Random Access

Friday – 17 Oct 2008
Last night, I headed home for a quiet date night with SaraRules – on tap: CSI:, Sleeping Beauty (the Disney version… which I’ve never seen) and Senator Palpatine McCain on yea). Shortly after I got in, I received an unusual text… from . She was at SLCIA with a 90-minute layover and was wondering what I was up to.

*blink blink*
I told her to hang tight while I made a couple of calls.

I touched bases with and to see what they were up to; both of them had things on their agendas. I called up SaraRules to see where she was (just down the street) and when she got here, we headed to the airport. We got to spend about 45 minutes or so with before she had to head back to the gate area to catch her next flight. It was a pleasant – and quite unexpected – surprise.

On the way home, SaraRules and I realized that we were getting hungry and neither of us felt like cooking. We chose Macaroni Grill for dinner. (Actually, she chose it; I just did the driving.) It was a good call, too. I had the Chicken Marsala with a calamari appetizer. Both were quite good.

We got back home, found the couch, stretched out… and, in fairly short order, both of us were knocked out. That meant that we missed most of The Late Show interview; we woke up in time to catch the very last part of it. SaraRules went home and I finished reading Top 10: Book 2 and DC: The New Frontier.

Workout
Wes managed to get me to go to the gym yesterday. I would like to make it a more-regular occurrence. Before we got started with the main workout, I wanted to try a max press… just for the Hell of it. I was pretty sure that I couldn’t get a rep at 300 lbs, even though I had 275 on the bar and had found a couple of 10-pound weights and two 2.5-pound weights to get to 300.  (There was a guy, a few machines away, watching as I added and subtracted weights from the bar. The expression on his face seemed to say,”Is he really going to try to press that much…?”) I backed it down to 250 lbs… and got two reps out of it. Not bad for not having really done bench press in nearly four months. The rest of the workout was good and tiring:

• Bench press: 3 sets/10 reps (2 sets – 185 lbs; 1 set – 155 lbs)
• Fly (machine): 3 sets/10 reps, 100 lbs (10 sec hold on 10th rep)
• Back Extensions (machine): 3 sets/12 reps, 80 lbs
• Curls: 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs (1 set), 30 lbs (2 sets)
• Lateral Raises: 3 sets/10 reps, 15 lbs
• Side Bends: 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs
• Tricep Extensions (rope): 3 sets/10 reps, 60 lbs

My post-workout weight was 179.9 lbs. That’s… a little higher than I like. Time to lay off the extra helpings of brownies and ice cream after dinner.

Four-Color Coverage – DC: The New Frontier and Top 10
I was introduced to DC:The New Frontier by way of the video that was released earlier this year. It adapted the story into a (roughly) seventy-minute animated feature. The ‘toon was good and adapted the story well, but it missed a lot of the details and richness that two trade paperbacks afforded.

The story is set in 1950s America. Thanks to the air of fear created through McCartyism, costumed adventurers have been outlawed… unless they take an oath of loyalty to the U.S. administration. A couple of heroes do, most decide to just fade into the sunset.

The movie focused more on the story of Hal Jordan, using him as the readers’ main connection to the story (similar to the way that Wolverine and Rogue were used in the first X-Men movie) and that worked well for the animated feature. The books, with the wider pallete of characters, included Jordan but also gave much more insight into the other heroes featured in the story. For example, “John Henry,” a character who received a brief nod in the movie, had a plotline that ran throughout the books and – along with the Martian Manhunter’s story – served to show a couple of sides of the racial struggles in America in the 50s.

The story was a fun read. Darwyn Cooke did an excellent job of taking characters whose adventures have become so familiar and placing them in a different time, but making them – and their stories – relevant and interesting. And, in another interesting tie-in to history, the book ended with excerpts (mostly from the last half) of John F. Kennedy’s 1960 Democratic National Convention Nomination Acceptance Address.

Top 10 is the story of Neopolis, a city where all of the residents have superpowers. The book was written by Alan Moore, also known for such books as V for Vendetta, Watchmen and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

The book follows the police force, based out of Precinct 10 – more commonly known as “Top 10” – in their daily routines. The feel of the book is a cross of Astro City (1, 2) and Gotham Central… and it works. In the stories, we see not only the officers’ working their beats, but also glimpses of their personal lives, as well.

An unexpected treat that Top 10 also provides is the artwork. Not just the characters and the architecture… but the background characters. If you look carefully you’ll see that some of the extras are… “oddly  reminiscent”… of other, well-known figures in comics and literature.

Alan Moore has created a rich setting with characters whose motivations and idiosyncracies are as diverse as the city in which they live and protect. The books were good reads and I look forward to checking out the two spin-off series and the sequel.

Stray Toasters

• Urban Desi: A Genre on the Rise
• On the political front:
  • By way of SaraRules: A Rising Political Star Adopts a Low-Key Strategy
  • McCain, Obama roast each other at charity dinner
  • John McCain Gets Absolutely Humiliated By Technology, Photoshop
• Thanks to for pointing this out:

  

• Shortly after sent me a link to this picture, this video popped up on Boingboing:

• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: High school student in Kentucky faces felony charges for writing a zombie story
• Speaking of zombies: Zombie papercraft dolls
• From the “I cut so much, you thought I was a DJ” file: Butterfly Knife USB Drive

Quote of the Day
Excerpted from John F. Kennedy’s 1960 acceptance speech:

Can a nation organized and governed such as ours endure?

That is the real question.

Have we the nerve and the will? Can we carry through in an age where we will witness not only new breakthroughs in weapons of destruction, but also a race for mastery of the sky and the rain, the ocean and the tides, the far side of space, and the inside of men’s minds?

That is the question of the New Frontier.

That is the choice our nation must make — a choice that lies not merely between two men or two parties, but between the public interest and private comfort, between national greatness and national decline, between the fresh air of progress and the stale, dank atmosphere of “normalcy,” between dedication of mediocrity.

All mankind waits upon our decision. A whole world looks to see what we shall do. And we cannot fail that trust. And we cannot fail to try.

Namaste.

Thursday – 16 Oct 2008
SaraRules came by after work yesterday. We hit the grocery store – it was my night to cook dinner – and headed home to get ready for an evening of debates and design. I cooked chicken breasts with sides of rice and green beans; we would have had wine with dinner… but I was out of white wine. Oh, well.

The debate was… a debate. I don’t know who (finally) lit a fire under Senator Palpatine McCain, but he was aggressive and assertive in ways that I haven’t really seen in the previous debates. Senator Obama, while rising to meet most of the challenges, maintained the same relative level of calm that we have come to expect from him. And, they mentioned ‘Joe the Plumber’ so much that I half expected him to walk out for a cameo. I would have to agree with most pundits: Senator McCain came out of the gate strong, but lost a bit of steam about halfway through; Senator Obama maintained a steady pace, once he got up to speed and seemed to do better than his opponent in the last two-thirds of the debate.

Project Runway brought another kind of surprise: They named this season’s winner. I didn’t agree with the choice – I felt that her designs were kind of “one trick pony.” The other two designers brought lines that were varied and well-executed. *shrug* I guess that’s just another reason why I’m not one of the judges.

I’m a little worried about the following… even though it does kind of fit under “the way I’m wired” category: A few minutes ago, on IRC, someone was trying to get ‘s attention. Then, with a “Hm,” apparently opened up Virtual Keyboard and tried that combination (D-G-A) as a chord. (I tried it too, but found D-G-B to be more appealing.) Then I saw the “Drum Beat 1” button. And I pressed it.

The first thing – FIRST THING – that came to mind was The Way It Is, by Bruce Hornsby and the Range.

The second thing that came to mind was to try and play it. I have a good ear for hearing pieces of music and figuring out how to play them. Without opening iTunes for cues and not having tried to play the song before… I started playing part of it. I was a little creeped out. *sigh*

Stray Toasters

• It seems that there’s been a problem with commenting on my site. It has been fixed. Selah.
  Sidenote: Someone asked “who” maintains the password info for registered users on Random Access: I do… well, it’s on my server. So, your info (however much or little you put into your profile) isn’t just out there floating in the æther.
• Apparently, today is Dictionary Day. Thanks to for pointing this out.
• Leanne!? *jawdrop* Unglaublich.
• SaraRules pointed me in the direction of Dear Sarah, I Can Relate, an open letter from Project Runway 3rd season designer Laura Bennett to Vice Presidential candidate Sara Palin.
• Victoria sent me this picture last night; it made me laugh:



• pointed out this article from Craigslist.
  I countered, saying that people who signed up for it needed to get this.

  

• Coworker Tim just came over and mentioned that he saw the following bumper sticker on the way to work:



• Rachelle Gougen, keeper of Living Between Wednesdays, takes an amazingly fun – and funny – look at Supergirl over the years.

  

  It started as “Supergirl Week,” but has grown into more and will apparently become “Supergirl Month,” when it resumes. She also, in the course of discussing Supergirl, takes a look at Superman that’s worthy of addition to the Superdickery site. As Tyranist put it: “Ah, Superman finally revealed to be what I’d always thought.” Lex Luthor couldn’t have put it better.

• What do Christian Bale and Kermit the Frog have in common? More than you might think.
• Do you think that the gamer in your life is… a little obsessive? Well, unless he’s running a rig like this, I don’t think you really need to worry that much.

And with that…

Namaste.

Wednesday – 15 Oct 2008
I finished reading Watchmen last night. I enjoyed it. It’s a great alternative take on the Cold War. It will be interesting to see how well – and how much – they were able to adapt for the film version.

SaraRules came over for a bit last night. We started watching The DaVinci Code; we got about halfway through it. I have seen it before; she hadn’t. She started getting tired, so we decided to stop the movie for the night. After she left, I watched a little bit of The Late Show and The Late Late Show before calling it a relatively early night.

Stray Toasters

• Every once in a while, you wind up stumbling across something that makes you go,”Wow… I dodged a bullet there…” I had one of those this morning. It was “I Feel Better Than James Brown” great.
• SaraRules pointed out a couple of interesting items:
  • Photo project gives voice to ‘backbone of America’
  • Cheadle replaces Howard in Iron Man sequel
• From Fafblog – Barack Obama: Black?
• 
• Comic Book Characters Grouped by Religious Affiliation
  Some of the affiliations are rather… loose. For example: Neil Gaiman’s Death? (Yes, that one…) She’s Mormon. Who knew?!
• Christina Applegate: Why I got a double mastectomy
• I’m still stunned by the Don Cheadle news. As much as I like Terence Howard, I think that Don Cheadle will add a little harder edge to the character of James Rhodes. And if they go the War Machine route… even better.
• Blog of funny newspaper clippings
• By way of NPR Music:
  • West Coast Cool: The Jazz Sound of ’50s California
  • Songs for a Drab and Unfulfilling Existence
  • 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die
• I like this illustration, by Harris O’Malley

  

  In case you can’t make it out, the book is Demon Summoning for Dummies

• Ezekiel 25:17… as translated by Quentin Tarantino
• Snake-proof baby crib from the 1900s

Quote of the Day
has been sharing the wisdom of Lao Tzu on Wednesdays. Today’s entry:

Namaste.

Tuesday – 14 Oct 2008
After a long day in the south forty, it was nice to get to SaraRules’ place and just… veg. We watched Monday Night Football: The Giants at The Browns… and we were all surprised by what we saw: I don’t know WHO it was that showed up in the Browns’ uniforms, but they worked the Giants over. In a BIG way.  I don’t think I’ve seen the Browns play this kind of ball since they moved to Baltimore. (That’s right, … I just went there. Booyah.) They were effective – highly effective, at that – on both sides of the ball:

• They had 454 combined yards
• Derek Anderson threw for 310 yards
• Jamal Lewis ran for 88 yards
• They picked off three of Eli Manning’s passes
• Their punting unit never took the field
• And…AND… they even went for – and made – a two-point conversion.

The Giants, on the other hand…? They, or at least people in their uniforms, were just… there. They did not look like the 4-0, Super Bowl-winning team that we’ve seen over the past few weeks. Maybe they sent in the JV squad. By the end of the third quarter, it looked as though their hearts just weren’t in the game anymore.

All kidding aside: Congrats to on his team’s rather decisive win over the Giants.

After I got home, I opted for a hot bath and reading more of Watchmen. It was a good way to wrap up the evening.

This morning, I decided to wear a tie to work. Just because. And a vest, too. I even opted out of wearing my contact lenses, in favor of my glasses.

Stray Toasters

• Steve Jobs and the Apple Corps will have (a) new MacBook announcement(s) in a couple of hours.
  • A brief history of MacBook Redesigns and Upgrades
• Many Wonder Womans Women to benefit women’s shelter
  Click on the link at the bottom of the article for more information and more images.
• LEGO + Christmas = *COVET* (picture)
• 
• 16 Drawing Contraptions That Are More Artistic Than You
• For some reason, I had the theme from The Streets of San Francisco running through my head while I was brushing my teeth last night.
• Do you prefer self-checkout lines?
• There was a commercial for Robitussin DM Max that came on last night. I wasn’t looking at the television and misheard it as “Robitussin DMX,” and my first thought/question was: “How do you go from rapping to having your own brand of cough syrup?!” Then I looked at the screen… and I was immediately less confused.
• By way of :



• TSA Airport Screener Steals over $200,000 in Gadgets, Almost Gets Away With It
• John Cleese on Sarah Palin: “Monty Python could have written this.”

Attack the day…

Namaste.

Friday – 10 Oct 2008
Last night, after a summer of waiting, the new season of CSI: started. And it ended a little differently than I expected. But, I was glad to see a show follow through with something that is so rarely done in comics: We’re killing off a character. And we’re not going to punk out and reverse it. (Watch… no sooner than I write this, it will turn out that they’ll pull a Dallas Bobby Ewing shower scene.) I will be interested to see how the new CSIs, played by Laurence Fishburne and Lauren Lee Smith, join/integrate into the team.

After CSI: went off, SaraRules helped me do a little cleaning around the apartment. Rachel, one of the MFAs from SUU, is coming up this afternoon to hang out for the night… and the apartment needed a little love; good progress was made. I have a few things to finish up this afternoon, but that should be easy enough to deal with.

It was 37°F when I woke up this morning.
The forecasters are saying that the chance of snow in the valley this weekend is good.
Whiskey Tango…?!

Chew on This: Food for Thought
Commentary: Hollywood sses world in black and white.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Stray Toasters

• SaraRules pointed out this Rolling Stone article: Make-Believe Maverick
• Five Things Your Mac Won’t Tell You
• DC Comics President Gives Superman Update
• From MightyGodKing.com: Why I Should Write “Legion of Super-Heroes” #45: The Only Line
• Also from Rolling Stone: Q&A: Chrissie Hynde
• DNA test proves it — baby shark has no father
  (Someone needs to test its midichlorians …)
• By way of : Toy Modder Extraordinaire Steampunks Return of the Jedi
• 
• Dream CAPTCHA for spam-free sleep
• A couple of items by way of :
  • Foo Fighters want McCain to stop using song
  • GOP gets no love from musicians
• From the “Everything Old Is New Again” file: Alien lizards set to invade ABC in ‘V’
• Joe Biden Laughs Uncontrollably Over SNL Veep Debate Skit
• From Boingboing: Cool Photoblog: Elders with Style

Live a vapor trail…

Namaste.

Thursday – 09 Oct 2008
Last night was Project Runway night. The four designers who started the show were pared down to the final three designers… and I was a little surprised at who made the final cut. Post-Runway, and after SaraRules headed home, it was new comics night. There were a few good books in yesterday’s haul, including a new issue of Love & Capes.

This morning, I decided to check out an Internet Radio feed on iTunes. I opted to go for a Hip Hop/Rap feed. Scrolling down the list, I saw an entry for WVEE: V-103. This intrigued me, as there was a “V-103” in Baltimore. I clicked on the station and waited for the feed to begin. Turns out that this feed originates from a station in Atlanta. A couple of songs played and then there was a newscast. The reporter was Jean Ross.

*blink blink*

There was a “Jean Ross” who was a reporter on Baltimore’s V-103 many moons past. It struck me as too much of a coincidence to let pass. I did a quick search and came up with a result on the Atlanta station’s website. I clicked through and went to their Bio page. And there it was, big as day and twice as bright: Jean Ross’ bio. Turns out that she is the same Jean Ross I used to listen to back home all those years ago.

Stray Toasters

• By way of SaraRules: Charles Atlas, Wii Fit, Health and Exercise
  (The second paragraph kills me.)
• By way of : Demonic Squirrel Motorcyle Riding Story
• 
• A few political items:
  • John McCain and “my friends”: We counted how many times he said it.
  • John McCain calls Barack Obama ‘that one’ during debate: Was it rude or not?
  • Make-believe Maverick
  • Video: Saturday Night Live‘s take on the Vice-Presidential Debate (featuring Queen Latifah)
• Browse the Artifacts of Geek History in Jay Walker’s Library
• There is a possibility of snow in the valley this weekend. *sigh*
• At last, Google invents something truly brilliant
• 
• Steampunk and the Macabre
• A couple of things you might not know about me:
  1. I don’t practice Santeria
  2. I ain’t got no crystal ball
• The Manga Guide to Databases

Attack the day…

Namaste.

Wednesday – 08 Oct 2008
Middle of the week and all’s well. In the words of the Dave Matthews’ Band, So Much to Say, so let’s get it started…

SaraRules came over after work last night. We ran a couple of errands, including picking up a barbecue chicken pizza from Papa Murphy’s and headed back to my place. We watched Senators Obama and McCain in the second presidential debate. Again, I’m not really sure that either candidate “won” the debate, but if I had to pick a winner, I’d have to go with…

Tom Brokaw.

That’s right: Tom Brokaw, the moderator. Why? He had the best lines – including a couple of snarky jabs at the candidates for not sticking to the agreed format.

After the debacle debate, we headed to the gym. Lo and behold, I still remember how to workout! Unglaublich! SaraRules did cardio; I headed to the machines and free weights:

• Lat Pulldowns: 3 sets @ 100 lbs
• Close-grip pulldowns: 3 sets @ 80 lbs
• Reverse Flys: 3 sets, 1 set @ 60 lbs, 2 sets @ 50 lbs
• Overhead tricep extensions (dumbbell): 3 sets @ 40 lbs
• Side Bends: 3 sets, 25 lbs dumbbells
• Tricep Extenstions (T-Bar): 3 sets, 80 lbs
• Core: 2 sets, 45 seconds

I neglected to weigh myself pre- or post-workout. Oh, well.

We headed back to my place to catch David Letterman’s monologue and Top 10 List before she headed home. She made the comment that it seems like he’s got “…a personal vendetta” against Senator McCain and that it’s rather amusing to see what he’s going to say/do next. She’s right.

The Best: Rocket Man
I think that I first became aware of this song when it appeared on The Greatest American Hero, many moons ago. Since then, it’s been a favorite.

I apparently have four versions of it in iTunes:

1. Elton John – the classic, original version
2. Kate Bush – a synth and bass-rich version, from the “Two Rooms” tribute CD
3. Me First and the Gimme Gimmes – a punk cover
4. Jamie Cullum – a jazzy piano take on the song.

If I had to rate my favorites, it’d go in this order:

1. Elton John
2. Jamie Cullum
3. Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
4. Kate Bush

The rationale (as much as there is for it) is as follows: The Elton John version is, like I said classic. To me, it reminds me a bit of David Bowie’s Space Oddity, in that its protagonist simply seems… resigned to his fate and is trying to make the best of his situation. The Jamie Cullum version seems to put a different, more upbeat spin on it: Here’s a guy who has a secret (I’m not the man they think I am at home…), but is fine with it and he gets to see all kinds of things that no one else gets to see or do. He doesn’t come off as resigned, but kind of “Wow, too bad you guys can’t be here to check this out.” The Me First version is just… frenetic and fun and full of energy. And the Kate Bush version is… Kate Bush. *shrug*

Stray Toasters

• MarkinTyme sent me a link to A Literal Take on Take On Me, in which someone… just take a look at it for yourself. Hilarious… in a “You had WAAAY too much free time on your hands” way. And, yes, it’s work-safe.
• Hey Ensign Redshirt… why don’t you go investigate that odd noise while we talk to the locals?
• It’s been a while since I’ve had a steampunk-related entry, but here we go: Steampunk Keyboard, the Mini-Me version
• Buy a LEGO Life-Sized Replica of Yourself for $60,000
• With Hallowe’en just around the corner:
  • The Zombie Apocalypse Is Less Terrifying in LEGO
  • Dismember-Me Plush Zombie
  • Zombie Brain Jell-O Mold
• 
• Democrats Still Most Tech-Savvy, Rent Digital Billboard to Text Message Sarah Palin at Rally
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: US Customs: Sketching an SUV makes you a copyright infringer
  
• I moved the speakers that I hook up to my laptop at work. It made a noticeable – and greatly improved – difference in the acoustics.
• Yokai Attack: The Japanese Monster Survival Guide
• By way of : Operation Double Y’d Targets Women
  (Um… aren’t women “Double X?”  And XYY Syndrome is a little… rare.  And “male.”  Just sayin’.)

And now, meeting time!

Namaste.

Tuesday – 07 Oct 2008
Happy Birthday to :

Last night, I hung out with SaraRules and her family and watched the rollercoaster (of love… say WHAT!?!) of a game that was Minnesota vs. New Orleans. Wow. There were a LOT of impressive plays in the game:

• Saints QB Drew Brees threw for 330 yards.
• Vikings QB Gus Frerotte threw for 222 yards and engineered a couple of impressive drives, despite taking a beating from the Saints’ defense.
• Saints’ RB Reggie Bush ran for a combined 176 yards, including two (2) punt returns for touchdowns.
• Vikes’ RB Chester Taylor (former Ravens RB) threw a touchdown pass
• And where did Vikings’ CB Antoine Winfield come from?!  He was everywhere. EVERYWHERE. Special teams?  POW!  Defensive line?  BAM!  In the Saints’ backfield?  Yep. He was there, too.

Of course, there were some miscues, too:

• Martin Gramatica’s off-the-mark field goals.
• The Saints’ problems with holding on to the ball.
• Drew Brees’ interceptions.

I just noticed that this week’s NFL passing leaders are Kyle Orton (CHI) with 334 yards and Drew Brees (NO) with 330 yards. Both of them were Boilermakers.

This morning, the alarm went off at 6:20. I did my level best to ignore it. That didn’t work, so I turned off the alarm and laid in bed, pondering the prospect of starting the day.

Somewhere between “pondering” and “starting the day,” I nodded off again.

This is why I have a secondary alarm. It went off. I got up. Yay.

Stray Toasters

• LEGO Eggo waffles.
• WizKids has posted the new Batgirl figure on the Arkham Asylum page, but there’s nothing about it in their news headlines.



• In a rather geeky moment, I realized that 2’x3′ Heroclix maps will fit under the glass top of my living room table.
• 10 IT Power-Saving Myths Debunked
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Monkey waiters at restaurant
• Farewell, Opus; Hello, Pete, the Perfectly Practical Pig

Quote of the Day
Today’s nugget of joy comes from an IRC conversation:

(08:54:52) Ahpuc: When you are sitting on an airplane next to someone who is too chatty, what’s your favorite way to end the conversation?
(09:21:36) : Headphones.
(09:21:55) Xeen: falcon punch
(09:22:37) : Or open up manuals on taxidermy… and tell them you’re looking for test subjects.
(09:25:53) *** scratches their head and goes “hmmm!”.
(09:49:27) Ahpuc: A friend of mine was near a chatty 65-70 year odl woman, she was going around to everyone near here, asking what they did, etc…Like meet-me-get-to-know-me day on the damned airplane.
(09:49:55) Ahpuc: When she got to him and asked what he did he said he ran a porn site, and that they were looking for models for some of the sennior citizen porn.
(09:50:03) Ahpuc: She shut up for the whole flight at that point. 🙂
(09:50:10) : nice. 🙂
(09:50:34) : porn’s a good choice for that. It’s enough to shut people up, but not likely to get you thrown off the plane/mobbed like the other likely answers to those questions.
(09:50:37) : Win.
(09:52:50) Ahpuc: I was thinking of riffing off Fight Club: “Insurance Adjuster for the airlines. Do you know how many of these planes actually crash every year, due to poor maintenance? I mean, if it’s not near a big city, they just cover it up, it never sees the press…This airline in particular is notorious for painting over holes in the cabin. Hmm…Does it feel drafty in here to you?”
(09:54:38) : “No english. Arabic?” *fiddles with a box cutter*
(09:54:50) : CHOSEN WEAPON OF MY PEOPLE, BITCH.
(09:54:52) *** has more coffee.
(09:55:45) ***Ahpuc kicks off the airplane.
(09:56:11) : at 30,000 feet? that’s harsh.
(09:56:24) : That was my other thought – just reply only in Arabic.
(09:57:38) : or Esperanto.
(09:57:49) : or swedish chef?
(09:57:53) : klingon.
(09:58:06) : or KKKKKKKKHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAANNNNN!
(09:58:24) : You could just stare at her. Really up close in her face. Wide eyes. don’t say anything.
(09:58:34) : only reply with direct quotes from Airplane!. “looks like i picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue.”
(09:58:49) Ahpuc: Or reply only with Biblical quotations, carefully chosen for effect.
(09:59:13) : naa. just quote ricardo montalban at ’em.
(09:59:48) Ahpuc: Matthew 10:34 – Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

Namaste.

Friday – 03 October 2008
SaraRules came over last night and we watched Governor Sarah “Caribou Barbie” Palin take on Senator Joe “Night Train” Biden in the Vice-Presidential Debate (transcript). Let me say that I was expecting it to be much more… entertaining… than it was – Biden is known for running off on long-winded (and not always on the point) diatribes and Gov. Palin… well, we’ve all seen the interviews on the news and YouTube. Both candidates reined in their idiosyncracies and managed to present themselves as rather well-spoken and intelligent. According to a CNN poll:

• 89% thought that Governor Palin did better than expected.
• 64% thought that Senator Biden did better than expected.

That said…

I think that some of my favorite moments came when Gov. Palin was faced with a question that she could not – or did not want to – answer. She seemed to fall back on “John McCain is a maverick… and so am I” far too often. She came off sounding like a cheerleader to me; SaraRules commented that, thanks to Gov. Palin, she was sick of hearing the word “maverick.” I asked if that included times when it was referring to Mel Gibson or James Garner; she said that it didn’t.

I appreciated that there was a question about gay marriage and the rights of same-sex couples. Senator Biden, explained that while he didn’t want to redefine “marriage” but did want same-sex couples to enjoy the same benefits as their heterosexual counterparts. Governor Palin, saying that she was “tolerant” of same-sex couples, came off as condescending to me.

Another curious moment came when Gwen Ifill, PBS news commentator and moderator of the debate, asked the candidates “What do you think your Achilles’ Heel is?” Governor Palin, in an NFL-worthy juke, didn’t come close to answering the question, choosing to talk up her strengths and accomplishments. Senator Biden, on the other hand, drew a little laughter with his response of: “You’re very kind suggesting my only Achilles Heel is my lack of discipline.”

And the closing question of “Can you think of a single issue — and this is to cast light for people who are just trying to get to know you in your final debate, your only debate of this year — can you think of a single issue, policy issue, in which you were forced to change a long-held view in order to accommodate changed circumstances?” Senator Biden drew on an experience fairly early in his career that made him reassess how he voted, his fellow Congressmen and how he formed opinions about their votes. Governor Palin just came off sounding as if she was saying,”I’ve never had to change my opinion.”

On the whole, I’d have to give the debate to Senator Biden, on points, but there was not a clear KO or even a TKO. And, I will once again admit that Governor Palin came off much better than I expected. (Congratulations to her coaches at debate camp this week!)

After the debate – and a stroll to Red Mango for yogurt – we watched Iron Man. It was (at least) my third time seeing it. It’s just… fun. After the movie and after SaraRules went home, I hopped on the nerd and surfed the Interwebs for a bit, while watching The Late Late Show. Lauren Graham, formerly of The Golden Gilmore Girls, was on. She was quite entertaining.

Stray Toasters

• While at the grocery store a few days ago, SaraRules found this card (1, 2). We must have laughed for a minute straight. We knew that it was referring to baptism – and the white garments worn, rather than the skin color – but still… only in Utah.
• Earlier this week, we heard that Citi was moving to buy Wachovia.
  Today, I hear that Wells Fargo is offering to buy them; stockholders seem to prefer the $15 billion (USD) Wells Fargo buyout, as there is no government money/help involved.
• Library celebrates Banned Books Week with window-display featuring volunteers reading banned books



• I enjoyed this photo post from ‘ journal.
• The world is not enough
  But it is such a perfect place to start, my love…
• Hand over controller, girl gamers say
  
• 
• Purdue takes on Penn State tomorrow. I may have to tune in to see how it goes.

Namaste.

Thursday – 02 October 2008
Last night, SaraRules came over and we watched Some Like It Hot before Project Runway. I’d never seen Some Like It Hot before; it was fun. It’s “a bit” dated, but it was a great rollicking way to spend a couple of hours. Checking out the credits, Grace Lee Whitney was in the movie. Fans of obscure trivia will recognize her as Yeoman Janice Rand from Star Trek: TOS.

And, speaking of obscure Star Trek-related trivia, today is Avery Brooks‘ birthday.

After the movie, it was time for the new Project Runway. It was funny – they are down to the final four designers and the moods and bitchiness were amped up. Well, that’s not entirely true: Korto, Leanne and Jerell were fine… towards each other; towards Kenley, however, they were a bit cool and removed. Kenley was… Kenley, as ever. The final designs were mixed – for the most part, there was a lot of good effort that went into them, but some of the execution was off across the board. And there was a surprise ending that neither SaraRules nor I saw coming.

Today: Sushi.
Tonight: VP debate. (It should be interesting, to say the least.)

Stray Toasters

• I neglected to mention this yesterday, but it’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month. As such, Random Access will be going “Pink for October” again this year… as soon as I remember to change the template.
• I had a good eBay experience yesterday: I purchased a Kilowog ‘Clix in a “Buy It Now” auction. Within a couple of hours, I received an email thanking me for my purchase and stating when the figure would ship. I need to remember to do things like that when I sell things on eBay.
• By way of SaraRules: Manolo for the Men
• Rolling Stone presents 11 myths about Sarah Palin
• Hungry Scientist: nerdy cookbook for kitchen hackers
• From the combined “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” and “That’s Ingenious” files: Bank Robber Uses CraigsList to Hire Unsuspecting Accomplices
• By way of Derek: Amazing Stop-Motion Public Wall Painting

Attack the day…

Namaste.

After this morning’s madness, things have calmed down significantly. My personal threat Level has moved down to “Guarded” from “Severe.”

It was nice to get through the rest of the day without wanting to dismember service techs. Or coworkers. Or random strangers.  I skipped lunch, but that just meant that I got to go home earlier. And, as I have food in the fridge: !TANSTAAFL.

Stray Toasters

• I’m picking up a pair of Billy bookcases (Billys? Billies?) from and OnlyAly in a bit. I guess that means I’ll have to prepare for less “theory” and more “practical application” of where to put them.
• By way of Stephanie: Kimono’s Townhouse



• Game Review: LEGO Batman
• My copy of Iron Man is waiting for me at the local Best Buy.
  Online ordering + In-Store Pickup = Win.
• Moo!
• And, as it (somewhat) follows the theme of the ‘Toaster above: Guitar Heifer
• Spicy chili kills amateur chef

And tonight: Scion.

*voop*

Today is loonybin88’s birthday:

We’re having fun with our dysfunctional phone system here at work. Yay.

Chew on This: Food for Thought
This I Believe: Caring Makes Us Human

Stray Toasters

• Don’t forget that Breast Cancer Awareness Month starts on Wednesday, 01 Oct 2008.
• From CNN: Bailout plan rejected
• pointed me in the direction of a couple of items about “new” Hershey’s chocolate:
  • What Made Hershey’s Want to Change Chocolate?
  • Hershey’s Changes Chocolate Formula, Millions of People Wonder “WTF?!”
• And, on the Sarah Palin front:
  • Somehow, I missed out on her “Caribou Barbie” nickname until someone pointed it out this weekend.
  • Palin heads to ‘debate camp’ in Arizona
  • McCain retracts Palin’s Pakistan comments
• Bill Murray comments on Ghostbusters 3
• By way of Coworker Dave: A Politician Who “Gets It”
• From NPR: Diahann Carroll Talks of Love, Life and Those Legs

I should probably think about what I want for lunch…

Friday – 26 Sep 2008
Friday. ‘Nuff said.

Happy Birthday to Josh:

Stray Toasters

• Goodbye, Washington Mutual.
  Hello, Chase Bank.
  You say “Goodbye” and I say “Hello, hello, hello”.
  I don’t know why you say “Goodbye”, I say “Hello, hello, hello”.
• LEGO Mac Pro
• After the L.A. mass transit administration banned personal communications devices for drivers (while driving/operating a vehicle), it seems that Honolulu has had to follow suit… after a fashion: Playing Your PSP at Work Is a Bad Idea, Especially When You Drive a City Bus
• ULUG: Utah LEGO Users’ Group
• Man flies personal jet wing across English Channel
• How close were the US Presidential Elections?

*zoom*

Namaste

Thursday – 25 Sep 2008
How do you kick off a great NBN Thursday? How about with a text message from your father saying that you have two (2) tickets to the Raiders-Ravens game for your birthday? Boo-yah. Yeah, I’d say that qualifies.

After work last night, I went home and decided – after almost a year – to hook the 360 up to the Interwebs and download firmware updates. The main problem: The 360 is in the living room, my router is in my office – in the back of the apartment – and I didn’t have an ethernet cable that was long enough to reach. I thought about – and tried – using my old router (as a hub) to daisy-chain a couple of cables. Which I would have gotten away with, if it hadn’t been for you meddling kids and your dog! the fact that I didn’t have any 10′ cables to run from the second router to the 360. *sigh* Then, on a whim, I decided to see if I could share Defiant‘s wireless connection to give the 360 access to the Interwebs. After a quick consultation with and a look at some Mac forums, I found what I was looking for. And it was pretty simple, too. And it worked.

SaraRules came over a little later. Wednesday nights have become Project Runway (and, often, The West Wing) nights at my place, as SaraRules doesn’t get Bravo at her place. I’m not a huge “reality TV” fan, generally speaking, but I like seeing some of the designs that the contestants come up with on the show. Last night’s episode had an interesting challenge: The designers had to design outfits based on specific music genres… for each other. The genres that were chosen were:

• Country (Leanne designing for Korto)
• Hip Hop (Kenley designing for Leanne)
• Pop (Jerell designing for Kenley)
• Punk (Korto designing for Suede) and
• Rock (Suede designing for Jerell)

A couple of the designs (Pop and Punk) were spot on;the Rock outfit was… a little bland; the Country look was a bit too subtle. But the Hip Hip look was… just… bad. Which was sad for a two reasons:

1. Despite her occasional attitude, I like Kenley and most of the pieces she comes up with.
2. LL Cool J was the special guest judge.

Yeah. You get tagged to design a Hip Hip look… and get it all wrong… AND you have to show it off in front of LL Cool J. Triple whammy.

It was also funny hysterical to hear some of the snarky comments by the other designers about the design – including a couple of “sabotage” comments, when they were asked, “So, do you think that this looks Hip Hop,” as she would try different accessories with an outfit. And they would say, “Yes…” and turn away before they burst out with laughter. Surprisingly enough, Kenley did survive elimination this week. But the preview for next week’s episode featured a couple of shots of the remaining designers in tears as their designs were critiqued, so it should be worth a look.

After Runway, I flipped over to The Late Show with David Letterman; I wanted to see who they got to fill Senator McCain’s guest spot. I had considered flipping over to MSNBC to see if Keith Olbermann had anything to say about it. I didn’t need to – Olbermann was Letterman’s guest. And they both had opinions to share about the senator’s decision. Letterman’s comments, by way of :

And, I found this copy of Olbermann’s thoughts:

Wait… did he say that making a bi-partisan/joint announcement was originally Senator Obama’s idea? And it was copped by the McCain camp? Huh.

Stray Toasters
Check back later for ‘Toasters.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 24 Sep 2008
Some of my recent forays into The Dreaming have been odd. This morning, my subconscious apparently found a rather twisted path along the wildways in a dark area of The Dreaming… and skipped merrily along its way. Thus, I’ve been awake (for the most part) since 5:30 this morning, thanks to a lovely dream about my apartment being broken into. It was “a little” disturbing. After proving to myself that it was just a dream – but being too keyed up to sleep – I wound up sprawled on the couch watching SportsCenter. I apparently dialed down enough to nod off somewhere around 6:10. Just in time for the alarm to go off at 6:20. Yay.

Last night was very uneventful. I played my guitar for the first time in weeks. Adam called while I was cooking dinner – baked chicken over spaghetti, with a side of spinach; he had picked up The Invincible Iron Man animated movie that came out last year and had a couple of questions about it and how it related to the mainstream Iron Man. That led to questions about Watchmen – he’d seen the trailer and wanted to know if it was based on a comic. I told him that it was and that he should check it out. He then suggested the new Fox series, Fringe, to me. The show happened to be just starting as I finished cooking, so I watched it. It was good, but it may take a week or two to fully grow on me.

I also read two-and-a-half TPBs of Gotham Central (1, 2, 3). I had read the first and second ones before, but it has been a few months; I’d forgotten their storylines. I like what I’ve read of the third book, which I will probably finish tonight.

Stray Toasters

• Jeff came by – to ask if SaraRules had already gone by (she had) – and noticed a pile of hard drives near my desk. He asked what we were planning on doing with the dead ones. I told him that we were keeping them aside and preparing them for destruction/disposal. He said that if it involved thermite or shredding, he wanted to watch. That reminded me of a video of a BMW getting shredded. I contacted Oracle for information on the video, which was on YouTube. But, there was a link to the main shredding site, where I had originally seen the video – SSI: Watch It Shred!
• Blend-Tec: Will It Blend?
• By way of SaraRules and the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: PETA Urges Ben & Jerry’s to Use Human Milk
• By way of : Former National Review Editor Endorses Obama
• I think that I need this t-shirt.
• SaraRules, Tyranist, and could probably use this t-shirt.
• What is the nature of an IT worker?
• For the gamers: World’s largest wargaming table art installation

…right on to the friction of the day.

Namaste.