Random Access

Sunday – 08 November 2009
This has been a good weekend.

Friday was SaraRules’ birthday. After work, we went out for dinner. SaraRules’ first choice was Red Iguana… unfortunately, there was an hour-plus-long wait to get in. No go, Flight. Her second choice was Sawadee, a Thai restaurant near downtown. I didn’t know that it was even there; in my defense, I don’t get to that part of the city very often. The food was very good (and very spicy!). After dinner, we met up with some of the usual suspects at Clitorati, including a special guest appearance from and .

Yesterday was a good day. It had a good mix of laziness and productivity. SaraRules went to her quilt club in the morning; I hung out with Chris and Perry. After we got home, we headed back out to run a few errands. Back home again. SaraRules took a nap, I assembled a bookcase. Later, we headed to Abravanel Hall to watch Utah Symphony perform a pair of works by Brahms:

• Concerto No. 1 for Piano in D Minor, op 15
  
• Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, op. 98

Pinchas Zuckerman conducted and Jonathan Biss was the guest pianist. The performance was good. I was particularly impressed/pleasantly surprised by Mr. Zuckerman’s attire – he wore a slightly oversized black silk (I think) shirt with a pair of black slacks, rather than the traditional tuxedo that most conductors wear. Our seats were in the first tier, about five rows from the stage. This afforded an excellent view of the orchestra and of the conductor… as well as being close enough to hear Mr. Biss breathe. Seriously. When playing particularly intense passages, he breathed heavily. Very heavily. So heavily, in fact, that SaraRules said that it was like watching and listening to Darth Vader play.

This morning has been quiet. Breakfast.  Football. (If only the Ravens could act like they remember how to play the game. *sigh* I’ve been spoiled by being able to watch them play for the past three weeks, but I think I’m glad that I can’t watch this one.)  This evening, we’re heading over to the in-laws’ for SaraRules’ birthday dinner (with the family) and football.

Stray Toasters

• Complaint Box: Public Grooming
  Another of my personal pet peeves is people who clip their nails at their desks at work.
• sent a link to: Comic books are good for children’s learning
• I watched part of The Hunt for Red October yesterday. I like that movie.
• Visually impaired gamer sues Sony Online
• 
• As I mentioned on Facebook:
  

  Thanks for the items and requests… but my Mafia Wars account is wearing cement shoes and sleeping with the fishes.

• Wonder of Wonders: Identity, No Crisis
• Troy Polamalu has already had an injury this season.
  Larry Fitzgerald is still getting it done… and is having a decent season.
  So, what does this mean as far as “The Madden Curse” goes?
• Tiny jack-o-lanterns carved in seed pods
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Swarm of Giant Jellyfish Capsize 10-Ton Trawler

Namaste.

Thursday – 05 November 2009
It’s a lovely day outside. The Weather Channel even says that we might brush up against 70°F  today. That’s a good thing in my book.

Today is also NBN Thursday… or at least, it’s supposed to be. The day is trying to turn into “Too many monkeys, not enough sticks to beat them with,” however. But, I’m trying to take  advice from U2: “Don’t let the bastards grind you down.” On the plus side, Paul just gave me a smiley-face sticker for the way I handled a couple of things. Yay for stickers!

Last night, I stopped at Whole Foods and picked up a couple of stuffed chicken breasts for dinner. I cooked them… or thought I did.  Mine was pretty much cooked through; SaraRules’ wasn’t quite as done. So, back in the oven they went. When we did “Dinner Redux,” they turned out very well. Post-dinner, we watched G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra; SaraRules picked it up at a Redbox location. Silly, yes. Cheesy, a bit. But, it was fun. Stephen Sommers did a good job of turning a toy/cartoon property into a popcorn movie. (FAR better than Michael Bay did earlier this year with another Hasbro property…) Would I buy it?  Sure. Like I said, it was fun.  Also, it would be good to have for “turn your brain off” fare or something to have in the background while I’m gaming.

Stray Toasters

• I should not listen to DMX when responding to certain IT issues/requests…
• Magic and Bird: A Rivalry Gives Way to Friendship
• Congrats to the New York Yankees on winning their 27th World Series.
• pointed out the following program: Master of Arts in Diplomacy
• New York City Opera Rises from Turmoil
• For :

  

• Hand-cut paper street maps of world cities
• Holy crap!  13 days until NECA/Wizkids releases the new Hammer of Thor ‘Clix!
• Wu-Tang album covers redesigned as Blue Note album covers
• All Folked Up: The Punk Rock Collection, Vol.1

Namaste.

Wednesday – 04 November 2009
Yesterday was our… whatever you want to call it, yesterday marked one month since SaraRules and I got married. (Yep, I totally lucked out.) We spent a quiet evening in, eating dinner, watching TV and drinking wine. It was a nice way to spend our… um… one-twelfth-iversary?  One-month anniversary?

I woke up this morning with a couple of Wham! songs running through my head. I haven’t decided if it’s a “good” thing or a “bad” thing. Granted, they were upbeat and bouncy – which isn’t a necessarily bad way to kick of the morning – but it was 80s pop, after all. First thing in the morning…?  *shrug* I suppressed the idea of subjecting people on Facebook to videos of the songs this morning, at least, and I went with this, instead.

I’m not sure if any of the usual suspects will be going to sushi today. I might just have to make another excursion without them, after all… there are comics to get!

Workout
Wes and I made it to the gym yesterday afternoon:

• Sit-ups (incline): 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 205 lbs
• Lateral Raises (with Flys, dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 10 lbs
• Reverse Punches: 3 sets/15 reps, 10 lbs
• Curls: 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs
• Tricep Extensions (dumbbell, overhead, standing): 3 sets/15 reps, 40 lbs

Post-workout weight: 185.3 lbs (gym clothes, shoes)

I think I might – voluntarily – do some side bends next time. Ugh. I’m also thinking of dropping my bench press reps down to eight, per set, and seeing if I can start increasing the weight a little more.

Stray Toasters

• There was an explosion at one of the area oil refineries a little while ago.
• Healthcare provision seeks to embrace prayer treatment
• By way of : In test, Windows 7 Vulnerable to 8 Out of 10 Viruses
• Science fiction as a predictor of the present
• I think that I’m going to create a new page or two on here, one for comics-related posting, one for game- and hobby-related posts… if I can figure out a good way of having the “sub-pages” done blog style.
• AT&T Sues Verizon over “Map for That” Ads
• Some random pictures from my office window.

Quote of the Day

“That’s so big, it’s not a jet… it’s a Seabus!”
“Airbus…?”
“Dammit!”

Namaste.

Tuesday – 03 November 2009
I can see clearly now
The rain is gone…
Not that it’s rained here recently, but the haze that usually hovers over the valley is gone… or at least it has thinned a bit.

Happy Birthday to !

Last night, we headed over to the in-laws for dinner and football. Both were very good – we had lamb and fresh vegetables…. and an eggplant dish whose name I can never remember.

Instant Replay: Football

Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints
27 – 35
The 6-0 Saints hosted the 3-3 Atlanta Falcons. I wasn’t expecting too much from this, but it was a very good game. Both teams scored on their opening drives.  Not only that, both teams played well – all game long, on both sides of the ball. Boilermaker Watch: Saints QB Drew Brees had yet another game with big passing yards. He threw for 308 yards, with two TDs and one interception.

Stray Toasters

• Fastball Special
• pointed out Put This On: A Web Series about Dressing Like a Grownup
• We have found a home for Couch 1.0, now we need to arrange to get it there and then acquire Couch 2.0…
• Americans for the Arts has a new ad campaign: “Feed Your Kids the Arts!”

• Gambit != Gamut
  • gambit
  • gamut
• First, RB Jamal Lewis says he’s retiring after this season.
  Next, GM George Kokinis gets the boot.
  , it looks like your team is just falling apart. What’s next?!
• I’m missing the ability to play X-Men: Legends… Stupid “No, we’re not making the 360 completely backwards compatible” Microsoft!
• Digital Bread Crumbs: Following Your Cell Phone Trail
• No matter how bad your day is, at least you’re not this guy…

• I want a new black or grey hat, preferrably a fedora.
• Josie and the Pussycats has been replaced by The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan on Boomerang.

Namaste.

Thursday – 29 October 2009
Welcome to a new NBN Thursday. The sun is shining. The snow is… well, it’s not really warm enough for it to continue melting yet, but the day is still young.

Yesterday was Comics and Sushi Wednesday. It’s a day that usually brings me great joy. Yesterday was no exception. I went to Dr. Volt’s and saw that Superman: Secret Origin #2 was on the shelves. Blissfully, I went about picking up a few other titles that weren’t part of my hold service.

Fast forward to last night…

I started going through my books, sorting them from “least interesting/read first” to “I’ve been waiting for this.” I got down to the Blackest Night and Green Lantern books and realized that there was a great disturbance in The Force something amiss. I couldn’t find S:SO #2. Hm. I checked the bag. I checked to make sure that it hadn’t gotten shoved between a couple of other books. Nothing. So, I get to wait even longer to read a story that I’ve been waiting all month to read. *sigh*

On the “good things that happened last night” side of things, we reinstated a tradition from SaraRules’ childhood. and SaraRules’ brothers came over and we decorated sugar cookies and then watched Disney’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, narrated by Bing Crosby.

It was a great change of pace and it was a lot of fun, too.

And today is “Meeting Day.” Yay.

Stray Toasters

• The “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file is chock full of goodies today:
  • Teens cited after rapping order at McDonald’s, courtesy of
  • Coyotes kill Canadian folk singer
  • Goat Rentals for Clearing Brush
  • Bees That Drink Human Tears
• I still haven’t had a chance to fire up my Silhouette, but I will… I will…
• Star Trek Uniform Onesies
• 
• GDP Grows by 3.5%
• Intel Solid-State Drive (SSD)
• Google Wave as an RPG environment
• The Life and Times of Martha Washington: The Whole Frank Miller ‘Give Me Liberty’ Saga

And…. it’s time for our team meeting.

Namaste.

Sunday – 25 October 2009
So far, it’s been a lazy, football-watching day around here.  That’s not a bad thing for a Sunday.

Yesterday, after a bit of cleaning, straightening and rearranging, SaraRules and I went to the local Outback Restaurant with a couple of the in-laws and a handful of friends for my pre-birthday dinner. While the food was good, I was a little disappointed with the service – mainly because for eighteen people, they only gave us one (1) waitress. Granted, we were her only table, but she seemed a little overwhelmed.  To her credit, she seemed to try her best to be available and maintain a friendly disposition.  It was just unfortunate that management didn’t give her a little backup.

After dinner, most everyone came back here for cake – a Devil’s Food cake with cream cheese frosting, both made by SaraRules from scratch – and ice cream. We sat around, ate and chatted for a couple of hours. All said, it was a good way to spend the evening.

Today, we’re heading up to Doughnut Falls for a hike. Other than that… who knows?

Stray Toasters

• The Ravens have a bye week. I’m watching the Vikings take on the Steelers. I’m really hoping that the Vikings can pull off a win against the Steelers… which, given Favre’s fumble that was just loped in for a TD by Woodley, looks like it might not happen.
• Ratification of the Magna Carter: Is Jay-Z the Greatest MC Alive?
• Hobby Lobby apparently hates me. They put their train sets on sale this week. Granted, it’s a safe bet that they’ll go on sale again. And, of course, there’s the whole matter of “Where would I put one, if I got it?”  But, it’s the principle of the matter.
• DJ Spooky delivers keynote address at MICA’s Transformations: New Directions in Black Art
• 
• Last night, SaraRules and I watched “Menace of the Music Meister,” Friday’s episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold. While it showcased Neil Patrick Harris’ singing voice, the episode on the whole was a disappointment, especially the lyrics. They were… trite, at best. The episode was almost painful to watch.
• Percy Harvin just ran back a kickoff for a Vikings touchdown.
• Love, 1962 American High School Style
• …and after a great drive, Pittsburgh just picked off a tipped pass and ran it back for a touchdown.  Wow.
• The Biggest LEGO Mario Ever Built is available for bid on eBay.

Namaste.

Friday – 23 October 2009
It’s my prerogative… 9/80 “on” Friday.
That means that it’s vewwy, vewwy qwiet around here.
I might just have to break out the DreamCast in a little while…

::: lunch break :::

I went to lunch with Paul (Boss⁺¹).
Five Guys.
Good.
Filling.
Nearly food coma-inducing.

It was still quiet when we got back.  That was good.  I’m getting a 3-day weekend, as Monday is International Robert Neal Day… and I’m taking the day off. So, all things considered: Win.

Stray Toasters

• I still want to build one of these someday. You know, when I have a yard.  And some woodworking equipment. And a welder. And… And… And…
  • I was discussing this in a chat… which, in turn, led to today’s Quote of the Day (below).
• I could pretty much add all of the stuff from this site to the O-Scale Railroad/HeroClix Covet List.
• Woman with dystonia can only walk backwards
• I stumbled across Bowling for Sandercoe on Oblong Pictures last night; I thought it was amusing:

• posted a link to Prince Armory earlier. Nice stuff… nice, spendy stuff.
• From the Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Ice skating bear kills Russian circus hand
• I watched part of Whose Line Is It Anyway? last night for the first time in… in… well, let’s just say “a long time.” They did “Greatest Hits” as one of the sketches; as usual, Colin Mochrie made it fun:

• The Creepiest Thing You’ll Ever See

Quote of the Day
The aforementioned BattleMech conversation:

[12:36]     Ahpuc: r0b: Better not have an HOA when you have a yard. They are bitchy about cool stuff like that.
[12:37]     r0b: “What part of ‘rocket launcher’ and ‘flamethrower’ did you not understand, Mr (or Ms) HOA President?”
[12:38]     r0b: ….as I power up the weapon systems.
[12:38]     r0b: 😀
[12:38]     r0b: Wait.
[12:38]     r0b: That leads to “terrorist action” police reports.
[12:38]     r0b: Hm.
[12:38]     Ahpuc: Not just that, but if YOU can do it, so can your neighbors.
[12:38]     r0b: Have to remember to install trap doors and cells.
[12:38]     Ahpuc: I mean, sure, you can be trusted with an operational battle-mech. but what about the jerkoff who can’t even be bothered to mow his lawn noce a month?
[12:38]     r0b: Well, DUH!   Then we could have a full lance of ‘Mechs.
[12:39]     r0b: Think about it.
[12:39]     Ahpuc: You think he will remember to rotate the rocket propellant and service the engines?
[12:39]     r0b: If he can’t deign to mow, what is the workmanship of the mech going to be like?
[12:39]     r0b: *power on*
[12:39]     r0b: *SPLODE*
[12:39]     r0b: -problem solved-
[12:39]     Ahpuc: Then he gets methed up one night, tries to use it to shoot an invisible cat that is inside his left eyelid, and blows up the whole neighborhood.
[12:39]     Ahpuc: Property values rapidly decline.
[12:40]     r0b: Okay… you might have a point with that one.
[12:40]     r0b: “Miles doesn’t know it, but we’ve secretly switched his rocket propellant with decaf!  Let’s see what happens…”
[12:40]     Ahpuc: This is the problem I have with the “right to bear arms” branch of the libertarians…They all think THEY should be able to have RPGs if they can afford them, but they don’t think through the implications when it comes to the average retard.
[12:42]     r0b: Hm.  So maybe I shouldn’t start with a Mech.  Maybe I should just start with Elemental armor, instead.
[12:43]     Ahpuc: How about you start with a bomb shelter?
[12:43]     r0b: Of course, finding someone 8′ tall to pilot it might be a bit difficult.
[12:43]     Ahpuc: Cause then you can do whatever you want indside it without the neighbros seeing.
[12:43]     r0b: Bomb shelter…. Mech Bay….
[12:43]     r0b: It’s “same brand, different flavor,” isn’t it really?
[12:46]     Ahpuc: If they neighbors cannot see inside, call it whatever you want.
[12:46]     Ahpuc: “Now that I have a shed up, with power, I need to put a lattice around the bottom to cover the “crawlspace” thing.”

Namaste.

Wednesday – 21 Oct0ber 2009
Midweek and all appears to be well.

And it’s Comics and Sushi Wednesday, to boot.

Last night was my night to cook dinner. I pondered the issue all day and came up with “Fish…” as an idea. Then I came to the realization: I’ve never cooked fish – other than Van de Camp’s fish fillets or fish sticks – before and I wasn’t sure that SaraRules wanted to play guinea pig. So, I went with chicken instead. I made a dry rub, put it in a plastic bag, tossed the chicken in the bag to season it and threw the pieces of chicken in the oven.  Then I went to work on the rest of dinner: Green beans, cooked in chicken broth, and pasta (angel hair and thin spaghetti). When the chicken came out of the oven, it smelled good. It tasted good, too… at least my piece did. SaraRules had gotten a piece that was VERY heavily seasoned and was very salty. Looking at it, I realized that she had gotten the first piece of chicken to which I had applied the rub; it got the lion’s share of the dry spices, despite my attempts to remove most of them. She ate it quietly, suffering in silence. I traded pieces of chicken with her, as mine was nowhere near as salty-tasting as hers. That seemed to go over better. Other than that, it was a good dinner, though. I just need to remember to watch out for the first piece of meat that gets seasoned with a dry rub next time…

Stray Toasters

• For SaraRules and – Dolly Parton: NPR Staffers Celebrate ‘Dolly’
• If you ever wonder what “Fighting for freedom” means, take a listen to this testimony from an 86-year-old World War II veteran, speaking at a public meeting on Maine’s marriage equality bill:

  He wins today’s “Human of the Day” award.

• Turtles prefer ‘city life’
  Of course, this isn’t exactly news, as we have long known about sewer-dwelling, pizza-eating ninja turtles.
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Yahoo hires lap-dancers to entertain at its open, inclusive Hack Day event
  Be sure to click through the links at the bottom of the article (before the comments)
• Vatican welcomes Anglicans into Catholic Church
• Amelia Earhart: Pioneer of Style
• From xkcd: “More Accurate”

  

• has an interesting take on “a fundamental difference between Australians and Americans.”
• Essential plot twists for writers
• Bionic Eye Opens New World of Sight for Blind

Hm… it looks like it’s just going to be “Comics Wednesday.”  Oh, well.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 20 October 2009
This morning is rather grey and dreary… but it’s also without precipitation, so far. I think that maybe – just maybe – Fall weather has (finally) settled in over Utah.

Last night was a quiet evening in. There was football and a horror movie, 30 Days of Night. According to SaraRules and Reverend Tom:

“The goal isn’t just to watch ‘good’ horror movies or ‘bad’ horror movies; the goal is to watch ALL horror movies.”

And, after all: It’s October, the month made for horror movies. Or something like that.

Workout
Wes and I hit the gym today:

• Lower Back Extensions: 3 sets/12 reps
• Sit-ups (incline): 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 205 lbs
• Flys: 3 sets/12 reps, 120 lbs
• Dips: 3 sets/10 reps

Pre-workout weight (morning): 184.5 lbs

Instant Replay: Football
Last night’s match-up between the Denver Broncos and Sandy Eggo Chargers wound up being more of a slugfest than I had originally expected:

Denver Broncos at San Diego Chargers
34 – 23
Any game where you have three (3) kicks/punts run back for touchdowns is a good game… especially when both teams get in on the action.  This game was not an exception to that. It was a definite back-and-forth struggle, until the Chargers started fumbling the ball in the second half. After that, Denver forged ahead and never looked back. All-in-all it was a good game, from start to finish.

After the Patriots’ 59 – 0 beat down of the Titans on Sunday, I decided to look up a couple of football facts:

1. Highest-scoring game in NFL history: November 27, 1966, when the Washington Redskins defeated New York Giants 72-41
2. Widest margin of victory in NFL history: December 8, 1940, in the NFL Championship Game, the Chicago Bears beat the Washington Redskins 73-0

So…at least the Titans don’t have the distinction of “the worst loss ever.” That’s gotta count for something, right? But, on the other hand, the Redskins have the (dubious) distinction of being part of the both the highest-scoring and widest margin of victory games… which qualifies them for the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file.

Stray Toasters

• Apple unveils new hotness
• At the centre of time – A look at the Greenwich Prime Meridian
• Car seats can be dangerous outside the car
• How forensics use Photoshop to find missing children
• NASA’s rocket roll-out complete
• How do you solve a problem like IKEA?
• From Threadless: The Horde t-shirt
• Chillits 2009 ambient music mixes online

Okay…. lunch beckons.

Namaste.

Monday – 19 October 2009
Another week begins… and this one is starting off in shades of grey. Apparently, there was even a bit of morning lightning (!lightening) to accompany the clouds. I, however, was wandering around The Dreaming, so I missed it. And I’m alright with that, to be honest.

Yesterday was a good day, despite the Ravens’ loss, which I’ll get to in a minute. Following that game, SaraRules and I headed out to pick up a couple of things that we needed to go with dinner. Logan came over and we started watching the Patriots blow out the Titans. When that became boring – it didn’t take long at all – we decided to watch a movie, instead. We watched Rec, the Spanish movie upon which Quarantine was based.

Too bad we didn’t see this one first – it was a better film, on the whole… despite the fact that Quarantine almost lifted the entire movie shot-for-shot. Although, had we seen Rec first, I think that we might have been let down by how derivative Quarantine was.

After the movie, I started dinner – spaghetti with sauce I made. We ate and watched the Bears-Falcons game. Logan left after the first half; I half-heartedly watched the second.  Later, I decided to play a little City of Heroes. I logged in… and discovered that my cursor decided to reset its location whenever I tried to click on people or objects. Hmm. I logged out and hit the forums. Sure enough, it’s a known issue with Mac clients – it started with the live roll-out of Issue 16. *sigh* So, no City for me until it’s fixed. Around this time, SaraRules decided to watch a movie; she selected 28 Weeks Later. Good choice.

Instant Replay: Football Recap
The games of the weekend shook out this way:

Baltimore Ravens at Minnesota Vikings
31 – 33
I don’t know exactly what Coach Harbaugh said to the team at halftime, but the second half of this game turned into an actual football game. Even though the running game was still “off,” Joe Flacco started making passes down the field. Receivers ran their routes. Points were scored – including three TDs in the fourth quarter – and there was much rejoicing. The game came down to a field goal attempt by Steve Hauschka, which went wide to the left. It was a disappointing way to lose, after such an amazing comeback, but I am happy with the way the Ravens played the game… at least, the second half of it. Congrats, .

.

Philadelphia Eagles at Oakland Raiders
9 – 13
The Raiders won. Wait… let me make sure I got that right. Yep. That’s not a typo. The Raiders hosted the Eagles and won the game. Huh.  Miracles really do happen, I guess. Congrats, SaraRules.

.

Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers
14 – 27
Ben Roethlisberger and company handed the Browns another loss. Sorry, .

.

Houston Texans at Cincinnati Bengals
28 – 17
The Texans went to Ohio and rode herd on the Bengals. Sorry, and .

.

Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
28 – 21
The Panthers were able to hang on against the Bucs and eke out a win.

Added Bonus – Boilermaker Watch: Drew Brees

New York Giants at New Orleans Saints
27 – 48
Former Boilermaker Drew Brees and the Saints went marchin’ in on the Giants yesterday.  Brees threw for 369 yards and went 23/30 on the day, as the Saints go 5-0 in the NFC South.

Stray Toasters

• Why All The Wonder Woman Hate?
• All-male college cracks down on cross-dressing
• just discovered to joy of Badass of the Week this morning.
• Rosie the Riveter bookends
• Amiga and Hyperion Settle Ownership of AmigaOS
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Man finds missile launcher in Comal County
• They Shoot Porn Stars, Don’t They (Not too surprisingly, this contains some NSFW content)

Namaste.

Friday – 16 October 2009
Today has been a good 9/80 “off” Friday. After dropping SaraRules off at work – we took her car to the shop this morning – I came home and did a little cleaning in the dining room and living room. After that, I met Marci and Josh for lunch at Taste of Punjab. Next, went and hung out with Perry and the kids for a bit before returning home. Back out to get SaraRules, her car and to run a couple of errands and we’re home again. For the moment. Clitorati’s tonight, so there’s that, too.

Stray Toasters

• I was on a bit of a Will Smith/Fresh Prince kick this morning. My Facebook links bear witness to this fact.
• Balloon Science Lesson
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Dead man slumped on balcony mistaken for Hallowe’en decoration
• 
• Disney gags on “Ho White” beer
• A while back, I posted a link to What does Marcellus Wallace look like?, a typographic “interpretation” of a scene in Pulp Fiction. Today, posted a link to Pulp Wave Fiction, yet another interpretation of the same scene:

• Yo momma so fat THX can’t even surround her.
  (Damn and a half, I like the dozens.)
• Also from the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Interracial couple denied marriage license in Louisiana

Namaste.

Wednesday – 14 October 2009
Midweek and all’s well.
As if that wasn’t enough, it’s Comics and Sushi Wednesday!

Last night was a laid back night. After a few post-work errand with SaraRules, we stopped at Dask’s to pick up dinner and then headed home. NCIS and Greek food isn’t necessarily a combination that most people would put together, but you know what? It works. After NCIS went off, we headed up to the in-laws’ for a quick visit and then headed back home – Project Runway for SaraRules; foamcore cutting for some WWG terrain for me.

Workout
For the first time in… two weeks, I think… Wes and I hit the gym for a quick workout:

• Sit-ups (incline): 3 sets/20 reps
• Lower Back Extensions: 3 sets/12 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 185 lbs
• Flys: 3 sets/10 reps, 110 lbs
• Curls: 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs
• Reverse Punches: 3 sets/10 reps, 10 lbs

Pre-workout weight (morning): 183.5 lbs

Stray Toasters

• Wonder of Wonders: Star-Spangled Panties (not nearly as NSFW as it sounds)
• continues to send things that entertain/amuse me:
  • Best of IKEA for the Kitchen
  • 1964 letter “…not in my official Church position, but as a friend…” on the LDS Church’ stance on “The Negro Problem”
    • …and an interesting follow-up
      
• What actual Mayans are saying about 2012
  I think that “What actual Rush fans are saying about 2112” would be an appropriate follow-up to this article.
• Soda Tax Could Shake Up Industry
• 
• ‘Twin Towers’ warship sets sail
  • USS New York (Wikipedia article)
• Wild Cherry – Play That Funky Music

• Airlines that charge fees lost more money than airlines that didn’t
• Comics cover artist Greg Horn’s take on Wonder Woman (full article can be read here).

Namaste.

Monday – 12 October 2009
You know it’s going to be a great day when you walk into the office and the first thing – the FIRST thing – that someone says to you is not “Good morning” or “How was your weekend,” but “We’re down…”

Yay.

After a little bit of hunting, I discovered that one of our main servers decided to shoot itself in the virtual foot. Sometime in the wee hours of the morning. Did I mention “Yay?” We’re working on getting it back online now.

Last night, SaraRules and I watched a couple of episodes of Planet Earth: “Great Plains” and “Jungles,” both of which were rather fascinating. There was some footage that we’d seen in other episodes (and in DisneyEarth: Nature), but the episodes followed different tacks.

Football Update

Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens
17 – 14
The Ravens lost this game because of some poor play and, say it with me, “Penalties.” Lots of stupid and unnecessary penalties, late in the game. Thus, with 22 seconds left in the game, the Bengals scored the go-ahead TD and sealed not only a win, but also the lead in the AFC North. Congratulations to and .

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Oakland Raiders at New York Giants
7 – 44
Just… “ouch.” Sorry, SaraRules.

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Cleveland Browns at Buffalo Bills
6 -3
As if to prove “The sun shines on a dog’s ass, too…” the Browns finally put one in the “W” column for the 2009 season.   Sorry, T.O. Congrats (finally) to on his team finally digging up a win.

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Washington Redskins at Carolina Panthers
17 – 20
The cats finally scratched out a win, too…

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Minnesota Vikings at St. Louis Rams
38 – 10
Brett Favre and the Vikes continue to ride herd in the NFC North. NFL.com added the following notes: The Vikings are 5-0 for the first time since 2003, when they started 6-0. … Favre turned 40 on Saturday and Sunday became the 12th QB in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) to start a game at the age of 40 or older. He is 5-0 for the first time in his career. Congrats, .

Maybe, just maybe, my beloved ‘fins will be able to bring me a little joy tonight and pull off a win against the Jets.

New York Jets at Miami Dolphins
Tonight at 8:30 EDT

Stray Toasters

• Groom’s cake: Finished.
  Wedding cake: Almost finished…
• Prelate Derek sent me this picture yesterday:

  

  That’s right, it’s a Blackest Night pic, with cereal mascots as Lanterns:

  • Tony the Tiger (Frosted Flakes) as a Green Lantern
  • Count Chocula (um… DUH) as a Sinestro Corps member
  • Sugar Bear (Super Golden Crisp) as a Blue Lantern
  • The Trix Rabbit (again… DUH) as an Orange Lantern
  • Cap’n Crunch as a Red Lantern
  • Toucan Sam (Froot Loops) as an Indigo Lantern
  • Pebbles Flintstone (Fruity/Cocoa Pebbles) as a Star Sapphire and
  • Quisp (Quisp) as a Black Lantern

  This made me laugh.

• Bright spot for fliers: Holiday fares lower than last year
• Tinker Bell has cool new look for ‘Lost Treasure’ adventure
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Six-year-old sent to reform school for bringing a weapon (Cub Scout camping cutlery) to school
• This made me snicker:

  

• lightening (definition) != lightning (definition)
• How to create a fiber-optic starfield ceiling
• Crop Art Is for Everyone!
• My generation: How Indie Game Makers Are Embracing Controlled Chaos

Namaste.

Thursday – 01 October 2009
This NBN Thursday kicked off around 0745… and at only 32°F. Of course, following a day where it snowed (TWICE!), I’m glad that this morning was just clear and cold. Additionally, none of the snow in the valley lasted; on the mountaintops, however… *shrug*

This morning saw the first of today’s airport runs that SaraRules and I will be making:

1. Adam (Sib-3), Chelsea and Caden (Nephew-1) arrived at 0900. Their baggage… we weren’t too sure about. From the time they deplaned to the time they made it down to baggage claim, nothing with their flight number came up. This didn’t make them – nor the other people on their flight – very happy. Adam went to see what had happened while Chelsea went to get the rental car. According to him, the baggage claim clerk said that the people on their flight “didn’t make it to baggage claim fast enough,” so they took their baggage off the carousel and put it in the claims office. “Not fast enough?!” They walked from the gate to baggage claim! Any faster and they would have had to ‘port there. Idiotstick. Meanwhile, Chelsea was still waiting in line at the car rental counter – they only had one person working the desk. All told, it took almost an hour to get everything straight, which put us there when…
2. My stepsister, Barbara, arrived. In fact, I had to leave the others to finalize the rental arrangements to meet her. She had already gotten her luggage by the time I got back to baggage claim. We met the others at the rental counters. She got her car and we were off.

We had a “slight miscue” getting out of the airport, but that was clarified a couple of phone calls later. I dropped SaraRules off at home – she was meeting her sister and mother for a spa day and afternoon tea – before leading Adam and company to their hotel; I didn’t have to lead Barbara, as she had a GPS in her car… and she took off without us. Everyone checked in and then we went out for lunch.

Now, I’m back at home to take care of some cleaning while there’s some down time.

Stray Toasters

• T-minus two days…
• Caden is adorable. That’s really all there is to it. Or, as SaraRules put it: “Adam’s very lucky to have Chelsea help him make a cute kid.”
• Despite sending emails with weather updates to the family, I’ve already/still gotten two calls asking me how cold it is and if it really snowed yesterday.
• Movie Posters for Minimalists
• Being a bad guy can be good for career
• I still haven’t watched Superman/Batman: Public Enemies yet!
• I’m a bit late getting up to speed on this one, but it’s Banned Books Week.
• Monster Cereal: Fan Art Month
• Are you an Xbox Live subscriber? If so, what’s your gamertag?
• Are you a member of Good Reads?  What’s your username?
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Bank of America demands thumbprint from man with no arms

Namaste.

Wednesday – 30 September 2009
The last day of September is rainy.
It’s noticeably cooler than the past week or so has been – today’s projected high is 56F.
And… AND… there’s a possibility of snow in the forecast.

But, on the bright side: It’s Comics (and Sushi) Wednesday.

Last night, I headed over to Chris’ to play HeroClix. Instead, we wound up chatting the evening away. (Which was just as good a way to spend the evening, in my opinion.) He also showed me Batman: Arkham Asylum and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, both of which looked good… but I’d be more inclined to pick up Alliance than Asylum at this point.

Stray Toasters

• T-minus three days and counting.
• Speaking of which, I’ve had a number of people ask me “What’s the attire for the event?” This is somewhat amusing, as we specifically put “Semi-Formal Attire” on the wedding invitation. This has led to questions of “What’s ‘semi-formal?’ ” So, with that in mind, here’s a guide to semi-formal wear:
  • Dress Code (Western)
  • Semi-formal
  • Semi-Formal Dress (women)
  • The Well-Dressed Gentleman

  We’ve also been asked if we’re serious about the attire. Simple answer: “Yes.” After all, we put it on the invitations for a reason. And that reason is to (hopefully) preclude anyone – with exactly one known and excused exemption – from showing up in streetwear or casual wear.

• Apple 1984 ad, updated for 2009

• I picked up my copy of Superman/Batman: Public Enemies last night.
  I brought it to work this morning; there’s a good chance that it will see some screen time today.
• Amanda Palmer on why she’s not afraid to ask her listeners for money
• I need to find someone who can make one of these for .
• Snow…? Now?!  Really?!?  *shakes head*
• Bobby Brown: My Prerogative

• Indiana Jones Desktop Accessories
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Britain seeks ban on pint glasses to prevent bar-brawl injuries
• Zork rock anthem

Namaste.