Random Access

Sunday (coda)
I wound up heading to Jitterbug for a late lunch/early and light dinner and to get some more time with a pencil in my hand. I was successful at both. I didn’t finish the picture because I didn’t have a reference book handy, but I got a lot of other work in on it. I’m probably less than thirty minutes from completing it.

After that, I decided to take a drive. I didn’t want to simply loop the SLC Valley, my usual Parley’s/Emigration run didn’t sound appealing and I didn’t feel like going to Park City. So, I headed north. My thought: I’ll head north until I don’t want to go any farther and turn around and come back. Sounded good in theory, the practical application was a little different: I wound up going to Ogden. And, since I was in Ogden, I decided to stop in and see Dee, Kim and the boys. I’m glad that I did – it was fun to hang out with them for a while.

I headed home. After checking on the cats (they were fine) and determining that I didn’t feel like sitting at home, I decided to take in 28 Weeks Later. Not bad. Not bad at all. It did raise a couple questions that I will throw to and Tyranist, however:

Are all zombie movies inherently apocalyptic/nihilist? Or has there been a movie – other than *ack-thbppt*Undead – where the zombie hordes are defeated/eliminated and the world goes on more or less as it was?

Shortly after it started, 28WL made me think of a question and a similar one popped up about two-thirds of the way through the movie:

1. Could you make the choice to leave a loved one behind in the face of overwhelming odds or would you stick with them and take your chances?
2. Could you make the call to wipe out everyone and everything (and I do mean “everyone and everything”) in order to eliminate an otherwise unstoppable threat?

I enjoyed the movie… even though I noticed, as with Spider-day Night Fever, there were some contrivances/coincidences that without which the movie would have fallen apart. And… it reminded me of Aliens in a number of ways. But, it was a nice way to cap off the weekend.

Stray Toasters

• Is it bad that I want one of these for my desk at work? (At least for the south office.)
• …and one of these wouldn’t be bad, either.
• Heaven help me for the way that I am
  Save me from these evil deeds
  Before I get them done…
  
• Sissy’s taken to growling at the twins again. *sigh*
• While I don’t really need anything from here, my inner LEGO Maniac wouldn’t mind having the Ice Brick Tray, Coaster Set… and even the Plate and Tumbler Sets. Particularly the Ice Brick Tray, though.
• Amazing 3D Scanner Made with LEGO and Milk
• At some point today, I heard John Sugar Melonhead’s Jack and Diane. It got to the refrain, “Oh, yeah, life goes on… Long after the thrill of living is gone” and I almost immediately started laughing: I had a picture of Nefer-Tem fighting a villain and getting blasted/pummelled/whatever to the point of near-death. (Which, since he is technically a mummy, is merely a minor setback.) He gets up, casually tosses out that line… and proceeds to wail the tar out of his opponent.
• iPhone Release Date Confirmed as June 29
• While I’m on the subject of cell phones: Cell phone ‘CSI’
• Have you heard Tori Amos’ cover of Bruce Springsteen’s I’m on Fire? Check it out here, even though this is not the version I was looking for.

I should give more than “a little thought” to calling it a night…

Namaste.

Friday – 01 June 2007
Night One with the kids went fairly well. All three were a bit skittish, but survived. Lightning came out to explore a bit, followed a little while later by Presto. Sissy was a little less inclined to wander, but finally struck out to see what’s what and what’s where. Sissy is also trying to assert herself as the Alpha. That’s going over well.

This morning, Presto’s been a bit more “clingy” than I’m used to. She’s not always exactly underfoot, but she’s been very close at hand. Old habits apparently die hard, however, as she decided to drape herself across my clothes when I laid them out.

Last night, I went to Target to pick up a cat litter scoop. I found everything but one. I checked the pet aisles. I checked the cleaning aisles. No go, Flight. They didn’t have any, either none in stock or they were cleverly disguised as cat toys and cat clothes. *shrug* Oh, na. I wound up going to the nearby grocery store – they had plenty of ’em.
Stray Toasters

• Intrepid seemed to shit itself. Again. It cleared up after a couple reboots, but it’s something I’ll be keeping an eye on.
• , and the rest of the Treasure Valley Rollergirls, have a bout here over the weekend of 23 June 07. The lovely Ms. J will be staying here while she’s in town.
• Oh No Robot webcomics search
• 
• Steampunk Magazine
• , click here.
• I’d love to post this at work, but I’d have to censor it to keep from offending delicate sensibilities…
  
• Friends of Lulu

Up out.

Namaste.

Monday: coda
And so, another day comes to an end.

…and at the end of that day, Jack Bauer [spoiler deleted] because the people involved with the [spoiler deleted] didn’t follow through with [spoiler deleted].
Stray Toasters

• For the past year or so, my camera has had a problem with the switch that controls the on/off and lens.  I fixed that today.  It was a mixed bag: I was happy that it was fairly easy to take care of and that I don’t have to rush out to get a new camera… but, I was a little torqued that it was such an easy fix and that I hadn’t thought of it before.
• Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Batmobile
• Sib-3 called this evening to inform me, and I quote, “Gears of War is the best game ever.”  I reminded him that he said the same thing about HALO and HALO2.  He said that they were good… for the time, but that this easily surpasses them.  And that he loved his 360.
• People are already camping out at the new IKEA.
• Passive-aggressive notes from roommates, neighbors, coworkers and strangers
• : Here’s a bunch of LSH-related items…
• Cover art to Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #32
  
• Legends of Lost Legionnaires – including some Sims skins
• Gone But Not Forgotten: LSHv4
• Legion of Super-Heroes Customs
• There was a song/video that I wanted to look up, but damn if I can remember what it was.
• Hot Chicks with Douchebags (some of the images may be NSFW)
• Pre-orders for Weta Collectibles Rayguns will begin on Friday, 25 May 2007.
• Glass Rayguns by Joe Blow Glassworks
• By way of boingboing.net: Threadless spoiler tee
• For , and the other Wii owners: Can’t Wait for the Wiikend

And now, sleep…

Namaste.

Thursday (coda)
The work day ended.  Blah blah blah.

I came home, cooked, watched two… two… two! episodes of CSI:.   Yadda yadda yadda.

Four-Color Coverage
Wow.   I didn’t realize it had been so long since I’d done one of these.  Let’s get rolling:

• The Ultimates 2: Issue 13 – It’s been… months… since the last issue of The Ultimates came out – something on the order of four to six months, I think.  But, it came out.  And I bought it.  And… and… and… yeah.  So, let’s say, hypothetically, that you’re going to invade America.  Let’s say that you’re going to send in legions of troopers, some metahumans… and the Norse God of Lies, just for good measure.  It should be a piece of cake, right?  Roll in, snap ’em off a little something and…. voila!  New land acquisition!  Right?  Right?!  Wrong.  Oh, so very wrong.  Because, you apparently forgot about Captain America and his intrepid band of heroes.  Oh, and that Norse God of Thunder.  Six months in the making… and worth the wait.
• Ultimate Fantastic Four #41 – The UFF versus Diablo.  Time travel.  Alchemy.  Magic.  Science.  And a new look for The Thing.  The only thing (no pun intended) that would have made it better would have been if Ben had said, “What a revoltin’ development!”  Oh, well… can’t have it all, I guess.
• Ultimate X-Men #81 and #82 – Sentinels, Morlocks and Beast!  Oh, my!  Wait… Beast?!  Didn’t he die about 30 issues back?!  *blink blink*  Okay.  Fine.  Moving on… I’m not sure about this title.  It seems to have lost… something.  I know people who practically say that Robert Kirkman can do no wrong.  I’m not necessarily of that opinion.  Yes, he has shaken up the status quo.  He’s pulled rabbits out of hats.  He made the book interesting… for a while.  But, I fear that my time with this title may be approaching an end.
• The Mighty Avengers #2 and #3 – What happens when Tony Stark’s armor reshapes itself into the newest incarnation of Ultron… with Tony in it?  This.  Wait…  Isn’t…um… wasn’t…. Tony a… guy?!  And why does he… she… it… look like… The Wasp?!  Oh, boy.  So, you have Ultron, the Mole Man and a bunch of the Mole Man’s creatures duking it out with the newly-minted Mighty Avengers.  In midtown Manhattan.  This brings to mind two words: “Collateral damage.”  And, there was a lot of it.  But, this is what people pay for: A book with people in costumes beating on other people in costumes.  And, as an added bonus: We find out who’s a Level Ten Agent with S.H.I.E.L.D. and just how much power that person potentially wields.
• The New Avengers #30 – More backstory on how the team wound up in Japan and their encounter with The Hand, led by Elektra.  Readers also learn who the new face is behind Ronin’s mask.  On the down side: I’m sorry, but Leinil Yu’s artwork isn’t really doing anything for me; it’s almost enough to detract from my enjoyment of the story.
• Uncanny X-Men #486 – “The Rise and Fall of the Shi’ar Empire” comes to a close in this issue.  And it goes out with a bang.  The X-Men and the Starjammers fight against the Shi’ar Imperial Army and the Imperial Guard.  And, Vulcan lashes out and kills [spoiler deleted].
• Green Lantern #19 – What do we know about Star Sapphire?  Not enough, apparently.  This issue serves as a history lesson.  We learn a little more about the “emotional spectrum” of the DCU (Green for willpower, Yellow for fear): We see that Violet represents love… as (mis)understood by the Zamarons.  We are shown how the Star Sapphires – yes, plural – choose their hosts and discover their roles, relative to the Zamarons.  I’m still getting used to Daniel Acuna’s artwork.  It’s not bad… in fact, it reminds me of Stuart Immonen’s early work in Legion of Super-Heroes, which also took me a while to warm up to.
• Justice League of America #8 and #9 and Justice Society of America #5: “The Lightning Saga” – Wow.  Seriously, wow.  This storyline is supposed to cement the ties between the JLA and the JSA… and tie their legacies to the Legion, as well.  (So you know I was hooked from the get-go.)  Seven Legionnaires trapped in the 21st Century.  For an as-yet-unrevealed mission.  Long-time Legion readers will recognize certain items that appear in the third chapter  of the story.  Hint: The last time we saw these items, it involved a dead Legionnaire.  I think that my favorite exchange, so far, comes in Chapter Two, between Superman, Stargirl, Red Tornado and Cyclone:
  Stargirl: I’d never heard of the Legion of Super-Heroes before today.  Who are they?
  Red Tornado: The Legion is a team from the 31st Century made up of representatives from dozens of different alien worlds.  They stand as a symbol of unity in a universe plagued with separatism and xenophobia.
  Superman: They were my friends.
  Cyclone: Wow.  You had a lot of friends.
  
  (click image for larger picture)
  Superman: I didn’t for a long time.  When I was your age, there weren’t any other kids around that could fly.
  Stargirl: I can’t even imagine you as a kid.
  Superman: You two are lucky to have each other.
  Cyclone: Totally.
  Superman: My powers were hard to get under control when they were developing.  I broke a boy’s arm playing football when I was twelve.  For years, the only people I could be myself around were my parents.  Then one day, these three showed up.
  Stargirl: Saturn Girl?
  Superman: Cosmic Boy told me when I was older I’d become the inspiration that would help found the Legion.  They brought me to their future to make me an honorary member.  They had a clubhouse.  And “flight rings.”  Every single one of them could fly.
• Astonishing X-Men #21 – Joss Whedon is writing a book that lives up to its title: “Astonishing.”  The X-Men are on Breakworld to stop a prophecy from occuring: A prophecy that foretells of Colossus destroying Breakworld.  A world where almost every living creature wants Colossus dead.  On sight.  Bargains are made.  As are new discoveries.  And a couple of shocking revelations, too.  All-in-all, this was a solid issue with great art.  Whedon and Cassady will be a tough act to follow.
• Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #29 – We finally learn the reason behind the Dominators’ attack on Earth.  Through a bit of a history lesson, it is tied in nicely with the mid-90s Invasion crossover/mini-series.  And there’s a major tie to 52.  And there’s a lot of fighting.  A lot.

Stray Toasters

• I should have been in bed hours ago.  Oh, well.
• Street lockdowns proposed for Baltimore  WHAT?!?
• By way of : Worst Movie Scenes Ever
• Dwim sent me a link to this.  Make of it what you will…
• Marvel Comic artist defends suggestive statueette of Spidey’s girlfriend
• 
• North Korean rollercoaster
• Chinese crime blotter reports recreated as art photos

Namaste.

Thursday – 17 May 2007
Post-work yesterday, I (finally) went to pick up my four-color crack… for the past two or three weeks. Yeah. I needed my fix. I didn’t get everything, just the important stuff. Okay, the really important stuff. And, Dave was kind enough to save the Free Comic Book Day items that I had requested… which is good, because he apparently ran out of stuff quickly. AND… I even got the limited edition FCBD plastic crack: Batman.

After that, back home for a bit and off to dinner and a movie with Liz. Tres Hombres. I need to remember to travel with Tums – the food was tasty, but it came back with a bit of a vengeance a few hours later.  *sigh* The movie was Disturbia. I enjoyed it. I would call it “a thriller,” but I fear that a certain Tyranist would pelt me with office supplies over the cube walls. The movie did a good job of building suspense and holding it. I even jumped a time or two because I didn’t see something coming. I give the movie a thumbs up with an okay. It might even make it into the collection someday… And, there was a life-sized, 3-D Silver Surfer… mannequin/standee in the lobby.  It’d make a great lawn ornament: “Oh, sure… anyone can get a cement statue; we decided to do something different!”
Three days and change down… one to go. This morning started, once again, in the SLC office. Followed by another trip to the caffeination dispensary. Selah.

Stray Toasters

• I’m craving crab cakes. From Phillips, of course.
• Woman survives internal decapitation
• Shucky Ducky quack quack!
• Quiz: Are You Smarter Than a 5^th Grader?
• Matt – who shall hereafter be occasionally referred to as “Dwim,” – pointed me in the direction of Chris Dimino’s Cuckoo Clock… based on The Shining.  Check out some of his other stuff, too.
• More scary old ads about Lysol: Nazi babies and Spider-Crotch
• 
• Microsoft to Dump 32-Bit After Vista
• 2 Legit 2 Quit (Hey! Heeeey!)
• Usenet is my friend.   It brought me more episodes of Legion of Super Heroes.  *genuflect*
• Guy who remodeled his flat to Star Trek specs finally sells it

Just getting back from the gym; it was good.  Very good: Three sets of 200.  Ten reps each set.  Hoo-AH!

And now, food.

Namaste.

Monday – 07 May 2007
Lazy day.

Imagine that… a lazy day… on a vacation.  Who would have thought such a thing possible?!  But here it was.  I slept in.  I stayed around the house for a while.  Mom decided that she needed a new printer, so I made a trip to the not-so-local (but-full-of-fun-things) Best Buy.  One printer, one cable (and one copy of Snakes & Arrows) later, I was on the way back home.

It was also a nominally productive day.  I…

• …installed the printer and hardware
• …replaced a tail light in Mom’s car
• …went to the grocery store
• …visited an aunt whom I hadn’t gotten to see over the weekend
• …still…need to do…. laundry.

Four out of five ain’t bad.  And I did get to see tonight’s episode of 24.
Tomorrow, I get to chase the sun.  Tomorrow evening, that is.  Tomorrow morning, I want to try and catch up a couple of my old teachers.

Stray Toasters

• As if I needed something else to covet: Elektra
• Two States Restrict Used CD Sales
  Why does it not surprise me that Utah is one of the two states?
• Mario: Game Over
• Desert Island Discs: Can one game last a lifetime?
• 
• Interesting new gadget: LaptopTablet
• I had my hands on Butterscotch Krimpets today… but I didn’t buy them.  I may have to make a run at them tomorrow before I head to the airport.
• Weather.cx
• 
• 
• The 52 Cover Gallery

Namaste.

Wednesday – 02 May 2007
Yesterday wound up being a fairly quiet day at work.  Not about to complain on that score.  The lunchtime workout was good; Eric and I decided to do some exercises that we don’t usually/often do.  “Good training… Builds character.”  Of course, in the words of Mary Prankster: “I’ve built up so much character, I’ve got an alter-ego.”

Post-work, being both hungry and lazy, I fixed spaghetti for dinner.  Simple and quick.  And I still had sauce left over from last week, so that was easily taken care of.  The night wrapped up with and I watching a couple more episodes of The West Wing‘s second season.
Stray Toasters

• I have discovered a new amusement:
  
• For , Tyranist and whomever esle is interested: The Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft
• Note to Self:  Convince Don and/or William that Sunday evening would be the perfect time to see Spider-Man 3…
  
• By way of : Paleo-Future
• David Oakes’ LEGO Art Page (check out the gallery)…
• …which included a dead link to Dennis Chidley’s old LEGO figure page.  However, Google was able to find a new URL for Mr. Chidley’s handicraft.
• An American Pantheon
• 
• I will be out of town for Free Comic Book Day… but I sent an email to my local purveyor of four-color crack and asked that some of the event’s free titles be placed in my hold box for pick-up when I return.
• Counting Crows – Hanginaround

Zoom!

Namaste.

Tuesday – 01 May 2007
Last night’s D&D game set many wheels in motion.  We finally remembered to ask some of the important questions that we had neglected.  We also made some decent in-roads to accomplishing some of the major campaign items that have been looming over our heads for months.  And, we didn’t get eaten by a dragon.

Stray Toasters

• Note to Self: Call Bret.  Today.
• Justice League: Countdown – an animated parody of DC’s Identity Crisis
• Since won’t play along when I say “Mahna Mahna…”
• Big Mac, Filet-o-Fish
  Quarter Pounder, French fries
  Icy Coke, thick shakes
  Sundaes and apple pies!
• Dell wil pre-install Ubuntu Linux
• 
• Steampunk Mouse
• The Refreshments – Banditos
• Wizkids is showing more of the upcoming Legion of Super-Heroes HeroClix set.  They’re going with the v5 Legion, to boot!
• – Catwoman Vinyl Statue
• Date Night – Nightwing and Batgirl, by way of the Comics2Film DCG
• Tyranist, this one is a fastball down the plate for you: Three screams for these stars
• USPS Star Wars Stamp Pre-Orders

Namaste.

Wednesday: coda
I spent more time than I really care to admit trying to bend the Wireless Network Connection settings in MicroSquish Vista to my will… and that of ‘s network.  I swear, setting that thing up was like going around your ass to scratch your nose.  I finally got it set up… I think.  Of course, I thought that I had it set up once… and it wound up dropping the connection a short while later.  *braincramp*   I need to take some time and tinker with Vista more.  But it will be a long while before it winds up on any of my boxes as the standard OS.  I may be getting a chocolate cake out of the deal, too.  That ain’t bad.

After Vista-aerobics, I hung out with Liz for coffee.  Unfortunately, B&B was closed so I had to fall back on one of the local embassies of the Seattle Coffee Empire.  Beggars.  Choosers.
Thursday is the last day of Suit Week… because we can’t justify suits on Friday.  Not that we really need to justify them, but we’re talking Friday.  If ever there was a “not a suit day” day, it’s Friday.  So, to cap off Suit Week: Tuxedos.  And, we even talked one of our other coworkers into joining us.  Yowza!
Stray Toasters

• I am taking suggestions for lyrics to use as the basis for my next few drawings.
• I also need to make some time to get in some freehand drawrin’ practice with my Wacom.
• For some reason, Signe – the opening track from Eric Clapton: Unplugged – is running through my head.
• 
• …and we’ll throw in a “Felgercarb,” at no extra charge!
• By way of Slashdot: How Wii Is Creaming the Competition
• 
• , this one’s for you: Amateur Batman movie destined to become cult favorite
• “I… I… I… want the knife!”   *spin prayer wheel*
• – Australia bans Snoop Dog
• Tom’s Diner, the way it was meant to be… and with an introduction by Suzanne Vega

Namaste.

Sunday – 21 April 2007
If anyone can explain to me why I was up this morning before 9:00 – even though I couldn’t fall asleep until after 4:00 – I would be very grateful.

So far this morning, I have:

• Chatted with Nyx
• Surfed the Interweb
• Looked up – and watched – videos by Hooverphonic, Jane Child , White Town and The Spice Girls on YouTube
• Installed Thunderbird on Intrepid.  (After years of being a Eudoran, I’m trying an old favorite again.)

Yep, I’m chock full of productivity!  (Nevermind the fact that my office needs a thorough cleaning.)  And now, I’m killing time until , possibly and a few others of us head to the driving range.  *taps vein*

Stray Toasters

• I decided to do a search for “top 100 videos of all time,” for some reason.  The top entry on Google led to a link from Stylus Magazine.  Click here to see what they picked.
• Goldfish.  So… tasty…
• I still have no idea what song to use for my next lyric-to-drawing picture.
• Phoenix vs. Cthulhu…  Hm.

Off to the range.

Namaste.

Friday – 20 April 2007
And, since it’s 4-20, let’s get this out of the way now…

And, with that out of the way…

Last night, I had to return to Fiddler’s Elbow. Why? Because I had apparently been double-charged… no, triple-charged for dinner the other night. So, I went to clear things up. The manager was shocked, to say the least, but she found the problem and explained what she thought had happened. However, there’s really nothing that can be done until the charge tries to clear my bank — which she explained should go through with the proper amount. All I can do now is wait and see. It was a little irritating – and a bit inconvenient – but nothing bad enough to throw off the NBN part of Thursday.

After that, all I wanted to do was go home. And, I did. I ordered a pizza and tried to figure out what to do with the rest of the evening, since CSI: was a repeat. to the rescue! She had picked up the second season of The West Wing from the library, so she brought it over and we watched a couple episodes. That was such a good show; it’s too bad that Aaron Sorkin wasn’t there for the end – I would be interested to see how it would have been different had be been there.

The Scales of Justice
Post-Wing, The Hand of Nefer-Tem took to the streets of Paragon City.

After a little aimless wandering, and a conversation with VikingPrincess, I was invited to join a team. A team on which no one had any missions, except me. So… we ran my mission. It was tied into the last story arc (find the missing Kheldians)… but this time, we were up against The Council. We died. A few times. But, we did complete the mission.
Stray Toasters

• I gave my site a minor update: I added CoH and CoV sections. Because I could. I still need to do a little more work on them, but they are there.
• Thanks to for bringing me back to a softer world
  
• The Lyrid Meteor Shower – coming to a sky near you this weekend.
• 
• Puttin’ on the Ritz…. Mel Brooks style
• By way of boingboing.net: The Blasphemy Challenge. Um… yeah. Kids today, I tell ya.
• To borrow a line from Jonathan Coulton: “It’s the Future Now”
• Adjustable breast implants. Make your own punchlines.
• It’s not exactly “steampunk,” but boingboing also has an article on Insane Archive of Retro-Tech Creations
• Gamers of the world, take a sip of your 2-liter Mountain Dew… and then pour a little on the sidewalk: Paizo to Discontinue Dragon and Dungeon Magazines
• In light of last night’s escapades at Fiddler’s Elbow, I found this appropriate:
  

Namaste.

Thursday – 12 April 2007
Last night, I played Battlefield 2142 for the first time since God was a boy.  Okay, it hadn’t been that long, but it had been since early January.  I met up with the rest of team and we exchanged bullets, rockets, and grenades with opposing forces.  It was fun.  I do, however, need to remember to turn Multiplicity off before playing – the mouse kept tracking over to Intrepid at inopportune moments.
I woke up with a phenomenal (do DO do-do-do) headache this morning.  I decided to take some Aleve and sleep in.  That seemed to do the trick, for the most part.  I still have a slight twinge, but not nearly as bad as it was earlier.

I’m not sure if the headache was contagious or if I’m developing a new level of technopathy, but Nomad was a bit cross this morning, too:

• David Bowie – Look Back in Anger
• Rush – War Paint
• MC 900 Foot Jesus – While the City Sleeps
• Prince – Electric Chair

That’s right, my iPod is apparently not to be trifled with.

Quote of the Day (so far)
Excerpted from a conversation with :

[10:33] shadorunr: So..
[10:33] shadorunr:  I saw [this]
[10:33] shadorunr: And the first thing in my head was
[10:33] shadorunr: “Vagina Dentata…….”
[10:33] shadorunr: To the tune of Hakuna Matata
[10:33] shadorunr: Hell.
[10:34] shadorunr: Handbasket.
[10:34] nyx_hemsut: hahahaahahaahahahahahahahaha
[10:34] nyx_hemsut: I loves you 😀

And that’s that.

Namaste.

Multi-Touch Interface

This kicks about eleventy-seven kinds of ass.

Monday
It was cold and rather dreary. It was also Errand Day. and I had lunch with at Noodles & Co. On the way out of that complex, we stopped in the Thomasville Furniture store. It was something of a compulsion: I grew up about 25 miles from their headquarters. One of the sales associates approached us and asked if we, and I quote: “…had a project.” I told her that we did, inasmuch as we have a house. Then I informed her that I had lived in NC and she looked at me and said: “You don’t sound like you’re from North Carolina.” That made me happy; not picking up a southern accent was one of the things that I worked hard at when we moved to NC. Nice to know that all the effort paid off.

I made another few changes in the HCC. I moved my DSS receiver to the top of my monitor. I figured that when I watch TV, it’s usually on the PC, so it made sense to move the receiver and not have to do all manner of inhuman contortions when I wanted to change the channel. Logic, who knew!? Thanks to a couple of PS/2 extension cables, I was able to move Enterprise. I think that it was a printer cable constraint that kept me from moving DS9, but now that we have the new printer, it may be relocated as well.

>> fast forward >>

Poker night. There were only five of us: , , Matt, Dave and me. Tonight’s standings:

2. me
3. Dave

To say that she kicked our asses would be a horrible understatement. Even saying that she mopped the floor with us wouldn’t be enough. She was the modern-day Spanish Inquisition (Nooo one expects the Spanish Inquisition!!!) And I do mean “no one.” She just eliminated us one-by-one and her chip stack kept growing.

Venit. Vidit. Vicit.
“She came. She saw. She royally kicked our asses… and laughed.”

News
Morning Edition: Agribuisness Boom Brings Change to the Amazon
Morning Edition: Web Site Publisher Prepares to Defend Against Apple Suit
Morning Edition: San Francisco Fights Paper and Plastic
Day to Day: The ‘Spiral Jetty’ Re-Emerges from Great Salt Lake
All Things Considered: Ohio Universities Continue Domestic Partner Benefits, Despite Referendum
All Things Considered: Supreme Court Declines to Intervene in Schiavo Case

BBC News: World ‘must learn from Holocaust’
BBC News: Why didn’t the Allies bomb Auschwitz?

Stray Toasters

• It turns out that I will not be going to Moab on Wednesday, after all.
• I’m glad to be able to use Semagic again, rather than the web interface. ‘Nine is up and running again. I haven’t installed everything yet, but that will come over the next couple of days. One change that I did make: I switched from the Mozilla suite to just Firefox and I have gone back to using Eudora for my mail client. Now I need to remember how to use Eudora again…
• Just when everything in the world seems topsy-turvy, something comes along that restores my faith that there is a God.
• The next two Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers DVDs will be released in April. *covet*
• By way of comes this: Screen Clean
• For writers: 50 Strategies for Making Yourself Work
• and I often send each other… “odd” links. I sent her this video clip; in return, she sent this one. We probably shouldn’t be allowed to play on the Interweb without supervision.
• “So how does making crop circles help with invading Earth?” –
• Let Them Sing It for You
  Insert the lyrics to your favorite song and enjoy. And laugh. A lot.
• I have a few friends in the food service industry. One of their common complaints is that people often don’t consider how much they leave for a tip… IF they leave one. In light of that, I present: How Tipping Works. When talking with a friend’s father-in-law, I found out that tipping isn’t “expected” in Australia. One major difference is that wait staff is paid a “maximum wage,” I believe he called it. In other words, waiters in Oz are making something on the order of $8.00 (AUS) an hour, instead of the $2.13/hr that their U.S. counterparts make.
• “Bobby, so help me, if you don’t knock this crap off right now, I’m going to string you up the flagpole by your weiner and play pinata!”
  
• Real-snow versions of Calvin and Hobbes’ gory snowmen

Namaste.