Random Access

Tuesday – 17 November 2009
The new work week begins. Yay.

Yesterday, despite the pager incident, was a good day. I went to Chris’ and played HeroClix. Yesterday’s match-up saw the Chris’ Justice League of America taking on my Justice Society of America (pictures here). He won the game, but I was able to put away a few of his pieces before he left me fielding only one figure.

After the game, I headed home to take care of some straightening up before company came over for…

Instant Replay: Football

Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns
16 – 0
Ravens 1.0 traveled to Cleveland to take on Ravens -1.0, in a game that was not only an AFC North battle, but also a rivalry match. Too bad that there wasn’t really a “game,” to speak of.  The first half was very lackluster – neither team scored: Not a field goal (K Steve Hauschka shanked yet another kick wide left) Not a safety. Nada. Zip. Zero. Zilch. Browns’ QB Brady Quinn, who got benched earlier this season after a poor performance against the Ravens, got the start… and suffered from the same lack of ability to get anything going last night. Granted, the teams’ defenses got a good workout, but neither offense could get their game in gear. Coach Harbaugh must have gone George Patton on the team at halftime, because both the offense and the defense actually looked like they came to play: Joe Flacco and WR Derrick Mason hooked up for a long pass that set up a TD by RB Ray Rice Seventeen seconds later, SS Dawan Landry pulled down an interception and ran it back 48 yards for a TD Hauschka got it together and put up a field goal. The Ravens went to 5-4 and are still potentially in the hunt for a wild card berth.

Coach Mangini, your team just took another one on the chin.

How do you feel about that?

I can emapthize with that. Sorry, .

Stray Toasters

• Tonight: Play!
• Tomorrow: New HeroClix set – Hammer of Thor – comes out!
• pointed me in the direction of this little gem.
• Senators draw maps of their home states
• By way of CNN: 5 tips for fixing your Facebook page
• China’s Newest Export: Punk Rock
• 
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Cannibals reportedly sold body parts to kebab vendor
• Chipsounds
• “We’ve Got Some Work to Do Now” t-shirt
• Lou Jing, half-Black Chinese girl, sparks race debate in China

Namaste

Monday – 16 November 2009
I know that Mondays are, generally speaking, usually the least looked forward to day of the week. They’ve gotten a bum rap over the years, what with the whole “first day of the work week” thing. We’ve all come to expect Mondays to be “blah,” at best.

For some reason, I had actually expected something a little different this morning. I took the day off because… well, I wanted a four-day weekend. And I could. So, I did. I was expecting to sleep in and have a relaxing morning with SaraRules, who was going to work a little late this morning – she had to work over the weekend – so that could only add to the rare and elusive “goodness” of a Monday morning.

Unfortunately, I have the on-call pager for work this week. It decided to chime in at 0800 this morning.

*grblsnrkx*

I acknowledged the alert and then set about making phone calls to have someone check the system in question. No answer.

*grblsnrkx*

I waited a few minutes and tried again. No answer. I tried calling a different person. No go, Flight.

*braincramp*

I sent a warning message to Paul to let him know what was going on and then tried a slightly different tack – checking to see if anyone was in the other office. Both Minion #2 and loonybin88 were there. I explained what was going on to loonybin88 and he took care of the problem…

Hallelujah!!!

…which is definitely a good thing, but it doesn’t change the fact that I was up at least an hour before I had planned to be. *sigh*

Yesterday was a good day. It started off with sleeping in, football and homemade coffee cake for breakfast. Next, SaraRules and I assembled the buffet we got at The Garden of Sweden. After that, we headed up to the in-laws’ place for more football and dinner. It was both a relaxing and productive day, all in one.

Today, despite the way it kicked off, has the potential to be a pretty awesome day as well. I’m playing ‘Clix with Chris a little later. (We’ll see how that goes…) This evening, the Ravens take on the Browns on Monday Night Football; we’re having people over to watch it with us. (: Don’t forget the shot glasses!)

Instant Replay: Football
Yesterday was a good day of gridiron action:

Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers
19 – 28
The Panthers hosted the Falcons and came away with a win. This will be a short week for the Panthers, as they are featured in this week’s Thursday night game against the Dolphins.

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Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders
16 – 10
The Chiefs took a trip to the Bay Area… and took away a win, over the Raiders. Sorry, SaraRules.

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Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings
10 – 27
Brett Favre and the Vikings hosted Matt Stafford and the Detroit Lions… …and went to work on ’em. It wasn’t the blow out that many people were expecting, thanks to some miscues on the Vikings’ part, but at the final whistle, Minnesota came away with the win. Congrats, .

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Miami Dolphins
23 – 25
The Bucs took a road trip down to Miami to take on the Dolphins at Land Shark Stadium. It was apparently a close game, but a Dan Carpenter field goal – with 10 seconds left in the game – gave the Fins the go-ahead score and the win. The Dolphins travel up I-95 (and I-85) to take on the Panthers on Thursday night.  I’m a little torn about who I want to win that game.

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Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers
18 – 12
There aren’t many times – in fact, I can’t really ever think of a time – when you’ll hear me say that I actually want the Steelers to win a game. This was one of those times. The Bengals not only won, but they completed a sweep of the Steelers  and are one game away from sweeping the entire AFC North division. Congrats, and .

Stray Toasters

• Giant iceberg spotted off Australia
• SaraRules and I were just talking about what we wanted for Christmas.  She asked me what I wanted and I said, “A hippopotamus.” At that point, we apparently both started singing I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas in our heads. Moments later, that had somehow reworked itself in my head as Hippo Pottermus and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I need help.
• This item, from Tiny Titans, made me snicker:

  

• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: New Dating Sites Match People Through DNA Tests
• Mandelbulb: 3D Mandelbrot
• State police slash patrols as forces shrink
• The First Windows 7 Zero-Day Exploit

Off to face the (rest of the) day…!

Namaste.

Tuesday – 10 November 2009
It’s grey and a little hazy outside. The sun tried to put in an appearance as I was driving in to work, but the clouds don’t seem to want to give way. Makes for a kind of “blah” morning.

Last night was a lazy evening in. We had dinner (Sloppy Joes!) and watched Monday Night Football. After the game, I spent a little time trying to wrangle the office into shape. I managed to actually make a bit of headway… while also realizing just how much detritus I’ve allowed to accumulate in the “To be shredded..” pile. Oh, well.  One cool notable item: I was trying to figure out what to do with my TerrainLinX WWG tiles, when I remembered why I thought they were so cool: The whole thing breaks down into component pieces! I grabbed a shoebox and put the bits – both finished and in-progress pieces – in the box.  Neat, discreet, and (best of all) out of the way!  Little by little, the office is getting back to “good” shape.

Instant Replay: Football
It was Monday night. There was football. Amen.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos
28 – 10
The Steelers went to Mile High Stadium to take on the Broncos and try to stay tied with the Cincinnati Bengals for the lead in the AFC North. Can you say “Take it to the house,” boys and girls? The Steelers could. And they did. Repeatedly. Pittsburgh dominated the field on both sides of the ball, at least they did after the first half. Their offense was consistently able to move the chains. The “Steel Curtain” completely shut down the Bronco’s run game. Boilermaker Watch: Broncos’ QB Kyle Orton had a “less than stellar” game: He threw for 221 yards (which is good), but with no TDs and three interceptions. It was not a good night for him – he never really went for deep routes and he missed picking up the blitzes on run plays.

Stray Toasters

• Basketball great Abdul-Jabbar has cancer
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Duke University Students: you should not just ‘sit around and masturbate”
• Koalas ‘could face extinction’
• By way of come a couple of items
  • Fine and Dandy Shop
  • Driving a car with an iPhone
    
• Glittergeddon!
• For : The Spider Awards: Wired.com’s Arachnid Hall of Fame
• Scamville: The Social Gaming Ecosystem of Hell
• For Tyranist: Science fiction from outside the English-speaking world
• Howl’s Moving Castle made out of LEGO

It looks as though the sun has finally won the battle.

Namaste.

Monday – 09 November 2009
Welcome to a new week.

Yesterday saw a nice balance of laziness and productivity. After watching the early game – and watching the stats of the Ravens game – I started working in the office. It needs to be brought out of chaos and into order.  In a big way. Next came some errand-running. Then we headed to dinner at SaraRules’ parents’ house.

Waking up this morning was a tedious process. Of course, not going to bed until nearly 0230 could have had something to do with that. Maybe.

Instant Replay: Football
Yesterday was a day of across-the-board upsets, good and bad:

Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals
7 – 17
The Ravens (4-3) headed to Cincinnati to take on the 5 – 2Bengals… and maybe get a little closer to the top of the division.Quoth the Ravens: “Never score. I don’t know what happened, but I’m willing to wager that it was one of two things: Someone suited up Owings Mills’ JV team in Ravens’ uniforms The Bengals were seriously out for blood Whatever it was, the Ravens apparently didn’t perform like the team that ended Denver’s perfect season last week.  And, according to , they couldn’t buy a decent call, either. *sigh* It makes me glad that the game wasn’t broadcast here. Congratulations to and on both the win and sole possession of the lead in the AFC North.  (And, yes, I’ll be a Broncos fan tonight, when Pitt takes on Denver.)

Coach Harbaugh, you just got chumped by the Bengals. Big time.  How does that make you feel?

Yeah, I understand.  I wouldn’t want to talk about it, either.

Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots
17 – 27
The Dolphins, continuing their road series, headed to New England for a rematch against the Patriots! Everyone in Foxboro apparently got the  “One if by land, two if by sea” memo, because they went to town on the Dolphins. Where’s Greenpeace when you need them…?

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Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints
20 – 30
I didn’t get to see this one, but I was a little torn on it. On one hand, it’s Carolina, my NFC team. On the other hand, it’s the 7-0 Saints, led by former Boilermaker Drew Brees. Loyalties… torn…. In the end, the Saints went marching in with a win and an 8-0 record.  And I was just fine with that.

Bye Week: Oakland Raiders, Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns.

Stray Toasters

• By way of SaraRules: Jewish Arts Festival: Esther, the superheroine
• Berlin Marks 20th Anniversary of Wall’s Fall
  • In a related note: Controversy over U2’s Berlin Wall
• High Court Weighs Life Terms for Minors
• 
• Mixed Race Americans Picture a ‘Blended Nation’
• By way of : The Hoover Dam Bypass Will Make You Ooooh and Aaaah

Quote of the Day
A while back, I asked to write a recommendation for me on LinkedIn. He sent me the first draft last week:

Rob was a great hire. He has the skills to fit into which ever technical role we happened to throw at him at the time. However his true talent came forward whenever we needed to put a little pressure on an employee or make someone disappear. We still don’t know what happened to some of the bodies.

I thought that it was fine, as-is. He wound up changing it a little, to make it a bit more… palatable to the masses.

Namaste.

Sunday – 08 November 2009
This has been a good weekend.

Friday was SaraRules’ birthday. After work, we went out for dinner. SaraRules’ first choice was Red Iguana… unfortunately, there was an hour-plus-long wait to get in. No go, Flight. Her second choice was Sawadee, a Thai restaurant near downtown. I didn’t know that it was even there; in my defense, I don’t get to that part of the city very often. The food was very good (and very spicy!). After dinner, we met up with some of the usual suspects at Clitorati, including a special guest appearance from and .

Yesterday was a good day. It had a good mix of laziness and productivity. SaraRules went to her quilt club in the morning; I hung out with Chris and Perry. After we got home, we headed back out to run a few errands. Back home again. SaraRules took a nap, I assembled a bookcase. Later, we headed to Abravanel Hall to watch Utah Symphony perform a pair of works by Brahms:

• Concerto No. 1 for Piano in D Minor, op 15
  
• Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, op. 98

Pinchas Zuckerman conducted and Jonathan Biss was the guest pianist. The performance was good. I was particularly impressed/pleasantly surprised by Mr. Zuckerman’s attire – he wore a slightly oversized black silk (I think) shirt with a pair of black slacks, rather than the traditional tuxedo that most conductors wear. Our seats were in the first tier, about five rows from the stage. This afforded an excellent view of the orchestra and of the conductor… as well as being close enough to hear Mr. Biss breathe. Seriously. When playing particularly intense passages, he breathed heavily. Very heavily. So heavily, in fact, that SaraRules said that it was like watching and listening to Darth Vader play.

This morning has been quiet. Breakfast.  Football. (If only the Ravens could act like they remember how to play the game. *sigh* I’ve been spoiled by being able to watch them play for the past three weeks, but I think I’m glad that I can’t watch this one.)  This evening, we’re heading over to the in-laws’ for SaraRules’ birthday dinner (with the family) and football.

Stray Toasters

• Complaint Box: Public Grooming
  Another of my personal pet peeves is people who clip their nails at their desks at work.
• sent a link to: Comic books are good for children’s learning
• I watched part of The Hunt for Red October yesterday. I like that movie.
• Visually impaired gamer sues Sony Online
• 
• As I mentioned on Facebook:
  

  Thanks for the items and requests… but my Mafia Wars account is wearing cement shoes and sleeping with the fishes.

• Wonder of Wonders: Identity, No Crisis
• Troy Polamalu has already had an injury this season.
  Larry Fitzgerald is still getting it done… and is having a decent season.
  So, what does this mean as far as “The Madden Curse” goes?
• Tiny jack-o-lanterns carved in seed pods
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Swarm of Giant Jellyfish Capsize 10-Ton Trawler

Namaste.

Tuesday – 03 November 2009
I can see clearly now
The rain is gone…
Not that it’s rained here recently, but the haze that usually hovers over the valley is gone… or at least it has thinned a bit.

Happy Birthday to !

Last night, we headed over to the in-laws for dinner and football. Both were very good – we had lamb and fresh vegetables…. and an eggplant dish whose name I can never remember.

Instant Replay: Football

Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints
27 – 35
The 6-0 Saints hosted the 3-3 Atlanta Falcons. I wasn’t expecting too much from this, but it was a very good game. Both teams scored on their opening drives.  Not only that, both teams played well – all game long, on both sides of the ball. Boilermaker Watch: Saints QB Drew Brees had yet another game with big passing yards. He threw for 308 yards, with two TDs and one interception.

Stray Toasters

• Fastball Special
• pointed out Put This On: A Web Series about Dressing Like a Grownup
• We have found a home for Couch 1.0, now we need to arrange to get it there and then acquire Couch 2.0…
• Americans for the Arts has a new ad campaign: “Feed Your Kids the Arts!”

• Gambit != Gamut
  • gambit
  • gamut
• First, RB Jamal Lewis says he’s retiring after this season.
  Next, GM George Kokinis gets the boot.
  , it looks like your team is just falling apart. What’s next?!
• I’m missing the ability to play X-Men: Legends… Stupid “No, we’re not making the 360 completely backwards compatible” Microsoft!
• Digital Bread Crumbs: Following Your Cell Phone Trail
• No matter how bad your day is, at least you’re not this guy…

• I want a new black or grey hat, preferrably a fedora.
• Josie and the Pussycats has been replaced by The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan on Boomerang.

Namaste.

01 November 2009
Welcome to November.

Is it a “bad” thing that I wish that more people and places remembered that the next American holiday after Hallowe’en is not Christmas? *sigh*

Alas, poor Yorick Thanksgiving! I knew it, Horatio.

At least we are keeping the holiday spirit alive here at home: SaraRules changed the fabric in the picture frames in the bathroom to the Thanksgiving-themed fabrics we found last week:

Last night, SaraRules and I opted to stay in and hand out candy to kids here in our complex. We were partially successful – we had two sets of Trick or Treaters. We even got into costume for it. Oh, well. We also wound up Hallowe’en with a couple of horrible… I mean “horror”… movies. (Actually, they were both pretty bad.) We watched a pair of Uwe Boll movies:

House of the Dead

and

Bloodrayne

SaraRules actually owns House (on VHS, no less!) and she found Bloodrayne on Netflix’ Instant Queue.  I’m not sure that there’s ever been a movie based on a videogame that’s been “good,” but I do know that neither of these movies qualifies. We MST3K-ed both movies… and had fun doing it.

This morning, SaraRules fixed a coffee cake, which we ate while watching football. Also during the game, I set my digital cutter to work on some WWG pieces – I got a lot cut out, I just need to glue and assemble now. After the early game, we went to the store to pick up some things for dinner tonight – we’re having jambalaya. Tonight will be another low-key night around the homestead.

Instant Replay: Football Update
Today has been a good football day. A good day, indeed.

Denver Broncos at Baltimore Ravens
7 – 30
The Ravens (3-3), after a three game losing streak and a bye week, we looking to make up some lost ground in the AFC North.Coming into today’s game, the Broncos hadn’t only allowed more than 10 points in the second halves of their games; with their 6-0 record, they headed to Baltimore to notch another win. Quoth the Ravens: “Nevermore.” This was a helluva game, especially if you are a Ravens fan. On the first play of the opening drive, Raven’s LB Jarret Johnson introduced Broncos QB Kyle Orton to the turf, on an for a sack with an 8-yard loss. And the hits just kept coming. Orton was hurried, rushed and sacked twice. And it wasn’t just the Ravens’ defense doing some work today, the offense and special teams helped out, including a 95-yard kickoff return touchdown, by CB Ladarius Webb. The Ravens looked – and played – like a team on a mission. And it was good. Amen.

Ray, how does a big win against a previously undefeated football team make you feel?

Yeah, I’d be feeling like that, too.

Miami Dolphins at New York Jets
30 – 25
The Dolphins took a trip to New York to take on the Jets in Giants Stadium… …and were able to hold on for a win. Go, fish!

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Oakland Raiders at San Diego Chargers
16 – 24
The Chargers hosted the Raiders and were able to keep them at bay long enough to eke out a win. Sorry, SaraRules.

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Carolina Panthers at Arizona Cardinals
34 – 21
The Cats traveled across the country to take on the Arizona Cardinals… …and came away looking like the cat that ate the canary.

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Cleveland Browns at Chicago Bears
6 – 30
Um… sorry, .

…and the Game of the Day:

Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers
38 – 26
Brett Favre took the Vikings to Green Bay to take on his former team. How would it be to go back to Lambeau Field after playing there for sixteen years… and being gone for two? Let’s just say that Favre had a solid game: 244 passing yards. Four touchdowns. No interceptions. No sacks. It was every bit as good a game as I was expecting. Congratulations, .

Stray Toasters

• SaraRules and I picked up our wedding bands from the jewelers yesterday. We had to have them resized, because they were both (at least) a half-size too small.  For those of you who haven’t seen them before, here’s a look:

  
  (click picture for larger image)

  The bands were custom-designed for us by . She asked us what we wanted on them… and we both drew a blank. After some discussion, asked us what our interests were and that she would adapt something from that. That made it easier for both of us: SaraRules is a quilter and I’m a collector/gamer. We wanted something that represented both of us, and that’s what we went with:

  • SaraRules chose a log cabin quilting pattern
  • I chose a Green Lantern symbol. (Duh.)

  The pattern, quilt square/lantern, is repeated around the ring.

• I realized something this morning. After sleeping in my wedding band, I had a negative imprint of the ring’s pattern on my skin. It took me a moment or two to realize why it looked so familiar.  It looked like this (the symbol on Kyle’s uniform). I had always wondered how/where they came up with the symbol; now I have a better idea.
• If you get a chance, vote for SaraRules and me!
• Computer Activities for Those with Speech and Language Difficulties?
• I don’t mind the extra hour of “fall back” when we go from Daylight Saving Time to Standard Time… but I do miss the late-in-the-day sunlight.
• No word yet on when S.F. Bay Bridge will reopen
• SaraRules and I made a pilgrimage to The Garden of Sweden yesterday. We bought stuff, too.
• Zombies as American Zeitgeist Proxies
  Oh, yeah… we watched the original Night of the Living Dead last night, too.

  

• This makes me chuckle:

  

• The iPhone Now Officially Runs Doom
• I believe I’m craving a Slurpee… but I don’t think I’ll be getting one tonight.

Saturday – 31 October 2009
Happy Hallowe’en to all.

Yesterday saw the conclusion of “The Great Boot-Finding Adventure of 2009.” I needed boots for my costume… and couldn’t find anything that really fit the bill. Nothing in men’s boots. Nothing in women’s boots. And the clock was not only ticking, it was winding down pretty quickly. (Not good.)

I had been looking online and the closest thing that I saw to what I wanted/needed were these. And that wouldn’t work, because I was well past the ordering/shipping deadline. That… and the fact that I didn’t really want to kick out $120 for a pair of boots that possibly wouldn’t see light of day again, other than in a costume situation (read as: “Almost never.”). So, I got to gallivant all over Hell and half of Georgia. I found a prospect for $30 online at Dick’s Sporting Goods. And there’s a Dick’s at The Gateway!  Win-Win! I headed downtown – with a quick stop to say “Hi” to SaraRules at work – assured that my quest was at an end… but, once I got to the store, I discovered that they had nothing of the sort on-hand.

*facepalm*

Undaunted, I continued my trek. I wound up heading to the Sports Authority in Murray. I was hoping that they would have a boot that I had seen in the Sandy Sports Authority. They had them… but the only color they came in was olive. Okay. Fine. I could deal with that. I bought a pair.

After a quick stop to say “Hi” to , a trip to the Home Depot paint department, and a trip to Dr. Volt’s, I headed home… and set to work on the boots. A couple of hours and two coats of paint later, they were ready.

SaraRules came home from work and finished working on my costume – she made both of our costumes this year. When she was done, we headed to OnlyAly and ‘s for their Hallowe’en party. (Pictures here.)  As always, it was a lot of fun.

Stray Toasters

• Let me start off by saying that SaraRules did a completely kick-ass job of making our costumes.
• And a few other Hallowe’en-related items:
  • Hallowe’en is safe, your kids are safe, the only scary thing is the warnings
  • How to Survive the Thriller
  • Be a Comic Book Character for Hallowe’en
  • Witches’ Brews
• Dutch girl’s solo voyage banned
• After the Game, What Happens to the Losing Team’s Swag?
• The good, bad and ugly hair days
• Periodic Picnic Table Fills Your Tummy with Chemistry
• LEGO Transformers Characters
• I think that I’m going to do some more WWG modeling this afternoon.

Have a happy Halloween,
Halloween, Halloween.
Have a happy Halloween,
Silver Shamrock!

Namaste.

Tuesday – 27 October 2009
It is snowing in the Salt Lake greater metropolitan area today:

It’s not much (at the moment), but it’s still snow. With that in mind, the Council for Better Driving: Utah advises drivers to exercise caution when traveling.

Yesterday was a fairly lax day, as birthdays should be. The day ended with dinner with SaraRules and the in-laws, while watching Monday Night Football. It was a nominally better game than I expected.

Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Redskins
27 – 17
The Eagles brought a lot of pressure and seemed to completely flummox the ‘skins in the first half of the game. Washington Head Coach Jim Zorn also seemed a little… lost… on the sidelines; having play-calling duties removed from you will do that, I guess. In the second half, Washington QB Jason Campbell looked a bit better, making plays and completing passes… but still wasn’t able to seal the deal.

Stray Toasters

• My Silhouette SD should be arriving this afternoon. I should be putting it to work with new TerrainLinX bits by the end of the week, I imagine.
• From Comic Book Resources’ “Wonder of Wonders” column:
  • The 12 Triumphs of Wonder Woman Day
  • Star-Spangled Panties: You are what you wear.
• ‘Hot Mormon Muffins’ calendar pokes fun at stereotypes
• Why am I looking forward to tomorrow’s comics?  This could have something to do with it:

  

• Book: Rules for My Unborn Son
• Cities, volunteers fight blight caused by foreclosure crisis
• Northwest pilots’ “distraction” blamed in airport overshoot
• Netflix Coming to Sony PS3
• Church of Scientology convicted of fraud in France

It looks like we’re off to the gym.
In the snow, which has started to come down with a little more “oomph.”

Namaste.

Monday – 26 October 2009
That time of year has rolled around once again: It’s my birthday.  I just realized something, too: Not only does my birthday fall on a Monday this year, but I was born on a Monday.  Fortunately, I have had better luck than Solomon Grundy – this one, not this one… although I guess it’s really been better than either of them.

Once again, I have taken International Day off from work.  It’s been a good – though short, so far – day, as I slept in this morning. Way in. And it was good. Selah. I have no “big plans” for the day, aside from running a couple of errands. Tonight, we’re heading over to SaraRules’ parents’ for “Birthday Dinner 2: Electric Boogaloo” and Monday Night Football.

Yesterday, SaraRules and I had a low-key Sunday. We slept in. We watched football. We went to the grocery store. She made an excellent beef stew, served in bread bowls. Logan came over for dinner, after which we plugged in one of the VCRs (old school, that’s right!) and watched Event Horizon. I’d never seen the movie before; it wasn’t bad. After I had some time to think about it, I realized that aspects of Sunshine reminded me of this movie. Maybe it’s me; maybe it’s Maybelline.  *shrug* Either way, it was a decent movie.

After Logan left, I decided to watch another episode of Fringe. I’ve almost caught up with the regular broadcasts now; I think that I’m only one – maybe two – episodes back.

Instant Replay: Football Recap
It was an odd day of football. There were some good games, as well as some real sleep-inducers. More importantly, there are fewer undefeated teams than there were last week. Here’s how the day wound up:

New York Jets at Oakland Raiders
38 – 0
We didn’t see this game; maybe that was a “good” thing. Sorry, SaraRules.

.

Buffalo Bills at Carolina Panthers
20 – 9
Another game that we missed. And, once again, one that I think I’m glad that I didn’t see. Maybe the Panthers will be good again, someday…

.

New Orleans Saints at Miami Dolphins
46 – 34
Not even the Dolphins could bring me any joy this week. To their credit, they hung in there pretty well – keeping the lead, even – until the fourth quarter started. Then the Saints racked up twenty-two unanswered points. And that’s how you lose ball games. In today’s Boilermaker Watch: Mr. Brees threw for 298 yards in today’s win.

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Green Bay Packers at Cleveland Browns
31 – 3
Another game that we didn’t get to see. Sorry, … but thanks for keeping us out of the bottom of the division!

.

Minnesota Vikings at Pittsburgh Steelers
17 – 27
This game we did watch. Wow.  Brett Favre and the Vikes dropped their first game to the Steelers. The game started off as a good contest, but the Vikings started making mistakes – fumbles and dropped passes – late in the game that cost them the win. Sorry, .

.

Chicago Bears at Cincinnati Bengals
10 – 45
I didn’t see this game, but I had hoped that the Bears could pin an “L” on the Bengals. No such luck. Apparently, the Bengals – and more importantly, Cedric Benson – had a few things to prove the the boys from the Windy City. And they went about it in a big way. Congratulations to and .

Stray Toasters

• Thanks for all of the birthday wishes and good tidings!
  (There’s a lot of crosspollination between LJ and Facebook, it seems…)
• SaraRules woke up feeling poorly this morning. (Physically, not “Oh, no… it’s swine flu!”) Please send well-wishes her way.
• Listening, Party for Two: Ella Fitzgerald Live
• I used to be a fairly regular reader of The Gods of Arr-Kelaan. Then, it kind of fell of my daily radar. I now go back every few months and catch up on the story. Last night, I stumbled across this strip, which made me chuckle, especially the middle and last rows of panels:

  

• Reversing the brain impairments caused by sleeplessness
• World’s smallest working model train set unveiled
• I should probably try to avoid The Apple Store, Best Buy, The Garden of Sweden and Toys ‘R’ Us today…
• Detroit house auction flops for urban wasteland

He gets right on to
The friction of the day…

Namaste.

Sunday – 25 October 2009
So far, it’s been a lazy, football-watching day around here.  That’s not a bad thing for a Sunday.

Yesterday, after a bit of cleaning, straightening and rearranging, SaraRules and I went to the local Outback Restaurant with a couple of the in-laws and a handful of friends for my pre-birthday dinner. While the food was good, I was a little disappointed with the service – mainly because for eighteen people, they only gave us one (1) waitress. Granted, we were her only table, but she seemed a little overwhelmed.  To her credit, she seemed to try her best to be available and maintain a friendly disposition.  It was just unfortunate that management didn’t give her a little backup.

After dinner, most everyone came back here for cake – a Devil’s Food cake with cream cheese frosting, both made by SaraRules from scratch – and ice cream. We sat around, ate and chatted for a couple of hours. All said, it was a good way to spend the evening.

Today, we’re heading up to Doughnut Falls for a hike. Other than that… who knows?

Stray Toasters

• The Ravens have a bye week. I’m watching the Vikings take on the Steelers. I’m really hoping that the Vikings can pull off a win against the Steelers… which, given Favre’s fumble that was just loped in for a TD by Woodley, looks like it might not happen.
• Ratification of the Magna Carter: Is Jay-Z the Greatest MC Alive?
• Hobby Lobby apparently hates me. They put their train sets on sale this week. Granted, it’s a safe bet that they’ll go on sale again. And, of course, there’s the whole matter of “Where would I put one, if I got it?”  But, it’s the principle of the matter.
• DJ Spooky delivers keynote address at MICA’s Transformations: New Directions in Black Art
• 
• Last night, SaraRules and I watched “Menace of the Music Meister,” Friday’s episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold. While it showcased Neil Patrick Harris’ singing voice, the episode on the whole was a disappointment, especially the lyrics. They were… trite, at best. The episode was almost painful to watch.
• Percy Harvin just ran back a kickoff for a Vikings touchdown.
• Love, 1962 American High School Style
• …and after a great drive, Pittsburgh just picked off a tipped pass and ran it back for a touchdown.  Wow.
• The Biggest LEGO Mario Ever Built is available for bid on eBay.

Namaste.

Saturday – 24 October 2009
Today’s been a good – and somewhat busy – day around here.

So far we’ve had breakfast (pancakes!) and watched the first half of the Illinois-Purdue game, run some errands, done some cleaning – including the storage closet(!), SaraRules is baking a cake, I’m trying to wrangle the office into usable shape once again. In a little bit, we’re heading out for Errands II: Electric Boogaloo… which includes a trip to The Garden of Sweden. And tonight, we’re heading out to dinner for my birthday.

Stray Toasters

• The Boilermakers beat the Illini, 24-14. That makes me smile.
• I have a couple of new icons:

  and 

• An F-16 and a couple of F-22s were flying over the valley earlier. My guess is that it was in advance of today’s Air Force/Utah game. (And… I just had this confirmed.)
• Dioramas “captured” from nature
• I need to get back into HALO 3 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance.  And CoH, once they fix the cursor glitch.
• DodgeDot (iPhone game)
• NASA Releases Cool, Free iPhone App

Time to get back to it.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 20 October 2009
This morning is rather grey and dreary… but it’s also without precipitation, so far. I think that maybe – just maybe – Fall weather has (finally) settled in over Utah.

Last night was a quiet evening in. There was football and a horror movie, 30 Days of Night. According to SaraRules and Reverend Tom:

“The goal isn’t just to watch ‘good’ horror movies or ‘bad’ horror movies; the goal is to watch ALL horror movies.”

And, after all: It’s October, the month made for horror movies. Or something like that.

Workout
Wes and I hit the gym today:

• Lower Back Extensions: 3 sets/12 reps
• Sit-ups (incline): 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 205 lbs
• Flys: 3 sets/12 reps, 120 lbs
• Dips: 3 sets/10 reps

Pre-workout weight (morning): 184.5 lbs

Instant Replay: Football
Last night’s match-up between the Denver Broncos and Sandy Eggo Chargers wound up being more of a slugfest than I had originally expected:

Denver Broncos at San Diego Chargers
34 – 23
Any game where you have three (3) kicks/punts run back for touchdowns is a good game… especially when both teams get in on the action.  This game was not an exception to that. It was a definite back-and-forth struggle, until the Chargers started fumbling the ball in the second half. After that, Denver forged ahead and never looked back. All-in-all it was a good game, from start to finish.

After the Patriots’ 59 – 0 beat down of the Titans on Sunday, I decided to look up a couple of football facts:

1. Highest-scoring game in NFL history: November 27, 1966, when the Washington Redskins defeated New York Giants 72-41
2. Widest margin of victory in NFL history: December 8, 1940, in the NFL Championship Game, the Chicago Bears beat the Washington Redskins 73-0

So…at least the Titans don’t have the distinction of “the worst loss ever.” That’s gotta count for something, right? But, on the other hand, the Redskins have the (dubious) distinction of being part of the both the highest-scoring and widest margin of victory games… which qualifies them for the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file.

Stray Toasters

• Apple unveils new hotness
• At the centre of time – A look at the Greenwich Prime Meridian
• Car seats can be dangerous outside the car
• How forensics use Photoshop to find missing children
• NASA’s rocket roll-out complete
• How do you solve a problem like IKEA?
• From Threadless: The Horde t-shirt
• Chillits 2009 ambient music mixes online

Okay…. lunch beckons.

Namaste.

Monday – 19 October 2009
Another week begins… and this one is starting off in shades of grey. Apparently, there was even a bit of morning lightning (!lightening) to accompany the clouds. I, however, was wandering around The Dreaming, so I missed it. And I’m alright with that, to be honest.

Yesterday was a good day, despite the Ravens’ loss, which I’ll get to in a minute. Following that game, SaraRules and I headed out to pick up a couple of things that we needed to go with dinner. Logan came over and we started watching the Patriots blow out the Titans. When that became boring – it didn’t take long at all – we decided to watch a movie, instead. We watched Rec, the Spanish movie upon which Quarantine was based.

Too bad we didn’t see this one first – it was a better film, on the whole… despite the fact that Quarantine almost lifted the entire movie shot-for-shot. Although, had we seen Rec first, I think that we might have been let down by how derivative Quarantine was.

After the movie, I started dinner – spaghetti with sauce I made. We ate and watched the Bears-Falcons game. Logan left after the first half; I half-heartedly watched the second.  Later, I decided to play a little City of Heroes. I logged in… and discovered that my cursor decided to reset its location whenever I tried to click on people or objects. Hmm. I logged out and hit the forums. Sure enough, it’s a known issue with Mac clients – it started with the live roll-out of Issue 16. *sigh* So, no City for me until it’s fixed. Around this time, SaraRules decided to watch a movie; she selected 28 Weeks Later. Good choice.

Instant Replay: Football Recap
The games of the weekend shook out this way:

Baltimore Ravens at Minnesota Vikings
31 – 33
I don’t know exactly what Coach Harbaugh said to the team at halftime, but the second half of this game turned into an actual football game. Even though the running game was still “off,” Joe Flacco started making passes down the field. Receivers ran their routes. Points were scored – including three TDs in the fourth quarter – and there was much rejoicing. The game came down to a field goal attempt by Steve Hauschka, which went wide to the left. It was a disappointing way to lose, after such an amazing comeback, but I am happy with the way the Ravens played the game… at least, the second half of it. Congrats, .

.

Philadelphia Eagles at Oakland Raiders
9 – 13
The Raiders won. Wait… let me make sure I got that right. Yep. That’s not a typo. The Raiders hosted the Eagles and won the game. Huh.  Miracles really do happen, I guess. Congrats, SaraRules.

.

Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers
14 – 27
Ben Roethlisberger and company handed the Browns another loss. Sorry, .

.

Houston Texans at Cincinnati Bengals
28 – 17
The Texans went to Ohio and rode herd on the Bengals. Sorry, and .

.

Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
28 – 21
The Panthers were able to hang on against the Bucs and eke out a win.

Added Bonus – Boilermaker Watch: Drew Brees

New York Giants at New Orleans Saints
27 – 48
Former Boilermaker Drew Brees and the Saints went marchin’ in on the Giants yesterday.  Brees threw for 369 yards and went 23/30 on the day, as the Saints go 5-0 in the NFC South.

Stray Toasters

• Why All The Wonder Woman Hate?
• All-male college cracks down on cross-dressing
• just discovered to joy of Badass of the Week this morning.
• Rosie the Riveter bookends
• Amiga and Hyperion Settle Ownership of AmigaOS
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Man finds missile launcher in Comal County
• They Shoot Porn Stars, Don’t They (Not too surprisingly, this contains some NSFW content)

Namaste.

Sunday – 18 October 2009
This morning has been quiet and lazy. I was up at 0900 and decided to start the day. And I did. I made my way into the living room and started watching TV. USA was airing episodes of Psych; I was set.

And now I’m watching the Ravens struggle against the Vikings:

Baltimore Ravens at Minnesota Vikings
3 – 14 (halftime)
Man… I was not looking forward to this game, but still… Minnesota scoring 14 points in the first quarter… almost at will? Baltimore not being able to come up with an effective mid-range defense?  Didn’t see that coming. Hopefully, the Ravens will be able to find the end zone in the second half.

<< Rewind <<
Yesterday was a good – and busy – day. It started off with some cleaning. Yeah, I know, not the most awesome start to a day, but things needed to get done. Around noon, Kenneth – one of my coworkers – brought two of his kids over to do some sidewalk chalk art with us. We also played Freeze Tag(!), which was the first time I’ve done that in many, many, MANY years. It was a lot of fun… but seriously tiring.

After Kenneth and the kids left, SaraRules and I ran some errands… including getting some things we needed for this year’s Hallowe’en costumes. We then stopped for a bite to eat before heading off to get a little culture.

Utah Opera staged Macbeth. The performance was excellent. The set design. The costuming. The vocalists. It was top-notch, all the way around. After the opera, we went to the Vivace after-party, which was fun – I haven’t been to a Vivace event in four or five years. Last night’s event was at The New Yorker; I hadn’t been there before. It’s someplace that will be added to the “We should check them out for dinner sometime” list.

> Play >
I don’t know what’s on tap for the rest of the day, but I’m Ivory Soap sure that it’s going to be low-key.

Namaste.