Random Access

Thursday – 23 December 2010
How did my NBN vacation Thursday kick off?
By picking up my parents at the airport!
Let the Christmas revels begin!

Yesterday, SaraRules! and I headed over to her parents’ house to make Christmas sugar cookies. Last night, we went back over to decorate those cookies with her parents, Sanaz and Logan. As part of the fun, I made a Green Lantern gingerbread man:

“In brightest day,
In blackest night,
No cookie shall escape my sight!”

His lantern symbol might not be awesome-looking, but it’s the best I could do with a toothpick.  I’m pretty proud of him.

Chew on This: Food for Thought
Yesterday, I had an item in my blog post that mentioned the outrage some groups are having about Idris Elba playing Heimdall in the upcoming Thor movie.  What I neglected to mention was that these same groups haven’t said ANYTHING about the fact that Tadanobu Asano was selected to portray Hogun the Grim (another Norse god)… despite the fact that Asano’s involvement was known – and fairly public – well before Elba’s.  So, let me get this straight:

1. Some people are getting bent because a black actor is portraying a Norse god in a movie based on a comic book…?!
2. The same people have nothing to say about an Asian actor also portraying a Norse god in the same movie based on a comic book…?

Isn’t that kind of saying,”Hey, we’re racists… sorry… “racial purist” bastards, but see, we’re only nitpicky when it comes to some people!” or am I wrong?

Stray Toasters

• I know what one thing that Santa’s bringing for is. How do I know? Mom delivered it for Santa…and I had to unbox it for her. WIN!
• 16 Holiday Movie Spoofs from ‘Rejecting Sobriety’
• Sorry, Kids. Fire Stations Are Ditching Fire Poles
• Thanks to for pointing this out: Remembering a jolly duet: When Bing met Bowie
• Photographer Bill Durgin’s unusual figure studies
• Jayson Weidel Colors His X-Men One at a Time
• 
• Miminalist effect in the maximalist market
• A Very Zombie Holiday (Zombie apocalypse advice for the holiday season)
• This has to be wrong on some level: I just saw something about the old Chuck Norris TV series, Walker: Texas Ranger… and in my head immediately reparsed it as Walker: Texas Power Ranger.

Yeah… that’s good for now.

Namaste.

Monday – 20 December 2010
The song says, “Rainy days and Mondays always get me down.”  Today is Monday. It is also… snowy, although there may be some rain falling somewhere in the valley. However, this combination is far from getting me down. Why?

1. I’m on vacation.
2. It’s only three more sleeps till my parents get here!
3. It’s only four more sleeps till my uncle gets here!
4. It’s only five more sleeps until Christmas!
5. Did I mention that whole “vacation” thing? I did?  Okay, good. Just making sure.

Yesterday, SaraRules! and I knocked out a little more eleventh-hour Christmas shopping. That was good. After that, we came home for a bit. During the down time, I fired up the 360. I was planning on playing a little bit of LEGO Batman, but Fate had other plans in store: messaged me and invited me to play HALO: Reach online with him and . As I hadn’t played Reach online (heresy, I know…) and as I was going to be able to play with a couple of friends, I pulled Batman out, put Reach in and played for a bit.

A short while later, SaraRules! and I headed over to Sanaz and Logan’s. On the docket: Dinner and making/decorating a gingerbread Christmas tree:

All-in-all, it turned out well.  Steve brought the video camera, to record the event, so I’m Ivory Soap sure that there will be a trailer – if not a full-on movie – showing our exploits. Dinner was very good; we had turkey legs, homemade mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, asparagus and cranberry sauce.

After we returned home, SaraRules! watched The Godfather, which I recently realized that I had never seen in its entirety. It was good. Very good. My only complaint was the pacing — there were places in the film where you couldn’t get a firm grasp on just how much time had elapsed. Other than that, I can easily see why it’s on so many people’s favorite movie list.

Instant Replay: Football

New Orleans Saints at Baltimore Ravens
24 – 30
Drew Brees and the Saints came marchin’ into M&T Bank Stadium… …and the Ravens sent ’em marchin’ back home with a loss. Joe Cool and the boys started out strongly, but let the lead slip away in the second half. The game ended with another Ravens interception, this time delivered by DE Cory Redding. With this win, the Ravens go to 10-4 and are still very much in the hunt for the AFC Playoffs Wild Card, as the #5 seed.

Coach Harbaugh! Hey, Coach!  Hey… your team just beat last year’s Super Bowl champions and are currently the #5 seed in the AFC Playoff picture!  How does that make you feel?

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Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders
23 – 39
The Raiders busted the Broncs in this division win. Congrats, SaraRules! and 1silver_seraph.

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Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers
12 – 19
The Panthers hosted the Cards… …and found a way to come up with a win. Sorry, Marr.

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Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals
17 – 19
The Bengals came away with the win in this “Battle of Ohio” Congrats, carefreespirit and janietrain!

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Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins
17 – 14
The ‘Fins dropped this one to the Bills, making them 0-3 against division rivals this season.

Stray Toasters

• Your Apps Are Watching You
  • Full database of apps/information shared, as tested
• Lewis Delivered Passionate Speech
  Ray Lewis..!? Passionate about football..!?  This is a surprise to whom, really?
• Many High Schools Offering “Computer Science” Really Aren’t
• Hailee Steinfield: For a Young Actress, a Gritty Debut
• 
• Pentagon Plan Won’t Cover Brain-Damage Therapy
• Save the Wedding Date: Any Time Before Krypton Explodes
  • In a semi-related note: Stuart Immonen’s take on the origins of some of Superman’s 1990s’ Rogues Gallery
• The underwater sculpture of Jason de Caires Taylor
• Best Buy Puts an End to Tyrannical Restocking Fees

Namaste.

Friday – 17 December 2010
It’s my 9/80 “on” Friday.
It’s also my last day of work for the year.

With those two things, you’d think that the day would almost qualify as an “NBN Friday.”

Too bad that I spilled my coffee as soon as I got to my desk. *sigh* I made it out of the house, out of the garage, all the way to work, up the elevator and into the office with no problem. But, go to turn the corner at my desk…?

::: SPLASH :::

And I’d only gotten a small sip of the coffee in the elevator. “Some days…,” I tell ya. Hopefully, this will not prove to be a bellwether of the rest of the day. I got the office wet/dry vac and did the best I could to clean Ground Zero. (Fortunately, the carpets are scheduled to be cleaned this weekend.)

Last night, SaraRules! and I had dinner at MacCool’s. As usual, the fare was quite good. We split an order of Finn Skins as an appetizer; she had their Ahi Tuna Sandwich, while I had the Meat Loaf (with a spiced barbecue sauce). And there was Guinness. It was a good dinner and a nice change of pace.

After dinner, I stopped at Dr. Volt’s to pick up my second brick of ‘Clix, the tournament prize pack – gotta have goodies to hand out at tourneys, of course – as well as this week’s four-color paper crack. From there, it was on to Hastur Hobbies for 4th ed. D&D night. Josh, a former coworker, joined the group. We finished out the encounter (and that chapter of the story) without any deaths in our party.

After the game, I headed home to meet SaraRules! and we then headed to the gym:

• Leg Raises (Roman Chair): 3 sets/15 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/8 reps, 155 lbs
• Squats: 2 sets/10 reps, ~75 lbs
• Row: 2 sets/10 reps, 110 lbs
• Push-ups: 2 sets/10 reps
• Step-ups: 2 sets/10 reps per leg, with 20 lb dumbbells
• Jackknifes: 2 sets/10 reps

And, to finish up the evening we finally finished up this year’s Christmas card.

Stray Toasters

• MarknTyme just called me a “pusher.”
  All because he:
  1. Is considering getting back into model railroading after we’d talked about it a few times, and
  2. Just made his first purchase from WorldWorksGames.

  I told him that I prefer to think of myself as a “facilitator.”

• 
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Flirty Models Were Hired in Bid to Find Bone Marrow
• Zombie attack hoodie
• From the “We’ve Taken Care of Everything…” file: Man boards plane at IAH with loaded gun in carry-on
• Help, My Half-Elf Is Pregnant! The 11 Strangest Questions from the D&D ‘Sage Advice’ Column

  

• Blake Edwards, Prolific Comedy Director, Dies at 88
• Badass LEGO Guns
• The Implants Loophole
• When the Apocalypse Happens, You’ll Find Me in My Armored Home

Namaste.

Thursday – 16 December 2010
I am a little shocked and embarrassed to admit this, but I had completely spaced off the fact that today was Thursday – and NBN Thursday, at that – until I started typing the date. Go figure.

Today is ‘s birthday:

Today is also the day that Ludwig von Beethoven’s birthday is generally celebrated:

Last night, Dr. Volt’s held a release day tournament for the new Heroclix set: DC 75th Anniversary. Even better, Jeremiah ran it, so I was able to play in the tourney. (This doesn’t mean that I didn’t get asked rules questions, mind you.) I went 1-2 for the night – it was a sealed draft – but it was still a good bit of fun.

After the tourney, I headed back home. SaraRules! and I watched The Terminator on AMC. I remember going to see this in the theatre (I believe it was at The Janus…) with one of my cousins. Some of the effects look rather… dated… but, on the whole, the movie is solid.

Stray Toasters

• Last night, I was contacted by a friend with whom I haven’t spoken in… probably close to two years. It was a nice surprise.
• Mick Without Moss
• Kids write Santa this year for basic needs rather than toys
• Today’s workout: Helping to bring 120 new monitors into the office… 10 (or 12) at a time.
• 
• L.A. dry run shows urban nuke attack ‘a survivable event’
  Huh… didn’t look that way in The Terminator.
• Dannon’s Activia, DanActive health claims draw $21M fine
• Chris Roberson & Phil Hester on Taking Over ‘Superman’ and ‘Wonder Woman’ from JMS
• 
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” and “Whoops!” files:
  • Colorado database leak puts informants in jeopardy
  • UBS’ 43-page dress code requires tie-knots that match your facial morphology

• The business of malware

Time to tie up a few loose ends and then head to the office holiday party.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 15 December 2010
Another Comics (and possibly Sushi) Day is upon us!
Today also marks the release of WizKids’ DC 75th Anniversary HeroClix Set.

This morning started with a fresh 2-3″ blanket of snow. My first thought, upon looking out the window this morning, was: “I do not feel like dealing with this.” I put it off for fifteen minutes, but the snow didn’t magically shovel itself, so… I went out and cleared the driveway and sidewalks.

Yesterday was a good day at work. Thanks to the help of my coworker, James, I was able to get through a problem that was keeping me from getting some work done on a particular server. If today and/or tomorrow are like that, I’ll have worry-free (at least as far as work-related issues go) vacation.

Last night, I headed over to Chris’ place to play HeroClix. It’s been a while since the two of us have faced off in a friendly game. We had considered playing one theme, but wound up changing our plan after I got there. We wound up playing the X-Men (Chris) vs. the Avengers. Chris won – but not without taking a couple losses. It was a good game, though. And it was fun.

Stray Toasters

• It’s another suit day: Grey suit, white shirt, grey/pink/white/black tie, black vest… all capped with a pink pocket square.
• In a pretty stunning bit of health science news: Man officially cured of HIV
  • Stem Cell Transplant Cures HIV in ‘Berlin Patient’
  • The First Man to be Cured of AIDS
• Curse you, MTH, for providing more items for The Covet List, especially when it’s this close to Christmas! (More specifically: This!)*shakes fist*
• Hanna Rosin: New Data on the Rise of Women
• These Are America’s Worst, Best Commutes
• 
• The Most Amazing Science Images of 2010
• From the “Curiouser and curiouser…” file: De Young Draws the Line on Sketching
• Internet posters angry at computers with which they are unfamiliar
• 
• Jorsh Pena Adds Vintage Charm to Gremlins, Ghosts and Goonies
• By way of comes: New scam tactic: Fake disk defraggers
• The Adoration Aside, There Are Dangers to Being an R&B Heartthrob
• It would seem that Jon Favreau has turned down the director’s chair for Iron Man 3.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 14 December 2010
Last night, , and my former coworker, Josh, came over to watch Monday Night Football. After the game, SaraRules! and I watched the latest DC Animated Short: Superman/Shazam: The Return of Black Adam. It was pretty good. They did a decent job of telling the origin of DC’s Captain Marvel and of introducing one of his main antagonists, Black Adam. The DVD also included the short features with Green Arrow, Jonah Hex and The Spectre, as seen on other DC Animated DVDs.

Instant Replay: Football

Batimore Ravens at Houston Texans
34 – 28
The Ravens seriously tried to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory… but managed to eke out a win over the Texans. In the first half, the Ravens were solid on both sides of the ball. They went into halftime with a 21-point lead, 28-7. I’m not sure what happened in the locker room, but the same team didn’t take the field in the third quarter. Perhaps they got a bit cocky and complacent. Whatever it was, they blew their lead. The only Ravens score in the second half came from WR David Reed‘s 103-yard kickoff return, which opened the third quarter. For the rest of the half, the offense couldn’t quite pull it together and the defense looked tired and beat. One of the most telling plays was when LB Jarret Johnson – normally one of the faster linemen – tried to chase down Texans’ QB Matt Schaub… and just looked like he was completely out of gas. And, CB Josh Wilson, acquired this season from Seattle, is becoming one of my favorite new Ravens. He was all over the field last night. He made good defensive plays, including the game-winning overtime interception/touchdown return that ended the game.

Stray Toasters

• I have my parents’ travel itinerary for next week. This is a “good” thing.
• Panel Set to Study Safety of Electronic Patient Data
• By way of  comes: The Suits of James Bond
  • So far, I’ve worn suits yesterday (black suit, white shirt, black holiday tie) and today (olive suit, yellow shirt, burgundy tie with candles). I’m not sure if this will be a week of suits, though.
• For Nyx, Nox and , and others: Hey, why not try the Necronomicon?
• “Avengersaurs” and Its Dino Superheroes Should Be the Next Marvel Event
  One word: “Wolveraptor.”  That’s all I’m saying.
• McCartney Plays Apollo, His “Holy Grail”
• 
• My brother-in-law, , knows of my Christmastime affinity for David Bowie and Bing Crosby’s Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth. Last night, he chose to exploit that knowledge and send me the following (rather funny) video:
  • …and in a related note: Jingle Jams: A Holiday Mix from NPR Music
• Nintendo’s Heroes of the Second World War
• Airlines rake in $4.3 billion in fees; Delta tops list

Namaste.

Monday – 13 December 2010
Today kicks off my last week of work before Christmas vacation. Or, I guess another way of looking at it is: My last week of work for the year. I like the sound of that a little better.

Yesterday was a good and somewhat busy day. SaraRules! and I had breakfast with her parents and at Paradise Bakery… where they ran out of eggs. Let’s allow that to settle in: A bakery with no eggs. Genius! After that, and I went gallivanting about the valley:

• IKEA
• Ski ‘n’ See
• West Valley Hobbies

I made a quick stop at Best Buy, before heading home. At home, I decided tear out  the reversing loop on one side of may model railroad and to try and figure out a way to change the rail yard a little.

After that, we headed up to SaraRules!’s parents’ place for dinner. Sanaz’ parents and sister, as well as were also there. We had lamb, imam bayildi, rice pilaf, sliced vegetables, pita and homemade hummus. It was quite a feast. We rounded out the meal with baklava for dessert.

All-in-all, it was a good day.

Stray Toasters

• I don’t know who set Utah’s thermostat to “warm,” but 60F and sunny – in the middle of December – ain’t so bad, in my book.  I actually rode around with the sunroof open for a bit yesterday.
  • And, speaking of roofs: Gizmodo (and everyone else) has footage of the Metrodome roof collapse
• Los Angeles Hopes to Lose Its Rank for Homelessness
  • The Almost Forgotten: Los Angeles’ Homeless
• By way of MarknTyme: “Weird Al” Yankovic – Ode to a Superhero
• Cake Wrecks
• Corvette ZR1, Mustang Boss 302 come with driving school
  • The course that Ford sends drivers to sounds like the performance driving package that SaraRules! got for my birthday present this year.
• Now playing in a sky near you: Winter meteor shower
• It’s All About Me: But Is Narcissism a Disorder?
• 
• After failing TSA screening, flier in wheelchair (and her underwear) leaves Oklahoma
• Sincerest Form of Flattery: Some Joke!
• From the “Overkill” file: It Costs $82,000 to Light the One Million Christmas Lights at This House

Namaste.

Friday – 10 December 2010
It’s my day off. I’m trying to decide what to do with the day. has suggested a possible trip to Hobby Stop, which seems like a good suggestion. Other than that, “…the future is wide open,” as Tom Petty said.

Last night, SaraRules! and I decided to go out for an impromptu date night. We saw Harry Potter and Six Months in the Woods the Deathly Hallows (Part I). I realized that it’s apparently been “a while” since I’ve read the book, as there were a few things that didn’t quite seem to fit what I recall from the novel. *shrug* Not a big deal. All-in-all, the movie was entertaining.

Stray Toasters

• I just got back from coffee with , Perry and the kids. It was a far better way to kick off the weekend than just sitting around the house, waiting for the garage door opener installer to show up… which I’m now doing.
• New SUPERMAN Writer Fills JMS’ Shoes But Walks Own Path
  • Must There Be a Superman? – The story that Roberson referenced in the interview
• SantaCon is coming to town…
• Neil Armstrong personally responds to an NPR correspondent’s rhetorical moon-landing questions
  Hmm… based on that second grey section, maybe Michael Bay’s take on the moon landing (as seen in the Transformers 3 trailer) wasn’t so far off.
• 
• Modern Treasure Hunts for the Whole Family
• The Doc and Rooch Show – lots of interesting O-Scale railroading videos
• I’m not typically a huge Conan O’Brien fan. (There, I said it.) This morning, there was an item on DC Comics’ Facebook page titled “Conan Gets Animated,” with the following description:
  

  Since the WB lot is home DC Comics, Conan realizes his dream of becoming a superhero!

  Well, then. With a lead-in like that, I was curious. Conan and a camera crew headed over to the WB animation studios and talked with Peter Girardi and then had a character drawn… by Bruce Timm:

• Renee Fleming to be Consultant at Lyric Opera of Chicago
• Wine Library TV
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Goat heads left on Hyde Park doorsteps
• Sports Stars Seek Profit in Catchphrases
• I just got pocket-dialed by a friend from back home. Naturally, I called him back and we chatted for about 10 minutes. It was a nice surprise.

Okay… off to wait some more.

Namaste.

Thursday – 09 December 2010
I’d like to wish a “Happy No Bad News Thursday” and a “Happy Birthday” to my good friend and favorite comic book-reading, motorcycle-riding band director: MarknTyme

Congratulations on completing another circle around the sun!

Last night was D&D (4th ed.) game night. And, like Tuesday’s game, there were zombies. During the game, I encountered an interesting phenomenon (do DO do-do-do!): My dice rolled fairly well for me… but failed to roll well three consecutive times when I was trying to keep Jack’s character from dying. (No, it wasn’t because I was planning on looting his corpse. This time.) Other than that, it was a good night’s gaming session. And, as an added “plus,” it seems as though my former coworker, Josh, will be joining our group.

Stray Toasters

• Somehow, I managed to leave home without making a cup of coffee.
  This may mean that I need to pencil in a trip to Pin-up Girl Espresso in this afternoon’s agenda.
• Did you see Inception and wonder how the layers of dreaming were supposed to map with reference to each other?  Wonder no more: The Definitive Inception Dream Layer Map, Drawn by Christopher Nolan Himself (Warning: Spoilers ahead!)
• ComicsAlliance’s Holiday Card Series: Belated Happy Hanukkah!

  

  (Click image to read the full article and the rest of the card.)

• Apple Ban on iPhone Donation Apps Anger Nonprofits
• and I traded links to a few model railroad layout and scenery building videos on YouTube last night. There are more than “a few” of them out there.
• Why some holiday specials are still special, and others aren’t
• Pro-WikiLeaks hackers target Mastercard, PayPal
  • Amazon Could Be Next Site Brought Down by WikiLeaks’ Supporters
• The trailer for Transformers: Dark of the Moon has been released; thanks to for making sure that I saw it.

  Before everyone gets all excited about how good it looks and psyched up to go see it, let me remind you of one thing: The trailer for Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen looked good, too… and we all remember how that turned out. Just something to keep in mind.

• Chaplains Worry About Careers if ‘Don’t Ask’ Is Lifted
• SpaceX launches Falcon 9 into orbit
• Four Ravens Lead Pro Bowl Fan Voting

• Buy a Colorful Clock That Tells Time in Three Dimensions
• Visit the Manhattans of Our Wildest Imaginations

And with that…

…right on to the friction of the day.

Namaste.

Monday – 06 December 2010
This morning was grey and rainy. That, naturally, brought Rainy Days and Mondays to mind. In this case, however, I was glad to see the rain: It cleared out a lot of the dirt, grit and grime (and just general “uck”) that’s been in the air, thanks to the inversion.

Yesterday was a good day. SaraRules! and I started the day with breakfast with shockpuppet and . They fixed a very nice fare, including a broiled grapefruit dish.  I’m not usually a fan of cooked fruit – the grilled pineapple found at Brazilian steakhouses being a notable (and possibly sole) exception – but the grapefruit was actually very good. All-in-all, we had a nice time.

After breakfast, I headed over to West Valley Hobbies to see if there was anything that I couldn’t live without. There were a few things that I found tempting – including an N&W six-car hopper set from MTH, but nothing that couldn’t wait a while.  SaraRules! and I  also made a pilgrimage to The Garden of Sweden. *genuflect* Later in the evening, we headed up to the in-laws’ for dinner and football. After the game, we headed home and watched the season finale of The Walking Dead.

Instant Replay: Football

Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens
13 – 10
The Ravens hosted the Steelers in what Sunday Night Football was calling “Grudge Match.” It was a low-scoring game and it looked as though Baltimore might actually pull off a win over the Boys from Steeltown… but it wasn’t to be. I don’t know who blew the coverage, but S Troy Polamalu strip-sacked Ravens QB Joe Flacco and the fumble was recovered by a Steelers lineman (whose name eludes me) and run back to the 10-yard line. The Steelers took the lead on the ensuing drive. Flacco and company drove the ball down the field, but on the last 4-2 play (with 38 seconds on the clock), Flacco underthrew WR Anquan Boldin and turned the ball over on downs.

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Cleveland Browns at Miami Dolphins
13 – 10
The Dolphins lost to the Browns. Somewhere, lj user=”zeeke” is smiling…

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Oakland Raiders at San Diego Chargers
28 – 13
I don’t know what has gotten into the Raiders, but it looks like this is their rebuilding season… and they’ve been paving the way with some pretty notable wins. Congrats, SaraRules! and 1silver_seraph.

.

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Carolina Panthers at Seattle Seahawks
33 – 17
The Panthers lost on the road.

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New Orleans Saints at Cincinnati Bengals
34 – 30
The Saints beat the Bengals in this one.Sorry, carefreespirit and janietrain.

Stray Toasters

• Stray Toasters will return tomorrow… if you’re good.

Namaste.

Sunday – 05 December 2010
It’s a quiet morning…

…aside from the birds chirping in the trees outside.

I’m awake earlier than I had planned, but am enjoying the fact that we’re actually going to see the sun today.

Yesterday morning, I put up Christmas tree #1. It’s downstairs, in the family room. Next, I got my things together for a tournament at Dr. Volt’s Comic Connection. There were only five (That’s right, “5”) players this week, but it was still a fun event. The theme was “Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting…,” in which all figures had to have the “Martial Artist” keyword in order to be eligible for use. A lot of teams used either Bullseye and/or The Question (Renee Montoya). Mine was no exception:

• Batgirl
  (gallery cr-figure-014)
• Bronze Tiger
  (gallery th-figure-032)
• Bullseye
  (gallery ws-figure-042)
• The Question
  (gallery aa-figure-004)

They fared well, going 2-1 on the day. Technically.  (Since I was playing the “bye” rounds, I couldn’t “win.”) But, as I mentioned before: It was fun.

On the way home from Dr. Volt’s, I stopped at The Train Shoppe. Yeah, yeah… I know… “Addict.”  Duh. In an exhibition of willpower worthy of a Green Lantern, I refrained from buying anything “big.”  I did, however, pick up a few small “Christmas” trees and a set of telephone poles for the city side of my layout. I also met an older couple while there; they were looking to start an O gauge railroad. Jeff (the Shoppe’s owner) talked with them about some of the differences between Lionel and MTH. I mentioned to them that I had purchased a Lionel set a few months ago and how happy I was with it…. and how quickly it had grown in the past four months.

After heading home for dinner, SaraRules! and I went errand-running. And then, we hit the gym:

• Bench Press: 3 sets/8 reps, 155 lbs
• Squats: 2 sets/10 reps, bar only (so…. 45 lbs+)
• Flys: 3 sets/10 reps, 100 lbs
• Push-ups: 2 sets/10 reps
• Rows: 2 sets/10 reps, 100 lbs
• Step-ups: 2 sets/10 reps per leg, 15 lbs dumbbells per hand
• Jackknifes: 2 sets/10 reps

When we got home, we started in on Mad Men Season 3 until it was time to go pick up Christmas Tree #2. The tree retrieval process was fairly easy and relatively painless: We bagged and cling-wrapped the tree, put it (and the accessories that came with it) in the car and brought it home. The tree and wreath look very nice in the living room and work very well with the room’s color scheme:

Now, it’s just a matter of getting some of the other Christmas decorations up…

Stray Toasters

• I finally picked up a copy of Superman: Earth One yesterday.

  

  J. Michael Straczynski crafted a well-told take on Clark Kent’s introduction to Metropolis and the world’s introduction to Superman. I recommend it.

• The Everyman’s Guide to Black Tie
• How Much Should You Tip for the Holidays?
• Dream Home: A Converted Firehouse with Fire Pole
  Come on… like you wouldn’t love to have one of those in your home.
• The 12 Most Ridiculous Moments in Travel – 2010 Edition
• 
• Vast Hacking by a China Fearful of the Web
• Law and the Multiverse: Applying real-world law to comic books

Next: Breakfast with the shockpuppet and .
Later: The Ravens host the Steelers tonight on Sunday Night Football.

Namaste.

There have been a lot of people asking about the tree that SaraRules! and I got at The Festival of Trees. I posted a few pictures in a blog post on Wednesday, but they were taken with my phone.  While they were “okay,” they weren’t the best pics in the world.  The ever-prepared SaraRules!, however, had her point-and-shoot camera in her Bag of Holding purse. The name/theme of our tree is: “Fall Family Traditions” and should complement the color scheme in the living room quite nicely. We will be picking it up either Saturday night or Sunday morning.

And with that, here are the pictures!

If this here bloggerator program thingamabob is working correctly, you should be able to click on each picture and see a larger version.

And that, as they say, is that!

Thursday – 02 December 2010
Three down.
One in the chamber.
One to go.

And that’s how another No Bad News Thursday kicks off.

Last night was D&D Encounters night with Melody, Jack, and company. We were a couple of party members short, so it was a bit of a grind. Seriously. Melody didn’t pull any punches and I think that the characters in the encounter all had brushes with near-death. But, it was still fun.

After I got home, SaraRules! and I watched Sunshine Cleaning. I’d heard about it last year and it has blipped on and off my radar since then. It was a good movie. No big special effects. A simple story. Good acting. All-in-all, a very solid presentation. The movie stars Amy Adams as Rose, a single mother trying to make ends meet. When her situation goes from “bearable, but not great” to “something’s got to give,” Rose decides to change her career path in a somewhat unexpected manner: She opens a crime scene clean-up company. It would be far from the truth to say “Hilarity ensues.” It would be more apt to say “Life goes on… for some.” SaraRules! and I agreed that this was a refreshing change of pace from the quick cut scene, always moving at fast forward, mega-blockbuster movies that are so prevalent today.

Stray Toasters

• It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Jonathan Coulton’s music. As a home owner, I’ve found new affinity and appreciation for his song, Shop Vac. Apparently, Jarrett Heather is a fan of the song, too… as evidenced by the following kinetic type video:
• Squiggly, Tangly and Angular
• A Mission to Transform Baltimore’s Beaten Schools
• You Only Dream of Driving Like This
• For some reason, this reminds me of the fight scene between Sistah Girl and White She-Devil in Undercover Brother:
  
• The Sweet Beet: 14 Food Shockers
• kidscomics.com – for the young reader in your family or circle of friends
• Amanda Vissell’s Posters for Girls
• F.T.C. Backs Plan to Honor Privacy of Online Users
• LEGO Death Star Christmas tree ornament
• 
• Retro Movie Posters Reimagined, courtesy of
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Man Killed Girlfriend Because She Answered Her Phone During Sex
• sfds

Wednesday – 01 December 2010
It’s mid-week… however, it is not Comics and Sushi Wednesday: This week’s shipment is delayed, due to last week’s holiday and I won’t be able to make it to sushi this afternoon.

On the other hand, Hanukkah starts today.  (Okay, technically, it starts at sundown, but why quibble?)

Last night, SaraRules! and I attended The 2010 Festival of Trees. It was opening night, which included the auctions for trees.  We put in a bid on a tree that we both liked… and won:

We’ll pick it up this weekend. Click here to see pics of other trees and interesting items from the show. The people-watching was pretty good, too. After the Festival, we headed to the local Olive Garden for a late dinner. On the whole, it made for a rather nice date night.

Stray Toasters

• For Every Holiday Party, the Right Drink
• John D’Agostino, drawer of Archie and G.I. Joe, dies
• 
• From Has Boobs, Reads Comics: Top 10 Gifts for the Geek in Your Life
• Lionel Brings You Trains and Jobs for Christmas
• 
• The Albums We Missed in 2010
• Union of Superlative Heroes Card Set
• Is 8 too young to be an entrepreneur?

Right on to the friction of the day…

Namaste.

Tuesday – 30 November 2010
Day Two of the work week and the day started with the sun beaming over the mountains.
No new snow.
No heavy clouds.
Just bright sun.

It’s nice.
Now, if we can only get above freezing…

Last night, came over and we watched the Niners-Cardinals game. I don’t know what happened to the Cards, but they looked far from the Super Bowl contenders from last season. The Niners, on the other hand, looked pretty solid.  I was happy to see QB Troy Smith have a decent game.

Stray Toasters

• Tonight, SaraRules! and I are heading to the Festival of Trees. Hopefully, we’ll be able to find and bid on a tree that we like.
• Celebrating Secession Without the Slaves
• Alex Santalo His Avengers and X-Men Heads Big and His Art Happy
  

  

• Tiny house movement thrives after real estate bust
• Ten Questions Science Must Answer
• 
• Moved by the Spirit: Celebrating ‘Revelations’ at 50
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: TSA scans uniformed pilots, but airside caterers bypass all screening

And, now… back to the grind.

Namaste.