Random Access

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

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

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

…the first thought in my head was:

“Why is he videotaping Baby Jesus?!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stray Toasters

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

  

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

  

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

Namaste.

Tuesday – 01 December 2009
Today is World Aids Day.

Otherwise, it’s just another “back in the grind, workin’ for The Man” kind of day. So far, it’s been a surprisingly quiet morning around here, which is far from a bad thing.

Last night was my night to make dinner. After running some errands, I finally decided on one thing I wanted to try: Homemade macaroni and cheese, based on a recipe my father used. I called him up, got the info on what I needed and headed to Whole Foods to get the fixin’s. While there, I also picked up a couple of Chicken Cordon Bleu breasts from the meat department and some salad greens. I got home, started clanging pots and pans around and a short while later, dinner was ready. The macaroni turned out well; I was glad of that, especially since I made a slight modification to the recipe. Not only that, but I think that I stumbled upon something else that I want to try the next time I make it.

Instant Replay: Football

New England Patriots at New Orleans Saints
17 – 38
The Patriots headed to the Big Easy to take on the undeafeated Saints…… and got whooped. Seriously. It was a straight up beatdown. The Saints took complete control of the game on offense and defense. Saints QB Drew Brees went 18/23, 371 yards, 5 TDs… and 0 interceptions. At one point, SaraRules asked what happened to the Saints to turn them into such a powerhouse team; I told her that I had no idea, but it made for very interesting and entertaining football-watching. On the flip side of the game, it just looked like the Patriots couldn’t get it together. The offense couldn’t pull together solid drives, after their opening run to the end zone – the Saints’ defense had their number. Solid and decisive win for the Saints and a great viewing experience for the fans… unless, of course, you were a Pats fan.

Coach Belichick, why not go over and congratulate Coach Payton and his team for their well-played game?

Come on, man… I know you wanted to take down a giant, but it just didn’t happen. You could at least try to muster a decent “Good job” face. Fake it if you have to. To quote Dustin Hoffman as Captain Hook: “Bad form, Peter. Bad form.”

Stray Toasters

• posted a link to Juggling is good for you in lots of ways
• By way of comes The great iPhone death watch
• 
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Reality show wannabes deny crashing White House dinner
• Microsoft investigates Windows 7 ‘screen of death’
• Washington State to Microsoft: Why aren’t you paying your taxes?
• By way of : ‘Predator’ Helmer Goes Retro

It’s just about time to go pick up and put down heavy things, so I’ll wrap this up.

Namaste.

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

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

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

Instant Replay: Football

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

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

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

Stray Toasters

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

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

Namaste.

Friday – 27 November 2009
I hope that everyone’s holiday was safe and pleasant. Ours was good and relatively quiet – we had dinner with the in-laws and watched a lot of football. As far as low-key holidays go, it was just about perfect.

After we got home, we decided to watch a movie. I had gotten TRON from Netflix, as I hadn’t seen it before.

I used to play the arcade game that was based on the movie, but that’s about as far as I had gotten. And, since TRON: Legacy is hitting theatres next year, I figured that it was about time I saw the original. It was definitely dated and a bit on the geeky side, but it wasn’t bad; at least, it wasn’t as bad as I feared that it might be. I found the ending a little anti-climactic, but it was an enjoyable movie.

Instant Replay: Football

Oakland Raiders at Dallas Cowboys
7 – 24
The Raiders headed into Texas looking to plunder and pillage the Cowboys in their new home……but the Cowboys weren’t having any of that. At all. Sorry, SaraRules.

Stray Toasters

• Did anyone get up to go Black Friday shopping at O’dark-thirty this morning? We didn’t. It’s just not our proverbial cup of tea.
• Game-themed Tetris cake
  (Isn’t that a little redundant…?)
• Food banks nationwide report more first-timers
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Woman accused of making bomb threat to delay boss’ flight
• State dinner crashers could face criminal charges

Time to find some trouble to get into… or at least find some cool things I can’t live without, now that the masses should have died down a little.

Namaste.

Thursday – 26 November 2009
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

To all of you – even those of you who don’t have a “Thanksgiving Day” – I hope that the day is safe, fun and full of the joy of friends and family. What am I thankful for? I’ve been blessed with more wonderful things than I could count, but among the things I am most thankful for are:

• A wonderful wife who loves – and puts up with – me
  
• A great family
• My friends
  
• My health
• Having a job when so many others are struggling to either find work or to make ends meet
  
• Having a safe place to live
• Having the means to acquire the things I need, as well as some of the things I just “want”

I’m sure that I could make a list that goes on and on, but suffice it to say: I have many things for which I am thankful today.

Last night, SaraRules and I made a chocolate cream pie for this afternoon’s dessert; this morning, we’re getting ready to make a sweet potato pie. (CORRECTION: SaraRules already did most of the “heavy lifting,” but I got to help with the last few bits.)  In the not-too-distant future, we’ll head over to her parents’ for dinner and football and general “hanging out with the family.” Somewhere in there, we might even watch a movie or two.

Stray Toasters

• It’s Thanksgiving, Charlie Brown!

  

• U.S. couple from Georgia experiences Hajj pilgrimage
• By way of comes: 5 Star Wars Status Updates
• Nightwing officially joins DCU Online
• Wooden orrery
• From both the “Monkeys!” and “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” files: Couple slips through security to crash state dinner
• Industrial Thanksgiving: Science Takes Mom’s Recipes to the Factory
• Snake fire-escape graffiti
• I’m still trying to find a set of Green Lantern-Star Sapphire Minimates for under $25 USD. So far, no luck.  On the other hand, I did get my new Blackest Night Series 2 John Stewart figure yesterday. It looks good on the GL shelf in my display case.
• What’s Thanksgiving without a little MST3K?

…and to all a good night!
(Or… um… something along those lines.)

Namaste.

Tuesday – 24 November 2009
Last night was a quiet, football-watching night, unlike last week’s Monday night game.

This morning, while cold (24°F, when I left this morning) was clear and bright. On top of that, today is “Technical Thursday;” I’m trying to decide if I want to make it NBN Technical Thursday. I opted not to bring Star Trek to work this morning. Tomorrow, however, there… may…. be a movie (quite possibly The Wrath of Khan) playing on my large monitor.

Instant Replay: Football

Tennessee Titans at Houston Oilers
20 –17
The Titans rolled into the Lone Star State to take on the Texans. (There’s a bad “Clash of the Titans” joke to be made in there somewhere, but I’m not going to pursue it.) Somehow, it had eluded me – until the second quarter – that this match was exactly the same as the Baltimore-Cleveland rivalry: The Titans were the former Houston Oilers… who moved to Tennessee and changed their name; Houston was awarded a new team a few years later. SaraRules and I weren’t expecting too much out of this game, to be honest. We were pleasantly surprised to discover that it was a solid game, from start to finish. It was also nice to see how much Titans QB Vince Young has matured as a quarterback. He was calm, collected and, as Stuart Scott would say: “Cool as the other side of the pillow.” He played a very good game, managing the players – and the clock – very well.

Stray Toasters

• Madlessly!
• Zombie Outbreak Simulator: Sim City Plus Google Maps Plus the Undead
• By way of SaraRules: Kay Jewelers Has Decided to Give Us the Creepiest Commercial of All Time for the Holidays
• What is ‘mouthfeel?’
• The Best Smartphones on Every Carrier
• From the Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file:
  • Man Arrested with 15 Lizards Strapped to Chest at LAX
  • Man in Japan marries anime game character
• 
• WETA’s new cheaper, delightful, detailed plastic ray guns
  (This might actually be an “add” for The Covet List…)
• German ‘Robin Hood’ banker gets suspended sentence
• Modern Tech Versus the Past
• HIV infections and deaths fall as drugs have impact
• 3, 6, 9… 12, 15, 18… 21, 24, 27…. 30!

Namaste.

Friday – 20 November 2009
It’s already the 20th. Where does the time go?!

9/80 “on” Friday, but it’s the quiet day in the office, so I can’t really complain. And, tonight, rather than going to coffee, some of the Clitorati are going to a Grizzlies hockey game. That will be a nice change of pace.

Last night, we had Melissa, one of SaraRules’ coworkers (and former schoolmates), over for dinner. SaraRules fixed chicken and dumplings (!) and for dessert, we had the Chocolate Cream Pie that we made Wednesday night. (And the pie was good.)

Instant Replay: Football

Miami Dolphins at Carolina Panthers
24 –17
The 4-4 Dolphins headed to Charlotte to take on the 4-4 Panthers… and came away with a win. As I’ve said, I was torn about this game. On one hand, I’ve liked the Fins for nearly 20 years; on the other hand, the Panthers are my #1 NFC team. I was going to be good with a win, either way, but “There can be only one,” as the saying goes.

Stray Toasters

• I woke up this morning with a couple of songs running through my head
  • Pope, by Prince
  • Undercover Angel, by Alan O’Day

  I’m good with the former; I’ll just blame “Random Play” on the radio in my head for the latter.

• Texas’ gay marriage ban may have banned all marriages
• Glowing bacteria that finds landmines
• I have Cracker Jack in my lunch today!
• posted this picture; I found it interesting/amusing:

  
  (click for larger version)

• Britain’s new Internet law — as bad as everyone’s been saying, and worse. Much, much worse.
• For SaraRules and Tyranist: DRM-free top-flight horror novels
• Monster Manual

  Monster Manual from Dan Meth on Vimeo.

• Oprah Winfrey to end her talk show in 2011
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file:
  • ‘Chicken’ interrupts council meeting
  • Hamster Hotel lets you live like a rodent
• WizKids/NECA (finally) has their new site up. There’s not a lot of content, but it’s a start.
• Man who killed wife while dreaming is freed

Namaste.

Thursday – 19 November 2009
I was up FAR too late last night. I got two bricks of Hammer of Thor ‘Clix and – after dinner and errand-running and making a pie and other stuff – I had to open both bricks and see what I got. I almost completed the set; I think that I’m ten or so pieces from complete at this point. In addition to the brick, I also picked up an Organized Play Kit, which basically means that I can run tournaments(!), should I choose to go that route. (I need to check with my local crack comic book shop and see what the owner thinks about it…) But, I’m happy with what I got. Very happy indeed.

Stray Toasters

• We’re having cheesecake – instead of ice cream – for today’s work snack. WIN!
• ‘Computer Glitch’ Is Delaying Flights Across the Nation
• By way of SaraRules: Blackface Filmmaker Wallraff Sparks Race Debate
• Robots Perform Shakespeare
  (This has already been done, at least it has in the book Too, Too Solid Flesh)
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers blamed for Katrina floods
• 
• Lab worms are stunned by ‘phaser’
• Overlooked 80s Sci-Fi Flicks, Recalled by Wired Readers
• Guns ‘n Gardens: How to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse

• The “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file has a few bits of monkeydom today:
  • Maricopa deputy steals defender’s paperwork during a court case
  • Man Blames Planes for Divorce, Seeks $555 Million
  • SFPD cops from imaginary anti-dance-party squad steal laptops
• Power-guzzling TVs to be banned

All of that and it’s NBN Thursday… AND there’s football tonight!

Namaste.

Tuesday – 17 November 2009
The new work week begins. Yay.

Yesterday, despite the pager incident, was a good day. I went to Chris’ and played HeroClix. Yesterday’s match-up saw the Chris’ Justice League of America taking on my Justice Society of America (pictures here). He won the game, but I was able to put away a few of his pieces before he left me fielding only one figure.

After the game, I headed home to take care of some straightening up before company came over for…

Instant Replay: Football

Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns
16 – 0
Ravens 1.0 traveled to Cleveland to take on Ravens -1.0, in a game that was not only an AFC North battle, but also a rivalry match. Too bad that there wasn’t really a “game,” to speak of.  The first half was very lackluster – neither team scored: Not a field goal (K Steve Hauschka shanked yet another kick wide left) Not a safety. Nada. Zip. Zero. Zilch. Browns’ QB Brady Quinn, who got benched earlier this season after a poor performance against the Ravens, got the start… and suffered from the same lack of ability to get anything going last night. Granted, the teams’ defenses got a good workout, but neither offense could get their game in gear. Coach Harbaugh must have gone George Patton on the team at halftime, because both the offense and the defense actually looked like they came to play: Joe Flacco and WR Derrick Mason hooked up for a long pass that set up a TD by RB Ray Rice Seventeen seconds later, SS Dawan Landry pulled down an interception and ran it back 48 yards for a TD Hauschka got it together and put up a field goal. The Ravens went to 5-4 and are still potentially in the hunt for a wild card berth.

Coach Mangini, your team just took another one on the chin.

How do you feel about that?

I can emapthize with that. Sorry, .

Stray Toasters

• Tonight: Play!
• Tomorrow: New HeroClix set – Hammer of Thor – comes out!
• pointed me in the direction of this little gem.
• Senators draw maps of their home states
• By way of CNN: 5 tips for fixing your Facebook page
• China’s Newest Export: Punk Rock
• 
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Cannibals reportedly sold body parts to kebab vendor
• Chipsounds
• “We’ve Got Some Work to Do Now” t-shirt
• Lou Jing, half-Black Chinese girl, sparks race debate in China

Namaste

Monday – 16 November 2009
I know that Mondays are, generally speaking, usually the least looked forward to day of the week. They’ve gotten a bum rap over the years, what with the whole “first day of the work week” thing. We’ve all come to expect Mondays to be “blah,” at best.

For some reason, I had actually expected something a little different this morning. I took the day off because… well, I wanted a four-day weekend. And I could. So, I did. I was expecting to sleep in and have a relaxing morning with SaraRules, who was going to work a little late this morning – she had to work over the weekend – so that could only add to the rare and elusive “goodness” of a Monday morning.

Unfortunately, I have the on-call pager for work this week. It decided to chime in at 0800 this morning.

*grblsnrkx*

I acknowledged the alert and then set about making phone calls to have someone check the system in question. No answer.

*grblsnrkx*

I waited a few minutes and tried again. No answer. I tried calling a different person. No go, Flight.

*braincramp*

I sent a warning message to Paul to let him know what was going on and then tried a slightly different tack – checking to see if anyone was in the other office. Both Minion #2 and loonybin88 were there. I explained what was going on to loonybin88 and he took care of the problem…

Hallelujah!!!

…which is definitely a good thing, but it doesn’t change the fact that I was up at least an hour before I had planned to be. *sigh*

Yesterday was a good day. It started off with sleeping in, football and homemade coffee cake for breakfast. Next, SaraRules and I assembled the buffet we got at The Garden of Sweden. After that, we headed up to the in-laws’ place for more football and dinner. It was both a relaxing and productive day, all in one.

Today, despite the way it kicked off, has the potential to be a pretty awesome day as well. I’m playing ‘Clix with Chris a little later. (We’ll see how that goes…) This evening, the Ravens take on the Browns on Monday Night Football; we’re having people over to watch it with us. (: Don’t forget the shot glasses!)

Instant Replay: Football
Yesterday was a good day of gridiron action:

Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers
19 – 28
The Panthers hosted the Falcons and came away with a win. This will be a short week for the Panthers, as they are featured in this week’s Thursday night game against the Dolphins.

.

Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders
16 – 10
The Chiefs took a trip to the Bay Area… and took away a win, over the Raiders. Sorry, SaraRules.

.

Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings
10 – 27
Brett Favre and the Vikings hosted Matt Stafford and the Detroit Lions… …and went to work on ’em. It wasn’t the blow out that many people were expecting, thanks to some miscues on the Vikings’ part, but at the final whistle, Minnesota came away with the win. Congrats, .

.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Miami Dolphins
23 – 25
The Bucs took a road trip down to Miami to take on the Dolphins at Land Shark Stadium. It was apparently a close game, but a Dan Carpenter field goal – with 10 seconds left in the game – gave the Fins the go-ahead score and the win. The Dolphins travel up I-95 (and I-85) to take on the Panthers on Thursday night.  I’m a little torn about who I want to win that game.

.

Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers
18 – 12
There aren’t many times – in fact, I can’t really ever think of a time – when you’ll hear me say that I actually want the Steelers to win a game. This was one of those times. The Bengals not only won, but they completed a sweep of the Steelers  and are one game away from sweeping the entire AFC North division. Congrats, and .

Stray Toasters

• Giant iceberg spotted off Australia
• SaraRules and I were just talking about what we wanted for Christmas.  She asked me what I wanted and I said, “A hippopotamus.” At that point, we apparently both started singing I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas in our heads. Moments later, that had somehow reworked itself in my head as Hippo Pottermus and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I need help.
• This item, from Tiny Titans, made me snicker:

  

• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: New Dating Sites Match People Through DNA Tests
• Mandelbulb: 3D Mandelbrot
• State police slash patrols as forces shrink
• The First Windows 7 Zero-Day Exploit

Off to face the (rest of the) day…!

Namaste.

Sunday – 15 November 2009
It’s 25°F outside. It makes me very glad to be inside. Yesterday saw the first real accumulation of snow in the valley; it’s not too much – only a couple of inches, maybe – but it’s snow. On the ground.

Yesterday was a long day that was both fun and productive. It started out with breakfast with SaraRules, Chris and Perry and two of his boys. The mealtime conversation was heavily-laden with geekery. (Did I mention that SaraRules is a saint for putting up with us? She is.) After breakfast, we headed home, did a little cleaning and then headed out to see 2012 with , and Aaron. To be fair, the movie wasn’t nearly as atrocious as we had expected. It was even… decent. Seriously:

• Yes, it was a disaster movie…
• Yes, some of the acting could have used a boost…
• Yes, a few of the special effects were a little cheesy…
• Yes, there were plot holes you could have driven a semi through…

But, it was actually fun. And funny. If nothing else, you have to credit Roland Emmerich with being able to blow things up in spectacular fashion:

In an interview by USA Today, Roland Emmerich has stated that this will be his final disaster film: “I said to myself that I’ll do one more disaster movie, but it has to end all disaster movies. So I packed everything in.”

And he did. But, it wasn’t an unwatchable film:

After the movie, SaraRules, and I went to The Garden of Sweden, where we (finally) picked up the couch we’ve been looking at/talking about for the past… year or so. We also picked up a buffet, in which our new china will be stored. We managed to pack the new couch into the apartment and load the old one onto ‘s truck and took it to SaraRules’ parents.

After that, I headed over to Chris and Mary’s to play in Chris’ Dark Heresy game… for the first time in over a year. My character has been bumped up a few levels and can actually do things now. It was a fun change of pace; I’ll have to decide if it’s something I’d like to do on a regular basis. Again.

Stray Toasters

• A big, hearty “Thank you” to for his time and help in moving the couches yesterday! (Also a big thanks to shockpuppet for letting us borrow him!)
• I ran into someone I used to work with many moons past while shopping at Target the other night.
• UK child migrants apology planned
• Commodore 64 Runs Again on the iPhone

  

• There are a few items in the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file today:
  • Snow globes? TSA will likely just say ‘no’
    • TSA bans snow globes. TSA, meet Archimedes
  • Happy Little Drop-and-Give-Me-50
  • Orgy: the game from 1967
• Robbery Suspect Cleared by Facebook Alibi
  
• 
• Alternate Star Trek TOS Pilot Found

Namaste.

Friday – 13 November 2009
That’s right… it’s Friday the 13th.

9/80 Friday off.  Amen. I’ve been deliciously lazy today. And, to be perfectly honest: I’m good with that. It seems like a good way to kick off a four-day weekend. Today should continue to be (mostly) lax. There’s Clitorati tonight, which is always something to look forward to. Tomorrow, SaraRules and a few of the usual suspects are going to see 2012; we’re not expecting a “great” movie, we’re just going for the mass destruction!

Stray Toasters

• Vanished Persian Army Said Found in Desert
• sent me a link to the following item from It Made My Day, which made me laugh:
  

  I wore my glasses to work for the first time recently. My coworkers were making lame jokes about how I looked like clark kent. 5 minutes later I started laughing really hard when I remembered I was wearing superman boxers. IMMD

• Elecom Lego Brick Earbuds
  Hm, I have plenty of LEGO bricks. And a Dremel… just saying.
• Microsoft Responds to “Like OS X” Comment
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: ‘Thatcher dead’ text sparks fears
• Some of the best advice… EVER:

  
  “Yield not to misfortunes, but advance all the more boldly against them.”

• Flash Vulnerability Found, Adobe Says No Fix Forthcoming
• I have found that I am really enjoying Mega Builders on The Science Channel.
• NASA to Bomb Monkeys with Gamma Radiation
  Um… HELLO?!  Don’t they know what could happen if they do that?!
• From CBR’s “Wonder of Wonders” column: War and Peace: Paraphernalia
• NASA sees “significant quantities” of water on the moon
• New ‘Clix in five days!

Off to get into some trouble…

Namaste.

Thursday – 12 November 2009
It’s another grey, overcast day here. There are rumours of snow in the forecast.

Last night, we had Kenneth, Akiba and their kids over for dinner. SaraRules fixed some very tasty enchiladas (with rice and salad); dessert was ice cream and ginger snaps. We had a good time eating and chatting the evening away.

After our company left, it was “chill out on the couch” time. We watched… something… on TV, but I don’t really remember what it was. Eventually, SaraRules decided to put on 2001 (Go, go, Godzilla! Netflix Instant Queue!) I realized that I have never seen this movie all the way from start to finish…

…and last night kept the streak alive. I started getting sleepy about 20 minutes into the movie. I started nodding off about 15 to 20 minutes later. And, thus, decided to call it an early evening. And I did. And it was good.

Stray Toasters

• First thing out of the gate, I want to point people to my friend Apryl’s blog: 365 Day Girl -  “A real girl’s grand experiment to master social media… in 365 days!”
  

  I started this project after being inspired by Flickr’s 365 Days Project. But I in my grand ambition decided to take it up a couple notches by tackling the whole spectrum of content: text, photo AND video! Perhaps I’m crazy, but it’s crazy fun and super interesting! I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to expand my sphere of realness by connecting with REAL people both near and far while sharing my story and expertise in the process.

• Intel to Pay AMD $1.25 Billion to Settle Disputes
• Host Lou Dobbs to Leave CNN
• How to avoid falling victim to a hospital mistake
• Just a reminder of upcoming concerts by Utah Symphony:
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  Click the images for more information about the respective concerts.

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• From the “Holy overkill, Batman!” file: 8-way video card
• made a good and amusing point in a post this morning:
  

  I just read that some paparazzo got in Mike Tyson’s face at LAX and now is filing battery charges. Have people forgotten that Mike made a living beating people up? That was his job – beating other guys’ asses. What would make you intentionally piss this guy off?

• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: MPAA shuts down entire town’s muni WiFi over a single download
• The Last Day on Earth, by Stefano Bonazzi

Namaste.

Tuesday – 10 November 2009
It’s grey and a little hazy outside. The sun tried to put in an appearance as I was driving in to work, but the clouds don’t seem to want to give way. Makes for a kind of “blah” morning.

Last night was a lazy evening in. We had dinner (Sloppy Joes!) and watched Monday Night Football. After the game, I spent a little time trying to wrangle the office into shape. I managed to actually make a bit of headway… while also realizing just how much detritus I’ve allowed to accumulate in the “To be shredded..” pile. Oh, well.  One cool notable item: I was trying to figure out what to do with my TerrainLinX WWG tiles, when I remembered why I thought they were so cool: The whole thing breaks down into component pieces! I grabbed a shoebox and put the bits – both finished and in-progress pieces – in the box.  Neat, discreet, and (best of all) out of the way!  Little by little, the office is getting back to “good” shape.

Instant Replay: Football
It was Monday night. There was football. Amen.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos
28 – 10
The Steelers went to Mile High Stadium to take on the Broncos and try to stay tied with the Cincinnati Bengals for the lead in the AFC North. Can you say “Take it to the house,” boys and girls? The Steelers could. And they did. Repeatedly. Pittsburgh dominated the field on both sides of the ball, at least they did after the first half. Their offense was consistently able to move the chains. The “Steel Curtain” completely shut down the Bronco’s run game. Boilermaker Watch: Broncos’ QB Kyle Orton had a “less than stellar” game: He threw for 221 yards (which is good), but with no TDs and three interceptions. It was not a good night for him – he never really went for deep routes and he missed picking up the blitzes on run plays.

Stray Toasters

• Basketball great Abdul-Jabbar has cancer
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Duke University Students: you should not just ‘sit around and masturbate”
• Koalas ‘could face extinction’
• By way of come a couple of items
  • Fine and Dandy Shop
  • Driving a car with an iPhone
    
• Glittergeddon!
• For : The Spider Awards: Wired.com’s Arachnid Hall of Fame
• Scamville: The Social Gaming Ecosystem of Hell
• For Tyranist: Science fiction from outside the English-speaking world
• Howl’s Moving Castle made out of LEGO

It looks as though the sun has finally won the battle.

Namaste.

Monday – 09 November 2009
Welcome to a new week.

Yesterday saw a nice balance of laziness and productivity. After watching the early game – and watching the stats of the Ravens game – I started working in the office. It needs to be brought out of chaos and into order.  In a big way. Next came some errand-running. Then we headed to dinner at SaraRules’ parents’ house.

Waking up this morning was a tedious process. Of course, not going to bed until nearly 0230 could have had something to do with that. Maybe.

Instant Replay: Football
Yesterday was a day of across-the-board upsets, good and bad:

Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals
7 – 17
The Ravens (4-3) headed to Cincinnati to take on the 5 – 2Bengals… and maybe get a little closer to the top of the division.Quoth the Ravens: “Never score. I don’t know what happened, but I’m willing to wager that it was one of two things: Someone suited up Owings Mills’ JV team in Ravens’ uniforms The Bengals were seriously out for blood Whatever it was, the Ravens apparently didn’t perform like the team that ended Denver’s perfect season last week.  And, according to , they couldn’t buy a decent call, either. *sigh* It makes me glad that the game wasn’t broadcast here. Congratulations to and on both the win and sole possession of the lead in the AFC North.  (And, yes, I’ll be a Broncos fan tonight, when Pitt takes on Denver.)

Coach Harbaugh, you just got chumped by the Bengals. Big time.  How does that make you feel?

Yeah, I understand.  I wouldn’t want to talk about it, either.

Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots
17 – 27
The Dolphins, continuing their road series, headed to New England for a rematch against the Patriots! Everyone in Foxboro apparently got the  “One if by land, two if by sea” memo, because they went to town on the Dolphins. Where’s Greenpeace when you need them…?

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Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints
20 – 30
I didn’t get to see this one, but I was a little torn on it. On one hand, it’s Carolina, my NFC team. On the other hand, it’s the 7-0 Saints, led by former Boilermaker Drew Brees. Loyalties… torn…. In the end, the Saints went marching in with a win and an 8-0 record.  And I was just fine with that.

Bye Week: Oakland Raiders, Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns.

Stray Toasters

• By way of SaraRules: Jewish Arts Festival: Esther, the superheroine
• Berlin Marks 20th Anniversary of Wall’s Fall
  • In a related note: Controversy over U2’s Berlin Wall
• High Court Weighs Life Terms for Minors
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• Mixed Race Americans Picture a ‘Blended Nation’
• By way of : The Hoover Dam Bypass Will Make You Ooooh and Aaaah

Quote of the Day
A while back, I asked to write a recommendation for me on LinkedIn. He sent me the first draft last week:

Rob was a great hire. He has the skills to fit into which ever technical role we happened to throw at him at the time. However his true talent came forward whenever we needed to put a little pressure on an employee or make someone disappear. We still don’t know what happened to some of the bodies.

I thought that it was fine, as-is. He wound up changing it a little, to make it a bit more… palatable to the masses.

Namaste.