Random Access

Monday – 09 February 2009
Another overcast day in the valley begins a new work week.

Last night, SaraRules and I watched Appaloosa, starring Ed Harris, Viggo Mortenson and Renee Zellweger and Jeremy Irons. It was a good movie. It both started and ended in unexpected ways, which we both enjoyed. Additionally, we were both surprised to find that the story had been written by Robert B. Parker, best known as the creator/author of the Spenser books.

Stray Toasters

• We still have nothing more concrete than “September or October,” at this point, for those keeping score.  More details as they are available. Stay tuned.
• London police demand that new pub owner installs a CCTV as a licensing condition
• 
• Two monkeys, one banana.
• Speaking of monkeys, last Wednesday’s  Monkey #1 actually apologized. Unglaublich!
• Facebook flashmob shuts down station
• Stevie Wonder’s Do I Do is a long song; it checks in at nearly 10:30 long!
• Steampunk puzzle game preview
• I’m going to try another 300 lb max bench press next week. Operative word: “Try.” The last time I tried, I couldn’t do it… but could get a rep at 250 lbs. We’ll see how it goes.
• Bankers can’t possibly afford NYC on a mere $500K/year
• 

Namaste.

Thursday – 05 February 2009
Today has the bonus of not only being NBN Thursday, but it’s my ‘Friday’ as well. I might just learn to start liking this whole 9/80 schedule thing, after all.

Last night, SaraRules and I headed up to Oh Sushi for sushi, sashimi and nigiri to go… as well as a pass through Dr. Volt’s for this week’s comics haul (of which I read nothing last night). We got home and watched a rerun of NCIS before settling in for Pale Kings and Princes. It wasn’t bad… but it wasn’t great, either. What it was, though, was a short jaunt back to a show that used to (and still do) enjoy: Spenser: for Hire. My biggest complaint with the movie was the actress they got to play Susan Silverman. Simply put, she wasn’t Susan; I guess more to the point – she wasn’t Barbara Stock. Other than that, I was good with the movie.

Stray Toasters

• One meeting down, one to go…. and a conference call.
• I have TastyKake cream-filled Koffee Kake Cupcakes!
• Suspect Robs Two 7-Eleven Stores with Sword, by way of lj user=”lostbear”
  Or, as he quoted to me: “…with a sword, Mal. How weird is that?”
• By way of SaraRules: Prehistoric ‘monster snake’ remains discovered
• Make Love, Not Porn – Porn World vs. Real World (semi-NSFW… depending on what/who your monitor faces)
• HOW TO: Make a prosthetic arm from a pop bottle
• Woodson Paves Way for Ravens to Canton
• Enid, we never really knew each other anyway.
• The NFL Coaching Tree 2008 (Part 1)
• Worst Food in America, 2009 Edition
• 25 Things I Didn’t Want to Know About You

Time for Meeting #2

Namaste.

Wednesday – 04 February 2009
Wow. I’d been in the office less than an hour… and already had two people that I’d like to introduce to the business end of my shoe. And the first one, happened less than 10 minutes after walking in the door.  The first person was spared my ire because he’s in the other office today; the second has been spared because it would be… um… “career limiting” for me to tell him that he is an [expletive deleted] moron.

I neglected to log yesterday’s workout:

• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps – 1 set @ 225 lbs, 2 sets @ 185 lbs
• Lat Pull-downs: 3 sets/15 reps, 110 lbs
• Row (Nautilus, compound row): 3 sets/12 reps, 125 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell, hammer): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Side Bends: 2 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Tricep Extensions (rope): 3 sets/15 reps, 70 lbs

Post workout weight: 184.3 lbs

Last night was a lazy night in… even though it wasn’t originally planned that way. I was supposed to head out to play ‘Clix with Perry, but a couple of the kids got sick, so he was on Kid Patrol last night. Instead, I stayed home, created a Peacebringer on CoH and watched The Secret Life of Bees with SaraRules. It was a coming-of-age movie, set in South Carolina in the 60s, at the height of the civil rights movement. It was well-paced and well-told. I give it a thumbs-up with an okay.

Stray Toasters

• In today’s “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Australia holds ‘pigeon smuggler’
• Christians Bailing on GoDaddy Due to ‘Immoral’ Advertising
  I’m sorry… is this really something new? GoDaddy’s Super Bowl ads have been innuendo-laden for HOW many years now?! And people are just glomming onto this?!  Really?! Sorry, not buying it.  In fact, it reminds me of the Bill O’Reilly/Pepsi/Ludacris hullaballoo from a few years back.
• Automotive X-Prize Draws 25 Teams So Far
• 
• Ziggy Stardust remix album
• Bagels + cream cheese == good.
• Control-a-Cat Remote Control
• Today’s Monkey #2 just keeps stackin’ it up…
• Linda Hesh’s “Bench Project”
• Rob Cockerham writes article critical of Cash4Gold, gets offered cash to kill story

Back to it.

Namaste.

Monday – 02 February 2009
Another new work week hits the ground running. I started the day with a training session for my team. I had planned for it to be roughly one hour long. It was close to two, because I had someone sitting in on it who provided some additional information. All-in-all, it went well, though.

Yesterday’s Super Bowl was a good game. It was the kind of game that I enjoy watching… as long as I’m not really rooting for either team involved. The Cardinals put up a good fight, but at the final whistle, the Steelers went home with the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Congrats to the Steelers on their sixth Super Bowl win and also to their coach, Mike Tomlin, for being the youngest coach to go to – and win – the Super Bowl.

After we got home, SaraRules and I finished watching The Big Sleep. And, thanks to that, I finally added something to my NetFlix queue: The four Spenser: For Hire movies, starring Robert Urich and Avery Brooks.

Stray Toasters

• Claiming Immunity from Beyond the (Political) Grave, by way of
• By way of SaraRules: The Cult of Snuggie
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Super Bowl broadcast interrupted with porn
• DIY 33-1/3 books
• 

Yeah. That’s it for now.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 28 January 2009
This month is flying by. Kind of odd to think that February starts next week… and that Bit will be a year old a few days after that. I’m also curious to see how Black History Month celebrations note the election of President Obama.

Last night, while watching TV, I assembled a couple more pieces for the WWG “City Planning” board: The Apartment Building and the Vacant Lot. When it’s all said and done, the first corner/block will look something like this.

SaraRules and I also went to the gym last night:

• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps – 1 set @ 205 lbs, 2 sets @ 185 lbs
• Rows (Nautilus, Compound Row): 3 sets/12 reps, 140 lbs
• Flys (Dumbbell, flat bench): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Shrugs: 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Curls: 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Lateral Raises (with forward fly): 3 sets/10 reps, 10 lbs
• Tricep Extensions: 3 sets/15 reps, 60 lbs
• Push-ups: 2 sets/10 reps

It was a pretty good workout.

Post-workout weight: 183.1 lbs

Stray Toasters

• The workday started off slowly, which was nice… but has since turned into “one thing after another.”
• After suspension for nodding at Obama, drum major quits
• T-Shirt Hell is closing up shop.
• By way of Liz and the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: I knew that being a lawyer was a sometimes dirty job, but this takes it to a whole new level.
• Kindle 2: Electric Boogaloo?
• These are heels for dudes.
• Everybody needs a bosom for a pillow…
• MST3K Cast Reunites for Live Webcast
• A combination I never even considered: Zombie Hello Kitty Cake
• Peer reveals ‘cello scrotum’ hoax

Tonight: is coming over for dinner; I’m cooking Cornish game hens… but no idea as to what I want to do for vegetables.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 27 January 2009
It’s cold (18°F), but we’re actually going to see the sun today. Hallelujah!

Last night was a lazy night of 24 and assorted TV watching and putting together some neighborhood tiles for a World Works Games model. Pre-24, I watched a couple episodes of NCIS – I remembered that I neglected to note something the other day: David McCallum, who plays Dr. Mallard on NCIS was also Lt. Cmdr. Eric Ashley-Pitt in The Great Escape… AND was Napoleon Solo’s right hand man, Ilya Kuryakin, in The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

As I mentioned, I spent a good part of the evening building WWG models. I found a tutorial that suggested an incredibly simple – and very modular – method for creating miniature gaming environments. The most time-comsuming part, so far, has been cutting the pieces out, so that I can mount them on the foamcore bases. That and being distracted by the TV.

Chew on This – Food for Thought: US Airways passengers get $5,000; Is it enough?
This was almost a ‘Toaster.
Then I realized that I was more irritated about it than I had originally thought.

Maybe I’m a bit jaded, but I fall back on the “any landing you can walk away from” adage here. Is $5,000 enough? How about the fact that you’re still alive!? I’m sorry, but I can’t agree with the “It’s not enough compensation for what we went through” argument. You know what? You got to go home to your families. How many people never got that option?

I’m not saying that this wasn’t a stressful – and potentially mentally damaging – event, because it most definitely was… but YOU LIVED. Period. End of argument.

Stray Toasters

• is back home, safe and sound… and somewhat jet-lagged.
• Afghan Prison Poses Problem in Overhaul of Detainee Policy
• By way of come pictures of The Inauguration of President Barack Obama, by way of Boston.com’s “The Big Picture”



• Layoffs Spread to More Sectors of the Economy
• By way of SaraRules: Dick Van Dyke tells Mary Poppins stories
• What Life Asks of Us
• Disagree with a flight attendant? You’re a terrorist
• Monkeys… MDK. MDK. MDK.

And, I’m apparently sitting in on an interview this morning.

No rest for the wicked, I guess.

Namaste.

Monday – 26 January 2009
There’s a new blanket of snow in the valley. It started yesterday – mostly flurries in the valley, slightly heavier on the benches.

I got into the office this morning to find an email requesting that we move some equipment… by close of business today. That’s all well and good. The problem that I had was that it wasn’t sent until almost 7:00 PM Friday night – long after I had left. *grblsnrkx* We got most of it done before lunch. We’ll finish the minor stuff later.

Stray Toasters

• The Council for Better Driving: Utah would like to remind motorists to take care when driving in this week’s inclement weather.
• Obama pushing stronger fuel-efficiency standard
• The case against Candy Land
• 
• The Great Escape + Benny Hill = Something Like This
• How to Become a Bounty Hunter
• Quick rebound? Success of young NFL coaches gives hope
• 
• Pope welcomes Facebook, but cautions
• The MST3K Crew Reunites for Live Webcast

Lunch beckons.

Namaste.

Friday – 23 January 2009
The week draws to a close… with fog and haze in the valley. It’s dense enough that I can barely see the freeway. Then it rolls out. And back in. Even Otis Redding didn’t see this much action.

Last night, OnlyAly and came over for dinner.  SaraRules cooked a maple chicken, with carrots and roasted potatoes, which was delicious. During and after dinner, the four of us discussed wedding-related items: Things that SaraRules and I have talked/thought about and things to consider, reminiscences of their wedding and the lead-up to it, and the like. It was a great way to spend the evening.

Later in the night, I watched an NCIS rerun and the new episode of CSI:. I am liking Laurence Fishburne’s character, Dr. Ray Langston. He portrays him with an interesting sense of curiosity and wonder… balanced with a desire to prove that he can hold his own on the established team. I didn’t get to watch the season premiere of Burn Notice, but it’s on the DVR.

Stray Toasters

• By way of SaraRules: 10 Stories behind Dr. Seuss stories
• Apple’s first Macintosh turns 25
• My feelings about Hover, as a superpower, are pretty well-known. It seems as though there is now a site dedicated to Super-useless Superpowers.
• The Art of Phil Noto
• From Newsarama’s Blog: Craig McCracken – PPG, Foster’s and Comics?
• President Obama Still Has His Blackberry in White House
• Obama’s Outfits: ‘A real departure for first ladies’
• Lawsuit may stop impeachment trial
• Green light for US stem cell work
• By way of and Best of Craigslist: This bitter little pill.
• Zombie Fluxx Card Game

Namaste.

Wednesday – 21 January 2009
Midweek and all’s well.

Last night, Chris came over for dinner and ‘Clix gaming. SaraRules fixed a tasty southwestern chicken dish, with corn and tomatoes and rice pilaf. Very tasty. We ate and watched NCIS before playing.  After dinner, SaraRules went into the office and quilted; Chris and I played dolls.

We had Round 2 of our Green Lantern Corps vs. Sinestro Corps battle; this time, I played the Sinestro Corps. As an added bonus, I finally got to use some of the terrain I got from World Works Games:

(click images for larger versions)

Chris lined up with:

• Abin Sur
• Big Barda and Mister Miracle
• Ganthet
• Green Lantern (Guy Gardner)
• Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)
• Kyle Rayner
• Sinestro
• Tomar-Re

I brought a fairly beefy SiCorps to the table:

• Arkillo
• Batman
• Lyssa Drak
• Manhunter (Arkham Asylum, 2 figures)
• Manhunter (Cosmic Justice, Rookie)
• Parallax
• Sinestro
• Superman Prime

And it was on. We weren’t playing tournament rules, so we just had a good, old-fashioned slugfest and shootout. And, in the end, I wound up winning the game. This brings the Sinestro Corps to two wins and zero losses. We discussed the fact that – assuming that the HeroClix line finds a pulse soon – WizKids/Pinata needs to update a lot (read: “most”) of the Green Lantern Corps’ figures, because there aren’t a lot of heavy hitters in the current sets… and while they may do “okay,” they can’t really go toe-to-toe with many of the newer figures for long.

Stray Toasters

• Black first family ‘changes everything’
• From BBC News: Notes to Obama: Maya Angelou
• Apple quietly updates $999 white MacBook with unibody specs
• Drew sent a ink to: Rainer Spehl Wood MacBook Case
• 
• Because it came up on the iPod this morning while I was eating breakfast – and got stuck in my head – here’s a bit of musical joy (or pain) for you:
  

  You’re sleek as a thoroughbred.
  Your seats are a feather bed.
  You’ll turn everybody’s head today.
  We’ll glide on our motor trip
  With pride in our ownership
  The envy of all we survey.

  Oh Chitty, you Chitty
  Pretty Chitty Bang Bang
  Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
  We love you.
  And Chitty our Chitty
  Pretty Chitty Bang Bang
  Chitty Chitty Bang Bang loves us too.
  High Chitty low Chitty anywhere we go
  On Chitty Chitty we depend.
  Bang Bang Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
  Our fine four fendered friend.
  Bang Bang Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
  Our fine four fendered friend

• Science vs. emotion in NJ’s river dolphins debate
• And, in today’s “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” news: Blow-up doll sex suspect arrested in Australia
  

Namaste.

just posted a link to this: Pro-Life Group up in Arms over Krispy Kreme’s Abortion Doughnuts

YeahbuhWHAT?!

Seriously… do people really have nothing better to do than nitpick every little thing someone says just to try and come up with new ways of being offended?!

Political correctness is one thing, but this is just plain ridiculous.

Thursday – 15 January 2009
Last night, we had SaraRules’ parents over for dinner. On the menu: Jambalaya. It was a nice change of pace to have them over rather than us going to their place. At one point, her father commented about it being weird, because he remembered being on the other side of the equation, years ago, and the first time that they had SaraRules’ grandparents over for dinner.

Post-dinner, SaraRules spent time finishing a quilt that she’s been working on and I channel surfed… and web-surfed. Among the things that we watched was The Late Show with David Letterman; Clint Eastwood was his first guest. The interview was good and, at one point, Dave was listing some of the pictures that Mr. Eastwood has been in and how long his career has spanned – over 50 years.

Stray Toasters

• I will have one of these in my grubby little hands in the next few days…
  

• …and one of these, too.



• By way of SaraRules:
  • Adolf Hitler, sisters taken away from parents’ home
  • Graffiti artist spins a new kind of yarn
• As I glibly mentioned yesterday: Ricardo Montalban passed away, age 88
  • NPR report
  • LA Times article
  • USA Today article
• Also, Patrick McGoohan, TV’s ‘Prisoner’ Number Six, passed away
• By way of : Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn’t seen it)

  
  Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn’t seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo.

• Obama’s ‘Beast’ of a car revealed
• pointed out this story: Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl is now Luke Steelersthal and this as well:

  

• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Vote for your favorite nominee
• Although now might not be the best time to visit: Flintstones theme park/campground in Custer, South Dakota

And, back to the the grind… and soon to the gym.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 14 January 2009
Midweek and all’s pretty much ship-shape.

Last night, SaraRules and I watched Hellboy. I’d only seen bits and pieces of the movie over the past few years, so it was nice to see it all the way through. And, it was fun.

Stray Toasters

• I talked with Rana for a bit last night; that was a pleasant surprise.
• 
• “Hold it… I ain’t pushin’ no ‘Moon’ button.”
• There will be a train show at Thanksgiving Point on 23-24 January 2009.
• If Barack Obama was a Green Lantern, would this be his emblem?

  

  (Thanks to for pointing out this pic!)

• Aretha Franklin lends her voice to history at inauguration
• Commentary: Bush still doesn’t get it
• Harper’s Index: the Bush years
• I’m (still) liking CoH on the Mac client.
• Shoot the baddies
• 
  (Click image for details)
• Zelda map in cross-stitch form
• In today’s “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!” news: RC helicopter used to smuggle contraband into prison
• US ‘fake death businessman’ found

And tonight: We’re having SaraRules’ parents over for dinner. On the menu: Jambalaya.

Namaste.

Saturday – 10 January 2009
After work, I came home and purchased and downloaded the CoH Mac edition. I set up the installer and then went off to coffee. When I got home, everything was ready for me to log into City. I opted to watch a little of The Late Late Show… which turned into The Late Late Show watching me. *sigh* I got into bed about 12:30.

And was up at 8:00 this morning.

That’s not an entirely “bad” thing. There’s a tournament this afternoon and this affords me an opportunity to figure out who I want to use in it. And, I can watch Batman: The Brave and the Bold while doing it. Win-Win.

Stray Toasters

• The Ravens-Titans game is at 2:30. I’m going to miss part of it, because of the tourney… but I’ll be watching as much of it as possible. And, I can always record the game, if I choose.
• put in an appearance at Clitorati last night. It was fun hanging out with him. In a not-so-odd twist, we started talking about football, while at coffee… and a guy at the next table joined in the conversation. The odd twist: He was from Cleveland and a Browns fan, too.
• Cars: Inside the Rocket-Proof Obamamobile
• Hotel 747 now boarding

Time for some Honeycomb and cartoonage, methinks.

Namaste.

Friday  – 09 January 2009
The weekend is within sight. Yesterday wasn’t a bad day, in accordance with NBN Thursday bylaws. There were a few issues, mostly resulting from some office/cubicle moves, but those were easy to deal with.

After dinner, Logan came over and watched Hellboy II: The Golden Army with us. Then he mopped the floor with me at Madden 09.

Stray Toasters

• I’ve had a couple people point out that CoH is now available on the Mac. (I don’t recall if I posted anything about it, but I’ve been playing the Open Beta for a few weeks.) The full City of Heroes Special Mac Edition is out… which means that the game is now playable on live servers. I’m still a little torn as to whether I want to spend $20 for the download (which comes with a few exclusive items) or just get the upgrade patch to go from the Beta to the Live version (no exclusive content).  Decisions, decisions…
• sent a link to the “I’m a Hero. I’m a Villain” parody ad:

• (who got it from ) sent a link to this picture and to this xkcd comic.
• Radical cheap: $1000 homes
• also sent a link to Henry Rollins: A Love Letter to Ann Coulter (some of the audio is NSFW)

• Dragon made of cake
• HDMI == good
• Yo-Yo Ma Brings Remix Culture to Music’s Ivory Tower
• EGM Magazine shutting down
• In today’s “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” news:
  • 6-Year-Old Says Grand Theft Auto Taught Him to Drive a
  • US man who gave kidney to wife includes it in divorce claim
  • Electric Batch Duckie

Namaste.

Thursday – 08 January 2009
I don’t think that I have ever been so glad to see the end of a workday as I was yesterday. Getting home, I flopped down on the couch for a couple hours of downtime – and dinner – before taking on more of the living room/dining room cleanup.

Four-Color Coverage
I read yesterday’s comic haul, which was laughably light: Four books. I picked up the Hellblazer: Dangerous Habits TPB, too. This week’s books included:

• Black Lightning: Year One #1 – The character Black Lightning debuted in April of 1977, DC Comics is now going back to look at his origin/history. This issue shows Jefferson Pierce returning to his hometown, a neighborhood of Metropolis… only to find that it has become less the place of his childhood – and the “City of Tomorrow” – and fallen prey to crime, gangs and an apathetic populace. What can one man do to take back his community? Here’s where we find out.
• Incognito #1 – Meet Zach Andersen, a criminal in witness protection who just met his new handler. To say that there is “friction” between them is a gross understatement.  We see what happens when Zach tries to “escape” the drudgery of his day-to-day life… and the possibilities it opens up for him.
• Superman/Supergirl: Maelstrom #5 – This issue wrapped up the mini-series, with the final showdown between Superman and Supergirl vs. Maelstrom and the Female Furies. It also showed some growth in Supergirl’s development from frustrated (though super-powered) teen to someone who wants to do more to protect her new home… even if she can’t save everyone.
• X-Men Noir #2 – I’m enjoying this take on the X-mythos, seeing the Brotherhood as a “secret society” within the NYPD and the X-Men as hoods and thugs. There were nods to a lot of names in the X-universe, even if the characters themselves didn’t appear.

Stray Toasters

• The American Gallery of Juror Art
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: US porn industry seeks multi-billion dollar bailout
• Obama, Bush and ex-presidents have ‘historic moment’
  
• Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators… or, as lj user=”m2ke” put it: Russian. Nuclear. Lighthouses.
• 
• Jan 8, 1790: Father Knows Best — Embrace Science
• America limps along after Bush, by the numbers
• FTC wants to hear from you about DRM
• HOWTO: Make an electrified steampunk Monopoly

NBN Thursday. Selah.

Namaste.