Random Access

Tuesday – 30 June 2009
It’s the last day of June. I’m sure that this is important – or at least “notable” – for many reasons, but prime among them is the fact that the new IKEA bible catalog will be out soon.

Last night, we had a tasty dinner with SaraRules’ family. After dinner, and some errand-running, we headed home for some downtime. I started putting together walls for my new ‘Clix building. Of the eight main walls, I have five complete; the last three should go much faster. Then I can start in on the “lobby” section, which should go quite quickly. I’m looking forward to getting it completed.

This morning, I was at work at 0700. One of our teams has a couple of days’ worth of meetings and we had to get some networking ready for it. So, loonybin88 and I were in here – neither bright-eyed nor bushy-tailed – to get it taken care of.  Naturally, while we were wrapping up the setup, there was a pushy monkey who wanted to have something done his way; little did he know that he was mere moments away from having the closest live power cord plugged into a place neither God, Mother Nature nor Darwin ever intended for it to go. *sigh* Monkeys, go figure.

Stray Tourists Toasters

• June 30, 1953: Corvette Adds Some Fiber, Flair to American Road
• I have frozen mocha goodness!  And a bagel!
• L.A.’s vegan restaurants are full of egg
• Tourist Remover photoshops stray tourists out of your snaps
• Great Geek Debates: Kirk vs. Picard
• Did I mention “monkeys?”
• Jackson’s Death Puts Lucrative Beatles Copyrights In Play
  The man may have been… “odd,” to say the least, but he was a great entertainer. I had forgotten that he had a major share of the rights to many/most of the Beatles’ music catalog. I was also unaware of this performance of Come Together until yesterday:

• U.S. ‘concerned’ over cyber threat
• Force of Nature: Artist Puts Petal to the Metal for Electrifying Images
• Lord of the Rings considered as a D&D game (webcomic)
• Super Small, Super Powerful Quantum Processor Can Solve Multiple Problems at Once
  (Repeat after me: “SkyNet is now online…”)

Right on to the friction of the day…

Namaste.

Monday – 29 June 2009
We opted not to go back to the Utah Arts Festival yesterday and enjoyed a lazy day at home.  It was rather nice. When SaraRules asked me what I wanted for dinner, I had an idea: Grilling some steak and/or chicken. The more I thought about it, the better it sounded. And that’s what I did: Steak, chicken, corn on the cob, zucchini, mushrooms and red peppers. They turned out well.

Logan came over and joined us for dinner; we watched Aliens while we ate. After that, the three of us played Trivial Pursuit. (I really need to get some updated cards for the game…) When we played, we kept our wedges in our respective corners and used HeroClix figures as our playing pieces:

• SaraRules used Wonder Woman,
• Logan used The Riddler and
• I used the custom GL John Stewart figure that Perry made for me a while back.

The “Literature” category of the Genus Edition often kicks my trash; last night, the universe threw me a bone, almost literally, when I was going for the brown wedge:

What is the name of Superman’s dog?

I couldn’t believe it when Logan asked the question; I thought he was kidding. Then he reread the question. It gave me a good laugh when I answered: “Krypto.” I was so amused by the question that I switched my game piece to my Krypto ‘Clix, because I could… and because it amused me to do so.

After the game, Logan and I played through a board of HALO3. After seeing the amount of crap that we had to wade through, I was happy to have the help.

After Logan left, I started working on a new building for HeroClix City, based on a design that I came up with on Friday. I knew that I was going to have to adapt the building faces to fit the design, but I thought that three of them would be the same. Nope. Two of them are, the third one was much easier to work with. I’m also going to have to work out the details of five other faces. We’ll see how it shapes up.

So far, today’s been a good – and relatively quiet – day. There haven’t been any major fires to put out. There haven’t been any monkeys to beat down. Not a bad way to kick off a Monday and a holiday week.

Stray Toasters

• Yesterday was the first time I’ve fired up my grill in two years, I think. The igniter on the grill wasn’t working, so I had to use a camp stove lighter to kick things off. Great theory and nominally good application… aside from the fact that I had turned up the gas “a bit” too high and wound up creating a small fireball that singed the hair off the back of two of my fingers.
• In a related note: I went online to look for the manual for the grill – I need to know how to repair or replace the igniter. Sears has 119 of them posted. I looked at all of them, but only found two (2) that look close to my grill. I’ll have to compare and contrast them when I get home.
• 13 year old kid reviews 30 year old Walkman
• showed us the trailer for the upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG.
• Google Mistook Jackson Searches for Net Attack

That’s good for now.

Namaste.

Friday – 26 June 2009
Hello, weekend.

I slept in this morning… more or less. I woke up at some very early point of the morning because of a rather odd and disturbing dream. Pre-dawn early. I wound up getting back to bed a short time later… only to have another bizarre dream awaken me. Not quite as disturbing, as I recall. I finally woke up around 0915. So far, this morning has consisted of breakfast and coffee, The West Wing… and a little bit of Avatar: The Last Airbender. All-in-all, it’s been a nice, relaxing day.

Stray Toasters

• Can Aquaman Ever Be Cool?
• Tori Amos will be performing at Abravanel Hall on 20 July 2009.
• How Nicotine Works
• Junk Steampunk Sculptures
• I cut so much
  You thought I was a D.J.
• What the non-English-speaking world is doing with science fiction

Time to run some errands and hit the Utah Arts Festival.

Namaste.

Thursday: Coda
After work, I came home. That’s usually the way that things go. It’s not a bad tradition, all things being equal.

I had a bite to eat – SaraRules made an awesome homemade Macaroni and Cheese dish – and then fired up the 360. Before getting into Covenant beatdown mode, I took a look at some things on the 360’s dashboard. Among them was Netflix Instant Queue, which allows me to watch movies on the 360… on demand. Pretty nice option, if I do say so. I added a few movies to my queue.

Then, it fired up HALO3. Last night, I saved the game (I remembered this time!!!) on the way to Voi. There were a couple of Wraiths and Choppers at the bridge as a “Welcome Wagon.” Yay, lucky me. After getting my – and the Marines with me – butt blown off and handed to me, repeatedly, I beat the defenders and got ready to Ease on Down the Road. I didn’t get far at all before I found the flying monkeys Brutes with jet packs had set up a roadblock. No problem. I backed down the road a bit and hopped into one of the Wraiths. A few well-place plasma bursts later, the Brutes (and the roadblock) were no more. I, and the lone Marine who stuck by me, headed down the hill… only to find more Marines – and more jump pack-wearing Brutes – in a firefight. Yay. That’s where I stopped. For now.

SaraRules and I headed to the gym for a workout:

• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 205 lbs
• Incline Press (Icarian): 3 sets/10 reps, 140 lbs
• Flys: 3 sets/10 reps, 110 lbs
• Lower Back Extensions: 3 sets/15 reps, 160 lbs
• Curls (barbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 50 lbs
• Side Bends: 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Push-ups: 3 sets/10 reps

Post-workout weight: 184.7 lbs

Stray Toasters

• From NPR’s Talk of the Nation: Why Is It OK to Say “That’s So Gay”
• 20 More Ways You Know You’re Married to a GeekDad
• Michael Jackson has died, apparently from cardiac failure. There are many things that could be said of the man, but I’ll just say that he was an amazing entertainer. May he find the peace in the next world that eluded him in this one.
• Lovecraft Meets Atlas Obscura
• Microsoft Discloses Windows 7 Pricing
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Stoned wallabies make crop circles

And now, it’s time for Burn Notice.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 24 June 2009
Middle of the week and all’s well.
It’s also “Sushi and Comics Wednesday,” which is always a good thing.

Last night, SaraRules and I headed over to Gardner Village for an evening stroll. For as much of a madhouse as that place is on Saturdays, it was practically deserted last night. We only saw a handful of people the entire time we were there. One of the places we checked out was “Country Furniture and Gifts,” in the building that has the waterwheel. It was like entering “The House That Never Ends” in that it had stairwells hither and yon and new rooms just seemed to fold into and out of 3D space; Escher would have been proud. (I deduced that the pioneers must have figured out how to create a tesseract using the energy harnessed from the waterwheel – it’s the only logical conclusion of how “that much” house wound up in “that little” space.)

Once we got back home, I fired up the 360 and played HALO3, a pleasure I have recently rediscovered. I have been stuck on a board for the past few weeks – which has been a bit discouraging – so I took a sabbatical from playing it. Last night, I got past that scenario and discovered my new favorite weapons: The Machine Gun Turret and the Battle Rifle. Nothing says “Love” like tearing a 50-caliber gun off its tripod and walking down a hallway with it, lighting up any and all Covenant forces like a Christmas tree. (Yes, a very bloody Christmas tree, but that’s not the point here.) And the Battle Rifle..? It lets me take head-shots – like my former HALO and HALO2 favorite weapon: The Sniper Rifle – and it has a burst fire mode, too.

Stray Toasters

• I woke up with the Good & Plenty jingle – from the 1950s(!) – in my head for some reason:

• Michelle Obama knows what works, style experts agree
• Rethinking Gender Bias in Theater
• Bozeman, Montana changes its mind about job applicants’ social networking passwords
• 
• Gone hiking? Missing governor sparks political fight and “Missing” governor was on private Argentina trip
• Giant code wheel for sale, proceeds to EFF
• Britain’s secret plan for surviving a nuclear war

Feelings, sensations that you thought was dead (yup)
No squealing, remember that it’s all in your head

Namaste.

Tuesday – 23 June 2009
This morning’s title comes from The Omega Man, the second movie of our Bad Movie Night double-feature, which I’ll get back to momentarily.

Chris and Mary came over for dinner and Bad Movie Night. We watched Balls of Fury, which neither SaraRules nor I had seen and the aforementioned The Omega Man. Balls of Fury is a movie follows former ping pong child prodigy, Randy Daytona, as he seeks entry into an exclusive tournament being held by Feng, the man who had Randy’s father killed years before. After the movie, Chris told us something about the film that was revealed in the special features: The movie was made as a kung-fu movie… without any kung-fu. After thinking about it for a few moments, we realized that was exactly what we’d seen.

The Omega Man is the 1971 adaptation of I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson. I have now seen all three adaptaions: The Last Man on Earth, starring Vincent Price; The Omega Man, starring Charlton Heston; and I Am Legend, starring Will Smith. This was a good version and a decent adaptation of the original story. The basic premise was the same: An epidemic sweeps the world, killing off most of the population and transforming the remainder into a new offshoot species, leaving Colonel Robert Neville alone and outside. I realized something about this and the other I Am Legend-based movies: Each movie, while telling a variation of the same story, was a reflection of its time. In this case, there were many comments and themes that related to “The Man” draggin down civilization through war (being in the midst of the Vietnam War and Cold War eras) and technology. All-in-all, though dated, it was an enjoyable film.

Stray Toasters

• A collision between two Washington, D.C. Metro trains killed seven people yesterday (1, 2, 3)
• Ed McMahon dies at 86
• Mexican Cartels Lure American Teens as Killers
• How to Start Living in a Tiny House
• 
• While FAIL stickers are amusing, I am still more partial to I Park Like an Idiot stickers.
• Lancaster, PA keeps a close eye on itself
• The crap they built where the beautiful train stations were
• Production stills from Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: TV preacher proves that only the Christian God is real
  It’s WTF not because of what he believes, rather because of the “logic” he uses to support his arguments.
• Audio slideshow: Splendour of Saturn

Right on to the friction of the day…

Namaste.

Monday – 22 June 2009
As it’s the beginning of a new work week, Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders might say:

Oh, back on the chain gang…

But, as Mr. Rogers would say:

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood

So, it’s something of a wash.

I’m not sure what is on tap for this morning – or this week – yet, but hopefully there’s nothing too maddening coming down the pike. Tonight, however, is Bad Movie Night with Chris and Mary. We haven’t done one of those in a while, so it should be fun.

Stray Toasters

• Friday, in a move that comes under the heading of “It’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission,” I reallocated a work asset – a 42″ television – as a temporary monitor. There is actually a method to the madness, as I’m using it to prove a couple of points:
  1. We’ve been having some questions about our response time to some requests. I’m using the new large screen to keep a list of such requests visible all day,
  2. The television has been sitting – unused – for the past few months. We’ve been asked to see how/where we can use resources in different ways to maximize our overall effectiveness… so, really, I’m just following orders.

  Now, I’m waiting for the-powers-that-be to get into the office and comment on my “creative solution.”

• Same-sex weddings, heartland style
• Art Canvases That Include Shag Carpet
• Mayo Clinic Announces Dramatic Outcomes in Prostate Cancer Treatment
• Check out Back to the Cave, The-Blackcat’s take on Batman… as father to three Robins and a Bat-Baby.
• Education Chief to Warn Advocates That Inferior Charter Schools Harm the Effort
• Vocabulary 101:
  • lightning
    1. the flashing of light produced by a discharge of atmospheric electricity ; also : the discharge itself
    2. a sudden stroke of fortune
  • lightening
    1. to make light or clear : illuminate
    2. archaic : enlighten
    3. to make (as a color) lighter

  lightning != lightening

• California’s Solution to $24 Billion Budget Gap Is Going to Bring Some Pain
  
• 
• Pilot buries helicopter crash survivor in sand
• Iranian Guards Issue Warning as Vote Errors Are Admitted
• SSN Required to Buy Palm Pre

Paul came over and saw my new upgrade. After asking if I was trying to cause problems, I informed him that all of this was actually HIS fault: When I asked him about doing this back in April, he just laughed… but he never said “No.” And then, he actually asked to look at one of the items being displayed on the task list. I think that means that I’ve justified one point and proven another. We’ll see how long this lasts.

Namaste.

Friday – 19 June 2009
Good Juneteenth to all.

…and a belated Happy Birthday to sister-in-law-to-be Meliko:

I ate something – I have a pretty good idea of what it was at this point – on Wednesday that seriously did not agree with me. I’m Ivory Soap sure that I’ve spent more time looking at the walls (and shower curtain and pictures and towels and… and… and…) in the bathroom in the past two days than I have in the past two weeks. This has definitely come under the heading of “not fun.” On the flip side, when I weighed myself this morning, I was down to 180.5 lbs; so apparently there was a nominally “positive” side effect.

Yesterday, our company held a little shindig for our most-recent software release. There was a cook-out in a park down in Utah County and a “team-building” exercise – the new Star Trek movie. It was as much time the third time as it was the first two times I saw it. And I managed to catch two Easter eggs that I had previously missed: Scotty’s tribble and the reference to “Cadet Vader.” I did not, however, see the R2-D2 in the debris field over Vulcan. Oh, well, just something to look forward to when the DVD comes out.

Stray Toasters

• It rained again in the valley yesterday, just a trace amount here (Utah County apparently got the lion’s share of the rain), bringing us to thirteen (13) days of rain. Two more days and I would have started building an ark. We’re supposed to get a reprieve today, but possibly more rain this weekend.
• is at Wizard World Philly. (I’m only slightly jealous…) She’s been messaging me with not-quite-play-by-play of some of the goings-on while waiting to go inside.
• Proposed tire label could improve gas savings
• A couple of items for :
  • IGN Video: Metroid: Other M
  • Well-Suited, Well, Lit: Phazon Suit Samus
• Bozeman City job requirement raises privacy concerns
• Florida town orders employees to wear underwear and cover wounds
• All US one-time expenditures vs the bailout

  

• Adopt a Classroom
• On NPR this morning, there was an item about Iran’s Supreme Leader, The Ayatollah. That triggered something in my head that made me think of Cobra‘s Supreme Commander, Serpentor. Every time they said “Supreme Leader,” The picture of Iran’s top religious leader parading around in a tacky snake suit popped into my head. That made me laugh… every time.
• Washington is morphing into a pretty cool district
• What happens when a pilot dies?
• A few Top 10 lists from Wired’s GeekDad:
  • Top 10 (More) Ways to Provoke a Geek Argument
  • Top 10 Ways You Know You’re Married to a GeekDad
  • 10 Internet Memes You Can Share with Your Kids – And a Bunch You Can’t
    
• Lift off for NASA’s lunar probes
• The name game: Tracing the etymology of game character names

Namaste.

Wednesday – 17 June 2009
Midweek. It’s already been raining/drizzling this morning, bringing our “Days of Rain” total to twelve. Yep… it’s about time to start measuring things in cubits.

Our robot overlords protectors are offering free heatlh screenings this morning. One of the announcement emails said that we should fast for eight hours before getting our screening. Ordinarily, that would be fine. However, this means that I haven’t had any caffeination yet. That holds a potential for danger to the general populace. I forgot that today, Sushi and Comics Wednesday, was the same day as the screenings. I came in to see if I could reschedule my appointment for earlier, so that I didn’t eat before getting my screening… only to find out that they can do/could have done it after I eat. *sigh*

Stray Toasters

• Every so often, Julie (our Property Manager and unofficial “Distinguished IT Admin”) and I wind up wearing similar outfits on the same day.  Today is no exception: We’re both in black slacks and light blue shirts; I’m wearing a tie, though.
• US to Extend Its Job Benefits to Gay Partners
• Windows 7 Licensing a “Disaster” for XP Shops
• Green Lantern: First Flight comes out in (just over) a month.
• 
• Kids lose summer break due to impenetrable bureaucratic mess
• Natal Technology a Gift to the Disabled, Amputees

Namaste.

SaraRules and I headed to the gym this evening, after dinner (and episodes of NCIS and Wolverine and the X-Men). We did a routine that she put together:

• Leg Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 140 lbs
• Kick-backs: 3 sets/10 reps, 60 lbs
• Calf Raises: 3 sets/10 reps – 1 set @ 100 lbs, 2 sets @ 120 lbs
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 190 lbs
• Lower Back Extensions: 3 sets/15 reps, 140 lbs
• Flys: 3 sets/10 reps, 110 lbs
• Decline Sit-ups: 3 sets/10 reps
• Reverse Flys (Dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 10 lbs
• “Arnold” Press (Dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs
• Upright Row (Barbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 50 lbs
• Side Bends: 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs

Post-workout weight: 189.1 lbs

Stray Toasters

• Art show fracas in Russia
• Moving Day
• How Our Game Platforms Will Change in 2009
• , get ready – Team Ninja Gets Back in Game with Metroid: Other M for Wii
• Small LEGO Zombie Canvases
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Icelandic Phallological Museum
• By way of – 10 Awesome Tools to Get More Out of Wikipedia
• I watched Jonny Quest earlier. There’s been talk of a live-action Jonny Quest movie… and I’m not sure that I’m looking forward to it. I’m leery of it because I fear that they’ll dumb it down to make it “safe” and “palatable” for the masses.
• Master the Art of Web Commuting
• Senators wonder aloud if only AT&T should be able to sell the iPhone
• Giant Burning Holes of the World

And that’s a wrap.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 16 June 2009
Last night, SaraRules and I watched Kinky Boots, a movie inspired by a true story. The movie tells the story of two people – Charlie and Lola – whose lives intertwine in an unusual way. Charlie is the son of a shoe maker… who doesn’t want to follow in the family business. Lola is… well… Lola. (Oh, and Lola’s a drag queen, too.) The pair meet after Charlie intervenes when Lola is about to get mugged. From there, the two embark on a journey to help each of them discover what they both want and need out of life.

I remember thinking that this movie sounded interesting when I saw a trailer for it a few years ago. SaraRules and I flipped past it a few month ago, but didn’t back to checking it out until last night. It was a fun movie. The characters (well, most of them) have personalities and motivations that make them human… rather than just cardboard cutouts or caricatures; I was also very pleasantly surprised at Chiwetel Ejiofor‘s performance as Lola.

Stray Toasters

• On the way home last night, it drizzled. I had to check more than one window to make sure that I hadn’t either imagined it or just gotten caught in someone’s windshield washer overspray. Nope… it was precipitate from the sky. Therefore, yesterday marked the tenth consecutive day that the Salt Lake Valley (or at least this corner of it) got something that qualifies as “rain.”
• Atlas Obscura
• June 16, 1959: George Reeves, Superman, Felled by Speeding Bullet
• LEGOland Gets 10-Foot ‘Brickday’ Cake

• When Performers Write the Program
• The art of Cliff Chiang
• For – Weird Al does Craigslist, Doors style
• Shop of Ideas: Power Girl and Fangirls
• Muslims Face Risks in Giving to Charity
• Indexed: Teachers can save the economy

  

• Social Networks Spread Iranian Defiance Online
• Fashion industry steps out for its Oscars, the CDFA Awards
• Comedian Lange crosses the line on ‘Joe Buck Live’

Namaste.

Monday – 15 June 2009
Another work week begins. While I wouldn’t call the day “manic,” it is still a Monday. And, I came into the office to find out that some scheduled maintenance on our email server seems to have been “mostly successful,” it seems that one of the services isn’t playing nicely with the others… and just quit. One of the server guys is working on it now.

Yesterday, I went to Murray Park and threw the Aerobie around with Chris and Mary. We played for about 40 minuutes before the thunderheads rolled in. We thought it in our best interests to stop playing – we didn’t find the prospect of becoming human lightning rods all that enticing. After heading home for a shower, I went to visit Perry and the kids; they were doing well.

I headed to SaraRules’ parents’ for dinner. As it was still raining when we finished, there was no Sunday Night Bocce. Instead, we watched Dead Again. Despite owning the movie, I haven’t seen it in a few years. It was good and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Back at home, I took another stab at organizing my legions of HeroClix into storage boxes. For the most part, it looks as though I was successful. I still need to go through a few boxes and verify that the figures in them are extra and/or available for modification.

Stray Toasters

• By way of SaraRules:
  • ‘Imelda’ Strikes Again: Thieving Fox Amasses 120 Shoes
  • Top 10 Worst Wedding Songs
• Kids — They’ll Age You (or “Just how old is Bruce Wayne, anyway?!”)
• and A 400-lb Gorilla are written up in: Midvale couple chalks it up for art and foster care
  Don’t forget to check them out this weekend at the Utah Chalk Art Festival – this Friday and Saturday at The Gateway
• Combating malaria by sterilizing male mosquitos
• Full-sized Gundam Now Complete in Tokyo
• 
• By way of comes: Manvotional: George Washington’s Rules on Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation
• Comic Confrontations: Judge Judy vs. Breeders
• ‘Prodigal’ returns?: The new Batman’s the same as the old new Batman — or is he?
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: For Sale: New York property with quietest of tenants
• Cracked and peeling Photoshopping contest

Namaste.

Sunday – 14 June 2009
This weekend, I have (re)discovered something wonderful about saying (or at least “thinking loudly”) “I don’t feel like getting up yet…” on my days off. I’ve managed not to get out of bed as soon as I wake up. This is a good thing as Friday, Saturday and this morning, I was awake between 0630 and 0705. Without an alarm. This comes under the heading of a “good thing.”

I finally got the pictures from Ogden Union Station posted. I’m not entirely sure why iWeb wouldn’t let me post pages with similar – yet different – names, but it didn’t. So, I had to get a little creative. This workaround seems to work. Something that I didn’t consider – mainly because it was almost 0200 when I was trying to get the pictures posted – was to simply publish the pages to folders and upload the folders. (It’s amazing what a good night’s sleep and distance from the problem will do for mental acuity.) If I run into this situation again, I’ll have to keep that in mind.

Stray Toasters

• Seven Civil War Stories your teacher never told you
• It has rained, to some degree, every day for the past eight (8) days. This fact is made even more peculiar/amusing in that we are on a high desert plain. The operative word being: “Desert.” If it keeps up much longer, I’m going to start drafting plans for an ark. My mission: Save two of each kind of toy.
• The Rise and Fall of Motion Control for Games
• Speaking of games: I’ve finally given my XBox 360 a permanent connection to the Interwebs; my gamer tag is: shadorunr. If you’re a XBox Live player, feel free to add me.
• Director Guillermo Del Toro Is a Novelist, Too
• While I’m not a big fan of Twitter, I found this blending of old and new technology amusing: A Twitter Client for the Commodore 64
• Actor Phil Morris Always Seems to Get the Cool Parts
• Vincent Moore raises the question: “Where are the Black Supervillains?” (1, 2)
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Bulletproof “tactical” corset

Methinks it’s time to find something to do in the sunshine. Throwing the Aerobie around  sounds like a good idea.

Namaste.

Friday – 12 June 2009
A 9/80 Friday off begins. Well, that’s not entirely true – it started over ten hours ago. It would be closer to the truth to say that I slept in and that it’s been a lazy day so far.

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away I came home from work, had dinner… and then fell asleep on the couch. For nearly two hours. I thought I’d nap for maybe half an hour. I was mistaken, for the second time this year. After I finished with my Rip Van Winkle impression, we watched Slumdog Millionaire: What is one young man willing to do to chase down a dream? What if that dream isn’t something ethereal and elusive… but the heart of a young lady? This movie answers that question. And it’s an excellent movie. I can see now why it garnered so much attention at the Oscars. AND… it ends with a Bollywood-style dance scene!

Stray Toasters

• The Bureau of Communication – Fill-in-the-Blank Correspondence
• Skipping School? Get a Presidential Excuse
• Mattel has a new Green Lantern 3-figure pack coming out. Covet.
• pointed out GroomGroove.com
• The Least Appropriete Wedding Songs Ever
• Why No Famous Scientists or Engineers?
• Both SaraRules and I are amused by this commercial:

• By way of Rachel: Surviving the World
• Out of Your Life. Their tagline kills me: “It’s time to break up with his jewelry, too.”
• By way of : Fossil Fuels Brewing Co.
• Horror Movie Shower Curtain & Bath Mat
• More Nerd Merit Badges

Time to find some trouble to get into.

Namaste.

I started this a little after 1300. It’s now after 1700, and I’m just getting done with meetings for the day. *sigh* No rest for the wicked, I guess.

Wes and I hit the gym again today:

• Sit-ups (decline bench): 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 205 lbs
• Flys: 3 sets/10 reps, 110 lbs
• Lower Back Extension: 3 sets/15 reps, 160 lbs
• Reverse Flys: 3 sets/10 reps, 80 lbs
• Shoulder Press (machine): 3 sets/10 reps, 70 lbs
• Overhead Tricep Extensions (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 45 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs

Post-workout weight: 188.2 lbs

::: MEETINGS :::

And then there were none. It’s always great when you (re)discover that there’s a meeting you’re supposed to attend… twenty minutes before the meeting is scheduled to start. And I wouldn’t even have known that if I hadn’t overheard someone else talking about it.

Stray Toasters

• I’m trying out the Wordbook plugin for WordPress. Ostensibly, my posts should be getting mirrored in my Facebook account. We’ll see how that works out.
• Boy, 11, graduates from college
• , and : I’d be interested in your opinions, if any, of this article: Blacksmiths of Intellectual Property: The Rise of Originality in MMOs; not necessarily limited to MMOs, but to gaming in general.
• By way of – Star Trek: The Wrath of Chaka Khan

• Apple iPhone Users Cry Foul Over AT&T Upgrade Policy
  (or, as showed me earlier in the day: Stupid Apple, You Suck!)
• Top 10 Ways to Provoke a Geek Argument
• By way of :

  

• Also from – Paradise on a Hanger is having a (going out of business?) sale.

That’s all f-f-f-folks!

Namaste.