Random Access

Tuesday: Coda
This afternoon, Wes and I headed to the gym to get in a late lunchtime workout. After we got out on the floor, SaraRules came over to say “Hi” and chat for a few minutes.  Today’s routine consisted of:

• Leg Raises: 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press: 300 lbs (1 rep); 3 sets/10 reps, 205 lbs
• Compound Row: 3 sets/12 reps, 125 lbs
• Lat Pulldown: 3 sets/10 reps, 120 lbs
• Lower Back Extensions: 2 sets/15 reps, 160 lbs
• Flys: 3 sets/10 reps, 130 lbs
• Chest Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 90 lbs

Since I did another rep of 300, it’s time to decide what’s next. It’s either going to be:

• 2+ reps at 300
• Bumping the weight up to… 310 or 315

We’ll see how that goes.

Tonight, SaraRules and I stayed in and watched NCIS and Food Network Challenge… and then set about the task of making decisions on our “Save the Date” announcements. We also looked at a few photographers, but I’m not sure which of the three gets my nod.

Stray Toasters

• Happy 20th Anniversary to my coworker, Drew.
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Mom’s plea deal includes ‘resurrection clause’
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome exercises that really work

And now, The Late Show with David Letterman.

Namaste.

SaraRules convinced me of the benefit of working out this evening (rather than just sitting on my bum and staring at the TV), so we went to the gym:

• Leg Raises: 3 sets/15 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 185 lbs
• Lat Pull-downs: 3 sets/10 reps, 110 lbs
• Compound Row: 3 sets/10 reps, 125 lbs
• Reverse Fly: 3 sets/10 reps, 80 lbs
• Lower Back Extensions: 3 sets/15 reps, 160 lbs
• Curl/Shoulder Press (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 20 lbs

Post-workout weight: 183.0 (taken at home, because I spaced it off at the gym)

All things being equal, it was good to get out of the house and get in the workout that I missed this afternoon.

Thursday – 26 March 2009
There are light flurries again this morning. *shrug* I think that it’s supposed to creep back into (or at least near) the 60s this weekend.

Last night, after stopping to say “Hi” to , SaraRules and I went walking. (Hey, it’s exercise…)  As it was cold and wet outside, we opted to go walking at South Towne Center. I hadn’t been there in… longer than I can remember. Mall-walking has the added benefit of allowing you to pick and pan the latest fashions in the window displays. We did. There were a number of dresses in one store’s windows that we found… “aesthetically unpleasing.” But, we were also pretty sure that somewhere a high school-aged young lady would think that they were the greatest things ever. Also while walking through the mall, I found $20 USD. Just lying there on the ground. WIN! We also discovered that there are TWO Bank of America ATMs in the mall. O,o ?!? (For those of you who don’t understand why this is noteworthy: BoA doesn’t have branches in this state… AND they happen to be my bank. Thus, finding a veritable last bastion of banking goodness makes me quite happy.) Seeing the ATMs also raised a question: Who services these machines? We guess that someone from either Idaho, Nevada or Wyoming must have to cover them on their routes.

After getting back home, we watched NCIS, The Late Show and The Late Late Show. Just before heading off to bed, I decided to give “The Fickle Finger of Fate” method to channel surfing and see what was on. One of the things I found was Blacula. I haven’t seen that in ages. It made me laugh, but I still turned off the TV and called it a night.

Stray Toasters

• How to Change the World
• Bankrupting the Arts: State budget cuts could change Baltimore’s cultural landscape forever
• Thanks to for pointing this out: LEGO Batman is being ported to the Mac
• Also from : Project Runway finalist denies cat used as weapon
• From baby to blog to memoir for Heather Armstrong – I couldn’t remember why the name “Heather Armstrong” sounded familiar until reading this article. She’s a blogger from SLC, whose site I’ve read from time to time.
• Mythbusters Accidentally Bust Windows in Nearby Town
• Internet Explorer 8 “critical” flaw in final version – Is this a surprise? Really…?
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: British local governments deploy anti-teenager pink lights designed to make kids ashamed of their appearance
• 
• id Releases Open Source Wolfenstein 3D for iPhone
• The whole wide world
  An endless universe
  Yet we keep looking through
  The eyeglass in reverse
  Don’t feed the people
  But we feed the machines
  Can’t really feel
  What international meansIn different circles
  We keep holding our ground
  Indifferent circles
  We keep spinning round and round
• Remixes of the paranoid London police “anti-terror”/suspect your neighbours posters
• TV, films go boldly down scientific path
• Does this mean that Banjo Hero is around the corner?
• Anatomical models for artist’s reference – Now available in Dr. Manhattan model, too!

…right on to the friction of the day.

Namaste.

Wes and I hit the gym for a long-overdue workout at lunch:

• Leg Raises: 3 sets/15 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 205 lbs
• Reverse Fly: 3 sets/10 reps, 80 lbs
• Lower Back Extensions: 3 sets/15 reps, 160 lbs
• Curl/Shoulder Press (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs
• Tricep Extensions (rope): 3 sets/15 reps, 60 lbs
• Core (plank): 2 sets, 45 secs

Post-workout weight: 185.2 lbs

Not too terrible for the first workout in a week-and-a-half. I’m not sure if I’m going to get a workout in on Thursday, as I may have a meeting.  We shall see…

Stray Toasters

• I looked up some Annie Lennox info after the last post. I wasn’t aware that Hugh Laurie and John Malkovich appeared in her video for Walking on Broken Glass.
• I’m of mixed feelings about this news on the pending Johnny Quest movie project.
  • Good: Dwayne Johnson as Race Bannon
  • Not-as-good/Questionable: Zak Efron as Johnny Quest
• Harry Potter: Zionist Conspiracy to Promote Witchcraft and Satanism?
• What do you get if you divide science by God?
• pointed out an article that takes a look at the state of the comics industry.
• Renter who paid on time ‘left out with nothing’
• Chris Pine, soon to be seen as a young James T. Kirk, is apparently being considered for the role of Hal Jordan in an upcoming live-action Green Lantern movie.
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Macgyver to big screen

/lunch

Tuesday – 17 March 2009
Happy Green Lantern Day!
(Happy Saint Patrick’s Day to the rest of the world.)

After work yesterday, SaraRules and I headed up to Liberty Park for a stroll. (She’s been rather positive in helping me stick to this whole “doing cardio” thing.) We walked the inner loop, which is 1¼ miles, give or take a bit. The weather, mild and comfortable, was quite agreeable. All-in-all, it was a pleasant change of pace.

We got back home and SaraRules decided to try recreating the Pollo Limon Rustica dish that she had the other night at Macaroni Grill. I didn’t have any of the dish then, but last night’s fare was very tasty. After dinner, we watched the new episode of 24. Not too surprisingly, there were a couple of twists… including a one that I didn’t see coming; neither did SaraRules. And it was a pretty good one, in fact. We also watched reruns of The Late Show and The Late Late Show that we taped last week.

This morning, I woke up with The Beach Boys’ Fun Fun Fun running through my head.

Stray Toasters

• By way of :
  • The Interpreter – this is a pretty amazing story
    
  • Glenn Beck recycles X Files plot to Spread Fear of Obama
  • The new sexual double-standard
    
• NFLShop.com is offering 30% off on orders today.
• Week-long Africa visit for Pope
• Jasper Morello: stunning steampunk short animated film
• By way of and the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Rubber Johnny. I will add the comment that he told me when he sent it to me: don’t read the description beforehand..just let it play

• US Capital blighted with HIV/AIDS
• Tailgunner Jo
• By way of : Din Daa Daa

• Brain Decline Begins at Age 27
• Juror Tweets Could Cause Mistrial

Quotes of the Day

• Quote 1
  I posted the following as my status on Facebook:

  Happy Green Lantern Day! Wait… What? St. Patrick’s Day? Really?! Well, that’s just silly.

  To which replied:

  By your powers combined, I am Captain… no wait. These are the other guys with rings. 🙂

• Quote 2
  Jeff, another coworker, just came over and told a St. Patrick’s Day joke:

Why did St. Patrick drive the snakes out of Ireland?

Because Samuel L. Jackson wouldn’t let them on the plane.

It made loonybin88, Tom and me laugh.

Namaste.

Wes informed me yesterday that he wouldn’t be available to go to the gym today. That’s fine, things like that happen. About twenty minutes later, Eric sent an email saying that he’d be in the SLC office today and wanted to go workout. Win-win. And that’s exactly what we did:

• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 205 lbs
• Fly: 3 sets/10 reps, 100 lbs
• Lower Back Extensions: 3 sets/15 reps – 1 set @ 140 lbs, 2 sets @ 160 lbs
• Curl/Shoulder Press (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps – 1 set @ 30 lbs, 2 sets @ 25 lbs
• Bench Dips: 3 sets/15 reps
• Incline Push-ups: 3 sets/15 reps
• Decline Sit-ups: 2 sets/15 reps

Post-workout weight: 186.8 lbs.

Stray Toasters

• Jake Theis, former Brand Manager for WizKids, has started a new blog: Second Rodeo
• pointed out this portions calculator
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Pet store expects fish shipment, but gets corpse
• IT versus users
• pointed out: Back to the Future (alternate ending)
• Resident Evil fans will understand:



• …speaking of which: Resident Evil 5 comes up with new survival strategies

And that’s it for now.

Thursday – 12 March 2009
Another NBN Thursday begins… and today’s song-stuck-in-my-head was REO Speedwagon’s Roll With The Changes. That’s not so horrible a song to have on loop in your head.

Last night, SaraRules and I modified the cardio workout: We went walking. More specifically, we went mall-walking – we started at one end of Fashion Place and did a complete circuit of the mall. This included a tour of the new Nordstrom’s. Shockpuppet made some comments about how entering that store was like not being in Utah anymore; she was right – the new store is quite impressive.

Back at home, we watched Double Indemnity. We’d both heard about the movie, but neither of us had seen it. It was good and, despite being a little dated (style and some dialogue), held up rather well for being over 60 years old. There was an interesting commentary before the movie started about how Billy Wilder, the film’s director, chose the lead actors for the film and some of the difficulties he encountered in bringing the movie to the screen.

Stray Toasters

• I spent a little time working on my Sodam Yat figure last night. I matched a torso to the lower body. I still need to find a right arm that “works” and figure out what to do for a head.
• Yesterday afternoon, and I tossed around a few ideas for adding a new “random element” to ‘Clix games: Civilians.
• Finding the black in noir
• How the Crash will Reshape America
• I usually use the “Monkeys!” tag to denote when someone – either in the office or somewhere that I’ve been – does something completely asinine. However, this story merits the tag because, well, it’s about a monkey (actually, in this case, a chimpanzee) and is chock full of amusement awesomeness: Chimp Found Plotting Against Zoo Guests
• Cop’s Risky Gambit Nails Alleged Craigslist Child-Sex Predator
• Pattie Maes demos the “Sixth Sense”

• Man survives Niagara Falls plunge
• Disney’s new racing game at core of big bet
• Iraqi jailed for Bush shoe attack
• HOW TO: Rob the world’s most secure diamond vault
• Playing Fair: A look at competition in gaming

Namaste.

There was only one meeting today… and it was done in fairly short order.  This project seems to be moving along fairly well.

The sun is out… but it’s still a tad chilly outside, according to The Weather Channel. I don’t know first-hand – Wes worked out of the AF office today and, thus, we didn’t go to workout at lunch. On the plus side, that’s an hour and change that I don’t have to make up on the back end of the day. All things considered, I guess it’s a good thing that I did last night’s cardio workout.

Stray Toasters

• Tents on wheels give homeless people roof and pride
• If, for some reason, you haven’t checked out How It Should Have Ended, you should.
• Baggies (video)
  If you are at work – or around children – you’ll want to have headphones.
• Extreme Mac Mini Case Mod
• Terrific special effects reel by 12-year-old (video)
• By way of (though indirectly) come the following:
  • This comic
  • and this one
• LEGO Watchmen minifigs
• By way of and Snopes.com: I Don’t Like Mondays

Tonight: ‘Clix at Chris’ place.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 10 March 2009
Last night, after NCIS and 24, I did something that I haven’t done… well, pretty much in a few years: I did a cardio workout. Thirty minutes on a recumbent bike. I’m trying to get back into the habit of doing some cardio. Yay. It wasn’t hellish… until about 20 minutes in, when I hit the control panel and somehow wiped out the data for my session. *grblsnrkx* Fortunately, my watch has a stopwatch feature, so I used it to count down the final 10 minutes. With roughly 40 seconds left in the ride, I did something equally brilliant: Pointed the toes on my right foot. That brought me the exquisite ecstacy agony of a cramp in my right calf. Go me! I limped along for the last few seconds and was quite glad to have the whole ordeal come to an end.

Stray Toasters

• I think that I’m going to start referring to Tuesday and Thursday as “Meeting Day 1” and “Meeting Day 2,” respectively.
• Pending confirmation from our venue, it looks like we have a date.
• I chatted with for a bit last night. Among the other news he shared was the note that Bit is not quite walking by herself, but is “…pulling herself up on things and shimmying.” Or, as he added: “…she’s no longer crawling like G.I. Jane.”
• Obama to address U.S. education woes in speech
• I’ve started work on my Sodam Yat/Ion ‘Clix figure. I feel like Dr. Frankenstein.
• In related news, Jake Theis posted an update about the future of HeroClix.
• 
• CGSociety’s steampunk art contest winners and Steampunk Fairy Tales CGI
• Jack Hanna was on The Late Show last night. It was just as amusing as most/all of his other visits to the show. He also had a pair of cheetah… kittens (?)… that were very cute with him. (Of course, they’re only “cute” until they start eyeing you as a potential snack or meal.)
• Dremel, Dremel, Dremel
  I made it out of clay…
• A handful of people will get that reference.
  Two, possibly three, of those people know why I find it so amusing.
• 

Namaste.

Wes and I hit the gym for another round of “Move the Weight.” SaraRules was finishing up her workout when we got there, so I was able to say a quick “Hi/Bye” to her before she took off. We also ran into former coworker Josh. Today’s workout consisted of:

• Leg Raises: 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 205 lbs
• Reverse Fly: 3 sets/10 reps, 80 lbs
• Lower Back Extensions: 3 sets/15 reps, 160 lbs
• Curls (barbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 60 lbs
• Push-ups: 3 sets/15 reps
• Core (plank): 2 sets

Post workout weight: 185.9 lbs.

Wes is planning on trying another max press next Tuesday; I’m deciding if I will or not.

Tuesday – 03 March 2009
What a day. And it’s not over yet.

This morning started with a massive headache. Literally. To the point that I crawled back into bed to try and sleep off. Nearly three hours later – and with significantly reduced pounding in my head – I decided to give it a go and head to the office. Once in the office, I was informed of a number of changes that are coming down the pike… in fairly short and fast order. Yay.

A little after noon, Wes and I headed to the gym. Because I had a meeting starting at 2:00, we opted for a short workout:

• Leg Raises: 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 205 lbs
• Reverse Fly: 3 sets/10 reps, 80 lbs
• Lower Back Extensions: 3 sets/15 reps, 140 lbs
• Dips: 3 sets/10 reps
• Curls (barbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 60 lbs

Post workout weight: 186.1 lbs.

Back in the office for what turned into the first of two meetings. It was fairly short, but it propogated a second – and slightly longer – meeting. There wasn’t any moaning, wailing or gnashing of teeth, so it wasn’t bad.

Tonight, Chris and I are getting together for a rematch of the JLA vs. Injustice League battle. I have a couple of ideas for my JLA team… one of which just makes me laugh. I may also build a fake team, just to see his reaction, and then switch to my actual team for the game.

Stray Toasters

• Thanks to SaraRules, I have Cadbury Creme Eggs!
• I finished my second modded HeroClix figure last night: Bucky Barnes as Captain America.  I’ll get some pictures of it – and the Shado ‘Clix – tonight… hopefully.
• By way of : Sitting Pretty
• By way of : This Is Why You’re Fat
• What’s the ideal number of friends?
• pointed out this video:

  It made those of us in the office who saw it laugh. A lot.

• Top 11 Concept Cars of the 2009 Geneva Motor Show
• There is apparently a new Star Trek trailer that will be seen in front of Watchmen.
• And there’s a new Terminator: Salvation trailer, too.
• Ryanair Pay-to-Pee Proposal Pisses Off Customers

Quote of the Day
Sean, one of my minions employees, was talking about the lack of diversity in Utah. He had a situation where his son, who is five, made a comment that kind of caught him off-guard. (He told me what it was and it wasn’t “bad,” just an amusing observation from a kid… using kid logic.) Sean, having grown up in Chicago, felt that he had failed as a father, with respect to teaching his kids about diversity and other races. As a member of the LDS Church, he also realizes how sheltered many people can be and made the following comment:

I want my son to know that there are more races than “Member” and “Non-member.”

Julie, who was also listening to Sean’s tale, and I both cracked up.

Namaste.

Earlier this morning, Wes and I were somewhat on the fence about going to the gym today. Fortunately, as the day wore on, we realized that it would not only be good to workout, but that it would be good to get out of the office. So, while we didn’t do a lot of heavy lifting, we did get in a decent – if brief – workout:

• Leg Raises – 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press – 3 sets/10 reps, 185 lbs
• Rotary Chest – 3 sets/10 reps, 100 lbs
• Reverse Fly – 3 sets/10 reps, 70 lbs
• Lower Back Extensions – 3 set/15 reps, 140 lbs
• Push-ups – 3 sets/10 reps
• Core (extension/stretch): 2 sets, 30 seconds

Short and sweet.

300.

It’s not just for these guys.
Or even these guys, who (not so strangely) go by  the same name.

It is the reason today’s lunchtime workout was great. Okay, to be honest, it was an average workout with a moment of greatness:

• Leg Raises: 3 sets/15 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 205 lbs
• Fly: 3 sets/10 reps, 100 lbs
• Lower Back Extensions: 2 sets/15 reps, 140 lbs
• Decline Press (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 40 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell, hammer grip): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Push-ups: 3 sets/15 reps

The moment of greatness in the workout: I did a max bench press of 300 pounds… for the first time in over a year. I only did one rep – and it wasn’t the cleanest/prettiest I’ve ever done – but the bar came down and went back up, all under my own power.

Post-workout weight: 185.2 pounds.

Wes almost backed out of going to the gym this afternoon. Fortunately, he didn’t and we had a pretty good workout:

• Leg Raises: 3 sets/15 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 205 lbs
• Lat Pull-downs: 3 sets/10 reps, 120 lbs
• Rows (Nautilus, compound): 3 sets/10 reps, 130 lbs
• Lateral Raises (with fly): 3 sets/10 reps – 2 sets @ 10 lbs, 1 set @ 12 lbs
• Shoulder Press (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 35 lbs
• Tricep Extensions (rope): 3 sets/15 reps, 60 lbs

Post workout weight: 184.9 lbs

Stray Toasters

• “To boldly take your fetish geekery where no one has gone before…”
• And, in an oddly-related note, sent by Coworker DaveW: “That Jean-Luc Picard“
• I like LEGO zombies
• Ledger fans demand The Joker retired from film.
  Nine Hells.  Yes, he did a great job. Stellar, even. But… he was not – nor will he ever be – the only person to ever play The Joker. Get over it and move on.  This campaign is about as silly as saying “Don’t make any more James Bond movies if/when (fill in your favorite Bond portrayer) dies!” *sigh* Monkeys.
• Body dragged nearly 20 miles on NYC highways
• LEGO Star Wars magnets make collecting rare minifigs cheaper
• Pac-Man Ghost Lamps

Back to the grind.

Today’s workout was a mostly back and shoulders (with a little triceps thrown in, for good measure) workout:

• Leg Raises: 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 185 lbs
• Lat Pull-downs: 3 sets/10 reps, 120 lbs
• Rows (Nautilus, compound): 3 sets/10 reps, 125 lbs
• Lateral Raises (with forward rotation): 3 sets/15 reps, 10 lbs
• Tricep Press (T-bar): 3 sets/15 reps – 1 set @ 70 lbs, 2 sets @ 80 lbs
• Dips: 3 sets/15 reps – 2 sets, bench dips; 1 set unassisted

It was a good workout.  At least, that’s what my triceps are telling me.  I might add a little more shoulder work in on Thursday.

Stray Toasters

• passed this along to me: Dear Spike, Love Dad: Of a Dream
  I think it might even be Quote of the Day.
• By way of SaraRules: Michelle Obama to Grace Cover of Vogue Magazine
• Steampunk cake
• Hey, Stop Staring at This Lady’s… Arm
• From today’s “Unintentional Porn Overheard at Work” file comes this gem:
  

  “I’ll have to play with it until I’m comfortable with it…”

• Turning an iPod Touch into an iPhone
• Pong Museum
• Stopping Trucks the Superhero Way
  To which, SaraRules replied: “Hmm…. interesting. But I do think Superman would be more effective.”
• 50 of the Most Insane Things Never Seen on Google Street View

Back to it.