Random Access

Tuesday: Coda
When I got home, I turned on the TV and started surfing. I landed on CNN. As the Montana and South Dakota primaries were tonight, I watched the coverage. I missed Hillary Clinton’s… “No I’m not done, yet” speech. There’s a part of me that’s glad I did. I did watch Barack Obama’s speech. Once again, it was a classic. He didn’t bash Senator Clinton and there was only one jab (that I picked up on) at Senator McCain. Other than that, he seemed sincere and humble and appreciative.

After I watched a little more primary coverage, I flipped over to L&O: SVU. It was a rebroadcast of the season finale, which I didn’t see in first-run. It was a good episode, but it left a few questions about next season.

While waiting for dinner to cook (i.e.: “putting it the nukerator”), I installed a light in one of the display cases. It looks nice. I may move some things around to catch the light better. I may not. We’ll see.

Stray Toasters

• I chatted with Rana briefly this evening. She and Bit are back in the States and doing well.
• Liv Tyler is on The Tonight Show. She seems so… grounded. I find that odd/interesting, as her father is Aerosmith front man Steven Tyler. I guess that I was expecting her to be more Jack and Kelly Osbourne.
• , guess what character is getting a new action figure made. Here’s a hint:

  

• With Eric’s help, I was able to recover data from DS9’s former hard drive. After the process, I dismantled the drive – it was the first time that I had done that.
• I made the mistake of flipping to Boomerang a little while ago. Space Ace was on. That reminded me of the proliferation of video game-related cartoons that were part of the CBS Saturday morning lineup in the 80s.
• By way of Despair.com:



• AirPort Extreme. Hmm.
• A commercial for Burger King, featuring The Artist Formerly Known as Puff Daddy, was just on. In it, a BK marketing guy tells P. Diddy (as he is now known),”We need a new ad campaign.” Young Mr. Combs looks at him and, very simply says, “Tell ’em Diddy says ‘BK is open late.'” And then something FINALLY hit me: Something about the name “P. Diddy” struck me as both odd/ridiculous… but strangely familiar, however I didn’t make the connection until tonight:

  

  That’s right: Diddy Kong. He renamed himself… after a cartoon/video game monkey.

• Donkey Kong was adapted into a cartoon, too. Also on CBS. Also far from good.
• There’s a Utah Blaze game Monday night. That could be a nice change of pace way to spend the evening.

Time to figure out what I want for a pre-bed snack.

Namaste.

By way of wikiHow: How to Celebrate the International Year of the Potato

Cocaine

Sunday – 01 June 2008
I wound up sleeping in later than I had planned this morning; going to bed at 4:00 AM *might* have had something to do with that, though.

Shortly after waking up, sent me this:

Whiskey Tango…?!
It was not the first (or second or thirty-fourth) thing to which one expects to wake up.

But, as far as using We Will Rock You in a commercial, this is still my favorite:

And, of course, I’m still waiting to see if Nintendo tries to come up with a “Wii Will Rock You” commercial/campaign.

Don’t know that I’m going to make it to Borders to draw, as a few of us are supposed to head to Jitterbug for lunch. Maybe I’ll just head there a little early and draw there.

Zoom.

Friday – 30 May 2008
Nodded off on the couch (yet again) last night. I woke up long enough to take care of the nightly hygiene rituals and hit the rack somewhere around 2:00.

Once again, I was awake around 6:00.
The alarm was set for 6:35.
Naturally, I stayed in bed for the extra few minutes.
Up out and in the office by a few minutes past 8:00. Hopefully, the rest of the day will go as swimmingly.

Stray Toasters

• By way of (with an assist from ):



• By way of Rolling Stone: The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time
• Adventurer will live 300 days as Robinson Crusoe
• From Indexed:



• What’s wrong with the following series of pictures? (Answer at the end of the post)

  
  (click images to view larger versions)

Quotes of the Day: Things overheard in a Waiting Room
You just can’t make stuff like this up:

• A phone call came in, apparently a patient canceling because a family member had something going on/bad. The receptionist replied: “…just let her drink some flat soda or Sprite or something, to get some nourishment in her.”
  (Wait… Since when is “soda” considered a source of “nourishment?”)
• Receptionist 1: 13 year old boys won’t cuddle with their moms…
  Receptionist 2: Sure they will, if they’re sick.
• A woman checks in, gets forms to fill out, hands them back in…
  Receptionist: You’re not allergic to anything?
  Patient: No.
  Receptionist: I mean medicines…
  Patient: No.
  (If someone says that they aren’t allergic to something, I’d take it as a pretty good bet that they would consider medicines on the list of “Things I’m allergic to,” especially if they are in a doctor’s office.)
• Observed: PA comes into the waiting room, looks around… “Claudia?”
  There was only one woman in the room.
• A man comes in to reschedule an appointment for his wife:
  Receptionist: Did the pill give her diarrhea?
  Man: No, more constipated than anything.
  Receptionist: Oh. Well some people react to it differently. Some people say it doesn’t do anything to them, others say it’s like an explosion.

Back to the grind.

Namaste.

Answer: If it’s supposed to be an automatic faucet, why does it have handles?
(Hint: It wasn’t.)

Thursday – 29 May 2008
A couple of things that started the morning nicely:

1. I Am LEGO



2. Sent to me by CoworkerJG, who knows my proclivity for City of Heroes/Villains:

I think that these were good ways to kick of any NBN Thursday. And this morning’s coffee didn’t hurt, either. Nor did “The Boys in Brazil,” the behind-the-scenes movie from Disc Two of Rush in Rio, made during the Vapor Trails tour, playing on my port side monitor; it’s not only a cool look at what you might not otherwise see or know about putting together a concert and/or a tour, but it’s fun, too.

So, all together, I guess that it would be “No Bad News Sushi and Comic Book ‘Wednesday’,” too.

Stray Toasters

• I am “this close” to ordering a set of HeroClix Giants. It has Colossal Boy and Validus ‘Clix. Must have.
• Terminator Salvation: The Future begins principal photography
• principal != principle
• sent me a link to an article about Nepal abolishing it’s monarchy. In honor of that, I dedicate this Schoolhouse Rock! toon:

  No, it’s not entirely the same thing, but it’s as close as I could get.

• also (indirectly) had to deal with a monkey today:
  

  : there was a goddamn monkey in my yard today
  : O.o
  : while the movers were packing things up
  : Did it get packed into the truck?
  : you assume there was a moving truck
  : Oh.
  : the 9 crates are still in my yard
  : Right.
  Wait…. WHAT?!
  : they have to take them to the airport one by one in a tiny little jeep
  : …
  Wow.
  : yea
  so this little fucker is running around trying to bite the movers
  he climbed inside the crates while they were packing boxes into them
  i was laughing my ass off
  but admittedly
  i was laughing from behind the window inside
  those things are freaking mean

• NBC launches horror anthology series Fear Itself
• Does anyone else remember Tales of the Gold Monkey?
• Private Donor Saves Fermilab
• Update: I bought the ‘Clix Giants.
• Tyranist: James Bond Book Covers
• Ken Jennings, the man who holds the record for the longest winning streak on Jeopardy!, has written a blog post about Mike Allred’s Madman!, whose protagonist is apparently Mormon. I recall reading many rains past that The New Mutants’ Cypher was supposed to be Mormon, but the only other character that I knew was definitely LDS was Dr. Deseret (1, 2) from Will Shetterly’s Captain Confederacy.

/lunch

Namaste.

There are things that I could be doing around here:

• …cleaning up the dining room
• …finish sorting my ‘Clix (including the new ones I picked up last night)
• …cleaning my office and making room for a new desk
• …cooking dinner (although there are leftover Sloppy Joes in the fridge)

…instead, I’m doing none of the above.

were talking about comic books earlier. He’s been asking questions about different characters and even brought up the classic “Who would win if Character X fought Character Y?” question. One of the combos he asked about was Doomsday (the creature that killed Superman) versus Galactus, devourer of worlds. I said Galactus. Hands down. And a very short fight, at that.

Then I looked over at my Galactus ‘Clix.
And tried to remember where my Doomsday ‘Clix is.

versus

I stopped short of getting the figures to duel it out, though. Just barely.

Chew on This: Food for Thought
I have proof that God, in His infinite wisdom, knew what he was doing when he didn’t grant me infinite cosmic power:

Read this article

He must have known that when I read it, I would be compelled to use my power to give Michelle Malkin a telepathic lobotomy. Come ON, people… it’s a scarf. A SCARF!

Is the next thing that someone’s going to get outraged about jeans, if we happen to see a picture of someone we don’t like wearing a certain brand?! But, why stop there? Pants! ANY pants! Let’s get outraged because someone – somewhere – who may or may not be connected to… oh, Hell… ANY organization (not even a terrorist organization)… might be wearing pants!

Dammit, Ethel! Didn’t you see for yourself that (fill in a person/archetype) was wearin’ pants?! PANTS, I say! I’ll be damned and in my grave before I ever wear pants ag’in!

Now, George… don’t say such things. You know there’s nothing wrong with…

Nope! My mind’s made up! I’m never wearin’ the damned fool things ag’in! Ever! Do you think I want ever’body in town thinking that I associate with people like that! Pants-wearing people?! Hell no! My daddy didn’t raise me that way and I’m damn sure not goin’ along with all that foolishness! In fact, I’m goin’ upstairs right now and throwin’ all them pants right out!

That kind of thinking is utterly ridiculous and asinine.

Stray Toasters

• I’m (still) taking suggestions for new musicians/bands to put on my radar.
• Cat Saves Japanese Railway
• Galactus is a force of nature. Well, he’s a cosmic entity (like Phoenix… but not, by the same token.) This goes a long way to explaining normal beings’ perception of him. Sort of like Cthulhu… but without the insanity.
• And, since I brought up Phoenix, this provides a great answer to Jean Grey’s relationship to/with Phoenix:



• Ballmer and Gates Demo Windows 7
  I’m not hawking Windows; I was just amused by some of the mid-article comments/asides.
• Green Beret electrocuted in shower on Iraq base
• Fact: Galactus has been prevented from eating Earth… by Hostess Twinkies.
• MacBook Air sharp enough to slice bread, bone human flesh
• I don’t need a hand-held mixer, but I want one.
• Iron Man Rockets Into Space: For Real

Okay, time to heat up some Sloppy Joes and give some thought to hanging out in Paragon City.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 27 May 2008
The rain is gone.
The boxes are no longer in my car.
SaraRules is on her way to Colorado for summer camp The Aspen Music Festival.

Today’s going pretty well. For today’s workout, I wanted to do a few back-related exercises, as I feel like we’ve been ignoring that area. So, it went a little something like this:

• Leg raises: 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench press: 3 sets/12 reps, 185 lbs
• Reverse fly: 3 sets/10 reps, 82.5 lbs
• Decline press: 3 sets/12 reps – 135 lbs (first and third sets), 155 lbs (second set)
• Rows (standing, barbell, close grip handle): 3 sets/12 reps – 45 lbs (first set), 70 lbs (second and third sets)
• Leg raises: 3 sets/10 reps
• Back extensions: 2 sets/12 reps

All-in-all it was a good workout. Today’s weigh-in weight: 174.4 lbs.

Stray Toasters

• I’ve been trying to convince a coworker to buy a (at least one) MacBook. He’s considering it.
• Pain Lies on the Riverside
• Do whites need training before raising black children?
• Happy 5th Birthday to WordPress.
• Plants, for your health
• I may have to make a trip to Aspen to attend this.
• If Will Smith had one of these, I Am Legend might have been a (slightly) different movie.
  (Thanks to for pointing this out.)
• Adult balloon-twisters and gospel balloon-twisters battle
• SaraRules just called; she made it to camp Aspen safely and is getting settled in.

Quote of the Day
Just when I think that conversations with can’t get any better, he proves me wrong:

: bot/bit made it to US soil. not to DC yet tho
: Good deal.
They still have about 1:30 to go before they hit DCA, right?
: give or take. she said they were running late but not sure if it was them being late or the planes
: Gotcha.
: How are you this evening/early morning?
: eh…didn’t sleep last night. probably won’t sleep much tonight. frazzled. and in the middle of a packout. no pressure.
: Packout?
: yeah, movers came and started to pack and crate all our stuff
: ah.
: Dude. Condi… on the piano?
In Aspen?
: yeah she’s actually really good
: HAVE to see if SaraRules can score tix for that.
: wait…black person? in aspen?
: *ding*
: is that allowed?
: We’ll find out in 3 weeks.
I’ll send detailed reports.
But… Condi’s there in August. Performing, apparently.
http://www.aspenmusicfestival.com/index.cfm?&swf_plugin=0,9,0
: she going to take over any small countries full of brown people w/oil on her way over?
: No idea.
: there are brown people in texas. maybe we can make arrangements
: True enough.
And there are a FEW in Kansas.
: doubtful. it’s kansas.
: Seen ’em.
Been in a couple of rib joints.
: people see bigfoot too, rob
: But…
*sigh*
FINE.
: lol i think we have the makings of a really offensive comedy sketch
“crikey…i’m on the lookout for a negro…”
: By Jove! Kansas!
: i believe you. really i do
next thing you’ll tell me is that there are black people in utah.
: No.
There aren’t.
Just me.
And I tell people that I just had a really bad sunburn.
: damn. that’s some 4th degree shit
: You’d be amazed what people believe here.
*rimshot*
: dammit. now you have me thinking of ribs.
: 🙂
: http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/05/27/tranracial.adoption.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
: so….moral of the story is that it’s better to leave the little black kids in orphanages/foster homes?
: Apparently.
: i noticed no mention of any white kids being adopted by non-white families
: What self-respecting “person of color” wants to adopt a white kid?
Hell…
Bruce Wayne didn’t even want to.
He just made Dick Grayson a “ward.”
: well if you’re looking for well adjusted, master wayne isn’t the way to go
: I’m just saying…
Mr. Drummond adopted two!
: yes but one of them was a sassy midget
who wouldn’t take that kid?
: Touche.
: he’s the rich man’s webster
: And there’s another case: Webster.
White folk.
Black kid.
Adopt a white kid?
No way, man.
: big fat greek guy.
: I see…
Greek guys want to have black kids.
Is that why you married Bot?
: lol yes, we’re all infected with the fever
: (I’ll allow you to decline to answer that)
: me? decline? please.

Tonight: ‘Clix and Scion.

Namaste.

sent me a link to Emomelon:

I countered with Best Buy Dance Off.

Best Buy Dance Off – Watch more free videos

Derek, in an unrelated – yet oddly fitting – note, sent a link to Marion Theme on Bottles Played by RC Car