Union Pacific's Great Excursion Adventure

Dec 19

“No, his mind is not for rent…”

comics and animation, dining and cuisine, everyday glory, football, games, geekery, movies and TV, news and info, science and technology, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot...?! No Comments »

Wednesday – 19 December 2007
Mid-week and all is well. The clouds over the valley are breaking up… a little. It’s Sushi Wednesday. And it’s new comic book day.

Last night, I had dinner with SaraRules and her family. Before I jetted off to and ‘s for game night, SaraRules handed me a gift. *blink blink* I looked at her and said,”But… it’s not Christmas, yet.” She smiled and told me that it wasn’t a Christmas gift… so open it! And I did. It was a copy of the DVD for Stardust, the first movie we saw together. It doubly surprised me, as I wasn’t aware that the DVD had been released.

On to game night! The game was a little slow – mostly because we, as a group, weren’t exactly sure how to proceed with a couple of things. But, half of us did manage to get our collective recta beat down and handed to us at one point. Not pretty. And, I was reminded that my character was not built to be a fighter. Not by any stretch of the imagination. My spec is more “the face,” the fast-talking social chameleon. So, getting into combat isn’t exactly in my best interests. But, we survived. And lived to adventure another day.

This morning, letting go of the bed was hard to do. So I put it off as long as possible. So far, it’s been a good day. Can’t complain about that.

Stray Toasters

Namaste.

Dec 18

“…gonna find out who’s naughty or nice.”

books, everyday glory, geekery, monkeys!, science and technology, The Covet List, toys, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot...?!, workout No Comments »

Tuesday – 18 December 2007
Last night, SaraRules and I had dinner with her family, including an aunt and uncle who stopped by on their way to visit family in Idaho. It was a nice way to spend the evening.

So far, it’s been a good day. In the words of the boys from Liverpool: “Nothing to get hung about.” The lunchtime workout included:

  • Bench Pres: 3 sets/8reps, 225 lbs.
  • Nautilus Cable Fly: 3 sets/10 reps, 110 lbs (hold for 10 seconds on 10th rep, each set)
  • Tricep Extension (Rope): 3 sets/15 reps, 80 lbs
  • Tricep Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 6 plates (60 lbs?)
  • Overhead Tricep Extension (Dumbbell): 3 sets/12 reps, 35 lbs

I tried – operative word: “tried” – 300 lbs on the bench press again today. The problem was that I tried it after I had already done my three normal sets. Needless to say, the bar didn’t move. Oh, well… there’s always Thursday.
And tonight is game night; we moved it up a week as Christmas is next week.

Stray Toasters

Namaste.

Dec 14

“But she’s a Black Magic Woman and she’s trying to make a devil out of me.”

comics and animation, dining and cuisine, everyday glory, food for thought, games, geekery, IKEA, news and info, science and technology, style, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot...?! No Comments »

Friday – 14 December 2007
Yep. It’s a Friday. And I am having… difficulty… staying/getting/maintaining focus(ed) on work.

SaraRules got in last night. On her way to SLC, she met me at the AF office and hung out with Tyranist, Derek, Dwim, Eric and me for a few. Then we braved the elements – and the road monkeys – and headed home. As it was cold and we we didn’t feel like foraging, it was a pizza night. God bless online ordering. We watched TV, ate pizza and chilled.

This morning, I ignored the alarm and slept in a bit. Jason called to find out which office I would be working in today (SLC) and ask if I wanted a bagel for breakfast. I told him I’d meet him at the local Einstein Brothers. They make a mean ham-and-cheese bagel omelette. I also stopped next door at the Beans & Brews for a cup of espresso-laden frozen mocha goodness. Then, on to the cotton fields…

Chew on This: Food for Thought
I was chatting with earlier and he asked me a question for which I didn’t have an immediate answer. I told him that I’d have to chat with the S.O. and get back to him:

me: Hmm. I may. I’ll talk it over with the S.O.
everydave: nog
me: X.O. Not sure if she quite qualifies as C.O.
<ponder>
everydave: ? commanding officer?
me: Yeah.
XO == executive officer (First Officer)
And I can’t recall what the abbreviation for Second Officer is.
…but I’m looking it up.
everydave: gotcha
SO is then significant officer?
me: Yes.
everydave: you’ve got some weird military fetish going on…and I’m not sure I’m comfortable with that, being a pacifist and all
me: Well, “Other,” but both apply/fit.

So, that raises the following questions:

  • In relating to one’s significant other in military terms, would they be C.O or X.O.?
  • And should a person take into account that “X” or “ex-” is not necessarily an attribute that should be applied to one’s current sig-other? And/or because of that, should the S.O. just be brevetted to “C.O.” in order to avoid any possible issues/complications.

Just wondering…
Stray Toasters

Namaste.

Dec 13

“Dreamline”

everyday glory, geekery, monkeys!, news and info, science and technology, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot...?!, workout No Comments »

Thursday – 13 December 2007
This morning started a bit oddly. My alarm went off at 6:20 and I promptly turned it off. I wasn’t in a rush to get up and on the way, so I laid in bed for a while. I drifted in and out of sleep for the next little bit. While zonin in and out, I had a dream wherein I walked out of the bedroom and turned the corner to find that I had left the front door unlocked and open overnight. And I couldn’t tell if someone had snuck in.

I woke up a little disconcerted. I also managed to drift off again…

…and had another – different – door open overnight dream.

…and, again, woke up a bit out of sorts.

Maybe I should rename the day from “No Bad News Thursday” to “No Bad Dream Thursday.”

I did some minor straightening up this morning, to make up for the complete lack of cleaning last night. There are still some things that need a little more attention, but at least I can see a little progress.

Today’s workout, after being out of the gym for a week, was… work. Like Big Daddy Kane, I got the job done, but it took considerable effort in a couple of spots:

  • Bench Press: 3 sets/8 reps, 225 lbs.
  • Cable Row: 3 sets/15 reps, 100 lbs.
  • Incline Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 135 lbs.
  • Bent-over Row: 3 sets/12 reps, 35 lbs.
  • Decline Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 135 lbs.
  • Push-ups: 2 sets, 15 reps/10 reps

Some of them were not pretty – and my arms were burning when I was done – but it was a good workout.
Stray Toasters

  • shockpuppet and I are having (too much) fun with Chocolate Jesus Crunchies. Click the link and check out the mock-up she did for the cereal box.
  • Road monkeys! BAH!
  • By way of : Discovering the Gifted Ex-Child
  • Finder + Cover Flow = hotness
  • <rant>

    I work with a number of HIGHLY intelligent people. Sometimes, however, I wonder how smart they are. Case in point: Either earlier this week or late last week, a couple of them informed me that we were out of engineeing/lab notebooks. I told them that I’d submit an order for them. As of this morning, they haven’t been delivered.

    Ordinarily, I would think that this is a non-problem: There are plenty of other sources of paper (other notebooks/pads, printer paper, etc.) in the office that can be used as tide-me-overs.

    But, what do I find in my email inbox as soon as I get in?

    “Both [monkey-yet-to-be-renumbered] and I are looking for engineering lab notebooks. Any word on these?”

    And I got the following email from monkey-yet-to-be-renumbered:

    “Can we place an order for them?”
    (followed by ordering information)

    I realize that people have affinities for certain items. But…

    • …if said item isn’t available/on-hand
    • …AND if someone has already said that the order would be placed for the item
    • …AND that someone hasn’t said anything about the item having been delivered

    …doesn’t it stand to reason that you should find a workaround until it gets there? Seems perfectly logical to me.

    But, maybe that’s just me. Maybe it’s Maybelline.

    </rant>

  • Knight Rider storms back, new K.I.T.T. showcased
  • UPS turns to software to cut down on left-hand turns
  • It’s snowing again.

Namaste.

Dec 13

“Who will save your soul after all the lies you told, boy?”

comics and animation, everyday glory, geekery, quote of the day, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot...?! No Comments »

Wednesday: Coda
shockpuppet and I came up with a new cereal idea over lunch this afternoon, Chocolate Jesus Crunchies: Chocolate crosses, chocolate-coated fiber crowns o’ thorns and marshmallow apostles. Part of a nutritious – and righteous – breakfast! And, Ms. shockpuppet even came up with few slogans:

  • “enough sugar to raise YOU from the dead!”
  • “only your dentist will grant you salvation!”
  • “forget the loaves and fishes, we’ve got chocolate and marshmallows!”
  • “turns the milk wine red!”
  • “each box is only 6 pieces of silver!”
  • “have whatever you want for your last supper, but have Chocolate Jesus Crunchies for your final breakfast!”
  • “you’ll rend your own cloak, they taste so good!”
  • “if you don’t buy Chocolate Jesus Crunchies, you’ll be forsaken by God!”

We’re deciding which one we like best (and coming up with others). We’re also taking votes/suggestions.

The post-work day has gone somewhat as planned and somewhat not as planned. But, it’s been good. I haven’t gotten nearly as much cleaning done as I had hoped, nor have I played City… but I’ve had a quiet and relaxing evening:

  • I read this week’s four-color goodness, which I picked up at lunch this afternoon.
  • I watched a couple of episodes of Law & Order: SVU
  • I watched DS9. (How long has it been since I’ve seen an episode of the Sisko Show?!)
  • I watched Seven Days.

Lazy? You bet. Fun? Quite so.

Quotes of the Day
Quote Number One comes from last night’s gaming session:

: God of Sodomy!? I want to dip my balls in it!

Quote Number Two comes from some of the post-lunch brainstorming that shockpuppet and I did:

shockpuppet: so i’m thinking it should be based off this
http://static.flickr.com/68/191828260_6a7f80e8f7_o.jpg
pretty much, imagine that the rabbit is jesus
http://www.cerealbits.com/jim/count_mystery_front.jpg
this guy looks like a one-night-stand
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1022/1465967803_dedfc55f05.jpg
me: Porn Star Count Chocula
shockpuppet: totally. he’s sick
me: Kind of like when Aunt Jemima got a makeover a few years back. Not quite from Mammy to MILF, but closer.
shockpuppet: haha awesome

Amen.

Dec 08

“Oh, the weather outside is frightful…”

arts and leisure, comics and animation, Council for Better Driving, everyday glory, geekery, news and info, quote of the day, science and technology, travel, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot...?! 1 Comment »

Saturday – 08 December 2007
Ahhh… another lazy Saturday morning.

The drive down was wet and rainy… until I got down near Beaver. It was snowing heading into and out of Beaver, but not in Beaver. Go figure. And, the other drivers actually drove with a modicum of care and common sense. The Council for Better Driving would definitely have approved of their behavior.

Last night, we went to see Steph perform in Student Dance Concert: Breaking Bounds. There were thirteen pieces; Steph danced in six of them. Most of the pieces were good, although there were a few… um… “not so great” ones. After the Concert, SaraRules and I came back and watched Smokin’ Aces. I didn’t really know what to expect, but I enjoyed it.

This morning started with breakfast, coffee and (of course) cartoons. Today’s episode of Legion of Super-Heroes was a rebroadcast of “The Karate Kid.” The Batman, however, was new: “Ring Toss,” featuring Green Lantern (Hal Jordan). The episode also had Sinestro, and they did a good take on him. The addition of The Penguin was, in my opinion, something of a throw-away, but what are you gonna do? Kim and Steph came in and watched ‘toons with us and then we switched over to What Not to Wear: Mail Call. THAT was amusing.

Nothing really on-tap for the afternoon, but we are heading to see A Christmas Carol: On the Air this evening. After that, I believe that we are having a flip cup competition. Should make for a fun and… interesting… night.

Stray Toasters

Quote of the Day
From Stacy London to a participant on this morning’s What Not to Wear:

You look like you’re trying to compete with 18-year-olds… but 18-year-olds always win, because they’re 18!

This met with a lot of laughter from everyone in the room.

Namaste.

Dec 06

“Like a shock to the system…”

comics and animation, everyday glory, games, geekery, music, news and info, science and technology, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot...?!, zombies No Comments »

Thursday – 06 December 2007
Three down, one in the chamber, one to go.

Last night was “Rob’s Errand-Running Night,” apparently. Laundry, groceries… and avoiding making any major electronics or furniture purchases. I was proud of myself on all counts. I rewarded myself by going home and playing City of Heroes.

I’ve noticed something over the past few mornings: I have some… unusual… songs that go through (or get stuck in) my head, first thing in the morning. I don’t recall what some of the past week’s songs have been, but this morning’s song was Oklahoma. Yeah. Weird.

Having decommissioned Intrepid last week, I’ve been wondering what to do with it. The answer came to me yesterday: posted a wish list of things he wants/needs. Among them was “a new computer or parts to build one.” Intrepid will get a new home and I don’t have to worry about it being taken care of. I think that this comes down as a “win-win” situation.

And, realizing how much I’ve come to like love adore my new MacBook BlacBook, I think that its new theme song should be Joan Jett’s I Hate Myself for Loving You. Even though, I don’t really hate myself. Or the MacBook.

City of Heroes: Indigo Bolt
That’s right, I said “Indigo Bolt.”

When I logged in, a couple of members of my supergroup were on. They were telling me that since NCSoft has upped the max size of supergroups, we are moving our 50s back to the original group (from the “senior team” that we had created when they hit 50). I moved Indi back to the old homestead. After this, we teamed up to run a few Ouroboros missions that are new in Issue 11: A Stitch in Time, which went live last week. As these are time travel missions, they will “reset” your powers – and hit points – to keep them in accordance with how far back in the timestream you move.

For example: My first mission was an alternate time line version of “Outbreak,” the very first mission you run. For this mission, my powers and hit points were scaled back to the same as when I first started the game. One caveat: I have a couple of extra “temporary” powers that exist “outside” my normal power sets – they weren’t affected (and were thus usable) by the time jump.

I had forgotten how much fun I had playing with Indi when I first started the game. And, in having not played him in over six months, I forgot how to play him. So, there was a bit of a re-learning curve, but it was a ton of fun. Kudos to NCSoft for adding to the replay value of the game.

Stray Toasters

  • It’s been getting a little chilly here in the Land Behind the Zion Curtain. As such, there have been a couple of days when I have broken out my polypropylene shirt and pants, lovingly referred to as my “super suit.” Being cold-weather gear, they keep me warm. Now… being the comic book geek that I am, this somehow started me on the thought-path of: If Clark Kent wears his Superman outfit under his clothes all the time, how does he keep from getting too hot? I was about to apply a few brain cells and synapses to the task when I thought about one (tiny, almost insignificant) thing: We’re talking about the guy who dives into volcanoes – and flies in the cold/vacuum of space – just because he can. The few degrees that his costume adds to his ambient body temperature aren’t going to really be that noticeable.
  • Neil Peart speaks about lyrics
  • With all of the negative press that video games have gotten in the past few years, it’s nice to see that someone has actually learned something useful from gaming: Swedish boy outthinks angry moose with Warcraft skillz
  • For those of you who have/use Wacom graphics tablets: Do you ever use the mouse that came with it? I almost never use mine.
  • Cockroaches that turned into zombies can be revived with brain injection
  • st00pid servers (computers, not restaurant wait staff)
  • Top Ten Super Anti-Heroes

And that’s a wrap.
For now.

Namaste.

Dec 04

Where’s the Ty-D-Bowl Man when you need him?

everyday glory, news and info, science and technology, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot...?! No Comments »

Tuesday – 04 December 2007
Oy. That’s really the best way to describe the day. It hasn’t been hellish, but it’s had an… unusual… start for a Tuesday:

  • I was in bed before 1:00 AM. Rare, but I was tired.
  • I don’t remember shutting off the alarm this morning. But, I apparently did; that led to some oversleeping. Two hours’ worth. But, I was okay with that, as I obviously needed the rest.
  • I got up and started to get ready for work… then realized that I wasn’t really ready to get ready for work, if that makes any sense. (Translation: “I was dragging ass.”)
  • About forty minutes later, I managed to muster the get-up-and-go to finish pre-work prep.
  • I stepped into the master bathroom to find water on the floor around the toilet. Ô.õ Um, okay..
    • No seepage showing on the walls or floor.
    • No apparent bad seals on the toilet.
    • No apparent cracks in the porcelain.

    So, I flushed the toilet. Water seeped out from under the lid. >.< I removed the lid to see if I could figure out where the water was coming from. Yep. Piece of cake. It was, literally, staring me in the face: The refill hose (coming out of the filler valve) had come out of the refill tube.


    (clicking will not flush, but will take you to the HowStuffWorks site)

  • I placed the hose back into the refill tube and flushed the toilet. Bad idea. Well, not really “bad” but I had neglected to secure the hose, so it flipped out of the tube and sprayed me and part of the wall behind me. *sigh* At least it was the “clean” water. I reseated – and secured – the hose and flushed the toilet again. Success.
  • I grabbed my trusty bottle of Pine-Sol, a bucket and a rag and proceeded to mop up the floor.
  • I got redressed and headed to work. I headed to – and decided to work in – the SLC office today. The workout will wait until tomorrow.

At least it’s not Thursday.

Dec 02

“All the world’s indeed a stage, and we are merely players, performers and portrayers…”

arts and leisure, comics and animation, everyday glory, football, geekery, movies and TV, news and info, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot...?! No Comments »

Sunday – 02 December 2007
The Pillowman was good. I didn’t read the Wikipedia article on it yesterday, aside from when it premiered and some notes on different performances – I wanted to go into the play knowing as little as possible about it, so that I wasn’t prejudiced about what to expect.

The play was performed by SUU’s Stage 2 in the Black Box Theatre, their small – intimate – theatre, there were (maybe) 75 or 80 seats. SaraRules and I were on the second row and were about ten to twelve feet from the stage. The play was dark, thought-provoking and good. It had moments of drama, comedy, with religious – and sacreligious – overtones, a good bit of physical violence and strong language. I liked – and recommend – this play.

This morning started with coffee and comics in bed. Nothin’ like a lazy Sunday morning. This was followed by breakfast and football. The CBS affiliate was showing infomercials, so I watched the Seattle-Philly game. It was wet and cold in Philly and the Eagles stayed close… but couldn’t pull off a win. I also noted that the referees were wearing their black track suit-looking pants, so I decided to look up “why.” The answer: It’s the new cold-weather uniform.

I talked with both of the ‘rents today. All is well in their respective parts of the Right Coast.

This evening, SaraRules and I are heading out on a “triple date” with a couple of her roommates. I think that the overall plan is dinner and a movie, Enchanted, I think.

Football Update

  • The Raiders beat the Broncos. ‘Grats, SaraRules
  • Carolina beat the 49ers. Congrats to
  • The Vikings beat up on the Lions. Congrats,
  • Cleveland racked up a loss to the Cardinals. Sorry, . (No, really… REALLY!)
  • Philadelphia lost to the Seahawks. Sorry,

Tonight, the Bengals take on the Steelers. Good luck to and .
Tomorrow night, the Ravens go up against the Patriots. Yeah, not exactly expecting a “win” here, but I’ll be watching the game… and hopeful.

Four-Color Coverage

  • Countdown: 22 – Mary Marvel’s seduction by the dark side continues. Jimmy Olsen’s “miraculous” escape. And a big change in the Trickster/Pied Piper team.
  • Green Lantern Corps #18 – Sodam Yat is the new bearer of the power of Ion. And in this issue, he goes head-to-head with SuperBrat Prime. The Guardians told him about the power of Ion… and “a little” about the benefits of being a Daxamite under a yellow sun, but did they tell him enough?
  • Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #37 – The quest for Cosmic Boy continues, but this was mostly a Saturn Girl and Supergirl story. Facing “Evolvo Lad,” the duo – plus Lightning Lad – come upon a strange piece of equipment with strange ties to the 21st Century. But what should they do with – or about – it?
  • Superman Annual #18 – The conclusion to the “Camelot Falls” storyline. Superman continues to defy Arion’s allegations that mankind is doomed to extinction… unless Superman dies. Will even the help of the Phantom Stranger be enough to help Superman survive, let alone win? Kurt Busiek also provides a nice short story of a Kent extended family outing.
  • Superman/Batman #43 – Dr. Light, with a continuing mad-on for the Justice League goes up against the World’s Finest. Featuring an appearance by the original Teen Titans. Kind of.
  • X-Men: First Class #6 – This wasn’t an exemplary story, it was… fun, but nothing “great.” In fact, the most notable thing about this isue is that it was printed out of order – seven pages of the middle of the story were printed as the first seven pages of the book. *blink blink* Gotta love that quality control.

Stray Toasters

Quote of the Day
From last night’s post-play hanging-out, Vince was talking about why he’s doing so well in his accounting class:

I’m Jewish – they take the foreskin from your penis and give you an honorary MBA in Accounting.

Namaste.

Nov 28

“Baby, it’s cold outside…”

comics and animation, Council for Better Driving, dining and cuisine, everyday glory, games, geekery, monkeys!, news and info, quote of the day, science and technology, toys, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot...?! No Comments »

Wednesday – 28 November 2007
Midweek is upon us.
Snow is on the ground.

That’s right. Snow. It started last night. And, following tradition, I called my father to share the wonderful news with him. (He already knew – he watches The Weather Channel. A lot.) By the time I got to ‘ for gaming, there wasn’t much on the ground, but the streets were wet and starting to get slushy. By the time I left, there was slush and ice – the temperature had fallen – on the streets. This morning, there was more snow (and slush), but the streets had been decently salted. That didn’t stop some of the monkeys from driving a little more crazily than good sense would have deemed appropriate.

With this in mind, I reiterate the Council for Better Driving Rule #1:

Don’t be a fucker.

Given the way that some people were driving, I think that I will consider making Rule #2:

You might be immortal, but the rest of us on the road aren’t:
Slow down and let us get where we’re going in one piece.

Last night was game night. We started our new game – Scion: Hero. Our characters are the offspring of gods. Rather than try a build based on Hand of Nefer-Tem, I went with a character whose pantheon are the Loa. That’s right: Voodoo. The game was interesting – and fun – and would have been even more fun had I not left my character sheet… somewhere. I had thought that it was in my backpack (which I had), but it wasn’t. *sigh* I was able to wing it for some things, but others… no clue. Oh, well. I found the sheet when I got home. I shall be importing the data into a pdf character sheet.

Last night, I tried installing City of Crack Heroes on Defiant, under Parallels. When the installer finished, I tried to log in. I had forgotten one thing. One kind of critical thing: Patches. There were 1.7 gigabytes worth of patches. I wasn’t going to sit there, just to watch the bar crawl across the screen, so I left it and went to bed. When I woke up this morning, it was done. I tried logging into my usual server. No go. Server maintenance. *BAH*

Later, I was finally able to connect… but the graphics were not 100%. (Parallels doesn’t support DirectX 9 yet, so I’m not getting the full 3-D acceleration.) Basically, if I tried to play CoX on Defiant, it would look roughly the same as things would to Superman walking/flying around all day with his X-ray vision on: He could see shapes, forms and structures, but no details. Oh, well… I may look into setting up a Win partition in Boot Camp.

Stray Toasters

Quote of the Day
Today’s nugget of pure golden joy came from last night’s gaming session. One of the first things that I had my character do when he arrived in town was to acquire accommodations at a local hotel. After our group had gathered and we had finished the first of our tasks, we (meaning “they”) were deciding where to bunk up for the night. John chimed in with, “We can all sleep with you.”

I should note here that our group, at this point, consists of , , John and myself; a couple of other players were absent. Nyx looked at John and, in character, said: “What do you mean ‘we?’ I just met you three… and I’m not sleeping with any of you.”

John, after a moment’s thought, quipped back with:

“I party with the lotion.”

And much laughter ensued.

Namaste.

Nov 27

“Better, stronger, faster…”

dining and cuisine, everyday glory, football, geekery, news and info, science and technology, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot...?!, workout No Comments »

Tuesday – 27 November 2007
Before leaving work yesterday, I checked the FedEx site to track the status of Defiant‘s memory upgrade. According to the site, it was delivered a little after noon. And left on my doorstep. O.o Oookay. I was more than “a little” leery about something just being left out in the open, but what could I do from work? I got home and there was nothing on the doorstep. Alright. I called the leasing office to see if it was there. No go, Flight. I even checked the mailbox, in case the FedEx driver got here at/around the same time as the mailman. Nope. Then, on a whim, I decided to look on my patio. Lo and behold, there it was. Mischief managed. However, when I attempted to install the new memory, I discovered that I didn’t have a screwdriver at home whose head is small enough to fit the screws. *GAH* But, I have such tools at work. And, this morning, they were duly employed.

FOUR GIGABYTES!!!!
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!
*raises hands to the heavens in triumphant, gleeful ecstacy*

The rest of the post-work night was quite a bit of fun. , and met me at my place and – after I gave the nickel tour of the place – we headed up to Fiddler’s Elbow for dinner and drinks… and something that was supposed to be a football game. We were met at Fiddler’s by: and OnlyAly, , and . The food and company were great; the service… not so much, which is unusual for Fiddler’s.

The game, however, was a farce: The Pittsburgh Steelers, the #2 team in the AFC, versus the Miami Dolphins, who came into this game with an 0-10 record. NO wins this season. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Zero. The score was 0-0 until twenty seconds before the end of the game, when Pittsburgh scored a field goal. Miami, after the final kickoff, tried a hook-and-ladder to try and get someone free enough to run the ball downfield. It didn’t work. Final score: 0-3. According to one of the announcers, it was the new record-setter for lowest-scoring game on Monday Night Football. And, what about the Steelers? How much joy can you take in the fact that it took you 59:40 to score… on the worst team in the league? Not just the division. Not just the conference. The entire National Football League. That’s gotta be a feather in your cap.

After the group broke up, and came back to my place so that I could try to suss out a couple of problems with ‘s laptop. While working on it, I logged into Gmail and saw that Josh, one of the students in SaraRules’ MFA program, was online. He, Steve and SaraRules were polishing up presentations that they have to give Tuesday afternoon. Josh and I chatted for a minute and then I decided to try something: iChat video chat. We did that for a few minutes before I got back to work on ‘s machine and they got back to their projects. But, it was fun… in a geeky way.

Today started with me sleeping in. Far more “in” than I had planned, but given that I had been up for something approaching 21 hours, I was okay with sleeping in. I stopped in the SLC office to drydock and upgrade Defiant – and to take care of an item or two on my task list – and then it was off to the southern compound. The commute wasn’t bad AND it started off with Conjunction Junction on the iPod. Win-win. Today’s workout was good, too:

  • Leg Raises: 1 set / 20 reps
  • Bench Press: 3 sets / 8 reps at 225 lbs.
  • Nautilus Fly: 3 sets / 10 reps at 95 lbs, with a ten-second hold on the last rep of each set
  • Dips: 3 sets / 10 reps
  • Decline Dumbbell Press: 1 set / 12 reps at 35 lbs.; 2 sets / 15 reps at 40 lbs.
  • Bench Dips: 2 sets / 20 reps; 1 set / 15 reps – all sets with a 35 lb plate on our laps
  • Leg Raises: 2 sets / 20 reps

It was a good – and somewhat tiring – workout… but I’ll attribute a portion of that to the holiday weekend. That’s my story and I’m sticking with it.
Stray Toasters

Namaste.

Nov 25

Lazy day

books, everyday glory, football, geekery, movies and TV, music, news and info, science and technology, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot...?! No Comments »

Sunday – 25 November 2007
Another Salt Lake Valley Sunda-a-ay…

With the exception of the Ravens’ loss to the Chargers, today’s been a good day. Slept in. Went to SaraRules’ parents for football, dinner, Mojitos and Hogfather. No, that was not a typo. And, no, it’s not a porcine remake of The Godfather. It was a movie based on a Terry Prachett book (set in/on the Discworld) of the same name. It wasn’t your typical holiday movie… but in a way it was. Yeah, it was like that. It was a British production and, according to SaraRules’ father, was fairly faithful to the book. A tip of the hat and a wave of the cane to for making a note of this broadcast.

Football Update
As I mentioned above, the Ravens took one on the chin, thanks to the Chargers. Go team.

Congrats to and for the Bengals’ win.
Congrats to for the Browns’ win
Congrats to for the Vikings’ win

Commiserations to and on the Eagles’ and Panthers’ losses, respectively.

Stray Toasters

  • I used iPhoto to make a web gallery of photos that have been sitting on my hard drive for months. MANY months. Once I got the hang of “what goes where,” it was a VERY fast and easy process. I still want to play around with the settings, to see what customization – if any – is available, as I don’t have a .mac account to upload it to and it seems set for .mac integration. But, I was pretty happy with the results.
  • Last night, after tracking down a copy of it, SaraRules and I watched The Lady Eve, starring Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck. It was fun and a nice change of pace.
  • Absinthe, a Potent Potable Makes a Comeback
  • I learned today, by way of SaraRules, that Shel Silverstein wrote the Johnny Cash song, A Boy Named Sue
  • Related sidenote: I need to acquire a copy of the Uncle Shelby’s ABZ Book
  • Defiant‘s new memory should be here Monday… sometime, according to the FedEx site.
  • Anatomical heart made from candy hearts

And that, as they say, is a wrap.Namaste.

Nov 20

“If it’s Tuesday, this must be Belgium…”

everyday glory, games, geekery, news and info, science and technology, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot...?!, workout No Comments »

Tuesday – 20 November 2007
It’s been a good day. And, considering that it’s this week’s “Wednesday,” I can’t complain about that.I

I tried something a little different last night: After my shower, I shaved. Nothing earth-shattering or ground-breaking, but still something out of the norm for my pre-bed routine. After all, I’m sure that there are those who would question the sanity of dragging sharp steel blades across your face and head first thing in the morning. It turned out pretty well. I have a few hours’ more stubble than I’m used to at this point in the day, but it’s not hellish.

The work day has been pretty decent as well: I was actually elbow-up in parts, putting some machines together. (How long has it been since that happened…?) It was a rather pleasant change-of-pace from reading.

Today’s workout:

  • Dips: 3 sets of 10
  • Pull-ups: 2 sets / 10 reps (unassisted); 1 set / 6 (unassisted), 5 (assisted / 80 lbs.)
  • Leg Raises: 3 sets of 20
  • Incline Bench Press: 3 sets / 12 reps, 135 lbs.
  • Cable Row: 3 sets / 12 reps, 120 lbs.
  • Curls: 3 sets / 10 reps, 25 lbs.
  • Standing Reverse Curls: 1 set / 10 reps, 12 lbs.
  • Side Bends: 2 sets / 15 reps, 30 lbs.
  • Core: 3 sets / 1 minute, 45 seconds, 45 seconds
  • Push-ups: 15

Nothing horribly strenuous, but it was definitely a good mix of exercises.

Stray Toasters

SaraRules, in town for the holiday, has just informed me that dinner’s ready.  Ghost.

Namaste.

Nov 12

“We hung a flag above the door, checked out the gourmet grocery store…”

comics and animation, everyday glory, football, games, LEGO and Rokenbok, music, news and info, science and technology, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot...?! No Comments »

Monday: Coda
The post-work day has been relaxing. I stopped by to say “Hi” to Kate, Perry and the kids on the way home.

Stray Toasters

Hm. Maybe I’ll take a little trip to Paragon City…

Namaste.

Nov 12

“I’ll take a Coke, then.”

comics and animation, Council for Better Driving, dining and cuisine, everyday glory, football, monkeys!, news and info, travel, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot...?! No Comments »

Monday – 12 November 2007
Another week begins.

The commute wasn’t bad. Not even when I got to Utah County. I was shocked. Wait… I take that back. Just remembered one monkey who apparently didn’t grok the concept of “fast lane” as we were heading into Scipio. Downhill. While we both drove alongside a semi. *sigh* Some peoples’ children…

Yesterday was a lax and lazy day. Highlights included watching football (more on this below) and watching The Boondock Saints, which I had somehow never gotten around to watching before. I liked it. Quite a bit, in fact. This week was my week to cook dinner. I took a page from my mother’s book and made a pineapple bowl mixed fruit appetizer, followed with baked chicken breasts, rice (cooked in cream of mushroom soup) and asparagus. All-around, quick and easy.

Football Update
The Ravens lost to the Bengals yesterday. Again. Congrats, .

I can deal with losses; they’re part of competition. What I don’t get – and here comes the Monday morning quarterbacking – is: Why in the Nine Hells Brian Billick doesn’t do something… ANYTHING… when he sees that the on-field squad isn’t working effectively and/or efficiently!? Steve McNair was the Ravens’ starting QB for the past two games. This followed a multi-game absence due to a groin and back injury, I think. Last week, he didn’t do anything. Yesterday, he didn’t do anything either. In fact, it was so bad that the Ravens were about five minutes away from getting blanked, before Billick rubbed a couple of brian cells together and came up with something that approximated “a clue.”

That clue: Put Kyle Boller in the game.

As ever, it was a case of “too little, too late. BUT… Kyle was effective. Far more so than Steve:

  • McNair: 17/26 for 128 yards
  • Boller: 6/8 for 89 yards

One-third the number of attempts, with a 10% better completion rate. And with his first five (5) completions, Boller had already gained more than half of the total yards that McNair had… in three-and-a-half quarters. Yes, they both had one interception – and McNair did rush for six yards – but come on. He had over three-fourths of the game to do something.

Yes, I’ve been vocal about Kyle as a QB in the past, but I’ve also noted that he has made definite strides in becoming a good, solid and effective quarterback over the past four years. Look at game footage over the past two years and you can see the difference. He’s gone from taking two (or three) quarters to settle into the game to getting right down to brass tacks.

And, didn’t we draft a new Heismann Trophy-winning QB this year, too? We did? I thought so.

But, anyway, congrats to and Cincinnati’s co-MVPs: Brian Billick and Steve McNair.

/rant

Stray Toasters

/lunch

Namaste.

Previous Entries Next Entries