Random Access

Yep, definitely time to change gears and have a little break.

So far, the day has gone well and has been incident-free. We like those kinds of days… especially when they fall on NBN Thursdays.

Wes and I hit the gym at lunch for a workout. I am trying to keep in mind that I can’t just jump back into the saddle and expect to be working out using the same weight for some exercises that I did before my hiatus. Nevertheless, we had a good workout:

• Sit-ups (incline): 3 sets/20 reps
• Lower Back Extensions: 3 sets/12 reps
• Bench Press (decline): 3 sets/12 reps, 185 lbs
• Flys: 3 sets/10 reps, 110 lbs
• Shoulder Press (machine): 3 sets/10 reps, 60 lbs
• Compound Row: 3 sets/10 reps, 140 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs
• Push-ups (elevated): 3 sets/10 reps

Pre-workout weight (morning): 184.5 lbs

Stray Toasters

• Super-Social Networking: Superhero Facebook Status Updates
  • From the same author – Dracula Week: Dracula’s Soul Brother!
    (It’s a funny look at Scream, Blacula, Scream.)
• sent me a link to: What do you do with an old Vespa motorcycle?
  (Somehow, I don’t think that it would work if you substituted “a drunken sailor” for “and old Vespa motorcycle,” though.)
• sent a link to this, which is pretty spectacular: 9 year old scores greatest goal in Boston this season
• : Live-action ‘Clix bases for your wedding. That’s all I’m sayin’…
• En Vogue – My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)

Namaste.

Tuesday – 13 October 2009
So far, it’s been a relatively quiet morning. That’s not a bad thing.

Football Update
I have been a Dolphins fan since… 1990, roughly. They were “my team” until Carolina got the Panthers and Baltimore got the Ravens. They’re still my #2 AFC team. They haven’t been really noteworthy in many years, but they are still one of my favorites. When I heard that they were playing in this week’s Monday night game, I was excited, but I wasn’t expecting much.

New York Jets at Miami Dolphins
27 – 31
Wow. I was expecting a bit of a sleeper, to be honest. I had no idea that a football game was going to break out. And it was a good game, at that! Chad Henne, Miami’s QB, looked good under center – he was poised, cool under fire and was able to deliver the ball, on target, in both long and short pass plays. Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown ran the Dolphins’ famed “Wildcat” offense with more options than Baskin-Robbins has flavors. Even third-string QB, Pat White, got in on the fun. Mark Sanchez and the Jets had a solid offensive game, staying close to the Fish throughout the game. Their defense, however, only showed up intermittently. Head Coach Rex Ryan called the Jets’ performance “…an embarrassment” during the post-game interview. All-in-all, this was a satisfying – and exciting – game to watch with my #2 AFC team. If, for whatever reason, you missed it, look for the rebroadcast on NFL Network this week.

I also had something of an apostrophe epiphany last night: My favorite teams cover air, land and sea: Ravens, Panthers and Dolphins. In a very geeky way, it made me laugh.

Stray Toasters

• Methinks I need to start looking at picking up a Dolphins jersey or two…
• I was looking for an animated .gif of the Lion (or Tiger) from Kenya, when I stumbled upon these:

  
  (click for more info)

  Yep… these are going straight to The Covet List.

• Should Americans banish the burger?
• You Let Our Child Watch What!? Army of Darkness
• As that there are a few runners who will read this: How to run, meditate, and not get hurt
• Has hip-hop grown up?
• 
• Guy’s Guide to Geek Girls (The Sequel)
• The Clothes Make the Superman
• Girls sell sex in Hong Kong to earn shopping money
• Super Mario Cupcakes
• Memory not first Alzheimer’s sign

Namaste.

Monday – 12 October 2009
You know it’s going to be a great day when you walk into the office and the first thing – the FIRST thing – that someone says to you is not “Good morning” or “How was your weekend,” but “We’re down…”

Yay.

After a little bit of hunting, I discovered that one of our main servers decided to shoot itself in the virtual foot. Sometime in the wee hours of the morning. Did I mention “Yay?” We’re working on getting it back online now.

Last night, SaraRules and I watched a couple of episodes of Planet Earth: “Great Plains” and “Jungles,” both of which were rather fascinating. There was some footage that we’d seen in other episodes (and in DisneyEarth: Nature), but the episodes followed different tacks.

Football Update

Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens
17 – 14
The Ravens lost this game because of some poor play and, say it with me, “Penalties.” Lots of stupid and unnecessary penalties, late in the game. Thus, with 22 seconds left in the game, the Bengals scored the go-ahead TD and sealed not only a win, but also the lead in the AFC North. Congratulations to and .

.

Oakland Raiders at New York Giants
7 – 44
Just… “ouch.” Sorry, SaraRules.

.

Cleveland Browns at Buffalo Bills
6 -3
As if to prove “The sun shines on a dog’s ass, too…” the Browns finally put one in the “W” column for the 2009 season.   Sorry, T.O. Congrats (finally) to on his team finally digging up a win.

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Washington Redskins at Carolina Panthers
17 – 20
The cats finally scratched out a win, too…

.

Minnesota Vikings at St. Louis Rams
38 – 10
Brett Favre and the Vikes continue to ride herd in the NFC North. NFL.com added the following notes: The Vikings are 5-0 for the first time since 2003, when they started 6-0. … Favre turned 40 on Saturday and Sunday became the 12th QB in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) to start a game at the age of 40 or older. He is 5-0 for the first time in his career. Congrats, .

Maybe, just maybe, my beloved ‘fins will be able to bring me a little joy tonight and pull off a win against the Jets.

New York Jets at Miami Dolphins
Tonight at 8:30 EDT

Stray Toasters

• Groom’s cake: Finished.
  Wedding cake: Almost finished…
• Prelate Derek sent me this picture yesterday:

  

  That’s right, it’s a Blackest Night pic, with cereal mascots as Lanterns:

  • Tony the Tiger (Frosted Flakes) as a Green Lantern
  • Count Chocula (um… DUH) as a Sinestro Corps member
  • Sugar Bear (Super Golden Crisp) as a Blue Lantern
  • The Trix Rabbit (again… DUH) as an Orange Lantern
  • Cap’n Crunch as a Red Lantern
  • Toucan Sam (Froot Loops) as an Indigo Lantern
  • Pebbles Flintstone (Fruity/Cocoa Pebbles) as a Star Sapphire and
  • Quisp (Quisp) as a Black Lantern

  This made me laugh.

• Bright spot for fliers: Holiday fares lower than last year
• Tinker Bell has cool new look for ‘Lost Treasure’ adventure
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Six-year-old sent to reform school for bringing a weapon (Cub Scout camping cutlery) to school
• This made me snicker:

  

• lightening (definition) != lightning (definition)
• How to create a fiber-optic starfield ceiling
• Crop Art Is for Everyone!
• My generation: How Indie Game Makers Are Embracing Controlled Chaos

Namaste.

Friday – 09 October 2009
Waking up wasn’t so bad this morning. Staying awake, however, was an entirely different matter. So, I didn’t really fight it. All told, I probably logged an extra forty-five to fifty minutes of sleep. Not a bad way to kick off a Friday.

Last night, SaraRules and I headed down to The Bayou to meet , , , OnlyAly and and to celebrate ‘s birthday (before she headed back to the Eastern Reaches). It was a lot of fun. And loud. And the people-watching was pretty good, too. The food was good, too – SaraRules had the Shrimp Etouffe and I had the Jambalaya.  It was also nice, as we weren’t able to go to Cafe Orleans while we were in Cedar City; it had closed down sometime in the past few months.

Stray Toasters

• Barack Obama Wins the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize
  The BBC’s article starts off with an interesting take:
  

  “In awarding President Obama the Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian committee is honoring his intentions more than his achievements. After all he has been in office only just over eight months and he will presumably hope to serve eight years, so it is very early in his term to get this award.”

• Why the FBI Director Doesn’t Bank Online
• Girl, 12, slugged back at Phillies slugger
• SaraRules noted that we hadn’t made any pretzels in a long time. We need to change that.
• LEGO Transportation Exhibition in Ottowa
  • Wheels, Wings and Waves – A LEGO History of Transportation (Flickr set)
• Left 4 Dead 2 Approved in Australia After Edits
• Punk Animals Photoshopping Contest
• I still haven’t watched Superman/Batman: Public Enemies yet.

Lunch time!

Namaste.

Monday – 28 September 2009
Today has been good, both at work and otherwise. I consider that an auspicious beginning to the week… especially considering how frenetic the week will become as Saturday approaches.

Speaking of Saturday, I met SaraRules at lunch and we went to get our marriage license. The whole thing took less than ten minutes, top to bottom. On the way back to the office, I stopped in at the in-laws-to-be for a few minutes, picked up a tasty burrito from Barbacoa and… AND… got a Slurpee!

Stray Toasters

• Marriage license: Check.
• Officiant: Check.
• Should the Browns abolish the quarterback position?
• 17 Amazing Sci-Fi Themed Cakes, courtesy of .
• From NPR Music: Rafael Saddiq – Tiny Desk Concert
• 
• Roman Polanski: Film’s Dark Prince
• NPR also had a couple of interesting non-profit organization-related items
  • CEO Salaries up at Nonprofits in 2008
  • Nonprofit Pay in 2008
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Indiana prosecutor says she’s duty-bound to prosecute grandma who bought cold medicine

Back to the grind.

Namaste.

Sunday – 27 September 2009
Holy cow. This has been one helluva weekend. It has also reaffirmed my thoughts and feelings that I have an amazing fiancee and some equally amazing friends.

Saturday started with sleeping in. It was nice. SaraRules and I had planned on a relatively low-key day together, before the last week before the wedding. When we finally got in gear and out of the apartment, we headed to the Garden of Sweden and Hobby Lobby – we were looking for some picture frames (IKEA) and some ribbon for our wedding guest book. We found both. AND, we even had Slurpees! We eventually meandered back home. We straightened up a few things and chilled out before heading out to Tucano’s, a Brazilian steakhouse, for dinner.  Mmm… food-induced coma.

Then things went completely off the rails.

Around 6:00, when we were supposed to be leaving, there was a knock on the door. I looked out the peephole and thought I saw . Opening the door, I was more than “a little” shocked to see standing there, instead. Then he yelled, “Get ‘im!” and rushed in the door. He was followed by seven other people.

My first reaction: Fall into defensive mode and prepare to start throwing punches.

That’s when I noticed that loonybin88 was one of the people…

::: processing:::
::: processing :::
::: processing :::

It then clicked that I recognized the people and could stand down from preparing to fight, but I was still resistant to them trying to usher me out the door. (According to SaraRules, it apparently took four of them to push/pull me out.) As they got me out into the parking lot, looked at me and announced, “Welcome to your bachelor party!” As I was still in shock over the abruptness of what had just happened, the only thing that came to mind was:

“But I have dinner plans…”

Yeah. Brilliant. Because it hadn’t clicked in my head that my beautiful bride-to-be would have anything to do with me getting kidnapped and taken out for a surprise bachelor party. (Tricksy like a Hobbit, she is.) Apparently, she and had been planning this for weeks, once it became fairly public knowledge that I wasn’t planning on having a bachelor party. Their co-conspirators included: , and Chris S., , loonybin88, and Land.

We headed to Rodizio Grill, where , Chris (whom I play ‘Clix with) and SaraRules’ brother, Logan, joined us. While it wasn’t the quiet evening out with my fiancee that I was expecting, I enjoyed the deadly sin of Gluttony just as much. The food, as ever, was very good. The company was equally good.

After dinner, we piled into cars and headed to Fat Cats for some bowling and to shoot some pool. (And me without my bowling balls or shoes… *sigh*) According to Ye Olde Blog, I hadn’t been bowling since April 2008. Sad. We got in two games, I bowled a 170 and a 143; that wasn’t too bad, considering the lapse in time on the lanes. Next we played a couple hours’ worth of pool. There was a lot of slop, but we also had a lot of fun.

Next stop: and OnlyAly’s place for poker and drinking and general shooting the bull. We played until 0330 this morning. I bummed a ride home from Chris and Nox.

All told, I had an excellent game/geek-inspired bachelor party in the company of some great friends, to whom I can only say, “Thank you very much.”

Not too surprisingly, I slept in a bit on Sunday morning. I couldn’t sleep in very late, though, because it was the season’s first meeting between the Browns and the Ravens. We headed over to ‘s place, where Nox was already waiting. We also met a couple of ‘s friends, Christy and Clark… who were also Browns’ fans – we won’t hold that against them… much. Besides, it will be nice for to not have to drink alone for the next game. The Ravens brought their “A” game today, handing the Browns a 34-3 shellacking.

Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens
3 – 34
Joe Flacco had another excellent week, posting 342 passing yards.

Let me repeat that, for those who missed it: Thirty-four to three. SaraRules, Nox and I did one shot, each, to ‘s seven. It was a beautiful thing.

After the game, SaraRules and I headed down to Kate and Perry’s; we were babysitting the kids this evening. Two of us… four kids… GO! Of course, watching the kids was a piece of cake. They started off watching a couple episodes of Lazy Town. (SaraRules noted that it will only be a few years before we are subjected to shows like this on a regular basis…) Next, they watched Next Avengers, which wasn’t too bad. We then fed the group and then sent the older kids to baths. We popped corn and let them watch Cars before sending them off to bed.

And now, it’s pre-Monday winding down time.

But, it’s been a great weekend.

Namaste.

This morning, I actually got up when the alarm went off. The first one. That was an odd change of pace, considering that I haven’t been able to pull off that feat – on a weekday – in a few weeks. I was up, ready and out in relatively short order, too.

Once I got to the office, I hung some red and gold streamers around Julie’s desk and pinned my Florida State University sweatshirt to the wall above our dry-erase board. When she came down the hall and around the corner, the first thing I heard was,”You are such a nerd.” I took that as a compliment. (I’ve also managed to… not quite “offend”… other BYU fans around the office with the sweatshirt, as the streamers have already been taken down. Win-Win.)

Yesterday’s excursion to the State Fair was fun. SaraRules got to see quilts; I got to people-watch. We also checked out some really nice photography and crafts. It was a good way to spend the afternoon. Then it was off to the in-laws’ for football. We got there just before the last play of the Ravens-Chargers game.

Hey, Ray… Darren Sproles said the he could not only outrun you, but that he was going up the gut on 4th and 2 for the go-ahead touchdown and the win. What do you think about that?

Ray!  You got him and saved the win for the Ravens!  How does that make you feel?!

Yeah, me too!

Football Update

Baltimore Ravens at San Diego Chargers
31 – 26
The Ravens headed into Qualcomm Stadium and took the spark out of the Chargers. Phillip Rivers, being… well… Phillip Rivers, had yet another amazing outing, though: 436 passing yards. That’s just not right.

.

Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Hawks
10 – 28
Didn’t see it, but heard that it wasn’t a great showing for Carolina.

.

Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs
13 – 10
Congrats, SaraRules!

.

Cleveland Browns at Denver Broncos
6 – 27
Sorry, . Maybe your team will show up next Sunday when they head to Baltimore… maybe.

.

Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions
34 – 20
Brett Favre and the Vikes gave the Lions yet another loss. You know that’s gotta sting. Congrats,

.

Cincinnati Bengals at Green Bay Packers
31 – 24
Congrats, and .

Stray Toasters

• Twelve days.
• Shattering the Ruby Quartz Ceiling: Why Cyclops Is Finally Cool
  (I’ve always thought Scott was just fine, but I do like the changes in attitude of late…)
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Jedi says Tesco discriminated against him
• Philadelphia Free Library System saved
• Tim Gunn Interview about ‘Models, Inc.’ and Superhero Fashion
• Die, Sweet Road Runner, Die (not for kids)

• Zombies vs. villagers chess set
• The 5 Creepiest Sex Scenes in Comics
  • As a corollary: The 10 Worst Moments in Superman History
• Bobby Brown: Speaking about Whitney and Going ‘Behind the Music’
• Whole Foods’ 365 Garlic and Herb Pita Chips == Awesome!

Back to it…

Namaste.

Sunday – 20 September 2009
The weekend is moving right along.
(Footloose and fancy-free…)
It has been busy and somewhat productive.

Friday afternoon, I went out and ran some errands and then hung out with for a while. We hadn’t just shot the bull in a long time, so that was fun. We also talked about getting together for next week’s Browns-Ravens matchup, which is always a good time. After that, I headed home for a bit before heading back out for Clitorati. Chris and Mary were at the cafe when we got there. And, Chris came bearing gifts! Again! (I tell you, it’s like Christmas in September!) This week’s goody: He brought the John Stewart ‘Clix he repainted for me:

This, of course, made for a rather happy me. More pictures of what he did can be seen here.

Yesterday (all my troubles seemed so far away…), SaraRules and I got up, hit Einstein Bros. and Beans & Brews, and then went to help move to her new digs. We loaded the moving truck and assorted vehicles and then we were off in the “Great Cross-Town Caper.” Okay, fine… it wasn’t really across town, but that sounds better that “Seven Mile Shuffle.” The whole operation took an hour and fifty minutes, top to bottom… and it covered me for this weekend’s workout.

After that, SaraRules and I went shopping and then met up with her parents to do a little wedding-related shopping, as well. Both trips, were productive.

Back home for a bit to eat, get clean and change, and we were on the road yet again. First stop: Reception dinner for a friend of the family who got married on Friday. After that, it was on to Abravanel Hall to see Cirque de la Symphonie. Simply put, it was an amazing show. Feats of jugging, contortion, aerial acts… all performed to classical music, all on-stage with the Utah Symphony. , who saw the show on Friday had said that it was “a very, very good time” and she was right.

Today, I’m heading over to Kate and Perry’s in a bit. I’m teaching their oldest how to play HeroClix, which he’s been wanting to learn for the better part of the summer. So, today’s the day. After that, SaraRules and I are heading to the State Fair for a while and then up to her parents’ for dinner and football.

Why are weekends so short?!

Namaste.

Stray Toasters

• T-minus thirteen days.
  As excited as I’m getting for the event, I’m also looking forward to seeing my family and friends I haven’t seen in months. I’m also looking forward to seeing the rings, which lj user=”gazehound” says look really good.
• Belated Happy Rosh Hoshanna to those who celebrate(d) it.
• Belated Happy Birthday to and .
• The Ravens travel to Sandy Eggo to take on the Chargers.
• Fangirl Invasion: The War of the Sexes Hits Geekdom
• How can you not like this picture, from the article titled like “Nerd in Chief?” :

  

• Crew for Final Scheduled Space Shuttle Mission Selected
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Pop-up camper on a shopping cart
• Nissan Gives Electric Cars ‘Blade Runner’ Audio Effect

Up. Out.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 15 September 2009
We’re halfway through the month already. Wow. Where does the time go…?

Last night, I headed over to help and her ‘rents do some painting at her new place. I took my portable SoundDock, so that we’d have something to listen to. What I didn’t take was the remote control. I was under the mistaken impression that I needed the remote to change the volume on it as, unlike my primary SoundDock, the volume controls are not on the face of the unit.

Operative word: “Mistaken.”

I noticed, after I had gotten back home later in the evening, that the portable ‘Dock does have sound controls on it – they’re on the side of the unit. D’oh!

Football
Last night, there was a double-header on Monday Night Football:

Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots
24 – 25

I missed a good portion of this game, as I was helping paint. But, I caught a little of the first quarter and the last five or ten minutes of the fourth quarter. And, I was surprised and impressed with the last couple of drives: The Patriots’ two-minute drill to get the go-ahead score and the Bills’ hook-and-ladder play to try and answer it.

San Diego Chargers at Oakland Raiders
24 – 20

This was a solid game, top to bottom. I was especially impressed with the way the Raiders played – on both sides of the ball. The defense looked reminiscent of the Raiders of the 70s and 80s; the offense was… well… GOOD! They moved the ball, they didn’t make a lot of stupid errors. They played solid football, but in the end, Sandy Eggo took the “Win.”

Stray Toasters

• In honor of the title of this post, I give you Mr. Miyagi
  Once again, Julie (our IT admin… sorry, “Distinguished IT Admin,” as we refer to her) and I dressed alike. Today, we’re both in navy tops and khaki pants. And, once again, we did not plan this.
• It’s official: NECA Acquires WizKids; HeroClix to Continue
  (Hopefully, the legendary – and highly-elusive – “Smoky-Foot” Captain America ‘Clix will see the light of day…)

  

• The greatest papercraft model you’ll ever see
• Groomsmens’ gifts: Check.
• What happened to civility?
• Poll Finds Most Doctors Support Public Option
• I don’t remember how I stumbled across Geek Orthodox, but I found some amusing stuff there:
  • Darth Bat
  • Gamer Shirts
  • 10 Reasons Why Roleplaying Games Are a Positive Force for Kids and Adults Alike
• 
• Wells Fargo fires exec over Malibu house scandal
• By way of and the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: When Getting Beaten by Your Husband Is a Pre-existing Condition

Namaste.

Monday – 14 September 2009
Nothing like having The Leash start going off at 0800… just as you’re getting ready to head to the office. It was alerting me to a problem with an off-site server. Yay. We contacted the appropriate people – who seemed to be having issues of their own – and they handled it. Eventually. Welcome to Monday.

Yesterday was a good day. It was also chock full o’ stuff. Mark and Alex – a member of the SUU Ballroom Dance Team who came up to assist in the dance lessons – came up about 2:30. First, they worked with SaraRules and Steve for the Father/Daughter dance, then it they spent time with SaraRules and me for our first dance. It was more fun and less fearsome than I had expected. (And, we fortunately we have three weeks to practice…)

After that, SaraRules, Alex, Mark and I headed over to the in-laws-to-be for dinner: Bratwurst and football. Excellent combination. More on football in a minute. After dinner, Steve transferred the video of our dance practice to DVD for us – we need to have some kind of reference for practice, after all.

Football Update
Yesterday was the Ravens’ season opener at home.

Kansas City Chiefs at Baltimore Ravens
24 – 38

They tried to give me heart failure in the second and third quarters… and I wasn’t even watching the game, per se. In this market, CBS broadcast the Minnesota-Cleveland game, so I had to “watch” the GameCenter on NFL.com.  Granted, it was nice to see the Vikings hand the Browns a beatdown, but I would have rather seen the Ravens play. Because, let’s face it: Who wouldn’t want to see Ray Lewis break a little something off like this in real time…

…or watch as QB Joe Flacco goes and dials in 303 yards passing and 4 yards rushing, as the Ravens put up a total of 501 yards of total offense!? Crazy. How does that make you feel, Ray?

Yeah, I thought so.

Elsewhere around the league:

Miami Dolphins at Atlanta Falcons
7 – 19
Oh, well.. at least there are 16 more games in the season.

.

Philadelphia Eagles at Carolina Panthers
38 – 10
Ditto.

.

Denver Broncos at Cincinnati Bengals
12 – 7
Sorry, and .

.

Minnesota Vikings at Cleveland Browns
34 – 20
Congrats, … and Congrats Commiserations, .

Stray Toasters

• I’m going to help sling some paint tonight before the Sandy Eggo – Oakland game.
• 10 sure-fire ways to derail your career in IT
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot..?!” file: Philadelphia Free Library System is shutting down
• Get results by social networking with airlines
• Top 50 User-Created Soul Calibur 4 Characters
• Scientists Find Master Gene to Switch on Immune Cells
• Want your own dinosaur? Place your bids

Namaste.

Sunday – 13 September 2009
I was up later than I had planned to be last night/this morning; I was preparing and posting my auctions on eBay. They’ll kick off this evening and hopefully, by the end of the week, I’ll be a few ‘Clix lighter. (One can hope, can’t they…?)

This morning, we’re up and getting ready to meet our…. BUM BUM BUMMMM… dance instructor for our wedding dances. Mark Baker, SaraRules’ former classmate at SUU and the Director of Ballroom Dance at SUU, is choreographing our first dance and the father-daughter dance as our wedding present. (It’s nice to be able to “open” presents before the event!)

And then, there’s football! The Raven’s take on the Chiefs today. I doubt that the game will be broadcast here and we don’t have DirecTV and Sunday Ticket, but I can track the stats on NFL.com, if nothing else.

Stray Toasters

• Norman Borlaug, scientist who ‘saved 245m lives,’ dies aged 95
• From the “Huh… Who knew!?” file: Parallel Processing for Cardiac Simulations Using an Xbox 360
• Short People Got No Reason Not To Be America’s Next Top Models
• 
• How does her U.S. Open implosion affect Serena’s legacy?
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Super Mario fingernails
• 18 Foot Multitouch Wall and New Multitouch Tech Hit the Streets

Right on to the friction of the day…

Namaste.

Friday – 11 September 2009
Today not only marks the end of the (work) week, but it’s the eighth anniversary of the attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.

For my thoughts on the matter, I once again refer readers here.

Today’s an “on” day.
And I have The Leash this week.
Happiness and joy.

That’s right… I just broke out a haiku. Bow down.

Football Update
The NFL 2009 season kicked off with the Tennesee Titans heading to Heinz Field to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Tennessee Titans at Pittsburgh Steelers
10 – 13

It was a good game.  A seriously solid, well-played game. The defenses of both teams definitely earned their paychecks this week. The game was scoreless until late in the second half, when both offenses woke up and remembered what it was they were there to do. Excellent way to start the season… despite the fact that the Steelers won.

Four-Color Coverage
MarknTyme has come down with a case of “Life Happens,” which in this case means that he’s whipping his high school band into fighting shape. Because of this, he won’t be helping out with FCC for the near term. With that in mind, I’ll probably have a new (and solo) FCC to post sometime this weekend.

Stray Toasters

• Twenty-two days.
• I see a red door
  And I want to paint it black…
• As I haven’t posted it in a while: Skippy’s List
• just hooked us up with Irish Creme lollipops. (I know…!) They’re pretty tasty. He got them from Lollyphile.
• What’s that you say..? Craig Ferguson has something to say about South Carolina Congressman Mike Duvall? Tell me more!

  …and…

• PopCultureShock has some nice comic-related wallpapers.
• IAAF urges caution over Semenya intersex claims
  And, I’m Ivory Soap-sure that this line wasn’t intended to be as pun-laden as it appears to me:

  South Africa will fight back if Semenya is excluded from further competition, Stofile said, adding, “It will be a third world war.”

  I don’t know if South Africa (or just parts of it) are considered to have “Third world” status, but is the reporter (unintentionally) saying that it would be a war of third world nations…?

• David Lynch, window-dresser
• Unearthing Solomon Grundy
• 
• Motorola’s comeback attempt rests on software
  Don’t call it a comeback
  [They’ve] been here for years

Tonight: SaraRules and I are attending Utah Symphony’s An Evening of Beethoven.  (Tickets are still available…)

Namaste.

I am watching football… *genuflect* …and halfway through the fourth quarter, NBC aired this commercial:

Despite having seen this commercial many times, tonight was the first time I noticed something: The televisions are all showing scenes of Viking longboats.

For those of you who don’t follow football or who don’t understand why this is so amusing: This commercial began airing during preseason, when Favre was waffling over whether to retire from football or make a go of another season in the NFL… as a member of the Minnesota Vikings.

Well played, Brett and Sears. Well played indeed.

Thursday – 10 September 2009
Another NBN Thursday is cruising right along.

This morning, I didn’t really want to get out of bed. It wasn’t that I was tired, just lazy. When I did get out of bed, I made my way into the living room… where I plopped down on the sofa. It took another ten or so minutes to get myself motivated to really start the day.

The work day hasn’t been too bad. There have been meetings… and I have The Leash for the next week. WOO!

On the “plus” side, today was also “Comics Thursday.” Not only did I pick up my four-color shwag, but I also picked up a book that SaraRules has been awaiting. My coworker Drew went with me on my lunch/comics run – actually, he drove – and we had lunch at Pasabocas, a Columbian restaurant that’s across the street from Dr. Volt’s. We both had the Carne Asada and we both thought it was quite good. I’ll have to go back and try some of their other fare.

Stray Toasters

• Something that came in after I had posted yesterday: Paul Levitz No Longer Publisher & President of DC Comics
  • Industry Reacts to Levitz, DC Entertainment
  • Legion Blogpost: The Third Coming of Paul Levitz
• By way of Perry: Lex Luthor Bailout
  “Lex Luthor Bailout” with Jon Hamm from Jon Hamm
• The 2009 NFL Season kicks off tonight with Tennessee at Pittsburgh.
• sent me a link to this related note: The Chargers are hungry and Larry English is buying
• If distance education was Zork
• I had a good early morning discussion with Paul and Drew, which stretched into a post-meeting/lunchtime conversation with Drew.
• Craig Ferguson on the Mike Duvall scandal:

  
  …and, Part 2…
  

• What did that sign say? UDoT looking for sign vandal
• From the “Idiotstick” file: Orioles fans take Ripken No. 8 statue for a Baltimore joy ride
• Beautiful glass sculptures of deadly viruses and bacteria

Namaste.

Wednesday – 09 September 09
That’s right, it’s 09/09/09.
Today is also Sushi and Comics Wednesday, but due to the holiday, comic book shipments will not be in until tomorrow.

Last night, Chris came over for another round of our GLC/SC Heroclix battle. (Pictures here) As usual, it was a good fight. In a manner that pretty much mirrored the comics, the first big fight was between Superbrat-Prime Superboy-Prime (sorry… “SuperMAN-Prime”) and Sodam Yat (Ion). Just like that battle, Prime hit Ion and cleaned his clock – six (6) clicks of damage, right off the bat — in the comic, Prime shoved a lead rod into Sodam’s torso.

Fortunately, Yat is a Daxamite and could take the hit, but it took him way off his game. We danced around the table for a while – both our sets of dice ran hot and cold – but, in the end, Chris went home with a “Win.” I believe that the Sinestro Corps is now 3-0 in our match-ups.

While Chris and I were playing, SaraRules went off to see a movie, Julie and Julia, I think… When she came home, she brought me flowers. (Coolest. Fiancee. Ever.) It was very sweet of her.

Stray Toasters

• This morning started off with a fun chat with sister-in-law-t0-be Meliko.
• 10 NFL questions: Do the Steelers have the stuff for a repeat title?
• …and in a related item, Don’t Throw It to Ed Reed:

• Courtesy of The Masters of the Obvious Slashdot: Geeks Prefer Competence to Niceness
• From and the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot..?!” file: Bizarre Tongue-Eating Parasite Discovered off the Jersey Coast
  (Of course, it would be New Jersey…)
• Superman vs. Green Lantern: The Debate Continues
• For decades (mostly in the 50s and 60s), Lois Lane tried to prove that Clark Kent was really Superman. Preposterous, I know. After all, with all that power, why masquerade as “a mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper?” Super. Man. Not “Wheat-growing Farmboy from Kansas Man.”But, I digress…Superman would go to great lengths to conceal his identity. “How far,” you ask? Far enough to get his friend Batman in on the job. There’s been super-dickery. Now here’s proof of… um… super-bat-dickery, too.
• The Beatles Remastered, Not Just for Audiophiles
• Microsoft arranges spontaneous house parties for Windows 7 launch
• Liposuction Leftovers Make Easy Stem Cells

And that’s a wrap.

Namaste.