Random Access

Friday – 15 January 2010
It’s the end of the work week. And it’s the quiet Friday in the office. Amen.

Today is also the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday, which will be celebrated in the States on Monday. And, as usual, I am taking the day off of work; I need to see if there’s a service project for which I can volunteer.

Last night, came over for dinner. SaraRules fixed her famous beef stew for dinner. It was, as usual, very tasty. brought eclairs and cookies from Schmidt’s for dessert.

Stray Toasters

• ‘Doomsday Clock’ moves a minute back
• SaraRules sent me this picture yesterday.



• …which, in turn, leads to this picture – Disney Princesses, dressed as their villains:

• Adam forwarded this link: Boy Gets Revenge on Sister via Facebook
  Khan was right: “Revenge is a dish best served cold… and it is very cold in (cyber)space!”
• sent a link to: Japan’s ‘Coming of Age Day’ at Disneyland
• iSamJackson app for iPhone, courtesy of
• You got to know when to hold ’em
  Know when to fold ’em
  Know when to walk away
  And know when to run…

  
  video link, courtesy of

• Safari seems to handle/deal with Facebook significantly better than Firefox.
• Prepare for Teen Titans: Games
  For my money, no one draws the the Titans like George Perez.
• 
• Cl!ck – a stop-motion LEGO movie (short, but good)
• Complexity ruins diets
• Jackie Earle Haley Still Playing Sinestro
• Tiny still-lives in toilet paper tubes

I’m firing up the XBox in an hour…

Namaste.

Thursday – 14 January 2010
It’s a grey and hazy day here. I’ve referred to winter in Utah – especially when the inversion sets in – as being akin to living in a dirty fishbowl. Today is a pretty good example of that. Gotta love air that’s thick enough to chew…

Last night was a very low-key night. After dinner, when SaraRules headed off to Zumba, I decided that it was a perfect night for a hot soak and made it so. To add to the enjoyment of the downtime, I read a bit of Teenagers from the Future, which I haven’t picked up in far too long.

Stray Toasters

• Go Back to the Future with Paul Levitz and the Legion
• Justice Dept. Fights Bias in Lending
• For SaraRules (and the rest of the zombie-loving masses)…

  

• Where’s the Opera Chief? Look Onstage, or in the Pit
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file:
  • Meet Mikey, 8; U.S. Has Him on Watch List
  • Oxford cops reprimanded for tobogganing on riot shields
    
• Amtrak to add Wi-Fi to some trains free, for now
• By way of Comic Book Resources, comes a new column: “Committed”
  • Introduction
  • Byrne’s Superman
• In Rebuke of China, Focus Falls on Cybersecurity
• SaraRules has given me permission to cook steaks in our fireplace… assuming that our future home has a fireplace.
• 

• Mom-made vintage game sweaters from the 80s
  
  • …and in a semi-related note (and the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file):
    • Home-made Super Mario sweater vest
    • Space Invaders tights

I think (actually, it’s more like “I’m hoping”) that I only have one meeting today. That would be nice.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 13 January 2010
Midweek and all’s pretty much well. On top of that, it’s Comics and Sushi Wednesday, so there should be added goodness to the day. My Prerogative came on the radio during the morning commute. It made me smile… and sing along. It was a good way to kick off the morning and prep for a day in the trenches.

Last night, Chris came over to finish our HeroClix “Arkham Asylum Breakout” game. He won… which was totally expected – I had three figures to his eight – but, the fact that it took him a tad over 30 minutes to do so made me feel good. We need to schedule the other side of the fight, with me running Batman and company and him running Gotham City’s least desirable citizens.

Stray Toasters

• Today is Delta Sigma Theta’s (1, 2) Founders’ Day
• Haiti’s quake devestation emerges
• The Great Joe Rollino, Bender of Steel, is Dead at 104
  Mr. Rollino will be awarded today’s Human of the Day award, posthumously.
• 2010: Living in the Future
• …which, naturally, leads us to The Future Soon
• Nintendo helps savvy singer Beyonce step up her style game
• Sarah Palin Makes Fox News Debut, Slams Obama, Critics
  (But, is anyone really surprised by this…?  No?  I didn’t think so.)
• I’ve never really been a big fan of Conan O’Brien, but I have to give him kudos for his resignation letter, as posted by The Grey Lady.
• Snubs – part of the diplomatic game
• Nintendo Wii to Get Netflix Streaming

That’s good for now.

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.

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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.

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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.

Saturday – 09 January 2010
It’s another cool/cold day here on Hoth… I mean, “in Utah.” Not so cold that the tauntauns aren’t safe, but it’s still cold enough that “inside” is much more comfortable (to me) than “outside.”

SaraRules and I attended our friend Lawrence’s funeral this afternoon, making today the unofficial fifth day of Suit Week (black suit, white shirt, black tie), as. It was a very nice service and an excellent send-off for a fine young man. He will be missed.

After the funeral, SaraRules, and I went to Coachman’s Dinner and Pancake House for lunch. Neither SaraRules nor I had been there before. All three of us ordered from the breakfast menu. I’d want to eat there again – and have something from the lunch or dinner menu – before passing final judgment on the place, but today’s fare wasn’t bad.

Next, we did some errand-running and then, jiggety-jig, returned home. This evening, there’s a little more errand-running to do and we’re also heading downtown to try and get tickets for movies at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Stray Toasters

• Art Clokey, creator of Gumby, dies at 89
• Why are pistachios so darned tasty?
• LEGO Universe Impressions: The Next Step in LEGO Building
• 
• “Hammer of Therapy”
  I wonder if Thor ever refers to Mjolnir that way, when he’s battling evil-doers?
• Is It This Easy to Pull Straight Nude Pics from Airport Scanners? [NSFW]

And away we go…

Namaste.

Friday – 08 January 2010
9/80 Friday… and I don’t have anything on the agenda. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; I will probably wind up doing some cleaning, especially since I’ve been avoiding it for the past few days.

Last night, SaraRules and I watched another movie that’s been in our Netflix Instant Queue for a while: Vanishing Point (1, 2). It was a car chase movie from 1971… and it was… something. Neither of us was quite sure “what,” though. Although, I think that we both agreed that “good” wasn’t it. It was severely disjointed, as if a two or three movies were mashed together, without rhyme or reason. There were not only plot holes, but a distinct lack of continuity in a couple of places – things just seemed to happen and the audience was left to make the connections on their own… if they could. And, despite the addition of a Jerry Reed song on the soundtrack, it’s no Smokey and the Bandit (but, then again, what is?).

Stray Toasters

• This teaser image was on the Wizkids/NECA site this morning:

  

  What does it mean? Quite simply: Wizkids’ May HeroClix release will be a “Blackest Night” Starter set. And, of course, this goes squarely on The Covet List.

• Lewis Suspicious of Brady’s Injury
• The Empire Strikes Back 30th Anniversary Playing Cards
• There needs to be a Dunkin Donuts in Salt Lake City.
• From The Wall Street Journal: Best and Worst Jobs 2010

• 
• Remnants of the Biosphere
• Big Lebowski rewritten as a work of Shakespeare
• …and in another movie-related item:

  A-Team Trailer – TheFilmStage.com from Clive Owen on Vimeo.

• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Potato Salad.
  (Safe for work, but just… plain… weird.)
• Toy Train Runs to Calibrate Sensors in a Princeton Reactor

I should probably give some thought to lunch, too.

Namaste.

Thursday – 07 January 2010
Another NBN Thursday/Technical Friday in the valley. I heard on the radio that today’s high is supposed to get all the way up to 31F. That’s a veritable heatwave! (Have I mentioned that I’m really looking forward to Spring/Summer and warm weather lately…?)

Last night, I saw Dances with Wolves in Space… I mean Ferngully in Space… Pocahantas in Space… I mean Avatar. In IMAX 3D. Wow. Talk about a visually stunning movie. And that’s despite the fact that I was in the front half of the theatre and on the far left side of the screen. It, quite simply, looked amazing. Sure, the story was one that’s been seen/heard before, but – as I have been reminding people: James Cameron isn’t necessarily known for bringing groundbreaking stories to the big screen…

• Terminator – Robots run amok and decide that “Kill All Humans” sounds like a pretty good idea.
• Aliens – Humans boldly go colonizing planets… only to find that they might not be quite as high on the food chain as they thought.
• The Abyss – Nuclear sub goes missing, civilian divers are brought in to help recover the sub… and run into aliens. Hijinks ensue.
• Terminator 2 – Robots, realizing the “Good Theory, Poor Practical Application” of their “Kill All Humans” idea, try again.
• Titanic – Boy meets girl. Boy and girl get on boat. Boat meets iceberg. Boat sinks.  (We all – ALL -  knew the boat was going to sink, but still went to the theatres in droves to watch, down to the last “glub-glub.”)

…but he is known for being able to make them look beautiful. This movie was no exception. And, at nearly three hours in length, it didn’t “feel” like a long movie. I would be willing to see it again – in the theatre – and I will be adding it to the DVD collection, when it’s released.

Stray Toasters

• YouTube Suspends Kid’s Account, Gets Porn Fest in Protest
• By way of shockpuppet: The ‘Israelification’ of Airports: High Security, Little Bother
• 13 Things a Man Should Keep in His Car
  (Although this is from The Art of Manliness, women could/would benefit from this sage advice, as well.)
• 
• The Cool Hunter
• Robotic Snake Takes a Swim
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Teen found after fleeing to hook up with 42-year-old woman he met in Warcraft

Almost time for the first of (at least) three meetings today. Lucky me!

Namaste.

Wednesday – 06 January 2010
It’s the middle of the week.
It’s also Comics and Sushi Wednesday.

As I was driving home from work last night, SaraRules called me to ask if I would be working late or if I would be home soon. I was in the parking lot, preparing to pull into my parking spot. She was calling because we had received a package – our Christmas present from my uncle: A gift box from Omaha Steaks. In it was an assortment of meats – beef, poultry and seafood. SCORE! (Seriously… half of our freezer contains meat.) Of course, this means that we have some rather tasty options for dinner over the next two or three weeks.

After dinner – which did not include anything from our newly arrived box o’ goodies – and NCIS, we headed to the gym. It was a good workout. We followed it up with a trip to the store and then back home for a quiet evening.

Stray Toasters

• Yep… it’s turned into Suit Week 2010. Today’s fare: Olive suit, white shirt, olive/rust abstract tie.
• MarknTyme sent me a link to the following picture:

  

  What I didn’t realize, until I read the accompanying article, was that I was familiar with the artist, Cliff Chang, as I had seen his Batgirl/Purple Rain mashup image a few months ago.

• sent me a link to: Men Who Like Comics, a group on Art of Manliness
• Randy Johnson retires after 22 years, 303 career victories
• The Best Times to Buy Anything, All Year Round
• Pirates storm Tampa for Gasparilla festival
• 
• sent me a link to: WineBottler Turns Windows Programs into Standalone OS X Applications
• Nic Cage as Everyone
• Hobby Lobby now has an online store. This could be dangerous…
• Hubble snaps galaxies at birth

Yeah… a Teen Titans-related post requires a Cyborg icon. Selah.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 05 January 2010
My fingers want to type “2001,” for some reason. I occasionally have to stop and make a conscious effort to transpose the “0” and the “1.”

Last night, after dinner, I fell asleep on the couch – I kept nodding off during MythBusters, so I figured that a nap was in order. An hour-and-a-half later, I was back in the game. We headed to the gym for a cardio workout and then back home for some lazy time. I’m Ivory Soap sure that I can thank the nap for a good portion of last night’s broken sleep, though.

This morning, I decided to wear a suit again. Yesterday, I wore my black suit with a dark purple shirt and a black and purple paisley tie; today, I’ve gone with the grey glen plaid suit, white shirt and blue geometric tie. I haven’t decided whether or not I’m just going to make this “Suit Week 2010” or not… but I’m not against it.

Stray Toasters

• I could really go for a cinnamon roll… particularly, a Cinnabon.
• Giving up smoking ‘raises diabetes risk’
• posted a link to this item from dooce.com last night. My friend, Chris (the one with whom I play ‘Clix), used to work for the establishment about which she is railing. Some of the things he told me about the place definitely fall under the heading “That’s no way to run a railroad…”
• Congratulations to the winners of Fark’s 2009 Headline of the Year contest
• Apple Hits 3 Billion Apps Served Milestone
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Guide to shooting smack published by City of New York
• Thor… made out of LEGO

And, it’s almost meeting time. Yay.

Namaste.

Monday – 04 January 2010
It’s the first work day of the new year. It’s also my first day back in over two weeks. I’m still not sure that I remember all of my logins. We’ll see… maybe… if my system ever recovers from the updates that are being pushed down to it.

Yesterday was a good day, all the way around.  There was sleeping in. There was football. There was dinner with the in-laws and MORE football. After we got home, I even felt up to the challenge of sorting some of my extra ‘Clix into their respective new homes, while SaraRules watched Club Paradise.

Instant Replay: Football
Yesterday was a good day for football, as the playoff picture fell into place:

Baltimore Ravens at Oakland Raiders
21 – 13
This game wasn’t aired here, but SaraRules and I tracked it on NFL.com’s Game Center, as the game involved both our teams.The Ravens seemed to play decently and didn’t get themselves saddled with excessive penalties. And, on the other side of the ball, the Raiders had a decent game and just roll over and give away a win. With this win, the Ravens secured a playoff berth (and knocked the Steelers out of playoff contention, in the process). Sorry, SaraRules and 1silver_seraph.

.

Jacksonville Jaguars at Cleveland Browns
17 – 23
The Browns handled their business and eliminated the Jags from playoff contention.Congratulations, zeeke.

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Pittsburgh Steelers at Miami Dolphins
30 – 24
The Steelers headed south to Land Shark Stadium and handed the Fins a loss that also took the them out of playoff contention, even though the Dolphins would have needed losses from other teams to make the playoffs. With this win, and a Ravens’ loss, the Steelers would have made the playoffs.

.

Cincinnati Bengals at New York Giants
0 – 37
The Bengals took on the Jets… and came away with a loss, in a game that the Jets had to win in order to make the playoffs. Mark Sanchez and company did the home crowd proud, handing the Bengals a big loss on the road. And who do they play next week? The Bengals… but this time, they’ll be playing in Cincinnati. Sorry, janietrain and carefreespirit.

.

Green Bay Packers at Arizona Cardinals
33 – 7
The Packers traveled to the desert and handed the Cards a loss… and a pretty big one, at that.Sorry, Marr.

.

New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers
10 – 23
The Panthers handed the Saints a loss……in a game with no playoff implications for either team.

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New York Giants at Minnesota Vikings
7 – 44
The Giants headed into Minnesota, just to have Brett Favre and the Vikings serve ’em up a heaping helping of beat-down and eliminating them from the playoff picture.Congratulations, .

Tonight, the Vikings take on the Bears in what should be a good game.

Stray Toasters

• By way of : 10 Purchase not to put on credit cards
• 10 Sci-Fi Weapons that Actually Exist
• 

  (click to find out your score)

  

• Where was this when I needed it: LEGOland California: An Adult Visitor’s Guide
• TSA Special Agent who threatened blogger spaces out, drops notebook in public place
• 
• Avatar smashes $1bn speed record
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: BeautifulPeople.com axes holiday weight gain members

I finally remembered my password. I had changed it on one system, but not the other… and I was trying to enter the wrong password on the first machine. *sigh* But, I finally sussed it out.

…right on to the friction of the day.

Namaste.

Sunday – 03 January 2010
It’s the last day of vacation and tomorrow it’s back to the workday grind. I have to say that it’s been nice to have the downtime, though. Very nice, indeed. Last night was quiet and low-key. I wound up taking a nap, because I was so tired from the lack of sleep and the early and long day.

I completely neglected to note a minor milestone from Friday: SaraRules and I hit the gym for the first time this year. And… it was my first time in the gym in nearly a month (03 Dec 09, from what I wrote down). It was a short workout, but it was a good start:

• Treadmill: 10 minutes (Yeah.. I know! Me, doing cardio!)
• Lower Back Extensions: 3 sets/12 reps
• Sit-ups: 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/8 reps, 205 lbs
• Core (plank): 3 sets/30 seconds
• Elliptical: 10 minutes (Even more cardio..? What’s wrong with this picture?!)

Post-workout weight (fully dressed): 190 lbs

It was good to get back in the swing of things, but I can definitely feel the effects of the treadmill and elliptical on my quads. But, getting more cardio into my workout routine is something that I plan on doing more this year.

Stray Toasters

• By way of : Green Lantern LEGO
• And, in a related note, this is going on The Covet List.
• I don’t know what’s going on with Comcast, but I’m getting “a little” tired of the way that my Internet connection just… drops out – for no reason – every so often. Having talked with a few other people over the past few days, I discovered that it’s not just my connection that it’s happening to, either.
• 
• It seems as though Jitterbug Coffee Hop has a new logo and a new website.
• Harmonographs
• posted a link to this Mad Cat ‘Mech.  So, I posted a link to this one.
• Thousands of dead octopuses wash up on Portugal beach
• 100 Extraordinary Examples of Paper Art
• Speaking of “paper art,” I have assembled nearly enough tiles to have a 30″x30″ one-level map of WorldWorksGames TerrainLinX Himmelveil Streets terrain. I realized that I can still utilize some of my older terrain with the new stuff, even though the new streets and walls have a medieval look/feel – cobblestones and flagstone – and the TLX walls are only 2″ high, as opposed to the 3″ Mayhem City stuff that I’ve built.

Maybe I’ll play a little City of Heroes this afternoon…

Namaste.

Friday – 01 January 2010
Welcome to 2010.

Today is also the seventh day of Kwanzaa; today ‘s principle is “Imani” or “faith”:

To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

Last night, SaraRules and I had a small gathering of friends and family over for a potluck dinner. There were some wonderful dishes and the company was great. It was a quiet and low-key way to say goodbye to 2009 and prepare to welcome in 2010.

After dinner, SaraRules and I settled in for a quiet evening. We turned on the television to watch the (delayed broadcast of the) ball drop in Times Square. We both noted how… old… that Dick Clark looks and sounds; he seems to have deteriorated quickly since his stroke a couple of years ago.

Today is… unscheduled. And that’s not a bad thing. I’m sure that we’ll come up with something to do. And tonight, we’re getting together with the usual suspects for Clitorati.

Stray Toasters

• I’m watching the Tournament of Roses Parade. They had a really nice float featuring the Tuskeegee Airmen.
• TSA drops subpoenas against bloggers who published security directive
• Moscow’s full-body scanners in action
• While it briefly crossed my mind last night, I just remembered that I need to come up with some sort of team to play in tomorrow’s tournament, just in case I have to play someone in a bye round…
• 
• Pope’s peace message focuses on environment
• Stuntman’s record-breaking car jump in Florida
• Chocolate Weapons

Namaste.

Thursday – 31 December 2009
Today is the last day of 2009.

Today is also the sixth day of Kwanzaa; today’s principle is: “Kuumba” or “creativity”:

To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.

As I mentioned above, today is the last day of 2009.

This year has been full; among the more notable points of the year:

• I lost a close and very dear friend,
• My second niece was born,
• I got married,
• I lost another friend, just yesterday…

…but these are all part of “life.” And, as cliche as it might sound, it really is hard to appreciate the highs without experiencing the lows as well. By the same token, weathering the bad times makes you appreciate the good ones – and the family and friends that surround you – that much more.

SaraRules and I saw Sherlock Holmes last night. It was good; she was a little disappointed, in that she expected it to be more of a “Guy Ritchie movie.” I was pleased that it did not, in fact, turn into Snatch or RocknRolla or Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law did admirable jobs of bringing Holmes and Dr. Watson to life. I’ve heard some people say that they were worried that the trailers made this look like too much of an action movie. Rest assured, it’s not… but, do consider that Sherlock Holmes was – to some extent – the “action hero” of his day and genre. All-in-all, it was a good movie and worth seeing.

Stray Toasters

• Knighthood for Patrick Stewart? Queen says make it so.
• I met Jake Black, who has written for DC and Marvel, as well as for animation (among other media), at Dr. Volt’s yesterday.
• TSA subpoenas, threatens two bloggers who published non-classified airline security directive
• The 10 Best Videogames of 2009
• Thanks to the lovely SaraRules, I have a caramel apple that’s been rolled in Butterfinger bits.
• 
• Woman’s .708 blood alcohol level may set state record
• Degas painting stolen from museum
• Man, that Ganthet is one bad…
  Shut yo’ mouth!
  I’m just talkin’ about Ganthet.
  We can dig it!
• How Long Could Luke Survive in a Tauntaun?
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Body washing with water alone
• 
• Ten Gadgets That Defined the Decade

I hope that everyone has a safe and enjoyable New Year’s Eve and a prosperous 2010.

Namaste.

Monday – 28 December 2009
Week 2 of vacation kicks off… and I’m trying to decide what to do with myself. Blah.

Today is also the third day of Kwanzaa. Today’s principle is:”Ujima” or “collective work and responsibility”:

To build and maintain our community together and make our brother’s and sister’s problems our problems and to solve them together.

Yesterday, we headed over to the in-laws’ to see Meliko before she headed back to sunny (and warmer) California. After that, we came back home for a quiet day. Last night, we watched House of Flying Daggers. For some reason – despite owning the movie – I had never seen it before. If I had to summarize it in three words, I’d have to go with:

1. Love
2. Betrayal
3. Duty

It was very good. I enjoyed the story, cinematography, the acting and the costuming. It also ended differently than I expected, but it was quite fitting.

Instant Replay: Football
So, I got married a couple of months ago. This isn’t exactly “news.” In the process, I not only gained another set of parents (so to speak), but I also inherited a new set of grandparents. Not only that, but grandmother-in-law is a football fan. More specifically, she’s an Arizona Cardinals fan. And she “gently reminded” me that I’ve been… remiss… in covering Cards games in my football coverage. So, starting this week, the Cards will get added to the list o’ teams that I run down.

And with that, on to the games:

Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers
20 – 23
I was surprised to see this televised in this market. Pleasantly surprised, yes, but surprised, nevertheless… The Ravens played a decent game. I’d love to say that they played a “good” game, but they shot themselves in the foot with senseless penalties. How bad were the penalties? Well, let’s just say that they killed two scoring opportunities, which would have secured a win. Despite giving the game away, Baltimore is still in the hunt for an AFC Wild Card spot, although they have dropped to the #7 Seed. They need a win in Oakland next week to get a Wild Card spot.

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Oakland Raiders at Cleveland Browns
9 – 23
The Raiders dropped this one to… the Browns. Sorry, SaraRules and 1silver_seraph. Congratulations, .

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Houston Texans at Miami Dolphins
27 – 20
Last week, it was the “former Houston team.” This week, it was the “current Houston team.” Both weeks, it was a loss.

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Kansas City Chiefs at Cincinnati Bengals
10 – 17
A late-in-the-game TD by Chad Ochocinco Johnson secured the win for the Bengals. Congratulations, and .

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St. Louis Rams at Arizona Cardinals
10 – 31
This was another game that wasn’t broadcast locally, but it looks as though the Cards had this one well in hand. Congratulations, Marr.

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Carolina Panthers at New York Giants
41 – 9
The Panthers went on the road to face the Giants in the last game to be held in The Meadowlands… …and they came away with a win. A big win, at that.

In other football news

• The Indianapolis Professional Football Club suffered their first defeat of the season, handed to them by the Jets… after Indy benched all of their starters.
• The New Orleans Saints also took one on the chin in overtime… from the Buccaneers.

Tonight, the Vikings take on the Bears in what should be a good game.

Stray Toasters

• I’ve been meaning to post these for the past two days: Saturday morning, when we left the apartment, there was a trio of hot-air balloons overhead. By the time I got my camera, I missed the first one, but I got the other two:

  
  (click for larger images)

  And, how cool a way is it to start off the day with balloons?!

• MarknTyme sent me a link to Car Lust: Great Cars of Song – Red Barchetta. It not only gives the background of the Rush song, it also includes a link to the story, A Nice Morning Drive, which served as the song’s inspiration.
• Percy Sutton, trailblazing businessman, dies at 89
• For :

  

• Antique Steam Engine Rescues Passengers After Electric Trains Fail in the Bitter Cold
  • This is the LEGO Emerald Night. I find that it looks like the train in the story above.
• The Fastest Train in the World
• Tori Amos’ Track-by-Track Guide to “Little Earthquakes”
• I believe that I posted a link to this before, but 60 Minutes rebroadcast the story last night, so here it is again: The Birdmen

  
  Watch CBS News Videos Online

• Why transplants use ‘imperfect’ organs
• The Mysteries of Rabies

Okay, it’s time to find some trouble to get into.

Namaste.

Sunday – 27 December 2009
It’s almost 0930 and I’m awake. No phone. No knocking on the door. Just… awake and not feeling like sleeping any longer. I’m a little surprised, as I didn’t exactly make it “an early night” last night. *shrug* Onward and upward…

Today is also the second day of Kwanzaa. Today’s principle is “Kujichagulia” or “self-determination”:

To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves.

When I first read that, the thing that popped immediately into mind was the line from The Greatest Love of All:

I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone’s shadows
If I fail, if I succeed
At least I live as I believe
No matter what they take from me
They can’t take away my dignity

I think that the song, first out in 1977 – no, Whitney Houston wasn’t the first one to sing it (neither was Eddie Murphy) – exemplifies the principle of self-determination quite well.

Yesterday was a rather lazy day, with an odd set of bookend moments. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, it started with breakfast with Perry and the kids. After some downtime at home, I decided to get out for a bit; I visited , as I hadn’t really talked with him in a while. After that, I met SaraRules at home and we then headed up to her parents’ place to see her brother’s girlfriend, who’s in town for the holiday. On the way home, I got a text message asking if I was up for getting some coffee; this came from my friend, Adrian, whom I haven’t seen in a couple of months’ of Sundays. I said that I was and wound up spending a couple of hours catching up… in the same restaurant where I had breakfast. (Have I mentioned “Welcome to Small Lake City,” lately?)

Today, the Ravens take on the Steelers in Pittsburgh. They beat the Steeltown boys a few weeks ago; it will be interesting to see if they can sweep them for the season.

Stray Toasters

• Reading Practice Can Strengthen Brain ‘Highways’
• Amazon Sells More eBooks on Christmas than Real Books
• Brain Cancer Genes Found
• 
• Cinderella Revisited: Rossini’s ‘La Cenerentola’
  We saw Utah Opera’s staging of this last year.
• She Has No Head! – A Feminist Dialogue about Girl Comics

Namaste.