Random Access

Saturday – 06 February 2010
Today is Bit’s second birthday.

(taken at our wedding in October)

This morning, I got together with Perry and two of his kids and attended The Great Train Expo at South Towne Expo Center (pictures here). The show was smaller than I expected, but it was still a good bit of fun. I managed to find an O Scale Lionel “Maryland” box car, that I couldn’t leave without purchasing:

Chew on This: Food for Thought – Black History Month
Today’s person is Louis Farrakhan.

Louis Farrakhan, (born Louis Eugene Walcott; May 11, 1933) is the National Representative of the Nation of Islam. He is an advocate for black interests, and a critic of American society. Farrakhan has been both widely praised and criticized for his often controversial political views and rhetorical style.

As a child, he received training as a violinist. At the age of six, he was given his first violin and by the age of thirteen, he had played with the Boston College Orchestra and the Boston Civic Symphony. A year later, he went on to win national competitions, and was one of the first black performers to appear on Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour, where he also won an award. He graduated with honours from the prestigious Boston English High School, where he also played the violin and was a member of the track team. He attended the Winston-Salem Teachers College from 1951 to 1953 but dropped out to pursue a career in music. Known as “The Charmer,” he performed professionally on the Boston nightclub circuit as a singer of calypso and country songs.

In 1955, while headlining a show in Chicago entitled “Calypso Follies,” he first came in contact with the teachings of the Nation of Islam. A friend from Boston, sometime saxophonist Rodney Smith, introduced him to the NOI’s doctrine and he attended the annual Saviours’ Day address by Elijah Muhammad. He joined the Nation of Islam in July 1955, becoming Louis X. The “X” was a placeholder following the dropping of the slave name, referring to the loss of the unknown surname of his slave forefathers, and preceding the Islamic name some Nation members are given later in their conversion.

Louis X first proved himself at Temple No. 7 in Harlem, where he emerged as the protégé of Malcolm X, the minister of the temple and one of the most prominent members of the Nation of Islam. Louis X was given his Muslim name, Abdul Haleem Farrakhan, by Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam. Farrakhan was appointed head minister of Boston Temple No. 11, which Malcolm had established earlier. After Malcolm X’s break with the Nation in 1964 over political and personal differences with Elijah Muhammad, Farrakhan replaced Malcolm as head minister of Harlem’s Temple No. 7 and as the National Representative of the Nation, the second in command of the organization.

Farrakhan has been the center of much controversy, and critics claim that some of his views and comments have been racist or homophobic. Farrakhan has categorically denied these charges, and has stated that much of America’s perception of him has been shaped by media sound bites. This defense is echoed by religion scholar Mattias Gardell, who argues that, when considered in the context of Farrakhan’s typically lengthy lectures, many of Farrakhan’s controversial comments take on a more nuanced or thoughtful meaning that cannot be conveyed in a sound bite.

Stray Toasters

• Chris came over yesterday to play an Asgardian battle of HeroClix.
  He totally pwned me… but it was still a good time.
• d°light Bubbles LED Squeezable Lights
• A couple of LEGO-riffic items:
  • Endor Bunker
  • Touchscreen-Controlled LEGO Airbus A380 Has Motherf*cking Snakes on Board
    
• Holy Smokes!
• Working Steampunk Firearms
• I’ve been thinking about putting together an Astonishing X-Men team for next Saturday’s tournament:
  • Cyclops (Danger Room)
  • Shadowcat (Sinister)
  • Beast (Mutations & Monsters)
  • Wolverine (Sinister)
  • Emma Frost (Mutations & Monsters)… and
  • Lockheed (Sinister) – I’m working on a figure mod and using the pog from Sinister for his stats.
• There Is Much Wrong with This Batman iPod Shirt
• How Oil-Filled Lenses Are Bringing Sight to Those in Need
• Cheshire Cat papercraft
• Microsoft Finally to Patch 17-Year Old Bug

Time to get ready for some pre-Super Bowl shopping and then to see Utah Symphony, with Big Bad Voodoo Daddy tonight.

Namaste.

Monday – 11 January 2010
On the whole, it’s been a good weekend. Yesterday, was fairly lazy and full of football… and a couple of movies.

Julie (our IT admin) came over to watch her Pats take on the Ravens, details below. After the game, I played a little City of Heroes. I was invited to join a team “…for missions in Croatoa,” which was fine. Somewhere along the way, we switched from that mission set to running a Task Force (extended series of linked missions), which I neither expected nor had time for. So, I had to leave, mid-TF. Oh, well… I managed to eke a couple of levels out of the experience.

We headed over to the in-laws’ for dinner and a movie, Star Trek. The dinner, the movie and the company were all quite good. I also inherited Logan’s old Xbox… which is good, as I’ve been hankerin’ to play some of my old Xbox games, but couldn’t, because my old Xbox decides to shut down/stop reading discs after a few minutes. *shakes fist*

After we got back home, SaraRules and I watched a movie that Logan recommened: The Signal. It was a story, told in three parts – as interpreted by three directors. While there was a single plot thread that wove through the film, the three directors’ visions didn’t exactly gel into a cohesive movie.

Instant Replay: Football
The playoffs started this weekend:

Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots
33 – 14
The Ravens traveled to Foxboro to take on the Patriots in the chilly New England air. Going into the game, the Ravens had not beaten the Patriots in their last five games and the Pats had not lost at home all season. But, once RB Ray Rice broke off an 83-yard TD run – on the Ravens’ first play from scrimmage – it looked as though the Ravens might be on to something… When Terrell Suggs strip-sacked Tom Brady – on the Pats’ first series – setting up another Ravens TD, the tide and momentum seemed to favor the Ravens even more. LB Ray Lewis and FS Ed Reed even got in on the action, with a sack and an interception, respectively. QB Joe Flacco only went 4/10, with 34 yds passing, but he managed a great ground game that kept Baltimore in control of the ball and the clock. Saturday, the Ravens continue their playoff run against the Indianapolis Colts.

Joe, you and the boys just beat the Pats for the first time in five meetings!  How does that make you feel?

Coach Belichick, Tom looks a little down-in-the-mouth.  Even though your lucky pom-pom hat didn’t help you win the game, does it offer any sage advice as to what you can say or do to help cheer Tom up?

.

New York Jets at Cincinnati Bengals
24 –14
The Bengals took on the Jets. Again. And came away with a loss. Again. For the second time in two weeks… although this time it was in Cincinnati.Sorry, janietrain and carefreespirit.

.

Green Bay Packers at Arizona Cardinals
45 – 51
The Packers traveled to the desert.  Again. This time, however, the Cards handed them an overtime loss. Congrats, Marr.

.

Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys
14 – 34
The Cowboys handed the Eagles a loss in the House That Jerry Built.

Stray Toasters

• I won’t get to see Saturday’s game, as we have tickets to Utah Opera’s performance of Carmen. (Thank Heaven for DVRs…)  While I’m hoping for a Ravens win, I’m not betting the farm on it.
• The Price of Apple MacBook Pros Around the World
• Tombs of pyramid builders offer look into daily lives
• Race Riots Grip Italian Town, and Mafia Is Suspected
• DC has announced their Blackest Night follow-up, Brightest Day:

  

  I’m not sure how I feel about a/another year-long, bi-weekly book.

• A Nation of Hunkered-Down Homebodies
• Booth Babe Confessions
• Secret London: guide to the weird and wonderful secrets of London-town
• Um… when exactly did Ray Lewis become a member of Delta Sigma Theta?



• Steampunk mask: “Raptor Pilot”
• Malicious App in Android Market

Namaste.

Thursday – 16 December 2009
Day 3 of the work week and it’s NBN Thursday, to boot.  That’s a nice combination, no matter how you slice it.

Last night, SaraRules and I had one of her former MFA classmates, Sara… hm… I guess I’ll just have to refer to her as “Sara2″… over for dinner. SaraRules made chicken and dumplings for the entree. The ladies chatted about their experiences in the MFA program, including their trip to NYC a couple of years ago. I’d heard about this trip – part of the trip, anyway – from SaraRules; last night, I got some more behind-the-scenes info and insight, which was both sad and rather funny. All-in-all, dinner and the company were quite fun.

This morning, I woke up when the alarm went off… but I really don’t remember turning the alarm off. I do remember looking at the clock, a couple of minutes after the alarm sounded and wondering why it was not going off and why I was awake.  Yep, it was one of “those” mornings. But, I have my trusty cup of coffee at my side, so things can only look up from here.

Stray Toasters

• December 17, 1903: Bicycle Brothers Make Aeroplane Work Wright
• The new trailer for Iron Man 2 is online; take a look here to check it out.
  • Semi-related: People Magazine Loves The Super Hero Squad Show
• Steampunk Menorah
• Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry dies after fall from truck
• Bank of America names new CEO to replace Ken Lewis
• 
• The Year in Media Errors and Corrections, courtesy of
• Extrasolar ‘Super Earth’ is first to have atmosphere
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Brazil boy found with 40 needles in ‘black magic rite’

Time to make the donuts…

Namaste.

Friday – 04 December 2009
Another work week draws to a close.

Last night, SaraRules and I went to The Festival of Trees. When we pulled up to the convention center, the parking lot was full. Full full. As in “people looking for non-existent empty parking spaces” full. We opted not to roam around the lot; instead we parked by Kate and Perry’s and just walked over. That worked much better. Once we got in, it was camera time. I took over 150 pictures of trees, wreaths, Nativity scenes and gingerbread houses. This Nativity picture has a story:

I wasn’t really paying a lot of attention as I turned the corner past this Nativity. So when I glimpsed this king, out of the corner of my eye…

…the first thought in my head was:

“Why is he videotaping Baby Jesus?!”

After a moment, there was a brief spark, as two brain cells rubbed together to form a clue:

“Wait. They didn’t have camcorders at Christ’s birth…”

Which led me to go back and look at it more carefully. Things fell into place much better at that point. Apparently, a lady noted that I was taking pictures of Nativity scenes and told Sara and me about a collection of Nativities – from around the world – that are on display at Temple Square. I think that we’re going to try and see them in the next week or so.

And, I thought that I might actually get out of there without my superpower kicking in. No such luck: I ran into a coworker – who was volunteering at the Festival – as we were getting ready to see the quilts and gingerbread houses.

If you’re in the greater Salt Lake City metropolitan area, I recommend visiting the Festival of Trees – not only is it a nice family outing, but proceeds go to benefit Primary Children’s Medical Center.  It runs from 10 AM to 10 PM, through tomorrow (Saturday, 05 Dec 09). More details can be found here.

After we got home, SaraRules put on some hot chocolate and we settled in to watch Fringe. It was a nice way to wrap up the evening.

Stray Toasters

• U.S. Veteran, 108, fights for WWI memorial
• A Computer Geek’s Smart Productivity Guide
• Bringing the Disney Magic Back in ‘Princess & the Frog‘

  

• LEGO Guitars
• Ancient Morocco adds modern amenities for tourism
• Comcast Eats NBC (infographic)

  

• Metropolis in the Old Days
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Smile Like You’re Dead Inside
• Dams Could Alter Local Weather, Cause More Rain
• Visit to the home of a steampunk houser-restorer
• Chainmail Tetris blocks

Namaste.

Monday – 30 November 2009
“Thirty days has September, April, June and November…”

…and November’s thirty days are hours away from being up. The long weekend has been a good one… and is also hours away from being over. I didn’t really “need” to take today off, but the idea of back-to-back four-day work weeks was appealing, especially as I needed to burn some PTO. Win-Win.

Yesterday, we made it up to Park City for brunch at Cisero’s. As usual, the food was very good… as was the company. After we got back to the valley, SaraRules and I went to visit Kate, Perry and the kids – they were celebrating their second-youngest’s birthday. After that, we headed back over to SaraRules’ parents’ for dinner and football.

Instant Replay: Football

Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens
17 – 20
The Ravens hosted the Steelers in their first match-up of the season. I wasn’t sure what to expect, as both QB Ben Roethlisberger and SS Troy Polamalu were out for Pitt. On one hand, I was hopeful that the Ravens could capitalize on their absence, but on the other hand, I would have liked to have seen the Steelers play at full-strength. The Steelers started third-string QB Dennis Dixon… who, prior to this game, had only thrown one pass in an NFL game. Everyone expected him to be cowed at starting in a big rivalry game. He wasn’t. He went out there and showed an amazing amount of poise and ability. The threw a TD and ran for one himself. (Did I mention that this was his second NFL game… ever?!) I’m far from a Steelers fan, but I really enjoyed watching Dixon play. The Steelers would be insane to let this kid get away. On the other side of the ball, the Steelers were as tenacious as ever. The defense played smart and solid football, not giving the Ravens a lot of opportunities to make big plays. In fact, the game went into overtime when Ravens’ K Billy Cundiff missed a 56 yard field goal that would have put the game away. (The kick was on the mark, but fell about three yards short.) The game turned when Ravens rookie LB Paul Kruger intercepted a pass and ran it back 26 yards, setting up the game-winning field goal. All-in-all, it was an excellent game, despite some sloppy play on the Ravens’ part.

Coach Harbaugh, you just beat the Steelers at home! Does that make you happy?

Um, Coach… the saying is “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands,” not “…look like a total spaz.” That’s okay, I think we all know what you meant.  (But you might want to work on that clapping thing, for future reference.)

Stray Toasters

• Open Letter to Hollywood: Stop Ruining Our Childhood Memories
• I recently discovered the show Build It Bigger. I like it.
• From the “Would…You…Like…To…Play…A…Game?” file: Department of Defense orders 2200 PS3s
• Thor and Avengers News Leaked?
• Interesting read: Zambia’s celebrity couple reveal wife-beating past
• Evolution of Storage
• Surprised Kitten Is Surprised

• Rusting space-marine robot toys
• everything has a season
  and only time will last
  feel the leaves falling fast behind us
  men expend their little lives so fast
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: BBC photographer prevented from shooting St. Paul’s because he might be “Al-Qaeda operative”
• Amazon.com is an evil, evil place…
• Steampunk Tales

Namaste.

Tuesday – 22 September 2009
It’s the first day of Autumn… and it surely felt like it this morning. It was 46°F when I got into the car. Where’d the warm weather go?!

The in-the-office morning kicked off in a good way, though: loonybin88 brought in bagels. Both a pleasant and unexpected way to start a Tuesday morning. And to kepp the flow going, this morning’s musical oleo included:

• 112 – Dance With Me
• Snoop Dogg – Undercova Funk
• Gwen Stefani – Hollaback Girl
• The B-52s – Love Shack
• Billy Preston – Nothing From Nothing
  

Yep, good way to get the body moving first thing in the morning.  *nod*

And it’s a workout day, to boot.

Stray Toasters

• I just found out that I have a meeting that’s been rescheduled… for ten minutes from now.
• Dwayne McDuffie: Drawn to Animation
• Spinning steampunk jewelry and Shoes with which to gouge out the eyes of alien invaders
• “Two of the most terrifying entities in the universe: Sinestro and Hello Kitty”

  

• SGI releases personal supercomputer
• Vegetative patients can still learn
• Last words

And, now, it’s meeting time…

Namaste.

Monday – 07 September 2009
It’s been a good four-day weekend. There have been just about equal rounds of productivity and laziness. That makes for a good weekend, I think.

<< Rewind <<
After running errands on Friday – one of which took me to the office… twice! – I had a quiet afternoon and evening. Clitorati was good, both the company and the conversations. Also of note: Borders’ Cafe now has a Hazelnut Mocha, which is pretty tasty.

Saturday, SaraRules and I got up, went out for breakfast and headed to…

(click for pictures)

It was a few days shy of the second anniversary of our second date… which also happened to be at Hogle Zoo. We got to see the new Amur Tiger and Snow Leopard cubs, as well as a giraffe calf.

After the zoo, we had lunch, stopped in to see Kate, Perry and the kids and then hooked up with some of the usual suspects to check out Gamer. I thought it was a decent – but not awesome – movie, that made a couple of interesting points about gamer culture and society. SaraRules did not like this movie. In fact, she said that she’d consider seeing either The Spirit or Transformers: RotF again before seeing this again… and she hated both of them. That said, if you’re looking for much more than shoot-em-up fare, you might want to skip this one.

Saturday evening was quiet, with SaraRules doing some quilting and me cutting new tiles for new WWG maps.

Sunday, SaraRules got up early-ish to go help her father work on the new/replacement deck he’s building. I got up a little later and headed over to help. We got the deck and the lower trim finished; I’m not sure if the next step will be railings or steps. Fortunately, it’s not my decision to make – I’m just there for the heavy lifting. After the deck-building, I popped into Paragon City for a little bit. As of a couple of weeks ago, I’ve been a CoH member for four years. Where does the time go? After gaming, we (SaraRules, the in-laws-to-be, and I) watched The Mist. Not bad, if a little cheesy at points. And the ending…? Well, let’s just say that it wasn’t “completely” telegraphed, but you could see the proverbial writing on the wall.

> Play >
Today, we slept in. After breakfast, we set about doing a bit of cleaning. (The dining room looks like a “room” again, not just a storage depot.) Next up, we visited the Utah Museum of Natural History. SaraRules hadn’t been there in many moons and I had never been. It was a nice place. Their featured exhibit is called “Toadally Frogs,” which reminded us of a smaller version of the exhibit we saw at the National Aquarium in Baltimore last year. After that, we had dinner at Charlie Chow’s. (A huge “Thanks!” to SaraRules for taking one for the team so that I could have Chinese food!)

Tomorrow, back to the work-a-day grind.

Stray Toasters

• Thanks to shockpuppet and for making sure that I get my LEGO fix:
  • All Things LEGO. Except for LEGO Bricks.
  • Turning to Hollywood Tie-Ins, LEGO Thinks Beyond the Brick
• The NFL regular season kicks off Thursday night with Tennessee at Pittsburgh.
• Laura Bush praises Obama, bemoans excessive partisanship
• Steampunk remixes from b3ta
• I had a couple of revelations about prepping tiles for TerrainLinx yesterday:
  1. I need to make a TON of tiles for this new system…
  2. Once I trim the foamcore down to the sizes I need (6″x6″, 6″x3″ and 3″x3″), prepping it  for use as tiles is actually easier if I don’t use the FoamWerks cutting tools. And it’s much faster, too.
• MarknTyme pointed out the following: Arby’s Serves Up Paper JLA in Upcoming Kids’ Meals
  (Like I need more papercraft things around here…)
• I did, however, find more papercraft arcade games, which may or may not find their way into other builds I do.
• Rapper Ludacris, dealership give away 20 cars to drivers in need
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Damien Hirst installation owner charges teen art-rival with theft of £500000 for removing box of pencils from installation

That’s good for now.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 26 August 2009
Midweek and all’s well.
And, it’s Comics Wednesday; whether or not it involves any sushi remains to be seen.

Last night was a low-key, stay-at-home kind of evening. SaraRules and I caught an episode of NCIS that we hadn’t seen before from two seasons ago; that was pretty cool. After that, we watched Shaq vs. In last night’s episode, Shaq challenged two-time Olympic gold medalists Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh to a game of beach volleyball.

It. Was. Pure. Comedy.

Shaq, with his usual swagger, issued his challenge and then set about training… kind of… for the event. At stake: If he lost, he had to walk down Hermosa Beach in a bright pink Speedo, with “Shaq” printed on the back. He consulted Serena Williams for tips on the female athelete mindset. Then, he checked in with a few members of the U.S. Men’s Volleyball Team, for some coaching and to pick a teammate – Todd Rogers. The episode was fun to watch and made a nice summer off-season filler. If you’re interested in checking out the episode, you can see it – in its entirety – at the Shaq vs link, above.

Stray Toasters

• I had ice cream last night for a snack, since we didn’t have any ice cream at the office yesterday.
  suggested “More swearing = more ice cream”
  (He makes a good point, though…)
• Senator Edward Kennedy dies at 77
• The Unofficial Thomas Pynchon Guide to Los Angeles
• 
• pointed out: Steam Car Breaks World Speed Record at 140 mph
• Microsoft in web photo racism row
• 
• By way of Paul (coworker) – not to be confused with Paul (boss) – comes: TK409
• posted a link to a really good look at why Superman “works” – and/or doesn’t work – for some people as a character: This Issue: SUPERMAN DOESN’T DIE.
  *** I recommend reading this to both comics and non-comics fans.… except possibly l.
• Defiant has music once again!
• sent a link to: Poodle doodles: Dogs are transformed into pandas, horses and even snails in a barking mad grooming craze
  Words fail…
• Tactical Canned Bacon (You just can’t make something like this up.)

Namaste.

Friday – 21 August 2009
Waking up this morning was something of a chore. I think that my first alarm went off for about 15 or 20 seconds before my brain found a couple of brain cells to rub together and come up with “a clue” as to what it was and what to do about it. Then, I went back to sleep.

The second alarm, the one I had to get out of bed to deal with, went a little better. I got up, turned it off and plopped down on the sofa for a few. Motivation to start the day, however, was still close to nil. Fifteen or so minutes later, I managed to pry myself from the comfort of the couch and begin the morning preparation rituals.

Last night saw the premiere of Project Runway on Lifetime. This made for a very happy SaraRules, as it wasn’t just Project Runway, it was a trio of shows:

1. Project Runway All-Star Challenge
2. Project Runway (Season Six Premiere)
3. Models of the Runway (Series Premiere)

Yes, a happy SaraRules, indeed. And, in a surprise turn of events, the person we both liked the least on Project Runway was the first one voted off the show.

While she watched the shows, I worked on interior props for my ‘Clix house. So far, the bathrooms are done – sink, tub and toilet in one; sink and toilet in the other. Now, I need to do beds and dressers for the bedrooms and some living room and kitchen furniture, too.

Stray Toasters

• Matt Mullenweg on Starting a Bank
• Accused champion Semenya not a gender cheat, says manager
• Free Download: Tribute to The Clash’s Sandinista
• Superman/Batman: Public Enemies is the next feature to be released in the DC Animation line. Newsarama has interviews with a couple of the voice actors:
  • Levar Burton (Black Lightning)
  • John C. McGinley (Metallo)
• LED display technology gets a twist
• 12 most annoying types of Facebookers
• Don Cheadle talks ‘Iron Man 2’
• This is still my favorite XKCD strip:

  

• Black Superhero Luke Cage Ignites Marvel Comics
• American Nuns Suspicious of Vatican Probes
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot..?!” file: Food and wine as collateral for bank loans
• Steampunk Flash Drive

Namaste.

Wednesday – 19 August 2009
Welcome to 9/80 Comics (and possibly Sushi) Wednesday. That’s right, I said “9/80 Wednesday.” I’m off today, rather than Friday this week, as I’m going to be covering for loonybin88 – and apparently the rest of the IT team, as well – on Friday: He’s out of town, a couple of guys are at off-site training this week and my team is off this Friday.  Julie and I have already discussed the idea of bringing in movies for Friday. I can’t complain too much, because I’m getting a “weekend” in the middle of the week. Win-Win.

Last night, I thought that I was going to finish a working on my newest ‘Clix building. I came close, but I realized that something was missing. It turned out that it was a couple of somethings:

1. A wall texture in one of the bedrooms
2. The upstairs hallway looked… “off,” it needed a half-wall at the stairwell.

But, by the time I realized these things, SaraRules was already abed and I didn’t want to start printing things and disturb her sleep. Another thing to do is to top it all off and to put a roof on the whole thing.

Stray Toasters

• Confessions of a Comic Book Guy – That’s Just the Way Things Were
• Project Runway‘s new season kicks off tomorrow night. Tim Gunn was on Good Morning America and Live with Regis and Kelly this morning, promoting it.
• pointed me in the direction of Visualizing up to Ten Dimensions, which I had skipped looking at yesterday. I checked it out last night. It was pretty neat… and that’s coming from a guy whose relationship with classroom Physics could be described as “not necessarily the best.”
• Beloit College Mindset List
• One of my favorite LEGO-related sites, The Brothers Brick, has had some neat MoC postings lately:
  • Gears of Jelly – a steampunk jellyfish
  • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is much less terrifying in LEGO
  • Terror of the Radio Waves
  • Spock’s Jellyfish
  • Microscale Star Trek fleet – including a tiny Defiant!
  • Take me out to the ballgame!
• 
• I just saw a commercial teaser for a new series on ABC called Eastwick. As in “The Witches of Eastwick.” According to a quick look at Wikipedia, it’s the third time a series has been attempted.
• The Problem with PowerPoint
• Sipping Spiders Through a Straw: Funny monster lyrics to traditional tunes
• 
• Sony Announces a Slimmer PS3
• I probably shouldn’t be as amused by Comcast’s Ben Stein/Shaquille O’Neal commercials as I am.
• Hope Diamond to get new setting for anniversary
• Can anyone stop Usain Bolt?!

Or even catch him!?

Inka Dinka Doo.

Namaste.

Thursday – 13 August 2009
This week has been cruising right along.

Happy Birthday to :

I also talked with last night. He informed me of the following:

• Bot and Pixel are doing well.
• Bit has a few new words. (And, yes, one of them is “Mama.”)
• Grandparents just don’t understand.

Reeling By on Celluloid: The Last King of Scotland
SaraRules and I watched this movie last nig.ht. It told the story of Idi Amin’s reign as “President for Life” of Uganda in the 1970s, from the point of view of his personal physician. Forest Whitaker portrayed Amin; James McAvoy portrayed Nicholas Garrigan, his doctor. After college, Garrigan goes to Uganda, looking to make a difference in the world. Through a random occurance, winds up meeting Amin, who has just ascended to power in a coup. From there the movie follows Garrigan as he becomes entangled in the complicated world of  Amin’s fight to maintain power and control.

The movie was very well done and didn’t pull any punches in bringing some of the horrors of President Amin’s rule to light. Forest Whitaker won the 2007 Oscar for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for this film and, watching his character’s progression from man of the people to a man caught up in his own cult of personality. All-in-all, it was an very good film and one quite worth watching.

Four-Color Coverage
This week had a number of good books… as did last week, which I didn’t list, because I was tromping through the woods of Idaho. So, this week will see a, or rather “another,” two-week compilation list:

Week of 05 August 09:

• Doom Patrol #1 – DC’s strangest heroes are back on the block. And they’ve got a new strange villainess to contend with. An interesting read and one that makes me curious to see if the next couple of issues turn this into a regular purchase.
  
• Justice League: Cry for Justice #2 (of 6) – The pieces and the players continue to come together in this offshoot League. It’s still moving a little slowly, but I’m going to bear it out, especially since it’s supposed to have (eventual) ramifications in the core JLA book.
  
• Superman: World of New Krypton #5 (of 12) – General Zod has been shot. New Krypton is in chaos. Superman and Supergirl head to Earth, hot on the heels of Zod’s attacker. (Wasn’t there something about the UN banning Kryptonians on Earth…?)
  
• Captain America: Reborn #2 – Steve Rogers continues to do his impression of Quantum Leap’s Dr. Sam Beckett. And, like Dr. Beckett, Cap is slowly coming to realize what’s happening to him. Unlike Dr. Beckett – and more like Queen – he realizes that “there’s nothing you can, nothing you can, nothing you can do about it.”
  
• Ultimatum
  • Ultimatum: Fantastic Four Requiem #1 and Ultimatum: X-Men Requiem #1 – Marvel’s Ultimate Universe was supposed to be the sandbox where writers and artists could take familiar characters and places and do things that they couldn’t get away with in the mainstream Marvel 616 Universe. And, in Ultimatum, they’ve done just that. These books present the aftermath of Magneto’s “Ultimatum Wave,” through which he caused upheaval on a global scale. While I wasn’t necessarily thrilled with some of the things they did, I have to give Marvel credit for redrawing the lines on the playing field.
    STORY:
    EXECUTION:
• Love and Capes #11 – Abby needs a new wedding dress. Marc whisks her off to Paris for a shopping trip with her sister, Charlotte. But, what happens when Abby not only finds “the perfect dress,” but also finds that it was made by Marc’s former flame, Amazonia?
  

Week of 12 August 09

• Adventure Comics #1/#504 – Superboy is back. He’s trying to put the pieces of his (former) life back together. Good thing that he’s got Martha Kent, the Teen Titans and Krypto – not to mention a certain “mild-mannered reporter” – there to help him out. This issue’s second feature includes the Legion of Super-Heroes. Kind of. More specifically, it features Starman and Tellus, who team up to fulfill the last will and testament of R.J. Brande, the LSH’s late benefactor.
  
• Blackest Night
  • Blackest Night #2 (of 8 ) – Commissioner and Barbara Gordon meet an unexpected visitor on GCPD’s rooftop. Black Lantern Aquaman schedules an impromptu family reunion. Green Lantern and the Flash set up for Round Two with Black Lanten Martian Manhunter… and wind up facing [SPOILER DELETED].
    
  • Blackest Night: Batman #1 (of 3) – The new Batman and Robin team up with not-a-Black Lantern Deadman to take on the newly reanimated [SPOILERS DELETED].
    
  • Blackest Night: Green Lantern Corps #39 – GLs Kyle Rayner and Guy Gardner are headed back to Oa when they meet up with Lanterns Soranik Natu and Iolande. It’s a quiet trip until they get passed by a swarm of Black Lantern rings… headed to Oa.
    
• R.E.B.E.L.S. #7 – Vril Dox reaches out to leaders of other worlds, seeking to form an alliance against Starro. While he makes some convincing points, let’s just say that he shouldn’t necessarily look for a second job in Sales.
  
• Luke Cage: Noir #1 (of 4) – Luke Cage, “The Power-Man,” gets the Marvel Noir treatment… and it’s a treat to read. Fresh out of prison, Cage is looking to renew some old connections and see how things have changed while he was away. Hopefully, he can learn who the players are… and who’s getting played.
  
• Action Comics #880 – Continuing from last week’s World of Krypton #5, Superman and Supergirl chase Ral-Dar, General Zod’s would-be assassin, to Earth… where they get a less-than-“warm” reception. Readers also learn a bit more about General Lane’s playmates.
  
• G-Man: Cape Crisis #1 (of 5) – School-aged hero, G-Man, hooks some of his friends up with the ability to fly. What could possibly go wrong when he tells them it’s time to come back to ground? This was both a great all-ages read and a refreshing change of pace – along the lines of Tiny Titans, but with a little more “meat” to the story.
  
• Uncanny X-Men #514 – As running the X-Men (all teams) and X-Force (the team that no one knows about) wasn’t enough, Cyclops puts together another team. Also, Emma Frost’s “Dark X-Men” do some good at saving citizens in the Bay Area. And it looks as if the Summers X-Men and the Frost X-Men are going to butt heads. Soon. On a personal note, it’s nice to see that Matt Fraction has a good handle on writing Cyclops. As my long-time favorite X-Men, I appreciate it when he’s written well – a bit conflicted and occasionally awkward, but always making plans and contingencies.
  

Stray Toasters

• I’ve got to do my “Goals and Accomplishments” for 2009. Yay.
• Steampunk butterfly
• Guitar, studio wizard Les Paul dies at 94
• Looking for a treat to satisfy your favorite snack-hungry zombies? Try Brain cupcakes.
• Do you eat the moldy stuff?
• 
• Euro-Area Economy Contracted 0.1% in Second Quarter
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!” file: Brazilian crime TV host ordered executions to boost ratings, cops say
• 
• I’m a Photographer, Not a Terrorist campaign for photographers’ rights

Yeah… that’s good for now.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 12 August 2009
Midweek and all’s well.

Last week, before heading out of town, I had requested that some job-related information be  faxed to my office. As of Thursday morning, nothing had been received. *shrug* Monday, still nothing. Yesterday, nada. So, this morning, I called to inquire about it. The person I talked with said that, according to his records, nothing had been sent. *sigh* He did, however, say that he would see about getting it out this morning.

Last night, Chris came over to play dolls HeroClix. I got to use my two newest buildings, the second of which is still a bit “under construction” (still needs a couple of interior walls placed and a roof). We went with Checkmate (me) vs. S.H.I.E.L.D. (Chris) theme, because who doesn’t like the idea of “spy vs. spy?” To be honest, I totally expected to get thrashed – I hadn’t played Checkmate as a team and Chris is better than “pretty good” with S.H.I.E.L.D. To my surprise, I did alright. We called the game because of time; Chris won, but my team held its own. If we were to replay the match, I might go with a slightly different lineup -mainly, replacing the old Checkmate Agent and Medic figures with something more effective – but on the whole, I was happy with the team I had. (Pictures)

Day Eleventy-Seven of the Great HDD Recovery… and things are proceeding. Slowly, but progress is being made. And, for their help in scraping data from the old drive, and Chad (co-worker) are getting nods for Human of the Day.

Workout
I neglected to note that Wes and I went to the gym yesterday afternoon. We had a brief – VERY brief – workout:

• Sit-ups (incline): 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 205 lbs
• Compound Row: 3 sets/ 10 reps
  • 1 set @ 130lbs
  • 2 sets @ 110 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell, with Shoulder Press): 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs

Weight (morning): 182.5 lbs

Stray Toasters

• Bonnie Raitt and Taj Mahal were on The Late Late Show last night; they performed She Caught the Katy.

• “Finagle” is a fun word.
• Geneva Conventions’ struggle for respect
• Muslim women uncover myths about the hijab
• Periodic Table sweater
  • Periodic Table of Comic Book Elements
• Are we on the brink of creating a computer with a human brain?
• The fax I was expecting came in this afternoon… and it wasn’t exactly in the format I expected, but at this point, I’m just glad to have it.
• IMG MGMT: Life as a Woman, Hedy Lamarr
• Thieves Cashing in on Stolen Clunkers in Germany
• Abjection Sustained
• Hard drive + Freezer = partial data recovery
  (WHO KNEW!?)

Namaste.

Friday – 31 July 2009
First and foremost: Happy Birthday, !

It’s not my 9/80 Friday, but at least it’s quiet around here today. Maybe I’ll be able to clear a few things off my “To Do” list…

…of course, I might just have to add “Play Typing of the Dead” to that list, though. I wonder if I can justify it as “Training,” since it (theoretically) is a typing game/tutor..?

Stray Toasters

• Superman and Green Lantern ain’t got nothin’ on me…
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!” file: Canadians vow mass-mooning of US spy-blimp
• Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd
• Annie Lennox gives her masters to mashup artist DJ Earworm: Backwards/Forwards

• By way of
  • Alien prequel takes off
  • Heavy Metal has a new animated movie coming out next year: War of the Worlds: Goliath
• By way of :

  

• Steampunk Monkey Nation

WHEEEEEE!

Namaste.

Tuesday – 21 July 2009
Apparently, the seventeenth fourth time is the charm. The water pump is in and things seem to be as expected.

After getting the car, SaraRules and I went out to Hobby Lobby and IKEA. Our trip to the Garden of Sweden came after learning that a sofa we were considering, Varnamo,  had been discontinued; we went in search of a suitable alternative. We think that we found it in the KARLSTAD series.

Back at home, I finished up the first floor of my ‘Clix house… only to discover that the plan we’d come up with for the second floor wasn’t going to work. *sigh* Back to the literal drawing board. After moving a staircase here and a wall there, I think that things will pan out pretty well.

Stray Toasters

• The Park City Kimball Arts Festival is a week-and-a-half away.  Who’s up for a Sunday excursion?
• Rachel’s coming to town Friday and has requested that I make S’mores Brownies.
• Magazine Writes New Rules for Polite Digital Society
• The 10 Worst Evolutionary Designs
• Barnes and Noble to Create an E-book Megacenter
• From last night’s The Late Late Show: Fireball XL-5

• Deal reached to close California’s $26B Budget Gap
• I just had an apostrophe epiphany. Julie and I were discussing shows we watched while growing up and (for whatever reason) Gilligan’s Island came up. We were talking about it for a minute or two when I realized: Gilligan’s Island was the Lost of the 1960s.
• …and, somehow, remembering that reminded me of Gilligan’s Planet. *shiver*
• sent me a link to: Palin’s Resignation: The Edited Version
• My name is Prince
  And I am funky
  When it comes to funk
  I am a junkie
• Glasgow steampunk fair at the world’s oldest music hall, the Panopticon

Namaste.

Monday – 06 July 2009
A new work week begins. Not too oddly, when the alarm went off this morning, I didn’t want to get out of bed. However, “Time and tide…”

Yesterday, SaraRules and I went out so that I could do a little shopping. While out, we stopped at a 7-11 and tried the “Liquid Artillery” Slurpee^®, their fourth movie tie-in flavor in the past two months. After that, we had coffee with Perry, followed by dinner with SaraRules’ family. After dinner, we watched Futurama: Bender’s Big Score. It was fun, but more like an extended episode of the show.

Once we got back home, I logged into City of Heroes while SaraRules did some quilting. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a team to join, so I mostly wandered through Paragon City. After game/quilting time, we watched a movie left over from Bad Movie Night: Undead or Alive – a zombie western. It was fun… and funny. In fact, one of my favorite parts of the movie came in the first minute (maybe minute-and-a-half) of the film – during the intro text. It wasn’t a “great” movie, I’d still put it on the Cool World/Long Kiss Goodnight Scale, but it’s probably an 8 or 9 on that scale. (Man, I really need to figure out an image to use for the CW/LKG Scale…)

Stray Toasters

• sent a link to “Blasted Behavior,” which features the Star Wars characters… in therapy.

• This weekend’s Riverwalk Jazz featured an adaptation/interpretation of The Wizard of Oz. While listening to it, I realized that I have never read that book.
• I just received confirmation that my new jersey has shipped. I had been thinking of getting a new one for a while, but hadn’t committed to it. Steve McNair’s passing cemented the decision.
• Manchester’s steampunk difference engine adventure
• Ex-Pentagon chief McNamara dies
• 
• I’ve finally started reading American Psycho.
• Insane Sarah Palin, Late At Night On July 4, Threatens To Sue Entire Internet, Via Twitter
• Fellow students smell your exam fear
• This post has been brought to you by the letters “D” and “X” and the number “7.”