Bonne had to say about it:

If you prefer action over chick flicks, I have one word for you: Expendables!!!

That’s right: My mother-in-law thought it rocked.  Beat that.

And, yeah, it was pretty damned good. You’re not five minutes into the movie when the bullets – and bodies – start flying. The movie is “a little” thin on plot, but doesn’t suffer from lack of action. You get to see (almost) all of the stars chewing bubble gum, kicking ass and taking names. Something that I wasn’t expecting: The dialogue was actually witty at times. Sure, there were a couple of in-jokes here and there, but the banter was fairly fresh. And, the movie was just plain fun.

SaraRules’ Rating:

Rob’s Rating: 

That was my Thursday, how was yours?

Instant Replay: Football

Carolina Panthers at Baltimore Ravens
12 – 17
The Ravens played host to the Carolina Panthers for both teams’ first preseason game. The weather went from overcast and threatening to “Hey, Noah, where’s your ark?” during the course of the game. The Ravens have a lot of new talent on both sides of the ball. They also have a good number of returning team members. Among the new talent is former St. Louis QB Mark Bulger. Bulger looked a little rusty, but viewers saw that the talent is still there. QB Troy Smith got the short end of the stick, coming into the game as the rain started pouring down, but that didn’t stop him from engineering a drive that culminated in a rushing TD… by Smith, himself, on a QB draw. The Panthers apparently have twenty-nine (29) new players, including six rookie defensive players. They also have two rookie QBs – Jimmy Clausen and Hunter Cantwell – duking it out for the #2 slot. And I have to say: Clausen looked amazing. Seriously. First NFL game – against the Ravens’ D, no less – and he stood in the pocket, looking cool and in control. His passes were solid. His timing was unexpectedly and impressively precise, threading the needle more than once to complete long yardage passes to receivers in coverage. Yes, this was “just” a pre-season game, but it was still football and it was a good game. It’s good to know that both of my teams will be worth watching this season… especially when both teams meet again in November.

Workout
Thursday’s step count: 4,860

Stray Toasters

• Late night + early morning = Rob stopping at Pin-up Girl Espresso for some go-juice.
  Erin and Paul helped me kickstart my morning.



• Hidden World of Girls — Girls and the Women They Become
• Oh, North Carolina Public Schools… I didn’t know just how badly you needed help.
• ‘Tea Party’ members offer a ground-level view
• From Brad Guigar’s Courting Disaster:

  

  (click image to read the question and comments)

• White House against ending birthright citizenship
• 10 great haunted places across the USA
• I haven’t read the book or seen the movie, but I would probably be more inclined to read or see this take on Eat Pray Love:



• Organize your ideas to make more money
• Stock Your Garden with Foods Cheaper to Grow Than to Buy

Quote of the Day
Today’s quote comes from last night, by way of someone sitting in front of us to his friend who had just returned from the concession stand:

“You’re bitching about salt and sugar?! That much food will grow you two spare asses!”

Have a great Friday!

Namaste.

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

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

vs. 

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

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

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

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

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

::: grblsnrkx :::

I removed the rear panel and checked there. Nothing.

::: braincramp :::

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

Back home for comfy pants and comics-reading time.

Workout
Wednesday’s step count: 4,649

Stray Toasters

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

Sunday – 01 August 2010
“Summer’s going fast…”
It seems as though July just started, and now we are beginning August.

Yesterday was also Ms. ‘s birthday.

Friday, was Day 5 of The Great Network Conversion. By the end of the (very long) day, it seems as though most things were in order. There was a lot of “hurry up and wait” involved, as we were awaiting some configuration to be completed at the home office. That didn’t help with the “longest day ever” feeling. Just before we left for the day, SaraRules dropped by the office, with a caramel mocha in-hand. (Have I mentioned ‘Coolest Wife Ever,’ recently?) By the time I got home, all I wanted to do was come home and take a nap. And that’s exactly what I did… and then it was off to gather with the rest of the Clitorati crew.

Saturday, I forced myself to sleep in. I know… I know… it sounds odd to have to “force” oneself to sleep in. But, considering that I woke up at 0700 and seriously contemplated getting up and starting the day — and given the fact that between Thursday and Friday, I put in nearly 24 hours in the office — sleep was a good and necessary thing. SaraRules went to the Open House at Repertory Dance Theatre; I stayed at home and did a bit of cleaning…

…until got here. We went to The Train Shoppe. I wanted to see if my new set had arrived. It hadn’t. Apparently, Lionel pushed back its shipping date by nearly a month. So… it should be here either just before or just after we  go camping.

Following that stop and a quick run to Dr. Volt’s, it was back home for a bit. Lunch. Hanging out with SaraRules. Exploring LEGO Universe… when it wasn’t being buggy. *shakes fist*

Later in the evening, SaraRules and I went to Rio Tinto Stadium to see Real Salt Lake host a match against DC United:

This also marked the first time that I have seen an MLS game live. (I doubt it will be the last time.) I had gone to MISL (Major Indoor Soccer League) games as a teenager, but that really comes under the heading of “same brand, different flavor.”  Or, for the SAT crowd:

Major Indoor Soccer League : Major League Soccer as…

1. Roller Derby : NASCAR
2. Arena Football League : NFL Football
3. BMX : Motocross
4. Stickball : Major League Baseball

The correct answer, in this case, would be “2”

The match was a lot of fun. We sat in the upper level and had a great view of the soccer pitch… AND the seats were very reasonably priced. And they were also covered, which became important when it started raining. RSL won the match 3 – 0, with a couple of goals coming in the last 10 minutes of the game.  (I was a little torn about the loss for DCU, though…) I am Ivory Soap sure that we’ll be back in Rio Tinto Stadium to see another match before the season ends.

Workout
Friday’s step count: I don’t recall, but it was somewhere around 3,600 steps
Saturday’s step count:  5,948

Stray Toasters

• Obama gives himself a grade of ‘incomplete’ after 18 months
• UAE to block BlackBerry services
• Holly Golightly: Breaking Rules in a Little Black Dress
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file:
  • Washing Machine Self-Destructs After Trying to Wash a Brick
  • Sixteen Years in Prison for Videotaping the Police?
• 
• My right bicep hurts, for an as-yet unexplained reason
• This Airplane Luxury Suite Is Way Out of My Budget
• Reading the Writing on Pompeii’s Walls
• The Evo gets Android 2.2 this week.
• Who’d win a battle between a Klingon battlecruiser and the Death Star? We found out!

Now: Breakfast.
Later: Salt.

Thursday – 29 July 2010
Good NBN Thursday to all.

I spent the day in the south office yesterday. That’s always um… a treat.  We’ve been preparing for some network changes and I went down to help Minion #1 take care of the wiring for that office. And, I did manage to squeeze in sushi for lunch with a few coworkers.

After work, I hauled back up the road and swung past Dr. Volt’s. (There was four-color goodness to pick up, after all…) I made a couple of quick side trips and then went to Hastur Hobbies for D&D night with Jack and . This week, they even brought little Jack:

Workout
Tuesday’s step count: 6,758
Wednesday’s step count: 4,207

Stray Toasters

• I quite enjoyed Batman: Under the Red Hood. Until recently, I haven’t really read the Batman titles in a long while. From what I recall of the “A Death in the Family” storyline and some recent developments, they appear to have done a decent job of adapting the story. Bruce Greenwood did a decent turn as Batman, but I was a bit disappointed in John Di Maggio’s Joker… of course, I kept comparing him to Mark Hamill, who – aside from the late Heath Ledger –  is now “the voice I hear” when I think of the Joker. Neil Patrick Harris, did a good job as Nightwing. I also have to give the animators a huge amount of credit for making Nightwing move like an acrobat.
  
• I woke up this morning feeling the effects of Tuesday night’s workout.
• Trader Joe’s owner dies at 88
• has discovered the joy of Pin-up Girl Espresso.
  (One of us…. one of us…)
• Be a Supergirl – Warner Brother’s mix of comics, sports and style
  • …and in a nominally related note: Krystal Harris – Supergirl

• What Is the American Dream?
• Dan Brown Wants You to Tell Him Where to Go
• Where did the money to rebuild Iraq go?
• By way of Wired: What’s the Best and Fastest ISP in Your City? Look It Up Here
• 
• Pixar: 25 Years of Animation Exhibition
• Breathing new life into old train depots
• 20 Secrets Your Waiter Won’t Tell You

Namaste.

Wednesday – 21 July 2010
It’s Comics (and maybe Sushi) Wednesday.  ‘Nuff said.

Despite having most of the things I needed for this morning prepped and ready-to-go last night, I managed to walk out the door without my ID badge. I didn’t discover this fact until I was in the elevator.

::: facepalm :::

I was able to get into the office, thanks to a coworker. And, I acquired my badge thanks to the world’s most awesome wife ever dropping it off on her way to work.

Last night, SaraRules and I went to The Days of ’47 Rodeo. (It’s a Utah thing.) Let me break it down for you:

• Days of ’47
• Rodeo

Put the two together and you get: The Days of ’47 Rodeo.
SaraRules is a rodeo fan and has been for some years.
Until last night, I had only seen bits and pieces of rodeos on television.
We went. And I have pictures to prove it.

Tonight, we are going to MacCool’s Public House for Guinness Dinner, featuring dishes made with Guinness.

Workout
Tuesday’s step count: 3,900

Stray Toasters

• Sometimes, I have odd dreams. Not in the “fantastic flights of fancy” sense; they are often more rooted in the “Where in the Nine Hells did that come from?!” sense. Last night’s sleep included at least one of those dreams.
• Afflicted: 11 Abandoned American Hospitals and Asylums “Open” for Exploration
• Orioles outlast Rays 11-10 to win wild 13-inning marathon
• By way of Meliko:



• 14 Things You Didn’t Know About Star Trek
  (I actually knew 6 of the 14 things.  I blame my stepmother.)
• I’m not a Guitar Hero player. I think that I’ve covered this fact before. That being said, I discovered something yesterday that has the greatest potential to change that for me: Rush on Bringing “2112” to ‘Guitar Hero’
  • And in a nominally related note: Rush’s Return to the Limelight
• Blacks Face Bone Marrow Donor Shortage
• 
• Many States Adopt National Standards for Their Schools
• From Comic Book Resources: “Take On Me” – The Greatest Music Video Ever

Namaste.

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

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

Stop!
Yard work time!

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

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

Workout
Monday’s step count: 4,530

Stray Toasters

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



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

Namaste.

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

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

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

*grblsnrkx*

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

…the Ben Folds concert at Deer Valley.

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

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

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

Workout
Sunday, SaraRules and I hit the gym:

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

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

Stray Toasters

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

  

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

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

Namaste.

Thursday – 15 July 2010
It’s another sunny NBN Thursday here in the Land Behind the Zion Curtain. It’s going to be a hot one, too — temps are supposed to be in the mid-90s. (At least it’s a “dry” heat.)

This morning’s musical break: ABC by the Jackson Five

Yesterday, pinged me to see if I was interested in playing in a D&D game that Jack is running at Hastur Games and Comics. As it was SaraRules’ book club night – and I was going to be relegated to the basement anyway – I said “Sure.” And off I went to nerd! This was new and different for me for two reasons:

1. It’s a 4th Edition game (I had previously played v2.0 through 3.5)
2. It’s a Dark Sun setting, which is a world that I’ve not played in before.

We ran two encounters; there are two more left in this chapter, I believe. (Nyx: I’m running a half-tiefling.) It was fun and a bit different, as this was more of a miniatures game than the role-playing style of 3rd Edition and earlier.

Back at home, SaraRules and I watched a short movie, Vampire Hunter Hank, that her friend Jerry made. It was pretty funny.  And entertaining, to boot.

Workout
Yesterday’s step count: 3,940

And… my sides still hurt from the other night’s workout.

Stray Toasters

• I already posted this directly to Facebook, but: This Week’s Cover: ‘Green Lantern’ Heats Up Comic Con
• David Garrett’s goal: Pull rock fans into the classical world
• SaraRules bought some Old Spice body wash for me. It made me chuckle. I think that I might have even rolled my eyes, too.
• CNET Prizefight: Apple iPhone 4 vs. HTC Evo 4G
• Five Great Cover Songs from 2010 (So Far)
• Guess who has cookies from My Dough Girl, courtesy of the coolest wife ever…
• 
• By way of the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file:
  • Utah mom pregnant with two babies who aren’t twins, courtesy of
  • Why I Stalk a Sexy Black Woman on Twitter (And Why You Should, Too)
• Afghans to Form Local Forces to Fight Taliban
• I’m so into you
  But I’m way too smart for you.
  Even my henchmen think I’m crazy
  I’m not surprised that you’d agree.
• ‘Immigrant’ List Sets Off Fears
• Iroquois Lacrosse Team Denied Visas by UK
• 
• For : Penn Jillette on artistic satisfaction and magic
• Man decorates walls with beautiful Sharpie illustrations

Namaste.

Tuesday – 13 July 2010
Today is apparently “Embrace Your Geekness” Day.
I’d never heard of it before this morning. *shrug*

Last night, SaraRules and I had dinner at Epic Casual Dining, in Midvale. We had talked about going there a few times, but had never managed to actually go. It bills itself as “One of the Salt Lake Valley’s finest restaurants.” I think this might be a bit of an overstatement. That’s not to say that the food wasn’t good – it was – but, I can think of a few “finer” restaurants off the top of my head. Would I eat there again, yes. Would it necessarily be at the top of my list the next time I’m looking for someplace to dine out? No… it would be somewhere in the middle to lower-middle.

After dinner, and a quick stop to say “Hi” to Kate and Perry, we went to Quilts, Etc., so that SaraRules could pick up a pattern block. I am Ivory Soap-sure that the place is a tesseract, because there is no way that the store could be as large as it is inside without employing extradimensional space. No. Way.

After that, we made our way up to the Toys ‘R’ Us in Murray. Why? Well…

1. …because it’s Toys ‘R’ Us.  (Duh.)
2. …because Kate mentioned that they had a different LEGO figure in the store than the one in Sugar House:

Captain Rex
(Imperial Clone Trooper, from Star Wars)

We wandered around the store for a few more minutes, looking at other things, too. SaraRules found this gem:

That’s right: Miss Astronaut Barbie (1965).

After our excursion, we headed home. We wrapped up the evening watching the most awesome thing that we could find on Netflix’ Instant Queue, Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus.

That’s right. A movie so awesomely bad that we were compelled to watch it.

The power of Mega Shark compels you!
The power of Mega Shark compels you!

The movie featured:

• Former teen pop star, Debbie Deborah Gibson, as Emma, an oceanographer who first encounters the prehistoric creatures,
• Lorenzo Lamas (best known for his roles on Falcon Crest and Renegade) as the ham-fistedly over-acted government agent-in-charge of overseeing the creatures’ destruction,
• Vic Chao, as Seiji, the Japanese scientist seeking answers about the giant monster that appeared on his nation’s shores and
• Sean Lawlor as Lamar, Emma’s former professor and a former submariner who got drummed out of the Navy because he believed that “every sperm (whale) is sacred” and ran his sub aground rather than sail through the pod.  (Okay, okay… it was actually dolphins, but I couldn’t have made the joke without the whales.)  Added bonus: Mr. Lawlor’s was, hands-down, the worst Irish accent I’ve ever heard… from someone born and raised in Ireland! Genius!

So, what do you get in this movie?  A giant, prehistoric shark and a giant, prehistoric octopus terrorizing the northern Asian and North American Pacific Rim.  (Duh.) You also get bad acting and cheesy special effects. And, at no extra charge, they even throw in a contrived love scene… which, of course, leads to Emma having an apostrophe epiphany as to how to lure the creatures to their doom(s).

I will also admit that I wanted to see this movie because of this one scene:

…the physics of which was explained in this infographic.

Despite all of this, the movie managed to be (hilariously) entertaining, although we should have found a way to turn it into a drinking game or MST3K-ed it. Or both.

This almost – ALMOST – makes me want to see Mega Python vs. Gatoroid, just to see the new battle of the 80’s teen pop music queens: Debbie Gibson vs. Tiffany.  There’s bound to be some comedy/horror in there somewhere…

Workout
Yesterday’s step count: 3,140

Stray Toasters

• George Steinbrenner, Yankees’ Owner, Dies at 80
• What’s the carbon footprint of …a banana?
• Streamlined Train Wonders of the Art Deco Era
• 
• On Testing, Consumer Reports Retracts iPhone 4 Recommendation
• What Caffeine Actually Does to Your Brain

Namaste.

Monday – 12 July 2010
Holy cow… where’d the weekend go?!

Saturday, SaraRules and I did the Lavender Harvest 5K in Mona with our friend, Melissa. The race was held at the Young Living Lavender Farm, where SaraRules’ bridal pictures were taken.

The race started a little late, but there was a good turn out — according to Doug, Young Living’s CEO, the race has grown from about 300 people to over 1,000 in four years. As this was my first-ever 5K (and as I am not a runner), there was a little jogging (briefly) and a lot of walking in this event. SaraRules figures that we finished in about 45 minutes or so.  It was a good first experience with a 5K.

On the way back to SLC, Melissa started feeling decidedly “not well.” We stopped a couple of times… and finally wound up heading to the InstaCare in Springville. Shortly after arriving – and before the doctor really did anything – she started feeling better.

Back home, I took a shower, grabbed gear and headed up to Dr. Volt’s for the weekend’s ‘Clix tourney. Almost as soon as I got in the care, I realized that needed caffeination. Badly.  (Which sounds really funny, if you hear the voice from Gauntlet saying “Green Elf needs food badly!”) I swung into the parking lot at Pin-up Girl… but there were five cars in line and I was already running late. Not an option. So, I headed on to Dr. Volt’s. Fortunately, Dave has “Mexican Coke” (the one that has real sugar, not artificial sweeteners) at the store, so I had a bottle of that to get me through. The tournament went well; I wound up playing bye rounds — my team was the Justice League of Arkham.

After the tourney, I went back home to take care of a few last-minute items before our open house. We had a good afternoon with family and friends who were able to make it.

By 11:00, “awake” was becoming less and less of an option. I don’t think that I made it to (or much past) 11:15.

Sunday, I was up at 8:30. That was fine; I was quite happy with a good seven hours’ sleep. I was a little restless, but couldn’t figure out what to do. I solved that by plopping down on the sitting room sofa and wasting time with my Evo. Then I headed downstairs and wasted time online. After she got up, SaraRules made omelettes! We watched the Spain – Netherlands game. (The regulation time seemed… dull and a little lifeless.)

After the match, we headed up to the in-laws’ for a few before going to see Predators. Both SaraRules and I agreed that it didn’t suffer from “sequel suck” and that it was definitely a good choice for an afternoon popcorn flick.

Workout

• Saturday’s step count: 13,228 (Thank you, 5k!)
• Sunday’s step count: 2,308 (It was a lazy day.)

Stray Toasters

• Deer Valley Music Festival: Power to the People
• Hyperbole and a Half
• Gospel Singer Walter Hawkins Dies at 61
• Iran woman escapes stoning death for adultery
• ‘Avatar’ Finally Reaches Feature-Film Length
  (Because, you know James Cameron just *needs* more money…)
• Columbia, Gaithersburg make Best Places to Live List
• 
• Do other countries have their own Uncle Sams?
• Enter the LEGO Design Challenge
• From the “Gully Dwarves” file:



• Roman Polanski freed after Swiss reject U.S. extradition request
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Zombies in Car Crash Confuse Onlookers
• ‘Voice Blind’ Man Befuddled by Mysterious Callers

Namaste.

Wednesday – 07 July 2010
Midweek.
Comics and Sushi Wednesday.

Last night, Chris came over and we finished HALO 3: ODST. It was a good game. It was a nice addition to the HALO universe, with similar yet “just different enough” gameplay to keep it interesting and exciting. We were quite happy with having completed the game… until we looked at the achievements that we had – and hadn’t – unlocked.

That’s when we noticed it: We had finished the game…

…but we had apparently done it on the “Easy” setting.

::: grblsnrkx :::

We satisfied ourselves with the knowledge that we could go back and replay the game at a harder skill setting. Oh, well.

Workout
Yesterday’s step count: 6,184

Stray Toasters

• When measuring where to hang a large mirror, make sure to take into account the additional space you want between the top of the mantle and the bottom of the mirror before setting the toggle bolts.
• For a New Generation, an Elusive American Dream
• Yakko’s World
• The original Predator, retold as a rap
• While I realize that it wasn’t a good movie (yet, I somehow managed to enjoy it…), I found this article on Gizmodo quite astute in its observations and assessments: What The Last Airbender TV series has that the movie doesn’t
• Apple Blocks App Developer
• w00t! sends Associated Press bill for quoting its blog
• 
• Jersey Swaps, a Ritual With a Story
• This Is How Lockheed-Martin Paints F35 Fighter Jets
• As Rome Modernizes, Its Past Quietly Crumbles
• 
• CIA offers its history lessons in film

Namaste