Random Access

Tuesday – 06 April 2010
It snowed last night. There’s a coat of snow on the ground, but it didn’t seem to stick to the roadways, fortunately.

I need to give a very quick, but heartfelt, “Thank you” to for lending his time and his handy-dandy Jeep to help me ferry a ladder (and other painting supplies) from the local home improvement store to the new house.

After spending a bit of time getting ready, I set about applying primer to the walls. A short while later, SaraRules got home – well, “new” home – and helped with the process. I had realized, shortly before she arrived, that I still needed a couple of tools. She had a couple in her car, but I still needed to come home and pick up my Channel-Locks. Good thing. I also remembered to pick up a couple of other things. Then, back to the primer slinging.

Today, I am continuing with my desk move. I have accumulated a LOT of stuff – including a herd or three of dust bunnies – in the two years I was at my old desk.

And again tonight, there shall be blood primer…

Stray Toasters

• SaraRules just added Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus to the Netflix queue. God help us all.
  (Although, this does mean that I’ll get to see a giant shark leap out of the water and attack an airplane again.)
• Geoff Peterson made his debut last night. We’ll have to see how his career at CBS progresses…
• Awesome Artwork Made with Sharpies
• By way of comes: What You Didn’t Know about Nintendo
• How Americans are propogandized about Afghanistan
• Jazz is for the Birds
• Jam Session with Improvised Instruments
• Why games will take over our lives
• 
• 1:40 scale Fallingwater is as gorgeous as the real landmark
• World’s biggest scrap-metal sculpture is a steampunk wonderland
• Mapmaker, Mapmaker, Draw Me My Life
• Donovan McNabb… as a Washington Redskin.  Huh.
• Changes are afoot at Digg
• Cyber Insecurity: U.S. Struggles to Confront Threat

Namaste.

Monday – 05 April 2010
A new work week begins. It’s partly cloudy and the forecast is calling for rain, but I’m glad for the little bit of blue sky that greeted me this morning. And, being a Monday, I think that calls for a little something to get in the mood of getting back into the workday grind:

Last night, we watched Help! with the in-laws and a couple of the sibs-in-law. It was interesting. To be honest, it really just felt like a long episode of The Monkees.
… maybe

After we got home, we watched a bit of DIY Network. (Not so oddly, we’ve been watching a lot of DIY Network lately…) I’ve become a fan of: 10 Grand In Your Hand, Yard Crashers and House Crashers… and Renovation Realities has become a “Oh, you poor bastard…” kind of guilty pleasure.

Stray Toasters

• I was in the office at 0730 this morning. The motivation: I need to put some primer on the walls in a few rooms tonight. I figure that getting in here early will get me out of here early and afford me a little extra time to slap a coat or two on this evening. And that brings up two things:
  1. Does anyone want to come over and help wield a roller? I pay in pizza!
  2. People have asked about pictures of the house. Click here to see a few shots of it.
• Nyx sent a link to Video Game Renaissance. Some of them made me laugh.
• How the Paperback Novel Changed Popular Literature
• 
• Beyond 50: American States That Might Have Been
  Even though this includes a look at ‘Deseret‘ — and “No,” I did not make up that name — they didn’t left out the state of Ar…
• 2010 Hugo Nominees
• Geoff Peterson hits the airwaves tonight: ‘He Has No Armaments’: Does Craig Ferguson’s Robot Sidekick Truly Come in Peace?
• Nine Days to The Brave and The Bold…

He gets right on to
The friction of the day…

Namaste.

Friday – 02 April 2010
Today is Good Friday.
It’s also my 9/80 day off.
Added bonus: SaraRules has the day off, as well.

Last night was relatively low-key. After getting home from work, I cooked dinner – steak, fries and salad – and we hung out, watching Project Runway. messaged me and asked if I was up for going out for a beer. Naturally, I said, “Yes.” (Duh.) We went to Hopper’s — it’s close and they have good beer and appetizers. I had the Madame X Stout, had a Black and Tan and we split an order of their Black Pepper Parmesan Fries. Good calls all around.

After I got back, I surfed the Interwebs for a while before getting back to work on the floors and walls of the WWG rail station.

Stray Toasters

• Commentary: Today, on Good Friday, Here’s Why I Remain Catholic
• Verdict is in on Apple iPad: It’s a winner
• 10 Secrets to Affordable Style
• The Sex Scholar
• Noel Kerns Photography
• iPad Is the Future
• …and since its advent is around the corner: The Future Soon
• My new Ravens jerseys were just delivered.
• Hacking Nerves to Revive Paralyzed Limbs
• Area 51 vets speak
• Computer Problems:
  
• Say Thank You to This Guy for Video Game Consoles
• What Your Birth Date Song Says About You
• Shyamalan Addresses Airbender’s Race Controversy And Answers Your Questions

Off to see what 02 April has to offer…

Namaste.

Thursday – 01 April 2010
It’s April Fools’ Day.

In her inimitable charming manner, Mother Nature sent March out a little less lamb-like than many cared for. We were graced with new snow. Seeing the humor in making it an April Fool’s Day prank, she allowed the snow to continue to fall this morning. The Council for Better Driving: Utah reminds drivers to use caution when commuting today.

Today is also NBN “Technical Friday.”   Win.

Last night, SaraRules and I rented kids for the evening. I guess that it would be more accurate to say that we watched the kids while Kate and Perry took a belated anniversary night out. As usual, the kids were fine. And, for the first time in many, many years, I got to change a loaded diaper. (I’m sorely out of practice with those, it seems…)

Stray Toasters

• We bought a house.
  I believe that it will sink in even more this weekend, once we get the keys.
• (Almost) Everything You Need to Know About Spring Style
• Improv Everywhere’s No Underwear Subway Ride
  (Thanks to the magic of digital editing, this is safe for work.)
• 
• The Color of Fear == Covet!
• Google, Topeka formally trade names
• Everybody was kung-fu fighting…!
• Leonardo: An early Dr. Strangelove?
• A part of the parenting process I’m not looking forward to (besides the messy diapers)…

  

  And, no, this is NOT a subtle way of saying that we’re expecting kids. I just found the comic amusing.

• Apple’s iPad: The First Reviews Are In
• My First Bacon
• Klingon Bird of Prey, made from 274,350 virtual bricks

Namaste.

Tuesday – 30 March 2010
“Wow.”
That’s really the best way to describe how the morning has gone. There were some… networking issues that took a little longer to sort out than planned. They have been dealt with and all is well with the world once more. At least, for the time being.

::: hangs up cape :::

Last night was relatively quiet. I hung out at home while SaraRules was at a club meeting. Then we met up at the mall and did a little shopping. Back home for some TV and downtime. I also worked on the railroad building for the Dr. Volt’s masterboard.

Stray Toasters

• Today is ‘s  farewell lunch. Pawit’s. Should be good.
• For reasons relating to solving this morning’s network snafu, is also my Human of the Day.
• For SaraRules: Eagles sending quarterback Donovan McNabb to Raiders? , by way of
• This morning, I had Nelly’s Shake Ya Tailfeather playing in my head. That was a good way to start the day.
• Sony’s PS3 Update Could Affect Supercomputer Users
• Xbox 360 to Accept Any and All USB Storage Starting April 6^th
• My new NFL jerseys have shipped. They should arrive early next week. This is good.
• Wye Oak: Tiny Desk Concert
• ::: This Space Left Intentionally Blank :::
• 
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Court OKs Repeated Tasering of Pregnant Woman
• My friend, Melissa S., posted a link about this fashion atrocity – which is apparently called a “Peekaroo” – on Facebook:
  

  With it, you can re-enact your very own version of the chest-burster scene from Alien.

• First Listen: Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings
• Gadget and video game-themed baked goods

Namaste.

Huh.  I just noticed that I’m actually dressed like my icon, with the exception of the tie color being different.

Friday – 26 March 2010
It’s snowing.

That’s right: Mother Nature’s silent mocking laughter, in the face of Spring, is descending upon the Land Behind the Zion Curtain. It’s not a blizzard (or “snowmaggedon” or “snowpocalypse”), but it’s snowing, nonetheless. Did I mention that I’m ready for Spring? The Council for Better Driving advises caution when taking to the streets today.

Last night, SaraRules and I visited her folks for a little bit. I had to take something to her father: A fresh new copy of the new TPB of The Middleman: The Collected Series Indispensability. He was pleasantly surprised by it. Yep, “Favored Son-In-Law” status: Confirmed.

After that, we went to dinner at Thai Orchid. (This came after we discovered that neither of us had taken the steaks we had planned to have for dinner out of the freezer to thaw…) I had forgotten that I’d been there a few months ago, with Josh and Marci. I had the Pad Kee Mao, which was moderately spicy, but very good.

When we got home, SaraRules tuned in Project Runway. They had an interesting challenge: The designers not only had to create a fashion item, but they got to design their own fabric, as well. Most of the choices were creative, some were… not-so-creative (and kind of boring). While watching this, I was going through the files I’d need to complete the gaming board for Dr. Volt’s. I thought that I had a decent handle on how to proceed, but when I started on it, I discovered that some of the pieces were slightly different measurements than I had thought. Not enough to completely stop production, but enough to make me consider a few things differently.

Stray Toasters

• Monkeys. *sigh* The phrase “Act your age, not your shoe size” has already been brought to mind this morning…
• WorldWorksGames has dropped another bombshell. TWO of them, actually:
  • Mayhem: Streets of Legend
  • Mayhem: Armoury 1

  Both are part of their TerrainlinX line, so they can be built modularly and are updates of a couple of their older sets: Streets of Mayhem and Mayhem Armoury, respectively. I saw these late last night/VERY early this morning, while working on the masterboard. And, yes, I snatched them up immediately. I have some buildin’ in my future, it seems…

• 
• Cancer Threat from Tanning Beds May Prompt FDA Changes
• I neglected to mention that my superpower kicked in the other night, while I was at the mall: I ran into Pat and Adriana, whom I haven’t seen in over six months. And, for a surprise-packed surprise: Adriana is pregnant! I had no idea.
• Zombie Survival Transportation
• How to Fit a House and Garage Into 2000 Stylish Sq. Ft.
• By way of Mike B. and the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file : ChatRoulette / Lady Gaga Telephone Mash-up
• Badass of the Week: Lydia Litvyak
• I said come on Fhqwhgads
  I said come on Fhqwhgads
• Ultra: 10 Songs to Shake the Dance Floor

I should figure out what I want to do for lunch…

Namaste.

Tuesday – 23 March 2010
This morning there was… well… to call it a “flurry” would be a bit of an overstatement. Yes, there were snow flakes. Yes, they were falling. But, no, they weren’t falling en masse. And, you sort of had to look to see that there really was snow falling and that it wasn’t an illusion or trick of light.

Last night, I needed some “down time.” I got it. It was good. I spent a portion of the time assembling a team of ‘Clix for tonight’s game with Chris.

I am often amused and stymied by the randomness of the music that pops into my head first thing in the morning. Today was no exception. This morning’s “Song Stuck on Repeat” was Only In My Dreams, by Debbie Gibson. Yeah. Really. And, to be honest, it wasn’t even the whole song. It was mostly just a few lines from the first verse. I blame my old dorm-mate, Mark D., for this one — he was a pretty big fan of hers, back in the day.  Thanks, Mark.

Stray Toasters

• The Arc of Electromagnetic Radiation Connection
• National Chains Turning to Free Food on Tuesday
  • Special Note: Today is Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry’s
• 
  
  The bill passed.  This is not necessarily a “bad” thing.  Move along. Thank you.
• From the far-too-infrequently-used “Cyberpunk” tag: The Beauty of Bones (and Skinput)
• Drink Darker Coffee for a Happier Stomach
• Nyx sent me a link to this:
  
  …which, in turn, reminded me of this:

  ….as well as the Closer fan video, but I figured that I’d keep things safe-for-work today.

• Binder Clips as Cable Catchers Redux
  This kind of simplicity and ingenuity reminds me of the old – and quite false – chestnut about NASA, in the early days of ‘The Space Race,’ attempting to develop a pen that would write in space (pesky ink vs. zero-gravity issues and whatnot…), where as the Russian space program found a very simple, but effective solution: They just used pencils.
• Wrecking ball lamp.  I like. Quite a bit. I’m not sure, but it might even find a spot on The Covet List.
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Row over ‘torture’ on French TV
• Youdunnit: Locked Room Murder, Backwards in Time
• From the “Double dumb-ass on you!” file: US couple jailed after boasting on TV about shoplifting toys

Back to the grind…

Namaste.

Monday – 22 March 2010
To quote Mr. Rogers: “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood…” The sun’s getting ready to put in an appearance over the mountains, there are a few clouds in the sky (although the forecast says we’ll get some precipitation later in the day) and the temps are supposed to be in the middle 50s.

Yesterday was a somewhat lazy and quiet day. I slept in a bit and then hung out in the living room, playing on the Interwebs. After SaraRules got up, we headed over to Rich’s Bagels for a bite to eat before she had to head downtown for the last performance of The Italian Girl in Algiers. When she left, I had all kinds of grand designs of how I’d spend the afternoon:

• Drawing
• Building a WWG masterboard for Dr. Volt’s
• Playing LEGO Batman
• Reading comics

Suffice if to say that the world was my proverbial oyster! So, how did I spend my time?

Cleaning.

That’s right… cleaning. It needed to be done, so I can’t really say that it was a waste of time.

When I was done, I headed up to the local Beans & Brews for a frozen mocha (no shots, the espresso machine was on the fritz) and to sketch up a design for the WWG masterboard – I’m going to build a railroad station.

>> FAST FORWARD >>

SaraRules fixed a tasty dinner of seasoned shrimp over rice pilaf and I threw together a salad to go with it. We had a white wine – I can’t remember what it was though – to go with it; it was very palatable.

After dinner – and some shopping – we came home and watched Surrogates. It was a good movie and an interesting analogue to Gamer, in the same way that Armageddon and Deep Impact were analogous. I would have to say that Surrogates was a better movie, on the whole, though.

Stray Toasters

• I woke up this morning with Hey Ya! running through my head.
• Four Alternatives to Jeans as Usual
• It seems that we’re about to have a new health care bill. I, for one, say that this is a “good” thing.
• Nyx shared a picture that made me laugh… which is a great thing for a Monday morning:



• Palm’s sales slump as its new phones struggle
• Purdue’s men’s basketball team made it to the Sweet Sixteen. Next up: Duke.
• Antique Typewriters – The Martin Howard Collection

I need more coffee.

Namaste.

Sunday – 21 March 2010
Good morning, Second Day of Spring.
It’s a bright and sunny day outside. I can hear birds chirping in the trees outside the sliding glass door.

Yesterday also turned out to be a very nice day, weather-wise. Low-to-mid 50s, with lots of sun and no clouds. In fact, it was nice enough to ride around with the sunroof open and the windows down a bit.

SaraRules and I went to Cottonwood Cafe for lunch yesterday. One of these days, maybe I’ll remember how messy their Mushroom Bacon Cheeseburger is before I order it. (But, it’s oh so tasty…)  After lunch, we trekked south and west to visit Hobby Lobby. We wandered around the store for a bit; I found a couple of model railroading books that followed me home. Next stop: The Garden of Sweden. Miraculously, I walked out of there empty-handed. I was proud of myself. (Or is it that I was disappointed in them for not having anything that I couldn’t live without…?) After the fun part of the excursion, came the less-fun-but-just-as-important task of running errands.

After errands were run and there was no place else that we needed/wanted to go, we came home. SaraRules took a nap, I hopped on the nerd. After an hour-plus of surfing the Interwebs, I had a minor epiphany: I was hungry. I awakened SaraRules and we decided to get something to eat. We agreed upon Olive Garden, called Galadriel to see if she wanted to join us and we were on our way. We were seated inside of five minutes. Our server, Jaron, was pretty quick on the uptake. I had the calamari appetizer, Pasta e Fagioli soup and the Chicken and Shrimp Carbonara, washed down with a glass of Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay. Everything tasted very good.

Back home to finalize plans for the rest of the evening. We decided to go bowling. We figured that we’d check out Karen Pullman’s Pro Shop and Bowling Center, which is pretty much just around the corner from where we live. Nice place. Fifteen lanes. Not nearly as chaotic as Sandy All-Star Lanes used to be. Jana and Chris also joined us. My games were off — two of them were WAY off: I bowled 102, 106, 165. I couldn’t close a frame in the first two games to save my life. Seriously. And I missed some/most of the spares by inches. However, Galadriel had the hot hand last night: 144, 141, 186. Yeah, she was all over it.

Today, I have absolutely no idea what I want to do, let alone what I’m going to do. SaraRules has the final performance of The Italian Girl in Algiers this afternoon, which means that I’m a bachelor from about 1230 until 1800. We’ll have to see what comes up.

Stray Toasters

• Last night, I had a dream with my paternal grandfather in it. In the… over twenty years… that he’s been deceased, this is the first time that I recall having a dream with him in it.  Odd.
• 10 Essentials: Paul Smith
• We finally confirmed that the little girls who live upstairs are actually roller-skating in their kitchen. That fact is made even more scary/fascinating given how small the kitchen is.
• Mom-and-Pop Site Busts the Web’s Biggest Myths
• It appears as though Live+Press is working again.
• My Very Own Gagavolution
  Including a link, for those who haven’t seen it, to the video (NSFW) for Telephone
• Sequels, reboots bring sizzle to summer box office, by way of
• How did Lois afford that apartment anyway?
• Children’s Drawings, Painted Realistically
• Abraham Lincoln Reborn as a Vampire Hunter
• Bishops’ remains stolen in Cyprus
• And this is why I use Keynote:



And, for those who don’t get it: Edward Tufte.

Saturday – 20 March 2010
It’s the first day of Spring.
It’s sunny outside… hopefully, it will stay that way. Yesterday seemed to suffer from multiple personality disorder, as it was alternately sunny and snowy. Yeah. “Welcome to Utah — If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes.”

Yesterday was a good day, all around. I had lunch with Galadriel and Paul at California Pizza Kitchen. I hadn’t been there in… years, I don’t even know how many. I had their jamabalaya, which I recalled as being good. (It was, indeed, quite good.) The lunch was a kind of meet-and-greet for Paul and Galadriel — I realized that he could provide a wealth of information to her about finance and accounting and thought that it would be a good opportunity to set up some kind of mentoring relationship. Thankfully, it went very well. Fait accompli.

After lunch, as I was around the corner from where she worked, I stopped in to say “Hello,” to my friend, Danette.  We chatted for a couple of minutes before I was in the wind again.

Next stop: USUO offices.
Objective: Drop in for a quick visit to a certain SaraRules.
Mission: ACCOMPLISHED.

From USUO, I headed over to The Train Shoppe. I’ve been threatening to go there for a couple of weeks, but never quite getting around to it. They had an old Lionel 4-4-2 engine and tender with C&O markings that I’d seen the last time I visited the store…

…and I wanted it. Fortunately, it was still there. And it came home with me. It was from Lionel’s 6-1184 Alleghany Steam Freight Ready-to-Run Set, from 1971/1972.  I had originally planned to put it atop the railroad pictures in our dining room – I currently have some HO scale train pieces there now – but reconsidered when I realized just how much the engine weighs.

Next, I headed down to visit Kate and Perry. We shot the bull for a bit, as the kids played. While I was there, Perry showed me the opening credits from – and I wish I was making this up – a Japanese Spider-Man show. Yeah. Complete with a giant robot. O,o Madness. And just in case you think that this was all just some bizarre fever-dream:

There. Told you so. Straight from the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file.

Next, it was home for a longer-than-planned pre-Clitorati nap… and then, I was off for the evening.

Stray Toasters

• Arrest made in Wal-Mart racial announcement incident
• For Galadriel: Spanish Inquisition
• Snoop Dogg wants to know why there are no black superheroes [UPDATED]
• Seeing the Littlest, Cutest Voltron of Them All Made Me Melt

Time to go greet the day.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 17 March 2010
Happy Green Lantern Day.
(And for the rest of you: Happy Saint Patrick’s Day.)
Today is also Comics and Sushi Wednesday — that’s right, it’s a three sushi meal week!
Win, Win and Win.

Last night was a low key night. There was no opera last night, so SaraRules had the night off. After work, we had dinner and then went on a trip to check out Tai Pan Trading. It was more… knick-knacks and what have you than we expected; we were thinking that there would be more furniture and larger goods. *shrug* Oh, well… now we know (and knowing is half the battle!). Next up, we hit the local Old Navy and Target and then headed back home.

Once we got in, SaraRules watched Project Runway; I split my time between watching Project Runway and my inner eyelids. I made a (quick-ish) run to Wal-Mart and then came home and watched a couple of shows that I’d recorded: Shatner’s Raw Nerve, with guest Leonard Nimoy, and an episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

Stray Toasters

• Look around the Internet and you’ll find many articles about the National Broadband Plan and “FCC pushes to get broadband internet to more people.” Granted, I am a big fan of the Internet and of broadband, but… I find it interesting that people are so gung-ho about getting faster Internet, but can’t seem to wrap their heads around the idea of fixing the problems in our schools or in providing better health care – or even just BASIC health care – to Americans.
• New high-speed rail network could trump air travel
• WizKids! realized that they published the Power Girl ‘Clix figure and card without one kind of important stat: Super Strength. (Yeah, Kryptonians aren’t exactly known as being slouches in the strength department). They posted the corrected version on Monday.
• For Galadriel:
• 
• NASA Finds Shrimp Where No Advanced Life Should Be: 600 Feet Beneath Antarctic Ice
• LEGO + Ninjas = Awesomeness
• ClockworkZero: Cyberpunk and Steampunk Jewelry
• Michael Chabon on Columbia, MD
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: IRS visits Sacramento carwash in pursuit of 4 cents
• Florida Family Policy Council “mistakenly” uses wrong photo of lesbian parents
• Super power: Visualizing the internet — Of the 100 listed, I have 19 bookmarked.
• Break the law and your new ‘friend’ may be the FBI

And that’s good for now.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 16 March 2010
Last night, a group of us took the advice of Queen and had “A Night at the Opera.” We saw Utah Opera’s production of The Italian Girl in Algiers, by Rossini. Thanks to SaraRules, we had amazing seats: Grand Tier, second row center. This afforded an amazing view of the stage and supertitles.

The opera was more light-hearted than your standard fare. And, after the production, SaraRules informed me that it was directed by the same person who directed La Cenerentola a couple of years ago — once she said that, I could note similarities in the staging. It was a fun opera, made even more enjoyable by the group who went… and, more notably, by the fact that SaraRules was in the production. She was a supernumerary; her role was as one of the harem girls. She and her coworker, Melissa (another super in the production), even garnered a small write-up in The Salt Lake Tribune, where they were noted as being “remarkably funny.” It was a good way to spend the evening. The opera runs through Sunday, if you’re looking for a fun change of pace, you should consider seeing this production.

Stray Toasters

• I’m still finding things that I do – and don’t – like about MacJournal. Testing continues…
• Nude performers cause a stir at New York museum
• Steampunk St. Patrick’s Day video
• From the “Don’t call it a comeback, he’s been here for years” file: Tiger Woods to return to golf at Masters
• How to Make Peanut Butter and Jelly ‘Sushi’ Rolls
• You’re Leaving a Bacterial Fingerprint on Your Keyboard
• LaDainian Tomlinson is going from the Chargers to the Jets.
• Undateable: A Style Guide to Everything You’re Doing Wrong

Back to the grind.

Namaste.

Monday – 15 March 2010
“Beware the Ides of March…”

Saturday’s tournament went well. In a 500-point limit match, you expect to see scores in the 1300-1500 range, for the winner. Not so with this event: The winner clocked in with 1767 points — he had a feat on some characters that garnered him extra points for winning. Well played. Well played, indeed.

After the tournament, SaraRules and I did some errand-running. In the snow. That’s right: Snow. BLAH. But we trudged on. And, when she left to make her stage call for the opera, I kept running errands. (They had to get done and weren’t going to get done by themselves.)

After the running around had been buttoned-up, I still managed to make it to The E-Center and caught the third period of the Grizzlies hockey game. (I bought the ticket; I should get to enjoy the game, at least.) Galadriel, Mary, Matt and I went to Hopper’s for post-game dinner. I had the “Far From Philadelphia” cheese steak sandwich and fries… and a Madame X Stout.

Sunday morning, I woke up and played around on the Interwebs until SaraRules got up. We had a light breakfast and then headed to Cedar City to hang out with Lish — who was in town for Josh’s wedding — for a while.

SaraRules and Lish got to talk shop and catch up on things. Then we headed to find something for dinner, which was no small feat in Cedar City on a Sunday evening. We went to Ninja Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi. (Who’d’ve thought it…?!) We sat at a hibachi table, so we got dinner and a show. I had the Steak and Chicken combination, with gyoza and a couple of pieces of Ika nigiri. Yep, there’s a chance that this is a two-sushi-meal week. Mm-hmm, that’s right! After dinner, we dropped Steve off and made our way northward… by way of the local Dairy Queen.

Stray Toasters

• Hopefully, everyone remembered to “Spring Forward” and didn’t wind up an hour late for anything yesterday… or today.
• Yesterday was also Pi Day.
• Fake Russian invasion broadcast sparks Georgian panic
• ‘Mission: Impossible’ actor Peter Graves dead at 83
• Artist Helps New York ‘LEGO’ of Its Crumbling Buildings, courtesy of Amy
  • When she showed me this, it reminded me of an article that I had seen a while ago. I clicked through a link in the article and found the very item that I was thinking of, this.
• Coffee inhaler. Why have I not heard of this before?!

Duty calls.
Namaste.

Saturday – March 13, 2010
Last night, SaraRules and I forewent (yes, I checked to make sure that “forewent” is an actual word) our usual Friday night doings and headed downtown. After a tasty dinner at Macaroni Grill, we headed to the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center to see Wallace. It was… two-plays-in-one, but performed in alternating parts. It was well-acted and very well-done. After the play, we met up with the Clitorati crew for “non-dinner” (at least for us).

Today, I am judging a ‘Clix tournament at noon. I am curious to see how the players take to today’s format. I’m calling today’s scenario “Mosaic,” in no small part due to the Green Lantern series of the same name. In today’s scenario, all games will be played on the same map — this is to put everyone on a level playing field, so to speak. The biggest variable will be Battlefield Conditions (BFCs), which change the overall game conditions. Each game will start with a BFC… but the BFCs will change every ten (10) minutes.

Also happening today, SaraRules hits the stage in Utah Opera’s production of The Italian Girl in Algiers. She’s a supernumerary in the production. Her role: Harem girl. The show runs through Sunday, 21 March 2010; if you have the opportunity, you should check it out.

Stray Toasters

• Don’t forget: Daylight Saving Time begins at 0200 on Sunday, 14 March 2010.
  (And, yes, it’s “saving,” singular… not “savings,” plural.)
• At the Guggenheim, the Art Walked Beside You, Asking Questions
• WizKids has unveiled their latest figure from The Brave and the Bold set: Power Girl

• Georgian monasteries offer to take in prisoners
• Marque Cornblatt retrospective art opening in Baltimore
• 
• US Census infographics from 1870 — NOTE: The click-through link loads slowly (graphics-heavy).
• Beheaded Vikings found at Olympic site
• Laptop sleeve made out of recycled wetsuits
• More Than Super: Searching for Christ in comic book culture

Quote of the Day
Yesterday, I semi-watched Titan A.E., the last film produced by Fox Animation Studios. (Added trivia: Don Bluth – whose studio did the animation for the Dragon’s Lair video game – was one of the co-directors of the film.) The movie contains one of my all-time favorite movie quotes: At the movie’s climax, Cale (voiced by Matt Damon) and Akima (Drew Barrymore) walk around a newly-formed planet – think “Genesis Planet” from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan:

Cale: I think I’ll call it… “Bob.”
Akima: You can’t call a planet “Bob.”
Cale: So now you’re the boss. You’re the King of Bob.
Akima: Can’t we just call it “Earth”?
Cale: No one said you have to live on Bob.
Akima: I’m never calling it that.

And that’s a wrap — I need to finish getting ready and ease on down the road…

Namaste.

Friday – 12 March 2010
It’s (almost) the weekend.
In honor of this fact, I kicked off the morning with Tank!, Just Got Paid and The Spirit of Radio (Live). After all, if you have to work on a Friday, you might as well start off the day with a little something to get the blood pumping, nicht wahr?

Last night, I had grand designs of heading to the local B&N and drawing. Laziness/tiredness, a comfy couch and a call from my father won out, however. I did see an interesting show on the National Geographic Channel, Man-Made: Supersize Steamship. It detailed a moving company’s task of moving an old paddlewheel steamship from St. Louis, MO to St. Elmo. The reason they couldn’t just float the ship to the new town: St. Elmo is landlocked. It was cool to watch how the movers dealt with the obstacles involved with getting the ship from Point A to Point B.

Stray Toasters

• It seems as though MacJournal not only plays nicely with WordPress, but it apparently routed the post through WordBook, too. It didn’t automatically post to LiveJournal… but I think that’s due to a recent problem with the LivePress plugin. And, it didn’t have an option for the PostAvatar plugin, which means that if I’m going to have an avatar on a post, I’ll have to update the post in WordPress. That’s not too bad/big a deal.
• Thalidomide effect mystery solved
• I have no idea (yet) if this will set link targets to “_blank”.
• Mini-documentary on the British war on public photos and video
• Esperanza Spalding: Just Bass and Voice
• Paris Fashion Week 2010
• Deal Gives New Life to Overhaul of Student Loans
• 
• Hm… I can’t reset an image’s alignment in here. Good to know.
• Americans: Test Your Broadband Speed, Help the FCC Keep ISPs Honest
• Student Work — Kyoto University of Art and Design
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: French bread spiked with LSD in CIA experiment

Okay, this should be a decent test of MacJournal. Let’s see how it goes.

Namaste.

::: EDITED :::
Added Post Avatar
Changed image alignment

But, all-in-all, I could get used to MacJournal.